Daily Archives: December 16, 2023

On 28 November 2023, the Secretary-General of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) issued temporary measures orders, in accordance with Regulation 33 (i.e., emergency orders) of the Regulations on Prospecting and Exploration for Polymetallic Nodules (Polymetallic Nodules Regulations). The measures were issued with respect to an incident involving an ISA contractor, Nauru Ocean Resources Inc (NORI), and Greenpeaces vessel, the Arctic Sunrise.

These measures and the overall conduct of the ISA Secretary-General raise some questions concerning the possible expansion of the ISAs jurisdiction. This post wishes to examine the measures issued by the ISA and its capacity to issue such measures to begin with.

Factual background

NORI, sponsored by Nauru, was granted an exploration contract in 2011 concerning Polymetallic Nodules in the deep seabed of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.

On 25-26 November 2023, NORI notified the ISA that activists of Greenpeace International had disrupted its exploration activities, which included gathering scientific and environmental data and observations. During the incident, Greenpeace activists boarded the exploration vessel MV Coco without authorization and climbed to the top of the A-frame at the stern of the vessel. In its report to the ISA, NORI claimed that the conduct of Greenpeace, and its interference in the exploration operations, had caused a significant safety risk (see here).

While claiming it is engaged in peaceful protests at sea, Greenpeace did not deny interfering with the vessels operations and disregarding requests to maintain a safe distance from the MV Coco. The Secretary-General of the ISA observed that the conduct of Greenpeaces vessel prima facie pose a serious threat to the safety of individuals present in the Exploration Area and to the marine environment.

In response, the Secretary-General issued temporary measures, which include for example maintaining a safe distance between the vessels, disembarking the MV Coco, refraining from interfering with the operation of MV Coco, and reporting to the ISA.

The ISA jurisdiction to issue temporary measures

As mentioned, the ISA issued the temporary measures in accordance with Regulation 33 (emergency orders) of the Polymetallic Nodules Regulations. The actions of the ISA raise some questions as to the capacity and jurisdiction of the ISA in this specific case.

First, while the MV Coco was engaged in the exploration of the deep seabed, which is regulated by the ISA in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the activities of the Arctic Sunrise were conducted on the High Seas, which is outside the jurisdiction of the ISA. It is true that Greenpeaces goal was to stop operations relating to the seabed, however the actual conduct breached the freedom of the High Seas (unauthorized boarding, UNCLOS, Art. 87) and related liability issues (damaging the vessel). These issues are not within the capacity of the ISA to regulate (e.g., UNCLOS, Art. 157).

Second, the situation itself and the measures taken, do not seem to fit Regulation 33. This regulation addresses the relationship between the ISA and the contractor in cases of an incident which have caused or threatens to cause serious harm to the marine environment; it does not confer upon the ISA jurisdiction with respect to third parties.

In addition, as mentioned, under Regulation 33 emergency orders can be issued to prevent, contain and minimize serious harm or the threat of serious harm to the marine environment. Despite the above observations of the Secretary-General, other than NORIs claims, there is no proof that the high standards of actual or potential serious harm to the marine environment was met in this case. Boarding the vessel and possibly damaging it does not necessarily affect the marine environment. While it may affect the safety of the vessel, it seems that there is no direct effect on the marine environment. A potential or theoretical risk does not seem to meet the standard for exercising Regulation 33.

And lastly, the measures taken seem to be outside the scope of Regulation 33. The measures in accordance with Regulation 33 must be to to prevent, contain and minimize serious harm or the threat of serious harm to the marine environment. However, the measures taken in this case seem to be essentially a restraining order for Greenpeaces activists, similar to domestic criminal law, rather than relating to the protection of the marine environment. Furthermore, there is no reasonable link between these measures and the so-called immediate and urgent threat (i.e., they are not urgent measures).

Concluding remarks

International law does not prohibit protests on the High Seas. However, the freedom of the High Seas must be exercised with due regards to other states rights (UNCLOS, Art. 87). There is little doubt that Greenpeace has violated the freedom of the High Seas and other rules of international law by boarding the MV Coco unauthorized and damaging the vessel.

However, the actions taken by the ISA to address this incident do not seem to be within the scope of its jurisdiction or authority under the Polymetallic Nodules Regulations. Furthermore, the ISA exercised its jurisdiction with respect to a maritime zone or conduct that are outside its capacity altogether, thus acting ultra vires. The ISA essentially took upon itself what is an obligation of states to request the intervention of the flag state.

Questions of its capacity aside, there is no need for the ISA to intervene in this case. First, Denmark, as the flag state of MV Coco, can and should solve this issue diplomatically vis--vis the Netherlands. Denmark can also submit a claim against the Netherlands for not fulfilling its duties as the flag state to ensure that vessels flying its flag adhere to the relevant rules concerning safety at sea (UNCLOS, Art. 94).

