UK Acusses Russia of Attacking Ship & more– 19th Sep 2023

Ahoy from BA! This is Rorshok’s Ocean Update from the 19th of September twenty twenty-three. A summary of what's going down in the 70% surface of the Earth covered in saltwater

The UK Foreign Office has accused Russia of attacking a civilian cargo ship while anchored in the port of Odessa, in Ukraine, on Monday the 11th. According to the Foreign Office, a Russian carrier targeted the Liberian-flagged vessel with multiple missiles on the 24th of August and said that Ukrainian air defenses obstructed the attack.

Recall that in previous episodes, we talked about Russia withdrawing from the UN grain deal and announcing in July that every ship traveling in Ukraine’s ports was going to be considered a military target. Russia’s government didn’t comment on the attack after the accusation of the UK.

Another alleged attack on a cargo ship on Wednesday, the 13th of September. The United Arab Emirates reported the attack in the Strait of Hormuz, in Oman's territorial waters. This comes at a time of tension between the US and Iran. Over the past three months, the US has repeatedly said that Iran was “harassing” boats with the intention of seizing them. The British security company Ambrey confirmed that the Panama-flagged vessel, controlled by the Emirates, reported that the ship was heading east towards Iran. The UAE said that the ship started plotting a “suspicious” course and once in Iranian waters went adrift. Eight hours later, the ship resumed sailing towards the south. Ambrey also reported a US Navy helicopter flying around the drifting vessel. On Monday, the 5th of June, the US said it answered distress calls from civilian ships.

One more vessel in distress. On Monday, the 11th, a luxury vessel carrying two hundred passengers ran aground in a remote part of Greenland. The ship was freed after four days, on Thursday, the 14th. The Ocean Explorer cruise vessel was traveling toward Alpefjord and headed to the Northeast Greenland National Park.

The Joint Arctic Command reported that a fishing research vessel freed the cruise ship. The SunStone Maritime Group, based in Copenhagen and owner of the Ocean Explorer, declared there were no injuries reported among the people onboard.

From the water of this planet… to the water of another. Yes, you heard correctly! Scientists at NASA announced that water may exist on a giant exoplanet. They also found a potential sign of life. The exoplanet is located several light years away from Earth. The space agency’s James Webb telescope made the discovery while observing the constellation Leo, where the planet is located. According to NASA, the exoplanet has the potential to “possess a hydrogen-rich atmosphere and a water ocean-covered surface”. The presence of methane and carbon dioxide and the low level of ammonia support the hypothesis of water underneath the atmosphere. The agency also added that a molecule called dimethyl sulfide might be found in the exoplanet. On Earth, only life, specifically phytoplankton in marine environments, creates this molecule.

Since we came back to Earth… Climate change is causing drastic changes for big fish in the sea, like sharks and tuna. A recent study from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts said that 70% of the large species might lose their habitats in less than eighty years due to rising water temperatures. According to Camrin Braun, a marine scientist and author of the study, the increased water temperatures could cause a redistribution of the species in the ocean or they could become extinct, changing the whole sea ecosystem

The loss of habitats could remove big fish predators and commercially important seafood from the ocean. He said that they are consistently losing habitats and it’s still unclear how they are responding to it.

Still on climate change. A group of scientists from the University of Queensland’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology is trying to create a new type of plastic with a 3D machine that can degrade in seawater within a month. The team has already created the first prototype that will be tested in water in the upcoming months. The challenge is to make plastic products that will dissolve in environments with low temperatures and abundant salt.

There are already existing materials that break down over several months, but the crew of scientists is determined to shorten the process to only one month. The project has received $125,000 US dollars in funding from the Queensland-Chinese Academy of Sciences Collaborative Science Fund, with the aim to accelerate the work in the next two years. The goal is to replace traditional plastics in Australia and China within five years.

In other news, Greenpeace released a report on Wednesday, the 13th saying that there’s overfishing in international waters and that countries should sign a treaty to protect the high seas. The treaty focuses on safeguarding the oceans, creating a legal framework to protect marine areas beyond 230 miles (or 370 kilometers) from coastlines. The aim is to get many signees at the next meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Greenpeace is concerned about having very few signatories because that would mean less water protection. According to Greenpeace oceans campaigner Chris Thorne, "fishing pressure is just absolutely unsustainable, and it's pushing our oceans to the brink.”

Not only NGOs are advocating for ocean protection. Leonardo Lin, an eighth-grader at VanDamme Academy in the city of Aliso Viejo, California, recently published his first book, World of Sharks. The child is using his passion for sharks to advocate for marine species’ rights and ocean protection. 150 copies of the book were published this summer, and it is already sold out. However, more copies will be printed soon. In the book, the eighth grader analyses interesting facts about his ten favorite sharks, such as their diets and their habitats. He is donating the money earned from the bookselling to marine education and non-profit organizations on conservation.

Moving on, the town of Southampton in the US declared a state of emergency on Thursday, the 14th to prevent a breach of Atlantic Ocean water into Shinnecock Bay. Large waves are forming because of Hurricane Lee and are putting at risk the coastline. The state of emergency concerns the areas of East Quogue, Hampton Bays, among other barrier islands, and will last until Monday, the 18th. East Hampton closed all of its beaches, in an attempt to protect its neighborhoods from flooding.

In other news, World Manta Day was celebrated on Sunday, the 17th of September! On this day the world celebrates Mantas and Devil Rays, the winged fish of the deep seas. But the day also serves to raise awareness about the growing and multiple threats these animals face, such are overfishing, entanglement, and climate change. People of different cultures, throughout the ages, have revered and honored these majestic marine animals. In fact, mantas possess some of the largest brains within the underwater community and are believed to be very intelligent.

Closing with watersports. The K1 National Championship was held from Friday the 8th to Sunday the 10th of September at the Mount Batten Center for Watersports, in Plymouth. On Friday the 8th, the race was canceled for the day as a member of a competing crew had a medical emergency as soon as he went afloat. Out of respect for the injured competitor, the racing was postponed to the next day. On Saturday, the race was held in the afternoon, as there wasn’t enough wind in the morning to have the competition. Simon Hawkes from the Police Sailing Club (or SC) won the gold medal in the first race, and Ian Duke from Datchet Water SC secured the first position in the second one. On Sunday, the winners were Ben Flower from Paignton SC and Andrew Wilson from Datchet Water SC. Simon Hawkes won the closing Championship against all the winners of the other races.

And that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us! Before we leave, we wanted to thank everyone who has been listening to us, and welcome all the new subscribers! We are happy the Rorshok Ocean community is growing!

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See you next week!