France News

Last month a Hydrex team removed a bow thruster from a 170-meter container ship. This was done during a stop in Rotterdam. The unit needed to be overhauled and the operation had to be carried out within a very short window that would fit the schedule available to the vessel’s owner.The team mobilized to the ship’s location using a workboat loaded with all the needed equipment. These workboats are fully equipped as dive support stations with hydraulic cranes, winches, nautical and communication equipment and a dive control room.

BIO-UV Group has received IMO & USCG type approval for its next generation low flow rate ballast water treatment system range.The BIO-SEA L Easy-to-Fit system had to undergo new type approval testing as it incorporates a completely new UV-reactor, designed to meet market demand from the luxury yacht, expedition cruise and offshore vessel segments, where ballast water pump flow rate capacities are often under 100m3/h.Benoît Gillmann, BIO-UV GROUP CEO and Founder said: “We are pleased…

A cruise ship stuck off Panama’s Pacific coast after four passengers died and more than 130 others developed influenza-like symptoms, including at least two with the coronavirus, will be allowed to proceed through the Panama Canal, the government said on Saturday.Holland America Line’s 238-meter (781-foot) MS Zaandam vessel can now continue its trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, but Panama’s government underscored that no passengers or crew members would be allowed to set foot…

Freight carriers are struggling to deliver goods by land, sea or air as the coronavirus pandemic forces Western governments to impose lockdowns, threatening supplies of vital products including medicines into the most affected areas, such as Italy.While China's draconian steps to stop the spread of the virus are now allowing its economy slowly to come back online, supply chains are backing up in other parts of the world.Problems ranging from finding enough truck drivers to restrictions on seafarers and a lack of air freight are hitting the smooth flow of goods…

Offshore oil driller Valaris PLC is exploring debt restructuring options as it grapples with a rig accident and a broader collapse in energy prices, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.Valaris has tapped debt restructuring attorneys at law firm Kirkland & Ellis LLP for advice on ways to rework its roughly $6.5 billion debt pile, and is exploring enlisting a turnaround firm that specializes in urgently addressing stressed finances to bolster its roster of advisers, the…

An Italian cruise ship bound for the Italian harbor of Savona had 36 people on board infected with the coronavirus when tests were undertaken on passengers during a stop in the French port of Marseille, French authorities said on Friday.A Marseille area prefecture official told Reuters that he could not comment on how many of those infected had disembarked and how many were still on the ship, which was due to leave Marseille on Friday evening to sail to Savona.On Thursday and Friday…

France will use a helicopter warship to transfer coronavirus patients in critical condition from Corsica to hospitals in the southeast of the country, its armed forces minister said on Friday.As of Thursday, there were 162 confirmed coronavirus cases on the Mediterranean island.

Passengers who have tickets to travel back to their home countries will be allowed to disembark from the coronavirus-hit Costa Luminosa cruise ship in Marseille, the port authority and the cruise operator said on Thursday.A port official told Reuters that 639 passengers, including 187 French nationals, would be allowed to leave the ship in small groups, depending on the timing of their transport home.There were more than 1,420 passengers on the liner, including 230 Americans, 168 Italians and 100 Canadians…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus a pandemic. There is little doubt that this will have significant implications for the shipping industry. But to what extent? BIMCO expects that the strict containment measures imposed by governments around the world will result in substantially lower global economic growth and consequentially, lower demand for shipping. Container and dry bulk shipping are at the front line when it comes to feeling the fallout…

On the world stage, the grounding of the supertanker TORREY CANYON on Pollard’s Rock in the Seven Stones reef between Cornwall and the Scilly Isles is more significant than the 1989 EXXON VALDEZ oil spill. The TORREY CANYON was one of the first tankers large enough (120,000 tons capacity) to be designated a supertanker. It was also the first loaded supertanker to spill its entire cargo. After salvage efforts failed and the oil flow increased, the British Government decided to bomb the ship in an attempt to burn the oil. This was a radical decision because the wreck was outside the three-mile territorial sea limit prevalent at that time. The Royal Air Force had difficulty hitting the ship, so the Royal Navy sent its planes in.

The Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy has published an update March 16, 2020 to MSIB: Novel Coronavirus – Update (Change 2)An outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19) may affect mariners and maritime commerce. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated their Interim Guidance for Ships on Managing Suspected Coronavirus Disease 2019 (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfyG) and Cruise Ship Travel (see https://go.usa.gov/xdfVP).Illness…

European Union antitrust regulators have suspended their investigation into Fincantieri's bid for France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique while waiting for the Italian shipyard to provide requested data.The European Commission's website shows it halted the probe on March 13. Prior to that, it had been scheduled to rule on the case by April 17."This procedure in merger investigations is activated if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, important information that the Commission has requested from them…

Italian shipyard Fincantieri has not offered any concessions to head off EU antitrust concerns about its planned bid for France's Chantiers de l'Atlantique, giving regulators no choice but to block the deal, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.A veto by European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager would deal a serious blow to Italy's bid to create a European industrial champion in shipbuilding to better compete with Asian rivals.Fincantieri declined to comment.

