Lack of Connection Plan Shelves Sweden’s Most Mature Offshore Wind Project

Vattenfall operates a nearby Danish wind farm but said it will shelve plans for an offshore wind farm in Sweden (Vattenfall)

Published Sep 2, 2024 6:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

Sweden’s Kriegers Flak offshore wind farm, which had proceeded to become one of the most mature plans for the emerging sector, is being shelved developer Vattenfall reported today. The company which is owned by the Swedish state cited the “unviable investment prerequisites in Sweden” for the industry saying it would defer until further notice the wind farm which was nearing construction.

Vattenfall is reiterating that it has repeatedly said the project, as is Sweden’s industry, needs a reasonable connection point to the national grid offshore. Speaking with Reuters, the company’s Senior Vice President, Head of Business Area Wind, Helene Bistrom said if Vattenfall had to build the grid connection it would increase the cost of the project by approximately a quarter. Two years ago, in May 2022, when Sweden granted a construction permit for Kriegers Flak, Vattenfall said the project would be contingent on an agreement with Svenska kraftnät, the TSO, on how to connect to the grid on land.

“The investment prerequisites for offshore wind in Sweden are currently not viable and Vattenfall has therefore decided to pause all further development of the project. The wind farm was planned for production start in 2028, which is no longer possible,” the company said in its announcement.

Kriegers Flak was scheduled to reach a final investment decision by 2025 and immediately begin construction. It is on the Swedish side of the Kriegers Flag reef, an area approximately 20 miles south of Trelleborg, Sweden, and home to other wind farms. Vattenfall operates a 605 MW wind farm that went into service in the Danish area in 2021 as Scandinavia’s largest offshore wind farm and on the German side, there is a 288 MW wind farm that has been operational since 2015.

Vattenfall received approval from Sweden in May 2022 for its plan to build a 640 MW wind farm consisting of between 35 to 50 turbines. The company has obtained several permits for the project and in 2023 received the final approval to begin cabling. That permit requires the work to be completed within 10 years.

The company said if the investment prerequisites improve and the permits are still valid, the project could resume. The company has plans to develop projects that could provide Sweden with 18 TWh of electricity by 2035, but it notes the issues related to the cost and installation of the interconnect remain a hurdle to the industry. Kriegers Flak was scheduled to provide 2.7 TWh of electricity per year.

Today, Vattenfall reports it operates more than 1,300 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of approximately 6.1 GW across five countries in Europe. Vattenfall in 2023 stopped plans for offshore wind farms in the UK citing increasing costs and later sold the portfolio to RWE.
 

Australia Declares First Indian Ocean Wind Zone and Solicits Applications

The Indian Ocean zone would be centered near Bunbury in the Southeast of Australia (DCCEEW)

Published Sep 2, 2024 4:00 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Australia’s federal government is continuing to move forward with its efforts to develop the offshore wind power industry by declaring the first offshore wind zone in the Indian Ocean. With the declaration of the sixth offshore zone in Australia, the government tomorrow, September 3, will begin accepting applications for feasibility licenses.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Brown said the declared area was a vital step towards securing Western Australia’s energy grid with reliable renewable energy. The government has estimated that 50 GW of new energy generation will be required in Australia by 2042, noting that Western Australia needs new sources of electricity.

Plans for the Indian Ocean wind energy zone were announced in February with the government opening a period of consultation. The minister reports they received over 2,600 submissions which provided valuable information that was used to inform the decision on the area. They note that the final declaration is for a smaller area, about half the size first envisioned. They also set the distance from shore as well as the spacing of the proposed turbines to ensure access to fishing areas and commercial shipping. Approximately 60 percent of the requested areas for recreational fishing were removed from the zone and it was moved to place it further away from known Southern Right Whale habitats. 

The ministry highlights that the Indian Ocean area near the Bunbury region is well-suited due to its strong, consistent winds and proximity to areas of high electrical demand. They also highlighted the existing power grid for connections and the scheduled shutdown in the future of coal-fired power stations.

 

 

The declared area is just under 4,000 square kilometers (nearly 1 million acres) and has the potential to provide 11.4 GW of electricity, which they note is enough to power all the homes and manufacturing industries in the South West of Australia. The declared zone is at least 30 km (more than 18 miles) from shore and as much as 30 miles offshore. They said access for shipping to the Port of Bunbury, which they expect would become a support port for the industry, as well as to Fremantle is maintained under the plan.

The application period for feasibility licenses is beginning and runs till November 6. The ministry highlights it is the beginning of a process with today’s declaration making it possible to proceed to further exploration. Construction of wind farms can only begin after the feasibility is completed and developers present plans that would require environmental and management approval as well.

The Indian Ocean area is the last of the areas being explored. Australia started the process by defining areas in the southeast and south of the country and those are also proceeding through feasibility and the submission of the first offshore wind energy project plans.

Blade Failure at UK Wind Farm Due to Commissioning Process Says GE Vernova

The commissioning process is believed to have left the blades vulnerable during a wind storm reports GE Vernova (Dogger Bank)

Published Sep 1, 2024 6:35 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The failure of a blade at the under-construction Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK was due to the commissioning process reports GE Vernova. The company is ruling out an installation or manufacturing issue which were blamed for other blade failures earlier this year at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm and Vineyard Wind 1 in the United States.

