TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : SUPER SERVANT 4
- Richards Bay Lighthouse demolished-temporary structure in place
- Dredging project returns sand to Durban’s beaches
- Mobile crane ordered for Nigeria’s Baro port on Niger River
- More heroin seized in raid on dhow near Horn of Africa
- Petrol train derails outside Mombasa port, spilling loaded wagons into ocean
- Shipping lines begin to revise their Iranian services as sanctions are reintroduced
- Cruise ship Viking Jupiter is floated out
- Georgia-NATO maritime cooperation enhanced
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : FAUST
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The heavy-lift vessel SUPER SERVANT 4 (IMO 8025343) is seen here approaching the US port of Port Everglades, one of two semi-submersibles dedicated to yacht transportation for the firm of DYT Yacht Transport – the other being Yacht Express. The ship is 169.4 metres long and 32m wide with a 17,600-dwt and an open deck area of 32m x 146 metres. Super Servant 4 was built in 1982 at the Oshima Shipbuilding yard in Saikai, Japan. DYT Yacht Transport, which is based in Fort Lauderdale USA, charters the vessel from the Dutch owners and ship management firm of Spliethoff Transport BV of Amsterdam, Netherlands. This picture is by Tony de Freitas
* For more information about these yacht transports and the industry they serve, read this story of riding a yacht in transit (featuring a South African deckhand) together with some video coverage by CLICKING HERE
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RICHARDS BAY LIGHTHOUSE DEMOLISHED – TEMPORARY STRUCTURE IN PLACE
Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has erected a temporary light and structure on the site of the old Richards Bay lighthouse to guide vessels navigating the surrounding waters. This follows the recent demolition of the 39-year-old lighthouse due to severe coastal erosion. See our report of 27 March 2018 RICHARDS BAY LIGHTHOUSE BACK ON
The new, temporary structure was successfully commissioned on 1 April 2018 after a period of testing and calibration. The steel structure was fabricated by a local company, while the LED long range beacon was shipped from the United Kingdom.
The original lighthouse situated at Meerensee was commissioned on May 22, 1979 and stood more than 200 metres from the edge of the cliff at the time of its construction. More recently the structure had come close to toppling into the sea.
The temporary structure (foreground) and the old Richards Bay lighthouse tower
David Gordon, Executive Manager for Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) Lighthouse and Navigational Services (LNS) said the recent slippage was a unique situation of great concern.
“The South African Maritime Safety Authority was informed and a navigational warning was issued. TNPA’s LNS division issued a tender calling for specialist advice for the demolition and removal of the structure and four unique proposals were received from well-established contractors,” he said.
The proposal submitted by Atomic Demolishers was selected and TNPA LNS enlisted their services in March 2018.
Their proposal involved anchoring the structure to two purpose-built concrete anchors and pre-tensioned cables, in order to secure and control the direction of the structure’s collapse. The site was handed over to the contractor on 12 April 2018 and the demolition took place under the guidance of a structural engineer.
Once the pre-tensioning was completed, the base of the tower was chipped and broken away using a hydraulic excavator mounted breaker. The tower was collapsed and broken up, and the concrete rubble was transported and disposed of. LNS conducted a final inspection on 4 May 2018.
Access to the dune face is presently restricted by a newly-erected wire fence.
LNS is working with the City of Umhlathuze to put the necessary services in place for a new lighthouse on a new site in Richards Bay. An environmental impact assessment (EIA) is outstanding, however construction of the new lighthouse is expected to begin later this year.
TNPA’s LNS division provides, operates and maintains lighthouses and other Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) along the 2,954 km coastline of South Africa, which is home to 45 lighthouses.
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DREDGING PROJECT RETURNS SAND TO DURBAN’S BEACHES
An innovative sand pumping initiative between eThekwini Municipality (Durban) and Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has successfully reinstated sand along eroded sections of Durban’s popular Golden Mile and could offer similar benefits for beaches extending further northwards.
The municipality and TNPA proposed the initiative late last year to tackle beach erosion exacerbated by climate change and inclement weather. A trial of the project was conducted in October 2017.
The special beach nourishment programme involves…[restrict] deploying one of TNPA’s dredging vessels, the ILEMBE, out at sea. Sand collected by the dredger during TNPA’s usual harbour dredging operations from the ‘sand trap’ (an area just around the outside of the southern breakwater) is then discharged directly onto the beach via a floating under-sea pipeline.
Private contractors appointed by the Municipality, Subtech and Katlantic, are responsible for managing the positioning of the pipeline as well as the shore side managing of the sand, under the guidance of an expert from Royal IHC, the Netherlands company which built the Ilembe dredger. This method of sand replenishment – in use globally but not to date on South African beaches – has provided direct nourishment to affected areas of the Durban beachfront in a fast, productive and cost-effective manner.
Portions of North Beach, Dairy Beach, Country Club and Battery Beach were closed to the public from 20 April 2018 to allow the sand pumping operations to take place over approximately four weeks.
To date North Beach has been completed with approximately 74,000 m3 of sand replenished in this area. As at mid-May a total of 194,000 m3 of sand was dredged across the initial beaches – and locals have already noticed the difference.
Dairy Beach commenced on 10 May and is expected to be completed by 17 May. Thereafter sand will be provided to the Suncoast area.
“Durban and Richards Bay are the only cities in which TNPA has an agreement with the municipalities to replenish sand onto the beaches,” said Carl Gabriel, Executive Manager for Dredging Services at TNPA. “Our top priority as the port authority is to ensure that the entrance channels, basins and berths at our commercial ports are safe for navigation. This is achieved through regular maintenance dredging in which our dredging fleet is shared across our ports according to a national dredger deployment plan that ensures our equipment does not sit idle.”
He added: “Our beach nourishment agreement with the eThekwini Municipality requires us to provide a minimum of 250,000 cubic metres of sand a year to reinstate the city’s beaches situated north of the channel mouth, due to the natural migration of sand along the coast. A maximum of 500,000 cubic metres can be supplied, subject to the availability of the upper limit from the sand trap, a deep hole in the sea on the south side of the South Pier that is used to trap sand that naturally moves northwards due to winds and currents.
“This current project is of high importance to us as it proves that the dredger is able to nourish the beaches from the sea-side. This opens the possibility of providing the same service to nourish beaches even further North such as Umhlanga and Umdloti. These projects would provide an excellent means of TNPA Dredging Services utilising our spare trailing suction hopper dredger capacity for the benefit of our port cities.”
While TNPA has exceeded 500,000 cubic metres of sand annually supplied to the City over the last 10 years, climate change and delays in commissioning TNPA’s sand hopper station have necessitated this extra project. TNPA’s Dredging Services division continues to collaborate closely with the municipality under the guidance of Godfrey Vella, manager of coastal engineering, storm water and catchment management, at eThekwini Municipality.
TNPA’s temporary solution for sand pumping also includes a direct discharge line (DDL) to replenish large volumes of sand from the channel back onto the Durban beaches as quickly as possible. However, the permanent solution will be the commissioning of the TNPA sand hopper station by the end of May, once final performance testing has been completed at the facility. The new sand hopper will deliver sand directly into the municipality’s sand pumping booster station for sand to be distributed to the beaches north of the port’s entrance channel. The TNPA sand hopper was built to replace the municipal sand hopper which had to be demolished to accommodate the harbour entrance widening project in 2007.[/restrict]
To view a short [1:05]video showing the beach replenishment underway on Durban’s North Beach, watch below.
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MOBILE CRANE ORDERED FOR NIGERIA’S BARO PORT ON NIGER RIVER
Konecranes has revealed that earlier this year it received an order for a Konecranes Gottwald Model 2 Mobile Harbour Crane which is to go into service at the Nigeria river port of Baro.
