Mediterranean News

Spanish government veterinarians were on Friday inspecting hundreds of cows crammed aboard a ship that returned to port after months at sea in which the animals endured what one NGO described as “hellish” conditions.The Karim Allah docked at the southeastern Spanish port of Cartagena on Thursday after drifting for months through the Mediterranean, struggling to find a buyer for its 895 cattle, which were rejected by several countries over fears they had bovine bluetongue virus.“The inspection will continue throughout today.

A shipload of Spanish cattle that had been drifting for months due to concerns over the bovine bluetongue disease docked in Spain on Thursday, the government said, but the fate of the animals remains unclear.The Karim Allah left the Mediterranean port of Cartagena on December 17 carrying 895 cattle destined for sale in Turkey. A second ship, the ElBeik, set sail the next day from Tarragona with a cargo of nearly 1,800 cows.Even though the cattle had clean veterinary certificates…

Israel is trying to find the ship responsible for an oil spill that drenched much of its Mediterranean shoreline with tar, an environmental blow that will take months or years to clean up, officials said.Thousands of volunteers gathered on Sunday to remove the clumps of sticky black refuse from the pale beaches. Israel's military said it was deploying thousands of soldiers to help with the effort. Authorities warned everyone else to keep their distance until further notice.Environmental groups called it a disaster.

In early 2021, the somber news from the cruise sector continued. For some cruise brands, their own version of “lockdowns” will have spanned an entire year. By late January, 2021, Carnival and others were hesitantly pegging their restarts for April/May 2021, and for some markets, late summer, under a Conditional Sail Order promulgated late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).What else to do but look ahead?In preliminary earnings guidance, Carnival Corporation (NYSE: CCL)…

Greece said on Thursday it had protested to Turkey over its deployment of a research vessel in the Aegean Sea, in what it called an "unnecessary" move as the NATO allies seek to resume talks over a long-standing maritime dispute.An advisory issued by Turkey's navy this week showed the research vessel Cesme would be conducting a hydrographic survey from Feb. 18 until March 2 in an area of international waters where both sides have potential interests."It's an unnecessary move which does not help positive sentiment," government spokesman Christos Tarantilis told reporters.

COVID-19 will continue to skew the floating production systems market for the coming 24 months, while buying power for a large portion of FPSO contracts will be centered in Brazil and Guyana/Suriname. These two areas are expected to account for more than 60% of the FPSO contracts awarded between 2021 and 2025.These are the findings shared in a recent floating production outlook report produced by International Maritime Associates (IMA) and World Energy Reports (WER).The 100+ page…

The Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore reports it has again topped its record for most container moves from a single ship.The 6,000 container moves conducted by longshore workers from the Maersk Edinburgh at the Seagirt Marine Terminal this week are the most ever in the port's the 315-year history. Maersk Edinburgh arrived at the port on Monday, February 8, and left early Thursday, February 11. The final container move was completed at 9:40 p.m. Wednesday.The new high mark—which counts the number of times an imported container is unloaded from a ship…

French submarine cables services company Orange Marine has ordered a new cable repair vessel for delivery in 2023.The specialized newbuild was designed by VARD in Norway and will be built at Sri Lankan shipyard Colombo Dockyard. The 1,800 dwt vessel is 100 meters long with a beam of 18.8 meters and a depth of 7.15 meters. It will have accommodation facilities for 76 persons.The VARD 9 03 design for Orange Marine is designed for the maintenance of submarine cables, both fiber-optic…

SCHOTTEL said it has delivered propulsion units for nine more newly built cargo vessels. Each of the carriers, designed by the Russian company Marine Engineering Bureau, is equipped with two rudder propellers from the German propulsion systems manufacturer.The main propulsion of the multipurpose dry cargo vessels consists of a pair of diesel-driven SCHOTTEL RudderPropellers type SRP 340, each with an input power of 1,200 kilowatts at 1,000 revolutions per minute. With this thruster configuration…

The crew of bulk carrier Anastasia has debarked in Japan after six months stuck at anchorage off the coast of northern China.The vessel, its coal cargo and mostly Indian crew had been at a standstill since September amid the ongoing COVID-19 crew change crisis and a trade spat including a Chinese ban on Australian coal imports. Anastasia's operator Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which maintains the Panamanian-flagged vessel and organizes its crew, said the ship's charterer…

Fincantieri, through its subsidiary E-phors, specialized in providing cybersecurity services and products, has recently provided a training course in partnership with the Italian Shipping Academy, aimed at introducing deck officers to the basics of cybersecurity.The three-day training course is part of the Academy’s project – funded by the European Commission “Common Maritime Education Standards in the West Mediterranean” – and  it has also been carried out thanks to the cooperation of Cetena (study center in the maritime field)…