Dogger Bank reported on August 22 that it was aware of a blade failure at one of the turbines in the first section of the wind farm which is currently under construction and undergoing commissioning. GE Vernova was quick to term it an “isolated blade event,” while also commencing an investigation into the root cause.

“GE Vernova analysis has established that during the commissioning process being performed by GE Vernova, the turbine was left in a fixed and static position, rendering it vulnerable during a subsequent storm with high winds,” Dogger Bank said in a statement released on August 30. 

SSE, which is leading the development in a partnership with Equinor and Norway’s Vargrønn, elaborated that the turbine rotor was locked in place and the yaw system, which orients the rotor towards the wind, was disabled, during the commissioning. They believe that it left the blade vulnerable during a storm that hit the area. GE Vernova is taking corrective actions to eliminate this risk.

Dogger Bank reports the site remains restricted. Installation activities however will restart they said in the coming days. Dogger Bank A is located approximately 80 miles off the northern English coast.

Another blade on the GE Vernova turbine broke apart at the U.S. offshore wind farm in July. In that case, the company later said that it believed it was a manufacturing issue with adhesion and said it should have been caught by quality control. Installation was suspended at the Vineyard Wind 1 site while GE Vernova reported it would be checking the blades for the wind farm for a similar problem. 

Debris from the U.S. turbine blade fell into the ocean and parts washed ashore on Massachusetts beaches causing widespread concern which was exploited by detractors of the industry. Towns impacted by the clean-up were seeking compensation from the wind farm. U.S. regulators however have agreed that work on the wind farm including subsea rock installation activities for the Cable Protection System could proceed as well as the installation of the final 15 monopiles for the wind farm which will consist of 62 turbines.

Dogger Bank also suffered another blade incident in May 2024. In that case, it was determined to be an installation-related problem that damaged the blade. It was replaced as the work continued.

GE Vernova reports it continues to investigate. However, it is now confident that the issues at Dogger Bank and Vineyard Wind 1 were unrelated. 
 

 

 

NTSB: "Greater Speed" Needed as USCG Still Delays on Small Boat Safety

Conception’s burned hull at dawn on Sept. 2, 2019, prior to sinking (Ventura County Fire Department)??

Published Sep 2, 2024 6:54 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The National Transportation Safety Board came out swinging (again) against the U.S. Coast Guard on the fifth anniversary of the tragic fire on the dive boat Conception that killed 34 people. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy says the USCG has delayed for too long and greater speed is needed to enact its safety recommendations for small passenger boats.

“For decades, the NTSB has urged the US Coast Guard to take action to mandate safety management systems (SMS), and for many years the US Coast Guard has failed to complete this action,” writes Homedy in a letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Commandant of the Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan. NTSB explains its SMS recommendation for all passenger vessels was first issued after a 2010 incident with a Staten Island (New York) Ferry. The NTSB has repeated the same recommendations including in a 2018 investigation and again in 2020 in the conclusion to the Conception investigation.

Homedy notes on a personal level that the Conception investigation was her first marine investigation as an NTSB Board member. She says she has formed a personal bond with the families of the victims and that she is committed to ensuring the consideration of the recommendations so no other families have to experience a similar tragedy.

The letter calls attention to US Congressional authorization for the USCG 14 years ago to implement the NTSB’s safety recommendations. Three years ago, NTSB says Congress mandated that the USCG carry out all the NTSB recommendations issued or reiterated as a result of the Conception investigation.

NTSB says Vice Admiral Peter Gautier, Deputy Commandant for Operations of the USCG, wrote NTSB on July 25, 2024, saying it was “diligently working,” on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking “with all due haste.”

“NTSB cannot accept this explanation given the length of inaction,” Homedy writes to Mayorkas and Fagan. “Greater speed is required.”

The NTSB is urging the full attention of the higher-ups to push the rulemaking forward. They urge the “immediate rectification of the US Coast Guard’s unacceptable response,” to the long-standing NTSB recommendations.

The NTSB has repeatedly over the years been critical of the USCG citing its failures and inaction on its safety recommendations. In a now yearly event, NTSB demands USCG action. It has also gone in front of Congress to call for action from the USCG on its recommendations.

Congress passed new safety regulations for small passenger boats while the families of the victims have sued the USCG over what they contend were failures to properly enforce safety regulations and inspections on the Conception before the September 2, 2019 fire aboard the 75-foot dive boat off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, California. The fire began at around 3:00 a.m. while the people were asleep and has been blamed on overloaded electrical circuits and a lack of a safety watch. A total of 33 passengers and one crewmember died.
 

