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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:    KAPTAN ARIF BAYRAKTAR

• Cyclone Batsirai on course to strike Madagascar
• Mauritian tanker Tresta Star goes aground off Reunion during height of Cyclone Batsirai
• FPSO Trinity Spirit explosion, followed by fire then sinking
• WHARF TALK: container ship – COSCO ASHDOD
• Oil spill in Peruvian waters
• Cyclone Batsirai now hammers Reunion, remains on course for Madagascar
• SHIP REPAIR: Southeast Asia’s ship repair threatened by strict Covid measures
• DP World to work with Angolan govt to develop country’s logistics sector
• WHARF TALK: bulker bunkering at Mother City – SEA VIRYA
• Warning to KZN: Cyclone Ana highlights climate risks faced by vulnerable populations
• Cyclone Batsirai batters Mauritius, next stop Madagascar
• ‘Fundamentalist’ Gwede Mantashe sticks to his guns, “promises a lot of coal generation by 2030”
• A Saharan dust storm: Location: Atlantic Ocean
• WHARF TALK: Mossel Bay workhorse – LEWEK HARRIER
• Dar es Salaam: Striving to become the regional port of choice
• Tropical Cyclone Batsirai bears toward Madagascar, threatens Mauritius and Reunion
• TotalEnergies wants to resume gas liquefaction project this year
• HMS Montrose strikes again – more drugs discovered in stateless fishing vessel
• South African Port Statistics for the Calendar Year 2021
• SAMSA to lift moratorium on bunkering in Algoa Bay on 1 April
• WHARF TALK: chartered container ship – PARIS II
• IALA is on its way to Intergovernmental status
• World’s biggest Wonder of the Seas delivered to Royal Caribbean
• FLNG Coral Sul arrives on station in northern Mozambique
• SA AGULHAS II to set off in search of Shackleton’s Endurance
• A.P. Moller-Maersk shares millions of weather observations: An aid to climate science
• WHARF TALK:  the letter D stands for….. – TS DELTA
• IMO’s Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 8) meets
• New cyclone, Batsirai, heads for central Madagascar
• Richard Ibwima appointed as new Operations Executive at Namport
• APM Terminals investment in Apapa passes the US$ 400 million mark
• New Transaid driver training project: CILT Ghana to support
• Fires out on board NS Qingdao, ship moves to Saldanha Bay

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• 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 Cape Town
The Wednesday masthead shows the Port of East London West Bank
The Thursday masthead shows the Port of Durban Container Terminal by night
The Friday masthead shows the Port of  Ton Tan Island
The Saturday masthead shows Port of Tema
The Sunday masthead shows Port of Tema

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FIRST VIEW:   KAPTAN ARIF BAYRAKTAR 

Our First View this week is the Turkish bulk carrier KAPTAN ARIF BAYRAKTAR (IMO 9449560).

One of the many interesting ships that called at Durban during December is the Turkish-owned and operated bulk carrier KAPTAN ARIF BAYRAKTAR (IMO 9449560), which was built in 2010. In the scenes above the bulker is shown leaving the port for West Africa, and we also watch the marine pilot being lifted from the vessel as she enters the channel for the open sea.

The ship sailed from Durban on 12 December 2021, bound for the Freetown anchorage which was reached on 22 December.  There the ship had a long delay and after 32 days at anchor she started her engine and sailed for Kamsar in Guinea, where she arrived on 28 January.  As can be seen in the pictures above, the 57,453-dwt bulker has four onboard cranes covering the five hatches over a similar number of holds.  Do take note of the prominent ‘B’ on her bows.

Kaptan Arif Bayraktar has a length of 161 metres and width of 28m. She is powered by a single two-stroke MAN B&W Model 7S50MC-C diesel engine providing 11,060 KW / 15,037 HP driving a controllable pitch propeller for a speed of 14 knots and has has a B1-700 bow thruster.

The ship’s registered owner is Kab Bulk Shipping Co Ltd of Istanbul in Turkey. The ISM and ship manager and commercial managers are Bayraktar Gemi also of Istanbul.  The ship is flagged in Valletta, Malta.     The pictures are by Keith Betts

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Cyclone Batsirai on course to strike Madagascar

This image, captured on 4 February 2022 by one of the Sentinel-3 satellites, shows cyclone Batsirai shortly after it passed near the French overseas department of La Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa.

Batsirai brought torrential rains and extreme winds to La Réunion, with gusts of 200km/h. The rough seas generated by the cyclone also caused an oil tanker to go aground off the southern coast of La Réunion, resulting in an oil spill. [See next report below.]

Despite the highly adverse meteorological conditions, teams from the department’s fire and rescue service were successful in recovering all eleven members of the tanker’s crew.

For France 24 news with film (in French)  SEE HERE

Using Sentinel satellite data and in situ data, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service Sea Models can be used to evaluate the potential effects and predict the drifts of oil spills through products such as OSERIT for the North Sea, or MEDSLIK in the Mediterranean.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Added 5 February 2022

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Mauritian tanker Tresta Star goes aground off Reunion during height of Cyclone Batsirai

The TRESTA STAR (IMO 9869629), a small oil products tanker possibly used for bunkering and registered in Mauritius, has run aground off the eastern coast of Reunion Island during the height of Cyclone Batsirai on Thursday (3 February 2022).

It appears the tanker was heading towards the south of the island, possibly to seek protection from the force of the cyclone which at that time was passing to the north of Reunion, when it suffered engine trouble and was blown towards the shore.

The ship went aground off Pointe du Tremblet near the south-east corner of the island. The crew of the vessel numbering 11, comprise seven Indian nationals and four Bangladeshis and are all reported safe.

According to officials on Reunion, Tresta Star was not carrying a cargo of oil at the time and any threat to the coastline will be limited to diesel fuel used in the engine room.

An earlier report suggested an attempt was to be made to take the tanker in tow before she went aground but it appears this was not achieved.

The tanker, which was built in 2019, has a length of 76 metres and width of 16 metres.

VIDEO CLICK HERE

Video via Twitter: French Navy – Use your BACKSPACE button to return here

Cyclone Batsirai

Cyclone Batsirai has meanwhile passed to the north of Reunion and was near position 19.4S 52.6E at 12h00 on Friday 4 February. The cyclone is expected to go ashore on the coast of Madagascar on Saturday afternoon between Mahanoro and Mananjary at a condition of being an intense cyclone, possibly very intense, with a maximum predicted wind speed of 120 knots (138 mph).

The rain expected overland is in the area of 100mm. In the littoral zones in the south of the landing zone and on the chain of the east between 300mm and 400mm of rain is forecast. The coastal swell will be of the order of reaching 7 to 8 metres but with a maximum height of 15m possible. In the landing zone a surge of between 1 and 1,5 metres or higher is likely.

The latest forecasting suggests the cyclone will weaken over land until it crosses into the Mozambique Channel on the west coast of Madagascar, near the latitude of Europa island on Monday. Once back over water it will again strengthen, with the cyclone however curving to the south and lessening the risk of another cyclone over parts of Mozambique and even northern KZN in South Africa, together with adjacent inland areas. The cyclone will weaken as it then moves further south but around 300 or so miles from the South African coast.

Tropical Storm 10S (Cliff)

The second tropical storm previously reported, now named Tropical Storm Cliff (10S), to the east in the Indian Ocean and situated near 18.1S 83.8E some 920 n.miles southeast of Diego Garcia, was tracking south-southwestward at 6 knots at 09h00 Friday 4 February, with a maximum wave height of 12 feet. Its current path will take the storm well to the south of Mauritius and Reunion islands.   sources: Cyclocane, Meteo France, Joint Typhoon Warning Center

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FPSO Trinity Spirit explosion, followed by fire then sinking

Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL), which is in receivership, has confirmed an explosion on board its FPSO TRINITY SPIRIT (IMO 7370325) at the Ukpokiti Terminal in the Gulf of Guinea.

Reports say there were 10 people on board just before the explosion which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday, 2 February 2022. The offshore production unit was then engulfed in flames before eventually sinking.

“The Management of Shebah Exploration & Production Company Ltd (SEPCOL) in Receivership hereby announce the unfortunate incident of a fire that engulfed our offshore facility, the FPSO Trinity Spirit located at the Ukpokiti Terminal, following an explosion during the early hours of Wednesday, 2nd of February 2022,” management of Sepcol said in a statement.

“The cause of the explosion is currently being investigated and we are working with necessary parties to contain the situation.

 

“At this time there are no reported fatalities, but we can confirm that there were ten crew men on board the vessel prior to the incident and we are prioritising investigations with respect to their safety and security.

“We appreciate the assistance provided us by the Clean Nigeria Associates, the Chevron team operating in the nearby Escravos facility and our community stakeholders as well as fishermen, who have been of tremendous assistance since the incident happened.

“We have duly notified all relevant authorities and we appeal to the members of the public to stay away from the area while our Crisis Management Team continue to monitor the situation and update all stakeholders with new information as the investigation evolves.”

SEPCOL, in receivership, is owned jointly by Nigerian and overseas interests, among whom are mentioned Abbeycourt Trading Company Limited (ATCO), Abbeycourt Petroleum Company Limited and Allenne Limited.

 

The 274,774-dwt FPSO Trinity Spirit had a capacity to process up to 22,000 barrels of oil per day and storage for 2 million barrels of oil.

It has since been reported that three of the crew have died in the explosion while the other seven remain missing.

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WHARF TALK: container ship – COSCO ASHDOD

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

It is quite a thing to think that less than 30 years ago, most folk would never have heard of a Chinese shipping company called the China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO). Yet, the relentless march of China’s development is such that COSCO now are a massive shipping concern, operating over 1,000 vessels. They have fleet irons in every shipping sector fire when it comes to vessel specialisations, and COSCO now operate fleets for the offshore market, bulk carrier market, tanker market, heavylift market and, of course, the container market.

It is not news, nor surprising, that the efficiency and productivity of the Cape Town Container Terminal is not considered as being terribly high, or held in high regard, in the shipping industry. It is not unknown to see anywhere between five and nine container vessels, at any one time, sitting at anchor off the port, awaiting a berth, whilst their published schedules go out of the window. At times, it must drive the owners and charterers to distraction and despair.

As far back as 14th January at 10h00, the Panamax container vessel COSCO ASHDOD (IMO 9518335) arrived, from Durban, at the Table Bay anchorage and then stayed out in the anchorage, or slow steaming offshore, for a full 16 days, despite running on a scheduled container service. Finally, at 11h00 on 30th January, she entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded to berth 602, at the Cape Town Container Terminal in the Ben Schoeman Dock.

Built in 2013 by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang shipbuilding at Jingjiang in China, ‘Cosco Ashdod’ is 261 metres in length and has a deadweight of 49,956 tons. She is powered by a single MAN-B&W 8K90ME-C6 8 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 48,990 bhp (36,560 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 24.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators providing 1,700 kW each. ‘Cosco Ashdod’ has seven holds and a container carrying capacity of 4,253 TEU, with 698 reefer plugs provided. In March 2019 she was retrofitted with a scrubber unit, which has been blended in with her existing funnel arrangement, so as to be invisible to the observer.

