Uk Port News

ABB has secured an order with Portsmouth International Port to supply a shore connection solution for visiting ferries and cruise ships as part of the UK port’s Sea Change project.Shore connection allows visiting ferries and cruise ships to avoid emissions by connecting to the shoreside electrical grid while in port, supporting the Portsmouth’s port aim to be the first in the UK to be zero emissions by 2030.The initiative is part of the port’s Sea Change project to design, build…

Britain's Princess Anne will on Friday officially open Port of Aberdeen’s £420 million South Harbor expansion project on Friday. The project is expected to catalyze a multi-billion-pound economic and job boost for Scotland.According to a press release issued by the port, independent analysis forecast that when the expanded Port of Aberdeen reaches its full potential the port’s Gross Value Added contribution will jump 60% to £2.4 billion and increase the number of jobs supported by 45% to 17…

On July 1 the Port of Tyne launched a 'next-generation' Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) system to enhance VTS operator situational awareness and supports decision making.The system adheres to the standards set by the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA), covers the waters of the Port of Tyne in the UK, extending from six nautical miles out at sea to three nautical miles inland. It uses the Automatic Identification System (AIS)…

In a first for UK ports, the Port of London Authority (PLA) and University College of London (UCL) have launched a fully electric, remotely operated survey vessel.It will support a MSc Hydrographic Surveying course they have run in partnership since 1999.The state-of-the-art platform, manufactured by Maritime Robotics, was acquired by the partners, following a successful bid and award of an £263,000 grant from the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).The vessel features the most advanced sonar and scanning system from technology manufacturer NORBIT, called a WINGHEAD.

One of Europe’s largest ferry route and port operators, Stena Line, said it has signed a new deal with U.K. port operator Peel Ports to operate its 12 Quays port and ferry terminal in Birkenhead until the beginning of the 22nd Century. The Swedish company has operated twice daily ferry services to Belfast since 2011 and this new deal will see them continue to operate there for at least another 77 years, until 2100.The value of the deal has not been disclosed.Stena Line operates six routes and 12 vessels across the region and Birkenhead has been a key focus for investment in recent years.

More than 560 dockworkers at the Port of Liverpool, one of Britain's largest container ports, will go on strike from Sept. 19 to Oct. 3 over pay, the Unite union said on Friday, adding to a summer of industrial unrest caused by soaring inflation."Workers across the country are sick to death of being told to take a hit on their wages and living standards," Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said in a statement."MDHC needs to think again, table a reasonable offer and fulfil its previous pay promises…

Long queues of holidaymakers and lorries built up on Saturday outside the Port of Dover, Britain's main gateway to Europe, and officials said the disruption could be worse than the logjam seen on Friday.Travelers setting out at the start of the British school summer holidays, as well as the usual flow of goods lorries, have faced long delays because of slow border checks.The Kent Resilience Forum, which brings together local councils and emergency services, declared a "major incident"…

ION Geophysical Corporation announced its climate-smart, digital platform, Marlin SmartPort, has successfully fulfilled its role to help monitor greenhouse gas emissions in the Data-Led Emissions Management (D-LEMA) project.The D-LEMA project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC) launched in March 2021, funded by the Department for Transport, and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. As part of the CMDC, the Department allocated more than £23 million…

Greenpeace protesters have blocked the entry of a Greek tanker into a southern English port due to its Russian fuel cargo with police making arrests, the green group said on Monday.Britain and the EU have separately banned Russian-flagged vessels from their ports, with exemptions, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in what the Kremlin describes as a "special military operation."The UK has said it will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year, which has meant that foreign-flagged vessels carrying Russian cargoes are still able to call at ports for the time being.Greenpeace said 12 activists occupied a jetty on Sunday evening in Navigator Terminals' Thames site in Essex…

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) said its inspectors have been blocked from investigating crew welfare issues on board P&O Ferries’ vessels in the Port of Dover.In March, P&O Ferries terminated about vessel 800 staff to hire cheaper agency workers in a move that has drawn backlash from politicians, workers and the general public.The ITF said Dover Port Police this week refused access to its inspectors dispatched to look into welfare issues raised by replacement crew members, citing failure to give advanced warning for the visit.“As an ITF Inspector in the U.K.

U.K. port bosses are scratching their heads as to how to meet demand as offshore wind, including new floating projects, ramps up around the country’s coastline.The U.K. government is pushing this source of energy and has a 40-gigawatt (GW) by 2030 target—ramping up from around 30 GW today—for offshore wind. While fixed bottom projects continue to roll out, through some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms, a pipeline of 15 GW of floating offshore wind is also on the cards…

Britain’s National Grid, which operates the Isle of Grain liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal said it is seeking to understand if a block on Russia-related vessels, announced by the British government on Monday, includes LNG shipments.Britain on Monday ordered its ports to block any vessels that are Russian-flagged or believed to be registered, owned or controlled by any person connected with Russia as it ratcheted up the pressure on Moscow.“We are supportive of government action to order UK ports to block all Russian-linked ships, and are seeking to understand if this includes LNG terminals

