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US-based banking platform Novo on Friday announced plans to go on a hiring spree to strengthen its existing operations in India.<br /><br />The company will be recruiting 100 engineers by FY 2022 for senior key and support roles including <keyword id="11602752" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="software-backend-frontend">Software, Backend, Frontend</keyword>, Android and DevOps. The hirings would be primarily for the offices in Delhi NCR, Ahmedabad and Bengaluru, besides remote working roles, pan India.<br /><br />Novo had recently secured $40.7 million in a Series A round led by <keyword id="1673278" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Valar-Ventures">Valar Ventures</keyword> and other investors like Crosslink Capital, <keyword id="11602758" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rainfall-ventures">Rainfall Ventures</keyword>, <keyword id="11602753" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="red-sea-ventures">Red Sea Ventures</keyword> and BoxGroup.<br /><br />It will be using these funds to ensure the successful execution and completion of its current hiring objective, and thereby expand its operations footprint in India, the company said.<br /><br />"India is the backbone of our technology developments. Being the only International Market for our support operations, we pride ourselves in building teams across various roles from the exceptionally talented pool of resources available in India. The recently raised funding would be utilised towards strengthening our vision to provide enhanced consumer experiences, seamlessly," said Tyler McIntyr, Founder and CTO, Novo, in a statement.<br /><br />"After successfully securing Series A funding from our investment partners, we are well equipped to take our next expansion step, that is, to hire a talented workforce and achieve new milestones in India," added Ajar Upadhyay, Director of Operations - India, Novo.<br /><br />Currently, the independent company that enables small businesses to open accounts in minutes without a minimum balance requirement, has a strength of over 70 employees for India operations.<br /><br />With the hiring spree, it looks forward to tripling this figure to over 200 by FY 2022. The idea is to generate jobs by building advanced technology, bolstering operations and eventually transform the overall banking ecosystem in India.<br /><br />The company will continue to focus on solving the top problems small businesses face: cash flow, through faster payments and access to lending products banks traditionally do not offer to small businesses, McIntyr said.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><strong>SEE ALSO -<br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-calendars-new-rsvp-option-will-let-you-specify-how-you-want-to-attend-a-meeting/articleshow/84237490.cms">Google Calendar’s new RSVP option will let you specify how you want to attend a meeting</a><br /><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-hires-over-20000-in-june-quarter-its-highest-ever-quarterly-addition/articleshow/84240423.cms">TCS has loaded up half a million peeps as it expects many to move on</a></strong><br />

US banking platform Novo to hire 100 engineers by next year in India

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>DMG Media, the Daily Mail's publisher, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2933142/DMG-Media-acquires-global-millennial-website-Elite-Daily.html">has acquired viral news site Elite Daily</a>.</p>
<p>The Daily Mail is reporting that it has acquired Elite Daily, which claims 74 million monthly unique readers.</p>
<p>Jon Steinberg, the CEO of Daily Mail North America, said "This gives us the opportunity to invest in and grow two different but complementary media brands which together will have a reach that few can match."</p>
<p><a href="http://elitedaily.com/life/elite-daily-daily-mail/921491/">Elite Daily's CEO, David Arabov, has written a post </a>which explains the sale:</p>
<p>"This does not represent an end to our journey, but the continuation of our growth as a company to the stature we've always dreamed it would reach." Arabov writes. "Our acquisition by Daily Mail has provided us the perfect opportunity to do just that."</p>
<p>The site has grown to a 65-person team since its launch 2012. It also boasts 3,000 contributors posting to the site, similar to BuzzFeed. The Daily Mail report on the acquisition says that over 70% of Elite Daily's readers are aged between 18 and 34.</p>
<p>Elite Daily raised $1.5 million in funding in June as a convertible debt note from Greycroft, Vast Ventures, Red Sea Ventures, SocialStarts, and angel investors. It's currently unknown what price DMG Media paid for the company.</p>

The Daily Mail acquires Elite Daily

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Mass Comm Specialist 2nd Class Jonathan Clay</span></p><p class="caption">Sailors on Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham pose for a command photo, December 2, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>The destroyer USS Jason Dunham is one the Navy's newest warships, commissioned at the end of 2010.</li><li>It's also one of the Navy's most versatile ships, capable of defending against airplanes, ships and submarines.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>During the final days of June, US Navy destroyer USS Jason Dunham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-destroyer-tracks-advanced-russian-warship-in-the-caribbean-2019-6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sailed into the Straits of Florida</a>, where it kept an eye on one of Russia's most advanced warships, the frigate <span>Admiral Gorshkov</span>.</p><p>The Caribbean is one of many regions the versatile Dunham has visited over the past year.</p><p>Deployed during the final seven months of 2018, the destroyer sailed <a href="https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=108198" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over 40,000 nautical miles</a> through the 5th Fleet and 6th Fleet areas of responsibility - including 16 trips through Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern end of the Red Sea and two trips each through the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco and the Straits of Hormuz in the Middle East.</p><p>This year, sailing out of its homeport in Norfolk, Virginia, the Dunham ventured up and down the East Coast, including a stop in New York City in May for Fleet Week 2019.</p><p>Though it often escorts amphibious ships and aircraft carriers, the Dunham spent much of its 2018 deployment as "<span style="font-weight: 400;">an independent asset," Ens. Sarah Ellis said while the Dunham was docked in Staten Island.</span></p><p>"So we deployed independently - by ourselves," Ellis said. "We're alone and unafraid, as we call it."</p><p>Below, you can see where the Dunham's crew live and work while on the high seas.</p>

Step aboard the USS Jason Dunham, one of the versatile destroyers the Navy uses to do everything from nabbing pirates to tracking Russian warships

