Africa PORTS & SHIPS Maritime News

Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return

SEND NEWS REPORTS AND PRESS RELEASES TO
info@africaports.co.za

News continues below

FIRST VIEW: FAVOURISATION

Favourisation at Durban July 2017. Picture: Keith Betts, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Favourisation. Picture: Keith Betts

General cargo vessel with the unusual but quite attractive name of FAVOURISATION (12,790-dwt) arrived in Durban at the weekend. Built in 2007 she is owned by German interests and managed by Peter Doehle Schiffahrts-KG of Hamburg. Built at the Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilding yard in Rui Chang, China, and flying the Liberian flag, her original name was BELUGA FAVOURISATION. Picture is by Keith Betts

News continues below

TICTS DAR ES SALAAM CONCESSION EXTENDED

Dar es Salaam container terminal, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news Picture: TICTS
Dar es Salaam container terminal.   Picture: TICTS

Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA) has signed a new five-year lease contract with Hutchison Port Holdings-owned Tanzania International Container Terminal Services (TICTS) after questions there had been suggestions that the concession would not be renewed.

In September last year Tanzanian President John Magufuli raised questions about the concession agreement with TICTS and directed TPA to review the contract. He hinted that the concession had not proved beneficial to Tanzania.

This followed a report from Tanzania Auditor General, Mussa Assad, which listing shortcomings in the contract that had been revised in 2005 “to ensure that public interests are protected.”

There were accusations that…[restrict] the ten-year lease signed with TPA had irregularly been extended to 25 years.

The awarding of a subsequent contract enabling TICTS to operate the inland Ubungo container depot, which was not in the original contract, also raised questions. On terms of the new contract signed last week, the Ubungo inland terminal is excluded and reverts to the TPA.

The five-year contract signed last week contains a clause requiring a performance review.

The annual lease fee for TICTS operating a container terminal (one of two) at the Port of Dar es Salaam has been increased from US$7 million to $14 million and will be subject to a 3.8% increase each year.

In addition, the charge per container handled by TICTS will now increase from $13 to $20 with an annually increase factor of 4 percent.

“Times have changed. Tanzanians shouldn’t enter into contracts from a weak position. Before approaching the negotiation table in the future we need to prepare ourselves and prioritise issues of national interest. To a large extent, this new agreement has met the country’s expectations, but we need to be careful during its implementation,” said Prof Palamagamba Kabudi, Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs.

Kabudi was one of the 12-member committee appointed to review the contract by the president. He said that all laws that put Tanzania at a disadvantage as far as investment was concerned would be reviewed.[/restrict]

News continues below

PE STS CRANE CONVERTED TO HANDLE BULK COMMODITIES

The converted crane at Transnet Port Terminals in Port Elizabeth, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
The converted crane at Transnet Port Terminals in Port Elizabeth

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) says that its technical team at the Port Elizabeth container terminal has saved the company millions of Rands, improved turnaround time, and have set a new loading record.

Since 2013, when the two-berth PE Container Terminal (PECT) became the first South African terminal to load bulk ore carrying vessels using ship-to-shore-cranes (STS) paired with RAM revolver spreaders, it has been loading bulk vessels in addition to container vessels thus complementing the port’s three-berth bulk and break-bulk terminal.

The RAM Revolver spreaders can be unhooked from the cranes when they are needed to load or unload containers.

This combi-terminal strategy enables customers to export and import non-containerised cargo at the container terminal and has resulted in the terminal successfully exporting more than 2.5 million tons of manganese ore over the past four years. Over this period the export ore volumes through the container terminal have increased by an average of 22.5% year-on-year which is providing it with a valuable revenue stream.

Nevertheless customers wanted more capacity to increase the loading rate and reduce vessel stay time at the port, says TPT.

The technical team responsible for the conversion, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
The technical team responsible for the conversion

“We found an innovative solution to the problem by proposing to convert crane 3, a Liebherr ship-to-shore, to be compatible with a RAM revolver spreader like crane 2 and crane 4 on either side of it,” said Jaco Meyer, Technical Manager PE Container Terminal.

