Sunday, November 24, 2024

Hutchison Ports BEST Receives Lean & Green Award for Emission Reduction

[By: Hutchison Ports BEST]

Hutchison Ports BEST has been awarded the prestigious Lean and Green award, earning 4 stars for its outstanding performance in reducing emissions in logistics processes. This European recognition is awarded to companies that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to sustainability and reducing their carbon footprint through the optimization of their logistics and transport processes.

Lean and Green is the largest European collaboration platform specifically aimed at reducing emissions associated with the supply chain. It is an international initiative whose objective is to help companies in all sectors reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from logistics activities to achieve the goals defined at the Paris Climate Summit (COP21) of carbon neutral emissions by 2050. In Spain, the Lean and Green Award is awarded by the Association of Manufacturers and Distributors (AECOC).

In 2023, Hutchison Ports BEST achieved a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 58.73% in logistics processes compared to 2021. The environmental and energy efficiency measures implemented include the purchase of electricity from renewable sources, the installation of solar panels, the optimization of the terminal's operating system, the change to LED lighting, and the acquisition of electric and hybrid machinery.

This achievement underscores the company's ongoing commitment to sustainability and its leadership in the port industry. "We are very proud to receive this award. It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team to make Hutchison Ports BEST the most sustainable terminal in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean," said Guillermo Belcastro, CEO at Hutchison Ports BEST. "BEST's current emissions reduction is being amplified with the recent use of On Shore Power by eliminating GHG emissions from ships during their stay at the terminal, thus contributing to improved air quality."

This initiative is part of the company's sustainability strategy, which is seen as the heart of logistics, as it is concerned with being a clean container terminal and pumping sustainable supply chains. The emission savings for each 20" container that passes through the terminal is 67% compared to a conventional terminal.

Since 2021, BEST has been verifying the process of calculating its carbon footprint and registering it with the Spanish Ministry of Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge. This year, BEST has carried out a double verification process for the 2023 footprint and that of Lean and Green, with the part that corresponds to logistics processes.

BEST's decarbonisation plan in the Port of Barcelona aims to reduce GHG emissions by 80% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions before 2040.

The products and services herein described in this press release are not endorsed by The Maritime Executive.

Philly Shipyard Sued Over Construction Delays on Rock Installation Vessel

Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company filed suit in the U.S. Eastern District against Philly Shipyard citing construction delays and a disagreement over the construction plan for the company’s rock installation vessel. The company is asking the court to grant a restraining order and preliminary injunction saying it is suffering harm due to the repeated delays in the delivery date for the vessel.

The court filing cites that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock stipulated since it began the selection process for a shipyard to build the vessel that time was of the essence. They report Philly Shipyard during the proposal process presented an unacceptable timeline in effect removing itself from the bidding. However, Philly Shipyard later presented a revised construction schedule and in November 2021 was awarded the contract which called for a delivery date of November 15, 2024.

Great Lakes ordered a 461-foot-long fallpipe vessel for subsea rock installation valued at $197 million as part of its efforts to expand to support the offshore wind installation sector. The company also took an option for a second vessel. The subsea rock installation vessel is designed to carry up to 20,000 MT of rock, transporting and depositing the rocks to the ocean floor. It will lay a foundation for the monopiles which serve as the prevailing support structure for offshore wind turbines.

Work started with fanfare when President Joe Biden visited the shipyard to mark the first steel cut in July 2023. Assembly of the vessel named Arcadia began in May 2024. Great Lakes acknowledges in its filing that it accepted two charge orders which set a new contract delivery date of February 14, 2025.

The company now contends it is filing that Philly Shipyard is failing to meet its obligations and has proposed various new timelines with delays of as much as 593 days. They assert that between August and October 2024, Philly has repeatedly changed the timeline first proposing October 30, 2025, and more recently an “estimated delivery date of September 30, 2026.”

“Great Lakes’s patience has reached its end, because it recently became apparent that Philly’s pattern of false promises, failure to take seriously its contractual commitments, and breaches of the VCA (vessel construction agreement) threatened to irreparably harm Great Lakes,” the company writes in its court filing.

