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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

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

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FIRST VIEW:   Ngamotu

• South Korea deploys patrol boat to guard FLNG Coral Sul
• WHARF TALK: MR2 tanker named AJAX
• New Kenyan president asked to find solutions to delays at border crossings
• Break-through: Volvo Trucks starts series production of heavy electric trucks
• TRADE NEWS: NAVTOR signs major agreement with Shoei Kisen for NavFleet
• Kaleris acquires Navis & launches first-of-a-kind Supply Chain Execution & Visibility Platform
• Sappi Saiccor’s R7.7 billion upgrade a boost for KZN and for exports
• OBITUARY: Shane Dwyer, maritime lawyer
• NIMASA ordered to deploy unused new floating dock
• ROAD TRANSPORT: Dachser SA enhances capabilities with new custom fleet
• IN CONVERSATION: WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: how trade can help beat inequality
• WHARF TALK: Royal visits to South Africa – in the 19th Century
• Uganda-owned ferry Pamba returns to service on Lake Victoria
• Mozambique’s INAMAR levies fees for all users of coastline and sea
• IMO training: Preventing loss of containers in west and central Africa
• HAL makes ‘unconditional’ offer to acquire Royal Boskalis Westminster NV
• Durban Container Terminal extends date of implementing changed free import storage rule
• Public comment on revised Bunkering Codes is extended by one month
• Dredging contract awarded to widen and deepen Monrovia’s port channels
• Exmar confirms sale of FLNG Tango to Eni, along with LNG gas tanker charter
• IN CONVERSATION: West Africa’s fisher women are experts at coping with job insecurity – but policymakers are using their resilience against them
• Sitarail receives new tamping machine for Ivory Coast to Burkina Faso railway
• The death of HM Queen Elizabeth II: Worldwide tributes
• WHARF TALK: Subsea construction vessel – SKANDI AFRICA
• Bolloré Logistics and Hapag-Lloyd commit on sustainable maritime transport
• IN CONVERSATION: Climate change: colonial diaries in South Africa are helping scientists reconstruct weather patterns of the past to protect against future events
• WMO: Climate change in Africa can destabilise countries and entire regions
• OPEC Fund financing package to improve vital fishery industry in Liberia
• EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND HERE AT NEWS CATEGORIES…….

The week’s mastheads:

Monday: Port Elizabeth Manganese Terminal
Tuesday: Port Elizabeth Container & Car Terminals
Wednesday: Port of Walvis Bay
Thursday: Port of Ngqura
Friday: Port of Ngqura Container Terminal
Saturday: Port of Mombasa
Sunday: Port of Apapa

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News follows below

FIRST VIEW:   NGAMOTU

“A step back in time in my slide collection,” writes New Zealand ships photographer, Alan Calvert.

Ngamotu was completed during early 1959 for the Taranaki Harbour Board as yard number 789 by Fleming and Fergusson Ltd, Paisley. She made her own way to New Zealand and called at Wellington for a quick stop in the floating dock for a tidy up before proceeding to New Plymouth.

In 1985 she was re-engined at Lyttelton.

1991 saw her ownership change to Westgate in line with the renaming of the Taranaki Harbour Board.

1995 saw her sold to Port Dredging Ltd.

This photo shows her entering the inner harbour at Lyttelton on 14 November 1992 when she was engaged in a dredging project around the container terminal.

There are reports of her carrying out some dredging contracts in Australia but then she just seemed to disappear.

Any further info on her whereabouts would be welcome. Email terry@africaports.co.za marking your email NGAMOTU WHEREABOUTS in the subject line

This picture is by Alan Calvert

and now the news….

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South Korea deploys patrol boat to guard FLNG Coral Sul

The Portuguese-language daily, Notícias reports that the South Korean Government intends deploying a patrol vessel to Mozambique to take up duties guarding the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) vessel, Coral Sul.

The FLNG is on station in the Rovuma Basin off the coast of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, where it is due to deliver its first LNG cargo to an accompanying tanker.

The announcement of the patrol vessel was made in Kenya during the inauguration of President William Ruto in Kenya. It was made by the special envoy representing South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol shortly after he had a meeting with Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi.

The patrol vessel will also assist with other duties involving the maintenance and operation of Coral Sul.

Coral Sul, which was built in South Korea, has a length of 432 metres and a width of 66 metres and weighs around 220,000 tons. The FLNG has been placed in position above the wells already drilled some 2,000 metres below the surface of the sea.

Twenty mooring lines weighing a total of 9,000 tons hold Coral Sul in position.

With accommodation for up to 350 people the FLNG has a gas liquefaction capacity of 3.4 million tons per year. The reservoir of gas in the Rovuma Basin is believed to be the largest deposit of gas anywhere in the world.

Coral Sul is operated and managed by a consortium headed by Italian oil major, Eni.

Several other consortium’s hold concessions to mine LNG from the large Rovuma Basin area, but only one other has commenced plans to go into production. That is a consortium headed by TotalEnergies, who intend building a liquefaction facility on land instead of utilising another FLNG at sea.

Construction of the TotalEnergies-led liquefaction facility began on the Afungi peninsula near the small harbour town of Palma, but came to a sudden halt last year when Islamist insurgents overran Palma and threatened the Afungi site.

Construction of the site ceased and TotalEnergies says it will return only when there is an assurance of safety for the site and its people. source Notícias, Eni, Africa Ports & Ships.

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WHARF TALK: MR2 tanker named AJAX

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

In general, the route of any tanker in terms of movements to South African ports, is to arrive with a full load of products, loaded at a foreign port, for discharge at either one, two or, on the odd occasion, three ports along the Southern African coast, before sailing in ballast for the next loading port, usually located in the Persian Gulf, but occasionally in India.

The other tanker movement pattern is considered more domestic, than international. It is for the tanker to load at Durban, usually under charter to a South African based oil major, such as BP, and to discharge the loaded products at either one, two or, again on the odd occasion, three ports along the coast, and then return in ballast to Durban, in order to repeat the process.

Very rarely, the tanker arrives in ballast at a South African port, usually Durban, from West Africa, to then load a fresh cargo of products at the Island View terminal, for discharge back to a port in West Africa, but with the added requirement to discharge at a single South African port on the same voyage, whilst en-route back to Durban to load a further cargo of fuel products.

On 7th September at 08h00, the MR2 tanker AJAX (IMO 9289518) arrived off Cape Town, from Lome in Togo. She entered Cape Town harbour, entering the Duncan Dock and going alongside one of the Tanker Basin berths to begin her discharge of a small parcel of products.

Built in 2005 by Hyundai Dockyard at Ulsan in South Korea, ‘Ajax’ is 186 metres in length and has a deadweight of 53,095 tons. She is powered by a single HHI MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 18,425 bhp (13,560 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14.7 knots.

She has 12 cargo tanks, with a cargo carrying capacity of 53,006 m3, with all tanks having a phenolic epoxy coating. She is capable of loading six grades of product, and has 12 cargo pumps capable of pumping 600 tons per hour. For added manoeuvrability she has a transverse bow thruster providing 950 kW.

One of a class of six sisterships, and unusually for a MR2 tanker, she has a high ice class classification of Ice 1A, which allows her to operate in Baltic Sea first year ice thickness of 0.8 metres, and also to operate in Polar first year ice thickness between 0.3 and 0.7 metres, which indicates her ability to, truly, operate worldwide at any time of the year..

Nominally owned by Gladiator Shipping Services SA, of Athens, ‘Ajax’ is operated by Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd., also of Athens, and whose initials (TEN) she displays along her hull. She is managed by Tsakos Columbia Shipmanagement SA, of Athens, whose houseflag she proudly displays on both her funnel, and also on her prow. She is chartered into the Maersk Tankers MR pool, of Copenhagen, Denmark.

Her movements, which lead her to Cape Town, are that she arrived at the Durban anchorage on 31st July, from West Africa, and remained out at anchor for three days. She finally entered Durban harbour on 3rd August at 21h00, proceeding up the Bluff channel, to go alongside the Island View oil terminal, berthing at Island View 7.

She completed her loading operation, late on the 6th August, and at 01h00 on 7th August she sailed out of Durban harbour, bound for Lome, in Togo, where she arrived on 17th August. After a number of days spent out in the outer anchorage, she completed her discharge at the single 248 metre berth, at the Lome oil terminal, and sailed on 28th August, bound for Cape Town.

Her stay in Cape Town was a short one, and lasted for less than 36 hours, and at 17h00 on 8th September, ‘Ajax’ sailed in ballast from Cape Town, bound once more for Durban, where she arrived at 12h00 on 13th September. As six weeks previously, she entered Durban harbour, proceeded up the Bluff Channel and, once more, again went alongside at Island View 7 to begin her next fuel products onload.

Her owners, as with many of the better shipping companies, have a proud philanthropic tradition, and as reported in Wharf Talk on 14th June 2022, concerning the visit of their handysize tanker ‘Bassilevousa’. The Tsakos Group, through their London based, Tsakos Shipping Ltd., office manages the charity that was set up to manage the St. Nicholas School, in Tema New Town, Ghana.

St. Nicholas School was founded in 2012 with funding provided by the Tsakos Group, to provide a much needed primary school, for 4 to 6 year olds, and opened with 28 children. Over the last decade the school has grown, and now provides a Christian Orthodox education, at both Primary, and now Secondary, level for over 160 children from 3 year olds, up to 16 years old.

Due to the poverty of the local area, the children at St. Nicholas School are provided with both breakfast and lunch every day, which is likely to be the only hot meal that many of them will receive on that day. School uniforms are also provided for all children, as well as basic healthcare. The salary of the Teaching staff is also met by the charitable foundation that looks after the welfare, and development, of the school.

The link with the Tsakos Group means that they have a strong maritime tradition, and there is a proud Navy Cadet Force at the school, developed by training officers provided by the Ghana Navy. The name of the school is also a poignant reminder of its founding, as to those whose livelihood is provided by the sea, St. Nicholas is the patron saint of Seafarers.

For the nomenclature aficionados, the ship is not named after the great football club of Amsterdam and neither is it named after what was the great football club of Cape Town. Rather, ‘Ajax’ is a warrior from Greek Mythology.

Ajax was spoken about in Homer’s Iliad, and he took part in the Trojan Wars against the city of Troy. All of the other five sisterships of ‘Ajax’ in the Tsakos fleet, are also named after figures from Greek Mythology, and all beginning with the letter ‘A’, namely Aris, Ariadne, Afrodite, Apollon and Artemis.

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New Kenyan president asked to find solutions to delays at border crossings

An appeal has been made to President William Ruto, Kenya’s new president, to find a lasting solution to traffic congestion at the Busia and Malaba border crossings with Uganda.

Traffic build-ups at Malaba stretch for up to 20km, slowing down the movement of trucks and freight that is often urgently required at its destination in Uganda.

Busia and Malaba may each boast of having a One-Stop border crossings between the two countries, but that hasn’t meant the trucks are not delayed.

