ECOCIDE
First-Ever Spill of 'Frankenstein Fuels' Occurred Last Year, Researchers Find

Molly Taft 


A new analysis takes a look at what the authors say is the environmental impact of the first-ever spill of a new kind of marine fuel oil. The fuel was developed in response to regulations intended to lower sulfur emissions from the dirty shipping industry but is raising more environmental questions as it’s more widely adopted.

© Photo: Gwendoline Defente/EMAE (AP) 

Oil leaks from the MV Wakashio, a bulk carrier ship that ran aground on a coral reef off the southeast coast of Mauritius, last August.

The study, published Tuesday in Marine Pollution Bulletin, looks into fuel spilled during the crash of the bulk carrier MV Wakashio, which ran aground on a coral reef off the Mauritian coast in July of 2020. About a month after the crash, the Wakashio began leaking oil from cracks in its hull. Satellite images showed dark plumes of fuel ballooning out into the crystal blue Mauritian coastline, which is home to a wide variety of marine life living on its coral reefs and in mangrove forests. Two weeks after the crash, the government declared a “state of environmental emergency.”

Since the crash, there has been heavy speculation that the Wakashio, which had 4,000 tons of fuel aboard, was carrying a new type of fuel that’s causing concern among the environmental community. The government of Mauritus’s murky response to the disaster included no analyses of the type of oil spilled, which fueled more speculation.

The new study confirms that a sample of residue from the coastline taken (8 km) from the wrecked ship was fuel from the ship and that it was the new type of low-sulfur fuel. “Since the grounding of the Wakashio on a coral reef, there has been much speculation in the media about what oil was spilled, including headlines about so-called ‘Frankenstein fuels’, so we wanted to obtain a sample for research and analysis,” the study’s lead author, Alan Scarlett, a research associate at Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said in a news release.

While it may sound like a cinematic exaggeration, “Frankenstein fuels” are a growing concern among those keeping an eye on the shipping industry’s environmental impact. The phrase was coined as a derogatory term to refer to what’s known as Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil, or VLSFOs, a relatively new type of fuel blend that’s gaining prominence in ships across the world.

In January of 2020, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) instituted new regulations that required shipping companies to substantially lower the amount of sulfur in their fuels, to try and cut shipping’s whopping contribution to air pollution around the world. The industry began to quickly favor VLSFOs, thanks in large part to their lower price point compared to other options. VLSFOs, as the name suggests, have far less sulfur than the fuel traditionally used in shipping, and thus it fits the IMO’s new guidelines.

But since they’re such a new form of fuel, VLSFOs have raised a whole host of other chemical questions—and may help the shipping industry cut down on sulfur emissions while upping other harmful side effects. The Clean Arctic Alliance, a coalition of nonprofits that includes Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, and the World Wildlife Foundation, has sounded the alarm that heavy use of VLSFOs could make black carbon emissions from the shipping sector even more pronounced. (Black carbon, also known as plain old soot, is a greenhouse gas that experts say is incredibly damaging to sensitive environments—especially the Arctic—over the short term.)

The conversation around VLSFOs reached a head last August when the wreck of the Wakashio began leaking in Mauritius, and the new study provides some much-needed answers. First, some preliminary good news about this particular spill: in the sample of VLSFO collected from the ship’s wreck, researchers found lower levels of toxins dangerous to marine mammals than are usually present in traditional shipping fuels with higher concentrations of sulfur. Thus, “the impacts on marine organisms from exposure to toxic compounds in the oil may be less severe than with previous spills that involved older types of marine fuel oil,” Scarlett said.

But because VLSFOs are so new, Scarlett cautioned that this sample couldn’t paint a whole picture of the entire fuel class. “When we analysed several other Low Sulfur Fuel Oils, we found some contained higher concentrations of toxic components than the oil discharged in the Mauritius spill, so more research will be needed before we can conclude that all the oil types within this new class pose less of a threat to marine ecosystems than heavy fuel oils,” he said.

Ultimately, it’s crucial to research the impact of this fuel on marine environments as well as air pollution, as more and more ships use VLSFOs in accordance with the new standards.

“Unfortunately, oil spills from ships continue to be a frequent occurrence, so it is likely we will see further spills involving Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oils,” Scarlett said.

ECOCIDE

U.S. probing nearly 350 reports of oil spills in Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida

By Staff Reuters
Posted September 6, 2021 

Hurricane Ida: Parts of US northeast cleanup, as national guard helps Louisiana residents

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it was investigating nearly 350 reports of oil spills in and along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Ida’s 150 mile-per-hour (240 kph) winds wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants. About 88% of the region’s offshore oil production remains shut and more than 100 platforms unoccupied after the storm made landfall on Aug. 29.

The Coast Guard has been conducting flyovers off the coast of Louisiana looking for spills. It is providing information to federal, state and local authorities responsible for cleaning the sites.

Flights on Sunday found evidence of a new leak from an offshore well and reported another leak responsible for a miles-long streak of oil was no longer active. A third report of oil near a drilling platform could not be confirmed, it said.

