Plan to Decarbonize Norway’s Ammonia Production to Build Leadership

Ammonia plant at Herøya (Dag Frode Heiland photo courtesy of Statkraft)

PUBLISHED AUG 16, 2021 2:34 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

To enable large-scale green ammonia production, a new Norwegian company is launching to decarbonize an existing production plant as part of an effort to support building Norway’s position in the emerging clean energy field. HEGRA, which is co-owned by Yara, Aker Clean Hydrogen and Statkraft aims to electrify and decarbonize the ammonia plant at Heroya in southern Norway on the North Sea.

According to the companies, the timing for establishing HEGRA is important because it will be key to building a well-functioning domestic and regional market before the global demand for ammonia increases. The plant currently produces approximately 500,000 tons of ammonia. Provided that power is available at site and the required public co-funding is in place, the companies said the project to convert Heroya into green production project could be realized in five to seven years.

“HEGRA is more than a new industrial company, it is Norway’s largest climate initiative,” said Auke Lont, Chair of HEGRA’s Board. “The decarbonization project will reduce CO2-emissions by 800,000 tons annually, equivalent to 300,000 fossil-fueled cars. It marks the beginning of developing a Norwegian value chain for green ammonia and hydrogen.”

Green ammonia, produced using renewable energy, would enable the production of carbon-free fertilizer, and is a promising zero-emission fuel for the maritime sector. HEGRA will contribute to creating a new industry based on a regional hydrogen and ammonia market, while contributing to maintaining the competitiveness of the Norwegian maritime and processing industries.

The companies noted that access to emission-free fuel will be key to the future of the maritime industry. They believe that the existing global infrastructure for ammonia will facilitate Norwegian green ammonia becoming a global commodity. With renewable energy in abundance, Norway is in a good position to capture a large share of the emerging global green hydrogen and ammonia value chain.

A report published in 2020 by The Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise found that the hydrogen industry can become a significant Norwegian export industry. They estimated it could reach more than $1 billion by 2030 and $8 billion in 2050.

China Makes a Hard Turn Towards Clean Hydrogen

Chinese solar power company GCL is pivoting to hydrogen (GCL)

PUBLISHED AUG 5, 2021 8:20 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

China is on track to become a powerhouse for the production of green hydrogen, one of the most promising alternative fuels for shipping, according to recent reports from BloombergNEF and Fitch. As the world's largest shipbuilder, largest exporter, largest port operator and third-largest shipowner, China's fuel policy choices will have a significant impact on the composition of the world fleet.

Hydrogen power is prominently included in the Chinese Communist Party's 14th Five-Year Plan. At present, most of China's hydrogen comes from coal gasification or steam reformation of methane, but green hydrogen (from renewable electricity) is a high priority as China takes aim at carbon neutrality by 2060. According to IEA data, China has 20 green hydrogen projects under development today.

As the cost of the electrolyzer units used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen comes down, the share of green hydrogen in China's economy is expected to rise. The Hydrogen Council predicts that electrolyzer prices are going to fall by 70-80 percent within ten years' time, dramatically lowering total cost of production. 

The prospect of a hydrogen value chain is attracting large Chinese companies, including solar manufacturer GCL, which is jettisoning its solar power station assets and investing in new hydrogen projects. It plans to build out about 400,000 tonnes of green hydrogen capacity in China, predominantly from solar power sources, and it is investing in a much larger conventional natural gas-to-hydrogen project in Ethiopia. "We are re-locating ourselves and focusing on a new racing track," GCL Chairman Zhu Gongshan told Reuters.

However, there may be a timeframe mismatch between when Chinese production of electrolyzers ramps up and when demand for electrolyzers materializes. BloombergNEF expects that next year, demand for electrolyzers will be in the range of 2 GW - an unprecedented number driven up by growth in China. The same year, electrolyzer manufacturing capacity will hit 10 GW, rising to 16 GW by 2024 - creating an oversupply that could drive down electrolyzer prices and prompt further uptake. 

“What's happening in China right now is revolutionary for clean hydrogen,” said Martin Tengler, lead hydrogen analyst at BNEF. "Chinese companies are racing to show their compliance with the country's carbon neutrality target, pushing the market for electrolyzers . . . to be at least nine times bigger in 2022 than in 2020."

REVIVING OLD WELLS

Design Begins for Malaysian Carbon Capture and Storage Project

Xodus will design the CCS project for the platform (Xodus)

PUBLISHED AUG 9, 2021 8:09 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The development of the first complete Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, offshore Malaysia, is getting underway for the oil and gas company Petronas. The conceptual engineering design contract for the project was awarded to the global energy consultancy Xodus. 