Second, once boarded on the MV Coco, Greenpeace activists are under the jurisdiction of Denmark as the flag state (UNCLOS, Art. 91, 94). In addition, the Master of the Ship of the MV Coco can detain unlawful passengers (e.g., here). Again, the ISA has put itself in the position of the state, without having real influence or achieving real redress.

To conclude, international law and other authorities including flag states have the capacity to address offences on the High Seas. However, the ISA is not the right forum to address such issues.

See the rest here:

The Arctic Sunrise II Does the ISA have 'enforcement jurisdiction' on the High Seas? - EJIL: Talk!

Multiple ships from multiple cruise lines are heavily impacted by expected severe weather from the Bahamas to South Florida this weekend, with changes ranging from Wednesday, December 13 through Sunday, December 17, 2023 as the weather has developed.

In the interest of guests safety and comfort, cruise lines are cancelling ports of call and shifting routes to find the smoothest sailing to take advantage of.

Rough seas, high swells, and strong winds are causing multiple cruise ships to change itineraries this weekend. Experienced cruise travelers are very familiar with such changes, and ports of call may always be adjusted due to inclement weather that could cause hazardous navigational challenges for docking or make it unsafe for guests to walk along exposed piers or use tender boats.

Depending on the ships original itinerary, some changes have been minor, while others are more extensive. In most cases, the ships may instead spend a day at sea, where they can safely ride out poor weather while keeping guests as comfortable as possible.

Each of the following ships has itinerary updates related to this weekends expected rough weather.

Royal Caribbean Internationals 225,282-gross ton, Oasis-class Allure of the Seas was unable to visit Perfect Day at CocoCay during the current sailing, a 4-night Bahamas & Perfect Day cruise that departed Port Canaveral on Monday, December 11. Guests were refunded the port fees and any pre-paid shore excursions for missing the popular destination.

Combined with wind from the ships movement, gusts near the ship were reported as high as 55 knots (63 miles per hour / 102 kilometers per hour), and the ships captain sought shelter between small islands to keep guests more comfortable overnight.

Allure of the Seas arrived back at Port Canaveral on schedule on Friday morning, though it is likely her next itinerary a 3-night weekend getaway to Nassau and CocoCay, will also be impacted by the poor weather.

Another Royal Caribbean ship, the 139,863-gross-ton, Voyager-class Mariner of the Seas has shifted her entire weekend itinerary to avoid the stormy seas. The ship departed Port Canaveral on Thursday, December 14, on what was to have been a 4-night Perfect Day & Bahamas cruise to CocoCay and Nassau. Instead, guests were notified at embarkation that the original itinerary was no longer possible.

Were terribly sorry for the last-minute change caused by the weather your safety is our top priority, the notification read. Please know being onboard is one of the safest places because we are faster and can move out of the way of any inclement weather.

Instead of her original schedule, the ship is instead heading to Costa Maya, Mexico. Friday is a day at sea, the ship will be in Costa Maya from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and Sunday will be another day at sea while the ship heads back to Florida for debarkation as planned on Monday, December 18.

Royal Caribbeans 155,889-gross-ton, Freedom-class Liberty of the Seas has likewise missed a visit to CocoCay on the current sailing, a 4-night Bahamas & Perfect Day cruise that departed Fort Lauderdale on Monday, December 11. The stop in CocoCay was to have been on Wednesday, December 13, but was not possible due to high winds.

The ship returned to Fort Lauderdale on schedule on Friday, December 15, but it is possible the next sailing a 3-night cruise that is planned to visit Nassau and CocoCay over the weekend will be severely adjusted. Guests will be notified as soon as plans are confirmed.

Carnival Cruise Lines 133,596-gross-ton Carnival Vista, which was just involved with an at-sea rescue of stranded crew members from a capsized cargo vessel, was forced to skip the scheduled stop in Grand Turk on Thursday, December 14. Instead, the ship enjoyed an extra day at sea on her way back to Port Canaveral.

There is some very windy weather around the Bahamas and part of the western Caribbean, said John Heald, Carnival Cruise Lines Brand Ambassador. Please trust the captain, trust the crew. They will keep you safe, always.

The ships arrival on Saturday, December 16 should not be impacted, but the next sailing a 6-night Eastern Caribbean sailing with visits to Nassau, Amber Cove, and Grand Turk may be adjusted with cancellations or reordering the port visits for smoother sailing.

Carnival Venezia is another Carnival cruise ship that has been forced to make an itinerary change due to the bad weather. The scheduled port of call to the cruise lines private island of Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas on December 15 was cancelled. Passengers currently onboard also report that the ship had a brief power failure shortly after departing Nassau on December 14.

The ship is sailing an eight-night Bahamas itinerary, which did have a delayed departure out of New York City and ended up remaining overnight. You can read more about the delayed departure here.

