Jehan Ashmore

Jehan Ashmore is a marine correspondent, researcher and photographer, specialising in Irish ports, shipping and the ferry sector serving the UK and directly to mainland Europe. Jehan also occasionally writes a column, 'Maritime' Dalkey for the (Dalkey Community Council Newsletter) in addition to contributing to UK marine periodicals.

In light of changes announced to the 2022 Manx Grand Prix schedule, the IOM Steam Packet will be assisting passengers who wish to amend existing bookings. Customers will be able to change their reservations to fit the new event schedule subject to availability. Afloat adds above motorcyclists disembark from the fast-craft Manannan in Douglas Harbour.

Isle of Man Steam Packet to Offer Assistance to Manx Grand Prix Passengers

18th January 2022 Ferry

Ferry operator the Isle of Man Steam Packet has highlighted that in light of changes announced to the 2022 Manx Grand Prix schedule, the company is to offer support to affected passengers. The Company has confirmed that customers with existing…

Minister for Defence Simon Coveney T.D. visited Haulbowline Naval Base in Cork Harbour for an overview of the progress on the regenerated Block 8 accommodation. In addition to the remediation of Spencer Jetty which is due for completion in 2022.

Minister for Defence Visits Progress on Capital Works at Haulbowline Naval Base, Cork Harbour

18th January 2022 Navy

Minister for Defence and Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, T.D inspected the progress on Capital Works at the Naval Service's base on Haulbowline Island, Cork Harbour. The Minister made the visit yesterday to the Haulbowline Naval Base to see first hand…

A P&O ferry berthed at Larne Port in Co Antrim.

CSO Reports Imports from Britain Slump in 2021 as Trade with Northern Ireland Booms

18th January 2022 Ferry

After a year on from the EU-UK trade deal, a more permanent picture of the post-Brexit shift in trade has emerged. Figures from the Central Statistics Office, published Monday, reveal goods imports from Britain fell by more than a fifth…

Peel Ports Group in the UK announced today that it was awarded 'Port Operator of the Year for 2021'. The group includes an Irish operation Peel Ports Dublin (MTL Terminals) which neighbours Poolbeg Y&BC, Ringsend. The container terminal provides short-sea connections with ports in Central Europe and Irish Sea as well as 'feeder' services connecting the Far East, India and South America. Above BG Ireland (on left) which previously served the terminal and the deck of P&O Ferries ropax Norbank underway from another terminal when bound for Liverpool, one of several UK ports operated by the group.

Peel Ports Group Named 'Port Operator of the Year 2021' by Industry Bible UK Ports Directory

17th January 2022 Ports & Shipping

The Peel Ports Group have been awarded the accolade 'Port Operator of the Year for 2021' after securing the most online votes, amongst those who voted, from the maritime directory’s 15,000-strong readership of professionals in the sector. The win comes…

A guard of honour on National Services Day last September, also marked the start of the Naval Service's 75th anniversary (see today's related story). The Naval Service is hoping to get permission to alter its regulations to entice more retired sailors back into the fold on a part-time basis to help alleviate the critical shortage of personnel.

Retired Sailors: Naval Service Wants to Lure Back to Sea

17th January 2022 Navy

According to the Irish Examiner, the Naval Service is hoping to get permission to alter its regulations to entice more retired sailors back into the fold on a part-time basis. This is to help alleviate the critical shortage of personnel.…

Further delays at the new Liverpool ferry terminal to serve the Isle of Man Steam Packet

Further Delays at Liverpool Ferry Terminal 'Frustrating'

17th January 2022 Ferry

ManxRadio reports that it is two years since start the of construction at Princes Half Tide Dock in Liverpool. It's frustrating that the new ferry terminal in Liverpool is yet to be completed. That's from the enterprise minister ahead of…

Actor Niamh Cusack was enlisted to give a professional reading of the poem Statio Bene Fida Carinis (Latin for ‘A Place Most Suitable For Ships’) onboard the L.É. James Joyce while alongside Dun Laoghaire Harbour.