The Kasawari CCS project, off the coast of Sarawak, will comprise the capture and processing of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the sour gas field development, which will then be injected in a depleted gas field. This project is a key element of PETRONAS’ aspiration of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

“CCS will be a key part of a global transition to net-zero carbon emissions and our international experience and expertise will support PETRONAS in delivering sustainability across future projects,” said Simon Allison, Xodus’ Regional Director for Asia Pacific. “This is a significant step for PETRONAS and Malaysia and aligns with our ethos of delivering a responsible energy future. The award of this contract is a demonstration of the success of our expansion and recognition of our growing footprint across the APAC region.”

Xodus provides engineering services for the operator’s Malaysian and international developments and under the agreement is developing the feasibility studies and conceptual design for the CCS project. In delivering for Kasawari, Xodus will also enable knowledge and expertise exchange with its Malaysian client and contractor communities. Xodus has extensive experience across all aspects of CCS including designing and operating systems to capture, process, transport, inject and store CO2. 

 

Environmentalists Urge US Navy Involvement in Final Golden Ray Salvage

Two sections of the Golden Ray remain with the team preparing for the final cut (St. Simons Sound Incident Response photo)

PUBLISHED AUG 15, 2021 4:58 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

As the salvage team working on the Golden Ray approaches the final cut and the removal of the last sections of the wrecked car carrier, a local environmental group is calling for experts from the U.S. Navy’s Salvage Division to become involved. After the recent oil spill, which was the largest since the cutting and removal began, the Georgia group One Hundred Miles fears that the last sections could lead to another significant spill, which they warn could be catastrophic to the sensitive marshes along St. Simon’s Sound.

“As we enter the last stage of salvage operations, significant concerns remain,” the environmental group writes on its website. “As much as 44,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil, along with other hazardous chemicals and debris, remained onboard when initial cutting began.” 

The group is urging the U.S. Coast Guard Commander for the region, Admiral Brendan McPherson, the Commander of the 7th District of the U.S. Coast Guard, to ask the U.S. Navy Salvage Division for their expertise and assistance with the remaining clean-up process. “The Navy's expertise, equipment, and additional manpower can improve the outcome of the salvage operation, and their involvement is necessary to prevent further injury to human and environmental health.”

Over the weekend, the Unified Command announced that it had finally been able to remove section six of the wreck after a delay while they had addressed the recent oil leak. On August 13, they lifted section six onto the barge after completing the removal of debris and sediment, and the following day tugs towed the barge to a response facility south of Mayor’s Point Terminal. 

 

Welders prepare to attach cradles to the hull-side of section six (St. Simons Sound Incident response photo)
 

The environmental group’s concerns about the remaining hazardous materials aboard were highlighted by a small oil discharge this weekend with the Unified Command reporting that approximately 25 pollution response vessels quickly mitigated an oil discharge using oil skimmers, Current Busters, and a sorbent boom. In total, on-water pollution response teams recovered approximately 2,300 gallons of oil during the controlled lifting operations that began on July 31 for section six, according to the Unified Command.

One Hundred Miles also wrote to the Coast Guard commander alleging inadequacy of the booms surrounding the ship’s environmental protection barriers contending that the boom was only built to withstand currents less than one knot even though Georgia’s coast has currents of four knots. 

A spokesman for the salvage operation speaking to the local Brunswick News said that the team had been challenged by the “rapidly changing currents within the sound,” but that they were constantly monitoring the wreck site and surrounding areas and had scaled up their response teams within 48 hours of the most recent oil spill, with the teams continuing to work across the area.

 

Response vessels recover an oil discharge using a Current Buster (St. Simons Sound Incident response photo)

A shoreline clean-up team removes oiled sand on a beach near Gould’s Inlet  (St. Simons Sound Incident response photo)

 

The environmental group says that it is unclear how much oil remains aboard in the last two sections of the vessel and worries that another large spill could happen based on the leak experienced when the team started raising section six from the water preparing it to be loaded on the recycling barge. The Unified Command originally reported that the vessel had approximately 380,000 gallons of fuel when it heeled over in the sound in September 2019. After some initial oil leaks, the salvage team removed 327,000 gallons of fuel at the end of 2019 according to the newspaper, leading to the contention of the environmentalists that more than 40,000 gallons could have been trapped aboard the vessel.

The Unified Command’s spokesperson told the Brunswick News that they had not expected the scale of the last leak this late in the salvage operation. However, they said that the command has already been and continues to consult both with the salvage experts at the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard.

With section six having been removed from the site, the VB-10,000 being used for the cutting and lifting operations began a refitting period on August 15 to prepare for the final cutting operation to separate the two remaining sections of the wreck. The VB 10,000 rig will be repositioned over the remaining 153-foot section of the wreck and the final cut will begin. After the last two sections are removed for recycling, the operation will move into its final phase which includes a review of the site and remediation. 
 

