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The Russian tanker Varzuga left Murmansk in tow of the Christos XXIV for a shipbreaking yard in Aliaga, Turkey, on April 17, 2021. She should finally arrive in Brest on the evening of Saturday, July 10, in tow of the VB Gascogne. The operation is being monitored by the Channel and North Sea Prefecture. It recommended the towing to be carried out during a favourable weather window with wave heights of less than one metre.

A fireball and shock waves felt up to 25 km from Jebel Ali Port, near Dubai, United Arab Emirates, woke up and worried residents on the evening of Wednesday July 7, 2021. Firefighters responded to prevent the fire from spreading to other vessels, in particular the GFS Giselle, a 240 m long container ship.

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Update June 18, 2021
The Christos XXIV returned to sea on Tuesday 15 June at 5pm heading to Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain). The 50 year old tug, her 8 Filipino sailors and her 2 Greek officers stayed in Le Havre for 1 month and 8 days.
The Christos XXIV left alone, leaving the Varzuga at Joannès Couvert wharf. Discussions are still ongoing between the owner of the old Russian ship, the maritime authorities and a French demolition yard. The Varzuga will have to be accompanied in the demolition yard by her green passport, which she lacked when she left Murmansk. The green passport is a map with an estimate of the quantities of hazardous materials on the ship at the end of her life.
The Varzuga’s detention should end within 10-15 days.

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On Tuesday, June 8, 555 juvenile African spurred tortoises were rescued from international trafficking by customs officers in Koudougou, Boulkiemdé province. They were hidden in the baggage compartment of a bus travelling between Bamako in Mali and Lomé in Togo. They were placed in wooden crates, cardboard boxes and canvas and plastic bags. False CITES permits accompanied the shipment. CITES is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The African spurred tortoises are listed in Appendix II. Their international trade is still allowed. Export permits are required. The seizure is the result of cooperation between Mali Customs and Burkina Faso Customs.

“Shipbreaking” # 62
double issue, October-November-December 2020-January-February-March 2021
122 pages, 112 sources, 381 photos

“Shipbreaking” is an unexpected and privileged observatory to analyze the trends of the global business and to identify its shortcomings.

Rosatom, the prime contractor and spearhead of the Russian nuclear industry, has found a new way to extend its influence on the African continent in the fight against poaching.

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The Christos XXIV was towing the Russian oil tanker Varzuga from Murmansk (Russia) to a Turkish shipbreaking yard. On Monday, May 3, 2021, at around 22:00, the tow rope broke and the Christos XXIV lost control of the Varzuga north-west of Cherbourg.

The Christos XXIV / Varzuga convoy left Murmansk on April 17, 2021. It was expected to arrive in Aliaga on May 26 after a 9,000 km journey through the Arctic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, off Spain and Portugal and the Mediterranean Sea. In Murmansk, just before departure, 7 deficiencies were reported on board the tug by the marine safety inspectors concerning the safety of navigation, the life saving appliances, the radio communications and the pollution prevention.

Rory Young, co-founder and CEO of Chengeta Wildlife, David Beriáin and Roberto Fraile, Spanish reporters, were murdered on 26 April 2021 in Arly National Park in Burkina Faso while participating in an anti-poaching patrol with soldiers and rangers. One Burkinabé is still missing. The Arly park is home to elephants, lions and leopards. In 2015, Robin des Bois praised the work of Rory Young in its bulletin “On the Trail” dedicated to poaching and smuggling.
Extract from “On the Trail” n°9 p.75 :
Arrest of 81 suspected poachers. Malawi. May 2015.
Rory Young is a specialist of the anti-poaching battle. He joined the French Foreign Legion when still very young and later becomes a forest ranger in Zimbabwe after 5 years of training. Yet he’s no warmonger. On mission in Malawi, he helps the wildlife agents use to their furthest extent the meager logistical resources at their disposal. 33 poachers have been arrested in 15 days during the month of April around Livonde by 30 rangers who have nothing more than a car and a half and an old boat. A true success compared to the 28 arrests made in all of April in Kruger Park watched over by thousands of guards, drones, helicopters and to some extent by thousands of tourists.

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On the Trail n°29 – April, May and June 2020
990 events with references, along with analyses,
iconographic documents, maps and historical archives
182 pages (pdf), 11.6 Mo

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This Friday 22 January 2021 is a great day. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (1) enters into force.

On 7 July 2017, 122 countries adopted this Treaty. In accordance with its Article 15, it enters into force 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession. Honduras was this 50th categorical opponent to atomic weapons. All the nuclear powers have withdrawn from the adoption Conference and some of them, France, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, are openly hostile to it.

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Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, March 11, 2011 – Press release n°17

It is said that the Japanese government is about to authorize the release of radioactive water from Fukushima Daiichi into coastal waters and the ecosystem of the Pacific Ocean. Tepco, operator of the plant that crashed on March 11, 2011, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the International Atomic Energy Agency are promoting this option. This voluntary pollution would set a precedent that could be brought up again in the Atlantic Ocean in the event of a major accident at a nuclear power plant or at the La Hague atomic complex in Normandy.

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