[By Fermin Koop]
“Now and again, we are called upon; history calls upon us to actually stand up and rise to the occasion. I’m afraid that today we have let history down.”
Those were the words of Fiji’s minister for trade, Manoa Kamikamica, to the World Trade Organization’s ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates earlier this month. There, despite hopes expressed by environmentalists and developing nations beforehand, delegates couldn’t finalize an agreement to rein in fishing subsidies.
While governments pay tens of billions of dollars annually to subsidize their fishing fleets, 35% of fish stocks worldwide are exploited beyond sustainable levels, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The subsidies primarily lower fuel and vessel construction costs for industrial fishing, enabling boats to catch more by going further out to sea for longer periods of time. According to one estimate, US$22 billion was spent in 2018 on such “capacity enhancing” subsidies, which critics say endanger fish populations and harm marine ecosystems.
WTO members had agreed a deal at a 2022 ministerial conference to limit some of the subsidies most directly linked to long-term damage of fish populations. But in order to reach a consensus, as required by WTO rules, they put off dealing with eliminating subsidies that contribute to overfishing and overcapacity – a fleet’s ability to harvest more fish than is sustainable.
While observers believed an agreement on that vital second element of the deal was possible after two years of negotiations, it ultimately proved elusive.
International waters, international disputes
At the Abu Dhabi meeting, a group of Pacific Island states argued that a draft text of additional rules on overcapacity and overfishing did not go far enough. They called for further changes, including an outright cap on fisheries subsidies, rather than the mooted option of allowing large fishing nations to continue providing subsidies in some circumstances, such as for stocks considered well-managed. Daniel Skerritt, a senior analyst at conservation NGO Oceana, said finding compromises on this took most of the week and “delayed the negotiations”.
China and the United States worked together to find solutions, noted Ernesto Fernández Monge, a senior officer at the NGO Pew Charitable Trusts. “China was ready to give up on its differential treatment as a developing country at the WTO for the purpose of this agreement, and had also accepted [including] a mention of distant-water fishing subsidies in the text,” he told China Dialogue Ocean. Imposing limits on countries subsidizing fishing beyond their own jurisdictions would make much current “distant-water fishing” no longer profitable, says Milko Schvartzman, a marine conservation specialist from Argentina. He cites the example of the fishing vessels that arrive from Asia every year in the South Atlantic – journeys that involve substantial amounts of fuel. “They wouldn’t be able to keep up with the costs,” he told China Dialogue Ocean.
‘Blocked by a few’
Towards the end of the meeting, there appeared to be a compromise text of the additional rules that the majority of WTO members could have agreed to. It included a new clause committing members to reviewing the effectiveness of the agreement in the future. But India and Brazil refused to accept the text due to the lack of agreement on agriculture reforms that were being negotiated at the same time, observers say.
“There was a lack of political will, and obstruction from just a few countries,” says Steve Trent, CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation. “Everybody needs and deserve a voice, but countries can block progress.”
European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis also singled out India. “Agreements were within reach, supported by an overwhelming majority of members, but ultimately blocked by a handful of countries – sometimes just one,” he said in a statement.
Choppy waters ahead
The 2022 WTO agreement deals with phasing out the most egregious subsidies. These are payments that support: illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; catching of overfished stocks when no fisheries management measures are in place; and fishing on the high seas outside the jurisdiction of fisheries management bodies. It will only enter into force once 110 WTO members have ratified it – the number currently stands at 71.
The additional rules that many hoped WTO members could conclude in Abu Dhabi would have gone further and prevented subsidies that contribute to overfishing in the first place, says Tristan Irschlinger, a policy advisor at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). “They focus more on the root cause of the problem and not only on the most acute manifestations of that problem,” he notes.
Negotiations on the additional rules will continue at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva. Observers hope a decision might not have to wait until the next ministerial conference taking place in 2026. Some have suggested that countries could instead vote on the new rules at a meeting of the General Council, the WTO’s highest decision-making body, or even call for an ad-hoc ministerial meeting focused specifically on fishing subsidies.
