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Turkey has finally banned the toxic aircraft carrier SÃO PAULO from entering its national waters for scrapping. For weeks, local environmental and labor rights groups, supported by international NGOs, have been protesting the voyage of the vessel from Brazil to Aliağa, demanding compliance with the Basel and Barcelona Conventions.

“From a marvelous public march with participation of thousands of people in Aliağa to theatrical demonstrations in the center of İzmir and public statements in front of official buildings, all people came together around the one single demand: to stop this toxic ship,” says Gokhan Ersoy, Project Development Officer at Greenpeace Mediterranean.

“Digital and conventional signature petitions reached more than 150.000 people within a month! The will and never-ending commitment of people forced policy makers to reconsider the mistake they had made.”

The decision by Murat Kurum, Turkish Minister of Environment, City and Climate Change, comes after a Brazilian Federal District Court injunction to stop the departure of the ship was not enforced, and the Brazilian government and the buyer of the vessel failed to produce and submit a second Inventory of Hazardous Material (IHM) in order to properly identify the amounts of toxics onboard the ship.

Indeed, a second audit was deemed necessary by Turkey after environmental and human rights organizations challenged the validity of the first one.

“The extraordinary resistance against the export of this ship comes at a moment of intensive environmental damage to this part of the world because of the ‘open door’ waste policy of the Turkish government,” says Asli Odman of Istanbul Health and Safety Labour Watch.

“No environmental or social dumping should be allowed to be able to put the environmental standards on a firm ground. Thus, our struggle is not only a national one.”

Following the cancellation of Turkey’s consent to the transboundary movement, IBAMA (Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) has issued a letter to Oceans Prime Offshore Agenciamento Maritimo Ltda, the exporting company working with the buyer SOK, to arrange the immediate return of the SÃO PAULO to Brazil.

However, to date, the company in control of the vessel has not yet provided information regarding the route change.

“Together with the Basel Action Network (BAN), BAN Asbestos France, Henri Pézerat Association (Work, Health, Environment), International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), İstanbul Isig Meclisi, Greenpeace Mediterranean and Brazilian ABREA (Associação Brasileira dos Expostos ao Amianto), the NGO Shipbreaking Platform is now calling for the governments of Morocco, Spain, and the UK to immediately halt the vessel should it attempt to cross the Strait of Gibraltar,” says Nicola Mulinaris of the NGO Shipbreaking Platform.

“There is no doubt that we are witnessing a clear case of illegal traffic.”

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/turkey-bans-entry-of-toxic-aircraft-carrier-sao-paulo-for-scrapping/

The call for change is clear from the 188 young leaders from 27 different countries, who participated in the Future Maritime Leaders essay competition, organized by the Global Maritime Forum. Top issues in the essays are human safety, inclusion and diversity, health, and wellbeing, and securing future skills and competencies across the industry.

“It was very clear that young thought leaders in the maritime industry have strong visions of what it takes to attract a broad pool of talent. Their message is clear, the maritime industry needs to improve the overall approach to human sustainability, human wellbeing, and work conditions at sea,” says Chair of the selection committee, Christine Loh, Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

The top 30 competition participants and nine previous winners of the essay competition attended a virtual seminar in August 2022 to elaborate on their vision for the maritime industry. Their discussions resulted in a clear call on industry leaders to collectively improve on diversity and inclusion, flexibility, purpose and values, decent work conditions and safety, and overall better career opportunities spanning sea and shore.

“It gives me great hope for the future of the maritime sector to experience the passion and insightfulness from young thought leaders with strong aspirations for making human sustainability a strategic priority across the industry. We will continue to engage with the next generation of maritime leaders to amplify their voices and perspectives on how the maritime industry can improve,” says Susanne Justesen, Project Director, Human Sustainability at the Global Maritime Forum.

The essay competition aims to give students and young professionals aged 18-30 a voice in the debate about how the maritime industry can sustainably address maritime challenges and opportunities – and to give the industry a chance to listen. This year three winners from India, England, and the Philippines highlighted ways in which the maritime industry can significantly improve its approach to human sustainability.

Shaharaj Ahmed, a 22-year-old Economics Student at Yale-NUS College in Singapore, from the Philippines.

In his essay entitled: “Cultivating humane labor practices in the maritime industry,” Shararaj argues that enforcing humane labor practices is the maritime industry’s most critical human sustainability issue. Many seafarers work longer hours and receive lower pay than stipulated in regulations or contracts. Shaharaj proposes to address these problems through stronger enforcement as well as the use of digital technology such as blockchain to give seafarers control of their data.

