Skye News

The preferred bidder has been named for a contract to build two new ferries to support the communities at Uig, Lochmaddy and Tarbert (Harris).Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) said it intends to award the contract to the Cemre Marin Endustri A.S shipyard in Turkey, following a 10 day standstill period.In October 2022, The Scottish Government prioritised additional funding to enable CMAL to accelerate plans for replacement vessels. The two new vessels will be built to the same specification as the existing ferries under construction at Cemre for Islay.

MV Kaami, a general cargo vessel salvaged six miles off the northwest coast of Skye, Scotland after running aground in March, has been dismantled and recycled in Kishorn.Built in 1994, the 89.8-meter vessel, owned by Norway’s Misje Rederi, was sailing under the flag of Bahamas when it ran aground on March 23 this year. It was refloated by Resolve Marine Group and towed to Kishorn Port and Dry Dock on the northwest coast of Scotland.Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has invested more than £700…

Southampton Marine Services said it has launched its latest vessel, a new aquaculture service vessel for Leco Marine, at its Ocean Quay shipyard in Southampton. Designed by Argyll Maritime Design Services, the 23-meter vessel, Alyssa, is an aquaculture service vessel built for Scottish commercial diving and marine services company Leco Marine to perform general fish farm work. It is equipped with a net-cleaning and inspection system for the maintenance of fish-farm nets. Leco Marine’s largest vessel…

Harris Pye begins work today on refurbishing the historic dock gates at Kishorn Port, last opened nearly 25 years ago. This will be the first step in making them, and the Kishorn dry-dock, operational once more. The contract value is £340,000 and the work will be undertaken in a six week period. The hollow concrete gates were last opened nearly 25 years ago when the Skye Bridge caissons were constructed there in 1993. The dock was also where the Ninian Central production platform, one of the largest concrete structures ever to have moved across the face of the earth, was constructed in the late 1970s. “We are delighted to have won this contract, and to be working on these historic gates,” explains Chris David, Harris Pye’s Chief Technical Officer.

The first cruise ship arrival of the year will enter Lerwick Harbour this weekend at the start of a record-breaking season which is expected to see the most passengers and vessels yet at the Shetland port, along with the highest gross tonnage of cruise ships, including the biggest vessels to date. • Almost 54,000 passengers are expected, up on the 2014 record of 43,273. • 78 vessels are currently due, beating the high of 52 in 2012. • The cumulative tonnage at 2,212,023 gross tonnes tops the 1,684,699 gross tonnes set in 2014. • The record for the largest cruise ship will be broken twice – by P&O Cruises 115,055 gross tonne Azura on 30 June, followed by Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Silhouette (122,210 gross tonnes) on 14 August, with around 3,100 and 2,900 passenger capacity respectively.

The Royal Navy's latest submarine, HMS Artful, will be officially commissioned at a ceremony today. It will take place at Faslane naval base on the Clyde, with representatives of the Royal Navy and the companies that built the vessel present. Guest of honor at the ceremony will be the submarine's sponsor Lady Amanda Zambellas, who named the vessel during its launch in 2014. Artful, the third of the Royal Navy’s new Astute-class attack submarines, has been busy conducting her final Contractor Sea Trials ahead of her maiden deployment. The sophisticated submarine sailed from Barrow-in-Furness in August last year for her new home at HM Naval Base Clyde and since then has been proving her systems and equipment at sea.

Ferry masters operating off the west coast of Scotland traditionally would have to sail to a port and on arrival visually assess the weather and tide conditions before deciding whether it was safe to berth alongside the pier or quayside: a process which wasted time and fuel, and frustrating the paying passengers. The berthing of ferries is a high skill job, particularly during bad weather, and the decision on whether a specific ferry can safely berth at a specific port is subjective and ultimately can only be taken by the ferry Master…

Scottish minister Nicola Sturgeon have named Ferguson shipyard as the preferred bidder for a £97 million contract for the biggest new ferries on the Clyde since 2001 in a deal that could secure more than 150 jobs. The move will provide boost for shipbuilding in the civilian shipyard on the River Clyde Ferguson Marine Engineering Limited (FMEL) and the local economy around a year after the owners of the shipyard went into administration. Ferguson was taken over by Clyde Blowers billionaire and former Scottish independence supporter Jim McColl last year. The two new ships will both be approximately 330ft long and capable of 16 knots with space for 127 cars or 16 HGV’s or a combination of both and up to 1000 passengers.

