Cempaka Maritime, Marine and Fisheries

Peace on Earth Flag Ceremony with Dolphins

2012-02-01T07:15:00.000+07:00

Related Article:

Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age.

“.. Thecetaceans’ spiritual mission, to embody in huge bulk and inhabit your oceanswhere they absorb and anchor the light beamed to the planet from distantcivilizations, soon will have been fulfilled. These whale and dolphin souls, which species-wide are the most highlyevolved spiritually and intellectually on your planet, will soar to theiroriginal light stations when they leave physically, but they will continue tograce your planet with their love energy… “ - Matthew preparing us for the Golden Age – Jan 19, 2012 (Channeller:Suzy Ward)

"The Akashic System of Remembrance" - Sep 2010 (Kryon Channelling) - Reference to Whales/Dolphins/Animals/Pets .. > 28:00 min

Having a whale of a time with a one tonne puppy - diver's dance with a cute cetacean

Science Bulletins: Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

Whales putting on a show near Santa Cruz beaches

Kayaker Alan Brady is surprised by two humpback whales Oct. 25.

Biologists believe whales have followed food closer to shore, leading
them to feed just a mile from land this year. (Paul Schraub / AP)

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Scrap Steel Smuggling Attempt Foiled

2012-01-30T01:48:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, IsmiraLutfia, January 28, 2012

The customs office foiled the attempted smuggling of 28,200 kilograms
of scrap steel allegedly contaminated by hazardous waste at the Tanjung
Priok Port on Saturday in Jakarta. (Antara Photo/Ujang Zaelani)

Relatedarticles

The customsoffice foiled the attempted smuggling of many containers of scrap steel, eachweighing 28,200 kilograms, allegedly contaminated by hazardous waste classifiedas B3 at the Tanjung Priok Port on Saturday, an official said.

The scrapmetal was shipped from England and the Netherlands on false documents, saidEnvironment Minister Balthasar Kambuaya who was inspecting the containers atTanjung Priok together with Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo.

“Theexamination found that the contents didn’t match with the import documents,”Balthasar said.

Thesmuggled steel came in five shipments between late December and January with 89containers coming from England and 24 coming from the Netherlands.

Some of thecontainers released unpleasant smells when customs officials unlocked thedoors.

Agus saidthe importer was identified by the initials of PT HHS, a multinational companyin the scrap metal business.

“We honorthe presumption of innocence principle, but if proven guilty, [the companyowner] could face between five and 15 years in jail,” Agus said.

The importdocuments specified that the containers contained non-hazardous scrap metal.

“It turnedout the steels were dug off from the final resting place and directly loadedinto containers. They should have been cleaned first,” said director general ofcustoms and excise Agung Kuswandono. “We already consulted with the Ministry ofEnvironment to ensure that the contents are classified as B3.”

In additionto the customs offense, the importer could also be charged under theenvironment law, the ministers said.

Related Article:

Dutch accused of dumping chemicals in Jakarta

Dutch FM under fire as activist stands trial in Japan

2012-01-27T05:12:00.003+07:00

RNW, 26January 2012

Related Article:

Fair trial for Dutch activist in Japan?

Foreign Minister
Uri Rosenthal

ForeignMinister Uri Rosenthal has dismissed criticism that he is not doing enough forDutch environment activist Erwin Vermeulen, who is on trial in Japan. Theminister told Dutch news agency ANP that he is doing everything possible withininternational regulations, and more.

MrVermeulen was arrested in mid-December for allegedly pushing a Japanese hotelemployee while taking photos of the transport of captured dolphins in theJapanese town of Tajii. Mr Vermeulen, who works for environmental organisationSea Shepherd, has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Critics,including the Dutch Animal Rights Party, say the trial is politicallymotivated. Minister Rosenthal has dismissed this and the suggestion that MrVermeulen will not have a fair trial, saying: “The Netherlands considers Japanto be an orderly, democratic state where the rule of law applies”.

MinisterRosenthal also rejects suggestions that the Dutch government's position on thiscase is influenced by trade and political relations with Japan.

The trialof Mr Vermeulen is taking place amid the continuing debate on whaling. TheNetherlands' position in this debate is that Japan should adhere to theinternational rules which allow only limited whaling. Sea Shepherd is involvedin the international anti-whaling campaign, as well as the campaign to end theannual slaughter of dolphins in Japan.

Mr Vermeulenhas been visited twice by a Dutch consul and has also been offered legalassistance.

Related Articles:

Activists detained on Japan whaling vessel: Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd demands release of Dutch activist

Activists and Japanese whalers clash at sea

Anti-Whaling Activists Back in Australia

Dozens of pilot whales beach in New Zealand

2012-01-23T15:11:00.000+07:00

BBC News, 23January 2012

RelatedStories

File photo of pilot whales beached
on New Zealand's South Island

A group of90 pilot whales have beached on a spit at the northern tip of New Zealand'sSouth Island - the second incident in the area this month.

The whalesin Farewell Spit, Golden Bay, are being kept cool by conservation staff.

Officialsare hoping that the whales will be able to refloat themselves when the tiderises in the evening.

Sevenwhales died in the same area earlier this month when 25 of them were stranded.

"Wegenerally get one stranding a summer and we occasionally get two, but sinceI've been here in the past 10 years, we've never had three," regionalconservation area manager John Mason was quoted by the New Zealand Herald assaying.

The whaleswere spotted by an aircraft pilot while flying over Farewell Spit, he added.

InNovember, 47 whales also died in the same area when a pod of 65 got stranded.

Pilotwhales - which are mammals and belong to the dolphin family - can grow up to 20feet and weigh up to three tons.

Scientistsdo not know what causes mass beaching of whales.

They aremost common in New Zealand in the summer, when whales pass by on theirmigration to and from Antarctic waters.

Related Article:

“2011 and Beyond” - What you are seeing, and why - Jan 16, 2010 (Kryon channeled by LeeCarroll) (Text version)

( .. The whales beached themselves because themagnetics of the earth shifted so greatly that their navigational system [themagnetite in their biology, which is their migration compass] steered themright into the land. The land didn't move; the magnetics did. Therefore, youmight say their internal inherited migration map was flawed. The reason it'snot happening now is because the calves, the generation beyond the one thatbeached themselves, figured it out and rewrote the maps. Nature [Gaia] doesthis. So the next generation didn't repeat it. Instead, it realigned itself tothe migratory lay lines and now whales don't beach themselves nearly as often.

Themagnetics of the planet continue to shift and the birds are unaware. Like thewhales, many of the birds have migrated themselves right into a high place inthe atmosphere, which pummeled them to death by freezing rain and hail. Thenthey fall from the sky. It's the weather cycle. Will they continue to do this?Some will, for awhile, and then they will figure it out and recalibrate. That'swhat nature does. ..)

Teenager Dekker completes around-the-world sail

2012-01-22T04:33:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 21January 2012

RelatedStories

Laura Dekker was born on a yacht and
began sailing solo when she was 10

A Dutchteenager who set out to become the youngest solo around-the-world sailor hascompleted her voyage.

LauraDekker, 16, was greeted by a cheering crowd as she sailed into the St Maartenharbour in the Caribbean after a year at sea.

She left on20 January 2011 aboard her 11.5m (38ft) boat Guppy.

Before hertrip, Ms Dekker won a court case against Dutch social services, who had arguedthat the voyage could harm her emotional and social development.

Her motherhad expressed concerns about the solo voyage, but later lifted her objections.

Ms Dekkerwas born on a yacht off the coast of New Zealand during a seven-year worldtrip.

TheGuinness Book of Records decided to stop recognising records for"youngest" sailors after the controversy surrounding her bid.

(Photo:ANP)

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Laura Dekker: a heroine for our times

She did it! Dutch girl, 16, becomes youngest to sail around the world on her own

Teenager Laura Dekker circumnavigates the globe (Video)

Dutch teen Dekker completes global solo sail
Teenage sailor Laura Dekker completes global circumnavigation
Dutch teenager claims circumnavigation record

Teenage globe sailor takes down Dutch flag

Dutch court gives teenage sailor go-ahead

www.lauradekker.nl

There andback again: A map on Laura Dekker's website shows the

dizzying journey shecompleted by herself

Cargo ship Aztec Maiden runs aground off Netherlands

2012-01-22T01:39:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 20January 2012

The ship is on sand near Wijk aan Zee

RelatedStories

Country profile: The Netherlands

A cargoship has run aground on the Dutch coast 20km (12 miles) west of Amsterdam afterits anchor slipped in an overnight storm.

The emptyvessel appeared to be stable after drifting towards the coast and rescueservices said there was no sign of any fuel leak.

It wasnamed as the 155-metre (500-foot) Aztec Maiden, a Philippine-registeredfreighter with a crew of 21.

Tug boatsare being readied to pull the ship free.

There wereno reports of injuries after the ship broke free and drifted, coming to rest onsand near the North Sea coastal town of Wijk aan Zee.

"Asfar as we can judge, the ship is stable," Peter Verburg of the Dutch coastguard told state broadcaster NOS.

While therewere no reports of oil leaks, the coast guard was "monitoring it veryclosely", he added.

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Stricken Aztec Maiden towed to Dutch port

Cargo vessel stranded off the Dutch coast

Cargo ship at risk of sinking off Istanbul

Costa Concordia crew members tell RNW about their ordeal

2012-01-20T21:14:00.002+07:00

RNW, 19January 2012, by Prita Riadhini

(Photo: ANP)

"I wastraumatized. This has been my last voyage," said Teguh Haryono, one of the170 Indonesians working among the ship’s crew aboard the Costa Concordia thatran aground off the Italian coast last Friday.

Mr Haryonowas determined and told Radio Netherlands Worldwide* about his decision, eventhough he had been working on the same cruise ship for nine years. This voyageshould have lasted eight months, but two months after it set sail, the CostaConcordia capsized.

When theaccident happened Teguh, who worked as a waiter, was busy preparing food in thekitchen. The ship suddenly tilted and everyone panicked. Kitchen utensils fellon the floor. "When I returned to the restaurant, guests were yelling. Ieven told them not to panic."

Traumatic

Mr Haryono,together with other Indonesians in the crew, survived the ordeal. They receivedassistance from the Indonesian Embassy in Rome as well as from the Indonesiancommunity in Italy.

"I waslucky, but this has been very traumatic for me."

CostaConcordia carried three thousand passengers and was said to have good security.Smoking bans were closely observed in rooms.

Mr Haryonosaid he was treated decently by the company although his salary had beenreduced in the past two years.

"InFebruary 2010, the management of Costa announced that from now on we will bepaid in US dollars instead of euros due to the economic crisis. The exchangerate the management used was one dollar for one euro though euros were worthmore than dollars. So I received my salary in dollars, including tips fromguests, even though they gave it in euros."

The companypromised that when the economic situation in Europe has improved, they willreceive their salary in euros again. But nobody knows when it will happen.

Mr Haryonohas been paid for two months, and the rest of his six month salary will betransferred to his account.

Captain’serrors

SunarsoAryanto has a different story. He has been working for the Costa company forthirteen years. The tragedy that befell his ship will not shake his faith insailing again.

When theaccident took place, Mr Aryanto was serving the guests in one of therestaurants. He was supervising the buffet. Just before the incident, he tookpictures with the captain and other officers.

"Franklyit was the captain’s error that the ship made a diversion from its programmedroute."

