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Introduction: Rescuing individuals at sea is a pressing global public health issue, garnering substantial attention from emergency medicine researchers with a focus on improving prevention and control strategies. This study aims to develop a Dynamic Bayesian Networks (DBN) model utilizing maritime emergency incident data and compare its forecasting accuracy to Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Seasonal Auto-regressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) models., Methods: In this research, we analyzed the count of cases managed by five hospitals in Hainan Province from January 2016 to December 2020 in the context of maritime emergency care. We employed diverse approaches to construct and calibrate ARIMA, SARIMA, and DBN models. These models were subsequently utilized to forecast the number of emergency responders from January 2021 to December 2021. The study indicated that the ARIMA, SARIMA, and DBN models effectively modeled and forecasted Maritime Emergency Medical Service (EMS) patient data, accounting for seasonal variations. The predictive accuracy was evaluated using Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE), and Coefficient of Determination ( R 2 ) as performance metrics., Results: In this study, the ARIMA, SARIMA, and DBN models reported RMSE of 5.75, 4.43, and 5.45; MAE of 4.13, 2.81, and 3.85; and R 2 values of 0.21, 0.54, and 0.44, respectively. MAE and RMSE assess the level of difference between the actual and predicted values. A smaller value indicates a more accurate model prediction. R 2 can compare the performance of models across different aspects, with a range of values from 0 to 1. A value closer to 1 signifies better model quality. As errors increase, R 2 moves further from the maximum value. The SARIMA model outperformed the others, demonstrating the lowest RMSE and MAE, alongside the highest R 2 , during both modeling and forecasting. Analysis of predicted values and fitting plots reveals that, in most instances, SARIMA's predictions closely align with the actual number of rescues. Thus, SARIMA is superior in both fitting and forecasting, followed by the DBN model, with ARIMA showing the least accurate predictions., Discussion: While the DBN model adeptly captures variable correlations, the SARIMA model excels in forecasting maritime emergency cases. By comparing these models, we glean valuable insights into maritime emergency trends, facilitating the development of effective prevention and control strategies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Yang, Cheng, Zhang, Luo, Xu and Zhang.)

The world's population increasingly relies on the ocean for food, energy production and global trade 1-3 , yet human activities at sea are not well quantified 4,5 . We combine satellite imagery, vessel GPS data and deep-learning models to map industrial vessel activities and offshore energy infrastructure across the world's coastal waters from 2017 to 2021. We find that 72-76% of the world's industrial fishing vessels are not publicly tracked, with much of that fishing taking place around South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. We also find that 21-30% of transport and energy vessel activity is missing from public tracking systems. Globally, fishing decreased by 12 ± 1% at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and had not recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. By contrast, transport and energy vessel activities were relatively unaffected during the same period. Offshore wind is growing rapidly, with most wind turbines confined to small areas of the ocean but surpassing the number of oil structures in 2021. Our map of ocean industrialization reveals changes in some of the most extensive and economically important human activities at sea., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Introduction: We present a real-world experience of a U.S. Navy Hospital Ship deployed amid a global Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surge and the challenges of navigating policy while maintaining a mission-focused itinerary in an operational environment., Materials and Methods: We performed a chart review of SARS-CoV-2 cases from April 18 to September 20, 2022, within a closed population of fully vaccinated adults onboard the USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) during the 5-month 2022 Pacific Partnership mission to Guam, Vietnam, Palau, Philippines, and the Solomon Islands., Results: There were 123 total SARS-CoV-2 cases over the course of the mission, constituting 16.6% of the total crew (123/741). No more than 14 service members were actively infected at a given time (1.9%, 14/741). The average number of active cases at any given time was 0.8 (1.9 SD, 0.1% [0.8/741]), and just 14 of these were shipboard secondary cases. No significant operational requirements of the ship were impacted by infection-related manning shortages, there were no hospitalizations, and all infected members experienced full recovery., Conclusions: Despite ongoing cases throughout the majority of the mission, a healthy immunized crew experienced no serious cases and minimal impact on operational effectiveness., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2022. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Introduction: The U.S. Naval Ship COMFORT has performed six humanitarian assistance and disaster relief mission since 2007. This paper describes the surgical volume per surgical specialty for five missions spanning 19 countries., Materials and Methods: Raw surgical case logs were analyzed for total case volume, total operating days, unanticipated return to operating room, and percentage of pediatric cases (<18 years old) for each country visited., Results: Total surgical volume for the five missions was 5,142. The countries most frequently visited were Columbia and Haiti with seven and five visits, respectively. General surgery, ophthalmology, and plastic surgery have had consistent volume over time. Orthopedic surgery volume has steadily decreased with the exception of the 2018 mission., Conclusion: As volume in military treatment facilities declines, alternative sources of surgical volume for military surgeons are being examined. This paper highlights the historical volume which can inform future personnel planning requirements of U.S. Naval Ship COMFORT missions. With the exception of orthopedic surgery, surgical volume has remained consistent over the last decade. For future best practice, historical case data should be used to determine staffing needs on hospital ships and case logs and operating procedures and follow-up protocols should be standardized., (© The Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2022. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Introduction: The U.S. Navy routinely deploys aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships throughout the world in support of U.S. strategic interests, each with an embarked single surgeon team. Surgeons and their teams are required to participate in lengthy pre-deployment shipboard certifications before each deployment. Given the well-established relationship of surgeon volume to patient outcome, we aim to compare the impact of land vs. maritime deployments on Navy general surgeon practice patterns., Materials and Methods: Case logs and pre-deployment training initiation of land-based (n = 8) vs. maritime-based (n = 7) U.S. Navy general surgeons over a 3-year period (2017-2020) were compared. Average cases per week were plotted over 26 weeks before deployment. Student's t-test was utilized for all comparisons., Results: Cases declined for both groups in the weeks before deployment. At 6 months (26 weeks) before deployment, land-based surgeons performed significantly more cases than their maritime colleagues (50.3 vs. 14.0, P = .009). This difference persisted at 16 weeks (13.1 vs. 1.9, P = .011) and 12 weeks (13.1 vs. 1.9, P = .011). Overall, surgeon operative volume fell off earlier for maritime surgeons (16 weeks) than land-based surgeons (8 weeks). Within 8 weeks of deployment, both groups performed a similarly low number of cases as they completed final deployment preparations., Conclusions: Surgeons are a critical component of combat causality care teams. In this analysis, we have demonstrated that both land- and maritime-based U.S. Navy surgeons have prolonged periods away from clinical care before and during deployments; for shipboard surgeons, this deficit is large and may negatively impact patient outcomes in the deployed maritime environment. The authors describe this discrepancy and provide practical doctrinal solutions to close this readiness gap., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2022. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Global reductions in the underwater radiated noise levels from cargo vessels are needed to reduce increasing cumulative impacts to marine wildlife. We use a vessel exposure simulation model to examine how reducing vessel source levels through slowdowns and technological modifications can lessen impacts on marine mammals. We show that the area exposed to ship noise reduces markedly with moderate source-level reductions that can be readily achieved with small reductions in speed. Moreover, slowdowns reduce all impacts to marine mammals despite the longer time that a slower vessel takes to pass an animal. We conclude that cumulative noise impacts from the global fleet can be reduced immediately by slowdowns. This solution requires no modification to ships and is scalable from local speed reductions in sensitive areas to ocean basins. Speed reductions can be supplemented by routing vessels away from critical habitats and by technological modifications to reduce vessel noise.

The extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic led to measures to mitigate the spread of the disease, with lockdowns and mobility restrictions at national and international levels. These measures led to sudden and sometimes dramatic reductions in human activity, including significant reductions in ship traffic in the maritime sector. We report on a reduction of deep-ocean acoustic noise in three ocean basins in 2020, based on data acquired by hydroacoustic stations in the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. The noise levels measured in 2020 are compared with predicted levels obtained from modelling data from previous years using Gaussian Process regression. Comparison of the predictions with measured data for 2020 shows reductions of between 1 and 3 dB in the frequency range from 10 to 100 Hz for all but one of the stations., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Exotic pests have caused huge losses to agriculture, forestry, and human health. Analyzing information on all concerned pest species and their origin will help to improve the inspection procedures and will help to clarify the relative risks of imported cargo and formulate international trade policies. Records of intercepted pests from wood packaging materials (WPM) from 2003 to 2016 in the China Port Information Network (CPIN) database were analyzed. Results showed that the number of intercepted pests from WPM was lowest in the first quarter and highest in the fourth one. The total number of interceptions increased each year, with 53.33% of intercepted insects followed by nematodes (31.54%). The original continent of most intercepted pests was Asia (49.29%). Xylophagous insects were primarily intercepted from Southeast Asian countries, whereas nematodes were primarily intercepted from Korea, Australia, Mexico, and other countries. WPM interception records were mainly concentrated in China's coastal inspection stations (98.7%), with the largest number of interceptions documented in Shanghai, followed by the inspection stations of Jiangsu Province. The proportion of pest taxa intercepted by the Chinese provinces' stations each year is becoming increasingly balanced. The number of pest disposal treatment measures for intercepted cargoes with dead non-quarantine pests increased significantly from 2012 to 2016. This reflects the fact that Chinese customs inspection stations are becoming increasingly scientific and standardizing the interception and treatment of WPM pests. The issues reflected in the database, with a view to providing a reference for future work by customs officers and researchers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unparalleled global impacts on human mobility. In the ocean, ship-based activities are thought to have been impacted due to severe restrictions on human movements and changes in consumption. Here, we quantify and map global change in marine traffic during the first half of 2020. There were decreases in 70.2% of Exclusive Economic Zones but changes varied spatially and temporally in alignment with confinement measures. Global declines peaked in April, with a reduction in traffic occupancy of 1.4% and decreases found across 54.8% of the sampling units. Passenger vessels presented more marked and longer lasting decreases. A regional assessment in the Western Mediterranean Sea gave further insights regarding the pace of recovery and long-term changes. Our approach provides guidance for large-scale monitoring of the progress and potential effects of COVID-19 on vessel traffic that may subsequently influence the blue economy and ocean health.

Several lines of existing evidence support the possibility of airborne transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, quantitative information on the relative importance of transmission pathways of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remains limited. To evaluate the relative importance of multiple transmission routes for SARS-CoV-2, we developed a modeling framework and leveraged detailed information available from the Diamond Princess cruise ship outbreak that occurred in early 2020. We modeled 21,600 scenarios to generate a matrix of solutions across a full range of assumptions for eight unknown or uncertain epidemic and mechanistic transmission factors. A total of 132 model iterations met acceptability criteria ( R 2 > 0.95 for modeled vs. reported cumulative daily cases and R 2 > 0 for daily cases). Analyzing only these successful model iterations quantifies the likely contributions of each defined mode of transmission. Mean estimates of the contributions of short-range, long-range, and fomite transmission modes to infected cases across the entire simulation period were 35%, 35%, and 30%, respectively. Mean estimates of the contributions of larger respiratory droplets and smaller respiratory aerosols were 41% and 59%, respectively. Our results demonstrate that aerosol inhalation was likely the dominant contributor to COVID-19 transmission among the passengers, even considering a conservative assumption of high ventilation rates and no air recirculation conditions for the cruise ship. Moreover, close-range and long-range transmission likely contributed similarly to disease progression aboard the ship, with fomite transmission playing a smaller role. The passenger quarantine also affected the importance of each mode, demonstrating the impacts of the interventions., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest., (Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Objectives: While life at sea traditionally has presented a variety of potential hazards, rigorous measures have been taken in the past decades to ensure the safety and health of all aboard merchant ships. The aim of this study was to examine overall and cause-specific mortality among Danish seafarers in light of these changes., Methods: A cohort of 44 555 male (75%) and female (25%) seafarers employed on Danish ships during 1986-1999 was established through records from the Danish Seafarer Registry. Subsequently, information on vital status and causes of death was linked to members of the cohort from the Danish Civil Registration System and the Danish Register of Causes of Death using unique personal identification numbers. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated for the seafarers using rates from a sample of the Danish employed population., Results: Among seafarers with first employment prior to 1992, the overall mortality was high, with increases observed for many individual causes of death (overall SMR 1.78, 95% CI 1.72 to 1.83 for male seafarers; SMR 1.61, 95% CI 1.48 to 1.75 for female seafarers). Mortality among seafarers employed in the following period was reduced, with only a slight remaining excess of deaths. This excess in mortality was evident primarily among non-officers on board tankers and smaller ships., Conclusions: During recent decades, mortality among seafarers has changed, replacing the traditional image of a high-risk profession with almost normalised figures compared with the general working population. Marked imbalances in mortality according to job and ship categories have persisted though., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: A large COVID-19 outbreak occurred on the cruise ship Diamond Princess in February 2020. Little information has been reported about the clinical characteristics of the patients., Methods: This single-center, retrospective, observational study was conducted in Yokohama, Japan. We included symptomatic patients who were infected on the ship and admitted to our hospital between 5 and 19 February 2020. All the cases were confirmed with SARS-CoV-2 infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)., Results: We confirmed 17 cases. The average age was 69 years; 10 patients were Asian and 7 were Caucasian. Eleven patients had one or more chronic diseases. The major symptoms were cough and fever. Chest computed tomography (CT) scans found bilateral ground-glass opacities predominantly in the peripheral area, which were similar to reports from cases in China. C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were higher in severe and critical cases than in mild to moderate cases. The moderate to severe cases reached symptomatic resolution; one of the three critical cases resulted in death due to multiple organ failure. SARS-CoV-2 was detected by PCR at an average of 7 days after symptomatic resolution., Conclusions: Cough and fever, increased blood CRP levels, and CT findings of bilateral ground-glass opacities predominantly in the peripheral lung were characteristic of the COVID-19 cases in this study. These findings were compatible with those of previous reports., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2020 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the development of ship anchorage training systems, the problems of low efficiency and poor fidelity exist in the simulation of flexible anchor chains, and a position-based dynamics (PBD) method is proposed to express the chain movement. To satisfy the requirements of simulating anchoring manipulation, the PBD method modifies the position of anchor chain particles by controlling constraints. Using the original distance constraint and bending constraint of the PBD approach, two novel constraints, namely, the long-range attachment (LRA) constraint and pin constraint, are developed to simulate the bending and stretching of the anchor chain. Simulation of ordinary ropes can be achieved using distance and bending constraints. The developed LRA constraint is capable of preventing anchor chain particles from being overstretched. Adoption of the pin constraint is proposed to integrate two particles into one to be calculated as an attempt to simulate the connection between the chain and the anchor. The continuous collision detection (CCD) constraint method considering friction and viscosity is used to detect collisions in the ship anchoring training system. Collision detection covers chain collisions with other objects and chains. Finally, the PBD method is more efficient and robust than the Newton method. Since it has sufficient visual plausibility and can realize real-time visualization, the simulation system developed by the PBD method effective for training crew members., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Objectives: To improve exposure estimates and reexamine exposure-response relationships between cumulative styrene exposure and cancer mortality in a previously studied cohort of US boatbuilders exposed between 1959 and 1978 and followed through 2016., Methods: Cumulative styrene exposure was estimated from work assignments and air-sampling data. Exposure-response relationships between styrene and select cancers were examined in Cox proportional hazards models matched on attained age, sex, race, birth cohort and employment duration. Models adjusted for socioeconomic status (SES). Exposures were lagged 10 years or by a period maximising the likelihood. HRs included 95% profile-likelihood CIs. Actuarial methods were used to estimate the styrene exposure corresponding to 10 -4 extra lifetime risk., Results: The cohort (n= 5163) contributed 201 951 person-years. Exposures were right-skewed, with mean and median of 31 and 5.7 ppm-years, respectively. Positive, monotonic exposure-response associations were evident for leukaemia (HR at 50 ppm-years styrene = 1.46; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.97) and bladder cancer (HR at 50 ppm-years styrene =1.64; 95% CI 1.14 to 2.33). There was no evidence of confounding by SES. A working lifetime exposure to 0.05 ppm styrene corresponded to one extra leukaemia death per 10 000 workers., Conclusions: The study contributes evidence of exposure-response associations between cumulative styrene exposure and cancer. Simple risk projections at current exposure levels indicate a need for formal risk assessment. Future recommendations on worker protection would benefit from additional research clarifying cancer risks from styrene exposure., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

