Final departure from Swan
The departure of the Swan Hunters floating dry dock took place on 6 April. During its 145-year existence, Swan Hunter built more than 1,600 ships, including the record breaking Mauritania, and was synonymous with innovative design and quality. Now the famous yard has closed for good.

Austal to build largest catamaran
Denmark's Nordic Ferry Services has ordered a 113m high-speed vehicle-carrying passenger ferry from Austal Ships for delivery in 2011. Although shorter than the 127m trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express, delivered by Austal two years ago, the newbuilding's capacity of 1,400 passengers and 357 cars will exceed that of Benchijigua Express and rank her among the world's top 10 high-speed ferries in terms of capacity. The vessel is to be used between Rønne and Ystad, in Sweden.

Fighting the pirates
The level of piracy off the Horn of Africa continues to rise with the risk of death and capture regarded as occupational hazards for the criminal gangs involved. However, the tide could now turn after two attacks against US-flagged ships in a week alerted public opinion in the world's most powerful nation.

Endurance survives cutbacks
The Royal Navy's flood-damaged ice patrol ship, HMS Endurance, is back home in Portsmouth following a 22-day passage from the Falkland Islands. The stricken vessel arrived at Spithead on 8 April after an 8,000 mile 'piggy-back' onboard Dockwise's semi-submersible heavy lift ship Target. She was floated off two days later and, with a notable list still evident, cautiously escorted into harbour by the Serco Denholm tugs Bustler, Powerful and Atlas.

Ocean rescue for Tenacious
The crew of the square-rigger Tenacious were praised by the emergency services for their professionalism following a medical emergency in the Irish Sea. The 65m Tenacious had left Cork on the last leg of a 1,500-mile voyage from Gran Canaria when she requested emergency assistance in the early hours of 11 April after one of the fee-paying volunteer crew, in his 60s, complained of feeling unwell.

Manannan ready for TT?
The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company is confident of getting its newest acquisition, Manannan (1998/5,029gt), into service in time to help handle some of the huge volume of traffic for the Isle of Man TT motor cycle race event, which begins at the end of May.

Fastnetline get their ship
Newly formed FastnetLine hope to be up and running between Cork and Swansea by the end of May after a long quest to secure the ferry Julia (1981/22,000gt) ended in success at the beginning of April. To be renamed Innisfallen, reviving a famous Irish Sea ferry name, the former Olau Britannia (1) fills a gap left since Swansea Cork Ferries closed down in October 2006.

Largest Incat for Dover
Incat's latest 112M aluminium catamaran, which exceeded 44 knots in trials off the south coast of Tasmania, is heading for the English Channel to boost LD Line's recently opened Dover-Boulogne service from 29 May. Expected to be named Norman Arrow and British flagged, the 1,200-passenger diesel-powered Incat 066 is bare boat chartered (with an option to purchase) from MGC Chartering, an Irish company previously specialising in aircraft leasing.

Carrier work reshuffle
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has revealed a revised build strategy for the RN's Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The adjustments in the construction workload for the 65,000-tonne ships were made to manage budget demands.

Freedom and Independence
The US Navy has renewed an order for a third Littoral Combat Ship. The Freedom class vessel, to be named USS Fort Worth (LCS3), will replace an earlier contract for the ship which was cancelled in 2007 due to huge cost overruns.

MARS project in the red
The cash-strapped UK MoD has postponed the first phase of the multi-billion-pound Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme to design and build the RN's next generation of support vessels. The project had reached the stage of selecting four consortia to bid for an initial £800 million contract for six new fleet tankers.

Record for UK market
Nearly 1.5 million Brits took a cruise last year, an increase of 11 per cent on 2007, according to the Passenger Shipping Association, with 577,000 passengers sailing on an ex-UK cruise, an increase of 23 per cent. Much of this success was attributed to the introduction of P&O's 3,100-passenger

New Lizzie revealed
Cunard's new 90,400gt Queen Elizabeth will set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage on 12 October 2010, a 13-night cruise to Vigo, Lisbon, Cadiz, Las Palmas, Tenerife, La Palma and Funchal. This cruise was sold out within 29 minutes when reservations opened on 1 April.

Hebridean sells Spirit
Hebridean International Cruises has sold Hebridean Spirit (1991/4,280gt), the larger of its two ships, citing high operating costs and the weakness of the pound against the US Dollar and Euro. She was delivered on 4 April to a private buyer, believed to be a member of Dubai's Royal Family, for conversion into the yacht Sunrise, as have two sisters, the former Renaissance One and Renaissance Two.