#Hart Maritime

[jamesfitzjamesdotcom]

Longitude (2000)

A very good mini-series about John Harrison (1693-1776) who invented the marine chronometer. Also very important, the cast comprises of my faves Jeremy Irons and Andrew Scott, plus other faves cold boys Ian Hart, Charles Edwards and Tobias Menzies.

Tobias appears for less than a minute. Blink and miss.

Ian Hart!

Charles Edwards and Ian Hart! On a boat!

Making observations in cute outfits

Ian being carried off while Cedwards watches

[sunaleisocial]

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/a-recipe-for-zero-emissions-fuel-soda-cans-seawater-and-caffeine/

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

A sustainable source for clean energy may lie in old soda cans and seawater.

MIT engineers have found that when the aluminum in soda cans is exposed in its pure form and mixed with seawater, the solution bubbles up and naturally produces hydrogen — a gas that can be subsequently used to power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. What’s more, this simple reaction can be sped up by adding a common stimulant: caffeine.

In a study appearing today in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the researchers show they can produce hydrogen gas by dropping pretreated, pebble-sized aluminum pellets into a beaker of filtered seawater. The aluminum is pretreated with a rare-metal alloy that effectively scrubs aluminum into a pure form that can react with seawater to generate hydrogen. The salt ions in the seawater can in turn attract and recover the alloy, which can be reused to generate more hydrogen, in a sustainable cycle.

Play video

A pebble-sized pellet of aluminum, dropped into a beaker of filtered seawater, produces hydrogen gas that bubbles up and out of the container within a few minutes. MIT engineers are optimizing this simple chemical reaction as an efficient and sustainable way to generate hydrogen fuel, which they envision can be used to power an engine or fuel cell aboard marine vessels and underwater vehicles.

The team found that this reaction between aluminum and seawater successfully produces hydrogen gas, though slowly. On a lark, they tossed into the mix some coffee grounds and found, to their surprise, that the reaction picked up its pace.

In the end, the team discovered that a low concentration of imidazole — an active ingredient in caffeine — is enough to significantly speed up the reaction, producing the same amount of hydrogen in just five minutes, compared to two hours without the added stimulant.

The researchers are developing a small reactor that could run on a marine vessel or underwater vehicle. The vessel would hold a supply of aluminum pellets (recycled from old soda cans and other aluminum products), along with a small amount of gallium-indium and caffeine. These ingredients could be periodically funneled into the reactor, along with some of the surrounding seawater, to produce hydrogen on demand. The hydrogen could then fuel an onboard engine to drive a motor or generate electricity to power the ship.

“This is very interesting for maritime applications like boats or underwater vehicles because you wouldn’t have to carry around seawater — it’s readily available,” says study lead author Aly Kombargi, a PhD student in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “We also don’t have to carry a tank of hydrogen. Instead, we would transport aluminum as the ‘fuel,’ and just add water to produce the hydrogen that we need.”

The study’s co-authors include Enoch Ellis, an undergraduate in chemical engineering; Peter Godart PhD ’21, who has founded a company to recycle aluminum as a source of hydrogen fuel; and Douglas Hart, MIT professor of mechanical engineering.

Shields up

The MIT team, led by Hart, is developing efficient and sustainable methods to produce hydrogen gas, which is seen as a “green” energy source that could power engines and fuel cells without generating climate-warming emissions.

One drawback to fueling vehicles with hydrogen is that some designs would require the gas to be carried onboard like traditional gasoline in a tank — a risky setup, given hydrogen’s volatile potential. Hart and his team have instead looked for ways to power vehicles with hydrogen without having to constantly transport the gas itself.

They found a possible workaround in aluminum — a naturally abundant and stable material that, when in contact with water, undergoes a straightforward chemical reaction that generates hydrogen and heat.

The reaction, however, comes with a sort of Catch-22: While aluminum can generate hydrogen when it mixes with water, it can only do so in a pure, exposed state. The instant aluminum meets with oxygen, such as in air, the surface immediately forms a thin, shield-like layer of oxide that prevents further reactions. This barrier is the reason hydrogen doesn’t immediately bubble up when you drop a soda can in water.

In previous work, using fresh water, the team found they could pierce aluminum’s shield and keep the reaction with water going by pretreating the aluminum with a small amount of rare metal alloy made from a specific concentration of gallium and indium. The alloy serves as an “activator,” scrubbing away any oxide buildup and creating a pure aluminum surface that is free to react with water. When they ran the reaction in fresh, de-ionized water, they found that one pretreated pellet of aluminum produced 400 milliliters of hydrogen in just five minutes. They estimate that just 1 gram of pellets would generate 1.3 liters of hydrogen in the same amount of time.

But to further scale up the system would require a significant supply of gallium indium, which is relatively expensive and rare.

“For this idea to be cost-effective and sustainable, we had to work on recovering this alloy postreaction,” Kombargi says.

By the sea

In the team’s new work, they found they could retrieve and reuse gallium indium using a solution of ions. The ions — atoms or molecules with an electrical charge — protect the metal alloy from reacting with water and help it to precipitate into a form that can be scooped out and reused.   

“Lucky for us, seawater is an ionic solution that is very cheap and available,” says Kombargi, who tested the idea with seawater from a nearby beach. “I literally went to Revere Beach with a friend and we grabbed our bottles and filled them, and then I just filtered out algae and sand, added aluminum to it, and it worked with the same consistent results.”

He found that hydrogen indeed bubbled up when he added aluminum to a beaker of filtered seawater. And he was able to scoop out the gallium indium afterward. But the reaction happened much more slowly than it did in fresh water. It turns out that the ions in seawater act to shield gallium indium, such that it can coalesce and be recovered after the reaction. But the ions have a similar effect on aluminum, building up a barrier that slows its reaction with water.

As they looked for ways to speed up the reaction in seawater, the researchers tried out various and unconventional ingredients.

“We were just playing around with things in the kitchen, and found that when we added coffee grounds into seawater and dropped aluminum pellets in, the reaction was quite fast compared to just seawater,” Kombargi says.

To see what might explain the speedup, the team reached out to colleagues in MIT’s chemistry department, who suggested they try imidazole — an active ingredient in caffeine, which happens to have a molecular structure that can pierce through aluminum (allowing the material to continue reacting with water), while leaving gallium indium’s ionic shield intact.

“That was our big win,” Kombargi says. “We had everything we wanted: recovering the gallium indium, plus the fast and efficient reaction.”

The researchers believe they have the essential ingredients to run a sustainable hydrogen reactor. They plan to test it first in marine and underwater vehicles. They’ve calculated that such a reactor, holding about 40 pounds of aluminum pellets, could power a small underwater glider for about 30 days by pumping in surrounding seawater and generating hydrogen to power a motor.

“We’re showing a new way to produce hydrogen fuel, without carrying hydrogen but carrying aluminum as the ‘fuel,’” Kombargi says. “The next part is to figure out how to use this for trucks, trains, and maybe airplanes. Perhaps, instead of having to carry water as well, we could extract water from the ambient humidity to produce hydrogen. That’s down the line.”

[jcmarchi]

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/a-recipe-for-zero-emissions-fuel-soda-cans-seawater-and-caffeine/

A recipe for zero-emissions fuel: Soda cans, seawater, and caffeine

A sustainable source for clean energy may lie in old soda cans and seawater.

MIT engineers have found that when the aluminum in soda cans is exposed in its pure form and mixed with seawater, the solution bubbles up and naturally produces hydrogen — a gas that can be subsequently used to power an engine or fuel cell without generating carbon emissions. What’s more, this simple reaction can be sped up by adding a common stimulant: caffeine.