A key unknown for SARS-CoV-2 is how asymptomatic infections contribute to transmission. We used a transmission model with asymptomatic and presymptomatic states, calibrated to data on disease onset and test frequency from the Diamond Princess cruise ship outbreak, to quantify the contribution of asymptomatic infections to transmission. The model estimated that 74% (70-78%, 95% posterior interval) of infections proceeded asymptomatically. Despite intense testing, 53% (51-56%) of infections remained undetected, most of them asymptomatic. Asymptomatic individuals were the source for 69% (20-85%) of all infections. The data did not allow identification of the infectiousness of asymptomatic infections, however low ranges (0-25%) required a net reproduction number for individuals progressing through presymptomatic and symptomatic stages of at least 15. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections may contribute substantially to transmission. Control measures, and models projecting their potential impact, need to look beyond the symptomatic cases if they are to understand and address ongoing transmission., Competing Interests: JE, TR, YL, JH, CP, GK, RE, AK, SF, SF, RH No competing interests declared, (© 2020, Emery et al.)

The Diamond Princess cruise ship has been anchored at the Yokohama port in Japan since February 3, 2020. A total of 691 cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection had been confirmed as of February 23. The government initially assumed that the infection was not spreading aboard and therefore indicated that any persons who either tested negative for the virus or were asymptomatic should immediately disembark. However, on February 5, the government set a 14-day health observation period because of the severity of the infection. Passengers confirmed to be free from infection began disembarking on Day 15 (February 19) of the quarantine. The effectiveness and validity of infection control, justification for the timing of inspections, and even the nature of COVID-19 itself now are all in question. The ethical considerations related to cruise ship infection control include the reasonable justification for isolation, the psychological fragility and quality of life of the isolated passengers and crew members, the procedural justice inherent in a forced quarantine, and the optimization of control measures.The international coordination framework and the global ramifications of such outbreaks should be reevaluated by the international community. Denying a ship's entry based on local politics is incompatible with global justice. Events such as these require an international response and global regulations that seek to reduce disparities.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nitro- (NPAHs) and oxy-derivatives (OPAHs) are of considerable concern due to their toxicity and carcinogenic hazards. Ships are recognized as an important emission source of these compounds. Marine diesel oil (MDO) and heavy fuel oil (HFO) are the two most commonly used fuels. The emission characteristics and toxicities of PM 2.5 -bound PAHs, NPAHs and OPAHs due to HFO and MDO combustion in atypical ocean-going vessel were investigated. The EF variability of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) varied considerably with the fuel formulation (HFO and MDO) and engine loading (20%-100%). The concentration of ΣPACs was 0.63 mg/kWh for MDO and ranged from 2.14 to 9.80 mg/kWh for HFO. Compared to HFO-20%, the EFs of ΣPAHs, ΣNPAHs and ΣOPAHs from MDO-20% were reduced by 97%, 77% and 73%, respectively. As identified through the coefficient of divergence, the profile of HFO-20% was notably different from those under the other three engine loadings for HFO. In addition, the emissions of ΣPAHs and ΣOPAHs showed a significant correlation with PM 2.5 , while they were relatively weak for ΣNPAHs. However, the CO and PAC emissions were not highly correlated. Furthermore, the BaP eq -ΣPAHs values were 0.010 mg/g for MDO and ranged from 0.092 mg/g to 0.306 mg/g for HFO, and the reduction ranged from 89% to 97% by substituting MDO for HFO. These data highlight the importance of improving fuel quality in close proximity to port areas and are useful for enhancing relevant databases., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We declare that we have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Backgrounds: Up to February 16, 2020, 355 cases have been confirmed as having COVID-19 infection on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. It is of crucial importance to estimate the reproductive number (R0) of the novel virus in the early stage of outbreak and make a prediction of daily new cases on the ship., Method: We fitted the reported serial interval (mean and standard deviation) with a gamma distribution and applied "earlyR" package in R to estimate the R0 in the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak. We applied "projections" package in R to simulate the plausible cumulative epidemic trajectories and future daily incidence by fitting the data of existing daily incidence, a serial interval distribution, and the estimated R0 into a model based on the assumption that daily incidence obeys approximately Poisson distribution determined by daily infectiousness., Results: The Maximum-Likelihood (ML) value of R0 was 2.28 for COVID-19 outbreak at the early stage on the ship. The median with 95% confidence interval (CI) of R0 values was 2.28 (2.06-2.52) estimated by the bootstrap resampling method. The probable number of new cases for the next ten days would gradually increase, and the estimated cumulative cases would reach 1514 (1384-1656) at the tenth day in the future. However, if R0 value was reduced by 25% and 50%, the estimated total number of cumulative cases would be reduced to 1081 (981-1177) and 758 (697-817), respectively., Conclusion: The median with 95% CI of R0 of COVID-19 was about 2.28 (2.06-2.52) during the early stage experienced on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. The future daily incidence and probable outbreak size is largely dependent on the change of R0. Unless strict infection management and control are taken, our findings indicate the potential of COVID-19 to cause greater outbreak on the ship., (Copyright © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

