International Cooperation News

With supply chain attacks on the rise, and nation-state attackers constantly looking for new ways to disrupt national security and economic stability, one of the most vulnerable areas is the security around our maritime operations. The Biden-Harris Administration's recent Executive Order to fortify the cybersecurity of U.S. ports underscores this concern, spotlighting the urgency of addressing vulnerabilities in a sector that drives over $5.4 trillion in economic activity annually.

A merchant ship sailing off Somalia has been hijacked by unknown raiders, Spain's defence ministry said on Tuesday, fuelling fears pirates are returning to the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea waters already plagued by a surge in attacks on shipping.A Spanish warship rushed to check on the Maltese-flagged vessel Ruen on Friday after reports it had been hijacked. It "has been under piracy (control) since the morning of Dec. 14," the ministry said in a statement, in its first confirmation of the ship's fate."The MV Ruen has indeed been hijacked.

A climate neutral island supply vessel has been launched for the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) to service the Marshall Islands.GIZ is implementing the bilateral project financed by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) together with the government of the Marshall Islands. The ship, which was developed by the ship design office Kostec Co. and the shipyard Asia Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Busan/Geoje, South Korea, together with the Emden/Leer University of Applied Sciences and the Hamburg design office SDC…

The Joint IMO/ILO Conference on Work at Sea held on November 13 involved the sharing of best practices, views and experiences on: ensuring the rights of seafarers and fishers; identifying gaps in the current regulatory framework, including in relation to responsible management; and exploring how governments, industry, IGOs and NGOs can collaborate to improve the relevant international maritime legal framework.In his closing remarks International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert F.

The international shipping industry as a whole is responsible for 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and if nothing changes, those will increase by 250% by 2050, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Sobering numbers like these have made reducing emissions across the sector a focus for governments, shipbuilders, environmentalists, vessel owners and technology suppliers alike.The United States federal ship fleet, excluding combat ships, consists of various types of vessels utilized for civilian purposes. This fleet of vessels makes the U.S.

The European Commission has decided to continue recognising certificates for seafarers issued by the Philippines, one of the world’s largest maritime labour supply countries.In December 2021, following a detailed assessment of the training and certification system in place, the Commission had informed the Philippines that recognition of their seafarer certificates would be withdrawn unless serious measures were taken, including the compliance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers (STCW).

IMO announced that the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) will be removed on 01 Jan 2023. It was a rare but really reassuring example that international cooperation can be successful.Meanwhile at the time of this writing, the war in Ukraine carries on. Ukranian resistance has been bolstered by very significant western democracy support in the form of weapons supply that have done a great job of stopping Russia in its tracks. However, the Ukranian Crisis shows it is extremely difficult…

On October 31, 2022, global maritime leaders of tomorrow graduated from the World Maritime University (WMU). The Class of 2022 has received the education required to contribute to maritime and ocean matters in their home countries and more broadly to the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Overall, the graduating class includes 276 graduates from 70 countries, and sets a record of 94 women graduates.WMU President Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia…

Damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was caused by powerful explosions, Danish police said on Tuesday, echoing earlier findings into leaks that erupted in the network under the Baltic Sea and that have been blamed on sabotage.In what a Swedish newspaper described as the first publicly released footage of damage to the system, film from a private drone appeared to show a gaping rupture in one pipe. Expressen reported a 50-meter section missing from one area of pipeline.Dwindling flows of gas from Russia…

A merchant vessel was towed to safety after losing power in heavy seas off the coast of Somalia.On July 19, the EU's counter-piracy forces EU NAVFOR ATALANTA received a request for assistance from the Somali Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation after the Tanzania-registered merchant ship Anatolian suffered a complete propulsion and power plant failure, and was without food or fresh water. At the same time, ATALANTA assets were granted permission to enter Somali territorial waters.For about a week…

The UN Security Council last week called for greater action to prevent piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, a region posing significant danger for commercial shipping as a hotbed for maritime kidnappings and armed robbery at sea.The council unanimously adopted Resolution 2634 (2022), which calls upon member states in the region to criminalize piracy and armed robbery at sea under their domestic laws, and to investigate, prosecute or extradite, in accordance with applicable international law…

On January 14, 2022 the European Parliament’s Rapporteur, MEP Peter Liese, published his draft report on a proposal to revise the Emissions Trading System (ETS) Directive¹ which forms part of the ‘Fit for 55’ package of climate and energy reforms published on July 14, 2021. The draft report includes a number of ambitious amendments to emissions trading for the maritime sector – the Maritime ETS – which, if agreed, will put more pressure on the maritime industry to switch to cleaner fuels sooner than originally planned.

