TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : UMBILO
- MSC enters West African Ro-Ro trade with two car carriers
- Naval Force CTF 150 nets another large Indian Ocean drug haul
- Mauritius geared to become key Indian Ocean maritime hub in the Indian Ocean
- Botswana to sign the COMESA-EAR-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area Agreement
- FPSO Egina arrives at Lagos, Nigeria after 3-month tow
- Man dies after falling while boarding ship off Ngqura
- Rolls-Royce opens autonomous shipping research centre
- CMA CGM takes delivery of 20,600-TEU CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery
- OUT OF THE MAILBAG: Mailbag: Rats and cockroaches – so?
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : PRETTY TEAM
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One of Durban’s latest tugs, the Voith Schneider-propelled UMBILO is seen crossing Durban Bay between jobs. The 417-gt tug, which entered service with Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) in August last year after completing building at the Durban shipyard of Southern African Shipyards, is one of two newbuilds coming from the yard for service in the Durban port. Another seven tugs have built – the last of these, scheduled to go to Saldanha, is due to be launched shortly. The tugs all have a bollard pull of 70 tons making them the most powerful ever in TNPA service. This picture is by Ken Malcolm
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MSC ENTERS WEST AFRICAN RO-RO TRADE WITH TWO CAR CARRIERS
Is this an indication that Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), the world’s second biggest container carrier, is set to enter other fields beyond containers and cruising?
Last week MSC announced that it is introducing its new Ro-Ro West Africa service for rolling, project and breakbulk cargo.
This sets MSC in direct competition with another Italian operator, Grimaldi.
The new service will employ two modern pure car and truck-carrying [restrict] sister ships which were built in 2011 and 2012 at the STX Shipyard in Dalian. Each has a car carrying capacity of 6,700 motor cars or equivalents. The vessels are owned by Greek ship-owning company Nikki Shipping and are on charter to MSC. The vessels are MSC CRISTIANA (IMO 9453298, 59,835-gt, built 2011) and MSC IMMACOLATA (59,835-gt, built 2012) respectively.
The ships are not strangers to MSC having been under MSC ship management since their launch dates.
When MSC first began running between Mediterranean and Africa ports in 1971 it was on the basis of handling breakbulk and bulk type cargoes but quickly moved into containers where the line grew rapidly.
According to MSC the new service, which commences on 19 February from the French port of Le Havre, will complement its existing dedicated container services.
The two ships will operate on a fortnightly basis using the following rotation: Le Havre, Antwerp, Dakar, Conakry, Abidjan, Le Havre.
MSC says that in addition to rolling or wheeled cargo the new service offering will have the flexibility to cover a range of out-of-gauge and breakbulk cargo, which will be typically large, heavy pieces, or critical equipment for specific projects.
Full schedule details are still to be announced but will be communicated shortly, says MSC.[/restrict]
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NAVAL FORCE CTF 150 NETS ANOTHER LARGE INDIAN OCEAN DRUG HAUL
Ships and aircraft operating with the Combined Task Force (CTF 150) in the western Indian Ocean teamed up in a counter drugs operation in the Indian Ocean on 24 January 2018, seizing 834 bags of heroin weighing 915 kilograms.
This is the fourth confiscation of drugs in recent months by CTF 150.
Whilst conducting patrols in support of CTF 150, in the Western Indian Ocean on 23 January 2018, a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft (MPRA) detected a suspicious dhow. Her Majesty’s Australian Ship (HMAS) WARRAMUNGA closed in on the suspicious vessel and further investigations led to the boarding of the dhow on 24 January.
“The interoperability between nations is key to the success of CTF 150 in enhancing maritime security in the region,” Commodore Mal Wise, the Commander of CTF 150, said. “CTF 150 has had remarkable success in recent weeks, working with assets from several partner nations within CMF. The close operation between Australia and New Zealand on this interdiction is an example of how nations working together can have a significant regional impact.”
