Britain’s approval of new coal mine unlawful, court rules

Reuters | September 13, 2024 | 

The mine would extract coking coal from under the Irish Sea to be used in steel production. (Image courtesy of West Cumbria Mining.)

Britain’s approval of its first new deep coal mine in decades was unlawful, London’s High Court ruled on Friday following a legal challenge brought by environmental campaigners.


Friends of the Earth and South Lakeland Action on Climate Change challenged the previous Conservative government’s 2022 approval of a coking coal mine in northwest England.

Britain dropped its defence of the legal challenges after a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year said planning authorities must consider the impact of burning, not just extracting, fossil fuels when deciding whether to approve projects.

Friday’s ruling is the first case to be decided since the Supreme Court decision, Friends of the Earth senior lawyer Niall Toru said.

“That the ruling today has gone against the mining company could have ramifications internationally, as there are cases abroad where challenges are being made against fossil fuel projects on a very similar basis,” Toru added.

Developer West Cumbria Mining fought the case and said the project – which planned to extract coking coal for manufacturing steel, rather than to generate electricity – would be “a unique ‘net zero’ mine”.

West Cumbria Mining’s lawyer James Strachan said in court filings that the development would not cause a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, as the use of coking coal extracted from the mine is driven by demand for steel.

Judge David Holgate, however, said in a written ruling on Friday that “the assumption that the proposed mine would not produce a net increase in greenhouse gas emissions, or would be a net zero mine, is legally flawed”.

A spokesperson for West Cumbria Mining said the company “will consider the implications of the High Court judgment and has no comment to make at this time”.

(By Sam Tobin; Editing by Kylie MacLellan and William Maclean)

Nickel flowing to Europe shows Indonesia’s grip on global supply

Bloomberg News | September 13, 2024 | 

Nickel smelter in Sorowako, Indonesia. Credit: Marcelo Coelho, courtesy of Vale

European makers of stainless steel are turning to Indonesia for nickel as the country’s booming output forces plants in other countries to shutter.


Exports to Europe of Indonesian nickel pig iron — an ingredient for stainless steel used primarily by Chinese producers — to Europe have surged to 87,485 tons this year from just 1,006 tons in 2023, according to Indonesian government data. The Netherlands, Italy and the UK have taken the shipments, the data show.



The swelling exports reflect Indonesia’s growing dominance of the nickel market, with its output now accounting for more than half of the world’s total. European mills typically use ferronickel, a higher-purity alloy than nickel pig iron, but many plants that make it have shut down due to competition from Indonesia.

Those include plants in New Caledonia and the Dominican Republic, which were formerly significant exporters of ferronickel to Europe. Meanwhile, imports from Russia, formerly a major supplier of purer forms of nickel also used for stainless steel, have been curtailed since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

That’s a headache for European stainless-steel producers trying to source the metal without sacrificing their green credentials. Indonesia’s nickel industry has been criticized for its association with environmental destruction, lax safety standards, and high carbon intensity, which has deterred some companies from buying it.

Producers shipping nickel products from Indonesia to Europe include Gunbuster Nickel Industry, owned by China’s ailing Jiangsu Delong Nickel Industry Co., and local firm PT Trimegah Bangun Persada, better known as Harita Nickel, according to people familiar with the matter.

Lukito Gozali, head of investor relations at Harita Nickel, said the firm was always open to the opportunities to work with customers globally. A spokesperson for Gunbuster Nickel Industry didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment.

China’s economic woes could also be undermining demand for the metal and driving shipments to Europe as producers are forced to diversify. Asia’s largest economy has long bought the lion’s share of Indonesia’s nickel, but consumption of stainless steel there is flagging due to its struggling property and industrial sectors.

(By Eddie Spence)

Vale sees 10% of its iron ore production coming from tailings by 2030

MAKE IT 100% RECYCLED TAILINGS

Reuters | September 12, 2024 |

October 2017 aerial image of the area affected by the tailings dam failure in Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil. (Photo by Vinícius Mendonça, courtesy of Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA).)

Brazilian miner Vale expects that by 2030 some 10% of its iron ore output will come from the reuse of mine waste known as tailings, an executive told Reuters, reducing the amount of potentially dangerous material still stored in dams.


In 2024, the mining giant expects to recover about 7 million metric tons of iron ore through its “circular mining” program, Vale’s executive vice president of technical affairs, Rafael Bittar, said in an interview on Wednesday.

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He did not provide specific projections for how much iron ore will be produced from tailings and waste by 2030, but the expected increase in Vale’s overall production implies the volume will likely jump in coming years.


