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Monday 2 May is a public holiday in South Africa and several other parts of the world.  Our next edition of news will appear on Tuesday 3 May 2022

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

These news reprts are updated on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za

Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return  

FIRST VIEW:  RCC ANTWERP

• Coal from Botswana’s Morupule mine exported via Maputo
• WHARF TALK: visiting French naval squadron – FNS MISTRAL
• Mozambique to establish sovereign fund as plans firm up for export of natural gas from Coral Sul FLNG
• Double success for Shell’s discoveries offshore Namibia
• IMO and fishing vessel safety
• WHARF TALK:  In Cape Town harbour – MSC ORCHESTRA
• IN CONVERSATION: Changes in sub-Saharan maize trade spells potential trouble for Kenya
• TRADE NEWS: Seahaven, the world’s largest inflatable lifeboat
• Vale concludes sale of Moatize coal mine & Nacala Logistics Corridor to Vulcan Resources
• IN CONVERSATION: Africa faces huge food-supply obstacles in a just transition – and time is running out
• CMA CGM’s MOZEX service opens door to citrus exports through Maputo
• WHARF TALK: small reefer vessel – SILVER COPENHAGEN
• NovaMarine expands technologies service offering to Walvis Bay
• IN CONVERSATION: Africa faces hard knocks as rich countries take manufacturing back home
• Pakistan frigate PNS Shamsheer seizes nearly one ton of illicit drugs at sea off Oman
• New threat to export of SA oranges to the EU
• WHARF TALK: grab hopper dredger – ITALENI
• CMA CGM to introduce dedicated new intermodal Harare-Maputo-Harare service
• NEW BOOKS: Seaforth Naval Review 2022
• TRADE NEWS: Thordon’s largest rudder bearing ever manufactured installed in 7,500-TEU container ship
• Guinea’s Kamsar port takes delivery of Damen Multi Cat 2409 vessel
• Walvis Bay Container Terminal up for concessioning
• WHARF TALK: large Angolan LNG tanker SONANGOL ETOSHA
• New cyclone (Jasmine) brews in Mozambique Channel
• Illicit maritime activity: South Africa signs Jeddah Amendment
• Rehabilitation & expansion of Nacala port nearing completion
• IN CONVERSATION: How geology put a South African city (and its port) at risk of landslides
• CMA CGM reinstates its Indian Ocean (IO) Feeder 3 service
• Managing blackout risks on passenger ships: New DNV focus on safety

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

The week’s mastheads:

Monday: Durban Island View Terminal
Tuesday: Port of Durban Maydon Wharf
Wednesday: Port of Cape Town Elliott Basin
Thursday: Port of Cape Town dry dock
Friday: Port of Cape Town Tanker Basin
Saturday: Port of Cape Town Duncan Dock
Sunday: Port of Cape Town from th V&A

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FIRST VIEW:   RCC ANTWERP

The car carrier RCC ANTWERP (IMO 9441623) arriving in Durban to discharge or load motor vehicles at the country’s leading car terminal. The Ro-Ro vessel was previously HÖEGH ANTWERP and still shows the name ‘Autoliners’ along her hull.

With a length of 200 metres and a width of 32m, the 58,767-gt vessel has a carrying capacity of 6697 motor cars and in her day would have been among the larger vehicle carriers in service.

RCC Antwerp was built in 2013 and flies the flag of Bahamas. The ship was arriving from Walvis Bay and before that several West African ports, including Tema, Abidjan and Conakry.

Her next port of call is the port of Chennai (ex Madras) in India.

These pictures are by Keith Betts

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Coal from Botswana’s Morupule mine exported via Maputo

The first consignment of coal from Botswana’s Morupule Mine has arrived in the port of Maputo after being railed from the Palapye region in central Botswana via Zimbabwe.

The train consisted of 40 wagons carrying a total of 2,000 tons of coal – reportedly the first coal from Morupule to be exported from the Mozambique port.

It is expected that 380,000 tons a year of coal from the Botswana mine will in future be shipped through Maputo.

In recent years there has been much speculation about coal from Botswana being exported from the Mozambican port – also talk of using the Namibian port of Walvis Bay though that has always seem impracticable considering there is no rail connection across the Kalahari as yet with the Atlantic port.

A proposed new coal and ore port at Ponta Techobanine to the south of Maputo has also been promoted, though with little or no immediate hope of success.

The other alternative has been to ship coal from the South African port of Richards Bay or alternately Durban, though this entailed a difficult route for rail to be used. A rail extension through the Waterberg that would shorten the journey to Richards Bay has yet to see the light of day, with Transnet having expressed reluctance fairly recently.

Maputo can now claim ‘victory’ in this respect, entailing a 1,400 km journey from Botswana into Zimbabwe (Bulawayo) and then across country to the Mozambique border at Chicualacuala in Gaza province.

The inaugural coal train took four days to complete the journey, passing through Marracuene as it neared Maputo.

The Executive Director of CFM-Sul, Augusto Abudo, southern Mozambique’s rail company, said the success of railing Botswana coal to Maputo is a result of high-level talks between the presidents of Mozambique and Botswana.

A monthly total of 32,000 tons will now be carried along this route.

Morupule Coal Mine (MCM), initially known as Morupule Colliery, was established in 1973 as a subsidiary of Anglo American Corporation. The mine is today 100% owned by Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB).  In 2016 Anglo American through De Beers sold its by then 50% stake in the mine to the Botswana Government, making Morupule a fully state-owned company.

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WHARF TALK: visiting French naval squadron – FNS MISTRAL

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

It is always a pleasure to welcome foreign warships into South African ports. In most cases they are operating on their own, and either heading for, or coming from, a predetermined patrol area, or arriving to participate in exercises with the South African Navy, or to recognise a special occasion that links the two countries. More unusual is when not one, but a squadron of four warships arrive together, and it is a squadron that includes a major warship in its number.

On 26th April at 08h00, a French Naval squadron of four warships arrived off Cape Town and, one by one, they entered Cape Town harbour, with every one of them being taken to a berth on the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock, well away from prying eyes, and where no member of the public can admire them from the quayside.

Due to Transnet not allowing any visiting vessel, whether it be a warship or a passenger vessel, to use the V&A for berthing purposes, long gone are the days when visiting warships were afforded the privilege of berthing in the V&A dock, adjacent to the tourist venues, and where the locals, and tourists alike, could enjoy the spectacle of a visiting man of war.

The squadron flagship was the impressive French Naval Ship (FNS) MISTRAL (Pennant Number L9013), an amphibious assault vessel, known in French as a ‘Batiment de Projection et de Commandment’ (BPC). She is the flagship of a squadron of warships, and is normally based at the Toulon naval base, located on the Mediterranean coast of Southern France. The squadron have made their way here from the French naval base of Port des Galets on the island of Reunion.

The squadron included the 1997 built general purpose stealth frigate ‘FNS Courbet’ (Pennant Number F712), which is also home based at the Toulon naval base in France. She was in company with the 1992 built Floréal Class frigate ‘FNS Nivose’ (Pennant Number F732), which is home based at Port des Galets, on Reunion. The fourth member of the squadron was the 2017 built D’Entrecasteaux Class Patrol Ship ‘FNS Champlain’ (Pennant Number A623), which is also home based at Port des Galets.

The lead ship of the Mistral Class of three Amphibious Assault Ships, ‘Mistral’ was laid down at in 2003 the STX France shipyard at St.Nazaire in France. She was launched in 2004 and commissioned into the French Navy, known in France as the Marine Nationale, in 2006. She is 199 metres in length, and has a displacement of 21,500 tons.

She is a diesel electric powered vessel, and has four Wärtsilä 16V32 diesel generators producing 6,200 kW each. They provide power to two electric motors, which drive two Rolls-Royce Mermaid Azimuth Thrusters producing 7,000 kW each, to allow a sea speed of 18.8 knots. She has a Wärtsilä 18V200 auxiliary generator providing 3,000 kW.

She has a crew of 160, including 20 Officers, and an assigned Marine force of 150 persons. As an assault vessel, ‘Mistral’ is capable of carrying a mobile assault force of 450 persons on a long mission, or up to 900 persons on a short mission. She has a range of 5,800 nautical miles.

For littoral assault she carries four landing craft, and for helicopter assault she has a flight deck of six spots covering an area of 6,400 m2, and capable of operating the largest helicopters in the French military arsenal. Her helicopter hangar covers an area of 1,800 m2 and can accommodate up to 16 heavy helicopters, or up to 35 light helicopters. She has two helicopter lifts, one of 225 m2, and one of 120 m2, and both capable of lifting helicopters up to 13 tons.

In her littoral assault capacity, ‘Mistral’ has a vehicle hangar of 2,650 m2, capable of holding up to 70 armoured vehicles, including up to 13 ‘Leclerc’ Main Battle Tanks (MBT). Her assigned landing craft operate from a floodable stern welldeck of 885 m2. For battle group support, she has a hospital which covers an area of 900 m2, and includes 20 rooms, and a capacity of looking after 69 ward patients, including 7 intensive care patients.

The armament on the ‘Mistral’ is considered to be light, and she can only operate in a high threat area if she is accompanied by warships with heavier armament. She has two dual Simbad MANPAD missile launchers, two 30mm Narwhal autocannons, two 20mm GIAT F2 cannons, two 7.62mm M134 miniguns, and four 12.7mm M2HB machine guns.

In 2010, the then French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, approved the sale to Russia of two Mistral Class amphibious vessels, both to be built in France. The sale was much to the chagrin and annoyance of other NATO members, who objected strongly to the sale proposal to Russia. However, their construction continued until Vladimir Putin started his earlier conquest of Ukraine, when he ordered the invasion, and annexation, of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

This resulted in the sale of the two vessels, originally to be called ‘Vladivostok’ and ‘Sevastopol’, to be cancelled. The irony is that Sevastopol is a port and naval base in the Crimea, and the home of the Russian Black Sea fleet, whose flagship is/was the cruiser ‘Moskva’.

The French government decided to continue with the construction of both vessels, and In 2016 France announced that the two vessels were to be sold to Egypt. The Egyptian Navy renamed them after two of their earlier Presidents, and ‘Vladivostok’ was renamed ‘Gamal Abdel Nasser’, and ‘Sevastopol’ was renamed ‘Anwar El Sadat’.

All three of the ‘Mistral’ class vessels, which include ‘Mistral’, ‘Tonnerre’ (Pennant Number 9014), and ‘Dixmude’ (Pennant Number L9015), have all visited South Africa in the past, and Cape Town in particular, with ‘FNS Mistral’ having last been in Cape Town in February 2013. There have been two previous visits to Cape Town by ‘FNS Tonnere’, in June 2007, and in April 2019. The Cape Town visit of ‘FNS Dixmude’ took place in May 2012.

The French Navy carries out an annual ‘Jeanne D’Arc Mission’, of which all the Mistral Class vessels participated, and which is a French Navy joint allied operational deployment, focused on practical sea training for Naval College (École Navale) cadet officers, and offering international cooperation by inviting Midshipmen of other navies, to also get on-the-job training at sea, thus learning the complexity of naval missions, operational theatres, and the interoperability of allied naval forces.

Unlike previous visits, the squadron were not escorted into Cape Town by a warship of the South African Navy (SAN), nor watched over by SAN Namacurra Class harbour patrol craft as they berthed. However, they were met on the quayside by a welcoming committee of SAN Officers, and the senior officers, from the French warships, were then whisked away to Simonstown for a reception.

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Mozambique to establish sovereign fund as plans firm up for export of natural gas from Coral Sul FLNG

It is reported that Mozambique authorities are finalising plans for the draft legislation necessary for a sovereign wealth fund ahead of the first export of natural gas later this year.

The gas will come from the Coral Sul Floating LNG facility (FLNG) now offshore of the coast in the Rovuma Basin of Cabo Delgado province. Coral Sul arrived from South Korea and took up station in Area 4 earlier this year, where the Eni-led consortium will begin delivering LNG later this year.

Costing approximately US$7 billion to build, Coral Sul (English: Coral South) is able to liquefy 3.37 million tonnes of gas a year. The vessel weighs around 220,000 tonnes and is 432 metres in length with a width of 66 metres.

Mozambique Finance Minister Max Tonela said recently that the sovereign wealth fund will become operational by October, ahead of the date when liquified natural gas exports are expected to become available.

It is intended that half of the fund’s revenues should be reinjected into the fund. The other half will go to the government’s budget during the first 20 years of LNG production.

