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Franco News

13 Apr 2023

Bunge Port Deal in Southern Brazil Ends, Opening Door to Rivals

© jorgealberto / Adobe Stock

The end of a contract between a Bunge agent and a state-run port company in southern Brazil could make room for rivals interested in the public grains terminal, documents and court filings showed.The contract between Bunge port agent Litoral and the Sao Francisco do Sul port authority ended on April 11 and does not foresee an extension.Bunge declined to comment. Litoral did not reply to a request for comment.The port authority did not answer questions about whether it is preparing…

31 Jan 2023

As Ice Recedes, Italian Ship Makes Record Journey into Antarctic

(Photo: National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics)

An Italian ice-breaker carrying scientists researching in the Antarctic has sailed further south than any ship has done before, the organizers of the voyage said on Tuesday, a further sign of how ice is retreating around the poles.The Laura Bassi vessel reached a point with the coordinates of 78° 44.280 S in the Bay of Whales in the Ross Sea, according to Italy’s National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics.The voyage was made possible by an unusual lack of ice in the area, it said.

05 Dec 2022

Foss Charters Vessel from Tug Construction

Earl W Redd (Photo: Tug Construction, LLC)

Foss Maritime has reached a deal to bareboat charter the tug Earl W Redd from Tug Construction, LLC for use in the U.S. offshore wind industry.The Earl W Redd will sail from Portland, Ore. to Massachusetts later this month to begin work on Foss 's offshore wind projects, including Vineyard Wind, the first large-scale offshore wind installation in the U.S. "The Earl W Redd is a great addition to the Foss fleet and will allow our skilled mariners to safely accomplish complex projects," said Joel Whitman, President of Business Development Foss Offshore Wind.

19 May 2022

Three Die, Two Missing After Tugboat Sinks off Southern Italy

Three people died and two were still missing after a tugboat sank off the southern Italian coast while pulling a pontoon on a route between Italy and Albania, the coastguard said on Thursday.The Franco P tugboat sent an alarm signal on Wednesday evening, while sailing some 50 nautical miles (92.6 km) off the city of Bari, an Italian coastguard statement said.The coastguard initially said four bodies had been recovered and another had been spotted at sea.However, in a statement issued later in the afternoon, it said three bodies were being transported ashore while two were still missing."The search continues for two more bodies whose discovery was initially reported by units in the area but did not prove to be true," it said.The tug's captain was saved by a Croatian vessel during rescue ope

14 Feb 2022

A New Onassis? Italy's Sea Captain Swoops on Reborn Alitalia

© eyewave / Adobe Stock

Sixty-five years after Aristotle Onassis founded Greece's Olympic Airways, another shipping entrepreneur is planning to take to the skies - this time in Italy, where Gianluigi Aponte's MSC has its sights on the successor company to Alitalia.The 81-year-old, known as "the captain" after building his shipping empire from a single vessel, is hoping to forge an air freight and passenger business to dovetail with MSC's sea cargo and cruise operations.But there are big challenges.Alitalia stumbled for years…

26 Oct 2020

Costa Cruises Completes Italy's First LNG Bunkering

Costa Smeralda loads LNG fuel from the bunkering vessel Coral Methane in the port of La Spezia. (Photo: Costa Cruises)

Carnival Corporation's Costa Cruises brand said its liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered flagship Costa Smeralda has become he first vessel to bunker LNG in Italy.Carried out in the port of La Spezia and completed at 6 p.m. on Sunday, the operation was supported by the Italian Coast Guard, Port Authority of Eastern Ligurian Sea, local authorities and Shell, which is the LNG supplier partner for Costa Group and its parent company, Carnival Corporation.The operation took place with the ship berthed at Molo Garibaldi pier…

29 Jun 2020

Fincantieri Begins Building Sections for French Navy Ships

(Photo: Fincantieri)

First steel has been cut at Fincantieri's Castellammare di Stabia shipyard for the first of four forward sections for as many Logistic Support Ships (LSS) ordered by Chantiers de l’Atlantique to Fincantieri under the FLOTLOG program (Flotte logistique).The sections will be built at the Castellammare di Stabia shipyard with deliveries scheduled between 2021 and 2027.The FLOTLOG program consists in the construction of four Logistic Support Ships (LSS), destined to the French Navy…

18 May 2020

Construction Begins on French Navy's New Replenishment Ship

A steel cutting ceremony was held in the machining workshop of Chantiers de l’Atlantique, in presence of Florence Parly, Minister of the Armed Forces, and Admiral Prazuck, Chief of French Navy. This ceremony marked symbolically the start of the construction of the first vessel of the FLOTLOG program. (Photo: Chantiers de l’Atlantique)

