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Displaying items by tag: Pembroke Port

In south Wales, the Port of Milford Haven has appointed a new commercial manager for Pembroke Dock.

The appointment of Sharon Adams as the port's new Commercial Manager will be a key part to develop growing markets and support existing customers.

Sharon joins the port in Pembrokeshire from Chambers Wales where, most recently, she supported businesses with the changes required post-Brexit.

Previous to that Sharon’s career was predominantly in management roles within the hospitality and leisure industries with companies including The Parc by Thistle, St Brides Spa Hotel and Bluestone Resorts.

On joining the port, Sharon commented: “Learning more about the export and import markets really interested me, so when the opportunity to work with the Port came up I knew this was the right opportunity to put my commercial skills to good use. I’m very much looking forward to the challenge and the variety of businesses I’ll be working with.”

Commercial Director at the Port, Steve Edwards, said “Sharon has values that align to our culture and a wealth of commercial experience, and her latest role at Chambers Wales meant that she learnt a great deal about the movement of goods around the globe which puts her in an excellent position to help businesses grow whilst utilising our Pembroke site.”

Published in Ports & Shipping

Marine renewables sector in south-west Wales, is to High Speed Tranfers Marine, an offshore vessel company, expand into Pembrokeshire after recognising the opportunities of the sector in the region.

HST Marine provides solutions in shipping, vessel management and chartering to industries throughout Europe from their headquarters in Swansea.

After learning at an industry event last year of the £60m Pembroke Dock Marine project,  they now occupy an office and warehouse space in the heart of the development at Pembroke Port (see ferry deal) where they will be storing crew transfer vessels, RHIBs and workboats.

Site modifications are planned at Pembroke Port to create a modern port capable of delivering the needs of the marine energy and engineering sectors, including a deep-water slipway. Forming part of the ports' project as alluded, it will create the right conditions for job creation, skills development, supply chain resilience and economic growth.

CEO at HST Marine, Tom Nevin, sees this as a huge opportunity for Pembrokeshire. “Projects such as the Pembroke Dock Marine port infrastructure changes are crucial to HST’s current and long-term business plans. In order to expand, grow and compete with international companies, these types of projects are incredibly important and will help us to establish ourselves in south Wales” he said.

Tim James, Head of Commercial and Energy at the Port, has welcomed the team, commenting “HST Marine are bringing credible expertise and equipment to the growing cluster of specialists attracting year-round, well-paid employment opportunities into our community. Businesses like HST are recognising that Pembroke Dock, in particular, has the potential to play a major part in Wales’ aspiration to meet net zero targets and we must evolve our assets to meet their needs and those of future generations.”

Pembroke Dock Marine is funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal, the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, and through private investment.

Published in Power From the Sea

#ports&shipping - Combi Dock III recently became the largest cargoship to visit Pembroke Port, Wales from where exported parts of a decommissioned oil refinery were loaded and bound for Pakistan.

The Murco refinery in Milford Haven closed in 2014 and is now owned by Puma Energy which runs it as a storage terminal.

Over the past year refinery parts have been transported by road to Pembroke Port for storage on the 69 acre site, with a team experienced in heavy lifts and unusual cargo, where the Combi Dock III was berthed. Additionally, a 201 tonne reactor was transported by the Terra Marique barge from Gelliswick Bay to Pembroke Port as it was too large to be moved by road.

The Combi Dock III is the largest vessel to berth at Pembroke Port, weighing in at 17,341 gross tons, measuring 162m in length with a beam of 25m. 3,239.94 tonnes of cargo is now on route to Pakistan; there it is expected to be reassembled. Two further exports of similar sizes are expected to take place over the next twelve to eighteen months.

Director of Quayside Operations at Pembroke Port, Natalie Britton, said “The movement of the refinery parts was well executed and the transfer onto the Combi Dock III ran smoothly. Our team provided moorings, berthing, quay space and laydown area, as well as safety inductions for the contractors on site. This is a prime example of how Pembroke Port can handle large and unusual size cargoes safely and efficiently.”

Afloat adds that Pembroke Port is predominently used as a ferryport by Irish Ferries Isle of Inishmore (34,000 gross tons) that serves the link to Rosslare.

There has been a ferry service between south Wales and Wexford since 1980 when the Pembrokeshire port was first developed for such operations. This involved the former Irish State owned shipping operator B+I Line running the route.

In more recent times, a berth nearby to the ferry linkspan, has been used to accommodate cruiseships. 

 

Published in Ports & Shipping

#PortWaveSub - An agreement between Marine Power Systems (MPS) following testing of key components of a pioneering wave powered renewable energy technology at Pembroke Port has been signed with the facility’s operator, the Port of Milford Haven.

