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China’s signature foreign policy is controversial for lots of reasons. But the environmental damage potentially wrought by the project has received scant attention.
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It’s high time the international shipping industry radically curbed its emissions. The industry must set a net-zero target and adopt a realistic plan to meet it.
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Multiple ocean industries are rapidly growing, but efforts to protect vulnerable habitats are stalling.
A large cargo ship waiting to be scrapped in Alang, India.
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Shipbreaking is one of the world’s most dangerous jobs – but it doesn’t have to be.
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After the oil spill, the usual sight of families strolling by the sea was quickly replaced by volunteers working hard in a concerted effort to protect their coast.
Workers collect seaweed and straw mixed with leaked oil from the MV Wakashio on August 15.
Laura Morosoli/EPA
Independent investigations will need to look into potential failures in response to the disastrous Mauritian oil spill.
The destroyed port in Beirut.
EPA-EFE/WAEL HAMZEH
Abandoned containers of hazardous goods are found regularly in ports.
Oceans are teeming with life and are connected to society through history and culture, shipping and economic activity, geopolitics and recreation.
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International law does not meaningfully address biodiversity conservation in the high seas. We risk losing marine species before we have a chance to identify and understand them.
Suspected pirates surrender to the U.S. Coast Guard off the coast of Somalia in 2009.
LCDR Tyson Weinert/U.S. Coast Guard
In 2019, there were fewer attacks and attempted attacks on ships than there had been in 25 years. The coronavirus may bring economic and political changes that make piracy worse in the coming years.
Karsten Klama/EPA-EFE
Being stuck on a ship is not only unpleasant, it’s also very dangerous.
The Ruby Princess off the coast of Sydney on April 5 2020.
Joel Carrett/AAP
The same business model that has enabled the cruise industry to prosper could also spell its demise.
A cruise ship leaves Resolute Bay, Nunavut, in the summer of 2014.
(Silviya V. Ivanova)
Arctic cod are key prey for seals, whales and seabirds. What happens when ship noise drives them away?
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Making ammonia produces almost 2% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
Photo: Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Navies, and other security agencies, won’t be able to improve maritime security as long as root causes on land are not addressed.
Oil tankers load up in a port at twilight.
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The Great Acceleration inaugurated the Anthropocene in the 1950s. Now, a similar race for resources and space is happening in the ocean.
Iranian soldiers take part in National Persian Gulf Day in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Any disruption to shipping in the narrow seaway could impact oil prices and ratchet up geopolitical tensions.
Ivorian sailors participate in an anti-piracy hostage rescue scenario with the Ghanaian Navy during Exercise Obangame Express.
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Feeding a simple narrative of piracy without a broader look at other maritime security challenges hinders progress in dealing with it.
Seized: the Stena Impero in the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
Hasan Shirvania/EPA
An international maritime lawyer explains whether Iran broke the law of the sea by detaining the Stena Impero.
Treading water: the Grace 1 tanker was seized by Gibraltar in early July.
A.Carrasco Ragel/EPA
After Brexit, the UK will need to decide whether it supports EU diplomacy or US militarism.
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Tensions are rising after two oil tankers were attacked in the Middle East. But what can ships do to protect themselves in risky waters?