Saturday, February 10, 2024

Marine Insurers Continue to Support Trade in the Red Sea & Black Sea

[By: International Union of Marine Insurance]

At its annual winter meeting in London, the International Union of Marine Insurance (IUMI), confirmed that the global marine insurance market is continuing to support trade in the Red Sea and the Ukraine/Black Sea area.

Since the cessation of the Ukraine grain corridor in September 2023, some 10 million MT of grain has been successfully lifted from Ukrainian ports using international tonnage insured by marine underwriters. This is despite Russia damaging Ukrainian shore-side facilities and mining local waters. Insurance cover has contributed to much of the Ukrainian grain harvest being exported overseas which, in turn, has helped stabilise international agri-commodity prices.

In the Red Sea, the insurance market is providing hull and cargo products at affordable prices and vessel owners are able to obtain the cover they require. The attacks are continuing despite military intervention but, fortunately, vessel casualties have not been catastrophic. The impact on Suez Canal transits and global supply chains are significant but this has not affected the ability of the marine insurance market to provide adequate cover – both for Red Sea/Suez Canal transits or for the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope.

IUMI also reported on restricted movement through the Panama Canal due to low water levels causing a restriction on a vessel’s maximum draught from 50 feet to 44 feet. This has reduced daily transits to around 24 vessels from a norm of 34-36 vessels. Sailings are expected to decrease further to 18 vessels later this month. The result is longer transit times as vessels are re-routed - but voyages have been further compromised by events in the Red Sea. The convergence of these two crises comes in advance of the export surge around the lunar new year shutdowns in Asia. Expected consequences may include a shortage of delivered goods, containers out of position, gridlock at freight handling terminals and congestion at ports.

More positively, it was noted that the growth in global marine insurance premiums experienced in 2022 would likely give momentum to the 2023 results which IUMI will publish at its annual conference in September. The 2024 premium base would be harder to predict, however, due to the supply chain issues already mentioned as well as weaker consumer confidence, high interest rates, and an economic slowdown in some regions; inflationary pressures were easing, however.

IUMI’s report on the global marine insurance market along with discussion and debate on the pressing issues of the day will be featured at its annual conference to be held in Berlin 15-18 September 2024. This year, IUMI celebrates its 150th anniversary which is reflected in the conference common theme “Building on 150 years of enabling global commerce.”

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

As War Risk Spikes in Red Sea, IUMI Says Cover Remains Affordable

Missile strikes are a real concern for U.S. and UK-linked vessels in the Red Sea, like the Zografia, whose hull penetration is visible at center right (Suez Canal Authority)

After reports of surging war risk insurance rates for transits in the Red Sea, the International Union of Marine Insurers (IUMI) is emphasizing that the global marine insurance market still supports trade in the Red Sea, and at an "affordable price."

War risk cover for transits of the Red Sea has increased from about 0.01 percent of vessel value in early December to as much as 1.0 percent in recent weeks, adding hundreds of thousands of dollars onto the cost of a single voyage. The prices have been driven ever upward by persistent Houthi missile attacks on merchant shipping in the region. Several vessels have been hit and have sustained serious damage, like the bulker Zografia and the tanker Marlin Luanda, and many others have experienced near-miss incidents. Despite a series of U.S. and UK strikes on Houthi launch sites, bunkers, radars and other emplacements, the attacks have continued on a regular basis.

The insurance hikes are largest for the vessels that are highest on the Houthi priority target list - that is, ships with links to the U.S., UK or Israel. Brokers report that vessels with ownership ties to these three nations are paying up to 50 percent more for their war risk cover in the area. And some underwriters are simply refusing to write policies for these vessels, according to Reuters.

During its annual conference, IUMI was at pains to emphasize that cover remains available.

"In the Red Sea, the insurance market is providing hull and cargo products at affordable prices and vessel owners are able to obtain the cover they require," IUMI said Wednesday in a statement. "The impact on Suez Canal transits and global supply chains are significant but this has not affected the ability of the marine insurance market to provide adequate cover – both for Red Sea/Suez Canal transits or for the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope."