During the searches, it was determined that the vessel was without nationality and the crew might be involved in illegal activity. CTF 150 was authorised to conduct searches of the suspect vessel. HMAS Warramunga quickly investigated, and during the course of boarding operations, discovered heroin valued at over US$220 million.
Commanding Officer of HMAS Warramunga, Commander Dugald Clelland, Royal Australian Navy, commented that the operation was a team effort between partner nations in CTF 150, stating: “The RNZAF aircraft was able to identify the vessel and direct us to a successful boarding and seizure, removing a very significant quantity of illegal drugs.”
This is the fourth interdiction of illegal drugs since Australia took the helm of CTF 150 in November 2017 and brings the total drugs seized to more than 11 tonnes of hashish and one tonne of heroin, valued in excess of $700 million USD. The illegal drugs were then transferred to HMAS Warramunga for safe disposal at sea.
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MAURITIUS GEARED TO BECOME KEY INDIAN OCEAN MARITIME HUB
The Government Mauritius says it is determined to have world class transportation systems, logistics and facilities for the sustainable growth of Mauritian economy.
It says that it is investing heavily in the infrastructural development of Port Louis harbour in order to create a preferred maritime hub offering a spectrum of associated services in the Indian Ocean.
The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement last week at…[restrict] the official launch of the Mauritius Maritime Week 2018 (MMW).
The MMW, the Prime Minister underlined, is set to showcase the Port-Louis Harbour as an integrated platform for five main sectors, namely, container trans-shipment, bunkering, cruise tourism, seafood and ancillary port services. Over the last 50 years, Mauritius with its strategic geographical location has been able to transform itself into an important maritime logistics as well as a transport hub, he emphasised.
With regards the quay extension project, Prime Minister Jugnauth said that this has enabled Mauritius to be positioned as a full-fledged transhipment hub and that major shipping lines have already expressed interest in increasing their container trans-shipment volumes.
The major projects include the development of the Riche Terre Special Economic Zone, an Island Container Terminal at Mer Rouge and a Cruise Terminal building, amongst others, which are all in the pipeline.
Port Louis Harbour, Prime Minister Jugnauth pointed out, will undoubtedly become the fastest growing sector of the ocean economy and will have a leading role to play in the coming years.
Mauritius Maritime Week 2018
The Mauritius Maritime Week was held from 22 to 26 January 2018 as an international trade event organised by Transport Events Management Limited of Malaysia in collaboration with the Mauritius Ports Authority to showcase Port Louis Harbour as a cruise destination and maritime hub. The MMW also comprised the Indian Ocean Ports and Logistics (IOPL) 2018 Conference and Exhibition which featured some 30 International Exhibition Stands.[/restrict]
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BOTSWANA TO SIGN THE COMESA-EAC-SADC TRIPARTITE FREE TRADE AREA AGREEMENT
On Tuesday (tomorrow) Botswana will sign the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa – East African Community – Southern African Development Community (COMESA-EAC-SADC) Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) Agreement.
The signing will take place in Gaberone at 08h30 at the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry.
The Tripartite Free Trade Area comprises…[restrict] 26 countries from the three (3) Regional Economic Communities of COMESA, the EAC and SADC and consists of a combined population of nearly 625 million people and a total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of approximately US$1.3 trillion, accounting for almost half the membership of the African Union and 60 percent of the Continent Gross Domestic Product.
The Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) aims to boost intra-African trade through the creation of a wider market, increased investment flows, enhanced competitiveness and development of cross-regional infrastructure and serves as a building block for the completion of the Continental Free Trade Area.
The signing of the TFTA Agreement will enable Botswana to access the market from the Tripartite Area which comprises 57% of Africa’s population.
History of TFTA
COMESA, the EAC and SADC agreed to negotiate a Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) amongst themselves at the First Tripartite Summit in October 2008 in Kampala. Negotiations were launched by the Heads of State and Government on 12 June 2011, and on 10 June 2015 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, the COMESA-EAC-SADC TFTA was officially launched.
