UK Shipyard Returns to New Ship Construction

Item Posted: 02/04/13 17:22

Cammell Laird Shiprepairers & Shipbuilders Ltd. returns to shipbuilding with the construction of two RoRo car ferries at their yard in Birkenhead, Merseyside. Building to the account of Western Ferries (Clyde) Ltd. the new ferries will replace two aging ferries in a four-vessel fleet that Western operates on a 2.2-nautical mile crossing of the Firth of Clyde. The new ferries will be based on designs of two ferries built in 2001 and 2003 which were recognized as being of optimum capacity, speed, fuel consumption, sea-keeping capabilities and ease of operation. A spokesperson for the owners has said, “We have therefore concluded that an ideal new vessel design would logically be a reproduction of these existing craft with a few enhancements to reflect changes in applicable rules, new technology and operator experience.”

World's strangest orchestra

Item Posted: 26/03/13 08:16

World's strangest orchestra - a foghorn, brass bands and 50 ships The UK's North Sea coast will echo to hoots, toots and oompah-pah as Souter lighthouse foghorn thunders out its 120 decibels for the last time. A requiem has been written to mark the passing from use of the last of the UK's working foghorns, which for the last 150 years have warned shipping about dangerous shorelines and other hazards during foggy conditions. An armada of boats will be taking part in the performance, with their ships' horns joining three brass bands on shore, plus the star of the event - the foghorn at Souter Lighthouse. It will be given a single live performance on the North Sea coast on June 22 as part of the Festival of The North East.

New cranes set to double rail capacity at Felixstowe

Item Posted: 26/03/13 08:10

The cranes will span the new nine-track rail terminal at Felixstowe, and are the biggest intermodal rail terminal cranes in the UK. The state-of-the-art, rail-mounted gantry cranes have arrived in sections from manufacturers Liebherr in Ireland and will be put together at the construction site. Clemence Cheng, chief executive officer of Hutchison Ports (UK) Ltd, which owns the Port of Felixstowe, said: “The arrival of our new cranes is an important milestone in Felixstowe’s plans to deliver the most cost and environmentally efficient logistics infrastructure in the UK, with the opening of our new rail terminal in the summer of this year. Port of Felixstowe is already operating 58 daily arrivals and departures to the industrial heartlands in the midlands and the north, as well as to the population centres of the south- east, London and Bristol, handling in excess of 800,000 containers per annum.

UK Shipping Needs Time to Prepare for 2015 Emission Limits

Item Posted: 19/03/13 06:34

The UK Chamber of Shipping says shipping needs more time to prepare for the 2015 0.1% sulphur limit introduction in the ECA's The 2015 0.1% sulphur limit applies within the North Sea and English Channel and the Baltic Sea Emission Control Areas. The Chamber's director of safety and environment, David Balston, said: “We fully support the need to reduce sulphur emissions from ships – but we are particularly concerned that many routes will become non viable and for those vessels operating on them we seek transitional arrangements, including very tight time limited exemptions to allow technology to catch up and provide a realistic alternative." These comments were made following the publication of a report by consultancy firm AMEC, commissioned by the Chamber on behalf of several North Sea and Western Channel shipping operators. The report says that the targets for shipping companies to reduce their sulphur emissions by 2015, could cause adverse environmental effects and result in a loss of 2,000 maritime services jobs, and place many more industrial jobs under threat. The report is the first of its kind to examine the full impact of hitting sulphur targets. The report shows the key impacts of hitting the 2015 sulphur reduction targets would be: • Much more freight moved by road, rather than sea – increasing carbon emissions and causing more road congestion • Up to 2,000 jobs put at risk in maritime engineering, navigation, catering, customer services, and other areas • An increase of 2.8p per litre for the cost of road diesel • Significant increases (up to 29% in some cases) in the cost of passenger and container route ticket prices. The UK Chamber and the shipping operators who commissioned the report agree that there is a clear and unequivocal need to reduce sulphur emissions from shipping for both environmental and health reasons. However they warn that the speed at which shipping operators would be required to meet reduction targets, at huge cost, without sufficient technology in place to support the changes, along with the failure to date for these targets to take account of the overall need to reduce carbon emissions has been causing ship operators great concern for some time.

