World

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

27 jun 2019 The United Arab Emirates appeared to part ways  with the Trump administration Wednesday on the question of whether Iran is responsible for the recent attacks on merchant tankers in the Gulf of Oman.  The White House maintains that Iran or Iran-backed forces carried out the attacks, which …

24 JUN 2019 The cost of insuring Middle East oil shipments is soaring as tensions mount in a region responsible for about a third of all seaborne petroleum. So-called war risk premiums for a standard oil cargo from the Persian Gulf and the tanker hauling it can now cost upwards …

26 jun 2019 On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against a seafarer who sought punitive damages from his employer after a hatch blew open and injured his hand, finding that punitive damages – that is, extra money awarded to the plaintiff as an additional punishment for the defendant – …