Category: News

First tanker arrives after 20-month standstill at Norwegian LNG plant

The LNG tanker "Arctic Voyager" arrived in Hammerfest, Norway, on 9 May before the liquefaction plant is due to resume LNG production the following week. Europe's only large natural gas liquefaction plant (LNG) on the island of Melkoeya off the Arctic city of Hammerfest is due to resume production on 17 May after a 20-month shutdown, according to operator Equinor. The plant, which can process 18 million cubic metres of gas per day, has been out of operation since September 2020 after a fire raised concerns about safety guidelines. Melkoeya produces gas from the Snoehvit offshore field in the Barents Sea, 160 kilometres (100 miles) away. The field had to...

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Not with us!

Russian ships are not allowed to dock anywhere in Europe due to the sanctions. However, if a Russian oil tanker such as the "Sunny Liger" sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands, it is actually exempt from the sanctions. We have already reported on the swift flagging out. This has already led to several odysseys. First Sweden refused to unload the cargo, then the harbour workers in Amsterdam refused, according to Euractiv. "We support the harbour workers," said a spokesperson for Mayor Femke Halsema, reports NOS. The city of Amsterdam is a shareholder in the harbour. The trade union FNV Havens is also campaigning for the municipality to allow the tanker to enter the harbour....

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Russia's Sovcomflot plans to sell part of its fleet

Western sanctions take effect Reuters reported that the leading Russian shipping company Sovcomflot intends to sell part of its fleet, as it announced on Friday. The company is struggling with Western sanctions and is now trying to repay outstanding loans. Sovcomflot is facing growing difficulties in concluding charter contracts as ports, end customers, marine insurers and other freight companies are pulling out of the Russian business due to the sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The shipping newspaper Lloyds List reported, citing unnamed sources, that up to a third of Sovcomflot's own fleet is up for sale as the company has been forced to...

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The desperation of the oligarchs

Expensive and long escapes Before the $325 million mega yacht "Amadea" became embroiled in a legal dispute in the South Pacific, the luxury vessel, owned by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov according to the US government, was on an 18-day voyage from the Caribbean to Fiji that likely resulted in a fuel bill of more than $500,000. There is speculation that the superyacht was en route to the Russian port of Vladivostok before the authorities in Fiji seized it at the request of US authorities. Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February sparked a series of financial sanctions in Washington D.C. and its allies that have hit hundreds of...

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Now official: Ukrainian harbours formally closed

Ukraine has officially closed its four ports on the Black and Azov Seas that were captured by Russian forces, the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday. The ports of Mariupol, Berdiansk and Skadovsk on the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea port of Kherson have been closed "until control is restored", the ministry explained. The reason for this is that it is impossible to handle ships and passengers, carry out chartering and transport and ensure the safety of shipping. All Ukrainian seaports have ceased operations as a result of the Russian invasion at the end of February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukraine was unable to operate due to the Russian...

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