Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002
Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002
TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
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- First View : MCP LINZ
- K Line fined R99 million for collusion in car carrier cartel
- Gasoil tanker Pantelena goes missing off Gabon, feared pirated
- Saipem awarded contract work in Congo and Guyana
- Dredging plan for Port of Bissau
- Maersk Line restarts feeder service between Colombo and Male, Maldives
- Historic Ilha da Mocambique Archeology Centre to open later this year
- Norwegian Cruise Line sends a ship to South Africa in 2020
- Fishing rights allocation process to be fast-tracked
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : TURICUM
- The masthead image today (Friday) is of Port of Durban City Terminal (Point)
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The small container vessel MCP LINZ (IMO 9383493) which called at Durban earlier last week to load bunkers, prior to sailing again for Kandla in India. Built in 2008 the little ship, 117-metres long by 20m wide and 7665-dwt has a container capacity of just 630 TEU. The prefix of MCP stands for Mini Container Pool and Linz is one of about 16 similar sized ships in the MCP fleet. Flying the flag of Cyprus MCP Linz was built at the Huanghai Shipbuilding yard in Rongcheng, China. This picture is by Keith Betts
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K LINE FINED R99 MILLION FOR COLLUSION IN CAR CARRIER CARTEL
The Competition Commission said yesterday it has reached an agreement with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K Line), the Japanese car carrier company operating between South Africa and foreign ports.
In terms of the agreement, K Line will pay an ‘administrative penalty’ of R98,928,170.05 (Ninety-Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty-Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy Rand and Five cents).
This settlement completes the…[restrict] prosecution of this matter.
The Commission’s investigation, which was initiated on 11 September 2012, found that K-Line, Mitsui O.S.K Lines Ltd (“MOL”), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha Ltd (“NYK”) and Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS (“WWL”) fixed prices, divided markets and tendered collusively in respect of shipment of Toyota vehicles from South Africa to Europe, North Africa, (Mediterranean Coast) and the Caribbean Islands via Europe, West Africa, East Africa and Red Sea (Latin America).
The respondents provide transportation services for motor vehicles, equipment and machinery by sea to and from South Africa.
When the Commission referred the matter to the Tribunal, the Competition Commissioner, Tembinkosi Bonakele, noted that South Africa was a strategic hub for the trade of goods in and out of the Southern African region.
As a result of the cartel activities prices for cargo transportation in the region became inflated. He added that cartels and collusive conduct increased the costs of trading and rendered the region uncompetitive in the world markets. Bonakele added these cartels had the effect of significantly derailing the economic growth of the region.
Although the Commission charged Kline with 15 separate instances of contraventions of the Competition Act, K Line admitted to eight instances.
The order of consent reached with K Line has been referred to the Competition Tribunal for confirmation.
BACKGROUND
On 11 September 2012, the Commissioner initiated a complaint against the respective car carrier companies for market division and price fixing in the market for the provision of transportation services for motor vehicles, equipment and machinery by sea to and from South Africa, in contravention of the Competition Act.
The Commission’s investigation relates to tenders for the provision of transportation services of motor vehicles/machinery and/or equipment (including new and used vehicles and new and used rolling construction and agricultural machinery) by sea to and from South Africa, which tenders were issued, among others, by the following firms: Auto Alliance Thailand (Mazda); BMW; Daimler; Daihatsu; Ford Motor Company; Honda; Maruti Suzuki; Mitsubishi Motor Company; Nissan Motor Corporation; Nissan (Renault-Nissan Purchasing Organisation); Suzuki; Toyota Motors Asia Pacific; Toyota Motor Corporation, Toyota Tsusho and Toyota South Africa Motors.
The Commission’s investigation found that from at least 2002 to 2013 K-Line, MOL, NYK and WWL colluded on a tender issued by Toyota South Africa Motors (“TSAM”) to transport Toyota vehicles from South Africa to abroad by sea. The Commission also found that K-Line, MOL, NYK and WWL agreed on the number of vessels that they were to operate on the South Africa to Europe routes at agreed intervals or frequencies. Furthermore, the Commission found that K-Line, MOL, NYK and WWL agreed on the freight rates that they were to charge TSAM for the shipment of Toyota vehicles.
