Central Europe News

Mnuchin: China Talks "So far, so good"

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said talks with China went well on Wednesday, as the world's two largest economies try to iron out an agreement to resolve their trade dispute."So far, so good," he said when asked by reporters on how the meetings in Beijing went. He did not say who he met.Mnuchin said earlier he hoped for "productive" trade meetings as the two countries seek to end a festering dispute that has seen both sides level tariffs at one other.U.S. tariffs on $200…

CMA CGM Unifies Containerships and MacAndrews Brands

CMA CGM will retain the only Containerships brand for its intra-European operations, giving up MacAndrews, which had already erased OPDR."Containerships: from April 1st, 2019 a single brand resulting from the union of two experts of intra-European transport CMA CGM reinforces its strategy aimed at densifying its regional coverage to the benefit of its clients," said a press release from MacAndrews.According to the French container transportation and shipping company, by joining the forces of two recognized experts of intra-European multimodal transport…

‘Pink Lady’ in the Port of Hamburg

ONE container shipping group’s first containership in novel magenta livery calls in HamburgWith her striking magenta color design, she’s a real eye-catcher in the Port of Hamburg. With a length of 320 meters and slot capacity of 8,102 TEU (20-ft standard Containers) Ocean Network Express – ONE shipping group’s ONE Continuity may not be among the biggest containerships ever seen in the Port of Hamburg, but her unorthodox color scheme has everybody staring and cameras clicking.Jan Holst…

Novatek, Fluxys to Build German LNG Terminal

Russian gas producer Novatek and Belgium's Fluxys joint venture Rostock LNG GmbH has signed a Land Lease Agreement with the Port of Rostock with a view to building and operating a mid-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage terminal in the port.The envisaged facility is to unlock LNG as a low emission alternative for heavy fuel oil, diesel and LPG in North and Central Europe and the Baltic Sea area.The joint venture (Novatek 49% - Fluxys 51%) intends to build and operate a terminal for receiving and unloading mid-scale LNG carriers…

PGNiG and Venture Global LNG Sign Pact

Polish Oil & Gas Company (PGNiG) and Venture Global LNG have entered into an agreement relating to the terms of delivery of liquefied natural gas from Calcasieu Pass LNG and Plaquemines LNG facilities. The agreement defines basic terms and conditions of a 20-year contract for the sales and purchase of two million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG, which equals about 2.7 bcm following regasification. Cargoes will be supplied from Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG export facilities which are expected to be completed in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Croatia Reopens Bidding for LNG Terminal Capacity

LNG Hrvatska launched a second round of bidding for potential operators of an offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Croatia's northern Adriatic on Friday, after the previous round drew little interest.Last week, Croatia's parliament passed a law to enable the construction of the terminal, part of a European Union drive to diversify away from Russian gas imports.The project, which will be built on the island of Krk will be partly funded by the EU but has been criticised by environmental groups and local councils.LNG Hrvatska…

Croatia Acts to Cut Red Tape for FSRU Terminal Project

The Croatian government proposed a special law on Thursday to facilitate the construction of an EU-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the northern Adriatic.The floating terminal is expected to start operations in 2020.The European Union wants the facility to help diversify sources of supply and reduce dependence on Russian gas, most notably for countries in central Europe.Brussels will invest 101.4 million euros ($121 million), or 28 percent of the project's assessed value.The law…

DNV GL Advised Partners Group on Offshore Wind Project

DNV GL, the world’s largest resource of independent energy experts and certification body, has successfully completed a comprehensive due diligence project on the 730 MW Borssele III/IV construction-ready offshore wind project in the Netherlands. The work was commissioned by Partners Group, the global private markets investment manager, in preparation for its successful bid to acquire a 45% stake in the project on behalf of its clients. The investment will make funds managed and/or advised by Partners Group the largest shareholder in the Borssele III/IV farm.

