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Sierra News

26 Jan 2024

Biden Pauses New LNG Export Projects

© Mike Mareen / Adobe Stock

President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Friday, a move cheered by climate activists that could delay decisions on new plants until after the November 5 election.The Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a review during the pause that will look at the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in hot demand.The review will take months and then will be open to public comment which will take further time…

15 Nov 2023

US Appeals Court Orders Gulf Lease Auction Within 37 Days

Source: Earthjustice, Credit: NOAA

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.

10 Oct 2023

Near Collision, Tense Encounter as Beijing Flexes Muscles in South China Sea

© luzitanija / Adobe Stock

The crew of the Philippine coastguard boat watch anxiously as an imposing Chinese vessel draws near and cuts off its path, coming within a metre of collision in a vast stretch of open water in the South China Sea.The captain of the BRP Sindangan shuts off the engine and activates the reverse throttle. China's coastguard issues a warning via megaphone to leave as the Filipino crew watch closely on a radar that shows two vessels side by side."In accordance with international and Philippine national laws we are proceeding…

28 Sep 2023

No Restart for ExxonMobil's California Offshore Platforms as Judge Upholds Tanker Trucks Ban

Credit: Patrick
/AdobeStock

A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to overturn a California county's decision to block Exxon Mobil Corp from using tanker trucks to ship crude oil from coastal facilities to inland refineries while a ruptured pipeline is fixed.U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles denied Exxon's bid to reverse the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' denial of a trucking permit in early 2022, saying the board's decision was substantially supported by evidence that transporting crude…

08 Sep 2023

Philippines Condemns Chinese Harassment of Supply Boats to Disputed Atoll

(Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

The Philippines condemned China's coast guard and "maritime militia" on Friday for what it described as "illegal, aggressive and destabilising" behaviour towards its boats during a routine rotation and resupply mission in the South China Sea.Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said that despite the Chinese actions supplies were delivered on Friday to Philippine troops stationed on a warship that had been deliberately grounded on an uninhabited atoll more than two decades ago to support a sovereignty claim in the disputed Spratly Islands.The Philippines task force for the South China Sea…

08 Sep 2023

Sierra Leone Hit by Power Cuts after Turkish Power Ship Switches Off Supply over Unpaid Debt

By Sumbebekos - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45413666

Sierra Leone's capital Freetown has been hit by power cuts after Turkey's Karpowership switched off the electricity supply due to an unpaid debt of around $40 million, the energy minister said on Friday.Minister Kanja Sesay told Reuters that the outstanding amount "was accrued over time because the government subsidizes more than half the cost the ship charges per kilowatt hour".He said the government had to spend more on the subsidy because it charges consumers in the weak local Leone currency…

06 Sep 2023

15 Nations Sign Beijing Convention

Source: CMI

The United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (also known as the Beijing Convention) was signed by 15 nations and regions at a signing ceremony in Beijing on September 5, 2023.Signatories were: China, Burkino Faso, Comoros, El Salvador, Grenada, Honduras, Kiribati, Liberia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Switzerland and Syria. It will come into force when it is ratified by three state parties. The Convention…

08 Aug 2023

China, Philippines' Dispute over Grounded Warship Heats Up

China Coast Guard allegedly uses a water cannon against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels, which were escorting a resupply mission for the Philippine troops stationed at the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea on August 5, 2023, in this handout photo released on August 6, 2023. (Photo: Philippine Coast Guard)

China again asked the Philippines to tow away a grounded warship - a World War Two-era vessel now used as a military outpost - from a disputed shoal on Tuesday, after Manila rejected Beijing's earlier demand.Tensions have soared between the two neighbours over the South China Sea under Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with Manila pivoting back to the United States, which supports the Southeast Asian nation in its maritime disputes with China.China's embassy in Manila…

17 May 2023

Alaska LNG Project Clears Legal Hurdle

(Image: Alaska LNG)

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday rejected a lawsuit filed by environmental groups challenging federal approvals needed to construct a $39 billion project that would move natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope across the state.A three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia said the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's review of plans for the state-run Alaska Gasline Development Corp's project satisfied the National Environmental Policy Act requirements to take a hard look at environmental impacts of major proposals…

