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16 May 2023

Asian Shipowners’ Association Calls for Action on Seafarer Safety

© remipiotrowski / Adobe Stock

The Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) held its 32nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 16 in Shanghai with focus of much of the discussion on the safety of seafarers.The meeting was hosted by the China Shipowners’ Association (CSA) and attended by more than 230 representatives from ASA Ordinary/Associate members.The ASA said that unfair treatment of seafarers has a severe impact on seafarers' physical and mental well-being and a damaging effect on the image of the shipping industry and its ability to attract and retain qualified seafarers.

21 Apr 2023

US Set to Blow Up Fake Warship in the South China Sea

Amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island (LHD 8), right, transits with Philippine navy ships BRP Tarlac (FF 601), left, and BRP Jose Rizal (FF 150) during a replenishment-at-sea rehearsal for Balikatan 23, April 15, 2023 in the Philippines territorial waters. (Photo: Kendra Helmbrecht / U.S. Navy)

As part of a joint military exercise with the Philippines, the U.S. Navy is slated to sink a mock warship on April 26, 2023, in the South China Sea.The live-fire drill is not a response to increased tensions with China over Taiwan, both the U.S. and the Philippines have stressed. But, either way, Beijing isn’t happy – responding by holding its own staged military event involving actual warships and fighter jets deployed around Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own.The tit-for-tat war games underscore a reality that U.S.

23 Mar 2023

Uncrewed Boats Are Changing the Way Wars Are Fought at Sea

An L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 unmanned surface vessel sails behind Royal Bahrain Naval Force missile corvette RBNS Al Muharraq (P 51) during a vessel boarding drill in the Arabian Gulf during exercise Neon Defender, Jan. 22. (Photo: Anita Chebahtah / U.S. Navy)

When Ukraine successfully deployed self-driving “drone” boats for a major attack on the Russian navy at Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2022 it was a defining moment that changed the future of naval warfare. Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have been used before, but this was the first instance of multiple, armed USVs, used simultaneously in combination with aerial drones for a successful, offensive naval operation on a military target.Several Russian ships were damaged in the attack…

16 Jan 2023

Indonesia Dispatches Warship to Monitor Chinese Coast Guard Vessel Near Offshore Fields

©Harbour Energy

Indonesia has deployed a warship to its North Natuna Sea to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel that has been active in a resource-rich maritime area, the country's naval chief said on Saturday of an area that both countries claim as their own.Ship tracking data shows the vessel, CCG 5901, has been sailing in the Natuna Sea, particularly near the Tuna Bloc gas field and the Vietnamese Chim Sao oil and gas field since Dec. 30, the Indonesian Ocean Justice Initiative told Reuters.A warship…

20 Dec 2021

Does the US Have the Right to Sail Warships Through the South China Sea?

(Photo: Olivia Banmally / U.S. Navy)

Images of what appeared to be U.S. warships emerged from China last month, but they were not anywhere near an ocean. In fact, they were thousands of kilometers away, in a desert in western China.Military experts said the mock-ups of U.S. warships were part of a new target range developed by the People’s Liberation Army. The images demonstrate how seriously China is taking the repeated appearances of foreign warships in waters it claims to control – and why this is a worry for the stability of the region.In late November, a U.S.

26 May 2021

Denmark to Send Frigate to Protect Shipping in the Gulf of Guinea

(Photo: Photo: Danish Navy)

Danish Parliament on Tuesday approved plans to send a naval warship to boost maritime security in one of the world's top piracy hot spots. In the fall of 2021 the European country will deploy its frigate Esbern Snare to the Gulf of Guinea off Africa's west coast where it will contribute to international efforts to curb rampant piracy.As the world’s fifth largest marine nation Denmark said on average 30-40 Danish operated ships sail through the Gulf of Guinea daily, carrying some $1.6 billion in goods annually.In March…

19 Aug 2020

Wakashio Spill Highlights Importance of Adopting Latest International Legal Instruments

(Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies)

The ongoing oil pollution incident from the grounded 203,000 DWT bulk carrier MV Wakashio is threatening an ecological catastrophe around the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, endangering corals, fish and other marine life already under threat from climate change (IPCC 2018).In addition, it risks bringing devastating consequences for the economy, food security, health and tourism industry. Tourism in Mauritius - a popular destination for its pristine beaches - reportedly contributed about $1.6 billion to its economy during the last year…

