Mediterranean News

Rescue ship Aquarius, which has picked up almost 3,000 migrants from the Mediterranean this year, will carry out rescue missions without waiting for orders from coastguards and will not return people to Libya, its search and rescue head said."When we see there is a vessel in distress, with a high likelihood of people dying, we will go and rescue them immediately as per international maritime law," Nick Romaniuk told Reuters on board the Aquarius.Over the last year coordination…

Italian police said on Thursday they found 20 tonnes of hash worth as much as 200 million euros ($232 million) in the fuel tanks of a Panama-flagged ship that was stopped in international waters and escorted to Sicily.The entire 11-person crew, all from Montenegro, was arrested for international drugs trafficking, Italy's finance police said in a statement.The research and survey vessel Remus left the Canary Islands bound for Egypt and Turkey, but police surveillance showed it had turned off its position transmitter near the coast of North Africa…

DFDS has exercised an option to order an additional freight ferry (ro-ro) newbuilding from the Chinese Jinling Shipyard.Similar to the five previously ordered large capacity freight ferries, the newbuilding is designed to carry 6,700 lane meters of freight equivalent to around 450 trailers.The new ferries will increase DFDS’ operational efficiency in the route networks in northern Europe and the Mediterranean.The first two new ferries are expected to be received in the beginning of next year…

NOAA presented awards to 13 global shipping firms for their commitment in helping prevent ship collisions with whales off the coast of California.The companies participated in a Voluntary Speed Reduction initiative by slowing their ships to speeds of 10 knots (about 11.5 mph) or lower while transiting vessel traffic lanes outside the Golden Gate during whale feeding season, from May through mid-November.The national marine sanctuaries of North-central California - Greater Farallones…

Following the path of oil prices, consolidation also follows myriad financial crises. What happens next isn’t altogether clear, but the long, deep trough for offshore energy may finally be in our choppy wake.In mid 2017, financial turnaround and financial repairs specialist Alix Partners made a bold statement regarding the beleaguered Offshore Service Vessel (OSV) marketplace. In a July 2017 report, following an analysis of 44 participants in the business, the restructuring team wrote: “The industry faces grave financial pressure…

More than 2,500 AK-47 automatic rifles were seized from a stateless skiff in the international waters of the Gulf of Aden at the end of August.U.S. Navy sailors aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109) discovered the illicit weapons shipment during counter-trafficking mission on August 28.The Navy said 2,521 guns were confiscated from the skiff, which was determined to be stateless following a flag verification boarding conducted in accordance with international law.

Five migrants drowned and 193 were rescued in the western Mediterranean sea off the Spanish coast, the Spanish coastguard said on Thursday, after six rafts sank.Spain has become the main entry point for migrants fleeing Africa to seek a better life in Europe, overtaking Italy and Greece, as Italy's new populist government refuses to admit rescue boats.Dozens of migrants dressed in hooded white forensic suits disembarked from a rescue vessel on Thursday in the port of Motril in the southern region of Andalusia, video footage showed.Survivors from one of the rafts rescued said four other people had been lost at sea earlier in the journey…

Following last week annoucement of acquisition, Unifeeder Group has announced the signing of the agreed acquisition of Unifeeder by DP World.The largest Pan-European feeder and shortsea operator announced in a press release that it will benefit from DP World’s global scope, size and presence which in turn will enable Unifeeder’s brands to expand further and beyond present geographies and products.Unifeeder will continue to operate on a fully independent, multi-user basis under its current existing management, and expects to see additional growth as a consequence of the transaction.

The Mediterranean rescue ship Aquarius arrived at Valletta harbour in Malta on Wednesday to disembark 141 migrants, ending a five-day tug-of-war between European Union countries which had seen the vessel banned from docking in several ports.The ship, run by the Franco-German charity SOS Mediterranee and Doctors without Borders (MSF), was allowed in after France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain agreed on Tuesday to take in the migrants.(Reporting by Chris Scicluna Editing by Sarah White and Matthew Mpoke Bigg)

The offshore converter platform, BorWin gamma, has now safely set sail from Dubai and begun its journey to  its offshore site in the German part of the North Sea.Through the Gulf of Oman, the 18,000 ton ‘topside’ will pass into the Red Sea before going through the Suez Canal onto the Mediterranean and past Gibraltar. The journey then moves through the Bay of Biscay, to the English Channel and into the North Sea where it will be integrated with the ‘jacket’ nearly 130 kilometres off the German coast.Along with BorWin3…

Tough new rules on marine fuel are forcing shipowners to explore liquefied natural gas as a cleaner alternative and ports such as Gibraltar are preparing to offer upgraded refueling facilities in the shipping industry's biggest shake-up in decades.From 2020, International Maritime Organization rules will ban ships from using fuels with a sulphur content above 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, unless they are equipped to clean up sulphur emissions. This will be enforced…

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) has announced that starting September, ZIM India-Med Express Line (IMX) will have a new rotation, with significantly faster transit time, making the fastest on the trade.A press release from the company claimed that ZIM Customers will benefit from fast transit time and improved port rotationIt said: "In order to improve our service to customers and cater for market needs, ZIM will introduce changes to IMX service, as follows: the line will operate 5 vessels, and the round-trip will be shortened to 35 days.

