Sarah Young News

At least five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings.The deaths of one child, a woman and three men occurred on an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people attempting to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for survivors."After becoming initially stranded on the shore, the boat set out to sea again.

Britain and the United States on Thursday said they had imposed coordinated sanctions on four key Houthi figures for their roles in supporting or directing attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.Attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis have disrupted global shipping and stoked fears of global inflation. They have also deepened concern that fallout from the Israel-Hamas war could destabilize the Middle East.Those sanctioned were Houthi Defence Minister Mohamed Nasser al-Atifi…

U.S. and British strikes against Houthi military targets in Yemen were a limited act of self defense and London does not immediately plan any further missions, its junior defense minister said on Friday.The two countries launched strikes from the air and sea against Houthi military targets in Yemen in response to the movement's attacks on ships in the Red Sea since the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza began in October.British Armed Forces minister James Heappey said the strikes were a proportionate response…

Britain said on Monday it would transfer two Royal Navy minehunter ships to the Ukrainian Navy, as it sets up a new maritime defence coalition alongside Norway to help strengthen Ukraine's sea operations.Britain said the two Sandown Class mine countermeasures vessels will enable Ukraine to better counter the threat from Russian sea mines, aiming to restore Ukraine's export routes via the Black Sea.The transfer of the vessels was announced alongside the launch of the Maritime Capability…

Babcock’s chief executive is optimistic the company will secure further orders for the Type 31 frigate, and talks are ongoing with three countries who are interested in the ship.“We’re still optimistic about further export orders,” CEO David Lockwood said in an interview on Tuesday, adding that he had a couple of visits to potential customers planned before Christmas.“Warships are always political so they’re never done until they’re done.”Babcock is building the Type 31 frigate for Britain, and Poland and Indonesia have ordered vessels based on the same Arrowhead 140 design.

Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said on Tuesday it would cut up to 2,500 jobs as its new chief executive seeks to build a more efficient business, the latest boss to attempt to revamp one of Britain's most prestigious engineering companies.Over the last decade, Rolls-Royce, whose engines and systems are used on the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 as well as ships, submarines and in power generation, has been through several restructurings, axing more than 13,000 jobs.Tufan Erginbilgic, who took over in January, is the latest CEO to try to tackle the company's inefficiencies.

Twenty-five people were injured when a ship came off its holding and tipped on its side in a dry dock in Leith, Scotland on Wednesday, the Scottish Ambulance Service said, with 15 taken to hospital.Ten people were treated and discharged at the scene, the emergency service added in a statement.Pictures posted on Twitter showed a large ship propped up against the wall of a dry dock.

British defense company BAE Systems stuck to guidance for earnings to grow by 3% to 5% this year over 2020's result and said that demand for its products and services remained high.BAE, whose main customers are the United States, Britain and Saudi Arabia, also said that so far it had been able to overcome supply chain pressures affecting many other manufacturers globally, helped by the long-lead items it uses in programs.Defense has been largely unaffected by the pandemic, with governments sticking to military and security commitments…

A British scallop dredger seized by France is still being held at the port of Le Havre, the owner of the ship said on Tuesday, after a British minister said the vessel had been released by French authorities.Post-Brexit bickering over fish culminated last Wednesday in the French seizure of the British dredger, the Cornelis Gert Jan, in French waters near Le Havre."As far as we are aware, the vessel remains held at the port of Le Havre at least until the hearing tomorrow," Andrew Brown, a director of Macduff Shellfish which owns the Cornelis Gert Jan, told Reuters.Earlier, British Environment Secretary George Eustice said he understood the vessel had been freed by France.Asked if the impounded vessel had been released, Eustice told Sky: "Yes.

Britain said on Wednesday that people should buy normally for Christmas and there would be no shortage of gifts after shipping containers carrying toys and electrical goods were diverted from the country’s biggest port because it was full.Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping company, has diverted some vessels from Felixstowe port in eastern England because a lack of truck drivers means there is nowhere left to stack containers at the port.“I’m confident that people will be able to get their toys for Christmas,” Conservative Party co-Chairman Oliver Dowden told Sky.

Britain's Rolls-Royce, which makes engines for planes and ships, outlined plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050 through investing more in decarbonizing technologies and, in the short term, using more sustainable aviation fuel.Major companies are under increasing pressure from investors and climate change activists to report the emissions that result when customers use their products.Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East said that made decarbonizing a particularly "challenging…

Norway will block Rolls-Royce from selling a Norwegian maritime engine maker to a Russian company on national security grounds, its justice minister told parliament on Tuesday.Based on Norway’s west coast, and owned by Britain’s Rolls-Royce for more than 20 years, Bergen Engines supplies NATO member Norway’s navy as well as the global shipping industry.The blocking of the sale is a blow for Rolls-Royce, which is aiming to raise 2 billion pounds ($2.76 billion) from disposals by…

Britain is working to overcome post-Brexit difficulties complicating seafood exports and other shipments to the European Union, senior minister Michael Gove said on Thursday.“There are still some bureaucratic obstacles that we need to negotiate and navigate.

