
TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : SAM PANTHER
- Djibouti: Any port in a storm?
- Low outlook for Nigerian oil exports in July
- Seaspan Felixstowe makes her maiden visit to South Africa
- Iranian fishermen held by Somali pirates are freed
- ONE’s first magenta newbuild of 14,000 TEU capacity is delivered
- CMA AGM reminds customers of age limit set for motor imports into Ivory Coast
- MSC latest mega-carrier to join BoxTech, pushing registered containers over 10 million
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : MAERSK TEMA
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The interestingly named freighter SAM PANTHER (IMO 9467952) heads down the Esplanade Channel towards Durban’s Maydon Wharf and a berth at MW6. The 179-metre long by 29m wide, 33,395-dwt bulker was built in 2010 at the Orient Shipyard Busan in Pusan, South Korea and is registered in Monrovia. The ship is owned and managed out of Geneva, Switzerland. This picture is by Ken Malcolm
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DJIBOUTI: ANY PORT IN A STORM?

The story of how DP World was forced to withdraw its management and operation of the Doraleh Container Terminal at Djibouti has been told in Africa PORTS & SHIPS as recently as yesterday, and no doubt the saga of this dispute will continue into the future as the matter has been referred to an arbitration court.
Across the waters of the Red Sea a battle for control of Yemen’s main port Hodeidah was launched yesterday (Wednesday) and while other countries from the Horn of Africa to Sudan in the Red Sea vie with each other with ambitious plans to attract foreign investment, Djibouti appears as a stable option in a volatile region. So it should, hosting as it does a number of foreign military bases for powerful countries such as the United States, China and France and with a powerful neighbour of Ethiopia relying almost entirely on the port.
However, are there risks involved? A new report by political and security risk consultancy Allan & Associates (www.Allan-Assoc.com) offers guidance on these issues.
Located near some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, with access to the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, Djibouti can boast decades of peace and political stability, unlike neighbours that include divided Somalia, secretive Eritrea and war-torn Yemen.

“Djibouti offers an attractive environment for investors in the Horn of Africa, but be careful how you tread,” says Allan and Associates Senior Analyst and Sub-Saharan Africa specialist Olivier Milland, author of the report.
Indicators suggest that significant investment risks exist in Djibouti, Allan & Associates assesses. These include:
* Growing corruption concerns as the country has slipped in international indices for transparency and governance
* Regional competition for contracts may see national elites attempt to access rents from foreign investors
* Poor macro-economic indicators, with public debt reaching 87 per cent of GDP in 2018
* Over-dependence on neighbour Ethiopia – 95 per cent of Ethiopian exports pass through the port of Djibouti – and China, its top source of foreign investment
* Vulnerability to a global protectionist trend, driven by United States President Donald Trump, due to a reliance on port traffic
* Rifts between Gulf countries threaten stability of investments
* Concerns over renegotiation of contracts under a new law and localisation
“Changing geopolitical dynamics in the region, amid protectionist policies in the U.S. and a rift between the Gulf countries, are posing additional challenges for investors”, says Milland.
The report suggests that port investors should rather look at options in Kenya, such as the facilities in Mombasa, Lamu and Malindi.
“[Kenya] is persistently ranked better than its regional counterparts, and has improved a number of indicators in recent years for the rule of law and regulatory environment.
“It is also signatory to several international conventions that provide businesses with multiple investment settlement options,” the report states.
However it cautions that investment in Kenya is not without issue. Funding gaps and bureaucratic processes have slowed current projects, while increasing debt could mean the government struggles to pay current contractors.
Other options mentioned in the report include Somaliland’s Port of Berbera, Puntland’s Port of Bosaso and Port Sudan. Ethiopia has invested in both Port Sudan and Lamu, but the report stresses that all African port investments carry their own risk.
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LOW OUTLOOK FOR NIGERIAN OIL EXPORTS IN JULY

