Category Archives: High Seas

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Project Ocean Conservation launches to build awareness about oceans in peril

WILMINGTON, Del.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In partnership with The Sylvia Earle Alliance / Mission Blue, A.R. Thane Ritchie announces the launch of Project Ocean Conservation, a public awareness campaign focused on the health of the ocean. Project Ocean Conservation joins Ritchies five other pillars of industryquantum computing, aerospace, life sciences, FinTech and clean energyas his premier environmental philanthropic endeavor for this decade.

There is a symbiotic relationship between humans and the oceans and few efforts to preserve the vital ecosystem that sustains human life. Ocean pollution, including plastics dumped into the sea, are devastating to marine life and pose a significant danger to human health. Yet less than six percent of the ocean is protected in any way.

People have to understand that the oceans are crucial to moving mankind forward. I see Mission Blue as a perfect partner in this endeavor as a leader in ocean conservation and exploration, said A.R. Thane Ritchie. While there's been a lot of money invested in ocean protection, we've seen little impact to date because there's a lack of mainstream awareness of the root causes and what actions taken actually work. I'm confident that with Project Ocean Conservation, we'll empower that change and make an impact."

The goal of this collaboration between Ritchie and Mission Blue is to bring awareness and support for ocean protection. Mission Blue Hope Spots are special places that are scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean. Through the partnership, Ritchie will be involved with the inauguration of new Hope Spots in locales such as the Cayman Islands.

There is amazing synergy between Thanes mission to build sustainable communities that secure healthy futures for natural and human populations and Mission Blues efforts to restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet, said Dr. Sylvia Earle, President and Chairman of Mission Blue and The Sylvia Earle Alliance. He is the perfect champion and partner for this cause as we set out to educate more people about the importance of the high seas.

Ritchies vast experience in health and wellness, tech and documentary production creates a partnership of apolitical, universal thoughts and brands that will make an impact on the planets essential water supply.

About Thane RitchieA.R. Thane Ritchie, founder of Ritchie Capital Management commands a history of achievement in alternative investments, mergers and acquisitions, real estate markets, and other areas. With more than 30 years of experience in his field, Thane Ritchie currently oversees investments through various private equity partnerships and his family office, covering investment funds and portfolio companies at various stages of growth. Over the course of his career, he has worked with innovative companies in the insurance, energy, technology and media sectors, and routinely seeks promising ventures that may have been overlooked. In the past decade alone, Thane turned a signature investment fund that started with $30 million into a financial colossus, with a peak valuation of $4 billion.

About Dr. Sylvia EarleSylvia Earle is President and Chairman of Mission Blue / The Sylvia Earle Alliance. She is a National Geographic Society Explorer at Large, and is called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine. She is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for several corporate and non-profit organizations.

About Mission BlueMission Blue inspires action to explore and protect the ocean. Led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue is uniting a global coalition to inspire an upwelling of public awareness, access and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas Hope Spots. Under Dr. Earles leadership, the Mission Blue team implements communications campaigns that elevate Hope Spots to the world stage through documentaries, social media, traditional media and innovative tools like Esri ArcGIS. Mission Blue also embarks on regular oceanic expeditions that shed light on these vital ecosystems and build support for their protection. Currently, the Mission Blue alliance includes more than 200 respected ocean conservation groups and like-minded organizations, from large multinational companies to individual scientific teams doing important research. Additionally, Mission Blue supports the work of conservation NGOs that share the mission of building public support for ocean protection. With the concerted effort and passion of people and organizations around the world, Hope Spots can become a reality and form a global network of marine protected areas large enough to restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210504005134/en/

Wendy GordonWendy@Nardimedia.com202-412-6268

Source: Project Ocean Conservation

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AR Thane Ritchie Joins Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue in Ocean Conservation Initiative - StreetInsider.com

William Formby Halsall (1841-1919) Vigilant in last days Race against Valkyrie, 1893. Oil on canvas, 19 29 1/4 in. Gift of Frederic A. Turner, 1961. 2020 Peabody Essex Museum. Photography by Kathy Tarantola

This May, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) debutsIn American Waters,a painting exhibition that reframes and expands our understanding of American culture and environment by looking at the sea. For over 200 years, American artists have been inspired to capture the beauty, violence, poetry, and transformative power of the sea. The exhibition, on view at PEM in Salem, Massachusetts, from May 29 through October 3, 2021, features a diverse range of modern and historical artists, including Georgia OKeeffe, Amy Sherald, Kay WalkingStick, Norman Rockwell, Hale Woodruff, Paul Cadmus, Thomas Hart Benton, Jacob Lawrence, Valerie Hegarty, Stuart Davis, and many others.In American Watersis co-organized by PEM and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

George Ropes Jr. (17881819) Launching of the Ship Fame, 1802. Oil on canvas, 35 3/4 46 in. Gift of Captain Nathaniel Silsbee, 1862. Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA. Photography by Jeffrey R. Dykes

As this exhibition vigorously asserts, marine painting is so much more than ship portraits. Through more than 90 works, we can trace changing attitudes about the symbolic and emotional resonance of the sea in America and see how contemporary perspectives are informed by marine traditions, said Dan Finamore, PEMs Associate Director Exhibitions and the Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History. No matter where we live, the sea shapes all of our lives and continues to inspire some of the most exciting artists working today.

Collaborative and interdisciplinary,In American Waterscombines art history, marine history, and even neuroscience to encompass greater geographical breadth, a multiplicity of artists and artistic expressions, and a more inclusive vision for American marine painting and American art more broadly. To these ends, this exhibition is the first to grapple with how attitudes about the sea may manifest in works that are not traditional seascapes. Instead, the experience explores industry and political conflict, sailor culture, visions of the undersea world and abstraction, as well as legacies of the Middle Passage and immigrants points of entry.