The firm, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, on Wednesday revised its 2024 outlook upwards and now expects to produce up to 330 million tons this year. From 2030 onwards, it sees annual output of more than 360 million tons.

“This program aims to reuse waste that is already in our dams,” Bittar said on the sidelines of a mining conference. “This is a reality and it will come very strongly (for the industry), so we anticipated it and designed this program.”

Vale’s initiative to reduce its tailing volumes gained ground after the fatal collapse of two dams in Mariana and Brumadinho in 2015 and 2019, respectively, which jointly killed hundreds and caused severe environmental damages.

Part of Vale’s tailings are stored in dams. Since the disasters, the firm has been working to eliminate all its upstream dams, which are seen as riskier.

Last year alone, Vale generated 48.5 million tons of iron ore tailings.

(By Marta Nogueira; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

CHILE

Codelco reaches early contract agreement with El Teniente unions

Reuters | September 11, 2024 | 

Workers at Codelco’s El Teniente mine in central Chile. Image courtesy of Codelco.

Chile’s state copper miner Codelco said on Wednesday it reached early contract agreements with unions at its major El Teniente complex, as well as the Ministro Hales division.


Union negotiations at Chilean copper mines are being closely watched by analysts and investors since a strike last month at BHP’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine, which resulted in an improved bonus for workers.

The agreements at El Teniente, one of Codelco’s biggest units, encompassed talks with five unions, representing nearly 3,150 workers. The new contract will take effect Nov. 1 and last through 2027.

Andres Music, general manager of El Teniente, said the deal will introduce new labor practices that are poised to increase the company’s productivity.

“Codelco appreciates the climate of dialogue and understanding in which the negotiations were carried out,” the company said in a statement, noting that it sought to balance business variables and safety with incentives and benefits for workers.

At Ministro Hales, a smaller division that produced 126,000 metric tons of copper last year, the new three-year contract will take effect in December.

Codelco did not detail the specific terms for either mine site.

(By Fabian Andres Cambero and Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Sarah Morland and Alistair Bell)

 

MAIB: Cook Had 18 Shots of Whiskey Before Fatal Gangway Accident

Pelican of London's gangway arrangement (MAIB)

Published Sep 12, 2024 9:34 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

Heavy drinking and a poorly-rigged gangway led to the death of a crewmember aboard the tall ship Pelican of London last year, according to a new after-accident report from the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch. 

In late September 2023, the Pelican of London pulled into Bristol's Sharpness shipyard for a drydocking period. The ship's cook departed for training and shore leave, and on September 28, a volunteer joined the ship to provide relief coverage. The relief cook - a 64-year-old professional seafarer - joined his shipmates at a local bar after hours several times. Other crewmembers observed that he drank several double whiskies per night on Sept. 30 and October 1. 

On October 2, his fifth night aboard, the relief cook joined shipmates at the bar again. MAIB determined that he had at least nine double whiskies (18 shots) in less than three hours, and he was the last person to leave the bar at about 2250 hours that night. 

The relief cook walked back to the ship alone, arriving at 2307. CCTV footage showed him coming up the gangway and then stepping over onto the bulwark ladder to descend onto the main deck. Before he could board, however, he toppled off the top of the aft side of the gangway and into the flooded dock. The chief engineer heard the noise and ran up on deck, arriving within seven seconds. He heard a noise under the gangway but saw nothing, so he went back to bed, unaware that the relief cook had gone over the side. The cook's absence was only noticed at breakfast the next morning, and after a review of the port's CCTV footage, the police were called to search the dock. 

The body was retrieved from the water at about 1400 hours, and postmortem testing found a blood alcohol content of 0.19% - roughly equivalent to eight beers for an average male. MAIB concluded that he likely experienced cold water shock and swim failure, and rapidly drowned after entering the water.

Inspectors found that the guard rope between the gangway stanchion and the main deck was weighed down by an electrical cable, leaving a large gap. The safety net below was rigged to slope away from the gangway, creating a "chute" towards the water. There was no gangway watch posted, nor were there any written procedures for rigging the gangway. (When asked, many crewmembers said that the net was there to catch any parcels dropped while using the gangway - not to save personnel.)

"The inadequate fencing and inappropriately rigged safety net exposed all gangway users to serious hazard as they traversed the gangway," concluded MAIB. "Having rigged the gangway as it was normally rigged, poor practice was passed on over time without question and without a true understanding of the purpose of either the guard ropes or the safety net."