She was delivered as the 18th of a class of 20 sisterships, known as the YZJ 4250 design. All of the vessels on the class were all named after ports around the world, with Ashdod being located on the Mediterranean coast of Israel.

South Africa is also included in the class, with one of the sisterships named ‘Cosco Durban’. A pointer to the efficiency of Chinese shipbuilders is that all 20 of the class were built at the one shipyard, in a period of just 17 months.

Owned and operated by Cosco Shipping Lines Co. Ltd. of Shanghai, ‘Cosco Ashdod’ is managed by Shanghai Ocean Shipping Co. Ltd., also of Shanghai. She is operated on the Asia-South Africa (ASA) service with a port rotation of Kaohsiung- Xiamen- Hong Kong- Nansha- Shekou- Singapore- Port Klang- Durban- Cape Town- Port Klang- Singapore- Hong Kong- Kaohsiung.

The ASA service is a joint service operated by Cosco, Evergreen, K Line, Mitsui OSK and Pacific International Lines, who provide twelve vessels of between 4,200 TEU and 5,800 TEU for the service. There are four sisterships of ‘Cosco Ashdod’ operating on the ASA service.

As always in the container shipping industry, different operators also promote the ASA service, via their own booking portals, but giving the service a different name and accompanying acronym. Both Hapag Lloyd and Zim Lines refer to ASA as the South Africa Asia Express II (SA2), whilst Ocean Network Express (ONE) refer to it as the South China Loop (SAS), and Orient Overseas Container Lines (OOCL) refer to it as the South Africa Service 2 (SAF2).

On completion of her discharge, and on finishing loading for the Far East, ‘Cosco Ashdod’ was finally ready to sail on her eastbound voyage, after less than two days alongside. Her port rotation schedule, on this voyage, was that she was cutting out the normal scheduled, eastbound stop, at Port Klang in Malaysia. She sailed from Cape Town at 06h00 on the 1st February, with her destination set as Singapore.

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Oil spill in Peruvian waters

IMO’s Media service reported on 2 February that it is supporting international efforts to assist Peru in oil spill response, following an oil spill which occurred north of Lima on 15 January.

The Government of Peru has declared an environment emergency. The crude oil spill – estimated to be in the magnitude of 1000 m3 – affected several tens of kilometres of shoreline, local wildlife, fisheries and tourism related activities. A government-led clean-up effort is under way, including an oiled wildlife response.

Following a request for technical assistance from the Government of Peru, IMO has deployed an oil spill response expert to Lima. He will remain in Peru for two weeks and support the Government of Peru by providing technical advice on the ongoing oil spill response and national contingency planning.

The expert will join the international efforts of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)-led Joint Environment Unit to respond and address the impacts of the spill.

More information is to be found HERE

Finally, it has been reported that the IMO Secretariat is also supporting the response, by providing technical backstopping to the IMO expert in the field. At IMO the Secretariat has been maintaining close liaison with the affected country and technical partners throughout in order to provide support and assistance, as required.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Cyclone Batsirai hammers Reunion, still on course for Madagascar

Cyclone Batsirai (08S) on Thursday morning, 3 February 2022, moved further west to a position 19.1S 55.7E at 03h00 to the north of the French territory of Reunion island, roughly 100 n.miles away. Such is the size of Batsirai that the widespread nature of the tropical storm is shedding huge amounts of rain onto the island in a similar fashion to that deposited over Mauritius on Wednesday, accompanied by strong gale force winds and a heavy sea swell.

On Reunion a Cyclonic Red Alert is in force. The storm had slowed to a moving speed across the water of around 4 knots, but with wind speeds within the system of 115 knots, gusting to 140 knots.

Strong wind and high wave warnings were still in force in Mauritius on Thursday afternoon, local time.

Batsirai remains under the influence of the subtropical ridge and is moving on a general west-southwesterly track, Its movement will accelerate before its arrival on Saturday on the Malagasy coast, probably in the area of Mahanoro but with an uncertainty of about 100km of the impact area. A sea surge of about 1 metre is likely south of the landfall area.

On Sunday, 6 February, Batsirai will emerge as a weaker system in the southern Mozambique Channel, tracking close to Europa island on Sunday night. It’s track could then curve more towards the south-west with the eastward shift of the subtropical ridge, but this remains to be confirmed.

Although the cyclone will see a general weakening as it passes over land in Madagascar, the system could resume gradual intensification in rather favourable environmental conditions at least until Monday.

At this stage it cannot be said the cyclone will reach and pass over the African coast or for that matter, exactly where, but warnings have been issued covering the central and southern Mozambican coast and northern KZN coast in South Africa, as well as adjacent inland regions.

Tropical Disturbance 90S

Further to the east near position 18.0S 81.0E, which is about 800 n.miles southeast of Diego Garcia, infrared imagery depicts favourable conditions for the formation of yet another storm system identified at present by 90S, which it is suggested will gradually intensify as it tracks eastward over the next 24-hour period.

Maximum surface winds are estimated at 20 to 25 knots and the minimum sea level pressure is estimated to be near 1001 MB. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre based at Pearl Harbur says the potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours remains medium.  Source:  JTWC, Cyclocane, Mauritius Meteorological Service, Meteo France..

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SHIP REPAIR: Southeast Asia’s ship repair threatened by strict Covid measures

High freight rates and ongoing workforce limitations due to travel restrictions and Covid-19 measures are expected to result in Southeast Asia’s ship repair capacity falling by more than 25% compared to pre-pandemic levels. That’s the conclusion reached by Nippon Paint Marine.

In 2019, a total of 516 vessels totalling 28 million deadweight drydocked at Singapore shipyards for paint jobs, but numbers dwindled to 296 ships in 2020 and 316 the following year as the world responded to the Covid-19 pandemic. Similar shortfalls are forecast at repair yards across Southeast Asia.

“We expect the number of vessels drydocking in the Asia Pacific region for a new coating to be 680-800, slightly up on the previous two years but still only 60-70% of the number of vessels that docked in 2019, which had a combined tonnage approaching 76 million deadweight,” said Bill Phua, Managing Director, Nippon Paint Marine in Singapore.

Having returned from recent visits to yards in Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and the Middle East, Phua said that strict virus safety measures and travel restrictions in place to deal with the omicron variant are impacting the availability of workers to carry out the work.

“There’s still this limitation in place, restricting some yard’s achieving full capacity,” he said.
High freight rates are also expected to continue to affect repair volumes, as shipowners postpone scheduled drydockings to keep vessels trading.

“It does create planning problems, especially at Chinese repair yards where there are very strict quarantine protocols in place. Drydockings are taking considerably longer. We are seeing ships diverted to Vietnam, Dubai,” he said.

The increase in the number of vessels applying more fuel-efficient hull coatings, however, is expected to prove a boon for repair yards and coatings companies over coming months.

According to Phua, COP26’s Clydebank Declaration and the push to create ‘green shipping lanes’ will result in a greater focus on hull coating technologies, given the environmental impact of biofouling, algae and barnacles on fuel consumption, especially when hulls are idle or slow steaming due to high port congestion.

“This is now a key consideration for operators specifying a hull coating. An idling ship is more attractive to marine life, so an antifouling that minimises this risk offers the operator a real and measurable commercial advantage,” said Phua.

Fouling results in speed loss, increased power demand, more fuel, increased costs and an increase in already high CO2 emissions. It also perpetuates the spread of invasive aquatic species to new environments, further affecting biodiversity and the marine ecosystem.

“The enforcement of ever stricter rules will require ship operators to comply and up the ante in terms of the technology adopted.

Phua said that investing in greener coatings such as Nippon Paint Marine’s new FASTAR® XI system can improve fuel efficiency by up to 8%, along with a 1.2% speed loss over a 60-month service interval. “This helps shipowners better protect both the environment and their bottom line,” he maintained.

This, he added, can also help vessel operators minimise time spent in drydock and keep vessels trading.

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DP World to work with Angolan govt to develop country’s logistics sector

DP World and the Government of Angola, on Wednesday (2 February) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will see both parties cooperating to further develop the country’s trade and logistics sector.

The MoU paves the way for the two parties to enter into formal discussions to explore cooperation in the areas of ports and terminals, special economic zones and logistics parks, cross border trade facilitation, trade finance and marine services, as well as logistics support in other commodity-based sectors.

On 1 March 2021 DP World began operations at the Multipurpose Terminal (MPT) at the Port of Luanda after having been awarded a 20-year concession to manage, operate and modernise the facility.

Since then, DP World Luanda has invested in new equipment and facilities, technology and the development and training of staff, as part of a US$190 million initial investment to transform the terminal into a major maritime hub along the western coast of Southern Africa.

Ricardo Viegas d’Abreu, Angola’s Minister of Transports, described DP World as a strategic partner for the transport and logistics sector in Angola. He said DP World brought together the professionalism and skills necessary to drive the vision of an integrated and sustainable economy, with an effective and efficient logistics chain.

“With this partnership, it will be possible to promote and boost Angola’s industrial development, as well as its cross-border and international trade,” the transport minister said.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said that alongside the Multipurpose Terminal, there is still a tremendous opportunity to further develop and integrate the country’s logistics and trade infrastructure and unlock more economic benefits.

“The Angolan government has an ambitious plan for this sector, and through this MoU our primary objective is to find ways in which we can support the country to significantly maximise its strategic location and increase trade flows domestically and in the surrounding region.”

Since the implementation of the MPT’s development and modernisation plan, the teams at DP World Luanda increased operational efficiency threefold within the first six months of starting operations.

The team also achieved the feat of being the first terminal in the country to handle two large vessels simultaneously.

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WHARF TALK: bulker bunkering at Mother City – SEA VIRYA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Despite the fanfare back in 2019, that a new ship-to-ship bunkering operation would be starting in Saldanha Bay in 2020, there has been no apparent further movement on that subject. The local company that was granted an operating license for STS supplied fuels has yet to make an impact, and those bulk carriers requiring bunkers, and with dimensions that enable them to enter Cape Town harbour, are still arriving to take fuel in the mother city, before they head north on the short hop to Saldanha Bay.

On 27th January at 22h00, the Supramax bulk carrier SEA VIRYA (IMO 9626974) arrived, in ballast, off Cape Town from Warri in Nigeria, and proceeded into Cape Town harbour, berthing at the Eastern Mole in the Duncan Dock. Despite being in ballast, her berth indicated that she had not arrived to load any bulk cargo, but instead was intending to take on bunkers and stores only. Thus, her actual next loading port, was still a mystery, but not for long.

As soon as she was made fast to her berth at the Eastern Mole, the Cape Town bunker tanker ‘Southern Valour’ came alongside ‘Sea Virya’ and began transferring bunkers across to her. At the same time, a number of ship chandler lorries drew up alongside and began transferring fresh food and local produce to her.

Built in 2013 by Jiangsu Hantong Shipbuilding at Tongzhou in China, ‘Sea Virya’ is 190 metres in length and has a deadweight of 56,512 tons. She is powered by a single STX MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C7 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 12,880 bhp (9,480 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Anqing-Daihatsu 5DK-20 generators providing 600 kW each, and a single Cummins 6BT(D)M emergency generator providing 100 kW. She has a Saacke-Qingdao CMB-VS composite economiser boiler. She has five holds, serviced by four 35 ton TTS hydraulic cranes, all equipped with Güven 14 m3 grabs. Her cargo carrying capacity is 71,634 m3.

