Flash NewsREPMUS 22: The future of Unmanned Aircrafts operated from high sea combat vessels.September 30, 2022FLASH NEWSThe Robotic Experimentation and Prototyping of Maritime Unmanned System (REPMUS) is a NATO annual naval exercise meant to test unmanned underwater, surface and air vehicles. Lately hosted by Portugal in mid-September 2022, it was more particularly the opportunity for NATO forces to show up their capability to operate unmanned aircrafts from high sea combat vessels. Thus, any combat ship could turn into an « unmaned aircraft career » using sling shot technologies and be integrated into a NATO-size task force. This drone technology, still at trial, could be a game changer for future aero-maritime operations. Like this:Like Loading...... Guinness World Records for the largest seabed clean-up.September 30, 2022FLASH NEWSOn September 24, the Portuguese nature protection association Oceanum Liberandum welcomed 700 divers for the largest seabed clean-up in history. The French demining diver group together with the Portuguese Navy deployed on the NATO exercise REPMUS 2022 from September 12 to 22 in Portugal, participated in this event. The event took place under the supervision of a judge from the Guinness World Records organisation to check and validate the registration of the participants, who each had 30 to 40 minutes to dive. Beyond the association’s desire to alert people to the problems facing the oceans, it aims to highlight the importance of marine protection and the fight against climate change. Like this:Like Loading...... Gas Spill In Danish Waters : The Anonymous SabotageSeptember 28, 2022FLASH NEWSWhat is happening in the Baltic Sea ? Since last Monday, three gas leaks have spotted out on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 undersea gas pipelines. Accident or sabotage, the Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, is leaning over “deliberate acts” and “not an accident”. Out of service because of the Ukraine war, the NordStream 1 and 2 are linking Russia to Germany. Like Denmark, Sweden does not see this as an act of aggression against it, as the incidents took place outside its territorial waters, in the exclusive economic zones. According to Copenhagen, the leaks are expected to last “at least one week”, until all the gas is out of the two facilities. It remains to be seen who is behind this sabotage. Who benefits from the crime ? As I mentioned before in a previous article, Seabed Warfare, this is the kind of threat Western countries will need to deal with in a very near future. Like this:Like Loading...... Sudanese Navy Seized a Smuggling Weapons BoatSeptember 27, 2022FLASH NEWSSeptember 24, 2022 Sudanese Navy intercepted a boat and four Yemenis on board inside its territorial waters of the Red Sea smuggling weapons and ammunition from Yemen. According to the statement, the boat was loaded with 90 Kalashnikov rifles, 162 boxes of Grinov submachine guns and 182 boxes of various calibres of ammunition, 43 cartons of detonating cord and 45 cartons of explosion-proof fuses. Like this:Like Loading...... The 8th session of IMO CCC Sub-CommiteeSeptember 27, 2022FLASH NEWSThe International Maritime Organization (IMO) Sub-Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers held its 8th session, a hybrid one (CCC8), at IMO HQ from Wednesday 14 through Friday 23 September 2022. It agreed on the need to continue work on adapting the codes on the safety of ships using gas or low-flashpoint fuels, and on the construction and equipment of ships carrying liquefied gases in bulk to take into account the alternative fuels hydrogen and ammonia. While guidelines for the use of liquefied petroleum gas have been finalised, the work to develop technical provisions for ammonia and hydrogen has begun and will hopefully be delivered to the International Maritime Organization next year. Like this:Like Loading...... 230 Whales Stranded on Beach in TasmaniaSeptember 23, 2022FLASH NEWSOn Wednesday, an estimated 230 whales stranded near the town of Strahan on Tasmania’s western coast, just days after at least 14 sperm whales died after beaching on King Island in the Bass Strait, roughly 170 miles to the north. Officials said many of the whales did not survive after becoming stuck in the remote area, including on Ocean Beach — Tasmania’s longest. Only 35 had survived the pounding surf overnight, Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service manager said. Tasmania’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment said in a statement Thursday that the surviving whales were released into deep waters by teams that have been working around-the-clock to save the mammals, considered a protected species. The whales stranded two years to the day after the largest mass-stranding in Australia’s history was discovered in the same harbor. The entrance to the harbor is a notoriously shallow and dangerous channel known as Hell’s Gate. Like this:Like Loading...... Joint Coordination with EMASoH_AGENOR ShipsSeptember 23, 2022FLASH NEWSEMASoH_AGENOR ships Thaon di Revel (P430) and FS Guépratte (F714) with the support of a Maritime Patrol Aircraft & Rafale fighter squadron of the French Forces are training together on the High Sea in northern Indian Ocean. As the French fregate begins its return to its base port of Toulon, she will be replaced by the fregate Aconit (F713) which should soon cross the Suez Canal to ensure the continuity of the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Aden and Oman. The Italian offshore patrol vessel will continue after the Operation AGENOR-EMASOH with the participation to the Italia Joint Task Force to be deployed in Qatar to contribute to the security of the FIFA World Cup 2022 event being attained between 20 November and 18 December. Like this:Like Loading...... A New canal Bypassing Russian Territorial WatersSeptember 21, 2022FLASH NEWSThe Vistula Spit Canal – opened Sept. 17- Poland opened a canal that allows vessels to sail from the Baltic Sea to its Elblag port without passing through Russian territorial waters. Indeed, Elblag in northern Poland, is separated from the Baltic Sea by a thin strip of land called an isthmus. Until now, the only way across was through an opening near the town of Baltiisk into Russia’s Kaliningrad Bay and required authorisation from Russian authorities. The 1,300-metre-long canal – construction of which began in 2019 will allow vessels to pass between the two without having to go through the current channel that is in the territorial waters of Russia’s Kaliningrad exclave. The canal is currently accessible only to small boats. Works are ongoing and are due to end in September 2023, when the canal is due to be large enough to accommodate vessels up to 100 meters long and 20 meters wide. Like this:Like Loading...... Like this:Like Loading...
