Chinese Squid Jigger Sinks After Collision with Spanish Trawler

By MarEx 2019-02-20 13:01:23

The Spanish trawler Pesca Vaqueiro has rescued all 30 crewmembers of the Chinese fishing vessel Zhongyuanyu 11, which sank off Comodoro Rivadavia after colliding with the Vaqueiro. The collision occurred Friday at a position about 10 nm beyond the edge of Argentina's EEZ, according to the Argentine Navy. The agency diverted the coast guard cutter GC-24 Mantilla, which was patrolling the EEZ boundary about 80 nm to the north, to rendezvous with the Zhongyuanyu and render assistance. However, the Chinese...

Injuries Caused by Unsecured Working at Height

By MarEx 2019-02-20 20:14:55

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its final report into the fall from height and serious injuries to crewmembers on board the bulk carrier Shanghai Spirit, off Queensland in January 2017. This incident occurred on January 29, 2017, when the 140-meter geared bulk carrier was anchored in Keppel Bay, Queensland. While conducting painting and routine touch-up work in the cargo holds, deck crewmembers were using a mobile scaffold tower. As the scaffold tower was moved with two unsecured...

Clean Shipping Alliance Concerned About E.U. Scrubber Proposal

By MarEx 2019-02-20 19:56:21

The Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA 2020) has expressed concerns about a proposal submitted by the European Commission (E.C.) which urges the IMO to change its exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber) guidelines. The proposal calls for “evaluation and harmonization” of scrubber discharges across all ports, worldwide. The proposal is intended for consideration by the 74th session of the IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 74) which meets in May. “This proposal is an attempt by the European Commission to push...

Conservation Groups Seek to Block Atlantic Seismic Activity

By MarEx 2019-02-20 19:38:23

A group of conservation organizations have asked a federal judge to block the start of seismic airgun activities for offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean until the case can be fully heard in court. The motion for a preliminary injunction filed in federal court in Charleston contends that the Trump administration’s approval for five companies seismic surveys violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act. Separately, 16 South Carolina coastal communities and...

Subsea Rail Link between UAE and India Proposed

By MarEx 2019-02-20 19:02:40

The National Advisor Bureau in the UAE has proposed a futuristic project to build a subsea rail connection to India. The Fujairah-Mumbai Subsea Tunnel Project would involve an ultra speed subsea railway, with the aim of improving the bilateral trade between the two nations. The main expected benefits from the project are: • Transport goods, passengers, tourists and workers between the UAE and other Gulf countries and India • Export oil and gas from Fujairah Port to India via...

The Awassi Express courtesy of Adelaide Against Live Export

Live Export: Another Cover Up

By MarEx 2019-02-20 18:18:37

Australian Greens Senator and Spokesperson for Animal Welfare, Dr. Mehreen Faruqi, has revealed documents that she says show that the Department of Agriculture had a role in editing the review of its own performance as a regulator of the live export industry. Faruqi obtained the documents through an Order for Production of Documents into all draft versions of the Review of the Regulatory Capability and Culture of the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources in the Regulation of Live Animal...

U.S. Navy Taps Reservists to Fill High-Tech Roles

By MarEx 2019-02-20 17:35:18

The U.S. Navy needs to train and retain skilled engineers, coders, cybersecurity experts and other professionals to carry out its mission. While the steep pay gap between the armed services and the private sector can make tech staffing a challenge, the Navy has found an important reservoir of private-sector talent it can potentially tap: reservists. In a prominent example the service publicized this week, a Navy reservist who happens to be a senior manufacturing engineer in the private sector is...

Cargo Discharge Set to Begin for Fire-Damaged Yantian Express

By MarEx 2019-02-20 15:48:25

The fire-damaged container ship Yantian Express is moored at the Freeport Container Port in Freeport, Grand Bahama, awaiting the unloading of damaged cargo. In a customer update, carrier alliance ONE said that the local port authority is monitoring the preparation of the reception site and is expected to give its final approval to start discharge operations in the next few days. The work will begin with damaged cargo, and ONE expects the process to take about two months. According to the...

To Block Aid, Venezuela Closes Maritime Border with Curacao

By MarEx 2019-02-20 11:07:02

On Wednesday, the government of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro announced that it has closed its maritime border with the islands of Aruba, Curacao and Bonaire in order to prevent the arrival of humanitarian aid. The United States opposes the continuation of the Maduro administration, and is actively supporting a bid by opposition leader Juan Guaido to take over the Venezuelan government. As one component of the American pressure campaign on Maduro, aid agency is USAID is shipping aid supplies to...