Harbour Master News

Construction on a new passenger ferry, designed by Incat Crowther for Western Australian ferry operator Rottnest Fast Ferries, has commenced at Austal Philippines.The new ferry will operate on the popular Perth to Rottnest Island tourism route with the 32-meter aluminum catamaran set to have an operational capacity of up to 400 passengers and five crew seated over three decks. The vessel will also feature extensive cargo and luggage space for passengers, including bicycle storage areas on the main and mid decks.

The maritime industry’s movement toward remote vessel operations will not only build a more diverse workforce, it will benefit from it, argues marine robotics company Ocean Infinity.Greater workforce diversity, whether it be considered along lines of ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, age, socioeconomic status, neurotype, physical ability or any other parameter, has shifted over the course of the last decade from a ‘nice to have’ to a fundamental value. The modern view of society that the thought leaders at Ocean Infinity subscribe to, is often characterized as ‘intersectionality’.

Aberdeen-based Balmoral Comtec, part of Balmoral, has agreed to invest a seven-figure sum to create an advanced composites manufacturing facility on the quayside at Scotland's Montrose Port where large-scale components for the offshore energy sector will be built. The investment is initially expected to create 30-40 new jobs.To house the new facility, Balmoral has leased almost 1700sqm of warehouse space from Montrose Port Authority and will install machinery and equipment required to build and maneuver the massive parts destined for the North Sea and other energy markets.Tom Hutchison…

Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar Shipyards said it will soon deliver the fifth and final vessel in a series of new tug builds for operator Svitzer at Oman's Port of Sohar.The newest tug Svitzer Saham is the third 80t bollard pull RAstar 2900SX variant, Sanmar’s Bigacay class, joining sister vessels Svitzer Sohar and Svitzer Shinas, alongside two other earlier deliveries in 2020 of the 50t bollard pull variant of the RAmparts 2200 (named Svitzer Liwa and Svitzer Barka), Sanmar’s Sirapinar…

Ports of Auckland Limited (POAL) and the master of one of its pilot boats have been fined a total of $432,400 (US$286,000) after they admitted exposing people to risk of death or serious injury because pilot boats traveled at excessive speed in the Waitemata Harbor over a period of time involving thousands of voyages.Maritime NZ Director, Keith Manch, said POAL has also agreed to pay $220,000 (US$144,000) to the family of a swimmer, Leslie Gelberger, who died after being struck by POAL pilot boat, Wakatere.

Australian shipbuilder Richardson Devine Marine is building a new Incat Crowther-designed catamaran due to be launched for World Heritage Cruises by the end of the year.The passenger vessel will be the eighth Incat Crowther vessel for the Tasmanian operator and will draw on the many successful features of World Heritage Cruises’ current Incat Crowther 35, Harbour Master. This vessel has garnered acclaim for its efficient and stable platform, leading to expressions of interest…

Test results from the individuals suspected to be the first cases of COVID-19 in any South African seaport have all come back negative, Transnet National Ports Authority has confirmed.Earlier this week two vessels, the general cargo vessel MV Corona and the cruise ship AIDAmira, were held off port limits outside the Port of Cape Town. The cruise liner was later allowed to dock but its roughly 1,700 passengers and crew remained onboard pending test results from one suspected COVID-19 case and seven others who had possible contact with him.Captain Dennis Mqadi…

2019 was a relatively safe year for shipping in the port of Rotterdam. Over the past year, the number of sea-going vessels arriving was about the same as in 2018: 29,491 compared to 29,476 last year.According to the port authority, the number of accidents also remained virtually the same: 113 compared to 112, which involved mainly ‘parking damage’. As there was one very serious accident, the NSI (Nautical Safety Index) – a reflection of nautical safety – was slightly below the norm (6.56 instead of 7). This was due to a collision between a RHIB and a sloop, which resulted in one fatality.Three of the four serious accidents and ten per cent of all accidents involved passenger shipping…

