09 JULY 2022 Nearly two years after the Japanese bulker Wakashio went aground on Mauritius and created a disastrous fuel oil spill, the Japan Transport Safety Board has issued a preliminary report based on its investigation. While the events at the time of the ground are well known, the Japanese authority is looking …
Read More »GOOD NEWS! THE SOLAR SYSTEM IS GOING TO HOLD TOGETHER FOR NOW
08 JULY 2022 If you’ve been laying in bed at night, fretting that the planets of the Solar System are going to go ricocheting off throughout the galaxy, you can set your mind at ease. We have at least 100,000 years before that happens, according to new calculations. In a …
Read More »GUILTY VERDICTS FOR FOUR OF FIVE NAVY OFFICERS IN “FAT LEONARD” TRIAL
07 JULY 2022 More than five years after being indicted on charges of accepting bribes in the now famous “Fat Leonard” case, four retired captains of the U.S. Navy were convicted but the jury failed to decide the case of the senior-most defendant. The U.S. Department of Justice has not …
Read More »THE LONGER THE UKRAINE WAR, THE MORE LIKELY IT IS TO BE WON BY A SEA POWER
06 JULY 2022 The Ukraine war is at a strategic turning point. As the Russian offensive intensifies in the Donbas without resulting in any substantial gains, western leaders warn that the war will be long, and supporting Ukraine must be sustained in the long term. At the same time, a less …
Read More »STUDY: SHIPPING IS SET TO MISS THE IMO 2050 TARGET
05 JULY 2022 The maritime industry is not currently on track to meet the IMO ambition for a 50 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, even under favorable assumptions, according to a new study released by think tank Nordic West Office. The study suggests that this target could eventually be …
Read More »UNCTAD: WAR IN UKRAINE DISRUPTS GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAINS
04 JULY 2022 Major ports in Europe are grappling with a warehousing and storage capacity crises due to Russia and Ukraine cargo pile up, a situation that has disrupted container shipping operations and thrown global value chains into disarray, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said. UNCTAD, …
Read More »BULK CARRIER CAPTAIN AND CHIEF MATE FINED FOR LEAVING GREAT BARRIER REEF SHIPPING LANES
03 JULY 2022 The captain and chief mate of a bulk carrier have been fined after pleading guilty to steering the ship through a protected area of the Great Barrier Reef. The incident took place in March involving 289-meter MV Sea Coen, which is registered in the Marshall Islands, and …
Read More »CAPTAIN FALLS OVERBOARD AND FLOATS FOR FOUR HOURS WITHOUT A LIFEJACKET
03 JULY 2022 On Sunday, the captain of a fishing vessel went over the side without a life jacket off Panama City, Florida, and managed to stay afloat for four hours before a good samaritan arrived to rescue him. At about 0400 hours on Sunday morning, Coast Guard Sector Mobile …
Read More »WHAT IS THE BLOCKCHAIN?
04 JULY 2022 Now famous for providing the engine for a variety of ‘hidden’ digital currency systems such as Bitcoin, blockchain (or Distributed Ledger Technology) describes a computerized process intended to make databases more egalitarian, transparent, and virtually tamper-proof. While this is an ideal outcome, arguments remain over whether the technology actually …
Read More »UN OCEAN CONFERENCE IS A KEY STEP TO RESTORING OCEAN HEALTH
03 JULY 2022 With every breath we take, we are connected to the ocean. The planet-defining blue covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, providing half of its oxygen, stabilising our global climate and weather system, and providing food and livelihoods for billions of people. A healthy ocean is …
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