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 : ISSARA NAREE
- Walvis Bay container terminal expansion well underway
- Two ships collide in Mediterranean near Corsica
- Ceremony to mark the start of modernising the Mozambique port of Nacala
- Cyclone 05a Luban moves through the Arabian Sea tracking westward
- Port of Durban named Africa’s Leading Cruise Port in World Travel Awards 2018
- ‘Ghost Ship’ Sam Ratulangi PB 1600 sinks off Myanmar
- Captain of P&O cruise ship Azura arrested on pollution charges
- Fighter jets begin night flights on HMS Queen Elizabeth
- Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
- Cruise News and Naval Activities
- Pics of the Day : KATHERINE
- The masthead today (Wednesday) is of the Port of Richards Bay
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Ships photographed against the quayside may not be everyone’s favourite ‘ship pose’ but this is how we observe the majority of ships within our ports and after all, that is why they have come to the port. Everyone to their own likes and dislikes however but for the record we have a lening towards images of ships hard at work, i.e. on their berth or with tugs toiling away alongside – these are in our books equally real shipping pictures, capturing the essence of what ports and shipping is all about. Not that we have anything against a ‘purist-type’ ship picture and we will be among the first to admire and publish them – they almost always do look great. Now that we’ve got that off our editorial chests, our First View image today shows a typical bulker alongside, a Thai owned and managed vessel in this case, with hatches open and working cargo at the Durban Bulk Connections berth at the Bluff on what used to be referred to as the coaling appliances. The 63,516-dwt ISSARA NAREE (IMO 9732187), all of 200 metres in length and 32m wide, was built in 2014 and sails under the Thai flag, which is where the ship is owned and managed. This picture is by Keith Betts
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WALVIS BAY CONTAINER TERMINAL EXPANSION WELL UNDERWAY
Walvis Bay’s new container terminal, now nearing completion, will position Namibia as a regional logistic hub and gateway to international markets, says the African Development Bank.
As Namibia’s largest commercial port, Walvis Bay serves as the logistical backbone for several industries in the southern African country.
The small country with an estimated population of 2.59 million people is also set to become a regional logistic hub with the ongoing expansion of the Walvis Bay Port, driven by the country’s long term Vision 2030.
The project includes the construction of a new container terminal on a 40ha of land reclaimed from the sea, which is expected to lead to more and sustained trade between the South African Development Community and the rest of the world.[restrict]
Situated on Africa’s western coast, the modernised and larger port will mean easier and much faster transit between Southern Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Expectations in the region are running high at the prospect of becoming a regional logistical hub.
Supported by a loan from the African Development Bank in 2013 of R2.982 million (about US $300 million), or 87.6 % of the cost, the Port of Walvis Bay’s new modern container terminal is expected to increase the container handling capacity from the current 355,000 TEUs to up to 1,005,000 TEUs.
The construction of the new container terminal is due for completion in June 2019; work is already more than 85% complete on the expansion works, with ancillary activities to follow. The port will directly benefit the people, governments and private sector in Namibia, as well as the SADC region – particularly Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Stakeholders and project beneficiaries, including the trade and logistics industry, national, regional and international consumers and exporters, are hopeful and optimistic about future economic prospects.
According to Caylin Luhzane Wimaar, a clearing and forwarding practitioner at the port, “The port expansion will create more job opportunities for everyone here. We will have to put in a lot more work, which presents a good opportunity for others to study into this field and benefit from increased job opportunities.”
Forty-nine year-old George Doeseb has been a crane operator at the port for 10 years. Born in Walvis Bay, he has always wanted to work there. He has seen the port at its most crowded and is excited about the capacity expansion work, which will mean better jobs and increased income, enabling him to pay his two children’s school fees and improve his family’s life in general.
“The ongoing work makes me very happy because I will learn new technologies and then save money. I can become a senior operator and my income will increase remarkably,” Doeseb said.
Additional capacity will lower the transport costs of goods purchased in Namibia and neighbouring countries, representing some 14% of the total cost compared to an international standard of only 5%.
Philip Coetzee, General Manager at Woker Freight Service, one of the oldest logistics companies in Southern Africa region, says, “I think the expansion is very positive news for the industry and for us as a business. It promises increases in business volumes, cargo flows, and additional commodities coming through. So, it is definitely a positive outcome.”
The Bank’s support will also finance the purchase of up-to-date port equipment and training for pilots and operators at the new terminal. The project financing also includes a grant that is financing the Logistics and Capacity Building component. The component activities include the preparation of the National Logistics Master Plan study, technical support and capacity-building for the Walvis Bay Corridor Group, and training freight forwarders with a particular emphasis on female staff. Fifty one persons have been trained and graduated in April 2018, 24 of whom were female. This has spurred discussions on similar training.
