Murray News

Thyssenkrupp appealed against a decision by the Netherlands last month to award a contract worth billions of euros to build submarines to France's Naval Group, the German company said.Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), the German conglomerate's defence division, filed the objection with the District Court in The Hague in late March, the company said in an e-mailed statement."This measure is a professional business procedure in such publicly tendered major projects and part of the competition - especially in light of the questions that remain unanswered regarding specific evaluation criteria…

A cargo ship leaving Russia that made an unscheduled stop at the German port of Rostock is under investigation there for carrying cargo in possible breach of sanctions, German authorities said on Wednesday.The Atlantic Navigator II, managed by Canada-based CSAL and sailing under the Marshall Islands flag, has been detained by German customs. On board are 251 containers of birch wood, which is subject to EU sanctions against Russia, prosecutors said."Investigations are under way against the captain of the freighter on initial suspicion of a violation of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act…

German container shipper Hapag-Lloyd said on Thursday the global oversupply of container ships and a crisis in the Red Sea will force it to cut costs in 2024, adapting sailings and ports following a bruising 83% fall in net profit.Ship operators face prolonged disruption while Yemen-based Houthi militants are attacking vessels travelling on one of the world's busiest routes, wiping out the benefit from higher freight rates with costly redirections around Africa.Hapag-Lloyd's problems chime with those of competitors such as Maersk and CMA CGM, exacerbated by the arrival of additional ships orde

The German government has approved the deployment of armed forces in a European Union naval mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant ships from attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militia, a government spokesperson said on Friday.Many commercial shippers have diverted vessels following attacks by the Houthis, who control much of Yemen and say they are acting in solidarity with the Palestinians as Israel and Hamas wage war in Gaza."The ongoing escalation of violence and the threat to life and limb of the crews of ships…

Stena RoRo announced it has taken delivery of the 10th vessel in its E-Flexer series from the CMI Jinling, Weihai Shipyard. The vessel, named Ala'suinu, will be on a long charter agreement with the Canadian state-owned Marine Atlantic and operate a ferry line in eastern Canada between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.“We are very excited to welcome the Ala’suinu to our service,” says Gary O'Brien, Chair, Board of Directors, Marine Atlantic. “With a focus on reducing our environmental impact…

Marine Towing of Tampa announced it is expanding its ship assist services to Florida's east coast following a deal with E.N. Bisso & Son to acquire towing assets formerly owned by SEACOR Holdings' Seabulk arm.In September 2023, SEACOR divested its U.S. harbor towing operations, selling to Bisso 12 tugs across ports in Florida and Alabama.Under a recently executed asset purchase agreement with Bisso, Marine Towing of Tampa acquired the Port Canaveral operations and assets from the SEACOR-Bisso deal and will operate them in Canaveral under a newly formed affiliate…

Attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea are unacceptable and must stop, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding that Berlin was in contact with Brussels on a possible European Union maritime mission in the region."These attacks are fully unacceptable and must stop," the spokesperson told a government press conference in Berlin.We are examining all options that are possible under international and constitutional law, he added when asked about how Berlin would respond.(Reuters - Reporting by Rachel More and Linda Pasquini; Editing by Miranda Murray)

Germany and its European Union partners are examining whether they could mount a new maritime mission to protect commercial vessels under threat of attack in the Red Sea, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday."We as the German government are ready for this. It is important that we as the EU are able to act as quickly as possible in view of the ongoing attacks," the spokesperson said, adding that a decision on the matter had not yet been taken.The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked or seized a dozen ships with missiles and drones since Nov.

Germany's emerging liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Elbe river port of Stade expects its floating regasification vessel (FSRU) to arrive in February, allowing seaborne gas cargoes to be fed into local pipeline grids, its management said on Wednesday.The move is part of Germany's quest to increase LNG import capacity so it can end reliance on Russian pipeline gas, which Europe has heavily depended on prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year."The Transgas Force (the designated ship) is anticipated to arrive in February and will remain for three years, ahead of the commissioning

ABB has secured a contract with Auckland Transport (AT) to deliver the maritime world’s first megawatt charging system (MCS) to recharge electric ferries using the same interface as trucks and airplanes. Lowering the barrier to entry, the standardized and highly adaptable system is expected to improve electric vessel competitiveness against fossil-fueled counterparts.As part of its Mission Electric initiative, AT has ordered two 200-seat all-electric ferries and two 300-passenger…

bp's search for a new chief executive is set to extend into the first quarter of 2024, three sources told Reuters, while the board's probe into whether previous CEO Bernard Looney breached the code of conduct in his undisclosed personal relationships with staff drags on.The oil company has been in turmoil since Looney's resignation in September, company sources told Reuters, and the share price has underperformed rival Shell since then amid investor uncertainty over bp's future strategy.bp's shares have dropped 9% since Looney's departure, while Shell's have gained 2% over the same period.