Sunarso,together with his wife Jenny Rahayu who worked as a waitress, managed tosurvive by using a lifeboat. He said one of the Indonesian crew jumped into thewater when the life raft he was in rolled over. He was then brought to thehospital.

"Thecompany was very pleased to employ Indonesian people. According to themanagement, crew from some other countries are difficult to manage andarrogant," Sunarso told RNW.

The 170Indonesian crew members were flown back to Indonesia in groups. The embassy inRome received assistance from other Indonesian embassies such as those inBelgium and in the Netherlands. Other assistance came from the Indonesiancommunity living in Italy, who supplied the crew with daily necessities whilethey were accommodated in hotels across Rome. Despite reports of a delay inproviding assistance, Sunarso was very satisfied with the help provided by theIndonesian embassy.

* TeguhHaryono and Sunarso Aryanto were speaking to RNW's Indonesian service.

Related Article:

Captain arrested amid growing anger after Italian cruise ship runs aground

Activists and Japanese whalers clash at sea

2012-01-18T20:41:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 18January 2012

RelatedStories

Screen shot of the incident from
video released by Japan's Institute
of Cetacean Research

Threeactivists says they have cuts and bruises after clashing with a Japanesewhaling ship in the Southern Ocean.

Theincident happened about 300 miles north of Mawson Peninsula off the coast ofAntarctica.

Anti-whalinggroup Sea Shepherd said whaling crew used grappling hooks and a bamboo pole tostrike the activists.

Japan'sInstitute of Cetacean Research said the activists had tried to cut ropes andtangle the Japanese ship's propellers with ropes.

SeaShepherd follows the Japanese fleet south every year in a bid to disrupt itshunt.

'Sabotage'

A statementon the Sea Shepherd website said the Japanese crew of the Yushin Maru No 2threw grappling hooks at the activists, who were in two small boats.

They wereattempting to slow the Japanese harpoon vessel, which was on the tail of thegroup's ship, the Steve Irwin.

A statementon the website of the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), which sponsorsJapan's whaling activities, said the activists were trying to ''sabotage'' theYushin Maru, throwing ropes with hooks attached and also hurling glass bottlesof paint.

"Whenthe activists started using a knife to cut the YS2 float fender rope and net,the Japanese vessel crew used bamboo poles as a measure to push the boatback," said the statement.

TheJapanese have also released a video of the incident showing a water canon onthe Yushin Maru being sprayed at a rubber dingy while objects were being thrownat the ship by the activists.

Japan'sfleet sails south to the Antarctic in the autumn each year, returning thefollowing spring.

There hasbeen a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000whales each year in what it says is a scientific research programme.

Critics sayit is commercial whaling in another guise.

In the pastthere have been clashes between activists and whalers, and collisions betweenSea Shepherd's vessels and the whaling fleet.

Last week,Japan handed three anti-whaling activists who had boarded a whaling supportship back to Australian authorities.

The Legalities of Whaling

Objection - A country formally objects to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium, declaring itself exempt. Example: Norway
Scientific - A nation issues unilateral "scientific permits"; any IWC member can do this. Example: Japan
Indigenous (aka Aboriginal subsistence) - IWC grants permits to indigenous groups for subsistence food. Example: Alaskan Inupiat

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Anti-Whaling Activists Back in Australia

Activists detained on Japan whaling vessel: Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd demands release of Dutch activist

Science Bulletins: Whales Give Dolphins a Lift

2012-01-18T05:39:00.000+07:00

Manyspecies interact in the wild, most often as predator and prey. But recentencounters between humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins reveal a playfulside to interspecies interaction. In two different locations in Hawaii,scientists watched as dolphins "rode" the heads of whales: the whaleslifted the dolphins up and out of the water, and then the dolphins slid backdown. The two species seemed to cooperate in the activity, and neitherdisplayed signs of aggression or distress. Whales and dolphins in Hawaiianwaters often interact, but playful social activity such as this is extremelyrare between species. The latest Bio Bulletin from the Museum's ScienceBulletins program presents the first recorded examples of this type ofbehavior. Visitors to AMNH may view the video in the Hall of Biodiversity untilFebruary 9, 2012.

ScienceBulletins is a production of the National Center for Science Literacy,Education, and Technology (NCSLET), part of the Department of Education at theAmerican Museum of Natural History. Find out more about Science Bulletins athttp://www.amnh.org/sciencebulletins/.

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Whales putting on a show near Santa Cruz beaches

Kayaker Alan Brady is surprised by two humpback whales Oct. 25.

Biologists believe whales have followed food closer to shore, leading
them to feed just a mile from land this year. (Paul Schraub / AP)

First big cruise ship berths at Benoa, Bali

2012-01-17T04:09:00.001+07:00

Antara News, Tue, January 17 2012

RelatedNews

Denpasar,Bali (ANTARA News) - Deputy Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy SaptaNirwandar said a cruise ship named MV Legend of the Seas was the biggest yachtto berth in Benoa Harbor, Bali.

Cruise ShipPhoto: MV Legend

of the Seas

"Previously,cruise ships of the same size as the Legend could not berth at any Indonesiaport. They could only throw anchor some distance from the coast and transportpassengers to the shore by small boats," he said here Monday.

SaptaNirwandar also said the 264.3-meter-long Legend of the Seas was the biggestcruise ship to berth at an Indonesian port, in this case Benoa, Bali.

Meanwhile,the harbor and dredging director of Bali`s Transportation Office, KemalHeryandri, said Benoa harbor was ready to receive big ships from overseas.

KemalHeryandri said coral reefs in the harbor waters had been removed in 2011 toensure the navigation safety of big ships, even of ships bigger than the MVLegend. Besides, Kemal added, the local government had also dredged the coastalwaters up to a depth of 11 meters.

"In2012, the dredging will reach 12 meters to enable big cruise ships to bertheasily and safely," Kemal said.

PresidentDirector of PT Indonesia Harbor (Pelindo) III, Djarwo Surjanto, had previouslysaid Benoa would be the first port in Indonesia able to receive the Legend ofthe Seas.

The cruiseship had 2,300 passengers and a 1,000-strong crew on board when it arrived inBenoa.

"TheLegend`s visit will attract world attention because it is the first time for abig cruise ship to berth at an Indonesian port," Djarwo said.

Editor: B Kunto Wibisono

Dutch lab en route to Antarctica

2012-01-17T02:41:00.001+07:00

RNW, 16January 2012

A plannedDutch research facility in Antarctica is one step closer to completion.

Threemobile labs have been loaded on lorries and are en route to the UK port ofSouthampton. From there they will travel to Antarctica by ship. A fourth lab isto be sent at a later date.

The threelabs will form part of a Dutch research station, the first such facility inAntarctica ever.

DeputyScience Minister Halbe Zijlstra sealed the labs before they were loaded ontolorries. He also announced the names of the four labs: Geloof (Faith), Hoop(Hope), Liefde (Love) and Blijde Boodschap (Glad Tidings), after the four shipswhich left Rotterdam in 1598 to search for a trade route with Asia via thesouthern tip of South America.

During thejourney, the Blijde Boodschap was blown far off course in a storm and itscaptain, Dirck Gerritsz, spotted a “very mountainous land, covered in snow,like the land of Norway”. He was probably the first person ever to lay eyes onAntarctica.

During thesend-off for the mobile labs, Mr Zijlstra also announced that a lab at RotheraPoint on Aidelaide Island will be named Gerritsz, after the Dutch captain.

TheNetherlands Organisation for Scientific Research says the three labs areexpected to arrive in late March. The first researchers will leave forAntarctica in autumn. The labs will be manned by five scientists who willconduct research into the effects of the melting of the ice caps.

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Aphotograph taken by Captain Scott in the Antarctic of

Dr Edward Wilsonsketching at Beardmore glacier on

13 December 1911. Photograph: CaptainRobert Scott/Scott

Polar Research Institute

Anti-Whaling Activists Back in Australia

2012-01-16T15:31:00.002+07:00

Jakarta Globe, January 16, 2012

The Yushin Maru catcher ship of the Japanese whaling fleet
injuring a whale with its first harpoon. (AFP Photo)

Relatedarticles

Threeactivists who sparked a diplomatic incident by boarding a Japanese whaling shiparrived back in Australia Monday as Prime Minister Julia Gillard blasted their"irresponsible" behavior.

The menfrom the Forest Rescue Australia environmental group clambered on board theShonan Maru No.2, escorting Japanese whalers on an Antarctic hunt, offAustralia's west coast on January 7.

There werefears they would be taken to Japan and tried for trespassing but Tokyo agreedto release them and they were transferred to an Australian customs ship onFriday, arriving at the west coast port of Albany on Monday.

They wereescorted from the vessel by Australian Federal Police officers to cries ofsupport from a small band of supporters. One of the men was taken into custodyover an unpaid fine.

Gillardsaid they should not be treated as heroes despite Canberra's firm opposition toJapanese whaling in the Southern Ocean, with the operation to retrieve themcosting taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Thetruth is, it has been a costly venture to go and retrieve these threemen," Gillard told reporters in Hobart, adding that it was unlikely theactivists would contribute to the cost.

"I donot understand them to be people who probably have that kind of money at theirdisposal, so unfortunately it is the government, the Australian taxpayer, whoto date, has had to bear these costs, which is why, among other reasons, Ithink their conduct was irresponsible."

Gillardsaid she was as anti-whaling "as anybody else in this country" butbelieved the most effective course was to take the matter to the InternationalCourt of Justice, which Australia was doing.

ForestRescue Australia spokesman Rowan Davidson said it was unlikely the men would bespeaking of their ordeal anytime soon.

"Idon't think they are too keen to talk to the media," he said, adding toABC radio that they were treated well.

"Theywere being well fed, they were a little bit sick-and-tired of fish soupthough," he said.

"Theywere being allowed a couple hours a day exercise to wander the decks and theywere spending the rest of the time teaching the crew English and the crew wereteaching them Japanese."

Attorney--GeneralNicola Roxon, meanwhile, reminded Japan that its whaling vessels were notwelcome in Australian waters, amid reports last week that one strayed intoAustralian territory around sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island.

"TheAustralian government continues to condemn Japan's decision to continue itsso--called 'scientific' whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer," shesaid.

"Andit reiterates its request for whaling vessels to stay out of Australia'sterritorial sea and exclusive economic zone."

AFP

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Activists detained on Japan whaling vessel: Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd demands release of Dutch activist

Dead fin whale washes up in Vlissingen, The Netherlands

2012-01-16T03:12:00.001+07:00

RNW, 15January 2012

(Photo: NOS)

A dead finwhale was found on Sunday morning in the harbour of Vlissingen in thesouth-western province of Zeeland.

The youngmammal is nearly nine metres long and weighs some 5,000 kilos. It is extremelyrare for a fin whale to wash up on Dutch shores. Just 30 cases have beenrecorded since the fourteenth century.

The lasttime was eleven years ago, when a fin whale washed up about 100 metres from thepresent site. Biologists from the Naturalis natural history museum in Leidenwill dissect the animal on the quay tomorrow.

Three die in South Korean ship explosion

2012-01-15T16:19:00.000+07:00

BBC News, 15January 2012

RelatedStories

Fire on S Korea ship in Antarctic

The cause of the blast is being investigated

A SouthKorean cargo ship has sunk after an explosion on board, killing at least threecrew members, the coast guard says.

