Aberdeen Harbor News

U.K. based vessel owner and operator Bibby Marine announced it has appointed Howard Woodcock as non-executive director.Howard has more than 35 years’ experience across the maritime and offshore energies sectors, having held senior executive roles with United Offshore Support (GmbH) and Bibby Offshore Holdings Limited, in addition to non-executive directorships with Aberdeen Harbor Board, Costcutter Supermarkets Group, IndoChina ShipManagement UK Ltd and AWSR Shipping Limited.In his most recent role…

As the first 6,000 tonne concrete “foundation” for Aberdeen Harbor’s $466m expansion has arrived from Cromarty Firth, the harbor expansion project has reached a new landmark stage.The 50m long, 15m wide and 16m deep caisson is the first of 22 that will form the foundations for Castlegate and Dunnottar Quays, which will be 540m and 400m long respectively. In order to transport the caisson safely, it will travel the 180-nautical mile journey at two nautical miles per hour, escorted by ‘The Strathdee’ towage vessel.Once the caisson has safely arrived in South Harbor, GPS equipment will be used to position it into its designated location with an accuracy of +/- 20mm. It will then be filled with water to sink it to the sea bed.

ESVAGT UK has appointed Ian Taylor as iUK Regional Director.Taylor brings many years of shipping experience and a considerable amount of ESVAGT knowledge to ESVAGT’s UK office at Dock Gate House in the heart of Aberdeen’s harbor area. As a Chartered Shipbroker, he has been handling contracts with ESVAGT for North Sea Charterers for the past decade.Having ‘sold’ ESVAGT to clients for years, getting onboard full time was an easy step. “It is a company I have known well for several years,” Taylor said. “ESVAGT has a significant presence in the U.K.

Construction of a 30-meter-long, purpose-built floating crew transfer pontoon in Aberdeen Harbor’s Albert Basin has been completed by Swedish energy firm Vattenfall – supporting a new gateway for renewables in the center of the country’s energy industry. The 180m² pontoon, which is the only one of its kind at Aberdeen Harbor, has been specially built on Commercial Quay West as part of a 24-year agreement with the Harbor Board and can accommodate up to three crew transfer vessels at any one time. It will initially be used to support construction of Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC) and then as a marine support base for its on-going operations and maintenance(O&M) program.

Michelle Handforth has taken over the role of chief executive at Aberdeen Harbor Board, the U.K. offshore oil and gas port. This comes after an extensive recruitment process, when Handforth, who has 20 years of board and leadership experience in global, multi-site businesses, was recruited to succeed Colin Parker as Chief Executive. Alistair Mackenzie, Chairman of Aberdeen Harbor Board, said, “Michelle is joining Aberdeen Harbor at an incredibly important time for the organisation. Construction works are well under way at the Aberdeen South Harbor site, whilst we continue to focus on providing second-to-none services and facilities for our customers in the existing harbor.

Sentinel Marine’s latest new-build emergency response and rescue vessel (ERRV) has been deployed to service in the North Sea after being christened at Aberdeen Harbor. The new vessel, Mariner Sentinel, is operating on behalf of Statoil at its Mariner field to the east of Shetland – the sixth of nine vessels to join the firm’s fleet since 2015. Statoil’s Aberdeen-based offshore logistics and services supervisor, Line Kaldestad, officially named Mariner Sentinel in her role as the ship’s godmother.

Aberdeen Harbor Board said it has completed the restructuring of its Marine Operations Department with the internal appointment of Captain Jeff Gaskin as new Harbor Master and Alexandra McIntosh as Marine Manager. Gaskin, formerly the Harbor’s Marine Superintendent, has been appointed Harbor Master following the retirement of Captain Ray Shaw. Gaskin has 26 years’ experience within the maritime sector. He started his career as a cadet with Louis Dreyfus Shipping in 1990 and enjoyed spells with both PNTL and Cunard before ending his seagoing career with Vector Offshore in Aberdeen.

Atlantic Offshore Rescue will unveil the third new vessel in the past 12 months as part of its fleet modernization program, representing an investment totaling $458 million. Ocean Falcon, a new Class A Multi Role and Emergency Response and Rescue (MRV/ERRV) vessel, is to be christened at a ceremony at Aberdeen harbor before commencing a contract with a major U.K. operator. Atlantic Offshore Rescue will provide emergency recovery, rescue cover, tanker assistance and general field support for offshore operations at the Curlew Field, in the North Sea.

The EU's TEN-T Program will invest over $940,000 for development studies for a new harbor at Nigg Bay in Aberdeen, Scotland. The harbor is to support the existing Port of Aberdeen with a view to a significant traffic growth forecast. The Port of Aberdeen handles around 8,000 vessel arrivals and 5 million metric tons of cargo a year. It is almost at its maximum capacity due to high levels of traffic, and the growth potential for the future is significant across several sectors. However, the port's location near the city center limits its expansion.

