Kent Coast News

Estuary Services Limited (ESL), a joint venture between the Port of London Authority (PLA) and Peel Ports London Medway, is continuing its fleet replacement plan and buying another new pilot boat for its pilot transfer operations serving the ports of London and Medway. ESL currently has a fleet of six vessels including two 17.1 meter ORC class vessels that carry marine pilots from the Kent coast to board ships, in the Thames Estuary. The ships which are arriving from all over…

An official ceremony marking the handing back by the U.K. Maritime and Coastguard Agency of a bronze cannon to the city where it was first made, has been held in Zierikzee, Netherlands. The cannon had been brought ashore by commercial diver Vincent Woolsgrove from off the Kent coast but was recovered by the MCA during a search warrant executed in 2011. Woolsgrove was charged with fraud offences relating to other Dutch cannons and is currently serving a two year sentence after pleading guilty.

CWind announced that it is has been awarded a contract for the supply of two crew transfer vessels to the London Array offshore wind farm (OWF) supporting operation and maintenance (O&M) activities. London Array OWF is located 20 km off the Kent coast in the outer Thames Estuary. Both workboats, the CWind Alliance and CWind Artimus, will be operating from Ramsgate in Kent. CWind Alliance is very familiar with the site and in 2013 received a recognition by Siemens for its outstanding vessel performance on site.

In a landmark case, two divers today have been made to pay a total of £63,500 in fines and costs for not declaring valuable items from shipwrecks off the U.K. coast. David Knight and Edward Huzzey, both from Sandgate, had previously pleaded guilty to 19 offences between them, contrary to section 236 and section 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Knight was fined £7,000 and Huzzey £6,500. They were each ordered to pay £25,000 in costs. Items were taken from shipwrecks off the Kent coast, with the first known objects removed in 2001.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that two divers from Kent have pleaded guilty to not declaring valuable items from shipwrecks off the U.K. coast. David Knight and Edward Huzzey, both from Sandgate, admitted to 19 offences between them, contrary to section 236 and section 237 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. Items were taken from shipwrecks off the Kent coast, with the first known objects removed in 2001. The shipwrecks targeted included German submarines from World War I and an unknown 200 year old wreck carrying English East India Company cargo.

ABS Group will present Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd. with the Certified Design Basis Verification for the Kentish Flats Extension Offshore Wind Farm Project. The project, which has been successfully completed, will be located off the North Kent coast, adjacent to the existing Kentish Flats Wind Farm. Although obtaining this independent certification is not a legal requirement in many countries, it is considered a best practice for asset owners to assure reliability before moving into the detailed design phase of a project. This process allows for potential design specific issues to be identified and corrected in the early stages of the project, avoiding costly changes at a later stage and saving the asset owner considerable time and money.

The only known example of a Second World War Dornier Do 17 aircraft has been successfully lifted from Goodwin Sands by the RAF Museum team. Earlier plans to lift the Luftwaffe aircraft had been hampered by strong winds in the area, but today the RAF Museum team is hoping to be able to tow the raised aircraft – shot down off the Kent coast more than 70 years ago – into port. The team last attempted to lift the aircraft from its resting place 50 feet below the surface on 2 June…

Unique Maritime Group’s marine buoyancy solutions help stricken vessel and world’s largest windfarm; highlights the diverse uses for Seaflex buoyancy systems. Unique Maritime Group, one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers, today announced two key projects, involving buoyancy systems provided by Seaflex Ltd. The London Array is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. With 1,000 megawatt (MW) capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm.