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Recently, the rights of small-scale fishers have increasingly been acknowledged in ocean governance because coastal development and various maritime activities have reduced traditional fishing grounds. More specifically, small-scale fisheries (SSF) are increasingly being threatened by ocean grabbing, pollution, and a lack of inclusiveness in decision-making processes. Although there are guidelines to resolve and reduce conflict, formal avenues to include fisher concerns, particularly in the context of ocean development and governance, remain a difficult task. Moreover, there is insufficient information on how fishers are impacted by coastal and marine development and how their concerns are included in the decision-making process. Hence, this study contributes to the SSF discourse by understanding and describing the characteristics and concerns of small-scale fishers from two coastal towns in East Africa with different levels of port development. Using data from perception surveys, focus group discussions, and participatory mapping, we discuss how fishers were involved in the decision-making processes to develop ports in Lamu, Kenya, and Bagamoyo, Tanzania. We found that fishers rely on nearshore ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs because of their accessibility since most fishers only use low-powered boats for fishing. Moreover, we found that the fishers' livelihoods were severely affected by port development and that they were excluded from the decision-making process concerning the port's construction and fishers' compensations. While some fishers believe that new ports in the region can increase their livelihoods by creating new markets and jobs, this is unlikely to happen since most fishers are not qualified to work in formal port-related jobs. We propose three steps that will allow fishermen to participate in port development decision-making processes and contribute to the development of a sustainable SSF. These include improving engagement with fisher

The past 15 years have witnessed the rapid development of China's cruise industry from scratch and the formation of a policy system in the cruise industry, reflecting the shift of the Chinese government's attitude towards the cruise industry from wait-and-see, recognition and encouragement to active support. The paper conducts a statistical analysis of 128 policies related to the cruise industry issued by China's administrative departments at all levels. It is found that the release of policies synchronizes with the development of the cruise industry, with each one providing feedback to the other. The policies do not exhibit a time lag with respect to their effects. The evolution of policy types from macro-level guidance to concrete operation is rapid, with the policy structure gradually improving. In line with current characteristics of the development of China's cruise industry, the themes of the policies concentrate on five areas: cruise tourism services and products, port construction and development, cruise industry chain expansion, cruise industry environment and cruise industry management. However, there is still a lack of adequate policies to support and guide the industrial upgrading of cruise operation and cruise construction and its green and low-carbon development. In addition, the paper points out the main directions of future policy formulation.

Under strict resource and environmental constraints, improving the overall green efficiency of the industrial chain is crucial to the sustainable development of the marine ship industry. Based on the data of 40 listed companies in the industry chain from 2015 to 2019, the meta-frontier framework and three-stage epsilon based measure (EBM) model are employed to study the green technical efficiency (GTE) in each link of the industry chain and the technical gap between each link. The impact of the external environment on GTE, the main reasons hindering the development of GTE, and the ways to improve GTE are also discussed for policy reference. The results show that: (1) under the meta-frontier, the GTEs of the whole industry chain and the composed links are all high and rising year by year. (2) There are obvious green technological development gaps among the links of the industry chain. The GTEs are ranked as the upstream>the downstream>the midstream. (3) The inefficiencies of green technology (GTEI) in the upstream and downstream of the industry chain come from endogenous hindrance, while the GTEI of the midstream is due to exogenous hindrance. (4) The external environment has a significant influence on the development of GTE in the industrial chain. Highly open and innovative external environment can effectively reduce the input redundancy. (5) After eliminating the external influencing factors and random interferences, the actual GTE of the industrial chain is only 0.4 or so, with more serious imbalance among the three links. Therefore, it is important for the marine ship industry chain to optimize the allocation of innovation resources and cultivate an open and shared innovation environment.