Barge to Innovate New Zealand Coastal Shipping Grounds in Storm

Manahau was billed as a game changer for New Zealand costal shipping but grounded days after starting operations (Deon Swiggs, Regional Councillor on Facebook)

Published Sep 1, 2024 9:02 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

A newly launched service using a self-propelled barge that was promoted as a game changer in New Zealand’s coastal shipping ran into problems just weeks after it launched. The Manahau, a 321-foot (98-meter) barge with a crew of 11 ran aground on the northwest shore of New Zealand’s South Island during a storm around midnight on September 1. Officials fear it will be days before the vessel can be refloated and, in the meantime, it has become a local spectacle.

The 2006-built barge which has a capacity of 7,000 tonnes arrived in New Zealand in July from Indonesia where it had undergone an extensive refit. The work included overhauling the engines, azimuth drive shafts, and bow thrusters, as well as new electronics, navigation equipment, accommodations, electrical wiring, and steel plates. The vessel which is registered in the South Pacific nation of Niue, was brought up to the certification standards of RINA Class.

 

 (Deon Swiggs, Regional Councillor on Facebook)

 

The Buller District in New Zealand reported the grounding with local officials saying the vessel was not loaded and was holding offshore due to recent storms. New Zealand had experienced several days of bad weather and overnight from Saturday to Sunday, there were squally thunderstorms and winds.

When it arrived at Westport in mid-August, the vessel’s operator WMS (Westland Mineral Sands) said crews would be “doing a few crossings of the bar” to ensure familiarity with the local conditions before starting shipping operations. On August 17, Manahau completed its first shipment of mineral sands from Westport to Nelson. The company reported it carried several thousand tonnes of heavy mineral concentrate which was being shipped to customers in Asia.

“Coastal shipping of bulk commodities on this scale hasn’t existed in New Zealand and our mineral sands is the cornerstone cargo that has made this investment possible,” said Ray Mudgway, WMS Group managing director. “We’ve invested heavily to ensure the vessel and operation is world-class and a game changer for New Zealand.”

The company highlighted that Manahau was a versatile vessel that would provide a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative to road or rail transport for bulk material. Specifically, it provides a new capability to access smaller regional ports and rivers, “a capacity no other vessel in New Zealand could achieve,” said WMS. It will transport aggregate, construction sand, and hard rock resources.

 

Manahau made its first delivery on August 17 opening a new coastal shipping service (WMS)

 

Maritime New Zealand responded to the grounding and is taking the lead in coordinating the efforts. On Sunday, September 1, they reported the effort was to stabilize the barge. Crews were digging on the beach to create anchor points to “lock the vessel in place.” Local officials said the stern would possibly be floating at high tide while noting it is broadside to the waves. 

Following the grounding, the Maritime Union of New Zealand (MUNZ) expressed concerns over the fact that the barge was crewed by foreign seafarers and sailed under a foreign flag. “Vessels such as the Manahau operating in New Zealand’s unique and challenging maritime environment should be crewed by experienced New Zealand seafarers,” said Carl Findlay, MUNZ National Secretary.

Maritime NZ said plans would be developed in the coming days on how best to remove the vessel from the beach. WMS also said that specialized tugs were being brought in for the operation.

Avian flu confirmed in three central California dairies


Three dairies in central California have tested positive for avian flu, the first time the virus has been discovered in the state after spreading across the United States since March. Image by Charlie Boyd from Pixabay

Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Three dairies in central California have tested positive for avian flu, the first time the virus has been discovered in the state after spreading across the United States since March.

On Friday, the California Department of Food and Agriculture confirmed the cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, or H5N1. The virus is fatal to poultry and makes cows mildly sick with symptoms of lethargy, loss of appetite and dehydration.

No human cases of HPAI have been confirmed in California related to this incident.

The risk to humans is considered low, according to California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total reported human cases are 14 since 2022, with four after exposure to dairy cows, according to the CDC. Nine of the H5 human cases have been confirmed as H5N1.

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The primary concern is for dairy workers in close contact with infected dairy cows.

Herds in California began showing clinical signs consistent with HPAI on Sunday.

Samples were submitted to the California Animal Health and Food Safety, and then to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory.

California State Veterinarian Dr. Annette Jones did not identify the county but said the 

The top three milk producers in the state are Tulare, Merced and Stanislaus counties. The state will also begin testing cows in nearby dairies and any poultry ranches for the avian flu, Jones said.

Jones said the affected dairies will be placed under quarantine, requiring enhanced bio-security measures, including wearing protective equipment and disinfecting equipment.

She said the healthy cows on the affected dairies have been cleared to continue shipping milk to processors for pasteurization to kill the virus and other harmful bacteria.

"This is a tough time for our dairy farmers given the economic challenges they're facing in a dynamic market, so I want to assure them that we are approaching this incident with the utmost urgency," CDFA Secretary Karen Ross said in a news release.

The virus was first reported in U.S. dairy cows on March 25 in Texas, most likely due to a single spillover event from wild birds. Since then it has been found in 13 states and has infected 192 herds.

Despite the low risk to humans, nearly 5 million doses of flu vaccine are being prepared for possible use in humans.

The avian virus has been detected in wild birds in the U.S. since 2022.

A study released in March found the bird flu is now jumping between species of mammals, a step that draws the virus closer to hopping into human beings.