With threats to nature becoming increasingly prominent, in order for biodiversity levels to persist, there is a critical need to improve implementation of conservation measures. In the oceans, the surveillance of fisheries is complex and inadequate, such that quantifying and locating nondeclared and illegal fisheries is persistently problematic. Given that these activities dramatically impact oceanic ecosystems, through overexploitation of fish stocks and bycatch of threatened species, innovative ways to monitor the oceans are urgently required. Here, we describe a concept of "Ocean Sentinel" using animals equipped with state-of-the-art loggers which monitor fisheries in remote areas. Albatrosses fitted with loggers detecting and locating the presence of vessels and transmitting the information immediately to authorities allowed an estimation of the proportion of nondeclared fishing vessels operating in national and international waters of the Southern Ocean. We found that in international waters, more than one-third of vessels had no Automatic Identification System operating; in national Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), this proportion was lower on average, but variable according to EEZ. Ocean Sentinel was also able to provide unpreceded information on the attraction of seabirds to vessels, giving access to crucial information for risk-assessment plans of threatened species. Attraction differed between species, age, and vessel activity. Fishing vessels attracted more birds than other vessels, and juveniles both encountered fewer vessels and showed a lower attraction to vessels than adults. This study shows that the development of technologies offers the potential of implementing conservation policies by using wide-ranging seabirds to patrol oceans., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.

Introduction: Attempting to expedite delivery of care to wounded war fighters, this study aimed to quantify the ability of medical and surgical teams to perform lifesaving damage control and resuscitation procedures aboard nontraditional US Navy Vessels on high seas. Specifically, it looked at the ability of the teams to perform procedures in shipboard operating and emergency rooms by analyzing motion of personnel during the procedures., Methods: One hundred and twelve damage control and resuscitation procedures were performed during a voyage of the US Naval Ship Brunswick in transit from Norfolk, Virginia, to San Diego, California. The ability of personnel to perform these procedures was quantified by the use of motion link analysis designed to track the movement of each participant as they completed their assigned tasks., Results: The link analysis showed no significant change in the number of movements of participants from the beginning to the end of the study. However, there was a learning effect observed during the study, with teams completing tasks faster at the end of the study than at the beginning., Conclusion: This shows that the working conditions aboard the US Naval Ship Brunswick were satisfactory for the assigned tasks, indicating that these medical operations may be feasible aboard nontraditional US Navy vessels., (© Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the aetiological factor of COVID-19 infection, poses problems in providing medical assistance at sea. Ships are in an isolated environment, and most of the merchant ships do not carry medical personnel or medical supplies. Telemedicine offers a real possibility to provide reasonable quality medical assistance to seagoing vessels. The fact that ships may touch ports in affected areas, the difficulties for seafarers to be assisted ashore due to quarantine measures and the crews' lack of turnover make medical assistance at sea difficult. This study has compared maritime telemedical assistance data before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to propose prevention measures., Materials and Methods: The study was based on the data from medical records of Centro Internazionale Radio Medico (C.I.R.M.) database of seafarers assisted from January 1 to June 30, in the years 2017-2020. The data were collected separately for each year. Age, sex, rank, and pathologies affecting the assisted seafarers were considered. Common signs of COVID-19 infection such as fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, and other respiratory symptoms were analysed., Results: From January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, C.I.R.M. assisted 15,888 patients on board ships. During the first 6 months of the years under evaluation, C.I.R.M. assisted 2,419 patients in 2017, 2,444 patients in 2018, 2,694 patients in 2019, and 3,924 in 2020. The number of assisted cases almost doubled in the first 6 months (from January to June) of 2020 compared to the same period of the previous years. Gastrointestinal disorders, injuries/traumas, and dermatological pathologies were the first, second, and third most often reported causes of illness on board over the 4-year study period. A higher number of seafarers with fever, cough, sore throat, and shortness of breath were assisted during the COVID-19 pandemic than before the coronavirus outbreak. Medical requests for fever increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the same period from 2017 to 2019., Conclusions: The requests for medical advice for fever, sore throat, and shortness of breath were significantly more common during the coronavirus epidemic. Close follow-up, regular health education on preventing coronavirus transmission, personal protective equipment, adequate environmental hygiene, and applying other standard precautions could help minimise the risk factors for the spread of COVID-19.

Background: Little has been reported about mortality among crews in passenger shipping. The aim of the study was to determine the detailed causes and circumstances of deaths from unnatural causes among crews employed in United Kingdom (UK) and Bermudan registered passenger shipping, their trends, how they relate to the type of passenger ship and crew rank and to discuss preventative measures., Materials and Methods: A longitudinal study from 1976 to 2018, based on reviews of marine accident investigation reports, death inquiry files, cruise shipping websites and online searches., Results: One hundred and forty crew fatalities in UK (127) and Bermudan (13) passenger ships were identified: from accidents and drowning (91), suicides and disappearances at sea (38), homicide, other and unexplained causes (11). Over the 43-year study period, a reduction in mortality (per 1000 ship-years) from accidents and drowning was identified (mean annual reduction: 4.3%; 95% confidence interval: 2.1-6.5%) but no significant reduction for suicides and disappearances at sea (annual reduction: 1.2% confidence interval: -1.3% to +3.7%). Most suicides and disappearances (70%) were among customer service Staff and, of 19 employed on large cruise ships, most (79%) were non-Europeans., Conclusions: The number of suicides and probable suicides is a cause for concern, especially among customer service staff on cruise ships. These findings indicate the need for interventions to reduce suicide risks. Further studies are needed to improve the targeting of interventions. These will need both to analyse the circumstances of individual deaths and derive suicide rates according to rank, department and nationality, based on reliable population denominators.

