The Winter Bay is on the move again! Whale meat vessel sets off for Japan - WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation
▻http://uk.whales.org/blog/2015/08/winter-bay-is-on-move-again-whale-meat-vessel-sets-off-for-japan
Winter Bay, the second-rate vessel chartered by Icelandic whaler, Kristjan Loftsson, to move an estimated 1,700 tonnes of fin whale meat to Japan, is on the move again! The vessel has been moored in Tromso since June 11th.
Winter Bay | Icelandmag
▻http://icelandmag.visir.is/tags/winter-bay
The Canadian Actress Pamela Anderson still hopes to persuade Russian authorities to stop the shipment of Icelandic whale meat to Japan via the north-eastern passage through the Arctic. The cargo vessel Winter Bay, registered in St Kitts and Nevis, recently left harbour in Tromsö Norway with 1,800 tons of whale products, destined for Japan.
In a letter sent to Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, this July Pamela urged him to stop the shipment:
“I would love to have the opportunity to meet and to discuss how, on behalf of my Foundation, I can forge a constructive relationship with the Russian government over issues related to wildlife, animals and the environment.
I do have a voice in the international community and I would like to use my voice, as humble as it is, to help make this world a better place for all living things.”
Yesterday Pamela Anderson announced that the Russian Minister of Natural Resources and Environment had agreed to meet her at the East Russia Economic Forum in Vladivostok next month.
In a letter to the Russian Ambassador to the US, which was published on the website of the Pamela Anderson Foundation, Pamela expresses her gratitude that the representative of the Russian government will meet with her to discuss the shipment of whale meat by Hvalur hf. Furthermore she expresses her hope that this meeting might lead to “Russia looking into banning such transits of protected species in the future”.
Et s’il passe par la #Route_du_Nord, c’est pour des raisons écologiques et pas du tout pour éviter les problèmes avec les écologistes lors des escales par la route du sud…
Icelandic whale meat shipment heading to Japan worth 15 million USD | Icelandmag
▻http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/icelandic-whale-meat-shipment-heading-japan-worth-15-million-usd
The cargo vessel Winter bay, which is carrying Icelandic whale products to Japan, has left port in Tromsö Norway to sail the North-East passage through the Arctic. The ship is carrying meat and blubber from fin whales caught by ships operating from the Hvalfjörður fjord whaling station. These whales are caught in Faxaflói bay, outside the whale sanctuary inside the bay, where whale watching firms operating out of Reykjavík take their tours.
In an interview with a Norwegian newspaper Fiskeribladet Fiskaren Kristján Loftsson, the CEO and owner of whaling firm #Hvalur, which owns the whale products being shipped to Japan, revealed that the cargo is worth two billion Icelandic Krona (15 million USD/14 million EUR).
Kristján also argued the ship was taking the North-East passage because it was shorter than the route around the Cape of Good Hope. Last year Hvalur sent a shipment of whale products around the Cape of Good Hope which ran into considerable problems as the ship was refused permits to dock along the way, due to its controversial cargo. The North-East passage is 14,800 km (9,200 miles) shorter than the alternative route.
As in every other interview in which Kristján Loftosson appears, he used the opportunity to blast environmentalists and conservationists, ridiculing those who wish to conserve the whales.
“They should rather congratulate us for exploiting the fin whale population in a responsible manner and for transporting this cargo over this long distance to Japan in a exceptionally environmental manner.”
Robin des Bois - Communiqué
▻http://www.robindesbois.org/communiques/animal/2015/viande-de-baleine-transite-passage-nord-est.html
Grande première en Arctique : la viande de baleine transite par le passage du Nord-Est
Le Winter Bay appartenant à un armateur européen vient de quitter le port de Tromsø en Norvège. Il est maintenant en mer de Barents. Il transporte environ 1800 tonnes de viande de baleine d’origine islandaise. Le Winter Bay est attendu à Osaka au Japon le 28 août. L’option arctique, 14.500 km, évite au Winter Bay les complications diplomatiques, les protestations d’ONG environnementales et les habituelles escales en Afrique de l’Ouest et en Afrique du Sud.
Le passage du Nord-Est est entièrement libre de glace entre la mi août et la fin septembre. Le passage du Nord-Est raccourcit de moitié la trajectoire par le cap de Bonne-Espérance. La route maritime du Nord est entièrement contrôlée par l’administration et l’armée russe.
La Russie est malheureusement complice du trafic de viande de baleine entre l’Islande et le Japon. L’Union Européenne est aussi complice puisque le Winter Bay appartient depuis quelques semaines à un armateur letton. La Directive européenne sur la conservation des habitats naturels ainsi que de la faune et de la flore sauvages stipule que les Etats-membres doivent interdire le transport de spécimens de toutes les espèces de cétacés vivants ou morts ou de toutes parties ou produits dérivés.
Winter Bay, ex-Nordvaer, ex-Victoriahamn. OMI 8601680. Transporteur frigorifique de marchandises sur palette. Longueur 79,90 m. Pavillon Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis. Société de classification Det Norske Veritas. Construit en 1986 à Rissa (Norvège) par Fosen MV. Vendu en mai 2014 par son armateur norvégien Nor Lines Rederi AS à DalriadaTortola basé aux Iles Vierges Britanniques et prête-nom du letton Aquaship Ltd. Dans la foulée il abandonne le pavillon des Iles Féroé pour celui de Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis.