In a study appearing today in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the researchers show they can produce hydrogen gas by dropping pretreated, pebble-sized aluminum pellets into a beaker of filtered seawater. The aluminum is pretreated with a rare-metal alloy that effectively scrubs aluminum into a pure form that can react with seawater to generate hydrogen. The salt ions in the seawater can in turn attract and recover the alloy, which can be reused to generate more hydrogen, in a sustainable cycle.

Play video

A pebble-sized pellet of aluminum, dropped into a beaker of filtered seawater, produces hydrogen gas that bubbles up and out of the container within a few minutes. MIT engineers are optimizing this simple chemical reaction as an efficient and sustainable way to generate hydrogen fuel, which they envision can be used to power an engine or fuel cell aboard marine vessels and underwater vehicles.

The team found that this reaction between aluminum and seawater successfully produces hydrogen gas, though slowly. On a lark, they tossed into the mix some coffee grounds and found, to their surprise, that the reaction picked up its pace.

In the end, the team discovered that a low concentration of imidazole — an active ingredient in caffeine — is enough to significantly speed up the reaction, producing the same amount of hydrogen in just five minutes, compared to two hours without the added stimulant.

The researchers are developing a small reactor that could run on a marine vessel or underwater vehicle. The vessel would hold a supply of aluminum pellets (recycled from old soda cans and other aluminum products), along with a small amount of gallium-indium and caffeine. These ingredients could be periodically funneled into the reactor, along with some of the surrounding seawater, to produce hydrogen on demand. The hydrogen could then fuel an onboard engine to drive a motor or generate electricity to power the ship.

“This is very interesting for maritime applications like boats or underwater vehicles because you wouldn’t have to carry around seawater — it’s readily available,” says study lead author Aly Kombargi, a PhD student in MIT’s Department of Mechanical Engineering. “We also don’t have to carry a tank of hydrogen. Instead, we would transport aluminum as the ‘fuel,’ and just add water to produce the hydrogen that we need.”

The study’s co-authors include Enoch Ellis, an undergraduate in chemical engineering; Peter Godart PhD ’21, who has founded a company to recycle aluminum as a source of hydrogen fuel; and Douglas Hart, MIT professor of mechanical engineering.

Shields up

The MIT team, led by Hart, is developing efficient and sustainable methods to produce hydrogen gas, which is seen as a “green” energy source that could power engines and fuel cells without generating climate-warming emissions.

One drawback to fueling vehicles with hydrogen is that some designs would require the gas to be carried onboard like traditional gasoline in a tank — a risky setup, given hydrogen’s volatile potential. Hart and his team have instead looked for ways to power vehicles with hydrogen without having to constantly transport the gas itself.

They found a possible workaround in aluminum — a naturally abundant and stable material that, when in contact with water, undergoes a straightforward chemical reaction that generates hydrogen and heat.

The reaction, however, comes with a sort of Catch-22: While aluminum can generate hydrogen when it mixes with water, it can only do so in a pure, exposed state. The instant aluminum meets with oxygen, such as in air, the surface immediately forms a thin, shield-like layer of oxide that prevents further reactions. This barrier is the reason hydrogen doesn’t immediately bubble up when you drop a soda can in water.

In previous work, using fresh water, the team found they could pierce aluminum’s shield and keep the reaction with water going by pretreating the aluminum with a small amount of rare metal alloy made from a specific concentration of gallium and indium. The alloy serves as an “activator,” scrubbing away any oxide buildup and creating a pure aluminum surface that is free to react with water. When they ran the reaction in fresh, de-ionized water, they found that one pretreated pellet of aluminum produced 400 milliliters of hydrogen in just five minutes. They estimate that just 1 gram of pellets would generate 1.3 liters of hydrogen in the same amount of time.

But to further scale up the system would require a significant supply of gallium indium, which is relatively expensive and rare.

“For this idea to be cost-effective and sustainable, we had to work on recovering this alloy postreaction,” Kombargi says.

By the sea

In the team’s new work, they found they could retrieve and reuse gallium indium using a solution of ions. The ions — atoms or molecules with an electrical charge — protect the metal alloy from reacting with water and help it to precipitate into a form that can be scooped out and reused.   

“Lucky for us, seawater is an ionic solution that is very cheap and available,” says Kombargi, who tested the idea with seawater from a nearby beach. “I literally went to Revere Beach with a friend and we grabbed our bottles and filled them, and then I just filtered out algae and sand, added aluminum to it, and it worked with the same consistent results.”

He found that hydrogen indeed bubbled up when he added aluminum to a beaker of filtered seawater. And he was able to scoop out the gallium indium afterward. But the reaction happened much more slowly than it did in fresh water. It turns out that the ions in seawater act to shield gallium indium, such that it can coalesce and be recovered after the reaction. But the ions have a similar effect on aluminum, building up a barrier that slows its reaction with water.

As they looked for ways to speed up the reaction in seawater, the researchers tried out various and unconventional ingredients.

“We were just playing around with things in the kitchen, and found that when we added coffee grounds into seawater and dropped aluminum pellets in, the reaction was quite fast compared to just seawater,” Kombargi says.

To see what might explain the speedup, the team reached out to colleagues in MIT’s chemistry department, who suggested they try imidazole — an active ingredient in caffeine, which happens to have a molecular structure that can pierce through aluminum (allowing the material to continue reacting with water), while leaving gallium indium’s ionic shield intact.

“That was our big win,” Kombargi says. “We had everything we wanted: recovering the gallium indium, plus the fast and efficient reaction.”

The researchers believe they have the essential ingredients to run a sustainable hydrogen reactor. They plan to test it first in marine and underwater vehicles. They’ve calculated that such a reactor, holding about 40 pounds of aluminum pellets, could power a small underwater glider for about 30 days by pumping in surrounding seawater and generating hydrogen to power a motor.

“We’re showing a new way to produce hydrogen fuel, without carrying hydrogen but carrying aluminum as the ‘fuel,’” Kombargi says. “The next part is to figure out how to use this for trucks, trains, and maybe airplanes. Perhaps, instead of having to carry water as well, we could extract water from the ambient humidity to produce hydrogen. That’s down the line.”

[wrestlinghistorywithkay]

Remembering A Macho Man: The Life And Times Of Randy Savage

13 years ago, the professional wrestling world lost the ‘ Macho Man ’ Randy Savage . This article is to remember his life and his career.

(TW: Death , Car Accidents)

Randy Mario Poffo was born to Angelo and Judy Poffo on November 15,1952 in Colombia , Ohio. He was the eldest child of his parents. His brother, Lanny , was born on December 28,1954. Angelo was a professional wrestler in the 1950s and the 1960s. Poffo was raised in Zanesville , Ohio. He is a graduate of Downers Grove High School. The school is located in Downers Grove, Illinois , a suburb of Chicago. However, wrestling wasn’t his first sport of choice. It was baseball.

Poffo was a catcher on his high school baseball team. Thus, he was drafted by the St.Louis Cardinals out of high school in 1971. He was 18 years old. Poffo was placed in the minor leagues to train before he could play professionally in the MLB ( Major League Baseball). He was mainly an outfielder for the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds systems. His baseball career ended after being injured in 1974.

Randy broke into the wrestling business in 1973 during the baseball offseason. His first gimmick was called , The Spider. This gimmick is based off of the comic book character, Spider-Man. Nevertheless, his second and most well known gimmick , Randy Savage , was suggested by his trainer and close friend , Terry Stephens and the head booker of Georgia Championship Wrestling ( GCW ) , Ole Anderson. Anderson felt like his real name didn’t fit him and came up with the name Savage because he felt like Randy wrestled ‘ like a savage ’. Poffo retired from baseball and joined his father in the wrestling business. His first match was against a wrestler named Paul Christy in the Midwest Territory. Savage along with his father and brother in the Carolinas, Michigan , the Maritime region , and in Tennessee.

