Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002

Stay Well, Stay Safe, Stay Patient, don’t become one

Advertise here – great for enhancing brand awareness at affordable rates – email us for a Rate Card to terry@africaports.co.za

Would you like to receive our free daily newsletter via email?  Send your email marked NEWSLETTER to terry@africaports.co.za 

♠♠♠

Join us as we report through 2021

‘and learn with Africa Ports & Ships’ 

**********

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:   SANTA URSULA

• WHARF TALK: successful ‘off the shelf’ – KOTA LAWA
• DNV’s new ‘decarbonisation stairway’ model: Navigating new build dilemmas
• Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) system disrupted by further cable theft
• IN CONVERSATION: Small seashells tell a big story of slavery and transoceanic trade 500 years ago
• Food and drink exports recovering in non-EU markets
• WHARF TALK: Abandoned Taiwanese tuna longliner – YONG QING FA No.666
• August SA automotive exports increase Durban Car Terminal volumes
• NEW BOOKS: London and the 17th century
• SA’s Vesconite becomes International Windship Association member
• Ex-Transnet executive Herbert Msagala ordered to repay R26 million
• Mozambique: Hidden debts trial: Bribes, influence and expanding loan
• United Container Depots (UCD) opens new depot in Beaconvale, Cape Town
• WHARF TALK: A nice Dutch coaster in Cape Town – EEMS TRANSPORTER
• Xeneta container rates alert: rising long-term rates and port congestion compound cargo owner woes
• WHARF TALK: SA Port Statistics for the month of July 2021 are now available
• Saldanha-bound grounded bulker Navios Amaryllis refloated from Maldives reef
• WHARF TALK: COSCO LR2 tanker NAN LIN WAN
• IN CONVERSATION: Mozambique insurgency: focus needs to shift to preventing criminality at sea
• NATO Mine Countermeasures Group visits Malta
• Maersk Supply Service secures one-year extension for subsea support vessel off Angola
• Suez Canal Container Terminal’s upgrade projects improve productivity
• WHARF TALK: Named after a Christian saint – SANTA URSULA
• Kenya truckers stop transporting cargo to South Sudan following deadly ambushes
• Grindrod’s strong headline earnings for first 6-months 2021
• UK driver shortage crisis: Request for 10,000 temporary visas for EU workers
• WHARF TALK: Specialist heavylift vessel – BBC EMERALD
• Coast Guard cooperation: USCG and JCG deploy together
• Women’s Month 2021: What the Maritime Industry Can Do to Attract More Women to The Sector
• Women’s Month 2021: Captain Eezmaira Sazzea binti Shaharuzzaman – Eaglestar’s first Malaysian female ship master
• Women’s Month 2021: Women warming up to maritime logistics sector

EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND HERE AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The Monday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Duncan Dock
The Tuesday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of East London West Bank
The Friday masthead shows the Port of East London
The Saturday masthead shows the Port of Durban Container Terminal by night
The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Tin Can island, Lagos

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

SEND NEWS REPORTS AND PRESS RELEASES TO
info@africaports.co.za

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

FIRST VIEW:  SANTA URSULA

Details of the visit to Cape Town of Hamburg Süd’s Maersk-operated container ship can be found further down this page in the article by Jay Gates. The 93,025-dwt vessel is, with several of her sisters, a regular caller at Cape Town, Ngqura and Durban while operating with the South Africa Europe Container Service (SAECS).

Pictures:  ‘Dockrat’

Added 29 August 2021

♠♠♠

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.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

NEWS

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: successful ‘off the shelf’ – KOTA LAWA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

There are some very successful designs of vessels in the modern era, and unlike the days of yore, very few vessels today are built to spec for a shipowner. More often than not, the shipowner chooses an off the shelf design from an established shipyard. Whilst this is well known in the handymax and supramax bulk carrier market, with hundreds of vessels covering just a few designs, the same also applies to some classes of container ship.

On 25th August at 16h00 the intermediate container ship KOTA LAWA (IMO 9439709) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage for a short 11 hour stay, before entering Cape Town harbour at 03h00 on 25th August and proceeding to the Ben Schoeman Dock and going alongside berth 604.

Built in 2008 by Dalian New Shipbuilding Industries No.2, at Dalian in China, Kota Lawa is 261 metres in length and has a deadweight of 50,638 tons. She is powered by a single Dalian MAN-B&W 8K90MC-C 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 49,708 bhp (36,560 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 20.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes four generator sets providing 1,700 kW each, and an emergency generator providing 200 kW. She has an Alfa Laval oil fired boiler and an Alfa Laval composite exhaust gas boiler. Her container carrying capacity is 4,253 TEU, and she has reefer plugs for 400 containers, hence the large power requirement from her generators.

As with many vessels today, Kota Lawa has been retrofitted with a scrubber unit. Unlike some other retrofits seen recently in South African ports, the naval architects have tried to blend the scrubber unit into the accommodation block, and allowed space for container bays to be utilised on either side of the retrofitted unit.

Owned by Pacific International Lines (PIL) of Singapore, Kota Lawa is managed by PIL Ship Management of Shanghai, and is operated on behalf of Ocean Network Express (ONE). PIL name all their ships with the prefix of ‘Kota’, which is the Malay word for ‘City’. She is assigned to the ONE SAS (South) service linking South Africa and the Far East.

This service is also known as the Asia-South Africa (ASA) service, a collaboration between PIL, COSCO, Evergreen, NYK and K Line. The service is on a 56 day rotation, and is covered by ten vessels on a weekly schedule.

Once loading was complete, Kota Lawa sailed from Cape Town on 31st August at 17h00, bound for Singapore. She was running almost four days late on her published schedule, and her normal port rotation would be Port Klang as her next port of call, but this call was being omitted on this rotation, as was the outward call at Hong Kong. Presumably these missed calls were to allow her to catch up with her schedule.

If the look of Kota Law’ is a familiar one, it is because she is a Dalian C4250 design of container ship. Between 2005 and 2012 a total of 72 C4250 container vessels were built at three shipyards in China, two in Dalian and one in Jiangsu. PIL has a total of 15 of this class of container vessel in their fleet. Cape Town, Durban and Ngqura see other C4250 vessels, belonging to other shipowners, calling throughout the year. However, with the completion of the new, larger locks of the Panama Canal, interest in this size of container vessel was reduced.

One result of this reduction of the need for this size of Panamax container vessel, was that two of this class of container ship, both German owned, were sent for scrapping in November 2016 and January 2017. At the time it was reported that they were the youngest, fully operational, container ships to have ever been sold for demolition. Both scrapped vessels were only seven years old at the time they were driven up the beach on their last voyage.

In 2018, as part of a financing programme, PIL sold Kota Lawa and four other PIL vessels, en-bloc for US$88.9 million (ZAR1.3 billion) to Minsheng Financial Leasing, of Tianjin in China.

For shipping enthusiasts the world over, Kota Lawa was the vessel which featured on the cover page of the October 2017 edition of the ‘Shipping – Yesterday and Today’ magazine. This particular issue of the magazine contained a multiple page spread on the history of Pacific International Lines.

Added 2 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

DNV’s new ‘decarbonisation stairway’ model: Navigating new build dilemmas

On 1 September DNV launched its latest Maritime Forecast to 2050, part of the Energy Transition Outlook (ETO) suite of reports.

Conceived to help ship owners navigate the technologies and fuels needed to meet global greenhouse gas (GHG) targets, the report features an updated carbon risk management framework, including a new ‘decarbonisation stairway’ model to help owners map a path to sustainability.

This 80-page report aims to assist an industry facing the dual challenge of increasingly stringent climate change targets and regulations coupled with uncertainty over future fuel choices, technology, and supply.

It is, according to DNV Maritime CEO Knut Ørbeck-Nilssen; “The grand challenge of our time.”

He added: “Choosing the right fuel today for operations tomorrow is a daunting task that all owners must face up to. The business environment is changing in line with the natural one, leading not just to increased regulatory requirements, but also to new cargo owner and consumer expectations and more rigorous demands from capital investors and institutions.

“A misstep today in new build fuel strategies can have damaging consequences for businesses and assets in the future. So, owners need practical, expert advice and smart solutions to ensure vessels stay competitive, compliant and commercially attractive over their lifetimes. This is where the Maritime Forecast to 2050 can help turn strategic uncertainty into confident decision-making.”

This report maps the shifting regulatory landscape, provides a status update on technology and alternative fuels, and views the energy transition from a wider perspective – investigating the financing of green on board investments, as well as the need for rapid development of supply-side capacity for new fuels.

To support ship owners, DNV provides an updated framework for managing carbon risk in new building designs, a techno-economic evaluation of fuel strategies, and the vessel design implications of those chosen approaches. The ‘decarbonisation stairway’, it is understood, is introduced to show how individual owners can adapt to stay below the required GHG emission trajectories.

Linda Sigrid Hammer, DNV Maritime Principal Consultant and Maritime Forecast to 2050 report lead author, commented: “With between 1,000 and 2,000 ships expected to be ordered annually through 2030, there is a real need for informed decisions that consider a diverse array of factors; from cost, to fuel storage and propulsion, through to flexibility in design, strategic approach, and fuel ready solutions. And of course, all of this is underpinned by the need for safety.

“Our revised framework allows for detailed assessments, providing support and expertise to mitigate the risks and uncertainties facing owners. The carbon neutral destination for the industry is clear, but the pathway is not. This report will help owners chart their way forwards.”

The new Maritime Forecast to 2050 – the fifth edition of its kind – features detailed case studies to help evaluate fuel and technology scenarios and compare competing solutions. The report finds that the maritime energy transition is already gaining momentum, with around 12% of new builds currently ordered with alternative fuel systems. This is double the 6% revealed by DNV’s 2019 Maritime Forecast report, it is understood. However, less than 1% of ships currently in operation use alternative fuels, with the huge majority plying short-sea routes.

DNV forecasts that total capital expenditure (CAPEX) for on board technology investments required to satisfy IMO decarbonisation ambitions will range from US$250-800 billion (dependent on fleet size) between 2020 and 2050.

The DNV full Maritime Forecast to 2050 document can be downloaded on application HERE

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 2 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Transnet Freight Rail system disrupted by further cable theft

Over the past week Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) has experienced a surge in cable thefts and vandalism across its rail network. TFR says these security incidents have a severe impact on its operations, resulting in significant delays in the train services.

In just 14 days, TFR has experienced 152 cable theft incidents resulting in over 40km of cable lost. It says these incidents often appear to be well coordinated and planned to cause maximum disruption. The rail company said late Thursday that theft and vandalism of the infrastructure is often carried out by large groupings of 20-25 people, who are often armed and not hesitant to use force to commit these crimes.

“This recent spike in incidents is quite alarming, the peak being six incidents within a 14-hour period in one of our corridors. Criminals are targeting overhead and signaling cables which are essential to the efficient running of our trains.

“The impact of these theft incidents has resulted in TFR having to suspend trains and causes delays in the delivery of goods. Safety is also of significant concern for us; missing and damaged infrastructure can pose danger to the driver of the train as the system becomes unstable. Derailments are often a direct consequence of the theft as occurred in the Pretoria area on 1 September 2021. Luckily, no one was injured in that incident.”

