Category: Shipping

Mission for the boarding team of the Berlin

A freighter flying the flag of Sierra Leone was inspected by the Berlin boarding team in recent days. The ship was on its way from Turkey to a Libyan harbour. During the search, the crew of the freighter was co-operative and no weapons or other prohibited items were found on board. This was the first boarding mission for the German task force provider as part of Operation Irini. The operation was carried out by the soldiers from Lithuania who had embarked on board the Berlin. This was the tenth boarding as part of Irini. The EU-led operation involves 24 members...

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Netherlands seeks authorisation of PCASPs

Despite the recent decline in piracy in the Gulf of Aden, the sea area is still considered one of the most dangerous in the world. Captains and shipowners are therefore happy to have their ships escorted by warships. To ensure the protection of cargo and crew, soldiers or so-called Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP) can also be taken on board when travelling through the dangerous waters. However, not every country allows shipowners to take PCASPs on board. Now the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, Fred Grapperhaus, has presented a draft law that would allow ships to take such security personnel on board. This...

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The downside of global trade

The maritime community never tires of emphasising the importance of free sea routes and global trade. Without free maritime trade there can be no prosperity, without free sea routes there can be no security. Behind these political aspects, however, we must not overlook the fact that we are dealing with extreme logistical, technical and financial dimensions. It is also about power, profit, jobs and prestige. Ships are becoming ever more gigantic, the cargoes ever larger. Competition is fierce and profit margins are small. Precarious jobs, dubious loading practices, terrorism, smuggling and neglected environmental protection are the downside of prospering world trade. Does profit come before safety? Heavy losses in the...

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North wind restoration project

In the last week of February, the engineering firm Detlef Löll spent around one and a half days inspecting the former sailor's training boat Nordwind at the Neue Jadewerft shipyard and determining the need for repairs. The preliminary result allows the museum crew to breathe a sigh of relief, as the basic condition of the boat is passable and the necessary restoration measures are still within manageable limits. Nevertheless, there is still some work to be done to maintain the boat itself and the Nordwind's ability to sail for the next few years: for example, the keel needs to be renewed, which represents a not inconsiderable cost factor. On the basis of the detailed shipyard list from the Löll engineering office, which will accompany the project throughout...

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Port of Rotterdam with figures for 2020

The Port of Rotterdam Authority has presented its figures for the coronavirus year 2020. According to the figures, the decline in throughput and turnover was less pronounced than predicted months ago. After an initial sharp decline in goods throughput in the first half of the year due to the lockdown in many parts of the world, the order situation stabilised in the following months. For the period up to and including June, goods throughput fell by 9.1 per cent compared to the same period last year. For the second half of the year, however, the decline was only 4.6 per cent. For the year as a whole, this results in a 6.9 per cent decrease in goods throughput compared to 2019....

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