
TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : ISLAND VIEW AND BOW RIYAD
- Ship movements back to normal at Ports of Richards Bay and Durban
- Kenya Ports Authority MD is suspended, then reinstated by court order
- SAIMI appoints Soraya Artman as Director of Operations
- CMA CGM has commenced embedding artificial intelligence on board its ships
- K Line introduces new generation VLCC and Aframax tankers with no bulbous bow
- MSC Seaview delivered to MSC Cruises
- Royal Navy western Mediterranean rescue
- Wilhelmsen Ships Service lifts off with Airbus drone delivery
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : CONTI COURAGE
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FIRST VIEW: ISLAND VIEW AND BOW RIYAD

The view towards the Durban port entrance from a ship on berth at the Island View liquid bulk berths, with the Odfjell products tanker BOW RIYAD in the picture and the dark green headland of the Bluff. The Norwegian tanker is no stranger to Durban and has made frequent calls, including one in September last year when she received a cofferdam repair to a ballast tank, undertaken by Dormac Marine. Note the ‘sentry’ on the stern of the photographer’s ship, one of two on duty. This picture is by Anup Rampiar
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SHIP MOVEMENTS BACK TO NORMAL AT PORTS OF RICHARDS BAY AND DURBAN

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has confirmed that incoming vessel movements resumed yesterday at the Port of Richards Bay at 09h00 (Tuesday 5 June 2018).
This after adverse weather conditions, including swells of up to four metres and wind gusts up to 30 knots, led to the suspension of marine movements. The suspension remained in effect for 39 hours from Sunday evening to Tuesday morning. See yesterday’s report WEATHER AFFECTS KZN PORTS OF RICHARDS BAY AND DURBAN
Nompumelelo Mkhize, Acting Harbour Master at the Port of Richards Bay, thanked port users for their patience. She said only two vessels had been affected by the suspension and had already entered port.
On 4 June 2018 Transnet Port Terminals’ Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 waterside operations were also on standby for over seven hours due to wind speeds recorded between 80 and 100km/h.
“The safety of our people, equipment and our customers’ cargo is always seen as a priority so due to adverse weather conditions our waterside operations were temporarily affected. However, our landside and rail operations continued as normal throughout this period as they did not face the same safety challenges,” stated Zamo Ngcobo, Transnet Port Terminals’ DCT Pier 2 Terminal Manager.
In Durban port operations likewise returned to normal after some disruption due to the adverse weather. Further details were not available when this report went to publication.
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KENYA PORTS AUTHORITY MD IS SUSPENDED, THEN REINSTATED BY COURT ORDER

First she was suspended on charges of being incompetent and then, and one week later is reinstated by order of the Kenya High Court.
It’s never a dull day, they say, in affairs of the East African country. Last Wednesday KPA managing director Catherine Mturi-Wairi was issued an order suspending her on charges of incompetency at the port at Mombasa.
Her position at the ports authority was taken by Daniel Manduku as acting managing director for a two month period. Manduku has not worked with the KPA previously.
Things moved swiftly from there and on Tuesday this week…[restrict] Judge Eric Ogola of the Constitutional and Judicial Review division of the High Court issued an order suspending the suspension as well as the decision by the KPA board directors to send Ms Wairi on compulsory leave.
The judgement is pending a hearing and determination of an application by a Mombasa resident, Mr Emanuel Chengo Kenga, who is suing the KPA, the Transport Cabinet Secretary and the Attorney General.
Kenga claimed in the court action heard yesterday that the decision taken by the board to suspend the managing director was illegal, which he based on the grounds that the majority of the board members’ terms of office had elapsed and that the remaining members did not constitute a quorum, thus rendering any decision taken by them to be unconstitutional and illegal.
Kenga further claimed that the matter of her suspension was resulting in divisions within the KPA workforce which would affect both morale and productivity.
In ordering the temporary lifting of the suspension of the managing director, the court directed Mr Kenga to serve the respondents with the suit papers and the orders through a notice in a newspaper. The application will be heard on 12 June.
The charges raised against Ms Wairi that led to her suspension by the KPA board revolve around a crisis of congestion at the Port of Mombasa, in particular its container port, and claims that ships have been forced to sail without cargo being loaded. A total of 32,000 containers had accumulated at the terminal by the week before Ms Wairi’s suspension, which had been brought to the board’s attention. source: Business Daily & Standard Media
Watch the video clip below which discusses some of the reasons for the managing director’s on/off suspension.
[1:52]
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SAIMI APPOINTS SORAYA ARTMAN AS DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

