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James Mackenzie News

02 Nov 2023

Israel's Ship Industry Urges Government to Help with Jump in War Insurance

© MagioreStockStudio / Adobe Stock

Ships sailing for Israel face a 10-fold jump in war risk premiums as the conflict in Gaza intensifies, prompting industry calls for the government to help ensure vital imports keep coming.Israel has vowed to annihilate Islamist group Hamas after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing 1,400 people and seizing more than 220 hostages.Israeli forces have hit back with deadly air strikes and now a ground offensive on the narrow coastal strip, with growing fears the conflict could escalate and pull in the whole region.Israel…

04 Feb 2021

Greek Cruise Operators Hope Vaccinations Will Help Save Summer Season

© Coprid / Adobe Stock

Greek cruise lines hope a swifter vaccination rollout and the government’s proposed vaccine certificates scheme can help get ships out of the docks where they have been idling empty for the past year and back to sea for the vital summer season.With international travel now at a near-standstill, saving at least part of the summer season will be vital, said George Koumpenas, Chief Operating Officer for Celestyal Cruises, a medium-sized operator that offers trips to the Aegean and…

30 Dec 2020

Deadline Looms Over Fincantieri-Chantiers Deal

(File photo) Credit:  Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri's planned acquisition of state-controlled French rival Chantiers de l'Atlantique to create a European "Airbus of the Seas" is facing collapse barring last-minute political intervention from Paris or Rome.With the offer due to expire in two days after repeated deadline extensions over competition concerns, the deal is still awaiting European antitrust approval in a market that has been completely transformed by the coronavirus pandemic."There is no news on our side…

09 Jun 2020

Greece, Italy to Sign Accord on Maritime Zones

© muratart / Adobe Stock

Greece and Italy will sign an agreement on maritime boundaries during a visit by Italy's foreign minister to Athens on Tuesday, the Greek Foreign Affairs Ministry said.The deal follows months of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean region over natural resources. Turkey, Greece and Cyprus have been caught in a complex diplomatic standoff over the issue.Details of the deal were not immediately available.Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias are expected to make a joint statements following their meeting.At a meeting in Rome in February…

07 Oct 2019

Nine Dead, 22 Rescued from Migrant Boat off Sicily

At least nine people died when a boat carrying dozens of migrants sank off the coast of the island of Lampedusa, south of Sicily, Italy's coastguard said on Monday.The coastguard said rescue vessels had picked up 22 people, and search operations for other survivors were underway after an alert was received late on Sunday night that a boat carrying some 50 people was in difficulty.The U.N. migration agency said the boat had set sail from Tunisia and had been carrying Tunisian and west African migrants.Vessels from the coastguard and customs police had reached the vessel, which overturned in rough seas about six nautical miles from the coast of Lampedusa, the coastguard said in a statement.

24 Apr 2015

Judge Orders Migrant Boat to Remain in Custody

An Italian judge on Friday ordered that the presumed captain of a migrant boat that sank with the loss of more than 700 lives should remain in custody after prosecutors asked for him to be charged with multiple homicide and people-trafficking. Mohammed Alì Malek, 27, denies that he was in charge of the heavily overloaded fishing boat that capsized off Libya late on Saturday with hundreds of African and Bangladeshi migrants locked in its lower decks. "He says he's a migrant like all the others and he paid his fare to go on the boat," his lawyer, Massimo Ferrante, said outside the courtroom. However Catania chief prosecutor Giovanni Salvi said the judge had ordered both Malek and 25 year-old Syrian Mahmud Bikhit, who is accused of being a member of the crew, to be detained in custody.

24 Apr 2015

Rescue Ships Head for Libya, as Migrants Die Also in Balkans

British and German warships made ready to sail for waters off Libya as Europe ramped up rescue operations in the Mediterranean after up to 900 desperate migrants drowned last weekend on a boat heading for Italy. Yet hours after European Union leaders agreed in Brussels on Thursday to treble funding for EU maritime missions and pledged more ships and aircraft, 14 clandestine migrants were killed when a train ploughed into dozens of Somalis and Afghans making their way in darkness along a rail track in a Macedonian gorge. The incident highlighted the variety of routes that growing numbers are taking to escape war and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and chance their luck in a wealthy region that offers, at best, a chilly welcome.

