Friday, August 09, 2024

Houthis Attack Greek-Owned Tanker With Small Craft and RPG

Houthi attack boat — File image courtesy Houthi Military Media

The Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported a new and unique Houthi attack at a position off Mokha, Yemen. The terrorist organization has historically used UAVs, USVs and ballistic missiles to target shipping, but this attempt involved manned small craft.

While transiting at a position about 45 nm to the south of Mokha - in the middle of the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb - the master of the unnamed vessel reported that the ship was attacked by two small boats, white and black in color and each manned by four people. The assailants were wearing white and yellow raincoats. When they approached, they fired a single RPG, which exploded near the vessel. The crew and the ship were unharmed and are under way to their next destination.

Maritime security consultancy Vanguard has identified the vessel as the Greek-owned Suezmax tanker Delta Blue. According to Vanguard, the Delta Blue does not appear to have any connections to the U.S., UK or Israel, the primary targets of Houthi aggression.

Maritime security authorities are investigating the attack. UKMTO advises any ships that still choose to pass through the Red Sea to be alert for suspicious activity.

Houthis Claim Attacks on US Warships as CENTCOM Dismisses “Disinformation"

Houthis claimed targeting the USS Cole which was famously bombed in 2000 while in Yemen (US Navy 2020

After being largely silent for nearly two weeks, the Houthis are claiming a rash of new attacks, including targeting two U.S. warships crossing the Red Sea. U.S. officials at the same time cited the group’s use of disinformation campaigns saying these efforts have dated back a decade.

“The Houthis have been aggressive when it comes to bending their narrative to fit their needs,” said Vice Adm. George Wikoff, according to USNI News. Speaking at a Naval Institute and Center for Strategic and International Studies, USNI reports the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, cited a disinformation campaign used as part of the Houthis’ tactics in the Red Sea and “seeding tremendous unrest” in the region.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree took to X (Twitter) today to announce three new attacks. He said “The targeting of the two American destroyers took place while they were …. heading towards the northern Red Sea …. The two destroyers have completely failed to confront the missiles and drones, and the success of the drones and missiles to achieve their goals.”

The vessels cited include the destroyer USS Cole, which the report said was in the Gulf of Aden and targeted with drones. Additionally, the report claims the destroyer USS Laboon was targeted with ballistic missiles.

U.S. Central Command in its daily update for August 7, said forces destroyed two Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles, one Houthi ground control station, and three Houthi anti-ship cruise missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen in the past 24 hours. Yesterday, it said one Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle and two Iranian-backed Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles were destroyed over the Red Sea, while the day before the report said three uncrewed aerial systems over the Gulf of Aden and one in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen were destroyed while in the Red Sea they destroyed one uncrewed surface vessel, one uncrewed aerial vehicle, and one anti-ship ballistic missile. The U.S. Command did not report any direct threats to a warship.

Separately, today’s “report” from the Houthi also claimed to have targeted the Liberia-flagged, containership Contship Ono (13,800 dwt). The vessel’s AIS shows it was heading to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from Malaysia.

Reuters reports it received a statement from the Athens-based Contships Management saying, “The vessel and its crew are safe and there has been no incident affecting its operations." The Houthis said “The hit was accurate,” saying the ship was targeted due to the shipping company calling in Israeli ports.

Neither the UK Maritime Trade Operations nor any of the private security firms reported an attack on the Contship Ono. However, reports confirmed the Houthi claim of attacking the Greek-owned boxship Groton on August 3. The Houthis said the vessel was hit while transiting the Gulf of Aden, with tracking data showing the vessel diverted to Djibouti.

The Houthis latest claims come as the region remains tense as Iran vows new attacks on Israel and the West after the death of a Hezbollah commander in Iran. The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed it has ordered the deployment of extra cruisers and destroyers with a ballistic-missile defense capability into the region, while the supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln is also being redeployed from the Western Pacific to the 5th Fleet area of operations. The Lincoln it reported would relieve USS Theodore Roosevelt.