Officials from Japan and the Philippines on Monday virtually attended the launching ceremony of the 94-meter Multi-Role Response Vessel (MRRV) at the shipyard of the Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Japan.The ceremony was attended by Koshikawa Kazuhiko, the Japanese ambassador in Manila, the Philippines' Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade, and Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Admiral George Villareal Ursabia, Jr.Ambassador Koshikawa conveyed his wish that the MRRV will play a vital role in maritime law enforcement and marine environment in the Philippines…

OPEC+ agreed on Thursday to gradually ease its oil output cuts from May, after the new U.S. administration called on Saudi Arabia to keep energy affordable for consumers.The group, which has implemented deep cuts since a pandemic-induced oil price collapse in 2020, agreed to ease production curbs by 350,000 barrels per day (bpd) in May, another 350,000 bpd in June and further 400,000 bpd or so in July.Iran's oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, confirmed the group would boost output by a total of 1.1 million bpd by July.In addition…

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted unanimously to confirm veteran government trade lawyer Katherine Tai as the first woman of color to serve as U.S. Trade Representative, putting her to work enforcing trade deals, confronting China’s trade practices and patching up ties with U.S. allies.The rare 98-0 vote for Tai, a Yale and Harvard-educated daughter of immigrants from Taiwan, reflects support from pro-labor Democrats, traditional free-trade Republicans and China hawks from both parties.Tai…

- Atlantic Gulf & Pacific Company (AG&P) said on Monday its Philippines subsidiary has received the green light to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and regasification terminal in Batangas Bay, south of Manila.The firm, part owned by Osaka Gas and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, said the Philippines' energy department has issued it a notice to proceed to develop the terminal, known as Philippines LNG, which will provide the fuel to power plant, industrial…

The Pakistan navy’s seventh biennial multinational “Aman” (peace) exercise in Pakistani waters aimed at fostering international cooperation to fight piracy, terrorism and other crimes threatening maritime security concluded on Tuesday.Around 45 navies, including those of the United States, Britain and China, took part in the Arabian Sea exercise with ships and observers.“The purpose of this exercise to bring regional and extra-regional navies on one platform and conduct exercises to enhance intra-operability in addition to counter terrorist threat and the crime which are happening in maritime

In the more than two decades since the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, national policies on climate change have had dangerously and disappointingly little effect on global emissions.Within the current economic system, perhaps the most ambitious attempt to reduce emissions has been the EU’s emissions trading system (or ETS). In operation since 2005, the ETS covers more than 11,000 heavy-energy-using power stations, factories and airlines, representing around 40% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Maritime cybersecurity is more important than ever, as made clear during an international webinar chaired Wednesday by the United States, the Netherlands and Denmark.The webinar was a continuation of the maritime cybersecurity event in the margins of the One Conference in The Hague in October 2019.Andreas Nordseth, Director General of the Danish Maritime Authority, said, “The technological developments hold great potential for improving the maritime sector even more, and ensuring the necessary digital and green transformation.”However…

Alaska-based Qilak LNG announced that a Heads of Agreement (HOA) has been entered into with ExxonMobil Alaska Production regarding the potential supply of natural gas from the Point Thomson field to Qilak LNG's proposed Alaska North Slope liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project (Qilak LNG 1 Project).According to the Lloyds Energy company, which was formed to identify and develop Arctic LNG projects in North America,  the he HOA foresees ExxonMobil providing at least 560 million standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of natural gas to Phase 1 of the Qilak LNG 1 Project, based on the design concept of offshore liquefaction and loading…

The European Union (EU) is set to launch a new interactive map, dubbed The Ocean Tracker, to follow the commitments, made by governments, businesses and NGOs, worth more than €10 billion ($11.13bn) so far.EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella, responsible for Environment, Maritime affairs and Fisheries said: "With the delivery of The Ocean Tracker, the EU demonstrates its leadership in ocean sustainability”.The Ocean tracker, itself a commitment made in 2017, when the EU hosted the Our Ocean in Malta, will make sure that the progress of all pledges is clear to see.EU also announced 22 new commitments at the 2019 edition of Our Ocean conference…

Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer and LNG project operator Novatek has formed ties with Japan's shipper Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to collaborate on liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects.The three companies will implement projects for construction of a marine LNG transshipment complexes in Kamchatka Territory and Murmansk Region, including possible acquisition of participation interest in projects and potential financing of projects.“We have already started successful cooperation with Japanese companies in large LNG projects, including Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2, and, accordingly…

Sri Lanks will invest a sum of US$ 190 million to installs gantry cairns and also add other infrastructure to the East Container Terminal, said Sagala Ratnayaka, the Minister of Ports, Shipping and Southern Development.He said Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) would initially invest this amount and then get it reimbursed from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)  under a loan agreement.Ratnayaka said that the passenger terminal in the Colombo Harbour too would be developed. “We want this passenger terminal to be in par with the Singapore Cruse terminal to attract vessels that would pick up and drop passengers in Colombo.”He said…