Eight peopleare still missing and five others have been rescued in the incident north ofJawol island, near the port of Incheon.

The blasthappened in the morning after the ship had unloaded oil products.

The causeis being investigated, but officials say it is unlikely to be the result of anattack by North Korea.

"Theexplosion took place far below the sea border with North Korea. We see verylittle possibility (of attacks by the North)," a coastguard spokesman toldthe AFP news agency.

The ship'sowners said that the explosion could have been caused by gases leaking from theship's oil tanks.

"Webelieve that something went wrong during the process to take out remaining gasin the oil tank," an official of Doora Shipping told Japan's Yonhap newsagency.

"Thevessel usually transports diesel, but this time it carried gasoline. We are nowexamining whether it had any relation to the explosion," the officialsaid.

The deadcrew members included two Burmese nationals and one South Korean.

The searchfor the missing is continuing.

The4,191-tonne freight ship had 16 crew members on board - 11 South Koreans andfive Burmese.

Related Article:

Five die in unexplained explosion on South Korean ship

Captain arrested amid growing anger after Italian cruise ship runs aground

2012-01-15T05:25:00.001+07:00

FrancescoSchettino investigated for manslaughter and abandoning ship after three die and69 go missing

guardian.co.uk,John Hooper in Porto Santo Stefano and Tom Kington in Rome, Saturday 14 January2012

Cruiseships runs aground off coast of Tuscany. Link to this video

The Italiancaptain of a ship that sank off the coast of Tuscany was placed under arrestafter one of the most dramatic holiday cruise disasters ever seen in theMediterranean. Three passengers died and 69 were still unaccounted for afterthe 114,000-tonne Costa Concordia smashed into rocks amid scenes of panic andchaos.

Localprosecutors said Francesco Schettino was being investigated for manslaughterand abandoning ship following reports his stricken vessel failed to raise amayday alert as the disaster unfolded.

There wasspeculation that a power failure on board the ship could have led to it losingnavigational control and crashing into the rocks. Experts said that passengerreports of a power blackout and large blast indicated the vessel could havesuffered an explosion in the engine room.

As the shipcame to rest half submerged on its side, yards from the coast of the island ofGiglio late on Friday, anger rose among the thousands of passengers who hadswum or been ferried and flown to safety over what they described as a botchedevacuation by crew members who panicked.

Italianpolice confirmed that two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member drowned inthe accident. About 30 people were reported injured, with three criticallyhurt.

A Britishembassy official said not all the Britons on board the vessel had yet beenaccounted for. He said consular officials had so far confirmed that"around 20" survived.

Survivorsdescribed extraordinary scenes of panic, confusion and fear as the ship tiltedon its side following what sounded like a loud explosion. Kirsty Cook, one ofeight British dancers working on the cruise, said she was "lucky to bealive" after using a rope ladder to climb down to a waiting rescue boat.Another dancer, Rosie Metcalf, 22, from Dorset, had to cling to a fire hosebefore being winched to safety by a helicopter crew.

The CostaConcordia, which was built in Italy and launched in 2006, set off fromCivitavecchia on Friday for a Mediterranean cruise, carrying 3,206 passengersand 1,023 crew. As the ship slid between Giglio and the coast, passengerssitting down for their first dinner on board felt a shudder before the lightswent out.

Despite anannouncement that the ship had suffered no more than an electrical failure,diners became suspicious as their drinks began to tilt on the tables in front ofthem. Schettino said he had struck rocks "which were not indicated onmaps" and denied allegations that he was sailing too close to the coast.

"Wewere 300m from the rocks and that outcrop should not have been there," hesaid. As dawn broke yesterday, a huge chunk of torn-off rock could be seenprotruding from a 50-metre gash in the ship's hull below the waterline.

Schettinotried to steer the ship towards the coast to make evacuation easier, but aswater poured into the lower decks the ship began to list dangerously and it wassoon too late to lower the lifeboats.

Passengerscomplained that they had urged crew members to let them on to the lifeboats asthe ship manoeuvred but were told the captain had not yet given permission. Agroup of Croatian tourists said that, due to the tilting of the ship, onelifeboat that had been eventually loaded with passengers crashed back into theship.

"Therewas panic immediately," said Francesca Sinatra, a passenger from Rome."People were shouting and climbing on each other." The lifeboat shewas in collided a number of times with the listing hull as it was lowered intothe water due to the angle, she added.

Italianjournalist Mara Parmegiani Alfonsi, who was on board, said the crew did notappear to have been trained for the emergency.

Rescueships arrived to help take passengers off as the vessel tipped closer to thewater. Helicopters were dispatched by the coastguard, navy and air force tohoist passengers to safety and light up the sea with searchlights as passengers– "a few hundred", according to one rescuer – plunged into the waterto swim to the shore.

Cruiseoperator Costa Crociere said in a statement: "Emergency procedures havebeen promptly activated, our crew members on board are professionally trained andthey took all the necessary actions to assist our guests and help them toevacuate the ship."

But thesailors' union Nautilus International said that, 100 years on from the sinkingof the Titanic, "many ships are now effectively small towns at sea, andthe sheer number of people on board raises serious questions aboutevacuation".

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Honeymooning couple rescued from submerged ship Costa Concordia

Italy cruise ship Costa Concordia: Search for missing

The cruise operators thanked the citizens of Giglio for rescuing those on board

Cargo boat and US navy ship set sail on 'green' algal oil in marine fuel trials

2012-01-14T00:13:00.000+07:00

Substitutingthe biofuel for bunker fuel may bring about a revolution in the world'sshipping fleets

guardian.co.uk,John Vidal, environment editor, Friday 13 January 2012

A Maersk container ship. The results of subsituting algal oil for bunker fuel
are being evaluated by the shipping company. Photograph: Roland
Magunia/AFP/Getty Images

Giant cargoboats and US navy warships have been successfully powered on oil derived fromgenetically modified, microscopic algae in moves which could see a revolutionin the fuel used by the world's fleets and a reduction in the pollution theycause.

The resultsof substituting algal oil for low-grade, "bunker" fuel and diesel ina 98,000-tonne container ship are still being evaluated by Maersk, the world'sbiggest shipping company, who last week tested 30 tonnes of oil supplied by theUS navy in a vessel travelling from Europe to India. Last month the navy tested20,000 gallons of algal fuel for a few hours on a decommissioned destroyer.Both ran their trials on a mix of algal oil – between 7% and 100% – andconventional bunker fuel.

"Thetests are not complete yet but we had very few problems," said a Maerskspokesman.

Collaborationbetween the world's two biggest shipping fleets is expected to lead to thedeployment of renewable marine fuels. Maersk uses more than $6bn of bunker fuela year for its 1,300 ships, and the US navy, the world's biggest single user ofmarine fuels, burns around 40m barrels of oil a year. The navy plans to testmore ships on algal fuel next year as part of its "green fleet" initiative and has pledged to cut 50% of its conventional oil use a year by2020 to reduce US imports. Maersk hopes to achieve similar cuts in the sametime.

"Shippingtakes 350m tonnes of oil a year and causes 3-4% of all greenhouse gasemissions, so it is very attractive to find alternatives. We can envisage [theworld's] ships being 10% or more powered by biofuels in 20 years' time,"said Jacob Sterling, Maersk head of climate and environment.

The exactnature of the algae, one of 30,000 single-cell organisms known to exist in thewild, is a closely guarded secret of Solazyme, the company which manufacturesthe fuel in giant fermentation tanks in Pennsylvania. The fast-growing algaeare fed crop or forest waste and convert their sugars to oil.

"Thetechnology is there. The question now is how to scale up," said TylerPainterm, chief finance officer of Solazyme, which has a contract to produce450,000 gallons of biofuels for the navy's trial. "We have testedthousands of algae, found in swamps, in mountains and at sea and we know we canbe competitive. By using different strains of algae we can produce differentkinds of oils."

Thecompany, which is set to expand shortly with a 50m gallon-a-year plant inBrazil, is backed by oil company Chevron, giant US agribusiness Bunge, and SirRichard Branson whose Virgin airline has tested planes on algal fuel.

Unlikeearly biofuels, which made transport fuel from food crops, the new "secondgeneration" process uses only plant waste and does not displace foodswhich could be fed to people or animals. Nevertheless, immense amounts offeedstock would be needed to power the world's ships. Maersk estimates it couldtake the crop waste of an area half the size of Denmark to completely powertheir ships.

But even apartial switch to algal oils would massively reduce air pollution. Bunker fuel,which is little more than asphalt, can produce as much pollution from a single ship in a year as 50m cars, is the most polluting fuel in the world.

But thereis uncertainty over how much algal fuels would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Algae sequester CO2 when growing, but they release it when burned as oil.Solazyme and Maersk claim that they reduce carbon emissions by 80% comparedwith petroleum derived fuels in a "lifetime" analysis.

The race ison between different companies to produce competitive algal oils. In October2010, the US Navy purchased 20,055 gallons on algae biofuel at $424 per gallon,but by December 2011, the price had reduced to $26.67 per gallon. Meanwhile,Craig Venter, the scientist who first sequenced the human genome and designedthe first synthetic cell, is trying to develop a genetically engineered algae fuel that depends only on sunlight and sea water and can be grown and harvestedat sea.

In an interview in this month's Scientific American, he said: "We need threemajor ingredients: CO2, sunlight and seawater, aside from having the facilityand refinery to convert all those things. We're looking at sites around theworld that have the major ingredient. To us, this is a long-term plan."

If the USnavy does switch to algae or other biofuels, it would mark the end of an era ofoil-burning navies ushered in by Winston Churchill. In 1911, as British navyminister, he controversially ordered the massive British fleet to switch fromcoal to oil for efficiency.

Two yearslater he bought for the UK government a 51% controlling interest in the thensmall Anglo-Persian Oil Company. Within a few years, the company changed itsname to BP, and is now the world's fourth largest corporation.

• Get theGuardian's environment news on your iPhone with our new app. You can also joinus on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

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Vietnamese crewmen killed in Antarctic ship fire

2012-01-12T16:19:00.002+07:00

BBC News, 12January 2012

RelatedStories

The South Korean Jeong Woo 2 fishing
boat is still burning in the Antarctic

ThreeVietnamese crewmen died when a South Korean fishing boat caught fire inAntarctica, New Zealand officials confirmed, as a US vessel treated seveninjured sailors.

MaritimeNew Zealand (MNZ) said the men did not make it out of the Jeong Woo 2'saccommodation area when the fire started.

Theincident happened 3,700km (2,000 miles) from New Zealand on Wednesday.

Seveninjured men are being taken to an Antarctic base.

MNZ said ofthe seven - who are all Vietnamese and Indonesian - three men had seriousinjuries.

They are onboard the American research vessel Nathaniel B Palmer, which reached theburning boat on Wednesday.

The USvessel is now making its way to the US McMurdo Antarctic base, located about600km (375 miles) away.

The injuredmen are scheduled to be evacuated to a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealandonce they reach the base.

New Zealandofficials report that the Jeong Woo 2 is still ablaze and there are plans forher sister ship Jeong Woo 3 to tow the boat out of Antarctic waters to minimisethe impact on the environment.

The causeof the fire will be determined by Korean maritime authorities.

The JeongWoo 2 was built in Japan and is registered in Busan, South Korea, according tothe Associated Press news agency.