They allege that Philly Shipyard's “delays are exacerbated by its prioritization of other projects at the shipyard at the expense of making progress on the vessel.” They contend the shipyard is understaffed, laid-off individuals, and is sharing resources between the rock vessel construction and other projects in the yard.

They are asking the court to stop a plan to float the incomplete vessel so that one of the MARAD vessels under construction at the yard behind the Arcadia can be moved from the assembly dry dock to the outfitting berth. Great Lakes said it has rejected this plan as the vessel is not ready for floating and to prepare it would further delay construction. They allege the yard would also begin construction on another vessel in the dry dock further delaying their vessel.

The proposed restraining order would stop the plan to move the incomplete rock vessel from the dock until it is ready for outfitting, They are also asking the court to order the yard to stop diverting shared resources to other projects, and for the shipyard to “develop and maintain a fully resource-loaded and logic-linked schedule,” consistent with the construction contract.

Great Lakes wants the court to also order Philly Shipyard to take actions to recover the project schedule including placing all purchase orders within 60 days. They want certain materials shipped by air to also help recover the construction schedule.

Philly Shipyard issued a brief statement to the stock exchange acknowledging that Great Lakes Dredge & Dock “has filed a complaint and motion against PSI seeking injunctive relief with respect to certain actions related to the project execution plan for the construction” of the rock vessel. They note the yard “continues production activities” for the vessel and is also working on the three MARAD training ships and has started work on the first container vessel ordered by Matson.

District Judge Mary Kay Costello entered an order yesterday setting December 4 for a response by Philly Shipyard to Great Lakes’ motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. The court has scheduled a hearing for December 6 to consider the complaint and request for an injunction.

Warning: Marine Engines May Also Be “Allergic” to Cashew Nutshell Biofuel

Fuel suppliers and shipping companies continue to look at a wide range of non-FAME biofuels, but a leading testing firm is warning against Cashew Nutshell Liquid biofuel. Singapore-based CTI-Maritec which provides marine environmental services and fuel testing solutions issued the warning after finding high concentrations of detrimental compounds in fuels from undeclared source materials or production processes it sampled.

The alert says that ships fueling in Singapore and Rotterdam have reported a range of operational issues that led it to launch the tests on VLSFO (Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil) samples from the vessels that had bunkered in those ports. They received reports of operational issues including fuel sludging, injector failure, filter clogging, system deposits, and corrosion of turbocharger nozzle rings.

CTI-Maritec reports it carried out extensive Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) testing on fuel samples from these vessels. It found “the presence of high concentrations” of compounds indicating the fuel was blended with Cashew Nutshell Liquid (CNSL) from undeclared source materials or production processes.

“CTI-Maritec recommends that shipowners should not use 100 percent CNSL as a marine fuel or use CNSL as a blending component in marine fuel,” it writes in a Bunker Flash report issued on November 21. They note this “is contrary to the guidance by IMO on best practices for suppliers on the quality of fuel oil delivered to ships.”

The IMO specifies the accepted BioFuels such as FAME-based biofuels, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), and those fuels are now established and acknowledged by equipment manufacturers, class societies, and flag administrations as “drop-in” fuels. CTI-Maritec says however that there is no specification available for CNSL from any authorized body similar to those for the other fuels.

CNSL they explain is a non-FAME BioFuel, which is a naturally occurring byproduct of the cashew nut industry, and acts as a low-cost alternative renewable fuel. It is a substituted phenol, which is highly reactive and less stable says CTI-Maritec owing to its high iodine value.

“The application of CNSL is known in the production of plastic, resin, adhesives, laminates, and surface coatings. CNSL has high acid values and is therefore highly corrosive as well. High Potassium found in CNSL blend fuels cause serious post-combustion deposits and corrosion of turbocharger nozzle rings,” according to the alert.

They are recommending that ships not use unestablished bioproducts in marine diesel engines. They also recommend that blend compounds should be tried and tested to create an understanding of their typical properties and suitability for bunker products. How they combine with other components also needs to be well understood.

