Marine

Climate solution: Sails make comeback in shipping, to dent carbon footprint

Had he continued working aboard fuel-powered cargo ships, Yann Jourdan reckons he'd be earning perhaps four times what he now gets as captain of a sailboat that instead uses the wind's clean energy to transport goods across the Atlantic. But the hit to Jourdan's pay is buying him peace of mind. When his 3-year-old son, Marcel, grows up, the burly French mariner wants to be able to explain what he did to make a dent in the the shipping industry's huge carbon footprint. The international merchant fleet of more than 100,000 ships transports more than 80% of global trade. But it's also responsible for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Without a quick switch from dirty fuels to cleaner energies, its pollution is forecast to soar. Mariners pushing for wind power say investors used to view them as something of a joke. But as they pioneer a comeback for sail-powered cargo ships, they're having the last laugh. It's our job to prove that it's possible, Jourdan said aboard the new

Marine heat causes record-high coral bleaching in Lakshadweep Sea

In Lakshadweep, the Degree Heating Week (DHW) indicator, which measures accumulated heat stress, has surged above 4 °C-weeks

A sense of collective achievement prevailed, says L&T's S V Desai

S V Desai, whole-time director & senior executive vice-president (civil infrastructure), L&T, talked about the challenges and learnings from executing India's longest sea bridge

Explained | Blue Economy & Modi's Amrit Kaal Vision 2047

IIT Guwahati develops fabric to tackle oil spills in water bodies

Researchers at IIT-Guwahati on Tuesday said they have developed a fabric that can separate oil from water, which will help in tackling marine pollution caused by oil spills. The silica nanoparticles-coated cotton fabric has been developed using rice husk, an agricultural waste, as the primary source material, said Vaibhav Goud, a professor in the IIT-Guwahati's Department of Chemical Engineering. The aim is to convert an agricultural waste into a sustainable value-added product to mitigate marine oil pollution, he said. Oil spills due to industrial discharge or mishap cause irreversible damage to the aquatic ecosystems. Conventional cleaning techniques such as skimming or in-situ burning are ineffective, costly and cause additional pollution, said Goud, who authoured a paper on the research along with Sutapa Das. "Our technology has multiple beneficial effects on the environment. Rice husk is an agricultural byproduct, rich in silica that is generated in millions of tons every year

Oceans release microplastics waste back into atmosphere: Research

In order to reach the Arctic region, the researchers collected air samples from several points along the Norwegian coast

Vizag Zoo calls for volunteers for coastal cleanup on World Ocean Day

Aimed at protecting the sea and marine ecosystems, the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Visakhapatnam (Vizag Zoo) has called for volunteers to undertake coastal clean up on World Ocean Day. Scheduled at 6 am on Thursday at the beach road gate of the zoo, the coast cleaning activity is also aimed at raising awareness about oceans and marine ecosystems. "Coastal cleanups are essential to prevent further pollution and protect marine life that inhabits our oceans," said Nandani Salaria, curator of Vizag Zoo in a press note shared on Tuesday. As a token of appreciation, all the volunteers will be conferred with a certificate of participation for their contribution. Extending an invitation to all, Salaria called on the public to make a positive impact on World Ocean Day. Interested volunteers can contact the telephone numbers 9441130894 and 7893632900 for registration.

3rd G20 ECSWG meeting in Mumbai to focus on aspects of blue economy

The third Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting of the G20 will be held in Mumbai from Sunday with aspects of blue economy as its focus, officials said. The three-day meet will commence with a side event on beach clean-up in Juhu, followed by the Ocean 20 Dialogue. The Ocean 20 platform, launched during the Indonesia Presidency Dialogue, is aimed at advancing ideation and action for ocean solutions. To ensure continuity and build on the initiative, the Indian Presidency is demonstrating active leadership by anchoring the Ocean 20 Dialogue in the 3rd ECSWG, which will focus on three significant pillars of blue economy, said a statement from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The sessions on the first day of the meeting will cover various aspects of blue economy and the first session will be on science, technology and innovation. The subsequent session will be on policy, governance and participation, and the concluding session on .

