Comments (Newest First):

 

Post 5269

  Mike J., Dover

Saturday afternoon & two recent arrivals - Westminster Dredgins's SHAMROCK arrived abut 1300 from Harwich.
Whether she's here to work or just making a brief call is unknown.


AIS wouldn't come up with any info on the movements of the rather smart Norwegian motor yacht MIDNIGHT SAGA II.





Saturday, 24 March 2018 - 23:24

 

Post 5268

  Ted Ingham, Canterbury

'FIVE FROM ABOVE'
Fred Olsen's BALMORAL departs as the PRIDE OF DOVER enters.
Photographed on the 11th July 2008.


Photographed from the RAF SAR Wessex from Manston in the early 80's showing the Granville and Wellington Docks.

Again photographed from the Wessex of 22SQN showing the Camber and Eastern Arm.
At that time they were exporting coal from Tilmanstone Colliery in containers on a daily basis to Zeebrugge for a coke plant.The coal boat Taros Ilex can be seen ahead of the Rose Schiaffino. A large Salen reefer laying alongside Eastern.Not a container in site on her deck.

An early view of the tug haven with the tugs DEFT and DEXTROUS alongside.
The lifeboat station can be seen with the bow of the Thames Class lifeboat.

A later photograph of the tug haven taken on the 12th August 2010 showing the then largest solar powered craft in the world. TURANO PLANETSOLAR. Since 2015 she has been used a a demonstration and scientific platform in it's fight against plastic pollution of the Oceans.
The lifeboat station has now been moved and the Sea survival and training school established.


Saturday, 24 March 2018 - 11:04

 

Post 5267

  Sea News, Dover

Climbing the walls ! ..well it has been a long winter...
Yes these guys on ermm Thursday I think it was, were steadily climbing the North Face of the the local Eiger...or no no to put it more accurately.. the Southface of the scintillating White Cliffs. They were catching the afternoon sun as they scaled the dizzy heights. Pictures show them at various stages of the climb. In reality I guess it was a great deal less romantic than climbing the Eiger, as they were probably just doing essential maintenance work of some sort.



Just now I came across this pic below in the files from times past. The last time we saw similar climbers...and here they are scaling the sheer face of the infamous Burlington House. All change since then...will have more on the new development on Monday from MP Charlie Elphicke.


Nice shots below there Patrick. Great to see those. They are powering forward for sure.
Thanks Vic - glad you are continuing to enjoy the Sea News pages. Exciting times down here..

PaulB

Saturday, 24 March 2018 - 06:01

 

Post 5266

  Patrick, Marine Parade

A couple of shots of the current progress on the former Hoverport site and Prince of Wales Pier, slowly morphing into the infill areas destined to be the new Cargo Terminal.






Friday, 23 March 2018 - 19:02

 

Post 5265

  vic matcham, Dover

We are just back from Hayling island, had agood time but forgot to take my laptop so I am now seeing the photos of the Port of Dover, some very good ones there thank you.

Friday, 23 March 2018 - 12:15

 

Post 5264

  Sea News, Dover

Another couple of extra pictures to enjoy now of the AIDAvita arrival on wednesday ....
I expect she is back in Hamburg by now after her brief stop in Amsterdam.


See also 4749 and 4750 immediately below.

Friday, 23 March 2018 - 06:52

 

Post 5263

  Sea News, Dover

PORT OF DOVER WELCOMES FIRST CRUISE SHIP OF THE YEAR... AIDAvita



There she is .. AIDAvita ... a very welcome sight indeed, surely heralding the arrival of the long awaited Spring. It was a real delight to see her arrival. ( see also more cruise details from ColetteB in 4744 )




Neglected roads need urgent investment
_______________________________________

20th March 2018

Twenty percent of carriageways in England and Wales are five years away from being unusable according to a study by the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

Road Haulage Association chief executive, Richard Burnett said:
"The Government and local authorities can do a lot more to bring the network up to standard so that the roads aren’t full of cracks waiting to turn into dangerous potholes that can cause collisions. Local roads where hauliers make their last-mile deliveries are often in a poor state and the damage they can cause to HGVs – in particular to their suspension systems – can be considerable"

"More potholes means more breakdowns, more roadworks and more delays. And delays in a ‘just in time’ economy are disastrous for business."

The RAC had reported a sharp increase in pothole-related breakdowns in the aftermath of the severe weather at the beginning of the month.

"It’s not lost on us that the short-term impact of the recent severe weather – where supermarkets ran out of food because lorries couldn’t get through – is leaving a longer-lasting legacy that exposes years of neglect from government and local authorities," he continued. "Local roads must be included in any plans to improve the strategic road network."