U.S. Navy Confirms Plan to Idle 17 Auxiliary Ships to Improve MSC Workforce

MSC resupply to USN — Due to workforce shortages, MSC will realign operations including idling auxiliary vessels supporting the U.S. Navy logistics (USN photo)

U.S. Navy commanders confirmed yesterday, November 21, that they will be taking steps to realign the operations of the Military Sealift Command under the guise of improving working conditions for the mariners and strengthening logistic support operations. Reports had surfaced during the summer that a plan was in the works driven in large part by a shortage of qualified mariners to operate the ships.

“Addressing the recruiting and retention challenges in MSC’s civil service mariner workforce will take time,” said Rear Adm. Philip Sobeck, MSC’s commander during a briefing on the new plan. He reported that Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro approved the plan on October 30 saying it was designed, “to restore the health of the Military Sealift Command (MSC) workforce and generate more logistics support for fleet operations worldwide.”

The command’s new workforce initiative they said addresses civil service mariner recruitment and retention challenges. They highlighted that MSC consists of 5,500 civil service mariners and 1,500 contracted mariners operating 140 logistics supply ships that support the replenishment and transport of military cargo and supplies for U.S. forces and partners.

They are also saying that MSC has assumed broader logistics responsibilities and experienced higher mission demand for Navy operations in recent years. They blamed all these factors for increasing the strain on the workforce and contributing to recruiting and retention challenges.

The initiative will include crew reassignments to higher-priority vessels according to Sobeck. During the briefing, he said the goal is to reach 95 percent manning.

To achieve this, Sobeck confirmed that the plan includes “the placement of some MSC logistics support ships into extended maintenance periods.” He declined to name the specific ship that would be idled saying it depends on operational priorities and planned maintenance cycles. MSC command, however, said it expects up to 17 ships to be idled in the realignment.

The announcement said that the types of ships for the workforce initiative include Fleet Replenishment Oilers (T-AO), Dry Cargo/Ammunition Ships (T-AKE), Expeditionary Fast Transports (T-EPF), and Expeditionary Sea Bases (ESB). USNI News speculated in August that one fleet oiler, a dozen EPFs, two forward-deployed Navy expeditionary sea bases, and two Lewis and Clark-class replenishment ships could get inactivated.

By increasing the workforce and decreasing the number of ships, MSC expects to increase its operational capabilities while also providing more shore time for the mariners. Nationally, they said the U.S. merchant marine workforce is facing a shortage of personnel to fill positions at sea, as it has become more challenging to attract interested Americans, impacting mariners employed by MSC. Rotating crews to higher-priority vessels will minimize overdue reliefs and provide a more predictable work environment for civil service mariners.

“Our civil service mariners play invaluable roles providing continuous logistics support to our deployed naval forces, and they are working overtime to sustain that mission globally,” said Secretary Del Toro. “This initiative will not only address operational logistics challenges we face now, it will ensure that Military Sealift Command has policies, programs, and incentives it needs to recruit and retain future generations of civil service mariners.”

The Navy is emphasizing that these investments will increase MSC’s operational readiness and support its civil service workforce, both of which strengthen maritime dominance.

The moves by the U.S. follow similar efforts by the UK. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is also reporting staffing shortages although the unions blame it on an ongoing wage dispute and chronic low wages for the commercial mariners. The RFA has sidelined vessels and is also taking steps at realigning operations to deal with chronic workforce shortages.

China Commissions Its First Deep-Ocean Drillship

Chinese drillship — Meng Xiang completed commissioning and is set for its maiden voyage before the end of the year (Huangpu Wenchong photos)

In its quest to access deep-ocean resources, China commissioned its first drilling vessel at a shipyard in Guangzhou. The ultra-large drillship, the Meng Xiang (Dream), is a significant leap in China’s ambition for deep-sea exploration, including mineral resource surveys.

In a congratulatory letter to celebrate the commissioning of the vessel, Chinese President Xi Jinping noted that the design and construction of the vessel is a culmination of the nation’s unique resource mobilization system.