The South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) has announced the appointment of Soraya Artman to steer its operational side, as it seeks to strengthen partnerships within the South African maritime sector and beyond.
According to SAIMI, Artman brings a wealth of experience in finance and corporate governance within a research-driven organisation to her new role as director of operations. She was previously the senior manager of finance for the Nelson Mandela University Business School,
“One of SAIMI’s overarching aims is to be a national institute which is recognised nationally and internationally. To achieve this, we need to partner with all universities, colleges and private training providers who have an interest in maritime affairs,” Artman said.
“This will help South Africa…[restrict] pursue its national interest in growing maritime economic participation. We also need to grow and enhance SAIMI’s education and training portfolio and services to the maritime industry.”
Headquartered in Port Elizabeth, SAIMI was established through funding support from the National Skills Fund, to coordinate the development and implementation of a national skills development plan for the maritime sector. It also provides a link between industry and training and academic institutions to ensure that education and training programmes meet the needs of the maritime sector.
Artman said her role would be to implement and improve processes to ensure efficient operations within SAIMI to facilitate its founding purpose.
“The goal is to ensure that SAIMI remains both visible and accessible. As such we will be reaching out to all stakeholders with whom SAIMI could have mutually beneficial collaborations and partnerships,” she said.
“I envision SAIMI as an institute that supports a world-class culture of business growth and responsiveness to the market, which promotes learning, that is at the forefront of knowledge generation in the sector and that provides an environment for employee growth, motivation and innovation.”
Explaining what the appointment meant to her, Artman said it provided her with the opportunity to broaden her work focus beyond finance, where she worked for the past five years.
“Prior to that I was involved in all aspects of operations management and I am therefore very excited by the prospects at SAIMI. The maritime sector is very broad and extremely interesting,” she said.
Of her role as a woman in a top-level leadership position, Artman said there were already several talented women employed at SAIMI, who occupied critical roles and had achieved a lot in the three years of the organisation’s existence.
“I am happy to be joining this dynamic team,” she said.
SAIMI chief executive officer Professor Malek Pourzanjani said: “Soraya’s appointment is one of several key appointments being made by SAIMI in its efforts to expand its management capacity and further strengthen its ability to meet the needs of the maritime sector.
“Her experience in finance and operations management adds significant value to SAIMI, as does her familiarity with the education sector and corporate environment.”[/restrict]
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CMA CGM HAS COMMENCED EMBEDDING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ON BOARD ITS SHIPS
French shipping group CMA CGM which has worldwide operations has revealed that since the beginning of this year it has been collaborating with Shone, a San Francisco-based startup that is specialising in the use of artificial intelligence for maritime transportation.
The collaboration enables Shone to access the CMA CGM Group vessels to finalise the development of artificial intelligence systems on board container ships.
As a result, CMA CGM allows Shone to take onboard data collection systems which are then analysed at the startup’s headquarters in San Francisco. Once the development is finalised, this innovation will facilitate the work of crews on board, whether in decision support, maritime safety or piloting assistance.
As far as security and anti-collision alert systems are concerned, Shone fuses data from multiple sensors (radar, camera, AIS, etc) in order to increase detection accuracy, thus preventing potential collisions, taking into account COLREGs.
Shone is a young startup based in San Francisco. Founded by three French engineers, Shone is working on the introduction of artificial intelligence, which is already present in cars, on board ships. Created in 2017, it aims to become the world reference in the field of artificial intelligence on board ships.
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K LINE INTRODUCES NEW GENERATION VLCC AND AFRAMAX TANKERS WITH NO BULBOUS BOW

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd, otherwise known as K Line has taken delivery this week of the 311,000-dwt VLCC TEDORIGAWA, the first in a new generation of VLCC and Aframax tankers featuring plumb bows.
The most noticeable feature of the new design is the lack of a bulbous bow. According to K Line, the ship’s plumb bow, together with…[restrict] an ultra-long stroke slow speed main diesel engine and highly-efficient large diameter propeller, will result in a 20% reduction in fuel consumption.
A ballast water treatment system ensures the ocean habitat is protected from unwanted environmental effects.
Tedorigawa was built at the Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering Co yard in China and delivered on Monday, 4 June 2018.
The VLCC is part of an order placed in 2016 for three VLCCs and two Aframax tankers.
The ship has a lOA of 339.5 metres, a beam of 60m, a depth of 28.9m and a draught of 21m, a gross ton of 161,483-gt, and deadweight of 311,000-dwt. She is flagged in Panama, Class ABS.[/restrict]
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MSC SEAVIEW DELIVERED TO MSC CRUISES

