GNLU-GMB CHAIR NEWS BULLETIN
SUNDAY 05 JUNE 2016 REF.: 35/0506
Obama demands Congress approval of key UN maritime rules
Washington – US President Barack Obama asked Congress to ratify contentious UN maritime rules Thursday, hoping to strengthen his hand in a dangerous stand-off with Beijing over the disputed South China Sea.
Addressing the US Air Force Academy in Colorado, Obama said that Congress should approve UN rules designed to peacefully resolve maritime disputes.
This developed as defense ministers and military chiefs from around the world are attending Asia’s largest annual security forum that started yesterday in Singapore. Known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, North Korea’s military provocations and Islamist extremism are expected to dominate the discussions organized by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.
For more information please visit:
http://www.mb.com.ph/obama-demands-congress-approval-of-key-un-maritime-rules/#IV2jYTwrp5aDOSwH.99
After Chabahar, India turns to Bangladesh port
“Bangladesh is very much keen to work with us and hence the Ministry of Shipping, the Ministry of External Affairs and the government of Bangladesh are currently in talks to explore options available there (in Bangladesh),” Union Minister for Shipping, Highway and Road transport Nitin Gadakari said.
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Navigation Company ChartCo Acquired by British Private Investment Firm
British private equity firm Equistone Partners is buying marine navigation service ChartCo from fellow fund ECI for 55 million pounds ($79.43 million), the companies said on Friday.
London-headquartered ChartCo began making charts for the Royal Navy more than 250 years ago and now provides data to over 12,000 vessels worldwide, from super-yachts to freight ships. It is the world’s largest provider of navigational data and nautical charts.
ChartCo is part of the maritime navigation systems company Kelvin Hughes, which is in turn backed by ECI. Last year ChartCo had revenue of over 40 million pounds.
For more information please visit:
http://gcaptain.com/navigation-company-chartco-acquired-by-british-private-investment-firm/
Russian Hopes for Iran Trade Boom Run Aground at Caspian Port
ASTRAKHAN, Russia, June 3 (Reuters) – When sanctions on Iran were lifted in January, Russia might have expected to be near the front of the queue for business opportunities. Moscow, after all, was one of Tehran’s oldest allies and is now its partner on the battlefield in Syria.
On the evidence of the commerce passing through the Caspian Sea port of Astrakhan, the main jumping-off point for Russian sea-borne trade with Iran, it’s not playing out like that.
The value of goods shipped from the Astrakhan region to Iran in the first four months of this year was down 16 percent on the same period last year, according to the regional government.
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http://gcaptain.com/russian-hopes-for-iran-trade-boom-run-aground-at-caspian-port/
No China Compromise on South China Sea After Philippines Case: Top Chinese Expert
China will not compromise on its notorious nine-dash line claiming nearly all of the South China Sea even after an upcoming verdict on a key international case against Beijing filed by the Philippines, a top Chinese scholar told a key regional forum in Malaysia Wednesday.
Ahead of the verdict on the Philippines’ South China Sea case against China at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at The Hague, some scholars and experts had opined that should the Court find that Beijing’s nine-dash line contradicts international law, the Chinese government could clarify the status of the nine-dash line on its own even if it ignores the actual verdict as many expect it to do (See: “Does the Philippines’ South China Sea Case Against China Really Matter?”).
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Environmental Groups Push For Stronger Polar Code
THE FIRST-EVER GLOBAL framework governing commercial shipping in polar zones isn’t even in effect, yet activists and scientists are already pushing for stronger environmental protections.
The International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, known as the “Polar Code,” was adopted in a series of votes by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 2014 and 2015. The agreement, much of which enters force in January 2017, establishes standards for ships operating in the icy waters of the Arctic and Antarctic.
For more information please visit:https://www.newsdeeply.com/arctic/articles/2016/06/03/environmental-groups-push-for-stronger-polar-code
Argentine hopes dashed on Falklands, Antarctica: Continental Shelf Commission refused to consider three major claims
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