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Italian Government News

28 Dec 2023

US Allies Reluctant on Red Sea Task Force

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Laboon (DDG 58) prepares to depart Rota, Spain, December 11, 2023. Laboon is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. 6th Fleet to defend U.S., Allied and partner interests. (Photo: Alice Husted / U.S. Navy)

U.S. President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen's Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don't want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all.Two of America's European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian - Italy and Spain - issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force.The Pentagon says the force is a defensive…

04 Oct 2023

Exxon Mobil Finds Buyer for Adriatic LNG Terminal Stake

Credit: Adriatic LNG

Exxon Mobil Corp chose BlackRock as the potential buyer for its majority stake in Italy's main liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, the U.S. oil producer said in a statement.The stake sale drew interest from infrastructure funds and international groups as Italy is expected to increase its LNG imports to partly replace the gas it used to get via pipeline from Russia.In March, Exxon said it was considering selling its 70.68% interest in the offshore Adriatic LNG Terminal…

09 Aug 2023

Axpo Orders LNG Bunkering Vessel Capable of Ship-To-Truck Operations

© evannovostro / Adobe Stock

Italian energy company Axpo has signed a 10-year deal to charter an LNG bunkering vessel which is expected to begin operations in 2025.The agreement has been signed with Italy’s Gas and Heat SpA and the San Giorgio del Porto shipyard. The vessel will be built in the San Giorgio’s shipyard in Piombino, Italy, and will have a capacity of up to 7,500 cubic metres. In the future, the ship could also transport bio-LNG and ammonia. Active off the coast of Naples, the vessel will provide ship-to-ship bunkering as well as ship-to-truck transfer of LNG to tanker trucks onshore…

19 Jul 2023

Tuscan FSRU to be Moved Offshore by 2026

A liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessel moored in the Tuscan port of Piombino will be moved off the coast of Vado Ligure and Savona in Italy's northwestern region of Liguria, the president of Liguria said on Tuesday.Italian gas grid operator Snam bought the floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) last year as part of the Italian government's plan to reduce dependence on Russian gas, but the infrastructure was opposed by the local administration in Piombino.The decision on the proposed site was made after Liguria President Giovanni Toti met Snam's chief executive, a spokesperson for the Liguria president said. The decision on the…

05 May 2023

Italy New LNG Terminal to be Operational at End-month

FRSU Golar Tundra moored at the port of Piombino. (Photo: Snam)

The new floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) set up in the Tuscan port of Piombino will start its commercial operations at the end of this month, the CEO of Italy's gas grid operator Snam said on Friday.The terminal will make available around 2 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas this year and around 5 bcm next year said Snam's Stefano Venier at a press conference to mark the arrival of the first LNG tanker in Piombino."This ship is a great service to the country," Environment Minister Gilberto Pichetto Fratin said at the same event.The expansion is part of the Italian government's

14 Mar 2023

Survivors of Libya Shipwreck Brought Ashore in Italy

Image Credit: Christian Gohdes / Sea - Watch

Seventeen migrants rescued after the latest deadly shipwreck in the Mediterranean were brought ashore by the Italian authorities on Monday as Italy faced criticism for its response to the crisis.Those rescued were taken to the Sicilian town of Pozzallo, Italian newswire ANSA reported, and said they were all originally from Bangladesh.Thirty people were feared drowned after the boat they were traveling in from Libya capsized in bad weather on Sunday, Italy's coastguard said.The tragedy follows a Feb. 26 shipwreck near the southern region of Calabria, in which at least 79 people died.

06 Feb 2023

Italian Union Files Legal Complaint Against Snam's LNG Terminal

© bikemp / Adobe Stock

The Italian trade union USB filed a legal complaint against a plan by gas grid operator Snam to set up a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Tuscan port of Piombino, it said in a press release on Friday.USB alleged Snam had committed serious "environmental crimes" while performing works to build the terminal.USB criticised in the statement the choice to set up the terminal in an area already polluted by an old steel plant, saying regasification processes would increase…

08 Jan 2023

Italy Rejects NGO Ship's Request for Closer Safe Port

The Italian government has rejected a request from a ship run by Doctors Without Borders non-governmental organisation (NGO) to assign a safe port closer to the place where it rescued 73 migrants, an NGO official said on Sunday.Italy's interior ministry did not comment on the issue.The dispute is part of a broader tug-of-war between Italy's right-wing government and NGOs over where to disembark migrants saved in the Mediterranean sea.On Saturday Doctor Without Borders' ship Geo Barents received permission from Rome to dock to Ancona port, which is in central Italy and on the country's east coast, far away from Sicily where NGO boats…