<p class="source"><span>Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">An employee stands in front of a fuel tanker at a Rosneft petrol station in Moscow, Russia, July 4, 2016.</p><a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/XOM-Quote">Exxon Mobil</a>'s landmark deal to explore for oil in Russia's Arctic and a portion of the Black Sea, and to drill for oil in Siberia, has run into a brick wall. <p>The agreement with Russian state oil company PAO Rosneft was signed in 2012 by current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when he was still CEO of Exxon. <br /><br />The deal was a strategic win for both companies: Rosneft lacks the technological ability to drill in cold offshore conditions by itself, while Russia became Exxon's second-biggest exploration area.</p><p>However, the Obama administration leveled sanctions on Russia over its actions in Ukraine in 2014, which made it difficult for Exxon to hold up its end of the agreement. </p><p>Diplomatic relations between the United States and Russia have deteriorated further over the years after Russia intervened militarily in Syria and the US accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 elections. And although President Donald Trump advocated improving relations with Russia during his campaign, prospects of a thaw have somewhat faded following the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ruble-falls-after-us-strike-syria-2017-4">US strike on Syria in April</a> and <span>the launching of an investigation into whether there were ties between Trump aids and Russia by Congress.</span></p><p>The clock might now be ticking for Exxon, although the timing is somewhat unclear. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that <span>"under the terms of its deal with Rosneft, Exxon needs an oil discovery in the Black Sea by the end of this year to obtain a Russian government license to drill" and that its exploration rights in the Black Sea "<em>will</em>" expire if the firm doesn't act. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/business/energy-environment/treasury-exxon-mobil-sanctions-waiver.html?_r=0">The New York Times</a>, meanwhile, reported that Exxon <em>"could</em> lose its exploration rights in the Black Sea if it did not begin drilling operations by the end of 2017."</span></p><p><span>In response to queries about the timing of the contract, a representative from Exxon sent Business Insider the statement the company issued about the license application and did not provide additional details:</span></p><p style="padding-left: 60px;"><span>"Our 2015 application for a license under the provisions outlined in the U.S. sanctions was made to enable our company to meet its contractual obligations under a joint venture agreement in Russia, where competitor companies are authorized to undertake such work under European sanctions."</span></p><p><span>And on top of that, the US oil multinational is concerned about its Italian rival's ventures with Rosneft in the region.</span></p><p><span>A White House official <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-putin-meeting-sanctions-russia-2017-6">recently told Business Insider</a> that the administration would not lift or alter the existing sanctions until Moscow "fully honors its commitments to resolve the crisis in Ukraine." <br /><br />But, the Trump administration <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/former-diplomats-trump-team-sought-lift-sanctions-russia-n767406">reportedly</a> looked into lifting sanctions when the president - who is set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin this week - stepped into office.</span></p><p><span> W</span>e took a look at how the dynamic for Exxon and Rosneft has changed before and after the implementation of sanctions.</p><h2>The deal itself</h2><p>The Rosneft-Exxon deal was signed in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/business/energy-environment/exxon-and-russian-oil-company-agree-to-joint-projects.html">2012</a> under the leadership of Tillerson. The joint venture expanded access to Russia's offshore fields for Exxon, and opened the door to technology developed by US shale for Rosneft.</p><p><span>Energy exports are the backbone and muscle of the Russian economy, and Moscow </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/business/energy-environment/exxon-and-russian-oil-company-agree-to-joint-projects.html">reportedly had long been keen</a><span> to develop some of its nonporous fields, which are difficult to tap with traditional drilling techniques.</span> </p><p class="source"><span>Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin (R) and President of ExxonMobil Exploration Company Stephen Greenlee sign documents, with Russian President Vladimir Putin standing behind, at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, February 13, 2013.</p><p>The Exxon-Rosneft deal was negotiated after the United States under the Obama administration and Russia decided to pursue a "<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2014/03/17/the-failure-of-the-u-s-russia-reset-in-9-photos/?utm_term=.4d75ab21e01f">reset</a>" in their relationship starting in 2009.</p><p>Exxon and other global oil companies had been eyeing Russia for years. An effort by the British multinational oil and gas company, BP, to sign a similar partnership with Rosneft <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/may/17/bp-rosneft-deal-collapses">failed a year earlier,</a> and a decade before that Exxon was interested in buying a part of (now defunct) Russian oil behemoth Yukos.</p><h2>But then, sanctions</h2><p>The Obama administration issued an executive order in 2014 imposing sanctions on Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine. Sanctions were first leveled after Russia's annexation of Crimea in March; they were then tightened after the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in July.</p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-oil-kara-sea-sanctions-2014-9"></a><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia</span></p><p class="caption">The red area is where Rosneft said it found oil.</p>Currently, sanctions on Russia include the prohibition of technology transfers for Russian energy projects in the Arctic, Siberia, and the Black Sea. They also prohibit dealings with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin. <p>A key casualty of the sanctions ended up being the Kara Sea inside the Arctic Circle. Back <span>in </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-oil-kara-sea-sanctions-2014-9">September 2014</a>, Rosneft found oil in the Universitetskaya structure and reported that the area could hold an estimated 87 billion barrels of oil.</p><p>But Exxon and Rosneft couldn't continue joint exploration of the area. </p><h2>Fast forward to the 2016 election</h2><p>Throughout the campaign season, Trump advocated improving relations with Russia. After his election, analysts argued there was a possibility that the sanctions imposed on Russia over Ukraine <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-elected-president-and-energy-oil-geopolitics-iran-russia-2016-11">could be lifted,</a> which theoretically would have major implications for energy.