Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Full Reopening of Baltimore's Ship Channel Delayed

Contractors work to clear the last wreckage from the federal channel, May 23 (USACE)

The challenging task of removing the final piece of Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge will take a bit longer than expected, according to the federal unified command that is managing restoration of the navigation channel.

Since May 20, merchant ships have been able to take advantage of a channel measuring 50 feet deep and 400 feet wide. This is the typical control depth of the federal channel, and its restoration means that typical vessel traffic can pass through the gap. Even though the damaged boxship Dali has been refloated and removed, the channel is still narrower than before the bridge collapse, because one remaining section of the main span remains embedded in the mud.

In order to restore the rated width of the channel, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Navy Supervisor of Diving and Salvage, and a team of commercial contractors are still digging, cutting and hauling to remove steel from the water.

“We are not taking our foot off the gas,” said Col. Estee S. Pinchasin, USACE, Baltimore District commander. “We are pushing forward as quickly and safely as possible to reach 700 feet and ensuring we remove all wreckage to prevent any impact to future navigation.”

The team still has to pull the bottom chord of the last truss section out of the riverbed. This requires cutting it carefully and safely into three pieces, then hoisting it with a giant crane. About one-third of the truss section is visible in imagery from the scene; the majority is below water, and much of it is embedded in sediment. The current plan is to dig it out of the mud line where needed to make access for scuts, sever it into sections underwater, and rig it for lifting. “This effort is more complex than initially estimated,” Pinchasin said.

Because of the difficulty of this task and the need to perform it with a high level of safety, the team now estimates that the work will take until June 8 at the earliest, and possibly as late as June 10. Initially, the unified command had hoped to fully reopen the federal channel by the beginning of June.

The narrower channel has not deterred shipping interests from returning to Baltimore. Over the past week, the unified command demobilized its temporary office space in Baltimore's cruise terminal so that passengers could board the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Vision of the Seas this weekend. It was the first time that a cruise ship departed the port since the Dali hit and destroyed the Key Bridge in late March.

"It's excitement, you know, it's a great day for Baltimore, a great day for the community here . . . and we're looking forward to continue cruising out of Baltimore," Capt. Mise Tevsic told local 11 News.

Panama Canal Completes Clean-Up from MSC Boxship Oil Spill

The Panama Canal Authority was working to complete the clean-up of one of the locks at the southern end of the waterway near Balboa after an oil spill. The incident happened on Sunday, May 26 while an MSC vessel was transiting the locks bound for Ecuador.

According to the report, the authority suspended operations in one lane at the Miraflores locks after they discovered the oil during the locking operation. Crews were able to contain the spill to the one lock chamber and began a cleaning and recovery operation. The MSC Kataya R. (63,259 dwt) was held in the lock chamber during the cleanup.

The vessel, built in 2002, is approximately 922 feet (281 meters) in length with a capacity of 4,100 TEU. She is owned by SFL and has been operating for MSC on charter since 2015. The containership is registered in Liberia.

The lock remained closed all day on Monday, May 27, with pictures showing crews washing down the vessel and collecting the oil from the lock water. The authority said the vessel would remain in the upper chamber of the lock until the clean-up operation was completed and inspections were completed. No reason was given for the oil discharge.

As of Wednesday, the vessel has been moved into the Panama Anchorage and the canal was reporting that the Miraflores center was reopening.

The temporary delay comes as the Panama Canal is working to increase the number of daily transits. The authority reported this week that water levels in the main reservoirs had for the first time exceeded levels of a year ago. With increased rain and waterflow the authority plans to restore transits. By June 1, the authority expects to be back to 32 daily transits and they are planning to begin increasing the draft levels to ease the transit for more vessels. Panama begins its rainy season in June which is expected to contribute to further improvements after severe restrictions due to the lack of rain in 2023.

GAO Criticizes Missteps and Unstable Design for Constellation Frigate

Citing multiple missteps in the design process, the Government Accountability Office issued a report today with five recommendations to get the U.S. Constellation frigate construction program back on track. The report cites an unstable design process noting that work on the first vessel is largely at a standstill months after construction began and the delivery schedule for the new vessels is compromised.