Nominally owned by Sea Virya Shipping Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, ‘Sea Virya’ is part of the Chinaland Shipping Business Co. Ltd. of Lianyungang in China. She is operated by Chinaland Shipping Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, and managed by Goldenking Ship Management Pte. Ltd. of Singapore.

Her outline clearly marks her out as yet another example of the numerous SDARI 57 Dolphin class of Bulk Carrier.

Designed by the Shanghai Ship Design and Research Institute (SDARI), ‘Sea Virya’ is one of almost 500 examples of this popular class of vessel. The SDARI 57 Dolphin is built at various Government owned shipyards across China. Due to it being built in vast number, the SDARI 57 Dolphin is to be seen year round, at almost every South African port.

Within 36 hours of her arrival, ‘Sea Virya’ was ready to sail and left Cape Town on 29th January at 10h00, bound for Saldanha Bay, located just 72 nautical miles to the north of Cape Town. She arrived that same day at 21h00, and entered Saldanha Bay harbour to go alongside berth 203 at the Multi-Purpose Terminal (MPT), to begin loading her next bulk cargo.

So yet again, we have a shipowner having to incur additional expense, with extra port dues, in this case at Cape Town, because Saldanha Bay is still not able to offer bunkering services to commercial vessels, despite a license having been issued for such a service to be given at the port, and despite the license holder stating that bunkering operations would begin in 2020.

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Warning to KZN: Cyclone Ana highlights climate risks faced by vulnerable populations

by Ethan van Diemen, Daily Maverick

Over the past week, the first seasonal cyclone in the Southwest Indian Ocean killed at least 34 people in Madagascar and two in Mozambique, and left large swathes of Malawi without power. 

While authorities in the affected countries focus on counting the cost and responding to the devastation, the storm — Ana — serves as a brutal reminder of the vulnerability of communities in the developing world and the future risks that South Africa will have to navigate as the level of global warming increases.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs explained that: “A low-pressure system formed in the south-west part of the Indian Ocean over the past days, crossing over Madagascar on 22 January. The system entered the Mozambique channel on 23 January and evolved into a moderate tropical storm… making landfall in Nampula province on 24 January. Tropical storm Ana, whose force has already been perceived in some provinces, could cause wind speeds up to 100km/h and rains up to 200mm/24h.”

On Wednesday, Unicef elaborated on the destruction wrought and its attendant impacts, saying that, “Strong winds and heavy rainfall caused by Tropical Storm Ana have disrupted the lives of thousands of children in four countries in Eastern and Southern Africa.

“The situation in some locations remains dire for children and families on the ground, with rains still coming, and water levels rising. The tropical storm sheds a light again on the risks and consequences of climate emergencies in the region, as well as the need for immediate humanitarian assistance from the onset — including in the most remote areas where access is difficult.”

Devastating flooding in Madagascar after many days of rain brought about by Tropical Storm #Anahttps://t.co/PHe9pZyZ2t

— Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) January 26, 2022

Unicef’s statement continued that, “In Mozambique, where insecurity continues to negatively impact on child nutrition, the recent tropical storm adds one more crisis for too many children. Right now, an estimated 21,000 people have been affected by the cyclone, many of them children. In addition, at least 77 classrooms and six health centres have been partially or completely destroyed, leaving 2,000 students out of school and communities without access to health services.”

Landry Ninteretse, regional director at 350Africa.org, said: “As a climate justice organisation, we are concerned about the impact of this tropical cyclone, more so in these vulnerable areas that are yet to recover from devastating climate disasters they have experienced.

“We stand in solidarity with our comrades and partners affected by this disaster and call on humanitarian agencies to move with speed to save lives. Needless to say, disasters such as these are further evidence of the injustice suffered by the nations that contribute least to the climate crisis, as they bear the brunt of the crisis, by way of worsening climate impacts.

“Not only should this be a wake-up call for the biggest polluters to commit to plans to significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions by moving away from fossil fuels, but also for the developed world to make good on its promise of climate finance to help vulnerable nations deal with the impacts of the climate crisis.” 

From 2016 to 2021, #Mozambique has faced 2 severe drought events and 5 tropical cyclones, including the major cyclone Idai & Kenneth that hit the country in 2019 within a time span of 6 weeks and affected 2.5 million people.#TropicalStormAna pic.twitter.com/48xkYDR8Ck

— UNICEF Moçambique (@UNICEF_Moz) January 27, 2022

The news of Ana’s deadly path comes on the heels of the publication of a recent, groundbreaking study in the journal Nature Geoscience led by scientists at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), which has bolstered arguments that increased levels of global warming and warmer oceans could lead to cyclones making landfall on South Africa’s east coast in the future.

Using state-of-the-art techniques to investigate seabed sediments, the study revealed that severe tropical cyclones had made landfall on the eastern coast of South Africa in the past and that under projected climate change conditions these damaging phenomena could arise again in the future. 

The team, consisting of geologists from a number of countries including Germany and the UK, examined the sediment record from the seabed off the coast of Durban and found that there was a period — under higher sea levels — when storms were much more extreme than they are now.

“We found distinctive sediments that were deposited by severe storms that struck the coast between approximately 5,000 and 7,000 years ago,” said Professor Andrew Green, head of the Marine Geology Research Unit at UKZN, who led the research. 

“These storms were much bigger than any storm that happened in the 4,000 years since. This has allowed the storm sediments, or tempestites, to be preserved just beneath the seabed.”

This period of increased tempestuousness coincided with warmer sea temperatures in the Indian Ocean, which allowed tropical storms to travel further south than they do presently. 

Dr Carlos Loureiro, lecturer in physical geography at the University of Stirling in Scotland, carried out modelling of the storm waves and analysed how current ocean trends and climate projections aligned with past climate conditions.

“This important work demonstrates that the past climate conditions that allowed very intense tropical cyclones to reach the South African coast are very similar to the ones projected now under climate change,” said Loureiro.

“By confirming that these conditions existed in the past, our work provides strong support to recent climate modelling studies indicating that tropical cyclones are likely to migrate poleward in response to global warming.”

At present, tropical storms in the region are usually confined to central Mozambique, but renewed ocean warming because of climate change could once again allow them to travel south, with potentially disastrous implications for cities like Maputo, Durban and Richards Bay.

“When these storms hit the coast there were no cities, buildings or roads, and the coastline was free to adjust in a natural manner,” said Honorary Research Professor Andrew Cooper, a fellow of the Royal Society.

“If such a storm were to happen now, beachfront infrastructure would be devastated and the rainfall associated with tropical cyclones would cause serious flooding.”

This research gives impetus to the need to evaluate hazards along South Africa’s east coast that will be more vulnerable to tropical cyclones making landfall. It also added additional scientific weight to the assessment of climatologists at the Global Change Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand.  

After the release of the most recent “code red for humanity” IPCC report in August 2021, Professor Francois Engelbrecht, a leading climatologist and director at the Global Change Institute, told Daily Maverick that, “The climate science is clear that as the environment warms, these tropical cyclones can survive further south and that is why this is a risk. 

“South Africa is not prepared for the possibility of an intense tropical cyclone moving southwards where it can maybe impact Maputo and move over the Limpopo River Valley.”  

As noted above, tropical cyclones seldom make landfall in South Africa. The last recorded case is that of Cyclone Domoina, which in 1984 caused record floods.

“In terms of its intensity, today it would, strictly speaking, not meet the technical category of a Category One hurricane, yet it was terribly devastating. The point is that these tropical cyclones just don’t reach South Africa, but when one did reach us it caused widespread flooding and tens of people died in South Africa,” said Engelbrecht.

Now, because of global warming, there is much more energy available for tropical cyclones to become intense.

“My analysis is, and the assessment of the Global Change Institute is, that the risks exist for such an intense tropical cyclone to make landfall in South Africa. It will bring complete chaos and destruction as we’ve never seen before. We will not know what to do when such a cyclone strikes Richards Bay or if it strikes Maputo and then moves westward along the Limpopo River Valley or along the boundary of SA and Zimbabwe.

“The point is that northeastern South Africa is, for the first time in recorded history, at risk of a Category Three to Category Five hurricane making landfall. The flooding will be enormous. The risk to life will be tremendous for communities living near the rivers in the northeast. We will not be used to 200km/h winds and vulnerable people in informal settlements will have their roofs and walls ripped off.” DM/OBP

 

This article first appeared on Daily Maverick and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Cyclone Batsirai batters Mauritius, next stop Madagascar

Cyclone Batsirai is dumping heavy rains on Mauritius while en route to Madagascar. While the storm centre lay 80 nautical miles to the north-north-west of Mauritius and tracking westward at around 9 knots as at 15h00 on Tuesday 2 February, the amount of rain falling on the tropical island has been heavy, according to the Mauritius met office. At that stage the storm centre was near 19.0S 56.3E.

At 16h10 local (12h10 GMT) on Tuesday 1 February 2022, the Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) issued a Class III warning – the second-highest weather alert level. That night the Mauritius main airport was closed to all aircraft traffic. Wind speeds reached 133 kilometres per hour and parts of the island received 118.5 millimetres of rain as Tropical Cyclone Batsirai swirled north of the country, the Mauritius Meteorological Services said in a statement.

With the cyclone moving towards the west it will pass close (between 80 and 100 n.miles) to the island of La Reunion during the morning of Thursday 3 February. Batsirai at this stage is described as ‘intense’ with wind speeds of between 105 and 125 knots and wave heights recorded at 12h00 of 14.3 metres (47 feet).

Next stop Madagascar

The presence of the Mascarene islands could modify the trajectory of the cyclone as the storm moves towards the east coast of Madagascar where it could land in the area of Mahanoro early in the morning of Saturday 5 February (with an uncertainty of 75-80 miles (150km).

Although the mountains along Madagascar’s eastern coastline may reduce some of the risk of increased rainfall as well as flash-floods and mudslides, the cyclone is still likely to deposit heavy rains across the affected area, along with strong winds and the risk of resultant flooding of some areas.

Southern Madagascar has been experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

The strength of Cyclone Batsirai is such that it is very possible for it to pass over the Madagascan island and emerge in the southern Mozambique Channel, possibly close to Europa island.

Once in the Mozambique Channel, and based on the history of other similar cyclones, Batsirai could strengthen in the channel’s warm waters and then head for the southern-central Mozambique coast.

People living in the affected areas are advised to follow the evolution of the storm with attention. This concerns people living in southern and central Mozambique, the north-eastern parts of South Africa (northern KZN, Limpopo, Mpumalanga), Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Malawi & Botswana. Sources: Meteo France, Mauritius Meteorological Services, Cyclocane, Joint Typhoon Warning Center, South African Weather Service.

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‘Fundamentalist’ Gwede Mantashe sticks to his guns, promises “a lot of coal generation by 2030”

by Julia Evans, Daily Maverick

‘Many think that there will be no coal generation by 2030. I can assure you that there’ll be a lot of coal generation by 2030… because I’m a coal fundamentalist,” said Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe at a Coal Colloquium on Tuesday, making light of the nickname the media has given him.