Apurva Chaubal, a 24-year-old Associate Voyage Manager with Maersk Tankers from Mumbai, India.

In her essays, entitled: “Mental Health & Inclusion: Prioritizing the Need for Awareness & Training,” she discusses how seafaring can be restored as one of the most prestigious careers worldwide by addressing the concerns raised by existing seafarers, including long work hours, low pay, loneliness, and mental health, for example by providing tools such as a global mental health hotline.

James Helliwell, a 27-year-old Project Engineer with Shell in London.

In his essay, entitled “Future Fuels must be safe for seafarers,” he underlines the need to put human sustainability and seafarer safety at the forefront before introducing new zero emission fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen which bring new safety risks. James advocates for the urgent need to do more research on how people onboard ships can interact with these fuels safely.

The winners of the essay competition will participate in Global Maritime Forum’s Annual Summit on 22-23 September in New York, representing the generation of maritime talent. The high-level meeting will convene more than 200 leaders from across the maritime spectrum to identify ways in which maritime stakeholders can take action to create the future we want and need.

Source: https://maritimefairtrade.org/generations-y-z-urge-maritime-industry-to-make-human-sustainability-a-strategic-priority/

The Coast Guard boats of the Security Forces Command rescued 2 people on the boat after the MAYDAY call was made from the cruise boat named “Lady Morag”. Source: 2 people in the boat, which started to take on water off Dipkarpaz, were rescued

Near Dipkarpaz Zafer Burnu, which occurred at 00:30 and started to take in water; Coast Guard teams affiliated to the Security Forces Command rescued the pleasure boat, which was in danger of sinking, and the people on the boat.

After receiving a MAYDAY call 1 mile east of Dipkarpaz Zafer Burnu from the cruise boat Lady Morag, the Coast Guard boats of the Security Forces Command intervened.

It was determined that one of the 2 people on the said excursion boat was injured and in a lying position, and the boat was taking in water from the bow.

British nationals Stephen Andrew TAMS (E-54) and Derek TAMS (E-77) survivors on the boat were delivered to the 112 emergency ambulance.

Source: https://www.news2sea.com/2-people-in-the-boat-which-started-to-take-water-off-dipkarpaz-were-rescued/

A federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday dismissed the criminal indictment against a dive boat captain charged with manslaughter in the deaths of 34 people when the vessel caught fire and sank off the California coast three years ago.

The 75-foot (23-meter) Conception caught fire while most of those onboard were sleeping, killing 33 passengers and a crew member. It is considered one of California’s worst maritime disasters.

U.S. District Judge George Wu said in a ruling that the indictment, handed down on December 2020 against captain Jerry Nehl Boylan by a federal grand jury, must be thrown out because prosecutors had failed to accuse him of gross negligence.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, said prosecutors would seek authorization from the Department of Justice to appeal Wu’s ruling. An attorney for Boylan, 68, could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday.

The indictment accused Boylan of causing the deaths through “misconduct, negligence, and inattention to his duties.”

The U.S. District Court grand jury cited three federal safety violations – failure to assign a night watch or roving patrol aboard the boat, to conduct sufficient crew training or to conduct adequate fire drills.

The victims had been sleeping below deck when the boat went up in flames while anchored near Santa Cruz Island, off the Santa Barbara coast, during a sport diving expedition. They included a family of five, a teacher and his daughter, a diving instructor and marine biologist.

The five surviving crew members, including Boylan, had been above deck in berths behind the wheelhouse and escaped by leaping overboard as the burning boat sank into the Pacific.

They told investigators that flames coming from the passenger quarters were too intense to save anyone trapped below. Coroners investigators determined the victims died of smoke inhalation.

Source: https://www.news2sea.com/judge-throws-out-indictment-of-captain-in-2019-california-boat-fire-that-killed-34/

Britain blocked the entry of the poisoned ship Nae Sao Paulo into the Strait of Gibraltar. It is not known what the route of the ship will be after the decision.

It was learned that the UK blocked the entrance of the Nae Sao Paulo ship, which contains asbestos and intense toxic waste, into the Strait of Gibraltar.

According to the news published by Brazil, the UK announced that the ship will not be able to enter the Strait of Gibraltar unless permission is obtained from the port authority for this transport.