In funding this project, the Bank aligns with the Namibian Government’s ambition to increase the capacity and efficiency of the Walvis Bay port to respond to the growing freight demand in the region.
Elzevir Gelderbloem, – Executive: Port Authority and Engineering at the Namibian Ports Authority, explained, “Without the African Development Bank, we would not have the funding to build the project, and so we consider the Bank to be a very important partner.”
The new port of Walvis Bay Container Terminal Project will significantly boost the Bank’s work in regional integration and improving the lives of Africans. Poverty alleviation in the SADC region should improve, thanks to better port efficiency and larger volumes of cargo from more trade, which will create better opportunities for trade, jobs creation and capacity development. This will lead to inclusive growth and economic transformation. source: ADB[/restrict]
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SHIPS COLLIDE IN MEDITERRANEAN NEAR CORSICA
Two ships have collided north of the island of Corsica in the Mediterranean, resulting in a significant loss of oil into the sea.
Reports said the oil had spread over a four kilometre stretch of ocean and several hundred metres wide.
The collision involved the 17,907-gt Tunisian Ro-Ro passenger ferry ULYSSE (IMO 9142459) sailing from Genoa to Tunis which collided into the side of the anchored Greek container ship CSL VIRGINIA (IMO 9289568). The accident occurred at around 06h00 on Sunday, 7 October 2018.
Ulysses is 162 metres in length and 26m wide and was built in 1997. She is operated by the Tunisian company Cotunav (Compagnie Tunisienne de Navigation), a Tunisian shipping line that provides scheduled ferry connections between Tunisia and Marseille in southern France and Genoa in northern Italy.
The anchored 66,644-dwt container ship CSL Virginia is 294 metres in length and 33m wide. Built in 2005 she is owned by Greek interests and managed by Cyprus Sea Lines Co Ltd of Athens, Greece. The ship was on layby with no cargo on board.
There were no injuries to anyone on board either vessel but considerable damage has been caused to both ships. The oil spill that measured about four kilometres and several hundred metres wide was moving away from the damaged ships in the direction of the French and Italian coasts but oil has also spread into the nearby Cap Corse and Agriate marine reserve.
According to the French maritime safety authority the container ship was leaking ‘propulsion fuel’, probably meaning marine diesel. Speculators suggested that the ferry was travelling at high speed and failed to avoid the anchored container ship, despite reported good visibility and calm seas.
The French Navy has despatched a pollution control vessel and at least one tug is on scene. AS the picture indicates, the two ships remained locked together.
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CEREMONY TO MARK THE START OF MODERNISING THE MOZAMBIQUE PORT OF NACALA
The official start to the modernisation of the northern Mozambique Port of Nacala was held last week Thursday attended by the Minister of Transport & Communications Carlos Mesquita.
The actual work on the port has been underway for some time with progress already well visible. Nacala is assuming an…[restrict] important role in regards to traffic from the Moatize coalfields, as well as traffic from Malawi and Zambia and the DRC beyond.
With funding amounting to US$272.6 million made available from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) the project will see the small colonial era port becoming a modern well equipped port with sufficient berths to handle a larger number of ships carrying a range of bulk and general cargo including containers. The port also stands to benefit from the oil and gas developments further north in the Rovuma Basin.
“This project will give direct employment to 400 citizens and allow companies operating in Nacala to benefit from it, since a wide variety of services will be needed,” Mesquita said.
The port, which is an integral part of the Nacala Development Corridor, currently has the capacity to handle 900,000 tons of miscellaneous cargo. In addition it is predicted the port will peak at 18 million tonnes of export coal within two years, up from 6.5 million tonnes handled last year. The coal is exported from the Nacala-a-Velha port on the opposite side of the bay to the container and general cargo port of Nacala.
General cargo handled along the rail corridor and the port includes sugar, wheat, fertiliser, tobacco, timber and clinker.
The port and the rail network in northern Mozambique are managed by the Northern Development Corridor, a partnership between Sociedade de Desenvolvimento do Corredor de Nacala and state rail and port company Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique.[/restrict]
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CYCLONE 05a LUBAN MOVES THROUGH ARABIAN SEA TRACKING WESTWARD
A Tropical cyclone dubbed 05a Luban has developed and is currently moving through the Arabian Sea and was this morning at position 13N 60.4E, approximately 450 nautical miles East-Southeast of Salalah.
According to The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre Cyclone Luban (05a) had tracked…[restrict] westward at 7 knots over the previous six hours. Sustained surface winds were estimated at 50 knots gusting to 65 knots.
