Chemical Weapons News

The European Union's foreign ministers disagreed on Monday on whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to decide an embargo.The EU and allies have already imposed hefty measures against Russia, including freezing its central bank's assets.Russia's siege and bombardment of Mariupol port, which EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called "a massive war crime"…

This article will focus on U.S. sanctions on Russia/Ukraine. The Russia/Ukraine sanctions program is a complex mix of comprehensive, noncomprehensive and “sectoral” sanctions. It includes both primary sanctions aimed at U.S. persons and secondary sanctions aimed at non-U.S. persons. It encompasses broad sectors of the Russian economy and significant dealings with sanctioned individuals and entities, while generally permitting most transactions with Russia. Accordingly, it stands alone in U.S.

Merchant mariner numbers may be at a low in the U.S., but the men and women of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF) have increased their operating days by 245 percent from Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 to FY 2017.This year’s missions have included some of the largest ammunition movements since the Vietnam War – which the RRF crane ships are exceptionally cut out for; unit resupply to various theaters around the world, and movement of rotating forces including supporting the Canadian military.

The ITS Alpino, a Fincantieri-built frigate sailing under the Italian flag, made landfall in Norfolk. The ITS Alpino, a FREMM-class frigate, is a model of the ship the U.S. Navy is considering for the FFG(X) future frigate program. FREMM frigates are the only ships in the competition that have been proven in combat, having helped to destroy a Syrian chemical weapons facility in April. "The ITS Alpino demonstrates the proven versatility and capability of the FREMM class frigate," said Vice Admiral Richard Hunt (Ret.), Fincantieri Marinette Marine's Chief Strategy Officer. "It is lethal, survivable, designed for sailors and in service now. It provides a superior platform for the U.S. Navy FFG(X) competition and can provide great combat capability for our Navy in the near term and beyond.

A fleet of North Korean cargo ships is heading home to the port of Nampo, the majority of it fully laden, after China ordered its trading companies to return coal from the isolated country, shipping data shows. Following repeated missile tests that drew international criticism, China banned all imports of North Korean coal on Feb. 26, cutting off the country's most important export product. To curb coal traffic between the two countries, China's customs department issued an official order on April 7 telling trading companies to return their North Korean coal cargoes, said three trading sources with direct knowledge of the order. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping were discussing North Korea at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort on April 7.

The UK provided RFA Mounts Bay to support the Danish-led maritime operation, escorting a Danish transport ship through the Mediterranean as it carried the chemicals, the Defence Secretary and Foreign Secretary have announced. Libya’s chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed under international supervision in 2014. However, a quantity of chemicals which could be made into chemical weapons remained in the country. Earlier this year, the Libyan Government of National Accord requested support from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and the international community in removing the remaining chemicals from Libya and destroying them safely in a third country.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that DOT has awarded contracts with a total award value of $1.96 billion over eight years to seven U.S. maritime firms to manage, maintain and operate 48 National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) vessels through January 2024. These Maritime Administration contracts are funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) National Defense Sealift Fund to support DoD’s strategic sealift mission. “Since 1946, National Defense Reserve Fleet vessels have facilitated U.S. strategic sealift, natural disaster response, and humanitarian operations all around the world,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx.

America is leading the global effort to end the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. And part of the Obama Administration's whole-of-government response has included some recent heavy lifting by two ships from the Maritime Administration's (MARAD) Ready Reserve Force, the M/V Cape Rise and the M/V Cape Wrath. Today, the volunteer civilian mariners crewing the Cape Rise and Cape Wrath are home for the holidays. Last month, the two vessels – the Cape Rise at the Port of Beaumont, Texas, and the Cape Wrath at the Port of Jacksonville, Fla.

Maritime (MARAD) Administrator Paul N. Jaenichen will host a ceremony on Friday, September 19, 2014 in Portsmouth, Va. to honor the civilian crew who helped to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons at sea aboard the MV Cape Ray. The MV Cape Ray, crewed by all-volunteer U.S. Merchant Mariners, supported an international effort with China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Russia and the U.K. to destroy Syrian chemical weapons and agents at sea. The M/V Cape Ray is one of MARAD’s…

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency announces the successful completion of the Cape Ray's mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons components at sea. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency/U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (DTRA/SCC-WMD) is pleased to announce the completion of the destruction of one-hundred percent of the Syrian chemical weapons materials transferred on-board the Cape Ray using the installed Field Deployable Hydrolysis System (FDHS). The accomplishments onboard the Cape Ray represent the first time chemical weapons have been destroyed aboard ship on the open sea. A proven technology, the hydrolysis system was turned into a field-deployable system for ship-board application in just 5 months.

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) says it is proud to support the international effort to destroy Syrian chemical weapons and agents by providing the M/V CAPE RAY and its all-volunteer U.S. Merchant Marine crew to support this critical mission. One of MARAD’s 46 Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships that stand ready to provide rapid movement of equipment and supplies during times of national and humanitarian emergencies, this vessel and its crew illustrate the important contribution our RRF ships and mariners make in supporting U.S. national and economic security. Since 1775, the U.S. In associated news, Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. "This morning, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel called Navy Captain Rich Dromerhauser aboard the U.S.

