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Join us as we report through 2021

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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  

FIRST VIEW:   ON CUTTY SARK

• UK P&I Club reaches deal with SCA to release Ever Given from Suez Canal
• IN CONVERSATION: The maritime tussle between Kenya and Somalia – and what happens next
• WHARF TALK: Supramax bulker BLUE AKIHABARA and the production of fertiliser
• Energy efficiency in ports to support maritime decarbonisation
• Dar es Salaam port authority bans storage of explosives in port
• Tenders invited for the concession of the Lobito Port Multi-Purpose & Container Terminal
• WHARF TALK: GLENDA MELODY and the story of Palm Oil
• Namport tackles a meaty project
• Stealth jets fight Daesh: First combat missions from HMS Queen Elizabeth
• WHARF TALK: BALTIC HEATHER – voyaging along the SE African coast May and June 2021
• Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) becomes an independent subsidiary of Transnet
• WHARF TALK: Taking SA fruit to the USA with ATLANTIC ACANTHUS
• NSPCA hits out at loading of sheep on Kuwaiti livestock carrier Al-Messilah
• NEW BOOKS: Another new shipbuilding title: Leith Built Ships Volume 2 
• WHARF TALK: ACONCAGUA BAY – Looking as though from another age
• Second new cutter suction dredger for Suez Canal Authority from Royal IHC
• WHARF TALK: Oh, what an appropriate name – WINE TRADER
• The UK Carrier Strike Group’s progress
• WHARF TALK: Largest trawler under South African flag – Desert Diamond
• Understanding the marine pollution cycle and how we can contribute towards marine conservation
• TPT calls for strengthened engagement with universities
• The Port Window: Durban Port Bulletin report
• The Port Window: Port of Durban Volume & Vessel Call Performance
• Reflections: Great Eastern – December 1869
• Naval News: HMS Spey commissioned
• TRADE NEWS: First DNV SILENT-E class notation awarded to a merchant vessel
• 100th State joins IMO ship air pollution and emissions treaty
• WHARF TALK: Doric Pioneer – a ship with a recent local connection
• DURBAN in the 1920s and 1930s
• Ships keep skipping Yantian, as China’s new COVID measures add to supply chain woes

EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Durban Sugar Terminal
The Monday masthead shows the Port of Durban T-Jetty
The Tuesday masthead shows the Durban Container Terminal
The Wednesday masthead shows the Durban Container Terminal at night
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of Durban Multi-purpose (City) Terminal at the Point
The Friday masthead shows the Port of Durban Island View Bulk Liquid Terminals
The Saturday masthead shows the Port of Durban Maydon Wharf
The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Elliott Basin

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FIRST VIEW:   ON CUTTY SARK

We are pleased to be able to show two fine illustrations of the figurehead of Cutty Sark recently installed in the ship.

She stands in her dry-dock as a gateway to Greenwich and is a key asset to both the World Heritage Site and the Royal Borough of Greenwich. As a tea clipper, she is tangible evidence of the importance of tea in 19th century trade and cultural life.

Cutty Sark was of the highest development of the fast commercial sailing ship and is internationally appreciated for her beauty and is one of the most famous ships in the world. Her fine lines – a considerable part of her appeal – are defined by her frames which form part of the vessel’s composite construction. This was a shipbuilding technique of which she is an exceptional example and incorporated wooden planking over a wrought iron frame.

Rear Admiral Roy Clare, was Director of the National Maritime Museum from 2000 to 2007 and in an interview in World Ship Review commented: “Cutty Sark is the epitome of our maritime history and indelibly associated in the public mind with the seafaring dimension of Britain’s former empire. She is one of London’s most internationally famous icons and a landmark on the London Marathon circuit…”

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 20 June 2021

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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 welome.

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UK P&I Club reaches deal with SCA to release Ever Given from Suez Canal

Reports say that the UK P&I Club has reached an acceptable deal in principle that will lead to the release of the 20,000-TEU capacity container ship, EVER GIVEN (IMO: 9811000), which was grounded in the canal in March this year, released six days later but not before over 400 other ships were held up, and then detained by Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority.

The agreement in principle follows extensive and protracted discussions between the insurers and the SCA’s negotiating committee.

The Imabari 20000 design ship has been detained in the Great Bitter Lake since being refloated almost three months ago.

“Together with the owner and the ship’s other insurers we are now working with the SCA to finalise a signed settlement agreement as soon as possible,” the club is quoted as saying.

It added that once the formalities have been dealt with, arrangements for the release of the vessel will be made.

The SCA originally claimed compensation of US$900 million ahead of the release of the ship, which included $300 million in lieu of salvage costs and another $300 million for ‘loss of reputation’ by the authority.

This amount was later cut to $600 million with the ship being allowed to sail provided a payment of security of $200 million was first paid.

Details of the agreement in principle that is now being reported have not been disclosed.

Added 24 June 2021

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IN CONVERSATION: The maritime tussle between Kenya and Somalia – and what happens next

Patrick Muthengi Maluki, University of Nairobi

Following a maritime boundary dispute, Somalia instituted proceedings against Kenya at the International Court of Justice in August 2014. The two east African neighbours dispute 160 000 square kilometres of territory in the Indian Ocean with prospects of vast oil and gas deposits.

The dispute stems from conflicting interpretations of how boundaries should extend into the Indian Ocean. Somalia’s claim is that its southern boundary should run south-east as an extension of the land border. Kenya’s contention is that Somalia’s border should take a roughly 45-degree turn at the shoreline and run in a latitudinal line.

Amid diplomatic contestations between the two, the court process has dragged on for almost seven years. In March 2020, Kenya announced that it would no longer participate in the court proceedings. Nairobi has protested against perceived bias in the court’s refusal to entertain its request to delay the hearings.

Kenya pleaded that the COVID-19 pandemic struck when it had just recruited a new legal team to mount its defence. The team had not had a chance to meet and prepare for the case due to pandemic protocols. The request was rejected by the court.

Even though the court has a mandate to hear and determine the case, the implementation of its rulings will face various challenges. Kenya can cite the lack of adherence to the rules as it was not part of the proceedings and was not represented in the case. Additionally, the international court does not have an enforcement agency and relies on the goodwill of parties to conflict to comply with rulings or the United Nations Security Council to enforce its ruling through coercive diplomacy.

Kenya is now pushing for a “diplomatic solution” as it has done for years. It remains to be seen whether the diplomatic route is feasible amid constant seesaw of diplomatic ties. After a six-month break in relations both countries are on talking terms again and closed missions are set to be reopened.

The most viable solution to the dispute would be a diplomatic one where both countries can make offers and counter offers including the possibility of sharing the resources in the contested territory. The beauty of diplomacy is that many cards can be played including regime protection, admission of Somalia into the East African Community as well as access to markets, academic institutions or establishment of long term regimes between the two countries.

Kenya’s objections

Kenya maintains that there is an existing maritime boundary established in 1979. Nairobi claims that boundary places the disputed 160 000 square kilometres within Kenyan territory. That boundary was respected by both countries until 2014, when Somalia took Kenya to the International Court of Justice seeking to dispute its ownership.

The government of Famajo is opposed to this Kenyan position and believes that Somalia can only get justice from the International Court of Justice.

Kenya has also questioned the composition of the bench handling the case. Judge Abdulqawi Yusuf, who is one of 11 on the bench, is not only a Somali citizen but has previously represented Somalia. At the Third United Nations Conference on the law of the sea, Yusuf advanced Somalia’s argument on the dispute. He said the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone of Somalia and continental shelf should not be effected in accordance to the principle of equidistance but rather by application of equitable principles.

The logic of this argument is that the decision made must be guided by equity and fairness not necessarily the distance of the continental shelf.

The judge went as far as to castigate the African Union’s principle of “uti possidetis”, which vouches for the sanctity of colonial borders in Africa. Given his previous leanings. Kenya has previously argued that he is likely to rule in Somalia’s favour and should voluntarily remove himself from the case.

Finally, Kenya also claims that there are third parties with commercial interests who are interested in the case. It claims these parties are pushing Somalia to carry on with the case even though it threatens to destabilise the peace and security of an already fragile region.

Going forward

Kenya’s withdrawal from the case means that it no longer recognises the case and is no longer affected by the proceedings, or the court’s final decision.

Ultimately, any decision that the International Court of Justice makes will only be enforceable if both parties to the conflict agree to comply. This could bring the dispute back to square one should Kenya refuse to comply. In that case, only the United Nations Security Council would have the ability to enforce the ruling of the court through coercive diplomacy. The chances of Security Council intervention in the matter are very slim given Kenya’s withdrawal from the case.

Patrick Muthengi Maluki, Senior Lecturer, Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies, University of Nairobi

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Added 24 June 2021

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WHARF TALK: Supramax bulker BLUE AKIHABARA and the production of fertiliser

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The 2021 well-oiled fruit export season continues apace from Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town, which gives the observer a clue that planning for the next growing season is also now well underway. To grow your crop, irrespective of it being fruit, nut, grain or vegetable requires the land to be spread with fertiliser, and South Africa needs lots of it.

On 18 June the Supramax bulk carrier BLUE AKIHABARA (IMO 9696785) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage and remained there for the rest of the day until early the next morning when on 19 June at 01h00 she entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded to A berth in the Duncan Dock. She had arrived from Mesaieed in Qatar with a cargo of 10,200 tons of fertiliser for discharging at the Cape.

Built in 2014 by the COSCO-KHI shipyard at Nantong in China, which is a joint venture shipbuilding company between the Chinese State shipping company and Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan, Blue Akihabara is 200 metres in length and has a deadweight of 61,630 tons. She is powered by a single Dalian MAN-B&W 6S50ME-B9 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 14,322 bhp (10,680 kW).

Owned by Century Tokyo, who are a leasing company, Blue Akihabara is operated by the Meiji Shipping Group of Tokyo and managed by their shipmanagement subsidiary, MMS Co. Ltd. This not the first visit to South African shores for the vessel this year, as she made a call at Durban as recently as April where she discharged at Maydon Wharf 5.

The part of her fertiliser cargo destined for the Cape was made up of two similar, but different, products that required careful co-ordination for the offloading operation. In one hold she carried Urea granules, and in another hold she carried Urea prills. Whilst similar, they are different in appearance, and require separation for product distribution.

Once the contents of one hold had been completely discharged, all offloading equipment and transport utilised had to be thoroughly cleaned to ensure that no cross contamination between Urea products took place. She then opened her next set of hatches and commenced discharging the contents of that hold onto the quayside.