20 Apr 2015

Shipwrecked Bodies Brought Ashore, EU Proposes Doubling Rescue Effort

The European Union proposed doubling the size of its Mediterranean search and rescue operations on Monday, as the first bodies were brought ashore of some 900 people feared killed in the deadliest shipwreck while trying to reach Europe. Three other rescue operations were underway on Monday to save hundreds more migrants in peril on overloaded vessels making the journey from the north coast of Africa to Europe. The mass deaths have caused shock in Europe, where a decision to scale back naval operations last year seems to have increased the risks for migrants without reducing their numbers. "The situation in the Mediterranean is dramatic.

20 Apr 2015

EU Leadership Meets on Migrant Crisis

EU foreign ministers meet in Luxembourg; 24 corpses carried off Italian patrol ship in Malta. Death toll from Sunday's shipwreck off Libya still unclear. European Union foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg on Monday under pressure to produce more than words as bodies were brought ashore in Malta among hundreds feared drowned in the latest Mediterranean migrant tragedy. The death toll from Sunday's shipwreck off the coast of Libya was uncertain after officials said there had been at least 700 people on board, some reportedly locked in the hold. Hundreds of kilometres (miles) to the east, another vessel carrying dozens of migrants ran aground off the Greek island of Rhodes on Monday. Greek coast guards said at least three people were killed.

15 Apr 2015

Panic on Migrant Boat Kills Hundreds

Hundreds of people desperate to be rescued from a packed migrant boat in the Mediterranean pushed to one side when they saw a ship approach, capsizing the craft and pitching everyone into the sea where hundreds died, an official said on Wednesday. Survivors' accounts suggested at least 500 people were on the boat when it sank on Monday evening, some 120 km (75 miles) off the Italian island of Lampedusa. With 145 people rescued that leaves at least 350 unaccounted for, probably drowned. Joel Millman, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), said: "According to testimonies, at least one-third of the passengers were women and children. At the time of the shipwreck, they were staying in the hull of the boat to be better protected from the cold.

03 Mar 2015

Italy to Begin Naval Exercises off Libya

Italy will begin annual naval exercises this week near the coast of Libya, where a breakdown in order has allowed tens of thousands of migrants to try to reach Europe by boat and increased fears of attacks by Islamist militants. The navy said in a statement that the exercises, known as Mare Aperto (Open Sea), would begin on Monday. The exercises were suspended last year because of the search-and-rescue mission dubbed Mare Nostrum, which was set up after hundreds of migrants were drowned off the southern island of Lampedusa. Mare Nostrum has now ended and been replaced by a more limited European Union mission known as Triton. Admiral Pierpaolo Ribuffo…

13 Feb 2015

Migrant Boats in Difficulty off Libya

A Maltese cargo ship was heading to assist a migrant boat with around 100 people on board in difficulty off the coast of Libya on Friday, and an Italian coast guard vessel was helping two other boats, Italian coastguards said. More than 300 African migrants have already died attempting to reach Italy from North Africa this week, highlighting the chronic migrant problem in the Mediterranean following the closure of Italy's Mare Nostrum search-and-rescue operation last October. Coastguard headquarters in Rome, which was coordinating both Friday's operations, said it had received a request for help by satellite telephone and had directed the Maltese ship to the location of the first vessel, a rubber boat.

30 Dec 2014

Officials Board Ship Carrying Hundreds of Migrants

Italian officials boarded a cargo ship carrying hundreds of migrants on Tuesday after it left Greek waters and headed towards the coast of southern Italy, the navy said. Three coast guard officers were landed from a helicopter to assess whether the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky M was able to navigate safely. The vessel, which the navy estimates is carrying around 600 migrants, was spotted close to the coast of Corfu earlier in the day after authorities got an alarm call about a potential incident on board. Greek state television said the alarm had been raised because armed men were on board, but there was no confirmation from the defence or shipping ministries.

30 Dec 2014

Migrant Ship with Hundreds Aboard Heads for Italy

An Italian helicopter was flying to intercept a cargo ship believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants after it left Greek waters and headed towards Italy, according to a statement from the air force. The Moldovan-flagged ship, Blue Sky M, was spotted close to the coast of Corfu earlier in the day after authorities got an alarm call about a potential incident on board. Greek state television said the alarm had been raised because armed men were on board, but there was no confirmation from the defence or shipping ministries. Greek naval and coastguard vessels as well as a military helicopter were sent to the scene, but the ship was allowed to continue into international waters after the captain assured officials the situation was under control.