NGO Predicts "Cruisezillas" Calling for Ticket Tax to Fund Green Fuels

New generations of larger cruise ships dominating the Miami skyline in 2024 (PortMiami)

The activist NGO Transport & Environment (T&E) is calling for a tax on the cruise industry to help fund the transition to zero carbon fuels and ensure the industry contributes its share to the ongoing efforts. The group cites the rapid growth of the cruise industry while forecasting the introduction of “cruisezilla” 345,000 gross ton cruise ship carrying nearly 11,000 passengers by 2050.

The NGO released a report highlighting that with cruise vacations increasingly becoming a mainstream vacation option, particularly in developed countries, the number and size of cruise ships have risen dramatically. The result, the report asserts is an exponential increase in cruise ships’ carbon emissions.

The report dubbed “Cruisezillas”: How much bigger can cruise ships get?, highlights that cruise ships are currently exempt from fuel duties, corporate taxes, and most of the consumer taxes that other modes of transport pay. As such, the NGO calls for imposing a €50 ($55) tax on a typical cruise ticket calculating that it would generate €1.6 billion ($1.7 billion) globally. They point out that €410 million ($450 million) would be raised in Europe which could be applied to the efforts to expand the supply of green fuels. The amounts could grow to $3.3 billion with a €100 per ticket fee or $6.8 billion with €200 per ticket fee.

T&E asserts that the rapid growth in the cruise industry has contributed to a dramatic increase in CO2 emissions. “A combination of more and bigger cruise ships,” T&E contends, “means that CO2 emissions from cruise ships in Europe were nearly 20 percent higher in 2022 than they were in 2019.

The report calculates that in Europe, CO2 emissions from cruise ships grew by 17 percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic, and methane emissions surged by 500 percent between 2019 and 2022. Other pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and fine particles increased by nine percent, 18 percent, and 25 percent respectively around European ports during the period.

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the trade group for the cruise industry, strongly contests those figures. In a statement, they cited EU data that they said shows “cruise lines have reduced emissions by 16 percent on average per ship over the past five years.”

“Today’s cruisezillas make the Titanic look like a small fishing boat,” said Inesa Ulichina, sustainable shipping officer at T&E. “How much bigger can these giants get? The cruise business is the fastest growing tourism sector and its emissions are quickly getting out of control.”

T&E highlights the transformation of the industry using data from Clarkson contending that the number of ships rose from 21 in 1970 to 515 today. They also assert that the average size of the ten largest cruise ships is double what it was 24 years ago, averaging 205,000 gross tons. The group says nearly 36 million travelers are projected to take a cruise voyage this year.

Illustrating the growth, T&E points to Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of the Seas, which was introduced at the start of the year as the world’s biggest cruise ship. With a capacity of 7,600 passengers, the Icon of the Seas they said not only dwarfs the 1999-built Voyager of the Sea (then the largest cruise ship in the world) that has a capacity of 3,938 passengers, and they compared it to the Titanic (46,000 gross tons) which had a capacity of 2,500 passengers. Going by the current trend, T&E projects the trend will continue to “cruisezillas” in the range of 345,000 gross tons and nearly 11,000 passengers by 2050.

The trade group CLIA says it has concerns over “multiple claims” in the report. For example, they report that the majority (60 percent) of cruise ships sailing today and scheduled for service in the next decade are small-to-midsize and more energy efficient. CLIA also points to the investments being made by the industry to increase the use of sustainable fuels and new technologies.

T&E acknowledges that many cruise operators are switching to LNG as an alternative to traditional shipping fuels like heavy fuel oil. They recognize that LNG-powered ships make up 38 percent of today’s global cruise ship orders, but raise the concerns of methane slip.

Cruise ships, T&E highlights, are good candidates for green fuels despite the limited availability and challenges in bunkering for the new fuels. The NGO highlights the concerns over supply and bunkering would be less for cruise ships that sail on the same routes with clear schedules versus commercial shipping.

The report concludes by saying converting cruise ships to green fuels would also be financially beneficial for the lines. T&E points to the increasing scale of financial penalties associated with fossil fuel under the Fuel EU Maritime scheme and the financial benefits for cruise ships to lead in the green fuel transition.