Much fanfare at opening

The Busia One-Stop border post 9OSBP) was officially opened in February 2018, to much fanfare. The then Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta and Uganda’s President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni were present to perform the honours.

It was said the OSBP would reduce the time taken in making the crossing to one third – but tell that now to the long-distance truck drivers and they laugh, although without much humour.

It was said in 2018 that the then new OSBP at Busia, built at a cost of US$ 13 million and with the aid of TradeMark East Africa (TMEA), would help reduce crime whilst increasing trade between the two countries.

Busia, on the main road from the Lake Victoria port city of Kisumu, is just one of the busy crossings between Kenya and Uganda but there are others. Another is at Malaba, where an OSBP was completed in 2015. Malaba is also on the main road from Nairobi and Mombasa to Uganda.

Malaba is also the site of the metre-gauge railway crossing between the two countries and is near the Uganda city of Tororo.

Crossings busy at all times

All this geography means that both border crossings are busy at virtually all times. especially for the long-distance road transport, which is beset by bureaucracy at the best of times and made worse by the extensive queues and delays at these two main border posts.

If you judge by the 20km line of trucks waiting to be processed it doesn’t appear that having the border post transformed into an OSBP has meant much.

This is why the matter has been escalated to the incoming president. Maybe new brooms do sweep clean. although what President Ruto, who was deputy president in the previous regime, can do about it remains to be seen.

According to the truck drivers association chairman, Peter Tanui, the problem at the two posts lies with Kenya Revenue Authority officials who are slow when it comes to clearing trucks.

He said the scanning process has always been sluggish, one truck taking about 30 minutes to be cleared. “This is very ineffective and costly in terms of time and resources wasted,” Tanui noted.

He complained too of the lack of security. Truck drivers take more than four days to complete the section between Mombasa and Malaba, a distance of 937km. He cited incidents where drivers have been found robbed or killed inside their trucks as they wait on long queues.

“In recent days over eight drivers have lost their lives in unexplained circumstances between Mombasa and Malaba. The security of drivers has always been of less concern to the government and the owners,” he complained.

Reports say that about 1,000 trucks pass through the Malaba OSBP on a daily basis, with Busia handling about 600 trucks daily.

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Break-through: Volvo Trucks starts series production of heavy electric trucks

Reported by Paul Ridgway
London

As the first global truck manufacturer to do so, Volvo Trucks is now starting series production of heavy electric, 44 tonne* trucks. This was reported from Volvo in Gothenburg, Sweden on 14 September.

Volvo Trucks is beginning series production of the electric versions of the company’s most important product range, its heavy-duty trucks: Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX. These trucks can operate at a total weight of 44 tonnes* and the three models represent around two thirds of the company’s sales.

With these new additions, Volvo Trucks has six electric truck models in series production globally – the broadest electric truck line up in the industry.

A milestone

“This is a milestone and proves that we are leading the transformation of the industry,” said IRoger Alm, President Volvo Trucks. “It is less than two years ago since we showcased our heavy electric trucks for the very first time. Now we are ramping up volumes and will deliver these great trucks to customers all over Europe, and later on also to customers in Asia, Australia and Latin America.”

Series production of Volvo’s heaviest electric trucks will start in the Tuve factory in Gothenburg and next year the factory in Ghent, Belgium will follow. Volvo produces the electric trucks on the same line as its conventional trucks, which gives high production flexibility and efficiency gains. The batteries are supplied by Volvo Trucks’ new battery assembly plant in Ghent.

Demand increasing

Demand for electric trucks is rapidly increasing in many markets, with one driving force being the need for transport buyers to shift to fossil-free transports in order to meet their sustainability goals. Volvo Trucks’ electric portfolio could cover around 45% of all goods transported in Europe today.**

Alm added: “We have sold around 1,000 units of our heavy electric trucks and more than 2,600 of our electric trucks in total. We expect volumes to increase significantly in the next few years. By 2030, at least 50 per cent of the trucks we sell globally should be electric.”

Volvo Trucks’ electric line-up of six truck models covers a wide range of applications such as city distribution and refuse handling, regional transport and construction work.

A global view

Later the same day I spoke to Jan Strandhede, Media Relations Director at Volvo Trucks who told me: “We have a global view on reducing CO2 emissions and electromobility will be the main solution in many markets.

“Our global sales should be 50% electric in 2030. I am sure we will see this in Africa too, but I do not have any date/year for introduction.

“We have three technology paths for dealing with climate change, battery electric, fuel cell electric and combustion engines that run on renewable fuels.

“There are geographical, climate and other differences that affect what is the best choice. We will see a mix going forward. There will be interesting times ahead I suggest.

“The range for our battery truck is up to 440km for the VNR Electric sold in North America and around 300km for the cab over models. With fuel cell trucks we see a range of up to 1000km, comparable to diesel trucks.”

* Gross Combination Weight (GCW)

** According to Eurostat statistics Road Freight Transport by distance of 2018, 45% of all goods transported on road in Europe travel a distance of less than 300 km.

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TRADE NEWS: NAVTOR signs major agreement with Shoei Kisen for NavFleet

NAVTOR has secured an agreement with Shoei Kisen Kaisha, Ltd, one of Japan’s largest shipowners and managers, to deliver the NavFleet application across their fleet of managed vessels. The digital platform will allow the firm to securely share real-time vessel data with onshore teams, ensuring ‘next level’ monitoring of assets, supporting optimal safety, efficiency, compliance, and operational decision making.

Integrated approach

Shoei Kisen, a part of Imabari Shipbuilding (Japan’s largest shipbuilder), will now introduce NavFleet to the existing NAVTOR digital ecosystem onboard its bulk carriers and container ships. This integrated system includes the NavStation digital chart table software (with automated Passage Planning), NavBox, a certified cyber secure gateway for seamless data transfer, and NavCloud cloud computing services.

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

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Kaleris acquires Navis & launches first-of-a-kind Supply Chain Execution & Visibility Platform

Kaleris, a U.S. cloud-based transportation and asset management solutions provider, has announced the merger of market leader Navis into the Kaleris solutions portfolio.

Navis is the better-known firm internationally within the shipping and logistics sector, on account of the many Navis N4 type systems in use in port terminals across the world, including here in South Africa.

“We are thrilled to announce the merger of Navis, a leading provider of port, terminal, and vessel technology solutions, into [our] existing portfolio of supply chain execution solutions for yard management, transportation management, and maintenance and repair operations,” said Kirk Knauff, CEO of Kaleris.

490 implementations

“With more than 490 implementations in 80 countries, Navis joins Kaleris as its premier brand for optimising container and general cargo terminals worldwide.”

Kaleris simultaneously unveiled the launch of its Execution & Visibility Platform, a cloud-based logistics solution that empowers organisations to control and optimise the movement of goods across the supply chain by connecting operational insights and workflows across major nodes in the supply chain and modes of transportation.

“By creating a global platform, we can help our customers improve execution across the entire lifecycle of a shipment,” said Knauff.

“Navis adds a vital mode to our customer ecosystem and uniquely positions our platform to unlock new value for shippers, carriers, terminals, and asset owners through significant efficiency and productivity gains”, he said.

This productivity can be passed through to customers, delivering better outcomes for everyone through a connected, visible, sustainable supply chain.

Worldwide survey

A GEODIS Supply Chain Worldwide survey revealed that only 6% of enterprises indicate they have full visibility over their supply chain – this at a time when the global supply chain ïs increasing in complexity.

The survey identified disconnected workflows, multi-mode environments, multi-party dependencies, and data gaps that limit operational visibility at execution nodes, resulting in both inefficient operations and significantly higher costs for shippers, carriers, terminals, and asset owners.

Technology supporting the supply chain is equally fragmented, making it increasingly difficult to serve heightened consumer expectations while also amplifying current challenges and compounding market pressures globally.

“Connecting execution and visibility solutions is the key to a resilient supply chain,” Knauff says. “Knowing the real-time status of shipments as they move through each node in the supply chain has a powerful downstream effect, and this insight optimises all of the operations and modes that follow.”

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Sappi Saiccor’s R7.7 billion upgrade a boost for KZN and for exports

The R7.7 billion upgrade of the Sappi Saiccor Mill at Umkomaas on the KZN South Coast was lauded by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday this week, when he attended an event to mark the expansion.

The Sappi Saiccor upgrade and expansion project is aimed at increasing the capacity and global competitiveness of Sappi Saiccor Mill, while also creating employment opportunities in the short and long-term.

It also marks the fulfilment of a commitment the company made at the first South Africa Investment Conference in 2018, when President Ramaphosa called for investments into the South African economy.

The Conference was convened with the aim of raising R1.2 trillion in new investments over five years. Four years later, more than R1.1 trillion worth of investment commitments has been achieved.

President Ramaphosa said the opening of the Sappi Saiccor project was far more than a financial investment. “We are witnessing an investment in infrastructure, people, innovation, technology and sustainability,” he said.

“It is an investment in community development, in the local economy, in our export capacity and in the industrialisation of our economy.”

The Sappi Saiccor Mill is a major role player in KwaZulu-Natal, contributing over R6.7 billion annually to the local economy. The mill employs more than 1,200 staff and 700 contractors.

Ramaphosa said the project a number of the country’s national economic priorities. He said it supports sustainability and moving towards a circular economy.

“This facility supports our national carbon reduction goals. I am told that by using the best available technology, the aim is to halve CO2 fossil fuel emissions, significantly reduce plant CO2 emissions, reduce water consumption and reduce waste to landfill from coal ash by 48%.

“It is noteworthy that Sappi continues to use recycled and sustainable wood sources to produce circular and innovative bio-based products,” he said.

The mill is capable of producing about 780,000 tons of elemental chlorine-free dissolving pulp per annum, mostly for the export market.

The expansion programme will take the mill’s capacity to 890,000 tons per annum once completed

Dissolving pulp is used to manufacture a wide range of consumer products, in particular for viscose staple fibre used in clothing and textiles. Unlike many synthetic raw materials, the product supplied by Sappi Pulp is produced from a natural and renewable resource, timber.

According to Sappi, the timber consumption of Saiccor Mill and Ngodwana Mills in Mpumalanga is comprised primarily of eucalyptus hardwoods. These fast-growing trees are grown in relatively close proximity to the mills, which contribute to the business’ position as a competitive producer of dissolving pulp.

Sappi is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of dissolving pulp from its two mills in South Africa and in North America (Cloquet Mill) and exports almost all of its product, although some volumes also sold to customers in the home markets.

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OBITUARY: Shane Dwyer, maritime lawyer

Well-known Durban maritime and international trade lawyer, Shane Dwyer, has passed away at his home on Tuesday 13 September, after a long illness bravely borne. He was 76.

Shane Dwyer’s spent his career with Durban law firm Shepstone & Wylie.

His colleagues described him as a man of exceptional ability, steadfastly loyal to his firm, his friends and clients, and with a work ethic that is difficult for anyone to emulate.

Dwyer earned his BA at the University of Stellenbosch and a LLB at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He commenced articles with Shepstone and Wylie in 1972 and such was his ability and drive that he was made a partner in 1975. His contribution to his firm has been described as extraordinary.