READ MORE: Agencies investigating reports of oil, chemical spills resulting from Hurricane Ida

Offshore oil producer Talos Energy Inc, which hired divers and a cleanup crew to respond to an oil spill in Bay Marchand, said old pipelines damaged during the storm were apparently responsible.

The source of the Bay Marchand leak remains unknown, said Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant John Edwards. A Coast Guard-led team “will be looking at all potential sources in order to ensure any future risk is mitigated,” he said.

The spill off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, had decreased substantially since it was first discovered last week, Talos said. The company is not the owner of the pipelines and had ceased production operations in the area four years ago, said spokesman Brian Grove.

An offshore well belonging to S2 Energy was discharging oil about five miles (8 km) away from the Bay Marchand site, the Coast Guard said. The company told the Coast Guard it has secured the wellhead and it was no longer discharging oil.

S2 did not immediately reply to a request for comment

Talos Energy denies it owns leaking pipeline ruptured by Hurricane Ida

Divers at the site found a one-foot-diameter pipeline moved from a trench on the ocean floor at about 34 feet of depth

Reuters
Publishing date:Sep 06, 2021 •

In a satellite image, an oil slick is shown on Thursday south of Port Fourchon, La. 

PHOTO BY MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES VIA AP

HOUSTON — The U.S. Coast Guard said on Monday it was investigating nearly 350 reports of oil spills in and along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in the wake of Hurricane Ida.

Ida’s 240 kph winds wreaked havoc on offshore oil production platforms and onshore oil and gas processing plants. About 88% of the region’s offshore oil production remains shut and more than 100 platforms unoccupied after the storm made landfall on Aug. 29.

The Coast Guard has been conducting flyovers off the coast of Louisiana looking for spills. It is providing information to federal, state and local authorities responsible for cleaning the sites.

Flights on Sunday found evidence of a new leak from an offshore well and reported another leak responsible for a miles-long streak of oil was no longer active. A third report of oil near a drilling platform could not be confirmed, it said.

Offshore oil producer Talos Energy Inc, which hired divers and a cleanup crew to respond to an oil spill in Bay Marchand, said old pipelines damaged during the storm were apparently responsible.

The source of the Bay Marchand leak remains unknown, said Coast Guard spokesman Lieutenant John Edwards. A Coast Guard-led team “will be looking at all potential sources in order to ensure any future risk is mitigated,” he said.

The spill off the coast of Port Fourchon, Louisiana, had decreased substantially since it was first discovered last week, Talos said. The company is not the owner of the pipelines and had ceased production operations in the area four years ago, spokesman Brian Grove said in a statement issued Sunday evening.

Divers at the site said the 1-foot-diameter pipeline was moved from a trench on the ocean floor at about 34 feet of depth and ruptured.

The area where the spill is located is a latticework of old pipelines, plugged wells and abandoned platforms left behind by decades of oil and gas drilling, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.

An offshore well belonging to S2 Energy was discharging oil about five miles (8 km) away from the Bay Marchand site, the Coast Guard said. The company told the Coast Guard it has secured the wellhead and it was no longer discharging oil.

S2 did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) said it is working with the Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require companies responsible for any spills to halt and clean up the discharges.

“If necessary USCG and/or the EPA can open federal funding streams to cover mitigation costs,” LDEQ said. (Reporting by Arpan Varghese and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Gary McWilliams in Houston and Stephanie Kelly in New York Editing by Marguerita Choy and Matthew Lewis)

.

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) said it is working with the Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to require companies responsible for any spills to halt and clean up the discharge

“If necessary USCG and/or the EPA can open federal funding streams to cover mitigation costs,” LDEQ said.

The EPA also said it was working with LDEQ and the Coast Guard.

“EPA has received 39 reports relative to the Hurricane in our Area Of Responsibility and has been evaluating those reports and following up with responsible parties to ensure they are being addressed,” the agency said in a statement.

(Reporting by Arpan Varghese and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru, Gary McWilliams in Houston and Stephanie Kelly in New York Editing by Marguerita Choy, Matthew Lewis, Peter Graff)

An oil leak off the coast of Louisiana spread for miles and no one knows who is responsible

When Talos Energy was notified of an oil spill off the Louisiana coast after Hurricane Ida, the company said, it sent a response team to the site

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© Satellite image © 2021 Maxar Technologies Oil slicks on the water near the East Timbalier Island National Wildlife Refuge and the area south of Port Fourchon, Louisiana.

By Theresa Waldrop, CNN 

Divers found the leaking pipe in Bay Marchand on Sunday, and on Monday, Talos put a containment dome on it, "which allows for the recovery of the release and transfer to surface vessels" of the oil, Talos said in a Tuesday release.

Talos says its operations were not the source of the oil. The company said it had been contacted because it was a prior lessee of the block where the leak was, although it had stopped production there in 2017 and had isolated its wells and removed all its infrastructure.

So who is responsible for the spill? That has yet to be determined.

And that shouldn't be a big surprise, given the number of old pipelines and abandoned wells in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Wilma Subra, a chemist and technical adviser at the nonprofit Louisiana Environmental Action Network.

