Elizabeth Piper News

Yemen's Houthi movement will expand its targets in the Red Sea region to include U.S. ships, an official from the Iran-allied group said on Monday, as it vowed to keep up attacks after U.S. and British strikes on its sites in Yemen.Attacks by the Houthis on ships in area since November have impacted companies and alarmed major powers in an escalation of Israel's more than three-month war with Hamas militants in Gaza. The group says it is acting in solidarity with Palestinians.British…

As Europe turns to renewable sources to diversify energy supplies away from Russian oil and gas, a peaceful marine scene conceals a billion-dollar security headache.Rising above the Baltic Sea less than 10 km (6 miles) off the coast of Denmark, 161 wind turbines spin slowly. They supply around 4% of the country's power, sent to shore through two cable connections.The turbines have no barriers or surveillance."Our technicians are only here until five o'clock in the afternoon, then they go home…

Britain will acquire two specialist ships to protect underwater infrastructure such as cables and pipelines, defence minister Ben Wallace said on Sunday, following leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Europe.European countries say the Nord Stream pipelines were damaged by "sabotage" but have stopped short of blaming Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Western countries.Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, central England…

The company that operates Britain's biggest container port, Felixstowe, said on Friday it believed its pay offer to workers was fair and it was disappointed strike action due to begin on Sunday had not been called off.More than 1,900 workers at Felixstowe represented by the Unite union plan eight days of strikes from Aug. 21 in a dispute over pay."The company is disappointed that Unite has not taken up our offer to call off the strike and come to the table for constructive discussions to find a resolution…

Staff at Britain's largest container port, Felixstowe, have voted in favor of strike action in a dispute over pay, the Unite union said on Thursday, warning of huge disruption across the supply chain.The dockworkers join a growing wave of employees, in a range of sectors from rail to telecoms, resorting to industrial action as pay rises fail to keep pace with inflation which is expected to hit double digits in Britain by the end of the year."Strike action would bring Felixstowe to a standstill and would cause major logistical problems for maritime and road haulage transport entering the port,"

Russia's lead warship in the Black Sea sank on Thursday, Russia's defense ministry announced, after what Ukraine said was a missile strike and Russia described as an explosion of ammunition on board.The loss of the Moskva, the flagship in Russia's Black Sea fleet, occurred as it was being towed to port in stormy weather, Russian news agencies quoted the defense ministry as saying. The sinking was a fresh blow to Moscow's military campaign as it readied for new assaults in east…

Russia said on Thursday the flagship of its Black Sea fleet was seriously damaged and its crew evacuated following an explosion that a Ukrainian official said was the result of a missile strike.Russia's defence ministry said a fire on the Moskva missile cruiser caused ammunition to blow up, Interfax news agency reported.It did not say what caused the fire but Maksym Marchenko, the Ukrainian governor of the region around the Black Sea port of Odesa, said the Moskva had been hit…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday he believed that P&O Ferries had broken the law by sacking 800 staff with immediate effect via video message and that the government would take legal action.P&O, which is owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, said last week it had lost 100 million pounds ($131 million) in the last year and that without changes its business was not sustainable."It looks to me ... as though the company concerned has broken the law, and we will be taking action ...

Britain will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday, joining other nations including the United States in reducing their energy dependency on Russia.In response to President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade of Ukraine, Britain and others are seeking ways to deprive Moscow of income and cut their own use of Russian energy exports by becoming more self-sufficient."In another economic blow to the Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout th

A coalition of 19 countries including Britain and the United States on Wednesday agreed to create zero emissions shipping trade routes between ports to speed up the decarbonization of the global maritime industry, officials involved said.Shipping, which transports about 90% of world trade, accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions.U.N. shipping agency the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has said it aims to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions from ships by 50% from 2008 levels by 2050.

Britain clinched a narrow Brexit trade deal with the European Union on Thursday, just seven days before it exits one of the world’s biggest trading blocs in its most significant global shift since the loss of empire.The deal, agreed more than four years after Britain voted narrowly to leave the bloc, means it has averted a chaotic finale to the tortuous divorce that has shaken the 70-year project to forge European unity from the ruins of World War Two.It will preserve Britain’s zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the bloc’s single market of 450 million consumers…

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…

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Friday it would be wrong to conflate large queues of lorries at British ports with the issue of Brexit, saying the congestion was mainly caused by a spike in consumer goods demand and COVID-19 disruption."It's been primarily caused by a global spike in demand for consumer goods over many months this year, as well as disruption to global shipping patterns and container capacity related to changes caused by the pandemic and subsequent commercial issues at ports," the spokesman told reporters.(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper, writing by William James)