Founded in 1799 by the East India Marine Society in Salem, Massachusetts, PEM developed one of the nations first and foremost maritime collections. Situated on one of New Englands most historic harbors, the museum has long stewarded, and celebrated the interplay of maritime history and global interconnectivity. Exhibition co-organizer, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, was founded in 2011 in the Ozarks. The region surrounding Bentonville, Arkansas, is known for its abundant waterways in the form of springs, creeks, lakes and rivers, most notably the White River that originates from the Boston Mountains of Northwest Arkansas and ultimately feeds into the mighty Mississippi River, which flows to the Gulf of Mexico.

Even before marine art was produced in America, seascape paintings were included among items imported from Europe to decorate American homes in the latest style. Later, artists developed a distinctively American vision of the sea with an independent artistic identity.

The first artist in the United States to declare a specialty in marine subjects was Michele Felice Corn. Corn left Naples on Elias Hasket Derbys ship,Mount Vernon,in 1799, bound for Salem, Massachusetts. Upon arrival, he became a kind of artist-in-residence to the local shipowners, painting vessel portraits and historical and allegorical images in oils and gouache. CornsShipAmericaon the Grand Banksdepicts the first of four ships so named by Salems Crowninshield family between Independence and the War of 1812. It was the last British war prize taken by colonial privateers during the American Revolution. Corn portrays the renamed ship in the international waters of the Grand Banks fishing grounds off of Newfoundland amid French and British flagged vessels. The history of the ship and its prominent American flag, set within a competitive commercial setting, evokes pride in the new nation and its emerging international profile.

To look anew at American marine painting, we studied and analyzed its colonial and Eurocentric origins and found that the genre is far more dynamic and broad than previously assumed, said Austen Barron Bailly, Chief Curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. When we think of marine painting we may think of high-seas realism and faithful portraits of ships but, as this exhibition attests, in practice we see broad-ranging expressions of American ambition, opportunity, and invention.

Artists have long crafted narratives of deepwater activities that take place far beyond Americas shores, extending the image of the nations engagement with the world into mid-ocean and beyond. Captain of a whaling fleet, John Bertonccini was also an artist who was said to paint at every opportunity, even using the ships paint supplies when his own ran out. In the 1890s his fleet traveled into Arctic waters off the Yukons north coast in pursuit of their prey, allowing their ships to freeze into the ice so they could winter over rather than make the long journey home each year. In a new work to enter PEM's collection, the artist created a birds-eye view of their winter grounds showing the crew playing soccer and baseball to pass the time.

One of the few Native American women artists making marine paintings today, Kay WalkingStick (Cherokee Nation) expands American marine art traditions, evoking the seascapes of impressionist Childe Hassam and his response to Appledore Island located seven miles off the coast of New Hampshire, and modernists such as Georgia OKeeffe, who was drawn to re-envision the experiences on nearby shores at Maine. WalkingSticks 2020 painting,New Hampshire Coast, pictures a location along the shoreline near present day Portsmouth. The artist honors the unbroken connections between coastal waters and the Abenaki community of the Wabanaki Confederacy. Her own pattern of composite Native American basket motifs permeates the rocky shore, reminding us that these are Indigenous lands and waters.

Childe Hassam (18591935) East Headland, Appledore, Isles of Shoals, 1911. Oil on canvas, 30 36 in. Gift of Peter S. Lynch in memory of Carolyn A. Lynch, 2018. Courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts. Photography by Kathy Tarantola.

Amy Sherald continues the evolution of American marine painting with her 2019 painting,Precious jewels by the sea,a grand portrayal of four Black teenagers on a beach. Two boys stand tall with girls seated on their shoulders. They tower above a placid turquoise sea and the deep blue horizon. Their long shadows angle and cast over and beyond their red-and-white striped beach umbrella and straw picnic basket on the sand.

Mass appeal of the seascape and of the artist herself, who was the official portraitist of First Lady Michelle Obama, are central to this work. Sherald seeks to convey an expression of freedom. As the artist recently described, I make these images of things that we normally do but we dont get to see in spaces like museums. Like black people going to the beach. . . . It makes me think about my mother. She didnt know how to swim, and she didnt like going to the segregated black beaches because she wanted to go to the prettier white beaches. It makes me think about how much things have changed generationally. . . . So its really just about creating American narratives about American people while critiquing it at the same time.

Today the sea is on the minds of Americans, in part, because of sea-level rise and the impact of associated climate events on coastal communities and beyond. More than 90 percent of the worlds commerce travels by sea and its no coincidence that most major American cities are situated on waterways whether around protected coastal harbors or inland at the confluence of major rivers.

Artists have reflected Americans understanding of this significance and of the sea as a connector. Maritime paintings are a multisensory experience. For viewers in any part of the world, these works are particularly adept at evoking sonic qualities the relentlessly repetitive crashing of surf upon a beach, sailors calling out to one another from a ships deck or high in the rigging. The noises of human activity such as the tolling of bells, laborers chanteys, and cannon fire can register the same emotional power as that of the open ocean with only the wind and waves. These sounds and sights, and the art they inspire, have the power to transport us.

The exhibition travels to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, November 6, 2021 through January 31, 2022.