The GAO is making five specific recommendations in its 52-page report after it reviewed the status of the project. The Navy has fully accepted four of the points which focus on restructuring the “design stability metric,” as well as improving the metric to assess the design stability before beginning construction of a second vessel. Last week, the Department of Defense reported that it had exercised the options for the fifth and sixth vessels of the class after having placed an order for up to 10 ships in 2020.

The report outlines how the Navy was looking to accelerate construction for this new class of vessel, a multi-mission, small surface combatant warship. The Navy aims to build up to 20 frigates at a combined cost of $22 billion. To achieve the goals for accelerating the program, the Navy planned to incorporate proven elements of other vessels and modify the design of an existing class of vessels developed by Fincantieri.

“However, the Navy’s decision to begin construction before the design was completed is inconsistent with the leading ship design practices, and jeopardizes this approach,” concludes the GAO. While work was begun on the grand modules of the vessel, the GAO published a chart that shows the vast majority of the design was calculated as of October 2023 to be less than three-quarters complete.

Only two systems, the propulsion and machinery control systems, have yet to be demonstrated. The GAO calls for using the construction delays to conduct land-based testing of these two unproven systems. As such, the GAO believes it would reduce the chances of problems once the vessel is on the water.

The Navy confirmed that the project is far behind the original schedule for delivery of the first vessel in April 2026. The GAO reports that the Navy now forecasts the first ship will be delivered three years late in 2029. The contract for the sixth ship called for a 2030 delivery.

The GAO wants the Navy to restructure its design stability metric to measure progress based more on quality than quantity of design documents. They also warn that the Navy must use an improved metric to assess the stability of the design before proceeding to the second vessel. According to the GAO, the flawed system limits insights into whether the program’s schedule is achievable.

“If the Navy begins construction on the second frigate without improving this metric, it risks repeating the same errors that resulted in construction disruptions and delays with the lead frigate,” the GAO warns.

The GAO believes the design should be completed before construction begins on any of the grand modules. They also call for a review of the procurement process before acquiring an 11th frigate.

It is the latest in a series of highly critical reports from the GAO about the Navy and Coast Guard’s construction programs. Last year, the GAO found similar design problems in the Polar Security Cutter program and the new Coast Guard cutters.

China Steps Up Vessel Inspections After Serious Shipping Accidents

Authorities are looking hard at ships with a record of deficiencies or electrical problems

Traffic at Shanghai, 2010 (Werner Mayer / public domain)

China is stepping up its port state control inspections, according to class society DNV. The China Maritime Safety Administration is now looking much more closely at ships that have a history of multiple detentions or serious deficiencies.

The MSA's initiative is targeted at repeat offenders. Triggers for a close inspection include two detentions at any port(s) within the past 12 months, or multiple serious deficiencies. This includes vessels with a PSC record of intentional MARPOL violations, false certificates, unapproved vessel modifications, manning issues, or malicious disabling of AIS - a common sanctions-evasion strategy.

All inspections on board these vessels are likely to be performed "in a detailed manner," DNV advises, and vessels on the target list may be subject to scrutiny at every port call in China. To get removed from the list, the owner can contact the MSA and appeal for relief.

In the wake of the Lixinsha Bridge strike and Francis Scott Key Bridge allision earlier this year, China's MSA has also announced a "special campaign" aimed at the safety of mechanical and electrical equipment. The objective is to prevent loss of power/propulsion, and inspectors at every Chinese port will put a special emphasis on electrical system problems through the end of October.

The campaign extends beyond port state control. Class societies will be required to "strengthen the inspection and testing" of mechanical and electrical equipment, both for newbuilds and existing tonnage. In the event of any mechanical or electrical failures, crewmembers must report the incident to the local maritime authorities and accept "special safety inspections"; if they fail to make a report, they will be "severely punished," DNV warned.

If a ship has two or more mechanical or electrical failures in 12 months, it will have to file a failure analysis and corrective action plan, and undergo joint inspections.