Angelo thought that his family wasn’t getting the proper pushes they deserved as wrestlers, soon, he started his own promotion , International Championship Wrestling ( ICW) , in the Midwest. Soon, the company disbanded and the Poffo brothers went back to Tennessee, joining the Continental Wrestling Association ( CWA) , owned by Jerry ‘ The King ’ Lawler. Randy’s well known matches in this promotion, were against Lawler and teaming with his brother against the Rock N Roll Express.

Randy Savage was soon signed to Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation in June of 1985. He made his TV debut for the company on July 6, 1985 on the show, Championship Wrestling against a local competitor named Aldo Marino. He was “ The Top Free Agent In Professional Wrestling ” . His first appearances on WWF TV were on the talk show ‘ Tuesday Night Titans ’ with managers such as Mr.Fuji , Jimmy Hart , Johnny Valiant ,Bobby Heenan , and Freddie Blassie asking him if they could be his manager. Savage turned them down and chose Miss Elizabeth , who was his actual partner , to be his manager. He made his Pay Per View debut for a 16 man tournament at The Wrestling Classic. He lost in the finals of the tournament to The Junkyard Dog via count out. Later that year, he was involved in a storyline with the Intercontinental Champion , Tito Santana. He challenged Santana for the championship on Saturday Night’s Main Event III , however , Savage won the match via count out . Tito Santana still kept the championship after being counted out. Savage finally won the Intercontinental Championship on February 8 , 1986 by using a steel object he hid in this tights to knock Santana out. He also engaged in storylines with future tag team partner , Hulk Hogan , George ‘ The Animal ’ Steele , Ricky Steamboat , and Bruno Sammartino, the longest reigning WWE World Champion in history.

Randy Savage won the King of The Ring tournament in 1987 . Being a Heel, Savage’s popularity rose to the point of being cheered on by the fans. He soon started a feud with The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship. He soon got his title match with the champion at Saturday Night’s Main Event. He lost out on the championship when The Hart Foundation interrupted the match by attacking Savage in order to help The Honky Tonk Man keep the title due to disqualification. Miss Elizabeth had a plan in mind to help her man. She ran back to the locker room to get some help and found Hulk Hogan. She brought him out and Hogan saved him. The tag team known as The Mega Powers was formed.

The Mega Powers first feud was against The Mega Bucks , the team consisting of Andre The Giant and Ted DiBiase , also known as The Million Dollar Man. Their second feud was against The Twin Towers , the team consisting of The Big Boss Man and Akeem. The Mega Powers starting having problems in 1989 when Hogan decided to take on Miss Elizabeth as his manager. Hogan eliminated Savage during the Royal Rumble by accident. Savage thought that Hogan wanted to steal Elizabeth from him, thus, attacking Hogan’s friend , Brutus The Barber Beefcake, as an act of revenge towards his former partner. This was the first time Savage turned Heel since 1987.

Savage became The Macho King in 1989 after defeating Hacksaw Jim Duggan in the tournament in September of that year. He soon faced Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship in 1990 at The Main Event III. Savage took on Sensational Sherri as his manager. She became known as Queen Sherri. He had feuds with Dusty Rhodes and The Ultimate Warrior during his time as King of The Ring. His career ending match was against Warrior in 1991. With Savage losing , Sherri attacked him , leaving Miss Elizabeth, who was in the crowd as a fan, jumping the barricade and coming to the aide of Savage. This led to their reunion.

Savage moved his attention from the ring to the commentary desk. He also had a feud with Jake The Snake Roberts as well as Ric Flair. Flair claimed that he had an affair with Miss Elizabeth in 1992. Savage and Elizabeth were separated in real life , this , the storyline continued. Savage and Elizabeth soon divorced the same year. Savage left the WWF in 1994 and signed with World Championship Wrestling the same year , reuniting with Hulk Hogan.

Savage became WCW champion in 1995 by winning the first three ring battle royal. He lost it to Ric Flair at Starrcade of the same year. Savage left WCW and claimed he was blackballed by the company before returning as a member of the nWo , ( New World Order ). He soon took more time off from the company before returning in April of 1999.

Savage returned to WCW in 1999 with a new manager , Gorgeous George. He was also joined by Marisa and Miss Madness, forming Team Madness. In 2004 , Savage signed with TNA Wrestling at the Victory Road Pay Per View.

Randy Savage also made some acting appearances on TV shows like Baywatch , Mad About You , and Walker, Texas Ranger. He also starred in the movie , Ready To Rumble and had a cameo in Spider-Man. He also released a debut rap album with a diss track about Hulk Hogan.

Randy Savage passed away in a car accident on May 20, 2011 at the age of 58. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015.

My Final Thoughts:

Macho Man Randy Savage is a true wrestling icon. He will always be remembered as that wrestler that you loved , hated, or loved to hate. I actually love him. He’s on my list of all time favorite wrestlers. I actually know a wrestling legend who got to work with him on the indie circuit. He said that Randy was one of the most hard working guys he’s ever seen. Randy, thank you for everything! I wish I could go back and watch you live. But , I watch you on Peacock.

Love You All ,

- Kay

[atlanticcanada]

Written in the stars: The legendary tale of Maritime ice cream favourite Moon Mist

The lore in the Hart household was as rich as the ice cream served every day.

After joining his family's creamery business, the story goes, Bruce Hart travelled from Nova Scotia to the U.S. to attend 'Ice Cream University.'

The dates and places are foggy -- as often happens with family history passed down through generations -- but it was sometime before or after he served during the Second World War and likely took place at what's now the University of Massachusetts, a school with strong roots in agriculture and food science.

It was there, legend has it, that a young Bruce Hart had the audacity to swirl three ice cream flavours together: banana, grape and blue raspberry.

He called it Moon Mist, a lush ice cream flavour with colourful ripples of yellow, purple and blue.

"My grandfather told us he got to experiment with flavour mixtures, and that's how those improbable flavours came together that some people love and some may find disgusting," said Peter O'Brien, grandson of the late Bruce Hart.

"It was always part of family lore that my grandfather invented Moon Mist."

By the mid-1970s, the specialty flavour was catching on. The exact flavour combination of Moon Mist shifted over the years, with a popular local dairy swapping out blue raspberry for blue bubble gum in its recipe.

Yet regardless of the flavours of the tricolour swirls, Moon Mist ice cream would come to be celebrated as Atlantic Canada's favourite ice cream.

To some, it's a heavenly trilogy of tastes, while to others it's an odd mash-up of cloyingly sweet flavours. But it's defended by many as the region's unofficial frozen treat.

Moon Mist has become a symbol of the East Coast's uniqueness in Canada, a cultural marker of sorts for the region.

Ice cream stands and corner stores across the Maritimes scoop out Moon Mist all year long. Many say they go through several 11.5-litre vats on a summer weekend, leaving children in tears and adults in a huff if they sell out.

It evokes both nostalgia and pride, making a cameo on the Nova Scotia-based TV show "Trailer Park Boys." A local distillery sells a limited edition Moon Mist vodka and folk artists have sought inspiration from the flavour.

"If you've ever had a scoop of Moon Mist ice cream, you know it just has a very unique flavour and iconic aroma," said Rae Ryan, a Truro, N.S.-based research and development specialist with dairy giant Agropur, which acquired Nova Scotia's Scotsburn dairy in 2017.

"I think it's so popular because people in Atlantic Canada grew up with it in the 1980s and are now serving it to their kids. It's had a lot of staying power."

