Thomas Escritt News

Germany is expected to participate in a European Union naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea that EU foreign ministers will approve this month, the head of the German parliamentary defence committee said.Speaking at her party's reception for the new year on Sunday, Maria-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said the aim of the mission would be for EU frigates to protect commercial vessels passing through the strait.The approaches to the Suez Canal, one of the world's most important shipping lanes…

The head of German shipping firm Hapag-Lloyd, Rolf Habben Jansen, expects the next three years to be difficult because demand for shipping services is growing more slowly than available shipping capacity, he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.Despite that, he thought the downturn in the sector would be less severe than in the period following the global financial crisis in 2008 when new capacity due to launch amounted to 55% of the existing fleet. Now, the equivalent figure is just 27%.Freight rates had fallen by around 60% year-on-year…

Germany, racing to end its reliance on Russian gas, plans to introduce new regulation that will make it possible to expropriate property to link offshore liquid natural gas terminals to the grid, Handeslblatt reported. The new law could make it possible to use parts of Gazprom's defunct Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, to link a terminal to the shore.The newspaper said a draft law due to be agreed by the government on Wednesday would make it possible to expropriate "movable objects" when necessary "to build natural gas pipelines or linked infrastructure".Until earlier this year…

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…

Gazprom's Swiss unit can challenge an EU gas rule that requires gas producers to be separate companies from those that control the pipeline, an adviser to the EU's top court said on Wednesday.Russia's Gazprom owns operator Nord Stream 2 and is the planned gas supplier for the Russia-to-Germany link that was completed last month.The opinion from Advocate General Michal Bobek, if confirmed by the EU Court of Justice (CJEU), may help the Russian company in its long-running fight…

Global container liner problems related to post-corona logistics hiccups have intensified in the third quarter and show no sign of letting up, the world's number five operator, Hapag-Lloyd, said on Thursday.Chief executive Rolf Habben Jansen told reporters in an online briefing that container usage in August was up 20% year-on-year.He said port congestion and high spot freight rates, caused by a combination of unexpected demand recovery and tight shipping space, would continue at least during the rest of 2021 and into the first quarter of next year.(Reporting by Vera Eckert, editing by Thomas

The United States and Germany on Wednesday unveiled an agreement on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline under which Berlin pledged to respond to any attempt by Russia to use energy as a weapon against Ukraine and other Central and Eastern European countries.The pact aims to mitigate what critics see as the strategic dangers of the $11 billion pipeline, now 98% complete, being built under the Baltic Sea to carry gas from Russia’s Arctic region to Germany.U.S. officials have opposed the pipeline…

Ukraine can be confident that Germany and the European Union will guarantee its status as a transit country for Russian gas even after the Nord Stream 2 pipeline has opened, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.Merkel made the remarks during a news conference with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy three days before she holds talks in Washington with U.S. President Joe Biden, whose administration is against the almost completed pipeline."The European Union and Germany will see to it that this continues in the future beyond 2024," said Merkel.

Germany's coordinator for transatlantic relations called on Wednesday for a moratorium on the construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia to Europe, breaking ranks with many in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.The United States is opposed to the project, saying it increases Europe's reliance on Russian energy and U.S. President Joe Biden is dangling the threat of sanctions."The project is a serious obstacle for a new start in transatlantic relations…

Berlin offered to spend 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) to build two liquid natural gas terminals in a bid to dissuade the United States from imposing sanctions over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, due to bring gas directly from Russia to Germany, Die Zeit reported on Wednesday.The weekly paper said Finance Minister Olaf Scholz made the proposal in an Aug. 7 letter before Washington imposed sanctions on companies involved in building the Baltic Sea pipeline, effectively freezing its…

Germany will take a decision on whether to participate in a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once it has more clarity about the design of such a mission, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said."Any actions regarding the Strait of Hormuz need to have a European face," Maas said of British plans for a shipping protection mission in an interview with Funke newspaper published on Friday.He said Germany would not take part in the U.S.'s "maximum pressure" strategy against Iran. (Reuters, Reporting by Riham Alkousaa, editing by Thomas Escritt)

German shipbuilder Luerssen has suspended production of coastguard vessels it was building for Saudi Arabia and placed large numbers of staff on short hours, blaming uncertainty over whether Berlin would grant future weapons export licences.After dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Chancellor Angela Merkel said Berlin would authorise no further weapons exports until Riyadh had satisfactorily explained his death.Privately-owned Luerssen was commissioned to build the coastal patrol vessels five years ago…

Germany's federal cartel office upheld on Thursday a complaint brought by German Naval Yards against an order from the defence ministry for five new military corvettes valued at over 1.5 billion euros, after the ministry skipped an open procurement.   The ministry had argued that the quickest way to meet the navy's urgent military needs in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas would be to buy more of the ships already produced by a consortium including Luerssen Werft and ThyseenKrupp.   However, the cartel office agreed with German Naval Yards that the need for competition took priority, confirming reports on Wednesday by two German newspapers.   An appeal may be lodged within two weeks. (Reporting by Anneli Palmen; Writing by Madeline Chambers, Editing by Thomas Escritt)

