Bringing you shipping, freight, trade and transport related news of interest for Africa since 2002

 

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

Week commencing 17 October 2022.  Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return  

FIRST VIEW:   Gaschem AachSA Port Statistics for the month of September 2022

• BP tanker arrives to load LNG at the Coral Sul FLNG
• WHARF TALK: first of the cruise ships HANSEATIC SPIRIT
• World Bank to finance Nacala port upgrades to assist Malawi
• Important arrests made in Transnet pipeline theft investigations
• Xeneta Update: Reefers riding out spot rate storm better than dry containers on key North Europe routes
• SAECS advisory: Santa Clara to bypass Cape Town
• SA Port Statistics for the month of September 2022
• WHARF TALK: ore or bulk carrier or? BANGUS
• Zambia’s president commits to full use of Walvis Bay’s Zambia Dry Port
• IN CONVERSATION: How do you instantly create 10 ghost towns? Stop using coal, Gwede Mantashe warns
• CMA CGM Reshuffles three services to West Africa
• Second SA Navy Inshore Patrol Vessel MMIPV ‘blessed’
• Transnet introduces recovery plan after majority of workers return
• WHARF TALK:   general purpose tanker PACIFIC TRADER
• Cruise Ship Schedule for Port of Durban 2022-2023
• IN CONVERSATION: Coastal erosion is unstoppable – so how do we live with it?
• US Coast Guard Strategy released for 2022 and beyond
• International: Market volatility causing the classic ‘boom and bust cycle’ in the container shipping industry
• STRIKE UPDATE: Transnet reaches agreement with majority union UNTU
• WHARF TALK: Chinese MR2 products tanker ARDMORE SEAVANGUARD
• WTO Trade Policy Review: Djibouti
• NAMPORT RESULTS: Mixed fortunes, but altogether not a bad year
• CMA CGM opens new winter version of EUROMAR with new service tween Morocco & North Europe
• Out of the ordinary NSRI sea rescue evacuation off KZN South Coast
• MSC’s TiL is the preferred bidder for Walvis Bay Container Terminal concession
• WHARF TALK: midsize LPG tanker GASCHEM AACHEN
• News in Brief
• IN CONVERSATION: Somalia: Puntland state port is getting a revamp – this is key to its future
• TRADE NEWS: Wilhelmsen enters into an agreement to acquire Vopak Agencies
• Fishing vessel safety: The 2012 Cape Town Agreement – IMO Secretary-General urges ratification

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

The week’s mastheads:

Monday: Port of Mombasa
Tuesday: Port of Apapa
Wednesday: Port of East London
Thursday: Port of Durban Sugar Terminal
Friday: Port of Durban T-Jetty
Saturday: Port of Durban Container Terminal
Sunday: Port of Durban Container Terminal by night

Stay Well, Stay Safe, Stay Patient, don’t become one

Advertising:– request a Rate Card from terry@africaports.co.za

For a free daily newsletter via email?  Send your email marked NEWSLETTER to terry@africaports.co.za 

Join us as we continue to report through 2022

‘and stay up to date with Africa Ports & Ships’  (founded 2002)

SEND NEWS REPORTS AND PRESS RELEASES TO   info@africaports.co.za

**********

News follows below

FIRST VIEW:  GASCHEM AACHEN

A LPG tanker by name of Gaschem Aachem called at Cape Town earlier in the month with a cargo of LPG.  Details of the vessel may be seen in the WHARF TALK column below.

Gaschem Aachen was in Port Elizabeth on Sunday night, 16 October 2022.

This picture is by ‘Dockrat’

and now the news….

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

BP tanker arrives to load LNG at the Coral Sul FLNG

We know we reported this previously, that a BP tanker named British Mentor had arrived in Pemba in northern Mozambique to become the first tanker to load LNG at the CORAL SUL FLNG in the Rovuma Basin, offshore Mozambique.

In the event, that didn’t occur, with a government minister denying the FLNG was ready to commence production while the British Mentor quietly raised anchor in Pemba Bay and departed for Oman’s Qalhat export terminal.

It appears (no-one is really saying why) that there was a technical hitch that delayed the introduction of liquefied gas at the facility.

With that in mind, we again report that a BP LNG tanker is on her way to Pemba and to the Coral Sul FLNG vessel to begin loading. This time the tanker is the BRITISH SPONSOR and by our accounts she ought to be there or alongside the Coral Sul already.

Oil major BP Plc has a contract to purchase the entire LNG production of Coral Sul, estimated at 3.4 million metric tonnes a year, for a minimum period of 20 years.

With the increased demand in LNG arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent reduction in the supply of Russian gas, the consortium operating the Coral Sul, led by Italy’s Eni, is seriously considering a second FLNG for the Coral South (Sul) field in the Rovuma Basin.

Some details of the British Sponsor (IMO 9766580). She was built in 2019 and has a deadweight of 94,360 tons (115,366-gt).

The tanker is 295 metres in length and 46 metres wide.

British Sponsor sailed from Yung An in Taiwan with a stopover of several days at Singapore. If all goes to plan the vessel will have the distinction of carrying away the first commercial LNG from the Rovuma Basin, which is said to have the greatest reserves in the world.

The gas field also has the capability of helping transform the economy of Mozambique and importantly, the people of the Cabo Delgado province on the land opposite. Whether it is permitted to do so only time will tell.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 21 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK:  first of the cruise ships HANSEATIC SPIRIT

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

Hurrah! The start of a full 2022-2023 South African cruise season has finally begun, and is now well and truly underway. It comes after a long hiatus of more than two years, with just a few arrivals, unless you count the arrival of the exotic, and passenger-less, vessels of cruise companies such as Carnival Cruises, Marella Cruises, and Princess Cruises, carrying out the repatriation, and positioning, voyages during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On 19th October, at four o’clock in the afternoon, the Expedition Cruise Vessel HANSEATIC SPIRIT (IMO 9857640) arrived off Cape Town, after a long oceanic voyage from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She was greeted with a water cannon salute from her accompanying harbour tugs, and entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock, and going alongside the Cruise Passenger Terminal at E berth.

Building work of the hull of ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ commenced in June 2019 at the VARD Tulcea SA shipyard, at Tulcea in Rumania. In December 2020 she was towed around to the VARD Langsten AS shipyard, at Tomrefjord in Norway, for completion and outfitting, with her delivery to her new owners taking place in June 2021. She is 139 metres in length and has a deadweight of 1,800 tons.

She is a diesel-electric vessel, and has four Caterpillar-MaK 8M25E 8 cylinder 4 stroke engines, producing 3,755 bhp (2,800 kW) each, with two of them providing power to motors driving two Kongsberg Promas, fixed pitch, rudder-propeller systems, for a service speed of 16 knots. For added manoeuvrability she has a Kongsberg TT2200 transverse bow thruster.

Her auxiliary systems include two of her four Caterpillar-MaK 8M25E main engines being used as generators, providing 2,800 kW each. She has a single Caterpillar C32 emergency generator providing 1,490 kW. She has four Alfa Laval Aalborg XW exhaust has boilers, and two Alfa Laval Aalborg CHB-3000 oil fired boilers.

As an Expedition Cruise Vessel, ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ was designed with the highest environmental standards available, especially as the Arctic, and the Antarctic, regions are to be her main area of operations. As such, she will operate only on Low Sulphur Marine Gasoil, and utilises catalytic reduction systems, and shore power charging connections when in port. Her environmental credentials include having a hangar for 17 inflatable expedition boats, all of which are powered by electric outboard motors.

She is a VARD 607 design, and cost US$155 million (ZAR2.84 billion) to build. Owned by TUI AG, of Hannover in Germany, ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ is operated by Hapag-Lloyd Kreuzfahrten GmbH, of Hamburg, and managed by TUI Cruises GmbH, also of Hamburg. As a German owned cruise vessel, her onboard language is German, with no announcements made in English.

She has nine decks, with seven of the decks taken over by cabins. There are a total of 120 cabins, and she can carry a maximum of 230 passengers, if the top berths are utilised. On polar cruises she will only carry a maximum of 199 passengers. Cabins range from suites up to 70 m2 in size, down to cabins of 21 m2 in size. She is marketed as an ‘Adults Only’ vessel, with no children allowed.

She is the third of three sisterships, and was built as a Five Star cruise vessel. To give her the ability to explore deeper into the polar regions than some other expeditionary cruise vessels, ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ has been given an ice classification of PC6. She is operated by a crew of 175.

Her passenger areas includes three restaurants, an observation lounge, a combined bar and lounge that can be converted into a lecture theatre, a further bar, a combined library and study centre, a spa and fitness centre, two saunas, and a single outdoor swimming pool.

Her current cruise sees her expected to depart from Cape Town at 21h00 on 20th October, and heading next for Port Elizabeth, where she is scheduled to arrive at 05h00 on 22nd October. She then continues her cruise with mainly one day stopovers, on the following port itinerary.

Durban (24th October), Richards Bay (25th October), then across the Mozambique Channel to visit six ports in Madagascar, including Toliara (28th October), Belo sur Mer (29th October), Mahajunga (30th October), Nosy Be (31st October and 1st November), Antsiranana (2nd November), Nosy Mangabe (4th November), finally arriving in Port Louis, Mauritius, to end the current cruise on 6th November at 06h00 in the morning.

However, that is not the last opportunity this year that most observers will have of seeing ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ in South African harbours. After a couple of Indian Ocean cruises out of Port Louis, she will return to Richards Bay (13th and 14th December), Durban (15th December), East London (16th December), Port Elizabeth (17th December), Mossel Bay (18th December), and finally to Cape Town on 20th December, where that particular cruise will terminate.

From Cape Town, she will then depart on her maiden voyage to her designed operating environment of the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. On 21st December, ‘Hanseatic Spirit’ will sail from Cape Town, bound for Tristan da Cunha, where she is due to arrive on December 26th. She will head into the Southern Ocean to South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and the South Orkney Islands, after which she will cross the Drake Passage, and her first Antarctic voyage will terminate in Ushuaia, in Argentina, on 11th January 2023.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 21 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

World Bank to finance Nacala port upgrades to assist Malawi

The World Bank will provide US$ 380 million for upgrades at the Mozambique Port of Nacala as well as other infrastructure linking Mozambique and Malawi.

This is being reported by Radio Mocambique which says the emphasis of the assistance is on improving the logistics of transporting agricultural products from the production areas to the markets of the two countries, from the port of Nacala.

The station quoted the Minister of Transport and Communications, Dr Mateus Magala, who said that the funding is intended to promote industrialisation for sustainable and modern development between the two countries.

“US$150 million is for Malawi and the remaining 230 million is for Mozambique and this will connect the markets, will bring more possibilities, making the corridor not only for transit or for cargo only, but also a corridor for industrialisation,” he said.

Dr Magala was speaking towards the end of a joint visit with Malawian ministers for Transport and Public Works, Land and Urban Planning, to the rail-port infrastructure in Nacala. source: Radio Mocambique

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 21 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Important arrests made in Transnet pipeline theft investigations

Several important arrests have been made in regard to the theft of fuel from Transnet pipelines between the port of Durban and Gauteng.

One of these involved an alleged ‘kingpin’ who was arrested in Pretoria, who is described as being involved in a syndicate linked to the theft of fuel and damage to Transnet’s essential infrastructure.

The man’s arrest follows that of two other suspects on Saturday, 16 October 2022, for theft of fuel and tampering with Transnet’s pipelines in Vrede, Free State.

The suspects were arrested while delivering the stolen fuel in Kromdraai, Witbank. The two sets of arrests are connected.