</p><p><span>However, the prospects of improving relations between Russia and the US somewhat faded several months after his inauguration following the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ruble-falls-after-us-strike-syria-2017-4">US strike on Syria</a> and the launching of an investigation into whether there were ties between Trump aids and Russia by Congress.</span></p><p><span>Another notable angle was Trump's pick for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who was CEO of Exxon and has a close relationship with Russia and Vladimir Putin. There was immediate <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-exxon-mobil-trump-presidency-benefits-2017-1">speculation</a> that in his new position, he could push for sanctions on Russia to be lifted. </span></p><p><span>The secretary of state, however, said he is <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677">recusing himself</a> from matters related to Exxon for two years.</span></p><p><span></span></p><p class="source"><span>Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Pool via Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd R), Rosneft Chief Executive Igor Sechin (L, front) and Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson take part in a signing ceremony at a Rosneft refinery in the Black Sea town of Tuapse in southern Russia June 15, 2012.</p><p><span>"I never lobbied against the sanctions. To my knowledge, Exxon Mobil never lobbied against the sanctions," Tillerson <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-active-in-sanctions-debates-but-rex-tillerson-denies-lobbying-1484191171">testified</a> in his confirmation hearing. </span></p><p><span>"Exxon Mobil participated in understanding how the sanctions were going to be constructed. And was asked and provided information regarding how those might impact American business interest."</span></p><h2>Waiver gets denied</h2><p>Exxon applied to the Treasury Department for a waiver in 2015, arguing that competitors are less restricted and that it could lose exploration rights in the Black Sea if it didn't begin working with Rosneft in the region by the end of 2017 under the terms of its contract with the Russian state oil company, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/business/energy-environment/treasury-exxon-mobil-sanctions-waiver.html">according to reports.</a> </p><p>The waiver request was first reported by the Wall Street Journal in April <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677">2017</a>, although at the time of publication, it was unclear whether Exxon applied before or after Trump's election win. </p><p>Days after the report from the WSJ, the Treasury Department made a decision "in consultation with Donald J. Trump" that it <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/treasury-wont-issue-exxon-mobil-waiver-to-work-in-russia-2017-4">wouldn't be issuing waivers</a> to US companies - including Exxon - authorizing drilling currently prohibited by sanctions. </p><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin discusses Trump administration's tax reform proposal at the White House in Washington</p><p>Exxon released the following statement, noting that they "understand" the decision by the government, but warning that this presents an advantage to their European competitors:</p><p style="padding-left: 60px;">"We understand the statement today by Secretary Mnuchin in consolation with President Trump. Our 2015 application for a license under the provisions outlined in the US sanctions was made to enable our company to meet its contractual obligations under a joint venture agreement in Russia, where competitor companies are authorized to undertake such work under European sanctions."</p><p>If the Treasury Department <em>had</em> granted Exxon the waiver, the timing would probably have been highly scrutinized given, first, Tillerson's prior association with the firm and, second, the on-going investigation into <span>whether there were ties between Trump aids and Russia.</span></p><p><span>Notably, Bloomberg <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-21/exxon-won-t-get-drilling-waiver-for-russia-treasury-chief-says">reported</a>, citing filings with the SEC, that Exxon previously received three waivers "to conduct unspecified paperwork" for its venture with Rosneft. They were approved twice in 2015 and in October 2016, with the first coming months after the sanctions leveled hit the project in the Kara Sea.</span></p><h2><span>Who are the European competitors?</span></h2><p>Exxon has argued for some time that sanctions put it at a disadvantage against some of its European competitors in Russia. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-21/exxon-won-t-get-drilling-waiver-for-russia-treasury-chief-says">EU version of sanctions</a> on Russia is slightly different from the US' in that there's a grandfather clause for existing projects, which has allowed Italian oil multinational Eni SpA to continue its venture in the Russian sector of the Black Sea (while Exxon had to pull out.)<br /></p><p class="source"><span>Yuri Kadobnov/Pool/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Igor Sechin (R), the chief executive of Russia's top oil producer Rosneft, and Claudio Descalzi, Chief Executive Officer of Italian energy company Eni, shake hands during a signing ceremony following a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi, Russia, May 17, 2017.</p><p><span>"Exxon is worried it could get boxed out of the Black Sea by the Italians," a person who was briefed on the firm's waiver application told the WSJ back in April.</span></p><p>A "source familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak for his company" told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/21/trump-administration-says-it-wont-grant-any-exception-to-russia-sanctions-not-even-to-exxonmobil/?utm_term=.eeeefccfab83">the Washington Post in April</a> it's expected that Eni's Maria 1 well will be drilled before the end of the year.</p><p>Eni and Rosneft signed an extension cooperation agreement in areas of upstream, refining, marketing, and trading in May 2017.</p><p>"<span>The meeting consolidated previous agreements for the joint development of exploration activities in the Russian Barents Sea and Black Sea, and will underpin further opportunities between the two Groups, including the Zohr project," the <a href="https://www.eni.com/en_IT/media/2017/05/rosneft-and-eni-sign-an-extension-cooperation-agreement">press release published by Eni</a> said.</span></p><p class="tagline">Get the latest ExxonMobil stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/XOM-Quote"> here.</a></p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/economist-explains-trump-pulls-us-out-nafta-2017-6">An economist explains what could happen if Trump pulls the US out of NAFTA</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video

