Monthly Archives: February 2022

UN Intergovernmental Conference (IGC4)

The Countdown to the 4th meeting of the United Nations Intergovernmental Conference (IGC4) is on! The final round of negotiations on the UN Treaty for Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) is scheduled to take place in New York, March 7-18.

Since its founding in 2011, the High Seas Alliance (HSA) with its 40+ non-governmental members and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has been working towards protecting the 50% of the planet that is the high seas. As the region of the global ocean that is beyond national jurisdiction, the high seas includes some of the most biologically important, least protected, and most critically threatened ecosystems in the world.

HSA members work together to inspire, inform and engage the public, decision-makers and experts to support and strengthen high seas governance and conservation, as well as cooperating towards the establishment of high seas protected areas.

Our current priority is to ensure that an intergovernmental conference taking place at the United Nations from 2018-2021 for the development of a new legally binding treaty under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea results in robust protection for marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The next two years are a particularly critical time as States from around the world negotiate the content of the treaty.

Currently, there are no legally binding mechanisms for establishing marine protected areas outside States territorial seas, or for undertaking environmental impact assessments. Yet increasing impacts from overfishing, climate change, deep-seabed mining and shipping continue to negatively affect biodiversity on the high seas.

HSA is working to ensure that treaty negotiations result in robust and effective conservation measures that address gaps in current ocean governance.

We are now in the conclusive stages of the negotiations, with the fourth and final intergovernmental conference (IGC4) scheduled for August 2021. The need for a strong final push and elevated political will from States is required now more than ever if we are to adopt a new high seas treaty at IGC4 and ensure the protections the high seas so desperately deserves. The treaty is a once in a generation opportunity to shift the status quo of high seas governance and management and protect nearly half the planet.

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- High Seas Alliance

In a welcome but surreally-delayed move, GoI has finally appointed the countrys first National Maritime Security Coordinator (NMSC) to ensure effective coordination among multiple agencies dealing with threats from the high seas. Vice-Admiral (retired) G Ashok Kumar will be the first to occupy the post in the National Security Council Secretariat under NSA Ajit Doval. However, serious questions need to be asked as to why it took 14 long years to create this post after Pakistani terrorists snuck into Mumbai from the sea and killed 166 people during the 26/11 terror attack. Back then the defence ministry had proposed the creation of a maritime security advisory board and the appointment of a maritime security adviser. But bureaucratic sloth and turf wars ensured these were kept pending.

That said, the NMSCs appointment comes at a critical point in Indias evolving strategic-security environment. Faced with a China-Pakistan axis, New Delhi not only needs to be alert to threats from sea-borne non-state actors, but also keep an eye on Chinese maritime designs in the Indian Ocean Region. After all, China today has the largest navy and a maritime militia force to carry out grey-zone tactics against adversaries. To counter this and protect Indias 7,516-km coastline and 2 million sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), a single-point coordinator like the NMSC for all aspects of maritime security was much needed.

Besides, given that the global axis of power is shifting from the West to the East as acknowledged by the recent US Indo-Pacific strategy paper the sea lanes around India are going to get busier. And with countries having different interpretations of the treaty on the high seas, UNCLOS, incidents like last years American freedom of navigation operation in Indias EEZ could recur. Hence, there is a need for enhanced maritime domain awareness to protect both security and economic interests. Note that 90% of Indias trade, by volume, transits through the seas. The NMSC must lay the blueprint for a truly modern maritime security system.

This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.

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Coast to coast: Points person for maritime security comes 14 years after 26/11. Challenges from high seas even - The Times of India Blog

Cruise travelers who are also fans of the Golden Girls television show will be able to enjoy a special themed cruise making its comeback in 2023, dubbed Golden Fans at Sea.

Departing on April 8, 2023, from Miami, the voyage will take place on the Celebrity Summit cruise ship and transport guests to popular tourist hotspots in Key West, Florida and Cozumel, Mexico, before returning to Miami on April 13.

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The Golden Girls-themed sailing will include dance parties, game shows, karaoke, trivia, golden legacy panels, costume parades, group dinners and more. The journey will also feature a Shady Pines Goes to the Beach Group Excursion in Cozumel and a bar crawl in Key West.

Golden Fans at Seas official website said guests will be announced soon for the 2023 voyage, with show screenwriters, historians and family of cast members featured on previous sailings.

Travelers are welcomed to channel their inner Rose, Blanche, Dorothy and Sophia as they sail the high seas. Tickets for the themed voyage are on sale now.

