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German billionaire Klaus-Michael Kuehne dies at age 89
The company announced on Monday that German investor Klaus-Michael Kuehne died at the age of 89. He was the controlling shareholder in the Swiss logistics group Kuehne & Nagel. Kuehne is the grandson to August Kuehne who founded the company. He also holds major stakes in German companies Lufthansa and Hapag-Lloyd, chemicals trade group Brenntag, and bus and train service operator Flix. He is a dominant figure in the world of shipping and logistics. Kuehne + Nagel, which was a small family business, has grown into one of the largest logistics groups on earth. Forbes estimates that his holdings are valued at more than $44.2billion. He was the chairman of Kuehne and Nagel's board of directors from 1992 to 2011. Kuehne, who has strong family ties in northern Germany formed a group of investors to purchase Hapag-Lloyd's Hamburg container shipping business. This was done to avoid the company being folded into another global competitor. He was a dominant presence among German family investors and later acquired 20% of the voting rights at German flagship airline Lufthansa Group. Reporting by Ludwig Burger, Friederike Heine and Kirovan Donovan.
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UKMTO: Tanker struck by unknown projectile near Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported on 'Monday' that a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile 63 nautical miles 'west' of Saudi Arabia's port city Yanbu. This led to a fire breaking out on the vessel's deck. The UKMTO reported that all crew members were safe and accounted for, with no environmental impact. Yanbu is Saudi Arabia's Red Sea main oil port. It has millions of barrels of oil loaded every day. Since Yemen's Iran allied Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi-linked vessels on the Red Sea last month, shipping from Yanbu is also disrupted. In recent weeks, the Houthis allegedly carried out attacks on Saudi oil installations and ships in the Red Sea. They also claimed that they had targeted Saudi oil giant Aramco facilities in Yanbu back in July. Saudi authorities have not confirmed or commented on the reports. Reporting by Menna A. Alaa El.Din, Eman Abouhassira and Hugh Lawson.
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Uniper, a German gas company, says that it has filled up 70% of the contracted storage space.
Uniper, a German company, has filled 70% its?natural-gas storage capacity reserved over the summer despite the wholesale prices being low. The war in Iran is making the market more challenging. Michael Lewis said that an?inverted winter-summer spread', where the summer wholesale prices are higher than those of the winter, means there is no incentive to store gas. He made this statement after signing a deal for gas supplies with Norway's Equinor. "Now, that doesn't imply we haven't stocked any gas." Lewis stated that we've filled about 70% of the contracted gas storage. He added that the price spread had moved in the correct direction over the past few weeks. The CEO stated, "We're at the market every single day, buying gas and storing it in places where we feel there's an incentive to do this. We will continue to do that." According to the transparency platform AGSI, as of Thursday, German storage levels are just above 50%, compared with 76% one year ago, and 62% in European Union nations. The summer is the time when energy companies and traders store gas, as prices are usually lower. However, the Iran War has pushed up the prices, which makes storing gas less profitable than selling it. Uniper signed on Monday a deal with a supplier,?Equinor, for a pipeline natural gas imports from Norway starting January 1, 2027. However, this will not assist with gas storage during the winter of 2018, Lewis said. The European Union can also rely on LNG to supplement its pipeline gas supply. However, the closing of the Strait of Hormuz - through which 20% of global LNG supplies used to pass - has pushed up prices around the world. "Sure, that's a big challenge." Lewis stated that we need to find a diplomatic solution and will do all we can from our end to ensure gas is available for our customers. (Reporting and editing by Terje Solsvik, Nora Buli)
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India's largest factory hub cancels airport project worth $2.86 billion and looks for alternative sites
