In latest environment probe

China detains 95, punishes 2,500 firms

Shanghai - China has punished more than 2,500 firms and detained 95 people after an inspection across eight provinces turned up instances of illegal quarrying and wetland encroachments among others, the environment ministry said. The inspection teams fanned out from Beijing last month to assess compliance with environmental laws and regulations in the provinces and regions of Shanxi, Liaoning, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hunan, Guangxi and Yunnan.

After Musk u-turn on the value

How big is Bitcoin's carbon footprint? / FOCUS

London - Tesla boss Elon Musk's sudden u-turn over accepting bitcoin to buy his electric vehicles has thrust the cryptocurrency's energy usage into the headlights. Some Tesla investors, along with environmentalists, have been increasingly critical about the way bitcoin is "mined" using vast amounts of electricity generated with fossil fuels

After cybersecurity attack

Colonial Pipeline halts all pipeline operations

New York - Colonial Pipeline, the largest U.S. refined products pipeline operator, has halted all operations after it fell victim to a cybersecurity attack on Friday, the company said. The company learned of the attack on Friday and took systems offline to contain the threat, it said in a statement. That action has temporarily halted operations and affected some of its IT systems, it said

Stephanie Kelly
next week

Germany, France, Spain aim for fighter jet agreement

Berlin - Disagreements over intellectual property rights mean Germany, France and Spain have yet to agree the next steps for a joint fighter jet project, the defence ministry in Berlin said on Saturday after a deadline to find a solution ran out

Cattle

Greece delivers food to cattle ship at sea for months

Greece will deliver 50 tons of animal feed to the Togo-flagged ElBeik, which has been stuck at sea for nearly three months in the Mediterranean carrying hundreds of cattle rejected by their buyers amid fears of disease

Rush for renewable energy hurting rural and indigenous communities disproportionately

Indigenous people "under threat" from Asia clean energy push

Ban Khu - Muhammad Lamoh had no inkling that his small village of Ban Khu in southern Thailand would be key to the nation's renewable energy goals, until local authorities called a community meeting to inform them of a plan to build a biomass plant. The 25 megawatt plant began operating in March last year, despite villagers' concerns about its effects on their health

Rina Chandran
U.N. report

North Korea developed nuclear, missile programs in 2020

New York - North Korea maintained and developed its nuclear and ballistic missile programs throughout 2020 in violation of international sanctions, helping fund them with some $300 million stolen through cyber hacks, according to a confidential United Nations report seen by Reuters on Monday. The report by independent sanctions monitors said Pyongyang "produced fissile material, maintained nuclear facilities and upgraded its ballistic missile infrastructure"

Michelle Nichols
Lost 36 boxes

Containers fall from Evergreen Marine vessel in rough seas

Taipei - Strong winds and rough seas caused dozens of containers on a Taiwan-based Evergreen Marine Corp. vessel to fall into the ocean off Japan's Kyushu on Wednesday after the ship departed from Busan for Los Angeles, the shipping company said Saturday. In a statement, Evergreen Marine, the largest shipper in Taiwan, said the incident happened when the "Ever Liberal" encountered strong winds about 20 nautical miles

Al Shabaab claiming responsibility

Turkish company attacked in Somalia, four dead

Istanbul - A car bomb targeting workers of a Turkish company killed four people including one Turkish citizen on Saturday in Somalia, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said. The company's staff were working on the construction of a road between Mogadishu and Afgoye, northwest of the capital, the ministry statement said. Abdiasis Abu Musab, military operation spokesman for the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab, said the group was behind the attack

Adrift in South China sea

"Hyun Jin" ship abandoned

Singapore - Tanker "Hyun Jin" is reported to be abandoned, drifting in South China sea in vicinity 19 00N 115 00E in the afternoon Nov 24. Tanker was en route to Singapore, ETA Nov 25. Last AIS signal dated Nov 19, when tanker was passing Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Tanker "Hyun Jin", IMO 8910940, dwt 1220, built 1989, flag Niue, manager Mrm Services, Singapore

In Piraeus

Propeller Club cleans the Votsalakia Beach

Athens - In an original and socially responsible way, the Propeller Club celebrated the 85th anniversary of its founding, by symbolically cleaning the Votsalakia Beach in Piraeus, on Sunday, October 25th. More than 60 volunteers, led by President Mr. Costis Frangoulis and Members of the Board of Governors, participated in the cleanup, meticulously following the protection measures taken due to the pandemic

Strategies

Israel venture capital firm JVP in talks for potential UAE innovation centre

Dubai - Israeli venture capital firm Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) is in talks with potential partners in the United Arab Emirates to set up an innovation hub there, its chairman said on Monday. JVP Chairman Erel Margalit has met with potential partners and looked at at least one possible site for a hub during a visit to the UAE this week

