Charitable News

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…

To mark the start of Maritime Safety Week in the UK starting July 3, The Seafarers’ Charity has funded five episodes of a new maritime safety podcast “Sea Views” in collaboration with The CHIRP Charitable Trust.The podcast is hosted by Julia Gosling, who brings her extensive 20-year experience in maritime safety and search and rescue. She is joined by co-host Adam Parnell, Director of the CHIRP Maritime Programme.“CHIRP's mission is to share insights, raise awareness, and save more lives at sea.

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, Inc., a nonprofit educational organization honoring the achievements of outstanding individuals and encouraging youth to pursue their dreams through higher education, today announced that Donald T. “Boysie” Bollinger, Chairman and CEO of Bollinger Enterprises, LLC and retired Chairman and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, has been selected for membership in this prestigious organization. Mr. Bollinger joins 12 other exceptional business, civic and cultural leaders from across North America in receiving 2023 honors.

Fortescue Metals executive chairman Andrew Forrest on Tuesday said his charitable foundation is in favor of a pause on seabed mining, the first time a prominent mining executive has spoken out against the nascent industry.Forrest said the Minderoo Foundation, which he and his wife Nicola fund with the dividends they get from Fortescue, will back a pause until there's sufficient evidence that damage to ocean environments can be prevented.Seabed mining would involve vacuuming up potato-sized rocks rich in battery metals that blanket vast swathes of the sea floor at depths of 4-6 kilometres…

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…

Caister Volunteer Lifeboat Service Ltd. announced it has signed a new vessel construction agreement with shipbuilder Diverse Marine for a first of class 14-meter Medina Class Lifeboat. The vessel has commenced build and will be delivered in 2022.After a competitive international tender process using a design from Walker Marine Design, the construction of the vessel at Cowes on the Isle of Wight completes the evolutionary process that saw the original Medina Class Lifeboat built…

Mercy Ships is known globally for its charitable work performing medical procedures in developing countries. For the first time, the organization has a new ship, Global Mercy, recently delivered from a shipyard in China. Jim Paterson, Marine Executive Consultant, Mercy Ships takes Maritime Reporter & Engineering News inside the construction of the world’s largest civilian hospital ship.Jim Paterson already had a career and Chief Engineer’s Certificate when he joined Mercy Ships nearly 34 years ago, in search of a life change to make a difference.

Docked at a Canadian port, crew members returned from a test run of the Ocean Cleanup's system to rid the Pacific of plastic trash were thrilled by the meager results — even as marine scientists and other ocean experts doubted the effort could succeed.The non-profit, launched in 2013 amid buoyant media coverage, hopes to clear 90% of floating plastic from the world's oceans by 2040. But the group's own best-case scenario — still likely years away — envisions removing 20,000 tonnes a year from the North Pacific…

Following a £1million conservation, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife, is set to welcome visitors back onboard the iconic ‘Fifie’ Reaper, the last of the great First Class Scottish Herring Luggers and a rare survivor from the golden age of sail.One of the few vessels in the UK’s National Historic Fleet kept in seagoing condition, the two-masted, 70-ft., 50-tonne Reaper will open to the public on August 4 at her pontoon on Anstruther Harbour, once Scotland’s busiest fishing port.The refurbishmen project…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

"I've seen grown men cry," says Captain Tejinder Singh, who hasn't set foot on dry land in more than seven months and isn't sure when he'll go home."We are forgotten and taken for granted," he says of the plight facing tens of thousands of seafarers like him, stranded at sea as the Delta variant of the coronavirus wreaks havoc on shore."People don't know how their supermarkets are stocked up."Singh and most of his 20-strong crew have criss-crossed the globe on an exhausting odyssey: from India to the United States then on to China…

Maritime medical operations and public health provider VIKAND Solutions, LLC said it has appointed Russ Holmes as director of business development.Perhaps best known for providing end-to-end medical solutions to the cruise industry for its guests and crew, the company said bringing Holmes onboard positions it to further extend its medical best practices and results to the global maritime industry, including commercial shipping, private islands, the gas and oil energy sector, and the yachting market.“To this newly created role at VIKAND…

Savannah-based Colonial Group Inc. has announced a new era of leadership as it prepares to mark a major milestone in the company’s history in 2021.Christian B. Demere (Demere) has been named chief executive officer, succeeding his father, Robert H. Demere, Jr. (Demere Jr.), who had been in the position since 1986. Colonial Group has continued to operate as a privately held business since 1921 through the chairmanships of its founder, Raymond Demere; his son, Robert H. Demere Sr.; and Robert’s son, Demere Jr.“The time has come to pass the torch to the fourth generation,” said Demere Jr.

