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Foreign Affairs Ministry News

26 Aug 2022

Chinese Defense Firm Takes Over Lifting Venezuelan Oil for Debt Offset

China has entrusted a defense-focussed state firm to ship millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil despite U.S. sanctions, part of a deal to offset Caracas' billions of dollars of debt to Beijing, according to three sources and tanker tracking data. China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) stopped carrying Venezuelan oil in August 2019 after Washington tightened sanctions on the South American exporter. But it continued to find its way to China via traders who rebranded the fuel as Malaysian, Reuters has reported.

21 Oct 2020

Hull Damage Not to Blame for 1994 Estonia Ferry Disaster -Report

The Broken Line Monument in Tallinn, Estonia honors the victims of the 1994 ferry disaster (© Karl Allen Lugmayer / Adobe Stock)

An Estonian ferry disaster that killed 852 people in 1994 was probably not caused by hull damage to the vessel that was first revealed in a documentary this year, experts concluded after a preliminary investigation of the video footage.The sinking of the ferry Estonia in the Baltic Sea was the deadliest peacetime shipwreck in European waters for centuries. An official investigation in 1997 concluded that the bow ramp of the ferry had failed during a storm, flooding the car deck and causing the vessel to roll over and sink.The documentary…

17 Aug 2020

India Sends Team to Mauritius to Tackle Wakashio Oil Spill

(Photo: Mobilisation Nationale Wakashio)

India has sent technical equipment and a team of specialists to Mauritius to help local authorities deal with an environmental crisis after an oil spill from a Japanese ship, a government official said on Sunday.The Japanese bulk carrier Wakashio struck a coral reef off the Indian Ocean island nation on July 25, spilling about 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil and triggering a state of “environmental emergency”.The carrier split on Saturday, and the oil spill spread over a vast area of endangered corals…

10 Aug 2020

Greece Calls Turkey's Seismic Survey in Mediterranean Illegal

Turkey dispatched a vessel to conduct a seismic survey in a disputed area in the eastern Mediterranean, a move which Greece said was illegal and is likely to heighten tensions between the two NATO allies.The advisory issued by the Turkish navy said the Oruc Reis vessel would operate in the area over the next two weeks.The two countries are at odds due to overlapping claims for hydrocarbon resources in the region. A similar advisory, or Navtex, last month prompted a dispute that was calmed after the intervention of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, leading Turkey to agree a pause in operations.But President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday…

09 Jun 2020

Greece, Italy to Sign Accord on Maritime Zones

© muratart / Adobe Stock

Greece and Italy will sign an agreement on maritime boundaries during a visit by Italy's foreign minister to Athens on Tuesday, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said.The deal follows months of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean region over natural resources. Turkey, Greece and Cyprus have been caught in a complex diplomatic standoff over the issue.Details of the deal were not immediately available.Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias are expected to make a joint statements following their meeting.At a meeting in Rome in February…

17 Mar 2020

Baltic States Send Ships for Stranded Citizens

(File photo: Tallink)

Estonia and Latvia will send ships to bring back hundreds of their citizens stranded on the border between Germany and Poland, following Warsaw’s decision last week to shut its borders in response to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.The three Baltic countries - Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - have criticized Poland for preventing their citizens in transit from returning home.Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki came under fire over the move during a coronavirus videocall of all 27 national EU leaders on Tuesday during which they agreed to seal off Europe’s external borders as par

02 Jun 2017

Norad - IMO Partnerships to Protect Marine Environment

International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) to deliver technical cooperation activities was in the spotlight in Oslo this week (May 30-31). In addition to the annual IMO-Norad projects review meeting, IMO presented the Organization and its technical cooperation programme to senior officials from Norwegian ministries and NGOs (Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, Ministry of Climate and Environment, and WWF Norway), highlighting in particular the IMO-Norad East Asia Project, which helped build capacity to implement IMO environment-protection conventions in six participating countries – with a view to identifying further cooperation opportunities.

17 Apr 2017

Singapore Maritime Gallery Re-opens After Makeover

The Singapore Maritime Gallery (SMG) which underwent a refresh, was officially opened today by Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo. Visitors can now look forward to more interactive and experiential learning in a vibrant maritime setting. From a ship simulator to “Ship Spotting”, visitors can immerse themselves in virtual reality as they experience a 360 degrees view of the various ship models and their components. Among the new features of the Gallery are two new sections called the “Changing Gallery” and the “Epilogue”. The “Changing Gallery” is a versatile space that can host exhibitions, workshops and other maritime-related activities.

24 Jan 2017

Hong Kong to Release Singapore's Seized Troop Carriers

Hong Kong is to release armoured vehicles belonging to Singapore impounded in the Chinese-ruled city on their way home from military exercises in Taiwan, Singapore said on Tuesday. Hong Kong customs seized the troop carriers in November. Beijing, which regained sovereignty over the former British colony of Hong Kong in 1997, then warned countries against maintaining military ties with Taiwan. Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said Hong Kong authorities would release the Singapore Armed Forces' troop carriers and other equipment to the Singapore government but the ministry did not give details. Hong Kong's commissioner of Customs and Excise, Roy Tang, said in a statement the vehicles were seized because of "a suspected breach of the Hong Kong law".

