On December 2, 2016, the Marine Safety Center announced the approval of the first Coast Guard type approved Ballast Water Management System (BWMS). This bulletin provides answers to frequently asked questions concerning: 1) the extension program, 2) vessel compliance dates,…
Today, the Coast Guard Marine Safety Center issued the first U.S. Coast Guard Ballast Water Management System Type Approval Certificate to Norwegian manufacturer Optimarin AS after a detailed review of the type approval application determined the system met the requirements…
The Government of Canada will introduce legislation by spring 2017 to formalize a moratorium for crude oil tankers on British Columbia’s (B.C.) north coast. This will provide extra protection for B.C.’s pristine northern coastline, including the Great Bear Rainforest, from…
On the beach lies a motorcycle helmet, a mannequin's head, an umbrella handle and a flip-flop. They didn't fall from a plane or off a ship, and there aren't any civilians living here who could have left them behind. They were…
Adidas has released the UltraBOOST Uncaged Parley running shoe - the first mass-produced footwear created using plastic waste retrieved by clean-up operations in the Maldives (95 percent) and recycled polyester (five percent). Each pair reuses eleven plastic bottles. The shoes laces,…
At the World Ocean Council’s Sustainable Ocean Summit on Wednesday, Carbon War Room, exactEarth, and University Maritime Advisory Service (UMAS) launched BetterFleet, a free-to-access ship operational efficiency portal on ShippingEfficiency.org. Based on similar data and methods used by the IMO to…
Global Weirding: The Coral Catastrophe
Coral reefs are the rainforests of the sea. Full of diversity and severely endangered, corals play a very similar role in reefs to the role of trees in rainforests. Corals provide a backbone for the most lush, colorful, and productive ecosystems on the planet.
For humans, reefs buffer shorelines, provide homes for important fisheries species, are important tourist destinations, and can provide novel medicines. According to a study done in 1997, the economic worth of coral reefs adds up to approximately $375 billion each year, even though reefs only cover 1% of the earth’s surface. Yet all of this value is at risk under the influence of climate change.
Each year, the Coast Guard, in partnership with the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), Mystic Aquarium and the Inter-American Committee on Ports of the Organization of American States (OAS-CIP), sponsors a student art program with themes that relate…
Port Everglades Upland Mangrove Enhancement Project Grows Cargo Berths by Planting Mangroves