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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

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FIRST VIEW:  HORIZON

• • WHARF TALK: LR1 Chinese tanker – LIAN BAI HU
  • IN CONVERSATION: The South African ship that found Antarctica’s Endurance wreck is vital for climate science
  • Maritime Just Transition Task Force: First partner: Singapore Maritime Foundation
  • Somalia boosts coastline policing with new maritime facility
  • Synthetic fuel: Container ship reduces emissions
  • WHARF TALK: diamond mining vessel – GRAND BANKS
  • Transnet Pipelines: Attempted theft, dead body at scene
  • IN CONVERSATION: At Unguja Ukuu, human activity transformed the coast of Zanzibar more than 1,000 years ago
  • Supply Chain Pressures: Implications of Russia-Ukraine War & Covid Lockdowns
  • Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change
  • Durban Car Terminal imports rise by 34% thanks to Asian entry-level vehicles
  • WHARF TALK: split hopper trailing suction dredger OMVAC DIEZ
  • AIIM and Mokobela-Shataki Consortium acquires The Logistics Group for R1.6 billion
  • Collision in the harbour at Tanger Med Port – two missing
  • New management at the helm of APM Terminals
  • UK MAIB Safety Digest: Lessons from Marine Accident Reports 1/2022
  • TPT team visits Thailand to benchmark port and logistical automotive performance in SA
  • Danger of mines: Northern Black Sea Region, the Sea of Azov (north of latitude 46°N)
  • WHARF TALK: heavy load carrier – FAIRLANE
  • Boost for Congo Terminal with 20 new port tractors & trailers
  • Cyber Security incidents reporting encouraged by SSA, ASA & CLASS NK
  • TRADE NEWS: Adopt new technologies for greener shipping, says Thordon
  • MSC acquires 100% of Bolloré Africa Logistics including all of Bolloré Group’s shipping, logistics and terminals operations in Africa
  • Land claim agreement means Richards Bay port expansion is now possible
  • WHARF TALK: mini heavylift vessel GRETA
  • Sense of musical chairs as new Interim CEO for SAMSA is appointed
  • Moratorium on issuing of bunkering licences in Algoa Bay remains in place
  • NS QINGDAO Update: Cargo discharge completed
  • Black Sea and the Sea of Azov: Insurance or other financial security certificates
  • Nigerian Navy’s new landing Ship Tank (LST), NNS Kada, homeward bound
  • As DRC joins EAC, competition between Mombasa and Dar es Salaam routes could increase
  • Xeneta Report: Long-term ocean rates up almost 100% year-on-year
  • Historic step as Transnet commences with sale of rail slots to third-party operators

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

The week’s mastheads:

Monday: Port of Durban Container Terminal
Tuesday: Port of Tin Can Island
Wednesday: Port of Tema
Thursday: Port of Saldanha futuristic
Friday: Port of Saldanha Iron Ore Terminal
Saturday: Port of Richards Bay Coal Terminal
Sunday: Port of Richards Bay

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FIRST VIEW:   HORIZON

We’ve featured this ship here before, most recently in 2019, but there’s no harm in taking another look at one of the few ‘local’ ships in operation along the South African coast, one bearing a well-remembered name. The vessel is the container ship HORIZON (IMO 9242314) which is operating along the coastal service between Durban and the South African and Namibian ports.

Horizon is one of three similar sized ships operating this coastal service, the others being BARRIER and BORDER, all famous names on the coast.

The 17,187-dwt Horizon is a geared container ship built in 2002 and currently sailing under the Antigua & Barbuda flag. The ship has a length of 156 metres and a width of 24.5m and has two on-board cranes with a lifting capacity of 40 tons.

Note the change in House Name along the side of the ship, Ocean Africa (Container Line) recently relegated as with so many other once famous coastal shipping names, to the fading pages of books and newspaper cuttings.

These two pictures were taken in March 2022 & May 2019 by Keith Betts

 

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WHARF TALK: LR1 Chinese tanker – LIAN BAI HU

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat

Some shipping folk are focused on the current woes of Sovcomflot and its subsidiaries, such as Novoship, where stringent international sanctions, due to Putin’s imperial adventure in Ukraine, have closed off many of the world’s ports to them. The outcome of these sanctions are that Russian shipping companies have had commercial partnerships revoked, and have had cargoes cancelled that they were due to carry.

However, one tends to forget that there are other arenas in world shipping where sanctions are still in place, such as Iran, Venezuela and North Korea. The sanctions linked to these nations have nothing whatsoever to do with the Ukraine issue, have been in place much longer, and are linked to other disagreements with US political and foreign policy, but the outcomes can sometime be strikingly similar. Occasionally, vessels of companies who have been directly affected by these alternative sanctions regimes call at South African ports.

On 20th March at 09h00 the large LR1 class Panamax tanker LIAN BAI HU (IMO 9783370) arrived off Cape Town, from Al Ruwais in the United Arab Emirates, and entered Cape Town harbour, going straight to the long tanker berth in the Duncan Dock. She was clearly loaded close to her marks, displaying a draft of 12.6 metres, so she would have had only a maximum clearance of just 0.5 metres under her keel as she approached her berth, as both of the tanker berths have a reported maximum depth of 13.1 metres. At some point she may even have had less than that!

Built in 2018 at Dalian Shipbuilding in Dalian in China, ‘Lian Bai Hu’ is 220 metres in length and has a deadweight of 72,746 tons. She is powered by a single DMD MAN-B&W 6G50ME-C9 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 13,840 bhp (10,320 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14.2 knots. She has 12 cargo tanks and has a cargo carrying capacity of 79,000 m3.

She was the second of five sisterships built for her owners, and the class was designed from the outset to be an eco-tanker, as their design when published was such that they met the IMO 2025 requirements a full 9 years before they were due to be implemented. She is not the first of her sisters to call at Cape Town, as both the ‘Lian Shan Hu’ and the ‘Lian Gui Hu’ called at Cape Town during 2021. On delivery, all five of the class were placed on long term charter to Shell Transport and Trading of London.

Owned by China COSCO Shipping Corporation Ltd. of Shanghai, ‘Lian Bai Hu’ is operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co. Ltd., also of Shanghai, and she is managed by COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd., of Dalian in China, whereas most folk in the industry know, COSCO is an acronym for the wholly state owned China Ocean Shipping Company.

The growth of the COSCO Shipping Group seems not to have slowed down and, as at 1st February 2022, comprised no fewer than 1,349 ocean going vessels of all kinds, with an operating tonnage capacity of 112.17 million tons, making them the largest shipping company in the world. The COSCO tanker fleet currently stands at 224 vessels, with an operating tonnage capacity of 29.37 million tons, giving them the largest owned tanker fleet in the world.

On 25 September 2019, US sanctions were imposed on her management company, COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd., as the company had been considered to have met the sanctions criteria under Executive Order 13846. This order was that which US president Donald Trump announced the re-imposition of ‘all sanctions lifted or waived in connection with the JCPOA as expeditiously as possible.’ The JCPOA is an acronym for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but more commonly known to the general public as the Iran nuclear deal.

Due to technicalities in the sanctions order, no sanctions were applied to the parent company of ‘Lian Bai Hu’, COSCO Shipping Company, nor to any other major COSCO subsidiaries or affiliates. The sanctions were applied by the US government as it had been determined that COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd. had been shipping and importing Iranian crude oil, and fuel products, from Iran back to China, using their own vessels. The sanctions made it difficult for company vessels to trade in US dollar based commercial arrangements, and banned all company vessels from sailing to, or from, any US ports.

Some four months later, on 31st January 2020, the US Treasury announced that COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd., and associated companies had been removed from its sanctions list, but without providing an explanation. However, it was reported at the time that an ‘anonymous administration official’ had reportedly said ‘that this administrative de-listing should not be misinterpreted as a change in policy towards Iran by the US government.’ However, it came at the same time that China agreed to buy more US goods and produce!

However, the notice on sanctions being lifted issued by the US Treasury did not include COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co., which is the COSCO subsidiary that crewed and provided logistical management to all vessels of COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Co. Ltd., meaning that the crewing and management company remained designated as under sanctions, which must have caused some headaches for the operating company.

An interesting point to note about tanker offloading operations in Cape Town, is that since the beginning of the year, that no anti-spill pollution booms are placed around a tanker on the berth. The company that was responsible for this operation, Spill Tech, are now only required to run a boom if asked, and not as a matter of sensible course.

Is this because Transnet have decided to reduce the risk factor of an oil spill within the harbour, or is this purely a cost saving measure, agreed to by the authority, that was taken without reference to risk? Such a decision goes against the principles of risk assessment, and god forbid that a major fuel spill should occur, without a required anti-pollution boom being in place to protect both wildlife and infrastructure, within the harbour.

No boom was placed around ‘Lian Bai Hu’ at any point of her long discharge. As always with an LR1 tanker in Cape Town, discharge is not normally achieved in any short period of time, and after almost 6 days alongside, ‘Lian Bai Hu’ sailed from Cape Town at 06h00 on 26th March, bound for Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

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IN CONVERSATION: The South African ship that found Antarctica’s Endurance wreck is vital for climate science

 

Sarah Fawcett, University of Cape Town

It was 1914 when the English explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton set sail on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition aboard a ship called Endurance. It was an ill-fated journey: the ship got trapped in the ice and eventually crushed by pack ice in 1915. It sank to the bottom of Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. (Shackleton and his entire crew survived the ordeal by escaping in smaller boats.)

It was difficult to believe that the Endurance might ever be found. The icy Weddell Sea is inhospitable and the wreck lay in more than 3000 metres of water. But thanks to a South African vessel, the SA Agulhas II, Endurance was found in March 2022. It was the second time the polar icebreaker reached the coordinates that Endurance’s Captain Frank Worsley recorded as the ship went down. The first was in 2019; the ship was not located on that occasion.

The tale of the Endurance is fascinating. But so is the story of the SA Agulhas II. Because of this ship, South Africa is becoming a leader in aspects of Antarctic science. For example, it is highly unusual to make in situ measurements of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the open Southern Ocean and its sea ice in winter because of the darkness, inhospitable weather conditions and high concentrations of sea ice.

Yet, since 2012, the SA Agulhas II has undertaken at least five wintertime voyages between Cape Town and the Antarctic sea ice, a journey of nearly 3,000 kilometres. These expeditions have yielded data that are essential to understanding the changing Southern Ocean, and to validate numerical models developed to predict future climate. My research group, comprising mainly postgraduate students, has collected samples on numerous cruises aboard the SA Agulhas II that, following their measurement in the Marine Biogeochemistry Lab at the University of Cape Town, are improving our understanding of Southern Ocean nutrient and carbon cycling.

The SA Agulhas II has also served – and continues to serve – as a training ground for hundreds of students, most of them South African, in a range of disciplines: oceanography, marine biology, atmospheric science and more. It annually supports SEAmester, a ship-based educational programme dubbed “South Africa’s first class afloat”. During this government-funded capacity-building expedition, approximately 50 postgraduate students from across the country spend 10 days aboard the ship. They are introduced to interdisciplinary, applied, and hands-on marine science.