During the cruise season that ended on 22 October, a total of 603,500 cruise passengers arrived in Helsinki. This was 16 per cent more than the previous year.There were a total of 303 ship visits to Helsinki. This was the first time the number exceeded 300. This translates to a 6-percent growth from last year (2018:285).The largest percentages of cruise passengers came from Germany (32%), the United States (21%) and the United Kingdom (10%). The top three nationalities remained the same as the previous year, although the proportion of German visitors grew slightly. The proportions of other nationalities among visitors to Helsinki were all less than 5%.The popularity of Helsinki as a destination for international cruise ships has grown steadily…

United Kingdom-based Montrose Port Authority has announced Captain Tom Hutchison as its new chief executive.Hutchison has held the position on an interim basis since his predecessor, Nik Scott-Gray stepped down in June.Capt Hutchison has been acting in an interim capacity running the Port. He has been Harbourmaster for the last four years but has a long association with the Port having started as a Pilot in 2000, and in addition, has been Operations Manager of the Montrose RNLI since 2014.Prior to that he served as Captain on various vessels operating around the UK and near continental market.As well as being appointed Chief Executive Officer, Capt Hutchison retains his role as Harbour Master.

The largest port in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam has introduced new app for bunkering notifications with which paperless bunkering and informing the Harbour Master and Customs possible in one go.TimeToBunker App is bunker barge operator tool for electronic bunkering notification. Maud Eijgendaal and Marc de Vries of the Port of Rotterdam Authority developed the new innovative application.Bunker specialists in the port of Rotterdam are obliged to notify the Port Authority and Customs prior to commencing each bunkering operation. These are practically the same notifications that currently still need to be made separately. This could be done smarter.Maud Eijgendaal…

The largest cohort of 27 port masters, harbour masters and middle managers from maritime and port authorities from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and Oceania attended the sixth Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) Academy’s Port Management Program (PMP).Developed and organized by MPA Academy, the five-day Program will be delivered by industry practitioners as well as senior officers from the MPA. Some of the key subjects that will be covered during the Program include maritime safety, port planning, digitalisation of the maritime industry, emergency preparedness and crisis communication. The Program includes lectures, practical sessions and site visits.

The second phase in a major upgrade of Scrabster Harbor in Caithness, the North of Scotland, has secured up to GBP3 million investment from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).The funding will enable the redevelopment of the existing St. Ola pier to create further deep-water infrastructure and meet anticipated demand from cruise ships and offshore energy supply vessels. It will place the port in an ideal position to service activity in the West of Shetland basin.A new piled quay wall and pier deck will be installed to expand the existing pier. Both the inner and outer side of the pier will be dredged to create water depth of no less than 9m.

New Zealand's Port Nelson has taken delivery of the new tug boat Huria Matenga II tug.Arriving from Vietnam, the Damen built 70 tonne bollard pull, 2441 tug, was welcomed by the Port's existing tug fleet as well as the pilot and harbour master boats.Pilot John Tregidga was aboard the Huria Matenga II, 35 years and 7 months since the Huria Matenga arrived at Port Nelson from Japan. John was part of the crew who sailed the Huria Matenga from Japan back in 1983.A small blessing ceremony for the Huria Matenga II was conducted by iwi ahead of the tug starting operations.The ceremony was led by Archdeacon Harvey Ruru and included members of Huria Matenga’s tribe, Ngati Tama.

Shoreham Port UK, claimed to be UK's number 1 scallop port, welcome home registered fishing vessel ‘Flowing Stream’ following a significant refit that began in the spring of 2018.Originally built in the year 2000, the vessel was flagged in from Belgium where it was previously registered to be renovated and renewed to bring it up to new vessel standards. Flowing Stream will join a long line of fishing vessels registered at Shoreham Port that date back to the 13th Century.Flowing Stream is one of the many scalloping vessels that regularly land in the Port each year, with the Marine Management Organisation’s recently published report revealing that in 2018, 18% of scallops landed in the UK by UK fishing vessels were landed at Shoreham Port, making it the number one scallop Port in the UK.