The pump that is central to the concept of a pioneering WaveSub wave energy converter was tested in an onshore tidal lagoon at Pembroke Port. The pump will form part of the quarter size prototype that is now being developed by Swansea-based MPS. The WaveSub project has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Government, with MPS receiving a £2 million grant in October 2015.

In a Memorandum of Understanding between MPS and the Port of Milford Haven, this will see deeper cooperation in WaveSub’s ongoing development. Wave energy is thought to hold great promise for delivering abundant renewable energy from the sea off the coast of Pembrokeshire and globally.

Due to the patent protected innovations of the WaveSub, it can be manufactured at commercial scale from a single facility in Wales and deployed throughout Europe.

Chief Executive of the Port of Milford Haven, Alec Don said, “Supporting companies with skills in the development of technologies and Intellectual Property is central to the Port’s strategy to promote a thriving marine renewable energy industry in the region.

“It’s great news to see Marine Power Systems go ahead with development of the WaveSub. It is just a few short months since Tidal Energy Ltd deployed their DeltaStream device, built here on the dockside, in the waters off the coast. Once again we are firmly committed to providing business support and help in kind and will be introducing MPS to some of the highly skilled companies the local supply chain can undoubtedly provide.”

Dr Gareth Stockman, co-founder and managing director of Marine Power Systems, said, “Marine Power Systems is hugely grateful to the Port of Milford Haven for its support. It has recently helped with the deployment and installation of the pump and it is great to know that they will be able to provide further assistance whilst manufacturing & deploying our ¼ scale prototype.”

 

Published in Power From the Sea

Irish Fishing industry 

The Irish Commercial Fishing Industry employs around 11,000 people in fishing, processing and ancillary services such as sales and marketing. The industry is worth about €1.22 billion annually to the Irish economy. Irish fisheries products are exported all over the world as far as Africa, Japan and China.

FAQs

Over 16,000 people are employed directly or indirectly around the coast, working on over 2,000 registered fishing vessels, in over 160 seafood processing businesses and in 278 aquaculture production units, according to the State's sea fisheries development body Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

All activities that are concerned with growing, catching, processing or transporting fish are part of the commercial fishing industry, the development of which is overseen by BIM. Recreational fishing, as in angling at sea or inland, is the responsibility of Inland Fisheries Ireland.

The Irish fishing industry is valued at 1.22 billion euro in gross domestic product (GDP), according to 2019 figures issued by BIM. Only 179 of Ireland's 2,000 vessels are over 18 metres in length. Where does Irish commercially caught fish come from? Irish fish and shellfish is caught or cultivated within the 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but Irish fishing grounds are part of the common EU "blue" pond. Commercial fishing is regulated under the terms of the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983 and with ten-yearly reviews.

The total value of seafood landed into Irish ports was 424 million euro in 2019, according to BIM. High value landings identified in 2019 were haddock, hake, monkfish and megrim. Irish vessels also land into foreign ports, while non-Irish vessels land into Irish ports, principally Castletownbere, Co Cork, and Killybegs, Co Donegal.

There are a number of different methods for catching fish, with technological advances meaning skippers have detailed real time information at their disposal. Fisheries are classified as inshore, midwater, pelagic or deep water. Inshore targets species close to shore and in depths of up to 200 metres, and may include trawling and gillnetting and long-lining. Trawling is regarded as "active", while "passive" or less environmentally harmful fishing methods include use of gill nets, long lines, traps and pots. Pelagic fisheries focus on species which swim close to the surface and up to depths of 200 metres, including migratory mackerel, and tuna, and methods for catching include pair trawling, purse seining, trolling and longlining. Midwater fisheries target species at depths of around 200 metres, using trawling, longlining and jigging. Deepwater fisheries mainly use trawling for species which are found at depths of over 600 metres.

There are several segments for different catching methods in the registered Irish fleet – the largest segment being polyvalent or multi-purpose vessels using several types of gear which may be active and passive. The polyvalent segment ranges from small inshore vessels engaged in netting and potting to medium and larger vessels targeting whitefish, pelagic (herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting) species and bivalve molluscs. The refrigerated seawater (RSW) pelagic segment is engaged mainly in fishing for herring, mackerel, horse mackerel and blue whiting only. The beam trawling segment focuses on flatfish such as sole and plaice. The aquaculture segment is exclusively for managing, developing and servicing fish farming areas and can collect spat from wild mussel stocks.

The top 20 species landed by value in 2019 were mackerel (78 million euro); Dublin Bay prawn (59 million euro); horse mackerel (17 million euro); monkfish (17 million euro); brown crab (16 million euro); hake (11 million euro); blue whiting (10 million euro); megrim (10 million euro); haddock (9 million euro); tuna (7 million euro); scallop (6 million euro); whelk (5 million euro); whiting (4 million euro); sprat (3 million euro); herring (3 million euro); lobster (2 million euro); turbot (2 million euro); cod (2 million euro); boarfish (2 million euro).