Even though he was able to retire in 2012, at the age of 66, it became unimaginable that he would retire and be lost to his profession. He therefore continued to serve Shepstone and Wylie up until a couple of months ago — completing an impressive period of 50 years’ service.

Dwyer dealt with ‘wet work’ (collisions, salvage, groundings and wreck removals), and was involved in most major marine casualties on the Southern African coast and as far up as East Africa.

He also dealt with general admiralty claims and arrests, ship broking, non-contentious ship building contracts, charter parties, ship purchase, mortgages and financing contracts, air law and cross border international trade.

Shane Dwyer was a member of the Maritime Law Association (MLA) and a past member of their EXCO. He was also a member of the Chartered Institute of Ship Brokers, a member of the International Bar Association (IBA), and an honorary member of Master Mariners Association.

During his career he published numerous papers on maritime and air law in specialist publications and was one of the contributing authors to the South African Chapter of the International Comparative Legal Guide to Shipping Law.

In November last year Shane Dwyer was awarded ‘Lawyer of the Year’ for Maritime & Shipping law in South Africa by Best Lawyers for 2021/2022. This is an accolade based on peer review feedback by industry experts and only one lawyer is recognised in each field annually.

Shane Dwyer will always be synonymous with Shepstone and Wylie and his legacy will remain.

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NIMASA ordered to deploy unused new floating dock

Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation has ordered the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to place into service a new floating dock without delay.

The floating dock, which was built for Nigeria by Damen Shipyards at a cost of N50 billion (US$116.6 million) and was delivered in June 2018, has remained idle while a dispute over a suitable site for the dock and associated ship repair facility has continued.

According to a former head of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, the intention was to deploy the floating dock to Okerenkoko in Delta State. This, he explained at the time, is the site of the Nigerian Maritime University to which the dock was to have been attached for training purposes.

The dock never reached Okerenkoko because subsequent reports said the site was unsuitable and possessed security challenges.

Instead, said Peterside, the dock would remain in Lagos at the naval dockyard.

Questions were raised as to whether the acquisition of a floating dock was necessary in the first place, with this deflected by saying the decision to buy a dock was taken by the previous NIMASA director general, Patrick Akpobolekemi, who later lost his job.

Since then Dr Dakuku Peterside has gone the way of Akpobolekemi, while the floating dock has remained in Lagos, unused but not forgotten, as periodic assurances have been given that it will shortly be placed in service.

The unused floating dock measures 125 metres in length by 35m wide and is equipped with three cranes and various necessary ancillary equipment.

With a substantial number of ships calling in the West African region, and to Nigeria in particular, it was thought there would be ample opportunities for the dock to be gainfully employed.

Transportation Minister Mu’azu Jaji Sambo has meanwhile grown tired of the inaction and issued orders to NIMASA to promptly deploy the floating dock.

Acknowledging the minister’s instruction, the current head of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, told the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko, that the floating dock has “come here to stay” and that arrangements for its deployment have been concluded.

“The date for its commissioning would be announced soon,” he said.

For his part, Bello Koko confirmed the NPA’s support and indicated that the NPA’s Continental Dockyard would take delivery of the NIMASA floating dock at its facility in Lagos.

“We look forward to patronising and using the dockyard facility for our vessels and other vessels of government agencies,” he said.

Lagos has a second floating dock, together with a graving dock, both owned  and operated by Nigerdock Shipyard on Snake Island, Lagos.

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ROAD TRANSPORT: Dachser SA enhances capabilities with new custom fleet

African and international logistics specialist Dachser South Africa has expanded its Johannesburg-based road freight fleet with eleven new Hino trucks, enhancing the companies road freight capabilities through Africa.

Over the next few months, the vehicle fleet in the company’s Cape Town office will also be expanded. In a statement Dachser SA said this expansion is being driven by growth in demand and by delivering on the specialised needs of clients of the South African operation as the country emerges from the challenges of the pandemic.

We’re excited to extend our fleet of Hino trucks, which are robust, reliable and have sophisticated in-vehicle technology that makes them an ideal tool in the integrated logistics solutions we offer for customers,”” says Detlev Duve, Managing Director of Dachser South Africa.

He said the decision to purchase these trucks, ranging from 4-ton to 15-ton vehicles and including flatbeds, tautliners and pantechnicons, was based on Hino’s proven track record for manufacturing high-quality, reliable vehicles.

“They are factory-fitted with all the creature comforts that make the driver’s experience much more enjoyable, so that they can focus on providing the best service possible,” Duve said.

Two of the new vehicles have been custom built for specific client needs, reflecting Dachser South Africa’s commitment to tailoring logistics to meet specific client requirements as a valued strategic partner.

“To meet the needs of the solar, heavy office equipment and medical industries, the trucks are equipped with tail lifts and cantilevers. This makes deliveries to smaller premises easier and safer, where forklifts are not always available.”

He said all vehicles are hazardous goods compliant and fitted with cameras and tracking devices to optimise track and trace capabilities.

“Our strategic goal has always been to work closely with our clients to ensure that we put structures and services in place to fit their needs, whether it be in the warehouse or on our vehicles. We build our longterm client relationships this way,” said Duve.

Dachser South Africa has provided a highly competitive road freight service for over twenty years, including over-border consolidation and full truckload services. The company provides general road, air and sea freight transport.

This is supplemented by specialised transport services for industry-specific materials including foodstuffs, chemicals, spares and bulk mining machinery.

Road freight in Africa can pose clear challenges and logistics companies must be prepared to be competitive, according to Duve.

“Transporting goods throughout the continent requires a strong fleet, an established network of support partners, a team that has up-to-date information on multi-country customs and border control changes or requirements, solid tracking processes, and hands-on knowledge of diverse infrastructures and the challenges they may present.”

Duve said Dachser SA manages supply chains using its digital, real-time platform to ensure that both the client and the consignee are able to see where the consignment is at all times.

“With our strong network, we are continuously developing new routes, building our fleet and devising sustainable road freight and logistics processes. By doing so, we are supporting our client’s growth on the African continent and the continued development of Africa’s overall prosperity. It’s exciting to be a part of this growth.”

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IN CONVERSATION: WTO head Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: how trade can help beat inequality

Dorrit Posel, University of the Witwatersrand

In a recent study South Africa was identified as ranking first of 164 countries in the World Bank’s global poverty database. Underlying this inequality is its very high rates of unemployment. Professor Dori Posel spoke to World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala about why trade is important in tackling joblessness and inequality. And her experiences of fighting corruption in Nigeria.

Professor Posel: You’ve said that the WTO is all about people. How do we ensure that global trade reduces inequality both between and within countries?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Trade tends to have a bad name, especially among young people. For them it’s synonymous with globalisation, which they don’t see as a good thing.

But trade has been an instrument for lifting over a billion people out of poverty. It’s worth remembering that in 1980, over 40% of the world’s population lived on less than $1.90 a day, and that just before the pandemic this had gone down to 10%.

And a lot of that was due to the effects of bringing into the global trading system countries that were outside of it. Admittedly, China is a shining example of a country that benefited the most from this trade.

So trade has had its benefits.

That being said, it is undoubtedly true that poor countries were left behind. Now, the WTO charter is about creating employment, enhancing living standards, supporting sustainable development. It’s all about people.

I’m constantly looking at how rules for trade can bring micro, small and medium enterprises that are usually left out into the national, regional and global value chains. This includes women, many of whom own these kinds of enterprises. This is one way you can help create more employment, enhance incomes and so on.

The discussion now about the diversification of supply chains presents an opportunity to use trade as an instrument for inclusion. And I call it re-globalisation. We are talking to companies in developed countries to adopt a strategy of global diversification of value chains. That way they can look at Africa. Take South Africa. It is capable of attracting some of these supply chains. Other African countries that are capable are Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda and Nigeria.

Prof Posel: Could you elaborate on how WTO mechanisms can be used to benefit African countries?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: Africa contributes less than 3% of world merchandise trade. And that is tiny. So how do we turn it around?

We have to trade more among ourselves. Trade among ourselves is only about 15% to 16% (of our trade). But we are all selling the same things. So we need to step back a little. We need to see how we add value. I don’t think we can grab a bigger share of world trade without adding value to the products we have.

So that is why I’m passionate about supply chains.

I see a big opportunity in pharmaceuticals because everybody’s eyes have now opened to the fact that Africa cannot continue with 99% of its vaccines produced elsewhere and 95% of other medicines. Africa has the unique opportunity not just about vaccines, but bringing in the pharmaceutical supply chains on the continent.

We’ve been working with the CEOs to see how we can encourage them to diversify their supply chains in Africa.

We should also have the same approach on the continent to attract companies that can help us add value to our products, to help create employment for young people. Actually, if we don’t do this we will have social instability. And it’s already happening in many of our countries. So this is no joke.

There’s a branch of the WTO called the International Trade Centre. Its job is to really focus on SMEs – small and medium enterprises – and on women, and try to help them penetrate external markets. But they need help. For example, there are lots of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements they must meet to export. In Nigeria, the centre has been working with shea butter producers who had been trying to break into world markets, but were banned from the US and Europe because they didn’t meet the standards. And over five or more years, they worked with them to upgrade the quality of their shea butter. Now they are exporting to the US. This is a group of women cooperatives that are exporting to Europe. They’ve more than doubled their incomes.

Prof Posel: I would like us to move on to another set of constraints on job growth in South Africa. And this concerns issues around trust and corruption. What is your advice to us in South Africa on this particular issue?

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala: All I can do is share some of my experiences in Nigeria. And some of the ways we approached it. Before I do that, let me say that, you know, a lot of public corruption is also linked to public procurement.

One of the things to look at immediately is how to institutionalise transparent processes. We looked at how to set up a system with lots of transparency because we found a lot of corruption was coming from public procurement. So we introduced rules of the game that had to be followed at certain thresholds.

Was it 100% successful in curbing that?

No, but it did introduce a safeguard into the system so that people didn’t have a free for all.

But let me tell you one thing that has been quite helpful, at least in my time in fighting corruption, is technology.

I’ll just give one example. When I took office as minister of finance in Nigeria, we would get the payroll, let’s say the ministry of agriculture would come to me and say we have X number of people on the payroll, they would send this in, and then we would pay against that.

A lot of things were manual. And corruption had become entrenched because people could introduce ghost workers who became ghost pensioners.

I stood back and with the the economic team and with the support of the president, of course, we thought about introducing government financial management systems based on technology, so that we could take out as much of the manual and human intervention as possible. And we had an integrated payroll and personnel management system that had technology built in so that everyone could be identified.

We had a government financial system that was based on technology that linked the budget, the Treasury, to the other departments, so we didn’t have all this manual stuff.

So again, did that solve the entire problem? The answer is no. But it did solve a lot. We were able to save about US$1 billion by wiping out a lot of these ghost workers and ghost pensioners from the payroll. It’s still not perfect, but we did a lot.

