It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Wednesday, October 02, 2024
Drone Boat Hits Merchant Ship in Red Sea, Puncturing Ballast Tank
File image: A remote-controlled bomb boat recovered from Houthi forces during the Yemeni Civil War (Arab Coalition)
Yemen's Houthi rebels appear to have hit another merchant vessel in a multi-domain, multiple-attempt attack, according to the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO).
At about 0140 hours GMT, UKMTO received a security report from an unnamed vessel about 60 nautical miles off the coast of Hodeidah. The captain reported that there were four splashes observed in the water near the ship, but the vessel was undamaged and the crew were safe. The ship continued onwards toward its next port of call.
At 0500 GMT, the master reached out to UKMTO again to report that the vessel had been hit by a suicide drone boat. The No. 6 ballast tank was punctured on the port side, but no crewmembers were injured, and the vessel remained fully operational. It is currently under way to its next port of call.
With support from Iran, the Houthi movement has targeted international shipping in the Red Sea since last October. Despite a U.S.-led campaign to defend marine traffic in the Red Sea, the Houthis have damaged dozens of ships and sunk two, killing four foreign seafarers. The group claims that it is targeting vessels with an Israeli connection - whether by ownership or by trading patterns - in order to protest the ongoing operation in Gaza.
Separately, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed that the militia had shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, adding to a long list of claimed interceptions over Yemen. The MQ-9 is a mainstay for counterterrorism operations in the Mideast, and Saree asserted that the group has now taken down 11 of the unmanned aircraft.
Houthi leaders had a setback over the weekend when an Israeli airstrike destroyed the fuel tank farms at Ras Isa and Hodeidah, along with a power station located near the waterfront. The toll has risen to five people dead and 57 wounded, said Saree
Houthis Damage Vessels in New Wave of Attacks
UKMTO reports two ships damaged in the same region of the Red Sea (UKMTO)
The Houthis are taking credit for attacks on several merchant ships with reports saying that at least two vessels have suffered damage in the new barrage. These are the first attacks in nearly a month on merchant ships and come as the Houthis threatened escalations after Israel attacked Yemen’s seaport over the weekend and launched its attacks on Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
UK Maritime Trade Operations is confirming attacks on two vessels, a tanker and a bulker, in the same general area of the Red Sea and both damaged but with no reported crew injuries. The vessels are both reported proceeding according to UKMTO. The Houthis also claimed a third unconfirmed attack on a Maersk-chartered containership in the Arabian Sea as it was approaching Oman.
An Indian-managed tanker that is part of the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil to India is confirmed to have suffered damage with UKMTO saying the captain reported a port ballast tank has been punctured. The vessel, the Cordelia Moon, reported a first wave of the attack with four “splashes slighted” near the ship while the Houthis claimed a launch of eight missiles and one drone. The crude oil tanker (163,288 dwt) is returned empty bound for the Suez and orders after delivering a cargo to India.
The vessel was damaged during a second attack which involved an uncrewed surface vessel. The Houthis are calling the damage “severe” but the UKMTO says the vessel is proceeding. The tanker was 64 nautical miles northwest of Hudaydah, Yemen when the attack occurred.
The Houthis are referencing the Cordelia Moon as a “British oil tanker.” They appear to be using outdated information as the vessel was acquired in November 2023.
The second attack, which the Houthi have not acknowledged, came on the Minoan Courage (76,800 dwt), a Greek-managed bulker. The vessel which is registered in Liberia was approximately 97 miles northwest of Hudayah. UKMTO reports it was struck by a missile and sustained unspecified damage.
In an unconfirmed statement, the Houthis are also claiming to have attached the containership Marathopolis (70,461 dwt) for the second time in recent months. The ship registered in Malta came under attack in July and they are saying today they launched two more attacks on the same ship in the Arabian Sea. In the first wave, the Houthis claimed they used missiles and then followed with a drone which they claimed hit the vessel. UKMTO has not reported this attack.
Marathopolis is owned by Costamare Shipping of Greece and has a capacity of 4,957 TEU. Maersk shows the vessel on its tracker as due in Salalah, Oman today, October 1. She is operating on a route connecting with India.
