Wednesday, September 12, 2018 - 09:22 by ce-press
Marine plastic pollution is a serious threat to the health of our marine environments and their biodiversity. Portland Port has taken steps to begin addressing the plastics and litter that come into the harbour.
Hence a team of 20 port employees volunteered to spend a few hours one week this summer removing the marine plastics and litter that had been washed up at Fort Head on the Outer Breakwater; with an extensive breakwater system of over 5km it seemed like a good place to start.
Ian McQuade, general manager commercial Portland Port, commented: “It was shocking to see just how much waste plastics have washed onto this area of the breakwater. Two hours and around 15 dumpy bags later it felt like we had at least made a small contribution.”
Future trips are being planned for later in the year to continue the good work. The waste that was collected will be separated, with as much as possible being recycled.
Meanwhile the cruise season is proving a successful one. The first ship of 2018 was the 20th visit by a Phoenix Reisen vessel. This was followed by the arrival of Norwegian Breakaway, the largest ship to visit, on an inaugural call to the UK port.
July 15 marked the first time two ships from the same cruiseline visited together: Regent Seven Seas Cruises’ Seven Seas Navigator and Seven Seas Explorer (pictured). The ships were welcomed by the tug, Rufus Castle, spraying its water cannons.
As well as the port’s quayside welcome team, two of Weymouth BID’s Wayfarers were invited on board to help passengers with questions about the local area. A large proportion of the passengers had booked to visit various places in Dorset including the Dorset Seafood Festival in Weymouth.
The port is seeing a growth in luxury cruiselines: Oceania Cruises' Marina, Seabourn Quest, Seven Seas Navigator and Seven Seas Explorer have all visited this year.
