State Aid to Saremar Ruled Illegal
After an in-depth investigation, the European Commission has concluded that part of the support measures that Sardinia had granted to the maritime company Saremar in 2011 and 2012 was incompatible with EU state aid rules. In particular, a capital injection not approved on market conditions and the compensation for carrying out certain maritime services have provided an undue economic advantage to Saremar that its competitors did not have. Saremar needs to pay back this undue advantage of around €10.8 million in total, to remedy the distortion of competition this has created. At the same time the Commission concluded that two letters of comfort issued by the Region did not guarantee any financial obligation of the company and did not therefore constitute State aid to Saremar.
Rolls-Royce Signs 'Environship' Ferry Agreement
Rolls-Royce sign a teaming agreement with Italian company Lauro Shipping to design new gas-powered Environship-concept ferries. This agreement marks the first time that a customer will utilise the Environship concept for a passenger vessel. This follows previous orders for cargo ships which all benefit from a range of Rolls-Royce technologies that will reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40 per cent compared to similar diesel powered ships. Lauro Shipping is one of the largest ferry operators in Italy’s Campania region…
Sperry Marine Wins VDR Order For Italy
Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine unit has received an order to supply 39 VoyageMaster Voyage Data Recorder (VDR) systems for one of Italy's largest ferry fleets. The VoyageMaster systems will permit the ships to meet the new IMO and EU carriage requirements mandating installation of an approved VDR system after July 1, 2002. the equipment. Sardinia and Tunisia. The VDR, similar to an aircraft "black box," records vital information concerning the ship's position, movement, physical status and command and control for the period leading up to and following an incident. The data, including voice recordings from bridge microphones and VHF radio, is stored in a hardened memory capsule for recovery and analysis by safety investigators following an incident at sea. training.