Speaking on the latest incidents Sizakele Mzimela (Chief Executive of Transnet Freight Rail) said that TFR is simply under attack from brazen criminals seeking to undermine not only TFR’s business, but its customers and the country at large.

“While we are deploying all our resources to fighting this scourge, it is clear that we need a long-term, sustainable industry solution to this challenge,” Mzimela said.

TFR said in a statement that these incidents are crippling to their business and hinder their ability to deliver to our customers. “We urge anyone that may have information to come forward to their nearest police station. Transnet also encourages members of the community to report any suspicious activities using an anonymous hotline number 0800 003 056 or email transnet@tip-off.com or to call the Crime Stop hotline number on 086 00 10111.

“The public is also reminded that they may remain anonymous and that all information will be treated with confidentiality.”

Added 2 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IN CONVERSATION: Small seashells tell a big story of slavery and transoceanic trade 500 years ago

In the archaeology storerooms of the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, lie two boxes filled with seashells.

The shells form a bright and shiny mass that makes a satisfying, almost metallic sound when you run your fingers through them. The entire sample weighs 18.7 kg and comprises approximately 16,500 individual shells.

They are money cowries, from Monetaria moneta, a species of sea snail native to the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean.

Money cowries are natural objects – each shell is a trace of an animal’s life. They were also, as their common name suggests, circulated widely as a kind of currency.

The KwaZulu-Natal Museum specimens were found among the remains of a sunken ship lying at the mouth of the Mzikaba river in what is today South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

The remains were long thought to be of the Grosvenor, wrecked in 1782. But in the early 1980s they were identified as the wreck of the São Bento, a 16th century Portuguese vessel. The São Bento sailed from Portugal to India in 1553, where it loaded a new cargo to take on its journey homeward. It departed from the port of Cochin in February 1554 with goods destined for trade into Europe and West Africa.

The ship encountered rough and stormy conditions and was probably too heavily laden – greed and risk played a significant role in the Portuguese trading venture. By April the São Bento was struggling around the south-eastern corner of Africa. It drifted onto a reef-and-island cluster adjacent to the shoreline and broke up in the rough surf.

It would be centuries before the wreck was investigated; in the late 1960s, divers formed an amateur salvage and research group to explore what remained. Numerous items were accessioned into the KwaZulu-Natal Museum’s archaeology collection, including beach finds such as ceramic sherds and carnelian beads, and bronze cannons recovered from beyond the reef.

The cache of money cowries was found during conservation work in the deepest recesses of the barrel of one of the cannons. The shells were packed tightly into the barrel, as if stashed there in secret. They probably represent a small (possibly pilfered) fraction of a much larger shipment that would have been swept away by the current after the accident.

Their presence, as I have outlined in my research, tells a richly layered, unavoidably dark story about the West African slave trade. Through the story of the cowries, at least some small part of this history may become more tangible.

“Human-cowrie conversion”

Money cowries were used for thousands of years as currency across the Indo-Pacific world, but introduced into Atlantic commercial networks relatively late. The Maldives was a major source, with its large-scale, sustainable money cowrie industry.

In the 1550s cowries were still a relatively new commodity for Europeans, and they were destined primarily for trade with West Africa. The Atlantic market picked up swiftly and billions of money cowries from the Indian Ocean were shipped to the Bight of Benin on the West African coast between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Cowries were exchanged directly for slaves throughout all centuries of the sea-borne trade of slaves out of West Africa. Nigerian archaeologist, anthropologist and historian Akinwumi Ogundiran describes this trade in terms of a “human-cowry conversion”.

Exact numbers are impossible to calculate, but at a possible rate of around 6 kg of cowries (5000–6000 shells) for one slave, the São Bento cache could have been used to purchase three slaves.

---

Read more:
A long view sheds fresh light on the history of the Yoruba people in West Africa

---

The São Bento cowries had another intimate association with slaves: according to the report by survivor and chronicler Manuel de Mesquita Perestrelo, slaves made up around two-thirds of the ship’s 470 passengers. This mention is intriguing because little is known of the transport of slaves around the southern tip of Africa in the 16th century. The Indian Ocean slave trade is far older than the Atlantic system, but it is a neglected area of history.

---

Read more:
Exploring the Indian Ocean as a rich archive of history – above and below the water line

---

Early Portuguese shipwrecks with oriental cargoes like the São Bento could contribute to our understanding of this deeper history of slavery, and the relationship between the two ocean worlds.

Entanglement

More research might determine where the São Bento slaves came from, and even what it meant to be a slave in this context. Whatever the specific situation for the São Bento slaves, the sinking of the ship might have opened other options up for them. Ultimately only 23 people were rescued by a Portuguese ivory-trading vessel at the end of a gruelling 800 km walk from the wreck site to Delagoa Bay on the southeast coast of Mozambique. Just three of them were slaves.

Despite its sinking, then, the entanglement between slaves and cowries was so fundamental that the São Bento still effected a kind of human-cowrie conversion: three surviving slaves shipped out of Delagoa Bay half a year after the accident for three slaves’ worth of salvaged cowries bequeathed to a museum over four centuries later.

There’s another kind of entanglement at play, too. Cowries were not just currency: they began to serve as a raw material in West Africa for making art. Among the Yoruba, Ori shrines which facilitate the realisation of self-hood came to be constructed from large numbers of cowries. Even in this re-purposed context, the confluence with Ori bound cowries to a person’s destiny.

A vast legacy

Now as museum objects in South Africa, the brightness of the São Bento cowries in their boxes seems at odds with the heaviness they carry from their historical association with human slavery. This unsettling lightness is amplified by the sinister elusiveness of the specifics of this story, reminiscent of histories of slavery more generally. Irrecoverable, hidden, unspoken, and yet such a vast legacy.

Justine Wintjes, Curator, KwaZulu-Natal Museum

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

Added 2 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Food and drink exports recovering in non-EU markets

 

 

UK Food and Drink Federation reports

Sales of UK food and drink to non-EU countries were up 13%, accounting for 46.6% (£4.3bn) of all UK food and drink exports in the first half of 2021, driven by a return to growth in China, Singapore, Australia, Japan and the Gulf region. This increase means non-EU exports are now almost back to pre-Covid levels. This was reported by the Food and Drink Federation on 2 September.

In other non-EU markets, including in Central and South America, sales to some countries have doubled since H1 (the first half of) 2020.

The fastest growing major export markets in the region were Colombia (+142.6%), Mexico (+111.2%), Chile (+105.4%) and Brazil (+87.2%). This increase has been driven by a recovery in sales of whisky and vegetable oils, supported by increased demand for other UK products growing rapidly from a much lower baseline.

Despite the return to growth in these countries, overall sales of UK food and drink are down £2 billion compared to pre-Covid levels, because of a sharp drop in sales to the EU. A combination of the ongoing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and new barriers to trade resulting from the new trading arrangements, have led to a fall in exports to the EU of more than a quarter since H1 2019. Exports to nearly all EU member states fell significantly, including a loss of more than £0.5bn in sales to Ireland, while sales to Germany, Spain and Italy are each down around a half since H1 2019.

UK imports of food and drink were down nearly 10% in the first half of 2021 compared to pre-Covid levels, however imports from non-EU markets increased during this period. Imports from the EU were particularly badly impacted by the pandemic and the new trading relationship, falling nearly 15% since 2019, a loss of £2.4bn.

Loss of UK exports to the EU contributed to reduced demand for EU ingredients for use in UK manufacturing, while import substitution by UK manufacturers and retailers also had an impact. Imports from the EU are likely to deteriorate further in 2022 after the UK’s full border controls are in place. Products of animal origin were heavily impacted, with a large fall in imports of pork (-19.6%), cheese (-17.6%) and chicken (-17.9%).

Dominic Goudie, Head of International Trade, the FDF, said: “The return to growth in exports to non-EU markets is welcome news, but it doesn’t make up for the disastrous loss of £2bn in sales to the EU. It clearly demonstrates the serious difficulties manufacturers in our industry continue to face and the urgent need for additional specialist support.

“At the same time, we are seeing labour shortages across the UK’s farm-to-fork food and drink supply chain, resulting in empty spaces on UK shop shelves, disruptions to deliveries and decreased production. Unless steps are taken to address these issues, the ability of businesses to fulfil vital export orders will be impacted.”

John Whitehead, Food & Drink Exporters’ Association (FDEA), added: “So many factors continue to impact on the drop in value of UK food and drink exports, with supply chain challenges and the inability to connect face to face with customers adding to the difficulties. FDEA’s bespoke support to its member community is a valuable resource to identify new opportunities and accelerate new market entry. It is therefore pleasing to see growth in sales to non-EU countries.

“However, this in no way replaces the loss of £2.2 billion sales to the EU since 2019. There is growing evidence that the complexity of trading with the EU has led to businesses moving operations into Europe and of importers looking for alternative suppliers, contributing to the ongoing decline in both UK exports and UK jobs.

In the UK the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) is the voice of the food and drink manufacturing industry – the UK’s largest manufacturing sector. For more information about FDF and the industry it represents readers are invited to VISIT HERE:

The Federation’s H1 Trade Snapshot can be found by LOOKING HERE

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 2 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Abandoned Taiwanese tuna longliner – YONG QING FA No.666

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The major ports of South Africa are a home from home for many Taiwanese tuna longliners. Many of the vessel owners back in Kaohsiung utilise Cape Town as their main permanent base, and many of the callers do not return to Taiwan for years at a stretch. There are currently eight Taiwanese tuna vessels alongside in Cape Town. This myriad of callers will come and go, some are in for a short stay, and some are in for a longer maintenance stay, but all never stay long. Except for one.

You have to go back exactly 20 months, when on 30th December 2019 the Taiwanese longliner YONG QING FA No.666 (IMO 8653061) entered South African waters, and without clearance she edged towards Cape Town where, with no radio calls to Port Control, or to anybody for that matter, she went to anchor in the Table Bay anchorage on 2nd December 2019. However, her story goes back a lot further than that.

Built in 1989 by Sen Koh Shipbuilding in Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Yong Qing Fa No.666 is 50 metres in length and has a gross tonnage of 462 tons. She is powered by a Yanmar main engine of unknown description.

Way back in June 2018 Yong Qing Fa No.666 departed from Port Louis in Mauritius, ostensibly to fish for tuna in the Indian Ocean, as she held an authorization from both the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), which was valid until 30th September 2018, and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), whose authorization was valid to 27th November 2018.

Interestingly, the owners of Yong Qing Fa No.666 are given as Jenn An Xiang Seafood Ltd. of Kaohsiung by the CCSBT, and given as Jenn An Hua Fishery Co. Ltd. Of Kaohsiung by IOTC. Bizarrely, Equasis lists her as being owned by a company called MBG Amigos of Ulan Bator in Mongolia, with ownership taking place in December 2020, under the new name of ‘New World 168’.

The problem with the vessel started soon after her departure from Mauritian waters, as she failed to inform the authorities of her whereabouts, and she did not make any regular position reports as per her licensing requirements with both her Government, and the Tuna Commissions.

The worry was that Yong Qing Fa No.666 may be involved in Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. The concern back in Taiwan was so great about her unknown movements, that the Taiwanese Government Fishing regulator not only issued a fine of US$142,000 (ZAR2.1 million) against the vessel owners, but also revoked the license of the vessel and ordered it to return to Taiwan with immediate effect.