The arrests and raid on property involved a multi-disciplinary task team led by the Free State Hawks, together with members of the Serious Organised Crime Investigation team, Bidvest Protea Coin Security (the Transnet Pipelines service provider), Gauteng Traffic Department Saturation Unit, the Ekurhuleni District Operational Task team, and South African Revenue Service, as well as other key role-players.

This brings to 49 the number of arrests made in connection with the fuel pipelines in the past three months.

Since 2019, Transnet Pipelines has experienced an unprecedented increase in fuel theft incidents, which led to the organisation strengthening its security measures and action plans to address these activities, the consequences of which have been loss of volumes, environmental damage, explosions, injuries and fatalities.

The pipeline is classified as essential infrastructure, therefore tampering, or colluding to tamper, is a Schedule 5 offence in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act, Act 18 of 2015. The minimum sentence for a first offender is 15 years.

Members of the public and petroleum retailers are encouraged to report unregistered traders to the police.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 21 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Xeneta Update: Reefers riding out spot rate storm better than dry containers on key North Europe routes

 

Week 42

Reefer spot rates are proving more resilient than dry container prices on exports from North Europe, with slow declines as opposed to dramatic drops. According to the latest market analysis from Oslo-based Xeneta, all main trades from the region have experienced falls over the past three months. However, unlike the dry market, the routes are still commanding higher rates than this point last year, pushing the reefer ‘premium’ over standard containers to new heights.

Standing (relatively) strong

“This reefer spot rate market is clearly not in the same straits as its dry sibling,” comments Emily Stausbøll, Market Analyst, Xeneta. “Although impacted by the same wider macroeconomic and geopolitical factors, demand remains strong enough to ensure that, at least for now, rates seem well positioned to weather the current storm.

“In fact, there’s only one route where reefer rates have fallen by a greater percentage than dry boxes, and that’s North Europe to the US East Coast, where record high volumes and congestion issues have limited standard spot rate declines. Aside from this anomaly, three-month reefer dips are vastly overshadowed by the significant negative developments experienced in the dry market.”

Premium power

The key North Europe to Far East trade proves this point. Here, the average spot rate for a 40’ reefer container has fallen by 4.4% since mid-July, currently sitting at USD 5,230 (18 October). However, the freight rate for dry containers has fallen by some 10.2% in the same period, down to USD 880 per FEU. This means the reefer premium has stretched from USD 3,670 per box to USD 4,350.

The largest increase in premiums since mid-July has been witnessed on the trade to Australia and New Zealand, where the gap between the two FEUs has now doubled. A divide that stood at USD 2,050 is now USD 5,450; with reefers currently commanding USD 12,900 per 40’ reefer on the spot market, compared to USD 7,470 per standard FEU. Cold container rates remain a healthy 19% up year-on-year to Oceania, while dry rates have dropped by 15.3% since this time last year.

Intelligence matters

However, as Stausbøll notes, the North Europe to US East Coast trade is an exception, with reefer rates sinking by 20.6% over the last three months, compared to an 8.7% fall for standard FEUs. A different anomaly is delivered on the North Europe to South American East Coast corridor, which is the only sailing where reefer spot rates are cheaper than dry ones. Here, traditionally a backhaul for reefers (with less exports than imports), cold containers currently command USD 3,300 compared to USD 3,500 for a dry FEU.

Despite this disparity, dry spot rates have fallen far faster than reefer rates over the past three months here, slumping by 15% compared to ‘just’ 2.5% for reefers.

“Expect some animated negotiations over spot rates going forwards, for both reefer and dry cargoes,” Stausbøll concludes. “We’ve seen how quickly things can change over recent months, so everybody needs to be on their toes, armed with the very latest data, to get the optimal business value in a very tough, dynamic marketplace.”

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 21 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

SAECS advisory: Santa Clara to bypass Cape Town

Ocean Network Express, a member of the South Africa Europe Container Service consortium, advises that on account of the ongoing Transnet strike affecting all ports, and to save its vessel schedule, the containers on board the vessel SANTA CLARA on voyage 223S/224N will instead be discharged at Walvis Bay.

The feeder vessel mv MENDELSSOHN will be used to move import and export full container loads between Cape Town and Walvis Bay.

The schedule plan with action is as follows:

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

SA Port Statistics for the month of September 2022

Port statistics for the month of September 2022, covering the eight commercial ports under the administration of Transnet National Ports Authority, are now available.

The statistics below show port cargo throughputs, ships berthed and auto and container volumes handled together with bulk and dry bulk volumes.

Motor vehicles are measured in vehicle units are included in tonnage on the basis of 1 tonne per unit.

Containers are counted in TEUs, with each TEU representing 13.5 tonnes.

For comparison with the equivalent month of the previous year, September 2021 CLICK HERE

Port Statistics continue below….

Figures for the respective ports during September 2022 are:

Total cargo handled by tonnes during September 2022, including containers by weight

PORT	September 2022 million tonnes
Richards Bay	6.903
Durban	8.515
Saldanha Bay	6.000
Cape Town	1.726
Port Elizabeth	1.226
Ngqura	1.272
Mossel Bay	0.086
East London	0.182
Total all ports	25.910 million tonnes

CONTAINERS (measured by TEUs) during September 2022
(TEUs include Deepsea, Coastal, Transship and empty containers all subject to being invoiced by NPA

PORT	September 2022 TEUs
Durban	278,950
Cape Town	84,112
Port Elizabeth	19,888
Ngqura	63,314
East London	8,861
Richards Bay	0
Total all ports	455,125 TEU

MOTOR VEHICLES RO-RO TRAFFIC (measured by Units- CEUs) during September 2022

PORT	September 2022 CEUs
Durban	73,529
Cape Town	38
Port Elizabeth	9,223
East London	5,538
Richards Bay	0
Total all ports	88,328

SHIP CALLS for September 2022

PORT	September 2022 vessels	gross tons
Durban	250	9,106,923
Cape Town	109	3,748,428
Richards Bay	118	5,107,620
Port Elizabeth	72	2,128,970
Saldanha Bay	51	3,748,428
Ngqura	65	2,167,879
East London	21	746,941
Mossel Bay	29	145,893
Total ship calls	717	26,573,462

— source TNPA, with adjustments regarding container weights by Africa Ports & Ships

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK:  ore or bulk carrier, or? BANGUS

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

When is a tanker not a tanker? Or should that be when is a bulk carrier not a bulk carrier? Better put, when is a tanker a bulk carrier, or in this case when is a bulk carrier a tanker?

Confused? The answer is when the vessel in question is both of these things, insofar as it can act as a tanker, or it can act as a bulk carrier, and it is known as an Oil-Bulk-Ore (OBO) carrier, or an Oil-Ore (O/O) carrier.

On 12th October, just after 12h00 in the afternoon, the OBO carrier BANGUS (IMO 9861990) arrived off Cape Town, from Sohar in Oman, and immediately entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock and entering the Tanker Basin and going alongside the long tanker berth.

As she was what appeared, initially, to be a large gearless bulk carrier, her entering the Tanker Basin created some confusion. Initial thoughts were that she required some shoreside maintenance assistance, and the berth was offered due to her size. The confusion was then compounded when she was connected up to the marine loading arms on the berth.

Built in 2020 by the Jiangsu New Yangzi shipyard at Jingjiang in China, ‘Bangus’ is 228 metres in length and has a deadweight of 82,388 tons. Built as an Oil-Bulk-Ore carrier, these dimensions give her the distinction of being a Kamsarmax bulk carrier, or an LR2 class tanker. She is powered by a single HHI WinGD W6X62 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 13,052 bhp (9,600 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Daihatsu 6DE-23 generators providing 950 kW each, and a single Cummins 6CTA8.3-D(M) emergency generator providing 115 kW. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission OL oil fired boiler, and a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission XS-2V exhaust gas boiler.

If viewed from above, one can be forgiven for thinking she is a gearless bulk carrier, as she appears to have a normal line of seven cargo holds, expected on a large gearless bulk carrier, with standard International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) helicopter landing area markings on top of hatch number 3.

However, closer inspection which gives a clue to her real raison d’être , is that she has a standard tanker hose crane located between hatch number 4, and hatch number 5. At this same location she also clearly has a tanker cargo manifold installation. Further observation shows that ‘Bangus’ also has a complex series of pipelines along the whole length of her deck.

Both this combination of hatch covers, hose cranes, pipelines, and cargo manifolds, marks ‘Bangus’ out as a combination Oil-Bulk-Ore carrier, and on this voyage she was clearly acting in the role of the Oil part of her OBO title. This was borne out by one of the crew talking about discharging gasoil, amongst other fuel parcels in Cape Town.

The fifth built of a series of eight sisterships, ‘Bangus’ is owned by Klaveness Combination Carriers (KCC) ASA, of Oslo in Norway, and she is operated by Torvald Klaveness AS, also of Oslo, with her being managed by Klaveness Ship Management AS of Oslo. She carries the Klaveness houseflag on her funnel.

She is known as a CLEANBU design, and the Tier III main engine of ‘Bangus’ has 40% lower CO2 emissions per ton/mile, compared to a standard LR2 tanker. She already meets the IMO 2030 target of a 40% reduction in Carbon intensity, compared to a standard Kamsarmax bulk carrier. Her owners claim that the CLEANBU vessels are said to be the world’s most environmentally friendly, oceangoing, vessels in current operation.

The whole class of eight OBO vessels are all named after maritime subjects beginning with the letter ‘B’, such as Barracuda, Barramundi and Bass. For those who like to know the origin of unusual vessel names, ‘Bangus’ is the Filipino name for the Milkfish (Chanos Chanos), where it is the national fish of the Philippines, and also a delicacy.

There was a time, back in the 1970s and 1980s, when very large OBO vessels were popular with shipowners. However, three catastrophic, and tragic, events changed that perception. The first was the loss of ‘Berge Istra’ in the Pacific Ocean in 1975, with the loss of 30 of her crew. Her sistership ‘Berge Vanga’ was also lost, but in the South Atlantic Ocean in 1979, with all 40 of her crew, and in 1980 the ‘Derbyshire’ was lost, during a Pacific Typhoon, with all 44 of her crew. The ‘Kowloon Bridge’, a sister ship of ‘Derbyshire’, was also lost in 1986, with all crew saved.

It was obvious that ‘Bangus’ was not just carrying fuel parcels for discharge in Cape Town, as after just under five days in port, she sailed on 17th October at 09h00 in the morning, bound for Durban. She is due to arrive off Durban on 21st October at 18h00, and the next question will be how often do OBO vessels call in at the Island View Terminal. Not as bulk carriers, but as tankers. Answers on a postcard only.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Zambia’s president commits to full use of Walvis Bay’s Zambia Dry Port

Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema paid an official visit to the Zambian Dry Port situated at the Port of Walvis Bay where he committed to increasing the use of the facility and the port.

The delegation was welcomed by the Namport Board Chairperson, Ms Nangula Hamunyela, who said the Ports Authority is happy with the operational progress at the Zambia dry port.

“We want to urge the Zambian business community to amplify the use of this facility which can greatly streamline the cost of doing business by the Zambian market, through the Port of Walvis Bay as there would be great benefits from economies of scale arising from high volumes throughput.”

President Hichilema committed Zambia to ensure the full utilisation of the Zambia Dry Port facility.

The state of the port, its infrastructure and handling facilities are crucial to make the port efficient and effective, the president said.

“It is in your interest, it is in our interest. We do not want the dry port to weigh down on operations within the port, although it has been ignored for a while now, but as a new government we are committed to look at the issues and make it more valuable to the port.”