 

 

Construction Proceeding on World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm 

Completed substations were loaded onto a heavy lift vessel (Sembcorp Marine)

PUBLISHED AUG 16, 2021 4:21 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Construction is proceeding with additional components completed for what is projected to become the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Located approximately 50 miles off England’s Yorkshire Coast in the North Sea, Orsted’s Hornsea Two Offshore Wind Farm will have a capacity of 1.4 GW when it goes into service in 2022.

Recently, Semborp Marine in Singapore completed the assembly of the topside units for the wind field consisting of the offshore substation and reactive compensation station. The construction is the largest AC offshore substation and combined with the other unit they together weigh over 10,200 tons. The two units were recently placed aboard a heavy lift vessel and departed Singapore on August 15. The substations are expected to reach the UK by late September. Once there they will be integrated with their jackets, which were installed in October 2020.

“With plans to have the wind farm operational in 2022, this is a very exciting milestone for Hornsea Two,” said Patrick Harnett, Senior Programme Director for Orsted. “Hornsea Two will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm and is already paving the way for future renewable energy projects which will have a significant impact on our mission to reach net-zero.”

The construction work at the installation site began in summer 2019 and continues to make strong progress. Recently, Rostock-based EEW Special Pipe Constructions announced that it had completed the last of the monopiles for the site. They were shipped to Eemshaven and from there are then being transported to the installation. A total of 165 monopiles were built in Rostock for the wind farm.

The site marked a key milestone at the end of May 2021, when the first turbine was raised into position. The first load out of turbines left the port of Hull in May on the installation vessel Sea Challenger, owned by DEME Offshore. The turbines include the new 265-foot-long blades which have been manufactured at Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy’s blade factory in Hull. 

In a recent update, they reported that as of mid-August 50 of the turbines were now in position. The completed array will have 165 8MW Siemens turbines installed, each standing 656 feet above sea level, with a rotor diameter of 578 feet.

South Korea Awards First Offshore Wind Farm License

(file photo)

PUBLISHED AUG 11, 2021 2:26 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

South Korea awarded the first license for a floating offshore wind farm to be developed in a partnership between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG) and TotalEnergies. With a maximum installed capacity of 1.5 GW developed across three phases, the project is projected to be one of the largest floating offshore wind developments in the world.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s Electricity Regulatory Commission granted the partners an Electricity Business License (EBL) for their offshore wind project to be located near Ulsan, Korea. The EBL grants the partners exclusive development rights to progress the project’s first phase, which will consist of 504 MW. Detailed environmental impact assessments will now commence on phase one, and construction is expected to start in 2024.

“The award of an EBL is a significant milestone in the development of GIG and TotalEnergies’ Ulsan floating offshore wind farm,” said Shin Jungwon. TotalEnergies’ Country Chair for Korea. “We recently completed our wind resource measurement campaign, and having now been awarded exclusive development rights, we’re looking forward to starting detailed environmental impact and engineering assessments.”

The wind farm is part of South Korea’s Green New Deal that calls for the construction of 8 GW of wind-generated power as part of its plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Through the project, GIG and TotalEnergies said they aim to help deliver the Korean government’s Green New Deal, revitalize local economies, and support high-skilled employment opportunities. The partners are committed to utilizing the local supply chain whenever possible and are actively collaborating with shipbuilders and heavy industry companies in Ulsan to help revive Korea’s offshore industries.  

“With its fantastic infrastructure and offshore experience, Ulsan is the perfect location for floating offshore wind development. That’s why GIG and TotalEnergies are joining hands with Korea’s world-class shipbuilding and offshore industries to deliver this market-leading project. By bringing together specialist local know-how with GIG and TotalEnergie’s global expertise, the Ulsan project will place Korea at the forefront of the global floating offshore wind market,” said Woojin Choi, Managing Director, GIG Korea.

Once operational, the full 1.5 GW project is expected to produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of over 1.5 million households and reduce emissions by approximately 2.3 million tCO2e per annum.

It is also the first of several projects the partnership is seeking to develop. GIG and TotalEnergies also recently submitted a bid into Scotland’s latest offshore wind leasing round, ScotWind, and secured rights to develop the 1.5 GW Outer Dowsing Offshore Wind project off the east coast of England.

Senators Propose Bill to Spur Offshore Wind Manufacturing and Vessels

Massachusetts is pushing forward with the Vineland project (file photo)

PUBLISHED AUG 12, 2021 8:37 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

U.S. Senators representing Massachusetts and New Jersey are proposing legislation that they say will help to spur the domestic manufacturing and deployment of offshore wind projects. Saying that to date the offshore wind supply chain is concentrated in Europe, China, and South Korea, the senators from two of the states expected to be the first to launch large scale offshore wind farms are calling for investment tax credits and a production tax credit for qualified offshore wind components and dedicated offshore wind vessels.