A man found guilty of making numerous hoax calls to the U.K. Coastguard has been jailed for four months, the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) reported. Alasdair Munro, 55, from Kyleakin, Skye, denied all charges before Sheriff Scott at Portree Sheriff Court on August 27, 2015, but was found guilty of an offence contrary to the Communications Act 2003 section 127, according to the MCA. Munro had reportedly called HM Coastguard several times on October 30, 2013, claiming a yacht was lost in Loch Hourn. Munro said he had spoken to someone on VHF radio stating that they were lost in Loch Hourn and didn’t know how to get out. The call led to the deployment of a Mallaig RNLI Lifeboat and Kyle Coastguard Rescue Teams to search for the vessel…

Historically, ferry masters operating off the west coast of Scotland would have to sail to a port and on arrival visually assess the weather and tide conditions before deciding whether safe berthing alongside the pier or quayside would be possible. This wastes time and fuel, and can causes frustration among passengers, who may see ferries come close to a port, but thereafter depart without berthing when conditions are determined by the ferry Master to be unsafe. These ferries provide a lifeline service to the islands, so the reliability of ferry services is important.

Imtech Marine informs it has been awarded a third contract to supply the electric and hybrid propulsion system for a hybrid ferry operated by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) of Scotland. Ferguson Marine, the Glasgow-based yard which built the first two CMAL diesel electric, hybrid seagoing ferries, launched a tender last year and Imtech Marine was given the contract in late February. For the third hybrid ferry, Imtech Marine will, next to the diesel-electric and Li-Ion battery hybrid propulsion system, additionally carry out the electrical installation.

Nigeria's oil minister announced a 213 billion naira (1.3 billion US dollar) bail-out package for power companies on Saturday, nearly a year after the sector was privatised. Despite holding the world's ninth largest gas reserves, Nigeria only produces a tenth of the amount of electricity as South Africa for a population three times the size, and in an effort to end decades of debilitating power shortages President Goodluck Jonathan handed ownership of the moribund state electricity company to private buyers last November. But some companies have already run into financial difficulties linked to debts left by the state power company and regulated prices that remain too low to be profitable.

Vessel sales for June 2014 (as of July 1) as prepared by Shipping Intelligence, Inc., New York.

When Imtech Marine was asked to supply a hybrid propulsion system to the first ever diesel electric, hybrid seagoing ferries to the Scottish state-owned ferry operator, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. (CMAL) in 2011, fuel savings of around 20% were expected, the company said. Following extensive trials Imtech Marine announced that the actual fuel savings with the innovative hybrid system - consisting of diesel electric in combination with battery technology - were up to 38%. CMAL operates 30 ferries on the west coast of Scotland to 18 islands.

International maritime lawyers Jason R. Margulies and Michael A. Winkleman, of Lipcon, Margulies, Alsina & Winkleman, P.A. , have secured the top verdict in Florida for admiralty and maritime law in 2012 for the case: William C. Skye v. Maersk Line Limited Corporation, doing business as Maersk Line Limited. The verdict was published in the 'Daily Business Review' a legal and business periodical that ranks and publishes Florida Top Verdicts. Attorneys Margulies and Winkleman secured the successful verdict on May 16, 2012 under the Jones Act for the plaintiff, William Skye, a commercial ship crew member who sustained permanent physical injuries to the heart as a result of the negligent working environment created by his employer, Maersk Line Limited.

