Category: 3. Business

A St. John’s ship repair company is considering a massive modernization that would cost an estimated $300 million and enable the company to take on bigger vessels.

Sean Leet, managing director of Newdock, told CBC News the redevelopment plan centres around the replacement of the graving dock in St. John’s harbour, a new ship lift system and the modernization of the company’s facilities.

“We’re at a point now where ships are getting larger and wider and the graving dock is limited from the perspective of the width of the ships that it can accommodate,” Leet said.

The plans are still being formulated, but Leet said he hopes a final investment decision will be made by the company’s board in the spring. If it’s approved, he said the work should take a little over two years.

The ship lift system is important for Newdock’s business, Leet said. A decade ago, the company had no problem accommodating its clients, he said, but as ships have gotten larger — too large for the current system to handle — the company has missed out on work.

“For instance, if you look at the Horizon Maritime fleet, the Horizon Arctic is a 23-metre beam ship and it had to go to Denmark to get dry  docked this year,” Leet said.

“We’d like to be able to service all of those customers at our facility. And we have an obligation to the customers to be able to do that into the future.”

Leet said Canadian Coast Guard vessels are also increasing in size, and if Newdock moves forward with the new ship lift system, it will be able to handle those larger vessels, as well as more defence work.

Leet said the strategy is about enhancing the asset for Newdock’s customers, which includes the federal government.

The expansion proposal comes during a push to support Canada’s sovereignty, Arctic sovereignty, and a focus on building more vessels in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Those have exhilarated our thinking and planning, and ultimately shifted our thinking and planning as to what this facility can be and how we can ensure that we’re doing our part to help the federal government with the significant challenges that we have in front of us,” said Leet.

In 2020, when the company was under previous ownership, Leet said it was already looking at modernization, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused business disruptions.

The new ship lift system can handle 28,000 tons and take multiple vessels at the same time. The current system can only handle 4,000 tons.

“This will be the largest ship lift system in the Western Hemisphere once it’s installed,” said Leet.

The modernization plans require Newdock to hire an additional 220 workers in the trades, as well as dozens of staff and management positions, which would more than double its workforce.

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London Underground trains on a section of the Northern line are due to finish early on weeknights for months due to engineering works.

From 12 January until late spring, there will be no service between Camden Town and Kennington via Bank between Monday and Thursday evenings after 22:00. Tubes will still run between Camden Town and Kennington via Charing Cross.

On Fridays and at weekends, services via Bank will run as normal. Night Tube services via Charing Cross will be unaffected.

Transport for London (TfL) has apologised for any disruption while it carries out the track renewal works and warned passengers to allow more time to make journeys.

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‘Gone too far’

Meanwhile, The Tropical Market will be run by Fred Borson, who said it would focus on African and Caribbean ingredients that were not available in the local area.

“It’s a dream to have my own business, to serve the community and bring people together,” he said.

Kate Watts, owner of The Paint Pot Studio, said she wanted to offer a space for people to relax while trying their hand at creative pursuits.

“I want to be able to offer something for all budgets, where families can have fun away from screens, without spending a fortune,” she said.

The official opening of Town Hall Place marks the final stages of a multimillion-pound project, which has seen the opening of a new college, a revitalised town square and the creation of a second enterprise centre in Tamworth.

“This isn’t just about filling the units, it’s about getting the right type of businesses in there that genuinely add to the town and provide new reasons for people to visit, said council leader Carol Dean.

Expressions of interest for some of the remaining units were still being welcomed, the authority said.

A number of fare increases are set to come into effect in Reading.

Reading Buses said adult single fares within the town would increase by 30p to £2.90 on its app and to £3 for tickets bought on the bus.

It blamed “increasing operational costs”.

The company urged passengers to switch to multi-journey, weekly, or season tickets and to buy tickets on the app in order to save money.

The road has been beset by problems with the sewage system in recent years.

More than 1,000m of pipe from Farlington roundabout to beyond Anchorage Road was relined by Southern Water in May-July 2024 after frequent sewer bursts, leaks and flooding.

The company apologised for inconvenience caused by the latest closures.

“The long-term £2.5m solution will strengthen Portsmouth’s pipeline, using innovative lining technology to futureproof this section of the city’s sewer network for years to come,” it added.

The key feature was a first-class cabin mounted on gimbals that was designed to swing back and forth supposedly cancelling out the actions of the waves.

Dr Robb Robinson, honorary research fellow at the University of Hull, described Bessemer as “one of those giant figures of the 19th Century”.

