The 'Pioneer', belonging to Russia’s suspected dark fleet, the Pioneer, has reemerged in Norwegian waters after likely loading the first cargo of the liquid fuel from the western sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 facility. The vessel, chartered by Russia’s main LNG producer Novatek, with a capacity of 138,000 cubic meters of LNG, or 0.085bcm, was heading toward the Atlantic on the Norwegian Sea, close to the country’s northern tip, and was listed for orders on Aug 8. The 'Pioneer' had berthed in the Arctic LNG 2 terminal on Aug 25 and was still there over the weekend, presumably loading. However, the ship’s transponder showed it circling Russian waters over the last few days, in what was believed to be an intentional misrepresentation of its location. The dark fleet to service Arctic LNG 2 may involve three vessels, according to Eikland Energy, with the second, the 'Asya Energy', already showing a circling pattern in Russian waters, similar to the 'Pioneer' before its alleged spoofing.
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SHTANDART
The 'Shtandart', banned from European ports due to sanctions against Russia, was nevertheless granted permission to stop in La Rochelle on Aug 5 and Aug 6 to refuel, The shoü had been banned from the port of Brest on July 7, and from participating in the city's maritime festivals in early July by order of the prefect of Finistère. The Finistère prefecture justified its decision by the application of European sanctions against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, extended since June 24, 2024 to "historical replica ships" or "having flown the Russian flag before February 24, 2022". The captain Vladimir Martus had challenged the prefectural decree before the administrative court of Rennes, assuring that he had "no link" with "the regime" of Vladimir Putin, but the court had rejected his request.. Now the prefect of Charente-Maritime authorised the ship to stop in the marina of La Rochelle to ensure its refuelling. The vessel changed flags at the beginning of June and is now registered in the Cook Islands.
COLOR MAGIC
On Aug 5 at 8.25 p.m. a rescue helicopter of the Danish Defence took off in Roskilde after the 'Color Magic', sailing between Oslo and Kiel, had requested the medevac of a person on board. The patient was safely hoisted and transported to shore for further medical care.
KE XUE SAN HAO
The 'Ke Xue San Hao' was conducting unauthorized operations in the Philippine exclusive economic zone (EEZ), just 20 nautical miles off the Sabina Shoal for about 10 days, It has been doing a zigzag pattern close to Sabina and the southern part of Sabina Shoal, it was announced on Aug 6, 2024. China did not ask for permission to conduct survey operation. The Chinese government lays claim to a large swath of the western Philippine EEZ, along with the vast majority of the South China Sea, despite the 2016 arbitral ruling that found its claims invalid under UNCLOS. The Philippine cutter BRP 'Teresa Magbanua' has been stationed at Sabina Shoal for months in order to closely monitor Chinese movements. Last month, the China Coast Guard dispatched the world's largest cutter, the'CCG 5901', to anchor at a position within 800 yards of the Magbanua. As of Aug 5, shewas still holding the same position. China regularly deploys survey vessels to operate without authorization in waters claimed by its neighbors, including Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam. In June, the government of Vietnam vigorously protested the operations of a new Chinese survey vessel in the Gulf of Tonkin, alleging that the ship was engaged in "illegal" activities in the Vietnamese exclusive economic zone. Report with photo: https://maritime-executive.com/article/chinese-survey-vessel-loiters-near-sabina-shoal-raising-suspicions
KANGEIMARU
Japan has resumed the hunting of the fin whales, killing the first in over 50 years. The whale, a 19.6-meter male weighing 55 tons, was captured by the state-owned Kyodo Senpaku using the newly commissioned 'Kaangei Maru', less than two weeks after the arrest of anti-whaling activist Paul Watson in Greenland. Japan has confirmed plans to kill up to 59 fin whales as part of its expanded commercial whaling target, which also includes minke, Bryde’s and sei whales.The decision came after Japan quit the International Whaling Commission (IWC), in 2019. The IWC previously operated under a scientific research loophole.Norway and Iceland have violated the IWC’s 1986 commercial whaling prohibition by taking advantage of regulatory loopholes.The Australian government, led by Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, has expressed deep disappointment over Japan’s decision. Plibersek criticized the inclusion of fin whales in Japan’s commercial hunt, reiterating Australia’s opposition to any form of commercial whaling.The Australian Marine Conservation Society’s CEO, Darren Kindleysides, condemned the hunt describing it cruel, inhumane and unnecessary and urged for a strong stance at the upcoming IWC meeting in Peru.The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists fin whales, the world’s second-largest whales, as endangered. International conservation groups have strongly criticized Japan’s expansion of whaling activities. Nicola Beynon of Humane Society International (HSI) criticized the killing as causing severe suffering and pointed out the lack of justification for such actions. HSI’s Adam Peyman emphasized the critical need for whale conservation amid rising threats from climate change, pollution and ship strikes. Watson, the founder of the Captain Paul Watson Foundation,meanwhile remained in custody in Greenland, awaiting Denmark’s decision on Japan’s extradition request. His detention has been widely condemned as a political move to obstruct anti- whaling efforts.P rominent figures have expressed support for Watson’s release, including French President Emmanuel Macron, filmmaker James Cameron, and conservationists Dr. Jane Goodall and Dr. Sylvia Earle.