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Twelve crew members of a cruise ship that docked at Piraeus port near Athens on Tuesday tested negative for the novel coronavirus in repeat checks by Greek health authorities, the ship's operator TUI Cruises said.The Mein Shiff 6 cruise ship had departed from Heraklion in Crete on Sunday with all 922 passengers having tested negative before boarding.But sample tests on 150 members out of the ship's total crew of 666, conducted at a land lab, detected 12 COVID-19 infections.Sailing off the island of Milos…

A cruise ship carrying about 920 passengers was expected to dock at Piraeus port near Athens, after 12 of its crew members tested positive for the coronavirus, an official at Greece's Civil Protection agency said on Monday.The Mein Shiff 6, operated by TUI Cruises, departed from Heraklion in Crete on Sunday with all passengers having tested negative before boarding.But sample tests on 150 crew members out of a total of 666, detected 12 infections. The ship's operators TUI Cruises said six of the 12 had since tested negative."They are all asymptomatic," the civil protection official said.

Norwegian engineering and equipment company TECO 2030 ASA said it has signed a letter of intent with Austrian-based powertrain deveolper AVL List GmbH and Dutch shipping company Chemgas Shipping B.V. for the use of fuel cell technology as the main energy source for tugboats in the Blue Danube hydrogen project and similar projects.The Blue Danube project is among Europe’s most ambitious hydrogen projects. It involves production of 80,000 tons of green annually based on wind power in Romania…

Finland-based Wärtsilä said it will divest 100% of the shares in Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS GmbH to Jacob Waitz Industrie GmbH, a German based industry holding.Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS has been manufacturing uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, rectifiers, power inverters, frequency transformers and resistors with related services for many industries for seven decades. The company became part of Wärtsilä as a result of the acquisition of L-3 Communications MSI in 2015. Wärtsilä JOVYATLAS is located in Jemgum in Germany, and currently has some 125 employees.

TUI is planning a share sale to raise up to 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion), as the world's largest holiday company looks to ride out the coronavirus-linked travel slump, people close to the matter said.No decisions have been taken and a number of options are still on the table, the people said, adding a possible equity injection by a German government rescue fund was being discussed.Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov, who owns 25% of the London-listed firm, is expected to invest pro-rata in any rights issue, which could be decided in the coming weeks, the sources said.TUI and the German fina

Berlin offered to spend 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to build two liquid natural gas terminals in a bid to dissuade the United States from imposing sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to bring gas directly from Russia to Germany, Die Zeit reported on Wednesday.The weekly paper said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz made the proposal in an Aug. 7 letter before Washington imposed sanctions on companies involved in building the Baltic Sea pipeline, effectively freezing its…

The first ever PBST-branded and -built cluster-3 SCR-HP system has passed its ClassNK approval test at the MAKITA works in Japan, MAKITA Corporation and MAN Energy Solutions announced.The compact SCR system is one of four – originally ordered in 2018 and 2019 – for vessels featuring MAN B&W two-stroke engines with two now delivered and the others currently en route to customers. An MAN B&W 6S46ME-B8.5 engine will power each vessel, with the SCR-HP system making each vessel Tier III-compatible.

Marine fuels services provider KPI OceanConnect announced Tuesday it has appointed industry expert Boris Gronenberg as Managing Director of its Hamburg operations.KPI OceanConnect’s Hamburg office is located at the heart of Hamburg’s shipping community and is one of 16 in the recently merged group.“Joining KPI OceanConnect at this time is very exciting,” Gronenberg said. “The recent merger of KPI Bridge Oil and OceanConnect Marine has created one of the largest and most experienced independent marine fuels service and solutions providers in the world.

An impressive recovery in Chinese dry bulk imports has protected the industry from the effects of falling demand in the rest of the world. High deliveries and low contracting have left the orderbook at multi-year lows, but – with the poor outlook – the current influx of new dry bulk ships orders is not what is needed.Demand drivers and freight ratesThe biggest story in the dry bulk industry in recent months has been the strength of the recovery in major Chinese imports. These are up across the board…

Damen Shipyards Group delivered a Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) 2710 to Rederij Groen, who has secured a contract to use the vessel to undertake crew transfers for the oil and gas industry in Germany and DenmarkThe first new FCS 2710 to be delivered in the Netherlands, Green Waves was handed over to its new owner in Scheveningen less than six months after the contract signing. The speed of delivery is due to Damen’s practice of building standardized vessels in series and for stock…

Today would have been the day that SMM 2020 opened its doors if it hadn't been for the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, organizers of the maritime industry's largest trade fair are preparing for the rescheduled date in February 2021."Of course, the entire SMM team is a bit sad the fair isn't starting today. But increasingly, this regret is giving way to a sense of anticipation of a rather unique SMM in February 2021," says Claus Ulrich Selbach, Business Unit Director – Maritime and Technology Fairs & Exhibitions at Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH (HMC).

