Ukraine News

The turbine manufacturing and installation company Nordex Group booked turbine orders totaling 6207MW in 2019, up 31% on the 4754MW in 2018.The German manufacturer secured deals with a combined capacity of 1477MW in the fourth quarter of last year, which was down on the 1679MW in the last three months of 2018.Overall, the Nordex Group received orders to deliver 1,616 wind turbines with a total output of 6,207 MW in 2019, representing a 31 percent increase on the previous year (2018: 4…

European providers of transportation and logistics services P&O Ferrymasters has announced plans to open five new offices across Turkey over the next two years as it continues the expansion of its pan-European logistics services into Asia.In addition to its existing base in Istanbul, P&O Ferrymasters will develop a comprehensive network across the strategically vital country by opening offices in Izmir on the Aegean coast, the capital city Ankara, Mersin on the south coast, Bursa in the Marmara region and Gaziantep near the border with Syria.Murat Bog…

The Norwegian authorities on Thursday suspended wider search and rescue operations for two Bulgarian sailors who officials say fell overboard from a cargo ship in the Norwegian Sea, the Bulgarian foreign ministry said.The two-helicopter rescue operation began around 400 kilometers southwest of the town of Bodo in the early afternoon on Thursday, but activities were severely hampered by bad weather - high winds and eight-meter-high waves, the ministry said."According to the Norwegian Joint Rescue Coordination Center, under the current climatic conditions there is no chance for those who have fa

A foreign cargo ship ran aground in Istanbul's Bosphorus strait on Friday, requiring a rescue operation and prompting authorities to temporarily close the picturesque and crowded waterway running through Turkey's largest city.There were no injuries or casualties, the governor's office said, adding that the ship had reported engine failure shortly before its grounding near the shore.There was no damage to the concrete walkway running along the shore, Reuters witnesses said.The Bosphorus, among the world's busiest shipping routes, was temporarily closed to international traffic as boats towed the vessel south towards the Sea of Marmara.The Liberian-flagged Songa Iridum had come from Ukraine's Odessa and was headed for Istanbul's port of Ambarli, according to Refinitiv Eikon shipping data.

The master of a Gibraltar-flagged bulk carrier has pleaded guilty to operating a commercial cargo ship while intoxicated, announced U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson and U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port Marie Byrd.In pleading guilty, Vadim Humenyuk, of Izmail, Ukraine, admitted that he was intoxicated while serving as the 590-foot long Rainbow Quest while in San Francisco Bay and preparing to sail to South Korea. The plea was accepted by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixon.The investigation began on Tuesday…

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Monday that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline would be completed in a matter of months and U.S. sanctions imposed on the project last week would not be "catastrophic".Russia's new gas transit deal with Ukraine would also mollify the impact on Russian gas supplies of U.S. sanctions introduced on the pipeline project, he said.Last week a major contractor suspended work on the Nord Stream 2 project, which is led by Russia's Gazprom, due to U.S. sanctions introduced by U.S.

CMA CGM said on Friday it had finalized an agreement with China Merchants Port Holdings Co.

Russia plans to invest $500 million in the Syrian port of Tartus and build a grain hub there to boost its presence on Middle East markets, Interfax news agency cited Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov as saying on Tuesday.Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, has stepped up grain supplies to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in recent years since Moscow's 2015 military intervention on his behalf in Syria's civil war.Construction of the necessary infrastructure at the port…

Russia on Monday handed back three naval ships it captured last year to Ukraine, something Kiev wanted to happen before a four-way peace summit on eastern Ukraine next month in Paris.The handover, confirmed by the two countries' foreign ministries, occurred in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.Russia seized the ships in the same area in November last year after opening fire on them and wounding several sailors. Moscow said the ships - two small Ukrainian armoured artillery vessels and a tug boat - had illegally entered its territorial waters. Kiev denied that.Russia returned the sailors…

Marine services provider James Fisher and Sons Plc (JFS) said on Tuesday that hackers had gained unauthorized access to its computer systems, sending its shares down as much as 5.7%.JFS said it had taken all affected systems offline as a precautionary measure and was working with cyber security experts to recover systems, applications and data from its disaster recovery back-up."Work is ongoing to complete the recovery as quickly as possible and to minimize any impact on our businesses…

Europe’s fastest growing port, the Port of Gdansk, has outlined huge expansion plans designed to double its cargo volumes to 100m tonnes a year, during a high-level maritime and business delegation from Poland to Singapore.The delegation marks 50-years of diplomatic ties between the countries and is being organized with PSA International, the Singapore based global ports group. In May this year PSA International formally acquired DCT Gdansk, the largest container terminal in Poland…

If autonomous vessels are the future of maritime shipping, then cyber threats may be its Achilles heel. Congested shipping, restricted visibility, limited maneuverability, and intensive docking activities all contribute to port hazards – 42 percent of EU reported marine accidents (injury/death/damage to ships) took place in port areas and 44 percent of workboat fatalities occurred on Tugs. Autonomous shipping should provide numerous benefits including increased safety by relieving crewmembers of unsafe and repetitious tasks.

