Maritime News Thread

roundymac

Due in Cork at the Ringaskiddy DWB on sat 23/05.. Also the Royal Princess will be at the Cobh Cruise Terminal at the same time. Both departing at 18.00. Passengers sailing on the Brittany Ferries sailing to Roscoff will get a great view of both.
http://www.portofcork.ie/index.cfm/page/cruiseschedule2010

Larbre34

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

MSC Splendida making a return to Dublin Port at 4.30am on Thursday.

http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/cruise/giant-cruise-ship-announces-return-visit-to-dublin-port-this-thursday-31231494.html

Not a great turn of events for Dun Laoghaire's cause, she would have been one of the feature arrivals for the summer schedule.

However Queen Mary 2 is at anchor off DL today so losing Splendida tomorrow will be less felt.

roundymac

Larbre34 wrote: »

Not a great turn of events for Dun Laoghaire's cause, she would have been one of the feature arrivals for the summer schedule.

However Queen Mary 2 is at anchor off DL today so losing Splendida tomorrow will be less felt.

Saw her sailing past Roches Point last night, she look's every bit a Queen.

Atlantic Dawn

Larbre34 wrote: »

Not a great turn of events for Dun Laoghaire's cause, she would have been one of the feature arrivals for the summer schedule.

However Queen Mary 2 is at anchor off DL today so losing Splendida tomorrow will be less felt.

Yes I think they are making the right choice, too much hassle anchoring offshore and bringing people in by tenders.

Whichever port gets a proper cruise terminal built first stands to make a nice bit of money.

LiamoSail

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Whichever port gets a proper cruise terminal built first stands to make a nice bit of money.

How? Ports make little from visiting cruise ships, the benefit is to the local economy.

In the case of Dublin, it makes sense. The channel is already dredged, pilotage and towage available, berths available. There's little cost involved from the Ports perspective. Dun Laoghaire on the other hand has none of this, so there would be a huge investment required that they ultimately want the tax payer to make.

While such an investment would be of benefit to Dun Laoghaire, attracting cruise ships away from Dublin and to Dun Laoghaire would be of no net benefit to the country's economy, and could only be achievable through huge cost to the tax payer

V_Moth

First electric car ferry in Norway:

http://www.siemens.com/press/pool/de/pressemitteilungen/2015/processindustries-drives/PR2015050200PDEN.pdf

Tabnabs

Ship on fire in the North Sea & risk of explosion.

http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/freighter-evacuated-amid-explosion-fears

Tabnabs

Ex Irish Sea ferry comes under fire:

Ferry operator DFDS Seaways has suspended its sailings from Dover to Calais port until further notice after one of its vessels was hit by a distress flare.

The sailings were suspended “for the safety of our staff, passengers and ships“, DFDS spokeswoman told BBC.

As reported, the flare was shot on Saturday by an unknown individual. Luckily there were no injuries.

“Sailings are suspended until further notice as we have no access to Calais port. Customers transferred to Dover-Dunkerque,” the company said in a tweet.

DFDS said in the latest update that Dover-Dunkirk route is running with a delay of up to 2 hours and 30 minutes, with the port of Dover being heavily congested.

Following a meeting at the Ministry of Transport in Paris on Monday 20 July, with the participation of SCOP SeaFrance, Groupe Eurotunnel and DFDS Seaways, it has been announced that the blockade in Calais would be lifted and the port of Calais would re-open fully from 12 noon CET on Tuesday 21 July.

DFDS Seaways’ first sailing from Dover to Calais was the 10.15 from Dover on Tuesday 21 July. The route operated normally for less than a week before calls were suspended yet again.

Talks led by the French Department of Transport have resumed today in France.

http://worldmaritimenews.com/archives/167632/dfds-seaways-ferry-hit-by-distress-flare-dover-calais-sailings-suspended/

The Malo Seaways was last known as the Stena Nordica and she was the European Ambassador before that.

tricky D

More Suez Canal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Suez_Canal

A new 35 km (22 mi)-long bypass channel of Egypt's Suez Canal is officially opened, approximately doubling its capacity.

Tabnabs

Always be nice to the cook and never skimp on the quality of the victualling.

Two crewmembers are dead and another 13 are hospitalized after an outbreak of food poisoning onboard the cargo ship, M/V Nefryt. The captain is one of the two that died from the poisoning. The tainted food source still unknown.