Pelican of London had an SMS manual, and it advised crewmembers that alcohol "should be enjoyed in moderation" and recommended "not to drink for several hours prior to a duty period." The relief cook had had so much to drink that he would probably have been at nearly twice the legal blood-alcohol limit by 0730 the next morning, when he was expected to start duty.

"The policies did not provide crew and trainees with clear guidance on drug and alcohol consumption while ashore nor how others might intervene effectively," found MAIB. "There were early indications of a problem with the relief cook’s alcohol consumption, but this did not result in an effective intervention."

On MAIB's recommendation, the vessel operator undertook extensive changes to its drug and alcohol policy, briefing materials, rigging standards and emergency-response protocols.  

 

Ireland Partners With EIB for Development of Offshore Wind Ports

File imag

Published Sep 15, 2024 6:28 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has teamed up with the Irish government to support development of port infrastructure for offshore wind projects. Through a cooperation agreement signed last week, EIB will partner with the Irish Department of Transport to assess capacity and demand for wind port infrastructure.

Ireland is opening up its vast coastline for offshore wind projects, and the Irish government wants to install around 5 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The long-term goal is reaching 37 GW by 2050, which would require $33 billion in investment for offshore renewable energy projects in Irish waters.

However, Ireland currently do not have port facilities with the capacity required to support large-scale offshore wind projects. Under the EIB agreement, the goal is to provide project-level advisory to five ports, which could be upgraded into energy hubs. When developed, these ports will facilitate the development, construction and long-term operation and maintenance of offshore wind projects. In addition, EIB and the Department of Transport will assess both the expected costs for the infrastructure upgrade and the most viable financing strategies.

“Ireland’s offshore wind potential is immense, and we are addressing the critical infrastructure needs at our ports. This cooperation with EIB is a vital step towards ensuring that our ports can support the ambitious offshore wind projects for our sustainable energy future,” said Eamon Ryan, the Irish Minister for the Environment, Climate and Transport.

In 2023, Ireland held its first offshore wind auction (ORESS 1), and four projects were selected with a combined capacity around 3.1 GW. These include the 1.3 GW Codling Wind Park, the 824 MW Dublin Array, the 500 GW North Irish Sea Array and the 450 MW Sceirde Rocks project.

The first round of the phase two auction (ORESS 2.1) is scheduled for later this year. It will deliver around 900 MW capacity, primarily for projects focusing on the south coast of Ireland.

 

India Launches Its Own Center for Maritime Arbitration

Published Sep 15, 2024 8:35 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

 

In the ongoing revamp of its shipping sector, India has established its first maritime arbitration center. Last week, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) with the India International Arbitration Centre (IIAC) to launch the new India International Maritime Dispute Resolution Centre (IIMDRC) in Mumbai.  

This marks a major milestone in promoting India as a global destination for maritime dispute resolution, especially through arbitration and mediation. Currently, London, Singapore and Hong Kong dominate in the maritime dispute resolution market.

While MoPSW said that IIMDRC is designed to handle global cases, it primarily seeks to align with the government’s “Resolve in India” initiative. Essentially, Indian maritime companies will be obligated to work with IIMDRC instead of other foreign centers.

“This is a monumental step in strengthening India’s dispute resolution infrastructure in the maritime sector,” said Retired Justice Hemant Gupta, the Chairperson of IIAC.

The center is part of a broad revamp of India’s maritime sector under the flagship Sagarmala initiative. Launched in 2015, Sagarmala seeks to enhance the performance of the Indian logistics sector, which includes ports expansion and development of the domestic shipbuilding sector. The Sargamala program targets to complete a total of 839 projects by 2035, with an estimated investment cost of $70 billion. The ports ministry says that it is on course in the implementation plan, with 262 projects already complete.

At the same meeting last week, the ports ministry floated a proposal to create a mega shipbuilding park. The ambitious initiative aims to consolidate shipbuilding capabilities across India, fostering efficiency. MoPSW said that by integrating shipbuilding resources and expertise from various states, India would reinforce its position on the global shipbuilding stage. No details were provided on where the mega shipbuilding park would be located.

 

India Strengthens its Hand With New Ballistic-Missile Sub

The elusive first-in-class INS Arihant, 2014 (Indian Navy)

Published Sep 15, 2024 9:02 PM by The Lowy Interpreter

 

 

India’s second Arihant-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN), INS Arighaat, was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 29 August. The new submarine brings India one step closer to a nuclear second-strike capability while also entrenching nuclear competition in the Indo-Pacific.