The China MSA's prearrival checklist for this campaign includes ensuring the function of all systems connected to the main engine, including alarms, fuel supply, cooling and lube oil systems; checking the boiler system; ensuring that auxiliary power is in order, and that standby and emergency generators are ready; checking switchboards and controls; and testing the steering gear and its emergency backup systems.

DNV recommends testing the emergency generator and the standby generator thoroughly before arriving in China, and keeping accurate preventive maintenance logs.

Ørsted Agrees to Pay $125M Settlement to Cancel New Jersey Wind Farms

Seven months after announcing it was walking away from two large offshore wind farms planned for New Jersey, Ørsted and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities agreed to settle their claims for a fraction of the total guarantees the company issued the state. The company will pay $125 million to settle all claims with the state and to release claims made against each other after Ocean Wind 1 and Ocean Wind 2 were canceled in what has become known as a Halloween surprise on October 31, 2023.

Ørsted was moving forward with the development plans for what were going to be the first two offshore wind farms in New Jersey. Ocean Wind 1, which was to have been located near Atlantic City, was the most advanced of the projects. It called for 98 turbines with a total capacity of 1.1 GW to power about 500,000 homes. The second phase, Ocean Wind 2, was a similar project with a projected capacity of 1.15 GW. Ørsted cited increased costs due to inflation and supply chain problems announcing would write off the projects as part of an anticipated total impairment of approximately $5.5 billion to restructure its offshore wind portfolio.

Ørsted had entered into a $100 million guarantee and total commitment of $300 million with New Jersey assuring the state that the projects would be completed on time. Under the terms of the agreement, the company would forfeit the guarantees by not proceeding with the projects, but days later it said it wanted the $200 million portion returned.

New Jersey Government Phil Murphy angrily said they would move to ensure the company honored its obligations in full. He called the company’s decision to abandon its commitments “outrageous.”

The Board of Public Utilities said today the $125 million settlement with the company will be used to support investments in qualified wind energy facilities, investments in offshore wind component manufacturing facilities, and other clean energy programs.

At the same time, New Jersey highlighted its efforts to accelerate its programs for renewable wind energy. The state currently has a fourth solicitation underway due to close July 10 seeking 1.2 to 4 GW. They also announced plans to accelerate the fifth solicitation which had been scheduled for Q3 2026. New Jersey plans to hold that round in Q2 2025.

“Offshore wind development remains a once-in-a-generation opportunity that will result in significant economic and environmental benefits throughout the Garden State,” said Governor Murphy in a statement issued today. “At this pivotal inflection point for the industry both in New Jersey and across the nation, it’s critical that we remain committed to delivering on the promise of thousands of family-sustaining, union jobs, and cleaner air for generations to come.”

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced last week that it has completed the final environmental review for New Jersey Atlantic Shores wind farms. It is a key step to move those projects forward with approval of the construction and operation plan still required. Atlantic Shores would initially provide 1.5 GW and possibly a total of 2.8 GW but it is not likely to start commercial operations until 2027 and 2028.

BOEM Releases Final Environmental Statement on First NJ Offshore Wind Farms

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is continuing its efforts to push forward with the review and approval of U.S. offshore wind projects. In the latest step, they are releasing the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for two New Jersey projects which are critical to the state’s efforts to jump-start its renewable wind energy efforts.

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, a joint venture partnership between Shell New Energies US and EDF-RE Offshore Development, submitted a combined Construction and Operations Plan for two wind energy facilities and associated export cables on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore New Jersey. If approved, the two projects could generate about 2,800 megawatts of electricity, enough to power almost one million homes.

“We are encouraged to see forward progress and getting another step closer to delivering New Jersey’s first offshore wind projects,” said Joris Veldhoven, chief executive officer of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind.

The original lease auction was in 2015 and completed in 2016 although later assigned in 2018. The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) awarded Atlantic Shores Project 1 an Offshore Renewable Energy Credit (OREC) in 2021, to deliver 1,510 MW of renewable power to the State of New Jersey.