Exxon got stuck in the middle as Russia-US relations broke down - and needs a solution soon

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Saudi Arabia is seeking a $2.7 billion loan from local lenders for its Neom project, per Bloomberg.</li><li>The planned city is a central part of the kingdom's plans to diversify its economy. </li></ul><p>Saudi Arabia's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/neom-what-we-know-saudi-arabia-500bn-mega-city-2019-9">mega-city project</a> is reportedly seeking to raise a 10 billion riyal, or $2.7 billion, loan to help fuel the development of the kingdom's futuristic city in the desert.</p><p>Neom, the company behind the venture, is turning to local lenders as it seeks to finance the early stages of the project, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-17/saudi-arabia-s-neom-seeks-2-7-billion-to-build-futuristic-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bloomberg reported</a>. A loan could be agreed within months, it said. </p><p>The Neom development is expected to include two huge buildings as part of a project known as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-75-mile-skyscrapers-mountains-desert-mirror-line-neom-2022-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Line</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/saudi-arabia-75-mile-skyscrapers-mountains-desert-mirror-line-neom-2022-7">.</a>  It aims to be a "civilizational revolution that puts humans first," <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-saudi-arabias-plan-to-build-a-skyscraper-that-stretches-for-75-miles-11658581201?mod=e2tw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal first reported</a>, citing a video in which Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the project.</p><p><a href="https://www.neom.com/en-us/regions/theline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">According to the Neom website</a>, The Line will be just over 100 miles long and 200 meters wide, and will have no roads and cars. It will sit 500 meters above sea level on the border of the Red Sea with mirror-like walls encasing it. </p><p>Saudia Arabia hopes the city will be zero-carbon and accommodate 9 million people. Facilities are planned to be located within a five-minute walk from where people live to ensure "people's health and wellbeing" are prioritized, <a href="https://www.neom.com/en-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to details from Neom's site. </a></p><p>The Line forms just one part of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mohammed-bin-salman-saudi-prince-net-worth-yacht-private-jet-lifestyle-2019-5">Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's grand vision</a> to diversify the oil-rich state's economy as the world seeks to shift away from fossil fuel consumption in an effort to meet net-zero emission commitments. </p><p>Plans for the Neom development were unveiled in 2017 but progress has been slow. The Crown Prince <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-05/saudi-crown-prince-discusses-trump-aramco-arrests-transcript#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Bloomberg in 2018</a> that the city would be completed in 2025. </p><p>Other parts of the vision include building a tourist destination on Saudi Arabia's West coast, as well as embarking on a global investment spree to increase <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pga-liv-golf-hearing-saudi-arabia-disparagement-1-billion-congress-2023-7">the kingdom's stakes in everything from sports</a> to tech companies. </p><p>Representatives for Neom did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment made outside of normal working hours.</p>

Saudi Arabia is exploring plans to raise $2.7 billion for its futuristic mega-city in an effort to complete most of the construction by 2030

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Rosneft suspended an oil project in the Yuzhno-Chernomorsky area of the Black Sea due to western sanctions.</strong></li><li><strong>Rosneft had partnered with Exxon-Mobil and Eni a few years ago to work on joint-exploration projects in the Black Sea and other areas.</strong></li><li><strong>While US sanctions block Exxon from working with Rosneft, the EU <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-21/exxon-won-t-get-drilling-waiver-for-russia-treasury-chief-says">version</a> of the sanctions includes a grandfather clause for existing projects, which has allowed Eni to continue working with Rosneft.</strong></li></ul><p> </p><p>Western sanctions have forced Russian oil behemoth Rosneft to suspend an oil project in the Black Sea.</p><p><span>Russia's Federal Subsurface Management Agency (Rosnedra) </span>suspended Rosneft's license for the exploration and production of oil and gas in the Yuzhno-Chernomorksy area of the Black Sea for five years because of western sanctions, a source told <a href="http://www.rbc.ru/newspaper/2017/10/30/59f330c19a79474dc2d6c295">RBC</a>.</p><p>Russian state media <a href="http://tass.com/economy/973033">TASS</a> later reported the suspension, as well. A representative from Rosneft said that the suspension was prompted by the "adverse macroeconomic situation and sanctions," as well as by a lack of drilling equipment. The company will "keep an eye on changes in the macroeconomic parameters," TASS said.</p><p>But the Russian oil giant plans to continue drilling in the Zapadno-Chernomorsky area of the Black Sea and will soon begin drilling an appraisal well with Italian oil multinational Eni SpA, according to the Rosneft representative.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Energy exports are the backbone and muscle of the Russian economy, and Moscow has long been keen to develop some of its nonporous fields, which are difficult to tap with traditional drilling techniques. But Russia doesn't have the technological capability to work in those regions alone. So, Rosneft teamed up with <span>Exxon-Mobil Corp.</span> and Eni for joint exploration projects in several regions, including the Black Sea and the Arctic.</p><p>Some of those exploration plans hit a brick a brick wall several years later, however, after western sanctions were imposed on Russia in response to its actions in Ukraine.</p><p>While Exxon has had to pull out of its partnership with Rosneft, the EU <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-21/exxon-won-t-get-drilling-waiver-for-russia-treasury-chief-says">version</a> of the sanctions on Russia is slightly different from the US's in that there's a grandfather clause for existing projects. This has allowed Italian oil company Eni to continue its venture in the Russian sector of the Black Sea.</p><p>A source told the Wall Street Journal back in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677">April 2017</a> that "Exxon is worried it could get boxed out of the Black Sea by the Italians." Meanwhile, Eni and Rosneft signed an extension cooperation agreement in the areas of upstream, refining, marketing, and trading in May 2017.</p><h2>US-Russia relations and their effect on oil</h2><p>Rosneft and Exxon <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/17/business/energy-environment/exxon-and-russian-oil-company-agree-to-joint-projects.html">signed</a> a landmark deal in 2012 under then-Exxon CEO and current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's leadership to explore Russia's arctic and its portion of the Black Sea, as well as drill in Siberia. Rosneft signed another deal with Eni two weeks <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/26/business/global/russian-italian-pact-opens-arctic-ocean-to-drilling.html">later</a>.</p><p>The Obama administration issued an executive order that imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the country's actions in Ukraine in 2014. Part of the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-elected-president-and-energy-oil-geopolitics-iran-russia-2016-11">sanctions leveled on Russia include</a> the prohibition of technology transfers in Russian energy projects in the Arctic, Siberia, and the Black Sea. Sanctions also prohibit dealings with Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Wikimedia</span></p><p class="caption">The red area is where Rosneft said it found oil.</p></div><p></p></div></div>One key casualty of that round of sanctions was the Kara Sea inside the Arctic Circle.</p><p>In <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russia-oil-kara-sea-sanctions-2014-9">September 2014</a>, Rosneft discovered oil there with Exxon but, due to the sanctions, they could not continue the landmark joint exploration. This proved to be problematic for both parties since Rosneft does not have the technological ability to drill in cold offshore conditions by itself, while Russia was Exxon's second-biggest exploration area at the time.</p><p>US President Donald Trump advocated improving relations with Russia over the course of his campaign. However, the prospects of improving relations between the two countries began to fade over the course of 2017 following a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/russian-ruble-falls-after-us-strike-syria-2017-4">US strike on Syria</a> and the launching of an investigation into whether there were ties between Trump aides and Russia by Congress.</p><p>And after it emerged in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-seeks-u-s-waiver-to-work-in-russia-despite-sanctions-1492620677">April 2017</a> that Exxon applied to the Treasury Department in 2015 for a waiver of sanctions restrictions, the Treasury swiftly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/treasury-wont-issue-exxon-mobil-waiver-to-work-in-russia-2017-4">released</a> a statement saying it won't issue waivers to US companies, including Exxon, to work in Russia.</p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Oil WTI price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=WTI"> here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-new-headquarters-announcement-very-smart-move-2017-10">Why Amazon's new headquarters sweepstakes makes it the 'smartest company in the world'</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Russian oil behemoth Rosneft suspends an oil project in the Black Sea because of western sanctions