06 Jan 2023

China Eases Australian Coal Ban

Copyright Parilov/AdobeStock

The increasing need to secure energy supplies after easing COVID-19 restrictions has pushed China to gradually resume Australian coal imports and urge domestic miners to boost their already record output.The lifting of the unofficial ban on Australian coal imports, which were halted in 2020 in a fit of Chinese pique over questions on COVID's origins, is the clearest sign yet of the renewed ties between them. The resumption is also a reminder of their economic interdependence as Australia's raw materials play a crucial role in fuelling the export-oriented economy of China…

07 Dec 2022

French Navy Intercepts Brazilian Vessel Carrying €150 Million Worth of Cocaine

(Photo: French Navy)

A Brazilian vessel carrying more than 4.6 tonnes of cocaine worth over 150 million euros ($157.4 million) was intercepted last week by the French Navy off the coast of Sierra Leone, the Europol international police agency said on Wednesday.Europol said the vessel, which was en route to Europe, was intercepted on November 30, following joint intelligence work by France, Brazil, Britain and the United States."An investigation is underway to identify the criminal groups involved on either side of the Atlantic Ocean," Europol said in a statement.European Union agencies warned in May that Europe wa

10 Nov 2022

Can Ukraine's Grain Deal Ease the Global Food Crisis?

©Elena/AdobeStock

A deal to free-up vital grain exports from Ukraine expires on Nov. 19, and intense negotiations over the next few days will determine whether it is extended and possibly even expanded to help ease concerns about global food security.The agreement, reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oil seeds.Here are some of the issues:WHAT HAS BEEN EXPORTED?The pact created a safe shipping channel for exports from three ports in Ukraine.So far…

31 Aug 2022

This Decade's Oil Boom is Moving Offshore - Way Offshore

Bay du Nord FPSO Illustration - Credit: Equinor

Global oil companies are pumping billions of dollars into offshore drilling, reversing a long decline in spending on the decades-long projects, including some in the remote iceberg waters far off Canada's Atlantic coast.Surging oil prices are encouraging the investments, along with Europe's mounting energy demand as the Ukraine-Russia war drags on. Offshore production sites are more expensive to build than onshore shale, the last decade's investment darling. But once they are up and running…

17 Aug 2022

Ship Carrying First Ukraine Grain Cargo Docks in Syria

Razoni docked in Syria on August 15, 2022. Photo courtesy Planet Labs PBC.

The first ship to depart Ukraine under a deal to resume grain exports from the country two weeks ago docked in the Syrian port city of Tartous on Tuesday, according to a shipping source and satellite data.The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni set sail from Ukraine's Odesa port on Aug. 1 under a hard-won grain deal but did not unload in Lebanon as planned. Its location had not been clear in recent days as it has kept its transponder off.Satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC showed it at the Tartous port on Tuesday morning.

02 Aug 2022

Shipping Arrangements Into Ukraine Still Not Ready

© galitskaya / Adobe Stock

Key arrangements including procedures for ships still need to be worked out before empty vessels can come in and pick up cargoes from Ukraine using the new grains corridor, a senior London marine insurance market official said on Monday.Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain-and-fertilizer export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month - a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that is grinding on with no resolution in sight."The standard operating procedures for vessels still need to be worked out and there are issues about crewing that still need to be resolved…

02 Aug 2022

Ship Carrying First Ukrainian Grain on Track for Safe Arrival

The handysize bulk carrier Razoni sails from the port of Odesa following the authorization of the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC), established under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. (© OCHA / Saviano Abreu)

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since Russia's invasion blocked exports more than five months ago is on track to safely arrive in Istanbul on Tuesday night, Turkey said, amid Ukrainian fears it could still run into problems.The vessel's departure on Monday from the Ukrainian port of Odesa for Lebanon via Turkey under a safe passage deal has raised hopes of further such departures which could help ease a burgeoning global food crisis.Turkey expects roughly one grain ship to leave Ukrainian ports each day as long as the safe passage agreement holds…

