Was thinking there'd be more outages. Can't have the little people using those ATMs and doing a Bank Run while the branches are closed, right?
Any Carrier Battle Group in the Med is being silent on AIS. I got USNS BRITTIN headed for Gibraltar and NATO WARSHIPS 219 which should be FGS SACHSEN, lead of her class of Type 124 advanced air-defense frigates, just north of Crete
I looked at Alexandria, Haifa, Palma, Livorno, Naples, even Bizerte and no USN showing
Orbs for everybody yippee!
Why would I do that? Orbs are cool and I wanted to have enough to share
German military boost fails to spend single euro
March 14, 2023
A senior German MP has condemned the slow start of a drive to boost the country's military announced after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
Eva Högl, parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces, said "not a single euro" of a €100bn fund (£88bn; $107bn) approved by MPs had been spent.
The military has even less than it had before Russia's attack, she added.
The invasion of Ukraine led Germany to announce a massive increase in military spending, a major policy shift.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz received a standing ovation in parliament on 27 February last year, as he announced the radical departure from Germany's pacifist tradition.
The new policy included a commitment to Nato's spending target of 2% of GDP for defence, as well as the €100bn special fund.
More than a year later, Ms Högl, a Social Democrat like the chancellor, said: "Unfortunately I have to note that in 2022, not a single euro or cent of this special fund has been spent."
Presenting her annual report to fellow MPs, she said the armed forces had "too little of everything - even less since 24 February 2022", referring to the day of Russia's invasion.
She added that barracks were "pitiful", with some lacking "functioning toilets, clean showers… indoor sports facilities, troop kitchens, care facilities, ammunition depots and armouries".
Despite the lack of spending on its own forces, Germany has sent large amounts of military aid to Ukraine over the past year - from air defence systems to missiles. In January it promised to send state-of-the-art Leopard 2 tanks.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64955247
US to limit PFAS 'forever chemicals' in drinking water
By Madeline Halpert BBC News, New York March 14, 2023
The US government has proposed its first-ever restrictions on six harmful chemicals found in drinking water.
Research has suggested over 200 million Americans likely drink water contaminated with PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to a host of health issues, including cancer.
But up until now, the pollutants have only been regulated by some US states.
The US on Tuesday issued a rule that would require communities to test and treat water for six of the chemicals.
Once implemented, it will "prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses", the Environmental Protection Agency said.
Dubbed "forever chemicals", PFAS persist for years in the environment.
What are PFAS chemicals and how dangerous are they?
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of chemicals. The pollutants, which repel water, oil and grease, are used in hundreds of everyday products from dental floss to cookware to firefighting foams.
Though most US companies have phased out manufacturing of the most well-studied types of PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, they remain widespread in the environment due to their lack of degradation.
'Forever chemicals' over safe levels in rainwater
In 2022, the EPA found the pollutants could cause harm at levels "much lower than previously understood" and that almost no level of exposure was safe, as the chemicals have been linked to a host of health conditions, including reproductive issues, decreased immune function, thyroid disease and asthma.
Research is ongoing to determine how different levels of exposure can lead to various health effects.
The new US regulations come as countries around the world are reckoning with how to regulate the forever chemicals. Both Canada and the European Union are in the process of proposing and adapting new universal limits on PFAS levels in drinking water.
What will the EPA rules do?
The new federal limits will help close large gaps in existing PFAS drinking water regulations, which are currently imposed by only 10 states, according to Sarah Doll, the national director of Safer States, which tracks regulations of the chemicals.
Specifically, the new rule - which experts said would be finalised after a 60-day period of public comment - will require communities to test for two of the "forever chemicals", PFOA and PFOS, and treat for them if they are found at levels higher than four parts per trillion. The rule also requires communities to monitor four other PFAS chemicals- PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and HFPO-DA - as a mixture.
The EPA limits will likely have a wider impact on public drinking water quality as the thorough testing and treatment process required for PFAS will allow utilities to rid water of other contaminants besides PFAS, said Dr Lee Ferguson, a professor of environmental chemistry at Duke University.
But the new rules could also cause some communities to worry about the safety of their drinking water, as PFAS is widespread, and the new treatment systems could take time to put into place, said Dr Carol Kwiatkowski of the Green Science Policy Institute, an environmental advocacy organisation.
"Wherever you test for it, you find it," said Phil Brown, a co-director of the PFAS Project Lab at Northeastern University.
Who will pay to treat the water?
The restrictions could help reduce health inequalities in the US, protecting Americans who are unknowingly being exposed to PFAS and other contaminants, experts told the BBC.
Communities with poorer-quality drinking water systems stand to reap the largest benefits from the new EPA limits, but could also struggle the most to implement the new systems, which could cost as much as $5m (ÂŁ4.11m) outright for a smaller town, according to Dr Brown.
Alissa Cordner, the co-director of the PFAS Project Lab, which researches the chemicals, said it will help boost municipal water protections in states currently without PFAS rules.
"This is an important step in bringing up the floor of health protections."
Through its infrastructure law, the Biden administration has dedicated $5b to address water contaminants like PFAS, $2b of which is designated for disadvantaged communities. Still, that may not be enough, experts said.
