New propeller blades for the DFDS Dover/Dunkirk fleet

DFDS has announced that the propeller blades on the three ships currently operating the Dover/Dunkirk will be replaced, the aim is to reduce consumption and environmental impact. The work will be done on the three ships between January and March next year at the ARNO SHIPYARD at Dunkerque, they are still new ships, they were built in 2005 and 2006 but the company aims to reduce at least 10% on bunker consumption

BARCELONA and CRISTOFORO COLOMBO

BARCELONA is probably not the place one expects to be connected with CRISTOFORO COLOMBO, after all he was born in Genoa, ITALY, he sailed in Portuguese ships from 1476 and 1478 he learned most of his navigation skills in PORTUGAL, married Felipa Perestrello the daughter of the Captain of Porto Santo in the MADEIRA archipelago, sailed from Palos, near Seville for his great enterprises, but one of the finest moments in his life came when he was at Seville in 1493 and received a letter from FERDINAND and ISABELLA confirming all his titles and ordering him to the court in BARCELONA where he was received honourably and was given charge of preparation for a second voyage, a voyage that would enlarge the area of discovery to include the entire Caribbean except the Gulf Coasts of Mexico and what is known today by U.S.A., also later in his life he was known as CRISTOBAL COLON the latinized version that was adopted by mainly English writters

Ferries and tugs at Barcelona

Barcelona is not just about cruise ships and freight, there´s always plenty ferries using the port as well as other vessels like tugs, wonderful for ships enthusiasts

BARCELONA, rambla del mar

Photos taken of Rambla del Mare, 1st October 2011

BARCELONA, beautiful city

Barcelona is one of my favourite cities, about two weeks ago I was there on yet another business trip, included are some photos of this amazing place, I just love every bit of it. Barcelona is the principal seaport of  Spain situated on the eastern coast in the Mediterranean. According to historians the town was originally named Barcino and was founded by Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca in the 3rd century B.C., Barcelona was also a Roman colony under the name of Julia Faventia, with the union of Aragon and Catalonia in 1149 rapidly developed as one of the greatest European seaports. Today is a modern port with repair and shipbuilding yards, a major port of call for many shipping lines and one of the main destinations for cruise ships all over the world

"MSC OPERA" in the Fjords

Coudn´t resist to publish this beautiful picture sent by Leon Van Der Horst showing the "MSC OPERA" during a  July 2010 cruise to the Fjords, photo taken by his father which was cruising on the ship at the time, thank you Leon

Ships at the Spanish Port of Gijon

29th of September 2011, I was just about to finish the crossing from Saint-Nazaire to Gijon, few ships in port and a tug saluting the departure of cruise ship "OCEAN COUNTESS" were there waiting for my camera

Ships Miniatures by LEO VAN DER HORST

When I was in Barcelona 9 days ago I met with Leon, he and his father build amazing ships miniatures, please click link below in this blog to access Leon´s webpage and I promise, you will be amazed, included here is a photo of the tug "FLYING PHANTOM" one of the models built by Leon

Is the "NORMAN ASTURIAS" going to be replaced ?

I was back on board the "NORMAN ASTURIAS" on the 28th September, there are rumours that the vessel might be replaced by the "NORMAN VOYAGER" on charter at the moment with CELTIC LINK FERRIES on the Rooslare to Cherbourg service, VOYAGER is a very similar ship to ASTURIAS, she was delivered in 2008 so one year younger than ASTURIAS, if the replacement goes ahead, the "NORMAN ASTURIAS" will be heading for another motorway of the sea, Marseille/Tunis. The service Saint-Nazaire/Gijon is getting stronger all the time with the number of passengers and freight on the increase compared to last year when the service was first introduced. Photos dated 28th of September

MSC DIVINA looking great

During my few hours visit to Saint-Nazaire I went to local shipyard to follow MSC DIVINA building progress, here she is looking smarter, not long now before we have another massive cruise ship sailing the world´s oceans, photos 28th September 2011