Latest news with #ecologicalCrisis
BBC News
12-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Kerala: Officials race to tow burning ship away from India coast to prevent 'ecological disaster'
The Indian Coast Guard is trying to tow a burning Singapore-flagged cargo ship away from the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea, to prevent "a potential ecological disaster".The Indian defence ministry on Wednesday said that the situation remains critical and efforts are under way to establish a tow line and pull the vessel away from the MV Wan Hai 503, which caught fire on Monday, is carrying 2,128 tonnes of fuel and hundreds of containers - including hazardous cargo - raising environmental concerns. Although visible flames have significantly reduced following firefighting efforts, the blaze remains active in the inner decks and near the fuel tanks, the ministry said. It added that five salvage team members and an aircrew diver have been sent to help with the towing operation. "The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously."The vessel, which was heading to Mumbai city on India's western coast from Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, caught fire after an internal container explosion. Eighteen crew members have been rescued so far but four others are still missing and a massive rescue operation has been launched to find them. The Indian Coast Guard said that conditions at sea remain unfavourable and that their priority was to extinguish the fire and prevent a marine has deployed five ships, two aircraft and a helicopter to help douse the fire. A separate salvage team appointed by the ship owner, along with two vessels from the shipping ministry, are also helping with the efforts. This is the second shipping incident to have happened off Kerala's coast in less than three month, a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying oil and hazardous cargo leaked and sank in the Arabian Sea, triggering an environmental Kerala state government swiftly banned fishing within a 20-nautical mile radius of the shipwreck and announced compensation for families from fishing communities in four affected underwater operation has been launched to cap the ship's oil tank and salvage its News reported that on Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Ports issued a formal notice to the vessel's management company, warning of legal action if extraction of oil from the ship is not started by Friday."The progress made in this operation is grossly inadequate and continues to fall short of the timelines and operational commitments previously provided by the salvors and owners," it BBC News India on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
CTV News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
First Nation sues province for failing to protect the Cumberland House delta
Cumberland House Cree Nation (CHCN) is suing the Saskatchewan government for failing to protect its most vital resource: the Saskatchewan River Delta, North America's largest inland delta. On Tuesday the First Nation, situated in the marshy forest in northcentral Saskatchewan near the Manitoba border, filed a lawsuit against the province for infringing its constitutionally protected Treaty rights to maintain its way of life. 'In Treaty No. 5, CHCN's ancestors agreed to share the lands and waters of its territory with settlers. In exchange, the Crown promised that CHCN would be able to continue to hunt, fish and trap, and maintain its way of life,' the First Nation said in a news release Tuesday. 'The Saskatchewan River Delta is a place of outstanding ecological importance. It has historically been a wetland of astonishing productivity, providing habitat for vast populations of migratory birds, furbearing animals and fish.' Now, the First Nation says the vital wetland is in 'ecological crisis' and drying up because of industrial and agricultural activities upstream — including hydroelectric dams, irrigation and fertilizer-intensive farming. It says animal and fish populations have plummeted, and the water is no longer safe to drink. 'For far too long the Province of Saskatchewan has disregarded the Delta and our rights,' Cumberland House Cree Nation Chief Rene Chaboyer said in the release. 'Cumberland House Cree Nation is suing the province for approving and supporting these industries 'without any credible plan for managing their cumulative impacts on the delta.' An environmental consultant working with Cumberland House says the delta provides an irreplaceable service to the broader climate. 'The continued degradation of the Delta due to a lack of responsible management would result in the loss of one of Canada's largest carbon sinks and irreversible impacts upon wildlife populations,' said Aaron Kuchirka, founder of Climate Smart Services. This is not the first time Cumberland House Cree Nation has sued to protect the delta. In 2023, it sued the provincial Water Security Agency and SaskPower after it renewed the licence for two upstream hydroelectric facilities nearby, the E.B. Campbell Dam and the Nipawin Dam. In those cases, and later in a 2024 appeal, the First Nation argued the two Crowns failed to meet their duty to consult when SaskPower's licences were renewed for the two dams. The claims were later dismissed. It remains to be seen what a King's Bench judge will make of the current case, which is broader in scope. Cumberland House Cree Nation is located about 450 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, adjacent to the Northern Village of Cumberland House, the oldest community in Saskatchewan and one with historic ties to the fur trade and the Hudson's Bay Company.
