The installation of the festive illuminations in the Principality began Monday, October 1 and continues until the end of November.
This year, this work is being carried out by Adage Company (subsidiary of the company Blachère Illumination) assisted by electricians of the Animation Service of the City.
A total of 188 transversal patterns and 577 patterns on candelabra will be installed in the streets of Monaco. Among the highlights will be the return of the ceiling light at the roundabout of the Fontvieille shopping center, in addition to the one held at the roundabout of the Place du Canton.
The quality of the illuminations in the Principality goes hand in hand with controlled energy consumption, LEDs (electro-luminescent diodes) are used again this year for all the decorations.
The illuminations will be switched on in La Condamine Market Square, Friday 23 November at 6pm.
From November 23 to January 6, all the districts of Monaco will be illuminated in the colors of Christmas.
The district of Fontvieille will remain lit until February 3 for the 43rd International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo and the 8th New Generation Festival.
Prince Albert II opens an exhibit dedicated to the polar region
Slovak photographer and world traveler Filip Kulisev presented his newest work in the Galerie des Pêcheurs, next to the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.
This is the third time Filip has been honored with an exhibit. This exhibit, Polar Planet, contains large scale photographs highlighting the beauty of some of the most spectacular sites of both the Arctic and Antarctic.
Polar Planet was created in cooperation with Poseidon Expeditions and was officially opened by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco. “It’s another beautiful exhibit of Filip Kulisev. He has a way not only of making rendering species beautiful and attractive, but also rendering incredible places of our planet. He makes you want to go there for a visit. He captures incredible the very special light in the polar regions,” the Prince said.
The polar regions face climate change at its most visible. Glaciers are shrinking and many species are losing their natural habitat. Filip Kulisev has visited both the Artic and Antartic numerous times over the past 15 years.
He said, “Despite the harsh conditions, the cold weather, and considerable discomfort, I enjoy the polar regions of the Earth immensely. It is fascinating to be able to photograph hundreds of thousands of penguins in one place on South Georgia and polar bears floating on icebergs searching for food. There is so much to admire in the varied landscapes and fauna of Antarctica, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands, Svalbard, Iceland, Franz Josef Land and Greenland.”
Svalbard, one of the last archipelagos on the way to the North Pole, has a special significance for Monaco. The great-great grandfather of the present Prince, Albert I of Monaco, who ruled from 1889 to 1922, was a famous oceanographer and voyager who made four trips to the polar regions. He was especially interested in Svalbard.
Filip said, “The photographs of the glaciers, fjords and many other places explored by this prominent scientist and ruler are an important part of the exhibition. This is also my tribute to Albert II, whom I greatly appreciate for his many good works in favor of saving the oceans and persuading politicians to take measures to moderate the effects of the global warming.”
The opening was attended by many distinguished guests from Monaco, Russia, USA, Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Japan and Slovakia. Polar Planet will be available for viewing through November 15th. Admission is free for the public twenty four hours a day, seven days a wek. The exhibit until and continues many years of cooperation between Kulisev and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which has three priority objectives: to limit climate change, to safeguard biodiversity and to manage water resources.
In the past decade, traveler and photographer Filip Kulisev has been recognized as one of the world’s best landscape photographers. He has had more than 200 exhibitions in Slovakia and around the world. He is the author of nine books recording the diversity and beauty of the world’s natural wonders and the stories from his trips.
Filip has received the two highest European qualifications, Master Qualified European Photographer (MQEP) in Landscape and the British Institute of Professional Photographers (FBIPP) highest title, Fellow. Filip is an avid naturalist who supports activities aimed at protecting the environment for future generations.
Monaco shipping company admits US pollution charges, fined nearly €2m
A Monaco-based shipping company has been fined €1.84 million ($2.25 million) and one of its employees convicted in the US for discharging oil and throwing waste overboard off the Texas coast.
Sea World Management & Trading Inc. and the master of the vessel, the Sea Faith, were convicted of maintaining false and incomplete records related to the discharge of oil and rubbish from the tanker that was en route to Corpus Christi at the time of the offences, according to the Corpus Christi Caller Times.
Edmond Fajardo was sentenced to six months in jail and fined $2,000 for ordering crew members to illegally discharge oily waste on five separate occasions between March 10 and March 18, while oil cargo residues and machinery space bilge water were discharged directly into the ocean, according to the US Department of Justice.
The discharges were made without using pollution prevention equipment. Both the company and Fajardo admitted that the discharges were not recorded in the vessel’s Oil Record Book.
The company and Fajardo admitted also that he ordered crew members to throw plastics, empty steel drums, oily rags, batteries and empty paint cans overboard and into the ocean, the release said. None of those discharges were recorded, prosecutors said.
Sea World Management and Fajardo both pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday, February 26. The company was fined over two million dollars and will serve a three-year probation period during which all of its vessels doing business in US ports must implement a “robust” Environmental Compliance Plan, officials said.
The company claims on its website that it is committed “through continuous efforts to improve environmental performance in all areas required by the international regulations, laws and Company’s IMS towards a cleaner environment…”
“Sea World Management was set up in February 1990, in Monaco, to provide Ship Management expertise to a pool of clients including Ship Investment Companies, Banks and privately held Shipping Companies,” the company also says on its website.