All 581 metric tonnes of a precursor chemical for sarin gas that were removed from the Syrian Arab Republic and trans-loaded onto the U.S. Maritime Vessel Cape Ray in early July, have been destroyed with neutralisation technology aboard the ship while sailing in international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, informs the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The precursor chemicals - methylphosphonyl difluoride, or DF - were neutralised with two Field Deployable Hydrolysis Systems (FDHS) that were installed on the Cape Ray for the purpose of destroying the most dangerous chemicals in Syria’s stockpile. The FDHS units mix the chemicals with fresh water and reagents and then heat the mixture, which reduces the toxicity of the chemicals by at least 99.9 percent.

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) informs that it has entered into a new Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) establishing the policies and procedures regarding the survey and classification of the National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF). The agreement expands the working relationship that has existed between ABS and MARAD since the agency's inception in 1950, updating the last MOA signed in 1999. The new agreement, signed by Maritime Administrator Paul N. Jaenichen and ABS Chairman, President and CEO Christopher J. Wiernicki, lays out several significant changes that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the ABS-MARAD relationship.

As I write, the M/V  Cape Ray, a 648-foot roll-on/roll-off Ready Reserve Force ship is steaming under orders towards Gioia Tauro, Italy, to load hundreds of tons of Syrian Government chemical weapon agents and precursor chemicals, before neutralizing them at sea. With innovative safe-destruction technology welded to its decks, the  Cape Ray is the United States’ key contribution to the joint Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) / United Nations international effort to eliminate the Syrian stockpile of chemical weapons…

An American cargo ship, the 'Cape Ray' converted into a mobile chemical weapons destroyer is expected to take charge of some of Syria's most dangerous materials next week, a U.S. defense official said. Syria on Monday handed over the remaining 8 percent of a total 1,300 tonnes that Syria declared to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The handover had faced repeated delays, leaving the Cape Ray docked in southern Spain awaiting a green light to proceed. Its mission now is to transform toxic agents into a much less poisonous soup of chemicals, ready for disposal back on land. The Cape Ray's crew were given word on Monday that they needed to be ready to depart Spain in the coming days for southern Italy's Gioia Tauro port…

U.S. motor vessel Cape Ray departed Rota, Spain, this morning en route to the port of Gioia Tauro, Italy, where the ship will receive declared Syrian chemical weapons transferred from the Danish vessel Ark Futura, the U.S. Navy announced today in a press release. In a statement announcing the departure, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said the transit to Italy is expected to take several days. After the transfer is complete, the Cape Ray will depart Gioia Tauro…

The US Military Sealift Command ship 'MV Cape Ray' has left Portsmouth, Va., to conduct final sea trials in preparation for its upcoming mission to destroy Syrian chemical weapons. During the sea trials, the crew and the Field-Deployable Hydrolysis System operators are evaluating the ship and the system at various sea states. The ship is expected to return shortly for final outfitting before deploying to an as-yet undisclosed location in the Mediterranean Sea sometime late this week or early next week, according to Army Col. Steve Warren , a Pentagon spokesman.

The transfer of some 500 tons of Syria's chemical agents to the US special purpose vessel 'MV Cape Ray' will take place in the port of Gioia Tauro, reports Xinhua, citing a hearing before the Italian parliamentary commissions of foreign affairs and defence. The Syrian chemical arsenal aboard the Danish cargo vessel will be directly transfered to the U.S. ship MV Cape Ray through 60 containers and special equipment, and citing Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Maurizio Lupi…

The U.S. Department of Defense announce that the deployment of 'M/V Cape Ray' from Portsmouth, Va. 'M/V Cape Ray' is the primary contribution of the Department of Defense toward international efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons material program. All waste from the hydrolysis process on M/V Cape Ray will be safely and properly disposed of at commercial facilities to be determined by the OPCW. No hydrolysis byproducts will be released into the sea or air. M/V Cape Ray will comply with all applicable international laws, regulations, and treaties.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced the deployment of M/V Cape Ray from Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 27. M/V Cape Ray is the primary contribution of the Department of Defense toward international efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons material program. Over the past several months, hundreds of government and contract personnel have worked to prepare the vessel to neutralize Syrian chemical materials and precursors using proven hydrolysis technology. According to the DoD,…

The U.S. Department of Defense announced the deployment of M/V Cape Ray from Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 27. M/V Cape Ray is the primary contribution of the Department of Defense toward international efforts to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons material program. Over the last several months, hundreds of government and contract personnel have worked tirelessly to prepare the vessel to neutralize Syrian chemical materials and precursors using proven hydrolysis technology. This achievement could not have been possible without these remarkable contributions.

The 'MV Cape Ray' has arrived at Rota, Spain, for a port visit while en route to aid in removal of Syrian chemical materials, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren informs the American Forces Press Service. The vessel -- part of the Transportation Department Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force program -- left Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 27, 2014. Hundreds of government and contract personnel worked for several months to prepare the vessel to neutralize Syrian chemical materials and precursors using hydrolysis technology.

Experts on board a cargo ship transformed into a multimillion dollar chemical weapons destroyer said on Thursday they were ready to start working on Syria's stock of toxic arms in the middle of the Mediterranean as early as May. Now they just have to hope the weather holds and Damascus delivers on time. Former container vessel Cape Ray, docked in southern Spain, has been fitted out with at least $10 million of gear to let it take on about 560 metric tonnes of Syria's most dangerous chemical agents and sail them out to sea, said officials.