Urea is a very popular product, which also has industrial uses. However, more than 90% of world production of Urea is destined for use as a nitrogen-release agricultural fertiliser. Urea has the highest nitrogen content of all solid nitrogen fertilisers that are in common use, with the Mesaieed Urea having a 46% content of nitrogen.

Mesaieed, where the voyage of Blue Akihabara originated, is where the Qatar Fertiliser Company (QA FCO) has their major production plant. The huge plant is made up of six fertiliser production units, which make QAFCO the largest single-site producer of both Ammonia and Urea in the world, a record it has held since 2004. The plant has two of its own bulk loading berths, which are both fed by conveyor belts feeding fertiliser from the storage facilities at the plant directly to the vessel holds.

The QAFCO Mesaieed plant currently produces 5.6 million tons of Urea per year, the equivalent of 12,900 tons per day. The site has undercover storage capacity for 175,000 tons of Urea, and the handling material system, i.e. the conveyor system, operates at a capacity of 1,000 tons per hour.

On completion of her discharge of the two Urea products, Blue Akihabara sailed from Cape Town on 21 June at 15h00 bound for Durban, where she will complete her fertiliser discharge. She was due to arrive off Durban on 24 June at 14h00. For those who wonder about the origin of ships names, Akihabara is an electronics and gaming shopping district, located in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo.

Added 24 June 2021

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Energy efficiency in ports to support maritime decarbonisation

According to a media briefing by IMO on 23 June the maritime industry and particularly ports are seen as part of the solution towards decarbonising the maritime sector. They can contribute towards the UN goal of achieving clean and affordable energy, panellists told a side-event on ports, held during the United Nations-led Ministerial-level Thematic Forums held from 21-25 June with the subject of energy action.

These forums bring together key stakeholders virtually, to mobilize actions as a major milestone on the road to the UN-led High-level Dialogue on Energy of September 2021.

To quote Nancy Karigithu, Principal Secretary, State Department for Maritime and Shipping in the Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure Housing and Urban Development, Kenya: ‘There is a large capacity to improve energy sustainability in port activities, operations and management. Meaningful improvement can be achieved through investment of in renewable energy, clean technological solutions, automation and through partnership, capacity building and education.’ She was speaking on 22 June at the side event on Uptake of Port Energy Efficient Technologies and Operations.

Government of Kenya; MTCC Africa

The event was hosted by the Government of Kenya, through the State Department for Shipping and Maritime, in collaboration with IMO – which implements the European-Union funded Global MTCCs Network (GMN); and the Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre for Africa (MTCC Africa).

MTCC Africa is part of the global GMN network, which unites four MTCCS across the globe. All MTCCS work in their regions to promote technologies and operations to improve energy efficiency in the maritime sector to support the move towards a low-carbon future.

Lydia Ngugi, Head, MTCC Africa, highlighted the MTCC’s work with ports across Africa, to undertake emission baseline studies, support the uptake of energy efficient technologies and facilitate the implementation of IMO’s mandatory energy efficiency requirements.

IMO’s Gyorgyi Gurban took the opportunity to highlight how a range of IMO-executed global projects, including the GMN Project, the GHG SMART project and GreenVoyage2050 are supporting developing countries on the path towards decarbonisation in the maritime sector. Related initiatives are supporting information-sharing IMO-Singapore IMO-Singapore NextGEN and looking at ways to address innovation needs UNEP-IMO Innovation Forum and to mobilize finance, particularly in developing countries, for the decarbonisation of the maritime sector (IMO-EBRD-World Bank FIN-SMART roundtable ).

Improved energy efficiency across the maritime sector – including ports – will support the achievement of UN Sustainable Goal 7, which, inter alia, has a target to double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency and expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 24 June 2021

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Dar es Salaam port authority bans storage of explosives in port

The port of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania has imposed an immediate ban on the storage of all explosive and dangerous goods in the port precincts.

The ban has been introduced in the intrests of safety

This was announced on Monday, 21 June 2021 by the port director which states retrospectively that all explosives and dangerous goods has to be moved out of the port immediately after being landed.

The imports affected by the ban include explosives, flammable solids and gases, substances liable to spontaneous combustion, and substances which emit flammable gases when they come into contact with water.

“All cargo which have been classified according to International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code as classes… will not be allowed to be stored into the port premises and therefore will be treated under direct delivery procedures in order to safeguard the people, port infrastructures, properties and environment.” source: East African

Added 24 June 2021

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Tenders invited for the concession of the Lobito Port Multi-Purpose & Container Terminal

A tender for the concession to invest, develop and manage the Angolan Commercial Port of Lobito’s Multi-Purpose Container and General Cargo Terminal over a 20-year concession period, remains open and interested parties are being invited to bid. Tenders will close on 16 August 2021.

The Port of Lobito is Angola’s second biggest and busiest commercial port.

The tender is aimed at foreign companies or business associations who have demonstrable experience in the development and management of similar terminals and who meet the requirements demanded in the program.

Lobito’s Multi-Purpose Container and General Cargo Terminal, covers a total area of 241,541 square metres and provides the capacity of handling 250,000 TEUs and more than one million tons of general non-containerised cargo.
rising a total area of 241,540.94 m2, with the capacity to handle over one million tonnes of non-container cargo and 250,000 TEUs.

Companies interested in participating in the tender must meet the following requirements: (continues below….)

A paid-up equity capital of no less than the equivalent of 25 million USD (Twenty-Five Million U.S. Dollars) and an average annual business volume for the last three financial years of no less than the equivalent of 100 million U.S. Dollars, plus a net asset value of no less than the equivalent of 100 million U.S. Dollars.

In terms of their technical capacity, applicant companies must have, directly or through subsidiaries, a share of no less than 25% in at least 3 concession operations for port terminals in the last three years, including at least 50% in one of those operations, with an average annual traffic over the last three years of no less than 250,000 TEUs.

Bidders must submit their applications in a physical format, to the headquarters of Empresa Portuária do Lobito, specifically to the Concessions room, located in the Lobito Port Container Terminal building, 1.º andar, Rua 1 de Dezembro, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., and they must be addressed to the Comissão de Avaliação das Concessões.

For more information on applications, interested parties should visit the following links:

www.concursos-mintrans.ao

www.mintrans-tenders.ao

Added 23 June 2021

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WHARF TALK: GLENDA MELODY and the story of Palm Oil

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

To most folk, outside the marine industry, a tanker vessel is simply one that transports crude oil, or some form of oil fuel products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene from one place to the next. Yet there are some tanker vessels that regularly specialise in transporting anything but crude oil and refined fuel products. Yet to see one such vessel, you would not be able to tell it apart from a standard oil product tanker vessel.

On 18 June at 12h00, the MR2 products tanker GLENDA MELODY (IMO 9455818) arrived at the Cape Town anchorage from Durban, where she remained for just under one day, until 19 June at 10H00 when she entered port and went alongside the tanker berth in the Duncan Dock to discharge a small parcel of, not a refined fuel product, but a parcel of vegetable oil, namely Palm Oil. She is the third tanker bringing a Palm Oil cargo to both Durban and Cape Town in as many months.

Although arriving in the first instance from Durban, where she was alongside for just over 36 hours, the voyage of Glenda Melody began at the Indonesian port of Lubuk Gaung, on the island of Sumatra, where she part loaded a parcel of Palm Oil at one of the loading berths there. It is interesting that the port of Lubuk Gaung is almost entirely given over to export Palm Oil terminals. She then crossed the Malacca Strait to Port Klang in Malaysia, where she completed loading Palm Oil at the Southport Liquid Bulk Terminal.

Built in 2011 by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard at Ulsan in South Korea, Glenda Melody is 183 metres in length and has a deadweight of 47,238 tons. She is powered by an HHI MAN-B&W 6S46MC-C 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 10,690 bhp (8,598 kW), which drives a fixed pitch propeller, giving her a service speed of 14.5 knots.

Her auxiliary power is produced by three HHI FC7 508-84E engines producing 1,030 kW each. She has a single oil fired boiler, and one exhaust gas boiler, both manufactured by Kang Rim. She has twelve cargo tanks, with a cargo carrying capacity of 52,133 m3.

Owned and operated by Glenda International Shipping of Dublin, and managed by International Ship Management (ISHIMA) of Singapore, all of whom are linked to the d’Amico Group of Italy, with Glenda Melody being one of three sisterships.

Palm Oil is considered to be a wonder crop for many reasons. For those who wonder what Palm Oil is used for, it is an edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of Oil Palm trees. Two types of palm oil are produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the fruit kernel. Oil Palm Trees are native to Africa, and found only within 10 degrees of the Equator, but were brought to South-East Asia over 100 years ago, initially as an ornamental tree, and later developed as a major cash export crop.

Today, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply, with Nigeria being the leading producer in Africa, which equates to only 1.5% of the world total production of Palm Oil, despite it being a tree that is native to the country. Within Africa, Liberia is in the middle of a major investment into the development of a Palm Oil production and export industry, with over 220,000 hectares, or 545,000 acres, having been set aside since 2011 by the Liberian government for the purposes of creating Palm Oil plantations.

The negative picture of Palm Oil is that of Environmentalists having clashes with Palm Oil plantation development on the Indonesian island of Borneo, due to the destruction of the local rain forest and the loss of habitat for endangered wildlife such as the Orang-utan.

In terms of imports of Palm Oil, Asia accounts for around 54% of world production, with Europe importing around 25% and Africa importing 14% of Palm Oil production. Palm Oil is to be found in nearly everything, and it is in close to 70% of all processed food products such as bread, potato chips, ice cream, chocolate, biscuits, pizza base and doughnuts. It can be found in 24% of consumer goods such as deodorant, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, lipstick, cosmetics and detergent.

Of greater interest in a ‘greener’ world, Palm Oil now makes up over 5% of world energy requirements where, for example in 2018, 50% of the Palm Oil that was imported into the Europe Union was destined for conversion into Biodiesel.

Added 23 June 2021

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Namport tackles a meaty project

The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Meat Co-operation of Namibia (Meatco).

According to the MoU, the Port of Walvis Bay will become the conduit for the export of Meatco’s premium beef products, thus adding to the volume of exports handled by the port authority.

Meatco’s beef products will be exported to international markets including the USA, Europe, China, Norway, as well as some parts of Africa.

The Port of Walvis Bay has direct mainliner vessel connections to a majority of these destinations and is able to guarantee the shortest time to market and the preservation of Meatco’s premium products.

