#ShipsRudder - As previously reported on Afloat.ie, containership Arslan II (1991/3,125grt) that grounded on Arklow Bank in January, and understood to have damaged her rudder, arrived off Turkey in recent days, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Following the incident off Co. Wicklow, the 260 TEU container capacity vessel had been towed to Dublin Port to seek refuge and repairs following a port state authorities control inspection.

The vessel was dry-docked for a month at the Dublin Dry Docks facility within Alexandra Basin from where further steel works were required.

In total the 89m vessel remained in Dublin Port for more than two months between initial berthing and dry-docking until finally she departed on a 14-day voyage to Turkey. Her course in the Mediterranean involved passing coastlines offshore of some North African states as far as Tunisia.

She continued sailing south of Sciliy and eventually arrived off Aliaga, where she was at anchorage off the major shipbreaking centre which lies outside the western Turkish port.

The ships owners are understood to be awaiting further instructions as she is to undergo further repairs and as of this morning she is underway again to another ship repair facility.

In the meantime, the grounding incident remains under investigation by the Marine Casualty Investigation Board (MCIB).

Arslan II until her sale last year was previously named Coastal Isle. She was a frequenct caller to Dublin Port and having been featured as file footage regularly for RTE News particularly relating to stories on the balance of trade and Irish exports. A role she played her part in bringing exports and imports for the last three decades and starting off under original name of Johanna.

Her sister, Coastal Deniz (see former Guinness ships) operates a Liverpool - Manchester container shuttle-service and they both previously served a network linking the major Irish Sea ports between Belfast, Dublin,Liverpool and Cardiff.

As Arslan II she is understood to have operated to ports among them Warrenpoint and again returning to the Welsh capital.

#LongestShip - At over 420ft long, the Russian cargship Pycny-5 (Rusich-5) became the longest ever vessel to pass under the Dublin-Belfast railway viaduct that looms high above the River Boyne at the town quays of Drogheda Port, writes Jehan Ashmore.

The 4,970 tonnes vessel berthed in the port last Friday along the town's Ballast Quay and was assisted by the ports environmental launch Boyne Protector.

The cargoship was 45ft longer than the previous longest vessel, understood to be a sister of Rusich-5, which a few years ago had the accolade of the longest vessel to berth at the port's downriver facility at the Tom Roe Container Terminal. The terminal is located on the north bank of the Co. Meath port.

Due to the extreme length of Rusich-5, she had to navigate astern when entering the mouth of the Boyne as it was longer than the width of the historic river when at the town quays and was unable from turning.

Rusich-5 departed on Saturday with an export cargo of refuse-derived fuel (RDF) which was bound for the Danish port of Koge south of Copenhagen.

Her homeport is St. Petersburg and she is one 12 sisters designed also for inland navigation along Russian waterways.

#ShippingReview – Over the last fortnight Jehan Ashmore has reported on the shipping scene, where an Ireland-Libyan serving livestock-carrier, Express 1 which has been in Fowey since February following detention has been released by UK authorities.

Peel Ports Group operates of Port of Liverpool has dismissed claims of delays and budget overrun of the £300m Liverpool2 container terminal project which is to expand the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal and enable docking some of the world's biggest containerships post Panama Canal widening.

The Stena Group houseflag is flown on a diverse range of vessels, from large oil tankers and even tallships plus of course ferries, among them the newest member of the Stene Line fleet, the former Celtic Link ro-pax Celtic Horizon. The 27,522 tonnes ferry (soon to be renamed Stena Horizon) launched this week the operators first ever direct Ireland-Continental link.

Stena Line which also operates on the North Channel is where there are reports of major job losses which have been denied by the company. Clydebank based Northern Marine Management which is a Stena Line owned company, have been switching the Irish Sea ferry fleet to NMM as part of an effort to stave off a decade of loss-making services by implementing measures on operating costs.

Dublin Port welcomed Discovery (1971/20,135grt) the first cruise caller for 2014, the 700-passenger vessel chartered to Cruise & Maritime Voyages had arrived from Belfast Harbour from where she too was an inugural cruise caller this season. She is one of around 90 visitors so far scheduled to visit Dublin Port.

The newest and largest Arklow Shipping Ltd newbuild, Arklow Spray of 34,919dwt departed Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container Terminal to Antwerp. The Irish flagged 182m vessel was delivered this year from South Korean shipbuilder's and brings to around 45 ships in the dry-cargo fleet.

