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Monday 1 November is a public holiday here in South Africa, in order that all eligible people can vote in the countrywide ‘local’ elections.  The next edition of this publication will be on Tuesday 2 November 2021.

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

These news reprts 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:  HÖEGH MASAN

• Transnet pipeline fire in Durban – 3 dead
• Meridian Port Services completes works on 4th container berth at Tema – Phase 2
• News flashes from along the coast
• WHARF TALK: Lightweight yet full cargo – CMA CGM LAPIS
• Vard Electro to retrofit battery package into Siem Offshore subsea vessels
• Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center launches Zero Carbon Shipping strategy
• Nacala export coal train derailment: 2 dead, 40 wagons damaged
• Polar vessels meet at Harwich International
• WHARF TALK: Supramax bulker from Saldanha Bay – THOR CHAIYO
• Nigeria stakes its claim for a seat on the IMO Council
• IN CONVERSATION: Five climate change messages from the African continent
• Moz Government confident Exxon Mobil will continue with gas projects in Cabo Delgado
• Toyota SA launches locally produced Corolla Cross hybrid at Durban plant
• Fugro completes seabed geo-data for Richards Bay port expansion
• WHARF TALK: In Cape Town for a pitstop – TROGIR
• At IMO Botswana comes in at No 175
• EU NAVFOR opens discussions on support for Mozambique against insurgency
• Piracy:  MSC Lucia rescued from pirates by Russian Navy destroyer
• Work gets underway on Durban port’s new multi-million rand tug jetty
• Saldanha port and rail factors hinder Kumba’s exports
• WHARF TALK: LR1 Panamax tanker – CIELO DI ROTTERDAM
• Fruit exports: SA has optimistic outlook for stoned fruit season
• IN CONVERSATION: Climate change has already hit southern Africa. Here’s how we know
• TNPA to host Maritime Engineering & Logistics webinar this Thursday
• Piracy: Vessel boarding report offshore of Nigeria
• Maersk Drilling goes for world record depth off Angola
• Cruising on the River Nile on board SS Sphinx
• WHARF TALK: Kamsarmax bulk carrier – ARTEMIS 1
• MSC reports that the terminals at Port Sudan have ceased operations
• OneLearn Global: Launch of lifesaving enclosed spaces course
• Kotug sets up tug operations in Port Gentil, Gabon

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

The Monday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town
The Tuesday masthead shows the Port of Durban Maydon Wharf
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port Cape Town Elliott Basin
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town FC Sturrock Dry Dock
The Friday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Tanker Basin
The Saturday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town Duncan Dock
The Sunday masthead shows the Port of Cape Town

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FIRST VIEW:    HÖEGH MASAN

Under heavy rainclouds Höegh Autoliner’s vehicle carrier HÖEGH MASAN (IMO 9166704) sailed from Durban this Sunday (24 October), bound for her next ports of call at Maputo and Dar es Salaam. The ship is a regular caller to South and East Africa, and is one of the older car carriers that calls on this coast on a regular basis.  Höegh Masan was built in 1998 at the Hashihama Tsuneishi Tadotsu Shipbuilding yard in Imabari, Japan. The vessel has an overall length of 180 metres and a width of 32m, a deadweight of 12,490-tons and gross tonnage of 44,219-gt.

Höegh Masan is able to carry up to 4,300 CEU (motor car units) accommodated in an area of 39,380 m². To load or discharge vehicles are driven across a ramp capable handling 80 ton loads and has with a maximum door width of 12.5 metres.

The ship’s main engine was designed by B&W (model 7s60MC) and built at the Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co in Japan. The car carrier is owned by Höegh Autoliners Shipping Pte Ltd, Singapore and managed by Höegh Wallem Ship Management. The ship is flagged in Singapore.

The above pictures are by Keith Betts

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Added 28 October 2021

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

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Transnet pipeline fire in Durban – 3 dead

 

An attempted fuel theft attempt from the Transnet pipeline between the Durban port and Gauteng, has seen three people being killed and a fire that is reported to have engulfed a tanker vehicle, a private house, a shop and a small factory building.

People living in the immediate area of Horseshoe Road in Clairwood, Durban, were evacuated for their own safety as thick smoke and fumes were emitted. Transnet said it immediately shut down the pipeline as fire department officials responded.

According to Transnet, a preliminary assessment indicated a botched fuel theft incident on the pipeline. Investigations were ongoing, the company said.

As Transnet activated its emergency response plan, emergency response teams, including eThekwini (Durban) Disaster Management, SAPS, Fire Departments and Spill Response went on site.

It appears the fire started at around 03h30 on Sunday 31 October. Throughout the day heavy black smoke continued to billow from the scene and although it appeared by late afternoon that the fire might be dying down, by early evening lots of smoke painted a different picture.

Transnet said remediation work and business continuity management processes have been activated, with the immediate focus being to extinguish the fire and minimise the impact on the community and environment.

There has been an unprecedented spate of fuel theft incidents on the pipelines and the associated infrastructure during the last two years. Due to the inherent dangers of tampering with high pressure petroleum pipelines, these incidents have resulted in fire and other asset damage, as well as environmental incidents, with high remediation costs.

Due to the nature of the petroleum products transported on the pipeline, some activities have resulted in serious injuries and/or fatalities, as with the latest case.

Transnet has a toll free number to dial – 0800 203 843 – to report any suspicious activity on or near the pipeline which runs through many rural, semi-rural and urban areas.

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Added 31 October 2021

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Meridian Port Services completes works on new 4th container berth at Tema – Phase 2

The 4th berth of the Tema Port Expansion Project has been completed, Meridian Port Services announced this week.

Terminal 3 at the port of Tema is rapidly making its claim towards becoming the prime West African container terminal hub.

At the commissioning of the 4th berth Mohamed Samara, MPS Chief Executive Officer, revealed that apart from existing container terminal handing equipment, a further 16 gantry cranes were on order – three Sip-to-shore (STS gantries and 13 RTGs (Rubber Tyre Gantries) which had been placed to meet growing container traffic demands.

Samara said the completion of the 4th berth was not the end of the Tema Port expansion.

He emphasised that the vision was to harness the location of the Tema Port along with its enabling factors to become the first port of call and a transshipment hub.

“The anticipation was for transshipment to grow with us and here we are, we have done it. Since our establishment, we have carried along the values of safety, security, health, environment, and welfare of human resource.

“We still hold high these values hence the EDGE certification (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiency, an innovation of IFC, a member of the World Bank Group), ISO Management Systems ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 covering quality of service, environment and the occupational health & safety including the Pedestrian-Free Terminal concept that was created by MPS over 10 years ago as well as the recent 2-Stars Green Terminal accreditation received.”

He reminded everyone that the capacity of Terminal 3 has been doubled since starting operations.

“This has not only driven gateway cargo market growth in Ghana but also driven the increase of transit and transshipment trade. We have secured intercontinental transshipment volumes connecting the Far-East trade routes with the East Coast of the Americas and also southern African trade with Europe.”

The Director General for the Ghana Ports & Harbour Authority (GPHA), Michael Luguje, promised that GPHA will continue to create a business-friendly environment for all stakeholders.

“GPHA is satisfied with the progress that has been made. As a landlord and shareholder of MPS, we will continue to provide an enabling environment for container business to thrive, for Ghana’s ports to be the most efficient, most attractive and most secure.”

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, described the MPS facility as an interplay between infrastructure, industrialisation and service sectors providing an important platform for import and export transactions to support development.

“The development of an efficient and integrated multi-modal infrastructure plays a critical role in reducing trade costs and enhancing competitiveness to promote intra- regional trade. The development of trade–related infrastructure is therefore critical for the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.”

Ghana’s Deputy Minister of Transport, Frederick Obeng Adom, mentioned that the systems provided by MPS with the support of other port stakeholders has harmonised and improved port clearance system by ensuring seamless, convenient and quick turnaround time in the port clearance processes.

New investments in technology and the maintenance of existing technology such as what has been put together in MPS was critical to port operations especially in these times, he said. Government was working on improving transit trade.

“Another facility of the port efficiency within the context of the transit trade is efficient transport access and connectivity to the port,” Adom said.

“Best practice requires that Port Infrastructure investment is complemented by an efficient transport network to facilitate movement of cargo in and out of the port. I am happy to announce that the Ministry is working on several projects. All these projects are part of efforts by government to upgrade our transport infrastructure to achieve the needed synergies and efficiency of our transport logistics value chain.”

BACKGROUND

Construction of the MPS Terminal 3 started in 2016 and was inaugurated in 2019. The 400-metre-long 4th Berth of Phase 2 adds to the 1,000 metres of Phase one currently in operation.

In 2020, a USD 1 billion investment was completed to maintain the Port of Tema’s reputation as the best performing container port in West and Central Africa.  The terminal is built and operated by MPS, a joint venture between Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (30%), APM Terminals (35%) and Bolloré Transport and Logistics (35%).

The Port of Tema remains Ghana’s largest and busiest port serving not only the nation but also acts as a transit point for many landlocked countries to Ghana’s north.

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Added 28 October 2021

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News flashes from along the coast

SA Amandla/Kiran Europe

The Emergency standby towing vessel SA AMANDLA departed Cape Town earlier this week to provide towage support to the disabled Maltese-flagged bulk carrier KIRAN EUROPE (IMO 9491197), adrift south east of Plettenberg Bay. The standby tug, under AMSOL Captain Russel Duse, with her tow are now en-route to the Port of Cape Town.

Kiran Europe (56,666-dwt), which was built in 2010, sailed from Singapore on 4 October before becoming disabled off the southern coast of South Africa. The two vessels are due in Cape Town on 1 November.

MSC Lilou

Earlier it appeared to observers that the container ship MSC LILOU (IMO 9334349) was also in need of assistance in the same area as the bulker Kiran Europe – near Jeffreys Bay/Plettenberg Bay. However the 42,154-dwt MSC ship, built in 2007 and flagged in Cyprus, which was voyaging from Port Elizabeth to New York, suddenly resumed her voyage unassisted. She departed from Port Elizabeth at 09h53 on 25 October and is due in New York on 11 November 2021.