These latest strikes came as EU NAVFOR Aspides highlighted the arrival of the Greek warship Spetsai (frigate commissioned in 1996) to its force. The vessel transited the Suez Canal to join the protection operation in the Red Sea. US Central Command had also reported a lull in activity with only limited inceptions of Houthi launches during September.
French Politics and Markets Cause Cancelation of Sail Boxship Order
Plan called for five wind and methanol-powered containerships (Zephyr & Boree)
An innovative project to build five innovative containerships that would have combined sailed and methanol-fueled propulsion has been canceled due to French politics and the overall downturn in the cargo markets. Planned by the firm Zéphyr & Borée, they however said they remain committed to the project and will continue to seek financing.
Last week, the Hyundai Mipo Shipyard in South Korea reported the cancelation of an order in a stock exchange announcement saying it was “upon the shipowner's request to cancel the contract.” They said it was for five vessels with a value of nearly $315 million. The order was placed in May 2023.
Zéphyr & Borée confirmed that it has withdrawn the contract for the ships which were to be an initial class of five feeder ships with a capacity of 1,300 TEU that would have deployed a wing sail design as well as methanol-fueled engines to achieve one of the first zero-emission containerships. The ships had been expected to enter service in 2025 and 2026.
The reports said the company has experienced difficulties in the public finance markets since the collapse of the French government in July. French President Emmanuel Macron called elections in France and without a clear majority the country has been struggling to form a unity government. The company said this was hindering the French public finance markets but it is hopeful once the political situation stabilizes it can proceed with the financing.
Zéphyr & Borée also cite the overall downturn in the freight market since the end of the COVID pandemic. They planned to contract with a series of shippers to support the project and launch an Atlantic shipping route.
It was part of an ambitious plan that also projected to build a larger series of vessels designed to help lead the industry in decarbonization. The vessels however are significantly more expensive to build because of the new technologies.
The company however was able to deploy a unique proof of concept ship Canopée, which is a Ro-Ro cargo ship used to transport components for the European Space program, It recently made its first visit to the U.S. calling at Port Canaveral creating interest in the concept of integrating sails into the vessel design.
Plan Approved to Turn SS United States into World’s Largest Artificial Reef
Famed liner will lose her funnels and mast as she becomes the world's largest artificial reef (Okaloosa County)
The famed ocean liner s.s. United States is one step closer to becoming the world’s largest artificial reef as the purchase of the vessel was approved by the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners in Florida today. They have agreed to pay $1 million to acquire the vessel and expect to close on the acquisition in the coming days or weeks.
The sale of the ship ends a 55-year effort to determine her fate after she was retired from passenger service in 1969. A non-profit, the SS United States Conservancy has owned her since 2011 exploring opportunities to repurpose the ship. They decided after being ordered to vacate their current pier in Philadelphia that reefing the ship was preferable to scrapping.
“The Conservancy explored a number of other options prior to coming to the artificial reef decision,” Alex Fogg, Natural Resources Chief for Okaloosa Country told the board in his presentation. He had previously said the country was looking at the ship for two years as part of its plan to enhance tourism and attract the dive community to the area around Destin – Fort Walton Beach, in Florida’s panhandle region.
“They (SS United States Conservancy) looked at making this potentially a pier-side entertainment center, apartments, restaurants, and a bunch of different options. The costs were very, very expensive and they weren’t able to find an investor that would follow through with that option,” said Fogg.
The acquisition remains contingent on resolving a court-ordered mediation in Philadelphia between the current owners and Penn Warehousing, which operates the pier. In the briefing for the country board, it says a tentative agreement calls for the country to assume the rent payments at $3,400 per day as of September 12 and a $50,000 initial upfront payment. They will also pay a portion of the expected repairs to the pier and agreed to a $100,000 penalty if the ship is not removed by December 12.
