China's Latest Weapon Against Taiwan: The Sand Dredger
Taiwanese coast guard commander Lin Chie-ming is on the frontline of a new type of warfare that China is waging against Taiwan. China’s weapon? Sand.On a chilly morning in late January, Lin, clad in an orange uniform, stood on the rolling deck of his boat as it patrolled in choppy waters off the Taiwan-run Matsu Islands. A few kilometers away, the Chinese coast was faintly visible from Lin’s boat. He was on the lookout for Chinese sand-dredging ships encroaching on waters controlled by Taiwan.The Chinese goal…
UK, Japan Concerned Over East, South China Seas Situation
Four ministers from Japan and Britain voiced serious concern on Wednesday about the situation in the East and South China seas and opposed any unilateral attempts to change the status quo, in a apparent reference to China’s maritime expansion.The joint statement was issued after an online meeting of Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi of Japan, and their respective British counterparts Dominic Raab and Ben Wallace.“The four ministers reaffirmed…
Maritime Training: Non-Traditional Maritime Simulation
Our COVID-19 maritime world continues to change as our perspectives on education and training with the availability of online learning and conferencing, an increased use of webinars, and the use of simulation technology must evolve if we are to be able to continue to train and maintain skill sets as we navigate the current and predicted restrictions on movement. Changes made now may eventually become fully integrated in to future iterations of training in many industries.An increasing…
Seacat to Support Siemens Gamesa at Galloper
Seacat Services, and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (Siemens Gamesa), have signed a two-year charter deal to support early Operations & Maintenance (O&M) activity at the 336MW Galloper Wind Farm. Seacat Services is an offshore energy support vessel (OESV) operator and Siemens Gamesa is a global offshore wind manufacturer and service provider. Having secured the 56-turbine supply deal for the multi-million pound project, currently under construction by innogy SE, Siemens Gamesa is now supporting the wind farm as it moves into the operational phase…
EU Carbon Import Tariffs Could Torpedo Global Climate Deal
A move by the European Union to impose duties on carbon-intensive imports would scupper the chances of striking a global agreement to tackle climate change next year, the bloc's top climate official said on Thursday. European leaders have agreed to decide by October whether to set a 2030 goal to cut carbon emissions as the EU contribution to a global pact to tackle climate change, due to be signed in Paris in late 2015 and take effect from 2020. Last month France suggested measures could be taken against imported goods to ease concerns that the 2030 goals could threaten heavy industries competing with foreign rivals that might be subject to laxer environmental goals.
