The Great Lakes as a Testing Area for Articulated Vessels

Supersizing articulated tug and barge technology could increase the productivity of shipping

A modern seagoing ATB (File image courtesy OSG)

Published Oct 6, 2024 6:31 PM by Harry Valentine

 

 

Technical innovations that evolved along North American inland waterways between the mid-1800s and mid-1900s have the potential to form the basis of future technical development in commercial maritime operations.

Introduction

While transportation services operated along inland waterways for centuries, commercial vessel operation on North American inland waterways resulted in innovative developments in the technology. Horses pulled barges for centuries along navigable sections of European and Asia waterways, but the development of high-pressure steam engines in England during the early 1800s led to the development of self-propelled vessels. The advance also allowed for the operation of larger vessels capable of carrying additional payloads. Wide navigable sections of the Mississippi River extended for considerable distance and allowed boat operators to secure non-powered barges on each side of a powered vessel.

Other operators of steam-powered vessels towed barges that carried additional payload at competitive cost. Developments in the lumber industry involved lashing logs into rafts that were propelled downstream by river current, assisted by steam-powered tugs along some sections of river. Despite the lack of engine power in steam-powered towboats of the late 1800s, log rafts of up to 270 feet width by 1,500 feet in length did occasionally float downstream. As towboat engine power increased, boat operators used the precedent of the log rafts to secure non-powered barges both lengthwise and side-by-side.

Rafts of Barges

Beginning during the early 1930s, the US Army Corps of Engineers developed navigation locks along several navigable waterways that included the northern region of the Mississippi River, the Ohio River, the Missouri River and the Tennessee River. The absence of navigation locks between New Orleans and St. Lawrence along with generous navigation width and nine feet navigation depth allowed great flexibility in the size of barge-based rafts that could operate along the Lower Mississippi River. The size of the towboat and the power of its engine restricted the tonnage of the coupled assembly of barges.

While wind driven waves frequently occurred along wide sections of the Upper Mississippi River such as Lake Pepin, and along sections of the coastal waterway at the Gulf of Mexico, the rafts of coupled barges proved capable of sailing through the waves. That precedent resulted in a Canadian company building an articulated three-section vessel intended for trans-Atlantic operation. Despite only having sailed a single return voyage that revealed severe technical problems, it provided a basis for future research that includes modern day tug-barges that sail on the Upper Great Lakes as well in ocean coastal service.

Precedents and Innovations

The precedent of the articulated trans-Atlantic vessel and the technical problems its operation revealed have provided the basis for future research and development. It was essentially a larger-scale version of a standard-size, three-unit Mississippi barge tow that encountered much larger waves on the North Atlantic than Mississippi barge-tows encounter along extended wide sections of the Mississippi or coastal waterway. The largest modern-day barges that sail ocean coastal service and on the Upper Great Lakes are longer that the three-section hinged vessel that sailed the North Atlantic many decades ago.

Innovations in barge-tug coupling include large U-shaped indentations designed into the barge stern. Some versions of the transverse hinge allow for in-phase pitching of barge stern and tug bow while other variations allow for relative vertical movement between barge stern and tug bow. While hinges are lock in terms of roll, other hinge concepts allow for differences in roll direction and roll frequency. There may actually be scope to develop coupling mechanisms that would allow extended-length vessels to be coupled side-by-side as occurred during an earlier era involving much smaller vessels.

Coupling Mega-Size Barges

The Great Lakes have the potential to become the testing and proving area in developing innovations to enhance the efficiency and cost-competitiveness of future maritime transportation. Some of the innovations would be based on precedents that began decades ago and have future potential. The longest oil tankers that sailed the ocean measured 1,600 feet, while Mississippi barge tows can occasionally exceed a length of 2,000 feet. Coupling twp barges of 740 feet length each in a train of 1,480 feet would double payload capacity while incurring limited additional hydraulic drag when sailing at cruising speed.

The operation of such a concept calls into question the capability of the articulation coupling technology as well as the stresses involving in turning a vessel measuring 1480 feet long. There is potential that activation of a bow thruster could enhance ship directional control while reducing structural stresses involved in turning such a vessel. It would need to be uncoupled to transit the lock at Sault Ste. Marie if sailing between Lakes Superior and Huron. Testing and development of such a vessel would have potential application in ocean service to reduce fuel cost while increasing earnings.