A significant increase in the human population on marine coast and steady growth of maritime water transport causes the construction of port infrastructure and the creation of new lands, which affects the ecosystems of coastal waters. Despite the widespread occurrence of such large-scale engineering projects in coastal areas, their impact on various components of aquatic ecosystems, including phytoplankton, is still poorly understood. The aim of the study was to assess the effect of the construction of ports and the alluvium of new lands in the Neva Estuary in 2000s on the productivity of phytoplankton. Digging and dredging of bottom sediments results in one order of magnitude elevation of suspended particulate matter (SM), which mostly consisted of sand and clayed deposits and in significant decrease water transparency, as compared to the average long-term values. Concentrations of total phosphorus in the estuarine waters during the works significantly positively correlated with the concentrations of SM. However, the multiple increase in nutrients was less important for phytoplankton development than expected. Analysis of variance and stepwise multiple regression analyses showed that the main predictor of the primary production of plankton in the periods of construction was water transparency. Gross primary production decreased significantly. In contrast to short-term effects caused by wind-induced events, which often stimulated phytoplankton development, long-term construction works of new port facilities negatively influenced phytoplankton productivity. Apart from pristine conditions when the phosphorus concentration was the main factor limiting the primary production in the estuary, the main limiting factor during long-term engineering projects became water transparency. Taking into account plans for further development of ports in coastal areas around the world, the influence of the large-scale engineering projects on the conditions for the development of phyto

Building a "Maritime Community with a Shared Future" (MCSF) is a maritime development concept with Chinese characteristics proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. It is based on the rich cultural tradition and unique historical value of China's maritime civilization. It aims to solve real ocean problems and has outlined the future direction of human ocean development from the perspective of China. The essence of the MCSF is an issue of both ocean cultural and development concepts. It is a conceptual issue that transcends specific national boundaries and regions and is based on how all of humankind, with common interests and common values, can develop in harmony with the oceans. It is not a covert discourse strategy adopted by China in order to realize its "maritime power" ambition, as occasionally described by some Western countries. Starting with an analysis of the essential nature and implications of maritime culture by Chinese researchers, this article clarifies and summarizes the interaction, exchange, and integration of Chinese maritime culture in East Asia from a historical perspective, and extracts the unique characteristics and values of Chinese maritime culture. From the perspective of human-sea interactions, the three historical stages, as well as the existing problems of transforming and upgrading human-ocean culture, are analyzed. The article also contrasts Chinese and Western maritime cultures and proposes to absorb the outstanding achievements of both Chinese and Western maritime civilizations into a common framework in order to fundamentally reverse the antagonistic human-sea relationship that has existed historically. Finally, we propose giving full play to the fundamental role of marine cultural exchange and integration and, through international cooperation on specific issues in the field of global ocean international relations, propose specific and feasible practical pathways to promoting the realization of the MCSF.

The cruise industry has suffered heavy setbacks owing to the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Domestic and global pandemic control measures-involving rules varying across countries as well as distinct legal systems-were escalated. We aimed to illustrate the need to establish a public health cooperation mechanism for the cruise industry. First, we analyzed the legal dilemma pertaining to pandemic prevention and control in cooperative situations; namely, the legal loopholes in the prevention, control, and rescue of cruise ships. Second, we focused on international collaboration during cruise ship rescues amid the pandemic, exploring solutions for current industry problems. Third, by analyzing Chinese practices in cruise-related areas, this paper guides the development of a public health cooperation mechanism for the cruise industry. In sum, we call upon the international community to develop such a mechanism within the scope of international law in terms of public health security and pandemic prevention. Research methodology: This is a practical research paper. Per our analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization, we studied the global legal issues pertaining to cruise epidemic prevention and control by sorting out legal regulations. We conclude that an international cooperation mechanism for cruise epidemic prevention and control should be established to ensure the cruise industry's sustainable development.

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is developing safe steering for the remote-monitored and controlled autonomous ships of the future. The new technology has been developed for navigation systems and ship autopilots, which steer ships automatically.

