Stine Jacobsen News

Shipping company Maersk has not made any deployment changes after a Portuguese-flagged container ship was seized by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, the Danish company said on Monday."We find recent events in the Gulf of Hormuz and the hijacking of a commercial container ship deeply concerning," a spokesperson said in an emailed comment.While the company will monitor the situation and available intelligence to assess the risk level in the region, it has so far made no deployment changes, the spokesperson added.Iran's foreign ministry said on Monday it had seized the vessel for violati

An activated but faulty missile launcher on a Danish navy vessel triggered a closure of airspace and shipping traffic in the Great Belt strait on Thursday, the Danish armed forces said.Denmark's National Maritime Authority had earlier warned ships not to sail through the Great Belt strait, one of the world's busiest sea lanes and the main maritime access to the Baltic Sea, due to the risk of "falling missile fragments"."The problem occurred during a mandatory test where the missile launcher is activated and cannot be deactivated…

The ship that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early on Tuesday was also involved in an accident in the port of Antwerp, Belgium, in 2016.The Antwerp port authorities said the container ship Dali hit a quay on July 11, 2016, as it tried to exit the North Sea container terminal.The port authority could give no details about the cause of the accident, but said the ship had remained at the dock for repairs for some time after the incident."As a general rule, these accidents are investigated and ships are only allowed to leave after experts have determined it is saf

The Dali container vessel that collided on Tuesday with a bridge in Baltimore was chartered by shipping company Maersk at the time of the accident, the Danish company said in a statement."We are horrified by what has happened in Baltimore, and our thoughts are with all of those affected," Maersk said.The Dali was set to depart Baltimore early on Tuesday and arrive at Colombo on April 22, according to a schedule on Maersk's website.The vessel is owned by Singapore's Grace Ocean Pte and managed by Synergy Marine Group, according to LSEG data.(Reuters - Reporting by Terje Solsvik and Louise Rasmu

Norwegian oil companies resumed helicopter flights to offshore oil and gas fields on Friday following Wednesday's deadly crash off the country's west coast, operator Equinor and airports said on Friday.On Thursday helicopter traffic was halted to oil and gas platforms following the crash in which one person died and five were injured. Norway said it was considering grounding Sikorsky's S-92A aircraft model while investigating the accident."Based on dialogue with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)…

Maersk warned on Thursday that container shipping overcapacity would hit profits more than expected this year and that it didn't see a major boost from the jump in freight rates due to Red Sea disruptions, hammering its shares.The warning, which also led the Danish shipping giant to suspend its share buyback programme, is in stark contrast with investors' recent optimism about the sector.Container shipping companies have been among the best-performing stocks in Europe this year…

Denmark's A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Thursday it will spin off its towage and marine services activities and plans to list the new company on the Nasdaq Copenhagen stock exchange.Maersk has sought to streamline its business in recent years, spinning off oil rigs and other units that did not fit with its core shipping and logistics operations.The anticipated first day of trading for the shares of the new company, to be called Svitzer Group, is on April 30, Maersk said as it reported…

Sweden on Wednesday dropped its investigation into the explosions in 2022 on Nord Stream pipelines carrying Russian gas to Germany, saying it lacked jurisdiction in the case but had handed evidence it had uncovered over to German investigators.The multi-billion-dollar Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the Baltic Sea were ruptured by a series of blasts in the Swedish and Danish economic zones in September 2022, releasing vast amounts of methane into the air.Russia and the West…

Norway's Equinor said on Thursday it had entered an agreement with BP BP.L to independently pursue separate wind projects under its bid for New York's offshore wind auctions.As part of the agreement, BP would take over full control of the Beacon Wind project, while Equinor takes over the Empire Wind project, the Norwegian firm said."The agreement provides Equinor and BP with the flexibility to pursue their respective priorities under their corporate strategies," Equinor said.New…

Maersk hopes international interventions and a larger naval presence in the Red Sea will eventually lead to maritime commerce to resume through the strait, it said on Friday, following U.S-British strikes overnight against Houthi military targets in Yemen."We hope that these interventions and a larger naval presence will eventually lead to a lowered threat environment allowing maritime commerce to transit through the Red Sea and once again return to using the Suez Canal as a gateway," Maersk said in an emailed statement.Shipping companies have redirected vessels away from the Red Sea around Af

Shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Monday it had appointed Vincent Clerc, who has been with the firm for 25 years, to replace Soren Skou as Chief Executive Officer as of Jan 1. Company veteran Clerc, who currently heads the company's Ocean & Logistics business, is taking the helm at a time of slowing demand for transport and logistics as a global recession looms. "The strong tailwinds that benefited the supply chain industries during the pandemic are coming to an end," said chair of the board Robert Maersk Uggla in a statement.

