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United Kingdom News

09 Jan 2025

Wide Agreement for Proposed GHG Emissions Pricing Mechanism

© Kalyakan / Adobe Stock

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has joined 47 governments in a joint submission to the final round of negotiations at the IMO on a GHG emissions pricing mechanism for international shipping.The joint text is supported by major shipping nations such as Greece, Japan, Korea and the United Kingdom, the world’s largest flag States including Bahamas, Liberia, Marshall Islands and Panama, all EU States (and the European Commission), other African countries such as Nigeria and Kenya…

18 Dec 2024

Kazakos named ICS Secretary General

At a special meeting of the board, held on-line, the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) have unanimously appointed Thomas A. Kazakos asits next Secretary General. Kazakos will replace Guy Platten who will be stepping down in June 2025.Kazakos has been the Director General of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber, the representative National-Member Association of Cyprus at ICS, since 1995. Emanuele Grimaldi, Chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping said: “After a thorough search and interview process my board is delighted to confirm the appointment of Thomas Kazakos to this important position for our industry. The coming decade will be pivotal for our industry…

20 Nov 2024

Karin Orsel wins IMO Gender Equality Award

Karin Orsel (c) IMO

Maritime entrepreneur is a long-time advocate for diversity and inclusion in the shipping industry. Ms. Karin Orsel, co-founder and CEO of the MF Shipping Group based in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has been selected to receive the 2025 IMO Gender Equality Award. The Award is bestowed on individuals who have made significant contributions to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in the maritime sector. The IMO Council endorsed Ms. Orsel as next year's recipient during its 133rd session held in London from 18 to 22 November 2024.

19 Nov 2024

Iran Deems European and British Sanctions on Its Shipping Lines Unjustified

© Zerophoto / Adobe Stock

New EU and British sanctions are based on false claims of missile transfers to Russia and are "unjustified", Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Tuesday.Brussels on Monday added the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its director to its list of sanctions on Iran, which it said were a consequence of Tehran's support of Russia in its war with Ukraine.On the same day, Britain imposed sanctions against Iran's national airline and shipping carrier, measures it said were taken in response to Iran's transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia."Iran considers the i

18 Nov 2024

UKMTO: Vessel off Yemeni Coast Reports Missile Splash

Gulf of Aden (c) lesniewski / Adobestock

A vessel 60 nautical miles southeast of Yemen's Aden reported on Monday a missile splashing into the sea in its close proximity, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.UKMTO added that the vessel and its crew were safe. The same vessel was passing through the Red Sea 25 nautical miles west of Yemen's Mokha on Sunday when it reported a missile splashing into the sea nearby, UKMTO said.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year to try to enforce a naval blockade on Israel…

18 Nov 2024

Global Offshore Wind Stumbles to the End of '24

Copryright corlaffra/AdobeStock

Soaring costs, project delays and limited investment put targets out of reachAfter a year of canceled projects, broken turbines, and abandoned lease sales, the global offshore wind industry no longer has much chance to hit the lofty targets set by governments in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere ... with the exception of China.Reuters spoke to 12 offshore wind companies, industry researchers, trade associations, and government officials in six countries to come up with a global picture of the state of the industry and its outlook…

17 Nov 2024

Ship Has Close Call with Missile in Red Sea

© Robert / Adobe Stock

A ship passing through the Red Sea 25 nautical miles west of Al-Mukha, Yemen, reported on Sunday that a missile had splashed into the sea nearby, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.It did not name the vessel or the owner but cited the relevant company security officer as saying the vessel and crew were safe and proceeding to the next port of call.Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants have been attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea for more than a year in a bid to enforce a naval blockade on Israel, saying they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians in I

12 Nov 2024

North Atlantic ECA Plan to be Submitted to IMO

Source: ICCT

A new study published by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) indicates that up to 4,300 premature deaths can be avoided by an emissions control area in the North Atlantic. The economic benefits of this health benefit could amount to as much as €29 billion ($31 billion).As part of an international coalition that has already contributed to the establishment of an Emission Control Area (ECA) in the Mediterranean, NABU is committed to an ECA in the North Atlantic (AtlECA) and plans to submit a proposal to the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in spring 2025…

