EU extends suspension of tariffs in US steel dispute

December 20, 2023

AFP – The European Union (EU) said it would prolong its suspension of retaliatory tariffs on United States (US) goods after reaching an agreement in a steel and aluminium dispute triggered by Donald Trump when he was president.

The European Commission said in a statement it would suspend its EU balancing tariffs until March 31, 2025 after Washington said it would offer further tariff exclusions to EU exporters.

EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said the important extension on Brussels’ side was the outcome of intensive engagement with the US.

He said the suspension gave Brussels the necessary space to seek the full removal of 232 tariffs that Washington slapped on EU exports under a 2018 order issued by then-president Trump.

In a protectionist move largely targeting cheaper Chinese imports, Trump had slapped high tariffs on steel and aluminium coming from many countries, sweeping up EU exports in the process.

Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, who also seeks to protect US industry, kept the tariffs in place but granted suspensions for EU exporters. The US faces elections next year, and some of its states with high steel output are swing states that could help decide the outcome.

The EU also faces bloc-wide elections next year that will usher in a new European Commission.

Timeline of steel carbon tariff leaves sector exposed, UK Steel warns

19TH DEC 2023


UK STEEL

The government has confirmed that the UK will implement a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2027, one year after the European Union fully implements its own.

The CBAM could create a level playing field on carbon pricing, ensuring that imported steel pays the same carbon costs as UK steelmakers. A robust, industry-supporting UK CBAM is considered, by industry body UK Steel, to be essential to prevent deindustrialisation (also known as carbon leakage), where high carbon costs and climate change regulations are placed on domestic producers, but not on foreign producers that export steel to the UK. Over 90% of the world’s steel faces little or no carbon costs, so a UK CBAM is considered essential for the nation’s steel industry to compete on a level playing field.

By confirming a CBAM from 2027 instead of matching the EU’s 2026 timeline, the government risks high-emission steel being dumped in the UK from 2026 when the EU CBAM takes effect. The steel sector through UK Steel has repeatedly warned the government against not mirroring the EU implementation timetable, as this would leave the UK steel industry exposed. The delayed implementation could mean that some of the high-emission steel currently exported to the EU will be diverted to the UK and depress prices when facing the EU CBAM in 2026. Simultaneously, trade safeguards end in 2026, leaving the UK steel industry exposed to surges in imports.

Mutual recognition between the UK and EU CBAM policies and Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) is equally crucial to avoid any restrictions to trade. 75% of the UK steel industry’s exports – totalling 2.55Mt of steel (£3.5bn in value) – goes to European markets. Without mutual recognition and linked emission trading schemes, UK-made steel will face a financial trade barrier when exported to our biggest export market.

If the UK CBAM is not robust enough, imported steel could circumvent the policy and not pay carbon costs while domestic steelmakers face increasing carbon costs. Free allocation of UK ETS carbon allowances has been the only effective protection against carbon leakage in relation to carbon costs. Any changes to free allocations must be done carefully and gradually, and the Government must be ready to step in in cases of circumvention, incorrect customs reporting, or other unfair trading practices.

UK Steel director general, Gareth Stace, said: “With over 90% of global steel production facing no carbon cost, it is only right that a new carbon border policy is put in place to create a level playing field on carbon pricing. However, implementing the UK scheme one year after the EU CBAM starts is hugely concerning.

“A UK CBAM is essential to securing investments in new green steel production and making sure that low-emission, UK-made steel is not undercut by high-emission, imported steel which has not faced carbon costs. Steel trade on equal terms can be achieved by a robust and industry-based UK carbon border policy.

“With a delayed timeline, the Government must now get the implementation right. If the CBAM is easily bypassed while carbon costs rapidly rise for UK industry, Britain's steel sector could suffer huge damage. The Government will need to be fleet of foot to respond in cases of unfair trading practices and take further action in 2026, if necessary. We look forward to working with government to ensure the UK CBAM works for industry and provides shielding against high-emission imported steel, enabling a fair, competitive environment.