Ocean Alliance Launches Day Two Product

The Ocean Alliance has launched its new Day Two Product with an estimated 3.6 million TEU carrying capacity provided by approximately 340 containerships deployed on 41 services. The new offering will commence in April 2018. Alliance partners CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen and OOCL will offer 20 Transpacific services, six Asia-Europe services, four Asia-Mediterranean services, four Transatlantic services, five Asia-Middle East services and two Asia-Red Sea services. “Ocean Alliance…

CMA CGM Merges Multimodal Subsidiaries

The CMA CGM Group announced it will merge its subsidiaries MacAndrews and OPDR effective January 1, 2018.,  in line with the Group’s strategy to develop its intra-regional activities Headquarters will be located in Hamburg. The union between these two companies specialized in intra-European transport enables the CMA CGM Group to strengthen its multimodal offer in Europe, particularly thanks to the complementarity of the geographical zones covered today by MacAndrews and OPDR, iCMA CGM said.

APM Terminals Vado Aims to be Gateway to Central Europe

APM Terminals Vado, Italy Managing Director Paolo Cornetto highlighted the future role of the deepwater APM Terminals Vado facility, now under construction, as a new southern gateway to Central Europe. “We designed our new port around liner customers - and our landside customers – the importers, exporters and truckers - to help them do more business by tapping into the 70 million-member consumer market of northern Italy, southern Germany, Switzerland, Austria and eastern France within an eight hour proximity of our port," he said.

MET International Plans to Boost LNG Trades

Switzerland-based MET International AG plans to boost its liquefied natural gas (LNG) trades in Europe by 50 to 100 percent next year, the company's chief executive said on Tuesday. Gyorgy Vargha said that while the company had traded one cargo, or 60,000 tonnes of LNG, per month this year, this is expected to rise to between 1.5 and two cargoes per month in 2018 as MET seeks to increase its role in that segment. MET International was established in 2010 as the natural gas trading arm of parent MET Group…

La Spezia Terminal Team to Tour Asian Cargo Hubs

Italy’s gateway container terminal in La Spezia, operated by the Contship Italia Group is set to embark upon on a tour of strategic supply-chain hubs in Asia. Contship’s senior management will visit key cities in China – Shanghai, Dalian and Shenzhen to promote La Spezia Homeport as the gateway to Italy and the markets of South and Central Europe. They will conclude their tour with a visit to Taiwan. This is the first visit to Asia undertaken by the Contship team since La Spezia Container Terminal won “Best Container Terminal - Europe” at the 2017 Asian Freight…

Wood Group Bags Alexandroupolis FEED

Wood Group has secured a new front end engineering design (FEED) contract with Gastrade S.A. for the Alexandroupolis Independent Natural Gas System (INGS) offshore Greece. The project, to develop a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving, storage and regasification unit (FSRU), will create a new natural gas gateway to the markets of south eastern and central Europe. Wood Group’s subsea team will perform the design and engineering definition of the Alexandroupolis FSRU and its subsystems which will support the final investment decision for the project, planned for late 2017.

iContainers Opens Rotterdam Branch

iContainers, the 100 percent online global freight forwarder, said it has opened a new branch in the shipping hub Port of Rotterdam, marking the Spanish company’s fourth global establishment. In the last two years, the Barcelona headquartered iContainers has expanded its global operations with new offices in Florida , U.S.; Ahmedabad, India; and now Rotterdam. Founded in 2007, iContainers is an online platform allowing users to quickly access thousands of ocean freight routes. Users can also select different schedules and services, including door-to-door, catered to their shipping needs.

Cosco Bypasses Railway Strike by Sea Route

Cosco has decided to transfer its containers to the port of Koper in Slovenia from Piraeus in order to deal with the Greek railway strikes. Cosco has got around the problem created for its freight forwarding network by Greek railway workers’ ongoing strike action by sending its containers by sea from Piraeus to Koper in Slovenia, from where they are loaded onto trains for the next part of their journey, reports Kathimerini. Since the tariffs for small feeder ships are currently at very low levels…

Kiel’s Forest Products Center Launched

Kiel’s new forest products handling and distribution centre has gone into operation in the Ostuferhafen. This means that the port has now become an integral part of the logistics chain operated by the Swedish concerns Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA) and Iggesund Paperboard. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director of the Port of Kiel (SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG) said: “We have created a terminal in the Ostuferhafen which is tailor-made to the requirements of our customers. In addition to that, Kiel’s geographical location fits very well into the SCA liner network”.

