New Government News

Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the project, the government of the Pacific Islands nation said on Thursday.Fiji's government said its cabinet had agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Australia for the project, after Australia committed to financing."The revival of the shipbuilding industry in Fiji has been articulated as a key priority…

A Chinese research vessel is on its way to the Maldives, according to an Indian military official and an independent researcher, as new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu deepens ties with Beijing, distancing from New Delhi.It is likely to raise concern in New Delhi, which has previously viewed the presence of such vessels close to its shores, including in Sri Lanka in 2022, as problematic.These vessels are not military ships, officially, but India and others worry about the military use of their research.Relations between traditional friends New Delhi and Male have soured since President Muiz

Maersk's APM Terminals has pledged a €962 million (US$1 billion) investment in its Brazilian operations up to 2026.This figure includes a €296 million of a total €483 million investment exclusively for the Phase One development of a new terminal in Suape. The terminal, located in Estaleiro Atlântico Sul, is in the final stages of acquisition and will rejuvenate infrastructure and increase competition in the port.APM Terminals has committed an additional €666 million of investment to the company’s four other terminals and inland depots, by 2026.

The increasing need to secure energy supplies after easing COVID-19 restrictions has pushed China to gradually resume Australian coal imports and urge domestic miners to boost their already record output.The lifting of the unofficial ban on Australian coal imports, which were halted in 2020 in a fit of Chinese pique over questions on COVID's origins, is the clearest sign yet of the renewed ties between them. The resumption is also a reminder of their economic interdependence as Australia's raw materials play a crucial role in fuelling the export-oriented economy of China…

When Hurricane Michael slammed the Florida Panhandle in October 2018, the deadly category 5 storm inflicted billions in damages to the region, tearing apart homes and businesses in its path. Among those severely impacted was Eastern Shipbuilding Group, which suffered a nearly direct hit at its Allanton shipyard, located about 15 miles east of the company’s headquarters and main yard in Panama City.Eastern, which had been scheduled to begin building the first of up to 11 Heritage-class Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for the U.S.

A state-appointed commissioner in Italy on Tuesday gave his formal go-ahead to the set up of a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the port of Piombino, on the western coast of the country.Preparatory works by gas grid operator Snam for the infrastructure can start on Wednesday, Commissioner Eugenio Giani said during a press conference in Florence.The floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), which is part of a broader plan designed by the former government of Mario Draghi to replace dwindling Russian gas supplies, needs to be operational by end-March.The gas grid operator said

The head of Libya's National Oil Corp (NOC) on Wednesday rejected the prime minister's authority to sack him, raising the prospect of an open struggle for control of the state energy producer.In a furious televised speech, Mustafa Sanalla said Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah's mandate to govern had expired and warned him not to touch NOC.An armed force deployed outside the NOC building later in the day, three witnesses said. One of them said the force was aligned with Dbeibah.

Several Democratic U.S. senators said late on Monday, after meeting with Biden administration officials, that they believe sanctions on Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline backed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz could harm relations with Germany.Under Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and President Joe Biden's global energy security adviser Amos Hochstein met on Monday behind closed doors with about 10 Democratic senators who have been undecided on the Cruz bill.The legislation is expected to get a Senate vote this week after both parties struck a deal last month…

Windfall revenues from high European gas prices mean Russia's Gazprom will not start pumping gas through the Nord Stream 2 pipeline before certification and it will not press Germany to speed up the process, two sources said.Pumping gas without the German approval would only incur a modest fine, but as Germany gets new political leadership and Russia's ties with the West are severely strained, a source at Gazprom said it was content to wait."We don't want to seek faster approval for the pipeline.

The United States is confident Iran attacked an Israeli-managed tanker last week, killing two, the top U.S. diplomat said on Monday, predicting a "collective response" but saying he did not think the incident necessarily signaled anything about Iran's incoming President Ebrahim Raisi."We have seen a series of actions taken by Iran over many months, including against shipping. So I am not sure that this particular action is anything new or augurs anything one way or another for the new government," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.

The first cargo ships from Dubai that docked last year in the Mediterranean port of Haifa were met by celebration in Israel. Flags waved. Reporters gathered. The prime minister walked the pier and gave a speech about the fruits of making peace.There was zero fanfare, however, when oil tankers began arriving at the smaller Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea in an arrangement with Emirati partners. Rather than washing machines and cleaning supplies for consumers, the ships unloaded…

Germany will next week present a multi-billion-dollar proposal to Lebanese authorities to rebuild the Port of Beirut as part of efforts to entice the country’s politicians to form a government capable of warding off financial collapse, two sources said.A chemical explosion at the port last August killed 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods in Lebanon’s capital, plunging the country deeper into its worst political and economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.According to two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the plans…

Lebanon's authorities signed a contract this month with a German company to clear dangerous material stored for more than a decade at Beirut port, the site of a seismic blast in August that killed about 200 people and wrecked swathes of the capital.Combi Lift, which signed the contract three months after a huge quantity of poorly stored chemicals erupted in a mushroom cloud, will remove "flammable and highly reactive" chemicals from 49 containers at the port, the caretaker prime…

