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Polish yard gets CalMac order
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd has placed a £24.5 million order with Polish builder Remontowa for a new ferry to take over Caledonian MacBrayne services from Kennacraig to Islay in Spring 2011. The Gdansk yard has been responsible for CalMac's last two major new buildings, the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay route's Bute and Argyle, delivered in 2005 and 2007 respectively, and beat off competition from three other builders to secure a contract that is being financed by a loan from the Scottish Government.
Olympic supporter
Norway's Ulstein Verft has delivered the multipurpose platform supply vessel (MPSV) Olympic Triton to Olympic Shipping for service in the North Sea and Gulf of Mexico under charter to Canyon Offshore in Aberdeen. The 95m newbuilding has been specially adapted for underwater operations and is equipped with an ROV hangar, moonpool, 150-tonne offshore crane, and accommodations for 100 people, most of whom will be employed in the boat's underwater operations, with the crew numbering only 20.
Do You Want To Go To Sea?
n a drive to boost marine employment, the Scottish Executive has launched a three-year seafarer recruitment programme with the aim of increasing the present 300 recruits a year to 900 a year by 2010. Scotland already provides more than half the merchant navy officers recruited in the UK, but the forecast is that the number of recruits will halve over the next decade.
The Little Red Ship sinks in the Antarctic
The Liberian-flagged expedition cruise ship Explorer, known as 'The Little Red Ship', sank on 23 November, 20 hours after ice reportedly twice struck and pierced the starboard side of her hull. The accident occurred in the Bransfield Strait, off King George Is, Antarctica, 880km southeast of the southernmost Argentine city of Ushuaia, from where she had departed on 11 November on a 19-day Spirit of Shackleton
'Big Whites' retired
It may seem like only yesterday that the beloved South Africa mail liners of Union Castle Line were being phased out of service by a new breed of container carrier, but such has been the march of time that those very container ships, which came to be known affectionately as the 'Big Whites', are now being retired.
Memorial unveiled
A sculpture in remembrance of 11,000 men who died on 142 Royal Navy destroyers sunk during World War II was unveiled at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh on 14 November 2007. The ceremony was attended by about 900 veterans who watched the bronze work being formally unveiled. It is situated next to HMS Cavalier, the last operational World War II destroyer.
P&O change refit cover
Although originally expected to have entered service at Dover in October, P&O Ferries' new acquisition European Endeavour made a 1 November debut on the Irish Sea providing overhaul cover for 17,464gt Liverpool-Dublin route vessels Norbank (1993) and Norbay (1994) after dry docking in Barcelona took longer than anticipated.
Cairnryan terminal plan dropped
P&O Irish Sea and Stena Line have abandoned plans to construct a shared terminal at Cairnryan to serve their respective North Channel routes to Larne and Belfast because of soaring costs. They formed joint venture company Port of Cairnryan Limited in 2003, and work on a new terminal and two additional berths to come on stream during 2009 was close to starting after planning approval was secured earlier in 2007.
Swansea Cork loan rejected
A request from Swansea Cork Ferries for a loan of €3 million towards the cost of a new ferry to re-open a service suspended since the sale of the route's previous vessel in October 2006 has been turned down by the Port of Cork. SCF and an unnamed potential new operator are thought to have been looking to secure the same ferry, Color Line's Christian IV (1982/21,699gt), for a Spring 2008 resumption of sailings and the Port Authority felt it could not be seen as favouring one company over the other.
Daphne and Danae reunited
The 52-year old veteran Ocean Monarch (1955/15,833gt) is to be reunited with her sistership, Princess Danae (1955/16,531gt). George Potamianos has acquired the ship from Greek company Majestic International Cruises for his own Classic International Cruises and, following a refit, she will be introduced as Princess Daphne. CIC also operates Athena (1948/ 16,144gt), Arion (1965/5,888gt) and Funchal (1961/9,563gt).
Africa's first flat-top?
South Africa has become the latest nation to consider the benefits of an amphibious capability. With a major naval expansion programme nearing fruition, the government is now looking to cement the country's position as the major power in the region with the acquisition of helicopter landing ships.
T45 teeth tested
The sea trials platform Longbow has left Portsmouth for the warmer climes of the Mediterranean to begin qualification of the Principal Anti Aircraft Missile System (PAAMS) for use on the Type 45 destroyer. The year-long trials on a French firing range near Toulon will initially involve integration of the radar and missile systems leading up to multiple supersonic and subsonic target tracking tests and a programme of live missile firings. Once the programme has demonstrated the effectiveness of the system, the trials barge will again be decommissioned, with the system parts transferred back to the MoD for subsequent fitting to a future destroyer.
Combination pipelayer and heavy lifter
Offshore construction and pipe-laying projects in deep water, many to do with petroleum exploitation, are continuing to fuel the construction of a number of very interesting specialist vessels. One of the latest is the 532.5ft (162.3m) by 105.6ft (32.2m) pipelay/heavy lift ship Global 1200, designed by Sea of Solutions of the Netherlands and to be built for Global Industries of the USA by Singapore's Keppel Singmarine.
Last Evergreen S series finished
Taiwan's Evergreen Group has taken delivery of the final of its S class container ships, which have won worldwide recognition for their environmentally friendly design.
All this and much moe in the January 2008 issue of Ships Monthly - now on sale
Ships Monthly, 14 December 2007
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