These measures are possible because the Eni consortium opted for an offshore operation with a purpose-built FLNG rather than construct a production unit onshore, as was the case with the now-TotalEnergie-operated facility on the Afungi peninsula near the town of Palma, which was shut down at the height of terrorist activity last year and has not yet reopened.

The Eni-led consortium Mozambique Rovuma Venture (MRV) is a joint venture between Eni, ExxonMobil and CNODC (70%) and state-owned Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos (ENH), Galp Energia Rovuma and KOGAS Mozambique (10% each).

BP has signed up to buy production from the project for 20 years.

Meanwhile, it is expected that TotalEnergies may resume its US $20 billion landbased project by the end of 2022, while ExxonMobil is yet to make a final decision for an even larger project in the near future.

There has been some hesitation concerning new LNG projects in the light of Cop26 and the growing worldwide pressure to move away from fossil fuels. However, the war in Ukraine and Europe’s decision to stop buying Russian gas is likely to give new consideration to new sources of LNG.

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Double success for Shell’s discoveries offshore Namibia

Shell Namibia has reported encouraging results from back to back exploration wells on the Orange River coastline of Namibia.

In February 2022, Shell safely completed drilling its first exploration well (Graff-1) in PEL 0039, located offshore southern Namibia (Orange River Basin).

“We’re very encouraged by the early results from the deep-water Graff-1 exploration well, which established a working petroleum system and the presence of light oil,” said Dennis Zekveld, Shell’s Country Chair in Namibia, commenting on the initial results.

“Over the coming months, we’ll need to conduct further evaluation of the well results, and additional exploration activity, in order to determine the size and recoverable potential of the hydrocarbons that were identified.”

Following this, in April 2022, Shell made a second Orange Basin discovery in the La Rona-1 prospect in PEL 0039, where the well confirmed hydrocarbon pay at multiple levels.

Marc Gerrits, Shell’s Executive Vice President Exploration, said the safe and successful execution of these back to back exploration wells in a short timeframe is a testament to the strong performance of this partnership.

“We look forward to continued close collaboration with our JV partners – NAMCOR and QatarEnergy – and the Government of Namibia on the next steps,” said Gerrits.

Dennis Zekveld said he was very pleased to report that both the Graff-1 and the La Rona-1 exploration wells have concluded safely. “We are encouraged by the early results and will continue to work at pace to determine commerciality.”

Further drilling in PEL 0039 is anticipated to start towards the end of 2022.

Background

Shell is the Operator of PEL 0039 with a 45% working interest, together with QatarEnergy (45%) and NAMCOR (10%). PEL 0039 covers approximately 12,000 km² in deep water offshore Namibia. In a statement Shell Namibia said that exploration remains a vital part of its Upstream business, which plays a pivotal role in delivering the energy needs of today.

Late last year environmentalists brought a successful court action against Shell from continuing with a seismic survey off South Africa’s Indian Ocean Wild Coast. Similar pressure saw Shell subsequently withdraw from further surveys off the South African Orange River Basin area on the West Coast, and area fairly close to the region where the above-mentioned successful wells have been drilled on the Namibian side of the ocean border.

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IMO and fishing vessel safety

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim has urged States to take action to achieve entry into force of the Cape Town fishing vessel safety agreement. This was reported by IMO in a communiqué on 27 April.

Of this IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim said: “We cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to addressing the safety of fishers and fishing vessels.”

States are being urged to take action to bring into force the Cape Town Agreement of 2012, a key international treaty which will establish an international regime for fishing vessel safety.

This will help make fishing safe, sustainable and legal – and make a significant contribution to the protection of fishers, an unacceptable high number of whom lose their lives every year.

The Cape Town Agreement has now been ratified by 17 States, with 1,925 fishing vessels declared. The treaty will enter into force 12 months after at least 22 States, with an aggregate number of fishing vessels of 24 metres in length and over operating on the high seas of no less than 3,600, have expressed their consent to be bound by it.

Following a ministerial conference in 2019, more than 50 States have signed the Torremolinos Declaration to indicate their determination to ratify the Agreement by its tenth anniversary (that is 11 October 2022), thereby moving a significant step closer to bringing it into force.

The international regime brought in by the entry into force of the Cape Town Agreement would help to contribute to the broader fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing activities. This would help to protect world fish stocks, ensure fair competition in fishing, better working conditions, and safeguard fishers from human rights abuses.

Additionally, the regime would help to reduce marine litter from fishing vessels. It would also reduce search and rescue missions involving State SAR services, merchant and naval fleets, as well as fishing vessels, responding to distress calls from substandard fishing vessels.

IMO has been working with other international entities to support ratification and entry into force of the Cape Town Agreement, including through regional seminars and webinars.

Secretary-General Lim added in conclusion: “I remain confident that by working together, we will ensure the Agreement enters into force to complete the missing pillar for safe, sustainable and legal fishing.”

In order to read the full statement contained in IMO Circular Letter No.4551 – Ratification Of The Cape Town Agreement Of 2012.pdf readers are invited to SEE HERE.

Furthermore, to see 10 reasons to ratify the 2012 Cape Town Agreement there is a link to be FOUND HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: In Cape Town harbour – MSC ORCHESTRA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The ever changing, and ever expanding, fleet of Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) container vessels are a regular sight at all the major South African ports. Since 1995 the passenger ship division, MSC Cruises, have conducted major, seasonal, cruise programmes mainly out of Durban to Mozambique, and Indian Ocean island destinations.

On just a few occasions throughout a five month long cruising season, they do turn south on departing Durban, and head down the coast to visit other South African ports, sailing around the Cape and going as far north as Walvis Bay in Namibia.

MSC Cruises started their regular programme of cruises out of Durban in 1995 with the Monterey, and over the decades have increased the size and luxury of their South African based passenger vessels with Rhapsody in 1996, Melody in 2001, sending in MSC Sinfonia in 2009, to be followed by MSC Opera in 2012, before the MSC Musica arrived in 2020.

On 24th April at 07h00 the passenger vessel MSC ORCHESTRA (IMO 9320099) arrived off Cape Town harbour on a scheduled one way cruise from Port Elizabeth, and which had originated in Durban. She entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded into the Duncan Dock, to go alongside the Passenger Terminal at E berth.

Built in 2007 by Aker Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at St. Nazaire in France, ‘MSC Orchestra’ is 294 metres in length, and has a deadweight of 10,000 tons. She is diesel electric powered and has five Wärtsilä 16V38B 16 cylinder 4 stroke diesel generators producing 11,600 kW each, for a total output of 58,000 kW. Power is provided to two Converteam electric motors producing 17,500 kW each, for a total output of 35,000 kW, which drives two fixed pitch propellers for a service speed of 18 knots, and a maximum speed of 23 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes an emergency generator providing 910 kW. She has no less than five Alfa Laval Aalborg CHR exhaust gas boilers, and two Alfa Laval Aalborg CHO oil fired boilers. She has two fin stabilisers, and for added manoeuvrability she has three bow transverse thrusters providing 2,300 kW, and two stern transverse thrusters providing 2,000 kW.

She can accommodate up to 3,013 passengers in 1,275 cabins. As built, she could accommodate just 2,550 passengers, but had bunk beds installed in most of her inside cabins, which increased her capacity. She operates with a crew of 987.

As a large passenger vessel, she has a wide variety of public rooms and facilities to cater for her clientele, and which includes 9 bars, 5 restaurants, 3 pool areas with 7 whirlpools, 8 boutiques and shops, plus a theatre, casino, library, card room, internet café, cigar room, hair salon, solarium, disco, and a special area set aside as a children’s club.

One of four sisterships of the Musica Class, ‘MSC Orchestra’ was the 9th passenger vessel to enter the MSC Cruises fleet. She has a total of 16 decks, of which 13 of them are for passenger use. To access all of these decks there are no less than 13 passenger lifts on the vessel.

Owned and managed by MSC, of Geneva in Switzerland, ‘MSC Orchestra’ is operated by MSC Crociere, of Naples in Italy. She was christened by her godmother, the Italian screen actress, Sophia Loren.

On her 2021-2022 season, ‘MSC Orchestra’ had a total of 40 cruises, of which only six were scheduled to call at Cape Town. The first three cruises out of Cape Town were in January 2022, and culminated in the last January departure being a unique ‘one-off’ cruise from Cape Town to Marion Island, South Africa’s only overseas possession, which lies in the South Indian Ocean, in the sub-Antarctic region at 46°35’ South 037°45’ East.

The reason for this special cruise is because the Prince Edward Islands, of which Marion Island is the largest, are the home to 29 species of seabird, including four species of Penguin, and five species of Albatross, with 25% of the world’s Wandering Albatross population nesting on the island. The voyage was a twitchers bucket list item, and ‘MSC Orchestra’ was filled with birdwatchers from all over the world.

On arrival at Cape Town, her next voyage was the first of two that would sail to both Walvis Bay and Lüderitz in Namibia. On the completion of the second voyage to Namibia, ‘MSC Orchestra’ will sail back to Durban, via Port Elizabeth, and complete just one more voyage to Mozambique, before positioning back to Europe, and concluding her 2021-2022 South African season. She is scheduled to spend the whole of the European summer cruising in the Mediterranean.

She sailed for Walvis Bay, on the same day that she arrived, 24th April, departing from Cape Town at 18H00. She will arrive back at Cape Town on 29th April, and her final arrival at the Cape, for this season, will be on 4th May.

An interesting observation is that despite a long season of 40 scheduled cruises out of South African ports, the majority of which are out of the port of Durban, and with her being a passenger vessel carrying mostly South African passengers, that not one Port State safety inspection has been undertaken onboard ‘MSC Orchestra’, by the competent authority, throughout her long five month season in South African waters.

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IN CONVERSATION: Changes in sub-Saharan maize trade spells potential trouble for Kenya

Kenya is expected to import 700,000 tonnes of maize for 2022/23.  Getty Images

Wandile Sihlobo, Stellenbosch University

Maize production in some of the sub-Saharan African countries that dominated maize supplies during the 2021/22 marketing year is expected to be lower this coming season. This will bring about some changes in the sub continent’s maize trade in the 2022/23 marketing year, in particular creating complications for Kenya. In the 2021/22 season, Kenya was the largest maize importer in the region.

But Kenya has a longstanding policy against genetically engineered maize. This limits the role of South Africa, the sub-continent’s biggest maize producer and exporter, in meeting Kenya’s needs.

The expected lower production comes in a season when demand for maize from countries in sub-Saharan Africa that rely heavily on imports is expected to remain strong. It’s estimated that Kenya, for example, will need to import 700,000 tonnes of maize for 2022/23. Kenya’s maize production is expected to be marginally higher, but not enough to meet the country’s needs.

Kenya is typically one of the major maize importing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The country’s expected 700,000 tonnes of maize imports account for 21% of the region’s expected maize imports of 3.4 million tonnes in 2021/22 season, according to data from the International Grains Council. Other typical maize importing countries include Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia.

However, in the 2021/22 marketing year, several sub-Saharan African countries such as Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe (an exceptional year from the usual importing position) and South Africa had ample maize harvest. This made it easy for them to meet Kenya’s import needs. Tanzania and Zambia were the leading maize suppliers to Kenya.

Tanzania, the biggest exporter in the region in the 2020/2021 season and Kenya’s traditional major maize supplier, is unlikely to play that role this season because its maize production is forecast to fall by 16% year-on-year to 5.9 million tonnes. This is due to drought at the start of the season, combined with armyworm infestations and reduced fertiliser usage in some regions because of prohibitively higher prices. The consequence of the fall in production and firmer domestic consumption means that the country could have less maize for export markets.

Preliminary estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture are that Tanzania’s maize exports could decline from 800,000 tonnes in the 2021/22 marketing year to 100,000 tonnes in the 2022/23 marketing year.

Such a drop would leave very little for Kenya’s maize needs, leaving Zambia and South Africa as major suppliers in the region.

Zambia’s expected maize production in the current season is still tentative, and it is unclear how much maize the country could have for exports. Zimbabwe, which had a large harvest in 2020/21 season, is also in an uncertain position about its 2021/22 maize harvest and ability to export. The incoming evidence suggest that some regions in the country have suffered crop failures.

South Africa could help and has the maize production capacity to do so. Given current output projections of 14.7 million tonnes, South Africa could have 3.2 million tons of maize for exports in the 2022/23 season – about 78% being yellow maize, and 22% white maize. But it plays a limited role in the Kenyan maize market.

