David Robinson News

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), conducted high-intensity land strike training with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as part of exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 (TS15), July 16. The land strike training was one of 10 large-force strikes against simulated land adversaries throughout TS15. "The ultimate goal of conducting these exercises is to achieve and maintain interoperability between the U.S. and Royal Australian Air Force, as well as our other maritime components," said Lt. David Robinson, CVW 5's strike operations officer. Participants included F/A-18F Super Hornets from the "Diamondbacks" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 and RAAF's E-7A Wedgetail and KC-30A. During the strike exercise, the U.S.

PD Ports has announced the creation of 13 full time permanent positions for Teesport based apprentices. The new dock operations roles in both bulks and container related areas of the business will commence at the end of April, after the existing apprenticeship programme completes. The programme took over 18 months of training and is on track to achieve 100% success rate with all 13 apprentices achieving a NVQ Level 2 in Dock Operations. PD Ports initiated the programme in conjunction with the Redcar Development Trust…

SSI UK has recently achieved a major milestone having exported over one million tonnes of steel slab through PD Ports owned Teesport. The millionth tonne was loaded on to the Yasa Eagle on Friday 5 October as part of a 64,000 tonne shipment. The vessel sailed from Teesport on Sunday 7 October destined for Thailand. The latest shipment represents a significant uplift in the handling of slab through Teesport since the plant was mothballed in 2010, and one which has been achieved through the major investment of SSI. David Robinson, PD Ports’ CEO, commented: "This is a significant milestone reached and one which we are delighted to see achieved.

SeaRoc charter 'MPI Adventure' for Narec's offshore anemometry hub (NOAH) installation for windfarm site weather appraisal. MPI Adventure is a dedicated vessel to transport, lift and install wind turbines and their foundations; delivered in March 2011 (Qidong, China) she is the second of MPI's three jack up vessels owned by MPI, part of the Vroon Group. SeaRoc was recently awarded the contract to complete the mast installation, 3 nautical miles off the coast of Blyth, consisting of a 635t tripod foundation…

PD Ports has recently appointed Geoff Lippitt as Business Development Director. Geoff also joins the Company’s Executive Committee team, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, David Robinson. Geoff’s remit is to lead the commercial business development activities across the Company, which includes assuming responsibility for PD Ports’ commercial personnel reporting lines. In keeping with PD Ports’ core business strategy, this will allow for a more streamlined approach to the business’ customer relations activities and will enhance value for its stakeholders.

The Finnish Ambassador for the UK recently visited PD Ports owned Teesport, to see the facility’s latest cranes, purchased from a Finnish manufacturer. As part of his tour of north-east England and Edinburgh, Ambassador Pekka Huhtaniemi visited the port with his wife, Liisa Huhtaniemi, met with senior port officials and was taken on a tour of the dock estate and shown around the port on a launch boat. Mr Huhtaniemi then viewed the four new RTG (rubber-tyred gantry) cranes delivered to Teesport on 18 August.

PD Ports has completed the first phase of its latest expansion programme to further develop its existing container terminal handling facilities at Teesport on the North East coast. This $3.2m investment involved the relocation of the Port’s existing Vauxhall cars import compound to make some 10 acres of additional land available, directly behind the existing TCT2 container terminal facilities. This land has been freed up to accommodate an increase in container volumes handled at Teesport.

PD Ports, the owner of Teesport, welcomes the Government’s decision to approve MGT Power’s 295 megawatt (MW) wood fuelled power station which is to be built on the South Dock area of the port. One of the largest biomass plants set to be built in the UK, the Tees Renewable Energy Plant will produce enough carbon neutral, sustainable electricity to power 600,000 homes across the North East. MGT Power’s $819.8m investment is bringing a new impetus to the area in terms of the size of its renewable energy power station.

Containerships, a shortsea carrier, has chosen North East based Teesport, owned by PD Ports, as its strategic freight hub for Northern Europe. The shipping line, which acquired Mediterranean short-sea specialist Contaz in March, has chosen to use Teesport, the UK’s third largest port by volume, to link its new Mediterranean services with its traditional Baltic routes. Containerships, a long-term customer of PD Ports, has chosen for the first time to direct the Contaz traffic through Teesport. Initially there will be two ships on this route, operating a 12/13 day frequency, meaning that Containerships will be making five calls a week in total at Teesport.

PD Ports senior representatives, including David Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, have returned to PD Ports’ Teesport operations, following a successful 14-day tour of the Far East. The aim of the tour, which included visits to Taipei, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea and Dubai, was to promote greater use of Teesport and stimulate interest for new shipping lines to call at the Port direct. Teesport currently has frequent callings from eight container shipping lines and carriers such as Maersk, CMA CGM, K Line and MSC. PD Ports’ Far East schedule included meetings with several leading shipping lines and logistics companies to raise the awareness of the Port’s $444m deep sea container terminal development, known as The Northern Gateway (NGCT).

At its recent Annual Conference in Montreal, the North American Maritime Ministry Association presented awards to Teekay Shipping Corporation and International Registries Inc.’s Clay Maitland for their distinguished efforts on behalf of seafarers. The awards were presented at NAMMA’s Banquet Dinner. Accepting NAMMA’s “Seafarer’s Salute Award” on behalf of Teekay was Captain David Robinson, Vice President of Fleet Operations. Teekay was recognized by NAMMA for its programs and policies benefiting seafarers. Actions such as employment through direct contracts, improving living arrangements on their vessels (including free email access and the addition of Connexion…

At its recent Annual Conference in Montreal, the North American Maritime Ministry Association presented awards to Teekay Shipping Corporation and International Registries Inc.’s Clay Maitland for their distinguished efforts on behalf of seafarers. The awards were presented at NAMMA’s Banquet Dinner. Accepting NAMMA’s “Seafarer’s Salute Award” on behalf of Teekay was Captain David Robinson, Vice President of Fleet Operations. Teekay was recognized by NAMMA for its programs and policies benefiting seafarers. Actions such as employment through direct contracts, improving living arrangements on their vessels (including free email access and the addition of Connexion…