At the colloquium held at the Council for Geoscience in Pretoria, which aimed to engage with South African coal producers and the media about the sector, Mantashe talked up the economic importance of coal and discussed the just transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.

Why Mantashe is a ‘coal fundamentalist’

In his address at the colloquium, Mantashe highlighted what he called the three paramount realities of coal: 

1. South Africa has a large resource in coal;  
2. South Africa is dependent on coal for its baseload and energy security; and  
3. Coal brings in massive revenue and employs thousands of workers. 

Mantashe said that he’s described as a “coal fundamentalist” in the media, a label he accepts.

He said coal is the second-most important energy source in the world, after oil. It is also one of the cheapest and most abundant energy carriers.

Coal was the highest earner in South Africa’s total mining revenue, contributing 21.4% – R130.57-billion – in 2020.

“For me, as a curious young man,” joked Mantashe, “when you generate R130-billion in one year… we are being offered R131-billion to close coal mining. [A reference to the climate finance pledge made to South Africa at COP26]. And I’m saying, you are making that money in one year.” 

This was met with scattered applause from an auditorium of coal producers. 

Mantashe pondered: “But how do you sell your product, for what you do in one year? Now, I’m not a rebel, I’m just raising the reality that must be in the analysis that we’re making.”

What about our global commitments to lower emissions?

“There is no debate about climate change, we see the consequences of climate change,” said the minister. “There is no debate about the desire to move from high carbon emissions to low carbon emissions. The debate is about how, and coal miners must be part of determining the context of that how.”

Mantashe said he acknowledged the South African government’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, and subsequent commitments to address climate change, saying the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan has the country’s trajectory from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy covered.

He said that getting to a low-carbon economy while still favouring coal entails basing all new coal power projects on high efficiency, the use of low-emission technologies, and the introduction of a carbon tax, carbon budgeting system and compulsory greenhouse gas reporting.

When asked how our continued use of coal past 2030 lines up with the global commitments made at COP26, Mantashe said that every country is only committing to net-zero emissions by 2050, not 2030, and that we cannot compare our transition to other countries because we are not at the same stage of development. 

“We are at the level below China and India in terms of development. But we pretend to be at the same level as Europe. It’s a mistake that will cost us, definitely, in the long term.”

Mantashe added that if it were not for the countries that replaced the phrase “phase out” with “phase down” of coal in the Glasgow Climate Pact, we would have committed to an exit from coal.

Climate finance deal

At the COP26 finance negotiations in 2021, the European Union, Germany, France, the UK and the US pledged R131-billion to support South Africa’s climate action goals, in the form of grants, concessional loans and investment and risk-sharing instruments. 

Mantashe said South Africa has not yet accepted the deal and that it is still up for debate. 

“There’s still a debate on what of that R131-billion is a grant, how much of that is concessional funding, how much of that is a straightforward loan. Until we understand that, there’s no acceptance of R131-billion. There’s a debate about accessing that money if it makes sense to us. 

“It must make sense for the programme of this country,” said Mantashe, referring to the energy transition programme. “If it does not, it becomes a carrot.”

Tyrone Seale, acting spokesperson for the Presidency, told Daily Maverick: “Government finalised a political declaration with partner countries and the European Union in November 2021. The detail of the way forward is being attended to at ministerial level among the various partners.”

Mantashe told a media conference after the colloquium: “Funding will always be a dynamic issue. And in the majority of cases, it’s a space that I avoid.

“I know that there will be a lot of options looked into. Last week our Treasury was attacked for taking a loan from the World Bank. We were attacked for that, nobody took to the content of that law. But that is the World Bank, therefore, ideologically, it should be bad. And I think that’s a very short-sighted view in terms of managing the finances of the country. But I leave that to my colleague [Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane].” DM/OBP

This article first appeared on Daily Maverick and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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A Saharan dust storm: Location: Atlantic Ocean

Image of The Day:

This image, acquired by one of the Copernicus Sentinel-3 satellites on 30 January, shows a new Saharan dust storm, the third in less than two weeks, with transport from the west coast of Africa out over the Atlantic Ocean.

Air quality in the Canary Islands (Spain), as well as in Madeira (Portugal), has been heavily affected by significant concentrations of particulate matter (dust) in the air. Consequently, the Spanish National Meteorological Agency, AEMET, has issued a yellow alert and health authorities have advised people not to stay outdoors for extended periods of time.

With a revisit time of one day, the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite delivers free and open access data that can be used to monitor air quality worldwide.

This data can be used to inform models that predict the impact of dust storms.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Mossel Bay workhorse – LEWEK HARRIER

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

With all the recent social media, angst-ridden, furore concerning seismic surveys off the South African coast, connected to the search for oil and gas, one tends to forget that there is already in place a mature South African oil and gas industry, located off the Southern Cape coast.

As with any other offshore oilfield, they come with operational oil production platforms, in this case located in the Bredasdorp Basin. These structures require specialised offshore vessels to supply and protect them, and these little known vessels are South African flagged. The vessels themselves require annual servicing, maintenance, surveys and occasional drydocking.

On 17th January at 07h00 the offshore Anchor Handling Tug and Supply vessel (AHTS) LEWEK HARRIER (IMO 9359167) arrived off Cape Town, from Mossel Bay on the Southern Cape coast, and entered Cape Town harbour. She proceeded directly to the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock, to start a period of scheduled maintenance and overhaul. She is expected to remain in port for some weeks.

One of two sisterships, ‘Lewek Harrier’ was built in 2006 at Cheoy Lee Shipyard in Zhuhai in China. She is 67 metres in length and has a deadweight of 2,018 tons. She is powered by two MaK 8M25 8 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 3,500 bhp each (2,610 kW), to drive two Kamewa controllable pitch propellers, to give her a service speed of 10.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes two Caterpillar 3412C generators providing 425 kW each. For the required manoeuvrability of an AHTS vessel she has a transverse bow thruster producing 590 kW, a transverse stern thruster producing 590 kW and a bow HRP 4111 RT retractable azimuth thruster producing 533 kW. All of which gives her a DP2 classification.

Her Anchor Handling and Tug requirements give her a bollard pull of 107 tons. For her Supply requirements means that she has a working aft deck space of 450 m2, and the ability to carry 1,000 tons of cargo on deck. Her firefighting capability is FiFi 1. She can provide 32 berths for crew and additional personnel.

Owned by JP88 Harrier Pte. Ltd. of Singapore, she was previously part of the large EMAS offshore fleet of Singapore. Operated on behalf of PetroSA and, under the South African flag, ‘Lewek Harrier’ is able to provide operational and seagoing experience for South African deck and engineering cadets, under the SAMSA National Cadet Training Programme (NCTP).

She is based in Mossel Bay, and is deployed between Mossel Bay and the Mossgas FA Platform, located in Block 9, some 39 nautical miles offshore, in 113 metres water depth. The FA Platform is a natural gas and condensate receiving platform, which also processes the produce from all the associated field wells, from both the FA Platform itself, and other subsea satellite wellheads in the area.

The gas and condensate reservoir is located between 1,500 and 2,800 metres below the seabed. All of the gas, associated condensate, and water from all the wells are separated and processed on the FA platform. Processed gas and condensate are sent to the onshore Gas to Liquids (GTL) plant in Mossel Bay, through dedicated subsea pipelines; 450 mm (18 inch) for the gas, and 200 mm (8 inch) for the condensate.

In September 2016, prior to her contract to PetroSa, and the FA Platform, ‘Lewek Harrier’ was based in Singapore and was despatched from that location on a Search and rescue mission (SAR) to the Andaman Sea, off the coast of Myanmar (Burma). She had been tasked to search for a general cargo vessel, M Star 1, which has not been heard from for five days.

On arrival in the search area, ‘Lewek Harrier’ spotted and rescued all 14 crewmembers from the missing vessel, 12 of whom were in liferafts, and 2 who were in a single lifeboat. The survivors were all taken to the port of Ranong in Thailand. The M Star 1 itself had capsized and sank, forcing the crew to abandon her.

In June 2018, she was dispatched from Singapore to assist with the salvage and refloating of the feeder container vessel SSL Kolkata, which had gone aground close to the mouth of the River Ganges, when heading for Kolkata port. The vessel had been purposefully run aground after an uncontrollable fire had started in one of her containers, and spread to other containers aboard.

The crew had abandoned ship after magnesium cargo started to ignite, and cracks started to appear in the hull of the SSL Kolkata. She sank and became awash, and ‘Lewek Harrier’ was unable to refloat the vessel, which was abandoned to her insurers for wreck removal.

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Dar es Salaam: Striving to become the regional port of choice

Dar es Salaam, an anchor port supporting not just Tanzania but also several landlocked neighbours, was facing pressures from infrastructural constraints and increasing volumes of trade handled each year, reports the World Bank. The construction of a new roll-on, roll-off terminal at the port has boosted its capacity to handle much larger vessels with efficiency, and to improve on the turnaround time for ships coming through.

At about 8 a.m. on a sunny weekday morning, the Port of Dar es Salaam is a hive of activity. Motor vehicles appear to race each other out of the belly of the Port’s second Post-Panamax guest in two months, which docked just after midnight. Going by the port’s recent records, discharging of the more than 3,400-vehicle cargo will be completed well before nightfall.

“In the past it was very challenging, especially for us as contractors, as we had to drive each discharged vehicle up to 2 km away from the berth just to find parking space,” said Adam Mwenda, a driver. “We then had to walk all the way back to the ship after each parking, so our turnaround time was not good.”

Finding parking was not the only difficulty. Just over three years ago, the berth where these Post-Panamax vessels are now being hosted was but an outlet of a creek flowing into the harbour area. Motor vehicle imports arrived on much smaller ships due to the depth restrictions alongside the berths. Rather than being driven from the vessels, the vehicles on board would need to be offloaded with ships cranes at great risk to both the staff and the cars, and with the exercise requiring no less than three days to accomplish.

Construction of the first dedicated roll-on, roll-off infrastructure ramp and terminal in the port began in 2018 and was completed and became operational in March 2021, enabling the port to start hosting Post-Panamax vessels, with the first arriving in August. Motor vehicles are now driven off the ship and straight onto the adjacent spacious berth with a handling capacity of 3,000 vehicles at a time, or over 200,000 per year.

“The RoRo has been a game changer as ships come straight and berth directly with no waiting time at all,” says Mwenda.

The new berth is part of the $421 million Dar es Salaam Maritime Gateway Project (DMGP), which has been under implementation since 2017 with the objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the Port of Dar es Salaam for the benefit of public and private stakeholders through strengthening of the physical infrastructure as well as TPA’s institutional capacity.

Financed by the Government of Tanzania jointly with the World Bank and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the DMGP has supported the reconstruction of and deepening alongside berths 1-7 to 14.5 metres so the port can now comfortably host large vessels, compared to an average 8-metre draught before the expansion. Preparations are underway for the upgrading of and deepening alongside berths 8-11. The project is also currently supporting the deepening to 15.5m and widening of the entrance channel and turning basin to the end of Berth 11. In addition, the project will improve the rail platform and linkages within the port.

