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30th March 2006

Stena Line's Fleetwood route charter vessel Sea Runner completed her final crossing on the service with her 1600 sailing from Larne on the 30/3/06.  The vessel arrived in Fleetwood the following morning and sailed at approx. 1500 bound for Vigo, Spain once discharge of her cargo from Larne was completed. 

Prior to her final run, the vessel had earlier berthed on Larne's Curran Quay at 0910 on the 30/3/06 to discharge an inbound cargo from Fleetwood and undergo some repairs prior to Stena handing her back to her owners.  European Mariner spent the day at anchor to allow Sea Runner time alongside her usual berth for the repair work to be carried out.

At the completion of repairs, Sea Runner shifted up to Continental Quay at 1400 to load for the final time in Larne prior to her 1600 sailing to Fleetwood.

Sea Runner and Express Weather Delays

28th March 2006

Both Sea Runner and fast craft Express experienced weather delays to their schedules due to gales on the 28/3/06. 

Express managed to complete her morning trip to Troon on the 28/3/06 but remained at Larne for the afternoon subsequently missing her round voyage to Cairnryan.  The craft returned to service with the evening round trip to Troon.

Larne - Fleetwood vessel Sea Runner due to arrive at Larne at 1100 on the 28/3/06 to discharge an inbound Fleetwood cargo went to anchorage off the coast to await moderation in the weather before entering the harbour.  She berthed later that evening with tug assistance at 2350 after Stena Leader sailed.  The ship discharged and reloaded for Fleetwood, departing at 0130 on the 29/3/06.

More Mariner Windmills

26th March 2006

European Mariner carried out a windmill charter sailing over the weekend 25/3/06 to 26/3/06.  She sailed from Larne at 1000 on the 25/3/06 bound for Campbeltown to load windmill parts before bringing the load back to Larne at 1700 on the 26/3/06.  She discharged the windmill equipment and back loaded cargo for Troon, departing on her scheduled 1900 service at 1910.

22nd March 2006

After being withdrawn from service for 5 days undergoing repairs at Harland and Wolff Belfast Sea Runner returned to Larne at 1300 on the 22/3/06 to load for her scheduled 1600 service to Fleetwood.

The return of Sea Runner has allowed Stena Seafarer to stand down from her usual Fleetwood duties to cover the Belfast - Stranraer service while Stena Caledonia is drydocked.  The 'Seafarer completed her final run to Larne with the 0300 ex Fleetwood on the 22/3/06.  This arrived in Larne on time at 1100 and once discharge was completed she sailed light ship for Belfast at 1240.  The Stena Seafarer's first scheduled run on the Stranraer service was the 1900 ex Belfast later that same evening.

20th March 2006

Stena Line's Larne to Fleetwood vessel Stena Pioneer returned to service following her refit at Bidston dry dock by North Western Ship Repair on the 19/3/06. 

The vessel had been out of service since the 22/2/06 undergoing her annual overhaul.  She left Bidston dry dock assisted by Svitzer Marine's tug Shannon on the morning of the 18/3/06 but remained within the Birkenhead enclosed dock system for a further day before departing on the afternoon tide of the 19/3/06.  She left the Mersey for Fleetwood arriving there at approximately 1630 to load for her 2200 sailing to Larne.

Stena Pioneer's return brings the Fleetwood route up to full capacity again with the 'Pioneer's cover vessel Stena Seafarer returning to her usual 0300 ex Fleetwood 1600 ex Larne slot.  The return to normality will be brief however as Stena Seafarer is due to depart Larne soon to cover the refit of Stena Caledonia on the Belfast - Stranraer route.

Pictures of Stena Pioneer departing dry dock on 18/3/06 can be accessed on Irish Sea Shipping here.

Mariner to Campbeltown

19th March 2006

European Mariner completed another windmill charter sailing over the weekend of the 18/3/06 to 19/3/06.  The vessel sailed from Larne at 1000 on the 18/3/06 to pick up the windmill parts in Campbeltown, returning with them to Larne at 1230 on the 19/3/06.

Sea Runner Stands Down for Repairs

18th March 2006

Stena Line's chartered overhaul relief vessel Sea Runner was withdrawn from service for repairs on the 18/3/06.  The vessel completed her last sailing prior to the repairs with the 1600 ex Fleetwood on the 17/3/06 which arrived in Larne the following day at 1245.  Once discharge was completed Sea Runner sailed for Belfast and berthed at Harland and Wolff's fitting out berth at around 1830 to undergo repairs.  She is due to have damage on her starboard bow plates repaired, this was caused when Stena Leader collided with her at Larne on the 25/2/06.