However, her whereabouts appeared to remain a complete mystery until late November 2019 when she entered South African waters. Once she had anchored and the Cape Town port authorities were able to communicate with her, Yong Qing Fa No.666 reported having insufficient fuel or water onboard to be able to continue with her voyage. It would appear that she was on a voyage from Senegal in West Africa, and she was heading back to Mauritius.

She was finally given permission to enter Cape Town harbour on 13th December 2019, where she was promptly arrested with a total of only six crewmembers onboard, which included two Taiwanese nationals and four nationals from Myanmar.

She was inspected for IUU activity, but strangely no frozen fish of any description was found in her hold, she had no bait onboard and she appeared to be carrying no fishing gear. It was not known how a longliner vessel like Yong Qing Fa No.666 could have been operated as a fishing vessel with a crew of only six persons. It was also discovered that the Master of the vessel was actually the Chief Engineer, and that he had no navigation certificates to enable him to perform his duties.

Further inspections by SAMSA found that the vessel possessed no documents onboard that showed evidence of flag state or nationality, there were no plans, crew lists, the AIS was turned off and the VMS was missing.

Her initial plight was reported in Africa Ports & Ships on 12th January 2020 HERE.

On 15th January 2020, Yong Qing Fa No.666 was detained for being unseaworthy, under Section 240 of the Merchant Shipping Act. This section of the Act states “No person, including the owner or master, shall cause or permit any ship (other than a ship of South African nationality) to be navigated away from any port in the Republic, in an unseaworthy state.”

The South African authorities denied her request for fuel, and court papers were raised, and criminal proceedings were issued against the Master for illegal entry into South African waters. There were also potential breaches of the International Labour Organisation’s ‘ILO Work in Fishing Convention C188 of 2007.’ The convention was adopted to ensure that fishermen, worldwide, have decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels with regard to minimum requirements for work on board; conditions of service; accommodation and food; occupational safety and health protection; medical care and social security. Taiwan has adopted this convention.

The Taiwanese authorities requested that the court issue an Admiralty Sale notice on the vessel. It was clear that the vessel and the crew had been abandoned by the owners, and it fell to the Taiwanese consular staff, the Apostleship of the Sea and SAMSA to provide food and water for the crew.

On 1st March 2020 the authorities allowed one of the Taiwanese nationals onboard to be repatriated back to Taiwan. By 20th March 2020 the four Myanmar nationals were also given permission to be repatriated back home. The Taiwanese Master was refused permission to be repatriated, and he was detained pending the start of the Criminal proceedings against the vessel. Sadly, as is often the case in the South African legal system, the case has been postponed more than a dozen times.

Fast forward to September 2021, some 21 months later, and lying up against M berth in the Duncan Dock is Yong Qing Fa No.666. She has been tied up tight to the quayside to minimise any movement based on the tides, and this causes her to list at certain times. She is seemingly abandoned, her fate through the courts unresolved and her future unknown. What lies ahead is probably not going to be pretty with, possibly, a potential sale for demolition looking likely.

Added 1 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

August SA automotive exports increase Durban Car Terminal volumes

South African automotive exports and transshipments have seen the Durban Car Terminal break another record in August 2021, handling 54,520 fully built units in a single month. This follows a previous handling record of 51,407 fully built units in June 2021.

“Indications of a gradual automotive industry recovery are notable in the volumes we are recording at the terminal, which have risen by 7% more than those of the first quarter of the 2019/2020 financial year, a period before the advent of COVID19,” reveals Jabu Mdaki, Managing Executive of the Durban Terminals at Transnet Port Terminals (TPT).

He added that the terminal was anticipating a record year in automotive. “With the new launches and face-lifts of some export models anticipated in the third and fourth quarters of this financial year, we are turning the corner compared to last year’s challenging performance which was as a result of the impact of COVID19 and related restrictions,” he said.

The Durban Car Terminal recorded 65% more volumes than budgeted in the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year.

As the biggest car terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, the terminal handles over 520,000 fully built units annually, 55% of which are exports, 10% transshipments and the remaining 35% imports. It moves 14 of the 17 models manufactured in South Africa for export to over 150 markets worldwide – with Europe, Asia and Africa as the biggest consumers.

Some of the models include the Ford Ranger (including Raptor variant), BMW X3, Toyota Hilux, Fortuner Quantum, Mahindra S2 Single Cab and S10 Double Cab, Nissan NP300 Hardbody and the Isuzu KB.

“Our performance to date is a demonstration of the resilience and commitment of the employees driving this operation, considering the stricter protocols we are operating under. It’s also a feather on the cap for the coordination that exists between ourselves, the car manufacturers and shipping lines because a combination of collaborative efforts result in good logistics planning and operational execution,” said Mdaki.

The terminal has employed several initiatives, with the latest introducing vessel monitors who produce individual driver reports every four hours to detect uneven flow or any arising issues, and then correct them during the shift.

According to Mdaki there has also been improved planning and heightened collaboration with industry.

The Durban Car Terminal is anticipating the handling of two new export units from the different manufacturers before the end of the current financial year ending in March 2022.

South Africa’s automotive industry contributes about 6.5% to South Africa’s GDP with vehicles and components exported to over 150 international markets.

Added 1 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

NEW BOOKS
London and the 17th century

London and the 17th century
By Margarette Lincoln
Yale University Press
384 pages, £25.00
Hardback
ISBN 978 0 300 24878 4

The key to understanding London and possibly Britain itself is to be found in the 17th century and Dr Margarette Lincoln, a former Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum, has written this mirror on creation of the world’s greatest city.

With the sub-title The making of the World’s Greatest City here are charted the national events and personalities: Charles I and II, the City of London, the Civil War, Cromwell, the East India Company (incorporated 1600), Evelyn (a Younger Brother or Junior member of the guild of Trinity House incorporated by Henry VIII in 1514), the Glorious Revolution, the Great Fire, the Gunpowder Plot, Pepys (twice Master of Trinity House), Plague, the Restoration, Shakespeare, the Thames, watermen and much more.

 

All this great compendium has been researched in great depth from archives, diaries, letters and wills presenting religion, politics, finance, commercial ambition and expansion, hardship and particularly the untold stories of ordinary Londoners. These show how the nation emerged from a turbulent century ready to become a great maritime power with London at its head.

As for Africa, well at this time The Company of Royal Adventurers trading into Africa was incorporated by royal charter of Charles II in 1660. This body had conferred upon it rights of the exclusive trade along the entire African coast from Salee (NW Morocco and a pirate haven) to the Cape of Good Hope. Initially they prospered but skirmishes with Dutch traders brought about a severe deterioration in trade and near winding-up which resulted in reconstruction and a new title: The Royal African Company. This was a monopoly where no English subject was permitted to visit West Africa for trading purposes except with the company’s permission and it was empowered to seize the ships and cargoes of free-traders.

Early trade with the west coast of Africa was mainly concerned with the exchange of English goods for gold, ivory and spices. Later came traffic in slaves to provide labour for the West Indian cotton and sugar plantations. There was a triangular trade here, with vessels from, say, Liverpool, conveying finished cotton goods for sale in West Africa, thence conveying a human cargo to the Caribbean returning to Britain with valuable cargoes of tobacco, sugar and cotton, an intelligent use of shipping space. Two centuries later and after the abolition of slavery Nigeria had been opened up as the region was found to be rich in raw materials and, of course as we know today, the product of the oil palm.

Of course, we must not overlook the Cape of Good Hope used as a crucial landmark for East India Company ships over the centuries and where the Dutch had established a supply station there in 1652. It was a gateway to the Indian Ocean with its markets and commercial possibilities.

International trade from London brought transient communities of seafarers and merchants from across the world with growing numbers of African (and Asian) seafarers swelling the capital’s black population which at the beginning of the 17th century comprised a few thousand black servants, musicians and dancers. Seafarers’ homes were mainly in the parishes east of the Tower: Ratcliff, Shadwell, Wapping, Limehouse and Poplar (in a borough today known as the Tower Hamlets) and here lived the workforce for the docks (and the City) until well into the 20th century.

The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge (otherwise known as the Royal Society) was founded in 1660 and is the oldest national scientific institution in the world. There were close ties between the Society’s work and foreign trade and its Fellows cooperated with the Royal African Company to collect tidal data. As a scientific institution it admired the skills of indigenous peoples and saw knowledge as a way to strengthen England’s grip on distant lands in the exploitation of natural resources. It was at the heart of a growing imperial network.

It is probable that Dr Lincoln’s work is the first comprehensive history of seventeenth-century London, told through the lives of those who experienced one of the most momentous times in the history of Britain, and where Londoners took centre stage.

 

 

 

Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
London Correspondent

Added 1 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

SA’s Vesconite becomes International Windship Association member

South African company Vesconite Bearings is the newest member of the 130-organisation-strong International Windship Association (IWSA), following its acceptance in August into the non-profit organisation as a technology and service provider.

IWSA facilitates and promotes wind propulsion for commercial shipping worldwide and brings together all parties in the development of a wind-ship sector to shape industry and government attitudes and policies.

This accords well with…

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

Added 1 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Ex-Transnet executive Herbert Msagala ordered to repay R26 million

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and Transnet say they welcome a Special Tribunal judgment ordering that the rail, port and pipeline company’s former executive Herbert Msagala pay back R26.4 million to the utility.

Judge Lebogang Modiba made the order on Tuesday against Herbert Msagala, Transnet’s former group executive for capital projects.

In the joint statement, the SIU and Transnet said the Special Tribunal found that Msagala illegally received payments from Transnet service provider, IGS Consulting Engineers (Pty) Ltd while employed full time by Transnet.

The SIU and Transnet instituted civil matters in the Special Tribunal in July 2020 to order that Msagala pay the money he received from a tender with IGS Consulting between 2015 and 2016.

They said the judgment was “a key step in ensuring accountability and consequence management” for executives who may have been involved in criminal activity while employed at Transnet.

Transnet said it would continue to work with the SIU and other law enforcement agencies to ensure that justice is served on all those found guilty of wrongdoing.

“This is a continuation of implementation of the SIU investigations outcomes and consequence management to recover financial losses suffered by State institutions including State Owned Entities (SOEs) like Transnet. There are other cases enrolled in the High Court and in the Special Tribunal awaiting adjudication and will result in further recoveries for the State,” said SIU head Advocate Andy Mothibi.

Added 1 September 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Mozambique: Hidden debts trial: Bribes, influence and expanding loan

Report by Joseph Hanlon
Mozambique News Reports and Clippings

The first week of the Hidden Debts trial, which began on Monday 28 August, is already over-running, interrogating only two people instead of 10. They are Teofilo Nhangumele, who describes himself “as just a facilitator”, and his close friend, Cipriano Mutota, then director of the Projects for the State Security and Intelligence Service (SISE). Together with Jean Boustani, a senior Privinvest salesperson, in 2011-3 they designed the coastal protection project, Proindicus.

Nhangumele had worked for five years at the British embassy in Maputo. He was also deputy director of the Olympic Games Organising Committee.

