The Poole Harbour Boat Show makes it debut on 9-10 May
The Poole Harbour Boat Show makes it debut on 9-10 May and looks forward to welcoming a number of marine companies demonstrating exciting new products at this iconic Dorset location.
Boats and marine equipment will be displayed along Poole Quay and at Poole Harbour Commissioners Marina and Poole Quay Boat Haven. Already several big names in the boat market have been confirmed as exhibitors.
To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2015, Sunseeker International has announced that it will create 28 new apprenticeship vacancies during the coming year, its largest intake in four years. These will cover a broad range of specialist skills including marine engineers, electricians and carpenters, all based at its manufacturing centre in Poole, Dorset.
Sunseeker has recognised the benefits of developing apprentices for over 35 years, training on average 25 apprentices annually across its programme. Working in partnership with Bournemouth & Poole College and its specialist Marine Technology Centre, Sunseeker is firmly committed to honing the high level skills required to develop the young marine engineers and boat builders of the future who will maintain its reputation and position as a world leader in luxury performance motor yacht design and manufacture. Continue reading “Sunseeker supports National Apprenticeship Week”
The 165ft / 50m classic motor yacht Malahne was re-launched on March 14th at Pendennis Shipyard
The 165ft / 50m classic motor yacht Malahne was re-launched on March 14th at Pendennis Shipyard, Falmouth, after a substantial 30 month restoration, during which time the project details have been shrouded in secrecy. Designed by Charles E Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1937, Malahne is one of a very small number of pre-war motor yachts to have survived until the 21st Century. Having now undergone one of the most ambitious restorations of all time, her original elegance has been reinstated, whilst being modernised to be fully classed by Lloyd’s Register complying with the MCA Large Yacht Code (LY3).
The new monster 143,000 ton P&O cruise ship, BRITANNIA, was ordered in 2011 and her keel was laid down on 15 May 2013. The ship was constructed at a cost of £473 million by the Fincantieri yard in Italy. The ceremonial launch and float out took place on the afternoon of 14 February 2014.
In early March 2015, BRITANNIA made her way to her home port of Southampton, bucking the modern day trend by not opting to fly an overseas flag, where she was officially christened on Tuesday 10 March by Queen Elizabeth II.
Speaking on board BRITANNIA before she departed on her first voyage to the Mediterranean, Captain Amir Esmiley, area operations manager for Southampton based Maritime and Coastguard Agency congratulated P&O Cruises on choosing to register the ship in the city.
Capt E S Geary has been appointed as consultant and technical advisor for the proposed Gibraltar superyacht marina
Ocean Village, the developers behind the proposed development of the new Gibraltar superyacht marina, has confirmed it has appointed Capt E S Geary as a consultant and technical advisor for this ambitious project.
In a statement, Ocean Village said that Gibraltar is ideally located to attract and provide services to this ever increasing market. The number of large yachts under construction in Gibraltar has more than tripled over the last 10 years. Ocean Village says that if the proposed new Gibraltar superyacht marina in Marina Bay was only 60% full, it could bring £75m into the local Gibraltar economy.
ECPY calls on the French government to reject the proposed new yacht tax in French waters
The European Committee for Professional Yachting (ECPY) has likened the proposed tax on yachts in French waters to what happened in Sardinia between 2006 and 2009. According to ECPY, this legislation, if passed, would have a profound and potentially catastrophic effect.
In January, the French Senate introduced a bill to tax yachts that were cruising in any of the 322 French managed marine areas, representing almost a quarter of the country’s territorial waters. But the bill was kicked out by the National Assembly as they realised the damaging effect it could have on what is a lucrative industry and popular leisure pastime.
The Maritime Union of New Zealand is calling for an inquiry to be set up into the number of accidents affecting seafarers and port workers
A Port of Lyttelton worker suffered a broken arm on Tuesday 3 March 2015 after a fall aboard a vessel. Two C3 employees in the Port of Timaru were taken to hospital after an incident aboard a container vessel on the early morning of Wednesday 4 March 2015. One of the workers was transferred to Christchurch hospital with serious back injuries.