MSC Katrina

The disabled container ship MSC Katrina (IMO 9467445), which lost engine power due to a fire in her engine room and had to be towed to Durban behind SA Amandla in September, has moved back to the berth at Pier 1. On arrival in port the ship staged at New Pier 1, berths 102/103 but later transferred to the Durban Container Terminal North Quay (berth 203) to discharge and load part of her containers, after which she moved back again to berths 102/103 for a continuation of her repairs.

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WHARF TALK: Lightweight yet full cargo – CMA CGM LAPIS

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The number of container vessels that call at Southern African ports are pretty much regular callers, all running to fixed schedules, with services managed by the major container shipping lines, and well known to the shipping observer. Occasionally, a large container vessel calls that shouldn’t be there, which is not running on a known service, despite it running under the colours of a major operator already fully engaged in the Southern African trades.

On 26th October at 14h00 the Panamax container ship CMA CGM LAPIS (IMO 9386495) arrived off Cape Town, from Lagos, and proceeded not to the Container Terminal in the Ben Schoeman Dock, but rather she went to the Duncan Dock where she docked, rather unusually, at the Landing Wall. Despite being fully laden, she appeared to have been ballasted up to allow her to come alongside the Landing Wall.

The mystery was deepened further as she was a fleet member of a mighty shipping concern that has fixed, scheduled, container services running to and from Cape Town, namely the French company CMA CGM, but she was not advertised as operating on any of these services, despite the fact that she was carrying a full 13 TEU width stack, of up to five containers high, on virtually every one of her container bays.

The Landing Wall, for vessels as big as this, is usually a sign of that vessel requiring shoreside engineering support, or bunkers if the Eastern Mole is already occupied for that requirement. With the PERSEVERANCE V alongside at the Eastern Mole taking bunkers from the bunker tanker Al Safa, it became clear as to the needs of CMA CGM Lapis when Al Safa crossed the Duncan Dock on completion of that operation, and went alongside CMA CGM Lapis.

Built in 2009 by the Hanjin Subic Shipyard, at Olongapo in the Philippines, CMA CGM Lapis is 260 metres in length and has a deadweight of 52,513 dwt. She is powered by a single Doosan MAN-B&W 8K90MC-C 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 49,720 bhp (36,560 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller at an impressive service speed of 24.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators providing 650 kW each, and an emergency generator providing 150 kW. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg CHO boiler. Her container carrying capacity is 4,360 TEU, of which there are 326 reefer plugs provided.

The Hanjin Subic Shipyard, owned by the giant Hanjin Corporation of South Korea, was only inaugurated in 2006, with the first vessel from the shipyard being a container vessel, completed in 2009. This was the first container vessel ever built in the Philippines, with the launching ceremony being attended by the then President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo. This vessel is a sistership of CMA CGM Lapis, and one of six sisterships ordered by the same shipowner. Sadly, in 2019 the shipyard fell into bankruptcy, and from January 2020 was in a form of ‘care and maintenance’.

Owned and operated by Dioryx Maritime Corporation of Athens, CMA CGM Lapis is managed by CMA CGM of Marseille. Built as MESSINIAKOS for her owners, she has been chartered to CMA CGM for most of her working life, previously operating on their West Africa Express service between West Africa and the Far East.

In June 2021 she was given a 60 month (five year) charter by CMA CGM to operate their Europe Afrique 2 service, linking Algeciras with Tangier, Cotonou, Tema and Lagos. This charter was to be at a daily rate of US$34,000 (ZAR512,609). Hence, the raised eyebrows, when she called at Cape Town, as her current service does not link to the port.

It transpires that she is carrying a full load of empty containers, and CMA CGM Lapis is heading for the Far East to drop them off. It may be that these containers are to free up the amount of products, manufactured goods, and commercial freight, that is currently held up in China, and scheduled to arrive in Europe, in time for the Christmas rush. This logjam is a current worry for a great swath of the high street retail industry, leading up to the festive season.

Once the bunkering operation had been completed, CMA CGM Lapis continued with her voyage to the Far East, and at 15h00 on 27th October she sailed for Shekou, in China. She is currently heading across the Indian Ocean at 18 knots with an ETA at Shekou of 12th November.

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Added 28 October 2021

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Vard Electro to retrofit battery package into Siem Offshore subsea vessels

Vard Electro, one of the major global designers and shipbuilders of specialised vessels, has secured an order with Siem Offshore to deliver its largest battery package to date for a vessel retrofit as the Norwegian shipowner proactively upgrades its fleet with hybrid power.

This is in pursuit of greener and safer operations with lower fuel costs.

The newly signed contract covers Vard Electro’s SeaQ Energy Storage System (ESS) with two battery packs and a DC link, which will be installed in the first quarter of 2022 on one of Siem Offshore’s subsea construction vessels lined up for work in the wind sector.

The system will enable the vessel to operate in fully electric mode with zero emissions while manoeuvring in harbour or other restricted areas and will deliver estimated fuel savings of up to 20%, according to Vard Electro Head of Commercial Sales, Gisle Anderssen.

The SeaQ ESS stores excess energy, either generated by the vessel or derived from shore connections with renewable power sources, to replace engines running on fossil-based fuels that drive propulsion and thruster systems.

Cutting fuel consumption and engine maintenance costs

Battery storage will be used as a spinning reserve in place of generator sets, enabling the vessel to run on fewer engines with more optimal load while still maintaining the requirement for redundancy.

An added benefit with batteries is peak shaving that takes the strain off the engines during big load variations by levelling the power and delaying the need for engines to restart.

This results in significantly lower fuel consumption and reduced maintenance costs due to less wear-and-tear on engines.

“A significant benefit of battery storage is that it enhances the responsiveness of propulsion and other systems due to instant power response in line with load variations, offsetting slower ramp speeds with less responsive engines,” Anderssen says.

This is particularly useful for offshore support vessels that are heavily dependent on DP systems for fast manoeuvrability in safety-critical situations, he explains.

The batteries for Siem Offshore will be supplied together with a DC grid for power distribution to consumers, with control and monitoring of the battery storage solution handled by the SeaQ Energy Management System (EMS) that interacts with existing control systems onboard.

“The flexibility of the SeaQ ESS system that enables it to be easily integrated with a vessel’s existing systems, as well as its advanced functionality, were key factors in our selection of Vard Electro for this retrofit to reduce our environmental footprint,” says Jon A. Houge, Operations Manager of Siem Offshore.

Adaptable modular system for different types of vessels

Vard Electro will act as system integrator for the turnkey project that will entail engineering, installation, integration, testing, and commissioning of the system comprising batteries, DC grid, EMS, energy storage inverter, filter and/or transformer, fire detection, and a cooling & ventilation system.

Anderssen says there is increasing demand for such hybrid retrofits both for offshore support vessels such as PSVs as well as larger ships, with Vard Electro’s modular system highly adaptable for ease of installation on a wide variety of vessels with minimal downtime.

“We are very pleased to have won this initial contract with Siem Offshore and look forward to collaborating with them on this project as well as possible future deliveries of battery systems,” he says.

Vard is effectively a majority owned subsidiary of Fincantieri S.p.A. headquartered in Trieste, Italy, one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups, with more than 7,000 ships built from its 18 shipyards in four continents.

Siem Offshore is Norwegian owned and operates with a fleet of 29 vessels, including platform supply vessels, anchor-handling tug and supply as well as offshore subsea construction and well intervention vessels.

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Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center launches Zero Carbon Shipping strategy

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping claimed this week it is possible to decarbonise shipping by 2050 if industry action is combined with firm regulation. A carbon levy could start as low as USD 50/tCO2-eq if earmarked and returned to the early adopters of alternative maritime fuels.

The statement continued saying that the maritime sector is called upon from all sides to take climate action, but the big question is how to reduce the 3% of global Green House Gas emissions that the global shipping fleet accounts for today.

Four main drivers can accelerate the transition already within this decade:

* A level playing field through global regulation

A flat carbon levy of USD 230/tCO2-eq implemented in 2025 combined with critical change levers like further energy efficiency, customer willingness to pay and global policies could close the fuel cost gap and bring the maritime industry close to zero carbon by 2050. But it would accumulate almost USD 4 trillion of proceeds while adding to the cost of maritime transportation.

Introducing carbon pricing where funds are earmarked and returned to the early adopters of alternative fuels could close the fuel cost gap at a much lower levy. The accumulated funds collected could be reduced to approximately USD 2 trillion and thereby reduce the cost increase of zero carbon transportation compared to a flat levy with no recycling of proceeds.

Alternatively, an incrementally growing carbon levy starting at USD 50/tCO2-eq and increased to USD 150/tCO2-eq could generate enough proceeds to not only compensate the early adopters of alternative fuels but accumulate up to USD 300 billion earmarked for supporting developing countries.

* Competitive alternative marine fuels at scale

Fuel costs typically make up 20-35% of the total cost of operation of a vessel depending on segment and with unsubsidised production costs being 2-8 times higher for alternative marine fuels compared to fossil the incentive to switch is limited. Alternative fuels must be made commercially viable and available at scale through innovation and development of permits, licenses, standards, regulation, new market mechanisms (e.g., green certificates) and documentation of reduced emissions intensity from a Life Cycle Analysis perspective. Regulatory considerations on standards and safe operations must be addressed as part of an accelerated scale-up of alternative fuels and the necessary infrastructure.

* Wider adoption of energy efficiency measures

The overall potential for higher energy efficiency in the global fleet remains large. As a starting point, the industry could benefit from an assessment of the emissions reduction potential in existing energy efficiency technologies and operational best practice to pave the way for wider adoption. In parallel new, emerging technologies (e.g. fuel-cells) need to be matured to match new fuel options and reduce the amount of fuel needed in the future. Finally, further energy efficiency regulation is needed to accelerate the uptake of these measures.

* Support to decarbonisation front runners

Industry leadership is gaining momentum and if all current shipowner decarbonisation commitments are delivered on, 22% of global maritime transportation will be net zero carbon by 2050. These front runners must be widely supported in their efforts and regulatory intervention must be put in place to ensure wider change adoption and prevent margin erosion by closing the cost gap between fossil and alternative fuels.