Modern Raft Operation

There may be scope to further develop a large version of the articulated trans-Atlantic ship to carry a massive volume of bulk freight between Lakes Huron and Michigan. It could involve coupling two barges of 78 feet width side-by-side (156 feet total) by three barges lengthwise (2220 feet total) that could sail under the bridge at the Strait of Mackinac, possibly even through the narrow channels along the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers between Lakes Huron and Erie. There may be scope to develop such a vessel for future sailing on the ocean.

A raft vessel involving multiple full-size barges could also serve as a floating overnight truck stop and ro/ro vessel on Lake Ontario, operating between Hamilton and a future port located east of Toronto that experiences traffic congestion along the main east-west highway. It would sail between two terminals during truck drivers’ 11 to 12-hour compulsory overnight rest period, bypassing the section of highway where the most problematic traffic congestion occurs during rush hour. There is scope for researchers at Canada’s McMaster University Institute of Transportation and Logistics to undertake further research into this concept.

Great Lakes Testing

          The short-distance sailing distances on the Great Lakes allows for frequent monitoring of extended-length vessel technology during the navigation season. Winter-time layover of vessels at dockside or at dry-dock allows for major work to be undertaken on the technology related to extended-length vessel operation. There may be a need to remove some components for purposes of redesign or structural strengthening. The winter layover allows time to take measurements on sections of the hull near the articulation coupling to determine the structural stress levels that the section of hull endured during the previous sailing season.

          Information and data obtained from wintertime structural evaluation of the hull would determine the kind of structural reinforcement and strengthening would be required to ensure viable long-term operation. Such evaluation would provide the basis to develop an ocean-going version of the concept, capable of undertaking extended-length voyages in commercial operation over a period of many successive years. A super-tug of over 100,000 horsepower would be able to push and navigate a train of two barges that each measure over 150 feet width by 1200 feet length coupled lengthwise, using a coupling mechanism developed and refined in Upper Great Lakes operation.

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

 

Bottled up in the Black Sea Russia is Having a Dreadful Naval War

Pride of the Russian fleet Moskva was lost early in the conflict with Ukraine (unknown source)

Published Oct 4, 2024 1:01 PM by The Conversation

 

[By Colin Flint]

The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has played out largely on land and in the air. It is a bitterly contested, grueling ground war, accompanied by brutal Russian aerial attacks on civilian infrastructure and a slow but increasing Ukrainian response.

But a less appreciated but vital focus of the war is happening on water, too. There, a contest for control of the Black Sea has seen Russia stunningly defeated.

And this loss has potentially far-reaching consequences. Not only does it constrain Moscow’s ability to project power across the globe through naval means, it has also resulted in Russia’s growing cooperation with China, where Moscow is emerging as a junior party to Beijing on the high seas.

Battle over the Black Sea

The tradition of geopolitical theory has tended to paint an oversimplification of global politics. Theories harkening back to the late 19th century categorized countries as either land powers or maritime powers.

Thinkers such as the British geopolitician Sir Halford Mackinder or the U.S. theorist Alfred Thayer Mahan characterized maritime powers as countries that possessed traits of democratic liberalism and free trade. In contrast, land powers were often portrayed as despotic and militaristic.

While such generalizations have historically been used to demonize enemies, there is still a contrived tendency to divide the world into land and sea powers. An accompanying view that naval and army warfare is somewhat separate has continued.

And this division gives us a false impression of Russia’s progress in the war with Ukraine. While Moscow has certainly seen some successes on land and in the air, that should not draw attention away from Russia’s stunning defeat in the Black Sea that has seen Russia have to retreat from the Ukrainian shoreline and keep its ships far away from the battlefront.

As I describe in my recent book, “Near and Far Waters: The Geopolitics of Seapower,” maritime countries have two concerns: They must attempt to control the parts of the sea relatively close to their coastlines, or their “near waters”; meanwhile, those with the ability and desire to do so try to project power and influence into “far waters” across oceans, which are the near waters of other countries.