MSC Cruises has taken delivery of the third next-generation MSC cruise ship to come from the Italian Fincantieri shipyard at Monfalcone, and incidentally the biggest cruise ship ever built in Italy.
MSC SEAVIEW becomes MSC Cruises latest flagship in a fleet now totalling 15 ships.
With her iconic design and generous outdoor public spaces MSC hopes she will be a game changer for guests who want to make the most of the sun and outdoors, whilst enjoying the sea during their cruise experience. She will sail…[restrict] in the Mediterranean for her inaugural summer season and in South America for the (Northern) winter season.
Her presence will further strength the company’s position in two markets in which MSC Cruises is the leading cruise brand.
“MSC Seaview will bring yet another new distinctively innovative MSC Cruises product to the market as she boasts cutting edge design, and features the latest marine and environmental technology,” said MSC Cruises Executive Chairman Pierfrancesco Vago.
“She is an example of our commitment to bring the best and most innovative tonnage to the market, and our ambition to set each time a new standard in the industry. The Seaside class is yet another brand new, highly-innovative prototype that we introduce – the 5th to date, since we entered the cruising industry only 15 years ago. Moreover, I am proud to say, together with her sister ship MSC Seaside, it is the biggest ship ever built in Italy.”
Vago said that MSC Cruises was increasing capacity at record speeds. MSC Seaview is the third ship to come into service in just 12 months. “These are very exciting times for us, and we are already merely nine months away of the completion of our next ship, MSC Bellissima – the first of two Meraviglia class ships that will come into service over a six-month period next year.”

Key Specs for MSC Seaview
* Length/beam/height: 323.3m/41m/72m
* Gross tonnage: 153,516 GT
* Passengers: 5,331
* Crew: 1,413
* Maximum speed: 21.3 knots
* Flagship of MSC Cruises global fleet[/restrict]
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Late in the day on 4 June an eagle-eyed lookout from the Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer HMS DUNCAN spied two men in a boat quite by chance in the western Mediterranean – and the warship immediately offered food, fuel and life-saving assistance.
Duncan, which has spent 2018 leading a NATO task group in the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean, was making her way to Portugal when she came across the stranded fishermen about 70 miles off the Algerian coast.
So small was the men’s boat that the destroyer was just 600 feet away before it was spotted by Officer-of-the-Watch Lieutenant Rob Coatsworth, who was scanning the horizon for anything unusual.
He said: “The fishermen were incredibly lucky to be spotted. The sun was low on the horizon, the swell was heavy and they had no signalling equipment. The odds were very much against them as they were 70 miles north of Algeria and outside any shipping lanes. It was only a sharp lookout that raised the alarm, there was absolutely nothing on radar.”
Duncan immediately launched her sea boat with Royal Marines, a medic and an engineer aboard to offer help.
Medical assistant Rhiann Dilmore said the two men in the boat were in a bad way. She said: “They had been eating raw fish and were drinking sea water. We patched them up and gave them hot drinks and halal food and made sure they were warm and reassured. Their engine had run out of fuel so we got it going.”
Petty Officer Daniel Law, who normally looks after Duncan’s diesel engines added: “They had been adrift for nearly five days. I filled the tank and primed the engine and she started first time. We all just smiled. I cannot speak Arabic and they had no English but the smiles said it all. It was really humbling to see the look of gratitude by those we had rescued.”
Duncan’s assistance did not end there. She accompanied the small boat for several miles until an Algerian Coast Guard vessel arrived to take over the rescue effort.
In the words of Operations Officer Lieutenant-Commander Ben Dorrington: “Being adrift in an open boat at night must have been petrifying. We quickly made contact with the Algerian Coast Guard and arranged for a suitable rendezvous for the early hours of the morning (5 June). Our sea boat escorted the fishermen throughout the night until a positive handover was made with Algerian authorities. We wish our fellow mariners well.”
Everyone aboard Duncan is convinced that without the destroyer’s intervention, the fate of the two men would have been bleak.
“The efforts of the crew were heart-warming,” said Lieutenant-Commander Florentine Dhellemmes, a French exchange officer aboard HMS Duncan. She added: “The fishermen would have had no chance without rescue. A good night’s work.”
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
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WILHELMSEN SHIPS SERVICE LIFTS OFF WITH AIRBUS DRONE DELIVERY

