Tag: marine environment

In advance of a critical intergovernmental meeting next month at the UN International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has called on IMO Member States to give careful consideration to shipowners' concerns about the implementation of an avalanche of new environmental regulations, which are about to impact on ship operations at more or less the same time. ICS Chairman, Masamichi Morooka, explained: "The shipping industry is not in any way questioning the need for these important new IMO rules and is fully committed to implementation.  But governments need to address some very important issues if they wish to avoid confusion and market distortion." In advance of next month's IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC), the ICS Board of Directors, which met in London this week, reviewed the solutions that ICS is proposing to governments with respect to the serious implementation concerns associated with entry into force of the IMO Ballast Water Management Convention, and new MARPOL regulations to reduce sulphur emissions.  The ICS Board also reviewed the continuing debate at IMO about additional measures to reduce ships' CO2 emissions. Making the Ballast Convention Work "ICS fully supports the objectives of the Ballast Convention and recognises that its ...

The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere reached a new record high in 2013, propelled by a surge in levels of carbon dioxide. This is according to the World Meteorological Organization's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which injected even greater urgency into the need for concerted international action against accelerating and potentially devastating climate change. The Greenhouse Gas Bulletin showed that between 1990 and 2013 there was a 34% increase in radiative forcing - the warming effect on our climate - because of long-lived greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane and nitrous oxide. In 2013, concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was 142% of the pre-industrial era (1750), and of methane and nitrous oxide 253% and 121% respectively. The observations from WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) network showed that CO2 levels increased more between 2012 and 2013 than during any other year since 1984. Preliminary data indicated that this was possibly related to reduced CO2 uptake by the earth's biosphere in addition to the steadily increasing CO2 emissions. The WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin reports on atmospheric concentrations - and not emissions - of greenhouse gases. Emissions represent what goes into the atmosphere. Concentrations represent what remains in the atmosphere ...

The latest Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) competition was launched at the NOC in Southampton - making £1.5 million available to UK businesses to develop novel adaptive autonomous ocean sampling network (AOSN) management systems. The competition, run by the Natural Environment Research Council, in partnership with the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and Innovate UK, will see funds made available to assess and develop novel adaptive autonomous ocean sampling network (AAOSN) management systems. These systems will need to be capable of coordinating a suite of marine autonomous systems, enable the gathering of data from the ocean over periods of several months and have the ability to track and sample dynamic features. The competition will run in two phases: phase one opened on 2 September for feasibility studies, with contracts to be awarded, for those selected, in mid-December and completed by 31 March 2015. Up to five phase one studies will be funded up to a cost including VAT of £50,000 each. After a review of the outcomes of the phase one studies, selected participants will be invited to apply for phase two for the development of prototypes, which would be capable of undertaking demonstration missions at sea. It is ...

BSR's Clean Cargo Working Group's 2014 "Global Maritime Trade Lane Emissions Factors" report-which provides data from more than 2,900 ships, representing around 85 percent of global ocean container capacity-indicates that average carbon-dioxide emissions for global ocean container transport have declined year on year, and by nearly 8 percent between 2012 and 2013. While changes in carrier representation or global trade conditions may account for part of the emissions reductions described in the report, the continued performance improvement is also attributed to carrier fleet efficiency and year-on-year improvements in data quality. The report, which includes data from 23 of the world's leading ocean container carriers, helps global ocean transport providers and their shipping customers to measure, evaluate, and report on environmental performance data. Additionally, for the first time, the report includes aggregated average utilization factors for each trade lane. Users can include this data in carbon-footprint calculations as a more accurate approach to calculating shipment-level transport performance. The analysis of the data over the two-year period assessed show that the average utilization across all the largest trade lanes is close to 70 percent, with some variation from year to year. "By reporting using a standardized methodology, the ocean container sector is ...

The wealth of knowledge gathered over the past five years under the Pacific Adaptation to Climate Change (PACC) Project is now being shared through a range of newly launched resources. The regional project is the first major adaptation initiative covering three components including mainstreaming climate change, a demonstration project and the development and communication of knowledge products. Fourteen Pacific island countries are participant to the project, which targets food production and security, water resource and management as well as coastal management. All that was learnt over the past five years in carrying out this project, both at national and regional level, is now being made available so future projects can build on these. "Australia sees the experiences and knowledge gained from the PACC project as a major body of new knowledge for the region" stated Ms. Ilisapeci Masivesi at the launch of the products. She is the Program Manager Environment and Development of Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade - Suva Post, Government of Australia. "Climate change adaptation will continue to be an ongoing challenge and therefore the knowledge management products are important to ensure that the lessons learnt are remembered and used in the years to come." The products ...