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Teenage globe sailor takes down Dutch flag

2012-01-11T23:19:00.001+07:00

RNW, 11January 2012

Photo: Laura Dekker, Hvyes

Soloyachtswoman Laura Dekker has taken down the Dutch flag from her sailing boatand replaced it with a New Zealand one, in response to renewed efforts fromDutch school attendance authorities to force her to continue with hereducation.

Authoritiesclaim 16-year-old Laura has been doing too little school work. When her fatherrefused to make an appointment to discuss the issue, attendance officersannounced they intended to complain to the Dutch council for child welfare.

Laura – whoaims to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world single-handed -is currently crossing the Atlantic Ocean, headed for the Dutch Caribbean islandof Sint Maarten where she will complete her journey in her boat, Guppy. It isexpected that she will arrive within two weeks provided there are no setbacks.

Battle tosail with authorities

In 2009,when Laura first announced her plans to circumnavigate the globe, Dutchauthorities intervened and insisted she should first finish school. The childwelfare authorities brought the case to court and a judge ruled that the13-year-old was too young to travel alone. Laura then ran away and took a planeto St Maarten, where she was arrested and sent back to the Netherlands.

In July2010, a judge gave her permission to carry out her plans - provided she agreedto a number of conditions, including continuing her secondary-school educationthrough an online teaching programme set up for Dutch-speaking children abroad.

Dutchnewspaper de Volkskrant reports her lawyer, Peter de Lange, “is furious aboutthe latest action of the school attendance enforcement officers.” Laura has hadenough of Dutch authorities, he says. “She was almost put into care. And nowthis.”

A Dutchcourt had ordered authorities to take temporary guardianship of Laura when shewas 13, while her case was being assesed by psychologists.

Turns backon Dutch citizenship

Officially,Laura does not have to comply with Dutch regulations concerning her education,as she is no longer registered as a Dutch citizen. She holds New Zealandcitizenship because she was born on a boat there while her parents were sailingaround the world.

DeVolkskrant says the World School, which organises the education bycorrespondence, is afraid a precedent will be set if they don’t intervene.“Laura is contending with an 80-year school attendance battle. Compulsoryschool attendance is sacred in the Netherlands.”

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www.lauradekker.nl

US ships 'in second rescue of Iranians in Gulf'

2012-01-11T03:49:00.000+07:00

BBC News, 10January 2012

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The US Coast Guard cutter Monomoy
was involved in Tuesday's rescue

A US shiphas picked up Iranians in trouble at sea, in the second such rescue in lessthan a week, the Pentagon has said.

US CoastGuard cutter Monomoy rescued six Iranian mariners after their vessel broke downin the Gulf.

One of thesix had suffered burns and is receiving treatment, Pentagon spokesman GeorgeLittle told reporters.

The US Navyrescued 13 Iranian fishermen last Thursday after they were captured by Somalipirates.

Bothincidents come at a time of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran.

'Humanitariangesture'

In thelatest incident, the six Iranians were some 50 miles (90km) south-east of theIraqi port of Umm Qasr when they got into trouble early on Tuesday, Mr Littlesaid.

The crewused flares and flashlights to hail the passing Monomoy. The vessel's masterindicated "that the engine room was flooding and [the ship was] notseaworthy", Mr Little added.

ThePentagon said the Iranian mariners would be repatriated, although it has notyet been determined how.

LastThursday, forces assigned to the John C Stennis aircraft carrier group - on itsway from the Gulf to Afghanistan - received a distress call from the Al Molaifishing vessel.

The shiphad been boarded by pirates in the Arabian Sea more than a month ago, and itscrew had been kept in "harsh conditions", the Pentagon said at thetime.

A US Navyspokesman said the force went out of its way to "treat the fishing crewwith kindness and respect" and provided them with fuel and food for theirreturn journey home.

Washingtonsays its forces routinely rescue sailors in distress - regardless ofnationality - but wanted to highlight the two recent incidents in light of thecurrent tensions between the two countries.

Tehran hasnot commented on Tuesday's incident, but described last Thursday's rescue as a"humanitarian gesture".

However,days earlier Tehran had warned the carrier not to return to the region once itleft for Afghanistan.

Faced withthe prospect of fresh sanctions over its nuclear programme, Iran has threatenedto block the transport of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

Washingtonhas rejected Iran's warning to keep its forces out of Gulf waters, and haswarned it will resist any attempt by Tehran to close the Strait.

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Grounded Cargo Ship Breaks Apart on NZ Reef

2012-01-08T22:49:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, January 08, 2012

The stranded cargo ship Rena broke into two pieces on Sunday after
overnight storms pounded the vessel off Tauranga Harbor in New Zealand.
The Greek-owned Rena ran aground on Astrolabe Reef on North Island on Oct. 5,
spewing heavy fuel oil into the sea in what has been called the country’s worst
maritime environmental disaster. (AP Photo)

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Wellington,New Zealand. A cargo ship grounded off the New Zealand coast since October hassplit in two, spilling sea containers and debris and sparking fears of a freshoil spill, maritime officials said on Sunday.

The wreckof the Greek-owned Rena was described as New Zealand’s worst maritimeenvironmental disaster even before the rear section of the ship, lashed bypounding seas, broke away overnight. The ship previously spilled heavy fuel oilthat fouled pristine North Island beaches and killed up to 20,000 seabirds, anddespite salvage efforts nearly 400 tons of oil remain onboard.

Maritimeofficials said the front section of the wreck remained stuck in its originalposition, but the stern section slipped at least 30 meters away from the bowand is “moving significantly,” pounded by six-meter swells.

“There hasbeen a significant discharge of containers and container debris from the ship,”said Maritime New Zealand spokesman Ross Henderson.

Alex vanWijngaarden, on-scene commander for the national response team, said oil couldcome ashore around midnight on Sunday.

“Whilereports at this stage indicate there has not been a significant release of oil,with the Rena in its current fragile state, a further release is likely,” hesaid. “While it is unknown at this stage exactly how much oil may be released,teams have been mobilized and will be ready to respond to anything that maycome ashore.”

Thecontainers, meanwhile, spilled goods including timber and bags of milk powder.

Somecontainers have been sighted floating up to 32 kilometers northwest of thestricken ship, Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns said.

“They havebeen caught in a strong coastal current,” he said.

The Renaran aground on Astrolabe Reef 22 kilometers from Tauranga Harbor on NorthIsland on Oct. 5. Salvage crews have removed more than 1,100 tons of oil fromthe stricken vessel but about 385 tons remain on board — about the same amountthat has already leaked into the sea.

The crewshave plucked 389 of the ship’s 1,370 loaded cargo containers from its deckssince it ran aground, while some 98 have been washed overboard in the pastthree months.

At least 23containers were lost from the ship when it broke apart, and more were likely tobe lost, said David Billington, a salvage unit manager for Maritime NewZealand.

Oneeyewitness, Warwick Roberts, said the rear section was sliding along the reef.

The “sternhas reared up and center section is not visible. Large breaking waves observedon bow,” he told the New Zealand Herald Web site.

Athree-kilometer no-go zone is in force around the wreck.

Investigationslast month revealed that Australian authorities had impounded the vessel butreleased it after Liberian maritime authorities intervened, essentially sayingthe ship was safe to sail and the problems could be fixed later. The Rena, likemany ships, is registered in Liberia.

Some 10weeks later, the Rena ran full-steam into a well-marked reef off the coast ofNew Zealand. It’s not clear whether the previously identified problems playedany role.

Associated Press

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Activists detained on Japan whaling vessel: Sea Shepherd

2012-01-08T19:27:00.002+07:00

Reuters, SYDNEY,Sun Jan 8, 2012

A smallboat from the Sea Shepherd vessel, Steve Irwin, makes a

reconnaissance trippast the Japanese whaling ship the Shonan Maru #2

near Freemantle in thishandout picture released to Reuters on January 8, 2012.

(Credit:Reuters/Sea Shepherd/Handout)

(Reuters) -Three Australian environmental activists were detained on board a Japanesewhaling ship on Sunday after boarding in protest at Japan's annual whale cullin the Antarctic, anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd said.

The threeactivists from Forest Rescue, an Australian group specializing in direct actionto prevent logging, boarded the ship early on Sunday with assistance from theSea Shepherd Conservation Society, Sea Shepherd said in a statement.

U.S.-basedSea Shepherd is tailing Japan's whaling fleet as it heads towards the SouthernOcean to try to prevent the cull.

Thestatement described the activists as "prisoners now detained on a Japanesewhaler."

Speakingwhile en route to the Antarctic, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson told Reutersby satellite phone that the activists were still on board the Shonan Maru 2. Hesaid the Japanese vessel had been sent to disrupt Sea Shepherd's longstandingcampaign to stop the cull.

There hadbeen no contact from the Japanese and the activists' radios appeared to havebeen seized, Watson said from aboard the Steve Irwin, one of two ships headingsouth with the aim of preventing the hunt from taking place.

"TheShonan Maru won't talk to us. They don't respond to our radio calls,"Watson said. "They are chasing us."

A NewZealand-based spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, whichcoordinates the annual hunt, confirmed the three men were on the Japanese boatand uninjured. He did not rule out that they might be taken to Japan.

"Thethree men are on board," spokesman Glenn Inwood told Reuters. "Theyare being questioned now and they remain on the vessel."

TheJapanese boat, he said, was 40 km off the Australian coast when the trioboarded it.

ForestRescue spokesman Michael Montgomery had earlier said the action was to protestat inaction by the Australian government to stop the hunt and to demand thedeparture of the whalers from Australian waters.

"Wedon't need to kill these beautiful creatures any more," he told Reuters.

SeaShepherd said the three activists came in a boat from Australia's western coastand approached the Shonan Maru 2 in the dark, with assistance from two SeaShepherd boats.

"Thethree negotiated their way past the razor wire and spikes and over the rails ofthe Japanese whaling vessel," the statement said. "They are beingheld in Australian territorial waters by an invading Japanese vessel containingarmed Japanese military personnel."

Theycarried with them a message reading: "Return us to shore in Australia andthen remove yourself from our waters."

Whaling wasbanned under a 1986 moratorium, but Japan continues to hunt hundreds of whalesannually under a loophole that allows whaling for "scientific"purposes.

(Editing by Ron Popeski)

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Oscar-winning documentary, none were killed this year.

(EPA/Sea Shepherd Conservation)

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Carrefour Joins Shark Fin Boycott in Singapore

2012-01-07T16:31:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, January 07, 2012

Sharks on display and for sale on the traditional fish market in Lampulo,
Banda Aceh, Indonesia. (EPA Photo/File)

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Singapore.French retail giant Carrefour will halt sales of shark fin products in itsSingapore outlets after current stocks run out as a supermarket boycott of the delicacygains steam, media reported on Saturday.

A Carrefourspokesman told the Straits Times it will not replenish its stocks of theenvironmentally controversial products after they sell out.

The companyis the world’s second-largest retailer and operates two supermarkets inSingapore’s city center.

It told thepaper the decision was made on its own initiative as a socially responsibleretailer, but it could not be reached for comment on whether the ban wouldextend to its other outlets worldwide.

Shark finremains a sought after delicacy in Singapore, where it is largely served atChinese festive celebrations and wedding receptions.

Accordingto the conservation group WWF, the city-state is the world’s second largestshark fin trading centre after Hong Kong.

WWF-HongKong says the consumption of shark fins is a driving factor behind the threatto shark populations, with more than 180 species considered threatened in 2010compared to only 15 in 1996.