SSBNs are a potent and highly specialized military asset. Operated by only the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and India, these boats are armed with submarine-launched nuclear ballistic missiles. Due to their inherent stealth and ability to evade detection and survive a first strike, these submarines are designed to provide a reliable second-strike capability and underpin strategic nuclear deterrence via the principle of mutual assured destruction.

Upon commissioning the new SSBN, India’s defense minister Rajnath Singh noted that INS Arighaat “will further strengthen India’s nuclear triad, enhance nuclear deterrence, help in establishing strategic balance and peace in the region, and play a decisive role in the security of the country.”

India’s first Arihant-class SSBN, INS Arihant, was commissioned in August 2016. Arihant is a Sanskrit term meaning “destroyer of the enemy”, which the Indian Ministry of Defence selected due to its “subtlety and appropriateness”. Although details are scarce, the ministry noted that the newer INS Arighaat is “significantly more advanced”, and has benefited from various indigenous systems and equipment developed by Indian science, naval and industry specialists.

Like its predecessor, INS Arighaat has four launch tubes, and can carry either 12 K-15 Sagarika submarine-launched ballistic missiles (750km range) or four K-4s (3,500km range). Submarine specifics are tightly held, and photos are hard to come by. India’s third SSBN, named INS Aridhaman, is expected to be commissioned in 2025, and a fourth is currently under construction.

India’s nuclear weapons program made various advances in 2024. In March, India successfully tested its Agni-V land-based intercontinental ballistic missile with multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles – further closing the technological gap between India and China.

Despite commissioning its second SSBN, India’s submarines alone will not achieve the coveted “Continuous At Sea Deterrence” status – whereby at least one nuclear-armed submarine is on deterrence patrol at any one time, enabling a retaliatory strike and thereby deterring adversaries. A fleet of at absolute minimum three SSBNs is required to ensure one submarine is on deterrence patrol at any one time – the United Kingdom and France achieve continuous deterrence with four submarines each.

INS Arighaat’s commissioning will impact Indo-Pacific strategic dynamics in several key ways. First, in practical terms, it will bolster India’s second-strike capability. A second SSBN will provide a more regular deterrence presence for India, as well as greater patrol pattern flexibility. Two SSBNs can synch and rotate, enabling patrols while also affording time for maintenance and training.

Second, India’s growing nuclear deterrence capability will bolster its ability to partner and act as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean. By possessing such an advanced and potent nuclear arsenal, India will be increasingly seen as a stabilizer by extra-regional partners such as the United States and Japan. With a growing second-strike capability, India is better able to maintain a favorable balance of power and deter aggressors.

Third, however, INS Arighaat will hasten nuclear competition between India and its two adversaries: China and Pakistan. China possesses a growing fleet of modern SSBNs, and Pakistan is continuing to modernize and expand its nuclear arsenal and is interested in attaining a second-strike capability. India’s newest SSBN will further entrench nuclear competition in the Indo-Pacific.

Fourth, time will tell the toll India’s growing SSBN fleet will take on the Indian Navy’s ability to undertake conventional routine operations. While SSBNs are designed to operate in secret, a range of naval assets are required to maintain a secure patrol area and deter adversary anti-submarine warfare assets. Protecting SSBNs comes at a high financial and opportunity cost, which may limit the Indian Navy’s ability to undertake less pressing, but nevertheless important missions in the Indian Ocean.

INS Arighaat represents a notable advance in the nation’s strategic capabilities, enhancing its deterrent posture and regional influence. However, its ultimate effect on security dynamics and regional stability will depend on how the capability is perceived and countered by fellow states, most notably China and Pakistan, and whether the growing SSBN fleet expands or constrains India’s strategic choices.

Samuel Bashfield is a research fellow at the University of Melbourne’s Australia India Institute. This article appears courtesy of The Interpreter and may be found in its original form here. 

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

 

U.S. Coast Guard Rescues 11 Migrants From the Cliffs of Monito Island

Courtesy USCG

Published Sep 12, 2024 7:07 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

On Saturday, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter rescued 11 migrants from the rocky cliffs of Monito Island, an inhospitable nature reserve halfway between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. 

On Saturday, the fishing vessel Likeo contacted Sector San Juan to report that a group of people in orange shirts appeared to be stranded on the rocky cliffs of Monito Island. The command center dispatched a Jayhawk helicopter to survey the situation and diverted the cutter USCGC Richard Dixon to assist. The aircrew soon spotted the group on Monito and directed the Dixon to the location.

