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Charles Michel News

09 May 2022

Ukraine Calls for Moves to Unblock Ports

© toxicoz / Adobe Stock

Ukraine’s president called on the international community on Monday to take immediate steps to end a Russian blockade of his country’s ports to allow wheat exports and prevent a global food crisis.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made his comments in an online post after speaking to European Council President Charles Michel who was visiting the city of Odesa, a major Black Sea port for exporting agricultural products.“It is important to prevent a food crisis in the world caused by Russia’s aggressive actions,” Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

09 May 2022

Ukrainian President Calls for Moves to Unblock Ports to Allow Wheat Exports

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy - Credit: Website of the President of Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Monday for immediate moves to open Ukrainian ports blockaded by Russia to allow wheat exports and prevent a global food crisis.In a post on the Telegram messaging app after speaking to European Council President Charles Michel, who was visiting the Ukrainian city of Odesa, Zelenskiy wrote: "It is important to prevent a food crisis in the world caused by Russia's aggressive actions.""Immediate measures must be taken to unblock Ukrainian ports for wheat exports," he wrote.(Reporting by Max Hunder, Editing by Timothy Heritage)

03 May 2022

Kick-off Ceremony Held for Realization of Alexandroupolis FSRU in Greece

Founding Shareholder and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Gastrade, Ms. Elmina Copelouzou, US Ambassador, Geoffrey Pyatt & the Representatives of Gastrade's Shareholders - Credit: Gastrade

The kick-off ceremony for the realization of Gastrade SA's LNG FSRU facility in Alexandroupolis, Greece, was held on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, in the old Storage House of the Alexandroupolis Port Customs.Once delivered, the FSRU, with a capacity of 153,500 c.m. of LNG, will be moored in the offshore area 17.6 km southwest of the port of Alexandroupolis. It will be connected to the National Natural Gas Transmission System (NNGΤS) of Greece with a 28 km long pipeline, through which the gasified LNG will be transmitted to the markets of Greece…

02 May 2022

'Revolutionary' Vessel Orion Joins DEME Offshore's Installation Vessel Fleet

Credit: DEME

Belgian offshore installation contractor DEME said Saturday that the "revolutionary" offshore installation vessel Orion officially joined its fleet.This next-generation vessel is equipped with a powerful 5,000-tonne crane and is designed to handle the massive turbines and foundations of the future.Amélie Michel, the spouse of  Charles Michel, President of the European Council, agreed to be the godmother of the Orion.In a traditional DEME naming ceremony, she wished ‘Orion’ and the crew a safe and successful career in the fleet.

07 Apr 2021

EU Official Urges Turkey to Resolve issues with Greece, Cyprus over Offshore Gas Rights

European Council President Charles Michel called on Turkey to keep working to resolve disputes with Greece and Cyprus over gas rights in the Mediterranean as he visited Ankara on Tuesday to discuss trade and refugees with President Tayyip Erdogan.A row between Turkey and EU members Greece and Cyprus over offshore jurisdiction has strained ties, reaching a peak last summer when Turkish and Greek navy frigates escorted vessels exploring for hydrocarbons in disputed waters.The European Union backs Athens, while Ankara has accused the bloc of bias and of not honoring its pledges under a 2016 migrant deal.The visit by Michel and European…

14 Dec 2020

Leaders Push Brexit Trade Talks Beyond Sunday Deadline

© Kalyakan / Adobe Stock

London and Brussels agreed on Sunday to “go the extra mile” in coming days to try to reach an elusive trade agreement despite missing their latest deadline to avert a turbulent exit for Britain from the European Union’s orbit at the end of the month.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the EU’s executive Commission, Ursula von der Leyen had given negotiators a Sunday deadline to find a way to resolve an impasse on arrangements that would guarantee Britain zero-tariff and zero-quota access to the EU’s single market.On Sunday they mandated negotiators to continue…

10 Dec 2020

East Med Dispute: Erdogan Unmoved by EU Sanctions Threat

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (File Photo: Turkish Presidency)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the European Union on Wednesday of never acting honestly towards his country and said Ankara was not concerned by any economic sanctions the bloc might impose on it.EU foreign ministers said on Monday Turkey had failed to help end a row with Greece and Cyprus over potential gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean, but they left a decision on sanctions for a summit of EU leaders that starts on Thursday.NATO ally Turkey has been at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus over the extent of their continental shelves in the east Mediterranean.

