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🦅🇺🇸 The bald eagle is officially America's national bird after Biden's signature

The bald eagle has landed in the U.S. code after President Joe Biden signed a bill Tuesday making the predator the official national bird.

Congress passed the measure with unanimous support.

Although the bird of prey is at the center of the Great Seal of the United States, it was never formally recognized as the country's official bird. Some of the Founding Fathers — Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson — were tasked with creating a national seal but simply couldn't come to an agreement.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/bald-eagle-officially-americas-national-bird-bidens-signature-rcna185380

🛢 The American Shale Patch Is All About Depletion Now

With just a month left before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump begins his second term at the Oval Office, oil prices have been struggling to find direction, intensifying the notion that oil markets seem content to wait for him to take office.

According to Goehring & Rozencwajg LLC, a fundamental research firm specializing in contrarian natural resource investments, U.S. shale output is in the early innings of a protracted decline, with depletion, not market dynamics or regulatory overreach, the chief culprit. The analysts had previously predicted that the explosive production growth triggered by the U.S. shale revolution would flatline in late 2024 or early 2025.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-American-Shale-Patch-Is-All-About-Depletion-Now.amp.html

🇪🇬🇸🇴🌍 Egypt To Join New AU Peacekeeping Force In Somalia: FM

Egypt's foreign minister said Monday that his country will take part in a new African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia, as the two countries draw closer amid tensions with Ethiopia.

"Egypt decided to join this mission based on a request from the Somali government and the welcoming of the African Union Peace and Security Council," Badr Abdelatty told a joint press conference with his Somali counterpart Ahmed Moalim Fiqi in Cairo on Monday.

Tensions flared in the Horn of Africa after Ethiopia signed a maritime deal in January with the breakaway region of Somaliland, pushing Mogadishu closer to Addis Ababa's regional rival Cairo.

https://www.barrons.com/news/egypt-to-join-new-au-peacekeeping-force-in-somalia-fm-8057f6cd

🚢🇷🇺 Russian Military Sealift Ship Sinks After Engine Room Explosion

On Monday, a sanctioned Russian cargo ship sustained an engine room explosion off Spain and sank, leaving two crewmembers missing.

At about 1230 hours local time, the Ursa Major was under way eastbound in the Strait of Gibraltar when she sustained an explosion in the engine room. She slowed and deviated from course, then began to list.

AIS data shows that a Spanish Navy warship, the Spanish response vessel Clara Campoamor and a good Samaritan vessel - the Sparta, another sanctioned Russian cargo ship - came to the aid of the crew. 14 seafarers were rescued and two remained missing as of late Monday.

Ursa Major was operated by a subsidiary of sanctioned Russian defense company Oboronlogistika. She was a mainstay of the Russian supply route to Tartus, Syria, the Russian Navy's longtime base in the Eastern Mediterranean. The U.S. Treasury included the heavy lift vessel in a package of Ukraine-related sanctions in May 2022.

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/russian-military-sealift-ship-sinks-after-engine-room-explosion

🚢 Trump Sets Sail: President-Elect Wades Into Maritime Waters

With just weeks until his inauguration, President-elect Donald Trump is making waves in the maritime world, diving into port labor disputes, the Jones Act debate, and even tensions over the Panama Canal.

Trump’s recent moves could signal a strong maritime focus in his upcoming administration, leaving the industry speculating on what might come next.

▫️Trump has thrown his weight behind the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) in its labor dispute with the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) over port automation. As a critical January 15, 2025, deadline looms, Trump’s vocal opposition to automation aligns him firmly with labor interests, drawing sharp criticism from port employers advocating modernization.

▫️Trump also recently reignited the debate over the century-old Jones Act by sharing a pro-Jones Act article on Truth Social. The move suggests continued support for the law, which mandates that goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on American-built, American-owned, and American-crewed ships.

▫️In a sharp rebuke of Panama, Trump called the country’s canal tolls “exorbitant” and vowed to stop what he labeled as a “rip-off” of American interests. The Panama Canal, a vital trade artery facilitating 6% of global maritime trade, has faced rising costs due to drought and operational challenges. Trump’s comments have reignited discussions about U.S. strategic interests in the canal, particularly given China’s growing presence in the region.

▫️Trump’s maritime agenda also intersects with his broader trade policies. Recent announcements of steep tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, China, and BRICS nations could disrupt global trade lanes, further straining an industry already grappling with geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and rising costs.

https://gcaptain.com/trump-sets-sail-president-elect-wades-into-maritime-waters/

🇶🇦❌🇪🇺 Qatar vows to stop EU gas sales if fined under due diligence law

Qatar will stop shipping gas to the EU if member states strictly enforce a new law cracking down on forced labour and environmental damage, Energy Minister Saad al-Kaabi told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday.

The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, approved this year, requires larger companies operating in the European Union to check whether their supply chains use forced labour or cause environmental damage and to take action if they do. Penalties include fines of up to 5% of global turnover.

"If the case is that I lose 5% of my generated revenue by going to Europe, I will not go to Europe. I’m not bluffing, Kaabi told the newspaper, adding that "5% of generated revenue of QatarEnergy means 5% of generated revenue of the Qatar state. This is the people's money,  so I cannot lose that kind of money - and nobody would accept losing that kind of money."

Kaabi, the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, has said the EU should thoroughly review the due diligence law. He has also said that his Gulf country has no concerns about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's promise to lift a cap on liquefied natural gas exports.

Qatar, among the world's top LNG exporters, is seeking to play a larger role in Asia and Europe as competition from top supplier the United Sates increases. It plans to expand its liquefaction capacity to 142 million tons per year by 2027 from 77 million.

🔗 https://archive.ph/tkAmQ