River Tyne News

On July 1 the Port of Tyne launched a 'next-generation' Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system to enhance VTS operator situational awareness and supports decision making.The system adheres to the standards set by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), covers the waters of the Port of Tyne in the UK, extending from six nautical miles out at sea to three nautical miles inland. It uses the Automatic Identification System (AIS)…

New powerboats have been delivered to the UK Royal Navy’s Tyneside headquarters to improve seafaring training for reservists.HMS Calliope in Gateshead has taken delivery of two Gemini RIBs to take the unit’s volunteers out on to the water – part of an initiative to provide numerous Royal Naval Reserve bases around the UK with fast boats again, an idea first mooted three years ago.Following hundreds of hours of hard work, dedication and commitment, that vision is now reality.Given the increasing use of reservists in seagoing billets – such as the Gibraltar Squadron or fishery protection ships –

The Port of Tyne, which comprises the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England, is increasing their offer to potential offshore wind manufacturers.Offshore wind could provide 30% of Britain's electricity generation by 2030, and the Port of Tyne is perfectly placed to support this growing renewable sector.Announcing that the ‘Tyne is right’ to utilise its location, within 100 nautical miles of Dogger Bank, Hornsea, Seagreen and Sofia, the Port of Tyne is increasing their offer to potential offshore wind manufacturers.The Port of Tyne is nearing the final phase of a major investment programme to infill Tyne Dock and increase its commercial property portfolio.Matt Beeton…

The Port of Tyne, which comprises the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear in the northeast of England,  has secured a GBP60m ($79m) refinancing package from Lloyds Bank to support its ambitious investment program.North East England port said in a release that the five-year agreement, which comprises a £30m revolving credit facility and a £30m term loan, provides the port with capital to develop several major infrastructure projects.This is the latest in a series of landmark North East infrastructure deals supported by Lloyds Bank, which includes leading the financing of the 299MW MGT Teesside power station…

Royston Diesel Power has doubled the size of its UK engineering facilities to support continuing global growth in its marine engine service business and new technology development. As part of a £500,000 ($676,000) investment program the company has opened an additional 15,000 sq. ft. of engineering workshop premises alongside its existing headquarters on the banks of the River Tyne. As well as increasing the company’s engine repair and maintenance capability, the new center will also provide a focus for a range of other technical support functions.

The Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) welcomes the repatriation of the stranded crew of the Donald Duckling, a ship detained in the River Tyne for the past seven weeks. The seafarers’ welfare organization has been providing practical support to the crew of the vessel since it was arrested on November 12 last year. Apart from the ship’s captain and its chief engineer, all the crew - including 11 Filipino crewmembers who flew home on the afternoon of January 9 - have now gone back home. “There were mixed emotions.

UK's Newcastle University to lead a national centre for subsea & offshore engineering in a major drive to develop new materials & technologies. The Neptune National Centre for Subsea and Offshore Engineering was unveiled recently by Business Secretary Vince Cable as a key part of the Government's Oil and Gas Strategy. It will be the first of its kind in the UK, bringing together industry and academia to create a world-class engineering research facility. Developing technologies that can withstand one of the world’s harshest environments, the new centre will be at the forefront of a quest to harness the ocean's potential as a source of food, energy and medicine.

The month of January 2013 was again a very busy month for A&P Shipyards in the northeast of England. Longstone (Andrew Weir Shipping) - undocked early January after      an intensive 12 day programme overhauling the stern ramp, vent fans and      sea valves. The ship sailed away on time on 4th January. Pride of York (P&O) - docked on 22nd January where she underwent her annual refit. She sailed on      the 10th February. The Tyne saw a couple of demobilisation projects for Technip Offshore Wind Limited in January on UR101 and AMT Discoverer. Both projects involved removal of cable carousels and associated equipment. They both successfully completed on time. The same owners have now just stemmed another mobilisation on the Normand Progress.

A&P Group is one of the largest ship repair and conversion companies in the UK with an annual turnover of approximately £96 million. The company is 100 per cent privately owned, employs 600 people across the UK and uses a network of worldwide agents. A&P Group is continually investing in all of its yards and facilities to ensure the ability to offer extensive marine services. A&P Group has developed internationally from its traditional business of ship repair, ship conversion and fabrication to providing offshore and renewable marine services. The company now operates across a number of sectors offering a broad range of services associated with marine engineering and fabrication and is setting global standards for competitive prices…

A DFDS Seaways ferry crashed into an oil platform on the River Tyne in 60mph winds. The collision, which occurred last Friday, happened after several ropes tethering the 30,000-ton King Of Scandinavia snapped. The ferry then slipped its berth at Northumbrian Quay, and the ship’s captain was forced to drop his anchor to stop the ferry as it drifted towards the decommissioned oil platform. Tugboats aided to help control the ship, but could not prevent it from grazing the oil platform and creating a gouge in the side of the ferry. No passengers were on board the ship at the time, and there were no injuries to crew. Sailings from Newcastle to IJmuiden in the Netherlands on the King Of Scandinavia were cancelled all this week while repairs were carried out on the ship…

A&P Tyne’s number 5 dock at Hebburn on Tyneside will shortly accommodate one of the largest vessels to be docked on the River Tyne in recent years. The Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessel Haewene Brim will visit in the Summer for a 35day upgrading to its process plant and hull maintenance period refit. Work is already well in hand in the fabrication and assembly of the new process modules for the vessel. The vessel upgrading is being carried out in a partnership between A&P Tyne Ltd. and McNulty Offshore Contractors Ltd. of South Shields who are the prime contractor. Bluewater are the vessels owner and operator, Haewene Brim is currently on charter to Shell UK on the Pierce field in the North Sea.

Sophisticated they may be, but the designs of today's LNG, LPG and ethylene carriers are in reality based on the simple parameters of the ideal gas laws governing the relationships between pressure, temperature and volume. In addition, the materials in direct contact with the cargo must be matched with the properties and characteristics of the cargo. The key to the designs is the atmospheric boiling temperature of the cargo, i.e. ambient for fully pressurised LPG, -33 deg. C for anhydrous ammonia, -48 deg. C for propane, -104 deg. C for ethylene and -163 deg. C for LNG. In terms of fleet numbers the total number of gas ships is small compared with oil tankers, general cargo ships or passenger vessels.

Holland America Line will hold the official naming ceremony for it's first Signature-class ship, ms Eurodam, July 1, 2008, in Rotterdam, the city where the 135-year-old Dutch company was founded. Naming ceremonies will be held near the company's original headquarters, which now operates as the Hotel New York. Numerous events and activities are being planned to showcase the vessel to key stakeholders, including past guests, travel agents, former employees, local dignitaries, media and others. The ship arrives Jun. 29 to begin four days of celebrations and departs Jul. 2 for a three-day prelude cruise with its first guests. In the days leading up to the naming, the Eurodam will sail from Venice, Italy, to Southampton, England, before arriving in Rotterdam.

Global contractor, i-Tech, part of Subsea 7 announced that it has placed an order for new build deepwater work class vehicles, which will be supplied with advanced, light weight, high performance handling systems. The systems, to be named Centurion Qx, have been specifically designed and built for i-Tech and its target market. The 125hp Centurion Qx will be rated to operate at water depths up to 2,000m as standard with options to upgrade to 3,000m and beyond. The systems will be built by SMD Hydrovision (SMDH) at their Turbinia works on the River Tyne in Newcastle, UK. The Centurion Qx is an evolution of the successful Subsea 7 designed and built Centurion work class series.