15th March 2006

Express opened P&O's North Channel fast craft operations from Larne to Troon and Cairnryan for the 2006 season as scheduled on the 15/3/06 with the first sailing at 0715 to Troon. 

Services operate in a similar pattern to last year, with the morning and evening trip each day sailing to Troon sandwiching a single afternoon return sailing to Cairnryan.  The full schedule is as follows with 2005 times in brackets.

Ex Larne to Troon: 0715 (0715) and 1730 (1730)

Ex Troon to Larne: 1005 (1005) and 2020 (2020)

Ex Larne to Cairnryan: 1255 (1300)

Ex Cairnryan to Larne: 1500 (1515)

Scheduled crossing times are 1hr 50 minutes to Troon and 1 hour to Cairnryan.

14th March 2006

Larne to Troon freight ship European Mariner and Stena Line's Fleetwood route charter vessel Sea Runner both missed trips in recent days due to south easterly gales over a three day period from the afternoon of the 11/3/06 to the early hours of the 14/3/06.

European Mariner left Larne on the 11/3/06 at 0930 on a windmill charter sailing to Campbeltown and was due to return to Larne with her cargo at 1700 on the 12/3/06.  However strong south easterly gales in the North Channel resulted in the ship to sailing to Troon to seek shelter rather than make the return voyage to Larne.  The vessel remained at Troon for a further day before returning to Larne at 0630 on 14/3/06.  Larne to Troon freight sailings on the 12/3/06 and 13/3/06 were subsequently missed as a result.

On the Fleetwood route, Stena Seafarer and Stena Leader continued to sail throughout the stormy weather although both ships did suffer from slight delays of up to an hour or two.  Charter vessel Sea Runner however had to cancel her scheduled sailing at 1400 ex Larne on the 13/3/06.  The ship remained at anchor off Larne during the spell of inclement weather having moved there for weekend lay up on the 11/3/06.  Once the weather had calmed on the 14/3/06 Sea Runner came in from anchor at 1400 to load and she sailed with a scheduled 1630 sailing to Fleetwood later that afternoon.

Larne - Cairnryan sailings continued to sail during the windy spell of weather although both European Causeway and European Highlander did experience minor delays on the 13/3/06.  Both ships had their already heavy freight loadings boosted by additional cargo and passengers transferred from Stena Line's Belfast - Stranraer service which had been reduced to a single ship service using the Stena Caledonia as HSS Stena Voyager was stormbound.  Airline passengers travelling to Glasgow were also transferred to the Cairnryan service after a fall of snow closed Glasgow airport for a while on the 12/3/06.

10th March 2006

You may recall last year from late May to early June 2005, Captain Kevin Doyle set aside his usual duties at the helm of European Highlander to journey from Glasgow to Santiago de Compostela in Spain by bicycle for charity with only a little help across the English Channel from P&O's Portsmouth - Le Havre ferry. 

To update the story, the majority of the sponsor money from Eurocycle 2005 has now been collected and a fantastic £14,000 has been raised for charity, which tops the £10,000 raised in Captain Doyle's 2002 Circuit of Ireland bike ride event.  It was with great pleasure recently that Captain Doyle and his charity cycling team mate, Father Stephen Sharkey, were able to hand over £7,000 each to their chosen charities; Kevin cycling for the benefit of Marie Curie Cancer Care and Stephen cycling for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Both Kevin and Stephen would like to pass on their thanks to all those who contributed to their fund raising efforts.  Tentative plans are already in motion for the 2008 event, which may see the two bike fanatics reach as far away as Warsaw and Chernobyl, watch this space.

HMS Penzance Arrives

9th March 2006

Royal Navy Mine Hunter HMS Penzance (M106) arrived at the Port of Larne on the 9/3/06 berthing on Castle Quay at approx 1145.  The Sandown Class vessel, which is officially affiliated with the town of Larne, was paying a courtesy visit to the port.  She was due to depart again on the 12/3/06 but this was subsequently put back to 0920 on the 13/3/06 due to strong south easterly gales.

HMS Penzance's last visit to the port of Larne was in October 2003.  For more information about the vessel visit her page on the Royal Navy Website here:

http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/static/pages/1626.html

Express MES Trials

9th March 2006

Fast craft Express returned to Larne from her Falmouth dry docking via Rosslare for bunkers at 2230 on the 7/3/06.  She berthed on Chaine Quay and remained there the following day as well with interior refitting still continuing.  Her MES deployment was carried out alongside Curran Quay on the 9/3/06 and to facilitate this European Mariner switched berths with the fast craft so that the MES trial could be carried out unhindered by other ferry movements at the quieter southern end of the harbour.

The craft returned to Chaine Quay around 1730 after the MES trial was completed and all the liferafts were recovered.  She will continue with final preparations alongside her Larne berth for her 2006 summer season on the Larne - Cairnryan and Larne - Troon fast ferry routes, which are due to commence with the 0715 sailing to Troon on the 15/3/06.