#ArklowNewBULKER – Arklow Shipping Ltd's newest and largest bulk-carrier Arklow Spray is currently heading along the Western Scheldt leading to Antwerp, having departed Liverpool's Gladstone Dock lock mid-week, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Arklow Spray which was berthed at Liverpool's Royal Seaforth Container Terminal (See Liverpool2) , was delivered this year to ASL having been launched last year from South Korean shipbuilders.

The 34,919dwt ship principle dimensions are length: 182m, beam 30m on a draft of 10m. She has a grain capacity of almost 47,000m3 and engine output delivers 14 knots.

She is the second of the 'S' class following Arklow Spirit which was launched last year also from the same Asian shipyard of Daesun Shipbuilding & Engineering.

Departing Liverpool this morning, another Arklow bulk-carrier, the 2004 built Arklow Wind, one of the 'W' class bulk-carriers, had shared the Gladstone Dock lock with P&O Ferries Norbank, one of three ro-pax ferries serving the Dublin route.

As for the Arklow Wind she is bound for the jetty at Aughinish Alumina on the Shannon Estuary.

Across the Irish Sea in Dublin Port are even more Arklow vessels, the 2009 built bulk-carrier Arklow Manor which is berthed at Alexandra Basin West and also nearby the smaller short-sea general cargoship Arklow Future.

All three bulk-carriers represent a succession of vessel designs and ships that entered service just over a decade ago and all are Irish flagged and registered in their owner's homeport of Arklow.

Arklow Shipping have a healthy track history of constantly replacing older tonnage with newbuilds.

As previously reported six 'B' class 'greener' multi-purpose general cargo-ships are on order from Ferus Smit shipyard's Dutch facility in Westerbroek which launched Arklow Bay last month.

Unlike her bulk-carrier counterparts, she is part of ASL's Dutch division, Arklow Shipping Netherland based in Rotterdam, the port of registry of her sister leadship Arklow Bank.

#Liverpool2 – The Peel Ports group which operates the Port of Liverpool has dismissed claims of delays and budget overrun of the £300m Liverpool2 container terminal project is over budget and behind schedule.

The scheme is to expand the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal by creating a new river berth to handle some of the world's biggest container ships (i.e Maersk McKinney Moller of 13,500 TEU) at Liverpool 2 after the widening of the Panama Canal. The project should be completed and ready to accept vessels by the end of 2015.

But one worker at the site, who asked to remain anonymous, said recent bad weather had thrown the scheme into turmoil. He said costs had soared due to extra plant needed to replace storm- damaged equipment, and drilling problems after hitting rock beneath the seabed had caused delays.

For more on this development, the Liverpool Echo has a report.

Previously Afloat.ie featured the Maersk 'Banana-Boats' which make trans-Atlantic calls firstly to the Port of Cork and where plans for the Ringaskiddy Redevelopment Project were put on public display in February.

Maersk Norfolk is one of several container fleetmates that after calling to Cork continue to the DP World owned London Gateway, one of several new or expanding UK ports developments catering for ever-increasing sized containerships.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: Further consolidation predicted - Consolidation is set to continue in the container market, as low freight rates and persisting overcapacity will lead to further alliances or mergers, according to the ratings agency Fitch. The agency believes that smaller and less financially stable operators in the market will be pressured into consolidation as the larger players continue to form alliances amongst themselves and intensify competition. This follows the recent FMC approval of the P3 Network, covering the markets three largest participants (Maersk, MSC, CMA/CGM), while the CKYH alliance also recently expanded to incorporate Evergreen.

Shipping Industry: Confidence rises to near 6 year high - Confidence in the global shipping industry has risen to its highest level since May 2008 during the course of the last three months, according to the latest Moore Stephens Shipping Confidence Survey. Confidence rose across the board for all respondent categories– which included owners, charterers, managers, brokers and others–to bring February's confidence rating up to 6.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Irish Economy: Ireland forecast to outperform Eurozone - Ireland economy is forecast to outperform other peripheral Eurozone countries in its emerging recovery from the crisis, according to EY's latest Eurozone Forecast. EY have increased their growth forecast to 1.8% in 2014 for Ireland, up from 1.7% in December, stressing the recovery in domestic demand appears to now be more entrenched, while net trade will continue contributing positively to the economy, especially given the strong growth in the UK.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 13). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Ports&Shipping –The latest IMDO Weekly Shipping Market Review includes the following stories as detailed below.

Container Market: FMC approve P3 Alliance –The US Federal Maritime Commission has granted regulatory approval for the P3 vessel-sharing agreement between the world's top three containerlines, Maersk, MSC and CMA-CGM; however the alliance will be subject to stricter monitoring than usual. The FMC approval is immediate however only applies to routes to and from US ports as the alliance still requires approval from Chinese and European regulators before it can become fully effective.