Bruce Hart returned from his ice cream training -- and purported invention of Moon Mist -- and got to work for the family business, Halifax Creamery Ltd.

The company soon after began making the blend of banana, grape and blue raspberry under its Polar Ice Cream brand.

Hart's grandson Peter O'Brien, now a 54-year-old classics professor, recalls ordering scoops of Moon Mist at local ice cream parlours as a child.

"My grandfather was big into ice cream, he ate it every day, probably twice a day," O'Brien said.

"We would go over for lunch or dinner and eat ice cream for dessert and often the conversation would return to his days in the business and how Moon Mist was created," he said.

The family business was eventually sold to Twin Cities Co-op Dairy Ltd., which later became Farmer's Dairy Co-op Ltd., though the family stayed active in the industry for a few years after that.

It's around this time that a competitor came to town.

For more than a century, one of the largest dairies in the Maritimes was based out of Scotsburn, a village surrounded by sprawling dairy farms on Nova Scotia's north shore.

Sometime before the early 1980s, the Moon Mist flavour was likely introduced to Scotsburn by a so-called flavour house, said Jennifer MacLennan, the former marketing co-ordinator with Scotsburn dairy from 1993 until Agropur took over in 2017.

Flavour houses are companies with commercial food labs that develop, manufacture and supply flavours to various industries. The concentrated natural and artificial flavours can be used in everything from ice cream to gum. One of these companies likely promoted Moon Mist as part of a portfolio of new flavours presented to dairies, MacLennan said.

"It was probably introduced to several dairies as an up-and-coming flavour," she said. "Scotsburn decided to try it ... it may have started as a limited-edition flavour but clearly became a favourite."

Exactly why it became a top seller in Atlantic Canada while dairies in other parts of the country seem to have mostly passed it over is unclear.

Some smaller outfits across Canada offer Moon Mist, including Kawartha Dairy Ltd. based in Bobcaygeon, Ont., which markets it as an "out of this world" East Coast favourite. The Big Scoop in Duncan, B.C., also sells Moon Mist with a twist: bubble gum, banana and grape with a cherry ribbon.

But other than a few smaller dairies, Moon Mist ice cream largely seems to be an Atlantic Canadian phenomenon.

"A lot of flavours can be regional," MacLennan said. "In New Brunswick, grape nut ice cream was a big seller, but it wasn't as popular in other areas, like Cape Breton."

When Moon Mist was introduced, many of the popular flavours were classics like vanilla, chocolate and strawberry, she said.

"Back in the '80s, a lot of the popular ice cream is what you might hear people call 'old people's flavours' nowadays," MacLennan said. "So when Moon Mist came out it was likely a huge hit with kids."

For decades, Moon Mist was only sold in 11.4-litre tubs to ice cream parlours. But in 2015, Scotsburn began selling smaller sizes in retail stores.

"I remember urging our marketing department to sell Moon Mist in the 1.5-litre packages in retail stores," MacLennan said. "It was always a bestseller so it made sense to have it available year round."

While Bruce Hart may have invented the original Moon Mist -- and potentially the recipe later used by Farmers -- Scotsburn's would become the favourite of many.

But not all.

A petition launched in the spring of 2020 called on Farmers to bring their version of Moon Mist, with blue raspberry rather than bubble gum, back to Nova Scotia.

The recipe change can be traced back to 2013, when Halifax-based Farmers Co-operative Dairy and Agropur Cooperative of Longueuil, Que., merged.

Four years later, Agropur purchased Scotsburn's frozen ice cream and frozen novelties business.

With two Moon Mist flavours in house, Agropur made the decision to phase out the Farmers recipe.

Agropur spokesman Guillaume Berube said sales volumes of both Scotsburn and Farmers Moon Mist tubs were "almost identical" at the time, but Scotsburn had the advantage of also having the smaller retail-sized format.

In terms of which recipe was oldest, Farmers may have launched Moon Mist first. While Scotsburn traces Moon Mist back to "before the early 1980s," Berube said company's archives show Farmers launched Moon Mist in 1973.

Regardless, the Farmers recipe -- possibly inspired by Bruce Hart's original creation -- was phased out by Agropur in 2017, permanently replacing blue raspberry with blue bubble gum, a subtle but notable change among some Moon Mist connoisseurs.

Agropur now says Moon Mist sales are second only to vanilla in the Scotsburn ice cream portfolio. It's sold in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.

"A lot of people growing up in Nova Scotia either went to school with someone who was a dairy farmer or had some connection to the dairy industry, and ice cream is just really popular here," said Agropur's Ryan. "It's part of the culture. We have a lot of scooping stands in the region and the colour combo of Moon Mist is very recognizable.

"It's always been popular, but there's been a lot of buzz about it over the last couple years," she said.

"It's a happy story."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 13, 2023.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/CBzaHS5

[sciencespies]

First satellite launch from the UK set to go ahead in Cornwall

https://sciencespies.com/space/first-satellite-launch-from-the-uk-set-to-go-ahead-in-cornwall/

First satellite launch from the UK set to go ahead in Cornwall

By Alex Wilkins

The first orbital satellite launch from the UK is due to take place at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay tonight. If successful, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, carrying a payload of nine satellites, will be released from a modified Boeing 747 plane at 35,000 feet off the south coast of Ireland, from where it will continue into low Earth orbit to drop its cargo.

The UK has the second-largest satellite building industry in the world, after the US, but relies on public and private launches in other countries, such as those from NASA or SpaceX, to get its products into orbit. Many hope that success tonight will mark the beginning of an era in which the UK can launch its own satellites on home turf, as well as those from other countries.

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“It’s been a long road for us to get here, with lots of international agreements and working with countries like Ireland, Spain and Portugal, who are all involved in managing the airspace,” says Matt Archer, director of the UK space flight programme at the UK Space Agency (UKSA). “There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes.”

It has been a frenetic couple of days in the countdown to the launch in Newquay, with the plane, dubbed Cosmic Girl, which has the LauncherOne rocket attached under one wing, submitted to lashings of wind and rain on the runway as the Virgin Orbit team carried out last-minute pre-flight checks. Last week, the set-up passed a “wet dress rehearsal”, in which the entire launch procedure was run through, barring ignition itself.

The team hopes that, even if the weather worsens, the plane should be OK to launch. “The Boeing 747 is a well-proven aircraft. It can take off in very challenging conditions and land back in challenging conditions as well,” says Ian Annett, deputy CEO for programme delivery at UKSA. “Of course, having a rocket underneath its left wing means that you have to be conscious of that, but one of the advantages as well is you can fly above the weather in order to launch [the rocket].”

If the plane gets the green light to launch, it will take off between 9.40pm and 11pm GMT (4.40pm and 6pm EST) and head towards the Irish Sea, where it will drop the rocket about an hour later.

LauncherOne, a rocket that Virgin Orbit has successfully launched four times previously from its facility in the Mojave desert, California, will then start its first-stage burn, which will run for around 20 minutes and accelerate it to about 12,900 kilometres per hour, to initiate its solo journey.

The rocket will then drop its first stage and proceed using the second stage, accelerating to 28,000 kph over about 6 minutes as it passes above Antarctica. It will finally reach its orbital height, of around 500 kilometres, over Australia about an hour after being deployed, where it will release its payload of nine satellites.

This adapted Boeing 747, called Cosmic Girl, will take off from Spaceport Cornwall carrying a rocket under one wing

Spaceport Cornwall

The previous rocket launches in California have given the Virgin Orbit team confidence that tonight’s attempt will go smoothly, with the operation of the system being essentially the same, Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, told New Scientist at a pre-launch press conference. The only difference with being in Cornwall rather than the US, he says, is “pasties versus hamburgers”.