"P&O EXPRESS – BACK AND BETTER.

P&O’s 91-metre Incat (047) the EXPRESS is due back in service on 15 March for her second season on the Larne – Troon and Larne – Cairnryan routes.

Whilst 2005 was undoubtedly a good year for the craft with her best technical performance to date and a 72% increase in traffic on the Troon route – it is hoped 2006 can be even better.  Throughout the winter extensive technical work has taken place aboard the craft as has a fairly substantial refit of the accommodation.

I had the opportunity of visiting the craft at Larne whilst refit work was being completed and crew training taking place.

Throughout surfaces have been renewed and there is new flooring – carpets in the lounge areas and new imitation wood flooring in passage ways.

Starting aft on her lower passenger deck is possibly the most significant change.  The Harbour Coffee Company area has been significantly enhanced.  Some of the  most aft reclining seats port and starboard have been removed and new “club type” seating (in fours) installed around tables – maybe around a dozen in total.  The remaining recliners in this area (which was once the Club Lounge when the ship was on Portsmouth – Cherbourg) have been refitted and recovered in blue and those replaced by the club seating placed alongside the back servery of the Harbour Coffee Company which is not used.  With the huge double-level stern window this area and new flooring/carpets is even more attractive than it was previously.

Poets bar amidships on the lower passenger deck is largely unchanged to last year though a new floor has been put down around the bar area.  In the entrance hall areas starboard and port outside the bar a new floor has been put down.  During my visit much of it was still protected by cardboard but it is a mainly blue design of the same sort as featured aboard the P&O Liverpool freighters.

Going up to the upper passenger deck Fables restaurant has been subject to quite significant refurbishment.  A new floor has been put down to replace a previous white coloured floor which was very difficult to keep free from dirt.  The seating has also been upgraded to provide more capacity – basically the previous individual fixed seats have been replaced by short bench type seats (in the Fables corporate colour of cerise).  The whole style, combined with the skylights creates a bit of an atmosphere of a trendy coffee shop.  The servery itself has been re-designed to make it less labour intensive for staff and more customer friendly (hence shorter queues).  Amongst the other things added is a baked potato facility.

The two airline seat type lounges forward and astern on the upper passenger deck were looking rather rundown last season.  Due to the need to maintain high capacity aboard a fast craft there is little can be done but retain these areas despite the fact that more stylish lounge areas would be nice.  However, P&O have done a sterling job with these areas during the winter.  Every seat cover has been dry-cleaned and looks like new – gone are all the stains inherited from Portsmouth.  There are also new carpets and shortly plasma screen TVs are to be installed in the area.

Throughout there are a host of minor improvements which are a credit to P&O for noting.

With the craft re-entering service just before St. Patrick’s Day she can be expected to get off to a busy start.  Her refurbishment certainly helps put her amongst the nicest of fast craft."

Leader Returns to Service

7th March 2006

After damaging her stern door when she broke away from her berth in foul weather during loading operations at Larne on the 27/2/06, the Stena Leader made a welcome return to front line service on the Larne to Fleetwood route with the 1000 sailing from Fleetwood on the 7/3/06. 

The ship had left the Birkenhead wet basin facility on the afternoon of the 6/3/06 after repairs to her damaged stern door were completed by North Western Ship Repair.  She proceeded to anchor off Fleetwood and came in to load for her first sailing the following morning. 

Stena Leader's return brings to an end the comparative chaos that the Fleetwood route had been experiencing in her absence.  With Stena Pioneer undergoing annual overhaul, the loss of Stena Leader from service to repair the damage caused when she broke away from her berth on the 27/2/06 had left the route solely in the hands of Stena Seafarer and charter vessel Sea Runner.  Whilst Stena Seafarer was able to keep on the Stena Pioneer's normal slot at 2200 ex Fleetwood and 1000 ex Larne, Sea Runner's slower loading meant the Stena Leader's normal slot at 2200 ex Larne and 1000 ex Fleetwood was missed on a few occasions.

Mariner Misses

6th March 2006

Larne - Troon freight vessel European Mariner omitted her sailing to Troon from Larne at 1900 on the 5/3/06.  The vessel remained berthed at Larne's Curran Quay with her sailing being cancelled due to the Troon berth being closed to facilitate maintenance work on the berth.  European Mariner returned to her usual schedule with the 1900 sailing ex Larne on the 6/3/06.