For cruisers who love onboard entertainment, its been a strong start to 2022. Princess Cruises announced its new production show, Spotlight Bar, would debut in April onboard the cruise lines newest ship, Discovery Princess.

In January, Disney Cruise Line announced a series of all-new Pixar Day at Sea aboard special sailings on the Disney Fantasy in early 2023. The day-long celebrations will take place on nine select seven-night Disney Cruise Line voyages between January and March 2023 and feature themed dining, character encounters, dance parties and theatrical musical experiences.

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Golden Girls Themed Cruise Coming in 2023 - TravelPulse

Groundwork: A Celebration of Black History Month6 p.m. Thursday. Merrill Auditorium, 20 Myrtle St., Portland, $22. porttix.comRooted Soul Entertainment presents a show featuring an ensemble of artists, dancers, gospel singers, musicians, poets and comedians. Groundwork: A Celebration of Black History Month is a two-hour extravaganza thats suitable for the entire family and is certain to uplift and inspire all who attend. Joy and peace is the goal of the evening, and you can be part of it.

2022 Fly Fishing Film Tour7:30 p.m. Thursday. Oxbow Bottling & Blending, 49 Washington Ave., Portland, $20 in advance, $25 day of event. flyfilmtour.comIf youre a fly fishing aficionado and are getting excited about the coming of spring, youll want to head to Oxbow on Thursday. Theyll be screening the 16th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour, and youll feast your eyes (while drinking a tasty beverage) on a selection of films that include locations like Costa Rica, Maryland, Belize, Louisiana, Alabama, Australia and Colombia. The film tour is the largest fly-fishing event of its kind and not only can you expect to see enthralling footage, there will also be giveaways.

The Lonely Passions of a Winters Night8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday. Through March 6. Portland Media Center, 516 Congress St., Portland, pay what you can (cash at the door). facebook.com/stormwarningstheatreStarring Elizabeth Freeman and featuring Anna Gravel and Michal Slovak, the play The Lonely Passions of a Winters Night was written by Paul Dervis, and you can see it through March 6 in Portland. Freeman portrays a high-powered academic who accepts an invitation by her estranged husband to embark on a months-long world cruise. High drama on the high seas unfold when she confronts the lost dreams that are intent on destroying her future goals and also rediscovers a long-buried passion.

The Industrial Heart: Enterprise, Innovation, and Creativity10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays and by appointment. Museum L-A, 35 Canal St., Lewiston. museumla.orgFor a rich and colorful history lesson that includes objects, stories and art, head to Museum L-A for The Industrial Heart: Enterprise, Innovation and Creativity exhibit. It focuses on the textile, shoe and brick-making industries and shines a light on Maines industrial heritage while also showcasing local artists responses to the museums collection. Heirloom objects are paired with selections from the museums oral history collection, and youll also see works from artists Amy Stacey Curtis, Djamal Maldoum and Kelly Jo Shows.

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Things to Do: Celebrate Black History Month, and see fly-fishing films and a play about self-discovery - Press Herald

Minister for Fisheries and Animal Husbandry Seediri Appala Raju has said that fishermen who venture into the high seas have nothing to do with the G.O.No.217 which pertains to the auction of inland fish tanks.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Mr. Appala Raju said that Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan was apparently oblivious to the above fact and he put up a show as usual with ulterior motives at Narsapuram.

He observed that the crowd at Mr. Kalyans public meeting largely comprised his fans.

The governments idea behind putting fish tanks on open auction is to ensure an income of 15,000 for each member of the cooperative societies by eliminating the middlemen. What was done in Nellore was a pilot project that involved only 27 tanks, said the Minister.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member Mopidevi Venkataramana told the media that fishermens plight had worsened during the TDP regime and that the proposed auction of fish tanks would help improve their conditions.

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Fish tank auction will not affect fishermen venturing into sea: Minister - The Hindu

Climate change is impacting ecosystems in the Arctic. For over a full year, scientists from 20 nations traveled the Artic Ocean onboard the German research vessel Polarstern to better understand climate processes. Important discoveries made by EU-funded scientists during the MOSAiC expedition have recently been published in the renowned scientific journal Science Advances.

From autumn 2019 to autumn 2020, the international expedition Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate or short MOSAiC drifted through the ice of the Amundsen and Nansen Basins and the Fram Strait. As part of a multidisplinary team of experts, scientists of the EU-funded EFICA (European Fisheries Inventory in the Central Arctic Ocean) Consortium conducted research into the ecosystems present in these parts of the Arctic Ocean.

