East England News

France-based clean hydrogen producer Lhyfe has launched the world’s first offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator.The pilot was launched yesterday (September 22) in Saint-Nazaire, France, which will now begin an 18-month wind-powered pilot, as part its drive towards large-scale carbon reduction.It involves Lhyfe's new Sealhyfe 400 kg/day (1MW equivalent) green hydrogen producing electrolyser platform, which has been installed on the WAVEGEM wave energy platform developed by Geps Techno.

The first offshore wind turbine has been installed at Seagreen, an SSE-TotalEnergies project which will become Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm once complete.The installation of the first Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbine in the North Sea off the Scottish coast heralds the start of the turbine installation phase which will see a total of 114 wind turbines installed across the project site. This turbine is also the first V164-10.0 MW turbine installed globally…

London and Brussels agreed on Sunday to “go the extra mile” in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent exit for Britain from the European Union’s orbit at the end of the month.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the EU’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen had given negotiators a Sunday deadline to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU’s single market.On Sunday they mandated negotiators to continue…

Allseas' giant Pioneering Spirit heavy lift vessel has completed its first decommissioning job of summer 2020, with a single-lift removal of Shell UK’s 17,000-tonne Brent Alpha platform from the North Sea. The Pioneering Spirit will now deliver the 44-year old platform to Able UK’s Teesside decommissioning yard in North East England for dismantling and recycling."The removal of Alpha is the first offshore lift to utilize our in-house developed “horseshoes”, connection tools that clamp around pre-installed lift points (bearing brackets) mounted on the upper sections of the jacket’s legs…

The search for the Argentinian submarine was like hunting for the proverbial needle in a hay stack, except that it was a piece of straw. Elaine Maslin reports. At 7.19am, local time, on November 15, 2017, the last message was received from the San Juan submarine. She belonged to the Argentinian navy and was on a routine mission from Ushuaia in the Patagonia region to Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province when she lost contact with the military. Fifteen days later, neither the submarine nor any debris had been found and the crew of 44 sailors were presumed dead.

Port of Dover, the cross-channel port in Kent, south-east England, was awarded the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) Award 2019 in recognition of its successful strategy to reach out to the local community and to directly communicate with the port citizens.Using social media as a new way of communicating and demonstrating a high level of transparency about operational achievements, future strategies and environmental challenges and performance is becoming increasingly important for European ports who can only function and further develop if they receive the license to operate from the local citizens.Chairman of the Jury, Dimitrios Theologitis…

A new report commissioned by Maritime UK and the UK’s Center for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) has recognized the contribution of the UK maritime sector to the country’s economy. The report notes that the sector facilitates 95 percent of all UK trade and that it is larger than both the automotive and aerospace transportation sectors, contributing a total of £46.1 billion ($56.8 billion) to the UK’s GVA in 2017, an £8.3 billion increase over 2010. The sector’s direct GVA contribution in 2017 was £17 billion ($21 billion), a 25 percent increase on 2010 (£13.6 billion or $16.8 billion).

The latest lifeboat to join the fleet of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the main sea rescue service in the UK and Ireland, is the waterjet-propelled Shannon class, which the organization says is its most agile and maneuverable all-weather lifeboat yet to be deployed. Designed entirely in-house by RNLI engineers, cutting-edge technology has been used in this new boat to meet modern-day rescue service demands following the lead taken with the RNLI’s introduction of the Shannon’s sister lifeboat class…

Alternative capacity could be provided by short-sea container services between the UK and EU to alleviate possible congestion at the Port of Dover post-Brexit.The Port of Dover is the cross-channel port situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just 34 kilometres (21 miles) away.According to a new study by global shipping consultancy Drewry the Port of Dover had the capacity to cope with moderate Brexit disruption.The earlier study, validated by the Port of Dover, concluded that of the 2.5 million trailers going via Dover, around 20% (i.e. 500k trailers) could possibly shift to another mode of transport.Using this ‘alternative mode’ assumption…

The Port of Tyne, which comprises the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England,  has secured a GBP60m ($79m) refinancing package from Lloyds Bank to support its ambitious investment program.North East England port said in a release that the five-year agreement, which comprises a £30m revolving credit facility and a £30m term loan, provides the port with capital to develop several major infrastructure projects.This is the latest in a series of landmark North East infrastructure deals supported by Lloyds Bank, which includes leading the financing of the 299MW MGT Teesside power station…

A.P. Moller - Maersk, an integrated container logistics company, announced that it is moving its  North-East England coverage from Immingham to Hull.The existing connection between Immingham and continental Europe, will change to Hull, enabling better accessibility for local shippers and offering convenient connection with mainline services."Starting January 12th, 2019, the short sea service, operated by BG Freight and currently calling Immingham, will be moved to Hull Container Terminal in East Yorkshire, also operated by Associated British Ports," said a press release from the Danish shipper.“We are very pleased with the feedback received from our customers…

Hutchison Ports London Thamesport’s growing reputation as a short-sea container hub has been further enhanced by Helsinki-based Containerships plc’s introduction of a second weekly service from Gdynia, Poland.Containerships has chosen the Kent based port for its second direct service to and from the southern part of the UK. The service offers regular and fast connections with Poland, with improved service and transit times from Gdynia of 3-4 days and 4-6 days for the return journey.Mark Taylor, on behalf of London Thamesport, said:  “We are delighted to welcome Containerships’ second weekly service to London Thamesport. Containerships’ port of choice reflects the growing interest we are seeing for short sea container services into London Thamesport.