“This will heighten our competitiveness as organisations and as a country, thus ensuring the greater attractiveness of Meatco’s products to international markets, while directly promoting Namport services to supply chains and potential meat exports in the SADC region from our respective hinterland markets such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana,” said Andrew Kanime, Namport’s Chief Executive Officer.

The agreement specifically focuses on ensuring the seamless, efficient and cost effective handling of Meatco’s products and jointly exploring new opportunities and the development of new technologies and facilities.

Added 23 June 2021

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Stealth jets fight Daesh
First combat missions from HMS Queen Elizabeth

 

The UK’s Carrier Strike Group has joined the fight against Daesh with F-35 jets carrying out their very first combat missions from HMS Queen Elizabeth. This was reported by the Ministry of Defence on 22 June.

Stealth jets of the renowned 617 Squadron RAF (The Dambusters) carried out operational sorties for the first time from the carrier in support of Operation Shader and US Operation Inherent Resolve.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace commented: “The ability to operate from the sea with the most advanced fighter jets ever created is a significant moment in our history, offering reassurance to our allies and demonstrating the UK’s formidable air power to our adversaries.

“The Carrier Strike Group is a physical embodiment of Global Britain and a show of international military strength that will deter anyone who seeks to undermine global security.”

Change of emphasis from exercises and international engagements

For the task group, which has spent previous weeks in the Mediterranean working with NATO allies and partners, it marks a change of emphasis. From exercises and international engagements, the Carrier Strike Group is now delivering its full might of naval and air power, putting the “strike” into Carrier Strike Group and contributing to the UK’s fight against Daesh – Operation Shader, which forms part of the Global Collation against Daesh.

Commodore Steve Moorhouse, Commander United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group, said: “HMS Queen Elizabeth’s first missions against Daesh will be remembered as a significant moment in the 50-year lifespan of this ship.

“It also marks a new phase of our current deployment. To date we have delivered diplomatic influence on behalf of the UK through a series of exercises and engagements with our partners – now we are ready to deliver the hard punch of maritime-based air power against a shared enemy.

“The involvement of HMS Queen Elizabeth and her Air Wing in this campaign also sends a wider message. It demonstrates the speed and agility with which a UK-led Carrier Strike Group can inject fifth generation combat power into any operation, anywhere in the world, thereby offering the British Government, and our allies, true military and political choice.”

Largest concentration of UK naval and air power seen in a generation

CSG21, led by HMS Queen Elizabeth, is the largest concentration of maritime and air power to leave the UK in a generation and this is its first operational deployment, which is joint between the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.

In an era of persistent competition, the Carrier is already proving its worth. As the recent Integrated Review and Defence Command Paper underlined, adversaries pose a growing threat to the international order and the values that underpin western security and prosperity.

There are 18 UK and US F35B jets on board HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is the largest number to ever sail the seas. The aircraft are next generation multi-role combat aircraft equipped with advanced sensors, mission systems and stealth technology.

Captain James Blackmore, Commander of the Carrier Air Wing, added: “The Lightning Force is once again in action against Daesh, this time flying from an aircraft carrier at sea, which marks the Royal Navy’s return to maritime strike operations for the first time since the Libya campaign a decade ago.

“With its fifth generation capabilities, including outstanding situational awareness, the F-35B is the ideal aircraft to deliver precision strikes, which is exactly the kind of mission that 617 Squadron has been training for day-after-day, night-after-night, for these past few months.

“This is also notable as the first combat mission flown by US aircraft from a foreign carrier since HMS Victorious in the South Pacific in 1943. The level of integration between Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and US Marine Corps is truly seamless, and testament to how close we’ve become since we first embarked together last October.”

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

Added 23 June 2021

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WHARF TALK: BALTIC HEATHER – voyaging along the SE African coast May and June 2021

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Not only is fruit season for South Africa now in full swing with a procession of reefer vessels arriving, but fruit season is in full swing for the whole of Southern Africa, including Mozambique. Some reefers are calling both inbound and outbound when on the South African coast, although not always for cargo, as reefer capacity is also playing its part.

To add to the frenetic shipping activity is the ongoing severe shortage of reefer containers, desperately required for the export trade, and many reefer vessels are arriving at Cape Town for no other reason than to discharge empty reefer containers and then, as quickly as they arrived, they sail on to another port to begin cargo loading elsewhere, before a return to Cape Town for completion of the export cargo onload schedule.

Just under one month ago, at 08h00 on 18 May the reefer BALTIC HEATHER (IMO 9181144) arrived from St. Petersburg in Russia with a full deck load of reefer containers. Very unusually, instead of proceeding to D berth at the Fruit Terminal in the Duncan Dock, she was taken directly to the Container Terminal in the Ben Schoeman Dock and went alongside at berth 604 where a standard container offload using the berth container gantry cranes began.

The shortage of reefer containers is very much apparent when the casual observer looks across the Reefer Container Park. This is the area set aside adjacent to the Container Terminal where refrigerated containers are provided with continuous power and monitoring to ensure that they are kept at their ideal temperature, chilled or frozen, as required by the cargo they contain whilst they await collection as an import, or await onload to a vessel as an export. At this time, instead of the park being full of reefer containers, or at least partly full, there was not one reefer, not a single one, hooked up anywhere in the park. A sight not seen by anybody in recent years.

Built in 1998 by Iwagi Zosen Shipbuilders at Ochi in Japan, Baltic Heather is 150 metres in length, has a deadweight of 10,114 tons and a container capacity of 160 TEU. All her container slots have provision for being plugged in onboard. She is powered by a Mitsubishi-Akasuka 7UEC501LS11 7 cylinder 2 stroke engine providing 14,926 bhp (11,130 kW) to give a service speed of 20 knots. Her reefer capacity is provided for by four generators providing 4,185 kVA, and she has a single Miura vertical boiler.

Owned and managed by Ost-West-Handel & Schiffahrt GmbH of Bremen, Baltic Heather is operated by Baltic Reefers of St. Petersburg and is a part of the Cool Carriers fleet. After a full discharge of her reefer containers, obviously required with some haste, and why she was discharged by standard gantries at the Container Terminal, she sailed after a short port call of only 8 hours and at 16h00 she departed Cape Town, devoid of any containers, having loaded no cargo, and destined for Beira in Mozambique.

That Mozambique in general, and Beira in particular, is becoming a standard port of call during the Southern African fruit season is due to the massive investment project taking place in that country, where major donors from the UK, USA, Japan, Norway and the World Bank are investing US$1.75 billion between 2010 and 2030 in a programme called the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor (BACG). This investment will go into land clearance, equipment capital expenditure, infrastructure construction, irrigation schemes and working capital.

Launched at the World Economic Forum at Davos in early 2009, the Beira Agricultural Growth Corridor initiative is a partnership between the Government of Mozambique, the private sector and the international community which aims to stimulate a major increase in agricultural production in the Beira corridor and improve the productivity and incomes of smallholder farmers.

The programme will provide 150 new working farms, covering 192,000 hectares, and will provide fruit exports of lychee, mango, avocado, banana and citrus. After more than ten years of development, this produce is now reaching world markets in increasing numbers, and the need for visits to Beira, to load the fruit crop by traditional reefer vessels such as Baltic Heather, is growing ever more stronger.

Fast forward now to June, and on 12 June at 17h00, almost exactly 25 days since she sailed for Beira, Baltic Heather arrived back at Cape Town after her fruit loading schedule at not only Beira, but also at Durban and Port Elizabeth had been completed.

She went straight to C Berth in the Duncan Dock, alongside the Fruit Terminal to complete her Southern African coastal loading programme. After a three day loading operation, mainly of a cargo of pallets of export Kanzi Apples from the Western Cape, Baltic Heather sailed on 15 June at 21h00 with her destination set for Rotterdam.

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Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) becomes an independent subsidiary of Transnet

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday made the announcement that Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is to be established as an independent subsidiary of Transnet, with its own board of directors.

Ramaphosa was visiting the Port of Cape Town to inspect progress made on reducing delays and inefficiencies at the Cape port.

His address did not make any mention of this progress but instead focused on the reforms being put in place at several state-owned entities (SOEs), which he said are crucial to enabling a strong economic recovery and to placing the economy on a faster and more sustainable growth trajectory.

“During the past several weeks, our efforts to accelerate the implementation of structural economic reforms have gained momentum.

“These reforms are crucial to enabling a strong economic recovery, and to placing our economy on a faster and more sustainable growth trajectory.

“The reforms are necessary to modernise and transform our network industries to increase efficiency, reduce costs and make our exports more competitive.

“Most importantly, these reforms are necessary to accelerate the creation of jobs.”

He said it was for this reason that the focus has been on reforms in electricity, water, digital communications and transport, in addition to reforms to the visa regime.

“Today, we are announcing another major step forward in our reform agenda, which will have a significant impact on our ports system.

“South Africa’s ports are vital to our trade with the rest of the world and play a crucial role both in our own economy and that of the wider Southern African region.

“There are therefore massive benefits to be realised from reliable, efficient and competitive ports.

“The Port of Cape Town is strategically located on one of the busiest international shipping routes and is our second-largest container port by volume. It is particularly important for the export of our fresh fruit and wine.

“If the port functions efficiently, the economy of the Western Cape and indeed the entire country benefits.

“If port services are inefficient and costly or if imports and exports are delayed, the economy suffers.”

He drew attention to the performance of South Africa’s ports in recent years as having declined in comparison with other ports on the continent and around the world.

Ramaphosa said this has had a significant impact on South Africa’s exports, rendering South African products less competitive and increasing the cost of goods for every South African.

“We have set out to reverse this decline in performance and to position our ports as world-class facilities that can enable economic growth,” he said, adding that the Board of Transnet and the new management team have done well to stabilise Transnet, develop a “world-class strategy” and undertake actions to promote investment and improve performance at the ports.

He called it an important part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that was developed together with social partners in business, labour and the community.

“The weak performance of our ports is the result of structural challenges in our logistics system and operational inefficiencies.

“It is for this reason that we are today announcing the establishment of the Transnet National Ports Authority as an independent subsidiary of Transnet, in line with the National Ports Act of 2005.”

This means the establishment of an independent National Ports Authority as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Transnet, with its own board appointed by the Minister of Public Enterprises.

The president said an essential part of addressing the challenges in the ports is to create a clear separation between the roles of the infrastructure owner, which is the Transnet National Ports Authority, and the terminal operator, which is Transnet Port Terminals.

“The functional and legal separation of these roles, which are currently operating divisions of the same company, will enable each to be fulfilled more independently and with greater efficiency.

“In particular, it will mean that revenues generated by the ports can be invested in port infrastructure, both for the replacement of old equipment and for the upgrading and expansion of our ports.

