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Displaying items by tag: IOM Maritime

#FerryNews - IOM Today reports of a newly-formed lobby group that says it has ’serious concerns’ about the ’strategic vulnerablility’ of Douglas port.

Isle of Man Maritime Ltd, a not-for-profit company which has replaced the Isle of Man Shipping Association, points out the harbour is too small to handle the larger roll-on, roll-off vessels that are now the norm.

And it says there is no contingency plan should there be a serious incident in the harbour which blocks it to other sea traffic.

It issued the statement after Tynwald last month backed an £80m strategy to redevelop Douglas harbour and attract more cruise liners to the island.

The Shipping Association had proposed a £35m-40m scheme for a fixed deep water landing stage on the seaward-side of the breakwater that protects Douglas harbour.

For further reading of this development, click here. 

Published in Ferry

Shipyards

Afloat will be focusing on news and developments of shipyards with newbuilds taking shape on either slipways and building halls.

The common practice of shipbuilding using modular construction, requires several yards make specific block sections that are towed to a single designated yard and joined together to complete the ship before been launched or floated out.

In addition, outfitting quays is where internal work on electrical and passenger facilities is installed (or upgraded if the ship is already in service). This work may involve newbuilds towed to another specialist yard, before the newbuild is completed as a new ship or of the same class, designed from the shipyard 'in-house' or from a naval architect consultancy. Shipyards also carry out repair and maintenance, overhaul, refit, survey, and conversion, for example, the addition or removal of cabins within a superstructure. All this requires ships to enter graving /dry-docks or floating drydocks, to enable access to the entire vessel out of the water.

Asides from shipbuilding, marine engineering projects such as offshore installations take place and others have diversified in the construction of offshore renewable projects, from wind-turbines and related tower structures. When ships are decommissioned and need to be disposed of, some yards have recycling facilities to segregate materials, though other vessels are run ashore, i.e. 'beached' and broken up there on site. The scrapped metal can be sold and made into other items.