Comments (Newest First):

 

Post 6392

  Sea News, Dover

The Sea Princess arriving at Dover...



Sea Princess above there arriving with us here at the Port of Dover early on Tuesday morning...not toooo early though, first picture was taken around 08.20. Conditions were calm but very grey. I think I mentioned previously that it may have been a first visit but no.. she has been here before..found previous pictures in the archive. So many ships...

In the shot immediately above you can see Europa already in berth 4, the new berth ( WD4), as Sea Princess arrives..heading for CT2. We will have pictures of Europa soon...a-comin' and a-goin' ..

A late nightime departure below...time of picture 21.14
and away she goes... on a world cruise to Australia we understand, hopefully that info is correct.

Sea Princess

EXTRA: the Spirit of Discovery had a firework send-off last night on her maiden voyage. She was off on a round Britain trip with some Irish calls also. Should be quite spectacular. A 13 night trip and then back to Dover. The seafront was quite packed for the grand occasion. We may have some Firework pictures once examined...obviously it was very dark etc.etc.

Hugely enjoyable Lifeboat collection below from Mike - DONT MISS THOSE

PaulB

Thursday, 11 July 2019 - 06:39

 

Post 6391

  Mike J., Dover

Close encounters of the RNLI kind - meeting the SPiRIT OF DISCOVERY on 28/6.

Perhaps the lifeboat stayed in the bay as publicity photos were being taken outside & maybe Saga’s PR Dept didn’t want photos of their new ship with a lifeboat in attendance - might give the wrong impression !



Whilst waiting for the entry CITY OF LONDON 2 came close up close for a chat.
There were family of the lifeboat crew aboard WETWHEELS SOUTHEAST.




Heading off in pursuit of SOD.



After heading the little flotilla of small craft following the SOD across the bay 17-09 was seen socialising with sightseers on the end of the new Marina pier as SOD berths on new berth WD4, the first cruise ship to call there.




Thursday, 11 July 2019 - 01:48

 

Post 6390

  Sea News, Dover

DFDS offers 15% off sailings from Dover to France, plus 6 free bottles of wine
_______________________________________________________________

Award-winning ferry operator DFDS are offering customers a saving of 15% off sailings from Dover to Calais and Dover to Dunkirk routes with 6 free bottles of wine, worth £24.

From dining aboard Princess Elizabeth, a boat that formed part of the Dunkirk evacuations, to walking to the top of the magnificent Belfry in Calais town centre to take in the views of the channel, there are a multitude of exciting things to do in the port towns of Dunkirk and Calais.

Take your car onboard and choose from a selection of Chilean Gran Tierra Reserva Sauvignon Blanc and Gran Tierra Reserva Cabernet Sauvignon when you book a crossing from only £39* each way.

Visit www.dfds.co.uk

-Ends-

*Book by 15 July. Selected departures until 18 December 2019.
T&Cs: To redeem your 6 free bottles of wine, please present your booking confirmation with your lane hanger in the onboard shop. The voucher cannot be exchanged for cash and no change will be given. If specific wine is not available, then you will receive an alternative. The voucher cannot be redeemed if lost or stolen. The 6 free bottles of wine can only be redeemed on outbound sailings until the 31st of August 2019 from Dover on both Dover-Dunkirk and Dover-Calais routes.

Picture by George Holland ...Top shot from DFDS.
Both pictures feature the DFDS Dover Seaways ferry.

* *

Many thanks once again to the team at DFDS for the info above...quite an all round bargain above there. Excellent


Catching up on one of our very latest Reefer visits.
Pictures here of Atlantic Acanthus just a couple of days ago. Although she has been here before, the Acanthus visits are fairly rare...so we were glad to get some decent shots of her here...catching her arrival in Port.


Atlantic Acanthus

An extra picture below of the departing Viking Sun...you can see her here in the distance as she heads off round Britain and on to Bergen, while in the foreground swimming support launch Suva drifts into shot. Formerly a navy colour...Suva now painted pink for fund raising charitable purposes we understand.