Today’s vote authorized the purchase contract to proceed along with a conservative budget of $10 million. Once taking title, the plan calls for the s.s. United States to be towed to Norfolk, Virginia for remediation. This includes removing fuel from her tanks, cleaning the tanks, scraping paint and loose material, removing PCBs, flooring, windows, portholes, and other contaminants.
The vessel will lose her distinctive profile as the two massive funnels will be removed, with at least one stored for possible display at a future museum. Also, the mast will be removed. The county expects it will spend approximately $5 million with the remainder coming from private partners. It will take an estimated 180 to 230 days to prepare the ship.
The county justifies the project citing a potential $3 million annual economic benefit from the reefing project. While the final position has not been determined, the plan is to have the ship at a depth so that the upper deck would be accessible to novice and beginning divers and the lower area to technical divers.
Long-term supporters of the ship consider it a tragic end to one of the most iconic symbols of American technology and the heyday of Atlantic travel. The county refers to the ship as the “pinnacle of American post-war maritime engineering.” Last-minute appeals to save the ship were unsuccessful.
The Conservancy says the loss of the dock in Philadelphia forced its hand. Without a development partner, unable to secure a new berth, and facing significant costs they were forced to seek a buyer. They, however, highlight that Okaloosa County agreed to provide $1 million to help establish a museum about the ship which will tell the story. In addition to the funnels, they have agreed to remove from the ship a propeller, the builder’s plate, and other significant elements for possible use in the museum.
Completed in 1952, the s.s. United States was the fastest ocean liner traveling during her trials at a reported speed of over 38 knots, while many believe she achieved 40 knots or more during trials. During her service career, she never ran at full speed, including during her record-breaking maiden voyage. Her construction was heavily subsidized by the U.S. Government with the promise she could be quickly converted to carry 14,000 troops 10,000 miles without refueling. Designed by America’s foremost naval architect, William Francis Gibbs, she used technology similar to U.S. warships giving her power and speed as well as the highest level of safety features. Gibbs, fearful of fire at sea, also insisted the vessel be outfitted with no wood aboard in the passenger areas.
The s.s. United States was in commercial service for just 17 years mostly making Atlantic crossings and in the 1960s added a few cruises to her annual program. With competition growing from jets and the loss of a U.S. contract to transport military families and diplomats, the ship was losing money and retired in 1969. Acquired and later sold by the U.S. government, a series of owners looked for ways to reactivate the ship or convert her into a shoreside attraction. She becomes the first ocean liner to be purposefully sunk to become a reef. Deployment is projected for 2025 or 2026.
Ocean Infinity Finds Wreck of WWII Warship Captured By Japan
Subsea search company Ocean Infinity has discovered the wreck of the well-known "Ghost Ship of the Pacific," a U.S. Navy destroyer that was captured by Japanese forces in WWII.
When Japan attacked the United States in December 1941, the destroyer USS Stewart (DD-224) was deployed to Indonesia, where Japanese forces were advancing. She engaged Japanese Navy vessels several times, and in a nighttime battle in February 1942, she received a crippling blow in her steering compartment. She was drydocked in Surabaya, but suffered further damage when she fell off the keel blocks and could not be repaired in time to prevent her capture by Japanese forces. Stewart's crew set off demolition charges inside, and the floating dock was scuttled underneath her, sending her to the bottom.
Courtesy USN
USS Stewart remained underwater until February 1943, when the Japanese Navy raised her and put her in drydock for repair. She entered Japanese service as an escort, renamed Patrol Boat 102. Though she never directly engaged U.S. forces herself, she was spotted several times by American pilots, who were surprised to spot a distinctively American warship in Japanese-held areas. She retreated with Japanese forces as the war wore on, and she was damaged in a U.S. Army bombing run in Mokpo, Korea in April 1945. The Japanese Navy transferred her to Kure in the Japanese home islands for layup, where she was found by U.S. troops after the surrender of Japan.
DD-224 was recommissioned into U.S. Navy service after the war, but not for long. After an engine failure, she was towed to California, and in May 1946 she was sunk for target practice off San Francisco.
