line of deepest water

– Ocean thermal energy conversion, which uses the temperature difference between cooler deep ocean waters and warmer shallow or surface ocean waters to run a heat engine could be a feasible option for the EU's overseas territories in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean.

During the last 50 years there have been significant changes in the nature of humankind’s relationship to the sea, of which the following can serve as examples: the fact that fewer passengers are being carried by sea (and correspondingly more are being carried by air); the growing importance of leisure activities; the prospection for, and exploitation of, fossil energy resources (oil and natural gas, in increasingly deep waters) necessitated by the dearth of resources on land; seabed exploration (still in its infancy) and the prospects for deep-sea mining; the prospects for utilising the energy potential contained in waves, tides, currents, and biom ...[+++]ass (seaweed) to generate electricity; offshore wind farms; and the development of marine-related biotechnologies.

We do of course need to take account of the most recent developments: on-line selling and electronic auctions have profoundly changed our distribution methods, as well as conditions of competition.

5. Recalls that the Baltic Sea has been identified as a 'particularly sensitive sea area' by the International Maritime Organisation and that, due to the relatively shallow waters and slow water replacement rate of the Baltic Sea, its ecosystems are extremely vulnerable to the smallest of disruptions and the slightest pollution; therefore recommends that the utmost care be taken when considering the Nord Stream gas pipeline project;