The satellites aboard LauncherOne include Welsh company Space Forge’s test satellite – with which it hopes to manufacture materials in orbit – small military communications satellites from the UK Ministry of Defence, a pair of ionospheric monitors in a joint US-UK military collaboration, maritime sensing satellites from Scottish company AAC Clyde Space, a European Space Agency GPS tracker and an imaging satellite jointly launched by Oman and Poland.

Newquay might seem an unlikely place for a satellite launch, but its combination of a long runway, formerly used by the UK’s Royal Air Force, easy access to the sea and a relatively sparse civilian population marked it out as the top choice when the UK government selected it to be the UK’s first spaceport in 2018.

There is excitement in the town, too, both for the launch itself, which hundreds of locals will attend tonight, ferried from shuttle buses in town, and for what the spaceport might bring to the area – which lost out on money from the European Union after Brexit – in terms of jobs and opportunities, such as at the integration facility, which opened last year, where satellites set to be launched are installed in the rocket body.

While tonight’s scheduled launch may be the only one that Cornwall sees this year, the UK government hopes to eventually have a network of spaceports, including a vertical launch facility in Saxa Vord in the Shetland Islands, where it plans to carry out a rocket launch later this year. In 10 years’ time, says Archer, the UKSA hopes to have around 15 launches a year, which will place it on a competitive footing with countries that have more established space launching industries, he says.

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[blackmagicspecialist786-blog]

Britain Is on the Verge of Its First Satellite Launch

England is wanting to get into the space send off business on Monday night, as a changed Boeing 747 conveying a 70-foot rocket loaded down with satellites is supposed to take off from an airstrip in Cornwall, in southwest Britain. Assuming the climate and different circumstances are great, the send off would be whenever satellites first have sent off from U.K. soil. After an hour after departure, off the shore of Ireland, the plane will drop the rocket, which will fire and take nine satellites up into orbital positions 300 to 600 miles over the Earth. Individuals in England's space industry say the cutting edge will have tremendous significance despite the fact that the send off help is being given by a California-based organization, Virgin Circle, which was established by business person Richard Branson. Having send off locales accessible in England as opposed to going to far off ones like Cape Canaveral in Florida or New Zealand "has a colossal effect as far as having the option to foster satellites and to fly them," said Emma Jones, head of U.K. business improvement for RHEA Gathering, a space security firm, which has put a satellite on the Virgin Circle rocket. The normal send off is the principal huge result of a work by the English government to help the nation's space industry directly following Brexit, which has stressed logical and business attaches with the European Association, the country's fundamental exchanging accomplice. While the ongoing send off has been postponed for something like two months, and the following one is as yet not planned, Dan Hart, Virgin Circle's CEO, said that England appeared to be on target to foster a send off capacity. Virgin Circle has previously sent off satellites from the US and needs to set up a good foundation for itself as an organization that can do as such from anyplace that a 747 can land. "Very much like in the U.S., it is a blend of business, common and public safety meeting up that makes a space program or a space send off program fruitful," he said in a meeting. Mr. Hart said the payload on the Virgin Circle rocket, which incorporates business satellites as well as gadgets supported by England's Service of Guard and the US Maritime Exploration Lab, was an "great model" for the joined money sources expected to support the cost of a full-administration space program. England as of now has a sizable satellite industry and has been one of the forerunners in planning and making the shoe-box estimated, generally modest gadgets that are turning out to be progressively significant for correspondences, observation and different purposes. The public authority figures that having the capacity to send these satellites into space ought to give England a further edge. With humble subsidizing, the public authority has empowered open nearby specialists like the one in Cornwall and others in Scotland to foster locales appropriate for either vertical rocket dispatches or enormous planes being utilized as send off stages. Ms. Jones, of Rhea Gathering, said the possibility of having send off destinations in England empowered her managers, a confidential Belgium-based organization, to have their gadget worked at Harwell, close to Oxford, where there is a group of room organizations. Ms. Jones' satellite is the sort that investigators say addresses a development region for the space business. The crate, with aspects of about a foot by four creeps by four inches, cost under $1 million to construct and is planned to be the first of a line of orbital vehicles that could be called into administration if a digital tackle or a specialized issue took out the GPS route framework. Read the full article

[bookloversofbath]

A Girl Aboard the Titanic: A Survivor's Story (Eva Hart as told to Ron Denney)

A Girl Aboard the Titanic: A Survivor’s Story (Eva Hart as told to Ron Denney)

A Girl Aboard the Titanic: A Survivor’s Story (Eva Hart as told to Ron Denney) soon to be presented for sale on the incomparable BookLovers of Bath web site!

Published: Stroud: Amberley Publishing, 2012, Hardback in dust wrapper.

Contains: Black & white photographs;

>From the cover: We went on the day on the boat train I was 7, I had never seen a ship before it looked very big everybody was very…

[judgemark45]

PHILIPPINE SEA (May 16, 2021) Honors are rendered between Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force guided-missile destroyer JS Maya (DDG 179) and the Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), while steaming together. Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, as well as the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackie Hart)

[j-r-macready]

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) refuels from USNS Pecos (T-AO 195). by Official U.S. Navy Page Via Flickr: PHILIPPINE SEA (May 27, 2021) The U.S. Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conducts a fueling-at-sea with the fleet replenishment oiler USNS Pecos (T-AO 195). Ronald Reagan, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 5, provides a combat-ready force that protects and defends the United States, as well as the collective maritime interests of its allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackie Hart) 210527-N-VC236-1151

[maritimemanual]

Best Maritime Security Companies In the World

Seas are full of dangers be it natural or manmade. Ships carry a lot of valuable cargo and personnel. One frequently hears news about Somalian sea pirates hijacking commercial ships. It is essential to provide the highest level of security to protect the cargo, sailors, ship, and travelers. And this comes in the form of specialized maritime security companies also called MSCs.

Thefts and piracy are real threats which need to be countered at all costs. Since a large percentage of the world’s trade is conducted through the ocean – be it oil or steel – shipping companies cannot afford the risk of their ships been attacked by pirates or thieves.

For this reason, maritime security officers are present onboard every ship today. Marine security officers deal with maintaining peace and security on board a vessel and protect the passengers and the cargo of the boat from activities like piracy.

These officers are appointed to their respective ships by the company that they work for. The companies that offer onboard security services are called as Maritime Security Companies. They ensure the security of the staff, the passengers and the assets of the ship.

Nowadays, Maritime Security Companies not only provide on and offshore security but also other services like training and consultancy. There are many such companies in the world. Every ship that sets out on a voyage wants to ensure its security, and thus Maritime Security Companies play a major role in the shipping industry.

This article discusses some of the many major Maritime Security Companies (MSCs) of the world.

Following are 11 such companies offering maritime security services explained in brief.

1. Seagull Maritime Security

The Seagull Maritime Security Company is one of the major maritime security company of its kind. It was established in 2008. The company is based in Malta. It provides several maritime security services like anti-piracy services and ensuring the security of voyages from beginning to end. It also has a wide range of other maritime security services that they provide.

The company mainly provides services to commercial merchant ships as well as other vessels that pass through the high-risk areas generally in the regions of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. They secure goods on these ships as well as seafarers.

The company recruits the people who have previously served in the Navy as commandos or in elite special operation units. They need to be trained and qualified in order to provide security and fight off threats at sea. Most importantly, they need to be able to deal with maritime piracy.

This company has offices in many parts of the world. The company has been successful in providing security to hundreds of sea voyages and have battled several pirate attacks all over the world.

