Sierra News

A marine drone struck a Turkish crude oil tanker that had departed Russia, causing an explosion in the Black Sea near Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Thursday, Turkey's transportation minister said.The incident, one of several in recent months involving Western-sanctioned vessels heading to or from Russian ports, occurred in the early hours, minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu told broadcaster Kanal 24.All 27 crew were safe, he said, adding that the coastguard had been dispatched to the vessel…

A sanctioned tanker carrying some 300,000 barrels of naphtha from Russia entered Venezuelan waters late on Thursday, while three others also under sanctions either stopped navigation or began redirecting course in the Atlantic Ocean, ship tracking data showed, a sign of last-minute decisions by ship owners amid U.S. President Donald Trump's "blockade" of all oil tankers under sanctions bound for the OPEC country.Trump on Tuesday ordered a "blockade" of all sanctioned oil tankers to and from the South American country…

Russia's Black Sea port of Novorossiysk temporarily suspended oil exports, equivalent to 2.2 million barrels per day, or 2% of global supply, on Friday, according to industry sources, after what local authorities said was a Ukrainian drone attack.The attack, one of the biggest on Russian oil-exporting infrastructure in recent months, comes after Ukraine in August stepped up strikes on Russian oil refineries in an attempt to degrade Moscow's ability to finance its war.Global oil…

At least 42 migrants are missing and presumed dead after a rubber boat capsized off the coast of Libya, the International Organization for Migration said on Wednesday.Libyan authorities rescued seven survivors who had drifted at sea for six days after the vessel, carrying 49 people, sank near the Al Buri oilfield, an offshore facility north-northwest of the Libyan coast.IOM said the migrants were from Sudan, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Somalia.Libya has become a transit route for migrants…

The High Seas Treaty has reached the milestone of 60 state ratifications needed to trigger its entry into force.Sri Lanka, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sierra Leone and Morocco deposited ratification instruments at the United Nations General Assembly on September 19.Formally known as the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (or BBNJ Agreement)…

The U.S. military is supporting Philippine operations in the South China Sea via a special task force, a U.S. embassy official said on Thursday, an initiative Manila said involves intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.Task Force-Ayungin, named after the Philippine designation for the contested Second Thomas Shoal, was first mentioned this week by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a visit to the Philippines."Task Force-Ayungin enhances U.S.-Philippine alliance coordination and interoperability by enabling U.S.

U.S. liquefied natural gas developers awaiting permits for new export projects this week expressed confidence President-elect Donald Trump will ease the way for their multi-billion-dollar expansion plans.Their confidence is buoyed by Trump's promise to end an expanded Department of Energy review that has slowed new export permits. President Joe Biden had paused new non-FTA export permits and asked the DOE to more broadly evaluate the cumulative effects of new LNG projects' climate…

As two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups patrolled the Indian Ocean this week in an explicit effort to deter Iran from striking Israel and sparking a major regional conflict, a very different military messaging effort was underway in a luxury conference centre in Manila.The 35th annual Military Law and Operations Conference organised by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command – running from Aug. 27-30 – is held every year in a different country in the region – but its presence in the capital of the Philippines this week was likely far from a coincidence.Since late 2023…

As two U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups patrolled the Indian Ocean this week in an explicit effort to deter Iran from striking Israel and sparking a major regional conflict, a very different military messaging effort was underway in a luxury conference centre in Manila.The 35th annual Military Law and Operations Conference organised by the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command – running from Aug. 27-30 – is held every year in a different country in the region – but its presence in the capital of the Philippines this week was likely far from a coincidence.Since late 2023…

At the urging of environmental groups, a U.S. judge threew out an assessment by a federal agency governing how endangered and threatened marine species should be protected from oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman in Greenbelt, Maryland, ruled the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Services' so-called "biological opinion" was flawed and did not adequately address risks species face from oil spills and vessel strikes.The assessment was issued…

The Philippines and China have "reached an understanding on the provisional arrangement" for resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the South China Sea, Manila's foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday.The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) did not provide details on the arrangement for the Philippines' resupply missions to the Sierra Madre on the Second Thomas Shoal.But it said it followed "frank and constructive discussions" between the two sides at the…

Each year, criminals try to smuggle countless stolen vehicles through U.S. ports, attempting to load them onto merchant vessels for destinations overseas.The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been cracking down on these efforts. During fiscal year 2023 (Oct.1, 2022 – Sept. 30, 2023), CBP recovered 1,316 stolen vehicles nationally before they could be exported from the United States—an increase of about 6.5%.To help stop the thieves, CBP performs rigorous import and export examinations.