“The creation of a separate subsidiary will allow the ports authority to make its own investment decisions and will ensure that it treats all terminal operators fairly and equally in the interests of port users.

“At the same time, Transnet will remain the sole shareholder of the subsidiary to prevent any negative impact on the group’s balance sheet, and to ensure that the ports authority remains an important part of the Transnet group.”

He called this a significant development that has been delayed for more than fifteen years since the National Ports Act was promulgated.

As part of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan, the country is making progress in overcoming long-standing obstacles and bringing an end to delays in the implementation of reforms, he said.

“This reform will have a direct impact on port users and our export industries.”

President Ramaphosa said that Transnet has put in place an ambitious plan to invest R100 billion over the next five years in upgrading its infrastructure across the ports system. Achieving this target will rely on leveraging private capital to shore up the contributions of the state and establish world-class infrastructure at the ports.

“I wish to make it clear that state ownership of the ports remains our policy and we will not compromise on it. All of our ports, as well as our rail infrastructure, are strategic national assets that belong to the people of South Africa.

“The National Ports Authority and its assets will remain in the ownership of the state. Where the private sector can and should play a role is in partnering with the state to improve terminal operations and to invest in new infrastructure, as is already the case in several of our bulk cargo terminals.

There will be no jobs lost as a result of the creation of the new subsidiary; only greater efficiency and more investment, he said.

An interim board is to be appointed by the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, by 30 June to oversee the establishment of the new subsidiary, ensuring that this process is concluded as quickly as possible.

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WHARF TALK: Taking SA fruit to the USA with ATLANTIC ACANTHUS

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The Solstice means different things to different folk around the globe. In the Southern Hemisphere is means the sun is returning, and Summer is calling. The opposite occurs in the Northern Hemisphere with the realisation that the sun is heading south, and Winter beckons.

Midsummer is not a place where you can obtain juicy, ripe, local fruit. The best fruit at this time of year for those in Europe, and the USA, is to be found in the Southern Hemisphere in general, and in South Africa in particular.

However, that fruit needs to be transported to where it is needed, nay wanted, and for that to happen a fleet of reefer vessels are calling at South African ports, in ever increasing numbers, to transport that produce to market. This is especially so at Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town.

With the United Kingdom being the second largest export market for South African fruit, with 425,000 tons being exported there in 2020, a visit to a local ‘large’ supermarket in the UK this week had South African fruits aplenty available on the shelves, with five varieties of Apples (Royal Gala, Braeburn, Jazz, Pink Lady and Golden Delicious), three varieties of Pears (Packham, Forelle and Abate Fetel), Grapes (numerous red and white varieties) Plums, Pomegranates, Passion Fruit, Persimmon, Pineapples, Lemons, Oranges, Satsumas, Mandarins, Clementines and Tangerines.

The citrus varieties that are now readily available both in the UK, and elsewhere overseas, is because the Citrus export season in South Africa is now in full swing, and gaining more and more momentum as the year progresses beyond the Solstice.

On 14 June at 23h00 the reefer vessel ATLANTIC ACANTHUS (IMO 9189897) arrived in the Cape Town anchorage from Al Khums in Libya. She remained at anchor until the following morning, when on 15 June at 07h00 she entered Cape Town harbour and went alongside the Fruit Terminal at D berth in the Duncan Dock to load a full cargo of Citrus fruit, destined for the USA.

Built in 1999 at the Shin Kochijyuku shipyard at Kochi in Japan, Atlantic Acanthus is 145 metres in length and has a deadweight of 11,793 tons. Her container capacity is 120 TEU, for which 80 reefer plugs are provided. She is powered by a single Mitsubishi Kobe Hatsudoki 7UEC52LS 7 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 12,427 bhp (9,267 kW), giving her a service speed of 18.5 knots.

Her auxiliary power comes from three generator sets providing 900 kW each, and 3,440 kVA. She has a single Tortoise vertical boiler. The refrigerated capacity of Atlantic Acanthus is 504,511 cu ft, or 5,759 m2, in four holds capable of holding 5,803 pallets of fruit.

Owned by Lebato Investments of Athens and managed by Chartworld Shipping of Athens, Atlantic Acanthus is operated by the vast Seatrade Group of Groningen in Holland, whose funnel colours she carries. On completion of her onload of citrus fruit, she sailed from Cape Town on the Solstice, on 21 June at 15h00, according to the AIS, bound for Gloucester in the US, but not Gloucester, in Massachusetts, which is large port in its own right.

The confusion on destinations on AIS is very apparent to see when following Seatrade reefer vessels headed for their US destination. Seatrade are running their annual North America voyage schedule of one reefer per week from South Africa, to the same port in the US. Last week Aconcagua Bay, another Seatrade reefer vessel (see report below), sailed from Cape Town on 14 June, but her AIS showed she was bound for Philadelphia, seemingly a different port from Atlantic Acanthus.

In fact, Atlantic Acanthus, as with Aconcagua Bay, is headed for the Delaware River and bound for the Port of Camden, in New Jersey, which is directly across the river from Philadelphia, which is in Pennsylvania. Within the Camden port complex is the Gloucester Marine Terminal (GMT), which is located in the Camden suburb (it calls itself a city) of Gloucester, New Jersey. It is akin to a vessel headed for Durban and giving its destination as Bluff or Point, or a vessel bound for Woodstock or Mouille Point, rather than Cape Town.

All Seatrade reefers bound for the Eastern seaboard of the USA utilise the GMT, as it is a Fruit Terminal like no other, and certainly South Africa fruit exporting ports have nothing to compare it to. It sits alongside the Delaware River, with four berths, which includes two container gantries, and three dockside cranes. It covers an area of 61 hectares (150 acres), and has the largest refrigerated capacity of any produce terminal in the USA.

It consists of 12 dry/heated warehouses with 1.1 million square feet of floor space available, and 13 refrigerated/frozen warehouses offering 15 million square feet of floor space. The reefer yard offers 650 reefer plugs. As part of the ‘green’ agenda, GMT has the largest rooftop photovoltaic installation of any harbour industrial complex in the USA.

It is expected that the South African Citrus exporters will have one Seatrade vessel sailing to the US every week from South African ports, from now until October and all destined for the Gloucester Marine Terminal in New Jersey, with Aconcagua Bay and Atlantic Acanthus being the first two.

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NSPCA hits out at loading of sheep on Kuwaiti livestock carrier Al-Messilah

South Africa’s National Council of SPCA’s says its official are having to work under restricted conditions as over 50,000 sheep are loaded onto the livestock carrier, AL MESSILAH.

The livestock carrier arrived in the port of East London on Sunday morning and has commenced loading the ship, which were penned at a feedlot near Berlin which is between King Williams Town and East London.

The export of the ship is in the hands of the Al Mawashi company, which has been responsible for previous shipments to the Middle East under controversial conditions and circumstances.

Also on Sunday, NSPCA officials arrived in East London to monitor the loading of our sheep.

A warrant that was granted to the NSPCA for the harbour by the East London courts restricts the animal welfare society us by allowing only four inspectors on the dock, three of which may enter the vessel for a period of only 45 minutes after every 5000 sheep loaded.

The second warrant granted to the NSPCA for the Berlin feedlot, issued by the King Williams Town Court, is unrestricted.

The first day of loading began on Monday morning. The NSPCA teams began working before sunrise and continued to work well after sunset at both the feedlot in Berlin as well as the harbour in East London. Hundreds of compromised animals were pulled out by the inspectors during the monitoring process on day one alone. Loading at the harbour only concluded at around 21h00 after close to 40,000 sheep had been loaded.

Loading continued today (Tuesday) with two teams of 12 inspectors again present at both sites acting in the best interests of the animals.

As the NSPCA points out, it is the hottest period of the year in the Middle east to which the sheep are being exported. “For close to three weeks our sheep will be subjected to living in their own faeces and urine, exposure to noxious gases such as extremely high levels of ammonia, heat stress, possible rough seas and living among dead penmates,” said the NSPCA.

“According to Australian reports, thousands of animals die during the journey.”

The ship is likely to leave East London port on Wednesday, carrying 56,000 innocent animals who do not deserve the suffering they will endure on board the Al Messilah, the NSPCA said on Tuesday.

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NEW BOOKS: Another new shipbuilding title

Leith Built Ships, Volume 2: Leith Shipyards 1918-1939

By R O Neish

Published by Whittles Publishing Ltd, Dunbeath, Caithness, KW6 6EG, Scotland, UK. Softback, 144 pages, ISBN 978 184995 481 5. Price £16.99. For orders and to enquire about postal rates see: www.whittlespublishing.com

This is the second in a series of four books about the almost forgotten part played by Leith in Britain’s fine maritime past. I was pleased to be able to introduce Volume 1 They Once Were Shipbuilders to readers of Africa Ports & Ships at the end of 2019.

Volume 2 provides the history of the ships built at Leith between the First and the Second World Wars including many well-known vessels destined for the home and overseas markets.

A few examples of these were: twin-screw hopper dredger for India, Bhavsinhji; the Danish-flagged five-masted barque sail training vessel København (sadly lost with all hands); Vyner Brooke built for the Straits Steamship Company with home port Singapore; the light vessel Albatross for the Commissioners of Irish Light, Dublin; another dredger for India, Rukamavati; dumb barges for the East Africa Lighterage Company and the tug Ulundi, now preserved at the Port Natal Maritime Museum, Durban.

Then there is Lafonia (renamed Fitzroy), a single-screw passenger / cargo vessel for the Falkland Islands Company and HMS Aldgate, a gate lifting vessel scuttled to prevent her falling into Japanese hands at Hong Kong on 19 December 1941 and the barquentine Mercator of 1931 later commissioned as a submarine depot ship in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and is currently preserved in Ostend.

South Steyne, launched by Robb’s in 1938, an icon of Sydney as a double-ended Manly ferry was preserved as a restaurant vessel in Darling Harbour. These introductions to Leith-built ships and their careers on the Seven Seas is extensive and demonstrates how important was the export trade in British-built tonnage between the wars.

To run down the Shipyard Build List Book of Henry Robb from 1918 to 1939 we see a huge selection over eleven pages from Ship No 1, a pontoon launched in 1918 to No 300, HMS Hickory launched in 1940. Orders for Nos 301 to 305, four motor coasters and a grab hopper dredger were cancelled.