Nhangumele also confirmed that he travelled with Armando Ndambi Guebuza [son of the former president – AP&S] and Bruno Langa to a Privinvest shipyard in Germany in December 2011 and to the Privinvest headquarters in Abu Dhabi in January 2012, where they visited the company’s shipyards. In Abu Dhabi he opened bank accounts to deposit the $50 million paid by the company for himself, Ndambi Guebuza, and Bruno Langa.

Nhangumele was part of the team that presented the project to Defence Minister (now President) Filipe Nyusi in 2011. But in December 2012, at a second meeting, Nyusi ordered him to be removed, on the grounds that only members of the defence and security forces should be involved. His distrust was wise, because Nhangumele had already signed a contract as a consultant with Privinvest in January 2012. He admitted that he had never told the Mozambican authorities that he was now employed by the very company they were negotiating with.

Asked what Ndambi did to earn his $33 million, Nhangumele said: “Whenever I noticed any slowness in the process, I would talk to Ndambi so that things would speed up.” Mutota gave a bit more detail: Nhangumele told him that if the project was not moving forward, and he would contact Bruno Langa, who, in turn, should talk to his friend Ndambi Guebuza, so that he could intercede with his father (then President Armando Guebuza).

The testimony shows how the project was steadily inflated. The original Proindicus project was budgeted at just $302 million, and was then raised to $360 million to include the fees and bribes. The $360 million was approved by Nyusi, but was then increased to $600 million and then up to $900 million – and eventually to $2.2 billion.

The tuna fishing company Ematum was not part of the original package, but was added as an entirely new $850 million loan as part of the inflation of the loan. Indeed, Nhangumele told the court that the then fisheries minister Vitor Borges opposed the creation of Ematum.

The hidden debts trial is a tale of the falling out of a gang of swindlers, by Marcelo Mosse, editor of Carta de Mocambique, is worth reading. This is a gang of politicians, governors, two-bit lobbyists, and secret service employees in collaboration with tycoons and boat salesmen from the Beirut and Paris (sponsored by François Holland [then president of France – AP&S], who stayed behind the scenes), plus Credit Suisse and its bankers, not to forget VTB, the Russian banker.

They all profited from a process of fraudulent indebtedness, ruining the utopia of the Mozambicans and the dreams of creditors who bought a pig in a poke. Now, they are all shooting at each other, and there will be blood on the floor. The full article (in English) is available HERE

Comment: The trial shows the enormous and growing gaps between rich and poor in Mozambique and underlines how ostentatious wealth has become normalised. Nhangumele said his $8.5 million payment was for “facilitation” work and that he could easily earn more than that. He used the money to buy five houses and flats in Maputo and in Nelspruit, South Africa and at least three cars.

Ndambi Guebuza is accused of using his money to buy real estate in South Africa and Mozambique, and to buy 15 cars to give as gifts to friends.

Mutota received $980,000, of which $600,000 was in cash. Asked how he used it, he said he could not remember. “I spent it because the money came in tranches. … I would withdraw five thousand, three thousand dollars. I spent most of it on my sesame and corn farm in Mocuba.”

Former Finance Minister Manuel Chang remains in South Africa, following the decision of the Gauteng High Court on 27 August to hear the challenge by Mozambique Budget Monitoring Forum (FMO). Both Mozambique and the United States filed extradition requests with South Africa, and SA Minister of Justice Ronald Lamola on 20 August ruled in favour of Mozambique. Before Chang could leave South Africa, both FMO and the US filed objections. The case will be heard on 17 September. Meanwhile in Maputo, on 24 August Judge Efigenio Baptista added Chang to the list of witnesses (declarantes) to be heard.

Africa PORTS & SHIPS has been reporting on the matter of the purchase of up to 30 fishing trawlers and interceptor patrol vessels since the first proposal was made over then years ago. The vessels were built at a shipyard in France and delivered to Maputo where most have remained unused, either in the water or on the quayside. It’s possible that several of these high-speed interceptor vessels were in use during the attacks by insurgents on Mocimboa da Praia and Palma, where an interceptor vessel was reported to have been damaged or detroyed from a rocket grenade. Whewn news leaked of the order being placed for the Ematum fleet it was said that the initiative for acquiring the vessels came from Mozambique’s intelligence department, in spite of the surprise and opposition of the Fisheries ministry. At the launching of the first interceptor vessel presidents François Holland of France and Armando Guebuza of Mozambique were present to provide their blessings which PORTS & SHIPS reported on at the time. – AP&S

Added 31 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

United Container Depots (UCD) opens new depot in Beaconvale, Cape Town

United Container Depots (UCD), has moved from their depot location in Paarden Eiland to a larger premises in Beaconvale, Parow. The new premises boasts a container stacking area over 20,000m², warehouse space of 4,000m², dedicated controlled atmosphere (CA) gassing area for up to 4 trucks, 3 empty container handling machines, 120 reefer plug points as well as dedicated collection and drop-off truck lanes.

With a laydown area double the size of their previous depot, the new depot is able to accommodate a capacity of over 3,600 TEU.

“This is the first new site for UCD since we opened the depot in Paarden Eiland in the early 90’s,” said Andrew Sturrock, a member of the Grindrod Freight Services Executive.

Reefer focused

“Over the years we have adjusted our business model from operating as a general purpose depot to now focusing on 60-70% reefer-orientated work. Having doubled our current capacity, we can now offer our customers a more streamlined system of container movement through the yard.”

Marcus Twine, CEO of SGM Technical said the Paarden Eiland depot had served them well, “but we are excited about being able to offer our clients a more seamless, smooth processing of inbound and outgoing trucks.

“We have cameras recording all in and out-bound traffic with secure electrified fencing around the premises. There is also a larger workshop area now for container repairs and we will look at increasing our technical staff complement to service our growing depot,” he said.

Accredited service agents

UCD are accredited warranty service agents for Star Cool, Daikin, Carrier and Thermo King reefer equipment manufacturers as well as agents for 3rd party CA suppliers Liventus and Purfresh in Cape Town and Johannesburg. All technicians are well trained and compliant in order to service the units on behalf of the manufacturers and customers.

Grant Bahlmann, UCD’s General Manager added, “UCD is proud to have a well-established footprint in added reefer services such as callouts, reefer monitoring, vessel spares deliveries and replenishment kits and reefer part sales, to name a few.

Available 24/7/365

Our reefer service in Cape Town is available 24/7/365 and our shift system allows our customers the peace of mind in knowing that someone is always available to attend to their afterhours reefer queries.”

UCD currently has depots in Johannesburg, Gqeberha and Durban. UCD is also looking at acquiring another site in Durban in the near future. Using the Beaconvale model as a guideline for the new branch, we will adjust the site layout accordingly if required.

UCD is owned by Sturrock Grindrod Maritime (SGM) and, along with its sister companies Hesper Engineering, NovaMarine and SwiftNova Engineering make up the SGM Technical Division within Grindrod Limited. SGM Technical offers solutions ranging from marine safety equipment and servicing to steel/pipe fabrication, mechanical repairs as well as blasting and coating services to all types of vessels.

Added 31 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: A nice Dutch coaster in Cape Town – EEMS TRANSPORTER

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Since the demise of the Southern African owned coastal trade, where Unicorn Lines operated an eclectic fleet of genuine coasters, it is a rare occurrence to see a vessel calling at a South African port that is viewed by the observer as being classed as a coaster, or as a short sea trader, based solely on her size.

On 24th August at 06h00 the small general cargo vessel EEMS TRANSPORTER (IMO 9340300) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage from Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia. She remained at anchor until the evening and at 21h00 she entered Cape Town harbour, but not to work cargo. Instead, she proceeded to the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock, a sign that she required some minor maintenance.

She is another vessel with a composite construction history, where her hull was built by Sainty Longchuan Shipbuilding at Jiangdu in China in 2005. She was then loaded onto the pontoon Sainty 2, along with the hulls of 12 inland tankers and 3 bunker boats. The loaded pontoon was towed by the tug Sable Cape to Rotterdam, where she was offloaded by the floating sheerlegs cranes, Taklift 1 and Taklift 4. She was completed by Instalho Scheepsbouw BV of Werkendam in Holland and delivered to her owners in 2006.

She is 90 metres in length and has a deadweight of 2,900 tons. Her coaster appearance is supported by her small dimensions, plus an advertised low air draught of 23.4 metres, a folding foremast that is also equipped with a bow radar, and a limited container carrying capacity of 128 TEU. She is gearless, and has a single 61.9 x 10.8 metres hold, with a cargo carrying capacity of 150,000 ft3 (4,247.5m3).

She is powered by a single Wärtsilä 8L20C2 8 cylinder 4 stroke main engine producing 1,957 bhp (1,440 kW), to drive a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 12.5 knots. Her generator set provides 124 kW, and she has a 65 kW emergency generator.

Owned by Amasus Shipping BV of Delfzijl in Holland, Eems Transporter is operated and managed by Amasus Support BV, also of Delfzijl. Her owners name is emblazoned on her hull. Whilst alongside in Cape Town, she also took on bunkers, and sailed on 28th August at 10h00, bound for Dakar in Senegal.

For the past few years her trading pattern has been typical of a short sea trader of her type, with voyages restricted to an area stretching from Northern Europe down to the Eastern Mediterranean. However, her current ‘deep sea’ voyage started from Rostock in Germany, back in June, and took her via Suez, to Malaysia. From there, she made an Indian Ocean crossing to Cape Town, and is now northbound once more. Quite a trip for a coaster.

Such a trip, thousands of miles from her normal home waters, is in contrast to her owners commercial vision for their fleet. Amasus Shipping BV state that their ambition is to develop Amasus as a brand contained within only a selected number of market segments in the short sea sector. Those market segments are sea-river shipping, the short sea special cargo market, and the offshore market. Three areas for which the design of Eems Transporter is singularly perfect and able to undertake.

Back in April 2011, whilst on a voyage from Iskenderun in Turkey to France, and loaded with 2,563 tons of steel products, Eems Transporter ran aground north of Diafani Harbour, on the Greek Aegean island of Karpathos. Her grounding was reported to be a ‘high speed grounding’, and the resulting damage to her hull was severe. She remained aground for 18 days, before finally being refloated. She was then towed to Emden in Germany, where the Neptun Shipyard repaired the bottom damage, and she returned to service in June 2011.

Added 31 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Xeneta container rates alert: rising long-term rates and port congestion compound cargo owner woes

 

After another month of high demand, over-stretched infrastructure and difficult negotiations for shippers, long-term contracted ocean freight rates now stand 85.5% higher than at this point last year.

Although August saw rates rise by a relatively modest 2.2% (contrasted to July’s astonishing 28.1% jump) there appears to be little sign of relief on the horizon, with increasing port congestion and relentless demand ahead of the all-important pre-Christmas period. Container ship operators are reaping record-breaking financial rewards as a result.

Positions of power

The latest data comes courtesy of Oslo-based Xeneta, which crowd sources real-time rates from leading shippers to produce the Long-Term XSI® Public Indices, delivering detailed insights of the very latest market movements. Those movements have been following a familiar trajectory throughout the course of 2021, with climbing rates fuelled by demand outpacing supply, supply chain disruption, and the ongoing impact of COVID-19.

