Ingrid News

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

French shipping group CMA CGM said on Friday it was suspending its calls at Port au Prince due to the worsening security situation in the Haitian capital.The group, one of the world's largest container lines, will call at Lafito, 20 km from Port au Prince, as an alternative, while also continuing to call at Cap Haitien as usual, CMA CGM said in a customer advisory.(Reuters - Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Ingrid Melander)

Operations at the port of Antwerp, one of Europe's biggest container ports, were seriously impacted on Tuesday as hundreds of farmers on tractors blocked the roads around the port to demand better pay and working conditions, officials said.The protest follows a large number of similar actions by angry farmers in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and beyond, as farmers also demand looser environmental rules and better protection against cheap imports."Operations are heavily disrupted," Stephan Van Fraechem, the director of the association of port companies Alfaport VOKA, told Reuters.

Idris, 22, was convinced he was going to die when the small boat he and dozens of other migrants were on began to sink in the Channel as he tried to reach England from France.It was only thinking of his parents back home, and the fact that he had embarked on this perilous journey to help his family, that gave him the strength to stay afloat, he told Reuters.Six people died when the boat sank on Saturday. More than 60 people, mostly Afghans, were saved by French and British rescue teams, including Idris and 15-year-old Fawad.

More than 100 firefighters fought a huge blaze at grain silos in the French Atlantic port of La Rochelle on Thursday, disrupting shipping activity at one of France's biggest grain export terminals.The fire started on a conveyor belt at around 8:00 a.m. (0600 GMT) in a grain silo complex operated by SICA Atlantique, the local prefecture said.Some 120 firefighters brought the blaze under control, helped by the use of a 72-metre (236.22 ft) high lift platform to access the conveyor belt above the grain silos…

French shipping group CMA CGM is offering 5 billion euros ($5.48 billion) for the logistics unit of Bollore, the family-run conglomerate said on Tuesday.For Bollore a deal would mean cutting ties with its biggest business while offering cash-rich CMA CGM a chance to bolster its bid to offer end-to-end transportation services and supply chain management.The business posted more than 7 billion euros in revenue last year and has 15,000 employees.News of the indicative offer, made on a cash free and debt-free basis, boosted Bollore's shares.Bollore disclosed it following a report in shipping publi

Rhine river traffic came to a standstill in some places on Wednesday due to strikes against French government plans to raise the pension age, with sections of the river in France, Germany and Switzerland affected, a CGT union representative and Germany's Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) said.Around 1.28 million people in France had participated in a sixth day of protests on Tuesday against a draft law that would see the pension age delayed by two years to 64.A blockade at Strasbourg lock on the Rhine was cleared by police and an evacuation of the blockades at the Marckolsheim lock…

A Russian billionaire is suing French authorities in an effort to win back access to two of his yachts, arguing customs officials did not have the right to immobilize them despite him being on an EU sanctions list, his lawyer said on Thursday.Alexey Kuzmichev, one of the main shareholders of Russia's Alfa-Bank, who was sanctioned by the EU in March for his ties to President Vladimir Putin, appealed the seizure of his ships "La Petite Ourse" and "La Petite Ourse II", held in the Cote D'Azur towns of Antibes and Cannes, respectively."If you own an asset for your personal use, like a yacht, you have the right to make use of it even though it's frozen"…

European Union leaders have agreed an embargo on Russian oil imports that will start kicking in towards the end of the year and which exempts, for now, pipeline imports that Hungary and two other landlocked Central European states rely on.The toughest sanction yet on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, agreed overnight after weeks of wrangling, aims to remove 90% of Russia's crude imports into the 27-nation bloc by year-end, senior officials said."The purpose is to stop Russia's aggressive war…

Sanmar Shipyards in Turkey have placed an order for a pair of MAN 12V175D-MM marine prime movers. The 2 x 2,040 kW-rated propulsion engines were selected to provide power for a new generation 60 TBP TRAnsverse tug. Both engines will be supplied along with MAN Energy Solutions’ versatile and efficient SCR exhaust gas after-treatment system, enabling the vessel to meet IMO Tier III emission standards.The engines and accompanying SCR systems will be supplied direct to Sanmar from the MAN Energy Solutions production facility in Denmark…

The European Union's foreign ministers disagreed on Monday on whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to decide an embargo.The EU and allies have already imposed hefty measures against Russia, including freezing its central bank's assets.Russia's siege and bombardment of Mariupol port, which EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called "a massive war crime"…

French customs have seized a yacht belonging to Rosneft boss Igor Sechin as it tried to leave the Mediterranean port of La Ciotat in a breach of EU sanctions on Russian oligarchs, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said.The move came as western states are implementing massive sanctions, including asset freezes, against Russia for invading its neighbor Ukraine. A separate nearly $600 million luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has also been seized, by German authorities, Forbes reported. The 88-meter "Amore Vero" arrived in La Ciotat on Jan.3 and was due to stay there until April 1st for repairs, the finance ministry said in a statement…

