Stricken ship refloated after Solomons oil spill

Yahoo – AFP, 11 May 2019

The ship was carrying more than 700 tonnes of heavy fuel and leaked a huge
amount of oil into the sea

The ship at the centre of an environmental disaster near World-Heritage listed waters in the Solomon Islands was refloated Saturday after being stranded on a coral reef for more than three months.

The MV Solomon Trader ran aground on February 5 while loading bauxite at Rennell Island, about 240 kilometres (149 miles) south of the capital Honiara.

The 225-metre (740-foot) ship was carrying more than 700 tonnes of heavy fuel and leaked a huge amount of oil into the sea, sparking an international effort to contain the spill.

"They have been trying to refloat the vessel since Thursday but because of low tide they have not been able to, until today", the chairman of the Solomons National Disaster Council, Melchior Mataki, told AFP.

An oil slick more than six kilometres long has spread along the shoreline, destroying the livelihoods of islanders who rely on waters in the ecologically delicate region.

Rennell Island is the largest raised coral atoll in the world and includes a UNESCO World Heritage site which extends kilometres out to sea.

Authorities have said the site was not affected by the spill, although Mataki said a detailed environmental assessment will be undertaken now that the vessel is out of the way.

"There is a preliminary report but the full report will be made known once assessments and investigation findings are compiled properly", he said, adding the government would likely seek compensation for environmental damage.

The Australian government had sent salvage experts to assist the response and vowed to help the Solomons make sure those responsible for the spill are held to account.

The Hong Kong-registered ship was chartered by Indonesian-based Bintan Mining and was loaded with almost 11,000 tonnes of bauxite at the time of the incident.

Over one third of Indonesia's coral reefs in bad state: study

Yahoo – AFP, 28 November 2018

Indonesia has some of the world's finest corals but many are also badly damaged

More than a third of Indonesia's coral reefs are in bad condition, scientists said Tuesday, raising concerns about the future of the archipelago's vast marine ecosystem.

The precarious state of the country's coral reefs was revealed after a survey of 1067 sites across the sprawling country of more than 17,000 islands.

Scientists from Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) found that just 6.5 percent Indonesia's coral reefs were in excellent condition, while 36 percent are in bad condition. Some 34 percent in sufficient condition with the rest classifed as being in good condition.

"Anthropogenic factors are having more influence on the condition of corals in Indonesia today," Dr Dirhamsyah, head of the institute's oceanographic research centre, said in a statement.

"The use of coast has increased which can threaten the ecosystem."

Dirhamsyah, who like many Indonesians has only one name, said greater public awareness was needed "for the survival of marine life" in Indonesia.

Indonesia has one of the most extensive coral reef systems in the world and more people live close to reefs than anywhere else on the planet, according to the Coral Reef Alliance.

But the giant living organisms face a number of threats, including man-made climate change, destructive fishing techniques and nutrient and sediment loading.

Indonesia is also the world's second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, producing an estimated 1.29 million metric tons annually.

Conservation group WWF warned last month up to half of the globe's shallow-water reefs, which support a quarter of all marine life, have already been wiped out.

If humanity fails to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, coral mortality is likely to hit 70-90 percent by the middle of the century, the United Nations warned in a recent report.

Indonesia is part of the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine area on earth which passes through six countries, including the Philippines, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Easter Island’s Carnival Magic Seduces Tourists

Jakarta Globe, Mike Leyral, Feb 22, 2015

People take part in dance contest in Hanga Roa on Chile's Easter Island (or Rapa
 Nui as its inhabitants call it) in the Pacific Ocean on Feb. 10, 2015 as part of the 47th
 edition of Tapati, an all-out 15-day contest between rival teams to crown a new monarch.
(AFP Photo/Gregory Boissy)

Far from home on Chile’s Easter Island for Carnival festivities, one middle-aged American woman throws caution to the wind. Stripped down to a thong, she lets a local reveler paint her chest.

“If someone had told me I would end up walking down the street almost naked, I would never have believed it,” the woman, who only gave her first name Susan, said.

Susan is one of a few thousand tourists who joined the Pacific island’s 9,000 residents for Tapati, an exuberant mix of music, dance and traditional sports that takes place for two weeks every February.

In the island’s only town Hanga Roa, revelers wait in a long line under the blistering tropical summer sun to take part in a time-honored ritual — a plunge in an old tub filled with clay.

A man known as Ale then spreads with his hand this reddish-brown natural paint on the bodies of other locals — and any tourist ready to participate.

Then, other lines form in front of tubs filled with white and yellow paint.

It’s time for the Rapa Nui — the Polynesian word for both the island and its residents — to paint symbols, inspired by the local Birdman legend, or characters from the long-lost Rongorongo system of writing.

Shortly after 5:00 p.m., a warrior blows into an enormous shell, signaling the start of the nightly parade, which features colorful floats and dancers in elaborate costumes, not unlike the massive Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro.

The Tapati festival is at once a test of masculine strength and feminine grace celebrating Polynesian pride.

Easter Island is at the southernmost point of the so-called Polynesian Triangle — a Pacific region with Hawaii and New Zealand at the other corners.

The Unesco World Heritage Site is famous for its nearly 900 massive stone monuments — the Moai, carved by the Rapa Nui hundreds of years ago.

Rival teams are locked in an all-out contest to crown a new Tapati queen, who reigns for a year.

