Europe News

The conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel is creating the worst energy crisis ever faced by the world, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday."This is indeed the biggest crisis in history," Birol told France Inter radio in an interview broadcast on Tuesday."The crisis is already huge, if you combine the effects of the petrol crisis and the gas crisis with Russia," he added.The war in the Middle East has choked up maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which is a conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.It has also come on

Mermaid Subsea Services (UK) has extended its contract for the subsea support vessel Island Valiant, reinforcing its position in the North Sea decommissioning market.The vessel has supported Mermaid’s operations in the region for the past three years, including well plug and abandonment (P&A) and inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) campaigns.The new agreement commits the vessel to operations in the basin for a further 12 months as activity in the North Sea is expected to increase.Mermaid…

The stop-start shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz underscores the profound uncertainty hanging over the world’s most critical oil and gas chokepoint. But one thing is already clear: even if the guns fall silent, flows through the narrow waterway will take months – and possibly years – to recover to pre-war levels.Iran said on Saturday that it was tightening control over the strait in response to a U.S. blockade on Iranian tankers, firing at several vessels and warning mariners that the strait was closed.

Oil prices jumped more than 6% in early Monday trading on fears that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran could collapse after the U.S. seized an Iranian cargo ship and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained largely halted.Brent crude futures LCOc1 advanced $5.51, or 6.1%, to $95.89 a barrel by 0752 GMT and U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 was up $5.46, or 6.5%, at $89.31.Both contracts tumbled by 9% on Friday, their largest daily declines since April 18, after…

Astro Offshore has added a new ultra-deepwater multi-purpose support vessel (MPSV) to its fleet, strengthening its subsea capabilities and expanding into international markets.The vessel, Energy Savannah, which will be renamed Astro Atlas, is a 97-metre DP2 multipurpose support vessel and the largest in the company’s fleet.Equipped with a 150-tonne subsea active heave compensated crane, a 25-tonne secondary crane, a moonpool and accommodation for up to 100 personnel, the vessel is designed to support offshore operations including subsea construction…

ABS and UNITED WATERWAYS (UW) have signed a letter of intent to establish a joint venture with River Academy, UW’s training and education subsidiary, to support crew competence and qualification across the European inland barge, river cruise and coastal vessel sectors.The collaboration will enhance workforce readiness as European operators navigate evolving safety and decarbonization requirements in cruise, freight, and ferry shipping. Training programs align with recognized regional and national standards and continue to support consistent…

LD TravOcean, a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) Group, has acquired a DP2 multipurpose support vessel as part of efforts to expand its subsea capabilities.The vessel, SIDDIS Mariner, will be renamed TVO Mariner and is scheduled for delivery in summer 2026.The company said the acquisition is aimed at enabling the delivery of integrated subsea solutions combining vessel operations, equipment and expertise.The vessel will support activities including telecom cable work…

UK-based shipowner/operator North Star has strengthened its executive team with new senior appointments as it expands its offshore wind and maritime operations.North Star appointed Duncan Palmer as its first Chief Human Resources Officer, promoted Joanna Lang to Chief Legal and Compliance Officer, and named Kenneth Coughlan as Chief Technology Officer.The company said the changes support its strategy to grow its client base, talent pipeline and offshore wind activities, as well…

Glamox, a global leader in lighting, has secured a contract to supply lighting for four Offshore Energy Support Vessels (OESVs) being built for Sea1 Offshore.Glamox will supply a total of 8,000 marine lights for the exteriors and interiors of four vessels that will be used to support offshore energy installations.OESVs are specialized vessels that deliver logistics, transport, installation, maintenance, and operational support to offshore energy infrastructure - including offshore wind farms…

Oil and gas producer Eni this week finished loading a 1-million-barrel cargo of Venezuelan heavy crude bound for Spain, the first the Italian company receives in almost two years following the issuance of U.S.

The European Resilience Alliance for Clean Hydrogen & Derivatives (ERA) was officially launched at the European Parliament in Brussels on April 14.ERA is a pan-European, CEO-led initiative uniting leading industrial companies across the clean hydrogen value chain to address Europe's energy challenges, enhance industrial competitiveness, and secure strategic autonomy in the face of rapidly changing geopolitical and industrial pressures.ERA’s founding members include ENAGÁS, FLUXYS…

CoreMarine & Jumbo Offshore have announced the award of a significant contract to perform the transport and installation of the soft-yoke (SSY) mooring systems, and hook-up of both the Hilli Episeyo FLNG and MKII FLNG vessels, in Argentina’s Golfo San Matías. The award represents a milestone for both companies as well as a breakthrough project for Argentina’s gas sector as it ramps up in export capabilities.The contract has been awarded by Southern Energy S.A. (SESA), supported by an international consortium comprising Pan American Energy, YPF, Pampa Energía, Harbour Energy, and Golar LNG.