18 Jul 2016

MPA Launches Inaugural Maritime Youth Festival

Senior Minister of State, Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Ministry of Transport, Mrs Josephine Teo officially opened the inaugural Maritime Youth Festival (MYF). Organised by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), MYF is a biennial two-day festival that aims to raise awareness of Maritime Singapore through a weekend of fun-filled activities. Positioned as an event that is run for youth by youth, participants will be introduced to different aspects of maritime industry in a light-hearted manner through booth games and activities. Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA said, “We are excited about this new initiative. The MYF reflects a fresh approach towards engaging young Singaporeans on the many exciting opportunities offered by the maritime sector.

11 Mar 2015

Indonesian Navy gives 10 ships to Maritime Security Board

The Indonesian Navy has planned to hand over 10 Navy Patrol ships (KAL) to the Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) by the end of this year, reports Jakarta Post. According to Navy chief of staff, Adm. Ade Supandi, said the 10 ships would require alterations before they could be used by Bakamla. “There needs to be some adjustments because they will be used as civilian patrol boats and we must follow several protocols,” Ade said. Some large weapons on the ships would be removed and replaced with those of a smaller caliber. For example, the 37-millimeter cannon on one of the ships would be replaced by a 12.7-millimeter one, which would be more appropriate for Bakamla’s patrol activities, he said.

07 Jan 2015

Turkish Survey Ship Continues Work Off Cyprus, Deepening Standoff

A Turkish research vessel will continue searching for oil and gas off Cyprus, Turkish Cypriot authorities said on Tuesday, extending a simmering standoff between rival sides on the ethnically-split island over offshore gas reserves. The row has already led to Greek Cypriots suspending participation in peace talks with estranged Turkish Cypriots, and on Monday they said they would not return as long as the vessel remained in the area. Barbaros, a seismographic research vessel commissioned by Turkey's state petroleum company TPAO, has been carrying out surveys in an area in the east Mediterranean claimed by Cyprus under international conventions.

19 Dec 2014

Reports on Rosneft Arctic Projects

On December 18, Member of Rosneft Board of Directors, special representative of President of the Russian Federation on international cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic Artur Chilingarov made a report "Russia and Norway: Prospects for Cooperation in the Arctic" at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. "Arctic development will help to melt the ice of distrust between Russia and the West," Chilingarov asserted. He cited Rosneft's joint projects as examples of successful Russian-Norwegian cooperation on the Arctic shelf. He emphasized, that the recent Pobeda (Victory) oil field discovery in the Kara Sea became a common victory, primarily, for the Russian and Norwegian specialists. The Universitetskaya well drilling results surpassed the boldest expectations.

14 Nov 2013

Marine Task Force Conclude West Africa Engagements

An International Marine Task Force comprised of U.S., U.K., Dutch and Spanish Marine units disembarked from the Royal Netherlands Navy landing platform dock HNLMS Rotterdam (L800) after concluding a comprehensive set of security-enhancing activities as part of Africa Partnership Station (APS), Nov. 10. Over the course of three months, Rotterdam conducted five capability-enhancing engagements in support of the APS program in Senegal, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Cameroon. Rotterdam Sailors, Dutch mobile training teams and the International Marine Task Force worked with more than 1,087 maritime professionals in skills ranging from amphibious training, port security, and martial arts to fishery conferences, coxswain training and maritime law.

30 May 2013

Joe Biden Impressed by Huge Petrobas R&D Center

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden: Official photograph CCL

Petrobras CEO welcomed U.S. Vice-President and diplomats to the company's Research Center (Cenpes) in Rio de Janeiro. The company's CEO, Maria das Graças Silva Foster, welcomed the U.S. vice-president, Joe Biden, along with the US ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Shannon, and the US consul general in Rio de Janeiro, John Creamer. The group held a 30-minute closed meeting, which was also attended by Cenpes executive manager Marcos Assayag, advisor to the CEO André Garcez Ghirardi and Brazilian Foreign Affairs Ministry (Itamaraty) representative William Santos.

11 May 2012

Jeddah Port Welcomes LHD 7 USS Iwo Jima

Around 2,100 sailors, US Marine Corps, US Navy commanders and other onboard crew members participated along with representatives from the Royal Saudi Navy and the Foreign Affairs Ministry in the official reception of American amphibious assault ship “USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7),” which docked at Jeddah Islamic Port on Tuesday. US Consul General Thomas Duffy received the onboard crew led by commanding officer of the USS Iwo Jima Capt. Grady Banister over a well-attended aboard banquet. According to Banister, the purpose of the maritime visit to Saudi Arabia was to carry out naval training with members of the Royal Saudi Navy, which is part of the US naval cooperative relationship with regional partners.

21 Jun 2006

Asian Agreement Thwarting Piracy to Take Effect

A landmark regional cooperation pact against marine piracy in Asia is set to take effect in early September. Singapore's foreign affairs ministry says 11 countries have now ratified the regional pact on combating piracy and armed robbery of ships in Asia. Singapore serves as the depository of the agreement and will host the group's information sharing centre which is a permanent body with full-time staff. Cambodia, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Burma, South Korea, Vietnam, India and Sri Lanka have all ratified the agreement. Brunei is also in the process of ratifying the pact. Officials say vessels plying the Malacca Strait are vulnerable to pirates and seaborne "terrorism".