Tag: Mediterranean Sea

With the shipping industry entering a new, environmentally-friendly period, stakeholders in the maritime industry are seeking for ways to reduce their ships’ emissions. Apart from choosing green fuels and scrubbers, ports come to add another solution: Cold Ironing. This is the process of providing shoreside electrical power to a ship at berth, while its main and auxiliary engines are turned off.

The International Organization for Migration, the UN Migration Agency, reported that 8,956 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea through 27 February, marking a 12% decrease from the 10,243 arriving the same period last year. Deaths on the Mediterranean Sea reached 224, which is one half the 439 deaths that took place the same period in 2018. 

Human Rights at Sea published a new briefing note on the ‘Legal and Policy Matters Arising from the Increased Criminalisation of the Civil Society Search and Rescue Activities in the Mediterranean’. This is the second publication on the issue of the increasing levels of criminalisation of civil society search and rescue (SAR) organisations.

Spain announced that it will construct the second-largest marine national park in the Mediterranean, turning the Cabrera National Park area nine times larger and  taking the total area protected to 90,794 hectares. The park, located south of Mallorca, will offer legal protection for marine life that is threatened, such as corals, dolphins and whales. 

Oil tankers cause a long queue trying to pass the Turkish straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. The oil tankers loaded about 41 million barrels of oil, in their majority of Russian and Kazakh from the Black Sea ports. Overall, 55 vessels were waiting, including 21 Suezmax class tankers and 26 Aframax class vessels.

On 30 January, EU Coreper approved a mandate, aiming to enable the presidency to start negotiations with the Parliament on a proposal to ensure new maritime connections between Ireland and the other EU countries on the North Sea-Mediterranean network in case of a no-deal Brexit.

Following announcement that a total of 200 migrants have lost their lives worldwide in the first three weeks of 2019, the number now has climbed to 226 for the period 1st-31st January. ECSA criticised Germany's decision to leave Operation Sophia, calling on EU states to “set aside the disputes and decide on how to cope with the refugees rescued in the Mediterranean”.

The Port of Wilmington, Delaware, has loaded its first shipment of new Ford vehicles, welcoming the Alliance St. Louis. As part of the vessel’s multiyear contract, this journey is one of between 3-4 per month outlined in the contract. The vessel was loaded on January 7 for it’s final destination in the Middle East.

In view of Germany’s announcement that it would no longer take part with naval vessels in the Mediterranean Sea mission 'Sophia' organised by the EU until further notice, the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR) called upon the EU to find a solution to the protracted dispute on how merchant vessels will cope with boat refugees.

Oil tankers that export Kazakh and Russian crude from ports in the Black Sea, are competing on spiraling delays when they voyage through Turkey's most important straits. To this result, the delivery of millions of bbl of supplies on the Mediterranean Sea and past it, are being stalled.