Niamh Cusack Presents Naval Service Anniversary Poem in Dun Laoghaire Harbour

17th January 2022 Navy

The actor Niamh Cusack temporarily enlisted with the Naval Service to give a professional reading of a significant poem on board the L.É.James Joyce while alongside Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Her nuanced, balanced and knowing delivery of the work, recorded by…

Record cargo at the Port of Felixstowe is believed to be the biggest containers handled ever on a single ship in Europe when on board MSC Diletta. AFLOAT adds another containership Anna G which following repairs in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, made a recent first 'commercial' sailing since from the UK's biggest box boat port when tracked two days later to the German North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven.

Record Container Cargo at UK Port, Largest Ever Handled By Ship in Europe

14th January 2022 Ports & Shipping

The UK Port of Felixstowe, operated by Hutchinson Ports, has handled what is believed to be the largest number of containers ever on a single ship in Europe. A total of 23,773TEU (standard containers) were handled on the 24,000 TEU…

Strait of Dover: The UK ferryport welcomes the relaxation of entry requirements into Calais, France

UK's Busiest Ferry Port of Dover Welcomes Relaxation of Entry Requirements into France

14th January 2022 Ferry

The UK's busiest ferry Port of Dover today issued a statement that welcomed the relaxation of entry requirements into France, including news that passengers will no longer need to provide a reason for travelling. Fewer checks will reduce the current…

First-driverless CMA-CGM container load taken on-board Brittany Ferries ro-ro freigher Contentin.

French Ferry Company Transport its first CMA CGM Container on English Channel

14th January 2022 Brittany Ferries

Brittany Ferries's partnership with container giant CMA CGM was finalised in 2021 to support the French ferry company's post-Covid recovery. It promises complementary English Channel freight transport links, thanks to a ‘fast lane’ solution bringing shorter transit times and increased…

A sunfish photographed off Inishglora, an island off Mayo, last year. Rising ocean temperatures have caused an enigmatic ocean giant to venture north into Irish waters and beyond, almost 50 years of observations off the Cork coast have helped confirm.

Sightings of Giant Sunfish Increase in Irish Waters as Ocean Temperatures Rise

14th January 2022 Marine Wildlife

Ocean temperatures are rising which have caused an enigmatic ocean giant (sunfish) to venture north into Irish waters and beyond, almost 50 years of observations off the Cork coast have helped confirm. A study by a team of researchers from…

Brittany Ferries to sale Cap Finistère, which a year ago made an Irish debut for the operator on the Rosslare-Cherbourg route as part of the shipping sector's response of demand for freight 'bypass-Brexit' routes to mainland Europe. Above AFLOAT captured Cap Finistère off The Hard, Portsmouth from where since 2010, BF operated initially to Cherbourg/Santander and later added a second service to Spain with Bilbao. The photo taken in 2014 shows the 'Superfast' class ferry with original distintive 'winged' funnel when launched as Superfast V. The wings were subsequently removed along with previous livery as also sported above.

Brittany Ferries Agreement to Sale Cap Finistère to Italian Operator

14th January 2022 Brittany Ferries

Operator Brittany Ferries has confirmed that it is in the final stages of negotiation for the sale of Cap Finistère to Italian shipping company GNV. The development comes as the Roscoff-based company prepares to welcome its next ship to the…

Global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions and the sector is under growing scrutiny to become cleaner. Above Afloat captured this scene of the Maersk Mette, an E-class containership.

Container Giant Maersk Speeds Up Decarbonisation Target by a Decade

13th January 2022 Ports & Shipping

Shipping container giant AP Moller-Maersk now plans to achieve net zero emissions in its business by 2040, a decade earlier than previously announced, on the back of rising customer demand for green transportation and technical leaps. With about 90% of world…

Strong Wales comeback: Noble Caledonia’s flagship vessel, MS Island Sky, was welcomed on its maiden call at several of the ABP operated ports among them Swansea in south Wales.

Ports in Wales Celebrate Strong Year Following Cruiseships Return

12th January 2022 Cruise Liners

Ports in Wales operated by the UK ports group, Associated British Ports enjoyed a successful return of cruiseships during 2021. While the pandemic brought the cruise industry to a halt, according to ABC they have seen a strong come back.…

Manx services: Fully vaccinated people will be able to enter the island without PCR testing in future. Above IOM Steam-Packet ferries both conventional and fast-craft in Douglas Harbour.