So when you have stealing of state assets, we now have all sorts of technology that can be introduced to see what’s actually happening. We all know we have systems of cameras and drones and things that can be used to monitor what is going on. Technology helps in prosecutions. Prosecutions must take place so people know they can’t get away with it.

There’s no magic bullet, you need an array of policies, technologies, you need to be crystal clear. And people need to know that fighting corruption starts with them. Technology is not the perfect solution, but it can help in certain circumstances.

It starts with you, you have to take responsibility, not just waiting for government or some nebulous organisation to fight it. But that demands courage.

*This is an edited excerpt of the Wits School of Economics and Finance’s centenary webinar titled 100 Years of Economics at Wits: Reflecting on the Past, Looking to the Future. The event can be watched here.

Dorrit Posel, Professor in the School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand

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

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WHARF TALK: Royal visits to South Africa – in the 19th Century

Story by Jay Gates

With the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, it brings back memories of not only her visits to South Africa, but those of other Royals. To most people, it is probably thought that such visits only happened in the 20th Century.

There is probably not a person alive, within the South African shipping industry, or who has a passion for maritime matters, who has not seen at least one of the many photographs that recorded the arrival in Cape Town of HMS Vanguard, and the occasion of the visit of the Royal Family of King George VI in 1947.

It was during that visit that, the then, Princess Elizabeth proclaimed that her life would one of service to her people. No-one can ever say that she failed to live up to that promise.

Of course, she returned to Cape Town in 1995, when she first flew into Cape Town International Airport, and then transferred to the Royal Yacht, HMY Britannia, that awaited her in Simonstown Naval Base. The next day, with now Queen Elizabeth on board, HMY Britannia sailed serenely into the V&A of Cape Town harbour.

It was to be the second last visit she made to the country, and with the decommissioning of HMY Britannia in 1997, it brought to an end the era of Royal visits to South Africa by ship. The question asked is when did the first Royal visit take place. The answer lies in the 19th Century.

In October 1858, Queen Victoria’s fourth child, and second son, Prince Alfred (1844-1900), joined the Royal Navy as an Officer Cadet. He was to become a career Naval Officer, and his climb through the Officer ranks was, not unsurprisingly, very rapid. By March 1860, as a 15 year old, he had passed his Midshipman Examinations, and was awarded that rank. He had been assigned to HMS Euryalus, a 4th Rate, Forte Class, Frigate. On 5th May 1860, under the command of Captain John Tarleton RN, the ship sailed from Portsmouth, bound for Africa.

On 24th July 1860, HMS Euryalus arrived at Simonstown, from Sierra Leone, with Prince Alfred becoming the first ever member of the British Royal family to step foot on South African soil. The Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Grey, entertained Prince Alfred at Government House, where the Prince stayed over, and where a full tour programme of South Africa had been drawn up.

After a week of gaiety, in and around Cape Town, HMS Euryalus sailed for Algoa Bay, arriving there on 6th August. On arrival, both Prince Alfred, and Sir George Grey, disembarked and began a tour of the Cape Colony, Kaffraria, The Orange River Free State, and Natal. It included formal visits to Grahamstown, King Williamstown, Queenstown, Bloemfontein, Pietermaritzburg and Durban. In Pietermaritzburg, Prince Albert laid the foundation stone to the new Town Hall.

The entourage arrived in Durban on 5th September, after a month long journey. The accommodation for Prince Alfred, whilst he was in Durban, was at the Masonic Hotel which, as a result of his stay, had its name changed to the Royal Hotel.

As his land tour progressed, HMS Euryalus was undertaking a coastal sea cruise to meet him in Durban. They departed back to Simonstown, arriving there on 14th September. From there Prince Alfred was taken to Cape Town, where on 17th September 1860, he tipped the first rubble load into the waters of Table Bay, thus inaugurating the start of the breakwater that would eventually become Cape Town’s first enclosed dock. Soon after, HMS Euryalus returned to England.

HMS Euryalus was a 4th Rate, Forte Class, Frigate. She was built at Chatham Dockyard in Kent, and launched in October 1853. She was 65 metres in length and had a displacement of 3,125 tons. She was a steam assisted vessel, with three masts, all square rigged, and with a 400 bhp (300 kW) steam engine, driving a single screw for a service speed of 12 knots.

Normally crewed with a complement of 515 Officers and Crew, she was armed with 28 x 8” (204mm) guns on her main deck, of which 17 of them were Armstrong, breech loading guns, and 22 x 32 pounder guns on her quarter and forecastle decks. Her magazine held 70 tons of shot and shell. She was paid off in September 1865, being broken up in 1867.

However, this was not the last time that South Africa got to see Prince Alfred. In 1866 he was granted the title of Duke of Edinburgh, as well as attaining the rank of Captain, and being given command of HMS Galatea, at the tender age of 22 years.

HMS Galatea sailed from Plymouth on 24th January 1867 bound on a world cruise. Her route eventually took her to South America, and after sailing from Rio de Janeiro, she headed for a historic call at the small British island of Tristan da Cunha, in the South Atlantic Ocean, where she arrived on 5th August.

The islanders on Tristan were so taken with the visit of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh, that they requested that their settlement be allowed to be renamed in his honour. To this day, it is to be seen on nautical charts as Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. The event was important enough, that in 1965 the postal authorities, on Tristan da Cunha, issued a postage stamp that featured HMS Galatea.

Sailing from Tristan da Cunha, HMS Galatea headed for South Africa, where they arrived in Simonstown on 24th August. Shortly afterwards, she moved around Cape Point and went to anchor off Cape Town. She was to spend two months at the Cape, and in early October she sailed for Australia, arriving at Adelaide on 31st October 1867, being the first member of the British Royal family to set foot on Australian soil.

After a voyage that lasted for 17 months, HMS Galatea arrived back in Portsmouth on 28th June 1868. Prince Alfred retained command, and three years later he returned for a third, and last, time to South Africa and Cape Town. HMS Galatea was en-route home from a visit to India where, again, Prince Alfred became the first member of the British Royal family to visit India.

HMS Galatea arrived off Cape Town in July 1870. His visit coincided with the completion of the new enclosed basin, the oldest enclosed dock in South Africa, and Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, officially opened the dock complex, which was given his name, the Alfred Basin. On sailing back to England, Prince Alfred never returned to South Africa, but this was not the end of Royal visits in the 19th Century, although not necessarily British Royals.

HMS Galatea was a 6th Rate Frigate, of the Jason Class. She was launched in September 1859 at the Woolwich Shipyard, on the River Thames, in London. She was 85 metres in length, and had a displacement of 4,686 tons. She was three masted, with a square rig sail plan, and she had a 2 cylinder, horizontal, single expansion engine of 800 bhp.

She was manned with a crew of 450 Officers and Ratings, and was armed with 24 x 10” (254mm) guns on her lower deck, and 2 x 68 pounder guns on her upper deck, both of which were mounted on swivels. She was decommissioned and broken up in 1883.

In 1879 the Anglo-Zulu war erupted in Natal, and Britain was fighting a colonial war that brought a famous victory for the Zulus at Isandlwana, and an equally famous defence by the British at Rorkes Drift. Into that war was to come a member of the French Royal Bonaparte, family, although they had been exiled to Britain.

Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph Bonaparte, the French Prince Imperial (1856-1879), was the only child of Napoleon III, Emperor of the French, and Empress Eugénie. His father had been exiled to England, and the Prince Imperial had joined the British Army, requesting to serve in the Zulu War. As a Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery, he sailed from Southampton, for South Africa, on 27th February 1879.

His voyage was aboard the Union Steamship Company’s ‘Danube’, under the command of Captain H.E. Draper, and the vessel arrived in Cape Town on 26th March. The Prince Imperial was met on arrival by the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Bartle Frere, and taken to Government House for dinner, and to stay the night. The next day, 27th March, ‘Danube’ sailed for Durban, arriving there on 31st March 1879, where the Prince Imperial disembarked.

The steamship ‘Danube’ was built in 1866 by the Millwall Ironworks, at Millwall on the River Thames. She was 106 metres in length, and has a gross tonnage of 2,039 tons. She had a service speed of 12 knots, and was broken up in 1888.

Despite misgivings about having a Royal Prince in a potential war zone, the Prince Imperial managed to get himself to the front line, where he not supposed to be allowed into any dangerous areas, and should have had a robust bodyguard with him at all times.

On 1st June 1879, despite all the protections supposedly given to him, his small party was ambushed and attacked by a Zulu Impi. The Prince Imperial was unable to mount his horse to make his escape, and despite fighting back bravely, he was killed, receiving no less than 17 assegai wounds. His body was mutilated, and left where he fell, to be recovered the next day.

His body was transported back to Durban, where he was taken aboard HMS Boadicea, and on 11th June, she sailed from Durban, bound for Simonstown, where she arrived on 15th June 1879. From there the body was transferred to the waiting troopship, HMS Orontes, which had been prepared for, and was waiting for the arrival of the Prince Imperial’s coffin. They sailed immediately for England, arriving back in Plymouth on 10th July 1879.

HMS Boadicea was a Bacchante Class Corvette, built in 1875 at the Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. She was 85 metres in length and had a displacement of 4,135 tons. She was three masted, all square rigged, and had a horizontal, return, connecting engine of 5,420 bhp (4,042 kW), giving her a service speed of 15 knots. She had a crew of 375 Officers and Ratings, and was decommissioned in 1897.

HMS Orontes was designed exclusively as a troopship, specifically for transporting troops to either Southern Africa, or the West Indies. She was launched in 1862 by the Cammell Laird shipyard at Birkenhead, on the River Mersey. She was 91 metres in length and had a displacement of 4,857 tons. She was nominally armed with three 4 pounder guns, and she was broken up in 1893.

At home, his grieving mother, the Empress Eugénie, was determined to visit the site where her son was killed. With permission, and assistance, from Queen Victoria, she boarded the Union Steamship Company vessel ‘German’, under the command of Captain Coxwell, and sailed from Southampton on 25th March 1880. The sensitivities of the voyage meant the she travelled incognito, as Countess de Pierrefonds, and where three adjoining cabins were given over to her.

The ‘German’ was built in 1877 by William Denny, at Dumbarton on the River Clyde. She was 106 metres in length and had a gross tonnage of 3,028 tons. She had a 2 cylinder steam engine, producing 231 bhp, for a service speed of 12.5 knots. She was sold for further service in 1896.

She arrived at Cape Town on 16th April, and like her son, she was met by Sir Bartle Frere, and taken to Government House. She remained there until 20th April, when ‘German’ was ready to sail for Durban, and where she arrived on 23rd April 1879. After a short period, she made her way into Zululand, in order to carry out a vigil at the spot where the Prince Imperial died.

Empress Eugenie then made her way back to Durban, and boarding the Union Steamship Company vessel ‘Asiatic’, under the command of Captain Garrett, she departed Durban on 24th June, bound for Algoa Bay. On arrival off Port Elizabeth, she transferred to the Union Steamship Company vessel ‘Trojan’, which sailed for Cape Town, and England. She arrived back in Plymouth on 27th July 1880.

