Tag: Mexico

Mexican authorities confiscated a vessel in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz and a warehouse in neighboring Tabasco, along with storage tanks and trucks for illicit transport and storage of hydrocarbons.

Following the coronavirus outbreak, and the rejection of the "MSC Meraviglia" ship to dock at two major ports around Caribbean waters, as a crewmember was reported with flu symptoms, the cruise company informed that the vessel has been given "a clean bill of health" by Mexican health authorities.

The shipping industry is making efforts to boost women presence in the male-dominant industry, backed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that selected "Empowering women in the Maritime Community" as the theme for 2019.

Archaeologists discovered two 500-year-old iron ship anchors on Mexico's Gulf Coast, claiming that they may have belonged to the fleet led by Spain's Hernán Cortés, who conquered the Aztec empire in the 16th century.

Compliance is a major concern in light of the new regulations concerning pollution from shipping; whatsoever, no central policing agency as well as several countries have not signed up to them yet. Reuters reports that refiners and shipping companies are expected to spend billions of dollars in the following years in order to ensure fuel and engine compliance. Yet, as enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI, set by the UN rests with individual countries and flag states, means that for some routes and regions, compliance may be inconsistent.

North informs that recent incidents of criminals using cargo ships to smuggle narcotics have highlighted specific routes that are being targeted by smugglers. Namely, one route is Barranquilla to Altamira, as there has been a notable increase in the finding of cocaine on vessels trading from Colombia to Mexico. In most of the cases, bulk carriers have been targeted. The drugs, in the form of packaged cocaine were buried within the cargo and were only discovered during discharge operations.

The Secretary General of InterManager, Captain Kuba Szymanski, is calling everyone to sign a petition concerning the release of Captain Andrzej Lasota, who was arrested by Mexican authorities on Monday, August 5.  Captain Andrzej Lasota was arrested for allegedly being unaware of the ship carrying prohibited substances to Mexico, placing the lives and health of the country's citizens at risk.

The Florida Ports Council has singed a Letter of Intent with the Coordination of Ports and Merchant Marine of Mexico to maintain relations that promote international commerce and economic development. LOI includes the launch of a working group, consisting of maritime commerce leaders from Mexico and Florida to review and understand the issues.

According to the IMO, marine biodiversity is in danger of invasive aquatic species (IAS), which harm the world’s freshwater, coastal and marine's native ecosystems, a challenge that led to the launch of  GloFouling Partnerships project; Thus, taking part in the project, Indonesia and Mexico have formed their national task force.

The maritime authorities of the Government of Mexico have agreed to place a high priority on ratifying three important IMO legal conventions, following a workshop in Mexico City. These are the 2003 Fund Protocol, the 2001 Bunkers Convention and the 2007 Nairobi Wreck Removal Convention.