Iceland is moving to ban the use of heavy fuel oil as the Nordic island nation looks to clean up air quality in and around its coastal areas. The new regulation was issued this month as an amendment to existing regulations by Iceland’s Ministry for the Environment and Natural Resources. The amendment reduces the maximum allowable sulphur content of marine fuels … [Read more...]
Iceland Builds Arctic Port as Global Shipping Routes Get Redrawn
By Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir (Bloomberg) -- As global warming creates shipping routes that can cut across the northern tip of the planet, a new port is being built on the fringe of the Arctic circle. Germany’s Bremenports GmbH has entered a deal to develop a deep vessel port together with Icelandic partners, according to a statement on Thursday. Bremenports will initially … [Read more...]
Iceland’s Offshore Oil Dreams Fade as Operators Back Out
By Ragnhildur Sigurdardottir and Mikael Holter (Bloomberg) -- Iceland’s hope of finding oil offshore its coast is fading after China and Norway decided to back out of the island nation’s only remaining exploration license. Cnooc Ltd., China’s state-controlled producer, and Petoro AS, Norway’s state-owned oil company, decided to relinquish their interest in the license, … [Read more...]
Fishing Trawler Crewmen Held in Iceland Murder Mystery
Two crewman from the Greenlandic fishing trawler Polar Nanoq have been arrested in Iceland and are being held as suspects in the murder of 20-year-old Icelandic woman in a rare case that has gripped the country. The woman, Birna Brjánsdóttir, went missing early last Saturday morning, January 13, after a night out in Reykjavik, the capital and largest city in Iceland. She … [Read more...]
Cargo Ship Refloated in Iceland – PHOTOS
Update (Sunday): The grounded cargo ship Samskip Akrafell was refloated at about midnight on Sunday after spending most of Saturday hard aground along the east coast of Iceland. The vessel was floated free and towed to nearby Reyðarfirði by the fishing trawler Aðalsteinn Jónsson and accompanied by the Coast Guard vessel Aegir. The Icelandic Coast Guard reported that no … [Read more...]