INDUSTRY NEWS

D-Marin network buys a Jellyfishbot

D-Marin, the selection of premium marinas, has today announced it has purchased a Jellyfishbot, an autonomous multi-purpose solution for the collection of waste and oil spills. This is a further investment in the sustainability arena for the marina group as it continues its mission to advance marina development solutions in all areas including waste management and sea water environment protection.

The new bot was officially presented to the local community at an event on 29th November at D-Marin’s Zea

Marina of Pireaus, by the makers from

IADYS.

The Jellyfishbot is an efficient and flexible solution to support water decontamination of widespread and sheltered areas, including ports, marinas, lakes and canals, but can also operate in leisure centres, hotel residences and industrial facilities.

Successful in clearing water pollution, the robot autonomously cleans an area defined by the operator in an outdoor environment using Global

Positioning System (GPS) points.

The robot can also perform ad-hoc cleanings when required, and can be remotely operated at any time. In addition, when equipped with a sonar, it can perform bathymetry surveys, up to 10 metres in depth.

Commenting on the investment, Areti Priovolou, HSE Officer of D-Marin said: “We are delighted to have signed an agreement with such an impressive marina management initiative. The Jellyfishbot is a welcome investment for us in pursuing innovative sustainable solutions for waste management and sea water environment protection. This investment is part of D-Marin’s strong Environmental Social Governance (ESG) strategy with the vision to create “Sustainable Marinas” for todays and future generations.

“This is an exciting time for D-Marin as it continues to protect and excel the exceptional conditions of D-Marin’s marinas. With more plastic than fish being forecasted to be in the oceans by 2050, we are playing a crucial role in protecting, cleaning and depolluting the water surfaces, benefiting not only the environment but also our customers as they enjoy the highest professional standards as we strive to innovate and become the market-leader in the marina industry.

“We would like to thank CVC Capital Partners (‘CVC’) for the opportunity to access the ‘Planet & People Grants’ that made this extraordinary purchase possible. Thank you also to the ingenious minds of the people at IADYS and EPE yachting who supplied us with the bot.”

Mr. Ioannis Koutsodontis, Greece Operations Director, D-Marin also added: “As a Group we focus on the strategy of sustainable development, thus we have taken the initiative to protect and upgrade the environment where we operate and to create the marinas of the future through innovations and investments in equipment and new technologies. Jellyfishbot is an important tool in our efforts.”

‘Yachting Destination of the Year’ is Caribbean island of Grenada

The ‘Yachting Destination of the Year’ has been awarded to Grenada in the Southern Caribbean, with Port Louis Marina receiving particular mention in the judge’s assessment, who said: “Grenada has quietly become an in-demand yachting hotspot in recent years, both for the tri-island state, including nearby Carriacou and Petite Martinique, and for its place as an easy-to-reach hub for exploring the wonders of the islands of the Grenadines”.

Alexander Britell, Editor and Publisher of the Caribbean Journal, which organises the awards, said: “The and the reasons why we all love the Caribbean so very much, as selected by the editorial staff.

“Congratulations to all of the winners; you have received the highest annual honours in all of Caribbean travel and your work is at the pinnacle of Caribbean excellence.”

Port Louis Marina is available for yachts from 10-90 metres with flexible berthing for visiting guests throughout the year and the premium marine services and facilities you would expect from a marina owned and operated by Camper & Nicholsons Marinas.

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More berths for Haslar Marina

Berthing at boatfolk’s Gosport based Haslar Marina is being given a boost with the installation of a 70m wave attenuating breakwater in an exposed area of the marina.

As part of this two-phase project, pontoon and water access specialist, Inland and Coastal Marina

Systems (ICMS) has designed and manufactured a bespoke floating concrete breakwater to reduce the wave climate in a particularly exposed section of the marina close to the entrance of Portsmouth Harbour.

The first phase is now complete and comprised the installation of two 60-ton 20 x 4 metre floating concrete breakwater units, carefully orientated to fit within the major reshaping of the marina which also involved realigning the green lightship, a prominent feature in this busy corner of the marina.

Extending the frontage of the marina, the protection this new fully Concrete breakwater units installed in place looking towards HMS Dolphin. serviced floating breakwater provides will enable Haslar Marina to create 45 new berths in the main part of the marina, as well as act as berthing for larger boats and superyachts.

“Over the last couple of years, as boating has boomed, demand for quality berthing across the UK has increased,” says Jon Challis, Sales Manager at ICMS. “With space tight in many marinas, they’re looking at using sites not previously used due to exposed conditions. This is where our floating concrete breakwaters come in.

“They are designed specifically to reduce waves to a level where sheltered and comfortable berthing, either in a harbour or marina, can be provided – ensuring berth holders and visitors get a good night’s sleep. “Combining high strength and flexibility, our concrete breakwaters are built to withstand severe weather and wave action. Being fit for purpose does make the units heavy, which means they can be challenging to transport and manoeuvre, but working closely with the team at boatfolk, and experienced local marine contractor, Baker Trayte, the installation has been seamless. Haslar Marina now has the first phase of the protection it needs to expand its berthing facilities.”

Phase two is expected to start shortly, adding two 15m x 4m floating concrete units to the breakwater – completing the full 70-metres of the wave attenuation programme.

Lucas Shotts, Operations Director at boatfolk Marina Group, comments: “Since inception of the project and the initial site analysis and design, the team at Inland and Coastal have been superb in their input and assistance in achieving the right product within our budget.

“There has been a huge amount of detailed knowledge shared between us which has resulted in the installation of a high quality and extremely effective floating breakwater in a harsh and busy environment at one of our most important marinas. It has been a pleasure working with the great crew at Inland and Coastal and we have become a really strong team.”

