Mediterranean News

Israel’s largest cargo shipping company ZIM Integrated Shipping Services has opened its blockchain platform for electronic bills of lading (eB/Ls) to all clients in selected trades.Over the last year, following ZIM’s November 2017 announcement regarding the first-ever pilot of paperless Bills-of-Lading based on blockchain technology, ZIM and selected leading customers have been testing the new Platform as a solution for trade activities on multiple shipping lanes.Following the successful pilot, accomplished with the cooperation of Wave Ltd.

Synergy Group took delivery of Ever Gifted, an Ultra Large Container Vessel (ULCV) newbuilding built in Japan at Imabari Shipbuilding.Currently under Synergy’s technical management on Evergreen Line’s popular Far East-North Europe and Mediterranean service, the 20,000+ TEU capacity ULCV is one of the largest container ships in service worldwide.Captain Rajesh Unni, CEO and Founder of Singapore-headquartered Synergy Group said: “The Ever Gifted is one of the highest capacity container ships currently in service.

Egypt had previously closed four ports on the Red Sea and two on the Mediterranean due to bad weather, officials said on Sunday.Over the weekend, the ports of Suez and Zeitiyat were shut in Suez governorate, the Red Sea Ports Authority said. Adabiya and Ain Sokhna ports, in the same governorate, also closed, a source at the General Authority for the Suez Canal Economic Zone said.Today, Egypt reopened four ports on the Red Sea on Monday, a day after they were closed due to bad weather conditions, authorities said.

The Swiss-based cruise company MSC Cruises  has waved ‘bon voyage’ to MSC Magnifica as the final guests embarked today in Barcelona for the Company’s first world cruise.For many, the idea of seeing the world is just a dream, but a world cruise is an easy way to make this dream a reality, and the only way to circumnavigate the globe without having to unpack a suitcase more than once! On this first world cruise, MSC Cruises guests will visit 49 different destinations, checking off 32 countries from their bucket lists.From the Mediterranean…

U.S. offshore vessel owner Seacor Marine  has acquired of three fast support vessels (FSVs) in exchange for the private placement of 603,872 shares of its common stock to domestic U.S. holders affiliated with the McCall family of Louisiana.The provider of global marine and support transportation services to offshore oil and natural gas and windfarm facilities worldwide has operated the acquired vessels for the past ten years under a revenue sharing pooling agreement along with four of its owned FSVs of similar specification.As part of the transaction, this pooling agreement was terminated.

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) shipment has arrived in Gibraltar for use in the British territory's new LNG-fuelled power station, a government statement said.Gibraltar already supplies the most marine fuel of any port in the Mediterranean and aims to develop LNG bunkering facilities, using some of the infrastructure that has been set up for the new power station, officials have said.The tanker Coral Methane, with a capacity of around 7,000 cubic metres, arrived at the port on the evening of Jan.

Switzerland-based MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company confirms that significant progress has been made in an unprecedented clean-up operation in the North Sea and on the beaches of the Netherlands and Germany."We would like to thank the authorities and volunteers in these countries for their support in the response," said a press note from the world's second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity.More than 250 containers fell from the ship “MSC Zoe” during…

Egyptian authorities reopened five ports on the Red Sea on Monday, a day after they were closed due to bad weather conditions, the Red Sea Ports Authority said.The two major ports of Alexandria and Dekheila on the Mediterranean Sea remained closed, said Reda al-Ghandour, spokesman for the Alexandria Port Authority."Strong winds and high waves do not allow the safe passage of speedboats and the ascent and descent of the guide onto ships," Ghandour said on Sunday, adding it affected the arrival and departure of ships in the two ports.By Lena Masri

Switzerland-based shipping company MSC is pledging to pay the cost of cleaning up hundreds of containers MSC Zoe spill in a North Sea storm."MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company would like to reassure authorities and members of the public in the Netherlands and Germany that the company will pay the full costs of the clean-up of the 2 January MSC Zoe container spill," said a press release from the company.MSC is committed to continue searching the sea for the containers which fell overboard, until the last one is found, it said.

Switzerland-based global container shipping and a company MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company said that it is directly taking over more of the clean-up of German and Dutch waters and beaches, following the recent container spill from the cargo ship MSC Zoe.The world's second-largest shipping line in terms of container vessel capacity said in a press release that in close collaboration with local authorities, it is now working with a number of salvage companies to add momentum to the quick response started on 2 January.In some locations…

A load of dangerous chemicals that fell off one of the world's largest container ships into the North Sea washed up on a Dutch beach on Thursday, and more debris was expected to land overnight, officials said.The Dutch Defence Ministry said the loss of 270 containers from the freighter MSC Zoe on Wednesday, some of them thought to contain hazardous chemicals, was one of the biggest incidents of its kind, they said.It was unclear how many of the containers sank to the sea bottom…

Oil and oil-related shipments from Georgia's Black Sea port of Batumi fell 51.2 percent in 2018 from a year earlier, an official at a KazMunaiGas-operated terminal at the port said on Thursday.Some crude oil was re-routed to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium last year, the official added, while some fuel oil was sent to the port of Taman in Russia and Georgia's other Black Sea port of Kulevi.The fall in shipments is partly because Azerbaijan prefers to send its oil through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline or via its own terminal in Kulevi, rather than from

