FIVE TUGS NAMED IN A HOST OF FIRSTS FOR SANMAR AND CANADA

Five tugboats were named at Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar’s shipyard in Istanbul on March 7-8, with a host of ‘firsts’ to celebrate.

First Cables Planned To Connect Spain And France

Cable systems supplier

Prysmian Group has been shortlisted to install the first submarine interconnection between Spain and France.

Two high-voltage direct current (HVDC) links, each with a 1000MW capacity, will stretch for 300km under the sea, ’improving the safety, stability and quality of electricity supply between the two countries and also with the rest of Europe’, Prysmian says. Each link will consist of two cables, and at each end a converter station will be installed - one at Cubnezais in France, the other in Gatika in Spain.

In a notice issued by INELFE, a 50:50 joint venture between the Spanish grid operator Red Eléctrica and French grid operator Réseau de Transport d’Électricité (RTE), Prysmian was notified that it had been selected as one of the preferred bidders for the Biscay Gulf interconnection.

The underwater section will reach for 300km between the Spanish Basque coast and the French Médoc coast, with a short underground section avoiding the submarine Capbreton canyon, INELFE has said. The cables in the underground sections will be laid in trenches 1m apart then completely covered, and connected to the submarine cables by a junction chamber.

INELFE’s timeline is that construction will be completed by 2026, and the cables will be commissioned in 2027.

MCA appoints McVea as CEO

New CEO of the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Virginia McVea has been appointed ‘at a pivotal time’, according to Maritime Minister Baroness Vere.

“I look forward to working with her to grow the UK flag, decarbonise the maritime sector and encourage greater investment in the UK,” said Vere. McVea, who was previously CEO of the Human Rights Commission and Chief Electoral Officer of Northern Ireland, replaces Brian Johnson.

Largest ever ferries for UK/France

Two double-ended ferries have been delivered to run the Calais/Dover route between France and England. Both vessels, at 230m in length with 1,500 passenger capacity and 3,600 lanemetres of freight capacity, will be the largest ferries to ever operate between the two ports. Owned by P&O, Pioneer and Liberte are diesel-battery hybrids and were built in China for £220 million (€249 million).

Ireland names new €10m fishing pier

One of six planned harbours in Ireland has been named ‘Howth Fishery Harbour Centre’ following completion of works that took place over 18 months. A 6,500m2 area was dredged, stabilised and infilled with subsea material to create additional berthing space to relieve vessel congestion and enable greater segregation between fishing vessels and marine tourism. A 134m quay wall was also built on the West Pier.