The last day of Norwegian Cruise Lines 164,998-gross-ton, Breakaway-Plus-class Norwegian Escapes current sailing has been turned into a sea day, with the call on Great Stirrup Cay cancelled.

The ship departed Port Canaveral on Saturday, December 9 for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary, visiting the Dominican Republic, St. Thomas, and Tortola. Great Stirrup Cay was to have been the final port of call for the sailing, but now the ship is heading straight back to Port Canaveral.

Guests have been provided $50 of onboard credit as compensation for the missed port. The private island destination is a favorite among cruisers.

One of the most dramatic adjustments for the poor weather is Holland America Lines Nieuw Amsterdam. The ship is scheduled to return to service from a two-week dry dock in Freeport, Bahamas on Saturday, December 16, 2023, just when the worst of the weather is expected to impact South Florida.

Because of this, the cruise has now been shortened by two days and will not depart until Monday, December 18. Guests are receiving generous compensation for the dramatic adjustment, which includes cancelling most planned ports of call due to the shortened sailing time.

The boutique cruise line Margaritaville at Sea, which operates 2-night sailings to Freeport, Bahamas from Port of Palm Beach, Florida, has completely cancelled the Friday, December 15 departure of its only vessel, Margaritaville at Sea Paradise.

Guests are urged to contact the cruise line directly by phone or email for updates and to rebook their sailing. Since the cruise line is a popular option for quick getaways for drive-in travelers, it should be possible for many travelers to change their plans to a different sailing date.

Stay tuned to Cruise Hive for further updates and itinerary changes as they are confirmed through the weekend.

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Severe Weather Impacting Multiple Cruise Ships - Cruise Hive

The Aeolus, a wind turbine installation vessel or lift-boat, operating near one of the wind turbine supports, at the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

The American flag hangs from the back of the Rhode Island Fast Ferry Julia Leigh as it passes by the Aeolus, a wind turbine installation vessel or lift-boat, operating near one of the wind turbine supports at the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

The C-Fighter, front, an off shore supply vessel, works near the Substation portion of the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

The C-Fighter, left, an off shore supply vessel, works near the Substation portion of the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

Two of the Monopiles, part of the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

The Aeolus, a wind turbine installation vessel or lift-boat, operating near one of the wind turbine supports, at the South Fork Wind Farm, located 35-miles off Montauk, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (Tim Martin/Special To The Day)

At 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, about two hours into a day-long, round-trip voyage celebrating the start of operations at the South Fork Wind project site, bundled-up passengers began milling around the open decks of the Julia Leigh, the high-speed ferry whose engines powered through the waters of Block Island Sound.

Just over the horizon, the top of a spinning, 810-foot-tall, 11 megawatt-generating wind turbine that began sending electricity to the mainland power grid the day before could be spotted through the rolling waves.

As the Greenport, N.Y.-based ferry drew closer to the site and Block Island receded to a smudge, details of the first commercial-scale wind farm in federal waters swam into view about 35 miles east of Montauk Point.

As the ferry pulled closer to the working turbine, passengers unholstered phones and began shooting pictures and video of the relatively silent spinning blades.

The rotors of a second completed turbine a total of 12 such Siemens Gamesa arrays putting out a combined 132 megawatts are expected to be in place and running by early next year stood motionless near an unfinished third turbine tower.

The Aeolus, a lift-ship responsible for slotting the turbine components into circular yellow foundations, floated near the incomplete tower stem ready to add three football-field long turbine blades into place.

The mood inside the warm confines of the ferry was similar to a maritime corporate retreat, complete with guest speakers and sugar cookies embossed with an image of a wind turbine reminding snackers the project was powered through a joint venture of the Danish company rsted and Eversource.

A pair of television screens played a loop of South Fork Wind promotional videos that highlighted aspects of the work. One segment focused on the turbine component staging being carried out at State Pier in New London. A fourth package of parts left New London for the installation site this past week.

The rotating turbines send power to a nearby floating substation, that in turn funnels electricity to an onshore station in the town of East Hampton, N.Y., connected to that states electric grid.

When complete, the project is expected to power roughly 70,000 Long Island homes. The project dovetails with New Yorks plan to transition to a carbon-free electricity system by 2040. The Empire States plan is to install 9 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2035.

New Yorks nation-leading efforts to generate reliable, renewable clean energy have reached a major milestone, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a Wednesday statement. South Fork Wind will power thousands of homes, create good-paying union jobs and demonstrate to all the offshore wind is a viable resource New York can harness for generations to come.

Friendly crowd celebrates power project

The 100 or so ferry guests largely consisted of unabashed project supporters, including New York state officials and representatives of labor, climate and environmental groups.

Were coming to the completion of a project many years in the making, Jennifer Garvey, the head of the New York market for rsted, told an applauding ferry crowd. Its been an adventure.