2nd March 2006

Stena Line's Larne - Fleetwood vessel Stena Leader broke away from her berth at Continental Quay at approx. 2100 on the 27/2/06 whilst loading for her 2200 sailing to Fleetwood.  Several of the vessel's mooring ropes parted as high winds, heavy swell and a flooding spring tide conspired together to push the ship off her berth.  Once the ship was brought back under control she berthed safely at Curran Quay at 2150 after which ship and berth were inspected for damage.  It was subsequently found that the 'Leader's stern door had been damaged resulting in the ship's immediate withdrawal from service.  Engineers worked into the night to make the door safe enough for the cargo stranded onboard to be discharged and transferred to other vessels. 

The Continental Quay shore ramp was also damaged in the incident and was closed to traffic.  The inbound Stena Seafarer with the 2200 ex Fleetwood was forced to use MacKean Quay to discharged her cargo on the morning of the 28/2/06 between 0810 and 0900.    The Continental Quay ramp was in service again around noon to allow 'Seafarer to load for her delayed 1000 sailing to Fleetwood, which got away from Larne around 1450.

Throughout the 28/2/06 Stena Leader remained at Curran Quay whilst her damaged stern door was secured to enable her to go to sea for permanent repairs at a shipyard.  She duly left Larne at 2120 on the 28/2/06 for the wet basin at Birkenhead to undergo repairs, arriving at high water the following morning.  In the meantime on the Larne - Fleetwood route Stena Seafarer and the chartered overhaul relief vessel Sea Runner are keeping traffic moving as best they can during the absence of both Stena Pioneer, presently undergoing annual overhaul, and now Stena Leader.

27th February 2006

Since her return to service chartered vessel Sea Runner has settled into a complicated but consistent sailing pattern on the Larne - Fleetwood route.  The vessel sails on an adapted version of Stena Seafarer's normal sailing cycle that takes into account her slower speed and extended loading and discharging times.  The new schedule appears to attempt to maximise her carrying capability while not unduly delaying the other two vessels on the route sailing on the peak slots at 2200/1000 from either port. 

Sea Runner's schedule, in brief, operates roughly as follows subject to tidal constraints in Fleetwood:

Mon:
Shift from weekend lay up to loading berth at Continental Quay 1100.
Depart Larne 1300 arrive Fleetwood 2359.

Tue:
Depart Fleetwood 0300 arrive Larne 1200.
Depart Larne 1700 arrive Fleetwood 1100 Wednesday.

Wed:
Arrive Fleetwood 1100.
Depart Fleetwood 1700 arrive Larne 1100 Thursday.

Thur:
Arrive Larne 1100.
Depart Larne 1700 arrive Fleetwood 1100 Friday.

Fri:
Arrive Fleetwood 1100.
Depart Fleetwood 1700 arrive Larne 1100 Saturday.

Sat:
Arrive Larne 1100, discharge at Continental Quay.
Shift to lay up berth on Chaine Quay / Curran Quay or anchor until Monday.

Stena Seafarer is on the usual slot of Stena Pioneer 1000 ex Larne / 2200 ex Fleetwood while the 'Pioneer is undergoing annual overhaul at Bidston.

26th February 2006

European Mariner continued her weekend charter work carrying wind turbine generators imported from Campbeltown to Ireland via the Port of Larne.  The vessel sailed on the special trip on the 25/2/06 after completing her scheduled Troon sailings for the weekend.  She returned from Campbeltown at 1720 the following day and once the windmill parts were discharged she sailed with her scheduled 1900 service to Troon at 2020.

Leader and Sea Runner Make Contact

25th February 2006

Whilst berthing at Larne in a severe northerly gale at the conclusion of her 1000 sailing from Fleetwood, the Stena Leader made contact with the laid up Sea Runner.  Stena Leader had completed her swing and was making her approach to her berth at Continental Quay when her port quarter grazed along the starboard bow of Sea Runner, which was laid up for the weekend at the adjacent berth on Chaine Quay.  Slight damage was caused to both vessels as a result although the impact caused some of Sea Runner's moorings to part.  After inspection both vessels continued in service without missing any sailings.  Stena Leader sailed the same evening with her scheduled 2200 to Fleetwood while Sea Runner picked up her roster as scheduled with a 1300 sailing from Larne on the 27/2/06.

22nd February 2006

Stena Line's chartered vessel Sea Runner for the Larne - Fleetwood route returned to service on the 21/2/06 with an 0500 sailing from Fleetwood to Larne.  The vessel had been withdrawn from service since the 26/1/06 after a fuel tank leaked into the vessel's ballast system resulting in fuel oil being pumped into Fleetwood harbour.  The vessel had been laid up in Birkenhead for repairs but was moved to Rotterdam on the 9/2/06 to complete repairs to the fuel tanks, this work being carried out by Damen at their yard in Schiedam.