The Black Sea is a tightly enclosed and relatively small sea comprising the near waters of the countries that surround it: Turkey to the south, Bulgaria and Romania to the west, Georgia to the east, and Ukraine and Russia to the north.

Control of the Black Sea’s near waters has been contested throughout the centuries and has played a role in the current Russian-Ukraine war.

Russia’s seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 allowed it to control the naval port of Sevastopol. What were near waters of Ukraine became de facto near waters for Russia.

Controlling these near waters allowed Russia to disrupt Ukraine’s trade, especially the export of grain to African far waters.

But Russia’s actions were thwarted through the collaboration of Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey to allow passage of cargo ships through their near waters, then through the Bosporus into the Mediterranean Sea.

Ukraine’s use of these other countries’ near waters allowed it to export between 5.2 million and 5.8 million tons of grain per month in the first quarter of 2024. To be sure, this was a decline from Ukraine’s exports of about 6.5 million tons per month prior to the war, which then dropped to just 2 million tons in the summer of 2023 because of Russian attacks and threats.

But efforts to constrain Russia’s control of Ukraine’s near waters in the Black Sea, and Russia’s unwillingness to face the consequences of attacking ships in NATO countries’ near waters, meant Ukraine was still able to access far waters for economic gain and keep the Ukrainian economy afloat.

For Putin, that sinking feeling

Alongside being thwarted in its ability to disrupt Ukrainian exports, Russia has also come under direct naval attack from Ukraine. Since February 2022, using unmanned attack drones, Ukraine has successfully sunk or damaged Russian ships and whittled away at Russia’s Black sea fleet, sinking about 15 of its prewar fleet of about 36 warships and damaging many others.

Russia has been forced to limit its use of Sevastopol and station its ships in the eastern part of the Black Sea. It cannot effectively function in the near waters it gained through the seizure of Crimea.

Russia’s naval setbacks against Ukraine are only the latest in its historical difficulties in projecting sea power and its resulting tendency to mainly focus on the defense of near waters.

In 1905, Russia was shocked by a dramatic naval loss to Japan. Yet even in cases where it was not outright defeated, Russian sea power has been continually constrained historically. In World War I, Russia cooperated with the British Royal Navy to limit German merchant activity in the Baltic Sea and Turkish trade and military reach in the Black Sea.

In World War II, Russia relied on material support from the Allies and was largely blockaded within its Baltic Sea and Black Sea ports. Many ships were brought close to home or stripped of their guns as artillery or offshore support for the territorial struggle with Germany.

During the Cold War, meanwhile, though the Soviet Union built fast-moving missile boats and some aircraft carriers, its reach into far waters relied on submarines. The main purpose of the Soviet Mediterranean fleet was to prevent NATO penetration into the Black Sea.

And now, Russia has lost control of the Black Sea. It cannot operate in these once secure near waters. These losses reduce its ability to project naval power from the Black Sea and into the Mediterranean Sea.

Ceding captaincy to China

Faced with a glaring loss in its backyard and put in a weak position in its near waters, Russia as a result can project power to far waters only through cooperation with a China that is itself investing heavily in a far-water naval capacity.

Joint naval exercises in the South China Sea in July 2024 are evidence of this cooperation. Wang Guangzheng of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s Southern Theater said of the drill that “the China-Russia joint patrol has promoted the deepening and practical cooperation between the two in multiple directions and fields.” And looking forward, he claimed the exercise “effectively enhanced the ability to the two sides to jointly respond to maritime security threats.”

This cooperation makes sense in purely military terms for Russia, a mutually beneficial project of sea power projection. But it is largely to China’s benefit.

Russia can help China’s defense of its northern near waters and secure access to far waters through the Arctic Ocean – an increasingly important arena as global climate change reduces the hindrance posed by sea ice. But Russia remains very much the junior partner.

Moscow’s strategic interests will be supported only if they match Chinese interests. More to the point, sea power is about power projection for economic gain. China will likely use Russia to help protect its ongoing economic reach into African, Pacific, European and South American far waters. But it is unlikely to jeopardize these interests for Russian goals.

To be sure, Russia has far-water economic interests, especially in the Sahel and sub-Saharan Africa. And securing Russian interests in Africa complements China’s growing naval presence in the Indian Ocean to secure its own, and greater, global economic interests. But cooperation will still be at China’s behest.