Austria - Hamburg Container Traffic Up

In 2015 around 295,000 TEU – 20-ft standard containers – were transported between the Port of Hamburg and intermodal terminals in Austria by environmentally-friendly rail. That represents a 9.3 percent gain, setting a new record for Hamburg’s seaport-hinterland services with Austria. The proportion of containers on this route transported by rail exceeds over 90 percent, making rail the leading mode of transport. “Austria is a model destination in efficient and environmentally friendly hinterland transport via the Port of Hamburg.

essDOCS Names Toet Board Chairman

essDOCS announced that Non-Executive Board Member, Andre Toet, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors, succeeding Barry Williams, who is standing down after chairing the board since 2013, having previously served a term as Chairman from 2006 to 2011. Andre Toet possesses over 30 years of maritime industry experience and has held numerous supervisory board positions, of which PortInfolink (subsequently Portbase), directly supported his previous role as Non-Executive Board Member for essDOCS.

La Spezia CT Wraps up Asian Tour

Senior executives from Italy’s La Spezia Container Terminal - Contship Italia Group, wrapped up a whirlwind tour of key supply chain hubs in South East Asia and China this week with a presentation and networking event in Shanghai. The purpose of the tour was to engage with logistics providers, freight forwarders and manufacturers to raise awareness and promote the benefits of La Spezia Homeport as the cargo gateway to Italy, Southern and Central Europe. "We have emerged from this tour…

Italy's LSCT Executives Tour Asian Logistics Hubs

In Singapore, senior executives from Italy's La Spezia Container Terminal - Contship Italia Group will kick off a tour of key cargo hubs across south east and east Asia today to raise awareness and promote the benefits of La Spezia Homeport as the gateway to Northern Italy and its main cargo corridors. La Spezia is promoting the concept that La Spezia Container Terminal is a viable alternative for southern and central Europe for leading players in the region's supply chain sector.

Cinia Lays New Helsinki-Rostock Submarine Data Cable

Finland-based Cinia Group began laying the new submarine Sea Lion data cable in Helsinki, Finland. The new fibre optic sea cable will provide a direct, low latency and cyber secure internet backbone connection between Finland and Germany. Linking Cinia's existing countrywide data network in Finland with network nodes in Central Europe, the new sea cable is expected to increase interest of data center operators and data intensive organizations to set up operations in Finland. "The sea cable initiative builds the future of Finland based on our existing strengths…

E2S Warning Signals Hires Central Europe Sales Manager

E2S Warning Signals has appointed Düsseldorf-based Joachim Ebert as Central Europe Sales Manager, replacing Wolfgang Pfanner who has retired after seven years. Ebert brings extensive experience to his new role, having held similar positions with JAC Products, an American automotive component manufacturer, and Sunfab, a Swedish manufacturer of industrial pumps and motors; both used a similar European sales model involving direct sales and indirect partner channels. Ebert's key…

UniMarine Opens Office in Greece

UniMarine has opened a new office UniMarine South Europe & Mediterranean. Located in Piraeus (Greece), the office will service the Southern European and Mediterranean region, headed by Spiros Stamou who has been active in the marine lubricants market for many years and brings with him a wealth of experience in this key area of the world for the marine industry . With offices in Singapore, Central Europe, the United States and now the Mediterranean, UniMarine offers marine lubrication solutions to shipping businesses across the globe.

UniMarine Opens Office in Pireaus

UniMarine announced the opening of its new office UniMarine South Europe & Mediterranean. Located in Piraeus (Greece), the office will be servicing the Southern European and Mediterranean region. The office will be headed up by Mr Spiros Stamou who has been active in the marine lubricants market for many years and brings with him a wealth of experience in this key area of the world for the marine industry . With offices in Singapore, Central Europe, the United States and now the Mediterranean…

BEST Readies for Mega Ships

Hutchison Port Holdings Limited (HPH) subsidiary Barcelona Europe South Terminal (BEST), located at the Port of Barcelona, today held a ceremony for the arrival of three new Quay Cranes (QCs), part of the next phase of expansion to enhance the terminal’s ability to handle mega-vessels. BEST currently has 11 QCs in operation, all of them capable of handling mega-vessels. In attendance was HPH Managing Director – Central Europe, Clemence Cheng as well as local and national authorities including the Minister of Industry and Development…