Vanuatu News

The 2012 Cape Town Agreement has met the requirements for entry into force and will enter into force in February 2027, closing a longstanding gap in the global maritime safety framework. The Agreement sets out mandatory safety standards for more than 45,000 fishing vessels of 24 meters in length and over, according to FAO data, helping to prevent casualties, improve working conditions for fishers, enhance competitiveness and protect the marine environment.Welcoming the milestone, IMO Secretary-General Mr.

Argentina accedes to the Cape Town Agreement, triggering its entry into force in 12 months.The 2012 Cape Town Agreement has met the requirements for entry into force and will enter into force in February 2027, closing a longstanding gap in the global maritime safety framework. The Agreement sets out mandatory safety standards for more than 45,000 fishing vessels of 24 meters in length and over, according to FAO data, helping to prevent casualties, improve working conditions for fishers, enhance competitiveness and protect the marine environment.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met his Papua New Guinea counterpart James Marape in the capital of the largest Pacific Island nation on Wednesday for defense talks after plans to sign a landmark mutual defense treaty stalled.The two leaders instead signed a defense communique.Marape told reporters it was in the two countries' mutual interest to work side by side on defense."I made a conscious choice that Australia remains our security partner of choice," he said, adding Papua New Guinea could not defend its land and ocean space alone…

Leaders of the four biggest Pacific Islands nations have delayed adopting a joint security strategy that could provide an opening for Beijing, against a backdrop of increasing rivalry between China, Australia and the United States in the Pacific Ocean.The Melanesian Spearhead Group, which includes Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and Fiji, had been negotiating its first joint security framework, focused on maritime security.A meeting of the group's leaders on Monday in Fiji delayed a decision…

The Government of Panama rejects the claims made by Mark D. Wallace, CEO of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in recent publications circulated through the media and electronic mail worldwide. Panama, through its Panama Maritime Authority (referred to by its Spanish acronym AMP), the entity in charge of the Panama Ship Registry, as the governing body of the Panamanian maritime sector, has de-flagged more than 650 ships from its registry since 2019 in compliance with the United…

Australia does not have nuclear power stations, and it does not have nuclear weapons.I remember having lessons and debates on it in high school, many years ago. My favorite science teacher was dead against either use of nuclear technology.One of the most interesting arguments I remember hearing was that the technology developments that make nuclear power more efficient would also help make nuclear bombs more efficient.Fiji is much the same as Australia, and it has even ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons…

Countries at the U.N. shipping agency struck a deal on Friday on a global fuel emissions standard for the maritime sector, which will impose an emissions fee on ships that breach it and reward vessels burning cleaner fuels.The U.S. pulled out of the climate talks at the International Maritime Organization in London this week, urging other countries to do the same and threatening to impose "reciprocal measures" against any fees charged to U.S.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has joined 47 governments in a joint submission to the final round of negotiations at the IMO on a GHG emissions pricing mechanism for international shipping.The joint text is supported by major shipping nations such as Greece, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom, the world’s largest flag States including Bahamas, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Panama, all EU States (and the European Commission), other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya…

Four seafarers have been abandoned without pay on a 60-year-old tugboat in Washington State.The vessel, Wycliffe, recently changed its flag to Vanuatu, and was scheduled to help tow two retired Washington State Ferries vessels for a 34-day transit to Ecuador – where the new owner is based – for scrap, but the contract was canceled after the tug experienced technical issues.The four crew members on board from Colombia, Panama, and Peru faced dire conditions, including inadequate food…

A U.S. Coast Guard aircrew came to the aid of a Vanuatu-flagged supply vessel that was taking on water in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 22 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico.On May 25, the Sea Falcon was transiting to Tortola, British Virgin Islands with four people on board when the vessel's master reported to watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Juan that the 121-foot-long ship was taking on water through a crack in its hull. The master said the rate of flooding was approximately 300 gallons per minute…

On May 21, 2024, Shore Offshore Services completed the acquisition of the derrick barge Swing Thompson from Turnkey Offshore Project Services (TOPS).The barge will be renamed Hulk and will maintain its Vanuatu flag while following ABS guidelines and working toward gaining OVID compliance. The asset will be capable of installation and decommissioning of offshore facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and internationally.Equipped with an eight point mooring system, the 400- by 120-foot derrick barge is capable of working in up to 600 feet of water and can accommodate up to 104 persons.