USS Stewart going down after multiple hits (USN)
The Navy did not record the exact position of the sinking, and the destroyer was lost to history for nearly 80 years. The location of the wreck site was believed to be somewhere within the modern-day boundaries of the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and Russ Matthews, president of the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, thought he knew where it might be. Using records from the tug that towed DDG-224 to her final resting place, he narrowed the search area to about 40 square nautical miles, he told the New York Times.
Matthews didn't have the resources to mount an expedition and sweep the area with sonar, but he had the good fortune to meet with an executive from deep ocean search company Ocean Infinity, which specializes in UUV sonar surveys. Ocean Infinity wanted to test a three-robot simultaneous survey method, and agreed to use the opportunity to search for the Stewart. Within hours of beginning the search, the company's team found DD-224 sitting intact on the seabed.
All images courtesy Ocean Infinity
"The USS Stewart represents a unique opportunity to study a well-preserved example of early twentieth-century destroyer design. Its story, from US Navy service to Japanese capture and back again, makes it a powerful symbol of the Pacific War's complexity," said SEARCH Inc.'s Dr. James Delgado, a member of the expedition team.
Canada to hit Chinese steel and aluminum with tariffs on Oct. 22
Canada published a list of dozens of Chinese steel and aluminum products on which it will place a 25% tariff, starting in three weeks.
The tariffs, which were announced in August alongside a 100% levy on Chinese-made electric vehicles, bring Canada’s trade policy closer to that of its closest allies — and aims to shelter domestic producers from lower-cost products made in Asia’s largest economy.
“We are moving in lockstep with key international partners to protect Canadian workers and businesses in our steel and aluminum sectors from China’s intentional, state-directed policy of overcapacity and oversupply,” Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a news release.
The tariffs will apply to a long list of items including ingots, coils, wires, bars and rods. Goods that are already in transit on Oct. 22 will be exempt.
The government said it plans to review the measures within the next year, at which point they may be extended or “supplemented by additional measures.”
Canada, an economy that relies heavily on trade with the US, has been closely monitoring the Biden administration’s moves against Chinese EVs, batteries, solar cells, steel and other products.
Canada’s surtax on electric vehicles takes effect Tuesday and includes certain hybrid passenger automobiles, trucks, buses and delivery vans.
(By Erik Hertzberg)
Rio Tinto, Green Lithium to develop Europe’s lithium supply chain
Cecilia Jamasmie | October 1, 2024 Green Lithium plans to build a lithium refinery in Teesside, England, to supply high-purity lithium chemicals to the UK and EU markets. (AI generated image by Luluraschi | AdobeStock.)
Mining giant Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) and UK refinery developer Green Lithium are partnering to establish an end-to-end lithium supply chain aimed at supporting the UK and EU’s automotive and manufacturing industries.
“By building our refineries, we will accelerate the adoption of EVs and sustainable energy storage through the increased supply of low-carbon, battery-grade lithium chemicals,” Sean Sargent, chief executive of Green Lithium, said on Tuesday.
The partnership positions both Rio Tinto and Green Lithium to benefit from the growing demand for electric vehicle (EV) metals. It also aligns with their mutual goal of supporting decarbonization efforts and addressing the increasing need for sources of sustainable battery materials.
Green Lithium’s ambitious plan to build and operate a large-scale lithium refinery in Teesside, England, is the backbone of the announced partnership.
Green Lithium’s ambitious plan to build and operate a large-scale lithium refinery in Teesside, England, is the backbone of the announced partnership. The facility will produce high-purity lithium chemicals for both the UK and EU markets, utilizing advanced technology designed for low-carbon, environmentally friendly processing of spodumene concentrate.
Europe’s soaring demand for battery metals contrasts with the lack of domestic lithium refining capabilities. The supply chain is predominantly controlled by Chinese companies, highlighting the strategic importance of Green Lithium and Rio’s endeavour.
UK Industry and Decarbonization Minister Sarah Jones praised the partnership, emphasizing its potential to strengthen the local economy and the UK’s critical minerals supply chain. “It will not only support high-skilled jobs in the North East but boost our critical minerals supply chains as we continue to build a cleaner, greener future for our automotive industry and drive forward our mission to net zero,” Jones said. Reaching across Europe
Rio Tinto has recently stepped up efforts to revive its Jadar lithium project in Serbia, after having its mining licence revoked in 2022. Locals staged massive, widespread protests that year against the proposed mine on environmental concerns.