Written by a proud shipbuilder who is still active in shipbuilding and well qualified to tell the story, the book features the shipyards of Cran & Somerville, Hawthorns & Co, Ltd and Ramage & Ferguson and the rise of the Henry Robb Shipyard into which they were incorporated. Each of the yards has some descriptive text with brief career details of some of the hulls sent down the ways

Liberally illustrated with photographs and ships’ plans Leith Built Ships, Volume 2 introduces some fine ships and tells of their careers and trading patterns.

Fortunes of the three main shipyards are followed through good times to eventual closure or assimilation by the man who would open up the shipyard that took his name, Henry Robb. As shipbuilders and engineers they began without a yard in which to build ships, but eventually took over firstly the old S&H Morton Shipyard, now occupied by Hawthorns & Co. Ltd. That gave Robb control of the Victoria Shipyard, and a few years later he would take over the Cran & Somerville yard, before acquiring the plant and goodwill of the Ramage & Ferguson Shipyard – the cream of the Leith yards.

It has been said that his last yard would always have a ship on one of its slipways. At the peak of business they had nine slips, and were pioneers in the building of diesel-powered coasters. Always innovative and with some of the best craftsmen in the industry, the shipyard of Henry Robb quickly acquired the reputation as builders of special ships.

Leith Shipyards 1918–1939 Volume 2: Leith Shipyards 1918-1939 continues the chronology begun in Volume I and provides a fascinating illustrated story that reveals the remarkable and ongoing tales of shipbuilding for which Scotland and the Great Britain were renowned.

Here are recounted the days when shipbuilding flourished and underwent the tough times of the Great Depression. Output of these yards remain a testimony to the skill and determination of the people who built these ships and to those who served in them.

In support there is a handy two-page set of abbreviations some of which are common to shipbuilding. To this is added a ten-page glossary of shipbuilding and nautical terms from Anchor to Warp by way of Deadrise and Pratique.

Mr Neish’s sources are many and include websites and Scottish newspapers as well as museums and State libraries in Australia and museums in New Zealand.

About Whittles Publishing

Whittles Publishing is a well-established publishing company based in the north of Scotland. The company is internationally renowned for producing high-quality academic and professional titles, as well as a wide range of excellent non-fiction books, many of which are now available as e-books. Topics include lighthouses and maritime topics.

Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
London Correspondent

 

 

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WHARF TALK: ACONCAGUA BAY – Looking as though from another age

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Reefer ships are easily the sleekest, and often the prettiest of current vessels to look at. The vast majority of the larger variety all seem to come equipped with cranes, with which to work cargo, which adds to their sleekness. The majority of the smaller ‘fish’ reefers seem to come with derricks, and it is nice, but a rarity, to see a larger ‘fruit’ reefer arrive which is outfitted with derricks, rather than cranes, as it brings back distant memories of general cargo ships, union purchase and winches.

On 8 July at 06h00 the reefer ACONCAGUA BAY (IMO 9019652) arrived at Cape Town from Jebel Ali in the UAE and proceeded to D berth in the Duncan Dock to load her Western Cape deciduous fruit cargo. She looks like she is from another age as she is equipped with derricks, and a journey back in time will have taken place for those who could watch her loading over the five days that she lay alongside the Fruit terminal, using her own derricks to load fruit pallets into her holds.

She sailed from Cape Town on 13 June at 18h00, but went straight to the Table Bay anchorage, where she remained for just under a day. The reasons for this are as yet unknown, but not expected to be significant, and she finally sailed for her scheduled destination of Philadelphia in the USA on 14 June at 11h00.

Built in 1992 by the Shin Kurushima Shipbuilders at Toyohashi in Japan, Aconcagua Bay is 149 metres in length and she has a deadweight of 11,581 tons. Another sign of her being of another age is that her container capacity is set at only 20 TEU. To add to the lack of reefer container provision she offers is the strange fact that she only has the ability to plug in 19 of the 20 containers she can carry.

Owned and operated by Seatrade BV of Groningen in Holland, Aconcagua Bay is powered by a single Mitsubishi Kobe-Hatsudoki 6UEC52LA 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine providing 9,468 bhp (7,060 kW), giving her a service speed of 17.3 knots. She has 5,895 m2 of reefer space available across her four holds for cargo.

Unusually for a large reefer running on the normal fruit runs, Aconcagua Bay is currently licensed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) to transship at sea whilst in the Pacific Ocean region. She is allowed to take only frozen tuna, mackerel and squid directly from licensed fishing vessels until August 2021, if required.

Back in March 2018 Aconcagua Bay was the centre of a unique legal argument between the owners and her charterers of the time. She had completed cargo loading in the USA for discharge in the Congo and Angola. However, at sailing time there was a fault with a lock and bridge in the departure port which prevented Aconcagua Bay from leaving the port once she was ready for sea, and she ended up having to wait alongside for a further 14 days until the port authorities fixed the problem to allow ships to sail through the lock, and out to sea.

The owners, Seatrade BV, invoked a contract clause for damages from the charterers for the delay. They had interpreted the charter agreement wording ‘berths always accessible’ to mean both on arrival at the port AND on departure from the port. This was disputed by the charterers who were of the belief that this phrase only described the arrival of the vessel at the port. Both parties agreed to arbitration, and it went to the Admiralty Court in London, who ruled 2-1 that it did mean only for arrival, and the charterers won the case.

However, Seatrade BV appealed the decision of the court, and the higher Admiralty Appeal Court heard the case. They then ruled in favour of the ship’s owner, reversing the lower court’s ruling, where the Appeal Judge agreed that the contract phrase ‘berths always accessible’ does apply to both arrival AND departure of the vessel to, and from, any port. The decision was discussed by Maritime Law Firms, and by Maritime Legal Academics, the world over, and most now refer to it on their websites as a set precedent in shipping contract law.

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Second new cutter suction dredger for Suez Canal Authority from Royal IHC

The Netherland’s company Royal IHC has now officially handed over the cutter suction dredger (CSD) HUSSEIN TANTAWY (IMO 9869368)  to the Suez Canal Authority, it was announced on Friday 18 June 2021.

This is the second new CSD to have been completed by Royal IHC and handed over to the SCA, the first dredger named MOHAB MAMEESH having been commissioned exactly three months ago – see that report by CLICKING HERE

Royal IHC described Friday’s event as marking an important day in the cooperation between Royal IHC and the Suez Canal Authority concerning the building of two CSD vessels to specific requirements.

The handover means that the SCA now possesses two of the most highly competitive vessels in the world, ready to take on their tasks ahead. Both the HUSSEIN TANTAWY (IMO 9869368), and the CSD MOHAB MAMEESH which was delivered earlier in April, are 29,190kW heavy-duty rock cutter suction dredgers with a total installed cutter power of 4,800kW.

The vessels are characterised by their long and slender shape (147.7 metres) and have the ability to dredge at a depth of 35 metres.

Once the Hussein Tantawy has been transported to Egypt, it will undergo its final commissioning, after which it will join the sister dredger in being used to maintain and improve the Suez Canal.

“The addition of the Hussein Tantawy to our fleet will further our position within the market. Our cooperation with Royal IHC allows us to standout from our competition knowing we have the best vessels to do the job needed,” said SCA’s Chairman and Managing Director, Admiral Osama Rabie.

“We are thrilled to be able to deliver the second CSD to our valued partner SCA,” said Royal IHC CEO Gerben Eggink. “Their work in the maintenance of Suez Canal is vital to economies around the world. Something which became even more clear this past year when the canal was blocked.”

Eggink said the vessel will further enable the SCA to continue to deliver a valuable contribution to the region.

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WHARF TALK: Oh, what an appropriate name – WINE TRADER

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

On 16 June at 18h00 the small chemical tanker WINE TRADER (IMO 8808707) arrived at Cape Town from Douala in Cameroon, and went directly to anchor. There is no surprise that a tanker initially goes to anchor, as the Tanker Berths at Cape Town have been extremely busy of late, and most tankers go to anchor to await the next available berth to become available.

On 19 June at 16h00 Wine Trader left the Table Bay anchorage and proceeded not to the tanker berths, but straight to C berth in the Duncan Dock. As Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland did say, ‘curiouser and curiouser’. It is only when you digest her name that things start to make some sense as to why she is in Cape Town, and why she has gone to the fruit terminal.

It is an interesting fact that South Africa exports more wine in bulk, than it does in bottles. In fact, bulk wine exports account for around two thirds, or just over 65%, of total exported volume. This accounts for between 420 and 450 million litres of wine per annum, which is about 50% of total wine production in South Africa. With the United Kingdom being the largest export market, and also the fastest growing export market, with 23% of all bulk wine exports heading for the UK, or around 83 million litres of wine.

So it no surprise that Wine Trader arrived in Cape Town to load a cargo 28.5 million litres of bulk Wine Spirit, of three different cultivars, coming from the Olifants River wine region, and led by the Klawer Wine Cellars, near Vredendal. The loading will be from bulk wine road tankers, of which a fleet of 50 of them are each expected to make three round trips, or a total of 150 tankers, required to load the wine cargo into the vessel.

Built in 1989 by Verolme Scheepswerf at Heusden in Holland, Wine Trader, was lengthened to 118 metres in length in 1998, and her deadweight increased from 5,098 tons to her present 6,259 tons. She is powered by a single Wärtsilä 9R32D 9 cylinder 4 stroke main engine providing 4,589 bhp (3,375 kW) to give her a service speed of 15 knots. She has a total of 20 cargo tanks, with a cargo carrying capacity of 6,384 m3.

Owned and operated by Sicilnavi Srl, and managed by Siciliship Srl, both of Palermo in Italy, Wine Trade’ is not on her first voyage to South Africa as she made a previous voyage from Varna in Bulgaria, and Palermo in Sicily, to Durban, arriving on 4 March 2018 and proceeded to number 4 berth at the Island View Terminal.

On November 1st 2010, Wine Trader suffered a serious engine room fire when alongside at the Petroleum Dock at Maasluis in Holland. One of her generators caught fire, and the ensuing fire raged for over two hours before it was brought under control. The local emergency services provided two special marine firefighting teams, and the port authority provided four firefighting boats to assist in the operation to put out the fire.

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The UK Carrier Strike Group’s progress

The UK Carrier Strike Group 21 (CSG21) consists of many vessels from the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary with warships from the United States Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy.

One of those assets includes an Astute Class Submarine. In week commencing 13 June while operating in the Mediterranean an Astute Class submarine conducted a rare surface to interact and exercise with HMS Queen Elizabeth and the Strike Group.

Queen Elizabeth is the deployed flagship for CSG21 as the Strike Group works with elements from navies and coastguards of many States during the seven-month deployment.