In 2015, NYK and WWL admitted to colluding on this tender and settled with the Commission. NYK, also a Japanese company, paid an administrative penalty of R103,977927 and WWL, a Norwegian company, paid an administrative penalty of R95,695,529.
MOL, another Japanese company, was not fined as it was first to approach the Commission and agree to cooperate in the investigation.[/restrict]
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GASOIL TANKER PANTELENA GOES MISSING OFF GABON, FEARED PIRATED
A 10,726-dwt chemical and oil products tanker named PANTELENA (IMO 9321469) is reported missing off the coast of Gabon with a crew of 17 Georgian and two Russians on board.
The 121-metre long tanker is carrying a cargo of approximately 10,000 tons of diesel and was en route to Libreville in Gabon after loading the cargo in Lome, Togo.
Reports say the vessel was last seen on 14 August about 30 kilometres off the Gabon coast. The vessel’s AIS transponder suddenly stopped transmitting and there are fears that the vessel has been highjacked by pirates.
The ship is operating under the Panamanian flag.
The ship’s owner/operator, Lotus Shipping of Athens in Greece has been unavailable for comment.
Reports say that the Gabon air force and navy have been searching for the tanker without success. By now however if the vessel has been highjacked Pantelena will have moved out of the area and probably into one of the many anchorages along the Gulf of Guinea coast where the fuel will be transhipped and the crew held with the ship for ransoming.
The last month has been quiet in respect of reported pirate activity in the Gulf of Guinea until this case was reported a week after it occurred.
The matter only became public knowledge following a statement issued by the Georgian foreign ministry in Tbilisi, which said there were concerns for 17 Georgian sailors onboard and that a search operation was being conducted with the help of the British maritime authorities.
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SAIPEM AWARDED CONTRACT WORK IN CONGO AND GUYANA
Saipem has announced that through its subsidiary Boscongo SA, it been awarded a new Offshore E&C contract in the Republic of Congo for an MMO (Maintenance, Modifications & Operations) project.
This is in relation to the Centrale Electrique du Congo, which covers over…[restrict] half of the country’s electricity supply.
The scope of work includes the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning, as well as the start-up and performance tests for the project, the purpose of which is to expand the capacity of the open cycle power plant located 15 km to the south east of Pointe Noire, in proximity to Saipem’s yard which will provide necessary support to the project activities.
Output will be brought from the present 300 MW to 450 MW. The overall value of the contracts is approximately 700 million USD.
This was announced together with another announcement that Saipem has been awarded contracts for the second phase of the ExxonMobil led Liza development offshore Guyana.
These particular contracts, assigned by Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), an affiliate of ExxonMobil, as the project operator, are in addition to those awarded to Saipem in 2017 for Liza Phase 1.
Following engineering and subject to requisite government approvals, project sanction from the joint venture and an authorization to proceed with the next phase, Saipem will then perform detailed engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of the risers, flowlines, and associated structures and jumpers. Saipem will also transport and install umbilicals, manifolds, and associated foundations for the production, and water and gas injection systems.
Development of the Stabroek Block is being pursued by a joint venture which includes Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited as operator and 45 percent interest holder, in conjunction with Hess Guyana Exploration Limited (30 percent interest) and CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Limited (25 percent interest).
Liza field is located approximately 200 Km off the shores of South America’s Guyana in the Stabroek Block at a water depth up to 1,850 metres. The second phase of the development has a larger number of wells and related subsea equipment than its predecessor and will produce an estimated 220,000 BOPD.