ENDS

I think most of us would echo that sentiment above. Some potholes have morphed into craters ...dangerous to all road users particularly cyclists and motorcyclists....but most of all we all saw how sparse the supermarket shelves were in the recent snow when the trucks couldn't get through...we need our trucks.


Following along from Mike's pictures of 'the wulf' (Wulf7) in 4741 ... here we are with another two as promised. More longer range these pix of course, taken a few days ago in grey conditions as she awaited the arrival of Timor Stream.




Well done with those pictures below Andrew, a very nice collection below there. Excellent.

Glad you made it in the end to the continent Del. Hope you had a great time and enjoyed your trip on DFDS.
Yes hopefully Spring is here..ish.


PaulB




Thursday, 22 March 2018 - 04:55

 

Post 5262

  Andrew, Broadstairs

Inspired by Ted, Mike and the Team’s excellent past and present photography of the Port’s activities I thought it was about time I came out of hibernation and record the first cruise ship of the season. AIDAVITA arrived on schedule and glided across the harbour seamlessly fitting in with the constant ferry movements. With DHB tug DOUGHTY in attendance she turned off the Prince of Wales Pier ready to berth alongside Cruise Two catching the early morning sunlight, a perfect start.

Thursday, 22 March 2018 - 00:55

 

Post 5260

  Del Styan, Norwich

Not put off by the snow last weekend, I went off to le continent on DFDS, and got back today. I do believe over the last 3 days I have seen spring arrive. It seems strange that only 10 days ago the snow brought Norwich to a halt.
And on the arrival of spring theme I managed to clock the first Cruise ship of the season today ( Wed ), smiling through the Western dock works.
Couldn't quite see your lens from where I was, but I'm sure you were on duty as it was such a sunny day.
More sun please!

Wednesday, 21 March 2018 - 23:09

 

Post 5259

  Sea News, Dover

Yes exciting to see the first cruise ship of the year Jan - will have pictures in the morning.

Wednesday, 21 March 2018 - 17:55

 

Post 5258

  Jan T, Dover

Crumbs open my curtains this morning to see a cruise ship,a nice surprise and sunshine as well blows all them snowy thoughts away.

Wednesday, 21 March 2018 - 08:03

 

Post 5257

  Sea News, Dover

P&O FERRIES SETS OUT STALL TO HIRE ENGINEERS, QUARTERMASTERS AND OFFICE WORKERS....
... AT DOVER AND DEAL JOBS FAIR
_____________________________________________________________________________________________



P&O FERRIES was looking to fill vacancies for positions including engineers, quartermasters and contact centre agents at last week's Dover and Deal Jobs Fair.

The integrated ferry and logistics company was the main sponsor of the event, which is organised by Dover and Deal MP Charlie Elphicke.

Jacqueline Burns, Corporate Communications Officer at P&O Ferries, said: "We are one of the biggest employers in the local area and our team spent the day explaining to job hunters why P&O Ferries is such an exciting place to work. We have current vacancies both on our ships and at our offices and handed out more than 100 leaflets to would-be applicants."

"Two of our apprentices from last year's intake - Stacey Gregory (pictured, speaking with students from Dover College) and Adrian Vincent - were on hand to tell people what life is like at sea sailing one of our 47,000 ton ships between Dover and Calais. Our apprenticeship scheme generated a huge amount of interest from people on the day and we will be inviting applications in the summer in advance of interviews later in the year."

"We also have a cadet scheme for training future officers on the ships. If you are a highly motivated job seeker who has the energy and determination to build a career at a world class company, I would urge you to visit www.jobtrain.co.uk/poferries to find out more about what we have available."

Charlie Elphicke MP added: "P&O Ferries are one of our area’s biggest employers and do a lot for the local community. It’s no surprise that so many people want to work there – and often stay throughout their whole career."

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 8.4 million passengers and 2.3 million freight units annually.

Together with its logistics division, P&O Ferrymasters, the company also operates integrated road and rail links to countries across the continent including Italy, Poland, Germany, Spain and Romania. P&O Ferrymasters also owns a rail terminal in the Romanian city of Oradea, which facilitates the onward movement of goods to Britain from Asian countries via the Silk Road.

ENDS




Some pictures above there of the P&O ferry the Spirit of France . Taken at sunrise as you can see. The top shot taken just in the past week and the second one...an old favourite from 2014. You can spot the difference in the logo there ...
Great to see P&O FERRIES recruiting. Great stuff guys!
Many thanks once again to P&O FERRIES for the info.