Nigeria’s oil exports are expected to fall in July to just 1.43 million barrels per day (bpd), loading plans showed, the lowest level so far this year, says a report in Vanguard.
This is coming at a time Morocco and Nigeria signed a joint declaration in Rabat laying out the next steps for the completion of a gas pipeline deal that will be built onshore and offshore. The export plan comprised 48 cargoes, compared with 60 cargoes and a daily rate of 1.796 million bpd in June, due, in part, to an outage on the Bonny Light stream, which has been under force majeure for a month.
July’s export plan also includes…[restrict] four cargoes of Akpo condensate with 123,000 bpd, compared with four cargoes in June with 133,000 bpd. The export plans showed one extra cargo of Agbami than in June, as well as one more Bonga and an extra Qua Iboe.
It also shows three fewer Forcados and one fewer Escravos. A number of smaller streams showed no cargoes would load in July. Nigerian oil export plans are prone to revisions and delays, with cargoes frequently pushed from one month to the next.
Meanwhile, Morocco and Nigeria last Sunday signed a joint declaration in Rabat laying out the next steps for the completion of a gas pipeline deal that will be built onshore and offshore. The two countries agreed to the pipeline in December 2016 and launched feasibility studies ending with a plan to build the pipeline onshore and offshore, it said.
“For economic, political, legal and security reasons, the choice was made on a combined onshore and offshore route,” Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the two authorities supervising the project said in the joint declaration. “The pipeline will be 5,660 kilometres (3,516.96 miles) long and its CAPEX has been defined,” the declaration said, adding that construction will be in phases covering 25 years.
As a next step, Morocco and Nigeria will launch a front-end engineering design (Feed) to involve countries that will be crossed by the pipeline in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and to determine the amount of gas available for export to European off-takers. This phase also provides for assessing the financial cost and seeking funding from development banks, the joint declaration said. source: Vanguard[/restrict]
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SEASPAN FELIXSTOWE MAKES HER MAIDEN VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA

The Port of Ngqura in the Eastern Cape had the welcoming mats out last weekend to welcome a container vessel, SEASPAN FELIXSTOWE on her first call at the port.
Seaspan Felixstowe (IMO 9227039) is one of a number of identical or very similar box ships in the Seaspan fleet, each of them 50,500-dwt, 261 metres in length with beams of 32m and a container capacity of 4,250 TEU. Seaspan Felixstowe was built in 2002 at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard in South Korea.
The vessels operate between…[restrict] the Far East and South Africa, making calls locally at Durban and Ngqura. What’s of added interest is that Seaspan Felixstowe brought to Ngqura a cargo of 300 containers for the motor industry, and loaded 600 containers for export, also consisting of motor industry related products.
According to Transnet the containers were for and from a company or companies situated in the adjacent Coega Special Economic Zone. This is where the Beijing Automotive International Corporation (BAIC) has established a motor assembly plant at the SEZ where it plans on completing 100,000 motor units annually.
Seaspan vessels will call at Durban and Ngqura on a fortnightly cycle, arriving Ngqura on Saturdays and departing Sundays initially, or at least that is the plan.
So far four Seaspan ships have appeared on the rotation, all identical as mentioned. They are SEASPAN LEBU, SEASPAN LUMACO, SEASPAN LINGUE and now SEASPAN FELIXSTOWE.
Although owned by Seaspan Corporation of Hong Kong, the vessels are managed out of Vancouver, Canada.[/restrict]
For a photograph of one of these ships, Seaspan Lingue, please look at our edition of 7 June – find it by CLICKING HERE
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IRANIAN FISHERMEN HELD BY SOMALI PIRATES ARE FREED

