Prevention and Control of COVID-19 Pandemic on International Cruise Ships: The Legal Controversies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, a number of international cruise ships were infected, thereby resulting in serious public health and human rights problems. Multiple difficulties were encountered in the prevention and control of the coronavirus disease onboard ships, while rule-based international cooperation in this regard appeared inefficient and ineffective. By applying interdisciplinary methodologies, including empirical research of law, policy science, and health studies, this research reviewed the legal difficulties in the prevention and control of COVID-19 on international cruise ships and sought solutions from a policy-making and strategic perspective. We found that, apart from the inherent nature of cruise ships such as crowded semi-enclosed areas, shared sanitary facilities and limited medical resources, there are also nonnegligible legal reasons affecting the effectiveness of containment measures on board. In particular, there is ambiguity and even inconsistency of relevant international norms and domestic regulations, and some of the key rules are neither mandatory nor enforceable. We conclude by suggesting that rule-based international cooperation on this issue must be strengthened with respect to information sharing and management, a more effective supervisory mechanism, clarification of key rules over jurisdiction and distributions of obligations among the port states, flag states, nationality states, and cruise ship companies.

Queixas e benefícios associados ao trabalho embarcado: relatos on-line de trabalhadores de cruzeiros marítimos / Complaints and benefits concerning work on board: cruise ship workers' online reports

Resumo Introdução: as pesquisas brasileiras sobre condições do trabalho embarcado abordam sobretudo o trabalho offshore, em plataformas marítimas. Estudos sobre a qualidade de vida dos trabalhadores de cruzeiros marítimos são pouco encontrados, provavelmente devido às dificuldades de acesso a essa atividade. Objetivo: identificar e descrever condições de trabalho e de vida no mar de trabalhadores de cruzeiros marítimos embarcados, a partir de suas percepções relatadas em blogs. Métodos: estudo qualitativo baseado na netnografia (etnografia digital), uma metodologia de caráter etnográfico aplicada em estudos de ambientes e fontes digitais. As informações foram levantadas em 23 blogs e sistematizadas com base na análise de conteúdo. Resultados: foram definidas duas categorias temáticas: uma de queixas e outra de benefícios associados ao trabalho embarcado. As queixas mais relatadas foram: falta de conforto, problemas de saúde, estados psicológicos negativos e falhas na organização do trabalho; e os benefícios mencionados foram salário, oportunidades de viagem e socialização facilitada. Conclusão: apesar de algumas limitações, as investigações baseadas em relatos on-line permitiram identificar e analisar as condições de trabalho e de vida associadas aos trabalhadores embarcados.

Abstract Introduction: Brazilian research on maritime work conditions concerns mainly the work on offshore platforms. Studies on the quality of life of cruise ship workers are not easily found, probably because these workers and their offshore activities are little accessible. Objective: to identify and describe cruise ship workers' working and living conditions, through their perceptions reported on blogs. Methods: qualitative study based on netnography (digital ethnography), an ethnographic methodology applied to analysis of environments and digital sources. Data was collected through 23 blogs, and systematized according to content analysis. Results: two thematic categories were defined, one referring to complaints and the other to offshore work benefits. The most reported complaints were: lack of comfort, health problems, negative psychological states and failures in work organization. Mentioned benefits were: salary, travel opportunities and facility in socializing. Conclusion: despite some limitations, investigations based on online reports made it possible to identify and analyze offshore working and living conditions.

Distribution of pelagic squids Abraliopsis Joubin, 1896 (Enoploteuthidae) and Pterygioteuthis P. Fischer, 1896 (Pyroteuthidae) (Cephalopoda, Decapodiformes, Oegopsida) in the Mexican Pacific.

