Mediterranean News

The container shipping segment appears to have caught coronavirus, with the industry suffering its first monthly fall in long-term contracted ocean freight rates since October 2019. According to the latest XSI Public Indices report from Xeneta, March 2020 saw a small dip of 0.5% in rates after a sustained period of growth. Although these symptoms look mild, the future is characterized by growing uncertainty, with widespread economic disruption and looming global recession likely…

The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) is advising vessel operators to exercise extra caution and safe navigation practices after multiple instances of significant GPS interference have been reported over the last year by vessels in port and underway in the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Port of Shanghai, China.The incidents have resulted in lost or inaccurate GPS signals affecting bridge navigation, GPS-based timing, and communications equipment…

The European Union will launch a new Mediterranean naval and air mission in April to stop more arms reach warring factions in Libya, EU diplomats said on Thursday, with Greece agreeing to take in any migrants rescued at sea.The decision, which was delayed by divisions over migrants, followed warnings by EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell that the bloc risked becoming irrelevant if it could not act, potentially leaving Libya's fate to Turkey and Russia."Greece has allowed disembarkation (of rescued migrants) in its ports…

Trading worldwide without electronic tools is no longer an option, young navigators and crew are switched on to digital technology and they want to have this new technology at their fingertips rather than the messy, slow and labour and paper-intensive methods of the past.Tor Svanes, the founder and CEO of NAVTOR, believes that electronic chart and display information systems (ECDIS) is now a must have navigational tool in the modern era.ECDIS has become the modus operandi on all ships…

France will use a helicopter warship to transfer coronavirus patients in critical condition from Corsica to hospitals in the southeast of the country, its armed forces minister said on Friday.As of Thursday, there were 162 confirmed coronavirus cases on the Mediterranean island.

Port of Rotterdam is set to welcome Heerema's Sleipnir, the world's largest semi-submersible crane vessel, which is set to arrive at the port on Saturday, March 21, where it will be made ready for a North Sea decommissioning project.Named after the Norse God Odin's eight-legged stallion, the vessel stands at 220 meters long, 102 meters wide, can accommodate 400 employees, and weighs 119,000 tons and is the first such unit powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The semi-submersible vessel has two cranes onboard, each capable of lifting 10,000 metric tons.

“Freedom” – the absence of subjection to foreign domination or despotic governmentIt has been decades since international relations in the world order dictated true competition for sea control, sea lines of communication, access to world markets, and diplomatic partnerships. However, it is becoming increasingly alarming that nations such as Iran, China and Russia seek to accumulate/consolidate power and re-define international maritime norms, potentially at the peril of diplomatic…

U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said that major cruise lines would suspend cruises for 30 days, following a series of industry announcements that came after repeated transmission of coronavirus among passengers at sea.“At my request, effective midnight tonight, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC have all agreed to suspend outbound cruises for thirty days,” Trump said on Twitter.“It is a great and important industry – it will be kept that way!” he added.Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd said earlier on Friday it was suspending its cruises in the United States for 30 days…

French container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM announced the reorganization of its SIRIUS service connecting the Mediterranean with the East Coast of South America, effective March 2020.The new rotation will concentrate on our hub ports of Algeciras and Tangiers from where connections to and from Mediterranean ports will be made with our extensive inhouse mother & feedering network.The weekly service will be maintained with 6 vessels (of which 2 operated by CMA CGM)…

Taiwanese container transportation and shipping company Evergreen Line has launched a new digital platform designed to provide customers with seamless booking capabilities and greater access to integrated trade services.Evergreen Line said in a press note that GreenX platform provides a digital portal for Evergreen customers to get instant quotes and book secured space with prioritized equipment supplied by the carrier.From the time of its soft launch last month, GreenX has received nearly 2…

Classification society DNV GL had awarded a new class notation to mitigate fire risks on containerships to MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. The notation, announced by DNV GL – Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen in London, has been implemented on the largest containerships in the world, the 23,000+ TEU MSC Gülsün class.The new FCS notation is targeted exclusively towards containerships. It is designed around a function-based approach, for an enhanced safety level beyond present SOLAS requirements, an increased hazard awareness, and an enhanced ability to detect and fight container fires.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson heralded his first cruise ship "Scarlet Lady" on Friday as targeting a younger generation of holidaymakers with a range of attractions that he believes will outweigh any fears around coronavirus.Despite the unfortunate timing, with passengers on one ship quarantined in Japan after hundreds caught the virus and another turned away by five countries over fears someone on board may be ill, Branson sees cruises as a growth area.In an event at Dover…

Offshore marine transportation firm Harvey Gulf International Marine says it has been able to achieve success in the turbulent offshore market by constantly reinvented itself to fit the industry demands.Never afraid to shake things up, Harvey Gulf has maintained this mindset throughout its 70-year-history, says CEO Shane Guidry. “From a humble beginning of a three oyster fishing vessels used as supply vessels in 1949 to a larger fleet of offshore vessels that towed barges and drilling rigs to its modern day evolution of a fleet of offshore supply…