In marking the launch of the Industry Transition Strategy, CEO of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Bo-Cerup Simonsen said: “At the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping we want to show the world that it is possible to decarbonise the maritime industry by 2050. This strategy outlines pathways ahead and guides our research and the collaboration with our partners and other public and private players to make it happen.

“It is still early days and there continues to be many uncertainties, but we believe that an important element in effective collaboration is transparency and that at this stage ‘perfect is the enemy of good’. The journey is ahead of us, and we hope this launch will contribute positively to even closer collaboration and more informed conversations and decision making.”

Commenting on the need for global regulation, Head of Industry Transition Mads Peter Zacho said: “The path we are on leads to ~20% more GHG emissions from global shipping by 2050. We are very far away from the 1.5-degree and the well below 2-degree pathways outlined by the IPCC. The initial industry leadership needs to be followed by public support through global regulation and policies to ensure industry-wide transformation.

“Regulation will create the confidence with energy providers, technology developers and investors needed to accelerate this systemic change of an entire business system,” he added. source: Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center

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Nacala export coal train derailment: 2 dead, 40 wagons damaged

A loaded coal train, en route from the Moatize mine in Tete province, derailed last Friday with 40 of the 120 wagons coming off the tracks in a massive pile-up about 20 kilometres from the town of Cuamba in Niassa province.

Two children died as a result of the accident, with seven others injured. The accident occurred as the train was crossing the Namutimba river, in which a large number of local children were swimming.

Nacala Logistics, the operator of the train and the coal terminal at the port of Nacala, said it despatched an emergency team and had installed a support programme for the victims of the accident. Nacala Logistics is a subsidiary of the Brazilian/Mozambican mining company Vale.

As a result of the accident train services along the line have been cancelled until the wagons can be cleared and damage to the railway line repaired. The line also carries passenger traffic.

Nacala Logistics promised to provide further information as soon as the cause of the accident became known.

The train was made up of 120 wagons and four locomotives and was hauling 10,000 tonnes of coal for export.

According to eyewitness reports, the train appeared to be travelling faster than usual before some of the wagons separated from the rest and began derailing, with some falling into the river and others piling up alongside each other on and off the bridge and track.

In September this year Nacala Logistics took delivery of the first of several GE Dash 9 locomotives built by GE Transportation Systems. The Dash 9 locomotives are more powerful than the Dash 8s and are powered by a 16-cylinder, turbocharged, GE 7FDL 4-stroke diesel engine, with electronic fuel injection and split cooling.

It is not known whether these new locos were on the train that derailed.

Meanwhile, the Mozambican Regional Water Administration of the North (ARA-Norte) said it is analysing water from the river where the coal train derailed. People have been advised not to drink from the river.

ARA-Norte said it was waiting for the laboratory results of the water analysis but in the meantime cleaning works of the watercourse are being carried out.

Outside of the towns local people use water from streams and rivers for drinking and cooking.

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Polar vessels meet at Harwich International

On 20 October Hutchison Ports Harwich International welcomed the first call by mv Maud, a polar cruise vessel operated by Norwegian Hurtigruten Group. The ship is named after one of the most famous polar vessels, the original Maud took explorer Roald Amundsen on his second expedition to the Arctic in 1917.

Returning from a 14-night cruise of Norway during which time the vessel crossed the Arctic Circle, Maud was in Harwich International port at the same time as the British Antarctic Survey’s new vessel, RRS Sir David Attenborough.

For more on BAS readers are invited to SEE HERE

Sir David Attenborough was due to remain at Harwich then sail for London to become the centre of the British Antarctic Survey’s showcase of polar environmental science, engineering and technology, to coincide with the UN COP26 climate talks in Glasgow from 1 November.

Maud is powered by environmentally certified biofuel, made from waste produced from industries such as fisheries, and mixed with marine gas oil, to reduce carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides emissions.

On passage south to Harwich Maud’s port calls were Stavanger, Ålesund, Brønnøysund, Reine, Svolvær, Tromsø, Honningsvåg, Finnsnes, Kristiansund, Molde and Bergen.

Of this interesting port call Chris Lewis, Chief Executive Officer of Hutchison Ports UK, owners of Harwich International, commented: “We are delighted to welcome Maud on its first call to Harwich International and we look forward to many future visits.

“Having the RRS Sir David Attenborough in port at the same time provides a nice moment of symmetry – one regular Arctic visitor and one ship about to sail on its first voyage to the Antarctic. Both are extraordinary vessels that will have the privilege to visit some of the remotest parts of the planet.”

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Supramax bulker from Saldanha Bay – THOR CHAIYO

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The great European ‘Taipan’ shipping dynasties of the Far East, both in shipping companies and shipping agencies are well known to shipping historians. Companies like China Navigation and Indo-China Steamship of Hong Kong, Straits Steamship of Singapore, and KPM of Batavia in Indonesia, are prime examples.

Most have disappeared, or been subsumed in decades of partnerships, amalgamations, and takeovers. Agencies falling under the same Far Eastern ‘Taipan’ umbrellas, such as Jardine-Matheson, John Swire and Sons, and Mackinnon-MacKenzie are still going strong today. Whilst most were of British origin, not all were.

One great Agency, which later became a shipowner, as they all did, was Thoresen and Company. The company was set up in Hong Kong in 1904 to look after the interests of Norwegian shipowners trading across Southeast Asia, on the Chinese coast, and to Indo-China and Siam.

Siam, which became better known as Thailand in 1939, was an important market to the Norwegians, and Thoresen opened up an agency office in Bangkok as far back as 1926, and a further branch office in 1937.

On 18th October at 20h00, the Supramax bulk carrier THOR CHAIYO (IMO 9403140) arrived in the Table Bay anchorage from nearby Saldanha Bay. She arrived fully laden, so the reason for her arrival was not clear. She remained in the anchorage overnight and at 09h00 on 19th October she entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded to the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock. Such a berth would indicate a minor engineering issue.

However, no sooner was she alongside at the Landing wall, than the bunker tanker AL SAFA came alongside her and proceeded to begin a bunkering operation with Thor Chaiyo. It would appear that bunkers may have been the only reason for her call. It is well known that, for an unknown reason, Transnet do not offer a bunker service at Saldanha Bay, so vessels requiring fuel have to call in at Cape Town before heading to Saldanha Bay, or call in to Cape Town once they have completed loading at Saldanha Bay.

It was confirmed that bunkers was the reason for her call, because only 14 hours later, at 23h00 she departed from Cape Town harbour, bound for a relatively unknown port in the USA, namely Fairless Hills in Pennsylvania. So, in essence, she was required to sail south for several hours, simply to take on bunkers in another port, and then retrace her track back towards Saldanha Bay, before finally heading in the right direction for her next port of call.

Built in 2008 by Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu) at Balamban in the Philippines, Thor Chaiyo is 190 metres in length and has a deadweight of 58,731 tons. She is powered by a single Mitsui MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C7 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 11,421 bhp (8,400 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 13.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Daihatsu 6DC-17 generators providing 580 kW each, and she has a Deutz emergency generator. Her boiler is a single Osaka OVS2-110/90-24 vertical composite boiler. She has five holds, serviced by four 30 ton cranes, complete with 12m3 motor grabs. Her cargo carrying capacity is 72,360 m3.

Her design is that of the highly successful Tsuneishi Economical Standard Ship (TESS) range, and Thor Chaiyo is of the TESS 58 class. Tsuneishi built their first TESS vessel back in 1986, a TESS 40 class, and had built over 500 of them by the end of 2019, with the first of the TESS 58 class being built in December 2006. They are still being built at all of Tsuneishi’s shipyards located in Japan, China and the Philippines.

Purchased from her previous owners in March 2018 for US$14 million (ZAR205.48 million), Thor Chaiyo is owned by Thoresen Thai Agencies in Bangkok, and both operated and managed by Thoresen Shipping (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

In 1974 Thoresen relocated their headquarters from Hong Kong to Bangkok. Recently, Forbes Asia listed the company as one of the 200 best listed companies in Asia with revenues of under US$1 billion (ZAR14.58 billion). The Thai provenance of Thor Chaiyo is easily to spot as her funnel colours are those of the Thai national flag, simply laid on its side.

The destination of Thor Chaiyo, Fairless Hills, is a relatively unknown port in the USA, and does not have a maritime ring about it. It is actually located way up the Delaware River, in Pennsylvania, and some 27 miles further upstream than the great inland port of Philadelphia, which itself is over 130 miles inland from Cape May, which is situated at the mouth of Delaware Bay, and the point where the Delaware River enters the Atlantic Ocean.

The port of Fairless Hills itself, is a small one with only two major berths, which specialises in handling breakbulk, and dry bulk cargoes, such as all types of Steel Products, in the form of plate, bar and coils, plus all forms of Ores and Minerals. Every single one of these mentioned products are major export items from the port of Saldanha Bay. The question is which one of these products currently fills the hold of Thor Chaiyo.

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Nigeria stakes its claim for a seat on the IMO Council

Nigeria is staging another bid for a seat in Category C on the Council of the International Maritime Organization.

Dr Bashir Jamoh, Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), obtained an exclusive meeting with the IMO Secretary-General, Kitack Lim, where he made a case for Nigeria to be elected in Category C of the main decision-making organ.

The Council is made up of 40 Member States, elected by the Assembly for two-year terms.

Category A has 10 member states, representing the largest interest in providing international shipping services. Category B also has 10 member states with the largest interest in international seaborne trade, and Category C has 20 members, who are not elected under A or B and which have special interests in maritime transport or navigation and whose election to the Council will ensure the representation of all major geographic areas of the world.

The current member states under Category C are Bahamas, Belgium, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand and Turkey.

Jamoh told the Secretary-General that Nigeria has been intensifying efforts at ensuring improved maritime security. It has also raised safety standards in Nigerian waters in line with IMO regulations, and was intent on achieving a pollution-free marine environment.

Piracy

He also discussed Nigeria’s successes in tackling the challenges of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, and progress with the removal of wrecks along Nigeria’s coastline. Nigeria has also, he said, improved security along the country’s inland waterways

Referring to the recent third-quarter International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report, Jamoh said this indicated that there has been a reduction in incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea from 46 piracy attacks in the first nine months of 2020 to 28 for the same period in 2021.