16 Sep 2020

East Mediterranean Dispute: Cyprus Willing to Talk with Turkey 'Without Threats'

 Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades -  Credit: Cyprus Government

Cyprus is ready to engage in talks with Turkey to resolve differences but only "without blackmail and threats", President Nicos Anastasiades said on Wednesday.The two countries are locked in a dispute over drilling rights in the Mediterranean, and Turkey said on Tuesday it had extended a drilling vessel's operations in disputed waters off Cyprus until Oct. 12."Nicosia has been always ready for a dialogue but for that ... to be effective, it needs to be clearly defined based on international law…

19 Feb 2019

IMO Urges GHG Reduction

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim has called for Member States and the entire maritime sector including shipping and ports, to come on board to achieve the ambitions set out in the historic IMO initial strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping, adopted last year.The UN body said that the strategy makes a firm commitment to a complete phase out of GHG emissions from ships, a specific linkage to the Paris Agreement and a series of clear levels of ambition, including at least a 50 per cent cut in emissions from the sector by 2050.“We need to focus on technology transfer and research and development…

25 Oct 2018

Shanghai Lingang Invests in Zeebrugge Port

Chinese investment by the Shanghai Lingang Overseas Development  in the port of Zeebrugge was officially signed in Brussels by Liu Jiaping, Chairman of Lingang, and Coens Joachim, CEO of Port of Zeebrugge.The agreement was signed in the presence of the prime minister of the People’s Republic of China, Ki Keqiang, and the prime minister of Belgium, Charles Michel.Port of Zeebrugge already announced the investment by the Chinese group Lingang in the Maritime Logistic Zone to establish a service and distribution park. Under the name ‘One park, two centers China/Europe’ Lingang signed an agreement of 85.3 million euros to establish a 30 ha logistic park.The objective is to settle down Chinese…

23 Mar 2018

Trump Tariffs: EU Seeks Permanent Exemption

© Leonid Eremeychuk / Adobe Stock

European Union leaders called on Friday for a temporary exemption from U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium to be made permanent, saying they reserved the right to respond in an "in a proportionate manner" to protect the bloc's interests. The 40-day exemption granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump "putting a gun to our head", Belgium's prime minister complained. The EU's trade negotiator demanded that the United States drop "artificial deadlines". Trump said on Thursday he would suspend tariffs for the EU…

02 Mar 2018

Port of Antwerp to Help Develop New Dakar Port, West Africa

Antwerp and Dakar port authorities are to collaborate more closely in the next few years. In this way Antwerp, the second-largest port in Europe, seeks to reinforce its historic position as leader on the coast of West Africa. The Senegalese port of Dakar for its part views the collaboration as a way to position itself as the main regional hub for freight. In order to put an official seal on the future collaboration, the respective port authorities signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Friday this week. Mr. Aboubacar Sedikh Beye signed for the Port Autonome de Dakar, while Kristof Waterschoot, CEO of two subsidiaries of Antwerp Port Authority (PAI and APEC), represented the Antwerp side.

25 Oct 2017

Aerial Drones Take Flight in Maritime

Flights of Fancy? No longer a pipe dream, aerial drones find a home in maritime. Price Waterhouse Cooper estimates the global commercial drone market at $127 billion. Shipyards, offshore wind-farm developers, cruise lines, blue water cargo agencies, maritime marketing departments, first responders, admiralty lawyers, shore-to-ship package couriers, insurers, classification societies, salvors, container ports and the military are all using or actively exploring drones to accomplish tasks heretofore impossible without greater risk or cost.

29 Jun 2017

USCG Vice Commandant Visits Fairbanks Morse

Photo: Fairbanks Morse

On June 21, Fairbanks Morse hosted U.S. Coast Guard Vice Commandant, Admiral Charles Michel at its facility in Beloit, Wisc., where the USCG second in command was briefed on the company and viewed the manufacturing line that will build the engines to power the Coast Guard’s newly awarded Offshore Patrol Cutters (OPC) for decades to come. The highest ranking officer of the U.S. Armed Forces to visit Fairbanks Morse in modern history, Admiral Michel met with employees and took a tour of the power solutions provider’s facilities…

12 May 2017

Ferry Service or Humanitarian Rescue Boats?

