Category: News

Detained ship allowed to leave German harbour

A Russian cargo ship coming from Saint Petersburg has been detained by German customs since 4 March on suspicion of violating European sanctions against Russia. After weeks of checks, the ship was allowed to leave the port of Rostock in mid-April. The 193 metre long "Atlantic Navigator II" is managed by a Canadian shipping company and sails under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The ship was carrying 251 containers of birch wood for the USA. Although timber is subject to EU sanctions, it is not subject to US sanctions, according to the public prosecutor's office. It was also carrying enriched uranium for US customers, which is also subject to US and EU sanctions.

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Kiel Canal: Expansion progressing

The eastern section of the Kiel Canal (NOK) is currently being widened, as large ships cannot pass each other in this section in some areas, resulting in waiting times and sometimes damage to the banks. Freighters are getting bigger and bigger and the NOK is being prepared by the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) for the shipping traffic of the future. On the stretch between Großkönigsförde (Rendsburg-Eckernförde district) and Kiel-Holtenau, the canal is being widened in several sections to a minimum bed width of 70 metres, including increasing the radii of tight bends. The first section between Großkönigsförde and Schinkel - construction began in January 2020 - is currently...

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Corvette "Karlsruhe" christened

Corvette K130 II. Los was christened at Blohm+Voss (Naval Vessels Lürssen). The NVL Group invited guests to the ceremony on the Elbe in sunny May weather. The K130 consortium, consisting of NVL B.V. & Co. KG, thyssenkrupp Marine Systems GmbH and GERMAN NAVAL YARDS KIEL GmbH, performed the ceremonial christening of the corvette KARLSRUHE on 7 May 2024 at 2 p.m. in Hamburg. The NVL shipyard group was represented at the ceremony by its CEO, Mr Tim Wagner. Among the guests was the First Mayor of the City of Karlsruhe, Mrs Gabriele Luczak-Schwarz, who was particularly pleased to be the godmother of the...

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Indo-Pacific Deployment has begun

The task force provider "Frankfurt am Main" departs from Wilhelmshaven, the frigate "Baden-Württemberg" from Rota in Spain. It is a major undertaking, not a normal training trip abroad, but actually an "operation". That's what the inspector of the navy wants it to be called. It is a demonstration of the Federal Republic of Germany's clearly formulated security, economic and climate policy interests, as set out in the German government's Indo-Pacific Guidelines. It is about safe sea routes and compliance with the rules-based order at sea. This trip is in no way to be understood as confrontational, but rather fundamentally diplomatic - a foreign and security policy signal to the neighbours of the Indo-Pacific region that Germany is...

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Denmark tightens environmental rules

The Danish government has announced a regulation that will ban the discharge of ship wastewater from open exhaust gas cleaning systems (scrubbers) into Danish territorial waters from 1 July 2025. Scrubbers are used to comply with the limit value for the sulphur content of exhaust gases set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in 2020. Such exhaust gas cleaning systems use a chemical solution (seawater and caustic soda) to "wash" sulphur out of the flue gases. The wash water then contains heavy metals (mercury, lead, arsenic, etc.), nitrates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and sulphur: a toxic mixture that changes the pH value and makes the water acidic! Because there is no further purification step in open systems,...

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