North East England News

France-based clean hydrogen producer Lhyfe has launched the world’s first offshore renewable green hydrogen production demonstrator.The pilot was launched yesterday (September 22) in Saint-Nazaire, France, which will now begin an 18-month wind-powered pilot, as part its drive towards large-scale carbon reduction.It involves Lhyfe's new Sealhyfe 400 kg/day (1MW equivalent) green hydrogen producing electrolyser platform, which has been installed on the WAVEGEM wave energy platform developed by Geps Techno.

The first offshore wind turbine has been installed at Seagreen, an SSE-TotalEnergies project which will become Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm once complete.The installation of the first Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbine in the North Sea off the Scottish coast heralds the start of the turbine installation phase which will see a total of 114 wind turbines installed across the project site. This turbine is also the first V164-10.0 MW turbine installed globally…

Allseas' giant Pioneering Spirit heavy lift vessel has completed its first decommissioning job of summer 2020, with a single-lift removal of Shell UK’s 17,000-tonne Brent Alpha platform from the North Sea. The Pioneering Spirit will now deliver the 44-year old platform to Able UK’s Teesside decommissioning yard in North East England for dismantling and recycling."The removal of Alpha is the first offshore lift to utilize our in-house developed “horseshoes”, connection tools that clamp around pre-installed lift points (bearing brackets) mounted on the upper sections of the jacket’s legs…

The Port of Tyne, which comprises the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England,  has secured a GBP60m ($79m) refinancing package from Lloyds Bank to support its ambitious investment program.North East England port said in a release that the five-year agreement, which comprises a £30m revolving credit facility and a £30m term loan, provides the port with capital to develop several major infrastructure projects.This is the latest in a series of landmark North East infrastructure deals supported by Lloyds Bank, which includes leading the financing of the 299MW MGT Teesside power station…

A.P. Moller - Maersk, an integrated container logistics company, announced that it is moving its  North-East England coverage from Immingham to Hull.The existing connection between Immingham and continental Europe, will change to Hull, enabling better accessibility for local shippers and offering convenient connection with mainline services."Starting January 12th, 2019, the short sea service, operated by BG Freight and currently calling Immingham, will be moved to Hull Container Terminal in East Yorkshire, also operated by Associated British Ports," said a press release from the Danish shipper.“We are very pleased with the feedback received from our customers…

Terex Port Solutions (TPS) delivered a Terex Liftace 5-31 reach stacker to the north-east England based terminal, Port of Blyth, UK. The machine became operational at the south harbour of the North Sea port in December 2015. The cost effective, service friendly and ergonomic reach stacker will operate the twice weekly container service and stack yard. The machine will also be used for client port training purposes. With a wheelbase of 6,200 mm, the Terex Liftace 5-31 reach stacker offers a maximum load capacity of 45 t in the first container row and 31 t in the second container row. It features travel speeds up to 25 km/h and a maximum lifting speed of 0.45 m/s. The engine of the Liftace 5-31 reach stacker conforms to the EU Stage IV (EPA Tier 4 final) emission standard.

North of England P&I Association (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Company Limited (SMMI) merged to form the North Group on Friday 28 February 2014 following approval by the Bank of England’s Prudential Regulatory Authority and other U.K. and overseas regulators. The merger between two of the longest-established and most successful international marine insurance businesses - both of which are based in north-east England - has created one of the largest global marine insurance operations, with a premium income of over $500 million, free reserves of $350 million and total assets of $1,500 million. North Group has been over two years in the making, starting with a strategic alliance between North and SMMI in January 2012.

The members of North of England P&I Association (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance Company Limited (SMMI) have voted in favor of the clubs' recent proposals to merge. A target date of February 21, 2014 has been set for the merger, which will create one of the largest marine insurance operations. At their general meeting on 16 January 2014, North's members approved the terms of the merger framework agreement signed by the two north-east England based mutuals last month.

The North of England P&I Association Limited (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance (SMMI) Company Limited are discussing a possible merger. The decision by the boards and senior management teams of the two north-east England based mutuals follows a strategic alliance, by way of a reinsurance contract between the two companies, which commenced in January 2012. North's Chairman Pratap Shirke says, ‘As a result of the business similarities between North and SMMI and their complementary global operations, we have now agreed in principle to investigate the practicalities of a merger.

The North of England P&I Association Limited (North) and Sunderland Marine Mutual Insurance (SMMI) Company Limited are discussing a possible merger. The decision by the boards and senior management teams of the two north-east England based mutuals follows a strategic alliance, by way of a reinsurance contract between the two companies, which commenced in January 2012. North’s chairman Pratap Shirke said, “As a result of the business similarities between North and SMMI and their complementary global operations, we have now agreed in principle to investigate the practicalities of a merger. SMMI’s chairman Trevor Hart said, “SMMI and North…

After a record breaking cruise season in 2012 the Port of Tyne is expecting another busy year in 2013 with 32 cruise calls, 11 of which are transit and 21 are turnaround cruises. Three new cruise lines will be making transit calls – visiting the Port for one stop – including Crystal Cruises, Hurtigruten and Costa Cruises. A number of first time calls will be made by existing customers including the inaugural visit of Fred Olsen’s Black Watch and MSC Magnifica. U.K. ports are set for one million cruise passenger embarkations this year after a record 2012. The number of people leaving U.K.