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist 2nd Class Thomas Gooley</span></p><p class="caption">An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, October 19, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group sailed north of the Arctic Circle this week for exercises.</strong></li><li><strong>The drills, part of NATO's Trident Juncture exercise, mark the first time a US aircraft carrier has entered the Arctic Circle since 1991.</strong></li><li><strong>NATO's increasing attention to the far north stems in part from concern about Russia's resurgent military.</strong></li></ul><p>In September 1991, three months before the Soviet Union dissolved, the US Navy aircraft carrier USS America sailed into the Arctic Circle for NATO exercise North Star.</p><p>The America was the last US aircraft carrier to operate above the Arctic Circle until Friday, when the USS Harry S. Truman and ships from its strike group sailed into the Arctic Circle for operations ahead of Trident Juncture, which will be NATO's largest military exercise in nearly 20 years.</p><p>The Truman's commanding officer, Capt. Nick Dienna, said the carrier's crew was "unbelievably excited" to venture into the chilly waters of the Norwegian Sea.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Wikimedia Commons</span></p><p class="caption">The US Navy aircraft carrier USS America with US and NATO ships taking part in the exercise North Star 91 between August 21 and October 11, 1991.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>"It has been over three decades since carrier aviation has been tested by this environment," Dienna said in a Navy <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/297015/hst-strike-group-enters-artic-circle-prepares-nato-exercise" target="_blank" rel="noopener">release</a>. "Despite the arduous weather and sea conditions, these men and women are demonstrating this ship can bring a full spectrum of capabilities to bear anywhere in the world."</span></p><p>The Truman spent just three months at sea around Europe this summer instead of the usual tour of roughly six months.</p><p>The abbreviated tour was part of what <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">Defense</keyword> Secretary Jim Mattis has called "<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-active-in-north-atlantic-but-russia-sub-activity-may-be-in-arctic-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dynamic force employment</a>," which is meant to make US forces more agile and increase readiness while making their operations less predictable.</p><p>The Truman returned to Europe in mid-September and has been operating in the North Atlantic for the past month, <a href="https://news.usni.org/2018/10/19/truman-carrier-strike-group-operating-north-arctic-circle-first-time-us-navy-since-1991" target="_blank" rel="noopener">teaming up</a> with the Canadian navy and making stops in the UK and Iceland.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist 2nd Class Thomas Gooley</span></p><p class="caption">An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11, launches from the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, October 19, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Trident Juncture, which is set to run from October 25 to November 7, will take place on land, sea, and in the air.</p><p>Maritime operations during the exercise will take place in the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. Operating off the coast of Norway, the Truman strike group will carry out air, surface, and subsurface operations while dealing with freezing temperatures, strong winds, and unpredictable seas.</p><p>All 29 members of NATO will be taking part, as will NATO partner countries Sweden and Finland.</p><p>There will be some 50,000 participants, among them 24,000 naval personnel, including US Marines. There will be about 14,000 total US personnel on hand - including about 6,000 from the Truman strike group alone.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Norwegian armed forces</span></p><p class="caption">Trident Juncture 2018 will take place on land, sea, and in the air over the Baltic and Norwegian seas as well as Norway, Sweden, and Finland.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The exercise comes as NATO members look to counter what they see as an increasingly assertive Russia by increasing their deterrence posture and underlining their commitment to the alliance's principal of collective defense.</p><p>"Collective defense has become a more prominent feature of NATO exercises due to the changes in the security landscape, particularly with regard to the illegal annexation of Crimea by Russia," US Navy Adm. James G. Foggo, commander of US Naval Forces Europe-Africa and the head of all NATO naval forces, said earlier this month.</p><p>"Russia has renewed its capabilities in the North Atlantic and the Arctic in places not seen since the Cold War."</p><p>The Arctic, and Norway in particular, have gotten more attention as NATO adjusts to a new security environment.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist 2nd Class Thomas Gooley</span></p><p class="caption">An E-2D Hawkeye, assigned to the "Seahawks" of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 126, prepares to launch off the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the North Sea, September 30, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>A contingent of US Marines arrived in Norway in January 2017 for a rotational deployment - the first time a foreign force has been posted on Norwegian soil since World War II. Earlier this year, Oslo <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/r-more-us-marines-to-train-in-norway-closer-to-russia-2018-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it wanted the US to station more Marines there and move their base closer to its northern border with Russia.</p><p>Russia has been irked by that deployment, though Norway has said it's only for training and shouldn't be seen as a military escalation. The Marine Corps has used the Norwegian countryside to train for cold-weather operations, which are likely to be necessary in the future, Commandant Gen. Robert Neller has said.</p><p><span>US forces "haven't been in the cold-weather business for a while," Neller said in January. He has also said he expects the US military's focus <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-marines-may-stay-longer-norway-2018-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to shift away from the Middle East</a> to the Pacific region and Russia. (Marines are carrying out a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marine-corps-iceland-amphibious-exercise-compared-to-red-storm-rising-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rehearsal amphibious landing in Iceland</a> before they do the real thing during Trident Juncture.)</span></p><p><span>The waters off Norway's coast are particularly important for NATO as it seeks to counter Russia's increasingly active navy, especially its submarine force.</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>US Navy/Mass Comm. Specialist Seaman Joseph A.D. Phillips</span></p><p class="caption">An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the "Red Rippers" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 11 takes off from the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the North Atlantic, September 18, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The Greenland-Iceland-UK Gap was considered <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-active-in-north-atlantic-but-russia-sub-activity-may-be-in-arctic-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a vital chokepoint for Western forces during the Cold War</a>, allowing them to monitor the movement of Russian subs into and out of the Atlantic.</span></p><p><span>Russia's sub force is much smaller than its Soviet predecessor, but its boats are more sophisticated and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-submarine-ability-to-hit-targets-in-europe-us-with-missiles-2018-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">can carry advanced land-attack cruise missiles</a> that could allow them to strike deep inside Europe without leaving their bastion in the Barents Sea, near the Russian Northern Fleet's base on the Kola Peninsula. </span></p><p><span>That new capability has led some to call for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-active-in-north-atlantic-but-russia-sub-activity-may-be-in-arctic-2018-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NATO to push past the GIUK Gap</a> and toward Norway's North Cape, where the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea meet.</span></p><p>"The activity in submarine warfare has increased significantly since the first time I came back to Europe and since the Cold War," <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/navy-increasing-anti-submarine-warfare-efforts-to-counter-russian-subs-2018-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Foggo said</a> earlier this year.</p><p>"The Russian Federation navy has continued to pump rubles into the undersea domain," he added, "and they have a very effective submarine force."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-navy-carrier-strike-groups-2018-6">How US Navy carrier strike groups turn the world's oceans into a buffer between the US and war</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