Virgin Voyages is Taking the Long Way Cruising from Australia to Greece

Virgin Voyages cruise ship — Resilient Lady is taking "the long way" to reposition from Australia to the Mediterranean (Virgin Voyages)

Virgin Voyages, the cruise brand started by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, reports it will be the latest cruise line to “take the long way,” to reposition its cruise ship Resilient Lady (108,000 gross tons) from Australia back to Europe. The repositioning had been planned to sail through Asia, India, the Middle East, and the Red Sea at the end of the line’s first Australia summer season, but now is heading to Africa.

“Like many other cruise brands, we have been watching the current conflict in the Middle East closely, connecting regularly with global security experts to consider the impacts to the repositioning voyages planned for Resilient Lady in 2024,” said a spokesperson for Virgin Voyages. “We remain concerned about potential escalations in this part of the world over the next 12 months and the risk that this presents for safe passage through the region. As a result, we have been left with no choice but to make changes to Resilient Lady's repositioning voyage.”

The cruise that had been planned to make stops including Bali, Singapore, India, Dubai, and the Mediterranean via the Red Sea, will instead become what the cruise line is calling a “once-in-a-lifetime sailing around the coast of Africa.” Other cruise lines including AIDA, MSC Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, decided to forego revenue trips deadheading their ships for the long voyage around Africa. Carnival Corporation reported it decided to reroute itineraries for 12 ships across seven brands, which were scheduled to transit the Red Sea through May 2024.

The Resilient Lady is finishing up her first-ever season in Australia having arrived in Sydney on December 4 and then continuing to Melbourne which became the base for its cruises to Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. The cruise line scheduled a total of 17 cruises during the Australian summer and reports it will return for a second season starting in December 2024.

Departing Australia as originally scheduled on March 27, the cruise ship will now call in Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, Cape Verde, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Morocco, Spain, and Malta, arriving as scheduled on May 9 in Piraeus, Greece. The trip is being offered in three segments with extended sea time to make up for the extra mileage. Virgin Voyages is offering booked passengers guaranteed spots at no additional cost or the option of canceling due to the changes.

“We know that based on our conversations with passengers and travel partners, they understand the complex geopolitical challenges that have arisen making this change necessary,” said the line’s spokesperson.

It comes as the latest in a series of changes as global events challenged the start-up of the cruise line. The company was forced to delay its first revenue cruise for more than a year due to the pandemic and delayed delivery of its later ships. Today, the company has three of its four ordered cruise ships, with the last one Brilliant Lady still delayed as the company considers its deployment.

“With the very likely continuation of this escalated regional conflict top-of-mind, and in an effort to minimize further disruptions to our passengers’ future vacation plans, Virgin Voyages is now conducting a full review of other geographically similar repositioning voyages and linked sailings,” the company reports.

LPG Carrier Towed to Safe Anchorage After Losing Propeller

LPG carrier disabled — LPG carrier lost it propeller off Australia and was towed to an anchorage (Hiyoshi Shipping Co.)

Australian officials report they are monitoring the situation closely but that both the crew and the environment are not in any current danger from a disabled LPG carrier near Melbourne. The ship has been moved into a sheltered anchorage while the owners make arrangements, but it is also becoming a bit of a local tourist attraction.

The drama began last week when the vessel, the Bougainville (4,700 dwt) reported it had lost its propeller and was unable to navigate. The vessel, which is 328 feet (100 meters) in length and loaded with a cargo of LPG, was inbound from Vanuatu.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) told the local news outlet the Phillip Island & San Remo Advertiser that the vessel which was built in 2014 and is registered in Panama “sheered off” its propeller when it was conducting “pre-arrival main engine testing.”

AMSA sent an emergency vessel to rescue the LPG tanker which at the time was drifting just a few miles off Seal Rocks. They initially towed the vessel to a safer position near Flinders where it was able to anchor and wait for more favorable weather conditions.

