Russian icebreaker Sankt-Peterburg in Øresund

The Sankt-Peterburg approaching Helsingborg/ Helsingør at 8 PM

The Russian multi-purpose icebreaker Sankt-Peterburg (115 x 27m) tonight sailed through Øresund on its way from Brest to its home port St. Petersburg. The Sankt-Peterburg, which was launched in May 2008, participated in the Tonnerres de Brest maritime festival, which this year celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The Costa neoRomantica approaching Helsingborg

This is the Costa neoRomantica (219 x 32m) approaching Helsingborg this evening on its way from Copenhagen to Oslo.

The picture below shows the ship a couple of minutes later passing the port of Helsingborg:

The MSC Magnifica on its way to Kiel

This is the MSC Magnifica last night in Øresund on its way from Copenhagen to Kiel, hopefully with a lot of happy cruise passengers on board ...

Cable laying ship Ile de Brehat in Øresund

One can learn a lot by watching ships. Like tonight, when I noticed this interesting looking ship pass by in the Sound. Soon I found out that it was the cable laying ship Ile de Brehat, registered in a place I must admit I had never heard of - the Kerguelen Islands.

Here is what Wikipedia says about these islands:

The Kerguelen Islands, also known as the Desolation Islands, are a group of islands in the southern Indian Ocean constituting one of the two emerged parts of the mostly submerged Kerguelen Plateau. The islands, along with Adélie Land, the Crozet Islands and the Amsterdam and Saint Paul Islands are part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands and are administered as a separate district. There are no indigenous inhabitants, but France maintains a permanent presence of 50 to 100 scientists, engineers and researchers.

I could not see any flag on the Ile de Brehat, but this is how the Kerguelen Islands flag looks: 

From another source I found out that the French Government in 1986 started a registry at Kerguelen Islands. (The ships could be operated with a crew consisting of only 25% French nationals.)

The Ile de Brehat is owned by ALDA Marine Services S.A.S, operated by Luois - Dreyfus Armateur and apparently working for Alcatel-Lucent. 

The ship is now on its way from Baltiysk (in the Kaliningrad area) to Everingen. (It would be interesting to know what type of cables the Ile de Brehat has been laying in Baltiysk, a major naval base of Russia´s Baltic Fleet.) 

Ship facts:

Built: 2002 by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Ulsan, South Korea

Length: 140.36 m

Breadth: 23.4m

Accomodation for 70 crew members

An early morning Øresund picture

Early this morning - at 5 PM - the water in the Sound had a nice glow.

A wood pigeon by my balcony

This morning, when I was standing on my balcony, a wood pigeon allowed me to come quite close.

P & O´s Arcadia and cruise ferry Crown of Scandinavia passing Kronborg castle

The Crown of Scandinavia and the Arcadia in front of Hamlet´s Kronborg castle

The DFSD Copenhagen - Oslo cruise ferry Crown of Scandinavia tonight sailed through Øresund in good company -  P & O´s elegant MS Arcadia, which the cruise line describes in this way:


"Exclusively for adults, Arcadia offers a relaxed pace, stylish surroundings and more than a hint of extravagance to P&O Cruises. Arcadia’s signature features such as her exterior glass-fronted lifts and expansive art collection, featuring no less than 3,000 works of art, create a sophisticated air."


The Arcadia also offers culinary excellence - The Ocean Grill is a Marco Pierre White restaurant.

The Arcadia has just passed Kronborg

Some ship facts:


Country of registry: Bermuda
Entered service: April 2005
Named by: Dame Kelly Holmes
Gross Tonnage: 83,500
Length overall: 285m (935ft)
Breadth: 29.2m (96ft)
Draught: 7.8m (26ft)
Service speed: 24 knots
Crew: 880
Regular passenger capacity: 2016
Maximum passenger capacity: 2388
Passenger decks: 11Passenger cabins: 1008