Irish Economy: Export growth positive in January - Irish exports grew in value terms by 4% (€302mn) in January compared with the same month last year signalling a tentative recovery in the sector following a 5.2% decline in 2013. The latest merchandise trade statistics released by the CSO showed exports of €7.031bn for January, driven by the chemical and pharmaceutical sectors growth of €223mn, up 6%, while food and live animals continued to record strong gains, with exports rising €59mn.

UK Short Sea Market: Record capacity reached - UK Short Sea Capacity in 2013 broke the 15m unit barrier once again, reaching 15.2m units (FEUs) and equating 2007's record capacity. The findings in PRB Associates' UK Short Sea Freight RoRo and LoLo Annual Capacity Analysis and Report show that capacity increased 3. 2% in 2013 and has grown 21% since 2000.

For more on each of the above and other stories click the downloadable PDF IMDO Weekly Markets Review (Week 12). In addition to coverage on Afloat.ie's dedicated Ports & Shipping News section.

#Cattleships – The detention of the Ireland-Libyan serving livestock-carrier which has been in Fowey since February has been lifted by UK authorities, writes Jehan Ashmore.

Commenting to Afloat.ie, a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said: "We inspected the Express 1 on 21 March at Fowey and lifted the detention as the operator had made the required safety improvements."

As previously reported the 7,087 tonnes vessel was expected to depart the port last week. Last Friday the livestock-carrier departed the port and was understood to be returning to Germany, from where she set off on her voyage in February.

It was during stormy seas in the English Channel, that led to an engine failure and call for assistance by a tug to Fowey.  She was subsequently detained at the Cornish port by the MCA  which carried out an inspection of the vessel following  'post-repair' sea trails.

#ShippingReview - Over the last fortnight Jehan Ashmore has reported from the shipping scene where Arklow Bay, second of six 'green' newbuilds was launched in the Netherlands for Arklow Shipping Ltd.

Containership Arslan II that is understood to have got into difficulties involving her rudder off Arklow Bank in January has since remained in Dublin Port, was due to have departed last week. However, the latest departure date is scheduled for next week.

An Ireland-Libya serving livestock-carrier Express 1 which was detained in February by the UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) undertook 'post-repair' trails in the English Channel. It was also reported that she was due to leave Fowey this week, following urgent maintenance work.

Also earlier this week, a sister of the livestock-carrier, Atlantic M departed Belview, Waterford and is understood to be bound for Misrata in Libya.

Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD has appointed three new members to the Board of Dún Laoghaire Harbour Company.

A year has passed since the revival of container rail-freight services between Ballina and Waterford Port and which has been deemed a success according to Irish Rail freight and DFDS Logistics which operate container services to Rotterdam.

Negotiators for the European Parliament and the Council reached an informal first reading agreement on the Clean Fuel Strategy.

#CleanFuels - Negotiators for the European Parliament and the Council reached an informal first reading agreement yesterday on the Clean Fuel Strategy. If confirmed by EP's Transport Committee and Plenary, the Directive could still be adopted before the EU elections and finalised under the Greek Presidency.

"We would like to congratulate the negotiators for reaching this agreement. European ports and stakeholders now have a clear view of what is expected from them and can start or continue working towards that goal. The obligations foreseen in this Directive imply quite some investments and planning for the port authorities and port industry. We are convinced that this Directive together with the funding opportunities that will be offered under the forthcoming TEN-T calls will enhance the use of cleaner fuels in maritime transport in a realistic way. We also believe that a lot of ports will not wait for 2025 to meet the obligations of this Directive", said European Sea Port Organisation (EPSO), Secretary-General Isabelle Ryckbost.

The two issues of importance to ports in this Directive are the framework for the supply of shore side electricity and the obligations as regards the provision of refuelling points for LNG in ports.

On shore side, Member States must ensure that the need for shore-side electricity supply for inland waterway vessels and sea-going ships in maritime ports is assessed in their national policy frameworks. Such shore-side electricity supply shall be installed, as a priority in ports of the TEN-T Core Network, and in other ports, by 31 December 2025, unless there is no demand, the costs are disproportionate to the benefits, including environmental benefits.

As regards the LNG refuelling points, Member States must ensure that an appropriate number of refuelling points for LNG are put in place at maritime ports to enable LNG inland waterway vessels or sea-going ships to circulate throughout the TEN-T Core Network by 31 December 2025 at the latest. Member States must cooperate with neighbouring Member States where necessary to ensure adequate coverage of the network.