A US aircraft carrier is in the frigid waters north of the Arctic Circle for the first time since the Soviet Union collapsed

<ul class="summary-list"><li>I went on an eight-day Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic cruise.</li><li>The $7,000 cruise included snorkeling with sea lions, hiking, and close encounters with gray whales.</li></ul><p>In February, I went on a Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic cruise that was unlike any other trip I'd ever been on before. </p><p>I snorkeled next to sea lions, swam with exotic fish, and came so close to a gray whale that I could've reached out and touched it. </p><p>Although $7,000 per person for an eight-day, seven-night journey isn't cheap, my trip came with a lot of perks — and I didn't spend any additional money on board. </p><p>Here's why this <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/giraffe-manor-review-nairobi-kenya-worth-it-2024-2">bucket-list experience</a> was worth every penny.</p><h2 id="bf726523-31f3-49e4-93ee-bdb817ce1f6b">Getting to the boat was easy, and the staterooms were comfortable </h2><div type="image" title="Lindblad Expedition- National Geographic cruise stateroom. Showing two twin beds with white linens, blue pillows, and orange life vests." height="4032" width="3024" msid="113037443" hostid="261" sizebytes="541742"></div><p>My son and I flew nonstop from Los Angeles to Loreto, Mexico, where Lindblad's team greeted us. Comfy coaches whisked us to our temporary floating home, the National Geographic Venture.</p><p>The luxurious ship had outdoor decks, an indoor lounge with seating for all passengers, and numerous practical amenities, such as a fitness center.</p><p>The Venture has 50 cabins for 100 guests. We shared a stateroom with Scandinavian-style furniture, including two single beds, a foldout couch, and a desk. </p><p>Our room's large windows allowed us to watch the scenery float by.</p><h2 id="ba4f1a60-5a6a-42d0-836d-3d191990ac1c">Experts aboard the ship ensured we made the most of our adventure</h2><div type="image" title="A group of people whale watching from the deck of a ship." height="2343" width="4032" msid="113037449" hostid="261" sizebytes="780552"></div><p>As soon as we unpacked, passengers and crew got acquainted at an introductory meeting. </p><p>Our captain mapped out the route: We'd start in Loreto on the Sea of Cortez and loop around the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-traveling-to-cabo-san-lucas-mexico">Baja Peninsula</a> to the Pacific Ocean. We would disembark in San Carlos, where a coach would escort us back to the Loreto airport.</p><p>The ship's team of naturalists, educators, and photography instructors introduced themselves and shared their enthusiasm from the start.</p><h2 id="852886f8-bc12-4aea-bd62-d63f6b36ccf8">There was never a dull moment on this trip</h2><div type="image" title="A woman sits on the side of a zodiac boat with two other passengers in Baja." height="1450" width="1933" msid="113037444" hostid="261" sizebytes="218174"></div><p>One standout part of the Venture was its fleet of Zodiacs. These sturdy, inflatable boats hold a dozen passengers and would allow us to access places larger vessels can't, ferrying us to remote locations for up-close observations and interactions with marine life.</p><p>Accompanied by a naturalist, we'd board the Zodiacs early in the morning and go on adventures every day. </p><p>We got to experience the striking landscape of red volcanic ash and fossilized sand dunes on remote Puerto Gato. There, we chose which activity to partake in: I snorkeled and kayaked while my son balanced on a paddleboard. </p><p>Together, we also hiked the dry riverbed with a naturalist who pointed out exotic desert vegetation.</p><div type="image" title="Sea lions are shown basking in the sun on rocks in Baja Mexico." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113037441" hostid="261" sizebytes="2888568"></div><p>While in Los Islotes, we encountered dozens of playful sea lions as they sunbathed on rocks and frolicked in the sea.</p><p>At Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park, we snorkeled around coral reefs filled with colorful fish.</p><div type="image" title="Two people snorkel in the rocky waters off of Baja." height="3024" width="4032" msid="113037446" hostid="261" sizebytes="883386"></div><p>I've snorkeled in many parts of the world, but being in Cabo Pulmo made it clear to me why oceanographer Jacques Cousteau once referred to Baja as "the world's aquarium."</p><p>Of course, we saw many whales during the trip. After all, our itinerary was called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.expeditions.com/expeditions/baja-california-among-the-great-whales">Baja California: Among the Great Whales</a>.</p><div type="image" title="A small boat holding tourists looking at a gray whale in the water." height="1294" width="1294" msid="113037440" hostid="261" sizebytes="248166"></div><p>February is Baja's prime <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-locations-whale-watching-us-2017-3">whale-watching season</a>, so the calendar was in our favor. </p><p>In Puerto Lopez Mateos, we boarded small boats and observed gray whales, which travel from their Arctic feeding grounds to breed and raise their calves in these sheltered waters. I got so close to these majestic mammals that I nearly touched one.</p><p>Cultural experiences were also woven into the trip. </p><p>We spent an afternoon watching a folkloric dance performance, visited an organic cattle farm, and sampled authentic local cuisine at several Baja restaurants.</p><h2 id="2cc70fe0-d954-4006-955f-4efff49c1beb">There was also plenty to do on the ship</h2><p>We spent a lot of each day off of the ship, but we had fun on it.</p><p>While on board, life revolved around <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whale-watching-expedition-cruise-teens-less-screen-time-present-2024-2">spotting humpback whales</a> on deck, attending lectures with the naturalists, trying hands-on photography clinics, and partaking in a daily sunrise exercise class.</p><p>The onboard lounge was a guest magnet. Bartenders mixed cocktails, and the lounge steward made sure there was always plenty of hot coffee available — even for an early bird like me who craves caffeine at 6 a.m.</p><p>The scenery around us was stunning, and the ship offered great views every time of day.</p><h2 id="61a277d5-96d7-4716-b630-6021819d47cc">Food was abundant and satisfying</h2><div type="image" title="A plate with greens, fish, eggs and tomato is shown." height="2774" width="3389" msid="113037447" hostid="261" sizebytes="513970"></div><p>The onboard meals were delicious. Breakfast was a buffet with made-to-order eggs. Lunch and dinner were multi-course, plated meals with five or six different main dishes featuring locally caught fish. </p><p>The daily cocktail hour and a morning snack for early risers kept us well-fed.</p><h2 id="d6edf07b-40eb-430a-8d1d-e077ff42da2a">Above all, the all-inclusive pricing ensured there weren't any surprise expenses</h2><div type="image" title="A man and woman lounge on the deck of a ship. Blue sky, mountains, and ocean water can be seen in the background." height="2365" width="3420" msid="113037450" hostid="261" sizebytes="678552"></div><p>I really appreciated Lindblad's all-inclusive pricing. Once I paid the $7,000 per person, I never opened my wallet again.</p><p>The cost of the trip included all activities, equipment (like wetsuits and loaner cameras), food, beverages, and airport transfers. I also got access to satellite internet, which allowed me to check my email and send text messages. </p><p>Service was attentive right up to the very end of the trip when the staff prepared boxed lunches for us to eat as we waited for our flights home.</p><p>It was an unforgettable experience that I'd book again in a heartbeat.</p>

