Richard Lough News

Shipping group CMA CGM on Friday suspended until further notice all crossings by its vessels of the Bab al-Mandab Strait in and out of the Red Sea due to security risks, a source familiar with the matter said.The decision was taken after the latest attacks on vessels by Houthi militants in Yemen, including the targeting this week of a convoy containing CMA CGM-operated ships, the source said.The move means CMA CGM joins other major shipping firms in suspending transit through the southern Red Sea, disrupting the main route for trade between Asia and Europe.CMA CGM, one of the world's largest c

French fishermen blocked a British cargo vessel from docking in a Brittany port on Friday, in protest at what they say are moves by authorities in London and Jersey to withhold licenses to fish in British waters under a post-Brexit deal.The fishermen held aloft red flares as they circled their boats outside Saint-Malo to block the Normandy Trader's path - a prelude to a planned blockade later on Friday of Calais and the Channel Tunnel, both major transport hubs for trade between Britain and continental Europe.The one-hour Saint-Malo protest and the larger action further east along France's coast risk reigniting a dispute between the…

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…

Britain has approved plans to turn away boats illegally carrying migrants to its shores, deepening a rift with France over how to deal with a surge of people risking their lives by trying to cross the Channel in small dinghies.Hundreds of small boats have attempted the journey from France to England this year, across one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.Border officials will be trained to force boats away from British waters but will deploy the new tactic only when they deem it safe…

From his office overlooking Cherbourg docks, general manager Yannick Millet points to trailers destined for Ireland that belong to Amazon and FedEx, new customers and a signal of a potential big shift in post-Brexit trade.Confronted by red tape and delays after Britain’s messy exit from the European Union, Irish traders are shipping goods directly to and from European ports, shunning the once-speedier route through Britain.“You see the shift in supply chains right here,” he said.All five operators connecting Ireland to mainland Europe have increased ferry services in the past nine months…

Interpol has issued red notices for the captain and owner of the ship that carried the chemicals which devastated Beirut in an explosion in August, killing 200 people, Lebanon’s state media said.Five months since one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record, big questions remain about the ammonium nitrate that detonated after being stored at the port for years.The Interpol notices, which are not international arrest warrants, ask authorities worldwide to provisionally detain people pending possible extradition or other legal actions.

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…

France's next-generation aircraft carrier will be nuclear-powered and replace the national fleet's flagship warship, the Charles de Gaulle, in 2038, President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.The 11th carrier-vessel in the French Navy's history will be built by French defense contractor Naval Group and equipped with the new electromagnetic aircraft launch system developed by U.S. company General Atomics, French officials said.The carrier will be 300 meters long and have a deadweight of 75,000 tons.

Fuel spilling from a Japanese bulk carrier that ran aground on a reef in Mauritius two weeks ago is creating an ecological disaster, endangering corals, fish and other marine life around the Indian Ocean island, officials and environmentalists say.The MV Wakashio, owned by the Nagashiki Shipping Company, struck the reef on Mauritius' southeast coast on July 25.On Thursday, the government said fuel was leaking from a crack in the vessel's hull and Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth declared a state of environmental emergency…

France has informed NATO that it is suspending its involvement in a naval operation in the Mediterranean after the results of an investigation into an incident between French and Turkish warships, an Armed Forces Ministry official said on Wednesday.Turkey's ambassador to France Ismail Hakki Musa had earlier told French senators that Paris was withdrawing after the investigation into the incident had been inconclusive and did not back Paris' claims.Ties between NATO allies France and Turkey have soured in recent weeks over Libya…

France’s flagship aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle is returning to its home port early after about 40 crew members showed signs of COVID-19 symptoms, the armed forces ministry said on Wednesday.The personnel were under strict medical observation on board the nuclear-powered carrier, which had most recently been taking part in exercises with northern European navies in the Baltic Sea.“The first cases showed symptoms recently,” the ministry said in a statement. “There are no signs of aggravated cases among the patients.The aircraft carrier would dock in Toulon…

French shipping group CMA CGM said its operations in China were returning to normal after the coronavirus outbreak crippled traffic last month, forecasting the health emergency would have a limited impact on its results this year.CMA CGM, the world's fourth-largest container shipping firm, expects to return to normal fleet capacity in China from mid-March after seeing signs of industrial production picking up as of late February, it said in a results statement on Friday.The new coronavirus…

France on Wednesday said it was imperative that negotiations over a future trade relationship between Britain and the European Union included customs checks in the Irish Sea.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson struck a divorce deal with the EU last October that leaves the United Kingdom's province of Northern Ireland inside the UK customs area but all EU procedures will apply to goods arriving there."There must be controls in the Irish Sea", France's junior minister for European…