"If you would look at all the pipelines, on a map, offshore, it looks like spaghetti, you just threw spaghetti in there. Pipelines everywhere, everywhere, everywhere," Subra said.

"There are lots of pipelines out there, lots of old pipelines as well as newer ones, and ones like Talos has gotten rid of over the years," she said.

According to a Government Accountability Office report released this year, "the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has allowed the offshore oil and gas industry to leave 97% of pipelines (18,000 miles) on the seafloor when no longer in use," since the 1960s. "Pipelines can contain oil or gas if not properly cleaned in decommissioning."

The bureau "does not have a robust oversight process for ensuring the integrity of approximately 8,600 miles of active offshore oil and gas pipelines located on the seafloor of the Gulf of Mexico," nor does it have "robust process to address the environmental and safety risks posed by leaving decommissioned pipelines in place on the seafloor."

CNN reached out to the BSEE on Tuesday but did not immediately hear back.

In a letter to the GAO in response to its report and attached as an appendix to it, a Department of the Interior official wrote that the "Department generally agrees with the report findings."

"BSEE has begun to implement GAO's recommendation to further develop, finalize, and implement updated pipeline regulations to address long-standing limitations regarding its ability to (1) ensure active pipeline integreity and (2) address safety and environmental risks associated with decommissioning," wrote Laura Daniel-Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary, Land and Mineral Management, at the US Department of the Interior.

Members of the US Coast Guard National Strike Force who flew over the Bay Marchand area Sunday saw no visible discharge of oil in the area, according to Lt. John Edwards.

"What was observed was an unrecoverable, dissipating rainbow sheen that was approximately 11 miles in length," Edwards said in an email to CNN. The source of the discharge is unknown, though, he said.

Talos said it observed pipelines owned by other companies that were likely impacted by Ida, including a 12-inch pipe that it says appeared to the source of the release.

"Talos conducted both physical inspections and subsea sonar scans that confirmed Talos assets were not the source or cause of the release," the company said.

Finding the responsible party will be part of the investigation, Coast Guard Petty Officer Gabriel Wisdom said.

Talos said it is working with the Coast Guard and other state and federal agencies to determine ownership of the damaged pipeline and to organize a coordinated response to the spill.

In the meantime, the USCG said it is "prioritizing" approximately 350 oil spill "incidents for further investigation by state, local, and federal authorities" in the wake of Hurricane Ida, which hit the gulf coast as a powerful Category 4 storm.

Those are incidents reported by the general public and range from "minor to potentially notable pollution reporting," Wisdom said.

While they could be duplicate reports of the same thing, "right now we treat them all individually," and they will all be inspected, he said.

For Subra, the Bay Marchand leak is an example of "the potential out there to happen every time there is a hurricane or even a weather front that disrupts the Gulf and disrupts the waters near the bottom" because of the numerous old pipelines and abandoned wells there, many that haven't been plugged, she said.

On the day Ida made landfall, more than 95% of the Gulf of Mexico's oil production facilities were shut down, regulators said.

The BSEE said Tuesday that its hurricane response team "continues to monitor offshore oil and gas operators in the Gulf as they return to platforms and rigs after the storm."

WHERE IS MY $100 I GOT VACCINATED

Alberta's vaccine lottery had little effect on boosting vaccination rates, doctors say
Stephanie Dubois 

© Chris Schwarz/Government of Alberta Back in June, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Minister of Health Tyler Shandro promoted the idea of a vaccine lottery to boost vaccination rates.

Doctors say vaccine incentives like Alberta's "Open for Summer" lottery and the recently announced $100 gift cards for people who get their first and second doses aren't enough to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates in the province.

As of Monday, Alberta has the lowest percentage of eligible people with a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the country, according to CBC's vaccine tracker.

Physicians in the province say a vaccine passport or stronger restrictions on access to public spaces for those not vaccinated is needed to boost vaccine rates in the province — not more incentives.


"The lottery really didn't have a particularly significant effect. And so I'm not sure that an individual incentive will make a huge difference, either," said Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital.
Did the lottery boost vaccine rates?

An analysis of Alberta Health daily vaccine data shows that after the $3 million vaccine lottery was announced on June 12, and travel prizes a few days later, there was an increase in first-dose rates.

But by mid-July, when outdoor prizes were added to the lottery, first-dose vaccination numbers had largely plateaued.

Number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered by day in Alberta

"When we think about incentivizing vaccine uptake, we would expect that it would really be the first dose that should jump up if people were going to be incentivized by a lottery," said Smith.

"There really was not any kind of indication that the lottery made a huge difference."

Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro justified the province's lottery by citing Ohio's vaccine lottery and an increase in vaccine rates.

"The early evidence is in and lotteries can help boost vaccination rates," Shandro said on June 14.

It was reported that vaccine uptake after the lottery announcement increased, but a study published July 2 in the medical journal JAMA Network found no evidence "that a lottery-based incentive in Ohio was associated with increased rates of adult COVID-19 vaccinations."

The study's authors noted a vaccine uptick in Ohio and other states without a lottery when 12- to 15-year-olds became eligible for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

In addition to the lottery, Alberta is now turning to $100 gift cards in hopes of sparking demand for vaccines, Kenney announced on Friday.