Shackleton’s so-called “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration” was fundamentally a show of European colonial might. It kicked off decades of Antarctic research that was open near-exclusively to white men.

So it is fitting that one of the world’s most impressive icebreaking research vessels is today owned and operated by the only African signatory of the 1961 Antarctic Treaty – which protects Antarctica and its surrounding ecosystems from exploitation and annexation – and is a platform to train African researchers undertaking globally-relevant research.

Fully equipped

The SA Agulhas II is a Polar Class 5 vessel owned by the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment and operated by African Marine Solutions.

She was built in the shipyard of STX Finland in Rauma, Finland, and handed over to the South African government in 2012. Cape Town is her home port.

At 134 metres long, with ten decks, a crew of 45 and berth space for 100 scientists, the SA Agulhas II was uniquely designed as both a polar supply ship and scientific research vessel. As part of the ship’s mandate, she annually supplies fuel, food, personnel, and other essential resources to South Africa’s research bases in Antarctica and on the Subantarctic Marion and Gough Islands.

She is also equipped with eight permanent scientific laboratories (with space on the stern for six additional specialised labs in shipping containers). The ship’s infrastructure allows for various instruments and sample collection equipment (and even people) to be deployed over the side or through the centre of the vessel via an opening in the hull known as a “moon pool”.

These and other features are critical when exploring a location as remote, vast and inhospitable as the Southern Ocean, which is typically defined as the waters south of 40ºS that connect the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. The westerly winds can exceed 60 km/hr, driving swells of over 10 metres. Sea ice more than a metre thick often extends over 1,000 km north of Antarctica. These factors make the region arguably the most logistically challenging and expensive ocean in which to conduct research.

Such research is critical. The Southern Ocean is the most important of all oceanic regions for Earth’s climate. Waters originating near Antarctica transport large quantities of heat and dissolved gases, such as the powerful greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), around the planet and into the deep ocean to be stored for hundreds of years.

Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, critical to all life on Earth, flow from the Southern Ocean to the tropical and temperate latitudes. There they are believed to support at least two-thirds of global ocean productivity. Without the Southern Ocean, our planet would not be habitable: continued research and monitoring of this marine system is critical.

The SA Agulhas II was able to reach the Endurance wreck site partly because of lighter than normal summertime ice conditions in the Weddell Sea. This is almost certainly a consequence of human-driven warming of the natural world. Significant reductions in Antarctic ice cover due to atmospheric and oceanic warming, along with related changes to the Southern Ocean and its ecosystems, present a very real threat to Earth’s habitability.

Broader value

Across the world, and in South Africa, government funding for research is declining; proportionally more science is being supported by private funders. A significant risk of this model is that a handful of powerful people, rather than a community of scientists reliant on peer-review and subject to checks and balances, get to set the global research agenda.

The SA Agulhas II stands out because she belongs to the people of South Africa. The ship’s success, under the leadership of master mariner Captain Knowledge Bengu, in locating the the Endurance is a reminder of her value not only to South African research, but to current and future global science initiatives.

Sarah Fawcett, Senior Lecturer, University of Cape Town

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

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Maritime Just Transition Task Force: First partner: Singapore Maritime Foundation

It was reported on 5 April from Singapore that the Maritime Just Transition Task Force founded by the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Transport Workers’ Federation and the UN Global Compact announced that the Singapore Maritime Foundation has become its first public programme partner.

The Maritime Just Transition Task Force made the announcement at an event during Singapore Maritime Week. The Singapore Maritime Foundation will play a key role in informing the Global Industry Peer Learning Group and will act as a contributor to the Task Force’s work including its first project on skills in maritime.

COP 27

It was also announced that the Maritime Just Transition Task Force will launch a report at COP27 in November on the skills needed for a just and equitable green transition in maritime. The report will quantify the number of seafarers that will need to be trained or upskilled to handle the green fuels of the future and the findings will feed into the creation of policy development and provide clear steps for the shipping industry to take.

Founder members

Established at COP26 in Glasgow, the Task Force founding members also include the UN’s shipping body, the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization. It brings together governments, maritime workers’ unions, and the shipping industry to pursue a fair and equitable green transition in shipping. Its purpose is to ensure that workers’ rights and developing economies’ access to zero-emission vessels and zero-carbon fuels remain at the centre of policy decisions.

Project partners

Additional industry Project Partners announced at the event included: Anglo Eastern, MSC, Ocean Technology Group, Ocean Network Express, PTC, and knowledge partners including the World Bank International Finance Corporation (IFC), Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, Ocean Conservancy, Carbon Trust and the World Maritime University. The Task Force is also supported by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.

It has been reported that the global shipping industry is responsible for about 3% of global GHG emissions. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce is integral to transitioning industry to a zero-emission value chain of new fuel production and distribution and building the new infrastructure to support it.

ICS

Guy Platten, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping remarked: “People are powering this green transition, and they must be set up for success. This is why we established the Just Transition Taskforce to ensure the seafarer workforce is supported.

“The first step is to quantify the skills needed for our workforce to be able to safely work on zero-emission vessels. We will collaborate with industry and governments to ensure no seafarer is left behind, and that developing nations will have equal access to the same training and support.

“ICS is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that developing economies are supported so we can make the green transition together.”

IMO

Kitack Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization affirmed: “A just transition in the maritime sector entails ensuring everyone involved is equipped with the necessary skills and that no one is left behind in this process.

“Given the international nature of shipping, we need to engage worldwide with all stakeholders. All of the workforce involved in shipping, but especially the people at the heart of it, the seafarers, need to be a part of this transition.

“The outcome of the Just Transition Maritime Task Force, is vital to the ongoing processes at IMO related to the future workforce, in particular, the upcoming discussions on a comprehensive review of IMO’s International Convention for the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention). I look forward to continued work in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders.”

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Somalia boosts coastline policing with new maritime facility

Security improvements along Somalia’s coastline are to boosted with the aid of a high-tech maritime facility for the police, according to officials.

The news came from the UN Secretary-General’s deputy special representative for Somalia, Anita Kiki Gbeho, who said the facility will provide an operational base from which the Somalia Police Force (SPF) can operate around Mogadishu Port and along the 3,300 km Somali coastline, as well as help build a long-term maritime law enforcement capacity.

“In recent years Somalia has expanded its maritime law enforcement capability, allowing the SPF to deliver safety and security around Mogadishu Port and along Somalia’s coastline. This furnished and equipped base will allow the SPF to become increasingly more effective,” Gbeho said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening.

She said the US$3 million facility funded by the European Union and developed by the UN will support the development of Somalia’s ocean governance structures.

Gbeho said maritime security and law enforcement will need to continue playing an enabling role for Somalia to continue expanding its blue economy and benefit from wealth generating opportunities its vast coast offers.

The UN said the facility whose construction began in 2018, is made up of a furnished headquarters block with information technology equipment, a detention facility, a floating jetty and boat ramp, and an accommodation unit.

The facility has been equipped with maritime communications equipment to enable operational readiness, and 60 maritime law enforcement officers have been provided with training and workshops on maritime law enforcement, marine engineering and maritime communications.

UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)’s regional representative for East Africa, Neil J Walsh said the facility will support Somalia’s fight against transnational and maritime organised crime. sources: Xinhuanet & Dryad Global

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Synthetic fuel: Container ship reduces emissions

World’s first successful use of synthetic natural gas in commercial shipping cuts greenhouse gas

MAN Energy Solutions reported on 6 April that the 1,036-TEU container ship, ElbBLUE (IMO 9504059)– the former Wes Amelie – had reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 27% by operating on a blend of climate-neutral, synthetic natural gas (SNG) and conventional liquefied natural gas (LNG), compared to LNG alone.

Compared with heavy fuel oil (HFO), GHG emission reduction was even as high as 34%. The data has emerged from measurements initially carried out on board the ship in September 2021 when ElbBLUE became the first container ship worldwide to replace a portion of its bunkered gas fuel (around 50%) with SNG.

Dr Uwe Lauber, CEO of MAN Energy Solutions, commented: “With this project, we have proven the technical viability of our concept of the maritime energy transition. Today, more than ever, we are convinced that climate-neutral, synthetic fuels point the way to green shipping – and even further beyond.”

Lauber continued: “The current, global, political situation underscores the future role that synthetic fuels can play in a diversified energy supply in that they point the way toward less dependence on raw material deposits, suppliers and price fluctuations. As a result of the military attack on Ukraine in violation of international law, LNG prices, for example, have risen massively in recent weeks and are now at a similar level to SNG. If production capacity can be built up quickly and synthetic fuels made available to the market, SNG could become a climate-friendly and – in the long term – economical alternative to fossil fuels in shipping.”

Pure SNG to cut GHG by 80%

Stefan Eefting, Senior Vice President and Head of MAN PrimeServ Augsburg, added: “With this pilot project, we have proven that any LNG-powered ship can also operate with green SNG from power-to-X. Even with a blend of just 50% SNG, GHG and pollutant emissions are significantly reduced. When operated exclusively on SNG, we would expect a reduction of at least 80% in GHG emissions for modern ships.”

It is understood that gas operation also drastically reduces other polluting emissions compared to HFO. In the case of the ElbBLUE, nitrogen oxide emissions (NOx) dropped by almost 87%, while emissions of sulphur oxides (SOx) and particulates were almost completely eliminated (~99%). These values were achieved in both the exclusive operation on LNG and on a blend of LNG and SNG.

Measurements were carried out on a voyage between Brunsbüttel, Germany and Rotterdam, the Netherlands with SNG comprising approximately 50% of the bunkered gas at 85% engine load. ElbBLUE is powered by an MAN 51/60DF four-stroke engine. As a multi-fuel engine, the unit allows operation with either HFO or liquid natural gas (LNG) as fuel. The ship’s test-run proved that the latter can be replaced by SNG without engine modification.

Pioneer

Owned by German shipping company, Elbdeich, and operated by charterer, Unifeeder, the 1,036-TEU container ship, ElbBLUE, sails the North Sea and the Baltic. It made headlines back in 2017 under its former name, Wes Amelie, when its MAN 8L48/60B main engine was converted to the current MAN 8L51/60DF four-stroke unit, which enables dual-fuel operation with gas. This was the world’s first conversion of a container ship to multi-fuel operation with climate-friendly LNG.

In September 2021, the ship reached another milestone on the road to climate-neutral shipping when, in the Elbe port of Brunsbüttel, it became the world’s first container ship to bunker climate-neutral synthetic marine fuel – some 20 tons. The liquefied SNG was produced in a power-to-gas plant operated by kiwi AG in Werlte, Germany and generated from 100% renewable energy.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: diamond mining vessel – GRAND BANKS

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The rarest of ‘local’ callers at Cape Town are the diamond mining vessels. That is because there are so few of them, they are designed to stay out on their designated concession for a lengthy amount of time, and crew changes, stores uplifts and bunker requirements all take place whilst they remain on station.

