Europe News

VARD announced it has been awarded a contract to design and build a hybrid power Ocean Energy Construction Vessel (OECV) for the Norwegian shipping group Island Offshore. The deal includes options for two more vessels.The vessel, to be named Island Evolution, is of VARD 3 25 design developed in close collaboration between Island Offshore and VARD for work in offshore oil and gas as well as renewables."We are proud to present the next generation OECVs with versatile capabilities that will ensure long-term employment as the energies of the ocean evolve.

The second in a series of new construction service operation vessels (CSOV) being built for Olympic has entered the outfitting phase.The newbuild was towed from the Crist hull yard in Poland, arriving on Wednesday at Ulstein Verft in Norway where the outfitting phase will now begin. The vessel was towed into the dock hall where the paint work will be performed. Commissioning and testing will take place in the project's concluding months.In 2022, Olympic and Ulstein signed a contract on ship design and construction of two CSOVs of the ULSTEIN SX222 design from Ulstein Design & Solutions AS.

Norwegian shipbuilder Vard has hired TMC Compressors (TMC) to supply a complete marine compressed air system to a newbuild cable laying vessel being built for Prysmian.Under the contract, whose value was not disclosed, TMC will deliver a marine compressed air system consisting of control and service air compressors to the vessel.The company will manufacture the equipment in the Nordic region and deliver it to one of Vard’s shipyards in Norway.“This modern cable laying vessel will have a number of innovative features to enable sustainable subsea operations.

Bluestone Group, a maritime technical services company, has secured a contract for plan approval and site supervision of two new cutting-edge cable-laying vessels operated by Prysmian.The two new cable-laying vessels, the first of which is under construction and the second under design, will reinforce Prysmian’s submarine project execution capabilities.The first vessel, which will be an evolution of Prysmian’s preceding vessel, Monna Lisa, is being built by the VARD Group, a subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group.With a length of approximately 190 meters and a breadth of about 34 meters…

Compagnie Maritime Monegasque (CMM) has secured $94 million in financing from Summit Ridge Capital Partners, which will help the company construct pioneering ethanol-powered fleet of Platform Supply Vessels (PSVs) in Brazil.The financing will enable CMM to recompose its shareholder structure and to expand its fleet, the company said. Panorama Capital Partners sourced and advised on the transaction, and participated as a co-investor.As part of this expansion, CMM will construct pioneering ethanol powered PSV fleet in Brazil.

Norway-based Höegh LNG has made an agreement with Australian Industrial Energy (AIE) and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) for the deployment of the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) Hoegh Galleon. The aim of the deployment is to support energy security in Egypt, Höegh LNG said.Hoegh Galleon will be located in Ain Sokhna in Red Sea for a likely period of 19-20 months, after which it is expected to be deployed to AIE’s LNG terminal currently under construction at Port Kembla, Australia.

Van Oord’s Svanen vessel has received a major upgrade which increased its total height to 125 meters, making it one of the largest heavy-lift vessels in the world suitable for handling the next generation of monopile foundations for offshore wind.Svanen grew 25 meters taller with the installation of an A-framed gantry extension, weighing 1,200 tonnes, on top of the vessel.The extension had been constructed by Holland Shipyard. One of the largest cranes in the world was used for the installation at Mammoet Schiedam.Besides the gantry extension…

In 2018, convicted cocaine trafficker Slobodan Kostovski fled a Brazilian prison and made his way back to Europe with a fake passport.The Serbian senior quickly fell into old habits, police allege. Last August, Kostovski was arrested in Belgrade, accused of shipping 2.7 metric tonnes of cocaine from Brazil aboard a 22-meter vessel apprehended near Spain’s Canary Islands.Nicknamed “the General” by his associates, he had been trafficking “large amounts” of powder to “Europe for a long period of time,” Serbian police wrote in a 2022 intelligence report obtained exclusively by Reuters.

German shipowner Windward Offshore has ordered 3D Electric Controlled Motion Compensated (ECMC) cranes from Seaonics for two Commissioning Service Operation Vessels (CSOVs) being built by Norwegian shipbuilder VARD.The order marks Seaonics' first equipment delivery to Windward Offshore, a company founded by Blue Star Group, Diana Shipping and SeraVerse, in collaboration with and under the leadership of SeaRenergy Group.The first CSOV is scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2025…

Bibby Marine has signed a shipbuilding contract with Gondan Shipbuilders to construct what is said to be the world’s first zero-emission, electric commissioning service operation vessel (eCSOV).The eCSOV will be built in Gondan’s Asturias shipyard in Spain and is scheduled to be delivered in 2026.Designed in collaboration with UK-based ship designers Longitude, the eCSOV, will feature a powerful battery system, complemented by dual-fuel methanol engines for emissions-free operations.

