Mining Companies Start Deep-Sea Mining & more– 18th July 2023

Ahoy from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 18th of July twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in salt water

Mining companies are about to start deep-sea mining after the ban expired at the beginning of July. Companies can now obtain a commercial license. However, at the moment, activities lack regulations so currently 168 member States of the International Seabed Authority are now discussing which regulations should be implemented.

A lot of environmental concerns have been raised, but mining companies assure that metal resources such as nickel and cobalt are necessary to achieve net zero carbon emissions. A Canadian mining company has already submitted the first official request to begin sea mining in the Pacific Ocean.

Environmental movements are worried about the disastrous consequences that could impact the marine environment. In the process of mining with trawling machines, the ocean bed might be damaged, smothering corals and other living organisms. Moreover, global warming will accelerate as the ocean will reduce its capability to act as a carbon sink.

In a Barcelona University project called FAR-DWO, a team of scientists will head to the North Atlantic to study the world’s largest waterfall which is underwater in the Denmark Strait, located between Iceland and Greenland. This immense current is formed in the Arctic, with a height of over three kilometers and a frigid, dense water flow that originates from the cooling and densification of surface water, which then sinks and navigates down towards lower latitudes of the ocean, forming the waterfall. The Consolidated Research Group on Marine Geosciences of the Faculty of Earth Sciences will lead the project. It will be held from Wednesday, the 19th of July until Saturday, the 12th of August, aboard the oceanographic vessel “Sarmiento de Gamboa”, owned by the Spanish National Research Council.

Moving to other ocean studies, Bangladesh and India are making a deal for joint research in the Indian Ocean. The two countries will cooperate to study climate change, marine pollution, air-sea interaction, ocean circulation and dynamics, biogeochemistry, ecosystems, and marine biology. The Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute and India's National Institute of Oceanography will sign a so-called “Memorandum of Understanding” that guarantees mutual cooperation in conducting scientific research in the Bay of Bengal and the rest of the Indian Ocean and exchanging collection of data. Bangladesh has already finished the draft agreement of the memorandum India gave the country during an inter-ministerial meeting on Sunday, the 9th of April. The research costs will be shared jointly by the two countries, and they will both own any publications or documents arising from the research.

Another news related to the Indian Ocean, on Tuesday, the 11th of July, the European Parliament rejected a Commission proposal regarding the management, conservation, and control measures for fisheries regarding the Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (or SOIFA). The proposal aimed to transpose the recommendations adopted in twenty sixteen under the SIOFA into EU law. However, João Pimenta Lopes, the Parliament’s rapporteur, stated that the Commission’s proposal was “shady, unclear and does not have a clear budgetary and legal framework”.

In other news, the engineering and technology group Sener has won the contract to design the fourth bridge over the Panama Canal. The firm will work on the design and construction of a bridge consisting of six lanes that will cross the canal connecting Panama West and Panama City. The bridge will present two intricate interchanges, one on the eastern side and the other on the western side of the canal. Sener will work on the project alongside Greisch, and the Highway Planning and Design Institute.

From Panama to the Suez Canal. The Panamanian registry has finally published a sixty-eight-page report on the accident of March twenty twenty-one, when the cargo ship called Ever Given became lodged in the Suez Canal, freezing the world trade economy for six days. Considering the weather conditions, the strong wind, and the limited visibility in particular, the pilots and the master should have asked for tug assistance during their northbound transit. Under the Suez Canal regulations, ships can travel at a maximum speed of around nine knots. However, the Ever Given, on average, exceeded the speed limit. To prevent future incidents, Panamanian authorities have advised implementing several measures, like enhancing crew training, improving communication between crews and pilots, and encouraging masters to promptly assume control from pilots when necessary.

During its marine environment protection committee meeting last week, from Monday the 3rd to Friday the 7th of July, the International Maritime Organization (or IMO) approved new shipping emissions goals in order to keep the temperature rises below 1.5°Celsius (or 2.8° Fahrenheit) and reach net-zero emissions by twenty fifty. The proposal aims to reduce emissions from freight ships that consume large quantities of polluting bunker fuel. However, climate activists have strongly criticized the proposal since they believe that the new goals are falling short of expectations. Until now, the shipping industry didn’t commit to reaching net zero emissions.

Another kind of pollution humans are responsible for is ocean noise. A recent UN report published in June by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (or CMS), lists solutions and recommendations to reduce human-caused ocean noise that is impacting marine life. The three main sources of anthropogenic noise are: shipping, seismic air gun surveys used to map the seafloor, and pile driving. Lindy Weilgart, the report’s author and an underwater noise specialist, includes a few practices and technologies to reduce ocean noises. She said that the aim of the report was “to take a little bit of emphasis away from constantly studying the impacts because we already know the impacts are serious in certain contexts and situations” and, to prioritize actions that reduce unnecessary disturbances..

The ocean temperatures in Florida are rising up to a point that could be dangerous for corals and other marine life. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Monday, the 10th of July, that the surface temperature off the Keys, in the Gulf of Mexico, was around 90 degrees Fahrenheit, or about 32 degrees Celsius. Scientists are more worried for the months to come, August and September, the period in which corals are usually under the most heat stress. Oceans have already absorbed 90% of the heat generated by deforestation and burning fossil fuels. When sea temperatures become excessively high, corals undergo bleaching, expelling the algae necessary for their survival. If the waters do not cool down rapidly enough or if bleaching events occur in rapid succession, the corals ultimately die. To date, 40% of the planet is experiencing a marine heat wave.

In other news, the Italian cargo ship called the “Grande Costa d’Avorio” caught fire in New Jersey, taking the life of two Newark firefighters. On Tuesday, the 11th of July, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the fire - which started on Wednesday - has finally been extinguished, but investigations on the cause of the fire are still going on. The ship will be broken for scrap. The Port Authority said lithium-ion batteries didn’t cause the fire. They also said that the ship was carrying a tremendous amount of cargo load, including 5,000 vehicles (that got burned) to be dispatched to Africa.

That’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

Remember you can always financially support us using the link in the show notes. Can’t do that but still wanna support us? Tell your friends about us and hit the subscribe button!

See you next week!