The only reason they call into Cape Town is for maintenance purposes, whether it be for receiving shoreside engineering assistance from the De Beers shore base, located at L Berth in the Duncan Dock, or for annual survey and drydocking purposes.

As far back as 5th February at 20h00, the Production Mining vessel GRAND BANKS (IMO 7212468) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from her normal place of operation in the Atlantic 1 concession, off Oranjemund, and north of the Orange River mouth in Namibia.

She entered Cape Town harbour the following morning, on the 6th February at 10h00, and proceeded into the Duncan Dock, where for the next 52 days she moved between the De Beers shoreside base at L berth, the Landing Wall and the Sturrock Drydock, undergoing her annual major maintenance period, undertaking required surveys and completing any equipment upgrade projects.

Built in 1972 by Levingston Shipyard at Orange in the US state of Texas, ‘Grand Banks’ is 122 metres in length and has a deadweight of 6,648 tons. She is diesel-electric and was built with no less than six Caterpillar D-399 16 cylinder 4 stroke main engines, each producing 1,142 bhp (800 kW). Power is provided to six motors, producing 750 bhp each, with three motors each assigned to two fixed pitch propellers for a transit service speed of 10.5 knots. She was also fitted with two Wärtsilä W8L32 generators providing 4,450 kW.

Launched as the ‘Glomar Grand Banks’ to the order of Global Marine Incorporated, of Houston in the US state of Texas, she was one of six sisterships, all equipped as drillships for the oil and gas industry. She is equipped with a helideck, located aft, for logistic support, and crew change requirements. As can be seen from her building date, she is now a venerable old lady, at 50 years of age, still going strong, and continuing to perform for her owners.

She is owned, operated and managed by De Beers Marine Namibia Pty Ltd, of Windhoek in Namibia. She is one of eight vessels currently in the fleet, all operating off the Namibian coast, mainly in the Atlantic 1 concession. Whilst now operating under the flag of Namibia, and owned by De Beers Marine in Namibia, up until 2003 ‘Grand Banks’ was flying the South African flag, and owned by South African De Beers Marine Pty Ltd, of Cape Town.

She was purchased in 1992 and converted from a drillship into a diamond mining vessel, with Glomar dropped from her name. In the same period, De Beers Marine also purchased her sistership ‘Glomar Coral Sea’, which was converted from a drillship into a sampling vessel, and is also still operating, as ‘Coral Sea’, in her assigned sampling role in the Atlantic 1 concession.

The mining method employed on ‘Grand Banks’ is that of using vertical airlift drill technology. Her drill tower deploys a 6.8 metre diameter drill bit, through a moonpool, with 60 tons per hour of sediment and rocks raised from the seabed to the vessel, where it is washed and sifted, with the rocks separated through a vibrating process, and all unwanted sediments and rocks discharged back over the side. The process is completed by utilising a pattern of working in overlapping circles over a mapped seafloor grid.

In 1983 one of her sisterships, ‘Glomar Java Sea’, was lost in Typhoon Lex, whilst operating south of Hainan Island, off China, and east of the northern coast of Vietnam, on a drilling assignment for a major oil company. Tragically, all 81 crew onboard ‘Glomar Java Sea’ lost their lives when the vessel foundered and sank in the powerful storm.

In June 2013, ‘Grand Banks’ experienced a fire in her engine room, whilst conducting her normal mining operation off Oranjemund. The crew managed to extinguish the fire, and there were no reported injuries, but the engine room received extensive damage.

Of interest, and despite the fact that she is a regular caller at Cape Town, and has been so over the last almost thirty years, where Cape Town is her only true port of call, ‘Grand Banks’ has only ever received one Port State Inspection in Cape Town. This occurred back in April 2002, over 20 years ago. At the time she recorded just one deficiency, linked to her load line.

After all of her planned maintenance, surveys, upgrades and checks were complete, after 52 days in port, ‘Grand Banks’ sailed from Cape Town at 14h00 on 29th March, with her destination set once more for the Atlantic 1 concession, off Oranjemund in Namibia, where she would continue with her diamond mining operations.

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Transnet Pipelines: Attempted theft, dead body at scene

A loss in pressure on the Kendal to Waltloo petroleum pipeline yesterday morning (Wednesday) alerted the company which activated its emergency response plan.

The security teams who went out in response discovered evidence of tampering at the block valve chamber and an unidentified dead person inside.

The authorities were summoned and an inquest docket has been opened. The incident is currently under investigation.

According to Transnet Pipelines, this is another harsh reminder of the dangers associated with tampering with the high pressure petroleum pipelines and its infrastructure.

“Their actions have resulted in fatalities, serious injuries, fire, explosions, environmental damage and other asset damage. This gruesome death brings the total number of fatalities to 7 over the past 3 years. Should the criminal activities continue, more people could die.”

Transnet appealed to all residents living near the pipelines or driving past to report any suspicious activities near the infrastructure. The toll free number is 0800 203 843.”

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IN CONVERSATION: At Unguja Ukuu, human activity transformed the coast of Zanzibar more than 1,000 years ago

Anna Kotarba-Morley, Author provided

Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Flinders University; Alison Crowther, The University of Queensland; Mike W Morley, Flinders University, and Nicole Boivin, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

The medieval settlement of Unguja Ukuu, on the Zanzibar Archipelago off the coast of Tanzania, was a key port in an extensive Indian Ocean trade network that linked eastern Africa, southern Arabia, India and Southeast Asia.

Our archaeological research shows how human activities between the seventh and twelfth centuries AD irreversibly modified the shoreline around the site. At first, these changes may have helped the trading settlement develop, but later they may have contributed to its decline and abandonment.

Ancient seafaring

For millennia, the Indian Ocean has been the maritime setting for an early form of globalisation. Large trade networks operated across the vast ocean, foreshadowing modern global shipping networks. Unguja Ukuu was a crucial location in this early trade and an important node in the nascent slave trade out of continental Africa.

Unguja Ukuu was an active settlement from the mid-first millennium until the early second millennium AD. Archaeological evidence and historical accounts suggest Unguja Ukuu is one of the earliest known trading settlements on the Swahili coast.

The rise and fall of trading ports

To understand how and why early ports thrived or declined, it is important to know how the coastal landscape influenced the way traders operated. This includes their choice of mooring locations and their connections to inland locations.

But the question of how these commercial activities in turn modified the coastline has received less attention.

Unguja Ukuu prospered in an ecologically marginal zone, hemmed in between the sandy back-reef shore of Menai Bay and mangrove-banked creeks to the east.

Menai Bay afforded shelter from monsoonal storms and navigable waterways across the shallow inner shelf to the shore. It also provided food and other materials from the mangrove habitat.

This landscape enabled the emergence of the farming, fishing, and trading settlement of Unguja Ukuu.

Sediment, sand and shells

We studied sediments, back-beach sands, and shells at Unguja Ukuu to understand how the settlement had affected its own environment. We found the accumulation of coastal sediments over centuries led to significant changes in the landscape.

Detritus from the settlement, such as food remains, hearths and other domestic waste, helped the beach spread outward into the sea. Our analyses show how human waste and the compaction of ancient surfaces drove the coastline change, supporting the emergence of a major trading site.

As more land was used for urban living and agriculture, more sediment moved from the land to the sea. This contributed to rapid growth of beach fronts, physically altering the coastal landscape and the ecological conditions of the adjacent sea-scape.

These changes in turn could have resulted in habitat shifts and silting of the lagoon which possibly contributed to Unguja Ukuu’s decline.

Early human impacts

Human-made processes might also be implicated in the decline and eventual abandonment of Unguja Ukuu in the second millennium AD. This was an important period in the socio-political and economic transformation of coastal African societies, marking the emergence of maritime Swahili culture.

But suggesting a purely environmental cause for the settlement’s abandonment would be too simplistic. The interaction of coastal villages and harbours with their dynamic landscapes may have had a role in this regional reorganisation of settlements, harbours, and trade flows.

New advances in archaeological science techniques, combined with systematic archaeological analyses, are increasingly allowing us to disentangle natural from human-made drivers of events. Such work often reveals far earlier human impacts than once envisioned, shedding light on the early roots of Earth’s current geological epoch: the Anthropocene, in which human activity is a key force reshaping the planet.

Human-made soil

Our work records snapshots of the evolution of a natural coastal system at the fringes of an early settlement.

River sediments were covered by beach sands containing increasing amounts of human waste accumulating from the mid-seventh century AD. This backshore activity area was used for small-scale subsistence activities (including processing shells for meat), trade, and the dumping of industrial waste.

Earlier urban development shaped Unguja Ukuu’s soils over the long term and through periods of settlement decline and abandonment from the twelfth century AD onwards. A dark earth “anthrosol” (human-made soil) continues to evolve on these archaeological deposits today, supporting cultivation in and around the modern town.

Dark human-made soils such as these, formed by rapid decay of organic- and phosphate-rich waste from the settlement, may be used as markers for as-yet undiscovered archaeological sites on the eastern African coast. Their distinctive dark colour renders the soils easily identifiable on satellite images and other remote-sensing datasets.

Understanding the past to shape the future

Our study clearly shows how human modification of natural environments affected coastal landscapes on an East African island more than 1,000 years ago. These findings are a reminder that humans have been changing our environment for thousands of years – sometimes for the better, and sometimes for the worse.

Studying history and archaeology is not simply about learning from our ancestors’ mistakes so that we don’t repeat them. It is also about ensuring that scientifically rigorous data that show how human activity in the past often altered the landscapes and environments in which people lived is effectively communicated, to both governments and the public.

If we can do this we might be able to make better informed sustainable choices for the future of our planet.

Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Flinders University; Alison Crowther, Senior Lecture in Archaeology, The University of Queensland; Mike W Morley, Associate Professor, Flinders University, and Nicole Boivin, Director, Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History

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

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Supply Chain Pressures: Implications of Russia-Ukraine War & Covid Lockdowns

Report by Christian Roeloffs

Cofounder and CEO
Container xChange

Implications of Russia-Ukraine war

Logistics companies are wary of trade lanes, trade partners and shipments to and from Russia. Market volatility has caused uncertainties in the market which has caused massive delays and reduced capacities.

COVID induced lockdowns in China and the Russia-Ukraine war has torn apart the expectations of recovery of the supply chain, which has been grappling to keep up to the pressures of implications resulting from these and many more disruptions.

The War has impacted Europe greatly. First, containers are stuck in the terminals waiting for transhipments to Russia and the result is a huge pileup there. The second significant impact is on the China- Europe rail. The northern corridor is still open, but volumes are massively reduced due to uncertainty in the market. That has pushed cargo towards sea freight and even in some cases towards air freight. Low-value cargo has largely suffered because high-value cargo has been pushed to the ocean transport.

On a more global scale, the rise in oil prices has been a major repercussion as a result of the war. More logistic players are unclear about the restrictions of doing business with many companies because there are second order and third order sanctions that are also required to be considered while doing business. Companies are hesitant to make decisions, selection of new partners is significantly impaired.