Air assets with this the largest deployment of Fifth Generation Fighter Jets are from 815, 820 and 845 Naval Air Squadrons and 617 Squadron Royal Air Force.

The Astute-class submarines are the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy, combining advanced sensors, design and weaponry in a versatile boat.

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

 

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WHARF TALK: Largest trawler under South African flag – Desert Diamond

Story by Jay Gates
Colour pictures by ‘Dockrat’

When talk of the South African deepsea trawling industry takes place, the focus is invariably on the demersal, or bottom trawling, sector which is dominated by I&J and Sea Harvest and the hake and kingklip catch. There is another sector of the deepsea trawling industry and this is the pelagic, or midwater trawling, sector which targets a completely different set of fish species, such as Horse Mackerel, Snoek, Mackerel and Squid.

The midwater sector operates one of, if not, the largest trawlers working under the South African flag. The DESERT DIAMOND (IMO 8607361) is owned by Desert Diamond Fishing Pty Ltd, operated by Blue Continent Products of Cape Town and managed by the Oceana Group, also of Cape Town. She operates mainly off the south coast of South Africa, although occasionally she has been deployed to Namibian waters, and her main target species is the Horse Mackerel, known more commonly in South Africa as the Maasbanker.

Arriving back in Cape Town from her last fishing trip on 13 April at 01H00, she berthed in the Duncan Dock where she offloaded her catch, including transshipping into the fish reefer YACHIYO. After de-storing she moved into a period of heavy maintenance, including a drydocking and hull survey in the Sturrock Drydock. She recently came out of the drydock and went to the Eastern Mole to take on bunkers, before returning to the Repair Quay to complete her refit and prepare for her next fishing trip.

Her size, and a part of her crew complement, is a clue to her pedigree. To the knowledgeable eye she is a Moonzund Class trawler, of the Soviet Union era, and known as a Project 488 Atlantik trawler. A total of 37 Moonzund class trawlers were built between 1986 and 1993, all in the former East Germany.

Built in 1990 by VEB Volkswerft shipyard at Stralsund in the German Democratic Republic, Desert Diamond was launched as the Soviet trawler Eva Simonaytite, based in the former Soviet Republic of Latvia, and the port of Klaipeda. She is 121 metres in length and has a deadweight of 3,372 tons. She is capable of freezing 180 tons of catch per day, and has a freezer hold capacity of 2,300 tons.

As built, she had two SKL 6VDS48/42AL2 6 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 3,600 bhp (2,648 kW) each, and driving a controllable pitch propeller giving her a service speed of 15 knots. The auxiliary engines of Desert Diamond included two SKL 8VD26/20AL-2 generators producing 89- kW each, and an SKL NVD26 emergency generator producing 147 kW. She has recently had a retrofitted Alfa Laval Aalborg OS 6500 boiler installed.

Purchased by the Oceana Group in 2003, at a cost then of ZAR72 million, her new owners had hoped to have replaced the majority of her Russian crew within ten years, by replacing them with home grown and trained Officers and crew. This has still not been fully implemented, or completed, as a good number of the crew of Desert Diamond are still Russian nationals in 2021.

Back in October 2016 she was unfortunate to have required two emergency onboard medical evacuations in the space of three days. Whilst fishing offshore Port Elizabeth on 22 October, a 41 year old female member of her crew with pain in her lower abdomen, and was suspected of having acute appendicitis, was taken off the vessel by the NSRI rescue boat Eikos Rescuer IV, who landed her in Port Elizabeth, where she was immediately transferred to hospital for further treatment.

Two days later on 24 October, the 55 year old ship’s cook had a fall which resulted in severe head and back injuries. Once more, Desert Diamond altered course for Port Elizabeth where, again, the NSRI’s Eikos Rescuer IV arranged for a Stokes Basket medical evacuation of the casualty and again took him to Port Elizabeth for further treatment in hospital.

Because of her role as the only true dedicated large midwater trawler in South African waters, Desert Diamond has been called upon at least six times in recent years to trial and test newly designed equipment, which is utilised to try and reduce bycatch of fur seals, sharks and billfish by the use of excluder devices. Her important role in the trawling industry is such that she carries a permanent staff of two government sponsored Scientific Observers on every single fishing voyage she undertakes.

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Understanding the marine pollution cycle and how we can contribute towards marine conservation

Article submitted by Servest

The amount of waste, plastic or otherwise, in our oceans is incomprehensible. Knowing where this pollution cycle starts is our greatest weapon in stopping it. Along with major innovations, the simple things we do at home can make huge difference.

Marine pollution can be attributed to various factors, all with dire consequences for marine life and the ocean economy overall. Some factors have temporary effects on the marine environment, while others make a long lasting and devastating impact.

“Some of the major causes of marine pollution are chemicals which are produced by industrial and agricultural activities. These chemical pollutants find their way into the world’s oceans through waterways such as streams and rivers,” says Jonathan Renecle, Marine Superintendent, Marine.

In addition to chemical pollutants, trash is the second biggest contributor to marine pollution, with the most harmful being the plastics which are used in excess abundance by modern society.

450 years to decompose

“Plastics do not decompose easily and when they enter the ocean, they slowly turn into micro plastics which can take up to 450 years to break down to a point where they are no longer harmful. The plastics that do not sink and break down end up on the surface of the ocean and due to the ocean’s currents and winds, they often end up in massive floating garbage patches known as ‘gyres’,” Renecle adds.

To understand the marine pollution cycle, one must first be aware of the fact that our blue planet is a network of oceans, rivers, streams and tributaries. Waste is often discarded or disposed of incorrectly and it finds its way into these bodies of water and into the ocean. Careless littering also contributes to litter finding its way into sewer systems and being blown directly onto beaches and. in turn, into the ocean.

Plastic waste is the biggest threat to the marine economy. An estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic enter our ocean each year and the effects are long lasting and far-reaching.

“Marine waste and especially plastics, have a slow but long-lasting devastating impact on the oceans which may not be seen immediately. However, over time the detrimental impacts become apparent. Algae blooms caused by chemical pollutants can cause huge amounts of marine life to die,” says Jonathan Renecle.

Coastal villages impacted

Renecle adds that coastal villages that rely on subsistence and commercial fishing are impacted as they rely on these fishing activities to sustain themselves and their families. Very few studies have been conducted to determine the exact dollar cost value that marine pollution has on the ocean’s economy, but a recent study by The Marine Pollution Bulletin estimates the figure to be around $2.5 Trillion. This cost is derived from an estimate in damage and lost resources in the fisheries, aquaculture, recreational activities as well as the overall global well-being of our oceans.

We may not realise it, but there is a lot the ordinary person can do towards minimising marine waste and pollution and it starts with what we do in our homes.

It’s an incorrect assumption concerning marine pollution that if you are not near the ocean, there is nothing you can do to protect it. This cannot be further from the truth; the reality is that you can be hundreds of kilometres inland and the waste you generate can end up in the ocean.

Conservation efforts

Here are some marine conservation efforts that can be practiced from our home:

Reduce the amount of fish you consume; overfishing is a leading contributor to the ocean’s health and well-being. If the fish cannot regenerate, the stocks will die and if the fish die the oceans will die. If the ocean’s die the planet will not be able to sustain itself.

Join a local beach clean-up campaign if you live in a coastal area and get your kids involved. It is a very rewarding day out at the beach and is a great educational tool to teach our future leaders about the responsibility of environmental awareness and the importance of the oceans.

Practice responsible waste management and recycle wherever possible, avoid single use plastics whenever possible.
Servest is fully committed to ensuring that we operate our business with minimal environmental impact, as such all our vessels and quaysides have an environmental management system in place. This includes garbage and waste management plans together with oil record books to ensure the safe disposal of oils and bilge water discharge.

Water transportation

Efficient water transportation has been identified as one of the solutions in reducing marine pollution. Advancements in hybrid ship propulsion, fully electric vessels, battery technology and alternative fuels sources such as liquified natural gasses and hydrogen are just some of the other solutions. Initiative such as the ‘Ocean clean-up’ which aims to collect 90% of the world’s floating plastic by using very large booms that are towed by tugboats to coral the floating plastic which is then brought to shore for recycling, also come to mind.

Looking ahead, trends such as converting waste into energy, greater efforts in reducing fossil fuels, the use of robotics in waste segregation and recycling facilities. will start to emerge. Businesses will also start to take a greater action towards environmental issues.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has seen a massive increase in single use plastics in the form of PPE being supplied around the world. The lockdowns also contributed when service delivery was halted, and a larger number of waste bins were left overflowing, with litter causing environmental concerns. The one positive aspect that has arisen out of the pandemic is that fish stocks were able to recuperate due to the closures of food service sectors such hotels, schools and catering facilities,” Jonathan Renecle concludes.

Servest

Servest is the biggest black owned facilities management company in Africa, providing integrated facilities solutions for the internal and external built and marine environments; including solutions such as internal and external design and space planning, cost optimisation analysis, carbon impact reduction, cleaning, parking, catering, hygiene, security, pest control, office plants, and landscaping solutions across multiple African countries.

Servest was established in 1997. In 2015, Kagiso Tiso Holdings (KTH) acquired 51% of Servest making it the first black owned facilities management company in Africa. The Group employs 24,000 people across 11,110 sites. The company has a presence in eight countries across Africa.

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TPT calls for strengthened engagement with universities

Transnet has called on South Africa’s institutions of higher learning to tweak curricula in line with changing workplace practices and the digital era.

According to the incoming General Manager of People Management at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), Caroline Mayeza, an engagement has commenced with universities in port cities for ‘meaningful dialogue that will ensure Transnet’s expansion plans and projected growth by way of a greater absorption of competent youth’.

She said that while the rate of youth unemployment remains high, this hasn’t been without effort from big business.

“We find ourselves at a time where we have to stretch ourselves, unpack our businesses for better understanding and for institutions to take into consideration business models of the next five to ten years and beyond, “she said, adding that big business owed it to institutions to share their medium to long-term plans and underpinning strategies. This would assist students to have a better grasp of the workplace and for institutions to tweak where necessary.

In the 2020-21 financial year, youth spend at TPT alone totalled R35.1 million. On the technical side TPT had an enrolment of 138 apprentices, engineers and technicians in training. Non-technical programs saw an enrolment of 86 youth in the form of learnerships, experiential learning and young professionals in training across the respective units.

According to Mayeza, succession planning is critical to the business and annually, there are dedicated programs to ensure the development of youth employees. More than 16 youth employees were enrolled in accelerated development and structured leadership programmes last year.

Mayeza said these programmes have yielded positive results and career growth for a number of candidates. TPT also awarded 172 bursaries to youth employees in the same period, resulting in 47% of all bursaries awarded to youth.