According to online tracking, the aircraft carrier is currently located off the coast of Morocco, near Casablanca on its way to the Strait of Gibraltar at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is not known what the route of the ship will be after the decision.

The ship, named Nae Sao Poulo, to which the people of Izmir reacted, started on 4 August from Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Port and proceeded towards Aliağa, the place where the ship was planned to be dismantled. While the ship was continuing its voyage, many circles, democratic groups, professional organizations, as well as political parties and municipalities in İzmir took a series of actions. After the demonstrations, marches and concerts, the government had to step back.

On August 26, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum announced that a dangerous inventory report was requested for the ship but no response was given and that the conditional dismantling permit was canceled and the ship would not be allowed to enter Turkish territorial waters. Despite the cancellation of the permission, it turned out that SÖK Shipping, which will carry out the dismantling of the ship, did not give the order to stop the ship and only decided to slow down the ship.

Following the developments, the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (IMABA) suspended the export permit of the ship. The Ministry wrote a letter to Ocean Prime, the partner of SÖK Shipping, which handles the import business. The letter called for an immediate return to Brazil, accusing the ship of sailing in illegal traffic. While the route of the ship, which was towed and brought to Turkey by the Alp Center ship, does not change, it continues towards the Strait of Gibraltar.

Experts state that one of the places where the ship can go if international law is applied is Motitania. In Noadibou, the country’s second largest city and also its economic capital, more than 100 abandoned shipwrecks are waiting to be removed off the coast of the White Cape. In the country rich in fish reserves, iron pile shipwrecks pose a danger to the marine ecosystem.

Experts state that there is an excessive amount of polychlorinated biphenyl toxic substance in the region, which is harmful to human health in the long term and whose use is prohibited according to the 2001 Stockholm Treaty. It is stated that the reason for this is the ships buried in deep waters and on the surface and left to rot.

After the nationalization of the fishing industry in the 1980s, the coastline, full of abandoned ships because it was uneconomical, almost resembles a large ship graveyard. Later, it is stated that the situation got out of control after the local rulers of the time allowed out-of-date ships to be abandoned here as well. The European Union Commission has allocated a budget of 28 million euros for the removal of the ships.

Source: https://www.news2sea.com/ship-with-asbestos-blocked-from-entering-gibraltar/

Canada is taking a second crack at developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export industry on its west coast a decade after soaring costs and indigenous opposition derailed a previous wave of proposed LNG terminals.

This time, companies are focusing on smaller west coast projects they bet will be cheaper and faster to build.

“Smaller project are easier to manage, especially in Canada,” Enbridge chief executive Al Monaco told Reuters in an interview. “The need for global LNG is clearer now than it was before, we’re getting a second chance and I hope we don’t blow it this time. We’ve got to get on it right away.”

Environmental and regulatory hurdles to pipeline construction have discouraged new LNG terminals on Canada’s Atlantic coast. Read full story British Columbia’s Pacific coast is close to Canada’s vast Montney shale field and Asian markets, where LNG prices hit a record high last week.

Privately owned Port Edward LNG is raising capital and negotiating off-take agreements with Asian buyers, a Shell-led consortium is studying the feasibility of building Phase 2 of the LNG Canada project and last month Enbridge Inc outlined a C$1.5 billion investment in Pacific Energy Corp’s Woodfibre LNG project.

Woodfibre will start construction in 2023 and the 14 million tonne per annum (mtpa) LNG Canada project in Kitimat is under construction and expected in service in 2025. They are the only two out of 18 proposed projects to get underway.

Building a large LNG terminal in B.C. costs roughly double what it does on the U.S. Gulf Coast, The trend, with the exception of LNG Canada, is for much smaller plants.

Streamlined process
Developers, keen to avoid past mistakes, are securing support from indigenous people early, said Karen Ogen-Toews, CEO of the First Nations LNG Alliance. Companies are also modifying existing infrastructure to avoid lengthy regulatory delays.

“That is one major difference, the scale of these new LNG projects versus the old ones,” said Wood Mackenzie analyst Dulles Wang. “Producers and developers are conscious of the financial risk associated with larger projects.”

Woodfibre LNG will be a 2.1 mtpa project built on a disused pulp mill site near Squamish. Port Edward LNG in northern B.C. will ship just 300,000 tonnes per annum using an existing dock and gas pipelines, and has engaged investment bankers in Houston and London to raise C$350 million in financing.

“There’s no question this is a more streamlined process,” Port Edward LNG President Chris Hilliard said. “By not using the conventional LNG approach we’re able to leverage considerable existing infrastructure.”