New Jersey established the goal to achieve 100 percent clean energy by 2035 but has had delays and a major setback in 2023 when Ørsted abandoned two planned projects citing the changing economics. Governor Phil Murphy called it a “bump in the road” promising to launch a new solicitation in the summer of 2024.

Atlantic Shores remains the most advanced of New Jersey’s projects but it is not likely to be online till 2027 and 2028. The next step will be the approval of the construction and operation plan by BOEM as the project continues through the approval process.

The joint venture partnership has a total of three lease areas (Atlantic Shores)

The combined proposal for the first two projects includes up to 200 total wind turbines and up to ten offshore substations with subsea transmission cables potentially making landfall in Atlantic City and Sea Girt. The lease area covers approximately 102,124 acres and is approximately 8.7 miles offshore of New Jersey at its closest point. The FEIS for Atlantic Shores Project 1 and 2 will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days.

The company has a total of three lease areas under development with a third lease awarded in 2021 located in an area of the Atlantic Ocean known as the New York Bight. BOEM has just begun the environmental review process for that proposal.

The Department of the Interior highlights that it has approved the nation's first eight commercial-scale offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy as part of the Biden administration's goal to deploy 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. Since January 2021, the Department has held four offshore wind lease auctions and recently released a new five-year offshore wind lease schedule, which includes up to 12 potential offshore wind energy lease sales in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and the waters offshore of the U.S. territories over the next five years.

While the approvals continue to move forward the industry is continuing to struggle to complete its first large projects. South Fork Wind, developed by Ørsted and Eversource, was completed in March 2024, but Vineyard Wind, being developed by Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is reported to be behind schedule. A report in a local newspaper, the Commonwealth Beacon, said as of mid-May only 16 of the planned 62 turbines are installed but the companies hope to accelerate installations with better weather in the summer months.

In May, two more large projects, Revolution Wind which will power Connecticut and Rhode Island, and Dominion Energy’s project off Virginia Beach both began installing foundations. Revolution Wind does not expect first power till 2025 while Dominion expects its project in late 2026.

Report: Add Emissions to List of Shadow Fleet Violations

There continues to be a lot of talk about all the challenges presented by the dramatic growth of the so-called shadow fleet of tankers working outside most regulations. While much of the attention has been on ships violating the G7 Russian price cap, there also continues to be a flourishing trade in Iranian and Venezuelan oil on equally problematic vessels.

Reports have focused on issues such as lax inspection standards, the use of false identities, masking identities and locations, and concerns over satisfactory insurance. Recently, there was the case of the tanker carrying Russian oil that was involved in a minor fender-bender accident off Denmark which reportedly presented falsified papers. The vessel was not detained (it was recently shot at by the Houthi in the Red Sea) but reports are that Denmark may pursue legal charges.

Add to the long list of concerns emission violations according to a new analysis from Reuters. In an effort to save money on their operations, the dark fleet as it is often called is believed to be using mostly high sulfur fuels. The International Maritime Organization four years ago in 2020 mandated the use of exhaust scrubbers on vessels still using heavy fuel oil or a switch to cleaner burning low sulfur fuels.

Environmentalists frequently cite the numbers that shipping annually causes around three percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. The industry’s efforts are aimed at reducing CO2 but also other pollutants, such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds.

Reuters in its report highlights the depth of the problem calling out the dramatic growth in the shadow fleet. Lloyd’s List Intelligence is cited as saying the shadow fleet numbered 280 to 300 vessels before 2022 and the start of the war in Ukraine. It jumped Lloyd's estimates to 530 vessels in 2023 and now is around 630 tankers, a 14.5 percent increase.

Other sources suggest the number is much larger when all the tankers transporting Iranian and Venezuelan, in addition to Russian, oil are factored in. TankerTrackers.com reported in mid-May for example that there were 163 VLCCs involved in the Iranian oil trade and just yesterday they said two vessels were added to the dark fleet. Allianz in its annual industry review speculated the dark fleet could be as many as “1,400 vessels, roughly a fifth of the overall global crude oil tanker fleet.”