Seaspan Shipyards announced a $300,000 investment in Let’s Talk Science, a charitable organization that has been providing Canadian youth and educators with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs for more than 25 years. Seaspan’s three-year commitment will support the roll-out of new Kindergarten–Grade 12 (K-12) programming across Canada designed to educate and inspire youth about STEM careers in the marine and shipbuilding industries.Seaspan’s contribution to Let’s Talk Science…

This month, listen in as Sean Fernstrum weighs in on how his firm arrived at its enviable market position, what comes next, and why.Sean Fernstrum is a third-generation owner of R.W Fernstrum & Company. He graduated from Michigan Technological University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Scientific and Technical Communications. After college, he came home to Menominee, Michigan and began working as a Technical Writer at R.W. Fernstrum & Company. He has been President of the company for the last 8 years.

A global regime to create much-needed safety standards for fishing vessels has moved a significant step closer following the International Maritime Organization (IMO)-led international Ministerial Conference, organized in conjunction with Spain, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and The Pew Charitable Trusts.During the conference (21-23 October), nearly 50 States signed the Torremolinos Declaration, publicly indicating their determination to ensure that the 2012 Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety will enter into force by the tenth anniversary of its adoption (11 October 2022).The Cape Town Agreement includes mandatory safety measures for fishing vessels of 24 m in length and over.

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan reflects on the global trade association’s hectic year of involvement in three key areas of concern.Readers with long memories will have a strong sense of déjà vu when I say that safety, security and the environment are at the forefront of Interferry’s networking and lobbying mission right now. I highlighted the very same issues in this column last January, so let me explain why I’m not entirely repeating myself.It’s a fact of life that a lot can happen in a short space of time.

The Cook Islands and Sao Tome and Principe have become the latest States to become Party to the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety.These small nations deposited their instruments of accession during the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (21-23 October).At the same time, they joined 44 other countries (46 in total) signing the Torremolinos Declaration, a non-legally binding political instrument.By signing the Declaration, the 46 States publicly indicate their determination to ensure the Cape Town Agreement reaches entry into force criteria by the tenth anniversary of its adoption (11 October 2022).

National workshop discussed China's potential ratification and implementation of fisheries-related conventions, including IMO's 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA), aimed at improving safety standards on fishing vessels, and the 1995 Standards on Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F).Fisheries-related conventions are key tools used by flag, coastal and port States to effectively monitor and control fishing vessels and minimize the risk of illegal…

Fisheries-related conventions are key tools used by flag, coastal and port States to effectively monitor and control fishing vessels and minimise the risk of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, by enhancing transparency, traceability and governance.This was the focus of a national workshop in Shanghai, China (29-30 July),  organized by the Shanghai Ocean University and the Bureau of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People's Republic of China, with input from International Maritime Organization (IMO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), The Pew Charitable Trusts and the IMO Number Scheme manager (IHS Markit).Participants discussed China's potential ratification and implementation of fisheries-related conventions…

In order to improve the safety of fishers and fishing vessels, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has put in place, over the years, several initiatives, culminating with the adoption of the Cape Town Agreement of 2012.Accra, Ghana, was the host for a regional seminar (8-12 July), on "Ensuring Safety Of Ships and Fishing", to encourage discussion on promoting and ensuring safety in the fishing industry.The event also provided Member Governments with the assistance they may need in implementing the Agreement."Fishing is considered one of the most hazardous occupation in the world and, despite improvements in technology, the loss of life in the fisheries sector is unacceptably high…

Lloyd’s Register and Lloyd’s Register Foundation support the development of the world’s first 3D printed rescue boat.Lloyd’s Register (LR) is partnering with Singapore’s National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Cluster (NAMIC), Autodesk, ST Engineering's Electronic sector and AML3D to launch a global design competition offering a first prize of S$30,000 (c£17,500) to the winner of the best innovative design idea for a 3D printed rescue boat hull. This will be the first ever…

William J. “Bill” Wetta, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of DSC Dredge, LLC was awarded the Barry K. Wendt Commitment Award during National Stone Sand and Gravel Association’s annual convention in Indianapolis, Indiana held February 10 – 13, 2019.Deemed The aggregates industry's highest, most distinguished individual award, NSSGA established the Wendt award more than two decades ago to recognize individuals who exhibit the dedication and commitment to the industry that Barry Wendt did. The Barry K.