NOAA- and EPA-supported scientists have mapped the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area with low oxygen water, measuring 5,052 square miles this summer - approximately the size of Connecticut. The measurements were taken during the 30th annual hypoxia survey cruise from July 27 to August 2. This area falls within the predicted range of 4,633 to 5,708 square miles forecast by a suite of NOAA-sponsored models and confirms the accuracy of the models and their utility for guiding management of nutrients in the Mississippi River watershed. The size is smaller than the 5,840 square miles recorded last year but still greater than the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient (Hypoxia) Task Force target of less than 1,900 square miles - meaning nutrients from the Mississippi River watershed are continuing to affect the nation's coastal resources and habitats in the Gulf. The task force consists of five federal agencies, 12 states and the tribes within the Mississippi/ Atchafalaya River Basin, and was established in 1997 to reduce and control hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. The largest Gulf dead zone ever recorded occurred in 2002, encompassing 8,481 square miles. The smallest recorded dead zone measured 15 square miles in 1988. ...

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu has welcomed the recently-published report of the Global Ocean Commission (GOC), From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean, and its call for enhanced action at all levels to mitigate the threats to the global oceans described in the report. In a letter​ to the co-chairs of the Global Ocean Commission (Mr. José María Figueres, Mr. Trevor Manuel and Mr. David Miliband), Mr. Sekimizu noted that, as the United Nations specialized agency dedicated to sustainable uses of the world's oceans through safe, secure, clean ships, IMO plays a key role in advancing the critically important agenda carried forward in the report and has adopted key treaties addressing several of the outlined threats. Mr. Sekimizu highlighted IMO's active role in addressing many of the issues raised in the GOC report, noting also that IMO is working actively through several existing coordination mechanisms - such as UN Oceans, the Global Partnership for Oceans, and the Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) - to ensure that joint efforts are maximized and duplication reduced. "In my view, thoughtful development of ocean regulations, coupled with early entry into force, ...

Thome Ship Management has been awarded a Green Environmental Achievement Award by the Port of Long Beach, California, for high standards in performance during 2013. Yatin Gangla, Chief Operating Officer Bulk Division said: "This award is presented to operators whose vessels call at the Port of Long Beach and who have demonstrated that 90% or more of the vessels have complied with the Voluntary Vessel Speed Reduction Programme. In recognition of this achievement, Thome has received a green flag and a 25% discount on the dockage dues payable by all our managed vessels to the Port of Long Beach during 2014. Announcing Thome's award, Donald B Snyder, Director of Trade Development at the City of Long Beach Harbor Department, said: "Thank you for your commitment to reducing air pollution in Southern California." The Port's Green Flag Program is a voluntary vessel speed reduction program which rewards vessel operators for slowing down to 12 knots or less within 40 nautical miles (nm) of Point Fermin, near the entrance to the Harbor. The Port says that because ships emit less when they travel more slowly, the program has been highly successful in reducing smog-forming emissions and diesel particulates from ships. Vessels that dock at the Port of Long ...

As the Arctic warms and sea ice retreats, oil and gas exploration is underway in Canada's Beaufort Sea, with all the benefits and risks this development entails. To better understand these risks, particularly those of proposed shipping and exploration, WWF has taken a milestone step in answering these big questions by leading groundbreaking research to map possible oil spills in the Beaufort Sea. This study looks at four types of oil spills under different conditions, resulting in 22 different scenarios. Explore some of the key findings by clicking at the WWF's interactive map below , which WWF is making available to help advance discussions about balancing conservation and development in the Canadian Arctic. The results from the study give northern residents and decision-makers scientific evidence they need to make choices about the risks they face. The project involved the analysis of multiple types of oil spill scenarios that could occur in the Beaufort Sea. The goal was to assess the transport, fates, and effects of oil on nearby surface water and shorelines from potential crude, heavy fuel, and light fuel oil spills. Modelling investigated both surface and subsea releases. Four different generalized "spill analyses" were evaluated for this study: a shipping spill analysis in ...

The Antwerp port area one of the most important habitats of animal and plant species that are threatened at European level. Large parts of it are designated as "Special  Protection Areas under the terms of the European Bird and Habitat Directive" (Natura 2000). The Port of Antwerp is living proof that economy and ecology can co-exist in a sustainable manner. A sustainable port policy enables any further expansion of economic activity to go hand in hand with the conservation, reinforcement and even further development of the beautiful natural environment in and around the Antwerp port area. A balancing act between ecology and economy that is not always simple. Now, more than ever, this is an "and/and" story.  And more than ever, it is important that the boundaries of the port area be laid down once and for all, so that residential, nature and economic areas are clearly delineated, allowing all parties involved to develop a sustainable long-term vision. The Port of Antwerp has received the bronze Environment Award at the meeting of the International Association of Ports and Harbours in Los Angeles. Furthermore, the port was awarded the prestigious Environmental World Ports Award 2013 in Abu Dhabi for its remarkable ...