Investor Group News

AtoB@C Shipping in mid-December took delivery of Electramar, the first vessel in its series of 12 highly energy-efficient plug-in hybrid vessels. These vessels reduce CO2 emissions by up to 50% compared to the present generation of vessels. Shore power connectivity and a large battery installation provide superior fuel efficiency and the possibility to minimize noise and emissions while in port."We are proud to be at the forefront of green shipping with these innovative vessels that combine high efficiency, flexibility and sustainability.

German oil and gas firm Wintershall Dea, one of the five co-funders of Nord Stream 2, on Wednesday said it is writing off its 1 billion euros ($1.11 billion) financing in the gas pipeline that was suspended last week.The management board of Wintershall Dea said on Wednesday it would no longer be advancing or implementing further projects in Russia and would be stopping payments to Russia immediately.The company, co-owned by BASF and Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman's investor group LetterOne, said it would remain involved in the existing Yuzhno Russkoye and Achimov natural gas production pr

Hydrogen company Tree Energy Solutions (TES), backed by Belgian investor group AtlasInvest, said on Wednesday it would build an LNG terminal in the German North Sea port town of Wilhelmshaven, business newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.The terminal is down to receive investments of 25 billion euros by 2045 and scheduled to go into operation in three years, Handelsblatt added, and could bring up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Germany in the first few years."Our Wilhelmshaven project will account for 10% of the total annual primary energy demand of Germany by 2045…

“If consolidation was the solution to all that ails shipping, then container liner companies would be super profitable. They are not. In ‘commoditized’ sectors of the shipping industry, which by now includes pretty much everything apart from very small niche markets, there is hardly any economies of scale at the company level. As long as bigger is not in fact much better, then meaningful consolidation will not happen.”Dr. Roar Adland, visiting scholar at MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics and Professor at the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).Like any other business…

Russia is using a former top secret NATO base situated in the heart of the Arctic Circle, reports AFP. The Norwegian authorities are gravely upset over a secret naval base they sold two years ago: what makes them panic over the facility they just recently deemed unnecessary is that it is rented by a fleet of Russian research vessels, which, experts believe is “no joking matter”. The Olavsvern Naval Base is hidden in a mountain near the Norwegian town of Tromso. The base was sold in 2013 by Norway's then president Jens Stoltenberg - now the NATO Secretary General - to a Norwegian businessperson for just 5 million USD. The base was acquired by businessman Gunnar Wilhelmsen.

Norwegian Ministry of Defense approves sale of Olavsvern naval base outside Tromsø. The sale is to the investor group Triko AS which includes Odfjell Drilling, PSW Rig Service and in cooperation with Petro Support Group will create a service center for the offshore petroleum industry. reports the Barents Observer. Olavsvern was built during the Cold War with NATO-funding and holds tunnels into the mountain where Norwegian and allied submarines could hide or get supplies while on patrol in Arctic waters. Both American and British nuclear powered submarines used to make port calls to the base that is located some 20 kilometers outside Tromsø. The base was officially written-off by NATO in April last year, following the restructuring of the Norwegian navy.

The Settlement agreement recently approved by a U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge in New York became effective July 28, clearing the way for an investor group led by The Blackstone Group to terminate their relationship with U.S. Shipping and to retain Crowley Maritime Corporation to manage five U.S.-flag petroleum tankers for the newly renamed company, American Petroleum Tankers LLC. The five tankers, two of which are in operation and three of which are due for delivery from shipbuilder NASSCO in San Diego through 2010, were to be owned by a joint venture controlled primarily by affiliates of The Blackstone Group and U.S. Shipping Partners. U.S. Shipping filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 earlier this year.

Headed by Axcel, an investor group has formalized an agreement with the Danish company J. Lauritzen Holding to attain Aalborg Industries. Aalborg, which is one of Denmark's large industrial companies specializing in the field of boilers and other heat generating equipment, agreed to allow investors to set up a new holding company with shares to be distributed among the investor group. The investor group also includes LD, FIH, and Aalborg president and CEO Freddy Frandsen, senior vice president and CFO Svend Ole Aagren, and group vice president Jorn Nielsen.

The creation of broad stroke, groundbreaking business deals are traditionally portrayed as being hatched on the golf course, at an exclusive social function or within the confines of a harried boardroom. The creation of Tradiant — which is a new e-commerce solution that promises to change the very foundation of the shipping business — is as unique as its lofty goals. Co-founder Aaron Sasson and current president and CEO John Urban met at their daughters' PTA meeting. While the field of e-commerce solutions serving the maritime industry is quickly becoming crowded with an equal mix of idealists and fortune seekers, Tradiant stands out with its co-mingling of technical expertise and in-depth industry knowledge.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday gave final approval to two liquefied natural gas import terminals along the Mississippi coast. The LNG Clean Energy Project, located in the Port of Pascagoula, will be able to send out up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day. The $450m terminal, which will be owned by the Houston-based private investor group Gulf LNG Energy LLC, will be able to handle 150 LNG tankers a year. Separately, Chevron Corp's Casotte Landing LNG project will be located next to the company's Pascagoula refinery and will process imported LNG for distribution to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Mississippi and the Southeast region, including the growing Florida market. The terminal will be able to send out 1.6 billion cubic feet of LNG a day.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff recently said two proposed liquefied natural gas import terminals on the Mississippi coast would not significantly harm the environment, clearing a major hurdle for the projects to win final approval from the agency. The proposed LNG Clean Energy Project that would be located in the Port of Pascagoula would be able to send out up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day. The $450 million terminal, which would be operated by the Houston-based private investor group Gulf LNG Energy LLC, would be able to handle 150 LNG tankers a year. Separately, Chevron Corp's Casotte Landing LNG project would be located next to the company's Pascagoula refinery and will process imported LNG for distribution to industrial…