TheCarrefour report came a day after Singapore’s largest supermarket chain NTUCFairPrice declared it was halting sales of shark fin products.

NTUCFairPrice -- a cooperative run by the city-state’s national trades union --said it would drop the products from April after an inflammatory comment by oneof its suppliers attracted a flurry of complaints.

Thesupplier had said “Screw the divers!” in an online promotional message for anew product to be launched at FairPrice outlets during the upcoming Lunar NewYear.

Thecomment, apparently directed at divers campaigning against the shark fin trade,went viral on Facebook and microblogging site Twitter.

RetailerCold Storage was the first Singapore chain to stop selling shark fin, which itdid in September last year as part of a collaboration with WWF, local mediareported.

Agence France-Presse

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US navy destroyer rescues Iranian boat from Somali pirates

2012-01-07T06:07:00.001+07:00

Rescue inwhich 15 suspects were detained comes just days after Tehran warned the US tokeep its warships out of the Gulf

guardian.co.uk,Associated Press, Friday 6 January 2012

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: 'This
is an incredible story'. Photograph: AP

A US navydestroyer has rescued an Iranian fishing boat that had been commandeered bysuspected pirates just days after Tehran warned America to keep its warshipsout of the Gulf.

US forcesflying off the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responded to a distress callfrom the Iranian vessel, the Al Molai, which had been held captive for morethan 40 days, the US navy said Friday. The Kidd was sailing in the Arabian sea,after leaving the Gulf, when it came to the sailors' aid.

A US navyteam boarded the ship Thursday and detained 15 suspected Somali pirates. Theyhad been holding the 13-member Iranian crew hostage and were using the boat asa "mother ship" for pirating operations in the Gulf.

Amidescalating tensions with Tehran, the Obama administration reveled in deliveringthe news.

"Thisis an incredible story. This is a great story," State Departmentspokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, explaining that the very same American shipsIran protested against for recently travelling through the Strait of Hormuzwere responsible for the Iranian vessel's recovery.

"Theywere obviously very grateful to be rescued from these pirates," Nulandsaid.

The episodeoccurred after a week of hostile rhetoric from Iranian leaders, including astatement by Iran's army chief that American vessels are no longer welcome inthe Gulf. Iran also warned it could block the Strait of Hormuz, the strategicwaterway that carries to market much of the oil pumped in the Middle East.

The Iranianthreats, which were brushed aside by the Obama administration, were in responseto strong economic sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear enrichmentprogram. Last week, president Barack Obama signed into law new sanctionstargeting Iran's central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad.

Accordingto the navy, the Kidd was part of the USS John C Stennis Carrier Strike Group,which had recently left the Gulf through the strait and into the northernArabian sea.

A navysearch-and-seizure team was taken by helicopter from the Kidd to the Al Molaiand met no resistance from the pirates, who surrendered quickly.

"TheAl Molai had been taken over by pirates for roughly the last 40-45 days,"said Josh Schminsky, a Navy Criminal Investigative Service agent aboard theKidd. "They were held hostage, with limited rations, and we believe wereforced against their will to assist the pirates with other piracyoperations."

Schminskysaid the Iranian boat's captain thanked the US for assistance. "He wasafraid that without our help, they could have been there for months,"Schminsky said in a prepared release.

The US teamgave the crew food, water and medical care. Nuland said the crew then returnedthe Iranians to their fishing vessels "and they went on their way."

Thecaptured pirates remain on the Stennis while the US considers options forprosecution and consults with other nations that have joined forces againstpiracy.

"Sadly,this is not a new thing," she told reporters, citing more than 1,000pirates picked up at sea who are under prosecution in some 20 countries."So this is always a question of where to send them and who will do theprosecution."

Asked ifthe rescue mission could provide a chance for a thaw in relations with Iran,Nuland declined to comment. She said the navy had made a "humanitariangesture" to take the Iranians onboard, feed them and ensure they were ingood health before setting them off. She said the US and Iranian governmentshave had no direct contact over the incident.

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Canadian seal cull 'unnecessary due to climate change'

2012-01-06T02:23:00.002+07:00

Study saysrapidly thinning sea ice in north Atlantic has ravaged seal numbers, makingannual commercial seal hunt superfluous

guardian.co.uk,Suzanne Goldenberg, Follow @suzyji, Thursday 5 January 2012

A pup harp seal off the coast of the Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada.
Photograph: David Boily/AFP/Getty Images

Canadafaced fresh calls to shut down its commercial seal hunt on Thursday, followingnew evidence that death rates among seal pups had dramatically increased due tothinning winter sea ice.

The study,by scientists from Duke University and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, was the first to track declining sea ice cover in all four harp sealbreeding grounds in the North Atlantic – with devastating effect.

DavidJohnston, research scientist at the Duke University Marine Lab, said: "Thekind of mortality we're seeing in eastern Canada is dramatic. Entire yearclasses may be disappearing from the population in low ice years. Essentiallyall of the pups die."

Satelliterecords of ice conditions since 1979 showed that ice cover had fallen by asmuch as 6% every decade. The research is published in the journal PLoS ONE.

The loss ofsea ice – and its threat to the future of seal populations – has been confirmedby Canadian government scientists, the International Fund for Animal Welfaresaid.

Up to 80%of the seal pups born in 2011 were thought to have died because of lack of ice,according to the department of fisheries and oceans. The study adds additionalweight to the long campaign by animal protection groups against the seal hunt.

IFAW saidon Thursday that Canada should work towards ending the commercial seal hunt forgood, compensating the hunters and retraining them for other jobs.

"It istime for the Canadian government to face the reality that the commercial sealingis neither viable nor necessary," the organisation said.

Russiarecently banned the import of harp seal pelts. The European Union allows onlyInuit seal products.

Female harpseals depend on stable winter sea ice as a safe place to give birth and nursetheir young, until the pups are grown enough to hunt on their own. The sealstypically seek out the thickest, oldest patches of sea ice each February andMarch.

The sealsare able to adapt to short-term changes in ice conditions, Johnston said. Butit was unclear the animals would be able to make a long-term move to newbreeding grounds with more stable ice, such as those off east Greenland.

Thousandsof seals still return each year to their traditional breeding grounds in theGulf of St Lawrence or off Newfoundland – despite the declining ice.

"There'sonly so much ice out there, and declines in the quantity and quality of itacross the region, coupled with the earlier arrival of spring ice breakup, isliterally leaving these populations on thin ice," Johnston said. "Itmay take years of good ice and steady population gains to make up for the heavylosses sustained during the recent string of bad ice years in easternCanada."

Scientists discover 'hybrid sharks' off Australia

2012-01-05T02:13:00.000+07:00

Deutsche Welle, 4 January 2011

Genetic testing proved the
shark hybridization

Thediscovery of a hybrid species of shark has led excited marine scientists tospeculate that the animals are responding to climate change. They say naturemay be selecting for sharks that extend their range.

Crossbreedinghas been observed for the first time among sharks in a development thatscientists are calling "evolution in action."

Australianresearchers say the hybrid offspring of a tropical shark and its cousin foundin cooler waters will inherit a greater range than its parents.

A total of57 offspring of common blacktip and Australian blacktip sharks were found inwaters off Australia's eastern coast, researchers said.

"It'svery surprising because no one's ever seen shark hybrids before," JessMorgan of the University of Queensland, the lead researcher, told the AFP newsagency.

"Thisis not a common occurrence by any stretch of the imagination."

Morgan andothers said the widespread interspecies breeding across 2,000 kilometers (1,243miles) of the eastern Australian coastline indicated that the sharks aredealing with the effects of rising sea temperatures.

Territorialexpansion

"Hybridizationcould enable the sharks to adapt to environmental change," said JenniferOvenden, of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, in astatement.

The smallerAustralian blacktip favors tropical waters in the north. Its more common cousinis found mostly in sub-tropical and temperate waters, like along thesouth-eastern Australian coastline.

There could be a new predator on Australia's beaches

"If it[the Australian blacktip] hybridizes with the common species it can effectivelyshift its range further south into cooler waters, so the effect of thishybridizing is a range expansion," Morgan said.

Researchersfrom the University of Queensland, James Cook University and the states ofQueensland and New South Wales used body measurements as well as genetictesting, including a nuclear DNA marker inherited by both parents, to confirmthe hybridization.

The researchersmade the discovery while monitoring shark populations off Australia's easterncoast. Genetic testing proved that sharks that looked to belong to one speciesbelonged more genetically to the other, Morgan said.

ColinSimpfendorfer of James Cook University's Fishing and Fisheries Research Centresaid in a statement that more work needed to be done to tie climate change tothe species' hybridization.

He addedthat blacktip sharks are among the most understudied species in tropicalAustralia.

Geneticmapping will help establish how long the sharks have been interbreeding.

Thephenomenon could be recent or it may have been happening unbeknownst toscientists for generations.

"Theresults of this research show that we still have a lot to learn about theseimportant ocean predators," Simpfendorfer said.

Author: Sean Sinico

Editor: Nathan Witkop

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Bali Increasingly a Stop for the World’s Cruise Ships

2012-01-02T22:24:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, January 02, 2012

Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships. Officials,
and a port official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island.
(JG Photo/J.P. Christo)

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Denpasar.Bali has increasingly become a stop on the itineraries of cruise ships, and aport official says 2012 promises to be the biggest year yet for the island.

IwanSabatini, the general manager of Pelabuhan Indonesia III, which manages BenoaPort in southern Bali, said on Monday that 35 cruise ships berthed at the portlast year, compared to 27 in 2010 and 15 in 2009.

“Thatnumber exceeded our target. We were really happy,” Iwan said.

The targetfor this year, according to Iwan, is 28 visits. That should not be toodifficult to achieve, with Iwan saying 38 cruise ships had already indicatedtentative plans to stop at Bali in 2012.

The firstof those 38, the Legend of the Sea, a luxury cruise ship operated byMiami-based Royal Caribbean, is scheduled to berth at Benoa this month.

The264-meter-long ship was scheduled to stop at the port last year but was unableto stop because the water was not deep enough in front of the jetty.

Iwan saidthey had completed work to deepen the sea to at least nine and a half metersfor a width of 150 meters all along the jetty.

Bali isconstructing a deep port for cruise ships in Tanah Ampo, in Karangasemdistrict. The project had been halted because of funding problems but theKarangasem district chief, I Wayan Geredeg, said a new agreement signed by theministries of transportation, people’s welfare, tourism and the creativeeconomy, and maritime affairs and fisheries would allow work to resume soon.

Geredegsaid the Tanah Ampo cruise ship terminal would provide another major gatewayfor tourists to arrive on the island, in addition to Ngurah Rai InternationalAirport.

More than2.5 million foreigners visited Bali in 2010, and the target for last year was2.6 million to 2.8 million.

Vietnam Cargo Ship Sinks, 22 Dead: Shipping Firm

2011-12-30T18:54:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, December30, 2011

This picture taken on May 10, 2011 shows the Vinaline Queen cargo ship
anchored at Saigon port in Ho Chi Minh City. A Vietnamese cargo boat that
vanished near the Philippines on Christmas Day has sunk, killing 22 of its 23
crew members, Vietnam state shipping firm Vinalines said on Friday. (AFP Photo)

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Hanoi. AVietnamese cargo boat that vanished near the Philippines on Christmas Day hassunk, killing 22 of its 23 crew members, Vietnam state shipping firm Vinalinessaid on Friday.