With the infrastructure improvements, the port is also registering more efficiency. Offloading of its first two Post-Panamax RoRo visitors was completed within 17 hours of arrival (an equivalent of three vehicles per minute), enabling the ships to depart the next day after arrival. In the past, offloading just 300 vehicles would take up to 34 hours.

Director General Eric Hamissi said the impact of the infrastructure on the turnaround time and ease of offloading has resulted in a doubling of the number of vessels received, from six before the project to 12 per month. In sum, since the RoRo became operational, more than 150 vessels have been received and attended to within record time. Previously, ships had to queue to be served at Berth 7, the only one with a draught of more than 10.5 metres at the time.

“This situation greatly contributed to high demurrage charges,” said Edward Urio, president of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association, which represents over 1,000 freight forwarders and logistics companies. “Vessels would queue for up to 14 to 20 days waiting for berthing space, costing some chartered vessels demurrage ranging from $25,000 to $40,000.”

There is overall optimism for when the transformation will be completed. “Growth in trade through this port has a multiplier effect on our economy as 95% of domestic cargo passes through here,” said Hamissi. “The port is also a crucial source of direct and indirect employment to thousands of people along the supply chains.”

“Consider that when we received the 3,743 motor vehicles on the Panama in August, a good number of drivers were needed to take those vehicles to the borders of the destination countries who rely on the port of Dar es Salaam,” said Tony Swai, managing director of Epic Cargo, a logistics company.

Said Mwenda: “There has been an increase in the demand for contract drivers like me, and we have been very busy working almost non-stop because the port is now receiving vessels carrying many more cars each month than before.”

As an anchor port supporting not just Tanzania’s trade but also its landlocked neighbors like Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dar es Salaam has a central role in regional trade facilitation and integration. Between 2015 and 2020, for example, the volumes of trade for these countries handled at the port increased by 16.6% to 16.01 million metric tons from 13.7 million metric tons in 2015.

It is projected the port will handle over 30 million tons per year by 2030. Thus, the port’s efficiency and effectiveness are key to unlocking the flow of trade and increasing the region’s overall competitiveness.

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Tropical Cyclone Batsirai bears toward Madagascar, threatens Mauritius and Reunion

The western Indian Ocean’s second tropical cyclone of the year, CYCLONE BATSIRAI, is far stronger than its predecessor Cyclone Ana that passed over northern Madagascar, the Mozambique Channel and then across central Mozambique.

Although Ana was of short duration she deposited large amounts of rain across Madagascar and then over central Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia, causing widespread flooding and the loss of over 80 lives.

The latest storm, named Batsirai, has formed out in the Indian Ocean and at 10h30 on Tuesday was situated at position near 16.4S 62.3E and moving westward at 7 knots.

The sustained winds were reported as 75 knots, gusting to 90 knots with the cyclone approximately 361 nautical miles northeast of Port Louis in Mauritius. The storm has tracking southwestward over the previous 6 hours (reported at 10h30 Tuesday) when the wave height was 9.144 metres (30ft).

The projected path of Cyclone Batsirai takes it to the north of Mauritius and Reunion but just south of St Brandon, and reaching the Madagascar coast and passing overland not far south of the capital, Antananarivo around Saturday, 5 February 2022.

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TotalEnergies wants to resume gas liquefaction project this year

French oil major TotalEnergies, which pulled all workers out of its Afungi gas liquefaction plant in northern Cabo Delgado province in April last year, has indicated it wishes to return to the project during 2022.

This was said by the company’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanné during a visit to Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo.

“My goal is that [the project] restarts in 2022, but I am not alone. We are ready, I am optimistic,” he said following the meeting.

TotalEnergies withdrew its personnel and other workers from the site after the attacks in and around the nearby town of Palma, which also saw the terrorists approaching the Afungi compound site.

TotalEnergies declared force majeure and withdrew from the site leaving a small security presence. Under the act of force majeure, all other subcontractors also left the site and that of Palma.

TotalEnergies is hoping to extract gas from a proven site offshore of the Afungi Peninsula and liquefy the gas at a plant which is to be constructed ashore.

Pouyanné said that the next time he visited Mozambique he wanted to go to Palma, Mocimboa da Praia and Mueda – all towns that were overrun by the insurgents. All three have been returned to government control by Rwandan military forces in Cabo Delgado.

He said that when he sees life is back to normal, with state services and the population, then the project can restart. He noted that a lot of progress has been made – “I want to congratulate the Mozambican authorities who together with Rwanda and SADC managed to get a lot done.”

But, he warned, there is still some progress to be made to have sustained security. “We want to see the population and villages return to their normal lives,” he said.

“The normalisation of social life is part of security, it is not just a matter for the armed forces.”

The ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado has so far resulted in over 3,100 deaths since it began in October 2017. More than 817,000 people in the province have been displaced, bringing great hardship to them.

TotalEnergies acquires BP’s retail network

In other related news, TotalEnergies has advanced its expansion into Mozambique with the acquisition of BP’s retail network, wholesale fuel business and logistics assets.

This involves 26 service stations, a portfolio of business customers and a 50% share in SAMCOL, the logistics company previously jointly owned by TotalEnergies and BP, which operates the Matola, Beira and Nacala fuel import terminals.

These assets are complementary to TotalEnergies’ existing network of 57 service stations and current B2B business. With this acquisition, TotalEnergies strengthens its position as the leading retailer of petroleum products in the country.

During his visit to Mozambique, Patrick Pouyanné inaugurated the new network’s first service station to fly the TotalEnergies colors. The solarized service station ’24 de Julho’, is located in Maputo and has both a Bonjour café and store. TotalEnergies now has 19 solarized service stations in Mozambique.

“This agreement reflects TotalEnergies’ willingness to pursue its investments in Mozambique’s energy sector in order to deploy our multi-energy strategy in the country through retailing of petroleum products for mobility, the major Mozambique LNG project and accompanying supply of domestic gas, and opportunities under review in the area of renewable energies. We want to see the population and villages return to their normal lives,” Pouyanné said.

“Our ambition with all this is to contribute to the country’s sustainable development and give access to energy to as many people as possible.”

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HMS Montrose strikes again – more drugs discovered in stateless fishing vessel

For the second time in 10 days, the Royal Navy frigate HMS Montrose (F236) has intercepted a stateless fishing vessel transporting illegal drugs in the Gulf of Oman.

This latest interdict took place on 24 January (it takes some time for the news to become generally known). On this occasion the fishing vessel sailing in international waters was found to have 150 kgs of heroin, 250 kg of methamphetamine and 665 kilograms of hashish worth a total estimated U.S. street value of $18 million.

HMS Montrose is operating with Command Task Force 150, a large international naval partnership of 34 nations headquartered in Bahrain with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.

“This seizure is a manifestation of the resolve and commitment of surface and air assets supporting Combined Maritime Forces to suppress and deter illicit activities at sea,” said Pakistan Navy Commodore Vaqar Muhammad, commander of Combined Task Force 150, one of three task forces that fall under Combined Maritime Forces.

To see last week’s report in Africa Ports & Ships concerning another interception of one ton of drugs CLICK HERE

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South African Port Statistics for the Calendar Year 2021

Statistics for the calendar year 2021, courtesy TNPA, make for quite thoughtful reading, reflecting how each port has coped with the difficult year just past. You will see that the volume of cargo moved cross our ports is almost the same as it was in 2020 and remains well below that of the three years previous to 2020.

If this is reflective of the country’s economy, then it shows South Africa has not recovered from the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic slump that followed, and while many other nations aross the world have begun their recovery, with the trade lanes between the Far East and Europe and North America overflowing with traffic, South Africa languishes in the doldrums.

The question should be, WHY?

Clearly some serious and urgent action has to be taken to kickstart the economy before we will see the ports once again busy – though how the ports will cope with any increases in traffic must also remain a worrying factor. The efficiency levels at the port terminals are generally very poor with long delays for the smaller number of container ships calling. Is it any wonder that our ports are rated right at the bottom among 350 other world ports?

It will surely take more than visits by the president or other politician to put things right, though the general productivity in the ports has to improve.

Meanwhile, the figures below speak for themselves. Take a look.

Our tables below show the figures achieved at all ports including rolling five year comparisons 2017 – 2021 for total volumes and for containers, and two years of comparison for ship calls and tonnages.

Statistics for the previous year, 2020, can be found HERE
and reflect the five year period 2016-2020.

As with our regular monthly statistics, container figures include a calculation made for container weights, based on an average of 13.5 tonnes per TEU. Africa  PORTS & SHIPS is unique in presenting these figures this way, which provides results that can be compared with other worldwide ports. See the tables for details.

Details of volumes by individual port are set out below.

Figures for the respective ports during the calendar years 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017:

CARGO HANDLED BY (MILLION) TONNES

PORT	2021 mt	2020 mt	2019 mt	2018 mt	2017 mt
Richards Bay	84.879	95.190	98.699	103.550	99.984
Durban	79.258	73.904	81.211	83.161	78.106
Saldanha Bay	66.070	67.307	71.555	63.424	69.946
Cape Town	17.270	15.634	15.754	15.966	15.900
Port Elizabeth	12.061	11.364	13.065	13.096	11.676
Ngqura	15.955	11.981	12.846	11.703	11.022
Mossel Bay	0.964	1.085	1.527	1.744	1.832
East London	1.650	1.438	1.925	2.078	2.050
Total all ports	278.107mt	277.945mt	296.582mt	294.290mt	290.428mt

 

CONTAINERS (measured by TEUs)
(TEUs include Deepsea, Coastal, Transship and empty containers all subject to being invoiced by TNPA

PORT	2021 TEUs	2020 TEUs	2019 TEUs	2018 TEUs	2017 TEUs
Durban	2,737,288	2,595,402	2,843,928	2,956,670	2,699,978
Cape Town	823,263	768,731	861,865	898,147	881,913
Port Elizabeth	129,886	112,215	164,864	184,208	168,283
Ngqura	739,857	559,195	744,660	774,899	806,090
East London	39,716	31,962	56,473	59,787	63,324
Richards Bay	3,490	8,113	10,206	6,510	15,241
Total all ports	4,473,506 TEUs	4,075,618 TEUs	4,682,000 TEUs	4,883,329 TEUs	4,634,829 TEUs

 

MOTOR VEHICLES HANDLED (measured by Units/tons)

PORT	2021 units	2020 units	2019 units	2018 units	2017 units
Durban	482,823	322,402	521,280	487,162	455,374
Port Elizabeth	118,311	114,729	156,051	109,799	125,117
East London	46,854	59,598	96,591	103,576	110,120
Cape Town	39	30	70	70	78
Richards Bay	17	9	36	64	101
Total All Ports	648,004	496,768	774,028	700,671	691,490

SHIP CALLS IN 2021 & 2020

PORT	2021-gt	2021 vessels	2020-gt	2020 vessels
Durban	2,720	99,939,201	2874	110,108,458
Cape Town	1,703	38,520,306	1804	42,054,858
Richards Bay	1,440	62,010,535	1726	68,712,071
Port Elizabeth	796	21,943,101	838	22,927,235
Saldanha Bay	637	44,404,470	596	41,032,855
Ngqura	627	29,726,981	637	31,390,782
East London	215	6,514,068	219	6,925,680
Mossel Bay	230	1,465,806	318	1,966,853
Total ship calls	8,368	304,524,468	9,012	325,112,792

– source TNPA, with adjustments made by Africa Ports & Ships to include container tonnages

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SAMSA to lift moratorium on bunkering in Algoa Bay on 1 April

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said on Monday that it would lift the moratorium on the awarding of bunkering licences in Algoa Bay as of the 1st of April 2022. Applications on this regards are now being accepted from today, 1st of February 2022.