The world’s second largest miner has been pushing since to resume work on the project, which is expected to be Europe’s biggest lithium mine. In July this year, Serbia reinstated Rio Tinto’s licence to develop it, but the company will have to secure approvals to move towards production at the site.
With projected production of 58,000 tonnes of refined battery-grade lithium carbonate per year, Jadar could supply enough lithium to power one million electric vehicles and meet 90% of Europe’s current lithium needs.
Australian mine fight reignites Aboriginal heritage tensions
Wiradjuri elder Nyree Reynolds calls her home west of Sydney the valley of the Bilabula, the Indigenous name for its river. The river features in Wiradjuri stories about the creation of their land, she told state planning regulators, “And no one has the right to destroy this.”
On her objections, the Australian government in August ordered miner Regis Resources to find a new dam site for a A$1 billion ($685 million) gold project on the grounds its proposed location for storing rock and chemical waste would irreparably harm culture attached to the river.
The decision by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek under a rarely used Aboriginal heritage protection law has stoked an outcry from mining groups who say Regis followed all legal processes and the decision raises sovereign risk for developers.
The government’s action adds to the uncertainty miners have faced since iron ore giant Rio Tinto legally destroyed ancient Aboriginal rock shelters at Juukan Gorge four years ago and raises the urgency to overhaul heritage protection laws.
At least three other resources projects are facing review, like Regis did, under Section 10 of the law that allows Aboriginal people to apply to protect areas important to them when other legal avenues have failed.
“You can get all the state environmental approvals, all the federal environmental approvals and at the end of the process a Section 10, … essentially a federal minister can … make your project unviable,” said Warren Pearce, CEO of the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies.
“That’s the definition of sovereign risk.”
While Reynolds objected to Regis’ mine, a local Aboriginal group representing Wiradjuri people, authorized by the state to speak for cultural heritage, had concluded that impacts from the project could be managed.
Regis said in August it is considering its legal options after writing down the value of its project by more than $100 million.
The decision on Regis’ project was the second by the government in as many months to back Indigenous groups over miners.
ERA, majority owned by mining giant Rio Tinto, is suing the government on procedural fairness grounds after it did not renew the miner’s exploration lease on uranium rich land.
Government officials and some investors say developers need to engage earlier and more deeply with Indigenous groups when planning projects, but new laws governing heritage protection that would assist the process are yet to arrive.
The government has not said when it expects to finalize the legislation. Only Western Australia has made some heritage reforms, leaving the industry relying on a patchwork of old state legislation to manage heritage protection at a time when Australia is marketing itself as a supplier of ethical metals. Votes at stake
Resources projects with outstanding Section 10 objections include miner Bellevue Gold’s plan to dig under a desert lake and Woodside’s Scarborough natural gas project that will feed a gas plant in a region rich in ancient rock art that the government has nominated for a UNESCO World Heritage listing. Both projects are in Western Australia.
But not all objections are equal when it comes to politics, especially with the centre-left Labor government facing an election in 2025.
Woodside is unlikely to face the same setback as Regis, said MST Marquee senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic, as the $12.5 billion Scarborough gas project is “extremely politically important to the Labor government in Western Australia”.
Plibersek’s office said it could not comment on the Scarborough project as the issue is under consideration.
Both Woodside and Bellevue said they take their responsibilities to manage Aboriginal cultural heritage seriously.
Bellevue said it has permission from the Tjiwarl native title group to dig under the lake as part of a heritage management plan.
The government’s action comes after it failed in a referendum last year that sought to give Indigenous Australians special recognition in the country’s constitution and an advisory voice to lawmakers.
Some people think the government is now acting to appease inner city east coast voters who backed the referendum and who may want to vote for the Greens rather than support mining.