“I hope that we can keep working hard to make the best use of this important science and technology asset, and enhance innovation and creativity in marine science,” said Xi in his letter, which was read out by Vice-Premier He Lifeng during the commissioning ceremony.

The drillship was developed by the China Geological Survey of the Ministry of Natural Resources in close collaboration with the Institute of China Shipbuilding, which helped in designing the vessel. It was built by Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard, part of the Chinese State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC). The ship’s construction began in November 2021 and was completed last year in December and undergoing testing and commissioning since then. The vessel is scheduled to begin its maiden voyage by the end of this year.

With a length of 590 feet (180 meters) and 108 feet (33 meters) in width, Meng Xiang becomes the largest Chinese research vessel. It has a displacement of 42,600 tons and a range of 15,000 nautical miles. It accommodates 180 people and according to the shipyard was designed to operate in strong sea conditions (level 6) as well as to safely survive a super typhoon.

Meng Xiang has an advanced dynamic positioning system and a broad range of deep ocean drill capabilities (Huangpu Wenchong)

The China Geological Survey (CGS), highlights that Meng Xiang is the world’s only deep-ocean drilling vessel capable of conducting ultra-deepwater drilling at depths of 11,000 meters. Analysts believe the ultra-large drillship, featuring state-of-the-art drilling systems, will help China lower expeditionary costs for deep-ocean studies and surveys.

Notably, the vessel is also the first in the world to integrate functions such as deep-ocean scientific drilling, oil and gas exploration, and natural gas hydrate investigation and trial extraction.

“The Deep-Earth core samples that the vessel will help retrieve will provide global scientists with direct evidence to study plate tectonics, oceanic crust evolution, and ancient marine climates,” the Director of Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, under CGS, Xu Zhenqiang told Xinhua news.

The shipyard highlights the vessel made “breakthroughs” in 50 core technologies solving problems such as the integration of multiple functions including ocean scientific drilling, deep-sea oil and gas exploration, and natural gas exploration all on the same platform. The ship features a DP-3 dynamic positioning system based on a closed-loop energy storage system. It has onboard laboratories for real-time research of all marine disciplines. It also has a comprehensive information system able to gather and analyze data in real-time from more than 20,000 monitoring points.

Activists in Australia and France Target Ports to Highlight Causes

port protests — Police providing passage to a bulker at the Port of Newcastle on Friday (Rising Tide)

Ports have become the renewed target of activists seeking to highlight their causes and advance their complaints against their governments. In Australia, hundreds of protestors descended on the Port of Newcastle and the surrounding beach while in France farmers finally withdrew their blockade of the Port of Bordeaux while vowing to continue their demonstrations.

French farmers had been blockading the country’s seventh-busiest port and one of the largest grain terminals in the country to highlight their opposition to an EU trade deal. The deal calls for reducing tariffs on the South American trade bloc known as Mercosur. Farmers are protesting the increased competition and highlighting that it will reduce standards on the quality of products.

According to French authorities over 335 farmers and 186 agricultural machines participated in the demonstrations that stretched across seven regions in the southwest and south of France. The port of Bordeaux as well as distribution centers were among the targets with the farmers dumping tires and other debris on the access roads and parking their trucks.

The protests began Wednesday night, November 20, with the farmers calling for abandoning all the principles of the Mercosur agreement or renegotiating the agreement for better terms, despite it having never been officially ratified. The demonstrations were organized by a group calling itself Coordination Rural which said it would lead an agricultural revolt.

The farmers agreed to unblock the entrances to the Port of Bordeaux on Friday morning, November 22, and one of the key purchasing centers while vowing to continue the fight. They were also calling for actions in the Port of Rouen. In addition, another French union, Fédération Nationale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA), has called for additional actions Tuesday through Thursday next week.

Australian Climate Protestors

At the Port of Newcastle, the planned “People’s Blockade” went into full force on Friday and is scheduled to continue again on Saturday, November 23. Organizers in a group called Rising Tide have said it is their goal to blockade the port for 50 hours as part of a larger 10-day effort that is part demonstration and part festival.

