Balisage

Robin des Bois confirms the information from Greenpeace about the condition of the ship BBC Shanghai. Areva made a very bad choice in selecting her to ship back the Australian nuclear waste. These waste were produced at the La Hague plant near Cherbourg through the reprocessing of spent fuel from the Australian atomic research reactor HIFAR (High Flux Australian Reactor). The first shipment to France dates back to January 2000. At the time, COGEMA, Compagnie Générale des Matières nucléaires, which became Areva in 2006, put forward the French flag of the chartered ship, the Bouguenais, as well as the French nationality of 5 crewmembers and the presence of an officer in charge of the radioprotection on board. In spite of these positive elements, the choice of the Bouguenais was nevertheless already questionable (1).

Only in French.

Only in French.

CMA CGM Christophe Colomb was at Tianjin from August 12 to August 17. The French container ship is expected at Southampton and Dunkirk on September 20 and 22. She has been exposed for a long time to the air pollution that followed the explosions and fires occuring from August 12 on at the logistic areas of the Chinese port.

CMA CGM Christophe Colomb was at Tianjin from August 12 to August 17. The French container ship is expected at Southampton and Dunkirk on  September 20 and 22. She has been exposed for a long time to the air pollution that followed the explosions and fires occuring from August 12 on at the logistic areas of the Chinese port.

Not far away from the Corse, on a deserted wharf, another ship is waiting for demolition. Methania was said to be already living in borrowed times in 2007, was struck by a lightning in Zeebrugge in 2008, on technical stops or in lay-up at Brest in 2013 and in 2014, and has been berthed at Marseille since mid-December 2014. Works to be carried out at Marseille repair yard were postponed. They were supposed to last for 2 months. Methania’s obsolete equipment, the availability of larger and more fuel-efficient units manned by less crews deprive her of long term or short term chartering.

The Corse, French flag, IMO n° 8003620, is for sale. Delivered in 1983 by Dubigeon Normandie shipyards at Prairie-au Duc (France), the ferry was operated by SNCM (Société Nationale Corse Méditerranée); she has mainly served the Nice-Corsica route in season and the Marseille-Maghreb route out of season.

In December 2014, after a period of shuttle service between Toulon and Corsica, she was decommissioned : the SNCM, partially privatized in 2006 and today going into receivership, did not plan to operate any further its services to Corsica from Toulon and Nice.

Only in French.

The Winter Bay belonging to a European ship owner just left the port of Tromsø in Norway. She is now sailing in the Barents Sea. She carries about 1800 tons of whale meat from Iceland. The Winter Bay is expected in Osaka, Japan, on August 28. The Arctic option, 14,500 km, allows the ship to avoid diplomatic complications, environmental NGO protests and the usual stops in West Africa and South Africa.

The Winter Bay belonging to a European ship owner just left the port of Tromsø in Norway. She is now sailing in the Barents Sea. She carries about 1800 tons of whale meat from Iceland. The Winter Bay is expected in Osaka, Japan, on August 28. The Arctic option, 14,500 km, allows the ship to avoid diplomatic complications, environmental NGO protests and the usual stops in West Africa and South Africa.