Liquefied natural gas exports from Novatek's Yamal terminal in the Arctic have come on stream faster than expected over the summer and exceeded volumes from Russia's only other LNG facility, Sakhalin, for the first time in August.The pace of commissioning the multi-billion dollar project has surprised a market used to chronic delays. Additional volumes from the start of another facility should now come in time for the northern hemisphere winter, a time of price spikes.Novatek said earlier this week it had begun commissioning the third train…

Germany's Port of Kiel says goodbye to the  Italian cruise shipping company Costa Crociere cruise vessel Costa Pacifica for this year’s season on Sunday (September 02).To mark the over 40 years of partnership between the shipping company, the city and the port, Hans-Werner Tovar, City President, Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director Port of Kiel, Captain Paolo Viscafè and Dr Jörg Rudolph, General Manager Costa Germany, unveiled a bronze plate on Kiel’s Walk of Cruise Ships at the Ostseekai Terminal.City President Tovar: “With this plate on the Walk of Cruise Ships…

Panasonic Avionics Corporation (Panasonic) announced that in partnership with its subsidiary, ITC Global, it has been awarded a four-year contract by TUI Cruises for connectivity services to two new-build cruise ships, Mein Schiff 1 and new Mein Schiff 2.The agreement establishes communication capabilities onboard the vessels serving guests and crew, enhancing the user experience during the cruise line's travels across international waters. Germany-based TUI Cruises is a joint venture between TUI AG and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.

A new multipurpose 45-meter patrol ship will be used by the Estonian Police and Border Guard Service for a wide range of operations, including firefighting, anti-smuggling and search and rescue missions, but its main use will be in combating pollution threats.The new vessel, Raju, is the largest patrol vessel ever built by Estonia’s Baltic Workboats, and is the first in the firm’s emerging range of battery hybrid patrol ships.From 2021 the Baltic Sea will become an Emission Control Area (ECA)…

Coral Leader, a Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) owned by NYK supported the rescue operation of five people including two children onboard yacht. The yacht was in distress in the Mediterranean Sea, just off Corsica.The operation was conducted by French Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) on August 26 (local time) off the coast of France. The vessel Coral Leader is managed by Wallem Shipmanagement LimitedWhile Coral Leader was sailing from the port of Livorno, Italy, to the port of Tarragona…

The European Sea Ports Organisation congratulates Prof. Kurt Bodewig on his nomination as European Coordinator for Motorways of the Sea and is looking forward to a fruitful cooperation to further enhance the European maritime transport dimension and the role of European ports within the future Connecting Europe Facility and the TEN-T network.The European Commission appointed three new TEN-T Corridor Coordinators, while the mandate of eight Coordinators has been extended.European…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones national marine sanctuaries, off the US Pacific coast, has recognized the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s (MSC) positive work in reducing vessel speeds for a cleaner environment and better marine wildlife safety.The purpose of this speed-reduction program is to improve air quality, reduce risk of fatal whale strikes, and protect whales within National Marine Sanctuaries. Award…

Israel would deploy its military if Iran were to try to block the Bab al-Mandeb strait that links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday.Last week, Saudi Arabia said it was suspending oil shipments through the strait, on the main sea route from the Middle East to Europe, after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked two ships in the waterway.Saudi Arabia and Iran are in a three-year-old proxy war in Yemen, which lies on the eastern side of Bab al-Mandeb.Yemen's Houthis…

Germany is located on the divide between the South flowing Danube system and the north flowing Mainz River which is a tributary of the Rhine. Since 1992 the remarkable Rhine-Mainz-Danube canal and locks have connected the two systems allowing cargos to travel from the North Sea to the Mediterranean via the Black Sea. This allows inland river cargo vessels access to thousands of kilometers or inland waters. Even if a boat lays up at night, it can still rack up a lot of hours on its engine.As a result, repowers are a necessary but important decision for vessel owners.

Tunisia’s coast guard said it recovered the bodies of five migrants on Thursday whose boat sank as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to the Italian island of Lampedusa.Crews were now searching for another five Tunisians that relatives had said were also on the boat that set off this week from the southern coastal community of Zarzis, the coast guard added.Human traffickers are increasingly using Tunisia as a launch pad for migrants heading to Europe as the Libyan coast guard, aided by armed groups, has tightened controls.Many Tunisian migrants say they are fleeing high unemployment and inflation - part of an economic crisis that hit after the toppling of autocrat Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.At least 80 migrants died when their boat sank off the Tunisian coast in June, one of the wo

HISWA Holland Yachting Group and Port of Amsterdam announced in May 2018 their ambition to put Amsterdam on the map as a top destination for superyachts.The last two months more than 10 superyachts have chosen Amsterdam as their destination. They include Reef Chief, Aviva, Avanti, Forever One and Big Eagle.According to a press release from the port, the Amsterdam is attractive to owners and captains of superyachts on account of "the wide selection of berths located in the city centre…