Menu

Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: New Container Cranes

Afloat tracked a heavy-lift vessel berth in Belfast Harbour today having sailed from Dublin Port and from where in both ports project cargoes consisting of container infrastructure had been loaded in Cork Harbour, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The Portuguese flagged heavy-lift vessel UHL Focus arrived in Belfast Harbour this morning to discharge a new STS (ship to shore) container crane for Belfast Harbour Commissioners. The unloading of the unassembled crane manufactured by Liebherr plant in Killarney, is taking place near the H&W Shipyard but downriver along the southern bank of the Lagan.

Prior to the delivery to the Ulster port, UHL Focus had discharged in Dublin Port two new RTG's (rubber tyred gantry) cranes for the Doyle Shipping Group which Afloat contacted to confirm. UHL Focus arrived in the port in the early hours of Monday where operations to discharge the part-cargo in Alexandra Basin along Ocean Pier were completed yesterday afternoon.

The RTG's will in fact be used on location at the neighbouring Alexandra Basin (East) where DSG operate a container terminal. The role of RTG's is a mobile gantry crane used in intermodal operations to ground or stack containers.

The cranes were also manufactured by Liebherr's Co. Kerry plant and according to DSG they were fully assembled and tested at the shipping group's terminal in Cork Dockyard (the former Verolme Cork Dockyard).

On the quayside at the dockyard in Rushbrooke near Cobh, the cranes were loaded on board. UHL Focus then transported them to Dublin Port and where they are ready to go into action in such challenging times where keeping trade flows moving is vital to ensure the economy functions.

In November, Afloat reported on the delivery of a crane for DSG in Dublin Port, but on that occasion the port infrastructure was imported from Liebherr of Germany. The crane was a not for lifting containers but is used at the same terminal to cater for break-bulk cargo handling. 

Published in Ports & 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!