Ah, voilà le communiqué de #Robin_des_Bois
TASS: World - South Korea, Norway seek to step up cooperation in building Arctic shipping route
▻http://en.itar-tass.com/world/760035
SEOUL, November 17. /TASS/. South Korea and Norway plan to increase joint cooperation in the Arctic, including the development of a new shipping route, and are due to discuss the issue at the talks in Oslo on November 18, South Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said on Monday.
During the upcoming talks, the sides are expected to seek to further boost their cooperation by exchanging information on ensuring safe navigation of cruise ships and the countries’ effort to develop ship
IMO completes Polar Code environmental rules | Barentsobserver
▻http://barentsobserver.com/en/business/2014/10/imo-completes-polar-code-environmental-rules-24-10
IMO completes Polar Code environmental rules
The new shipping rules will apply to both the Arctic and Antarctic after January 1, 2017
▻http://barentsobserver.com/sites/barentsobserver.com/files/styles/grid_8/public/main/articles/shipping.jpg?itok=yAR8Zd0O
The UN International Maritime Organization has drafted the environmental regulations chapter for the Polar Code, a binding set of regulations for shipping in the Arctic and Antarctic. Critics argue that some important environmental pieces are missing.
By James Thomson
October 24, 2014
The International Maritime Organization has completed the last element of the first-ever binding set of international rules for the Arctic shipping.
Last week in London, the United Nations organization approved the environmental rules that make up the second half of the Polar Code, which is expected to come into force at the start of 2017. The regulations for safety, the first chapter of the Code, were approved last spring.
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EIA Calls for 10-Year Moratorium on Arctic Shipping » Ship & Bunker
▻http://shipandbunker.com/news/world/983352-eia-calls-for-10-year-moratorium-on-arctic-shipping
Monday October 27, 2014
EIA Calls for 10-Year Moratorium on Arctic Shipping
The proposed Polar Code would place environmental protections in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions
UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is advocating a 10-year moratorium on Arctic shipping, IHS Maritime 360 reports.
The NGO said last week in a report that it believed it would take those 10 years for the Polar Code to become finalised and come into effect.
“The suggested time frame of being ’in force’ by way of national legislation and full and rigorous implementation [any earlier] seems optimistic,” said senior policy analyst and co-founder of EIA Allan Thornton.
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NunatsiaqOnline 2014-10-21: COMMENTARY: Canada should use the Polar Code to stand on guard for communities
▻http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674canada_should_use_the_polar_code_to_stand_on_guard_for_communit
PAUL CROWLEY
For northern communities and economies, the expected growth of Arctic shipping has the potential to bring new jobs and industries, lower cost of living, and new infrastructure and investment.
But with these exciting opportunities come certain risks that must be managed.
This week, a draft international agreement — the Polar Code — was reached for new shipping regulations in the Arctic at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s environment committee.
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Melting ice cap opening shipping lanes and creating conflict among nations
▻http://phys.org/news/2014-10-ice-cap-shipping-lanes-conflict.html#jCp
t’s July and a cargo ship, laden with some 70,000 tons of coal, is slowly wending its way from Russia to China across the top of the world. This ship is functional, not beautiful; it’s longer than two football fields and at least 30 yards wide. As it enters the Kara Sea, north of Russia, the water is scattered with ice floes that are like small islands. With the aid of an icebreaker ship, the cargo ship makes its way steadily under the 24-hour sun to deliver its goods.
In 2004, the possibility of a large commercial tanker crossing the Arctic from Europe to Asia was pretty much nil: even with a trail blazed by sturdy icebreaker ships, dense ice obstructed too much of the route. A decade later, that same journey is almost routine. Rapidly rising temperatures the world over—especially in the northern Arctic zone—now allow some 100 of these mammoth ships to travel the Arctic waters in the summertime, delivering iron ore, coal and other commodities.
#transport #transport_maritime #mer #océans #arctique #route_du_nord-est #passage_du_nord_ouestr
Blog: Interview with Arctic Corridor Spokesman Timo Lohi | Alaska Dispatch
▻https://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140328/interview-arctic-corridor-spokesman-timo-lohi
The Arctic Corridor is described as a “new cross-border economic area as well as a transport and development corridor.” Financed by municipalities in Northern Lapland, the City of Rovaniemi, and the Regional Council of Lapland, the project began approximately five years ago as a means of capitalizing on the potential of Arctic resources and the Northern Sea Route, which shortens the distance between Asia and Europe by up to 40 percent. Lohi, who works on marketing and networking for the Arctic Corridor, explained, “We would like to connect these opportunities here in Finland, Norway, and Europe to this new transport route. The shorter distance is business opportunity for our company.” To connect Finnish businesses into the Northern Sea Route, a crucial part of the project is a proposed railway connection between Rovaniemi, Finland and Kirkenes, Norway. Earlier this month, the project released a video visualizing their aspirations for the transportation route. Arctic Corridor is marketing their efforts to a wide spectrum of interests but has honed in specifically on mining, especially since the industry is developing in northern Finland.
#arctique #route_du_nord #transport_maritime #corridor_arctique
More Arctic shipping eyed | Fort Frances Times Online
▻http://fftimes.com/node/264883
By Bob Weber THE CANADIAN PRESS
The company that made the first commercial transit of the Northwest Passage plans to increase its shipments through the legendary waterway next year, suggesting such traffic is coming sooner than anyone anticipated.
“We hope and expect to do it,” said Christian Bonfils of Nordic Bulk Carriers, the Danish shipper which owns the Nordic Orion.