The wreckage of a major German warship has been discovered off the coast of Norway some 80 years after it was sunk in a World War Two battle, Norwegian power grid operator Statnett and a maritime archaeologist said.Identified this year from images and sonar scans of its hull and of details such as the position of gun turrets, the cruiser Karlsruhe was first detected in 2017 just 15 meters (50 feet) from a subsea power cable that has been operating since 1977.Built in the 1920s…

A third crewman from a cargo ship that capsized this week off the coast of Japan with more than 40 crew and some 6,000 cattle on board was found alive on Friday after he was spotted by a search plane, Japan's coastguard said.The man, 30-year-old Filipino Jay-nel Rosals, was found on a liferaft waving for help 2 km (1.2 miles) off Kodakarajima, a small island in Japan's southern Kagoshima prefecture, the coastguard said.He was conscious and was able to walk when the coast guard rescued him.

A crewman from a cattle ship that capsized enroute from New Zealand to China has died after being pulled unconscious from water by the Japanese coastguard on Friday, while it emerged the vessel had a history of mechanical issues.The unidentified man was only the second crewman to be found. The search is still on for the remaining 41 crew members after the ship carrying 6,000 cattle capsized in the East China Sea on Wednesday.Rescuers also found a life jacket and cattle carcasses…

The Italian coastguard sent help on Saturday to a rescue boat funded by British street artist Banksy after the vessel issued urgent calls for assistance, saying it was stranded in the Mediterranean and overloaded with migrants.The coastguard said a patrol boat dispatched from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa had taken on board 49 of "those considered most vulnerable" among the 219 migrants picked up by the ship since Thursday off the coast of Libya.Named after a French feminist anarchist, the Louise Michel started operating last week.

It's the end of the line for decommissioned barge carrier SS Cape Florida, which recently arrived at a scrapyard in the Port of Brownsville in Texas for recycling.International Shipbreaking LLC, (ISL) part of EMR, has been awarded a U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) contract to transport, strip and recycle the decommissioned vessel, which has been out of service since 2006.After being awarded the contract on July 6, ISL made preparations to tow the Cape Florida from MARAD Ready Reserve Fleet in Beaumont…

The first of two CSL-Hartmann joint venture ships built at Chengxi Shipyard in China was delivered on August 10.Having already completed all dockside and sea trials, the 40,000 DWT self-unloading bulk carrier Starnes set sail for Hamburg via the Suez Canal on August 14. Captain Bi Fusheng and Chief Engineer Li Fuwang will take the 190-meter-long vessel to Manilla where there will be a crew change, and the new crew will take the vessel on to Germany.Starnes is the first of two…

The future is painted bright for companies dealing in hybrid and electric marine propulsion, as vessel owners and operators pursue cleaner technologies to comply with ever-stricter environmental regulations while also seeking ways to improve their bottom line.Case in point is Germany-based electric drives manufacturer Torqeedo, which has to date delivered more than 100,000 electric propulsion products for a wide range of recreational and commercial customers.The hybrid/electric market is one that’s ripe for growth, says Dr. Ralf Plieninger, COO and CTO, Torqeedo.

Carnival Corp’s AIDA cruise operator is among a list of companies seeking state aid from the German government, the Business Insider website reported on Thursday.AIDA is seeking about half a billion euros ($591 million) in state aid, Business Insider said, citing a government list of companies requesting support, which also includes shipbuilder MV Werften and steel producer Georgsmarienhuette.The finance ministry declined to comment.AIDA is examining whether financing schemes offered by the government are suitable for the company, a spokesman said, adding he was not aware of any considerations

Over the past three years, P. Ravindran’s commute from his southern Indian village has been about more than getting to work - the SIM card seller sees his daily trip on India’s first solar-powered ferry as doing his bit for the green revolution.“I am proud to be a frequent traveler on the Aditya... I am being part of cleaning the Earth,” said Ravindran, who uses the boat most days to travel to the town of Vaikom on Lake Vembanad.The Aditya’s green credentials have attracted international…

The devastating explosion in Beirut should be a wake-up call for countries on the dangers of ammonium nitrate, which caused the blast, experts say.Lebanese authorities said 2,750 tonnes of the industrial chemical had been stored for six years at Beirut port without safety measures. That stockpile exploded on Tuesday, killing more than 150 people, injuring thousands and leaving about a quarter of a million people homeless.Commonly used in fertilizers and as an industrial explosive…

Venezuelan state-run oil firm PDVSA has begun offering to ship its own oil, figuring in the costs in crude supply deals to help customers who have struggled to hire vessels to carry the country’s oil due to U.S. sanctions, according to company documents seen by Reuters.The United States has blacklisted vessel owners, shipping operators and threatened to sanction any tanker facilitating the country’s oil exports as it tightens restrictions on trade with the South American country.Washington has been trying to weaken socialist President Nicolas Maduro by choking the OPEC member’s oil exports…

Two new tugs launched last month at the Damen Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam are due to enter service for Boluda Towage Europe at the Port of Zeebrugge in December. The new tugs will be named VB Bolero and VB Rumba and will join Boluda Towage Europe's fleet currently comprising 81 tugs operating in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom.The highly maneuverable Damen ASD Tugs 2813 each offer 85 metric tons bollard pull and will be used for harbor and terminal escort and berthing duties…