Economic growth around the world is decreasing, and various governments, including Germany, China and South Korea, have announced stimulus packages to boost their economies. In fact, the International Monetary Fund expects global GDP growth to slow from 3.6% in 2018 to 3.3% in 2019, before returning to 3.6% in 2020.
Responding to a recent report by T&E critisizing the cruise industry’s emissions, CLIA said the results have been published without any academic scrutiny. It also cited significant investments in scrubbers and LNG over the last years, noting that the industry is fully committed to a zero emission future.
RINA announced that it coordinates SecureGas, a new EU-funded project, to rise the security and resilience of the European gas network. Thus, European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program has funded SecureGas, under the grant agreement no 833017, to ensure the security and resilience of the EU gas network.
Maritime industry loses an estimated €235 million a year from marine plastic debris, while the fishing sector loses close to €138 million per year from plastic pollution, said WWF in a new report. The report reveals that maritime trade and fisheries are responsible for 20% of plastics at sea.
The European Commission has adopted a Communication, taking into consideration the implementation of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy. It also launched a consultation on the fishing opportunities for 2020. With this Communication, the European Commission wants to reaffirm its commitment to promote fisheries that are both environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
Dr Bev Mackenzie, IMarEST Technical Director with inputs from IMarEST expert members issued a white paper, focusing on the importance of stakeholder management in creating societal value from coastal and ocean observations.
As Belgium wants to simplify the import and export of goods, it introduced the BE-GATE customs platform on 6 June. The portal, which was designed for the growth market of e-commerce, aims to increase the efficiency of customs clearance in the cross-border flow of goods.
The EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) published a report on the increasing drug use in Europe, Norway and Turkey, highlighting that Europe’s cocaine market continues to grow, as cocaine enters Europe through numerous routes and means, but the growth in large-volume trafficking, through major ports, using containers, stands out.
Carnival Corporation emitted about 10 times more sulphur oxide (SOx) around European coasts than did all 260 million European cars in 2017, a new analysis by sustainable transport group Transport & Environment reveals. As for Royal Caribbean Cruises, it is second, with yet four times worse than the European car fleet.
During its presence at Nor-Shipping 2019, the Indian Register of Shipping (IRClass) is seeking growth opportunities in the European market. As of now, IRClass has won some business with ferry operators in the Greek market. IRClass has received recognition from European Union in 2016 and has offices in the UK, Greece, the Netherlands and Turkey, along with representative offices in Malta, Cyprus and Bulgaria.