Published by the Peabody Essex Museum, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the University of Arkansas Press, a related publication,In American Waters: The Sea in American Painting,highlights American art historical and cultural traditions associated with the sea, deepening our understanding of it as a symbol of American ambition, opportunity, and invention. Edited by Daniel Finamore, PEMs Associate Director Exhibitions and The Russell W. Knight Curator of Maritime Art and History, and Austen Barron Bailly, Chief Curator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, this 240-page book includes more than 120 images, featuring fascinating historical paintings alongside works by major modern and contemporary artists. With contributions by Austen Barron Bailly, Mindy N. Besaw, Sarah N. Chasse, Daniel Finamore, and George H. Schwartz.

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Major Traveling Exhibition 'In American Waters' Casts New Light On Our Relationship With the Sea - ArtfixDaily

A building wave for offshore wind energy surged out of the Biden administration, with March 29 announcements that set a goal of building 30,000 megawatts of capacity and opening up to 800,000 more acres for leasing in the New York Bight.

Two weeks later, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management moderated the plan, withdrawing potential leasing areas off New York acknowledging conflicts with commercial fishing, maritime traffic and tourism that will be rife in the East Coasts most crowded waters.

But on a broad scale, it appears to be full speed ahead for BOEM. Even during the Trump administrations fitful approach to offshore wind, the agency itself worked consistently to make leasing possible for wind power developers.

Today there are 17 active leases, comprising 1.7 million acres, says BOEM Director Amanda Lefton. Ten more environmental reviews could be started this year, and construction and operation plans for 16 projects could be in place by 2025, Lefton said during an April 14 online meeting of BOEMs New York Bight task force.

Now an all of government approach is being brought to bear, and the New York Bight will play a central role in reaching the administrations 30,000-MW goal, said Lefton.

BOEM has a steadfast commitment to do this right by fishermen and other stakeholders, and the New York Bight is a place where collaboration is working, she said.

But one prominent group not in virtual attendance that day was the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of fishing groups and communities. The group has been meeting for years with BOEM planners and wind developers, but in recent weeks reacted with alarm to the Biden administrations full-court press to expand the industry.

Fishermen have shown up for years to engage in processes where spatial constraints and, often, the actors themselves are opposed to their livelihood, according to a letter RODA submitted to the task force, stating it would boycott the meetings in protest.

This time and effort has resulted in effectively no accommodations to mitigate impacts from individual developers or the supposedly unbiased federal and state governments, the letter says. Individuals from the fishing community care deeply, but the deck is so stacked that they are exhausted and even traumatized by this relentless assault on their worth and expertise. (Read the letter in our Mail Buoy section on page 4.)

The Interior Department formally reversed a Trump-era legal opinion on offshore wind energy, with an April 9 memo by Robert Anderson, the departments principle deputy solicitor. That opinion critiqued and reversed findings written in December by Daniel Jorjani, who was the departments top lawyer when then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt moved to shut down the approval process for the Vineyard Wind offshore project.

In that earlier 16-page document, Jorjani held that if Bernhardt determines that either fishing or vessel transit constitute reasonable uses of the exclusive economic zone, the high seas and the territorial sea, the Secretary has a duty to prevent interference with that use.

Moreover, Jorjani wrote, the Interior secretary should determine what is unreasonable interference from offshore wind turbines based on the perspective of the fishing user. That was a victory for commercial fishing advocates who had gone directly to Bernhardt with their concerns.

In the new memo five pages dense with analysis of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and related court decisions Anderson wrote that the act requires the Interior secretary to consider a dozen specific goals of the law when making decisions. Those factors could favor actions to maximize low-emission and renewable electrical generation from offshore wind facilities, Anderson wrote.

The bureaucratic memo further paved the way for a BOEM record of decision to approve the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project off southern New England, where RODA and other fishing industry advocates have pushed the developers and BOEM to include mitigation measures.

Fishermen sought 4-nautical-mile-wide transit lanes to ensure safe passage through wind energy areas in heavy weather. Developers and Coast Guard officials said 1-nm spacing between turbine towers on lease areas will be adequate. The final record of decision would include a ruling on that.

Technically, we dont know, said Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, while awaiting that decision. They could address some of these fisheries issues (in the decision). It doesnt look promising.

Commercial fishing groups that at best have had a rocky relationship with BOEM and wind developers were shaken by the breadth of the administrations goals. Hawkins said there was no sign of new commitment to head off potential conflicts between the industries.

These fisheries questions have been around for a decade, said Hawkins. We dont have an interagency process for understanding and resolving them, she added: Were just blown away by the lack of coordination.

Ringing White House endorsements of wind power call into question how federal agencies will handle reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and other regulatory measures, said Hawkins.

Can you imagine if this assessment was for oil and gas (development)? How would that look? she said. This whole thing is so upside-down. Its not like the way we regulate any other resource.

While RODA sat out the New York Bight meetings, NMFS was represented. The agency did not hold back on its view of potential environmental and fisheries impact should more wind energy areas be developed in the New York Bight.

The region is one of the most important areas on the East Coast for commercial and recreational fisheries, said Sue Tuxbury, a fisheries biologist in the agencys habitat conservation division who works on wind energy and hydropower activities.

Surf clams and scallops, two of the most valuable East Coast fisheries, have major shellfish resources on the bottom. The location and number of turbines will be a major factor in whether those dredge fisheries can continue to operate around the wind areas, said Tuxbury.

She recommended that BOEM and the bight task force consult RODAs 2019 workshop on fishing vessel transit issues and for the agency to hold new meetings with commercial fishermen to discuss potential traffic lanes for New Jersey ports Barnegat Light and Cape May, close to the planned Ocean Wind and Atlantic Shores turbine arrays.