The moratorium has applied since 22 August 2019, pending the finalisation of a Holding Capacity and Risk Assessment Study.

In December 2021 at a Bunkering Stakeholder session it was resolved that the moratorium should be lifted.

This means that new potential entrants can submit their applications with immediate effect.

An application package that clearly outlines the application process and all related requirements will have been uploaded by 1 February 2022 on the SAMSA website, promised SAMSA.

According to SAMSA, those who sent their applications previously should now reapply via the online system.

The online application process is a transitional arrangement pending the finalisation of the Bunker/ Ship to Ship (STS) codes.

Interested stakeholders are advised to read the Marine Notice (MN 1 of 2022, available on the SAMSA website) on the interim application process and requirements to conduct STS or Ship to Ship transfers and Bunkering operations outside of a port in conjunction with the current Bunker Codes as the codes will ultimately takes precedence over any other documentation.

In addition, a special Bunkering Stakeholders session will be convened on the 7th of February 2022 at 10h00 to address the application package and any clarity seeking questions.

“We are confident that the reopening of the Bunkering Sector will bring much needed economic spin offs and relief to the region and country as a whole,” said SAMSA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Tsepiso Taoana-Mashiloane. She thanked all stakeholders for their patience during the moratorium and said the new online application process is an effort to streamline the processes in the Bunkering sector and to ensure that the whole process is fair, just and transparent.

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WHARF TALK: chartered container ship – PARIS II

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The flagship MSC container service to Europe from South Africa, known as the North West Continent – South Africa (NWC-SA) service is operated mainly by vessels deployed from the MSC fleet. What always adds spice to the observer’s mix is when, occasionally, a chartered in container vessel is brought in by MSC to maintain the service.

More so, when the vessel in question is not from one of the big operators, but from those small niche companies whose fleets are purposefully made available purely for the use of the big majors.

On 22nd January the container vessel PARIS II (IMO 9222273) arrived in the Table Bay anchorage from Ngqura. As with all container vessels at the moment, she went to anchor for a few days, before entering Cape Town harbour on 25th January at 07h00 and going alongside berth 603 at the Cape Town Container Terminal in the Ben Schoeman Dock.

A vessel with a long pedigree, ‘Paris II’ was built 21 years ago, in 2001, at Hanjin Heavy Industries at Busan in South Korea. She is 300 metres in length and has a deadweight of 77,941 tons. She is powered by a single HHI MAN-B&W 12K98MC-C 11 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing a powerful 93,160 bhp (68,520 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a fast service speed of 26.3 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Wärtsilä 8R32LND generators providing 2,960 kW each, and an emergency generator providing 550 kW. She has a Kangrim CHR exhaust gas boiler, and a Kangrim CHO oil fired boiler. She has a Lips transverse bow thruster of 2,000 kW for manoeuvring on, and off, her berth. With eight holds, ‘Paris II’ has a container carrying capacity of 6,627 TEU, with 500 reefer plugs provided.

Owned and managed by Niederelbe Schiffahrts GmbH (NSB), of Buxtehude in Germany, ‘Paris II’ is operated on the 12 vessel MSC NWC-SA service, of which 10 are from the MSC fleet, and the other non-MSC vessel is another NSB chartered container vessel. Her port rotation is London- Rotterdam- Hamburg- Antwerp- Le Havre- Las Palmas- Cape Town- Ngqura- Durban- Ngqura- Cape Town- Las Palmas- London.

One of a class of vessel originally brought into service with CMA CGM and all named after French painters and writers, ‘Paris II’ and one of her sisterships are still providing great service for NSB. Her owners have a managed fleet of over 50 vessels, all exclusively operating on charter for a number of other major users.

After over three days alongside, loading for her northbound leg, ‘Paris II’ sailed from Cape Town at 15h00 on 29th January, bound for Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. She will be back in SA waters, on the southbound leg of her next MSC NWC-SA rotation, in early March, with her first SA call being at Cape Town on 8th March.

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IALA is on its way to Intergovernmental status

It has been announced that 26 States signed the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation at a ceremony which took place at IALA HQ at Saint Germain-en-Laye, near Paris, on 26 January.

The ceremony was hosted by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs representing the Depositary, the government of France.

This ceremony marked the end of the one-year signature period which started on 27 January 2021 in Paris where France, as Depositary State, represented by Mrs Annick Girardin, Minister for Marine Affairs, was the first State to sign the Convention.

All Member States of the United Nations, and in particular the other signatories of the Final Act of the 2020 Kuala Lumpur Conference, were invited to sign the Convention at the signing ceremony.

Africa well-represented

The countries represented on 26 January 2022 were the following: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroun, Congo (Republic of), Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guinea Bissau, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Malta, Mauritania, Mexico, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and Vanuatu.

That brings the total number of signatures up to 50. Five States have also ratified or accepted the Convention.

From 26 January, all Member States of the United Nations that have not signed the Convention may accede to the Convention, which will enter into force ‘on the ninetieth day after the date of deposit of the thirtieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.’

Francis Zachariae, IALA Secretary-General stated in his welcome: ‘This important progress reflects the respect that the new organization will have based on the many years of IALA’s growth, maturity and excellence.

‘IALA will soon be able to contribute even more to safety of navigation worldwide, protection of the maritime environment and good ocean governance’.

More information about the IGO process can be found on IALA website here: https://www.iala-aism.org/the-igo-project/

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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World’s biggest Wonder of the Seas delivered to Royal Caribbean

The world’s largest cruise ship at 236,857 gross registered tonnes, Royal Caribbean’s WONDER OF THE SEAS, has been delivered at a flag-changing ceremony held in Marseille, France and involving the French shipyard, Chantiers de l’Atlantique.

Wonder of the Seas is the fourth in the Oasis class of ships, the others being between 225,000 and 228,000 in grt capacity. Having now been delivered she is expected to make her debut at Fort Lauderdale in Florida on 4 March 2022.

From that port she will embark on 7-night cruises to the Caribbean and will follow this by heading to Barcelona in Spain and to Rome to offer summer cruises in the Mediterranean.

“Wonder of the Seas will energise cruising in a bolder and bigger way,” said Jason Liberty, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group.

“Adding this ship to our already best-in-class fleet elevates the company in continuing to lead the industry with new features and innovation. This is one more way that we’re delivering world-class and memorable vacations, responsibly, to guests around the world.”

On hand to welcome Wonder of the Seas into the Royal Caribbean Group was Group Chairman Richard Fain, Royal Caribbean Group President and CEO Jason Liberty, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley, and Laurent Castaing, General Manager, Chantiers de l’Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire, France.

Bayley said that taking delivery of Wonder of the Seas was the culmination of 30 months of ingenuity and partnership across more than 2,000 committed crew members and workers who are among the best at what they do.

“Along with taking the revolutionary Oasis Class ships to a new level of wonder, innovation and adventure, Wonder sets the stage for the spring and summer vacations families and all travellers alike are looking forward to in the new year.”

He said the combination of brand-new features and favourites that span thrills, entertainment, dining and nightlife is unparalleled. “Its what will make our latest and most innovative ship the world’s newest wonder and the ultimate vacation in the Caribbean and Europe.”

Wonder of the Seas has a length of 362 metres and a width of 64m and a capacity of 6,988 passenger serviced by a crew of 2,300.

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FLNG Coral Sul arrives on station in northern Mozambique

The floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel CORAL SUL arrived safely in northern Mozambique waters of the Rovuma Basin, where it will enter service with the Eni-led gasification project offshore of Cabo Delgado province, Mozambique.

Coral Sul, built specifically for this Mozambican project, was towed from Geoje in South Korea behind three ALP tugs that will remain on station in support of the FLNG.

These tugs are ALP STRIKER, ALP KEEPER, and ALP SWEEPER and their arrival on site with the Coral Sul marked the end of the first phase of the project.

En route a short call was made at Mauritius to take bunkers and effect a crew change. The journey was completed within the set timeframe despite the time of year.

Phase 2 of the project has now commenced involving the hooking up of the FLNG Coral Sul to the pre-laid mooring spread before production of LNG can commence later in the year. Two other ALP support vessels have joined the project, ALP ACE and ALP CENTRE.

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SA AGULHAS II to set off in search of Shackleton’s Endurance

On the 100th anniversary of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s death, a South African ship will carry the Endurance22 Expedition which aims at locating, surveying and filming the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship, the ENDURANCE.

The expedition leaves from Cape Town on 5 February on board the South African icebreaking polar supply and research ship, SA AGULHAS II on a heading towards the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea.

The expedition is under the charge of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust and has as one of its aims to bring the story of Shackleton, his ship and the members of his team to new and younger audiences. The challenges of exploration and of carrying out scientific research, fundamental to an understanding of climate change, form part of that story.

The Trust will be working in partnership with History Hit, the video and content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow, part of the award-winning digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios. On board the SA Agulhas II will be a team of highly experienced extreme environment film makers, who will document the events in real time and publish material on several digital channels and social media platforms.

The Expedition has also engaged with the US-based education organisation, Reach the World, which connects young people in their classrooms directly with explorers, and who will be represented on board the Agulhas II.

Organisers of the expedition say they are delighted to be working with the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) to engage and enthuse pupils by producing free teaching and learning resources for classroom use. By using the resources, pupils will be able to study changes in polar exploration and the different motivations for why people visit Antarctica, as well as this continent’s unique frozen environment.

The expedition team will include leading polar scientists who will be conducting a range of studies of the ice and climate change related matters, advancing knowledge of the Antarctic environment and global warming. These include measuring and recording the sea-ice conditions, in order to develop a system that in time will provide continuous and automatic data of sea-ice conditions in the Antarctic, where currently very limited information exists.

 

Successful sea trials, training and testing

Preparations for the expedition have been progressing well, including successful sea trials. The trials involved deep water deployment and testing of the SAAB Sabertooth hybrid underwater search vehicles, which will be used to locate, survey and film the wreck. These state-of-the-art vehicles combine the attributes of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), being able to follow a pre-programmed course, and remote operating vehicles (ROVs), sending digital signals through a fibre optic cable to the surface in real time.

The teams that will establish and operate ice camps, allowing drilling through the sea ice and the deployment of the Sabertooths at a distance from Agulhas II, have also undertaken training and testing and developed procedures and experience that will be invaluable when they are called on to function on the ice floes of the Weddell Sea.

Donald Lamont, Chairman of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, said it was a unique privilege for the Trust to be enabled to pull together the elements that make up this expedition.