The crane’s main purpose will be to handle containers and general cargo at the port, which is to the north of the city of Lekoja. Baro, originally a small riverside village was developed by the British as a river and railway junction to load mainly cotton – the site was chosen because…[restrict] it had a solid bank which is unusual along the river which made it useful for loading river craft. A Baro-Kano railway line was opened in 1911 for this purpose. However the river port fell into disuse after a new railway was built further north.
Last year the federal government announced that Baro would be refurbished and placed in use again as an important river port.
The Nigerian company First Index Project and Services Ltd, operating as a public sector supplier, purchased the eco-efficient, diesel-electric crane for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). The crane’s main components, pre-tested in the factory, will be shipped to Lagos and then transported by land to Baro, situated 650 km inland on the River Niger.
The Model 2 mobile harbour crane is part of an investment in sustainable port infrastructure in Baro. Boss Mustpha, former Managing Director of NIWA, the main sponsor of the project, described the Port of Baro as vital for Nigeria’s economy.
“In Baro, freight that arrives on the Niger River from the Atlantic is forwarded inland by train and road, and vice versa,” he said. “To ensure productive and reliable cargo handling at this hub, we have opted for the first time for a Konecranes Gottwald Mobile Harbour Crane. The versatile Model 2 crane is the perfect choice for our terminal, where highly efficient operation is required.”
“NIWA’s decision to opt for a Konecranes Gottwald Mobile Harbor Crane shows how we can provide the right crane for virtually any application and terminals of every size and type,” said Andreas Czwalinna, Regional Sales Manager, Konecranes Port Solutions. “Model 2 was specially developed for use in small terminals, situated in sea ports or, as in the case of NIWA, in river ports.”
The diesel-electric Model 2 two-rope crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 80 tons and an outreach of up to 40 m.[/restrict]
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MORE HEROIN SEIZED IN RAID ON DHOW NEAR HORN OF AFRICA
This is the third such seizure of narcotics by this ship in less than a month.
On 11 May the latest stop and search netted a haul of 260 kg of heroin hidden in the dhow. The naval ship is operating within the CTF 150 forces which are patrolling the Arabian Sea area. La Fayette was working closely with a French Navy Falcon patrol aircraft as well as the frigate’s own Panther helicopter when the latest dhow was observed.
The ship’s Commanding Officer determined that…[restrict] further action was required and quickly requested permission from Commander CTF 150 to activate a boarding team. A thorough search that lasted nearly 24 hours in rough sea conditions resulted in the seizure of 260 kgs of heroin worth an estimated US$61 million*.
La Fayette’s success builds upon that of her sister frigate Marine Nationale Jean de Vienne, where together they have confiscated over 6 tonnes of hashish and 1.2 tonnes of heroin over the last two months, valued in excess of $1.9 billion*.
According to the Royal Australian Navy’s Commodore Mal Wise, Commander of CTF 150, the continued success in removing illicit narcotics from the smuggling circuit is a testament to the hard work of naval units committed to CTF 150 efforts of ensuring the oceans are safe and used for legitimate purposes.
“The hard work, professionalism and dedication of the Officers and sailors in La Fayette is outstanding and a shining example of the French Navy’s commitment to ensure illicit narcotics do not make it to their intended destinations and are not used to fund terrorism,” he said.
Now nearing the end of the Australian Command, CTF 150 continues to work hard in the region to counter narcotics smuggling and in turn counter terrorism which the narcotics trade funds. The current staff is supported by partners from France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
* This calculation is based on the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Illicit Drug Data Report 2015–16 figures for Cannabis Resin (Hashish) at US$39 per gram (p215) and Heroin at $235,000 per kilogram.[/restrict]
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PETROL TRAIN DERAILS OUTSIDE MOMBASA PORT, SPILLING LOADED WAGONS INTO OCEAN
Video above: NTV and YouTube [2:28]
A major rail derailment at Mombasa on Saturday has resulted in thousands of people being isolated from the mainland after police closed the road to the city at Kibarani.