Tuxbury said unknown environmental questions include how those arrays may affect the Mid-Atlantic cold pool, the seasonal stratification of water temperatures that is influential on the life cycles of fish and other marine life. New surveys and scientific modeling are needed to anticipate how those changes may happen and play out, she said.

BOEMs proposed wind energy areas include essential fish habitat for nearly every species managed by NMFS and the New England and Mid-Atlantic fishery management councils, said Tuxbury. Building turbines out there will directly impact the agencys ability to conduct at-sea scientific surveys that managers depend on to make decisions, she said.

Survey vessels operated by NOAA will likely be excluded from operating their trawl sampling gear in wind energy areas by spatial constraints between turbine towers. Along with the need for longer vessel transit times to get around arrays, that will reduce biological sampling, said Tuxbury.

Fishing conflicts were one reason BOEM planners cited in dropping two areas near Long Island from immediate consideration for offshore wind energy leases.

The Fairways North and South areas, named for nearby shipping approaches to New York Harbor, have scallop and surf clam beds, issues with maritime traffic and whale feeding areas, and the potential for raising the ire of beachfront homeowners and tourism businesses on Long Islands South Shore.

New York state officials recommended against planning for leases in the Fairway areas, saying the closest 15-mile proximity to Long Island runs counter to the states policy of keeping wind generation at least 18 miles from shore.

With offshore wind development gaining momentum, resistance could build on other residential shorelines. That was evident as BOEM initiated its environmental review process for the Ocean Wind project, rsteds planned 1,100-MW array off Atlantic City.

Were very concerned about the impact on tourism, said Beach Haven, N.J., Mayor Colleen Lambert during BOEMs April 15 online scoping meeting on Ocean Wind.

The Ocean Wind tract at its closest is 15 miles offshore, and turbine blades could be visible from shore on some days, according to BOEM visual simulations.

BOEM has been gauging potential developer interest in areas farther offshore, and the task force is part of its environmental assessment of those areas.

Those developments could be slowed by a shortage of wind turbine installation vessels with more projects planned in Europe and Asia. In U.S. waters, developers will need to abide by the Jones Act the 1920 federal maritime law that requires using U.S.-flagged vessels and crews.

Vineyard Winds plan is to use Belgium-based DEME Offshores installation vessels, teamed with U.S.-flag vessels of Foss Maritime, using the feeder concept of a foreign-flag wind turbine installation vessel supplied onsite by Jones Act-compliant U.S. vessels.

Virginia-based Dominion Energy is backing construction of its own 472-foot U.S.-flagged installation vessel, amid widespread concern in the industry that global demand for services of those heavy-lift vessels could slow the development of projects in U.S. waters.

All that action now is focused on the shallow outer continental shelf from Cape Cod to the Carolinas. But wind developers are already looking ahead to float anchored wind turbines in deep water like the Gulf of Maine.

Were trying to keep Maine waters free from this industrialization, said Dustin Delano, a Friendship, Maine, lobsterman who helped organize a March 21 demonstration by fishermen with more than 80 boats on the water protesting plans for offshore wind.

This would fill the ocean with anchors, cables and chains, said Delano. Maine is unique in the nation. Our entire heritage is fishing and tourism.

The Maine Aqua Ventus project would be a 12-MW floating turbine to test the feasibility of commercial-scale wind power arrays in the deepwater Gulf of Maine.

With the Biden administration promising $3 billion in loan guarantees to jump-start offshore turbine construction, a new Sea Grant program to study impacts on fishing seems a pittance to the fishing industry. That $1 million program for Sea Grant to find impacts of development on fishing communities wont understand the impact in one Maine lobster village, said Hawkins.

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Power surge: With Vineyard Wind on approval track, 10 more reviews in the wings - National Fisherman

A HEREFORDSHIRE man is celebrating reaching dry land after rowing more than 3,000 miles across the Atlantic.

Martin Heseltine, 62, from Walford, near Ross-on-Wye, has spent the last 50 days all at sea as part of a four-man vegan crew rowing from Lanzarote to Antigua to raise money for men's mental health charity Humen and Chepstow animal sanctuary, the Dean Farm Trust.

Not an adventure to be taken lightly, Martin and the crew rowed non-stop in alternating two-hour shifts, using muscle power alone and with no backup vessel to cover the 3,200 mile distance.

The team faced storms, sleep deprivation, extreme fatigue and, at times, huge seas. They also had to cope with injury when crew member Matt Pritchard, more famously known as plant-loving prankster and chef The Dirty Vegan, tore a lateral muscle forcing him to take a break from rowing for several days, while Martin battled with painful tendonitis in his leg.

Theres not a whole lot you can do in the middle of the Atlantic other than keep on going, said Martin.

Its very often a case of mind over matter but the teamwork of the crew together is absolutely vital."

With only a tiny cabin for shelter no larger than a double bed, Martin, Matt, skipper Billy Taylor and blogger Johnny Ward had to share this space for cooking, eating, sleeping and navigating.

Theres not even a chance to stand up as the boats motion makes that impossible, so we are all looking forward to stretching our legs on dry land once weve cleared customs and landed, said Martin.

A former ocean yachtsman, Martin is no stranger to adventure, having spent much of his life on the high seas, but this particular challenge pushed all the crew to the extreme, with no toilet in the specially built boat, which features multiple individual watertight hull compartments to prevent sinking in case of shark attack.

