Taiwan Expects to Deploy Two New Submarines by 2027
; he said. "I told them our needs and that's how we achieved our purpose of securing export permits."Huang also expressed thanks for the "great help" from a team led by an unnamed retired rear admiral of Britain's Royal Navy, who secured export permits from Britain through a Gibraltar-based company.Britain sharply increased the amount of submarine parts and technology exports approved last year for Taiwan, a Reuters analysis of the data showed.Huang described the program as "even harder than reaching the sky," pointing to challenges such as a global chip shortage that
Divers Seal Tank Vents Leaking Oil from Bulk Carrier off Gibraltar
Divers sealed two tank vents that leaked fuel from a bulk carrier that was damaged and beached after a collision off the British enclave of Gibraltar on the southern tip of Spain, local authorities said on Thursday.The hull of the bulk carrier OS 35 broke after the collision with an LNG tanker and started leaking fuel oil on Wednesday, but the vessel has not broken into two parts."The Captain of the Port confirmed that the leak of low sulphur fuel oil from the tank vents is fully under control," the Gibraltar government said in a statement.The LNG tanker was not significantly affected by the
Prysmian's Subsea Power Cables to Connect Canary Islands, Ceuta to Spanish Mainland
;of nearly 1150 meters for a 66 kV three-core cable. Prysmian will also be responsible for manufacturing and installing a 132 kV HVAC double circuit, three-core submarine power cable with XLPE insulation, and synthetic-wire armoring, to connect the Spanish mainland and Ceuta through the Strait of Gibraltar with maximum depths of 900 meters. Ceuta is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa.Both systems comprise 90 km of submarine route and approximately 11 km of land route for the double link between the Spanish mainland and Ceuta. The subsea cables will be manufactured in Prysmian'
ROV Pair Cleans Ship Hulls Double Time; HullWiper expands into South Korea
Korea joins the fast-growing global network of hubs operating under HullWiper’s lease agreement, which was introduced in 2017. Since its launch in late 2013, HullWiper has expanded from its first base in Dubai to key locations across the Middle East, as well as ports in Australia, Denmark, Egypt, Gibraltar, Mauritius, Namibia, Norway, Panama, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Sweden.To date, HullWiper has performed hull cleans for more than 1,400 vessels worldwide.
European Countries Helping Taiwan with Submarine Project
is all provided by important countries in Europe and the United States,” it said, without giving details.European countries are generally wary of allowing arms sales to Taiwan due to fear of angering China, though in 2018 Taiwan said it was talking to a company based in the British territory of Gibraltar about the new submarine fleet’s design.Two of Taiwan’s four active submarines were built in the Netherlands in the 1980s, though the country subsequently refused to sell further ones to the island.France has also sold Taiwan frigates and fighter jets. Taiwan said last year it was seeking
Aggressive Killer Whales Batter Sailboats off Spain and Portugal, Maritime Authorities Warn
along Spain and Portugal’s Atlantic coastline, there has been a recent series of puzzling incidents involving apparently aggressive orcas.While orcas are not known to attack humans, they can cause damage to boats. In a series of incidents along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts between Gibraltar and Galicia, groups of orcas have been recorded swimming near sailboats and other vessels, and in some cases acting together in such a way as the people on those boats thought themselves to be in grave danger.The Spanish Maritime Search and Rescue Agency, Salvamento Maritimo, has reported multiple
Gibdock Repairs Shearwater Duo
Mediterranean shiprepair facility Gibdock reports it completed a two-vessel drydocking and maintenance and repair project for Shearwater GeoServices.The Gibraltar-based repair and conversion specialist worked on the seismic research vessels Oceanic Sirius, drydocked for 14 days in Dock 1, and SW Empress, which remained in Dock 2 for 26 days before being moved to South Mole for testing and sea trials.Built in 2011 and sailing under the Norwegian flag, the 12,550-gross tonnage Sirius measures 106 by 28 meters and features solid streamer for accurate data collection. Shearwater’s Empress, also
Salvors Survey Grande America Wreck
. The firm then used its remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) to conduct a program of inspection and operations, in order to determine the state of the sunken container roll-on/roll-off (ConRo) vessel.The mission was conducted from Ocean Infinity’s vessel Island Pride which had been in Gibraltar prior to this tasking.Oliver Plunkett, Ocean Infinity’s CEO, said, “We are pleased that we were able to rapidly deploy Island Pride, in answer to the call for assistance following the loss. At a depth of approximately 4,600 meters, our data gathering technology was used to assess the
Mexican Wave Energy Project Moving Forward
should start this year once financing and permits fall into place, though admitted that, in some cases, “Mexican investors... are not used to investing in start-up projects.”Aside from Mexico, Braverman said her company was waiting to start work on a 5-megawatt wave power plant in Gibraltar that could provide 15 percent of the enclave’s electricity, and has orders in countries including China and Britain.Born 200 miles from Chernobyl, just two weeks before the 1986 nuclear power plant disaster, Braverman said her experience of the devastating impact of contamination helped spur
February 2024
