Saturday 17 May 08 - 07:24
 

Diving & Underwater Services

  • IMCA Delivers Dive Boat Guidance

    01 Feb 2005

    Due to the limited availability of purpose designed ships, there are regions of the world that frequently use vessels of opportunity from which to carry out surface supplied and saturation diving work. 

  • NewDevelopment in Mobdock Technology

    01 Feb 2005

    Antwerp based underwater specialist Hydrex has just adapted a fast, simple and inexpensive way of dealing with underwater work in confined areas, such as a thruster tunnel, where the work in the water needs to be done 'in the dry'. 

Hydrographic Survey by David Goodfellow

  • BP-Scripps Agreement

    01 Feb 2005

    BP has concluded a $3m partnership agreement with the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, for a three-year research programme. The initial focus of the programme, say the two organisations, will be to develop and evaluate new technologies for imaging and characterising seafloors and sub-seafloors. 

  • Tsunami Relief Aid Begins

    01 Feb 2005

    The widespread damage to livelihoods and infrastructures resulting from the magnitude 9 earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra on 26 December has brought a swift response from world aid agencies and organisations, including national hydrographic offices. 

  • NERC Orders New Ship

    01 Feb 2005

    The UK Natural Environment Research Council, which has an annual budget of around £300m to fund and undertake impartial research in environmental sciences, has commissioned construction of a new £36m 5,000 tonne vessel, James Cook. To be built by Flekkefjord Slipp & Maskinfabrikk in Norway, she will replace the 20 year-old RRS Darwin for operation worldwide from the tropics to the edge of ice sheets. 

Marine Civils by David Foxwell

  • Euro Project Addressing Aggregates Issues

    01 Feb 2005

    A European project called EUMARSAND is being uses to determine the potential effects on the marine environment of aggregates extraction, MJ has learned. 

  • Aggregates Extraction Tales Toll on Marine Life, says WWF

    01 Feb 2005

    A new report released by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) claims that the UK's seas are 'in crisis, ' with key species in serious decline as a consequence of inadequate planning and poor management by the relevant authorities. Most worryingly, habitats, the basis of marine life, are being destroyed, threatening the very integrity of the seas, the report claims. 

  • EastPort Project Moves Step Closer

    01 Feb 2005

    At the end of January, the UK Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling, set out his view on the proposal to support the Great Yarmouth Outer Harbour (EastPort) scheme with public funding, noting that, as the Great Yarmouth areas is among the most deprived areas of the UK, and has the highest unemployment rate in England, that the government and other public bodies had to consider the transport and regeneration impacts of the scheme. 

News

  • Success Filters Through

    01 Feb 2005

    Port Talbot UK based filter element specialists for marine and other industries, Filtration and Separation Ltd , reports a 60% increase in production during 2004, its first full year since being taken over by TS2Group . To meet the increased demand from existing and new customers, significant investment in production and product development was made following the acquisition, increasing the range of filter elements produced to 1,500. 

  • Seighford Gets to Grips With GRP

    01 Feb 2005

    Southampton UK based corporate recovery specialists Fanshawe Lofts successfully sold the troubled Isle of Wight business GRP Laminates last month to the Oxford based Seighford Investments Company Ltd, which plans to expand the business and secure the future for its 28 strong workforce. Cowes based GRP Laminates designs and supplies GRP mouldings for a range of boats including RNLI lifeboats. 

  • SOC On New Footing

    01 Feb 2005

    The Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC) will be renamed the National Oceanography Centre , Southampton from 1st May this year as it bids to become the focus for oceanography in the UK. The vision is embraced by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and the University of Southampton, which will continue as joint venture partners in the Centre, and is intended to ensure Britain's continuing position in the 'premier league' of oceanography. 

  • UKHMA 2005 Spring Seminar Announced

    01 Feb 2005

    The UK Harbour Masters' Association will hold its 2005 Spring Seminar at the IMarEST Conference Centre incentral London on 13 April. 