"The dark fleet has gone on steroids,” Lloyd’s List Intelligence’s Michelle Wiese Bockmann told Reuters. “And the deceptive shipping practices that they're engaging in are getting more and more complex and sophisticated."

Reuters cites an analyst who says many of the vessels lack scrubbers. Yet they are buying high-sulfur fuels in Russia, saving as much as 20 percent on their fuel costs.

The report admits it is difficult to gauge the extent of non-compliance with IMO regulations, but they cite an increase in vessel detentions due to sulfur rule violations. Reuters reports at least 10 ships have been detained so far in 2024, up from six in the same period of 2023. For the whole of 2022, they report only five vessels were detained on sulfur violations. Further, they calculate that nine of the 10 detained vessels had made calls in Russia.

There are reports that the EU is looking at more stringent sanctions and efforts to further reign in the shadow fleet. The U.S. sanctions have worked at stopping some vessels but only a small fraction of the shadow fleet has been affected with the vast majority of the ships continuing to operate and avoid regulations.

UK Asks Brokers to Give Up Profitable "Dark Fleet" Tanker Sales

Sanctioned Russian product tanker under way off Portugal, 2024 (Portuguese Air Force file image)

More than a few Western tanker brokers have had a profitable run since the imposition of restrictions on Russia's oil trade. Over the course of the past two years, Russia-serving operators have built up a 750-strong "dark fleet" of aging secondhand tankers, often paying outsize prices for scrap-ready tonnage. Many of these deals have been negotiated through London-based brokerage houses, and the UK's Department for Business & Trade is encouraging industry-leading brokers to forego the profits associated with Russia-linked business and comply with sanctions measures instead. To clarify its expectations, it has issued a list of the telltale signs of a "dark fleet" sale, echoing past industry news coverage and analysts' reports.

The Western sanctions on Russian oil include a ban on facilitating cargoes valued over $60 per barrel. Since most cargoes are now sold for more than that limit, and U.S. and UK authorities have begun enforcing the ban, Western tanker owners and insurers have been stepping away from the Russian oil trade. This has prompted a new constellation of Russia-serving operators to amass their own fleet by quietly buying up used Western tonnage, typically using opaque ownership structures in permissive third countries.

"Some of these tankers may be old (15+ years) and sold at a significant premium above the historic market price for these types of tankers given Russia’s urgent requirements for vessels. As such this market is likely to remain lucrative to prospective sellers," noted the agency. "It will therefore be important for industry actors to be mindful of this context, capturing it within any due diligence processes."

Tankers are a "restricted good" under sanctions on Russia, and the agency reminded brokers that they are not allowed to facilitate these transfers, even when the sale takes place through an intermediary or a third nation. Well-known risk factors to watch for include:

- high prices for older vessels
- unusual country of ownership, or country of ownership linked to the existing "dark fleet"
- vague or fraudulent documentation
- obscure, complex ownership structures
- buyer linkages to restricted goods, Russian interests, or sanctioned business partners
- Unusual or opaque payment methods
- Buyer reticence or lack of transparency during the due diligence process
- High-risk trade patterns and destinations, including ports adjacent to sanctioned countries, voyages outside of normal trade patterns, or nations known to tolerate sanctions violations

"Industry participants are advised only to conclude deals where they are confident that a process of cross-checking of these risk indicators provide reassurance that compliance thresholds are met," warned the department. "Any non-compliance with UK sanctions is a serious offense and punishable through large financial penalties or criminal prosecution."

Opinion: Time to Enforce the Polar Code in Canada's Arctic Waters

Global warming is gradually increasing maritime access to the Canadian Arctic which has led to an increase of maritime traffic. The immediate concern is not with the traditional annual community resupply shipping companies who are well experienced navigating those waters, but more with adventurers, super yachts, and cruise ships. In the future, in addition to the disappearing ice, the present water restrictions of the Panama Canal, the ongoing security issues with the Red Sea, the relationship with Russia and its Northern Sea Route, and piracy in the Strait of Malacca, we may also see an increase with transoceanic commercial traffic through the Northwest Passage.