The results of their research provide new and significant insights, including into the functioning of the Arctic pelagic food web. The scientists found a deepwater layer of zooplankton and fish in the Arctic Ocean. To their surprise, they also found evidence of a continuous immigration of larger Atlantic fish in the Arctic ecosystem, much further north than expected. This flux contributes to potential food for mammals living in the Arctic Ocean.

The availability of small and even some larger fish in the Atlantic water layer could explain why seals, walrus and polar bear can be found even at the North Pole. Both fish and mammals are very few, but they are there

says biologist Dr. Hauke Flores, Alfred Wegener Institute, one of the scientists of the EFICA Consortium onboard the MOSAiC expedition.

Among other significant conclusions in the Science Advances article, the EFICA scientists infer that at least in the Eurasian Basin there are no harvestable fish stocks today or in the foreseable future:

The capacity of the Central Arctic Ocean ecosystem to support larger fish stocks is without doubt rather limited

says Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, coordinator of the EFICA Consortium and professor in marine ecology at Stockholm University.

Therefore, it is of great importance that this unique and fragile ecosystem is subject to robust international protection. Taking a precautionary and science-based approach, Canada, the Peoples Republic of China, the Kingdom of Denmark in respect of Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Norway, the Russian Federation, the United States of America and the European Union negotiated the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean that entered into force in June 2021. The agreement bans commercial fishing for at least 16 years, and sets up a joint scientific research and monitoring program to improve our understanding of the ecosystems in the Central Arctic Ocean. The final results of the EFICA consortiums research will be an important EU contribution to this program.

By financing the research of the EFICA Consortium during the MOSAiC expedition, the Commission has contributed to collecting new Central Arctic Ocean ecosystem data in the context of the agreement, in order to be able to take science-based decisions in the future. The paper in Science Advances contains the first scientific results based on this new field data. In 2021, scientists from the EFICA Consortium took part in another expedition in the Central Arctic Ocean on board the Swedish icebreaker Oden to continue their ecosystem research. The final results of both expeditions are expected to be obtained later in 2023.

MOSAiC expedition

Final report of the EFICA consortiums research on board the MOSAiC expedition (2019-2010):

Ecosystem mapping in the central Arctic Ocean (CAO) during the MOSAiC expedition

Final report of the EFICA consortiums research on board the Oden expedition (2021): this report will be available shortly.

EU Joint Communication for A stronger EU engagement for a peaceful, sustainable and prosperous Arctic

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Arctic biodiversity: EU-funded research reveals new life in the Arctic Ocean - European Commission

By Vel Moonien in Mauritius

The Mauritian-flagged tanker that ran aground earlier this month on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean is in the process of breaking up.

A breach on the port side of the MT Tresta Star, exposed to the heavy swell caused by the recent passage of tropical cyclone Emnati, has widened significantly in size, according to an update from the Prfet of Reunion Island.

Parts of the hull have also been torn off, revealing a gaping hole of several meters through which water can enter the vessel, the Prfet reported. The Prfet also says it fears an imminent dislocation with pieces of the vessel breaking off and sinking on the spot or coming aground on the coast.

It is also dismayed by new discharges of oily water expected in the coming days after an oil slick of 2.5 km in length has been reported off the coast of Saint-Philippe.

A trail of brownish water, symptomatic of an oily substance emulsified with sea water is the proof of a sea pollution, said the Prfet. A marine pollution plan will be initiated after the passage of Cyclone Emnati.

The MT Tresta Star grounded on February 3rd along the east coast of Reunion Island, at Tremblets Point, after losing power during Tropical Cyclone Batsirai. All 11 crew members were rescued by zip-line. The ship was not carrying any cargo at the time.

Three local non-governmental organizations, namely Attac, Extinction Rebellion and Greenpeace, have accused the Prfet of Reunion Jacques Billant and the French Minister of Overseas Territories Sbastien Lecornu, among others, of not taking appropriate measures to avoid such pollution, as fuel oil remains in the ships tanks.

With the vessel now breaking up, members of the Chinese salvage company Lianyungang Dali Underwater Engineering and the Greek firm Polygreen, recruited immediately following the grounding, have decided to pack up. They will leave Reunion Island this Tuesday due to a default in payment by the ship owner, Tresta Trading.

