28 JULY 2023 The autonomous navigation startup company Avikus, a division of South Korea’s HD Hyundai, signed an agreement to launch autonomous water taxis operating in Busan. A partnership between the City of Busan, Korea Marine Consulting and Project Management Company, and Avikus, they report the service will launch in …
Read More »WHY THE NEW PACKAGE OF SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA IS A GAME-CHANGER FOR EUROPE
27 JULY 2023 On June 25, in the wake of the Russian oil price cap and the failed Wagner Group revolt, the EU announced its new “11th sanctions package.” As the war rages on, it is clear that the EU has decided to intensify reactionary efforts, specifically focusing on shipping and transport as key areas …
Read More »CONTAINERSHIP SINKS IN TAIWAN ANCHORAGE
26 JULY 2023 Efforts to stabilize a containership anchored near the entrance to Taiwan’s Kaohsiung port failed overnight. The feeder ship which had been abandoned on Thursday continued to take on water and sunk early Friday, July 21, with empty boxes scattered into the busy waterway. Port officials had suspended …
Read More »BIDEN NOMINATES FIRST WOMAN, ADMIRAL FRANCHETTI, TO LEAD US NAVY
25 JULY 2023 President Joe Biden on Friday announced his nominations for four of the top posts in the U.S. Navy including his selection of the Admiral Lisa Franchetti as nominee for Chief of Naval Operations, the senior most position in the U.S. Navy. If confirmed, Franchetti will be not …
Read More »MAERSK LINE LTD ORDERED TO REHIRE CHIEF MATE WHO TIPPED OFF COAST GUARD
24 JULY 2023 The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has ordered Maersk’s American division to pay an officer more than $700,000 after it dismissed him for telling the U.S. Coast Guard about alleged deficiencies aboard the boxship Maersk Tennessee (ex name Safmarine Mafadi). On December 29, 2020, after a disagreement with …
Read More »HOW MARINE HEAT WAVES AFFECT THE OCEAN – AND WHAT CAN BE DONE
23 JULY 2023 As we enter El Niño, periods of surging temperatures at sea are predicted to grow more frequent and intense. On 4 July 2023, the World Meteorological Organization declared the beginning of an El Niño phase, a climate pattern that drives up temperatures across land and sea. Past weather events provide …
Read More »NON-PROFIT PLANS TO CONVERT BULKER INTO PLASTICS RECYCLING CENTER
22 JULY 2023 A German non-profit environmental group is developing a plan to convert an existing bulker into a floating environmental center as part of their system to capture and recycle ocean and on shore plastics. According to the group in addition to the mobile nature of the vessel, it …
Read More »INSURERS REVIEWING BLACK SEA SHIP COVER AFTER RUSSIA QUITS DEAL -SOURCES
20 JULY 2023 Insurers are reviewing whether to freeze cover for any ships willing to sail to Ukraine after Russia on Monday quit a U.N.-backed deal that allows the export of grain through a wartime Black Sea safe corridor, industry sources said. The agreement, brokered by Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate …
Read More »RUSSIA ENDS BLACK SEA GRAIN INITIATIVE, DECLARES “DANGEROUS” ZONE
UN inspectors examine the last ship to exit Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative protocol, July 17 (UN) 19 JULY 2023 On Monday, the Kremlin announced that it would reimpose a “temporarily dangerous” zone for foreign-flag grain bulkers in the northwestern Black Sea. By raising war risk beyond insurable …
Read More »UN OFFERS PUTIN SWIFT ACCESS IN EXCHANGE FOR BLACK SEA GRAIN EXTENSION, SOURCES SAY
17 JULY 2023 U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has proposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin that he extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine in return for connecting a subsidiary of Russia’s agricultural bank to the SWIFT international payment system, sources told Reuters. Russia has …
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