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Irish Port and Shipping News
An AFLOAT photo of an Irish Sea ferry in stormy seas that also faces the ferry sector that is keenly felt at the north Wales port of Holyhead due to Brexit & Covid. While offshore south of Anglesey today, heavy seas and east winds has led to a trio of other merchant shipping vessels that took to the relative shelter off the Welsh coastline along the Llŷn Peninsula.
As stormy seas hit the commercial reality of a post-Brexit Holyhead ferryport, the UK Met Office marine forecast for the Irish Sea was up to severe gale force 9, with ships today riding out bad weather off Anglesey, writes Jehan Ashmore…
European Parliament adopted report on revision of Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) guidelines, the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) has welcomed.
The European Parliament has adopted the report on the revision of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) guidelines (2019/2192(INI)) with a large majority. With the adoption of the own-initiative report last week, the Parliament set out its position on the upcoming…
A new weekly service sees Samskip launch today a new Dublin route connecting Irish businesses direct to importers and exporters via Amsterdam in the key European hinterland. The Dutch company with its headquarter in Rotterdam (route to Dublin too and other Irish ports) was in 1990 founded originally in Iceland. As reported by AFLOAT in 2017, it is in Icelandic waters where the former and final Galway-Aran Islands passenger/cargo ferry the Oileáin Árann operated. The 40m ferry also handled hoisted-vehicles, was sold by O’Brien Shipping in 2006 to Samskip and renamed Sæfari where it remains in service.
In addition to the recent dramatic boost in direct ferry routes to mainland Europe, Samskip is ramping up its shortsea container services by introducing today an additional dedicated link connecting Amsterdam and Dublin Port. The weekly connection will mean Irish…
Seafarers: A Liverpool headquartered maritime training provider, launched a first ever live-stream mass to seafarers aboard an offshore support vessel.
In the UK Liverpool based maritime training company, Tapiit Live, has staged the first ever live-stream mass to seafarers aboard an offshore support vessel. The inaugural ‘offshore live mass’ was broadcast over WIFI by Father Paulo H Prigol, chaplain of…
Arriving from China is a heavy-lift vessel at the Port of Liverpool from where Peel Ports welcomed last week additional port crane infrastructure as part of the next phase of growth at Liverpool2, the port’s deep-water container terminal.
Across the Irish Sea at the Port of Liverpool, the owners Peel Ports Group have welcomed an additional five cantilever rail-mounted gantry (CRMG) container shipping cranes that arrived at the UK port from China. The delivery which was completed last…
A seafarer welfare app ‘Crew Matters’ has gone live to around 10,000 seafarers working on more than 400 vessels under the Isle of Man flag. This is a first such app developed by a flag state and its launch is notably timely as thousands of seafarers began the New Year separated from their families, with 400,000 currently working beyond their contracts, according to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The Isle of Man Ship Registry has formally launched the first ever seafarer welfare app designed by a flag state as Afloat previously reported. Director of the Isle of Man Ship Registry Cameron Mitchell said the app, named ‘Crew Matters’,…
Clean Shipping Alliance (CSA2020) has appointed a DFDS executive Poul Woodall as Executive Director of the alliance that represents ship owners and other key maritime industry stakeholders as an advocate and science research body for the environmental benefits of marine Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS). In addition to other marine environmental issues.
The Clean Shipping Alliance 2020 (CSA2020) has confirmed the appointment of ferry operator DFDS executive Poul Woodall as its Executive Director which took place at the start of this year. CSA 2020 (website) represents ship owners and other key maritime…
File image of Larne in Co Antrim
Larne Harbour is set to get dedicated facilities for post-Brexit checks on imports of food and livestock from Great Britain later this year, as the Belfast Telegraph reports. Currently a team of 12 environmental health officers are working “24/7, in…
Giant container operators, CMA CGM and HMM reacted quickest to the cargo surge in the second half of 2020 with the former primed to become the third largest global carrier later this year. Above: AFLOAT's file photo of a CMA CGM containership,  Nicolas Delmas departing Dublin Port with assistance of tug's (one unseen off the bow).
Of the world’s top 12 container shipping carriers, 8 of them increased overall capacity in 2020 despite all 12 making stinging capacity cuts in the first half of the year as Covid-19 lockdowns hit demand. As LloydsLoadingList reports, the carriers…
The Thun Liffey
A newly built 150m oil tanker which ran aground close to the mouth of Lough Foyle earlier this morning has been refloated. As Afloat reported earlier, the 11,826 tonne Thun Liffey was leaving Lisahally terminal in Derry for Milford Haven…
The 11,826 tonne Thun Liffey
Efforts are underway to refloat a newly built 150m oil tanker which ran aground close to the mouth of Lough Foyle earlier this morning.  The 11,826 tonne Thun Liffey was leaving Lisahally terminal in Derry for Milford Haven when the…
The largest container terminal on the Irish Sea is located at the Port of Liverpool's deep-water container terminal of 'Liverpool2', which broke a record twice this year in handling containers from a single vessel. Also according to port operator Peel Ports, the giant gantry cranes of the terminal tower 92m high, more than four times the height of London's Tralfalgar Square Christmas Tree (20m), an annual gift from the Norway to the UK (see: Ferry News story)
Across the Irish Sea at the Port of Liverpool’s deep water shipping container terminal at 'Liverpool2' located on the banks of the Mersey, is where the facility broke a record for the second time this year. Containership MSC Tamara had…
ICG's container divison EUCON is to add a containership MV Music to boost capacity on its Ireland-continental mainland Europe services this Friday, New Year's Day.
An additional load-on/ load -off (lo-lo) containership MV Music has been announced by Irish Continental Group (ICG) to serve their container division EUCON, writes Jehan Ashmore. Music starts the new career this Friday, 1 January 2021, by operating a weekly…
Warrenpoint Port, looking out into Carlingford Lough
Produce arriving into Northern Ireland from Great Britain that fails Brexit checks will be sent back, according to Northern Ireland’s chief veterinary officer. As the Belfast Telegraph reports, Robert Huey said an alternative option would be to destroy any goods…
Pembroke Port on the Milford Haven Estuary, south Wales is a centre of excellence for marine renewable engineering. Also above Afloat adds is the ferryport at Pembroke Dock with the Irish Ferries route linking Rosslare Harbour.
In Wales a planning application has recently been submitted by the Port of Milford Haven seeking approval for works to begin at Pembroke Port. The application is for infrastructure needed to support the development of a world-class renewable energy and…
The 130- metre long MPI Resolution berthed at Larne on Ireland's east coast
Larne Harbour on the east coast of Antrim in Northern Ireland is currently the base for the MPI Resolution, the world's first purpose-built vessel for installing offshore wind turbines, foundations, and transition pieces. The ship is working out of Larne…