Ships safely anchored, awaiting Typhoon Pabuk. — VNA/VNS PhotoViet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The first major storm of 2019, internationally called Typhoon Pabuk, is moving west-northwest at a speed of 15km per hour and is expected to cause rough seas and heavy rains in southern localities, according to the National Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre. At 1pm Wednesday, the storm’s eye was 430km off the mainland of the southern region. Wind speeds at the eye reached up to 75 km per hour. The storm is expected to move west-northwest at 15km per hour. According to forecasts, the eye of the storm will be 200km south of the Cà Mau Cape in southern Cà Mau Province and 300km southwest of Côn Đảo Island at 1pm on Thursday. With the effects of the storm and extreme cold spells, strong winds are forecast to hit the western area of the East Sea (South China Sea), as well as the seas from Quảng Ngãi to Bình Thuận and from … [Read more...] about Typhoon Pabuk to cause heavy rains, rough seas
Ships in rough seas
Rough seas strand thousands on Co To Island
Around 2,000 travellers have been stranded on Co To Island in the northern province of Quang Ninh Province due to bad weather. According to Quang Ninh Province’s Inland Waterway Port Authority, ships from Co To Island to the mainland have been banned since June 24 due to rough sea, leaving tourists stranded there. The weather is forecasted to last for two more days. Co To Island Rough seas have also prevented work on repairing electrical cable problems which have resulted in the island suffering power cuts over recent days. Pham Dinh Chan from Quang Ninh Electricity Company said that the electrical cable problems on Co To Island were caused by lightning. The repairs have been temporarily delayed due to the rough sea. It is quite common for Co To to be cut off from the mainland due to bad weather, particularly in the rainy season. … [Read more...] about Rough seas strand thousands on Co To Island
Rough sea strands thousands of tourists on Vietnam’s northern island
By Minh Cuong  June 25, 2018 | 09:28 pm GMT+7 Around 5,000 tourists were stranded on Co To Island. Photo by VnExpress All ships have been prohibited from traveling to or leaving Co To Island due to strong winds. Around 5,000 tourists were stranded on Co To Island in Vietnam's northern province of Quang Ninh due to rough sea, the island's authorities said on Monday. As strong winds with speeds of up to 49 kilometers (31 miles) per hour continued to ravage the waters around the island, provincial authorities on Sunday issued a ban on all passenger ships traveling between Co To and Van Don in the mainland until the weather improves. "The port authority is still banning ships so the tourists have no mean to travel back to the mainland. We have requested that local hotels and restaurants stabilize prices and offer 20-50 percent discount to tourists," said Tran Nhu Long, chairman of Co To District. In addition to bad weather, the island is suffering from a … [Read more...] about Rough sea strands thousands of tourists on Vietnam’s northern island
Italy, Malta in diplomatic spat over migrant arrivals
Italy's new hardline interior minister Matteo Salvini engaged in a war of words with the Maltese government on Friday (Jun 8) after accusing the Mediterranean island of not doing its fair share to take in migrants. Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right party "Lega" (League) speaks to the press after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella as part of consultations of political parties to form a government, on May 14, 2018 in Rome. (Photo: AFP/Andreas Solaro) "The good God put Malta closer to Africa than Sicily," said the nationalist Salvini, as a new wave of migrants rescued in the Mediterranean prepared to land in Italy. "It is not possible for Malta to say 'no' to any request for help," he continued. Salvini's comments came after Malta reportedly refused to come to the aid of a migrant rescue ship Seefuchs, which was stranded with 119 migrants onboard in the Mediterranean due to violent sea conditions. The ship had embarked on a mission coordinated by the … [Read more...] about Italy, Malta in diplomatic spat over migrant arrivals
Global shipping in ‘historic’ climate deal
The global shipping industry has for the first time agreed to cut its emissions of greenhouse gases. The move comes after talks all week at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London. Shippings has previously been excluded from climate agreements, but under the deal, emissions will be reduced by 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels. One minister from a Pacific island state described the agreement as "history in the making". Shipping generates roughly the same quantity of greenhouse gas as Germany and, if it were accounted for as a nation, would rank as the world's sixth biggest emitter. Like aviation, it had been excluded from climate negotiations because it is an international activity while both the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement involved national pledges to reduce greenhouse gases. More than 100 countries are gathered at the International Maritime Organisation meeting. The United States, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and a few other countries had not wanted to … [Read more...] about Global shipping in ‘historic’ climate deal