Viking Sun and Suva.

Well done Vic all round - that's great fund-raising there for Parkinson's. Excellent stuff!
Hope all going as well as possible. Glad you are enjoying all the ships...

Yes Jan its great fun in Sandwich...a nice festival for sure with lots going on.

PaulB




Wednesday, 10 July 2019 - 07:06

 

Post 6389

  matcham, Dover

I do like looking in on this page and the photos are great.I would just like to add my wife who has Parkinson's, held a tea cake party for the Dover group and raise £81 which in two hours was very good. But back to the port the D.H.B. are doing a great job at the Western part of the port and all looking very good for the Vistors that come to Dover from round the world.

Tuesday, 9 July 2019 - 19:27

 

Post 6388

  JanT , Dover

Was nice to see people enjoying the ALE and FOLK FESTIVAL in Sandwich on Sunday,the chaps giving their hearty renditions of sea shanties which got all singing along,and the ladies in the picture below enjoying a break from their dancing.
Some even having lunch on their yacht enjoying the sunshine very nice.


Tuesday, 9 July 2019 - 17:43

 

Post 6387

  Sea News, Dover

THE SANDWICH ALE AND FOLK FESTIVAL: Who could resist this delightful group of ladies at the Sandwich Ale and Folk Festival..as you can see all beautifully attired for the occasion in fine finery, and a delightful breath of fresh air they are too. One came across this Festival on Sunday by accident...and totally enjoyable it was...in particular had a great time listening to a group of 20 or so sturdy men belting out hearty sea shanty's in blistering style. Fab! Thanks hugely to the girls above for posing so elegantly.

Some general shots below at the waters edge. We didn't cover the event fully as didn't know it was on...but took just a few snaps to hopefully capture the jolly festive mood, and there we are..



The American P22 Rhine Patrol Boat... used by the Americans on the Rhine in the 1950's Cold War era.
A regular in Sandwich but if I remember correctly had moved to Ramsgate in recent times...now back in Sandwich for the festivities as you can see. The second pic is from a former time and gives probably a better angle...




The Viking Sun arriving in Dover on Monday morning.
The VIking Sun....on a 14 day trip from Tilbury to Bergen but going round the British isles with Irish/Scottish ports featuring large...
will hopefully be able to squeeze more pix of the Viking Sun in, bit inundated behind the scenes.
Today so far we have Europa...now excitingly at WD4 (the new berth Western Dock 4)..as the Spirit of Discovery returns from another channel jaunt, she went to Guernsey this time we understand. As you can imagine by now we have any amount of pictures of the Spirit of Discovery.
UPDATE: Also just arrived 08:50 we have the fabulous and large Sea Princess, off the top of yours truly's head...this is a new one for us here at Dover.
Three cruise ships today all looking good.

PaulB

Tuesday, 9 July 2019 - 07:06

 

Post 6386

  Sea News, Dover

Border Force Searcher

With all the ballyhoo and razzmatazz surrounding the cruise liners recently, one almost forgets about the everyday..the daily grind...but in the midst of all the excitement the Border Force kept right on going (of course!) As you may have seen on the news there were more migrant boats 'visiting' Kent over the weekend, so once again the Border Force was right on the spot. The pic above was taken a couple of days ago...showing Searcher just off the Port of Dover.


The Two Saga ships very early morning...who sleeps around here...the picture was taken on the 4th at 04.36...now that's bleary eyed early for sure. On the left Saga Sapphire...on the right the all-new Saga ship Spirit of Discovery.

Below we see Saga Sapphire departing the same day ….
moving astern through the western exit in the first shot and in the second shot moving off westerly on the softest of soft evenings... she was away on a 14 day Highland cruise...going right around the entire UK in fact....the full circle.


Saga Sapphire

PaulB
Viking Sun in Port today.