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…

MSC Cruises on Monday took delivery of its new flagship, MSC Virtuosa, built by Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint Nazaire, France.The occasion was marked by a small and private ceremony held at the shipyard attended by MSC Cruises' executive chairman Pierfrancesco Vago, his wife Alexa Aponte-Vago and their children, as well as representatives from MSC Cruises newbuilds team along with shipyard executives and workers.“The delivery of MSC Virtuosa at such a challenging time for our industry symbolizes how as a family company we continue to look at the longer term and build our future…

Container shipping giant Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said it is working to advance the exploration viability of hydrogen and fuels derived from it as potentially viable fuel sources for its vessels.The initiative is part of the Swiss-Italian shipping line’s wider approach to decarbonization which has already seen the company pioneer the use of biofuels as a blended marine fuel, and on Tuesday MSC said it joined the Hydrogen Council, an industry body, to help drive R&D…

Carnival Corporation's Costa Cruises has taken delivery of the new cruise ship Costa Firenze designed and built by Fincantieri at its Marghera shipyard.With 135,500 gross tonnage and a capacity of more than 5,200 guests, the Costa Firenze is part of a €6 billion ($7.3 billion) development plan that includes seven new ships to be delivered for the Costa Group by 2023. Costa Firenze is the fourth of these new ships to be delivered with three more to come.“The handover of the new Costa Firenze is a sign of hope and restart for the whole cruise and tourism ecosystems.

The bulk carrier Anastasia, stuck off the coast of China with crew change request unheeded since mid-2020, has become a rallying point for MSC in urging governments to work together to find a solution.MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company is calling for an urgent crew change solution for the bulk carrier Anastasia, which is stuck off the coast of northern China, and is among dozens of ships in a waiting line near the port of Caofeidian.According to the company, MSC has repeatedly requested that the seafarers onboard should be relieved to return home to their families.

Offshore vessel operator DOF Subsea has said it has secured several new contracts in the North Sea, Mediterranean, and Africa, however, without sharing the clients' identity.DOF Subsea said Friday that contracted work included a number of turnkey subsea projects within its core service lines - Survey, Inspection, Maintenance & Repair (IMR) and Construction.The vessels Skandi Acergy, Skandi Skansen, Skandi Neptune, and Skandi Seven will be used to deliver work totaling more than…

Turkey will not abandon its rights and interests in the eastern Mediterranean because of possible European Union sanctions or criticism, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday.At a summit on Friday, EU leaders agreed to prepare limited sanctions on Turkish individuals over a row with Greece and Cyprus about offshore energy exploration but postponed discussions on any harsher steps until March.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the summit that EU leaders planned to discuss weapons exports to Turkey with allies in the NATO military alliance following a Greek push for an arms em

China's world-beating economic rebound from the coronavirus pandemic is being blunted by a global shortage of shipping containers, sending cargo costs to record highs and hampering manufacturers in filling fast-recovering global goods orders.Exports from China surged 21% in November from a year ago as the country's mammoth industrial engine cranked out mountains of appliances, toys, clothes, personal protective equipment, and other items currently in high demand around the world.But…

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused the European Union on Wednesday of never acting honestly towards his country and said Ankara was not concerned by any economic sanctions the bloc might impose on it.EU foreign ministers said on Monday Turkey had failed to help end a row with Greece and Cyprus over potential gas resources in the eastern Mediterranean, but they left a decision on sanctions for a summit of EU leaders that starts on Thursday.NATO ally Turkey has been at odds with EU members Greece and Cyprus over the extent of their continental shelves in the east Mediterranean.

The European Union will impose sanctions on more Turkish individuals and companies responsible for drilling in contested waters in the Mediterranean, according to a draft statement prepared for EU leaders to agree at a summit on Thursday.If agreed, the EU will “prepare additional listings” on the basis of a sanctions list already in place since 2019 and “if need be work on the extension” of its scope, according to the draft statement seen by Reuters.Negotiations over the two-page statement are still ongoing and Greece and Cyprus, which accuse Turkey of drilling for hydrocarbons off its contine

This has certainly been an active year for offshore wind, both in the U.S. and globally. Looking at the U.S. in particular, the East Coast is certainly giving cause for real optimism with a clear pipeline of state procurement targets indicating 12 gigawatts installed by 2030 and 29.1 gigawatts total installed by 2035. That means around $55 to $87 billion of capex, which will support the growth of the significant domestic supply chain.Virginia saw the first installation of offshore wind turbines in federal waters this year with CVOW (Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind) 12 megawatt pilot project.

Turkey will not bow to threats in its dispute with Greece and Cyprus over maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday as European Union foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss the issue.But Erdogan also said Turkey wanted negotiations over the conflicting claims to continental shelves and rights to potential energy resources.The EU ministers were due to evaluate grounds for sanctions against Turkey. The bloc's leaders will then decide on Thursday whether to make good on their threat…