Numerous races and other contests take place — including reed board surfing, underwater fishing, fruit-carrying, a triathlon and horse races — but the nightly parades and dance competitions are the highlight.

Locals spend months carving out large wooden statues for the parade floats from Eucalyptus trees representing deified ancestors, such as the mystical Moai stone giants or the Birdman.

One night, a man draped in animal skins leads the way on his motorcycle, featuring a bull’s skull on the steering wheel.

Behind him, a woman dressed as a mermaid — her costume made of all-natural materials including a tail taken from a tuna caught just that morning — poses on a float decorated with huge wooden octopuses.

People originally from the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia play large pahu drums, while the Rapa Nui prefer horse jaws that make a light sound close to maracas when the teeth hit one another.

Some of the Tapati activities reflect a more Latin vibe taken from Chile — the elderly do battle to be the accordion king, as young people display their tango skills.

But the Polynesian dance competitions are fierce.

At the Hanga Vare Vare, the main festival stage in Hanga Roa, dancers sway sensually to the Polynesian drum rhythms.

Agence France-Presse

Related Article:

The Mysteries Revealed of Rapa Nui (5) - Oct 18-21, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll)

"The Timing of Creation" – Aug 12, 2012 (a message from Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll)

RP, Papua New Guinea to engage in high-level talks on fishery cooperation

BusinessWorld, Philippines,

SAN JUAN, BATANGAS — The Philippines and Papua New Guinea will negotiate a bilateral agreement aimed at fostering fishery cooperation, said Malacañang yesterday.

Press Secretary Cerge M. Remonde said President Gloria M. Arroyo will discuss the agreement during Prime Minister Michael Somare’s four-day stay in the country starting this Saturday.

"The Philippines and Papua New Guinea are members of the so-called Coral Triangle Initiative countries. A joint venture of fisheries will be discussed during the state visit," he said.

Indonesia, East Timor, Malaysia, and the Solomon Islands are also part of a multilateral alliance to preserve the Coral Triangle environment. All in all, the area spans 6.5 million square kilometers and is home to over 600 reef-building corals and various fish species.

As the most diverse marine region on the planet, the Coral Triangle sustains the lives of nearly 130 million people and contains major spawning and nursery grounds for tuna.

Mr. Somare, who’s arriving in Manila on Saturday, will join Ms. Arroyo in General Santos on Monday to meet with key stakeholders in the tuna industry in the province.

Last week, the World Wide Fund urged Coral Triangle Initiative countries to negotiate for better tuna prices and fair fishing arrangements with other nations.

The six nations of the initiative — Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands — account for around 70% of the world’s tuna catch, including threatened species like big eye and yellowfin tuna.

"Protection and responsible management of these spawning grounds and migratory routes is an essential ecosystem service to the world’s multi-billion dollar tuna industry," WWF Coral Triangle Program head Lida Pet Soede was earlier quoted as saying.

"Taking advantage of this unique asset can help strengthen the position of Coral Triangle countries in their negotiations for fairer prices and fairer fishing arrangements with non-Coral Triangle nations, who also fish in these waters."

On Sunday, the visiting Papua New Guinea leader will attend a wreath laying ceremony at the Luneta Park in the morning before attending mass at San Agustin Church. Mr. Somare will also have a working lunch with business tycoon Lucio Tan after his tour of Intramuros. He will be given full arrival honors at Caticlan airport on Sunday afternoon and Ms. Arroyo will host the state dinner for him at the Shangri-La resort hotel. — B. S. Sto. Domingo

Related Article:

World Ocean Conference, 11-15 May 2009, Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia

World’s Maritime Experts Gather in Manado

Thursday, 12 March, 2009 | 18:08 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The results of the 2009 World Ocean Conference (WOC) in Manado will be brought to the United Nations’ Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen, Denmark, this December. “The conference in Manado will discuss the role of oceans in the global climate change,” said Indroyono Soesilo, National Committee secretary of the conference, which will take place in May 11 – 15, 2009.

At the 13th Climate Change Conference in Bali on December 2007, the discussion on oceans’ role was minimal. Indonesia then took the initiative to host the WOC. The maritime conference in Manado is the first to take place and is planned to be held annually. Meanwhile, the Climate Change Conference has been held 14 times, the last one being in Poznan, Poland, last December. The conference in Copenhagen is very important as it becomes the new basic reference when the Kyoto Protocol ends.

Until yesterday, 700 delegates from 146 countries confirmed their preparedness to come to Manado, North Sulawesi. Also to attend the event will be the presidents of member countries of the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI), including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. CTI partners, the United States and Australia also plan to attend. However, the US delegation will not be led by President Barack Husein Obama.

One of the WOC’s events will be a symposium on science and international maritime technology. “There will be 32 parallel sessions to discuss 610 papers,” said Aryo Hanggono, Maritime Technology Research Center chief at the Maritime and Fishery Department. Around 300 speakers will come from overseas.

The scientists will discuss various maritime issues, including marine life beings as sharks and stingrays, aqua culture, bio-technology, energy, coelacanth, CO2 sink, health and bio-medic, the Darwin and Wallace theories and the impact of climate change. The conference will also feature exhibitions on science and technology, the maritime industry, maritime festival, and maritime education for the youths in three research ships. According to Aryo, when the conference in Manado is finished, his department will organize maritime campaigns for youths in the country.

UNTUNG WIDYANTO