Southern Water have now identified the seven locations where they will work with local authorities, the Environment Agency and other organisations to find and fix the causes of pollution which are preventing the bathing water from being consistently rated Excellent.
The biggest ship to dock in the UK has arrived in Southampton. The 400m-long MOL Triumph is the first of a new type of ultra-large container vessel to enter service this year. Its operators claim it is more fuel efficient than previous carriers. Built by Samsung in South Korea, the ship will run between Chinese and European ports. It can hold the equivalent of 20,170 containers.
The Environmental Audit Committee is disappointed with the government's lack of ambition on designated Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
Hampshire's biggest heavy industrial site has seen a £28m investment. ExxonMobil has pumped the cash into Fawley Refinery where they have built a new plant to produce Isopar products – described as a “new family” of solvents – which are used as a base in paints, inks, air fresheners and cosmetics.
The Isle of Wight Council is to undertake two studies to understand the future coastal erosion and coastal flood defence needs of Sandown Bay and Ventnor.
The Green Wildlife Guide for Boaters, the latest addition to The Green Blue’s suite of handy leaflets, is designed to advise boaters on how to get the best experience out of their wildlife encounters by acting responsibly and cautiously to minimise the risk of disturbance while keeping participants and their boats safe. To complement the guide, The Green Blue is also launching Writing a Green Wildlife Guide for Boaters to help non-boating specific organisations when developing local codes of practice for water users. Visit the Guide.
The Isle of Wight chain ferry made its final journey on Monday night after operating for 40 years on the Isle of Wight. A £3.5m replacement for the Cowes Floating Bridge is due to enter service in late March. Until then, drivers travelling between West and East Cowes face a 10-mile diversion via Newport, although a replacement launch will operate for foot passengers from Tuesday. The old bridge is moored in the River Medina ready for sale. The Isle of Wight Council said the new ferry, being built in Wales by Mainstay Marine, would carry more vehicles than its predecessor and would make "faster, more regular" crossings.
Royal Navy bomb disposal experts are this morning dealing with an unexploded Second World War device found in the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
Defra has now embarked on Tranche 3 (the final tranche) of the Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) designation programme. The aim of this Tranche is to complete the Blue Belt, an ecologically coherent network of well-managed Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around England. Through this process, Natural England’s role will be to provide evidence-based scientific advice. Most of the MCZs under consideration are Regional Project recommended MCZs, however a small number of new site options, boundary amendments and third party proposed highly mobile species MCZs are also being considered to ensure the goal of ecological coherence is met.
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