New leisure facilities in North Cyprus

Karpaz Gate Marina, the first international-standard marina resort in North Cyprus, has opened exclusive new leisure facilities.

Marking the latest significant phase of growth for the 120 million Euro development on the island’s Karpaz peninsula, the additional amenities include ‘The Gallery’, comprising a 20 metre long indoor pool and jacuzzi, new gym and corporate conference rooms. Annual and Winter berth-holders, as well as visiting boat-owners from across the world, can now enjoy the expanded leisure opportunities alongside the new on-site boutique hotel which has completed its first season of operation.

Exclusively available to marina and hotel guests, The Gallery’s luxurious indoor pool area, with surrounding lounge chairs, plus showers and changing rooms, is conveniently located near to the marina office on the promenade. The building connects through to the gym, fully equipped with weight and aerobic machines. Two corporate meeting rooms have also been added, complete with audio and visual equipment.

The island of Cyprus is attracting more interest from the yachting community as investment in the marina and yachting infrastructure continues to increase.

MB92 adapts for the future

The world’s leading superyacht refit, repair and maintenance company, with facilities in Spain and France, the MB92 Group, has announced a number of important changes at both shipyards.

Two well-known faces of MB92, Jordi Ariet and Rob Papworth, become respectively, Managing Director of MB92 Barcelona and Managing Director of MB92 La Ciotat. Both have been with the company for more than 20 years and have been instrumental in its success. Ben Mennem, who founded Compositeworks in 1998, which then went on to become MB92 La Ciotat, will continue to play a major role in the company and joins Pepe García-Aubert on the board as Vice-Chairman of MB92 Group.

Ben Mennem commented, “I am delighted to be handing over the reins to Rob Papworth, who has been building the business alongside me in La Ciotat for many years and has played an important role in the shipyard’s development”.

In addition, the Group has also put in place a new organisational structure, which will accelerate collaboration across both shipyards and build a more compact organisation. The new structure will also facilitate the expansion and internationalisation of the Group, whose workforce has increased significantly over the past few years.

Jean-Marc Bolinger, CEO of MB92 Group, concluded: “The organisation we have put in place will enable us to mutualise the strengths of both shipyards and streamline the refit experience for our clients. The creation of these Group positions is also an essential stage of our international expansion plan, which will soon see the launch of our operations in the Middle East”.

Funding for bi-directional boat charging

Following on from the installation of the UK’s first marine charging network in Plymouth to support electric vessels, Aqua superPower has announced that it is leading a consortium, which has secured UK

Government funding to explore the development of a UK demonstrator of bi-directional boat charging. The

Virtual Bunkering for Electric Vessels (VBEV) project brings together two leading UK businesses, with electric boat charging operator

Aqua superPower and pioneering

British bi-directional charging and smart energy technology company,

Indra, as well as independent, low emission transport experts Cenex and the University of Plymouth. The consortium will carry out a feasibility study to determine the financial, technical and operational business case for the deployment of bidirectional charging infrastructure in the marine sector. The study will also evaluate the environmental benefit, ultimately preparing the ground for a UK demonstrator of bi-directional boat charging.

The VBEV project will focus on emergent bi-directional charging technology developed, demonstrated and in early release for road vehicles based on Indra’s experience of pioneering vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) product development.

Indra’s innovative technology forms the foundation for the project’s marine application, adding the marine requirements for near-shore and inland vessels, using Aqua’s knowledge as an electric charge point operator (CPO) in the sector.

The VBEV project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition Round 2 (CMDC2), which was launched in May, 2022, funded by the Department for Transport, and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK. This is a disruptive innovation opportunity led by UK businesses that could reduce UK marina CO2 emissions by four million tonnes per year. The University of Plymouth led the previous CMDC project – the Marine E-charging Living Lab (MeLL) – and will bring expertise and academic links into the technical aspects of this project, including battery degradation for marine operations.

Cenex will develop the bi-directional charger value case and identify vessel architypes most suited to the innovative technology.

Virtual bunkering enables the aggregation of electric boat batteries to provide energy storage and grid support services when not being used for propulsion. With the transition to electrically-powered vessels, there will be a requirement for deploying charging infrastructure across marinas and harbours. Affordability of grid connections, high capital costs and battery health pose challenges to deployment. This project will develop solutions to resolve these barriers by enabling existing electric boats to support the charging infrastructure without the need for expensive grid upgrades by providing a virtual electricity bunker service, delivering managed battery conditioning support and enabling additional revenue generation for boat-owners.

“We are proud to have been successful in winning our second Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition project, which is evidence of Aqua superPower’s marine charging expertise and industry authority. As project lead, we look forward to working with our highly experienced consortium partners towards decarbonising the marine sector and to accelerate the transition to clean alternative propulsion systems,” said Alex Bamberg, CEO of Aqua superPower.

Aqua Superpower will be responsible for the overall management of the project. As a leader in the network deployment of e-charging networks and installations (UK and internationally) Aqua superPower will be responsible for developing a commercial business case for the deployment of bi-directional charging and designing a demonstration plan for the technology.

The four partners will engage with electric boat builders, marina operators, the local and national grid, as well as leisure boating representatives, to develop a detailed business case and plan for a world first demonstrator of Virtual Bunkering for Electric Vessels using bi-directional chargers. Its delivery will be a significant step toward helping the marine sector realise greater benefits from the transition to alternative propulsion vessels, maximising C02 savings, reducing costs and improving operation.

A series of high power DC electric charging stations has been installed in Plymouth Sound National Marine Park (picture courtesy of University of Plymouth).