Hamburg Süd is now exclusively represented by its own offices in Italy and Spain after business was previously partially handled by agents and joint-venture organizations. Furthermore, in Egypt the company has taken full management of Hamburg Süd Egypt.“We are thereby investing in the Mediterranean markets that have traditionally been of strategic importance to Hamburg Süd,” says Poul Hestbaek, General Manager of Hamburg Süd’s Region Europe. “By having owned organizations, we…

APM Terminals said that its new deep-sea container terminal, Vado Gateway terminal, located in Vado Ligure, Italy, received its first commercial service on 11 February 2020.The ship, M/V Maersk Kota, was the first of seven ships from Maersk’s weekly ME2 service, connecting the Mediterranean with the Middle East and India.According to a company release, the call by M/V Maersk Kota marked the start of operations for the new deep-sea Vado Gateway container terminal in northern Italy.With a total investment of 450 million euros…

The Egyptian Ministry of Petroleum and Schlumberger introduce the Egypt Upstream Gateway, a unique and innovative national project for digitizing subsurface information and delivering a digital subsurface platform to ensure Egypt's subsurface data is kept evergreen.The Egypt Upstream Gateway will also be a platform to promote Egypt's exploration and production potential worldwide.The Egypt Upstream Gateway will leverage the GAIA digital subsurface platform and provide additional…

A.P. Moller - Maersk has appointed Patrick Jany as its new chief financial officer, effective May 1, 2020.Jany, a German citizen, joins the world's largest shipping company as CFO and a member of the executive board after more than two decades with Swiss chemicals company Clariant, where he's been CFO since 2006. Prior to his role as CFO, he held several leadership positions within finance, general management and corporate development in Clariant in Germany, Mexico, Singapore, Indonesia and Spain.“I am pleased to welcome Patrick Jany to A.

Stone Marine Shipcare said it will open a fully equipped propeller repair and modification base at the Sefine Shipyard in Turkey.The new repair base will be fully operational at Sefine Shipyard and will be equipped to facilitate propeller repair and modification and CP thruster overhaul.The shipyard has been growing rapidly since it first opened in 2005, and Suleyman Yilmaz the company’s Marketing Manager said, “[The new partnership] is exactly what we need to further enhance…

Danish-based consultancy Knud E. Hansen has designed a 212-metre RoPax ferry with a large battery bank to power it while dockside, allowing for zero emissions in port.RoPax ferry can transport up to 700 passengers and 390 cars. The vessel also boasts 2955 lane metres for trucks and trailers.The layout and access arrangements makes it an ideal choice for the Mediterranean market although it is also well suited for a variety of locations and operating conditions worldwide.The vessel has a service speed of 23 knots and can operate close to optimum engine load, even at slow speeds.

Chinese state-owned shipping company COSCO Shipping Lines, Hong Kong container shipping company Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Japanese/Singapore container shipping company Ocean Network Express (ONE) and Taiwanese ocean shipping company Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation are to launch a new weekly Transatlantic service, East Mediterranean - America Service (EMA).The first commencing voyage is scheduled to operate on April, 2020, subject to Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) filing.The EMA service, jointly operated by the four lines, will consist of six Panamax vessels.

A flotilla of oil tankers is sailing empty from Europe and the Mediterranean toward the U.S. Gulf Coast to take advantage of surging shipping rates, according to shipping sources and Refinitiv Eikon data on Monday.Eight tankers, an unusually high number, are in the Atlantic and steaming to the United States, with capacity of up to 5.6 million barrels of oil combined, the people said. Freight rates for Aframax vessels out of the U.S. Gulf coast hit record levels last month, drawing…

European Investment Bank (EIB) and Public Gas Corporation of Greece (DEPA) have signed an agreement to finance with up to 20 million euros the construction of a new liquid natural gas (LNG) bunkering vessel for maritime use in Greece which will be based in Piraeus. EIB said that the first vessel of its kind in Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean will have a capacity of 3,000 cubic meters and will be supplied with LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal.The bunker tanker will refuel its LNG at Revithoussa LNG terminal and will carry out bunkering both in Piraeus and other Greek ports…

Kalmar, a provider of cargo-handling solutions and services to ports and terminals, and Italy's Medcenter Container Terminal (MCT), are celebrating the delivery of the terminal's 200th straddle carrier.Both companies participated in a joint event on 15 January in recognition of their long-standing partnership.Located in the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro, MCT is a megaport able to handle the largest vessels deployed on Asia-Mediterranean routes. The terminal has handled more than 50 million TEUs since it opened in September 1995.Antonio Davide Testi…