The barriers

South Africa’s limited participation in the Kenyan maize market is arguably affected by regulations rather than just price and consumer preferences. Kenya continues to maintain an import ban on genetically engineered products.. This limits imports from South Africa where over 80% of maize production is genetically engineered.

There are indications that Kenya is changing its longstanding policy. Regulatory agencies have recently completed all trials for the approval of biotechnology maize. But any decision would still have to be approved by Kenya’s cabinet.

Even if Kenya were to adjust its policy, South Africa would not necessarily be the only maize supplier looking at expanding its market share in the country. The likes of the US and Brazil would also be at Kenya’s doorstep. The advantage of South Africa would be its substantial white maize production, which is the preferred staple grain of Kenyan consumers.

Outside the African continent, Mexico, the US and Argentina could be among the potential maize suppliers, as there are generally few white maize producing countries in the world.

Imbalances

The sub-Saharan Africa maize trade generally has some imbalances. South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia are the major maize producers and exporters in the region. For their part Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Mozambique are often the importers.

At the regional level, sub-Saharan Africa’s aggregate maize imports amount to an average of 3.4 million tonnes a year, according to data from the International Grains Council. This is both white and yellow maize, with most being white maize for human consumption.

Although intra-regional trade accounts for most of the consumption needs of import-reliant countries in the region, this is also supplemented by imports from countries outside of the continent such as Argentina, Canada and Mexico.

Overall, these maize market dynamics are worth monitoring, specifically from South Africa’s perspective, as they signal that the sub-Saharan maize demand in the 2022/23 marketing year could be much larger than the previous season. This could be the case especially if Zambia’s maize production comes out lower than the 2021/22 season, which is likely if we use the South African maize production conditions as a barometer for the region. Such a potential increase in the region’s maize imports would have implication for prices.

Wandile Sihlobo, Senior Fellow, Department of Agricultural Economics, Stellenbosch University

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

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TRADE NEWS: Seahaven, the world’s largest inflatable lifeboat

Global Survival Technology pioneer Survitec is teaming up with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NCLH), Independent Maritime Advisors Ltd, and a major shipbuilder to deliver a cruise ship design incorporating Survitec’s Seahaven, the world’s largest inflatable lifeboat.

The companies established the industry working group with a view to installing Seahaven, the award-winning advanced evacuation system (AES), as the primary means of evacuation onboard Norwegian Cruise Line’s next ground-breaking Prima Class of ships.

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

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Vale concludes sale of Moatize coal mine & Nacala Logistics Corridor to Vulcan Resources

Earlier this week (Tuesday 25 April 2022) the Brazilian mining company Vale completed the sale of its assets in coal mining at Moatize in Mozambique’s Tete province, as well as its interest in the Nacala Logistics Corridor linking the mine with the coal port at Nacala-a-Velha.

The deal was worth a reported US$ 270 million, Vale announced.

“Vale concluded on 25 April 2022, the process of responsible transmission of the Moatize operation and the Nacala Logistics Corridor to Vulcan Resources, based on the binding agreement for the sale of assets,” said Vale Mozambique in ts statement to the media.

Vale’s mines are situated at Moatize in Tete province. The Brazilian company said the transaction complied with the conditions set by law, including the “approvals of the governments of Mozambique and Malawi.”

Malawi’s approval was necessary as the railway from Moatize to the port at Nacala runs for part of the way through that country.

In terms of the sale agreement with Vulcan, the two companies will work together on “implementing systems, processes and procedures to ensure continuity of operations.”

Vale has operated the Moatize mine for 15 years and the 912-km of Cape-gauge railway on the Nacala Logistics Corridor to transport coal for export. In that time the coal export port facility at Nacala-a-Velha has been developed and placed in operation.

Vulcan, which is now the owner of the Moatize coal mining business and a shareholder in the Nacala Logistics Corridor, is a private Indian company that is part of the Jindal Group. The company is already in operation in Mozambique where it operates the Chirodzi mine also in the Tete province.

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IN CONVERSATION: Africa faces huge food-supply obstacles in a just transition – and time is running out

by Simon Roberts, Reena das Nair and Antonio Andreoni, Daily Maverick

Climate change requires rapid, major and systemic economic changes at the local, national and global levels. Food supply is estimated to account for about a third of greenhouse gas emissions. African countries, however, are responsible for negligible emissions, yet face urgent challenges of adaptation to global warming and extreme weather events which threaten production.

A just transition must address the adaptation challenges of African countries while also moving food systems onto a sustainable footing with lower emissions. These changes all work through market mechanisms.

Emissions in food are mainly associated with meat and dairy production and the associated animal feed and land-use changes. Production and trading of meat and the main animal feed constituents such as soybeans and maize are concentrated, within and across countries. The changes required in the food systems transformation are thus about the decisions of a relatively small number of lead firms and the markets in which they operate.

Large incumbent firms have typically invested and innovated to build up their market positions. At the same time, to borrow Warren Buffett’s metaphor, they build moats around their positions to protect themselves and their profits from rivals. 

What has this to do with climate change? 

First, the rapid change in food systems means business models have to change and this may well be led by disruptors, as we have seen in other sectors such as motor vehicles. Incumbents are naturally invested in current production systems, have the most to lose from systems changes and are likely to delay and try to control the process of change. Conversely, dynamic competition which opens markets up to disruptors can be a powerful positive impetus for change, including by incumbents if and where they can pivot.

Second, to win broad-based support, climate change measures need to be fair. This means that we must tackle inclusion along with the transformation in production systems. Competition law and policy are important tools to work for inclusion. They can tackle the market power and anti-competitive practices that mean smaller market participants, including farmers, are undermined and have their returns squeezed by powerful suppliers and buyers.

Expert sounds alarm on fifth wave after Covid-19 curve turns upwards in SA

Vulnerability to agriculture and food systems impacts

African farmers are among the most vulnerable to extreme weather. Southern Africa, in particular, is a climate “hotspot” where temperatures are increasing above the global average and rainfall is projected to decline further. This is notwithstanding good rains in South Africa in 2021 which risk lulling us into complacency. Meanwhile, Kenya is experiencing drought and high food prices and Brazil faced the worst drought in close to a century in 2021 under the La Niña weather cycle. This cycle is continuing in 2022, bringing substantially higher food prices around the world.

South Africa urgently needs to face up to the challenges and provide leadership on the continent to tackle the risks. The country will be hit by another El Niño cycle in coming years, like that which brought the drought of 2015-16, but it is likely to be much worse. Meanwhile, the overall warming continues.

The good news is that the wider southern Africa region is blessed with enormous potential for agriculture, including water and land in countries such as Zambia and Tanzania. With cooperation, investment and appropriate policies this potential can be realised in resilient regional value chains, creating jobs and growing economies across the region.

At the same time, the food produced needs to be healthy, nutritious and affordable. However, South Africa and other African countries face a massive and growing “double burden of malnutrition”, with high levels of obesity alongside stunting and wasting. Substantial proportions of the population cannot afford enough calories, while many others are buying excess calories in the form of ultraprocessed food which is high in sugar and fat but not nutritious. Markets that deliver cheap and convenient food but with low nutritional value are fundamentally failing and impose huge health costs.

For the required food transition to be just, we therefore need to address the interconnected and concentrated nature of the global food system to empower groups with limited resources through inclusive and fair processes to ensure healthy markets.

Engaging with economic power in food value chains

Food systems are highly governed – privately and publicly. Food is produced and marketed through hyper-globalised and highly concentrated international food value chains running from agricultural inputs right through to the advertising campaigns and retailers that shape our consumption choices. This matters because for measures to be effective in achieving the food systems transformation, the rules must reshape markets to incentivise changes by the large corporations as well as the challenger firms. The extensive food standards and regulations need to be fit for purpose to ensure healthy market outcomes and investments in the transformations needed.

In South Africa, as it is globally, key markets are dominated by a relatively few companies – and the just food transition needs to engage with them. From seeds and other farming inputs through to processing and retail, there have been substantial increases in concentration globally, including through hundreds of mergers. In the supply of grain seed in South Africa, concentration is among the highest in the world, as four or fewer companies account for almost all sales of maize, soybean and sunflower seed. The picture is similar for agrochemicals, globally and in South Africa. In agro-commodity trading, the major companies are integrated upstream and downstream, such as into feed and meat production.

Supermarkets and major food-processing companies shape consumer choices. These companies need to be part of the solution. In South Africa and the southern Africa region, a handful of large supermarket chains are important gatekeepers for food processors to access end consumers. With growing store networks extending beyond urban areas, and increasingly into peri-urban and rural areas, these supermarket chains enforce both mandatory and private standards which influence the availability, safety and quality of food on shelves. They also influence other attributes that affect consumer purchasing decisions, such as packaging, promotions, advertising and positioning on shelves.

In South Africa, five national supermarket chains control 64% of the grocery retail market. These chains have significant buying power, particularly in their relationships with small and medium enterprise (SME) food producers, and are able to dictate terms and conditions of sale. SME food processors are often pushed to sell through alternative routes to market, given the high costs and risks they face in supplying the main supermarket chains. Often only a few large, multinational and diversified food-processing companies are able to meet the requirements of supermarket chains. Food processing experiences similarly high levels of concentration in many products in South Africa, and these players are also able to shape what is demanded by consumers. Concentrated food processing and retail markets limit the benefits that greater competition and diversity brings in terms of availability, cost, quality and choice.

Food systems transformation therefore needs to engage with concentration and integration if it is to address sustainability and inclusion together, through deliberately reshaping value chains for food security, resilience and health. This requires adding agency and sustainability to the four key food security pillars of availability, access, utilisation and stability. The transformation is not anti-business – it is essential for the future of businesses and markets.

Engaging with firms means recognising the many dimensions of their influence and how rules can work most effectively to channel incentives towards the transformations required. One aspect of economic power is market power – where firms can charge high prices that exploit consumers. Powerful firms can also exclude rivals by, for example, controlling access to key inputs or marketing channels, as highlighted above.

The market power of large firms is tempered by competition and generally requires effective competition enforcement to ensure that markets are open and fair. Competition means farmers have options to sell their produce and in sourcing inputs. Smaller agro-processors have alternative routes to market for their products and are not reliant on a very few large retail chains.

Economically powerful firms further use their influence to lobby and to govern value chains such as by setting standards, shaping regulations and acting as gatekeepers (Dallas et al. 2019; Mondliwa, Roberts and Ponte 2021; Roberts 2020). Competition means that this power is diluted and governments are less susceptible to capture by concentrated business interests.

South African competition cases have shed light on the ways positions of market and economic power can be protected and extended. Control at one level of the value chain can be exerted to undermine rivals, such as through positions of substantial market power in grain storage (the Senwes case), poultry breeding stock (the Astral-Elite case) and in supermarkets’ use of exclusivity in leases in shopping malls. These cases have been tackled by the competition authorities to address discrete anti-competitive practices. However, while proscribing such conduct removes a barrier to competition, it is just one step and does not in itself create healthier competitive markets.

We need to recognise that vertical and horizontal integration in food production enables synergies to be realised, such as in providing farmers with a bundle of goods and services. It also means large firms can control who gets to participate along the different levels of production and processing that they coordinate. We need to rethink competition as part of sector policies to reshape markets for investment, growth and healthier outcomes, taking into account digitalisation and climate change.

The rethink of competition policy involves analysis of markets beyond the piecemeal investigation of discrete alleged contraventions. This can be done through market inquiries which have the power to assess the combination of factors that lead to poor market outcomes and which take steps to remedy them. The Competition Commission in South Africa is an international leader in using inquiries. Inquiries need to have the resources for authoritative, rigorous assessment and the ability to ensure that remedies are implemented. In strategic areas, inquiries can lead to enforceable codes of conduct, which are effectively tailored rules and a referee to ensure better market outcomes. Codes of conduct have been adopted in a number of countries, such as the UK and Namibia, for supermarkets in recognition of the central role large supermarket groups play as gatekeepers of supply chains and shapers of consumer choices.

Competition policies are complements to appropriate sector strategies. Government-sector strategies can work with industry bodies to transform industries for the collective benefit – building inclusion and sustainable value creation – as is exemplified by the citrus industry in South Africa (see sidebar below).

Digitalisation, Agriculture 4.0 and effective collective action for transformation?

The digitalisation of production, marketing and delivery in agriculture and food markets increases the efficiencies that can be realised by integrated companies. It also reinforces concentration and means that market power spreads across markets.

In contrast, what has been termed Agriculture 4.0 covers advances such as vertical farming, circular agriculture and aquaponics, along with the digitalisation of food production systems. Digitalisation is enabling smart and precision agriculture solutions so that the farmer can anticipate and respond to climate-related weather changes, including through more effective water management and reduced chemical use. Farmers can meet traceability and certification requirements at lower costs, as with the Phytclean platform developed by the fruit industry in South Africa (see sidebar below). Digital tools are also improving logistics, packing and marketing functions through the value chains, lowering the costs to access markets.

The integration of the major companies, combined with the digitalisation of economic activity, makes these businesses effectively building platforms, with rich datasets coupled with logistics and agronomic and advisory capacities. This may require reconsideration of what rules and policies businesses should follow to ensure that markets are healthy and open to wider participation and that power is not exploited.

Understanding what the major firms are doing is critical. However, the increased market data being collated are mainly in private hands, tipping the balance against governments and in favour of the large corporations aggregating and analysing the data.

An agenda

The agenda is necessarily ambitious as time is rapidly running out. The creative and disruptive impetus of market participants needs to be unleashed to bring solutions that reshape value chains. We propose a four-pronged package.

First, the state needs to be an effective gardener – cultivating the soil for a diversity of firms to flourish. This involves proactively taking down the barriers that prevent small firms from flourishing. A package of measures should include access to routes to market for these businesses, providing development finance and effective support for skills and technology adoption. These are part of green and inclusive industrial policies tailored to sectors and value chains, measures that invest in shared infrastructure, advisory services and finance as part of a green industrial policy for food. Real economic transformation requires sustained support for the capabilities of black entrepreneurs and farmers.

Second, we need to elevate vigorous competition and inclusion by opening up markets. This means placing the onus on dominant firms to justify why competition will not be undermined when they make acquisitions or enforce exclusionary agreements on smaller participants. Competition authorities must be active referees, updating the rules for changes in technologies and practices and ensuring that we consider the effects of firms’ conduct across the economy. The agenda being advanced with regard to digital platforms shows the way, with changes to place the onus on gatekeeper firms not to distort competition in mergers or to abuse their market dominance.

The amendments to the South African Competition Act are important for taking into account wider participation by SMEs and businesses owned or controlled by historically disadvantaged people, and for including provisions related to buyer power. We need to go further if we are to square up to the reality of the past three decades and the enormity of the transformation challenge posed by climate change on top of the entrenched levels of inequality. We need to incentivise investment in new productive capabilities in sustainable food supply, with a diversity of approaches and business models.

The merging of competition and consumer-protection regimes should bring the authorities together under one institution. Both involve collecting information on markets, consumer decisions and firm conduct. Both bring synergies in analysis and enforcement.

Market inquiries are a powerful tool available to the Competition Commission to better understand features of markets that prevent, distort or restrict competition. Inquiries in food markets should investigate the impact of concentration on sustainable food production and distribution, as well as on access to affordable and healthy food. Efforts are under way as part of the Agriculture and Agroprocessing Master Plan to secure voluntary commitments from large supermarket chains and agro-processors to diversify their supplier bases and invest in building capabilities of SME suppliers through supplier-development programmes. However, the key role of supermarkets in organising value chains and shaping consumption may mean that a code of conduct for supermarkets and groceries also needs to be adopted as soon as possible. Ideally this should be consistent across countries in the region, learning from the experiences of those already in place such as in Namibia, Kenya and the UK.

Third, monitoring and tracking markets is essential as climate change leads to more frequent and deeper shocks. Building the package of measures to change direction will also be a process of trial and error. Both monitoring and tracking need ongoing information gathering and analysis by public bodies in order to advise the government. The monitoring needs to be of production, prices and patterns of consumption to ensure early warning of the impacts of shocks, while the tracking follows the effects of interventions. Huge amounts of these data are being collated by private market participants. The data should be accessible in the public interest (as is the case in observatories such as that of the European Union). Instead, the concentration of data in the hands of the large integrated firms has increased their lobbying power and enabled them to make large arbitrage margins and speculate in response to climate shocks.

Fourth, the food systems transformation must be a regional plan to reshape healthy value chains through a balance of cooperation and competition. The lead firms operate regionally (and globally) and the climate change impacts can be mapped across the region. Moreover, the opportunity to adapt and grow must take advantage of the abundant water resources in the region and the fact that when extreme weather events occur in some parts of the region conditions remain good in others.

The reality, unfortunately, is fragmentation of national agendas and beggar-thy-neighbour policies. South African leadership is urgently required and is in the country’s self-interest given both its vulnerability and the financial resources which can be mobilised for investment.

Future food security depends on sustainably unleashing this potential through effective regional food industrial policies. And growing economies across the region will lift South Africa. We are already behind the curve, given the climate projections, and urgently need to make investments across the region in water management, research and infrastructure to support sustainable and resilient food production. 

Adaptation requires diversifying crops and the seeds suited to conditions. A “farm to fork” strategy for southern Africa requires concrete actions in key value chains, starting with poultry to animal feed and fruits and vegetables. Such a strategy can be informed by successes, notably in citrus, where there has been value creation, job creation and land reform for wealth creation.

Credible and robust engagement requires the evidence base, the mobilisation of coalitions for collective action (as in the citrus industry) and the employment of clear policy levers, both carrots and sticks, to bring the needed change in direction. DM/OBP

The leading example of South African citrus adapted from Chisoro-Dube and Roberts 

The South African citrus industry represents the huge potential gains from collective action working with government for value-chain upgrading. South Africa has grown to be the second-largest citrus exporter in the world. The success has been driven by higher-value “soft citrus” varieties along with lemons and limes, which nearly quadrupled exports from$202-million in 2010 to $730-million in 2020 (Figure 1.1). This reflects two critical points: first, the planting of trees to respond to changing global demand patterns; and second, the growing sophistication in a range of capabilities, including the cultivars being planted, compliance with phytosanitary standards, infrastructure in cold chain and logistics, and marketing.

Frequent drought conditions and the higher prevalence of pests and diseases are leading farmers to invest in cultivars that are adaptable to local conditions, coupled with new technologies in irrigation, pest control and precision farming, to maintain and improve production. Farmers have been adopting low-flow micro- and drip-irrigation technologies, including fertigation systems to fertilise and irrigate crops at the same time. Precision agriculture methods use water more efficiently and improve monitoring of trees’ nutritional needs. They also include smart spraying systems to limit the quantities of chemicals sprayed to control diseases and pests.

The role of the Citrus Growers Association (CGA) has been central in investments and coordination to support shared capabilities and upgrading over time. This includes working with government to secure market access, conduct research, provide technical support and logistics, and facilitate transformation in the industry. Closely related is the CGA’s work on digital systems to improve compliance by producers in the value chain through the development of an electronic data-sharing platform, Phytclean, for issuing export phytosanitary certification. This practice has been expanded to other fruits.

The CGA has also been entrepreneurial in establishing businesses to compete with large incumbents who otherwise would have market power over farmers. This includes the CGA Cultivar Company to develop and source new cultivars, locally and internationally. CGA also established River BioScience, which supplies crop-protection products and services in competition with multinationals such as Monsanto.

The citrus industry has combined upgrading with inclusion as the Citrus Growers Development Company works with black farmers to enter and grow in high-value export markets to ensure “land reform for wealth creation”. It demonstrates how opportunities can be realised while addressing climate change through investment and technologies coupled with market access to meet increased global demand from health-conscious consumers.

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four and Part Five.

This essay is part of a series that explores challenges and opportunities relating to a just transition in South Africa, with a specific focus on enhancing resilience in ways that improve lives and livelihoods. The series is being published in the lead-up to the Presidential Climate Commission’s multistakeholder just transition conference on 5 and 6 May. This essay series has been produced by the Presidential Climate Commission Secretariat and New Climate Economy, with support from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The interpretations and findings set forth in the essays are the authors’ alone.

 

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

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CMA CGM’s MOZEX service opens door to citrus exports through Maputo

The new CMA CGM Asia Mozambique Express (MOZEX) service, launched earlier in April has reopened a citrus gateway through the port of Maputo to various parts of the world, specifically to Asia at Singapore and Tanjung Pelepas in this instance.

The new service will be of particular interest to citrus fruit exporters from the northern region of South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe and Swaziland and of course, Mozambique.

It also offers these exporters lower CO2 emissions, improved transit times, higher fruit quality at destination, and reduced logistics costs to reach market.

The port of Maputo is barely 100km from the Mpumalanga province in South Africa, one of the country’s major citrus growing regions, and is considerably closer to port for the adjacent Limpopo province, another major fruit growing region.

Some of the citrus packhouses in Mpumalanga, for example, require only a 250 km round trip to the Maputo port, compared to almost 1,600 km to Durban.

“Our new citrus fruits exports corridor from Maputo is a solid solution for exporters in the region, and we will keep working with our partners DP World and the Perishable Produce Exports Control Board of South Africa to create more opportunities for the exports of perishable produce from Maputo,” said Ugo Vincent, managing director, Zambezi and Indian Ocean Clusters at the CMA CGM Group.

“This innovative solution is another example of CMA CGM’s commitment to find Better Ways to make shipping and logistics a more sustainable industry and constantly adapt to our customers’ needs,” Vincent said.

CMA CGM’s Mozex service will remain available for customers until the end of the citrus seasons in October.

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WHARF TALK: small reefer vessel – SILVER COPENHAGEN

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

The ever changing reasons as to why Russia invaded Ukraine are having the expected knock on effect on exports to Russia from South Africa, especially as the fruit export season is underway. A lot of nations have stopped exporting to Russia, and removed the ability of Russia to pay for such imports.

The dilemma for South Africa’s so-called ‘neutral’ stance is whether or not the national conscience follows the natural thoughts that no succour should be given to Russia for what they are doing to Ukraine, or does money talk and it is business as usual?

The South African deciduous fruit season got underway on 17th December when the first of the chartered Seatrade reefers sailed from Cape Town, with a cargo bound for Dover in the UK, and Rotterdam in Holland. By 16th March the fifth, and last, of the scheduled voyages sailed from Cape Town, again bound for Dover and Rotterdam. None of the five voyages had the normal call to the Russian port of St. Petersburg in the schedule.

The start of the Citrus season is now getting underway, and on 21st April at 15h00 the small reefer vessel SILVER COPENHAGEN (IMO 9143386) arrived off Cape Town, from Lagos in Nigeria where she had offloaded a cargo of frozen fish, and entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded to the usual berth set aside for reefer vessels, going alongside D berth in the Duncan Dock.

Built in 1998 by Aarhus Flydedok AS shipyard at Aarhus in Denmark, ‘Silver Copenhagen’ is 98 metres in length and has a deadweight of 4,230 tons. She is powered by a single MaK 8M32C 8 cylinder 4 stroke main engine producing 4,786 bhp (3,520 kW), which drives a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

The auxiliary machinery of ‘Silver Copenhagen’ includes three MTU 12V183TE52 generators providing 420 kW each. For added manoeuvrability to assist with berthing operations, she has a bow transverse thruster providing 223 kW. She has a classification of Ice Class 1B which allows her to work in the northern Baltic Sea in 0.6 metre thick, first year, ice conditions.

She has two holds, serviced by two 8 ton cranes, with a hold area of 2,350 m2, and a cargo carrying capacity of 5,512 m3. She has a container carrying capacity of 52 TEU. She is one of six sisterships in the service of her owner.

Nominally owned by Silver Copenhagen II AS, of Bergen in Norway, she is operated by Silver Sea AS, also of Bergen, and she is managed by Fjord Shipping AS, of Måløy in Norway. Her voyage from Cape Town is a charter on the part of the Reefer Alliance annual schedule, which carries South African citrus fruit to Europe. The Reefer Alliance is made up of Seatrade of Groningen in Holland, and Baltic Reefers of St. Petersburg in Russia.

Hortgro, the South African Deciduous Fruit Growers Association, stated that the ongoing war meant a re-routing of their fruit, and finding alternative markets, something that would be a major problem with huge cost implications, both from a logistical aspect, as well as for commodity price. In addition to the seemingly never ending shipping delays being experienced at Cape Town, there were now port entry delays into Rotterdam, due to all cargo destined for Russia having to be unloaded, inspected or scanned, before being transshipped onwards to Russia, if considered as essential, as a result of new EU regulations introduced due to the war.