“He was also reputedly a man who suffered very badly with seasickness,” Dr Robinson said.

“And he felt that in the modern Victorian age it must be possible to be able to come up with an invention, a mechanical invention, that would reduce seasickness.”

Bessemer raised £250,000 to build the 350ft (107m) long vessel and it was constructed at Earle’s shipyard, located on the Humber Estuary at Victoria Dock.

Dr Robinson said the ship was plagued by a series of misfortunes.

“The first one was when it was caught by the tide in a storm and it ended up coming aground near Barton,” he said.

“It was brought back without much damage.”

You get a call from your bank and the informed voice asks to you to confirm the personal details they have on file, which you do. You are then asked whether you bought something at an electrical retailer recently for £120 and spent £235 in Birmingham, but neither transaction rings true.

The caller tells you they have blocked the payments but they must now secure your account, and say they will send you a notification to approve, or a code to pass on to them. You feel under pressure to protect your money, so you do what is asked.

Unfortunately, the person at the other end of the phone is not your bank but a criminal, and they have added your payment card to a digital wallet on one of their many smartphones. At some stage, your account will be emptied by purchases of expensive phones or designer clothes, which will then be sold on.

Banks have seen an increase in the number of attempts to exploit victims using the elaborate digital wallet fraud and have introduced new security measures to counter the threat.

Danai Antoniou, the chief scientist at Gradient Labs, a financial services AI company, says the approach from criminals can appear harmless as the victim is not being asked to move money.

“This is why most people don’t question it. If the notification says ‘never share this with anyone’ (or similar), they will pre-emptively mention it to the customer that this is a routine comment that comes with every notification – which is true, customers do become immune to warnings if they get warnings frequently,” she says.

“Victims often describe feeling panicked and pressured during the call, being told their account is under attack, or that their money is at risk. In that heightened emotional state, approving a notification feels like the responsible thing to do. The victim believes they’re protecting their account, when, in reality, they’re handing over the keys.”

Santander says that digital wallet fraud was the second biggest reason for card scam losses last year, while HSBC has reported an increase over the past 18 months.

UK Finance, the banking trade body, says that the number of attempts has surged, in part because security systems have prevented criminals being successful, forcing them to make more attacks.

What the scam looks like

The fraud can start with phishing where the victim provides personal and bank details after a text message that promises, for example, a winter fuel allowance payment, or an offer for cheap products on social media.

After a few weeks, enough time for the victim to forget about supplying details, the fraudster will contact them, claiming to be from their bank. They will know which bank because of the details already supplied by the victim.

They may ask the victim to confirm the address, or postcode, they have on file, in order to portray legitimacy. The criminal will then ask about some transactions, all fabricated, and when the victim says they don’t recognise them, the criminal will claim they have been stopped, and more measures must be taken to secure the account. They will say that a notification is on the way, and the victim should approve it to secure the account.

“The notification the customer receives is entirely legitimate, as it’s the genuine notification your bank sends when a new Apple Pay or Google Pay card is being added to a device, or the bank may send you a code via text, or in the app. They have just added your card into their Apple Pay or Google Pay and you are now receiving a text, or a notification, to approve it,” Antoniou says.

From there, the criminals can act quickly and empty the account of the victim. “They drain accounts at high-value merchants, such as tech stores and fashion retailers. The appeal is simple: electronics and designer goods can be quickly resold on the secondary market with minimal loss of profit during the money-laundering process,” she adds.

What to do

Banks don’t need your help to protect your account: they have systems in place to freeze and block accounts if needed. “Never trust anyone who calls you from your bank unless you arranged that phone call in advance. If somebody calls, tell them you will call the bank back yourself,” Antoniou says. And don’t use a number they give you: search on the web for the bank’s phone number, or use the one on the back of your physical debit or credit card.

Nationwide warns people to be aware of what any one-time passcodes they receive are being used for.

HSBC says it has put in new security measures to counter the threat of wallet fraud and more would be coming this year. “We are regularly reminding customers not to give out their details, such as one-time passcodes, and to treat them as carefully as you would your pin,” it adds.

UK Finance says: “Set up bank alerts in your app, and check your transactions regularly so you know about any suspicious transactions as soon as possible.

“If you think you’ve fallen for a scam it’s important to contact your bank immediately and report it to Report Fraud.”

Apple says it is not responsible for approving a card for inclusion in the wallet, but that it gives banks information that they can use to combat fraud.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Andrew Sinclair/BBC

‘The new normal’

Andrew Sinclair/BBC

‘Betrayed’

Andrew Sinclair/BBC