“Accordingto our initial information, only one sailor has been rescued and the vessel hasnot been found yet,” a Vinalines official based in Hanoi told AFP, asking notto be named.

TheVinalines Queen disappeared after passing Luzon island and apparently did notsend out a distress signal.

Late onFriday online newspaper Dan Tri reported that the surviving sailor, Dau NgocHung, was rescued by a British ship which was heading towards Singapore.

Vinalinessaid its ship was carrying more than 54,000 tonnes of nickel ore and wastravelling from Indonesia to China when it lost contact.

Vietnamappealed to the Philippines, Taiwan and Japanese coastguards for help infinding the vessel, but had heard nothing from the ship until now.

“We are nowfocussing our efforts on searching for the Vinalines Queen,” the companyofficial added.

Rescueexperts quoted in the local press said emergency equipment in the vessel shouldhave automatically sent SOS signals to satellites and coastal rescue stations.It is not yet clear why none was transmitted.

TheJapanese-built 190 meter Vinalines Queen was one of the largest and most moderncargo ships in the Vietnamese fleet, with a capacity of more than 56,000tonnes. It had been in service for Vinalines since 2005.

VietnamNational Shipping Lines, or Vinalines, is one of the communist country’s mainstate-owned enterprises.

Agence France-Presse

Huge Waves Damage Anti-Whaling Boat

2011-12-29T17:18:00.001+07:00

Jakarta Globe, December 29, 2011

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said the Brigitte Bardot's hull
split when it was struck by a "rogue wave." (Agency Photo)

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Sydney.Anti-whaling activists chasing the Japanese harpoon fleet suffered a majorsetback on Thursday when the hull of one of their ships cracked in massiveseas, forcing a second to divert to its rescue.

The SeaShepherd Conservation Society said the Brigitte Bardot’s hull split when it wasstruck by a “rogue wave” as it tailed the Japanese factory ship Nisshin Maru insix meter swells some 2,400 kilometers southwest of Australia.

“The crackhas been getting wider as the seas continue to pound the vessel,” the activistgroup said.

SeaShepherd spokesman Paul Watson said lead vessel the Steve Irwin was en route tothe troubled Brigitte Bardot, which has also suffered severe damage to one ofits pontoons, but warned it would take 20 hours to get there.

TheBardot’s captain, South African-born Jonathan Miles Renecle, was “confidentthat the ship will stay afloat until the Steve Irwin arrives” he added.

“This isdisappointing but these are hostile seas and we have always been prepared forsituations like this,” Watson said.

“Right nowthe safety of my crew on the Brigitte Bardot is our priority and we intend toreach the crew and then do what we can to save our ship.”

Theincident means just one Sea Shepherd vessel, the Bob Barker, is now tailing theJapanese fleet, which it intercepted on Sunday with the help of amilitary-style drone.

Watson saidall the crew were safe and uninjured and the Bardot, Sea Shepherd’s scoutvessel, was “repairable.”

“We’ll bebringing it back to Fremantle and then the Steve Irwin will return to supportthe Bob Barker,” he told Sky News via satellite phone from the Southern Ocean,estimating that it would be a five-day trip.

“It’s asetback, but you know, when you come down here you’re facing a number ofdangers, not just the Japanese whaling fleet but also the very remote area,it’s a hostile area weather-wise with ice,” he added.

Watson saidit was Sea Shepherd’s eighth season pursuing the whalers and it was “inevitablesomething (like this) is going to happen sometime, we’ll just deal with it andcarry on.

“I’m stillconfident that we’ll be able to intervene against the Japanese whalingoperations,” he said.

Australia’sMaritime Safety Authority said it had been monitoring the situation but therewas no active rescue afoot because Sea Shepherd was managing the situation.

“We wereaware of it, but it was really a monitoring brief for us because it was a SeaShepherd vessel to which another Sea Shepherd vessel was going to the aid,” aspokesman told AFP.

“We were incommunication with them but they’ve got it under control themselves now.”

Japan’sFisheries Agency, which commissions the annual whale hunt, routinely refuses tocomment on the issue and declined to be drawn on the damaged boat Thursday.

“I cannotmake any comment related to the (whaling) mission,” an agency official said.

SeaShepherd purchased the Australian-flagged Brigitte Bardot, a high-speed100-foot monohull racer, to replace the futuristic speedboat Ady Gil, whichsank during a fierce clash with the harpooners in January 2010.

Watson saidthere were 10 crew on board the stricken Bardot — three Britons, threeAmericans, an Australian, a Canadian, a Belgian and its South African captainRenecle.

Commercialwhaling is banned under an international treaty but Japan has since 1987 used aloophole to carry out “lethal research” in the name of science — a practicecondemned by environmentalists and anti-whaling nations.

Confrontationsbetween the whalers and increasingly sophisticated activists have escalated inrecent years and the Japanese cut their hunt short last season due to SeaShepherd harassment.

Japan’scoastguard has deployed an unspecified number of vessels to protect the whalingships, using some tsunami reconstruction funds, and the whalers are also suingthe activists in Washington seeking an injunction against what they say is a“life-threatening” campaign.

Agence France-Presse

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Sea Shepherd anti-whaling boat damaged by wave

Dutch Unveil Latest Plan in War Against the Sea: a Massive Sandbar

2011-12-26T22:21:00.000+07:00

Jakarta Globe, Nicolas Delaunay, December 26, 2011

The wind, waves and ocean currents, it is hoped, will drive the man-made
peninsula of sand landward to replenish the coast of the Netherlands.
(AFP Photo)

Kijkduin,Netherlands. In its age-old war to keep back the sea, low-lying Netherlands hasdumped sand onto a surface larger than 200 football fields just off the coast —and will wait for nature to do the rest.

The wind,waves and ocean currents are the next “engineers” in this innovative projectthat will see the transferred sand — all 20 million cubic meters of it — drivenlandward to form a natural barrier against the North Sea’s relentlessonslaught. The elements have started moving the tip of the bar, which alreadyalmost touches land at low tide.

Over aperiod of 15 to 20 years, the sand will wash toward the coast, reinforcingbeaches and existing sand dunes that help protect the Netherlands, more than aquarter of which lies below sea level.

“Undernatural circumstances, the Dutch coast would erode away slowly,” said LeoLinnartz, an ecology expert who advised the project’s developers on behalf ofthe World Wide Fund for Nature. Without reinforcing fragile shores, floodswould eventually be inevitable, he said.

Over thedecades, the Dutch have developed world-renowned expertise in the field ofhydro-engineering, notably in constructing dams, dikes and bridges.

Around17,500 kilometers of embankment have already been built along its coast and rivers.

The newproject was conceived by a group of experts commissioned by the Dutchgovernment to help solve the country’s ongoing headache. It used dredgers tosuck up ocean-floor sand 10 kilometers off the coast then dump it closer toland. Some of the huge machines were able to carry as much as 10,000 cubicmeters of sand at one time.

If theexperiment works, the sandbar project, situated between the seaside suburbs ofKijkduin and Ter Heijde near The Hague, will be replicated elsewhere in thecountry. And the system could even be exported.

“We used todo it in such a way that we used a lot of stones and concrete and things likethat,” said Linnartz. “But nowadays we prefer to work together with nature, tocooperate with natural forces.”

The idea ofstrengthening the coastline with sand is not new, Linnartz said. But placing itoff the coast and allowing nature to take its course is not only a freshapproach to the problem but less harmful to the environment than simply dumpingmore sand on the dunes, he said.

Whiletraditional shoring up happens around every five years, the new plan based onthe sand’s natural movement will last 15 to 20 years.

AgenceFrance-Presse

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Afsluitdijk, The Netherlands

Sea Shepherd demands release of Dutch activist

2011-12-26T22:01:00.001+07:00

RNW, 26December 2011

The SeaShepherd Conservation Society has launched a campaign to obtain the immediaterelease of one of its activists, a Dutchman, arrested in Japan ten days ago.

Erwin Vermeulen
(Photo: Sea Shepherd)

Theanti-whaling organisation urges visitors to its facebook account to make callsand write letters to the Japanese foreign ministry and other authorites.

Accordingto Sea Shepherd, the Dutchman, a volunteer named Erwin Vermeulen, is still inShingu City Police custody. He was arrested on 16 December when attempting tofilm the transfer of dolphins from the sea to holding pens at the Japanese resortof Tajii.

An employeeclaims that Erwin pushed him; there were no other witnesses to this allegation.The organisation says a decision to release him or continue to keep him in jailis expected on 27 December.

Every year,Tajii is the scene of a massive dolphin hunt, with the Japanese authoritiesissuing 23,000 licenses to coastal areas for dolphin slaughter. Some animalsare sold to aquariums worldwide.

Vermeulenhad travelled to Japan at his own expense to collect footage of the slaughter.

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An undatedhandout photograph released by Sea Shepherd Conservation

showing Japanesefishermen slaughtering dolphins in blood-soaked water in

Taiji, Japan. ThoughDophins were herded into the cove made famous by an

Oscar-winning documentary,none were killed this year.

(EPA/Sea Shepherd Conservation)

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Whistleblower aims to expose dark side of Japanese whaling

Dike to house ‘blue energy’ plant

2011-12-23T22:30:00.001+07:00

RNW, 23December 2011

Afsluitdijk, The Netherlands

The cabinethas approved funding totalling 20 million euros for sustainable energy projectson the Afsluitdijk, the 32-kilometre barrier that closed off the Zuiderzee fromthe open sea to create what is now the freshwater IJsselmeer lake.

The dikewill house an innovative osmotic power plant, or ‘blue energy’ plant, whichexploits pressure created when salt water passes through a membrane to mix withfresh water. Solar panels will also be mounted on the dike.

Thesustainable energy funding comes as part of a renovation package to increasethe safety of the Afsluitdijk, which was completed in 1932. In its presentstate the barrier can no longer guarantee protection against high water, theInfrastructure Ministry says.

The surfaceof the dike is to be reinforced along its entire length, and the sluices thatdrain excess water from the IJsselmeer into the sea will be given a 200-millioneuro overhaul.

Theregional authorities have also investigated opportunities to use the dike forrecreational purposes. The renovation project may also include the constructionof a marina. At present the dike serves as a road link between the west andnorth of the country.

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Durban? What a waste of time!

(Photo: RNW)

Nigeria on alert as Shell announces worst oil spill in a decade

2011-12-22T22:11:00.000+07:00

The oilcompany says up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled 75 miles off thecoast of the Niger delta

guardian.co.uk,John Vidal, Environment editor, Thursday 22 December 2011

An oil spill on the shores of the Niger Delta swamps. Shell has said the
recent oil spill is likely to be worst in a decade. Photograph: Pius
Utomi Ekpei/AFP/Getty Images

Nigeriancoastal and fishing communities were on Thursday put on alert after Shelladmitted to an oil spill that is likely to be the worst in the area for adecade, according to government officials..

The companysaid up to 40,000 barrels of crude oil was spilled on Wednesday while it wastransferred from a floating oil platform to a tanker 75 miles off the coast ofthe Niger delta.

Allproduction from the Bonga field, which produces around 200,000 barrels a day,was last night suspended. "Early indications show that less than 40,000barrels of oil have leaked in total. Spill response procedures have beeninitiated and emergency control and spill risk procedures are up andrunning," said Tony Okonedo, a Shell Nigeria spokesman.