Tamil Nadu, India's leading manufacturing state, has canceled plans to build a second airport in its capital, Chennai, according to its chief minister. This is despite calls from industry for increased?aviation capability? Chennai is India's Detroit. It hosts the factories of Hyundai, Renault, Apple suppliers Foxconn, and Tata Electronics. Chief Minister Joseph Vijay said that the state had identified alternative locations which will have a significantly lower impact on agricultural land. Vijay ended in May a decades-old duopoly between?two major political parties. The previous government received approval from civil aviation to build an airport near Chennai at a cost estimated at 274 billion rupees. Farmers had opposed the project. The consultancy Colliers had said that the airport would stimulate demand for air cargo warehousing, manufacturing facilities and industrial parks nearby. Ravichandran Purushothaman, chairman of the southern region of the Confederation of Indian Industry, said that it is important for the government to quickly finalise a new site and give priority to the project in order to "support Chennai's rapidly growing industrial, manufacturing and service sectors." According to a federal government statement made a year earlier, Tamil Nadu was responsible for the largest share of manufacturing and?factory employment in India. State government plans to upgrade an existing terminal, which currently handles 30 million passengers per year, and build a new terminal. Tamil Nadu has signed a total of 674.52 billion rupees worth of investment pacts, including with Saint-Gobain, Indian jeweller Titan, and U.S. computer maker Super Micro Computer. $1 = 95.72250 Indian Rupees (Reporting and editing by Mrigank Dahaniwala in Chennai)
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Uniper, a German gas importer, signs a 15-year deal with Equinor in Norway
Uniper, a German company, has signed an 'agreement' to import from Equinor more than 30 Terawatt Hours of gas per year starting in 2027. The companies announced the agreement on Monday. This deal reinforces Norway's role as Europe's largest economy's main supplier. The agreement, which is equivalent to approximately 2.8 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year, will run until 2041 and represents nearly 3% of Germany's annual imports of gas. According to the network regulator Bundesnetzagentur Norway supplied 44% Germany's imports of gas. This is a significant increase from Russia, which had been the leading supplier before Moscow cut all energy ties with Europe after its invasion of Ukraine. Uniper has signed a contract with Equinor to diversify their supplies. This follows an agreement with Canada, as companies look to boost energy security following shortages linked to the Iran War. After signing the deal in Stavanger (Norway), Uniper CEO Michael Lewis said, "For us, it's really, really important that our portfolio is rebuilt." He added that the agreement couldn't have come at a better time. When you consider the turmoil in the energy market over the past few years, we must diversify our sources of energy. Lewis stated that different suppliers would use different routes. LONG-TERM GAS DEMAND Lewis and Equinor CEO Anders Opedal both stressed the importance of Norwegian energy supply for European security. Opedal, a spokesman for?, said that the agreement sends a clear signal to European industry about the demand for Norwegian gas in years to come. He said, "This is the contract that will last until the 2040s." They also said they would increase their cooperation on projects that produce less carbon dioxide, but did not give any further details. Lewis stated that gas will?remain as a necessary fuel for Germany to transition away from coal. He argued?that increasing gas use near-term could reduce emissions and support longer-term goals of decarbonisation in combination with carbon capturing technology. Sources have previously said that Equinor was among the 'parties interested' in state-owned Uniper. Berlin is seeking to divest from Uniper after saving it during Europe’s energy crisis of 2022. Opedal refused to comment on whether Equinor expressed an interest in the stake. (Reporting from Christoph Steitz and Nora Buli, in Frankfurt; editing by Thomas Seythal, Louis Heavens and Louis Heavens).
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Iran warns of fines and detention for vessels that violate the transit rules of Hormuz
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority posted on X that Iran had issued a warning to vessels who violated its 'arrangements for 'transiting the Strait oHormuz. They could be subjected to restrictions such as fines, imprisonment, or confiscation. The 'warning' increases the risks for shipowners and charterers who have vessels that transit the Strait of Hormuz. This is a vital waterway used for energy shipping around the world. The PGSA, a newly-established body?Iran established?with a view to managing the strait has advised cargo owners to refer to an updated listing of vessels deemed uncompliant for 'voyages relating the Persian Gulf. The list will also include vessels that engage in?transshipment or ship-to-ship transfer operations with non-compliant ships?. The post stated that ships wishing to have their names removed from the list of non-compliant vessels must submit a'request' with the relevant explanations?to Iran's maritime authorities.