Bottled up in Black Sea near waters as a result of its war in Ukraine, Russia’s only current avenue for projecting its naval power is access to Africa and Indian Ocean far waters as a junior partner with China, which will dictate the terms and conditions. Even if Russia achieves victory on land in its war against Ukraine, it will not compensate for its ongoing inability to project power across the oceans on its own.
 

Colin Flint is a Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Utah State University

This article appears courtesy of The Conversation and may be found in its full form here. 

 

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

WARPORN

Videos Show Houthi Attack on Tanker and Attempt to Explode Bomb Boat

Explosion after tanker is hit by drone boat (Houthis)

Published Oct 3, 2024 6:27 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Videos were released showing the two sides of the attack on the tanker Cordelia Moon (163,288 dwt), from the perspective of the Houthis which launched a drone boat, and the security guards aboard the vessel attempting in vain to destroy the bomb boat. The crude oil tanker, which was empty and heading north in the Red Sea to Suez, is damaged but continuing to move away from the danger.

The Houthi took responsibility for targeting the tanker which they called a British vessel saying they unleashed a barrage including eight ballistic and “winged” missiles, a drone, and finally an uncrewed surface boat. The attack on October 1 commenced while the vessel, which is registered in Panama, was approximately 64 nautical miles north of Hudaydah, Yemen.

 

 

The captain reported seeing four splashes in the water. About 30 minutes later the ship spotted a drone boat approaching on its port side. The video obtained by well-known commentator Sal Mercogliano shows the armed guard aboard firing at the boat but failing to explore it or disable it. It makes contact puncturing the number six ballast tank. Later videos obtained by Mercogliano show the wet decks from the blast and the ship apparently attempting to disperse vapors by spraying water over the side from fire hoses.

From a distance, the Houthis video shows the boat approaching and making contact. The power of the explosion is seen from the smoke and plume. 

 

 

The Cordelia Moon, managed from India, reported it was continuing its trip. Its AIS signal shows it has traveled north to a point near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The signal indicates it will continue its trip to Suez. There is a shipyard in Suez that previously performed emergency repairs on a bulker that was hit by a Houthi rocket that left a large hole in the hull above the waterline.

Releasing the video today the Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree vowed the attacks would continue until the assaults on Gaza and Lebanon stopped. The Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi in a video-taped address said the group has now targeted a total of 188 vessels while also vowing to continue the attacks.

The UK Maritime Trade Operation which monitors activity in the region numbered the attacks on Tuesday on the Cordelia Moon and a bulker as the 124 and 125 incident of 2024.

Russia Strikes Cargo Ship in Ukrainian Port of Yuzhny

In this infrared video frame taken by a Russian aircraft, an Iskander missile (black streak) approaches vessel at Ukrainian port of Yuzhny

Published Oct 6, 2024 8:17 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A Russian missile strike damaged a civilian vessel at the port of Yuzhny, Ukraine overnight Saturday, according to Ukrainian state media and the Russian ministry of defense. 

The attack on the ship reportedly involved an Iskander-M missile. In hazy infrared UAV footage captured at the scene, the missile is shown approaching the target, followed by a large blast. Russian state media claimed that the video showed a secondary explosion of a cargo of ammunition. 

Russia claimed that the vessel was carrying a cargo of European-origin armament for the Ukrainian military. 

The name of the vessel was not disclosed, but the head of the Odesa region, Oleg Kiper, confirmed that no crewmembers aboard the ship had been injured. It was the third Russian attack on a civilian vessel in the Black Sea region in a month (though a previous strike may well have been accidental).

In simultaneous strikes, Russian drones damaged a gas pipeline, cargo trucks and a warehouse buildings. The attack went on for hours and involved about 90 drones in multiple waves. Targets in Kyiv were also hit in the same attack. 

One warehouse security guard was injured in the UAV attack and was hospitalized.  