  • Klyne Take Over LEC Marine Branches

    01 Feb 2005

    Klyne Group Holdings has purchased from LEC Marine Limited (currently in Administration), plant, machinery and stock to operate a marine maintenance division, switchboard division, engraving and sign writing and cable supply division following a decision by the Administrator to close the business on 11 February 2005. 

  • 'Vicuna' Response Still Underway

    01 Feb 2005

    In our January coverage of Wijsmuller Salvage 's year end activities, reference was made to their response to the sinking of the tanker Vicuna , which exploded while discharging methanol alongside Cattalini pier in the Brazilian port of Paranagua on 15 November. 

  • Fork In the Road for 'Triton'

    01 Feb 2005

    Having successfully proven the concept of using a trimaran design for warships of the future, science and technology solutions specialist QinetiQ has sold its high profile research vessel Triton to Great Yarmouth UK based Gardline Shipping for use as a hydrographic survey vessel. 

  • Cunard Honours Mersey Heritage

    01 Feb 2005

    Merseyside Maritime Museum has landed a £25,000 sponsorship from Cunard for its recently opened exhibition 'Liverpool to New York - the only way to cross'. Given its long history as one of the major Atlantic shipping lines, formerly based in Liverpool, the deal which makes Cunard the museum's biggest ever business sponsor is especially appropriate. 

  • AAE Transponder Order

    01 Feb 2005

    Applied Acoustic Engineering, which is presently expanding its Great Yarmouth premises, reports an order worth more than £100,000 from PGS Physical in Norway for 32 of its 915 series acoustic positioning mini-transponders together with specially designed flotation devices and battery chargers. PGS plans to use them for deepwater surveys off the Brazilian coast for deployment and positioning of seafloor seismic cables at depths down to 2,000m. 

  • Rolls On A Roll

    01 Feb 2005

    Rolls-Royce rolled up a strong second half performance in 2004, signing contracts for some £160 million worth of UT-Design vessels and equipment for the offshore market. The company signed contracts with shipyards in Norway, Brazil, India, Singapore and Spain for OSVs and new vessel types. A total of 50 UTDesign vessels are currently being built or being planned, with new vessel types including icebreakers, coast guard and surveillance craft. 

  • Dolphins Dry Docked In Belfast for Refurbishment

    01 Feb 2005

    Specialist construction services and protective coatings group Pyeroy Ltd is supporting Belfast's Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries on a major contract for the repair and refurbishment of two large semi-submersible oil rigs. 

  • Marine Society/Sea Cadet Merger

    01 Feb 2005

    The Marine Society and The Sea Cadet Association in the UK have merged to form a new organisation called TheMarine Society & Sea Cadets .Committed to serving seafarers and promoting the sea as a career, the move will strengthen the role of the voluntary sector in support of both commercial maritime industries and the Royal Navy. 

  • Resin Trade Sticks to Thamesport

    01 Feb 2005

    Thamesport (London) Limited has signed a new contract with Burton-upon-Trent UK based resin importer Resin Trade which will boost the company's volume through Thamesport from 1,000 tons per month last year to 2,500 tons per month by the end of 2007. The agreement heralds the creation of six dedicated silos at the Medway facility over the next 12 to 18 months for storage of Resin Trade's products. 

  • Consortium Awarded Doha Airport Contract

    01 Feb 2005

    Doha International Airport Steering Committee in Qatar has awarded a contract for dredging and reclamation for the new Doha International Airport to a consortium of four dredging companies. 

  • Green Light for New Padstow Lifeboat House

    01 Feb 2005

    The RNLI Trustees have given the go-ahead for a new lifeboat house and slipway to be built at Padstow as a home for the next generation Tamar class lifeboat. 

  • Books

    01 Feb 2005

    Potential use of Alternatives to Primary Aggregates in Coastal and River Engineering (CIRIA C590) By Alan Brampton, Michael Wallis, Elizabeth Holliday. Published by CIRIA. ISBN 0 86017 590 1 Paperback, 134 pages. Price £40. 