Exporting from the west coast opens access to world markets to landlocked Canadian gas producers. But the window to build new terminals is narrow. With the world targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, a report by the International Institute for Sustainable Development warned that Canadian LNG terminals could become stranded assets.

Project economics could be reconfigured to provide faster returns on capital, or terminals could one day be converted to export hydrogen, Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said.

“I think everybody’s trying to get their heads around exactly how that would work,” he told Reuters.

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/canada-sees-west-coast-revival-379033

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd is spending billions on expanding and renewing its fleet and looking at investing in more port infrastructure to extend its edge in the post-COVID 19 world economy, chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told Reuters.

The Hamburg-based company, the world’s fifth-biggest container line, is armed with a huge war chest after reporting record earnings during the coronavirus crisis, which dislodged shipping capacity, clogged up ports and drove up freight rates.

“We have currently ordered 22 ships, twelve of them with 24,000 TEU (20-foot equivalent units) and ten with 13,000 TEU,” the CEO said in an interview.

The new ships are worth around $3 billion and will add almost a quarter to the fleet in TEU terms, Habben Jansen said.

Just last week, the company also launched a fleet renewal program worth a treble digit million sum, covering more than 150 ships, or nearly two thirds of its fleet, while it is eyeing port terminal investments over the next year.

“It would be logical to invest in port terminal infrastructure at locations where we are already strong,” Habben Jansen said, suggesting Europe but adding that North or South America were potential sites.

“I would be surprised if there wasn’t an investment in the terminal area within the next 12 months,” he said.

Recent purchases of stakes in port hubs include Damietta in Egypt, Tanger in North Morocco and JadeWeserPort in Wilhelmshaven.

The CEO stuck by the company’s raised forecasts for full-year 2022 earnings, saying that lower freight rate income and higher energy prices would affect earnings in six or nine months.

“It is true that we are paying significantly more for fuels but there are also first signs that prices of some commodities are falling again,” Habben Jansen said, referring to inflationary pressures.

Turning to capacity, Habben Jansen said that an order book worth 28% of total fleet volumes was excessive.

The overcapacity of the past decade, reaching 60% in some instances, was unlikely to return given stricter environmental rules, binding capacity and mandating slower travelling time, he added.

Source: https://www.maritimeprofessional.com/news/hapag-lloyd-spending-money-fleet-379157

The SafeNav (Safer Navigation) maritime safety project, co-funded by the European Commission and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), was officially launched on Thursday 1 September, according to the company’s release.

“The ambition and objective of the project is to develop and test a highly innovative collision-prevention solution that will significantly reduce the probability of collisions and groundings, thereby enhancing safer navigation for existing vessels and the new generation of ships designed for remote operations and autonomy in the future,” said SafeNav inventor Capt. Jorgen Grindevoll.

The system will consist of a module for automated collision prevention and avoidance, complemented by a decision-support module providing an effective visual representation for navigators of multi-source data harvested from state-of-the-art sensors and other relevant sources.

At the heart of the SafeNav solution is consortium partner Ladar Ltd’s cutting-edge technology LadarTM Sensor Suite technology, which uses an innovative combination of sensors and cameras to detect, classify and track objects/targets, as well as partially submerged objects, in the vessel’s path. Studies will also be carried out on how to avoid collisions with marine mammals.

Consortium member SAYFR will address the root causes of accidents, human behavior on the bridge (navigators) and develop a navigation risk model.

In addition to Ladar Ltd (UK), SAYFR (Norway) and Offshore Monitoring Ltd (Cyprus), the SafeNav consortium comprises a geographically diverse and technically robust group of key partners, including maritime companies Naval Group subsidiary Sirehna (France) and Danaos Shipping Co (Greece) and innovation-oriented SMEs include Global Maritime Services (UK) as marine advisors and Greenov-ITES (France) taking care of the environmental scope. R&D institutes and universities that will participate in the technical development of algorithms for SafeNav include Interuniversitair Micro-Electronica Centrum (IMEC) in Belgium, University of Rijeka (UNIRI) in Croatia and the University of Genova (UNIGE) in Italy.

SafeNav has also received co-funding from the European Commission Foundation Programme, and UK Research and Innovation, under Project No 10038866.

Founded in 2007, O.M. Offshore Monitoring Ltd is committed to improving the efficiency, safety, security and navigation of commercial shipping and related offshore activities by transferring non-maritime emerging technologies into the maritime and offshore marketplace.

