OCEAN: The Copernicus Report & more – 8th Oct 2024

Ahoy from BA! This is the Rorshok Ocean Update from the 8th of October twenty twenty-four. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

The latest EU Copernicus Ocean State Report, called OSR 8, was released on Monday the 30th of September in the journal State of the Planet. It highlights alarming changes in the ocean, revealing record-breaking temperatures, shrinking polar sea ice, and widespread marine heatwaves. The report also documents how ocean temperatures are rising due to greenhouse gas emissions, intensifying storms, and altering marine ecosystems. In twenty twenty-three, Antarctic sea ice reached its lowest recorded extent, while Arctic sea ice also suffered significant losses.

OSR 8 also introduced innovations like ocean heat pumps for renewable energy and enhanced forecasting systems, aiming to improve monitoring and adaptation strategies for a rapidly changing ocean.

To learn more, check out the Rorshok Arctic Update with the link in the show notes!

Speaking of the Arctic Ocean, on Tuesday the 1st, China's military announced its coast guard's historic entry into the Arctic Ocean, marking its first patrol in these northern waters. This development followed a joint patrol in the Bering Sea, where the US Coast Guard personnel spotted two Russian Border Guard ships alongside two Chinese Coast Guard cutters about 400 nautical miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island.

The Chinese Coast Guard stated that this mission significantly enhances their operational reach and allows them to engage in maritime governance in unfamiliar areas. During the patrol, they inspected fishing vessels to enforce regulations in high-seas fisheries and conducted joint exercises focusing on search and rescue operations, damage control, and identifying illegal ships.

You can also learn more about this in the latest episode of the Rorshok Arctic Update, link in the show notes!

In other news, on Tuesday the 1st Canada announced the launch of its second high seas mission, called Operation North Pacific Guard, to detect and deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (or IUU) fishing in the North Pacific. Fisheries and Oceans Canada is leading the mission, with support from the Canadian Coast Guard, the US Coast Guard, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For two months, Canadian fishery officers will patrol over 7,500 kilometers (almost 5,000 miles), inspect vessels, and gather environmental data aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The mission includes aerial surveillance and introduces biofuel use on the Canadian Coast Guard vessel, aiming to protect Pacific salmon stocks and tackle IUU fishing.

Still in the North Pacific Ocean. Greenpeace recently concluded a five-week marine investigation aboard the Rainbow Warrior, focusing on destructive fishing practices around the Emperor Seamount. The team documented Taiwanese longline vessels, which use 100-kilometer (or sixty-two-mile) long lines that result in high levels of bycatch, including sharks, turtles, and seabirds.

Over twenty-five hours, the non-profit organization recorded eighty-four sharks caught, highlighting the severe overfishing in the area. Greenpeace also exposed harsh labor conditions aboard these vessels, offering Wi-Fi to isolated fishers who had been at sea for months.

Let’s sail to the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil is experiencing significant coastal erosion as the Atlantic encroaches on its shores due to climate change. In Atafona, rising waves have swallowed more than 500 houses in recent years. Over the past three decades, sea levels have risen by thirteen centimeters (or five inches) in the region, and predictions indicate an additional sixteen cm (or six inches) rise by twenty fifty. Some areas could see the ocean advance up to 150 meters (almost 500 feet) inland in the coming years.

Local governments in Atafona and other areas like Ponta Negra are attempting costly sand replacement projects to combat erosion. Meanwhile, saltwater intrusion threatens biodiversity in the Amazon River, impacting local fishing communities as the river loses strength during severe droughts.

More about the Atlantic as on Thursday the 3rd, researchers at Heriot-Watt University published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment new images of the Nadir Crater, an impact site, nine km or 5.5 mile-wide, located 300 meters (or 1,000 feet) beneath the Atlantic Ocean.

This crater dates back about 66 million years ago when an asteroid collided with Earth, similar in age to the crater linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs. The asteroid likely measured 500 meters (or 1,600 feet) wide and struck Earth at speeds of approximately twenty km (or twelve miles) per second. Dr. Uisdean Nicholson, author of the study, said that the data allows researchers to visualize the impact and its aftermath in unprecedented detail.

On another note, a recent study, published on Wednesday the 2nd on Communications Earth & Environment, looked at errors in Antarctic sea-ice surface temperature across six popular climate models, comparing them to satellite data. Researchers found that most models had a strong warm bias, mainly due to wrong cloud properties and incorrect sea-ice representation.

Overestimating cloud cover caused significant temperature errors. The study also highlights the lack of snow layers in all models, which contributes to temperature bias.

Moving on to the Indian Ocean. In the morning of Sunday the 6th, a Ukunda-Nairobi bus plunged into the Indian Ocean after its brakes failed on the Likoni ferry ramp. The Kenya Red Cross rescued nine people, but the total number of passengers is still unclear. Eyewitnesses shared images on social media of the partially submerged bus.

This incident followed another accident, where a truck rolled into the ocean the previous day, causing traffic disruptions. Safety issues at the busy Likoni Ferry crossing, such as mechanical problems and overcrowding, have raised concerns despite recent improvements by Kenya Ferry Services.

In the Suez Canal, according to data provided by the London Stock Exchange Group, on Monday the 30th of September the US-sanctioned tanker Pioneer, linked to Russian liquefied natural gas (or LNG), navigated through the Suez Canal carrying an LNG shipment. The exact source of the gas and the tanker's destination remain unclear.

As we talked about in previous shows, due to threats from Iran-aligned Houthis in the Red Sea, many shipping companies have been avoiding the Suez Canal, a crucial trade route. This shift has forced companies to take longer, costlier routes. The US sanctioned Pioneer and other entities connected to Russia as part of ongoing penalties for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The tanker had previously engaged in a ship-to-ship LNG transfer from the Arctic in late August.

From one Canal to another. On Wednesday the 2nd, the Panama Maritime Authority announced it would revoke the registration of any vessel involved in illegal activities or attempting to evade sanctions by changing its flag. This decision comes after an investigation into the addition of seven Panamanian-flagged vessels to the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control list.

Panama is taking steps to prevent such incidents, including moving the Monitoring and Control Section to the Maritime Ship Protection Department and launching a precheck process for flagging ships. These efforts aim to prevent vessels from switching registries to bypass sanctions. The General Directorate of Merchant Marine is also exploring faster ways from the Merchant Marine laws to remove ships linked to activities that go against Panama’s or the international shipping industry.

And for our last story, some news on deep-sea mining. India's National Institute of Ocean Technology (also known as NIOT) recently conducted deep-sea mining trials in the Andaman Sea using the Varaha-3 machine. Varaha-3 was used to collect polymetallic nodules, rich in nickel, cobalt, and copper, which are vital for industries like renewable energy and electric vehicles, operating at a depth of almost 2,000 meters (or 1.2 miles).

These trials highlight significant progress in India's deep-sea mining capabilities. As part of the Deep Ocean Mission, NIOT is also working on an integrated mining system to streamline nodule extraction and transportation to surface vessels. This trial is also a significant step for India toward future commercial deep-sea mining operations.

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

Do you know that besides the Rorshok Ocean Update, we also do others? Our latest ones are the Arctic Update, about the area north of the Arctic Circle, and the Multilateral Uptade, about what’s going on in the world’s major multilateral institutions. The other ones are all country updates, we have a selection of countries from Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe. Check roroshok.com/updates for the full list, the link is in the show notes.

See you next week!