East Coast Of England News

Vard, a Norwegian firm specializing in shipbuilding and design, said Friday its subsidiary in Vietnam, Vard Vung Tau, had delivered a newbuild 944 Grampian Tees service operation vessel to owner North Star.This SOV is the third of four purpose-designed and built ships destined for decade-long minimum charters to support operations and maintenance (O&M) work at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm.Once the wind farm currently under construction is fully operational, it will become the largest in the world, producing enough electricity to power six million British homes.

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…

More than 1,900 workers at Britain's biggest container port are due on Sunday to start eight days of strike action which their union and shipping companies warn could seriously affect 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."Strike action will cause huge disruption and will generate massive shockwaves throughout the UK's supply chain…

The first monopile and transition piece have been installed at the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the U.K. North Sea, marking a key milestone for the construction of the world's largest offshore wind farm.The foundations, designed by Wood Thilsted, are up to 72m in length, weigh on average 1057 tonnes and include the world’s largest 8m offshore wind flange. The design includes the world’s first split-level transition piece for safe installation and operation, with installation works being led by Seaway 7 with support from DEME.Paul Cooley…

UK-based offshore vessel operator North Star has awarded a £2 million contract to Great Yarmouth firm Alicat Workboats to build two new Chartwell designed daughter craft.The vessels will be added to North Star's new renewables fleet which is bound for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, located off the North East coast of England, from next year.Last September, Alicat Workboats won a contract to build an initial two daughter crafts for the offshore wind service vessel operator. The vessels have a hybrid powered design, developed by Chartwell Marine, in collaboration with North Star.

Offshore installation contractor DEME Offshore has awarded Proserv Controls a contract for the provision of the inter-array cable monitoring system, or CMS, for the first two phases, A and B, of the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK.Proserv said Tuesday it would deploy its ECG holistic cable monitoring system to deliver the project."ECG has been initiated and driven by Proserv with critical support from its partner Synaptec, a power system monitoring expert," the company said."ECG represents a step-change in traditional monitoring methods…

Belgium-based DEME Offshore has won a contract to deliver and install inter-array cables at the Dogger Bank C offshore wind farm in the UK.Dogger Bank C is the third phase of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm which will be the world's largest offshore wind farm once fully complete.DEME Offshore is also responsible for the delivery and installation of Dogger bank A and B inter-array cables, securing the contract in early 2021.Under the Dogger Bank C inter-array cable contract, DEME Offshore is responsible for the engineering…

Offshore wind vessel firm Edda Wind said Wednesday it had won a contract to support the commissioning and construction of the first two phases of the giant Dogger Bank wind farm in the UK."Edda Wind and Dogger Bank Wind Farm have agreed on a new contract for the newbuild CSOV Edda TBN C490," Edda Wind said in a social media post.The new contract will begin shortly after delivery of the commissioning service operation vessel in Q2 2023, with a firm period of two years and an additional option of one year, said the company which is jointly owned by Johannes Østensjø dy AS and Wilh.

Norwegian-based Awind has secured a charter contract for its first “walk-to-work” Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm in the UK.The contract at what will become the world's largest offshore wind farm will start in the second quarter of 2023. Awind, a subsidiary of Awilco affiliate Integrated Wind Solutions AS (IWS), ordered a pair of hybrid-electric commissioning, service, and operations vessels (CSOV) from China Merchants Industry in Hong Kong…

Norwegian shipbuilder VARD has won contracts to build three Service Operation Vessels (SOVs) for the UK-based North Star Renewables. The vessels, to be built in Vietnam, will operate on the Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea, the world's largest.The shipbuilding contract announcement comes three weeks after North Star said it had won a deal worth around $375 million to supply SOVs for the giant wind farm off the UK. The 3.6 GW Dogger Bank wind farm is being built  in three phases in the North Sea by joint venture partners SSE Renewables…

Crane specialist Liebherr has informed that important components for a giant crane to be installed aboard OHT's Alfa Lift offshore wind foundation installation vessel, have departed from Germany and are now en route to China where the vessel is being built.The Alfa Lift, being built for Offshore Heavy Transports (OHT) at China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI) shipyard in Jiangsu, China, was on February 28, floated-out from its drydock. Once delivered, the semisubmersible heavy installation vessel…

Norway's Offshore Heavy Transports has won a contract to transport and install foundations for the first phase of Equinor's and SSE's Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Dogger Bank A, in the UK, using its foundation installation vessel Alfa Lift being built in China.To remind, OHT was in November 2019 selected as the preferred supplier for foundation installation at the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, and it has now secured the firm contract for the Dogger Bank A. "The contract for the second phase…

Offshore energy industry logistics provider Peterson has agreed on a contract extension with Shell for quayside, warehousing, and transport services from Peterson’s Lowestoft base in the UK.Peterson has supported Shell from the east coast of England since 2015 and the new contract will see that support continue until at least January 2022, the company said.Apart from announcing the extension with Shell, Peterson said that improvements to the Lowestoft site are also due to be completed soon…