10 Nov 2024

Seatrium Adds Heavy Lift Vessel to Project Schedule

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) Retrofit of Nexus Victoria from MOL,
scheduled to commence in December 2024 (Source: Seatrium)

Seatrium has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Japan-based Penta-Ocean Construction (POC) to carry out early engineering work for a 5,000t fully-revolving heavy lift vessel project for the Japan wind market.Subject to the final investment decision by POC, the full EPC contract award is expected in 1Q 2025.POC owns a range of self-propelling trailing suction hopper and cutter suction dredgers for marine construction works as well as two turbine installation vessels equipped with a 800t and a 1,600t lifting capacity crane respectively.

08 Nov 2024

UKMTO: Armed Small Craft Shadowed Vessel

Arabian Gulf (c) Sebastiano Leggio / Adobestock

British maritime agency says vessel approached by armed small craft near Yemen.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said on Friday that a vessel was approached by a small craft on Thursday carrying armed personnel that came within three cables of the vessel.The incident was part of a larger sighting where the vessel observed nine to fifteen small craft in the area, approximately 53 nautical miles southwest of Aden, Yemen, the agency said.All crew members aboard the vessel were safe and the ship continued to its next port of call, it added.

03 Nov 2024

Scientists Reconstruct Impact of Seafloor Volcanic Eruption

Source: Schmidt Ocean Institute

An international team of scientists is reconstructing the impact of the 2008 Chaitén volcanic eruption on the marine environment following an expedition onboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too).After 9,000 years of dormancy, the Chaitén Volcano erupted without warning on May 2, 2008. Ash spewed 30 kilometers (18 miles) into the air and blanketed the landscape. Heavy rain in the following days triggered devastating volcanic mudflows known as lahars that cascaded down mountainsides and into the Northern Patagonian Sea.

24 Oct 2024

Singapore Trials IHO S-100 Aboard Italian Navy Training Ship

Source: MPA

The International Hydrographic Organization - Singapore Innovation and Technology Laboratory (IHO-Singapore Lab) is conducting trials of next generation IHO S-100 standards and dual format Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) on a prototype S-100 ECDIS [2] aboard the Italian Navy's training ship, Amerigo Vespucci.This is known as the “dual fuel” mode within the international hydrographic community, where S-100 ECDIS supports both current S-57 and new S-101 ENC formats.This trial marks the first time that the dual format mode is used for navigation in the Malacca and Singapore Straits.

20 Oct 2024

Panama Prepares to Take Action on Sanctioned Vessels

Source: PMA

The Panama Maritime Authority (PMA) has introduced a legal mechanism enabling the immediate revocation of registration and navigation licenses for vessels in the national merchant fleet that appear on international sanctions lists. Additionally, any other navigation documents issued by the PMA will also be invalidated.On October 18, 2024, Executive Decree No. 512 was published in the Official Gazette, outlining the cancellation of vessels or registered owners listed in the following:• Sanctions Lists issued by the U.S.

10 Oct 2024

Liberia-flagged Tanker Struck off Yemen

© fivan / Adobe Stock

A Liberia-flagged tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile in the Red Sea causing minor damage, but no casualties, British maritime security agencies said on Thursday.The incident occurred about 73 nautical miles (135 kilometres) southwest of the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, security firm Ambrey said.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said separately that it had received a report of an incident in the same area, adding authorities are investigating.The chemical/products tanker, en route from Saudi Arabia's Jeddah to Muscat in Oman was struck on its starboard side.