More cruise ships are entering the waters of the Arctic Archipelago to experience the fabled Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, cruise ships running aground in Canada is not a theoretical exercise as three of them have already have done so. The Hanseatic in 1996 ran aground “because the bridge team did not strictly adhere to the plan that had been prepared for navigating the vessel through the strait. Relying on a navigation buoy left in the strait from the previous navigation season contributed to the grounding.” The MV Clipper Adventurer near Kugluktuk ran aground in 2010. Its forward-looking sonar was inoperable. The Academik Ioffe ran aground in 2018 some 78 nautical miles north-northwest of Kugaaruk. In that case, “While transiting the narrows, the officer of the watch was multitasking, the helmsman was busy steering the vessel, and no other crew were tasked with monitoring the echo sounders and keeping lookout. As a consequence, they did not notice the under-keel water depth steadily decrease. The under-keel low water depth aural and visual alarms for both echo sounders were turned off.”

Also worrisome is that several fuel tankers have run aground in the Arctic: the Mokami in October 2010, the MV Nanny in February of 2012 and 2014, and the Kivalliq W in October 2022. All of those occurrences were avoidable. Fortunately, nobody was injured, and there was only a minor environmental impact. We might not be so lucky next time.

One of the older maritime conventions of the International Maritime Organization is called the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974. It is focused on preserving life at sea through regulations and inspections “to ensure that, from the point of view of safety of life, a ship is fit for the service for which it is intended.” The regulations apply to the ship as well as the life-saving appliances. Under SOLAS Regulation 7, Surveys of Passenger Ships, there is a requirement for periodical survey once every 12 months. Specifically, “The periodical survey shall include an inspection of the ... life-saving appliances … is in satisfactory condition and fit for the service for which it is intended.” Life-saving equipment being “fit for service” is very important for ships operating in the polar regions.

The International Maritime Organization adopted a Polar Code in November 2014 with the aim of reducing the loss of life at sea caused by the lack of preparedness to operate in the polar regions which are more isolated and challenging in which to operate. The Polar Code entered into force on Jan. 1, 2017. It sets several standards, such as ship design and construction, and qualifications of the crew and safety equipment on board. Although the Polar Code isn’t perfect and doesn’t address all the challenges of operating in the polar regions, it was deemed to be a major step in improving operations in those areas. It specifically called for a high standard of design for the survival equipment.

Serious maritime accidents happen almost daily: loss of power, allisions, loss of steering, groundings, and fires. If a ship loses the ability to steer it can quickly get into significant trouble. The recent destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore by the ship MV Dali provides a clear example of how quickly a situation can lead to disaster when a ship loses its controllability.

Another good example of what could happen took place off the coast of Norway when the cruise ship Viking Sky lost power in a storm. On March 18, 2019, the cruise ship Viking Sky issued a mayday distress call after engine problems in heavy seas off Norway’s western coast. At the time, it was carrying a complement of crew and passengers of 1,370 people. In very rough seas, the vessel started to drift towards the coast. The sea conditions were such that it was deemed unsafe to deploy the emergency lifeboats. A frantic rescue effort was made to evacuate the passengers and crew by helicopters. In challenging weather conditions and a ship swaying severely in all dimensions, several helicopters managed to airlift some 400 passengers to safety by the time the crew managed to restart one engine, and sail away from the coast. Dozens of people were injured, and several had to be hospitalized. Had the ship ran aground, the waves would have repeatedly smashed it against the shore. Passengers and crew may have had to abandon the ship by jumping into frigid waters without proper protection.

In the case of the Akademik Ioffe grounding mentioned above, the research vessel Akademik Sergey Vavilov provided assistance by taking on board the passengers of the Akademik Ioffe. However, it departed the grounding site for Kugaaruk, Nunavut, to deliver those passengers after having been granted an exemption from Transport Canada to sail with 100 persons more than the vessel’s lifesaving equipment capacity. This created another dangerous situation. Fortunately, all were delivered safely.