Port of Hueneme Partners to Introduce Stack Caps to Reduce Emissions

stack emissions capture — STAX system alongside a containership capturing emissions for filtering (STAX/Port of Hueneme)

California’s Port of Hueneme, which is used by commercial shippers for cargo including fresh produce and vehicles as well as the military, is launching a new partnership to reduce at-berth emissions through the use of a capture and control technology. The port is working with STAX Engineering presenting a cost-effective option for ships to meet California’s enhanced at-berth emission regulations while also helping the port manage after its shoreside power system was damaged by flooding in 2023.

The application is the next generation of STAX’s emissions capture and control system which consists of mobile floating barges that can place filters on ocean-going vessel stacks. The system filters the emissions while the vessel is on dock.

The Port of Hueneme’s shoreside power system used for cold ironing was damaged last December during major storms that hit the California coast. The Port of Hueneme flooded resulting in damage to the existing shore power systems.

“We must continue to move forward towards our goal of becoming a zero emissions Port. The storm damage has created an opportunity to continue showing how resilient our port can really be,” said Celina Zacarias, Board President for the Oxnard Harbor District which oversees operations at the Port of Hueneme.

The system works by positioning a barge alongside the vessel which positions a cap to envelope a vessel’s smokestack and capture the particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions at the source. STAX says its patented technology removes 99 percent of particulate matter and 95 percent of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) before being released as purified gas.

“One of the most important aspects of STAX technology is that it breaks fleet operator dependence on the local grid,” said STAX Engineering CEO, Mike Walker. “Shore power isn’t always available due to factors like major storms, limited outlet access, and vessel incompatibility. Our solution addresses these challenges, providing an easy, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly solution that solves the at-berth regulation requirements for ports like the Port of Hueneme.”

In addition to providing an option for the ocean-going vessels, the barge will operate powered by renewable diesel. It will meet the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements for reduced emissions from harbor craft.

The system requires no modifications to the vessel’s stack, It permits vessels to continue operations at berth, including running diesel generators, without disrupting operations. It also does not require shore power.

Versions of STAX’s system have already been deployed for individual shipping companies berthing both in the port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. To date, STAX reports it has treated 83 vessels at-berth for a total of 4,000 tours and controlled 31 tons of pollutants. In March 2024, Japan’s NYK group reported that it would be deploying STAX’s system for its car carriers while they were docked in California.

CARB established emission regulations for ocean-going vessels in 2007, and in 2014, mandated that ocean-going containerships, passenger ships, and other vessels calling at California ports were required to reduce at berth emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), reactive gases (ROG), carbon dioxide, particulate matter (PM), and diesel particulate matter (DPM). The rules are being expanded in 2025 to more classes of vessels including car carriers and are being phased in between 2025 and 2027 for tankers. Harbor crafts are also required to reduce their emissions.

LNG Terminal Planned for Mexico to Serve Ships at Panama Canal

With the number of ships using LNG continuing to grow and spurring demand, two U.S.-based companies partnered to launch a new small-scale LNG terminal in Salina Cruz, Mexico. According to the partners, GFI LNG and Pilot LNG, the project is designed with a focus on speed to market and will be strategically located to serve a key shipping market.

The Salina Cruz LNG JV will develop, construct, and operate the LNG bunkering and transshipment terminal which they anticipate will start operations in mid-to-late 2027. GFI and Pilot plan to commence front-end engineering and design development for the project this quarter. The partners anticipate a 12-to-18-month development and permitting timeline and anticipate announcing a Final Investment Decision (FID) in the second half of 2025. The team anticipates an approximate 36-month permitting and construction timeline.

The project design has been optimized to include modular, land-based liquefaction trains and straight-forward mooring and topsides modifications on the newly expanded breakwater in the Port of Salina Cruz. At full build-out, the facility is anticipated to produce 600,000 gallons of liquified natural gas(LNG) per day, or roughly 0.34 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA).

