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06 Nov 2023

In Brazil's Amazon, Cargill Grains Ports Meet Local Resistance

© JR Slompo / Adobe Stock

For centuries, riverside communities, including the "quilombola" descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped from plantations and ranches, have shared Xingu Island in Brazil's Amazon Basin.Its inhabitants live in brightly painted wooden houses overlooking rivers where small boats crisscross between islands and Abaetetuba city on the mainland to trade fish, seeds and fruits gathered from the Amazon forest in their backyard.In 2016, however, strangers docked on Xingu Island, in Para state…

10 Jul 2023

Deep-sea Mining: A New Gold Rush or Environmental Disaster?

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2019 Southeastern U.S. Deep-sea Exploration

In the depths of the Pacific Ocean between Mexico and Hawaii, trillions of potato-shaped rocks are scattered across the seabed - containing minerals such as nickel, cobalt and manganese vital for new green technologies in the global energy transition.In this ocean region - the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) - an abundance of the rocks, known as polymetallic nodules, is increasingly fuelling debate about the mining of metals needed to produce technology such as batteries for electric…

28 Dec 2022

Wanted: A Sea-change in Climate Finance for Oceans

© Jason / Adobe Stock

The oceans are inextricably connected to the health of the planet, and of humans: they absorb up to 30% of annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 90% of excess heat, and over 3 billion people — almost half the global population — depend directly on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.Healthy coastal ecosystems are also critical to the world’s ability to withstand the impact of climate change. Not only do mangrove forests, for example, hold four times the amount of carbon per hectare as tropical forests…

01 Nov 2022

Ghana's Historic Slave Forts are Being Swallowed by Rising Seas

Cape Coast Castle - Ghana / ©demerzel21/AdobeStock

For 21 years, Fort Prinzenstein's caretaker James Ocloo Akorli has watched the Gulf of Guinea's tempestuous waters eat away at both his livelihood and his heritage.The 18th century Danish citadel, set along Ghana's palm-fringed coastline, was once the last stop for captured Africans before they were forced onto slave ships bound for the Americas.Today, three-quarters of the UNESCO World Heritage site has been swallowed by the sea."There have been mornings after a storm when I have come to find large parts of the fort have just disappeared…

02 Nov 2021

Bangladesh's Hazardous Shipyards Launch Race for Cleaner, Safer Future

Illustration - Credit: saintmichel85/AdobeStock

When Samrat Hossain first started cutting up old ships weighing thousands of tonnes in a southeast Bangladesh shipbreaking yard a decade ago, all he would wear was a cap or a helmet.But these days, the 27-year-old spends nearly an hour each day before work putting on his protective gear, which includes special masks, gloves, boots, and a suit."A lot has changed in the last 10 years. Before, PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) was not a factor. But today we are not allowed to work without it…

02 Jun 2021

Lawsuit Challenges ExxonMobil's Exploration and Production Activities in Guyana

A landmark lawsuit filed against Guyana's government, arguing that oil production fuels climate change, could bolster legal action as court cases involving energy companies and state authorities surge, according to lawyers and environmentalists.The constitutional claim - the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean - asserts that oil exploration and production led by U.S. oil major ExxonMobil off the South American country's coast is unconstitutional, said the case's lead lawyer Melinda Janki.Filed by two Guyanese citizens in late May before the tiny nation's constitutional court, the lawsuit centers on the duty of the state to protect the environment for present and future generations…

17 Mar 2021

Carbon Emissions from Trawler Fishing on Par with Aviation -Report

© Andrei Stepanov / Adobe Stock

Trawling of the ocean floor by fishing fleets releases roughly the same amount of carbon emissions into the water as aviation puts into the atmosphere each year, researchers said on Wednesday, calling for greater protection of the planet's seas.In a study published in the journal Nature, a team of 26 scientists and conservationists said marine protected areas (MPAs) are an effective tool for restoring biodiversity, expanding seafood supplies and storing climate-heating carbon.But at present…

11 Mar 2021

Widow of Bangladesh Shipbreaker Pursues Test Case on Worker Safety

© saintmichel85 / Adobe Stock

A Bangladeshi woman whose husband died dismantling an oil tanker in a local shipyard was given the green light this week to keep pursuing a claim for compensation from a UK company linked to the vessel in a test case for the shipbreaking industry.Britain’s Court of Appeal threw out a request by London-based shipbroker Maran (UK) Ltd for the negligence case to be dismissed, the second appeal the company has lost.Hamida Begum’s husband, Khalil Mollah, 32, fell to his death in 2018 while breaking up the tanker Ekta in the Bangladesh port of Chattogram…

