Threatened Caribbean Coral Reefs Get a New Ally: Insurance
As climate change threatens coral reefs around the world, conservation experts in Latin America have enlisted an unlikely ally to try to preserve them: the insurance industry.The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System - the world’s second largest which runs from southern Mexico to Honduras - will soon be covered by two insurance policies that will pay out after hurricanes to fund repairs and debris cleaning.A decade after experts first discussed the idea of reef insurance, Mexico’s Quintana Roo state government in 2019 took out what was likely the world’s first policy, covering areas near
Australia Pressing Yang Ming to Pay for Container Cleanup
Dozens of containers lost from a ship at sea have been recovered off the coast of Australia as the country's maritime authority continues to press the vessel's owner to pay the $11 million cleanup costs.The 63 boxes plucked from the bottom of the Tasman Sea are among more than 80 lost from Yang Ming's containership YM Efficiency about 20 miles from shore in June 2018. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says it stepped in to handle the cleanup operations after the Taiwanese shipowner and its insurer Britannia P&I refused to take responsibility for retrieving the
Oil Recovered from Sunken Ship Thorco Cloud
Strait following a collision in December 2015. The heavy oil in the fuel tanks and in trapped compartments was seen as a major pollution hazard. Both the bow and stern sections contained fuel tanks that required emptying, so the Thorco Cloud’s owner, Marship GmbH, supported by the P&I insurance company Standard Club, contracted Jaya Salvage Indonesia early last year. Bumi Subsea provided remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and the dynamically positioned Surf Allamanda, owned by Bourbon Offshore. This served as the work platform during the salvage of the trapped fuel by using the Moskito
IUMI: Gloomy Outlook for Offshore Energy Insurance Sector
Gloomy outlook for offshore energy insurance sector blighted by falling premium base and increased volatility, says IUMI Speaking at yesterday’s IUMI Genova conference, Simon Williams, Chairman of IUMI’s offshore energy committee, warned that the offshore energy sector was facing a series of significant challenges. He said: “We have not witnessed this level of downturn for 30 years – a drastic reduction in the oil price and a slowdown in activity coupled with a very soft insurance market where capacity continues to increase”. The depressed oil price has
Fate of Past Oyster Reef Projects Unknown
The settlement of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill fines — the largest pollution penalty in history — will bring an unprecedented opportunity to spend billions of dollars on restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico region. But new research by Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies graduate Dr. Brittany Blomberg has found that the fate remains unknown of hundreds of previous oyster reef restoration projects performed around the United States, an investment of more than $45 million and thousands of hours of labor. “Brittany’s research has exposed a flaw
NTSB Releases El Faro Images & Video
Subsea images and video released as part of NTSB public docket on investigation into the sinking of U.S. cargo ship El Faro. Underwater video and images of the sunken cargo ship EL Faro have been released by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as part of its continuing investigation into the vessel’s sinking in the Atlantic Ocean in October. The docket opened by NTSB includes nine underwater images of El Faro wreckage on the seafloor, as well as more than 47 minutes of video from CURV-21, the remotely operated vehicle used to document the wreckage and debris field. Excerpts
GAC Takes Care of ‘Maersk Deliverer’ at Ngqura
A massive drilling rig has completed its latest Special Periodic Survey and is now back in active duty off the coast of Angola. GAC South Africa was appointed to take care of the behemoth during its five-week stay at the deep water port of Ngqura. Weighing in at 37,756 GR, measuring 117m x 78m x 37m and with accommodation for up to 180 people, the ‘Maersk Deliverer’ needed plenty of room. It found it at Ngqura, South Africa's newest port, which has an entrance channel depth of 18m, a turning basin of 600m in diameter and 18m Port Chart Datum. Coordination GAC South
BMT Cordah Names Glass as Managing Director
BMT Cordah, a subsidiary of BMT Group announced the appointment of Andrew Glass as Managing Director. Glass will be responsible for leading the business in implementing strategy, direction and policy, ensuring the company continues to provide a range of specialist services to its UK and international offshore oil and gas customers. With experience in Environment Health and Safety (EHS) from the RSK Group where he held the position of Director, Andrew spent several years in the UAE developing new service lines. He helped bring the business back to profitability, achieving financial
U.S. Offshore Oil Drilling Rule Planned
The United States is planning to impose a major new regulation on offshore oil and gas drilling to try to prevent the kind of explosions that caused the catastrophic BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing Obama administration officials. The Interior Department could make the announcement as early as Monday, the paper said. It is timed to coincide with the five-year anniversary of the BP disaster, which killed 11 men and sent millions of barrels of oil spewing into the gulf. The rule is expected to tighten safety requirements on blowout preventers
February 2025
