Comments (Newest First):

 

Post 4990

  Sea News, Dover

P&O FERRIES HANDS OVER CHEQUE FOR £1,783 TO ROYAL BRITISH LEGION VOLUNTEERS AFTER SUCCESSFUL POPPY APPEAL
____________________________________________________________________________________________________

VOLUNTEERS and officials from the Royal British Legion visited P&O Ferries' Dover headquarters this week to take delivery of a cheque for £1,783.10 which was raised by the ferry and logistics company's employees and customers during last month's poppy appeal.

P&O Ferries' connection with the Armed Forces goes back to the foundation of P&O 180 years ago. The company lost 80 ships in World War One, another 182 in World War Two and had five vessels which served in the Falklands War. It has a longstanding connection with the Royal British Legion, which is one of its two official charities.

Kimberley Wood, Chartering and Marine Insurance Manager at P&O Ferries, said: "We are delighted to have been able to play our part in raising another £1,700 for a cause which is very close to the hearts of the people who work and travel with us."

"Our company has employed many ex-servicemen and women in a variety of on-board and shore-side roles over the years. Helping to reintegrate those who have served their country overseas back into civilian life is something which we promise to continue to do for many years to come."

The Royal British Legion is dedicated to providing lifelong support for the Armed Forces community, including serving men and women, veterans, and their families. It needs £1.7 million per week to deliver its current level of support.

Christine Walton, Poppy Appeal Organiser of the Royal British Legion's Dover branch, added: "We would like to thank the employees and customers of P&O Ferries for their generous support for our ex-servicemen and women this year. If you think that £45 pays for a former soldier to wear a suit for a job interview after he leaves the Armed Forces, you start to understand how the Royal British Legion will be able to use this money to make a real difference to the lives of the men and women who have served their country."

P&O Ferries is a leading pan-European ferry and logistics company, sailing 27,000 times a year on eight major routes between Britain, France, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Holland and Belgium. It operates more than 20 vessels which carry 10 million passengers and 2.2 million freight units annually.


ENDS


Well done to everyone at P&O and to its customers for raising that money above - great stuff indeed! Excellent cause.

A couple of extra pix now of the P&O ships in action. First shot shows the Spirit of Britain a couple of chilly days ago, leaving the harbour by the western exit. The second picture shows the Pride of Burgundy taken at an earlier time...one from the files..



* *

You might remember a picture previously where we had just 4/5 isolated pilings standing out there on their own... an island of heavy metal. In the picture above there you can see how that island grouping has expanded or extended. The nearest vessel in action there is Llanddwyn Island again.


Colette and Brian
Well done with that one below Ed - good to get the Pacific Reefer. Nice shot too.
Just noticed Pacific Reefer is now gone and Esmeralda has taken up the slot.

PaulB




Tuesday, 19 December 2017 - 06:37

 

Post 4989

  ColetteB, Dover

I enjoyed visiting the Cruise terminal for the White Christmas Ice Festival, albeit on crutches this year PaulB is right, it wasn't skating that broke my ankle or even something as charming as Chamonix Mont Blanc or Val d'Isere.

It was great to see the excitement on children's faces and adult's alike as they took to the ice, pirouetting with seals & penguins (not the real ones of course ) and spinning this way & that. There was a nice variety of Christmas gifts to be had on the stalls as well. A Big Well Done to the Port of Dover.

Thanks Brian for your kind words, I'll certainly be plastered in more ways than one this Christmas

Monday, 18 December 2017 - 21:55

 

Post 4988

  brian, dover

oh dear poor Colette not again. get well soon.

Monday, 18 December 2017 - 16:59

 

Post 4987

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Pacific Reefer at the DCT today.


Monday, 18 December 2017 - 08:07

 

Post 4986

  Sea News, Dover

Here we are with the latest batch of exciting pictures from the colourful and delightful White Christmas Ice Festival at the Port of Dover...

Wow! You can see how busy the ice rink is. These pictures were taken on Saturday around about 2PM when the madly excited population were .. 'going for it'. The kids love it, don't tell anyone but so do the mums and dads!!



There are great craft style stalls to enjoy too as you can see below..very colourful.

Our cruise correspondent ColetteB was there. The poor thing has not been too well. You can see she is on crutches, its a broken ankle but no no she didn't get it doing that famed triple pirouette on the ice.. she did a triple pirouette alright but not on the ice..
More ice skaters above there... zapping this way and that..
And more colourful stalls..
See also post 4460 and see also the link at the top of the page for more details about the event.

PaulB.



