World Wildlife Fund News

The IMO's Facilitation Committee held its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12, in person at IMO Headquarters in London.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) meets annually to deal with matters related to the facilitation of international maritime traffic, including the arrival, stay and departure of ships, persons and cargo from ports. The Committee also addresses electronic business and aims to ensure that the right balance is struck between regulation and the facilitation of international maritime trade.

The IMO Facilitation Committee will meet in person at IMO Headquarters in London for its 48th session (FAL 48) from April 8 to 12 to discuss issues related to autonomous shipping; prevention of illegal wildlife trafficking on ships; digitalization initiatives and the implementation of the Maritime Single Window and Port Community Systems.The Facilitation Committee (FAL) will continue discussions around regulating commercial vessels that can operate independent of human interaction - Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).

Greenpeace protested against deep-sea mining in the Pacific on Monday, with the environmental organization’s Rainbow Warrior boat trailing a ship doing research for DeepGreen, a company which plans to mine the seabed for battery metals.Greenpeace activists were pictured in rubber dinghies holding banners reading “Stop Deep Sea Mining!”, with the Maersk Launcher, a ship chartered by DeepGreen, in the background.The protest took place 900 nautical miles (1,036 miles) off Mexico’s western coast…

1.54 billion liters of grey water were generated by ships off the British Columbia coast in 2017 - the equivalent of more than 600 Olympic-size swimming pools, said a study.World Wildlife Fund Canada says cruise ships traveling between Washington state and Alaska are responsible for dumping "the vast majority" of the potentially toxic grey water that ends up off the B.C. coast each year.Cruise ships accounted for 1.37 billion (almost 90%) of the 1.54 billion liters of grey water generated off the B.C. coast in 2017, the study revealed.Grey water — the drainage from dishwater, galley sinks, and showers — may contain contaminants ranging from grease, oil and flame retardants to disinfectants, fecal coliform and micro-plastics, among other substances.

A new WWF-Canada guide designed to help mariners in the eastern Arctic identify and avoid marine mammals is being unveiled at a Canadian Marine Advisory Council meeting in Montreal today. With summer sea ice on the decline and industrial pressures increasing, shipping traffic in the Canadian Arctic has steadily risen. This is especially true in the eastern Arctic and around the community of Pond Inlet and the Mary River iron ore mine. Ships servicing the Baffinland mining operation are increasing at a staggering pace…

APM Terminals Poti has been named the 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Award winner for the Best Project in the Human Rights Category: Increasing Safety Awareness for Truck Drivers. Organised by the UN Global Compact Network and the CSR Club of Georgia, the 2018 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards promote and support the development of corporate sustainability practices within the Republic of Georgia. This year, an independent jury evaluated 23 projects and named winners in three CSR categories: Human Rights; Environmental Protection and Successful Partnership for Sustainable Development. “Our CSR initiatives are undertaken to benefit the community and the port’s stakeholders” said APM Terminals Poti, Managing Director Klaus Holm Laursen.

It may take until Friday to free the grounded freighter "Glory Amsterdam" from a sand bar near the North Sea island of Langeoog, German authorities said on Wednesday, but no holes or cracks are evident in the ship's hull to trigger an oil leak. Shallow waters off the island had forced officials to revise initial plans to dislodge the 225-metre (742-foot) freighter, which ran aground during a storm that killed at least six people in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic. Environmental and fishery groups have warned of dire environmental consequences to the Wadden Sea…

Hong Kong stepped up efforts on Wednesday to clean up a massive palm oil spill, with authorities scooping up more than 90 tonnes of foul-smelling, styrofoam-like clumps in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight the territory's waters. Dead fish, shells, rocks, plastic bottles and other rubbish could still be found coated with globules of palm oil on beaches across the Chinese-controlled territory six days after the spill caused after two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary. The government said it had scooped up 93 tonnes of oil waste, most of it congealed, and the amount left floating on the sea surface had fallen significantly.