Ukraine's  NIBULON shipbuilding and repair yard announced launching its first 140-m vessel, a unique NIBULON MAX vessel.The river-sea floating vessel is the longest one built for the past 25 years of Ukraine’s independence. The vessel flies the Ukrainian flag.NIBULON MAХ will enable the company to increase the annual river transshipment by fleet by 2-3 million tons per year and to increase transshipment volumes by NIBULON’s fleet up to 5 million tons per year.Construction of this class vessel is an absolutely new and higher level of NIBULON’s shipbuilding facilities.

Sergei Frank will step down as president and chief executive of Russian state-controlled shipping giant Sovcomflot after 15 years at the helm, four sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Tuesday.Frank will give up operational control of Sovcomflot and take over as chairman of the company's board, two of the sources said.It was not immediately clear why Frank, 59, was moving position.

The multi-purpose dry cargo vessel Shair Vagif, owned by the Transport Fleet of the Azerbaijan Caspian Shipping Company (ASCO) and operated in external waters, was overhauled at the Chernomorsk Shiprepair Yard  shipyard in Ukraine.Within the implemented works from July 3 to August 12, hydraulic booster of the vessel, its main engines and separators, including fuel, radio navigation and rescue systems, were repaired.Moreover, all automated ship control systems were restored. Thus…

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78) began its north-bound transit to the Black Sea August 8, to enhance regional maritime stability and a show of support for our NATO allies and partners in the region.This is the sixth time a U.S. ship has visited the Black Sea since the beginning of 2019. The last ship to visit the Black Sea was USS Carney in July. During its time in the Black Sea, USS Carney participated in exercise Sea Breeze 2019, a U.S.-Ukraine…

GSP Holding company GSP Offshore SRL is the preferred drilling and engineering services provider of Trident Black Sea, in its bid for the right to negotiate a production sharing agreement (PSA) with the Ukrainian government for the offshore Dolphin block in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.According to a press release from the Romanian company providing offshore integrated services for oil and gas industry said that Trident Black Sea will be the operator of the project,…

Ukraine has released the crew of a Russian tanker detained in the port of Izmail, but the vessel is still being held by Ukrainian authorities, RIA news agency cited the Russian embassy in Ukraine as saying.Ukraine said earlier on Thursday it had detained a Russian tanker for its alleged involvement in the seizure of three Ukrainian vessels by Russia in November, and Moscow threatened consequences if Russian citizens were "taken hostage". (Reuters, Reporting by Andrey Ostroukh and Anastasia Teterevleva; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Alison Williams)

Ukraine's security service said on Thursday it had detained a Russian tanker in the Ukrainian port of Izmail for its alleged involvement in an incident in November in the Kerch Strait that led to Russia seizing three Ukrainian vessels.Russia captured the vessels and their crews in waters that separate Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and Russia.The Ukrainian security service said in a statement that the vessel, now called Nika Spirit and formerly named the Neyma, had entered the port of Izmail after which it had been identified and detained.Reporting by Polina Ivanova

The Estonian terminal operator HHLA TK Estonia is strengthening its position as a RoRo hub in the Baltic region.The wholly owned subsidiary of Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) said in a press release that the Finnish ferry company Eckerö Line recently began connecting the port of Muuga, where HHLA TK Estonia operates a multi-function terminal, with Vuosaari in Finland. Twice daily, the RoPax ferry Finbo Cargo enters the port of Muuga, which is about 20 kilometres east of the Estonian capital, Tallinn.

U.S. crude exports are gaining traction in Europe as even Ukraine turns into a significant consumer of American barrels at the expense of Russian supplies amid heightened U.S. political pressure on Moscow and problems over contaminated Russian oil.Ukraine this month received its first ever barrels from the United States, according to Refinitiv Eikon flows data, as the tanker Wisdom Venture unloaded 80,000 tonnes of Bakken crude in Odessa on July 6 for the Kremenchug refinery,…

France's defense ministry said on Wednesday that defense firm Naval Group had won a 1.2 billion euro ($1.35 billion) contract to build four Gowind navy corvettes for Romania, as it looks to ensure security in the Black Sea.The deal, which will also see Naval Group renovate two existing Romanian frigates, ensures the delivery of the first ships in 2022."Romania becomes the first European country, but also the first NATO country, to acquire this type of warship," the French defense ministry said in a statement."The Godwin has the ideal capacity to ensure security in the Black Sea…

Hungarian police said on Tuesday they had found no evidence of alcohol or drug abuse by the captain of a cruise ship that struck and sank a small tourist vessel last month, killing 28 mostly Korean people on board.The Mermaid boat sank in seconds on May 29 after the Viking Sigyn cruise liner hit it from behind under a bridge in the Hungarian capital during heavy rain, the worst disaster on the river in more than half a century."We launched the investigation as soon as we got on board (the Sigyn)," Budapest police spokesman Soma Csecsi told a news conference. "As a first step we took samples from the captain. He had not consumed alcohol…