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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

These news reports are updated on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za

Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return  

Front Page:  MAYDON WHARF

• VIDEO: COOL EAGLE departing & COOL SPIRIT arriving at port of Durban
• PIRACY: Atlantic Princess (IMO 8124412) boarded off Ghana coast and 5 crew kidnapped
• WHARF TALK: CELSIUS RAVENNA – tankers on a conveyor belt
• Two ships collide in Beira Harbour
• WHARF TALK: GREEN MOUNTAIN – general cargo ship in every sense
• Sonandrill secures contract to drill 12 wells offshore of Angola
• Kenya’s newest port, Lamu, opens today
• project44 warns blank sailing schedules portend delays well into the summer
• WHARF TALK: TILL JACOB – An unabated stream of LR tankers to Mother City
• DNG Energy intends placing FSU at Ngqura to supply LNG bunker vessels
• MSC Cruises to start Baltic cruising from July
• WTO launches first online Regional Trade Policy Course for Africa
• WHARF TALK: AVANTI – part of a waiting game
• Dredging of Kribi Port access channel completed
• SCA given authority to widen and deepen Suez Canal
• Tema Floating Storage Regasificaton Unit (FSRU) completed
• WHARF TALK: HAI FENG 698 – reefer with a long history
• MSC Virtuosa arrives in Southampton, ready to restart cruising in UK waters
• IMO and energy efficient ship operation: A free online course launched
• Transnet doubles its capacity to rail export grain to Durban
• WHARF TALK: BBC PLATA – and Damen 3307 FCS
• Maritime charities extend retraining funding to year end
• WHARF TALK: PALANCA CADIZ – potholes, roads and refineries
• The future is here: Vale’s 325,000-ton sailing ship about to go into service
• HMS Queen Elizabeth on pre-deployment exercise
• WHARF TALK: SA Port Statistics for April 2021 are now available here
• WHARF TALK: Durban Port Bulletin News
• WHARF TALK: Durban Volume and Vessel Call Performance
• WHARF TALK: AKADEMIK FEDOROV – Russian Antarctic supply vessel
• HAPAG’s East Africa Service EAS 3 arrives EA this week
• Trinity House to replace Channel Lightvessel with Type 1 buoy
• WHARF TALK: COOL SPIRIT – smaller version of impressive Cool Eagle
• Protecting human rights at sea: New due diligence tool

EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The Monday masthead shows the Port of Mombasa
The Tuesday masthead shows the Port of Apapa (Nigeria)
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port of East London
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of Durban Sugar Terminal on Maydon Wharf
The Friday masthead shows the Port of Durban T-Jetty

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Front Page:  MAYDON WHARF

By way of a change the Front Page picture this week shows a Maydon Wharf scene dating back 16 years, to a time when the ‘Wharf’ was more freely available to scenes such as this than it is today. The old Durban tug Umsunduzi can be seen idling away in front of a Polish Polsteam bulk carrier in the vicinity of MW8. Maydon Wharf continues to see a wide variety of cargo ships, from small coastal feeder ships to liquid bulk oil and chamical product tankers, general cargo vessels and dry bulk carriers loading sugar or grains in bulk, others loading paper products for export, wood chip carriers, steel, cement, breakbulk cargoes, reefer vessels calling to load citrus fruit from Durban’s second fruit terminal. The Wharf has its own container terminal, helping to take pressure off the main container terminals on Piers 1 and 2. And that’s not forgetting fishing vessels, operating from a dedicated fish wharf adjacent to MW berth 1.

Maydon Wharf represents all that a commercial harbour can be, with 15 berths along 2800 metres of quayside excluding the fish jetty.  If the Point provided the glamour and mystique of old Durban then Maydon Wharf was its heart and lung, pumping prosperity into the port and nation without a break.    Picture: Terry Hutson

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Photographs of shipping and other maritime scenes involving any of the ports of South Africa or from the rest of the African continent, together with a short description, name of ship/s, ports etc are invited.

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VIDEO: COOL EAGLE departing & COOL SPIRIT arriving at port of Durban

This past week has seen the arrival and departure of two of the world’s largest reefer ships. The first film shows the departure of Cool Eagle after having loaded around one million cartons of citrus fruit for Europe. The second film shows Cool Spirit, which arrived in Durban shortly ahead of her big sister’s departure and is currently loading as of Friday, 21 May 2021.

Both videos were filmed during the afternoon of Thursday, 20 May 2021

Enjoy now these short scenes of both ships, courtesy of FPT Terminals.

COOL EAGLE

COOL SPIRIT below

 

Added 21 May 2021

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PIRACY: Atlantic Princess (IMO 8124412) boarded off Ghana coast and 5 crew kidnapped

A report by Dryad Global late on Thursday afternoon (20 May) informs that the fishing vessel ATLANTIC PRINCESS (IMO 8124412) has been boarded by pirates 65 nautical miles South of the Ghana port of Tema and that five of the crew have been kidnapped.

The attack by pirates on the Atlantic Princess took place in position 04° 33.5N, 000° 15.6 E at 18h30 UTC on Wednesday, 19 May 2021, the location being 65 n.miles south of the Ghanaian port.

Atlantic Princess is a 55-metre long, 10.6m wide tuna fishing vessel built in 1982 and is currently registered in Ghana with her homeport being Takoradi.

The pirates arrived at the scene of the attack in a single speedboat with eight pirates onboard. Before the boarding took place the fishing vessel was fired on by the attackers, five of whom then swarmed aboard the Atlantic Princess.

After taking control of the vessel the pirates forced the crew to head south until they were about 100 miles south of the Ghana coast, before they left the vessel, taking five of the crew with them.

Those kidnapped were the Korean master, three Chinese officers (chief officer, second officer & chief engineer), and the Russian bosun.

In its analysis Dryad says this attack ends a significant hiatus of activity within the Gulf of Guinea and is the first kidnapping incident since 15 March 2021.

 

Dryad reports that so far in 2021 there have been 56 personnel kidnapped across five incidents from vessels operating within the Gulf of Guinea.

This latest incident represents the furthest westerly kidnapping within the Gulf of Guinea to date. Dryad points out that trends across the past 18 months have indicated a broadening of the piratical footprint within the Gulf of Guiana, beyond the traditional heartland of the Nigerian EEZ.

Nevertheless, the remaining crew from the fishing vessel identified the pirates as being Nigerian. They also reported that two hours before the attack, a rusted looking mini tanker vessel was sighted near the horizon with its AIS switched off. The fishing vessel is understood to have manoeuvred away from the suspicious tanker.

Dryad says that given the significant distance of the incident from Nigerian waters, it remains a realistic possibility that the vessel sighted by the crew was being used as a mothership form which to launch and sustain deep offshore operations.

Added 20 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: CELSIUS RAVENNA – tankers on a conveyor belt

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

At the moment the stream of products tankers calling into Cape Town to deliver much needed fuel is almost akin to a conveyor belt, with hardly a day passing by where the tanker berths lie empty, but rather at least one of the tanker berths is always continuously occupied, and often it is two berths occupied with vessels discharging their liquid cargo.

The MR2 class tanker CELCIUS RAVENNA (IMO 9402809) arrived at Cape Town on 16 May 16th at 2000 and went straight to the tanker berths in the Duncan Dock to start discharging. She had loaded her precious cargo at the Mina Abdullah terminal at Wafrah in Kuwait, and after a partial discharge at Durban, proceeded to the Cape to complete her offload.

Built in 2010 by the Onomichi Dockyard at Onomichi in Japan, Celsius Ravenna is 183 metres in length, with a deadweight of 47,366 tons.

She is powered by a Mitsui MAN-B&W 6S50MC 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine providing 11,506 bhp (8,580 kW) to a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14.5 knots. Her auxiliary power comes from three Yanmar 6N18AL-V generator sets producing 550 kW each, and she has a single Mitsubishi MAC-25B boiler. She has 12 cargo tanks and her cargo capacity is 52,467 m3.

Owned by Celsius Shipping of Copenhagen, Celsius Ravenna is managed by Anglo-Eastern Ship Management of Singapore and operated within the Maersk Tankers pool. The is her second recent visit to Southern Africa, as she had previously brought much needed fuel to Pemba, Nacala and Maputo in Mozambique, two months back in March 2021.

Due to only having to discharge the last of a part cargo, the visit of Celsius Ravenna to Cape Town was a relatively short one, and after less than 48 hours alongside, she sailed on 18 May at 16H00 bound for Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

Her berth was immediately taken over by the next tanker waiting patiently out in the Cape Town anchorage.

Added 20 mAY 2021

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Two ships collide in Beira Harbour

Two unidentified ships have collided with each other in the Beira harbour.

Details are lacking but it appears the collision occurred in thick early morning fog that enveloped the Mozambique port.

According to the Mozambique paper Noticias, inspectors from the National Institute of the Sea have been sent to Beira to commence an investigation into the causes of the collision.

The inspectors were due to begin their investigation today (Thursday 20 May).

Once this is complete the vessels will be moved to a repair quay for necessary repairs.

A similar collision happened in the port on 28 June 2016 when a MSC container ship MSC CHIARA and the departmental dredger MACUTI collided in early morning fog.

On that occasion, the Macuti suffered a six-metre gash in the engine room, causing sudden flooding. To avoid the dredger sinking in the navigation channel, Macuti’s master ran his vessel onto a nearby sandbank.

