Tech

29 JAN 2022  110 years after a Dutch sailing schooner first took to the seas, the vessel is set to return to its origins becoming the first modern sail commercial sailing cargo ship operating in the North Sea. The Dutch start-up EcoClipper, which plans to provide a sustainable cargo service …

28 JAN 2022 From sea to land to sky, Earth’s systems are contaminated with synthetic substances, and scientists warn it has already pushed the integrity of our planet over the brink. Today, there are about 350,000 human-made chemicals on the market, including plastics, pesticides, industrial chemicals, cosmetic chemicals, antibiotics, and other drugs. The fact this …

23 JAN 2022 Two tankers have had their environmental and safety classification withdrawn by a U.S. company that provides such certification, after accusations by a U.S. advocacy group that they had shipped cargoes of Iranian oil, documents seen by Reuters show. Countries targeted by tougher U.S. sanctions, including Iran and …

22 JAN 2022  Authorities in Ghana have been forced to withdraw a mandatory vaccination policy for seafarers entering the country over concerns that shipping lines will skip its ports, which would have potentially undermined its position as a shipping gateway for West Africa. Ghana, which has managed to vaccinate 16 …

27 JAN 2022 On Jan. 15, 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in Tonga erupted, sending a tsunami racing across the Pacific Ocean in all directions. As word of the eruption spread, government agencies on surrounding islands and in places as far away as New Zealand, Japan and even the …

26 JAN 2022  Somalia is embroiled in a political crisis as tensions soar between its president and prime minister. With parliamentary elections slated to end on February 25, the political environment remains uncertain. This has led to concern in the EU about the future of anti-piracy operations off the Coast …

25 JAN 2022  The U.S. State Department’s ocean boundaries department has issued a comprehensive outline of the U.S. government’s views of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea. The South China Sea is a large, semi-enclosed sea surrounded by Brunei, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Vietnam. …

24 JAN 2022  The ocean is becoming ever more central to our economies. Around 80 percent of internationally traded goods are transported by sea, and even brief blockages cause panic in global markets. Fishing remains big business, but in the 21st-century fish farming is even bigger. Most fossil fuel discoveries this century have happened …

23 JAN 2022 Wherever there is sand and an atmosphere, prevailing winds may whip the grains into undulating shapes, pleasing to the eye with their calming repetition. Certain sand waves, with wavelengths between 30 centimeters (almost 12 inches) and several meters (around 30 feet), are known as megaripples: they’re between ordinary …

22 JAN 2022  The Danish Maritime Accident Investigation Board (DMAIB) has published its report on the grounding of the coastal freighter Beaumaiden just off the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm last year. The vessel missed a waypoint and headed straight into harm’s way because the captain left the bridge and fell asleep …