Satellitepictures obtained by independent monitors Skytruth suggested that the spill was70km-long and was spread over 923 square kilometers (356 sq miles).

But aleading Nigerian human rights group said Shell's figures about the quantity ofoil spilled or the clean-up could not be relied on. "Shell says 40,000barrels were spilled and production was shut but we do not trust them becausepast incidents show that the company consistently under-reports the amounts andimpacts of its carelessness," said Nnimmo Bassey, head of Environmental Rights Action, based in Lagos.

"Weare alerting fisher folks and coastal communities to be on the look out. Itjust adds to the list of Shell's environmental atrocities in the Nigerdelta."

The spill,one of the worst off the coast of Nigeria in 10 years, is particularlyembarrassing for Shell, coming only four months after a major UN study said itcould take Shell and other oil companies 30 years and $1bn to clean spills inOgoniland, one small part of the oil-rich delta. The company also admittedresponsibility in August for two major spills in the Bodo region of the deltathat took place in 2008, but has yet to pay compensation.

Shell,which works in partnership with the Nigerian government in the delta, claimsthat 98% of all its oil spills are caused by vandalism, theft or sabotage bymilitants and only a minimal amount by deteriorating infrastructure. Butthis is disputed by communities.

YesterdayShell said it had also closed a Gulf of Mexico deep drilling operation afterspilling 319 barrels of contaminated fluids.

2 women share 1st kiss at US Navy ship's return

2011-12-22T06:44:00.001+07:00

Associated Press, by Brock Vergakis, Dec 21, 2011

PettyOfficer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta, left, kisses her girlfriend of two years,

Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek

in Virginia Beach, Va., Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2011 after Gaeta's ship returned

from 80 days at sea. It ís a time-honored tradition at Navy homecomings - one

lucky sailor is chosen to be first off the ship for the long-awaited kiss witha loved

one. On Wednesday, for the first time, the happily reunited couple wasgay.

(AP Photo/The Virginian-Pilot, Brian J. Clark)

Latest News

VIRGINIABEACH, Va. (AP) -- A Navy tradition caught up with the repeal of the U.S.military's "don't ask, don't tell" rule on Wednesday when two womensailors became the first to share the coveted "first kiss" on thepier after one of them returned from 80 days at sea.

PettyOfficer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta of Placerville, Calif., descended from the USSOak Hill amphibious landing ship and shared a quick kiss in the rain with herpartner, Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles. Gaeta, 23, woreher Navy dress uniform while Snell, 22, wore a black leather jacket, scarf andblue jeans. The crowd screamed and waved flags around them.

"It'ssomething new, that's for sure," Gaeta told reporters after the kiss.

"It'snice to be able to be myself. It's been a long time coming."

For thehistorical significance of the kiss, there was little to differentiate it fromcountless others when a Navy ship pulls into its home port following adeployment. Neither the Navy nor the couple tried to draw attention to what washappening and many onlookers waiting for their loved ones to come off the shipwere busy talking among themselves.

DavidBauer, the commanding officer of the USS Oak Hill, said that Gaeta and Snell'skiss would largely be a non-event and the crew's reaction upon learning who wasselected to have the first kiss was positive.

"It'sgoing to happen and the crew's going to enjoy it. We're going to move on and itwon't overshadow the great things that this crew has accomplished over the pastthree months," Bauer said.

The shipreturned to Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story following an80-day deployment to Central America. The crew of more than 300 participated inexercises involving the militaries of Honduras, Guatemala Colombia and Panamaas part of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2012.

Both womenare Navy fire controlmen, who maintain and operate weapons systems on ships.They met at training school where they were roommates and have been dating fortwo years, which they said was difficult under "don't ask, don'ttell."

"Wedid have to hide it a lot in the beginning," Snell said. "A lot ofpeople were not always supportive of it in the beginning, but we can finally behonest about who we are in our relationship, so I'm happy."

Navyofficials said it was the first time on record that a same-sex couple waschosen to kiss first upon a ship's return. Sailors and their loved ones bought$1 raffle tickets for the opportunity. Gaeta said she bought $50 of tickets, afigure that she said pales in comparison to amounts that some other sailors andtheir loved ones had bought. The money was used to host a Christmas party forthe children of sailors.

Snell saidshe believes their experience won't be the last one for gays and lesbians inthe military.

"Ithink that it's something that is going to open a lot of doors, for not justour relationship, but all the other gay and lesbian relationships that are inthe military now," she said.

Snell isbased on the USS Bainbridge, the guided missile destroyer that helped rescuecargo captain Richard Phillips from Somali pirates in 2009.

Online:Brock Vergakis can be reached at www.twitter.com/BrockVergakis

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President Barack Obama gestures as he talks about cutting the U.S. deficit
by raising taxes, from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington
September 19, 2011. (Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing)

About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”

"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)

Russia oil rig capsizes off Sakhalin, dozens missing

2011-12-19T04:28:00.002+07:00

BBC News, 18December 2011

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Russia country profile

The Kolskaya was built in 1985

At leastfour people have died and about 50 are missing after an oil drilling rig sankin freezing seas in the Russian far east.

TheKolskaya rig was being towed some 200km (125 miles) off Sakhalin island when itcapsized in a fierce storm.

Fourteenpeople have been rescued alive but it is feared the rig overturned before therest of the 67 people on board could escape on to life rafts.

Rescueefforts have been hampered by poor weather conditions.

Helicoptersand a plane helped scour the area amid high winds and waves of up to 12ft (4m)but the search was halted as night fell.

Empty liferafts

"Accordingto reports from the scene of the rescue operation, the Kolskaya platform hassunk completely," the regional head of the emergencies ministry, TaimurazKasayev, told a news briefing.

Theaccident in temperatures of -17C at around 14:00 local time (0200 GMT) in theSea of Okhotsk happened as the rig was being towed from the eastern peninsulaof Kamchatka to Sakhalin by an icebreaker and a tug.

An unnamedregional emergencies ministry spokesman told the AFP news agency that the rig'sportholes had been "damaged by ice and waves, and water began going intothe vessel".

The crewhad been waiting to be evacuated by helicopter but the platform capsized andsank before they could get to their rescue rafts, he said.

Two out ofthe four life rafts were reportedly found with nobody on board.

Aninvestigation has been launched to decide whether any safety regulations wereviolated transporting the Kolskaya in bad weather.

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Stricken Russian boat in 'precarious position'

2011-12-18T22:01:00.000+07:00

Google/AFP, 18 December 2011

The Russian fishing boat Sparta, near the Antarctic ice shelf (AFP/USAF/File)

WELLINGTON— A stricken Russian fishing vessel stranded in icy Antarctic waters was in a"precarious position" Sunday, New Zealand rescuers said two daysafter the vessel was holed by an iceberg.

The crew ofthe Sparta had a scare overnight when temporary patches placed over the damagedsection of hull failed and the boat began taking on water again.

But severalhours later they reported they again had the situation under control.

TheRussian-flagged Sparta, with a crew of 32, sent out a distress call earlyFriday from near the Antarctic ice shelf when it was holed 1.5 metres below thewater line and started to list.

It will beseveral days before rescue ships can make their way through heavy sea ice toreach the vessel about 2,000 nautical miles (3,704 kilometres) southeast of NewZealand.

However, aNew Zealand Air Force Hercules was able to fly over the Sparta late Saturdayand drop off extra pumping equipment and fuel.

"Spartaremained in a precarious position," New Zealand search and rescuecoordinator Dave Wilson said.

"Thishighlights the importance of the mission in delivering the pumping equipmentyesterday.

This equipment has enabled them to get on top of the water ingressagain, and they will now be working to fix the patches more securely."

Wilson saidwith rescue still days away, the stabilisation work was vital for the vesseland its crew.

"Theyhave life rafts but with the conditions down there, it?s much safer for them ifthey can wait for rescue on board their vessel."

Twovessels, the Sel Jevaer and Chiyo Maru No 3 were struggling to navigate acircuitous route through the ice and would take several days to reach Sparta?sposition.

A SouthKorean icebreaker, Araon, which was docked in New Zealand, has beencommissioned by the Sparta's owners to assist. It set sail early Sunday andwill take eight days to reach the area.

A NewZealand fishing boat, San Aspiring, was pulled from the rescue operation onSaturday after advising conditions were too difficult for it to proceed.

"SanAspiring was 470 nautical miles away from Sparta but would have had to travelmuch further than that to reach the vessel, because there was no direct linethrough the ice," Wilson said.

"Theyconfirmed the journey would take too long and would potentially put their owncrew in danger."

SouthKorean icebreaker Araon, left, approaches the Russian ship Sparta
which hasbeen trapped due to an accident, in the Antarctic on Sunday. (EPA Photo)

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Boat with illegal migrants sinks off Indonesia, 300 missing

2011-12-18T06:59:00.001+07:00

Reuters, Jakarta, Sat Dec17, 2011

(Reuters) -A boat carrying illegal immigrants heading for Australia sank off the coast ofeast Java in Indonesia and over 300 people were missing with many feared dead,a senior emergency official said.

Only 76people of 380 people on board had been rescued, said Sahrul Arifin, the head ofemergency and logistics at the East Java Disaster Mitigation Center.

He saidstrong waves wrecked the wooden boat about 90 km (56 miles) out to sea lateSaturday night. "Our search and rescue team have begun sweeping the wateraround where the accident took place but we are now sending body bags to thatarea," Arifin said.

He said thepassengers were mainly believed to be illegal migrants from countries includingIran and Afghanistan. Many boat people from the Middle East and Asia useIndonesia as a transit point en route to Australia.

Local TVshowed images of more than a dozen shocked-looking survivors huddled in aclinic in Trenggalek, a town on Java island's southern coast.

Manyeconomic migrants from the Middle East attempt to cross the Indian Ocean inboats in search of a better life in Australia.

Australia-basedrefugee advocate Jack Smit told Reuters first reports indicated the boat wasoverloaded. He suggested it might involve a new and inexperiencedpeople-smuggling operator trying to make money quickly, as the boat reportedlyleft from the same port in Java as another that sank recently.

"Itall points to new operators, and also the population of the boats ischanging," Smit, of Project SafeCom Inc, told Reuters. "It seems tome it's a new operator that took a risk that was too big."

Smit saidthere appeared to be an increasing number of Iranians taking to the boats andfewer Afghans than previously. He estimated that 2 to 5 percent of thousands ofasylum-seekers taking to boats in this way each year died en route, with manydeaths not reported.

Asylum-seekersoften pay thousands of dollars to board the boats, whose journeys are organizedby people-smuggling networks based in Indonesia using ramshackle vessels oftenpoorly equipped for the perilous journey to Australian waters. This sinking isthe latest of several such disasters in recent years.

(Reportingby Olivia Rondonuwu, Additional reporting by Chris McCall in Sydney; Editing byRaju Gopalakrishnan)

Chevron faces $10.6bn Brazil legal suit over oil spill

2011-12-16T03:58:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 15December 2011

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under control on 13 November

Prosecutorsin Brazil are demanding $10.6bn (£6.8bn) from US oil company Chevron forenvironmental damage caused when one of its oil wells leaked off the coast ofRio de Janeiro.

Theprosecutors also asked the court to immediately suspend the operations ofChevron and its drilling contractor, Transocean, in Brazil.