COVID-19 is a global disease that has quickly shaken the world economy since the beginning of 2020 and consequently has significantly affected the shipping industries development (including shipping operators, port operators, government authorities, shippers, seafarers, passengers, supply chain operators, etc.). Currently, the clinical management of COVID-19 remains unclear. In order to understand the newest challenges and figure out potential solutions for the maritime industries post COVID-19, this paper selected four shipping industries (including dry bulk, tanker, container, and cruiser sector) and reviewed these industries' newest development. The research findings can strengthen the awareness of COVID-19 and reduce operational risk and further improve business performance for the maritime related industries and authorities.

Background: The article is based on a review and follow-up of the citations of 13 epidemiological studies that aimed to improve maritime health and safety. While it's well-recognised that epidemiology is needed in occupational health and safety, the main research question: "How can epidemiology help workers to return healthy from the sea" was unanswered., Materials and Methods: The 13 articles were selected as a representative sample of different epidemiological design studies intended to contribute to improving safety management in fishing, merchant shipping and offshore industry. The PubMed, Research Gate, Cochrane-Library and Google Scholar were searched for authors that had cited our articles by using full bibliographic information and the results analysed., Results: In all, 213 citation records were identified. After duplicates and records with insufficient information were removed, 123 full-text articles were eligible for evaluation with answers to the research questions: how did other authors use the studies, how has the injury epidemiology been developed, which recommendations are given for new policies and new studies and how can epidemiology help workers return safe and healthy from the sea?, Conclusions: The answer to the main research question is yes, epidemiological studies are not only useful but a necessary component by providing the needed evidence for successful prevention programmes.

Background: Seafarers are a special population. The issue of sexually transmitted diseases among seafarers is as old as navigation itself, and is a public health issue and a matter of concern for seafarers themselves. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in professional seafarers in the 21st century, with a view to guiding maritime physicians in their practice., Materials and Methods: This is a Medline® and Scopus® literature review covering publications between 01/01/2000 and 31/12/2019. Out of the 224 articles, 26 were selected., Results: This review showed that at the beginning of the 21st century, attention has been focused mainly on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Few seroprevalence data were available. Between 10% and 91% of seafarers had been tested for STIs. Several risk behaviours were identified: out of 4022 seafarers surveyed, 34.3% said they had several sexual partners; out of 3722 seafarers surveyed, 19.5% engaged with sex workers; out of 3493 seafarers surveyed, 63.3% did not always use condoms, while 58.0% were aware of the relevance of this protection. There was a lot of misunderstanding about STIs: 28.3% of seafarers believed that a healthy-looking person could not be HIV-positive., Conclusions: The main pathology studied was HIV. Many seafarers had no specific training and only learned about STIs and HIV through media such as television. Maritime doctors could use new technologies to disseminate the right information on STI prevention.

Introduction: Limited comprehensive data exist on risk behavior associated with sexually transmitted infections (STI) among ship-assigned US military personnel during the predeployment time period (PDT). This study examined whether sexual risk behaviors, alcohol use, involuntary drug consumption (IDC), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depression during the 12 months prior to deployment were associated with provider-diagnosed STIs in this population., Materials and Methods: Using cross-sectional data collected during 2012-2014 among sexually active personnel, multivariable regression assessed factors associated with STIs among all men (n = 1,831). Stratified analyses were conducted among men who have sex with women (MSW, n = 1,530), men who have sex with men or men and women (MSM, n = 83), and excluded those not reporting sexual partner gender (n = 218)., Results: Among MSW, transactional sex (AOR 3.8, 95% CI 1.5-9.4) meeting sexual partners at work (AOR 4.3, 95% CI 2.0-9.2), IDC (AOR 6.6, 95% CI 3.0-14.5), and incomplete mental health assessments (AOR 4.4, 95% CI 1.6-12.0) were significantly associated with STIs after adjustment. Among all men, those who identified as MSM (AOR 4.6, 95% CI 1.9-11.2) and drug screen positive (AOR 3.3, 95% CI 1.3-8.6) were significantly more likely to report an STI., Conclusions: Previously unreported factors significantly associated with STIs at the PDT among MSW in the adjusted analysis were meeting sexual partners at work and IDC. IDC during the PDT warrants further exploration. These results can inform tailored STI reduction interventions among shipboard personnel and similarly aged civilians undergoing similar transition/travel experiences., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.)

Introduction: Global health engagement missions are conducted to improve and protect the health of populations worldwide. Recognizing the strong link between health and security, the Armed Forces have increased the number of global health engagement missions over the last decade to support force health protection, medical readiness, enhance interoperability, improve host nation capacity building, combat global health threats (i.e., emerging infectious diseases), support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, as well as build trust and deepen professional medical relationships worldwide. These missions additionally support the US Global Health Security Agenda, US National Security Strategy, US National Defense Strategy and National Military Strategy.Although global health engagement missions are conducted by armed forces with numerous military units and geographical locations, military healthcare personnel assigned to US Naval hospital ships also perform a wide range of these missions. These missions comprise some of the largest global health engagement missions conducted, encompassing hundreds of subject matter expert exchanges, community health exchanges, medical symposiums, and side-by-side partnered healthcare in countries around the world. Military healthcare personnel who have completed past missions possess valuable knowledge related to ship-based global health engagement missions. Capturing and transferring this knowledge to future deployed personnel is important for future successful missions, but has remained a significant challenge. The purpose of this study was to capture and examine first-person accounts of experiential learning among active duty physicians, nurses, and hospital corpsmen who had participated in recent hospital ship-based global heath engagement missions., Materials and Methods: We used the interpretive, ethnographic method of interviewing and data analysis described by Benner. Interviews elicited detailed, narrative examples of experiences from military health care personnel who had participated in previous global health engagement missions aboard hospital ships (N = 141). Our approach to gaining meaning from these narratives was guided by three central strategies: (1) identify paradigm cases, (2) identify themes within and across participant narratives of meaningful patterns, and (3) identify exemplars to represent common patterns of meaning and common situations. Additionally, we collected demographic information., Results: Our findings provide firsthand descriptions of five essential elements to prepare military healthcare personnel for shipboard global health engagement missions. These essential elements are mission clarity, preparedness, experiential knowledge, lessons learned, and flexibility/adaptability., Conclusions: Widespread dissemination of the lessons learned from military global health engagement missions is crucial to shaping forces that operate effectively in a rapidly changing global environment. Sharing lessons learned increases efficiency, adaptability, and agility, while decreasing variance in processes and the need to relearn mission-specific lessons., (Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States 2019.)