Ireland has approximately 220 million acres of marine territory, rich in marine biodiversity. A marine biodiversity scheme under Ireland's operational programme, which is co-funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and the Government, aims to reduce the impact of fisheries and aquaculture on the marine environment, including avoidance and reduction of unwanted catch.

EU fisheries ministers hold an annual pre-Christmas council in Brussels to decide on total allowable catches and quotas for the following year. This is based on advice from scientific bodies such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. In Ireland's case, the State's Marine Institute publishes an annual "stock book" which provides the most up to date stock status and scientific advice on over 60 fish stocks exploited by the Irish fleet. Total allowable catches are supplemented by various technical measures to control effort, such as the size of net mesh for various species.

The west Cork harbour of Castletownbere is Ireland's biggest whitefish port. Killybegs, Co Donegal is the most important port for pelagic (herring, mackerel, blue whiting) landings. Fish are also landed into Dingle, Co Kerry, Rossaveal, Co Galway, Howth, Co Dublin and Dunmore East, Co Waterford, Union Hall, Co Cork, Greencastle, Co Donegal, and Clogherhead, Co Louth. The busiest Northern Irish ports are Portavogie, Ardglass and Kilkeel, Co Down.

Yes, EU quotas are allocated to other fleets within the Irish EEZ, and Ireland has long been a transhipment point for fish caught by the Spanish whitefish fleet in particular. Dingle, Co Kerry has seen an increase in foreign landings, as has Castletownbere. The west Cork port recorded foreign landings of 36 million euro or 48 per cent in 2019, and has long been nicknamed the "peseta" port, due to the presence of Spanish-owned transhipment plant, Eiranova, on Dinish island.

Most fish and shellfish caught or cultivated in Irish waters is for the export market, and this was hit hard from the early stages of this year's Covid-19 pandemic. The EU, Asia and Britain are the main export markets, while the middle Eastern market is also developing and the African market has seen a fall in value and volume, according to figures for 2019 issued by BIM.

Fish was once a penitential food, eaten for religious reasons every Friday. BIM has worked hard over several decades to develop its appeal. Ireland is not like Spain – our land is too good to transform us into a nation of fish eaters, but the obvious health benefits are seeing a growth in demand. Seafood retail sales rose by one per cent in 2019 to 300 million euro. Salmon and cod remain the most popular species, while BIM reports an increase in sales of haddock, trout and the pangasius or freshwater catfish which is cultivated primarily in Vietnam and Cambodia and imported by supermarkets here.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), initiated in 1983, pooled marine resources – with Ireland having some of the richest grounds and one of the largest sea areas at the time, but only receiving four per cent of allocated catch by a quota system. A system known as the "Hague Preferences" did recognise the need to safeguard the particular needs of regions where local populations are especially dependent on fisheries and related activities. The State's Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, based in Clonakilty, Co Cork, works with the Naval Service on administering the EU CFP. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine and Department of Transport regulate licensing and training requirements, while the Marine Survey Office is responsible for the implementation of all national and international legislation in relation to safety of shipping and the prevention of pollution.

Yes, a range of certificates of competency are required for skippers and crew. Training is the remit of BIM, which runs two national fisheries colleges at Greencastle, Co Donegal and Castletownbere, Co Cork. There have been calls for the colleges to be incorporated into the third-level structure of education, with qualifications recognised as such.

Safety is always an issue, in spite of technological improvements, as fishing is a hazardous occupation and climate change is having its impact on the severity of storms at sea. Fishing skippers and crews are required to hold a number of certificates of competency, including safety and navigation, and wearing of personal flotation devices is a legal requirement. Accidents come under the remit of the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, and the Health and Safety Authority. The MCIB does not find fault or blame, but will make recommendations to the Minister for Transport to avoid a recurrence of incidents.

Fish are part of a marine ecosystem and an integral part of the marine food web. Changing climate is having a negative impact on the health of the oceans, and there have been more frequent reports of warmer water species being caught further and further north in Irish waters.

Brexit, Covid 19, EU policies and safety – Britain is a key market for Irish seafood, and 38 per cent of the Irish catch is taken from the waters around its coast. Ireland's top two species – mackerel and prawns - are 60 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively, dependent on British waters. Also, there are serious fears within the Irish industry about the impact of EU vessels, should they be expelled from British waters, opting to focus even more efforts on Ireland's rich marine resource. Covid-19 has forced closure of international seafood markets, with high value fish sold to restaurants taking a large hit. A temporary tie-up support scheme for whitefish vessels introduced for the summer of 2020 was condemned by industry organisations as "designed to fail".

Sources: Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Marine Institute, Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine, Department of Transport © Afloat 2020