In the meantime, WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said she expects the first part of the agreement to enter into force by mid-year, something many observers also believe is feasible. If this happens, a “sunset clause” provision will come into effect that mandates the termination of the agreement if a comprehensive set of rules is not established within four years. This gives a clear deadline to approve the additional rules.
“We came so close, but at the end of the day, there were one or two matters that we couldn’t reach,” Okonjo-Iweala told the media after the Abu Dhabi meeting. Nonetheless, she said, “with ministers here, it was helpful for members to understand the reservations of each other. It brought us closer to almost getting the package.”
Fermín Koop is an Argentine journalist, specialising in the environment with experience across diverse publications such as the Buenos Aires Herald, Clarín, Ámbito Financiero, Buena Salud and Notio Noticias.
This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here.
Over the weekend, Yemen’s Houthi rebels continued to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea, despite a concerted effort by U.S. forces to disrupt and eliminate the group’s capabilities on the ground.
On Friday, the crew of a merchant ship reported an attack at a position about 65 nautical miles west of Al Hudaydah, Yemen. The vessel’s master told UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) that his crew witnessed an explosion off the starboard beam. No damage or injuries were reported, and the ship carried on towards its next port of call. The vessel has been identified as the tanker Pacific 01, and early reports suggested that it had been hit; these initial assessments have since been withdrawn.
Early Sunday morning, UKMTO received a report of another incident at a position about 85 nautical miles to the east of the port of Aden. The master reported an explosion close to the vessel, but no damage or injuries were reported.
In addition, Houthi units launched two attack drones towards the Red Sea on Saturday. U.S. military forces destroyed one, and the other likely crashed into the water. Neither made it to a target.
U.S. forces were also actively engaged in suppressing Houthi activity on the ground. On Saturday night, from 2100-2230 hours, U.S. Central Command destroyed five unmanned drone boats and one aerial drone in Houthi-controlled areas.
Heightened inspections
Houthi forces are widely believed to receive training and weaponry from Tehran, though the Iranian government denies it. The UK and the US have called on the UN Security Council to implement a United Nations-backed cargo inspection campaign to block the group’s supply of missile and drone components from Iranian paramilitary forces.
The existing UN Verification and Inspection Mechanism (UNVIM) has been in place at the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah since 2016, and it was created to keep advanced weapons out of the group’s hands; however, Iranian ships regularly circumvent the inspections, according to UK deputy ambassador James Kariuki.
“All ships entering Hodeidah must comply and report to Unvim for inspection. We recommit our support to UNVIM, so it has the necessary capacity and funding to ensure Yemenis have access to essential goods while abating the smuggling of illicit arms,” said Kariuki at a UN Security Council meeting last week.
The significance of blue colour, representing water bodies (blue bodies) on the Earth, becomes evident while understanding the biological uniqueness of the universe. Water has been essential to countless ecological cycles and processes in addition to providing the environments required for life to evolve and flourish.
However, the unrelenting quest of mankind for material gain and economic expansion has resulted in widespread pollution, habitat destruction, and mismanagement of water resources. From industrial discharge to plastic pollution, from overfishing to deforestation along waterways, the cumulative impacts of human actions have taken a heavy toll on our blue bodies. This article briefly summarizes the extent of destruction inflicted upon these vital resources by human activities as well as how we can use blue biotechnology as a transformative application to heal and sustainably use the aquatic resources.
Earth’s blue bodies from ponds to oceans serve as important sources of energy, food and health for living beings and humans have been modifying the blue bodies for thousands of years. Although these activities have been essential to the growth of humanity (economic and social), they have also had a negative impact on the health of our blue bodies. In the majority of situations, water serves as the ultimate destination for our garbage, chemicals and other pollutants we release (Figure 1) and numerous studies have demonstrated that the rate of (man-made) water contamination has increased more than ever, due to advances in industry and urbanization.