As a result, states are looking to the polluters themselves to help foot the bill. More than a dozen states have sued companies they allege are responsible for PFAS contamination, including Minnesota, where manufacturing company 3M settled in 2018 with the state for $850m, which had sued the firm claiming it had damaged drinking water. The company has it will stop making and using "forever chemicals".
But while cleaning up the chemicals marks an important first step to protecting Americans' health, the most safe and cost-effective method would be to limit the manufacturing of the chemicals, experts said.
"You have to turn it off at the source," said Dr Kwiatkowski. "It doesn't make any sense to keep cleaning them out of the water if we keep putting them back in."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64955159
RAF and German jets intercept Russian aircraft near Estonian airspace
By Christy Cooney BBC News March 15, 2023
RAF and German fighter jets have intercepted a Russian aircraft near Estonian airspace in the first joint operation of its kind.
The two Typhoons were scrambled on Tuesday to intercept an Il-78 Midas refuelling plane flying between St Petersburg and Kaliningrad.
The plane had failed to communicate with air traffic control in Estonia.
The British and German air forces are currently conducting planned joint Nato air policing in the region.
The interception itself was routine, but it is the first time such an operation has been carried out together by the two countries.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions between Nato and Russia over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, although there is no evidence of any link with Tuesday's reported collision between a Russian fighter jet and a US drone over the Black Sea.
After escorting the Midas, the two jets were redirected to intercept an An-148 airliner that was also passing close to Estonian airspace.
The jets are part of the RAF's 140 Expeditionary Air Wing and the German 71 Tactical Air Wing Richthofen.
The RAF is preparing to take the lead on Nato's long-established Baltic air policing mission from the German air force in April.
It will then lead the mission for four months, with joint British and German operations set to continue until the end of April.
Four RAF Typhoon jets are currently deployed as part of the mission and are based at the Ă„mari air base in Estonia.
Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey said: "Nato continues to form the bedrock of our collective security. This joint UK and German deployment in the Baltics clearly demonstrates our collective resolve to challenge any potential threat to Nato's borders, whilst demonstrating our combined strength."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64960706
Russian Oil Floods UAE’s Fujairah Port
By Jeslyn Lerh Reuters March 14, 2023
DUBAI, March 14 (Reuters) – Oil storage demand and transit volumes are poised to grow further at the United Arab Emirates’ Fujairah port this year as Russian trade flows continue to flood the hub, while latest price caps on Russian petroleum products have a mild impact on trade, industry executives said on Tuesday.
Russian oil barrels have been flowing into popular ship-to-ship transfer hubs in the Middle East and Asia since last year as Western sanctions led to the reshuffling of trade flows.
“We have seen a huge influx of Russian barrels coming into Fujairah … particularly Urals (crude oil) and naphtha,” Maha Abdelmajeed, commercial manager at VTTI Fujairah Terminals, said at the Fujairah Bunkering and Fuel Oil Forum (FUJCON) on Tuesday.
The hub is expected to register strong and healthy demand for storage going forward, Abdelmajeed added.
Total storage capacity at Fujairah stands at 11.1 million cubic metres so far, based on port statistics. Existing tanks are already at full capacity, said trade sources on the sidelines of the forum.
Fujairah had a record year in terms of oil cargoes in 2022, with close to 12,500 vessels calling at its offshore anchorage area, statistics show.
Amid the reshuffling of trade flows, volumes at the port were up about 10% last year, said Martijn Heijboer, business development manager at the port of Fujairah.
“There is still some uncertainty this year as the price cap (on Russian oil) just started in February,” said Heijboer, adding that there is room for transit volumes and storage demand to grow because of new projects.
Fujairah will be commissioning a dry bulk export facility in Dibba, adding about 18 million tonnes of aggregate handling capacity.
Landed stocks at Fujairah averaged at 11.47 million barrels (1.81 million tonnes) per week in 2022, climbing from 10.26 million barrels (1.62 million tonnes) in 2021, based on data from the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone. More recently, storage volumes jumped sharply after February sanctions on Russian oil products and Kuwait’s Al Zour refinery ramped up exports.
Russia has been selling crude and refined products at discounted prices after international sanctions while the UAE has been taking more cargoes of Russian crude oil, according to ship-tracking data and sources.
Russian fuel oil has also flooded Middle East markets since last year, with little signs of abating despite latest price caps on Russian oil products.
“I don’t think the price cap really makes much of a difference… most of the Russian oil has been priced below the price cap anyway,” Saudi Industrial Export Company’s chief commercial officer Andrew Laven told the forum,
The price caps on petroleum products, which kicked in on Feb. 5, could instead have some impact on refining margins, said Laven.
Meanwhile, Vitol Bahrain’s regional head of fuel Paul Kelly said that the price caps are there to “maintain the flow of oil” and “not to stop the flow”.
https://gcaptain.com/russian-oil-floods-uaes-fujairah-port/
I am
Crane ship CHERNOMORETS 3 last reported herself south of Sevastopol. Drone is reported to be down about 60km southwest of Sevastopol
Nothing showing in AIS near the crash area, no tracks at all.
One Crane Ship + wire ropes + cargo slings = free American drone
New Zealand #10 died of loneliness quite a while ago. Didn't get much traffic and eventually got pushed off the catalog. Midnight Riders may still have one available, not sure. Never see kiwis posting in Australia bread so I can not confirm the continued existence of New Zealand
Feel free to make another one, here's the dough for #11:
https://controlc.com/970b98f6