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Consultancy says Ukraine's exports key grains fell 11.4% during the week ending August 19.
APK-Inform, an agriculture consultancy, said that the Black Sea ports were blocked, causing a drop in weekly exports of key grains to Ukraine. This was 188,200 tons. The Russian missile and drone attacks on vessels and terminals in the Odesa port hub have effectively stopped operations since the end of July. APK-Inform reported that the?exports consisted of 119,300 tonnes of?wheat and 51,900 tonnes of _corn, as well as 17,100 tons barley. The report by the consultancy stated that "Trading of key grain crops is expected to remain subdued because of security risks in Black Sea ports, and due to limited export routes." Last week, the country's Agriculture Ministry?said that Ukrainian grain exports had?declined?by almost 69% year-on-year so far in August. Ukraine and Russia have intensified their attacks on each other's logistic facilities. Both sides attacked e-commerce warehousing and Ukraine's petrol stations were heavily targeted during the summer. (Reporting and editing by Alex Richardson, Susan Fenton, and Pavel Polityuk)
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The crash of a coach carrying German students in high school in the Netherlands
Dutch police reported that a?coach? carrying high-school students from Germany crashed early Monday morning in the Netherlands, causing eight injuries. The injured were taken to hospital. In a post posted on X, the police department in Gelderland Province?stated that "some of the victims taken to hospital are seriously injured." The accident also caused minor injuries to other?people. A police spokesperson said that the coach, which was carrying more than 50 passengers, "crashed" near Wezep (about 100 km east of Amsterdam) at around 4 a.m. A collision with a delivery van, whose driver was among the injured victims, caused the accident at 0200 GMT. After the accident, both directions of the A28 were closed. Reporting?by Bart Meijer, Inti Landauro and Alex Richardson; editing by Lincoln Feast & Alex Richardson
Zelenskiy: Russia 'not yet ready' to ceasefire on grain vessels
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, said that Russia is "not ready" to agree to a ceasefire in relation with attacks on agricultural ships on the Black Sea. Moscow also wants any agreement?to include attacks on Russian refineries and pipelines.
Moscow and Kyiv, two major players on the global agricultural markets, both accused each other for intensifying attacks against vessels used to export food during Russia's conflict in Ukraine.
This month, it was reported that Ukraine sent Russia an invitation to stop attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea. Russia rejected the idea saying that it did not see any reason for "half measures"?that could offer the other side a respite.
"I spoke to certain leaders. I 'proposed they use their vessels for transporting food from our port, and we wouldn't attack their.ships if their ships came to pick-up agricultural exports from Russia," he told journalists in comments?cleared to be released on Sunday.
He stated that Moscow wanted a "quid pro quo" whereby it would stop attacks on Ukraine’s grain corridor in exchange for Kyiv stopping strikes on Russian energy infrastructure.
"It's not the grain for (Russia). Zelenskiy stated that it's all about the energy sector in Russia.
He said that any deal to stop Ukraine’s attacks on Russian oil refineries, fuel transport and other facilities would have to include a ‘reciprocal cessation’ of attacks against Ukraine’s energy system.
Zelenskiy made his remarks in the absence of any immediate comment from Russia. The Kremlin announced on Monday that steps were being taken to?minimize the impact of Ukraine’s strikes on Russian grain exports.
In recent weeks, Ukraine's attacks on Russian economic targets have intensified. This includes grain export terminals.
During the coldest winter of the war last year, many Ukrainians were left without heat and power as Russia targeted Ukraine's electrical network. This made them fearful about the months to come. (Reporting and editing by Daniel Flynn, Timothy Heritage, and Max Hunder)
(source: Reuters)