Twenty four of the 26 member states have signed the Declaration Launching the TFTA and 21 member countries have signed the TFTA Agreement. These countries are Angola, Burundi, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, State of Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Agreement requires 14 ratifications to enter into force. So far, only Egypt and Uganda have both signed and ratified the Agreement.[/restrict]
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FPSO EGINA ARRIVES AT LAGOS, NIGERIA AFTER 3-MONTH TOW
A US$3.3 billion floating production storage offloading (FPSO) platform by name of EGINA has arrived in Lagos, Nigeria to become the first of its kind in Africa, with Nigeria the first African country to fulfill the local content integration.
EGINA has a storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil along with a daily production level of 108,000 barrels a day capacity. The platform is 330 metres in length, 35 metres high and has…[restrict] a flare boom 100 metres high and will house up to 200 workers and technicians at a time.
To be operated by Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNL) the platform was built in South Korea and has been under tow to Nigeria for the past three months. It has arrived in Lagos for further integration of its six topsides at LADOL Free Trade Zone in Tarkwa Bay, Lagos. There had been some uncertainty over whether the platform would be allowed into Lagos harbour as the port authorities had some concerns over the towing of the vessel.
Total has built at 500-metre long quay to be used for the assembly of the new FPSO. Afterwards, the quay will be available for other industrial projects. A high percentage of other infrastructure for the FPSO is being developed or produced locally.
Total says that it regards EGINA as its flagship project. When entering into service it will be located some 130km off the Nigerian coast in a water depth in excess of 1,500km on the Egina oilfield which Total describes as one of its most ambitious ultra-deep offshore projects.
Total began the drilling programme on the Egina field in December 2014. The intense project will keep two rigs busy for a total of 3,000 days. Five out of the planned 44 subsea wells have already been drilled, at water depths of between 1,400 m and 1,700 m, and 13 more will be completed when the field comes on stream.
The wells will be connected, using umbilicals and risers, to the newly-arrived FPSO.[/restrict]
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MAN DIES AFTER FALLING WHILE BOARDING SHIP OFF NGQURA
A report from the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Port Elizabeth Station 6 carries the sad news that a man has died after falling while attempting to board a ship in the Algoa Bay anchorage, outside the port of Ngqura.
The accident occurred on Saturday, 27 January as the sheriff of the court at Port Elizabeth and another man were taken by TNPA pilot launch to the ship at anchor in Algoa Bay. The vessel concerned is the Liberian-flagged bulk carrier BLUE MARLIN I (IMO 9467859), built in 2008 and owned by Greek interests. The ship is managed by the Remi Maritime Corp of Piraeus, Greece.
The 43-year old man was busy boarding the 57,000-dwt ship when he slipped and fell into the sea.
From reports it appears the man was rescued from the sea. NSRI from Station 6 hastened to the scene and administered CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) but were unable to revive the man.
The bulker has since been taken into port where police have opened an inquest docket. The body of the man was taken into the care of the Forensic Pathology Services at Port Elizabeth.
This is the second incident of someone being killed after falling during the boarding of a ship off a South African port. In November last year a port pilot in training fell while attempting to board a ship at anchor off Durban. The pilot boat in attendance was unable to rescue the female pilot and it was the NSRI who recovered her body from the water only for it to be too late as she was already dead.
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ROLLS-ROYCE OPENS AUTONOMOUS SHIPPING RESEARCH CENTRE
Rolls-Royce has opened a state-of-the-art research facility in Turku, Finland, to develop the technologies that it says Rolls-Royce and its partners require to shape the future of an increasingly more autonomous global shipping industry.
The new Research & Development Centre for Autonomous Ships includes a Remote and Autonomous Experience Space aimed at showcasing the autonomous ship technologies Rolls-Royce has already introduced as well as those in the development stage.