Naples is ready to defy Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini and let in a charity-run ship carrying 32 migrants that is blocked in the stormy Mediterranean, the city mayor said on Thursday.His offer adds to a growing challenge from opposition politicians to Salvini's far-right League, which has vowed to bar migrants and make life difficult for those already here.Both Italy and Malta are refusing to let the Sea-Watch 3, a ship operated by a German non-governmental organisation (NGO), dock and set down the migrants who were rescued off Libya on Dec. 22.Both countries say they have taken in too many migrants and accuse NGO rescue ships…

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company has started a clean-up operation in response to a substantial spill of containers in the North Sea.The Panama-registered MSC Zoe shed 270 containers containing mostly toys, furniture and auto spare parts while battling a storm off the Frisian Islands, an archipelago off the northwestern Dutch coast also known as the Wadden Islands."The cargo ship MSC Zoe encountered heavy weather while sailing toward Bremerhaven, Germany, on 2 January. Unfortunately…

Hong Kong-based Cosco Shipping Ports has purchased a 4.34% stake in Shenzhen-listed Beibu Gulf Port Co for a total consideration of approximately RMB 470 million (USD 68 mln)."By subscribing the shares, Cosco Shipping Ports aim to further strengthen the cooperation with Beibu Gulf Port, and lay a foundation for the Company to participate in the integration of Guangxi ports. At present, Cosco Shipping Ports teams up with Beibu Gulf Port in operating Qinzhou International Container Terminal Co.…

The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) interdicted a shipment of narcotics aboard a stateless vessel while conducting maritime security operations in the international waters of the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 27.Chung-Hoon’s visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team seized over 11,000 pounds of hashish while conducting a flag verification boarding.“We have been conducting maritime security operations along suspected maritime smuggling routes in order to interdict illicit shipments into Yemen and Somalia,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Brent Jackson, commanding officer of Chung-Hoon.

Eastern Mediterranean achieved reduced environmental footprint at the port of Killini, which on December 20th, 2018 held an inauguration event of the first pilot shore installation for the electrification of ships with an overwhelming ceremony that shed light to the endeavor that was accomplished by the EU co-funded Action ‘elemed’ and the shipping company Levante Ferries, who experienced the plug in of its passenger ro-ro ferry Fior Di Levante to the new electrification position on shore.The event was opened by Mr Nabil-Iosif Morant…

Repsol Lubricants, a member of the Total Lubmarine network for more than 50 years, has formally committed to extend its relationship with Total Lubmarine for a further three years, building upon a relationship that was first established between the two companies in 1962.The Total Lubmarine network is made up of a range of partners who are able to manufacture in strategic locations and help enable lubricants to be delivered to more than 1,000 ports worldwide."This renewed agreement will continue to ensure quality products for our customers in Spain…

Britain is recalling two patrol boats from overseas deployments to help deal with an increase in the number of migrants trying to reach the country from France, interior minister Sajid Javid said on Monday.Javid said there had been an increase in the number of migrants crossing the English Channel from France and last week he declared the situation a "major incident".On Monday, following a meeting of officials in London, he said two the additional ships would join three other vessels already working in the channel.He said 230 migrants had attempted to cross one of the world's busiest shipping lanes in December, although almost half were prevented from leaving France.The number is a tiny fraction of those regularly attempting to reach European Union territory by crossing the Mediterranean f

The guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) interdicted a shipment of narcotics aboard a stateless vessel while conducting maritime security operations in the international waters of the Gulf of Aden, Dec. 27.Chung-Hoon’s visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team seized over 11,000 pounds of hashish while conducting a flag verification boarding.“We have been conducting maritime security operations along suspected maritime smuggling routes in order to interdict illicit shipments into Yemen and Somalia,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Brent Jackson, commanding officer of Chung-Hoon.

The world's largest privately held cruise company MSC Cruises has today announced a new partnership with renowned German chef Harald Wohlfahrt.Voted one of the Top 10 Chefs in the World, and the only German chef to hold a three Michelin Star rating for 25 years in a row, Chef Wohlfahrt represents the best of Germany’s cuisine and embodies MSC Cruises’ commitment to offering new and exciting food options for its guests. Gianni Onorato, MSC Cruises Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The world-class expertise of Chef Wohlfahrt brings an exciting new chapter to our onboard dining experience.

The European Community Shipowners' Associations (ECSA) welcomes the Council’s decision to extent the mandate of the EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia until 31 March 2019.Operation Sophia is part of the EU's comprehensive approach to migration and aims to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent the further loss of life at sea.The Operation Sophia has also been tasked with strengthening the Libyan Coastguard and Navy by training its personnel and monitoring the long-term efficiency of the training.‘Operation Sophia’s contribution to maritime security in the Central Mediterranean is very positive. The shipping industry highly supports the EU’s efforts in this region.’ said ECSA’s Secretary General Martin Dorsman.

The consortium consisting Italy’s Snam, Spain’s Enagás and Belgium’s Fluxys has completed the acquisition of a 66 percent stake in Greek natural gas operator DESFA.According to a joint release, the purchase valued at €535 million ($613.9 million) has been completed with the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) and Hellenic Petroleum.The consortium, which won the tender for the privatisation of DESFA in April 2018, has closed the purchase through the new company Senfluga Energy Infrastructure Holdings. The consortium has obtained financing without recourse for more than 10 years, corresponding to approximately 65% of the value of the company.DESFA owns and operates…