The oegopsid squids Abraliopsis and Pterygioteuthis are abundant and diverse genera with taxonomic and distributional problems. Identification and distribution of species in the Mexican Pacific has been somewhat controversial. Here are provided a large series of new records for Abraliopsis affinis, Abraliopsis falco, Pterygioteuthis gemmata, Pterygioteuthis giardi and Pterygioteuthis hoylei from the Gulf of California and off the SW coast of Mexico. All five species were collected in the central or the southern Gulf of California, or in both. Abraliopsis affinis was found in seven samples with a total of 48 specimens, from 21°59' to 24°53'12"N. Abraliopsis falco was much less represented in the samples (14 specimens) but it was found in 10 localities, four of which correspond to the central-southern Gulf of California (north to 27°44'53"N) and six to SW Mexico (south to 16°49'18"N). In the case of Pterygioteuthis gemmata, only two records (three specimens) were obtained, both in the SW Gulf of California, while Pterygioteuthis giardi (nine specimens) records were all from the central Gulf of California (27°44'53" to 25°39'59"N). In the case of Pterygioteuthis hoylei (nine specimens), material was obtained in six localities, also in a restricted latitudinal range (24°23'48" to 25°56'56"N).

Reflections on my career as a marine physical chemist, and tales of the deep.

This is a personal review of how one can apply the principles of physical chemistry to study the ocean and other natural waters. Physical chemistry is the study of chemical thermodynamics, kinetics, and molecular structure. My long-term interest in the chemistry of seawater is an extension of my early work on water and the interactions that occur in aqueous electrolyte solutions, which I began as part of my PhD research on the thermodynamics of organic acids in water. Over the years, I have attempted to apply the tools of physical chemistry to elucidate the structures of seawater, brines, lakes, and rivers. I have developed and continue to work on ionic interaction models that can be applied to all natural waters. Here, I reflect on how my students, postdocs, research assistants, and scientific colleagues have influenced my life, my career, and the field of marine physical chemistry. My hope was and is to use these tools to understand the molecular structures of natural waters.

Antarctic Starfish (Echinodermata, Asteroidea) from the ANDEEP3 expedition.

This dataset includes information on sea stars collected during the ANDEEP3 expedition, which took place in 2005. The expedition focused on deep-sea stations in the Powell Basin and Weddell Sea.Sea stars were collected using an Agassiz trawl (3m, mesh-size 500µm), deployed in 16 stations during the ANTXXII/3 (ANDEEP3, PS72) expedition of the RV Polarstern. Sampling depth ranged from 1047 to 4931m. Trawling distance ranged from 731 to 3841m. The sampling area ranges from -41°S to -71°S (latitude) and from 0 to -65°W (longitude). A complete list of stations is available from the PANGAEA data system (http://www.pangaea.de/PHP/CruiseReports.php?b=Polarstern), including a cruise report (http://epic-reports.awi.de/3694/1/PE_72.pdf).The dataset includes 50 records, with individual counts ranging from 1-10, reaching a total of 132 specimens.The andeep3-Asteroidea is a unique dataset as it covers an under-explored region of the Southern Ocean, and that very little information was available regarding Antarctic deep-sea starfish. Before this study, most of the information available focused on starfish from shallower depths than 1000m. This dataset allowed to make unique observations, such as the fact that some species were only present at very high depths (Hymenaster crucifer, Hymenaster pellucidus, Hymenaster praecoquis, Psilaster charcoti, Freyella attenuata, Freyastera tuberculata, Styrachaster chuni and Vemaster sudatlanticus were all found below -3770m), while others displayed remarkable eurybathy, with very high depths amplitudes (Bathybiaster loripes (4842m), Lysasterias adeliae (4832m), Lophaster stellans (4752m), Cheiraster planeta (4708m), Eremicaster crassus (4626m), Lophaster gaini (4560m) and Ctenodiscus australis (4489m)).Even if the number of records is relatively small, the data bring many new insights on the taxonomic, bathymetric and geographic distributions of Southern starfish, covering a very large sampling zone. The dataset also brings to light six species, newly reported in the Southern Ocean.The quality of the data was controlled very thoroughly, by means of on-board Polarstern GPS systems, checking of identification by a renowned specialist (Prof. Michel Jangoux, Université Libre de Bruxelles), and matching to the Register of Antarctic Marine Species (RAMS) and World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). The data is therefore fit for completing checklists, for inclusion in biodiversity patterns analysis, or niche modeling. It also nicely fills an information gap regarding deep-sea starfish from the Southern Ocean, for which data is very scarce at this time. The authors may be contacted if any additional information is needed before carrying out detailed biodiversity or biogeographic studies.