Nigel News

Bibby Marine announced it has tapped Longitude Engineering to design its first-of-kind zero-emission electric service operation vessel (SOV).The "eSOV" project, as the project partners are calling it, was first announced in September 2023 and recently awarded £20 million under the U.K.'s Zero Emission Vessel and Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition as stakeholders across the marine and offshore industries strive for cleaner vessel operations.Nigel Quinn, Bibby Marine CEO, said, “This project is the natural progression of our decarbonization journey…

The Board of Directors of Wallem Group have announced that John-Kaare Aune will be stepping aside as Wallem Group’s CEO and after a period of transition will leave in January 2024.The Wallem Board has appointed John Rowley to succeed him, with effect from January 1, 2024. Rowley is currently Senior Vice President Global Food and Transportation Divisions at NSF, prior to which he was CEO SAI Global Assurance following eight years on the executive team at the Lloyd's Register Group…

Bibby Marine and its consortium partners are moving forward with plans to build the world’s first zero-emission electric service operation vessel (eSOV) after securing funding for the project from the Zero Emission Vessel Infrastructure (ZEVI) competition.The award, announced Monday at London International Shipping Week, comprises of match funding to build the pioneering vessel, which will operate solely on 20MWh of batteries – a significant step toward achieving the marine industry’s net-zero ambitions.

Russia's lack of ships and Western grain traders' shrinking appetite for business with Moscow are adding to rising costs of moving Russian wheat, at a time when the war in Ukraine has spilled perilously close to vital Black Sea supply routes.President Vladimir Putin promised to replace Ukrainian grain with Russian shipments to Africa after Moscow in July ended an arrangement that gave Ukraine's food cargo safe passage in the Black Sea, imposing a de-facto blockade on its neighbour and attacking storage facilities…

An international shipping company will install revolutionary solar cells on its vessels to manage and store renewable energy following successful trials in Equatorial waters.Carisbrooke Shipping Ltd, which operates a fleet of multi-purpose vessels from offices in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, signed a letter of intent with Anglesey and Manchester-based Grafmarine to utilize the cutting-edge NanoDeck AI Solar tile management solution.The companies have worked in partnership over the last 12 months…

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea will expire at the end of Monday after Russia said it will suspend its participation.The deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July, aimed to alleviate a global food crisis by allowing Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia-Ukraine conflict to be exported safely.WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs.

A deal allowing Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea expires on July 17 and with Moscow saying it sees no grounds for an extension there are fears it may collapse.Why is it important?Ukraine is a major producer of grains and oilseeds and the interruption to its exports at the outbreak of war pushed global food prices to record highs. The current deal, agreed in July 2022 some five months after the war started, helped to bring down prices and ease a global food crisis.Ukraine grain has also played a direct role with 725…

The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times said on Monday.With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets, the newspaper said.The European Commission had no comment while the Kremlin on Monday, in response to a question about the report, said it had…

The European Commission has announced restrictions on the imports of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seed in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria until June 5.The move led to Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria lifting unilateral import bans they had imposed citing the need to protect their farmers. Romania had not banned imports.Here are some of the issues:WHY IS UKRAINE EXPORTING THROUGH EASTERN EUROPE?Ukraine mainly exported agricultural products…

The pace of shipments from Ukraine under a U.N.-backed initiative has slowed as concerns grow over ships getting stuck if a deal is not renewed later this month, according to sources and data. Russia, which is one of the key parties involved, said it will keep talking, although Moscow has threatened to quit on May 18, which has created more uncertainty for traders and shipping companies trying to plan ahead. Under the accord, Ukraine has been able to export some 29.5 million tonnes of agricultural products, including 14.9 million tonnes of corn and 8.1 million tonnes of wheat.

The Kremlin has said the outlook is "not so great" for extending beyond May 18 a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from some Ukrainian Black Sea ports, raising concerns over what happens next with the U.N.-backed sea corridor.The deal has helped to tackle a global food crisis that U.N. officials said had been worsened by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.Reached in July last year, it created a protected transit corridor to enable exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine…

The Kremlin on Wednesday said the outlook for the landmark U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal was not great as promises to remove obstacles to Russian agricultural and fertilizer exports had not been fulfilled.The grain deal is an attempt to ease a food crisis that predated the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but has been made worse by the most deadly war in Europe since World War Two.The agreement was first signed by Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations in July last year and has twice been extended.On paper…