Macuti underwent temporary repairs by way of flotation devices and patches, before being towed firstly to the Beira dry dock for further temporary repairs and then, in February 2017, to Durban for permanent repairs at the Dormac repair yard.

Added 20 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: GREEN MOUNTAIN – general cargo ship in every sense

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

With the recent arrival of the BBC Pearl to deliver two major modules to Debmar, in anticipation of the delivery and completion of their new diamond mining vessel, so the stockpile of major ship equipment and essential fittings continues to grow. However, not all of this cargo requires a specialised heavylift ship to deliver it to Cape Town.

The vast majority of it, which is not manufactured in South Africa, is delivered as project freight, exported from Europe by the specialised manufacturers, and carried to South Africa by the breakbulk and container vessels belonging to the regular scheduled carriers on the route.

On 9 May at 21h00 GREEN MOUNTAIN (IMO 9502312) arrived from Durban on her regular MACS Europe-South Africa service and berthed at A berth in the Duncan Dock. A multi-purpose vessel in a real sense, she showed her dexterity on her southbound call by proceeding to simultaneously discharge containers, bulk cargo and breakbulk project freight all at the same time.

The breakbulk project freight included steel products from the ThyssenKrupp and Salzgitter steelworks in Germany, consisting of steel products and 18 ton coils of rolled steel destined for the motor vehicle manufacturing factories of both the Eastern Cape and Gauteng. It also consisted of large diameter rubber pipes from Germany and large shipboard cranes from Italy. These last items being destined for Debmar.

The rubber pipes were a mix of floating and suction discharge pipes. The suction discharge pipes were 500mm in diameter, 11 metres in length and weighing 2.9 tons each, whilst the floating pipes were 700mm in diameter, 12 metres in length and weighing 7.5 tons each. All were manufactured by Continental in Germany, a company better known for their car tyres.

The shipboard service cranes were AKC 620/21 HE3 telescopic knuckle cranes, from HS Marine in Viadana in Italy. Weighing in at 44 tons, and the biggest of their range, each crane is capable of lifting 30 tons at an outreach of 11 metres, and 20 tons at 15 metres outreach. They are designed for low deck space occupation and for compact stowage when fully recovered.

Built for MACS in 2013 by the Qingshan Shipyard at Wuhan in China, Green Mountain is 200 metres in length, has a deadweight of 37,511 tons and a container capacity of 2,260 TEU. She is powered by a Diesel United Wartsila-Sulzer 7RT-Flex50 main engine producing 15,885 bhp (11,722 kW) to provide a service speed of 19 knots.

On 10 May after completing the majority of her cargo work at A berth, Green Mountain moved across to E berth to complete loading before sailing at 21h00 for Walvis Bay and the continuation of her SA-Europe service run with calls scheduled at Vigo, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Bilbao and Leixoes in Europe.

Added 20 May 2021

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Sonandrill secures contract to drill 12 wells offshore of Angola

 

 

Sonadrill, the Angolan offhsore drilling firm, has secured a contract to drill 12 wells offshore of Angola using the drillship SONANGOL QUENGUELA (IMO 9730555), including an option for nine wells and 11 one-well options.

The contract is worth an estimated US$131 million with a start-up scheduled for the first quarter of 2022. The contract is however contingent on National Concessionaire approval.

Sonadrill is a 50/50 joint venture between Seadrill and an affiliate of Sonangol.

The drillship Sonangol Quenguela is the second of two Sonangol-owned drillships on bareboat charter to Sonadrill. The second drillship is named SONANGOL LIBONGOS.

Delivered in 2019, Sonangol Quenguela is a 7th generation, DP3, dual activity, ultra-deepwater drillship, capable of drilling wells up to 40,000 feet (12,192 metres) deep.

According to Seadrill’s Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Jackson, securing the contract for the Sonangol Quenguela drillship is a great achievement.

“The operational excellence and experience of our team has driven this expansion of the joint venture. It is a testament to the confidence that our partners and clients have in the company and its staff. Sonadrill is a strategic partnership in an important deepwater basin.”

A further two Seadrill-owned units are expected to be bareboat chartered by Sonadrill. Seadrill will manage and operate the four units on behalf of Sonadrill, Seadrill said.

Added 20 May 2021

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Kenya’s newest port, Lamu, opens today

It is all systems go for the ceremonial opening of Kenya’s latest port at Lamu, in the northeast of the country and close to the Somali border.

The multi-billion dollar port has been under construction since December 2016 when dredging of the harbour area commenced. The objective was to built East Africa’s deepest port along the Indian Ocean coast with an initial three berths each of 400 metres in length and a depth alongside of between 17.5 and 18 metres.

The port would become a transshipment port with cargo (mainly containers) destined for northern Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda and the eastern DRC. The project falls under the ambitious LAPPSET concept (Lamu Port and Lamu-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor).

Berths 2 and 3 have yet to be completed.

Today’s (Thursday 20 May 2021) opening is being presided over by Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, according to Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) Chairman, Joseph Kibwana, who said that limited operations using berth 1 would commence immediately. The port would be fully operational by December this year, he said.

Two ships are in port awaiting this function – the first to receive attention at the berth is the Singapore-registered CAP CARMEL (IMO 9273923), with a second vessel, SEAGO BREMERHAVEN (IMO: 9313967) also in port. Both are container ships.

Kibwana is reported as saying that Lamu will have an advantage over the port of Mombasa on account of bigger vessels being able to dock, “bigger vessels translates to bigger volumes of cargo,” he said.

Technically that may be so but practically it isn’t. There must be demand for cargo before the bigger ships will have reason to call with “bigger volumes” but that lies in the future, assuming the Lappset Corridor concept achieves what it sets out to do, of attracting and developing sufficient trade with Kenya’s neighbouring states.

Initially it was intended that the management and operation of the port of Lamu would be privatised but instead it has been decided that Lamu will be run by the KPA, at least for now.

According to the KPA’s General Manager, Abdullahi Samata, the KPA is organising a high-level delegation from Ethiopia and South Sudan in order to market the port.

The port of Lamu will have competition for its Ethiopian traffic from the port of Djibouti and the emerging Somaliland port of Berbera, operated by DP World.

KPA’s Acting Managing Director, Rashid Salim, said the KPA is working on a raft of measures and incentives to attract port users, including tax rebates and free storage for a period of 30 days.

Despite the optimism there remains a lot of work ahead for Lamu to become a success story. Road works have to be completed to provide a reliable link with the new port, especially as the proposed northern railway has yet to get off the ground. A lack of funding has been blamed for the lack of progress with the railway.

Added 20 May 2021

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project44 warns blank sailing schedules portend delays well into the summer

Carriers are cancelling sailings well into the summer, indicating that under capacity will remain a headache for the foreseeable future  

A project44 analysis of the sailing schedules of various shipping lines indicates that cargo delays could last well into the summer.

With maxed-out vessels skipping more ports, project44 is warning shippers to adopt proactive supply chain strategies that anticipate delays. With more assets and cash tied up in transport, shippers are advised to prioritise visibility and take steps to head off supply chain breakdowns.

Among the three major alliances, there is a significant variance in blank sailing rates, with certain carriers like HMM skipping ports more often than not, with an average rate of 67% through mid-June.

On the other end of the spectrum, CMA CGM posted a 20% average blank sailing rate for the same period, leading Ocean Alliance to achieve the best schedule reliability, in terms of blank sailings.

For the 2M alliance, both Maersk and MSC posted a weekly blank sailing average of 45%, earning the lowest overall performance for any of the major alliances.

Carriers, for their part, are contending with a number of impediments to schedule integrity, with port congestion distorting sailing schedules as ships wait to unload. On the US West Coast, dwell times in April 2021, measured from vessel arrival until container gate-out, were lasting over a week.

One bright spot for shippers is a general reduction in blank sailing rates as schedules move closer towards late June. In addition to CMA CGM which has a 4% blank sailing rate for the week 06/07-06/13, Evergreen’s rate for the same time period is 13%, and OOCL is 12%.

“Not only do blank sailings reduce the number of containers that shippers want to ship out from the affected ports, but they also disproportionately affect lower-paying shippers, with carriers favouring cargo from higher-paying customers,” said Josh Brazil, VP Ocean Markets. “This dynamic could drive up shipping prices further, as competition heats up for limited preferential space on ships.

“The challenges that shippers face simply underscore the importance of visibility,” said Brazil. “Aside from paying higher fees, there’s not much we can do to speed up a container once it’s on its way, but with real-time visibility and predictability, shippers can proactively manage their supply chain and mitigate the worst effects of rising blank sailings.”

For a more detailed breakdown of blank sailing rates and to talk more about what these numbers mean for supply chains, carriers, and the broader economy, email info@project44.com

About project44

project44 solves some of the world’s most critical logistics challenges by connecting, automating, and providing real-time visibility into global transportation processes. To learn more, visit www.project44.com

Added 19 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: TILL JACOB – An unabated stream of LR tankers to Mother City

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The stream of the larger LR tankers continues unabated into Cape Town, and the distance that these vessels are covering in order to bring in the much needed domestic fuel products is a sign that the spot marketers are looking everywhere to secure a cargo for South Africa. Distance equals time which costs money, and the result is certainly to result in increased prices at the point of purchase. Something that will continue as long as refining capacity is compromised at both Cape Town and Durban.