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France was working with European capitals to improve maritime security in the Persian Gulf but stopped short of backing Britain's call for a naval mission to ensure safe shipping in the region.Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday told lawmakers a de-escalation of tensions was needed several days after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz in what London said was an act of "state piracy"."This is why we are setting up a European initiative…

France and Italy forged a military shipbuilding alliance on Friday, as state-controlled Naval Group and Fincantieri signed off on a 50-50 joint venture that will bid for Franco-Italian warship projects and sell to the world market.The alliance reflects the two countries' desire to fend off competition in naval shipbuilding from the likes of China, the United States and Russia.It is targeting orders worth up to 5 billion euros ($5.63 billion) over the next decade. Naval Group said the joint venture aims to build 10-15 warships in that period…

Some of France's spectacular Riviera beaches have been shut as volunteers with shovels and sacks try to rid the coastline of a thick oily residue that washed ashore after two ships collided off Corsica earlier in October.The clean-up operation is taking place on beaches in the glitzy resort of Saint-Tropez and nearby Ramatuelle, where pristine waters and mountainous backdrops draw tycoons and A-list celebrities."Last year it was forest fires, now the pollution is coming from the sea," said Roland Bruno, mayor of Ramatuelle.

Total is determined to push ahead with its plans to drill for oil in the Amazon basin, it said on Friday as Greenpeace activists interrupted its annual general meeting in protest at the project.The French oil major wants to explore Brazil's Foz do Amazonas basin, but Brazil's environmental agency rejected its licence application on Tuesday for a fourth time.As the company's annual general meeting opened in Paris on Friday, four activists from Greenpeace descended by rope from the ceiling above the stage…

French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said it was time for the world's biggest economic powers to start talks on reshaping World Trade Organization rules to prevent current tensions spiraling into trade wars.Macron's comments before the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) came as the European Union faced less than 48 hours to win an exemption from U.S. tariffs on European aluminium and steel."This is about a complete update of global competition rules…

A French judge on Wednesday placed tycoon Vincent Bollore under formal investigation over allegations his company undercharged for work on behalf of presidential candidates in two African nations in return for port contracts.Bollore's company, Groupe Bollore, announced the decision by Judge Serge Tournaire, which came after Bollore had been questioned for two days by French fraud police.Bollore, whose logistics empire is a powerhouse in former French colonies across West Africa…

European Union leaders called on Friday for a temporary exemption from U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium to be made permanent, saying they reserved the right to respond in an "in a proportionate manner" to protect the bloc's interests. The 40-day exemption granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump "putting a gun to our head", Belgium's prime minister complained. The EU's trade negotiator demanded that the United States drop "artificial deadlines". Trump said on Thursday he would suspend tariffs for the EU…

The French coastguard on Tuesday searched for Pierre Agnes, the chief executive of U.S. surfwear retailer Boardriders Inc, after his 36-foot (10.97 m) sailboat was found washed up on the country's Atlantic coast. Rescuers were scouring the Bay of Biscay waters off Hossegor, a surfing resort from where the 54-year-old Agnes set sail early in the morning, the Landes prefecture said. Agnes sent a message to port authorities indicating that he was delaying his return because of thick fog. His beached boat was later found empty not far from Hossegor. "An air and sea search operation is underway," the Landes prefecture said in a statement, adding that two helicopters and two boats were involved in the rescue operation.

French fishermen blockaded Calais throughout Thursday, halting shipping movements at France's busiest passenger port and a major entry point to Europe for British goods, in protest at losses inflicted by the practice of electric pulse fishing. A flotilla of fishing vessels set out at dawn from nearby Boulogne, the biggest fishing port, and blocked the narrow shipping channel into Calais, said fisherman Stephane Pinto. A spokeswoman for the port said the fishermen's protest ended at about 1600 GMT though it would take several hours to clear a backlog of traffic.

Pirates have seized control of a Somali fishing boat to use as a base from which to attack larger ships, police said on Friday, a week after Somali pirates hijacked their first commercial vessel since 2012. Ten Yemeni crew aboard the boat were dumped on shore, officials told Reuters. "We understand that pirates hijacked the fishing vessel to hijack a big ship off the ocean," said Abdirahman Mohamud, head of maritime police forces in the semi-autonomous northern region of Puntland. "They dropped its 10 Yemeni crew and a Somali guard inland and disappeared with the boat together with the food, cook, captain and engineer," he told Reuters. Residents of Marrayo, a northern village near the pirate lair of Eyl, confirmed that pirates from their village had gone to hunt potential targets.