He called on all stakeholders to join hands and work together to embrace the Intra Africa Trade pact.

According to Namport, it remains well positioned to continue to serve import and export requirements especially with the New Container Terminal and the National Oil Jetty which were recently commissioned at Walvis Bay.

“With all these developments the Ports Authority remains confident that it is on the correct trajectory to achieve our vision of becoming the best seaports in Africa, for the benefit of both its local customers and key markets such as Zambia,” the port authority said in a statement.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IN CONVERSATION: How do you instantly create 10 ghost towns? Stop using coal, Gwede Mantashe warns

Richards Bay Coal Terminal, where between 52 and 64 million tonnes of coal may be exported annually. Picture: TNPA

by Ethan van Diemen, Daily Maverick

If South Africa were to stop mining, trucking, shipping and burning coal, 10 ghost towns would be created “immediately” in the coal belt province of Mpumalanga, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe claimed during the ministerial symposium at the African Oil Week and Green Energy Africa conference on Monday.

Addressing about 30 African energy ministers, numerous fossil fuel company executives and renewable energy businesspeople from across the continent and beyond, he spoke about the “just energy transition” and the challenges it poses for the continent. He also cautioned against African countries being dictated to by developed countries.

His sentiments were largely shared by the panellists and delegates at the symposium, including Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, commissioner for infrastructure and energy at the African Union Commission, who took issue with wording. She preferred “the term access rather than transition… Africa still has an energy access problem.”

Looking ahead to the United Nations climate negotiations in Egypt in November, Abou-Zeid said that “we want to make that COP work for us… for the continent… so we need to go there with our African perspective.”

She reiterated that as Africa seeks to secure an energy supply for its growing population, it should do so while “not ignoring any energy source”. While mindful of the impact of fossil fuels on the environment and internationally agreed climate policy commitments, “Africa cannot be bound to dates more applicable to other parts of the world”, she said, in an apparent reference to net-zero plans. 

“Africa is [responsible for] 3% of the world’s emissions… when all of Africa is connected our emissions will still stand at only 4%… current discussion around the world does not apply to Africa because we do not speak from the same starting place… whether it’s equity, whether it’s access… we want to ensure our resources work for us and not blindly following someone else’s agenda,” said Abou-Zeid.

“That being said, Africa has never been a climate denier; we have been the hardest hit by climate impacts.”

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Africa faces an uphill battle against western emissions to combat climate change”

Mantashe urged the consolidation of a unified African position in its engagements with developed countries as the continent charts its energy future and developmental pathway. 

“When we are individuals, we are weaker. When the EU (European Union) talks to us, they talk to us as the EU… when they talk to us they engage us as individuals. I want you to note that,” he said. 

“Africa is the least developed part of the world but has the most potential to develop. If you talk about the green economy you will achieve that from things that are planted or mined and all those things are in this continent. We must be very innovative, they must be beneficiated here… if we do it, we are going to be a better continent.”

It’s all in the ‘details’ 

Mantashe pointed out that the Presidential Climate Commission’s technical report on the just transition explains that a “just transition” refers to “the management of a transition to a low-carbon society in a balanced and just manner, housed within a given socioeconomic context”.

He said there was unanimity on the need to move towards lower carbon emissions. 

“That debate is settled. The real issue is in the detail of that transition. If it [the transition] is just, justice must be seen to be done… it must be people-centred… three; it must be community-focused because there will be communities affected by that transition.”  

Mantashe stressed that South Africa in general and Mpumalanga in particular were highly dependent on coal. In the “coal belt” there were “10 towns of contiguous coal mining” and “there will be 10 ghost towns” overnight should all coal-related activity cease. 

Without skipping a beat, he listed them: Belfast, Carolina, Delmas, Ermelo, Hendrina, Kriel, Leandra, Middleburg, Ogies and Witbank.

Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies (Tips) have, in their coal value chain report, noted that “the value chain as a whole employed around 200,000 formal workers and was the main source of livelihoods in eMalahleni [Witbank], Steve Tshwete [Middelburg], Govan Mbeki [Secunda] and Msukaligwa [Ermelo]”.

“If you just switch off that area, [they] will be dead immediately… how best do we manage that transition… we must move from high carbon emission to low carbon emission… everyone accepts that… not one dissenting view… the devil is in the detail of the transition and I imagine that goes for the whole continent,” said Mantashe.

“When the EU accepts that gas and nuclear are part of the green transition, the tone changes… it is important for us to appreciate the importance of the AU and consolidate the views,” he said.

His sentiments were largely echoed by Uganda’s energy and mineral development minister, Ruth Nankabirwa. 

“African resources are for Africa’s economic development. When it comes to the new agenda of climate change, those who have been emitting for decades just want the young countries that have just discovered petroleum, [they] don’t want them to do what they did even though what they did made them rich. So, whether you make all the necessary laws, the truth is Africa must pay for the deeds of those who discovered oil long ago.”

Nankabirwa continued that “to tell us we cannot develop [fossil fuel resources] is an insult to Africa. You are telling us to stay poor in Africa. Africa wants to grow, we want to consider all the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] at once. Ending poverty is critical, just as critical as climate change. You cannot regulate a poor person. A person who is using charcoal is poor and a company who is going back to using coal… who is better?”

Africa Oil Week ambassador Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, a former minister of state petroleum resources and former group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, shared similar views. 

“There isn’t a just transition. ‘Just’ is a shortened form of justice… the global players will transition in their own interest… economics is a selfish approach… we need to begin to look at this verbiage and look a whole lot more to what I may call an Afrocentric energy transition. Every global group must sit down and think, ‘what really suits me’, and Africa must begin to look at its own interest and say, ‘how do we play’… we are not being fair to ourselves. 

“We must not pace ourselves according to emotion. Our transition must be driven by Afrocentrism — by what is in the best interests of Africa’s people.” 

Fossil fuel a ‘poor solution’

Tracey Davies, executive director of Just Share, said that while it was true that Africa had contributed the least to climate change, the solution did not lie in developing infrastructure to increase that contribution. 

“Whilst it is, of course, true that least-developed countries have contributed least to global emissions, and are entitled to financial support from developed countries to transition, renewable energy is now the cheapest form of energy, and it is hard to understand why anyone would advocate for Africa’s future development to be reliant on fossil fuels, which are now the most expensive method of power generation, especially given how rich Africa’s renewable resources are.

“You’ll note that all of those who are advocates of this view are politicians and oil and gas industry representatives, or their advisers — in other words, those with a vested interest in the development of oil and gas, not those with an interest in the wellbeing of ordinary people living in Africa.” 

Davies said “there is a plethora of expert reports that confirm that rapid and extensive scaling up of renewable energy generation is the most cost-optimal energy pathway for the continent and presents significant economic benefits and opportunities. Coal, oil and gas are a poor solution for energy access: of the 800 million people worldwide who lack electricity, 85% live in rural areas where distributed renewable energy can provide electrification much more quickly and much more cheaply than fossil fuels. 

“Furthermore, from an emissions point of view, South Africa is not in the same category as the rest of Africa. It is unrealistic to expect the rest of the world to treat us as a developing nation in terms of emissions when we have one of the most carbon-intensive economies on Earth.

“For over a century, South Africa has had unlimited access to coal, but has still failed to generate prosperity for the vast majority of the population. The past and present offer no templates for the future — tackling our systemic inequality, unemployment and poverty demands radical changes in the structure of our economy.” OBP/DM

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

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

CMA CGM Reshuffles three services to West Africa

French container carrier CMA CGM has operated in Morocco since 1983 and currently employs over 1,000 people in the country.

CMA CGM has now announced a re-shuffling of three of its West Africa services.

They are the MEDWAX, EURAF 3 and WAZZAN services, which the line says will offer improved services to West Africa strategic markets and will better cope with the current market environment.

The following updated rotation details apply:

MEDWAX

MEDWAX will now be operated in 35 days with 5 vessels of 2,200 to 2,800 TEU nom. with the following rotation:

Barcelona – Marseille – Valencia – Tanger – Algeciras – Dakar – Conakry – Abidjan – Barcelona

1st departure: m/v NEWYORKER voy. 0MY5FS1MA, ETA Tanger 29/10, ETA Abidjan 15/11

♦ ♦ ♦

EURAF 3

EURAF 3 will be operated in 42 days with 6 vessels of 1,600 to 1,700 TEU nom. with the following rotation:

Algeciras – Tanger – Freetown – Monrovia – San Pedro – Banjul – Algeciras

1st departure: m/v DIANE A voy. 0BFDIS1MA, ETA Algeciras 30/10

♦ ♦ ♦

WAZZAN

WAZZAN will be operated in 35 days with 5 vessels of 1,300 to 1,700 TEU nom. with the rotation as follows:

Algeciras – Tanger – Nouakchott – Dakar – Bissau – Nouadhibou – Las Palmas – Algeciras

1st departure: m/v CMA CGM NOUADHIBOU voy. 0TLBPS1MA, ETA Algeciras 28/10

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 20 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Second SA Navy Inshore Patrol Vessel MMIPV ‘blessed’

The SA Navy last Friday (14 October) held what they called a ‘blessing ceremony’ for the second of three Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessels (MMIPV) at Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT).

A bottle of champagne was broken across her bow when the vessel was blessed but this was being held in the shed where the MMIPV is under construction and no name was provided.

Present among the audience was her crew who will train up with the vessel that is destined to join her sister, SAS King Sekhukhune I to perform its duties along the South African coastline. The three MMPIV’s will be based at the Salisbury Island Durban Naval base.

Armscor Group Executive Acquisition and Supply Chain Management, Mr M.P. Teffo said they were pleased with the progress made so far with the new vessel.

“We are committed to providing the South African National Defence Force with state-of-the-art defence materiel they require to protect the sovereignty of the country,” he said. “This MMIPV Project demonstrates our capability to deliver on complex acquisition solutions. We are looking forward to the delivery of this second Multi Mission Inshore Patrol Vessel next year.”

Following last Friday’s ceremony, the latest vessel will be launched into the water and then delivered to SAN in 2023 after extensive acceptance trials.

The third vessel will be delivered one year later in 2024. The vessels will all contribute to South Africa’s maritime security in strengthening the country’s capability to respond effectively, rapidly, and cost-efficiently to threats such as illegal trafficking and fishing.

The Damen Sea Axe vessel measures 62 metres by 11metres. The patented Damen design is said to deliver exceptional seakeeping behaviour with the straight-edged bow cutting through the water, thereby improving comfort and safety while reducing emissions and fuel consumption.

As such they should prove more comfortable for the crew than the former SA Navy strike craft they are replacing.

According to Damen many of the components are commercial off-the-shelf, significantly reducing running and maintenance costs.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Transnet introduces recovery plan after majority of workers return

Transnet said on Tuesday night it has begun implementing recovery plans across its operations, this as the company resumes operations following 12 days of strikes.

Employee attendance is improving and on Tuesday it averaged between 70% and 80%, with more employees expected to return over the next two days.

Transnet says it continues to prioritise the safety of employees and assets, as operations prepare to ramp up. Engagements with customers and industry are ongoing, with joint planning to clear backlogs created as a result of the industrial action.

Railways

On the rail side, trolley trips are being undertaken to assess the safety of the railway network, as well as inspection of rolling stock to ensure trains are declared safe before services resume fully. Repairs to sections of the network affected by theft and vandalism are also being undertaken.

Ports

At the ports, focus remains on clearing the backlog of vessels at anchorage and alongside the quay, including bulk, break bulk and containers.

Evacuation of imports out of the port is underway, in order to create fluidity within the terminals, with the immediate focus being on perishable and time-sensitive cargo. All eight commercial ports remain accessible – Richards Bay, Durban, East London, Ngqura, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town, Saldanha.