29 Dec 2014

IMF to Resume Greece Bailout Talks after Election

The International Monetary Fund will resume bailout talks with Greece once a new government is in place after next month's snap general election, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in a statement on Monday, noting that Athens faces no immediate funding needs. "Discussions with the Greek authorities on the completion of the sixth review of the program that is being supported by an Extended Arrangement will resume once a new government is in place, in consultation with the European Commission and the European Central Bank," the emailed statement said. Prime Minister Antonis Samaras announced plans for a general election on Jan. 25 after lawmakers rejected his candidate for president in a vote that will automatically lead to the dissolution of parliament.

29 Dec 2014

Update: Eight Dead in Ferry Fire

Photo: Italian Coastguard

Rescue teams on Monday completed the evacuation of 427 people from a car ferry that caught fire off Greece's Adriatic coast, working through the night and defying high seas and freezing weather in a 36-hour drama. Eight people were killed in the incident and many others could be missing, prompting Italian authorities to continue an air search of the sea around the vessel while they sought to verify the number of passengers who had been on board. The fire broke out on a vehicle deck of the Norman Atlantic ferry…

29 Dec 2014

Five Dead, 22 Remain on Board Stricken Ferry

Fire started in early hours of Sunday; rescue efforts hampered by bad weather. Five people were confirmed to have died in car ferry that caught fire off the coast of Greece and rescue teams were working to save another 22 still stranded on board more than 24 hours after the blaze started. As some of the rescued passengers arrived in Italy, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told reporters that four more bodies had been recovered. One man was reported dead on Sunday. Renzi, speaking at a year-end media conference in Rome, said that rescue efforts should be completed within a "few hours" and praised the work of rescuers, who had helped avoid a "massacre". The Norman Atlantic was carrying 478 passengers and crew and more than 200 vehicles.

28 Dec 2014

Passenger Ferry Catches Fire off Greece

An Italian-flagged ferry carrying 466 passengers and crew caught fire while sailing from Greece to Italy, coast guard officials said on Sunday. The Norman Atlantic, sailing from Patras in western Greece to the Italian port of Ancona, was 33 nautical miles off the small island of Othonoi when it sent a distress signal, Greek coast guard officials said. The fire broke out in the garage of the vessel, which can carry around 200 vehicles, just before 6.00 a.m. local time (0400 GMT). A helicopter and two rescue vessels were on their way to the area and a container ship was nearby. Strong winds were blowing in the area, the coast guard said. (Reporting by Renee Maltezou; Editing by James Mackenzie and Edmund Klamann)

24 Jun 2014

Renzi Calls EU to Take Responsibility for Boat Migrants

Matteo Renzi

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Tuesday Europe must take responsibility for rescuing boat migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from Africa by making a "significant investment" in the region's border control agency, Frontex. "A Europe that tells the Calabrian fisherman that he must use a certain technique to catch tuna but then turns its back when there are dead bodies in the sea cannot call itself civilized," Renzi said in parliament. Italy's navy and coast guard have been patrolling the waters between Africa and the Italian island of Sicily since October…

22 May 2014

Fincantieri wins 2.1 bln Euro Order from MSC Cruises

Italian state-controlled shipmaker Fincantieri has signed a contract with MSC Cruises to build two cruise ships with an option for one more in a deal worth a total 2.1 billion euros ($2.87 billion), the companies announced on Thursday. The two new ships, with a gross tonnage of 154,000 tons and capacity to accommodate up to 5,300 passengers and 1,413 crew, will cost 700 million euros each, they said in a statement. The first vessel will be delivered in November 2017, with the second due in May 2018. Fincantieri is expected to list a stake of around 50 percent as the government reduces its holding as part of its efforts to cut Italy's huge public debt. Reporting By James Mackenzie

25 Apr 2014

Italy Rescues 1,800 More Migrants in Rough Seas

Courtesy Italian Navy

Italian navy and coastguard vessels have rescued around 1,800 more people from boats in rough seas off Sicily, authorities said on Friday, as the chronic migrant crisis continued around the southern island. More than 20,000 migrants have arrived by sea in Italy though North Africa and the Middle East so far this year, adding to a movement of people which has intensified since the "Arab Spring" upheavals of 2011 and the civil war in Syria. The Italian navy said a coastguard patrol…