02 Mar 2021

Fishermen Turn to Apps and AI to Tackle Climate Change

© ducgiang1206 / Adobe Stock

From weather predicting apps to using artificial intelligence to monitor the fish they catch, small-scale fishermen and coastal communities are increasingly turning to digital tools to help them be more sustainable and tackle climate change.Overfishing and illegal fishing by commercial vessels inflict significant damage on fisheries and the environment, and take food and jobs from millions of people in coastal communities who rely on fishing, environmental groups say.In addition…

13 Jan 2021

Ocean 100: Profits from World's Seas Dominated by 100 Companies

© Ranimiro / Adobe Stock

Just 100 companies account for most of the profits from the world’s seas, researchers said on Wednesday, calling on them to help save the oceans from over-fishing, rising temperatures and pollution.Together, the companies generated $1.1 trillion in revenues in 2018, or about 60% of the total, according to a study that sets out for the first time which firms profit the most from marine industries.Oceans play a critical role in capturing planet-warming gases, absorbing around 25% of all carbon dioxide emissions.

29 Dec 2020

UAE Emerges as Hub for Companies Helping Venezuela Avoid US Oil Sanctions

In June, the United States imposed sanctions on half a dozen oil tankers managed by established shipping firms. It was a major escalation of American attempts to choke off Venezuela’s oil trade.Within weeks, a little-known company based in the United Arab Emirates took over management of several tankers that had been shipping Venezuelan oil. The vessels got new names. And then they resumed transporting Venezuelan crude.The company, Muhit Maritime FZE, is one of three UAE-based entities identified by Reuters that have shipped Venezuelan crude and fuel during the second half of this year. Their role emerges from an examination of internal shipping documents from Venezuela’s state oil company as well as third-party shipping and vessel tracking data.

22 Dec 2020

Satellites Expose Risks of Forced Labor in Global Fishing

© whitcomberd / Adobe Stock

Fishing vessels with crews of forced laborers behave in systematically different ways to the rest of the global fleet, according to a study purporting to be the first to remotely identify vessels potentially engaged in modern slavery.Using satellite data, machine learning and on-the-ground expertise from human rights practitioners, U.S. researchers found up to 26% of about 16,000 industrial fishing vessels analyzed were at high risk of using forced labor.As many as 100,000 people are estimated to work on these high-risk vessels, many of whom are potential victims of forced labor.

09 Dec 2020

Wallenius Bets on Wind-powered Cargo Ships

(Image: Wallenius Marine)

Two centuries after the first coal-powered steamships crossed the Atlantic Ocean, a Swedish company is designing a futuristic throwback: a huge, wind-driven cargo ship that could help end the fossil fuel era and limit climate change.Shipping accounted for 2.9% of man-made greenhouse gas in 2018, and the industry’s share of planet-heating emissions has been rising in recent years, according to the U.N.’s International Maritime Organization.One solution may be to turn the clock back to pre-industrial times and again hoist sails to carry cargo around the world.Sweden’s Wallenius Marine AB…

08 Dec 2020

Coronavirus Slows Bangladesh's Shipbreaking Safety Reforms

© katiekk2 / Adobe Stock

The coronavirus pandemic has slowed efforts to make safer the often hazardous job of dismantling old ships in Bangladesh, officials said, following the latest worker fatality.COVID-19 temporarily shuttered ship-breaking yards in Bangladesh, one of the world’s main destinations for end-of-life vessels, delaying safety reforms ahead of a 2023 deadline.Almost all of the 70 active yards in Bangladesh have submitted Ship Recycling Facility Plans since 2019, according to the Ministry…

08 Dec 2020

Hundreds of Thousands of Seafarers Are Still Stranded at Sea

© Alexander / Adobe Stock

Hundreds of thousands of seafarers around the world are stranded at sea due to coronavirus travel restrictions, unable to go home or get medical care, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday, calling on nations to address their plight.Many shipping and transport workers have been at sea as long as 17 months or longer, as COVID-19-related restrictions make it almost impossible to rotate crews, the United Nations' labor agency said.The ILO adopted a resolution asking nations to take action by providing medical care to seafarers in need…

13 Aug 2020

Indian Solar Ferry Flies Flag for Cleaner, Cheaper Water Transport

(Photo: State Water Transport Department, Government of Kerala)