Figure 1 Anthropogenic causes of water pollution. The figure was created using free icons available from Flaticon at: www.flaticon.com
Many resources that assist humanity are found in blue bodies, and a sizable fraction of the world’s population depends heavily on the ocean and coastline for existence. It is to be noted that about 90% of the ocean’s surface has been impacted by humans, which has resulted in drastic decrease in the number of current marine biodiversity compared to 1970 levels. The ocean ecosystem’s resilience to tremors, potential to adjust to climate change, as well as its ability to fulfill its function as a global ecological and climate regulator are all being weakened by the loss of marine biodiversity. In addition, research on climate change has revealed that, in the event that greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, the majority of all marine species on Earth will be in risk of becoming extinct by the year 2100. Exploitation, dredging, trawling, and development of the coastline also contributed to the loss of feeding and reproduction habitat of the marine ecosystem.
In recent years, there have been several significant coral bleaching events that have resulted in the disappearance of many corals due to water pollution, which raises the temperature and acidifies the water. This decrease in coral cover has resulted in a 60% decline in reef biodiversity and a negative impact on coastal populations10. In summary, humans have been remarkably successful in exploiting the resources provided by the blue bodies, however, this has resulted in a multitude of natural disasters, including the extinction of numerous aquatic species and ecosystems, the decline of marine biodiversity, excessive or insufficient sedimentation of the sea, increasing coastal erosion, and so forth.
Water wars: an emerging reality?
It’s widely believed that conflicts in the future are going to revolve around water. Sharing of international waterways is expected to give rise to these ‘water wars’, which are defined as armed confrontations between multiple nations over limited water supplies. While, there is a persistent belief that water wars will remain a myth due to technological and resource advancements, statistical research and analyses indicate that this may not be the case. Several predictions suggest that between 2030 and 2050, the earth’s water distribution will change drastically, and the vast majority of the planet will not be able to replenish the water that mankind have consumed and contaminated. According to the World Population Clock 2024, the global population is expected to expand by 73 million people annually or at a pace of about 0.91%.
But the amount of the available fresh water is not increasing, and if we don’t take necessary actions, the same amount of the water will be distributed to more number of people. Also, it is to be important to remember that, freshwater makes up only 3% of the world’s water resources, and that a significant amount of it is extremely challenging for humans to access due to its location on the poles. Estimates suggest that mankind is presently consuming approximately half of the freshwater supply, and it is projected that this rate will grow in just a few decades. From the Lagash-Umma dispute over water and irrigation in ancient Sumeria in 2500 BC to Israel’s retaliatory attacks on Gaza’s water supplies in 2023, a total of 1634 major conflicts were recorded in the water conflict chronology database created by the Pacific Institute. This database itself serves as further evidence that water wars are real issues rather than an imaginary piece.
Blue Biotechnology
According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), blue biotechnology or marine biotechnology is defined as ‘the application of science and technology to living organisms from marine resources, as well as parts, products and models thereof, to alter living or non-living materials for the production of knowledge, goods and services’. The primary focus of the current definition is on measures to enhance accessibility of marine resources and how we can benefit from them. Therefore, it is essential to expand and redefine the term blue biotechnology as “a field of biotechnology that uses technical advancements that can heal or restore the harm we inflicted to the blue bodies as well as assist us in utilizing them”. Figure 2 summarizes the use of blue biotechnology for healing and sustainable resource utilization of blue bodies.
Blue biotechnology for healing our blue bodies
Blue bodies are the primary global recipient of contaminants, making water pollution a concerning and pressing issue. Various efficient biotech tools have been proven to be useful in addressing water pollution (Figure 2). Utilizing the unique metabolic processes of bacteria, fungus, yeast, microalgae, and microbial mats, bioremediation methods are a potential approach for cleaning up blue bodies. It is carried out through either bioaugmentation, which introduces viable populations of microbes or by biostimulation, which entails stimulating the native microbial population, for the biodegradation of aquatic contaminants.
Furthermore, the potential of marine microorganisms for bioremediation has been enhanced with the aid of biotech tools. Genetic engineering approaches can modify the catabolic potential of various organisms that are able to thrive and remain active in harsh environments or polluted areas. Using sensitive biotech techniques, like polymerase chain reaction (PCR), these microorganisms and the newly introduced catabolic genes can be tracked and even quantified. Remarkably, these bioremediation solutions are value-added, environmentally benign, and commercially viable.
