02 JUL 2019 Global climate change is endangering small island countries, many of them developing nations, potentially harming their ability to function as independent states. As international environmental co-operation stalls, we must ask what consequences climate change will have on the statehood of vulnerable countries. This is especially important because …
Read More »HMM JOINS THE ALLIANCE
01 JUL 2019 South Korean carrier HMM (formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine) announced Monday that it is joining THE Alliance, the ocean carrier alliance comprised of Hapag-Lloyd, ONE and Yang Ming. The agreement was finalized in Taipei on June 19. Subject to regulatory approval, the new contract between the four lines …
Read More »FIVE INDIAN SEAFARERS RELEASED BY NIGERIAN PIRATES
01 july 2019 Five Indian seafarers have been released after being kidnapped from the product tanker Apecus and taken to Bonny Island in Nigeria on April 19. The seafarers, Sudeep Chaudhary, Ankit Hooda, Chirag Yadav, Avinash Reddy and Moogu Ravi, have been taken to safety, says India’s shipping minister Mansukh Mandaviya, and …
Read More »PILOT FATIGUE CITED IN BULK CARRIER INCIDENT
Trackline of the Shandong Fu En from 0620 to 0639, showing the vessel’s heading and course over ground. 30 june 2019 The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a Marine Accident Brief about an incident that occurred on April 6, 2018, involving the bulk carrier Shandong Fu En. The …
Read More »CAPTAIN CAROLA RACKETE ARRESTED
30 JUN 2019 Captain Carola Rackete was arrested in the early hours of June 29 in the Italian port of Lampedusa. Rackete, the German captain of the Dutch-flagged humanitarian rescue vessel, Sea-Watch 3, defied the imposed ban to disembark migrants saved from a rubber dinghy off the coast of Libya. On …
Read More »HERE ARE 11 WEIRD DISEASES YOU CAN CATCH FROM ANIMALS
30 JUN 2019 Illnesses that can pass from animals to humans are known as zoonotic. They’re surprisingly common: More than six out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people are actually contracted from animals, according to the CDC. Zoonotic diseases are typically spread through contact with animals or animal waste, though …
Read More »DRAFT OF NEW U.N. LAW OF THE SEA AVAILABLE
29 JUN 2019 The initial version of the new legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction is now available from the U.N. The legally binding biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) agreement will create new international high seas regulation on environmental impact assessments …
Read More »EU ACTIVATES BARTER MECHANISM FOR IRANIAN TRADE
28 jun 2019 After extended diplomatic talks on Iran’s threat to exceed nuclear treaty limits, the European Union announced Friday that it was finally launching an alternative financial mechanism to facilitate international commerce with Tehran, circumventing U.S. sanctions. The barter mechanism, INSTEX, is part of Europe’s attempt to salvage the Joint …
Read More »WORLD’S FIRST PLASTIC-TO-FUEL VESSEL TO SAIL IN 2020
28 jun 2019 A former merchant seafarer is building a world-first boat that will be powered by plastic. The French Plastic Odyssey project, led by Simon Bernard, will see the 25-meter catamaran generate her own fuel on board via the pyrolysis of plastic waste that cannot be recycled. Pyrolysis can …
Read More »FIRST FEMALE PRESIDENT FOR SINGAPORE SHIPPING ASSOCIATION
27 jun 2019 The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA) has elected its first-ever female President since its founding in 1985. Caroline Yang, Chief Executive of Hong Lam Marine, was elected as the association’s President on June 26. Yang started her career with Hong Lam Marine as their in-house counsel in 1991 …
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