Fortunately the crew have not had to deal with sharks, but have enjoyed the company of dolphins, flying fish and even a squid which landed on the deck. You can read more about their charity row at Monkeyfistadventures.com

Dean Farm Trust founder, Mary Frankland, said: We are so proud and thankful to Matt, Billy, Martin and Johnny for all of their hard work to raise much-needed funds and awareness for our little sanctuary. Our residents cant wait to see the boys on their return to the UK and thank them for their amazing support.

To donate to the Atlantic Dash fundraiser for Dean Farm Trust, please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/atlantic-dash-dean-farm-trust

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Herefordshire man celebrates reaching dry land after rowing across the Atlantic - Hereford Times

Tero Vauraste, Regional Director Europe at ICEYE and Global Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Centre shared concrete examples of space solutions for the Arctic. ICEYE is the global leader in small satellite synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) technology. customized for frequent delivery of high-resolution imagery.

Space solutions can be used for earth observations with predictive capabilities, e.g. for predicting climate-change caused disasters. ICEYE provides technology with the capacity to see through the clouds in the Arctic and the data and solutions can be used as by researchers as by businesses.

Jan Dusik, Sustainable Development & Governance Lead, WWF Arctic Programme brought attention to the importance of long-term vision in the Arctic over short-term gains. According to Mr Dusik, clean economic development in the Arctic is possible but needs concrete commitments such as zero-carbon solutions, environmental impact assessments, participation of local and indigenous stakeholders and evaluation of Arctic project resilience.

Furthermore, global solutions in, e.g., shipping with sustainable flues and shipbuilding would be beneficial for the Arctic. It is important to operate on a precautionary basis and set some boundaries, like in the case of the InternationalAgreementto Prevent UnregulatedFishingin the High Seas of theCentral Arctic Ocean.

All in all, sustainable business is possible in the Arctic, but it would require much more than just adding the word sustainable to the documents, concluded Mr Dusik.

Felix Tschudi, Chairman and owner of the Tschudi Group presented a scenario for the Northern Sea Route development until 2031. In the discussed scenario, the NSR becomes the preferred transportation route due to its environmental benefits, with zero-emissions operating vessels.

Mr Tschudi emphasised that in the next few years there will be a window of opportunity for international companies to invest in suitable tonnage vessels meeting sustainability criteria to operate the NSR. He also commented on the future of the Arctic as a producer of renewable energy and hydrogen, and on the opportunity of the region to become the platform for green industrial processing.

Kjell Stokvik, Director at the Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL) commented on the importance of education and development of specific courses as part of CHNL work. Furthermore, Mr Stokvik urged for more Arctic investments and business cross-border cooperation.

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Arctic 2050: Mapping the Future of the Arctic - High North News

Netflix begins filming the series of the creators of Dark | Instagram

If you loved the successful series of Dark This will surely catch your attention, because recently the famous Netflix platform has released great news, as they have begun filming a series of its creators.

1899 is the name of Netflixs new bet, which will be full of mystery and will undoubtedly keep your hair standing on end.

Everything seems to indicate that the filming of 1899, a new historical mystery series from the creators of Dark , with an international cast that includes the Spanish actor Miguel Bernardeau ( Elite ), as announced yesterday by Netflix and the German producer Dark Ways in a release.

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The creators and producers, Jantje Friese and Baran bo Odar, have brought together a large international cast with the ambition of making a truly European series, with characters from different countries speaking their native language.

It could be a huge creative benefit for content creators.

In addition, the cast includes Emily Beecham, Aneurin Barnard, Andreas Pietschmann, Maciej Musial, Lucas Lynggaard Tnnesen, Rosalie Craig, Clara Rosager, Maria Erwolter, Yann Gael, Mathilde Ollivier and Jos Pimento.

This series will have a total of 8 chapters of one hour each, and follow the mysterious circumstances surrounding the journey of an immigrant ship from the old continent to the new.

Passengers, of different origins and nationalities, are joined by the same hopes and dreams for the new century and their future abroad.

However, when they discover another migrant ship adrift on the high seas, their journey takes an unexpected turn.

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It is worth mentioning that the filming will take place in a custom built virtual set, in fact it is the largest LED technology studio of its kind in Europe, at the Babelsberg studios located on the outskirts of Berlin.

This new infrastructure is completely innovative and cutting-edge for the German production landscape and could be of enormous creative benefit to content creators and filmmakers around the world, says Baran bo Odar.

As if that were not enough, the creative team behind the cameras is also the German-born and Madrid-based costume designer Bina Daigeler, nominated for an Oscar for Muln.

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One of the peculiarities of this new project is that each character played by actors from various European countries will speak in their mother tongue, and this multilingual character is one of the reasons why 1899 will be a truly European series.

On the other hand, the German series Dark after debuting in 2017 on the platform slowly grew in popularity, until it was considered the best original series on the platform, even surpassing Stranger Things (2016-) and even up to 80% chose the title as the best production in the international catalog.

And it is surprising that Netflixs first original series in German, a foreign product and in its local language, which deals with quantum physics, time travel and paradoxes, has exceeded its condition of risk bet to become number one in the platforms top 10 in several countries in the premiere of its finale.

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In addition, Dark is complex, with many implications in its twists, since the truth is not the classic case of sure success and it has become a kind of phenomenon, perhaps due to some of the following factors.

So if you liked me and you were wanting more, this new series will be perfect for you and surely you will not regret it.

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Netflix begins filming the series of the creators of Dark Explica .co - Explica

When the brand new vessel joining the Disney Cruise Line fleet, Disney Wish, sets sail in summer 2022, families of all ages will discover a mesmerizing new world created especially for them. Onboard, guests will find a celebration of Disneys rich legacy of enchanting storytelling including the ever-expanding Marvel Universe!