2. Neptune Maritime Security

The Neptune Maritime Security Company is a maritime security company that offers services to commercial vessels, super yachts, cruise ships, ports, and terminals as well as oil and gas industries. It is one of the biggest companies in the world that offers maritime security services. Neptune has highly experienced security experts and aims to keep people, assets as well as organizations safe. It has more than 350 qualified and experienced personnel. The company also has bases in countries such as the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates which provide services to clients for all 24 hours of the day.

It is a unique company as it provides customized maritime protection against maritime piracy. It also offers its services depending on the extent of a security threat.

The company has carried out more than 4000 successful transits. It has also been rated 94 out of 100 for client satisfaction.

It mainly operates in high-risk areas such as those in the Indian Ocean and the West African Gulf of Guinea.

3. MUSC

Maritime and Underwater Security Consultant

MUSC stands for Maritime and Underwater Security Consultant. The company has been providing maritime security to its clients for over 37 years. It was founded in 1973 and is based in London, United Kingdom. MUSC is one of the largest maritime security firms in the world. It provides a wide range of security services like anti-piracy security, port security, ship security, and other services to shipping companies. The company also provides protection for equipment like pipelines. It also ensures proper disposal of explosive materials that the ships might be carrying.

The government of the United Kingdom has licensed this company. It has been authorized to provide armed security services such as security teams on board, vessel hardening, route planning, counter-piracy auditing, and even vessel monitoring.

The company also offers training to provide these security services. It also acts as a consultant regarding the same matter. The company firmly stands against illegal activities like threats of weapons, human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration and many more. It also provides services related to safeguarding the marine environment.

4. Hudson Analytix

Hudson Analytix is a leading maritime security company. The company is based in Piraeus, Greece. The security program that it offers is a four way, and it provides services to shipping companies, ports, commercial vessels as well as onboard security services. Not only does the company provide security services but also services such as planning or training programs, assessments, security consulting services, etc. It also ensures complete security support to its clients.

This is one of the world’s biggest maritime security companies and offers its services in many countries. They offer services in as many as 300 ports all over the world and have till date provided their services to more than 1800 vessels. It is an internationally Recognised Security Organisation or RSO.

The company provides the services to vessels like general cargo, bulk carriers, offshore vessels, oil or chemical tankers, RO-RO containers and FPSOs.

The cyber risk management department of the company also provides the tools, support and necessary equipment that is needed to understand how to manage cyber risk and ensure security in that field as well.

5. Hart Maritime

Hart Maritime is a part of the Hart Integrated Group. It is often considered as one of the most established maritime security companies of the world. Hart integrated group was established in 1999. It offers many maritime protection services including onshore as well as offshore protection.

They mainly deal with security during shipping and also provide services to companies onshore to protect their assets and ensure the safety of their employees from threats such as pirate attacks. They try their best to maintain peace and security by making sure that security and risk mitigation is effective. To do the same, Hart Maritime Securities sometimes even work with the Navy and coast guard services. They ensure the security of every project that they take up at every single stage of it.

The company also provides training for the service that it offers to government authorities as well as shipping conglomerates. They mainly offer services in regions like the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Guinea and South East Asia.

6. Solace Global

Solace Global is one of the world’s biggest Maritime security companies that aims to “protect people, assets, and reputation through state-of-the-art technology.” This firm is accredited by the ISO and has extensive experience in this field. The company offers various kinds of security services and carries out operations like anti-piracy operations. It has done so for more than 5000 vessels all over the world and operates in 191 countries across the planet.

They provide services to commercial shipping companies, oil majors, cruise liners and even superyacht owners.

Some of the services offered by the company include vessel protection, ship security audits, a maritime security consultancy, a naval intelligence, vessel tracking, and crew training. These are only some of the many services that the company provides.

The company claims to provide both on and on armed security operations and solutions. It offers total desktop risk assessments, risk consultancy, onsite security audits as well as vessel tracking to its clients.

According to the company, it spends more than 1.5 million men are carrying out their job in a year and provides services for all 24 hours of the day.

7. Maritime Asset Security Training (MAST)

MAST stands for Maritime Asset Security Training. It is one of the world’s biggest maritime security firms. Its main aim is “to make the world a safer place to live and work.” Phillip Cable and Philip Batty founded the company.

The company is known to provide cost-effective security services all over the world. It was also one of the very first security companies that legally house private armed guards on vessels such as yachts or ships of the merchant navy. It also offers consultancy and supports new perspectives on risk management and provides information related to security services and risk management as well.

MAST has conducted more than 6000 transits without any failures in security.

The company mainly offers services in high-risk areas such as the Red Sea the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Guinea, the Sulu Sea, etc. The company has offices in many countries such as South Africa, Djibouti, Oman, and Malta.

8. Securewest International

Securewest International is a security service providing company that provides maritime security services to civilian ships and vessels as well as naval and military vessels. It was established in 1987. The company provides services such as vessel tracking, architectural security, ship accompaniment, etc. It provides all the services for commercial vessels cruises, military departments as well as offshore companies. The ISO has also certified it.

The main areas that it operates in are the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, The Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Guinea, etc.

Securewest International is one of the world’s biggest maritime security companies.

The company has highly experienced maritime security personnel working for it, and it always ensures their security to the clients. It is also known to provide security services to advanced escort vessels and is highly recognized in the world.

Securewest is famous in the world for its counter-piracy measures and preparatory services for ISPS. It is also part of the SCEG which stands for Security and Complex Environment Group.

It also provides training courses which are approved by agencies such as the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

9. Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Services

Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Services is an association of the VST that is Veterans of Special Troops. It is known to provide services to big organizations and assets. It provides security to large vessels as well as yachts. Other services provided by the group are port facilities, support in energy sectors, support in the oil and gas industry, etc.

The group operates in areas like the Indian Ocean, The Red Sea the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the West coast of Africa and the Mozambique channel.

It provides security services to bulk carriers, fishing ships, cruise ships, petroleum tankers, yachts, super yachts, etc.

The group employees highly trained and professional personnel like former Marines or special troops. It also provides training services to port operators and vessel owners to ensure the security of assets and staff from threats like piracy.

10. ESPADA

Espada Logistics and Security Group

The ESPADA is one of the biggest Maritime security providing companies in the whole world. It is a prominent security provider and carries out expert security measures, logistic processes as well as emergency evacuation as a part of their maritime operation both on land and at sea.

The company is known for its highly qualified military and civilian expertise in providing maritime security and conducting anti-piracy operations all around the world. It is a unique company as it not only carries out anti-piracy operations but also runs a counter-terrorism and asset protection programme. They also help commercial ships to transit through areas which are considered as high-risk regions. It operates in the region such as the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The company has carried out more than 500 successful transit in treacherous and dangerous sea routes all over the world.

11. STS Maritime Security

The STS Maritime Security company or the Special Tactical Services Security Company is a business that has extensive experience and expertise in providing security as well as weapons, tactical training, munitions, and ballistic security to vessels all over the world. It especially provides these services to the United States Defence Services and also other militaries all over the world.

The security teams that the company provides are highly trained, professional and licensed. The company also manages governmental permits, logistical support, administrative interface and security operations for clients all over the world.

It provides security teams which are privately owned to protect assets and the crew of the ship from some threats such as piracy.

STS has offices all over the world and operates on various sea routes. It is known to provide security services to the US Flagged RORO fleets in HRW. The company also protects bulk carriers traveling to East Africa. It offers services to several other countries too.

The post Best Maritime Security Companies In the World appeared first on Maritime Manual.

from WordPress https://www.maritimemanual.com/best-maritime-security-companies/

[unclos]

Hi. My name is Jesper Fanø and I have created this Thumblr account to try and find and connect with others that may have some the same interests as me which is “International Law”.

