SEAS OF TRANQUILITY AS PIRACY DROPS

There was a 39% decrease in armed robbery and piracy against ships between January and March 2021, according to a report by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP).

Compared with the same time last year, when 28 incidents took place, in the first quarter of 2021 only 17 episodes were registered, all of which were armed robberies and did not involve piracy.

According to the study, the decrease in incidents was particularly noticeable in countries such as Bangladesh – where no incident took place compared with two the previous year, as well as India – where only one attack was reported compared to six.

All the incidents that have taken place in the last three months fell under categories CAT 3 and CAT 4, used by ReCAAP to assess the gravity of episodes, which range in severity from a small gang of potentially armed robbers, to unarmed bandits – neither of which resulted in crew being harmed.

ANTWERP TO GET ECO TUGS

Belgium’s Port of Antwerp is expanding its fleet with the inauguration of three new energy-efficient reversed stern drive tugs.

The three tugs form part of the renewal and greening of the port’s fleet, to help out during the 19,000 yearly towing operations.

Port alderman Annick De Ridder said: “By expanding our fleet, we are continuing our efforts to ensure that our services are operational 100% of the time, while seeking to pave the way towards sustainable shipping.

“As the Port of Antwerp, we are setting a good example by taking a major step towards making our own tugs greener. In the near future, we will also experiment with tugs powered by renewable methanol and hydrogen.”

Currently, the Port of Antwerp manages a fleet of 32 vessels, made up of tugs, dredgers and support vessels, which are responsible for approximately 85% of the port’s total CO₂ emissions, but it has now commenced a multi-year project to renew, green and optimise its fleet to reduce this impact.

US PLEDGES TO JOIN GLOBAL FIGHT AGAINST SHIPPING EMISSIONS

The US is planning to join the global effort by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce emissions and decarbonise the shipping industry by 2050.

According to Washington-based, non-profit environmental group Ocean Conservancy, the global shipping sector releases nearly 1 billion metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is equivalent to Germany’s annual emissions.

At a conference hosted by the Ocean Conservancy, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said: “I want to announce that in support of the global effort to keep us in reach of 1.5°C and in support of global efforts to achieve net-zero by no later than 2050, the United States is committing to work with countries in the IMO to adopt the goal of achieving net-zero emissions from international shipping by no later than 2050.”

He also stated that the US will aid in the deployment of technologies that will help to quickly reduce carbon emissions in the shipping sector.

The US had previously raised concerns regarding the IMO’s initial greenhouse gas initiatives.

On 20 April, the UK Government announced that it will set the target to cut emissions by 78% by 2035 compared to 1990 levels into law. This will be the world’s most ambitious climate change target.

The country’s sixth Carbon Budget will include the UK’s share of global aviation and shipping emissions for the first time.