Western France News

A new LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) arrived in western France on Monday morning, a TotalEnergies' spokesperson said, as activist group Greenpeace tried to prevent it from entering port.Demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Europe has grown in the wake of the war in Ukraine, with France relying on its four LNG terminals to replace Russian gas imports and help supply neighbors like Germany.The Cape Ann FSRU arrived at Le Havre port on Monday morning, LSEG ship tracking data showed.However, environmental group Greenpeace blocked the tanker's course in protest at what they sa

France-based clean hydrogen producer Lhyfe has launched the world’s first offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator.The pilot was launched yesterday (September 22) in Saint-Nazaire, France, which will now begin an 18-month wind-powered pilot, as part its drive towards large-scale carbon reduction.It involves Lhyfe's new Sealhyfe 400 kg/day (1MW equivalent) green hydrogen producing electrolyser platform, which has been installed on the WAVEGEM wave energy platform developed by Geps Techno.

Italy's bid to create a European industrial champion in the shipbuilding industry faces hurdles after EU antitrust regulators said Fincantieri's bid for Chantiers de l'Atlantique would significantly reduce competition.The European Commission said the deal between two global leaders in an already concentrated and capacity-constrained market could push up prices for cruise ships as it began an investigation on Wednesday.Italy is hoping the deal will help Fincantieri, Europe's biggest shipyard…

Europe's largest shipyard Fincantieri faces a full-scale EU antitrust investigation into its bid for France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique on concerns the deal would reduce competition, three people familiar with the matter said.The European Commission's preliminary review of the deal ends on Wednesday. It will follow up with an in-depth investigation, the sources said. This lasts 90 working days but could stretch to as long as five months.The EU competition enforcer is worried the number of European players will be cut to two from three as a result of the deal, the sources said. The other competitor is a German shipyard.Fincantieri has argued Asian shipyards could pose strong competition in the next decade to try to address the Commission's worries, the people said.

The consortium including DEME and Eiffage Métal has won an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for 80 foundations at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.The scope includes the design, fabrication, and installation of full face drilled monopile foundations. The consortium contract has a total value of more than EUR 500 million.Design activities already kicked off in order to start the production of the foundations in the spring of 2020.The first foundations will be installed on a rocky seabed in the spring of 2021 and the project is set for completion in the summer of 2022.The 480 MW wind farm, belonging to EDF Renouvelables and Enbridge, will be built between 12 and 20 km off the Guérande peninsula in western France.

French authorities battled on Thursday to contain an oil slick after the Italian Grande America ship capsized in the Atlantic this week.The Grimaldi Lines container ship capsized and sank on Tuesday, after catching fire while sailing from Hamburg to Casablanca. Britain's Royal Navy frigate Argyll rescued all 27 crew members from the water.The ship was carrying 2,200 tonnes of heavy fuel when it sank some 330 km (200 miles) off the coast from La Rochelle in western France. Footage…

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed an agreement with Noatum Container Terminal Bilbao for delivering two rail-mounted gantry cranes (RMGs) for intermodal operation. This is Kalmar's first RMG delivery since the new offering was launched in September 2017. The order was booked in Cargotec's fourth quarter 2017 intake and the delivery will take place during the first half of 2019. Noatum Container Terminal Bilbao is a large scale container terminal serving as a gateway for container transportation throughout the Iberian Peninsula and south-western France with strong intermodal services in Spain. The new Kalmar RMGs will be used for intermodal operations at the railyard which contains four train tracks, five container stacking rows and a service lane for road trucks.

Italian shipbuilding and construction group Fincantieri SpA is the only bidder for shipping group STX France, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday. The sale of STX France, which specialises in building cruise ships in the western France city of Saint-Nazaire and is profitable, forms part of the broader sale of businesses from the collapsed STX shipbuilding group. A spokesman for a Korean court overseeing the process had said earlier on Tuesday that one bid had been received for the STX France business, without giving a name. A spokesman for the Seoul court overseeing STX Offshore's receivership had said in November that four parties had expressed interest in buying one or both of South Korea's STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co Ltd and a controlling stake in STX France.

Classification society ClassNK has opened its new Nantes Office in western France, with operations commencing June 1, 2016.   With survey offices already established in Dunkerque and Marseille, ClassNK’s newest location marks its third exclusive survey office in France.

Harmony of the Seas, the world's largest luxury cruise ship took to the seas for the first time on Thursday afternoon as it slides into the waters of western France, in the port of Saint Nazaire. Thousands of people gathered at the dock to watch as the 120,000-tonne ship was helped out to sea by six tugs. Some 500 people – mostly crew as well as engineers, suppliers and Royal Caribbean International staff – were on board for the trial, which is set to continue until Sunday. The next trials will take place before the end of April, with delivery set for May 12. Harmony of the Seas, built by STX France at a cost of $1.1bn (£770m), is 362m (1,187 ft) long and weighs 227,000 tonnes.