Pipelines

Transnet Pipelines continues to transport fuel to the inland market, with contingencies in place to ensure security of supply.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK:  general purpose tanker PACIFIC TRADER

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

One of the various types of tanker that is now getting to be a regular arrival sight in South African ports is the small, general purpose class, bunker tanker. This is almost entirely due to an obvious reason, related to ongoing national issues, and also due to a not so obvious reason, which is, to most folk, literally one that is out of sight and, therefore, out of mind.

By now, everybody is well aware of the dire problems that are being faced in South Africa due to the loss of two of the major refineries, one in Durban and one on Cape Town, and of other refineries reducing the line of products that they produce, and also at least one other major refinery threatening to bring all processing operations to an end in the not too distant future.

One of the group of fuel products that could be produced at some of the refineries was that of marine bunker fuel, which comes in a variety of products. These fuels are namely gas oil and fuel oil, with the latter coming in both High Sulphur varieties, and Low Sulphur varieties.

That there is not enough of any of these products being refined locally, to satisfy national requirements, means that many tankers are starting to arrive from overseas, bringing with them the bunker products needed to satisfy demand. Although most of these arrivals are of the MR and LR class of tanker, with their cargoes going directly into local storage, occasionally a small, general purpose, tanker arrives. However, generally, these arrivals are not from overseas.

Up until 2016, in South African ports, only licensed bunker providers could utilise small, harbour, bunker tankers and transfer bunker fuels into vessels, who were already alongside in port. Off Port Limits (OPL) bunkering, using ship-to-ship (STS) transfers was not permitted.

In 2016 the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) selected Algoa Bay, in the Eastern Cape, as the location on the South African coast where OPL bunkering would be allowed. They issued a single license, which was controversial at the time, as it was issued on a closed tender to a foreign bunker provider.

The reason for the selection of Algoa Bay was that it was a sheltered bay, located only 30 nautical miles from the major shipping route for any traffic that requires to pass the Cape, in either a North-South, or an East-West, direction. Algoa Bay has a maximum depth of 42 metres, and is equidistant from two ports, namely the Port of Ngqura and the Port of Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha), which were both located less than 5 nautical miles away from the bunker station.

Subsequently, SAMSA have awarded a further two licenses, one in 2018 and one in 2019 to other operators. Having an OPL bunker operation means that you have to have bunker tankers, capable of STS transfers, and of a suitable size to undertake an offshore operation. General purpose tankers are perfect for this kind of STS bunker transfer operation.

On 11th October, just after 12h00 in the afternoon, the general purpose tanker PACIFIC TRADER (IMO 9403839) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from the Port Elizabeth anchorage, and went to anchor for just under three days. Finally, on 14th October at 09h00, she entered Cape Town harbour, going straight to the Tanker Basin in the Duncan Dock for the discharge of her cargo of marine fuel products.

She had been in the Port Elizabeth anchorage for a period of three days, before heading to Cape Town. Prior to this ‘Pacific Trader’ had previously arrived at Algoa Bay from Richards Bay harbour, in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). On that voyage she has also departed from the Port Elizabeth anchorage, arriving off Richards Bay on 20th September, and going to anchor for a full fortnight off the port, and only entering the harbour on 3rd October, and going alongside at berth 209, the usual discharge berth for tankers in the KZN harbour.

Built in 2009 by Tuzla Gemi Shipbuilding at Istanbul in Turkey, ‘Pacific Trader’ is 144 metres in length and has a deadweight of 16,934 tons. She is powered by a single MAN-B&W 6L48/60B 6 cylinder 4 stroke main engine producing 8,565 bhp (6,300 kW), driving a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Caterpillar 3508B generators providing 820 kW each, and a single MAN D2866TE emergency generator providing 170 kW. She has a single Garioni Naval NG-CB1500 exhaust gas boiler, and a single Garioni Naval GWT-10000 oil fired boiler.

For added manoeuvrability she has a single Kongsberg TT1650 transverse bow thruster, providing 789 kW. She has 12 cargo tanks, with a cargo carrying capacity of 20,300 m3, and ‘Pacific Trader’ is able to carry 6 grades of product at any one time. She has 12 cargo pumps, each capable of pumping 385 m3/hour.

She has been operating almost continuously out of the Port Elizabeth anchorage since early June, and a clear sign that she conducts STS bunker transfers there is the fact that she carries two large Yokohama fenders on deck.

One of four sisterships, ‘Pacific Trader’ is owned by Sopravvento Shipping SA of Athens, and operated by the Lavinia Corporation, also of Athens. She is managed by Alison Management Corporation, also of Athens, with all three companies linked to the same controlling interest.

Interestingly, ‘Pacific Trader’ is registered with the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Resources (CCAMLR) for operation in Antarctic waters. The question of why a tanker would receive CCAMLR authority to operate in Antarctica is answered by the fact that her operator, Lavinia Corporation, is a subsidiary of Laskiridis Shipping Co. Ltd., of Athens.

Laskiridis Shipping are well known in the Antarctic fisheries industry for the provision of fish reefer vessels, that regularly arrive in both the Antarctic waters of UN FAO Area 48, which covers the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia, and also the waters of the Falkland Islands. Here they conduct STS transfers of frozen fish, krill and squid. It is apparent that, with her own STS abilities, ‘Pacific Trader’ was used as a refuelling bunker tanker for either the Trawlers in Antarctica, or the Reefer vessels themselves, or both.

Prior to her arrival in South African waters, ‘Pacific Trader’ was operating for a great number of months in Brazilian waters. In September 2020, during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, she was in the Brazilian port of Santos, when two members of her crew tested positive for the virus. The vessel was immediately quarantined for a period of 14 days.

After two days alongside in Cape Town harbour, discharging her marine fuel parcels, ‘Pacific Trader’ sailed from Cape Town on 16th October at 16h00. Her destination was given as Port Elizabeth, with an ETA given as 06h00 on 18th October.

The guess is that she will replenish her tanks with bunker fuels, once she has arrived back, to replenish her cargo tanks, either from stocks held at Port Elizabeth harbour, or probably from within the Port Elizabeth anchorage itself. She will then await her next assignment, either in the Port Elizabeth anchorage itself with an STS transfer to a passing vessel, or she will once more depart to another South African port with her much needed bunker fuel cargo.

Update:  In fact, as expected, ‘Pacific Trader’ arrived in the Port Elizabeth anchorage at 13h00 on the 18^th October and, also as expected, she went alongside the ‘Umnenga II’ Mother Ship and began an STS transfer of her next cargo load.

An interesting part of the offshore bunkering operation in Algoa Bay is that there is also a ‘Mother Ship’ tanker at anchor in the bay. This means that the bunker tankers do not always need to enter Port Elizabeth harbour to replenish their tanks for the next STS operation. Instead they are able to go alongside the Mother Ship and conduct a reverse STS operation, taking their fuel directly from the Mother Ship itself.

It was this kind of operation that caused a fuel spill in Algoa Bay, back in May of this year. The Mother Ship ‘Umnega II’ was transferring bunker fuel to the bunker tanker ‘Lefkas’ when the incident occurred. SAMSA suspended all STS operation in Algoa Bay, and five oil spill response vessels were used to skim, and collect, the estimated 3,000 litres of spilled heavy fuel oil.

Thankfully, none of the spilled fuel reached the nearby shores of Algoa Bay, nor the bird and wildlife reserves on the protected islands within the bay, and no shore pollution was reported. This was the fourth such spill that had occurred since STS transfers were first permitted back in 2016. The ‘Umnega II’ was taken into the nearby port of Ngqura to be cleaned up, and the ‘Lefkas’ was taken into Port Elizabeth harbour to be cleaned up. A Wharf Talk article on ‘Lefkas’ appeared in Africa Ports & Ships on 21st July 2021.

See that article by CLICKING HERE

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Cruise Ship Schedule for Port of Durban 2022-2023

Cruise Ship ETA’s at Port of Durban

The following cruise ships are booked to call at the Port of Durban in the coming South African summer cruise season.  This list will be added to or updated if necessary.  Many of these ships will similarly call at other South African ports. Africa Ports & Ships will list the other ports provided we are able to obtain the necessary information.

Year & Month	Date	Ship Name
2022
October	17	Europa 2
	24	Hanseatic Spirit
November	02	Europa 2
	19	MSC Orchestra
	19	AIDAaura
	20	MSC Orchestra
	20	Zaandam
	21	MSC Orchestra
	25	MSC Orchestra
	28	MSC Orchestra
December	02	MSC Orchestra
	03	AIDAaura
	05	MSC Orchestra
	09	MSC Orchestra
	12	MSC Orchestra
	13-14   18-19	Seven Seas Voyager
	15	Hanseatic Spirit
	16	MSC Orchestra
	17	AIDAaura
	19	MSC Orchestra
	26	MSC Orchestra
	27	Norwegian Jade
	28-29	Seven Seas Voyager
	28-29	Azamara Journey
	30	AIDAaura
2023
January	02	Nautica
	08	Norwegian Jade
	09	MSC Orchestra
	10	Azamara Journey
	13	MSC Orchestra
	13-14	Nautica
	14	AIDAaura
	16	MSC Orchestra
	20	Norwegian Jade
	20	MSC Orchestra
	21	Nautica
	22	Azamara Journey
	23	MSC Orchestra
	24	AIDAsol
	27	MSC Orchestra
	28	AIDAaura
	30	MSC Orchestra
February	02    see April	Queen Mary 2
	03	MSC Orchestra
	06	MSC Orchestra
	10	MSC Orchestra
	11	AIDAaura
	13	MSC Orchestra
	15	Azamara Journey
	17	MSC Orchestra
	19	Costa Deliziosa
	20	MSC Orchestra
	21-22	Artania
	23	AIDAaura
	24	MSC Orchestra
	27	Azamara Jounrey
	27	MSC Orchestra
March	02	Artania
	03	MSC Orchestra
	06	MSC Orchestra
	10	Zuiderdam
	10	MSC Orchestra
	13	MSC Orchestra
	17	MSC Orchestra
	20	MSC Orchestra
	24	MSC Orchestra
	27	MSC Orchestra
	31	MSC Orchestra
April	01	Silver Cloud
	03	Queen Mary 2
	09	Insignia
	09	Silver Shadow
	22	Seabourn Sojourn

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IN CONVERSATION: Coastal erosion is unstoppable – so how do we live with it?

Sophie Day, Author provided

Sophie A. Day, University of East Anglia and Robert James Nicholls, University of East Anglia

A record storm surge in 1953 devastated much of eastern England’s coast, prompting prolific investment in concrete sea walls, wooden groynes and other engineered structures designed to protect the coastline from erosion. These measures brought a reassuring sense of permanence for people in previously risky locations. Houses atop sandy cliffs and tucked behind or among sand dunes went from being holiday homes to permanent residences, and new homes were built nearby.

But decades later, the east coast and other parts of England are still eroding – rapidly in some places – despite efforts to hold the coastline in place.

England has some of the fastest eroding coastline in Europe, particularly along the Norfolk and Yorkshire coasts. Historical records show that England’s soft and sandy east coast has always been subject to retreat. The numerous lost villages beneath the North Sea are testament to this.

Sea walls and other structures cannot hold the coastline together forever. Sophie Day, Author provided

Back in 2018 the Committee on Climate Change, which advises the UK government, calculated that around 9,000 properties in England are located in areas likely to be lost to coastal erosion by 2025. This number is projected to increase 15-fold by the end of the century, disrupting whole communities as more buildings, roads and farmland inevitably slip into the danger zone.