On top of this was the difficulty of simply finding shipping lines that would still operate to Russian ports. Finding such companies was proving both difficult, and very expensive, with the added additional difficulty of acquiring insurance, but at hefty prices. In addition to the logistical and market challenges, even if the shipper can get their fruit to Russia, the risk of not getting paid for delivery is extremely high, which is due to the inability of Russian clients being able to access the international SWIFT banking payment system.

The voyage of ‘Silver Copenhagen’ is the first of the Reefer Alliance of the 2022 season, and is carrying citrus fruit, loaded at Cape Town only. The second voyage of the schedule will also only load at Cape Town, with the third, fourth and fifth voyages loading in both Durban and Cape Town. The startling thing about these voyages is that the destination of all five voyages is given as St. Petersburg in Russia.

In 2020, South African agricultural exports to Russia were valued at ZAR4.1 billion, with 88% of this trade coming from the Western Cape. In 2021, 21% of deciduous fruit exported went to Russia. This comprised 5.5 million cartons of Pears, and Apples comprised 6% of this trade, with 2.1 million cartons. There was a 47% increase in exports of stone fruits to Russia, from 2020 to 2021, with Plums making up the largest stone fruit commodity with 600,000 cartons exported.

With her citrus cargo loaded, ‘Silver Copenhagen’ sailed from Cape Town at 20h00 on 24th April, with her AIS destination set as Skagen in Denmark, despite the shipping schedule showing the vessel had originally loaded for St. Petersburg. Skagen is Denmark’s most northerly town, lying at the entrance to the Baltic Sea, and is a major fishing port, with little commercial traffic.

When ‘Silver Copenhagen’ arrived at Cape Town on the 21st April, she was in company with her sistership “Silver Storm’, both of whom had sailed down from Lagos. Whilst ‘Silver Copenhagen’ immediately entered Cape Town harbour, ‘Silver Storm’ went to anchor out in the Table Bay anchorage. On the sailing of the ‘Silver Copenhagen’, the pilot switched across to the ‘Silver Storm’ and she entered Cape Town harbour only 30 minutes after the sailing of ‘Silver Copenhagen’. She immediately began loading her citrus cargo, as the second of the Reefer Alliance schedule, and also destined for St. Petersburg, as per their published schedule.

It is not clear if the early citrus exports will, in fact, make it to Russia, as the Citrus Growers Industry is trying to source additional markets, with difficulty. Despite the misgivings of some about South Africa continuing to export products, and produce, to Russia whilst they continue their destruction of Ukraine, one can only hope that none of the exported fruit ends up being sent to Ukraine as part of Russian Army rations.

One can also only hope that the thought of a Russian Artilleryman in the Ukraine, who whilst biting down on his juicy piece of South African fruit, pulls the lanyard and fires his howitzer, sending a 155mm shell into the building, under which women and children are sheltering, does not ever come to pass.

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NovaMarine expands technologies service offering to Walvis Bay

NovaMarine, a marine safety and survival equipment service provider based in Cape Town, has expanded its technologies service offering to Walvis Bay, Namibia. The Technologies division is a specialised procurement division within NovaMarine for the supply, installation and commissioning of auxiliary marine systems for Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM’s) such as Gefico, Cathelco, SKF and many more.

“We had promising engagements with the local marine market in Walvis Bay towards the end of last year,” said Susan Meldrum, Divisional Manager for NovaMarine.

“These engagements re-affirmed the need to provide locally based support to the Namibian fishing and diamond mining market. As a large portion of work stems from our ability to service our clients offshore, this expansion further makes us accessible to the West African market.”

She said that NovaMarine’s Durban branch services their Richard’s Bay clients on the east coast where they have seen an increase in sales over the past year.

NovaMarine Technologies holds exclusive agency agreements with Gefico and Cathelco for cathodic marine growth protection systems (MGPS), Impressed Current Corrosion Protection (ICCP) and reverse osmosis water maker systems.

They are accredited distributors for Chris Marine, Victor Marine and RWO and a distributor and service agent for Daihatsu Diesel medium speed engines and aftersales services for Sub-Saharan Africa.

A recent addition to the Technologies portfolio is an agreement with SKF Germany for their marine portfolio of products which allows NovaMarine to procure and service a range of oily water separators, Simplex stern tube sealing systems, steering gear and fin stabilizer systems.

Richard Abbott, Technical Manager, said the SKF brand is internationally recognised, and that their products cover a range of components necessary for the smooth running of a vessel.

“We have also seen an opportunity to partner with SKF to offer training to the marine industry on maintenance of their mounting and shaft alignment systems. So far, we’ve had successful sessions with the South African market and will be extending it to our global customers.”

NovaMarine initially saw the effects of international lockdown restrictions during the pandemic, and their technicians were unable to go offshore. Offshore activity started increasing towards the end of 2021 and this year so far, they have successfully performed servicing in Angola and Senegal on the safety and survival side and in Nigeria and Ivory Coast for Technologies.

“We anticipate this expansion to be the first of many as we align the competencies within the Group to offer our clients sound technical support and ensure seamless ship movements,” said Andrew Sturrock, CEO of parent company Sturrock Grindrod Maritime.

“Our business is customer-centric and focused on operational efficiency. We strive for a 10/10 customer experience,” he added.

NovaMarine forms part of the SGM Technical division of Sturrock Grindrod Maritime, which includes marine safety and survival equipment and maintenance (NovaMarine), engineering services (Hesper and SwiftNova) and depot services (United Container Depots).

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IN CONVERSATION: Africa faces hard knocks as rich countries take manufacturing back home

Getty Images

Jonathan Munemo, Salisbury University

The global economic crisis triggered by the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year has intensified the risk of declining trade integration between countries. A process referred to as the deglobalisation of trade.

The pandemic sent shocks through supply chains across the world. As a result, companies in some advanced economies have started to prioritise bringing production that was previously outsourced to Asia back home – or closer to home. The expectation is that this will avert ongoing – and future – supply-chain disruptions, ensuring a steady and reliable supply of goods.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated global supply shortages after the pandemic. It is also further fuelling expectations of major reduced reliance on global supply chains by businesses. This is particularly true of companies in Europe and the US.

This trend risks adding additional strain to economies in Africa on top of the current economic pain from soaring food and fuel price inflation imposed by the war in Ukraine. A deglobalising world poses serious risks for Africa. This has been confirmed by findings in a recent World Bank report. It shows that reversing globalisation through reshoring of value chains has the potential to push an additional 52 million people into extreme poverty.

Those living in Sub-Saharan Africa would be the hardest hit. It would make Africa a poorer place. As shown in Figure 1, global trade integration (trade’s share of global GDP) sped up after 1990, and then slowed down after reaching a peak in 2008 when the financial crisis caused an economic downturn. The remarkable rise in global trade integration during the 1990s and 2000s is intimately tied to the rapid growth in global value chain trade.

Why being connected matters

Connecting to the global economy is vital for spurring growth and development on the continent. This is because it creates opportunities for firms to specialise in specific tasks. In turn this allows them to integrate into parts of a global value chain even when they lack the competitive advantage to produce an entire product domestically.

In addition, greater participation in global value chains provides African firms with better access to capital, technology and other inputs needed to upgrade products and become more diversified. This is important to point out, given that African firms face significantly higher costs that reduce their capacity to compete in regional and international markets. These costs are particularly crippling for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of many African economies.

Entry into global value chains is therefore crucial for a number of reasons. Firstly to boost the growth of African SMEs, secondly to support the African Continental Free Trade Area in advancing regional trade integration, thirdly in diversifying production and export structures, and finally promoting the pick-up of industrialisation.

Over time, these positive economic outcomes will substantially reduce poverty in Africa. This will be reminiscent of the impact of the second wave of globalisation which rapidly accelerated after 1990. This helped some Asian and emerging economies lift millions out of poverty by supporting their integration into global value chains and narrowed the income inequality gap between advanced economies and the developing world.

The shift

A range of companies are relocating their manufacturing plants.

Among them are the motorbike and electric bicyle manufacturer Pierer Mobility. It is building a plant in Bulgaria so that it’s closer to its main customers in Europe. The German suit maker Hugo Boss has also moved manufacturing closer to home.

In the US, Stanley Black & Decker has expanded its tool making operations in North America. The aim is to support regional development of its supply chains and enable shorter time leads.

Apparel companies in the US also see supply-chain woes as an opportunity to reconsider bringing their supply chains home.

Governments in advanced economies are also reinforcing moves to re-shore production, mainly for geopolitical reasons. The EU now aims to boost its chip production. It has promised to back chip manufacturers such as Intel Corp with subsidies worth billions of dollars. The US is also planning to invest billions of dollars to bolster domestic chip production. And Japan is allocating huge funds to develop its semiconductor industry.

These substantial expenditures reflect the geopolitical significance of cutting-edge chips, which are vital for current and future technological advancement. The US and Europe chip investments are also motivated by competition with China and a desire to reduce reliance on Taiwan and South Korea as major suppliers, as they can be vulnerable to supply shocks and geopolitical conflicts in the region.

In addition to growing geopolitical rivalry and tensions between China and the West, the rise of nationalism in the West after the financial crisis of 2008/9 has also dampened enthusiasm for accelerating global trade integration.

In the US for example, former president Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda was anti-global economic integration in nature and specifically promoted protectionist policies focused on reducing trade between China and the US.

Similar nationalist and anti-global moves were also happening across Europe, and were a major factor behind UK’s departure from the EU in 2020.

What now?

Globalisation is a powerful engine of global value chain integration that is important for Africa’s growth and development. African economies suffered greater scarring from the pandemic. The divergent recoveries between advanced and developing economies in Africa and other regions threaten to reverse gains in poverty reduction.

Absent of any decisive action, reshoring of production implies that trade will be dominated by a few powerful regional blocks in the future. These would likely include an Asian block dominated by China, an American-led block in North America, and an EU block.

If this happens, decades-long progress in global poverty reduction would be at high risk of being further derailed. It would make the world a poorer place and Africa would be the hardest hit by being severed from global value chains.

Jonathan Munemo, Professor of Economics, Salisbury University

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

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Pakistan frigate PNS Shamsheer seizes nearly one ton of illicit drugs at sea off Oman

The Pakistan Navy guided-missile frigate PNS SHAMSHEER, pennant number 252. has seized illicit narcotics from a fishing vessel while conducting patrols in international waters in the Gulf of Oman earlier this week.

PNS Shamsheer is operating as part of Combined Task Force (CTF) 150, which has increased regional patrols to locate and disrupt unlawful maritime activity. CTF 150 is one of four task forces under Combined Maritime Forces (CMF).

The seizure consisted of 950 kilograms of hashish, with an estimated U.S. street value of $2 million.

“This successful seizure by PNS Shamsheer is the manifestation of cohesive efforts and resolve of partner nations under the auspices of Combined Maritime Forces against illicit activities in the maritime domain,” said Commodore Vaqar Muhammad, commander of CTF 150.

“CTF 150, in synergy with partner nations, will continue to deter and suppress illicit activities in order to ensure freedom of navigation in its area of operations.”

Combined Maritime Forces is the largest multinational naval partnership in the world. The organisation includes 34 nations and is headquartered in Bahrain with U.S. Naval Forces Central Command and U.S. 5th Fleet.

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New threat to export of SA oranges to the EU

New regulations which will come under discussion this week by the European Union’s (EU) Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed (SCOPAFF), could pose a major threat to Southern African orange exports.

The EU’s Standing Committee on Plant, Animal, Food and Feed (Scopaff) is due to discuss and possibly vote on new and “arguably misinformed” regulations on False Coddling Moth (FCM), which poses a major threat to Southern African orange exports, said the Citrus Growers Association (CGA).

If agreed to by member countries, these new regulations will have a devastating impact on orange exports from South Africa to the region. This could lead to large gaps in the supply chain and higher prices for European consumers, at a time when the region faces the real risk of food insecurity due to the ongoing Ukraine-Russian conflict.

In South Africa, these new regulations will put the sustainability of the industry at risk and the 140,000, mostly rural, jobs it sustains.

The proposed legislation requires exporting African countries to implement a drastic mandatory cold treatment (0°C to -1°C for at least 16 days) for oranges headed to the region. This is despite South Africa enforcing a rigorous risk management system, which has been highly effective in protecting European production from the threat of pests or disease, including FCM, over the past few years.