“Shackleton faced the challenges of the ice and war. Ice remains our main challenge but COVID has been a threat throughout our planning and preparation. The master, Ice Pilot and crew of the South African vessel, Agulhas II, are experienced and in 2019 showed their ability to get to the wreck site.

Lamont said they are able to deploy the latest technology and have a skilled team of marine archaeologists, scientists, engineers and technicians who can apply their knowledge to locating and surveying the wreck.

“The scientists will learn and explain to us more about the unique environment of the Weddell Sea. And our team of educators and film- and programme-makers will broadcast to a young and global audience stories of heroism, challenge and resolve that should be an inspiration to us all.”

The Expedition leader is polar explorer, Dr John Shears.

“We are delighted to confirm that everything is on track for the Expedition’s scheduled departure from Cape Town on 5th February,” he said. “The entire team has worked tirelessly since July. The sea trials provided a great opportunity for the thorough testing of the search technology and reaffirmed its capability and gave the engineers and technicians the chance to train and gain invaluable experience in benign conditions, before testing their ability to launch through the ice.

“Whilst there remains no guarantee of success, we are now fully prepared and ready for this amazing mission of exploration,” he added.

Dan Snow, co-Founder and Creative Director of History Hit, described the hunt for Shackleton’s wreck as “…the biggest story in the world of history in 2022.”

Snow said that as the partner broadcaster they will be able to reach tens of millions of history fans all over the world, in real time.

“We are able to deploy some of the world’s biggest history podcasts, YouTube channels, Facebook pages and TikTok accounts to reach a massive number of history lovers.

“We are going to tell the story of Shackleton and this expedition to find his lost ship like never before. Live streaming and podcasting from ice camps, recording a vast amount of content that will live online and be accessible for generations to come. It’s a dream come true.”

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A.P. Moller-Maersk shares millions of weather observations: An aid to climate science

It was announced from Copenhagen on 27 January that AP Moller-Maersk now releases all historical and future ocean weather observations into the public domain for free use by the scientific community around the globe.

This data, which has been collected by Maersk vessels since 2012, increases publicly available ocean weather data by 28%, it was reported.

It is understood that the goal is to aid climate research and weather forecasting by providing weather data from the world’s oceans, where ground level data coverage is slim, and most data comes from satellite observations which have their limitations.

Aslak Ross, Head of Marine Standards at Maersk, commented: “Maersk crews and vessels have collected weather observations for years, and we are proud that we now can share these data and help researchers in gaining a better understanding of the impact climate change has on our surroundings.”

Among other things such observations can give a more precise picture of how surface-level ocean conditions and the interaction with the atmosphere has evolved since 2012.

Ross added: “Climate change is without doubt one of the biggest challenges the global community is facing.

“We have set an ambitious strategy for our business to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2040, but we have also as a part of our ESG strategy committed ourselves to contribute to climate and ocean science with data gathered from our vessels. An opportunity being our digitised weather observations.”

Nine million observations

The data – more than nine million observations – will be shared via the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), run jointly by UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). GOOS collects ocean weather observations for climate science and provides input to weather forecasts.

Dr Johannes Karstensen of GEOMAR, the Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research in Kiel, Germany, is suitably impressed. “As a member of the scientific community, I am thrilled that we get access to this unique data set. The data will help to better constrain past ocean surface conditions but also help to improve future predictions – from weather to climate.”

With all 300 Maersk-owned vessels sharing data many times each day, Maersk daily shares more than 7,000 observations. Some vessels are even live feeding data to weather services around the globe.

As an example, in collaboration with the National Meteorological Service of Germany, Maersk has installed Automated Weather Stations on several of its vessels. These are calibrated research-grade measurement stations which collect a greater variety of data points at a higher quality, even further improving the contribution to weather forecasting and climate science.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: the letter D stands for …… –    TS DELTA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The arrival of fully laden bulk carriers at Cape Town is nothing new, and there is a flow of bulk carriers throughout the year bringing in mainly agribulk commodities such as wheat, soybeans and fertilisers. What is not a common occurrence, however, is the arrival of a fully laden bulk carrier that heads straight to a berth utilised only for maintenance purposes.

On 27th January at 10h00 the Handymax bulk carrier TS DELTA (IMO 9719355) arrived from Nanjing in China, and entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding directly to the Repair Quay in the Duncan Dock. Her draft of 10 metres indicated she was fully loaded with a bulk cargo, so an arrival to this berth indicated that assistance with a maintenance issue was being sought, and that Cape Town might not be her ultimate destination.

Built in 2017 by Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding at Qinhuangdao in China, ‘TS Delta’ is 182 metres in length and has a deadweight of 38,868 tons. She is powered by a single Dalian Wärtsilä-Sulzer 5RT-flex50D 5 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 9,580 bhp (7,044 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Yanmar 6EY18ALW generators providing 615 kW each, and an emergency generator providing 215 kW. She has a single Saacke Qingdao CMB composite vertical boiler. She has five holds, which are served by four 36 ton, grab equipped, Masada Mitsubishi electro-hydraulic cranes. Her cargo carrying capacity is 48,758 m3.

One of a series of ten sisterships, ‘TS Delta’ is a new generation eco-type vessel, jointly designed by the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) and her owner’s technical department. She has the modern bluff bow now seen in many series of bulk carrier. She was designed as a combination bulk carrier and lumber carrier, and sports the vertical deck cargo guides, common to lumber carriers.

Owned by Dalian Tiger Shipping Limited, of Dalian in China, where Tiger Shipping is the TS acronym in her name, ‘TS Delta’ is operated by Jiarong Marine of Shanghai, and managed by Jiarong Marine HK Co. Ltd. of Hong Kong. The whole fleet is assigned to the China Handy Bulk Alliance (CHBA), formed in 2017 with two other Chinese shipowners, where CHBA now operate with a combined fleet of 30 Handysize and Handymax vessels, totaling approximately 1 million deadweight tons.

Of interest is the naming of the ten sisterships, where the owners named every one of the ten ships in alphabetic sequence, from A to J. They started simply using the international phonetic alphabet, but dropped some letters, so there is a TS Alpha, TS Bravo, TS Delta, TS Echo, TS Golf, but there is no TS Charlie, TS Foxtrot, TS Hotel, TS India or TS Juliet. Instead the missing phonetic letters are TS Challenge, TS Flower, TS Honour, TS Index and TS Jasmine.

The original departure port of ‘TS Delta’, Nanjing in China, is said to be the busiest inland port in China, and boasts as being the largest inland port anywhere in the world. It is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, some 185 nautical miles upstream from the port of Shanghai, and 223 nautical miles inland from the East China Sea.

The port of Nanjing is split into eight minor river ports, or stevedoring districts, on both the north and south banks of the Yangtze River. The commercial river frontage runs for over 80 kilometres, and there are 35 berths provided for ocean going vessels. The maximum dimensions of ocean going vessels that can be accommodated in the port is up to 225 metres in length, with a maximum deadweight of 58,000 tons and a maximum draft of 10.5 metres.

The subject of the ‘TS Delta’ maintenance issue, what bulk cargo she is carrying, and her ultimate discharge port, is as yet unknown.

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IMO’s Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 8) meets

The IMO Sub-Committee on Ship Design and Construction (SDC 8) met in virtual session from 17 to 21 January 2020. Through the good offices of the IMO Media service we are able to publish highlights of the session.

Reducing underwater noise from ships
The sub-committee began its work to review the 2014 Guidelines for the reduction of underwater noise from commercial shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life.

These guidelines focus on primary sources of underwater noise, namely on propellers, hull design, onboard machinery, and various operational and maintenance recommendations such as hull cleaning.

The review had been initiated after the issue was raised at the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC). The international community recognises that underwater-radiated noise from ships may have both short and long-term negative consequences on marine life, especially marine mammals.

The aim of the review is to provide updated recommendations based on the latest developments in ship design and technology.

A correspondence group has been tasked with, inter alia:

(i)enabling engagement of Inuit and other indigenous communities and the incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge;
(ii)identifying comparable and common means of measuring, analysing and reporting of underwater radiated noise emissions from ships (e.g. existing and developing ISO and other international standards);
(iii)identifying actions to further prevent and reduce underwater noise from ships, including options to integrate new and advancing technologies and/or vessel design solutions taking into account geographical characteristics;
(iv)considering the impact and interrelation of the proposed actions in the context of achieving other regulatory goals, including ship safety, energy efficiency, as well as the vision and mandate of the Organization to reduce pollution from ships;
(v)amending the 2014 Guidelines;
(vi)considering ways to promote the work of the Organization to increase the awareness, the uptake and implementation of the Guidelines and identifying the most appropriate tools to do this;
(vii)identifying areas that require further assessment and research;
(viii)considering the next steps, and
(ix)maintaining and updating a list of reports and documents provided in a submission to the Sub-Committee to produce a new Compendium on Underwater Noise from Commercial Shipping.

The work plan envisages that recommendations for the next steps to be undertaken to establish international solutions for the reduction of underwater noise could be submitted to the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 80) in 2023.

 

Other considerations at SDC 8

New regulations and Code to address safety of industrial personnel agreed
A new Code and requirements in the International Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) to ensure the safety of people transported to work on offshore facilities were agreed.

Unified interpretations for noise levels on board ships agreed
The Sub-Committee agreed draft unified interpretations of SOLAS chapter II-1, the 1988 Load Lines Protocol and the Code on noise levels on board ships.

Draft Explanatory Notes to Interim guidelines on second generation intact stability criteria agreed
The Sub-Committee agreed draft Explanatory Notes to the Interim guidelines on second generation intact stability criteria which are being used on a trial basis.

Draft amendments to the ESP Code finalised
The Sub-Committee finalised draft amendments to the International Code on the Enhanced Programme of Inspections during Surveys of Bulk Carriers and Oil Tankers, 2011 (ESP Code), intended to address safety issues that were identified during the flag State’s marine safety investigation of the loss of mv Stella Daisy, (ROK-flagged very large ore carrier (VLOC) that sank in 2017 in the South Atlantic off the coast of Uruguay while on passage from Brazil to China) by increasing the frequency of inspections of void spaces, based on the condition of hard coatings.

Performance standards for water level detectors revised
The Sub-Committee agreed to a draft revision of the performance standards for water level detectors in multiple hold cargo ships other than bulk carriers and tankers.

Guidelines on alternative design and arrangements for SOLAS chapter II-1
SOLAS provisions allow the approval of alternative designs and arrangements, provided that they meet the intent of the requirements concerned and provide an equivalent level of safety. To support the development of new designs and alternative technology, IMO has been developing goals and functional requirements.

Prohibiting asbestos on mobile offshore drilling units
The Sub-Committee established a correspondence group to develop draft amendments to the Code for the Construction and Equipment of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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New cyclone, Batsirai, heads for central Madagascar

As Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe begin to mop up after the intense flood damage caused by Cyclone Ana coming ashore last week near Angoche in central Mozambique, the bad news is that a second tropical cyclone, named Batsirai, is on a heading westwards towards the island of Madagascar.