China lockdowns

There is market commentary about expectations of significant decrease in freight rates. I don’t think that will happen necessarily in the short term, but in the mid-term to long term, this will lead to increase in rates.

It’s almost like in a traffic jam. Some people now stepped on the brakes really heavily and the problem is that this will lead to a significant sort of bulk up in demand for freight services which will essentially be unleashed once the factories reopen.

And when the demand is back, the carriers will again not have enough equipment on the ground because not enough equipment went into China during the port lockdowns and not enough vessels are available so that will push up prices once again. So this will continue pushing the volatility in the market and the congestion situation on the Transpacific will also not significantly improve because it’s almost like a start-stop situation.

It will just come back worse than it was because the way you remove the traffic jam is not by stopping something violently and then hitting the accelerator again. It’s sort of making sure that the traffic flows at a certain speed.
The impact of COVID lockdowns on key markets will have wider reaching impacts leading to equipment scarcity in China, hike up of rates and worsening of the traffic jam on transpacific.

The problem will continue to remain after that because there are also labour union disputes in the US waiting in the month of May which historically always leads to slow down at the west coast ports.

Into the Future?

We will need more resilient supply chains and that means less concentration on high volume routes. While China-US will still be significantly massive, more smaller trade networks will increase to other countries in Southeast Asia, countries potentially in Africa and South America, who will pick up some of this uncertainty and some of the volume that now gets diverted from the big supply nation. This will be a very gradual process. And again, it doesn’t mean that freight demand from China will decrease now, but I think it might not grow as much anymore.

Emergence of small trade networks

The implications of emergence of smaller trade networks. One is you don’t really need these huge vessels on smaller trade networks. There will be an increase in demand for smaller vessels. Secondly, the model of just a few stops in China, then crossing the Pacific, then a few stops in the US, and then going back will, I think, decrease in importance. And there will be an uptick in more complex networks with more stops and longer turnaround times, further increasing the turnaround times of containers because they just spent more time on the water or an increase in transhipments.

So, for example, more stops in Southeast Asia, then all of this goes into, let’s say, Singapore or Hong Kong in a major hub and then re-export to across, for example, the Pacific. That again, not only increases sort of intra-regional traffic, but it also increases the importance of these transit hubs, which will need to build up further capacity to cope with the demand.

And then lastly, I think it will increase the importance of smaller players in the market, and that can be smaller feeder operators and can be smaller who basically pick up this intra-regional traffic or even the transpacific traffic. But that doesn’t start from the big hubs, depending on, I guess, the network model of the carrier.
Pre-pandemic times, supply chain was all about efficient prices and just in time delivery model to make more profits.

Rising Oil prices

The rising oil prices are bound to have a limited impact on containerised trade in the short run. But generally high oil prices hit hard when the freight rates are very low. Currently, when the freight rates are astronomically high for the past two years (for instance, $10,000 for a 40 ft high cube from China to the US, $9,000 for a 40ft container from China to Durban) the impact of a fuel prices hike will not have a large impact on the short term.

What remains to be seen in future is how the war pans out in the future and how the supply chain builds resilience in the end.

Container xChange, the world’s first online neutral marketplace for all container transactions, offers a monthly update on global container logistics. This is based on exclusive data leveraged from its platform and from secondary research, helping business leaders make informed decisions. The monthly reports can be found HERE

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Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change

* * *

The evidence is clear: the time for action is now. We can halve emissions by 2030

In 2010-2019 average annual global greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest levels in human history, but the rate of growth has slowed. Without immediate and deep emissions reductions across all sectors, limiting global warming to 1.5°C is beyond reach. However, there is increasing evidence of climate action, said scientists in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report released on 4 April.

Since 2010, there have been sustained decreases of up to 85% in the costs of solar and wind energy, and batteries. An increasing range of policies and laws have enhanced energy efficiency, reduced rates of deforestation and accelerated the deployment of renewable energy.

In the words of IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee: “We are at a crossroads. The decisions we make now can secure a liveable future. We have the tools and know-how required to limit warming. I am encouraged by climate action being taken in many countries. There are policies, regulations and market instruments that are proving effective. If these are scaled up and applied more widely and equitably, they can support deep emissions reductions and stimulate innovation.”

The Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC Working Group III report, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of climate change was approved on 4 April, by 195 member governments of the IPCC, through a virtual approval session that started on 21 March 21.

There are options in all sectors to at least halve emissions by 2030

Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. This will involve a substantial reduction in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels (such as hydrogen).

Cities and other urban areas also offer significant opportunities for emissions reductions. These can be achieved through lower energy consumption (such as by creating compact, walkable cities), electrification of transport in combination with low-emission energy sources, and enhanced carbon uptake and storage using nature. There are options for established, rapidly growing and new cities.

Reducing emissions in industry will involve using materials more efficiently, reusing and recycling products and minimising waste. For basic materials, including steel, building materials and chemicals, low- to zero-greenhouse gas production processes are at their pilot to near-commercial stage.

This sector accounts for about a quarter of global emissions. Achieving net zero will be challenging and will require new production processes, low and zero emissions electricity, hydrogen, and, where necessary, carbon capture and storage.

Agriculture, forestry, and other land use can provide large-scale emissions reductions and also remove and store carbon dioxide at scale. However, land cannot compensate for delayed emissions reductions in other sectors. Response options can benefit biodiversity, help us adapt to climate change, and secure livelihoods, food and water, and wood supplies.

The next few years are critical

In the scenarios assessed, limiting warming to around 1.5°C (2.7°F) requires global greenhouse gas emissions to peak before 2025 at the latest, and be reduced by 43% by 2030; at the same time, methane would also need to be reduced by about a third.

The global temperature will stabilise when carbon dioxide emissions reach net zero. For 1.5°C (2.7°F), this means achieving net zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s; for 2°C (3.6°F), it is in the early 2070s.

Closing investment gaps

The report looks beyond technologies and demonstrates that while financial flows are a factor of three to six times lower than levels needed by 2030 to limit warming to below 2°C (3.6°F), there is sufficient global capital and liquidity to close investment gaps.

Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

Accelerated and equitable climate action in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts is critical to sustainable development. Some response options can absorb and store carbon and, at the same time, help communities limit the impacts associated with climate change. For example, in cities, networks of parks and open spaces, wetlands and urban agriculture can reduce flood risk and reduce heat-island effects.

Mitigation in industry can reduce environmental impacts and increase employment and business opportunities. Electrification with renewables and shifts in public transport can enhance health, employment, and equity.

The full report at 2913 words is available HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Durban Car Terminal imports rise by 34% thanks to Asian entry-level vehicles

Entry-level cars imported from Asia have increased the Durban Car Terminal’s monthly targets by 34% at the end of March. The growing popularity of makes such as Suzuki, Haval (Great Wall Motors) and Hyundai in South Africa has contributed to the gradual automotive recovery following the delays and impact of the COVID19 pandemic.

According to Acting Managing Executive at the Durban Terminals Kwazi Mabaso, “When compared to last year this time, transhipment volumes have also spiked as the appetite for second hand cars within South Africa and neighbouring countries continues to grow.”

Mabaso said the terminal’s transhipments had grown 55% year on year as at the end of March.

The National Association of Automotive Manufacturers of South Africa (NAAMSA) had predicted a three-year recovery for the industry, with the 2021/2022 financial year marking the first year. Mabaso said conditions were still unfavourable however, increasing volumes were building up stock levels on dealership floors.

“Our main focus is always to ensure that there are no resource delays and for us to avoid stack availability issues at all costs – and we are doing just that as we anticipate growing volumes.”

New makes, models and customers are expected towards the end of the calendar year, and will further boost the automotive industry recovery in South Africa.

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WHARF TALK: split hopper trailing suction dredger OMVAC DIEZ

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Of all the different designs of dredger that are infrequent callers to South African ports, the rarest of them all is probably the split hopper dredger. This is a type of dredger, which to the unschooled eye, appears to split itself right down the middle, in a manner that appears to go against all the rules of buoyancy, flotation and stability.

On 31st March at 08h00 the multipurpose grab and split hopper trailing suction dredger, OMVAC DIEZ (IMO 9643817), arrived off Cape Town from Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, and previously from the port of Sada in the northern province of A Coruña, in Spain. She entered Cape Town harbour, and proceeded to the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock, a sure sign that her call was for a mixture of bunkers, stores and some minor maintenance support.

Built by Astillero Nodosa shipyard at Bueu in Spain, ‘Omvac Diez’ is 69 metres in length, but is actually 73 metres in length overall due to her protruding Pipe Bow Coupling Connector, and Rainbow Nozzle, and she has a deadweight of 800 tons. She is powered by two Caterpillar C32 V12 4 stroke main engines producing a total of 2,028 bhp (1,472 kW), which drive two SRP550FR Schottel azimuth thrusters for a service transit aped of 10.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes two Caterpillar 3406 generators providing 260 kW each, and she has a single Caterpillar C4.4 emergency generator providing 69 kW. For added manoeuvrability ‘Omvac Diez’ has a Linde HPV-02E1 bow transverse thruster providing 200 kW.

For her dredging operations ‘Omvac Diez’ has additional machinery that includes a Damen BP5045 dredging pump, powered by a Caterpillar C32 generator, providing 969 kW, and allowing the pump to operate at 5,300 m3/hr. She also has a Damen Nijhuis-200400 jetwater pump, powered by a Caterpillar C18 generator, providing 462 kW.

She is owned, operated and managed by Canlemar SL of A Coruña in Spain. She is a truly international dredger and has completed harbour dredging operations in Talcahuano and Chaiten in Chile, Aalborg in Denmark, Gdansk in Poland and closer to home, Cadiz in Spain. She has an endurance of 70 days and is operated by a crew of just 8 persons.

Using her 500mm diameter trailing suction pipe, she is capable of dredging down to a depth of 30 metres. For her grab dredging operations, she is equipped with a rail mounted Liebherr HS855HD backhoe crane, which is capable of dredging down to a depth of 16 metres.

All dredged spoil is placed into her central hopper, which has a capacity of 1,200 m3, and when dredging using her powerful suction pump, the hopper can be filled in only 90 minutes. The spoil can then be taken to an offshore dump site, where she splits her hull open, when directly over the site, to allow the freefall of the spoil to the seabed.

Alternatively, her spoil can be taken alongside a quay, where it can be discharged into an onshore storage site, for future use, i.e. sand and gravel. Her bow coupling connector allows her spoil to be pumped by pipeline out to a distance of 750 metres from the vessel for beach regeneration operations, and her rainbow nozzle allows the spoil to be sprayed in a targeted manner to an area where land reclamation operations are required.

Her stay in Cape Town was, as expected, a short one, and after completion of her bunkers uplift, stores uplift and any maintenance required, she sailed 23 hours after arrival, departing Cape Town harbour at 07h00 on 1st April, with her destination being Maputo in Mozambique.

An unusual point to notice is that her name ‘Omvac Diez’ is not painted on her hull, either at her bow, or at her stern. Instead, her Spanish vessel registration details are painted on the bow. The registration sequence is broken down with TE being her province of registration (Tenerife in the Canary Islands), 1 being the district she is registered in (Santa Cruz), 12 gives the authority folio number that she is registered in, and 13 indicates the year she was registered with the Spanish authorities.