The blue bodies also serves as the ‘carbon sink’ of our planet and also have a vital role in resisting the effects of change in the climate. As per one estimate, from the onset of industrialization, we have raised CO2 levels in the atmosphere by 50% and in the ocean’s uppermost layer by 30%. This CO2 pollution leads to thermal and chemical stress on our blue bodies resulting in increased temperature of and change in the ocean chemistry, adversely affecting the marine biodiversity. Biological capturing, sequestration of contaminants by microbes, has emerged as one of the most efficient and significant carbon sequestration techniques in the globe today. This technique has also been proven to be a sustainable, cost-effective, and ecologically friendly approach. The potential of microalgae for metabolizing CO2 is 10-50 times greater than that of other terrestrial plants.
Another biotech application is ocean fertilization, commonly referred to as ocean nutrition, which is the introduction of nutrients into the ocean to promote the growth of marine microorganisms. Ocean fertilization has the potential to promote phytoplankton development, which can sequester and store more CO2. Therefore, biotechnology is an essential tool with enormous potential to repair the severe damage that humans have inflicted to the blue bodies. Biotechnology is constantly advancing, which makes us more capable of repairing the harm we have caused, even though there are still challenges to face.
Blue biotechnology for sustainable use of aquatic resources
The discipline of blue biotechnology is a rapidly growing area of study that looks into the abundant biological resources present in our blue bodies for a range of uses in industry, science, and medicine. However, while humanity is benefiting from theseresources, the declining rate of marine populations is also alarming. However, sustainable marine resource utilization can be made possible through marine bioprospecting, which is defined as “the systematic inquiry for interesting and novel genes, metabolites, molecules, and organisms from the marine environment that might be useful to the society and have economic potential to commercial product development.” Currently, microorganisms account for almost 60% of the production of new marine natural products and because of the wide range of genetic alterations possibilities of marine microbes, they are becoming more significant for sustainable blue biotechnology. Numerous nations, including US, Japan and Europe, already have a thriving marine-based nutraceuticals business, and the market has grown significantly in the last ten years, across the globe. In light of this, blue biotechnology has become crucial for meeting the growing demand for nutritious, quality sea food while conserving the marine resource diversity.
Marine-derived therapeutics has gained huge importance in recent decades. For instance, sponges are known as the ‘drug goldmine’ because of the enormous diversity and therapeutic potentials of their secondary metabolites. Cytarabine, the first marine-derived anticancer drug to be produced for clinical use, was isolated from sponge and is being routinely used for the treatment of leukemia and lymphoma.
Due to the marine environment’s relatively undiscovered biodiversity in comparison to the terrestrial environment, more medicinal compounds are now being separated from the blue bodies. Figure 2 summarizes the use of blue biotechnology for healing and sustainable resource utilization of water resources.
Figure 2. Blue biotechnology (BT) for healing and sustainable resource utilization of Blue bodies. The figure was created using free icons available from Flaticon at: flaticon.com.
Moreover, the notion of ‘blue bioeconomy’ is becoming increasingly significant due to the enormous potential of marine resources to increase human well-being and marine resource biotechnology has seen a steady increase in applications related to the market in recent decades. Our ability to produce high-quality protein and materials that are financially significant for human welfare, has improved because of the use of biotechnology tools in aquaculture farming, which involves the commercial rearing of aquatic animals and plants under human intervention. Therefore, biotechnology is assisting us in the resilience building and restoration of local marine populations that will further enhance the overall conservation of marine ecosystem. It also helps us in promote a restoration culture, and safeguard and improve blue economy investments that depend on thriving marine ecosystems.
Concluding remark
Blue biotechnology has its foundations in the profound understanding that water is the cradle of all life. From pharmaceuticals to renewable energy or from food security to environmental conservation, the applications of blue biotechnology are broad and far- reaching. Blue biotechnology is thus defined currently with an emphasis on using marine resources to advance humankind. However, blue biotechnology also provides viable strategies to mitigate anthropogenic impacts to our blue bodies. Thus, this sector offers opportunities for both the preservation of the environment as well as the growth of humanity through the sustainable utilization of marine resources.