Towage operator Svitzer announced an agreement with Robert Allan Ltd. and Sanmar Shipyards to build its next generation multipurpose tug.According to Svitzer the new smaller and nimbler TRAnsverse Tug is able to generate higher steering forces than most designs of similar dimensions and comes with an innovative staple design and unique ability to push, pull and maneuver in all directions. With omni direction hull form and propulsion, steering forces over the full range of speeds and maneuvers…

British and French officials traded blame on Wednesday after 27 migrants died when their dinghy deflated as they made a perilous crossing of the English Channel.The accident was the worst disaster on record involving migrants in the narrow seaway separating the two countries.The Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and currents are strong. Human traffickers typically overload the dinghies, leaving them barely afloat and at the mercy of waves as they try to reach…

A.P. Moller - Maersk’s towage operator Svitzer has signed an agreement with naval architect company Robert Allan Ltd to design the world’s first fuel cell tug for harbor operations, running on green methanol.The project aims to explore the combination of methanol fuel cells, batteries, storage/handling systems, electric drives and propulsion units as a carbon neutral alternative to the conventional fossil fueled propulsion train.Ingrid Uppelschoten Snelderwaard, Global COO, Svitzer…

Spanish rescuers were searching the waters off the coast of Tenerife for a one-year-old girl on Friday after the body of a six-year-old girl, presumed to be her sister, was pulled from a 1,000-meter depth.Their father, Tomas G., is the main suspect in the disappearance of Olivia, 6, and Anna, 1, after failing to return them to their mother as agreed at the end of April. He is also missing.The body of the 6-year old, whom authorities said in all likelihood was that of Olivia, was found near where her father's boat was found empty adrift at sea."The body was at a depth of 1,000 meters inside of a sports bag tied to an anchor. Another empty sports bag was also found next to them…

British navigator Jimmy Cornell set sail from Seville in Spain on Thursday to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the first voyage around the world—this time on an electric boat.Cornell plans to follow the route taken by explorers Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastian Elcano.The trip "has two dimensions, a historical dimension, because I want to travel the original and historic route," Cornell told reporters."But it has another very important dimension for me, which is to protect the environment.

Engines manufacturer Caterpillar announced Tuesday it has signed a global services agreement with the the world’s largest tug operator, Svitzer, covering more than 100 vessels powered by Cat Marine engines in 30-plus countries. A focused Caterpillar team working with the global Caterpillar dealer network will execute the terms of the contract, which is designed to increase vessel uptime, drive service efficiency and extend Svitzer’s overall service experience.With towage operations serving 34 terminals and 120 ports in the Americas…

On 1 December 2020, Ingrid Uppelschoten Snelderwaard will take up the role as global COO of Svitzer A/S, reporting to CEO Kasper Friis Nilaus. She will be based in Copenhagen.Uppelschoten Snelderwaard joins Svitzer from her current position as Global Head of Equipment and VP at Maersk and takes over from Svitzer’s current COO, Leonardo Sonzio, who will be moving on to become Maersk's Head of Fleet Operations.Uppelschoten Snelderwaard holds a degree in Economics and Languages from Hogeschool Zeeland, and a degree in Business Management from Nyenrode University in the Netherlands.

Allseas' giant Pioneering Spirit offshore construction and decommissioning vessel last week provided a stage for what is believed to be the Netherlands’ first drone to vessel delivery.Mobilizing in Rotterdam’s Alexiahaven for upcoming platform removal projects, the 382 meters long, 124 meters wide vessel last week received a special aerial package containing spare parts.The drone delivery was a test, set up by Dutch Drone Delta (a consortium promoting the use of drones), the Port of Rotterdam Authority and Allseas.

Some 200 workers from 27 nations are building a hybrid sailboat on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica designed to carry 350 tons of goods, hoping to demonstrate that in the 21st century it is possible to transport cargo without polluting the environment.Inspired by the historic Finnish trading schooner Ingrid of the Aland Islands, the firm Sailcargo Inc says it designed the vessel named Ceiba “to be the first of its kind in the world.” It will rely mostly on wind power with two auxiliary…

A shipload of Spanish cattle that had been drifting for months due to concerns over the bovine bluetongue disease docked in Spain on Thursday, the government said, but the fate of the animals remains unclear.The Karim Allah left the Mediterranean port of Cartagena on December 17 carrying 895 cattle destined for sale in Turkey. A second ship, the ElBeik, set sail the next day from Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows.Even though the cattle had clean veterinary certificates, according to Spain’s government, Turkish authorities rejected both vessels and suspended live animal imports from Spain after an outbreak of the insect-borne…

Svitzer, Kongsberg Maritime and the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) signed a deal to jointly develop the RECOTUG, touted as the world’s first commercial tug to be fully operated from a remote operations center on shore.Each organization delivers a unique perspective: Svitzer brings operational experience; Kongsberg brings remote control systems and autonomous technology; and ABS brings guidance for regulatory approval.The RECOTUG project's aim is to develop a remotely controlled…