Category: Shipping

Dutch frigate lost 4000 litres of lubricating oil in the Baltic Sea

The Dutch frigate HNLMS "De Zeven Provinciën" lost around 4000 litres of lubricating oil in the Baltic Sea last month. This happened during her deployment for the Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1). The oil escaped in small quantities in phases and was therefore not noticed immediately. The crew only realised when a larger quantity had escaped. The leak was then found and plugged. The cause is not yet known. The air defence and command frigate HNLMS "De Zeven Provinciën" is the flagship of the rapid reaction force SNMG1. According to the Dutch Ministry of Defence, the frigate is currently on a harbour visit in...

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40 years ago: The loss of the HMS Antelope

The Falklands War 40 years ago cost the Royal Navy several capital ships. The four destroyers "HMS Sheffield", "HMS Ardent", "HMS Coventry" and "HMS Antelope", as well as the container ship "Atlantic Conveyor" fell victim to Argentine attacks. HMS Antelope was hit twice, but the bombs did not explode as they were dropped too low. Later that night, experts tried to defuse one of the bombs, but it detonated and fatally damaged the ship in a huge explosion. The ship began to heel and had a large hole amidships. There was a fire and the fire mains were damaged in the explosion. The explosions...

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The maritime side of the war: Crisis in the Black Sea Part I

Crews and ships trapped The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 had a profound impact on shipping in the Black Sea. To prevent the Russian navy from entering their harbours and attempting to capture them in a coup d'état, Ukrainian tugs and naval support vessels mined the waters along the coast of the Gulf of Odessa. This was a trap for many ships. Examples include the bulk carrier MV Riva Wind, registered in the Marshall Islands, and the Hong Kong-flagged COSCO container ship Joseph Schulte. The problem was getting vital raw materials out of the port of Odessa. What we Central Europeans have so far...

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Sailing again

The Danish ferry operator Scandlines has installed a Norsepower rotor sail on another ferry. The company is increasingly focussing on wind-assisted propulsion systems in order to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gases. Since 2013, Scandlines has invested more than 300 million euros in the construction and conversion of conventional ferries into hybrid ferries. On the hybrid ferry "Copenhagen", which operates on the Rostock-Gedser route between Germany and Denmark, the ferry operator installed its first Norsepower Rotor Sail in 2020, which has been proven to achieve an average CO2 reduction of four per cent - on days with optimal wind conditions even up to 20 per cent. With the aim of becoming emission-free by 2040, the...

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Shanghai's economic activity: the long road back

Shanghai port recovers after lockdown easing, but congestion remains Shanghai faces weeks, if not months, of slow recovery until economic activity can fully recover from the crippling Covid lockdown that began in March. Based on the experience of other Chinese cities, such as Wuhan in 2020 and Jilin earlier this year, it will take some time before shops can reopen or factories can secure supplies and ramp up production. Although most of Shanghai's 25 million inhabitants have been able to move freely around the city again since Wednesday and some...

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