According to the CGA, when it comes to the 800,000 tonnes of citrus imports to the EU annually, FCM interceptions have been consistently low over the past three years – 19 (2019), 14 (2020) and 15 (2021) interceptions respectively.

South Africa has also disputed six of its reported EU interceptions during last year’s season, as the overwhelming expert scientific reviewed evidence indicates the larvae reported was dead, which means it posed no risk.

Political Agenda?

This, it says, is in stark contrast to FCM interceptions from other 3rd importing countries, which have been much higher – with 53, 129 and 58 interceptions over the same period. Yet no measures have been proposed against these countries, which makes the new regulations proposed against South Africa even more inexplicable.

These proposed new regulations are also disproportionate and unfeasible for the following reasons:

When it comes to South African conventional oranges, only a portion of the crop will be able to withstand the new prescribed cold treatment temperatures. Furthermore, new provisions on the regulations which require “data loggers” from containers and a “measured pulp temperature threshold” are totally different to the current EU accepted FCM risk management system. These will require specialised and severely short supplied container equipment which will not be able to accommodate the huge volumes of fruit exported from South Africa to the EU.

The mandatory cold treatment will also put a stop to all exports of organic and “chem-free” [non-treated] oranges to the EU including several popular varieties such as blood oranges, Turkey, Salustiana, Benny and Midknights. This is due to these products simply not being able to withstand the suggested cold treatment. Yet, these environmentally friendly and sustainable orange types have never recorded a FCM interception.

Furthermore, said the CGA, no consultation took place with the South African National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) prior to these new regulations being filed at the World Trade Organisation on 10 February 2022. This is in stark contrast to the EU’s normal operation where issues or concerns on plant health mitigation would be bilaterally discussed and practical options or procedures to mitigate risk considered and agreed for inclusion.

The fact that this proposed legislation was put forward, despite alternative and equally effective cold treatment options being available and which have already been provided for in the South African FCM Risk Management System, indicates that this it is being driven by a political agenda.

It is for these reasons that interest groups, including growers in Southern Africa and importers from a number of EU countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France, lodged objections to the proposed regulations during the recent EU “Have your Say” public participation process. In total, a record 164 submissions were made, with 90% of these objecting the proposed regulations.

The CGA says it has also been meeting with member countries to “highlight the threat these unwarranted regulations pose to the continuity of orange imports from South Africa, the year-round availability for EU consumers and the 140,000 jobs the local industry sustains. We hope sanity will prevail during SCOPAFF deliberations this week and these new regulations are rejected.”

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WHARF TALK: grab hopper dredger – ITALENI

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

All of South Africa’s major ports have a requirement, at some point or other, to be dredged. The dredging can be for a major approach channel, a turning basin, internal harbour channels, or simply alongside the operational berths.

Due to the inherent differences in size, and the geographical nature of the diversity of South African ports, some ports need more dredging than others. In some cases, dredging is almost a continuous requirement, and in other cases, a visit every few years is deemed sufficient to keep the port both safe, and open, for all shipping.

Transnet maintains a fleet of three dredgers for the purpose of maintenance of the ports under their care, and all of them are based out of Durban. Whenever another Transnet port has a need for dredging to take place, one or sometimes two, of the dredging fleet is dispatched to the port that requires their presence, in order to undertake the programme of dredging needs.

Back in late March the Grab Hopper Dredger ITALENI (IMO 9689108) arrived off Cape Town, from her home base of Durban, and entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding initially to the Elbow in the entrance to the Duncan Dock. The Elbow would be her home ‘night’ berth for the duration of her stay in the port, whilst undertaking the first major port dredging works for more than two years.

Built in 2014 by IHC Merwede MTG Dolphin Shipyard at Varna in Bulgaria, ‘Italeni’ is 62 metres in length and has a deadweight of 1,559 tons. She is powered by Caterpillar 3512C 12 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 3,200 bhp (2,386 kW), to drive two controllable pitch propellers for a sea service transit speed of 11 knots. She replaced the smaller Transnet Grab Hopper Dredger ‘Crane’, which was built in Holland in 1971.

To provide additional manoeuvrability when working in confined waters, ‘Italeni’ has a bow transverse thruster providing 150 kW. Her hopper, which is where her dredged spoil is deposited, has a capacity of 750 m3, and can hold 2,000 tons of spoil. To provide accuracy in her dredging operations, ‘Italeni’ operates with a Grab Monitoring System that has a grab positioning accuracy of just 2 metres.

The spoil is brought onto the dredger by way of a Liebherr 895 excavator, which is rail mounted, and capable of lifting 10 tons of spoil in her clamshell grab from the harbour floor. This Liebherr excavator on ‘Italeni’ did not come new with the vessel. It was taken from the dredger that she replaced, ‘Crane’, and was retrofitted onto ‘Italeni’ when she arrived from the builder’s yard in 2014. In June 2021 Transnet issued a tender for a replacement 8200 excavator crane to replace the one currently in use.

Owned by Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), ‘Italeni’ is operated by the Dredging Services Division, of Durban, and managed by Transnet SOC, also of Durban. Of the Transnet fleet of three dredgers, ‘Italeni’ is the smallest on the fleet, and the only Grab Hopper dredger in the fleet. The other two vessels are Suction Hopper dredgers.

She is named after the Battle of Italeni, which took place in 1838 close to Nkandla in the KwaZulu-Natal province, and where a Zulu army defeated a force of Afrikaaner Voortrekkers. It is a peculiarity of South African government departments that operate vessels, warships or otherwise, that they seem to name some of their vessels after historic battles where one section of the South African community defeated another section of the South African community. Other examples being Isandlwana (Zulu-British), Amatola (Xhosa-British), Spioenkop (Afrikaaner-British). I spot a running theme here!!

A Grab Hopper dredger is designed to operate in those areas of a harbour that are either confined spaces, or hard to reach, such as alongside berths with right angles. Operating with a crew of 18 persons, ‘Italeni’ can operate in water depths of up to 25 metres.

With South African ports being so diverse, the requirement for dredging them is different in almost every case. In fact, the need for harbour maintenance dredging in South Africa is threefold, namely:

I.Some of the ports have rivers running into them, as with East London and Durban. These rivers bring silt into the Port which compromises port depth;

II.The effect of littoral drift, or long-shore movement of sand, as with Durban. This occurs primarily on the East coast of the country where the prevailing winds and currents cause a northward movement of sand, so sand flows up the coast.

III.The movement of ships within the port creates high and low spots due to propulsion wash i.e. the ships propellers cause the sea bed material to move;

In the case of Cape Town, it is the third given reason that requires dredging as no rivers flow into the harbour, and there is little littoral drift that affects the port. As vessels use their thrusters and propellers when manoeuvring onto, and off, their berths, they stir up the harbour bottom, and this displaced spoil settles elsewhere near the berth, creating the high and low spots that require removal in order to maintain an even seabed along the whole length of the berth, as promulgated in sailing directions and port handbooks.

Currently, ‘Italeni’ is dredging areas around the Duncan Dock berths, including those along the Eastern Mole, and is expected to move around the harbour over the following weeks, dredging high and low spots around the whole port complex, before she returns to her home base in Durban. This is her first visit to Cape Town since November 2019.

In May 2021 Transnet issued a tender for a fourth dredger for their fleet. This brand new dredger was to be of a similar design to that of ‘Italeni’, insofar as it was for a Grab Hopper Dredger, also with a 750 m3 capacity hopper. There is yet no news of the outcome of that tender from Transnet.

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CMA CGM to introduce dedicated new intermodal Harare-Maputo-Harare service

CMA CGM has unveiled a dedicated new service it is offering with eco-friendly intermodal solutions to serve the Harare province in Zimbabwe via Maputo that will complement the two current services via Beira and via Durban.

With effect from May 2022, a dedicated block-train shuttle with a weekly capacity of 108 TEU will operate from Harare to Maputo and back to Harare that will permit customers to benefit from a very short and reliable intermodal transit time of 5 days for Harare Ramp and 6 days for Harare Door.

The gain combined on maritime-rail transit time is 15 days from Asia in connection with the Mozex service. Harare is reached from Shanghai in 31 days, Yantian 30 days, Qingdao 35 days, Busan 36 days.

Export cargo from Harare Ramp bound for Shanghai will take 48 days, Yantian 42 days.

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NEW BOOKS: Seaforth Naval Review 2022

Seaforth World Naval Review 2022

Edited by Conrad Waters
Published by Seaforth Publishing,
Barnsley, South Yorkshire, GB,
www.seaforthpublishing.com
ISBN: 978 1 3990 1895 1
Price was £35.00, is now £28.00 a reduction of 20%.

This fine volume, over 192 pages supported by 200 colour and monochrome illustrations provides, as in past years, an authoritative summary of much that has happened to some the world’s navies and their warships in the previous twelve months. This is a successful format delivered by the highly respected Seaforth Publishing, an imprint of Pen & Sword, down the years.

Seaforth World Naval Review combines regional surveys with major articles on important new warships, and looks at wider issues of significance to navies such as aviation and weaponry.

Contributors as reliable sources, come from around the globe and as well as providing a balanced picture of naval developments, they interpret their significance and explain their context.

Africa and Indian Ocean coverage

Regional reviews comprise: (a) North and South America; (b) Asia and the Pacific; (c) the Indian Ocean and Africa and (d) Europe and Russia. Under (c) fleet strengths are given for the larger navies as at mid-2021: Algeria, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Other Indian Ocean navies are profiled in brief: Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In Africa there are short introductions to the navies of South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco. In the Middle East we see Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Bahrain, Iran and Israel.

In addition to its regular regional reviews, the 2022 volume focusses on three fleets: the Sri Lankan Navy (eleven pages), the Spanish Navy (eleven pages) and the Royal Navy (thirteen pages).

There are in-depth articles on the Argentinian Bouchard Class OPVs, the Russian Project 20380 Stereguschchiy Class corvettes, the Royal Navy’s Batch 2 River Class Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and the US Navy’s amphibious assault hovercraft or Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC).

Each of this book’s chapters has a closing section of end-notes providing sources and advice for further reading thus making Seaforth World Naval Review 2022 a veritable vade mecum.

With regard to the technological review section this looks at electro-optics systems and developments in mine countermeasures operations, and there is the regular review of what is happening in naval aviation, which among other topics provides coverage of the US Marine/US Navy MV-22 tiltrotor, the Osprey.

Now firmly established as what is believed to be the only annual naval overview of its type in the world, the Seaforth World Naval Review 2022 is essential reading for professional and enthusiast alike. It should be on the shelves of every parliamentary library for those who have the time to brief themselves in advance of defence debates, for Review takes the reader to the heart of contemporary maritime affairs.

I heartily endorse a recent review in Warship World and quote with permission: “… this is a marvellous asset for those wishing to keep up to date with naval matters. Very highly recommended.”

Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
London Correspondent: Africa Ports & Ships

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TRADE NEWS: Thordon’s largest rudder bearing ever manufactured installed in 7,500-TEU container ship

A 7,506-TEU containership has left Drydocks World-Dubai (DDW) with the largest rudder bearing ever manufactured by Thordon Bearings.

The 2001-built vessel, operated by a European owner, was retrofitted with a 1230mm (4ft) long, 1111mm (3.6ft) diameter SXL bearing after the vessel’s original bronze rudder bearing required replacement due to excessive wear.

Thordon’s authorized Distributor in the U.A.E. – Ocean Power International (OPI) – was contacted by DDW to put forward an alternative rudder bearing solution, with OPI recommending Thordon’s grease-free SXL polymer bearing.

With the swift supply of material that could be fitted during the vessels’ scheduled drydocking being a key decision criterion, Thordon and OPI mobilized to produce and deliver the bearing in record time.

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

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Guinea’s Kamsar port takes delivery of Damen Multi Cat 2409 vessel

Damen Shipyards Group is in the process of delivering a customised Multi Cat 2409 named LAMINE CAMARA for port and fairway maintenance at the Guinean Port of Kamsar, all within 4.5 months of the order being placed.

Outfitting the vessel for a multitude of operations in the West African port, was concluded despite Covid restrictions, thanks to the excellent cooperation received from Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), said Damen.

Damen is delivering the new vessel to Guinea on its own keel, and will depart from the Hardinxveld yard in The Netherlands at the end of April for a journey of about four weeks.