Alexander Cornwell
Nobody injuried

Ship hits dock at Port of Port of Spain

Port of Spain - A container ship, the "Kourou", ran into the dock at the Port of Port of Spain on Saturday night, Seamen and Waterfront Workers trade Union (SWWTU) head Michael Annisette confirmed to Newsday on Sunday

At the Bayonne Container Terminal

"YM Mandate" leaking oil in New York

New York - A crack has been found in the hull of the "YM Mandate", which has lead to a significant oil leak at the Bayonne Bridge Terminal in New Jersey. The US Coast Guard has intervened to stem an oil spill from the fuel tanks of Yang Ming Marine Transport’s 6,572TEU container vessel, "YM Mandate" in the port of New York and New Jersey

The promise

ArcelorMittal commits to becoming carbon neutral by 2050

Brussels - ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaker, committed on Wednesday to being carbon neutral by 2050, although it said a level playing field with green border adjustments and abundant, affordable clean energy would be required to get there. The company, which makes around 5% of the world's steel, said last year it aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 30% by 2030

Containers

CMA CGM hit by cyber attack

Marseille - French liner major CMA CGM confirmed that it was currently dealing with a cyber-attack impacting peripheral servers. The attack does not include CEVA Logistics: “As soon as the security breach was detected, external access to applications was interrupted to prevent the malware from spreading

The report

Global net zero emissions goal would require $1-2 trln a year investment / FOCUS

London - Achieving net zero emissions by mid-century would cost an estimated $1 trillion-$2 trillion a year of additional investments, or 1-1.5% of global gross domestic product, a report by the Energy Transitions Commission (ETC) said on Wednesday. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to reach net zero

Nina Chestney
The incident

Mitsui OSK to spend $9.4 mln on Mauritius clean-up after oil spill

"We will provide long-term contributions to the environment and the society of Mauritius with the support and cooperation of experts and organizations with specialized knowledge of environmental restoration and protection," the company said in a statement

Diplomacy

Israeli tech's thirst for UAE cash must overcome old enmity / FOCUS

Dubai - A thaw in relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates has raised expectations of an influx of funding in Silicon Wadi, Israel's answer to Silicon Valley: "The UAE has excess amounts of money, but not enough places to invest it in the Middle East" said Eldad Tamir, founder and CEO of the Tamir Fishman investment house, one of Israel's top investment funds

Hadeel Al Sayegh and Steven Scheer
Interpol report

Crime networks profit from China plastic trash import ban

Shanghai - Criminal networks are smuggling plastic trash from the West to illegal recycling plants in Asia, profiting from a 2018 ban on waste imports in China where the bulk of used plastic was previously processed, Interpol said on Friday. The decline in the number of legal export channels for millions of tonnes of waste has "opened the door to illegal business opportunities," the police organisation said in a report

Pressing on Brussels

European battery makers power up for a green recovery

Bruxelles - European battery makers are gearing up to take advantage of massive "green" stimulus packages unveiled since the coronavirus pandemic though many acknowledge it will be tough to match the Asian giants that dominate the mainstream market. While Sweden's Northvolt, and more recently France's Verkor, are making a play for large-scale production

Kate Abnett, Matthew Green and Norihiko Shirouzu
The MV "Wakashio"

Japanese ship that caused Mauritius oil spill passed annual checks

Tokyo - The Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground off Mauritius and has leaked at least an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil, passed the latest annual inspection in March with no problems, Japan's ClassNK inspection body said on Tuesday. The ship, MV "Wakashio", is owned by Nagashiki Shipping and operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, which said earlier on Tuesday it had set up a task force and was cooperating with the authorities in Japan and Mauritius

After Beirut blast

Macron promises angry Beirut crowds aid won't go to "corrupt hands"

Beirut - French President Emmanuel Macron promised angry Lebanese crowds in shattered Beirut that aid to rebuild the city would not go to „corrupt hands“ and he urged the political authorities to carry out reforms or risk plunging Lebanon deeper into crisis.Macron was speaking during the first visit by a foreign leader to the Lebanese capital since the biggest blast in its history tore through the city

The Economy minister says

After blast, Lebanon has less than a month's grain reserves

Beirut - Lebanon's main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month's reserves of the grain but still with enough flour to avoid a crisis, the economy minister said on Wednesday

Persian Gulf

Six square-km oil slick near Bushehr

Teheran - Iranian teams have cleaned up an oil slick near field in the northern region of the Gulf that had extended over a six-square-km (2.3 square mile) area, an Iranian maritime official said on Saturday