The crew was poisoned on September 25 after the vessel departed from Port of San-Pédro on the Ivory Coast.

The Nefryt is a 9,500 dwt Malta-flagged vessel owned by Euroafrica Shipping Lines of Poland. The company has sent a replacement crew to take over the ship.

http://maritime-executive.com/article/poisoned-crew

Tabnabs

Yet another end of an era story, the P&O fast ferry between Larne and Troon will finish and the ship is going to Sweden.

However, rising operating costs (in no small part due to a rising oil price), competition from low cost airlines, and a general shift in traffic towards freight (of which the majority of craft could not carry, Stena’s HSS Voyager being the notable exception) have meant that operating these services has become less and less commercially viable.

As reported by NIFS, P&O announced earlier this year that the InCat Catamaran, Express, would be withdrawn at the end of her season on 31st September. It has since been revealed that she has been acquired by a new Swedish operation, Gotlandsbåten, to operate between the Swedish mainland and Gotland. Although officially P&O have said they are not necessarily closing the Larne-Troon route, it appears to be becoming increasingly unlikely that the route will continue, with no alternative craft having yet been announced as secured. The constraints on vessel size at both Larne and Troon make finding a suitable vessel even more difficult, particularly given that P&O have strongly hinted that they will not operate another fast craft due to the operating economics of such vessels.

http://www.niferrysite.co.uk/end-era-goodbye-pos-express/

Atlantic Dawn

Tabnabs wrote: »

Yet another end of an era story, the P&O fast ferry between Larne and Troon will finish and the ship is going to Sweden.
http://www.niferrysite.co.uk/end-era-goodbye-pos-express/

Is the price of oil not at its lowest point in about 5 years?

Tabnabs

It is, but these ships were designed in an era where oil was significantly lower than now (about $20/bbl in the mid 90s). Also the other factors contributing to their demise have not altered in any way.

man98

It's a crying shame to see the fast ferry service gone, Stena have a clear run on faster Northern services now.

bladebrew

A cargo ship is missing off the Bahamas after hurricane Joaquin,

http://gcaptain.com/tote-maritime-us-cargo-ship-el-faro-missing-in-hurricane-joaquin/

They reported a list and flooding, ship was built back in 1975, seems old for a container ship,

Tabnabs

They have now reportedly found oil and debris, including a lifering from the El Faro. She was a very odd design (like many American ships) and was sometimes confused for an aircraft carrier. There's talk of the vehicles below breaking free in the huge seas and effectively creating a free surface effect thereby destroying her stability. She may have just rolled right over and sank before the crew had time to abandon ship (open lifeboats too).

323

Government types starting to realize at last that we are in fact an island, with a very viable maritime sector.

Ireland Needs Reliable 'Blue Growth' Stats As Marine Sector Outperforms General Economy, Spurs Innovations


Also just seen this one, follow on of sorts



Co. Donegal Tidal Energy Industry Meeting

Not so far from me and would have been interested in hearing what this company has to say, but in the Timor Sea at the moment.

tricky D

HSS has departed.

https://www.facebook.com/holyhead.seacadets/posts/720808004719103

Hundreds of people took over all vantage points around the Port of Holyhead this lunchtime to bid a fond farewell to the HSS Ferry Stena Explorer, she has been based in the town for nearly 20 years, The Holyhead Sea Cadet CO Lt Sue Williams was watching at Salt Island when she was approached by a volunteer from the Holyhead Maritime Museum who had been looking for her to Bugle last post as the Ship left which apparently is a tradition in the town, Lt Williams was en route to another Bugling job at the Town's St Cybi's Church so had her bugle in the car, she was Commandeered and rushed across the town to the Fish Dock arriving just in the nick of time to wish the old girl a fond and fitting farewell with the Last Post, Lt Williams said that due to the rush of getting there, a cold Bugle and climbing a wall it wasn't my best performance but it keeps the tradition going in the Town.

islanderre

tricky D wrote: »

HSS has departed.

I wonder did she depart under her own power???

Presume she is gone to the scrap too...... pity really but the writing was on the wall when they introduced the new faster conventional ferries on the holyhead run.

Wonder how long more the Jonathan Swift will last????

