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Displaying items by tag: LISW17

19th September 2017

New London Commuter Catamarans Enter Thames Service

Newest member of MBNA Thames Clipper fleet, the catamaran Jupiter Clipper recently joined the largest commuter and tourist operator on river services though central London. Above the new 175 passenger craft is seen in Southampton prior to making a delivery voyage to the UK capital.

#ferry - Afloat last week featured Dublin Discovered Boat Tours, the capital's only dedicated operator on the Liffey, among it's London counterparts are MBNA Thames Clippers which introduced brand new craft but also commissioned to transport commuters, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The newbuild Jupiter Clippper with capacity for 172 passengers is the youngest member of MBNA Thames Clippers having entered service last month following debut of sister Mercury Clipper. They join a fleet providing rapid transport services through central London on various routes based between Putney in the west to Royal Woolwich Arsenal in the east.

Both craft represent (as Afloat reported last year) the largest fast commercial passenger ferries contracted from a UK shipyard in over 25 years and to serve in the nation's coastal waters. The pair made the 200 nautical mile delivery passage from Wight Shipyard Co Ltd on the Isle of Wight to the Trinity Buoy Wharf in east London.

Combined the passenger catamarans form a £6.3 million investment in London’s port and transport infrastructure to provide an additional 14% capacity and increased frequency cross the River Thames network. They are the most technically advanced and energy efficient fast ferries so far for MBNA Thames Clippers that now totals a fleet of 17 craft. The operator expects by the end of 2017 to have carried over four million commuters and tourists alike on Old Father Thames.

The build process took 10 months to complete Jupiter Clipper and Mercury Clipper and this led to the creation of over 75 new jobs across the Isle of Wight and London in the process. The 35m long catamarans are of the Hunt Class Mark 2, designed by Australian naval architects One2Three based in Sydney. They are built to ultra-high specifications among them incorperating a low-wash hull design likewsise of near sisters Clipper Neptune and Galaxy Clipper of the Hunt Class. These slightly smaller 150 passenger capacity craft having only entered service in 2015, make up the most modern and largest fleet on the Thames.

Also as part of river developments before the end of this year will be the completion of three piers added to the MBNA Thames Clipper commuter network. The locations are Plantation Wharf Pier, Westminster Pier and Battersea Power Station Pier.

MBNA Thames Clippers are committed to making the river as accessible to as many people as possible. Also their support of the Port of London Authority (PLA) Thames Vision of doubling the number of people travelling by river and its target of 20 million commuter and tourist trips every year.

As part of the last week's London International Shipping Week attended by the IMDO, a private charter of Thames Clipper was planned by LISW17 for delegates to take a special excursion of the PLA terminals. Among them in London's east docklands is located in Erith (Conway's berth for aggregates) and where during LISW17 Afloat had tracked down cargoship Arklow Resolve (see rare Dublin Cargoship Call to 'Docklands')

It was at this same berth in Erith, that Afloat had also followed Arklow Resolve make a previous call in late August, having finally departed Dublin Port notably where the 2,999grt cargoship had made a rare layover period of more than a month. This took place in the capital's old inner port that is referred as the 'Docklands' quarter, the Irish equivalent of London's Canary Wharf occupied by the financial services sector.

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Dublin Bay

Dublin Bay on the east coast of Ireland stretches over seven kilometres, from Howth Head on its northern tip to Dalkey Island in the south. It's a place most Dubliners simply take for granted, and one of the capital's least visited places. But there's more going on out there than you'd imagine.

The biggest boating centre is at Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the Bay's south shore that is home to over 1,500 pleasure craft, four waterfront yacht clubs and Ireland's largest marina.

The bay is rather shallow with many sandbanks and rocky outcrops, and was notorious in the past for shipwrecks, especially when the wind was from the east. Until modern times, many ships and their passengers were lost along the treacherous coastline from Howth to Dun Laoghaire, less than a kilometre from shore.

The Bay is a C-shaped inlet of the Irish Sea and is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and 7 km in length to its apex at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south. North Bull Island is situated in the northwest part of the bay, where one of two major inshore sandbanks lie, and features a 5 km long sandy beach, Dollymount Strand, fronting an internationally recognised wildfowl reserve. Many of the rivers of Dublin reach the Irish Sea at Dublin Bay: the River Liffey, with the River Dodder flow received less than 1 km inland, River Tolka, and various smaller rivers and streams.

Dublin Bay FAQs

There are approximately ten beaches and bathing spots around Dublin Bay: Dollymount Strand; Forty Foot Bathing Place; Half Moon bathing spot; Merrion Strand; Bull Wall; Sandycove Beach; Sandymount Strand; Seapoint; Shelley Banks; Sutton, Burrow Beach

There are slipways on the north side of Dublin Bay at Clontarf, Sutton and on the southside at Dun Laoghaire Harbour, and in Dalkey at Coliemore and Bulloch Harbours.

Dublin Bay is administered by a number of Government Departments, three local authorities and several statutory agencies. Dublin Port Company is in charge of navigation on the Bay.

Dublin Bay is approximately 70 sq kilometres or 7,000 hectares. The Bay is about 10 kilometres wide along its north-south base, and seven km in length east-west to its peak at the centre of the city of Dublin; stretching from Howth Head in the north to Dalkey Point in the south.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour on the southside of the Bay has an East and West Pier, each one kilometre long; this is one of the largest human-made harbours in the world. There also piers or walls at the entrance to the River Liffey at Dublin city known as the Great North and South Walls. Other harbours on the Bay include Bulloch Harbour and Coliemore Harbours both at Dalkey.

There are two marinas on Dublin Bay. Ireland's largest marina with over 800 berths is on the southern shore at Dun Laoghaire Harbour. The other is at Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club on the River Liffey close to Dublin City.

Car and passenger Ferries operate from Dublin Port to the UK, Isle of Man and France. A passenger ferry operates from Dun Laoghaire Harbour to Howth as well as providing tourist voyages around the bay.

Dublin Bay has two Islands. Bull Island at Clontarf and Dalkey Island on the southern shore of the Bay.

The River Liffey flows through Dublin city and into the Bay. Its tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac.

Dollymount, Burrow and Seapoint beaches

Approximately 1,500 boats from small dinghies to motorboats to ocean-going yachts. The vast majority, over 1,000, are moored at Dun Laoghaire Harbour which is Ireland's boating capital.

In 1981, UNESCO recognised the importance of Dublin Bay by designating North Bull Island as a Biosphere because of its rare and internationally important habitats and species of wildlife. To support sustainable development, UNESCO’s concept of a Biosphere has evolved to include not just areas of ecological value but also the areas around them and the communities that live and work within these areas. There have since been additional international and national designations, covering much of Dublin Bay, to ensure the protection of its water quality and biodiversity. To fulfil these broader management aims for the ecosystem, the Biosphere was expanded in 2015. The Biosphere now covers Dublin Bay, reflecting its significant environmental, economic, cultural and tourism importance, and extends to over 300km² to include the bay, the shore and nearby residential areas.

On the Southside at Dun Laoghaire, there is the National Yacht Club, Royal St. George Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club and Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club as well as Dublin Bay Sailing Club. In the city centre, there is Poolbeg Yacht and Boat Club. On the Northside of Dublin, there is Clontarf Yacht and Boat Club and Sutton Dinghy Club. While not on Dublin Bay, Howth Yacht Club is the major north Dublin Sailing centre.

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