The Bougainville was towed at mid-week arriving in the more sheltered anchorage at Cowes south of Melbourne. AMSA reports that divers were sent down and confirmed that the vessel had in fact sheered off its propeller, telling the newspaper repairs will be extensive as they will have to withdraw the shaft. According to the spokesperson, the ship’s operators and owner are currently looking for a facility capable of undertaking the work.

The ship was built in Japan and owned by the Hiyoshi Shipping Co. She operates under charter to Geogas and is managed locally in Australia by Oceangas. The reports indicate she is loaded with LPG and if full has a capacity for 5,000 cbm. She is one of several gas carriers used to supply Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific islands.

Forgotten Passing Arrangements Led to Towboat Collision

The National Transportation Safety Board has determined that a major barge tow collision was caused by a pilot forgetting the passing arrangements that he had agreed on with another towboat, putting the two on the same side of the river.

In the early hours of January 9, 2023, the towboat Big D was downbound on the Mississippi and encountered the upbound towboat Carol McManus. Both were pushing full barge tows ahead; Carol McManus had 42 barges and an overall tow length of 1,560 feet, longer than a ULCC.

The two towboats were on track to meet at a bend in the river. At about 0134, Big D's pilot called the Carol McManus on VHF and proposed a "one whistle" passing arrangement (port-to-port). Big D would "hold tight" to the inside of the bend, on the right descending bank of the river. The Carol McManus' pilot agreed, saying "yeah, that'd be fine."

As they proceeded towards the bend, both towboats took a course along the right descending bank. The Big D's pilot noticed that something was wrong as his tow approached the bend: AIS showed that the Carol McManus was coming towards him, and so did the McManus' lights.

At 0151, when the two tows were just 1,000 feet apart and closing, Big D's pilot called Carol McManus to alert the towboat that it was "still cutting in on me." The McManus' pilot appeared to misremember their passing arrangement and responded “You said two whistle, right?”

Both pilots took measures to reduce the effects of a collision, backing down and maneuvering to minimize damage. The tows collided head-on at 0152, and multiple barges made contact. Both tows broke up, scattering barges along the river. Other nearby towboats responded and helped to round up the runaways.

Courtesy NTSB

14 barges were damaged by the collision, with an estimated total repair cost of about $1.4 million. The impact also breached piping systems on a tank barge full of ethanol, releasing about 1,400 gallons of the chemical into the river.

There were no signs that Carol McManus' pilot was in any way unqualified for the task. He was an experienced towboat master with 50 years of experience on the water, including 30 as master or pilot. He was working a six-and-six schedule, standing watch from 1100-1700 and 2300-0500 every day, and he said that he got five hours of sleep between each watch. He passed all drug and alcohol testing.

In a post-casualty interview, he told investigators that he "got confused" about the passing arrangements and "forgot" about the agreement with Big D.

NTSB noted that six-and-six watch rotations can cause fatigue, but the McManus' pilot did not show signs of impairment. Instead, investigators honed in on the details of the passing arrangement conversation, as well as the length of time (20 minutes) between when the two pilots reached an agreement and when the vessels actually met. Repeating the details of the agreement back over the radio - instead of a nonspecific acknowledgement like "that'd be fine" - would have improved the odds of remembering it, NTSB advised. The agency said that it is "critical" to do so - even if COLREGS does not require it.

"Had the Carol McManus pilot repeated back the proposed arrangement, he would have been more likely to correctly recall the agreement and maneuver his tow to the left descending bank," NTSB concluded.

Carnival Magic Dented and Scraped Hitting Jamaica Pier in Strong Winds

Carnival Magic pier damage — Damage to the hull of the Carnival Magic after making contact with the pier (Triple D Photography/Rock Ambassadors Media on Facebook)

One of Carnival Cruise Line’s large cruise ships, the 130,000 gross ton Carnival Magic, is a little worse for wear after heavy weather yesterday pushed the ship into the dock. The cruise ship remained overnight in Jamaica as an expert team was traveling to meet the ship and inspect the damage.

