UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2023 calls for a “just and equitable transition” to a decarbonized shipping industry. The sector, whose greenhouse gas emissions have risen 20% over the last decade, operates an ageing fleet that runs almost exclusively on fossil fuels. As global leaders prepare for the next UN …
The oil spill caused by the Greek cruise ship, Sea Diamond, sinking in the Aegean Sea off the Santorini island, Greece, is still dirtying the island's coastline. Though the incident occurred in the first week of April, the Greek government is yet to initiate a mop up operation. The 22,000-tonne …
US okays bill to cut marine pollution In March, the US House of Representatives approved legislation to cut polluting emissions released by diesel-powered ships. Under the legislative initiative, the US coast guard and EPA will be given the authority to develop and enforce emission limits on thousands of domestic and …
Alang's woes On March 12, 2007, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of a case against the Norwegian asbestos-laden ship Blue Lady for another six weeks. On March 8, an intervening petition was filed in the ongoing case by sarpanchs from 12 villages around the Alang-Sosiya shipbreaking yard. They argued …
The drive to the Chittagong shipbreaking yards betrays the character of the destination. The road is dotted with shops selling remnants of once-floating behemoths. Timber, torn out of ships, and wood in all shapes and sizes being sold are the most common sight. This is scrap wood and will be …
No healthcare facilities for them The shipbreaking business at Chittagong was an accident. Literally. In 1965, a 20,000 dead weight tonne (DWT) vessel was driven ashore by devastating tidal waves. It turned out to be the first ship scrapped on the Chittagong beach. Again, in 1970, another major cyclone drove …
This report explores ways to incorporate international aviation and maritime shipping in a climate policy regime. Currently, emissions from international transport are not included in climate policy targets under the Kyoto Protocol. One of the reasons is that it is not clear which country should be held accountable for which …
there has been a sudden surge in ships arriving at Alang for dismantling since November 2006, says the Gujarat Maritime Board (gmb). The shipbreaking yard now faces more toxic hazards. According to gmb, between November 2006 and February 2007, the shipbreaking yard has received 64 small- and medium-sized ships for …
The Supreme Court has restrained the dismantling of the Norwegian ship, Blue Lady. The ship containing 1,250 tonnes of asbestos docked in July this year at Alang port, Gujarat. The court has also directed the Union ministry of environment and forests to find out if the authorities violated the law …
on november 26, 2006, nearly 1,000 villagers of Chicalim, a village on the banks of the Zuari river in Goa, gathered for an unprecedented third gram sabha to vote against the Bharati Shipyard Ltd's plan of building a second ship building yard there. The shipyard, however, has the backing of …
The Sethusamudram Ship Canal connecting the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Mannar will be constructed by dredging a channel in the existing coastal waters either side of the Palk Bay. The canal will reduce the steaming distances between the east and west coast of India and will improve …
The Dutch cargo vessel Probo Koala, which illegally dumped huge amount of deadly toxic waste around Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan in the first week of September, has left Estonia and is now heading west towards the Baltic Sea. The Probo Koala had been impounded in Estonia's Paldiski port, on …
• The World Wildlife Fund for Nature has called on the International Marine Organization and the international shipping community to outlaw tributylin, a paint used to stop shellfish and other marine life from sticking to ship hulls. Tributylin pollutes the marine food chain and contains endocrine-disrupting properties. • The European …
Oil spill: The Sri Lankan government is still striving to deal with the oil spill that occurred in mid-September, after a Bangladeshi ship sank off the country's southern coast of Habaraduwa. The Bangladeshi merchant Vessel, Amanath Sha, was transporting a cargo of about 1,300 logs of Rangoon teak when it …
Supreme Court had set up a high-level committee of technical experts to examine the working conditions at the Alang shipbreaking yard, Asia's biggest shipbreaking yard. The committee, headed by Prodipto Ghosh, secretary, Union ministry of environment and forests, submitted its report early this month, pinning the blame of poor workers' …
The International Maritime Organization's (IMO) "Marpol Annex-6" limits on sulfur in ocean-ship bunker fuel and diesel engine emissions have made only a slight difference so far in the task of slashing diesel pollution in and near the world's ports, experts said. Yet technologies that could dramatically reduce diesel emissions from …
The Blue Lady touched Indian shores in the first week of July. The 38,000-tonne ocean-liner's year-long search for a breaking yard has been dogged with controversies, with groups such as the Ban Asbestos Network of India claiming that "it contains 1,200 tonnes of asbestos and unknown quantities of other toxins'. …
kandla mishap: 15 labourers were killed on June 29, 2006, at the Kandla port in Gujarat, when a Cyprus flag ship M V Pontonostos collided with the Anchor Handling Barge. The accident occurred in the navigational channel, where the ship hit the barge, which had 25 labourers on it. The …
green flag to blue lady: The Supreme Court, on June 5, 2006, gave the green light to the French cruise liner S S Norway, a k a Blue Lady, to enter Indian territorial waters and permitted it to anchor near the Alang coast in Gujarat. The ship allegedly contains 1,200 …
The world's largest artificial diving reef and habitat for marine life was recently created by sinking a decommissioned us warship off the Florida coast. The 300-metre us Navy warship, the uss Oriskany, which served in the Korean and Vietnam wars, was commissioned in 1950. It took 226 kg of explosives …
