News/blog

A complete refit inside and out sees work on engines, cabins and a complete paintwork job getting Pembrokeshire workboat Eva Anne ready for the 2019 season .. (Work starts in January!)

Faster response times for the Port of Milford Haven and Cleddau Waterway : We have now moved our operating base to Milford Haven putting us within five minutes of all of our facilities such as the slipway and launch site for our RIBs at Gelliswick. our boat storage facility at Thornton and heavy weather protection at one of our hardboat operating bases at Milford docks in the Port of Milford Haven. The move also brings us 15 minutes closer to the other harbour facility at Neyland Yacht Haven. We are looking forward to the resulting improvements in logistics this will bring for our Commercial safety, workboat, survey and media/filming operations and also to our leisure diving clients who may have shorter journey times to join the diveboats.

Support Boats from the SOAS fleet were chartered to assist in the Launching and deployment of a unique free ranging Marine survey vessel on a thirty day voyage to monitor Whales, dolphins and porpoises in the Celtic Sea. The 20 ft long electric survey catamaran produces it's own power from onboard solar and wind generators and is satellite guided from independant control panels either on support vessels or onshore. Following the launching in Milford docks SOAS boats were used for several days during sea trials on the Haven and to escort the survey unit to it's mother ship for the start of it's thirty day voyage More (Video) : BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-west-wales-34009228 http://wales.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=7645

Our 42 foot Nelson workboat "Eva Ann" is now fitted with a divelift which will increase her capability for both commmercial and sport diving, particularly in being able to handle specialist diving and underwatersurvey equipment. This, in addition to her equipment hoist brings her specification into line with other SOAS Hardboats like "Overdale" which are coded to work up to 60 miles offshore and for 24 hours per day operations.

A mixture of Hard diveboats and RIBs on hire from soas safety boats have been used for support for maintenance works around the port of Milford Haven throughout the Summer of 2013 and ongoing in 2014. Diving inspectionsand maintenance works, workboats for safety support for scaffolding work and underwater inspection programmes on the Murco oil refinery jetty.