Shipbuilder Chantiers de l'Atlantique said it has cut first steel for the lead vessel in a series of four new Bâtiments Ravitailleurs de Force (BRF) replenishment ships for the French Navy. The four ships are scheduled to be delivered from end 2022 to 2029.The order for the construction of the four vessels was placed in January 2019 to the temporary association of companies formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group. This order for the French Navy is part of a Franco-Italian program led by OCCAR…

16 Mar 2020

TechnipFMC Shelves Spin-off Due to Market Turmoil

(Photo: TechnipFMC)

Franco-American oil services firm TechnipFMC Plc is putting on hold plans to split itself into two due to turbulence in financial markets linked to the coronavirus outbreak, it said on Sunday.The group, created three years ago via the merger of Technip and FMC, had been planning to separate its engineering and construction activities from its upstream oil services business in the first half of this year."Market conditions have changed materially due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharp decline in commodity prices, and the heightened volatility in global equity markets," TechnipFMC said in a sta

27 Feb 2020

France and Italy Christen Naviris

The intergovernmental agreement signed between French and Italian States to establish Naviris, the joint-venture (JV) between the shipbuilders Naval Group and Fincantieri.This agreement makes the long term alliance launched by these two industrial Groups fully operational.The JV, owned equally by the two groups, will manage ambitious projects, including mid-term modernization of the Franco-Italian Horizon frigates, common R&D, export opportunities and the development of a European Patrol Corvette. “We welcome this intergovernmental agreement, which reinforces our joint-venture Naviris. We are delighted to be able to count on the support of both the Italian and French governments together with the Navies of our two countries to carry out our mission effectively”…

14 Jan 2020

Damen, Luerssen to Build German Warships

Image: BAAINBw/MTG Marinetechnik

Germany has awarded Dutch shipyard Damen a contract to construct at least four new multi-role warships worth nearly 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in an alliance with its Bremen-based partner Luerssen, the armed forces and budget lawmakers said on Tuesday.The ship tender is one of Germany's biggest arms projects, along with a contract for the MEADS missile defence system and the new Franco-German fighter jet (FCAS), underlining Berlin's efforts to increase its military capabilities.The first warship is expected to be delivered in 2027…

05 Nov 2019

MAN Powers French Naval Logistic Vessels

Photo: Naval Group

A temporary consortium formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group has been awarded a contract for four Logistic Support Ships (LSS). As part of the deal, MAN Energy Solutions will supply the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard with a total of 16 engines in connection with the building of the four refueling tankers for the French Navy.Each vessel will feature a diesel-electric propulsion system with two shaft lines and propellers. MAN’s scope of supply covers 2 × MAN 12V32/44CR engines (2 × 7,200kW) + 2 × MAN 8L32/44CR engines (2 × 4,800kW) resiliently mounted on baseframes.

24 Oct 2019

Fincantieri Signs Contract with Chantiers de l’Atlantique

Photo: Fincantieri

Fincantieri has been awarded an order from Chantiers de l’Atlantique (CdA) for the construction of the forward sections of four vessels based on the Italian “Vulcano” design.The forward sections will be built in Castellammare di Stabia (Naples), as for the “Vulcano” vessel, with deliveries to Chantiers de l’Atlantique scheduled between 2021 and 2027.The contract is part of the FLOTLOG (Flotte logistique) program, which provides for the construction of four Logistic Support Ships…

05 Jul 2019

Carnival connects entire fleet to STM

The Carnival Fleet Operation Centre where operators monitor and supports all cruise ships in the company.

As part of the Sea Traffic Management STM Validation project Costa Crociere, part of Carnival Corporation, integrated Costa and Aida ships to exchange information with other actors, utilizing STM supported standardised formats and interfaces. After verifying operations with these initial ships, the rest of the Carnival Corporation fleet has now been added.Costa developed STM support as part of their Fleet Operation Center software Neptune. This new functionality in Neptune allows Carnival to interact with other STM services…

04 Jul 2019

Carnival Installs STM

Carnival Corp has implemented Sea Traffic Management (STM) into its fleet management and operations software to share voyage data with ports and other shipping companies. EU's STM Validation project has now been added to entire Carnival Corporation fleet, following a successful trial with Carnival's Costa and Aida-brand ships.Costa Crociere developed STM support as part of their Fleet Operation Center software Neptune. This new functionality in Neptune allows Carnival to interact with other STM services, ports and shore center operators, and to evaluate voyage optimization suggestions received by shore centers through the maritime digital…