01 Oct 2024

One of the World's Largest Offshore Wind Developers Could Be for Sale

© BoOm / Adobe Stock

Australia's Macquarie has engaged advisors for a potential sale of its subsidiary Corio Generation, one of the world's largest offshore-wind developers, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday.Corio oversees a 30-gigawatt pipeline of offshore wind projects spanning Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas. It includes 5 GW of projects across the UK such as West of Orkney in Scotland and Outer Dowsing off the east coast of England.Macquarie plans to gauge interest from a handful of strategic and financial investors later this year for a full or minority stake sale…

01 Oct 2024

Two Vessels Damaged in Attacks Off Yemen

© elroce / Adobe Stock

Two vessels sustained damage after being hit with missiles and a sea drone off Yemen's Red Sea port of Hodeidah early on Tuesday, maritime security agencies and sources monitoring the area said.Both vessels reported that their crews were safe.One of the vessels, the Panama-flagged tanker M/T Cordelia Moon, reported being hit by an Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) 64 nautical miles northwest of Hodeidah, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency said.The vessel, which was in ballast condition…

09 Sep 2024

Industry Unites on Enclosed Space Deaths

Captain Kuba Szymanski courtesy of InterManager.

Appalled that deaths in enclosed spaces continue to be all too frequent occurrences in the shipping industry, the Maritime Professional Council of the United Kingdom (MPC) has announced its support for fundamental changes to ship operation and design.MPC member InterManager has been at the forefront of raising this issue where, it says, seemingly innocuous compartments, cargo holds and fuel tanks, vital for storage and operation on board any vessel, have become graveyards for far too many seafarers due to a lack of attention…

31 Aug 2024

Houthis Attack Same Container Ship Twice

© InfinitumProdux / Adobe Stock

Yemen's Houthi militants said on Saturday that they attacked a Liberia-flagged container vessel for a second time in the latest action against commercial shipping in the Gulf of Aden.Yemeni military spokesperson Yahya Saree's televised statement did not specify when the latest attack on the MV Groton took place.The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said in an advisory note that two missiles exploded on Friday in close proximity to the vessel, 130 nautical miles east of Yemen's Aden. It said the crew was safe.

25 Aug 2024

Singapore Plays Central Role in Exercise SEACAT

Source: Singapore Government

This year’s multilateral Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) exercise, an annual event conducted by the United States Navy which took place from August 12 to 23, 2024, focused on strengthening regional responses to maritime security threats.The participants were Australia, Bangladesh, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Palau, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.This year’s SEACAT included a five-day shore-based program featuring a Senior Leaders’ Forum…

25 Aug 2024

Voyage Optimization Plan Led to Grounding of Bulk Carrier

Source: MAIB

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released its preliminary assessment of the grounding of the bulk carrier Indian Partnership on April 23, 2023, and implicated voyage optimization planning.The UK-registered bulk carrier ran aground at 0409 off the coast of Misool Island while transiting the Indonesian archipelago. The grounding caused significant breaches to the hull, leading to water ingress into the duct keel and five ballast water tanks.Indian Partnership had set sail from Skardon River…

30 Aug 2024

GE Vernova Says Offshore Wind Turbine Blade Failures Are Unrelated

(Photo: Vineyard Wind)

GE Vernova on Friday said recent turbine blade failures at two offshore wind farms in the United States and the United Kingdom are unrelated.The statement comes as the company has been grappling with fallout from three separate blade accidents in four months.The most recent occurred on Aug. 22 at the Dogger Bank wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire in the North Sea, a little over a month after a blade fell apart at the Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Massachusetts and sent…

23 Aug 2024

Fires Seen on Abandoned Tanker Sounion Hit by Houthis in the Red Sea

(Photo: FFEAU ALINDIEN)

Three fires have been observed on board a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea, The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Friday, one day after it was evacuatedby its crew after being attacked by Yemeni Houthi militants.The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous regions, said on Thursday that they attacked the Sounion oil tanker in the Red Sea, as the Iran-aligned group has been attacking ships in solidarity with Palestinians in the war between Israel…

26 Aug 2024

Australia Conducts First Maintenance of US Nuclear Submarine

Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Hawaii (SSN 776) prepares to moor at HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, Australia, as part of a scheduled port visit before performing a submarine tendered maintenance period (STMP) with the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39), Aug. 22. (Photo: Victoria Mejicanos / U.S. Navy)

A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine will undergo maintenance in Australia for the first time on Friday, a key step by AUKUS partners to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the defense ministers of Australia, Britain and the United States said.Australian personnel trained with the United States and Britain over the past year ahead of the submarine maintenance at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia, involving personnel from the three nations."Our navies are committed to reinforcing…