Took a day trip 2 or 3 years ago to holyhead; HSS out and the Swift back..... what a gracious machine the HSS was; as for the swift..... she felt cheap, nasty and rattly in comparison!!!!!

tricky D

Gone to new operators in Turkey, so looks like not for the scrap heap yet, though the wiki entry suggests a static role which kinda tallies with the below...

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-bids-farewell-hss-explorer-10368520

HSS Explorer will be escorted to Turkey by tug boats before starting a new chapter in her operational life.

knucklehead6

The wreck of El Faro has been found

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wreckage-sunken-cargo-ship-el-faro-may-be-found-n455201

Atlantic Dawn

tricky D wrote: »

Gone to new operators in Turkey, so looks like not for the scrap heap yet, though the wiki entry suggests a static role which kinda tallies with the below...

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/holyhead-bids-farewell-hss-explorer-10368520

You would think with the low price of fuel now it would have a future in Europe, I suppose low cost airlines did as much or more damage to it as fuel prices. Good to see it going under it's own steam and not being towed.

323

Stumbled on this one earlier. Report by the Guardian

Revealed: trafficked migrant workers abused in Irish fishing industry

Atlantic Dawn

323 wrote: »

Stumbled on this one earlier. Report by the Guardian

Revealed: trafficked migrant workers abused in Irish fishing industry

It's a strange one, everyone working on a trawler since early 2000 had to have basic safety training completed by BIM to be allowed to work an a trawler (similar to a safe pass on building site), they would need to be legal to obtain this. The Navy board most vessels at least once a year to investigate legality of trawlers and there's also checks in ports, how the hell was this misssed? In addition RTÉ had at least 1 series filmed with Irish trawlers featuring some non EU crew, were they also cleared and legal to work in EU?

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2001/si/587/made/en/print

roundymac

Most of the crew on the one that sank off Glandore Co Cork were Egyptian.

Atlantic Dawn

roundymac wrote: »

Most of the crew on the one that sank off Glandore Co Cork were Egyptian.

Yes looks like they didn't have the mandatory training I mentioned above, here's the report in to the incident...

5.3 At least two of the crew of the "MFV Tit Bonhomme" had not undertaken the required mandatory basic safety training.

http://www.mcib.ie/_fileupload/Documents/reports/TIT_BONHOMME_Revised_Report_09042013.pdf

BoltzmannBrain

Regulation but no oversight, oh lordy!

Tabnabs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgPZMqiMz3s

In support of the Falkland Island Government, British forces based in the Falkland Islands yesterday responded to a distress call by the 10000 tonne cruise ship ‘Le Boreal’. The ship reported suffering a major engine room fire, which caused the loss of all power and left the ship drifting. A northwesterly gale placed the ship in real danger of grounding on Cape Dolphin, East Falkland.

The master ordered the ship, with 347 passengers and crew, to be abandoned early yesterday morning. Working closely with the Falklands Islands Government, British Forces enacted a major Search and Rescue plan. Two Royal Air Force Sea King Search and Rescue helicopters were scrambled, along with two other support helicopters, a C130 Hercules and a Voyager aircraft for command and control. The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Clyde was despatched to the scene, as were the Dutch tugs which support British Forces in the Falkland Islands.

In an operation coordinated from Mount Pleasant, Royal Air Force Search and Rescue helicopters, supported by British International and Bristows helicopters, successfully winched 79 personnel from the deck of the Le Boreal and from 2 life rafts in the water. All of these evacuees were brought to the British Forces Base at Mount Pleasant where they received care, clothing, food and medical attention. HMS CLYDE assisted two further lifeboats with over 200 evacuees on board, ensuring all those onboard were brought to safety.

All passengers and crew from Le Boreal have been accounted for and are being looked after on the Falkland Islands. The vessel itself is now in a stable condition and two Dutch Tugs, under contract to British Forces in the Falkland Islands, are now assisting to bring the vessel alongside in the Falkland Islands for a detailed assessment of her condition to take place.

Tabnabs

Does anyone fancy buying a bit of Irish maritime history?

The old Granuaile is up for sale again, for a mere £600k

http://www.caleyboats.co.uk/displacement-hull/566-multi-role-vessel-known-as-mv-ocean-seeker-priced-at-600-000-00-gbp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCMgRKqfz9k

BoltzmannBrain

I'm sure we could set up a kickstarter fund? I'd put a tenner in!