22 APRIL 2019 Tehran is prepared for a U.S. decision to end waivers granted to buyers of Iranian crude, an Iranian oil ministry source said on Monday, as the Revolutionary Guards repeated their threat to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported. The United States will fail to …
Read More »PIRATES ATTACK TWO FISHING BOATS OFF SOMALIA
21 apr 2019 On Sunday, two fishing vessels were attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. The attempted boardings were both thwarted, but security officials said that they represent a reminder that antipiracy measures are still required when transiting the high-risk area off Somalia. According to EUNAVFOR, the fishing …
Read More »KEPPEL PLANS TO ADD 1,800 STAFF AT OFFSHORE AND MARINE UNIT
20 APR 2019 Singapore conglomerate Keppel Corp is planning to 1,800 staff this year at its offshore and marine business, the first time the company is hiring for the division after cutting thousands of jobs since 2015. The slump in oil prices in 2014 and a global oversupply of drilling …
Read More »U.S. COAST GUARD WARNS ON CONFINED SPACE ENTRY AFTER THREE DIE
13 april 2019 The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a Safety Alert on the dangers of confined space entry – citing a recent casualty where three people were asphyxiated on a drilling rig (MODU). 10 crewmembers were on board the MODU preparing it for a heavy lift transport to an overseas …
Read More »FAST FACTS: WHAT IS SEASPEAK ?
12 april 2019 Seaspeak is the official language of navigators the world over. Whether on the high seas or at port, misunderstood communication can lead to serious and even dangerous situations. Seaspeak, the official language of the seas, helps to prevent miscommunication. Have you ever wondered how crews on ships …
Read More »HUMAN RIGHTS AT SEA: OUR OPPORTUNITY AND OUR FUTURE
11 april 2019 Human Rights at Sea legal researcher Sayedeh Hajar Hejazi spoke at the 2019 Empowering Women in the Maritime Community conference at the World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden, April 4-5: When humanity harnesses the force of and truly empowers women, it has an exponentially positive effect on …
Read More »SULFUR-SNIFFING DRONE TO PATROL DANISH WATERS
10 april 2019 In the coming months, a large drone will check emissions from ships in Danish waters to make sure they comply with sulfur emissions limits. The drone is being provided by the European Maritime Safety Agency and is fitted with a so-called “sniffer” capable of measuring sulfur emissions. …
Read More »U.S. BLACKLISTS GREEK TANKER FOR SANCTIONS-BUSTING
08 april 2019 The U.S. Department of the Treasury has blacklisted two shipping firms and dozens of vessels, including one Greek tanker, in connection with U.S. sanctions on Venezuela. The two companies are Ballito Bay Shipping and “ProPer In Management Inc.” of Athens. Both share the same address in Piraeus. …
Read More »MAGIC PIPE MARPOL VIOLATIONS CAN BE SPOTTED FROM SPACE
07 april 2019 Environmental monitoring organization SkyTruth watches for illegal activity using satellite data, and over the past several years, they’ve made it clear that “magic pipe” bilge water disposal can no longer be hidden at sea. Bypassing the ship’s oily water separator to dump bilge waste is an illegal but …
Read More »DNA AND RNA MAY HAVE EXISTED TOGETHER BEFORE LIFE BEGAN ON EARTH
06 APR 2019 Before there was life, ribonucleic acid (RNA) ruled the primordial soup. Or so the story goes, according to what’s known as the RNA World hypothesis. But it seems we may have been too hasty in leaving out RNA’s more complex cousin, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Chemists from the UK …
Read More »