Tata Steel today inaugurated its new £2 million offshore processing centre (OPC) at an event in Hartlepool attended by more than 40 leading business figures from the European renewable energy sector. Following a presentation at Hartlepool College of Further Education, guests were shown round the company’s new centre, a high-productivity processing facility that will produce welded tubular assemblies to be used in the fabrication of jacket foundations for offshore wind turbines. They also visited Tata Steel’s 42-inch tube mill, one of three tube mills located at the company’s Hartlepool site.

Planning consent for the ambitious £210-million redevelopment of Alexandra Dock where the factory will be based was granted in May. Already huge jack-up cranes are now regularly shipping turbine components from a riverside quay off Albert Dock to offshore wind farm sites off the Norfolk coast. Work has also already started on re-equipping a shipyard in Paull, where a new fleet of support vessels for the offshore wind industry will be built, reports the 'Hull Daily Mail'. Mark Jones, Hull City Council's head of economic development and regeneration said: "There is a revival of shipbuilding and marine engineering on the estuary. Alexandra Dock is set to be transformed under Green Port Hull plans.

The Finnish Ambassador for the UK recently visited PD Ports owned Teesport, to see the facility’s latest cranes, purchased from a Finnish manufacturer. As part of his tour of north-east England and Edinburgh, Ambassador Pekka Huhtaniemi visited the port with his wife, Liisa Huhtaniemi, met with senior port officials and was taken on a tour of the dock estate and shown around the port on a launch boat. Mr Huhtaniemi then viewed the four new RTG (rubber-tyred gantry) cranes delivered to Teesport on 18 August.

The "A" rated North P&I club is at the top table of P&I clubs in terms of financial strength according to chairman Albert Engelsman of Dutch shipping group Wagenborg. Engelsman confirmed that the club’s focus on quality and prudent underwriting had given it, "immense financial strength." He highlighted the fact that free reserves reached a record $312 million at renewal, premium income is projected to reach $350 million in the current policy year and the combined ratio has dropped to 78% - the lowest of any club.

A charity fund set up by North P&I club last year as part of its 150th anniversary initiatives has raised a total of US$150 000 for maritime and local charities. Chairman Albert Engelsman of Dutch shipping group Wagenborg presented US$50 000 cheques today (29 March) to international maritime welfare charity the Sailors’ Society and the UK’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which provides a 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service around the British coastline. A further…

One of the conclusions of the Shippers’ Voice seminar discussing Portcentric Logistics Solutions at the Multimodal 2009 exhibition was that now maybe even the best time for shippers to reassess their logistics patterns and structure. Nick Lindsay, General Manager LM Logistics Group, told delegates that “this is the time to think as far outside the box as you want and you’ll find the solution.” His Felixstowe-based company, originally built on container haulage, is now offering direct small parcel deliveries into retailers as well as home delivery of furniture for customers. “The name of the game is to find ways and means to cut costs,” said Vincent De Saedeleer, Vice President of the Port of Zeebrugge Authority.

The Engineering Business (EB), a specialist design, engineering and construction company based in the , has thrived with the recent expansion in offshore oil & gas projects globally, dubbed one of the fasted growing companies in northeast . It was recently announced that the company was acquired by IHC Merwede. MarineNews recently caught up with Dr. Tony Trapp, EB’s Managing Director. EB was founded in April 1997 by a four-man team of engineers led by managing director, Dr. Tony Trapp.

Wijsmuller Marine has accepted the first of two azimuthing stern drive (ASD) tractor tugs from the Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Zamacona. Following a crew familiarization period, the Ayton Cross is expected to be in full service by the middle of the month. The second tug, Ormesby Cross, is to be delivered by Zamacona before the end of the year. Both tugs will be based on the River Tees from where the Wijsmuller tug fleet covers both the Tees and the port of Hartlepool. With a bollard pull of 60 tons each, the two new tugs will be the most powerful units in the fleet and will allow Wijsmuller to transfer one of its existing Tees tractor tugs, Yarm Cross, to its Tyne operation.

The British government placed much-anticipated contracts for six RoRo ferries with two going to UK yards, and four going to a German shipyard. Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon also announced he would place orders for four amphibious landing ships, split between the Swan Hunter shipyard in North-East England and the Govan yards in Glasgow. Two of the ferries will be built by Belfast's Harland & Wolff yard, which built the ill-fated Titanic and is owned by Norway's Fred Olsen Energy. The others will be built by the Flensburger yard in Germany.

Simon Group Plc has reportedly been awarded the marine construction contract for the Humber Sea Terminal, to be built on the south bank of the River Humber in north east England.

Power systems specialist Rolls-Royce now derives nearly $1.5 billion of total annual sales of $8.7 billion from the marine market, and an important element of its growth strategy in the marine domain is the development of its electrical capabilities, products and technology. The increasing use of electrical drives and other sub-systems, and a move towards highly automated, integrated shipboard networks, is evident in both the commercial and naval sectors, in the technology-intensive, specialized vessel categories which form the group's heartland business areas. The success of electrical power and propulsion systems in application to high capacity cruise vessels has proved to be one of the most significant technological developments in commercial shipping over the past decade and a half…

AK Engineering Services, part of the Aker Kvaerner group, has secured a multi-million pound contract to service two major onshore facilities for BP in the UK. The work will be performed by personnel from the firm's Stockton facility and from sister organisations in Aberdeen and Solent over the next three years. The scope of work covers the provision of engineering, modifications and maintenance services at BP's Wytch Farm production and transport facility in Dorset, and at the BP CATS (Central Area Transmission System) gas terminal on Teesside, North East England. The contract includes three further two-year extension options. Around 150 personnel from the three locations will be employed on the project.