Greenpeace warns of disaster after tanker crash near Strait of Hormuz
A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world's most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said on Thursday.
The two giant tankers, ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed on Tuesday, 17 June, in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities.
Satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday morning.
Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 1,500 hectares from the crash site.
The 23-year-old tanker ADALYNN belonged to a so-called Russian 'shadow fleet' – known to operate older ships below basic security standards – and may have been carrying around 70,000 tonnes of crude oil, the group said.
'This is just one of many dangerous incidents to take place in the past years,' said Farah Al Hattab of Greenpeace's Middle East and North Africa division, adding that such oil spills "endanger marine life.'
The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure did not respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear what caused Tuesday's incident. British maritime security firm Ambrey said it was unrelated to the fighting between Israel and nearby Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, near where the collision took place, is the strategic maritime entryway to the Persian Gulf and sees about a fifth of the world's oil pass through it, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
In 2024, an average of 20 million barrels of oil travelled through it daily.
After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on 13 June, oil prices surged as worry mounted over whether the Islamic Republic might block the waterway.
Maritime ship experts say shipowners are increasingly wary of using the waterway, with some ships having tightened security and others cancelling routes there.
As the Israel-Iran conflict intensified over the weekend, hundreds of ships in the strait saw spotty navigation signals and had to rely more on radar.
The Financial Times reported on 13 June that the world's largest publicly listed oil tanker company, Frontline, which owns the Front Eagle oil tanker involved in Tuesday's crash, said it would turn down new contracts to sail into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz.
Converting abandoned or soon-to-close coal mines into solar farms could provide enough power to meet the demands of a country the size of Germany, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis.
Researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) have identified 312 surface coal mines that have been shut since 2020, sprawling over 2,089 square kilometres (km²).
Its Global Coal Mine Tracker (GCMT) finds that a further 3,731 km² of mine land is set to be abandoned by operators before the end of 2030 as reserves are run down.
In total, that means an estimated 446 coal mines and 5,820 km² of abandoned land that could be repurposed for solar projects and generate nearly 300 GW of renewable energy. That's a huge amount - equivalent to around 15 per cent of globally installed solar capacity today.
'The legacy of coal is written into the land, but that legacy does not have to define the future,' says Cheng Cheng Wu, project manager for the Energy Transition Tracker at GEM.
'The coal mine to solar transition is underway, and this potential is ready to be unlocked in major coal producers like Australia, the US, Indonesia and India,' Wu adds.
China is currently leading the pack on coal-to-solar projects. It has 90 such conversions up and running, with a capacity of 14 GW, and 46 more projects in the pipeline. The next four major coal producers above hold nearly three-quarters of the global potential for coal-to-solar transitions, the analysts found.
In Europe, the report singles out Greece - which is 'exceptionally well-suited' for turning old coal mines into solar plants.
An average solar potential of 4.45 kilowatts per square meter (kW/m²), a fast-approaching coal phaseout goal of 2026, and a supportive financing environment as an EU member state all make Greece ripe for this transition.
In Western Macedonia in northern Greece, companies have already set to work creating solar parks in the boundaries of the former Amynteo opencast lignite mine. And the country's EU-funded national recovery plan Greece 2.0 has set aside €175 million to support more solar projects in Central Macedonia.
Given the global goal of tripling renewables capacity by 2030, derelict coal mines present a sizable opportunity for the clean energy transition. But the benefits don't stop there.
'Acquiring land for global renewable energy targets has been rife with conflicts among stakeholders and decision-makers,' acknowledges Hailey Deres, researcher at GEM. Developers are busy exploring overlooked sites for panels - from roadsides to reservoirs and railway tracks - and old coal mines are a particularly fitting location.
'So repurposing degraded lands could provide salient new benefits to former coal communities across the planet,' she continues.
'Repurposing mines for solar development offers a rare chance to bring together land restoration, local job creation, and clean energy deployment in a single strategy,' adds Wu.
'With the right choices, the same ground that powered the industrial era can help power the climate solutions we now urgently need.'
In total, the analysts estimate that 259,700 permanent jobs could be created at coal-to-solar transition sites, and another 317,500 temporary and construction jobs. That's more than the number of workers the coal industry is expected to shed globally by 2035.