Calling their proposed legislation the Offshore Wind American Manufacturing Act, they said it would prioritize American workers and require prevailing wages for laborers involved in the construction and expansion of qualified manufacturing facilities or the manufacture of qualified offshore wind products. Many states have already proposed massive programs to create wind ports and manufacturing sites as part of a means of rehabilitating ports and supporting the birth of the offshore wind industry. In addition, the U.S. has already said that vessels involved in the wind sector would be subject to the Jones Act in a similar fashion to how the cabotage laws were applied to the offshore oil and gas industry.

“Offshore wind is a booming market, but without effective manufacturing policy, American workers will be left behind,” said Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts. “The Offshore Wind American Manufacturing Act helps ensure that each offshore wind turbine deployed in the United States over the next 10 years is made in America.”

The proposal calls for the creation of a 30 percent investment tax credit for qualified facilities that manufacture offshore wind components and subcomponents that would reduce the high capital costs required to build, upgrade, or retool a facility. The investment tax credit would be complemented by a new production tax credit that ranges from two to five cents per watt multiplied by the total rated capacity of the turbine. The production tax credit varies by components including blades, towers, nacelles, generators, gearboxes, foundations, and related vessels.

“Federal investment in offshore wind manufacturing is good for the environment, good for the economy, and good for the American people,” said co-sponsor of the proposal Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey. “It will create good-paying jobs, expand the nation’s manufacturing base, and keep the U.S. on the cutting edge of new, green technologies, ensuring our nation’s economic competitiveness in the face of emerging environmental challenges.”

The full investment tax credit would be available until December 31, 2028, and phase out annually afterward. The production tax credit would be available until December 31, 2030. 

In introducing the proposal, the senators said that the offshore wind industry is a critical part of the U.S. efforts to combat climate change and create energy independence. They are confident that their proposal would help create thousands of manufacturing jobs and ensure that the United States meets President Joe Biden’s offshore wind goal of 30 GW by 2030.

ECOCIDE

Video: Oil Leaks from Crimson Polaris Wreck Off Japan 

The oil leak is spreading rapidly from the stern of the Crimson Polaris (Japan Coast Guard)

PUBLISHED AUG 12, 2021 10:08 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Efforts are continuing to monitor the wreck of the bulker Crimson Polaris as oil continues to leak from the vessel and overspread the area. The wood chip carrier grounded on August 11 and broke apart after the crew had been rescued.

The Japan Coast Guard and NYK Line, which had chartered the vessel, provided additional details on the accident and the efforts to contain the scope of the environmental damage. NYK reported that the vessel had 1,550 MT of heavy fuel oil aboard and an additional 130 MT of light oil when it grounded. So far, they have not determined how much oil has leaked from the ship after it broke apart early on August 12.

Initial reports said the oil slick had spread approximately three miles from the vessel and was more than half a mile wide. The Japan Coast Guard overflew the scene of the wreck providing video that shows the scope of the oil slick. Patrol boats are spraying dispersant on the oil while absorption mats have also been deployed. Oil recovery companies have been retained and were prepared to begin beach cleaning as the oil reaches the shore.

 

 

Despite the efforts, the oil slick appears to be spreading rapidly. End-of-day reports cited the slick as having reached up to 15 miles. The local fishermen in the area are also expressing concern as the squid fishing season was due to begin next month.

NYK reported that the bow of the Crimson Polaris remains firm on its anchor chains. There is no immediate fear of its sinking, but some concern has been raised that it might drag its anchors and possibly be washed out into deep water. The vessel split between the No 5 and 6 cargo hold. The stern section appears to have settled onto the seabed at approximately a 45-degree angle. 

The Japan Coast Guard also provided additional details on the events leading up to the accident. The vessel reportedly grounded in the strong winds and rough seas as it approached the harbor at Hachinohe, Japan. The reports suggest that the vessel was able to free itself and move into deeper water, but was unable to navigate and dropped its anchors due to the weather. Initial reports indicated cracks had formed and NYK said an undetermined amount of the wood chip cargo had spilled. There were no reports of an oil leak before the vessel split.  

A team of five was sent by NYK to the location to oversee the cleanup operations and coordinate with the ship’s owner and Japan Coast Guard. Their focus is on containing the environmental pollution while they are also working with salvage companies to determine a plan for the wreck. In the interim, they are continuing to monitor the behavior of the two sections looking for any indication that they are moving from their current position approximately two and a half miles off the coast.

 

Patrol boats from the Japan Coast Guard are spraying the water to disperse the oil

Photos and video courtesy of 2nd Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters

Photos: Japanese Bulker Breaks Apart After Stranding off Japan

Crimson Polaris split after grounding (courtesy of Japan Coast Guard)

PUBLISHED AUG 11, 2021 10:41 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

A Japanese dry bulk carrier transporting wood chips grounded during a storm and later broke apart off the port of Hachinohe on the northeast coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu. The Japan Coast Guard successfully evacuated the crew without incident and initially reported that the vessel was not in danger.

