At Greek port, Migrants Try for Italy
Rapper Mahdi Babika Mohamed's journey to a better life in Europe started in his native Sudan and passed through Libya and Turkey before abruptly ending in a squalid abandoned factory at Greece's western port of Patras. There, the 37-year-old is one of hundreds of migrants making desperate attempts to board ferries to Italy by hanging on to the underside of cargo trucks - usually unsuccessfully. "We come from a country in war to another war here in Patras," said Mohamed. Patras is no longer on the frontline of Greece's migrant crisis as it was six years ago when authorities shut down a makeshift camp in the port where hundreds of migrants had lived in squalid conditions.
Matson Navigation Gets Second Benkert USCG Award
Matson Navigation Company honored with the U.S. Coast Guard's 2012 Rear Admiral William M. The Benkert Award was created to recognize outstanding achievements in marine environmental protection that go beyond mere compliance with industrial and regulatory standards. Matson first received this biennial award in 2006. "As a company that has a long history of serving some of the most pristine environments in the world – including Hawaii, Guam and California -- Matson has quite naturally evolved into a carrier focused on setting a high bar when it comes to environmental stewardship," said Matt Cox, president, Matson. "For example, Matson is the only carrier in the world to have a zero discharge policy – this means that nothing is discharged into the ocean, with the exception of food scraps.