Furthermore, it is imperative to utilize blue biotech applications cautiously and effectively, while also imparting this knowledge to the younger generation. It will be beneficial if we could introduce biotechnological concepts in the school curriculum at very early levels that will help build a foundational understanding and foster curiosity. Offering students the opportunity to engage in practical biotechnology experiments can increase their learning and ignite their interest in the subject. In addition to teaching future generations about the ethical and regulatory boundaries governing biotechnological tools, it is crucial to emphasize their role in promoting sustainable resource utilization. This will instill an understanding of the importance of responsible innovation and adherence to regulations.
Thus, acknowledging the equal importance of aquatic ecosystems alongside humanity, harnessing sustainable blue biotechnology can propel mankind advancement while simultaneously preserving and restoring blue bodies or in essence saving Biology by Biotechnology.
About the authors
Abhay H Pande is professor at the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), S.A.S Nagar, India, with more than 27 years of experience in biotechnology. This endeavor has resulted in an academic portfolio comprising numerous patents and articles in esteemed journals.
J Anakha is currently a doctoral researcher under the guidance of Professor Abhay H Pande at the NIPER, S.A.S Nagar, India. She holds a master’s degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Central University of Kerala.
The first port-free maritime shipment of aid to Gaza has been delivered, despite the risks of operating a barge near the surf zone without a formal pier, and a second is about to get under way.
NGOs World Central Kitchen (WKC) and Open Arms towed a small barge with about 200 tonnes of food aid to the coast of Gaza last week and delivered it alongside at a homemade jetty. (Gaza does not have any substantial port infrastructure.)
WKC acknowledged in advance that the delivery would be a risky attempt, with a high chance of failure – but said that it would be worth accepting the hazards because of the looming famine in Gaza.
A video of the operation shows the improvised nature of the pier, which might give commercial vessel operators pause. The dirt-and-rubble jetty extended out from an unprotected beach, no more than a hundred yards out from the surf zone. The tug did not approach the shore directly; instead, two RIBs guided the barge in to its berth. It was moored with its beam to the far point of the jetty, with breasting wires to hold it steady. A mobile crane hoisted the pallets off onto a truck for shoreside delivery.
Update from Gaza???? WCK is offloading almost 200 tons of rice, flour, proteins & more that arrived by sea earlier today. At the same time this shipment is transported ashore, our second vessel is preparing to set sail from Cyprus with hundreds more tons of food. #ChefsForThePeople pic.twitter.com/cHacgMJQ6c
— World Central Kitchen (@WCKitchen) March 15, 2024
“You knew we had to go to Gaza, had to give it a shot, even if it was crazy,” said Open Arms founder Oscar Camps, addressing World Central Kitchen’s Chef Jose Andres in a social media message. “You called up another crazy person, and we did it.”
The next shipment will be delivered by a merchant vessel, the Jennifer, accompanied by an anchor-handling tugboat for maneuvering and cargo handling. The second shipment will include a large consignment of dates, which have spiritual significance during Ramadan, WKC said in a statement.
Aid groups say that these maritime shipments (and parallel U.S. and EU initiatives) are only necessary because Israel has sealed most land crossings into Gaza, prohibiting or sharply restricting aid. The northern half of the strip is most severely affected, as it is the furthest from the limited crossings near the Egyptian border.
Over the weekend, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that “there is no alternative to the large-scale delivery of aid by land.” The White House and the EU’s aid coordinator made similar acknowledgements in a statement early last week.
“[The famine] is manmade,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. “When we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea, by air, we have to remind [ourselves] that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through roads is being . . . artificially closed.”
The Israeli military has a responsibility to facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid into and across #Gaza, safely, regularly and at the scale required.
— UN Humanitarian (@UNOCHA) March 15, 2024
There is no alternative to the large-scale delivery of aid by land.
Watch how humanitarian assistance reaches Gaza ?? pic.twitter.com/tDcjJckQET
The UK Royal Navy is investigating the cause of a fire that broke out aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth when the vessel was moored at a naval base on the coast of Scotland.