Norwegian offshore vessel operator DOF Group has secured two contracts with Brazil’s state-run oil and gas company Petrobras, worth over $192 million.Petrobras has awarded new long-term charter and service contracts to Norskan Offshore. and DOF Subsea Servicos Brasil, after a competitive tender process.The vessel Skandi Amazonas, which was on the spot market, is chartered for three years firm with two years mutually agreed option via Petrobras tender issued late in 2023, to operate…

Dutch offshore contractor Allseas informs it has secured the contract to perform transport and installation (T&I) of two major substations (so called OSS) for the Gennaker offshore wind farm in the German Baltic Sea, developed by transmission operator 50Hertz.Located 15 kilometers off the German coast near the Darß peninsula, and with a production capacity of 900 MW, Gennaker will be the largest and most powerful offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea to date.Awarded by the Dutch-Belgian HSI consortium – HSM Offshore Energy…

UK-based Exail has secured a contract with French maritime services provider Bourbon to supply several units of its Octans Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) for integration into Bourbon Subsea Services’s fleet.These units will be installed on multiple Bourbon Evolution 800 Series multi-purpose support vessels (MPSVs) dedicated to subsea operations at depths down to 3,000 meters.IMO-HSC certified, the Octans AHRS will enhance Bourbon vessels’ efficiency in installation…

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed a long-term time charter party agreement for one floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with the Polish gas transmission system operator Gaz-System, which is the developer and operator behind the future LNG terminal.The FSRU will be constructed by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard and is expected to be completed in 2027. Thereafter, the FSRU will be managed by the MOL group.The FSRU is being built for the project that involves the…

Danish shipowner CBED has signed a contract with Siemens Gamesa for the first offshore wind project for its new SOV Wind Creation as part of the CBED fleet.With the new walk-to-work project, the SOV joins commissioning an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.The project starts at the end of the second quarter of 2024 and runs for the remainder of the year, thereby securing full activity for Wind Creation until the first quarter of 2025.CBED now has all three vessels in the fleet…

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

Thousands of Greek striking workers, students and pensioners marched through central Athens on Wednesday to protest over wages which they are not enough to cope with rising living costs.Ships remained docked at Greek ports and train services were halted as transport workers joined the nationwide strike by private sector union GSEE, Greece's largest.City transport was also disrupted as bus and taxi drivers halted operations for a few hours.Protesters marched to parliament around noon.

MHWirth, a subsidiary of Norwegian oil services investment firm Akastor, has received an arbitration award issued by a tribunal in a dispute with Seatrium’s subsidiary Jurong Shipyard over the termination of four drilling rig unit contracts.As part of the ruling, MHW has been awarded an amount of $101 million as payment of termination fees.In addition, MHW has been made eligible for the reimbursement of legal costs and certain suspension costs (totaling about $7 million), as well as interest.Although the drilling rig unit contracts are held by MHW…

DEME has been awarded two contracts from cable solutions provider Prysmian for the engineering and installation works for the IJmuiden Ver Alpha and Nederwiek 1 offshore grid systems in the Netherlands, whose combined worth is over $315 million.This is the most extensive cabling award in DEME’s history and marks the company's first project involving Prysmian’s 525 kV HVDC cable technology, featuring increased transmission capacity, according to the company.The contracts encompass cable installation…

China and Europe face a "slow motion train accident" as a rising tide of protectionism threatens to become a full trade war, the head of a European business lobby group warned on Wednesday, a day after Germany's chancellor conveyed European concerns to Beijing.Jens Eskelund, president of the European Chamber in China, said that while some worries about trade in both countries were legitimate, there was a risk of unproductive decoupling if European and Chinese leaders did not increase…

UK-based offshore vessel designer Chartwell Marine has started the construction of its new Brevity Class crew transfer vessel (CTV) at the Diverse Marine shipyard, becoming the latest in its growing pipeline of new vessel builds to supply the global offshore wind market.Chartwell Marine’s current new build pipeline now exceeds 15 vessels across six local shipyards – with 14 offshore wind vessels launched and operational at major offshore wind farms, including two in U.S. waters.The company’s latest CTV entered build in March 2024…

DEME’s DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion has departed for the United States to prepare for the installation of 176 foundations on the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project, following the wrap up of works at the 882 MW Moray West offshore wind farm in Scotland.DEME’s flagship Orion vessel has completed monopile installation works on Ocean Winds’ Moray West offshore wind farm project in Scotland.Despite harsh winter conditions, DEME managed to install 29 monopiles in approximately two months.Meanwhile…

The industry consortium behind the Ocean Charger project, led by Vard, has completed the demonstration of the charging solution in a port as well the connection solution offshore, proving the technology designed to supply clean power to offshore wind vessels is ready for the market.By connecting vessels to the power grid in the wind farm and charging batteries regularly, the Ocean Charger solution is securing availability of emission-free vessel operations.The Ocean Charger has proved through the tests that it can power operations at the field without using any additional energy sources…