Despite having the capability of berthing up to three MR tankers at a time, the limitations in Cape Town harbour of available quay length at the Tanker Berth in the Duncan Dock means that only one berth is capable of taking a LR class tanker. The constant arrival of LR tankers at the port has meant the majority of recent arrivals having to spend a short time at the outer anchorage, whilst awaiting the largest berth to come free with the sailing of the previous LR tanker that took up the single 250 metres long berth. This is a regular occurrence as LR Tankers take anywhere up to one week to discharge their cargoes.

On 8 May at 21h00 the LR1 Panamax class tanker TILL JACOB (IMO 9482861) arrived at the Cape Town anchorage. She had completed a long 22 day voyage, carrying a spot market refined products cargo loaded at Antwerp in Belgium. She remained at anchor until 12 May when her berth became free, and she entered the harbour at 10H00 to begin her discharge. She remained alongside for just over six days, and on completion of the discharge she sailed on 18 May 15h00 for Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

Built in 2012 by Dalian Shipbuilding at Dalian in China, Till Jacob is 228 metres in length and has a deadweight of 75,571 tons. She is powered by a Dalian Marine Diesels MAN-B&W 6S60MC 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 16,414 bhp (12,240 kW) to a fixed pitch propeller. Her auxiliary engines are three Yanmar 6N21AL-UV generators providing 800 kW, and she has two Alfa Laval Aalborg boilers. Her cargo capacity is 83,687 m3, carried in 12 tanks.

Owned by Jacob Tank Beteiligungs GmbH of Flensburg, Till Jacob is managed by Ernst Jacob GmbH of Hamburg and operated within the Navig8 tanker pool, as well as her own company Jacob Panamax Tanker Pool. Her managers also operate a fairly recent Cadetship scheme for trainee officers, and only in 2020 did they employ the first female officer to have successfully completed her training as a Cadet with the company.

Added 19 May 2021

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DNG Energy intends placing FSU at Ngqura to supply LNG bunker vessels

Gauteng headquartered DNG Energy intends deploying a floating storage unit (FSU) at the Port of Ngqura later this year in order to provide ship-to-ship LNG bunkering services.

It’s understood the 125,000 cbm-capacity FSU will deploy to the Eastern Cape port around September/October this year. The company expects to shortly receive certification from the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA), after having already received clearance from Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA).

In preparation for this DNG has chartered two LNG tankers for the purpose of performing the actual bunkering duties, using the FSU as the LNG refueling station.

According to DNG Energy’s Group CEO, Aldworth Mbalati, the FSU will enable the company to begin ship-to-ship LNG refuelling via the company’s two LNG bunker vessels.

Mbalati said a further announcement could be expected within a month or 6 weeks, adding that the contracts for the two bunker vessels are on a short-term charter basis with a purchase option which he said meant DNG intended buying both vessels.

The arrival of the two bunker vessels and the FSU will enable the company to commence ship-to-ship LNG refuelling, probably in Algoa Bay.

He revealed that DNG Energy was also looking at land-based LNG opportunities in South Africa.

ISO containers will be filled on the FSU and taken ashore to serve the land-based transport sector as well as mining and industrial sectors.

Added 19 May 2021

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MSC Cruises to start Baltic cruising from July

MSC Seaview to be homeported in Kiel, Germany

Hot on the heels of MSC Cruises commencing cruising in UK waters comes the news that MSC SEAVIEW will commence sailing to Baltic Sea destinations from Germany as from July.

Included with the cruises will be protected shore excursions.

It will also involve the debut of the Seaside-class ship in Northern Europe.

MSC Seaview will homeport in Kiel until September and offer 7-night voyages – all to include protected shore excursions – to Visby on Sweden’s largest island of Gotland, the port of Nynashamn for Swedish capital city Stockholm, and Estonia’s capital Tallinn, before returning to the northern Germany port.

These cruises on board MSC Seaview will be available for passengers of all ages from the Schengen area in Europe, plus residents of Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.

“We are looking forward to the resumption of our cruises from Germany, an incredibly important market for us, and provide our guests with an enjoyable, relaxing and safe cruise holiday on MSC Seaview, one of our most innovative ships,” said Gianni Onorato, CEO of MSC Cruises.

He said that visiting destinations and going ashore is an integral aspect of a cruise holiday and it is now possible with MSC Cruises’ Baltic Sea cruises from Germany thanks to the general relaxation of health measures locally, as well as much of Europe, and the confirmed opening of the ports and destinations MSC Seaview will call.

“We’re delighted that this brand-new itinerary will provide our guests with some outstanding destinations to visit ashore where they can safely discover the beauty of the Baltics with the same high health and safety standards as those on board MSC Seaview, as well as all of our ships.”

Visby, the capital of the Baltic Sea island of Gotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with impressive medieval buildings. Stockholm – known as the ‘Venice of the North’ – is famous for its outstanding architecture and abundance of open water, and Tallinn is renowned for its monumental walls, towers and well-preserved ancient buildings.

The ship will comply with MSC Cruises’ health and safety protocol that was developed last year with input from international health experts, including MSC Cruises’ ‘COVID-19 Blue-Ribbon Expert Group’, and in close cooperation with health, safety and transport authorities throughout Europe.

Measures include universal testing at embarkation and mid-cruise, weekly testing of crew, social distancing, the wearing of masks in public areas and protected shore excursions. Details of the health and safety protocol can be found HERE.

MSC Cruises said it will closely monitor the situation ashore at all the destinations MSC Seaview will call and the itinerary may see the possible addition of new ports.

The Baltic Sea cruises are another step forward in MSC Cruises’ wider plans for a return to sea for its fleet of ships. MSC Grandiosa and MSC Seaside are currently sailing in the West Mediterranean and will be joined in August by MSC Seashore for her maiden season. The Company’s most recent addition MSC Virtuosa is set to start her own maiden season later this week with voyages around the UK – see report dated 18 May further down this page.

Three more ships will soon begin cruises in the East Mediterranean – MSC Orchestra, MSC Splendida and MSC Magnifica. With only a few ports in the Baltic and North Seas open for cruising this summer, MSC Cruises was forced to cancel its proposed summer season sailings from the German ports of Warnemünde and Hamburg for MSC Preziosa and MSC Musica, respectively.

Added 19 May 2021

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WTO launches first online Regional Trade Policy Course for Africa

A total of 26 government officials from 16 WTO members and observers are currently attending the WTO’s first online Regional Trade Policy Course for English-speaking African countries taking place from 17 May to 20 August. The objective is to extend participants’ expertise on the multilateral trading system and the work of the WTO.

The WTO members and observers represented are: Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Uganda and Zambia.

In his opening address to the participants, Jorge Castro, the Training Section Head of the WTO’s Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation (ITTC), said on behalf of the ITTC Director, Bridget Chilala: “I am very pleased to see that despite these challenging times, you have chosen to participate in this course and increase your knowledge of international trade and the work of the WTO.

“This affirms your commitment to the multilateral trading system. … This course takes place at a critical moment for global trade. … You picked an opportune time to learn more about the WTO, what it stands for, and to explore together the challenges and opportunities that the multilateral trading system and WTO agreements provide.”

ITTC and Mauritius University

Organised by the ITTC and the University of Mauritius, the course is specifically designed for government officials from WTO members and observers working on trade-related issues who have completed an introductory WTO training course. It seeks to ensure that trade-related technical assistance continues to be made available despite the Covid-19 pandemic and replicates most of the training components offered by face-to-face regional trade policy courses. It is the first online regional trade policy course organized by the WTO with a partner institution.

WTO agreements

It is understood that the curriculum covers the WTO agreements, the organisation’s functions, rules and procedures and trade policy issues related to the African region.

The course will consist of self-learning, interactive case studies and exercises and webinars by WTO experts and trade-policy academics and practitioners from the region.

Furthermore, we learn that the course will also include several round tables addressing contemporary multilateral and regional trade issues.

Among the speakers will be experts from the International Trade Centre, the Enhanced Integrated Framework, the Standards and Trade Development Facility, the Advisory Centre on WTO Law. An evaluation of the participants will take place weekly.

Strengthening Africa’s capacity to trade

A WTO report exploring how African countries can leverage the multilateral trading system to take greater advantage of international markets and promote economic transformation was recently launched. The publication, entitled Strengthening Africa’s capacity to trade, can be downloaded HERE

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 19 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: AVANTI – part of a waiting game

 

 

In amongst the steady stream of 250 metre long LR tankers arriving at Cape Town and going alongside at the tanker berth, there is still place for a smaller 180 metre MR2 sized tanker to go alongside the second tanker berth. Despite that, the tankers are still arriving in such regular numbers that even the MR tankers are often forced to go to anchor to await a berth coming free in the port.

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

On 9 May at 21h00 the MR2 tanker AVANTI (IMO 9403334) arrived from Durban and proceeded to go straight to the Cape Town anchorage. Her voyage had begun in Sohar in Oman, and Avanti had arrived to complete her discharge of refined fuel products in South African ports. On 11 May at 07h00 she entered the harbour and berthed ahead of the LR Tanker Meltemi.

Built in 2009 by the Shin Kurishima shipyard at Onishi in Japan, Avanti is 180 metres in length and had a deadweight of 45,965 tons. She is powered by a Mitsui MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C 6cylinder 2 stroke engine producing 12,713 bhp (9,480 kW).

Nominally owned by Perseus Ventures SA of Athens, she is managed and operated by Prime Tanker Management Inc of Athens. It is with some pride that Prime Tanker Management can claim that in March 2021 they became the first ship management company in the world to officially achieve the distinction of having of a Carbon Neutral head office.