Monday, 8 July 2019 - 07:31

 

Post 6385

  Sea News, Dover

Just catching up now with some further pictures of the new SAGA ship...the Spirit of Discovery .. as she goes out on her second channel jaunt..

The Spirit of Discovery
Having left the Port of Dover the pilot boat waits alongside ..



The three shots above show the pilot departing and beginning his return to the Port...

While below we see the ship moving away south in elegant style in the blazing sunshine...ermmm No that's not a shark fin in the foreground of pic below...although...


Just kidding re the shark of course....its one of the markers for the new marina.

Thanks for the info below there Mike. Great stuff!

Thanks Del yes its always good to see Boulogne shimmering away over there.

PaulB

Saturday, 6 July 2019 - 06:37

 

Post 6384

  Del Styan, Norwich

Boulogne in the distance - Wow!

Friday, 5 July 2019 - 23:05

 

Post 6383

  Mike J., Dover

I heard that the NOORDHOEK PATHFINDER was checking out the cross-channel power cables from Folkestone, several of which were damaged during the SAGA SKY incident in 2017.
See post 3761.

Friday, 5 July 2019 - 15:40

 

Post 6382

  Sea News, Dover

On the busiest of busy days...Monday...Boudicca sets out for her latest cruise above there, a 14 nighter to the glorious Baltic calling at such delightful places as St Petersburg in Russia and Copenhagen in Denmark and with many other stops too. Very exciting for sure. We also had a previous picture of her departing the same evening with the Spirit of Discovery in the foreground....in a post below page..no 6377.

Mike gave yours truly a tip to watch out for an interesting vessel called Noordhoek Pathfinder...and here she is below. She is an offshore support/survey vessel and very interesting it was to catch a glimpse. The first two pix (obviously long range) were taken late on Tuesday evening July 2...and they also show the Varne Lightship and delightfully show Boulogne too in the distance...




Then two more from the following day, which..ermm let me see..would be Wednesday. These are morning pictures.



Interesting post below from Mike our 'inshore correspondent' fascinating info there..didn't know that!

PaulB

Friday, 5 July 2019 - 07:16

 

Post 6381

  Mike J., Dover

28/6 & GEORGE HAMMOND 4 about to enter the Wick to return to her berth near the fuel pontoon in the Tidal Basin after welcoming the SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY.



Owned by the long-established local firm George Hammonds who have had very close connections with the port since the 1760s & who until recently did all the stevedoring she usually takes stores out to passing shipping & does crew changes off the port & often lands over-carried pilots from the Scheldt.

When I was on the ferries & there were ferry services to Ostend, occasaionally the ’Ostender’ would delay her sailing for a few minutes if a Belgian pilot was being landed from a passing ship, to save him having to stay in Dover for four or five hours waiting for the next Ostend service.

If you can remember as far back as the 70s you might remember a long-forgotten BBC ‘soap’ about the love life & high jinks & plunging necklines amongst the family that owned a lorry haulage firm called ‘Hammonds’
The Dover Hammonds buildings & vehicles were used whenever ‘outside’ scenes needed the Hammonds name showing.
Not many people know that . . . . . . . .



25/6 & a small Border Agency RIB in the Tidal Basin.



At dusk on 22/6 the local angling boat JEAN LOUISE was being helped down the Wick by the HPL DOVORIAN after fouling her propeller with a chunk of drifting netting out in the Northeast Lane.







Friday, 5 July 2019 - 00:46

 

Post 6380

  Sea News, Dover

DFDS launches ‘Field to Ferry’ campaign
________________________________

• A focus on the story of food produce suppliers from the field, to their ferries

Award-winning ferry operator DFDS today announces the launch of its ‘Field to Ferry’ campaign following an internal review of its food produce suppliers on its Eastern channel ships from Dover to Calais and Dover to Dunkirk.

The campaign showcases a handful of their UK suppliers to engage and inform passengers where the food served on-board has come from, with a strong focus on provenance, traceability and sustainability. All factors that are given key consideration in DFDS’ uncompromising search for quality.