To contrast these ships, there is the Commandant Charcot of the Ponant Fleet. It is an actual icebreaker, as opposed to an ice-strengthened expedition vessel. It operates with an experienced crew. It has participated in several Arctic search and rescue exercises with national Coast Guards, and is equipped with the latest survival equipment. Furthermore, it has been involved in testing several types of equipment for the passengers and crew to survive several days after abandoning ship.

In the Canadian Arctic, search and rescue (SAR) assets may be hours or even days away depending on where an incident happens. In the case of the Clipper Adventurer near Kugluktuk, it took 42 hours for the Canadian Coast Guard vessel to arrive. In the Canadian Arctic, ships providing assistance face several challenges. They will invariably have to proceed slowly because of ice-infested water, poor weather, and the fact that much of the Arctic Archipelago is only partly charted. Search and rescue aircraft of the Canadian Forces are located in the south on bases such as Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg. The stand-by SAR aircraft should normally be able to take off within two hours. The faster CC-130 Hercules aircraft will reach the Arctic faster, but they are not equipped with a forward-looking infrared radar (FLIR). They use onboard observers, a much less efficient system.

The new SAR aircraft, the slower CC-295 Kingfisher, with a cruising speed of 260 nautical miles, will reach the Northwest Passage—some 1,100 nautical miles away—in about eight to 10 hours. Because of its limited range of 730 nautical miles, it will have to refuel en route adding to the time to reach the search area. However, they are equipped with FLIR which will make the search more efficient and faster against a very cold background. By then, however, the survivors may have been in cold Arctic waters for 10 or more hours. Unless the survivors have the appropriate level of protection, the search and rescue will likely become a search and recovery operation.

The Polar Code requires vessels that will operate in polar waters to obtain a polar certificate attesting that the ship, its crew, their qualification and life-saving appliance meet the requirements of the Polar Code. The issuance of those certificates is done by the vessel’s class societies acting as a “recognized organization” to the ship’s flag administration. There are several societies that issue the polar certificates such as the American Bureau of Shipping, Bureau Veritas, and Lloyds Register. Those societies have a duty to perform due diligence prior to issuing those polar certificates.

To increase search and rescue operations in the Arctic, on May 12, 2011, in Nuuk, Greenland, the Arctic Council put in place the Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic. It is a legally binding agreement between Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. It was recognized that the distances, the weather, and the paucity of SAR assets in the Arctic were such that countries had to work together. This agreement, along with the Polar Code will hopefully reduce the loss of life in the Arctic.

At a recent meeting of the Canadian Maritime Advisory Council, Prairie and Northern Region, Transport Canada has indicated that it will increase the inspection of vessels operating in the Canadian Arctic. This is welcome news as it will encourage ship owners to make sure that their ships have the proper design, that the safety equipment—such as forward-looking sonar—is on board and operational, that the crews are qualified, and that having the proper survival equipment will allow survivors to stay alive for that minimum period of five days.

The Polar Code has been in effect for more than seven years. It aims to reduce the risk of an accident and loss of life in the polar regions which are still isolated and very challenging environments. It is time to enforce it in the Canadian Arctic.

Colonel (Retired) Pierre Leblanc is an experience Arctic practitioner. White Glacier is one of his clients.

This article originally appeared in The Hill Times and may be found in its original form here.

BRITAIN

General Election 2024: End the Tyranny of Conservative Rule

STATEMENT BY ANTI*CAPITALIST RESISTANCE

MONDAY 27 MAY 2024, BY ANTICAPITALIST RESISTANCE

This statement by Anti*Capitalist Resistance was published on 22 May when the prime minister Rishi Sundak announced the British general election for 4 July

1. As socialists, we are clear: the Conservatives are the class enemy who represent the interests of big business and some of the most reactionary ideas in our society. As the founder of the NHS, Nye Bevan, said, “they are lower than vermin. They condemned millions of people to semi-starvation.” Any crushing defeat for the Tories is something we celebrate, along with millions of other working people exhausted by 14 years of austerity, vicious racism, and callous disregard for the cost of living. This is why we do not hesitate to say: Kick the Tories out, keep up the struggles, and organise the resistance!