He said that what was of more importance to Nigeria was that Nigeria reported only four incidents during the period, against 17 and 41 cases that were recorded in 2020 and 2018, respectively.

“The IMB report shows that crew kidnappings in the region during the period dropped to only one crew member, compared to 31 taken in five separate incidents in Q3 2020.

“It is quite remarkable that the only crew kidnapping case recorded during the period under review was against the vessel at the port of exchange, while the average successful kidnapping location during the same period in 2020 was approximately 100 nautical miles from the land,” Jamoh said.

Turning to marine environment management Jamoh said Nigeria has engaged marine litter marshals to monitor and ensure compliance with international standards.

Africa currently has three member states represented in Category C of the IMO Council. For Nigeria to be included means that one of the 20 members states will have to be dropped off.

For a full list of IMO Council members, SEE HERE

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IN CONVERSATION: Five climate change messages from the African continent

 

Nicholas Westcott, SOAS, University of London

The outcome of the global climate change conference, COP26, and the world’s willingness to take the tough decisions necessary to contain global warming, will have bigger consequences for Africa than for most other continents. It is in Africa that the impact is already most destabilising.

And yet the continent’s 54 countries will struggle to make themselves heard. The critical negotiations will, as usual, be between the big economies; the US, EU, China, India.

A recent conference jointly hosted by the Royal African Society, International Crisis Group and Africa Confidential on Climate, Conflict and Demography in Africa sought to give African countries a louder voice. It identified five key messages for African governments, some for them to take to COP26, others for them to take home and act on themselves. Each needs attention if African governments are to be able to mitigate, adapt to and manage climate change in the coming critical decade.

Measure change

African countries need to measure the scale of environmental change better, to understand what is happening. The continent is already on the front line of the impact of climate change, despite having contributed almost nothing to the problem.

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Read more:
COP26: Africa’s challenges must steer the climate change conference

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Increasingly erratic patterns of rainfall have caused both droughts and floods across southern Africa, devastating tropical storms including Cyclone Idai hit Mozambique in 2019, while locust swarms caused desperate food shortages in the Horn of Africa.

Combined with rapid population growth in many African countries, pressure on both natural and human resources has steadily increased. Shortages of farmable land, intensifying urbanisation and growing competition between farmer and herder communities all put strain on traditional mechanisms for managing local conflicts.

These strains need to be measured, so African communities can prepare better to manage the changes. Countries with existing expertise must help.

Put pressure on emitters

African governments’ top priority at COP26 must be to pressure the big emitters of carbon to take faster action to slow and stop climate change. The US, Europe, China and India need to speed up their transition out of fossil fuels. If Africans focus simply on getting more money, they will still have to pay for climate change in terms of the consequences.

The stresses that climate change brings can very quickly worsen existing social, economic and political tensions and turn them into violent conflict. There is evidence that this is already happening around Lake Chad, in the Sahel and in the Horn of Africa.

Money matters

Of the US$100 billion per year pledge, confirmed in Paris, only a fraction has been delivered. Few African governments have the financial or administrative resources to undertake the scale of mitigation and adaptation action necessary to manage the pressures created by climate change.

This lack of resources and capacity also explains why Africa attracts a disproportionately small percentage of available climate finance, only around 3%. With too few credible or eligible projects to attract investors, they tend to put the money elsewhere. So multilateral agencies and foreign governments must help too.

Coordinate efforts

African governments themselves must take a whole-of-government approach to tackling climate change. Too many leave it to the environment ministry and fail to mobilise all departments -– finance, defence, transport, energy, industry -– to take the necessary actions. A lack of resources does not absolve them from policy incoherence.

It is domestic political pressure on national governments more than international obligations or summits that will decide how far countries are willing to go to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Public pressure on climate issues themselves is often weak in Africa, but the practical consequences –- the increased conflict, the political discontent –- speak louder than words. Governments would be wise to listen and start making changes.

Target investment

The money itself needs to be invested in the right things: a fair energy transition, education to develop the skills needed for climate response, and action to sustain biodiversity, forests and the natural environment by making it economically viable for the people who live there.

African countries certainly need to invest wherever they can in renewable energy. But that alone will not solve the “energy starvation” that is inhibiting development and worsening poverty and conflict on the continent, as Nigerian Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo argued at our conference. Developed countries, including China, can better afford to transition more swiftly to cleaner power and need to support Africa’s own efforts to do the same.

What happens in Africa rightly concerns the whole world. The conference in Glasgow will provide an invaluable platform for African countries. What they say as equal members of the global community should be listened to. Real action is more urgent for African countries that those that can better cope with the environmental stresses and political strains that climate change causes. If people can no longer find a living in their own countries, they will have little choice but to move elsewhere, or be pushed into conflict that will risk spreading to neighbouring regions. So it is in everyone’s interests to support African countries in addressing its climate challenges.

Nicholas Westcott, Research Associate, Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, SOAS, University of London

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

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Moz Government confident Exxon Mobil will continue with gas projects in Cabo Delgado

According to a report in the Portuguese language newspaper Lusa, the Mozambican government said on Monday that ExxonMobil had assured it would continue with its natural gas projects in the Cabo Delgado province in northern Mozambique.

This is contrary to reports that the US company is rethinking its business portfolio in fossil fuels.

“On the part of the companies, including Exxon, the indication we got was to reaffirm the Afungi project, even after the news that was put into circulation,” said Mozambique’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Max Tonela.

Exxon to visit Maputo

Tonela said that representatives of Exxon were due to visit Maputo in early November to assess the situation in relation to projects in Mozambique.

He said the Mozambique government had been exchanging information with Exxon and another meeting was scheduled in Maputo for early November.

His comments followed reports in the Wall Street Journal which said that Exxon was studying the possibility of cancelling investments such as the one planned for northern Mozambique, citing pressure from investors to limit its focus on fossil fuels.

The issue at stake is a reduction in carbon emissions and at the same time increasing returns to investors, as investment in mega-projects such as Cabo Delgado takes several years to reach maturity.

Final Investment Decision

According to sources cited by the WSJ, it is not clear that these discussions will lead to a decision on investment in Mozambique, which is still awaiting a Final Investment Decision, after which the project becomes irreversible, failing which the penalties will outweigh the investment costs.

Exxon has already spent US$2.8 billion to acquire a major position in the Area (Block) 4 project in the Rovuma basin, the biggest natural gas exploration project in sub-Saharan Africa, but for several years it has put off a final decision on the investment, which according to the Mozambican government may be between US$27 and US$33 billion (23.2 and 28.3 billion euros).

Cabo Delgado province is rich in natural gas but has been terrorised since 2017 by armed rebels.

The conflict has led to more than 3,100 deaths, according to the ACLED conflict registration project, and more than 817,000 displaced people, according to Mozambican authorities.

Since July, an offensive by government troops with support from Rwanda which was later joined by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) allowed for increased security, recovering several areas where there was rebel presence, including the town of Mocímboa da Praia, which had been occupied since August 2020. Source: Lusa

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Toyota SA launches locally produced Corolla Cross hybrid at Durban plant

President Cyril Ramaphosa has described the launch of the local production of the Corolla Cross as an important step to South Africa’s path to transform the car-making business into a green industry success story.

“It will take hard work but we must do it,” he told delegates on Tuesday (26 October) at the unveiling of a brand new Toyota South Africa production plant in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The President has since labelled the first-ever Toyota hybrid car made on home soil as a “fine achievement” and “historic” moment.

The Corolla Cross is the first generation of commercial-scale hybrid electric vehicles to come off a South African assembly line.

According to Ramaphosa, this was more than simply a new model coming off a production line. He said it was about the country embracing the opportunities of a greener economy, country and continent while ensuring that South Africa benefits.

South Africa is currently one of only seven global locations for the production of this hybrid car, which he believes is a testament to the skilled, productive workforce and competitive plant.

“During the plant tour, I met workers who are passionate and committed and I saw the value of the skills programme the management has put in place.”

He revealed that the Corolla Cross will be exported to 40 countries across Africa, which will boost the African Continental Free Trade Area.

“I am advised that the company will seek to ramp up its projected 4,000 hybrid vehicles planned for next year if the availability of batteries improves.”

Meanwhile, the President views the R2.6 billion investment by the Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer as a vote of confidence.

In addition, he said, Japan is a long-term and significant investor in the country, with about 130 companies operating locally, including Nissan, Isuzu and Sumitomo Rubber Industries.

He also thanked the company for the relentless support following the unrest in the province in July.

“Companies who stand with the nation during difficult times are companies that we will support in the years to come.”

President Ramaphosa also acknowledged the unsung heroes of daily production, the workers, for making excellent, safe vehicles that the rest of the world can drive with confidence.

Jobs

Toyota has created 575 new jobs in the plant and a further 1,200 new jobs have been created in the supplier companies.

He said the auto industry is one of the drivers of our localisation programme and a significant contributor to gross domestic product, accounting for more than 100,000 jobs.

“It is a big magnet for foreign direct investment.”

He also revealed that the seven local light vehicle producers invested a record R9.2 billion in 2020, while the component sector invested R2.4 billion during the same period.

Masterplan

The President believes that these investments are made possible by an enabling policy regime in the form of the new version of the masterplan, the Automotive Production Development Programme, which came into effect in July 2021.

Through the masterplan, government aims to grow the industry over a 15-year period to reach 1% of global production.

In addition, the State is looking at increasing the local content of South African assembled vehicles to 60% from 40% and double employment to at least 224,000 jobs.

“The plan seeks to transform the industry across the value chain to bring in Black South Africans and young people and to deepen value addition,” said the President.

He added that Toyota was also looking at increasing the number of new local suppliers from the global supply chain, which is key in the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.

“I am advised that there are 56 local suppliers for this new model, of which 16 are Black-owned companies.”

President Ramaphosa said he believes that these efforts will contribute to the common goal agreed to at the National Economic Development and Labour Council to reduce the country’s overall import bill by R200 billion over the next five years.

Climate action

The President said South Africa has identified three key priorities for climate action. These include Eskom reducing its carbon emissions, electric vehicles to be locally produced, and the green hydrogen economy to be fast-tracked.

Toyota South Africa CEO Andrew Kirby said the company has invested over R6.1 billion in the plant over the past five years.