Old coal mines are often just left as a scar on the landscape, but this approach also provides an economic incentive for reclamation and cleaning up the mess left after mining.
'We've seen what happens in coal communities when companies go bankrupt, axe the workers, and leave a mess behind,' says Ryan Driskell Tate, associate director at GEM.
'But mined-out coalfields harbour huge potential for powering a clean energy future. It's already happening. We just need the right mix of incentives to put people to work building the next generation of solar in coal country.'
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Euronews
14 hours ago
- Euronews
Greenpeace warns of disaster after tanker crash near Strait of Hormuz
A collision between two oil tankers just east of the world's most critical oil choke point, the Strait of Hormuz, could bring about a potential environmental disaster, Greenpeace said on Thursday. The two giant tankers, ADALYNN and Front Eagle, crashed on Tuesday, 17 June, in the Gulf of Oman and caught fire before the Emirati national guard intervened to evacuate crew members. No injuries were reported, according to Emirati authorities. Satellite data from NASA's Fire Information for Resource Management System showed heat signatures in the area early Tuesday morning. Greenpeace said it had reviewed satellite imagery that showed a plume of oil stretching up to about 1,500 hectares from the crash site. The 23-year-old tanker ADALYNN belonged to a so-called Russian 'shadow fleet' – known to operate older ships below basic security standards – and may have been carrying around 70,000 tonnes of crude oil, the group said. 'This is just one of many dangerous incidents to take place in the past years,' said Farah Al Hattab of Greenpeace's Middle East and North Africa division, adding that such oil spills "endanger marine life.' The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure did not respond to a request for comment. It was not immediately clear what caused Tuesday's incident. British maritime security firm Ambrey said it was unrelated to the fighting between Israel and nearby Iran. The Strait of Hormuz, near where the collision took place, is the strategic maritime entryway to the Persian Gulf and sees about a fifth of the world's oil pass through it, according to the US Energy Information Administration. In 2024, an average of 20 million barrels of oil travelled through it daily. After Israel launched airstrikes against Iran on 13 June, oil prices surged as worry mounted over whether the Islamic Republic might block the waterway. Maritime ship experts say shipowners are increasingly wary of using the waterway, with some ships having tightened security and others cancelling routes there. As the Israel-Iran conflict intensified over the weekend, hundreds of ships in the strait saw spotty navigation signals and had to rely more on radar. The Financial Times reported on 13 June that the world's largest publicly listed oil tanker company, Frontline, which owns the Front Eagle oil tanker involved in Tuesday's crash, said it would turn down new contracts to sail into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. Converting abandoned or soon-to-close coal mines into solar farms could provide enough power to meet the demands of a country the size of Germany, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis. Researchers from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) have identified 312 surface coal mines that have been shut since 2020, sprawling over 2,089 square kilometres (km²). Its Global Coal Mine Tracker (GCMT) finds that a further 3,731 km² of mine land is set to be abandoned by operators before the end of 2030 as reserves are run down. In total, that means an estimated 446 coal mines and 5,820 km² of abandoned land that could be repurposed for solar projects and generate nearly 300 GW of renewable energy. That's a huge amount - equivalent to around 15 per cent of globally installed solar capacity today. 'The legacy of coal is written into the land, but that legacy does not have to define the future,' says Cheng Cheng Wu, project manager for the Energy Transition Tracker at GEM. 'The coal mine to solar transition is underway, and this potential is ready to be unlocked in major coal producers like Australia, the US, Indonesia and India,' Wu adds. China is currently leading the pack on coal-to-solar projects. It has 90 such conversions up and running, with a capacity of 14 GW, and 46 more projects in the pipeline. The next four major coal producers above hold nearly three-quarters of the global potential for coal-to-solar transitions, the analysts found. In Europe, the report singles out Greece - which is 'exceptionally well-suited' for turning old coal mines into solar plants. An average solar potential of 4.45 kilowatts per square meter (kW/m²), a fast-approaching coal phaseout goal of 2026, and a supportive financing environment as an EU member state all make Greece ripe for this transition. In Western Macedonia in northern Greece, companies have already set to work creating solar parks in the boundaries of the former Amynteo opencast lignite mine. And the country's EU-funded national recovery plan Greece 2.0 has set aside €175 million to support more solar projects in Central Macedonia. Given the global goal of tripling renewables capacity by 2030, derelict coal mines present a sizable opportunity for the clean energy transition. But the benefits don't stop there. 