The ‘Asiatic’ was built in 1872 by Whitehaven Shipbuilding, at Whitehaven in Cumberland. She was 91 metres in length and had a gross tonnage of 2,087 tons. She had a 2 cylinder steam engine producing 274 bhp, for a service speed of 12 knots. She had the distinction, on 28th April 1884, of running aground, 8 nautical miles west of Mossel Bay. She was refloated and returned to service, She was sold for further service in 1888.

The ‘Trojan’ was built in 1880 by John Thomson of Glasgow. She was 111 metres in length and had a gross tonnage of 3,555 tons. She had a 2 cylinder steam engine producing 600 bhp. During the Boer War she was converted to a Hospital Ship, and renamed ‘Hospital Ship No.10’. She was sold for further service in 1900.

The funeral procession for the Prince Imperial included Queen Victoria, and he was finally laid to rest alongside his Father in a mausoleum constructed by his mother, and known as the Imperial Crypt at St Michael’s Abbey, in Farnborough, Kent.

The place where he fell is now marked by a memorial, known as the Prince Imperial Memorial. It is located near Nqutu, in KwaZulu-Natal. The memorial was erected on the orders of Queen Victoria, who paid for it, in 1880.

There were no further Royal visits, by sea, to South Africa, for the remaining years of the 19th Century. However, this was not the end of such visits, and the 20th Century to come promised more, which is, itself, another story still to come.

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Uganda-owned ferry Pamba returns to service on Lake Victoria

Another of the three lake wagon ferries, the mv PAMBA, has finally returned to service by a privately-owned operator.

Mango Tree Group, a Uganda-based Chinese-owned maritime enterprise, has completed the overhaul and rebuilding of the wagon ferry, PAMBA, which was originally built in 1986 by the Belgian Ship Incorporation. The ship was then dismantled and shipped to East Africa to be re-assembled at Port Bell in Uganda and placed on service on Lake Victoria.

Pamba was one of three similar ferries acquired at the time, the other two being KAAWA and KABALEGA. In 2005 Kabalega sank after a collision with Kaawa between Kuye and Bukasa islands in Kalangala, and remains submerged in 50 metres of water.

Kaawa, which is owned by the Uganda Railway Corporation, was grounded but returned to service in 2012. In 2020 she was again suspended pending extensive repairs and upgrading of her equipment.

Mango Group’s General manager, Franck Menard, said the refurbished Pamba, which is on a 15-year lease from the Ugandan government, will provide a service carrying cargo between Jinja in Uganda and Mwanza in Tanzania. The ferry will also operate to Kisumu in Kenya, a day’s sailing from Uganda.

Menard said the 1,200-tonne capacity Pamba can carry 22 fully loaded wagons and general cargo including perishables in cooling units.

He said there was a strong imperative to use lake transport to replace trucks on the road. His company was also in talks with Kenya Railways Corporation with the intention of accepting cargo arriving in the Kenya port of Kisumu from the port of Mombasa.

Such cargo can be delivered efficiently to Mwanza at the southern end of Lake Victoria, or at Port Bell and Jinja in Uganda. He said a market study revealed a huge potential for lake transport over the next 20 years.

The wagon ferry has a length of 91 metres and is powered by two main engines.

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Mozambique’s INAMAR levies fees for all users of coastline and sea

Another sign of Africa’s predilection for adding red tape and bureaucracy (including money collection) comes with the announcement that INAMAR (Mozambique’s National Maritime Institute) has commenced issuing licences to tourist resorts, ports and harbours, and companies carrying out offshore surveys for either prospecting purposes or scientific research, and to pay a fee for the use of ‘maritime space’.

This applies user fees to any company operating along Mozambique’s very long coastline or on the water within the 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The government recently approved a new legal framework on the use of maritime space in order to regulate the collection of fees.

INAMAR spokesman Leonard Chimarizene explained that the sea provides many opportunities for different activities, therefore the need to regulate its use – what he called the maritime space.

He was quoted in the daily Noticias that all entities involved in commercial activities inside the maritime space are now required to pay a user fee.

It is reported that INAMAR has already commenced issuing licences for tourist resorts, ports, harbours and companies carrying out offshore prospecting provided they have paid the necessary fee.

In Mozambique there is no private ownership of land. Land and its associated resources remain the property of the State. The Land Law, however, grants private persons the right to use and benefit from the land and this is known as Direito do Uso e Aproveitamento da Terra (DUAT).

DUAT of course comes at a fee, payable to government. So those ‘resorts’ and other organisations or individuals operating offshore, while already paying DUAT fees for their premises on land, must now pay when they put to sea for commercial purposes.

“It’s the law, all tourism resorts will have to pay, but we are going to launch a campaign to explain business operators about the procedures to be followed,” Chimarizene said.

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IMO training: Preventing loss of containers in west and central Africa

Training on measures to prevent loss of containers was held in Accra, Ghana from 5-9 September for officials from nine west and central African countries.

Representatives from these States attended: Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sierra Leone.

This workshop was attended by officials from container terminals, port authorities, stevedores, local shippers and cargo forwarding agents, maritime administrations, the national competent authority for container safety, and authorities responsible for certification of weights and measures.

Ghana Maritime Authority

IMO ran the event with the Ghana Maritime Authority to support the full implementation of relevant requirements/recommendations, namely:

* Amendments to SOLAS regulations VI/2.4 to VI/2.6 regarding requirements for the verification of the gross mass (VGM) of packed containers (SOLAS VGM requirements), which entered into force on 1 July 2016.

* The IMO/ILO/UNECE CTU Code (MSC.1/Circ.1497) and the associated informative material (MSC.1/Circ.1498).

* The Due diligence checklist in identifying providers of CTU-related services (MSC.1/Circ.1531).

* The revised ISO 1161 (Series 1 freight containers – Corner fittings – Specifications) and ISO 3874 (Series 1 freight containers – Handling and securing) and

* Best practices for preventing the use of counterfeit refrigerants.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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HAL makes ‘unconditional’ offer to acquire Royal Boskalis Westminster NV

HAL Investments BV has made an unconditional offer to acquire a majority of shares (82.2%) in Royal Boskalis Westminster BV, the Dutch dredging and heavylift company.

With the offer having been made ‘unconditional’ it means the offer price (Eur 33) is final by law, with a settlement to take place on 14 September 2022(today, Wednesday).

The remaining shares can be tendered during the Post-Acceptance Period at same offer terms from between 8 and 20 September 2022.

Earlier, the Boskalis Boards unanimously recommended to shareholders to accept the offer.

Boskalis

Boskalis, which owns one of the world’s largest dredging fleets, owns a large stake in SMIT International, and also owns heavylift company Dockwise. Boskalis employs around 10,000 people and runs a fleet of 650 ships of all types.

The company operates in over 75 countries. It was founded in 1910 in The Netherlands and partnered with an English dredging firm Westminster Dredging Company in 1933 and in 1978 was granted the designation ‘Royal’, hence the current name Royal Boskalis Westminster.

Two Boskalis tugs were involved with the refloating of the giant Ever Given container ship aground in the Suez Canal in March 2021.

HAL Investments

HAL Investments is the investment subsidiary of HAL Holding NV, listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange via HAL Trust and dates back to 1873 as the Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaartmaatschappij (N.A.S.M.) and was founded in Rotterdam.

This was later renamed to the more familiar Holland Amerika Line (HAL), whose last shipping activities were sold in 1989. As a results of these proceeds HAL Investments began its investment activities which today consist of a diverse portfolio of internationally active companies.

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Durban Container Terminal extends date of implementing changed free import storage rule

The Durban Container Terminals (DCT) have extended the date of implementing the changed free import storage rule by one month following robust engagements with its stakeholders last month.

DCT Pier 2 will now move implementation from 1 September to 1 October 2022 while DCT Pier 1 will move implementation from 1 October to 1 November 2022.

The terminals have re-looked at the free 72 hours an importer has to collect a container. Previously, the counting of the free 72 hours would start after all containers on a vessel had been offloaded. Now, the counting of the free 72 hours will begin 24 hours after a container is discharged from the vessel and placed in the stacking area.

There will be no change in the tariff regime and there will be no additional charges for importers. Transporters will receive notifications in real time from the terminal operating system Navis to ensure effectiveness.

According to Durban Terminals Managing Executive Earl Peters, the change in the free import storage rule was aimed at improving yard fluidity, container handling efficiencies and will aid a phased out collection process that ensured fluidity on public roads and within the operational area at the terminals.

“We have decided to change the implementation dates so that our stakeholders can adequately prepare their systems, customers and supply chains to integrate with the changes,” said Peters.

The change in rule will be applicable to vessels berthing from the first day of implementation. Vessels that commenced work before the implementation date and end after the implementation date will follow the previous rule and will be billed accordingly.

The Durban Container Terminals have embarked on various initiatives to maintain terminal fluidity including the container appointment system, which will ensure that terminals are treated as throughput facilities.

“Through this initiative, we are able to optimise existing capacity and importantly – eliminate wasted time as congestion in the stacking area slows down the operation” said Peters.

He added that this way, the terminals will discourage the truck congestion associated with pick up on the last 24 hours of the allocated free 72 hours.

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Public comment on revised Bunkering Codes is extended by one month

Stakeholders in South Africa’s bunkering subsector, including the public, have been given another opportunity to make comments on South Africa’s Codes of Practice for both bunkering and ship-to-ship transfers (cargo transfers).

That’s according to a joint statement issued last week by the State institutions charged with managing the process.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA), Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), the Department of Transport (DoT) and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) said they jointly issued the public invitation for further comment on South Africa’s set of Codes of Good Practice for Bunkering Services and Ship-To-Ship Transfers as part of a process towards their finalisation and publication.

The public call is contained in a Marine Information Notice (MIN 10-22) published on the SAMSA website on Thursday, 8 September 2022. The set of Codes of Practice comprise the South African Bunkering Code of Practice, and South African Ship to Ship Code of Practice for Cargo Transfers.

In the Notice, the public entities jointly state that the reason for the extended call is to allow stakeholders an opportunity to make further inputs on the amended and consolidated set of draft Codes of Practices for both bunkering and cargo transfers.

The sets of Codes have now been expanded to also cover specifically Ship to Ship Cargo Transfers.

Statement

“A moratorium was put in place on the approval of any new permanent service providers in Algoa Bay and whose lifting would be conditional to the completion of the publication of the Codes of Practice, and the completion of an Environmental Risk Assessment by TNPA for Algoa Bay,” reads the statement by the respective organisations.

“The DOT, DFFE, SAMSA and TNPA opted to provide industry a combined code of practice where each entity’s approval requirements are consolidated in one place to allow the industry an easy reference guide for these types of operations.

“The codes also provide references to the various sections of legislation that are applicable for each government department and are aimed to show how the DFFE, TNPA and SAMSA aim to work together to approve these activities to ensure a unified approach.

“The Codes of Practises are not intended to remove any jurisdiction or duties from either the DFFE, TNPA or SAMSA to regulate the industry.”