“So, we’re therefore committed to further developing and strengthening our business in South Africa.”

According to Kirby, Toyota South Africa also plans to change the New-Energy Vehicle (NEV) landscape in South Africa, from selling a few hundred to well over 10,000 units per year.

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Fugro completes seabed geo-data for Richards Bay port expansion

Fugro, a Dutch multinational public company specialising in collecting and analysing geological data on land and at sea, has completed a geotechnical site characterisation project for DRA Global as part of the proposed expansion of the South African port of Richards Bay.

DRA Global contracted Fugro to acquire critical seabed Geo-data required for the completion of preliminary engineering and design works.

The project began with a mobilisation of marine assets from Bangladesh and UAE to Richards Bay and was safely delivered despite challenging ground conditions and ongoing Covid-19 restrictions.

The very soft soils encountered at depths of more than 40 metres below seafloor in Richards Bay required an innovative solution for positioning the two geotechnical drill rigs safely, so Fugro mobilised two bespoke modular self-elevating platforms (SEPs) to acquire high-quality Geo-data in a wide range of water depths.

Their experienced staff, combined with adaptable marine assets and tooling, enabled Fugro to deliver DRA Global’s requirements in full and avoid any data gaps that could have led to an over-engineered design and ultimately higher construction costs.

“Fugro performed well under difficult circumstances, including challenging site conditions and intense focus on environmental management in sensitive areas, all while working in an operational port,” said Cobus Rossouw, Principal Marine Engineer at DRA Global.

“Their robust safety management systems resulted in an investigation completed without a single lost time incident.”

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WHARF TALK: In Cape Town for a pitstop – TROGIR

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

In this day and age, the majority of standard merchant vessels, especially bulk carriers, are built in classes linked to the shipbuilding yard, or to ship design bureaus, and the number of that class that get built for various shipowners are, well, very numerous.

They can often be built in their hundreds, and their outlines become recognisable the more they are spotted entering, or leaving port. The days of a shipbuilder building a single example of a standard bulk carrier, for a shipowner, are mostly a distant memory nowadays, and it is a rare thing to see a ‘one of a kind’ vessel.

On 23rd October at 21h00, the Handymax bulk carrier TROGIR (IMO 9222572) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from the Sriracha Anchorage in Thailand, and rather than spending the night at anchor, unusually, after six hours she entered Cape Town harbour at 03h00 in the morning of the 24th October and berthed at the Eastern Mole in the Duncan Dock.

As always, a stop off at the Eastern Mole is a sure sign that bunkers, stores, or a crew change are required by the vessel at hand. It turned out to be exactly that, and after an offload of stores, and an arrival on the quayside of a number of minibuses carrying new crewmembers, who switched roles with offgoing crewmembers, the Trogir sailed from Cape Town after just a short seven hour call, and at 10h00 she departed for Abidjan in the Ivory Coast.

Prior to her arrival, there was a thought that coming from the Sriracha Anchorage in Thailand was a sign that she was following the bulk carrier CAPTAIN P. LEMPESIS to a berth at the FPT, in the Duncan Dock. This erroneous thought was based on the fact that the Captain P. Lempesis had arrived from the same port only a few days before, with a cargo of bagged rice for offload in Cape Town. Whilst the cargo of Trogir was also bagged rice, her discharge destination was not to be Cape Town.

Thailand is the world’s second largest exporter of rice, but there was a time, when Safmarine was a truly local company, that her bulk carriers frequently returned to Cape Town, and Durban, from the Gulf of Mexico with a cargo of bulk rice, of the ‘Uncle Ben’s’ variety. The milled rice was loaded at the port of Convent, in Louisiana, located some 160 miles up the Mississippi River, and loaded into the Safmarine vessel from a converted T-2 tanker.

Built in 2001, as a one-of design, by Uljanik Shipyard at Pula, in Croatia, Trogir is 183 metres in length and has a deadweight of 44,389 tons. She is powered by a single Uljanik MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C6.2 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 11,658 bhp (8,500 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 13.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators providing 560 kW each. She has a single TPK Nova Composite boiler. She has five holds, serviced by four, 30 ton, grab-equipped cranes. Her cargo carrying capacity is 54,832 m3.

She is owned, operated and managed by Jadroplov International Maritime, of Split in Croatia, and unlike many other European shipowners, her port of registry is that of her owners, Split. So an unusual combination, not often seen, of Croatian built, Croatian Owned, Croatian Flagged. For the maritime etymologists, her name is that of a small town, situated on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its Venetian architecture.

Back in February 2015, Trogir was arrested on arrival at the port of Los Angeles in the USA, due to an unpaid bunker fuel bill that had not been paid since December 2011, when she had loaded bunkers at the Chinese port of Basuo. Her Admiralty warrant was issued by the Central District Court of California. Her owners paid a security to the court and she was released and allowed to sail to her next port of call.

This quick ‘pitstop’ call at Cape Town is not her first call at a South African port, although she is by no means a frequent visitor. Her last visit appears to have been way back in March 2012, in Port Elizabeth. During that visit she received a State Port Inspection, under the auspices of the Indian Ocean MoU, where only two deficiencies were found. These were linked to her auxiliary machinery, and to documents relating to her international oil pollution prevention (IOPP) certification.

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At IMO Botswana comes in at No 175

IMO reported on 26 October that the Republic of Botswana had become the latest State to join the IMO.

IMO now has 175 Member States.

Botswana deposited its instrument of acceptance to the IMO Convention* with the United Nations on 22 October 2021.

To read more about IMO’s membership readers are invited to SEE HERE

A brief World Bank survey into the economy of Botswana can be found HERE

Another profile by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is available CLICKING HERE

Advice for investors – CLICK HERE

 

 

 

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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EU NAVFOR opens discussions on support for Mozambique against insurgency

Operation ATALANTA Operation Commander (EU NAVFOR), Admiral Núñez Torrente and Force Commander Cuerda Lorenzo have held a video teleconference with Mission Force Commander EUTM Mozambique, Brigadier General Lemos Pires. he purpose is to begin discussions on possible synergies in the region of Cabo Delgado and the Mozambique Channel, which lies at the extreme southern extent of Atalanta’s Area of Operation.

As part of its mandate, ATALANTA remains committed to provide support and assistance to the EU Sister Mission within the EU Integrated Approach to external conflicts and crisis, tackling both current symptoms and root causes of a deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the country.

The European Union has launched a military training mission in Mozambique (EUTM Mozambique) following a request from the Mozambican government to support their armed forces through a training and capacity building mission.

This followed the escalation of violence in Cabo Delgado province which has led to the internal displacement of more than 700 000 people. It is estimated that at least 1.3 million people in Cabo Delgado and the neighbouring provinces of Niassa and Nampula require immediate humanitarian assistance and protection.

The EU mission will provide training and support to the Mozambican armed forces to protect the civilian population and restore security in the Cabo Delgado province. It has a non-executive mandate and will end two years after having reached full operational capability.

Future cooperation between ATALANTA and EUTM Mozambique will be based on the format of current relationships with the EU Training Mission for Somalia.

The Operation could, based on the current mandate, and without prejudice to its core mandate, contribute to an enhanced maritime situational awareness and provide specific analysis in its Area of Intelligence Responsibility (AIR) in coordination with the Regional Coordination of Operations Centre (RCOC) Seychelles and the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) Madagascar.

EU NAFVOR contribution would complement Mozambique’s navy coastal capabilities to prevent attacks from sea and illegal movements from the large number of islands along the Cabo Delgado coast. In this perspective, a sea-land coordinated approach is needed in order to contribute to the stabilisation of the Northern part of Mozambique.

The engagement with EUTM Mozambique follows a meeting of EU actors in the Horn of Africa on ATALANTA flagship, ESPS Navarra off the coast of Mogadishu in September 2021 to further enhance their cooperation in the spirit of the Global Strategy for the European Union’s Foreign and Security Policy.    source: EU NAVFOR

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Piracy: MSC Lucia rescued from pirates by Russian Navy destroyer

The container ship MSC LUCIA (IMO 8413887) which was boarded by pirates in the Gulf of Guinea yesterday (25 October 2021) is continuing with it voyage after the pirates were forced to flee at the approach of a Russian Navy helicopter.

The merchant ship had sailed from the port of Lomé in Togo on Sunday 24 October and was sailing southwest on Monday 25 October when at around 09h00 GMT, AIS showed the box ship having slowed and then come to a stop in position 02 12 N 004 54 E. The vessel was then about 150 nautical miles northwest of the island of Sao Tome.

The ship had issued a distress call advising it had been boarded by what were assumed to be armed pirates arriving in a speedboat. After stopping the vessel the crew retreated to the engine room for safety as the pirates began boarding the ship.

The distress call was picked up by a Russian Navy destroyer, VICE ADMIRAL KULAKOV, which launched its onboard Kumov Ka-27PS helicopter carrying a boarding party of Russian marines.

As the Russian helicopter approached the MSC ship, the pirates fled overboard into their speedboat and fled the scene. They “got into a fast boat and headed towards the coast at full speed,”the Russian Defence Ministry said.

The helicopter transferred the boarding party onto the container ship to search the vessel and free the crew from their engine room.

The crew of MSC Lucia are apparently unharmed and the ship’s crew have been left in control of their vessel has been able to continue her voyage.

The Russian destroyer is accompanied by a fleet oiler and a navy tug on a three-week deployment in the Gulf of Guinea.

MSC Lucia is the former SAFMARINE ASIA.

 

Another ship boarded, piracy suspected

Dryad Global relays a MDAT-GoG report of another vessel as having been boarded also on Monday 25 October. This involved a Offshore Supply Vessel (OSV), name not given, which is reported to have been boarded by an unknown number of attackers 51nm southwest of Bioko Island. The incident occurred on 25 October 2021 at 21h26 UTC.

This incident is 193nm east of the boarding against the container vessel MSC LUCIA.

Reporting suggests that the vessel is currently drifting with AIS broadcasting and perpetrators are understood to have left the vessel. Information regarding the safety of the crew remains unclear, Dryad Global will update accordingly.