Researchers have tracked transmission of avian influenza between dairy cows in herds, as well as from cows to cats and a raccoon.

Genetic analysis of the virus did not reveal any mutations that would lead to enhanced transmissibility of H5N1 in humans, said senior researcher Dr. Diego Diel, director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center in the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.

ECOCIDE

Salvage operation for burning oil tanker in Red Sea to commence
 

Salvage operations of the immobilized MV Delta Sounion are to commence with support from the European Union's maritime military operation in the Red Sea. 

Photo courtesy of Eunavfor Aspides/X


Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A salvage operation for an immobilized and burning oil tanker in the Red Sea where Houthi rebels have been attacking commercial and military vessels is about to commence, Europe's military mission in the region said Monday.

The Greek-owned and Greek-flagged MV Delta Sounion with some 1 million barrels of crude oil on board was attacked by the Iran proxy militia early Aug. 21 as it was en route from Iraq to Greece via the Red Sea.

Its crew of two Russian and 23 Filipino sailors was evacuated, and the ship was abandoned. At least five fires have since been observed burning on the vessel around the hatches of its oil tanks, with officials warning the ship and its oil contents pose not only an environmental but navigational hazard.

Pentagon officials late last month said previous salvage operations were thwarted by Houthi threats of attack while voicing concern that the vessel appears to be leaking oil.

Related

UKMTO: Merchant vessel struck by 2 projectiles in Red Sea
Pentagon: Houthi-attacked tanker is leaking oil
EU military operation rescues crew of Greek oil tanker hit by Red Sea attack

Eunavfor Aspides, the European Union's military operation in the Red Sea, maintains that there is no visible sign of an oil spill.

On Monday, it announced that salvage operations conducted by third parties were to begin, though specifics were scant.

The EU military mission said in a statement that it will provide tug boats for the operation and "facilitate their efforts to prevent an environmental disaster."

It said that the vessel poses "a significant environmental threat" due to the quantity of oil it is holding.

Embolden by Israel's war in Gaza, the Houthis of Yemen have since mid-November been enforcing a military blockage of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden by attacking merchant vessels as well as U.S. and British military ships that attempt to transit the all-important trade route.

The Iran proxy militia claims the blockade is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza.

The Houthis have seized at least one ship, sunk two and killed four sailors amid its roughly 150 attacks on vessels during its blockade.

The announcement came as two unidentified merchant vessels in the Red Sea were hit, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.

One was struck by two projectiles early Monday about 70 nautical miles northwest of Saleef, Yemen. The second was struct about five hours later near the first attack, about 58 nautical miles west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen.

Neither vessel suffered casualties and both were continuing to transit to their next port of call.

UKMTO: Merchant vessel struck by 2 projectiles in Red Sea

Sept. 2, 2024 

Another merchant vessel was seemingly attack in the Red Sea, the United Kingdom Trade Organization said Monday. Image courtesy of United Kingdom Trade Organization/Release

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- A merchant vessel transiting the Red Sea where the Houthi Rebels of Yemen have been attacking ships was struck by two unknown projectiles early Monday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an advisory note.

The maritime observation agency said the vessel was hit about 70 nautical miles northwest of Saleef, Yemen. A third explosion was also reported in close proximity to the vessel.

"Damage control is underway," the agency said, citing the ship's master.

No casualties were reported onboard and the ship is proceeding to its next port of call, it said.

The ship was not identified.

The Iran-backed Houthis, embolden by Israel's war against Hamas, have been enforcing a military blockade of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since Mid-November, attacking vessels that transit the region. they claim it is in solidarity with the Palestinian people of Gaza where Israel is waging war against the other Iran proxy militia.

The rebels have seized one vessel, sunken two and killed at least four sailors amid the blockade, which has seen the Houthis launch some 150 attacks at commercial and military ships.

Salvage Plan Prepared as Greecearns of Oil Leak from Soun

Sounion continues to burn with images appearing to show an oil leak (EUNAVFOR Aspides)

Published Aug 30, 2024 1:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

The salvage plan is being prepared with a salvage team organized as they race against time to prevent an environmental disaster in the Red Sea from the burning Greek tanker Sounion. After contradictory statements and images from the various authorities regarding a possible leak, Greece submitted an urgent notice to the International Maritime Organization late on Thursday, August 29.

“According to a satellite image obtained evening hours of 29 August 2024 by the Satellite Services of European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), a potential spill of about 2.2 nautical miles length has been detected. The position of the oil spill matches with the location of the ship,” said the urgent notice from the Director General for Shipping of Greece.

The vessel is loaded with 150,000 tons of crude oil and the fires started by the Houthi appear to be spreading to additional tanks based on the images. However, there has been some speculation that the first oil leaks might be from the bunkers and the damaged engine room of the vessel. The Houthis’ video showed several holes above the waterline in the hull from the series of attacks. 

 

 

The Dutch company Boskalis confirmed that it “has been asked to help salvage the tanker Sounion,” according to a report in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf. A spokesperson for Boskalis said that SMIT is capable of carrying out such a salvage but noted the dangers from the Houthi attacks and unrest in the region. In addition to the fires that were set in the tanks, there are fears that there could be additional explosives on the Sounion. 

