Peace for whales
The President of the French Republic will pay a formal visit to Greenland on Sunday June 15, 2025, more than a year after the inauguration of the European Union office in Nuuk by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the Commission. He will hold talks with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark and the Prime Minister of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Maritime traffic hits rock bottom
On May 25, 2025, the dilapidated container ship MSC Elsa 3, which was certified as suitable for sea transport by the French group Veritas, sunk south of Kochi, State of Kerala, India. Fifteen days later, a white tide of plastic pellets is invading ports and beaches. Twenty-five kilogram (plastic) bags of pellets wash up on the shore as well. Fishing is banned in a large area. This means desolation for the coastline and thousands of fishermen who live there. The government of the Indian Union is trying to reassure them. Currently 100 meters below sea-level, the wreck of the Elsa 3 should be raised from the seafloor to recover all of the containers in her hold. All the containers that were on the bridge are already adrift. Initial findings suggest that a malfunction in the ballast water tank filling system caused the sudden and uncontrollable list.
Vultures: the other pet peeve
A preview of the “On the Trail” bulletin
European Union
Vultures are on their way to becoming as abhorred by agricultural France as wolves. Local press titles are unleashed, boosted by testimonials of farmers who claim to have seen (or almost seen) 50, 100, 200 vultures or more dive down on a newborn calf and his mother and eat both of them as easily as the average person would eat a hamburger.
MSC, Luxury and Misery
The Swiss-Italien maritime company MSC plays both sides.
The third largest cruise company worldwide, MSC just commissioned two World Class mega-cruise ships from the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire with great fanfare: 3.5 billion euros for “Choose France” and mass tourism (see press release of May 31, 2017).
Fibs kill boas
A preview of the “On the Trail” bulletin
The Indian border police seized 202 Indian sand boas (Gongylophis conicus) from the bags of Alif and Talib Mal in Ghewmari, Dhubri District, State of Assam, India, at the beginning of May.