Four Iranian fishermen held by Somali pirates since March 2015 are freed.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry released some detail of a covert operation undertaken to secure the release of fishermen captured by Somali pirates more than three years ago. Two fishing vessels, which were in international waters off the coast of Somalia, were seized by pirates and taken ashore. There was a total of 21 fishermen involved and a large ransom was demanded by the pirates for their release.
Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said that although…[restrict] negotiations began almost immediately attempts to free the men were not successful. No details of these negotiations were provided except to say that the men were kept in a lawless area which made things difficult.
One of the fishermen managed to escape by himself and made his way to Ethiopia where he was promptly arrested and jailed before being released to return to Iran.
Angry about his escape, the Somali guards began starving the remaining men and torturing some of them. During this period eight of the fishermen died in captivity, two from torture and six from starvation. One of those tortured to death was the brother of the escapee.
Four of the remaining fishermen, including the captain of one of the fishing boats, were then taken to another unknown location.
Iranian authorities said that efforts at securing the release of the fishermen through diplomatic channels were not successful.
A subsequent attempt at a prisoner swap failed when Somali pirates failed to meet up at the pre-arranged rendezvous.
Iranian Navy ships have meanwhile remained on anti-piracy patrol off the Horn of Africa. Several of these ships visited South Africa a few years ago on completion of their deployment and remained in Durban for repairs to one of the frigates.
Iranian Intelligence forces meanwhile set up a covert team to rescue the fishermen, using a fishing boat as part of their cover and sailing from Tanzania. This team sailed to the Somalia coast near Kismayo but was unable to complete its mission after two months because, said the Iranian Ministry, U.S. drones were running reconnaissance operations in the same area looking for Al-Qaeda activities and the Iranians did not want to arouse the suspicions of the Americans.
An operation by land was then set up which then proved mostly successful, except that four of the fishermen were not with the others and remain in captivity. Details of this operation have not been provided.[/restrict]
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ONE’S FIRST MAGENTA NEWBUILD OF 14,000 TEU CAPACITY IS DELIVERED

Fresh from the news of the sailing of Ocean Network Express’ (ONE) first ship to be painted in the new corporate magenta colour scheme, comes news that ONE STORK, the company’s first magenta-coloured new building container ship has been delivered. ONE Stork has a container capacity of 14,000 TEU.
She is the first of a planned seven 14,000-TEU ships for ONE.
The ship was handed over at the Kure Shipyard of Japan Marine United Corporation. The sublet owner…[restrict] of the new ship is Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), one of the partners in the ONE network.
A statement issued by ONE says that the vessel, ONE Stork, has as its capacity 18 rows x 11 tiers in the hold, and 20 rows x 9 tiers on deck. She employs a hull form that allows improved cargo-loading efficiency achieved by minimised engine-room space. In addition, the vessel applies the duel system in its main engine which is capable to choose two other output ranges (high and low) that allows flexible operation and improved fuel-consumption rate, resulting in a significant reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
ONE Stork will phase in THE Alliance’s Asia to North America (East Coast) EC4 service with its port rotation Kaohsiung, Hong Kong, Yantian, Cai Mep, Singapore, New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, New York, and Singapore.
“ONE is excited to take delivery of first new-building containership with our new corporate colour, magenta. The magenta colour shows our intentional drive to do things differently and explore newness in this market,” said Jeremy Nixon, Chief Executive Officer of ONE. “There is no doubt that she will be one of our most important core fleet. We are committed to continue the company’s efforts to provide higher quality and more competitive services for our customers.”
Specifications of ONE STORK
Length: 364 metres
Beam: 50.6 metres
Depth: 20.5 metres
Deadweight: 139,500-dwt
Container capacity: 14,026 TEU
Flag: Japan[/restrict]
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
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CMA CGM REMINDS CUSTOMERS OF AGE LIMIT SET FOR MOTOR IMPORTS INTO IVORY COAST

CMA CGM says that it wishes to remind customers that the age limit of used vehicles allowed to be imported into Côte d’Ivoire is set by decree as follows:
5 years for cars (tourism vehicle)
5 years for taxis
7 years for minibuses (from 9 to 34 seats)
7 years for trucks up to 5 tons
10 years for buses (more than 34 seats)
10 years for trucks from 5 to 10 tons
10 years for trucks over 10 tons
These restrictions are not applicable for cars (tourism vehicles) when imported by:
Ivorian diplomats and government employees when moving to Côte d’Ivoire at the end of their missions abroad.
Ivorian citizens staying in a foreign country for professional reasons
This regulation will be applied strictly from 1 July 2018 (date of discharge in Ivory Coast), and that penalties are as follows:
XOF 2,000,000 (EUR 3,000) + costs involved to re-export or destroy cars not complying with the above rule.
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MSC LATEST MEGA-CARRIER TO JOIN BOXTECH, PUSHING REGISTERED CONTAINERS OVER 10 MILLION

