Sand Dredging is 'Sterilizing' Ocean Floor, UN Warns
Around 6 billion tons of marine sand is being dug up each year in a growing practice that a U.N. agency said is unsustainable and can wipe out local marine life irreversibly.Sand is the most exploited natural resource in the world after water but its extraction for use in industries like construction is only loosely governed, prompting the U.N.
Experts Assess Micro-plastics in Marine Environment
International experts have met in London to review the growing problems in the marine environment caused by micro-plastics – tiny pieces of plastic or fibers which may act as a pathway for persistent, bio-accumulating and toxic substances entering the food chain. The experts form a key working group (WG-40) under the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), an advisory body that advises the United Nations (UN) system on the scientific aspects of marine environmental protection. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the Administrative Secretariat of GESAMP, which has, to date…
Ballast Water Treatment Through Biodispersion
The process of bioremediation of waste oil through patented biodispersion technology, consists of a breakthrough in ballast water treatment, which has been discovered via research based on the evaluation of SpillRemed (Marine), which was developed on the basis of biodispersion technology for remediation of bilge water on boats and ships in an effort to develop an environment friendly solution to the problem of operational discharges by ships. A study was conducted on board cruise ships equipped with oil water separators. SpillRemed (Marine) is considered a suitable replacement to chemical dispersants. Although in volumes as large as found on such ships…
IMO to Help Coordinate MidEast Oil Spill Clean Up
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is to collaborate in efforts to mount a coordinated response from UN agencies and other concerned parties, including regional Governments, to the oil spill currently affecting the coastal and marine environments of Lebanon and Syria. The spill, estimated to be one of the largest ever to affect the Mediterranean, follows an incident in mid-July in which an oil storage unit at a power plant in Jiyyeh, 30 km south of Beirut, sustained bombing damage during the current conflict. Theme: --Select Story Tmeme-- Anchor Handling Tugs Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) Ballast Water Management Barges Bulk…
Effort Underway to Assist in Lebanon Oil Spill
An oil storage unit at a power plant in Jiyyeh, 30 km south of Beirut, sustained damage between July 13 and July 15. Precise details of the incident are yet to emerge. Some 10,000 tons of oil escaped and there is potential altogether for up to 35,000 tons to be spilled. The Lebanese coastline 70-80 km north of the power plant – approximately a third of the Lebanese coastline – has been affected. These areas are composed of sandy beaches, rocky beaches, fishing ports and marinas. At the global level, IMO, referring to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (the OPRC Convention), is coordinating the international effort to assist Lebanon to respond to the oil spill…
Document Released on Dismantling of Ships
In preparation for the upcoming Conference of Parties to the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (Geneva, 9-13 December 2002), the United Nations Environment Program released, along with other pre-session documents, a document entitled Legal Aspects of the Full and Partial Dismantling of Ships. The document discusses, among other things, when a ship ceases to be a ship. Also released was the document Technical Guidelines for the Environmentally Sound Management of the Full and Partial Dismantling of Ships. Source: HK Law