Stefano Cao, Saipem CEO, commented: “For Saipem this award is significant and strategic, and consistently supports our aim to consolidate our leading position in the offshore Subsea Flowlines Umbilicals and Risers (SURF) market. It also consolidates our relations with an important client such as ExxonMobil and allows us to contribute safely to the development of Guyana’s significant hydrocarbon resources. Finally, this project is expected to involve the recently acquired vessel Constellation which, together with the FDS2, will ensure an offshore execution campaign to achieve first oil by 2022.”[/restrict]
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DREDGING PLAN FOR PORT OF BISSAU
It is hoped that dredging of the port of Bissau in Guinea-Bissau in West Africa may begin later this year or early in 2019.
Serifo Djaquite, Minister of Transport and Communications, announced this on Tuesday, saying that the African Development Bank (AfDB) had…[restrict] made available a grant of 15 billion CFA francs to the Guinean authorities to finance the work.
The Minister confirmed that the Bissau Ports Administration Directorate and the AfDB had signed an agreement to this effect and the amount in question has already been unblocked for the start of work.
Djaquite added that within the scope of this project, work will also be carried out to place maritime signage in the port area to facilitate the docking of large ships in Bissau.
The tender for selection of the companies that will carry out the work is expected to be launched soon.
The port of Bissau was last dredged in 1960, during the Portuguese colonial period. At that time it was known as Porto Pidjiguiti.
Bissau is the chief port of Guinea-Bissau and is located on the Geba River serving the capital of Bissau.
Port facilities consist of two piers, one on the southwest and another on the northeast. There is also a 260 metre long by 24m wide jetty built in 1993.
During the last dredging of the port referred to, the channel had a depth of 11 metres deepening to 12m but is more recently reported as being just 7 metres deep. The cargo pier had a depth alongside of 7.9m up to 9.1m.
[/restrict]
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MAERSK LINE RESTARTS FEEDER SERVICE BETWEEN COLOMBO AND MALE, MALDIVES
Maersk Line has announced it is has recommenced feeder shipping operations to the Indian Ocean Republic of Maldives.
It said this is to meet the rapidly growing market and customer needs.
The feeder service will be weekly between…[restrict] the Sri Lankan p[ort of Colombo and Male in the Maldives which it said was an initiative aimed at providing a strategic trade opportunity to countries in South East Asia.
“Maldives has a flourishing tourism market and offers an excellent opportunity for global trade,” said Steve Felder, Maersk Line Managing Director for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.
“Interestingly, around 90 per cent of Maldives trade is import driven and spearheaded by China, India and Sri Lanka. We believe that the weekly feeder service between Colombo, Sri Lanka and Male, Maldives will facilitate better trade in the region. Besides, we are now equipped with better control and processes to handle these locations and thus will prove to be a reliable, convenient and time-saving service,” Felder said.
Maersk Line is the market leader on the trade lanes from China and India into Sri Lanka. The new service will offer customers access to the best-in-class network and better cargo connectivity with optimal transit time of 18-26 days.
“China, India and Sri Lanka being main origins for Maldivian imports, exporters in these markets will benefit the most by having a reliable and trusted partner in Maersk Line,” he said.[/restrict]
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HISTORIC ILHA DA MOÇAMBIQUE ARCHAEOLOGY CENTRE TO OPEN LATER THIS YEAR
New Island of Mozambique archaeology centre to trace slave routes
The Island of Mozambique will have a new archaeology centre later this year, the first of its kind in the country and one of the few on the continent.
We reported this in an earlier edition but with the importance of Ilha da Moçambique to the cruise tourist sector, we are including this new report.
Funded by the Government of the United States of America through the Ambassador’s Fund for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage, it will focus mainly on research and documentary archive on slave routes and wrecked slave ships.
Thousands of slaves left for various destinations, including the American continent, from Mozambique and other parts of Africa, and, while the slave trade ended long ago, the evidence and material testimony of the period still exists today.
This heritage however could disappear forever if measures are not taken, and it was with this in mind that it was decided to launch the Slave Wreck Project, which will study the route of slave ships locate the wrecks of those which sank.
Ricardo Teixeira Duarte, a professor at the Eduardo Mondlane University, is the director of the project, entitled Preservation and Protection of the Underwater and Terrestrial Cultural Heritage Endangered of the Global Slave Trade on the Island of Mozambique.