Dozens of tankers holding jet fuel and gasoline are at anchor in sea lanes around Europe's main storage hubs, unable to discharge their cargoes as onshore tanks are full to capacity following the collapse in demand linked to the coronavirus crisis.Nearly 1 million tonnes of refined products are parked on around 30 tankers off Europe's coast, Reuters calculations found.According to shipping data and trade sources, tankers have dropped anchor near to the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp…

Construction on Bibby Marine Services’ second service operations vessel (SOV) is underway at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania less than a year after Bibby took delivery of sister ship Bibby Wavemaster 1.Bibby ordered the new SOV in early 2018 after lining up a charter for the vessel in December 2017. The new vessel, scheduled to be delivered in 2019, will go to work under contract for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and EnBW for maintenance operations on two windfarms in German waters: Hohe See and Albatros…

Thames Coastguard is coordinating a search after a yacht was in collision with a dredger approximately 1 mile off Felixstowe on the east coast of England. One person on board the yacht was pulled to safety, however another person is unaccounted for at this time, informs the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency. The Felixstowe Coastguard Rescue Team, three lifeboats - two from Harwich, one from Walton - two pilot boats, a dive boat, the search and rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham along with a number of other vessels in the area are currently involved in the search. In a later update the MCA added that the the man who was rescued from the water has now been taken to hospital to be checked over. The other person on board the yacht - a woman - is still unaccounted for.

Damen ARNO Dunkerque, part of the Damen Shiprepair & Conversion Group, has given a new set of feet to what they are caling the world’s first purpose-built offshore wind turbine installation and maintenance vessel, the 2003-built MPI Resolution*.The yard has carried out upgrades on the feet or spudcans of all the jack-up vessel’s six legs to give them the additional strength they need to withstand the huge loads to which they are subjected when spudding on rocky seabeds. The operation…

Six crew members and a passenger have been airlifted to hospital after a fire on board the DFDS ferry 'MS King Seaways', while en route from North Shields to Amsterdam, approximately 30 miles off Flamborough Head on the north east coast of England. The UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency inform that the Humber Coastguard was contacted  by the MS King Seaways, which had 946 passengers and 127 crew on board. They reported that they had a fire in one of the passenger accommodation blocks, but it had been brought under control and was now out.

Lloyd’s Register releases new Rules, Class Notation and Guidance Notes for ‘Wind Turbine Installation and Maintenance Vessels and Liftboats’ to reflect industry best practice and new novel designs. The new Rules form part of the wider Mobile Offshore Unit Rule set 2013 launched by Lloyd’s Register in June, and is for vessels engaged in installation and/or maintenance activities relating to offshore wind turbines. It covers a number of unit types as well as liftboats, whose primary function is to provide support services to offshore wind turbine installations or other types of offshore installation. Vessels which comply with the requirements of the new Rules will be eligible for a new classification notation (MainWIND).

UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency report Yarmouth Coastguard's response to recent WSV's in distress. Windcat 9 issued a VHF DSC Mayday offshore from Humber and reported that they were taking in water. Yarmouth Coastguard requested the launch of Humber and Cleethorpes RNLI lifeboats and the rescue helicopter from RAF Leconfield. Due to concern that the vessel could be sinking the 15 crew abandoned to another vessel. The rescue helicopter transferred two pumps on board the vessel and lifeboat crew were able to control the ingress of water and towed the vessel to Grimsby. In a separate incident Yarmouth Coastguard requested the launch of Wells and Cromer RNLI lifeboats to the vessel Island Panther following a collision with a tower while working at the wind farm off Sheringham.

Capitalizing on its experience and leadership in offshore oil and gas marine services, BOURBON continues to extend its range of services and strengthen its positions in the offshore wind industry. BOURBON has just installed an innovative offshore wind structure in the Atlantic. In perfect conditions off the coast of Portugal at Aguçadoura, BOURBON has installed a semi-submersible wind turbine with a WindFloat foundation, a project led by the Portuguese utility EDP and designed…

Royal Caribbean International's newest cruise ship Brilliance of the Seas, which completed its maiden voyage this summer, is equipped with twin state-of-the-art integrated bridge systems supplied by Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit. The Sperry Marine system provides the highest level of safe and accurate navigation for the giant cruise ship, which carries up to 2,500 passengers. In accordance with Royal Caribbean's two-bridge concept, Brilliance of the Seas has been fitted with a totally redundant package consisting of two independent integrated bridge systems (IBS) with all critical components duplicated.

Paul English, sales and business development manager for Alstom's Marine and Offshore activities, looks back at the company's role in the development of Dynamic Positioning Systems. In recent years, dynamic positioning (DP) systems have become almost as accepted a feature of certain types of marine and offshore vessels as autopilot. DP — which automatically controls a ship's heading and station keeping (either a fixed or moving target) while minimizing thruster activity — has considerably expanded the options for shipowners/operators whose vessels remain at sea for long periods of time, often in deep water and in areas where laying anchors is either not an option due to seabed structures, or impractical because of timescales.