Interestingly, the arrival at Cape Town by ‘Omvac Diez’ coincided with the recent arrival of the simpler grab hopper dredger ‘Italeni’, which is Transnet owned, and normally based in Durban, but on an ‘away’ mission at Cape Town to dredge some parts of the harbour.

On arrival in Cape Town, and when entering the Duncan Dock, ‘Omvac Diez’ passed ‘Italeni’, which was berthed on the Elbow in the Duncan Dock, and thus two hopper dredgers were together in the port at the same time. Sadly, there was no connection between the two, as each had their own missions to complete, and at two separate ports in Southern Africa.

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AIIM and Mokobela-Shataki Consortium acquires The Logistics Group for R1.6 billion

African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), one of Africa’s largest infrastructure-focused private equity fund managers, and the Mokobela-Shataki consortium have completed a R1.6 billion takeover of The Logistics Group (TLG) on 31 March 2022.

The Mokobela-Shataki consortium is sponsored by Moss Ngoasheng, founder and CEO of Safika Holdings (Pty) Ltd, and Monhla Hlahla, former CEO of the Airports Company South Africa and current Chairperson of Royal Bafokeng Holdings.

TLG operates in Southern Africa with services across port, rail, warehousing and digital transport logistics.

The transaction was financed by a mix of equity and debt financing. AIIM – part of Old Mutual Alternative Investments – acquired a 74% stake in TLG with the remaining 26% stake taken up by strategic investment partners, the Mokobela-Shataki Consortium.

AIIM said that by adding TLG to its portfolio will bolster AIIM’s transport strategy in southern Africa, helping to address capacity deficits from ports and inland transport.

South Africa’s ports are regarded as some of the continent’s and the world’s least efficient and doubling efficiency could equate to halving the distance between the country’s main trading partners.

According to AIIM, investment in transport corridors running from strategic southern African ports will benefit from strong growth prospects for various bulk and break-bulk cargoes, such as battery metals, cementing the continent’s role as a key player in the global energy transition.

“TLG presents a rare opportunity to acquire a multi-corridor player while addressing regional capacity constraints in partnership with Transnet and other major operators in the region,” said Ed Stumpf, Investment Director at AIIM.

“We view TLG as the cornerstone for a regional ports and logistics platform which will pursue additional investments along a number of transport corridors.

“Looking more broadly,” he said, “this will help reduce transport costs, which can have a considerable impact on the price of goods and catalyse trade regionally and beyond. Positioning the group to support multi-mode rail/road and backhaul cargo efficiency is a core part of our strategy to reduce carbon emissions as part of the journey to net zero.”

Olusola Lawson, Managing Director & Co-Head at AIIM said the acquisition represented their next generation pan-African fund AIIF4’s first investment. “AIIF4 is a thematic investor with a high-quality diversified pipeline across the Digital infrastructure, Energy Transition and Mobility and Logistics sectors. We look forward to expanding the fund’s portfolio.”

TLG Terminals

Further investment to enhance the existing TLG terminals in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban is to be pursued in partnership with Transnet National Ports Authority, the company disclosed adding that operational ramp-up of TLG’s businesses in Mozambique, Zambia and Namibia will be prioritised.

AIIM will also seek to develop bolt-on investment prospects in other key markets where it has portfolio investments and on-the-ground experience. This is to ensure TLG provides a comprehensive offering along diverse corridors to hinterland centres of production or demand, commencing in the Southern and East African region.

“We are excited to conclude this transaction and create a long-lasting partnership with AIIM and TLG,” said Moss Ngoasheng of the Mokobela-Shataki Consortium. “The acquisition allows Mokobela-Shataki to gain a strong foothold in the Southern African logistics industry, which we envision to be a key catalyst for the economic recovery and future growth of the region post Covid-19.”

This is the second recent investment in the logistics sector. DP World earlier this year took ownership of South Africa’s Imperial Logistics for US$887 million.

* See also Capespan’s The Logistics Group (TLG) ready to expand facilities to the fresh fruit export sector

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Collision in the harbour at Tanger Med Port – two missing

A collision between two vessels in Tanger Med Port on Friday morning left two crew members missing, it was reported in the Moroccan press.

One of the vessels involved in the collision belonged to Danish company Svitzer, who operate with tugs and service vessels. The second vessel involved was the ferry KATTEGAT which is part of the FRS Iberia fleet.

Tanger Med is Africa’s busiest port with a throughput in excess of 5.7 million TEU and 101 million tons of total cargo in 2021.

The port is situated opposite the Strait of Gibraltar.

According to port harbourmaster’s office, the collision occurred a kilometre from the port and confirmed that two people were missing. Rescue craft were immediately deployed and the navy provided a helicopter to assist with the search for the missing crew.

The report did not disclose from which vessel the two crew went missing.

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New management at the helm of APM Terminals

A.P. Moller-Maersk (APM) has announced new management of APM Terminals.

Morten Engelstoft, current APM Terminals Chief Executive Officer, has decided to retire and is to be succeeded in the CEO role by current COO Keith Svendsen, with Henriette Hallberg Thygesen appointed as the company’s new Chairperson.

The change follows the decision of Morten Engelstoft, Executive Board Member and current CEO of APM Terminals, to retire after 36 successful years with A.P. Moller – Maersk. The change in leadership will take effect from 1 July 2022.

For the past six years Engelstoft was at the helm of APM Terminals, throughout a period including leading the company through a very successful turnaround.

In a statement APM said he would hand over a business on a very positive performance trajectory which delivers attractive, stable, and high returns.

Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk said he was confident that Thygesen and Svendsen were the right team to “leverage the momentum and lead APM Terminals on the next leg of the journey where our continued focus is on delivering on our automation strategy and on step-changing productivity in Gateway Terminals.”

Skou thanked Engelstoft for his contributions in many different roles during his 36 years with the Group. “Morten has been one of our most appreciated leaders with a strong sense for our company values and the safety of our employees. I have been fortunate to work closely with Morten during my own career and have benefited tremendously from his advice and insights.”

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UK MAIB Safety Digest: Lessons from Marine Accident Reports 1/2022

In the UK the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) examines and investigates all types of marine accidents to or on board UK vessels worldwide, and other vessels in UK territorial waters.

Located in offices in Southampton, the MAIB is an independent branch within the Department for Transport (DfT). The head of the MAIB, the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents, reports directly to the Secretary of State for Transport.

In week commencing 27 March MAIB issued its Safety Digest No 1/2022 which draws the attention of the marine community to some of the lessons arising from investigations into recent accidents and incidents. It contains information that has been determined up to the time of issue.

This information is published to inform the merchant and fishing industries, the recreational craft community and the public of the general circumstances of marine accidents and to draw out the lessons to be learned.

The sole purpose of the Safety Digest is to prevent similar accidents happening again. The content must necessarily be regarded as tentative and subject to alteration or correction if additional evidence becomes available.

It is important to note that the articles do not assign fault or blame nor do they determine liability. The lessons often extend beyond the events of the incidents themselves to ensure the maximum value can be achieved.

Lessons from Marine Accident Reports No 1/2022 is available to download HERE

This text is based on material kindly provided by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch and, with the illustration, is MAIB Crown Copyright 2022 ©.

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

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TPT team visits Thailand to benchmark port and logistical automotive performance in SA

In a benchmark exercise aimed at bolstering South Africa’s objective to produce 1% of global automotive volumes by 2035, Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) recently visited the biggest automotive operations in Thailand.

According to Wandisa Vazi, Managing Executive at TPT’s Cape Terminals, their visit to the Ford and Toyota plants in Thailand gave them logistical insight from production to export. “Recent investments in South Africa by global car manufacturers warrant that all role players in the supply chain pull together to make our country competitive,” Vazi said.

The ongoing modernisation of plants, launching of new age models in line with the global hybrid trend and the automotive industry’s preparation for manufacturing electric vehicles – has strengthened collaboration among South Africa’s supply chain. There is now increased local content in vehicles manufactured in South Africa, improved regional market supply and transformation of the industry.

More developments are imminent across the seven global car manufacturers with subsidiaries in South Africa namely BMW, Mercedes Benz South Africa, Volkswagen, Toyota South Africa Manufacturing, Nissan, Isuzu and Ford Motor Company.

The recent R15.8 billion investment by the Ford Motor Company in South Africa will now increase units produced from the current 168,000 to over 200,000 units per annum in the building of a new age Ranger.

Similarly, Toyota South Africa Manufacturing’s R2.6 billion investment in the Corolla Cross Hybrid will see the production of 4000 vehicles this year for export to over 40 countries in Africa, with plans to increase production based on demand.

Combined, the investments will create close to 2000 jobs in the economy. The additional R3 billion invested by Mercedes Benz South Africa into the production of the new generation C-Class model takes the car manufacturer’s total investment to R13 billion between 2018 and 2021.

“Our biggest lessons as we return to enhance our operations are predominantly around yard planning and customer centricity,” Vazi said.

“We have begun engagements with the other parties in the supply chain. Thailand is strict with storage in the terminals, allowing only up to five days for export and four days for import. Also – their capacity includes a preloading area where 80% of the vehicles that are going to be loaded on the vessel are staged and no vehicles are received for the vessel on berth. That is one of the reasons their efficiency levels are so high,”she said.

Vazi added that in Thailand preplanning with other key parties was fundamental and that vessel agents were accountable for vessel turnaround and liable for costs of last minute berthing changes that created inefficiencies – which while common in South Africa, are unlikely to occur in Thailand.

With the automotive industry gaining momentum following COVID19 lockdown restrictions, volumes in the current financial year across TPT are 30% above budget with a noted 50% growth from last year.

“More than ever, every player in the value chain needs to work together to ensure South Africa is competitive,” said Vazi. “Our learning from the Thailand benchmarking visit will certainly improve our automotive vessel turnaround.”

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Danger of mines: Northern Black Sea Region, the Sea of Azov (north of latitude 46°N)

All ports in Ukraine

International maritime employers and unions are urging governments to significantly increase efforts to ensure safe and secure passage for vessels following reports of mines drifting in the Black Sea.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) – the social partners of the International Bargaining Forum (IBF) – met on 31 March to evaluate and discuss solutions that will ensure that seafarers, and their vessels, are not collateral damage in the continuing conflict in Ukraine.

Early in March the IBF designated the Northern Black Sea Region, the Sea of Azov (north of latitude 46°N) and all ports in Ukraine Warlike Operations Areas (WOAs).

Captain Belal Ahmed, JNG spokesperson and Chairman of International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) commented: “The safety and security of seafarers in this evolving crisis, especially seafarers serving in the region is our priority. Reports that mines have been discovered both inside and outside of the designated WOAs raises serious concerns.”