Boskalis’s SMIT salvage group undertook the operation aboard the FSO Safer in the same region before the hostilities. They successfully transferred the oil to a new tanker and cleaned the FSO Safer in preparation for its removal for scrapping. The UN operation however was not completed because of a need for additional funds and the start of the attacks by the Houthis in November 2023.

Salvage teams are expected to approach the Sounion and begin a survey to confirm the plan which would either focus on a ship-to-ship transfer or attempting to move the tanker. Reuters is quoting unnamed sources saying the first efforts could begin over the weekend. 

“Greece urges all nations and all actors involved to assist in preventing the environmental hazard and resolving the situation the soonest possible,” says the statement attributed to Rear Admiral H.C.G. Lagadianos Nikolaos.

Greek Foreign Minister Georgios Gerapetritis told reporters that he spoke with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister and that they were coordinating efforts. Bloomberg is reporting that Saudi Arabia would oversee the transfer of the oil while both Bloomberg and Reuters are saying the tanker will be moved to Djibouti. 

The Houthis said on Thursday that they would permit a salvage attempted but denied a statement from Iran that there would be a ceasefire. As if to prove the point, late on Friday the Houthis fired two missiles at an unidentified merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden. Reports to UKMTO said the first landed in the water 50 meters from the bow and a second was to the stern of the vessel. The ship was not hit and continuing on course. 

Houthis Step Up Attacks After Denying Iran’s Statement Last Week of 

A Greek-managed shuttle tanker appears to have been today's primary target as the Houthis stepped up their attacks (file photo)

Published Sep 2, 2024 12:18 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Several vessels have come under attack from the Houthis after the militant group denied last week a statement from Iran that there would be a pause to salvage the burning Greek tanker Sounion. The Houthis have vowed not to interrupt the salvage effort, but said they would continue targeting other ships.

Today’s primary target appears to be a Greek-owned, Panama-registered shuttle tanker transiting south in the Red Sea. The vessel, Blue Lagoon I (148,533 dwt) reported being hit by two projectiles which were later confirmed to be missiles. The tanker was displaying a message on its AIS saying it was carrying a Russian-origin cargo and coming from the Russian terminal of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea.

The vessel was proceeding but the UK Maritime Trade Operations said that “damage control” was underway. The tanker was approximately 70 nautical miles northwest of Saleef, Yemen. Later it was reported that there was a third explosion near the vessel. UKMTO was informed there are no causalities. The speculation is that the vessel was targeted because its managers, Sea Trade Marine of Greece, have sent other vessels to Israel.

Following the targeting of the Blue Lagoon I, a Saudi-owned and registered tanker, Amjad (298,886 dwt) northbound in the Red Sea reported it was hit by an aerial drone. The crude oil tanker which is loaded with as much as two million barrels of oil is managed by Bahri and was transmitting its AIS signal. It was near the Blue Lagoon I prompting speculation that it was not the target for the attack. The vessel reported it was proceeding.

Late on Friday, the Houthis also resumed attacks on a Liberian-registered, Greek-managed containership. The vessel, Groton, was first attacked on August 3 sustaining damage and diverting to Djibouti. Shortly after departing Djibouti while the vessel was 130 nautical miles east of Aden, Yemen two missiles exploded near the vessel late on Friday night, August 29. Unconfirmed reports are that the vessel might have again experienced minor damage.

The Houthis took responsibility for Friday’s attack on the Groton highlighting that they were continuing to target the same ship because of the shipping company’s business with Israel. The Houthis late on Monday also highlighted the attack on the Blue Lagoon I as part of their campaign against companies working with Israel. There was no mention of the drone strike on the Saudi vessel.

U.S. Central Command also issued a series of updates on new intercepts. On August 31, they said an aerial drone and an uncrewed surface boat had been destroyed. The previous day they said two aerial drones had been intercepted and the day before that an aerial drone and a missile. These were the first intercepts announced by CENTCOM since August 23.

This latest wave comes as unconfirmed reports from Greece said the salvage efforts of the Sounion commenced midday on Monday, September 2. The reports indicated three warships from the EUNAVFOR Aspides operation are positioning to protect the Sounion and two tugs were due to arrive at the burning tanker later in the day on Monday. The tow is expected to proceed slowly with the speculation being that they will go to Djibouti, but for security reasons, few details are being released.

AMERIKA

Thousands of hotel workers strike for better wages, fairer workloads


Some 10,000 hotel workers formed picket lines in eight cities across the United States on Sunday as they called for better wages and the restoration of job cuts made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of UNITE HERE/X

Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Thousands of hotel workers have gone on strike across the United States following months of failed negotiations on higher wages, fairer staffing and better workloads.

The UNITE HERE union said some 10,000 hotel workers at 24 hotels including the Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott walked off the job and formed picket lines Sunday in the cities of Boston, Mass.; Greenwich, Conn.; Honolulu and Kauai, Hawaii; San Diego, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif.; and Seattle, Wash. According to a statement from the union, each city's strikes will last two or three days.