With speed-to-market as a goal, they have decided to use an FSU ranging in capacity of 50,000 - 140,000 cbm for LNG storage. The plant will use domestic Mexican gas supplied for the Veracruz gulf region and has the advantage of identified pipeline capacity and gas supply while using a proven liquefaction technology.

GFI, a Houston-based company, has more than 20 years of experience in Mexico. Pilot LNG, also based in Houston, is a clean energy infrastructure developer, also has projects in development including the Galveston LNG Bunker Port, a small-scale LNG bunker terminal, and the Cork LNG FSRU import terminal which will be located in the Whitegate area at the Port of Cork, Ireland.

The Mexican site the company emphasized will provide LNG marine fuel deliveries at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal and also deliver LNG to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in Southern California. In addition to the marine market, they look to serve the Central American power markets and trucked volumes into southwestern Mexico.

Vice Commandant: US Coast Guard's Funding Shortage is Hitting Readiness

USCGC Healy departs Seattle for an Arctic mission, June 2024. The voyage had to be cut short after an electrical fire (USCG)

The Coast Guard's limited budget and its manning shortfalls are having an effect on capacity, the service's second-in-command said in an interview at a Washington think tank on Wednesday.

In an event at the Brookings Institution, Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday told attendees that the service is feeling the pinch from a 3,000-person enlisted servicemember shortage, the product of COVID-era challenges and years-long difficulties with recruitment. "We had to lay up three of our major cutters because we don't have enough enlisted personnel to crew them," Lunday said.

Budget limitations are adding to operational difficulties, he said. The Coast Guard's annual budget is $12.3 billion, less than the cost of one Ford-class carrier. $1.6 billion of that is available for capital investments - like shipbuilding, or shoreside construction and renovation.

"We need a $3 billion [procurement and capital investment] budget just to be able to maintain track with our current acquisitions," he said.

Aging platforms and funding shortages also combine to reduce readiness. "We're struggling to sustain the readiness of our current fleet of ships, of boats, of aircraft and of shore infrastructure," Lunday said. "If you want to get underway on a major Coast Guard cutter today, you have to do what we call a controlled parts exchange with other ships at the pier. That's a fancy term for cannibalization. We'll steal parts or borrow actually from the other ships just to get another ship underway."

He cautioned that this practice - while cost-efficient in the short term - has negative long-term effects for the fleet. "You can do that for short amounts of time but when you do it over a number of years, you're eating your own readiness, and that's what we're seeing."

Just last month, he said, the icebreaker USCGC Healy had a previously undisclosed electrical fire in an engineering space, forcing her to end an Arctic science mission early and return from the Northwest Passage to Seattle for repairs. She is currently under way southbound in the Gulf of Alaska, according to AIS data provided by Pole Star Global.

"Much of the mission systems aboard [Healy] are antiquated, and for some there aren't even parts," Lunday said. "And that's a concern, because if Healy can't resume her patrol, the U.S. will have no surface presence in the Arctic this summer."

Maintenance challenges and obsolete parts are just as much an issue for the 48-year-old USCGC Polar Star, the service's only other icebreaker. "I think the Navy would operate it as a museum," he said. "It's capable, but it's old."

Lunday emphasized that to perform high-latitude missions, the Coast Guard needs at least 8-9 icebreakers, including three heavy icebreakers. The heavy icebreaker program - the Polar Security Cutter - was contracted to Bollinger, and the first hull should enter the long-delayed construction phase in December, he said. In the meantime, the service has the funding to buy Edison Chouest's Aiviq, the only commercially-available U.S.-flag icebreaker - and that process is under way.

Strict Regulations Create an Opportunity for Innovative Hull Coatings

Geopolitical and regulatory changes are pressing the maritime industry to address its effects on the environment and respond promptly and effectively to the energy transition. In 2023, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) published its Greenhouse Gas Strategy at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80), creating a common ambition to reach net zero by 2050.