The vessel is equipped with two cranes. On the fore deck a powerful crane is installed that can lift a weight of more than 18 tonnes at a range of 7 metres, while a second crane on the aft deck can lift more than 4.5 tonnes at a range of more then 5 metres.

This is essential equipment for lifting and laying buoys that mark the harbour entrance, where CBG is responsible for port maintenance as the single largest user of the Port of Kamsar.

Fairway marking

Maintenance of the buoys that guide bauxite ore carriers to and from the Port of Kamsar is crucial, especially in the rainy season with its limited visibility. Shallow waters with sand banks that move with tidal and river flows in the mouth of the Nunez river require careful navigation for which clearly laid out fairways marked with buoys are essential.

A railway heads off from this port to the ore mines inland, from where bauxite is shipped to aluminium producers around the world.

Harbour plough

Lamine Camara has two Caterpillar CAT C32 engines to provide a total propulsion power of 1268 kW resulting in a bollard pull of 22.5 tonnes. The vessel offers 109 square metres of deck space and a winch with 72 tonnes brake holding power adds to the flexibility of the vessel that is equipped for a multitude of operations.

A special tool is the 8 metre plough, installed aboard on an A-frame at the stern of the vessel. CBG will use the Multi Cat to plough the sea bed near the quays to keep the water deep enough and take away excess underwater vegetation that may obstruct manoeuvring and berthing at the harbour.

The Damen Multi Cat 2409 is part of the standardised range of Damen Multi Cats that consists of vessels from 9 metres up to 37 metres of overall length. Damen builds vessel beforehand and has them in stock for quick delivery to clients. Only weeks are needed to equip the Multi Cats to operator specifications, enabling the vessel to be engaged in actual operations very quickly.

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Walvis Bay Container Terminal up for concessioning

Namibia Ports Authority (Namport) put an end to speculation when chief executive officer, Andrew Kanime, told port users and media at Walvis Bay that Namport has appointed an international consultancy firm, Maritime Business and Transport Solutions, to assist with the process of concessioning the Walvis Bay Container Terminal to a suitable terminal operator for a period of 25 years.

Kanime said there had been immediate response and at least five established operators have shown interest in running Walvis Bay’s new container terminal.

The terminal, which cost N$4.2 billion (R4.2bn), was commissioned as recently as 2019.

The deal is likely to be finalised later this year, Kanime said. “The successful operator should be able to make volume-related payments during the tenure of the concession, introduce additional capital for investments, and drive operational efficiencies.”

However, only containers and a limited project cargo and no non-containerised cargo will be handled by the operator, he said.

“This is in line with international benchmarks which will allow them to recoup their investment, as the contract will entail the expansion of the terminal quay and yard to increase throughput.”

According to Kanime, the decision to lease out became a reality when the dynamics in the shipping industry significantly shifted on the back of depressed macro-economic conditions which negatively impacted industries across all sectors, including the newly- constructed container terminal.

As a result, he said, imports and exports handled through Namibian and other ports across the region and shipping lines moved to larger-sized vessel deployment as part of their own drive towards cost rationalisation.

“These unforeseen and unfortunate developments caused a significant decrease in the volumes’ throughput through the new container terminal.

“Given the need to earn a return on this very strategic investment, we have been compelled to explore means and ways we can drive the utilisation of the terminal, and amongst the outcomes from our considerations has been the decision to consider concessioning the new terminal to an independent operator.”

The Walvis Bay container terminal employs less than 300 people, who have been briefed about the development and will be employed by the new operator, according to Kanime.

“The agreement will see to it that jobs at the new container terminal will not be affected, although the terminal will be operating independently.”

Challenges posed by Covid-19 resulted in Namport’s revenue declining by 2% to N$1.113 billion (2019/20: N$1.138), which improved on a target of N$1.032 billion for the 2020/21 financial year.

Namport generated an operating profit of N$96 million (2019/20: N$132 million), while the Namport Group’s revenue declined by 12% to N$1.485 billion (2019/20: N$1.688 billion), with an operating profit of N$146 million (2019/20: N$203 million).

“The year ending 31 March 2021 was arguably one of the most challenging in the group’s recent operating history. The commencement of the year coincided with the Covid-19 pandemic reaching our shores, following the initial outbreak in China in late 2019.

“The financial year was, therefore, marked by rolling lockdowns, which were imposed to stem the spread of the virus,” Kanime said in the latest annual report.

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WHARF TALK: large Angolan LNG tanker SONANGOL ETOSHA

Story by Jay Gates
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’

South Africa does not have an onshore regasification terminal, to enable the import of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) for use in electricity generation, via gas-fired power stations. As such, LNG tankers do not pay many visits to South African ports. Those that do, are almost certainly calling in for bunkers, a stores uplift, or for shoreside maintenance support.

On 17th April at 12h00 the large Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) tanker SONANGOL ETOSHA (IMO 9482299) arrived off Cape Town, en-route from Dahej in India, to Soyo in Angola. She entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded straight to the Landing Wall in the Duncan Dock, which is almost certainly a sign that some shoreside maintenance support was required.

The reason for her unscheduled call at Cape Town was soon made apparent, when ‘Sonangol Etosha’ began ballasting down her stern, in order to lift her bulbous bow out of the water, in order to expose her bow transverse thruster. The ex Transnet workboat ‘Strandloper’, now operated by the marine engineering and diving company GMC, positioned her working deck at the mouth of the thruster unit, and GMC engineers began the task of working on the unit.

Built in 2011 by Daewoo Shipbuilding at Geoje in South Korea, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ is 291 metres in length and has a deadweight of 87,294 tons. After reporting on nothing other than diesel powered vessels of all types, it is a pleasant surprise to see that this is the second vessel in a week powered by a steam turbine, notably, in this case, a single Kawasaki UA-400 (HP+LP) steam turbine engine producing 38,488 bhp (28,300 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 19.2 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes two steam turbine generators providing 3,800 kW each, a single diesel generator also providing 3,800 kW and an emergency generator providing 500 kW. She has two Mitsubishi top-fired MB-4E-KS boilers. For added manoeuvrability, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ has a single bow transverse thruster providing 1,971 kW.

The beauty of LNG tankers is that they can, effectively, carry their own fuel within the cargo they are carrying, by utilising the gas boil off to power the boilers, which drive the turbine engines. One of three sisterships, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ has a cargo carrying capacity of 157,678 m3 of LNG, which is carried at a very low temperature of -162°C (-260°F). The LNG cargo is contained within her cargo tanks by using the NO96 system, and not the Moss tank system.

NO96 technology is a cryogenic liner, used to contain the liquefied gas at very low temperatures, at atmospheric pressure, during shipping. The primary membrane, which contains the LNG cargo, is the cargo tank itself, and which is independent of the vessel’s hull. While the secondary membrane, which is identical to the primary, ensures 100% redundancy in case of accidental leakage of the LNG. Both the primary and secondary membranes are made of a 36% nickel-steel alloy, just 0.7mm thick. The tank outlines are of long, straight lined, angled, tanks, and not the spherical balls of the Moss tanks.

Owned by Sociedad Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola, better known as Sonangol, which is the Angolan state owned oil company, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ is operated by Chevron Transport Corporation Limited (CTCL), of San Ramon in California, USA, and she is managed by Chevron Shipping Limited, also of San Ramon.

On delivery, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ and her two sisterships were all placed on long term charter to the Angola LNG project. The Angola LNG project is located at Soyo, located on the southern bank of the Congo River in Northern Angola. Delays in the construction of the Soyo LNG Terminal resulted in the facility being 18 months late in being commissioned, and it only began LNG exports in June 2013, when the first LNG cargo was loaded on a sistership of ‘Sonangol Etosha’, called ‘Sonangol Sambizanga’.

The Soyo LNG terminal is capable of exporting 5.2 million tons of LNG per annum, and provides three berths. One berth is purely for LNG exports, whilst one other berth is for pressurized Butane, and the third berth is for both Propane and Condensate. The partners in the Angola LNG Project are Chevron (36%), Sonangol (22%), BP (14%), ENI (14%) and Total (14%).

Only 10 months after the facility was commissioned, the Soyo LNG terminal suffered a major incident, when a pipeline connection failure occurred, resulting in a serious hydrocarbon vapour release. It resulted in the complete shutdown of the LNG terminal. The terminal remained offline for over two years whilst repairs, and a full operational safety survey, were completed of the new terminal. It reopened in June 2016. In July 2021, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ loaded the 300th LNG export cargo from the Soyo terminal.

In March 2022, as a result of the invasion of Ukraine, sistership ‘Sonangol Sambizanga’ was the first non-Russian LNG tanker to berth and discharge at the Isle of Grain LNG terminal, located in Kent, in the UK. This was due to British Dockers refusing to offload two Russian LNG tankers that had arrived before her, and which resulted in both Russian vessels being forced to sail elsewhere to seek a European port that would receive their cargoes.

South Africa’s lack of an LNG regasification plant has exposed the country to its reliance on coal to produce its electrical supply through coal fired power stations. As such, Transnet plans to launch a tender for the first LNG regasification terminal, planned to be located at Richards Bay, in the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province. The plan called for first gas expected to be imported in 2024, should the timetable proposed, be considered workable, which is doubtful.

The choice of Richards Bay is due to it being the closest South African port to Mozambique, where the process of unlocking its substantial offshore natural gas reserves in the Rovuma Basin, in the north of the country, has already begun with the arrival of the Coral Sur FLNG unit. Reserves of Natural Gas for Mozambique are estimated to be between 42 billion m3, and 47 billion m3.

Transnet will not commit to a final cost of the regasification project, nor if it will be a shore based terminal, or a floating terminal. However, the LNG terminal is expected to cost anywhere between US$120 million (ZAR1.76 billion), and US$220 million (ZAR3.23 billion), which is fully dependent on the size, type and sophistication of the plant. The cost of the design, construction and running of the terminal is expected to be met by the winning bidder.

Despite this, you can bet that Transnet will insist on a BEE company being formed for the terminal project.

As always with South African SOE capital projects, spanners are already appearing in the works, and which are indicating delays and changes of mind. This is because the planned LNG terminal is now thought to be a floating regasification and storage facility, and not a land based facility. Crucially, its location is also in doubt, as Ngqura, in the Eastern Cape, is now also being considered to be the location of the new terminal, and not necessarily Richards Bay. Watch this space!

The port of Dahej in India, from where ‘Sonangol Etosha’ arrived, was the first LNG terminal to be built both in India, and in South East Asia, and came online in 2004. She has a storage capacity of 17.5 million tons of LNG per annum, provided by six tanks, each holding 160,000 m3, which meets 40% of India’s total annual gas needs. The port is a deepwater port, and the LNG terminal has two jetties for offloading LNG tankers, with one berth capable of handling Q-Flex LNG tankers (up to 220,000 m3 capacity), and the other berth capable of handling Q-Max LNG tankers (up to 265,000 m3 capacity).

This is actually not the first time that ‘Sonangol Etosha’ has called into Cape Town to receive maintenance support, as she also called in October 2013 to receive shoreside engineering expertise.

On this current occasion, and on completion of her bow thruster repairs, and any other business her call generated for local businesses, ‘Sonangol Etosha’ sailed from Cape Town at 14h00 on 20th April, and headed north, but not initially to Angola to load another LNG cargo at the Soyo LNG terminal, but instead she was indicating her destination to be Walvis Bay in Namibia.

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New cyclone (Jasmine) brews in Mozambique Channel

A storm system that developed in the northern Mozambique Channel has turned into the latest cyclone in the area, name Jasmine 24S.

On Sunday 24 April 2022 at 06h00 Jasmine was situated near 17.9S 39.4E with movement during the past six hours 190 degrees at 5 knots. Maximum wind speeds at the time were 45 knots gusting to 50 knots.

At the time a ridge of high pressure over eastern Madagascar and the approach of a weak trough over southern Africa was directing Jasmine’s direction towards the south.

According to Meteo France the ridge is slowly turning westward tilting the track to the southeast on Monday 25 April, and then to the northeast on Tuesday. Then with a new ridge swelling over Africa, the trajectory is more north-northeast at the end of the period.

Cyclone Jasmine of expected to weaken slightly from Monday and continue weakening on Tuesday.

