BW Ideol and Ardersier Port Energy Transition Facility Port Authority have signed a partnership agreement on securing access to the Scottish port for the production of its concrete floaters.

Under the agreement, the parties will study the creation of a serial production line for floating wind substructures based on BW Ideol’s technology.

Commenting the latest news, Paul de la Guérivière, CEO of BW Ideol, said: “The Scottish government has actively initiated the development of a large floating wind industry in Scotland through the Scotwind Leasing and the launch of a consultation for a new Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore wind for Innovation and Targeted Oil and Gas Decarbonisation.”

“This pipeline of projects represents a unique opportunity to create a dedicated supply chain in Scotland.”

Steven Regan of Ardersier Port Authority added that “The UK has set a world leading net zero target to build back better which means building back greener. This strategic partnership allows us to work towards bringing an essential manufacturing facility to Scotland which complements our vision of using circular economy practices to deliver the United Kingdoms Energy Transition plans.”

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Northern Irish engineering company DECOM Engineering has announced that it has secured a pipeline of multi-million pound global contracts.

The announcement comes after the business raised follow-on investment from Co Fund NI and HBAN (Halo Business Angel Network), which will fund operations over the course of the next 14 months, including projects in Thailand, Malaysia and Canada.

The company, which recently opened a base in Aberdeen, has developed world first technologies in pipe cutting and coating removal which provide greener, faster and safer solutions for decommissioning in the energy sector.

Decom Engineering has previously secured £2m of investment from Co Fund NI, HBAN and private investors. By investing over £700,000 in R&D, and with R&D support from Invest Northern Ireland, it has developed innovative new technologies and products to replace the traditional pipe cutting and coating removals processes, saving time and reducing waste and CO2 emissions during the decommissioning of old oil and gas plants and pipelines.

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The hauling of rope on maritime vessels could result in billions of microplastic fragments entering the ocean every year, according to new research.

The study, by the University of Plymouth‘s International Marine Litter Research Unit, is the first to explore the potential for rope to become a source of microplastic pollution in the marine environment.

It compared a variety of synthetic ropes commonly used in the maritime industry—but differing in age, wear surface and material—to assess the quantity and characterizes of microplastics produced while they were in use.

This was achieved by simulating, in both laboratory and field experiments, the rope hauling activity which is typically performed on board maritime vessels such as fishing boats.

The results show that new and one-year old ropes can release around 20 microplastic fragments into the ocean for every meter hauled.

However, as the rope gets older it can release significantly more fragments—two-year-old ropes shed on average around 720 fragments per meter, while 10-year-old rope releases more than 760 fragments per meter.

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Building on the vision set out in the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom Clean maritime plan 2019, the competition has allocated up to £23,259,000 match-funding to UK innovators to support the design and development of zero emission vessel technologies and greener ports through a series of technology trials and feasibility studies.

This one-year ‘springboard programme’ will lay the foundations for a network of real-world projects, gearing up maritime decarbonisation in the UK and sparking the transition to net zero shipping.

Following an independent assessment, 55 projects won the competition. Supported by private consortia comprising 208 partners from around the UK, these projects were announced London International Shipping Week 2021. They represent a total investment of £33.5 million and will be completed by March 2022.

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DP World has announced that it will begin work next month on a new fourth berth at its London Gateway logistics hub to increase supply chain resilience and create more capacity for the world’s largest vessels.

The £300m sum – which builds on the £2bn investment DP World has made in Britain over the last decade – represents the next step by the leading global provider of smart logistics in delivering integrated supply chain solutions for customers.

In the first six months of 2021 London Gateway saw record throughput of 888,000 TEU, a more than 23 per cent increase on the previous best performance for the first half of a year. The new fourth berth will raise capacity by a third and completion will coincide with the delivery of a new wave of 24,000 TEU vessels in 2023/2024, which will all be operated between Asia and Europe. 

Along with the Port of Tilbury London Ltd Forth Ports Limited and Ford UK’s Dagenham plant, DP World London Gateway will form Thames Freeport after being awarded freeport status by the Government earlier this year.

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The UK, the US and Australia have formed a defence and security partnership to further improve joint development capabilities and technology sharing.

Known as ‘AUKUS’, the collaboration will encourage deeper security and defence-related science, technology, industrial bases and supply chains integration.

The new security pact looks like being good news for British defence contractors.

