Greenpeace ship chasing Japanese whalers

A Greenpeace protest ship is in pursuit of a fleet of Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean after finding the vessels early this morning.

Expedition leader aboard the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza Karli Thomas said the six Japanese ships fled when Greenpeace located them shortly after midnight. The first thing they did when we approached them was to scatter and run," Ms Thomas said. “We stayed with the factory ship the Nisshin Maru, which is always the major target," she said. She said Greenpeace was engaged in high-speed pursuit of the whaling ships and would take non-violent action to stop them hunting more of the marine mammals. Greenpeace broadcasted a message in Japanese and English to the whaling ships condemning the hunt and insisted they to return to port immediately. Ms Thomas said the crew gave a collective sigh of relief after locating the Japanese ships so quickly. The Australian ship plans to spend 20 days gathering video and photographic evidence for a possible international court case against Japanese whaling.
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Exploration costs rocket

The cost of finding and developing crude oil and natural gas reserves for big energy companies worldwide soared more than 50% from 2003 to 2006, according to data released by the US Energy Information Administration.

For the three-year period of 2004-2006, global finding costs averaged $17.23 per barrel of oil equivalent, up 51.3% from the 2003-2005 periods. Europe had the biggest rise over the period, with costs more than doubling. For US fields, costs rose by 60.9% to $11.34 per boe for onshore operations and 39.2% to $63.71 for offshore operations - a 50.2% average increase overall. The Middle East continued to boast the lowest development costs and slowest regional cost increase. Costs there rose 6.3% to $5.26 boe over the period.
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Crew rescued from sinking vessel

Five anglers have been rescued after their boat sank in the North Sea.

The Fraserburgh-registered Fisher Boys, with five people on board, began taking on water about 40 miles off the coast. Three of the crew was taken to an offshore supply vessel while the skipper and one other crewmember stayed on board with pumping equipment. However, their efforts were in vain and the pair was transferred to the support vessel before the Fisher Boys sank at 1108 GMT. Aberdeen Coastguard said a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth had lowered additional pumps on board in a bid to save the boat, but the efforts were "ineffective". One of the boat's crew was reported to have chest pains. The crewmember was being flown to Lossiemouth with the RAF helicopter - which refueled on a drilling rig - so he could then be taken onto Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin by ambulance. The other four crew decided to accompany the support vessel into Peterhead.
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China Passes South Korea in 2007 in New Ship Orders

China surpassed South Korea to become the world's biggest shipbuilder by new orders in 2007, according to data compiled by Clarkson Plc, the world's largest shipbroker.

Chinese shipbuilders booked orders for 103.6 million deadweight tons of ships, compared with South Korea's 94.8 million, according to data from London-based Clarksons. Shipyards in China booked orders at historically high prices last year, more than tripling order backlogs at the nation's shipyards. Demand for vessels to carry Chinese imports of raw materials and exports of consumer goods is fueling earnings growth at shipbuilders including China State Shipbuilding Co., the nations biggest. The nation remained behind South Korea in new orders measured by compensated gross tons. Deadweight tonnage measures a finished ship's carrying capacity and doesn't reflect the cost of building a vessel or its sale price. Compensated gross tonnage is a measure that accounts for ship size and the time required and materials used for production.
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Broadwater clears Ferc hurdle

The proposed broadwater liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound off New York took a big step forward Friday with the release of a favorable US environmental impact statement.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released the 2220-page report approving the project as long as builders take certain measures to mitigate environmental impacts. Proponent Broadwater Energy, a partnership of Shell US Gas & Power and TransCanada, said it was studying the document but called it a major milestone. The project still needs state permits that the developers hope can be obtained by the end of the year. Broadwater proposes a terminal about 15 kilometres from shore in the middle of Long Island Sound. It would serve more than 100 tankers a year for 30 years. Ferc staff concludes that approval of the proposed Broadwater LNG project would have limited adverse environmental impacts if the applicant implements 86 recommended mitigation measures.
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