Vera Eckert News

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

Nord Stream is seeking more than 400 million euros ($436 million) from its insurers over explosions in 2022 which ruptured pipelines designed to transport Russian gas to Germany, court filings show.Nord Stream AG names Lloyd's Insurance Company and Arch Insurance (EU) DAC as defendants in its lawsuit, which was filed at London's High Court last month.Switzerland-based Nord Stream confirmed in an email there is a contractual dispute in London commercial courts between itself and insurers of the pipeline system."However…

German shipowners' group VDR on Tuesday urged the Berlin government to provide legislation implementing European Union requirements to include the sector in the bloc's carbon trading system.The government is behind in transforming an EU agreement late in 2022 to require shipowners to buy EU carbon permits to trigger investment in greener technologies, into national legislation, VDR said at its annual press conference."For us, the cornerstone of our operations is not only planning certainty but also the assurance of uniform competitive conditions on an international scale…

The first vessel carrying LNG for Germany's Baltic Sea terminal of Mukran arrived on Saturday for a test operation as the country steps up its quest to replace Russian pipeline gas.Private company Deutsche ReGas said that Energos Power, a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU), had moored at the terminal on Ruegen Island, having received approval from local authorities.Germany has intensified its quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores, as European countries seek to reduce their heavy reliance on Russian gas following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.The tests will

German utility RWE on Jan. 1 handed over floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure at Brunsbuettel on the North Sea to state-owned Deutsche Energy Terminal (DET) as agreed when first imports arrived 10 months ago, it said.DET is now the sole operational manager and markets the capacity of the Brunsbuettel Elbehafen LNG project.Germany's quest to increase LNG capacity for regasification on its shores has intensified as it seeks to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas…

German shipping company Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday it was the latest company planning to avoid the Red Sea after attacks there by Yemen's Houthi group on merchant vessels, which have disrupted global trade and triggered a multinational naval action.Hapag-Lloyd said it would reroute 25 ships by the end of the year from the key waterway as freight rates and shipping stocks have increased because of the disruption. Avoiding the Red Sea and Suez Canal means following a far longer route around Africa.The Iran-aligned Houthis…

Germany's emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Elbe river port of Stade expects its floating regasification vessel (FSRU) to arrive in February, allowing seaborne gas cargoes to be fed into local pipeline grids, its management said on Wednesday.The move is part of Germany's quest to increase LNG import capacity so it can end reliance on Russian pipeline gas, which Europe has heavily depended on prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year."The Transgas Force (the designated ship) is anticipated to arrive in February and will remain for three years, ahead of the commissioning

Global shipping markets, which are due to add more capacity than anticipated demand will support, have a good chance of rebalancing within two years, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd told reporters on Thursday."The gap between supply growth and demand growth is possibly smaller than people think and therefore, the outlook that the market may recover to a more balanced situation in one or two years is better than most people feel," said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.The company, the world's number five in container shipping, earlier this month said it will cut some services to save costs a

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd on Thursday posted a net profit of 3.2 billion euros ($3.43 billion) for the first nine months of 2023, down by 77% from a year earlier, and cut its forecasts for full-year earnings.Net profit was down from 13.8 billion euros in comparable 2022 when the shipping industry, a proxy for global trade, boomed amid post-pandemic recovery and because logistics disruptions drove up prices for consumers.This year, the global economic slowdown and the clearing of port log-jams sent freight rates down sharply…

A new floating reception terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) off the German Baltic Coast should be operational from the first quarter of 2024, gas pipeline operator Gascade, which is building its onshore connection, said on Wednesday.Located off Mukran on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, the terminal will host two floating storage and reception units (FSRUs) for LNG deliveries into the German mainland and for exports to eastern European neighbours, as the region ends reliance on Russian pipeline gas."All things going well…

Transatlantic shipping freight rates have come under pressure from slack demand, meaning ship operators must watch costs, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday."Rates have definitely collapsed, and that means we have to start looking at our costs, which have gone up," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth biggest container liner, in a call with journalists.He listed higher wage inflation, fuel prices, and terminal and timecharter costs, adding that the cost concerns could mean that certain voyages were cancelled.(Reuters - Reporting by Vera Eckert

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd HLAG.DE on Thursday posted net profit of 2.9 billion euros ($3.18 billion) for the first half of 2023, down by 67% from a year earlier, but maintained its full year earnings forecast.The net profit compared with 8.7 billion euros in 2022 when shipping, a proxy for global trade, enjoyed a boom as economic growth rebounded following the end of pandemic lockdowns and as logistics disruptions raised freight rates for customers. Rates have since fallen as logjams have eased and the economy is slowing.

