Council Of State News

Knut Arild Hareide has been appointed by the King in the Council of State as Director General of Navigation and Shipping for the Norwegian Maritime Authority for a period of six years. Hareide will take up the role on January 1, 2022."We are delighted to congratulate Knut Arild Hareide on his appointment and look forward to working with him in the years to come," says Acting Director General of Navigation and Shipping, Lars Alvestad.The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries…

The Greek privatization fund TAIPED formally accepted the binding bid submitted by Cosco Pacific for the majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority (OLP), while the port company’s stock posted a significant increase on the Athens bourse in response to the Council of State’s rejection of various objections to OLP’s privatization. The renewed and better offer by Cosco for the 67% of OLP has reached 368.5 million euros. TAIPED announced that the sell-off agreement will now be forwarded for approval to the State Audit Council, after which the contract for the sale of the 67 percent stake in OLP to the Hong Kong-listed company will be signed.

The six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state members have agreed to set up a joint maritime security force and enhance cooperation in naval operations in response to increasing regional maritime conflict, according to reports in local media. A joint naval exercise would begin in the UAE on Monday and run until Thursday as a first step towards a unified command system to be used in emergencies, a GCC statement said. The exercise would help raise the level of GCC’s preparedness, combat efficiency and cooperation. Saudi Arabia is participating in the GCC exercise with a number of naval units, boats, special naval security units and Super Puma aircraft.

Venice, Italy has overturned a ban on cruise ships over 96,000 gross tonnage from sailing through the city’s Giudecca channel and passing St. Mark’s Square. Venice's regional court of appeal (Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale) threw out the limit imposed in November 2014 for large cruise ships over 96,000 gross tons (which roughly equates to 2,260 passengers) to sail to the city's main cruise terminal. The ban also limits the number of ships of 40,000 tons or more to five per day. Over the summer, celebrities like Michael Douglas and Cate Blanchett rallied in support of the ban citing the destruction and potential for flooding of the historic landmarks.

Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., has named Chris Bollinger as Executive Vice President of New Construction Division, according to Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, Chairman and CEO of the Lockport, La. headquartered shipbuilding and repair company. Bollinger has been employed at Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. since 1993 and has held numerous managerial and leadership positions. He will continue his role on Bollinger Shipyard’s Board of Directors as well as serving as President of Bollinger/Incat USA (B/I), Bollinger High Speed Vessels (BHSV) and Chand, which are divisions of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. Mike Ellis, COO said “Chris’ experience with commercial customers and government agencies…