Photo of @teamAkzoNobel taken by @UgoFonolla, @desafioMAPFRE mediaman While the clouds are creating a nightmare scenario for the navigators, they are also making for some incredible photo opportunities.
In late August, the 60 m-long US Coast Guard Cutter Maple completed its navigation through the Arctic’s ice-ridden Northwest Passage.
While this was not the first time ships had taken this route, it was the first time that the International Ice Patrol had provided iceberg information based exclusively on satellite imagery.
Established in 1914 in response to the sinking of the Titanic, the US Coast Guard International Ice Patrol (IIP) monitors iceberg danger in the North Atlantic Ocean for shipping safety.
When the Maple departed from Alaska in mid-July en route through the Arctic to Maryland, USA, the IIP was on guard to assist the crew to navigate through the notoriously icy waters.
The region through which the ship Maple transited 14–18 August 2017,
with approximate ship locations identified in yellow on each day.
The
map has been overlaid with images from the Sentinel-1 radar satellite
mission.
The IIP used data from the Copernicus Sentinel-1 satellite mission, among others, to create charts showing the risk of encountering icebergs after exiting from the Northwest Passage and during transit through the Baffin Bay, Davis Strait and Labrador Sea.
Sentinel-1 is equipped with radar that can detect icebergs through cloud cover, a capability particularly beneficial in the IIP’s operating area.
Sentinel-1 can also distinguish between the thinner, more navigable first-year ice and the hazardous, much thicker multiyear ice to help assure safe year-round navigation in ice-covered Arctic and sub-Arctic zones.
These radar images are particularly suited to generating high-resolution ice charts, monitoring icebergs and forecasting ice conditions.
Using ESA’s online Polar Thematic Exploitation Platform (Polar TEP), the International Ice Patrol accessed satellite data to detect icebergs and analyse their densities and trajectories.
Scientists at the IIP used iceberg detection software available on ESA’s online Polar Thematic Exploitation Platform (Polar TEP) to access satellite data to detect icebergs and analyse their densities and trajectories.
“This experience using the Polar TEP cloud-based technology opens the door for future evaluations of a more robust version of the iceberg detection and iceberg trajectory processors,” said Michael Hicks, Chief Scientist of the International Ice Patrol.
“Cloud-based technology such as that used by Polar TEP is expected to be an important tool for handling the ever-growing amount of data coming from space.”
Polar TEP provides polar researchers
with access to computing resources, data and software tools for polar research.
Polar TEP is one of six Thematic Exploitation Platforms developed by ESA to serve data user communities.
These cloud-based platforms provide an online environment to access information, processing tools and computing resources for collaboration.
TEPs allow knowledge to be extracted from large environmental datasets produced through Europe's Copernicus programme and other Earth observation satellites.
The following section looks at how the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office is using modern technology to ensure mariners receive accurate and reliable information.
Polluting vessels use the dirtiest fuels with emissions from one container ship equivalent to 50 Million carsVoluntary efforts to tackle carbon pollution from the shipping industry have failed.
In Herman Melville’s novel Moby-Dick, seafaring is the occupation of adventure-lovers.
But since the maritime classic was published in 1851, the act of ‘sailing about a little’ has become a huge commercial undertaking.
Today, a massive fleet of cargo ships transports 90% of global consumer goods.
Shipping is efficient — but comes with an environmental cost that has not been adequately accounted for.
Worldwide, there are about half a million ships in operation, together producing almost one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
That’s between 2% and 3% of the global total, and more CO2 than Germany emits annually.
But unlike greenhouse-gas emissions from Germany and other nations, shipping emissions are not subject to the reduction pledges made by individual nations under the Paris climate agreement.
(The Paris deal does, however, include shipping emissions in its global carbon-budget calculations.)
After years of inaction, the great white whale of greenhouse-gas pollution is now in the cross hairs of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the specialized United Nations agency that sets safety and environmental standards for the global shipping industry.
The IMO is under pressure from campaigners and representatives of other, regulated sectors to agree a global cap on shipping emissions.
Following sharp increases in the early 2000s, the sector’s emissions have remained more or less stable since the global financial crisis of 2008.
But that is unlikely to continue.
The current overcapacity in the maritime cargo market means that ship traffic (and emissions) can increase quickly to meet demand.