The ship owner is a subsidiary of an Indian company, also called Tresta Trading, and is owned by Shiny Shipping and Logistics, a company based in India. It had agreed with Lianyungang Dali Underwater Engineering and Polygreen, which had just completed the dismantling of the MV Wakashios bow in Mauritius, that a first oil transfer would be made two days after their arrival in Reunion.

From two days, the delay has increased to two weeks. Unfortunately, we cannot continue to work without payment. Such an operation costs money. There is, among other things, the rental of a helicopter and various equipments. But nothing has been released so far, says one of the team members in Reunion Island.

It is very likely that Five Oceans Salvage (FOS) will take over the operation. A team of the Greek firm was on the island a week ago for an assessment of the Tresta Stars hull.

In July 2016, FOS had removed the MV Benita, a 44,183-ton cargo ship, which had run aground a month earlier on volcanic rocks near Le Bouchon, Mauritius, not far from where the MV Wakashio wrecked. Following its refloating, the Benita unfortunately sank while being towed to the shipbreakers.

FOS was also involved in the wreck removal of the South-East Asian trawlers KT Seroja, Ruang Lap and Hoi Siong from Mauritius Port-Louiss harbor. Five years earlier, it had also removed the Angel 1 from the Poudre-dOr reefs, in the northern part of the Mauritius.

Regarding the Tresta Star, an investigation has been launched by the Mauritian authorities and interviews are being conducted with crew members. It is inconceivable that neither the ship owner, nor the shipping agent, nor the port authorities, took the initiative to give sufficient fuel to this barge to go to the high seas with the passage of the intense tropical cyclone Batsirai, says one marine operator.

They should have brought her back to port instead of asking her to go with 8 tons of fuel in her hold. Of course she will break down! She can hold up to 250 tons of fuel. 8 tons! Thats the dregs at the bottom of a wine bottle Were going to go to another catastrophe with such superficial procedures, he added.

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Grounded Tresta Star Breaking Up on Reunion Island - gcaptain.com

We have been taking advance authorisation under Para 4.07 of HBP based on ad hoc norms approved by the Norms Committee in 2017 for one export product, and in 2020 for another export product. How long can we continue to do so?

As per para 4.12 (vi) of HBP, Norms ratified by any Norms Committee (NC) in the o/o DGFT on or after 01.04.2015 in respect of any Advance authorisation obtained under paragraph 4.07, shall-be valid for the entire period of the Foreign Trade Policy i.e. up to 31.03.2022 or for a period of three years from the date of ratification, whichever is later. Since all decisions of the Norms Committees are available in the form of minutes on the DGFT website, all other applicants of Advance Authorisation are also eligible to apply and get their authorisations based on such ratified norms on repeat basis during validity of these norms. This para is not applicable for authorisations applied for items listed under Appendix 4P.

So, the norms approved in 2017 will be valid till 31.03.2022 and the norms approved in 2020 will be valid for three years from the date of approval.

This is about a case of a shipment sent overseas, where freight is paid in India. The overseas customer is asking for a separate freight invoice, not to be added in the main invoice. How can we declare the inward remittance amount received on account of freight paid and charged to the customer, and not show it in the custom invoice? Is this legally correct? At present we add it in the invoice, but the customer wants to avoid this, maybe due to the duty payable there.

In a CIF contract, you must raise the invoice for the full value, including the freight and insurance, as the price is inclusive of those elements. In future, you can enter into a CIP contract and pay the freight separately as a pure agent.

In that case, you can claim reimbursement of the freight actually paid through a separate invoice. However, it means that the buyer has to bear the risk of any variation in freight. To understand the role of pure agent, refer to Rule 33 of the CGST Rules, 2017.

We want to import certain capital goods under the EPCG scheme. Is it alright if the foreign suppliers Indian agent buys the goods in foreign currency and then sells it to us on a high-seas sales basis, in Indian rupees?

Yes. You can buy the goods in Indian rupees on a high-seas sales basis and file a B/E at the price at which you bought from the high-seas seller, and seek clearance under your EPCG authorisation. You must show the AD Code of the high-seas seller in the B/E, since he will be the person remitting foreign exchange to the supplier abroad. Of course, the export obligation will be on the basis of duty saved.

Business Standard invites readers SME queries related to GST, export and import matters. You can write to us at smechat@bsmail.in

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SME: Ad hoc norms valid for 3 yrs or till March 31, whichever is later - Business Standard