Warm sea surface temperatures (28 degrees Celsius) are enabling the steady development of the storm and it is thought the storm will intensify until winds of 70 to 85 knots are achieved after which the cyclone will cease developing and will gradually weaken. At this stage it is not expected to make landfall over the Arabian coast as it tracks towards the Gulf of Aden. Maximum wave height as of yesterday was shown as reaching 14 feet.[/restrict]
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PORT OF DURBAN NAMED AFRICA’S LEADING CRUISE PORT IN WORLD TRABEL AWARDS 2018
The Port of Durban, operated by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), has scooped the prestigious title of “Africa’s Leading Cruise Port 2018” in the 25th annual World Travel Awards.
The Africa & Indian Ocean gala awards ceremony took place at Durban’s International Convention Centre on Saturday, 6 October 2018, where the Port of Durban emerged victorious against other finalists including Kenya’s Port of Mombasa and Tanzania’s Ports of Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar.
City Manager for eThekwini Municipality, Sipho Nzuza, the former port manager at Cape Town, accepted the award on behalf of TNPA.
Acting Durban Port Manager, Nokuzola Nkowane said: “We are delighted as the Port of Durban to have scooped the title of Africa’s Leading Cruise Port and would like to congratulate the other strong nominees in this category, which included two other ports operated by TNPA – Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Durban is already well entrenched as one of the busiest ports in Africa from a cargo perspective, but accolades like this demonstrate how versatile we are and most importantly show that the work we are doing to develop our cruise tourism sector has not gone unnoticed globally.”
Nkowane said that improving Durban’s global status as an attractive cruise destination would bring more international cruise lines and passengers to our shores, creating a big economic boost for the city of Durban and South Africa as a whole.
“Having upgraded the existing cruise terminal over the past years to enhance the passenger experience, we are now looking forward to satisfying the growing demand by passengers to cruise from Durban even more, through the new cruise terminal which is to be developed for operation by the 2020/2021 cruise season,” she added.
“Durban is definitely deserving of this award and remains attractive due to its pleasant climate and beaches, cultural diversity, close proximity to the two World Heritage Sites, shore excursions, land programmes and promotion of wildlife experiences at nearby luxury game lodges,” said Nkowane.
TNPA is positioning Durban and Cape Town as stimulus cruise home ports, while other South African ports – Richards Bay, East London, Port Elizabeth and Mossel Bay – are also cruise destinations on global itineraries.
Annual escalations in the number of visitors and liners have afforded TNPA, and the country at large, positive socio-economic spin-offs such as tourism development, job creation, skills development and supplier development.
In the calendar year 2017, 185,390 embarking and disembarking passengers were processed through the Port of Durban during 56 vessel calls. This represents a 173% increase in passenger numbers at the port over the last 10 years, from only 67,892 passengers and 39 vessel calls in 2007. Durban is used as a home port by MSC Cruises, which will introduce the 292-metre long, 92,400-gt cruise ship MSC MUSICA on the route in the 2018/19 season, following remarkable success with MSC SINFONIA sailing regionally over the last few years.
South Africa welcomed more than 20 luxury cruise ships operated by 17 international cruise lines to its six cruise ports during the 2017/18 cruise season. Through port concessions TNPA is also making it possible for private operators to use their expertise to ensure that South Africa earns its slice of the global luxury cruise sector, which is one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry.
Kwa Zulu Cruise Terminal Pty Ltd (KCT) – a Joint Venture between MSC Cruises SA (a subsidiary of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA) and Africa Armada Consortium (an empowered investment company) – has been granted a concession for the Design, Financing, Construction, Operation, Maintenance and Transfer of the new Cruise Terminal Facility for a 25 Year Concession Period in the Port of Durban.
Founded in 1993, the World Travel Awards seek to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the global travel and tourism industry.
Other South African winners at the awards ceremony included:
• Durban –Africa’s Leading City Destination 2018
• Durban – Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination 2018
• Durban ICC – Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Centre 2018
• Cape Town Africa’s Leading Festival & Event Destination 2018
• Cape Town International Airport – Africa’s Leading Airport 2018
• South African Tourism – Africa’s Leading Tourist Board 2018
Hospitality winners included Hilton Hotels & Resorts (‘Africa’s Leading Hotel Brand), Oyster Box Hotel Umhlanga (Durban – South Africa’s leading hotel), Hilton Durban (‘South Africa’s Leading Business Hotel’), Saxon Hotel, Villas & Spa (‘Africa’s Leading Boutique Hotel’), Legend Golf Resort & Spa, South Africa (‘Africa’s Leading Sports Resort’) and the Villa iZulu @ Thanda Safari, north of Hluhluwe, was named Africa’s leading luxury private villa.
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‘GHOST SHIP’ SAM RATULANGI PB 1600 SINKS OFF MYANMAR
The former container ship SAM RATULANGI PB 1600 (IMO 9151981) has sunk off the coast of Myanmar after breaking free from a tow and drifting away.