Damage to the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe was caused by powerful explosions, Danish police said on Tuesday, echoing earlier findings into leaks that erupted in the network under the Baltic Sea and that have been blamed on sabotage.In what a Swedish newspaper described as the first publicly released footage of damage to the system, film from a private drone appeared to show a gaping rupture in one pipe. Expressen reported a 50-meter section missing from one area of pipeline.Dwindling flows of gas from Russia…

Norwegian police on Thursday responded to a threat made by telephone against the Nyhamna gas processing plant, one of Europe's largest energy export facilities, and later said the incident had been resolved. The threat came amid heightened concerns about the security of oil and gas infrastructure following suspected sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines to Europe, though plant operator Gassco and offshore producers Shell and Equinor said output had not been interrupted.

A Danish Baltic Sea island suffered a temporary power blackout on Monday as a local grid fault caused the transformer feeding electricity from Sweden to shut down, Energinet and E.ON said. Danish transmission system operator Energinet said the blackout had not been caused by damage to the subsea cable feeding the electricity from the transformer station, and power had returned to all consumers on Bornholm. "The fault which caused a power outage on Bornholm on Monday at (0549 GMT) was not directly related to the submarine cable between Bornholm and Sweden…

A crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe found evidence of detonations, strengthening suspicions of "gross sabotage", Sweden's Security Service said on Thursday. Swedish and Danish authorities have been investigating four leaks after the pipelines, which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis, were damaged at the start of last week. Europe, which used to rely on Russia for about 40% of its gas…

Danish police have over the weekend received reports of drone activity near the Roar gas field in the North Sea, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday. The Roar field is next to Denmark's largest gas field, Tyra, both of which are operated by TotalEnergies.Denmark has, like some other countries in the region, raised its emergency preparedness level for its power and gas sector after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe leaking gas into the Baltic Sea had been subject to sabotage.

TotalEnergies said on Thursday it had observed "unauthorized drone activity" near one of its offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea.Denmark, has like other countries in the region, raised its safety level for its power and gas sector after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe spewing gas into the Baltic Sea had been attacked."There have been observations of unauthorized drone activity at the Halfdan B oil and gas field in the North Sea," a spokesperson said in a written comment, adding the activity had been observed on Wednesday."We have taken the necessary steps in accordance with our security procedures and are in close dialogue with the authorities."(Reuters - Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Alex Richardson and David Eva

The Danish authorities on Monday asked ships to steer clear of a five nautical mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline drained into the Baltic Sea.The German government said it was in contact with the Danish authorities and working with local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly. Denmark's energy ministry declined to comment.The pipeline has been one…

A.P. Moller-Maersk said on Monday it has agreed to sell its 30.75% stake in Russian port operator Global Ports Investments to Russia's largest container operator Delo Group, which also owns a 30.75% stake in the firm.After the divestment, which needs regulatory approval, Maersk's port unit APM Terminals would "no longer be involved in any entities operating in Russia or own any assets in the country," Maersk said in a statement.Maersk put its stake in Global Ports up for sale in March as it decided to quit Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.

Denmark expects to invest 40 billion Danish crowns ($5.47 billion) in new warships as the NATO member seeks to bolster its maritime security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the defense ministry said on Thursday.As part of the investments due over the next 20 to 25 years, a partnership with the country's maritime industry was launched, aiming to develop and build the new warships in Denmark, Defense Minister Morten Bodskov said in a statement."With Russia's attack on Ukraine and the new security situation in Europe…

Equinor's Johan Castberg floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel suffered only minor damage during a fire on Wednesday, and the project's timeline will not be affected, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.The vessel is under construction at a shipyard in western Norway. Workers were evacuated during the fire, and there were no reports of injuries. "With the exception of a small area, which is still closed-off, work on the project continues as normal," Equinor…

A Russian warship early on Friday twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm where a democracy festival attended by senior officials and business people was taking place, the Danish Armed Forces said.Denmark called the action an unacceptable provocation. The Russian embassy in Copenhagen said the Danes provided no evidence.The Russian warship entered Danish waters without authorization at 0030 GMT on Friday and again a few hours later, the armed forces said in a statement.

A.P. Moller-Maersk is looking to divest its 30.75% stake in Russian port operator Global Ports Investments due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Maersk's port unit APM Terminals said on Friday.Global Ports' shareholders include Russian state nuclear company Rosatom and Russian businessman Sergey Shiskarev.