Russian forces have repeatedly struck Ukrainian-bound shipping, but not always intentionally, according to UK military intelligence. A September 11 strike on the bulker Aya was "almost certainly" a mistake, according to UK Defence Intelligence. The vessel was hit by an AS-4 anti-ship missile launched by a Russian bomber and was likely the victim of "poor targeting procedures from Russian pilots." The bomber was likely attempting to hit a ground target along Ukraine's coastline or on Snake Island, but ended up striking the Aya instead. It is

CMA CGM Container Ship Hits Dock in Barranquilla

Courtesy Dirección General Marítima

Published Oct 3, 2024 3:00 PM by The Maritime Executive

A small container ship struck a dock at the port of Barranquilla, Colombia on Wednesday, according to local media. 

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the vessel CMA CGM Balboa sustained a mechanical failure and went adrift, according to port association director Lucas Ariza. At about 0040 hours, it struck the pier at Barranquilla's small container terminal. No pollution or injuries were reported, and four tugs were quickly dispatched to assist the Balboa. By 1100 hours, through a joint response with tug operators, the local harbormaster and the Colombian Maritime Authority, the vessel was freed and relocated to a safe berth. 

"The hull was cracked and the ballast tanks began to fill with water, which are designed for that; in the event of a collision they fill with water and not the ship itself," Ariza told local outlet Infobae. 

Images courtesy Dimar

Depending on the extent of the damage, the vessel will be drydocked or will continue onwards to the next port of call for repairs, he said. 

At the time of the allision, Balboa was in laden condition with about 2,700 tonnes of cargo, according to Colombia's Dirección General Marítima (Dimar). As of Thursday, she remained moored at the pier in Barranquilla. 

CMA CGM Balboa is a 28,000 dwt container feeder built in 2007. She has a recent history of deficiencies in port state control inspections, including faulty RPM sensors that forced an overspeed alarm and an automatic engine shutdown in 2023, according to U.S. Coast Guard inspectors. The problem was fixed before the ship left port. 

Coastal Cargo Ship Collides with Sailboat off Germany

German sea recue team assisting sailboat while the coaster stood by after the collision (DGzRS)

Published Oct 4, 2024 12:37 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

German sea rescue teams responded to a collision in the North Sea in which a coastal cargo ship and a small sailboat collided in the busy area of the Outer Elbe. The solo sailor aboard the sailboat was visibly shaken but the German authorities reported no one was seriously injured aboard the cargo ship or the sailboat.

The 292-foot coaster named Lotta (3,850 dwt) was sailing from Rouen, France to Klaipeda, Lithuania. The vessel which was built in 2013 and is registered in Cyprus is managed from Lithuania. 

The cargo ship and the sailboat were approximately five nautical miles west-northwest of the uninhabited island of Scharhorn in the North Sea near the entrance to the Elbe. At around 0640 on October 3, the German authorities received a report of the collision and the German Sea Rescue Association (DGzRS) was activated dispatching two rescue vessels.

They are reporting that the sea swell was running about one meter (three feet) and the winds were force 5 on the Beaufort scale (approximately 20 knots). The cargo ship had come in contact with a 9.5-meter sailboat (31-foot) in the busy area of the Outer Elbe.

The Lotta stood by the damaged sailboat. According to the sea rescue team, the sailboat had a large hole in its port side just above the waterline and its mast broke. The sail was hanging in the water when they reached the boat and was preventing more water from entering the sailboat. 

A member of the rescue team went aboard the sailboat to assess the condition of its solo sailor and a tow line was attached to one of the smaller boats from the rescue ships. They towed the sailboat into Cuxhaven where it arrived at 1220.

There was no word on what caused the collision. The cargo ship was undamaged during the incident. She is back underway due to arrive in Lithuania on October 5.

 

Photo Confirms That Side Hatch Was Closed Aboard Lost Superyacht

Karsten Borner / supplied

Published Oct 3, 2024 4:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A photo taken just minutes before the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian appears to confirm the crew's account that a side hatch in the hull had been closed on the night of the casualty. 

The photo was taken by passengers on a nearby yacht, the Sir Robert Baden Powell, about 14 minutes before the Bayesian went down. The blurry photo (to be released by ITV on Thursday) shows the sailing vessel's port side, including the location of the large side hatch for tender operations on the port quarter. The image of the well-lit yacht was taken in darkness, and it shows no light in the vicinity of the hatch, suggesting it was closed in the minutes before the Bayesian was hit by high winds from a severe thunderstorm.  