  • MBO at Certex

    01 Feb 2005

    UK lifting gear distributor Certex has been bought out by its existing directors and will be run as a private limited company. 

  • New Patrol Boat Concept for Hamburg Police

    01 Feb 2005

    The latest patrol boat to go into service with the Hamburg River Police is, by all accounts, an improved if not technologically superior version of earlier vessels. 

Port, Harbour & Marine Construction

  • First Ever Linkspan Order for TTS

    01 Feb 2005

    Gothenburg based TTS Ships Equipment AB has won a contract from Stena Line Scandinavia AB for the turnkey delivery of linkspan for the Stena Terminal at Verko, near Karlskrona in Sweden. It is TTS's first ever linkspan order. 

  • Bridge Removal Over Shallow Waters

    01 Feb 2005

    The Montrose New Bridge , via which the A92 crossed the river South Esk on the East Coast of Scotland until last October, was in fact 73 years old and dying from a form of concrete deterioration known as Alkali Aggregate Reactivity. 

  • A Planning System For the Sea

    01 Feb 2005

    UK Government Ministers have backed a pilot project which could lead to a new, plan-led approach to protecting and managing Britain's seas in a more sustainable way. 

  • Seabed Study for EuropeAfrica Tunnel

    01 Feb 2005

    The Anglo Norwegian joint venture of Seacore Ltd and Eidesvik Subsea AS has been awarded an open tender contract by the joint Moroccan and Spanish authorities to perform a marine site investigation of the seabed under the Straits of Gibraltar. 

  • Improvements in Full Swing at Skandia Harbour

    01 Feb 2005

    Excavation, piling and the laying of foundations are in full swing at the eastern Skandia Harbour container yard in the Swedish Port of Goteborg . The quay and the surfaces within the quay are being reinforced while dredging increases the depth alongside 500m of 1,200m long southern quay from 12m to 14.2m in order to handle the higher capacity boxships now coming into service. 

  • Linkspan Lifts Red Funnel's Fortunes

    01 Feb 2005

    A significant growth in traffic has led Red Funnel , the original Isle of Wight ferry operator, to extend and refurbish two of its three 2,900 ton Raptor class vessels, Red Osprey and Red Falcon , stretching each boat and adding another full length car deck to provide capacity for an extra 80 vehicles. The provision of the extra deck necessitated an additional ro-ro linkspan level at both Southampton and East Cowes as well as the refurbishment of existing hydraulics lifting equipment. 

  • Tidal Surge of Financial Support for UK Marine Renewables

    01 Feb 2005

    With the pre-Christmas commissioning of the Scroby Sands wind farm just off the beach at Great Yarmouth, the UK has moved into position as the second largest offshore wind generator in the world, after Denmark. Scroby Sands' 30 turbines, generating a maximum of 60MW, nearly doubled Britain's operational capacity to 124MW. 

  • Reclamation Contract Awarded

    01 Feb 2005

    Dutch dredging and marine contractor Van Oord has been awarded a contract for constructing the entrance to and reclamation of land for the construction of a cruise terminal on the Turk & Caicos islands. The client is Bahamas based T&C Cruise Terminals Ltd , and the total value of the contract is some 3 million. 

  • Firm Foundations for the Isle of Grain

    01 Feb 2005

    Land and marine geotechnical investigations for a proposed LNG terminal, including an unloading jetty and pipeline at Horseshoe Point on the Isle of Grain in Kent UK, has been completed by Fugro Engineering Services (FES) for Skanska Whessoe . 

Safety, Survival & Training

  • National Maritime Safety System for Bulgaria

    01 Feb 2005

    Transas has completed the installation and commissioning of a National Maritime Safety System which covers the entire coastline of Bulgaria from Romania to Turkey. Transas won the contract in an open tender managed and financed by the European Community's PHARE programme, which is aimed at supporting Central and East European countries in their preparation to join the EC. 