The NATO Shipping Centre issued the following statement on 30 March: ‘There is a threat of drifting mines in the Northwest, West, and Southwest areas of the Black Sea.  Drifting mines have been detected, and national authorities are working to find and neutralize any other mines in the region. Masters should take all precautions to mitigate the mine threat including avoiding floating objects, keep the forward area of the ship clear of crew, and using effective lookouts.’

David Heindel, chair of the ITF Seafarers’ Section added: “We strongly urge governments to do all in their power to mitigate the threat and secure the safe passage for vessels trading near these conflict areas. It is essential that the world’s seafarers can continue to perform their duties safely and keep global supply chains moving.”

NATO readiness

Greek-led Exercise Ariadne 22 was held from 7 to 18 March in the southern Aegean off the coast of Crete. This was the annual mine countermeasures exercise hosted by the Chief of the Hellenic Fleet designed to enhance operational and tactical capabilities, and readiness of all participants and to provide the opportunity to promote cooperation and mutual understanding among different units

Participants conducted a series of mine countermeasures tasks based on fictitious scenarios including very shallow water (VSW) operations to facilitate explosive ordnance disposal and improvised explosive device disposal, autonomous underwater vehicle employment, and mine recovery operations.

About the ITF

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation of transport workers’ unions recognised as the world’s leading transport authority.

The Federation fights passionately to improve working lives, connecting trade unions and workers’ networks from 147 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. It is the voice of the almost-20 million women and men who move the world.

About the JNG

The Joint Negotiating Group (JNG) allows for the coordination of the views of employers from across the world in the maritime industry. The JNG consists of the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), the International Mariners’ Management Association of Japan (IMMAJ), the Korean Shipowners’ Association (KSA), and Taiwan-based company Evergreen.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: heavy load carrier – FAIRLANE

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

Reporting on, and giving a background to, both ‘mini’ heavylifters and ‘standard’ heavylifters, does leave the door open for the ‘heavy’ heavylifters to get a mention. In this sense ‘heavy’ does not mean the semi-submersible types, or the open hatch roll-on/roll-off types, nor even the gargantuan crane vessels of the offshore oil and gas industry.

The real ‘heavy’ heavylifters refers to those vessels whose crane capacity is such that genuine heavy loads can be lifted and loaded. Even these specialised vessels call at South African ports on occasion, for bunkers, stores and maintenance. Physically, it is their cranes that are the normal giveaway, but there is also a subtle change to their description. Instead of being called heavy lift vessels, the subtle change is that they are often referred to as heavy load carriers.

On 23rd March at 13h00 the heavy load carrier FAIRLANE (IMO 9153654) arrived off Cape Town, from Gaolan in China. She entered Cape Town harbour and berthed at the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock. Her stay was extremely short, only eight hours, and at 21h00 that same evening she departed from Cape Town, with her destination set as Dakar in Senegal.

Built in 2001 at the Madenci Shipyard at Karadeniz in Turkey. ‘Fairlane’ is 110 metres in length and has a deadweight of 7,123 tons. She is powered by a single MAN-B&W 7S35MC 7 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 6,664 bhp (4,900 kW), to drive a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

She has two generators providing 560 kW each. For added manoeuvrability she has a Lips bow, transverse, thruster providing 610 kW.

The vessel has a single hold measuring 73 x 16 metres, with a cargo carrying capacity of 10,977 m3 and a main deck space of 1,500 m2. She has a container carrying capacity of 340 TEU.

It is her deck cranes that give away her ‘heavy’ heavylifter role, as they are not your normal NMF, or MacGregor, electro-hydraulic cranes of up to 150 tons each, that you find on the standard heavylifter, but rather they are Huisman mast cranes.

These are similar to those found on many large offshore construction vessels, and the Huisman cranes on ‘Fairlane’ have a lifting capacity of 400 tons each, or they can lift 800 tons when used in tandem. They are fully electric, and are remote control operated, with both operated by one man when used in tandem.

One of two sisterships, she is known as an H800 class vessel. She also has two 25 ton auxiliary hoists, which can be used for lifting and moving her hatch covers to allow for open hatch carriage of exceptionally large project cargo.

An unusual aspect of her design is that, to ensure her available deck area is maximised, all of her engine and generator exhaust pipes are all taken out through her hull, below deck level at her stern. The exhausts are protected by a simple steel cage arrangement. Her aft false funnel is merely a painted board, attached to her deck railings.

Owned by Fairlane BV of Schiedam in Holland, ‘Fairlane’ is operated by Jumbo Shipping Company BV of Rotterdam, and is managed by Jumbo Shipping Company SA of Geneva. In April 2021 Jumbo Shipping and the German carrier, SAL Heavy Lift. Launched the Jumbo-SAL Alliance, offering a combined project cargo fleet of 30 vessels, with lifting capacities of up to 3,000 tons, making them the world’s largest fleet in the over 800 ton lifting sector.

Her deck load was unusual as it appeared to be an assembly of Suction Buckets, with auxiliary structures for an offshore construction project. The size of the buckets indicates that they are possibly for an offshore wind farm, to support wind turbine masts, or they may be for a small field control platform, or a pumping station platform.

Suction Buckets are attached to the ends of shallow water, offshore, platform jacket legs, and are used to gently drive the whole jacket assembly into the sea bed to give it a firm base.

Her port of origin, Gaolan, is one of the port areas of the major port of Zhuhai, located close to Hong Kong on the Pearl River mouth. It was developed as a high-end marine engineering and manufacturing complex, specialising in the production of wind power equipment.

The port call into Cape Town by ‘Fairlane’ is not her only African port call of the last few months, as she made a call at the port of Toamasina, in Madagascar, back in December 2021.

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Boost for Congo Terminal with 20 new port tractors & trailers

The Congo Terminal at Pointe-Noire, a subsidiary of Bolloré Ports, has recently commissioned 10 tractors and 10 trailers worth more than 779 million CFA francs (over €1 million). This is the fourth order for rolling stock since the concession began in 2009.

These latest generation YT193 and RT223 tractors, equipped with mobile terminals and connected to the Navis 4 operating system, will help increase operational production rates at the container yard and enhance the terminal’s productivity.

This acquisition is in line with the investment plan put in place by Congo Terminal, which has to date invested more than 250 billion CFA francs (€400 million) to upgrade infrastructure and equipment at the container terminal.

Anthony Samzun, managing director of Congo Terminal said the investments made in the Port of Pointe-Noire have enabled Congo Terminal to increase its volumes and improve production rates. “We are continuing to invest in new equipment to keep up with the ever-increasing volumes we are now facing,” he said.

The Congo Terminal, concessioned to Bolloré Ports, is the operator of the container terminal at Pointe-Noire. The company is involved in a public-private partnership that enables it to meet the requirements of its customer base of shipowners, importers and exporters.

With ISO 9001:2015, ISPS (safety) and Pedestrian Free Yard (HSE) certification, the company benefits from leading-edge technology and equipment, such as the Navis 4 terminal operating system, and from the extensive port expertise of the Bolloré Ports network.

Congo Terminal, which has a container throughput of over one million TEUs, employs nearly 900 Congolese employees and leads solidarity initiatives in favour of young people, environmental protection and education.

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Cyber Security incidents reporting encouraged by SSA, ASA & CLASS NK

It was reported from Singapore on 25 March that the Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), the Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) and Class NK are working together to encourage their respective members and the industry to proactively report cyber security incidents in shipping.

As is well known that many companies struggle with wanting to report cyber security incidences so that others do not become further victims and so eventually that the cyber security posture of the shipping industry will improve, yet these companies are careful of possible negative publicity that may arise.

It is understood that the three organisations will collaborate to provide learning materials and resources to help foster a culture of cyber threat information-sharing.

As the first initiative of the above collaboration, the three organisations will create a series of podcasts with prominent industry players sharing how they deal with cyber incidents, and how they endeavour to manage the delicate balance of awareness and at the same time anonymity.

The podcast series emphasises reassuring companies on the outcome and purpose of reporting cyber incidents.

This initiative will target members and partners regionally, as well as, internationally. Under this initiative, SSA, ASA, and Class NK will be engaging prominent speakers from the industry to share their insights on cyber security incidents and highlight the roles and contributions of every individual in this important ecosystem.

This initiative will help to identify various safe and secure cyber reporting platforms, award companies, players that assist in reporting useful information required by the industry to ensure safe navigation as well as the protection of crews.

Singapore Shipping Association (SSA)

The Singapore Shipping Association (SSA), with more than 470 members, represents a wide spectrum of shipping companies and other businesses allied to the shipping industry. It is a national trade association formed in 1985 to serve and promote the interests of its members, and to enhance the competitiveness of Singapore as an international maritime centre.

SSA is a trusted advisor and partner in the local and international shipping community. It collaborates with relevant maritime stakeholders to protect the marine environment as well as promote freedom and safety at sea.

Despite being a not-for-profit organisation, SSA, on behalf of its members, strives to give back generously to the community through Corporate Social Responsibilities activities.

Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA)

The Asian Shipowners’ Association (ASA) is a voluntary organisation of the ship owner associations of Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and the Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Associations comprising shipping associations of ASEAN countries. The aims of the ASA are to promote the interests of Asian shipowners.

It has been estimated that ASA shipowners and managers control and operate around 50% of the world’s cargo carrying fleet.

ClassNK

Established in 1899, ClassNK is a leading classification society. As a non-profit, independent organisation, its mission is to safeguard life and property at sea whilst protecting the marine environment. It offers a wide range of services that encompass every aspect of ship classification from the development of technical rules and guidelines to the approval of ship designs, and the survey and registration of vessels and installations. Boasting roughly 20% of the world’s merchant fleet on its register and over 130 offices located across 50 nations.

This publication as a 64-page pdf is available HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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TRADE NEWS: Adopt new technologies for greener shipping, says Thordon

A new video highlighting how improved technology can be used to help the global shipping industry meet its ocean sustainability targets has been produced by Canada’s Thordon Bearings. See below.

The short video aims to encourage the shipping industry to adopt, ‘New Technologies for Greener Shipping’ – the IMO’s World Maritime theme for 2022 – as a way of addressing wide reaching concerns over the sector’s environmental footprint.

Focusing on SDG#14 – Life Below Water and eliminating ship source pollution – one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) – the short video helps the industry better understand why ‘there is no place for the oil lubricated propeller shaft in the 21st century.”

Craig Carter, Thordon Bearings’ newly appointed VP Business Development, says: “There is no doubt that flag states and governing bodies are piling pressure on ship owners to invest in technology that prevents all forms of pollution. Regulations are becoming stricter and equipment more expensive, but there are proven, less costly, zero emission alternatives available.”

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

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MSC acquires 100% of Bolloré Africa Logistics including all of Bolloré Group’s shipping, logistics and terminals operations in Africa

The MSC Group has taken up its option to acquire 100% of Bolloré Africa Logistics, including all of Bolloré Group’s shipping, logistics and terminals operations in Africa, as well as its terminal operations in India, Haiti and in Timor-Leste.

The purchase has been made based on an enterprise value, net of minority interests, of 5.7 billion euros (US $6.4 billion).