Vessel strike is recognized as a major modern threat to the recovery of large whale populations globally, but the issue is notoriously difficult to assess. Vessel strikes by large ships frequently go unnoticed, and those involving smaller vessels are rarely reported. Interpreting global patterns of vessel strikes is further hindered by underlying reporting biases caused by differences in countries' research efforts, legislation, reporting structures and enforcement. This leaves global strike data "patchy" and typically scarce outside of developed countries, where resources are more limited. To explore this we investigated vessel strikes with large whales in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP), a coastal region of ten developing countries where heavy shipping and high cetacean densities overlap. Although this is characteristic of vessel strike "hotspots" worldwide, only 11 ETP strike reports from just four countries (∼2% of total reports) existed in the International Whaling Commission's Global Ship Strike Database (2010). This contrasts greatly with abundant reports from the neighboring state of California (United States), and the greater United States/Canadian west coast, making it a compelling case study for investigating underreporting. By reviewing online media databases and articles, peer review publications and requesting information from government agencies, scientists, and tourism companies, we compiled a regional ETP vessel strike database. We found over three times as many strike reports (n = 40), from twice as many countries (n = 8), identifying the geographic extent and severity of the threat, although likely still underestimating the true number of strikes. Reports were found from 1905 until 2017, showing that strikes are a regional, historic, and present threat to large whales. The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was the most commonly hit species, and whale-watch industries involving small vessels in areas of high whale densities were recogniz

The carbon emission of shipping industry accounts for about 3% of the global total. With the continuous growth of international trade, the decarbonization and carbon neutralization of shipping industry has become an important direction for future development. New technologies, fuels and operational measures can help reduce the industry's greenhouse gas emissions, but without appropriate laws and policies, it will be difficult to achieve the targets set by the industry. Therefore, this paper reviews the decarbonization laws and policies introduced by International Maritime Organization, the European Union and the national levels. Then, this paper reviews the literature from two aspects: applicability and evaluation of laws and policies, improvement of laws and policies. On this basis, we summarize the challenges of shipping in formulating laws and policies and suggestions for improving them. Among them, the most important problem is the coordination between unilateral regulation and uniform regulation. Finally, this paper proposes the development principles based on shipping decarbonization laws and policies, that is, to comply with the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities", to coordinate the relationship between international trade and international environmental protection, and to guarantee technical assistance to developing countries.

With the construction of China's ecological civilization and the proposal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, shore power has been vigorously developed as an important technology for the future green development of ports. However, China's electricity is still mostly coal-fired, which produces many carbon emissions. Coupled with regional differences, shore power is by no means certain to lower carbon emissions compared with fuel throughout China. Considering the power energy structure in different regions, this paper establishes a carbon emission correlation model between fuel and shore power during ship berthing, calculates the feasibility and actual emission reduction effect of shore power in coastal ports, and studies the restriction condition of starting time for the use of shore power for ships attached to ports according to the national policy of mandatory use of shore power. The results show that only a small part of coastal provinces and cities are suitable for using shore power, and it is limited by the berthing time of the ship. However, this condition is not related to the size of ships but related to the proportion of power generation. Therefore, the government should develop shore power according to local conditions, and vigorously increase the proportion of clean energy, so that the shore power truly achieve zero carbon emissions.

This paper presents a geometric stochastic channel model designed for analyzing maritime communication and navigation services between moving ships using the C-band or sub-6 GHz spectrum, which aligns with the focus of emerging 5G networks on land. The channel model is validated through channel measurements conducted both on the sea and land. A software tool has been developed to integrate and analyze these measurements, which is included with this publication. The main challenge in developing the channel model for maritime services lies in the dynamic nature of the sea surface, leading to constantly changing reflection conditions due to varying reflectors and scatterers on the water. Additionally, the motion conditions of the transmitter and receiver on ships change in all three dimensions, depending on the sea state. To address these complexities, data from several measurement campaigns in diverse areas were collected. The analysis involved examining the propagation conditions over the sea with variations in sea surface roughness, antenna heights, and used bandwidths. Moreover, additional propagation conditions over nearby land were also taken into account. The study demonstrates that the changing antenna height on the ship, influenced by sea conditions, significantly affects the reflection and scattering conditions. The research aims to develop reliable, high-data rate, and broadband marine communication systems. Therefore, a measurement bandwidth of 120MHz was employed to derive the propagation model. This model not only offers absolute timing information but can also be used for time-based ranging or positioning systems. The proposed geometric stochastic channel model provides valuable insights into the complex maritime communication and navigation environment. By accounting for the continuously evolving sea surface and its impact on antenna height, the model offers a robust framework for studying and optimizing marine communication systems. The availability of