Wilhelmsen Ships Service lifts off with Airbus bringing drone delivery to one of the world’s busiest ports
Pairing Wilhelmsen’s extensive ships agency expertise and robust safety standards, with Airbus’ expertise in aeronautical vertical lift solutions, the Agency by Air project brings shore-to-ship drone delivery to one of the busiest ports in the world, Singapore.
Launching at Singapore port’s Marina South Pier in quarter three 2018, Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Airbus will be piloting the delivery of spare parts, documents, water test kits and 3D printed consumables via Airbus’ Skyways unmanned air system (UAS) to vessels at anchorage.
With the signing of an MOU at maritime trade show Posidonia, the Maritime UAS project agreement covers a joint ambition to establish a framework for cooperation between the Parties, with the aim of investigating the potential deployment and commercialisation of UAS for maritime deliveries use cases.

Marking the very first time, the viability of autonomous drone delivery to vessels has been put to the test in hectic, real-world port conditions, Marius Johansen, VP Commercial, Ships Agency at Wilhelmsen Ships Service is confident with Airbus now onboard his agency team’s long-term drone delivery aspirations will be fulfilled.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with a forward thinking, industry leader like Airbus. When we announced last year that we were pursuing drone delivery, we were greeted with a fair amount of scepticism, but our collaboration with Airbus, shows we really do mean business.”
We’re confident drones will become a game changer in the agency and logistics business in the not too distant future, he adds.
“As an outward looking company, eager to utilise technology to help improve our customers’ experiences, drone delivery is a perfect fit for our agency business. Part of our standard husbandry services, we organise the delivery of essential spares, medical supplies and cash to master via launch boat day in and day out all over the world. However, delivery by drone is much more cost effective, quicker, and frankly safer for all involved. Costing on average ninety percent less than launch boats, they importantly remove the risks inherently involved with making launch deliveries and also have negligible environmental impact.”
Agency by air
With Wilhelmsen Ships Service tasked with setting up the necessary maritime and port operations, gaining the relevant approvals from port authorities and securing maritime customers, Airbus will take care of all the corresponding aviation approvals, and the running and maintenance of the UAS and its control systems.
Commenting on their partnership, Airbus’ Skyways lead Leo Jeoh said, “This collaboration with Wilhelmsen, the first of its kind in the region, gives us a unique test bed where we can trial, refine and shape the future of shore-to-ship drone technologies. This also serves as an exciting opportunity to bring together the strong domain expertise of both Airbus and Wilhelmsen, to pioneer the future of UAS in the maritime industry.”
Culminating over a year of planning and close collaboration between Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Airbus, involving the Singapore Maritime Port Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the partnership will first see an initial two-week pilot trial with deliveries to ships anchored in Singapore’s eastern anchorage.
A command centre and a delivery centre will be set up at the pier to facilitate the deliveries, with an initial delivery range of up to 3km from the shoreline. A second delivery station will be positioned at an open space in Marina South to extend delivery coverage to more anchorage vessels.
Exhibiting the Airbus drone and some examples of 3D printing parts it can deliver, Wilhelmsen’s Posidonia stand is located in Hall 3, Stand 3.213.
Agency by Air – Quick Facts
• Airbus and Wilhelmsen officially signs an MOU in June 2018 to develop an Unmanned Air System (UAS) for maritime deliveries.
• Test-project will begin in Singapore in Q3
• Unmanned autonomous drone deliveries enable a reduction in manpower and increased productivity compared to launch boat deliveries.
• With a quicker response rate and turnaround time of up to 6X, it has the potential to lower shore-to-ship delivery costs by up to 90%.

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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT
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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.
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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.
PIC OF THE DAY : CONTI COURAGE

With a good load of cargo the container ship CONTI COURAGE (IMO 9293789) makes her entry into the Durban port entrance channel and an appointment at sub-Saharan Africa’s busiest container terminal. The 100,936-dwt ship, on charter to Maersk Line, was previously on a long-term charter to Evergreen under the name Hatsu Courage. Now renamed Conti Courage, she continues to be owned by German interests and managed by NSB Niederelbe Schiffahrtsgesellschaft mbH & Co of Buxtehude, Germany. The ship has a container capacity of 8073 TEU, is 334 metres in length and 43m wide and is flagged in Portugal. Conti Courage was delivered in late December 2005 from the Samsung Heavy Industries Co of Okpo, South Korea as hull number SHI 1525. This picture is by Trevor Jones
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach; one can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few.”
― Anne Morrow Lindbergh
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