Ex-F1 engineer takes helm of Salcombe-based marine specialist. Powerboats to be re-engineered from Devon base.

A Devon marine engineering business is set to become a centre of excellence for the service, repair and supply of inboard and outboard engines.

Charles Fawcett, owner of the Yorkshire-based Twisted Group, acquired SMS (Salcombe) Limited for an undisclosed sum, rebranding the company as Salcombe Marine Services. The move precedes the launch of Twisted Marine, the new powerboat arm of the Twisted Group.

Fawcett’s vision is for Salcombe Marine Services to become a centre of excellence for the service, repair and supply of inboard and outboard engines from a select range of manufacturers.

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Boaty McBoatface blew a serious hole in the finances of British shipbuilder Cammell Laird, forcing it to seek emergency shareholder support.

The Birkenhead yard ran up £37.4m of losses on the £200m contract to build the ship, which was eventually named the Sir David Attenborough, and had to be rescued by its shareholders, accounts published at the end of December reveal. It also took a £15.8m impairment charge.

The Peel Group the property and investment group owned and DWS, the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank, invested an undisclosed amount in 2019 that prevented the 200-year-old company running aground.

The 15,000 tonne British Antarctic Survey ship was a bespoke vessel and the biggest built in Birkenhead since 1992. It was launched in 2019, two years late, and management admitted it was a bigger than expected challenge.

Cammell Laird made a pre-tax loss of £35.6m, up from £897,000 the year before while turnover fell to £88.6m from £154.2m.

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Triumph Subsea Services Ltd. has signed a letter of intent with InfraStrata Plc for the construction of offshore wind farm development vessels at InfraStrata Plc Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The letter of intent envisions the construction of two Windfarm Development Vessels each of which will have a length of 200 m and a beam of 35 m.

Under the terms of the LoI, InfraStrata’s subsidiary, Harland & Wolff would be responsible for the build, assembly, and delivery of the WDVs to Triumph.

The LoI initially contemplates the construction of one vessel, with Triumph having an option for an additional vessel to be built at Harland & Wolff (Belfast).

The vessels will come with diesel-electric hybrid engines that will eventually transition into hydrogen fuel cells, offering what management considers to be the “greenest” solutions to wind farm developers.

According to Infrastrata, once contracted, each vessel would be expected to generate revenues for Harland & Wolff of between £340 m & £360 m over the 24-30 month period of fabrication.

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The European Commission will make €600 million available for the EU fishing fleet and their communities affected by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) signed between the UK and the EU.

The funds are part of the Brexit Adjustment Reserve worth €5 billion, which was agreed in principle last year and was designed to help Member States deal with the impact of Brexit.

The Irish Government is expected to apply for funds to help the fisheries sector which has been hardest hit by the result of the Brexit negotiations. The EU fleet has been told they will take a cut of 25% of value of their fish caught in UK waters over the next five-and-a-half-year adjustment period.

Irish mackerel and nephrops fishers have been hit the hardest by the cut in TAC as these boats do a lot or all of their fishing in UK waters.

Irish fishermen feel that once again, they have been sold-out and are now afraid a further round of fishing vessel decommissioning will be introduced, reducing the Irish fleet numbers and driving many more fishing communities to the brink of collapse.

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To those leading lights of the UK maritime industry celebrating their New Year’s Honour, who claim to have helped transform the fortunes of our coastal towns and cities, and promise coastal communities 25,000 jobs, the long shadow of deprivation hanging over our coastal regions just got a whole lot darker!

As the UK Government once again sells out the UK fishing industry and its coastal communities, many representatives of the UK catch sector have issued statements expressing that the agreement fell short of the commitments and promises that were made to the fishing industry by those at the highest level of government.

Many believe the UK is now a coastal state with one hand tied behind its back.

The Cornish believe they have been used and abused; used as a poster boy and illustration of what the UK could gain through Brexit and taking back control. Abused by being sold out in the final analyses for others. They believe the £100m support package spoken about by UK government is nothing more than an insult and a pathetic attempt to cover up a betrayal of UK fishermen.

This is not the deal fishermen were promised. It is important MPs and the public understand this and are not misled by Government spin to the contrary.

And to the Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime and the Director of Maritime UK who promised in 2019 that the roll-out of a Maritime UK maritime cluster programme would create 25,000 jobs over a five-year period in our coastal towns and cities, where are the jobs that you have promised these communities and your funders, the regional local enterprise partnerships?

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A new future has been secured for the historic former Swan Hunter shipyard site in North Tyneside.

Following an evaluation of all offers received, a deal has been agreed between North Tyneside Council and Shepherd Offshore Group who have major plans for the site.

The deal is part of a council-led strategy to bring Swan Hunter back into economic use. The former shipyard was a major employer throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

The strategy will look to develop the North Bank of the River Tyne with partners into a world class destination for offshore and advanced manufacturing.

Major investment, both from the local authority and the North East LEP, has seen a number of significant infrastructure improvements completed to get the Swan Hunter site into a position for future investment.

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A planning application has recently been submitted by the Port of Milford Haven seeking approval for works to begin at Pembroke Port which will create the infrastructure needed to support the development of a world-class renewable energy and engineering hub, promoting economic growth and creating jobs and prosperity across south west Wales.

The Pembroke Dock Infrastructure project has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Llywodraeth Cymru / Welsh Government, together with private investment by the Port of Milford Haven. The works also form part of the wider £60m Swansea Bay City Deal funded Pembroke Dock Marine project.

If approved, work is expected to commence in 2021 with anticipated completion of the immediate works by 2025.

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Ørsted has officially been given the green light to start work on the third phase of its mammoth Hornsea wind farm off the coast of Norfolk, despite concerns raised by conservation groups over the potential impact of the development on local sea birds.

Following several delays on a final decision the UK’s Planning Inspectorate finally granted development consent for the 2.4GW Hornsea Three Offshore Wind Farm.

The energy giant has now promised to deliver a “compensation plan” for the 300-turbine wind farm aimed at encouraging the growth of kittiwake seabird numbers elsewhere in order to balance the potential loss of populations as a result of the Hornsea Three project.

Conservation groups were less convinced by the company’s compensation plan, however the RSPB said the Planning Inspectorate’s decision was “nothing short of a gamble”and “Industry alone cannot reconcile the challenge of increased deployment and threats to nature,”.

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Decommissioning business CessCon Decom has launched a new facility at the Energy Plant Fife in Methil with the win of Scotland’s largest decommissioning contract to date.

The contract for the onshore decommissioning, dismantlement, and recycling of Spirit Energy’s Morecambe Bay facilities in the East Irish Sea will see CessCon Decom creating up to 50 jobs.

The project, which involves the processing of more than 23,000 tonnes of material at CessCon Decom’s facility in Methil, has been in the making over the last two years.

CessCon Decom secured the contract as a result of a competitive tender and will start work immediately.

The first structures are planned to arrive at the Energy Park Fife facility early this year.

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Ecological considerations are providing an interesting context for the North Portsea Island Coastal Defence Scheme.

On North Portsea Island in Portsmouth, work to reduce the risk of coastal flooding is well underway – but with a unique twist.

This is not just a coastal defence scheme: for the fourth phase of the five phase project, a sea wall is being installed with a surface texture specially designed to cultivate local marine life. The flood defence will also be enhanced with a bird island and tidal pools.

The entire £58M scheme extends from the Mountbatten Sports Centre on the west side of the island, along Ports Creek to the north and to Milton Common on the east side. It covers 8.4km of coastline.

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