Moreover, the shipping industry at large — including the cruise sector — has potential to grow, and rapidly.
Share of CO2 emissions by ship class (left) and flag state (right), 2013–2015
The IMO has a specialist greenhouse-gas working group that is grappling with the idea of a cap.
But its latest meeting, held last week in London, closed without declaring much progress.
Overall, the IMO is committed to tightening environmental standards for new ships.
Yet its technology-oriented strategy — including an Energy Efficiency Design Index that requires the engines of vessels to burn less fuel — is unlikely to be enough.
Cleaning up the industry will require adequate market instruments and economic incentives to encourage owners and operators of both ships and ports to adopt climate-friendly practices, such as enforcing lower speeds.
Mandatory limits on emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) and nitrogen oxides (NOx),
both globally and within designated sea areas known as Emission Control Areas (ECA)
Owing to the peculiarities of this volatile business, the routes, speed and fuel consumption of tens of thousands of container ships are hard to monitor and verify.
An emissions-trading system, for example, would be difficult to implement and even harder to manage.
The IMO agreed last year to set up a global CO2 data-collection system that will yield welcome knowledge, as will improvements in tracking the positions and movements of ships from space.
But a tax by national governments on fossil fuels used by ships — incurred at refinery level — might be a more effective economic mechanism.
Shipping CO2 emissions compared to global CO2 emissions
Voluntary efforts alone will not do.
The industry has set up a series of half-hearted and overlapping eco-ratings schemes since the 2000s.
But an analysis published online on 16 October shows that these have had no notable effect on the environmental performance of ships (R.T. Poulsen et al. Mar. Policy 87, 94–103; 2018).
Whereas eco-ratings can steer companies to make more-efficient refrigerators and washing machines in line with the preferences of consumers and regulators, maritime transport is different.
The pressure of end-users is too distant to influence ship owners and operators.
And price remains the dominant factor for builders and buyers of cargo ships.
As a global business, shipping must be tackled by global regulations, and not through a patchwork of voluntary efforts and regional laws.
It is true that some regional efforts, such as the European Union’s scheme to monitor, report and verify CO2 emissions from large ships using its ports, might be a step towards global regulations.
The IMO has already shown that it can tackle other environmental issues.
Measures it introduced in the wake of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 ensure that oil tankers are now much safer.
An international convention for ballast-water management, which aims to control the spread of harmful invasive species, came into force in September after years of preparation (although it does not address biofouling on ships’ hulls, which is potentially more harmful to local ecology).
The IMO has also agreed measures to encourage environmentally responsible ship recycling and minimize uncontrolled shipbreaking, much of which occurs on South Asian beaches.
However, this 2009 Hong Kong convention is still not implemented and is awaiting ratification by most member parties.
The CMA CGM Group said Tuesday it will equip its nine future ships of 22,000 TEUs delivered in 2020 with engines using liquefied natural gas.
CMA CGM becomes the first shipping company in the world to equip giant container ships with this type of motorization, pursuing its commitment to protect the environment and aid in ocean conservation.
When it comes to the impact on climate, there is no excuse for delay.
Emissions from shipping largely escape the public scrutiny and criticism attracted by those from aviation.
Parties to the IMO should step up and hasten the implementation of the necessary standards.
The 37-year-old British lawyer Lewis Pugh will dive into the Antarctic Ocean today clad in nothing but his Speedos, and front-crawl his way across a cove in what will be his most dangerous stunt yet.
Is the man mad?
No, he's on a noble mission.
Pugh - the only person to complete a long-distance swim in every ocean of the world - has been ploughing his way through freezing seas for 30 years now, all in a bid to protect and conserve them.
His one kilometre (0.6 mile) swim will take him across King Edward Cove in South Georgia, past the Grytviken Whaling Station and the gravesite where explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton was laid to rest.
Emerging from the Arctic following a prior record-breaking swim
Pugh, a maritime lawyer, spoke to Telegraph Travel from Antarctica about how he prepares his body to withstand temperatures that would kill an ordinary human, why today's swim is particularly dangerous, and what all this has to with marine conservation.
The training
"Without rehearsing, you'd drown pretty quickly in 0°C water," he explains.
"It's taken at least six months of very hard training to get to this point, and I only train in the sea - usually in temperatures of around 12°C."