The group was emboldened when the New South Wales Supreme Court ruled late on Thursday that the government’s effort to set up a blockade zone around the port could not proceed. The court reaffirmed the right to peaceful protests while cautioning that that did not mean all efforts, especially endangering port operations, would be lawful.

The NSW Police Force issued a statement saying it would adopt “a zero-tolerance approach to actions which threaten public safety and the safe passage of vessels. For their own safety and that of the other users of the port, we request that people who still attend this event refrain from entering the harbor on kayaks or other vessels with the intention to obstruct other users of the port, or engage in other forms of civil disobedience.”

Police escorting a bulker after protestors attempted to block the Port of Newcastle (Ben Pennings on X/courtesy of Rising Tide)

Protestors turned out on Friday and promised to return Saturday to the Port of Newcastle (Rising Tide)

Despite the warning, the group released pictures showing a small flotilla of kayaks, canoes, and surfboards in the harbor while others encouraged them from the beach chanting “This is what democracy looks like.”

The group is demanding an end to coal exports, canceling all new fossil fuel projects, and the imposition of a 78 percent tax on profits from the export of fossil fuels to fund the industrial transition and compensate communities.

Reports said the police were called out using their boats and jet skis to clear the protestors when they attempted to block the bulker Eternal Bliss (82,000 dwt registered in Singapore) as it was departing Newcastle for China yesterday, November 21. Today’s pictures showed the Hong Kong-registered bulker ITG Uming 3 (82,000 dwt) attempting to navigate inbound from China while the Liberia-registered bulker Mount Matterhorn (208,000 dwt) was departing for Japan.

The mood was summed up by one of the protestors, an 84-year-old woman who told the media “Unless we take direction action, no one’s going to take any notice.” The group was vowing another day of protests on Saturday in the harbor.

Boston to Invest $100M in Cruise Port as It Sets New Passenger Record

Boston cruise terminal Massport — Boston will invest $100 million into its cruise operations to support growth and add shore power (Massport)

The Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) operators of Flynn Cruiseport Boston unveiled plans for a $100 million investment into its cruise operations to support future growth and incorporate shore power into the terminal. Port officials announced the plan while also celebrating a record-breaking passenger count in 2024.

Boston has emerged as a strong regional cruise port and like the whole industry is enjoying strong growth. In 1986, Massport opened the new Black Falcon Cruise Terminal located in the South Boston Seaport area.

The total passenger count for the port in 2024 set a new record at just over 480,000 passengers, up 29 percent over last year. The season started in March and ended in early November and included 13 maiden calls in Boston. Massport highlights that 24 different cruise lines called at the port with itineraries to Canada/New England accounting for 64 percent of the 2024 passengers. Bermuda continues to be another popular destination making up more than 31 percent of the passengers while the port also had cruises to Iceland, the Caribbean, and Central America.

The 2024 cruise season included a total of 167 cruise ship calls, 18 more than in 2023. It was a 12 percent increase in traffic, but the port also highlights it is receiving and continues to expect to continue to see bigger cruise ships.

In 2026, Boston will receive what is currently scheduled to be its largest homeported cruise ship. Norwegian Cruise Line will reposition its Norwegian Breakaway (145,655 gross tons) for the season in Boston. The cruise ship which can carry up to 4,500 passengers replaces the Norwegian Gem (93,500 gross tons) which accommodates up to 3,200 passengers.

“With record-breaking passenger numbers at Flynn Cruiseport, Boston is thriving like never before,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “As we continue to grow, adopting clean technologies becomes even more crucial for meeting our climate goals. For both visitors and locals, Massport’s investment in shore power is a significant step forward—reducing fossil fuel use while ships are docked and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.”

To sustain the growth Massport highlights that it will invest a total of $100 million into its cruise operations facilities. Of this, $40 million will be spent on cruise terminal improvements. Upgrades to the terminal include pier upgrades to support an additional Passenger Boarding Bridge, a new escalator, and an expanded queueing area with increased seating, which will allow for better passenger flow.

