The Pier A extension has now been completed and the face comprising berth ED3 completely renovated with new fenders, pads, and comprehensive attention to the linkspan and shore passenger gangway and accommodation. The other face comprising berth ED2 will be similarly updated in the near future, to be followed by ED7. Meanwhile the major works involving demolition of redundant buildings along the foot of the cliffs enabling provision of additional holding lanes for freight, dubbed the Traffic Management Improvement (TMI) Project 2012-2014, should get underway shortly.
Dover Seaways was the first ship to start using ED3 on 03 SEP 2012. The delay was due to final paintwork being applied on the ramps and elsewhere, contractors and port staff can be seen in the photos below.
The Bridge Mark painted on the pier by which the Master looking down from the Bridge wing judges the final few feet of the approach to the linkspan pads was found to have altered by a metre or so. This is because the new pads stick out further than the old ones. The Bridge Marks are painted by ships crews and the relevant one seen in the photos is labelled MD for Maersk Dover/Delft/Dunkerque. The point on the ship which is aligned with it is the division between blue and white on the belting. A new Bridge Mark has now been painted and labelled DS for Dover/Delft/Dunkerque Seaways. The second photo shows the view the Master sees looking down through the reinforced glass window in the deck outboard of the control console on the enclosed Bridge wing. The feet are mine.


A comprehensive photo story of this endeavour can be seen on Dover Ferry Photos forum on the thread below (registration required). Berthing four times a day in Dover gave me the opportunity to witness developments from start to finish, at times I thought the Taj Mahal was finished off faster! I am told that the workforce involved in the construction followed these photos with interest as it gave them a bird's eye view of progress!
http://www.doverferryphotosforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=2259&start=25