18 DEC 2019 It has been six years since Boyan Slat began developing a system to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a trash-filled vortex in the Pacific Ocean that’s more than twice the size of Texas. In 2013, Slat’s organisation, The Ocean Cleanup, debuted a U-shaped device that passively …
Read More »20 COMPANIES CAUSED MORE THAN ONE-FIFTH OF OCEAN ACIDIFICATION SINCE 1965
17 DEC 2019 Our oceans are acidifying at a rate not seen in 66 million years. They’re now 26 percent more acidic since 1880, which is profoundly changing ecosystems and impacting the fisheries that rely on them, all around the world. This is not only threatening countless jobs, including 4.3 million livelihoods …
Read More »THE CONDITIONALLY UNMANNED BRIDGE: OPEN WATER VESSEL AUTONOMY
16 dec 2019 When people start to get carried away on the subject of autonomous shipping, Eero Lehtovaara, Head of Regulatory Affairs at ABB Marine & Ports, likes to bring the conversation back down to earth: an autonomous vessel is not necessary unmanned but an unmanned vessel is, by default, …
Read More »GUARDIANS AT THE GATE
15 dec 2019 Class societies provide a vital service by ensuring vessel safety from the design phase through construction and throughout the ship’s lifespan. Thanks to the technical expertise they’ve gathered by performing this function, they’re well-positioned to help shipowners adapt to technological and regulatory change. As trusted third parties, …
Read More »CMA CGM ACCELERATES DEPLOYMENT OF BIOFUEL
14 dec 2019 The CMA CGM Group has announced a partnership with Shell to supply tens of thousands of tons of marine biofuel to its fleet. The fuel will allow the Group’s ships to travel nearly one million kilometers, equivalent to over 80 round-trips between Rotterdam and New York. In …
Read More »U.S. PENALTY TARIFFS AVERTED
13 dec 2019 The U.S. and China have agreed on a “Phase One” deal and averted U.S. penalty tariffs due to take effect on December 15. China has agreed to buy $32 billion in additional agricultural goods over the next two years from a baseline of $24 billion purchased in …
Read More »PURE CHAOS OF MAGNETIC FIELDS MAY EXPLAIN THE INTENSE SHINE OF BLACK HOLES
12 DEC 2019 There’s some irony in the fact that the darkest objects in the sky – black holes – can be responsible for some of the Universe’s brightest light. Simulations of the magnetic fields surrounding black holes and neutron stars have now provided new insights into their astonishing brilliance. Astrophysicists from Columbia …
Read More »CONTAINER SHIP DESTROYS STS CRANE AT PORT OF ANTWERP
11 DEC 2019 On Monday afternoon, the container ship APL Mexico City struck the gantry of an STS container crane at the port of Antwerp, causing the crane to collapse. The APL Mexico City broke loose from her moorings at the Deurganck dock in the port of Antwerp on Monday at about 1400 hours. …
Read More »COP25: INVESTORS URGE GOVERNMENTS TO STEP UP CLIMATE AMBITION
631 institutional investors managing more than $37 trillion in assets urged governments to step up efforts to tackle the global climate crisis in a statement issued on Monday at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP25). The Global Investor Statement to Governments on Climate Change, developed by the seven founding partners …
Read More »TOXIC WHITE FOAM WASHES UP ON INDIAN BEACH, AND PEOPLE DON’T KNOW TO STAY AWAY
10 DEC 2019 A menacing white foam covered one of India’s most famous beaches in Chennai for the fourth straight day on Monday, creating a new pollution hazard for the country. Children have been playing and taking selfies in the clouds of white suds on Marina Beach, even though they …
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