The 39,910 gross ton Crimson Polaris operated by NYK Line was reported to be inbound on August 11 from Thailand fully loaded with 44,000 tons of wood chips when the vessel encountered a steering problem. It was washed ashore by strong winds. Media reports indicated that the captain reported losing control although NYK said in a statement that the vessel had anchored outside the port due to the severe weather.

The Japan Coast Guard received a distress call from the vessel at around 7:50 a.m. local time. Shortly after 2:00 p.m., they began an airlift by helicopter lasting approximately five hours to ferry the 21 crew to shore.

 

Japan Coast Guard helicoptered the crew to shore

 

In its first report NYK said that some cargo had leaked from the vessel due to damage to the hull. The Japan Coast Guard reported that it had not seen an oil spill and they believed the vessel was safe. However, at 4:15 a.m. on August 12 the Crimson Polaris broke in two just forward of the deckhouse.

The wreck is approximately 2.5 miles offshore. An undetermined amount of oil has reportedly spilled with an investigation and containment efforts underway.

The vessel was built in 2008 and owned by MI-Das Line (Doun Kisen) and registered in Panama.  It was managed by Misuka Kaiun. It was a dedicated wood chip carrier with dimensions of 656 feet in length and a 106-foot beam.

Additional details are expected after a briefing from the Japan Coast Guard.

 

Photos courtesy of the Japan Coast Guard 

 

The Grand Egyptian Museum to Display 4,600 Year Old Ship

King Khufu Solar Boat (Olaf Tausch photo / GNU Free Documentation License)

PUBLISHED AUG 13, 2021 3:38 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Egypt is proceeding with efforts to preserve and display the world’s oldest intact ship following the relocation of a 4,600-year-old Pharaoh’s ship to a new museum that is set to open outside the capital Cairo. As part of efforts to preserve its ancient heritage, the country has relocated the King Khufu Solar Boat from the archaeological site of the Giza pyramids to a dedicated building within the Grand Egyptian Museum, a state-of-the-art venue slated to open later this year.

Presumably built for King Khufu, the Solar Boat is considered to be the oldest intact ship in the world. Linking to King Khufu it is believed to have been placed around 2500 BCE in a pit at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Giza and was discovered in 1954 by the Egyptologist Kamal el-Mallakh. The boat was first shown to the public in 1985 in the Giza Solar Boat Museum, close to where it was found.

The delicate operation to transport the boat to its new home was undertaken the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities in collaboration with a consortium of Belgium’s Besix and Egypt’s Orascom Construction. It took six months to prepare for the 10-hour trip operation. The two companies are also in charge of the construction of the Grand Egyptian Museum, the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilization. Earlier this year in a spectacular show, Egypt became moving other artifacts to the museum.

“The project to transport the first Khufu boat aims to preserve the largest, oldest and most important organic relic, made of wood, in human history, which is more than 4600 years old, and to display it in a proper manner commensurate with its importance in the Grand Egyptian Museum,” said the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The ship, which weighs 45 tons with a length of 143 feet and a width of 19 feet, was transported to its new home by a self-propelled modular transporter that reached its destination at a speed of one kilometer per hour.

“This will be a major museum jewel for the world to which we have just added a fantastic additional piece, the world’s oldest intact ship,” said Pierre Sironval, BESIX Group Deputy CEO.

The Grand Egyptian Museum is one of the largest constructions in modern Egypt and will be the home of thousands of objects documenting Egyptian civilization, including the treasure of Tutankhamun whose 5,300 objects will be displayed for the first time since their discovery in 1922. Built on the Giza Plateau, the museum has a total surface area of approximately five million square feet and is expected to attract millions of visitors annually to Egypt.

 

(Photo courtesy of Olaf Tausch under GNU Free Documentation License)

 

CAN'T GET A BREAK

Tropical storm Grace drenching earthquake-stricken Haiti

By MARK STEVENSON and EVENS SANON

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Injured people lie in beds outside the Immaculée Conception hospital in Les Cayes, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 16, 2021, two days after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the southwestern part of the country. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

LES CAYES, Haiti (AP) — Tropical Storm Grace swept over Haiti with drenching rains just two days after a powerful earthquake battered the impoverished Caribbean nation, adding to the misery of thousands who lost loved ones, suffered injuries or found themselves homeless and forcing overwhelmed hospitals and rescuers to act quickly.

After nightfall, heavy rain and strong winds whipped at the country’s southwestern area, hit hardest by Saturday’s quake, and officials warned that rainfall could reach 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some areas before the storm moved on. Port-au-Prince, the capital, also saw heavy rains. Grace regained tropical storm status after previously falling to the level of a tropical depression.