07 May 2020

Opinion: Maritime Freedom & the Global Commons

Freedom of Navigation: The guided-missile destroyer USS Lassen (DDG 82) escorts the merchant vessel Tomahawk through the Strait of Hormuz.
(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael H. Lehman/Released)

“Freedom” – the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic governmentIt has been decades since international relations in the world order dictated true competition for sea control, sea lines of communication, access to world markets, and diplomatic partnerships. However, it is becoming increasingly alarming that nations such as Iran, China and Russia seek to accumulate/consolidate power and re-define international maritime norms, potentially at the peril of diplomatic…

21 Aug 2019

UN Treaty to Protect Marine Biodiversity

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretariat is attending the latest in a series of conferences to develop a legally binding international instrument, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction - known as 'BBNJ'.According to the UN body, the 3rd Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) is being held at UN Headquarters in New York, United States (19-30 August). The current Conference session is the third in a series, with the fourth (final session) set to take place in the first half of 2020.The current conference session is discussing the draft treaty text.

04 Aug 2019

Shippers Urge Action on Hormuz Issue

Pic: International Chamber of Shipping

Following the seizure of the oil tanker ‘Stena Impero’ on 19 July, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), the European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) and the Asian Shipowners' Association (ASA) jointly urge immediate action by the international community to stop the escalation of tensions and fully respect international law. All countries should ensure the safe passage of merchant vessels, by respecting the Freedom of Navigation enshrined in Article 87(1)a and…

15 Mar 2019

Submarine Cables Writing Award

Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) sponsors the Rhodes Academy Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea.

Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) sponsors the Rhodes Academy Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea. With the award, the ICPC seeks to foster scholarship regarding submarine cables and the law of the sea and promote the rule of law as applied to submarine cables. In 2018, the selection jury chose Ms. Liao Xuexia of China as the winner for her paper titled: “Protection of Submarine Cables against Acts of Terrorism.”Each year…

10 Dec 2018

Scientist Pool Data to Create the $3B Ocean Map

© peteri/Adobe Stock

For experts in the field of ocean mapping it is no small irony that we know more about the surfaces of the Moon and Mars than we do about our planet's sea floor."Can you imagine operating on the land without a map, or doing anything without a map?" asked Larry Mayer, director of the U.S.-based Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, a research body that trains hydrographers and develops tools for mapping."We depend on having that knowledge of what's around us - and the same is true for the ocean…

05 Dec 2018

India Plans Deep Dive for Seabed Minerals

© Mykola Mazuryk / Adobe Stock

In the 1870 Jules Verne classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", underwater explorer Captain Nemo predicted the mining of the ocean floor's mineral bounty - zinc, iron, silver and gold.India is catching up with that only now, as it prepares to unearth treasures down below, aiming to boost its economy.The floor of the world's seas is scattered with vast beds of black potato-shaped polymetallic nodules comprising copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earth elements.These natural goodies are key to making modern gadgets…

06 Sep 2018

IMO for Protecting Oceans and High Seas

Ships plying their trade across the world’s oceans are subject to stringent environmental, safety and security rules, which apply throughout their voyage. The comprehensive regulatory framework developed by International Maritime Organization (IMO) for international shipping has been highlighted during a United Nations oceans conference in New York, United States (4-17 September).A press release from IMO said that  the conference is taking the first steps towards developing a legally binding international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction - known as ‘BBNJ’.IMO regulations are enforced through a well-established system of flag, coastal and port State control.

05 Sep 2018

ICS-UN Negotiation on Future Ocean Governance

International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) is representing shipowners at the start of a major negotiation to agree a new legal instrument for the protection of the ocean under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – which will apply to ‘high seas’ areas ‘beyond national jurisdiction’.Addressing government negotiators in New York today (5 September), ICS Chairman, Esben Poulsson, highlighted the need to ensure that this UN initiative will not “unwittingly” impact on the effective future governance of global shipping, potentially interfering with principles such as freedom of navigation, or otherwise cutting across the work of shipping’s global regulator…

18 Jan 2018

UK Chamber Stand on Seafarers Minimum Wage

The Government's newly issued 'Guide to the application of the Equality Act 2010 and National Minimum Wage for seafarers' does not make any change to legal entitlement for those working in UK waters, the UK Chamber of Shipping advises. "The guide does not amend the law and there has been no change in the entitlement of any seafarer in respect of the National Minimum Wage or the Equality Act. It is hoped that the clarification of the current position provided by the guide will be of use to companies and seafarers," says Tim Springett, policy director at the UK Chamber of Shipping, who specialises in employment issues. The new guidance is the first of its kind on the application of the National Minimum Wage specifically to seafarers.