Pictures show the ship with dents and scrapes along a section of the starboard side where it was pushed against the dock by high winds and a strong surf. The ship’s captain Francesco La Farina confirmed that they had made contact saying “strong winds and swells caused the pier fender to collapse under pressure.”

The cruise ship, which is 1,004 feet in length, had arrived in Ocho Rios, Jamaica early on Tuesday, February 6, with passengers beginning to disembark for a day of tours and sightseeing on the island. The ship is reportedly sold out with more than 3,600 passengers aboard for a special charter rock music cruise.

Around 11:00 a.m. local time the weather increased and videos showed the ship rocking back and forth along the pier. Later pictures show scrapes and dents to the hull above the waterline where the cruise ship made contact with the dock. Another picture shows a crack in the concrete on the pier, although it is unclear if it was caused by the cruise ship.

“For safety reasons, the ship had to sail out to sea,” the captain wrote to the passengers. The decision was to move the ship to an alternate pier, but it was occupied by the Costa Pacifica cruise ship, so the Carnival Magic remained offshore. Carnival passengers coming back to the dock were surprised to find their ship out to sea.

Carnival reports its shore team was making arrangements for passengers stuck onshore, but people were complaining on social media there were hundreds of people with little space and shelter from the rainstorms. Finally, in the evening, Carnival bused the passengers to a new pier to rejoin the cruise ship.

The weather has been playing havoc on the cruise ships as a strong weather front moved across the Western Caribbean. The Carnival Magic had skipped a prior stop in Bimini the Miami Herald reports. Yesterday, three other cruise ships, the Carnival Dream, Norwegian Breakaway, and Regal Princess, were unable to dock in Cozumel, Mexico because of similar high surf and wind conditions.

Carnival Cruise Line reported the Carnival Magic would remain in Jamaica till 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, skipping a planned port call in Grand Cayman. The captain blamed the cancelation of Grand Cayman also on the weather, although the Carnival Magic was still undergoing inspections before it was cleared to depart to return to PortMiami. The ship had sailed from Florida on February 4 on the six-night cruise. The ship departed Jamaica as planned Wednesday afternoon with its AIS showing it is heading to Bimini before its return to Florida.

Spain Begins Investigation into Death of Sailor on Balearia Ferry

Spanish authorities confirmed that they are looking into the circumstances behind the death of a sailor working aboard Baleària Shipping Company’s ferry Napoles discovered earlier this week. The union requested the investigation while it is also calling for improvements in the occupational risk prevention policies.

The shipping company Baleària issued a brief statement on Tuesday confirming that a 40-year-old sailor working aboard the ferry had been pronounced dead on Monday night, February 5, shortly after the vessel docked in Algeciras. The company expressed its deep regret and condolences saying that it was offering support to the family. The shipping company said it was also activating its internal procedures and risk prevention protocols while also investigating the incident.

“The sailor was found unconscious and not breathing in the garage upon arrival at the port of Algeciras,” the company said in its statement. “The captain of the ship, immediately, and the Algeciras health workers later, performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation protocols, unfortunately without success.”

One news report suggests that the unidentified Spanish crewmember was found between two vehicles. The unconfirmed report said that one of the vehicles might have sifted trapping the crewmember between the two vehicles. They are reporting that offloading of the ferry when it reached Algeciras, was delayed by an investigation.

The Napoles was built in 2002 and rebuilt in 2018-2019 to become one of the first RoRos operated by Baleària using liquified natural gas is registered in Cyprus. The vessel, which is 610 feet (186 meters) in length, has a capacity for up to approximately 480 vehicles. It also carries up to 1,600 passengers operating between Tangier and Algeciras.

The Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras or CCOO) agreed to the investigation and collection of data for the union, which will use it to file a formal complaint. Media reports said this was the second fatal accident in the region in 2024 after four workplace fatalities in 2023 in Algeciras.

The regional secretary of Occupational Health of CCOO, José Gavilán, speaking about the overall situation in 2023 called the deaths “unacceptable” in a media briefing. He said the region had recorded a total of 3,500 workplace accidents in 2023.

“Five deaths and an average of around ten accidents a day represent a devastating situation in the workplace,” Gavilán is quoted as saying during the briefing. He vowed that his agency would take steps to improve workplace safety.

ECOCIDE

Mysterious Capsized Cargo Ship Causes Oil Spill Emergency in Tobago

Tobago oil spill — Oil is leaking from the capsized vessel as the authorities work to identify the ship and its owners (TEMA)

Officials on the Caribbean island of Tobago are scrambling to clean up a growing oil spill while they also investigate the mysterious capsized vessel that is causing the growing environmental disaster. Oil is fouling the southwestern end of the island with warnings that it may continue to spread.

A massive clean-up effort has been launched as the oil continues to wash onshore with the Trinidad & Tobago Coast Guard investigating the vessel. The government is now classifying it as a Tier II disaster with the Tobago Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), Environmental Management Authority, and other government agencies all coordinating in the effort. Speculation was that it would be elevated to a Tier III disaster by the end of the day Thursday or early on Friday.

The incident began on Wednesday, February 7, when the authorities received reports of a capsized vessel. They noted that there had been no distress call and a subsequent search has failed to turn up the crew either on board or having escaped from the sinking ship. Oil from the vessel quickly began to reach the shoreline.

Oil is continuing to leak from the capsized cargo ship (TEMA)

Divers were sent to examine and identify the vessel reporting back a visual identity as Gulfstream but so far they have been unable to identify any registration information. Efforts to get to a possible registration number on the stern were being blocked by the ongoing oil leak. The vessel's visible name does not correspond with international ship registries.

They are estimating the vessel’s length at 330 feet (100 meters) and they believe it was transporting lumber and sand. The divers reported that there appears to also be damage to the nearby reef and that portions of the vessel’s superstructure detached and may lie in a debris field.

They found no signs of life aboard the vessel, although further searches of the debris were planned. The speculation is that the vessel might have been abandoned and left to sink. The trail of damage suggests the ship drifted into the cove from the south and may have dragged along the bottom before coming to rest. Some observers are saying they saw the vessel as early as Tuesday.

Crews worked through the day on Thursday and late into the night reporting that their focus is on containment and they have deployed protective booms. The port in Scarborough they are reporting so far remains oil free while testing is ongoing to confirm their suspicions that diesel oil is leaking from the ship.

Along the beaches, 67 people are reported to be working to clean up the oil while government officials are warning the public to stay away from southwest Tobago. One of the big concerns is that the oil will contaminate fish and the food supply.

Aging Freighter Sank Under Tow Due to Engine Room Flooding

Carib Trader II slips below (NTSB / Capt Beau)

When the crew of the tug Capt. Beau set out to tow a derelict cargo ship from Miami to Haiti, they were in for an unwelcome surprise. Just about everything that could go wrong did go wrong: in rough seas, the towed ship payed out its own anchor, broke loose from the bridle, took on water and sank by the stern.

The ship in question was an aging 270-foot freighter, the Carib Trader II. The vessel was pushing 50 years old, and was not in perfect shape; she had a long history of inspection deficiencies, and had previously been found carrying cocaine. She was detained at Miami in November 2020 for a range of safety issues, and she stayed there for more than a year while arrangements were made for repairs.

In February 2022, the owner arranged to tow Carib Trader II to Haiti, where the vessel would be repaired. The ship was surveyed above the waterline before departure, and the Coast Guard signed off on the tow plan.

Capt. Beau set up a tow with a bridle of Spectra, chain and wire rope, rigged to the freighter's mooring bits. They got under way and headed south for the Old Bahama Channel.