The storm arrived on the same day that the country’s Civil Protection Agency raised the death toll from the earthquake to 1,419 and the number of injured to 6,000, many of whom have had to wait for medical help lying outside in wilting heat.

Grace’s rain and wind raised the threat of mudslides and flash flooding as it slowly passed by southwestern Haiti’s Tiburon Peninsula overnight, before heading toward .Jamaica and southeastern Cuba on Tuesday.

The quake nearly wrecked some towns in the southwest in the latest disaster to befall the Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation. Haitians already were struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, gang violence, worsening poverty and the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

“We are in an exceptional situation,” Prime Minister Ariel Henry told reporters Monday afternoon as the storm approached.

A hospital in the badly damaged town of Les Cayes was so crowded with patients after the earthquake that many had to lie in patios, corridors, verandas and hallways, but the approaching storm had officials scrambling to relocate them as best they could.

“We had planned to put up tents (in hospital patios), but we were told that could not be safe,” said Gede Peterson, director of Les Cayes General Hospital.

It is not the first time the hospital has been forced to improvise. The refrigeration in the hospital’s morgue has not worked for three months, but after the earthquake struck Saturday, staff had to store as many as 20 bodies in the small space. Relatives quickly came to take most to private embalming services or immediate burial. By Monday, only three bodies were in the morgue.

“We are working now to ensure that the resources we have are going to get to the places that are hardest hit,” said Civil Protection Agency head Jerry Chandler, referring to the hard-hit towns of Les Cayes and Jeremie and the department of Nippes.

Quake victims continued to stream to Les Cayes’ overwhelmed general hospital, waiting on stair steps, in corridors and on an open veranda.

“After two days, they are almost always generally infected,” said Dr. Paurus Michelete, who had treated 250 patients and was one of only three doctors on call when the quake hit. He added that pain killers, analgesics and steel pins to mend fractures were running out amid the crush of patients.

Meanwhile, rescuers and scrap metal scavengers dug into the floors of a collapsed hotel in the coastal town, where 15 bodies had already been extracted. Jean Moise Fortunè, whose brother, the hotel owner and a prominent politician, was killed in the quake, believed there were more people trapped in the rubble.

But based on the size of voids that workers cautiously peered into, perhaps a foot (30 centimeters) in depth, finding survivors appeared unlikely.

As work, fuel and money ran out, desperate Les Cayes residents searched collapsed houses for scrap metal to sell. Others waited for money wired from abroad, a mainstay of Haiti’s economy even before the quake.

Anthony Emile waited six hours in a line with dozens of others trying to get money that his brother had wired from Chile, where he has worked since the 2010 quake that devastated Haiti’s capital and killed tens of thousands.

“We have been waiting since morning for it, but there are too many people,” said Emile, a banana farmer who said relatives in the countryside depend on him giving them money to survive.

In Jeremie, Police Commissioner Paul Menard denied a social media report about looting.

“If it were going to happen, it would have been on the first or second night,” Menard said.

Officials said the magnitude 7.2 earthquake left more than 7,000 homes destroyed and nearly 5,000 damaged from the quake, leaving some 30,000 families homeless. Hospitals, schools, offices and churches also were destroyed or badly damaged.

Josil Eliophane, 84, crouched on the steps of Les Cayes General Hospital, clutching an X-ray showing his shattered arm bone and pleading for pain medication. Michelete said he would give one of his few remaining shots to Eliophane, who ran out of his house as the quake hit, only to have a wall fall on him.

Nearby, on the hospital’s open-air veranda, patients were on beds and mattresses, hooked up to IV bags of saline fluid. Others lay in the garden under bed sheets erected to shield them from the sun. None of the patients or relatives caring for them wore face masks amid a coronavirus surge.

Structural engineers from Miyamoto International, a global earthquake and structural engineering firm, visited hard-hit areas Monday to help with damage assessment and urban search and rescue efforts. Chief among their duties was inspecting government water towers and the damaged offices of charities in the region, said CEO and president Kit Miyamoto.

Miyamoto said he has seen places devastated by earthquakes build back stronger. He said the destruction in Port-au-Prince from the 2010 tremor led masons and others to improve their building practices. People in the capital felt the Saturday morning tremor centered about 75 miles to the west and rushed into the streets in fear but there weren’t any reports of damage there.

“Port-au-Prince building is much better than it was in 2010 — I know that,” Miyamoto said. “It’s a huge difference, but that knowledge is not widespread. The focus is definitely on Port-au-Prince.”

___

Associated Press writers Trenton Daniel in New York and Regina Garcia Cano in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Haiti's troubled history may slow aid to earthquake victims

Humanitarian aid is flowing into Haiti following Saturday’s deadly 7.2-magnitude earthquake. However, the Caribbean nation’s political unrest, as well as an approaching tropical storm, is complicating efforts.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Nonprofit groups and philanthropy experts say the assassination last month of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, as well as accusations that money raised following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti never reached those in need, will make fundraising for the nation even tougher.