Strikes have also been authorized for Baltimore, Md.; New Haven, Conn.; Oakland, Calif.; and Providence, R.I.; with the union stating those work actions could begin at anytime.

The union has accused the hotels of taking advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to cut staffing and guest services amid low demand, but have not resumed hiring with the resumption of tourism.

The response from hotels not only caused workers to lose their jobs but created painful working conditions and increased workloads for those who remained on the frontlines, it said.

The strike, it said, is in demand of increasing wages and reversing the COVID-19-era cuts as well as improving staffing and workload conditions.

"Ten thousand hotel workers across the U.S. are on strike because the hotel industry has gotten off track," Gwen Mills, international president of UNITE HERE, said in the statement.

"During COVID, everyone suffered, but now the hotel industry is making record profits while workers and guests are left behind."

Mills said too many hotels haven't restored standards and services to pre-pandemic levels, affecting daily housekeeping and room services, while workers on staff are needing to get a second job to deal with rising living costs.

"Many can no longer afford to live in the cities that they welcome guests to, and painful workloads are breaking their bodies," Mills said.

"We won't accept a 'new normal' where hotel companies profit by cutting their offerings to guests and abandoning their commitments to workers."

Videos and images of picket lines formed outside of hotels were plastered on the union's social media accounts Sunday.


"Tick Tock! Time has run out and we are outside rewriting history," UNITE HERE Local 26, the union for Massachusetts and Rhode Island hotel workers, said in caption to a video showing picketing workers.




Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass, posted a message of support online.

"I sand in solidarity with Local 26 because one job should be enough," she said on X. "I support these workers now as they fight for a fair contract."

Ed Flynn, a Boston City council member, described the strike as being about "social and economic justice for working families."

"These working men and women @UNITEDHERE 26 are on strike. Fighting for a new contract and to be treated with dignity and respect," he said on X.

The Jerry Lewis Holocaust movie no one has ever seen

Scott Roxborough

DW

August 30, 2024

At the Venice Film Festival, a new documentary will reveal never-before-seen footage from "The Day the Clown Cried." The 1972 Holocaust movie by comedian Jerry Lewis was never released, but has gained near-mythic status.

Jerry Lewis plays the clown who marches children to their deaths during the Holocaust

LIKE THE PIED PIPER OF HAMLIN

Image: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Jerry Lewis, the legendary American comedian, once made a film so controversial it was never seen by the public.

"The Day the Clown Cried," shot in 1972, tells the story of a circus clown who leads children to their deaths in a Nazi concentration camp.

The film's plot alone is enough to raise eyebrows but its troubled production history and subsequent disappearance — the film has never been released to the public and legal issues ensure it likely never will be — have elevated it to near-mythical status among film buffs.

"If you just tell people: Jerry Lewis wrote, directed and starred in a drama about a clown in a concentration camp leading children into the gas chambers, people say: 'What? How have I never heard of this movie, how have I never seen it?'" says Shawn Levy, author of "King of Comedy: The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis."

A new documentary, "From Darkness to Light," explores the making of "The Day the Clown Cried" and Lewis' complicated relationship with it. The documentary will screen at this year's Venice Film Festival. While it won't show the full film, it promises never-before-seen footage of the movie, providing a glimpse into this enduring Hollywood mystery.

A slapstick comedy icon, Jerry Lewis transformed himself into a serious filmmaker in the 1970s

Image: STF/AFP/Getty Images

'Nutty Professor' tries to get serious

Lewis, who died in 2017 aged 91, was a showbiz legend who was best known for slapstick comedies like "Cinderfella" and "The Nutty Professor."

In the early 1970s, with his career on the skids, he made a bid to be taken more seriously.

He was offered the starring role in "The Day the Clown Cried," based on a script by publicist-turned-TV producer, Joan O’Brien, and Charles Denton, then a TV critic with the Los Angeles Examiner.

The story follows a German circus performer in the 1940s who gets sent to a concentration camp for drunkenly mocking Hitler onstage.

Once there, he is tasked with entertaining Jewish children to distract them as they are being led to the gas chambers. In the movie's final act, the clown chooses to join the children inside the gas chamber and die with them. It's a comedy. Supposedly.

Something in the story apparently appealed to Lewis, who was Jewish, since he threw himself into the work.

He toured Dachau and Auschwitz for research and went on a grapefruit diet to shed 35 pounds (16 kg) to look more gaunt for the role.

He also rewrote the script to make it better fit his slapstick style, adding jokes and pratfalls and changing the protagonist's name from the more generic Karl Schmidt to ... Helmut Doork. Get it?


Production problems and legal hassles

The production of "The Day the Clown Cried" was plagued from the start by legal issues.

Nathan Wachsberger, the producer who had hired Lewis, did not have the rights to make the movie. He only had an option to adapt the O'Brien/Denton script — an option that had expired by the time Lewis arrived in Europe to start shooting.

Lewis went ahead anyway, investing, by his own account, $2 million (€1.8 million) of his own money to finish the film.

He shot the movie in Paris and Sweden but money was tight. When the production wrapped, the Swedish studio, claiming it was owed $600,000, held back some of the footage and the original negatives.