I spent $7,000 on an 8-day luxury cruise with just 100 passengers on board. I can't recommend it enough. 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>A container ship has been blocking the <keyword id="168216" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Suez-canal">Suez Canal</keyword> since Tuesday.</li><li>Ships now face the alternative of sailing all the way around <keyword id="12925" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="Africa">Africa</keyword> to avoid the blockage.</li><li>This could mean sailing through the most pirate-infested waters in the world off West Africa.</li></ul><p>The massive container ship blocking the width of the Suez Canal has other vessels weighing the lengthy, costly, and perilous decision of whether to detour around Africa instead.</p><p>As demonstrated in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/suez-canal-some-consider-detour-round-africa-as-ship-blocks-way-2021-3">this story by Insider's Mia Jankowicz</a>, the sea route from the Red Sea to the east Mediterranean is a journey of 15,000 miles and ventures through the world's most dangerous waters for <keyword id="6358364" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="piracy">piracy</keyword>.</p><p>Ships taking the long way around will be forced to navigate the Horn of Africa past Somalia and, eventually, past West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea - where piracy rates are the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-48581197">highest in the world.</a></p><p>According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), there were 135 <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/nigeria-greek-crew-held-hostage-after-kidnapping-off-west-africa/a-55763024">maritime kidnappings</a> recorded in 2020 - 130 occurred in the Gulf of Guinea.</p><p>"We see that the <keyword id="6703255" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="pirates">pirates</keyword> are acting with greater impunity," IMB Director Michael Howlett <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-is-piracy-increasing-on-the-gulf-of-guinea/a-56637925">told Deutsche Welles in February.</a> "They are spending more periods of time on board vessels. In one case, they were on board a vessel for more than 24 hours, totally unchallenged."</p><div type="image" title="ever given suez canal" height="1263" width="1684" msid="81723908" hostid="261"></div><p>A spokesperson for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/suez-canal-ship-blockage-ever-given/2021/03/26/357f8ae8-8da8-11eb-a33e-da28941cb9ac_story.html">told the Financial Times</a> it had been contacted by numerous shipping firms over the past couple of days concerned about the risk posed by pirates to their ships are being forced to circumnavigate Africa.</p><p>"There is a risk there, and it's probably another reason why the ocean carriers will think twice before they actually go around the Horn (of Africa)," Genevieve Giuliano, a professor at the University of Southern California's Sol Price School of Public Policy, told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/suez-canal-ship-blockage-ever-given/2021/03/26/357f8ae8-8da8-11eb-a33e-da28941cb9ac_story.html">The Washington Post.</a></p><p>The huge Ever Given container ship has been stuck in the Suez Canal since Tuesday, and while its Japanese owners said it hopes to free the ship by Saturday, some experts say that freeing the ship <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/timeline-and-pictures-of-the-ever-given-stuck-suez-canal-2021-3">could take weeks.</a></p><p>It's unclear how the Ever Given veered off course, but officials attributed the accident to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ship-stuck-in-suez-canal-due-winds-sandstorms-possible-blackout-2021-3">high winds and sandstorms</a>, which are not unusual at this time of year in Egypt.</p><p>As the world waits, London-based shipping <keyword id="6355005" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="news">news</keyword> journal Lloyd's List estimates that the blockage is costing <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/boat-stuck-suez-canal-costing-estimated-400-million-per-hour-2021-3">$400 million per hour in delayed goods.</a></p>