He added that the team realised that the unconverted crane 3 positioned between crane 2 and crane 4 on the quayside was a dummy and when loading bulk using skiptainers it hampered operations by preventing the other two cranes from loading adjacent hatches on the vessel.

When TPT’s technical team requested the OEM (Liebherr) to conduct the conversion they received a quote for R2.159 million. Siya Mhlaluka, TPT GM for the Eastern Cape, proudly explained how TPT’s technical team decided that to take up the challenge to complete the conversion themselves, saving the company millions while gaining valuable experience.

Despite challenges, including there being no manual to guide the team or any assistance with the conversion, the technical team completed the conversion on 5 May 2017 and the hot commissioning was done on a customer’s vessel with minimal delays.

“The conversion which cost as little as R50,000 and saved more than R2,1 million has brought enormous benefits to Transnet Port Terminals. It has enabled PECT to achieve a loading rate of 14,230 tons of manganese ore in just 12 hours, which is a new record for the terminal,” said Mhlaluka.

A RAM revolver spreader, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
A RAM revolver spreader

“The innovation and the capacity which has been created by this conversion is testament to TPT’s commitment to find solutions that meet and exceed the customer’s expectation. Both the terminal’s internal and external customers are extremely delighted with the modification as it has afforded monetary savings, improved productivity and ensured optimal use of the equipment,” Mhlaluka added.

The terminal can now plan to load 3 hatches adjacent to each other at the same time on a vessel which results in faster loading rates, reduced vessel stay in the port and lower port and demurrage fees for the customers and more vessels can be handled at the berth, Mhlaluka said.

Crane 3 is the most reliable crane at the terminal and by using it on the skiptainer operation it will improve equipment availability during the skiptainer process.

But, said Mhlaluka the most important benefit is that improved customer satisfaction and confidence in the capability and capacity of the Port Elizabeth Terminal will lead to more or new business.

News continues below

MASTER OF TANKER FREIGHT MARGIE DIES ON BOARD SHIP, OUTSIDE DURBAN

Freight Margie entering port on Thursday, 6 July 2017. Picture: Trevor Jones, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Freight Margie entering port on Thursday. Picture: Trevor Jones

The master of the oil products tanker FREIGHT MARGIE (70,313-dwt) collapsed and died on board his ship at anchor outside Durban on Thursday last week (6 July 2017).

According to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), the Durban duty crew were alerted shortly before noon that the master of the tanker had collapsed unconscious onboard his vessel, which was at anchor 7 nautical miles off-shore from the port.

The sea rescue craft Megan II was launched…[restrict] accompanied by Netcare 911 rescue paramedics and on arrival NSRI crew and the rescue paramedics went on board where the ship’s Italian captain was examined and declared deceased by the paramedics, from a suspected heart attack.

The rescue crew and paramedics remained onboard as the ship was brought into port where they were met by the SA Police Services, Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) officials and the Forensic Pathology Services, before the body of the ship’s master was taken into the care of the Forensic Pathology Services. As is protocol in such events, an investigation has been opened by the SA Police Services.

According to the owner and operator, Perseveranza di Navigazione, the master had just completed his contract period and was due to sign off after having been on board for the past five months.

The ship has since sailed from Durban en route to Walvis Bay.[/restrict]

News continues below

DURBAN PORT: CLOSED OR OPEN?

Maersk Vallik enters Durban, accompanied by harbour tugs and pilot boat, September 2016. Picture: Keith Betts, as apeparing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Maersk Vallik enters Durban, accompanied by harbour tugs and pilot boat, September 2016. Picture: Keith Betts

The report carried in our Thursday edition of the maritime news that because of meetings being held, the port of Durban had been closed at certain critical times, has been denied by port management.

During Friday we were copied with correspondence from the port manager at Durban, addressed to

Dear Valued Client

It has come to Port Management attention that incorrect information about disruptions on operations at the Port of Durban have been circulated.

