Terrorists Attacked Japanese Oil Tanker In Strait of Hormuz

Traces of explosives were found on the hull of the tanker M. Star, ending a series of conflicting reports on what happened to the tanker. The report comes several days after al Qaeda-linked Abdullah Azzam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack occurred in the Strait of Hormuz, which is the first attack in the Strait and leading to speculation of more to come.

The tanker was apparently struck with an explosive laden dinghy which ran into the side of the M. Star, which injured a crew member and causing a large dent in the side of the tanker. The blast also shattered windows, ripped off deck railings and blew a lifeboat off the ship.

No oil appeared to be leaking but the Strait of Hormuz is a transit point for about 40% of oil shipped by tankers worldwide. No shipments have been disrupted due to the incident, but the attack will likely lead to more attempts and could easily disrupt future oil shipments. Currently about 17 million barrels per day pass through the Striat of Hormuz.

Russia Bans Grain Exports Till End of Year

Russia has announced a ban on grain exports starting August 15 running through December 1, 2010 (some reports state December 31) after their worst drought in fifty years. In addition it canceled a shipment of 45,000 tons to the Philippines.

Source: Henrik Thorn/Flickr

Though Russia is expected to meet food demands inside their country, the cost of grains is expected to increase significantly, with wheat up 75 percent since July. The Ban includes all grains including, wheat, corn, barley, rye, and flour.

The reason for this being such a big deal is that Russia has emerged as a major exporter (the third largest) of grain in the last few years.

Though the situation is not as bad as it was in 2008 when there was a global food shortage due to crops failing worldwide, it does have a major impact on countries who rely on the exports such as Egypt. Egypt currently has a six month supply of grains, and expects to be able to handle the disruption.

The real problem will come if Russia should extend the ban into winter months, and other countries are unable to make up the difference or if additional shortages drives the price beyond reach of some of the poorer nations.

What Exactly Is Space Weather and Why You Should Care?

As noted in other recent posts space weather such as solar flares, solar storms and CME's (Coronal Mass Ejections) can have a large impact on our planet, or business operations and daily lives. 

Though space weather can have a big impact, most people are unaware of what it is, or the damage that can occur from it. It is important enough that space weather is monitored 24 hours a day, every day.

Here is a video from NASA explaining a bit about what space weather is and the impact its affects can have.

Here is actual video of the recent fast moving solar flare with CME:

 See the following other post on this topic:

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions, Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business

Iran May Have Acquired S-300 Missile Defense Systems

According to unconfirmed reports Iran has purchased 4 S-300 (NATO designation, SA-10 Grumble) surface to air missile platforms, possibly in an effort to prevent a U.S. or Israeli air strike.

Though currently denying the allegations, Belarus is said to have supplied two of missile platforms and the other two come from an another as yet unknown source.

The report could be a ploy by the Iranians to delay or avoid an air strike, but if they do have the missile systems an air strike will be more difficult. Those difficulties aside the U.S. is still said to have a viable attack plan for Iran.

Though Belarus is denying the sale, Janes Defence Weekly reported as far back as January 2008 that they were in negotiations to purchase the S-300's from them.

Coronal Mass Ejection May Cause Disruptions, Being Called Solar Tsunami by Some

Source SDO

Are you prepared to deal with communications disruptions, power outages and other effects from solar storms? If you haven't yet considered the possibility that your business could be disrupted by such an event, read on.

Four large Coronal Mass Ejection's or CME's occurred on the 1st of August (see August 1, 2010 CME) causing an intense light show when they arrived here on August 2nd. NOAA forecasters are expecting the second cloud to arrive either tonight or tomorrow on August 5th.

While the Sun has been quiet for some time now, two of the four CME's that I am aware of, are being called Solar Tsunami's by the media, were Earth facing and classified as a C-3 and a C-2 in the solar flare classification scale.

Why is this an important event? Because scientists are concerned that the electrical impulses may damage certain parts of our infrastructure such as the power grids, telephone lines and several satellites may also be damaged by the event.

Since I am always looking at emerging events that can disrupt your business, I'd like to point out that I  wrote about this topic last July in the following post: Sun Spots, Solar Flares, and Geomagnetic Induced Currents Can Disrupt Your Business.

Truthfully, these current CMS's shouldn't do anything more than provide a spectacular light show, but disruptions can still occur. The one to watch will be the predicted soalr storm of 2013 if it happenes. We will provide updates to this event as it unfolds if anything important surrounding it occurs.

The estimated time of arrival of the event is list as follows: 

• Wednesday, August 4 – 07:00 UTC
• Wednesday, August 4 – 17:00 UTC
• Thursday, August 5 – 00:00 UTC
• Thursday, August 5 – 06:00 UTC