Methanol is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic alcohol, with the chemical formula CH3OH. It is a light, volatile, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odor similar to that of ethanol, but is more acutely toxic than the latter. Methanol acquired the name wood alcohol because it was once produced chiefly by the destructive distillation of wood. Today, methanol is mainly produced industrially by hydrogenation of carbon monoxide.
The North American Free Trade Agreement was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994, and superseded the 1988 Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Canada. The NAFTA trade bloc formed one of the largest trade blocs in the world by gross domestic product.
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unable to reach an agreement by the 2005 deadline they had set for themselves.
Mitsui Group is a Japanese corporate group and keiretsu that traces its roots to the zaibatsu groups that were dissolved after World War II. Unlike the zaibatsu of the pre-war period, there is no controlling company with regulatory power. Instead, the companies in the group hold shares in each other, but they are limited to exchanging information and coordinating plans through regular meetings.
Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), also known as tert-butyl methyl ether, is an organic compound with a structural formula (CH3)3COCH3. MTBE is a volatile, flammable, and colorless liquid that is sparingly soluble in water. Primarily used as a fuel additive, MTBE is blended into gasoline to increase its octane rating and knock resistance, and reduce unwanted emissions.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines is a Japanese transport company headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the largest shipping companies in the world.
CMA CGM is a French shipping and logistics company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé.
Mitsui & Co., Ltd. is one of the largest sogo shosha in Japan; it is part of the Mitsui Group.
Investor–state dispute settlement (ISDS), or an investment court system (ICS), is a set of rules through which countries can be sued by foreign investors for certain state actions affecting the investments (FDI) of that investor by that state. This most often takes the form of international arbitration between the foreign investor and nation. For the rules to be effective, they must have been agreed upon between the states concerned.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. is a publicly traded limited partnership with corporate headquarters in Toronto, Canada, that engages in the acquisition and management of infrastructure assets on a global basis.
Libra Group is a privately held international holding company operating in a variety of industries. Its 20 operating entities include businesses across six continents, in six sectors: Aerospace, renewable energy, hotels and hospitality services, real estate, maritime, and diversified investments.
The Ben Line or Ben Line Steamers, Limited was a Scottish shipping company based in Leith, Scotland founded in 1825 which was primarily involved in the Far East to Europe trade. A private company, it was largely owned by members of the Thomson family from Leith and the Thomson and Mitchell family from Alloa.
LPG/C Ayame is a Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC), with a capacity of 83,000 m3 (2,900,000 cu ft), delivered in 2010 from MHI Ltd. of Nagasaki, and under the management of Wilhelmsen Lines Malaysia.
Imabari Shipbuilding is a major Japanese ship building, marine engineering, and service company headquartered in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Japan.
Ocean Network Express Holdings, Ltd., branded as ONE, is a Japanese container transportation and shipping company jointly owned by the Japanese shipping Lines Nippon Yusen Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, and K Line. Launched in 2017 as a joint venture, ONE inherited the container shipping operations of its parent companies, corresponding to a combined fleet capacity of about 1.4 million TEU.
The e5 Project is a Japanese consortium with the purpose of developing renewably-powered commercial ships.
The MV Wakashio oil spill occurred after the Japanese-controlled bulk carrier Wakashio ran aground on a coral reef on 25 July 2020 at around 16:00 UTC. The ship began to leak fuel oil in the following weeks, and broke apart in mid August. Although much of the oil on board Wakashio was pumped out before she broke in half, an estimated 1,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the ocean in what was called by some scientists the worst environmental disaster ever in Mauritius. Two weeks after the incident, the Mauritian government declared the incident a national emergency.