Bolloré Africa Logistics is the largest transport and logistics operator in Africa, employing 21,000 employees in 49 countries, of which 47 are in Africa, including offices and activities in South Africa.

Completion of the sale is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

The sale was first indicated on 20 December when MSC was granted an exclusive option until the end of March on buying Bolloré Africa Logistics.

This involved the Bolloré Group’s port, rail and logistics entities in Africa as well as the port concessions in India, Timor Leste and Haiti.

In a statement announcing the sale, the MSC Group has formally committed to keep Bolloré Africa Logistics as an autonomous entity, to maintain the current organisation but above all the jobs and projects.

As the world leader in container shipping, the MSC Group has made significant investments in Africa in recent years and says it has great ambitions for the continent.

In a statement, MSC, which is already widely represented across parts of Africa, said the acquisition of Bolloré Africa Logistics reaffirmed the MSC Group’s longstanding commitment to invest in Africa and to strengthen supply chains across the continent, as well as connecting it to the rest of the world.

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Land claim agreement means Richards Bay port expansion is now possible

Navy to relocate Durban Naval Base to Richards Bay

A historic land claim agreement that has been reached between Transnet Soc Ltd and the local Richards Bay Mandlanzini and Mbonambi communities, paves the way for the future expansion of the port of Richards Bay.

On Friday, 1 April the Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, and Minister of Agriculture and Land Reform and Rural Development, Thoko Didiza oversaw the signing of the agreement in which the Mandlanzini Land Claim which will be settled by way of:

a) Transnet to restore land parcels located in the Northern Link/Nsezi forest and commercial properties in the Small Craft Harbour.
b) Transnet to retain all the land parcels that are core to its rail and port operations, including the land parcel that Transnet is acquiring from the uMhlathuze Municipality for port expansion purposes.

The settlement agreement recognises the Land Swap Agreement between Transnet and uMhlathuze Municipality, which was signed between Transnet and the uMhlathuze Municipality.

In terms of this, Transnet is to acquire certain land parcels from the municipality for port expansion and relocation of the navy from Salisbury Island in Durban to Naval and Pelican Island in Richards Bay. In return, the uMhlathuze Municipality is to acquire, amongst others; Acquadene Township from Transnet for human settlement purposes.

“As we take practical steps to reverse the legacy of land dispossessions and restoring the dignity of our people, we are sensitive to the need for the peaceful co-existence of the two communities,” said Minister Didiza.

“Last year we transferred in excess of 5000 hectares of land to the Mbonambi community and more land is still to be transferred to this community. Last week, I approved the restoration of over 1400 hectares to the Mandlanzini community as part of settling their land claim,” she said.

Port Expansion

Minister Gordhan as shareholder representative for Transnet, said the signing of the agreement paves the way for Transnet to commence with their expansion plans and upgrade the port to ensure the more efficient export of commodities to their global destination.

“The land agreement we have reached and signed today will make sure that this port can grow from increased investment, and a lot more trade activity takes place largely in terms of exports and also in terms of imports into South Africa. This brings opportunities for increased construction activity, skilling of artisans and an opportunity
to train a new generation of young people with new skills to operate this port,” said Minister Gordhan.

The Port of Richards Bay is one of the largest strategic ports in the Southern African region and is responsible for exporting commodities such as coal, chrome, and magnetite.

The land claim and land swap agreement on Friday coincided with the anniversary of the Port of Richards Bay, which started operating on 1st April 1976.

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WHARF TALK:  mini heavylift vessel GRETA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The arrival of standard heavylift vessels in Cape Town takes place throughout the year, as these specialised vessels deliver their outsized project freight from one side of the world to the other. Almost all of them are merely transitory, popping in for less than a day to uplift bunkers and stores, before heading off once more to their chosen destination. Nearly all are of a medium size, with the odd genuinely big heavylifter, but rarely seen are the mini heavylifters.

On 29th March at 19h00, the mini multipurpose heavylifter GRETA (IMO 9344382) arrived off Cape Town from Batu Ampar in Indonesia, and entered Cape Town. She proceeded directly into the Duncan Dock and berthed at the landing wall, a clear sign that her call was only transitory, and some minor maintenance was required, along with an uplift of bunkers and stores.

Built in 2007 at the Rousse Shipyard at Ruse in Bulgaria, ‘Greta’ is 101 metres long and has a deadweight of 4,470 tons. The Rousse shipyard is unusual in that it is located on the Danube River, lying on the border between Bulgaria and Rumania, and is 108 nautical miles inland, and upriver, from the Black Sea coast.

She is powered by a single MaK 8M25 8 cylinder 4 stroke main engine producing 3,210 bhp (2,400 kW), which powers a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 12 knots. For added manoeuvrability when berthing, she has a bow, transverse, thruster providing 220 kW.

She has two holds, which are serviced by two 60 ton NMF cranes, and which are capable of lifting 120 tons when the cranes are used in tandem. She has a cargo carrying capacity of 6,458 m2, and a container carrying capacity of 281 TEU, with a provision for 20 reefer plugs. Her 12 hatch covers are of the pontoon variety, and ‘Greta’ carries a 17 ton hatch lifting gantry for opening, and moving, the hatch covers.

Owned by Greta Schifffahrts GmbH of Leer in Germany, she is operated by Ocean 7 Projects, of Fredericia in Denmark, and she is managed by Schiffahrtskontor Baltik GmbH, also of Leer. For worldwide operations, ‘Greta’ is classified as Ice Class 1C, which allows her to operate in first year ice thickness of 0.4 metres.

Her stay in Cape Town lasted only twenty hours and at 16H00 on 30th March, ‘Greta’ sailed from Cape Town, bound for Ambriz in Angola. With Ambriz being almost exclusively utilised as an offshore oil and gas industry port, it is expected that ‘Greta’ is carrying hold project cargo bound for one of the major oil companies operating out of Ambriz.

In August 2011 when transiting through the Gulf of Aden, and whilst 87 nautical miles south of the Yemen port of Al Mukalla, ‘Greta’ was approached and attacked by a skiff with five pirates onboard. The pirates were armed with both AK-47 assault rifles and RPG-7 rocket propelled grenades, who opened fire on ‘Greta’.

The onboard security team, who were carried onboard ‘Greta’ for this voyage through these dangerous waters, returned fire on the pirates. The vessel also increased speed and began taking evasive manoeuvres. The pirates broke off the attack and retreated.

In her 15 year career, ‘Greta’ has received 25 port state inspections. Surprisingly, four of those inspections took place in South Africa, and all of them were conducted in Cape Town. None of them resulted in a detention, with the Cape Town inspections of October 2018, and February 2016, resulting in no reported deficiencies. The February 2018 inspection in Cape Town resulted in just one deficiency linked to hull damage, and the April 2019 inspection also resulted in just one deficiency, this one linked to main engine problems.

Such inspections, and their results, indicate that all of the previous calls of ‘Greta’ to Cape Town were solely for purposes of receiving shoreside maintenance support, as well as for bunkers and stores, rather than for cargo working purposes, rather similar to her latest call. All of the Port State Inspections that took place in Cape Town were conducted under both the Abuja MoU, and the Indian Ocean MoU agreements.

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Sense of musical chairs as new Interim CEO for SAMSA is appointed

There’s a sense of musical chairs once more in the South African maritime sector, or at least that part which is state-controlled. This follows the appointment of Ms Zamachonco Chonco as its latest interim chief executive officer.

She replaces another ‘interim’ CEO, Ms Tsepiso Taoana-Mashilaone, who was in the position for the past 13 months.

The new interim CEO was until now SAMSA’s chief financial officer (CFO).

She will lead the organisation while the process of appointing a permanent CEO is being finalised – a lengthy process it seems. Why is it that state-owned organisations have to engage in such protracted processes whilst the private sector invariably ensures a seemless and immediate exchange of executive office.

Perhaps this is a contributory factor as to why so many state-owned companies are in a mess.

These sentiments are no reflection on the merits or otherwise of Ms Chonco, who is a qualified chartered accountant with what is described as “vast experience in both private and public sectors within the finance, investment, risk management and audit areas.” The statement says she served with distinction as the Acting CFO at the South African Postbank before joining SAMSA.

She also held various senior positions in finance at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and the Auditor General of South Africa.

“Since joining SAMSA, Ms. Chonco has been pivotal in supporting the agency achieve its first unqualified audit for the 2020/2021 financial year in more than four years.”

Meanwhile, Ms Taoana-Mashiloane will return to her position as the Department of Transport’s Chief Director for Maritime Industry Development.

The SAMSA board said it thanked her for her valuable contribution in turning around SAMSA’s audit record and deepening the relationship between the board and executive team while in the role as Acting CEO.

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Moratorium on issuing of bunkering licences in Algoa Bay remains in place

SAMSA (South African Maritime Safety Authority) announced on Friday (1 April) that the moratorium on the issuing of bunkering licences in Algoa bay will not be lifted as previously announced. The lifting of the moratorium, due on 1 April 2022, was suspended following inter-departmental consultations.

The moratorium was placed on 22 August 2019 pending the finalisation of the Transnet National Port Authority (TNPA) Risk Assessment Study for Algoa Bay.

Following the suspension of the lifting of the moratorium the Marine Notice (MN 1 of 2022) on the interim application process and requirements to conduct STS or Ship to Ship transfers and bunkering operations outside of a port will be retracted.

The application window for bunkering licences for Algoa Bay will be extended until the finalisation of the Risk assessment Study.

SAMSA apologised for any inconvenience caused by this suspension and said it will continue to work with stakeholders in the bunkering sector to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

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NS QINGDAO Update: Cargo discharge completed

Discharge of the waste chemical cargo from no.3 hold of the bulker NS QINGDAO (IMO 9567439) in Saldanha Bay has been completed, reports the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) which has been overseeing the drawn-out process since October 2021.

That was when the bulk carrier began emitting toxic fumes while discharging cargo at Durban’s Maydon Wharf.

The ship was ordered to immediately leave the port and proceed under escort with an AMSOL tug in attendance to St Helena Bay, where the cargo could be more safely assessed and action taken. Some of her cargo was dumped overboard at a safe distance (250km) out at sea and other cargo totalling almost 1,000 skips was discharged either into another vessel alongside at St Helena Bay, or ashore at Saldanha Bay.

SAMSA says this cargo together with potentially contaminated ballast water, was “responsibly disposed of” at the Vissershok High Hazardous Waste Management Site. During the discharge operation in the port of Saldanha Bay, no cargo residue entered the water, said SAMSA.

The safety authority said that to date no threats to the marine life or environment related to the emergency disposal of cargo approximately 250 km offshore have been noted.

“Environmental Monitoring in accordance with the agreed EMP by the P&I Club’s appointed environmental specialists, in collaboration with DFFE (environment department), which includes amongst others satellite imaging of the area, will continue.”

Meanwhile, the vessel remains detained, subject to further inspections and repairs as required and will not be put to sea unless her seaworthiness can be confirmed, said SAMSA.

