#NewcomerShip – Short-sea operator Scotline have acquired Odertal this month and renamed as Scot Leader joined the company fleet that are regular Wicklow Port callers, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 90m general cargoship Odertal registered in Antigua and Barbuda underwent drydocking in Hull. Works included repainting in Scotline’s house colours with the funnel aptly depicting the ‘Saltire’, the distinctive national flag of Scotland also known as St Andrew's Cross.

On completion of drydocking, the newly acquired ship emerged as Scot Leader and under the UK flagged like the rest of the nine-strong company owned fleet that includes Scot Ranger. Only a week ago today, Scot Ranger of 4,500dwt similar to that of the newcomer, was monitored by Afloat.ie bound for Warrenpoint, Co. Down on Carlingford Lough having departed Wicklow Port.

Notably in August, Wicklow Port became the first of five 'Ports of Regional Significance' to transfer to local authority control under the 2013 National Ports Policy. The most easterly port in the Republic now under Wicklow County Council, has over many years specialised in timber trade imports from Scotland and Scandinavia.

Scotline Leader is registered at Inverness from where Scotline made its first shipment in 1979 bringing logs to Bremen, Germany, before moving the route to Varberg in Sweden.

Trade in packaged timber products at Wicklow Port remains to be a major cargo for Scotline, the Rochester in Kent based operator which operates liner trade routes in north-west Europe and Scandinavia. The addition of Scot Leader which has a single box hold provides a timber-fitted capacity of 6,325 cubic metres. The new entrant originally launched as Odertal in 2007 from Bodewes shipyard is currently busy rolling out a 10 ship order for Arklow Shipping.

The Scot Leader can handle 221 TEU containers. On a related note, when writing for Inshore-Ireland (Oct.2005) about Wicklow Port Company during the height of the Celtic Tiger, the port had plans for a container load-on/load off (lo-lo) terminal. Against this backdrop the port was experiencing boom times with not just timber but also plasterboard due to the demands of the construction industry.

The container facility would have been a historic first for the harbour but the project never took off the quayside. Wicklow Port has three commercial quays.

Scot Ranger's recent call took place alongside Packet Quay which is the most commonly used berth. The other berths closer to the town are the North and South Quays that line the Leitrim River before it flows into the sea.

#PortTransfer - Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross T.D. has signed an Order transferring Wicklow Port Company to Wicklow County Council, with the consent of his colleagues Paschal Donohoe T. D., Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and Simon Coveney T.D. Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

Wicklow Port is the first port to transfer under National Ports Policy which was approved by Government and published in 2013. The policy recommended that designated Ports of Regional Significance - Drogheda, Dún Laoghaire, Galway, New Ross and Wicklow - transfer to more appropriate local authority led governance structures.

These ports are important to their regional economy and the transfers support the Government’s reforms in the area of local government generally, through enhancing the role of the local authority in regional economic development. Ports of Regional Significance retain important regional roles as freight distribution hubs and also increasingly important roles in areas such as marine leisure and tourism. The Harbours Act 2015 provides the legislative basis for the transfers to proceed.

Speaking today Minister Ross welcomed the transfer and said:

“Today marks an important milestone as Wicklow Port is the first Port of Regional Significance to transfer to a local authority. Wicklow Port is a thriving regional commercial port and the transfer will provide new opportunities for the development of marine-related activities and regional freight, and to further develop marine leisure and tourism, cultural and recreation amenities in the area, offering significant potential for local employment creation.

I wish to commend the work undertaken by the Chief Executive and his staff in Wicklow County Council as well as the work undertaken by the Board and staff of Wicklow Port who have actively engaged in the due diligence process over a number of months in preparation for transfer.

As you are aware our commercial ports are vital to our future economic growth. They are the gateways for most of our merchandise trade, and for significant numbers of tourists and passengers. National ports policy encourages every port to develop its full potential to ensure that each port can contribute to growth in the overall sector. Ports of Regional significance serve a niche market and provide an important regional and local function.”

#WickowPorts - UKD Orca (2000/3,087grt) yesterday departed Arklow Bay having completed capping a spoil pit site off the County Wicklow harbour which was dredged last year, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, UKD Orca was tasked in capping a designated spoil site north-east of Arklow port's East Pier. This had involved dredging contaminated spoil material from within the harbour channel and basin by the Jenny T early last summer. 

The works at Arklow port are to improve access for all users and encourage notably commercial callers to the port where the River Avoca flows through into the Irish Sea.

UKD Orca is a trailing suction dredger which was returning to Merseyside. When underway some eight nautical miles due east off Wicklow Head, was nearby at anchorage the Ceg Cosmos (1983/1,139grt). The general cargoship loaded with logged timber had sailed from Corpach, under the shadow of Ben Nevis, Scotland.

The majority of the felled tree logs where stowed in the hold though bundles of logs could be seen on the ships hatch cover.

Such trade in timber products was very much a frequent import to Wicklow Port during the heady days of the construction boom, and there appears to be somewhat a comeback to supplying such product.

This trade over the years has also seen ships from Scandinavia discharge timber packaged products through the local agency of Conway Shipping.

Last night, Ceg Cosmos which had weighed anchor only less than half a nautical mile off Black Castle, a ruin which stands on the promontory close to East Pier of the port of Wicklow. On entering the port, the 64m long vessel nudged past the short-sea general cargoship, Leine (2005/2,164grt). The 89m long vessel was been loaded with an export cargo of recycled metal while alongside North Quay.

