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  • Titanic sub firm’s late CEO was committed to safety, says co-founder

    Titanic sub firm’s late CEO was committed to safety, says co-founder

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    MADRID, June 23 (Reuters) – The co-founder of OceanGate Expeditions, which owned the submersible that imploded during a dive to the Titanic wreck, defended on Friday the chief executive’s commitment to safety and risk management after he died with four others on the craft.

    Guillermo Söhnlein, who co-founded OceanGate with Stockton Rush in 2009, left the company in 2013, retaining a minority stake. Rush was piloting the Titan submersible on the trip that began on Sunday. Debris from the vessel was found on Thursday.

    “Stockton was one of the most astute risk managers I’d ever met. He was very risk-averse. He was very keenly aware of the risks of operating in the deep ocean environment, and he was very committed to safety,” Söhnlein told Reuters.

    Questions about Titan’s safety were raised in 2018 during a symposium of submersible industry experts and in a lawsuit by OceanGate’s former head of marine operations, which was settled later that year. This incident has prompted further debate.

    “I believe that every innovation that he took … was geared toward two goals: One, expanding humanity’s ability to explore the deep ocean. And secondly, to do it as safely as possible,” he said in video interview from his home in Barcelona.

    The Titan submersible, operated by OceanGate Expeditions to explore the wreckage of the sunken SS Titanic off the coast of Newfoundland, dives in an undated photograph. OceanGate Expeditions/Handout via REUTERS/ File Photo

    Söhnlein said he completely trusted Rush, even though they did not always see “eye-to-eye on things”.

    OceanGate has not addressed queries by industry experts about its decision to forgo certification from industry third parties such as the American Bureau of Shipping or the European company DNV.

    “There’s this tendency in the community to equate classification with safety. While that could be the case, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be safe without classification,” he said, adding that people should wait for an official report analyzing the incident rather than speculate.

    “There’s going to be a time for (making assessments), and I don’t think right now is the right time to do that,” he said.

    Despite the tragedy, he said continuing with deep-sea exploration was vital for humanity and that it was the best way to honor those who died in the submersible.

    “Let’s figure out what went wrong, learn some lessons and let’s get down there again,” he said.

    Reporting by David Latona; Editing by Aislinn Laing and Edmund Blair

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    David Latona

    Thomson Reuters

    Madrid-raised German-American breaking news in Spain and Portugal. Previously covered markets in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with a special focus on chemical companies and regular contributions to Reuters’ German-language service. Worked at Spanish news agency EFE (Madrid/Bangkok) and the European Pressphoto Agency (Frankfurt).

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  • Cash-loving Germans fret over exploding ATMs as cross-border crime wave hits

    Cash-loving Germans fret over exploding ATMs as cross-border crime wave hits

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    RATINGEN, Germany, April 14 (Reuters) – In the German town of Ratingen, exploding cash machines are a hot-button topic.

    Two got blown up early on the same morning last month, at branches of Santander (SAN.MC) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) across the street from each other close to the Duesseldorf suburb’s main square.

    A year ago, residents of the apartments above Santander unsuccessfully sued to have the machines removed due to concerns they could be raided – a gesture that might in retrospect be deemed prophetic in other countries.

    But in Germany, thieves are blowing ATMs up at the rate of more than one a day.

    Attacks are up more than 40% since 2019, according to the interior ministry, and investigators say two factors are driving the increase.

    Europe’s largest economy has 53,000 ATM machines, a disproportionately high number that reflects Germans’ preference for cash rather than bank cards. The country also boasts an extensive network of highways, or Autobahns, on much of which no speed limit is enforced.

    Ratingen lies just 70km (40 miles) from the Dutch border, and investigators say gangs from the Netherlands are the prime culprits for the attacks, which send glass flying, cause building facades to crumble and money cartridges to crack open.

    Raiders got away with nearly 20 million euros ($22.1 million) in 2021, when 392 ATM explosions were recorded, a tally that rose to 496 in 2022. Police in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Ratingen lies and which has borne the brunt of the attacks, have recorded 47 incidents so far in 2023, up on last year’s rate.

    Reuters Graphics Reuters Graphics

    DUTCH RAIDERS

    Meanwhile the frequency of ATM attackers is falling in the Netherlands, partly due to security measures such as glue that makes blocks of cash inside ATMs unusable, Dutch police say.

    So Dutch cash machine raiders are crossing the border and, German police estimate, have carried out between 70% to 80% of attacks in Germany since 2018.

    Dutch police suspect around 500 men are responsible, working in ever-evolving groups as new recruits replace those who get caught. Prosecutors in Frankfurt this week charged six Dutch citizens with causing explosions, theft and property damage.

    Reuters Graphics

    Ratingen police are investigating a possible Dutch connection in last month’s twin raid too, having identified a small vehicle that sped from the scene to a nearby Autobahn.

    On Thursday, nearly a month after the attacks, Santander’s facade remained boarded up. Deutsche Bank’s sign was still damaged, and a sign asked for customers’ understanding that ATMs were out of order while under repair.

    In Germany, roughly 60% of everyday purchases are paid in cash, according to a Bundesbank study that found Germans, on average, withdrew more than 6,600 euros annually chiefly from cash machines.