According to the statement by SAMSA, TNPA, DFFE and DoT, stakeholders will have until 22 September 2022 to submit their comments. Stakeholders’ comments can be submitted to tsu@samsa.org.za

The final Codes will be submitted to the Department of Transport once completed. source: SAMSA

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Dredging contract awarded to widen and deepen Monrovia’s port channels

Acting under a mandate from the NPA Board of Directors, the National Port Authority and APM Terminals have executed a Dredging Project Financing & Execution Agreement on the need for dredging and widening of the port channels of the Freeport of Monrovia.

The agreement was signed on 30 August 2022 which will result in the Freeport being able to restore the draught and width of the harbour channel and approach to the original design levels of 2011.

The restoration of the draught covers the removal of one million cubic metres of sand sedimentation.

This will restore the original width and draught of vessels back to 32 metres in width and 12 metres of draught as against the current reduced allowable 28m and 9.5 metres.

This draught and width increase is necessary to permit larger vessels to enter the Freeport, a condition that will lead to larger import parcel sizes.

This will directly provide benefits to importers by providing a significant offset to the ever-rising cost of vessel leasing per parcel size and ultimately provide inflation reduction to the Liberian consumers.

Urgent need for dredging

NPA Chairman of the Board, Matthew Gueh said that on reviewing the proposal from APM Terminals Liberia and surveying the situation in the harbour, it was clear something needed to be done urgently.

“After consultations with Board Directors and the Honorable Ministers serving on the Board, a decision was made to move forward with the APM Terminals Liberia proposal. The execution of the agreement will not only immediately remedy the current restrictions in the Freeport but also allow for the Freeport to increase the benefit to the business community and all Liberia consumers.”

The cost of the dredging is expected to be up to US$6 million, including the cost of global expertise in marine engineering, tidal and ocean current engineers, and one of the leading dredging companies globally.

As part of the agreement, APM Terminals Liberia will execute the preliminary engineering studies, procure, contract and execute the dredging program.

APM Terminals Liberia will pre-fund the entire value of the program through interest-free financing and recover the cost over the next 36 months through deductions in concession fees paid to the NPA.

Jonathan Graham, Managing Director of APM Terminals Liberia described the historic agreement as being driven by the notable partnership that has been developed between the various Ministries and Government agencies.

This agreement will better allow both NPA and APM Terminals Liberia to provide a higher level of service and efficiency for the stakeholders of Freeport,” Graham said.

“We are pleased we were able to work with the various government agencies to ensure all compliance requirements were completed for the NPA Board of Directors to resolve to move forward on our proposal to implement a more sustainable dredging program in Freeport.”

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Exmar confirms sale of FLNG Tango to Eni, along with LNG gas tanker charter

Belgian shipowner Exmar has confirmed the sale of its floating liquefaction unit (FLNG) TANGO to Italian oil major, Eni.

The Tango FLNG was delivered to Exmar in 2017 and has a storage capacity of 16,100m³ of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and a liquefaction capacity of up to 0.6 million tons per year.

Tango will be deployed in the Eni-managed offshore Marine XII block in the Republic of the Congo.

The FLNG was sold to Eni for between US$572 and $694 million, depending on the production performance of the Tango FLNG during the first six months on action offshore the Congo.

Included in the Tango transaction, both parties have agreed to a 10-year charter for a floating storage unit (FSU), which will be based on the conversion of an LNG tanker.

In addition, Exmar will provide operational and maintenance services for both TANGO FLNG and the FSU, in addition to technical services for the project.

Separate contracts will be closed for the operational and maintenance services.

In a further development, it is understood the FSU will be converted from EXCALIBUR (IMO 9230050), Exmar’s only LNG carrier, which will now go into dry dock to be converted as a floating storage unit to work alongside the Tango FLNG.

The Belgium-flagged Excalibur was built in 2002 and has a length of 277 metres and a width of 44m.

“We are delighted to partner with Eni, who are working to help increase their supplies of LNG on an accelerated basis,” said Exmar’s Executive Chairman, Nicolas Saverys.

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Exmar confirms sale of FLNG Tango to Eni, along with LNG gas tanker charter

Belgian shipowner Exmar has confirmed the sale of its floating liquefaction unit (FLNG) TANGO to Italian oil major, Eni.

The Tango FLNG was delivered to Exmar in 2017 and has a storage capacity of 16,100m³ of LNG (liquefied natural gas) and a liquefaction capacity of up to 0.6 million tons per year.

Tango will be deployed in the Eni-managed offshore Marine XII block in the Republic of the Congo.

The FLNG was sold to Eni for between US$572 and $694 million, depending on the production performance of the Tango FLNG during the first six months on action offshore the Congo.

Included in the Tango transaction, both parties have agreed to a 10-year charter for a floating storage unit (FSU), which will be based on the conversion of an LNG tanker.

In addition, Exmar will provide operational and maintenance services for both TANGO FLNG and the FSU, in addition to technical services for the project.

Separate contracts will be closed for the operational and maintenance services.

In a further development, it is understood the FSU will be converted from EXCALIBUR (IMO 9230050), Exmar’s only LNG carrier, which will now go into dry dock to be converted as a floating storage unit to work alongside the Tango FLNG.

The Belgium-flagged Excalibur was built in 2002 and has a length of 277 metres and a width of 44m.

“We are delighted to partner with Eni, who are working to help increase their supplies of LNG on an accelerated basis,” said Exmar’s Executive Chairman, Nicolas Saverys.

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IN CONVERSATION: West Africa’s fisher women are experts at coping with job insecurity – but policymakers are using their resilience against them

Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, University of St Andrews

All along West Africa’s coastline, women play a vital role in the fisheries sector as processors, traders and distributors.

But they face many challenges – like job insecurity, a lack of finance, availability of fish and child care – and they’re also vulnerable to shocks, like the COVID pandemic.

Simplistic assessments by government and nongovernmental organisations will often praise their resilience in facing these challenges. But this masks the dangers inherent in some of their coping strategies, as we’ve shown in a recent study documenting their experiences in West Africa during COVID.

Women are adept at coping because they have to be. Compared with men, women carry a disproportionate burden of ensuring food is on the table for their families. This is because they’re the ones at home whilst the men are at sea. Women will therefore often diversify their income sources to support their families.

Their ability to cope or adapt in times of adversity should not absolve states or governments of the responsibility to address the sources of their hardship.

Although there is an awareness by West African governments of the need for policies that benefit both men and women, countries across the region are failing at addressing their root challenges.

Challenges women in fisheries face

The main challenge is that women find themselves excluded from policy making and their contributions are largely undervalued by government and financial institutions compared to men who are counted and supported due to their contributions as fishers. Yet women are big contributors to the sector.

As the direct contact with the end-users, women are at the top of the value chain. The women traders pre-finance fishing activities, are the owners of boats, and purchase outboard engines, food for the crew or fuel for fishing trips. Though often invisible to the casual observer, women are the power behind fishing enterprises and the settlements along rich fishing grounds.

These dynamics produce gendered vulnerabilities. For instance, social expectations render women invisible and increase their earnings gaps. Specifically, women’s fisheries work is often perceived by policy makers merely as an extension of their household responsibility. These activities may include book keeping, gear repairs, and provisioning for fishing trips.

As a consequence, women are excluded from financial, and other, support from state institutions. This limits their livelihood security and makes them particularly vulnerable to disruptions threatening their already precarious livelihoods.

New challenges they face include the depletion of fish stocks due to climate change, pollution, over-fishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

These challenges will affect men too, but women feel the impact more because their income are dispelled on their families and they do not get support from the state.

They’re also vulnerable to shocks. My colleagues and I examined the impact of the COVID restrictions on fisherfolk and saw how lockdown measures, travel restrictions and border closures all affected fish processing and trade.

Women weren’t able to sell as much. The movements of fisher people were disrupted, so there wasn’t as much fish available. And fish spoiled because of curfews, market closures and because there were fewer women allowed at processing sites. Men were also affected by these disruptions but because they dominate the at sea activities, their disruptions were mostly restricted to labour and production.

The fisher women found various coping strategies.

Negative coping strategies

Fisher women find ways to cope with their challenges but some strategies – like those employed during the COVID pandemic – can bring negative outcomes.

One of these is the practice of “sex for fish” or “sex for finance”. We found that women engaged in sexual acts in exchange for buying fish on credit or in exchange for money.

This practice is not new and there are worrying health implications – like rising HIV/AIDS infection rates within fishing communities. Fishing communities in Africa have HIV infection prevalence rates 4 to 14 times higher than the national average, due to transactional sex.

Another coping strategy in Ghana was to involve middlemen and use technology. Women dispatched parcels of fish to customers via taxi or public minibuses. They would get paid through mobile money before sending the fish. They managed to get the fish to their customers, but their profit was halved as they had to involve a third party.

Women shouldn’t have to resort to coping strategies like these. In a time of adversity, the things that make them vulnerable must be addressed.

Supporting women

There are several steps to take.

Women need support in the form of finance and subsidies. They should also be included in fisheries related policy deliberations and their views represented. For instance, they must be supported when fishing bans link – to conserve fish stocks – are introduced.

Government must invest in infrastructure to help transform the sector. Investments would include an integrated cold chain to keep fish fresh, potable water supply to allow good hygienic practices, and innovative smoking facilities, so fish can be preserved and sold in a different form.

In addition, greater priority must be given to women’s digital skills training. This would ensure that more women take the advantage offered by technology to reach more potential customers and at an affordable rate.

Ensuring that women are not left behind requires access to affordable credit. For instance, establishing and supporting financial organisations – such as credit unions, banks and cooperatives to provide credit at affordable rates to women.

The government should also support women with easier access to markets. One of these markets should be the the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Women already benefit from trans-boundary trade, and ensuring that they can cross borders to sell their products without disruptions will introduce them to new markets and increase their income.

Learning from past experience

Policymakers can also learn from some of the fisher women’s more positive coping strategies.

Something we saw in several countries is that women coped by coming together, seeking out partnerships and opportunities. In Ghana, for instance, women formed community village savings and loan associations with the support of the West Coast Women Ambassadors, a civil society organisation.

The aim of these associations was to bring financial services closer to members. They also acted as a rallying point for initiating community development activities such as business education.

Because the association was well-organised, and presented as a group, the women were able to secure a loan from the Business Advisory Centre. This is a state public agency that provides business advice, training services and marketing avenues to small business enterprises.

They also partnered with Conservation des Espèces – a marine conservation NGO which focuses on protecting marine turtles and their habitats. In exchange for cooperation from the women’s groups and their networks, the NGO will provide them with a cold room and ice factory. Cooperation included discouraging turtle poaching and encroachment on their habitats and helping the NGO to monitor turtles by reporting on sightings.

Romanticising women navigating adversity as strong, resilient and having supernatural abilities to endure disruptions takes attention away from the failure of the government to identify and address the source of their adversity.

Importantly, by addressing the root challenges of women, those of men will also be dealt with as the challenges are cyclical and interrelated.

Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood, Lecturer, University of St Andrews

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

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Sitarail receives new tamping machine for Ivory Coast to Burkina Faso railway

SITARAIL* has taken delivery a new tamping machine at the port of Abidjan which will go into service for maintaining the railway between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.

The tamping machine cost over €3 million (two billion CFA francs).

Sitarail, which is part of the Bolloré group, holds concessions to operate the former government-operated railway between Abidjan and Burkina Faso as well as railways in Cameroon.

In 2016 Sitarail began receiving locomotives provided by South African-company, Grindrod Rail.

The new tamping machine was designed by Austrian company, Plasser & Theurer and enables sleepers to be processed at a higher rate, as well as greater precision in track maintenance operations.

 

The use of a tamping machine is essential for positioning rails correctly and detecting infrastructure failures, while also being able to restore track parameters.

Quentin GERARD, Sitarail’s Managing Director, described the acquisition of the ultra-modern tamper as a strategic investment “that is part of the modernisation of our maintenance tools, with the aim of improving the safety of our rail transport equipment.

“Our vision is to equip Sitarail with innovative rail infrastructure, in order to ensure sustainable management of the railway network between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso,” Gerard said.

* SITARAIL (Société Internationale de Transport Africain par Rail) is a subsidiary of Bolloré Transport & Logistics, which operates the railways in Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. It has its head office in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and a National Representation in Burkina Faso and owns the concession for the operation of the railway network between the two countries.

Sitarail carries an average of 200,000 passengers and 900,000 tonnes of freight every year and has about 1,500 employees.

Construction of the railway began in Abidjan in 1904 and was completed in Ouagadougou in 1954.

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The death of HM Queen Elizabeth II: Worldwide tributes

Tributes from the broad maritime community around the world were published on websites in the hours following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on the afternoon of 8 September.

United Nations

Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his deep sadness at the passing of Her Majesty.

As the UK’s longest-lived and longest-reigning Head of State, the 96-year-old Queen was widely admired for her grace, dignity, and dedication around the world, he said in a statement.

He added: “She was a reassuring presence throughout decades of sweeping change, including the decolonization of Africa and Asia and the evolution of the Commonwealth.”

‘Good friend’ to the organization

Queen Elizabeth II was “a good friend of the United Nations”, he said, recalling that she had visited New York Headquarters twice, more than fifty years apart.

“She was deeply committed to many charitable and environmental causes and spoke movingly to delegates at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow,” recalled the UN chief.

Mr. Guterres extended his sincere condolences to her bereaved family, the Government and people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the wider Commonwealth of Nations.

“The world will long remember her devotion and leadership,” he concluded.

Her Majesty died during at what has been described as a fragile moment politically after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s recent resignation. New Prime Minister Liz Truss travelled on 6 September to the royal castle in Scotland, to be formally asked by the Queen to form a government.

Ms. Truss became the fifteenth prime minister to hold office during the queen’s reign – the first was Winston Churchill. She acceded to the throne following the death of her father King George VI on 6 February1952. She was crowned in June the following year.

IMO

Secretary-General Kitack Lim expressed his heartfelt condolences to the members of the Royal Family, the Government, the people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Commonwealth following the passing of Her Majesty.

He said: “It is with great sorrow and sadness that we have learned of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The entire Membership of the International Maritime Organization and the staff share the grief with deep sympathy at this difficult time.

“I had the immense honour and privilege to meet Her Majesty here at IMO. Her genuine interest in shipping and maritime matters was remarkable.”

The UK is the Host Country of the IMO. Her Majesty opened the new building of IMO in 1983 and also visited the Organization to mark its seventieth anniversary. Her Majesty unveiled a commemorative plaque and met the guests attending the event, including representatives of IMO Member States, inter-governmental and international non-governmental organizations, and IMO Secretariat staff.

Her Majesty’s dedication and service will continue to inspire everyone and will always be remembered.

Trinity House

Trinity House, incorporated in 1514, is proud of its long-standing association with the Royal Family and has been honoured to welcome Her Majesty, who comes from a long line of sailor kings, to a number of Trinity House events over seventy years.

After its near-destruction in the Blitz Queen Elizabeth opened the newly rebuilt Trinity House on Trafalgar Day (21 October) in 1953. HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh had been sworn in as an Elder Brother on 6 June 1952, and accompanied Her Majesty on the visit.

Another visit of note was Her Majesty’s attendance at a luncheon at Trinity House on 4 December 1975, accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and HRH The Prince of Wales.

In more recent times, Trinity House had the honour of inviting Her Majesty to name THV Galatea at a ceremony in the Pool of London in 2007, once again accompanied by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in his role as Master of the Corporation.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Subsea construction vessel – SKANDI AFRICA

Pictures below by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

It is always pleasing to see a vessel that arrives at a South African port, and whose name connects her to the continent in which she finds herself. If your pleasure is vessels of the offshore oil and gas industry, then the treat is doubled.

That the particular vessel in question is considered the most complex, and advanced, vessel in her owner’s fleet, gives the observer a further positive treat. The big offshore construction vessels tend to evoke that kind of feeling when you catch sight of them. They are truly unique.

On 8th September at 1000, the subsea construction and installation vessel SKANDI AFRICA (IMO 9687459) arrived off Cape Town, after a crossing of the Indian Ocean from Tanjung Langsat in Malaysia. She entered Cape Town harbour, and in a strong hint as to the reason for her call, she entered the Ben Schoeman Dock, and without tug assistance, went directly to the Dormac Ship Repair facility at berth 502.

Built in 2015, ‘Skandi Africa’ had her hull built at the VARD SA shipyard at Tulcea in Rumania, and her completion, and outfitting, taking place at the VARD Verft AS shipyard at Søviknes in Norway. She is 161 metres in length and has a deadweight of 16,000 tons.

As with almost all large offshore construction vessels, she has diesel electric propulsion. She has two Rolls-Royce Bergen B32:40L9ADC 9 cylinder 4 stroke main engines, producing 5,753 bhp (4,320 kW), providing power to two contra-rotating Azimuth thrusters of 4,962 bhp (3,700 kW) each, giving her a service speed of 12 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes four Rolls-Royce Bergen B32:40L8ADC generators of 3,840 kW each, and a single Cummins KTA 38 emergency generator of 560 kW. For added manoeuvrability, ‘Skandi Africa’ has two bow transverse thrusters of 2,800 kW each, and two bow, retractable, azimuth thrusters of 2,200 kW each.

Her stern propulsion thrusters, together with her transverse, and forward azimuth thrusters, give ‘Skandi Africa’ a total power availability of 32,630 bhp (24,000 kW), and provide her with a Dynamic Positioning category of DP3. To achieve her DP3 capability when on station, her references are one Cyscan Laser Radar, two HIPAP Systems, three DGPS systems, three Motion Reference Units, and three Ultrasonic Wind Sensors, all linked to a Kongsberg DP system.

Her endurance at her service speed of 12 knots, is 12,000 nautical miles, over a sixty day ‘at sea’ period. She is winterised for operations in harsh environments, and she has an ice class classification of Ice 1B, allowing her to operate in Baltic Sea, first year, ice thickness of 0.6 metres. She is a VARD OSCV 3 12 design, as a deepwater, subsea construction, and flexlay vessel, capable of operating down to a depth of 3,000 metres.

Owned by DOF Subsea Rederi AS, of Storebo in Norway, ‘Skandi Africa’ is operated by Technip UK Ltd., of Aberdeen in Scotland, and she is managed by DOF Management AS, also of Storebo. She was awarded the ‘Ship of the Year 2015’ by the Nordic shipping magazine, ‘Skipsrevyen’.

On delivery, she immediately went on to a five year charter to the French offshore company TechnipFMC, of Paris, to November 2020, and was assigned for subsea construction work, mainly in the West Africa oil and gas region.

Major projects that she undertook in West Africa included the laying of all subsea flowlines and umbilicals for the Moho Nord oil field, located in 1,200 metres water depth, off the coast of the Republic of Congo, and also completing all subsea flowlines and umbilicals for the Kaombo oil field, located in 1,900 metres water depth, off the coast of Northern Angola.

In early 2019 ‘Skandi Africa’ was docked in Luanda harbour, in Angola, when she noticed the large amount of plastic pollution in the waters around the vessel. Conservationists applauded her crew for using her deck cranes, as trawl sweeps, in order to scoop up all of the plastic refuse and detritus, in a mammoth garbage clean up around the vessel. From Luanda, she sailed for Maputo in Mozambique, in readiness for charter to ENI.

She has accommodation for 140 persons, and for logistics, and crew change requirements, she is fitted with a 28.5 x 15 metre helideck, capable of operating helicopters up to the size of the Sikorsky S-92A.

Her working deck has a working area of 2,700 m2, and is capable of taking a cargo load of 5,000 tons. For her subsea work, her main deck crane is a Huisman, double fall, crane capable of lifting 900 tons, and operating down to a water depth of 2,200 metres. The crane can also be used as single fall, and can operate in this mode, lifting 450 tons, down to a water depth of 4,400 metres. She also has a secondary Huisman deck crane with a capacity of 150 tons, operating down to a water depth of 3,000 metres. All cranes are heave compensated.

To support her subsea operations, she has two 5.0 x 5.6 metre moonpools, for use by two TXLX 200 Remote Operating Vehicles (ROV), capable of operating, via umbilicals, down to a water depth of 4,400 metres. Her ROV storage hangar has an area of 321 m2.

For pipelay operation, ‘Skandi Africa’ has a tiltable, heave compensated, Huisman Lay Tower, capable of laying pipelines down to a water depth of 3,000 metres. She has an underdeck pipeline carousel, capable of 3,500 tons of pipeline storage, and also her main deck can hold pipeline reels of up to 2,300 tons each. She is capable of laying any type of pipeline from 50 mm in diameter, up to 630 mm in diameter, via a 9.4 x 7.2 metre moonpool.

Her initial 5 year charter to Technip was extended by two years in November 2020. Between May and October 2021, ‘Skandi Africa’ was used to lay the subsea umbilicals and flowlines for ENI, on the Coral Sur FLNG project in Northern Mozambique. From there she sailed to Durban, where she arrived on 3rd November 2021, for a short period of maintenance at Bayhead. From there she headed to Western Australia.

Her charter in Western Australia, was for all subsea laying of umbilicals, flying leads and seabed manifolds on the Chevron operated, Gorgon natural gas field, located 71 nautical miles offshore from Barrow Island. From there she completed subsea installation work on the Woodside operated, Lambert natural gas field, located 68 nautical miles northwest of Dampier, which is the port from where ‘Skandi Africa’ operated.

In May 2022, Technip awarded a further two year extension to ‘Skandi Africa’, taking her charter period up to February 2024. From Dampier, ‘Skandi Africa’ proceeded first to Malaysia, to de-store and decommission equipment, in preparation for her current voyage across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town. After her period of maintenance, she is expected to sail for West Africa.

