#FERRIES - Ulysses arrived fresh from refit on the Dublin-Holyhead route yesterday after annual dry-docking at Cammell Laird, Birkenhead, writes Jehan Ashmore.

As previously reported on Alfoat.ie the Irish Ferries 'flagship' sailings on the central corridor route (also served by Jonathan Swift) where relieved by Isle of Inishmore earlier this month. 

Isle of Inishmore departed Dublin Port last  evening and headed to Liverpool Bay, where she anchored overnight. She docked at Cammell Laird this afternoon, where she too is to undergo annual overhaul.

With Isle of Inishmore off service on her usual Rosslare-Pembroke Dock route, the company's French routes vessel, Oscar Wilde is maintaining sailings.

On 19th February, the Oscar Wilde resumes service on Rosslare-Cherbourg route and she will also re-open the seasonal-only operated route to Roscoff which starts in May.

#NEWBUILD NEWS - The first of two 20m windfarm service vessels (WFSV) is to be launched from Arklow Marine Services tomorrow, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The high-speed aluminium newbuild to be named Gardian 8, has been commissioned to service the offshore renewable industry in the UK, and handed over to her clients next month.

In the interim period, the WFSV which is twin-hulled is to take sea-trails before she is officially launched later this month to owners Gardline Group, based in Great Yarmouth.

Gardline have also ordered a sister WFSV, where the frames and longitudinal stiffening of the second newbuild are currently being fitted. She is to join the Gardline fleet with a delivery date in July.

Arklow Marine Services are also working on a 24m steel mooring barge for Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners. The barge, which has a beam of 6m is scheduled for delivery in April this year.

#FERRY FORTNIGHT - This year's 'National Ferry Fortnight' organised by the Passenger Shipping Association is to be brought forward in March instead of May, according to TravelWeekly.co.uk.

The annual event which is used to promote and increase awareness of the UK ferry industry has set the new dates of the fortnight between the 17th-31st March.

According to the PSA the change of dates was designed to "emphasise the great value of family ferry travel at a time when parents have a watchful eye on budgets".

PSA which also represents the UK cruise sector had 13 ferry members but SeaFrance, a Dover-Calais operator recently went into administration.

A new official logo will front the campaign which is supported by all ferry line members of the association. The two week showcase aims to heighten consumer and media awareness of the UK's more than 50 ferry routes.

PSA members including Brittany Ferries, Condor Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Hovertravel, Isle Of Man Steam Packet Company, Irish Ferries, LD Lines, P&O Ferries, Red Funnel, Stena Line and Wightlink will take part.

It comes as the association estimated that around 35 million people, 8 million cars and 140,000 coaches were carried by ferries in 2011.

A series of promotional offers on ferry routes are planned as part of the campaign, to the Continent, Spain, Ireland and UK islands which promoted on the discoverferries.com website.

PSA director Bill Gibbons said: "Particularly for families, Britain's ferry services offer a reliable and flexible way to travel that's good value for money.

"Our ferry members are keen to bring forward the success of National Ferry Fortnight to March 2012 so families can plan and take advantage of the great range of opportunities presented by ferry companies."

#CRUISE LINERS – In 2012 the Dublin Port Company can look forward to welcoming 90 cruiseship calls, slightly up compared to this year's season, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The sector in 2011 performed positively with a 7.5% increase in cruise passengers on board 87 cruise-calls. In total  they brought over 135,000 passengers and crew to the capital, generating between €35 - €55m to the local economy.

The increase in passengers brings the total number of high-spend cruise passengers to almost 750,000 since 2000, providing a boon to city-centre businesses to the tune of over €400m in that period.

Once again cruiseships from the leading operators are scheduled to Dublin Port in 2012. They will appear in the form of  the small, medium and giant-sized ships, many of which will be making more than one cruisecall throughout the season, which starts in April and culminates in October.

To view a timetable of cruiseships calling to Dublin Port see below.

