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25 Jul 2022

More Long Delays at UK's Port of Dover

© Eddie Cloud / Adobe Stock

Long queues of holidaymakers and lorries built up on Saturday outside the Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, and officials said the disruption could be worse than the logjam seen on Friday.Travelers setting out at the start of the British school summer holidays, as well as the usual flow of goods lorries, have faced long delays because of slow border checks.The Kent Resilience Forum, which brings together local councils and emergency services, declared a "major incident"…

13 Apr 2022

Another P&O Ferry Seized on Disrupted Dover-Calais Route

A second P&O ferry that sails between the English town of Dover and the French city of Calais has been detained by British officials due to a "number of deficiencies", likely exacerbating Easter holiday travel disruption.P&O Ferries, which accounted for a third of Dover's capacity, has struggled to operate a service after it fired 800 workers last month to cut costs, drawing sharp criticism from the government and sparking union protests.Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have since inspected a number of P&O's vessels and suspended four, with two operating between Dover and Calais.

29 Jul 2019

Britain to Iran: "come out of the dark"

Britain on Monday warned Iran that if it wants to "come of the dark" then it must follow international rules and release a British-flagged vessel seized by the Islamic Republic in the Gulf. UK rejects 'barter' for release of Iranian Tanker."If the Iranians want to come of the dark and be accepted as a responsible member of the intentional community they need to adhere to rules-based system of the international community," Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told Sky News."You cannot go about detaining unlawfully foreign vessels."Also on Monday, Britain rejected the idea that it could release a Iranian tanker in exchange for a British-flagged…

02 Jan 2019

UK Defends Brexit Ferry Contract to Inexperienced Ferry Operator

Britain's transport minister has defended awarding a 14 million-pound ($18 million) contract for shipping goods after Brexit to a new ferry company that owns no ships.The government last week awarded three contracts to charter extra ferries to ease congestion if the United Kingdom fails to secure a trade deal before leaving the European Union in March.The smallest contract was won by Seaborne Freight, a British business that has never previously operated a ferry route, raising concern about whether the new service would be ready."I make no apologies for supporting a new British business," Transport Minister Chris Grayling told BBC radio on Wednesday. "We have looked very carefully at this business.

07 Sep 2017

Irma Kills Eight on Saint Martin

At least half of Puerto Rico's island without power; storm likely to hit Florida Saturday or Sunday. Hurricane Irma killed eight people on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin and left Barbuda devastated on Thursday as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms in a century took aim at Florida. Television footage of the Franco-Dutch island of Saint Martin showed a damaged marina with boats tossed into piles, submerged streets and flooded homes. Power was knocked out on Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy and in parts of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. "It is an enormous disaster, 95 percent of the island is destroyed. I am in shock," Daniel Gibbs, chairman of a local council on Saint Martin, told Radio Caribbean International.

27 Sep 2016

Britain's First U.S. Shale Gas Arrives in Scotland

Britain's first shale gas delivery from the United States sailed into a heated European political debate on fracking on Tuesday and immediately ran into its first practical problem - the Scottish weather. The huge "Ineos Insight" tanker had entered the Firth of Forth at sunrise, a lone Scots piper playing on its bow, as it headed for the Grangemouth refinery, west of Edinburgh. But gusty squalls prevented it from unloading its controversial cargo before an assembled crowd of dignitaries. "The Insight vessel was unable to dock at the port due to high winds," said a spokesman for Zurich-based chemicals giant Ineos. It would arrive at the port as soon as wind died down, he added. Ship tracking data on Reuters showed the vessel had turned back into deeper waters.

15 Jan 2015

BP, Conoco Cutting North Sea Jobs

Oil majors BP and ConocoPhillips will cut over 500 jobs in the North Sea following similar moves by rivals to reduce costs in one of the world's most expensive exploration areas as oil prices tumble. Although the cuts are relatively small for companies with dozens of thousands of employees, they come at a politically sensitive time in Britain as the Scottish independence debate continues and a May parliamentary election looms. BP said the cuts of 200 onshore staff and 100 contractors were part of a previously announced $1 billion reorganisation aimed at simplifying the company's structure after it sold billions of dollars of assets.

22 May 2014

Debris found in Atlantic search for missing UK sailors

The crew of a charter boat taking part in a search for four British sailors missing in the Atlantic Ocean has found some floating debris in the area where their yacht went missing six days ago, the captain said on Thursday. Patrick Michel, skipper of the Masili, said his crew had spotted a wooden plank that could be part of the cabin and some white foam or plastic in the northern part of the search area. He said the debris appeared new as it was free of barnacles but the owner of the missing yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki, would need to confirm that the debris was from the boat. "We did see during this night a few little (pieces of) debris which I have reported to the U.S.

15 Feb 2001

Spellar’s Reply To Rosyth “Firing” Plans … Rubbish

Leaders of Britain's defense unions claim to have uncovered secret plans to axe over 1,400 jobs at Scotland's Rosyth naval base as part of a wider Ministry of Defense shake-up of navy repair services. The government and the company involved vigorously deny the claims. The MoD announced last April it was reviewing its warship maintenance and support procedures to account for the reduced size of the Royal Navy and the increased durability of modern ships. Unions at the time said the review would result in 1,000 job losses and a further 2,500 pushed into the private sector, with the Faslane naval base west of Glasgow bearing the brunt of the cutbacks.

28 Jun 2001

Report Claims Profits Held Above Safety

The number of accidents at sea is rising because fishermen and merchant shippers put profit above safety, a report by the British marine accident investigation branch said. The branch said 39 U.K.-registered fishing vessels were lost and 32 fishermen died in 2000, the highest rate since it began recording accidents in 1992. "A lot of people out there are trying extremely hard to produce a good service, (with) well-run ships, well-motivated and well-trained crews," Chief Marine Accident Inspector John Lang told BBC Radio. "But they are being undermined continually by a percentage ... Lang said vessels were often undermanned, which led to exhaustion of crew members and a failure to post night lookouts.