Dover News

Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a Lifecycle Agreement with UK-based P&O Ferries for two of its vessels – the M/V Pioneer and the M/V Liberté.The scope of the five-year agreement the Lifecycle Agreement with P&O Ferries includes parts and maintenance services, as well as maintenance planning, operational support and Wärtsilä’s Expert Insight predictive maintenance service.The predictive service enables issues to be identified before they cause a delay in the schedule. Delays…

The UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch has published its accident investigation report on the loss of at least 27 lives when an inflatable boat carrying around 33 people became flooded and partially sank during an attempt to cross from France to the UK on November 24, 2021.The events were complex with multiple inflatable boats that were unsuitable and ill-equipped for the journey attempting to cross the Dover Strait to England. The occupants were not trained mariners, and their only means of calling for help was by mobile phone.

Danish shipping company DFDS announced it has committed to investing in battery-powered vessels to help decarbonize the maritime traffic across the English Channel.Following a meet between French Minister for Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad, Olivier Becht and CEO of DFDS, Torben Carlsen, in October, DFDS said it will invest in the innovation and technology necessary to and deploy a fleet of battery-powered vessels in the English Channel by 2030.“We have…

A Marshall Islands registered chemical tanker came to the aid of a sailor in distress Saturday morning in the Caribbean Sea, approximately 57 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Rico.U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received a VHF-Channel 16 communication from the sailing vessel Tao at 1:45 a.m. Saturday reporting the vessel lost steering and the sole boater on board, an 80-year-old man, had lost the ability to simultaneously access the vessel’s compass and emergency…

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter William Chadwick (WPC-1150) was commissioned Thursday at Coast Guard Base Boston, as the first of six Fast Response Cutters to be stationed in the city.Admiral Steven Poulin, Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, and Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander, 1st Coast Guard District, oversaw the ceremony, as Lt. Cmdr. Tyler Kelley assumed command of the 154-foot cutter and its crew. Under Kelly’s command, the 24-person crew will now conduct missions offshore of the Northeast United States.Built by Bollinger Shipyards…

More than 1,900 workers at Britain's biggest container port, Felixstowe, have begun eight days of strike action that will cause disruption to trade and supply chains.The staff at Felixstowe, on the east coast of England, are taking industrial action in a dispute over pay, becoming the latest workers to strike in Britain as unions demand higher wages for members facing a cost-of-living crisis. read moreBelow is a look at Felixstowe's operations and the possible impact from the strike:How big is the port?About 48% of all containers brought into the UK are transported through the Felixstowe port…

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"…

Light Structures tapped to deliver custom fiber optic solution for stress and fatigue measurement with real-time decision supportLight Structures AS won the contract to provide a Hull Stress Monitoring System for two new hybrid-power, double-ended RoPAX vessels under construction at Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China for P&O Ferries. Delivery, installation, and commissioning is expected to be completed within 2022.Measuring 230m long with 3,600 lane meters (Lm) and a passenger capacity of 1…

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said its inspectors have been blocked from investigating crew welfare issues on board P&O Ferries’ vessels in the Port of Dover.In March, P&O Ferries terminated about vessel 800 staff to hire cheaper agency workers in a move that has drawn backlash from politicians, workers and the general public.The ITF said Dover Port Police this week refused access to its inspectors dispatched to look into welfare issues raised by replacement crew members, citing failure to give advanced warning for the visit.“As an ITF Inspector in the U.K.

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.

Trade unions protested at British ferry ports on Friday after Dubai-owned P&O Ferries abruptly sacked 800 workers via a video message, drawing widespread condemnation and raising the prospect of disruption to key tourist and goods routes.P&O, which is owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, is recovering from a difficult two years when COVID-19 prevented tourists from travelling on its routes between Britain, France, Ireland and elsewhere in northern Europe.P&O said on Thursday it had lost 100 million pounds ($131 million) in the last year and that without changes its business was not sustainable.

Britain's P&O Ferries made 800 staff redundant with immediate effect and suspended crossings for the next few days, sparking a backlash from politicians and unions over reports it would hire cheaper agency workers instead.The shock move caused delays around Britain's busiest port, Dover, and drew threats of a standoff as trade unions urged their members to defy any instructions to leave P&O ships.Owned by Dubai ports firm DP World, P&O is recovering from two years of disruption when COVID-19 prevented tourists from travelling on its routes between Britain…

As COVID continues to create business hurdles globally, the SMS Group, based within the Port of Southampton in the UK, announced that it has recorded its busiest year in company history. Traditionally a ship repairer, SMS Group invested in a team of industry professionals to establish, develop and deliver in the challenging interior outfit and marine refurbishment sector within the cruise industry – and 2021 was the defining year.Dan Lockyer, who heads up the team, said: “2021 was our year. It’s the fourth year on this journey, and ironically the 22nd year that I’ve been in this industry.

