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Uk Maritime And Coastguard Agency News

13 Sep 2023

Rowing Boat Owner Sentenced in the UK After Man Was Lost Overboard

The 10.8-meter ocean rowing boat Toby Wallace. (Photo: U.K. Marine Accident Investigation Branch)

The owner and skipper of a rowing vessel has received a 12-month prison sentence after a 21-year-old was lost overboard in the middle of the Atlantic.In February 2016, Michael Johnson was swept overboard by a large wave in the North Atlantic Ocean, between the Canary Islands and Barbados, during a world record row attempt to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 32 days. The seven remaining crew members on board were unable to save Johnson.Simon Chalk, owner of the rowing boat Toby Wallace…

24 Feb 2023

McVea Tapped to Lead the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Virginia McVea (Photo: Maritime and Coastguard Agency)

Virginia McVea has been named as the next chief executive officer of the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) effective April 3, 2023.Damien Oliver has been serving as the MCA's interim CEO since October 2022, following the retirement of the agency's former head Brian Johnson.U.K. Maritime Minister Baroness Vere said, "[McVea] joins at a pivotal time for the agency as it faces both challenges and exciting opportunities, and I look forward to working with her to grow the U.K.

23 Feb 2023

UK Fines Svitzer $2.4 Million Over Crewman Fatality

A.P. Moller - Maersk's towage arm Svitzer has been fined £2 million ($2.4 million) in the U.K. after pleaded guilty to safely failures that led to a crewmember fatality.Svitzer Marine Ltd pleaded guilty to failing to operate a vessel safely and failing to provide a safe system of work, causing the “avoidable tragedy” of 62-year-old Ian Webb falling into the water, the U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency announced.Heard at Liverpool Crown Court on February 20, the tragic death sparked an investigation by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) which identified a number of Svitzer’s safety failures.On the evening of Webb’s death, January 27, 2019, Svitzer Marine’s tug Millgarth was cast off from the Tranmere north jetty, in the river Mersey, in storm force conditions.

07 Oct 2022

Oliver Named Interim Head of UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Damien Oliver (Photo: MCA)

Damien Oliver has been appointed as the interim Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). Damien will begin his new role on Monday 17 October, which follows the current MCA Chief Executive Brian Johnson’s retirement.Chairman and board member Christopher Rodrigues said, “Damien has had a number of high-profile roles within the MCA since joining in 2001 and he will bring a wealth of maritime experience and knowledge. Damien has been responsible for major projects and programs…

01 Jun 2022

Windcat CTV is World's First Powered by Dual-fuel Hydrogen Engines

(Photo: Windcat Workboats)

The world's first dual-fuel hydrogen- and diesel-powered crew transfer vessel (CTV) is ready for service, outfitted to run the cleaner fuel that reduces up to 80% of its traditional fuel usage and associated emissions.The 25-meter vessel, Hydrocat 48—owned by Windcat Workboats, part of Compagnie Maritime Belge (CMB)—is based on the Windcat MK 3.5 design but lengthened to integrate adequate hydrogen storage on board. The vessel, which has been certified by Lloyd’s Register and U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency, recently completed bunkering and sea trials in May.

22 Apr 2022

ITF Inspectors Denied Access to P&O Ferries in Dover

© Elles Rijsdijk / Adobe Stock

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.

28 Mar 2022

Second P&O Ferry Detained Amid Sackings Scandal

© petert2 / Adobe Stock

Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is detaining a second P&O ferry, the Pride of Kent, following safety checks by the authorities, Sky News reported on Monday.The MCA earlier in the day said the ferry was undergoing checks to ensure it was safe to put to sea without passengers or cargo, ahead of a full inspection at a later date, Sky News said.The report comes after Britain said it will force ferry operators docking in its ports to pay the minimum wage as it stepped up pressure on P&O Ferries to rehire 800 workers the company fired without notice in favor of cheaper staff.(Reuters

28 Mar 2022

UK's Maritime and Coastguard Agency Detains P&O Ferry Unready to Sail

European Causeway - Credit: Wolfgang Fricke / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY 3.0

Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on Friday detained a ferry operated by P&O in Northern Ireland because it was not ready to sail, the agency and P&O said.The British government has already said it will take legal action over P&O Ferries' decision to fire 800 staff earlier this month with immediate effect.The ferry European Causeway, which operates between Cairnryan in Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland, will be detained until the company resolves all the issues, a spokesperson for the MCA said, citing "crew familiarisation, vessel documentation and crew training"."Following m