The accident occurred when a train carrying 250,000 litres of petrol derailed, with fuel wagons overturning on the embankment and spilling at least seven loaded wagons into…[restrict] the waters of the bay. It is not immediately clear whether any fuel has been spilled.
Seven wagons are reported to be submerged into the sea on one side of the embankment. Wagons also fell on the oppste side of the tracks.
A heavy police, security and firefighting contingent immediately closed off a section of the Makupa causeway to the city, trapping people including a number who were intending to travel to the Mombasa Moi International airport early on Sunday morning. The accident occurred at 23h35 on Saturday.
Other people who were travelling to join the standard gauge Madaraka Express train to Nairobi on Sunday morning were also held up.
Motorists from Nairobi were advised to user the Kaloleni-Mavueni-Mtwapa route to get to Mombasa city and vice versa. Those from Magongo, Changamwe, Miritini, and Mikindani were forced to go back home or wait as police and firemen worked at the scene. The Kenya Port Authority also gave permission for motorists to make use of the road through the port, normally closed to the public.[/restrict]
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A number of shipping lines, including Maersk Line and MSC, have begun reviewing their shipping services to Iran in face of the reintroduction of sanctions by the US.
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) said in a statement last week that like other major container shipping lines, it had been taking bookings for Iran-related trade after the 2015 JCPOA (Iran nuclear deal) effectively lifted certain sanctions on Iran in exchange for limits to its nuclear program.
“In consideration of the impending US withdrawal…[restrict] from the JCPOA, and corresponding re-enlargement of its sanctions program, we regret to inform you that MSC is ceasing to provide access to services to and from Iran,” said the statement.
MSC added that the US government has outlined a wind-down period in the coming months and that it will do its “utmost to collaborate with you to conclude this period with the minimum disruption to your business and to avoid any unnecessary inconvenience.”
While MSC is not accepting bookings for shipments originating from Iran, or destined to Iran, the company will continue to carry certain legally acceptable cargoes during the wind-down period, notably for importation of foodstuffs.
While MSC and Maersk Line do not provide any direct sailings to or from Iran they do provide a regular service via third party feeder services from transhipment hubs in Jebel Ali in the UAE.
Maersk Line has also placed its Iran business under review and is expected to follow a similar procedure of not taking forward business for Iran. The company has a small staff in the country with offices at Tehran, Bandar Abbas and Bushehr.
Last week Soren Skou, Maersk chief executive said that with the sanctions that the US are reimposing, it becomes impossible to do business in Iran if you also have business in the United States. He pointed out that Maersk has large scale business interests in the US. “I am certain that we’re also going to shut down (in Iran),” he was quoted as saying.
Much the same can be expected of other international shipping lines as the US reintroduction of sanctions takes effect.
The US announced that it will allow a wind down period of between 90 and 180 days before full sanctions take effect. Any shipping line that continues to do business with Iran beyond 4 November can thereafter expect to be banned from doing business in the United States.
The sanctions will include Iran’s ports operators, the country’s shipping and shipbuilding sectors, and sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and South Shipping Line.[/restrict]
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Earlier in the month the up and coming Viking Cruises ‘floated out’ their latest ocean cruise ship, the equivalent of a ship being launched.
The 930-passenger VIKING JUPITER is expected to enter service in early 2019 when her entry will make Viking Cruises the largest ‘small ship’ cruise line in the business. This after just four years since launching their ocean cruise business. Viking is also a noted river cruise operator.
Once launched in service Viking Jupiter will spend her maiden season sailing itineraries in the Mediterranean and Northern Europe.
“It is always a proud moment when a new ship touches water for the first time and is one step closer to welcoming guests onboard,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “As a Norwegian native, I am also particularly proud to announce today Sissel Kyrkjebø, my mother’s favourite singer and a long-time Viking partner, will be honoured as godmother to Viking Jupiter and will preside over the ship’s naming ceremony in Oslo, Norway in June 2019.”