Pugh has spent the last week acclimatising in progressively colder temperatures, much like a mountaineer tackles high altitudes.
Interestingly, scientists have found that his body temperature rises significantly just before he dives in, up to 38.2°C in the past.
South African sports medicine professor Tim Noakes noted this first, and coined it "anticipatory thermogenesis" - a Pavlovian response due to his years of cold water swimming
"I call it fear," jokes Pugh.
"But we aren't certain of the true reason."
Lewis describes these swims as "excruciating", unsurprisingly
Taking the leap
"I always dive, and never dip my toe in first," Pugh says.
"As soon as I hit the water, my capillaries constrict to defend the warmth in my body and the blood rushes to my core to protect my vital organs."
From here, it's an uphill battle against his body's natural panic response.
"First, I need to calm down and control my breathing," he says.
The pain is excruciating.
I’ll think of dozens of reasons to get out, so I try to focus on just one thing to keep on going."
UN Environment Patron of the Oceans and endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh has traveled to Antarctica to raise awareness about the crucial need to protect its ecosystems.
"Ordinary won't change the World".
Pugh can swim for around 20 minutes before his system packs up.
"After that, my arm stroke slows considerably," he explains.
"As my core temperature drops, my hands can no longer grip the water, my coordination starts going and I turn bright red as the blood rushes to the surface of my skin, radiating heat."
The race to warm up
Credit : Kelvin Trautman
With this particular swim, Pugh will be in the domain of some formidable ocean predators; elephant seals, Antarctic fur seals, leopard seals and killer whales.
"None of these animals will have ever seen a human swimming," Pugh says.
"The waters are full of them, and the last thing I want is for one of them to take a bite out of me."
As soon as he's out of the water, Pugh's team rushes him to a hot shower where it takes at least 50 minutes for his core temperature to normalise.
Why the Speedos?
Surely it would make more sense to execute these swims in protective gear, a wetsuit at the very least. But that, apparently, would be too easy.
"I ask world leaders to do everything they can to protect our oceans," Pugh remarks.
"Sometimes the steps they need to take are difficult and unpopular. If I’m asking them to be courageous, I must also be. Swimming in a wetsuit would not send the right message."
All to keep the fishing boats away
As fish stocks plummet around the world, industrial fishing fleets are seeking new seas to exploit, according to Pugh, who warns: "It's only a matter of time before they set their sights on the South Sandwich Islands. This pristine ocean wilderness is under imminent threat."
He's the only human to have completed a long-distance swim in all of the world's seven oceans
Credit : Kelvin Trautman
He hopes his latest swim will draw attention to his cause.
"I am urging the UK government to fully protect this unique ecosystem, starting with the creation of a 'No Take Zone' around the South Sandwich Islands.
If we don’t protect them now, we risk losing them forever."
Last year Pugh played a pivotal role in creating the largest protected area in the world, in the Ross Sea off Antarctica.
Between his media-grabbing swims, he shuttled between the US and Russia to help negotiate the final agreement.
The 12 stages to a polar swim: Fear, Shock, Panic, Pain, Regret, Distress, Desperation, Agony, Relief, Disbelief, Joy, Exhaustion
In 2007, he was the first person to undertake a long-distance swim across the North Pole, which he did to highlight the melting of the Arctic sea ice.
And in 2013 the United Nations appointed him as the first "UN Patron of the Oceans".
Lewis is pushing for this Antarctic region to be protected
Why is this slice of ocean so important?
South Georgia and the neighbouring South Sandwich Islands - all British Overseas Territories - are considered to be among the world's most important spots in terms of biodiversity.
They’re home to an astonishing array of marine wildlife; 95 per cent of the total Antarctic fur seal population, more than 50 per cent of southern elephant seals, and nearly 20 per cent of the world's penguins.
They are also a haven for sea birds and whale species, among them the endangered blue whale.
Climate change has been cited as a major threat to this region, as well as overfishing - all issues taking the front seat in BBC’s ground-breaking Blue Planet II series.
Britain has taken a global lead in marine conservation with its "Blue Belt" policy, planning to conserve nearly four million square kilometres of natural ocean habitat by 2020.
Pugh wants to make sure the South Sandwich Islands falls within it, and he’s got the Speedos to prove it.
Photos by Jeremie Lecaudey / Volvo Ocean Race 
