Germany News

Libya's state oil firm NOC on Friday condemned calls to shut oil export terminals in eastern Libya controlled by military commander Khalifa Haftar ahead of a summit in Germany where he will face pressure to halt his campaign to take the capital.Tribal leaders in eastern and southern Libya called on Thursday to shut the terminals in protest at what they called the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli's use of oil revenues to pay for foreign fighters.Eastern Libya and part of the south of the country is controlled by the Libya National Army (LNA) of Haftar…

Seaborne coal trade around the world grew 0.7% last year, helped by higher output in China and Indonesia and more export activity by Indonesia, Australia, Russia and Canada, Germany's VDKI coal importers lobby said on Friday.Imports and exports, counted together, rose to 1.218 billion tonnes from 1.210 billion tonnes in 2018, VDKI Managing Director Franz-Josef Wodopia said in an speech made available to Reuters, citing VDKI estimates.Within the 2019 total, trade in coking coal used for steelmaking dropped by 1% to 287 million tonnes as steel production declined, the Verein der Kohlenimporteure

Strict EU enforcement of competition rules prevents the development of the global champions necessary to compete with Chinese and U.S. companies, the head of shipping company Maersk warned in an interview."Is it really a good idea that we don't allow the creation of a European global champion? In doing so, we risk being outperformed by a Chinese company, over which the European Union has no influence," Maersk CEO Soren Skou told Danish business daily Finans.A Maersk spokeswoman confirmed his comments to Reuters.Skou is a member of the European Round Table for Industry (ERT)…

Germany has awarded Dutch shipyard Damen a contract to construct at least four new multi-role warships worth nearly 6 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in an alliance with its Bremen-based partner Luerssen, the armed forces and budget lawmakers said on Tuesday.The ship tender is one of Germany's biggest arms projects, along with a contract for the MEADS missile defence system and the new Franco-German fighter jet (FCAS), underlining Berlin's efforts to increase its military capabilities.The first warship is expected to be delivered in 2027…

Dutch outfit TMA Logistics has been commissioned by Siemens Gamesa Renewables Energy (SGRE) to provide the transhipment and transhipment of wind turbines for Windpark Fryslân.Wind farm Fryslan comprises 89 wind turbines that will be realised in the Frisian part of the IJsselmeer, near Breezanddijk. The project is expected to start in August 2020 and the wind farm will supply electricity to ± 500,000 households.SGRE is carrying out the project in close cooperation with Van Oord Offshore Wind BV. Van Oord is laying the foundations and laying the cables and monopiles.

South Korean logistics major Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) will introduce the largest container vessels of the world in April. These mega-ships will be deployed on the company’s Asia-Europe services.According to BusinessKorea HMM will put into operation a total of 12 24,000-TEU super large vessels, one per week, staring this April, the Busan New Port Terminal said on Jan. 12.The boxships are under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).HMM will start its services as an official member of “The Alliance…

Kongsberg Maritime (KM), a Norwegian technology enterprise within the Kongsberg Gruppen, informed that it has suspended the sale of the previously announced German KM Contros GmbH to AML Oceanographic Ltd. (AML).Following a strategic evaluation and prioritization of the KM business in 2019, the company decided to divest Contros, and a Letter of Intent was signed with a future buyer of the business.However, the companies have now agreed not to pursue the previously announced letter of intent, and the sale of Contros will therefore not proceed.

Tougher rules on sulphur emissions from ships set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) from January burden the profit outlook for Germany's container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd this year after a good 2019, its chief executive said."This will make it difficult for us to achieve a better (2020) result," Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters in Hamburg in comments on the ban on ships using a sulphur content above 0.5% on risk of fines, which is shaking up oil and shipping.But with above-market growth rates in transport volumes in 2019…

HoldTight Solutions, Inc. has announced its expansion with production beginning in Germany. This expansion results from an increased demand in the European Union market and the planned distributor partners for its flagship product, HoldTight 102. The facility has already produced its first shipment and will be at full operational capacity by the end of November of this year. This plant will be set up to focus on fulfilling the increased demand for protective coatings and maintenance projects, especially within the marine and pipeline industries. It will potentially serve other markets in the area, including Asia Pacific.

Swiss-Dutch company Allseas Group said it has no plans to resume laying pipes for Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Monday.Russia said it has its own vessel to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany after Washington placed sanctions on the project.(Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh, editing by Louise Heavens)

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be "catastrophic".Russia's new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions introduced on the pipeline project, he said.Last week a major contractor suspended work on the Nord Stream 2 project, which is led by Russia's Gazprom, due to U.S. sanctions introduced by U.S.

Swiss-Dutch company Allseas said last week it had suspended its pipe-laying activities in the Nord Stream 2 Russia-to-Germany natural gas pipeline in anticipation of U.S. President Donald Trump's signing of a defense policy bill."In anticipation of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Allseas has suspended its Nord Stream 2 pipelay activities," the company said in a statement dated Dec.