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Solstad Maritime has secured a two-year extension of the current contract for the subsea construction vessel (CSV) Normand Fortress with Petrobras.The extension will start in early July 2026. Under the extended contract, the vessel will provide accommodation services to support production activities on the Brazilian continental shelf.The gross contract value for the contract extension is approximately $56 million.The vessel will be on bareboat contract from Solstad Maritime to Solstad Offshore, which is the contract holder with Petrobras.

The European Commission has published the verified EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) emissions data for 2025 showing a -1.3% reduction in ETS emissions, compared to 2024 levels.This reduction continues the steady downward trend of emissions. Since the ETS was launched in 2005, the system has halved emissions in the sectors it covers. It remains on track to achieve the 2030 target of a 62% reduction.For maritime, the reported data so far shows that emissions from the sector fell by around 3%.Emissions from power generation through combustion of fossil fuels continued their downward trend…

Shipping traffic around Belgium's Port of Antwerp has been partially halted because of an oil spill that has spread from one of the port's docks into the river Scheldt.Antwerp harbour typically handles 60 to 80 ships daily. A port spokesperson could not immediately say how long traffic will remain halted or how many ships would be affected."An oil spill occurred during a bunkering operation in the Deurganckdock.

Britain deployed military vessels to prevent any attacks on cables and pipelines by Russian submarines that spent more than a month in and around British waters earlier this year, Defence Minister John Healey said on Thursday.Britain accused Russia of using the distraction of events in the Middle East to try to conduct the covert operation in the High North maritime region, home to key shipping routes and critical infrastructure such as undersea cables.Healey said British forces and allies including Norway tracked and deterred malign activity by the Russian vessels…

The Middle East war is giving fresh momentum to Europe's push for energy independence andbolstering the case for offshore wind farm developments, the CEO of Denmark's Orsted said on Thursday.Europe, a major importer of fossil fuels, has seen energy prices soar in recent weeks as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, and Teheran's blockage of shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, led to a worldwide scramble for oil and natural gas."There is a major task for Europe... in ensuring the necessary energy security…

The Northern Lights JV has added a third liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier to its fleet, as it expands transport capacity for Europe’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) network.The vessel, Northern Phoenix, was formally welcomed in Bergen and will support the scaling of cross-border CO2 transport under the Northern Lights project.Designed to transport liquefied CO2, the ship will carry captured emissions from Yara to the Northern Lights receiving terminal in Øygarden, where…

Oil prices rose on Thursday as doubts over a fragile two-week Middle East ceasefire raised concerns that energy flows through the crucial Strait of Hormuz will remain restricted.Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up $2.18, or 2.3%, at $96.93 a barrel at 0645 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 rose $3, or 3.18%, to $97.41 a barrel.Both benchmarks fell below $100 per barrel in the previous trading session, with WTI recording its biggest decline since April 2020…

Subsea Cable Assets (SCA) has secured its first framework contract with 50Hertz to deliver cable storage and handling systems for power grid projects in Germany.The contract, awarded through a European tender process, covers the engineering, manufacturing, delivery, installation and commissioning of four cable carousel systems, including associated loading equipment.SCA said the systems are designed to support both offshore and onshore grid infrastructure, ensuring reliable transmission…

French President Emmanuel Macron said about 15 countries were planning to facilitate the resumption of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil supply usually flows, after a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was announced."About 15 countries are currently mobilised and are participating in the planning, under France's leadership, to enable the implementation of this strictly defensive mission in coordination with Iran to facilitate the resumption of traffic…

Weiler Abrasives, a leader in surface conditioning solutions, has been recognized for its sustainability-related achievements by the Sustainable European Abrasive Manufacturers (SEAM). In a recently released CO2 Emissions Report, SEAM identified Weiler Abrasives as one of only 11 abrasives companies to achieve recognition for climate leadership for the 2024 fiscal year by achieving greater than 4% emissions reduction.The member companies were recognized for their significant progress in emissions reduction.

Belgian marine contractor Jan De Nul has launched its second next-generation cable laying vessel (CLV), William Thomson, as it expands capacity to support growing offshore wind and grid interconnection projects.The William Thomson vessel follows the earlier launch of its sister ship Fleeming Jenkin in October 2025, with both units set to become the largest cable-laying vessels of their kind.Both vessels, launched at CMHI Haimen shipyard in China, measure 215 meters in length and has a cable-carrying capacity of 28…