Over the last 35 years, at both the European and the Italian level, great efforts have been made to increase the number of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): they are considered an effective tool for protecting oceans and biodiversity. In recent years, MPAs have become more than simply tools to improve marine conservation. In fact, their management agencies are actively involved in the sustainable development of nearby communities through the promotion of recreational activities (boating, snorkeling, diving). Even if the recreational uses of the marine environment are generally considered benign, they can potentially be highly detrimental for species and their habitats. As a result, these activities should be controlled through the spatial zoning and the regulation of the MPAs. Thus, the achievement of the conservation goals of the MPAs depends primarily on compliance with the regulations of recreational uses inside their boundaries. The objective of this study was to estimate boating usage and the related level of compliance inside the Capo Gallo and Isola delle Femmine (Italy) MPA. The spatial and temporal trend of boating and the behaviors of boaters were measured through direct observation over a period of 2 summer months. The study highlighted a weakness in the effectiveness of this MPA, linked to a social component and compliance with the regulation. Solutions for effective management plans are outlined thanks to an understanding of the limitations and potential of existing MPA policies. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2019;00:1-13. © 2019 SETAC., (© 2019 SETAC.)

Introduction: The European Union receives one third of the world's migrant population who cross the Mediterranean Sea in small boats and arrive illegally in Europe. Irregular migrants (IMs) are persons who do not have legal permission, documentation, or refugee status and are not authorized to enter or stay in a given country. More than half a million IMs arrive in the European Union by sea creating serious public health issues in Greece, Italy, and Spain, thereby needing emergency care. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of IMs who arrive in Spain by small boats in terms of cultural issues surrounding the provision of emergency care., Method: A qualitative study based on Gadamer's phenomenology was used. Data were collected between 2015 and 2018 using 12 in-depth interviews of IMs., Results: Three main themes arose: "IMs driven by a culture of emigration in countries of origin," "Facing risk in search of a better life," and "The need for cultural adaptation in emergency care.", Discussion: Biopsychosocial and cultural needs must be addressed when providing emergency care to IMs who arrive in Europe by small boat., Implications: Nurses can help adapt and restructure cultural practices in the emergency care provided to IMs.

Previous reconstructions of marine fishing fleets have aggregated data without regard to the artisanal and industrial sectors. Engine power has often been estimated from subsets of the developed world, leading to inflated results. We disaggregated data into three sectors, artisanal (unpowered/powered) and industrial, and reconstructed the evolution of the fleet and its fishing effort. We found that the global fishing fleet doubled between 1950 and 2015-from 1.7 to 3.7 million vessels. This has been driven by substantial expansion of the motorized fleet, particularly, of the powered-artisanal fleet. By 2015, 68% of the global fishing fleet was motorized. Although the global fleet is dominated by small powered vessels under 50 kW, they contribute only 27% of the global engine power, which has increased from 25 to 145 GW (combined powered-artisanal and industrial fleets). Alongside an expansion of the fleets, the effective catch per unit of effort (CPUE) has consistently decreased since 1950, showing the increasing pressure of fisheries on ocean resources. The effective CPUE of most countries in 2015 was a fifth of its 1950s value, which was compared with a global decline in abundance. There are signs, however, of stabilization and more effective management in recent years, with a reduction in fleet sizes in developed countries. Based on historical patterns and allowing for the slowing rate of expansion, 1 million more motorized vessels could join the global fleet by midcentury as developing countries continue to transition away from subsistence fisheries, challenging sustainable use of fisheries' resources., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The objective of this study was to investigate the concentration distribution of indoor air pollutants in taxis and ships (passengers) which are frequently used for public transportation and recreational activities in South Korea. In addition, it aimed to assess air quality factors to establish and evaluate the health risks of exposure to polluted indoor air. Particulate matter (PM 10 ) concentrations were not affected by the number of passengers, time of day, and driving characteristics because there were only a few passengers (2 to 4 people) and the space was confined. In the ships, indoor air pollutants responded more sensitively to the operation characteristics depending on the time of sailing (i.e., anchoring and departure, movement of vehicles on the ship, movement of passengers, combustion in the shop, and ventilation) than to the number of people boarding and alighting. The carbon dioxide concentrations in different ship rooms did not vary according to season and degree of congestion; however, there were differences between different ships. These differences may result from the size, type, and operating characteristics of the ships. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and aldehydes in new taxis exceeded the standard levels during summer. VOC concentrations in ships were particularly high during summer when the outdoor temperature was high. Similar observations were made for other means of transportation. The risk assessment depended on the means of transportation and demonstrated that mortality risks due to PM 10 and excess carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks from VOCs and aldehydes were within safety levels.

Background: There is very limited systematic analysis of the causes and consequences of maritime accidents across the whole passenger sector during the twentieth century either in United Kingdom (UK) or in other maritime nations, but some of the larger events have been the subject of detailed investigations that led to improved safety measures. In recent years, there has been increased attention to the analysis of passenger ship accidents, especially in relation to the two now dominant markets: vehicle/passenger ferries and cruise ships., Materials and Methods: Long-term trends since 1900 in passenger and crew deaths on UK seagoing pas- senger ships that have sustained a maritime accident, as defined by Lloyds Register, have been collated and analysed., Results: Over the course of the 20th century, there has been a continuous fall in the number of incidents and in their severity. This may be a reflection of improved vessel safety, however the scale and nature of UK passenger shipping has also changed markedly over the period., Conclusions: In addition to the reducing frequency of deaths it is apparent that the majority of fatalities in both crew and passengers came from a very small number of major events during the study period. Altho- ugh there has been no major disaster involving a UK passenger ship in the last 30 years, major casualties with heavy loss of life continue in the world passenger fleet, in recent years involving flags such as Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Panama and The Philippines.

Background: Merchant seafaring is one the most dangerous occupation over the world which hosts the physical, ergonomic, chemical, biological, psychological and social elements, which could lead to occupa- tional accidents, injuries and diseases. Therefore, it is a field that should be studied on meticulously and frequently. The aim of this study is to investigate the frequency, circumstances, and causes of occupational accidents on board merchant cargo ships and to identify the risks factors during the daily routine works and dangerous works to be fulfilled., Materials and Methods: Data used in this study obtained various occupational accident reports issued by countries' accident investigation units or maritime authorities such as Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), Marine Safety Investigation Unit (MSIU) and Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). A total of 331 reports met the inclusion criteria for the 11-year period from 2006 to 2016. Descriptive statistics were given related to data and chi-square analysis was used to test for significant association between categorical variables (seafarer's age, accident type and etc.) and injury severity., Results: Several findings were notable in this study. Ratings (63.5%) were the most affected group suffe- red from occupational injuries among the crew and the most critical cause of occupational accidents was found the dangerous work practices and ignorance of rules and instructions., Conclusions: Occupational accidents are still crucial concern in maritime industry which imposes a major burden on both seafarers and shipping companies. Reduction in occupational injuries could be achieved by improving the working environment and the quality of life on board, mitigating the mental and physical burden of work and developing policies to encourage the seafarers to obey safety rules and instructions.

