Bosses fly out to win work as ships get set to sail into docks (From Falmouth Packet)

Bosses fly out to win work as ships get set to sail into docks

11:02am Wednesday 1st July 2009

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A&P FALMOUTH Dock's stemming list for July is rapidly filling up, with seven ships arriving for dry-docking.

The completion of the contracts to refit the Brazilian naval vessel Almirante Saboia, Federal Polaris and two dredgers has resulted in the shipyard becoming less busy this week, but behind the scenes A&P Falmouth top management have been flying around the world on marketing missions to win more work for the yard.

A&P managing director Peter Child spent a week in New York with A&P Group’s USA marketing agent Lou Gomlick.

Mr Child said: “Lou, ex-marketing director with Bethlehem Shipyard NY, and myself visited 11 customers over four days, including IAS, who have a potential five-year deal for three vessels, Horizon and Amanthos in Connecticut. “Amanthos MD Mel Dennett is a regular visitor to Falmouth and owner of four of Falmouth’s core vessels, including the tanker Cariad, due for dry-docking later this year.”

Meanwhile, commercial director David Daniel went to Nor Shipping in Oslo – the largest shipping symposium in the world held annually in Norway – and met several key Falmouth customers, including Wallems, Grimaldi and Jo Tankers.

The special tanker Dagmar Theresa arrives on Friday, followed by gas tanker Charlton, dry-docking on July 10.

Star Reefers, one of the world’s leading operators with 42 refrigerated cargo ships in its fleet, has stemmed the relatively new reefer ships Star Best, Star Prima and Star Stratos, with the first ship due on July 10 and the other ships to follow at weekly intervals.

Star Reefers have a long-standing presence in worldwide banana and other fruit trades, working closely with producers, exporters and multinational fruit interests.

Ireland’s leading ferry company, Stena Line, is giving its Irish Sea fleet a makeover to the tune of almost £15.5 million. The freight ferry Stena Seafarer, which normally operates on the Larne-Fleetwood route, will arrive at the docks on July 11 and will have £950,000 spent on it by Stena Line. The contract will cover repairs, maintenance and new crew accommodation.

At a time when travel companies across the globe are implementing cut-backs, Stena Line is spending millions on the refit and refurbishment of a total of ten ships across its five Irish Sea routes.

Stena Line route director Vic Goodwin believes that the investment reflects the ferry company’s ongoing commitment to improving its fleet and services.

“At Stena Line, we are continually investing in our product to exceed customer expectations and give them a pleasurable and comfortable travelling experience,” said Mr Goodwin.

“We’ve never been a company to rest on its laurels and this investment in our Irish Sea fleet reflects a desire to continually improve in terms of quality and service reliability.

“The credit crunch has resulted in more people considering holidays within the British Isles, which is good news for the ferry industry. There- fore, it is vitally important that when new customers travel with us, we show them how much ferry travel has developed over the years and how pleasurable an experience it can be compared to flying.”

Grimaldi Lines’ 56,000 ton vehicle and container vessel Grande Atlantico arrives towards the end of July when she is pulled off the Europe to West Africa route for dry-docking.

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