A month ago on 3 September we reported the case of a ghost ship that appeared out of the mist and then grounded herself on a deserted beach near the mouth of the Sittoung River where fishermen found her. See that report HERE
The ship had been under tow…[restrict] behind the tug INDEPENDENCE, bound for the breakers’ yard in Bangladesh, but during a storm and heavy seas the tow parted. Unable to reconnect the line the tug abandoned the ship to its fate and departed the scene. When fishermen found the Sam Ratulangi PB 1600, which visited South African ports in the early 2000s, she was still afloat but in disrepair. It appeared as though her crew had simply vanished.
Reports now say that the ship, built just 17 years ago, sank on 1 October off the coast of Yangon in the Gulf of Martaban. She had presumably refloated herself on a high tide and floated away before succumbing to the seas.[/restrict]
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The American captain of the P&O Cruises passenger ship AZURA (IMO 9424883) has been arrested in Marseilles on charges that his ship used fuel with a sulphur levels set above European limits.
The 115,000-gt ship, the third largest in P&O Cruises’ service, which was built in 2010 by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, was found to have burned…[restrict] bunker fuel containing 1.68 per cent sulphur, above the European limit of 1.5 per cent.
The ship’s captain appeared in a Marseilles court this week. If found guilty he can be jailed for one year in addition to a fine of Euro 200,000 (US$230,000).
The giant American cruise company Carnival, the owner of P&O Cruises, has also been charged.
Marseilles has been affected by increasing smog in recent years as it tries to increase its appeal to the cruising market and shipping is being held responsible for between 10 and 20 per cent of the city’s airborne pollution.
A new International Maritime Organization (IMO) limit of 0.5 percent will come into effect from 1 January 2020. In the Baltic and the North Sea as well as along the American coastline and parts of the Caribbean where Emission Control Areas are designated, the limit is already set at the much lower figure of 0.1 percent and there have been calls to make this the limit along France’s southern coast and other parts of the Mediterranean.
Advocates of stricter anti-pollution rules say that ships emit the equivalent of between 10,000 and 30,000 motor vehicles. This produces sulphur oxide and leads to acid rain and the acidification of the sea, according to the specialists.
Marseilles meanwhile wants more cruise ship visits. The city registered 1.5 million passenger ship visitors in 2017 and is aiming at 2 million cruise ship visitors by 2020.[/restrict]
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F-35 Lightning fighter jets have conducted their first night flying trials off the United Kingdom’s largest warship, HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence on 3 October.
The aircraft carrier, which first landed F-35 Lightning jets on board the previous week, is currently conducting flight testing off the east coast of the United States.
Pictures show how the night time trials, which up until now have only been tested in simulators or on the ground, were carried out using state-of-the-art night-vision technology, with the pilots and aircraft handlers successfully guiding the supersonic fighter jets onto the flight deck.
Some trials were also carried out without…[restrict] night vision technology to ensure the jets’ capability in any eventuality.
Commander James Blackmore, also known as Wings, the Commander Air in HMS Queen Elizabeth, said: “The concept of night flying isn’t difficult for us – what we are looking at is what the new lights on board HMS Queen Elizabeth look like at night from the perspective of the F-35s.
“We’ve already done that with the rotary wing aircraft earlier this year, but now it’s crucial that we understand how suitable they are for the F-35s to operate at night from the carrier. First indications are that they are in good order for both the aided and unaided perspectives.”
Andrew Maack, the chief test engineer for the Integrated Test Force, the organisation responsible for analysing the flight trials, added: “In daytime there are cues that tell the pilot’s brain what the relative motion is between the airplane and the ship.
“At night, especially very dark night, all those cues go away and you become dependent on exactly what the lights are and what the sight of those lights looks like. It’s something you can’t translate in your mind ahead of time – you don’t know it until you see it.”
Pilots initially flew in using only ambient light and the lights on the carrier’s deck before later conducting landings using the night-vision capability in their helmets.
Queen Elizabeth has been kitted out with specially-designed LED lightning on her flight deck to aid night time landings.
Commander Nathan Gray and Squadron Leader Andy Edgell were the first pilots to make history by landing their aircraft on the flight deck of the carrier on 25 September.
HMS Queen Elizabeth left her home port of Portsmouth in August, crossing the Atlantic to conduct the flying trials, as well as training with the US Navy.[/restrict]
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
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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.
Now sailing with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) is the container vessel KATHERINE (IMO 9641235) seen arriving in the Port of Durban. The 80,295-dwt ship which has a length of 270 metres by 43m wide, was built in 2013 at the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co Ltd shipyard in South Korea as hull number S623. She has a container capacity of 6,900 TEU. The ship is owned by Greek interests and managed by Technomar Shipping Inc of Athens, Greece. This picture is by Trevor Jones
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
“You have to do it by yourself,
And you can’t do it alone.”
– Martin Rutte
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