"We tried the lotteries. We saw an uptick. It helped a bit. And we're going to try this. And we don't know if it will work or not," Kenney said Friday, adding the incentive is cheaper than the cost of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Vaccine passports

Doctors in Alberta say the answer to increasing vaccine rates is not more incentives, but a vaccine passport or mandate that will restrict those without a first or second dose from visiting certain public places.

© Scott Neufeld/CBC 

Dr. Shahzeer Karmali, a general surgeon at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital, says stronger measures to promote vaccinations are needed.

"We realize that there's different ways to generate acceptance of vaccinations. One of them is obviously a proactive idea of a lottery, but we realize that it's not working as well as we want it to," said Dr. Shahzeer Karmali, a general surgeon at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.

"We have to look at stronger measures to promote vaccinations. Other provinces, other countries have definitively introduced a vaccine passport or an idea that if you're unvaccinated, then there's limited access to society, because this is where we're at."

In B.C., government officials saw a massive increase in interest in the COVID-19 vaccine since announcing a new program to require proof of vaccination.

Smith said Alberta should take note.

"When we look at the places that have created those vaccine passports or made those mandates … there has been an increase in vaccine uptake," Smith said.

"I think that there's a much stronger indicator that that is effective compared to incentivizing with gift cards or lotteries.

Edmonton Journal 

Tuesday's letters: 

Give the unvaccinated fines instead of bribes

On Friday, Mr Kenney announced that the unvaccinated would be given $100 if they obtain the vaccine. True, the hospitals are facing overloads, staff are overworked, and ICU beds may have to be shared (or something), but this is wrong!

© Provided by Edmonton Journal Premier Jason Kenney announces the province’s new COVID restrictions at McDougall Centre in Calgary on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.

The majority of us have been vaccinated, though some can not be, and we should not be asked to devote our tax dollars to bribe the recalcitrants. If pressure is needed, and if $100 makes a difference, let it be in the form of a fine for those who are not yet part of the solution. Furthermore, impose a prohibition against them for attendance at multi-person events.


Certainly offer a clear vaccine certificate that can be easily checked so that those of us who do the right thing need not have to bribe the lazy, the inconsiderate, the anti-vaxxers, the fearful misinformed, and the main developers and spreaders of variants.

Peter Willott, Seba Beach

Should unvaxxed hold out for more?

Premier Kenny made an opening bid of $100 for the unvaccinated to roll up their sleeve and get the COVID-19 vaccine. I am just wondering if these individuals should be holding out for a higher bid? $200? $500?

When the next pandemic arrives, as it surely will, is the lesson here not to be an eager beaver but to hold out as long as possible for best financial inducements? Sure, it is a gamble but we already had two vaccine lotteries with prizes up to a million dollars so precedents have been set. Thank you Premier Kenney. Great to know that your government is willing to gamble away people’s lives and the economy of the province.

Richard McFarlane, Edmonton

Data shows vaccine experts were right

With the most recent data showing that over 80 per cent of hospitalizations are those that are unvaccinated, it has become more apparent than ever that — surprise — the medical community was correct in their efficacy numbers, and the real-world data supports what they’ve said all along.

The goal of the vaccinations are to reduce the long-term and serious effects of COVID, with less chance of spreading it being a secondary benefit. Why has it become so difficult for us to care about the well-being of others and trust our experts? It’s depressing how people don’t trust health-care providers, but will go to them if they are unable to breathe from COVID, or have negative side effects from trying unproven deworming medication.

Can’t have it both ways. People need to wake up and exit their social-media echo chambers. You are not the star of your own personal movie.

Ryan Black, Edmonton

Alberta’s vaccine record system unworkable

Seems this province is in the Middle Ages. I registered with Alberta Health to access my immunization record and get a proper document that I am fully vaccinated. Guess what? The website does not work properly and spits out error messages. A phone call to their help line advised me that the wait time on the phone is — hold on — 10.5 hours!

Only option left is to see my GP to get a print out from her. I have an appointment in two weeks. Does anyone agree that this is absolutely ridiculous?

Karin Fodor, Edmonton

Anti-vaxxers free to stay at home

Anti-vaxxers do have a choice. They have the freedom to remain unvaccinated and not travel, not go to concerts or sporting events, not work in essential-service jobs, not attend universities and secondary schools, not go to public indoor spaces.

They can enjoy their private, non-compliant, freedom bubble; just keep away from those children, immunocompromised, vulnerable people and hospitals that care for the health of the entire society.

Maxine Newbold, Edmonton

COVID skeptics don’t need medical care

What bothers me is with all the anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers and COVID deniers, once they do get COVID, they go running off to the hospital like little wheezing babies. That plugs up hospitals resulting in other procedures being cancelled.

Come on you people, tough it out at home. It is “just the flu,” right?

Niel Johnson, Edmonton

Liberal job plan ensures better opportunities

Re. “Liberals deserve to be shut out of Alberta,” Opinion, Sept. 2

Mr. Marciano is misleading the public about the Liberal plan for job creation in Alberta. See the facts for yourself in our detailed, comprehensive, and — unlike the Conservatives — fully costed platform.