U.S. Defence

"We need $10B to pay contractors’ Coronavirus expenses," Pentagon tells Congress

Washington - The Pentagon needs Congress to approve “around $10 billion” to cover defense contractors’ coronavirus-related expenses, a top defense official said Monday. Alan Shaffer, deputy defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment, became the first Defense Department official to put a price tag on the relief effort

Troubles in the Med

Libya releases 14 Ukrainian seafarers after three years in jail

Tripoli - 14 Ukrainian seafarers who were arrested off Libya in 2017 have finally returned home. None of them were ever formally charged with a crime, but officials in Tripoli held them for more than three years. The Ukrainian crew and their ship, the product tanker "Ruta", were intercepted by Libyan Navy forces in April 2017 and detained for allegedly smuggling a cargo of diesel

The ship departed from Algeciras

Maersk boxship hit by explosion off Maryland, crewman evacuated

Ocean City - A containership operated by Danish shipping major Maersk suffered an explosion some 275 miles off the coast of Ocean City, Maryland, USA, on 5 June. The explosion, which occurred in the engine room of the Post-Panamax vessel "Laura Maersk", caused burn injuries to a crewmember and disabled the vessel, the US Coast Guard said

Nine firefighters injuried

Jaxport car carrier fire contained but not out

Jacksonville - Fire officials in Jacksonville, Florida, say the blaze aboard the "Höegh Xiamen" has been contained but not extinguished. The fire was reported on the seventh deck of the car carrier shortly after loading operations

After container loss

AMSA detains "APL England" over inadequate lashing arrangements

Singapore - "APL England", a Singapore-flagged 5,780 TEU containership, which lost around 40 containers in heavy weather off Sydney last week, has been detained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). Inspections of "APL England" have found inadequate lashing arrangements for cargo and heavily corroded securing points for containers on the deck

Covid-19

Global CO2 emissions could fall by up to 7% this year amid pandemic

China saw the largest drop in emissions in April, followed by the United States, Europe and India. In the countries with the strictest lockdown restrictions, emissions from aviation plunged 75% in early April, while emissions from land transport fell by 50% and from power generation by 15%

Close to Port Canaveral

SpaceX ship rescues boater

Port Canaveral - The crew of the SpaceX Fleet ship "Go Searcher" performed a good Samaritan rescue on Friday while practicing recovery of the Crew Dragon astronaut capsule. The 54-year-old man was rescued by the Good Samaritan vessel near Port Canaveral

Cybersecurity

MSC confirms malware attack

Geneva - Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has confirmed that some of its digital tools and its website were down due to a malware attack. The network outage which was affecting the company’s data centers in Geneva from Friday, April 10, was resolved Wednesday

Trinidad and Tobago

Coast Guardsman charged with Coast Guardsman's death

Port of Spain - Ordinary Seaman Takeem Alexander appeared before a Port of Spain Magistrate on Wednesday charged with the unlawful killing of his colleague, Ordinary Seaman Gyasi Richardson.

Rivaling Fincantieri and Naval Group

Berlin is reportedly brokering a deal to consolidate German naval shipbuilders

Cologne - The German government is facilitating talks between major naval shipbuilders in an effort to set up a national conglomerate rivaling industry champions like Naval Group in France and Fincantieri in Italy, according to a local media report. Negotiations to that effect have been ongoing behind closed doors since the beginning of 2020

Shipping and technology

Wartsila misses Q4 expectations

Finnish ship technology and power-plant maker Wartsila reported on Thursday lower-than-expected quarterly profit, burdened by slower demand

Global warming

Fincantieri enters the nuclear project ITER

Fincantieri has been awarded a prestigious order, worth almost 100 million euros, for a number of high-profile equipment furniture and installations as part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor

Unesco World Heritage Site

Ecuador says Galapagos fuel spill is "under control"

The generator and the loading crane were also submerged. The Emergency Operations Committee (COE) took «immediate action to reduce the environmental risk» in the so-called Enchanted Islands

pollution

MSC starts to use 30% biofuel blends

Geneva - MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) announces that the company is now starting to use biofuel in its vessels calling in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

pollution

EU gas industry warns curbs on lending may harm climate goals

Brussels - Europe’s gas industry lobby warned on Monday that curbs on lending by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and others could slow the switch from coal-fired to less polluting gas-fired power plants and harm the bloc’s climate ambitions.

