A new Tug for Portland Port

November 9th 2009 marked the next step in the continued development of Portland Port with the official naming ceremony for their new tug "Maiden Castle".

November 9th 2009 marked the next step in the continued development of Portland Port with the official naming ceremony for their new tug "Maiden Castle".

At one stroke the new arrival more than doubles the towage capabilities of the Harbour, having a greater towing capacity than the Harbour's three existing tugs combined.

"This is a very important day" commented Steve Davies, Chief Executive for Portland Port at the naming ceremony. "With the arrival of the Maiden Castle we can now look to handle even larger vessels within the harbour waters and have the confidence that we can deal with any eventuality, whatever the weather."

But it is not just within the harbour where the £2.5m investment in the "Maiden Castle" will be beneficial. Mr. Davies explained "The Maiden Castle has full sea going capabilities and as such will be available to the MCA to provide support in assisting ships at risk off England's south coast. She will effectively be helping to protect the Jurassic Coast."

The arrival of the "Maiden Castle", along with an updated mooring plan, means that the port is now capable of handling cruise ships in excess of 280m. The first benefits of this will be seen in 2010 when Portland Port is forecasting a record breaking year. Ten cruise calls are booked including calls by Holland America Line's "Westerdam", at over 285m long the largest cruise ship ever to visit Portland Port, Crystal Cruises vessel "Crystal Symphony" and Tui Cruises ship "Mein Schiff". Commercial Manager, Ian McQuade commented "2010 will see a step change in Portland Port's cruise volumes and shows the first real results from our increased marketing activity in the cruise sector. We now look to build on this success in 2011 and beyond and hope to see further growth and expansion in the cruise market".