01 Aug 2022

Obstacles to Overcome Before Ukraine Grain Deal Eases Global Food Crisis

© Elena / Adobe Stock

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa on Monday under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.But there are many hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, which handle most of the corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seed and rapeseed exports of one of the world's top grain suppliers.Here are some…

19 May 2022

Industry Body Calls for More States to Ratify MLC

Deirdre Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of SRI (Photo: SRI)

In a statement submitted to the Special Tripartite Committee (STC) meeting held last week, SRI, the international pan-industry body researching maritime and seafarers’ law, called for more States to ratify the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) to ensure a level playing field in the shipping industry.At the meeting, Deirdre Fitzpatrick, executive director of SRI said, “More ratifications are needed to bring the Convention on a par with SOLAS, MARPOL and the STCW, the other three…

08 Apr 2022

Two Bodies Recovered after S.Korea Ship Goes Missing in Taiwan Strait

Taiwan has recovered two bodies after a ship carrying six South Koreans went missing in the Taiwan Strait, and search and rescue operations are underway, the Taiwanese and South Korean governments said on Friday.Taiwan authorities have said they received distress signals from the Kyoto 1 at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on Thursday from a location about 18 miles (29 km) west of the island, the foreign ministry in Seoul said, adding that all six people aboard were South Korean nationals.The Sierra Leone-flagged, 322-ton ship was on its way to Indonesia's Batam port from the South Korean city of Busan while towing the Kyoto 2 tender vessel…

26 May 2021

UK Royal Navy Appoints First Woman Admiral

Commodore Jude Terry (Photo: U.K. Royal Navy)

A woman officer will be appointed to the rank of admiral for the first time in the centuries-long history of the British Royal Navy.Commodore Jude Terry, who has served for nearly a quarter of a century, has been selected for promotion to rear admiral, making her the most senior woman in the Royal Navy, past or present. The 47-year-old will be promoted to rear admiral next year and take over as the Royal Navy’s Director of People and Training and Naval Secretary.Of making history she says “someone has to be first”.

01 Aug 2022

First Ukraine Grain Ship Leaves Odesa Following Export Deal

A ship carrying grain left the Ukrainian port of Odesa for Lebanon on Monday under a safe passage agreement, Ukrainian and Turkish officials said, the first departure since the Russian invasion blocked shipping through the Black Sea five months ago.Ukraine's foreign minister called it "a day of relief for the world", especially for countries threatened by food shortages and hunger because of the disrupted shipments.The sailing was made possible after Turkey and the United Nations brokered a grain-and-fertilizer export agreement between Russia and Ukraine last month - a rare diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that is grinding on with no resolution in sight."The first grain ship since #RussianAggression has left port," Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

11 Apr 2022

Yesterday’s or Tomorrow’s Offshore Energy: Which to Pick?

Copyright Inna/AdobeStock

Looking back, it is easy to wonder if one could have done better by taking the other fork in the road. I grew up in Holland in a maritime family and am pretty sure I would have stuck with maritime there. In 1968, when I was 8 years old, my father left Holland America Line and joined the United States Salvage Association. At the same time, their main customer, the U.S. marine insurance industry, became heavily involved in the development of North Sea offshore oil and gas, and it resulted in an economic boom that made USSA’s Rotterdam office wildly profitable.

27 Oct 2021

Mighty River to Muddy Trickle: South America's Parana Rings Climate Alarm

Illustration only - Aerial shot over Parana River in Front of Rosario City - Credit: Wirestock/AdobeStock

Gustavo Alcides Diaz, an Argentine fisherman and hunter from a river island community, is at home on the water. The Parana River once lapped the banks near his wooden stilt home that he could reach by boat. Fish gave him food and income. He purified river water to drink.Now the 40-year-old looks out on a trickle of muddy water.The Parana, South America's second-largest river behind only the Amazon, has retreated this year to its lowest level since its record low in 1944, hit by cyclical droughts and dwindling rainfall upriver in Brazil.