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Four Dead, 16 Missing After Failed Med Crossing.

Collisions with ships (ship strikes) are a pressing conservation concern for fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) along western North America. Fin whales exhibit strong diel patterns in dive behavior, remaining near the surface for most of the night, but how this behavior affects ship-strike risk is unknown. We combined diel patterns of surface use, habitat suitability predictions, and ship traffic data to evaluate spatial and temporal trends in ship-strike risk to fin whales of the California Current System (CCS). We tested a range of surface-use scenarios and found that both increased use of the upper water column and increased ship traffic contribute to elevated ship-strike risk at night. Lengthening nights elevate risk during winter throughout the CCS, though the Southern California Bight experienced consistently high risk both day and night year-round. Within designated shipping lanes, total annual nighttime strike risk was twice daytime risk. Avoidance probability models based on ship speed were used to compare the potential efficacy of speed restrictions at various scales. Speed reductions within lanes may be an efficient remediation, but they would address only a small fraction (13%) of overall ship-strike risk. Additional speed restrictions in the approaches to lanes would more effectively reduce overall risk.

Ships Cannot Wander The Oceans Blindly In The Dark. It Is A Potential Environmental Disaster.

Port of LA: Tariffs Threaten Millions of U.S. Jobs.

Panama marks 20 years in charge of canal, faces climate threat.

The Hellenic Trench is core habitat for the eastern Mediterranean sperm whale sub-population, which is believed to number no more than two to three hundred individuals. The Mediterranean sperm whale population is listed as "Endangered" by the IUCN and is at risk mainly from driftnet entanglement and ship strikes. Major shipping routes running on or very close to the 1000 m depth contour along the Hellenic Trench are causing an unsustainable number of ship-strikes with sperm whales.

The Deadly Evolution of Abu Sayyaf and the Sea.

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.