Maritime Union National Secretary Joe Fleetwood says the ongoing and regular accidents in the port sector showed there were “systemic and deep rooted problems” that needed to be brought into the open.
Mr Fleetwood says he was concerned other incidents were happening in ports but had gone under a “cone of silence.”
Environmental scientists have questioned the effects of the Nicaragua Canal. Image courtesy of South China Morning Post
A consortium of environmental scientists has expressed strong concern about the impact of the controversial Central American Nicaragua Canal. The path of the Nicaragua Canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans will cut through Lake Cocibolca (aka Lake Nicaragua), Central America’s main freshwater reservoir and the largest tropical freshwater lake of the Americas; this plan will force the relocation of indigenous populations and impact a fragile ecosystem, including species at risk of extinction, according to Rice University environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez and other members of the consortium.
Alvarez is co-corresponding author of an article that includes 21 co-authors from 18 institutions in the United States and Central and South America who gathered at a multidisciplinary international workshop in Managua, Nicaragua, last November to discuss the project. The paper, titled “Scientists Raise Alarms About Fast Tracking of Transoceanic Canal Through Nicaragua,” has been published by the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Oceania Marine has announced major improvements for its Port Whangarei Marine Centre
As part of it’s new development plan, Oceania Marine has announced the order of the first of two travel lift machines for its Port Whangarei Marine Centre (PWMC) at South Shipyard in Port Whangarei, New Zealand.
The project, which is expected to take approximately six months to complete, has commenced at South Shipyard with the introduction of the new travel lift haulout service. The development will begin with the installation of the smaller of the two proposed lifts, a 100 Cimolai mobile boat hauler (MBH 100), utilising the extensive sealed hardstand, refit sheds and amenities that are already in place at the shipyard.
BIMCO has developed a maritime environmental and efficiency management guide
BIMCO has launched a new, multi-part guidance resource to support ship owners and operators in improving their environmental performance and the efficiency of their ships.
The BIMCO Guide to Maritime Environmental & Efficiency Management, developed in partnership with maritime efficiency specialists Fathom, and supported by ClassNK, provides a resource to facilitate compliance with environmental regulations and assist owners and operators in the development of an environmental and efficiency management system. This first-of-a-kind, comprehensive resource allows ship owners and operators to develop an all-encompassing environmental and efficiency management system.
Munkebo Maersk becomes the biggest ship to sail the Thames
The 399 metre long Munkebo Maersk, which weighs in at 195,000 tonnes and is 60 metre wide became the largest vessel ever to sail up the Thames. The Munkebo Maersk is one of the largest container vessels in the world. She was helped into port by pilots from the Port of London Authority.
Munkebo Maersk can carry 18,300 x 20 foot containers.
Simon Moore, chief executive of DP World London Gateway, said: “This is yet another record and landmark moment for DP World London Gateway.
Scottish Minister, Richard Lochhead, calls for funding for emergency towing vehicles to be extended
The provision for Emergency Towing Vehicles should be reviewed immediately and extended beyond March 2016, Richard Lochhead said during the recent national marine plan debate.
This call comes as a result of the recent sinking of the Cemfjord and the grounding of a large cargo ship Lysblink Seaways at Ardnamurchan Point.
The UK Government must reassure maritime industries that emergency tug provision is available across Scotland’s waters including the Western Isles and the west coast of Scotland. Marine industries bring approximately £18 billion into the Scottish economy and there must be adequate provision to protect these interests and the marine environment itself. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the development of Scotland’s seas stay within environmental limits, which is why we have developed this plan. The plan outlines the Government’s vision for the sustainable development and use of the marine environment. It provides clarity and flexibility to developers and decision makers on Scotland’s priorities for sustainable use of the sea.