UK-based Tekmar Energy  has secured a contract award from French cable installation specialist Louis Dreyfus TravOcean, to supply TekLink cable protection systems (CPS) for the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm (OWF).According to the developer and manufacturer of sub-sea cable protection systems, the Parc du Banc de Guérande OWF (Saint-Nazaire) is a 480MW offshore wind farm set for construction on France’s Atlantic Coast and owned by EDF Renewables and Enbridge.Saint-Nazaire will be the first commercial-scale project installed in French waters and marks a significant milestone for the French of

Konecranes and Chantiers de l’Atlantique, a shipyard in St. Nazaire, France, have signed a contract for the delivery of a Konecranes Goliath gantry crane. It will handle large ship blocks and panels over the dry dock, playing a leading role in ship assembly at the shipyard. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2019.The Konecranes Goliath crane will be delivered with the cooperation of both parties. It will be manufactured in Europe by Konecranes in its entirety. The crane assembly on-site and the erection work will be done in cooperation between the shipyard and Konecranes.

French ferry operator Brittany Ferries said that the takeover of of Condor Ferries  has been completed. The deal, announced last year, had been subject to scrutiny by competition authorities, but work on the transition has been completed."Brittany Ferries is today the proud part-owner of Condor Ferries," it said in a press note.“This is excellent news for Brittany Ferries, our new partners and for Condor Ferries,” said Christophe Mathieu, CEO Brittany Ferries. “We are committed…

Shom, the French national hydrographic and oceanographic office selected SBG Systems’ inertial navigation sytems to renew their whole fleet of INS. They chose Navsight Apogee INS for their speedboats and survey vessels for both shallow and deep-water real-time bathymetric surveys and Qinertia PPK software for post-processing tasks.Shom has 3 major objectives: national hydrography and cartography, defense support in hydro-oceanographic fields, and support in maritime geospatial products and services for public policies on the sea and the coast.

A consortium formed by Germany’s Thyssenkrupp AG and Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA signed a deal on Thursday to deliver four frigates to Brazil’s navy between 2025 and 2028, the companies said in a statement.The contract signed in Rio de Janeiro is part of Brazil’s drive to modernize its navy so it can patrol off-shore resources in the Atlantic, such as Brazil’s vast pre-salt oil reserves.The companies did not disclose the price tag. The Brazilian navy website said the four-ship program will cost about $2 billion.Last year…

A large passenger vessel has become the industry’s first to achieve system compliance under classification society DNV GL’s framework for integrated cybersecurity.Today's vessels are increasingly fitted with integrated automation systems and digital solutions. And as vessels’ systems gorw more connected than ever before, new security threats areise, driving the need for closer and earlier collaboration on cybersecurity between all key stakeholders in the newbuilding process.ABB…

The new service operation vessel (SOV) of Bernhard Schulte, designed and built by Ulstein, will carry the name 'Windea Jules Verne' and work for GE Renewable Energy at the Merkur offshore wind project soon.The vessel received its name after one of the world’s most popular adventure writers, who was born in Nantes, France, where GE’s Offshore Wind business is located.The SOV has been designed and built by Ulstein for Bernhard Schulte Offshore. GE contracted Bernhard Schulte in July 2018 to provide an SOV for the 396MW project in Germany…

French builder Alumarine Shipyard has delivered a new hydrographic survey boat to the Port of La Rochelle.The eight-meter aluminum vessel, dubbed Cassiopée, is powered by a dual electric/diesel propulsion system. The newbuild is designed to transit at 20-25 knots under diesel power between the home port and the acquisition area, then shift to the electric outboards while performing scans of the seafloor.Electric propulsion and hybrid drives manufacturer Torqeedo said it worked closely with the naval architect and shipyard to specify…

The intergovernmental agreement signed between French and Italian States to establish Naviris, the joint-venture (JV) between the shipbuilders Naval Group and Fincantieri.This agreement makes the long term alliance launched by these two industrial Groups fully operational.The JV, owned equally by the two groups, will manage ambitious projects, including mid-term modernization of the Franco-Italian Horizon frigates, common R&D, export opportunities and the development of a European Patrol Corvette. “We welcome this intergovernmental agreement, which reinforces our joint-venture Naviris.

California energy company Sempra Energy said on Thursday it expects to make final investment decisions (FID) this year to build two new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plants - one in the United States and one in Mexico:Sempra said it plans to make FIDs on the first phase of the Costa Azul export plant in Baja California in Mexico in the first quarter and the Port Arthur export plant in Texas in the third quarter.At Costa Azul, Sempra has said Energia Costa Azul LNG has non…