Marine Link
Friday, March 29, 2024
SUBSCRIBE

Isle Of Lewis News

27 Aug 2019

Scotland to Power Ferries with Hydrogen

Ferries serving the Western Isles and West Coast of Scotland could soon be powered by hydrogen generated from onshore island wind power, according to a newly published feasibility study.The Scottish Western Isles Ferry Transport Using Hydrogen (SWIFTH2) project, which was led by the Point and Sandwick Trust in collaboration with seven industry partners including Wood, was part-funded by the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme.The project team also included Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, ITM Power, ENGIE, Ferguson Marine Engineering, Caledonia Marine Assets Ltd and Johnston Carmichael.The study assessed the feasibility of deploying hydrogen-powered passenger ferries on nine existing Caledonian MacBrayne ferry routes servicing the Western Isles.

14 Mar 2017

Cammell Laird: Polar Ship Contract to Kick-start Exports

Photo: Cammell Laird

British shipyard and engineering company Cammell Laird said it plans to unleash an “aggressive exports drive” in 2017 after one of its busiest years for commercial marine work, which saw it land the biggest shipbuilding project in the U.K. for a generation. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret said the winning of the £150 million contract to build the Sir David Attenborough polar research vessel for the U.K. Government “threw open” a new global market to build a range of high value polar vessels from research to cruise ships.

15 Aug 2016

Salvors Assessing Grounded Transocean Drilling Rig

A team of eight salvors is now making its way on board the drilling rig Transocean Winner which is currently grounded off the Isle of Lewis. They’ll now be carrying out a full assessment of the rig and intend to work to make it habitable so that they can remain on it overnight. There’s also work being done to help provide a supply line for the team so they can get equipment and supplies on board. Rope access technicians have created a safe alternative access after the prevailing weather conditions made it too difficult to winch the team down to the installation. The team from Transocean and Smit will look at the diesel oil tanks looking…

11 Aug 2016

Oil Rig Aground off Scotland May Have Leaked Diesel

An oil rig that ran aground off a Scottish island on Sunday may have leaked around 53 tonnes of diesel but has not caused any serious pollution, Britain's Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said. The Transocean Winner rig broke away while being towed during a storm and became grounded off the northwestern Isle of Lewis. "Aircraft yesterday flew over the location and surrounding area to make careful observations for pollution around the rig and the nearby coast and sea and no sheen or sign of pollution has been found," the MCA said on Thursday. Diesel is much lighter than crude oil which is the cause of the worst slicks and the MCA said it posed "much lower environmental risks". Two of four diesel fuel tanks on the rig were believed to have been damaged.

09 Aug 2016

Update: Salvors to Board Grounded Transocean Winner

Final preparations are being made to put a small team of salvors on board the grounded semi-submersible oil rig Transocean Winner off the Isle of Lewis this afternoon. The rig broke free from a tow line in severe weather Monday and ran aground off the western isles of Scotland. Salvors are conducting an initial assessment of the rig as part of the ongoing operation to remove it. "Weather permitting, it’s then intended to put a second larger group of salvors on tomorrow to carry out a more detailed inspection." Shaw said. Three vessels including the ETV Herakles remain on scene. A temporary exclusion zone of 300 meters has been implemented around the rig.

08 Aug 2016

Semi-submersible Drilling Rig Grounds off Scotland

Severe weather has caused semi-submersible drilling rig Transocean Winner to break free from tow and run aground off the western isles of Scotland, the U.K. Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) said. There are no personnel on board the rig and there is no risk to life, MCA said. There is 280mt of diesel on board. The tug Alp Forward encountered severe weather west of the Isle of Lewis while towing the Transocean Winner, and remained connected to the rig overnight on Sunday but was unable to make headway with the tow. The MCA’s Emergency Towing Vessel Herakles was deployed from Orkney on Sunday night to assist. Early Monday morning, the tow line parted, and due to the severe weather conditions it was not possible to reconnect.

11 Mar 2014

Adelte Wins Contracts for 8 Boarding Bridges

Adelte, a designer and manufacturer of sophisticated Seaport Passenger Boarding Bridges (SPBBs) for cruise and ferry terminals has recently won eight contracts for the supply in 2014 of a total of eleven tailor-made SPBBs to the ports of Rotterdam, Stornoway, Swinoujscie and Ullapool in Northern Europe, Denia and Savona in Southern Europe and Busan and Singapore in Asia. Adelte has been awarded a contract by the Rotterdam Port Authority to install this summer a new KRONUS SPBB, which will replace the current system.

22 Jan 2013

Wärtsilä Engines for New Scottish RoPax Ferry

Scots RoPax Ferry: Photo credit CMAL

Wärtsilä to supply the main engines and auxiliary generating sets for a new Scottish-owned ferry. The RoPax vessel, designed for transporting both wheeled cargo and passengers, was ordered by Lloyds Banking Group and leased by Caledonian Maritime Assets, Ltd (CMAL), and is being built at the Flensburger Schiffbau Gesellschaft shipyard in Germany. The shipyard requirements were that the engines must be commercially competitive, compact and light in weight. Wärtsilä will deliver…

09 May 2011

First Cruise Ship Of The Season Arrives At Aberdeen Harbour

Aberdeen Harbour will welcome ten cruise calls this summer, with four vessels making their first ever visit to the port. The arrival of Noble Caledonia’s MS Quest, a small expedition liner carrying up to 50 passengers, heralded the start of the cruise season on Friday (May 6). A unique small vessel weighing in at 1268 tonnes, she spent the day in Aberdeen before leaving to explore the Copinsay Islands off Orkney, Isle of Lewis, St Kilda and Oban amongst other destinations. Other liners to visit the port over the summer include the MS Silver Cloud…

24 Oct 2008

UK Coastguard Tows Russian Carrier

The Mekahnik Semakov which was carrying timber was drifting at the time, and the crew reported they needed an hour to fix their engine. The vessel was around 2.6 miles offshore from the at the time. The vessel was being constantly monitored from the Coastguard Centre on the Isle of Lewis on their automatic identification system (AIS) which reported the vessel drifting north eastwards at a rate of 0.3 knots. The The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) Anglian Prince was sent to stand by the vessel whilst repairs were undertaken. The weather in the area was good at the time but increased winds were forecast as the day progressed.