Commenting on how the Rolls-Royce R&D centre further…[restrict] strengthens Finland’s commitment to developing autonomous transport, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Anne Berner, said: “There is great global interest in autonomous vehicles and vessels as a future means of transport. The opening of the Rolls-Royce Research & Development Centre for Autonomous Ships here in Turku, a maritime city with a history of technological innovation, will help achieve our goal of digitalising the country’s transport sector.”
The new R&D Centre enables Rolls-Royce and its partners to carry out projects focussed on autonomous navigation, the development of land-based control centres, and the use of artificial intelligence in future remote and autonomous shipping operations.
Opening the centre, Rolls-Royce president for marine Mikael Makinen said that it would help stakeholders, partners and customers to “will be able see here what a remote controlled and autonomous maritime future could look like, and work with us to shape the future. The experience space that is part of the centre here in Turku, and a similar one we have in our Technology Centre in Norway, is aimed at demonstrating to our customers the very tangible benefits of what is often considered an intangible technology.”
The Experience Space includes several interactive tables on which Rolls-Royce can showcase existing and future technologies while aiding the development and introduction of new rules and standards for autonomous shipping.
“The centre allows us to more accurately communicate our capabilities, what we have available today and what will be available tomorrow,” said Karno Tenovuo, Rolls-Royce Senior Vice President, Ship Intelligence. “It will completely focus on the development of solutions capable of smoothing the maritime industry’s transition to the digital age. An autonomous maritime ecosystem will open up unprecedented opportunities.”[/restrict]
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CMA CGM TAKES DELIVERY OF 20,600-TEU CMA CGM ANTOINE DE SAINT EXUPERY
She is the first of an order for three 20,600-TEU container ships.
The new ship is 400 metres in length and 59-metres wide.
According to CMA CGM the ship is a strong symbol of the Group’s dynamism and development.
The statement said the ship benefits from the best technologies, including a Becker Twisted Fin allowing improvement in the propeller’s performance, while helping reduce significantly the energy expenditure for a 4% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Another benefit is a new-generation engine that significantly reduces oil consumption (-25%) and fuel consumption for a 3% average reduction of CO2 emissions. The ship has a system for the treatment of ballast water using filters and UV lamps, allowing it to discharge into the sea as cleaned water, free of living organisms capable of impacting marine biodiversity.
The ship has been named as a tribute to the pioneer of the Aéropostale, Antoine de Saint Exupery, the writer and the poet, known for his values of humanism and responsibility, which CMA CGM says are values that it has been sharing and conveying for 40 years. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was a symbol of France and its influence, it said.
CMA CGM Antoine de Saint Exupery will enter into service on 6 February on CMA CGM’s FAL 1 service (French Asia Line 1), the longest sea route in the world which connects Asia to Northern Europe. The service offers a weekly service to 16 ports of call with a duration of 84 days.
Now watch a short [0:18] video clip of the ship on her sea trials.
MAILBAG
Sir
What made the following item regarding the tug PSD2 newsworthy? (Africa PORTS & SHIPS, Thursday 25 January Plight of arrested tug in Durban harbour revealed)
“….the tug was infested with rats and cockroaches ”
Having trained on HMS Conway and then served twelve years with The Clan Line, we would have felt abandoned if there had not been the scores of cockroaches to be eliminated before the Master’s inspection on a Sunday morning. What else would the cadets with their tins of DDT have to occupy their time?
Brian Hollman
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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.
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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.
The bulk carrier PRETTY TEAM (IMO 9639763) appears to be outflanked by the port pilot boat (still operating in Durban with the helicopter service remaining unavailable) as the Marshall Island-flagged bulker heads for the open ocean and her next port of call, Dakar. The 180-metre long, 30m wide ship, which was built in 2013, is owned by Hong Kong interests and managed by Parakou Shipping, also of Hong Kong. These pictures are by Keith Betts
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“Well, in our country,” said Alice, still panting a little, “you’d generally get somewhere else—if you ran very fast for a long time, as we’ve been doing. “A slow sort of country!” said the Queen. “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place…”
– Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found There
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