AI could be humanity’s last chance to meet climate goals. Here’s why

BYKATE BRANDT AND RICH LESSER
December 18, 2023 

In California, artificial intelligence is being used to process wildfire camera data and provide automated wildfire notifications.
JASON HENRY - BLOOMBERG - GETTY IMAGES

The world must dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to meet Paris Agreement goals. Yet based on current trajectories, emissions are set to rise by 10% over the next eight years. This will only accelerate widespread droughts, flooding, extreme heat, and other devastating impacts across the globe.

Against this challenging backdrop, it is clear that acceleration is needed across all fronts of climate action. One of those opportunities lies in artificial intelligence (AI). Research shows that by scaling currently proven applications and technology, AI could mitigate 5 to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030–the equivalent of the total annual emissions of the European Union. For the first time, AI was highlighted at COP28 as one of the key potential solutions to tackle climate change, with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announcing the AI Innovation Grand Challenge at the conference to identify and support the development of AI-powered solutions for climate action in developing countries.

Reversing the emissions trajectory will take everyone involved–government officials, business leaders, and technologists–all rowing the boat in the same direction. Policymakers have a central role to play, with three critical priority areas that will allow AI to contribute to its full potential.

First, policies must enable AI innovation and adoption for climate-positive applications. Data sharing frameworks, investment in research, affordable technology access, and education initiatives are needed to drive development and deployment. Government has a key role to play as an end-user. In the absence of clear community, national, or sector-specific objectives for climate action, AI-driven innovation could go off in disjointed directions. Resource allocation would be inefficient. Establishing priority innovation domains where AI could most immediately and effectively advance climate action–such as leveraging AI for flood-resilient farming, climate change adaptation, and accelerating the energy transition–can unlock resources and focus minds. 

Second, policymakers should accelerate AI’s climate impact by prioritizing high-potential use cases and embedding efficiency and optimization requirements into industrial regulation. Existing processes and legacy infrastructure in high-emission sectors like aviation, manufacturing, electricity production, and construction, could be more immediately optimized with AI, not just with wholesale reconstruction, which could be costly and take too much time. Long-term transformative investments still need to be made, but more immediate impact should be encouraged.

Third, policymakers can help ensure that the computing resources needed for AI advances are powered by carbon-free energy–for example, through improvements to electricity grids like better load management which AI can enable. 

AI can be critical in our collective effort to tackle climate change. AI is already driving progress by helping individuals get better and more actionable information, businesses optimize their operations, and governments and other organizations improve prediction and forecasting

Germany’s Energy Efficiency Act includes specific regulations requiring data centers to purchase renewable energy and mandates the reuse of the heat they generate.

Singapore is using AI to predict floods and test flood-resilient infrastructure. The city of Lisbon is utilizing AI to map its current inventory of solar panels and assess expansion potential. The data collected is then used to develop forecasts for renewable energy supply, which in turn informs building codes and incentive budgets. The Philippines is advocating using AI to tackle climate change adaptation challenges and disaster risk reduction.

Policymakers globally have been focused on promoting the responsible development of AI–which is critical. But they must also pursue a policy agenda to harness AI’s potential to solve big challenges like climate change. Enabling this technology through smart policy decisions may prove one of the most impactful climate actions we can take today–and would provide a vital down payment on goals to significantly reduce emissions during this decade.

Kate Brandt is the chief sustainability officer at Google. She previously served in the White House as the US’s first Federal Chief Sustainability Office, Senior Advisor at the Department of Energy, and Energy Advisor to the Secretary of the Navy.

Rich Lesser is the global chair at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He also serves as chief advisor to the World Economic Forum Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

Donald Trump Used to Get Nazi Greeting at Work: Ivana

Donald Trump Accuses Migrants Of 'Poisoning the Blood of Our Country'

By Andrew Stanton
Weekend Staff Writer
NEWSWEEK
Dec 19, 2023 

An interview with Donald Trump's ex-wife, Ivana Trump, in which she said he received a Nazi salute, resurfaced as the former president faces backlash over his latest immigration remarks.

The former president, who remains the front-runner to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and whose anti-immigration policies have been a cornerstone of his political career, has come under fire after claiming immigrants are "poisoning the blood" of the United States during a campaign event in Durham, New Hampshire, on Saturday.

"They're poisoning the blood of our country," he said. "They poison mental institutions and prisons all over the world. Not just in South America, not just in three or four countries that we think about, but all over the world. They're coming into our country from Africa, from Asia, all over the world."

The remarks sparked an avalanche of criticism, with many comparing his rhetoric to that used in Nazi Germany. President Joe Biden's campaign accused him of parroting Adolf Hitler. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung previously told Newsweek that the former president "gave a great speech and knocked it out of the park in front of over 10,000 people who came out to see him."
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on December 17, 2023, in Reno, Nevada. Trump’s ex-wife, the late Ivana Trump, alleged that he received a Nazi greeting at work in a newly resurfaced 1990 interview.

Following the remarks, several allegations made by Ivana Trump in a 1990 Vanity Fair article titled After the Gold Rush resurfaced. The article, written by Marie Brenner, was published amid the couple's divorce following his affair with Marla Maples. Ivana died on July 14, 2022.

"Donald Trump appears to take aspects of his German background seriously. John Walter works for the Trump Organization, and when he visits Donald in his office, Ivana told a friend, he clicks his heels and says, 'Heil Hitler,' possibly as a family joke," the article reads.

Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign via email for comment.

She also alleged that Trump would read a book of Hitler's collected speeches, My New Order, and that he kept the book by his bed. Brenner asked Trump about the allegation, and he said a friend gave him the book.

"'Actually, it was my friend Marty Davis from Paramount who gave me a copy of Mein Kampf, and he's a Jew,'" Donald Trump said, according to the article. "'(I did give him a book about Hitler,' Marty Davis said. 'But it was My New Order, Hitler's speeches, not Mein Kampf. I thought he would find it interesting. I am his friend, but I'm not Jewish,')" the article reads.

Donald Trump added: "If I had these speeches, and I am not saying that I do, I would never read them."

 

Low economic growth can help keep climate change within the 1.5°C threshold, says study

by Autonomous University of Barcelona

Credit: One Earth (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2023.11.004

A new study shows that economic growth rates make a big difference when it comes to prospects for limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as per the Paris Agreement. A recent study by the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) shows that pursuing higher economic growth may jeopardize the Paris goals and leave no viable pathways for humanity to stabilize the climate. On the contrary, slower growth rates make it more feasible to achieve the Paris goals.

The scientific study, published recently in the journal One Earth, was conducted in collaboration with researchers from the University of Barcelona, the University of Leeds, and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and led by Aljoša Slameršak, Giorgos Kallis, Daniel W. O'Neill, and Jason Hickel.

The article focuses on the period between 2023 and 2030, crucial for keeping the goals of the Paris Agreement alive and challenges the established assumption of high economic growth in existing scenarios of climate mitigation, since growth itself is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions.

The study demonstrates that global economic growth of 4% per year, which is currently assumed in the mitigation scenarios, is incompatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement even if the most ambitious mitigation plans of any major country were implemented globally.

"To reduce global emissions fast enough to limit warming to 1.5°C, we find it is necessary to pursue ambitious mitigation and shift away from growth. Even with highly ambitious mitigation, global economic growth would need to fall below the recent historical trend of ⁓2% per year, with high-income economies transitioning to post-growth," says Aljoša Slameršak, ICTA-UAB researcher and lead author of the study.