U.K. based vessel owner and operator Bibby Marine announced it has appointed Howard Woodcock as non-executive director.Howard has more than 35 years’ experience across the maritime and offshore energies sectors, having held senior executive roles with United Offshore Support (GmbH) and Bibby Offshore Holdings Limited, in addition to non-executive directorships with Aberdeen Harbor Board, Costcutter Supermarkets Group, IndoChina ShipManagement UK Ltd and AWSR Shipping Limited.In his most recent role…

Russia has proposed that a U.N.-backed initiative that has enabled grains to be exported from Ukraine's Black Sea ports should be renewed for just 60 days.The deal to free up grain exports from Ukraine's southern Black Sea ports, which expires later this month, has previously been renewed for 120 days and there are concerns a shorter extension could cause logistical issues.Reached in July last year, it created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine…

Dozens of merchant ships with grains and sugar are stuck outside Iranian ports after weeks of delays as payments snags disrupt flows of goods into the country, according to trade sources and shipping data. Food is exempt from the West's sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, but the impact of the sanctions on Iran's financial system has created complex and erratic payment arrangements with international companies. The latest payment issues have led to ships being unable to discharge cargoes, with at least 40 bulk carrier ships stuck outside the major Iranian ports of Bandar Imam Khomeini and Bandar Abbas, ship tracking data on Refinitiv showed. Iran’s foreign ministry was not immediately available for comment.

A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by facilitating Ukraine's agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports was extended for 120 days on Thursday, though Moscow said its own demands were yet to be fully addressed.The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds."I welcome the agreement…

A deal to free-up vital grain exports from Ukraine expires on Nov. 19, and intense negotiations over the next few days will determine whether it is extended and possibly even expanded to help ease concerns about global food security.The agreement, reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oil seeds.Here are some of the issues:WHAT HAS BEEN EXPORTED?The pact created a safe shipping channel for exports from three ports in Ukraine.So far…

A $75-million superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian steel billionaire was auctioned on Tuesday in Gibraltar, court sources said, in what is understood to be the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.The Axioma was granted entry into Gibraltarian waters and then impounded by the authorities in March after U.S. bank JP Morgan said its alleged owner Dmitry Pumpyansky had reneged on the terms of a $20 million loan.The 72.5-metre vessel is being auctioned by the Gibraltar Admiralty Court. It was listed for one day, with closed bids to be sent electronically by midday on Tuesday, a court spokesman said.Nigel Hollyer…

Ukraine's military has suspended commercial shipping at its ports after Russian forces invaded the country, an adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff said, stoking fear of supply disruption from the leading grain and oilseeds exporters.Russia earlier suspended the movement of commercial vessels in the Azov Sea until further notice, but kept Russian ports in the Black Sea open for navigation, its officials and five grain industry sources said on Thursday.Ukraine is a major exporter of corn (maize), much of it destined for China and the European Union.

At least five vessels are headed toward Russia with nearly 200,000 tonnes of Brazilian raw sugar sold by European traders, according to shipping data seen by Reuters, about double the country's normal annual imports of the sweetener.Sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine have boosted demand for sugar and other food staples there, and store shelves have been emptying due to food hoarding. Yet sanctions may also make it harder for shippers to get paid for their cargoes.The volume of sugar being shipped is unusually high, traders said, noting Russia tends to import roughly 100,000 tonnes of sugar per year. Russia is not a notable importer or exporter of sugar…

As the United Nations tries to broker a path for grain from Ukraine and temper worries about a global food crisis, hundreds of mines laid along the Black Sea present a practical nightmare that will take months to resolve even after any agreement.The Black Sea is crucial for shipment of grain, oil and oil products. Its waters are shared by Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Turkey, as well as Ukraine and Russia.Ukrainian government officials estimate 20 million tonnes of grain are unable to travel from what was the world's fourth largest exporter prior to the Russian invasion on Feb.

The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea since Russia invaded Ukraine more than five months ago left Odesa on Monday under a safe passage agreement that has raised hopes hundreds of other vessels will follow.But there are many hurdles to overcome before millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain depart from its Black Sea ports, which handle most of the corn, wheat, barley, sunflower seed and rapeseed exports of one of the world's top grain suppliers.Here are some…

A group of academic and industrial partners were awarded a $6.7 million grant by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to accelerate understanding, technologies and policies relating to the use of ammonia as a sustainable fuel. The project begins in June 2022 and will run for 5 years.Entitled Decarbonized Clean Marine: Green Ammonia Thermal Propulsion (MariNH3), the project brings together academics from Nottingham, Birmingham, Brighton, Cardiff and STFC…