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Environment Agency News

05 Mar 2024

Singapore Highlights its Maritime Achievements for 2023

© anekoho / Adobe Stock

The Singapore government has recounted the achievements of Maritime Singapore to date to highlight the nation’s successes as a maritime hub in 2023:Total business spending by key maritime companies overseen by MPA exceeded S$4.8 billion, up from S$4.3 billion in 2022. Twenty-five maritime companies established or expanded their operations in Singapore last year. These included maritime services companies and companies setting up sustainability desks in Singapore as part of their…

26 Sep 2022

Lhyfe Launches World First Offshore Hydrogen Pilot

The Sealhyfe platform on WAVEGEM.

France-based clean hydrogen producer Lhyfe has launched the world’s first offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator.The pilot was launched yesterday (September 22) in Saint-Nazaire, France, which will now begin an 18-month wind-powered pilot, as part its drive towards large-scale carbon reduction.It involves Lhyfe's new Sealhyfe 400 kg/day (1MW equivalent) green hydrogen producing electrolyser platform, which has been installed on the WAVEGEM wave energy platform developed by Geps Techno.

11 Mar 2022

Freire Launches Oceanographic Research Vessel

Photo courtesy Freire Shipyard

At the end of February 2022 a new oceanographic research vessel was launched in Vigo, built by the shipyard Construcciones Navales P Freire, SA (Freire Shipyard) for the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD). Several company representatives were present at the event led by Jesús, Guillermo and Marcos Freire, who were accompanied by a delegation from the shipowner and supervision teams."We are very pleased to proceed with a milestone in the construction of such an innovative ship," said the company's commercial director, Santiago Sío.

10 Mar 2021

Van Oord Wins Coastal Protection Work in the UK

(Photo: Van Oord)

Dutch-based dredging contractor Van Oord said it  has signed a contract with the U.K.'s Environment Agency to continue to protect the Lincolnshire coast for the next four years.The deal, which continues on the work Van Oord has been undertaking there since 2015, encompasses beach nourishment over the length of 20 kilometers and requires around 400,000 cubic meters of sand each year.Van Oord said it will also be providing technical advice to the Environment Agency in relation to the implementation of their flood risk management strategy.

31 Oct 2019

Singapore Launches digitalPORT@SG

Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Heng Swee Keat, DPM Heng announced the launch of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) ‘digitalPORT@SG’, a digital Portal for One-stop Regulatory Transactions, which is Singapore’s maritime single window system that will serve as a one-stop portal for maritime regulatory and port services transactions.It will be developed in two phases: Phase 1 – users can obtain approval for all arriving and departing ships from three public agencies – MPA, the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority and the National Environment Agency – through a single portal. The portal will consolidate up to 16 separate forms into a single application.

04 Jul 2019

Singapore Starts Tuas Terminal Phase 2

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) has announced that reclamation work for Tuas Terminal Phase 2 began ysterday (4 July), with the installation of the first caisson.Singapore’s next-generation trade hub has commenced at a ceremony attended by Dr. Lam Pin Min, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health.MPA awarded the Tuas Terminal Phase 2 reclamation project to Penta-Ocean Construction Co. Ltd/Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd/Boskalis International BV (PHB) Joint Venture in 2018. This is the largest of the four phases to be reclaimed at 387 hectares. The 8.6 km wharf structure will be constructed with 227 caissons that will be fabricated on site. All container operations in Singapore will be consolidated at Tuas Terminal by the 2040s.

28 Jun 2019

Singapore Launches GeoSpace-Sea Initiative

GeoSpace-Sea, a new database on Singapore's waters, from its coastlines to the seabed, was launched yesterday (June 28) by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).GeoSpace-Sea aims to provide comprehensive geospatial data for port and coastal planning, among other things, as well as environmental management.MPA, together with 11 other government agencies and the Tropical Marine Science Institute from National University of Singapore, will develop GeoSpace-Sea in phases.“The marine knowledge generated through the GeoSpace-Sea initiative will serve us well in the areas of marine and coastal spatial planning, marine science R&D, marine conservation, climate change adaptation, and disaster response,” said Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Health.