Britain and France signed a new agreement to try to stop illegal migration across the Channel on Saturday, upping patrols and technology in the hope of closing off a dangerous route used by migrants to try to reach the UK on small boats.UK interior minister Priti Patel said that under the deal, the number of officers patrolling French beaches would double, and new equipment including drones and radar would be employed.This year, hundreds of people, including some children, have…

Britain’s new polar ship, the Sir David Attenborough, headed for the open seas on Tuesday to start trials after a storm delay, before making its maiden voyage to Antarctica next year for climate change research.The 200 million pound ($260 million), state-of-the-art, polar research vessel, with its red hull and a bright yellow crane on its stern, sailed past Liverpool’s historic docks and out into the sea, headed for north Wales.Officially the ship is named after the veteran BBC naturalist David Attenborough…

Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said it would exceed its 2020 guidance as it announced new ambitious mid-term goals, sending its shares to four-year highs and reflecting investor faith that CEO Warren East can transform Britain’s best known engineering firm.The maker of engines for civil planes, military jets and ships has been in turnaround mode since 2015. Having on Thursday announced plans to cut 4,600 jobs as part of cost-saving measures, it told shareholders on Friday the foundations…

Britain's Rolls-Royce said it had agreed to sell its Germany-based diesel parts maker L'Orange to U.S.-based engineering company Woodward Inc for 700 million euros ($859 million), as part of a plan to simplify its business. Rolls CEO Warren East has been trying to streamline the company during his nearly three years in charge as part of a turnaround plan to counter declines in some of its older aero-engine programmes and plunging demand for oil equipment. The company said on Monday that L'Orange would continue as a key supplier to its power systems business…

British engineering company Rolls-Royce said it would cut a further 800 jobs in its marine business to save an extra 50 million pounds ($63 million) a year, responding to weak demand from shipping and energy customers. The marine business, which depends on oil and gas-related customers for about 60 percent of its business and currently employs about 4,800 people with its main operations in Norway, has seen weak demand for new equipment and lower maintenance revenues as customers use their vessels less. Rolls, which has been cutting costs for three years to make the marine unit more competitive, said the cuts were part of a plan to save between 45 million pounds and 50 million pounds on an annualised basis from the middle of next year.

The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, which tracks rates for ships carrying industrial commodities, extended its record low run to a 14th straight session on Friday on persistent vessel glut and weak demand. The overall index, which gauges the cost of shipping dry bulk including iron ore, cement, grain, coal and fertiliser, fell 1 point, or 0.28 percent, to 354 points. The dry bulk sector has taken a beating from the slowdown in Chinese business at a time when the sector is struggling with huge overcapacity. The capesize index made recoveries for the second consecutive session, gaining 23 points, or 11.2 percent, to 229 points. Average daily earnings for capesize vessels, which typically transport 150,000-tonne cargoes such as iron ore and coal, rose $176 to $2,984.

British defence company BAE Systems has won a 472 million pound ($671 million) contract from the UK government to continue with work to prepare for the building of eight anti-submarine warships. Britain confirmed in its defence spending plan last November that it would buy eight of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships, down from the 13 ships that BAE had originally been expecting. BAE said on Tuesday the 15 month contract would fund further detailed design of the complex vessels and the manufacturing of key equipment for the first three ships.

British engineering group Rolls-Royce (RR.L) said it would cut 600 jobs in its Norwegian-focused marine business in response to the lower oil price, a move it said would have a "broadly neutral" impact on 2015 profits. Rolls-Royce is in the middle of a cost-saving plan in its aero-engines business and headquarters, axing 2,600 jobs, and the streamlining of its marine business comes after a year of profit downgrades and cancelled orders. The company said that from 2016, the job cuts in marine would help generate 25 million pounds of benefits.

Britain's Rolls-Royce said it would cut an additional 400 staff from its marine business by the end of next year, its latest move to make the unit more efficient and cope with a fall in orders sparked by lower oil prices. The marine unit, which depends on oil and gas-related customers for about 60 percent of its business, has seen some of its orders cancelled in the past 16 months as the price of Brent crude collapsed to six-year lows. Rolls-Royce had already announced in May that it would cut 600 jobs in its marine business…

Rolls-Royce's new chief executive aims to strip out costs and complexity, rather than selling off chunks of the business, as he seeks to return the British engine company to growth. After four profit warnings in just over a year, and with an activist shareholder pushing for change, Warren East is under pressure to outline a revival strategy after spending much of his first four months in the job in firefighting mode. "The notion that we're going to sell big chunks is just wrong," East told reporters on a call, although he did not rule out change in the longer term. U.S.