Over the past three years, P. Ravindran’s commute from his southern Indian village has been about more than getting to work - the SIM card seller sees his daily trip on India’s first solar-powered ferry as doing his bit for the green revolution.“I am proud to be a frequent traveler on the Aditya... I am being part of cleaning the Earth,” said Ravindran, who uses the boat most days to travel to the town of Vaikom on Lake Vembanad.The Aditya’s green credentials have attracted international…

23 Jul 2020

Life on Hold for Many Philippine Seafarers

© yaniv / Adobe Stock

He had a visa and just the job—six months of work at sea and thousands in pay to send home. Then the virus struck.And like millions of other migrant workers who leave the Philippines to work abroad and send their earnings back to a myriad of dependents, a whole family saw its lifeline cut.“I was broke. Things were not easy for me and my family. I badly needed to go back to work at that time so I was looking forward to that trip,” said sailor Carlos Salvador Jr.Salvador was all…

14 Jul 2020

Widow of Bangladeshi Shipbreaking Worker Free to Sue Maran

© katiekk2 / Adobe Stock

A Bangladeshi woman whose husband died while dismantling an oil tanker at a shipbreaking yard in 2018 can file a negligence claim against a British company involved in the vessel’s sale, London’s High Court ruled this week.Khalil Mollah, 32, fell to his death while working on a tanker called the EKTA in the port city of Chattogram in southeastern Bangladesh, where scores of end-of-life ships are sent to be scrapped each year.British lawyers representing his widow, Hamida Begum, took her case to court in April 2019, arguing that Maran (UK) Ltd was responsible for the ship ending up in Banglades

12 Jun 2020

How China Got Venezuelan Oil Despite US Sanctions

Last year, China replaced the United States as the No. 1 importer of oil from Venezuela, yet another front in the heated rivalry between Washington and Beijing.The United States had imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned oil company as part of a bid to topple that country’s socialist president, Nicolas Maduro. U.S. refineries stopped buying Venezuelan crude. Caracas’ ally China, long a major customer, suddenly found itself the top purchaser. Through the first six months of 2019, it imported an average of 350,000 barrels per day of crude from Venezuela.But in August, Washington tightened its sanctions on Venezuela, warning that any foreign entity that continued to do business with the South American country’s government could find itself subject to sanctions.

19 Nov 2019

US Funds $30 million for Coastal Flood Protection

River dredging operations in the State of Louisiana (CREDIT: Port of New Orleans)

The U.S. government's oceans and waterways agency will provide $30 million to improve coastal resilience, officials said, aiming to reduce the impacts of worsening storms, flooding and rising seas in nearly half of U.S. states.Grants through the program are designed to restore or expand coastal wetlands, dunes, reefs, mangroves and barrier islands that are key to coastal protection, said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in an announcement.Coastlines worldwide are being damaged or threatened by more extreme and destructive weather…

12 Feb 2019

Boat Made of Flip-flops Sails for Cleaner Seas

(Photo: Flipflopi)

It was 6pm when an unusual rainbow-colored boat, made of recycled plastic waste and discarded flip-flops gathered from beaches and roadsides, dropped anchor off the beach at Mtwapa, near Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa.The 9-meter-long dhow, "The Flipflopi", was sailing south along East Africa's coast to raise awareness of the threat plastics pose to the oceans, said chief boat-builder and captain Ali Skanda.Beaches and marine ecosystems have been badly affected by plastics, Skanda said…

05 Dec 2018

India Plans Deep Dive for Seabed Minerals

© Mykola Mazuryk / Adobe Stock

In the 1870 Jules Verne classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", underwater explorer Captain Nemo predicted the mining of the ocean floor's mineral bounty - zinc, iron, silver and gold.India is catching up with that only now, as it prepares to unearth treasures down below, aiming to boost its economy.The floor of the world's seas is scattered with vast beds of black potato-shaped polymetallic nodules comprising copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, iron and rare earth elements.These natural goodies are key to making modern gadgets…

10 Dec 2018

Scientist Pool Data to Create the $3B Ocean Map

© peteri/Adobe Stock

For experts in the field of ocean mapping it is no small irony that we know more about the surfaces of the Moon and Mars than we do about our planet's sea floor."Can you imagine operating on the land without a map, or doing anything without a map?" asked Larry Mayer, director of the U.S.-based Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, a research body that trains hydrographers and develops tools for mapping."We depend on having that knowledge of what's around us - and the same is true for the ocean…