With repairs completed, Sea Runner left Rotterdam on the evening of the 17/2/06 bound for Fleetwood.  She arrived off the port late on the 19/2/06 / early on the 20/2/06 prior to coming into the berth early on the 21/2/06 to load for her first sailing to Larne after completing repairs.  This voyage arrived in Larne at 1500 with help from local tug Maria McLoughlin.  The Sea Runner's revised short term schedule sees the vessel operating from Larne every second day to maximise time in port to allow full loads to be carried if needed.  Previously the vessel had been loading practically all her cargo on the main deck only as the upper freight deck was only accessible by a lift and to load this deck fully would extend turn round times.

Sea Runner's return to service has allowed Stena Line to continue with their dry docking program.  Irish sea fleet dry dockings recommenced with Stena Pioneer standing down for overhaul on the 22/2/06 after cancellation of the same from the 11/2/06.  Stena Pioneer completed her last crossing prior to overhaul with a sailing at 1120 from Larne on the 21/2/06.  Once the cargo from this sailing was discharged in Fleetwood she left the port and anchored off Liverpool to await her turn to enter the Birkenhead dock system, which she did at 1630 on the 22/2/06 bound for Bidston dry dock.

Taking Stena Pioneer's place is Stena Seafarer which switched from her own 1600 ex Larne / 0300 ex Fleetwood cycle to Stena Pioneer's 1000 ex Larne / 2200 ex Fleetwood cycle on the 22/2/06.  The Seafarer had previously spent the 22/2/06 at anchor off Fleetwood to get positioned correctly to slot into Stena Pioneer's schedule.

20th February 2006

Stena Pioneer spent the weekend from Saturday the 18/2/06 to Monday the 20/2/06 laid up in the port of Belfast undergoing maintenance work at Stena Line's conventional ferry lay by berth at the Albert Quay.  The vessel was withdrawn from service after her early morning arrival in Larne on the 18/2/06 and departed for Belfast at 0745 arriving at around 0930 to commence her maintenance lay over.

The shift to Belfast was necessary due to all the other usual weekend lay up berths in Larne being required for other vessels.  Express was laid up on Chaine Quay for part of the weekend, while European Mariner was busy over the weekend with a windmill run to Campbeltown and required the use of Curran Quay to discharge the windmills on the morning of the 19/2/06.

Stena Seafarer was rescheduled to take Stena Pioneer's usual sailings on the Fleetwood run.  She sailed at 1330 on a retimed 1000 service ex Larne on the 18/2/06 and continued on the 2200 ex Fleetwood and 1000 ex Larne cycle until her morning arrival on the 20/2/06.  Seafarer's scheduled 1600 sailing on the 19/2/06 was subsequently cancelled while she was busy sailing on the Pioneer's schedule.

Stena Pioneer returned to Larne from Belfast at 0700 on the 20/2/06 and took up her run with the 1000 sailing from Larne the same morning.  This allowed Stena Seafarer to stand down and return to her own schedule with the 1600 sailing from Larne later that afternoon.

19th February 2006

Fast craft Express returned from her winter lay up at Donegall Quay, Belfast to her usual berth at Chaine Quay, Larne at 1310 on 13/2/06.  The craft returned to Larne for a brief lay up prior to moving to Falmouth for dry docking.  She departed Larne again on engine trials for just over two hours between 1400 and 1610 on the 17/2/06 before leaving for dry docking at 0210 on the 19/2/06, calling at Rosslare en-route between 0945 and 1130 for bunkers.

Fleetwood Dry Docking Update

11th February 2006

After a week off service for annual overhaul, the Stena Leader left dry dock at Birkenhead on the evening tide of the 9/2/06 and set sail for Fleetwood.  She anchored off Fleetwood overnight and arrived at the berth the next morning once Stena Seafarer had left following discharging the cargo from the previous evening's sailing from Larne.  Stena Leader then loaded and took up service with the 1000 sailing to Larne on the 10/2/06.

Also departing Birkenhead on evening tide of the 9/2/06 was Stena's Larne - Fleetwood chartered vessel Sea Runner.  She left for Rotterdam to undergo repairs after her fuel tanks leaked into the vessel's ballast system resulting in a fuel spill at Fleetwood on the 26/1/06.

Expected to take Stena Leader's place in dry dock on the 11/2/06 was Stena Pioneer but this was cancelled at short notice in light of Sea Runner's continued absence.  The Fleetwood service could ill afford to remain operating with only two vessels so Stena Pioneer remained in service with Stena Seafarer reintroduced on the third vessel roster.  The Stena Seafarer completed a special sailing from Fleetwood on the 10/1/06, which arrived in Larne at 0200 on the 11/2/06.  She then picked up her regular 1600 ex Larne / 0300 ex Fleetwood schedule on the 12/2/06 with the 1600 sailing from Larne.