The first of many warnings about a deadly cargo in Beirut’s port came in February 2014, about three months after its arrival. It was made by Colonel Joseph Skaf, described by his family as a diligent customs official.Skaf, then the head of the anti-narcotics and money laundering division, informed the customs authority that the shipment of ammonium nitrate was “extremely dangerous” and posed a risk to the public.In his handwritten letter, reviewed by Reuters and authenticated by a source familiar with the case…

New Zealand on Friday said it had introduced new requirements for the safe transport of livestock, after a cattle ship capsized in the East China Sea last month, killing almost all its crew and thousands of cows.Only two of the 43 crew members and more than 6,000 cattle onboard the Gulf Carrier 1, which was heading from New Zealand to China, survived, prompting authorities to suspend live cattle exports and launch a review.The suspension expires on October 23, but a conditional ban is in place until November 30…

Lebanon and Israel, formally still at war after decades of conflict, launch talks on Wednesday to address a long-running dispute over their maritime border running through potentially gas-rich Mediterranean waters.The U.S.-mediated talks follow three years of intense diplomacy by Washington and were announced less than a month after the United States stepped up pressure on political allies of the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.They also come after the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain agreed to establish full relations with Israel…

Singapore and Panama have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their maritime relations.Dr Lam Pin Min, Senior Minister of State for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Health of the Republic of Singapore led the first high-level delegation from Singapore to Panama under the new government of Panama.Dr Lam met with several ministers of the government of Panama, as well as leaders of the business community. He was accompanied by Mrs Mary Seet-Cheng, Non-Resident Ambassador of Singapore to Panama, as well as officials from the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and Enterprise Singapore.During the visit…

Britain is set to become a global hub for low-carbon maritime technology, thanks to new government funding.Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani has committed a further GBP1 million to fund new shipping technology projects through MarRI-UK, a consortium of leading maritime organisations."MarRI-UK has already allocated £1 million to support early stage clean maritime projects. Today government is announcing a further £1 million for technology and innovation projects, boosting the wealth of maritime knowledge that exists in the UK to build an industry fit for the future," said a government release.Nusrat Ghani said: "The UK continues to lead the way on the global stage…

Pollution fines for vessels in Turkish waters have significantly increased, marine insurer West of England said.In Turkish waters, environmental protection is developing and significant fines are applicable to vessels that violate Turkish anti-pollution regulations in accordance with the Turkish Environmental Code.According to new government notification, in addition, fines against persons and legal entities have been separated with the rates for fines against legal entities now between three and fourteen times higher than previously. Since vessels are invariably owned by legal entities a Member is likely to attract the higher rates of fine.In the event of a vessel being fined and detained for an alleged pollution incident in Turkish waters…

The global Oil and natural gas prices will be volatile, but also range-bound in 2019, Moody's Investors Service says in its annual report outlining key credit themes in oil and gas for the year ahead.While the recent announcement that OPEC and Russia will cut production helps alleviate concerns about oversupply, the pivotal questions in the coming year are whether OPEC and Russia will maintain their production discipline and what might happen in June, when the current agreement expires.Moody's expects the medium-term price band for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the main North American benchmark, to be $50-$70 per barrel (bbl)…

At least 17 migrants died in the space of 24 hours while trying to cross the sea from North Africa to Spain, and rescuers picked up more than 100 others, the Spanish coast guard said on Monday.Two rafts were found in the Western Mediterranean between the Iberian peninsula and Morocco and Algeria with 80 people aboard, and 13 dead. They were taken to the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla, the coast guard said.The coast guard also found four bodies and rescued 22 men in the Atlantic off the southern Spanish city of Cadiz.Spain has now become the main destination for undocumented migrants and refugees from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe.More than 47,000 people made the treacherous journey to Spain, often on flimsy dinghies and rafts, between Jan. 1 and Oct.

Rescue ship Aquarius, which has picked up almost 3,000 migrants from the Mediterranean this year, will carry out rescue missions without waiting for orders from coastguards and will not return people to Libya, its search and rescue head said."When we see there is a vessel in distress, with a high likelihood of people dying, we will go and rescue them immediately as per international maritime law," Nick Romaniuk told Reuters on board the Aquarius.Over the last year coordination centres asking rescue vessels to go on standby or wait for clarification on certain things had added to the danger of people needing to be rescued, which is why they would no longer wait…

A rescue operation in which an Italian towboat rescued more than 100 migrants and returned them to Libya earlier this week may have been in breach of international law, the United Nations said on Tuesday.A spokesman for the U.N. migration agency said it could not establish the location of the rescue, which is key to establishing migrants' rights, although some other parties involved in the case have made contradictory assertions about the incident including where it took place.The rescue coincides with a growing perception among human rights groups that some European countries are taking an increasingly hard line in their efforts to cut the number of migrants arriving on their shores…