At 00h01 on Sunday 30 January, Cyclone Batsirai was in position near 17.6S 68.2E approximately 637 nautical miles east-northeast of Mauritius and tracking westwards at 9 knots. Wave height is reported as 9.488 metres (31 ft) and Batsirai is continuing to track west-northwards. Winds speeds of 72 knots are reported.

Provided the cyclone continues on its current course it should pass to the north of Rodrigues island during Monday 31 January. The Joint Typhoon Warning Centre at Pearl Harbour expects the storm to curve towards the west-south-west during Monday and may slow down in the middle of the week, with a consequent conflicting steerage flow. The JTWC suggests that Batsirai is enjoying good environmental conditions that are favourable for an intensification during the next five days.

The forecast is that Rodrigues faces the risk of heavy rain but should otherwise avoid the full force of the gale. Mauritius and Reunion can expected the weather to begin deteriorating as from Tuesday, however the trajectory of the cyclone remains uncertain although the two islands will probably experience nothing worse than heavy rain.

The reports do not mention Madagascar which lies directly in the path of the storm, unless Batsirai takes a sudden turn to the south or north.

Cyclone Ana aftermath

The death toll from flooding caused by Cyclone Ana has now risen to 88 with deaths being reported from northern Madagascar, Mozambique and southern Malawi. The storm came ashore last week and moved rapidly inland, leading to swollen rivers that burst their banks, some bridges washes away, and general destruction.

Madagascar took the brunt of the cyclone as it passed over the northern reaches of the Indian Ocean’s largest island, where the death toll has risen to 48 as news trickles in. People were mostly killed by landslides and collapsing buildings. As always, reporting from the country is poor leaving the rest of the world mostly ignorant of the tragedies that have occurred.

While close to 90 people lost their lives, and this number is probably low, what should also be recognised is that hundreds of thousands of ordinary people have lost their homes and possessions, with crops destroyed and the future bleak.

With further cyclones on the horison, the situation can only get worse. The UNICEF spokesperson Maria Luisa Fornara said the latest storm was another blunt reminder that the climate crisis is very much a reality.

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Added 31 January 2022

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Richard Ibwima appointed as new Operations Executive at  Namport

Richard Mutonga Ibwima has been appointed as the new Executive for Port Operations at Namport’s Port of Walvis Bay.

His appointment was effective from 17 January 2022.

No stranger to Namport or the port, Ibwima was previously employed as the Manager – Terminals, having joined Namport in December 2015. He has risen through the ranks having started his long and successful career with Namport as a Protection Services Officer in the Risk Management department.

He later moved to the Cargo Services department, as Cargo and Planning Coordinator and later on as a Port Operations Coordinator at the Container and General Cargo Terminals between 2004 and 2009. He was promoted to the Container Terminal, where he remained until his temporary departure from Namport in April 2012.

Richard returned to Namport in April 2015, following a three year stint in Sudan where he was employed as a Terminal Project Manager; during which time he gained immense international port management experience.

Upon his return to Namport, Richard Ibwima worked as the Manager: Port Terminal Operations Planning until January 2016 and later transferred on to the position of Manager: Terminals, a position he held until his latest promotion. Since his return to Namport in April 2015, Richard has worked on strategic projects such as the Port Automation and Port Expansion Projects where he served as a Project Subject Matter Operations Lead, expertise he continues to render to date.

He holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA), with a major in Port Management from the Middlesex University London (UK), obtained in 2015. He further possesses a Diploma in Port Management obtained from the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy (UK), in 2006 and a Certificate in Marketing from the Institute of Marketing Management Graduate School of Marketing, (SA).

He has completed a Management Development Programme with the University of Stellenbosch Business School, among other professional development courses and certifications in Freight Forwarding, Logistics & Transport Planning in Freight Traffic, Project Management, Improvement of Port Cargo Transport Efficiency, Port Logistics, Port Regulations, Management and Operations, Container Terminal Management and International Management.

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Added 31 January 2022

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APM Terminals investment in Apapa passes the US$ 400 million mark

Nigeria’s largest container terminal, APM Terminals Apapa in Lagos has invested US$ 438 million (about N180 billion) in the upgrade of its facility, the acquisition of modern cargo handling equipment and support of seamless service since it won concession of the terminal in 2006.

The investment is the highest of any port terminal operator in Nigeria, according to APM Terminals.

The Terminal Manager of APM Terminals Apapa, Steen Knudsen, said the terminal is on an exciting journey of major transformation to deliver greater, sustainable benefits to the Nigerian economy and society.

“Since inception, we have invested around USD438 million purely in the handling equipment we have in the terminal. We have acquired mobile harbour cranes, rubber tyred gantry cranes, reach stackers, forklifts, terminal trucks, empty handlers and invested in yard improvements,” said Knudsen.

Workforce Development

He said that of equal importance is the ongoing investment in the development of the terminal’s workforce, “ensuring that we continuously develop our staff. This covers trainings, career progression and, of course, expanding the business and creating new jobs.

“At the moment we are also focusing on investing in our facilities: renovating our buildings, upgrading in-gate and out-gate facilities and terminal fencing and lighting. We have also equipped the parking area access with a facial recognition system and expanded our terminal fleet with new shuttle buses and pickup trucks.”

Other investments at the terminal are aimed at simplifying and enhancing trade. For a long time shipping has been a very manual and paper-heavy process. The terminal is adopting global best practices for digitalised products, such as advanced online container tracking and monitoring, container email notifications and online billing and payments, in order to ensure that importers and exporters enjoy a seamless service from the terminal.

APM Terminals Apapa also recently launched a massive digitisation of its operations and services through the deployment of a 4G LTE wireless network, and a new Operation Command Centre to enhance quality service delivery.

Wireless connectivity supports APM Terminals’ global initiatives such as the standardisation of Terminal Operating Systems, reporting and support; Asset Digitalisation; and GPS based Position Detection Systems used for auto-locating containers in a yard.

Handling Increased Volumes

“We remain committed to deepening our investment in Apapa to enable us handle increasing volumes at the port,” said Knudsen “Our investments will create capacity to handle growth in the economy to support the Federal Government’s efforts on trade growth and improve service delivery across the logistics chain,” he said.

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Added 31 January 2022

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New Transaid driver training project: CILT Ghana to support

Transaid has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) Ghana, aimed at promoting mutual cooperation in the area of road safety. This was reported in mid-January.

This accord follows less than a year after Transaid began developing a professional driver training programme in the country’s capital, Accra; its first project of this kind to be launched in West Africa.

With funding secured from Puma Energy Foundation, Transaid has set out to raise training standards and expand training capacity for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers.

The MOU was signed by Engr. Mark Amoamah, National President of CILT Ghana, and Caroline Barber, Transaid Chief Executive.

Barber commented: “We have a long and rich history of collaborating with CILT Ghana and I am delighted to be partnering with them again to deliver this life saving work. They have already played a key role to support us in setting up this project, and it’s fantastic to see the relationship formalised.”

Projects in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi

The signing of the MOU coincides with Transaid delivering the first Training of Trainers module, designed to build training capability in Ghana, following a format used successfully by Transaid on similar projects in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Malawi.

It follows a busy period gathering and analysing training material currently used in Ghana, establishing a national technical standards group and collaboratively assembling both a theory and practical training curricula, plus an instructor’s manual, to ensure the project got off to a successful start.

“The provision of quality professional driver training will be expanded to increase access to training and ensure that drivers are trained to the highest standards. Our initial involvement is for three and a half years, and within this time we want to work with partners to ensure strong foundations are in place to facilitate sustainable and lasting change in Ghana,” Barber added.

On signing the MOU, Engr. Amoamah announced that he planned to further support the initiative by offering free CILT Affiliate Membership to all those training as trainers.

Transaid is planning to put the first cohort of HGV driver trainers through both the theory and practical training within the next three to four months.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Added 31 January 2022

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Fires out on board NS Qingdao, ship moves to Saldanha Bay

The bulk carrier, NS QINGDAO (IMO 9567439) arrived off the port of Saldanha Bay from nearby St Helena Bay last week, and has been taken to a berth in port where the balance of her chemical cargo can be removed for disposal.

This latest development became possible after the fire in cargo hold no.3 was finally brought under control.

As a result the emergency has now been downscaled from a Severe Maritime Emergency to a salvage operation that can be safely managed in port, says the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA). NS Qingdao entered port on Friday 28 January at 10h49.

The decision to move her into port at Saldanha Bay was taken by the Joint Operations Committee (JOC) after the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and SAMSA representatives conducted a vessel inspection offshore to determine whether it was safe to do so and after reviewing reports from the Chemical and Fire specialists onboard.

Transnet National Port Authority said it was comfortable with the vessel entering the port.

The JOC comprises of National, Provincial government officials and includes local municipal representatives. The JOC members have been actively involved in managing this maritime emergency since the vessel was evacuated from the port of Durban.

Salvage experts have been working around the clock to contain and extinguish the fire onboard the vessel since the bulk carrier was hastily evacuated from Durban harbour on 27 October 2021. At that time the ship was releasing toxic fumes from the cargo in hold 3, and once outside SAMSA instructed the vessel to proceed to St Helena Bay, with a tug dispatched as escort along the way.

On reaching St Helena Bay on the West Coast, attempts were made to extinguish the fire by discharging the reactive cargo via skips offshore. The discharged cargo was then taken to the High Hazardous Vissershok waste management site, but the operation was hampered by the location of the affected cargo within the cargo hold.

In early December NS Qingdao was escorted offshore by an offshore tug after the fire unexpectedly re-ignited, causing a large volume of toxic fumes to be released, which entered the engine room resulting in its evacuation.

Due to the fast deteriorating conditions and to save the ship and people onboard, the JOC decided to conduct an emergency dump of the absolute bare minimum of reactive cargo 250km offshore in 3000m of water.

This was carried out with an emergency permit issued by the DFFE. Approximately. 1300 tonnes of cargo was dumped offshore which enabled the situation on the ship to be brought back under control. The operation was monitored through onboard drones and DFFE satellite imaging and the JOC can confirm that no immediate environmental damage was observed.

It was reported that the hot cargo cooled rapidly and dissolved very quickly in the ocean. Although no immediate environmental damage was noticed, SAMSA and the DFFE nevertheless engaged in discussions with the vessel owner and insurers to arrange a medium to long term environmental monitoring program so that any potential future outfall can be managed responsibly as fast as possible.

Following this NS Qingdao returned to anchor in St Helena Bay for two weeks to allow the authorities to monitor the cargo and establish whether it was safe for the ship to enter port.

The affected portion of the chemical cargo will be discharged in port by the salvors and chemical waste specialists, before being taken to the High Hazardous Waste Management site at Vissershok. Once that has been achieved the stevedores will discharge the balance of cargo.

As an interested state, SAMSA said it has concluded an investigation cooperation agreement with the Marshall Islands Maritime Authorities. The cause of the incident remains under investigation and a chemical analysis of the cargo will be completed while the vessel is in port to determine the underlying casual factors for the fire and whether NS Qingdao had any undeclared cargo in the hold.

The entire operation has been conducted with vessel owner, master and P&I Club cooperating with the South African authorities.

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Added 29 January 2022

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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

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QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

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