Sanchez News

U.S. President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen's Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don't want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all.Two of America's European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian - Italy and Spain - issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force.The Pentagon says the force is a defensive…

Germany and its European Union partners are examining whether they could mount a new maritime mission to protect commercial vessels under threat of attack in the Red Sea, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Thursday."We as the German government are ready for this. It is important that we as the EU are able to act as quickly as possible in view of the ongoing attacks," the spokesperson said, adding that a decision on the matter had not yet been taken.The Iran-backed Houthis have attacked or seized a dozen ships with missiles and drones since Nov.

An underwater pipeline to carry green hydrogen between Barcelona and Marseille will cost around 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion), according to preliminary estimates of the project agreed between Spain, Portugal and France, two sources told Reuters. It comes as an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has accelerated European plans to bolster renewable energy as an alternative to Russian gas. Spain and Portugal aim to become clean hydrogen hubs and net energy exporters, causing…

Shipping giant Maersk plans to produce up to two million tonnes of e-methanol a year in Spain by 2030 to supply its fleet of cargo ships and reduce its carbon footprint, the Spanish government said on Thursday.The project will require an investment of about 10 billion euros ($9.75 billion), according to Spanish government calculations, and Spain may enter as a strategic investor. An agreement on the project, which will be partly financed by EU recovery funds, was signed on Thursday in Madrid by Maersk CEO Søren Skou and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Felisa Sanchez as of counsel in the maritime and finance practices. She joins the firm’s Houston office from Foley & Lardner LLP.Sanchez focuses her practice on a wide variety of corporate, finance, and commercial matters for domestic and international clients in the financial services, maritime, transportation, and energy sectors. She has nearly 20 years of experience representing public and private companies in complex transactions, including maritime financings and restructurings…

A fish-farming superyacht developed by Ocean Ark Tech of Chile (OATECH) and its strategic ally, London-based Ocean Sovereign, is one step closer to delivering fish to market after winning a key approval from marine classification society, RINA.Registro Italiano Navale (RINA) announced the Approval in Principle (AiP) of the new-concept offshore fish-farming system, Ocean Ark. The vessel delivers a new approach to aquaculture and looks set to disrupt by dramatically improving fish health…

Elcome International, provider of maritime systems integration, technical support and shipboard service, announced the opening of another office in Europe. Based in the Spanish port city of Algeciras, the facility will offer sales and technical support for the company’s growing portfolio of ship navigation, communication, satellite connectivity and coastal surveillance systems. Shipboard services will include annual radio surveys and annual testing of Automatic Identification Systems (AIS)…

Spanish rescuers were searching the waters off the coast of Tenerife for a one-year-old girl on Friday after the body of a six-year-old girl, presumed to be her sister, was pulled from a 1,000-meter depth.Their father, Tomas G., is the main suspect in the disappearance of Olivia, 6, and Anna, 1, after failing to return them to their mother as agreed at the end of April. He is also missing.The body of the 6-year old, whom authorities said in all likelihood was that of Olivia, was found near where her father's boat was found empty adrift at sea."The body was at a depth of 1,000 meters inside of a sports bag tied to an anchor. Another empty sports bag was also found next to them…

Spain will allow cruise ships to dock in its ports from June 7, the transport ministry said on Saturday, hoping to salvage the country's battered tourism sector in time for the summer season.Spain's maritime authorities approved the reopening because of falling COVID-19 incidence rates and an increase in vaccinations, according to an order in Spain's state gazette published on Saturday.Spain banned cruise ships from docking in its ports in June 2020 as the pandemic ripped through Europe.

Families of 39 Filipino crewmen who were aboard a cattle ship that sank during a typhoon are pleading for a search to continue and to expand into uninhabited islands and nearby waters, two weeks after their vessel capsized off Japan.In tears during an online news conference, family members urged authorities to resume a massive search effort, after Japan's coastguard suspended its rescue last week.Of the ship's 43 crew, three were rescued—all Filipinos—but one later died after being found unconscious. Thirty-six Filipinos, two New Zealanders and two Australians are missing."We are getting frustrated not knowing where they are," said Liberty Seneres, wife of chief engineer, Aristotle Sabillena."We are worried.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquarters in London has hosted yesterday 19 (February 19) a a major symposium on empowering maritime women.Removing barriers to women joining the maritime sector, the importance of education and how to increase visibility of women in maritime leadership roles – these were some of the key challenges under the spotlight.The symposium was part of IMO’s continuing efforts to maintain momentum in empowering women in the maritime community, and follow the 2019 IMO Assembly resolution to preserve the legacy of the 2019 World MaritimeTheme and work towards a barrier-free environment for women throughout…

A Saudi ship, prevented by rights groups from loading an arms cargo at the French port of Le Havre on Friday, arrived at the Spanish port of Santander early on Monday and was due to leave later in the day, according to the Santander port.It was not clear what the Saudi ship was doing in Santander but the port's website said the vessel, the Bahri-Yanbu, was scheduled to set sail at 1:30 p.m. (1130 GMT). It did not say where the vessel was heading.Spain's Interior Ministry said they had no information regarding the ship. The defence and foreign ministries were not immediately available for comment. Santander port authorities could not immediately be reached.French rights group ACAT argued in a legal challenge on Thursday that the arms consignment contravened a U.N.