“Here is a government trying to scramble to make itself look good, because it absolutely gutted the opportunity for us to have a voice in Parliament,” said Wonnarua man Scott Franks, who has filed three section 10s against developments in the state’s coal rich Hunter Valley region and lost them all.
When asked if she was catering to Green voters with her decision on Regis, Plibersek told reporters on Aug. 28 that she had consulted widely: “I made the decision based on facts.”
Australia’s minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the government was working hard with Aboriginal groups on new heritage protection laws.
“The Australian government is deeply concerned about the destruction of First Nations heritage values anywhere in Australia,” McCarthy said in a statement to Reuters. Tighter rules on the way
A key issue that needs to be addressed is to make clear exactly who developers need to consult to ensure projects do not harm important sites on the traditional lands or countries of Indigenous groups.
“Our whole objective is to remove this sort of uncertainty that people are dealing with to make it clear who speaks for the Country,” Plibersek told Australian Broadcasting Corp on Aug. 28.
Regis said it had consulted with 13 different groups and individuals during the permitting process.
“Regis takes its relationship with the Aboriginal stakeholders at our operations very seriously and conducted extensive engagement with Aboriginal parties from an early stage in the approvals process,” it said in a statement to Reuters.
To help miners manage consultations on protecting Aboriginal heritage while the rules are revised, the Responsible Investment Association Australasia, which counts 75% of the country’s institutional investors as members, worked with First Nations, the government and mining giant BHP on best practices.
“The current laws remain inadequate, which is why we need investors and corporates themselves to step up,” the association’s co-CEO, Estelle Parker, said.
Among its recommendations, the association urges miners to adhere to free, prior and informed consent that can be withdrawn at any time.
The guide is “ambitious and probably unrealistic”, law firm Ashurst said in a 2024 report, but it advised miners to get familiar with it.
“Be aware that change will come to Federal heritage laws. When it does, it will be closer to the expectations expressed in these recent publications than the current legal framework.”
($1 = 1.4601 Australian dollars)
(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Sonali Paul)
Focus on coal miners, power grid as South Africa spends just sixth of climate aid
Reuters | September 26, 2024 The Arnot power station in Mpumalanga, South Africa, is a coal-fired power plant operated by Eskom. (Image by Gerhard Roux, Wikimedia Commons)
South Africa’s donor-funded climate program has spent just over a sixth of its allotted $11.6 billion, with a focus on expanding the power grid and preventing its coal-mining region slipping into decline as it shifts to renewables, two sources said.
A donor and a South African official involved in the plan, neither of whom were willing to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said about $1.9 billion had been spent, half of it on policy-based loans to the government.
Of the rest, about $488 million had gone towards electricity, a breakdown seen by Reuters showed. The remaining quarter was for projects to revive the coal belt province, Mpumalanga, a planned green hydrogen hub and skills training, among other things.
Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and United States initially pledged $8.5 billion at COP26 climate talks in 2021. That figure – all but a fraction of it in the form of concessional loans – grew last year, as Denmark, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland joined the initiative.
Owing to its complexity, the number of donors involved and South Africa’s internal politics, the climate program has been moving more slowly than planned, and South Africa has told donors it will not meet its 2030 emissions-reduction targets.
Environment Minister Dion George was quoted in the national press this month as saying that German officials had told him South Africa was moving away from fossil fuels too slowly.
A spokesperson for the German embassy declined to comment. Easy win?
Africa’s most industrialized nation, where 80% of the power is generated from coal, is seen as an easy win for donor-assisted green energy programs, with its well-developed infrastructure and abundant sun and wind.
But politicians are nervous about winding down a 160-year-old coal business that directly employs 90,000 people and supports whole communities, even while it poisons their air and water.
“It’s about …the mine workers, the coal truckers…the entire ecosystem (around coal) whose material interests are threatened,” said Joanne Yawitch, head of the Just Energy Transition at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s climate commission.
Yawitch said the focus was on new skills and economic opportunities for coal-belt residents, especially its most vulnerable: informal workers, youths and women.
“With South Africa’s levels of poverty and unemployment…if we don’t take care of the needs of that community…(the) transition…will just be resisted all the way.”