Our job creation plan is focused on ensuring energy workers and communities have even greater opportunities than they do today. I have knocked on thousands of doors in the last several weeks and heard repeatedly from folks who understand that while traditional oil and gas jobs won’t completely dry up overnight, we must start transitioning to greener jobs that are already in demand globally. Unlike Mr. Marciano, Mill Woods residents understand that Alberta is losing jobs due to global economic forces beyond our control — and we’ve got to act quickly. That is why the Liberal government is committing $2 billion to a futures fund for Alberta and other oil and gas-dependent provinces. Meanwhile, Jason Kenney spent nearly $2 billion on a dead-end pipeline.

If the Conservative plan for jobs was credible, it would be working in Alberta. Clearly, it is not. Instead of fear-mongering and not-so-subtly implying that they are entitled to hold office here, Alberta’s Conservatives need to start earning their votes with ideas that will ensure our city’s economic future is resilient and thriving.

Ben Henderson, Liberal party candidate for Edmonton Mill Woods

A tough year for Mother Nature and farmers

For any of our urban cousins who think farmers are nothing but whiners, here’s a message from a rural cousin. Stock up! Buy extra flour, oats, barley, flax, canola oil and any other grain you may use. Also spices and rice that come from abroad. This year Mother Nature has shown herself to be suffering from bipolar disorder. Her fields look like burnt toast. Grass did not grow in pastures and failed crops have been cut for silage to be used as feed for animals.

Her heat dome stretched from sea to sea. Fish died in rivers and lakes. Her hot flashes were felt by every living thing. If she is going through menopause, we are in for some more troubled years.

Nancy Mereska, Two Hills

ID requirements at Alberta supervised consumption sites delayed, advocates say

Janet French CBC

© Sam Martin/CBC

 Edmonton lawyer Avnish Nanda says the government's new supervised consumption site standards could cost lives.

Supervised consumption site staff won't have to ask clients to show identification until the new year, the Alberta government says.

A new licensing requirement for the sites to collect health-card information from clients is one of several new provincial rules that were set to take effect Sept. 30.

It's a contentious move that critics say will deter substance users from going to the sites and could increase overdose deaths.

"Alberta's in the midst of an unprecedented opioid overdose crisis and one of the major barriers for folks accessing care, accessing supervised consumption sites, is if they'll be outed or revealed as a substance user," Edmonton lawyer Avnish Nanda said Tuesday. He represents two organizations that are taking the provincial government to court in a bid to stop the new licensing requirements.

Nanda says he learned from the government last week that supervised consumption sites wouldn't be required to ask for ID until Jan. 3, 2022.

In an email, an acting press secretary for Mike Ellis, the associate minister of addictions and mental health, said a later date for requiring ID has always been the case. Eric Engler said the new standards will improve community safety and the quality of services.

He said some supervised consumption sites (SCS) need more time to prepare to become authorized "custodians" of personal health information.

But Tricia Smith, executive director of Edmonton's Boyle McCauley Health Centre, which runs an SCS, said the first formal word she received of a time extension was Tuesday afternoon. Her organization was preparing to begin checking health cards on Sept. 30.

New licensing requirements

Although SCS services are authorized by the federal government, the Alberta government in June introduced a new set of standards the services must meet to be licensed to operate in the province. Existing sites had 120 days to adapt, and new sites must immediately meet the new standards.

SCS staff must refer clients to treatment and recovery services, and track the outcome of those referrals. Leaders must broker yearly "good neighbour" agreements with surrounding residents and businesses. Among new bureaucratic requirements is the collection of personal health numbers.

A 2016 study from University of Alberta researchers found only a third of substance users would be willing to attend an SCS where they had to show identification.

Opioid overdose numbers began to soar in the province after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alberta in March 2020. Last year, a record 1,154 people died of opioid poisoning in the province, according to Alberta Health data. Between January and May 2021, 576 people died.

The incoming identification requirements have prompted advocates to fear more people will use alone, leaving them more vulnerable to dying of an overdose.

Kym Porter works with Moms Stop the Harm, which is one of two groups suing the government. Her son Neil died at age 31 from fentanyl poisoning five years ago in Medicine Hat.

Porter said people have many reasons for staying anonymous while using an SCS: they may fear their name will be passed on to the police. They could fear deportation. Some worry about stigma from other health-care workers who might see their health records. Others see jobs at risk.

"In conversation with people who are using sites currently, they've said they would no longer use those sites," she said.

Smith said the health information they collect will be entered into an internal electronic record, unavailable to people outside the organization.

Smith said the government said they won't have to turn away any clients to refuse to, or can't, provide a health card. However, she is concerned about potential consequences for the organization, should a large proportion of clients refuse to share that information.

SO MUCH FOR CANADIAN SHIP BUILDING

Shipbuilding Boom Reaches Great Lakes: 10 “Super-Eco” Lakers Ordered

Fednav plans to modernize its fleet with 10 new eco bulkers (Fednav)

PUBLISHED SEP 3, 2021 7:38 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The rapid growth in shipbuilding orders in 2021 has now reached the Great Lakes with one of the largest newbuilding orders for the waterways. Canada’s dry bulk shipping group Fednav placed an order for 10 new ocean-going lakers. It represents a nearly 10 percent increase over the company’s current fleet of 120 vessels with the order being a key element of fleet modernization and designed to support Fednav's sustainability goals. 