With the explosion of the UK casual dining scene over recent years and consumers with a keenness to understand as much as possible about where their food comes from, DFDS have worked hard to create an on-board ferry dining experience that shatters any preconceptions of ferry food from bygone years.

Dave Lewis, Category Manager Food & Beverage at DFDS says: ‘’I am incredibly passionate about food and from early in my career as a chef, I understood the importance of good quality ingredients in helping to create the best quality dishes. My job now at DFDS is to source great ingredients to provide our passengers with the best dishes on-board our ships, from the Field to the Ferry.

We have a clear focus on our customers at DFDS and we take great pride in continually seeking improvements to ensure those special memorable experiences of travelling with us. If it’s a light bite, healthy salad or one of our delicious freshly made meals there is something on-board for everyone.

I hope that passengers enjoy eating them, as much as I enjoyed finding such great produce and ingredients.’’


The ‘Field to Ferry’ campaign launches today focusing initially on five of their UK producers and suppliers. They all have a passion and commitment to producing high quality food to the foodservice industry and with multiple awards between them, they’re all leaders in their industries.

The suppliers included are:

Stokes Sauces
___________

These sauces are packed with more flavour than their nearest rival. Enjoy all the condiments you need to make your food sing.

Speciality Breads
_____________

Truly artisan breads and rolls, made by bakers not machines.

McCain/ A L Lee Farming
___________________

One of 250 potato growers in the UK, supplying British Maris Pipers to McCain - simply the best potato for the best chips.

Marshfield Farm Ice Cream
_____________________

Award-winning ice cream from a small family farm, with over 30 flavours to choose from.

Reynolds
_______

Supplying quality fruit, salad and vegetables all year round.


More information at: dfds.co.uk/fieldtoferry

ENDS

Many thanks once again to the team at DFDS for all the latest information above.


* *

Now as promised here we are with some shots of bunker ship Andros departing a few evenings ago (Monday) for Southampton in the choppy conditions. She had just been servicing the Seabourn Quest on a 3-cruise liner day...the pilot boat is in attendance below as you can see. Here we go...






PaulB
EXTRA: two yellow-funnelled SAGAS looking impressive today..Saga Sapphire and Saga Spirit of Discovery.



Thursday, 4 July 2019 - 06:15

 

Post 6379

  Sea News, Dover

Capturing the Spirit of Discovery as she sets out on her evening/nightime cruise in the Channel on Monday...time of first picture... 8.05 PM (or 20:05) on a very tranquil flat greyish evening as you can see....
The Spirit of Discovery moves off...


And then the sun burst through in a late evening flourish, throwing yours trulys camera into significant meltdown. The next two pictures, with the sun having burst onto the scene...were overexposed by a long margin but have tried to recover them via computer ... hopefully they will show okay...



Still on the same evening but earlier.. and you will have seen Mike's pictures of Seabourn Quest leaving through the western exit in 6376...well here are a couple more to back up Mike's post. Got these ready as still not sure if the sun-hit Spirit ones will work well.
Here we go... Seabourn Quest and another 'Spirit'..the Spirit of Britain... Seabourn Quest off on an Irish/Hebridean journey..


Many thanks Dave, good to hear from you..thanks for that info..

PaulB

Wednesday, 3 July 2019 - 06:42

 

Post 6378

  Dave, Sandwich

It seems Viking Cruises is not having much luck with their new ships. The Viking Jupiter (2019) broke down at approximately 0545 this morning in the Princes Channel - Thames Estuary. She is now making her way slowly back to Tilbury Cruise Terminal with tug assistance.

Tuesday, 2 July 2019 - 12:00

 

Post 6377

  Sea News, Dover

Following along from Mike's pictures, there we are above with an earlier one of the Seabourn Quest catching the gorgeous early morning light yesterday...and in attendance supplying the bunkering services we see the blue colours of Andros ...will have more pictures of Andros in due course. Have some nice shots of her departing..

