Cowes Harbour’s three-yearly oil spill response exercise, as required by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA), was held earlier this month. The exercise consisted of both practical on the water deployment of oil spill equipment and an incident management exercise at the Harbour Office. Do read our lead article below that explains more what happens in these types of exercises.
As reported by local media last week, a sailing yacht came into contact with the No. 2 red port-hand buoy at the fairway entrance, sustaining considerable damage that lead to the 40-foot yacht later sinking in Gurnard Bay. Cowes Harbour Commission assisted in both the initial response and the subsequent salvage operation, and an incident investigation is now under way.
Meanwhile, keen-eyed visitors to our website may have noticed some changes with the recent introduction of a new “
Services
” section to give increased visibility to our commercial marine services arm and self-storage facility at Kingston Wharf. Also under Services you can find information on CHC’s fuel berth and its opening hours, plus information on business properties available, including our wharf site for lease.
Finally, it is fantastic news that the organisers of SailGP have decided to return to Cowes in 2020 and we look forward to continuing our support for the SailGP Team and building on the successful “Cowes SailGP” event held this year. SailGP’s press release on Cowes and Season 2 is published below for your interest.
Capt. Stuart McIntosh
- Cowes Harbour Master
Photo (L to R): September 2019 at Town Quay, Cowes - Deputy Harbour Master Statutory Jon Howden, Harbour Master Capt. Stuart McIntosh, Deputy Harbour Master Marine Services Ed Walker.