Monday, 18 December 2017 - 05:46

 

Post 4985

  Sea News, Dover

These pictures are from Friday. It was a cold day but at least the sea was calm as you can see above. This makes a welcome change. You can see a slightly weather-beaten Spirit of Britain entering the port to the left .. and in the distance over the hills of France you can spot a dynamic strip of orange/red sky. The picture below is zoomed into that bit of sky...


We will have more pictures of the Christmas Ice Festival at the Port tomorrow. We have had another visit. Its great fun down there at the Cruise Terminal and its all free to enter. See the link at top of page for more details.

Sunday, 17 December 2017 - 06:13

 

Post 4984

  Sea News, Dover

Night begins to fall in the picture above over the Port development workings and a dark menacing grim oul night it is too...but the works crews keep powering forward through all weathers. Picture taken a couple of evenings ago.

Thanks for that info Brian.. here is the ferry in question...the Spirit of France, picture taken the very evening before her 'technical issue'. All looking good at that point...nice and clean too.

All the ferries take a fair ol' pounding. Remember what happened to the Pride of Kent just a few days back too. Here below we have another shot of the Spirit of France, this time approaching the Port of Dover in rough weather.


PaulB

Saturday, 16 December 2017 - 04:58

 

Post 4983

  brian, dover

its a shame that p & o's sprite of france broke down a mile or so from dover harbour last night.delft seaways over took it as it was being towed in by one of dhb's tugs.

Friday, 15 December 2017 - 19:12

 

Post 4982

  Sea News, Dover

Just prior to all the recent storms, about six or seven days ago, the monster above idled by in calm and tranquil weather, heading off long distance ( just off Sharm el-Sheikh as we write ). Its MSC Ditte...a beast of more than 195,000 tons and there she goes. Visibility wasn't at all bad for that one...

You can see the Varne lightvessel in the top shot and of course the coast of France near Boulogne. In fact the ship is so big it blocks Boulogne itself out. The second one skims across the top of the Cruise Terminal Two.

Yes indeed Del let us hope the bewildering (or should that be bewildered!) politicians can come up with something sensible that leaves trade thriving here. We will watch and learn of course.
Glad you liked that sunrise one.

Well done Ed once again. You've kept us going this week with fascinating stuff. Great pictures below there of Deep Helder and .. of Discovery Bay. i've had trouble getting much this week myself what with one thing and another...

PaulB



Friday, 15 December 2017 - 06:27

 

Post 4981

  Del Styan, Norwich

We do indeed need a "free flowing deal" Well said PB. I wonder if some of the fanatical leave-at-any-cost MPs have watched the flow of traffic on the ferries and the Tunnel. Maybe they fly everywhere.

And, on a lighter note, another lovely shot of the dawn sun over Dover docks. Keep on getting up early!

Thursday, 14 December 2017 - 23:05

 

Post 4980

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Deep Helder dropping the pilot and departing Dover this afternoon.




Thursday, 14 December 2017 - 18:58

 

Post 4979

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Discovery Bay at the DCT yesterday.


Thursday, 14 December 2017 - 12:11

 

Post 4978

  Sea News, Dover

Despite the abysmal weather, storms, strong winds, driving snow, ice, heavy rain...the sun did manage to get through in the past few days, but just alas for short periods. Above we have a shot of the cluster of eight cranes. They rose up to stretch their limbs after the recent high winds and here they are in operation Tuesday evening as the day faded. There are ten cranes in all currently...two more over by the 'canal' to Wellington Dock.

A day or so earlier we had a blinding start to the day across the Dover Straits. It didn't last...

Trading with the European Union.
Trucks in Dover flowing freely back and forth to the EU.

Speaking recently on behalf of truckers and trucking...Chief Executive of the Road Haulage Association Richard Burnett said: "We hope that the successful outcome of these particular border issues (Ireland) can be reflected in negotiations over cross-border traffic between other EU member states. However, our big concern is that we can strike a deal for free-flowing lorry traffic across the Channel."

However since he said that with a tad of optimism, following the Irish Border talks...we seem to have a worsening ongoing shambles. Our politicians last night left us further in no-mans land as they cooked up a dogs breakfast of chaos. Nobody knows any longer which is the best way forward.

One thing for certain however, it would be wise to keep our trade flowing freely with the EU particularly from a Dover and UK perspective. A no nonsense economist on the Radio 4 Today programmes business section said without political baloney either way...

"we do 43% of our trade with the EU, they do 6% of their trade with us."

Sobering. We need a free flowing deal.