“In the context of 2021, a 2.2% monthly increase in rates appears modest, but in any other year this is an excellent result for carriers,” says Patrik Berglund, Xeneta CEO.

“Remember, this is yet another rise on the back of the largest ever monthly increase in July. So, while some may have been expecting – read ‘hoping for’ if you’re a cargo owner – an adjustment downwards, we’re seeing a further demonstration of the powerful position liner operators find themselves in. They really are holding all the cards… and winning big.”

Proof of this lies in the latest set of financial results released by key carriers.

Record revenues

August saw Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OOIL) disclose a net profit of USD 2.8bn for the half-year, the best results in the group’s history, while Zim reported a net profit of USD 888m for the second quarter. This figure is higher than the Israeli line’s accumulated total profits for the last five years, showcasing a spectacular turnaround.

The firm, like its peers, is now looking to expand to take advantage of what Berglund calls “red hot” market conditions.

Steady gains

August’s XSI® demonstrates that the heat is on across all major trading corridors, with every region seeing import and export benchmarks edging upwards. In Europe imports rose by 0.5%, while exports climbed 3.4%. Although the pace of growth has slowed compared to recent months, it still leaves the respective benchmarks up 123% and 49.1% year-on-year.

Results in the Far East followed a similar pattern, with imports nudging up a further 0.8% (up 50.5% since August 2020) and exports jumping by 2.5% (a massive 115.5% up year-on-year). The XSI® paints the same picture in the US, where imports increased by an additional 2.1% and exports climbed 0.6% month-on-month. The benchmarks now stand 67.2% and 16.8% up compared to the same time last year.

Seen as a whole, the XSI® is now scaling record heights and, Berglund suggests, there’s little evidence of the curve pointing downwards in the immediate future.

Cycle of delays

“While we can’t be certain of a repeat of the astronomical monthly increases the industry has grown accustomed to, further gains are certainly not of the question,” he comments.

“There’s still a dearth of equipment, high demand and, worryingly, very congested ports that are choking up the supply chain for shippers and retailers. For example, in Europe Maersk is advising customers of wait times up to 10 days at Antwerp, while Hapag-Lloyd reports that voyage delays have tripled in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. A round trip between the Far East and Europe now takes approximately 100 days to complete. The situation isn’t much better in the US with wait times of five days (and increasing) at the Port of Los Angeles.”

The Xeneta CEO says landside infrastructure is “simply overwhelmed”, with the congestion tying up vessels, and their sought after containers, in an ever-worsening cycle of delays.

“With the holiday season logistical rush round the corner things may get worse before they get better,” Berglund advises, “and that’ll have an obvious knock-on effect on rates. As ever, we’d advise all parties in the chain to keep up to date with the very latest intelligence to understand, and get value out of, this extraordinarily competitive marketplace.”

Companies participating in Oslo-based Xeneta’s crowd-sourced ocean and air freight rate benchmarking and market analytics platform include names such as ABB, Electrolux, Continental, Unilever, Nestle, L’Oréal, Thyssenkrupp, Volvo Group and John Deere, amongst others.

To get the full XSI® Public Indices report for the long-term market, CLICK HERE

To see daily XSI® short-term market rate movements for 12 main trade lanes, GO HERE

Added 31 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: SA Port Statistics for the month of July 2021 are now available

 

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

The drastic reduction in ship calls, cargo volumes, particularly at the ports of Durban and Richards Bay, can be linked with the insurgency and unrest experienced across the provinces of KZN, Gauteng and parts of Mpumalanga during the month of July. This was followed by the best part of a further week due to the cyber-attack on Transnet’s IT network, and can be seen in the total number of ship calls at all ports that dropped to just over 600.

By contrast the port of Ngqura experienced its highest ever throughput by volume which is a result of the unusually high percentage of empty containers handled – 50,811 TEUs against a total number of 87,130. This distorts the averaging by weight for the month but for our purposes has been ignored with this report.

Another port with an ‘oddity’ in its volumes is East London which shows high minus figures for liquid bulk handled, detracting from total volumes of all commodities actually handled at the port. If anyone requires those details for East London please advise by email.

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

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

For comparison with the equivalent month of the previous year, July 2020 LOOK HERE

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

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

Port Statistics continue below…..

Figures for the respective ports during July 2021 are:

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

PORT	July 2021 million tonnes
Richards Bay	5.628
Durban	5.854
Saldanha Bay	3.661
Cape Town	1.136
Port Elizabeth	0.730
Ngqura	2.321
Mossel Bay	0.057
East London	-0.074
Total all ports	19.387 million tonnes

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

PORT	July 2021 TEUs
Durban	198,595
Cape Town	52,913
Port Elizabeth	11,219
Ngqura	137,941
East London	9,191
Richards Bay	409
Total all ports	410,268 TEU

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

PORT	July 2021 CEUs
Durban	29,558
Cape Town	2
Port Elizabeth	7,958
East London	0,409
Richards Bay	1
Total all ports	37,928 CEU

SHIP CALLS for July 2021

PORT	July 2021 vessels	gross tons
Durban	195	6,796,970
Cape Town	128	3,097,563
Richards Bay	104	4,611,702
Port Elizabeth	58	2,673,745
Saldanha Bay	57	3,598,589
Ngqura	52	2,226,658
East London	15	359,510
Mossel Bay	14	71,446
Total ship calls	623	22,436,183

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

Added 31 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Saldanha-bound grounded bulker Navios Amaryllis refloated from Maldives reef

The bulk carrier NAVIOS AMARYLLIS (IMO 9423487) which was sailing from India bound for Saldanha in South Africa before going aground on the Rasfaree Reef in the Maldives on Thursday, 19 August 2021, has been successfully refloated.

The refloating happened on Sunday 29 August using two tugs from Sri Lanka and under contract to Tsavliris Salvage. The bulker was pulled clear at 14h15 local time and without any obvious damage. No oil leaks have been reported either during the grounding or since.

The 190-metre long, 58,735-dwt, 2009-built vessel is reported to have suffered an engine failure leaving the vessel to drift onto the reef.

The Transport Authority of the Maldives said in a press release that the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would be conducting a joint investigation into the grounding and whether it has had any effect on the environment.

Meanwhile it has also been reported that local authorities are holding the master of the ship responsible for the incident and for failing to report that Navios Amaryllis had lost engine power prior to the vessel striking the reef.

According to Deputy Minister Hamad Abdul Ghanee, the ship’s master failed to report the matter before or after. Nor, he said, did it appear the master had taken any action towards anchoring his vessel and requesting assistance.

Another craft travelling nearby alerted the Maldive authorities that a ship appeared to have gone aground.

Navios Amaryllis had a crew of 19, all from the Philippines. There were no injuries.

Navios Amaryllis is Greek-owned and managed by Navios Shipmanagement of Piraeus, Greece. The vessel is flagged in Panama.

See the YouTube drone video of the Navios Amaryllis aground on Rasfaree Reef. [2:34]

Added 30 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: COSCO LR2 tanker NAN LIN WAN

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The current flow of product tankers to South African ports is generally restricted by the length of wharfage available to safely berth the vessels, and the draft of the vessel on arrival at the port of discharge, both important measurements for planning the discharge of the tanker. In Cape Town’s case, the longest berth available for tankers is formally listed by Transnet as being 250 metres.

As such, the vast majority of tankers calling to discharge fuel products in Cape Town are those in the Medium (MR1 and MR2) category of around 180 metres in length, and the Large (LR1) category of around 220 metres in length. On very infrequent occasions you do get to see the largest product tanker that can be called such, the LR2, despite their length of 250 metres, or slightly more, maxing out the largest berth able to take them.

On 24th August at 05h00 the large LR2 Aframax tanker NAN LIN WAN (IMO 9783411) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from Pengerang in Malaysia. She remained at anchor for just over a day, and she entered Cape Town harbour on 25th August at 13h00, proceeding to the largest tanker berth available to her in the Duncan Dock.

Built in 2017 by Guangzhou International Shipyard at Guangzhou in China, as one of two sisterships, Nan Lin Wan is 250 metres in length (actually 249.98 metres) and has a deadweight of 109,699 tons.

She is powered by a single CMD MAN-B&W 6G60ME-C9.5 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 15,631 bhp (11,656 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generator sets providing 900 kW each. She has a total of 14 cargo tanks, with a maximum cargo carrying capacity of 126,280 m3.

Nominally owned by Nan Lin Wan Shipping of Singapore, a subsidiary of the COSCO Group, Nan Lin Wan is operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Ltd. of Shanghai, and managed by COSCO Shipping Tanker (Shanghai).

COSCO Shipping itself is the arm of the COSCO Group that operates specialised carriers, with COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation operating over 130 owned tankers, of which 49 are operated by its Tanker (Shanghai) subsidiary.

On completion, both Nan Lin wan and her sistership went immediately onto long term charter with Shell International Trading and Shipping. This is not her first visit to Africa this year as she delivered a cargo of refined products to Mombasa in Kenya in April.

The port of Pengerang in Malaysia, where Nan Lin Wan loaded for Cape Town, is part of a massive 2020 US$3.38 billion (ZAR49.78 billion) investment by the Malaysian Government to further develop a world class petrochemical and refinery complex, directly opposite Singapore, at the very southeastern tip of Malaysia.

Added 30 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IN CONVERSATION: Mozambique insurgency: focus needs to shift to preventing criminality at sea

Francois Vreÿ, Stellenbosch University

The insurgency in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique has been placed firmly in the international spotlight since radicals linked to Islamic State launched their audacious attack on the town of Palma in March, killing over 50 people.

A large Rwandan military and police contingent and troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have entered the theatre. These are helping Mozambique’s army and police to stem the tide and step up their act over the longer term.

There is also support from the US and the European Union, largely in the form of training assistance. This adds to training support promised by Angola and Zimbabwe as part of the SADC contingent arriving in Cabo Delgado.

But there’s a problem.

The combined military response against the insurgents is primarily on land, with very limited maritime response capabilities. But the insurgent threat is not limited to the interior. Insurgents stormed and held the port of Mocímboa da Praia in August 2020 and attacked communities on nearby islands off Palma, halting its tourism flows.

The fixation on landward efforts ignores the fact that the insurgency also poses a maritime threat. Significantly, the insurgency has hobbled the energy sector. This was set to make Mozambique an important global energy player following the discovery of large offshore gas fields. The discoveries hold regional and global implications. Mozambique could well become a gas emirate in southern Africa, and bringing the industry on line could propel Mozambique into the top seven global gas producing countries.

These optimistic outlooks all depend on whether Mozambique can contain the impact of the ongoing violent insurgency in Cabo Delgado. This precondition extends offshore.

Maritime security

Mozambique’s future economy relies heavily on maintaining a safe offshore domain. To this end the government must make use of every opportunity to build the required capacity and partnerships to maintain the rule of law at sea.

Bringing gas production on line has been severely disrupted because of the insurgency. Much of the landward activity and construction of infrastructure has come to a standstill.

In April, Totalenergies, the French energy multinational, declared a force majeure. This was after the insurgents occupied and held the port of Mocímboa da Praia in 2020 and attacked Palma early in 2021.