29 Aug 2018

Aqualis Offshore, Skuld Maritime Agency Under Investigation in Scrapping Case

Aqualis Offshore and Norwegian Insurer Skuld Maritime Agency are under investigation for their involvement in the attempt to illegally export the Harrier to Pakistan for scrapping.NGO Shipbreaking Platform, quoting DN said that Aqualis Offshore issued two certificates for the ship – one for a break-up voyage to Pakistan, another for a voyage to Oman – and it is suspected that the latter was issued to dupe Norwegian authorities in order to circumvent the European waste export ban.Skuld Maritime Agency was involved in issuing the last-voyage insurance for the vessel and is therefore being investigated for having aided the illegal export.The former and current owners of the ship…

12 Jul 2018

Singapore, Malaysia Joint Chemical Spill Exercise at Sea

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Marine Department of Malaysia (MDM) conducted a joint chemical spill exercise at sea along the East Johor Strait to test the Joint Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for Chemical Spill Incidents in the East Johor Strait. 2Jointly developed by MPA, MDM, the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Johor Department of Environment (DOE), the objective of the joint ERP is to respond to and mitigate chemical accidents involving the seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicals along the East Johor Strait. The emergency response exercise is part of the bilateral cooperation programme under the Malaysia-Singapore Joint Committee on the Environment (MSJCE).

21 Sep 2017

Norwegian Authorities Investigation on HARRIER

The HARRIER is still under arrest in Norway after its owners failed to illegally set sail for the dangerous and dirty scrapping yards in Gadani, Pakistan, last February. The owners are now forced to find a safe and environmentally sound recycling destination. In parallel, investigations are still ongoing following the charges pressed by the Norwegian environmental authorities against the owners of the TIDE CARRIER for having attempted to breach existing waste trade laws. At the edge of bankruptcy, Eide Group sold the previously named EIDE CARRIER, which had been laid up for 10 years, to cash buyer Wirana, a scrap dealer specialized in trading toxic ships to dirty and dangerous scrapping yards in South Asia.

02 Aug 2017

Oil Spill Response: SCOPE 2017

(Image: SCOPE)

Later this year a major oil and chemical protection exercise dubbed SCOPE 2017 will be carried out in Norway. A joint project including major European and Scandinavian stakeholders, the simulated response to a combined oil and chemical spill aims to foster clearer communication and coordination of spill response across agencies and physical country boundaries. Stig Wahlstrøm, Project Manager SCOPE 2017, Norwegian Coastal Administration and Johan Marius Ly, Director, Department for Emergency Response, explain.

06 Apr 2017

Tide Carrier Under Arrest in Norway

After having been informed by the NGO Shipbreaking Platform and its member organisation Bellona that the Tide Carrier (now named HARRIER, aka EIDE CARRIER) had been sold for illegal, dirty and dangerous scrapping to a South Asian beaching facility, the Norwegian environmental authorities arrested the ship on Tuesday 5 April. The vessel is not allowed to leave Norway unless it is to sail to a ship recycling destination in line with international and European hazardous waste laws. According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, it is the first arrest of a vessel in Norway for the illegal export of hazardous waste. The Platform had been informed already during the summer of 2015 that the ship was sold for scrap.

30 Jul 2016

Singapore, Malaysia Conduct Joint Chemical Spill Drill

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and the Marine Department of Malaysia (MDM) conducted a joint chemical spill exercise at sea along the East Johor Straits to test the Joint Emergency Response Plan (ERP) for chemical spill incidents and the communication linkages between the Operation Liaison Officers (OLOs) and the Environment Liaison Officers (ELOs) in both countries. Jointly developed by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), the Marine Department of Malaysia (MDM), the National Environment Agency (NEA) and Johor Department of Environment (DOE), the ERP seeks to tackle potential chemical accidents involving the seaborne transportation of hazardous chemicals along the Straits of Johor.

24 Jul 2016

Canada Seek to contain Oil Spill

Authorities are building a new containment boom to fight an oil spill in a major western Canadian river, officials said on Saturday, after the spill breached a previous barrier and threatened the drinking water of several communities along the coast. The city of North Battleford, which draws its drinking water in part from the North Saskatchewan River, shut its supply intake on Friday and switched to using ground water, provincial officials said in a telephone conference with reporters. Some 1,572 barrels of heavy oil and diluent leaked from Husky Energy Inc's Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline on Thursday, flowing into the river. The Calgary-based company has shut the line, stopping the leak, and has been working to contain the spill.

12 Nov 2015

Declaration by Vessels Coming from Ebola-affected Countries

Following the World Health Organisation’s official declaration that Sierra Leone is now free of the Ebola virus transmission from 7 November, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore has updated the required measures to prevent the introduction of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) into Singapore. As advised in the Port Marine Circular No.13 of 2015 dated today (11 November), arriving vessels that have been to the Ebola affected countries (i.e. Guinea) in the past 21 days are required to submit the Maritime Declaration of Health Form to the National Environment Agency (Port Health Office). For information about operations in Singapore contact GAC Singapore at [email protected]

05 Aug 2015

France Launches Tender for Floating Offshore Wind Pilots

France has launched a tender for several floating offshore wind turbine projects in what is set to be the first attempt to test this new technology on an industrial scale. French environment agency ADEME on Wednesday posted a tender document inviting companies to submit proposals to build floating wind farms with between three to six turbines each, with a capacity of at least 5 megawatts per turbine in three sites in the Mediterranean and one site off southern Brittany. Portugal and Norway have pioneered the new technology in the past few years with a single floating turbine each, and Portugal plans to build a 25 MW floating wind demonstration farm, but the French project will be the first to test floating offshore wind on a large scale.