Recreational and commercial navigation is omnipresent, rendering European large rivers highways for cargo vessels, passenger ships and sport boats. Any types of motorized vessels create waves and drawdown eroding shallow shore areas. Consequently, inland navigation alters the living environment of fish with specific habitat requirements on nursing, hatching and spawning along shorelines. We assess the influence of recreational (sport boats) and commercial navigation (passenger ships, cargo vessels) on fish assemblages. Seven fish population metrics (FPM) were analyzed for 396 fish samplings at 88 sites in six large rivers characterized by seven different estimates of navigation intensity to identify FPM sensitive to inland navigation. Navigation intensity was characterized by frequency, total freight transported, total carrying capacity, degree of capacity utilization and by numbers of empty running vessels, aiming to approximate whether frequency, freight or draft of cargo vessels matter most. Densities of lithophilic fish were most sensitive to frequencies of sport boats, passenger ships and cargo vessels and declined as navigation traffic increased. Densities of rheophilic fish declined likewise but were less sensitive than lithophils. Frequency, freight and carrying capacity of cargo vessels had comparable effects on FPM and are equally useful in addition to frequency of sport boats and passenger ships to assess the impacts of recreational and commercial navigation on fish assemblages. Lower species richness indicated a specific influence of vessel draft on fish diversity. Our study shows that both recreational and commercial navigation impair fish assemblages in navigable rivers. Operation-related navigation impacts act on top of river regulation and engineering works to maintain fairways in the main channel. Therefore, impacts from recreational and commercial navigation must be especially addressed in addition to mitigating impacts from river regulation and hydromorphological degradation to achieve environmental objectives such as species conservation, ecological improvements and river rehabilitation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The odd risk ratio for an asbestos-related disease is 6.9 for National Defense personnel and 94% of the victims who are compensated belong to the French Navy. While employment-exposure matrices exist for the civilian environment, none are available to the military. Our work consists of the creation of the first employment-exposure matrix in the French Navy, in order to optimize post-occupational medical surveillance., Method: We conducted a bibliographic search for asbestos in naval repair, naval embarking and foreign navies. From databases such as Medline, Pubmed, we used the following keywords "Navy", "Asbestos", "Shypyard" and "Military" and we have extended ourselves to the registers of existing theses on the subject., Results: Epidemiological and bibliographic data confirm the increased risk in the French Navy. Three variables are important in the proposal of this employment-exposure matrix: employment, year of arming the ship and duration of embarkation. There is a major risk for personnel whose work is in direct contact with asbestos, in particular machine personnel, irrespective of their duration of exposure. For embarked personnel who do not have direct contact with asbestos in their jobs, the increase in risk depends essentially on the ship's year of arming and the presence of asbestos, whether or not on board, as well as the duration of exposure of seafarers., Conclusion: These results allow us to recommend a classification of the risk in accordance with the recommendations of the French Health Authority and to propose an adequate post-professional follow-up for the personnel of the Navy., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Navy physical therapists (PTs) have been a part of ship's company aboard Aircraft Carriers since 2002 due to musculoskeletal injuries being the number one cause of lost duty time and disability. This article describes a decade of physical therapy services provided aboard aircraft carriers., Materials and Methods: A retrospective survey was conducted to evaluate the types of services provided, volume of workload, value of services provided, and impact of PTs on operational readiness for personnel aboard Naval aircraft carriers. Thirty-four reports documenting workload from PTs stationed onboard aircraft carriers were collected during the first decade of permanent PT assignment to aircraft carriers., Results: This report quantifies a 10-yr period of physical therapy services (PT and PT Technician) in providing musculoskeletal care within the carrier strike group and adds to existing literature demonstrating a high demand for musculoskeletal care in operational platforms. A collective total of 144,211 encounters were reported during the 10-yr period. The number of initial evaluations performed by the PT averaged 1,448 per assigned tour. The average number of follow-up appointments performed by the PT per tour was 1,440. The average number of treatment appointments per tour provided by the PT and PT technician combined was 1,888. The average number of visits per patient, including the initial evaluation, was 3.3. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the workload occurred while deployed or out to sea during training periods. It was estimated that 213 medical evacuations were averted over the 10-yr period. There were no reports of adverse events or quality of care reviews related to the care provided by the PT and/or PT technician. Access to early PT intervention aboard aircraft carriers was associated with a better utilization ratio (lower average number of visits per condition) than has been reported in prior studies and suggests an effective utilization of medical personnel resources., Conclusions: The impact of Navy PTs serving afloat highlights the importance of sustaining these billets and indicates the potential benefit of additional billet establishment to support operational platforms with high volumes of musculoskeletal injury. Access to early PT intervention can prevent and rehabilitate injuries among operational forces, promote human performance optimization, increase readiness during war and peace time efforts, and accelerate rehabilitation from neuromusculoskeletal injuries. With the establishment of Electronic Health Records within all carrier medical groups a repeat study may provide additional detail related to musculoskeletal injuries to guide medical planners to staff sea-based operational platforms most effectively to care for the greatest source of battle and disease non-battle injuries and related disability in the military.