When MS Otto Sverdrup departed Hamburg, Germany, on itsmaiden voyage on August 24, Hurtigruten marked off three milestones: Introduction of Hurtigruten Expeditions’ third battery-hybrid powered cruise ship; Introduction of the first year-round expedition cruises from Germany; and a return of expedition cruises after more than a year of pandemic pause.Since the very first expedition cruise in 1896, Hurtigruten Expeditions has helped to define the expedition cruise category, with today a growing fleet of smaller…

Two ferry operators on the English Channel on Tuesday announced a deal to make freight space on their Dover-Calais ships available to one another to maintain customer service levels on the route and ensure its continued resilience.Under the space charter agreement between P&O Ferries and DFDS, freight drivers can arrive at either the Port of Dover or Port of Calais and board the next available sailing, irrespective of whether the ferry is operated by either company.David Stretch…

The RoPax vessel Côte d'Opale – Stena's fifth E-Flexer vessel from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai) – was delivered May 17, 2021 in a ceremony with representatives from Stena RoRo, DFDS and the shipyard.The ship, at 214m long will become the longest ferry operating in the English Channe will enter service during the summer.“Our focus is to adapt the design to our customers' specific wishes, and in this case, DFDS has been very involved in the ship's unique design,” said Per Westling, CEO of Stena RoRo.

From his office overlooking Cherbourg docks, general manager Yannick Millet points to trailers destined for Ireland that belong to Amazon and FedEx, new customers and a signal of a potential big shift in post-Brexit trade.Confronted by red tape and delays after Britain’s messy exit from the European Union, Irish traders are shipping goods directly to and from European ports, shunning the once-speedier route through Britain.“You see the shift in supply chains right here,” he said.All five operators connecting Ireland to mainland Europe have increased ferry services in the past nine months…

Late last year, a team of Damen group subsidiaries completed a challenging project to replace one of the twin rudder stocks on P&O Ferries’ Pride of Canterbury. The 180-meter, 30,635 GT RoPax vessel operates on the Dover-Calais crossing, the busiest shipping lane in the world.The nearly 30-year old vessel is equipped with twin Van der Velden BARKE rudder systems engineered and made by Damen Marine Components (DMC). Replacing the stock on the starboard rudder enables the ferry…

Finnish tech company Wärtsilä revealed Thursday that it booked an order in Q1 2020 to supply engines for British ferry operator P&O Ferries' two new hybrid electric ferries on order at China's Guangzhou Shipyard International.P&OF has stated that the new hybrid-electric vessels, to be powered by powered by the Wärtsilä 31 four-stroke diesel engines, “will be the most sustainable ships ever to sail the English Channel, setting new standards for reliability and cost efficiency.”The double-ended RoPax ferries will operate between England and France.

Swiss-based ABB said it has been awarded a contract from Guangzhou Shipyard International to supply electric, digital and connected solutions for two new vessels the Chinese shipyard is building for British operator P&O Ferries.The hybrid propulsion solution, using electric power from 8.8MWh batteries and diesel generators, will cut fuel consumption on P&O Ferries’ Dover-Calais route by 40%, ABB said. The batteries will provide full power for harbor maneuvering and stay in port…

British entrepreneur Richard Branson heralded his first cruise ship "Scarlet Lady" on Friday as targeting a younger generation of holidaymakers with a range of attractions that he believes will outweigh any fears around coronavirus.Despite the unfortunate timing, with passengers on one ship quarantined in Japan after hundreds caught the virus and another turned away by five countries over fears someone on board may be ill, Branson sees cruises as a growth area.In an event at Dover…

CMR Group delivered an alarm monitoring and engine control system for use onboard the tug DHB Doughty. Built in 2000, Doughty is part of the fleet of Dover Harbor Board, which administers and maintains the Port of Dover UK, the busiest ferry port in Europe.The engine control system of the two engines of the 19-year-old, 304-gt tug needed to be retro-fitted, and CMR was specified to deliver its E-Pulse system, an engine control system based around a touch-screen local operating…

Port of Dover, the cross-channel port in Kent, south-east England, was awarded the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO) Award 2019 in recognition of its successful strategy to reach out to the local community and to directly communicate with the port citizens.Using social media as a new way of communicating and demonstrating a high level of transparency about operational achievements, future strategies and environmental challenges and performance is becoming increasingly important for European ports who can only function and further develop if they receive the license to operate from the local citizens.Chairman of the Jury, Dimitrios Theologitis…