The Release of Fukushima’s Wastewater & more– 11th July 2023

Ahoy from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 11th of July twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in salt water

Japan is about to release Fukushima radioactive wastewater into the Pacific Ocean, after receiving the approval of the International Atomic Energy Agency (or IAEA) on Tuesday, the 4th of July. The IAEA assures that Japan’s discharge plan meets the safety standards as the majority of the dangerous elements contained in the wastewater can be removed. The only element that will remain is the radioactive tritium, because there is no technology available to take it away from the water. However, Japan’s government stated the water will be highly diluted and released into the ocean slowly for decades - and not all at once. On a local level, fishing communities who weren't even consulted about the wastewater scheme, are pretty worried. They're opposed to dumping it into the ocean. Even if it's treated well, they're worried that the radioactive water could contaminate their catch. And, even if it doesn't, they're afraid that the public's fear of tainted seafood will impact their businesses.

Moving on, the International Seabed Authority (or ISA), which is the United Nations representative in charge of overseeing the ocean floor, wants to resume negotiations to allow mining in the international seabed. The mining could involve extracting essential materials needed for the green energy transition. Deep-sea mining is the process of extracting mineral deposits and metals from the ocean's seabed. There are three types of mining: extracting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor, mining valuable sulfide deposits found on the seafloor, and removing cobalt crusts from rocks. The ISA has to complete regulations concerning deep-sea exploitation by July twenty twenty-three. Until today, only a small section of the deep sea floor has been explored and there is the risk that deep mining will damage the ecosystem

In the meantime, the Government of Gibraltar announced that the wreck of the OS 35, the cargo ship, was successfully extracted from the water on Monday, the 3rd of July. The ship had been stuck in the waters of the Strait, located west of the Rock, since the 30th of August, twenty twenty-two. The Gibraltar Maritime Authority announced that the complete removal from the water of the two sections of the ship— that were broken up— has caused heavy oil to spill on the protective boom around the vessel. However, this was anticipated and the Authority is already working to clean up the area. Now that the two broken sections are out of the water, there is no further risk to spill debris into the water.

Talking about cargo ships, the French company Airseas has created a giant kite called “Seawing” that can move a cargo ship. Seawing will fly 200 meters above the level of the water, cutting down between 10 and 40% of the consumption of fuel and consequently their carbon emissions. Once activated, the system instantly collects and analyzes meteorological and oceanic data. Seawing adapts to the environment in order to improve its performance and ensure maximum safety. For the International Maritime Organization, Seawing is a great tool to change the shipping industry that it’s still responsible for 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

In other news, six seafarers were kidnapped from a cargo ship off Douala in Cameron. Their Panama-flag vessel called Oya1 was boarded on Friday, the 30th of June, leading to the abduction of six crew members. Only a few minutes after the incident, two military vessels from Cameron arrived at the scene, leaving over an hour later. The ship remained at anchorage on Saturday the 1st.

Three days before being kidnapped, shipowners were informed about the increase in pirate attacks off West Africa. The security company Ambrey confirmed a message exchanged among the navies operating in the Gulf of Guinea, in which they assessed the huge threat of pirate attacks for vessels passing through the waters near Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea.

Staying in the Atlantic Ocean, African countries are complaining about poor interest in fisheries governance. Abdelouahed Benabbou, the Executive Secretary of the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean, said that only a few countries are notified about the international meetings about fisheries and get appropriate reporting documentation. For the Executive Secretary, the twenty-two member states should unite and speak unanimously about the fishery issues of the region. Moreover, he said that most times African countries have to make decisions that are not in their best interest, and that if they had had the appropriate documentation before, they would have made the right decisions. He wishes for more participation of African countries in international meetings.

From the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. An offshore earthquake measuring 5.1 hit west of Sumatra on Wednesday, the 5th of July. The epicenter of the earthquake was located approximately 95 km (or 59 miles) southwest of Teluk Dalam, in the South Nias Regency. The tremor occurred at a depth of around 10 km (or 6 miles). Luckily, no damages or injuries were reported.

A lot is going on in the Indian Ocean. Besides the earthquake, scientists believe to have found a solution to the mystery of the “gravity hole” in the Indian Ocean. There is, in fact, an area of over two million square miles in the seabed that is deeper than the surrounding seabed. The so-called gravity hole is not an actual hole, it just happens that the seabed sinks because of a higher gravity pressure.

Now, Debanjan Pal and Attreyee Ghosh, two researchers from the Indian Institute of Science, have simulated on the computer 140 million years of Earth’s tectonic plates moving around and have finally found the remains of an ancient ocean, just under Africa, at a depth of 600 miles below the Earth's crust. In the simulations, melting rock plumes inclined and descended the Indian Ocean. The National Geophysical Research Institute of India informed that more research and testing need to be done.

And now, another climate event, but moving to the tropical Pacific Ocean. The warming climate phenomenon nicknamed “El Niño” is bringing the temperatures of the sea-surface way above the average, impacting people all over the world. Petteri Taalas, The World Meteorological Organization’s Secretary-General, warned that El Niño might break temperature records and increase the general heat of the world. He also advised governments to be ready to face the consequences high temperatures will have on health, economies, and ecosystems.

Switching to marine biology, scientists studying orcas off North America, on the Pacific coast of Canada and the United States, have reported skin lesions to the bodies of the whales. These lesions seem to be a sign that their immune systems are struggling to deal with diseases. Some parts of the skin look like gray patches or black pinpoints which indicate bad health conditions - ranging from immunosuppression to infertility. 99% of the whales studied display the lesions, worrying the scientists who now want to try to isolate the potential pathogen. Possible causes taken into consideration were: above-average temperatures of the coastal waters, poxvirus, scarcity of prey, or the effect of organic pollutants.

Staying on marine studies, on Tuesday, the 4th of July, Europe, the United States, and Canada celebrated the Galway Statement's tenth anniversary. This statement represents an agreement of collaboration aiming to increase the knowledge of the Atlantic Ocean and improve research. The Galway Statement brought innovative approaches to the study of ocean ecosystems thanks to international teamwork. Over the last few years, the presence of this agreement has encouraged the countries involved to address ocean science’s issues such as enhancing the recovery of marine ecosystems, advancing the research to help vulnerable animals and their habits, and pursuing a more sustainable use of ocean resources.

Closing with watersports. On Saturday, the 1st of July, the American Eleventh Hour Racing Team with skipper Charlie Enright, won the Ocean Race Grand Finale in Genova, Italy, after an intense battle against Team Malizia from Spain. The victory ensures a double triumph: the offshore around-the-world race and the In-Port Race Series. The team won with twenty-nine points, four more than the runner-up, Team Malizia.

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

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