United Kingdom News

Condor Ferries, an operator of passenger and freight ferry services between UK and France, has been sold to a consortium including the French shipping company Brittany Ferries.Brittany Ferries, in consortium with the Columbia Threadneedle European Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (ESIF), has reached an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Condor Ferries from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA).Contracts have been signed and the deal is expected to be executed following scrutiny by relevant regulatory authorities.

The global offshore wind market grew nearly 30% per year between 2010 and 2018, benefiting from rapid technology improvements and about 150 new offshore wind projects are in active development around the world.Europe in particular has fostered the technology’s development, led by the United Kingdom, Germany and Denmark, but China added more capacity than any other country in 2018, says 'Offshore Wind Outlook 2019',  a report funded by the governments of Denmark and Germany.Yet…

The US Central Command announced the opening of operations from its Bahrain headquarters to protect shipping in the troubled waters of the Gulf, after a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blamed on Iran.The new mission, dubbed Operation Sentinel, is designed to “ensure freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce in international waters” throughout the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Oman, US Central Command said in a release“Today…

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 Port of Rotterdam Authority has again put its preparatory measures for a No-Deal Brexit on hold following recommendations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.The largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands, said in a press note attributed the reason to the agreement reached yesterday by member states of the European Union and the United Kingdom on a Brexit extension until 31 January 2020."In concrete terms, this means that, effective from today, the buffer parking locations for trucks will again be dismantled.

The Cook Islands and Sao Tome and Principe have become the latest States to become Party to the Cape Town Agreement on fishing vessel safety.These small nations deposited their instruments of accession during the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing (21-23 October).At the same time, they joined 44 other countries (46 in total) signing the Torremolinos Declaration, a non-legally binding political instrument.By signing the Declaration…

International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s rules and regulations for suppressing unlawful acts against the safety of navigation can be seen in the wider context of the global fight against terrorism.The United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UNCTED) carries out assessment visits to countries to assess their compliance with various international security instruments and UN Security Council resolutions.IMO took part in a follow-up visit to the United Kingdom (7-11 October) together with experts from Interpol…

All partners including Customs, the Port of Rotterdam Authority, the Port of Amsterdam Authority, PortBase and the involved municipalities are working hard on preparations for a possible no-deal Brexit on 31 October 2019.The aim of the coordinated action is to minimize any delays resulting from additional customs formalities at Rotterdam en Vlaardingen ferry terminals, said a press release from the Port of Rotterdam Authority.So-called traffic circulation plans have been designed…

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday called on the European Union to condemn Iran and hold Tehran accountable after he said oil from Iranian tanker Adrian Darya had been offloaded in Syria."Oil from the #AdrianDarya1 has been offloaded in Syria, proving that Iran lied to the UK and Gibraltar ... EU members should condemn this action, uphold the rule of law, and hold Iran accountable," Pompeo wrote in a post on Twitter.The United Kingdom seized the tanker in July off the coast of Gibraltar in July.

It is now only weeks left until the UK leaves the EU. According to the current timetable, this will take place on 31 October. The question of Brexit is raised in the Port of Gothenburg.Although the road leading to this point has been long and at times rocky, the date of the UK's withdrawal from the EU is approaching relentlessly. A 'soft' or 'hard' Brexit does not matter – the UK will be classed as a ‘third country’ in relation to EU countries such as Sweden, as it will be outside the single market.

North Sea Port and Lineas are joining forces to increase efficiency with 12 new rail connections to the European hinterland.According to a press note from the cross-border port that consolidates the port areas of Vlissingen, Terneuzen and Ghent, this is a significant expansion of the volume of rail transport from the port.A new rail connection between Interface Terminal Ghent and the Lineas Main Hub in Antwerp allows goods to be shipped via the international rail network of Lineas.The 12 new destinations are Madrid…

The detained British-flagged tanker Stena Impero is "free to leave," Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hamid Baeidinejad, said on Twitter on Monday."The British-flagged tanker 'Stena Impero', pursuant to the completion of the judicial and legal process, is now free to leave," he wrote.The seizure on July 19 of the ship, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar, ratcheted up tensions in the region in the wake of attacks on other merchant vessels that Washington blamed on Tehran.Iran denied responsibility for those attacks…