    Germany is also working with officials in Belgium and France and at Europol to combat the cash machine crime wave. The partner authorities did not respond to requests for comment.

    Noting that ATM raids endangered lives, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser this week urged banks to step up safety measures for ATMs.

    Both Santander and Deutsche said they prioritised safety and were continuously improving ATM security, but banks inside Germany are reluctant to adopt blanket measures, instead advocating a case-by-case approach depending on individual security risk.

    A spokesperson for Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft, a umbrella lobby group for the nation’s financial institutions, said: “Different locations come with different risks. There is currently no one-size-fits-all solution.”

    ($1 = 0.9044 euros)

    Additional reporting by Milan Pavicic; editing by John Stonestreet

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

    Tom Sims

    Thomson Reuters

    Covers German finance with a focus on big banks, insurance companies, regulation and financial crime, previous experience at the Wall Street Journal and New York Times in Europe and Asia.

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  • Saudi Arabia ‘maturer guys’ in spat with U.S., energy minister says

    Saudi Arabia ‘maturer guys’ in spat with U.S., energy minister says

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    • OPEC+ oil output cut led to U.S., Saudi spat
    • Saudi Arabia and U.S. “solid allies” – minister
    • Big Wall St turnout at flagship Saudi investment summit

    RIYADH, Oct 25 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia decided to be the “maturer guys” in a spat with the United States over oil supplies, the kingdom’s energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said on Tuesday.

    The decision by the OPEC+ oil producer group led by Saudi Arabia this month to cut oil output targets unleashed a war of words between the White House and Riyadh ahead of the kingdom’s Future Investment Initiative (FII) forum, which drew top U.S. business executives.

    The two traditional allies’ relationship had already been strained by the Joe Biden administration’s stance on the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the Yemen war, as well as Riyadh’s growing ties with China and Russia.

    When asked at the FII forum how the energy relationship with the United States could be put back on track after the cuts and with the Dec. 5 deadline for the expected price-cap on Russian oil, the Saudi energy minister said: “I think we as Saudi Arabia decided to be the maturer guys and let the dice fall”.

    “We keep hearing you ‘are with us or against us’, is there any room for ‘we are with the people of Saudi Arabia’?”

    Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said earlier that Riyadh and Washington will get over their “unwarranted” spat, highlighting long-standing corporate and institutional ties.

    “If you look at the relationship with the people side, the corporate side, the education system, you look at our institutions working together we are very close and we will get over this recent spat that I think was unwarranted,” he said.

    While noting that Saudi Arabia and the United States were “solid allies” in the long term, he highlighted the kingdom was “very strong” with Asian partners including China, which is the biggest importer of Saudi hydrocarbons.

    The OPEC+ cut has raised concerns in Washington about the possibility of higher gasoline prices ahead of the November U.S. midterm elections, with the Democrats trying to retain their control of the House of Representatives and the Senate.

    Biden pledged that “there will be consequences” for U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ move.

    Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, the kingdom’s ambassador to Washington, said in a CNN interview that Saudi Arabia was not siding with Russia and engages with “everybody across the board”.

    [1/3] Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al-Saud speaks at the Future Investment Initiative conference, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 25, 2022. REUTERS/ Ahmed Yosri

    “And by the way, it’s okay to disagree. We’ve disagreed in the past, and we’ve agreed in the past, but the important thing is recognizing the value of this relationship,” she said.

    She added that “a lot of people talk about reforming or reviewing the relationship” and said that was “a positive thing” as Saudi Arabia “is not the kingdom it was five years ago.”

    FULL ATTENDENCE AT FII

    Like previous years, the FII three-day forum that opened on Tuesday saw a big turnout from Wall Street, as well as other industries with strategic interests in Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter.

    JPMorgan Chase & Co Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, speaking at the gathering, voiced confidence that Saudi Arabia and the United States would safeguard their 75-year-old alliance.

    “I can’t imagine any allies agreeing on everything and not having problems – they’ll work it through,” Dimon said. “I’m comfortable that folks on both sides are working through and that these countries will remain allies going forward, and hopefully help the world develop and grow properly.”

    The FII is a showcase for the Saudi crown prince’s Vision 2030 development plan to wean the economy off oil by creating new industries that also generate jobs for millions of Saudis, and to lure foreign capital and talent.

    No Biden administration officials were visible at the forum on Tuesday. Jared Kushner, a former senior aide to then-President Donald Trump who enjoyed good ties with Prince Mohammed, was featured as a front-row speaker.

    The Saudi government invested $2 billion with a firm incorporated by Kushner after Trump left office.

    FII organisers said this year’s edition attracted 7,000 delegates compared with 4,000 last year.

    After its inaugural launch in 2017, the forum was marred by a Western boycott over Khashoggi’s killing by Saudi agents. It recovered the next year, attracting leaders and businesses with strategic interests in Saudi Arabia, after which the pandemic hit the world.

    Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi, Hadeel Al Sayegh and Rachna Uppal in Riyadh and Nadine Awadalla, Maha El Dahan and Yousef Saba in Dubai; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous and Michael Geory; Editing by Louise Heavens, Mark Potter, Vinay Dwivedi, William Maclean

    Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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