On March 6, as they were under way off the coast of Cuba, the weather was on the rough side of what the tow plan allowed for. Winds were at up to 30 knots and seas were 7-9 feet. At about 0035 hours, the mate heard a bang, and the tug sped up on its own. The mate suspected that the tow might have parted, and he woke the captain, who took over the watch. The rest of the crew pulled in the tow line and found that both legs of the Spectra line bridle had parted.

In the dark, the Capt. Beau maneuvered to recover the tow. At about 0140, the crew noticed that the Carib Trader's port anchor had payed out and was suspended in the water column. Ominously, the freighter was also trimmed by the stern.

The crew rigged a tow by reconnecting to the remains of the bridle on the port side, and they resumed the tow at low speed, planning to investigate further after daybreak.

At about 0720, the mate went aboard the Carib Trader to investigate. He found that the engine room was flooded and that the water had already risen above the main engine. At the captain's direction, the mate started up a portable dewatering pump and rigged it to pump the water over the side.

The situation did not improve, and by 1100, the mate determined that the pump was not keeping up with the rate of flooding. By 1500, the Carib Trader began listing to starboard, and it became clear that the vessel would sink. The mate got off the vessel, and the captain had the engineer cut the tow wire free. Carib Trader II went to the bottom in 3,300 feet of water at about 1620.

Based on the available information and the Carib Trader's "substandard" maintenance history, NTSB determined that the likely cause of the sinking was an unidentified leak in the engine room below the waterline. The freighter had not been drydocked in years, and the condition of the hull was unknown.

As for the parted bridle, the surface conditions at the time of the casualty were at the allowable limits of the tow plan, and would have placed stress on the towline. NTSB assessed that two unexpected sources of drag - the trailing anchor and the increasing draft of the Carib Trader's stern - further increased the strain, raising the odds that some component would part in the 7-9 foot seas.

Response to Boohoo scandal failed workers it should have protected, shows new report

Modern slavery charges in Leicester masked the root causes of labour exploitation

Reports and Proceedings

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

University of Bath Press Release

Thursday 8 February 2024

A new report from the University of Bath has revealed the human consequences of pursuing modern slavery allegations, over supply chain failings, in Leicester’s ‘Boohoo Scandal’ in 2020.

The report draws on interviews with workers, manufacturers, and civil society representatives (including community organisations, unions and auditors), to hear their experiences of the closure of hundreds of factories when Boohoo moved its manufacturing out of the city.

Thousands of people, often vulnerable South Asian migrants, have been left without work, with the cost-of-living crisis meaning many are reliant on food banks.

The government initiated Operation Tacit probed modern slavery allegations, concluding that while there were issues related to low pay and health and safety, there were no signs of modern slavery.

The University of Bath researchers say Boohoo made ‘face-saving’ changes to move most of its operations overseas, and pledged changes to business practices, shown by BBC Panorama investigations to be surface deep.

Professor Vivek Soundararajan, report author and researcher at the University of Bath’s School of Management, said: “Allegations of modern slavery, which were unfounded, obscured the root causes of worker exploitation, including manipulative procurement by fast fashion brands and lack of labour law regulation.”

Co-author Dr Pankhuri Agarwal, who conducted the research in Leicester said: “Framing it as a crime control and prevention issue meant Boohoo was able to distance itself from allegations of modern slavery by pulling out of Leicester or making only superficial business changes.

“Meanwhile the workers and some manufacturers, who are meant to be the motivating force in modern slavery measures, lost their livelihoods and are left with even fewer choices than before.”

The researchers conducted interviews in the summer of 2023 with workers, suppliers and others involved with investigating working conditions within Leicester’s garment industry, to produce the report entitled What happened after the Boohoo Scandal? A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective of the Garment Industry in Leicester.

The report is available to read in Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi.

A former supplier to the Boohoo brand in Leicester told researchers: “Companies like Boohoo can escape the consequences even after being exposed. They fail to pay a sustainable amount that will enable manufacturers to provide fair wages.