Germany's much-delayed new frigates, built by ThyssenKrupp and Luerssen for at least 650 million euros ($710 million) apiece, are overweight and float with a persistent list to starboard, according to a confidential report seen by Reuters. The ships, designed to need a crew of only 120, less than half their predecessors, are a crucial element in Germany's plans to beef up its military to face an increasingly uncertain European security landscape and a more assertive Russia. Designed to remain at sea for far longer than the German armed forces' existing fleet…

Shares in Dutch deep-sea prospector Fugro fell 4.5 percent on Monday after larger rival Boskalis announced that it had trimmed its holding in the company. A statement from dredging and marine engineering company Boskalis said that its holding in Fugro now stands at 24.9 percent. Boskalis had built a stake of as much as 28.6 percent at the end of 2015 in what was widely seen as a first step towards buying Fugro. Boskalis also took Fugro to court in an attempt to strip away some of the company's poison pill defenses but lost its case in May.

Dutch offshore engineer Boskalis said it was cutting 650 jobs worldwide and culling 24 vessels in response to what it called drastic changes in the company's outlook caused by low energy and commodity prices. The job cuts, including 150 Dutch employees, would be made over the next two years from a workforce of about 8,000, the company said on Friday. The company will take 10 vessels out of service at its dredging division and 14 at its offshore energy division because poor market conditions were likely to persist.

India blamed Italy for delaying the repatriation of an Italian marine who has been detained in Delhi for four years as Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi arrived at a summit with the EU in Brussels hoping to defuse the long-running row. In 2012, India arrested two Italian marines who were escorting an oil tanker on suspicion of shooting dead two fishermen they mistook for pirates. Though they were not charged, the pair were barred from leaving India. Massimiliano Latorre was allowed to return home last year for medical treatment. But Salvatore Girone has been confined to Delhi, where he lives at the Italian ambassador's residence and reports regularly to police.

The International Court of Justice on Thursday said it would consider a claim by Nicaragua to expand its maritime boundaries in a mineral-rich part of the Caribbean Sea toward Colombia, a ruling set to further strain relations between the two countries. The judgment, separate from a decision earlier on Thursday in which the United Nations court said it would rule on alleged violations of Nicaragua's sovereignty, means a maritime delineation case between the two countries can proceed. In a televised address soon after the decision, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said he would not accept a ruling by a "third party" and would not participate in the case.

Workers at container terminals at the port of Rotterdam's Maasvlakte harbour were due to begin a 24-hour strike on Thursday afternoon, a union official said. The port said the strike, which followed a breakdown in talks with port authorities aimed at averting feared job losses due to modernisation projects, would affect seven ships at the port's terminals. Workers plan to down tools from 1415 GMT at Maersk's APM Terminal as well as at the ECT, Euromax and RWG terminals, officials said.   Reporting by Thomas Escritt

Senior Dutch government officials are discussing a plan to ferry refugees arriving in Greece back to Turkey to stem the flow of migrants seeking refuge in Europe, Labour Party leader Diederik Samsom said on Thursday. Samsom said in an interview with the daily Volkskrant that European countries would have to agree in exchange to take several hundred thousand refugees each year out nearly 2 million currently in Turkey. He also told Reuters that the plan was close to becoming government policy and that the Netherlands, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency, would seek to push for Europe-wide agreement on the proposal.

The International Court of Justice ruled on Thursday that it had jurisdiction over a maritime dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua concerning the legal boundaries of potentially oil-rich areas of the Caribbean Sea.   Judges at the United Nations' highest court in The Hague ruled that Colombia was obliged to contest a case brought by Nicaragua under the 1948 Bogota Pact, to which both countries are signatories.   The case was brought in 2013 by Nicaragua, which claimed its maritime territorial rights had been violated by Colombian vessels harassing its shipping. Colombia sought to block the case, arguing it did not fall under the court's jurisdiction. (Reporting By Thomas Escritt)

CEO, CFO to step down, new CEO from inside company. The CEO and finance chief of Dutch builder Imtech have resigned from the company, as a drop in sales and weaker profit margins showed plans to restore confidence following an accounting scandal were faltering. Chief Executive Gerard van de Aast and Chief Financial Officer Hans Turkesteen were appointed in 2013 after the previous management quit over an accounting fraud in Germany and Poland that wiped millions off its balance sheet. Board member Paul van Gelder will take over as CEO in 2015. Van de Aast will retire, while Turkesteen will leave after 2015 results have been finalised.

Could bolster claims by other countries against China; China boycotting proceedings, rejects court's authority. The Philippines asked global judges on Tuesday to recognise its right to exploit waters in the South China Sea, a case that could bolster territorial claims by other countries against China in the resource-rich body of water. China, which claims economic and territorial rights in almost the entire sea, has boycotted the proceedings and rejects the court's authority in the case. But experts say a ruling could influence other cases in the heated South China Sea dispute - involving Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and other countries. Indonesia has signalled it may also go to the court to counter an increasingly-assertive China that has heightened tension in the region.