Shipping giant MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) has joined other mega-carriers in registering its global container fleet on the BIC’s BoxTech Global Container Database.
As a result, the technical details of more than 10 million containers, or approximately 40% of the global container fleet, are now available to database users, which include shippers, forwarders, terminals and software solution providers.
The MSC fleet upload occurs as BoxTech, the non-profit global container database operated by the Bureau International des Containers (BIC) approaches its two-year anniversary.
MSC joins other…[restrict] leading global carriers, such as CMA CGM and Maersk Line in adopting the BoxTech solution in their businesses. Hundreds of other container owners and operators are also utilising the platform, including two of the top four container leasing companies.
“Transparency and easy, standardised data access are vital to many of the digitalization efforts underway in the shipping industry,” says André Simha, Chief Information Officer, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. “MSC therefore fully supports the BoxTech Global Container Database and we are delighted to upload our global fleet details to help expand this neutral, non-profit platform. It has tremendous potential to help drive efficiencies in many areas.”
Douglas Owen, Secretary General of the BIC says, “We are thrilled that the world’s three largest ocean carriers have now registered their fleets, thereby helping to make BoxTech a core business platform for shippers, carriers, depots and other parties to use in their day to day operations.”
Launched in July 2016, there are now more than 1500 BoxTech users who rely on the central data repository to efficiently obtain technical container details, such as tare weight, size and type, as well as utilising more recently added functions such as verifying ownership status and posting recovery alerts.
Maersk Line and CMA CGM were among the early adopters of these helpful features and have been registering their container sales on the platform since late 2017. The new features have also proved particularly helpful among users from container leasing companies, making the recovery of units following bankruptcy easier than ever.
The BoxTech user base has also grown thanks to the many APIs available for database queries, which enable companies to digitalize more of their operations and automatically integrate container details into their everyday systems. Automated API database queries also streamline processes by avoiding unnecessary searches and increasing accuracy by removing the inevitable errors cause by manual data re-keying.
“The industry has changed in recent years as carriers look increasingly to technology and the use of data to drive efficiencies,” says Owen.
“Although sharing data is something that has come slowly in our industry, we have seen unprecedented cooperation over the past two years and a new openness to the use of common platforms.”
“Organisations across the world are telling us that they want an open, impartial solution, and there is growing demand for more data from more container shipping companies to be added to the database,” explains Owen. “Our industry is keen to adopt this new digital and collaborative way of working, and we encourage the remaining carriers and container lessors to register their fleets on the platform now.”
The BIC operates the neutral, non-profit BoxTech on a non-commercial basis to support visibility, transparency, efficiency and security. It is one of many registration databases that the BIC operates to support the international container industry. For more information about the BIC, visit www.bic-code.org [/restrict]
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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
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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.

A container ship bearing the name of a fellow African port, MAERSK TEMA (IMO 9698264) is seen departing from Durban, accompanied overhead by the port helicopter that transfers marine pilots to and from the ships. The 65,347-dwt Maersk Tema is 255 metres in length and 27.3m wide and as her name suggests she is on the West Africa service. Built in 2015 the ship is owned by German interests and managed by Rickmers Ship Management in Singapore. These pictures are by Keith Betts
You can watch a rather pleasant short video of this ship [2:37] below. The port being visited is not indicated.
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“For this reason the gentleman will employ a man on a distant mission and observe his degree of loyalty, will employ him close at hand and observe his degree of respect. He will hand him troublesome affairs and observe how well he manages them, will suddenly ask his advice and observe how wisely he answers. He will exact some difficult promise from him and see how well he keeps it, turn over funds to him and see with what benevolence he dispenses them, inform him of the danger he is in and note how faithful he is to his duties. He will get him drunk with wine and observe how well he handles himself, place him in mixed company and see what effect beauty has upon him. By applying these nine tests, you may determine who is the unworthy man.”
― Confucius
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