Shipseeker

  The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10) is underway in the Chukchi Sea, Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020, at about 10:30 a.m. The 44-year-old heavy icebreaker is underway for a months-long deployment to the Arctic to protect the nation’s maritime sovereignty and security throughout the region. U.S. Coast Guard Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham. Photo by   Petty Officer 1st Class Cynthia Oldham CHUKCHI SEA — The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star (WAGB 10), the nation's sole heavy icebreaker, traversed a historic winter latitude Friday during a months-long Arctic deployment to protect the nation's maritime sovereignty and security throughout the remote polar region. Polar Star's crew navigated beyond 72 degrees latitude shortly before noon Friday before changing course and heading south to continue their Arctic deployment. "The crew achieved a notable milestone Christmas Day by traversing farther into the harsh, dark winter Arctic ...

Photo Credits: Igor Dilo - , CC BY-SA 3.0,   https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22307573 By decision of the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency, the icebreaker Kontio was deployed towards the Bay of Bothnia on 25th December. The winter is forecast to be mild. At the beginning of the icebreaking season, Kontio will be operating in the Bothnian Arc. The first assistance restrictions for sea areas will enter into force on 27th December 2020. The winter navigation service number has been activated. The number +358 50 471 4850 is intended for the management of operational affairs outside office hours. “Based on long-term forecasts, we would seem to have a mild winter ahead of us, or, in terms of surface extent 70,000–100,000 km²,” estimates Senior Ice Expert   Jouni Vainio   from the Finnish Meteorological Institute. “The ice extent largely depends on winds and subzero temperatures during the peak period. In practice, ice would cover the Bay of Bothnia, the K...

  Two-ship service with new Island Class ferries coming to Campbell River – Quadra Island route in 2022 Photo: BC Ferries VICTORIA – Following the successful launch of its third battery electric-hybrid Island Class vessel in October, BC Ferries’ fourth Island Class ferry launched early Thursday morning, entering the water at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania. Work will continue on the new ship until scheduled sea trials in April. Following successful sea trials, the vessel will make its way to Point Hope Maritime in Victoria in fall 2021 for final preparations. The yet-to-be named ship is the fourth in a series of six Island Class vessels joining the BC Ferries fleet, and the second assigned to the Campbell River – Quadra Island (Quathiaski Cove) route. Two-ship service is scheduled to begin on the route in 2022, replacing the existing Powell River Queen. By replacing one larger ship with two smaller vessels on the route, customers will notice increased capacity per hour (from 59 t...

    Photographer:   Stena Line Ferry company Stena Line has announced the new names of the two modern ferries that are due to start operating on the route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia during 2021. The new ferries will add a further 30 per cent freight capacity and offer an attractive alternative way to travel on the Baltic Sea. After receiving close to 600 name suggestions from customers online the new names are - Stena Scandica and Stena Baltica. In October Stena Line announced the strengthening of their Baltic Sea fleet  with the deployment of two modern RoPax vessels on the route between Nynäshamn in Sweden and Ventspils in Latvia during 2021, which will add 30 per cent more lane metre s   freight capacity and offer a brand new modern onboard experience. The two modern RoPax vessels were built at the Italian shipyard Visentini in 2005 and have been operating on Stena Line’s Irish Sea route between Belfast and Liverpool for the last 10 y...

      Photographer:   CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard Swedish ferry company Stena Line has officially taken ownership of its newest ferry,   Stena Embla,   following a handover ceremony in Weihai, China. The vessel is the third of five new next-generation E-Flexer RoPax vessels   that are being constructed at the CMI Jinling Weihai Shipyard, as part of an extensive modernisation of the company’s fleet. It is last of three new vessels due for the Irish Sea, which marks the end of a 7-year development programme totalling a £400m investment in new ferries and port infrastructure in the region The vessel will now embark on a six-week journey to the UK and Ireland, where it will begin service in January 2021, joining its sister vessels, the other two new E-Flexer ferries built in Weihai, Stena Estrid and Stena Embla, which started in operation in earlier this year. Due to the pandemic the handover was a lower key affair than previous vessels with Stena Embla’s ...