This revised ambition will have a significant impact on the maritime sector. The IMO has established checkpoints for its ambitions. Against a 2008 baseline, it wants to see reductions in the total annual GHG emissions from international shipping of at least 20%, striving for 30%, by 2030, and at least a 70% reduction by 2040, striving for 80%. The targets also stipulate the need for an uptake of near-zero GHG emission technologies, fuels and energy sources, which must represent at least 5%, striving for 10%, of the energy used by international shipping, by 2030.

This was combined with an IMO mandate that requires all ships to calculate their Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI), while also establishing their annual operational carbon intensity indicator (CII). These frameworks were then closely followed by the introduction of maritime transport into the EU’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) in January 2024. These newly introduced frameworks all combine to create a palpable sense of urgency surrounding the means and method by which the shipping industry will achieve its ambitious decarbonization targets.

The continued demand for improved sustainability to meet the industry’s decarbonization targets has become increasingly complex. It is widely regarded that a future net-zero shipping industry is predicated on the establishment of large-scale availability of green fuels as a replacement for traditional fossil fuel sources. However, the current availability of e-fuels and biofuels and the significant investment required to scale alternative fuels represent a high barrier to entry for the industry.

Improving operational efficiencies to reduce emissions and ensure compliance with regulation is critical while it can also help to mitigate the significant cost implications of adopting green fuels. Although the future of these alternative fuels does appear to be progressing, reducing emissions quickly and effectively - with proven and accessible technology - is essential to achieving the IMO’s short-term decarbonization targets.

Anti-fouling coatings are some of the most widely available solutions to improve operational performance while lowering vessel’s CO2 emissions. Increased drag from biofouling on the underwater hull of a vessel requires greater fuel use for a vessel during its voyage, increasing fuel costs and worsening GHG emissions.

As our customers adapt to even more stringent global and regional regulations, so to must the solutions that are developed to support them. The need for innovation has led our R&D team to develop ground-breaking solutions, such as our patented HydroSmoothXT(TM) water trapping technology, which incorporates a crosslinked, three-dimensional hydrophilic polymer. The coating effectively traps a microscopic layer of water on its surface as the ship travels through the water. This smooths the water around the hull, creating a slippery surface that reduces hull-to-water friction. As a result, fuel costs and emissions are reduced by up to 8% compared to other silyl-acrylate SPC systems manufactured without hydrogel.

Our Aquaterras product line broke new ground as the world’s first coating solution to provide industry-leading antifouling protection while remaining completely biocide-free. It naturally repels any biological adhesion onto its surface, while the constant exposure of its active micro-domain structure creates a continuous self-polishing performance. This combination creates a unique reaction that continually smooths the hull’s surface as it travels. This creates the dual benefit of lowering emissions by up to 14.7%, thanks to an average speed loss of 1% over a 60-month period (compared to the market average speed loss of 5.9% over a similar time period, per MARINTEK research data).

The shipping industry currently faces a myriad of competing challenges. However, these challenges also represent significant opportunities to effect positive change, both within our industry and on a global scale. As the industry grapples with implementing new and sophisticated technologies that will support its decarbonization ambition, there has never been a more important time to effect immediate change by bringing genuinely accessible solutions to market that deliver proven, real-world results.

Gladys Goh is President of Nippon Paint Marine.

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

New Research Gives Crews Insight Into Underwater Noise in Real Time

Vibration in the hull directly above the propeller (red, above) is strongly correlated with underwater nose, and this was the study's area of focus (Schottel) — Vibration in the hull directly above the propeller (red box, above) is strongly correlated with underwater nose, and this was the study's area of focus (Schottel)

German propulsion company Schottel has completed a research project for Transport Canada and BC Ferries to investigate solutions for underwater noise. Ship noise is a major issue in the Salish Sea because of its effects on the region's endangered orca population. The project developed a real-time onboard reporting system for underwater noise levels that the operator can use to monitor their impact on the environment.

The Strait of Georgia has environmental protection zones that require ships to reduce speed or navigate around on a longer route. However, Schottel found that reducing speed does not always reduce noise level. To find out what causes noise with precision, Schottel - through the government-funded Quiet Vessel Initiative - developed a noise monitoring system using hydrophone recording, hull vibration measurement and machine learning.