casualties

Spanish warship goes aground

La Manga - The Spanish Navy minesweeper “Turia” went aground Tuesday morning off La Manga, a narrow peninsula near Cartagena, Spain. The vessel was engaged in a search for a downed Spanish Air Force C-101 training jet at the time of the casualty

casualties

U.S. Coast Guardsman charged with murder

Unalaska - Seven months after a U.S. Coast Guard seaman was found dead in Unalaska (Aleutinian Islands), a fellow member has been charged with his murder. Seaman Ethan Tucker, 19, of Ludington, MI, was charged Wednesday with killing Ethan Kelch, another 19-year-old seaman

pollution

“Italy is defaulting on nuclear waste” says EU Court

Bruxelles - Italy has not communicated to the European Commission the final version of the national program for the nuclear waste management. It was established by the Court of Justice of the European Union, based on 2011/70/2011 Euratom Directive

technology

Fimer acquires ABB solar activities

Milan - Fimer, a company active in the market of inverters for renewable energy for «utility steps», has signed an agreement with ABB for the acquisition of the solar inverter business of the Swedish-Swedish multinational group

technology

Ports of Genoa propose incentives on cold ironing

Genova - «From the economic point of view the cold ironing is a bloodbath: for shipowners, ports, terminal operators ». Believe it, if a say it is Davide Sciutto, responsible Technological systems of the Port System Authority Genova-Savona (Ports of Genoa)

Alberto Quarati
technology

Wärtsilä supports Italy in reaching energy targets

Rome - Embassy of Finland in Italy and Wärtsilä Corporation hosted a “Smart Energy Future Seminar ” in Rome, Italy on June 18, 2019. The event focused on analysing how renewable energy is changing the existing electricity market in Italy

pollution

Cruise ship caught exceeding sulphur limit at Gieranger

Gieranger - The Norwegian Maritime Authority has fined Greek cruise ship operator Global Cruise Lines Ltd. a total of $80,000 for using 0.17% sulphur fuel in a 0.10% sulfur ECA zone. In March,new Norwegian environmental requirements for emissions in several protected fjords entered into force

casualties

One dead in fishing vessel fire off Catalonia

Port de la Selva - One fisherman died and four were injured Friday when a fire broke outaboard a trawler off Port de la Selva, Catalonia. At about 08.00 hours, while the trawler “Barranco” was operating in French waters, she caught fire due to unknown causes

technology

France and Germany commit to European electric battery industry

Paris - France and Germany agreed on Thursday to jointly invest in the European production of electric vehicle batteries, taking on the United States and China in what is emerging as one of the world’s most competitive industries.

By Myriam Rivet
technology

Corvus supplies first all-electric workboat

Bergen - Corvus Energy will supply a 550kWh Energy Storage System (ESS) for a new all-electric skimmer workboat. The ESS will allow the boat to be in full working mode for four to five hours, and a full battery charge will take just two hours. In addition, the vessel has solar panels on board

casualties

IMB: global piracy drops by 42% in Q1 2019

London - The first quarter of 2019 saw fewer incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships, compared to the first three months of 2018, a report shows, According to the report issued by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB)

casualties

Three killed in submarine explosion

Bandar Abbas - Three staffers in Iran’s defense industries have been killed in an explosion in a submarine under construction in the country’s south. The explosion took place at a ship-building factory about 37 kilometers west of the southern port of Bandar Abbas that overlooks the Strait of Hormuz

casualties

Tanker grounds in Greek waters

Gavrio - A small clean tanker ran aground near the Port of Gavrio,Andros island in Greece, on March 16. The 1,000 dwt “Agios Georgios I” grounded after it struck on rocks that knocked a small hole in the ship’s hull, Hellenic Coast Guard said

technology

Floating nuclear plant “Sturgis” dismantled

Galveston - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the decommissioning and dismantling of the “Sturgis”, the world’s first floating nuclear power plant, on Friday. The Sturgis was being built in the 1940’s as a World War II Liberty Ship

casualties

Crashes heap pressure on Boeing

Addis Ababa - Investigators into the Boeing Co 737 MAX crash in Ethiopia have found striking similarities in a vital flight angle with an airplane that came down off Indonesia, a source said, piling pressure on the world’s biggest planemaker

Maggie Fick and Tim Hepher
casualties

Airlines fear long grounding of Boeing 737 MAX

Addis Ababa - The grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets after the crash in Ethiopia has had no immediate financial impact on airlines using the planes, but it will get painful for the industry the longer they do not fly, companies and analysts said on Friday

Richard Lough and Aaron Maasho
casualties

Grounded bulker spills fuel oil on reef

Guadalcanal - The grounded bulker “Solomon Trader” has spilled an estimated 60 tonnes of fuel oil onto a sensitive reef on Rennell Island, the southernmost island in the Solomons. She has an estimated 600 tonnes remaining on board, raising the possibility of additional pollution before salvage efforts are completed

casualties

Tanker officer dies due to poor safety culture

Hull - An officer aboard the chemical oil tanker “Nabucco” died following an accident at Associated British Ports (ABP) Terminal number 1 jetty in Saltend, Hull, according to an accident report released on February 15. The accident occurred on June 26, 2017, as the GEFO-operated tanker was berthed alongside in Saltend

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