* *

Another shot below of Timor Stream, now enjoying the delights of Hamburg having left us yesterday morning. Focussing here on the chap at the bow.... there he is embracing the bracing sharp sea breezes from the ..ermmm sharp end.



Many thanks for the Cruise info below Colette. You took me by surprise there. I still figured we were up to our snowy armpits in the bleakest of bleak midwinters .. had forgotten all about cruise visits.

Nice collection of cruise ships below there Ted...
its all happening

PaulB

UPDATE: yes AIDAvita is in Port.



Wednesday, 21 March 2018 - 05:16

 

Post 5256

  ColetteB, Dover

CRUISE VISITS

I can’t believe it! …. It’s that time again Guys, Cruise season is upon us, almost got caught out …

Let us start ……

Tomorrow Wednesday 21st March the first cruise ship to grace our shores in 2018 is the forever smiling AIDAVita last here in September 2017. She will arrive at CT2 at 08.00 hours on her way back to her home port of Hamburg. She is on her 13 night Las Palmas to Hamburg cruise visiting Portugal, Spain & France along the way. Her next port of call is Amsterdam before dropping anchor in Hamburg on Sunday 25th March, she will leave us at 19.00 hours, PoC.

Then on Sunday 25th March we welcome a Newcomer, Hanseatic (Hapag Lloyd) arrives at CT1 at 07.00 hours on her 17 night cruise from Dakar (Senegal) visiting such delights as the Canaries, Casablanca, Spain and Portugal before dropping by. She departs at 15.00 hours onward to Hamburg for Tuesday 27th March, PoC.

The third and last call for the month of March on the 29th is a much loved friend, Boudicca, arriving at CT2 06.30 hours on a 5 night Easter Mystery Cruise, maybe meeting the Easter Bunny along the way? I cannot believe that she was last here in May 2015, she recently returned from a 35 night cruise sailing from Cape Town to Southampton and I would like to be one of the first to say welcome back. She leaves us at 16.30 hours, Embark Only.

Back soon ..





Tuesday, 20 March 2018 - 20:45

 

Post 5255

  Ted ingham, Canterbury

MIND THE GAP....Five more cruise ships photographed from the Operations Room at Dover Coastguard.

BALMORAL entering on the 1st February 2008.
Fred Olsen had purchased the vessel in November 2007.She was dry docked at Hamburg for a major refit and an insertion of a 30 m (99ft) section amidships.She arrived at Dover for her inaugural cruise.The Balmoral is due for another major refit at Hamburg this year along with two other Freds.

MEIN SCHIFF 2 photographed on the 7th May 2010. Previously the CELEBRITY MERCURY.

RHAPSODY photographed on the 19th July 2007.

ROTTERDAM photographed on the 30th May 2009.

SEABOURN SOJOURN photographed on the 3rd June 2010.

Tuesday, 20 March 2018 - 11:10

 

Post 5254

  Sea News, Dover

Pictures above and below now of Timor Stream arriving here at the Port of Dover yesterday morning. Fortunately it was relatively bright for the arrival and so yours truly was delighted to get some pictures of the ship. I think its just her second visit so quite a rarity...so far.

Top shot shows her pausing with Wulf 7, the stand-in tug, while you can also see the coast of France in the distance however hazy. It was great to have some reasonable visibility back. The pic below shows her just a few minutes earlier yesterday morning arriving here at the Port.


During the rough tough weather of recent days, and as we mentioned before, quite a few large ships came in close to shore. Unfortunately poor visibility conditions killed off the possibility of many worthwhile pictures, but in between the snow showers etc etc .... we managed the two below anyway.
Mearsk Lanco above and MSC Beatrice below. It's a poor quality shot of the MSC but isn't it a great ship..a great beast.. you can see the pilot boat powering its way homeward.

Just adding this one below unscheduled, was thinking of it for top of page, but will place it here now. Finnsun....of Finnlines ro ro cargo. You can just spot the pilot in this shot too.


Nice pictures of the Wulf below there Mike...might be able to add to those in the next couple of days. Yes Wulf was doing the business with the Timor Stream..

PaulB

Tuesday, 20 March 2018 - 06:08

 

Post 5253

  Mike J., Dover

1300 Monday & WULF 7 returns to the Tug Haven after assisting with berthing of TIMOR STREAM.



Tuesday, 20 March 2018 - 00:38

 

Post 5252

  Sea News, Dover

Port of Dover awards major contract for new Refrigerated Cargo Terminal
__________________________________________________________________



In another milestone for the Port of Dover's flagship Dover Western Docks Revival (DWDR) development, Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd has been awarded the contract to build the new Refrigerated Cargo Terminal (RCT).