“Management wishes to confirm that there were a number of critical meeting [s] held during this week, however, this did not lead to the port being closed. We wish to advise all our value clients that the port is fully operational and wish to apologise for any inconvenience that this might have caused.

Kind regards
Moshe Motlohi
Port Manager: Port of Durban”

Africa PORTS & SHIPS may or may not have been the only publication to carry reports advising that the port had been closed over critical periods in the morning, although numerous stakeholders in the port also received the same messages sent by Transnet NPA.

In the normal course of operations we receive various notifications, some direct from the respective ports, and others passed to us by readers and others who are recipients of such messages.

The first message arrived from Transnet National Ports Authority: Port of Durban on Wednesday, 5 July 2017 and said, we quote:

re TRANSNET NATIONAL PORTS AUTHORITY WELLNESS DAY

“Please note that the TNPA Port of Durban will be hosting Wellness day on the 7 July 2017 for its employees and as such there could be interruptions to operations.

“We will however endeavor to ensure continuity.”

(signed)
Moshe Motlohi
Port Manager: Port of Durban

That same morning we received a second email from Transnet NPA advising:

Good morning

“Please note port [Durban] is closed due to port meeting which started at 06:00. Agents who are affected with the delay will be informed as soon as the meeting is over.”

The next message was dated Thursday, 6 July 2017:

Good morning

“Kindly be informed there is a Port Meeting taking place today from 06:00 to 08:00 and the Port will be non-operational during these times.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and we will service the vessels as soon as we can.”

Later that same morning we were advised (at 09h30) by TNPA that the meeting referred to above was over but the port remained closed to shipping, as “the pilots are now having their own meeting.

We should add a rider to this that our understanding of what is meant when it is said the port is or will be closed refers to no vessels working, i.e. including the admitting or sailing of ships from the port during the periods in question.

News continues below

GHANA SHIPPERS AWARDS ACKNOWLEDGES INDUSTRY CONTRIBUTIONS

Ghana Ports Awards, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Glittering Affair, the 2017 Ghana Ports Awards. Picture: GPHA

Stakeholders in the shipping industry have been acknowledged for their contribution to the growth and development of the industry at the maiden Ghana shipping awards.

The Awards are aimed at recognising excellence in the shipping industry and to encourage a sense of fulfilment and greater zeal to achieve higher laurels among those involved.

Ghana’s Minister of Transport, Kweku Ofori Asiamah, who was the special guest of honour called on…[restrict] stakeholders to introduce modern technology in their activities to improve efficiency and to conform to international best practices.

He outlined some measures by government to make the shipping industry economically viable to reduce the cost of doing business.

Asiamah said the shipping industry is one of the key drivers of the nation’s economy and must therefore be taken seriously.

“Over 80% of Ghana’s international trade by volume is carried by sea. The seaport has therefore become a very important area for the country’s revenue mobilisation efforts. It is for this and other important reasons that the government remains committed especially in the maritime and shipping industry for increased trade facilitation methods to help achieve competitiveness for our ports as a preferred transit corridor for our land logged neighbours. The airports also play a complimentary role as far as the shipment of valuable and perishable goods are concerned,” the minister said.

A board member of the Ghana Shippers awards, Michael Luguje who is the President of the Ports Management of West and Central Africa called on players in the shipping industry to provide services that will facilitate trade.

The CEO of Ghana Shippers Authority, Ms Benonita Bismarck said the authority will continue to address the challenges of shippers to make them competitive.

The Industry Leadership Award was presented to the Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority and was received by the Director General, Paul Asare Ansah and the Board chairman, Peter Mac Manu.

The Port Sector Reforms and Human Development Champion award went to Ben Owusu-Mensah, a former Director General of GPHA.

Trade Facilitation Company of the Year went to GCNet, the provider of e-solutions to government whilst its Executive Chairman Dr Nortey Omaboe won the CEO of the year award.

West Blue Consulting, the technical support providers for Customs won two awards, the Excellence in Innovation and Technology Award as well as the Anas Aremeyaw Anas Transparency award.