This is on top of having already been the first ship management company to have gained the accreditation of the ISO14064-1 certification for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Monitoring Systems in 2020.

This is not the first visit to Cape waters for Avanti, as she was previously at Cape Town for four days back in March 2021 discharging, as well as being a regular visitor to Southern Africa with this year with two further visits to Durban, as well as one each to Port Louis in Mauritius and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, always with parcels loaded in Saudi and Emirati ports.

On the completion of her discharge, Avanti sailed on 13 May at 09h00 for Fujairah in the Emirates.

One of the very visual aspects of Avanti are the indicators for where a tug should push when berthing or manoeuvring her. In order to assist tugs, most vessels have small arrows, or the words ‘Tug’ and ‘Push Here’ painted on their hulls in relatively small lettering to indicate where the tug should go. On Avanti they have gone one step further in ensuring that even the most myopic Tugmaster cannot possibly go wrong in knowing where he, or she, needs to push. The hull of ‘Avanti’ has the letter ‘T’ painted in 5 metre high characters along the hull and easily visible to the tug from as far away as a ‘country mile’.

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Dredging of Kribi Port access channel complete

 

Dredging of the Cameroon Port of Kribi navigation channel has been completed with the successful acceptance testing. The channel has been placed in service.

This forms part of the Kribi Deepwater Port Phase II Project.

The Port of Kribi now has a 1,015 metre navigation channel with a depth of 15 metres, a width of 200 metres and a 600 metre turning basin and will further facilitate the efficient navigation of ships at the port.

The project was undertaken by the China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) which said the completion of the project has laid a solid foundation for subsequent construction, while marking a new stage in the construction of the project.

Port of Douala commissions oil terminal

In other news from Cameroon, Business in Cameroon reported that the Port of Douala-Bonabéri has officially commissioned its oil terminal.

Director-General of the Cameroon Company of Petroleum Depots (SCDP), Véronique Moampéa Mbio, said the the XAF10 billion (US$17.9 million) infrastructure presented a number of benefits.

The first is the provision of safety in the handling of the country’s supply of petroleum products. “The platform is exclusively dedicated to petroleum products’ handling operation,” she said.

“The second benefit is that it facilitates the offloading of petroleum products. As such, it can help reduce the operation time by about 12 hours and we intend to fully maximise this.”

MD of the Port Authority of Douala (PAD), Cyrus Ngo’o, added that the Port of Douala’s new terminal is now compliant with international port operating standards.

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SCA given authority to widen and deepen Suez Canal

With approval having been granted, the Suez Canal Authority has received the go-ahead from Egyptian authorities for a project to widen and deepen the Suez Canal even further.

This follows the six days in which the canal was totally blocked by the mega-size container ship, EVER GIVEN, in March this year. The vessel was eventually freed and is currently at anchor in the lakes under a detention order from the SCA.

The expansion project will involve widening and dredging the southern part of the canal in the area where the Ever Given lost power and slewed across to block the canal.

The canal is estimated to handle more than 10% of the world’s annual maritime trade.

The news that authority had been given to widen and deepen this section of the canal was broadcast on Egyptian television with chairman of the SCA, Osama Rabie saying the project will result in “improvements in the ability of
the guide [pilot] and the captain of any ship to navigate inside the canal.”

The report said that a total of 18,829 ships with a net tonnage of 1.17 billion tons used the canal in 2020, with a daily average of between 40 and 50 ships in convoy.

Immediately following the removal of Ever Given an average of more than 80 ships went through the canal as the SCA cleared the backlog of over 400 waiting ships.

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Tema Floating Storage Regasificaton Unit (FSRU) completed

The 28,000 m³ LNG floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) for the Tema Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Import Terminal Project, has been completed.

The FSRU was constructed by the Chinese shipbuilder Jiangnan Shipyard with China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) building the onshore facilities. With a maximum regasification capacity of 335 tons per hour and a 14,000-ton loading capacity, the unit will meet 30 per cent of Ghana’s power generation demand.

The facility has the capacity to receive, store, regasify and deliver roughly 3.4 million tonnes (Mt) of LNG a year, which is equivalent to approximately 500MMscfd (million cubic feet per day) of natural gas.

The controversial project which has been criticised for health and other reasons, was implemented under strict security that ensured its smooth advancement to completion.

One of the criticisms is the lack of financial transparency surrounding, among other things involving the cancellation of a signed gas supply contract with Rosneft and its replacement by a new agreement with Helios/China Harbor Engineering.

The Tema LG Terminal Company (TLTC) comprises the permanently moored FRSU and a floating storage unit (FSU), with gas to be piped ashore to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) for the generation of electrical and other energy in commercial use.

The FRSU arrived on site from China in January this year. According to reports the Spanish company Reganosa has been awarded the contract to operate and maintain the FSRU, with Shell supplying the LNG on a long-term contract.

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WHARF TALK: HAI FENG 698 – reefer with a long history

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Some 32 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there are still those occasions when some vessels of that vast fleet, still very much operational, are to be seen around the ports of Africa. The odd polar class vessel, a number of deepsea stern trawlers and the occasional fishing fleet support ship are often to be spotted in Cape Town harbour.

On 13 May at 16h00 the HAI FENG 698 (IMO 8422711) arrived at Cape Town from deep sea and proceeded directly to the bunker berth in Duncan Dock. She had departed her home port of Shidao in China way back on 29 September 2020 and had spent most of that time doing exactly the same job that the Soviet Union designed her to do, that is to follow the national fishing fleets, wherever they may be.

One day later, on 14 May at 16h00, after taking on bunkers and fresh supplies, Hai Feng 698 sailed for her home port of Shidao. To most casual observers, she looked just like any other small reefer, albeit a bit long in the tooth, but she has a long history.

Built in 1984 at the Mathias Thesen Werft shipyard at Wismar in the old East Germany, she was a product of the Cold War. One of 27 vessels of the Project 586 ‘Komsomolets Primorya’ class of fish carrier, also known as Kristall II class, Hai Feng 698 was ordered by the Government of the Soviet Union as one of 27 identical sisters built at the same yard between 1983 and 1993.

Originally launched as Olyutorskiy Zaliv and assigned to the Dalryba state fishing company of Vladivostok, Hai Feng 698 remained under both Soviet and Russian ownership until 2016. She is 153 metres in length and has a deadweight of 11,871 tons. She is powered by a VEB Dieselmoterenwerk MAN K5SZ70/125BL producing 10,330 bhp (7,600 kW) for a service speed of 17.4 knots. Auxiliary power is provided by four SKL 6NVD 48A-2 engines providing 600 kW and she has an SKL 6NVD 26.2 emergency generator providing 124 kW.

Designed specifically to accompany the Soviet Union distant water fishing fleets, Hai Feng 698 has 21,754 m3 available in her fish holds, plus 32 blast freezers providing 13,326 m3 of freezing capacity, with a total equivalent to 470,572 ft3 of freezer space. There will be some who clearly remember passing vessels such as the Hai Feng 698 when transiting through Namibian waters, prior to independence, when an exceptionally large Soviet trawling fleet was active in those waters.

Currently owned by Macro Da of Singapore, Hai Feng 698 is operated by Zhongyu Global Seafood Group, who are themselves linked to the government-owned China National Fisheries Corporation of Beijing. She arrived in Cape Town from the South Atlantic and her current global fishing registrations include CCAMLR which governs Antarctic waters, ICCAT which covers the Atlantic Ocean, both NPFC and WCPFC which governs Pacific waters and IOTC which governs Indian Ocean waters, so she is still following the Chinese fleet wherever they are to be found. She is registered as being allowed to transship at sea, and her carriage of large Yokohama fenders is testament to that operation.

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MSC Virtuosa arrives in Southampton, ready to restart cruising in UK waters

Maiden voyage will be around the British Isles

MSC Virtuosa, MSC Cruises’ latest flagship, has arrived in Southampton, ready to welcome guests as cruising restarts in the UK. The newest and most innovative ship in MSC Cruises’ fleet, MSC Virtuosa will embark on her maiden voyage around the British Isles on Thursday, 20 May.

The first cruise line to restart in the UK, MSC Virtuosa offers a choice of three- and four- night mini cruises starting as from 20 May, then from 5 June, the flagship will begin seven-night cruises. The week-long sailings include calls at the picturesque isle of Portland and the cultural city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, as well as offering multiple ports of embarkation including Liverpool and Greenock, close to Glasgow, Scotland. That’s in addition to Southampton, MSC Virtuosa’s homeport for the European summer.

Initially the ship will sail from City Cruise Terminal, before moving to embark passengers from the newly-named Horizon Cruise terminal once it has opened.

Third MSC ship to return to cruising

MSC Virtuosa becomes the third MSC Cruises ship back at sea when she departs for her maiden voyage on Thursday, marking a slow but definite return to cruise operations in Mediterranean and UK waters. MSC Cruises has two ships operating in the Med, MSC Seaside which welcomed her first guests earlier this month, and MSC Grandiosa which has been sailing in the Med since August 2020.

All ships operate under the same industry-leading health and safety protocol, including universal testing upon embarkation, which has been developed with a Blue Ribbon Panel of experts.

There’s no indication when cruising in South African waters will return, though it is hoped that by the summer months from around November some cruising may be introduced.