At about 2350 hours on March 8, Scottish Fire and Rescue received a request for assistance from the carrier, which was moored alongside at the Glen Mallan Jetty. The facility is an ammunition loading pier used by the Royal Navy at HMNB Clyde.
Scottish Fire dispatched three fire trucks and a ladder truck to the scene. They remained on standby while the crew dealt with the fire, departing again at 0215 hours on the 9th.
The fire was put out quickly, a spokesperson for the UK Ministry of Defence told media this weekend. No injuries were reported.
“We take the health and safety of our personnel extremely seriously and are investigating to understand the cause,” the Royal Navy said in a statement.
The fire is the latest in a string of setbacks for HMS Queen Elizabeth. She was supposed to carry out a high-profile mission in February leading a NATO exercise, but days before departing, she had to stand down because of problems with a shaft coupling. Her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales has also had serious issues with shaft couplings, requiring protracted shipyard repairs.
Following the adoption of the Revised GHG (Greenhouse Gases) Strategy in July last year, the IMO’s 81st session of MEPC (Marine Environment Protection Committee) will be taking place this week, with the expectation that it will finalize key mid-term measures, primarily the carbon pricing regulation and GHG fuel standard. Some progress was made last week during the sixteenth session of the Intersessional Working Group on Reduction of GHG Emissions from ships (ISWG- GHG 16).
This session provided some clues on the specific measures that IMO member states want to see included in the upcoming MARPOL amendment, scheduled for MEPC 83 in the Spring of 2025.
“It is hard to overstate the significance of what might be agreed in Spring 2025. Given this significance, ISWG-GHG 16 provides some important clues on where preferences are developing. However, this is still an early stage in the debate, with key evidence of the impacts and costs of different policy specifics expected this summer,” said Dr. Tristan Smith, Director of the maritime consultancy UMAS.
One notable progress made last week during the ISWG 16 was on GHG fuel standard (referred to as goal-based marine fuel standard), which was agreed in the 2023 Revised GHG Strategy as a candidate measure for delivering emissions reduction targets.
The GHG intensity limits of the candidate marine fuel have been linked to the indicative checkpoints, still adopted in last year’s Revised Strategy. This lays the ground work for shipping sector and its value chain to position its assets to achieve at least a 90 percent reduction in emissions by 2040.
The term “indicative checkpoints” was introduced in the last Revised Strategy, aiming to reduce annual GHG emissions by 20 percent, striving for 30 percent by 2030 compared to 2008 levels, and by at least 70 percent, striving for 80 percent by 2040.
Another topic central to this week’s MEPC session is on the GHG pricing mechanism, which has drawn mixed reactions from the member states. Although all the options that have been fronted are in support of carbon pricing, the level of ambition differs significantly.
This was visible during the ISWG 16, with 31 countries across the Caribbean, Pacific and Africa supporting a GHG price on shipping emissions. Of these states, 17 backed the most ambitious proposal for a $150 levy per ton of GHG emissions. Meanwhile, China, Brazil, Norway and UAE led a proposal for a more complex mechanism, the International Maritime Sustainable Fuels and Fund (IMSF&F). It involves setting an annual fuel intensity target from 2027 and establishing a fee for non-compliance. According to some experts, this would incentivize use of fossil gas (LNG) until 2030, yet without generating the necessary revenue to facilitate green transition.
At this stage, these different proposals are welcome as they set the stage for negotiations among member states before a final vote is taken. It is important to note that most members are yet to announce which proposal they will back.
[By Saba Sinai]
The Yemeni Houthi rebels’ continued attacks on shipping in the Red Sea serve as a reminder that global supply chains remain highly vulnerable to disruption. Moreover, it highlights how food insecurity can simultaneously be an effect and cause of conflict.
To address this, the international community must move quickly to combine its hard and soft power, mitigating the push and pull factors leading people to terrorism, violence, and piracy—factors that include food insecurity itself.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization defines food security as ‘when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’. The latest UN statistics suggest that 691 million to 783 million people are food-insecure, many of them in fragile and conflict-affected states.