First luxury cruise sailed Northwest Passage in Aug-Sept; Voyage will be repeated next summer. A surge in Arctic tourism is bringing ever bigger cruise ships to the formerly isolated, ice-bound region, prompting calls for a clamp-down to prevent Titanic-style accidents and the pollution of fragile eco-systems. Arctic nations should consider limiting the size of vessels and ban the use of heavy fuel oil in the region, industry players said, after a first luxury cruise ship sailed safely through Canada's Northwest Passage this summer. The route, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Arctic, was once clogged with icebergs but is now ice-free in summer due to global warming.

As part of a commitment made to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) earlier this year, United Arab Shipping Company (UASC) has prohibited the carriage of shark fin and shark fin related products. WWF estimates that overfishing of sharks has led to around one quarter of the world’s shark species to be under threat. Sharks play a pivotal role in marine ecosystems and their disappearance can have severe consequences on the marine environment. The demand for shark fin as a delicacy is one of the key reasons for over-fishing. A week ago,  Cosco Shipping, the world's fourth largest shipping operator which holds 7.7% of the global market share, pledged a total ban on shipping shark fins!

WWF-Canada, represented by Ecojustice lawyers, is taking legal action to quash Arctic oil and gas exploration permits that continue to obstruct conservation efforts in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut. The environmental group believes they “continue to obstruct conservation efforts” in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, which is said to be one of the world’s richest areas for marine mammal and harbours one of the highest densities of polar bears in the Canadian Arctic. While the federal registrar has refused to delist the permits, the lawsuit argues that Shell Canada’s permits for offshore oil and gas exploration in Lancaster Sound – issued more than 40 years ago – are expired and therefore invalid.

Hong Kong-based shipping giant Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL)  said it would not accept cargo bookings for whale, shark, dolphin and their related products with immediate effect. In the last month, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said that as part of its ongoing commitment to preserving the marine environment, the company has placed an embargo on any consignment containing shark fins or other shark-related products, with immediate effect. "The World Wildlife Fund has informed us that consumption of shark-related products, which are a culinary delicacy in some countries, is threatening an already endangered species. To this end, they have appealed to all sea and air freight companies to ban all shipments immediately," the the second-largest shipping company in the world said.

Global marine terminal operator DP World has agreed to a set of 11 principles designed to help tackle the US$ 19 billion illegal wildlife trade. In a groundbreaking meeting in London last week, members of the United for Wildlife International Taskforce on the Transportation of Illegal Wildlife Products finalised the document that will shape the efforts of its transport and logistics sector members in the future. The Declaration and Commitments cover a raft of issues from information sharing and detection, practical measures to stop the transportation of illegal wildlife products and a common determination to tackle the illegal trade, wherever it may be.

Spain launched an investigation on Thursday into the sinking of a Russian ship off the Canary Islands, as coastguards battled a six-km (3.7-mile) oil slick close to tourist beaches. Environmentalist group Greenpeace criticised authorities for towing the burning fishing vessel out to sea after it caught fire in Las Palmas port early on Sunday. The Oleg Naydenov, carrying 1,409 tonnes of fuel oil, sank late on Tuesday 15 nautical miles south of Gran Canaria. Television images on Thursday showed oil floating on the water. Spain has sent three tugboats and two light aircraft to control the leak, Public Works Minister Ana Pastor told reporters. Experts were trying to locate a robot which could dive 2.4 kilometres deep to inspect the wreck.

For northern communities and economies, the expected growth of Arctic shipping has the potential to bring new jobs and industries, lower cost of living, and new infrastructure and investment. But with these exciting opportunities come certain risks that must be managed. This week, a draft international agreement — the Polar Code — was reached for new shipping regulations in the Arctic at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s environment committee. For the first time, binding rules for ship operations will be in place. This is welcome news as ice melts and development pressures ratchet up in the Arctic. It is encouraging…

Oil from a spill or oil well blowout in the Arctic waters of Canada's Beaufort Sea could easily become trapped in sea ice and potentially spread more than 1,000 kilometres to the west coast of Alaska, a World Wildlife Fund study showed on Friday. The WWF contracted RPS Applied Science Associates to model 22 different oil spill scenarios and map the spread of the oil, potential impact on the water and shoreline, and interaction with sea ice, wildlife and the surrounding ecology. Types of oil spills analyzed included shipping spills, shallow-water blowouts and deep-water blowouts. The BP Plc Macondo oil well rupture in 2010 that unleashed more than four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico was a deep-water blowout.