Belowdecks arrangements aboard Bayesian. The port side shell hatch is highlighted in orange (Perini)

In comments shortly after the sinking, the owner of Bayesian's shipbuilder, Italian Sea Group CEO Giovanni Costantino, placed blame for the casualty on the crew. He accused them of failing for prepare for the storm and said that they had committed a "mistake that cries out for vengeance." 

Among other specifics, he said that the crew had not lowered the yacht's retractable keel, a detail which was not required by the yacht's stability booklet when in port. He also asserted that they had failed to close the stern hatch and should have mustered passengers - and said that the status of the side hatch on the port quarter was an essential unanswered question.

"It is much more important to know if the port hatch, where the tender is moored and from which guests get on and off, was open, which is much more dangerous," Constantino told Italian media. 

The Bayesian's former captain from 2015-20, Stephen Edwards, said that he is certain that the crew would not have left the yacht's port-side shell hatch unclosed. Because the hatch was positioned so close to the waterline, it "was rarely used" and would only be opened in flat calm conditions. "100% it was not open at night," he wrote in a recent analysis of the sinking. 

Bayesian (ex name Salute) was a 180-foot aluminum-hulled sailing yacht built by Perini Navi in 2008. She was owned by billionaire Mike Lynch, one of the UK's most prominent tech executives. The giant sailing yacht went down suddenly in an extreme thunderstorm in the early hours of August 19. 15 passengers and crew were rescued minutes after the sinking; the remains of six people were recovered, including Lynch and his daughter Hannah. 

An autopsy determined that Lynch and three others died by asphyxiation, trapped in an air bubble in a cabin belowdecks. 

Three crewmembers are under investigation by prosecutors in Sicily, but have not yet been formally charged. An inquest into the deaths is scheduled to begin in a UK court on Friday.

 

New Zealand Navy Survey Vessel Runs Aground and Sinks Off Samoa

HMNZS Manawanui capsizes and sinks off Samoa, Oct. 6 (Amb. Tom Udall)

Published Oct 6, 2024 11:33 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

A Royal New Zealand Navy research vessel has sunk after running aground off the coast of Samoa, the NZ Defence Force said in a statement Sunday. It was the first vessel that the service has lost at sea since the Second World War. 

On Saturday evening, the research ship HMNZS Manawanui grounded off the southern coast of Upolu, one of the two main islands that make up the nation of Samoa. The ship was carrying out a hydrographic survey on a reef that had not been surveyed since 1987, and was operating about one nautical mile from shore in rough and windy conditions. Under circumstances that are still being investigated, it ran aground. 

The crew's initial efforts to refloat the ship were not successful, according to Radio New Zealand, and it soon began to list. 75 crewmembers and passengers were aboard, and they began evacuating into four rafts lifeboats at about 2000 hours on Saturday evening. Multiple vessels responded to the scene to assist, led by the NZ Rescue Coordination Centre.

According to the defense ministry, "extremely challenging" winds and currents were setting the liferafts and life boats towards the island's reefs, and heavy swells interfered with the evacuation effort. Thanks to the combined contributions of the responders, all personnel were rescued, and most were unharmed. 14 people were injured, including one with a dislocated shoulder and several who had cuts and abrasions from walking across a reef to reach safety. For now, they have all been provided accommodations in Samoa and will soon be repatriated by a military transport.  

The cause of the grounding is not currently known. At about 0640 hours on Sunday, smoke and flame were seen rising from the ship, and it was listing heavily. At 0900 hours it capsized and slipped below. 

New Zealand Defence Force is coordinating with authorities on Samoa to assess any threat of pollution and minimize the risk. On Sunday evening, acting Samoan prime minister Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio said that a fuel spill in the vicinity of the wreck is "highly possible," and an assessment is currently under way. 

The sinking is a setback for New Zealand's navy, but there will likely be other billets for her crew. The service has a serious personnel shortage, and has three unused vessels at the pier because it cannot man them. 