Vessel Danio aground

Item Posted: 18/03/13 06:06

MV Danio is stranded on the Blue Caps rocks on an island off the Northumberland coast, with a metre wide hole below the water line. Salvage crews were deciding on Sunday how to rescue an 80m-long ship which ran aground near a lighthouse in an important wildlife haven. The 80-metre MV Danio was heading from Perth, Scotland to Antwerp, Belgium, when it struck rocks off the Farne Islands, three miles off the Northumberland coast at 4.30 am on Saturday, The six crew spent the night aboard the ship, which lifeboat crews found had a metre-wide hole below the waterline on the port side near the bow. The vessel is carrying timber, and despite the damage there were no reports of any fuel leaks after she got stuck on the Blue Caps, close to the Longstone Lighthouse.

Bid to keep ferries by Eurotunnel

Item Posted: 16/03/13 08:14

Eurotunnel has set out its defence against a Competition Commission ruling that it should sell the ferries business it bought from collapsed operator SeaFrance. The commission said last month that passengers could face higher prices due to the €65m (£56m) acquisition by Eurotunnel, owner of the Channel Tunnel rail link. But Eurotunnel has sarcastically hit back that it was "surprised to find that, in order to maintain competition, it is first necessary that one operator disappear from the market". Eurotunnel claimed that a forced sale of its ferries business could be illegal. The company said that the Paris Commercial Court, which organised the auction for SeaFrance's assets, "included a prohibition on the sale or any form of alienation of the ships in order to protect jobs".

P&O Express upgrade

Item Posted: 15/03/13 11:58

P&O Ferries has unveiled plans to upgrade one of its vessels after the company awarded a £500,000 contract to a UK-based firm to carry out the work. Ship outfitting company Blu Marine will oversee a number of upgrades to P&O's Express ship, which operates on the Larne to Troon Irish Sea route, reports the Belfast Telegraph. Among the changes will be the installation of a new 'Club Lounge' aimed at business travellers, which will offer free newspapers, drinks and snacks along with a waiter restaurant service. ----

Shipping Company Pays Fines because of ISM Code Abuse

Item Posted: 14/03/13 15:52

A shipping company and its Designated Person Ashore (DPA) have been made to pay a total of £13,152.50 in fines and costs after pleading guilty to breaches of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. On the 19th June 2012, a Port State Control Inspector from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) boarded the Panama registered vessel Terry Siete at Portland. During his inspection the Inspector noted that access was being made into the vessel’s ballast tanks without proper procedures being in place. The Master was issued with a Prohibition Notice requiring entries be made in the correct manner in accordance with the Code of Safe Working Practices. On the 20th August 2012, the Inspector returned to the vessel. On checking various documents, reports and permits, he identified that entries had been made into the ballast tanks of the Terry Siete without a valid gas free certificate being in place. Further investigation confirmed this information. It also confirmed that the DPA had been present onboard when these entries had been taking place. The owners of the Terry Siete, PM Shipping International SA of Santander, Spain pleaded guilty to a breach of the Merchant Shipping (International Safety Management (ISM) Code) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1561) for failing to comply with objectives of the ISM Code. The company was today fined £5,000 plus costs of £6,652.50 at a hearing at Southampton Magistrates Court. At a previous hearing, the Designated Person Ashore (DPA), Mr Luis Monton had pleaded guilty to a breach of the Merchant Shipping (International Safety Management (ISM) Code) Regulations 1998 (S.I. 1561) for failing to ensure proper procedures were in place. He was fined £1,000 plus costs of £500.

Eurotunnel may have to sell off its ex-SeaFrance ferries

Item Posted: 19/02/13 16:11

Eurotunnel could be forced to sell the ferry business it bought from collapsed operator SeaFrance after the competition watchdog today ruled its purchase would mean “prices would rise” for cross-Channel passengers and freight customers. SeaFrance went into liquidation in November 2011, and Eurotunnel bought three of its four ferries for €60 million (£52 million) last May. It’s now running them between Dover and Calais under the MyFerryLink brand. But the operator of the Channel rail tunnel already has more than a 40% share in cross-Channel traffic, the Competition Commission said, and it warned: “adding ferry services to its existing business, Eurotunnel would significantly increase its already high share of the cross-Channel market and prices would rise.” The commission said that Eurotunnel only decided to buy the SeaFrance ferries to stop rival ferry operator DFDS/LD from doing so. But Eurotunnel said it will challenge the findings, adding: “The existing ferry operators in the short straits market have sought to use the process initiated by the British competition authorities to protect their own interests from new entrants and increased competition.

