West Europe News

Chevron announced it has appointed Ayten Yavuz as the new General Manager, Global Marine Lubricants.Yavuz joined Chevron in 1991 and has held notable positions over three decades at the company. Most recently, Yavuz was the Regional Manager of Chevron Marine Products for North West Europe and the Americas.In her new role, Yavuz will be responsible for charting the course toward profitable growth, innovation and development within the marine business sector, Chevron said. She will…

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.

Floating LNG solutions provider Höegh LNG and the Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP have entered a strategic partnership to develop a "fully comprehensive carbon transport and storage offering for industrial CO2 emitters in Northern Europe.""The agreement combines the companies’ respective strengths, expertise, and technologies to establish a strong value chain for CCS on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that includes gathering, transporting and securely injecting CO2 for permanent storage in subsea reservoirs…

Dutch shipbuilding conglomerate Damen announced it has delivered a new shallow draft vessel to the German energy infrastructure construction company Bohlen & Doyen Bau GmbH, a subsidiary of Friedrich Vorwerk. The new Multi Cat 1908 SD workboat, named Scholle, is the first marine asset to be bought by the company in many years.The 19.4-meter vessel has been bought for use on a multi-year project supporting transmission system operator TenneT on its offshore grid connection systems in the North Sea.

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices have weakened for the fifth consecutive week on muted demand due to healthy stocks, remaining at their lowest level in two years.The average LNG price for July delivery into north-east Asia was down 3% from the previous week at $9.50 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the lowest since early May 2021, industry sources estimated."North Asia remains largely void of demand. Prices have continued to walk down week-on-week and support hasn't been helped by Japanese utilities selling into an already weak market…

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices slipped to their lowest level in two years on weak demand and high inventories, while European LNG prices also fell below the $10 mark amid healthy stock build and limited need for additional supply.The average LNG price for July delivery into northeast Asia was down 6.6% from the previous week at $9.8 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), the lowest since May 2021, industry sources estimated."Prices continue to linger sub $10 as general demand remains lacking…

Wilhelmsen Port Services has entered into an agreement with Vopak to acquire 100% of maritime services provider Vopak Agencies and 50% of Diize. "Vopak Agencies and Diize are highly complementary and a perfect match for the global reach of Wilhelmsen Port Services’ maritime network of 2 200 ports," Wilhelmsen Port Services said.Wilhelmsen said that Vopak Agencies had a strong track record within both hub services and port agency within the tanker segments in Europe and extensive experience within their field.

Classification society DNV announced Tony Linden will step into the role of Area Manager for the UK & Ireland effective Thursday, having recently been appointed as Business Development Manager for the same area.“I am delighted to congratulate Tony on his appointment. His enterprising background, technical know-how and clear understanding of the complex challenges facing the shipping industry will make him an invaluable asset to the market,” said Torgeir Sterri, DNV Maritime Regional…

Asian spot liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices jumped this week on fears of possible Russian supply disruptions to Japan and on rising demand due to a heatwave and concerns over the return of the Nord Stream pipeline after its planned 10-day maintenance.The average LNG price for August delivery into north-east Asia was estimated at $41 per million British thermal units (mmBtu), up $2, or 5.1%, from the previous week, industry sources said.This is the highest level seen in four…

New Fortress Energy has executed a binding agreement to charter a floating storage and regasification unit (“FSRU”) to Dutch energy network operator Gasunie, in an effort by the Netherlands to reduce Russian gas imports. The chartered FSRU will provide storage capacity of approximately 170,000 m3 of liquefied natural gas with peak regasification capacity of 900 mmscfd. New Fortress Energy's FSRU will work in tandem with a third party’s FSRU to provide up to 8 bcm per year of total regas capacity.

Europe's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals have limited available capacity to absorb extra supply from the United States or other major producers in the event of Russian gas disruption if it invades Ukraine.Concerns are mounting that Russia, which provides around a third of Europe's gas, is preparing to invade Ukraine which could disrupt gas flows to Europe. Russia has repeatedly denied it is preparing to invade Ukraine.The U.S. administration has recently approached major energy producers such as Qatar and Japan and to see if they can send extra LNG to Europe.At least half of U.S.

Voestalpine Böhler Welding Germany GmbH has become the first manufacturer worldwide to be awarded a Type Approval certificate from classification society DNV, for their solid wire 3Dprint AM 70/I1 feedstock. The Type Approval has been awarded based on DNV’s new class programme, DNV-CP-291 “Additive Manufacturing Feedstock”.The Type Approval certificate was presented to voestalpine Böhler Welding Germany GmbH during the DVS Congress held in Essen, Germany, and is the first of its kind to be issued by a classification society.

The Baltic Exchange has appointed former RightShip Chief Executive Martin Crawford-Brunt as a Strategic Carbon Lead. The Baltic Exchange recently introduced carbon assessments alongside its spot dry bulk charter rate assessments and is expanding its role to support market mechanisms aimed at reducing CO2 emissions from the shipping sector.Baltic Exchange Chief Executive Mark Jackson said, “The Baltic Exchange is laying the foundations for consistency in the way in which carbon is priced into seaborne freight.