Scenario analysis demonstrates that lower economic growth makes a notable difference in the reduction in CO2 emissions. "By comparing scenarios of low and high growth, we show that lower economic growth alone can reduce CO2 emissions by 10%–13% by 2030. By moving beyond the pursuit of economic growth in wealthy nations, we could substantially narrow the gap between the current trajectory of dangerously high emissions and the pathways that can keep us within a safe climate space," adds Daniel O'Neill from the University of Barcelona and University of Leeds.

The authors warn that their scenarios provide only a simple global analysis of the climate implications of economic growth. ICTA-UAB researcher Jason Hickel explains that "our scenarios do not account for important differences between higher and lower-income countries when it comes to mitigation responsibilities and development needs. A detailed analysis across these dimensions would mean lower-income nations could reach higher rates of economic growth, while high-income nations would need to pursue post-growth demand reduction strategies."

Hickel provides a brief outline of interventions that could pave the way to a post-growth scenario. The objective of post-growth is to prioritize production of what is important for human well-being and environmental sustainability, while reducing less-necessary forms of production and consumption. Key features of such a scenario are reduction of inequalities, universal access to necessary goods and services, and increased public investment for a low-carbon energy transition.

"Our study shows that pursuing growth constrains the possibilities of limiting dangerous climate change. This finding should encourage policymakers in high-income nations to abandon growth as an objective and consider post-growth policies to achieve improvements in well-being and ecology. In the next step of our work on post-growth scenarios, we aim to provide more clarity on how different economic sectors and activities contribute to emissions and social well-being. Doing so will allow us to identify what sectors and activities should be reduced or increased in order to achieve social and ecological goals," concludes ICTA-UAB researcher Giorgos Kallis.

More information: Aljoša Slameršak et al, Post-growth: A viable path to limiting global warming to 1.5°C, One Earth (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.oneear.2023.11.004

Journal information: One Earth 

Provided by Autonomous University of BarcelonaA low-carbon energy transition may result in substantial emissions

 

Korea Selects Pan Ocean’s Parent as Buyer for HMM

HMM Algeciras was the largest capacity containership when it was built (HMM file photo)

PUBLISHED DEC 18, 2023 3:51 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Korea’s state-owned financial institutions took a key step in the long-running effort to privatize HMM announcing they selected the bid from the parent company of Pan Ocean, the Harim Group, as the preferred bidder to acquire control of HMM. The final round of bidding took place in November as a head-to-head showdown between two Korean corporations.

“Korea Ocean Business Corporation and Korea Development Bank selected Pan Ocean and JKL consortium as the preferred negotiating party for the sale of HMM management rights,” they announced in a brief statement. Media reports are valuing the bid at $4.92 billion for nearly 58 percent of the outstanding stock of HMM or just under 400 million shares. That infers a total valuation for HMM of nearly $8.5 billion.

They now plan to enter into final negotiations for the detailed contract terms. The state-owned institutions reported they expect to complete the transaction in the first half of 2024.

It marks a key step in the decade-long effort by the government first to bail out the financially troubled Hyundai Merchant Marine and then complete the successful reorganization of the company as HMM. KDB first invested in the container shipping company in 2013 as it was lapsing into bankruptcy and three years later took control of the company in a debt-for-equity swap which also saw the establishment of the Korea Ocean Business Corporation to lead the restoration of the company. 

Business units were sold including the LNG shipping company while KOBC helped to finance the construction of 20 new vessels to modernize the container operations. HMM emerged as one of the most efficient carriers including being a pioneer in the ultra large container vessel category with for a time the largest capacity boxship in the world. The efforts paid off with HMM returning to profitability after eight years in 2020 and recording large profits during the surge in container shipping between 2020 and 2022.

The Korean government wanted to keep ownership and control of HMM in Korea and the Harim Group, a food processor and the country’s largest poultry company, promised to make Korea a powerhouse in shipping. Harim partnered with a private equity firm, JKL, which will help to finance the transaction. JKL was also a partner in Harim’s 2015 acquisition of Pan Ocean.