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Bolloré Logistics and Hapag-Lloyd commit on sustainable maritime transport

Bolloré Logistics has recently signed an agreement with strategic partner Hapag-Lloyd to promote the use of marine biofuel and contribute to the reduction of their greenhouse gas emissions related to maritime transport.

This commitment, as of 1 September, for a weekly allocation of 100 TEUs transported with biofuel, will allow a reduction of around 1,500 tons of CO2 emissions in Well-to-Wake by the end of the year.

For many years, Bolloré Logistics has been working closely with shipping companies to help its customers reduce their carbon footprint. Today, advanced biofuels for maritime transport are recognised as the most decarbonised solution available on the market.

They are made from sustainable feedstocks/ raw materials such as used cooking oil, other wastes or residual lipids and can reduce CO2 emissions by more than 85% compared to fossil fuels.

“Bolloré Logistics is a leader in global maritime transport. Decarbonising the maritime transport sector is essential. This is why we have committed on the purchase of advanced biofuels, encouraging the sector to divert from fossil fuels and enabling our customers to reduce the environmental impact of their transport,” says Irwin Lefebvre, Bolloré Logistics’ Ocean Procurement Director.

“This partnership reflects our determination to head in this direction for the long term and drive the switch to more sustainable transport solutions,” he adds.

Danny Smolders, Managing Director Global Sales at Hapag-Lloyd, described sustainability as an integral part of Hapag-Lloyd’s corporate values and at the heart of its Strategy 2023.

“By doing that, Hapag-Lloyd is contributing to lead shipping towards a green future. This agreement brings us one step closer to our target: being net-zero carbon by 2045.” Smolders says.

This partnership reinforces long-standing agreements between the two strategic partners and the commitments undertaken in Bolloré Logistics’ CSR program ‘Powering Sustainable Logistics’, including a reduction of its Scope 3 CO2 emissions generated by transport operations by 30% by 2030.

This ambitious goal, well below the 2°C trajectory, implies placing a sustainable offer at the heart of its operations.

More recently, in 2021, Bolloré Logistics announced the launch of SEAalternative, an offer based on the use of alternative fuels to provide its customers with the best eco-responsible approach to maritime transport in order to reduce carbon emissions. This solution, offered at cost price, relates to one-off or regular shipments made by several carriers on specific geographical routes.

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IN CONVERSATION: Climate change: colonial diaries in South Africa are helping scientists reconstruct weather patterns of the past to protect against future events

Stefan Grab, University of the Witwatersrand

The current climate crisis raises many questions. Some are forward-looking: how can this be fixed? Some look to the recent past: how did we get here? And some reach further back into history: are today’s extreme heat waves, catastrophic droughts and floods all due to climate change? Was climate and weather this bad 100 or a few hundred years ago?

For scientists to answer those last two questions, they need to consult reliable instrumental weather records. But these only go back a few decades for many regions of Africa. The continent’s longest continuous single station weather record is that of the South African Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town, starting in 1841. This record shows that rainfall has gradually declined since about 1900.

Yet, it also demonstrates that while Cape Town’s 2015-2017 drought was severe, it was little different from a much earlier drought (1930-1939). Looking even further back could help to create a more complete, nuanced picture of weather and climatic shifts in Cape Town. But given the absence of instrumental weather records prior to the 19th century – or during times well before human-induced accelerated global warming – this hasn’t been possible.

Now some answers are being provided by what seems at first glance an unlikely source: a massive project to photograph and transcribe daily registers kept by the Vereenigde Oost Indische Compagnie (VOC), or Dutch East India Company, between 1651 and 1795.

All of the trading company’s activity in the Cape Colony was carefully documented in the VOC’s daghregisters, its daily registers or journals. Since 2016, these detailed records, held by the Cape Town Archives and Nationaal Archief in The Hague, have been photographed and digitised by the non-profit Tracing History Trust. By 2021, 2.5 million words had been transcribed for the VC Daghregister Project.

As we outline in a recent research paper, the digitised records are a treasure trove for climate scientists. They represent the longest and oldest known corporate chronicle of near-continuous daily weather recording for the southern hemisphere.

Here’s what we’ve learned from them so far – and what they may have to teach us about current and future climate.

Detailed entries

The VOC had a monopoly on shipping trade between what is today the Netherlands and southeast Asia through Indian Ocean trade routes at the end of the 16th century. By the mid-17th century, the company realised it needed a permanent reprovisioning and resting station. Table Bay at the Cape was deemed the most suitable. Jan van Riebeeck was then commissioned to establish the settlement as the first governor at the Cape from 1652.

Daily journal entries were written by trained scribes in a relatively informal style. The language used was an older version of modern Dutch of the Netherlands and Flanders, and also of Afrikaans, which evolved as a South African language from such early Dutch.

The register entries detail a wide range of human activity: trade, politics, diet, health, diplomacy, religion, governance and so on. They also contain environmental observations, such as daily weather phenomena. Daily weather observations were written into the registers in a consistent and systematic manner. Particular attention was given to sub-daily wind direction and force, which was important to shipping.

Other regular observations included precipitation (rainfall, hail, snow) and conditions of the sky (cloudiness, visibility). Extreme events such as violent storms, gale force winds, exceptionally hot or cold conditions, flooding and drought were noted and at times elaborated on with detail on human, agricultural, infrastructural, and environmental consequences and responses.

Historical climate extremes

Our initial investigation focused on the period 1773 to 1791. We outlined extreme inter-annual climate variability ranging from the highest number of annual rain days on record and flooding in 1787, to severe drought in 1788. Temperatures must have also been highly variable. Even though we do not have thermometer values, anecdotal accounts regularly speak of “excessive heat” during summer and icy winter conditions.

It is clear that society had to cope with “wild weather” and climate extremes during historical times. But coping mechanisms were not advanced and so societal suffering was often considerable – the weather records also provide valuable context to notable historic events such as shipwrecks and chronic food shortages.

This is not the end of our research; the records hold far more information from which we can learn about the Cape’s historical climate and weather. Our ongoing work aims to extend the climate chronology back to 1652 and establish the causes of climate variability and extreme weather during the 17th and 18th centuries. If we are better able to identify the drivers of past climate variability and extreme events, it will benefit our modelling of projected future climate scenarios and assist in forecasting expected short-term (the next few months) weather conditions.

All the transcriptions of the VC Daghregister Project will be made available in the public domain on a website to be hosted by the Nationaal Archief Nederland.

Stefan Grab, Professor of Historical climate and weather, University of the Witwatersrand

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

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WMO: Climate change in Africa can destabilise countries and entire regions

This report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is available HERE

Rising water demand, combined with limited and unpredictable supplies, threatens to aggravate conflict and displacement.

In the words of WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas: “The worsening crisis and looming famine in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa shows how climate change can exacerbate water shocks, threatening the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and destabilising communities, countries and entire regions.”

Temperature trends

The report shows how extreme weather and climate change are undermining human health and safety, food and water security, and socio-economic development.

While Africa accounts for only about 2% to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it suffers disproportionately from it.

With a special focus on water, The State of the Climate report reveals that high water stress is estimated to affect about 250 million people on the continent and displace up to 700 million individuals by 2030.

Four out of five African countries are unlikely to have sustainably managed water resources by 2030.

Taalas added: “Africa’s climate has warmed more than the global average since pre-industrial time,” and warned that the sea level rise along African coastlines is faster than the global mean.

He observed that that this is contributing to increases in the frequency and severity of coastal flooding and erosion, and salinity in low-lying cities. He continued: “Changes in continental water bodies have major impacts on the agriculture sector, ecosystems, biodiversity.”

Making changes

Currently only 40% of the African population has access to early warning systems against extreme weather and climate change impacts.

At the request of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, WMO is spearheading a campaign to ensure universal access to early warnings in the next five years.

Meanwhile, climate action is gaining momentum.

It is understood that more than 40 African States have revised their national climate plans to make them more ambitious and add greater commitments to climate adaptation and mitigation.

The State of the Climate report makes a number of recommendations, including the need to strengthen early warning systems, increase transboundary co-operation, data exchange and knowledge sharing.

It underscores that the need for more investment in adaptation is crucial, as is a concerted drive towards more integrated water resource management.

The WMO report was launched with an accompanying digital story map at a Ministerial Meeting on Integrated Early Warning and Early Action System initiative in Maputo, Mozambique.

Concerning observations

* The year 2021 was either the third or fourth warmest years on record for Africa.

* By 2030, 108-116 million people in Africa are expected to be exposed to sea level rise risk.

* Drought in East Africa has worsened following consecutive failed rainy seasons combined with heightened conflict, related population displacement, and COVID-19 restrictions.

* Many parts of Northern Africa experienced extreme heat, which was accompanied by wildfires.

* Over the past 50 years in Africa drought-related hazards have claimed the lives of over half a million people and triggered $70 billion in regional economic losses.

* Increased temperature contributed to a 34% reduction in agricultural productivity growth in Africa since 1961 – more than any other region in the world.

* Climate-related hazards continued to be a major driver of new displacement in Africa.

* In Africa, only four out of ten people are covered by Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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OPEC Fund financing package to improve vital fishery industry in Liberia

Liberia has been awarded a a US$20 million loan and a $240,000 complementary technical assistance grant by the OPEC Fund for International Development to co-finance the Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project.

The co-financing is with the World Bank. The project will improve the management of fisheries, making them both more efficient and sustainable.

This will enhance the living conditions of beneficiary communities, creating better incomes and new opportunities for over 55,000 people, including women, children and youth.

Fisheries are one of the main sources of income in Liberia and generate around 10 per cent of the agricultural sector’s production and three per cent of the country’s GDP.

The Sustainable Management of Fisheries Project will cover nearly 90 per cent of Liberia’s coastline in the six counties Montserrado, Margibi, Maryland, Grand Bassa, Sinoe and Grand Kru.

Climate-smart technologies

It is designed to improve the ecosystem of fisheries, promote sustainability, increase the volume of fish landings and create more than 2,000 jobs.

The fisheries project also will help to implement climate-smart technologies and climate-resilient business improvements and infrastructure.

“We are pleased to partner with the World Bank to support Liberian fisheries, boosting livelihoods and empowering women,” said OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.

“Ensuring the productivity of fisheries and reducing post-harvest losses will not only improve living conditions and reduce economic vulnerability, but also contribute to food security and climate adaptation in Liberia.”

6,600 women

The OPEC Fund’s technical assistance grant financing will specifically support 6,600 women through financing and training. Fisheries are a significant source of employment for women and other vulnerable groups in Liberia.

Women entrepreneurs in fisheries, who will benefit from the program will receive training in post-harvest value systems, business development and financial management to sustain and further grow their businesses.

The project includes the design and implementation of improved management systems for coastal fisheries and associated fleets, including large artisanal fleets at Kru and Fante, along with a smaller number of industrial and semi-industrial fleet operations.

The project will also improve the fishing harbour infrastructure at Mesurado Pier, help construct industrial and artisanal fleet facilities such as fish landing sites, fish value chain facilities such as market halls, and storage and processing facilities as well as access roads and services.

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