Damen Shipyards Group is partnering with Purus Marine, an environmentally focused maritime vessel and infrastructure company established by EnTrust Global for the financing of green shipping projects. The partnership, named DP Lease, aims to support decarbonization of the maritime industry by providing flexible and attractively priced long-term lease financing solutions to solve the financing gap created by additional capital expenditure requirements associated with the purchase of environmentally-advanced vessels.Jan-Willem van Helden…

U.K. ferry operator Red Funnel said it is the world’s first domestic ferry operator to receive the DNV GL COVID-19 Statement of Compliance. The assessment certifies that Red Funnel has established reasonable measures to safeguard passengers, employees and crew from the COVID-19 infection.“The COVID-19 outbreak has had a major impact on passenger vessels across Europe. As lockdown measures begin to relax in the U.K., as well as in the rest of the region, ferry operators need to demonstrate that the right measures are in place to keep passengers and crew safe…

The Antwerp port community and its various partners are currently on a trade mission to West-Africa, including Benin and Nigeria.A collaboration agreement was signed between Port of Antwerp International (PAI), the consultancy and investment subsidiary of Port of Antwerp, and APEC, its maritime training center, and Nigerian Ports Authority, which manages the 6 ports of Nigeria. This collaboration, which will mainly take the form of training and consulting, underlines the leading role that the port of Antwerp plays in West Africa.The port of Antwerp is known in Africa as the maritime center of Europe, thanks to the numerous supply chain connections. The synergy between maritime, logistics and industrial activities creates a unique platform.

British-Dutch oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell and Dutch pension fund manager PGGM are considering a joint bid for Dutch producer and supplier of natural gas Eneco, which is heavily invested in sustainable energy projects and worth an estimated USD 3.4 bln.This consortium is impressed with Eneco’s achievements in transforming the Dutch energy system through investments in sustainability and renewable energy. PGGM and Shell combine the knowledge, ambitions and financial commitment to build on Eneco’s sustainable strategy and are determined to competitively grow the renewable energy products and services offer for millions of customers in North West Europe.With their roots in Dutch society…

As the offshore industry recovers, choosing the right hull coating for those newly activated assets will be equally important.The global offshore support vessel (OSV) market is still recovering from a protracted slump, but thankfully momentum is now returning with predictions for significant activity for OSV’s ahead. As summarized in a report by market analysts Grand View Research, projections are for the OSV market to exceed USD 71 billion by 2022 on the back of a significant increase in projects reaching final investment decision (FID) status, and a rising demand for oil and gas worldwide.

Qatar Petroleum subsidiary Qatar Terminal Limited (QTL) and Fluxys Belgium subsidiary Fluxys LNG signed a long-term LNG Services Agreement for the Zeebrugge LNG terminal.Under the agreement, QTL subscribes unloading slots at the facility from the expiry of the current long-term unloading contracts and up to 2044.The agreement was signed during a ceremony held in Brussels today by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of Qatar Petroleum, and Pascal De Buck, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Fluxys Belgium, in the presence of Her Excellency Marie-Christine Marghem, the Belgian Federal Minister of Energy…

Ballast water treatment (BWT) specialist Optimarin reports positive developments in the market today, with the first six months of 2019 showing a year-on-year doubling of revenues, orders and a substantial increase in EBITDA. The Norwegian-headquartered company, has recorded increased business activity in key shipping areas such as North West Europe, South East Asia and the Mediterranean, while segments such as offshore are showing signs of recovery. “It’s a multi-faceted picture…

Global seaborne liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) volume is expected to grow by over 6% in 2019 and surpass 100 million tonnes for the first time.Singapore based provider of pressurised LPG vessels, Epic Gas said that it is well positioned to benefit from the improving fundamentals of the LPG shipping market.For the fourth quarter of 2018, freight levels for most sizes in the pressurised sector were similar to the stronger levels seen in the third quarter. Rates for the 3,500cbm, 5,000cbm, 7,500cbm and 11,000cbm averaged $8,671, $9,870, $10,565 and $13,315 per day, respectively, up 12% for the 3,500cbm, 6% for the 5,000cbm and 7,500cbm vessels…

Rhine water levels hit record lows in October; river is a key fuel transport hub for Europe.Low water levels on the Rhine river have caused a fuel supply deficit in parts of Europe's industrial heartlands that is sucking up cargoes from more than 10,000 km away in Singapore.Following a long, scorching summer, water levels on the Rhine - a key commodity shipping lane connecting industrial centres in Switzerland, Germany, France and the Netherlands to major seaports - fell to record lows…

Tim Protheroe, with more than 40 years of industry experience, was tapped to head North American activities for Bureau Veritas Marine & OffshoreProtheroe was officially named Regional Chief Executive, Marine & Offshore, North America, providing leadership in the United States and Canada. His role includes responsibility for the marine operational client support teams and services provided under the continued management of the General Manager, Marine Operations, Daniel Giani. Protheroe will report to Bruno Dabouis…