In addition, the port announced it moving forward with a $60 million investment to provide shore power capabilities for the cruise port. CEO Rich Davey said Massport has been planning to bring ship-to-shore power to Flynn Cruiseport for some time and it has decided to move forward with the installation at the two main berths. Nearly 80 percent of the ships that currently serve Boston the authority highlights can plug into shore power or use an alternative low-carbon technology. The project is expected to be completed by 2029.

Boston follows other cruise ports that are installing shore power. PortMiami in June 2024 started its shore power operations. It can support up to three cruise ships at a time and has shore power connections available at five of its terminals. Starting in 2027, the Port of Seattle (Washington state) will require all cruise ships homeporting at its terminals to only use shore power while in port.

Maersk Surprises Industry Abandoning Felixstowe for Smaller London Gateway

Maersk containership at Felixstowe UK — Maersk a key part of Felixstowe is moving the Gemini Cooperation to the smaller London Gateway Port in 2025 (Hutchison Ports)

Maersk shocked the container shipping industry this week with the news that come February 2025 it will transition its large containerships along with those of its new partner Hapag-Lloyd from the UK’s Port of Felixstowe to the smaller London Gateway. It is a significant competitive blow for Hutchinson Ports operator of Felixstowe which has already been seeing DP World rapidly challenge it with the London Gate Terminal.

In an operational advisory issued on November 18, Maersk revealed it is replacing Felixstowe in favor of the London Gateway port. The decision was reported to be part of the new Gemini Cooperation’s launch in February with the declared goal of achieving an unheard-of industry schedule reliability of 90 percent.

The two lines are establishing the cooperation under the tagline of “The Network of the Future.” Maersk told customers that the change will affect the Asia–Europe trade which would join the Middle East–Europe trade at London Gateway. Its trans-Atlantic route with remain unchanged at Southampton. The company has been a major part of Felxistone where it typically has as many as two ships a week and makes up a key part of the nearly 2,000 ship calls annually at the Huthchison-operated port.

“This strategic decision comes as part of the ambition to reduce network complexity with mostly single operator loops and fewer port calls per service, and is aimed at enhancing reliability, reach, and speed for our customers. Due to this change, Felixstowe will not be a part of Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd’s shared Gemini network,” Maersk wrote to customers. They did not announce the timing of the switch but said it would be part of the Gemini Cooperation and be implemented as it phases out the current 2M alliance with MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.

Felixstowe is one of the UK’s oldest ports tracing its historical roots to 1886 although the modern port is considered to have started in 1969 and its second terminal in 1986. Today it handles more than 4 million TEU annually.

London Gateway which was opened just 11 years ago in November 2013, highlights its convenient location on the River Thames just 28 miles from London. Currently, the London Gateway handles about 2 million TEUs annually.

The decision to transfer port calls to London Gateway is a major win for the port that is operated by DP World. In August, DP World said it will be investing £1 billion ($1.3 billion) in expanding the facility with the aim of increasing the terminal’s capacity and enhancing the UK’s international trade resilience. They also highlighted the installation of new cranes during the summer that they said would support a 50 percent increase in handling capacity.

The investment will go into building two additional berths and a second rail terminal, with the ultimate goal aimed at transforming the London Gateway to the largest port in the UK accounting for 55 percent of the UK’s cargo flow through the southeast region. Just this month, DP World launched the fourth berth at the facility constructed at a cost of £350 million ($451 million).

EU urges immediate halt to Israel-Hezbollah war

THIS IS THE THIRD COUNTRY ISRAEL

ATTACKS TO GAIN BEACH FRONT PROPERTY

Beirut (Lebanon) (AFP) – Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell called for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hezbollah war while on a visit to Lebanon on Sunday, as the militant group claimed a wave of cross-border attacks.

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri met with European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borell in Beirut on Sunday © - / LEBANESE PARLIAMENT/AFP

Earlier this week, US special envoy Amos Hochstein said in Lebanon that a truce deal was "within our grasp", and then headed to Israel for talks with officials there.

War between Israel and Hezbollah escalated in late September, nearly a year after the Iran-backed group began launching strikes in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas following its October 7 attack.