14 Jun 2019

French, Italian Shipbuilders Forge Naval Alliance

(Photo: Fincantieri)

France and Italy forged a military shipbuilding alliance on Friday, as state-controlled Naval Group and Fincantieri signed off on a 50-50 joint venture that will bid for Franco-Italian warship projects and sell to the world market.The alliance reflects the two countries' desire to fend off competition in naval shipbuilding from the likes of China, the United States and Russia.It is targeting orders worth up to 5 billion euros ($5.63 billion) over the next decade. Naval Group said the joint venture aims to build 10-15 warships in that period…

02 Apr 2019

Franco out as Harley Marine Services CEO

The Board of Directors of Harley Marine Services announced via press release that Harley Franco will no longer be serving as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. Matt Godden will remain as President of the Company. “Since the beginning of 2019, Harley Marine has made significant progress in ensuring its long-term stability as one of the nation’s leading marine transportation providers” said Godden. “Harley Marine is renowned for its track record in safety and operational capabilities and we intend to continue with this unparalleled commitment to quality.” According to Jon Foster, the successor Chairman of the Board of Directors, “we believe that Matt…

06 Aug 2018

Migrant Rescue Ship Won't Take People Back to Libya

Rescue ship Aquarius, which has picked up almost 3,000 migrants from the Mediterranean this year, will carry out rescue missions without waiting for orders from coastguards and will not return people to Libya, its search and rescue head said."When we see there is a vessel in distress, with a high likelihood of people dying, we will go and rescue them immediately as per international maritime law," Nick Romaniuk told Reuters on board the Aquarius.Over the last year coordination centres asking rescue vessels to go on standby or wait for clarification on certain things had added to the danger of people needing to be rescued, which is why they would no longer wait…

15 Aug 2018

Migrant Rescue Ship Arrives in Malta Following Standoff

The Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius arrived at Valletta harbour in Malta on Wednesday to disembark 141 migrants, ending a five-day tug-of-war between European Union countries which had seen the vessel banned from docking in several ports.The ship, run by the Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders (MSF), was allowed in after France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain agreed on Tuesday to take in the migrants.(Reporting by Chris Scicluna Editing by Sarah White and Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

01 Mar 2019

Le Maire: STX-Fincantieri Shipyard Deal to Happen

STZ France (Credit PEMA)

The merger of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri with STX France will go ahead as planned, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Friday, speaking after a period of tension between the Italian and French governments."The STX-Fincantieri deal will happen because we want it, because it is our ambition and because it is in our interest to create a shipyard giant, notably in Asia," Le Maire said, speaking at a Franco-Italian business summit in Versailles also attended by his Italian counterpart, Giovanni Tria."I believe in this merger, I believe in a tie-up between France and Italy in naval matters

01 Feb 2019

France Orders Four Logistic Support Ships

The French defense procurement agency “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA)  signed a contract for the procurement of four new Logistic Support Ships (LSS) for the French Navy.The temporary consortium formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group has been notified of the order for LSS and of their first six years of operational maintenance.According to a press release from the French industrial group specialised in naval defence and marine renewable energy, this order for the French Navy is part of the Franco-Italian LSS Programme led by OCCAr, the international Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation, on behalf of DGA…

14 Dec 2017

Damen to Convert Dredger to Dual-fuel LNG/MGO

(Photo: Damen)

Damen Shiprepair & Conversion has been awarded a contract to undertake the conversion of a dredger to dual-fuel capability combining LNG and MGO – a first of its kind project in Europe. The contract was awarded by Rouen-based GIE Dragages-Ports with regard to its 117m, 8500m³ trailing suction hopper dredger Samuel de Champlain, and the works will take place next year at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque. The conversion is part of an EU-supported initiative to promote LNG propulsion in short-sea vessels operating along the European Atlantic coast.

04 Feb 2018

Fincantieri Buys 50% STX France

The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri signed Friday an agreement to buy 50% of the share capital of France's STX Shipyard, for 59.7 million euros. This takeover is part of the agreement in principle reached in September between France and Italy, which put an end to months of tension between the two countries. "The signing takes place after the resolution of the share purchase agreement previously signed between Fincantieri and STX Europe on May 19, 2017 as a consequence of the exercise by the French State of its pre-emption right for the acquisition of the entirety of STX France share capital on July 28, 2017 and follows the signing of the share purchase agreement between the French State and STX Europe," said a statement from the company.