Weekly Penguin News Update

Friday, February 2nd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

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HMS <i>Clyde</i>, the new Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel.

Headlines: “Our ship” Clyde joins the Navy; Cruiser grounds in Antarctica; Fishery turns 20; Head-less school?; Crown calls in.

"Our ship" Clyde joins the NavyTHE Falklands' new protection ship, HMS Clyde, has been officially accepted into service by the Royal Navy. In a service held in Portsmouth on Wednesday, the Royal Navy's newest warship was inspected by Captain Colin Welborn, who is in charge of all the Navy's patrol ships, and the White Ensign was raised for the first time, heralding the arrival of the new Falkland Islands Patrol Vessel. Clyde'sCommanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Simon Hopper, was then given permission to continue the ship's trials and training in preparation for her planned deployment to the South Atlantic in the winter. He said, "Today is a milestone in the life of HMS Clydeand a proud moment for her ship's company who have worked so hard to get her ready. "We now have a top class vessel that we are all looking forward to proving is up to the task and working-up ready for her deployment later in the year." Over the next few months HMS Clyde and her company will go through a rigorous series of trials and safety training before undergoing Operational Sea Training in Scotland. She will hold her official commissioning ceremony just prior to deploying to the Falklands, where she will remain until at least 2012, relieving the current Falkland Islands Protection Vessel, HMS Dumbarton Castle, which is due to retire after the handover. Clydeis capable of operating a variety of aircraft from her flight deck, including Merlin and Sea King helicopters. Cruiser grounds in AntarcticaA NORWEGIAN cruise ship carrying almost 300 passengers ran aground in the Antarctic on Wednesday, badly damaging its hull. No one was injured. His Excellency the Governor, Mr Alan Huckle, reported that MS Nordkappsustained "significant damage" to her hull and the underside of her keel when she ran aground at Deception Island, part of the South Shetland Islands archipelago in Antarctica. The 285 passengers, including 15 British nationals, were transferred to Nordkapp's sister ship, MS Nordnorgeand have been taken to Ushuaia from where they will be flown home by the ship's owners. The Royal Navy's ice ship, HMS Endurance, headed to Deception Island and sent divers down to inspect the damage. The Nordkapp headed off to a safer anchorage at King George Island, followed by HMS Endurancewho had taken on the cruise ship's non-essential crew. These passengers were dropped off at the island and will be picked up by another ship to travel back to South America. Mr Huckle said that the grounding had badly damaged the ship's outer hull, however the internal hull was not damaged. There was some oil spillage, he said, and booms have been deployed around the vessel. He reported, "There was limited spillage at Deception Island, a low number of tonnes of light fuel oil, but this is likely to have evaporated very quickly." It is possible that the British Antarctic Survey ship, RRS James Clark Ross, will call in at Deception to carry out environmental impact assessments, Mr Huckle added. Fishery turns 20THE Falklands fishery officially turned twenty this week. The first fishing zone (FICZ) around the Falkland Islands was declared in October 1986 and the fishing licence regime became effective on February 1, 1987. A number of events are being organised to mark and celebrate 20 years of the fishery operating in Falkland Islands Conservation Zones. The Director of Fisheries, John Barton said the main event will be a mass gathering of Falkland Islands-registered fishing vessels on Saturday, February 24. "There are currently 23 fishing vessels registered in Stanley, and it is hoped that almost 20 of these will be present in Stanley and Port William on the day." It is planned that there will be a Falkland Islands-registered trawler, jigger and longliner berthed at FIPASS on the day and open to the public for tours, Mr Barton said. "This is a great opportunity to see the three main vessel types and fishing methods used in Falkland Conservation Zones," he commented. A public talk on '20 years of the fishery' is to be held on February 22, at the Chamber of Commerce. Head-less school?THE recruitment of a new Headteacher for the Community School has hit problems. The Director of Education, Barbara Booth, this week confirmed a preferred candidate had been selected, however, "...as we were going through the pre-contract checks, he had to withdraw on health grounds." The Acting Headteacher is due to leave the Islands later this month; Mrs Booth said she is working with the Chief Executive and Senior Managers at the school, "...collectively looking at the options to carry on effective management." She added that advertisements for the job are to be published in professional publications from today. Penguin News asked Mrs. Booth about rumours that unqualified people were being called in to teach classes. She was clear this was not the case. Continued on page 2 Crown calls in NORWEGIAN Crownheads the list of cruise ships due to visit this week. She will be in Stanley today, bringing approximately 1,250 passengers. Tomorrow, Explorer II (with approximately 200 passengers) will berth at FIPASS and on Sunday,Minerva II(838) will be in town. Clipper Adventurer will spend Monday at Carcass Island and New Island, while Minerva II will be at West Point Island and Infinity(1,800) will be in Stanley. Akademik Sergey Vavilov (80) will be at Carcass Island and Saunders Island on Tuesday while Prinsendam(840) will be in Stanley. On Wednesday Akademik Sergey Vavilov and Akademik Ioffe (100) will visit Stanley and Professor Multanovskiy(49) will visit Carcass Island and New Island. Thursday is a busy day for Stanley, with visits from Professor Multanovskiy, Rotterdam (1,600), Deutshland (560) and Costa Romantica (1,668). Akademik Ioffewill spend Thursday at Bleaker Island and Sea Lion Island.

Categories: Politics, Mercosur.

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