Global supply chain disruption is changing cargo flows coming into Britain and smaller ports such as Liverpool are benefiting as suppliers look for other ways to route cargoes and minimize disruptions, Liverpool port's operator said.Major bottlenecks have formed across the globe in recent months due to a surge in demand for retail goods from people stuck at home under pandemic-related lockdowns and logjams impacting the supply of container ships and boxes to transport cargo.A shortage of truckers has added to difficulties especially in Britain…

The UK Secretary of State for Transport has appointed Christopher Rodrigues CBE as the new Non-Executive Chair of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), the government agency responsible for preventing the loss of life on the coast and at sea, as well as producing legislation and guidance on maritime matters.Rodrigues brings extensive international experience as a chair of public, private, and government sector bodies in tourism, the arts, and public diplomacy and since 2016 as chair of the Port of London…

A new service operations vessel (SOV) was launched at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for French vessel owners Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA).Upon delivery in 2021, the 84-meter SOV Wind of Hope will go to work for Danish wind energy giant Ørsted servicing its Hornsea Two offshore wind farm, with accommodations for up to 64 technicians who will service and maintain the wind turbines and an additional vessel crew. The ship is expected to arrive at Ørsted’s east coast operations and maintenance facility at the U.K.

Maritime industry professionals remain confident about the year ahead despite wider uncertainty, according to new data published by the British Ports Association. Ports themselves are more likely to be worried about the economy over the next 12 months, however.Less than a third (29%) of ports feel confident about the economy in the next year, but 51% of the wider maritime industry feels confident. 83% of ports were planning investments into new business services, property or infrastructure in the next three months.Brexit: The survey reveals that half of ports do not feel that Brexit will affect them (either negatively or positively) in the next year, whilst a third feel it will impact them negatively. This can be attributed to the structure of the industry (i.e.

UK port operator Peel Ports Group has been officially accredited with the internationally recognized quality mark of Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) at all its principal ports by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customers, affirming the Port’s efficient and robust processes to customers worldwide.The Liverpool based port operator said that achieving AEO status from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs was a “significant milestone” especially on the path towards Brexit.Peel Ports Group has successfully achieved AEO status for the following ports: Clydeport Operations Limited, Port of Sheerness Limited, The Mersey Docks and Harbour Company Limited…

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) announced that during July, there were three new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in a UK port.It also informed that  four foreign flagged ships remained under detention in UK ports after failing port state control (PSC) inspection.The UK is part of a regional agreement on port state control known as the Paris Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU) and information on all ships that are inspected is held centrally in an electronic database known as THETIS. This allows the ships with a high risk rating and poor detention records to be targeted for future inspection.Inspections of foreign flagged ships in UK ports are undertaken by surveyors from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

Britain's most centrally located deep sea port, the Bristol Port Company welcomes the Free Port concept as it has the potential to boost investment opportunities in and around UK ports.Recently, UK's International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced a new Freeports Advisory Panel to advise the government on the establishment of up to 10 Freeports."The first new Freeports will be established after we leave the EU, to turbocharge growth and ensure towns and cities across the UK benefit from Brexit trade opportunities," stated Truss.UK Port operators currently invest GBP600million of private capital per year and provide over 100,000 high value jobs.

The crew of the MSC Matilde containership “were disembarked from the vessel as a precaution” after it started listing heavily during the night at the Port of Liverpool, UK.The container vessel was listing outside Gladstone Dock in Liverpool at about 02:00 BST yesterday (May 24). It started tilting in the River Mersey, at the UK port’s Liverpool2 container terminal."As a precaution, to ensure the safety of the captain and crew, they were disembarked from the vessel. There were no reports of injuries, loss of cargo or damage to ship and operations are back to normal," said a press release from Mediterranean Shipping Company MSC. The cause of the incident is still being analysed by the relevant authorities…

UK port operator Peel Ports has revealed its plans for the major port and industrial centre at Hunterston, one of Scotland’s most important development sites comprising a 300-acre brownfield footprint, deepwater, and rail connections.It is calling on North Ayrshire residents and businesses to share their opinions about potential uses of the site, which is expected to support over 1,700 jobs and add over £140m in economic value to Scotland.The company has published its vision for Hunterston and how it intends to develop the site over the next twenty years. The details are contained in a Master Plan, published at the beginning of a six-week consultation process.Andrew Hemphill…

Only 16 percent of U.K. ports and harbor authorities have made “significant or practical” plans for Brexit, according to a survey.Leaders at almost every UK port and harbour authority – in total around 100 - were asked about their state of readiness by the Maritime & Shipping Practice at Odgers Berndtson, a leading executive search firm."Only 16% said they had made any “significant or practical” plans for Brexit. The remainder were equally split between ports doing “only some high-level planning” and nothing at all," revealed the survey.The findings are significant as the Government hopes regional ports will reduce additional demands on busy ports in southern England.“The ports industry is keen to seize on any opportunities arising from Brexit…

United Kingdom's Port of Felixstowe and Danish ferry operator, DFDS, have agreed to increase roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) capacity at the UK port by over 40%.The decision has come about after investment in a new linkspan, tractor units and additional trailer parking facilities.As part of the investments, terminal operator Hutchison Ports has planned to replace one of the existing ro-ro bridges with a floating linkspan which is capable of handling the latest generation of ro-ro vessels.Additionally, for unaccompanied ro-ro traffic, Hutchison Ports has planned to create over 300 additional trailer spaces.Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Executive Director…