France News

French liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal operator Elengy, a unit of the energy giant Engie, is preparing the sale of access capacities to the Fos Tonkin LNG terminal for the period 2021-2030.Within the sale process, Elengy will offer its potential customers several types of services, including the conventional unloading of Medmax-type LNG tankers (vessel with a capacity of 75,000m3 of LNG), the reloading of micro-tankers for LNG bunkering needs, as well as the LNG trucks loading.Compared to currently-used shipping fuels…

DP World has bought back British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O Ferries for 322 million pounds ($421 million), more than a decade after it sold it.DP World acquired the British shipping and logistics company in 2006 but soon sold off some assets, including P&O Ferries to its major shareholder, state holding company Dubai World.DP World announced on Wednesday it was buying the company, and a spokeswoman later told Reuters it had bought it back from Dubai World.Dubai World was at the heart of the emirate’s financial crisis at the turn of the decade and was forced to restructure around $

Argentina has decided to acquire four offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) built by Naval Group. The contract entered into force on February 14, 2019, and Naval Group will now begin production on the four vessels. The first to be delivered will be L’Adroit. Developed, financed and built in less than two years by Naval Group, L’Adroit had been made available to the French Navy since 2011, thereby demonstrating its operational capabilities for the action of the State at sea. The remaining…

Thousands of people travel Alaska on mega-cruise ships each year, but only a handful get to cruise Alaskan waters on the immaculate M/V LISERON. Built in Seattle in 1952 by the US Navy as a minesweeper she was sold to France, but returned to Seattle in 1990 after being lovingly converted to yacht-class in Florida.The late Michael Allan McIntosh, philanthropist and environmentalist, founded The Boat Company in 1979, initially as a program of The McIntosh Foundation. The LISERON joined The Boat Company’s first vessel…

Designer Tomas Tillberg’s quest for freedom breaks down barriers and expands to China, where his team builds China’s first expedition cruise ships putting Antarctica - and the most remote, mysterious parts of the world - within reach.All for freedom. Freedom for all. Tomas Tillberg could be Harley Davidson’s new poster boy. As he views the open road from behind his handle bars, he’s filled with an amazing feeling of personal freedom.With formal training from Royal Academy of Arts in Stockholm, Tillberg’s artistry expresses his aspiration for independence.

As a meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Pollution Prevention and Response (PPR 6) opened yesterday in London, the Clean Arctic Alliance called on Member States to remain focussed to the goal of developing a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) by shipping in the Arctic.“While IMO delegates gather to discuss ways to mitigate the impacts of heavy fuel oil (HFO) – the dirtiest of ships’ fuels – on Arctic ecosystems, IMO member states must keep their sights firmly on the need for a ban…

Six people died each day attempting to cross Mediterranean in 2018, the latest ‘Desperate Journeys’ report, released by the UN Refugee Agency said.According to the report by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an estimated 2,275 died or went missing crossing the Mediterranean in 2018, despite a major drop in the number of arrivals reaching European shores.In total, 139,300 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe, the lowest number in five years, it said.“Saving lives at sea is not a choice…

Turkey, one of the five major ship recycling countries in the world, has ratified the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Hong Kong Convention, the treaty for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling.The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009, covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling…

The French defense procurement agency “Direction Générale de l’Armement” (DGA)  signed a contract for the procurement of four new Logistic Support Ships (LSS) for the French Navy.The temporary consortium formed by Chantiers de l'Atlantique and Naval Group has been notified of the order for LSS and of their first six years of operational maintenance.According to a press release from the French industrial group specialised in naval defence and marine renewable energy, this order for the French Navy is part of the Franco-Italian LSS Programme led by OCCAr…

Europe installed a total of 2.6 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind capacity in 2018, an 18% increase which takes the region to a total capacity of 18.5 GW.According to new figures published this week by the region’s wind energy trade body, WindEurope, 15 new offshore wind farms came on line. The UK and Germany accounted for 85% of the new capacity: 1.3 GW and 969 MW respectively.Europe now has 105 offshore wind farms across 11 countries with a total capacity of 18.5 GW. This…

Interferry has confirmed locations for the 2021 and 2022 editions of its industry-leading annual conference – held every October - in the latest initiative to extend its reach as the only organization representing the worldwide ferry industry. The global trade association’s 46th annual conference will take place in Santander, Spain, followed in 2022 by a twin-venue event in Marrakesh and Tangier, Morocco, which will mark a first for Interferry on the African continent. Multi-award winner Brittany Ferries will host the Santander conference.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has launched a new logo for its Women in Maritime programme, as part of its mission to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.Programme lead Helen Buni said: "The IMO Women in Maritime programme supports the participation of women in both shore-based and sea-going posts, under the slogan Training-Visibility-Recognition’, through a wide range of gender-specific activities.