Will it ever happen

Item Posted: 18/02/13 18:30

Will it ever happen? - looks like it might but I will believe it when I see it. It has been reported that a Chinese shipyard will build an 885-foot-long ship to be named Titanic II -- a replica of the liner that sank in 1912. The project, which will take the state-owned CSC Jinling Shipyard Co Ltd in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, three years to complete, is financed by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, China Daily reported. The 173-foot tall Titanic II will make its maiden voyage from England to the United States in 2016 with 900 crew members and 2,400 passengers, officials said. "The world's leading shipyards and ship-design companies, including Finland's Deltamarin, have been invited to join the construction work of Titanic II," said Li Wenbao, spokesman for Jinling. "The liner will be equipped with advanced technologies, including the latest life-saving and communications systems, to meet the requirements of modern navigation."

MyFerryLink awarded 10 million euro financing deal

Item Posted: 29/01/13 16:37

The newest cross - Channel ferry operator to take to the waves, MyFerryLink, has been awarded almost£8.56 million in funding by the French courts in a deal that should help secure the firm's future. Operated by employee partnership SCOP, MyFerryLink was set up by Eurotunnel last year after it purchased three ships previously owned by now defunct ferry operator SeaFrance. MyFerryLink also took on the lease of SeaFrance's British offices in Dover and most of its redundant French workers. Now, following months of legal wrangling, the new enterprise has been awarded a sum of €25,000 for each former SeaFrance employee it has taken on. With a total of 371 qualifying staff included in the deal, the total value of the agreement comes to 9,275,000 euro. The money has been handed over by the SeaFrance liquidator, SNCF - France's national state-owned railway company. MyFerryLink operates ferries from Dover to Calais 16 times a day using its three ships: the MS Rodin, MS Berlioz and the MS Nord Pas-de-Calais. It follows the recent news that parent company Eurotunnel enjoyed a record year in 2012, carrying almost 20 million people through the Channel Tunnel, whether on Le Shuttle or Eurostar - the highest number in the company's history.

P and O begins major Port of Cairnryan upgrade

Item Posted: 23/01/13 16:14

Work has begun on a major construction project that will significantly upgrade facilities at the Port of Cairnryan in Scotland, which is owned and operated by P&O Ferries. The port is important to the ferry company's operations, with P&O running several ferries from Cairnryan to Larne in Northern Ireland and vice versa each day. Civil engineering contractor McLaughlin & Harvey has been appointed to carry out the work, which will include the construction of a new roll-on/roll-off linkspan at the port. This replacement floating ramp structure will be used by both freight and tourist vehicles boarding and disembarking from ferries at the port once it is completed later this year. Ferry links between the UK and Ireland could be in high demand this year, after it was announced that both the Republic and Northern Ireland are set to see a surge in visitor numbers in 2013. According to Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland, the island of Ireland is set to see a five per cent increase in foreign visitors this year. He cited the numerous festivals and events taking place across Ireland in 2013 as being a major draw for tourists.

New cranes for London Gateway

Item Posted: 23/01/13 11:06

The first three of London Gateway's giant quay cranes, manufactured by Shanghai's Zhenhua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC), have started their journey from China. The enormous crane’s boom has a reach that will allow it to pick up containers 25 rows across deck, beyond the width of the world’s largest container ship. The cranes are semi-automated, which allows quick and efficient handling of containers. They are also connected directly to the Terminal Operating System, which tracks the containers and sends work orders to the crane operator. The port will start operations on the first berth in Q4 of this year with five quay cranes, and two rail mounted gantry cranes provided by ZPMC, while Cargotec will provide 10 automatic stacking cranes and 18 straddle carriers for the first berth. London Gateway, the 3.5 million TEU container port will bring significant supply chain savings to importers and exporters. By being located much closer to the vast majority of the UK market, the port will cut delivery costs. However, the new berths being built at Southampton which will be able to accomodate the largest container vessels may give the Gateway a bit of competion along with the news that Hyundai are to switch their loop 5 service on the G6 Alliance from Thamesport to Southampton