We spoke about the various Marquees set up for the Spirit of Discovery festivities and you can see them below here..pictures taken when all the ships vacated the scene.. First shot shows the marquee at the new berth WD4...the second pic shows two further marquees ( one with stadium seating ) over at Cruise Terminal One. Its all happening...



I see four ships...Spirit of Discovery, Boudicca, Andros and Seabourn Quest...busy busy...


Looking across the Spirit of Discovery as Boudicca departs in the distance last evening. The Spirit went out herself soon after for her Channel cruise... more on that later..


Just catching up on Pacific Princess.. also in port in the past couple of days.


Now....slight delay as the Spirit approaches... Pause..

All OK - Yes Spirit now back in Port its approx. 06.15 grabbed a few pictures. She is moving into Cruise Terminal One as we speak...

Nice shots below of the Seabourn Quest departing Mike..well done with those

Yes well said Jan, let us all hope for a smooth transition..
I think there was some talk earlier on of a possibility of seats along the new pier, it remains to be seen if it comes to fruition, but there is still a lot of work going on all over the port so it may happen yet..

Del yes lets hope so.

PaulB

Tuesday, 2 July 2019 - 05:52

 

Post 6376

  Mike J., Dover

Departure of SEABOURN QUEST at 1745 Monday, bound for Portland.




Much smaller than Dover's regular cruise ships & designed to carry only 450 passengers in considerable luxury she looked quite big as she passed Port Control.




S.O.D had been on WD4 all day as CT1 & CT2 were needed for SEABOURN QUEST & BOUDICCA.
She sailed about 2000 for an overnight cruise down-channel & will be back in Dover Tuesday morning.


Tuesday, 2 July 2019 - 01:25

 

Post 6375

  Del Styan, Norwich

Well said Jan, especially your last sentence.

Monday, 1 July 2019 - 23:13

 

Post 6374

  JanT , Dover

A very busy time for cruise ships today,and it was good to get a glimpse of the new Saga ship yesterday on a very busy seafront.
I have to say it's very impressive and I have to say our seafront is looking good, the new pier was busy but please put some seats halfway along as some of us don't always make it to the end.
Also to say well done to the Port of Dover and I'm sure I read on a sign that it was in conjunction with European funding.
Let's hope with all that we read that we stay close to Europe, as having the freedom to travel and work in Europe benefits all.

Monday, 1 July 2019 - 13:30

 

Post 6373

  Sea News, Dover

Port of Dover Chief Executive Doug Bannister....
.....responds to ministerial statement by David Lidington on EU Exit preparedness
_________________________________________________________________________

"In the current circumstances, it is natural and appropriate that the UK Government should consider how to protect the supply of certain critical goods such as medicines. However, we also need a measured and holistic approach, one that rationally deals with all of our trading needs. The identified Category 1 goods, whilst critical, form a small subset of the total volume of goods essential to maintaining our quality of life. We believe a prudent Government should place a commensurate level of attention to ensure that all borders remain open so that other time sensitive essential items, such as perishable foods, continue to flow via the most economic route to market.

The Port of Dover has been working with Government Departments and its business partners on both sides of the Channel for the past 18 months to address the practical issues of keeping trade flowing freely. It is clear that the Dover Straits route provides the most popular and efficient connection for trade between the UK, Ireland and Europe – keeping all borders open will enable this key route to provide the essential support to Britain’s economy – factories stay busy, our distribution system remains efficient, shops are full of the goods we want to buy and so prices remain low for the consumer.

Keeping the traffic moving freely across borders will mean balancing any requirements for declarations around the realities of just-in-time logistics and flexible routing of lorries, and crystallising those requirements in sufficient time for merchants to develop the capability to meet them. It is in this area of ‘trader readiness’ that Government can have a profound impact.

The Port of Dover, as with our sister ports in France and our ferry partners, are prepared for the 31st of October. Merchants, border agencies and highway authorities pivotal roles to play in ensuring the system continues to operate smoothly.

