Despite the anticipation of tough Treasury sanctions on defence spending, the outcome of the UK’s Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has been met with widespread consternation. Many consider the prospect of building a large aircraft carrier that will never…
The Capacity of Cap Finistere will be increased to 1,000 passengers before the one-time Superfast vessel opens Brittany Ferries’ new twice-weekly Portsmouth-Bilbao service in March. The present 842 beds will be boosted by the creation of 26 new two-berth inside…
The new bulk carrier Crystalgate (16,950gt) made her maiden call at Leith on 15 November 2010. She is managed by Zodiac Maritime Agencies and owned by Apersal Shipping Ltd, part of the Ofer Brothers Group. The Group, through IsraelCorp, owns…
Royal Caribbean took delivery of the 5,400-passenger Allure of the Seas at the STX Europe shipyard in Turku, Finland on 28 October 2010, two years after construction began on the second of the two largest cruise ships in the world.…
The Panamanian-registered coaster Most Sky was detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency at Birkenhead in November 2010 because of a number of health and safety issues, and the vessel was arrested for non-payment of dues in previous ports. Most…
Peterhead Port Authority’s new all-weather deepwater Smith Embankment quay opened for business in October 2010, on time and within budget. The £33.5 million project, which includes a new 200m berth and 16,000m2 of work area, will create up to 60…
Costa Classica (1991/52,926) was involved in a collision with the Belgian bulk carrier Lowlands Longevity (2001/86,848) at the mouth of the Yangtze River at 0446 local time on 18 October 2010, which resulted in a 30m gash along the starboard…
Louisiana’s Port of New Orleans, severely damaged by hurricane Katrina in 2005, has rebounded positively since the hurricane and handled a record number of container ships towards the end of 2010, when 43 vessels called in a single month. Most…
Tamar lifeboat Killarney was placed on station on 27 October 2010 to become the first Tamar to go into service in Ireland. The new 25-knot boat arrived at her station at 1700 on 13 October and was escorted home by…
Fred. Olsen’s Boudicca (1973/28,388, pictured at Gibraltar on 7 November 2010) was forced to divert to Dublin instead of her scheduled termination port of Holyhead, which was closed because of bad weather which hit the British Isles on 11 November.…