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IMO and energy efficient ship operation: A free online course launched

IMO’s public-private partnership initiative to tackle GHG emissions, the Global Industry Alliance to Support Low Carbon Shipping ( Low Carbon GIA, has launched a free to access E-Learning course aimed at seafarers and anyone interested in this aspect of shipping.

Self-pacing

The self-paced course, ‘An Introduction to Energy Efficient Ship Operation’ is intended as a first glimpse into how GHG emissions from ships can be addressed. This was reported by IMO on 13 May and a link appears at the foot of this news item.

The online course, designed by e-learning specialist Ocean Technologies Group, features videos, text information, quizzes and more for an interactive experience.

Each module includes interactive lessons, resources for additional learning as well as a final summary. The course is specifically designed to be accessible to non-technical audiences. It was developed and funded by the Low Carbon GIA, a partnership under the framework of the IMO-Norway GreenVoyage2050 Project.

To quote Minglee Hoe, project technical analyst at IMO’s Department of Partnerships and Projects: “We know there is a lot of curiosity about how shipping is working to reduce its environmental footprint and we wanted to make this information easily accessible. This course can be taken by seafarers or the general public, and is a free resource that can even be worked on offline’ For more CLICK HERE.

Two modules

The course features two modules, each of which takes on average one hour to complete:

1.’Greenhouse gases and energy efficiency in the maritime industry’ which covers IMO’s regulatory framework to address GHG emissions from ships, particularly the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) and the Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) under MARPOL Annex VI.

2.’Practical ways of reducing energy use at sea’ which focuses on the operational measures that can be included in the SEEMP Part I (trim optimisation, voyage planning, maintenance of engines etc) and which can contribute to improvements in the energy efficiency of ships, thereby reducing GHG emissions.

More under development

Additional modules aimed at seafarers are currently under development and will be released in due course. It is understood that these modules will cover detailed practical measures that can be taken and will be particularly suitable for seafarers working in the engine and deck departments, onshore personnel/companies and those working at ports.

Helping countries achieve climate change action

The course is hosted by the UN Climate Change Learning Partnership UN CC:Learn, a joint initiative of more than 30 multilateral organisations helping countries to achieve climate change action both through general climate literacy and applied skills development. A certificate of completion is awarded to learners who successfully complete the course assessments. For participants with limited internet access or time online, a PDF version can be downloaded to allow for offline learning and can come back to take the quiz online.

To take the course

Readers are invited to take the course by CLICKING HERE.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

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Transnet doubles its capacity to rail export grain to Durban

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has doubled-up rail capacity for export grain farmers in the Bethlehem area in the Free State province, as the export grain season gets underway.

Following integrated demand planning with farmers, TFR intends moving 550,000 tons of export grain, a 133% increase from 235,826 tons in the previous season. The 550,000 tons is equivalent to approximately 16,100 trucks off the road, which will have a material impact in easing road congestion on the national N3 road and in the Port of Durban precinct.

The export season started in April already and runs until September 2021. It is expected to peak in the months of June and July. The export railing will incrementally ramp up from the current average of 10,000 tons per week to a weekly tempo 28,000 tons by the end of May.

TFR will run between 15 to 20 export grain trains per week from Bethlehem to the Port of Durban, where private terminal operators handle the commodity.

TFR says it is committed to further increasing rail capacity for the 2022 grain export season through aligning with the industry and reviewing operating models to improve capacity.

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WHARF TALK: BBC PLATA – and Damen 3307 FCS

 

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

As reported last week, the heavylift ship BBC PLATA (IMO 9291975) arrived initially in Durban to offload a deck cargo of ten straddle carriers destined for the Durban Container Terminal. The straddle carriers were loaded from the ZPMC manufacturer’s facility in Shanghai on 28 March, and BBC China then sailed for Singapore where she arrived on 10 April to load further deck cargo from the Damen Singapore shipyard of two Damen 3307 FCS patrol boats, before sailing for Durban on 13 April. From there she headed for Cape Town where she arrived at the anchorage on 12 May at 19h00. She entered the harbour at 22h00 that night.

Built in 2005 by the Jiangdong Shipyard at Wuhu in China, BBC Plata is 138 metres long, with a deadweight of 12,837 tons and has a container capacity of 665 TEU. She is powered by a Caterpillar-MaK 6M32C 6 cylinder 2 stroke engine producing 7,242 bhp (5,400 kW) to drive a controllable pitch propeller at a service speed of 15 knots. Her auxiliary engines include three MAN D2842 LE301 generators providing 532 kW, and one MAN D2866E emergency generator providing 125 kW. She has two TUBE-TEC boilers, one oil fired and one exhaust gas powered.

As with all BBC vessels, BBC Plata is a purpose designed heavylift vessel, and her special heavylift deck cranes are two NMF 120 ton cranes, which are able to operate in tandem to achieve a lift of 240 tons. Owned by Bockstiegel Reederei GmbH of Hamburg, she is managed by Briese Schiffahrt GmbH of Leer and managed by BBC Chartering, also of Leer in Germany.

However, just as interesting as BBC Plata was, it was her obvious marine deck cargo that took the eye. It was thought that the two patrol boats would be offloaded in Cape Town and placed into the temporary care of the Damen Shipyard there, prior to their onward journey, and indeed that was the case with both boats offloaded into the Duncan Dock using the NMF cranes of BBC Plata. She sailed for Matadi in the DR Congo on 14 May at 21h00.

The interesting deck cargo offloaded in Cape Town was the two Damen 3307 Fast Crew Supplier (FCS) Patrol Boats.

These are of the Damen Axe Bow design and are designed to provide multiple offshore support services including maritime security, crew transfers, cargo transport, provisions supply and equipment delivery. They have a range of over 1,000 nautical miles and can remain on patrol around the coastal and offshore oilfields for 4 weeks at a time. For her maritime security mission they carry a crew of six and can carry up to twelve security personnel.

At 34 metres in length, and with a deadweight of 65 tons, they are powered by three Caterpillar-MTU C32 TTA engines producing a total of 4,358 bhp (3,250 kW), with each engine driving a fixed pitch propeller via a Reintjies WVS series gearbox to give a service speed of 30 knots. Her auxiliary engines are two MAN C4.4T generators providing 64.5 kVA (51.5 kW) each.

The design and colour scheme of the two vessels offloaded in Cape Town indicate that these 3307 FCS patrol boats are going to join their sisterships, already operating in the Nigerian oilfields for Homeland Integrated Offshore Services Ltd (HIOS) of Lagos.

HIOS took delivery of their first Damen 3307 FCS patrol boat back in 2014, named Guardian 1, and then subsequently added more 3307 FCS vessels to the fleet in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018, with two added in 2019. All of the HIOS 3307 FCS vessels have the name Guardian followed by a number. Despite their security brief, none of the vessels is provided with fixed armament.

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Maritime charities extend retraining funding to year end

In the UK the Maritime Charities Group (MCG), Trinity House, Nautilus Slater Fund and the Merchant Navy Welfare Board have announced the extension of the MCG Retraining and Redundancy Bursary Fund until the end of this year.

This fund, which is administered by The Marine Society on behalf of MCG, provides extra cash for training and refresher courses and is aimed at merchant seafarers who’ve lost work due to Covid-19 and want to stay in the industry. Forty-eight applications have been approved since the fund was launched last November and over £20,000 awarded in grants and it is understood that another £20,000 remains available.

Chair of MCG, Commander Graham Hockley (pictured) explained: “The fund was due to close at the beginning of May but with furlough coming to an end in September and many jobs under threat, the need for this kind of support hasn’t gone away. With no government funding available for seafarer retraining, it makes sense to extend the scheme.”

The charities want to spread the word, especially to ratings, ferry crew and female seafarers. Commander Hockley continued: “The response so far has been really good but less so from ratings, ferry crew and women. Our message to these groups, and to any other UK-based seafarer who’s lost work due to the pandemic, is that the MCG bursary could help you get back into employment or retrain for a new role in the industry. It covers everything from certificate renewal to writing job applications, from retraining to interviewing skills. Just go to the Marine Society website and apply today.”

Applicants can claim up to £500 towards training or qualifications of their choice.

To find out more about the MCG Redundancy and Retraining Bursary Fund and how to apply readers are invited to CLICK HERE

Please note: This fund is for the benefit of UK nationals. Administrations may wish to consider adopting a similar funding arrangement.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

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WHARF TALK: PALANCA CADIZ – potholes, roads and refineries

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Potholes, roads and South Africa. In some parts of the country the mix can be quite dangerous, and of course the way to fix them is to use bitumen and asphalt. The problem comes when you lose a large percentage of your local bitumen supply. The reason being two of your largest refineries are offline, they have been for over six months, and there is not much prospect of them coming back online in the immediate future. Of course, the issue is that bitumen production is a consequence, and much needed result, of crude oil refining. No refining, no bitumen. It’s that simple.

The Engen Durban refinery, one of the two major refineries that is currently offline, and quite likely to never coming back online, used to produce up to 160,000 tons of bitumen every year, with half of that production being exported to other African countries.

To add to the problem is that the Astron Cape Town refinery is also offline and not producing bitumen. However, at least someone in the Western Cape has decided that the existing roads need repairing, or new roads need constructing, and bitumen needs to be acquired, even if that means the country that was only one year ago a net exporter, now having to become a net importer of bitumen.