The traditional float out ceremony took place at the Fincantieri’s Ancona shipyard and is significant because it denotes a ship moving into its final stage of construction. Viking Jupiter’s float out began at approximately 11h30 local time and in keeping with maritime tradition, a madrina – a special woman of honour – assisted with the ceremony, first welding commemorative coins under the ship mast.
Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø, who is widely considered one of the world’s top crossover sopranos and who has long been a cultural partner to Viking, served as Viking Jupiter’s madrina. She welded a commemorative coin representing her birth year, as well as the birth years for Chairman Hagen (1943) and Finse (2012), Hagen’s “grand dog.”
A special coin, dated 1911, was also welded to represent Ragnhild “Mamsen” Hagen, the mother of Chairman Hagen and the woman after whom the onboard Norwegian deli Mamsen’s is named. Kyrkjebø then cut a cord to allow water to begin flowing into the ship’s building dock. Following a two-day process that will set Viking Jupiter afloat, the ship will then be moved to a nearby outfitting dock for final construction and interior build-out.
Each of Viking’s ocean ships have a gross tonnage of 47,800 tons, have 465 staterooms and host 930 guests. Classified as a “small ship” (they are getting bigger each time) the all-veranda Viking Jupiter will join Viking’s award-winning ocean fleet, which also in
Ten additional ships are also planned for delivery starting in 2021, which could bring Viking’s ocean fleet to 16 ships by 2027.
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GEORGIA-NATO MARITIME COOPERATION ENHANCED
It was reported from Tbilisi, Georgia, on 17 May that Allied Maritime Command and Georgian Internal Affairs officials conducted several events to enhance the operational level of NATO-Georgia maritime cooperation. This was reported from NATO MARCOM the same day.
NATO Maritime Command Deputy Commander, French Navy Vice-Admiral Hervé Bléjean, met with the Minister of Internal Affairs, Head of the Border Police and Chief of the Coast Guard during a visit to the Georgian capital Tbilisi.
Officials spoke about the specific steps taken so far at the operational and tactical level that have increased interoperability between NATO and Georgian forces.
At the same time, Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) under the…[restrict] direction of Commodore Mike Utley, RN, conducted a port visit in Poti, Georgia from 14 to 17 May with four ships from the group: destroyer HMS Duncan (flagship), Turkish frigate TCG Gemlik, Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand and Bulgarian frigate BGS Drazki.
This NATO Group was conducting a Passing Exercise with the Georgian Coast Guard on 17 May to increase interoperability and provide an opportunity for the Georgian Coast Guard Boarding Teams to work with their NATO counterparts.
NATO is increasing its presence in the Black Sea region as part of the Tailored Forward Presence (TFP) activities to provide assurance to Allies on the Black Sea and increase interoperability among NATO and partner navies.
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London[/restrict]
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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT
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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.
One of the more impressive Ro-Ro car carrying ships to service South African ports is surely this one, Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s 8000-unit FAUST (IMO 9332925), one of a series of car carriers named after famous composers. With a length of 228 metres and a width of 32m and a height of 34.7m, they are hard not to notice, especially when decked out in Wallenius Wilhelmsen’s bright green livery. Built in 2007 and registered in Sweden, Faust is one of the biggest car carriers afloat – some more recent builds do go up to 8,500 car capacity. The 71,583-gt Faust was built in South Korea by the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering DSME shipyard. Her draught is 11.5 metres and the ship is capable of a swift 21 knots although her cruising speed is 19 knots. With 13 decks, five of them adjustable, and a capacity area of approximately 67,300 cubic metres, Faust was at her launching the biggest car carrier then afloat. One the occasion of this particular call Faust spent 12 hours in the Port of Durban, before heading back out to sea, next stop in Reunion. These pictures are by Keith Betts
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
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– Henri Louis Bergson
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