Flogas Britain, the UK’s leading liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider, and Stolt-Nielsen LNG Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Børs: SNI), a leading global provider of bulk liquid transportation and storage solutions, announced a joint project to explore bringing LNG to areas of Scotland not served by the existing natural-gas grid. The initiative is a step towards reducing the cost of energy for homes and businesses located off the national gas network. LNG will be shipped by Stolt-Nielsen LNG via small-scale LNG carriers and stored in bulk at the Port of Rosyth, before being distributed by Flogas across Scotland by road tanker, mainly to industrial customers. At present, Scotland’s off-grid natural gas is delivered by road tanker from Kent, South East England.

Terex Port Solutions (TPS) delivered a Terex Liftace 5-31 reach stacker to the north-east England based terminal, Port of Blyth, UK. The machine became operational at the south harbour of the North Sea port in December 2015. The cost effective, service friendly and ergonomic reach stacker will operate the twice weekly container service and stack yard. The machine will also be used for client port training purposes. With a wheelbase of 6,200 mm, the Terex Liftace 5-31 reach stacker offers a maximum load capacity of 45 t in the first container row and 31 t in the second container row. It features travel speeds up to 25 km/h and a maximum lifting speed of 0.45 m/s. The engine of the Liftace 5-31 reach stacker conforms to the EU Stage IV (EPA Tier 4 final) emission standard.

North of England P&I Association (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Company Limited (SMMI) merged to form the North Group on Friday 28 February 2014 following approval by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority and other U.K. and overseas regulators. The merger between two of the longest-established and most successful international marine insurance businesses - both of which are based in north-east England - has created one of the largest global marine insurance operations, with a premium income of over $500 million, free reserves of $350 million and total assets of $1,500 million. North Group has been over two years in the making, starting with a strategic alliance between North and SMMI in January 2012.

The members of North of England P&I Association (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Company Limited (SMMI) have voted in favor of the clubs' recent proposals to merge. A target date of February 21, 2014 has been set for the merger, which will create one of the largest marine insurance operations. At their general meeting on 16 January 2014, North's members approved the terms of the merger framework agreement signed by the two north-east England based mutuals last month.

The North of England P&I Association Limited (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance (SMMI) Company Limited are discussing a possible merger. The decision by the boards and senior management teams of the two north-east England based mutuals follows a strategic alliance, by way of a reinsurance contract between the two companies, which commenced in January 2012. North's Chairman Pratap Shirke says, ‘As a result of the business similarities between North and SMMI and their complementary global operations, we have now agreed in principle to investigate the practicalities of a merger.

The North of England P&I Association Limited (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance (SMMI) Company Limited are discussing a possible merger. The decision by the boards and senior management teams of the two north-east England based mutuals follows a strategic alliance, by way of a reinsurance contract between the two companies, which commenced in January 2012. North’s chairman Pratap Shirke said, “As a result of the business similarities between North and SMMI and their complementary global operations, we have now agreed in principle to investigate the practicalities of a merger. SMMI’s chairman Trevor Hart said, “SMMI and North…

After a record breaking cruise season in 2012 the Port of Tyne is expecting another busy year in 2013 with 32 cruise calls, 11 of which are transit and 21 are turnaround cruises. Three new cruise lines will be making transit calls – visiting the Port for one stop – including Crystal Cruises, Hurtigruten and Costa Cruises. A number of first time calls will be made by existing customers including the inaugural visit of Fred Olsen’s Black Watch and MSC Magnifica. U.K. ports are set for one million cruise passenger embarkations this year after a record 2012. The number of people leaving U.K.

Tata Steel today inaugurated its new £2 million offshore processing centre (OPC) at an event in Hartlepool attended by more than 40 leading business figures from the European renewable energy sector. Following a presentation at Hartlepool College of Further Education, guests were shown round the company’s new centre, a high-productivity processing facility that will produce welded tubular assemblies to be used in the fabrication of jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines. They also visited Tata Steel’s 42-inch tube mill, one of three tube mills located at the company’s Hartlepool site.

Planning consent for the ambitious £210-million redevelopment of Alexandra Dock where the factory will be based was granted in May. Already huge jack-up cranes are now regularly shipping turbine components from a riverside quay off Albert Dock to offshore wind farm sites off the Norfolk coast. Work has also already started on re-equipping a shipyard in Paull, where a new fleet of support vessels for the offshore wind industry will be built, reports the 'Hull Daily Mail'. Mark Jones, Hull City Council's head of economic development and regeneration said: "There is a revival of shipbuilding and marine engineering on the estuary. Alexandra Dock is set to be transformed under Green Port Hull plans.

The Finnish Ambassador for the UK recently visited PD Ports owned Teesport, to see the facility’s latest cranes, purchased from a Finnish manufacturer. As part of his tour of north-east England and Edinburgh, Ambassador Pekka Huhtaniemi visited the port with his wife, Liisa Huhtaniemi, met with senior port officials and was taken on a tour of the dock estate and shown around the port on a launch boat. Mr Huhtaniemi then viewed the four new RTG (rubber-tyred gantry) cranes delivered to Teesport on 18 August.

The "A" rated North P&I club is at the top table of P&I clubs in terms of financial strength according to chairman Albert Engelsman of Dutch shipping group Wagenborg. Engelsman confirmed that the club’s focus on quality and prudent underwriting had given it, "immense financial strength." He highlighted the fact that free reserves reached a record $312 million at renewal, premium income is projected to reach $350 million in the current policy year and the combined ratio has dropped to 78% - the lowest of any club.