18 Oct 2017

Canadian Legislation Will Interfere with International Maritime Trade, Says ICS

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing the world’s national shipowners’ associations and 80% of the world merchant fleet, has voiced deep concern about a proposed legislation in Canada which it says will interfere with international maritime trade. The Canadian Parliament is giving consideration to legislation that would have the effect of establishing a moratorium on the shipment of crude oil in the waters of Northern British Columbia (Bill C-48: An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast).

07 Aug 2017

ASEAN, China Adopt Framework for Code on South China Sea

Foreign ministers of Southeast Asia and China adopted on Sunday a negotiating framework for a code of conduct in the South China Sea, a move they hailed as progress but seen by critics as tactic to buy China time to consolidate its maritime power. The framework seeks to advance a 2002 Declaration of Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea, which has mostly been ignored by claimant states, particularly China, which has built seven manmade islands in disputed waters, three of which are equipped with runways, surface-to-air missiles and radars. All parties say the framework is only an outline for how the code will be established but critics say the failure to outline as an initial objective the need to make the code legally binding and enforceable…

30 Jun 2017

Piracy Situation Serious in Gulf of Guinea

European shipowners are concerned about the continued piracy, armed robbery attacks and kidnapping for ransom events in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG), and particularly off Nigeria. According to the latest International Maritime Bureau (IMB) Piracy report in total 33 vessels were boarded and four fired upon in the first three months of 2017 worldwide. During the same period, of the 27 seafarers kidnapped for ransom, 63% were in the Gulf of Guinea. In its Global Maritime Security Conclusions adopted 19 June, the Environment Council recognised the problematic situation in the Gulf of Guinea. It underlined the need for regional states to take ownership and adapt their legal systems in order to fight piracy.

17 Apr 2017

Lines in the Water

Photo: Carlos Rivera / U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

There are a variety of jurisdictional lines in the water. The first line to be considered is the national boundary between two adjacent or nearby countries. Adjacent countries tend to draw agreed boundaries extending their shoreside boundaries, with accommodations for headlands, capes, etc. Most national boundaries have been agreed upon long ago. A few, though, are not officially resolved. Somewhat surprisingly, of the four marine boundaries between Canada and the U.S., three are still in dispute.

29 Dec 2016

India, Indonesia Firm Up Maritime Co-operation

Asia’s most populous democracies and emerging powers, have firmed up a blueprint for enhancing maritime cooperation and resolved to jointly combat terror. India and Indonesia enjoy a good maritime partnership. India has backed Indonesia on the latter’s escalating dispute with China on territorial claims in South China Sea. This nexus is expected to irk China. “Indonesia is our most important partner as part of our ‘Act East’ policy,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said in a joint statement with Indonesian President Joko Widodo. India and Indonesia have affirmed their commitment to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos). "Both leaders committed to maintaining a maritime legal order based on the principles of international law…

16 Nov 2016

IMO’s Climate Change Mandate

An audience of lawyers and academics have heard that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) gives a clear mandate for IMO to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment from or through the atmosphere and to address climate change. The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Fred Kenney, speaking at seminar in London on November 14, said that Article 212 of UNCLOS complemented the Paris Agreement on Climate Change to give IMO Member States a clear role to continue to build on the work already done to address the energy efficiency of ships. Kenney highlighted the mandatory energy efficiency requirements under MARPOL Annex VI…

18 Oct 2016

ICS Letter to Canadian Transport Minister

Peter Hinchliffe (Photo: ICS)

ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe reaches out to the Canadian Transport Minister in a letter this week. I am writing on behalf of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) which is the principal global trade association for shipowners representing over 80% of the world merchant fleet. ICS membership comprises national shipowners’ associations from 37 nations, and includes the Canadian Shipowners’ Association and the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. ICS represents all sectors and trades of the shipping industry…

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