Promising Terminal of the Year went to Amaris Terminal, Shipping Agent of the Year went to Grimaldi Ghana Limited, Sea Freight Solutions Provider of the Year went to Consolidated Shipping, Brand of the Year went to Mcdan Shipping Company Limited, and Maersk line won the Shipping Line of the Year.

Strategic Champion in Shipper Services and International Maritime Legislative Reforms went to Dr Kofi Mbiah and Reporter of the year went to Kennedy Mornah of the New Maritime and Port Digest Newspaper. The Anti-Corruption Crusade Award went to investigative journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas.

Some 47 companies and individuals were acknowledged for their contributions to the shipping industry. source: GPHA and GhanaWeb[/restrict]

News continues below

STRAINSTALL LOAD MONITORING EQUIPMENT IN UNUSUAL ANTARCTIC PROJECT

Halley VI on the move on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Pictures courtesy: Strainstall, appearin gin Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Halley VI on the move on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Pictures courtesy: Strainstall

Strainstall, which is part of James Fisher and Sons plc, was chosen to supply specialist load monitoring equipment to the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to support the Halley VI research station relocation project which recently took place.

The Halley VI research station, located on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica, is an internationally important platform for global earth, atmospheric and space weather observation in a climate sensitive zone.

Due to uncertainty over a newly developed crack in the ice shelf on which it sat, the…[restrict] British Antarctic Survey announced that Halley VI would be relocated 23km away, to ensure its continued safe operation in the future. Halley VI is the world’s first fully relocatable research station, made up of a series of eight pods that have been built upon huge hydraulic skis, so that it can be moved using specialist heavy vehicles to avoid calving events as the floating ice shelf moves towards the sea.

Although designed specifically for this reason, the relocation project was the first time the station had ever been moved, so three years of meticulous research and planning ensured the project was safety undertaken and ultimately was a success.

Strainstall supplied BAS with its specialist extreme temperature load shackles, along with Scotload’s innovative SmartLoad™ wireless technology, to deliver load monitoring information during the relocation, ensuring the safe towing of all the modules.

To verify Strainstall’s specialist load shackle performance in sub-zero temperatures testing was undertaken down to minus 40 degrees Celsius, as this was the lowest temperature BAS confirmed that any operations would go ahead.

“The most critical part of the relocation project was the towing operation,” said Ben Norrish, head of vehicles engineering from the British Antarctic Survey.

“We needed to monitor the loads being applied to the modules by the towing vehicles. The Strainstall team supported us to find the best solution for the extreme conditions of the Antarctic. We had a limited time window so reliability of the equipment was critical to us.”

Specifically designed for use in harsh environments, Strainstall’s extreme temperature load shackles are especially modified to provide reliability and high accuracy in extreme sub-zero conditions, as was demonstrated on this prestigious project. Using Scotload’s innovative SmartLoad™ wireless technology, the load monitoring information was fed directly to the relocation team in real-time during towing operations, to ensure safety and efficiency as they towed all of the Halley VI modules along the identified safe route. In addition to the live support, the data logging capability enabled the data to be stored and later analysed to help with any potential future relocations.

Halley VI on the move on the Brunt Ice Shelf. Pictures courtesy: Strainstall, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news

“The Strainstall shackles worked perfectly for all of the towing operations, providing operation critical data to the team and enabling a smooth relocation of the station within the timeframe so we were delighted with the outcome,” Norrish said.

Simon Everett, managing director of Strainstall said: “We were thrilled that our shackles were able to provide information to enable a safe and successful relocation of the Halley Research Station. This experience underlines the value of our engineering expertise in providing customers with solutions for challenging applications, where first time success is critical.

“In this case there was only one opportunity to get the equipment to the project so any failure of the equipment during the operation could have had serious implications. The extensive testing performed by the team verified the suitability of the shackles operating in an extremely cold environment and we are proud of the part we were able to play in the very successful relocation.”