Leine, flagged in Antigua Barbuda had docked having sailed from Cork. As for the Gibraltar flagged Ceg Cosmos she was berthed further upriver at Packet Quay.

Directly facing on the opposite South Quay on this narrower stretch within the port where the River Leitrim flows out to sea, is where a miscellaneous local inshore fishing fleet where moored abreast.

Nestled within these fishing boats was Island Shipping's wind-farm crew transfer and support catamaran Island Panther. The Southampton registered high-speed 17m craft is part of the Wicklow based company.

#WicklowPort – As a snapshot into the shipping activity of Wicklow Port, this morning saw the departure of Lehmann Baltic (1997/2,820grt) with a cargo of refuse derived fuel (RDF) bound for Bremen, writes Jehan Ashmore.

RDF is mostly made of combustible components from municipal waste such as plastics and biodegradable waste which are shredded using waste converter technology to be processed as a source for fuel.

At almost 90m, Lehmann Baltic is a Dutch owned general cargo vessel operated by Wagenborg. She was loaded with the RDF cargo alongside the Packet Pier, one of two commercial quays operated by Wicklow Port Company.

The port is approximately only 35 miles from Dublin is experiencing a modest increase in traffic not seen since 2008, with exports of recycled timber and logs as well as glass cullet. The principal import is timber products which during the boom years were frequently shipped from Scandinavia to meet the demands of the construction industry.

Vessels generally small coasters and general cargo ships berth alongside north and south quays of the port, which as previously reported on Afloat.ie is currently undergoing dredging.

The Jenny T is carrying out the works within the port where the River Leitrim flows into the harbour which has not been dredged since 1998. The spoil is removed by the Sligo registered vessel and dumped a few kilometres off the harbour.

Further south in Arklow, Co. Wicklow's only other large port, is also to undergo dredging operations next month.

Likewise of Wicklow, as previously reported, such work has not been conducted in the port for some 15 years.

#POWER FROM THE SEA - This morning the wind farm turbine installation vessel Sea Energy, departed Wicklow Bay having spent over a fortnight based in Wicklow Port, where her Danish crew celebrated Christmas Day, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Esbjerg registered vessel operated by A2 Sea, arrived in the week before Christmas to work at Airtricity's Arklow Bank Wind Farm, but the nature of the work was based on internal operations only at the seven turbine facility, which each structure scaling to a height of over 70 metres / 240 feet.

Upon completion of her work, she returned to Wicklow where her crew spent the festive season in port with a Christmas tree complete with  lights! at the bow.

She remained in the harbour into the New Year and during the recent spate of heavy weather until finally departing yesterday on Little Christmas, where she overnighted in the bay.

With four towering supporting jack-up legs each 32 metres  high, this enables her to carry out offshore crane operations with greater control. In addition the vessel is raised completely above the water to gain elevation to assist mounting the pre-assembled wind-turbine components from her deck cargo.

She can work in waters of up to 24 metres and as she rests on the sea-bed this provides a more stable working platform.

Sea Energy presented a distinctive profile while in port as she 'sat' close to the Packet Quay, as her jack-up legs make mooring ropes redundant.

The quay is the main commercial quay and during this week she vacated the berth to allow regular caller Scot Isles (2001/2,595grt) which arrived with a cargo of sawn packaged timber products from Scandinavia. Owned by Scot Line, the vessel remained in the port for two days and then departed for Warrenpoint.

The Wicklow Port Company also specialise in dry-cargoes, lead, and scrap-metal as previously reported, to read more click HERE.

It is somewhat unusual for vessel movements in Wicklow to berth outside the harbour piers, as in the case with Sea Energy.

She shifted berths to the seaward side of the West Pier and again she sat with jack-legs lowered in water depths of six metres, leaving a clearance of around two metres below the keel.

Although Arklow is closer to the wind-farm than Wicklow, Sea Energy's 3,332 gross tonnes is too large to be accommodated as the port on the River Avoca has a has lower water depth.

The cargoship Arklow Rebel (2,999 gross tonnes) which loaded scrap metal in Wicklow Port today, is believed to be the largest Arklow Shipping Ltd vessel to dock in the east coast port, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 7-year old Dutch-built vessel arrived in ballast from Warrenpoint Co. Down around 01.30hrs to berth alongside the town's south quays at the Packet Quay.

Throughout this afternoon there was a steady stream of lorries laden with the scrap-metal which was loaded into the ship's hull by a quayside grabber. Upon completion of loading, the distinctive green hulled Arklow Rebel departed this evening bound for Liverpool.

She is one of nine 'R'class series of ships built by the Dutch shipyard of Barkmeijer Stroobos B.V. and has the following dimensions (90m length X 12m breath X 4m draft). For further vessel characteristics click HERE.

The Irish-flagged vessel is registered at the neighbouring port of Arklow to the south and is part of a fleet of over 40 ships managed by the Tyrrell family.

During the boom years Wicklow port was particularly busy with Scandinavian imports of bundled packaged timber and plasterboard for the construction industry.

The tidal port at the mouth of the River Leitrim also specialises in paper, lead, steel and dry bulk cargoes, principally coal in addition to other general and heavy-lift project cargoes.

For many years the issue of road traffic congestion was finally solved when the Wicklow Port Access and Town Relief Road Scheme was completed in April of last year.

The port access road (1.6km) runs between the Rathnew Road to The Murrough via a bridge that crosses the Broadlough Estuary and over the Dublin-Rosslare railway line.