This latest disruption in Red Sea maritime traffic has historical precedent. The name of the maritime area in question is Bab el-Mendab, which translates to ‘the gate of lamentations’ or ‘the gate of grief’. In the current episode of the maritime drama, the grief for millions of people who depend on the life-giving goods transiting through this narrow strait may yet wax greater.
The Houthis’ disruption of Red Sea maritime traffic has already significantly affected the global movement and price of goods for some nations. Container traffic has slowed, and 95% of the container shipping that once sailed through the Red Sea is now often diverted around Africa, adding nearly 5000km to the voyage in some cases. The additional distance is already significantly increasing the cost of such essentials as food, medicine and fuel. For the same reason, the Red Sea attacks are increasing the price of inputs for food and agriculture.
For the globe’s most vulnerable populations, cost increases of this kind threaten to exacerbate pressures on food security and precipitate the kinds of downstream consequences that erode prosperity and security, fueling conflict.
In response to Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, ongoing since the 19 November hijacking of an Israeli-linked ship, Galaxy Leader, the US initiated the multinational Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect maritime safety in the waters around Yemen. The operation received implicit endorsement from a UN Security Council resolution passed on 10 January. The next day, the US and Britain launched strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
Until 11 January, it seemed Operation Prosperity Guardian would only respond to Houthi attacks if the group successfully damaged civilian or military vessels. Some may read the two-month delay in responding to Houthi attacks as a vulnerability in the international system ripe for exploitation.
It’s unlikely that a state, perhaps except Iran, whose government has form on this matter in the Strait of Hormuz, would engage in such tactics around the world’s eight most important maritime chokepoints. They are Bab el-Mandeb at the Horn of Africa; the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf; the Suez Canal, Egypt; the Panama Canal, Panama; the Strait of Gibraltar, between Spain and Morocco; the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia; the Turkish Straits, Turkey; and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa.
Whether by design or accident, the Houthis renown has received a boost from the maritime attacks. Other non-state actors may get inspiration from the Houthis’ use of these attacks to achieve political, ideological and military objectives. Of particular concern are the militant groups that operate around Bab el-Mendeb.
Beyond the immediate challenge of maritime terrorism and insurgency, events in the Red Sea are a reminder of the role of food insecurity in conflict. As former WFP executive director David Beasley outlined, ‘there is plenty of information on how conflict impacts food security, but there is very little evidence on how food insecurity can drive conflict or how food security might contribute to the building of more peaceful societies’.
Nevertheless, food insecurity can sometimes be linked to factors that promote conflict: the recruitment of combatants; mortality and morbidity rates that undermine stability in already fragile societies; disputes over land and water in resource-constrained settings; and the mass displacement of food-insecure people. The 1992 famine in Somalia illustrated how food insecurity could accentuate political, economic or social dysfunction.
The tragic irony of the Houthis attacks is that hunger is rife across Yemen itself, where 17 million people are food-insecure. Food insecurity has undoubtedly continued to undermine peace and stability in Yemen. It has been exacerbated by the conflict there and used to radicalise Yemenis to the Houthis’ cause. Strikes on Houthi positions and facilities through Operation Prosperity Guardian or otherwise under the Security Council resolution could deepen Yemen’s humanitarian disaster if such action harms civilians or civilian infrastructure.
Governments and multilateral bodies, particularly through the UN, must work to secure maritime trade to avoid food insecurity contributing to further conflict in the Middle East and beyond.
Saba Sinai is a lecturer in agriculture at CQUniversity, Australia and a fellow with ASPI’s Northern Australia Strategic Policy Centre. The views expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent those of his employer.
[By: Brookes Bell]
Brookes Bell, the leading multi-disciplinary technical and scientific consultancy for the marine and energy sectors, has expanded its Naval Architect team in Glasgow with the appointment of Dr. Kaan Ilter, a renowned specialist in vessel design, hydrodynamics and structures.
With more than 12 years’ experience in the maritime sector, Dr. Ilter has worked at some of the world’s leading and innovative shipyards and consultancies in Turkey as a Senior Structural Design & Analysis Engineer. In 2022, he joined the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow where he undertook fundamental research in hydrodynamics, further enhancing his reputation as a distinguished Naval Architect.