Troon Difficulties

7th February 2006

European Mariner's scheduled 1900 sailing from Larne to Troon on the 7/2/06 was cancelled due to operational difficulties at Troon.  She resumed service the with her scheduled 1900 sailing to Troon the following evening, 8/2/06.

3rd February 2006

The Larne - Fleetwood route's dry docking program continued on the 3/2/06 when Stena Leader stood down from service to undergo her annual overhaul.  The vessel completed her final sailing prior to dry docking on the 2/2/06 with her 2200 service to Fleetwood, which sailed from Larne early at 2100.  After discharging her cargo in Fleetwood the following morning the Stena Leader departed for dry dock at Birkenhead where she arrived on the afternoon tide of the 3/2/06.

Taking Stena Leader's place on the Larne  - Fleetwood service and making a welcome return to her home waters is Stena Seafarer.  The Larne - Fleetwood based 'Seafarer is back after being absent from the service since her last sailing on the route on the 21/12/05 prior to her own annual overhaul followed by a period of  relief service on the Rosslare - Fishguard route to cover Stena Europe's dry docking.  The Stena Seafarer completed her last sailing on the Rosslare service with the evening sailing ex Rosslare on the 31/1/06, she then shifted to Fleetwood and replaced Stena Leader on the 1000 service ex Fleetwood on the 3/2/06.

Stena Seafarer's service on the Rosslare - Fishguard route was reasonably smooth although some periods foul weather coupled with slower than normal loading operations due to 'Seafarer's lack of a bow door did result in some sailings running late and a few subsequently being cancelled to get her back on schedule.  The use of the freight ship on the service resulting in the withdrawal of the passenger service was not entirely welcomed by Pembrokeshire officials who voiced their displeasure at Stena's choice of relief vessel.  Perhaps they forget the days when Stena closed the service completely during the overhaul period?

Stena Seafarer's cover vessel at Larne, Sea Runner, still remains out of service at the Birkenhead wet basin facility undergoing repairs after she was withdrawn from service on the 26/1/06 when a leaking fuel tank caused an oil spill in Fleetwood harbour.

Coaster Call

3rd February 2006

Coastal cargo vessel Lundenes arrived at Larne Harbour's Olderfleet Quay at 1245 on the 1/2/06 with a cargo of limestone chips escorted by pilot boat Maria McLoughlin.  Discharge of the vessel's cargo commenced on the 2/2/06 and continued into the 3/2/06.  With cargo operations completed the vessel sailed on the evening of the 3/2/06 at 1800.  You may recall that this vessel also made a call at Larne last year on the 18/1/05.

Mariner MES Trials

1st February 2006

After European Mariner spent three days last week and two days this week laid up with her starboard side alongside Curran Quay to allow crane access for maintenance work, the results of this work became clear on Wednesday 1/2/06 when a new type Marine Evacuation System (MES) was given a trial run.  A special page of pictures showing the trial can be accessed here.

28th January 2006

Oil tanker Forth Fisher brought in a cargo of diesel oil from Milford Haven to Ballylumford Power Station on the 28/1/06.  The vessel berthed at the power station's A jetty at 1000 and once discharge was completed Forth Fisher set sail at 1750 bound for Whitegate.  Local tug Maria McLoughlin was on duty as pilot boat on both the inward and outward voyages of the tanker.

Sea Runner Pollution Incident

28th January 2006

Stena Line's Larne - Fleetwood charter vessel Sea Runner was involved in a pollution incident at Fleetwood on the afternoon of the 26/1/06.  The vessel was loading cargo at the Fleetwood linkspan when she pumped oil contaminated ballast overboard into the River Wyre.  Once the pollution was spotted, ballast pumping was suspended and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) notified while a co-ordinated clean up operation with the Fleetwood Harbour Authority was begun to minimise the effects of the oil spill.

After inspection by the MCA, the Sea Runner was subsequently detained at 2100hrs on the 26/1/06 after it was discovered that fuel oil from a bunker tank had somehow leaked into a neighbouring ballast tank, contaminating the whole ballast system and threatening the safety of the vessel.  Eventually Sea Runner was given clearance to sail to anchor off Fleetwood where she remained all day on the 27/1/06 with all her subsequent freight sailings to Larne cancelled.  Her prolonged presence on the berth during the 26/1/06 had caused a few hours delay to the Stena Pioneer, which had arrived off the port with her 1000 sailing from Larne and subsequently didn't get back to Larne until 1320 the next day instead of the usual 0600.

Sea Runner was eventually granted permission to leave her anchorage for repairs and she set sail for Birkenhead early on the 28/1/06, entering Birkenhead's wet basin on the morning tide at around  0930.  She will remain there until repairs to the fuel and ballast tanks are completed.

