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Displaying items by tag: German Built

The fourth and final 'W' series of newbuilds for Arklow Shipping was launched earlier this month, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Arklow Wood was successfully launched at the Ferus Smit's shipyard in Leer, Germany.

As Afloat reported a previous sister Arklow Willow was launched last year though the 'Wind' is the first to be used in the owners naming scheme for this series.

The Arklow Wood took to the waters on 3rd April and will fly the Irish flag. As for design the cargoship is an enlarged version of the 8500dwt ships that the shipyard delivered to Arklow Shipping in the past.  The cargoship in comparison with these predecessors has almost twice the carrying capacity of 16,500dwt.

As for propulsion the newbuild is equipped with a 3840kW main engine in order to achieve low fuel consumption.

The design features:
– Main dimensions (Loa X B X T) 149.50 X 19.25 X 8.59 mtr.
– 16500 DWT, 700.000 cft hold volume.
– Iceclass 1A with 3840kW main engine.
– 2 box shaped holds.
– Propeller equipped with a duct for enhanced thrust at lower speeds and reduction of maximum installed propulsion power.

A previous 'W' series of a different design and all since disposed had been the first newbuilds for ASL to be ordered from a shipyard outside Europe, having been built in South Korea. This series however only totalled a trio and all using the same ship names now applied to the new series comprising of leadship Arklow Wave, Wind and Willow.

Another recent newbuild, Arklow Ace launched last month and belonging to the 'A'  series was also built by the same German group but at their Ferus Smit yard at Westerbroek, The Netherlands. The newbuild has recently left the inland yard under the Irish flag. 

The fleet of ASL including its Dutch division totals almost 60 dry-cargo vessels among them deep-sea bulk-carriers. 

Published in Arklow Shipping

Marine Wildlife Around Ireland One of the greatest memories of any day spent boating around the Irish coast is an encounter with marine wildlife.  It's a thrill for young and old to witness seabirds, seals, dolphins and whales right there in their own habitat. As boaters fortunate enough to have experienced it will testify even spotting a distant dorsal fin can be the highlight of any day afloat.  Was that a porpoise? Was it a whale? No matter how brief the glimpse it's a privilege to share the seas with Irish marine wildlife.

Thanks to the location of our beautiful little island, perched in the North Atlantic Ocean there appears to be no shortage of marine life to observe.

From whales to dolphins, seals, sharks and other ocean animals this page documents the most interesting accounts of marine wildlife around our shores. We're keen to receive your observations, your photos, links and youtube clips.

Boaters have a unique perspective and all those who go afloat, from inshore kayaking to offshore yacht racing that what they encounter can be of real value to specialist organisations such as the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) who compile a list of sightings and strandings. The IWDG knowledge base has increased over the past 21 years thanks in part at least to the observations of sailors, anglers, kayakers and boaters.

Thanks to the IWDG work we now know we share the seas with dozens of species who also call Ireland home. Here's the current list: Atlantic white-sided dolphin, beluga whale, blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, common dolphin, Cuvier's beaked whale, false killer whale, fin whale, Gervais' beaked whale, harbour porpoise, humpback whale, killer whale, minke whale, northern bottlenose whale, northern right whale, pilot whale, pygmy sperm whale, Risso's dolphin, sei whale, Sowerby's beaked whale, sperm whale, striped dolphin, True's beaked whale and white-beaked dolphin.

But as impressive as the species list is the IWDG believe there are still gaps in our knowledge. Next time you are out on the ocean waves keep a sharp look out!