New RNLI Facility at Poole

Item Posted: 22/01/13 11:24

A multi-million pound centre to bring a charity's all-weather lifeboat production in-house will create 90 jobs. The £11.2m facility will be built at the RNLI's Poole headquarters in West Quay Road - but the charity still needs to raise £5.2m. It will save an estimated £3.7m a year and "revolutionise" the lifeboat construction and maintenance programme. The RNLI said lifeboat building on the Isle of Wight would not be affected. Some production works will move from Lymington by 2019, with staff being offered jobs at the Poole site. Paul Boissier, RNLI chief executive, said: "We have extended our apprenticeships scheme from four to six per year to help ensure a bank of skilled people for the new jobs that will be generated in Poole. "We'll be helping to keep boatbuilding and manufacturing skills alive in the British workforce for many years to come." The site is to be cleared and raised to comply with flood defence requirements after being approved by Borough of Poole councillors. Lifeboat maintenance has moved across the water from the site to Cobbs Quay at Holes Bay until the new facility is up and running.

Private Navy

Item Posted: 14/01/13 08:52

TIMES are tough and getting worse for Somali pirates, as their targets take countermeasures. The number of attacks off the Horn of Africa tumbled from 236 in 2011 to no more than 72 in 2012, according to the International Maritime Bureau, a body that monitors crime at sea. Now a private naval effort is adding to their woes. A company called Typhon will use a 10,000 tonne “mother ship” to accompany convoys of merchant vessels. With 60 mostly armed, mostly British ex-soldiers on board, it will deploy speedboats and unmanned drones to watch and intercept hostile boats. Anthony Sharp, Typhon’s boss, says customers will find that more efficient than putting armed guards on every ship. It will also spare them keeping guns on board (which is tricky in law). Typhon plans to have three large ships by the year end, with at least one based in the Gulf of Guinea, a hotspot for pirate attacks last year, and ten by 2016. In this section Its backers include Simon Murray, a former foreign legionnaire who is now chairman of Glencore, a commodities giant due soon to merge with Xstrata, a mining behemoth. The new outfit will be a big potential customer for Typhon. But Mr Sharp downplays comparisons with Britain’s East India Company, which ran a private empire with its own navy. His is “actually quite a boring business,” he claims. Not for the pirates.

Trials to take place over ferry berth logjam in Dover

Item Posted: 03/01/13 16:20

Trials are set to take place at Dover to try and beat berth logjam. This could change the timetable of allotting a slot for ferries berthing at Dover and help save thousands of pounds in fuel. There has long been a rivalry between competing ferry operators over who wins priority when selecting slots at a ferry berth at the Eastern Docks. Indeed, at one stage one operator went to the High Court to try and prove its ships had priority demand for a berthing slot. To overcome this the port's head of operations has told ferry operators he has a new system to "trial" in February. The first Point Alpha-first slot system will be replaced with a new scheme with each cross-Channel ferry reporting to Dover port control when ten miles off harbour.

Another real oldie for scrap

Item Posted: 01/01/13 09:43

Yet another classic liner, the 1951-built GEORG BUCHNER, has been consigned to the scrappers. The world’s last bona fide combi-liner has enjoyed a low key existence at Rostock, Germany, since 1977. The end is nigh for one of the most important preserved ships in the world, the oft-overlooked GEORG BüCHNER, which was built in 1951 as Compagnie Maritime Belge’s combi-liner CHARLESVILLE. At one point in time, the oceans were filled with these hard-working colonial liners but by the late 1960s, thanks to the jumbo jet and the containerization of cargo, most were sold off for scrap. The handful that survived were rebuilt for cruising and in recent years, all of their likes were finally broken up. CHARLESVILLE was one of five sister ships built for Compagnie Maritime Belge’s Congo service from Antwerp, Belgium. She originally carried 248 passengers and measured 10, 901 gross tons. In 1967, CHARLESVILLE was sold to the East German Deutsche Seereederei and renamed GEORG BUCHNER. At first, she was used on overseas service, such as trooping voyages to Cuba, before becoming a training ship. In 1977, she was berthed at Rostock-Schmarl for use as a stationary training ship and youth hostel. Over the years, most of her cargo spaces were converted into classrooms and dormitories while many of the original cabins were completely transformed into more modern, if spartan, accommodation.