With a value of £15million the contract will deliver the construction of a 9,630 square metre multi-purpose refrigerated cargo facility designed to meet the future demands of the business.

The new RCT will be an externally clad steel frame building with state-of-the-art facilities including eight chambers, each individually temperature controlled and capable of holding cargo between +1 and +14 degrees Celsius (+/-1C), with 20 dock levellers to produce a rapid turnaround for Port of Dover Cargo Ltd customers.

Dave Herrod, DWDR Programme Director at the Port of Dover, said: "The appointment of Buckingham Group represents a significant milestone for the Port.

"Projected increases in cargo volumes present a golden opportunity to further develop the cargo business and this is key to why the Port is delivering the Dover Western Docks Revival now."

Scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2019, the terminal will be served by completely new marine and land infrastructure including two cargo berths (Berth A: 251m and Berth C: 300m, plus a dolphin) and Gottwald 5 series mobile cranes.

During construction of the RCT building over 70 jobs will be created. Andy Morris, Senior Project Manager at Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd, said: "We are delighted to have been awarded this exciting, high-profile contract.

"We are looking forward to working with the Port of Dover and other contractors to deliver one of the most important cargo projects in North West Europe and support the creation of new jobs for local people."

Sam Stewart, General Manager at Port of Dover Cargo Ltd, said: "The new multi-purpose cargo terminal and ongoing transformation of the Western Docks will equip the Port of Dover to meet future demand for cargo services and to strengthen its position as the ultimate strategic location with fast, dedicated and direct access to the wider UK and Europe."

DWDR is the single biggest investment ever undertaken by the Port of Dover and represents the next exciting evolution of the Port, delivering long-term capacity for a key international gateway handling trade to the value of £122bn and representing up to 17% of UK trade in goods.


ENDS

Great news above there...moving forward.


The GEEST reefer Lombok Strait loading up bigtime at the current Cargo Terminal yesterday Sunday...


And one below from the files.... she left in the wee small hours of the morning....


* *

Snow again...shiver me timbers....

The White Cliffs of Dover looking even whiter than usual above there...
Dover Castle peeps through the frozen trees and the driving snow..
The seafront palm trees plus...covered in snow again..
All pictures from Sunday.







Monday, 19 March 2018 - 05:08

 

Post 5251

  Ted Ingham, Canterbury

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND...
Sorting through my Coastguard archives I thought the readers would be interested in some early photographs of our Channel Navigation Information Service.
I joined in the late 80's before the whole Station was upgraded in the early 90's.
At that time we were using Decca and the consoles were operated in a darkened room.
After the upgrade and refit we were out in the daylight using very large TV monitors and as a bonus the screen was in colour.
As time passed and the technology enhanced we were upgraded several times.

The first photograph is Langdon Battery during the Second World War showing the three six inch gun emplacements.
The photograph underneath is of Dover Coastguard as is today.


The Operations Room in the 1980's.We were the first Coastguard station to have computers installed.
The Radar Room was behind the console.

Inside the Radar Room we see Coastguard Officer John Rossiter at the console.

When a vessel called Dover Coastguard their details were typed into the computer and a track identification number was attached to the radar target.
Other information had to be overlaid on the screen by china graph pencil.

The complete picture of the Dover Strait.
At the time this screen was used on television programmes showing the density of traffic.
It was often shown moving with high speed graphics.

Sunday, 18 March 2018 - 11:28

 

Post 5250

  vic matcham, Dover

Yes we was going away but lost our money because the hotel was booked, but with my legs the weather was just too bad for me to drive. So stayed indoors watched TV, but still looking in on this page to see how the port is doing in the weather ,thank you for the photos.

Sunday, 18 March 2018 - 07:27

 

Post 5249

  Sea News, Dover

You wont need me to tell you that yesterday was a rough oul day. During the adverse conditions a number of ships came in close to Port but they were virtually impossible to see...mere shadows through the blizzards they were. However at one point during a lull in the horrors...the huge ship pictured here came close in and was see-able. Throughout the day, the pilot boat had to battle through those rough seas to each ship...you can just see the pilot above there as he approaches the vessel called...Dali ( maybe after the painter!?) ..look at all those containers.

About half an hour later, it had brightened up a tad briefly, and she began to move away, heading for Felixstowe I believe. And here she goes...



It continues to be bleak cold and grey...but spring is just around the corner...isn't it?! Good luck with your trip Del.
PB

Sunday, 18 March 2018 - 06:45