OCEAN: Deep-sea Mining & more – 2nd July 2024

Ahoy from BA! This is the Rorshok Ocean Update from the 2nd of July twenty twenty-four. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

In previous shows we talked about Norway’s decision to start deep-sea mining. Now, the country is moving forward, planning to auction almost 400 seabed mineral blocks early next year. These blocks are located between Iceland, Norway, and Svalbard. On Wednesday, the 26th of June, Terje Aasland, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy, announced the initial licensing round, with a public consultation period open until the end of September. Aasland stressed the importance of seabed minerals for the green transition and highlighted strong support in parliament. Many environmental groups criticized the decision, including the World Wide Fund for Nature or WWF which considered the plan environmentally irresponsible and warned about the irreversible marine damage.

Want to know more about this story? Check out the Rorshok Arctic Update with the link in the show notes!

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Researchers have found that the contrast in salinity between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans has intensified over the past fifty years. Scientists found that the contrast is more prominent in the first 800 meters of depth (around half a mile). The study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change on Friday the 28th of June, connects the change to the ocean surface warming and alterations in wind patterns. Warmer ocean surfaces are moving thermocline zones, where the temperatures change rapidly, towards the poles. This leads to a substantial rise in upper-layer salinity in the North Atlantic but these increases are not as strong in the North Pacific.

The findings highlighted how much climate change increased the level of ocean salinity dynamics.

Talking about the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic Sea Farms, the largest seaweed cultivation company in the US, achieved a record-breaking harvest of 1.3 million pounds of farmed seaweed in twenty twenty-four. The company works with fishing families in Maine, Rhode Island, and Alaska to grow and sell kelp, supporting local economies. The company provides free seed, helps farmers, and guarantees that they will buy back their kelp. This allows fishermen to earn more money. Atlantic Sea Farms also processes kelp into different products, helping to reduce carbon emissions by 500,000 pounds since twenty nineteen.

Staying in the Atlantic Ocean, on Wednesday, the 26th of June, the Florida Aquarium released eight rehabilitated juvenile green sea turtles into the waters near Ormond Beach. The Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center in Apollo Beach took care of these turtles for three months. Ashley Riese, the conservation program director, was glad to see the turtles recover from debilitation and finally return to the ocean. This was the center’s largest release this year. The facility has been working in sea turtle conservation in Florida since twenty nineteen.

Moving on, major fishing nations operating in the Indian Ocean allegedly turn off their monitoring systems to catch more fish than allowed and avoid detection by authorities. A recent study published in Regional Studies in Marine Science compared fish catch data from the Automatic Identification Systems (or AIS) on vessels with official reports to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization. Some countries, including Spain, France, and South Korea, reported more than 40% less fish than AIS data suggests, indicating possible irregular fishing. In contrast, Taiwan and China report significantly fewer fish than AIS data shows, suggesting they may not be meeting international reporting standards.

Just a bit more to the West, Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched missile and drone attacks on several ships in the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. On Friday, the 28th of June, Yahya Saree, a spokesman for the Houthi military, claimed responsibility for four attacks, targeting ships near Yemen's Hodeidah port. One ship narrowly avoided being hit by five missiles, while another reported being struck by an improvised explosive device. These new incidents have increased the already existent disruption of global shipping routes, diverting vessels from the Suez Canal to longer alternative routes around Africa.

Let’s have a look at the Panama Canal, which has announced a second round of easing restrictions to improve its operational capacity. From Wednesday the 26th of June, the maximum authorized draught has been raised to forty-seven feet, with plans to further increase to forty-eight feet by Thursday, the 11th of July. From the beginning of August, authorities will introduce a new booking slot for the Neopanamax locks, allowing thirty-five ships to transit per day. These adjustments aim to alleviate congestion caused by droughts, enhance scheduling flexibility, and reduce delays, benefiting global trade logistics. Recent rainfall has positively impacted canal operations, reinforcing its role as a vital trade route.

In other news, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria have started a joint effort to remove naval mines in the Black Sea stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Naval commanders from the three countries met in Istanbul on Monday the 1st, and signed orders to find and neutralize mines. The initiative follows an agreement made in January to create the Mine Countermeasures Naval Group in the Black Sea or MCM Black Sea. The Russian navy had mined Ukraine's coastline early in the conflict, and some mines have drifted into the waters of Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, posing dangers to shipping. Since April twenty twenty-two, Turkish and Romanian teams have defused numerous stray mines. Ensuring safe passage in the Black Sea is crucial for maintaining the trade of products such as grain and oil.

Next stop, the Mediterranean Sea. The International Maritime Organization designated the Mediterranean Sea as an Emission Control Area (or ECA). Ships will have to reduce the sulfur content in marine fuels from 0.5% to 0.1% by May twenty twenty-five. This change aims to meet new environmental standards, although it may raise shipping costs. Ship operators have several options, including using new fuels, installing exhaust gas cleaning systems, or exploring alternative fuels. Operators will need to ensure their fuel systems are flushed of non-compliant fuels before entering the ECA and maintain detailed records of fuel changes. As the newspaper Safety4Sea reported in its article published on Saturday the 27th of June, crew training will be essential to ensure proper handling and understanding of low-sulfur fuels and emission control technologies. Investing in education will help meet the new requirements and promote environmental protection.

Closing with the Arctic. Turkey's Fourth Arctic Scientific Research Expedition team arrived in Tromso, Norway, on Saturday the 29th of June, to begin their month-long expedition. The team of eleven scientists started their journey in Istanbul and will conduct research on the Norwegian-flagged Polar Xplorer vessel. The scientists received training on survival at sea and safety protocols before starting their voyage. Their work includes sixteen projects focused on the effect and causes of global climate change, and research on marine, atmospheric, physical, and biological sciences. The team will also compare marine samples from the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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