Spain has become the latest country to accede to the International Maritime Organization’s Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety, significantly boosting the number of vessels needed for entry into force.The entry into force of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement will result in benefits for the fishing industry, including fewer accidents, fewer lives lost and a more effective infrastructure for monitoring and targeting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.“With Spain’s accession we are approaching half way to reaching the entry into force criteria for this vital treaty.

Japanese logistics giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) and French multinational integrated oil and gas company Total S.A. signed an agreement which will make travelling across Europe easier for their corporate customers.The agreement provides for acceptance of MOL Group Cards by Total in its network of stations in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Germany. At the same time, the Total fuel cards will be accepted in the MOL’s and Slovnaft’s network of stations in Hungary…

The global offshore wind energy market is poised to grow over USD 49.74 billion by 2023 at an estimated CAGR of around 11.12% during the period 2017 to 2023.The growth in this sector can be attributed to the increasing demand for clean and reliable energy in order to reduce the global carbon emissions and to maintain ecological balance by generating electricity through renewable resources, said a report by Market Research Future.However, high initiating capital cost of the projects with high maintenance cost and logistics issues, can hinder the offshore wind market.

The CMA CGM Group has announced it has taken delivery of the CMA CGM Fort de France, the first of an order for four container ships dedicated to the French West Indies.With a capacity of 3,500 TEUs (Twenty-foot equivalent units) and a length of 219 meters, the CMA CGM Fort de France stands out by its draft which is adapted to the West Indies ports. It is also equipped with a large number of plugs for refrigerated containers (“Reefers”) which allow the transport in optimal conditions of perishable goods such as bananas…

British ferry and shipping freight operator P&O will re-flag its entire UK registered fleet to Cyprus ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union to keep tax arrangements in the bloc, the company said on Tuesday.Last month P&O said it was re-flagging two of its UK ships operating on the English Channel route to France to the Cyprus registry."In advance of Britain leaving the European Union on March 29, 2019, we undertook a review of the flag status of our ships on the English Channel," a P&O spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday."For operational and accounting reasons, we have concluded that the best course of action is to re-flag all ships to be under the Cyprus flag." Reporting by Jonathan Saul

Interferry CEO Mike Corrigan reflects on the global trade association’s hectic year of involvement in three key areas of concern.Readers with long memories will have a strong sense of déjà vu when I say that safety, security and the environment are at the forefront of Interferry’s networking and lobbying mission right now. I highlighted the very same issues in this column last January, so let me explain why I’m not entirely repeating myself.It’s a fact of life that a lot can happen in a short space of time.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said 47 migrants who have been blocked at sea off Sicily for 11 days on a rescue ship will be allowed to come ashore on Wednesday, ending the latest migrant standoff."In a few hours, they will begin to disembark," Conte told reporters in Milan. The migrants have been on the vessel since they were rescued off the Libyan coast.Italy's populist government, which took office last year, has closed its ports to humanitarian vessels in a bid to force European Union partners to take a share of those rescued in the Mediterranean.The Dutch-flagged Sea-Watch 3, which is run by a German humanitarian group, has been moored off the coast of Sicily as it waits for a safe port.

The European Commission has agreed to the request submitted by France and Germany asking it to look at Fincantieri's proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique in the light of the EU Merger Regulation.The Commission considers that the transaction could harm competition at European and global level.The proposed acquisition of Chantiers de l'Atlantique by Fincantieri does not reach the turnover thresholds set by the EU Merger Regulation for transactions notifiable to the European Commission because of their European dimension. However, the plan was notified for authorisation in France and Germany.France submitted a referral request pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EU Merger Regulation.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering infrastructure is expanding globally and there are increasing numbers of LNG-bunker vessels which are encouraging other operators to adopt LNG.According to SEA\LNG,  the multi-sector industry coalition aiming to accelerate the widespread adoption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel, from limited availability at select ports, LNG bunkering has grown to encompass 24 out of the world’s top 25 and all but one of the top ten bunker…

The Port of New Orleans (Port NOLA) moved more containers in 2018 than at any time in its history, totaling 591,253 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), up 12.3 percent compared to one year ago.The deep-draft multipurpose port at the center of the world's busiest port system -- Louisiana's Lower Mississippi River said in a press release that the record marks the fifth year in a row Port NOLA has surpassed the half million TEU-mark at its Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal, which…

The launching ceremony of the “Spartaco Schergat” frigate, the ninth of a series of 10 FREMM vessels – Multi Mission European Frigates, took place at the integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso (Genoa). The 10 FREMM vessels have been commissioned to Fincantieri by the Italian Navy within the framework of an Italo-French cooperation program under the coordination of OCCAR (Organization Conjointe de Cooperation sur l’Armement, the international organization for cooperation on arms).Godmother of the ceremony was Mrs.