  • Wind Farm Risk Assessed

    01 Feb 2005

    The British Government's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has awarded BMT Renewables Ltd a contract to develop a formal safety methodology for offshore wind farms, placing the company at the centre of marine navigation, safety and emergency response standards for the offshore wind farm industry. BMT is also currently working on equivalent standards for other EU countries, most recently Belgium. 

  • Enhanced Tug Training at MSC

    01 Feb 2005

    A £360,000 upgrade to the Marine Simulation Centre (MSC) at South Tyneside College will include enhanced tug handling simulation, four secondary navigation bridges fitted with 50 inch plasma screens, and new 3D image generators and projectors on the visuals for the main bridge. 

  • London Boat Show Debut for Smallest SART

    01 Feb 2005

    Simrad launched a new Type Approved Search and Rescue Transponder, the SA50 , at the London Boat Show last month, thereby increasing its product range for the GMDSS safety market. Several key factors differentiate the SA50 from other SARTs already on the market, and it claims advantages in size, price, transportation, storage and operation. 

Tugs & Towing by Jack Gaston

  • A Major Step Forward in the use of Tug Models

    01 Feb 2005

    The use of manned ship models in the training of ship-masters and pilots has now become well established practice. 

  • TOWLINES

    01 Feb 2005

    Damen Shipyards Changde yard in China has delivered the first of three ASD 3111 shiphandling tugs to Hammersley Iron Pty in western Australia. 

  • 'Braveheart' Lends Englishman a Hand

    01 Feb 2005

    An epic example of seamanship has won a vote of thanks from one tugmaster to another. 

  • Svitzer Marine Orders an Escort Tug for the River Mersey

    01 Feb 2005

    Svitzer Marine Ltd has signed a contract with the ASL Shipyard in Singapore for a purpose-built escort tug for operation on the River Mersey. 

  • 'Primus' is Delivered and New Orders Placed

    01 Feb 2005

    German operators Harms Offshore of Hamburg christened their new anchor-handling tug Primus atthe yard of Mutzelfeldtwerft in Cuxhaven on 4 December 2004 (see MJ - November 2004). 

  • IHC Delta to Build Multipurpose Tugs for Smit Transport Europe

    01 Feb 2005

    SMIT Transport Europe BV has placed an order with the IHCHolland Delta Shipyard for the construction of three multipurpose tugs. The design for the new vessels, designated the Delta Multi Purpose Pusher Tug 2500 (DMPT 2500), is intended for a wide range of marine operations in sheltered, shallow waters and open sea up to 200nm offshore. Their duties will include pushing, towing, buoy handling, dredging support, anchor handling, transportation, and the supply of fuel oil and water - mainly on the inland waterways around Europe. 

Vessel Repair & Maintenance

  • Veteran Survey Boat Gets New Home in Egypt

    01 Feb 2005

    An Egyptian multi-millionaire has paid 136,200 for the German survey ship veteran Wittesand , built more than half a century ago as a dredger supply boat on the Weser. 

  • Hull Fouling Foiled by Ecopseed

    01 Feb 2005

    In December 2004 a crowd of 50 people including ship owners, representatives of newbuiding yards, the Belgian and other national navies as well as government representatives gathered in anticipation at the Zeebrugge naval base. Their interest was to witness the efficiency and effectiveness of the Ecospeed system after it had gone through an extensive operational period on the Aster , a 55m Belgian Navy mine hunter which was there in drydock. 

  • New Life for Oldest Steamship

    01 Feb 2005

    Community involvement is at the heart of a valuable and ongoing vessel restoration project at Canary Wharf in London's Docklands. The SS Robin is the world's oldest complete steamship, having been built in 1890 at the Orchard House Yard on London's Bow Creek by Mackenzie Macalpine .The vessel was then towed to Dundee where its triple expansion reciprocating steam engine and boiler were installed by the famous engine building Gourlay Brothers . 

Taylor Fuel Control - For all your fuel requirements