10 Feb 2022

High Speed Offshore Service Crafts in UK Now Allowed to Carry Up to 60 Workers

©y twixter/Adobestock

High Speed Offshore Service Craft operating in the UK are now allowed to transport up to 60 workers, the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Wednesday.According to MCA, the change will mean that vessels transporting those who work on offshore wind farms will be able to carry greater numbers of workers while still meeting safety standards.The legislative changes followed discussions between the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the industry looking at how to solve the logistical…

10 Jun 2021

UK MCA to Conduct Surprise Inspections of Fishing Vessels after Fatalities Spike

Image by shaunwilkinson/AdobeStock

Surveyors from the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency are to carry out unannounced inspections of fishing vessels across the UK with the aim of increasing safety in the industry after a growing number of fatalities."The inspections are being carried out as part of ongoing work around fishing vessel safety in an industry-recognized to be one of the dangers in the world," the MCA said.According to the Agency, since November 2020, there have been eight deaths – more than ten percent of the total for the previous ten years.

20 May 2021

New Report Helps UK MCA Prepare for Offshore Oil Spill Challenges

Credit: Xodus Group

The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) future oil spill response plan will be informed by a new report that maps out possible threats to the UK's coastal areas, marine life, and traffic as a result of hydrocarbon releases from energy industry operation and shipping.The report on the review of the hydrocarbon release risk on the UKCS over the next decade was delivered for the MCA, by Xodus Group, in association with London Marine Consultants.The review evaluated the risk of a serious mineral oil release occurring in UK waters from vessels of more than 1…

03 Aug 2020

UK Coastguard Replacing Emergency Radio Network

© h368k742 / Adobe Stock

The U.K.'s Maritime and Coastguard Agency is investing over £170 million ($221.5 million) in a new radio network for Her Majesty’s Coastguard. The new network will be built and maintained by telent Technology Services Ltd. and is a significant investment in telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas.The existing network will be replaced with a modern and resilient fiber-based hybrid network, that will provide increased reliability, bandwidth and security.The new network will ensure HM Coastguard can continue to communicate with ships in U.K.

22 Jun 2020

UK Detains Five Cruise Ships Over Crew Welfare Issues

Five out of the six cruise ships inspected by U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency surveyors in British Ports Friday have been detained over crew welfare issues.The Astoria, Astor, Colombus and Vasco de Gama at Tilbury, as well as the Marco Polo at Bristol, have all been detained after surveyors found a number of expired and invalid Seafarers Employment Agreements, late payment of wages and crews who had been on board for over 12 months. All these are in breach of the Maritime Labor Convention (MLC) and the ships have been detained for that reason.All five are from the same company – Global Cruise Lines Limited. Four of the vessels are flagged with the Bahamas and one with Portugal (Madeira).The sixth ship which also belongs to Global Cruise Lines Limited…

19 Jun 2020

UK Inspecting Cruise Ships Over Crew Welfare Concerns

Several cruise ships idled without passengers due to the coronavirus pandemic are being inspected in British ports in response to crew welfare concerns.Surveyors acting for the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) have detained the Portuguese-flagged Astoria, which is currently at Tilbury Docks, the agency said Friday, adding that the detention is a preventative measure in line with U.K. regulations, to ensure a full inspection of the ship related to the Maritime Labor Convention can be carried out before its intended departure.

16 Jun 2020

Østensjø’s Offshore Wind Vessels Assisting SAR after Fighter Jet Crashes Off UK

Norwegian offshore vessel operator Østensjø has said it is assisting in the ongoing search and rescue (SAR) after a fighter jet crashed off the UK coast on Monday."Østensjø's offshore wind vessel “Edda Mistral” and her autonomous workboat “Mistral Worker” were in the vicinity of the fighter jet crash off the UK coast. Both vessels are engaged in the ongoing search and rescue SAR operation," the company said Monday.The vessels are reporting to UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency who is coordinating the SAR-operation.

18 Mar 2020

COVID-19: Maritime and Coastguard Agency Issues "Unprecedented Exemption" for Car Ferry

Photo: Red Funnel

MCA grants temporary ability for Red Funnel passengers to remain in vehicles on select crossingsRed Funnel worked with the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to identify exceptional solutions to support the government’s social distancing guidance in response to COVID-19 and respond to passengers’ requests to remain in vehicles during crossings.“We’d like to thank the MCA for working with us to identify solutions to allow our passengers this option during this exceptional time," said Fran Collins, CEO, Red Funnel.