So on 14 May at 12h00, the specialised bitumen tanker PALANCA CADIZ (IMO 9748007) arrived in Cape Town after a long voyage from Barranquilla in Colombia and berthed at A berth in the Duncan Dock. She had loaded 5,000 tons of bulk bitumen from the TELBA export terminal in the South American port, all destined for South Africa.

Built in 2017 by the Uljanik 3rd of May shipyard at Rijeka in Croatia, Palanca Cadiz is 133 metres in length and has a deadweight of 14,911 tons. She is powered by a Wartsila 6RT-Flex35 6 cylinder 2 stroke engine providing 7,099 bhp (5,220 kW) and driving a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 13.6 knots. She has three generating sets providing 850 kVA (680 kW) and three HTI-GESAB boilers, one exhaust gas heated and two oil fired heated.

Bitumen is transported in a semi-molten state and typically kept heated between 120 and 160 degrees centigrade whilst in transit. As such, Palanca Cadiz has 12 cargo tanks with a liquid capacity of 14,902 m3, the contents of which are capable of being heated up to 250 degrees centigrade.

Owned by Trafigura Maritime Logistics of Singapore and managed by Wisby Tankers of Lidkoping in Sweden, Palanca Cadiz is operated as part of the High Heat Tankers fleet. The High Heat Tanker Company is a joint venture between Gearbulk and Puma Energy, which itself is a division of the Trafigura Group. They operate the world’s largest pool of tankers dedicated to the specialised transport of high heat products, such as bitumen.

It has been a while since a bitumen tanker arrived at the port, and the specialised armoured discharge hoses, and the overhead bitumen distribution gantry were brought out for thorough checking a week before the arrival of Palanca Cadiz. However, that did not prevent gremlins affecting the start of the bitumen discharge process in Cape Town.

A failure to heat the armoured discharge hoses sufficiently meant that a blockage soon occurred as the bitumen cooled on discharge. Then it was discovered that the gantry distribution hoses had not been checked properly, as they had not been flushed and purged by the previous users, creating further partial blockages on the gantry, again slowing down the discharge rate. Engineers worked on the problem overnight, in pouring rain, whilst cargo offloading operations were suspended.

The next day with all problems solved and sorted, discharge began apace with loading of a large fleet of bitumen road tankers, trailers and Bitutainers. The road tankers will be proceeding directly to the Tosas storage depot at Worcester in the Western Cape. The bitumen in the Bitutainers will be allowed to cool until needed, and then heated up using gas flames.

With bitumen being a high heat product, and with an IMO Dangerous Goods listing, safety is an extremely important consideration during discharge. Medical staff are present on the quayside at all times, and the operators working on the gantry are all protected by extensive PPE and harnesses. In case of any bitumen splashes, a shower station is provided on site and the whole discharge operation has been continuously overseen by a watchful Health and Safety Supervisor.

There was a time, in recent history, when the transport of bitumen on the Southern African coast was carried out by Unicorn Lines. Initially with the 1963 built Pondoland between 1978 and 1982, and then by the 1977 built Eland operated between 1982 and 1996, and the 1982 built ‘Rampart’ operated between 1991 and 2000. The latter two vessels being the last two bitumen tankers in the fleet of what was once South Africa’s premier coastal shipping company.

The loss of 17% of South Africa’s refining capacity on a permanent basis with the loss of the Engen refinery in Durban may mean that the rare class of bitumen tanker, such as Palanca Cadiz, will be seen more often on the South African coast bringing this much needed commodity, required to maintain the infrastructure of any developed country.

If not, the problems with increasing levels of road potholes, with their lack of repair by local councils, are likely to continue unabated.

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The future is here: Vale’s 325,000-ton sailing ship about to go into service

It’s not fanciful writing or speculation anymore, a 324,230-dwt VLOC sailing ship, is about to go into service on charter with Brazil’s mining group, Vale.

Sail-assisted ship to be more accurate. Rotor-sail.

The giant ore carrier SEA ZHOUSHAN (IMO 9844112), utilising technology provided by Finnish manufacturer Norsepower, and built in partnership with South Korea’s shipowner Pan Ocean (previously STX Pan Ocean), is the first large vessel fitted with five rotor sails that are said to enable a gain in efficiency of up to 8% which equates to a reduction of up to 3,400 tons of CO2 equivalent per ship per year.

The vessel was designed by the Shanghai Ship and Design Research Institute (SDARI) and built in China at the New Times Shipbuilding yard in Jingjiang, Jiangsu.

Provided the prototype performs as efficiently as expected, up to 40% of the Vale fleet of ore carriers will be able to utilise rotor sails, which will reduce Vale’s annual iron ore division emissions by almost 1.5 per cent.

The new vessel is ready to depart from China for Brazil to load its first shipment of iron ore at a Brazilian port.

Among the analysis undertaken has been a study of the winds likely to be experienced along the route from Brazil, around the Cape of Good Hope and across the Indian Ocean to China.

Vale’s shipping technical manager, Rodrigo Bermelho said Vale will have a competitive advantage over its competitors – the Brazil-Asia route has more wind on average than that of Australia-Asia. He added that Vale’s naval engineering team has been studying the use of wind propulsion technology for its business since 2016.

Another study included the ports that the ships with rotor sails will use. 3D models of each port were made to analyse how the ship will be moored. When in port the rotor sails recline to allow the use of the ship loader/unloader.

The rotor sails are described as cylindrical rotors, with a height of 24 metres and a diameter of 4 metres. In operation the rotors rotate at different speeds, to create a pressure difference in order to move the ship forward, due to a phenomenon known as the Magnus effect.

Vale also expects to introduce another innovation, its first VLOC installed with Air Lubrication – a carpet of air bubbles at the bottom of the ship, allowing a reduction in water friction with the hull. It expects this to help reduce fuel consumption by around 5 to 8%, and the potential to reduce annual emissions in Vale’s iron ore shipping by 4.4%.

A number of Vale’s second-generation VLOCs are designed for the use of alternative fuels with future liquefied natural gas (LNG) system installation.

Vale says these actions are contributing to achieving a commitment to reduce 15% of net Scope 3 emissions by 2035. “Additionally, Vale seeks to reduce its absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 33% by 2030 and achieve neutrality by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement, leading the evolution process towards low carbon mining.”

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HMS Queen Elizabeth on pre-deployment exercise

Operations with the USMC Osprey tilt-rotor

On 10 May two USMC MV-22B Ospreys* landed on HMS Queen Elizabeth to disembark USMC personnel during Exercise Strike Warrior.

Queen Elizabeth is currently off the Scottish coast as the UK Carrier Strike Group has joined allied forces for its largest and most demanding exercise to date. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence.

Queen Elizabeth is currently off the Scottish coast as the UK Carrier Strike Group has joined allied forces for its largest and most demanding exercise to date. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence in week ending 25 May.

Strike Warrior is the third and last in a series of pre-deployment exercises undertaken by the Carrier Strike Group known as CSG21 over the past year, each more demanding and complex than the previous one.

On completion of Strike Warrior Queen Elizabeth will deploy as the Flagship for CSG21.

The MV-22 Osprey is used by the US Marine Corps for transport of troops, equipment, and supplies from ships and land bases and for combat assault and assault support.

The aircraft is a tiltrotor V/STOL vehicle designed as the medium-lift replacement for the CH-46E Sea Knight assault support helicopter. It can operate as a helicopter or a turboprop aircraft and offers twice the speed, six times the range, and three times the payload of the Sea Knight.

* Per www.boeing.com ‘V-22 Osprey: Unlike any aircraft in the world:

The V-22 Osprey is a joint service multi-role combat aircraft utilizing tilt-rotor technology to combine the vertical performance of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aircraft.

With its rotors in vertical position, it can take off, land and hover like a helicopter.

Once airborne, it can convert to a turboprop airplane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flight. This combination results in global reach capabilities that allow the V-22 to fill an operational niche unlike any other aircraft.’

See YouTube video here: Boeing: V-22 Osprey

Technical details

Propulsion: Two Rolls-Royce AE1107C, 6,150 shp (4,586 kW) each
Length Fuselage: 57.3 ft. (17.47 m); Stowed: 63.0 ft. (19.20 m)
Width Rotors turning: 84.6 ft. (25.78 m); Stowed: 18.4 ft. (5.61 m)
Height Nacelles vertical: 22.1 ft. (6.73 m); Stabiliser: 17.9 ft. (5.46 m)
Rotor Diameter: 38.1 ft (11.6 m)
Vertical Takeoff Max Gross Weight: 52,600 lbs. (23,859 kg)
Max Speed: 270 kts (500 km/h) @ SL
Mission Radius: 428 nm – MV-22 Blk C with vertical takeoff – 24 troops, ramp mounted weapon system, SL STD, 20 min loiter time;  525 nm – Short takeoff technique (Rolling Takeoff)
Cockpit – crew seats: 2 MV / 3 CV / 2 CMV

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 17 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: SA Port Statistics for April 2021 are now available here

Port statistics for the month of April 2021, covering the eight commercial ports under the administration of Transnet National Ports Authority, are now available.

Details of the port cargo throughputs, ships berthed and motor vehicle and container volumes handled can be seen in the tables below.

Statistics involving motor vehicles are measured in vehicle units. These include imports and exports, earth-moving and other ro-ro or wheeled vehicles each qualifying as a single unit and are rated as at an average of one tonne each.