This significant project was also recently a BBC Horizon documentary ‘Antarctica Ice Station Rescue’ which was first broadcast on Wednesday 7 June, as BAS invited BBC film-maker Natalie Hewit to document the extraordinary process, dubbed the world’s most extreme moving job.

Currently in the depths of an Antarctic winter, BAS decided not to over-winter at the Halley VI station as a precautionary measure, before its staff go back in October for the Antarctic summer season. Halley VI Research Station provides vital information for a global understanding of space weather, ozone depletion, polar atmospheric chemistry, sea-level rise and climate change. Current projects include long-term meteorology and ozone monitoring; Glaciological monitoring of the Brunt ice shelf; and SPACESTORM – a collaborative project to model space weather events and find ways to mitigate their effects on satellites.[/restrict]

News continues below

PRESS RELEASES

Send your Press Releases here info@africaports.co.za and marked PRESS RELEASE. Provided they are considered appropriate to our readers we will either turn them into a story, or publish them here.

ClassNK releases Annual Report on Port State Control

appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news

Tokyo – Leading classification society ClassNK has released its annual report on Port State Control (PSC). The report aims to assist ship operators and management companies in maintaining compliant operations by providing information about ships detained by PSC as well as deficiencies that were found on board from many port states in 2016.

PSC inspections ensure that vessels…[restrict] departing the port meet international standards and have proved to be highly effective in eliminating substandard ships that are in operation. They oversee not only the physical structures and components of a ship, but also examine operations related to safety management systems and labour conditions such as wages and hours of rest with regards to MLC, 2006. Over 100 port states have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) over the years and established a harmonised system for Port State Control to strengthen PSC-related activities, ensuring maritime safety, decent working and living conditions, and reducing maritime pollution.

To help its customers improve safety management systems and overall fleet quality, ClassNK has included a breakdown of deficiencies which shows that fire safety-related deficiencies continue to be the most frequent detainable deficiencies item. ISM, lifesaving appliances and safety of navigation also remain major items where many detainable deficiencies are found.

The ClassNK report also provides detailed analyses on PSC detentions by flag state, port state, ship type, ship size, and ship’s age as well as a summary of major amendments made to international conventions such as the SOLAS Convention. These amendments have further widened the scope of PSC inspections, a trend that will undoubtedly continue as the rules applied to ships increase and diversify.

The PDF version of the Port State Control Annual Report can be downloaded for free by accessing the ClassNK website via this link: ClassNK Port State Control Annual Report June 2017[/restrict]

News continues below

GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

News continues below

TO ADVERTISE HERE

Request a Rate Card from info@africaports.co.za

EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT


Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.

In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.

You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by going HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.

News continues below

CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES


QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.

PIC OF THE DAY : SMIT AMANDLA and BRONAGH J

Smit Amandla and Bronagh J. Pictures: Trevor Jones, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news

Bronoagh J at Durban, by Trevor Jones as appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news

Smit Amandla arrived at Durban Saturday 8 July 2017. Pictures: Trevor Jones, appearing in Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news
Smit Amandla and Bronagh J. Pictures: Trevor Jones

AMSOL’s standby tug on the South African coast, the well-known SMIT AMANDLA arrived in Durban on Saturday towing the transhipment barge BRONAGH J from Moma near Quelimane in northern Mozambique. After safely delivering her charge to the Elgin Brown & Hamer (EBH) shipyard at Bayhead, the tug has since sailed, bound this time for the opposite side of the continent and a job in Luanda, Angolan waters. These pictures: Trevor Jones

 

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth — that the error and truth are simply opposite. They are nothing of the sort. What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.”
― Henry Louis Mencken

ADVERTISING

For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za

Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za

TABLE BAY UNDERWAY SHIPPING
SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS
Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.
Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA
snai@worldonline.co.za
http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai

 

 

South Africa’s most comprehensive Directory of Maritime Services will shortly be listed on this site. Please advise if you’d like your company to be included. To sign up for a free listing contact info@africaports.co.za or register online