Spain's Navantia will build five F-110 frigates for the Spanish navy in a contract worth $4.9 billion. Navantia, which employs around 5,000 people, has in recent years racked up deep losses which reached 389 million euros in 2017.The government's representative in the Galicia region where the frigates will be built said the contract would create 1,300 direct jobs over nine years and as many as 5,700 more indirectly.Javier Losada, a member of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's Socialist party, said the contract would be approved on Friday during the weekly cabinet meeting.In April, Spain agreed to sell warships built at Navantia's yards to Saudi Arabia in a deal worth an estimated 1.8 billion euros.(Reuters)

The Port of Algeciras Authority (APBA) Chairman, Manuel Moron, and the Ningbo Zhoushan Port Group Chairman, Mao Jianhong, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that is set to formalize co-operation between both of the logistics powerhouses and increase commercial flow between Southern Europe and Asia. According to the port and harbour of Algeciras, the MoU was rubber-stamped during the official state visit to Spain of the Chinese President,  Xi Jinping, who - together with the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez - was present at the event."The relationship between the two ports is very close. During the year, several meetings have taken place…

Norwegian shipping company Grieg Star has acquired a semi-open hatch vessel on the 25th of September. Her name is Star Majesty.Star Majesty was formerly known as Samos Majesty. "She is a sister of the Star Minerva, and thus a vessel type Grieg Star knows well and appreciates as efficient and reliable," said a press release from the company."We are really happy we have been able to conclude this deal. Grieg Star is committed to this business, and securing quality tonnage for the future is important for us," said CEO Camilla Grieg in the statement.Star Majesty, the 2009-built vessel, which has a deadweight of 50,790 tonnes, has entered into the G2 Ocean pool as of the 30th of September.

Spain offered on Monday to take in a rescue ship that is drifting in the Mediterranean sea with 629 migrants stranded on board after Italy and Malta refused to let it dock.The Aquarius picked up the migrants from inflatable boats and rafts off the coast of Libya at the weekend, and the United Nations refugee agency said on Monday it was running out of provisions.Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who took office just over a week ago, has given instructions for the boat to be admitted to the eastern port of Valencia, his office said in a statement."It is our duty to help avoid a humanitarian catastrophe and offer a safe port to these people…

Pacific Partnership 2017 (PP17) and Malaysian partners embarked aboard expeditionary fast transport USNS Fall River (T-EPF 4) arrived in Kuching, Malaysia, Apr. 14. As the second and main mission stop in Malaysia, and the third mission stop overall, activities in Kuching will kick off the large focus on humanitarian aid and disaster response, as well civil engineering projects for Pacific Partnership 2017 Malaysia. According to Lt. j.g. Robin Pepper, the mission's engineering sail-in echelon officer in charge, Kuching is going to be an exciting change of pace for the sail-in team after working only one-on-one with the host nation engineers at their last projects in Sri Lanka.

A former supervisory contracting officer was sentenced to 72 months in prison today for accepting bribe payments in exchange for steering U.S. Navy contracts to the president and chief executive officer of a defense contractor. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California, Director Andrew L. Traver of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and Director Dermot F. O’Reilly of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) made the announcement. Paul Simpkins, 62, of Haymarket, Va., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janis L.

The Navy's 2014 Sailors of the Year (SOY) were meritoriously advanced to chief petty officer during a ceremony held at the Navy Memorial, May 14. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert served as guest speaker at the pinning ceremony hosted by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) Mike Stevens. The four Sailors of the Year honored at the ceremony are: Construction Mechanic 1st Class Jimie Bartholomew, representing U.S. Navy Reserve; Steel Worker 1st Class Brenton Heisserer, representing U.S. Navy Shore; Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Joe Mendoza representing U.S. Fleet Forces; and Logistics Specialist 1st Class Blanca Sanchez, representing U.S. Pacific Fleet.

When night falls over western Venezuela, armed gangs known as "pirates" sometimes ride boats into muggy Lake Maracaibo to steal equipment from oil wells. In the country's Paraguana peninsula, opposite the Caribbean island of Aruba, slum dwellers at times break through a perimeter wall into Venezuela's biggest refinery and rob machinery, construction tools, and cables to sell as scrap. On the other side of the OPEC country in Monagas state, around 26,000 potential barrels were lost in March during a shutdown after state oil company employees and contractors stole copper cables and caused a tank to overflow. Venezuela's national crime pandemic - the United Nations says the country has the world's second-highest murder rate after Honduras - is a growing headache for the oil industry…

Thrustmaster builds a complete line of Z-Drive azimuthing thrusters from 500 HP to 4,000 HP for the inland towboat industry specifically designed to endure the demanding conditions when operating in brown water. Using Z-Drives on towboats results in substantially improved fuel efficiency, shorter trip times, decreased maintenance downtime and higher customer satisfaction when compared to traditional shaft and rudder installations. All thrusters are developed in-house by a complete engineering department for mechanical, hydraulic, electrical and electronic design.

The first warehouse at the Caucedo Logistics Centre has been officially opened at a special ceremony in the Dominican Republic by President Danilo Medina Sanchez and HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World. The Caucedo Logistics Centre is a joint venture between DP World and Caucedo Development Corporation. It provides regional distribution facilities for foreign and Dominican businesses connecting them to a comprehensive, efficient, logistics multimodal network provided by the Port of Caucedo which is operated by DP World. Phase 1 will see the development of warehousing over 4.3 million sq/ft (40 hectares) and a further 8.61 million sq/ft (80 hectares) developed in Phase 2. Timing will be in line with market demand.

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) recently hosted members of the Soy Transportation Coalition (STC) during a visit to tour Canal facilities and participate in briefings with ACP executives earlier this month. Approximately 80 soybean producers and representatives from 13 soybean producing states attended from the U.S.-based coalition. Together, STC members encompass 85 percent of total soybean production in the United States. Ilya Marotta, ACP Executive Vice President of Engineering and Program Management and Maria Eugenia Sanchez…