11 MAY 2019 Iran could target U.S. commercial ships including oil tankers, the U.S. Maritime Administration said on Friday, as a senior Iranian cleric said a U.S. Navy fleet could be “destroyed with one missile.” In the latest tense exchange between Tehran and Washington, Iran’s hardline Revolutionary Guards separately said …
Read More »14 INJURED IN EXPLOSION ABOARD PIPELAY VESSEL
08 may 2219 14 crewmembers were left injured Wednesday (08th May) after an explosion aboard the pipelay barge Israfil Huseynov in the Caspian Sea, according to operator Saipem. As workers were conducting maintenance on shipboard equipment on Wednesday evening, an explosion occurred. According to Azerbaijan’s General Prosecutor’s Office, a technical malfunction in …
Read More »THIS CARNIVOROUS PLANT EVOLVED TO ALSO BE A RODENT TOILET. WE’RE NOT MAKING THIS UP
11 MAY 2019 In the mountainous cloud forests of Borneo, nothing goes to waste, and that includes waste itself. Here, the largest carnivorous plant on Earth has evolved to become a sort of customised outhouse for local tree shrews (Tupaia montana). With a toilet seat perfectly contoured to the mammal’s …
Read More »TRUMP RAISES TARIFFS ON $200B IN CHINESE GOODS
09 may 2019 In the early hours of Friday morning, the Trump administration raised tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent, the latest shot in an escalating transpacific trade war. “Tariffs will make our Country MUCH STRONGER, not weaker. Just sit back and …
Read More »HEAVY LIFT VESSEL BLUE MARLIN ATTACKED BY PIRATES OFF WEST AFRICA
07 MAY 2019 The Boskalis semi-submersible heavy lift vessel Blue Marlin was ransacked by pirates offshore West Africa on Sunday (05th May), causing damage that has left the ship inoperable. All 20 crew members are reported safe and in good health. Royal Boskalis Westminster N.V. confirmed Tuesday that the vessel …
Read More »LOSS OF CONFIDENCE: DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING?
05 may 2019 “Do you know what you are doing?” asked the Harbor Pilot in a loud and irritated voice. “Maybe I should take over, or maybe you have someone else who can do this?” he added, with emphasis. His last statement about someone else onboard who can do this caused me …
Read More »GREEK SHIPPING COMPANIES TO PAY $4 MILLION FINE FOR ILLEGAL DISCHARGES IN TEXAS
04 may 2019 Both the vessel Master and operator company previously admitted to lying to U.S. Coast Guard investigators. Two Greek shipping companies have been sentenced to pay a $4 million and serve probations related to charges stemming from multiple illegal discharges of oil into Texas waters by the oil tanker Nicos …
Read More »SURVEY REVEALS WIDESPREAD CONCERN OVER ENCLOSED SPACE DEATHS
03 MAY 2019 Seafarers and dock workers are still dying while working in enclosed spaces onboard vessels because there is not enough understanding throughout the shipping industry of the risks faced by today’s seafarers, says to the shipmanagement trade association InterManager in releasing a broad survey on the issue of enclosed spaces. …
Read More »IMO URGED TO CONSIDER MANDATORY SPEED LIMITS FOR SHIPS
01 MAY 2019 An open letter signed by more than 100 shipping companies and environmental organizations is urging the International Maritime Organization to impose mandatory speed limits for ships as a way to reduce harmful emissions from shipping. The letter states that effectively addressing climate change is quite possibly the greatest challenge …
Read More »ITF WARNS OF ‘SHOCKING SPIKE’ IN CONFINED SPACE DEATHS
30 APRIL 2019 The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) is calling attention to the hazards of confined space entry after a “shocking spike” in the number of deaths associated with the known hazard. Confined space fatalities are all too familiar to the shipping industry. According to the ITF, since January …
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