The Philippines urged China on Wednesday to avoid actions that endanger sailors and vessels in the South China Sea, saying peace could not be achieved if China's words did not match its behaviour in the disputed waters.The Philippine foreign ministry denounced as "illegal and aggressive" China's actions during a routine resupply mission on June 17, which the Philippine military said had severely injured a navy sailor and damaged Manila's vessels."The department has been exerting efforts to rebuild a conducive environment for dialogue and consultation with China on the South China Sea…

China and the Philippines traded accusations over a collision in the South China Sea on Monday, with Manila saying its armed forces would resist Beijing's actions in the disputed waters, the latest in an increasingly testy series of confrontations.U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson condemned China's "aggressive, dangerous" manoeuvres in a post on X, saying the collision had "caused bodily injury."The U.S. State Department condemned what it called "escalatory and…

The Philippine military on Tuesday rejected Chinese allegations that troops stationed on a warship grounded on a disputed South China Sea shoal had pointed guns at its coast guard, insisting its personnel maintained professional conduct.Philippine troops are governed by rules of engagement and acted with the highest level of professionalism, military spokesperson Francel Margareth Padilla told a press conference.Chinese state media said on Sunday personnel on a Philippine ship pointed guns at China's coast guard last month at the Second Thomas Shoal…

Esgian provides an update on Saudi suspensions in its Week 20 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsDrilling contractor Arabian Drilling confirmed that the suspension of three contracts for its jackups with Saudi Aramco have yet to be finalised but are expected to take effect towards the end of the third quarter of 2024. CEO Ghassan Mirdad stated that the company is actively exploring opportunities to redeploy these rigs with other clients. Arabian Drilling announced…

The MSC Foundation, the MSC Group and Mercy Ships International have joined forces to build a new hospital ship.On 8 April, the chairman of MSC Group and MSC Foundation, Capt. Gianluigi Aponte, MSC Group President and Member of the MSC Foundation Board, Diego Aponte, and Mercy Ships Founder, Don Stephens, finalized an agreement to kickstart the new project with a generous anchor donation from MSC Foundation.The new purpose-built hospital ship will expand the impact of Mercy Ships’ life-changing surgeries…

My brother and I had a discussion about methanol where we concluded that methanol is a promising sustainable liquid fuel for transportation devices when batteries cannot do the job. While Methanol is initially not carbon zero, as long as we focus on developing zero carbon electrical energy, eventually we can produce zero carbon green methanol. Once there is plentiful green methanol, existing methanol vehicles will automatically become zero carbon transportation.The core argument…

President Joe Biden paused pending approvals of exports from new liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects on Friday, a move cheered by climate activists that could delay decisions on new plants until after the November 5 election.The Department of Energy (DOE) will conduct a review during the pause that will look at the economic and environmental impacts of projects seeking approval to export LNG to Europe and Asia where the fuel is in hot demand.The review will take months and then will be open to public comment which will take further time…

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday ordered that a postponed federal auction of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico be held within 37 days, a setback for environmentalists seeking expanded protections for the endangered Rice's whale.According to court papers, the New Orleans-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit dismissed an effort by four green groups to block an expansion of the sale ordered by a lower court judge in September.The judges said the groups lacked standing to challenge the September decision.

The crew of the Philippine coastguard boat watch anxiously as an imposing Chinese vessel draws near and cuts off its path, coming within a metre of collision in a vast stretch of open water in the South China Sea.The captain of the BRP Sindangan shuts off the engine and activates the reverse throttle. China's coastguard issues a warning via megaphone to leave as the Filipino crew watch closely on a radar that shows two vessels side by side."In accordance with international and Philippine national laws we are proceeding…

A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to overturn a California county's decision to block Exxon Mobil Corp from using tanker trucks to ship crude oil from coastal facilities to inland refineries while a ruptured pipeline is fixed.U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles denied Exxon's bid to reverse the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors' denial of a trucking permit in early 2022, saying the board's decision was substantially supported by evidence that transporting crude…

The Philippines condemned China's coast guard and "maritime militia" on Friday for what it described as "illegal, aggressive and destabilising" behaviour towards its boats during a routine rotation and resupply mission in the South China Sea.Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos said that despite the Chinese actions supplies were delivered on Friday to Philippine troops stationed on a warship that had been deliberately grounded on an uninhabited atoll more than two decades ago to support a sovereignty claim in the disputed Spratly Islands.The Philippines task force for the South China Sea…