A newcomer will be Kristina Katarina (1982/12,668grt) which is operated by Finnish owners Kristina Cruises. The former Russian ship replaced Kristina Regina last year due to new safety regulations which forced the veteran vessel to withdraw from service. 

Mediterranean Shipping Lines (MSL) which operates container services to Ireland, will be deploying the 1,560 passenger MSC Lirica (2003/59,038grt). To view more about this French built cruiseship click HERE.

While the veteran Arion (1965/5,888grt) makes a welcome return for those with an affinity to smaller classic vessels, she orignially served in the Adriatic and was built at the Uljanik Shipyard in Pula, Croatia.

#FERRY NEWS-P&O Irish Sea's Larne-Troon freight-ferry Norcape (14,087grt) departed the Co. Antrim port last week to be broken-up at ship-breakers in Aliaga, Turkey. She originally served B+I Line as the Tipperary, but her last sailings took place on the North Channel in late November, as the ageing vessel is in her fourth decade of service, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 125-trailer capacity ro-ro was not replaced on the single-ship operated route which closed for the winter months, though sailings will resume next March by the 92m fast-ferry Express. In the meantime freight traffic will be accommodated on the companies Larne-Cairnryan service.

Yesterday morning Norcape transitted the Strait of Gibraltar having called en-route to Falmouth several days previously. She represented the last vessel to serve in Irish waters with a direct link to B+I Line, the state-owned operator which was sold in 1992 to ICG, parent company of Irish Ferries.

When she arrives in Aliagra, this is where her former P&O fleetmate European Mariner (5,897grt) was scrapped after also serving Larne-Troon sailings until last July. Norcape entered the North Channel route replacing the smaller 53-trailer capacity vessel.

Prior to then Norcape had been in laid-over in Liverpool docks when European Endeavour replaced her in February on the Dublin-Liverpool route. To read more click HERE.

Norcape's return to the Irish Sea service in 2009, reflected her original career for P&O. She was named Puma in 1979 from the Japanese shipyard at the Mitsui Engineering & SB Co Ltd, Tamano, however she was chartered to B+I Line and renamed Tipperary. To read more and to view a deck-drawing profile, click HERE.

Her career started with a new Dublin-Fleetwood route jointly operated with P&O, who contributed with a sister, the Ibex. The P&O brand name Pandoro stood for P and O Ro, their roll-on roll-off freight division. The route's UK port switched to Liverpool in 1988 with Tipperary remaining on the route until sold to North Sea Ferries in 1989 and renamed Norcape.

Before her transfer to the North Sea, Tipperary collided with the 4,674grt bulker Sumburgh Head off the entrance to Dublin Port in 1988. Incidentally the two vessels, under different names and ownership were in Dublin Port in 2010, as previously reported (with photo) click HERE.

#PORTS & SHIPPING - Seven-crew have been saved from Florece (PHOTO) an Irish managed general cargoship which sank off the UK, following a collision with a Greek owned chemical tanker on Friday, according to www.tradewinds.no

The accident took place in the Bay of Biscay, approximately 250 miles from Land's End, the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency said. The Dominican flagged Florece (1990/1,960grt) which is managed by Greystones based Berg Maritime Management, sank after the 88m vessel was in collision with the 53,081-dwt tanker Afrodite, operated by Tsakos.

The crew of the Florece abandoned ship, taking to two life rafts, before being rescued by the 8,040 containership capacity Ocean Titan, operated by Pacific-Gulf Marine of the US.

Afrodite had attempted to deploy a rescue craft but was unsuccessful because of the sea swell. Falmouth Coastguard helped co-ordinate the rescue operation with Spanish counterparts to rescue the crew of Florece, a mix of Russians, Polish and Ukrainians. The 187m Afrodite was not reported as taking on water.

#PORTS & SHIPPING – Arklow Shipping is further expanding its bulker fleet and moving into the market for larger vessels with an order for three ships in South Korea, according to Tradewinds.

The company which is headquartered in the Co. Wicklow port has booked two 35,000-dwt handysize-bulkers and a general cargoship at Daesun Shipbuilding. TradeWinds sources say Arklow is paying a premium for the ships against more competitive pricing from China.