Along with classic Disney, Pixar and Star Wars characters, Marvel Super Heroes will also find their way onto the ship in new, exciting ways creating a unique experience for guests aboard. Whether youre looking to dine alongside the Avengers or suit up for the next adventure, there will be something for everyone, and every Marvel fan, on the Disney Wish. You never know who youll bump into, or what you might be recruited to do!

The Disney Wish will debut brand-new family restaurants, including Worlds of Marvel, the first-ever Marvel cinematic dining adventure. Guests will play an interactive role in an action-packed Avengers mission that unfolds around them, complete with a worldly menu inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe. At Worlds of Marvel, families will find dishes inspired by locations like Wakanda, Sokovia, and New York City while dining in the midst of an immersive Avengers technology showcase.

Outfitted with state-of-the-art Pym Tech and decked out in signature Stark-itecture style, the venue will offer surprises in all shapes and sizes. Additionally, be on the lookout for fan-favorite Avengers and an infamous foe.

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Super Heroes Take to the High Seas on New Disney Cruise Line Ship - Marvel Entertainment

Weather inshore until 6pm on Monday will be hazy and partly cloudy to cloudy with chances of scattered rain that can become thundery at places at times, the Department of Meteorology said in its daily weather report. The Met Dept warned also of sudden strong winds with thundershowers. Offshore, it will be hazy and cloudy to partly cloudy with chance of scattered rain that can be thundery at times, the report added, warning of expected thundery rain associated with strong winds and high sea.Wind inshore will be southeasterly to northeasterly 08 to 18 knot reaches to 30 knot with thundery rain.Offshore, it will be mainly southeasterly to northeasterly 08 to 18 knot gusting to 30 knot at places with thundery rain.Visibility will be 4 to 8/3 kilometers or less at times.Sea state inshore will be 2 to 3 feet, rises to 5 feet with thundery rain, while offshore it will be 3 to 5 feet, rises to 9 feet at places with thundery rain.

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Met warns of thundery rain, strong winds and high seas - Gulf Times

Russia recently announced that it was closing off portions of the Black Sea off the Crimean Peninsula and near the Kerch Strait to foreign warships and other state vessels from April 24 to Oct. 31. The announcement was immediately condemned by both Kyiv and Washington. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price expressed deep concern over Moscows declaration, denouncing the move as another unprovoked escalation in Russias ongoing efforts to undermine and destabilize Ukraine. The closures come at a time when Russia is significantly building up its forces in Crimea and around the Ukrainian border on a scale not seen since it invaded Crimea in 2014, although there are reports that the Kremlin has ordered the withdrawal of some of its troops from the border.

Closure Areas in the Black Sea

All ships, including warships and other state vessels, enjoy a right of innocent passage through foreign territorial seas under Article 17 of the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). A passage is innocent if it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state. A passage is considered to be prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state if a ship engages in one of the activities listed in Article 19, such as intelligence collection and weapons exercises.

The coastal state may adopt laws and regulations relating to innocent passage, which conform to international law, for the reasons specified in Article 21, but, under Article 24, these laws and regulations cannot hamper, deny or impair the right of innocent passage. Under Article 25, the coastal state may, however, take the necessary steps in its territorial sea to prevent passage that is not innocent. In addition, Article 25 allows the coastal state, without discrimination in form or fact among foreign ships, to suspend temporarily in specified areas of its territorial sea the innocent passage of foreign ships if such suspension is essential for the protection of its security, including weapons exercises. The suspension will take effect only after it has been duly published.

The authority of the coastal state to suspend innocent passage, however, is not unlimited. On April 24, Russia announced that it was closing off portions of the Black Sea to foreign warships and other state vessels 24/7 for a period of six months. Russias announced closure is problematic for several reasons. First, under UNCLOS, the suspension of innocent passage must be temporary. The combination of a closure that extends 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for six months is not considered temporary. Second, the suspension cannot discriminate in form or fact among foreign ships. Russias declaration applies only to warships and other state vessels and therefore discriminates in fact among types of foreign ships. Third, the suspension of innocent passage must be essential for the security of the coastal state. Russia has not publicly indicated why it is closing off portions of the Black Sea. In short, Russias purported suspension of passage to foreign warships and other state vessels operating off the coast of Crimea appears inconsistent with international law.

To the extent that the closure area extends beyond the 12 nautical mile boundary of its territorial sea, the Worldwide Navigational Warning Service states that Russia may establish temporary warning areas only to advise ships and aircraft that it is conducting activities beyond its territorial sea that may pose a hazard to navigation and overflight. Such warning areas are not exclusion zones. Ships and aircraft retain the right to transit through these zones recognizing that there is an increased risk in doing so. Beyond the territorial sea, under UNCLOS Article 89, no state may subject any part of the high seas, including the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), to its sovereignty. Seaward of the territorial sea, all ships and aircraft enjoy high seas freedoms of navigation and overflight and other internationally lawful uses of the seas related to these freedoms, including military activities. To the extent the Russian closure area purports to close portions of the Black Sea that are beyond the 12 nautical mile boundary, it is inconsistent with international law.

