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Bbc News

25 Dec 2016

Arctic Discovery Shocks Scientists

A report from the Washington Post described how high Arctic temperatures had risen by about 36 degrees Fahrenheit last month, coinciding with record-low sea ice levels. Scientists have just discovered something int he Arctic that could totally change how they see the drastically changing temperatures in the region. This was a disturbing trend, as sea ice normally expands at this time of the year. But with a buoy recently reporting temperatures at the North Pole close to the freezing point of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, talk of an Arctic heatwave has experts concerned about the impact of climate change on the area. Climate change may be rearing its ugly head again in the North Pole, as an Arctic heatwave has caused temperatures to rise tens of degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average.

07 Jun 2016

EMC Unveils New Suite of Global Marine VSAT Services

EMC today announced a new global Ku-band VSAT package of connectivity and content for ships at sea, optimized for the next-generation high-throughput satellite (HTS) networks that are now being deployed. “Designed with crew welfare as a top priority, the new EMC VSAT platform offers a combination of services and capabilities never before available from a single marine VSAT supplier,” said Gilles Gillesen, president of EMC’s commercial shipping business unit. EMC’s patented SpeedNet technology solves the age-old problem of latency in web access at sea. Using a proprietary intelligent protocol and global backbone, SpeedNet predictively fetches, compresses and pushes multiple layers of websites at once to local servers.

29 Mar 2015

Container Ship breaks Down off Essex Coast

Lifeboats from Walton and Frinton, and the Harwich have been called out to a container ship ANL Warringa off the coast of Essex which had been reported to be drifting in a major shipping lane.   It was reported to be drifting in the North Sea, 20 miles (32 miles) off the Essex coast, in the key route between Hamburg and the East Coast ports.   The 260 metre-long Warringa has managed to get an anchor down, not far from a wind turbine. The engineers on-board are trying to re-start the engines of the 50,000 tonne container ship.   BBC News reports that one lifeboat remains on the scene awaiting the arrival of commercial tugs to tow the ship to port. Engineers on board are trying to restart the engines.

28 Apr 2014

Deep Sea Mining Agreement Reached

The opening of the world's first mine in the deep ocean comes closer to reality as Canadian mining company, Nautilus Minerals, signs an agreement with the Papua New Guinea Government to start excavating an area of seabed. The project will extract ores of copper, gold and other valuable metals from a depth of 1,500m, The mine will target an area of hydrothermal vents where superheated, highly acidic water emerges from the seabed, where it encounters far colder and more alkaline seawater, forcing it to deposit high concentrations of minerals. The result is that the seabed is formed of ores that are far richer in gold and copper than ores found on land.

14 Apr 2014

Robotic Submarine Begins Flight MH370 Search

Bluefin 21 on deck: Image courtesy of Bluefin Robotics

An international search has focused on waters west of the Australian city of Perth, with teams racing against time to detect signals before the flight recorder batteries – which last about one month – run out, are to send down a [Bluefin Robotics manufactured] Bluefin 21 AUV, reports BBC News. Search chief Angus Houston told the BBC that the Bluefin-21 drone would be sent down as soon as possible to search for wreckage on the sea floor. Teams have been using a towed pinger locator to listen for signals from the plane's "black box" flight recorders.

02 Apr 2014

Tsunami Alerts Triggered by Chile 8.2 Quake

File image Tsumami Warning

A powerful earth quake identified by the US Geological Survey as situated about 52 miles north-west of the mining area of Iquique killed at least 5 people, and 6ft waves have hit some areas of Chile. Power cuts, fires  landslides are also mentioned by BBC News. Citing the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the BBC says that an initial warning was issued for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama, but later all watches and alerts were later lifted except for Chile and Peru. Tsunami watches – in which the danger of tidal waves is deemed to be less serious – had been in place for Costa Rica…

24 Mar 2014

Navy Seals Hand Rogue Tankship Back to Libya

Gulf of Sidra, Libya: Map Wiki CCLÂŁ

The North Korea-flagged tanker had been loaded at a rebel-held port and evaded a naval blockade before being boarded by US Navy Seals south of Cyprus. Its evasion of a naval blockade prompted the Libyan parliament to sack Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, reports BBC News. Rebels had loaded the Morning Glory with oil at the port of Sidra and it was unclear where it was heading. Citing US Government sources the BBC reports that the ship, cargo and crew were handed over ot Libyan forces in international waters off the coast of Libya.

