New rail service launched at Thamesport

Thamesport (London) has welcomed the start of a new rail service.

After an absence of 18 months from the Port, EWS Railway has returned to the Kent facility to launch its Thamesport to Daventry service. The service operates five days per week, and is able to offer capacity for high cube containers, in addition to standard units. Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports (UK), which owns Thamesport, said: 'It is important that we offer shippers a rail option through our ports, and this new service provides a boost to the range of destinations that are served by rail from Thamesport. We are committed to increasing the share of freight transported by rail through the Port, and we were pleased to reach a record throughput in 2007, with a total of 50,000 containers passing through the Port's rail terminal.' Importantly, expansion work to the Port's rail facility is due to commence in September 2008. This work will extend the rail terminal's sidings to allow 24-wagon-length trains to be worked without the need to break and shunt individual units. Three other services connect Thamesport to Birmingham, Leeds/Coatbridge, Manchester, Doncaster and Birch Coppice.
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Yinxing Shipyard lo launch $32m expansion

South China's Jiangmen Yinxing Shipbuilding has announced that it plans to invest CNY 228m ($31.9m) to build a 50,000-tonnage shipbuilding addition to the current yard.

The 15-hectare expansion is scheduled for completion by 2010 and will boast an annual capacity of four vessels of 50,000dwt each. The current yard boasts an annual shipbuilding capacity of ten 1,000-12,000dwt ships, and is due to deliver a 6,500dwt oil tanker and two 4,500dwt oil supply ships in February and March respectively.
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New 'Operation Stack' to be introduced at the Port of Felixstowe

New arrangements for 'Operation Stack' are to be introduced on the A14 approaching the Port of Felixstowe on March 6, 2008.

'Operation Stack' is the name given to the traffic management plan used by Suffolk Police and other agencies when, as a result of restrictions at the Port of Felixstowe, traffic builds up on the A14. Although port restrictions occur for a variety of reasons, the main cause is high winds, which prevent safe operations at the Port's container terminals. Initially, when the Port is closed, container vehicles are queued or 'stacked' in the on-port holding areas. However, when these areas are full and traffic begins queuing on the A14, 'Operation Stack' is implemented to help manage this traffic. The current arrangements for 'Operation Stack' involve container vehicles being stacked on Port of Felixstowe Road the last section of the A14 before arrival at the Port. From 6 March 2008, the location of the first phase of 'Operation Stack' will be moved to the old A45 at Levington. Vehicles traveling to the Port of Felixstowe will be notified that advanced warning signs along the various routes leading to Felixstowe have implemented 'Operation Stack'.

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Boat sinks, all passengers safe

A motorized boat carrying 80 passengers capsized in river Gangadhdar along the Indo-Bangladesh border in lower Assam's Dhubri district on Sunday evening, but all were rescued safely.

The engine fitted boat locally knwon as 'bhut bhuti' capsized on Gangadhar river, a tributary of Brahmaputra, near Pidyachara village under Golokganj police station around six pm, when it was proceeding from Golakganj town to Gangadhar town, sources said. On receiving information about the mishap, the BSF and police reached there and launched rescue operations. Several of the passengers swam to safety while the others were rescued from the water by the security forces. There was no casualty or injury reported.
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'I saw shark eat my buddy'

A man fought for his life against a great white shark before it dragged him off and killed him during a diving trip.

Justin Rowntree told the Coroner's Court in Adelaide today about the attack on 23-year old Jarrod Stehbens at Glenelg in August 2005. The pair was carrying out research for the University of Adelaide at the time. "I was looking at Jarrod when I felt a whack on the back which rotated me around," Mr. Rowntree said.
"Initially I thought it was a dolphin but pretty quickly I realized it was not." Mr Stehbens, a "highly experienced diver" then fought for his life against the 5m shark.
"It went straight towards Jarrod, initially he whacked it directly on the snout and it seemed to go away momentarily," Mr. Rowntree said. "Then it came back and took his leg and dragged him under ... it happened like a flash." The students had almost finished their dive for cuttlefish eggs at the popular Glenelg Tyre Reef. Mr. Rowntree said the dive would have been Mr. Stehbens' last in South Australia before he went to live in Germany.
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Fish quota offences cost £500,000

A boat owner has been ordered to pay almost £500,000 after his company admitted exceeding fishing quotas.

Dumfries and Galloway firm TN Trawlers admitted 26 offences, which broke European regulations controlling catches of specified species of fish. Owner Tom Nicholson, of Annan, was ordered to pay £472,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act. He has six months to raise the cash or face a jail term. He was also fined £27,000 at Newcastle Crown Court. The case followed an 18-month investigation between January 2004 and July 2005 by the Marine and Fisheries Agency into the so-called "black fish" trade. Nicholson's fleet operates in the Solway Firth and the South of England including Padstow, Newlyn, Falmouth and Brixham. Last year, six of his skippers were fined in connection with the probe. Judge David Wood told Nicholson that a message had to be sent out to people in the fishing industry that breaking the rules would not be tolerated and would be met with large penalties. It is well known that fishing stocks around the UK and European countries are seriously depleted and some stocks are threatened with extinction.
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