22 Jan 2015

Stricken Hoegh Osaka Ready for Transport

Hoegh Osaka’s list is now at 5 degrees, enabling salvors to turn the vessel in the correct direction and transport it from Alpha Anchorage to Southampton Port. The ship is scheduled to arrive at Berth 101 at approximately 7 p.m. local time, the U.K Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) estimates. During the towing operation, a temporary restricted airspace will be placed 1 mile either side of the navigation route and up to 2,000 ft. There will also be an exclusion zone around the vessel of 1,000 meters ahead and behind and 100m either side. Officials will hold a press conference later tonight. Speaking will be Hugh Shaw, SOSREP, Bram Sperling from Svitzer…

19 Dec 2014

Costa Rica Approves APM Terminals Project

Port operator APM Terminals, a unit of Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk, said on Friday Costa Rica's environment agency had approved the construction of its Moin Container Terminal project.   APM Terminals said in a statement Costa Rica's National Concession Council had also issued a construction start order for the around $1 billion project stating that construction must start within 30 days of Jan. 19.   (Reporting by Annabella Pultz Nielsen, editing by Anna Ringstrom)

14 Jun 2014

Strengthening Of Van Oord's Position In The UK

Van Oord has reached an agreement in principle on the acquisition of UK specialist marine civil contractor J.T. Mackley & Co Ltd. This acquisition will strengthen Van Oord's leading position on the UK flood defence and coastal construction market. J.T. Mackley & Co. Ltd will continue its business under its own name and will continue to be run by the existing management and staff. The company provides all round engineering, construction, maintenance and project delivery services in the United Kingdom and serves clients such as water, coastal, marine, commercial and industrial companies. Van Oord and J.T. Mackley & Co. Ltd have been working together for more than a decade.

27 Aug 2014

Rock On: UK's Kent Beach Flood Defence Starts

Rocks are being delivered as work by Van Oord starts on the £30m scheme to protect 1,400 properties at Broomhill Sands Coastal Defence Scheme in Kent, informs UK's Environment Agency. The rock for the new defence will be imported from Norway and will be delivered by barge. The works are scheduled for completion in December 2015 and will improve the flood protection to more than 1,300 homes and 100 businesses by increasing the standard of protection to the area from 1 in 20 years to 1 in 200 years. The scheme will also protect vital infrastructure in the area including the main coastal road and sewage treatment works. The scheme is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

27 Sep 2014

Upgrading Of Senoko Waste-To-Energy Plant

Keppel Infrastructure Trust (KIT), through its wholly owned subsidiary1, has entered into an agreement with the National Environment Agency (NEA) to provide additional incineration capacity to the Senoko Waste-to-Energy (WTE) plant, one of the three facilities under KIT's current portfolio. To increase its capacity while maintaining its land use footprint, the Senoko WTE plant will undergo upgrading, currently planned to take place between 3Q 2015 and 3Q 2016. The upgrade will progressively increase the plant's capacity to treat additional waste volumes. Upon completion, the contracted incineration capacity of the plant will increase by up to 10% from 2,100 tonnes per day. The capacity payments from NEA will correspondingly be increased.

05 Dec 2014

Update on Timing of Wressle-1 Well Testing

Europa Oil & Gas (Holdings) plc, the AIM quoted oil and gas exploration and development company with a combination of producing and exploration assets in Europe informed about Egdon Resources' timing of operations to test potential hydrocarbon bearing zones in three separate reservoir intervals identified at the Wressle-1 exploration well. Wressle is located on the PEDL 180 licence in East Lincolnshire in which Europa has a 33.3% working interest, alongside its partners Egdon Resources (operator, 25%), Celtique Energie Petroleum Ltd (33.3%), Union Jack Oil (8.3%). Egdon advises that the Environment Agency (‘EA’) permit variation for testing operations was issued on 1 December 2014.

20 Feb 2014

Europe's Seas Under Threat

Image © Joachim S Müller

Many of Europe’s marine species, habitats and ecosystems have been under threat for decades. As maritime economic activities are predicted to increase in coming years, a new briefing from the European Environment Agency (EEA) argues that the cumulative impact of human activity should be better managed to avoid irreversible damage to ecosystems. Many European industries have growing cumulative impacts on the sea, including transport, fishing, offshore energy and tourism. ‘Marine messages’ highlights the vulnerable nature of Europe’s marine ecosystems…