Italy appeared to relent on Thursday after at first refusing to accept 226 migrants on board a German charity rescue ship, saying later in the day it would take them in but would impound the vessel.Anti-immigrant interior minister Matteo Salvini initially said the Dutch-flagged ship Lifeline should take the people it plucked from the Mediterranean to the Netherlands and not Italy.
European Union leaders called on Friday for a temporary exemption from U.S. import duties on steel and aluminium to be made permanent, saying they reserved the right to respond in an "in a proportionate manner" to protect the bloc's interests. The 40-day exemption granted by Washington was like U.S. President Donald Trump "putting a gun to our head", Belgium's prime minister complained.
Some 4,500 workers at Croatia's largest shipbuilding group Uljanik went on strike on Wednesday and called for management to step down in protest over late payment."The management has lost credibility in our eyes, the workers and suppliers have lost confidence," one union leader, Marina Cvitic, said.Uljanik controls two docks in the northern Adriatic, in the cities of Pula and Rijeka.
Turi Fiorito has been appointed as new Director of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP). He will take up his function on 20 August, 2018. Turi Fiorito comes with a solid background in EU policy making and transport, having worked as Transport Policy Advisor for a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, Wim van de Camp.
The European Commission is expected to publish a proposal for a revision of the Reporting Formalities Directive (RFD) in early May 2018 that is intended to remedy the current costly, unharmonised and burdensome reporting requirements facing ships calling at EU ports. Current complex
Rotterdam’s cruise season starts on 15 March. AIDAperla will arrive for the first time at the Cruiseport Holland Amerikakade at 08.00 hours on that day. The vessel replaces the AIDAprima. That vessel arrived in Rotterdam a total of 78 times between April 2016 and November 2017 AIDAperia was taken into operation in 2017 and is a sister vessel of AIDAprima.
Greece will not tolerate any challenges to its territorial integrity, its prime minister said on Thursday, days after Turkish and Greek coastguard vessels collided close to disputed islets in the Aegean Sea. Each side blamed the other for Monday’s collision off an islet known as Imia in Greek and Kardak in Turkish. They came to the brink of war in 1996 in a sovereignty dispute over the islets.
The European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) has announced the beginning of submission of applications for a new director post. The organization said the new EFIP Director will work at the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO)-EFIP Secretariat, which is based in Brussels. EFIP brings together nearly 200 inland ports and port authorities in 17 countries of the European Union and Switzerland.
Croatia will pass a special law to speed up the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the northern Adriatic, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said on Thursday. Croatia produces more than half of its gas consumption, some 2.5 billion cubic metres (bcm) a year. Once the LNG terminal is built it hopes to be able to supply both its own market as well as central and eastern
Effective global electronic data exchange for ships entering and leaving ports depends on standardized and harmonized practices for data exchange. This can include data models which define and format data which might be transferred between automated systems, such as for export, import and transit.
Following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, British ship insurer Britannia plans to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg, Reuters reported. It is to ensure it can continue to trade in Europe, the company said. According to company data Europe accounts for over 40 percent of Britannia’s global business.
ECSA, European Community Shipowners’ Associations has appointed Mr. Martin Dorsman (56) as its new Secretary General in Brussels. Mr. Dorsman will start in his new position on November 1st 2017. Mr. Dorsman will transfer to ECSA from the Royal Association of Netherlands Shipowners (KVNR) where he has held the position of Managing Director since 2011.