HUGE EFFORT

CHIEF Minister Fabian Picardo has highlighted the ‘huge effort’ made by Albert Mena to receive the award of Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours List.

Mena was one of six local people named on the honours list this year, which also included Nicole Carreras and Keith Leonard Farrell for MBEs.

Mena was key ‘in the design and execution of the BEAT schemes’, the Chief Minister said.

The current calm seas and low winds could mean the sight of the ship 700m off Catalan Bay could soon just be a distant memory. After refloating the bow, the semi-submersible

A DUTCH captain has described the ‘scary moment’ when a pod of orcas started to bite at the rudder of his yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar. A video he took showed the mammals, also called killer whales, circle his ocean racing yacht before ramming it and biting the rudder.

“This was a scary moment,” Ocean Race Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek told Reuters News Agency.

“Three orcas came straight at us and started hitting the rudders.” He described the orcas as ‘beautiful animals’, but how the attack was a ‘dangerous moment for us as a team’.

“We took down the sails and slowed down the boat as quickly as possible and luckily after a few attacks they went away,” van Beek said. There have been about 20 different orca attacks in May alone, mainly in the Strait of Gibraltar or off the coast of Portugal.

Three boats were damaged to the point of sinking, forcing emergency services to come to the rescue.

Fjord platform ship will scoop up both parts of the bulk carrier and remove them permanently.

Port authorities fear this lifting stage could see further oil leaks as the pipes at the bottom of both sections of the shipwreck are unsettled.

But this time at least, there will be comprehensive oil barriers around the area that were not present during recent storms which caused pollution to we washed onto several beaches.

The government’s Business Employee Assistance Terms (BEAT) scheme provided essential funding to businesses hit by the COVID-19 lockdown on the Rock. Meanwhile, Carreras and Farrell were awarded MBEs for their work with the disabled and conservation of heritage respectively.

The King also gave Suzanne Romero a BEM for her services to health in Gibraltar.

Assistant Commissioner Cathal Yeats and Inspector Alex Enriles got Overseas Territory Police Medals (OTPM).

Additionally, the governor Sir David Steel granted Gibraltar Awards to Ian Cumming for his healthwork and Gaynor Vatvani for her work with local children.