Adriatic News

Hungary's MOL group has ordered tankers delivering Saudi, Norwegian, Kazakh, Libyan and Russian oil to supply its Hungarian and Slovak refineries and halted diesel supplies to Ukraine as it scrambles to overcome an outage of the Druzhba pipeline, officials said on Wednesday.MOL's refineries, the last in the EU to receive Russian oil through Druzhba, have struggled since a supply halt that Ukraine says was due to a Russian attack that damaged the pipeline infrastructure on January 27.The refineries plan to start tapping state oil reserves, with the Slovak government approving on Wednesday a loa

The CMA CGM Group recently received its 400th owned vessel, the CMA CGM Monte Cristo, the first in a series of six methanol container ships.This key milestone reflects the Group’s long-term investment strategy, built on asset ownership and the integration of advanced technologies to enhance the environmental and operational performance of its fleet.With the CMA CGM Monte Cristo, the Group reaches a milestone of 400 owned vessels, within a fleet of more than 650 vessels worldwide.

KERSHIP welcomed Mr. Aleksa Bečić, Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro, and Mr. Dragan Krapovic, Minister of Defense of Montenegro on Wednesday, December 17, at its Lanester site. This second visit marks a significant step forward since the construction launch ceremony of the first offshore patrol vessel. The Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense were accompanied by members of their cabinet, senior officers from the Montenegrin Army and Navy Ms. Dubravka Lalovic, Ambassador of Montenegro to France, as well as local authorities.

Italy’s Cimolai Technology  reached a major construction milestone on one of the largest crane projects currently underway in Europe, completing the lifting and erection of the main girder of the first of two massive 800-ton rail-mounted Goliath cranes at the Port of Chioggia.The lift, carried out at Cimolai Technology’s Chioggia facility in the Val da Rio port area, marks the conclusion of a critical technical phase in a complex, international heavy-engineering project. Once completed…

Fincantieri has finalized a multi-decade concession agreement that will reshape its operations at the Port of Ancona, enabling a major expansion and modernization of one of Italy’s most strategically important shipyards.The agreement—signed by Central Adriatic Sea Port Authority President Vincenzo Garofalo and Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero—grants the shipbuilding group access to more than 314,000 square meters of land, waterfront, and existing infrastructure within the Ancona port complex.

MacGregor has been selected to supply cargo access solutions for nine new RoPax vessels as part of the Grimaldi Group’s major fleet renewal plan.This significant order includes cargo access equipment for three vessels for Finnlines, four for Grimaldi Euromed, and two for Minoan Lines. The vessels will be built at China Merchants Industry Weihai Shipyard Co.The order covers two different vessel designs, including three ships for Finnlines, with a capacity of 5,400 lane meters and 1…

Fincantieri has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with KAYO, an Albanian company specializing in strategic industrial infrastructure, to establish a joint venture (JV) for the construction and maintenance of military vessels in Albania.The signing took place during the Italy–Albania Intergovernmental Summit in Rome, chaired by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, in the presence of Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero and KAYO CEO Ardi Veliu.Under the agreement…

A Ukrainian man was arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, officials said on Thursday, a breakthrough in an episode that sharpened tensions between Russia and the West.Described by both Moscow and the West as an act of sabotage, the explosions largely severed Russian gas supplies to Europe, prompting a major escalation in the Ukraine conflict and squeezing energy supplies on the continent. No one…

Montenegro has secured 350 million euros from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the European Union to enhance transport connectivity within the Balkan country and with the wider region, the EBRD said in a statement on Thursday.The EBRD will provide a loan of up to 200 million euros to finance the construction of the Matesevo–Andrijevica section of the highway connecting the Adriatic port of Bar with the Serbian border, while the EU will contribute two investment grants totalling 150 million euros.Johann Sattler…

KERSHIP has launched the construction of the first of two OPV 60M offshore patrol vessels for the Montenegrin Navy at its Lorient shipyard in France.The vessels will be named Petar I and Petar II in respect for the sovereign of Montenegro.The OPV 60M, the result of an optimized design, will enable the Montenegrin Navy to carry out a wide range of missions: protection of strategic infrastructure, border control, anti-piracy, sea rescue operations, pollution response, and humanitarian aid.

The US Coast Guard has released its report into the death of a crewmember onboard the Red Stag while moored at the Adriatic Marine Dock, in Port Fourchon, LA, on October 14, 2023. The incident occurred when an unqualified engineer (UE) opened the panel for the mud pump system and touched the high voltage conductors containing 480 volts.The 184-foot OSV moored at the dock the previous day with a crew consisting of a Master, Relief Captain and three crewmembers. The vessel had been in dry dock and had recently moved to the Adriatic Marine Dock to prepare for an upcoming work assignment…

The Fascinated by Shipwrecks Podcast, hosted by Kathy A. Smith,  is dedicated to the People & the Science of Maritime Archaeology.The Adriatic Affair: Finding the 1856 Le Lyonnais Wreck“Of the people on the ship, 114 died and only 18 survived. Those that did lived through extraordinary conditions in the North Atlantic. Storms. Dehydration. Starvation. Bitter, freezing temperatures until they were eventually rescued by a passing ship.” - Jennifer SellittiOn November 2, 1856, the French passenger steamship…