“The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) and the Department of Forestry Fisheries and the Environment (DFFe) have reached agreement with the vessel’s owners and P&I Club to implement a medium to long term environmental monitoring program (EMP). The program will deal not only with any immediate impact but also monitor and mitigate any future impacts.

“The vessel’s Marshall Islands Flag State appointed Investigation Team is still investigating the root cause, with SAMSA sharing any available information. A final report which will be shared with SAMSA is expected to take approximately 12 months to complete.”

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Black Sea and the Sea of Azov: Insurance or other financial security certificates

IMO Legal Committee guidance

It has been reported that IMO’s Legal Committee meeting from 21-25 March approved a circular on guidance on the impact of the situation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov on insurance or other financial security documents.

This followed the decision of the IMO Council at its Extraordinary Session of 11 March held to discuss the impacts on shipping and seafarers of the situation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. Here it requested IMO Committees to consider ways to enhance the efforts of Member States and observer organizations in supporting affected seafarers and commercial vessels and consider the implications of this situation for the implementation of the Organization’s instruments, take appropriate action and report back to the IMO Council.

An IMO circular issued at the Legal Committee noted that a number of relevant IMO liability and compensation treaties require that State Parties issue certificates attesting that insurance or other financial security which meets the requirements of the conventions is in force.

Economic sanctions

It is understood that the introduction of economic sanctions may in some cases restrict the insurers or other financial security providers from processing claims or prohibit the payment of claims arising under these conventions.

The IMO recommended, in particular, that flag or certifying States issuing certificates based on Russian insurers or Russian financial security providers should verify that the coverage meets the criteria outlined in an earlier advisory notice which provides guidance for accepting ‘Blue Cards’ or similar documentation from insurance companies for specified treaties.

The IMO Legal Committee addressed a number of other important items, including seafarer abandonment; measures to prevent unlawful practices associated with fraudulent registration and fraudulent registers of ships; and Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS).

To read a summary of IMO Legal Committee, 109th session, (LEG 109) 21-25 March 2022 readers are invited to SEE HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Nigerian Navy’s new landing Ship Tank (LST), NNS Kada, homeward bound

The latest new ship for the Nigerian Navy, the Landing Ship Tank (LST), NNS Kada, has been completed at the Albwardy Damen Shipyard in Sharjah in the UAE, and is homeward bound with a planned arrival in Nigeria of 27 May.

The new vessel, LST 1314) will enhance Nigeria’s standing as a naval force in the volatile Gulf of Guinea by means of transporting troops and military vehicles and ordnance, while also adding to Nigeria’s ability to provide relief in times of emergency across the region, during which the vessel can accommodate up to 450 people for short periods.

At the handing over, Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, said that NNS KADA would enhance the Nigerian Navy’s deterrence capability against maritime crimes and illegalities within the nation’s maritime domain and the Gulf of Guinea.

The admiral said that the ship would serve as a force multiplier in the navy’s ability to project power, respond to crises, support other non-kinetic engagements, and boost its capability in support of the ECOWAS mandate.

The 100-metre long vessel has a complement of 32 crew and facilities for a further 250 embarked personnel. NNS Kada is powered by two Caterpillar/Cat 3516 C-rating engines (1 650-3386 hp each) and four Caterpillar C-18 generators.

The ship has a range of 4,000 nautical miles at 16 knots.

NNS Kada was due to sail from Sharjah on Friday 1 April with goodwill visits to Port Duqm in Oman, Mombasa in Kenya, Cape Town in South Africa, Luanda in Angola and Port Gentil in Gabon, prior to her arrival in Lagos on 27 May 2022.

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As DRC joins EAC, competition between Mombasa and Dar es Salaam routes could increase

There is mounting speculation over the entry of the DRC into the East African Community and what effect this will have in terms of future transport routes.

This follows the formal announcement on Tuesday last week 29 March 2022, that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was an official member of the EAC, after having applied in 2019 for membership. The announcement came during a virtual summit of the EAC.

The DRC thus becomes the seventh country to join the trading bloc, the others being Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.

Benefits of membership means among other issues, free movement of people and goods as well as security and political benefits. Even without formal membership, the DRC traded with other members and shared logistical facilities, particularly from the eastern regions of the DRC in using the ports of Mombasa and Dar es salaam for imports and exports.

The DRC has already signed a number of agreements with its various neighbours enabling the huge country to participate in inter-state transport projects.

The admission of the DRC also means that the EAC now covers across the full width of central Africa, from the Indian Ocean in the east to the South Atlantic in the west. The DRC generates large volumes of minerals for export, with these being exported through its own port of Banana on the Atlantic coast, Luanda in Angola by way of the recently reopened Benguela Railway, and ports in southern Africa via the rail and road network to Dar es Salaam, Beira, Maputo and Durban.

EAC secretary-general, Peter Mathuki, said the membership added to making the region competitive and was now able to access the larger African Continental Free Trade Area.

In the EAC, the question arises as to whether there will be a shift of cargo from the northern corridor (port of Mombasa) or the central corridor (port of Dar es Salaam).

Current rail options are limited by the standard gauge railway (SGR) along the central corridor still under construction and the northern corridor SGR ending, at least for now, near Nairobi.

The majority of cargo destined for the DRC however is carried by road and the choice facing trucking companies remains the same as before – to use the central corridor to Dar es Salaam (1,300km) or that of the northern corridor to and from Mombasa (1,700km).

On the face of things the central should hold the advantage, being considerably shorter in distance but other factors weigh in, including transit times, traffic conditions, road blocks and tolls, customs delays at the borders.

Whichever SGR reaches its planned destinations of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and even the DRC, will probably become the catalyst of a change of preference among many cargo owners.

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Xeneta Report: Long-term ocean rates up almost 100% year-on-year

Long-term contracted ocean freight rates climbed by 7% in March, pushing shipping prices up 96.7% year-on-year. The rise, revealed in the latest Xeneta Shipping Index (XSI®) Public Indices for the contract market, further boosts the coffers of leading carriers, with Evergreen the latest name to disclose record annual revenues of US$ 17.67 billion (a fourfold increase on 2020).

However, as Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund points out, the sustainability of such developments remains to be seen.

Onwards and upwards

Xeneta’s XSI®, compiled from the latest crowd-sourced ocean freight rate data aggregated worldwide, has painted a stark picture over the last 18 months, with 16 months of rates hikes against only two dips (December 21 and January 22). A combination of relentless demand, port congestion, equipment shortage and COVID disruption have driven the rates trendline to new heights – facilitating huge profits for carriers and worrying times for shippers.

March 2022 proved true to form, as Berglund explains.

“Yet again we saw another bumper month for the carrier community, with climbs across all major trade corridors, for both export and import indices,” he notes. “Long-term rates are reaching all-time highs, and carriers are undoubtedly sitting pretty in contract negotiations, but there are signs that future adjustments may be edging onto the horizon.”

Waves of change?

Berglund points out that, for example, rates on key Far East-Europe trades are declining, with carriers such as Maersk and MSC announcing plans to void sailings to combat sluggish demand. A potential resurgence of COVID in China, and resultant lockdowns, could add to a sense of increasing volatility and fluctuating demand.

In addition, port congestion in the US has transferred from West Coast ports to East Coast ports, as shippers seek to avoid potential problems stemming from labour negotiations between the ILWU and PMA. Congestion in the East could, with this in mind, grow in the second quarter to match that previously experienced in the West.

“It’s a very complex picture,” the Xeneta CEO notes. “What’s more, in the slightly longer-term we also have moves by the emboldened, cash rich carriers to consolidate market shares and boost fleet capacity. The most recent example of this is Evergreen, again, which could be looking to take delivery of more than 40 new vessels by the end of 2025, totalling more than 550,000 TEU. Will the market demand continue to develop to absorb this kind of capacity growth, or could we see the carriers go from boom to bust with weaker fundamentals?

“As ever, it’s impossible to forecast with any certainty, making it all the more essential for stakeholders to avail themselves of the very latest market intelligence before entering contract negotiations. Knowledge is the key to unlocking value in such a tough, dynamic market.”

Universal strength

Regardless of future performance, March 2022 saw the ‘golden age’ of the carriers continue. All regional trade corridors enjoyed positive rates developments, as illustrated by the XSI®.

In Europe, the imports benchmark surged by 7.7% – climbing to a new all-time high – and now sits 87.1% up year-on-year. Exports advanced by 3.2%, equating to a 72.5% increase against March 2021. Meanwhile, Far East imports on the XSI® jumped by 4.7%, moving the index up 52.1% year-on-year, with exports showing their strength in a 7.9% surge. This latter benchmark currently stands 92% up compared to March 2021, with gains recorded in 18 of the last 24 months.

The rates story in the US followed a similar plot, as imports rose by 6.9%, offsetting the slight decline reported in February. The index is now a towering 99.3% higher than the equivalent period of 2021. Growth on the exports measure failed to keep pace, but there was still a 1.4% appreciation, leaving the index up 35.2% year-on-year.

Xeneta’s XSI® is compiled from the latest crowd-sourced ocean freight rate data aggregated worldwide. Companies participating in the benchmarking and market analytics platform include names such as ABB, Electrolux, Continental, Unilever, Nestle, L’Oréal, Thyssenkrupp, Volvo Group and John Deere, amongst others.

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

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

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Historic step as Transnet commences with sale of rail slots to third-party operators

The next time you see a container train like this along the Natal Corridor, it may be under private operation. Picture by Charles Baker

Transnet SOC Ltd on Friday (1 April 2022) opened the sale of slots on two key corridors on its rail network, and is inviting interested and qualifying operators to respond.

This is a significant step in the rail reform process, and advances the increased use of rail for the transportation of freight, as envisaged in the Draft White Paper on the National Rail Policy (2017).

Transnet has prioritised the Container Corridor (Gauteng to Durban) and the South Corridor (Gauteng to East London) for this first phase of third party access, for a 24-month period between 2022 and 2024 .

The two corridors are key for South Africa’s main growth sectors, particularly manufacturing, the automotive industry and agriculture.

The Container Corridor links the Port of Durban to the Gauteng economic hub through an extensive rail network of roughly 714km. The railway connection between Transnet’s container terminals in the Port of Durban and Transnet’s inland terminals in City Deep, Kascon, Pretcon, Kaalfontein, and several accredited private sidings in Gauteng, are crucial to expanding the custom bonded facilities network beyond the port.

This is critical to supply chain efficiencies and reducing congestion in the Port of Durban.

The South Corridor provides a strategic route between Gauteng and the ports of East London and indirectly Port Elizabeth, that can be customised and configured to suit the unique requirements of the rapidly expanding agricultural and automotive sectors.

The system will operate by means of slots (temporary occupation of sections of the network to enable end to end passage of a train), with Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) retaining ownership of the network.

The sale of slots to third-party operators expands the access that Transnet already grants to PRASA, approved Branch Line Operators, the luxury hospitality services provided by Rovos Rail and the Blue Train and Steam Train Operators to the rail network.

Analysis of this report by Transnet will be carried in our Monday edition.

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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

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–  Swami Vivekananda

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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

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

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

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

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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES

QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

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

Naval News

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