Some EU officials say NGOs inadvertently encourage people smuggling; NGOs say they are only trying to save lives. A "ferry service" that encourages people smugglers or an essential humanitarian rescue service that saves thousands of African migrants making a dangerous sea crossing to Europe? This debate among EU officials about the role of aid groups in the Mediterranean highlights their dilemma between the moral and legal obligation of helping those in need, and growing pressure from voters to keep them away. Escaping wars and poverty, more than 360,000 refugees and migrants made it to European shores across the Mediterranean last year. Most of them arrived on EU rescue vessels.

20 Mar 2017

Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson Commissioned

Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson Commissioning (Photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Nate Littlejohn)

Adm. Charles Michel, vice commandant of the Coast Guard, presided over a ceremony commissioning the 20th Fast Response Cutter, Lawrence Lawson, in Cape May Saturday. The Lawrence Lawson and crew are homeported in Cape May, where they will perform multiple Coast Guard missions along the Mid-Atlantic coast such as law enforcement, search and rescue and protecting America’s infrastructure from New Jersey to North Carolina. The cutter is named after Lawrence O. Lawson, who, as keeper of the Evanston…

14 Nov 2016

COSCO Shipping, DEME Signs Umbrella Agreement

The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME and COSCO Shipping - the largest shipping company in the world - will work closely on the development of offshore wind energy in China. The umbrella agreement was signed today in the presence of Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. The attendance of both Heads of Government signifies the importance of the cooperation agreement and the Chinese vision concerning the transition to renewable energy. DEME and COSCO Shipping are both market leaders in their sectors and have found one another in a joint venture active in offshore wind energy in China.

09 Apr 2015

Hearing to Examine USCG's Missions

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Tara Molle

The Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, chaired by U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), will hold a hearing next week to examine how the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) allocates hours and resources among its multiple statutory missions, as well as how the Service measures mission performance. The Subcommittee hearing, entitled, “An Overview of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Missions,” is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 15, 2015 in 2253 Rayburn House Office Building.

13 Oct 2014

USCG, NOAA Ink Fleet Plan Agreement

Coast Guard Vice Adm. Charles Michel, deputy commandant for operations, and NOAA Vice Adm. Michael Devany, deputy under secretary for operations, sign the Fleet Plan Agreement letter of promulgation at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C Oct. 8, 2014 (Photo: NOAA)

Senior leaders from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) signed a Fleet Plan and Officer Exchange memorandum of understanding Wednesday at a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Charles Michel, deputy commandant for operations, and NOAA Vice Adm. Michael Devany, deputy under secretary for operations, were the signing officials for the joint letter of promulgation. The Coast Guard and NOAA have collaborated for more than 200 years.

18 Aug 2015

USCG Gets New Vice Commandant

U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Charles Michel formally assumed the role of vice commandant of the Coast Guard during a ceremony at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters Monday. As vice commandant, Michel will oversee the Coast Guard’s operations, strategic development, organizational governance and management of the service’s more than 58,000 employees and 30,000 volunteers. "I am humbled and honored to be given this important opportunity to further serve the American people and the men and women of the United States Coast Guard,” said Michel. Michel became the 30th vice commandant of the Coast Guard after serving as the service's deputy commandant for operations…

02 Nov 2016

China Cosco, DEME in Offshore Wind Deal

The Belgian dredging, environmental and marine engineering group DEME Group and Chinese COSCO Shipping have officially embarked on a joint journey to develop offshore wind energy in China, under an umbrella agreement signed on 31 October, following the two companies’ joint venture announcement in May. DEME and China COSCO Shipping are both market leaders in their sectors and have found one another in the COSCOCS - DEME joint venture active in offshore wind energy in China. As the largest shipping company in the world, China COSCO Shipping wishes to enter this new market segment and has found a partner in DEME's subsidiary GeoSea, with its extensive experience in developing, building and maintaining offshore wind farms.