Art delaCruz, CEO of Team Rubicon, a nonprofit that deploys emergency response teams to work with first responders in disaster areas, said the first briefing his teams in Haiti and the Dominican Republic had with support teams in the United States was about security.

“The assassination of the president, the almost gang-like existence there, it really increases the risk to organizations like ours that deploy into this situation,” delaCruz said. However, Team Rubicon, which was founded in 2010 by Marines Jake Wood and William McNulty in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, has experience on the ground in the country and in similar situations around the world.

“It’s dicey for everyone because the information is incomplete and the situation is dynamic,” delaCruz said. “One way we have a competitive advantage on this is we are an organization where 70% of the volunteers are veterans. They have seen this kind of an environment.”

Nate Mook, CEO of World Central Kitchen, cited the need for adaptability as well. He was in Haiti's capital Port-au-Prince on Monday, managing the nonprofit's efforts to combat food insecurity following the earthquake, but found that its transportation system was needed to bring injured people to the hospital.

“We’ve been really focusing, not just on food, but also how we can support our local partners,” he said. “We’ve spent a lot of time here. We know how to navigate the complexities."

Haiti inspired chef Jose Andres to found World Central Kitchen following the 2010 earthquake and the nonprofit has maintained a presence there, opening a culinary school in 2015 that is now one of two bases of operations to provide thousands of meals a day.

“People are hungry and they’re getting desperate and that creates instability and a lot of concerns, so we need to work with our partners to get them food, to make sure food is available,” Mook said.

Skyler Badenoch, CEO of the Florida nonprofit Hope for Haiti, says the response has also been complicated because its staff has been directly affected by the disaster. The organization is now gearing up to distribute $60 million worth of first aid supplies and medical equipment to help those affected, he said.

Aid to Haiti has been probed for years and scrutiny intensified in 2015 when an investigation from ProPublica and NPR questioned where $500 million raised by the American Red Cross was spent.

The American Red Cross said in an emailed statement that it is not seeking donations for Haiti relief at this time, but will work with its partners — including the Haitian Red Cross and the Red Crescent — to respond to the earthquake. It also disputed the ProPublica/NPR findings. “Americans donated generously in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake to save lives — which is exactly what their donations did," it said in a statement.



Despite the criticisms the Red Cross has received, Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre, an expert in humanitarian aid and professor at George Washington University, said she believes donors will continue to rely on the organization because of its reputation.

“It has been resilient,” she said, partly because the organization is easily recognized by donors for its work with blood drives, and other things.

This time around, Marleine Bastien, the executive director of the Family Action Network Movement, a social service organization based in the “Little Haiti” neighborhood in Florida, says her organization will devise a plan to hold accountable every group that’s collecting donations for Haiti.

“We definitely do not want another film titled ‘Where Did The Money Go’?” Bastien said, in reference to the 2012 documentary that looked at donations given to Haiti relief following the 2010 earthquake.

The deadly earthquake hit Haiti at the same time a growing humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia, and instability is rocking Afghanistan. Deloffre, of George Washington University, said she believes fundraising prospects for the country are bleak.

“I unfortunately do not expect broad global attention to the earthquake in Haiti,” she said. “Or public giving, on the same scale as we saw in response to the 2010 earthquake.”

Past allegations of misspent donations have created some hesitancy as well, said Badenoch, of Hope for Haiti, though the need following the most recent earthquake may be even more intense.

“It is quite possible that Haiti is going to need more help than ever before,” said Akim Kikonda, Catholic Relief Services' country representative in Haiti.

Laura Durington, Catholic Relief Services' director of annual giving, said the group, which has worked there for 50 years, is providing whatever help that it can. It started to distribute emergency supplies Monday because they had stockpiled tents and metal sheeting there previously.

“Yes, there have been some bad actors, but not giving because of that is short-sighted," Durington said. “It's really frustrating, because every penny that was given to us for Haiti went to Haiti. There has been incremental, positive change. And Haiti's needs are so critical right now.”

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The Associated Press receives support from the Lilly Endowment for coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.

Haleluya Hadero And Glenn Gamboa, The Associated Press

Among France’s poorest, once-lagging vaccine rates jump

By CONSTANTIN GOUVY

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A man who presents himself as Michel Michel, shows signs of joy as the Red Cross volunteers activated his sanitary pass on his phone in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. He planned to travel that same day to see his family, and was unable to use the pass, even though he has received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. The impoverished Seine-Saint-Denis region is facing many challenges to provide vaccines to a population where many don't speak French and lack access to regular medical care. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

LE BOURGET, France (AP) — The poorest region in mainland France has managed to dramatically speed up its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in recent weeks, notably by opening walk-in pop-up centers to reach out to people where they live and work.