The research drew on real-life operations aboard BC Ferries' Coastal-class double-ended ferries. Schottel engineers calculated the correlation between hull vibration (measured just above the propeller) and emitted noise level on these vessels, and they came up with an algorithm for predicting underwater radiated noise while the ferry is under way. Based on propeller speed, pitch, vessel speed and other factors, the algorithm can calculate what the approximate decibel level would be near the ship.

After creating the algorithm, Schottel fabricated a new propeller to a design that is optimized to reduce noise. This was installed and tested in operation, and it showed an average reduction in noise of five decibels. This suggests that the algorithm can be used in the propeller design phase to help select a shape that will produce less noise, according to Schottel.

The study also had a crew-engagement goal. The real-time reporting system that was developed for the research will allow operators to monitor vessel noise level, perform long-term data analysis to spot trends, and act to reduce noise where possible.

"With these new analysis and prediction capabilities, it will be possible to significantly improve propulsion systems with respect to [underwater radiated noise], which will greatly benefit efforts to preserve marine life," said Schottel in a statement.

Thursday, August 08, 2024

Japan’s PM cancels overseas trip after experts issue ‘megaquake’ warning

The Japan Meteorological Agency has issued its first-ever warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast

Justin McCurry in Tokyo and agencies
Fri 9 Aug 2024

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, has cancelled a visit to central Asia this weekend after experts warned that the risk of a “megaquake” occurring off the country’s Pacific coast had increased following Thursday’s magnitude 7.1 earthquake in the south-west.

Kishida, who is battling low approval ratings and faces challenges to his leadership in a ruling party presidential election next month, announced his decision at a press conference on Friday.

Tokyo braces for another ‘big one’ on 100th anniversary of deadly quake

He had been due to hold a summit with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the Kazakh capital Astana on Friday evening and to meet the Mongolian president in Ulaanbaatar on Monday, according to the Kyodo news agency.

The Japan Meteorological Agency on Thursday issued its first-ever warning of the risk of a huge earthquake along the Pacific coast after a quake on the southernmost main island of Kyushu triggered a tsunami warning. No deaths or major damage have been reported.

The agency’s warning that the risk of a huge earthquake occurring along the Nankai Trough was higher than usual does not mean that a quake will definitely occur in the coming days. Public broadcaster NHK said Kishida’s overseas trip had been cancelled so that he could prepare for any eventuality.

The meteorological agency’s megaquake advisory warned that “if a major earthquake were to occur in the future, strong shaking and large tsunamis would be generated”.

It added: “The likelihood of a new major earthquake is higher than normal, but this is not an indication that a major earthquake will definitely occur during a specific period of time.”

The advisory concerns the Nankai Trough “subduction zone” between two tectonic plates in the Pacific Ocean, where massive earthquakes have hit in the past.

The 800-kilometre (500-mile) undersea trough runs from Shizuoka, west of Tokyo, to the southern tip of Kyushu and has been the site of destructive earthquakes of magnitude 8 or 9 every 100 to 200 years.

These so-called “megathrust quakes”, which often occur in pairs, have unleashed dangerous tsunamis along the southern coast of Japan, one of the world’s most seismically active countries.

In 1707, all segments of the Nankai Trough ruptured at once, unleashing an earthquake that remains the nation’s second-most powerful on record after the March 2011 earthquake along the north-east coast.

That quake triggered a tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and led to a triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Although it is impossible to predict the precise timing of earthquakes – apart from automated warnings that a quake could occur within seconds – government experts believe there is a 70% to 80% chance of an megaquake measuring magnitude 8 or 9 happening around the trough in the next 30 years.

In the worst-case scenario, the disaster would kill 300,000 people, with some experts estimating a financial hit as high as $13tn.

“The history of great earthquakes at Nankai is convincingly scary,” geologist Kyle Bradley and Judith A Hubbard wrote in their Earthquake Insights newsletter, but added that there was no need for the public to panic.