One of the last SD14's goes for scrap

Item Posted: 28/12/12 12:19

Golden Light - Back in the 1960s the world's fleet of Liberty ships, a standard design of ship produced in USA shipyards at an astonishing rate to aid war efforts, was beginning to near the end of its life cycle. Despite what has to be admitted as anti-American criticism of these ships, they were solid workhorses that many shipowners, especially in the low cost cargo world, found a blessing. But they were getting old and destined for the breakers, so Austin & Pickersgill came up with an idea to develop a standard design to replace them and so the SD14 shelter deck cargo vessel came into being. The first of these was in 1967, and along with Bartram's of Sunderland, and through licensing to shipyards in Scotland, Greece, Brazil and Argentina, 211 of these standard cargo ships were built. Recently, one of the Sunderland built ones has made her final voyage. The GOLDEN LIGHT, owned and managed by Hoang Dat Co of Vietnam has been sold to a Vietnamese shipbreakers for $1.25 million (US) Originally constructed as the JADE II for Greek owners in 1980, became the SCOTIAN EXPRESS between 1987 and 1995 and thereafer until 2008 she was called SAI GON 3.(or SAIGON 3) and was then sold by Vietnam Sea Transport & Chartering to Hoang Dat Co in 2008 and renamed GOLDEN LIGHT. For a simple cargo ship she has had a long life and seems to have served her owners and crews well along the years. Yet again we witness the passing of a bygone era as yet another British-built commercial ship sails into history.

More funding for HMS Caroline

Item Posted: 25/12/12 18:17

Major additional funding is being sought to turn the Belfast-based First World War warship HMS Caroline into a spectacular new tourist attraction. Just weeks after the announcement of a £1 million grant to save the light cruiser falling into disrepair, there is confirmation of an application being lodged with the Heritage Lottery Fund to finance a massive restoration programme. The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) and the Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment is seeking the money to secure the ship's long-term future as another world-class floating museum in Belfast's Titanic Quarter. A decision is expected in April. Built in Merseyside in 1914, HMS Caroline is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland - the First World War's longest and most strategically important sea battle - and the only time the full German and British navies engaged directly. It also went into action during the Second World War as a key base for operations to protect the North Atlantic convoys from U-boat attack. Since 1945, it has been based in Belfast as a static drill ship before being decommissioned two years ago. Professor Dominic Tweddle, director general of NMRN, said the initial £1.097 million grant was a vital first step in saving the ship. But a successful second application for funding is essential to secure its future and provide a unique shared space in which its history will reflect that of the city and Northern Ireland and people from both sides of the community who fought and died in both world wars. Restoration work, which is due to be completed in time for the centenary of the Battle of Jutland in 2016, will also involve building meeting and conference rooms. Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said a successful funding application would develop Caroline into a high-quality visitor attraction. There will be state-of-the-art audio-visual facilities to give visitors a better understanding and interpretation of what happened during the two wars, especially the Battle of Jutland. Captain John Rees, HMS Caroline's project director, said: "Although detailed plans are still be to developed, the audio-visual experience will give visitors a feel of what the war at sea was really like a century ago."

Gladstone Steel Terminal,

Item Posted: 06/12/12 13:40

UK Port Orders 14 Cargotec Straddle Carriers

Item Posted: 04/12/12 11:48

Weymouth ferry terminal work begins

Item Posted: 04/12/12 06:42

Work has begun on repairing the damaged ferry berth at Weymouth, whose poor state of repair had led to Condor transferring services to Poole earlier this year. Surveyors are presently carrying out inspections and excavation work is due to commence on December 10th. It is planned for services to resume from the port on July 17th 2013, with ferries staying at Poole until then. Councillors in Weymouth and Portland agreed to find the £3.92 million work in September, nearly twice the original estimate.