PB

Thursday, 14 December 2017 - 06:02

 

Post 4977

  Sea News, Dover

DFDS NAMED WORLD’S LEADING FERRY OPERATOR AT THE 2017 WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS
_________________________________________________________________________________


DFDS has been named the ‘World’s Leading Ferry Operator’ at the World Travel Awards for the seventh year.

The awards were hosted in Vietnam this week (10 December 2017) and recognise outstanding achievements within the travel industry, rewarding those companies who consistently provide their customers with an exemplary service.

DFDS operates a comprehensive passenger route network, including four routes from the UK to Europe via Dover-Dunkirk, Dover-Calais, Newhaven-Dieppe and Newcastle-Amsterdam. It also offers routes in Scandinavia and across the Baltic Sea, including a cruise ferry service from Copenhagen to Oslo and services from Germany to Lithuania, Sweden to Lithuania and Sweden to Estonia.

The company was shortlisted for the awards following extensive travel and tourism industry support. Over one million votes were cast from 140 countries across 12 categories. The company asked some of its most honest customers to explain why they felt it had won the awards and the results are here: https://youtu.be/b1cfuR6O_-M.

Pete Akerman, Marketing Director at DFDS, commented: "We are thrilled to have secured the acclaimed ‘World’s Leading Ferry Operator’ title for a record seventh year and we send our deepest thanks to everyone who voted for DFDS.

"We aim to provide an outstanding experience for our customers, whether they are travelling on our cruise ferries from Newcastle to Amsterdam, or our flexible, frequent crossings from Dover to Calais and Dunkirk. We have worked hard to continually improve our service and will continue to invest in our ships and enhance our product throughout 2018 to ensure we remain at the top of our game."

For further information, please visit https://www.dfds.co.uk or telephone 0871 521 5522.

ENDS




Super congratulations to DFDS.
Many thanks to the team at DFDS for the above release.
Ships featured from top: Dunkerque Seaways and Cote des Flandres, Cote des Dunes long range, and Cote des Flandres.

* *

Lol! Vic - no nobody fishing these days out there on the breakwater.
What with all the rough weather you would never hold on to your tackle!

You got a bit of a scoop below there Ed with the Pride of Kent on her way to drydock...and by night too. Great stuff indeed!
Don't miss those pix below!





Wednesday, 13 December 2017 - 07:10

 

Post 4976

  Ed Connell, Dover Strait

Pride of Kent passing Dunkerque West this evening on her way to drydock.




Tuesday, 12 December 2017 - 19:03

 

Post 4975

  victor matcham, Dover

What no one fishing on the breakwater!

Tuesday, 12 December 2017 - 10:20

 

Post 4974

  Sea News, Dover

Ah Brian and Vic ...I am afraid these pictures today wont improve the seasickness aspect at all...more rough oul pictures for sure but dedicated to the guys in the tugboats who were working hard yesterday in the lousy conditions. They tenaciously helped to 'park' those ferries all day long. Visibility was too poor yesterday to get any picture worth its salt so these are from the files...


Well done those tugs...


I will just include this extra one here below of the Pride of Burgundy, that's her above too...yes this extra one is for the lads below Brian and Vic. Most definitely not the weather for the full fry-up and a pint of Murphys stout, and most definitely not before you set off...its heaving weather for sure

They used to say a copper bracelet was good to prevent seasickness. I tried it once on the murderous Irish Sea midwinter...it didn't work !!


PaulB.

Tuesday, 12 December 2017 - 08:08

 

Post 4973

  brian, dover

makes me think of a full English and a pint of murphys.

Monday, 11 December 2017 - 19:12

 

Post 4972

  victor matcham, Dover

some time from my last post again photos makes you feel sea sick looking at them.

Monday, 11 December 2017 - 18:31

 

Post 4971

  Sea News, Dover

Yes indeed Ed the Pride of Kent had some trouble yesterday. In the violent winds she ran aground just as she left the Port of Calais with approximately 300 people onboard. The good news is .. nobody was hurt. The tugs came to her assistance and within a couple of hours the ferry was freed up again. All travel however was disrupted at the Port of Calais. Twas a fiercely bracing old day with the harshest of chilly winds... The top shot there shows the Pride of Kent in tough weather action. She has seen it all through the years.

Below we have a couple of shots of the European Seaways just to highlight the rough weather on the approaches to the Port of Dover.



Smashin' pictures below there from Ed of the Royal Klipper by night. Well done Ed..Terrific stuff! And don't miss the snowy ones from Dunkerque West further below page.


More rough weather is forecast for today....so hold on to yer hat!

Monday, 11 December 2017 - 05:59