Croatia-based bulk carrier and tanker owner Alpha Adriatic has selected Marlink to provide LEO internet solution with cyber security tools for its fleet.Alpha Adriatic will benefit from Sealink NextGen’s combination of VSAT and LEO internet, together with robust back-up and Marlink’s Advanced Threat Detection, Unified Threat Management and Endpoint Detection cyber tools.Marlink will upgrade the hybrid network solution onboard, integrating Starlink to enhance options available for business applications and improving connectivity available to crews.Headquartered in Pula…

The newly released European Maritime Transport Environmental Report 2025 highlights progress made in sustainable maritime transport but challenges still persistAccording to the report, the sector is making progress towards greater sustainability but will need to increase its efforts over the coming years to play its part in meeting 2030 EU climate and environment goals and achieving a climate neutral EU by 2050.CO₂ emissions from maritime transport in the EU have risen annually since 2015 (except for 2020)…

A second multi-purpose tugboat has joined her twin sister at Rijeka, Croatia’s principal seaport, part of a two-tug contract with the Italian shipping group Scafi for its Croatian subsidiary Jadranski Pomorski Servis.Known as BOĞAÇAY LXXII while under construction in Turkiye the tug, renamed TITAN by her new owner, is now working alongside fellow Bogacay Series tugboat MORETTO.Both 80-ton bollard pull tugs are based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar RAmparts 2400SX MKII design from Robert Allan Ltd.Measuring 24.4m LOA…

Esgian highlights that operators in Norway are preparing new wells for Odfjell Drilling, COSL and Saipem semisubs in its Week 41 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryContractsShelf Drilling has secured new contracts for its 350-ft jackups Shelf Drilling Achiever and Adriatic I offshore Nigeria.Drilling Activity and DiscoveriesThe Norwegian Environment Agency (Miljødirektoratet) has received an application from Aker BP for permission under the Pollution Act to drill the delineation well 25/1-14 Omega Alfa in the North Sea…

Silver Ships, a boatbuilder based in Theodore, Ala., announced the successful completion of reactivation and crew familiarization training for four Coastal Fast Response Boats (CFRBs) recently delivered to the Montenegrin Navy. The training, which spanned two weeks, concluded with a graduation ceremony attended by officials from the Montenegrin Navy, the Ministry of Defense, and the U.S. Embassy. U.S. Ambassador Judy Rising Reinke was present to commend the crews and present training…

Italy on Tuesday appointed a special commissioner to tackle the spread of the blue crab, an aggressive species that is preying on local clams and threatening a lucrative part of national food production.Originally from the western Atlantic, blue crabs have proliferated in several locations around the Italian coast, particularly in the Po river delta in the north, where attempts to curb numbers with large fishing campaigns have had little success.Experts say the blue crabs probably arrived in Italy via shipping ballast water…

A replica Viking ship has berthed in Montenegro's Adriatic port of Bar on a years-long trip through European waters inspired by the Norse seafarers who set out from Scandinavia to explore, trade and conquer a millennium ago.The ship, Saga Farmann, is a full-size archaeological reconstruction of a 10th-century Viking cargo vessel, or knarr, made from oak and pine, which was found in Norway as early as 1893 but only excavated in the 1970s."This is the type of ship that would travel to Iceland…

Italy's gas grid group Snam SRG.MI said on Friday it expected a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal to become operational by March 2025, allowing the country to diversify further its energy supplies.The floating terminal in the Adriatic sea will have an annual regasification potential of 5 billion cubic metres (bcm), bringing Italy's total capacity to 28 bcm a year, or 45% of the country's gas demand in 2023.The set up of the regasification unit dubbed BW Singapore, which envisages the building of both a platform offshore the costal city of Ravenna and a breakwater, is part of Italy's eff

The Paris MoU has published its 2023 Annual Report, highlighting that the overall detention rate for 2023 (3.81%) is lower than that for 2022 (4.25%).However, the detention rate has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of 2.98% during 2019.Analysis of the deficiencies indicates that, compared to previous years, there is no specific convention or part of a convention that is indicating more areas of non-compliance. Instead, there are recurring areas of concern:• SOLAS Chapter II-2 (Construction-Fire Protection…

Stena RoRo announced it has ordered another two E-Flexer RoPax vessels from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai), for delivery in 2027.This is Stena RoRo's fourteenth and fifteenth vessel in the E-Flexer series.The two vessels will enter service under long-term charter to Greek shipping company Attica Group for operations in the Adriatic Sea. Attica Group has an option to purchase the newbuilds and also a potential option for two more vessels.The E-Flexer series is based on a concept with larger vessels than today's standard RoPax ferries and is very flexible.

Trader Gunvor and French major TotalEnergies have stored North Sea crude in at least four tankers in the past month as on-water stockpiling of the grades hits a 2-1/2 year high, a fresh sign of weak appetite for oil from refiners.At least 2.6 million barrels of North Sea crude grades Forties and Gullfaks have been put in floating storage in Europe, the highest volume since January 2022, according to data from analytics firm Vortexa.Physical oil markets have weakened globally in recent weeks…