Climate disruption won’t go away

COP 30 may have turned out a damp squib and the IMO’s adoption of any Net-Zero Framework for global shipping ‘delayed’ perhaps even compromised, but the ever- increasing disruptive effects of extreme weather continue.

The destruction wreaked in the Caribbean by Hurricane Melissa was followed just a few weeks later by catastrophic flooding in Sri Lanka and other regions in South Asia as a result of Cyclone Ditwah. “Climate change is real and is influencing weather-related natural disasters around the world,” comments insurer Munich Re in a latest Opinion piece.

“Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe,” it states, adding that tropical storms are “certainly” being fuelled by rising temperatures in the atmosphere and oceans. Jamaica bore the brunt of Hurricane Melissa, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded, which struck the island on 28 October; two other Category 5 storms followed, but blew themselves out over the sea. Preliminary assessments estimate the damage at approximately US$8.8 billion, equivalent to 44% of Jamaica’s GDP last year.

Despite this, Jamaica’s maritime sector demonstrated notable resilience, with the Port of Kingston reopening the day after the storm, the North Western Terminal resuming fuel operations within a week and cruise activity restarting at key northern ports shortly afterwards [see Cover Story, and also ex- seafarer Michael Grey’s Alternative Viewpoint]. It’s becoming clear that the maritime industry as a whole needs to factor extreme weather into its risk management strategies, covering areas such as resilient infrastructure development, predictive weather routeing and enhanced vessel stability measures. Shipping should lead, while politicians play catch-up.