The GL Group said it has recently strengthened its offshore team with two appointments: David Robertson who takes on the role of Head of Practice for the U.K. Marine and Offshore Project Management Services and Elaine Greig who is the new U.K. Head of Offshore at GL Garrad Hassan. David Robertson’s career in renewables began after 13 years in the onshore petrochemical industry. He worked on a number of onshore wind farm projects, including managing the delivery of the Electrical…

The Commission has awarded over €1.2 billion to 23 innovative renewable energy technology (RES) projects. The projects cover a wide range of renewable energy technologies from bioenergy (including advanced biofuels), concentrated solar power and geothermal power to wind power, ocean energy and distributed renewable management (smart grids). The projects will be hosted in 16 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The project comprises a floating offshore 26 MW wind farm located 50 km from Marseille. Thirteen wind turbines will be installed on 13 moored floating structures which will transfer power to an onshore substation connected to the grid.

Skye Maritime, a provider of counter-piracy embarked security guards, appoints Ben Smith to its management team. Ben served for 15 years in the British Army as a Special Operations reservist; he was also an attorney in the UK, appearing in the UK equivalent of District, Military and Appellate courts in over 2000 cases. From 2008 Ben served in Afghanistan and Iraq as a counter-insurgency operator and close protection specialist. His appointments included patrol medic and sharpshooter. He regularly delivers hostile environment training and threat briefings to major US and UK news networks, and still delivers weapons and tactics training to law enforcement, military and civilians as a consultant firearms instructor.

Odfjell announced the formation of Odfjell Euroceanica As, a 50/50 Joint Venture between Odfjell SE and Euroceanica Ltd. The J/V will trade all vessels currently operated by Crystal Pool and Odfjell Europe in the European short sea market. The new Crystal Pool set-up will open up for possibilities to offer combined services from Baltic to and from the Mediterranean, and give extensive world-wide coverage via the global presence and services of Odfjell Tankers. Existing contracts and commitments with all respective customers will remain unchanged. The new J/V looks forward to starting renewal dialogues of existing contracts as well as discussing new contracts and commitments for 2012 and beyond.

Skye Maritime, A New Anti-Piracy Firm, Is Launched By Two U.S. Armed Services Veterans; Providing high-quality training and ethics based approach to security and anti-piracy solutions in war risk regions at sea. Skye Maritime, a new firm offering security and anti-piracy solutions for clients operating in war risk regions at sea, is beginning operations this month. The company, launched by two U.S. Armed Forces veterans, provides a specialized training and ethics based approach to security, employing teams of highly skilled professionals with backgrounds in the U.S. armed forces and law enforcement communities. The firm helps clients by providing services aimed at understanding and predicting changes in pirate threat tactics, techniques and procedures.

A recent court ruling in Florida leaves shipowners facing the threat of legal action from seafarers who feel that their working conditions at sea have contributed to poor health, both in the US and other jurisdictions, lawyers have confirmed, reports 'Intermanager'. William Skye, a former chief officer with Maersk, was awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars after he claimed that he had suffered heart damage as a result of working 16 hours a day at sea, forcing him to take early retirement at the age of 54. “This is an important case, because it paves the way for similar-situated crew members who are injured by working too many hours and too many duties,” said Jason Magulies of Lipcon Margulies Alsina & Winkleman, who acted for Mr Skye.

US Congressman meets with Skye Maritime to learn of factors inhibiting US private maritime security businesses. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a Marine combat veteran and member for the House Armed Services Committee, met with senior executives at Skye Maritime, a California based, veteran owned and operated private maritime security company today to discuss the challenges facing U.S maritime security firms. "Congressman Hunter is concerned about the rising threat of Somali piracy and cut straight to the issues at hand. He wanted to know what challenges we face and how he could help – he wanted to understand the nuts and bolts of how we operate our business," said Mike Slattery, CEO and Co-Founder of Skye Maritime.

Congressman Duncan Hunter Meets with Skye Maritime on the Challenges Facing the U.S. Private Maritime Security Industry. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA), a Marine combat veteran and member for the House Armed Services Committee, met with senior executives at Skye Maritime, a California based, veteran owned and operated private maritime security company today to discuss the challenges facing U.S maritime security firms. "Congressman Hunter is concerned about the rising threat of Somali piracy and cut straight to the issues at hand.