Vessels transiting the area are advised to exercise extreme caution. Dryad Global

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Work gets underway on Durban port’s new multi-million rand tug jetty

Anyone visiting Durban harbour in the vicinity of Festival Island or perhaps the Durban Maritime Museum, will have noticed a lot of on-water activity in the area occupied by the harbour tugs.

What is happening is that Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) has commenced a multi-million-rand Tug Jetty expansion project which is set to increase marine fleet berthing space in order to handle the growing vessel sizes and reduce port turnaround time.

The R127 million construction project will be implemented in two segments, one being the establishment of a new 110m tug jetty adjacent and parallel to the existing jetty and the second segment will be the extension of the existing tug jetty by 35m.

The construction activities commenced in May 2021 however, the project was awarded in February 2021 which WBHO Construction (Pty) Ltd, was the successful bidder. The aim for the construction is to increase port operational efficiencies and provide sufficient berthing space for all marine craft. The second construction segment is scheduled to commence in June 2022 and will see the tug basin deepened to -8m chart datum (CD) to accommodate all the tug sizes in the port.

Upon completion of the first segment, the jetty will be handed over to the port’s Marine Department to be used to dock its marine fleet. The existing jetty will be decommissioned and handed over to the contractor to start with the extension and deepening of the older tug jetty.

“The provision of efficient marine services is one of TNPA’s core service offerings to the shipping industry,” said Port Engineer, Malefetsane Setaka. “These services include providing a towage, docking and/or undocking services to vessels calling at and leaving the port.”

He said the efficiency of this service remains dependent on a reliable fleet of tugs capable of delivering an agreed service level of above 85% to a wide range of vessels. “With the plans currently being executed, the marine services function will operate efficiently in ensuring that the TNPA delivers on the agreed service offering to clients.”

The Port of Durban currently has marine craft as part of its marine fleet made up of tugs, launches, pilot boats, punts, a debris collection boat, a floating crane and the corporate craft Isiponono.

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Saldanha port and rail factors hinder Kumba’s exports

Kumba Iron Ore expects iron ore production to end the 2021 financial year around the 39.5 million tonne mark, below its previously stated figure of between 40 and 41.5 million tonnes.

Kumba says this reduced volume of export iron ore is a consequence of port and rail logistics performing below planned levels.

“Kumba delivered a solid operational performance, due to improved mining stability and good plant availability,” said Themba Mkhwanazi, Kumba’s outgoing Chief Executive.

He indicated that while production in the third quarter had increased to 10.8 Mt, equipment breakdown at Saldanha Port and weather disruptions affecting ship movements at the port led to lower sales of 10.1 million tonnes, a 9 per cent decrease (Q3 2020: 11.1 Mt).

“Due to rail and port logistics performing below planned levels, our full year production and sales are expected to be at the low end of guidance at 40.5 Mt and 39.5 Mt, respectively,” Mkhwanazi said.

“Transnet is currently carrying out a 5-week refurbishment programme at Saldanha Port. Given some interruptions experienced, there is a risk of overruns to that period. As a result, the sales guidance is also expected to be at the low end of the full year range at 39.5 Mt.”

On the market front, steel production cuts in China have weighed on iron ore prices in recent months. However, increased sales to markets outside of China have supported an average year to date realised price of US$181 per wet metric tonne (wmt) for the third quarter, 17.5% above the benchmark price.

“Overall, we are seeing ongoing market recognition for the premium quality properties of our iron ore products, including for their carbon emission reduction properties in the steelmaking process.”

He warned that strong production combined with Transnet rail performing below expected levels has resulted in materially higher levels of stock at the mines. “We therefore expect to limit production in the months ahead and to finish the year at the low end of the production guidance range at 40.5 Mt.”

Kumba is 70% owned by Anglo American, the former South African but now UK-listed group. – trh

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WHARF TALK: LR1 Panamax tanker – CIELO DI ROTTERDAM

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

With the near approach to the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, where the COP26 summit will bring parties together, of all governments and NGO persuasions, to accelerate action towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, it is cheering to know that some shipowners are taking both carbon reduction measures, and reducing their use of fossil fuels, seriously.

The world body that regulates shipping worldwide, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), will also be a major participant at COP26, where their main objectives for the Climate Change Conference will be to make clear that international shipping is indispensable to the world, and is a vital industry to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Also, as its track record to date so clearly demonstrates, IMO is the appropriate international body to continue the ongoing work to address Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, from ships engaged in international trade.

On 16th October at 01h00, the LR1 Panamax tanker CIELO DI ROTTERDAM (IMO 9781279) arrived at the Table Bay Anchorage from Mangalore in India, and remained there until 12h00 later that day when she entered Cape Town harbour and berthed at the long Tanker Berth in the Duncan Dock.

Built in 2018 by the Hyundai Vinushin Shipyard, at Ninh Phuoc in Vietnam, Cielo di Rotterdam is 228 metres in length and has a deadweight of 74,999 tons. She is powered by a single HHI MAN-B&W 6G70ME-C9.5 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 13,732 bhp (10,100 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots. She has 12 cargo tanks and a cargo carrying capacity of 81,000 m3.

Owned by d’Amico Societa di Navigazione SPA of Rome, operated by d’Amico Tankers DAC of Dublin in Ireland, and managed by d’Amico International Shipping SA of Luxembourg, Cielo di Rotterdam was built at a cost of US$44 million (ZAR653.4 million), and was the third of six sisterships. The first of the class, CIELO BLANCO, received the plaudits of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) by being awarded the accolade of ‘Significant Ship of the Year 2017’.

In June of this year, Cielo di Rotterdam and her sistership Cielo Blanco were chosen to conduct a full sea trial of a new biofuel, known as B30. Her owners entered into a partnership with six other marine organisations, to launch a Joint Industry Project (JIP) for testing the potential of using Biofuel as part of decarbonisation in maritime transportation.

The JIP consisted of the d’Amico Group, together with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the Liberian Registry, Lloyd’s Register, the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), Fuel Oil Bunker Analysis Advisory Service (FOBAS), MAN Energy Solutions and Trafigura to test the B30 biofuel blend, derived from advanced second-generation feedstock.

The B30 biofuel was to be loaded in Holland, ready for a trial scheduled to be underway around mid-June 2021, involving Cielo di Rotterdam. The trial monitored the behaviour of the main engine, diesel generators and boilers whilst burning the B30 biofuel blend, and also evaluated performance, fuel storage capability and NOx levels. This phase of the trial was planned to run up until mid-July 2021. On 26th June Cielo di Rotterdam sailed from Amsterdam on the trial.

The refined products cargo that Cielo di Rotterdam delivered to Cape Town was loaded at the Indian refinery, operated by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, which is a subsidiary of the state owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). The Mangalore refinery produced 15 million tons of refined products per annum

The refinery specialises in the production of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF), better known as Jet Fuel, and supplies Jet Fuel stock for the majority of India’s international airports, under an agreement with Shell Aviation. The refinery is also well known for production of high grade diesel, and sulphur free petrol. No doubt all three products were part of the parcel delivered to Cape Town for distribution in the Cape Province.

The refinery is connected to Mangalore Port by a direct pipeline network, and the port is capable of berthing two tankers of up to 245 metres in length, on two export loading jetties. Both jetties have six loading arms to enable multiple products to be loaded at the same time.

On completion of her discharge at Cape Town, Cielo di Rotterdam sailed from the harbour at 07h00 on 21st October, bound for Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The route of loading in Mangalore, for discharge in Cape Town, thence in ballast to Fujairah, is identical to that taken by her sistership Cielo Blanco when she had visited the port, back in early June of this year.

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Fruit exports: SA has optimistic outlook for stoned fruit season

As South Africa moves from a record export season of citrus exports into that of stoned fruits spread over the remainder of 2021 and early 2022, the outlook is an optimistic one especially with the production of the plum industry with predictions of similar export volumes to the 2020/21 season.

This is further welcome news for the local fruit sector after several years of drought that preceded the 2020/21 season.

Regarding plums, a large percentage of cultivars were reported in mid October as being in bloom and the expectation is that the SA export market will range between 15 – 16.5 million 5.25kg cartons, a similar number to the previous season with a possible increase of just over 8 per cent depending on how the season plays out.

It is reported that growers have experienced a good winter and a mild to cool spring up until now. New orchards coming into season will add to the potential volumes.

Peach volumes are said to be similar in volume to that of last season at 2.45 million 2.5kg cartons, possibly slightly less.

Apricots are likely to the of similar or slightly less volumes with the hectares under apricot production having experience a decline in recent years.

Nectarine exports can look forward to an increase of around 9 per cent to reach 7.1 million 2.5kg cartons – this a result of new nectarine orchards coming into production and representing a continued export growth.

However, logistics will play an increasingly important role in whether the anticipated volumes of exports are achieved. The sector nevertheless believes that the experience gained over the past 18 or so months will make a difference in this regard, involving the facilitating and coordination of actions as well as the exchange of fruit information between key stakeholders.

South Africa will therefore remain a reliable and stable supplier of stone fruit to all its export markets, says marketing expert, Hortgro, the industry organisation for stone fruit in South Africa.

“We are looking forward to a good crop across all the stone fruit types, weather permitting!” Hortgro advised. -trh

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IN CONVERSATION: Climate change has already hit southern Africa. Here’s how we know

 

Jennifer Fitchett, University of the Witwatersrand

Many people still think of climate change as a phenomenon that we will only face in the distant future. Perhaps that’s partly because climate change projections about rising temperatures and extreme weather events are tied to future dates: 2030, 2050, or 2100, for instance.

But it’s important to realise that we already are experiencing climate change, and have done so for some time now. Over the past century, global temperatures have increased by approximately 1°C. Sea level rise is already starting to affect certain low-lying coastal communities. The world is experiencing more frequent and intense extreme climate events.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report: Physical Science basis, released in September 2021, contains a comprehensive – and largely grim – assessment of the state of both recorded and projected climate change globally. The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing science relating to climate change – a group of expert scientists from around the world, who author scientific reports on the state of the earth’s climate and future climate change projections.

Its latest report compiles research from 1400 papers, and will serve as an important reference document for the COP26 meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, from October 31 to November 12. It’s there that science is turned into policy.