HMZNS Manawanui was a 2003-built offshore support, dive and survey vessel, originally built to commercial standards for Østensjø Rederi and named the Edda Fonn. She was sold to the Royal New Zealand Navy for $90 million in 2018, refitted for her new mission, repainted in gray and redelivered in 2019. 

Manawanui was designed to replace the functions of two previous vessels, HMZNS Resolution and the previous HMZNS Manawanui (A09). In four years in service, she performed a variety of tasks, including humanitarian relief and ordnance disposal missions in the Pacific islands. 

 

Canada Reforms Regulations to Attract Offshore Wind Investments

iStock

Published Oct 6, 2024 9:19 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Canada has passed new legislation that will open up its East Coast to offshore wind investments. Last week, Bill C-49 created a framework to develop offshore wind energy in the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Bill introduced amendments to the Accord Acts, allowing the federal government and the provincial governments to work together in the joint management of offshore wind resources. The Atlantic Accords Acts have been in existence since the 1980s, making it possible for Canada, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to jointly manage offshore petroleum resources. With the new changes, the scope has been expanded to include offshore wind.

In this case, the Canada-Nova Scotia Petroleum Board’s name changed to the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator (CNSER), and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Petroleum Board’s name changed to the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Energy Regulator (C-NLOER)

“Bill C-49 enables Atlantic Canada to seize the generational economic opportunity presented by offshore renewable energy. It will strengthen the economy, enable the creation of thousands of jobs and attract billions in investments in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

According to Tory Rushton, the Minister of Natural Resources for the Government of Nova Scotia, the call for offshore wind tenders could open as early as next year. Nova Scotia is looking to harness offshore wind power for production of green energy, and major industrial manufacturers in the province are already pursuing the use of green hydrogen as the transition from fossil fuel gains traction.

 

Survey: Canadian Consumers are Willing to Pay to Decarbonize Shipping

iStock

Published Oct 6, 2024 9:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The shipping industry needs massive investments if it wants to transform its fuel supply and set a clear path to net zero emissions. United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimates that it will cost between $8 billion and $28 billion annually to decarbonize ships by 2050. The cost shoots up exponentially when the necessary infrastructure is taken into consideration.

Shipping lines, governments and port authorities are under pressure to commit resources and invest in decarbonization measures to help fight climate change. However, the big question has been whether consumers would be willing to pay their fair share to help cut the industry’s emissions.

A Shipping Confidence Index survey in Canada now offers a glimpse of consumers’ awareness on the need to arrest shipping emissions and their readiness to pay to tackle them. In the survey - carried out by non-profit organization Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Clear Seas - Canadians have expressed their willingness to contribute to reducing carbon emission by paying extra on items shipped from overseas.

The survey found out that two-thirds of Canadians, about 64 percent, are ready to pay as much as five percent more on shipped goods to contribute resources to decarbonize merchant shipping. The bulk of surveyed consumers, 45 percent, would pay two percent or less. Demographically, younger Canadians below the age of 35 and women are more willing to pay extra to reduce or offset shipping emissions. The survey was based on a sample of 1,610 Canadians.

Seven-in-ten Canadians view marine shipping as critical or very important to the country’s economy, while more than half of the population believes the industry has grown in importance over the past 20 years. 52 percent of Canadians weigh the economic contributions of shipping as balanced against environmental risks.

For Canadians, hydrogen is viewed as a potential future fuel source. 67 percent of those surveyed said that they would prefer the country to use hydrogen domestically to decarbonize its own industries, including shipping, rather than export it abroad. Only 17 percent say the country should not invest in hydrogen at all.

Canada has already developed a comprehensive hydrogen strategy aimed at ensuring it becomes a producer, user and exporter of low-carbon hydrogen and associated technologies. Over 80 low-carbon hydrogen production projects are already in various stages of development.

Women’s pain in healthcare shouldn’t be normal

Columnists Opinion
Delyth Jewell 

4 October, 2024 
LEFT FOOT FORWARD

"Women make up half our population. Their suffering should not be treated as normal."