16 Apr 2019

Maritime Fatigue: Just another band aid?

© Igor Kardasov/Adobe Stock

On 24 January, the IMO issued updated guidelines on fatigue. This is just another in a long series of band aids that attempt to cover over the problem without providing a solution. Fatigue is a long-standing weakness in the maritime industry. It is recognized as a major or contributing causal factor in the majority of maritime casualties. As is well-known, fatigue is caused by a lack of sleep and relaxation. These, in turn, are the result of too few people being tasked with too much work. Guidance on how to recognize and manage fatigue is meaningless.

11 Oct 2018

New Seafarer Training Center Opens in Phuket

Anthony Gould AFNI FRGS,  Chairman and CEO  (Photo:Galileo Maritime Academy )

Galileo Maritime Academy has this month announced the completion of its new architect designed professional crew training center and crew residence in Phuket, Thailand.The “T” shaped buildings comprise state-of-the-art training and recreation rooms, a seafarer medical center, a culinary arts and hospitality school, a three meter deep survival training pool and first class accommodation for 30 students.This central complex is located just above Yacht Haven Marina, the largest superyacht marina in Asia…

23 May 2018

DALO Chooses SARIS to Support SAR Operations

Photo: BMT

The Danish Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) announced the purchase of a major upgrade of BMT’s SARIS, the search and rescue planning tool that helps save lives, plan searches and minimize danger at sea. The upgrade will consist of a deployment of 20 licenses primarily to Denmark but also including Greenland and the Faroe Islands. A large part of the upgrade will include capacity for ongoing in-house training, with initial training being delivered by BMT. The SARIS technology is designed to help locate targets, whether it be people or objects, lost at sea.

25 May 2017

Sembcorp, Coldharbour Sign BWTS Deal

Coldharbour Inert Gas Generator (Photo: Coldharbour)

Coldharbour Marine, developer of an in-tank, in-voyage and inert gas-based ballast water treatment system for large tankers, bulkers and LNG vessels, has signed an agreement with Sembcorp Marine that will see the latter offer the Coldharbour GLD BWT as part of the Sembcorp Marine Green Technology Retrofit (GTR) solutions for ship owners. The GTR solutions provide carefully evaluated ballast water treatment systems from a select group of equipment manufacturers with whom Sembcorp Marine is working closely.

19 Jul 2017

LR to Oversee Testing of Coldharbour’s BWTS

Pictured (L-R): Nick Brown, Marine and Offshore Director, Lloyd’s Register and Andrew Marshall, Chief Executive, Coldharbour Marine. (Photo: Coldharbour Marine)

U.K.-based manufacturer of ballast water treatment systems based on unique inert gas technology Coldharbour Marine said it has signed a contract with Lloyd’s Register (LR) to oversee the complete range of tests required by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) in its type approval process. LR has Independent Laboratory Approval from the USCG and will work closely in the type approval tests with Marine Eco Analytics (MEA), a test laboratory in the Netherlands. Revised and more comprehensive…

05 Sep 2017

TMS Tankers Selects Coldharbour Marine BWTS

U.K.-based Coldharbour Marine, a manufacturer of ballast water treatment systems based on inert gas technology, has reached an agreement with Greece’s TMS Tankers to retrofit its GLD BWT System. TMS Tankers is a member of the Athens based TMS Group operating currently 43 tankers. The 2013-built 158,513DWT Suezmax tanker Bordeira, owned and operated by TMS Tankers, will be the first to be fitted with Coldharbour’s BWT System in early 2018 and will be used to carry out U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) type approval tests for Coldharbour, supervised by Lloyd’s Register. LR has Independent Laboratory Approval status with the USCG. The classification society has already overseen IMO type approval for the Coldharbour system, validated by the UK’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

29 Nov 2016

AMC’s CTV for a Booming Market

The International Energy Agency states that 2.5% of global electricity demand is today provided by wind power—and that figure is set to grow by 42% through to 2021. In Europe alone, according to the 2016 report from the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA), 754 new offshore turbines in 15 wind farms were grid-connected from 1 January to 31 December 2015, representing a connected capacity increase of 108% over 2014. By 2020, EWEA expects 192 GW of wind turbines to be installed, representing an investment of between €UR90 billion and €UR124 billion. The leading markets are Germany, France, the UK, Poland and Italy, and by 2020 354,000 people—up from 253,000 today—will be employed in the sector.