The wind farm industry has faced challenges this year, with rsted announcing the cancellation of its large offshore Ocean Wind I and II projects in New Jersey due to problems with supply chains, higher interest rates and a failure to obtain the amount of tax credits the company wanted.

Developers in New England recently canceled power contracts for three other projects slated to deliver 3.2 gigawatts of wind power to Massachusetts and Connecticut, citing financial infeasibility.

But there was no shortage of wind power cheerleaders on the Julia Leigh.

Michael Hanson, a resident of the East Hampton, N.Y., hamlet of Wainscott, attended Thursdays trip as a member of the Win With Wind group, a grassroots organization formed several years ago to support the South Fork project.

Hanson said the group is comprised of concerned citizens anxious to find new ways to power their community without the use of fossil fuels. He said members spend the bulk of their time working to dispel misconceptions about the wind project through letter-writing campaigns, interviews with the news media and speaking at public forums.

Its just incredulous to me that people dont support this, Hanson said. (Wind power is) so simple and clean and reliable and its flowing right now.

Hanson, 57, said sections of the East Hampton area see their populations quadruple during the busy summer months, putting a strain on existing power systems.

The wind power will mean we wont need another natural gas system put in, he said.

Win With Wind member David Posnett said climate change is his overarching reason for supporting the wind project.

Its the number one problem facing the globe, whether youre poor, rich, on the left or right, he said. And this is one little step in the right direction. Its exciting to me that someone will turn on a switch in East Hampton this evening and a small percentage of that power will be coming from this turbine.

The project has faced sharp criticism from fishermen over inadequate compensation for lost fishing grounds and from some environmental organizations worried how such a project may affect marine life. Labor unions and business groups have come out firmly in favor of the work.

Amber Hewitt, senior director of offshore wind energy for the National Wildlife Federation, said her group works closely with the project to ensure the installation work doesnt harm the whales or dolphins that live in that part of the ocean.

She said a 5,000-meter monitoring zone has been established around the work area that includes a 2,000-meter shut-down section.

If a marine mammal enters that shut-down zone, all work stops, Hewitt said. This project has received a lot of scrutiny, above and beyond similar projects. Offshore wind is a tried-and-true, 30-year industry, and were willing to support it conditionally until theres a reason not to.

As the ferry made its return trip though choppy waters on Thursday, the offshore wind industry received another piece of good news, with the U.S. Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council approving construction of a $1.5 billion offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island.

The Revolution Wind project, touted as six times as large as the South Fork Wind, is also a joint venture between rsted and Eversource, and is expected to bring a total of 704 megawatts of energy to Connecticut and Rhode Island.

The Revolution Wind pre-installation work at New Londons State Pier will involve the assembly of 65 turbines that will be shipped to two offshore wind stations in federal waters 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, R.I.

In March, the Rhode Island utility rejected rsted's proposal to build Revolution Wind's second stage, 884-megawatt Revolution Wind 2, saying it would be too costly for consumers.

j.penney@theday.com

Continued here:

Taking to the high seas for an up-close look at South Fork Wind - theday.com

High waves in the Caribbean and rough seas in the Pacific are anticipated by experts for this week in Costa Rica. Omar Lizano, an oceanographer at the Center for Research in Marine Sciences and Limnology (CIMAR-UCR), warns of potential dangers for beachgoers and small to medium-sized boats.

The forecasts for this week indicate that high waves will persist in the Caribbean, reaching maximums of 3.2 meters on Thursday, which may slightly decrease towards the weekend, Lizano informed.

Despite the expected slight decrease, the expert foresees that the high swell pattern will continue with maximums of up to 3.4 meters for the following week. In the North Pacific, there are very strong winds with gusts between 60 km/h and 70 km/h, posing a danger for small and medium-sized vessels in this region, stated the expert.

For the Central and South Pacific, the situation differs as CIMAR does not report such strong winds. Waves for these sectors are expected to reach up to 1.5 meters offshore. The occurrence of high waves and rough seas is attributed to the increase in winds brought by cold fronts. For instance, on Monday, the National Meteorological Institute (IMN) reported the influence of cold front No. 7.

The cold push moves over the north of Central America, generating high atmospheric pressure values in the region, informed the meteorologist. This leads to accelerated trade winds in the north and center of the national territory, recording speeds between 83 km/h in Guanacaste and 51 km/h in Pavas.

From November to January, the high swell condition mainly occurs in the Caribbean area, influenced by the north winds, explained Lizano. This year, coupled with an increase in sea level (due to the impact of El Nio), may result in flooding and erosion in some coastal sectors.

Erosions are mostly caused by waves, but, for example, the Caribbean has not experienced very high waves. So, why is there erosion? Its due to the increase in sea level generated by El Nio and global warming, emphasized the specialist.

More here:

High Waves and Rough Seas Forecast for Costa Rica Coasts - The Tico Times