Seacurus Daily: Top Ten Maritime News Stories 13/07/2017
1. Stricken Ship Arrives Home
The USS Fitzgerald has entered dry dock at a United States Navy base in Yokosuka, Japan to continue repairs and assess damage following its June 17 collision with a merchant vessel off the coast of Japan. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) entered dry dock July 11 at the Fleet Activities (FLEACT) Yokosuka base. “We used two of our yard tugboats and four pusher boats to move Fitzgerald from Berth 12 to the dry dock,” said FLEACT Yokosuka’s Harbor Movements Officer, Chief Warrant Officer Galo Moreira.
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2. Grounded Vessel Still Leaking
Twenty months after it grounded along the western coastline of Mexico, the Los Llanitos bulk carrier is leaking oil, despite authorities having claimed that all fuel had been removed in November 2015. The 223 m ran aground near Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, during Hurricane Patricia in October 2015. At the time it looked like the ship would break up on the rocks. Authorities mulled scuttling it to create an artificial reef. They also looked at the possibility of dismantling it on site. However, in the end nothing has happened, and the vessel is still lying prone on rocks near the tourist town of Puerto Vallarta.
Twenty months after it grounded along the western coastline of Mexico, the Los Llanitos bulk carrier is leaking oil, despite authorities having claimed that all fuel had been removed in November 2015. The 223 m ran aground near Barra de Navidad, Jalisco, during Hurricane Patricia in October 2015. At the time it looked like the ship would break up on the rocks. Authorities mulled scuttling it to create an artificial reef. They also looked at the possibility of dismantling it on site. However, in the end nothing has happened, and the vessel is still lying prone on rocks near the tourist town of Puerto Vallarta.
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3. Stuck on a Reef
Lomar Shipping’s 2,194 teu Kea Trader boxship has run onto a reef off New Caledonia. The ship hit the Durand Reef, some 100 km southeast of the island of Mare. No one was injured and authorities have not spotted any signs of pollution yet. An investigation into the incident is now underway. New Caledonia is a French territory comprising dozens of islands in the South Pacific. It’s known for its palm-lined beaches and marine-life-rich lagoon, which, at 24,000-sq.-km, is among the world’s largest. A massive barrier reef surrounds the main island, Grand Terre, a major scuba-diving destination, so this is especially concerning.
Lomar Shipping’s 2,194 teu Kea Trader boxship has run onto a reef off New Caledonia. The ship hit the Durand Reef, some 100 km southeast of the island of Mare. No one was injured and authorities have not spotted any signs of pollution yet. An investigation into the incident is now underway. New Caledonia is a French territory comprising dozens of islands in the South Pacific. It’s known for its palm-lined beaches and marine-life-rich lagoon, which, at 24,000-sq.-km, is among the world’s largest. A massive barrier reef surrounds the main island, Grand Terre, a major scuba-diving destination, so this is especially concerning.
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4. Sniffer Drones to Deploy
Denmark continues to crack down on polluting ships, deploying ever smarter technology to track down operators flouting local ECA rules. The country’s environmental protection agency (EPA) has signed a deal with local startup Explicit to monitor ships’ sulfur emission levels using a “unique new sniffer technology”.
“The objective is to detect and deter violations of the 0.10% ECA restriction on sulphur in the bunker fuel,” the EPA stated. “The new Mini Sniffer System is capable of measuring both sulphur and NOX emissions from vessels to determine their compliance, and is small enough to be carried on a drone.
goo.gl/3tDufd
goo.gl/3tDufd
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5. Giant Ice Shelf Breaks Off
Satellite imagery and remote sensor data confirm that the Larsen C ice shelf has finally released a giant iceberg, a massive sheet large enough to cover most of Delaware. The shelf has been cracking for years and scientists had long anticipated the event. The immediate consequences for sea level rise are minimal, and the event’s connection to climate change is not clear. "We see no obvious signal that climate warming is causing the whole of Antarctica to break up. However, along the Antarctic Peninsula, where we have seen several decades of warming through the latter half of the 20th century.
goo.gl/PgzDzb
goo.gl/PgzDzb
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6. Ship Breaking Eastern Promise
There were a total of 210 ships broken in the second quarter of 2017. 158 of these ships ended up on South Asian beaches for dirty and dangerous breaking, said NGO Shipbreaking Platform. The Platform was able to document five accidents at the shipbreaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh, between April and June, which led to the death of four workers and the injury of two. This is an incredibly dangerous occupation, and the deaths demonstrate that there is still much to be done to improve the situation.
goo.gl/CifH4f
There were a total of 210 ships broken in the second quarter of 2017. 158 of these ships ended up on South Asian beaches for dirty and dangerous breaking, said NGO Shipbreaking Platform. The Platform was able to document five accidents at the shipbreaking yards in Chittagong, Bangladesh, between April and June, which led to the death of four workers and the injury of two. This is an incredibly dangerous occupation, and the deaths demonstrate that there is still much to be done to improve the situation.
goo.gl/CifH4f
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7. Mega Oil Storage
The biggest oil traders feeling the squeeze in a world awash with crude are seeking an edge by offering tailor-made cargoes in an offshore megastore. By selling bespoke from a fleet of ships anchored off Singapore and Malaysia, the likes of Vitol Group, Trafigura Group, Glencore Plc and Gunvor Group are seeking to lure buyers who are becoming more demanding. With crude from the U.S. to Africa and Europe stored in their tankers, the traders can mix and match oil of differing quality and characteristics to offer made-to-measure cargoes that meet their customers’ niche specifications.
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8. Updated Wreck Notices
The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency has issued an updated notice, advising on the roles and responsibilities of the Receiver of Wreck and the law relating to wreck and salvage, and the responsibilities and rights of wreck owners and salvors, and how to report wreck material. In the UK, the Receiver of Wreck is responsible for processing incoming reports of wreck and ensures that the interests of both salvor and owner are taken into consideration by: researching and establishing who owns the wreck liaising with the finder and owner, and other interested parties such as archaeologists and museums
goo.gl/zMyi4T
goo.gl/zMyi4T
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9. Right Wing, Migrant Rescues
The right-wing "Generation Identity" youth movement has raised $100,000 to charter a ship for an "identitarian search and rescue mission" off the coast of Libya. The self-described "mission to save Europe, to stop illegal immigration, and end the dying on the sea" would entail three tasks. First, the mission would monitor rescue vessels operated by charitable NGOs and report their activities to the Libyan Coast Guard; second, it would "intervene when they’re doing something illegal;" and third it would rescue migrants in distress and return all rescued migrants to Libya.
The right-wing "Generation Identity" youth movement has raised $100,000 to charter a ship for an "identitarian search and rescue mission" off the coast of Libya. The self-described "mission to save Europe, to stop illegal immigration, and end the dying on the sea" would entail three tasks. First, the mission would monitor rescue vessels operated by charitable NGOs and report their activities to the Libyan Coast Guard; second, it would "intervene when they’re doing something illegal;" and third it would rescue migrants in distress and return all rescued migrants to Libya.
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10. Be Cyber Aware Film
The official premiere of Be Cyber Aware At Sea, a short film, made all the more topical in the wake of the recent Petya attack that hit Maersk particularly hard has received its premiere. The event took place at the UK Chamber of Shipping with the film’s executive producer, Chris Young from Fidra Films in attendance.
The film is now available for anyone to view for free. This educational resource is aimed at changing the way those at the sharp end behave, building a first line of defence against cyber attacks, system failures and the occasional act of potentially costly stupidity.
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