Primarily in terms of enforcing maritime regulation through the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea (#UNCLOS). Regulation adopted by the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO). In particular enforcement of the 0,5% sulphur limit of MARPOL Annex VI (also know as #IMO2020) which comes into force 1 January 2020.  

I am also committed to exploring and developing the recognized international law principles of jus cogens, erga omnes and universal jurisdiction to be applicable to enforcement of a future regulatory prohibition on the use of fossil based marine fuels. A potential regulatory gamechanger in terms of reducing the release of GHG (especially CO2) to combat climate change.

I have written a book on these subjects called “Enforcing International Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS” (Hart publishing and available at; https://www.bloomsburyprofessional.com/uk/enforcing-international-maritime-legislation-on-air-pollution-through-unclos-9781509927784/) 

Now, that might sound like a really boring book, but let me tell you; this book puts the “Fun” in “UNCLOS” = “FUNCLOS”!!

Okay, that’s a lie. But, if you are a huge legal-nerd like me (or a cool legal-nerd) and interested in the law of the sea (UNCLOS) and enforcement of MARPOL Annex VI (IMO2020) and GHG regulations, well this book might be just the thing for you.  

  My “FUNCLOS”* book on UNCLOS (*Disclaimer, not a funny book)

My book (Enforcing International Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS) analyses the amplified enforcement and notifying obligations of UNCLOS chapter XII placed on flag States, e.g. to sanction “effectively”, also in terms of sanctioning (fining) a violation of the 0,5% sulphur limit of MARPOL Annex VI. The broadened jurisdictions bestowed on port States and coastal States to enforce are also examined. Port State’s in terms of carrying out Port State Controls (PSC’s) and also enforcing emission-violations on the high seas, as well as the right for coastal States to enforce Annex VI within their waters, including in the EEZ and over ships making an innocent passage or transit passage is also studied as well as the possibility of using a drone to conduct a “hot pursuit”. Clarifying the overlapping jurisdictions between a port or coastal States and flag States are also resolved.

These theoretical discussions on jurisdiction are tied to practical applications pertaining to PSC-sanctioning in the form of detention and the imposing of fines. Something which I worked with for almost two years at the Danish Maritime Authority.

These conclusions on enforcement through UNCLOS are afterwards projected on to enforcement of other IMO legislation, including the other annexes of the MARPOL Convention, the Ballast Water Management Convention etc.

I have also, after coming to Maersk, worked with enforcement of the different proposed (short-, mid- and long-term) regulatory measure specified in the IMO’s initial GHG Strategy, such as revised EEDI, speed optimization, shore-power and the use of alternative fuels, etc., is also examined in context of UNCLOS.

The last part of the book offers – due to the increased environmental challenges relating to global warming and given the special legal status of ships – an analysis of whether an envisioned IMO regulation, in the future, could be considered the first environmental peremptory norm of a ‘jus cogens’ character within international law. The immense legal implications hereof (including enforcement erga omnes) are also addressed. It is primarily from teaching International Law for over six years that gave way for fusing the theoretical basis provided by the ILC (the UN’s International Law Commission) and the ICJ (International Court of Justice) with the practical implications from an envisioned global ban on the use of fossil based marine fuels, which presumably must be the final endgame of the IMO GHG Strategy.

I have also written an article on the enforcement of the MARPOL Annex VI 0,5% sulphur limit through UNCLOS in the legal publication; Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law (RECIEL).  The article is entitled; “Enforcement of the 2020 sulphur limit for marine fuels: Restrictions and possibilities for port States to impose fines under UNCLOS”.

  My Background

My book (and article) is the conclusion of a personal project which I have been working on for the last five years.

My journey began back in 2014 when I was employed at the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with implementing MARPOL Annex VI and the EU Sulphur Directive (entailing a 0,1% sulphur limit for most European waters) into Danish law. My work subsequently continued the following years with the enforcement of the 0,1% limit, in collaboration with the Danish Maritime Authority, Danish Attorney-General, the police and public prosecutors in a national sulphur enforcement task force.

2014 was also the year where I started teaching International Law at Copenhagen University, which includes law of the sea (i.e. the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea (UNCLOS)), law of treaties, State responsibility and State jurisdiction in general.

It was through my work at the Danish EPA, and meetings in the enforcement task force, that I learned about many of the foreseen challenges regarding enforcement of the global 0,5 % limit (IMO2020) sulphur limit which comes into force on the 1st of January 2020 as stipulated in regulation 14 of MARPOL Annex VI.

Firstly, pertaining to detecting and proving violations. Secondly, relating to whether it would be possible to sanction a proven violation with a dissuasive fine.

The first part of this “enforcement-challenge” has since been the subject of much work as technologies (“sniffers” etc.) have been developed and refined to detect and measure sulphur emissions from ships. The IMO, it’s Member States and many organizations have also worked vigorously on ensuring that all relevant regulation (MARPOL Annex VI, IMO guidelines etc.) have been revised or developed to ensure the “consistent implementation” of the 0,5% sulphur limit to prevent any circumvention of the rules. This work includes, but is not limited to, matters relating to non-availability of compliant fuel (FONAR’s), fuel sampling and testing, Port State Control (PSC) and, in particular, the adoption of the so-called “carriage ban” banning the carriage of non-compliant fuel in any tank onboard.    

However, my work, and thereby the book, relates to the second part of the enforcement challenge; How States on a national level can enforce violations of the 0,5% sulphur limit within the international jurisdictional frames provided for in UNCLOS. Frames that bind all States.

Or in other words… the focus of the book is on what comes after a violation of the 0,5% limit has been proven, i.e. after a sniffer has detected a violation, or after a PSC fuel sample (taken from any fuel tank) shows the use of non-compliant fuel, or after the next port of call rejects a FONAR, etc.

This is what my book attempts to clarify. “Enforcing International Maritime Legislation on Air Pollution through UNCLOS” is available at https://www.bloomsburyprofessional.com/uk/enforcing-international-maritime-legislation-on-air-pollution-through-unclos-9781509927784/. 

  Other stuff

I am also passionate about the NFL, in particular the GreenBay Packers.

I am therefore also working on fusing me to interests; UNCLOS and the NFL….. This is however a work in progress….

[melbournenewsvine]