The conflict has killed at least 3,670 people in Lebanon since October 2023, according to the health ministry, most of them since September.

In the Lebanese capital, Borrell held talks with parliament speaker Nabih Berri, who has led mediation efforts on behalf of ally Hezbollah.

Rescuers douse the flames at the scene of an Israeli airstrike that hit a Lebanese army post in southern Lebanon © Kawnat HAJU / AFP

"We see only one possible way ahead: an immediate ceasefire and the full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701," Borrell said after his meeting with Berri.

Under Resolution 1701, which ended the last Hezbollah-Israel war of 2006, only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be allowed to maintain a presence in the south, where Hezbollah holds sway.

It also called for Israel to withdraw troops from Lebanon.

"Back in September I came and was still hoping we could prevent a full-fledged war of Israel attacking Lebanon. Two months later Lebanon is on the brink of collapse," Borrell said.

He said the European Union was ready to provide 200 million euros ($208 million) to help bolster the Lebanese armed forces.
Air raid sirens

Hezbollah is one of the world's best-armed non-state forces, and was the only group in Lebanon that refused to surrender its arsenal after the 1975-1990 civil war.

The Lebanese army maintains a presence across the country's territory, but it is Hezbollah that holds sway in key areas along the border with Israel.

Residents of central Israel gather underground after being warned of rockets fired from Lebanon © Menahem Kahana / AFP

While the Lebanese army is not engaged in the Israel-Hezbollah war, it has suffered multiple fatalities among its ranks.

On Sunday, the army said an Israeli strike on a military post killed one soldier and wounded 18 others.

Also on Sunday, Hezbollah said it launched attacks using missiles and drones directed at a naval base in southern Israel and a "military target" in Tel Aviv.

It said it had "launched, for the first time, an aerial attack using a swarm of strike drones on the Ashdod naval base".

In also claimed to have carried out an operation against a "military target" in Tel Aviv using "a barrage of advanced missiles and a swarm of strike drones".

The Israeli military said air raid sirens were activated in several areas of central and northern Israel, adding that it had intercepted projectiles fired from Lebanon.

Israel's emergency medical service Magen David Adom said it had provided treatment to two people including a 70-year-old woman who was mildly injured.

On Saturday, Lebanon said Israeli strikes around the country killed more than 55 people, many of them in central Beirut.

One strike on the working-class Basta neighbourhood of Beirut killed at least 20 people and wounded 66 others, Lebanon's health ministry said.

Firefighters battle the flames after a building was hit in an Israeli airstrike in south Beirut © - / AFP

"We saw two dead people on the ground... The children started crying and their mother cried even more," said Samir, 60, who lives in a building facing the one destroyed.

In a phone call with Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz on Saturday, Washington's Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin "reiterated US commitment to a diplomatic resolution" in the Lebanon war, a Pentagon spokesperson said.

A spokesman for Katz said he commended US efforts towards de-escalation in Lebanon, but said Israel would "continue to act decisively in response to Hezbollah's attacks on civilian populations in Israel".
Hostage claim

On the Gaza front, Hamas's armed wing said Saturday that an Israeli hostage, captured during the group's October 7 attack which triggered the war, had been killed.

Israel's military said it could neither "confirm nor refute" the claim.

Israeli protesters held another of their regular Saturday rallies in Tel Aviv to demand their government reach a deal to free remaining hostages.

A displaced Palestinian child carrying a bag walks barefoot in a displacement camp in the central Gaza Strip © Bashar TALEB / AFP

On Sunday, Gaza's civil defence agency said a drone strike had seriously injured a hospital chief in an attack on the healthcare facility, while Israeli raids killed 11 people across the Palestinian territory.

Hossam Abu Safiya heads the Kamal Adwan hospital, one of just two partly operating facilities in northern Gaza, as the territory is in the grip of a dire humanitarian crisis.

Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel's retaliatory campaign in Gaza has killed at least 44,211 people, most of them civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which the United Nations considers reliable.

