18 JUNE 2021 Nigeria marked the official launch of its highly anticipated Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project. The country’s leaders gathered to show off some of the $195 million of equipment that will be used in a coordinated effort with its …
Read More »IMO MEPC SELECTS “BUSINESS-AS-USUAL” CARBON TARGETS FOR 2026
17 JUNE 2021 The IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) has settled on an achievable 11 percent carbon intensity reduction target for 2026. The target is calculated on a per-tonne-mile basis, and it does not govern total CO2 emissions from shipping. As trade volume is expected to grow, the …
Read More »AFTER HUNGER STRIKE, CREW OF ABANDONED BULKER FINALLY HEADS HOME
16 JUNE 2021 The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) reports that the 19 remaining crewmembers of the abandoned bulker Ula will soon be headed home, bringing their two-year ordeal to a close at last. For one crewmember, it will mark the end of a 31-month stay on board. The Ula was abandoned by her …
Read More »AUTONOMOUS RESEARCH BOAT GETS UNDER WAY FOR TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE
16 JUNE 2021 The IBM-sponsored autonomous vessel prototype Mayflower has departed the UK, bound on a transatlantic voyage to Plymouth, Massachusetts. The AI-enabled, electric-powered vessel was developed by IBM with the non-profit ocean research organization ProMare and a partnership of scientific organizations. It was formally launched in Plymouth, England in September, and …
Read More »OP-ED: PUTTING BIO-LNG AND SYNTHETIC LNG INTO FOCUS
15 JUN 2021 There seems to be a blind spot in maritime shipping’s road to decarbonization. And blind spots are not a good place to be. Those that say LNG is “not a plan to get to zero” seem to be missing some very important points. While LNG is not …
Read More »ATMOSPHERIC CO2 JUST HIT A PEAK NOT SEEN ON EARTH IN 4 MILLION YEARS
14 JUNE 2021 Despite slim hopes that global shutdowns during the pandemic might bring respite from the climate crisis, yet more evidence confirms that no such silver lining exists. Newly released measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in fact show that concentrations of the heat-trapping chemical have surged to record levels not seen …
Read More »WORLD OCEANS DAY: WHY WE NEED A HIGH SEAS BIODIVERSITY TREATY
13 JUNE 2021 Oceans cover 70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. But, because many of us spend most of our lives on land, the 140 million square miles of blue out there aren’t always top of mind. While vast, oceans are not empty. They are teeming with life and connected to society …
Read More »FDA JUST APPROVED A ‘GAME-CHANGER’ WEIGHT LOSS DRUG, FIRST ONE IN YEARS
12 JUNE 2021 A weight-loss drug described as a ‘game-changer’ by obesity researchers has just been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), representing the first time the agency has endorsed such a treatment in several years. Wegovy, a weight-management therapy to be manufactured by Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk, …
Read More »FORCE MAJEURE DECLARED TO BRING HOME DECEASED CAPTAIN AFTER TWO MONTHS
11 JUNE 2021 The containership Ital Libera is now heading across the Indian Ocean towards the Suez Canal on route to Italy. Under normal circumstances that would not be news, but yesterday Hapag-Lloyd advised customers of the unique circumstances as a force majeure has been declared with the ship diverting from Asia …
Read More »A MYSTERY AFFECTING UP TO 30% OF COVID PATIENTS.
10 JUNE 2021 Most people who get COVID suffer the common symptoms of fever, cough and breathing problems, and recover in a week or two. But some people, estimated to be roughly 10-30 percent of people who get COVID, suffer persistent symptoms colloquially known as “long COVID”. Why do some people …
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