“Youth representation at TPT reflects country stats, with the youth making up about 34% of the total TPT population. And it’s important that we impart as much knowledge as we can in structured programs, remembering to ensure women representation as well,” she said.

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The Port Window: Durban Port Bulletin report

       Moshe Motlohi, Transnet National Ports Authority General Manager reports:

Maydon Wharf (MW) teams have been working behind the scenes in preparing for the introduction of the trucks call-up system. It was agreed that from 1 July 2021, no trucks will be allowed into Maydon Wharf without formal confirmation that the terminal is expecting the truck’s arrival. Furthermore, it was established that no parking along the roadside will be allowed. A highlight worthy to note from Maydon Wharf is the increase of grain volumes to 200,000 tons, in comparison to the previous year’s 40,000 tons.

This week’s lowlights were from the landside. Disruptions arising from disturbances near Harrismith affected the flow of trucks to the port. The second one emerged from the disturbance experienced at Pier 2. However, we are relieved that the issue was ultimately resolved.

The focus for this week has been on engaging with individual terminals and depots. The port participated in a PMAESA virtual seminar where the focus was on the challenges and opportunities within the region.

The message was clear; ports need to work with other stakeholders if the African Continental Free Trade Agreement is to be realised.

The second engagement was the port participation in the KZN sub-committee on Infrastructure Development. The last engagement was meeting with key industry players where the focus was on large investment projects. The Port of Durban team will also continue working with MW stakeholders in preparation for the roll-out of the truck booking system.

With the country at Level Three we must increase our level of vigilance.

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The Port Window: Port of Durban Volume & Vessel Call Performance

Automotive: The auto sector once again performed well with total throughput registered as 10,658 units for the week. Both the import and export components of this sector came in at similar levels with exports improving from the previous period [week] at 4,722 units loaded. We are then noting that total throughput has performed at over 10,000 units in the last five consecutive weeks pointing to a quicker recovery in this sector.

Containers: This sector performed well this week, this was result of higher than budgeted import volumes handled which exceeded target by 15%. Planned vessels called with larger than budgeted parcel sizes. There is also a noted improvement in terms of Y.O.Y. volumes.

Break Bulk: We have noted an improvement in the break bulk sector. Steel and project cargo drove up volumes in the period exceeding 50,000 tons. The remaining volume of the break bulk sector was made up of citrus exports.

Dry Bulk: This sector performed marginally well this week when compared to the previous period. Just over 214,000 tons of dry bulk commodities passed the quays at the Port of Durban, with agriculture products being the primary drivers of volume in the period. Maize once again performed well in the second consecutive week with just over 83,000 tons exported with wheat imports coming in at 44,105 tons and fertiliser landed at just over 30,000 tons for the period.

Liquid Bulk: All liquid bulk commodities exceeded budget; this is due to three crude oil vessels handled. Petroleum volumes achieved target for the week. Majority of chemical volumes handled were imports, which indicate that there is a recovery in the mining, manufacturing and construction sectors.

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REFLECTIONS:   GREAT EASTERN
– December 1869

Story by Jay Gates

Recent talk in these pages of the cable ship Leon Thevenin brought about another historical memory wander into the past, and another of the world’s greatest vessels that called at a South African port, Cape Town, and again probably a fact of which few people are aware. In fact she was, and probably still is, the world’s largest ever cable ship and for her time, she was a behemoth.

Easily the greatest engineer of his time, Isambard Kingdom Brunel was responsible for some of the greatest engineering developments of the Victorian era. His brilliance resulted in the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon, the Royal Albert Bridge over the River Tamar Bridge, the Great Western Railway itself and the terminus stations of London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads. Then he decided to build ships. And what ships they were.

His third, and last, vessel was originally to be called Leviathan. A name fitting of her design as she was a ship of superlatives, and it was to be over 40 years before any other ship was built that was bigger than she was. Built by John Scott Russell, at Millwall in London, she was launched in 1858 and named GREAT EASTERN. She was 693 feet (211 metres) in length, and a longer ship was not built until 1899 when Harland & Wolff launched the RMS Oceanic for the White Star Line. At a time when the largest ship built was less than 5,000 gross tons, she weighed in at 18,915 gross tons, and it was not until 1901 with the launch of RMS Celtic, also by Harland & Wolff and also for the White Star Line, that her gross weight was surpassed.

Her great size was to enable her to exploit the increase in trade and emigration to Australia. She was able to carry 4,000 passengers from England to Australia, and back, without having to refuel. Such a large passenger carrying capacity was not beaten until the launch of the SS Imperator of the Hamburg America Line in 1912. She never made a voyage to Australia, and for her transatlantic voyages Great Eastern was fitted to carry 596 cabin class passengers, and 2,400 steerage passengers.

She was powered by both screw propulsion, and paddle wheel propulsion, with her four paddle engines, built onsite by the Scott Russell shipyard, having four cylinders of six feet in diameter, and with a stroke of 14 feet. They were backed up by a single screw engine, built by Boulton & Watt of Birmingham, and having four cylinders of seven feet in diameter, and with a stroke of 4 feet, driving a single 4 bladed propeller 27 feet in diameter. She had ten boilers, containing 45 tons of water, and fed by 100 coal furnaces. Total power output was estimated to be 8,000 bhp (6,000 kW) giving Great Eastern a service speed of 13.5 knots.

In case of emergencies, she had twelve watertight compartments, and for emergency propulsion, Great Eastern relied on wind power with her six masts, each one named for a day of the week, and which carried 18,148 square feet (1,688 m2) of canvas. There was nothing like her in the world, and yet she was a commercial failure.

She only made nine loss making Atlantic crossings, never carrying more her full passenger capacity on any voyage, and her record was 1,530 passengers on only one voyage. The upcoming opening of the Suez Canal made her proposed voyages to Australia non-viable. The decision was made to convert Great Eastern to a Cable Ship. She laid the first ever transatlantic communications cable between Ireland and Newfoundland in 1865, and she went on to lay a further six cables across the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1869 the British-Indian Telegraph Company contracted Great Eastern and four smaller cable ships to lay the first submarine cable from India to Suez, via Aden. This cable would join up with cables laid across the Suez peninsula, onwards through the Mediterranean, and onto Great Britain, finally linking the Raj to London. For this mission, and to give an idea of size and scale, Great Eastern was loaded with 2,375 nautical miles of cable in three tanks, with the other four cable ships being able to carry only 1,185 nautical miles of cable between all four.

To help reduce the temperature within the ship in the tropics, Captain Robert Halpin had the hull of the Great Eastern repainted from black to white overall. This had the effect of reducing the heat within the hull by 8 degrees centigrade. She sailed from Portland Harbour in England on 6 November 1869, bound for Bombay to begin this important cable laying operation.

On 22 December 1869, for her first and only time, Brunel’s Great Eastern sailed into Table Bay and went to anchor in front of the city of Cape Town. Still being completed, the Alfred Basin was not due to be opened by Prince Alfred until July 1870, so there was no harbour as such that would be recognised today, and for which the Great Eastern could utilise. In any case it is highly unlikely that she could have been manoeuvred into the V&A even if it was available.

Whilst at anchor, Captain Halpin never lost an opportunity to make some money, and Great Eastern was opened up for tours by the Cape Town general public whilst she lay off Cape Town. It is said that between 2,000 and 3,000 people visited the vessel during her stay, all paying a few pennies each for the tour of the great ship.

Whilst at anchor in Table Bay Great Eastern took onboard 3,000 tons of coal for her bunkers, a feat which took over one week to complete. After ten days lying off Cape Town she finally sailed for Bombay on 31 December 1869, in the company of the Chiltern which was one of the smaller cable ships assisting Great Eastern with the cable laying operation.

Laying the whole length of cable between Bombay and Aden, and finishing with a final 400 mile length on the Aden-Suez segment in the Red Sea, Great Eastern returned to Liverpool in April 1870, via the Cape of Good Hope, but not stopping. She completed her last cable laying voyage in 1874 and was then laid up for over a decade. By 1887 she was sold for breaking up at Birkenhead, with work starting on her in 1889, and by 1891 Great Eastern was no more. Brunel’s final masterpiece, his ‘Great Babe’, had outlived him by 32 years.

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Naval News: HMS Spey commissioned

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

On 18 June Offshore Patrol Vessel HMS Spey was commissioned alongside at her affiliated town of Invergordon in Ross and Cromarty in Scotland’s Highland Region. With her 45-man ship’s company many invited guests gathered to welcome her into active service with the Royal Navy.

Built on the River Clyde by BAE Systems, the ship is the fifth and final of the second-generation of River Class warships built for the Royal Navy. Leaving the Clyde shipyard in October last year, Spey has been undergoing a rigorous programme of operational sea training to ready her for service.

Addressing the gathering at Invergordon was HMS Spey’s Lady Sponsor, Lady Alison Johnstone, and the warship’s CO Lieutenant Commander Ben Evans.

Commander Evans said: “What a fantastic privilege to be able to conduct our commissioning ceremony in Scotland. This is a Scottish ship, built in Scotland with close links to this part of the country, and which will soon fly the White Ensign around the globe.

“For many here today this is the first time they would have seen the newest ship in the Royal Navy, and we are ensuring that the day is celebrated as safely as possible. I am proud to be here today with my amazing Ship’s Company. They have achieved so much and worked so hard to get us to this important milestone.”

He concluded with: “I would like to say thank you to all those who have supported this event today and made it a memorable experience, especially our friends in the Greenwich Hospital and BAE Systems. Finally, to our families I say a massive thank you for your support and understanding in these challenging times, and I look forward to welcoming you all on board very soon.”

During the commissioning guests were entertained by the Band of the Royal Marines Scotland while RAF submarine-hunting Poseidon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth conducted a spectacular flypast to mark the occasion.

There are two generations of River Class ships serving with the Royal Navy. The first – comprising HMSs Tyne, Severn and Mersey – were constructed by Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton and have been operating since the early 2000s, primarily helping to protect fishing stocks but also fulfilling general duties at home and abroad.

The second generation, which includes Spey, were Clyde-built and are larger, faster and said to be more capable. Forth is the UK’s permanent presence in the South Atlantic; Medway is supporting British Overseas Territories in the North Atlantic and the Caribbean, while Trent and Tamar are available for tasking by the UK Government.

At just over 90-metres loa the ships feature a flight deck large enough for a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter and room on board for up to 50 embarked Royal Marines.

This makes the second generation of the River Class versatile vessels capable of tackling a variety of missions from counter-piracy to disaster relief.

The River Class construction is estimated to have sustained 1,400 jobs at its peak with supply chain spend expenditure of nearly £240 million across the UK and Europe, it is reported.

Attending the ceremony was Rear Admiral Simon Asquith, the Royal Navy’s Commander, Operations, who said: “The Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessels are impressively flexible ships and are already making a real difference to current operations globally.

“As we speak, HMS Trent, HMS Forth and HMS Medway are providing sustained forward presence in some of the UK’s global areas of interest.

“The commissioning of Spey demonstrates a further development to the Royal Navy’s role in Global Britain where, later in the year in company with her sister ship Tamar, she will deploy to the Indo-Asian-Pacific region for the foreseeable future. Once deployed, they will work closely with allies and partners to support maritime security in the region.”

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TRADE NEWS: First DNV SILENT-E class notation awarded to a merchant vessel

Canadian seaports offer attractive port fee reductions to vessels which comply with eco-friendly underwater noise standards. The LR2 crude oil tanker newbuild ONEX Peace is the world’s first cargo vessel to earn DNV’s SILENT-E class notation, which meets the Canadian requirements.

Underwater noise from maritime traffic is increasingly recognised as a major form of ocean pollution. Canadian seaports eager to protect their unique coastal ecosystems are offering substantial port fee discounts to low-noise ships.

First class notation for low underwater noise

DNV was the first classification society to offer an underwater noise notation to ships which do not exceed average to moderate underwater radiation noise (URN) levels. Until recently the DNV SILENT class notation was mostly requested for scientific research vessels, fishing vessels and cruise ships expecting to operate in pristine sea areas. ONEX Peace, an Aframax tanker built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI), has become the world’s first merchant vessel to receive DNV’s SILENT-E notation.

Understanding the impact of anthropogenic noise on ocean wildlife

In recent years the general public has become increasingly alarmed about news suggesting a connection between anthropogenic underwater noise and whale mass strandings or decreasing sea mammal populations. While research into the matter continues, it is a known fact that the typical frequencies of ship-induced underwater noise are in the same range that is used by whales, including species under conservation status, and fish to scan their surroundings, navigate, find prey or communicate.

“Ship noise in the range from a few Hertz to several Kilohertz can mask the sounds produced by these animals, causing them to become disoriented or unable to find food or reproduce,” says Øystein Solheim Pettersen, Engineer – Noise & Vibration at DNV, who was involved in the noise measurements for ONEX Peace.

Furthermore, sound propagates four times faster and travels much longer distances in water than in air. This means that ship noise can affect animals that are many kilometres away.

Two key sources of underwater noise

The primary source of underwater noise from ships is the propeller, explains Pettersen. The second most important source is machinery noise. “The actual noise emission level is highly dependent on the individual ship,” he points out. “Engine noise can be dampened by installing elastic rubber mounts, at least on smaller engines and generators. But propeller cavitation is the most prominent source of underwater noise – air bubbles forming and collapsing abruptly as a consequence of pressure differences around the rotating propeller. The resulting pressure waves can be quite powerful. Propeller noise is broadband and covers the complete frequency range, but with a predominance at lower frequencies.”

What makes noise reduction difficult for ship designers and shipyards is that it may be necessary to prioritise between noise and efficiency, says Pettersen. “In many cases a very-low-noise propeller may not be the most efficient one, which means that the resulting fuel consumption may be somewhat higher to achieve the same speed.”

Finding a good balance between efficiency and low noise can be an engineering challenge, he adds. “In many cases increasing…

Read the rest of this report in the TRADE NEWS section available by CLICKING HERE

 

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100th State joins IMO ship air pollution and emissions treaty

In an IMO media briefing early in June it was learnt that Argentina had become the 100th Contracting State to the mandatory IMO regulations on cutting air pollution from shipping. HE Javier Esteban Figueroa, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Argentina, deposited the instrument of accession with Secretary-General Kitack Lim on 8 June.

The regulations in Annex VI of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) address air pollution from ships and include energy efficiency and fuel quality requirements designed to reduce harmful emissions from shipping.

With Argentina’s ratification, the regulations now apply to 96.65% of world merchant shipping by tonnage.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim welcomed the latest ratification. He commented: “The Annex VI regulations limit air pollutants from shipping and improve energy efficiency, helping to combat climate change by reducing CO2 emissions from shipping. I am pleased that we now have 100 Contracting States and encourage others who have not yet done so, to become a party to this important treaty.

“We all need to do our part to ensure the health of people and the planet and to tackle climate change. MARPOL Annex VI provides the mandatory regulatory framework to limit harmful emissions from ships.”

Secretary General Lim noted that while the majority of ships by tonnage were already covered, all States, including coastal States, could benefit from becoming a party, since they can then exercise port State control over ships flying any flag visiting their ports.

MARPOL Annex VI (Regulations for the prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) sets mandatory limits on sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ship’s engine exhaust, it regulates onboard incineration and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. It includes provisions for designated emission control areas with more stringent standards for SOx, NOx and particulate matter.

A chapter 4 adopted in 2011 includes mandatory technical and operational energy efficiency measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ships, which have been extended and strengthened throughout the past decade providing the mandatory regulatory framework that codifies the levels of ambition set out in IMO’s 2018 Initial GHG Strategy.

Parties to MARPOL Annex VI commit to give effect to the provisions of this Annex, it is understood.
The Initial IMO strategy on reduction of GHG emissions from ships was adopted in 2018.

For more information readers are invited to see more HERE

In 2021, IMO is set to adopt further amendments to MARPOL Annex VI, to bring in mandatory requirements aimed at cutting the carbon intensity of all ships.    SEE ALSO HERE

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Doric Pioneer – a ship with a recent local connection

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

During the heyday of both Safmarine and Unicorn Lines, both companies often brought in foreign flagged vessels to operate on charter for them, and whose identity was little known to folk working outside of the South African shipping world.

Whilst both of these great South African shipping companies are effectively no more, there is still the odd vessel operating on charter to the last of the deepsea shipping companies still operating, namely Grindrod Shipping, and whose identity is also still unknown.

On 14 June at 23h00 the MR2 tanker DORIC PIONEER (IMO 9637117) arrived off Cape Town and went straight to the Table Bay anchorage, where she remained until 16 June at 15H00 when she went alongside the Tanker berth on the Eastern Mole, in the Duncan Dock.

Although arriving from Richards Bay, where she had completed a partial discharge of her refined product cargo, Doric Pioneer had started her voyage to South Africa from the Nayara Energy Refinery at Vadinar, located in the state of Gujarat in India, where she had loaded her cargo for delivery to South Africa. Owned by the Russian energy company, Rosneft, the refinery is the second largest in India, capable of processing 405,000 barrels of oil per day.

Built in 2013 by the Hyundai Mipo shipyard at Ulsan in South Korea, Doric Pioneer is 183 metres in length and has a deadweight of 51,565 tons. She is powered by a single HHI MAN-B&W 6S50ME-B9 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 11,922 bhp (8,890 kW), giving her a service speed of 14.5 knots. Her cargo carrying capacity is 52,980 m3.

Owned and operated by Chios Navigation Hellas of Athens, Doric Pioneer is managed by V Ships UK Limited of Glasgow. This is not her first voyage to Southern Africa this year as, back in mid-March, she delivered a cargo of refined products to Toamasina in Madagascar.

Her South African connection is even closer, as Doric Pioneer was taken on long term charter as soon as she left the shipyard in 2013. Her charterer was Grindrod Shipping, and she remained employed by Grindrod on the MR tanker Spot Market for Unicorn Lines, over a full seven year period.

It was only at the end of June 2020 that her charter came to an end and she was returned to her owners for further service. Yet another vessel on charter to a South African shipping concern that few people knew about. One year later, and she is back in the land of her previous managers.

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DURBAN in the 1920s and 1930s

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Ships keep skipping Yantian, as China’s new COVID measures add to supply chain woes

Blank sailing data tracked at major Shenzhen ports by project44 has shot up, spelling further cost increases and inventory shortages for businesses as they struggle to meet the demands of reopening economies. The Port of Yantian (YICT), a critical connection for factories and retailers across the globe, which handles 13 million TEUs per year, is at the epicenter of China’s latest COVID-19 quarantine efforts.

Over the period of 1 June to 15 June, 298 container vessels with a combined total capacity of over three million TEUs skipped the port, a 300-percent increase in blank sailings in one month. Though the total capacity was not meant for YICT, the volume of loaded export containers that were left behind has caused a severe backlog and is due to create major delays and disruptions in global supply chains shortly after the Suez Canal incident.

The number of scheduled blank sailings announced by major carriers remains elevated through 24 June, before falling off somewhat —assuming Chinese authorities are able to contain the virus, and allow ocean-freight carriers to return to normal operations. Even in this best-case scenario, it could take weeks to process backlogged containers, and shippers should expect serious delays.

Dwell times at YICT also paint a grim picture. Over the last two weeks, the 7-day average of median dwell times on export containers from the Yantian terminal doubled in number, reaching 23.06 days on 15 June 2021. The mean dwell times on import containers into Yantian were lower, at 5.96 days for the same period, suggesting that carriers are avoiding the port. Between the dates of 1 June and 15 June, the average dwell time for POL was 18.61 days, up 127.5% over the same time period a month earlier.

In the event that Chinese authorities extend their strict containment measures, high double-digit daily blank sailing rates could extend into July, snarling supply chains that use this critical global port well into the Summer.

Container lines such as Maersk have sent out client advisories that port capacity remains at less than half, with 19 of Maersk’s mainline services impacted, and that blank sailings were on track to get worse.

For businesses already facing inventory shortages, and unprecedented transportation costs, the numbers coming out of YICT will further complicate the process of reopening.

“While the epicenter of this particular breakdown is YICT, these numbers spell trouble across the maritime shipping world, and particularly for companies that rely on these routes,’ said Josh Brazil, Vice President of Marketing at project44. “Even shipments not directly impacted by the Yantian situation could feel the impact, as carriers adjust their networks to avoid congestion at YICT.

“We’re advising shippers with a China focus to get full visibility into your shipments, look for alternative ports, and do everything you can to get ahead of this event because it has the potential to create massive headaches across the global economy,” Brazil said.

Disclaimer: The data referenced in this article is sourced from project44’s freight visibility platform, based on the logistics indicators that the platform tracks. The sample data sets referenced do not include all freight movement data tracked by other entities. Data from project44’s platform reflects a statically significant sample size to draw conclusions.

Source:  www.project44.com

Added 20 June 2021

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