19 Mar 2014

Sea Rescues on a Grand Scale off Coast of Italy

Boat migrants: Photo CCL credit Happolati

Italian authorities inform they have rescued more than 2,000 illegal migrants, many from North Africa, off Sicily's coast in the past 48 hours, reports BBC News. Every year, thousands of migrants try to reach Europe via Spain and Italy. Many of those making the dangerous journey come from Eritrea and Somalia, but in the past year the numbers from Syria have also soared because of the civil war there. Most of the illegal migrants were picked up by Italian navy and coastguard crews, but two private vessels also got involved in the wide-ranging rescue effort in waters south of Sicily.

12 Feb 2014

Atlantic Coasts Brace Against Ice, Severe Storms

Sea storm wind-waves: Photo courtesy of NOAA

A catastrophic ice storm wreaking havoc in the American South is now poised to pummel the eastern seaboard; on the other side of the ocean 'Orange', and 'Red' warnings have been issued by Met Éireann and the UK Met Office respectively. Crowley Maritime has warned customers: 'That due to he severity of the predicted storm tonight through tomorrow, be advised that all Container Terminals in the Port of NY/NJ will be closed Thursday, February 13th. We will advise tomorrow at 1:00 PM the gate opening hours for Friday morning.

05 Feb 2014

Panama Canal Extension Contractors Deny Halting Work

New Panama Lock Gate: Photo courtesy of ACP

The Spanish building company, Sacyr, leading the expansion project on the Panama Canal has denied that work at the waterway has been halted despite word to the contrary by the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) reports BBC News. The Panama Canal Authority and the building companies involved are engaged in a dispute over who should foot $1.6bn (£1bn) in extra costs. Citing remarks by president of Sacyr, Manuel Manrique, BBC News report that no date had been set for construction work to stop.

29 Dec 2013

North Sea Ferry Blaze: 7 Airlifted to Hospital

Ferry King Seaways: Photo WIki CCL

Six crew members and a passenger have been airlifted to hospital after a fire on board the DFDS ferry 'MS King Seaways', while en route from North Shields to Amsterdam, approximately 30 miles off Flamborough Head on the north east coast of England. The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency inform that the Humber Coastguard was contacted  by the MS King Seaways, which had 946 passengers and 127 crew on board. They reported that they had a fire in one of the passenger accommodation blocks, but it had been brought under control and was now out.

16 Dec 2013

Basking Sharks Add Weight to Offshore Project Cancellation

Wind farm: CCL photo

Plans for a £5.4-billion offshore wind farm off the coast of Tiree in the Inner Hebrides have been dropped, partly because of the presence of basking sharks in the area, reports BBC News. The project, if continued, would have had up to 300 turbines and a capacity of up to 1800MW, enough to power one million homes. Scottish Power Renewables (SPR) cited construction issues and a significant presence of basking sharks in the area for its decision. Campaigners against the wind farm welcomed the decision…

04 Dec 2013

Shift in Wind Favourable to UK Offshore Wind Industry

Photo courtesy of EWEA

The government is to make big changes to the way it subsidises renewable energy, with subsidies for windfarms set to rise at the expense of onshore options, reports BBC News. The BBC reports Government ministers as stating that they will cut support for onshore wind and solar energy, but give more backing to offshore wind power. The price producers are promised for onshore wind power and solar energy will be cut from 2015, while the amount paid for offshore wind power will be increased.

29 Nov 2013

Night-Service HK Jetfoil Hits 'Object', 85 Injured

Jetfoil Madeira: Image CCL

About 85 people have been injured, six of them seriously, when the high-speed ferry hit an unidentified object while travelling to the gaming mecca of Macau reports BBC News. The accident, which threw many of the 100+ passengers out of their seats, happened in the early hours of the morning near the island of Hei Ling Chau, while the jetfoil, operating at normal speed, was on a routine voyage from Hong Kong to Macau. Following the incident the jetfoil was towed back to the ferry terminal in HK, reports BBC News citing  Hong Kong officials.