Aberdeen Harbor has welcomed the largest vessel to have docked in the city, as its latest plans for the proposed expansion at Nigg Bay continue on public display. The MV Pacific Adventure, a general cargo and container vessel, which is 160 meters in length and 27 meters wide, now holds the record at the port with a gross tonnage of 19,128 metric tons, beating previous record holder, the diving support vessel, Skandi Arctic, by 488 metric tons. The Hartmann Project Lines vessel, under the agency of Euroline Shipping, recently arrived with a cargo of oilfield materials from Mauritania.

Aberdeen Harbor has reported its results for 2013, with vessel tonnage exceeding 28 million metric tons for the second year in succession, and nearly 4.9 million metric tons of cargo crossing the quayside. Strong activity across the Harbor’s customer base was reflected in its financial results for the year, with turnover up 1.1% to £27.6 million (2012: £27.3 million), delivering pretax profits of £9.6 million. The port has continued to be buoyed by high levels of activity from the region’s oil and gas industry and from its general cargo customers…

Plans by Aberdeen Harbor Board to create additional berthing facilities at Nigg Bay have received a double boost. An independent report has estimated the economic benefit of the development to the local and national economies to be nearly £1 billion per annum. This report has been published in the same month that the Scottish Government, in their National Planning Process, has named the Nigg Bay Development as one of only 14 projects that they consider to be of national importance to Scotland.

Aberdeen Harbor welcomed its first cruise vessel as it prepares for 12 expected visits to the city during the summer season. The arrival of the cruise vessel Island Sky, famed for its large suites and spacious outside decks, signals the start of the season when it arrives tomorrow (May 21) for the first of what will be three visits as it tours the Scottish Islands and Scandinavia over the course of the summer. Many of the cruises scheduled on such vessels this year will start and end in Aberdeen, with Aberdeen becoming a common cruise embarkation point.

Aberdeen Harbor Board’s annual results have revealed record vessel activity in 2012 and record levels of cargo passing through the port. Overall vessel tonnage handled by the port increased by 8%, from 25.91 million tons in 2011, to 28.19 million tons in 2012. The Harbor also saw an 8% increase in cargo handled, increasing from 4.76 million tons in 2011 to 5.14 million tons in 2012 - another record for the Port. As a result, Aberdeen Harbor’s annual turnover increased by 13% to £27.37 million from £24.06 million in 2011, recording a retained profit of £7.46 million.

Aberdeen Harbor has welcomed the largest ever vessel to the port after the completion of a £5.2 million program to improve access and deepen the Navigation Channel. The improvements – designed to open the harbor to larger vessels and new markets – were completed five weeks ahead of schedule. The two recent visits of the diving support vessel, Skandi Arctic, were perfect demonstrations that the harbor has entered a new era. Measuring 27 metres in breadth and 156 metres in length…

Aberdeen Harbor Engages in Study into Potential Port Expansion. Aberdeen Harbour Board has commenced a major feasibility study into the potential expansion of facilities at the port. Continued growth in traffic and cargos, as well as an increase in the size of the vessels has prompted the study, as projections indicate that Aberdeen Harbour will remain the principal port for the oil and gas sector in the North Sea and West of Shetland. The harbour has also been outlined as a potential…

The first phase of a multi-million pound redevelopment project of Aberdeen Harbor’s Torry Quay has been completed. A project milestone, it was marked by the vessel Skandi Foula, which docked at the quay before loading cargo destined for a North Sea installation. The vessel is the first to have used the new facilities, which include 300 meters of realigned, deep water berths, a stronger quayside for heavier lifts, and a wider channel in the River Dee, designed to facilitate improved vessel navigation. These features are the result of an initial £19million investment by the Aberdeen Harbor Board. “There is a growing trend for increasingly large, deep-drafted vessels.” Said Ken Reilly, engineering director of Aberdeen Harbor.

The import and export of goods by sea remains a vital part of the regional economy of the north-east of Scotland and this has been demonstrated more than ever this year, with a positive rise in activity levels at the port. Next year is set for similar success, with the Board planning to invest in the region of £24million to ensure improvements at the harbour continue to meet the demands of new and existing customers. There are already some exciting plans in store for 2012, including continued work at Torry Quays with the start of Phase 2 of the development.

Aberdeen Harbor has bid a fond farewell to another successful cruise season, with the arrival of the final vessel of the season, Hebridean Princess, a small luxury liner making its maiden voyage to the port.Carrying just 50 passengers and a crew of 38, the vessel’s ‘East Coast Adventure’ saw it berth at the harbour overnight before heading to Dundee, the East Neuk of Fife and Leith.The Princess is one of nine vessels that have called into Aberdeen Harbour since the cruise season began in May, with the MS Silver Cloud, Le Diamant and Europa also making their first visits to the port.

Aberdeen Harbor attracted increased traffic across the first half of 2011, with both vessel numbers and tonnage on the up. Vessel numbers rose by seven percent on the same period last year to 3,746 while shipping tonnage increased from 11.6 million tonnes to 12.2 million tonnes. Total cargo tonnage also increased over the same period by 4.7 percent from 2.2 to 2.3 million tonnes. The port also recorded 590,563 tons of shipping activity during the second week of July; the highest weekly tonnage ever to be handled.