Brokers price the Daesun bulkers at around $25.5m, which compares to similar deals in China at around $22m. As for the general cargoship, she will be delivered in the first half of 2013 and the bulkers in the second half of the year. Arklow previously signed up for a series of 14,000-dwt multipurpose (MPP) vessels at Mokpo, which later went into administration.

The orders were then passed on to Sekwang Shipbuilding only for it also to fall into financial difficulties. Daesun has had its problems too and was delisted from the Seoul Stock Exchange in April as it did not meet the bourse's financial requirements.

The latest order appears to have taken Arklow's owned fleet into the larger-handysize segment. So far it has focussed mainly on bulkers, general-cargo and MPP ships up to 14,000 dwt. It has a fleet of 55 ships including 12 newbuildings, most of which are registered in the Republic of Ireland. Arklow declines to comment on the Daesun order.

#FERRY NEWS- Stena Navigator which served on the former Belfast-Stranraer route, has been sold to overseas buyers. She was one of three ferries made redundant following the switch pf ports to a new ferry terminal  in Cairnryan and introduction of larger vessels, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Having only been introduced on the North Channel in late 2009, Stena Navigator (PHOTO) is now set to embark on a new career in the Mediterranean with Spanish operator Baleària. The company operates routes linking the islands to the Spanish mainland in addition to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the ferry is to start service.

The 1,650-passenger, 280-vehicle capacity vessel is currently berthed at Albert Quay, Belfast, before she makes her delivery voyage.

Launched in 1984 as Champs Elysees at Dubigeon Normandie, Nantes Saint Nazaire, for SNCF's Dover-Calais route. She then spent service Stena Line as Stena Parisien between Newhaven-Dieppe before been sold to SeaFrance. This saw her return to the Dover Strait as SeaFrance Manet until eventually sold back to Stena Line.

Berthed ahead of the 15,229grt ferry is her former fleetmate Stena Caledonia, built at the nearby Harland & Wolff and upriver the HSS Stena Voyager is berthed at VT4 Terminal. Since been laid-up the vessels were transferred to a Stena subsidiary, Northern Marine Management (NMM).

#PORTS & SHIPPING- Berthed at the Steam Packet Quay, Drogheda is the suction-trailer dredger Lough Foyle (1979/868grt) which is on contract work with the Drogheda Port Company, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Following the sale last month of Hebble Sand, as previously reported on Afloat.ie (clcik HERE), the Lough Foyle (PHOTO) is now the only port-owned dredger on the island of Ireland. The Londonderry Port & Harbour Commissioners (LPHC) purchased the vessel from Dutch interests in 2009. She was originally the Saeftinge, built in 1979 at the Van Goor Scheepswerf in Monnickendam.

Since her introduction she has performed previous dredging operations to include the Drogheda Bar leading into the Co. Louth port. Her most recent contract was in Waterford Estuary, from where she arrived from on Tuesday after an overnight voyage.

In addition she has worked at the new Stena Line ferryport terminal at Loch Ryan, Cairnryan, to see related report click HERE. The Scottish ferryport is due to be officially opened tomorrow, to read more including the newly introduced 'Superfast' sisters click HERE.

#PORTS & SHIPPING- The volume of shipping and port traffic through the Republic of Ireland continued to decline during the third quarter of 2011, according to the latest analysis of traffic figures released by the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO).

Results from third quarter data indicate that only 1 of the 5 principal freight segments had any growth over the third quarter, while all other segments declined compared to the same period last year as outlined below in the key third quarter data:-

• Lift-on/Lift-off (lo/lo) trades were down 5%

• Roll-on/Roll-off export traffic was down by 2%

• Dry bulk volumes increased by 2%

• Break bulk volumes were down by 3%

• The Tanker/Liquid bulk market was down 7%.

For a more in-depth analysis of each freight-transport mode issued by the IMDO and accompanied by graphic charts click HERE. In addition to compare the 3rd quarter figures with the previous 2nd quater for this year click HERE.