Kerch Strait

The current Russian Notice to Mariners blocks access to the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. This closure violates the 2003 bilateral agreement between Russia and Ukraine, which recognizes the importance of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait to the economic development of both Ukraine and Russia. The treaty notes that all disputes concerning the Azov-Kerch area of water should be resolved peacefully. Article 2 of the agreement acknowledges that the Sea of Azov features both Russian and Ukrainian ports and recognizes that Russian and Ukrainian flagged ships enjoy freedom of navigation through the Kerch Strait and within the Sea of Azov. It also recognizes freedom of navigation for foreign flagged commercial ships transiting the strait to or from a Russian or Ukrainian port within the Sea of Azov, as well as for foreign flagged warships transiting to such a port with the permission of either Russia or Ukraine. Russias unilateral and abrupt closure of the Kerch Strait blocks Ukraines access to two of its strategic ports in the Sea of Azov, without consultation with Ukraine, in violation of Russias obligations under the bilateral agreement.

Although the status of the Kerch Strait is unsettled, we suggest Russias closure of the strait violates Article 38 of UNCLOS because the Kerch Strait is considered a strait used for international navigation under Article 37. The strait is completely overlapped by the territorial seas of Ukraine and Russia and connects two areas of EEZs in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. It is also used extensively by ships engaged in international trade, logging nearly 19,500 transits in 2017. The waterway, therefore, meets both the geographic and functional criteria of an international strait where the right of transit passage applies. Article 44 stipulates that coastal states may not suspend transit passage. Thus, Russias closure of the strait and access to the Sea of Azov is in contravention of UNCLOS if the Kerch Strait is governed by the transit passage regime. Two of the principal users of the straitUkraine and members of the European Unionagree that the right of transit passage applies in the Kerch Strait.

Kerch Strait passage is further complicated by Russias illegal construction of the Kerch Bridge in 2018 across the strait, which connects mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula. The bridges span limits the height of vessels that may enter the strait and is controlled entirely by Russia, thereby impeding transits. In 2018, Russia employed the bridge and a large container ship to block Ukrainian vessels from entering the strait, triggering a military confrontation that spurred legal cases filed by Ukraine at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The European Union and the United States have denounced the illegal construction of the bridge and in October 2020 and April 2021 they imposed additional sanctions on Russian entities and individuals tied to the construction of the bridge.

The European Parliament asserted in a 2018 resolution that transit passage applies through the Kerch Strait. The resolution condemns the construction of the Kerch Bridge and the laying of underwater cables in the strait without the consent of Ukraine as a clear violation of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity. Specifically, the bridge limits the size of ships that can transit the strait to an air draft of less than 33 meters and a length of less than 160 meters. This means that Panamax-class vessels, which accounted for more than 20 percent of all ship traffic through the strait before the construction of the bridge, now cannot enter the Sea of Azov. The resolution additionally condemns Russias practice of blocking and inspecting Ukrainian and foreign-flagged commercial vessels going through the strait, including more than 120 ships registered in the European Union, which were bound to or from Ukrainian ports. The European Parliament views Russias actions as a breach of international maritime law, and it condemned the illegal construction of the Kerch Bridge and Russias infringement of navigational rights, which hamper the right of transit passage through the strait.

As one of the bordering states, Ukraine also maintains that the transit passage regime applies to the Kerch Strait. On Sept. 16, 2016, Ukraine served Russia with a Notification and Statement of Claim under Annex VII to UNCLOS referring to a dispute concerning coastal state rights in the Black Sea, Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait. In its memorial, Ukraine requested the Arbitral Tribunal to adjudge and declare that, inter alia, Russia violated UNCLOS, Article 2, through its unauthorized and unilateral construction of submarine power cables, a submarine gas pipeline and the Kerch Bridge across the Kerch Strait; and that Russia violated UNCLOS, Articles 38 and 44, by impeding transit passage through the Kerch Strait. Regarding the status of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, Ukraine specifically denies that it had treated these waters as common internal waters either before or after the execution of the 2003 agreement. Rather, Ukraine asserts that it has applied the regime of transit passage to the strait, as reflected in a 2001 note verbale and 2002 note verbale (paragraph 242). On this basis, Ukraine requested the Arbitral Tribunal to order the Russian Federation to, inter alia, provide Ukraine with appropriate public assurances and guarantees that Russia would not hinder transit passage through the Kerch Strait.

Annexation of Crimea

Russias current closure areas in the Black Sea and control of the Kerch Strait are tactics tied to its ongoing occupation and annexation of Crimea. In 2014, Russia illegally invaded and annexed Crimea in violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter. Russias continued occupation of Ukrainian territory contravenes international law and the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, in which Russia pledged to respect the independence and sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine. The memorandum also requires Russia to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Ukraine.

Ukraine, the United States and the European Union do not recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea and view the ongoing Russian presence in and control of the region as an illegal occupation in violation of Ukraines sovereignty and international law. Similarly, the Council of Europe indicated that the referendum organized in Crimea in March 2014 was unconstitutional under both the Crimean and Ukrainian constitutions and that the outcome of the referendum and Russias illegal annexation of Crimea have no legal effect. The Russian occupation of Crimea has likewise been condemned by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Given that Russia does not have a lawful territorial claim to Crimea, it lacks legal authority to close the territorial sea of Ukraine off the coast of Crimea. And under Article 2 of the U.N. Charter, Ukraine has complete sovereignty over its territorial sea. Russias purported closure of the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea constitutes a threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine, in violation of Article 2(4) of the U.N. Charter.

Conclusion

The international community cannot acquiesce to continued encroachment of Ukrainian sovereignty and escalating Russian aggression in the Black Sea region. Ukraines sovereignty over its territorial seas and access to its ports in the Sea of Azov are just as critical to its national security as is its sovereignty over Crimea. Access to the Kerch Strait, as well as freedom of navigation throughout the Black Sea, are essential to the security of the Black Sea states, all European nations and the United States. Notwithstanding the serious economic impacts of hampering navigation in the Black Sea and access to the Sea of Azov, the Russian closure areas limit military operations of the United States and its European and NATO allies. Russia is violating international law and its own regional agreements regarding the status of Ukraines sovereign territory, the Kerch Strait and the Sea of Azov. There should be greater consequences for these actions.