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has implemented SkillGrader for simulation assessment in the Naval Officer Training Centre’s Navigation and Bridge Simulator (NABS) environment.Developed by Marine Learning Systems (MLS), SkillGrader will gather, store and report training metrics from student assessments. The project supports the RCN’s efforts to continuously enhance the quality of professional development of their Naval Warfare Officers.SkillGrader is a first of its kind tablet-based…

The RSPCA has welcomed the tabling of the Australian federal Minister for Agriculture's response to one of the largest Australian parliamentary e-petitions in history, calling for an end to live sheep export.Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Murray Watt, stated: “The Australian Government acknowledges the considerable community concerns about animal welfare in the trade of live sheep exports by sea and understands the desire to see action.“The government took the commitment to phase out live sheep exports by sea to two elections…

Global shipping markets, which are due to add more capacity than anticipated demand will support, have a good chance of rebalancing within two years, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd told reporters on Thursday."The gap between supply growth and demand growth is possibly smaller than people think and therefore, the outlook that the market may recover to a more balanced situation in one or two years is better than most people feel," said CEO Rolf Habben Jansen.The company, the world's number five in container shipping, earlier this month said it will cut some services to save costs a

Software holding company Bleecker Street Group (BSG) announced the acquisition of Marine Learning Systems, an eLearning technology and services provider.Marine Learning Systems is a trailblazer in introducing eLearning methodologies to the maritime sector, providing solutions to enhance learning outcomes and increase safety for maritime customers including the largest cruise, ferry and workboat operators.As part of the Bleecker Street Group, Marine Learning Systems will join a growing portfolio of maritime software businesses.

One body has been recovered and two people have been rescued in a search and rescue mission after two freighters collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany, the maritime emergency authority said on Tuesday. The Verity, which the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said had sunk, had been on its way from Bremen to the English town of Immingham. The Polesie was sailing from Hamburg to La Coruna in Spain. It was not immediately clear what the vessels were carrying, if anything.

Several people are missing after two freighters collided near the German North Sea island of Heligoland, the central command for maritime emergencies said on Tuesday.The Polesie and Verity vessels collided at around 0300 GMT about 12 nautical miles (22 kilometres) southwest of Heligoland, likely causing the Verity to sink, central command said in a statement. One person was rescued from the water and is receiving medical treatment, while several others are still missing, it added.The rescue operation includes a rescue cruiser…

Hapag-Lloyd CEO Rolf Habben Jansen said on Thursday that it would not be in the container shipper's interest to make a counter offer for HHLA, the main operator of Hamburg port, and may instead cut its traffic through the hub.On Wednesday, Switzerland-based MSC, the world's biggest container shipping company, offered to buy almost half of the port operator in a deal that could be worth nearly 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion).Speaking to Reuters in an interview, Habben Jansen said that as a result of MSC's bid…

The German government is considering taking a minority stake in Thyssenkrupp's warship division Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said during a visit to Kiel on Tuesday.The consideration process would take until the end of the year, Pistorius said, according to a defense ministry spokesperson.Thyssenkrupp is looking for a standalone future for TKMS, which builds submarines and frigates, and has mentioned a listing, partial sale, merger or joint venture as possibilities to reach its goal.Last week, a leading worker representative told Reuters that Berli

Transatlantic shipping freight rates have come under pressure from slack demand, meaning ship operators must watch costs, the chief executive of Germany's Hapag-Lloyd said on Monday."Rates have definitely collapsed, and that means we have to start looking at our costs, which have gone up," said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd, the world's fifth biggest container liner, in a call with journalists.He listed higher wage inflation, fuel prices, and terminal and timecharter costs, adding that the cost concerns could mean that certain voyages were cancelled.(Reuters - Reporting by Vera Eckert

The Joseph Schulte container ship is in Romanian waters and set to reach Istanbul this evening, said a spokesperson for Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (BSM), which owns the ship jointly with a Chinese bank, on Thursday. The departure from Odesa of the Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte, trapped in the port since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 last year, followed the latest Russian attack on the country's grain export infrastructure.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge Clean Canaveral completed its first barge-to-ship bunkering of a cargo vessel at Port Canaveral’s South Cargo Berth 4. JAX LNG, along with Polaris New Energy, handled the LNG refueling of the Damia Desgagnés on the ship’s inaugural call to Port Canaveral. The asphalt/bitumen tanker Damia Desgagnés completed her discharge of cargo and then JAX LNG proceeded with Desgagnés’s first barge-to-ship bunkering of LNG. The seafarers safely transferred approximately 400 cubic meters of LNG from North America’s largest LNG bunker barge…

The Canadian Coast Guard on Wednesday welcomed the CCGS Chedabucto Bay into its fleet at the Lifeboat Station in Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia.The Bay Class vessel, built by Chantier Naval Forillon in Gaspé, Quebec and delivered earlier this year, is the 14th of 20 new search and rescue lifeboats that will be dedicated into service by the Canadian Coast Guard across the country.The shore-stationed self-righting lifeboats are specifically designed, equipped and crewed to respond to search and rescue incidents at sea.