Criticism of Israel has mounted over its conduct of the war, and this week the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister Yoav Gallant.

It has also issued a warrant for Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif, though it is unclear whether he is still alive.

© 2024 AFP

Gisèle Pelicot slams 'macho' society that 'trivialises rape' in closing statement

In her closing statement of the mass rape trial that has sent shockwaves across the country, survivor Gisèle Pelicot said it was time for “macho” society that “trivialises rape” to change. “I’ve lost 10 years of my life that I’ll never make up for,” she added. The trial enters its final stages this week.

Issued on: 19/11/2024
By: NEWS WIRES
Video by: Shirli SITBON

03:08

Gisèle Pelicot walks in front of a collage on a wall outside the Avignon courthouse, November 14, 2024. © Christophe Simon, AFP

Gisèle Pelicot, subjected to mass rape organised by her husband over 10 years, on Tuesday condemned the cowardice of the dozens of men accused of abusing her who claim they didn't realise it was rape, adding that France's patriarchal society must change.

Dominique Pelicot, her husband, has admitted to drugging his wife, 71, and inviting strangers to their house to rape her while she was unconscious, in a trial that has attracted worldwide attention and turned into an examination of the pervasiveness of sexual violence.

Most of the 50 other men on trial have said they did not realise they were raping her, did not intend to rape her or put all the blame on her husband, whom they said had manipulated them.

Read more

Children of Gisèle Pelicot decry 'house of horror' as French mass rape trial nears end

"For me this is the trial of cowardice, there is no other way to describe it," Gisèle Pelicot said, adding that there was no excuse for abusing her when she was unconscious.

Video recorded by her husband and shown in court over the past weeks has repeatedly featured her motionless, sometimes snoring, while the accused, including her husband, abused her.

"When you walk into a bedroom and see a motionless body, at what point (do you decide) not to react," she said, in an address to the accused, many of whom were in the courtroom. "Why did you not leave immediately to report it to the police?"

Gisèle Pelicot only learnt of the abuse four years ago when police stumbled upon videos and pictures her husband recorded of the abuse he orchestrated and also carried out.
'Rape is rape'

Gisèle Pelicot told the court she was angry at the accused, not least because any of them could, at any time, have put an end to her ordeal if they had denounced her husband.

"They must take responsibility for their actions. They raped. Rape is rape," she added.

It is the third time she has addressed the court in Avignon, southern France, as the trial heads towards delivering its verdicts and sentences around Dec. 20.

France mass rape trial enters final stage as last defendants testify

Under French law, she could have asked for the trial to be kept behind closed doors. Instead she asked for it be held in public, saying she hoped it would help other women speak up and show that victims have nothing to be ashamed of.

"It is time for society to look at this macho, patriarchal society and change the way it looks at rape," she told the court. She said she would never forgive her husband.

On Monday, the Pelicots' two sons asked the court to punish him severely and also said they would never forgive him and that he was dead to them. Their sister, Caroline Darian, said she believed Dominique Pelicot had also drugged and abused her.

When it was Dominique Pelicot's turn to speak on Tuesday, he repeated that he had not abused Caroline Darian or his grand-children. At that point, his daughter interrupted him from the courtroom, shouting that he was a liar.

"You don't even have the courage to tell the truth!" she shouted. "You will die in a lie. You are alone in your lie."

Earlier in the trial, Dominique Pelicot admitted to raping his wife while she was unconscious, as well as inviting others to rape her, telling the court: "I am a rapist, just like all the others in this room."

(Reuters)

From the show

In this special edition, Annette Young heads to Avignon as the Pelicot case enters its closing stages. For nearly a decade, Gisèle Pelicot was regularly drugged by her husband and offered up to strangers for sex. Now seen as the most notorious rape trial ever to be held in this country, we meet the local women who offer their support to the 72-year-old grandmother by decorating Avignon’s streets with slogans. Annette Young also talks to Catherine Porter from The New York Times, who’s been covering the trial, about how this case is shifting societal attitudes. Plus we report on the growing pressure on French authorities to address the issue of drug-facilitated sexual assault.

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