Source: https://en.portnews.ru/news/334920/

Pilot boat with 5 people on board collided with breakwater at Kobe Port, Japan, at around 0300 Tokyo time Sep 4. 52-year old skipper of the boat, and 71-year old pilot, died in the collision, 3 crew were seriously injured.

Source: https://www.fleetmon.com/maritime-news/2022/39421/skipper-and-pilot-died-pilot-boat-collision-kobe-v/

New Delhi, Sep 5, (Fast Mail News):– Inmarsat, the world leader in global, mobile satellite communications, has launched Fleet Safety to modernise safety communication and improve safety standards in global shipping. Several years in the making, and a successor to the industry-leading maritime safety service, Inmarsat C, the formal launch follows the successful conclusion of Fleet Safety sea trials.

Fleet Safety was granted International Maritime Organization (IMO) approval under Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) requirements following the assessment by the International Mobile Satellite Organisation (IMSO).

Following the launch of RescueNET and SafetyNET II, Inmarsat has updated documentation and created training material to ensure the industry is ready for the new safety service. In addition, Inmarsat has added Fleet Poll a new data reporting service for Long Range Identification Tracking (LRIT), Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and asset tracking as well as Ships Security Alert System. The next stage is to gain Flag State approval for adoption across the maritime industry.

Peter Broadhurst, Senior Vice President of Safety and Regulatory, Inmarsat Maritime, said “To this day, Inmarsat C forms the backbone of the GMDSS, with more than 100,000 marine terminals having safeguarded the lives of seafarers for over 30 years. However, as we move further into the digital era of shipping, technology can be used for enhanced safety and also provides new ways of tackling emerging challenges. The launch of Fleet Safety marks a turning point in the way satellite communications ensure the preservation of life at sea.”

Delivered via existing FleetBroadband or Fleet One voice and data services with the addition of a Maritime Safety Terminal, Fleet Safety offers unrivalled network availability and global coverage. Its new interface is also optimised for usability, making it easier for seafarers to access critical functionality and communicate with Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres (MRCCs) in an emergency. Now, a network of over 60+ global MRCCs can be contacted by voice or instant messaging at the touch of a button, in seconds.

Fleet Safety also includes an innovative Maritime Safety Information (MSI) interface and a Distress Chat function. The MSI feature allows users to control the stream of MSI broadcasts and download historic broadcasts, which include meteorological, navigational and search-and-rescue warnings. Meanwhile, the Distress Chat capability enables the creation of chat rooms between ships in distress, assisting vessels and MRCCs for quicker response/resolution times.

Given the functionality and features available to Fleet Safety users, Inmarsat has also invested in training seafarers, to help them realise the solution’s full potential. Going above and beyond user instruction, the approach aims to educate crews on the importance of being proactive in maritime distress communications.

“In a precarious situation, notifying rescue authorities early can prove pivotal in saving the ship and, more importantly, the lives of the crew on board,” said Broadhurst. “Seafarers will generally do their utmost to rectify an issue before requesting assistance, but Inmarsat’s Fleet Safety facilitates a culture for personnel to report situations early, rather than wait until events get beyond their control.”

Maritime safety is part of Inmarsat’s DNA. The company was founded in 1979 by the IMO to establish a satellite communications network for protecting the lives of seafarers. With the launch of Inmarsat C in 1991, it became the first satellite operator to meet the stringent requirements of the IMO’s GMDSS – a set of marine safety procedures that Inmarsat helped to define – for ship security alert systems.

Source: https://www.fastmailnews.com/page/detailnews/maritime-safety-communication-modernised-as-inmarsat-launches-fleet-safety/96810

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Older Posts

Turkey Bans Entry Of Toxic Aircraft Carrier São Paulo For Scrapping

Generations Y, Z Urge Maritime Industry To Make Human Sustainability A Strategic Priority

2 people in the boat, which started to take water off Dipkarpaz, were rescued

Judge Throws Out Indictment Of Captain In 2019 California Boat Fire That Killed 34

Ship with asbestos blocked from entering Gibraltar

Canada Sees West Coast LNG Revival as World Scrambles for Gas

Hapag-Lloyd Spending Big Money on Fleet, Eyes Port Invest

SafeNav aims to create groundbreaking digital solution to ensure safer navigation at sea

Skipper and pilot died in pilot boat collision, Kobe

Maritime safety communication modernised as inmarsat launches fleet safety

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