Mediterranean News

A growing number of oil tankers across Europe have been unable to unload their cargo over the past month as refining demand crashes, turning them into de facto floating storage, according to shipping data and trading sources.European refineries have had to cut runs after measures put in place to contain the coronavirus outbreak crushed fuel demand.More than 25 tankers with roughly 18 million barrels onboard were anchored near European ports, with most them already there for over a week as of Thursday…

The Philippine Coast Guard's new offshore patrol vessel BRP Gabriela Silang arrived in Manila ready for service on Tuesday after several weeks of convoying and a first operational mission.Built by OCEA, the 84-meter type OCEA OPV 270 vessel left the French shipyard at the end of December with Philippine Coast Guard crew on board, for an arrival in the Philippines initially scheduled for January.The flagship of the Philippine Coast Guard fleet, shortly after leaving the French coast…

France’s flagship aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle is returning to its home port early after about 40 crew members showed signs of COVID-19 symptoms, the armed forces ministry said on Wednesday.The personnel were under strict medical observation on board the nuclear-powered carrier, which had most recently been taking part in exercises with northern European navies in the Baltic Sea.“The first cases showed symptoms recently,” the ministry said in a statement. “There are no signs of aggravated cases among the patients.The aircraft carrier would dock in Toulon…

Italian ports cannot be considered safe because of the coronavirus epidemic and will not let migrant boats operated by charities dock, the government has ruled.The decision was taken late on Tuesday after a ship operated by the German non-governmental group Sea-Eye picked up some 150 people off Libya and headed towards Italy."For the entire duration of the national health emergency caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus, Italian ports cannot guarantee the requisites needed to be classified and defined as a place of safety…

Owners of a factory ship moored off southern France which normally turns seawater into bottled mineral water have converted it to make sanitizing solution in the fight against the coronavirus.At the start of the year, the 179-meter long Odeep One began making bottled water pumped from the depths of the Mediterranean but since April 1 the plastic bottles which roll off its production line have contained alcohol solution instead.The French owners of the Panama-flagged ship currently produce just over 43…

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…