Global container shipping freight rates have reached unsustainable levels and must rebound, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag Lloyd, the world's number five operator by volume, said on Tuesday."There are spot rates that are clearly below cost," said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen in a call with journalists."In the long run, that typically does not hold.

Germany cannot be relaxed about the need for liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in the Baltic Sea, a high-ranking economy ministry official said on Monday, a week after plans emerged to scale down the region's Mukran project after local resistance. "We should not be relaxed about supply security in the next winter," said Stefan Wenzel, a parliamentary state secretary in the ministry led by Robert Habeck of the Green Party. "We cannot afford to be unprotected and we also have…

A German government-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project at Mukran on Ruegen island in the Baltic Sea, near existing LNG reception facilities delivering into the mainland port of Lubmin, will be downsized.The quest for alternative imports intensified as the country sought to end reliance on Russian pipeline gas after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.Apart from gas, industry and the government are anticipating increased use of hydrogen, which when produced using renewable energy can help the transition to a lower carbon economy.Germany would need to import much of its hydrogen needs and the low density of the gas makes transportation over long distances complicated unless a carrier…

Shareholders of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline operator are discussing how to seal and empty the damaged gas pipeline to halt corrosion from sea water, said the chief financial officer of E.ON, one of the owners.The chief financial officer of E.ON, one of the stakeholders, told reporters at the group's results news conference that it was unclear whether the pipeline would be repaired but that any forthcoming decisions are likely to be made with the support of all shareholders."We continue to exercise our rights as a minority shareholder in the Nord Stream 1 operating company.

Rhine river traffic came to a standstill in some places on Wednesday due to strikes against French government plans to raise the pension age, with sections of the river in France, Germany and Switzerland affected, a CGT union representative and Germany's Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSA) said.Around 1.28 million people in France had participated in a sixth day of protests on Tuesday against a draft law that would see the pension age delayed by two years to 64.A blockade at Strasbourg lock on the Rhine was cleared by police and an evacuation of the blockades at the Marckolsheim lock…

The end of the 2M container shipping alliance between Danish operator Maersk and Swiss-based MSC is unlikely to have a bearing on other alliances, under which groups of carriers cooperate, the head of Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday.“The fact that Maersk and MSC will not continue after the end of 2024 is not a huge surprise as the companies have vastly different strategies,” said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen in a call with analysts.“I don’t think that will have massive effect on the other alliances,” he added, saying Hapag-Lloyd’s contracts to participate in THE Alliance will last up to 2030.

German container liner Hapag-Lloyd sees great opportunity in India where containerization levels are still low, chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters on Thursday. Having accompanied German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a recent visit, he came away with optimism, Habben Jansen said at an earnings press conference. "We are certainly committed to that market...it is going to grow faster than average, and if you want to grow in a market, it is important to have a good position there," he said. (Reuters - Reporting by Vera Eckert, Editing by Friederike Heine)

German utility RWE's trading arm received its first cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at Brunsbuettel port from Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) on Wednesday, saying the gas will be fed into to onshore pipelines from the end of this month.The cargo was delivered on the vessel ISH to the floating LNG terminal "Hoegh Gannet" at Brunsbuettel. The terminal was chartered by RWE on behalf of the German government as part of efforts to ensure supply after Russia cut exports.Germany…

Container freight rates will keep declining in the current realignment of shipping demand and supply, said the chief executive of Germany's liner Hapag Lloyd, the world's number five by transport capacity."The party is over. We are back to a normal shipping business," CEO Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters at a briefing late on Tuesday on the state of the market, in which his company reported sky-high profits for three years running."Now we have to fight for every box again to get our ships full," he said.

Germany's Hapag-Lloyd is seeing a small uptick in demand for shipping after a decline in recent months, but the company on Tuesday reiterated its more muted outlook for the industry as pandemic disruption fades.The container business, a bellwether of global economic trends, had seen a noticeable contraction in demand in September and October as economies around the world grappled with sharply spiking inflation and cost-of-living crises in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine."I don't think the market is as weak as it was four or eight weeks ago…

Germany on Tuesday completed construction of its first floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven as it scrambles to secure more LNG and move away from Russian pipeline gas."The new LNG landing place is a big step towards a secure energy supply," said Lower Saxony economy minister Olaf Lies in a statement.A floating storage and regasification (FSRU) unit will be moored at a now expanded pier before the end of this year and enabled to regasify LNG arriving on special tankers…