Surface conditions were calm - a requirement for approaching the rocky cliffs - so the crew of the Dixon launched their pursuit boat to carry out a rescue. They found six men and five women, all Haitian nationals, who were stranded on shore. 

After countless interdictions at Monito Island, the Coast Guard has worked out a practical system for rescuing migrants from the cliffs. After passing out lifejackets to the group, the rescue boat's coxswain will approach, stand off about 10-15 feet from the rocks, and then have a crewmember toss a life ring on a line to one individual. When ready, the survivor jumps into the water, and the crew pulls him or her aboard with the line. The process is repeated until the whole group is safely aboard. 

All 11 migrants were delivered safely to Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, where the U.S. Border Patrol took them into custody. 

Monito Island is an uninhabited outcropping of American territory in the Mona Passage, and it has become a regular destination for migrant smugglers. Unscrupulous human traffickers regularly abandon their passengers on the island, leaving them some 40 nm short of an actual crossing to Puerto Rico. 

"The dangers of illegal voyages in the Mona Passage are exponentially increased when smugglers leave their passengers abandoned for days in austere and dangerous environments like Monito Island," said Capt. José E. Díaz, Coast Guard Sector San Juan commander, in a statement last year. "Most do not realize the danger they are in until it is too late, as these voyages often take place aboard makeshift and grossly overloaded vessels with no lifesaving equipment."

 THE RED MEANCE AND THE YELLOW PERIL REDUX

House Committee: Chinese Cranes Could be a "Trojan Horse" in U.S. Ports

ZPMC's cranes were once seen as a symbol of progress, and new deliveries would be highly publicized (Port of Oakland file image)

Published Sep 12, 2024 3:57 PM by The Maritime Executive

 

The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has completed its review of cybersecurity risks arising from the dominance of one Chinese crane manufacturer, and has released a comprehensive report on its findings (including a classified annex of findings that cannot be shared with the public).

State-owned Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC) is by far the world's most popular supplier of ship-to-shore (STS) container cranes, and its products can be found in seaports in every time zone. It is also the leading supplier in the American market: about 80 percent of all STS cranes at U.S. ports were built and shipped by ZPMC. 

Cyber and maritime security experts have warned that the electronic equipment fitted to ZPMC's cranes could be used for surveillance, or even for remote manipulation or shutdown. Some of the firm's cranes in the U.S. have been found to have their own onboard cellular modems, giving them an independent connection that bypasses the port's own local area network.

According to the committee, ZPMC has repeatedly requested remote access to its STS cranes around the U.S., especially those on the West Coast, where the busiest container terminals in the U.S. are located. The FBI also retrieved what it believed to be "intelligence collection devices" from a shipment of ZPMC cranes at the Port of Baltimore in 2021. 

"ZPMC could, if desired, serve as a Trojan horse capable of helping the CCP and the PRC military exploit and manipulate U.S. maritime equipment and technology at their request," said Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). "By potentially sacrificing long-term economic security for short-term financial gain, we have given the CCP the ability to track the movement of goods through our ports or even halt port activity at the drop of a hat."

The committees found a range of potential vulnerabilities in their study:

- When ZPMC signs deals with U.S. ports to supply STS cranes and other equipment, its contracts contain no restrictions on installation or access to the technology package on the machinery. This makes it contractually possible for ZPMC to install unauthorized equipment or software without breaching its sales agreements. 

- Like all leading Chinese state-owned enterprises, ZPMC has senior party members and defense executives on its board, and it has connections to the PLA. It has made business deals with U.S.-sanctioned entities involved in human rights abuses, according to the committee. 

The committees said that while the Biden administration's executive orders on port cybersecurity have helped - the Coast Guard now has cyber infrastructure enforcement powers - more will need to be done. "The Committees remain concerned that the port authorities have often structured their legal agreements with terminal operators in such a way as to pass off risk and are unable or unwilling to address the cybersecurity challenges," the investigators concluded. "[Expert cyber testing] can significantly reduce the vulnerabilities posed by the PRC, but some ports do not engage in any of these actions."

In a statement, the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) thanked the committees for their work and emphasized that America's ports have never had a known cyber breach affecting equipment. (Unrelated cyber incidents have affected cargo handling systems and internal IT business networks in years past, but not cranes.)

"We are eager to continue collaborating with Federal Government leaders to respond to evolving threat landscapes with forward looking policy solutions like waivers to burdensome procurement requirements and incentives for the domestic manufacture of critical port equipment," said AAPA CEO Cary S. Davis in a statement.