Undeterred, Lewis headed back to the States with his first rough cut of the film. He screened it for Joan O'Brien, who, as the original author, had final say in whether the movie could be released. It did not go well.

American actor and comedian Jerry Lewis starred and directed what might have been the first Holocaust comedy

Image: Express Newspapers/Getty Images

"She left the screening room in tears," recalls Shawn Levy, "saying, 'This will never see the light of day, I will never give you the rights.' When she passed, she put it in her will: This film can never be shown."

"From Darkness to Light," which screens in the Venice Film Festival's Venice Classics section, will explore the making of the film and Lewis' complicated, decadeslong relation to it.

Co-directed by American director Michael Lurie and German documentarian Eric Friedler, the movie features several minutes of original material from Lewis' film, as well as one of the last interviews Lewis gave on the movie before he died.

Lost masterpiece or complete disaster?

Only a handful of people claim to have seen Lewis' rough cut of "The Day the Clown Cried" and reactions have been mixed.

The French film critic Jean-Michel Frodon said he saw a cut in the early 2000s and he admired it.

American comedian Harry Shearer, who voices several characters on "The Simpsons," including Mr. Burns and Ned Flanders, says he was able to watch the film on a "three-quarter-inch tape" in 1979. In an interview with Spy magazine, Shearer described the experience as watching "a painting on black velvet of Auschwitz."

Lewis himself gave mixed signals about the film throughout his life. "This picture must be seen," he wrote in his 1982 autobiography. In 2013, at a question-and-answer session at the Cannes Film Festival, he told an audience at Cannes that, "no one will ever see it, because I am embarrassed at the poor work ... It was bad, bad, bad. I slipped up."

"I've seen a lot of the original footage, and there were a lot of scenes I thought were great, and there were scenes that were bad, badly shot, where [Lewis] was bad, others where he was really good," said Friedler, speaking in 2016 after the premiere of "Der Clown," an earlier documentary on the making of "The Day the Clown Cried."

"I think he got lost ... maybe if he had more time he could have found a way to make a tragedy, or tragic-comedy, from the material," said Friedler.

He suggests that "The Day the Clown Cried" could have made the Holocaust comedy work nearly 30 years before Roberto Benigni's Oscar-winning "Life is Beautiful" (1997). But Friedler concludes that Lewis "never got the chance."

Comedian, director and singer Jerry Lewis (R) jokes with French clown and filmmaker Pierre Etaix during the "The Day the Clown Cried" shoot

Image: STF/AFP/Getty Images

Why the public still can't see 'The Day the Clown Cried'

In 2015, two years before he died, Lewis donated his personal archive, including materials from "The Day the Clown Cried," to the Library of Congress in the US.

However, the donation came with a stipulation that the footage could not be shown for at least 10 years.

Fans expecting a release next year will be disappointed. The library has confirmed they have only partial negatives of the movie, around 90 minutes of unedited camera rushes without sound, as well as some behind-the-scenes footage. Even then, legal restrictions mean the movie cannot be commercially released.

"Even if you could find the remaining footage and somehow reassemble it, using AI to do the voices, whatever, you still don't have the rights to charge a penny to see this material because O'Brien's estate stipulates that it will not happen," says Levy. "It's a historical document, but will never be a commercial film."

There have been several attempts to remake the original O'Brien and Denton script. A new version is supposedly in the works, with plans to shoot in Europe. But Levy suggests that the mystery surrounding the "lost Jerry Lewis Holocaust comedy" may be more valuable than the film itself.

"Even if the film had succeeded, even if it was 'Schindler's List,' even if it was a masterpiece, it would have shrunk over time," Levy says. "The fact that we can never see it means it has never shrunk, and it never will."

The Galapagos mystery that just won't die

Brenda Haas

09/02/24

DW

Sex, greed and death marred a German group's search for utopia in the 1930s. A new book and a Ron Howard film revisit their media-fodder exploits, including those of a free-loving baroness dubbed "crazy panties."

A doomed love triangle: Baroness Wagner with her two lovers, Robert Philippson (seated left) and Rudolf Lorenz

Image: CAP/NFS/IMAGO

Have you ever considered leaving everything behind and starting anew on a remote island?

In the early 1930s a motley group of Europeans — made up mostly of Germans — did just that. Their destination? Floreana: a then-uninhabited island in the Galapagos off the coast of Ecuador.

Two couples and a tempestuous threesome traveled there in succession seeking their personal paradise, but they ended up making global headlines for their spats, (s)exploits and, in some cases, strange deaths or disappearances.

Dore Strauch and Nietzsche-follower Friedrich Ritter rejected the capitalist Western civilization for a simpler life on the Galapagos islands

Image: CAP/NFS/IMAGO

Searching for paradise

The first pair of utopia seekers to land on Floreana was German physician Friedrich Ritter and his patient-turned-companion, Dore Strauch, who moved to the island in 1929. To preempt any dental issues, Ritter had had all his teeth removed, replacing them with stainless-steel dentures — which the couple eventually shared.