World's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise retires from US Navy

Item Posted: 03/12/12 13:34

Harwich development plan put on hold

Item Posted: 03/12/12 10:49

Plans to build a £300 million container port in Essex have been put in jeopardy after developer Hutchison Ports UK withdrew its latest application. Tendring District Council (TDC) said talks between itself, the company and the government will take place next month to try to rescue the development of Harwich's Bathside Bay. Last month, the government announced a public inquiry over the changes. The firm said it was concerned at possible delays caused by an inquiry. In a letter to TDC, Hutchison Ports said that it had taken the decision to withdraw the application "particularly in light of the anticipated costs and delay associated with a call-in and Public Inquiry". TDC leader Neil Stock said the company's decision was a blow but he understood its reasons. He said: "They must have been absolutely gutted when they heard the government had gone for a public inquiry and quite frankly I am not surprised they pulled the application. "We constantly hear that planning should not stifle the country's economic growth but then the secretary of state for the department of communities and local government seems to go totally against that edict where Bathside Bay is concerned." Mr Stock said the development is vital to the economy of Tendring and its regeneration plans.

Purchase of the former Coryton oil refinery completed

Item Posted: 02/10/12 08:24

The purchase of the former Coryton oil refinery in Essex has been completed. The handover to joint venture partners Royal Vopak, Greenergy and Shell UK on Friday marks the end of a sale process started in June. Up to 850 workers at the site near Stanford le Hope were served redundancy notices after the site's owner Petroplus collapsed in January. The new owners plan to turn the site into a distribution terminal to be called Thames Oil Port. The plant, which previously supplied 20% of London and the South East's fuel, ceased production in June. The new partners say Thames Oil Port is expected to be operational in 2013.

Ambush leaves for sea trials

Item Posted: 16/09/12 10:10

The new submarine Ambush leaving for sea trials Saturday 15th - I hope it doesn't run aground like the Astute. Tugs SD Indulgent and SD Independent in attendance which passed through the Solent last week - see local news item.

Dredging trial for Falmouth

Item Posted: 04/09/12 07:14

A small-scale dredging trial in Falmouth Harbour to measure the potential environmental impacts of relocating maerl habitat is set to go ahead this month after Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC) awarded the work to a specialist dredging contractor. The contract has been awarded to Kent-based GPS Marine, following an open tender process and it is hoped work will start in the week commencing September 17. The trial is expected to take six months to complete. Business Cornwall said the cost of the trial is expected to exceed £200,000 which is being funded jointly by FHC and Cornwall Council. The Council is contributing towards the cost of the trial in order to ensure the environmental impacts of re-locating dead maerl habitat, which is proposed as a mitigation measure in the dredging consent application, are fully evaluated and understood. The trial results are expected to form important evidence in the decision making process by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) on whether to allow the dredging of a deep water channel into the docks. The deep water channel proposals by the Port of Falmouth Development Initiative are aimed at safeguarding Falmouth’s future as a thriving working port and opening up new business opportunities.

Jewel of the Seas move to Caribbean

Item Posted: 01/09/12 07:38

The Jewel of the Seas will no longerr call at Harich, after calling there for the last nine seasons. During that time the Royal Caribbean vessel has carried 400,000 passengers on cruises to the Baltic, but now it is being relocated to the US and will be sailing 4, 5 and 7-night Caribbean holidays from Tampa, Florida, and 7-night voyages to New England and Canada from a base in Boston, Massachussetts. Jewel has set off for a 16-night repositioning voyage to Boston and will be making a rare visit to Portland, Dorset, on Sunday. Next summer, the Royal Caribbean family will have two ships based in Harwich. Jewel's sister ship, Brilliance of the Seas arrives fresh from dry dock in May, and will be joined by the 2,154-passenger Celebrity Infinity.

Good attendance at Dublin Tall Ships Festival

Item Posted: 26/08/12 18:21

The Army organised a 21-gun salute to say goodbye to the Tall Ships, which left Dublin's docklands this morning. Over a million people came to see the ships over their four-day visit to Dublin. Crowds were so large today that the festival had to finish early on Garda advice. Organisers say 1,150,000 people came to the event with 520,000 attending festivities yesterday alone. Another 100,000 people are estimated to have watched today's Parade of Sail from the Dublin Bay shoreline. Crowds in the city centre today built up to 200,000 by noon and were causing safety concerns particularly at the funfairs on the north quays. Crowd numbers were calculated using CCTV pictures throughout the day. Gardaí decided to curtail the festivities and some events were stopped for a time at around lunchtime. Most events got going again later and finished at 6pm as scheduled.