The initiative is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism with the involvement of the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Eduardo Mondlane University.
Located about 200 kilometres from Nampula, the Island of Mozambique is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
According to Yolanda Teixeira Duarte, a researcher at Eduardo Mondlane University and George Washington University in the United States, it is hoped to set up the centre later this year.
The US Government has made funding available through its embassy in Maputo, and US Ambassador Dean Pittman is said to be very interested in the project, declaring that US$187,000 had been budgeted for the project.
It is possible that research might confirm that many Americans are descendants of slaves taken from Mozambique. The initiative, however, is multinational, involving the United States, Brazil, Cuba, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. Source: Voa Portugues
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Norwegian Cruise Line is sending one of its ships on a cruise in the Indian Ocean that includes Eastern and Southern Africa.
Commencing 2 March 2020 NORWEGIAN SPIRIT will set sail from Dubai on a 20-night cruise to Cape Town. Visits will be made to…[restrict] Fujairah, Muscat, Port Victoria (Seychelles), Nosy Be, Port Louis, Reunion, Richards Bay, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay and completing the cruise at the Mother City.
The ship sails from Cape Town on 22 March retracing her path with reverse calls as far as Seychelles after which she strikes east for Male in the Maldives, Phuket in Thailand, Malaysia (three calls) before completing the cruise at Singapore.
In other NCL news, Norwegian has recently completed extensive refurbishments on three ships — Norwegian Breakaway, Norwegian Star and Norwegian Sun.
Each ship has received an updated design as well as new venues. The refurbishments are part of the line’s Norwegian Edge fleetwide refurbishment programme.
Andy Stuart, the brand’s president and CEO enthused: “What a year this has been for us at Norwegian Cruise Line,” he said. “Not only did we introduce our latest and record-breaking ship, Norwegian Bliss, and announce the redeployment of her sister ship Norwegian Joy, but we are now unveiling our newly revitalised ships, Norwegian Breakaway, Sun and Star.”[/restrict]
Contact Triton Cape for additional details, at info@tritonsea.co.za
or tel +27 021 443 9030.
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South Africa’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana has instructed his department’s senior officials to fast-track the process of fishing rights allocation to small scale fisheries and communities in the four coastal provinces.
Zokwana said the impediments in the…[restrict] West Coast Rock Lobster Fishing Rights Allocation Process (WCRL/FRAP) was due to “tip-offs” from communities about many fishermen, who were to be allocated fishing rights, but were being used as fronts by big established companies.
“An appeal process has to be put in place to deal with these [claims] so that we empower the real previously disadvantaged communities, and not the big players through the backdoor. I have directed that such an appeal process be finalised by 31 August 2018,” Zokwana said.
The WCRL season commences on 1 December. The three other coastal provinces, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, will allocate rights to small scale fisheries from the beginning of September.
Consistent with the Marine Living Resources Act, Zokwana said he was committed to fast tracking the entry of fishermen, who were previously disadvantaged in the fishing sector.
“I want to see diversification and new enterprises emerging from the previously disadvantaged players. Marine resources harvesting cannot be an exclusive reserve of a few big companies. Government, as the custodian of marine life and oceans, has a moral obligation to change the status quo,” the Minister said. source: SAnews.gov.za[/restrict]
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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.
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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 58,097-dwt Swiss-flagged bulk carrier TURICUM (IMO 9583110) sails from Durban recently during August bound for the Mozambique port of Maputo. Turicum is owned by Swiss interests and managed by Reederei Zurich AG based in Zurich but crewed entirely by Filipinos. The 189-metre long by 32m wide bulk carrier was built in 2012 at the Tsuneishi Shipbuilding yard in Fukuyama, Japan. These pictures by Trevor Jones
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“The human mind is inspired enough when it comes to inventing horrors; it is when it tries to invent a Heaven that it shows itself cloddish.”
– Evelyn Waugh
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