They were dubbed "Adam and Eve" by the press, who first learned of them through Ritter's letters home and accounts of repeat visitors to the island, which included moneyed American explorers conducting zoological surveys.

Rolf (as a baby, seen here in 1933 with from left Heinz, Harry and Margret Wittmer) is said to be the first person born on Floreana

Image: Privat/dpa/picture alliance

Meanwhile, World War I veteran Heinz Wittmer, who had worked in the office of Mayor Konrad Adenauer at Cologne City Hall, was concerned about the health of his teenage son, Harry, and the state of the German economy amid a global depression. Inspired by his German compatriots, he convinced his pregnant new wife, Margret, to move to Floreana in 1932. Margret later gave birth to their son Rolf, said to be the first person born on Floreana.

Then came the trio that upended the already edgy living setup of the others: the imperious Austrian-born Baroness Antonia Wagner von Wehrborn Bosquet and her two German lovers, Rudolf Lorenz and Robert Philippson. She wanted to build a luxury hotel called "Hacienda Paradiso" for passing well-heeled travelers. Besides usurping the island's scant freshwater sources, she intercepted incoming mail and hoarded food deliveries meant for the others; she even declared herself "Empress of Floreana."

Suspicion, accusations, counter-accusations and fights ensued. It was all far from utopian.

The baroness is said to have worked with a riding crop and a pearl-studded revolver

Image: CAP/NFS/IMAGO

Truth stranger than fiction

Unexplained deaths later followed — including that of supposed vegetarian Ritter, who died after eating tainted chicken that Strauch (whom he had physically abused) had fed him.

The baroness and Philippson, who planned to move to Tahiti after their hotel dreams fell through, disappeared without a trace. Lorenz's body was found on another island; it is believed he died of thirst due to the lack freshwater there.

Only the Wittmers persevered.

Today, their descendants run a hotel on Floreana.

In pursuit of happiness

Despite the passage of time, the group's exploits have remained fodder for the press, writers and filmmakers. An episode was dedicated to them on the "Dark Histories" podcast on Spotify in 2022 and in September this year, a book as well as a film by renowned US director Ron Howard will revisit their stories.

Author Abbott Kahler believes the exiles' pursuit of utopia is a human story

Image: Gilbert King

"I think that the dream of these exiles was universal and timeless," US author Abbott Kahler told DW. "Who hasn't wanted to abandon their life and try to build a utopia, try to find something better, try to go to great lengths in your pursuit for happiness? To me, it was not an American story, not a European story, but a human story."

Kahler is the author of "Eden Undone — A True Story of Sex, Murder and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II," to be published in late September. The nonfiction work revisits the stories of the group using extensive archive materials including entries in memoirs, diaries and letters that they had written.

A feminist called 'Crazy Panties'

Kahler discovered their stories by accident. She had been researching for a different book when she came across a clipping about "a baroness who had taken over the Galapagos island of Floreana. Her love slaves are in chains. She's a woman known as 'crazy panties.'"

'Eden Undone,' a new book by Abbott Kahler, revisits the Galapagos mystery

Image: Penguin Random House

The former crime journalist, who has already authored four New York Times-bestselling works of narrative nonfiction, was intrigued. As she delved deeper into their backstories, she was especially fascinated by the baroness.

"She was a feminist — in the sense that she wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted. She didn't care what anybody thought about her. She didn't have any of those notions about what 'proper' women should be behaving like in that time period. And for that, I admired her greatly," explained Kahler.
Revisiting Eden

Kahler's research also saw her travel from New York to Floreana; it took her two entire days to reach the island. There she met with Wittmer's daughter and granddaughter, and visited the sites where the original exiles lived, retracing some of their treks.

Kahler found it challenging, despite sturdier shoes and modern conveniences. "It just gave me all the more respect for these people trying to do what they did and building a life there because it was very physically and emotionally and mentally grueling and exhausting," she said.

Margret Wittmer (seen here in 1984), lived on Floreana and died in 2000 at the age of 96

Image: Privat/dpa/picture alliance

The same story will also soon be hitting the big screen: Ron Howard's "Eden" is set for a world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7. The star-studded cast includes Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas and German actor Daniel Brühl.

Howard's film and Kahler's book add to the surprising yearslong coverage of this murder-mystery set in paradise; simply Google "Galapagos affair" or "Galapagos Krimi" ("thriller") and various films, documentaries and articles from the past decade turn up.

But what is it about random strangers living too close for comfort that makes for an engrossing story?

A 2017 Austrian play titled 'Galapagos' proves continued interest in the settlers' story

Image: Moritz Schell/Theater in der Josefstadt/dpa/picture alliance

Quipping that "hell is other people," Kahler said the settlers had gone to the Galapagos not expecting others to join them. And each person went there bearing their own inner demons that were neither exacerbated nor erased by the others.

"I think that if you really want to be happy on a desert island, you really have to be alone. You can't bring anybody with you at all," she said.

Otherwise, like in the case of the European settlers, it could make for a true story no fiction can trump.

Edited by: Cristina Burack

Brenda Haas Writer and editor for DW Culture