We stand ready to support Government and business through this transitional period."

ENDS



David Lidington's Statement made 26th June : EU Exit Preparedness
_______________________________________________________________

While the Government believes that leaving the EU with a deal is the best outcome, leaving without a deal remains the legal default at the end of the extension period on 31 October 2019. As a responsible government, we have been preparing to minimise any disruption in the event of a No Deal scenario for over two years and are continuing with these preparations. This statement is intended to provide the House with an update on these preparations.

We have published approximately 750 pieces of communications on No Deal since August 2018, including 106 technical notices explaining to businesses and citizens what they need to do to prepare. Our advice covers a wide range of information, from maintaining funding for EU-funded programmes to driving in the EU after Exit. To provide further advice, we have also contacted businesses directly, for example c.145,000 businesses who trade with the EU to help them get ready for No Deal customs procedures.

Since an extension to Article 50 was agreed between the UK and the EU, the Government has continued to prepare for No Deal. We continue to lay statutory instruments to ensure a functioning statute book by Exit Day. Since 12 April the Government has laid SIs to address deficiencies in retained EU law in areas such as the environment, aviation safety, emissions trading and Euratom. The Government will continue to bring forward further statutory instruments to ensure we are fully prepared for Exit.

We have signed a number of trade continuity agreements, including with Switzerland, a key trading partner. In addition to these signed agreements, the UK has also reached an agreement in principle with South Korea on the terms of a continuity trade agreement, through which businesses will be able to continue to benefit from existing trade arrangements. Once that agreement is signed, the UK will have signed agreements with countries that account for 63% of the UK’s current trade with those countries for which the UK is seeking continuity.

Guaranteeing the supply of critical ‘category 1’ goods, including medicines, medical products, veterinary medicines and chemicals remains an essential element of the Government’s No Deal contingency planning. The Government is therefore undertaking steps to secure freight capacity for suppliers of these goods in a No Deal scenario.

The Department of Health and Social Care is starting the process of setting up an express freight contingency arrangement to support continuity of supply of medicines and medical products. This will be an urgent contingency measure for products requiring urgent delivery, within a 24-48 hour timeframe, if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. This express freight contingency arrangement forms part of the Department’s multi-layered approach, which includes rerouting medical supplies from the short strait crossings, extra warehouse space, stockpiling, buffer stocks, clarifying regulatory requirements, supporting traders to have all necessary paperwork in place at the border, and strengthening the processes used to deal with shortages to ensure that patients have uninterrupted access to medicines and medical products if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. Government will only pay for capacity as and when it is needed and used. This will be designed to cover all of the UK. The Department will be writing to industry to set out further details of these preparations.

The Department for Transport is putting in place a freight capacity framework agreement that will provide government departments with the ability to secure freight capacity for our critical supply chains as and when required. This framework does not commit the Government to purchasing or reserving any freight capacity, but it does provide a flexible list of operators and options for the provision of the capacity that can be drawn upon if needed.

In the coming months, the Government will make further announcements on its preparations for a possible No Deal Exit on 31 October, including on trade continuity agreements to limit disruption to our trade with third countries after we leave the EU.

Many of the most important mitigations require businesses and citizens to act. There have been hundreds of meetings at ministerial and official level to discuss preparedness with businesses and civil society groups. The Government will continue to engage with stakeholders across the UK to ensure they are ready for all scenarios. We have published extensive advice on the steps that businesses and citizens may need to take to prepare for our exit from the EU, which is available on www.gov.uk/euexit.

ENDS


* *


We have a dazzling array of cruise liners in the port today...a truly impressive vision first thing this morning. Boudicca, Seabourn Quest, and of course Spirit of Discovery. Spirit moved away from Cruise Terminal One last evening and returned to her previous position at the new berth WD4.

Here she is all aglow last night at WD4. Picture not ideal but shows the situation last night at 10pm..



PaulB



Monday, 1 July 2019 - 06:42