Dynagas infomred that their 155,000-cbm newbuilding Yenisei River, which was delivered in July, braved moderate to rough seas to go to the aid of the yacht Caprea which was taking in water. They picked up the four sailors after their yacht began flooding off western France. The ice-class ship, which had just left the Fos Cavaou LNG terminal with a re-export cargo, received distress calls from both the Caprea and the local coast guard at 1640 local time on Wednesday. GM&T and Dynagas said that at 1645 the Yenisei River altered course and proceeded at full speed towards the yacht reaching Caprea about two hours later. "It was clear that the sailing yacht and her crew were in imminent danger" the companies said.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has welcomed a new ferry route into Ireland in a matter of weeks, after LD Ferries confirmed a weekly service from western France and northern Spain. The LD Ferries service will connect Rosslare with St Nazaire on the west coast of France, and with Gijón in northern Spain. “This is a very welcome announcement and provides a valuable new landbridge from France and Spain into Ireland. It’s the first service of its kind to Ireland, and it’s great news for our tourism industry. “This is the second positive announcement of a new ferry service in a matter of weeks. Last November a new route from Cherbourg to Dublin was announced.

The inland waterways of Russia can now benefit form a new standard of safety equipment following the approval granted to the Survitec Group’s Survitec Zodiac brand by the Russian River Register (RRR). The approval was granted after inspectors from the Register completed a detailed study of the liferafts, escape slides and rescue boats manufactured by Survitec Group under the Survitec Zodiac brand. This included verifying their reliability, manufacturing processes and quality control methods employed at the company’s facility in Chevanceaux, France.

Thousands of protesters from western France marched through Paris on April 1 to demand tighter shipping laws in the wake of the Erika oil tanker spill which devastated parts of their region. The march was called by action groups from western France along with local politicians and environmentalists. Police estimated 2,000 people attended. TotalFina, which chartered the Erika, was targeted by protesters in two separate incidents before the march. On the day of the protest, activists dumped sand and oil in front of what they believed was the home of TotalFina boss, Thierry Desmarest. According to police, they left the scene upon realizing that they had the wrong address.

Thousands of protesters from western France marched through Paris on April 1 to demand tighter shipping laws in the wake of the Erika oil tanker spill, which devastated parts of their region. The march was called by action groups from western France, along with local politicians and environmentalists. Police estimated 2,000 people attended. Oil giant TotalFina, which chartered the Erika, was targeted by protesters in two separate incidents before the march. Earlier on Saturday, activists dumped sand and oil in front of what they believed was the home of TotalFina boss, Thierry Desmarest. According to police, they left the scene upon realizing that they had the wrong address.

Three military officials working at the Brest maritime office in western France have been put under investigation over alleged failure to react to the sinking of the tanker Erika, judicial sources said. The officials were on duty at between December 11-12, when the Maltese-registered Erika broke up and sank. Admiral Yves Naquet-Radiguet, the maritime prefect for France's Atlantic coast, was not informed of the situation until the morning of December 12, when the tanker had already split in two. The magistrate in charge of the case, Dominique de Talance, has been investigating any shortcoming by maritime authorities between Erika's first distress call early in the afternoon of December 11 and the December 12 shipwreck.

The Maltese-registered tanker Erika, which sank off the French coast a year ago releasing a huge oil slick, was in a state of more or less advanced corrosion, the official disaster report said. "The vessel would not have fallen apart if it had been as seaworthy as it was claimed to be by classification societies as late as 20 days before it broke up on December 12, 1999, the report said. There was excessive corrosion, beyond norms that are considered acceptable by classification societies and the sub-standard welding was noted on the ship. Erika broke in half in stormy seas, spewing up to 15,000 tons of oil onto the rocky shoreline of western France. The two sections of the ship lie on the seabed about 70 km (40 miles) offshore.

Salvage workers and shipping experts were studying a possible mid-sea transfer of nearly 30,000 tons of gasoline from a damaged tanker at risk of exploding, the ship's operators said. Spanish authorities insisted the tanker would not be allowed back into the country's waters to carry out the potentially risky operation. A tugboat carrying equipment and specialists for the operation had joined the Greek-owned tanker Castor, around 56 km (35 miles) off the Spanish port of Cartagena in the Mediterranean Sea, the ship's operator Athenian Sea Carriers said in a statement. The 1977-built Castor sought refuge in ports in Morocco, Gibraltar and Spain last week after developing a large crack in its main deck but was refused entry amid fears sparks could set off an explosion.

French shipbuilder Alstom SA will need to set aside at least 20 million euros ($17 million) for claims linked to alleged asbestos poisoning at its Saint Nazaire shipyard, analysts said on Friday. Compensation likely to be demanded following further medical tests on the victims may run to 200,000 French francs ($26,000) per person, according to calculations by financial analysts. The company declined to release its own estimate for how much compensation it would have to pay. "It is first of all a human and legal issue and we are not yet at the point where an estimation can be made," said a company spokesman. But concern the charges will cause a dent in Alstom's cash reserves pushed its shares down 2.14 percent to 32.88 euros in mid-afternoon trading on the Paris bourse.