Navigation blocked on the Moselle: lock accident halts traffic until Spring

A cargo ship collided with a lock gate on the Moselle River, bringing river traffic to a standstill. Officials do not expect the situation to return to normal before spring.

The incident occurred at the Müden lock in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, when a cargo ship struck a lock gate that was not fully open. The collision caused extensive damage, ripping both leaves of the gate completely from their anchorage. The damaged gate and several associated components will need to be entirely replaced.

According to the Waterways and Shipping Authority (WSA) Moselle-Saar-Lahn, navigation on the Moselle will likely remain suspended until the end of March. Currently, about 70 vessels are stranded along the river and unable to proceed toward the Rhine.

While river traffic in Luxembourg remains unaffected, the blockade in Germany has imposed significant restrictions, forcing traffic into a single direction only.

The Moselle, a critical waterway traversing Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate, serves as a vital artery for cargo transport. The prolonged closure is expected to have a significant impact on regional logistics and steel industries reliant on river shipping.

Authorities are working to assess and expedite the repairs, but the scale of the damage necessitates a lengthy process before operations can resume.

Source: lessentiel.lu

Authorities speed up Dudelange sale

Multiple companies have expressed interest in Liberty Steel’s Dudelange facility, according to informed sources speaking to Kallanish.

The primary goal of the government and the receiver is to find a potential buyer. A source suggests the Luxembourg government estimates the Dudelange plant’s bankruptcy procedure will take approximately three months. The receiver, Olivier Wagner, will negotiate a potential price in collaboration with the presiding judge overseeing the case, with assistance from the government. The latter holds ownership of the land and is expected to grant new concession rights to the prospective owner.

According to rumours, Italian service centre Eusider has shown interest in acquiring Dudelange, alongside other prospective buyers. Eusider and Liberty declined to comment.

Last month, the OGBL and LCGB unions urged the Luxembourg government and the European Commission to take immediate action aimed at securing the long-term viability of the site.

Since Liberty Steel did not fit the requirements set by the Luxembourg state to be eligible for temporary layoffs, the government has not supported Dudelange until now. As a result, Liberty Steel took on the responsibility of covering all wages and costs. In October and November, the group did not fulfil its obligation to pay salaries to its workforce.

Last week, the Luxembourg commerce tribunal declared the Dudelange facility bankrupt. The plant has experienced a period of inactivity spanning approximately two years. A union source indicates that the 147 workers at Dudelange had been anticipating the tribunal’s decision.

Another union source indicates the state will now assume responsibility for salaries. In addition to Dudelange and its Belgium-based Liege plant, Liberty plans to divest its Magona facility in Italy. The businesses combined possess rolling capacity exceeding 2.5 million tonnes/year.

Natalia Capra France

kallanish.com

Liberty Steel officially bankrupt in Dudelange

The bankruptcy of Liberty Steel’s Dudelange site was declared by the Luxembourg Commercial Court. 147 jobs are at stake.

Neither the local management nor the company’s lawyers were present at the Luxembourg Commercial Court at 9am on Friday 29 November. However, Liberty Liège-Dudelange and its Luxembourg site were declared bankrupt after the management admitted that it was in suspension of payments. Olivier Wagner was appointed receiver in front of a few journalists and the LCGB union’s deputy general secretary, Robert Fornieri, who had made the trip.

“The most urgent matter is the employees, who are entitled to their back pay for October and November,” commented Wagner as he left the court. “They will be entitled to their severance pay under the Labour Code, which corresponds to the month of the bankruptcy, the subsequent month, i.e., December, and half the notice period to which they would have been entitled in the event of conventional dismissal.”

A recovery to avoid the real state of bankruptcy

“Everything will be checked by me under the supervision of the supervisory judge, the files will then be sent to the employment administration. We must wait for the date of verification of the claims, which is set in the judgment for January 17, for it to be ratified and sent to Adem,” continued the new receiver. But since employees cannot wait several weeks without pay, the unions will try to find an accelerated procedure to release certain amounts.

“Contacts have already been made with the ministries. For us, the most important thing is the situation of the 147 employees and their salaries, there is still a long time to go before a single euro arrives in the employees’ bank accounts. The ministry of labour must help us, as it promised us this week”, said Fornieri.

“We will have to react very quickly and quickly get in touch with the receiver. We could perhaps be heading towards an unfinished bankruptcy if buyers act in the meantime to transfer the employment contracts to new ones. Because if we really enter a state of bankruptcy, employment contracts and activity cease, and this is a danger for the installation, especially in winter. This would make any possible recovery difficult,” added the deputy general secretary of the LCGB.

Written by 

Source: paperjam.lu

ArcelorMittal completes first phase of Differdange decarbonisation project

ArcelorMittal is implementing the decarbonisation project initial phase at its Luxembourg long products facility in Differdange.

It has successfully relocated the black slag pits from their previous position on the outskirts of the site, which was in close proximity to the neighbourhood. A previously unused hall has been transformed into a space to receive the liquid slag in close proximity to the electric arc furnace.

Modifications were made to the facility without interrupting production. This included expanding the storage space and pits inside the hall, as well as installing cladding to insulate the building from the outside. The steelmaker states in a note obtained by Kallanish that placing the slag pits in a covered hall has the advantage of reducing the main nuisances caused by the pouring of slag. The Luxembourg state provided up to 30% of the funding for the pit relocation.

In the second phase, Differdange will install a former converter secondary dedusting system from the ArcelorMittal Florange plant by the end of the year. The new dedusting unit will be connected to local canopy hoods for the rolling mill and steel plant by the end of 2025.

ArcelorMittal is investing in decarbonisation, product quality and increasing capacity at its Luxembourg long products facilities in Differdange and Belval. The company aims to commission new and revamped equipment at both plants between 2024 and 2026. The investment will improve environmental footprint, relocate by-products management areas within the plants, reduce overall emissions, and increase output at Belval.

The company is also launching the “Steelup” project at Belval that involves a new digitised “no man on the floor” EAF with increased safety, a 15% energy consumption reduction, and 15% heavy sections productivity hike. The project includes a new vacuum degassing system to reduce dissolved gas and a continuous casting transformation system for new high-carbon steel grades and heavier beam blanks.

The modernisation will help to reach a certified low carbon footprint for steel of below 300kg per tonne, cutting CO2 by 200,000 t/year. The Belval site will obtain the XCarb label for rails produced from mill A.

The new Belval EAF costs about €67 million ($74.2m), including €15m from state subsidies. The Differdange revamp will cost around €18m, including €5m from the local government.

ArcelorMittal Luxembourg produced 1.9 million tonnes of crude steel in 2022 and employs 3,368 workers. The new Belval EAF will increase ArcelorMittal Luxembourg production to 2.5 million t/y of steel.

Natalia Capra France


kallanish.com