05 Jan 2023

Sea Rescue Charities Say New Italian Rules Will Cause Migrant Deaths

© OSORIOartist / Adobe Stock

Sea rescue charities on Thursday condemned tough anti-immigration measures recently introduced by the Italian government, saying the new rules will cause ever more deaths in the Mediterranean.The decree, which was introduced last week, says charity ships must request a port and sail to it "without delay" after a rescue, rather than remain at sea looking for other migrant boats in distress, as it now happens.Ship captains risk fines of 50,000 euros ($52,760) and having their boats…

10 Nov 2022

Snam Confirms 2022 Guidance, aims to boost Italy's Gas Storage & Transport Facilities

Italian gas grid operator Snam confirmed on Thursday its guidance for full-year net profit after reporting a rise of 10% in nine-month revenue to 2.4 billion euros ($2.41 billion). The state-controlled group said it planned to boost Italy's gas storage and transport facilities after getting the go-ahead to set up two new LNG terminals. The new floating LNG terminals and investments in gas infrastructure are part of a broader effort by the Italian government to replace dwindling Russian gas supplies and keep a lid on energy costs. The gas grid operator reported a decline of 9% in gas consumption by the industrial sector between January and September, in a sign that companies in Italy have cut activity in the face of high commodity prices and supply difficulties.

27 May 2022

Italy's Draghi Discusses Unblocking Ports with Ukraine's Zelenskiy

© Only Fabrizio / Adobe Stock

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, discussed ways to free up exports to tackle the food crisis that is threatening the world's poorest countries, Draghi's office said on Friday.Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports has prevented shipments of grain, a major export product of both countries. Russia accuses Ukraine of mining the ports and Ukraine has described the Russian position as "blackmail."In a phone call, Draghi assured Zelenskiy…

09 May 2022

Italy Seizes Luxury Yacht Scheherazade Linked to Putin

The Italian government ordered police on Friday to impound a luxury yacht worth some $700 million that has been linked in the media to Russian President Vladimir Putin.The sleek, six-deck Scheherazade had been undergoing repairs in the Italian port of Marina di Carrara since September, but recent activity at the dockside suggested that the crew might be preparing to put to sea.A source with direct knowledge of a weeks-long investigation into the vessel said police believed the owner was Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian energy giant Rosneft who is not currently a target of EU sanctions.In a statement announcing the seizure order…

14 Feb 2022

A New Onassis? Italy's Sea Captain Swoops on Reborn Alitalia

© eyewave / Adobe Stock

Sixty-five years after Aristotle Onassis founded Greece's Olympic Airways, another shipping entrepreneur is planning to take to the skies - this time in Italy, where Gianluigi Aponte's MSC has its sights on the successor company to Alitalia.The 81-year-old, known as "the captain" after building his shipping empire from a single vessel, is hoping to forge an air freight and passenger business to dovetail with MSC's sea cargo and cruise operations.But there are big challenges.Alitalia stumbled for years…

24 Jan 2022

MSC Wants to Buy an Italian Airline

© eyewave / Adobe Stock

Swiss-based shipping group MSC and German carrier Lufthansa want to buy the majority of Alitalia successor ITA Airways and have asked for an exclusivity period of 90 days to study the deal, MSC and ITA said on Monday.The state-owned airline, which began flying in October last year, is looking for an equity partner and has started informal talks with some potential suitors, in Europe and overseas, its chairman said this month.MSC said the interest in ITA stemmed from "the possibility of activating positive synergies ...

24 Jan 2022

Planes, Trains and Ships: Criminal Antitrust Enforcement Speeding Up for Transportation Sector

© enanuchit / Adobe Stock

The Biden administration recently issued a sweeping Executive Order [1] aimed at protecting and enhancing competition, and the transportation sector—including air, ocean, and rail—is among the industries specifically identified and likely to see heightened antitrust scrutiny under the new directives. This executive action was soon followed by the long-awaited announcement of Biden’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division (Division), Jonathan Kanter, who…

13 May 2020

Thyssenkrupp, Fincantieri Discussing Shipbuilding Consolidation

(File photo: Thyssenkrupp)

Thyssenkrupp is exploring several strategic options for its warship unit, ranging from combining it with Italy’s Fincantieri to creating a national champion with German peers, a person familiar with the matter said.The talks are aimed at creating economies of scale for the division, Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which builds submarines and surface ships and operates in a highly fragmented sector driven by political decisions, the source said.As part of the deliberations…