Boris Johnson mentioned, early in his statement, the benefits for the UK economy.

Mr Johnson said the pact would create “hundreds of highly skilled jobs across the United Kingdom – including in Scotland, the North of England and the Midlands – taking forward this government’s driving purpose of levelling up across the whole country.”

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The first work has begun on a successor to the Submarine Service’s cutting-edge hunter-killer force – even before all the current boats have been delivered to the Royal Navy.

BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce have each been given £85m to start thinking about the design and capabilities of a new class of submarine which will eventually take over from the Astute class.

Over the next three years 350 designers, engineers and shipwrights – 250 in the North-West and 100 in the Midlands – will carry out design and concept work, work which will help Whitehall determine how it replaces the Astutes when they begin to reach the end of their active careers.

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Plymouth is set to become the first city in the UK to install a network of shore-side charging facilities for its expanding fleet of electric maritime vessels.

Over the past year, the city has become home to the UK’s first marine electric passenger ferry and an electric water taxi that will operate 364 days a year.

However, access to infrastructure is currently a barrier to ensuring further growth in this emerging sector can happen in a coordinated and sustainable way.

With that in mind, a consortium of city partners is joining forces to create Plymouth’s Marine e-Charging Living Lab (MeLL), which will provide the pivotal infrastructure required to accelerate innovation and growth.

The project has received more than £570,000 funding as part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT), United Kingdom and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

It will develop a network of charging facilities around Plymouth Sound, offering multiple, flexible sites and responding to the Maritime 2050 route map for maritime net zero.

The project is being led by the University of Plymouth in partnership with Plymouth City Council, Princess Yachts and Aqua superPower Limited

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A new National Shipbuilding Office has been created to galvanise and promote the UK’s shipbuilding enterprise.

Marking the start of London International Shipping Week 2021 , the founding of the new National Shipbuilding Office is a significant milestone in the UK’s shipbuilding renaissance.

The Office will be responsible for driving forward one of the Prime Minister’s key domestic priorities across government, working in close collaboration with the sector industrial partners and supply chain.

Rear Admiral Rex Cox has been appointed as the Chief Executive of the new organisation. With over 30 years-experience in the Royal Navy, Rear Admiral Cox worked as the Defence policy advisor for Her Majesty’s Treasury from 2015 to 2018 and most recently served as the Head of Capability Planning in the Finance and Military Capability directorate of the UK Ministry of Defence

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Sussex based and SME Maritime Working Group Champions Lankelma aim is to be the best provider of cone penetration testing (CPT) services in the world, both in the quality of their data and the range of solutions to acquire this data. Lankelma offers a range of services in site investigation, consultancy and research. Their expertise is built on many years of successfully delivering CPTs and other in-situ testing methods for both on- and offshore ground investigations in the UK and around the world. Their experienced site teams travel nationwide and internationally to deliver professional, cost-effective site investigations for the production of a high-quality report with timely distribution. Site investigation services include activities, specialist in situ testing, sampling and geotechnical installations.

Lankelma’s has an enviable list of export success stories. In 2013 in Venezuela it carried out the soil investigation for a new bridge over Lake Maracaibo spending 9 months on site to carry out deep boreholes (80 meters) and CPT. Lankelma was brought in because of their excellent safety record and high quality of data. Lankelma brought all its equipment over to Venezuela including its jack up barge Sandpiper which is totally demountable and can be shipped anywhere in the world. Constant upgrades make sure that by having all equipment in house Lankelma can run the safest and most efficient operation. Gone are the days of the ropeladder with now a stairway making access and egress of the platform very easy.

Other notable export projects include :

• Gulf of Guinea – Investigations to position an exploration platform
• Guinea – Investigation for a port terminal extension
• Hong Kong – Investigations for a combined bridge and tunnel crossing
• Cameroon – Investigations on the critical path of exploration operations
• Congo – Investigation for the placement of an offshore drill rig
• France – IFA interconnector landfall
• UK/France – Gridlink interconnector landfall
• Ireland/Wales – Greenlink interconnector landfall
• Denmark/Germany – Fehmarnbelt drilling, sampling and wireline CPT for new tunnel foundations

Lankelma is now working in the North Sea off the Netherlands doing the soil investigation for the outfall of a powerplant. After that they will go on to the Port of Leith and then to Brazil for a port expansion.

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