The press release from the MCA is reproduced below:

MCA Press Release

Duty Press: 023/06
27 January 2006

RO-RO VESSEL DETAINED AT FLEETWOOD AFTER POLLUTION INCIDENT

At 9.00 pm on Thursday 26th January, Port State Control Offices from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency detained the 10,669 ton Maltese flagged ro-ro vessel 'Sea Runner' at the port of Fleetwood.

The 'Sea Runner' was detained after it was involved in a pollution incident when approximately 2 cu metres of fuel oil was pumped into the River Wyre.  It has subsequently been found by the attending Port State Control officer that fuel oil had been pumped overboard from a ballast tank. The ballast tank is adjacent to the fuel oil bunker tank. As such it is believed that the division between the tanks has been breached.

Due to the breach between tanks the safety of the ship has been compromised.  The bilge/ballast system has been contaminated with oil.

During loading operations the master of the vessel was required to discharge ballast water due to the tide. Upon noticing that the ballast water was contaminated, pumping operations were immediately suspended and the master of the vessel notified Stena Line, who in turn notified the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The master of this vessel acted responsibly by notifying the authorities.

The vessel has been detained by the MCA until such time that the Maltese flag state authority and Bureau Veritas Classification Society confirm that the integrity of the hull has been restored and or measures put in place to allow the vessel to sail to a repair port.

The vessel is currently at a safe anchorage off Fleetwood Harbour.

Procedures have been put in place by the Fleetwood Port Authority to deal with the pollution that has entered the water, and all appropriate authorities have been notified.

Mariner Switch Around

27th January 2006

The rare sight of seeing European Mariner berthed bow in at Curran Quay was possible over three consecutive days from the 25/1/06 to the 27/1/06.  The vessel turned round on her berth to lie starboard side to at around 0800 each morning after her inbound Troon freight had been discharged allowing maintenance work to her starboard side to be carried out from the quayside using a mobile crane.  The vessel swung back round to port side to at 1700 each day to commence loading for her 1900 sailing to Troon.

22nd January 2006

Two Larne based ferries had a day they would rather forget on Sunday 22/1/06 with technical problems resulting in the cancellation of some crossings.

First ferry to encounter difficulty was Stena Pioneer, which had a technical problem at Fleetwood in the early hours of the 22/1/06.  This led to the vessel missing her trip to Larne which was due to depart Fleetwood at 0200.  To cover her outward trip from Larne that morning, charter ship Sea Runner was summoned out of weekend lay over and sailed for Fleetwood from Larne at 1145 on 22/1/06 in place of the Stena Pioneer.  Meanwhile at Fleetwood, Stena Pioneer left the berth to allow Stena Leader into port at 0600 to discharge and reload for Larne with the Pioneer picking up her usual schedule with her evening departure at 2100 from Fleetwood on 22/1/06.

Cairnryan services were also disrupted on the 22/1/06 when European Causeway got a mooring rope entangled in her propellers as she was preparing to depart Larne on her scheduled 1300 sailing.  Passengers and cargo remained aboard the vessel while divers went down to try and disentangle the rope.  The rope was cleared successfully and European Causeway sailed for Cairnryan at 1815 (instead of 2000) having missed her 1300 ex Larne and 1630 return sailing from Cairnryan. 

Sister ship European Highlander sailed on her usual schedule throughout although she had to use the single tier ramp at Larne's Curran Quay during turnaround of her 1500 arrival / 1630 departure, working her upper freight deck using her internal ramp.  European Mariner, which was undergoing planned maintenance on Curran Quay during her weekend lay over, had earlier shifted to Chaine Quay at 1400 to allow the European Highlander to use Curran Quay.  The European Mariner subsequently loaded at Chaine Quay for her 1900 sailing to Troon that evening.

20th January 2006

Larne Harbour 'went large' on the 19/1/06 when the 22000 ton oil tanker Richard Maersk arrived at Ballylumford Power Station's B Jetty on the tide at 0230.  The vessel was assisted to her berth by Svitzer Marine's Belfast based tugs Norton Cross and Willowgarth, with the local pilot being boarded in Belfast Lough prior to her approach to Larne by tug Maria McLoughlin sailing out from Carrickfergus. 

Discharge of Richard Maersk's fuel oil cargo was completed by the 20/1/06 and the tanker departed Ballylumford again at 1300.  Svitzer Marine's tugs Norton Cross and Willowgarth once again came round from Belfast for the tanker departing, assisting her to swing off the berth for sea.  Larne tug Sarah McLoughlin this time was on pilot boat duty, collecting the pilots from the tanker just north of number one buoy and returning them to shore in Larne.