An advanced insulation foam and ingenious ways to transport fresh food have helped make Maersk Container Industry (MCI) a finalist in two competition categories, CSR and innovation, at this year’s Containerization International Awards. MCI competes for the “Technological Innovation of the Year” prize in recognition of its automatic ventilation, AV+, which saves energy by controlling fresh air ventilation inside refrigerated containers. An affiliated technology, controlled atmosphere (CA), keeps track of how fruits and vegetables ripen and respire inside the container during transport.

Maritime traffic in the Arctic is rising dramatically, leading to a greater need for safety and environmental protection. Consequently, as part of the icebreaker Oden’s Artic expedition, the Swedish Maritime Administration is testing a new tracking system for maritime traffic. The World Wildlife Fund, WWF, is also positive to the project. The Arctic is one of the world’s most environmentally sensitive areas, while also being one of the most difficult to protect against accidents. Thus, the need to support the maritime industry is crucial in guaranteeing safety for navigation and the environment. The Swedish Maritime Administration is now testing a new system for monitoring maritime traffic that will improve the potential for sea rescue, icebreaker assistance and environmental protection.

Engineering professor and petroleum industry veteran Michael J. Economides expressed concern over comments made by President Obama's national oil spill commission co-chair, William K. Reilly, advocating a complete safety overhaul of America's oil and gas industry. "It would be absurd for the administration or the oil and gas industry to satisfy demands of a political activist with an ideological bias against traditional fuel and whose only knowledge of how an offshore rig works comes from studying BP's ill-fated Macondo well blowout," Dr. Economides said. "U.S. "Policies coming from the White House wrongly assume BP was operating inside industry norms," Dr. Economides said. As of September 2010, the administration's drilling ban alone had eliminated 20,000 jobs in the Gulf region.

Green Marine, a program aimed at improving the shipping industry’s environmental footprint, announced that New York-based Roymar Ship Management has become its newest participant. Roymar, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TBS International, manages TBS' entire international fleet including 50 multipurpose vessels and bulk carriers. With a client base of approximately 300 customers in 20 countries, TBS has developed its business around key trade routes between Latin America and China, Japan and South Korea, as well as ports in North America, Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East transporting steel products, project cargo, general and dry bulk cargo. Roymar, based in Scarsdale, NY, becomes the 50th company and the first major U.S.-based shipowner to join Green Marine.

Canadian manufacturer, Thordon Bearings’ seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearings have been shortlisted for the Ocean Environmental Protection Award at the 2011 Sustainable Shipping Awards to be held in London, England, July 7, 2011. There are currently over 2000 ships using Thordon seawater lubricated propeller shaft bearings and that list is growing. Thordon’s bearing system completely eliminates oil from the ship stern tube by using seawater as the lubrication medium and Thordon non-metallic bearings in place of the metal bearings.

With 37,000 nautical miles of a unique corporate adventure under their belts, the corporate staff of De Lage Landen, a global provider of asset-based financial products, is about to set off on the final New York to Southampton, England leg of the Clipper Round the World Race. DLL staff members from U.S. headquarters in Wayne, and from offices in Duluth, Ga., and Des Moines, Iowa, will be in New York on the June 7 sailing date to honor the crew and cheer as they head across the Atlantic. The unique corporate adventure connects nearly 5,400 staff members worldwide.

Major paint & coatings company AkzoNobe & Taiwan's U-Ming Marine Transport Corp's 44 ships join the Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI). The SSI is facilitated by global sustainability non-profit Forum for the Future in conjunction with NGO World Wildlife Fund. The cross-industry group represents ship owners and charterers, shipbuilders, engineers and service providers, banking, insurance, and classification societies. The newest members, AkzoNobel and U-Ming, join more than 18 global companies already involved, including key industry players such as Maersk Line, Lloyd’s Register, Cargill, DNV, Unilever and Wärtsilä. It is the first time the shipping industry has joined forces on such a cooperative global scale to tackle big sustainability issues.