26 Nov 2013

UK's Huge Atlantic Array Wind Farm Project Dropped

Image courtesy of EWEA

Developer RWE Innogy is pulling the plug on the 240-turbine Atlantic Array project, report BBC News citing a  Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) source. The 222m (721ft) tall turbines, planned to be situated in an area 200 sq km, (77 sq miles) about 16.5km (10 miles) from the north Devon coast, 22.5km (14 miles) from south Wales coast and 13.5km (8 miles) from Lundy Island nature reserve, would be capable of producing enough electricity for up to 900,000 homes. DECC commented to the BBC that the scrapping of the scheme was a matter for the developer…

07 Nov 2013

Google Ends Hush-Hush Barge Speculation

A Google barge: Photo courtesy of Portland Tugboat LLC

Following feverish media speculation over the past fortnight about the company's plans, Google has issued a statement saying it intends to use the structures as learning spaces for people to find out about new tech., reports the BBC. One popular theory had been that the vessels would be used as floating wave-powered data centres. Government inspectors had signed confidentiality agreements about the four-storey building in San Francisco Bay and another similar structure off Portland, Maine, unwittingly fuelling the debate. Source: BBC News

06 Nov 2013

Italy to Impose Venice Cruise Ship Restrictions

Venice Cruise Ship: Photo courtesy of 'No Big Ships Committee'

The Italian government has announced it will begin to limit the number of large cruise ships that pass through Venice. Environmentalists have protested against the ships in recent years, saying they damage the city's fragile lagoon, reports BBC News. From January 2014, the number of cruise ships allowed through Venice will be cut by 20%. Ships of more than 96,000 tonnes will be banned from the centre of the city from November next year. Concerns over big ships sailing too close…

28 Oct 2013

Huge Greenland Iron-ore Mine & Terminal Contract Awarded

Ore transhipments: Photo courtesy of London Mining

Greenland has awarded UK-based company London Mining a 30-year licence to build and run a giant iron ore mine, but some opponents say the open-cast mine will cause environmental damage; others are concerned about plans to bring in up to 3,000 mainly Chinese workers, reports BBC News. London Mining has been awarded an exclusive 30 year exploitation licence for its 100% owned Isua Project in Greenland. This licence is a significant step in the process of seeking partners for the development of Isua.

21 Oct 2013

Brazil Port Blaze Pushes Sugar Prices to Year's High

Photo courtesy Port of Santos

A fire in the Copersuca company's huge sugar terminal in the Port of Santos has burnt some 180,000 tonnes of raw sugar, damaging six warehouses and pushing international prices to a one-year high. reports the BBC News. The authorities in the port of Santos informed the BBC it took six hours to bring the fire under control, while the cause of the fire is unknnown and the cause of the blaze is still being investigated. Brazil is the world's main sugar exporter, accounting for nearly half of international sales. Source: BBC News

04 Oct 2013

Italy: Refugee Boat Sinking, 100s Feared Lost

Map of the disaster area: Image CCL

At least 130 African migrants have died and many more are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa. A total of 103 bodies have been recovered and more have been found inside the wreck, reported BBC News citing local coast guards. Passengers reportedly threw themselves into the sea when a fire broke out on board. More than 150 of the migrants have been rescued. Most of those on board were from Eritrea and Somalia. According to the BBC News report…

17 Sep 2013

Washington Navy Yard Perpetrator Killed in Shoot-out

SECNAV at the hospital calls Obama: Photo courtesy of USN

A gunman who was shot dead after killing 12 people at the Navy Yard, and injuring 8 others now in hospital, has been identified as a former Navy serviceman, Aaron Alexis, 34, of Fort Worth, Texas, reports BBC News. In a press conference at MedStar Washington Hospital Center Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced he had conferred SECNAV Designee status on injured personnel. The Secretary of the Navy Designee Program provides special eligibility for medical and dental care from naval medical facilities for patients affected by the shooting.

31 Jul 2013

UK Ferry Service Saved by the Community

Ferry Brigantia: Photo courtesy of Bristol Ferry Co.

The Bristol Ferry Boat Company went into administration last November, and needed to raise £250,000 from investors by 31 July, but it surpassed that target, topping £300,000. According to  BBC News, citing ferry boss Ian Bunguard, more than 600 people had bought the shares - starting at £100 - with many being bought by people living in the city, and the ferry was now in a very strong position. Bristol Ferry Boat Company went into administration last year but its five blue and yellow passenger boats were bought by a consortium of investors.

23 Jul 2013

Hijacked Turkish Ship Released by W. Africa Pirates

Tankship Cotton: Photo credit Geden Lines

Pirates have released a Turkish cargo ship with a crew of 24 Indians which they hijacked near Port Gentil off the coast of Gabon in West Africa last week, reports BBC News. Citing officials at Geden Lines, the Turkish company owning the MT Cotton the BBC report that the captain has been asked to move the ship at "fullest possible speed" from its present location at the Gulf of Guinea to a "safe port" in West Africa. It is unclear if a ransom demand was made by the pirates. The Indian crew of MT Cotton is safe and many of them have called home after their release, according to family members.