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Royal Marines in Gibraltar detain supertanker suspected of delivering Iranian oil to Syria.

Video: Spanish Police Raid Island Drug-Smuggling Base.

Strikes between vessels and cetaceans have significantly increased worldwide in the last decades. The Canary Islands archipelago is a geographical area with an important overlap of high cetacean diversity and maritime traffic, including high-speed ferries. Sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), currently listed as a vulnerable species, are severely impacted by ship strikes. Nearly 60% of sperm whales' deaths are due to ship strikes in the Canary Islands. In such cases, subcutaneous, muscular and visceral extensive hemorrhages and hematomas, indicate unequivocal antemortem trauma. However, when carcasses are highly autolyzed, it is challenging to distinguish whether the trauma occurred ante- or post-mortem. The presence of fat emboli within the lung microvasculature is used to determine a severe "in vivo" trauma in other species. We hypothesized fat emboli detection could be a feasible, reliable and accurate forensic tool to determine ante-mortem ship strikes in stranded sperm whales, even in decomposed carcasses. In this study, we evaluated the presence of fat emboli by using an osmium tetroxide (OsO4)-based histochemical technique in lung tissue of 24 sperm whales, 16 of them with evidence of ship strike, stranded and necropsied in the Canaries between 2000 and 2017. About 70% of them presented an advanced autolysis. Histological examination revealed the presence of OsO4-positive fat emboli in 13 out of the 16 sperm whales with signs of ship strike, and two out of eight of the "control" group, with varying degrees of abundance and distribution. A classification and regression tree was developed to assess the cut off of fat emboli area determining the high or low probability for diagnosing ship-strikes, with a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 100%. The results demonstrated: (1) the usefulness of fat detection as a diagnostic tool for "in vivo" trauma, even in decomposed tissues kept in formaldehyde for long periods of time; and (2) that, during

Once migrants on Mediterranean were saved by naval patrols. Now they have to watch as drones fly over.

Iran Rejects Call for EU-Led Security Mission in Persian Gulf.

Italy Reaches Deal to Disembark Rescuees from Coast Guard Cutter.

Sixteen U.K. Ports to Get Brexit Preparation Payment.

Dutch Ports Get Ready for a "No-Deal" Brexit.

Libya coast guard intercepts dozens of Europe-bound migrants.

EU Prioritizes On Sustainable Cruise Activity.

Spanish Authorities Seize First Narco-Sub Ever Intercepted in EU.

A 100 % electrically powered ferry prototype will help the maritime industry bring about carbon-free transport.

Emission trading is an efficient measure to combat climate change, which is one of the biggest threats to the international community and human health. The shipping industry has previously been considered an energy-saving industry but the growth rate of its emissions far exceeds that of other industries. On 10 May 2023, the EU enacted Regulation (EU) 2023/957, which officially included the shipping industry in the EU-ETS. Therefore, this may lead to investor-state disputes regarding emission trading in the marine industry due to the conflicts between the obligation to combat climate change and the obligation to protect investments of the host states. This has resulted in the breaching of International Investment Agreements. In this context, this study aimed to propose practical recommendations for global marine market practitioners to avoid the potential risks of disputes by reflecting on the existing practice regarding climate change-related investor-state dispute resolutions and identifying the trends and problems of the current dispute resolution mechanism. These included inconsistency in the review standard, inconsistency in the review scope, and broad interpretation by the tribunal. Finally, this study proposed that by setting public purpose and exception clauses in the preambles of the International Investment Agreements and incorporating the specific obligations of the foreign investors and the regulatory power of the hosting states in the drafting stage, the potential risks for disputes regarding the new EU directive in the global marine industry could be effectively reduced.