Delyth Jewell is a Member of the Senedd for South Wales East and deputy leader of Plaid Cymru

Most women, at some point in their lives, will hear the words “this might hurt” – and not from an aggressor, but from their doctor, or nurse. Because too many intimate procedures in women’s healthcare involve pain. Women are expected to tolerate that pain. And this isn’t the fault of individual doctors or nurses, it’s because not enough focus or resource has been given to challenging that expectation. The procedures we have, be they smear tests, coil fittings, hysteroscopies – they are painful, and they’re uncomfortable. And all too often, as a result, women put off getting the help they need. Because they are worried about that pain.

This week, in the Senedd, I led a debate about women’s healthcare that focused on the desperate need to end the normalisation of this pain. Because this isn’t the only way in which women are expected to put up with pain. The stubbornly grim statistics for gynaecological cancers can partly be put down to the fact that when women talk to their doctors about the pain they’re feeling, in those parts of the bodies it’s more awkward to talk about, they’re not believed.

Target Ovarian Centre research has found that one quarter of women in Wales report visiting their GP three or more times before being referred for tests and one third report waiting more than three months from their first appointment with their GP to receiving their diagnosis. Doctors either don’t have the training to recognise the symptoms of some cancers, or not enough research has been done into finding more accurate ways of interpreting those indistinct types of pain.

And then there are those debilitating conditions affecting women that we still don’t know enough about – because of a lack of research or understanding. Endometriosis is a condition that affects roughly 1 in 10 women, and occurs when the tissue inside the uterus begins to grow outside it, often leading to chronic pain. As the British Pregnancy Advisory Service points out, despite the prevalence of endometriosis, it remains underdiagnosed and too often misunderstood.

With this condition and so many others, women are too often either gaslit, and told to wait and see if things get worse, or they’re psychologised, asked whether they suffer with anxiety.

And all of that makes women, again, less likely to seek out help. Because their pain is – if not trivialised, then minimised. Played down. They are told not to trust their own gut instincts that something is wrong.

How many women’s lives are lost, or made miserable through pain, because they fall into a gap in our healthcare system, where their words aren’t trusted, their instincts dismissed? Where women are told that they don’t understand their own bodies and how they work?

In procedures, the pain that is inflicted on women is accepted as normal. And the pain women speak about, or seek help for, is also lessened.

Why should we have to put up with so much pain? Why is that normal?

I am not a medical professional, and what’s more I have the utmost respect for those who dedicate their professional lives to helping others. I am sure that the vast majority of doctors and nurses find this situation deeply concerning too. Again, this isn’t about individuals – it is about the systemic lack of research, of resource, of thought given over to lessening the need for pain in gynaecological procedures.

The absence of a dedicated women and girls’ health plan in Wales is unquestionably part of the problem. Other governments, like the Scottish Government, the Norwegian government, the Swedish government, and the Canadian Government, have all published versions of Women and Girls’ Health plans. They have allowed those countries to focus more on ensuring women’s voices are central to their healthcare. Wales is lagging behind.

Our First Minister has laudably spoken about tackling this issue, at long last. But it should not have taken so long. Again, how many women have been lost or have had to endure unacceptable levels of pain because of this delay?

The motion I presented to the Senedd (which was passed unanimously) called for there to be a legal requirement for healthcare providers to collect feedback from female patients about their experiences – especially about gynaecological appointments, midwifery and postnatal services, perinatal mental health and menopause. Too many women are left feeling isolated, violated and in pain after these appointments. It shouldn’t be normal. We have an obligation to ensure that it isn’t.

I also called for the Welsh Government to use its influence to change the curriculums of healthcare courses that are delivered and funded within Wales, to provide additional training in women’s healthcare, and to influence national regulatory bodies like the General Medical Council and the Royal College of General Practitioners to tailor aspects of their training standards to better address women’s health.

I called for them to support research into women’s health issues, particularly into pain-perception and gynaecological cancers. We should be learning from other parts of the world that have found innovative ways of tackling low and late diagnosis rates, like introducing mail-in testing kits for cervical cancer, as happens in Denmark.

The pain suffered by women in their healthcare can be both physical and psychological. It is unacceptable, and it is costing lives. I hope that, now my motion in the Senedd has passed, it will result in improved guidance, changes in procedures, and better training for health professionals. Women make up half our population. Their suffering should not be treated as normal.

This is a shortened, adapted version of a speech given by Delyth Jewell in the Senedd on 2 October