The application of a proactive grooming program to manage the fouling control coatings applied to ship hulls provides an opportunity to address the climate crisis, invasive species and the discharge of biocides into the marine environment. A large percentage of the total power required to propel a ship is to overcome the viscous drag created between the hull and the water. The powering penalty due to increases in coating roughness and the development of biofouling are well documented. In addition, poorly maintained fouling control coatings may lead to the transportation of invasive species. In-water hull cleaning is therefore an important part of ship operations; however, this is typically implemented as a reactive measure when fouling reaches a critical level and requires powerful machinery which damages the coatings, creates unwanted discharge and in many locations the discharge will require capture and disposal. Ship hull grooming is being developed as a proactive method to manage fouling control coatings that will ensure that they are maintained in a smooth and fouling free condition, there is no transport of invasive species or excessive discharge of material that occurs during cleaning. This manuscript will summarize the findings of many years of research and development.

The main target of DSP in respect of Contship Italia Group, is to address the IT strategies of the various companies to guarantee an harmonious development respecting the peculiarity and the autonomy of the single realities. In the last years DSP, using the acquired know-how in the IT problems of shipping, port management and intermodal transportation has enlarged is portfolio of activities offering to the market professional services in terminal operations processes and systems deployment and optimisiation. In 2007 DSP became partner of NAVIS (part of Cargotec Corporation) and certified its staff as SPARCS 3.7 and SPARCS N4 senior consultants, carrying out various international projects. DSP has recently developed for Contship Italia Group an innovative and flexible system for automatic invoicing (Fatteuro) for container and general cargo terminals interfaced with other systems in order to manage all the necessary information to calculate and register the invoices. It is currently is use at CICT (Cagliari), EGT(Tangier), LSCT(La Spezia) and at the General Cargo Terminal SPETER of La Spezia. DSP is also tightly linked with the new University of Applied Science of Southern Switzerland. In his team a professor of this university is leading analysis and design activities and most part of his personnel has a degree in Computer Science and where recruited there. This also gives the chance to DSP to participate to research projects on the transport and IT area and to remain always skilled with the newest technology

Carnival Cruise To Develop New China Line For Fast-Growing China Market.

Carnival Cruise To Develop New China Line For Fast-Growing China Market.

With the worldwide spread of the global Coronavirus (COVID-19), the shipping industry has played an essential and irreplaceable role in combating the effects of the pandemic, promoting a trade-led economic recovery and maintaining the stability of industrial supply chains. The North Bund Forum advocated jointly promoting the continuous innovation and wide application of green low-carbon technologies and effectively implementing the reduction strategies of global greenhouse gas emission, thereby contributing to the creation of a safe, smooth and green global supply chain. With the epidemic under control worldwide, the international shipping industry has also ushered in a new development cycle and growth opportunities, which brings new strategic opportunities for the development of Shanghai International Shipping Center. Shanghai will accelerate the building of the world's first-class shipping center characterized as convenient and efficient, fully functional, open and integrated, green and intelligent. The forum is intended as a platform for exchanging ideas on major issues in global shipping, for incubating governance rules and norms of the international shipping industry, for releasing the latest policies and regulations in China and the world, and for showcasing the Shanghai International Shipping Center.

Developing a Roadmap for Green Coastal.

India To Develop New Sea Routes And Shipping Services.

Sustainable Development Goals For The Oceans.

10 Amazing "World's First" Maritime Vessels Under Development.

DEVELOPING: Crew of fishing vessel still missing after collision with tanker off Lamma