Reports in the Korean media are that the selection committee was impressed by the management of Pan Ocean, which is one of the leaders in dry bulk shipping. About 70 percent of Pan Ocean’s operations are bulkers, but the company also has a small interest in containers, tankers, and LNG/heavy lift. They are reported to own over 100 bulkers and manage a total fleet of 300 ships. It is unclear from the reports if the plan includes merging HMM and Pan Ocean.

Media reports have raised some questions about potential regulatory concerns as the bid will need to be reviewed by the antitrust regulators. Harim will also have to leverage its finances to pay the hefty purchase price. The company has said it would sell stock and bonds and possibly some vessels.

One of the sticking points that the media reports said held up the deal is the strategy for the state’s remaining share in HMM. The bid reportedly initially contained a stipulation that KDB and KOBC would not convert their remaining bonds for at least three years. The government institutions had indicated at the beginning of the bidding process that they would work with the buyer to develop a plan for the sale of the remaining perpetual bonds. When those bonds are converted into shares, they will dilute the buyer’s position from 58 percent to just under 39 percent. Harim is reported to have withdrawn the stipulation clearing the way for it to win the bidding after scoring highly with the committee on its management and financial plan.

HMM recently highlighted that the company was moving forward with its diversification strategy as well as continuing to build its containership position. In 2023, the company ordered nine methanol-fueled 9,000 TEU containerships and three pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs). HMM also ordered four multipurpose vessels (MPVs) and recently entered into a long-term charter-out contract for four bulkers. Early in December, it was revealed that they would build at least six of the world’s largest car carriers that will be operated on a long-term charter with Hyundai Glovis.

Harim is expected to begin additional due diligence on HMM in the near year. There have been some reports in the media that the losing bidder Dongwong Group might protest the deal, but the state-owned institutions are expected to proceed with negotiations to complete the sale contract.

 

African Development Bank to Create African Ports Index

Luderitz, Namibia (iStock)

PUBLISHED DEC 17, 2023 11:53 AM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Beijing-based infrastructure fund Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) has approved a $2 million grant aimed at sealing data gaps in Africa’s port operations. The initiative will be implemented by the African Development Bank (AfDB), and will produce a port data book that provides performance data and practical information for Africa’s ports.

According to MCDF, addressing Africa’s data gaps in port operations is key in facilitating investment in port expansion, and would also help to boost port performance.

In addition, the project will create a web-based portal for securely collecting, storing and retrieving African port data. This will help the Regional Ports Management Association, AfDB, individual port authorities and development partners assess port service and performance.

An African ports index with benchmarking sub-indices that cover key thematic areas in port operations and development will also be produced. The index will contain data on port performance, efficiency, legal and regulatory frameworks, cargo type and throughput among others.

“The African Development Bank has identified the African Ports Connectivity Portal as a key driver to unlock Africa’s ports and maritime development needs into investment opportunities by 2030,” said Marco Yamaguchi, Transport and Logistics Manager at AfDB.

In the past decade, the use of maritime business intelligence tools such as shipping indices have become commonplace. These advanced analytics have been vital for enabling decision-making on investment, risk management and business optimization in the maritime industry. 

 

Carbon Ridge, Crowley to Launch Advanced, Onboard Carbon Capture Project

PUBLISHED DEC 17, 2023 8:20 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

[By: Crowley]

Crowley and Carbon Ridge Inc, a leading developer of modular onboard carbon capture and storage solutions (OCCS), with support from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Maritime Environmental and Technical Assistance (META) program, have initiated an advanced, pilot project to reduce emissions impacts using Crowley’s Storm international container ship.

Using Carbon Ridge’s patent-pending, second generation carbon capture technology, the companies and MARAD have executed a cooperative agreement for the pilot program to operate, measure and optimize the technology’s effectiveness in actual maritime environments at port and ultimately at sea. The collaboration includes the engineering, manufacturing and integration of a small capacity version of Carbon Ridge’s full-scale carbon capture system. 

“The advancement of the pilot project represents a milestone in the emerging technology for carbon capture. With its potential for significant emissions reductions through retrofitting or during new building, ship owners and operators have the opportunity to future-proof their vessels for incoming regulations, as well as reach internal goals for decarbonization and reduced emissions impacts,” said Chase Dwyer, CEO, Carbon Ridge. 

Crowley’s engineering services group, which provides vessel design and engineering, project management and waterfront engineering by leveraging its research and development team for internal and external customers, is leading the integration of the pilot system on the Storm, which serves the U.S. and Caribbean Basin. The carbon capture system will be housed in two 40-foot container units on the vessel’s main deck and have an additional 20-foot ISO-certified tank for storing the captured liquid CO2. The pilot project is expected to capture 1 metric ton per day from the vessel’s main engine. 

“We are excited to help spearhead the maritime industry’s journey to cleaner operations at sea and in our communities,” said Brett Bennett, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Logistics. “This is a strong step forward to understanding and achieving our commitment to reaching net-zero emissions as part of our sustainability strategy.”

“MARAD is pleased to work with industry partners through META to demonstrate innovative technology applications that may lead to greater greenhouse gas emission reductions in the maritime sector,” said Daniel Yuska, director of the MARAD Office of Environment and Innovation. 

Installation of the pilot unit on the vessel is expected in 2024 after completing onshore testing.

In 2022, Crowley contributed to Carbon Ridge’s seed funding round to continue developing the technology. 

 

NTSB: Corrosion Caused Heavy-Lift Hoist Failure

Courtesy NTSB

PUBLISHED DEC 18, 2023 4:03 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Undetected corrosion and wear caused a wire rope to fail during the hoisting of a wind turbine component aboard the heavy lift ship Thorco Basilisk last year, resulting in $3-5 million of damages, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

On July 23, 2022, a wire rope on a shipboard crane parted while the ship was offloading a 68-tonne wind turbine nacelle at the Greensport Terminal on the Houston Ship Channel. The failure caused the component to drop onto the vessel’s cargo hold tween deck, and the crane block punched through the top of the nacelle's housing. Although no pollution or injuries were reported, damages to the ship and the nacelle were estimated at $3-5 million.

Investigators found that the 1.5 inch wire rope had obvious signs of external corrosion and wear. Sections from either side of the location where the rope had parted exhibited “a significant level of external corrosion” with a severity rating of about 60 percent. However, the visible signs of external corrosion could not be fully seen until the grease on the rope was removed. The crew followed the common maritime industry practice of leaving the old grease on their wire ropes during relubrication maintenance ("slushing"), since removing the old dried-out lubricant would be impractical without specialized equipment. 

While the hoisting wire rope was still within the standard 10-year service lifetime, NTSB determined that “the wire rope was near the end of its service life and probably should have been discarded.”

“Saltwater and humid ocean air cause corrosion of metals, presenting challenges for the maintenance of high-strength steel wire ropes on vessels. A deteriorated wire rope directly affects a crane’s ability to safely and reliably handle loads up to its rated capacity,” NTSB said.

Following the NTSB recommendations, vessel operator Auerbach Marine updated its maintenance schedule to require crane wire rope replacement every five years.

 

Port of New Orleans Gets $74M Grant for New Container Terminal

Rendering of the planned terminal in St. Bernard Parish (Port of New Orleans)

PUBLISHED DEC 18, 2023 11:59 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

The Port of New Orleans has secured a $74 million grant for planning the development of a controversial new container terminal in St. Bernard Parish. The funding comes from the 2021 Infrastructure Act, a $1.2 trillion funding package for improving America's ports, waterways, railways and roads. 

The grant for Port of New Orleans will help facilitate a $1.8 billion terminal project, which is intended to help the seaport compete with Houston and Mobile in the containerized freight market. The physical limitations of the current terminal - both in depth and overhead clearance - restrict its ability to handle today's bigger ships, and New Orleans has gradually lost market share to its neighbors over the past decade. 

“This is a great day for the Port of New Orleans and our state," Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said, noting that he helped secure Louisiana's share of the bill. "The funding will not only benefit the port but also create numerous jobs and boost our communities."

New Orleans has been planning a new terminal in St. Bernard Parish since 2018. The 1,100-acre site is located about 7.5 miles to the southeast of New Orleans proper, in the small town of Violet. 

Community activists and some local officials in St. Bernard Parish are opposed to the terminal's construction, citing its impact on the environment and the local way of life. The facility would be a dominant presence in the small riverside town, and would bring an abundance of truck drayage headed to and from the waterfront. The port plans to add road infrastructure to reduce the impact on local traffic. 

In August, the parish's district attorney sued the Port of New Orleans in an attempt to halt the project. The port's director dismissed the suit as "election year theatrics," and the plan remains to move ahead with final design work and permit applications. All going well, the project should break ground in 2025. 

"For decades, it has been clear that a new container terminal is needed downriver from the Crescent City Connection Bridge in order to secure the future of the state’s trade-based economy," port CEO Brandy Christian told Nola.com.

MONOPOLY CAPITALI$M

Cadeler Completes Eneti Acquisition to Make Large Wind Installation Company

Cadeler will have a fleet of 10 dedicated wind installation vessels by 2026 (Cadeler file photo)

PUBLISHED DEC 18, 2023 5:17 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

 

Shareholders accepted the proposed merger between Cadeler and Eneti which will create the largest owner-operator of wind turbine installation vessels. Settlement of the share exchange is expected to begin momentarily as regulators have accepted the registration of the new shares. Cadeler reported late today that it expects to receive final approval tomorrow, and the new shares are expected to begin trading on December 20.

Cadeler released the final results of the tender offer which closed on December 14. More than 33 million shares were tendered before the closing representing more than 86 percent of the outstanding shares of Eneti. The companies had lowered the minimum acceptance requirement to 70 percent, but they not only met that but also the original requirement which had been set at 85 percent. 

Having reached these levels, Cadeler reports it can also proceed with the plan to complete the acquisition by effecting a squeeze-out merger. That will remove any remaining shareholders and make Eneti a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cadeler.

Commenting on the strong support from shareholders, the CEO of the Cadeler Mikkel Gleerup said they would be able to pursue the company’s vision and enhance the capability to facilitate the renewable energy transition that is already underway. He points to their long track record while saying the combined company will have “one of the industry’s largest, most flexible, most diverse, and modern fleets of wind farm installation vessels. Cadeler will be able to handle the largest and most complex next-generation offshore wind installation projects currently seen in the market.”

The combined company will continue under the Cadeler identity with its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They point to the global presence and scale of the company while saying that they expect to realize €106 million in annual synergies.

The group will operate four existing vessels, including Cadeler’s two high-end Windfarm Installation Vessels (WIVs), Wind Orca and Wind Osprey. Eneti as part of the terms of the deal was moving to sell three of the five vessels acquired in the acquisition of Seajacks.

Cadeler and Eneti were separately pursuing new builds with Cadeler scheduled to receive two WTIVs in Q3/2024 and Q2/2025, and two wind foundation installation vessels scheduled for delivery in Q4/2025 and Q3/2026. Eneti also has two WTIVs scheduled for delivery in Q4/2024 and Q2/2025.

Ten days ago, they announced the completion of a new €550 million green load facility to refinance the existing vessels owned by Cadeler and Eneti ahead of the business combination. It will also be used to finance crane upgrades of Cadeler’s two existing vessels and to fund general corporate and working capital purposes.

Completing the business combination, they expect with the delivery of the six newbuilds scheduled from 2024 to 2026 to have a total of 10 vessels all dedicated to wind farm installation.