USCG orders new Sentinel class patrol boats
The US Coast Guard has awarded an US$88 million contract to Bollinger Shipyards for the design and building of the Fast Response Cutter (FRC) Sentinel class patrol boat. The 153ft prototype will be built at Bollinger's yard in Louisiana for delivery in 2010.

Caught in the storm
A severe storm hit the the strait of Gibraltar on 10 October causing two groundings. Ships anchored off Gibraltar were ordered to sail to open waters due to a severe storm forecast. The ships weighed anchor and left, except for the bulker Fedra (1984/35,886gt) which had engine problems and was unable to move.

Harwich hangs on to Baltic trade
The 15,586 gt ro-ro vessel Misida is one of two identical sister ships calling regularly at the Essex port of Harwich. Misida was delivered by the German builders in December 2007, while sister Misana was delivered in October 2007. The twins are managed by the Godby shipping company for the owners Minicarriers and have been chartered to Stella Lines Oy Ltd which has doubled its present freight capacity for ro-ro, break-bulk and project cargoes through a new cooperation agreement with UPM-Kymmene.

Swansea-Cork revival boost
Confirmation from the EU that the Irish Government could cover up to one third of operating costs has brought fresh hope of a revival of the passenger and vehicle ferry service between Cork and Swansea, a route dormant since Swansea Cork Ferries shut up shop in October 2006.

Work starts on LD vessel
LD Lines has increased the specifications for a new day/night ro-pax ferry for English Channel service with passenger capacity up from 930 to 1,300. The keel of the 161m vessel was laid at Singapore Technologies Marine's Benoi Yard in September, shortly after the launch of the second of a pair of ro-ro vessels designed to transport Airbus A380 aircraft components for LD Lines parent the Louis Dreyfus Group.

'Colour and space' from new vessel'
Brittany Ferries' new Plymouth-Roscoff route vessel Armorique, now fitting out at Aker Yards, Helsinki, will reflect the 'colours and space of Brittany' according to managing director David Longden. 'Each ship has its own character, and Armorique is no exception. Great care is being taken to provide an environment which is both comfortable and stylish, with our designers following a theme to give the ship a very modern feel,' Longden explained.

Condor Takeover Completed
Australian bank Macquarie's European Investment Fund II completed its takeover of the Condor Group on 23 September, with the only casualty being the Channel Islands operator's chief executive Rob Provan who left after more than a decade of service. The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority approved the takeover saying the acquisition was not likely to lessen competition.

Solstice in the river
Celebrity Cruises' new €616 million Celebrity Solstice squeezed backwards down a 36km stretch of the river Ems in Germany on 28 September, en route from her shipbuilders, Meyer Werft in Papenburg, to the North Sea and the Dutch coastal port of Eemshaven, where her fitting out was completed and from where she undertook sea trials.

Louis forsakes Dream
complete its purchase of Star Cruises' Norwegian Dream (1992/50,764gt) on 29 September, after agreeing to acquire the ship for US$218 million last April. The sale at the same time of a second Star ship, Norwegian Majesty (1992/40,876gt) for US$162 million, was completed on 29 July, although the ship will not be handed over until the end of 2009.

Future for former Cunarders
Cunard's last purpose-built pair of sisterships may soon find themselves under new ownership or operation. Monarch Classic Cruises, now renamed Med Classic Cruises, have released their 2009 schedules which are similar to this year's, but with no mention of which vessels will be used. It is believed a charterer is being sought for the wholly-owned Ocean Countess (1976/16,795gt, ex-Cunard Countess) while the company's second ship, Blue Monarch, may be returned to her owners.

Deficient and detained
In July it was stated that a total of eight foreign flag vessels were under detention at UK ports. These included the bulker Fengli 9 (38,657gt), which had discharged a cargo at Immingham in July and was then detained after 43 deficiencies were found, of which two were detainable deficiencies.

Immingham named as Britain's leading port
Department for Trade statistics have revealed that Britain's leading port by tonnage in 2007 was Grimsby and Immingham on the Humber estuary, with a throughput of 66.3 million tones. London came in second place with 52.7 million tonnes.

Dredging to success
The Royal Boskalis Westminster group have seen profits soar after winning a number of new contracts during 2008. In the first half of the year Boskalis acquired new project contracts worth €790 million on an order book going into 2009. These included the huge Maasvlakte 2 project at Rotterdam which is worth €500 million alone.

Mixed reception for George W.
USS George Washington was greeted by both supporters and protesters when the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier arrived at her new home port of Yokosuka on 25 September. The demonstrators are concerned about the risk posed to nearby Tokyo in the event of an incident with her nuclear reactors. They simply do not want a nuclear reactor, surrounded by ammunition and highly flammable jet fuel, located only 45km from Japan's most populated city.

Political sweeteners?
With an ambitious Russia currently lacking the capability to build its next generation of aircraft carriers, Moscow has strongly hinted that it may order such ships from Ukraine. Many of the Russian Navy's largest warships in service today, including the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, were built at the Ukrainian Nikolaev shipyards during the Soviet era.

Ocean back on the scene
The Royal Navy's largest warship has returned to sea following a year-long refit at Devonport Royal Dockyard. HMS Ocean began her return to full operational service with initial sea trials on 24 September. The helicopter carrier is scheduled to start operational sea training in November, once early sea safety, equipment calibration and flying operations with embarked helicopters have been successfully carried out.

Tall Ships spectacular in the South West
Over 100,000 people watched a fleet of Tall Ships leaving Falmouth on 13 September at the start of a special race to Portugal. The ships were participating in the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta and Festival do Mar 2008 which together formed the centrepiece of year-long celebrations of the 500th anniversary of the first settlement on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

New contract for Solent
Solent Towage, a subsidiary of Ostensjo Rederi of Haugesund, recently received a major boost with the news that after a lengthy competitive tendering exercise the company has been awarded a further 15-year contract by Exxon, Esso's parent company, to provide towage services at the Fawley terminal in Southampton Water.

Fowey 'downsizes' its tug fleet
A significant reduction in the traditional china clay trade has forced the Fowey Harbour Commissioners to 'downsize' its current tug fleet. The tugs in use at the Cornish port have become part of the local scene, appearing on postcards in their distinctive livery.

Expansion for Fairplay Towage
In August Hamburg-based Fairplay Towage announced that they had joined forces with Dutch towage and salvage specialist Multraship 'to create a platform for expansion'. Under a new agreement Fairplay BV, the Dutch arm of the Fairplay group, took a 50 per cent share in Muller Maritime Holding, holding company for Multraship

All this and more in the latest issue of Ships Monthly now on sale