Such policy is critical for the whole world – and urgent for southern Africa, which is particularly vulnerable to climatic changes. The region has already been experiencing climate changes that are more rapid, and with impacts that are more severe than the global average. It also struggles with a low adaptive capacity: there’s little capital available for investment in measures to protect against future climate hazards, and very pressing immediate human rights needs for a large proportion of the population.

There’s no avoiding the reality that southern Africa is in the throes of a climate emergency. By identifying trends in the frequency of weather events happening and its intensity over a period of decades, and exploring changes in related biological systems in light of this, it’s plain to see that the region has already been rocked by climate change and related effects.

An increase in extreme temperature

Extreme temperature events can be defined by the maximum temperature, the deviation from the norm, or the length of time of above-threshold temperatures. A number of indices have been developed by the World Meteorological Organisation to identify and quantify these extreme temperature events.

Warm events, when they meet specific criteria, are termed heatwaves. These are particularly dangerous for people, animals and plants, and are a direct cause of deaths.

In southern Africa, there has been an increase in the severity and frequency of heatwave events over recent decades. Interestingly, for a few locations, there has also been an increase in the frequency of extreme cold events. While this is not a feature of climate warming, it is induced by changes in regional climate patterns, such as the number of cold fronts which move over South Africa.

Severe drought

Drought is defined as a significant and prolonged departure from mean rainfall totals. The most severe, and best known, drought in southern Africa in recent years was the “Day Zero” crisis in Cape Town. While increasing pressure for water in the City of Cape Town played a role in this, a longer-term poleward displacement in the winter-rain-bearing westerlies which bring the cold fronts and rain to Cape Town during the winter months was a significant contributor to this drought.

Southern Africa more broadly is also sensitive to El Niño induced droughts. El Niño refers to warmer than usual conditions in the Eastern Pacific that persist for a couple of months through to years, driven by a weakening of the Trade Winds, and a resultant reduction in the upwelling of colder water to the sea surface just off South America. This was the cause of the 2015-2016 drought in South Africa’s Kruger Park, which resulted in the drying up of watering holes, and the widely publicised death of hippos and later culling of other large mammals.

High intensity tropical cyclones

The southern African subcontinent is relatively well protected from tropical cyclones by the island of Madagascar. However, some tropical cyclones do form in the Mozambique Channel, and occasionally some tropical cyclones move across Madagascar. These storms can – and do, as was seen most recently with Tropical Cyclones Idai, Kenneth and Eloise – make landfall on Mozambique.

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Read more:
Tropical cyclone Idai: The storm that knew no boundaries

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Over recent decades, tropical cyclones in the Southwest Indian Ocean have increased in intensity; the first category 5 tropical cyclone for the sub-ocean basin was recorded in 1994.

Tropical Cyclone Idai, which bordered in intensity between categories 3 and 4 on landfall, provides stark evidence of the damage wrought by high intensity tropical cyclones in populated areas.

There is also evidence that tropical cyclones have expanded their range polewards over recent decades, affecting a larger region of southern Africa.

Changes in the timing of phenological events

In addition to the weather we experience from the changing climate itself, climate change also has an impact on biological systems. Phenology, which refers to the timing of annually recurrent biological events, is one of the most sensitive bio-indicators of climate change.

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Read more:
Explainer: why phenology is key in tracking climate change

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In South Africa, scientists have recorded advances in the timing of apple and pear flowering in the southwestern Cape, and of Jacaranda flowering in the Gauteng City Region. Warmer sea surface temperatures have also resulted in a delay in the sardine run along the KwaZulu-Natal south coast.

These shifts have an impact on agriculture and tourism, but more importantly demonstrate that climate change is having an effect on the natural environment. These shifts in timing cannot continue indefinitely. Plants and animals have thresholds beyond which the stresses of climate change will result in at least local extinction.

The picture seems hopeless, but with mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies driven through, among other processes, COP26, southern Africa can reduce the impacts of climate change on local livelihoods. It is important at this stage to invest in adaptation to reduce the impacts of climate change, and to make every effort to reduce our reliance on carbon to slow down climate change.

Jennifer Fitchett, Associate Professor of Physical Geography, University of the Witwatersrand

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

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TNPA to host Maritime Engineering & Logistics webinar this Thursday

 

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) will be hosting a Logistics Supply Chain and Maritime Engineering webinar this Thursday (28 October 2021) at 12h00.

The special Transport Month webinar is aimed at showcasing TNPA’s strategic role as port landlord, creating awareness of maritime engineering related careers, and highlighting opportunities available in the Oceans Economy.

The webinar will specifically target women and youth in order to attract and promote their participation in the maritime industry. It will be hosted by Eden FM’s Nolwethu Dyonase and will feature the following guests from TNPA:

* Captain Naresh Sewnath, Senior Manager for Pilotage and VTS, who will provide an overview of TNPA’s role in the local and global freight logistics supply chain;
* Thamsanqa Kunene, Programme Director for Infrastructure, who will unpack TNPA’s strategic mandate and role in the infrastructure development of the South African ports system;
* Sinqobile Nkabinde, Senior Engineer, who will talk to the array of training and skills development opportunities available to the youth in the maritime industry;
* Thembakazi Ngxabani, Acting Port Engineer, who will discuss the opportunities available to women in the maritime industry.

October is officially National Transport Month in the South African calendar, to promote the importance of transport in the South African economy. The National Development Plan (NDP) identifies the participation of women and youth in the transformation of the economy.

Operation Phakisa – one of Government’s mechanisms to implement the NDP – identifies marine transport and manufacturing as a critical area to unlock the potential of the Oceans Economy.

In a statement, TNPA says it is a strategic enabler of the Oceans Economy, the initiative to unlock the economic potential of South Africa’s oceans, providing significant Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth and job creation potential. As such, it plays a meaningful role in the supply logistics chain, economic development, job creation, skills development and empowerment of young people in South Africa.

The webinar is being held in partnership with the Mossel Bay Municipality, Eden FM and the Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme as well as the Central University of Technology in the Free State; Durban University of Technology in KwaZulu-Natal; Nelson Mandela University in the Eastern Cape; and South Cape TVET College in the Western Cape.

While the webinar will specifically target women and youth, it will be open to all interested individuals. To receive the live link, RSVP to: Busisiwe.Mahlaba@transnet.net or watch via TNPA’s YouTube channel (Transnet Npa), and Facebook (@TransnetNPA) and LinkedIn (@TransnetNPA) pages.

Thursday (28 October 2021) at 12h00

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Piracy: Vessel boarding report offshore of Nigeria

Dryad Global has issued a warning report of a vessel being boarded by an unknown number of attackers 86 nautical miles southwest of the Agbami Terminal in the Gulf of Guinea.

No further details are available at this time (12h30 25 October SAT) and the incident is understood said to be ongoing.

Further details are likely to emerge. MDAT-GoG* advises other vessels transiting the area to exercise extreme caution.

This latest ongoing incident is taking place shortly after reports began to made of a lack of piracy in the region.

* Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea

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Maersk Drilling goes for world record depth off Angola

Maersk Drilling awarded contract extension to drill world record well in Angola

TotalEnergies E&P Angola has exercised an option for the 7th generation drillship MAERSK VOYAGER (IMO 9633575)  to drill the ultra-deepwater Ondjaba-1 exploration well in Angola’s Block 48.

The contract extension has an estimated duration of 54 days, which means that Maersk Voyager is now contracted until February 2022. The work on Ondjaba-1 commenced in October 2021, after which the rig is scheduled to move to Namibia to drill the Venus well. One one-well option remains on the contract.

The Ondjaba-1 well will be drilled at a new world record water depth of 3,628 metres. The current world record is 3,400 metres, set by Maersk Voyager’s sister drillship Maersk Venturer when it drilled the Raya-1 well for TotalEnergies offshore Uruguay in 2016.

“We’re thrilled to be able to confirm that we indeed will be drilling for a new world record, said Maersk Drilling’s COO, Morten Kelstrup.

“Ondjaba-1 was part of Maersk Voyager’s original contract in Angola, but the rig’s drilling programme has undergone several changes due to the unprecedented circumstances the world has faced since early 2020.

With this contract option called, we’re now looking forward to proving that Maersk Drilling and the highly capable Voyager crew can once again break existing boundaries in close collaboration with TotalEnergies,”

Maersk Voyager is a high-spec ultra-deepwater drillship which was delivered in 2014. It is currently operating offshore Angola for TotalEnergies.

Added 24 October 2021

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Cruising on the River Nile on board SS Sphinx

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises has introduced details and a few pictures of their newest cruise ship to sail along the River Nile in Egypt, S.S. SPHINX.

“As Egypt continues to be a top trending travel destination, we are overjoyed to set sail along the famed Nile River and provide an unmatched look at the destination aboard our striking new Super Ship, the S.S. Sphinx.

“We’re excited for our guests to experience the ship as it fully embodies what they love most when sailing with us, exquisite design and experiences they won’t find anywhere else,” said Ellen Bettridge, chief executive of Uniworld.

She said that over the past few years, the Uniworld Boutique River Cruises team poured their heart into sourcing the design aspects, spending weeks at a time searching the souks and bazaars to find local artisans and family-owned furniture businesses to collaborate with and bring the true spirit of Egypt to life onboard.

“Everything from the artwork to the ceilings to the ship’s bow was thought out and sourced by the local community,” she said.

“This floating boutique hotel features the signature touches the company’s ships are known for – more suites, more dining areas with space for social distancing, and more luxurious finishes, while maintaining their high crew to guest ratio.”

Venues onboard include a private dining room and an al fresco experience on the upper deck.

The vessel also features a swimming pool, massage room and 42 suites.

All staterooms and suites onboard have French balconies.

The menus reflect the destination guests sail through, with options including Egyptian beef liver, fatteh, sweet corn soup, mulukhiya Egyptian bread, hawawshi and more.

Guests can also pair their meals onboard with locally sourced Egyptian wines including Omar Khayyam and Shahrazade.

More details available found HERE

Added 24 October 2021

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WHARF TALK: Kamsarmax bulk carrier – ARTEMIS 1

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Geared bulk carriers, up to Ultramax size (up to 65,000 dwt), are regular callers at all of the major ports of South Africa, with the much larger gearless bulk carriers up to Capesize (up to 200,000 dwt) to be seen, usually, only in the large ore ports of Richards Bay and Saldanha Bay.