“Consequently, well-intentioned exposés, such as the Boohoo scandal, do not truly assign responsibility for those left behind, for those who bear the brunt of such industry-altering events. Brands merely shift their production to locations where cheap labour is readily available.”

Funded by UKRI, the report is part of a four-year research project to explore dignity in the workplace in the UK and India’s garment and software development industries.

Report co-author Dr Nandita Dutta said: “There were profound consequences of pressing charges of modern slavery against garment manufacturers. Vulnerable workers lost their livelihoods while brands emerged unharmed and the government remains unchallenged in its role of rendering workers susceptible to exploitative labour practices.”

The report recommends a range of measures that brands should adopt, including collaborative production models with manufacturers and measures suited to monitoring working conditions in factories with the help of manufacturers and workers.

It recommends that government incentivise brands to locate production sites in the UK and penalise any brands and employers that apply exploitative business models.

The report also recommends a range of measures from government to protect migrant workers, including certification courses for machinists without formal training, free ESOL courses (English for speakers of other languages) in factories, and funding for community organisations.

The report is available at: https://embed-dignity.com/18036-2/

ENDS

To arrange an interview or request information please contact the University of Bath Press office press@bath.ac.uk or call +44 1225 386319.

NOTES

The University of Bath is one of the UK's leading universities for high-impact research with a reputation for excellence in education, student experience and graduate prospects.

We are named ‘University of the Year’ in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023, and ranked among the world’s top 10% of universities, placing 148th in the QS World University Rankings 2024. We are ranked 5th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2024, 6th in the Guardian University Guide 2024 and 8th in the The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024.

Bath is rated in the world’s top 10 universities for sport in the QS World University Ranking by Subject 2023. We produce some of the world’s most job-ready graduates and were named University of the Year for Graduate Jobs by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024, as well as ranking as one of the world’s top 90 universities for employer reputation according to the QS World University Rankings 2024.

Climate change to bring invasive weeds to mid-Atlantic and northeastern US states

A weed science society of America research summary identifies most likely high-impact, range-shifting invasive plants coming to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern US

Peer-Reviewed Publication

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

In an online article published In Invasive Plant Science and Management, vol. 16, issue 4, by Cambridge University Press, Justin D. Salva and Bethany A. Bradley performed and reported impact assessments on 104 plants most likely to expand with climate change into one or more Eastern U.S. States (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and/or West Virginia) by 2050. Among these plants, 32 are high-impact species associated with negative impacts on ecological communities or multiple native species, and many are also associated with socio-economic impacts.

“The new research helps to prioritize which range-shifting invasive species to target in the region for proactive prevention and management,” says Bethany Bradley, Ph.D., Professor of Biogeography and Spatial Ecology in the Department of Environmental Conservation at University of Massachusetts - Amherst. “The impact assessment created in this study, and in related, companion papers in New York and New England states, can inform state weed risk assessments by identifying emerging invasive species most likely to cause negative impacts, including many that are tied to ornamental plant trade.”

More information is available in the article, “High-impact invasive plants expanding into Mid-Atlantic states - Identifying priority range-shifting species for monitoring in light of climate change Identifying Priority Invaders.“ Invasive Plant Science and Management is the official publication of the Weed Science Society of America.

About Invasive Plant Science and Management

Invasive Plant Science and Management is a journal of the Weed Science Society of America, a nonprofit scientific society focused on weeds and their impact on the environment. The publication presents peer-reviewed original research related to all aspects of weed science, including the biology, ecology, physiology, management and control of weeds. To learn more, visit www.wssa.net.

JOURNAL

Invasive Plant Science and Management

DOI

10.1017/inp.2023.24

METHOD OF RESEARCH

Experimental study

ARTICLE TITLE

High-impact invasive plants expanding into mid-Atlantic states: identifying priority range-shifting species for monitoring in light of climate change

LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment