Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

BOATS

Emden shipyard workers protest closure plans

Some 2,000 people demonstrated at the traditional northern German seaport of Emden on Friday against the possible closure of its shipyard.

Published: 25 September 2009 14:57 CEST
Emden shipyard workers protest closure plans
Photo: DPA

ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), which owns shipyards Blohm & Voss in Hamburg and HDW in Kiel, wants to sell the historical Nordseewerke shipyard.

“We don’t want to allow a more than 100-year-old tradition come to an end out of the short-term considerations of TKMS,” said member of union IG Metall Karl-Heinz Benner.

The company’s board of directors plans to meet on Monday to make the final decision on whether TKMS will sell parts of its shipyard to Siag Schaaf Industrie. Siag would take on between 700 and 1,400 workers to build offshore wind farms.

Meanwhile Emden city officials were scheduled for a crisis meeting on Friday.

Trade unionists have said they will fight the plans.

“If we have to we will close the gates on Monday and Tuesday again if the decision doesn’t turn out the way we want,” IG Metall member Frank Grabbert said.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

RESCUE

Norwegian authorities tow stray cargo ship to safety

Norwegian maritime authorities said late Wednesday that they had begun towing a Dutch cargo ship that was drifting dangerously towards the coast after the crew were forced to abandon it.

Published: 8 April 2021 13:50 CEST
Norwegian authorities tow stray cargo ship to safety
JRRC South Norway / AFP

The 12-man crew of the “Eemslift Hendrika” was rescued Monday in a challenging two-stage operation after they issued a distress call while steaming from Bremerhaven in Germany to the Norwegian port of Kolvereid.

The cargo ship was carrying several smaller vessels, and began to list after high winds and huge waves displaced some of its cargo.

The “Eemslift Hendrika” also suffered an engine failure and started drifting towards the Norwegian coastline.

WATCH: Norwegian Rescue services evacuated crew from ship adrift at sea 

Eight of its crew members were airlifted by helicopter from the cargo ship’s deck by Norwegian rescue services but the last four had to jump into
the water to be plucked from the sea.

Video images showed strong waves rocking the ship as it listed to the starboard (right) side.

Towing operations were due to have begun Thursday, but the ship deviated from its predicted trajectory and drifted even closer towards the coast,
prompting maritime authorities to rush into action.

“The tow is now attached,” the Norwegian Coastal Administration(Kystverket) said on its website late Wednesday. “The risk of grounding has
been averted.”

On Thursday, the “Eemslift Hendrika” was being towed slowly towards the Norwegian port of Alesund and Kystverket said “no particular challenges” had been encountered overnight.

SHOW COMMENTS