Government launches mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine

Ports, shipping and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday launched 'Sagar Setu' mobile app of National Logistics Portal Marine. Sonowal said the app will provide real-time information of activities that are generally not in reach of the importer, exporter, and customs broker, including vessel-related information, gate, container freight stations and transactions. According to an official statement, it also enables digital transactions for payments required for the clearance process of import and export like container freight station charges, shipping line charges, transportation charges, etc. Sonowal said the Sagar-Setu app of the National Logistics Portal (Marine) would help custodians in easier access to functionalities on a hand-held device. The mobile app will ensure data mobility such that approvals and monitoring shall be at the finger tips of port and ministry officials as well as stakeholders, he added.

Carbon emissions from Indian marine sector lower than global average: CMFRI

The carbon emissions from the Indian marine fisheries sector is much lower than the global level, an ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) research study said. Presenting the data at a review meeting of the fisheries component of the network research project under the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), CMFRI found that the harvest phase (active fishing) in the country utilised more than 90 per cent of the fuel used in the sector. In a research in assessing the carbon footprint in India's marine fisheries, the ICAR-CMFRI has estimated that the sector emits 1.32 tonnes of CO2 (carbon dioxide) to produce one tonne of fish, which is lower than the global average of more than two tonnes for the same quantity. "This is the assessment of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from total activities in the sector, from pre-harvesting to marketing, by converting it into CO2 equivalent," CMFRI said

Historic high seas agreement reached after decade of talks: Report

The negotiations had been held up for years over disagreements on funding and fishing rights

Bharat Forge's subsidiary bags $155.5 mn order to export artillery guns

Bharat Forge has been consolidating its defence and aerospace business under Kalyani Strategic Systems with an aim to target export opportunities in the defence sector

Russia may again block Antarctic marine protections during Australia meet

Call it a cold war. Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are among those meeting in Australia this week to decide the future of Antarctica's pristine waters. Conservationists say new marine protected areas and rules to prevent overfishing are desperately needed, but that Russia could use its veto-like powers to once again block progress. Achieving the required consensus for action among this diverse group of 27, which also includes China, the United States and the European Union, has always been an immense challenge. And when two of the members are at war and relations between China and many Western nations have deteriorated consensus looms as an even bigger obstacle. Just this month, Russian bombing in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, partially destroyed Ukraine's Antarctic research center. Yet despite the enormous political hurdles, some remain hopeful that scientific arguments will win through. The U.S. is paying more attention to the region under President Joe Biden, and this year ha

Honda India Power forays into marine outboard business

Honda India Power Products announced its foray into the marine outboard business and aims to corner around 10 per cent market share in the 4-stroke engine segment in the first three years.

Cargo insurance premiums up 33%; second fastest after personal accident biz

This is significant as the cargo insurance market had declined by close to 8 per cent in FY21

Japan to dump over 1 mn tonnes of treated Fukushima water into sea

Some scientists say the long-term impact on marine life from low-dose exposure to such large volumes of water is unknown.

L&T sells UK-based marine automation solutions provider Servowatch Systems

Servowatch is headquartered in Heybridge, Essex, United Kingdom (UK) and has 44 employees in the UK and India

India's marine fish production witnesses marginal rise of 2.3% in 2019

Marine fish production registered increase of 2.1% in 2019 compared to the previous year with the country recording 3.56 MT in total landings from across coasts during the year

India-US tri-services exercise 'Tiger Triumph' to begin in Vizag on Nov 13

The Harbour Phase is scheduled to commence at Visakhapatnam from November 13 to 16

Explained: Why saving the Oceans is as vital as protecting rain forests

Ocean conservation is a social justice issue, says Ayana Elizabeth Johnson