HMAS Melbourne Tests Endurance
A four-person team from the ship's company of HMAS Melbourne raised $3,000 when they pushed their personal limits in the Oxfam Australia 100 kilometre Trail Walk Challenge. Led by Sub Lieutenant Katrina Burkett the team set off from the Sydney suburb of Brooklyn, hiking to Balgowlah Heights, with the aim of raising and awareness and money for the impoverished. With only 48 hours to complete the course, the team comprising Chief Petty Officer Electronics Technician Len Harrison, Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Blake Ridge and Able Seaman Communication and Information Systems Jacob Macgregor, was pushed as they negotiated gullies, hills and rocky outcrops by day and night.
Typhoon Kills 10 in Philippines, Storm Heading for China
A typhoon killed at least 10 people as it churned across the Philippines and shut down the capital, cutting power and prompting the evacuation of more than 400,000 residents, rescue officials said. The eye of Typhoon Rammasun, the strongest storm to hit the country this year, passed south of Manila after cutting a path across the main island of Luzon, toppling trees and power lines and causing electrocutions and widespread blackouts. By Wednesday evening, the storm was easing in the capital and markets and public offices were due to reopen on Thursday. Some schools were to remain closed. Manila Electric Company said 76 percent of the area it serves was without power, compared with 86 percent earlier in the day.
UN Conference to Reduce Gas Emissions
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa (COP 17, Nov. 28 to Dec. 9, 2011), the global shipping industry, Oxfam and WWF have joined forces to suggest to governments how the further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping might best be regulated. Oxfam, WWF and the International Chamber of Shipping (which represents over 80% of the world merchant fleet) call on delegates to COP 17 to give the International Maritime Organization (IMO) clear guidance on continuing its work on reducing shipping emissions through the development of Market Based Measures (MBMs). The organisations maintain…