For comparison with the equivalent month of the previous year, April 2020 GO HERE

These statistic reports on Africa PORTS & SHIPS are arrived at using an adjustment on the overall tonnage compared to those kindly provided by TNPA and include containers recorded by weight; an adjustment necessary on account of TNPA measuring containers by the number of TEUs without reflecting the weight, thus leaving the SA ports undervalued in volumes in comparison with others.

To arrive at such a calculation,  Africa PORTS & SHIPS uses an average of 13.5 tonnes per TEU, which probably does involve some under-reporting.  Africa PORTS & SHIPS  will continue to emphasise this distinction, without which South African ports would be seriously under-reported internationally and locally.

Port Statistics continue below

 

Figures for the respective ports during April 2021 are:

Cargo handled by tonnes during April 2021, including containers by weight

PORT	April 2021 million tonnes
Richards Bay	6.521
Durban	6.567
Saldanha Bay	6.368
Cape Town	1.706
Port Elizabeth	1.239
Ngqura	1.306
Mossel Bay	0.084
East London	0.156
Total all ports	23.947 million tonnes

CONTAINERS (measured by TEUs) during April 2021
(TEUs include Deepsea, Coastal, Transship and empty containers all subject to being invoiced by NPA

PORT	April 2021 TEUs
Durban	237,627
Cape Town	88,058
Port Elizabeth	9,523
Ngqura	67,586
East London	4,475
Richards Bay	-142
Total all ports	407,411 TEU

MOTOR VEHICLES RO-RO TRAFFIC (measured by Units- CEUs) during April 2021

PORT	April 2021 CEUs
Durban	38,673
Cape Town	2
Port Elizabeth	10,842
East London	9,770
Richards Bay	1
Total all ports	59,288 CEU

SHIP CALLS for April 2021

PORT	April 2021 vessels	gross tons
Durban	251	8,738,991
Cape Town	248	3,634,789
Richards Bay	129	5,616,362
Port Elizabeth	76	2,046,622
Saldanha Bay	67	4,835,277
Ngqura	54	2,964,741
East London	24	777,239
Mossel Bay	24	197,990
Total ship calls	873	28,812,011

— source TNPA, with adjustments regarding container weights by AP&s

Added 16 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: Durban Port Bulletin News

Moshe Motlohi, Transnet National Ports Authority General Manager reports:

This week the Port of Durban; Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) Pier 2 welcomed the arrival of ten new straddle carriers. The arrival of the equipment is the fulfillment of the commitment made by TPT for infrastructural investments into the terminal. This delivery is part of the 22 straddle carriers that will be injected into the TPT fleet. We are optimistic that these will add on to the good work done within the port decongestion exercise. We expect the equipment to be up and running in no time to improve broader operational efficiencies.

The planning for the upcoming grain season is at its peak. The season kicked off with the unveiling of the civil works of a staging area for BPO Terminals in Hammarsdale. Engagements on offering the facility to other terminals commenced on 13 May 2021. The idea is to get all operators in Maydon Wharf (MW) to establish a truck calling system in place for their terminals. This is designed to ultimately have no truck congestion in MW.

We will continue to report on these engagements.

This reporting week we continued with one-to-one engagements with port stakeholders who will be operationally impacted by the Durban Hub Port Master Plan. We appreciate the positive and insightful contributions coming out of these. These engagements will be the agenda for our stakeholder engagements for the ongoing foreseeable future; to ensure that all roleplayers are on board and geared towards efficient collaborations.

I would like to appeal to everyone to be vigilant as we are apparently seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Let’s keep on doing everything we can as well as abiding by the set regulations to stay safe.

Added 16 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: Durban Volume and Vessel Call Performance

Containers noted good performance of volumes driven by both import and export cargo. Imports were above target by 32% and exports by 40%. This is due to high cargo input from the Far East and an increase in demand for raw materials.

Automotive: We are noting that imports finished much lower when compared to the previous week’s actuals by just on 70% at a total of 1,053 units landed. We will continue to see this trend of spikes and troughs within the import space based on erratic consumer sentiment. Exports in fact performed much better from the previous reporting period with a total of 4,521 units loaded. Major OEMS handled more than 900 units for the week with one exporting just more than 2,000 units.

Dry Bulk: The dry sector also performed well as chrome bolstered volume with a total of 97,995 tons handled, of which 70,000 tons was chrome fines which was exported.

Manganese ore also performed marginally well at 50,000 tons with maize exports and metcoke also driving up volume for the period.

Breakbulk: The primary driver of volume in the reporting period was steel throughout which exceeded just more than 31,000 tons. Breakbulk Citrus exports also performed well with a total of 4,866 tons loaded for the week.

Liquid Bulk: Petroleum volumes exceeded budget by 20%, this is due to the ongoing shutdown, which is resulting in high import volumes of refined petroleum handled at the port. Chemical volumes performed well due to high import cargo destined for the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors.  source: TNPA

Added 16 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: AKADEMIK FEDOROV – Russian Antarctic supply vessel

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The Antarctic resupply season is now formally over with the last of the national Antarctic expedition resupply ships safely back in port. Despite the majority of these vessels having completed their programme back in March and April, the Russian Antarctic Expedition supply vessel AKADEMIK FEDOROV (IMO 8519837) arrived back in the Cape Town anchorage only on 13 May at 15h00 and she was able to enter port and berth the following day at 10h00.

Her resupply programme for the 2020-2021 austral supply season was delayed due to a combination of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the inability of the Russian Antarctic Expedition to achieve the start of the rebuilding of the Vostok base, due to the failure of the nuclear powered icebreaking cargo vessel Sevmorput to make it down to Antarctica in November 2020 as a result of her catastrophic propeller problems.

The arrival, once more, of the Russian Antarctic Expedition ship Akademik Fedorov marks the end of the Antarctic season for Cape Town. A visitor every year since she entered service in 1987 with the ‘Hammer and Sickle’ on her funnel as the flagship of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition. In this unique shot there are, 32 years after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, three vessels of the Soviet era in Cape Town together.
The Russian Antarctic vessel Akademik Federov (name unchanged since built in 1987), the Kristall II class fish carrier Hai Feng 698 (built as Olyutorskiy Zaliv in 1984) and the Pulkovskiy Meridian class trawler Forsa (built as Vitautas Montvila in 1987). Not going to see that outside of a Russian port!! Picture is by ‘Dockrat’

Built in 1987 by the Rauma-Repola Shipyard at Rauma in Finland, Akademik Fedorov is 141 metres in length and has a deadweight of 7,200 tons. To give her sufficient power to break ice when operating in both Antarctica and in the Arctic, she is powered by four Wartsila 16V32 engines giving her a total of up to 22,000 bhp available when required, and able to provide a normal service speed of 16 knots.

Having initially arrived in Cape Town on February 26th whilst en-route south, Akademik Fedorov departed for Antarctica at Midnight on 2 March bound first for the Russian Antarctic station ‘Mirnyy’. From there she resupplied the Russian bases ‘Progress’, ‘Novolazarevskaya’ and ‘Bellingshausen’ before heading back to Cape Town.

On the first Cape Town arrival of the Akademik Federov back in late 1987, she was carrying members of the 33rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition, and she has called in at Cape Town every year since then, with this year carrying the members of the 66th Russian Antarctic Expedition. Owned by the Russian State, Akademik Fedorov is both operated and managed by the Antarctic and Arctic Research Institute (AARI) of St. Petersburg. On departure from Cape Town she will sail north, first to Bremerhaven to discharge some cargo and equipment, and then head for home to St. Petersburg.

Carrying a crew of 70, and able to carry a passenger and scientific complement of up to 172 persons, Akademik Fedorov was named after the Soviet Polar Explorer Evgeny Fedorov, who was one of four pioneering scientific expeditioners who, for over nine months, manned the first Soviet Arctic drifting ice station ‘North Pole 1’ back in 1937. She regularly carries South African scientists, and South African aviation support teams, on research and support missions to Antarctica.

Added 16 May 2021

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HAPAG’s East Africa Service EAS 3 arrives EA this week

Readers will recall we ran this story earlier in the year as a forecast and it appeared in our edition of 15 March,  SEE HERE

We now hear from HAPAG in Hamburg that the East Africa Service 3 (EAS3) is due to arrive in the ports of Mombasa and Dar Es Salaam in the week ahead

It is understood that the new service will employ seven 2,800 TEU vessels.

EAS3 will offer direct weekly sailings between China, South-East Asia, Kenya and Tanzania with competitive transit times, it is claimed. It is expected to provide better connectivity between Asia and East Africa.

In addition, EAS3 will offer connections to Hapag-Lloyd’s global network via the hub ports of Singapore, Port Kelang and Shanghai.

Hapag-Lloyd entered the Sub-Sahara African market about 13 years ago and has seen steady and significant growth in cargo volumes to and from Africa since then.

In East Africa, the China Kenya Express Service (CKX) connects Kenya with some of the most important ports in Asia, such as Singapore and Shanghai, while the East Africa Service 2 (EAS2) connects East African with the west coast of India and Jebel Ali in Dubai.

Own offices

Hapag-Lloyd now has five own offices on the continent: in South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya. In addition, it recently opened a Quality Service Centre in Mauritius. The offices in Kenya, Nairobi and Mombasa, enable Hapag-Lloyd to better serve and be closer to its customers in this thriving economic hub of East Africa.