2. What do we mean by ‘keep up the struggles’? Under a new Labour government, there’s no time to pause or ease up in our fight. Waiting for them to ‘settle in’ is a luxury we can’t afford. We are clamouring for a progressive shift from the previous Tory regime—that is clear. The unions must demand that a Labour government be a catalyst for radical change, not a reason to become inactive.

3. This election makes the 22 June London protest calling to Restore Nature Now even more important. We need to keep up the pressure. The demonstration should be a clarion call to all politicians and civil society that the environment is the central battle because it is not about some other separate issue; it is about the very basis of life on this planet. We have to fight to build our movements even during election periods; the battle of politics will be won through mass forces taking action to fight for the future.

4. Labour policies rarely diverge significantly from Conservative ones, but Labour’s foundation in the mass trade union movement and its integration into these working-class organisations is a unique advantage. This presents an opportunity to advocate for a socialist agenda using more avenues to power than we have under a Tory government. The unions should leverage this influence to drive policies on wages and working conditions that address the cost of living crisis. Labour must eliminate all anti-union legislation and establish a ‘bill of rights’ for working people. It means a fight to reverse a decade of austerity that has devastated our communities and lives. King’s College London estimated that around 148,000 people died due to government austerity policies between 2010 and 2020.

5. There are some obvious policies that need to be addressed immediately: scrap Rwanda legislation; end the war on refugees and the immigration raid; scrap the Cass recommendations; implement rent controls now for housing, scrapping the right to buy, and a massive expansion of council housing; end the blight of food banks through higher wages and better social security; end the two-child benefit cap. A Labour government must call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and halt all arms sales and other strategic support for Israel, scrapping the recent restrictions on the right to protest and organise.

6. We are in solidarity with the oppressed after the election, but also in the context of the election, which we anticipate will prominently feature the “culture war” and foresee a heightening of attacks. Refugees (with immigration raids and the Rwanda deportation policy), disabled people (with attacks on social provision), Gypsy, Roma, and Travellers (with legislative attacks on their way of life), trans people (facing attacks on medical autonomy and increasing hate crimes), Muslims (with Islamophobia set against the ongoing genocide in Gaza), and Ukrainians and Palestinians fighting for their national liberation against horrific colonial violence.

7. Two Conservative climate policies were ruled unlawful by the courts for failing to provide enough evidence that there were sufficient policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A Labour government must prioritise the climate, end North Sea oil and gas extraction, and rapidly shift towards a low-carbon economy with free accessible public transport and renewable energy. Their attacks on democratic rights to protest have also been declared unlawful by the Supreme Court.

8.Emergency funding and radical reform of the NHS based on co-production, with full bodily autonomy (for women, disabled people, trans people, and everyone) should be guaranteed in its constitution.

9. After the election, we should be watchful and ready to organise against any resurgence of the far right, many of whom are waiting for a ‘woke’ Labour government to start mobilising, especially taking advantage of reactionary social resentments increasingly expressed by younger men. Even the lukewarm measures of a Labour government are too much for these enraged fascists, so determined to obliterate any sense of hope for a better future. We can see the growth of Reform UK to the right of the Tories as evidence that the bitter pain of capitalism is forcing not insignificant numbers of people into the arms of reactionary politics, where they see racist hate against refugees as the only way to make sense of the world.

10. As an anti-capitalist organisation, ACR is clear that no elections to parliament can solve any fundamental issues people struggle with. Parliament isn’t neutral under capitalism, and it is wrapped up with the power of capital. Democracy under capitalism is limited and distorted; limited to only the realm of ‘politics’ and not the wider economy where we spend most of our lives working; distorted by wealth and tradition, weighed down by money flowing into the media, advertising, and promotion for the parties backed by the rich. We stand for a more radical vision of society—one where we have participatory democracy, workplace control, and a socialised economy based on human need, not private profit—a society aligned within planetary boundaries, not wrecking our environment in the name of growth and business. A world of radical abundance and public wealth, not one of scarcity and misery for billions. This is our vision of the future world—it is one we are committed to fighting for.

Source Anti*Capitalist Resistance.

P.S.

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