British defense minister Ben Wallace said on Tuesday the Department for Transport and his ministry would issue guidance to shipping in the Middle East imminently after the killing of an Iranian military commander heightened tensions."The Department for Transport are reviewing the threat state and advice to red-ensign shipping on a daily basis and, supported by the Ministry of Defense, we will issue guidance imminently," Wallace told parliament. (Reporting by Kylie MacLellan and Elizabeth Piper; editing by Stephen Addison)

Britain summoned the Iranian ambassador on Tuesday to condemn what it said was a clear breach of the assurances it was given over the oil cargo of the tanker Adrian Darya 1, which had previously been detained for breaching EU sanctions."Iran has shown complete disregard for its own assurances over Adrian Darya 1," foreign minister Dominic Raab said in a statement, accusing Iran of reneging on a promise not to transfer oil from the tanker to Syria."This sale of oil to (Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's) brutal regime is part of a pattern of behaviour by the Government of Iran designed to disrupt regional security."Britain said it would raise the issue at the United Nations later this month. (Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet with Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo later on Wednesday to discuss the detained Iranian oil tanker Grace 1, a spokesman for May said.The tanker was seized earlier this month by British Royal Marines off the coast of the British Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar on suspicion of violating sanctions against Syria.May and Picardo will also discuss Brexit, the spokesman said.Reporting by Elizabeth Piper

Britain has recommended all British-flagged ships go to a heightened state of security in the Strait of Hormuz, Sky News reported on Thursday, citing unnamed maritime industry sources.A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: "The Department for Transport, as competent authority, regularly provides Security Advice to UK and Red Ensign Group Shipping on how they should operate in areas of high risk." (Reuters, Reporting by William James, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

A cargo ship was being evacuated after it started to take on water off the coast of Dover after the biggest storm of the season hit southern England, the Coastguard said on Sunday.   Earlier, the port of Dover said ferry movements had been temporarily suspended because of the "very high winds", which the Met Office said could reach 70-80 miles per hour in exposed coastal locations.   The coastguard could not immediately give any further details. (Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Keith Weir)

A senior Russian official said on Monday he doubted France would cancel its sale of warships to Russia, despite coming under pressure from other Western leaders seeking to sanction Moscow after the downing of a Malaysian airliner in Ukraine. "This is billions of euros ... the French are very pragmatic. I doubt it (that the deal will be cancelled)," Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin told reporters. "Suspension of the deal would be (much) less damaging for Russia than for France." (Reporting by Daria Korsunskaya; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel and Vladimir Soldatkin, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Russian gas producer Gazprom is not considering building a gas pipeline to Japan because of ecological reasons, the firm's deputy CEO, Alexander Medvedev, said on Tuesday.   Medvedev said Japan was a target market for liquefied natural gas (LNG).     (Reporting and writing by Katya Golubkova, editing by Elizabeth Piper)

Russia plans to cut oil exports by pipeline and oil transit by 0.6 percent to 52.5 million tonnes in the third quarter, quarter-on-quarter, trade sources citing a loading schedule said on Tuesday. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters oil exports and transit via the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk were seen rising to 12.4 million tonnes from 12.1 million in the second quarter. Those through the Ust-Luga port were seen falling to 6.6 million tonnes from 7 million. The Black Sea port of Novorossiisk is expected to ship 7.4 million tonnes versus 7.8 million tonnes.

Russian prosecutors detained four Moscow airport workers and denied bail to the driver of a snow plough which hit a private jet killing the CEO of French oil company Total earlier this week, officials said on Thursday. Russia's investigative committee has moved quickly to detain those it says might be responsible for the crash, which killed Christophe de Margerie in a tragedy which has done little to improve Russia's reputation for poor air safety. The chief executive of Moscow's Vnukovo airport and his deputy resigned over the crash, but some critics have accused investigators of trying to find a scapegoat by accusing the driver of the snow plough, 60-year-old Vladimir Martynenko, of being drunk. His lawyer denied the allegations.

Russia's biggest oil producer Rosneft will continue drilling in the Arctic Kara Sea on its own after the departure of its partner, U.S. oil major ExxonMobil, due to sanctions, the company's head Igor Sechin said on Friday. "We will continue drilling in any case, on our own, always and everywhere. If partners can take part - that's good, if they can't - we will carry on alone," Sechin told reporters. Exxon earlier suspended cooperation with Rosneft in the Arctic due to U.S. sanctions over Moscow's involvement in the conflict in Ukraine.