The port is of significance for the delivery of goods by sea and air for the construction projects under way to develop onshore infrastructure in support of the gas industry. It has since been reclaimed by the Mozambique and Rwandan forces. But given how risk perception unfolds, construction remains stalled.

In my view Mozambique’s ocean territories must receive due attention for three reasons. These are: events on land spilling offshore, perceptions of dangerous seas off Mozambique, and criminality at sea left unchecked.

Cost of insecurity at sea

First, insecurity on land has maritime repercussions. This is the reality in the waters off Somalia, Nigeria, Libya and Yemen. Weak security governance on land affects the maritime economy, with shipping and resource extraction particularly vulnerable.

This land and sea interplay is a potential risk facing Mozambique’s decision-makers.

Second, perceptions of dangers in the waters off Mozambique hold negative repercussions. This is even more so if international measures are implemented to mitigate a threat to shipping. A high risk area at sea akin to those off Somalia and Nigeria directs shipping to take preventive actions. This has multiple knock-on effects.

Higher insurance costs are incured; shipping must follow longer routes, increasing the cost of doing business; private security personnel are often taken on; and the safety and livelihoods of crews are at higher risk. All this is evident in the demarcated danger zone now operational off Nigeria.

Third, the waters off Cabo Delgado must not be allowed to become a playground for criminals to enter and exploit. If ungoverned, this sea space offers the potential for criminal syndicates and insurgents to prosper side by side.

Connecting the dots: five risks to mitigate

The insurgency has resulted in or compounded the following problems:

Transnational criminal syndicates: These already operate into Cabo Delgado. If weak governance on land is mirrored at sea, syndicates become dangerous competitors, and even more so if allied with insurgent elements as in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Illegal oil trafficking: Energy infrastructure for gas and oil are difficult to take over. Nevertheless illegal oil trafficking from rebel-held territories in the east of Libya shows how brazen non-state actors can take over or infiltrate energy infrastructure and port facilities and use this to join an illegal industry.

Attacks on infrastructure and shipping at sea: Sri Lanka provides a good example. The Sea Tiger wing of the insurgent movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacked Sri Lanka’s navy with suicide vessels for several years.

Drone attacks: The recent drone attack on a commercial vessel passing through the Gulf of Oman, with Yemen and Iranian connections, must also serve as a warning. There have been allegations of the presence of drones in Cabo Delgado.

Drug smuggling: Insecurity at sea off Cabo Delgado carries the risk of compounding the problem posed by drug smuggling networks operating in the area. No effort should be spared to prevent the insurgents and the smugglers cooperating.

Overall, the tactics I’ve outlined call for a comprehensive response, one most probably beyond anything the Mozambique authorities can mobilise on their own.

Some small steps with a maritime focus have taken place.

Two small, lightly armed South African naval patrol vessels arrived in Pemba harbour for patrols off Cabo Delgado.

A training team from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recently arrived to help train maritime personnel from Mozambique to increase maritime security governance.

The Rwandan military contingent includes a limited small boat capability to extend their presence off the coast, albeit only near harbour patrols.

Fourth – in recapturing Mocímboa da Praia from the insurgents in early August 2021, the operation included a surprise attack by a small contingent of Mozambique soldiers from the sea.

Looking forward: what needs to happen

The maritime situation in Mozambique must not be allowed to emulate the maritime threats found off Nigeria, Somalia and the rebel-held territories in Libya. Allowing this would hold dire implications for international shipping and subsequently for Mozambique and the landlocked countries in the region.

It is precisely this threat that underscored the need for cooperation between South Africa, Mozambique and Tanzania to prevent piracy from gaining a foothold in Mozambique. Ongoing maritime operations between South Africa and Mozambique also need to be maintained.

Cooperation with a wide array of partners to promote maritime security governance over the longer term must remain a priority. This is a long term objective to be addressed in the context of the current armed insurgency, and sustained beyond the present volatility.

Stability on land and at sea must be addressed simultaneously.

The South African Navy and UN Office on Drugs and Crime are the first naval and capacity building respondents to arrive. But the SADC should seriously consider using its Standing Maritime Committee to assist Mozambique. The aim would be to bring about a formal regional arrangement for cooperation to secure regional economic and security interests in the southwestern Indian Ocean over the longer term.

Mozambique is in no position to contribute significantly to the broader array of maritime security endeavours. That’s why international partners need to play a role.

The SADC must now pass the acid test of stemming the insurgent threats from spilling over and threatening the region’s wider landward and maritime interests.

The intervention forces currently fighting the insurgents should extend their role offshore to prevent a collapse of security at sea off Mozambique or at the minimum, any such perception among the international maritime community.

Francois Vreÿ, Research Coordinator, Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa, Stellenbosch University

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

Added 30 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

NATO Mine Countermeasures Group visits Malta

Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG-2) visited La Valletta, Malta from 20 to 23 August and conducted a Passing Exercise (PASSEX) with Maltese Armed Forces units in the vicinity of La Valletta. This was reported by the NATO Maritime Command (MARCOM) Public Affairs media service from Northwood, NW London, on 26 August.

During the port visit in La Valetta, the Commander SNMCMG2, Javier Núñez de Prado, paid a courtesy call to the Malta Maritime Squadron, under strict Covid-19 prevention measures. He was welcomed by the CO Etienne Scicluna.

Workshops were provided for the Maltese Navy by SNMCMG2 staff and the ship’s company of the Spanish Navy’s patrol vessel ESPS Rayo. At the end of the visit, there was an exchange of representational gifts, and a Pre-Sail Conference was held in the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) facilities.

Following shore activities on 23 August, SNMCMG2 units and the Maltese Navy patrol vessel P-62 departed from La Valletta and executed a serialised schedule of exercises. Training included a Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) exercise involving an Armed Forces of Malta helicopter.

About SNMCMG2

SNMCMG2 is one of four standing forces that comprise the maritime component of the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF), which is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF).

To respond to contingency situations, additional forces can be added to these groups, with the NATO command staff on board and the ships of the Group as the nucleus, capable of providing timely support to NATO operations.

SNMCMG2 is currently composed of the Flagship ESPS Rayo (Spain), from the Italian Navy ITS Alghero and TCG Alanya of the Turkish Navy.

Malta is a strategic partner for NATO; due to its geographical situation, its support in MSA (Maritime Situational Awareness) is invaluable to maritime security in the Central Mediterranean Sea.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 30 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Maersk Supply Service secures one-year extension for subsea support vessel off Angola

Maersk Supply Service (MSS), a leading solution provider for the offshore energy sector, revealed via social media last week that it has secured a one-year extension for one of its subsea support vessels in Angola.

The announcement said MSS would provide full-scope MRI services for a major undisclosed oil company in Angola, backed by one of the company’s Class I submarine support vessels.

Under the contract, Maersk Supply will provide full inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) services supported by one of its I-class vessels, as well as project management and engineering services. The contract scope also includes an integrated package of field support vessel (FSV), two remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and positioning services, the company said.

The contract also covers an integrated package of FSV, 2 WROV + Positioning Services, as well as engineering and project management services. The contract is with a valued client.

“We have worked to create a transparent collaboration with our client. I hope this is one of the many contracts to come,” said Osvaldo Sechie, Managing Director of Angola MSS.

He added the extension to the contract provided the ability to continue with the company’s local content development plan through its Cadets program.

In a separate social media post, MSS said that in a continuation of its expansion into Africa, the 251-ton bollard pull AHTS MAERSK LOGGER will be moving from Asia Pacific to the coast of Angola where she will be supporting a major oil company in Angola for specific operations over the next two months.

Maersk Logger has an overall length of 90.3 metres and a beam of 23m and a deadweight of 4,370 tons and gross weight of 6,821 tons. The vessel’s propulsion comprises four MAK model 9M32C main engines producing 23,500 BHP, propelling 2 CP main thrusters, 2 bow tunnel thrusters generating 2040 BHP and 2 stern tunnel thrusters generating 1200 BHP.

• trh

Added 30 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Suez Canal Container Terminal’s upgrade projects improve productivity

Customer experience enhanced

A series of investments initiated in 2020 aimed at equipment and capacity upgrades at the terminal, together with a strong partnership with the Government of Egypt, Suez Canal Economic Zone (SC Zone), are setting the foundation for further future growth despite global pandemic challenges.

That’s the word from SCCT (Suez Canal Container Terminal), which is a Joint Venture in which APM Terminals is the majority shareholder (55%) and operator. Other key shareholders include COSCO (20%), the Suez Canal Authority (10.3%) and the National Bank of Egypt (5%).

SCCT opened in 2004 on a 49-year concession.

The 2020 USD 60-million investment included several major projects. The most complex of these was the heightening of six STS (ship-to-shore) cranes in SCCT’s own yard. Following this recently completed project, 12 out of 18 of the terminal’s STS cranes now have the capacity to handle ultra large container vessels (ULCV). This also makes SCCT the only terminal in Egypt to be able to simultaneously serve two mega vessels, without compromising on productivity.

Improved operational performance

“Our upgrade programme was already very ambitious, but the global pandemic made it even more complex. However, it was also an opportunity for the SCCT team to rise up to the challenge. Thanks to their tremendous efforts, we are happy to report that all projects have been concluded on schedule, allowing us to serve our customers – and their businesses – even better,” says Sunay Mukerjee, Chief Commercial Officer at Suez Canal Container Terminal.

SCCT is a key hub terminal in the South and East Mediterranean region. The crane capacity upgrade project will now give the terminal’s shipping line customers additional opportunity to recover their network schedules and improve the reliability they are offering to their end customers.

In addition, the terminal has also conducted a gate expansion, with civil engineering works to increase SCCT’s gate handling capacity to more than 50,000 TEU per month. Consequently, the terminal’s gate volumes have increased 50% year-on-year, with growth in reefer exports reaching 150%. “The gate expansion project ensures our customers can continue to experience ‘best in class’ customer service while growing their volumes through SCCT,” adds Mahmoud Ayoub, SCCT’s first Egyptian Chief Operating Officer.

Other investments at SCCT also included the purchase of new yard equipment, with 16 new RTG (Rubber Tyre Gantry) cranes joining the fleet, paving the way for more quay and gate volumes in the future.

Record breaking

Capacity upgrades and other investments have already resulted in a new record, with SCCT handling 57,242 moves / 95,579 TEUs on the quay in week 33 – the highest weekly volume ever handled at the terminal. The increased volume was handled while maintaining the same gate moves per hour (GMPH) of 30.04.

“We are very proud of our achievements and at the same time, very grateful to our colleagues and customers for making this possible,” says Mahmoud Ayoub.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Named after a Christian saint – SANTA URSULA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Sometimes finding out the origin of a vessel’s name results in an eye opener, with a “Well, I didn’t know that” moment. The great German shipping company Hamburg Südamerikanische Dampfschifffahrts-Gesellschaft A/S & Co. KG, better known to all in the shipping fraternity as Hamburg Süd, have always named almost all of their fleet after mountains, capes or saints.

On 19th August at 12h00 the container vessel SANTA URSULA (IMO 9430387) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage from Durban, and as with just about every container ship that currently calls in at Cape Town, she had to remain out at anchor for almost a day and a half to await a berth, which is a short wait by present standards, and she entered Cape Town harbour on 20th August at 21h00, proceeding to 603 berth in the Ben Schoeman Dock.