A global maritime court found on Tuesday that greenhouse gases constitute marine pollution, a major breakthrough for small island states threatened by the rise in sea levels caused by global warming.In its first climate-related judgment, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea said emissions from fossil fuels and other planet-warming gases that are absorbed by the oceans count as marine pollution.Its ruling - an "advisory opinion" that should nevertheless provide a precedent…

The U.S. Coast Guard has rejected comments by a Chinese diplomat that its recent boardings of Chinese fishing boats in the Pacific Islands alongside local police are illegal, saying the joint patrols are at the behest of Pacific nations to protect coastal fisheries.Reuters reported last month that six Chinese fishing boats were found to be violating Vanuatu's fisheries law after being inspected by local police who were on board the first U.S. Coast Guard boat to patrol the waters of the Pacific Islands nation.China's Ambassador to New Zealand Wang Xiaolong…

The European Union, Canada, Japan and climate-vulnerable Pacific Island states are among 47 countries rallying support for a charge on the international shipping sector's greenhouse gas emissions, documents reviewed by Reuters showed.The documents, being discussed at an International Maritime Organization (IMO) meeting now entering a second week, outline four proposals with a combined 47 backers for imposing a fee on each tonne of greenhouse gas the industry produces.Support for…

Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry are co-leading an international initiative to accelerate reduction of emissions from the shipping sector, and on December 1, during COP28, they chaired a new round of announcements under that initiative, the Green Shipping Challenge.Various countries and organizations proposed measures to reduce emissions from shipping. This year’s announcements include:• Amazon: Amazon and other…

Shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia division has delivered the 18th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, Nafanua III, was accepted by representatives from the Department of Defense and then gifted by the Australian Government, to the Samoa Police Service at a handover ceremony held at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia on Wednesday.Austal Limited Chief Executive Officer Paddy Gregg said Nafanua III is the third Guardian-class Patrol Boat delivered by Austal in 2023…

A cargo ship that ran aground off St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month has been refloated and towed to a safe mooring location at the Crown Bay Sandfill dock, the U.S. Coast Guard said.Vessel owners and salvors will now coordinate further operations to remove the damaged cargo, remaining oil and conduct further salvage or repair operations for the Bonnie G.The Vanuatu-flagged vessel began taking on water and ran aground on October 4, leading the 12 people on board to be rescued after abandoning ship. No injuries were reported.To refloat the Bonnie G, DonJon-SMIT, Inc.

Australian shipbuilding group Austal announced its Austal Australia arm has delivered the 17th Guardian-class Patrol Boat (GCPB) to the Australian Department of Defense. The vessel, HMPNGS Gilbert Toropo, was then gifted by the Australian Government to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force at a handover ceremony held at the HMAS Stirling naval base in Western Australia.The new Guardian-class Patrol Boat is the fourth of four vessels to be gifted to Papua New Guinea under the Pacific Patrol Boat Replacement Project…

A U.S. Coast Guard boat crew rescued 12 people, Wednesday morning, after they were forced to abandon the Bonnie G vessel that was taking on water and ran aground just south of the airport in St. Thomas.All 12 people aboard the Bonnie G, a 195-foot Vanuatu-flagged “ro-ro” cargo vessel, are safe, and no injuries have been reported to the Coast Guard. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received VHF marine radio communication from the Bonnie G at 3:41 a.m., Wednesday, reporting…

A Panamanian-flagged vehicle carrier vessel rescued three sailors from a Russian yacht that was mauled by sharks in the Coral Sea. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said it coordinated the rescue after the Russian-registered Tion activated its emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) at 1:30 a.m. (AEST) on Wednesday.The distressed vessel, a 9-meter inflatable catamaran with three people on board, including two Russian and one French citizen, was sailing…

The United States opened international aid offices in the Pacific Islands this week, bolstering support for the strategic region and pitting it more forcefully against China, which has been providing infrastructure loans to the area for years.The vast ocean region, pivotal in World War Two, is in the spotlight again amid tensions over Taiwan. Taiwanese officials this week said China, which claims the island as its territory, could launch military drills soon to intimidate voters ahead of an election next year.On Wednesday…

Two cargo vessels collided off the Greek island of Chios near the Turkish cost on Friday, authorities said, adding that there were no injuriesThe Singapore-flagged cargo vessel Potentia with 19 crew members and the Vanuatu-flagged ship Ant with 13 crew collided in the eastern Aegean Sea nine miles north of Chios."There are no injuries, there is no risk of pollution", a coast guard official told Reuters on condition of anonymity, adding that the ships were not loaded with cargo.It was not immediately clear what had caused the collision, the official added.

North Korean missile tests are endangering the safety of commercial shipping in busy sea lanes in northeastern Asia without enough time given for notification, several countries told a UN agency on Wednesday.Nuclear-armed North Korea's sixth satellite launch on Wednesday ended in failure, with the booster and payload plunging into the sea, but it still prompted emergency alerts and evacuation warnings in parts of South Korea and Japan.A resolution adopted by a majority of over 100 countries attending the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) security committee…