Netherlands' port of Amsterdam welcomed a total of 41,424 barges and 7,525 sea-going vessels in 2018, including 180 sea cruise ships. The numbers for 2017 were 40,012 and 7,011, respectively.The seaport in Amsterdam said in a press release that while the number of shipping accidents increased from 32 in 2017 to 49 in 2018, the number of serious shipping accidents remained virtually level from 2017. One fatal accident unfortunately occurred in the port in 2018.Although the port saw an increase in shipping activity levels in 2018, Harbour Master Marleen van de Kerkhof believes there is no causal relationship between this increased activity and the number of incidents.Marleen said: "This is explained in the notes to these statistics.

Port of Amsterdam has launched a Cybersecurity Programme to increase the port community's digital resilience.A press release from the port has explained the rationale behind the launch: "The Netherlands is one of the world's top three countries affected by cyber attacks. Ports are particularly vulnerable, as they have a wide range of information systems and their data is used by many different parties."Information systems contain valuable information that makes them an appealing target for cybercrime. Every company needs to have implemented basic cybersecurity controls such as an awareness programme, segregation of networks, timely installations…

Key Middle East oil terminal bans open-loop scrubbersFujairah in the United Arab Emirates has become the latest major port to ban a type of fuel exhaust cleaning system to comply with a coming tightening in rules regarding global sulphur emissions, mirroring similar moves in Singapore and China.Under International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that come into effect from 2020, ships will have to reduce the sulphur content in their fuel to less than 0.5 percent, compared with 3.5 percent now, forcing huge changes upon global shippers and also oil refiners.Fujairah's harbour master said in a faxed document seen by Reuters that the port "has decided to ban the use of open-loop scrubbers in its waters ...

Australia's Pilbara Ports Authority has achieved a new record tonnage on a single tide at the Port of Port Hedland.On 15 January 2019, 10 vessels departed the port in convoy carrying a total of 1,754,741 tonnes of bulk product, exceeding the previous record from December 2017 by 165,680 tonnes.Port Hedland Harbour Master, Myron Fernandes congratulated all involved noting that a combination of factors contributed to the new record.“Pilbara Ports Authority has invested in industry-leading practices in recent years to maximise the efficiencies of vessels entering and exiting the harbour,” he said.“The port also works closely with its port users and service providers to ensure the port is able to safely export more product…

The port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates has decided to ban the use of a type of ship exhaust cleaner, becoming the latest location to impose restrictions on so-called open-loop scrubbers, a port document showed.In recent months, many shipping companies have opted to fit scrubbers onboard their ships, ahead of major changes in the use of marine fuel across the world.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will prohibit ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 percent from Jan.

The port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates has decided to ban the use of a type of ship exhaust cleaner, becoming the latest location to impose restrictions on so-called open-loop scrubbers, a port document showed.In recent months, many shipping companies have opted to fit scrubbers onboard their ships, ahead of major changes in the use of marine fuel across the world.The International Maritime Organization (IMO) will prohibit ships from using fuels with sulphur content above 0.5 percent from Jan.

The largest port in Europe, the Port of Rotterdam29,475 sea-going vessels arrived at the port in 2018, which is 200 fewer than last year (29,646) and as many as in 2013 (29,436).The number of accidents fell from 129 to 118 on approximately a million shipping movements (maritime and inland shipping). Among them were 14 accidents involving pleasure craft.“Quite a lot for such a small group of waterway users. We want to do something about that this year,” says Harbour Master René de Vries at his office in the World Port Center.“We will help the municipality to realise its ambition to benefit more from its location on the water and to promote recreational and passenger shipping. However, sailing is something you do together,” De Vries adds.Of the 118 accidents, five were 'serious accidents'.

Port of Rotterdam to grant nine  licenced liquified natural gas (LNG) bunkering licences by 2020, a port official has said.Six of the licenses are already for regular use in port LNG bunker operations to refuel LNG-powered cruise, cargo, tanker and container vessels, said Cees Boon, Senior Policy Advisor at the Harbourmaster Policy Department of the Port of Rotterdam. Three licenses will be for bunker vessels that will operate on the spot market.“By using best practice guidelines in the IAPH audit tool developed by ports for port authorities, licenses to operate can be efficiently assessed and granted to professional LNG bunker operators looking to provide their services across several ports…