He is a member of the Turkish Chamber of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, as well as The Royal Institution of Naval Architects. Having already gained an MSc, in 2023, Dr. Ilter earned his PhD in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. He is also an accomplished researcher and author, having published several papers on vessel design and architecture, including autonomous vessels.
With a strong academic and consultancy background, Dr. Ilter joins Brookes Bell’s global team of leading Naval Architects to provide vital expertise and experience to the maritime sector at a critical time for the industry, as vessels look to ensure their designs are compliant with IMO Energy Efficiency Design Index regulations. He will provide essential problem solving and performance optimisation advice to clients, as well as bolstering Brookes Bell’s knowledge in advancing Naval Architecture trends.
Brookes Bell’s Director of Naval Architecture, Dr. Kieran Dodworth said, “I am delighted to welcome Dr. Ilter to Brookes Bell’s team in Glasgow. His renowned experience and passion for Naval Architecture will further strengthen our highly skilled and expert team at Brookes Bell. We want our clients, across the world, to benefit from the right specialist for the cases we are instructed on in order to provide the strongest possible expertise and service and I am positive that Dr. Ilter will play a leading role in that regard.
“Modern Naval Architecture is such a wide field and technically challenging cases need the right kind of subject specialists that Brookes Bell is known for. With the addition of Dr. Ilter, Brookes Bell can continue to provide the very best Naval Architecture services with the very best outcomes for our clients,” Dr. Dodworth added.
The innovative Movu escala 3D bin shuttle system won first place and received the “Product of the Year 2024” award.
The Movu 3D shuttle system “escala” has been awarded “Product of the Year 2024” by the readers of the logistics trade magazine Materialfluss. After the Movu follow and the Movu atlas, the next family member from the Movu portfolio also received a significant award.
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Votes were cast for products and solutions in five categories, with Movu escala taking first place in the ‘Picking technology”, judged on three main criteria first, that the product is technically mature and available on the market. Secondly, it stands out significantly from its market competitors thanks to innovative features. Finally, the entry offers customers a clearly recognisable benefit.
The award-winning Movu escala is the next-generation, flexible robotic automated bin storage and retrieval sub-system – for even the most miniature applications of bin-compatible products. Robots move along a sophisticated rail track that connects every location point within the dense storage and retrieval rack – from fellow stow Group company, stow Racking – transferring between levels via ramps. This eliminates the need for maintenance-intensive conveyors, lifts, service aisle access and sequencers. Intelligent management software, combined with the innovative rack design, allows the sequencing of bins at multiple points within the system and the goods-to-person workstations.
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Jos De Vuyst, CEO of Stow Group, said: “We are delighted to have received this award and would like to thank all readers who voted in our favour. The award confirms the innovative strength of the Stow Group and Movu Robotics and motivates us even more in our endeavours to develop advanced and accessible logistics automation solutions for all customers, regardless of whether they are starting out in automation or expanding further.”
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) launched the IATA Digitalisation Leadership Charter at the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Hong Kong.
Cathay Cargo, CHAMP Cargo systems, Global Logistics System (HK) Company Limited, IAG Cargo, IBS Software, LATAM Cargo, and Lufthansa Cargo are the inaugural signatories of the charter. The Digitalization Leadership Charter aims to accelerate the air cargo industry’s digitalisation journey by committing to five fundamental guiding principles.
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Developed in consultation with IATA’s Cargo Advisory Council Members, airlines and the wider air cargo community, the charter seeks to drive innovation, enhance efficiency, and promote a sustainable and harmonised digital transformation.
Central to the charter is the importance of data sharing using IATA ONE Record for smooth and efficient data exchange.
“Digitalisation is imperative for the air cargo industry. It requires alignment to ensure a unified and effective approach. IATA has introduced the Digitalisation Leadership Charter to spearhead this alignment. By adhering to the Charter’s principles—adopting industry-wide standards, championing sustainability, ensuring ethical technology use, and upholding digital leadership—the charter sets a benchmark for excellence,” said Brendan Sullivan, IATA’s Global Head of Cargo.
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The Digital Leadership Guiding Principles include commitments to:
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