Due to its dependence on fossil fuel combustion, emissions from the marine transport sector can significantly contribute to air pollution. This work aims to evaluate the impact of maritime transport emissions on air quality in Portugal using a numerical air quality modelling approach, with high-resolution emission data. Emissions from the European TNO inventory were compiled and pre-processed at hourly and high spatial (∼3 × 3 km 2 ) resolutions. Scenarios with and without these maritime emissions were then simulated with the WRF-CHIMERE modelling system, extensively tested and validated for Portugal domain, in order to evaluate their impact on air quality. A simulation was performed for one year (2016) and the resulting differences were analysed in terms of spatial distribution, time series and deltas. The main deltas for NO 2 and PM10 are located over international shipping routes and major ports, while O 3 concentrations are impacted in a larger area. The modelling results also indicate that shipping emissions are responsible for deltas in the concentration of NO 2 higher than 20% over specific urban areas located in the west coast of Portugal, and less than 5% for PM10. For O 3 the relative contribution is low (around 2%) but this contribution is also observed at locations more than 50 km from the coast., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Faced with the unavoidable reality of the emission of pollutant gases by vessels both while sailing and when performing in-port manoeuvres, the international community has devised an extensive set of rules to limit greenhouse gas emissions and the emission of other pollutants which are bad for our health. In order to make these reductions in the emissions, the areas addressed are the engine regime or speed control, the quality of the fuel used, the state of conservation of the vessel and its hull or the time taken to perform the manoeuvres of mooring and unmooring. One factor which is having a strong influence on this last aspect is the installation in commercial ports of Automatic Mooring Systems using suction cups (AMS). These devices, which help to reduce considerably the time required to perform the mooring and unmooring manoeuvres, allow the times taken in operations for making steady a vessel to land and of releasing it to sail away to be reduced from some tens of minutes to a few seconds. The aim of this work is to verify the effect of the AMS on the emission of pollutant gases in the surroundings of the installations devoted to Ro-Ro/Pax vessel traffic. In particular, will focus on the CO 2 emissions produced by vessels during mooring operations using two different calculation methodologies (EPA and ENTEC), first when using traditional mooring methods as a means of securing the vessel to the dock and second when using only the AMS, to finally carry out a comparison of the results. Will conclude with a discussion on the values of the reduction in emissions obtained and the advantages of installing AMS in commercial ports. In the RoRo/Pax terminals in which the AMS is installed and operating, a reduction in CO2 emissions of 97% has been estimated., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The influence of in-port ship emissions on gases and PM 10 concentrations has been estimated in the port city of Calais, northern France, one of the busiest harbor in Europe, with numerous rotations of ferries or roll-on/roll-off cargo in average per day. NO x , SO 2 , O 3 and PM 10 concentrations were continuously measured over a three-month period, as well as real-time particle size distribution. A rural site located at Cape Gris-Nez, 20km from Calais, was considered to deduce intrinsic contribution of ship emissions at the harbor city. The average concentrations of the studied species as well as the pattern of the conditional bivariate probability function at the two sites evidenced that in-port shipping, especially during the maneuvering operations, has an important influence on the NO x and SO 2 concentrations. The impact of shipping in the harbor of Calais on average concentrations was estimated to 51% for SO 2 , 35% for NO, 15% for NO 2 and 2% for PM 10 in the studied period. Concentration peaks of SO 2 and NOx associated with an O 3 depletion appeared synchronized with departures and arrivals of ferries. For winds blowing from the harbor, when compared to the background level, the number of particles appeared 10 times higher, with the highest differences in the 30-67nm and the 109-167nm size ranges. The average impact of in-port ships on PM 10 concentrations was estimated to +28.9μg/m 3 and concerned mainly the PM 1 size fraction (40%). Punctually, PM 10 can potentially reach a concentration value close to 100μg/m 3 ., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities pose one of the most significant threats to sustainable fisheries worldwide. Identifying illegal behaviour, specifically fishing and at-sea transhipment, continues to be a fundamental hurdle in combating IUU fishing. Here, we explore the use of spatial statistical methods to identify vessels behaving anomalously, in particular with regard to loitering, using the Indonesian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and surrounding waters as a case-study. Using Automatic Identification System (AIS) for vessel tracking, we applied Generalized Additive Models to capture both the temporal and spatial nature of loitering behaviour. We identified three statistically anomalous loitering behaviours (based on time, speed and distance) and applied the models to 2700 vessels in the region. We were able to rank vessels for individual and joint probability of atypical behaviour, providing a hierarchical list of vessels engaging in anomalous behaviour. While identification of irregular behaviour does not mean vessels are definitely engaging in illegal activities, this statistical modelling approach can be used to prioritise the allocation of enforcement resources and assist authorities under the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization Port State Measures Agreement for management and enforcement of IUU fishing associated activities., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

This study investigated particle and gaseous emission factors from a large cargo vessel for her whole voyage including at berth, manoeuvring and cruising. Quantification of these factors assists in minimising the uncertainty in the current methods of exhaust gas emission factor estimation. Engine performance and emissions from the main marine engine were measured on-board while the ship was manoeuvring and cruising at sea. Emissions of an auxiliary engine working at 55% of maximum continuous rating (MCR) were measured when the ship was at actual harbour stopovers. Gaseous and particle emission factors in this study are presented in g kWh -1 or # kWh -1 , and compared with previous studies. Results showed that the SO 2 emission factor is higher than that of previous studies due to the high sulphur content of the fuel used. The particle number size distributions showed only one mode for different operating conditions of the ship, with a peak at around 40-50 nm, which was dominated by ultrafine particles. Emission factors of CO, HC, PM and PN observed during ship manoeuvring were much higher than that of those recorded at cruising condition. These findings highlight the importance of quantification and monitoring ship emissions in close proximity to port areas, as they can have the highest impact on population exposure., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

China established Domestic Emission Control Area (DECA) for sulphur since 2015 to constrain the increasing shipping emissions. However, future DECA policy-makings are not supported due to a lack of quantitive evaluations. To investigate the effects of current and possible Chinese DECAs policies, a model is presented for the forecast of shipping emissions and evaluation of potential costs and benefits of an DECA policy package set in 2020. It includes a port-level and regional-level projection accounting for shipping trade volume growth, share of ship types, and fuel consumption. The results show that without control measures, both SO 2 and particulate matter (PM) emissions are expected to increase by 15.3-61.2% in Jing-Jin-Ji, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta from 2013 to 2020. However, most emissions can be reduced annually by the establishment of a DECA that depends on the size of the control area and the fuel sulphur content limit. Costs range from 0.667 to 1.561 billion dollars (control regional shipping emissions) based on current fuel price. A social cost method shows the regional control scenarios benefit-cost ratios vary from 4.3 to 5.1 with large uncertainty. Chemical transportation model combined with health model method is used to get the monetary health benefits and then compared with the results from social cost method. This study suggests that Chinese DECAs will reduce the projected emissions at a favorable benefit-cost ratio, and furthermore proposes policy combinations that provide high cost-effective benefits as a reference for future policy-making., (Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Maritime transport has been playing a decisive role in global trade. Its contribution to the air pollution of the sea and coastal areas has been widely recognized. The air pollutant emission inventories of several harbors in China have already been established. However, the emission factors of local ships have not been addressed comprehensively, and thus are lacking from the emission inventories. In this study, on-board emission tests of eight diesel-powered offshore fishing ships were conducted near the coastal region of the northern Yellow Bo Sea fishing ground of Dalian, China. Results show that large amounts of fine particles (<0.5μm, 90%) were found in maneuvering mode, which were about five times higher than those during cruise mode. Emission rates as well as emission factors based on both distance and fuel were determined during the cruise and maneuvering modes (including departure and arrival). Average emission rates and distance-based emission factors of CO, HC and PM were much higher during the maneuvering mode as compared with the cruise mode. However, the average emission rate of Nitrous Oxide (NO x ) was higher during the cruise mode as compared with the maneuvering modes. On the contrary, the average distance-based emission factors of NO x were lower during the cruise mode relative to the maneuvering mode due to the low sailing speed of the latter., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)