The order went to Japan’s Sumisho Marine Co. and Oshima Shipbuilding for the 10 new lakers. The ships will be built at the Oshima shipyard in Japan, with the first vessel expected to be delivered in mid-2023. The design for the vessels was developed jointly between Fednav and Oshima.

According to Fednav, the new generation of vessels will be “super-eco lakers” that represent the most efficient vessels to date for the company. They will be equipped with the latest technology, including Tier III engines and the capability of burning biofuels. The result will be that their carbon emissions will be 33 percent less than the vessels they will replace, including a Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) footprint at least 87 percent smaller. 

"We are delighted to include these new vessels to our fleet to support the shipping industry and reinforce our commitment to the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway," said Paul Pathy, President and CEO of Fednav. "These new vessels are aligned with our long-term strategy to invest in our future and support our transition toward more sustainable shipping.”

Fednav is the largest international dry-bulk shipping group in Canada. It operates a fleet of about 120 bulk carriers trading worldwide, of which 60 are owned. The Canadian operations include both the Great Lakes and the Arctic. 

 

Who Pays for Bottom Fouling?

File image

PUBLISHED SEP 6, 2021 2:57 PM BY DR. ARUN KASI

 

Bottom fouling by marine growth is a subject of frequent disputes in time charters. Fouling increases friction and affects the performance of the vessel in terms of speed and fuel consumption, and it also necessitates cleaning. The bottom may be in a fouled condition at the time of delivery or - as happens more frequently - it may get fouled during charter service.

When the bottom is fouled during service, often it is due to orders given by the charterer for a long idle stay at a port or anchorage. Bottom fouling may also result from slow steaming ordered by the charterer.

Various factors influence bottom fouling. They include the idle or near-idle period, the speed that the vessel steams at if not idle, the vessel’s distance from the shore, the depth of the water, the temperature of the water, the freshness of the water, sea current, duration and intensity of sunlight, etc. The chance of attracting marine growth is greater in tropical waters and near shore. It is less in freshwater (e.g. the Mississippi River) and under high current (e.g. Chittagong). Vessels may perform ‘paint runs’ to break the idle period. Often, however, a paint run may not yield the desired result. Usually, the anti-fouling paint is unlikely to be effective if the vessel is idle or near idle for more than two weeks.

If the bottom is fouled at the time of delivery, the shipowner has to bear the loss caused by the consequent underperformance as well as the cost of cleaning and the loss of time in cleaning by off-hire. The question is more difficult if the bottom is fouled during charter service as a result of the charterer’s orders. The shipowner’s standpoint will be that the charterer must bear the consequences because it happened by charterer’s orders. The charterer will take the opposite standpoint.

First, we consider bottom fouling from the perspective of the standard NYPE form (referring to the oft-used 1946 version), the most popular form for dry cargo time charters. Second, we will look at the common modifications made to this form that affect the bottom fouling issue. Third, we will consider the subject from the perspective of SHELLTIME 4 form – the oft-used form in time charters of tankers.

NYPE form

The NYPE form, unlike NYPE 2015 form, has no specific provision dealing with bottom fouling, but a few other clauses have an impact on this issue. The shipowner warrants the speed-consumption capability of the vessel at the time of delivery (lines 9-10). The shipowner is to maintain the hull, machinery and equipment in a thoroughly efficient state throughout the charter service (cl 1). Clause 8 requires the shipowner to comply with the employment orders given by the charterer. This comes with an implied indemnity by the charterer for the consequences. The charterer is to redeliver the vessel in the like good order and condition as delivered, ordinary wear and tear excepted (cl 4).

It has been held that the obligation to maintain includes the obligation to keep the bottom free from fouling throughout charter service. Accordingly, if the bottom gets fouled during service, the shipowner will be liable for the underperformance (The Al Bida) and for the cost of cleaning (The Kitsa). The charterer cannot be faulted for redelivery with fouled bottom (The Kitsa).

Does the vessel go off-hire for the time of cleaning (cl 15)? In one case, the court rejected an off-hire claim for the cleaning-time (The Rijn). In another, the court admitted the off-hire claim but by reliance on a rider clause rather than the standard off hire clause (The Kitsa).

What about the implied indemnity by charterer attached to cl 8? Courts have again held this not to favor the shipowner because long waiting in ports and consequent bottom fouling is something foreseeable at the time of the fixture (The Kitsa).

In mitigation of the predicament, shipowners frequently add a rider clause to shift the bottom fouling losses to the charterer. That may be in the form of BIMCO Bottom Fouling Clause for Time Charter Parties 2013 (or less often the 2019 version) or a custom-crafted clause.