Unstoppable – and necessary?

A growing body of research warns that the speed of coastal erosion will be compounded by sea-level rise and other effects of climate change, such as more extreme storms and prolonged wet weather, as waterlogged soils increase the likelihood of sandy cliffs collapsing. Rates of erosion can be roughly but not precisely estimated, due to the complexity of coastal systems and uncertainty regarding how the effects of climate change will manifest.

Since the early 1990s, scientists have collected huge amounts of data in order to understand how the wind, waves, tides and storms shape coastlines. The evidence indicates that it is not possible or prudent to stop or delay coastal erosion forever and that in some places, it may even be necessary.

This is because when soft cliffs such as those along the east of England retreat, they release a lot of sand which is deposited on nearby beaches, making them higher and wider. High and wide beaches absorb the energy of waves, giving some protection to cliffs, dunes and sea walls from coastal erosion and flooding.

The chief executive of the UK Environment Agency recently said it is inevitable that at some point communities will have to move back from the coast. So what does this mean for people who live in places where coastal erosion is accelerating, or where it can no longer be stopped?

At Happisburgh in north Norfolk for example, a section of old and damaged sea defences had to be removed in the 1990s to avert dangerous collapse. Rapid erosion of the beach and cliffs since the early 2000s has meant homes in this village being steadily demolished as the coastline retreats. As yet there are no arrangements to compensate people here, or other government policies to help them adapt.

Living with coastal erosion

It is important to be realistic: homes, roads and other things which knit some coastal communities together will need to be relocated inland away from danger – and soon. But doing this is far from simple, and will certainly be costly.

Ideally, the kind of investment which erected coastal defences in the aftermath of the 1953 storm surge would be mobilised today to help these places move. This is a pressing issue – letting crisis and despair characterise life for coastal communities on the edge is unsustainable and unfair.

Slowly, things are changing. A network of coastal communities, local authority officers and politicians, academics and others have worked since the early 2000s to argue for what is needed to cope with and prepare for coastal erosion around England and Wales. Now, a new pulse of government funding could test these ideas so that in future, no community feels abandoned to the sea.

Part of this work will be to begin the transition in eroding towns and villages on England’s east coast from a state of crisis to one in which people can begin to live feeling safe and confident. It must be systematically worked out how communities can move away from risky areas while maintaining homes, utilities and services, as well as preserving local heritage, culture and each place’s unique character.

As academics working alongside government agencies, our next challenge will be ensuring these time-limited projects translate into robust national policy and funding. Coastal erosion cannot be stopped, so we must help everyone relearn how to live with it.

---

Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

---

Sophie A. Day, Senior Research Associate in Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia and Robert James Nicholls, Professor of Climate Adaptation, University of East Anglia

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

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

US Coast Guard Strategy released for 2022 and beyond

From Washington Admiral Linda L Fagan, Commandant of the US Coast Guard, released the Coast Guard Strategy on 12 October .

This document provides a framework for the Service’s priorities during the next four years and beyond.

The Coast Guard Strategy positions the service’s workforce as the top priority of Coast Guard senior leaders. It also builds on Fagan’s Commandant’s Intent to generate sustained readiness, resilience, and capability to enhance America’s maritime safety, security, and prosperity.

Within this strategy, Fagan describes her three priorities to enable the service to meet the demands of a changing world and remain Semper Paratus in service to the nation:

* Transform our total workforce: The Coast Guard must provide our workforce with a personnel management model that best aligns the talents, desires, and experiences of an individual with the needs of the service to maximise the performance of both.

* Sharpen our competitive edge: The Coast Guard must quickly deliver and integrate new capabilities and processes to meet emerging requirements in a constantly changing environment.

* Advance our mission excellence: The Coast Guard must employ our assets and people in new ways, applying our vital resources to the highest priority missions.

“The pace of change in today’s world is accelerating,” said Fagan. She added: “If we do not adapt, this accelerating pace of change will overtake our ability to protect, defend, and save the American public we serve. Now is the time to move our service forward.”

Admiral Fagan assumed the duties as the 27th Commandant on 1 June this year at Coast Guard Headquarters.

The Coast Guard Strategy, Commandant’s Intent, and vision statement can be found at USCG Commandant’s Home Page with an introductory video – CLICK HERE

Here at Africa Ports & Ships we receive USCG news from around the world and report on it when it is pertinent to the maritime trade of Africa not forgetting the fact that the Coast Guard, by their very presence, are making safe the waters around the Continent and the routes to it for the preservation of peace and commerce.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

International: Market volatility causing the classic ‘boom and bust cycle’ in the container shipping industry

 

Container Rates and prices headed to drop below pre-covid levels

Depot space becoming a big issue; lines continue to cancel blank sailings

Profitability for container liners and freight forwarders dips

The fall in China’s exports in September, the global economic downturn and the innumerable repercussions of the endless impacts of the war, the lockdowns in China and the port strikes have been the highlight of the monthly container logistics report published this month by Container xChange, an online platform for container logistic companies to book and manage containers while also efficiently managing payment and related services.

“What we now see is not unforeseen. The slowing down of demand, and the glut of oversupply of containers are all a consequence of the disruptions caused since the outbreak of the pandemic. It is like the classic boom and bust cycle.” said Christian Roeloffs, co-founder and CEO, Container xChange.

“There is a relatively low orders-to-inventory ratio. The retailers and the bigger buyers or shippers are more cautious about the outlook on demand and are ordering less. On the other hand, the congestion is easing with vessel waiting times reducing, ports operating at less capacity, and the container turnaround times decreasing which ultimately, frees up the capacity in the market,” Roeloffs added.

Another key trend is the early signs of companies trying to diversify their sourcing strategy with Vietnam emerging as one of the key sourcing hubs.

Based on Container xChange’s data, the price of a cargo-worthy 40 ft HC container in Ho Chi Minh City on 22 September was $3,643, the third highest on the platform. This indicates a high demand for 40 ft HC containers at the port. Not just the prices, the average pick-up rate of a cargo-worthy 20 ft from the port of Ho Chi Minh to the US dropped from $321 to $117 as well. For container users, it’s perhaps the right time to leverage these rates as the country gears up in enhancing its export growth.

All in all, on Container xChange trading platforms, the prices for cargo-worthy 40 DC boxes in the ports of China have seen a steady decline in 2022 – almost becoming half of what they were at the beginning of the year. And though the ports of India and Vietnam too have seen similar decline, the trading prices seem to have stabilized over the last two months showing an increase in demand for these boxes at the ports of Mundra, Nhava Sheva, and Ho Chi Minh City.

Europe faces historically the most difficult time in a long time

The declining consumer confidence reflects in the sliding container prices and rates in Europe.

The European market is finding itself flooded with 40 ft HC containers. As a result, the region is experiencing a fall in the prices of these boxes. As of 21 September 2022, the general average PU charge for a 40 ft HC cargo-worthy box in the ports of Europe fell from $2,996 in August to $2,773 in September. The prices for the same were $3,281 in July this year.

Logjams clear in the US

As shippers started favoring the US East Coast ports for importing cargo to the US, the PU charges from China to these ports fell dramatically. For cargo-worthy containers (20 ft, 40 ft, and 40 ft HC), the PU charges fell from $1,473 in August to $940 in September for the Port of New York. At the same time, for the Port of Savannah, the drop was from $1,211 to $874.

The PU charges from China to the ports on US West Coast were running high in the beginning of the year, nearing $3000. As the logjams in these ports began clearing up, the PU charges too started falling slowly. For cargo-worthy containers (20 ft, 40 ft, and 40 ft HC) from China to Los Angeles, the PU charges fell from $1,664 in August to $1361 in September. The drop was from $1,514 to $1,156 for the port of Oakland.

For more in-depth analysis and data, please download the full report FROM HERE

About Container xChange

Container xChange is a technology company that offers a container trading and leasing platform, payment infrastructure (for transparent and easier payment handling) and efficient operating systems to manage the end-to-end container movement across the globe for container logistic companies worldwide.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 19 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

STRIKE UPDATE: Transnet reaches agreement with majority union UNTU

There will be some relief felt across the nation today with the news that Transnet has reached an agreement with its majority union, UNTU (United National Transport Union).

This was announced late on Monday afternoon. UNTU members have been on strike since Friday 7 October 2022.

UNTU has 24,992 members, accounting for 53.9% of bargaining unit employees at Transnet.

By last night there was no agreement reached with the second union, SATAWU (SA Transport and Allied Workers Union), which represents a substantial number of union members.

SATAWU, which is well represented in the Durban port, said its members would remain on strike.

The agreement with UNTU covers a three-year period and applies from 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2025 and will be implemented from 1 October 2022. Thus the strike with UNTU membership has formally ended.

Transnet added that the agreement applies to all bargaining unit employees including those who are not members of UNTU.

The agreement reached with UNTO includes the following elements:

• Year 1: a 6,0% increase in the basic wage for levels H to L, and 6,0% on the annual cost-to-company package for level G.
• Year 2: a 5,5% increase in the basic wage for levels H to L, and 5,5% on the annual cost-to-company package for level G.
• Year 3: a 6,0% increase in the basic wage for levels H to L, and 6,0% on the annual cost-to-company package for level G.
• An increase in the medical aid subsidy, in line with the increases in the basic wage, over the duration of the agreement. The increase on the medical subsidy for the 2022/23 financial year will be implemented from 1 October 2022.
• An increase in the housing allowance commencing from year 2023/24 and 2024/25.
• The back-pay for the period 1 April to 30 September 2022 will be paid in two tranches – three months’ back-pay on 15 November 2022, and three months’ back-pay on 16 January 2023.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 18 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Chinese MR2 products tanker ARDMORE SEAVANGUARD

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

In maritime circles, the question to be asked is what constitutes a collision? Can it only be an occurrence that happens between two vessels, or can it be an event that occurs between a single vessel and any other structure, irrespective of that structure being fixed, or moving? I suspect the latter.

One dictionary definition of a collision is “An instance of one moving object striking violently against another.”, with another dictionary describing it as “The coming together of two or more things with such force that both or all are damaged or their progress is severely impeded.”

On 8th October, at 19h00 in the evening, the MR2 products tanker ARDMORE SEAVANGUARD (IMO 9637088) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from Ras Laffan in Qatar, and went to anchor for just short of two days. On 10th October, at 15h00, she entered Cape Town harbour, going alongside in the tanker basin within the Duncan Dock.

Built in 2014 by SPP Shipbuilding at Tongyoung in South Korea, ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ is 183 metres in length and has a deadweight of 49,997 tons. She is powered by a Doosan MAN-B&W 6S50ME-B9.2 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 12,893 bhp (8,910 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Yanmar 6EY22ALW generators providing 970 kW each, and she has a single Cummins emergency generator. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission XW exhaust gas boiler, and a single Alfa Laval Aalborg OL oil fired boiler.

She has 12 cargo tanks, and a cargo carrying capacity of 52,063 m3. All of her tanks are coated with pure epoxy, and she can carry seven grades of product at any one time. She has seven cargo manifolds and is able to load, per manifold connection, at a rate of 2,500 m3 per hour. Loading simultaneously, via all manifolds, allows her to load at a rate of 4,560 m3 per hour. She has 12 cargo pumps, all capable of pumping at 600 m3 per hour.

As one of eight sisterships, ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ is nominally owned by Joy Champion International Holding Ltd., of Hong Kong, which is part of a Chinese, state owned, financial leasing company. She is operated by Ardmore Shipping (Bermuda) Ltd., of Pembroke in Bermuda, and is managed by Thome Shipmanagement Pte. Ltd., of Singapore.