There was only a “small probability” that Thursday’s quake was a foreshock, Bradley and Hubbard wrote, adding: “One of the challenges is that even when the risk of a second earthquake is elevated, it is still always low.”

Big win in Mexico – the achievements behind the victory

6th August 2024Leave a Comment

“In moves that will be of great interest to activists in Britain, government functions that had been outsourced to private and semi-private firms have been brought back in-house.”

By Tim Young, Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America

On June 2, the right-wing in Mexico suffered a historic defeat.

Claudia Sheinbaum – successor to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) of the MORENA party – won the presidential election by a landslide margin of over 32 points, becoming the first woman and first person of Jewish descent to be elected president.

The election saw Sheinbaum receiving the highest number of votes ever recorded for a candidate, surpassing López Obrador’s record of 30.1 million votes, by achieving just under 36 million votes!

The background to – and crucial to understanding – this victory is that in the last four years Mexico with ‘AMLO’ as President has made remarkable progress in social welfare, education, health, women’s rights, equality for Indigenous people and Afro-Mexicans, and in terms of the recovery of national sovereignty over resources such as petroleum, gas, electric power, water supplies and now lithium.

On the regional and global stage, it has played a leading role in the new progressive tide across Latin America.

As well as being of interest in itself, the success of this agenda also has many lessons for the Left globally.

The goal has been what movement supporters call the “4T” – a Fourth Transformation of the country through a democratic renewal to end corruption and impunity, and benefit the many, not just the few.

The main objective of the 4T agenda is to reverse decades of neoliberal policies and to promote a more equitable and people-centred economic agenda.

Key to this is prioritising social programmes, and there have been moves towards a more universal approach to welfare and social security. The effects are very real – state payments now reach 65% more people than under previous governments.

Alongside this, in an empowering move – and something it feels like we could only dream about currently in Britain – welfare programmes are now enshrined in the Constitution as entitlements rather than ‘hand-outs’.

Other new social programmes have included, but are by no means limited to:

scholarships to students at various levels, including basic education, high school, and university, alongside vocational training opportunities
economic support to farmers to promote sustainable rural development
support for reconstruction efforts in areas affected by natural disasters.

In terms of seeking energy sovereignty and an end of handing over the riches of Mexico’s natural resources to multinational corporations and uber-rich oligarchs, the aim is to put people and public need before corporate greed.

Examples of progress on this front are too numerous the list, but include reining in the power of foreign mining companies through a new Hydrocarbons Law enabling permits to private firms that commit certain violations to be revoked.

Meanwhile strengthening CFE, the state-owned electricity company, has seen limiting the requirement on it to buy electricity from the private sector, meaning less loot for greedy private polluters and profiteers – something we could surely do with in terms of energy here!

This reclaiming of national wealth has helped fund vital state-led investment and infrastructure projects, including a 1,554 km-long intercity railway traversing the Yucatán Peninsula.

Also part of a more prominent role for the state and public sector, halting and reversing privatisations has been both successful and popular. In moves that will be of great interest to activists in Britain, government functions that had been outsourced to private and semi-private firms have been brought back in-house and the situation is now that the subcontracting of public services has been abolished.

Workers’ rights have also improved, starting to shift power in the workplace and economy.

The formal rights of domestic workers are now recognised for the first time, and precarious hiring practices have been eliminated, including through the banning of ‘fire-and-rehire’ style practices. Meanwhile, the process for forming new unions has been simplified.

Action has also been taken on wages and incomes. To give just one example, the largest minimum-wage increase in more than forty years saw the income of the poorest grow by 24% before COVID hit.

Finally, even statutory holidays have doubled – something I’m sure all ‘Briefing’ readers could get behind!

The lesson from Mexico then is clear – Rolling back neo-liberalism not only works, it wins for the Left too!

You can follow the work of the Mexico Solidarity Forum here.
Tim Young is an organiser for Labour Friends of Progressive Latin America (LFPLA). You can follow LFPLA on Facebook and Twitter/X.
This article was originally published in the July-August 2024 edition of Labour Briefing.