22 Apr 2020

Costa Cruise Ship Docked in Japan Grapples with Coronavirus Cluster

©  jovannig / Adobe Stock

More than 30 crew members on an Italian cruise ship docked for repairs in Japan's Nagasaki prefecture have tested positive for the new coronavirus, raising concern about the impact on the local community.The cluster of infections found on board the Costa Atlantica follows the case of the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama two months ago, where more than 700 were found to be infected, although this time only crew members were on board.The Costa Cruises-operated ship was taken into a shipyard in Nagasaki city…

13 Mar 2020

Shipbuilder Fincantieri Suspends Operations for Two Weeks

(Photo: Fincantieri)

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced it has suspended production activities at its in-country sites from March 16 to March 29 due to the coronavirus pandemic.Fincantieri's full statement is below: Following the Coronavirus emergency and in order to apply the measures that the Italian Government has gradually determined, Fincantieri has promptly carried out a series of actions aimed at preventing and countering the chance of infections in its shipyards.In line with this, Fincantieri considers its key priorities - once again - the protection of its personnel and subcontractors…

25 Nov 2019

Spanish Rescue Ship Stranded off Italy

The leader of a Spanish rescue mission said on Sunday that Italian authorities had refused to grant port access to its Open Arms ship, leaving the vessel stranded in rough conditions in the Mediterranean with more than 70 African migrants on board.The 73 migrants were picked up from a packed rubber dinghy drifting about 50 miles off Libya on Wednesday night.Italy has allowed the ship to enter its national waters to shelter from a storm but has refused to let the vessel dock, the charity said.Open Arms Mission Chief Ricardo Gatti, who is onboad the ship, said the organization has requested to land in Italy and Malta but has been denied permission.

02 Aug 2019

Spanish NGO Boat Seeks Safe Haven for Med Migrants

A Spanish charity rescue boat sought safe port on Friday after Italy rejected its request to disembark 124 people saved from two migrant rafts in the Mediterranean, the organisation said.Non-governmental organisation (NGO) rescue boats have largely disappeared from the Mediterranean over the last year as governments have tightened controls. Charity ships that have rescued migrants have faced lengthy standoffs in their attempt to disembark those onboard.Barcelona-based NGO Open Arms rescued 55 people from a sinking raft on Thursday, among them two babies, and a further 69 people from another boat during Thursday night, the organisation said on Twitter.Two heavily pregnant women were among those rescued from the second raft…

02 Aug 2019

Spanish NGO Boat Seeks Safe Port for 124 People

A Spanish charity rescue boat sought safe port on Friday after Italy rejected its request to disembark 124 people saved from two migrant rafts in the Mediterranean, the organisation said.Non-governmental organisation (NGO) rescue boats have largely disappeared from the Mediterranean over the last year as governments have tightened controls. Charity ships that have rescued migrants have faced lengthy standoffs in their attempt to disembark those onboard.Barcelona-based NGO Open Arms rescued 55 people from a sinking raft on Thursday, among them two babies, and a further 69 people from another boat during Thursday night, the organisation said on Twitter.Two heavily pregnant women were among those rescued from the second raft…

05 Jul 2019

Malta to Take in some NGO Boat Migrants

Malta said on Friday it would take in 54 migrants rescued by an Italian charity boat off Libya this week, after Italy refused to let the vessel dock at one of its ports as it labours to shut down sea migration routes.However, in a convoluted game of cat-and-mouse that is pitting EU governments against each other and against the non-governmental rescue boats, Malta said it would dispatch to Italy a similar number of migrants already on its territory.Malta and Italy have frequently been at loggerheads over who should receive migrants rescued in the Mediterranean and both have closed their ports to NGO rescue ship unless agreement is reached for those on board to be transferred to other countries.A German charity ship…

02 Jul 2019

EU Deal has Germany Taking in Some Sea-Watch Migrants

Germany has agreed to take in about a dozen of the 41 migrants who arrived in Italy last month on board German charity rescue ship Sea-Watch, an Italian government source said on Tuesday.The compromise to diffuse tensions with the Italian government, which had ordered the ship not to enter Italian waters, also includes France, Portugal, Finland, and Luxemburg, which have agreed to share the burden of hosting the migrants.There was no immediate official reaction from Germany or Italy about the accord which was first reported by Spiegel magazine.The German captain of the ship, Carola Rackete, appeared before a court in Sicily on Monday…