Testing Covid Rule Change in Isle of Man for Fully Jabbed arrivals to Island

12th January 2022 Ferry

People who are fully vaccinated when arriving on the Isle of Man from an international destination will no longer be required to take a Covid-19 PCR test. Those arriving from outside the Common Travel Area (incl. Ireland) from 00:01 GMT…

H&W Group have announced their 2022 investors' events programme. Above at Belfast, one of the group's four shipyard sites, a team welcomed its first vessel this year when in January, Afloat adds ICG's/ Irish Ferries cruiseferry Ulysses was dry-docked during annual routine work which takes place in the quieter winter season.

Harland & Wolff Group Announce 2022 Investor Events Programme

12th January 2022 Shipyards

Harland & Wolff Group is aiming to update investors and financial professionals on their progress and outlook for the future, with the announcement of sharing their 2022 investor events programme which will be held across all the group's four shipyard…

The smallest cargoship regularly calling to Dublin Port, Ronez is a Channel Islands based cement-carrier that berthed in the capital over the New Year's Day Bank Holiday weekend. The vessel is just 870grt and at 62m in length, yet plays an important role in exporting cement products. The coaster is also the oldest (built 1982) compared to the port's many modern day big ships among them ro-ro freighter Stena Forecaster (chartered to P&O) with its stern-door looming above the diminutive vessel.

Small Ship's Cementing Relationship Between Dublin Port and the Channel Islands

11th January 2022 Dublin Port

It's refreshing for a change not to report on numerous big ships dubbed 'Brexit-Busters' that involve ro-ro freighters, ferries and containerships, but to focus on the smallest regularly calling cargoship to Dublin Port, writes Jehan Ashmore. In fact having observed…

The planned Bremore Ireland Port would be situated on the Dublin-Meath border near Balbriggan and cater for cargo and passenger ferry traffic. Above Drogheda Port's main berth facaility Afloat adds is the Tom Roes Point Terminal located downriver of the Co. Louth town on the Boyne estuary.

Financiers from Corporate Sector Hired for New €2bn Port north of Dublin

11th January 2022 Drogheda Port

Financiers from the corporate sector and economic advisers are being hired by partners behind plans for a €2bn deep-water port north of Dublin to drum up funding from international banks and private investors for the project. The planned port, Bremore…

St. Columba, custom built for British Rail/Sealink on the historic Irish Sea Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route from 1977 until replaced by the Stena (HSS) service in 1996, has finally gone to the shipbreakers in Pakistan. For almost 20 years the ferry for many generations was a familiar sight in Dun Laoghaire Harbour (above as Stena Adventurer) with bow-visor partially open when off Carlisle Pier.The ferry was to head to Dover-Calais route, hence renaming but this never materialised. With the closure of the Irish Sea route in 2014, Stena Line were already operating out of Dublin to Holyhead with another Stena Adventurer (built 2003) that continues to serve along with Stena Estrid.

St. Columba: Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead's Final Conventional Car-Ferry Scrapped in South Asia

9th January 2022 Ferry

St. Columba, British Rail/Sealink's largest custom-built Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead ferry which served many a generation with fond memories and which left the Irish Sea 25 years ago, has gone for scrapping in Pakistan, writes Jehan Ashmore. The 44 year-old Massarah, originally of…

Completion in Scotland of the first of two long-delayed CalMac ferries by the revised date of September will be “challenging”, with Covid cases likely to cause “significant” disruption this month. The first newbuild, Glen Sannox on the Clyde last month at the Ferguson Marine shipyard in Port Glasgow.

Shipyard Says Completion Date for Long-Delayed CalMac Ferry ‘Challenging’

9th January 2022 Shipyards

The completion of the first of two long-delayed CalMac ferries by the shipyard's revised date of September will be “challenging”, with Covid cases likely to cause “significant” disruption this month, a Ferguson Marine chief has told MSPs. The Port Glasgow…