Burning coal has rendered South Africa one of the world’s most carbon intensive economies, central bank data shows. South Africa is in the top 15 greenhouse gas emitters, ahead of France and Britain.
The policy loans have funded reforms such as a law enacted last month to bring private companies and competition into a power sector long dominated by state monopoly Eskom, the donor source said.
Grants are only $676 million of the total, and Ramaphosa has complained that they make up too small a portion.
(By Tim Cocks; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Gold prices and poverty fuel illegal mining in Peru’s Amazon
Reuters | October 1, 2024 | The area where the Nanay River (black) meets the Amazon River (brown). (Image by Leonora Enking, Flickr.)
The Nanay River meanders through Peru’s Amazon jungle supplying water to Iquitos city’s half a million inhabitants.
But there are growing concerns about the quality of this water as illegal gold mining, which uses the toxic metal mercury to extract gold, has surged in Peru’s Amazon region since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Villagers in the northern rainforest region of Loreto have become more dependent on illegal mining for their livelihood as the pandemic hit the economy and the illegal activity became more profitable. Gold prices have soared nearly 30% so far in 2024 and are on course for their biggest annual rise since 2010.
The problem is that illegal miners use the metal to extract gold particles from the river silt and then burn off the mercury, which turns to vapour and is absorbed by the surrounding plants, soil and river, said Claudia Vega, head of the mercury program at the Center for Amazonian Scientific Innovation.
Her team regularly tests communities and their main staple — river fish — for mercury.
“(Miners) take the gold but the mercury stays here in the Amazon,” Vega told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “What the miners don’t like to talk about is that mercury is a poison.”
Illegal mining has spread across Peru’s Amazon region and the Andes since the Covid-19 pandemic sent the economy into recession, fuelling unemployment and pushing millions of people back into poverty. About 29% of Peru’s population struggled with poverty in 2023, up from 20.2% in 2019, according to the country’s statistics institute.
At the same time, rising gold prices have made illegal mining attractive in a poor region. A dredger operating for 24 hours can rake in 100g or $8,000 worth of gold at $80 per single gram, said Herman Ruiz, an official at the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) and head of the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve.
Park rangers and local community patrols have managed to keep mining out of the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve in the lower part of the Nanay River, but satellite images sourced by NGO Amazon Conservación show dozens of dredgers higher up in the Alto Nanay-Pintuyacu-Chambira protected area.
Indeed, a 2023 report by the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) showed illegal mining was present in 11 of Loreto’s largest rivers that year, including Nanay, but the latter had three times the number of dredgers than all other rivers combined.
According to the report, satellite images detected 98 dredgers in the Nanay River in the middle of 2023, having spotted none at the beginning of 2020. Remote areas
Ruiz said the illegal mining in Loreto is mainly led by criminal groups from Colombia who recruit locals and train them to build simple dredgers from a converted lorry engine and a wooden raft. Some Brazilians and Venezuelans working for criminal organizations are also involved, he said.
A Colombian gang believed to include dissident members of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels uses violence to enforce its rule in remote areas and dominates illegal gold and cocaine trafficking, according to a security official, who asked not be named because of the risk to his safety.
Carlos Castro, the chief environmental prosecutor for Loreto, said it is becoming increasingly difficult for authorities to curb illegal mining activity as it spreads to desolate areas.
He said it can take 12 hours to reach remote outposts by boat and it is even more difficult to reach them by air.
“There is no place to land… because of the curves of this (river) basin,” he said.
The fact that the miners now have access to the internet and can warn one another that the police is coming also makes curbing the illegal mining harder, said Ruiz. The miners installed satellite dishes in the area in recent years, he said.
Meanwhile, it has become increasingly risky to deal with the illegal miners.
Castro said the police and prosecutors are often outnumbered by “hostile villagers” when they reach those areas and that the police has advised prosecutors to take “a certain number of (security) people” when they travel to tackle illegal mining.
“We have been ambushed in the past,” he said.
Ruiz said he has even been a victim of indirect death threats.