Chinese marine fuel suppliers have signed up short-term deals to buy very low-sulphur fuel oil from companies like oil major Shell, Germany's Uniper and U.S. commodities trader Freepoint ahead of a new standard on emissions for the global shipping industry that kicks in on Jan. 1.While China's state refiners have pledged to produce a combined 14 million tonnes of the fuel for 2020 that complies with the tighter rules set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Beijing…

Powered by growth on the Rostock and Trelleborg route, Stena Line announced plans to invest $5.5m in a refit and renovation of the cabins and public spaces onboard the two ships, FS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and M/S Skåne.The refit will start in the end of December and take place both during the planned yard visits and during operation. The project will be finished in time before the peak season 2020.Renovation will cover all cabins and public areas, corridors and food outlets. Onboard…

The international container terminal operating company APM Terminals (APMT) said it has opened a new container terminal in Vado Ligure, on the Italian Riviera, which will be capable of handling 900,000 TEUs of containerized cargo.APMT has a 50.1% share in the “Vado Gateway,” while Cosco Shipping Ports has a 40% share and Qingdao Port International has a 9.9% share. APMT said the project is part of the “New Silk Road.” Chinese firms have invested in more than a dozen European ports…

Leonhardt & Blumberg (L&B), Germany’s largest independent charter owner of 15,000-35,000 DWT container ships and ship management company, has renewed its long-standing partnership with Marlink for the provision of quality  global VSAT connectivity."Marlink’s managed connectivity service excellence and digital solutions are recognized as a strong foundation for the ship management company L&B’s on-going fleet digitization, which will deliver more efficient and greener maritime operations…

Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, the classic Maine boat designer and builder will build to Baltic Workboats design for the domestic workboat market.Lyman-Morse Boatbuilding, the classic Maine boat designer and builder will announce at this year’s International WorkBoat Show that it has entered into the domestic workboat market as the Jones Act builder for the Estonian, Baltic Workboats wave piercing pilot boat, currently popular with Danish and Belgian pilots.How do you feel about taking on something as unusual as building a pilot boat designed and built in Estonia…

Wärtsilä has announced the divestment of shares in Wärtsilä ELAC Nautik GmbH (ELAC Nautik) to Cohort plc, a UK listed company.ELAC Nautik became part of Wärtsilä as a result of the acquisition of L-3 Communications MSI in 2015. Its main market focus is on hydroacoustic products, including sonars, underwater communication systems and echo systems for small and medium sized military submarines. The company is located in Kiel, Germany and currently employs approximately 120 people. It generates annual revenues of approximately $23 million.Subject to approvals, completion of the transaction is expected in the early part of 2020.

SAL Heavy Lift, a global carrier specialized in sea transport of heavy lift and project cargo, said that it has become the first shipping company in the world to introduce hydrogen/methanol emission reduction technology to its fleet.The Harren & Partner Group company said in a press release that with significant emission reductions in terms of CO2, SOx, NOx and other particles, the injection technology developed by FUELSAVE GmbH paves the way for making shipping greener and more energy efficient.After more than four years of close cooperation…

Pella Sietas, a shipbuilding company in Neuenfelde, Hamburg, has secured a EUR100 million ($111Mln) order from Russian authorities for a new icebreaker described as the biggest ever built in Germany.The new icebreaker, "Eisbrecher7", with a length of 120m, a width of 27.5m and a draught of 8.5m, is the largest single order in Pella Sieta's company history. The icebreaker is part of the Russian fleet modernization program which, as a special vessel, not only keeps sea routes clear but also provides pilot service for large ships in ice, towing ships and other floating structures.

Genting Hong Kong and its Hong Kong–German shipbuilding group, MV Werften, announced a new Universal Class of cruise ships targeted at customers outside of Genting's cruise brand portfolio of Dream, Crystal and Star.The keel-laying of the second 208,000 gross ton Global Class ship for Dream Cruises took place December 10 at MV WERFTEN in Rostock.The midship section of the Global Class ship is being produced in Rostock. The transfer of the first 160,000 gross ton midship section…

Global logistics software group, WiseTech Global has announced the acquisition of Ready Korea, a customs, bonded warehouse and trade compliance solutions provider in South Korea.Headquartered in Seoul, Ready Korea offers a cross-border compliance solution, which facilitates the lodgement of electronic transactions to the Korean Customs Service, including customs brokerage and refunds and Free Trade Agreement verification, along with bonded warehouse management.Ready Korea also…

Norwegian energy company Equinor has contracted Italian cable manufacturer Prysmian to supply the submarine inter-array cable system for the 816-MW Empire Wind project off the coast of New York.Prysmian will provide the 66kV insulated array cables and ancillaries that will transmit power from the wind turbines which will have a capacity in the range of 10-15MW.The cable system will undergo continuous fabrication at Prysmian’s centres of excellence in Montereau (France) and Nordenham…