Nevertheless, the weather over the southern channel islands, Bassas das India and Europa, should start to deteriorate on Monday with the system passing close to Europa during the night of Monday/Tuesday. Rainfall of between 50 to 100mm in 12 hours may be expected. Wind speeds of 100 km/h can be expected locally during Monday night and waves of 3 to 4 metres on average. Sources: Cyclocane, JTWC

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Illicit maritime activity: South Africa signs Jeddah Amendment

Last week, on 21 April, the IMO media service announced that South Africa had become the 17th signatory* to the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCoC).

In 2017 the Jeddah Amendment was adopted to broaden the scope of the DcoC, which was developed and adopted in 2009 by countries in the Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden as an important tool to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships in the region.

The Jeddah Amendment covers measures for suppressing a range of illicit activities, including piracy, arms trafficking, trafficking in narcotics, illegal trade in wildlife, illegal oil bunkering, crude oil theft, human trafficking, human smuggling, and illegal dumping of toxic waste.

Among other things, the DcoC/Jeddah Amendment regime has established a functioning network of Information Sharing Centres and a regional training coordination mechanism.

Signatory States have embraced the IMO ‘Whole of Government’ approach to maritime security, including the establishment of National Maritime Security Committee Structure (Including Sub-Committees), development of the National Maritime Security Risk Register and producing the National Maritime Security Strategy by all participating States, with support from IMO.

To read more about the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct or the DCoC readers are invited to SEE HERE

A DCOC eleven-page publication Enhancing the Djibouti Code of Conduct – Jeddah Amendment Information Sharing Network: Strategy Roadmap November 2021 is AVAILABLE HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

* The 17 signatories are: Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania and Yemen.

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Rehabilitation & expansion of Nacala port nearing completion

The rehabilitation and expansion of the Mozambique port of Nacala is said to be nearing completion, opening up new opportunities for the extended Nacala Corridor leading to the port from neighbouring Malawi, adjacent feeder or branch lines in Nampula province, and the coal fields of Tete province in central Mozambique.

Last week as construction work and other developmental projects neared final completion, the port received working visits by President Filipe Nyusi of Mozambique, and his Malawian counterpart, President Lazarus Chakwera.

The port is situated at 40º 40′ E and 14º 27′ S, on the south-east side of Baia de Bengo, a large and sheltered bay that has a depth of 60 metres and an entrance channel that is 800m wide. Nacala Bay is the deepest natural bay on the east coast of Africa.

“This port has the capacity to receive all types of ships and is being completely rebuilt to make it more flexible and competitive. The equipment we are seeing here is of the highest quality, which many ports do not have in southern Africa,” President Nyusi said.

He said the development of the port increased its flexibility and competitiveness.

Work commenced on the rehabilitation of the port in 2018 with a budget of US$ 300 million and is due for final completion at the end of this year.

When fully complete Nacala will have a handling capacity for 250,000 containers, compared with the current capacity of just 100,000.

President Filipe Nyusi said yesterday that the development of the port of Nacala, in northern Mozambique, would increase the facility’s flexibility and competitiveness.

Nyusi said that the port helped drive the economies of Mozambique and Malawi.

According to figures quoted in the local media, 16% of the approximately 20 million tons of products being handled at Nacala is intended for Malawi.

To handle this and other potential commodities the port is in the process of being upgraded with modern cargo handling equipment, aimed at reducing dwell times at the port while increasing capacity.

Malawi’s President Chakwera said that Nacala port is of regional importance. “This port is critical for the economic development of the region,” he said, adding his approval that the port’s capacity was being increased.

“It is pleasing to note that since its completion, the developments made at the port are helping to increase capacity and efficiency in handling cargo and they are providing a cost-effective avenue for transporting people, goods and services,” said Dr Chakwera.

The general cargo port of Nacala lies opposite the large coal terminal and port of Nacala-a-Velha, situated on the opposite side of the giant bay. The terminal received coal trains along the same Nacala Corridor railway from Moatize in Tete province via Malawi and northern Mozambique.

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IN CONVERSATION: How geology put a South African city (and its port) at risk of landslides

This aerial view shows the destruction at Umdloti beach north of Durban. Landslides and floods wreaked havoc.  Marco Longari/AFP via Getty Images

Charles MacRobert, Stellenbosch University

Some articles have suggested the catastrophes in Durban and the greater eThekwini region of South Africa following recent floods are due to climate change and maladministration. While these factors play a role, the fact that landslides occurred comes as no surprise, considering the geology of the area.

eThekwini is a coastal metropolis characterised by hilly terrain dissected by several major rivers such as the Umgeni, Mlazi and Mbokodweni. The region is subtropical, but recent rains were unprecedented relative to recent records and resulted in multiple landslides.

Some of the earliest studies of landslides in this region date to the 1930s. Mitigation measures including zoning regulations are in place for some parts of the region. But knowledge of the geotechnical risks of the area has not prevented another tragic disaster.

As a geotechnical engineer I study the effects of water on the stability of sloping ground. Many natural slopes are in a delicate state of equilibrium: the downward movement of the inclined soil is just balanced by the resisting strength between the soil grains.

When water is introduced, the water pressure pushes soil particles apart, reducing this strength. Also some soils, such as clays, are more slippery and present an even greater landslide risk.

In eThekwini, sloping ground, water and clay combined to leave devastation in their wake.

Greater eThekwini geology

Ground adjacent to the sea from Durban to Mtunzini (a coastal town 140km north of Durban) is almost exclusively made up of ancient red sand dunes termed the Berea formation. South of the Durban harbour these sands form a ridge called the Bluff and north of the harbour they form the Berea Ridge. In some places these sand dunes are extremely steep.

The sands of the Berea formation were subject to intense investigation in the late 1950s following landslides along the Bluff. The strength of the Berea sands was not uncharacteristic for sandy material. But the Bluff slopes were steeper than would be expected based on the soil’s strength. The only reason the slopes hadn’t collapsed was that plant growth was reinforcing the soil.

The investigation showed the slopes’ stability was not significantly affected by rainfall. That makes sense as these slopes have been battered by storms over geological time. But concentrated flows from poorly controlled flood water or broken water pipes were found to be catastrophic.

The reason is that as the Berea sands have little to no clayey stickiness, or plasticity, they are extremely prone to erosion. When large torrents of water flow over the sands they simply erode to form gulleys. The video below clearly demonstrates the power of water over these loose sands.

Umdloti has been devastated by heavy rainfall, mudslides and landslides.

Inland shales

Inland from Durban are shales of the Pietermaritzburg formation. They dip down from their main exposure in the inland city of Pietermaritzburg towards the sea at Durban.

These shales were formed from thin layers of clay and silt deposited in slow-moving water bodies during the geological past. When exposed at the surface, the shales break down or weather. Depending on their mineral content, some layers weather to very slippery clay.

It only takes a small increase in water pressures along these layers to trigger a landslide. The shales are not very permeable, so it can take a long time for the water pressure to become high enough to cause instability. It could eventually happen as a result of seepage from leaking pipes or long rainy seasons.

The residential area of Clare Estate, which witnessed landslides during the recent flooding, is built on these shales. Tragically this is not the first time landslides have occurred here. Slides in these shales have been investigated since the 1930s.

Natal group sandstones

Another part of the geology of eThekwini are the sandstones of the Natal group. These sandstones weather into a sandy material but there are also layers containing clay. While water can easily flow into the sandy layers it can become trapped by the clayey layers.

During heavy rainfall events this can cause excess water pressure, liquefying the sand so it runs like water. A review of landslides in the eThekwini region between 1971 and 1991 showed that when short rainfall events exceeded 20% of mean annual rainfall, landslides could be expected.

During the recent floods, over 300mm fell over four days (9-11 April 2022), equating to 30% of mean annual rainfall. This clearly exceeded the landslide threshold. The situation was made worse by the storms coming at the end of the rainy season when the ground was already saturated.

Sadly, the houses of the KwaNdengezi settlement near Durban were no match for the forces of nature unleashed by the deluge of water over those three days. Some houses were swept away as the ground gave way and others were simply too close to flood lines to withstand the surging water.

Mitigation measures

Landslides in the eThekwini region should come as no surprise. We know which areas are at risk and why. Zoning and early warning systems would seem to be logical measures to take.

The eThekwini municipality does have by-laws in place for some risky areas like the Bluff and it does publish maps highlighting areas of risk. The recent landslides suggest more work is required to fully zone the region and to enforce by-laws.

Landslide mitigation is always difficult, though. Landslide zoning has met with fierce political resistance in Japan and the US as land devalues if marked as risky. Landslide prediction systems are also costly to implement and can warn residents too late.

Anywhere in the world, the technical problems surrounding landslide mitigation are often the least challenging to solve. The real problems typically lie with social and political issues which require considerable finesse and thought to resolve.

Charles MacRobert, Senior lecturer, Stellenbosch University

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

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CMA CGM reinstates its Indian Ocean (IO) Feeder 3 service

French shipping line CMA CGM has announced that in order to broaden its coverage in the Indian Ocean, it has taken the decision to reinstate its IO Feeder 3 service.

The service will be reinstated as from early June, by way of a fortnightly rotation as follows:

Pointe des Galets – Port Louis – Tamatave – Pointe des Galets – Longoni – Pointe des Galets

Details of the vessel to be introduced have not been indicated at this stage.

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Managing blackout risks on passenger ships: New DNV focus on safety

It was reported from Oslo on 21 April that a newly published guidance paper from DNV seeks to support the prevention and mitigation of blackouts impacting passenger vessels.

With blackout incidents on cruise ships on the rise, DNV has created a new guidance titled Managing the risk of blackouts which addresses the main causes and associated risks, while offering recommendations and best practices on how to avoid them and reduce the likelihood of their occurrence.

In 2019 there were twelve reported power-loss events on cruise ships that resulted in full or partial blackout while in transit or manoeuvring – up from four events in 2018. Although the majority of incidents occur in open water with minimal consequences, they represent a major accident hazard and, in certain situations, result in loss of propulsion which may pose an imminent threat to the ship, its passengers and crew.

While in recent years there has been a lot of focus on sustainability factors and cost saving measures, DNV urges owners and operators not to lose sight of the safety element.

In the words of Hans Eivind Siewers, Segment Director for passenger ships and ro-ro at DNV Maritime: ‘Factors such as new fuels, change of speed and other measures to remain compliant with EEXI* and CII** regulations are high on ship owners’ agendas.

“We also see a considerable focus on keeping operational expenditure (opex) and capital expenditure (capex) costs in check after two years with reduced revenue. While dealing with all these challenges we urge ship owners not to lose sight of safety. By increasing awareness of what to do to avoid and manage blackouts we want to contribute positively to building trust across the sector.”

In the new paper, DNV outlines a stepwise approach that centres on a simplified barrier-risk model. A simplified ‘bow tie’ model is used to present the threats and technical / operational barriers that contribute to increasing / decreasing the likelihood of blackout, and the mitigating barriers for supporting recovery. The paper’s five-step structure makes the information and practical tools easy to access and implement.

Rami Nurminen, Director Technical Assurance at Royal Caribbean Cruises, confirms that value of the guidance for cruise operators: “This is a great initiative that combines design principles, technical commissioning and human factors. A holistic approach is essential to maintaining design principles throughout system development, integration and final testing – not least operator familiarisation and training of new crew members.”

In summary, the guidance paper is intended to support a step-change in safety for operators, from gaining an overall understanding of blackout causes, defining safety ambitions and prudently managing conflicting goals (such as decarbonisation and cost pressures), to identifying appropriate operational and technical measures to reduce risk based on cost-benefit evaluations.

The paper also describes the mandatory requirements for blackout prevention and recovery that provide a minimum technical standard for newbuildings, including Safe Return to Port (SRtP) regulations under SOLAS and additional measures such as DNV’s Operational Reliability (OR) class notation, which specifically targets resilience and availability of propulsion, steering, electrical power and manoeuvrability.

Siewers added: “DNV is off course open to engaging with operators who want to leverage our operations expertise to improve their organisation and ensure their ships are optimally ready to start sailing again. This also feeds into the newbuilding equation in terms of specifications and what barriers are built into the design to minimize blackout risks.”

To apply to receive a copy of DNV’s full paper readers are invited to make a download request using the link HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

* Energy Efficiency eXisting ship index. See also https://www.dnv.com/maritime/insights/topics/eexi/index.html

** Carbon Intensity Indicator https://www.dnv.com/maritime/insights/topics/CII-carbon-intensity-indicator/answers-to-frequent-questions.html

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

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– Henry Fielding

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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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