The International Association of Independent Tanker Owners (INTERTANKO) is a membership association for owners of independent tankers throughout the world. They produce a document called Questionnaire 88, which is completed by tanker owners, and is used to show the most up to date information on a tanker vessel, for purposes of assessing vessel suitability, and risk, when other parties are considering the chartering of that vessel.

The latest INTERTANKO questionnaire 88 for ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ was updated on 13th October 2022. Section twelve of the document is titled ‘Recent Operational History’ and in section 12.2 asks, amongst other things, if the vessel has been involved in a collision incident, or required repairs, during the past 12 months. The answer given in the document is ‘NO’ to any collision, and ‘YES’ to receiving repairs, notably due to Bulbous Bow damage.

On 5th February 2022 ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ had completed loading 9,000 tons of Biodiesel at the inland river port of San Lorenzo, in Argentina. She has just come off the single berth at the Nouryon Chemical facility, in readiness for her passage down the Parana River to the River Plate estuary, en-route to Rotterdam. The berth is located in the southern part of the river port, adjacent to the Vicentin Grain Terminal berth, which forms part of the Association of Argentine Cooperatives (ACA) grain terminal complex, and consists of three grain loaders.

For, as yet, unknown reasons, ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ made contact with the Vicentin berth. The ‘positive contact’ damaged the No.1 Davit on the berth, and badly damaged the No.1 Loading Boom to the extent that it was put out of action. The ‘positive contact’ also damaged the structure of the loading wharf itself, which took the berth out of service. The full extent of the damage is also, as yet, unknown. This is when the question of what constitutes a collision rears its head.

Once back into the main river stream, ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ was allowed to resume her voyage down river. On reaching the River Plate estuary she went to anchor at the Zona Comun anchorage, off La Plata, where she remained for over five days whilst inspections and investigations were carried out to determine any damage to the vessel itself.
The collision created another issue for the local port authorities. The problem lay in the fact that Argentine Shipowner Compensation legislation is considered out of date, as it uses the value of a vessel as a parameter for compensation. This ignores the fact that the port complex infrastructure may well be worth twice what the value of a vessel is considered to be.

Under the London Convention of 1976 (updated in 2010), the limits of liability and, consequently, damage compensation values have increased considerably. However, Argentina does not abide by the terms of this agreement. The president of the Chamber of Private Commercial Ports of Argentina (CPPC) stated that their ports were, in effect, unprotected.

He went on to state that in Argentina, it is the value of a ship, which can be as low as US$17 million (ZAR310.83 million), which is used as the yardstick to determine compensation in this type of accident.   This leaves port authorities as being clearly underinsured, given that our ports are individually worth more than US$40 million (ZAR731.36 million), and current Panamax, and Post Panamax, vessels have an average international liability limitation of US$42 million (ZAR767.93 million).

Back in September 2018, collisions at San Lorenzo port were costing millions of dollars worth of damage claims, due to the fact that tug assistance in the river port was not mandatory. This lack of a requirement for tug assistance applies to both the operations of berthing, and unberthing, and is only required if the vessel exceeds 185 metres in length. This was because the port terminal operators rejected the port authorities request that tug assistance be made mandatory. This was still the case in February 2022, and is still the case today.

On 14th October, ‘Ardmore Seavanguard’ had completed her discharge of her fuel product parcels for Cape Town, and at 09h00 she sailed from the port, with her next destination being Durban, where she was due to arrive at 06h00 on 17th October, to continue with her discharge.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 18 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WTO Trade Policy Review: Djibouti

The third review of the trade policies and practices of Djibouti took place on 12 and 14 October. The basis for the review is a report by the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat and a report by the Government of Djibouti, links to each of which will be found below.

Background

Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant developments that may have an impact on the global trading system are also monitored. All WTO members are subject to review, with the frequency of review varying according to their share of world trade.

Djibouti

Located in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti is a least developed country (LDC) and has been classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income country. It had a gross national income per capita of US5,610 in 2020. Its geographical location, port infrastructure and political stability make it a major maritime hub and have prompted several countries to establish military bases there.

Revenue from the bases and from port activities has fostered the emergence of a modern segment of the economy that coexists with a large informal sector. However, the high cost of production factors and the strong presence of public companies continue to hinder the country’s economic development. Given Djibouti’s narrow production base, international trade is fundamental for the country, which relies almost exclusively on imports to meet its domestic demand for most goods and some services. Thanks to the infrastructure (especially ports), re-exports far outstrip exports.

Reports: WTO and Djibouti Government

The WTO Djibouti report is available HERE

The Executive Summary of the WTO Djibouti is to be FOUND HERE

For a policy statement by the Djibouti Government is available CLICK HERE

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

based on material kindly provided by the WTO.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 18 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

NAMPORT RESULTS: Mixed fortunes, but altogether not a bad year

The Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) completed the year 2021-2022 with mixed fortunes, said chief executive Andre Kanime on Friday.

Referring to a lack of ship calls at the two Namibian ports of Luderitz and Walvis Bay, he drew attention to the time spent getting produce or commodities to market as playing a factor for importers and exporters.

“The shortage of vessels had a severe impact in that it prolonged the times cargo took to reach intended destinations and port users had no option but to seek for alternative ports where the challenge of vessel was not so acute.

“This was regrettably to our detriment, and we lost quite some cargo volumes to other ports in the region as a result.” Kanime said.

Namport has had to rely on logistical corridors with neighbouring countries to bolster the volume of traffic for both ports and especially Walvis Bay, and the dearth of ships calling at the ports has not assisted in this programme.

Container shortage

The CEO added a shortage of containers to the challenges faced by the two ports over the past year.

“Pandemic imposed bottlenecks resulted in the delayed movement of containers through ports and the hinterland and ultimately, a mismatch between demand and availability of containers. Certain commodities, such as some mineral ores are specifically and ideally conveyed in
shipping containers hence the shortage had a negative impact on the movement of those commodities.”

Namport had worked in various ways to bridge the shipping and container shortages, he said.

“We introduced incentives for alternative shipping container configurations and had bulk vessels carrying cargo which was previously predominantly handled in containerised form.

“Given the very constrained financial resources and revenues, we embarked on strict austerity measures across all elements of our costs, and this bore significant fruit with material savings being realised in our overall operational expenditure.”

Kanime said the volumes of containerised and non-containerised or bulk cargo increased year on year by 8% and 9%, respectively.

Cross-border volumes increased by 10% to 1,606,984 tonnes (2021: 1,464,100 tonnes) representing 24% of total cargo volumes handled. The total corridor volumes comprised 550,113 tonnes destined for the hinterland and 1,056,872 tonnes from the hinterland.

The overall vessel gross tonnage increased by 3.4 million tonnes or 21.6%. The increase in vessel calls was mainly due to the increase in petroleum, research, dry bulk, roll-on-roll-off, foreign tugs, and foreign fishing vessels.

Revenue for the year ended 31 March 2022 amounted to N$1.23 billion, up from N$1.11 billion in the previous financial year and representing an increase of 11%. [N$1 = R1]

Conversely, our operational expenditure remained flat, having only increased by a nominal 0.1% year on year from N$1.005 billion in the preceding financial year to N$1.006 billion for the year ended 31st of March 2022.

Operating profit for the year increased from N$121 million to N$374 million and excluding the non-operational income of N$147 million, the year-on-year increase in operational profitability amounts to 88%.

In the year ended the 31st of March 2021, the Authority made an operating loss before tax and this was largely because of the high debt service cost on the funding secured for the New Container Terminal construction which had previously been capitalised until project completion in 2020.

However, with the significant improvement in operational performance, the Authority could comfortably cater for these finance costs and maintain a positive bottom line. Hence, profit before taxation for the year amounted to N$253 million (and N$106 million excluding non-operational income), in comparison to the loss before tax position of N$38 million for the year ended 31 March 2022.

For details of the concessioning of the New Container Terminal (NCT), see report in yesterday’s edition available further down this page

Capital Investment – Expanding the Walvis Bay entrance channel

Namport’s CEO drew attention to Namport’s investment focus over the past few years as having been on the construction of the NCT.

“This crowded out other requirements, the most important of which is the expansion of our entrance channel at the Port of Walvis Bay. We have built a world class terminal here and we need to handle large size volumes. The only impediment we now have is the size of the channel hence we are saying we need to bring in the private sector to undertake this investment and the great positive spin offs will accrue directly to us in the form of increased port usage and cargo throughput charges.

“In addition to the channel expansion, we also need to bring in private capital for investment in additional cargo handling equipment so that we can enhance our operational efficiencies, which is a critical factor in attracting new business volumes to the NCT.

“We would also benefit from the great experience, skills and experience of an international operator as they would leverage off their international networks and technical capacity to improve the NCT performance and efficiencies.”

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter- it’s free
Added 18 Octgober 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

CMA CGM opens new winter version of EUROMAR with new service tween Morocco & North Europe

CMA CGM says that there are always better ways to address a market and to prove the point, the French line’s Short Sea Lines division is announcing a new winter EUROMAR service commencing in Week 44 between Morocco and North Europe.

The new version starts ex Agadir on 5 November 2022, integrating a 4th vessel to enable a weekly frequency and implement a sustainable maritime bridge for the upcoming Moroccan Fruit & Vegetables campaign.

According to CMA CGM this will allow a 75% CO2 emissions savings compared to traditional truck modal on this corridor.

The service will operate with four vessels each of 1,300 TEU with 280 reefer plugs with 45′ RFH intake

The port rotation on a weekly frequency is as follows:

Tanger – Casablanca – Agadir – London Gateway – Rotterdam – Hamburg – Antwerp – Le Havre – Vigo – Tanger

Service commences ETD Agadir 5 November 01h00; first call ETA London Gateway 10 November 07h00.

Transit time 5 days.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 18 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Out of the ordinary NSRI sea rescue evacuation off KZN South Coast

National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) Shelly Beach Station 20, which is about halfway between Durban and Port Shepstone, was involved with an out of the ordinary offshore rescue of injured seafarers at the weekend.

Normally we learn of sea rescue craft rendezvousing with a passing or stationary ship off the coast of South Africa, and using Stokes baskets or other techniques to safely transfer the patient or patients to the rescue vessel alongside, or on occasion to a helicopter hovering overhead.

South Africa, fortunately, has these facilities available, with NSRI stations dotted strategically along the long coastline, and available 24/7/365 to respond – and all manned entirely by volunteers!

Melody Herrman, the NSRI Shelly Beach duty controller, reports that at 12h26 on Sunday (16 October), NSRI Shelly Beach duty crew were activated by MRCC (Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre) reporting injuries to 2 sailors onboard a bulk carrier motor vessel 19 nautical miles off-shore East of Port Shepstone.

“It appears that while working on the life boat onboard the motor vessel the life raft deployed unexpectedly, plunging into the sea, injuring a mechanic who was in the life raft and crew onboard were unable to reach the life raft in the water.”

NSRI Rocky Bay and NSRI Port Edward were placed on alert.

Herrman continues: “The NSRI rescue craft Spirit of Dawn was launched accompanied by a Med-Evac rescue paramedic, who is a crew member of NSRI Shelly Beach.

“On launching at Shelly Beach sea conditions were 2 to 2.5 metre swells.

“On arrival on the scene in 5 to 6 metre swells NSRI rescue swimmers were deployed into the water and they boarded the life boat. A critically injured Indian seaman with trauma injuries, believed to be aged in his 50’s, was extricated from the life boat and brought onboard our rescue craft, [where] he was taken into the care of our Med-Evac paramedic who initiated medical treatment onboard our rescue craft.