Poseidon Sea Pilots enters the Melbourne market

POSEIDON Sea Pilots is set commence pilotage services in Victorian ports from Monday 10 October. A subsidiary of Australian Maritime Systems (AMS) Group, Poseidon Sea Pilots will operate in ports of Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings and Portland. Poseidon vessels Trident and Yorke hit the water on Friday (7 October), with six marine pilots currently employed across the four Victorian ports. The company is entering Victoria’s pilotage market after close to a year of providing services in Port of Brisbane under a tender it won last year. Poseidon parent company AMS Group CEO Glen Marshall told DCN the move to Melbourne has been almost nine months in the making, building off mobilisation and operations in Brisbane. He said there has been a great deal of enthusiasm around the Poseidon Sea Pilots’ arrival in Victoria, but acknowledged it is entering a competitive environment. The company will be the third pilotage service provider to operate in Melbourne and Geelong, and the second to work in Hastings. “The intent is to go in slowly but very methodically so that … we can demonstrate that our systems, processes and the training we’ve got for our people are second-to-none, and that we can always deliver on what we’ve promised,” Mr Marshall said. The initial team of pilots comprises Captain Gavin Barry, Captain Robert Buck, Captain Timothy Fitzgerald, Captain Raymond McAllister, Captain David Porrett and Captain Craig Murchie. Mr Marshall said each pilot has been employed by Melbourne services in the past but are dual-qualified to work in Brisbane when needed. “The intent is to build a pool of 45 pilots in Brisbane and have them cross-trained across multiple sites around Australia,” he said. “It’s going to be very exciting both for the clients we support … because it allows surge capacity in any of the ports, it provides greater flexibility for us as an organisation, and it also provides more professional development for the individual pilots.” Mr Marshall said simulator training in Brisbane has enhanced the pilots’ knowledge of critical turns and components of navigation in Victorian ports. “We’re also doing a lot of mentoring as well,” he said. “Some of the very experienced pilots are still engaging with the more junior pilots on the water.” The company has welcomed pilotage vessels Trident and Yorke as its “newest team members”. The vessels are reportedly capable of operating in each of the Victorian ports Poseidon pilots will work in. “The Trident has been purpose built by Hart Marine in Melbourne, and it’s designed to go out the heads in all types of weather,” Mr Marshall said. “It’d definitely be the newest and the best boat on the water for the next year or two.” As the pilotage business establishes itself in Victoria over time, Mr Marshall said AMS Group intends to grow the company and strengthen relationships with the port community. “AMS provides a lot of port infrastructure, support services and advice through various technologies, so we’re working very actively with the various port stakeholders both in Melbourne and elsewhere around the country,” he said. “Port of Melbourne is definitely one of our key focuses for growing our businesses, and it’s not just from the pilotage perspective – it’s all the technologies and our ability to integrate various types of software to enhance the efficiency and productivity of shipping, but also the port infrastructure.” Poseidon Sea Pilots will take its first clients in Victoria on Monday 10 October. Source link Originally published at Melbourne News Vine

[atlanticcanada]

Comedian Kevin Hart returning to the Maritimes in April

Award-winning comedian and actor Kevin Hart is set to return to the Maritimes in April 2023.

Hart is scheduled to perform in Halifax on April 16 and Moncton on April 17 as part of his Reality Check Tour. The dates are among the nine additional shows recently announced across Canada and the U.S.

Recently named the number one Comedy Tour of the Year by Billboard, Hart's Reality Check Tour included more than 80 shows over the course of 2022.

The father of four and star of films like "Get Hard" and "Central Intelligence" also won the People's Choice Award for Comedy Act of 2022.

The newly announced tour dates in Atlantic Canada mark the first time Hart has returned to the region since his 2018 controversy that saw him step down as host of the 2019 Academy Awards after homophobic tweets from his past resurfaced online.

According to a press release, the event will be a "phone-free experience" with cell phones secured in individual Yondr pouches that will be opened at the end of the event.

"Guests maintain possession of their devices at all times and can access them throughout the event only in designated Phone Use Areas within the venue," the release reads, adding anyone seen using an electronic device during the performance will be removed by security.

Tickets for Hart's Halifax and Moncton shows go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. and can be purchased on Ticket Atlantic's website.

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/guK5zN3

[sciencespies]

First satellite launch from the UK set to go ahead tonight in Cornwall

https://sciencespies.com/space/first-satellite-launch-from-the-uk-set-to-go-ahead-tonight-in-cornwall/

First satellite launch from the UK set to go ahead tonight in Cornwall

By Alex Wilkins

This adapted Boeing 747, called Cosmic Girl, will take off from Spaceport Cornwall carrying a rocket under one wing

Spaceport Cornwall

The first orbital satellite launch from the UK is due to take place at Spaceport Cornwall in Newquay tonight. If successful, Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket, carrying a payload of nine satellites, will be dropped from a modified Boeing 747 plane at 35,000 feet off the south coast of Ireland, from where it will continue into low Earth orbit to drop its cargo.

The UK has the second-largest satellite building industry in the world, after the US, but relies on public and private launches in other countries, such as those from NASA or SpaceX, to get its products into orbit. Many hope that success tonight will mark the beginning of an era in which the UK can launch its own satellites on home turf, as well as those from other countries.

“It’s been a long road for us to get here, with lots of international agreements and working with countries like Ireland, Spain and Portugal, who are all involved in managing the airspace,” says Matt Archer, director of the UK space flight programme at the UK Space Agency (UKSA). “There’s been a lot of work behind the scenes.”

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It has been a frenetic couple of days in the countdown to the launch in Newquay, with the plane, dubbed Cosmic Girl, which has a rocket attached under one wing, submitted to lashings of wind and rain on the runway as the Virgin Orbit team carried out last-minute pre-flight checks. Last week, the set-up passed a “wet dress rehearsal”, in which the entire launch procedure was run through, barring ignition itself.

The team hopes that, even if the weather worsens, the plane should be OK to launch. “The Boeing 747 is a well-proven aircraft. It can take off in very challenging conditions and land back in challenging conditions as well,” says Ian Annett, deputy CEO for programme delivery at UKSA. “Of course, having a rocket underneath its left wing means that you have to be conscious of that, but one of the advantages as well is you can fly above the weather in order to launch [the rocket].”

If the plane gets the green light to launch, it will take off between 9.40pm and 11pm GMT (4.40pm and 6pm EST) and head towards the Irish Sea, where it will drop the rocket about an hour later.

LauncherOne, a rocket that Virgin Orbit has successfully launched four times previously from its facility in the Mojave desert, California, will then start its first-stage burn, which will run for around 20 minutes and accelerate it to about 12,900 kilometres per hour, to initiate its solo journey.

The rocket will then drop its first stage and proceed using the second stage, accelerating to 28,000 kph over 6 minutes as it passes above Antarctica. It will finally reach its orbital height, of around 500 kilometres, over Australia an hour after being deployed, where it will release its payload of nine satellites.

The previous rocket launches in California have given the Virgin Orbit team confidence that tonight’s attempt will go smoothly, with the operation of the system being essentially the same, Dan Hart, CEO of Virgin Orbit, told New Scientist at a pre-launch press conference. The only difference with being in Cornwall rather than the US, he says, is “pasties versus hamburgers”.

The satellites aboard LauncherOne include Welsh company Space Forge’s test satellite – with which it hopes to manufacture materials in orbit – small military communications satellites from the UK Ministry of Defence, a pair of ionospheric monitors in a joint US-UK military collaboration, maritime sensing satellites from Scottish company AAC Clyde Space, a European Space Agency GPS tracker and an imaging satellite jointly launched by Oman and Poland.

Newquay might seem an unlikely place for a satellite launch, but its combination of a long runway, formerly used by the UK’s Royal Air Force, easy access to the sea and a relatively sparse civilian population marked it out as the top choice when the UK government selected it to be the UK’s first spaceport in 2018.

There is excitement in the town, too, both for the launch itself, which hundreds of locals will attend tonight, ferried from shuttle buses in town, and for what the spaceport might bring to the area – which lost out on money from the European Union after Brexit – in terms of jobs and opportunities, such as at the integration facility, which opened last year, where satellites set to be launched are installed in the rocket body.

While tonight’s scheduled launch may be the only one that Cornwall sees this year, the UK government hopes to eventually have a network of spaceports, including a vertical launch facility in Saxa Vord in the Shetland Islands, where it plans to carry out a rocket launch later this year. In 10 years’ time, says Archer, the UKSA hopes to have around 15 launches a year, which will place it on a competitive footing with countries that have more established space launching industries, he says.

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Fiona reaches Nova Scotia, Maritimes without power

Fiona reaches Nova Scotia, Maritimes without power

Storm Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia very early Saturday morning, more specifically on the Canso Peninsula, in the eastern tip of the province, near Hart Island. The strong winds it generates are expected to move gradually northward during the day Saturday. ” Fiona will continue to move northeast today and will cause damaging winds, waves and storm surges,” the Canadian Hurricane Center…