The multicultural, working-class region of Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, initially struggled in getting the word out about vaccines to a population where many are immigrants who don’t speak French or lack access to regular medical care.

But offering vaccinations at a highly visible location wth easy access seems to be doing the trick.

Manuela Buval, 53, was waiting for her teenage son, who was getting his first vaccine shot Friday in a public park in Le Bourget.

“Everybody in the neighborhood walks through the park ... whether on their way to work or to come play with their children,” she said.

Without the Red Cross pop-up vaccination center, Mona Muhammad, 24, said she would have had to leave her children at her sister’s on the other side of Paris in order to get to a large vaccination center outside of town.

“But thankfully, I can get my vaccine here in the city center while my kids play in the park,” she said.

This region on Paris’ northeast edge, where over a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line, had registered the highest rise in mortality in the country when COVID-19 first spread in France last year.

After trailing below the national vaccination rate average for months, the region is now three points above it, with 71% of its population having received at least a first dose. About 57% of people are fully vaccinated in France.

The success story is, in great part, the result of local initiatives. Since June, the Red Cross has vaccinated over 10,000 people at walk-in pop-up vaccination centers it set up across the region.

Immigrants and people staying in the country with no legal permission form a majority of those the Red Cross has vaccinated in its center in Le Bourget.

“Regular vaccination centers are like huge factories. We have a more local approach. Our goal is to bring the vaccine to people who would otherwise fall through the cracks of the system,” explained Roger Fontaine, the president of the Red Cross in Seine-Saint-Denis.

For Le Bourget Mayor Jean-Baptiste Borsali, French President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on July 12 that a health pass would be required for many daily activities has been an important factor in driving up vaccination rates in the region.

The pass shows proof that people are fully vaccinated, have recently tested negative or have recovered from the virus. It is needed to enter restaurants, bars, sports arenas or get on long-distance trains, planes and buses, and many younger people have realized that the pass is vital to maintain a social life.

“We saw a real difference from one day to the next,” Borsali said, and many of those visiting the vaccination center last week confirmed that the new health pass requirement played a role in their decision to get a shot.

Up to 75% of the region’s population are immigrants or have immigrant roots, and its residents speak 130 different languages. Le Bourget is no exception, being home to a large Sri Lankan community, some of whose members don’t speak French.

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Just after being vaccinated, Anusuya Thangavel, center, 32-years-old, helps a young Sri Lankan to fill in his health form in Le Bourget, north of Paris, Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. The impoverished Seine-Saint-Denis region is facing many challenges to provide vaccines to a population where many don't speak French and lack access to regular medical care. (AP Photo/Adrienne Surprenant)

Anandarajah Rishi, a 42-year-old insurance expert and Red Cross volunteer with Sri Lankan roots, was called in at the pop-up center over his lunch break on Friday to translate for those who needed help filling in their medical forms.

“I always keep my (Red Cross) uniform in my car, just in case,” he explained. “When it comes to health, it’s important that we are able to speak with them in their mother tongue, to establish trust and make sure that we get their correct medical information.”

Anusuya Thangavel, a 32-year-old business manager also from Sri Lanka, acknowledged it was reassuring to her and her relatives that they could speak in their native tongue to medical workers.

Pop-up vaccination centers also play a crucial role in reaching people with no legal documents allowing them to stay in France. While the French health care system is meant to provide accessible medical treatment for all, those without a valid government-issued ID and proof of enrollment in the country’s social security system cannot be vaccinated at regular centers.

Fontaine realized the scope of the problem after a person delivering food to the vaccination team initially turned down their offer to get the shot.

“We quickly understood he was staying illegally, but we vaccinated him regardless. The next day, he came back with all of his friends who were in the same situation,” he recounted. “We don’t turn anyone away here.”

The Red Cross walk-in centers have also been a “game-changer” for people who work long or unusual hours and cannot make it to large vaccination facilities during traditional work hours, Borsali said.

Many, like Hibach Noureddine, a 50-year-old taxi driver, said taking time off work to go out of town and wait in line for a vaccine shot was a loss of income they simply could not afford.

For Macina Sira, a cleaner in her 40s, the pop-up center was a big relief. “For those who work long hours and have children like me, going to the larger vaccination centers is complicated,” she said. “They’re far away, and you can’t bring your children out there.”

While Seine-Saint-Denis is overcoming vaccination barriers, inoculation rates and demand for vaccines remain low in France’s most impoverished lands of all: its overseas territories.

The French Caribbean islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe in particular, have seen sky-rocketing infections in recent weeks, mainly among the non-vaccinated, prompting France to send in more medical assistance to cope with the problem.

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