Built in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding at Okpo in South Korea, as the eighth of ten sisterships for Hamburg Süd, Santa Ursula is 300 metres in length and has a deadweight of 93,025 tons. She is powered by a Doosan Wärtsilä-Sulzer 8RTFlex96C 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 56,010 bhp (41,184 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 22 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes four Hyundai HSJ908-10P generators providing 8,200 kW. She has a Composite Economiser exhaust gas boiler and an Aalborg Unex CHB-5000 oil fired boiler. She has a container carrying capacity of 7,114 TEU, and has reefer plug capacity for 1,365 reefers, hence the large auxiliary power requirements. When built the class were considered to be the biggest reefer vessels in the world due to their large capacity.

Owned by Hamburg Süd, Santa Ursula is operated by Maersk Line who now own Hamburg Süd, and managed by Columbus Ship Management GmbH of Hamburg, who are a Hamburg Süd subsidiary. She is operated on the Maersk Line SAECS service linking Cape Town, Durban and Ngqura with Algeciras (Spain), Thames Gateway (UK), Rotterdam (Holland) and Bremen (Germany). She departed from Cape Town on 24th August at 17h00, bound for Algeciras.

As a result of the knock on effect of unrest in KZN, Maersk announced on 4th August that Santa Ursula would omit Ngqura on the northbound leg of the current service, in order to protect the onward schedule and to maintain the Cape Town CTOC window. All cargo from Ngqura would be transferred to sistership Santa Barbara on her next SAECS call.

For the same reason, Santa Ursula had loaded all northbound containers from Santa Isabel, who had also omitted her Ngqura call on the northbound leg of her own SAECS rotation, with Santa Ursula loading the Ngqura northbound load from Santa Isabel on her, just completed, southbound leg.

On 12th August, Maersk made a further announcement that, as a result of delays in Durban, only reefer boxes would be loaded in Durban, and not standard dry containers, in order to protect Pier 1 fluidity, and to further maintain the Cape Town scheduled call. All northbound dry cargo from Durban, which was to be loaded onto Santa Ursula, would instead also be transferred to Santa Barbara on the next SAECS rotation.

As with the nomenclature of Hamburg Süd vessels, Santa Ursula is named after a Christian Romano-British saint who, along with her holy virgin followers, was murdered by Huns who were besieging the German city of Cologne (Köln) in 383 AD. For those who ever wondered, the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean were named, by Christopher Columbus, in honour of Saint Ursula and her followers.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Kenya truckers stop transporting cargo to South Sudan following deadly ambushes

Last week Kenya truckers called a halt to transporting cargo across the Kenya/South Sudan border after two Kenyan drivers were killed after being tortured near Juba in South Sudan.

The incident occurred on Sunday 22 August when five trucks were looted and vandalised.

The Kenya Transporters Union (KTU) called on the South Sudan Government to immediately take measures to protect its drivers and trucks already in South Sudan and to make compensation for the lives and goods lost.

“Following increased lawlessness and insecurity along Juba-Nimule highway that has seen several drivers killed and trucks either burnt or vandalised, we wish to advise all transporters not to risk the lives of their drivers by continuing to offer transport services to South Sudan,” KTA chairman Newton Wang’oo said in a statement on Monday.

Following the attack the KTU began advising its more than 5,000 members to instead dump goods at the South Sudan border until the situation is attended to.

The latest ambush took place about 45 kilometres out of Juba and involved five trucks. The drivers of three managed to escape by fleeing into the bush. The attack took place early in the morning around 05h30.

This is the second occasion this year when the KTU has had to take action by suspending transport into South Sudan. In April two drivers lost their lives and their trucks were set afire. The following month three Ugandan trucks drivers were killed on the Juba-Kaya road.

The October last year, armed men kidnapped two Ugandan drivers and demanded a ransom after first killing another two on the Juba-Nimule road.

Truckers ended their boycott on the previous occasion after assurances were made by Kenyan and South Sudanese authorities. This was after a huge collection of goods was dumped at the Uganda/South Sudan border at Elegu and shops in Juba began to run out of essential goods.

The Ugandan Government has meanwhile issued a warning to its drivers against entering South Sudan.

There have been reports of motor cars being ambushed along the roads into South Sudan.

The port of Mombasa remains the main port of entry for South Sudan with that country second only to Uganda in terms of cargo volume imported.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Grindrod’s strong headline earnings for first 6-months 2021

Grindrod’s core businesses, comprising Port & Terminals, Logistics, Bank, and Group, reported strong headline earnings of R345 million and a trading profit of R779 million for the 6-months ending 30 June 2021.

This reflects a significant improvement in core business performance compared to the six months ended 30 June 2020 as the operations recovered from the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020. Port & Terminals and Logistics benefitted from the increase in mining minerals exports and other cargo flows, strong citrus season, and alternative solutions to the deep-sea shipping lines. Grindrod Bank remained conservative in lending and continued to maintain substantial capital and liquidity ratios.

Port and Terminals

The significant increase in volumes handled in Maputo Port (9.4 million tonnes, up 7%) and Grindrod’s Matola Terminal operations (3.1 million tonnes, up 18%) resulted from solid commodity demand and contingencies to supplement rail volumes with road delivery. Investment in port infrastructure and the automation of processes in the port, which will soon be complete, have contributed to efficiencies and increased capacity utilisation. Trials to load bigger vessels in Maputo Port and Grindrod’s Matola Terminal have been successful, with the focus now on optimising berth utilisation.

The outlook for these businesses remains positive as management focuses on uplifting rail allocation to Richards Bay, unlocking bottlenecks at the Mozambique border, positioning the operations to handle Private Sector Participation opportunities, and growing the current manganese solutions for our customers.

Logistics

The container feeder vessels, container depots and transport, and multi-purpose terminal businesses improved profitability due to tailored customer solutions and on the back of an excellent citrus season, strong mineral exports, and increased shipping activities. Our container feeder vessels and network of logistics solutions have provided deep-sea shipping lines with alternative solutions to alleviate challenges.

Grindrod resumed the graphite logistics operation in Nacala. Management will focus on optimising the logistics solution as volume ramps up in the second half of the year in line with global demand. The resumed graphite logistics operation in Nacala has mitigated to some extent the impact of the Liquefied Natural Gas project suspension in Cabo Delgado due to the insurgency attacks.

Driven by high iron ore prices, five of the ten locomotives which were not relocated from Sierra Leone were redeployed as the Tonkolili mine resumed activities. They will be deployed to haul iron ore from Tonkili Mine to Pepel Port. Management will continue to pursue value extraction from the rail businesses through either or both locomotive disposals and deployment.

Bank

Grindrod Bank focused on its client relationships and quality lending during the period, ensuring it retained its strong liquidity and capital position. Earnings were up on the prior period. The Bank’s lending and core deposit books increased by 9% and 23% to R8.6 billion and R10.5 billion, respectively, from December 2020. The Bank remains cautious in its lending activities. The strategic focus on platform banking has generated growth in the number of new accounts in the period. The Bank refinanced the loan notes that matured in June 2021. The bonds were oversubscribed, and the pricing on the new 3-year notes was 50 basis points better than those that matured.

Non-core businesses

The Group continues to pursue the sale of non-core assets.

“We remain committed to building logistics solutions that are most cost-effective and efficient for our customers’ cargo flow ensuring that Africa’s exports and imports reach destinations. This aligns with our purpose of making a positive difference in Africa’s trade with the world and touching the lives of the communities in which we operate,” said Andrew Waller, CEO of Grindrod Limited.    source: Grindrod

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

UK driver shortage crisis: Request for 10,000 temporary visas for EU workers

On 20 August Logistics UK, a leading supply and freight group, indicated that the UK Government must prioritise the granting of 10,000 temporary work visas to encourage EU drivers to return to support the UK’s supply chain.

Exclusive analysis of the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Labour Force Survey Q2 for Logistics UK by independent research company Repgraph has shown that 14,000 EU HGV drivers left employment in the UK in the year to June 2020, and only 600 have returned in the past year (by Q2 2021).

As Alex Veitch, General Manager of Public Policy at Logistics UK explained, their departure has left a gaping hole in the workforce which needs a short-term solution to protect the UK economy.

He commented: “The EU workers who left the UK in the year ending June 2020, ahead of Brexit, were critical to the supply chain’s resilience, and we are now starting to see the impact that their departure has had on supplies to businesses, retailers, homes and schools.

“The industry is working hard to recruit new drivers, with the implementation of new apprenticeships and other training schemes, and working with DVSA to speed up its testing regime, but these measures will take some time to produce new drivers.

“Our industry needs drivers now, and we are urging government to replicate its temporary visa scheme, introduced for agricultural workers, for logistics to keep trucks and vans moving in the short term.”

It is understood that the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme has permitted up to 30,000 individuals to come to the UK on a so-called T5 visa to work in agriculture for up to six months, and Logistics UK is pressing government to replicate the scheme for logistics workers.

Currently, eight different short term work visa schemes are in place, for example for creative, sports and religious employees, as well as seasonal workers. None of these can be used for HGV drivers.

Veitch continued: “Logistics is facing a long term shortage of staff, which has been made much worse by the loss of our EU workforce. While we wait for new recruits to complete their training, which can take up to nine months, the logical solution would be to introduce a temporary visa scheme to keep the vehicles moving. After all, there is no point in picking and packing food if there is no one available to move it to buyers.”

Logistics UK is one of the UK’s leading business groups, representing logistics businesses which are vital to keeping the UK trading, and more than seven million people directly employed in the making, selling and moving of goods.

With Covid-19, Brexit, new technology and other disruptive forces driving change in the way goods move across borders and through the supply chain, logistics has never been more important to UK plc.

Logistics UK supports, shapes and stands up for safe and efficient logistics, and is the only business group which represents the whole industry, with members from the road, rail, sea and air industries, as well as the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods.

 

 

 

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Specialist heavylift vessel – BBC EMERALD

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

There have been a fair few specialist heavylift vessels calling into South African ports over the past few months, and up to now they have all been calling to deliver project cargoes to South African clients. Sometimes, the call is more mundane, and nothing to do with delivering, or loading, heavylift cargo, but rather to simply take on bunkers and stores, whilst en-route to somewhere else.

On 23rd August at 09h00 the heavylift vessel BBC EMERALD (IMO 9504750) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage for a short 12 hour stay, before entering Cape Town harbour at 21h00 that evening and going direct to the Eastern Mole in the Duncan Dock, ostensibly for bunkers. She had arrived from Norfolk, Virginia, in the USA.

Built in 2013 by Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilders at Ruichang in China, as one of a class of thirteen sisterships, BBC Emerald is 153 metres in length with a deadweight of 14,371 tons. She is powered by a single STX MAN-B&W 6S46MC-C8 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 10,540 bhp (8,280 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller to give her a service speed of 16 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes a single Zhenjiang-MAN 8L23/30H generator providing 1,280 kW, two Zhenjiang-MAN 6L23/30H generators providing 960 kW each, and a Zhenjiang-MAN D2876-LE201 emergency generator providing 330 kW. She has one EGH-850V40-DF exhaust gas powered boiler, and one TOH-1000H40-W oil fired boiler.