The scheme of NYPE 2015 form is that the warranty is a continuing one, unlike the one in the NYPE form. It places on the charterer the responsibility for underperformance as well as the cost of and time involved in cleaning consequent upon bottom fouling from charterer’s order for idling exceeding 15 days or such other periods as parties may specify. There is an option for specifying different periods for idling in tropical/seasonal tropical waters and non-tropical waters.

SHELLTIME 4 form

There is no clause to deal with bottom fouling in the SHELLTIME 4 form. Performance warranty is a continuing one (cl 24) and the maintenance obligation (cll 1 and 3(a)) parks on the shipowner the liability for underperformance by bottom fouling developed during service. The redelivery obligation does not specify the condition required at redelivery (cl 8). There is no obligation on the charterer to clean a fouled bottom when redelivering.

The shipowner is to comply with the employment orders of the charterer, in return for which the charterer gives an express indemnity  (cl 13). For reasons stated in The Kitsa, the indemnity will not be of avail to the shipowner here (The Coral Seas). A vessel may go off-hire for the time actually lost where speed is reduced by breach of the maintenance obligation (cl 3(b)) but not for the time of cleaning (cl 21).

Conclusion

Bottom fouling triggers the issues of underperformance by lesser speed and higher fuel consumption and of the cost of cleaning. In the absence of a charterparty provision to the contrary, ordinarily the shipowner will be liable for these costs. This is primarily because of the maintenance obligation of the shipowner. However, under the standard off-hire clauses, it is likely that the vessel will not go off-hire for the time of cleaning.

Dr. Arun Kasi is an advocate and solicitor in Malaysia. He specializes in charter disputes arbitration under the terms of LMAA and SCMA, and he is the author of The Law of Carriage of Goods by Sea (Springer: 2021).

Dr. Kasi extends his thanks to Mr. Prokopis Krikris, Claims Manager at Meadway Bulkers Athens, and Mr. Themistoklis Karvounidis, Demurrage Analyst at Stolt Tankers Rotterdam, for reviewing this article.

 IMPERIALISM COLONIZING THE SEA

China Stokes Anxiety with New Maritime Law

PLA Navy carrier Shandong (PLA Navy file image)

PUBLISHED SEP 3, 2021 5:08 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Under a revised maritime traffic safety law published earlier this year, certain foreign vessels sailing in Chinese-claimed waters will be required to give advance notice to China's maritime authorities starting September 1.

The controversial law requires foreign operators of submersibles, nuclear vessels, ships carrying radioactive materials and ships carrying bulk oil, chemicals, liquefied gas and other toxic and harmful substances to provide detailed information including the vessel name, call sign, current position, cargo, port of call and estimated time of arrival.

Issued by the Maritime Safety Administration (MSA), the law stipulates stiff penalties and fines for noncompliant ships and gives Beijing the power to order vessels that threaten the safety of the country’s internal or territorial waters to leave.

“This law is developed for the purposes of strengthening maritime traffic management, maintaining the maritime traffic order, ensuring the safety of life and property, and safeguarding the rights and interests of the state,” states the law as revised and adopted by the Chinese National People’s Congress in April.

Although Beijing asserts that the new law will apply to navigation and maritime safety, emphasis on “the sea areas within the jurisdiction of China” has stoked anxiety over the navigation of ships in the wider Indo-Pacific region.

China claims sovereignty over the vast majority of the South China Sea, including areas located hundreds of miles beyond the 12-nm limit accepted under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The nation has occupied and developed multiple islets in the Paracel and Spratly Islands, building forward military bases equipped with air defense systems, strategic runways and piers for naval vessels. 

“China is once again testing the international community to gauge how it will react to the enactment of yet another maritime law that exceeds the permissible jurisdictional limits of international law, as reflected in UNCLOS,” said Raul (Pete) Pedrozo, Professor of International Law at the Stockton Center for International Law, in a recent analysis. 

Pedrozo predicts that Beijing will use the new law to engage in grey zone operations below the threshold of armed conflict, seeking to intimidate its neighbours and further erode the rule of law at sea. 

Notably, the new law grants the MSA the powers to establish ship routing and reporting areas, traffic control areas and restricted navigation areas. Ships passing through important fishery waters, areas with dense maritime traffic, ship routing areas and traffic control areas must strengthen their lookout, maintain safe speeds, and comply with special navigation rules. 

The new law asserts that foreign warships and other government vessels used for non-commercial purposes that violate Chinese laws and regulations while engaged in innocent passage shall be dealt with in accordance with “the relevant laws and administrative regulations.”

 

Video: Container Fire Aboard Ship Docked in Vietnam 

Fire brokeout in the cargo hold of a vessel docked in Vietnam

PUBLISHED SEP 6, 2021 2:39 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

[Brief]  Vietnamese authorities report that they were successfully able to extinguish a container fire aboard the feeder vessel that works between the country’s ports. 

Reports indicate that the fire broke out in the number two cargo hold of the 8,720 dwt vessel Morning Vinafco while the vessel was handling cargo in the Ho Chi Minh City port of Ben Nghe. Video shows smoke billowing from the open hold of the feeder vessel while at the dock on September 4.