Brazil hasalready fined Chevron $28m for the spill on 8 November.

A Chevronofficial said the company had not yet been notified of the suit.

Theprosecutors who brought the case argued that "Chevron and Transoceanweren't capable of controlling the damages from a spill of 3,000 barrels ofoil, which proves a lack of environmental planning and management".

They alsoaccused Chevron of keeping information from Brazil's oil regulator, known by itsinitials ANP.

Chevron hasbeen banned from drilling any new wells for at least three months, while theANP investigates the spill.

Chevron hasaccepted full responsibility for the leak.

The companysaid it had underestimated the pressure of underwater oil deposits whiledrilling, causing oil to rush up the bore hole and seep into the surroundingseabed.

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Fears for lives of whales trapped in icy Russian waters

2011-12-15T22:00:00.002+07:00

BBC News, 15December 2011

Beluga or white whales live in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters

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More than100 Beluga whales are trapped in ice floes in Russia's far north-east Chukotkaregion.

Localauthorities have urged Moscow to send an icebreaker to free them.

The whalesare unable to swim to clear water because of huge volumes of ice in a channelin the Bering Sea, a Chukotka region statement on its website said.

A lack offood in the small area where they are trapped, plus the advancing ice, meansthe animals are threatened with exhaustion and death, it said.

Localhunters reported the plight of the animals trapped in the Sinyavinsky channel,near the village of Yanrakynot, to the authorities.

ChukotkaGovernor Roman Kopin has written to Russia's transport and emergenciesministers asking them to send an icebreaker to the channel to release thetrapped whales.

The regionsays it is trying to do a survey to find the distance from the whales' locationto open water, but is being hampered by poor visibility.

Belugawhales are also known as white whales and live in Arctic and sub-Arctic waters.

They arelisted as "near-threatened" on the International Union forConservation of Nature's red list.

RussianPrime Minister Vladimir Putin is a fan of the Beluga whale, and heads Russia'sprogramme to protect the mammal. In 2009 on a visit to the Sea of Okhotsk hedonned a wetsuit to attach a transmitter to a Beluga named Dasha.

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Govt. regulation to ease entry of foreign yachts to RI

2011-12-09T21:19:00.001+07:00

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 12/09/2011

Thegovernment will facilitate the entry of foreign yachts to Indonesia with thepublication of the Presidential Regulation on foreign passenger ships toIndonesia.

“Theregulation is intended to provide facilities for foreign yachts to visitIndonesia,” Deputy to the Coordinating Economic Minister for Trade and IndustryEdy Putra Irawadi said Friday as quoted by Antara news agency.

He saidthat the regulation would become the legal basis that guaranteed ease of entryfor foreign yachts coming to Indonesia.

Edy said hehoped that the regulation could help encourage investment in Indonesia,especially in the tourism field.

He saidthat he hoped visits by foreign yachts to 18 harbors in Indonesia wouldincrease to 1,000 yachts in 2012 and to 2,000 yachts in 2013, from about 400yachts this year.

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Japanese tsunami fund 'used for whaling programme'

2011-12-07T14:37:00.001+07:00

BBC News, 7December 2011

RelatedStories

Japan cut short its whaling season last year
because of harassment by anti-whaling activists

Japan hasused funds from its tsunami recovery budget to subsidise its controversialannual whaling programme, animal rights activists say.

Greenpeacesays 2.3bn yen ($30m; £19m) is being used to fund extra security measures forthe whaling fleet.

Japaneseofficials argued when they applied for extra funding that whaling helpedcoastal communities.

The whalingfleet reportedly headed for Antarctic waters this week, though Tokyo has notconfirmed the reports.

There hasbeen a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000whales each year in what it says is a scientific research programme.

Critics saythose claims are just a cover for a commercial operation, and accuse theJapanese of hunting the animals to the brink of extinction only for food.

Militantanti-whaling groups attack the fleet every year, and last year forced theJapanese to abandon its programme before it was completed.

Earlierthis year, the Japanese Fisheries Agency applied to the government for extrafunding for its programme from the emergency budget aimed at helpingcommunities recover from the devastating tsunami and earthquake.

The agencyargued that some of the towns and villages affected relied on whaling for theirlivelihoods.

Activistssay the agency's funding request was approved and it has spent the money onextra security and covering its debts.

JunichiSato, from Greenpeace Japan, told Australia's ABC that there was no linkbetween the whaling programme and the tsunami recovery.

"It issimply used to cover the debts of the whaling programme, because the whalingprogramme itself has been suffering from big financial problems," he said.

TheAustralian and New Zealand governments have both criticised Japan's decision tocontinue whaling.

They areboth considering sending vessels to monitor the whaling fleet.

Meanwhile,activists from the militant Sea Shepherd group have promised that they willcarry on their campaign against the whaling fleet.

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A Japanese ship injures a whale with its first harpoon.
Photograph: Kate Davidson/EPA/Corbis

BP accuses Halliburton over Gulf of Mexico oil spill

2011-12-07T03:49:00.001+07:00

US contractordestroyed evidence about possible problems with cementing of Macondo wellbefore disaster, allege court papers

guardian.co.uk,Associated Press, Tuesday 6 December 2011

The Deepwater Horizon blast, which killed 11 workers, led to the biggest
oil spill in US history, which affected wildlife such as pelicans.
Photograph: Sean Gardner/Reuters

BP hasaccused Halliburton of destroying damaging evidence relating to last year's Gulfof Mexico oil spill.

In a courtfiling, BP has alleged that the US oil services firm of intentionallydestroying evidence about possible problems with its cement slurry poured intothe deep-sea Macondo well about 100 miles (160 km) off the Louisiana coast. Anoil well must be cemented properly to avoid blowouts.

Also in thedocuments filed in a New Orleans federal court, BP accuses Halliburton offailing to produce incriminating computer modelling evidence.

BP asked aUS judge to penalise Halliburton and order a court-sponsored computer forensicteam to recover the modelling results.

Halliburtonhas told media outlets that the accusations are untrue.

Theallegations in the 310-page motion add to a showdown among BP and thecontractors Halliburton and Transocean over blame in the Deepwater Horizonblast in April 2010, which killed 11 workers and led to 206m US gallons (780mlitres) of crude oil escaping into the Gulf of Mexico. So far, BP, the majorityowner of the Macondo well, has footed the bill for the emergency response andcleanup.

Alsoinvolved are Anadarko Petroleum and Cameron International.

The firsttrial over the disaster is scheduled to start 27 February in New Orleans. It isexpected to last three months and determine the liability of each companyinvolved in drilling the Macondo well. There will be other phases over cleanupcosts, punitive damages and other claims.

US federaland independent investigations into the disaster have found fault inHalliburton's cementing because it failed to properly plug the well. The firmused a foamy cement slurry.

In Monday'scourt filing, BP alleges that Halliburton employees discarded and destroyedearly test results they performed on the same batch of cement slurry used inthe Macondo well during an internal investigation into the disaster.

BP saidHalliburton's chief cement mixer for Gulf projects testified in depositionsthat the cement slurry seemed "thin" to him but that he chose not towrite about his findings to his bosses out of fear he would be misinterpreted.

"Ididn't want to put anything on an email that could be twisted, andturned," Rickey Morgan, the Halliburton cement expert, said indepositions. He worked at a laboratory in Duncan, Oklahoma.

"Uponreviewing these latest testing results, Halliburton employees destroyed recordsof the testing as well as the physical cement samples used in thetesting," BP alleged.

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Shark fin goes off the menu at Peninsula hotels

2011-11-24T20:47:00.001+07:00

The movewill affect the group's nine hotels, including those in China and Hong Kong,the center of the global shark fin market

guardian.co.uk,Justin McCurry in Osaka, Thursday 24November 2011

73 million sharks are killed yearly for shark fin soup.
Photograph: Paul Hilton/EPA

Environmentalgroups are claiming a significant victory in the campaign to save the globalshark population, after the Peninsula hotel group said it would stop servingshark fin dishes from January.

Peninsula,one of Asia's most prestigious hotel chains, said on Monday it would no longersell the dishes, considered a delicacy in Hong Kong and other parts of theregion, "in recognition of the threat facing the global shark populationand in line with the company's sustainability vision".

The movewill affect the group's nine hotels, including those in China and Hong Kong,the center of the global shark fin market.

Hong Konghandles between 50% and 80% of the global trade in shark fins, bringing incatches from more than 100 countries, with Spain its biggest supplier. In 2006it took delivery of more than 10,000 tonnes worth US$276m, according to the UNfood and agricultural organisation.

Most isconsumed in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but also in mainland provinces such asGuangdong, where its consumption has become a status symbol among China'snouveau riche.

Hong Kongand Shanghai Hotels, which owns the Peninsula group, said it would honourrequests for shark fin soup made before 21 November, for consumption after 1January.

The dish,which comprises pieces of rehydrated shark fin in a rich broth, is a popularstaple at wedding parties and formal banquets, with a serving for 12 people costingaround US$138.

In HongKong districts such as Sheung Wan, which specialises in dried seafood, premiumshark fin can fetch up to US$1,280 per kilo. One Sheung Wan wholesaler recentlytold the Guardian, however, that the market price had dropped by about 20% inthe past two months, partly as a result of the campaign.

About 73million sharks are killed every year, and the appetite for their fins in placessuch as Hong Kong has taken one in three shark species to the brink of extinction.

"Byremoving shark fin from our menus, we hope that our decision can contribute topreserving the marine ecosystem for the world's future generations," thePeninsula group's chief executive, Clement Kwok, said in a statement.

"AsAsia's oldest hotel company, we also hope that our decision will inspire otherhospitality companies to do the same."

Otherluxury hotel chains have attempted to reduce shark fin consumption by offeringalternative menus for wedding banquets, sometimes with inducements such as a freenight's accommodation for the newlyweds.

The push toremove the delicacy – prized more for its glutinous texture than for its taste– has gathered momentum after a slow start, according to World Wildlife Fund,which has seen 97 caterers and hotels sign up to its alternative shark-freemenu in the past year.

A 2010survey of eating habits by Bloom Association, a marine conservation group,found that despite the dish's central place in Cantonese cuisine, attitudeswere shifting, particularly among younger people.

Accordingto Bloom, 66% of Hong Kong diners said they were uncomfortable with the idea ofeating an endangered species, and more than three-quarters said they would notmind if it was removed from banquet menus.

ThePeninsula announcement came as the European commission called for a global ban on shark finning – the practice of cutting off a shark's fin and throwing itsbody back into the sea – by EU fishermen. EU countries are responsible forabout 14% – the second-largest share – of the global shark catch.

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ANP says suspends Chevron drilling rights in Brazil

2011-11-24T04:25:00.001+07:00

Reuters, SAOPAULO, Wed Nov 23, 2011

An aerialview shows oil that seeped from a well operated by Chevron at Frade,

on thewaters in Campos Basin in Rio de Janeiro state November 18, 2011.

(Credit:Reuters/Rogerio Santana/Handout)

(Reuters) -Brazil's National Oil Regulator (ANP) said on Wednesday that it is suspendingthe drilling rights of U.S. oil major Chevron in national territory until itclarifies conditions of the recent oil spill in its Frade field.

The ANPalso said it has denied Chevron's request to drill into ultra-deep subsaltareas, which hold huge deposits of oil off Brazil's coast.

(Reporting by Reese Ewing)

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