“A second adult seaman, whose cause of injuries remains unknown, secured into a Stokes basket stretcher, was hoisted aboard our rescue craft by the ships crew using their ships crane. He too was found to be in a critical condition with trauma injuries.

“In the care of the paramedic they were brought to our NSRI Shelly Beach rescue base and transported to hospital in serious but stable conditions by Medi-Evac ambulance. The operation completed at around 18h00.”

Herrman reports that on Monday morning hospital staff were able to confirm that both seafarers were recovering in hospital.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

MSC’s TiL is the preferred bidder for Walvis Bay Container Terminal concession

Namport expects handover in first quarter of 2023

Mediterranean Shipping Company’s Terminal Investment Limited (TiL) division has been approved by Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) as its preferred bidder for the concessioning of the Walvis Bay New Container Terminal (NCT).

Announcing this on Friday, chief executive officer Mr Andre Kanime said the Request for Proposals that was issued in April to five candidates who had responded to the Expression of Interest issued in 2021. The RfP closed on 29 July 2022 with two bids having been received from the five.

After the evaluation process was completed Namport approved TiL as the company to manage the NCT at the port of Walvis Bay.

“We are happy with the business case proposed by TiL and are confident that this is aligned to the fundamental objectives we have set for the concession of the NCT,” said Kanime.

The CEO said the next stage of the process will be to commence with negotiations between Namport and TiL on the concession agreement, focusing on the detailed operational matters, “including but not limited to the exact terms and conditions of the personnel to be taken over by the operator.”

Kanime said Namport envisages finalising the negotiation and handover process by the first quarter of 2023.

The objectives of the concession exercise, he said, is to increase cargo volumes, investment commitment and employment guarantees, with penalties set for the non-attainment of agreed performance and volume targets.

Container volume disappointment

The chief executive said the financial year ended on 31 March this year comprised of mixed fortunes for Namport.

“One of the significant challenges to befall the shipping and logistics industry following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic was the shortage of vessels especially on the relatively less lucrative Africa trade lanes and in favour of the highly profitable Asia – Pacific trade lanes.

“So dire was the situation that in numerous instances, our ports at Walvis Bay and Luderitz, just like others here in Africa, went on for weeks without receiving a single vessel call especially for container carriers.”

In spite of the NCT increasing the port’s container handling capacity from 350,000 TEU per year to 750,000 TEU, the total containers handled at the terminal amounted to only 168,750 TEUs, a low capacity utilisation of 23%.

“It is critical that we sweat this asset and earn a return on the investment but, unfortunately, the local volumes of imports and exports are restrictively low given our small captive market. We therefore can only lean on corridor and transhipment volumes for meaningful ramp up in our volumes throughput,” said Kanime.

More Namport results and comment in tomorrow’s edition of Africa Ports & Ships.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: midsize LPG tanker GASCHEM AACHEN

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

Of all the majority bulk cargoes that are imported into South Africa, the one that is seen the least, and therefore the specialist vessels that carry the commodity are also not regularly spotted in our ports, is that of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG).

There is a good reason why that was so. To start off, it should be understood that LPG, as opposed to LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) is a product of the processing of crude oil. Of the six refineries in South Africa, five of them previously refined LPG which made up 80% of South Africa’s needs. Sadly, as is well known, the ability of the nation to refine oil is greatly diminished, and now only two refineries still produce LPG, namely the SAPREF refinery in Durban, and the SASOL refinery at Secunda, in the eastern Mpumalanga province.

That said, even had all five of the refineries still produced LPG, South Africa is wholly unprepared for the use of LPG in any industrial quantities. Other African countries utilise an average of 20% of their total energy needs with LPG, whereas South Africa only uses 2%.

On 3rd October at 21h00, the Midsize LPG tanker GASCHEM AACHEN (IMO 9257395) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage from nearby Saldanha Bay, and went to anchor for 36 hours, eventually entering Cape Town harbour on 5th October at 0800. On entering the Duncan Dock, she went alongside the Eastern Mole.

However, her visit did not appear to be for the normal reason of Eastern Mole callers, that of taking on bunkers and stores, but was instead for purposes of light shoreside maintenance support. The maintenance appeared to be something that is a regular occurrence for vessels whilst in port, but not often reported on, and that was the pumping ashore of her waste engine sludge, for proper disposal at a shoreside, registered, waste facility.

Built in 2003 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani SPA at Ancona in Italy, ‘Gaschem Aachen’ is 180 metres in length and has a deadweight of 38,427 tons. She is powered by a Wärtsilä-Sulzer 5RTA62U 5 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 12,848 bhp (9,450 kW), to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Wärtsilä-Sulzer 8S20U generators providing 1,160 kW each. She has 4 cargo tanks, each being stainless steel Prismatic Type A, and with a cargo carrying capacity of 37,500 m3 of liquid gas. She is able to carry two grades of LPG at any one time. She has 8 cargo pumps capable of discharging liquid gas at a rate of 350 m3/hour.

She is owned by Chemgas Schiffahrts UG (haftungsb.) & Co. of Hamburg, operated by Gaschem Services GmbH, also of Hamburg, and managed by Hartmann Gas Carriers Germany GmbH, of Leer in Germany, whose houseflag she displays on her funnel. She was purchased from her previous Italian owner in 2021, at a cost of US$14.45 million (ZAR265.32 million).

The movement of ‘Gaschem Aachen’ around the South African coast indicate that the transportation of large quantities of LPG are back in vogue, reminiscent of the days when Unicorn Lines, back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, carried out a similar service with LPG tankers such as the ‘Pericles’ and the ‘Livingstone’.

Recently ‘Gaschem Aachen’ has been regularly calling at Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Ngqura to deliver LPG parcels from Saldanha Bay. Her recent voyage schedule has been Saldanha Bay- Port Elizabeth- Saldanha Bay- Port Elizabeth- Saldanha Bay- Cape Town. There is a good reason for why Saldanha Bay is a regular port of call for ‘Chemgas Aachen’.

Saldanha Bay, in the Western Cape, is the site of a large LPG Storage Terminal, opened in 2016, at a cost of ZAR1.2 billion, and currently with a storage capacity of 200,000 m3 of LPG per year, or 17,500 m3 per month. The terminal is managed by Sunrise Energy, who are a joint venture between MOGS (60%), IDC (31%) and Ilitha Group Holdings (9%), thus effectively a majority owned SOE. It provides 57% of South Africa’s annual LPG demand.

As a result of the Western Cape being incapable of producing LPG, as a result of the shutdown in 2020 of the Astron refinery in Cape Town, the Saldanha Bay storage terminal took on additional significance. This was exacerbated when PetroSA decided that their Southern Cape refinery at Mossel Bay would simply no longer produce LPG. The Western Cape alone has a winter peak demand for LPG of 11,000 m3 per month.

With the correct use of LPG in South Africa, the country could save on the current use of Diesel as fuel for local power stations. A recent Level 4 load shedding event was purely due to ESKOM having to shut down a Southern Cape power station because they, effectively, ran out of diesel to keep the power station operating. The power station in question that was shut down was the Gourikwa power station at Mossel Bay. There is a certain irony to that episode.

Both the Gourikwa power station, and the Ankerlig power station, located at Atlantis in the Western Cape, were built as what is known as ‘peaking’ power stations. Peaking power stations are designed to be used only during ‘peak periods’ when demand rises abruptly, and in emergency situations. However, due to ESKOM’s woes, they are both currently in almost continual use for general electricity provision.

The irony is that both Gourikwa, and Ankerlig, built at a combined cost of ZAR3.5 billion, were designed for dual fuel use, i.e. diesel and LPG. Sadly, for the last 3 years (2019-2021), ESKOM has spent an average of ZAR4 billion on diesel fuel peaking power stations, the majority of which was for Gourikwa and Ankerlig, with LPG not being utilised at all.

Had LPG been used for both of the power stations, it would have reduced the operating costs by up to 50%. Gourikwa had an LPG refinery on its doorstep, and Ankerlig has an LPG storage terminal on its doorstep, but both still only utilise diesel fuel.

If more, and better, use of LPG was made, it could save up to 550MW of ESKOM’s daily electricity grid demands, and lower pressure on the grid with current energy demands. Even as far back as 2015, due to the high cost of diesel, and the discovery of natural gas on the West coast Ibhubesi gas project, 400km north of Saldanha Bay, Ankerlig was to be converted to gas operation. This is not expected to happen before 2024, as long as no delays occur.

The other major LPG storage terminal is located at Richards Bay, with a smaller facility at Port Elizabeth. The Saldanha Bay facility is Africa’s largest open access LPG storage facility and import terminal. Yet, despite South Africa boasting of having some of the best LPG import infrastructure in Africa, the country has a very low use per person of LPG.

Just over 24 hours after coming alongside in Cape Town harbour to remove her waste engine oil sludge, ‘Gaschem Aachen’ was ready to depart, and on 6th October at 10h00 she sailed from Cape Town, but only as far as the Table Bay anchorage, where she remained for the next four and a half days. She then departed for Saldanha Bay on 11th October at 01h00 in the early morning, arriving in the port at 14h00 on the same day.

After two days in Saldanha Bay harbour, she sailed on 13th October at 13o 00, bound next for Ngqura harbour in the Eastern Cape, where she arrived on 15th October at 07h00. Interestingly, on entering Ngqura, she went alongside the already berthed large LPG tanker ‘Tokyo’ (cargo capacity 66,000 m3), presumably to begin a ship to ship transfer of LPG. The guess is that ‘Gaschem Aachen’ will bring this LPG cargo back to the Saldanha Bay storage facility, or transfer it to the nearby Easigas LPG storage facility in Port Elizabeth.

For the nomenclature aficionados, and as a German owned vessel, she is named after the westernmost city in Germany. Aachen shares a border with both Holland and Belgium. It is also known by the French as Aix-la-Chapelle, after the Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne, made the city his imperial capital, and built a palatine chapel there. On his death, Charlemagne was laid to rest in the chapel, in what is now known as Aachen Cathedral.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

News in Brief

Maersk Altus changes Name

Readers will recall a reference to the tanker MAERSK ALTUS in Africa Ports & Ships which referred to another tanker, Maersk Callao, that had apparently replaced her. SEE HERE.

That indeed turns out to be the case, and Maersk Altus, which operated on the SA coastal tanker service for a number of years, has lost the prefix in her name and is now renamed SEA ALTUS. The tanker is now under the management of Athens-based Pantheon Tankers Management.

♦♦♦

Breadbox Warthog arrives off Durban with project cargo

Another ship that featured in one of our reports in September, a vessel with the intriguing name of BREADBOX WARTHOG, has arrived off Durban with a project cargo from the port of Buchanan in Liberia. See that original story by CLICKING HERE.

The ship is carrying cargo for ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Phase 2 iron ore concession, which we are guessing consists of railway equipment for refurbishment back here in South Africa. In the above-mentioned report we mentioned that Breadbox Warthog had arrived in Buchanan with a consignment of 4,000 rails from Spain, which will be used to upgrade the 3ft 6ins railway between the port and an iron ore mine inland at Yekepa.

Our report said that the ship will then load a consignment of logistics equipment for South Africa, for repair and refurbishment, before this will be returned to Liberia.

The general cargo ship has made good time – her earlier ETA was shown as 26 October.

♦♦♦

TSS Pearl sinks in Red Sea

In our report last week of the feeder container ship TSS PEARL (IMO 9339868) being on fire in the Red Seas, and abandoned by her crew, it is now reported in several sources to have sunk.

