Spanish Navy Spots Russian Submarine & more – 31st Oct 2023

Ahoy from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 31st of October twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater.

The Spanish Navy intercepted the Russian submarine Krasnodar three times. On Wednesday, the 11th of October, the Spanish Navy encountered the Russian vessel for the first time in the south of the Balearic Islands. The vessel, belonging to the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, had cruise missiles and was sailing with the naval tug Sergei Balk. According to the Spanish Ministry of Defence, the Spanish Navy located the Russian submarine again on Spanish waters on Sunday, the 15th, near the coast of Galicia, and escorted the vessel outside from its National waters. The submarine continued its route towards the Baltic Sea. The Defense Chief of Staff said they spotted the Russian vessel again on Tuesday, the 17th, near the Portuguese borders. The Spanish Navy vessel Centinela followed the submarine until it left Galician waters.

Moving on, two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on Tuesday, the 24th — one person died, and four went missing. Christian Stipeldey, the German Sea Rescue Society spokesperson, said that two crew members of the ship Verity, the smaller British vessel that sank, were rescued early in the morning. The accident occurred twenty-two kilometers (or thirteen miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland. After one day of searching, the four people missing were presumed dead, as the search was called off on Wednesday, the 25th. Robby Renner, the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies chief, declared they wouldn’t find them alive. Verity was carrying diesel fuel. The other vessel, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, only carried passengers and is still afloat.

Still on shipping. The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands is conducting a criminal investigation into the Dutch Shipping Company Groningen over possible violations of the arms embargo against Libya. The Dutch news outlet RTL Nieuws reported on Wednesday, the 25th, that according to the information a UN inquiry provided, the company might have committed violations in twenty twenty-two. Still, the company never responded to the UN’s requests for information. Operation IRINI, a European Union military operation that aims at enforcing the UN arms embargo on Libya, inspected a Dutch cargo ship Meedijk in October twenty twenty-two off the coast of Libya and found it loaded with armored all-terrain vehicles. The Operation didn’t detain the vessel but redirected it to France for further investigation.

More on ships. The Italian shipping company Manisa Chartering signed an agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation’s Guangxi Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering to construct eight general cargo ships—this kind of vessel carries packaged items. The contract ensures the construction of four vessels, two optional and two more if the Italian company requests them. According to the Chinese company, the new ships will incorporate eco-friendly solutions leading to “outstanding performance, economic efficiency, and efficient loading and operational capabilities.” This contract represents the largest export deal in shipbuilding in the Beibu Gulf region. The Italian ship company, which now has a fleet of fourteen vessels, might reach twenty-two.

Still in China. On Monday, the 23rd, the Chinese naval ship Qi Jiguang returned to Qingdao after an ocean-going training mission. The vessel departed on Monday, the 4th of September, with over 300 cadets from different Naval Universities and covered 14,000 nautical miles during its mission. The cadets had the opportunity to attend practical training and navigation research into the open ocean, as well as joint exercises with foreign military. The training mainly focused on departmental logistics, ship management, collision avoidance maneuvers, and international law.

In other news, the first meeting of the UNESCO Assembles International Group of Experts on Ocean Literacy took place in Venice on Wednesday the 4th and Thursday the 5th. Governments hand-picked the experts that would participate in the Group. They promoted ocean literacy and implemented the Framework for Action for Ocean Literacy for the UN Decade of Ocean Science. They also focused on the definition of good practices to share with the community and to establish the context of Ocean Literacy and create a proper framework—that is, defining the topics they will cover and what they will work on.

From Wednesday the 11th until Friday the 13th, the second edition of the Leaders Forum of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (or IUCN) took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The theme of this year was Global Goals for Nature: Tracking Progress, Financing Success. More than 400 participants engaged in finding solutions to protect nature, especially for the ocean’s conservation. Razan Al Mubarak, the IUCN President, set up a new initiative, the Ocean Breakthroughs, focusing on marine conservation, ocean renewable energy, shipping, aquatic food, and coastal tourism. Speakers discussed climate goals, financing implementation, and developing a nature-positive attitude.

Working for ocean conservation now is more important than ever. According to the predictions of a Direct365 study, an essential business services provider, ocean pollution will worsen by 274% by twenty fifty if the current trend persists. The study reports the ten industries that pollute our oceans with plastic the most, with packaging on the top of the list with a 97% wastage rate, followed by Consumer Products at 88% and Institutional Products at 81%. On the other hand, Industrial Machinery has a wastage rate of 33%, and Building and Construction has 20%. The countries contributing the most to plastic waste are the Philippines, India, and Malaysia; six of the ten worst countries are located in Southeast Asia.

Moving on, in twenty twenty-three, the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (or GEBCO) Week will take place in Monaco on Tuesday, the 7th, and Wednesday, the 8th of November. The event will gather ocean explorers, mapping experts, and relevant stakeholders from all over the world to discuss the progress of ocean exploration and how to use new technologies in the process. To date, only one-quarter of the ocean floor has been mapped. It’s crucial to map the ocean to monitor its changes and contribute to its protection. Map The Gaps, a US-based non-profit committed to working on ocean floor exploration, organized the event in collaboration with the International Hydrographic Organization and the Oceanographic Institute, Prince Albert I of Monaco Foundation.

Another save-the-date. On Thursday, the 2nd of November, the University of Rhode Island, in South Kingstown, will host Charlie Enright, who skippered the 11th Hour Race Team in the Ocean Race— a yacht race around the world that takes place every three or four years. Enright will give a lecture on his racing experience of six months across the ocean. He covered 32,000 nautical miles racing around the world, visiting four continents. Enright’s goal is to educate people about ocean health and protection.

Talking about watersports, on Saturday, the 28th, eight new competitors joined the Global Solo Challenge twenty twenty-three, sailing from A Coruña, in Spain. In its first edition, the Challenge consists of circumnavigating the world in solo without stops, and it’s open to all types of single-hull boats with a length greater than 9.75 meters (or thirty-two feet). The total of participants is thirty-six, but their departure is staggered based on the type of boats they are sailing on. The first participant to start the competition was Dafydd Hughes, who departed on the 26th of August. The winner will be the one who takes the least time.

Closing with the Qingdao traveling exhibition Ocean & Climate Village, a partnership between Prada Group and UNESCO China. The event took place on Saturday the 14th and Sunday the 15th of October, and it was part of Prada's Sea Beyond initiative, which involves global secondary schools and aims to raise awareness about ocean conservation. The exhibition had five zones: “The Ocean Planet,” “A Changing Climate,” “Focus: China Case Study,” “Marine Biodiversity and Ecosystems,” and “Solutions for the Oceans We Want," each zone offering interactive experiences and educational workshops for children led by young biologists.

And that's it for this week!

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