 

 

The fire and a possible explosion were reported to the local port authorities at around 8:45 am on Saturday after the crew was unsuccessful in putting the fire out on its own. The port police, border guard, and local fire crews responded to the fire. After about 30 minutes the flames had been extinguished, but crews remained on the screen.

Local reports indicate that no one was injured in the fire but that goods loaded aboard the containership were heavily damaged. The captain told authorities that a container had been loaded aboard the ship overnight that was believed to be the source of the fire. There was no indication as to the contents of the container.

The 500 teu vessel operates with a crew of 16 and travels along the Vietnamese coast transshipping containers from the international port to regional hubs. Local authorities were investigating the source of the fire, but AIS data indicated that the vessel departed Ho Chi Minh City on September 5.

IMPERIALISM COLONIZING THE SEA

The Human Rights Cost of IUU Fishing in Ghana

File image courtesy FCWC

PUBLISHED SEP 5, 2021 12:27 PM BY BRIAN GICHERU KINYUA

 

Over the last two decades, the West African seaboard has been a stomping ground for industrial trawlers. Although most of them are flagged locally by West African nations, they are owned and operated by foreigners, mainly in China or European countries.

Unfortunately, lax implementation of fisheries laws have enabled IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing to go unabated, resulting in a massive decline in fish stocks. Environmental concerns, mostly focused on saving marine ecosystems and controlling climate change, have been the basis for policy changes to stop IUU fishing.

However, it is imperative to view IUU fishing from a human rights perspective - especially the immutable impact it has on poor coastal communities of the affected countries.

West Africa has also been synonymous with piracy, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea region, which has received extensive attention from maritime players and the United Nations.

While responding to a recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on maritime security, one of West Africa’s eminent maritime researchers, Dr. Ifesinachi Okafor, said that failure to include the human cost for IUU fishing has led piracy to get more attention than the costly plunder of fisheries by foreign vessels.

“In the last 50 years, Africa has lost over $200 billion to illegal fishing by vessels linked to foreign nations. Illegal fishing is so extensive that it amounts to 40-65 percent of the legally reported catch in West Africa alone. Yet, there has been zero resolution on this by UNSC. In contrast, the economic cost of piracy over the last 20 years does not amount to $20 billion. Neither does the environmental impact directly affect the livelihoods of millions of people,” Dr. Okafor said. “Yet, over 30 Security Council resolutions and presidential statements have been issued on piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Guinea since 2008. Foreign partners invest millions in tackling piracy while simultaneously investing billions in enabling their fishing vessels to plunder depleting fisheries in Africa.”

In comments at the debate, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken concurred that the debate over piracy must also take IUU fishing into account. “We must bring the same coordinated and comprehensive responses to other threats such as maritime safety and security. This includes IUU fishing- which undermines the sustainability of fish stocks, circumvents the green conservation and management measure, and violates the sovereign rights of coastal states and often goes hand in hand with the use of forced labor and other illicit activities,” he said.

In August, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) released a report from primary data it collected on socio-economic rights of small-scale fishing communities in Ghana. The focus was on impacts of IUU fishing on the human rights of artisanal fishermen.

Ghana has one of the highest rates of dependence on fish for nutrition in Africa, with fish providing 60 percent of animal protein intake and a yearly per capita fish consumption estimated at 28 kilos. In addition, Ghana’s marine fisheries provide livelihoods for around 2.5- 3 million people along the value chain, which is approximately 10 percent of the country’s population.

Despite the artisanal fisheries sector being a key economic mainstay in Ghana, it is in a perilous state with severe socio-economic implications to the small-scale fishing communities. Ghana’s artisanal fishermen rely on a small pelagic fishery, mainly Sardinella spp., also commonly referred to as ‘people’s fish’ due to their critical role to food security and local livelihoods.

Industrial trawlers are partly to blame for plummeting catches of smaller fish. Driven by the local lucrative trade, trawlers enter prohibited zones and illegally adapt their fishing gear to target sardinella, which are in high demand for local consumption. A major portion of these catches are destined for the illegal ‘saiko’ trade, where the trawlers transship the caught fish at sea to small purpose-built canoes for landing at Ghana’s ports. An estimate by EJF in 2017 on the ‘saiko’ trade revealed that 100,000 tons of fish were traded with a landed value of $50 million. The proportion of juveniles caught via this trade is estimated at 67 percent and in some extreme case reaching 100 percent.

Already, scientists have predicted the collapse of the small pelagic fishery within the next decade in a business-as –usual scenario, with FAO recommending closure of the sardinella fishery shared by Cote d’Ivore, Ghana, Togo and Benin to allow for fish populations recovery.

This comes at the cost of declining income and rising poverty in Ghana’s coastal communities. According to the EJF report, approximately 90 percent of the surveyed fishermen and processors saw a decline in their incomes over the past five years. Around 70 percent of these reported damage to their fishing gear by industrial trawlers.

As a result, fishermen are having to travel further out to sea in search of fish - beyond the six nautical mile / 30 meter depth Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) restricted for artisanal fishing - yet they still report zero catch on some fishing days.

Marginalized and vulnerable coastal fishing communities add to the matrix of Gulf of Guinea piracy and the disastrous irregular crossings into Europe through the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic.

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