The ongoing arbitration may reinforce Ukraine and the international communitys criticism of Russias illegal actions, generate further diplomatic costs and increased sanctions, and spur increased naval deployments to the region and freedom of navigation assertions by the United States and NATO. These responses to aggression exert greater pressure on Russia and reinforce the rule of law and freedoms of navigation and overflight in the Black Sea region. Russia is a bully, and the only way to stop a bully is to confront it. NATO must take a firmer stance against Russia and compel Moscow to unwind its war against Ukraine.

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Russia's Illegal Restriction of Navigation in the Black Sea - Lawfare

Karen Weekes has her 2021 Christmas Day plans already boxed off. She will be single-handedly rowing across the Atlantic Ocean.

ver since her parents sat her in a kayak when she was just two years of age, a sense of adventure has anchored her life.

It began when she and a friend, Karen Kennedy, circumvented Ireland in a kayak. Later, there were kayaking trips between the Lofoten Islands of Norway, along the coast of Croatia and around the islands off Scotland.

Then she switched to cycling, undertaking a solo trip across Canada as well as bikes rides in Alaska and along the west coast of the United States.

Karen has twice sailed across the Atlantic. But her latest adventure, a 3,000-mile solo ocean journey in a rowing boat, is her most challenging trip.

A lecturer in the Cork-based Munster Technology University, Karen lives in Kinvara, Co Galway. I was born in Dublin and have lived in a lot of places, but I call Kinvara home, she says.

Her parents loved the outdoors and family outings centred on camping, fishing and sailing trips. Those early adventures had a profound influence on Karen, who has been contemplating her solo attempt across the Atlantic for several years.

Karen holds a doctorate in sports psychology and she has worked with rowers who have crewed boats on ocean trips.

I know what they have been through. I had anticipated waiting for a few years before I did it. Instead, I had been planning to do more solo cycles in places like Mongolia and Uzbekistan.

But due to Covid-19 restrictions I had to put these plans on hold.

Last August I decided to do the row and I have been training and planning for the trip since.

Karen is attempting to become the first Irish woman to complete a solo row of the Atlantic. Only 19 females worldwide have completed the 3,000-mile trip, which she estimates will take at least 75 days. But as a precaution, she will pack enough provisions for 100 days.

Planning the adventure is a mammoth task and Weekes is seeking corporate sponsorship to offset some of the expenses. She has sourced a boat which is currently being serviced in England and will be delivered to Galway later this month. Before long she will be taking it for spins in Galway Bay and along the west coast.

There is a huge amount of logistics involved, such as getting the right navigational and communication equipment. Recently I spent a weekend at the Maritime Naval Base in Cork doing a sea survival course.

During some of the kayaking trips weve been hit by some very high seas and you are always getting close to danger. Weve had situations which weve had to get ourselves out of.

But I suppose this builds up my coping toolbox. It builds up mental strength. Dealing with adversity on the high seas also gives one a great respect for the sea.

Home comforts will be in short supply on the boat.

Well, I wont have a three-hob cooker, she says with a laugh. I will have a jet boiler and will eat a lot of hydrated food, which means pouring hot water into a packet and eating its contents. So I will check what suits my stomach before I go. I will also bring a lot of protein drinks and snack bars and I will have a water-maker on board to desalinate the sea water.

Rowing the Atlantic is a foolproof way to lose weight.

Typically, you will burn between 4,000 and 4,500 calories a day and because you are not eating heavy duty carbs and stuff like that, you will lose weight because you are expending so much energy.

Ultimately, she aims to row for up to 16 hours a day.

I have spoken to a lot of solo rowers who all said that as the trip progresses you become more accustomed to the rowing and become fitter, which enables you to spend more time rowing. The rest of the time is divided between tending to the boat, cooking, eating, navigating and sleeping.

The mental challenge of being alone on the high seas for at least two-and-a-half months fascinates Karen.

When I was doing my PhD, I looked at the cognitive coping strategies of K2 mountaineers. I lived in their base camp in Pakistan for six weeks and interviewed them. I also interviewed elite runners who had competed in 100 mile plus races.

I tested the skills they shared when I cycled across Canada. I really pushed myself hard for 4,000 miles on the bike. So I think that gave me a good insight into how my mind works under pressure and stress. This is going up to another level in terms of pushing the body and mind.

But I am really looking forward to exploring my own head space and seeing where the mind goes. If you think about it and a lot of rowers will say this as well it is only 70 days of your whole life, so it is probably no harm.

The underlying philosophy governing the trip is a desire by Weekes to encourage women to participate in adventure sports and push themselves outside their comfort zone.

She also wants to highlight the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, specifically gender equality and life under the water, which focuses on the conservation of oceans and marine life.

Apart from the obvious threat posed by storms and shipping, there are other dangers lurking in the Atlantic.

Three of the boats in the annual race between Gran Canaria and Antigua got punctured by marlin. They didnt attack the boats but brushed underneath them and damaged their hulls. The crews had to do a quick fix but when youre on your own it is a different ball game.

Her only luxury on the trip will be a robust sound system. I love music and I will have music pumping from the sound system and hopefully I will have a chance to listen to podcasts and audio books as well.

For more information on Karens trip log on to shecando2021.org

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Karen Weekes aims to be first Irish woman to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean - Sunday World