Dutch dredging and heavylift company Royal Boskalis Westminster  has been awarded two contracts worth 85 million euro ($93.7 million) combined for strengthening and protecting a stretch of seafront coastline from erosion in Romania and the United Kingdom.The global services provider operating in the dredging, maritime infrastructure and maritime services sectors said that has been awarded a contract by Portsmouth City Council to construct new sea defenses in Southsea near Portsmouth…

L3Harris Technologies delivered a new class of Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) with advanced capabilities to serve the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy.The Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed (MAST) 13 is a 13-meter (41-ft.) long high-speed system capable of fully autonomous navigation. The ASV uses L3Harris’ ASView proprietary autonomous control system and advanced algorithms developed for the U.K.’s Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl).Designed, built and commissioned by L3Harris’ Unmanned Maritime Systems team based on the south coast of the UK…

Ports are essential for the global supply chain - but do they need more international regulation?High-level speakers engaged in a lively debate at a joint Hutchison Ports, International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IMO International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) seminar (9 September), to address the question: "Do ports need international regulation?"IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim reminded the audience that the IMO Convention does give the Organization a mandate to regulate…

Turkey said on Friday that an Iranian tanker at the centre of a confrontation between Washington and Tehran was headed to Lebanon after changing course several times, although Beirut said it was not informed of the plan.According to Refinitiv tracking data, the Adrian Darya, formerly called Grace 1, made a U-turn on Friday and headed for Turkey's Iskenderun port - 200 km (124 miles) north of Syria's Baniyas refinery, the tanker's suspected original destination.However, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the tanker…

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…

The consortium including DEME and Eiffage Métal has won an engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) contract for 80 foundations at the Saint-Nazaire offshore wind farm in France.The scope includes the design, fabrication, and installation of full face drilled monopile foundations. The consortium contract has a total value of more than EUR 500 million.Design activities already kicked off in order to start the production of the foundations in the spring of…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretariat is attending the latest in a series of conferences to develop a legally binding international instrument, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction - known as 'BBNJ'.According to the UN body, the 3rd Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) is being held at UN Headquarters in New York, United States (19-30 August).

London-based multinational law firm Linklaters has advised Green Investment Group (GIG) on the acquisition of a 40% stake in Iberdrola’s Scottish Power Renewables’ 714MW East Anglia One offshore wind farm.Once commissioned in 2020, it will be one of the world’s largest wind farms, said a note from the British law firm."This transaction is the first partnership between GIG and Iberdrola’s Scottish Power Renewables subsidiary in the UK and brings the total capacity of UK offshore wind supported by GIG to over 5.7GW across 14 projects.

Gibraltar has released the Iranian tanker Grace 1, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle."Authorities in Gibraltar have released the Iranian supertanker Grace 1, which was seized on July 4 on suspicion it was shipping 2.1 million barrels of crude oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions," the newspaper said.The chief justice of Gibraltar's supreme court, Anthony Dudley, said there was no U.S. application currently before the court.A spokesman for the Stena Impero tanker, seized by Iran last month, said the situation remained the same with the Stena Impero and that the company awaited further developments from the United Kingdom and Iran.(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton; editing by Michael Holden)

UK-based marine services company Briggs Marine Contractors (BMC) has been awarded a framework agreement for the underwater inspection and maintenance of SSE Hydro and thermal power generation sites.Under the contract, the company will provide services throughout Scotland and the United Kingdom for three years.The Briggs Marine Dive Team, who are approved for in-water inspection by ABS, Lloyds Register, and DNV-GL, has extensive experience working in remote and challenging locations…

This revised advisory cancels U.S. Maritime Advisories 2019-004 and 2019-008.1. References: U.S. Maritime Alerts 2019-004A, 2019-003A, 2019-002A, and 2019-001A.2. Issue: Heightened military activity and increased political tensions in this region continue to pose serious threats to commercial vessels. Associated with these threats is a potential for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive actions. Vessels operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman may also encounter GPS interference, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and/or other communications jamming with little to no warning.Since May 2019, the following maritime incidents have occurred in this region:Six attacks against commercial vessels (see U.S.