'Acquiring land for global renewable energy targets has been rife with conflicts among stakeholders and decision-makers,' acknowledges Hailey Deres, researcher at GEM. Developers are busy exploring overlooked sites for panels - from roadsides to reservoirs and railway tracks - and old coal mines are a particularly fitting location. 'So repurposing degraded lands could provide salient new benefits to former coal communities across the planet,' she continues. 'Repurposing mines for solar development offers a rare chance to bring together land restoration, local job creation, and clean energy deployment in a single strategy,' adds Wu. 'With the right choices, the same ground that powered the industrial era can help power the climate solutions we now urgently need.' In total, the analysts estimate that 259,700 permanent jobs could be created at coal-to-solar transition sites, and another 317,500 temporary and construction jobs. That's more than the number of workers the coal industry is expected to shed globally by 2035. Old coal mines are often just left as a scar on the landscape, but this approach also provides an economic incentive for reclamation and cleaning up the mess left after mining. 'We've seen what happens in coal communities when companies go bankrupt, axe the workers, and leave a mess behind,' says Ryan Driskell Tate, associate director at GEM. 'But mined-out coalfields harbour huge potential for powering a clean energy future. It's already happening. We just need the right mix of incentives to put people to work building the next generation of solar in coal country.'
Euronews
11-06-2025
- Euronews
Influential German 'nail artist' Günther Uecker dies aged 95
Günther Uecker, one of the most iconic and influential figures in post-war German art, has died at the age of 95. He was known around the world for his hypnotic nail reliefs - extraordinary textured surfaces created by hammering thousands of carpenter's nails into everyday objects like chairs, pianos, tree trunks, sewing machines, and canvases. His family confirmed he died at the university hospital in his hometown of Düsseldorf in western Germany on Tuesday night. They did not give a cause of death. Born in 1930 in the small Baltic village of Wendorf, the son of a farmer, Uecker rose to international fame from humble beginnings. After relocating to Düsseldorf in the 1950s, he studied and later taught at the city's revered art academy. He soon became part of the ZERO group, a radical post-war collective focused on light, movement, and purity in art. In 1956, inspired by Russian revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky's belief that 'poetry is made with a hammer,' Uecker began hammering nails into canvases, chairs, and spinning disks. His early kinetic pieces created clattering soundscapes and optical effects that blurred the line between painting, sculpture, and performance. Uecker once rode a camel through the hallowed halls of the Düsseldorf Academy in a surreal 1978 art intervention, and in 1968, alongside fellow artist Gerhard Richter, famously "occupied" the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, their protest culminating in a kiss in front of the press. But beneath the playfulness ran a deep moral current. Uecker traveled the world with messages of peace, often creating works in countries under dictatorship or censorship. After the Chernobyl disaster, he painted using ash. He exhibited banners bearing messages of human rights in Beijing, and in a haunting series, painted words of violence -Verletzungswörter - in languages from around the globe. Despite international fame (his works now command over €1 million and appear at top galleries and fairs), Uecker retained an anti-establishment spirit. 'Don't join the establishment,' he told Apollo magazine in a late interview. In recent years, renewed global interest in the ZERO group, including a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in 2014, brought his work to new audiences. Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Spain, where we lay our scene... A bastardised Shakespeare opening that suits the ongoing 'rivalry' between two family-owned taverns, who both claim to be the world's oldest establishments. There's Madrid's Sobrino de Botín, which holds the coveted Guinness World Record as the world's oldest restaurant. Founded in 1725 and located a stone's throw from the famed Plaza Mayor, it is famed for its wood-fire oven and has attracted patrons like Truman Capote, F. Scott Fitzgerald and was immortalised by Ernest Hemingway in his book 'The Sun Also Rises' - in which the author described Botín as 'one of the best restaurants in the world." It was awarded the Guinness accolade in 1987 and celebrated its 300 years of continuous service earlier this year. Then there's Casa Pedro, located on the outskirts of Madrid. The rustic tavern has boldly claimed that they have a shot at the title. The establishment has hosted Spanish King Juan Carlos I and current Spanish monarch King Felipe VI, and the owners assert their establishment endured the War of Spanish Succession at the start of the 18th century - therefore making Casa Pedro older than Botín. 'It's really frustrating when you say, 'Yes, we've been around since 1702,' but... you can't prove it,' says manager and eighth-generation proprietor Irene Guiñales. 'If you look at the restaurant's logo, it says 'Casa Pedro, since 1702,' so we said, 'Damn it, let's try to prove it.'' Guiñales' family has hired a historian and has so far turned up documents dating the restaurant's operations to at least 1750. She continues to hunt for records proving that Casa Pedro dates back to 1702. The question remains: How can either restaurant claim the title? Guinness provides its specific guidelines only to applicants, according to spokesperson Kylie Galloway, who notes that it entails 'substantial evidence and documentation of the restaurant's operation over the years." Antonio González, a third-generation proprietor of Botín, states that Guinness required Botín show that it has continuously operated in the same location with the same name. The only time the restaurant closed was during the pandemic – much like Casa Pedro. That criteria would mean that restaurants that are even older, like Paris' Le Procope, which says it was founded in 1686, aren't eligible for the Guinness designation. To make matters dicier, an Italian trattoria located in Rome's historic center, may pip both Sobrino de Botín and Casa Pedro to the post and steal the cake. Nestled on Vicolo della Campana, La Campana claims 'a taste of authentic Roman cuisine with a side of history' and more than 500 years of operation, citing documents on its menu and a self-published history. Its owners have said they have compiled the requisite paperwork and plan to submit it to Guinness. The battle of tasty households continues... Let's hope that chef blood won't make chef hands unclean.
Euronews
09-06-2025
- Euronews
Fire breaks out on ship after explosion, Indian coastguard says
An explosion and subsequent fire were reported onboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala in southern India on Monday, a spokesperson for the Indian Coastguard said. Of the 22 crew members onboard the MV Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, Commandant Amit Uniyal said in a statement. One of the rescued crew members sustained serious injuries. Two of the four missing are nationals of Taiwan, one is from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, Uniyal said. The navy and coastguard have launched a search operation for the missing, aided by a Dornier aircraft. The navy uses Dornier aircraft primarily for maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations. A number of ships have also been sent to help put out the fire some 88 nautical miles (162 km) from the coast of Beypore in Kerala. "The vessel is presently adrift, and firefighting efforts have commenced to bring the situation under control," said Uniyal. "Saving lives of the crew in distress, firefighting and mitigating environment hazard remains the priority for coastguard." He said they were working to establish the details of the ship's cargo and any potential risks it could cause. The 271-metre vessel left the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 7 June and was set to arrive in Mumbai on Monday. The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and subsequent fire inside one of the containers onboard. The fire later spread to other containers. The coastguard has not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire. The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities. Late last month, a Liberia-flagged container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizinjam and Kochi sank off Kerala. The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk. Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoner of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday. "Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement. "Today the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25," Zelenskyy added. Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs as well, without providing details on the swapped soldiers. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's navy, ground forces, air force, national guard, border guard service, territorial defence, and special transport service. Among those returned on Monday are the defenders of Mariupol, who have spent over three years in Russian captivity. "Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. "We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets added. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call." Kyiv didn't disclose the total number of POWs returned on Monday, citing security reasons. A few days ago, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to bring home 500 prisoners in the POW swap on Saturday and Sunday, which ultimately did not take place. Kyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old, the severely wounded and the seriously ill. The sides have also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen servicepeople. On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of postponing the swap and failing to respect the agreement. Moscow said that the trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were due to depart towards the Ukrainian border, accusing Kyiv of "not collecting them". Russia's Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin told the state-run TASS news agency the transfer of 'more than 6,000 (Ukrainian) bodies' had been agreed during the talks in Turkey. Kyiv categorically denied the accusations. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian Defenсe Intelligence, said that Ukraine was strictly adhering to the agreements reached at the second round of talks in Istanbul. Budanov stated that the start of "repatriation measures" was scheduled to take place next week, which he claims the Russian side informed him of a few days ago. In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "playing a dirty political and information game" on the agreed POW exchange. Kyiv says it has brought back over 5,000 prisoners of war in a series of exchanges since March. Ukraine continues to offer Russia an "all-for-all" swap — a proposal Moscow has so far rejected.