“Someone would tell me to be careful; that I’m on the gang’s blacklist”, he said. Finding poison
Vega took her team to Mishana — where around 80 people live on fishing, farming and community tourism — to take hair samples from residents to test for mercury levels. Mishana is located some 40 km southwest of Iquitos.
Betty Amasifuen, 42, is among those who volunteered to be tested even though she lives many miles downstream from the mining activity.
“For us, who live here in this part of the Nanay River and eat the fish, it’s not good,” said the mother of six.
In the local village hall, Vega told the local population about mercury’s devastating heath impact. She referred to the renowned case in Japan in the 1950s, when children in Minamata Bay were born with congenital deformities and neurological disabilities because of mercury contamination.
“We do not want to be the people or communities contaminated or getting some kind of disease,” said 63-year old Fidencio Zuta, a local resident.
The World Health Organisation classifies mercury as one of the 10 chemicals of major public concern.
Given illegal mining in Loreto is fairly recent, there are no comprehensive studies on its health impact on the local population yet. But on the other side of Peru’s Amazon, where mining has been taking place for decades, a study found the majority of adults were affected.
The comprehensive 2009 study from the Carnegie Amazon Mercury Ecosystem Project showed 78% of adults in Madre de Dios, Peru’s most heavily-mined Amazon region, had mercury levels in their hair above the WHO’s recommended concentration limit of 1ppm, one part per million.
Vega said children were particularly vulnerable.
“When they are exposed when their mother is pregnant, it can harm the way that they learn, they think, their memory,” she said. “It’s affecting how these kids could learn or be productive. So, you’re affecting the kid for their whole life.”
(By Dan Collyns; Editing by Jack Graham and Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
Video: Taiwan Air Service Pulls Off Daring Rescue of Seafarers in Typhoon
Crew was sucessfully hoisted from the stranded bulker as the typhoon approaches Taiwan (Taiwan Coast Guard)
Taiwan’s Air Service Corp was able to rescue 19 crewmembers from a bulker that was taking on water and driven on the rocks as a strong typhoon approached the island. The crew was lifted by helicopter and transferred to shore while Taiwan reported a possible oil leak from the vessel as it prepared for the typhoon to come ashore on Wednesday.
The bulker Blue Lagoon (79,474 dwt) was transporting 67,500 tons of ore from China to Singapore when the vessel called for assistance at 0428 local time on Tuesday, October 1. The ship was about 20 miles from Orchid Island near the southeastern tip of Taiwan when it encountered the onset of Typhoon Krathon. According to the authorities, winds were at Level 11, and seas were over 20 feet.
The vessel had a crew of 19 aboard, including seven from Ukraine, nine from Egypt, and three from Russia, when it reported that it was taking on water in its engine room. Approximately an hour after the first call, the captain told the authorities in Taiwan that they were preparing to abandon ship. Built in 2010, the vessel is registered in Panama. According to the Equasis database it was sold at the beginning of this month and is now being managed from Latvia.
A Taiwanese Coast Guard vessel from Kaohsiung was attempting to reach the vessel. The Air Service was able to get a helicopter to the vessel shortly after 0600 but reported the winds were too strong to start a hoist operation and it was returning to base. However, there was a break in the winds, and between 1100 and 1400, the crew was successfully airlifted. The crew of the coast guard vessel risked going on deck and assisted in the hoist and transfer of the crew.
The vessel was driven ashore and the authorities were monitoring it. They reported possibly sighting of oil in the water. The vessel is carrying 39 tons of MGO (Marine Gas Oil) and 227 tons of VLSFO (fuel oil). Pictures show the waves crashing over the vessel on the coastline while the authorities emphasized the typhoon is not expected to make landfall in Taiwan until Wednesday. It currently has sustained winds of over 120 mph and gusts over 150 mph raising widespread concern for the impact on the island.
In July, multiple vessels were driven ashore in another typhoon. The authorities are reporting that they are in the process of dismantling one ship (Keta) and that two others (Dolphin and Sophia) remain on the shore. They were taking precautions to prevent further pollution from these vessels as the typhoon hits Taiwan.