Connections to the interior

Hapag-Lloyd also serves landlocked East African countries – such as Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan – with regular inland connections to and from Mombasa. As part of its growth strategy, the shipping company will also endeavour to develop inland connections to Somalia, Southern Ethiopia and Northern Tanzania.

In the words of Dheeraj Bhatia, Senior Managing Director Region Middle East at Hapag-Lloyd: “Hapag-Lloyd has been steadily expanding its business in East Africa in recent years as part of our strategic focus on selected growth markets worldwide.

“Our new EAS3 service will create a new option for our customers and help us to forge even stronger connections between this flourishing region and the rest of the world.”

West Africa position

Hapag-Lloyd has also been strengthening its offerings and presence in West Africa in recent years. For example, in October 2019 the Middle East India Africa Express (MIAX) service was launched, providing direct and fast connections between the Middle East, India, South Africa and key markets in West Africa such as Ghana and Nigeria.

Nile-Dutch

In September 2020, a new office was opened in Lagos and, in mid-March 2021, Hapag-Lloyd signed a sale and purchase agreement with the Dutch container shipping company NileDutch.

Acquisition of NileDutch allows customers to benefit from an even denser network and a much higher frequency of sailings, particularly from and to ports in West and South Africa. Currently, the completion of the transaction is subject to the approval of the responsible antitrust authorities, it is understood.

This month

The first westbound voyage of the EAS3 commenced in Shanghai on 29 April 2021 with an ETA Mombasa of 23 May. The port rotation is here:

Shanghai – Ningbo – Nansha – Singapore – Port Kelang – Mombasa – Dar Es Salaam – Port Kelang – Singapore – Shanghai.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 16 May 2021

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Trinity House to replace Channel Lightvessel with Type 1 buoy

Trinity House announced on 12 May that it will replace the Channel Lightvessel with one of its largest Safe Water Mark buoys, now that the lightvessel position has successfully established a marine traffic pattern in the area.

The operation to tow the lightvessel and deploy a replacement buoy is set to take place in mid-August.

Background

Following the grounding of Amoco Cadiz in 1978, the IMO adopted the Off Casquets Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in 1979; Trinity House established the Channel Lightvessel so as to clearly define the new TSS to all mariners at a time when such schemes were a relatively new maritime feature.

The requirement

As part of the continuous review of its provision of aids to navigation—and further to the discontinuation of the East Channel buoy in 2018—Trinity House has carried out extensive analysis on the requirement for the Channel Lightvessel.

It has been determined that as the lightvessel marks only the end of the TSS and not any physical hazards to navigation, it could be removed now that the marine traffic patterns in the area are well established.

Recognising that the Channel Lightvessel has become a prominent physical mark for all sectors of the marine community, Trinity House has decided to replace the lightvessel with one of its largest Safe Water Mark buoys in order to enable position verification in the area.

The new aid to navigation

The replacement buoy for the Channel station is based upon a standard Type 1 modular configuration and will incorporate a bespoke electrical design that independently powers the buoy’s aid to navigation equipment and also the array of sensors and communication equipment required for the Met Office’s meteorological and hydrographic installation. The AIS and radar beacon (RACON) features will be retained to enhance conspicuity responding to equipment fitted on board a passing vessel.

The aid to navigation is a standard monitored buoy that will communicate over a roaming 4G network (with a fall back satellite-based communications unit) allowing the Trinity House round the clock Planning Centre in Harwich to ensure the nine nautical mile range light source exhibits a light during periods of darkness, to monitor its position via a GPS receiver and to give regular updates on battery condition and state of charge.

Weather monitoring

The meteorological and hydrographic equipment has been developed in close cooperation with the Met Office, collaborating on a system that utilises modern technologies to accommodate the required equipment in a way that makes optimal use of the limited available space.

The lightvessel at the Channel station has been a reliable platform for meteorological observations for many years and this service will continue on the Channel buoy. The new meteorological observations set-up will have a full back-up system to maintain service year-round and will report the same parameters as the lightvessel. Visibility sensors will be deployed and monitored for changes, and the new set-up affords the opportunity to collect full spectral wave measurements. The visibility measurements will be published once verified as accurate by the Met Office.

Green engineering

Being able to recreate the systems that once required a large lightvessel on a much smaller buoy is in many respects thanks to the technological advances made in recent years. The nine nautical mile range navigational light will come from an LED source that requires only nine watts of power and lasts ten years.

Battery technology to store the solar-generated power is also constantly improving; when these technologies are combined it results in less maintenance and fewer visits from Trinity House service craft with a positive impact on the marine environment while still providing the essential visual navigation mark for all passing mariners.

About Trinity House

Trinity House, London, incorporated by a Charter from Henry VIII in 1514, is a charity dedicated to safeguarding shipping and seafarers, providing education, support and welfare to the seafaring community with a statutory duty as a General Lighthouse Authority to deliver a reliable, efficient and cost-effective aids to navigation service for the benefit and safety of all mariners.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 16 May 2021

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WHARF TALK: COOL SPIRIT – smaller version of impressive Cool Eagle

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Just days after the maiden arrival in South Africa of the large reefer COOL EAGLE, a ‘mini-me’ version of this lovely vessel arrived in Cape Town on Friday, 14 May at 17h00. Arriving from Helsingborg in Sweden, COOL SPIRIT (IMO 9765861) could easily be mistaken as a sistership to her big sister in Durban, especially due to the unique bow form, hull lines and size of this vessel, but this is where the similarities end.

It is quite obvious to the observer that the design of Cool Spirit is the base from where Cool Eagle evolved. She is one of two sisterships, smaller than the E-class and both operating in the Cool Carriers fleet. Like her larger consort, Cool Spirit was built by the Shikoku Shipyard at Takamatsu in Japan, albeit entering service in 2018.

She is 189 metres in length, 26m in width, has a deadweight of 16,727 tons and a container capacity of 586 TEU. While her length is similar to that for Cool Eagle, her width is 4 metres narrower, thus less bulk – 16,727t versus 21,900 tons in deadweight.

The reefer is powered by a Mitsui MAN-B&W 7S60ME-C8 engine providing 20,518 bhp (15,300 kW) giving her a service speed of 21 knots. She has a single oil fired vertical Miura boiler and to support her reefer requirements she operates six generator sets producing 9,025 kVA of electrical power. Her refrigerated spaces are quite extensive and extend to 650,000 ft3 in total.

Owned by Kyowa Kisen KK of Imabari in Japan, Cool Spirit is operated by Nissen Kaiun KK, also of Imabari, and she is managed by Cool Carriers of Stockholm. Her arrival in Cape Town was in order to initially discharge 200 empty reefer containers, and then she will sail to Durban to complete the offload of the remaining reefer containers.

Cool Spirit will then begin her onload of citrus fruit in Durban, before sailing for Port Elizabeth to continue with the loading of more citrus fruit. She will then return to Cape Town to complete her onload of Cape fruit and will then sail for Rotterdam to start her European discharge.

Added 16 May 2021

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Protecting human rights at sea: New due diligence tool

Helping businesses uphold their responsibilities

A wide-ranging set of guidance has been issued to help enterprises using shipping services to protect the human rights of seafarers, as hundreds of thousands are still stranded on ships due to Covid-19 imposed travel restrictions.

Made public early in May the Human Rights Due Diligence Tool is a joint initiative of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), the ILO and the IMO.

The Due Diligence Tool for cargo owners and charterers has been issued amid concerns that the number of crew stranded at sea by Covid-19 restrictions could surge from the current level of 200,000, potentially returning to the peak of 400,000 seafarers at the height of the crew change crisis in September 2020. UN agencies hope the new guidance will help ensure that the working conditions and human rights of seafarers are respected and comply with international standards.

The new guidance aims to ensure that seafarers have their rights safeguarded in areas such as physical and mental health, access to family life and freedom of movement.

While recognising the importance of the maritime industry in transporting more than 80% of global trade goods, UN agencies have expressed concern at reports of seafarers working beyond the eleven-month maximum period of service on board set out by the ILO Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)

The UN agencies have also expressed strong concern at reports that companies engaged in international trade are avoiding chartering vessels where a crew change is due, with some demanding ‘no crew change’ clauses in charter party agreements, preventing needed crew changeovers and adding further pressure on the maritime industry.

Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), companies engaged with the maritime industry have a distinct responsibility to respect the human rights of seafarers as workers along their value chain.

Welcoming the new tool, IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim commented: ‘Seafarers are at the heart of the global supply chain. They are also at the mercy of Covid-19 restrictions on travel and transit. This has led to hundreds of thousands of seafarers being denied repatriation, crew changes, shore leave and ultimately being forced to stay working on ships long beyond their contracts.

‘It is incumbent on everyone involved with shipping, across the entire supply and logistics chain, to ensure seafarers rights are protected. This tool is an important step forward, providing a practical approach for cargo owners, charterers and logistic providers to consider the human rights of seafarers and ensure they are put first and foremost as they work to deliver the goods that people need and want.’

The tool provides guidance and a checklist for cargo owners, charterers and logistic providers to conduct human rights due diligence across their supply chains to identify, prevent, mitigate and address adverse human rights impacts for seafarers impacted by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

To download Maritime Human Rights Risks and the Covid-19 crew change crisis – A tool to support human rights due diligence readers are invited to SEE HERE

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 16 May 2021

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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

More News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/

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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  CLICKING 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.

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

Sometimes it’s necessary to go a long distance out of the way in order to come back a short distance correctly.

~Edward Albee

 

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Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za

 

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