Cargo ships taking the long way around Africa to avoid blocked Suez Canal risk pirate-infested waters

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Ample Hills</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>In the summer of 2011, when Brian Smith opened the first Ample Hills Creamery ice-cream shop in Brooklyn, he actually ended up losing 25 pounds. That's what happens when you </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">work 14 hours a day turning buckets of milk and cream into zany ice cream flavors like salted-crack caramel.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I'd never done a day's work of manual labor in my life," the former horror-movie screenwriter tells Business Insider. But now he had a new type of blockbuster hit on his hands, and was working himself to exhaustion trying to sustain it.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ample Hills became a runaway success right out of the gate. The shop was written up in the New York Times and had a line out the door its first weekend. Smith <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=3&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0CCgQFjACahUKEwjhtJbriJXJAhVFbj4KHTQgBbw&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fcityroom.blogs.nytimes.com%2F2011%2F06%2F02%2Fso-successful-a-new-ice-cream-shop-closes-after-4-days%2F&amp;usg=AFQjCNHXLVZHTCqs_l2IFnWfCesQKjQJMQ&amp;bvm=bv.107467506,d.dmo">ended up having to shut down the shop</a> for a week after being open just four days. He simply ran out of ice cream.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"We were definitely unprepared for that level of success," Smith says. "We were psychologically prepared for failure. We had plan B's in mind, but we hadn't really planned for success."</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Since that summer in 2011, Ample Hills' success has only grown. Smith and his wife Jackie </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Cuscuna</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, a high school teacher who joined the business full time in December, now operate 5 shops total (including kiosks), and have raised $4 million from prominent tech investors to open a factory in Brooklyn.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The factory, which will span 15,000 square feet and employ between 25 and 50 people, is the centerpiece of a new expansion plan for Ample Hills. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Ample Hills</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The model going forward, Smith explains, starts with their first shop on Vanderbilt avenue.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The Vanderbilt shop makes only one ice cream flavor on-site," he says. "It's called 'The Commodore' because that was Cornelius Vanderbilt's nickname," and it's a flavor inspired by his life.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Every new Ample Hills shop will have one flavor you can only get at that specific location, and which you can see being made in front of you. The rest of the flavors will be made in Ample Hills' new factory.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smith hopes this will be a way to keep the homemade feel that drew people to the original shop, while allowing the company to grow - first in New York City, then into the rest of the US.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"A big differentiator for us was that we were making everything on site, from beginning to end. People would come and stand in line and they would see me mixing eggs and milk, and chopping cookie dough up into pieces and putting it in the ice cream. You don't often see the process," he says.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For Smith, it added a bit of story to the whole endeavor - a narrative. This was central for Smith. Before opening Ample Hills, he had primarily written horror movie scripts. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"I made bad monster movies for TV," he chuckles. "Ones with giant killer birds and aliens on a runaway train." His favorite is "Beneath," a movie which had a short theatrical run and features kids on a rowboat in a lake feeding each other to a monster.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smith points out that while the kid-friendly aesthetic of Ample Hills could not be further from this "mean-spirited teen horror film," when he set about raising money from venture capitalists for Ample Hills he felt like he was back pitching a screenplay.</span></p><p>"It forced my wife and I to nail down what it is that makes Ample Hills special," Smith says.</p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This round of investment is led by Charlie O'Donnell of Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, and includes Lerer Hippeau Ventures, </span>Red Sea Ventures, the founders of Seamless, and a syndicate headed by the cofounder of Brooklyn Brewery. </p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So what did they love about Ample Hills?</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"A lot of excitement for the tech people was around there being so many business models. There isn't only one trajectory and one thing." </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Smith will use the money on a three-pronged strategy. The first piece is opening more brick-and-mortar shops, but the second is getting Ample Hills ice cream into grocery stores (now at about 20), and the third is expanding direct shipments to customers.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Ample Hills</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>"I think the 'e-commerce aspect' [of selling directly to customers] is what intrigued them. That's an untapped model and not a lot of people are doing it." </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ample Hills ships to people around the country using dry ice and Styrofoam containers. Right now, that is a very small portion of the business, at only roughly 3%. And Smith says the heart of Ample Hills will always be brick-and-mortar. But the tech investors think direct shipping could be an important step, according to Smith.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Whatever direction Ample Hills goes, it has already made the transition from "mid-life crisis" to neighborhood favorite. Now we'll see whether the rest of the US will get as hooked on Ample Hills as Brooklyn is.  </span></p><p><em>Disclosure: Lerer Hippeau Ventures Managing Partner Ken Lerer is an early investor in Business Insider and currently sits on the board.</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/rainbow-bagels-confetti-cream-cheese-williamsburg-brooklyn-bagel-store-2015-10">Forget the cronut - we tried the rainbow bagel that people are going nuts about on social media</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="ozdms4eDpP3hZPVqOqhGJ4l9ilw_8QHs" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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