Richard Maersk's Stats from www.equasis.org

IMO number: 9214757 
Gross tonnage: 22184 
Type of ship: Crude Oil Tanker 
Year of build: 2001 
Flag: Denmark 
Registered owner: ANCHOR Address: 50, Esplanaden, Kobenhavn DENMARK 
Ship manager: MOLLER A.P. Address: As for owner

Sea Runner Debuts for Stena

19th January 2006

The Maltese registered ro-ro cargo ship Sea Runner made her first call at the port of Larne at 0515 on the 19/1/06.  The ship has been chartered by Stena Line for the next few months to maintain their Larne - Fleetwood schedules during the absence of route regular Stena Seafarer which is currently covering fleet overhauls. 

The grey hulled Sea Runner arrived at Larne light ship from berthing trials in Fleetwood at 0515 and immediately berthed at Chaine Quay with tug Sarah McLoughlin standing by to assist.  The vessel came to the Irish Sea from the Mediterranean and made her last call there before Fleetwood at Gibraltar over the 13/1/06 to 14/1/06 where a local Stena captain joined the vessel as Larne and Fleetwood pilot.

After some welding work was carried out to Sea Runner by local engineering company Rea Brothers, the vessel shifted to Stena's usual berth at Continental Quay to test the ramp once Stena Pioneer sailed at 1345.  A number of different ramp configurations were tested before she commenced loading cargo at 1600 and sailed on her first commercial voyage to Fleetwood at 1800 with a little push off the berth from Sarah McLoughlin.

Sea Runner has been pencilled in to cover Stena Seafarer's usual sailings at 1600 ex Larne (Sun-Fri) and 0300 ex Fleetwood (Mon-Sat) although to allow for her slower speed she has been allowed 9 hours for the crossing instead of 8, calling for a 1500 departure from Larne.  In view of her deeper loaded draft of 5.9m compared to Seafarer's 4.5m there may be a few unusual variations to her schedule when low tides correspond with her arrival and departure times at Fleetwood than what would be the case for Seafarer being on the run.

Sea Runner's stats:

Sea Runner [ex Lan Qiao (1996), Ravel (1990), C R Casablanca (1986), Le Mans (1978)]

Length: 120.3m, breadth: 20.5m, draft: 5.9m
Built: 1978 at Nantes, France
Gross Tonnage: 10669
Engines: 2x MaK diesel engines, Speed: 16kts
Passengers: 12
Freight Capacity: 924 lane meters
IMO Number: 7606645
Owner: Cambridge Shipping, Malta
Flag: Malta
Port of Registry: Valletta

Further pictures available at faktaomfartyg (text in Swedish):
http://www.faktaomfartyg.com/le_mans_1978.htm
 

Granuaile in Port

17th January 2006

Irish Light's tender Granuaile made a visit to Larne on the 17/1/06.  She picked up Irish Light's personnel from Ballylumford dock in her launch and once they were aboard she took them out to make an inspection of the Maidens lighthouse shortly after 0900.  The vessel returned to Larne harbour again at 1400 and her launch once again put ashore the Islandmagee based staff.  She then recovered her launch and departed Larne heading south.

8th January 2006

Larne - Fleetwood vessel Stena Seafarer completed her dry docking and was moved from her dry dock into the Birkenhead wet basin around 1230 on the 4/1/06.  Final refit work was completed afloat over the following few days and with that finished up the vessel moved from the wet basin into the River Mersey on the 6/1/06 at around 1610.  The Stena Seafarer then set sail for Fishguard where she arrived early on the 7/1/06 to allow Stena Europe to stand down for her own refit.  The Fleetwood based freight vessel commenced her first ever spell of service on Stena's southern corridor route between Rosslare and Fishguard with the 1430 sailing ex Fishguard later that afternoon.  The Stena Seafarer is no stranger to Rosslare after having served there as European Seafarer on P&O's Rosslare - Cherbourg route both on a permanent basis in 2001 and as relief cover for European Diplomat in later years.

In the meantime at Larne, Stena Seafarer's usual sailings to and from Fleetwood (1600 ex Larne and 0300 ex Fleetwood) are cancelled although speculation is mounting that a relief vessel will be chartered by Stena Line to cover Stena Seafarer's sailings from around mid January.

7th January 2006

Tanker movements in 2006 commenced with the first arrival of the year of Galway Fisher at Ballylumford Power Station on the 6/1/06.  The tanker brought in a cargo of diesel oil for the power station arriving at the A station jetty at 1310.  Her cargo was discharged by approx 2000 that same evening however the vessel remained in port until 0300 the next day to accommodate scheduled berthing arrangements at her next port of call in Campbeltown.  She was later observed at oil berth 1, Belfast on the afternoon of the 8/1/06.