This is almost a week after she caught fire while heading for a Yemeni port. The first report of the fire came from the Saudi Press Agency. Several ships in the area rescued the 23 crew and took them to the Saudi port of Jeddah. One of these was the NYK car carrier, Orion Leader.

TSS Pearl was owned by a Dubai-based company, Rafidain Shipping, and managed by Tehama Shipping Services also of Dubai.

♦♦♦

Ship collides with island

A story that amused us this week was that of the RoRo vessel MED BRIDGE (IMO 8009052), which we are told, collided with an island.

Well, we suppose she did, it was an island named al-Rankin which is off the coast of Tripoli in Libya, North Africa. The ship, inadvertently depicted in the report as a Hapag-Lloyd container ship of the same name, is a Lebanon-flagged car carrier and was arriving in Tripoli from Turkey when she ran aground off the island.

Med Bridge was also carrying 47 passengers, possibly including lorry drivers of vehicles carried on board, who were all evacuated from the ship. It was found the vessel had rammed some 3 metres of her bow onto a rocky surface. The was discovered after marine experts went on board to assess the damage.

In some North African countries you get the works and the Naval Forces Command of the Army, the General Directorate of Maritime and Maritime Transport, and the administration of the Tripoli Port Authority are now all involved in the decision-making. It’s not clear whether the vessel has been refloated.

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IN CONVERSATION: Somalia: Puntland state port is getting a revamp – this is key to its future

 

Jutta Bakonyi, Durham University and May Darwich, University of Birmingham

The port city of Bosaso, located at the north-eastern corner of Somalia, provides a striking example of the interlinkage between security and infrastructure. The city benefited from the civil war that ravaged the southern parts of Somalia in the 1990s and 2000s. It developed into a booming trade centre. But increased violence in Bosaso has negatively affected international trade in the last decade. Security improvements and the recovery of other ports in Somalia and Somaliland have provided alternatives.

In July 2022, the Emirates-based Dubai Ports World (DP World), a global operator of ports and logistics, returned to Bosaso. The company had signed a concession agreement with the government in Puntland, a federal member state of Somalia, in 2017. But the plans to modernise the port were never realised.

DP World’s return has instigated optimism across the city, though numerous challenges still lie ahead.

Our research project is studying the Horn of Africa’s emerging port infrastructures and their impact on the everyday lives of people in cities.

Bosaso’s efforts to remain economically relevant will have implications for the relative independence that Puntland has achieved from the federal government in Mogadishu. An upgraded port could bolster citizens’ trust in the semi-autonomous government.

A lifeline for Puntland

The port of Bosaso (Boosaaso) is located on the Gulf of Aden. Its development was tied to the beginning of the civil war in Somalia in the 1980s. Siad Barre, the military dictator who ruled the country from 1969 to 1991, rehabilitated a highway between Bosaso and central Somalia, and allowed Bosaso to operate the port duty-free. This was to appease his opponents in the north-east and to economically harm rising opposition in the north-west (now Somaliland).

Trading activities and property investments in Bosaso increased significantly after the Somali state collapsed in 1991. Bosaso City grew considerably in the early 1990s when it evolved into a prime destination for people who fled from violence in the southern parts of Somalia.

Among the immigrants were former political and business elites with clan affiliations to the north-east. Others were from the politically marginalised and harassed clans and minority groups of southern Somalia.

The closeness and historic shipping links between Bosaso and Yemen additionally pulled people to the city. Younger people looking for an option to escape poverty and a life full of risks moved to Bosaso to embark on Tahriib, the undocumented and dangerous migration across the Red Sea to the Gulf states and from there, if possible, further to Europe.

During the early 1990s, Bosaso had the only relatively safe port in Somalia. It became a major trade hub for livestock exports and consumer goods imports. This integrated Bosaso into an international trade network and linked the port to central Somalia and eastern Ethiopia.

New livestock quarantine stations were established, financed by Saudi Arabia and managed by a highly skilled labour force (mainly from Egypt). This was to avoid economically damaging livestock bans from Saudi Arabia on the basis of animal health.

Income from the flourishing seaport supported the establishment of the semi-autonomous region of Puntland in 1998.

Port in decline

But Bosaso is currently struggling to maintain its economic relevance. This has political implications for the relative independence that Puntland has achieved from the Somali federal government.

International trade activities have been declining during the last decade. Since 2015, the war in Yemen has interrupted established trade routes. Additionally, the city has faced threats from Islamist insurgents, prominently Al-Shabaab and the Islamic State in Somalia.

The concession agreement with DP World’s subsidiary P&O Ports in 2017 added further layers of insecurity. Local groups criticised the “sell-out” of the port to a foreign country, while business groups feared that a rise in port fees would have a negative impact on local trade.

Disputes among the Puntland leadership, and disagreements between Puntland and P&O Ports, delayed the planned modernisation. P&O eventually left Bosaso in 2019 after its port manager was killed by gunmen, an attack for which al-Shabaab claimed responsibility.

These developments stood in contrast to security improvements in southern Somalia. These were visible in the reopening of Mogadishu’s seaport, which has been managed by a Turkish company since 2014. Competition increased further with the DP World-driven modernisation of the port in Berbera in Somaliland.

Bosaso is not able to compete with the much larger multi-purpose ports in Berbera and Mogadishu. The two ports are fitted with container terminals and furnished with modern equipment. Bosaso, instead, has had a crucial position in a more informal overseas trade.

The ongoing transformation of global supply chains, with circulation increasingly relying on cranes and containers, detaches Bosaso from important trade networks. For example, containerised ports import goods directly from producing countries like China, while Bosaso relies on transshipment through intermediary ports in Yemen, Oman or elsewhere.

These developments have political implications. Many Bosaso residents attribute the port’s decline to leadership failure. A port official explained in an interview in August 2022:

The port has been neglected by all Puntland leaders. There was no investment provided to the port since 1991. The port is about to be relegated to irrelevance.

At a crossroads

The modernisation of the port is critical for Puntland. An upgraded port will ensure Puntland keeps a significant position within the fragmented political landscape of Somalia. It will also prevent traders from looking for alternative outlets.

Multiple challenges, among them security considerations, lie ahead. The relations between Puntland and the government in Mogadishu, as well as disagreements within the Puntland leadership, are crucial. In short, Bosaso is at a crossroads and faces a defining moment for its political and economic future.

Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim, a research consultant in the port infrastructure project, is a lead contributor and conducted most of the research for this article.

Jutta Bakonyi, Professor in Development and Conflict, Durham University and May Darwich, Associate Professor of International Relations of the Middle East, University of Birmingham

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

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

TRADE NEWS: Wilhelmsen enters into an agreement to acquire Vopak Agencies

Wilhelmsen Port Services has entered into an agreement with Vopak to acquire 100% of Vopak Agencies and 50% of Diize.

Vopak Agencies and Diize are highly complementary and a perfect match for the global reach of Wilhelmsen Port Services’ maritime network of 2 200 ports.

Vopak Agencies, has a strong track record within both hub services and port agency within the tanker segments in Europe and extensive experience within their field. Diize is a Vopak developed digital software company aimed at the future of port orchestration.

The completion of the transaction is subject to predetermined conditions and works council advice and is expected to close later in the fourth quarter of this year.

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

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Fishing vessel safety: The 2012 Cape Town Agreement – IMO Secretary-General urges ratification

Key treaty for safety of fishers and fishing vessels yet to enter into force

In the past week 11 October marked the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the 2012 Cape Town Agreement, the key international treaty applicable to large industrial fishing vessels aiming at providing safety standards, just as the SOLAS Convention does for commercial ships.

No global fishing vessel mandatory requirements

Despite extensive efforts by IMO Member States, other UN agencies, observers and the IMO Secretariat, the Agreement is not yet in force. As a result there are no globally mandatory requirements for the design, construction and equipment of fishing vessels, including life-saving, fire protection and radio-communications equipment to be carried on board.

IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim again urged States, which have not yet done so, to become a party to the treaty as soon as possible.

He reflected: “We cannot afford to be complacent when it comes to addressing the safety of fishers and fishing vessels. To bring this voyage that started over 45 years ago to a successful conclusion, IMO Member States are strongly encouraged to consider ratifying the Agreement as soon as possible.

“Not only will this finally bring into force an internationally binding safety regime for fishing vessels, it will also contribute to a significant reduction of the exploitation of both the oceans and the people who depend on them.”

To improve safety standards

Bringing into force a binding international safety regime is expected to play an important part in helping to improve safety standards, and reduce the loss of life of fishers and observers onboard.

In a recent statement from IMO we learn that the journey to bringing a mandatory regulatory framework for fishing vessels into force began some 45 years ago with the adoption of the Torremolinos International Convention for the Safety of Fishing Vessels in 1977.

Due mainly to the complexity of its implementation, the Convention failed to attract the number of ratifications necessary for it to enter into force. In 1993, the Torremolinos Protocol relating to the Convention was adopted to improve its provisions, but faced the same challenges.

The 2012 Cape Town Agreement, prepared and adopted under the auspices of IMO, following intensive discussions over a five-year period, replaces both the 1977 Torremolinos Convention and the 1993 Protocol with updated provisions that address previously encountered technical and legal difficulties, and paves the way for facilitating entry into force.

Ratification needed

For entry into force, the Agreement needs to be ratified by 22 States with an aggregate number of 3,600 fishing vessels operating on the high seas. The current number of ratifications stands at 17 States with a total of around 1,925 eligible fishing vessels. There has been an accelerated trend towards ratification in the past few years, escalating hopes for its entry into force in the not-too-distant future.

Active promotion by IMO

This change in trend was driven by the efforts of the IMO to actively promote the Agreement. As part of these efforts, the Torremolinos Ministerial Conference on Fishing Vessel Safety and IUU Fishing, the largest fishing vessel conference held in the history of IMO, took place in October 2019, attended by some 125 States, 70 ministerial-level representatives, 30 international organizations and over 500 delegates.

During the Conference, the Torremolinos Declaration was signed by 48 States (now risen to 51 States), publicly indicating their determination to ratify the Agreement by 11 October 2022 – the tenth anniversary of its adoption – to enable its entry into force one year later. Since the 2019 Conference, four more States have ratified the Agreement with several others currently in the process of completing the ratification process.

To learn more

The IMO 2012 Cape Town Agreement to enhance fishing safety is to be FOUND HERE

The Pew Charitable Trusts publication: FAQ: How the Cape Town Agreement Can Improve Commercial Fishing Safety of 27 April 2022 is AVAILABLE HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

Sign up for Africa Ports & Ships Newsletter – it’s free
Added 17 October 2022

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

in partnership with – APO

More News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“Force is often used to enforce peace and an A bomb did bring world war 2 to a shuddering halt. The funniest people sometimes commit suicide and good souls often break a zillion hearts. That’s just who were are…sinners and saints in equal measure, our contradictions continually shaping our humanity and if we deny these paradoxes, we deny the existence of the very evolution that got us here.”
― Nidhie Sharma

♠♠♠

News continues below………

More Earlier News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

TO ADVERTISE HERE

Request a Rate Card from info@africaports.co.za

EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port

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

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

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

News continues below

CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES

QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman

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

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

♠♠♠

ADVERTISING

For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za

Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za

 

TABLE BAY UNDERWAY SHIPPING SHIP PHOTOGRAPHERS Colour photographs and slides for sale of a variety of ships.Thousands of items listed featuring famous passenger liners of the past to cruise ships of today, freighters, container vessels, tankers, bulkers, naval and research vessels.P O BOX 809, CAPE TOWN, 8000, SOUTH AFRICA snai@worldonline.co.za http://home.worldonline.co.za/~snai

 

=================