To have a large, gearless Panamax (up to 80,000 dwt), Kamsarmax (up to 90,000 dwt) or Post Panamax (up to 100,000 dwt) bulk carrier arriving at Durban or Cape Town is usually an indication that the vessel requires engineering assistance, and not because there is a cargo to load or discharge.

On 14th October at 17h00, the Kamsarmax bulk carrier ARTEMIS 1 (IMO 9830991) arrived off Cape Town, from Krishnapatnam in India, and entered Cape Town harbour. She had de-ballasted, and was riding high out of the water. As expected, she went straight to the Landing Wall in Duncan Dock, a tell-tale sign that she required shoreside engineering intervention, and support services assistance.

Such a large gearless bulk carrier would not be entering Cape Town harbour to work cargo, because the port does not possess any grab equipped shoreside cranes, bulk loading facilities, or bulk cargo storage areas, that are capable of servicing a gearless bulk carrier, irrespective of it being an inbound cargo, or an outbound cargo.

Originally bound for the port of La Plata, in Argentina, the reason for her making a technical detour to Cape Town, whilst en-route from India, became apparent shortly after she came alongside the Landing Wall. Within a few hours, she had ballasted bow down, to enable the propeller to be lifted clear of the water. It turns out that the shaft seal was failing during the voyage south, and the requirement to replace the seal became urgent, requiring the Cape Town call, and the need for shoreside assistance and expertise.

With her propeller out of the water, it also became clear that Artemis 1 was fitted with both a nozzle, and a Wärtsilä EnergoProFin hub attachment. The EnergoProFin is an energy saving propeller cap with fins which are connected to the rotating propeller. It improves propulsive efficiency by weakening the hub vortex, and by recovering kinetic energy from the rotating flow aft of the propeller blades. The EnergoProFin provides average fuel savings of 2%, and Wärtsilä claim that fitting such a device gives the shipowner cost payback of less than one year.

On completion of the successful replacement of the stern seal, Artemis 1 was ballasted back on to an even keel, and on 19th October at 09h00, she backed off the Landing Wall, and her bluff bow made its way out of the Duncan Dock, and into the South Atlantic ocean, where she resumed her voyage to from Vishnapatnam to La Plata.

Built in 2019 by the Jiangsu Jinling Shipyard, at Yizheng in China, Artemis 1 is 229 metres in length and has a deadweight of 82,000 dwt. She is powered by a single MAN-B&W 6S60ME-C8 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 13,506 bhp (9,934 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators providing 550 kW each. She has seven holds, with a cargo carrying capacity of 97,123 m3. She cost US$24 million (ZAR348.6 million) to build.

Nominally owned by Def-Jin Corporation of Monaco, Artemis 1 is operated and managed by Transocean Maritime Agencies, also of Monaco. She is one of six sisterships built for her owners, and is built to a standard SDARI Dolphin KMAX 82 design.

The Shanghai Merchant Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI) was established in 1964, and is part of the government owned China State Shipping Corporation group (CSSC). The Dolphin KMAX 82 is one of their very popular large bulk carrier designs, being built at numerous other shipyards across China, with over 100 built to date since the first was launched in 2011.

At 229 metres in length, and with her 82,000 tons deadweight, she is classed as a Kamsarmax bulk carrier. Her design is based on the maximum length of vessel that can use the port of Kamsar, which is located at the mouth of the Rio Nunez, seven miles from the sea, in the northern part of the Republic of Guinea.

Back in 2005, Tsuneishi Shipbuilding company, in Japan, decided to retain the maximum breadth of vessel needed to pass through the Panama Canal lock system, but increased the length of their Panamax bulk carrier design by 4 metres, taking the design to 229 metres in length. This boosted the maximum load capacity of the vessel type to 82,000 tons.

This type of bulk carrier was defined as a Kamsarmax, because it was the maximum length of vessel that could enter the port of Kamsar. The type nomenclature has become the industry standard today.

The port of Kamsar was established to enable the export of bauxite, the main ore used in the manufacture of aluminium. The ore is mined at the Sangarédi mine, which is situated 135 miles inland from the port of Kamsar, in the province of Boké. Guinea is responsible for 14% of the world’s production of bauxite.

The ore is brought to the port by a dedicated railway line, from the mine to the port, where there are two export terminals. One terminal is operated by Compagnie des Bauxites Guinée (CBG), and the other by the Guinea Alumina Corporation (GAC).

Both terminals are served by long jetties, stretching out into the Rio Nunez, with the CBG jetty having two Kamsarmax berths, equipped with a single bulk loader, and the GAC jetty having a single berth used to load barges for offshore transshipment.

The barges, take the bauxite ore out to the Port of Boké, which is an anchorage terminal, located 11.5 miles from Kamsar, and 4 miles offshore in a water depth of 24 metres. The bauxite ore is loaded by floating cranes, from the barges, and into Capesize vessels, that are unable to proceed upriver to Kamsar due to their size. There are two loading points in the anchorage for these vessels.

Whilst those who work in the bulk carrier world will be aware of the existence of both the ports of Kamsar and Boké, and of Kamsarmax bulk carriers, for those who do not, but who frequently note that vessels on AIS are displaying the destination ports of Kamsar, or Boké, will now have a better idea and understanding of what these vessels are about.

Added 24 October 2021

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MSC reports that the terminals at Port Sudan have ceased operations

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has confirmed that the terminals at Port Sudan in the Red Sea have ceased operating due to the ongoing strikes and unrest in the region.

For background to this drama affecting Port Sudan, CLICK HERE

MSC said that the terminals at Port Sudan have ceased operations creating uncertainty on the berthing prospects of its vessels and causing substantial delays.

“This unfortunate situation makes it unreasonable to continue the carriage of their shipment to Port Sudan as initially intended. Therefore, MSC is left with no other choice to announce end of voyage at King Abdulla Port for all container types including reefer and dry cargo in accordance with clause 19 of our Bill of Lading and Sea Waybill Terms and Conditions.

“Cargo will be at your disposal for pick up on your own account (clause 19.1(c)) after payment of due costs and local charges.

Due to risk of cargo deterioration and damages to MSC reefer equipment we invite the merchant to take delivery as soon as possible.”

While apologising for the inconvenience this action may cause, MSC said it continues to monitor the situation very closely in order to resume its service to Port Sudan.

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OneLearn Global: Launch of lifesaving enclosed spaces course

A maritime training course to enable safe access to enclosed spaces on vessels could help save the lives of seafarers entering such areas with dangerously low oxygen levels, explosive gases or physical hazards present.

OneLearn Global, a digital eLearning training provider to the maritime industry, has launched the Entry Into Enclosed Spaces course in response to sobering figures that show an alarming number of fatalities in recent years. This was announced in late October.

From 2015 to 2020 no less than 83 crew members died while working in enclosed spaces, with 53% of deaths attributed to oxygen depletion and 60% of all incidents taking place in the cargo hold, according to the International Group of P&I Clubs.

A report in 2019 by the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) revealed 145 casualties in enclosed spaces dating back to 1999.

Of those fatalities, 28 (16 port workers and 12 seafarers) occurred in the 16 months leading up to January 2018. The causes were asphyxiation, explosions or falls involving seafarers who passed out because of poor air quality.

Nigel Cleave, Senior Advisor at OneLearn Global, commented: “A lack of training can lead to costly, potentially fatal mistakes for seafarers working in enclosed spaces.

“To avoid further tragedies, it is absolutely paramount that seafarers get the right training and education before heading into confined areas with numerous hazards. Being blunt, a course like ours could be the difference between someone emerging unharmed or losing their life.”

The new OneLearn Global course outlines the preventative and protective measures crew members should take before entering enclosed spaces on board. Its ten learning objectives help seafarers to identify the confined areas throughout a vessel, recognise the associated hazards and understand the risk assessment procedure for entering potentially dangerous spaces.

All duties and responsibilities of involved persons, space entry safety requirements and means of rescuing a seafarer from an enclosed space are also covered.

Video scenarios

Learners are taken through various animated or video scenarios to explore the potential risks and procedures facing crew members and to identify the mistakes made by the fictitious characters. Moreover, crew members explore the subject through captivating infographics, imagery, concise explanations and bullet points.

The easily understood course is divided into seven sections, giving seafarers the freedom to choose how much they complete when logging into OneLearn’s industry leading Learning Management System.

About OneLearn Global

OneLearn Global was created to provide digital training solutions to serve the maritime, energy, hospitality and industrial sectors and offers a rapidly growing content library via an enormously effective and intuitive next-generation Learning Management System (LMS), designed to deliver both an enhanced and engaging, yet personalised and intuitive, enjoyable learning experience through digitalisation.

With HQ in Cyprus, OneLearn Global is a member of the Fameline Holding Group (FHG), a truly diverse business entity comprising of over 50 companies actively engaged in the maritime, industrial, energy, exploration and healthcare sectors.

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

Added 24 October 2021

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Kotug sets up tug operations in Port Gentil, Gabon

Dutch company KOTUG International B.V. has been awarded a long-term contract by Perenco Oil & Gas Gabon S.A. to provide towage support for their operations off Port Gentil, Gabon. The contract includes the chartering, operation and manning of three vessels, two of which are Kotug’s first-ever Rotor Tugs, the RT MAGIC and RT SPIRIT.

After successfully operating in several countries, the RT Magic and RT Spirit will set sail to Gabon to support Perenco Oil & Gas in optimising their marine spread thereby providing cost savings simultaneously with redundancy in operations.

In addition, Kotug’s SD HONOUR will be temporarily deployed to support the operations in Gabon where she will be replaced by a third Rotortug.

KOTUG established KOTUG Gabon S.A. to align with the local community and provides knowledge and work experience for local people. The operation started in the second half of October 2021.

“We are happy to be awarded this contract and look forward to supporting Perenco with our proven in-house developed Rotor Tug technology and our extensive experience in the Oil & Gas industry,” said KOTUG President and CEO Ard-Jan Kooren.

“The Rotor Tug technology was developed under the inspiring guidance of my father, Ton Kooren. It is with great pride that our first two Rotortugs are now being deployed for this prestigious operation in Gabon.”

Added 24 October 2021

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