As a heavylift vessel, BBC Emerald is equipped with two 400 ton NMF cranes, which can provide a tandem 800 ton lift, and a single NMF 80 ton crane. She has two holds, with a capacity of 19,680 m3, and her container carrying capacity is 958 TEU, with 28 reefer plugs fitted.

Owned and managed by W. Bockstiegel Reederei GmbH of Emden, in Germany, BBC Emerald is operated by Briese Heavylift GmbH of Leer, also in Germany, under whose funnel colours she sails. She is deployed in the pool of heavylift specialists BBC Chartering and Logistics GmbH, also of Leer, which is a subsidiary of Briese Schiffahrt GmbH of Leer.

Shortly after arrival, the bunker tanker Al Safa came alongside BBC Emerald and the transfer of bunkers began. Interestingly, on the morning of the 24th August, in addition to the bunker tanker, a large road tanker also came alongside BBC Emerald and began a transfer of more bunkers.

The carriage of dangerous goods by road in South Africa is governed under the Road Traffic Act, and other supporting Standards. The road tanker alongside BBC Emerald displayed the international dangerous goods signage as required by the act, and was displaying a Class 3 flammable Liquid diamond, and a UN dangerous goods placard number of 1268.

The United Nations Committee on the Transport of Dangerous Goods has listed over 2,000 items that constitute dangerous goods. All of them receive a simple four digit number to easily identify them, which is known as a UN number. The content of the tanker was identified by its placarded UN number of 1268, which is ‘Petroleum Distillates (not otherwise specified)’. In the USA it is known as Petroleum Naphtha, which is a desulphurised, reformed, hydrocarbon.

It is quite likely that the contents of the tanker was Low Sulphur Marine Gas Oil (LSMGO), which is a fuel suitable for use with four stroke generators, of which BBC Emerald is equipped with a total of four MAN generator units.

With no apparent heavylift cargo visible on deck, her stop at Cape Town was for no other reason than to take on bunkers, and not to discharge any project heavylift cargo in Cape Town.

On completion of her bunkering operation at the Eastern Mole, BBC Emerald sailed from the port on 24th August at 14h00, bound for the large iron ore terminal of Port Hedland, in Western Australia.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Coast Guard cooperation: USCG and JCG deploy together

It has been announced that US Coast Guard staff in the Alameda-based Coast Guard Cutter Munro participated in a cooperative two-day deployment with the Japan Coast Guard in the Japan Coast Guard vessel ASO in the East China Sea on 24 and 25 August.

This engagement followed Munro’s port visit in Sasebo, Japan, from 20 to 24 August and included: crew exchanges; two-ship communication, formation, manoeuvring and navigation exercises; joint and cooperative maritime presence; maritime law enforcement training and exercises; and several variations of large ship and small boat operations.

Captain Blake Novak, CO of Munro commented on this cooperation with: “These at-sea engagements with one of our longest-standing partners in the Indo-Pacific region provided excellent opportunities for our crews to train together and learn from each other, further strengthening our alliances and maritime partnerships.

“Conducting operations and exercises leverages our strong and trusted relationships while expanding our regional security cooperation initiatives and bolstering collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.”

The US and Japan Coast Guards have a long history of cooperation and several recent engagements. In June 2021, the sea services conducted search and rescue training together in Honolulu before teaming up to search for a missing free diver off Kauai, Hawaii.

Earlier this year, the US Coast Guard Cutter KIMBALL and Japan Coast Guard Ship AKITSUSHIMA conducted drills together near Japan’s Ogasawara Islands working with helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles to practice interdicting simulated foreign vessels operating illegally inside Japanese waters.

Vice Admiral Michael F McAllister, Commander US Coast Guard Pacific Area reflected: “Partnering with like-minded maritime forces to cross train and expand multi-nation expertise in search and rescue, maritime environmental protection and maritime law enforcement allows our nations to promote regional stability, confront malign activities and threats, and uphold the international rules-based-order underpinning our shared security and prosperity.”

MUNRO, a 127-metre loa national security cutter, departed its homeport of Alameda, California, for a month-long deployment to the Western Pacific. Operating under the tactical control of US Seventh Fleet, the cutter and ship’s company are engaging in cooperative maritime activities, professional exchanges, and capacity-building exercises with partner nations and will patrol and conduct operations as directed.

As both a federal law enforcement agency and an armed force, the US Coast Guard routinely deploys worldwide its cutters, boats, aircraft and deployable specialised forces.

The US Naval Service does not compete, deter, or fight alone. The Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard team are an integral part of the Joint Force and work closely with allies, partners, and other government agencies.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Women’s Month 2021: What the Maritime Industry Can Do to Attract More Women to The Sector

There are not enough women occupying key positions in the maritime sector to bring about meaningful transformation, Candice Mkasi, the Head of Human Resources at Sandock Austral Shipyards (SAS), the Durban based shipbuilding and repair company believes.

As an executive at one of the biggest shipyards in Africa, Mkasi is at the forefront of driving transformational change at SAS and is passionate about more women rising through the ranks in the maritime sector.

Speaking in the context of Women’s Month, Mkasi said that there were many opportunities for gender transformation in the maritime sector.

“We do not see enough women occupying key roles within this space, and it is our duty as a key player in the shipbuilding and ship repair space to create opportunities for young women to claim their place in our industry,” she said.

Mkasi said that at SAS, the company ensures that transformation occurs within the industry by employing three key strategies:

-Ensuring that there is a representation of women across all job levels within the organisation. SAS prides itself in having strong women in key decision-making roles within the organisation, and this is seen in the company’s Management Committee.

-Skills Development; SAS is proud of the development initiatives and the many opportunities it has provided to young women in the organisation to further their studies.

-Attracting Young Talent – SAS has a vibrant Apprentice Training Programme, that has ensured that it attracts young women into what was previously a male-dominated space.

While strides are being made within SAS to transform the gender imbalance in the maritime workforce, Mkasi believes there is still a long way to go for true gender representation, especially in the Engineering and Project areas which she believes do not have enough female workers.

She believes that the under-representation of women in these areas can be rectified through offering bursaries to pursue engineering studies, giving young women an opportunity to gain on the job training with mentors, which would benefit them to one day occupy jobs in this space.

“We at SAS are working hard behind the scenes to explore avenues of change and to put respective programmes in place to ensure future talent needs are met through the empowerment of young women,” Mkasi said.

She says that part of the reason why women have not risen through the ranks of the maritime sector quickly enough, is historical, as the sector was male-dominated and there were limited opportunities available to coach and mentor women into key strategic roles.

She points to the fact that SAS is leading the charge in women empowerment – the company is 67% black women-owned – and as a business for the greater good, SAS has made coaching a minimum key performance area for each business unit head, to ensure that identified successors for key positions within the organisation are prepared for their future roles.

She however also believes that the government has a role to play in attracting women to the maritime industry.

“Government can definitely provide incentives to the industry to encourage more skills development opportunities, especially for young women. The industry at large must start looking at the attraction, retention and development, as an investment towards their contribution to transforming the maritime industry,” she said.

“But first, the industry must start at the schools which has a huge pool of untapped female resources. My greatest hope is to one day have the ability to reach as many young girls as possible and show them the many opportunities we have in our sector.

“The first step would be to look at high schools that offer maritime studies as a subject. I was fortunate in that I was exposed to maritime studies in my early teens and discovered a wider spectrum of career choices available. The advice I would impart to the girl child is to read up more on our industry, the SAS website as a foundation, engage in career exhibitions, and to ask questions. And remember that you are enough,” Mkasi said.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Women’s Month 2021:  Captain Eezmaira Sazzea binti Shaharuzzaman:
Eaglestar’s first Malaysian female ship master

Eaglestar Marine Holdings (L) Pte. Ltd. (Eaglestar) announced in mid-August the appointment of Captain Eezmaira Sazzea binti Shaharuzzaman as the company’s first Malaysian female ship Master.

Captain Eezmaira Sazzea was among the first group of Malaysian women selected to pursue professional maritime training in Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM, also known as the Malaysian Maritime Academy) when the academy first opened its door to female cadets’ intake back in 2006. She graduated from ALAM in 2011 with a Diploma in Nautical Studies and has been sailing as an Eaglestar officer for the past ten years.

Her maiden voyage as a ship master began on 13 August this year as she took over the command of SERI BIJAKSANA, a 153,000 bm LNG carrier.

Expressing her pride, Captain Eezmaira Sazzea views this appointment as a recognition of her capability and professionalism. “I am very grateful and honoured to be the first Malaysian female Master Mariner in Eaglestar and it will certainly be an exciting journey for me in this new role. I hope that this will inspire my fellow women seafarers, to strive for greater accomplishments as we continue to add value to the global maritime industry.”

Captain Peter Liew, Managing Director & CEO of Eaglestar added: “We are incredibly proud to have appointed Captain Eezmaira Sazzea as our first-ever female Captain for Malaysia. Eaglestar believes in fostering a dynamic and inclusive workplace for all our employees at sea and shore, and this includes providing equal opportunities and empowering our female seafarers to rise together with the workforce and realise their fullest potential. We look forward to her future successes in leading her crew in the years ahead and we hope that this accomplishment will pave the way for more female seafarers to follow in her footsteps.”

With her latest appointment, Captain Eezmaira Sazzea is now part of an exclusive global community of female seafarers who are currently making waves as ship masters commanding merchant vessels of various types across the world.

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Women’s Month 2021: Women warming up to maritime logistics sector

There is a gradual increase of women in the maritime logistic sector, says Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), where about 1,308 more women joined TPT in the last six years alone. Predominantly a male – dominated industry, the rise in women engineers, artisans and operators places the representation of women at 31% of the total employee population, which is currently at 9,735.

“The first intake of women at Transnet Port Terminals was actually in 1995 and even then, it was a handful. We now have 2,972 women employees and female representation in TPT Executive Structure is 44%,” said General Manager of People Management at TPT Caroline Mayeza.

She added that it was important for the new generation of women to take up opportunities in the type of industries and sectors previously appealing to men. “We have passed the age of ring-fencing softer positions for women because women have proven competent enough to land positions across business disciplines and trades based on acquired skills and merit – and despite presenting challenges, they have performed exceptionally,” Mayeza said.

With a cumulative spend of R263 million on women development programs only over the same six-year period, TPT has been implementing seven development initiatives including two with international immersion. According to Mayeza, this is to ensure that there is a pipeline of women leaders in the business across technical, operations, support functions and leadership.

“Our latest initiative launched at our Women’s Month celebration event last week, is the Women Advancement Forum which facilitates the progression of women from one level to another across different occupations. It will also focus on the personal upliftment of women,” she said.

The overall TPT target for women representation is 35%, a figure that Mayeza believes will ensure the success of the transformational agenda.

Added 29 August 2021

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

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

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“I can’t give you a sure-fire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time.”  – Herbert Bayard Swope

♠♠♠

News continues below………

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

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

TO ADVERTISE HERE

Request a Rate Card from info@africaports.co.za

EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.

In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.

You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by  CLICKING HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.

News continues below

CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES

QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

♠♠♠

ADVERTISING

For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za

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

 

TABLE BAY UNDERWAY SHIPPING SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA snai@worldonline.co.za http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai