Africa PORTS & SHIPS maritime news 13 January 2023

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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

WELCOME TO THE NEW YEAR 2023

2022 has come to an end, an eventful year in many ways.  As we welcome in the new year we extend our wishes to you the readers and thank you for your valuable support.  Please stay with us as we venture into 2023 and whatever it has for us all.  May yours be a peaceful and happy time.

We are still on a break until 17 January 2023 but will continue including any breaking or news and stories or reports of interest.  Equally important, special weekly news features are being presented by Paul Ridgway, usually around each Thursday. The daily emailed Newsletter will resume as from Tuesday 17 January. 

We remain available at all time here onsite at www.africaports.co.za

FIRST VIEW:   Durban Marina

The week’s masthead:  Port of Cape Town 

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

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

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Come with as we follow the maritime news into 2023

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

Comment: If you’d like to comment on any of our reports and articles, please do so by email to terry@africaports.co.za  and they will be added to the article.  These news reports may be added to on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za

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News follows below

FIRST VIEW:  Durban Marina

Durban Marina

The port of Durban is well known as a busy industrial port, handling two thirds of South Africa’s container trade and a high percentage of general and bulk cargo, making this the busiest port in all of sub-Saharan Africa. From containers to motor vehicles, paper products, maize and other grains, one of if not the largest sugar terminals in the world, a massive liquid bulk facility at Island View on the Bluff side of Durban Bay, over 50 berths for all shipping (though that number is decreasing with the growth of much larger ships), a ship repair facility including a graving dock and several floating docks, Durban has it all. The port is truly the gateway into South and Southern Africa.

Included in the many services and facilities on offer in Durban Bay are two marinas for the yachting and boating fraternity – the smaller marina catering for the Bluff yacht Club and situated in the Silt Canal, and the larger Durban Marina catering for two yacht clubs, the Royal Natal Yacht Club and the Point Yacht Club. This is the marina featured here, with a backdrop of the lengthy Esplanade fronting Durban Bay and the tall buildings of the central business district immediately behind. Splendid are the views from those buildings fronting the Esplanade.

This was the final week of regular news for this year and we leave you with this image to admire and enjoy.  Regular daily news services will resume as from 16 January.  During this period Paul Ridgway in London is providing a weekly selection of news items under the heading of Watching the Gangway.  Do enjoy.

To all our readers near and far a very happy New Year.

and now the news….

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Impasse, as Transnet locks horns with Chinese loco builder, CRRC E-Loco Supply

Chinese-built Class 22E electric locomotives. Picture: Colonel Andre Kritzinger / Wikipedia

Transnet SOC Limited said on Thursday (12 January) it has reached an impasse with CRRC E-Loco Supply, following unwillingness on the part of CRRC to engage with the relevant authorities in South Africa to normalise its operations in the country.

As a result and as a matter of urgency, in the next few weeks Transnet says it will therefore be issuing an open, competitive tender inviting any eligible Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to step-in to rehabilitate the non-operational Chinese locomotives.

This is a critical intervention not only for Transnet’s sustainability, but for the South African economy. The CRRC locomotives directly impact three major rail Corridors (North, Northeast and Cape Corridors) that account for roughly 50% of Transnet Freight Rail’s revenue, and support three primary mining sector segments, namely export coal, chrome, and manganese.

After intensive good faith negotiations and following the conclusion of an In-Principle Settlement Agreement on 30 August 2022, Transnet said it had concluded a Definitive Settlement Agreement with CRRC E-Loco (Pty) Ltd on 25 November 2022.

“A key contingent requirement introduced by CRRC at the time of the In-Principle Agreement and also included in the Definitive Settlement Agreement is the normalising of CRRC’s operation in South Africa by the South African Revenue Service and the South African
Reserve Bank in order to allow Transnet to give effect to the Definitive Settlement Agreement.

“As independent organs of state, both SARS and the SARB are required to follow statutory prescript in considering applications by CRRC to normalise its operations in South Africa.”

Transnet said it respects the independence and processes of these organs of State.

Among others, the Definitive Settlement Agreement is meant to enable rehabilitation of 161 non-operational 22E locomotives, long-term material and reliability support to Transnet, the repayment to Transnet of unjustified profits by CRRC and the delivery of the remaining 99 locomotives at the corrected price, “subject to the outcome of Transnet and the SIU’s Review Application.”

In addition, Transnet intends, on Friday 13 January 2023, issuing a confined tender to the other existing OEMs for the repairs of the other long-standing locomotives, which came from Wabtech, Mitsui and Alstom.

Transnet said the resolution of this matter is key in supporting its efforts to normalise its operations, enhancing the service provided to customers, and boosting the national fiscus.

Minerals Council blames Transnet for crisis

Earlier in the week it was reported that the Minerals Council was calling for the head of Transnet boss, Portia Derby, and demanding that she be replaced over the ongoing deterioration of operational performance on the rail corridors, which according to Transnet are a result of insufficient available locomotives and rolling stock.

“For more than 24 months, we have given the benefit of the doubt to the Transnet management team, who have aptly demonstrated, through several bizarre decisions and statements and in particular the ongoing tragic decline in the performance of Transnet, that they cannot resolve the crisis and are not capable of turning around the performance. We are insisting on the critical need for urgent change,” the Council was quoted in a report in News 24.

The Minerals Council added that the bulk commodity mining companies that are members of the Minerals Council are now demanding urgent action on this crisis, which is now posing an existential crisis for Transnet and for the mining companies.

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Added 12 January 2023

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Norwegian Tall Ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl arrives in Cape Town on circumnavigation cruise

 

Friday 13 January turns out to be a lucky day for Cape Town with the arrival in port of the Norwegian Tall Ship, STATSRAAD LEHMKUHL.

The 98-metre long ship is on a 20-month circumnavigation of the globe on the One Ocean Expedition. This is a global oceanic expedition that aims to raise awareness and share knowledge about the role of the oceans for sustainable development.

The sailing ship and her voyage are a recognized part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Ocean Development.

The ship has berthed initially at E berth (the Cruise Terminal) for immigration purposes and is expected to move around to the V&A Waterfront on Friday morning, berthing at Jetty 2, where she will be highy visible to onlookers at the V&A Waterfront.

Arriving from Maputo

Statsraad Lehmkuhl has arrived from Maputo, her previous port of call.

The Royal Norwegian Embassy and partners will host a series of events during the following week while the ship is at berth at Jetty 2. A spokesperson for embassy told Africa Ports & Ships that the events will be closely related to the overall mission and objective of the One Ocean Expedition, namely sustainable ocean management.

“Invited guests from government, academia and business will participate in discussions on sustainable sourcing of aquatic food, the shift to green fuels in the maritime industry, the impact of microplastics on the ocean and, other critical issues.”

During the Maputo to Cape Town journey, South African primary school pupils joined the ship’s crew, researchers and Norwegian school children on board to learn more about the crucial role of our common oceans. The ship carries 22 sails, a crew of 25 members and can carry over 140 trainees on a trip.

Africa Ports & Ships will carry more details of the ship and her cruise and visit to Cape Town when we resume daily news editions from this coming Tuesday, 17 January 2023.

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Added 12 January 2022

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Watching the Gangway 5 by Paul Ridgway

Good Day to you all.

It has fallen to me, once again, to perform chowkidar duties during the Christmas and New Year break and I hope you enjoyed the selection of maritime and related news that we have transmitted in recent days.

I have to thank our valuable contributors, particularly Jay Gates, Dockrat, Jumaine Kruger and others along with the good folk who send us news and photos from across the continent of Africa and to the far horizons.

Grateful thanks are due to all who sent Festive messages and before I leave I send best wishes to our readers for the year ahead.

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Baltic and North Sea green fleet renewal study

DNV and the Responsible Shipping Initiative (RSI), an alliance of Swedish dry bulk charterers, have launched a feasibility study to develop a commercial framework for orders of green-fuelled newbuilds to decarbonise the sea transport supply chain in the Baltic and North Sea areas and beyond.

With this project, the RSI members aim to reduce their Scope 3 emissions and meet their sustainability targets in response to growing market demands and regulatory reporting requirements on environmental performance across the value chain. This was reported by DNV from Oslo on 5 January.

RSI members see a strong need for green newbuilds to replace the ageing shortsea fleet operating in the Baltic and North Sea dry bulk trade and beyond. Many of the vessels are expected to reach the end of their economic life in the next five to ten years.

The study, supported by R&D funding from the Swedish traffic administration Trafikverket, aims to accelerate the energy transition in the regional sea trade by identifying opportunities for green fleet renewal through transport systems analysis and interaction with cargo owners, shipowners, suppliers, and authorities.

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The ship’s propeller: reducing underwater radiated noise

Screenshot impression of propeller noise feature

A propeller technology capable of substantially reducing the underwater radiated noise (URN) generated by ships’ propellers has been developed by Oscar Propulsion Limited and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

The patented PressurePores™ system reduces propeller tip vortex cavitation by applying a small number of strategically placed holes in the propeller blades. The addition of these pressure-relieving holes allows ships to operate with a more silent propeller.

Lars Eikeland, Marine Director, Oscar Propulsion, commented: “Underwater radiated noise is one of the most adverse environmental by-products from commercial shipping, yet unlike other forms of marine pollution, there is currently no international legislation in place to prevent or reduce this source of environmental damage.

“Increasing noise levels, especially in the low-frequency range, is disorientating marine fauna and disrupting their communication signals, leading to behavioural changes or extinction. We now have a cost-effective, easy-to-apply solution that prevents this from happening.

“We have found the optimum number of holes required to reduce the noise. So long as the right number of holes are placed in the most effective positions, a cavitation sweet spot can be achieved.

“It is not a case of simply drilling holes into the blades, as this will affect the propeller’s thrust capability. We know exactly where to place the holes for maximum efficiency and for optimum noise reduction.”

Results were further verified in tests on the sub-cavitating propellers on Princess Royal, a 19-metre research catamaran operated by Newcastle University. And last year, CFD Finite Element (FE) propeller stress tests were successfully completed in accordance with classification society DNV rules.

It is interesting to note that propeller cavitation can generate as much as 188dB of underwater radiated noise and can be heard by marine fauna 100 miles away.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anything above 160db can pose a significant risk to marine life.

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IMO events in 2023

18 May 2023
International Day for Women in Maritime

International Day for Women in Maritime is observed on 18 May every year, following a resolution adopted by the IMO Assembly. It celebrates women in the industry and support work to address the current gender imbalance in maritime.

For more SEE HERE

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25 June 2023
Day of the Seafarer

Day of the Seafarer is an official United Nations international observance day which takes place every year on 25 June. Organized by IMO, it aims to increase awareness of the world’s 1.5 million seafarers.

For more SEE HERE

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23 to 26 October 2023
World Maritime Day Parallel Event

World Maritime Day Parallel Event to be held in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

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World Maritime Theme for 2023

‘MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on’ is the IMO World Maritime Theme for 2023. The theme reflects the organization’s long history of protecting the environment from the impact of shipping via a robust regulatory framework and emphasizes its ongoing commitment to this important work.

For more GO HERE

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NATO MARCOM Change of Command

On 6 January it was reported by NATO Public Affairs that Commodore Jeanette Morang, Royal Netherlands Navy (illustrated, third left), handed over command of Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) to Rear Admiral Thorsten Marx, German Navy. The ceremony took place in Den Helder, homeport of the Royal Netherlands Navy.

Commodore Morang assumed command of the multinational Task Group on 8 July last year. It was deployed mainly in the Baltic and the North Sea, demonstrating NATO’s commitment to collective defence. During a challenging year following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it made a significant contribution to maritime security in the region.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Commodore Morang praised the staff and crew across the Task Group: “They have all shown eager determination to contribute to NATO’s deterrence of Russia and assurance of Allies, especially in the Eastern Baltic, and to demonstrate NATO’s ability to defend when the need would arise in these uncertain times.

“The Russians tested us only once when Russian fighter aircraft from Kaliningrad Oblast overflew the Task Group at 300ft. This was an event where the risk of miscalculation presented itself in full. Fortunately, we had trained for situations like this, and all acted cool and professional.”

Concluding her handover speech, Commodore Morang said: “A rewarding six month period in my long naval career has come to an end. I relinquish command of Standing NATO Maritime Group one.”

Rear Admiral Thorsten responded by saying: “Together we show that NATO is ready and standing as one. For that, we strive daily to ensure that our task group is visible, persistent and as ready for tomorrow as we are today.”

Currently, SNMG1 comprises German flagship FGS Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Polish Navy ORP General T Kosziuszko and French Navy FS Aquitaine.

SNMG1 operates under NATO Allied Maritime Command (MARCOM). Headquartered in Northwood, NW London, MARCOM is the central command of all NATO maritime forces and the MARCOM commander is the primary maritime adviser to the Alliance.

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IATA latest Statistics

Airlines are committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Picture per IATA journal Airlines

From Geneva in the first week of the New Year the International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for November 2022 global air cargo markets showing that demand softened as economic headwinds persist. IATA statistics cover international and domestic scheduled air cargo for IATA member and non-member airlines.

From the statistics we learnt the following:

* Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), fell 13.7% compared to November 2021 (-14.2% for international operations).

* Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres, (ACTK) was 1.9% below November 2021. This was the second year-on-year contraction following the first last month (in October) since April 2022. International cargo capacity decreased 0.1% compared to November 2021.

* Compared to pre-Covid-19 levels (November 2019), there was a smaller contraction in overall demand (-10.1%), while capacity was down 8.8%.

* Several factors in the operating environment should be noted:

* Global new export orders, a leading indicator of cargo demand, were stable in October. For major economies, new export orders are shrinking except in Germany, the US, and South Korea, where they grew.

* Global goods trade expanded by 3.3% in October. Given the softening in air cargo demand, this suggests that maritime cargo was the primary beneficiary.

* The US dollar has appreciated sharply, adding cost pressure as many costs are denominated in US dollars. This includes jet fuel, which is already at elevated levels.

* The Consumer Price Index for G7 countries decreased from 7.8% in October to 7.4% in November, the largest month-on-month decline in 2022. Inflation in producer (input) prices reduced to 12.7% in November, its lowest level so far in 2022.

In the words of Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General: “Air cargo performance softened in November, the traditional peak season. Resilience in the face of economic uncertainties is demonstrated with demand being relatively stable on a month-to-month basis. But market signals are mixed. November presented several indicators with upside potential: oil prices stabilized, inflation slowed and there was a slight expansion in goods traded globally. But shrinking export orders globally and China’s rising COVID cases are cause for careful monitoring.”

Picture screenshot per IATA journal Airlines

On African air cargo

African airlines saw cargo volumes decrease by 6.3% in November 2022 compared to November 2021. This was an improvement in performance compared to the previous month (-8.3%). Capacity was 11.4% below November 2021 levels.

Total cargo traffic market share by region of carriers in terms of CTK is: Asia-Pacific 32.6%, Europe 22.8%, North America 27.2%, Middle East 13.4%, Latin America 2.2%, and Africa 1.9%.

The IATA Air Cargo Analysis is to be FOUND HERE

The IATA journal Airlines is AVAILABLE HERE

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Human Rights at Sea makes a statement

Picture credit: Thanks to Óglaigh nahÉireann

On 6 January the registered charity Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) joined with a range of civil society organisations to issue the following statement:

“We, civil organisations engaged in search and rescue (SAR) activities in the central Mediterranean Sea, express our gravest concerns regarding the latest attempt by a European government to obstruct assistance to people in distress at sea.”

According to Human Rights at Sea a new law decree, signed by the Italian President on 2 January 2023, will reduce rescue capacities at sea and thereby make the central Mediterranean, one of the world’s deadliest migration routes, even more dangerous. The decree ostensibly targets SAR NGOs, but the charity reports the real price will be paid by people fleeing across the central Mediterranean and finding themselves in situations of distress.

HRAS report that since 2014, civilian rescue ships are filling the void that European States have deliberately left after discontinuing their state-led SAR operations. NGOs have played an essential role in filling this gap and preventing more lives being lost at sea, while consistently upholding applicable law.

Despite this, EU Member States – most prominently Italy – have for years, it is understood, attempted to obstruct civilian SAR activities through defamation, administrative harassment as well as criminalising NGOs and activists.

There already exists a comprehensive legal framework for SAR, namely the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR Convention). However, the Italian Government has introduced yet another set of rules for civilian SAR vessels, which impede rescue operations and put people who are in distress at sea further at risk.

Among other rules, the Italian government requests civilian rescue ships to immediately head to Italy after each rescue. This delays further lifesaving operations, as ships usually carry out multiple rescues over the course of several days. Instructing SAR NGOs to proceed immediately to a port, while victims are in distress at sea, contradicts a vessel’s Master’s obligation to render immediate assistance to those in distress, as enshrined in the UNCLOS.

This element of the decree is compounded by the Italian government’s recent policy to assign ‘distant ports’ more frequently, which can be up to four days steaming from a ships’ position at the time of a rescue.

Both factors are designed to keep SAR vessels out of the rescue area for prolonged periods and reduce their ability to assist people in distress. NGOs are already overstretched due to the absence of a state-run SAR operation and the decreased presence of rescue ships will inevitably result in more people tragically drowning.

Another issue raised by the decree is the obligation to collect data aboard rescue vessels from survivors, which articulates their intent to apply for international protection and to share this information with authorities. It is the duty of states to initiate this process and a private vessel is not an appropriate place for this, HRAS has indicated. Asylum requests should be dealt with ashore only, after disembarkation to a place of safety, and only once immediate needs are covered, as recently clarified by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).*

The Human Rights at Sea statement continued: “We, civil organisations engaged in SAR operations in the central Mediterranean, urge the Italian Government to immediately withdraw its newly issued law decree. We also call on all Members of the Italian Parliament to oppose the decree, thereby preventing it from being converted into law.

“What we need is not another politically motivated framework obstructing lifesaving SAR activities, but for EU Member States to finally comply with existing international and maritime laws as well as guarantee the operational space for civil SAR actors.”

* UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Legal considerations on the roles and responsibilities of States in relation to rescue at sea, non-refoulement, and access to asylum, 1 December 2022, available at www.refworld.org

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Coal 2022: The world’s coal consumption is set to reach a new high in 2022 as the energy crisis shakes markets.

This was stated in the International Energy Agency’s annual publication of analysis, Coal 2022, in which the IEA examines the full spectrum of energy issues including oil, gas and coal supply and demand, renewable energy technologies, electricity markets, energy efficiency, access to energy, demand side management and much more. Through its work, the IEA advocates policies that will enhance the reliability, affordability and sustainability of energy in its 31 member countries, 11 association countries and beyond. South Africa is an association country.

The IEA’s Coal Market Report has been published every December since 2011, becoming the global benchmark for coal demand, supply and trade forecasts. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in climate and energy

For a link to the latest report CLICK HERE

At the IEA the topic of coal sits in the centre of climate and energy discussions because it is the largest energy source globally for electricity generation and for the production of iron and steel and of cement, as well as the largest single source of carbon dioxide emissions. The current energy crisis has forced some countries to increase their reliance on coal in spite of climate and energy targets.

Coal 2022 offers a thorough analysis of recent trends in coal demand, supply, trade, costs and prices against a backdrop of rising concern about energy security and geopolitical tensions. It also provides forecasts to 2025 for demand, supply and trade – by region and by coal grade. The report contains a deep analysis of China, whose influence on the coal market is unparalleled by any other country and in any other fuel.

The IEA projects South Africa’s coal consumption to increase by 5.3% from 2022 to 2025 as the coal power plant fleet’s performance increases.

A proposed large-scale 3.3 GW coal-fired power plant project in the Musina-Makhado energy and metallurgical special economic zone has been cancelled and replaced with renewable sources. The funding of other coal power projects in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania and Mozambique, is also in the balance, it was reported. In IEA’s forecast, it does not expect any new coal-fired power plants to be commissioned in Africa by 2025.

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HAPAG Damietta, Egypt expansion

New port at Damietta, Egypt, currently under construction

A new hub in the eastern Mediterranean, an advanced trans-shipment terminal with an annual handling capacity of 3.3 million TEU is being built in Damietta, Egypt. From the second half of 2024, the terminal will give Hapag-Lloyd advantages – while benefiting its customers and Egypt. This was reported by HAPAG in January.

The joint venture Damietta Alliance Container Terminal SAE was launched to develop and operate the new Terminal 2. Its three main shareholders are Hapag-Lloyd Damietta GmbH, with a 39% stake, as well as Eurogate Damietta GmbH and Contship Damietta Srl, each with a 29.5% stake. Two local partners, the Middle East Logistics & Consultants Group and Ship & CREW Egypt SAE, each hold a one per cent stake.

The new location is of great strategic importance. To date, Hapag-Lloyd’s trans-shipment operation in the Eastern Mediterranean is spread between different ports including Greece’s Port of Piraeus and the current Damietta terminal CT1.

It is understood that the new terminal will eventually give Hapag-Lloyd the option to concentrate its trans-shipments business in Damietta and thereby improve its competitive situation in its favour. The terminal’s location approximately 60 kilometres from the northern outlet of the Suez Canal is a key advantage.

In the words of Matthias Müller, Senior Director Business Administration Region South Europe, Genoa: “All ships sailing between Europe and Asia as well as important destinations in the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent pass through Damietta almost automatically without having to deviate from their route.”

Another advantage of the new facility is the water depth of 18 metres compared to the current 14 metres found at Terminal 1. This means that the new terminal will be able to handle ships of all sizes, including the 23,500+ TEU dual-fuel ships, that Hapag-Lloyd has ordered.

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Added 12 January 2023

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IN CONVERSATION: How do floating wind turbines work?  5 companies just won the first US leases for building them off California’s coast

Matthew Lackner, UMass Amherst

Northern California has some of the strongest offshore winds in the U.S., with immense potential to produce clean energy. But it also has a problem. Its continental shelf drops off quickly, making building traditional wind turbines directly on the seafloor costly if not impossible.

Once water gets more than about 200 feet deep – roughly the height of an 18-story building – these “monopile” structures are pretty much out of the question.

A solution has emerged that’s being tested in several locations around the world: wind turbines that float.

In California, where drought has put pressure on the hydropower supply, the state is moving forward on a plan to develop the nation’s first floating offshore wind farms. On Dec. 7, 2022, the federal government auctioned off five lease areas about 20 miles off the California coast to companies with plans to develop floating wind farms. The bids were lower than recent leases off the Atlantic coast, where wind farms can be anchored to the seafloor, but still significant, together exceeding US$757 million.

So, how do floating wind farms work?

Three main ways to float a turbine

A floating wind turbine works just like other wind turbines – wind pushes on the blades, causing the rotor to turn, which drives a generator that creates electricity. But instead of having its tower embedded directly into the ground or the seafloor, a floating wind turbine sits on a platform with mooring lines, such as chains or ropes, that connect to anchors in the seabed below.

These mooring lines hold the turbine in place against the wind and keep it connected to the cable that sends its electricity back to shore.

Most of the stability is provided by the floating platform itself. The trick is to design the platform so the turbine doesn’t tip too far in strong winds or storms.

An illustration of each in an ocean, showing how lines anchor it to the seafloor.
Three of the common types of floating wind turbine platform.
Josh Bauer/NREL

There are three main types of platforms:

  • A spar buoy platform is a long hollow cylinder that extends downward from the turbine tower. It floats vertically in deep water, weighted with ballast in the bottom of the cylinder to lower its center of gravity. It’s then anchored in place, but with slack lines that allow it to move with the water to avoid damage. Spar buoys have been used by the oil and gas industry for years for offshore operations.
  • Semisubmersible platforms have large floating hulls that spread out from the tower, also anchored to prevent drifting. Designers have been experimenting with multiple turbines on some of these hulls.
  • Tension leg platforms have smaller platforms with taut lines running straight to the floor below. These are lighter but more vulnerable to earthquakes or tsunamis because they rely more on the mooring lines and anchors for stability.

Each platform must support the weight of the turbine and remain stable while the turbine operates. It can do this in part because the hollow platform, often made of large steel or concrete structures, provides buoyancy to support the turbine. Since some can be fully assembled in port and towed out for installation, they might be far cheaper than fixed-bottom structures, which require specialty vessels for installation on site.

People stand next to a small wind turbine held by a crane. Just the base is three times higher than a human.
The University of Maine has been experimenting with a small floating wind turbine, about one-eighth scale, on a semisubmersible platform with RWE, one of the winning bidders.  AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

Floating platforms can support wind turbines that can produce 10 megawatts or more of power – that’s similar in size to other offshore wind turbines and several times larger than the capacity of a typical onshore wind turbine you might see in a field.

Why do we need floating turbines?

Some of the strongest wind resources are away from shore in locations with hundreds of feet of water below, such as off the U.S. West Coast, the Great Lakes, the Mediterranean Sea and the coast of Japan.

Map showing offshore wind potential
Some of the strongest offshore wind power potential in the U.S. is in areas where the water is too deep for fixed turbines, including off the West Coast. NREL

The U.S. lease areas auctioned off in early December cover about 583 square miles in two regions – one off central California’s Morro Bay and the other near the Oregon state line. The water off California gets deep quickly, so any wind farm that is even a few miles from shore will require floating turbines.

Once built, wind farms in those five areas could provide about 4.6 gigawatts of clean electricity, enough to power 1.5 million homes, according to government estimates. The winning companies suggested they could produce even more power.

But getting actual wind turbines on the water will take time. The winners of the lease auction will undergo a Justice Department anti-trust review and then a long planning, permitting and environmental review process that typically takes several years.

Maps showing the locations off Moro Bay, north of Santa Barbara, and Eureka, near the Oregon border.
The first five federal lease areas for Pacific coast offshore wind energy development.
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Globally, several full-scale demonstration projects with floating wind turbines are already operating in Europe and Asia. The Hywind Scotland project became the first commercial-scale offshore floating wind farm in 2017, with five 6-megawatt turbines supported by spar buoys designed by the Norwegian energy company Equinor.

Equinor Wind US had one of the winning bids off Central California. Another winning bidder was RWE Offshore Wind Holdings. RWE operates wind farms in Europe and has three floating wind turbine demonstration projects. The other companies involved – Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Invenergy and Ocean Winds – have Atlantic Coast leases or existing offshore wind farms.

While floating offshore wind farms are becoming a commercial technology, there are still technical challenges that need to be solved. The platform motion may cause higher forces on the blades and tower, and more complicated and unsteady aerodynamics. Also, as water depths get very deep, the cost of the mooring lines, anchors and electrical cabling may become very high, so cheaper but still reliable technologies will be needed.

But we can expect to see more offshore turbines supported by floating structures in the near future.

This article was updated with the first lease sale.The Conversation

Matthew Lackner, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, UMass Amherst

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Added 10 January 2023

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Energy Companies are raring to go in Africa in 2023 with sustainable energy development

By NJ Ayuk
Executive Chairman
African Energy Chamber

‘They’re bringing private capital, experience, and know-how to the continent’

In late 2019, Africa Oil Corp. President and CEO Keith Hill told Petroleum Economist that, given Africa’s unproven oil and gas basins, the continent was probably “the greatest frontier,” with outstanding opportunities for exploration, production, and development companies, including independents.

Three years later, Hill remains bullish about Africa, and Canada-headquartered Africa Oil Corp. is driving oil and gas exploration here. The company is part of a growing trend we’re seeing: independent oil and gas companies that recognize the tremendous promise of our underexplored continent and are finding ways to thrive here — and make a positive impact.

I’m extremely optimistic about independents like Africa Oil Corp and BW Energy, which are building on their successful track records in exploration and production, and Perenco, which is building Africa’s natural gas industry. I’m encouraged by the efforts of Trident Energy, which is finding ways to bolster production in mature fields, and by Eco Atlantic, which has been convincing investors not to turn their backs on our continent. Companies like these are exactly what Africa needs. They’re bringing private capital, experience, and know-how to the continent. They are accelerating resource monetization and maximization for the good of Africa. And, honestly, I can’t wait to see what they do in 2023.

Putting Natural Gas to Work for Africa

As David Christianson so eloquently put it in a recent blog for Trade Law Centre (tralac), a South Africa-based think tank, “Africa’s gas future is floating offshore.” Floating liquified natural gas (FLNG) units are an ideal way to capitalize on Africa’s abundant natural gas resources. They can be deployed rapidly and more affordably than onshore LNG trains, creating a practical pathway to gas monetization. London-headquartered independent, Perenco, which has operated in Cameroon for nearly 30 years, is capitalizing on these opportunities.

Not only did Perenco establish an FLNG plant in Cameroon, it made history there. The Hilli Episeyo FLNG, which began commercial operations in March 2018, is the world’s second-ever FLNG plant to enter operation and the first in the world to operate from a converted LNG tanker. The plant, moored off the coast of Kribi, is the property of Norwegian Golar. Not only does the project have global significance, but it also involves local entities. Perenco partnered with Cameroon’s Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (National Hydrocarbons Company) to launch the project. The Hilli Episeyo is designed to produce 2.4 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of LNG and has 125,000 cubic metres of storage capacity. Natural gas for the plant is sourced from Perenco’s Sanaga and Ebome gas fields.

NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber

What’s more, Perenco is growing its upstream activity in the continent. Earlier this year, it signed a deal with oil and gas company New Age Ltd. to buy its stake and take over the operatorship of the Etinde gas field, which is in shallow water in the Rio del Rey Basin offshore Cameroon. In July, Perenco acquired Anglo-Swiss multinational Glencore’s entities in North Africa, The acquisition includes PetroChad Mangara, which operates the Mangara, Badila, and Krim oilfields in Chad’s Doba Basin. And in November, the company announced it had discovered oil in the Tchibeli North East pre-salt Vandji exploration prospect offshore Congo, describing it as a potential “play opener.”

Each of these activities and successes represents potential for greater energy security, economic growth, and based on Perenco’s track record, more good jobs for Africans.

Perenco is a strong example of an independent that has successfully developed strategies for Africa’s unique challenges, needs, and opportunities. And, it’s not alone.

Breathing New Life Into Maturing Fields

Look at British independent Trident Energy, which is introducing a new era of operational efficiency and production improvements in Equatorial Guinea.

Trident’s business strategy calls for acquiring mid-life producing assets around the globe, particularly oil and gas fields lacking attention and investment, re-developing them, increasing production, and unlocking reserves. In Africa, where we’re seeing production declines occur in legacy assets throughout the continent, this approach is tremendously valuable.

In Equatorial Guinea, Trident is the operator of Block G, which includes the producing Ceiba and Okume Complex fields — made up of six oil fields in the Gulf of Guinea, in shallow and deep water in the Rio Muni basin – with a 40.375% working interest. The company also holds a 40% stake in Block S, W & EG-21.

In May of this year, the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea and Trident’s joint venture partners for Block G, Kosmos Energy, Panoro Energy, and GEPetrol, agreed to extend the Production Sharing Contract (PSC) for the block through 2040, giving Trident more time to unlock the block’s full potential.

Trident has earned the respect of both the government and the companies it works with. Trident credits those strong working relationships with the company’s commitment to be an active, visible member of the communities where it operates.

Foreign project leaders and their families relocate in-country, as the company fulfils its role as a major contributor to the local economy and community. Most importantly building local capacity and improving local content has been a key strategy for the company’s leadership.

Trident also is known for offering local residents high-quality jobs and respectful treatment; for creating empowering skill development, healthcare, and education programs in host communities; and for implementing best practices to protect the environment.

Trident Energy’s upgrades at Okume Field, which have been underway this year, call for converting 15 gas lift wells to electrical submersible pumps (ESPs), which are more affordable to operate and maintain.

To prepare for the conversion, the company has been working on a $57 million upgrade at Okume’s central processing facilities. Trident Energy’s team in Equatorial Guinea has managed every aspect of the project including supply chain, logistics, and coordination. Approximately 55% of the services (in-value) were provided by local contractors; 32% of services were provided by regional contractors; and only 13% were provided by international contractors.

Projects that boost production in declining assets, like the Okume upgrades, are extremely important for both Equatorial Guinea and the continent at large. We hope more companies follow Trident’s lead.

Setting the Stage for Success

The African Energy Chamber also has been impressed with Norwegian independent BW Energy, which has been very strategic in its approach to gas exploration and production in Namibia.

BW, which also has a strong presence in Gabon, targets proven offshore oil and gas reservoirs and minimizes risk with phased developments. By operating in sites with existing production facilities, the company reduces time to first oil and keeps cash flow in check, the company website explains.

In 2017, the company acquired a 56% stake in the Kudu gas field in the northern Orange sub-basin, approximately 130 kilometres off the southwest coast of Namibia. Several years later, BW increased its interest in the gas project to 95%.

The Kudu field is believed to hold at least 1.3 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, but the site has remained undeveloped since ChevronTexaco first discovered gas there in 1974. The field has had a long string of operators, but as Pan-African research agency Hawilti put it, factors ranging from the inability to agree on a gas price to delays in getting governmental support projects have kept the project in limbo. The site’s isolated location, and lack of infrastructure to transport gas, have not helped matters.

But, with BW in the driver’s seat, I believe that chapter is now closed. As announced during African Energy Week in Cape Town, BW is pursuing a revised development plan for Kudu that includes using a repurposed semisubmersible drilling rig as a floating production unit (FPU), which will allow it to move gas onshore for domestic energy generation. BW purchased the rig it needs for this effort earlier this year.

BW’s efforts could have far-reaching effects on day-to-day life in Namibia. Currently, the country relies on electricity imports to meet its domestic needs. BW’s work at Kudu will help provide the gas Namibia means to reliably deliver electricity to its people, drive industrial growth, create jobs, and position Namibia as a regional energy hub.

Overcoming Hurdles, Modelling Determination

Another independent modelling that can be achieved in Africa is Toronto-headquartered Eco Atlantic. It has been overcoming the challenges of raising capital in an era when companies are being pressured not to begin new oil and gas projects on our continent.

In April, Eco Atlantic raised approximately $25.5 million to cover drilling expenses on the Gazania-1 well, on Block 2B offshore South Africa, although the company announced that its evaluation well did not show evidence of commercial hydrocarbons. That’s not stopping the company from moving forward in Africa. Along with its partners, Africa Energy Corp, Panoro 2B Limited (a subsidiary of Panoro Energy ASA), and Crown Energy AB, Eco Atlantic is planning additional exploration drilling, including a two-well campaign on Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa, set to begin in 2023, and at least one well on the Orinduik Block offshore Guyana.

“While it is naturally disappointing not having made a commercial discovery, the Gazania-1 well was only the first of four wells we have planned for the next 18-24 months across our wider portfolio,” Eco Atlantic co-founder and CEO Gil Holzman said.

Tenacity is a required trait for all companies in this industry. Eco Atlantic’s ongoing commitment to exploring South Africa’s offshore basins is commendable.

As recently as 19 December, the company announced its subsidiary, Azinam Limited, had acquired another 6.25% participating interest in Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa. Eco Atlantic also received regulatory approval for the acquisition. Now Eco Atlantic will hold an increased participating interest of 26.25% in Block 3B/4B, with Africa Oil Corp., the block’s operator, and Cape Town-based upstream company, Ricocure.

Big Finds, Big Ambitions

As for Africa Oil Corp., one of its strengths is the respect it has earned in the sector and among government leaders. The company has been involved in such major finds as the 2022 Venus light oil discovery made with Total Energies offshore Namibia (through subsidiary Impact Oil & Gas Limited).

Since then, the company has kept its focus on continued exploration operations. It has producing and development assets in deep-water offshore Nigeria, development assets in Kenya, and a portfolio of exploration assets in Guyana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, and the Senegal Guinea Bissau Joint Development Zone (AGC).

The companies’ successes in East Africa are particularly exciting. Exploration in Kenya within the last decade has opened two new basins that extend into southern Somalia. Keith recently told Energy, Oil & Gas magazine that the basins cover an area the size of the North Sea.

And in Puntland, the company is confident that it found an oilfield through drilling on the Shabeel well.

Hill said he remembers when most companies believed opportunities in East Africa were limited.

“At most oil and gas conferences today the universal opinion is that East Africa now represents one of the hottest oil and gas exploration areas anywhere in the world,” he said. “Africa Oil Corp’s forward thinking approach meant that it was able to get in and secure all the acreage it wanted before this region really took off. What that means is that today you are looking at an organization that boasts the best onshore acreage position of any company now present in East Africa.”

Well done.

Earlier this year, I said Africa will not achieve the energy future it wants, including making energy poverty history, without the presence of independents. Today, that truth is clearer than ever. Yes, majors and national oil companies still have an important part to play in Africa’s energy industry, but the independent companies at work here are giving us every reason to be optimistic about Africa’s future

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Added 10 January 2023

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Xeneta container rates alert: calm before storm

The year ended in somewhat anti-climactic fashion for long-term ocean freight rates, with the latest data from the Xeneta Shipping Index showing a decline of just 0.1%. Following on from a steep 5.7% month-on-month fall in November, and with weak spot rates defining the market, the development is a largely positive one for ocean carriers. However, Xeneta warns, far worse is set to come in 2023.

Winds of change

This is now the fourth month in a row that long-term ocean freight rates have dipped, with spot rates falling – and doing so dramatically – since early summer. Despite this negative trend, the XSI® remains 70% up year-on-year, after a strong start to 2022, as port congestion and other disruptions clogged up supply chains, while driving up costs.

The narrative for the beginning of 2023, says Patrik Berglund, Xeneta CEO, looks to be very different.

Clear indications

Xeneta CEO Patrik Berglund

“At first glance, this month’s data appears to stall the negative curve,” he states, “but this is a little misleading. Firstly, this is due to fewer long-term contracts being signed at this time of year, rather than new agreements coming in with the same rates. When we do see contracts being signed, across all trades, we’re seeing them agreed below the current average for all valid rates.”

“So, this is really just the quiet before the storm. As more and more long-term contracts expire in the new year, expect the XSI® to post far greater month-on-month declines. All indicators point towards considerable rate drops from today’s levels, with several of the major Far East trades pointing towards new long-term contracts that are much closer to the, currently far lower, spot rate benchmarks.

“We’ve seen a golden age for the carriers since the beginning of the pandemic,” Berglund adds, “but those days are all but gone now.”

Mixed performance, dropping volumes

In regional terms, the XSI® showed a mixed bag of rising and falling data indices. Europe experienced relatively small falls in both import and export rates benchmarks, with the former declining by 1.4%, while the latter edged down 0.3%. However, lower volumes throughout the year suggest further falls may lie ahead, with import volumes dropping 6.7% to October (this is the latest data available), reaching their lowest level since April 2020, while export volumes dropped 6.2%.

Far East imports on the XSI® moved up in December, posting month-on-month growth of 2.3%. The benchmark now stands 33.8% up against December 2021. However, the Far East exports sub-index fell away for the fifth consecutive month, albeit by a relatively minor 0.6%.

The news in the US was more positive, with the import sub-index climbing by 1.4% (up 130.4% year-on-year) and the export benchmark recording this month’s largest rise of 2.7% (now 35.9% higher than this time last year).

Future focus

“There’s so many uncertainties heading into the new year that it’d be unwise to make clear-cut forecasts,” Berglund notes, adding: “We’ve all seen how quickly unpredictable global events can develop and influence the markets.

“However, the fundamentals look weak for the immediate future and the spot rates have cleared a path for long-term rates to ‘head south’. That said, will the rolling back of the most stringent zero-COVID measures in China prompt a slight recovery? What will happen geopolitically? And how will the cost of living crisis evolve in the months to come?

“It’s a complex, and fascinating, environment, so keep your eyes on the data in 2023 to make sense of the very latest developments as they happen.”

To learn more, please visit www.xeneta.com

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Added 6 January 2023

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Mercy Ships’ founder receives Lifetime Achievement Award at GE7 Africa Visionary Leaders Annual Summit

Mercy Ships’ latest hospital mercy ship, Global Mercy, taken during pre-delivery sea trials.  Picture Mercy Ships

During December a Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Don Stephens, founder of Mercy Ships at the opening event of the GE7 Africa Visionary Leaders Annual Summit, held in Washington DC.

This award was presented by Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation of Government of Egypt. Earlier in 2022 the government of Egypt had provided free passage through the Suez Canal for the newest Mercy Ship, the Global Mercy® on the vessel’s maiden voyage.

“Africa is doing better because people from all parts of the world have joined forces to bring change and Mercy Ships is part of this transition,” said Amy Sarr Fall, organiser of the event. “This event aims to galvanize change makers and bring hope. The awards highlight great initiatives and pay tribute to the main actors behind their success.”

Dr. Pierre M’Pelé, Mercy Ships ambassador for Africa, conveyed a special heartfelt message sung by a dozen African singers who represented the voice of the African people: ‘We thank Mercy Ships, we thank Don Stephens for the dignity and hope given back to thousands of our brothers and sisters.‘

On receipt of the award, Don Stephens expressed his thanks “On behalf of Mercy Ships and all of the crew who have served on our ships in the past 40 years.”

Stephens said Mercy Ships now has two world-class hospital ships serving the people of Africa while also training medical professionals. “Our mission is to provide hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor,” he said.

“Our overarching goal is transformational development. We are in a room tonight filled with a group of transformational leaders. A room of people passionate about various causes. We all have huge responsibilities. Let us all be transformational. I have a favorite African proverb, and I always enjoy concluding with it: ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together‘. Let’s go far together.”

30 years of Partnership in Africa

Don Stephens, founder of Mercy Ships, with Amy Sarr Fall, organiser of the event (left)

Since 1990 to this day, from Lomé in Togo to Dakar in Senegal, the international humanitarian organization Mercy Ships deployed its hospital ships and conducted 33 missions in 14 African countries to provide first-class surgical operations, build medical capacity and foster sustainable development in countries with limited access to surgical care. Its programs provide comprehensive support to countries striving to make health care accessible to all.

Over more than three decades, Mercy Ships has focused its efforts on Africa, working closely with African countries to help them strengthen their health systems, improving skills and training, and infrastructure. Volunteer professionals have performed more than 108,000 transformative surgeries, more than 520,000 dental procedures on nearly 200,000 patients, trained more than 50,000 health professionals, and nearly 7,000 trainers, and supported more than 1,100 agricultural and infrastructure renovation projects.

In partnership with African Heads of State, Mercy Ships also facilitated the Dakar Declaration on Access to Quality Surgical, Obstetric and Anesthetic Care in Africa by 2030 with the hope to see the Africa Union to endorse this milestone declaration towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goal related to health and wellbeing.

Focus on Emerging Africa

The objective of the December gathering, labeled ‘The Africa Chapter’ and taking place as a side event to the US Leader’s Summit, according to GE7’s director Amy Sarr Fall, is to improve the narrative on Africa and demonstrate through well advanced initiatives, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure projects, that the continent is on an emerging path.

More than 100 African leaders including financial, green energy, and communication gathered at the summit’s invitation-only high-level event held in the nation’s capital to discuss key challenges to sustainable development.

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Added 6 January 2023

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Le fondateur de Mercy Ships reçoit le Lifetime Achievement Award lors du sommet annuel des leaders visionnaires africains de GE7

Le dernier navire de secours hospitalier de Mercy Ships, Global Mercy   Mercy Ships

En décembre, un Lifetime Achievement Award a été décerné à Don Stephens, fondateur de Mercy Ships lors de l’événement d’ouverture du GE7 Sommet annuel des leaders visionnaires africains, tenu à Washington DC.

Ce prix a été remis par Rania Al-Mashat, ministre de la coopération internationale du gouvernement égyptien. Plus tôt en 2022, le gouvernement égyptien avait fourni un passage gratuit à travers le canal de Suez pour le tout nouveau Mercy Ship, le Global Mercy®, lors du voyage inaugural du navire.

“L’Afrique va mieux parce que des gens de toutes les régions du monde ont uni leurs forces pour apporter le changement et Mercy Ships fait partie de cette transition”, a déclaré Amy Sarr Fall, organisatrice de l’événement. “Cet événement vise à galvaniser les acteurs du changement et à apporter de l’espoir. Les prix soulignent les belles initiatives et rendent hommage aux principaux acteurs de leur succès.”

Le Dr Pierre M’Pelé, ambassadeur de Mercy Ships pour l’Afrique, a transmis un message spécial du fond du cœur chanté par une douzaine de chanteurs africains qui représentaient la voix du peuple africain : ‘Nous remercions Mercy Ships, nous remercions Don Stephens pour la dignité et l’espoir rendu à des milliers de nos frères et sœurs.‘

À la réception du prix, Don Stephens a exprimé ses remerciements “Au nom de Mercy Ships et de tout l’équipage qui a servi sur nos navires au cours des 40 dernières années.”

Stephens a déclaré que Mercy Ships dispose désormais de deux navires-hôpitaux de classe mondiale au service des Africains tout en formant des professionnels de la santé. “Notre mission est d’apporter espoir et guérison aux pauvres oubliés du monde”, a-t-il déclaré.

“Notre objectif primordial est le développement transformationnel. Nous sommes ce soir dans une salle remplie d’un groupe de leaders transformationnels. Une salle de personnes passionnées par diverses causes. Nous avons tous d’énormes responsabilités. Soyons tous transformationnels. J’ai un proverbe africain préféré, et j’aime toujours conclure par : “Si tu veux aller vite, vas-y seul. Si tu veux aller loin, vas-y ensemble“. Allons loin ensemble.”

30 ans de Partenariat en Afrique

Don Stephens, fondateur de Mercy Ships, avec Amy Sarr Fall, organisatrice de l’événement (à gauche)

Depuis 1990 à ce jour, de Lomé au Togo à Dakar au Sénégal, l’organisation humanitaire internationale Mercy Ships a déployé ses navires-hôpitaux et mené 33 missions dans 14 pays africains pour fournir des opérations chirurgicales de premier ordre, renforcer les capacités médicales et favoriser le développement durable dans les pays. avec un accès limité aux soins chirurgicaux. Ses programmes apportent un soutien global aux pays qui s’efforcent de rendre les soins de santé accessibles à tous.

Pendant plus de trois décennies, Mercy Ships a concentré ses efforts sur l’Afrique, travaillant en étroite collaboration avec les pays africains pour les aider à renforcer leurs systèmes de santé, à améliorer les compétences, la formation et les infrastructures. Des professionnels bénévoles ont effectué plus de 108 000 chirurgies transformatrices, plus de 520 000 procédures dentaires sur près de 200 000 patients, formé plus de 50 000 professionnels de la santé et près de 7 000 formateurs, et soutenu plus de 1 100 projets de rénovation agricole et d’infrastructures.

En partenariat avec les chefs d’État africains, Mercy Ships a également facilité la Déclaration de Dakar sur l’accès à des soins chirurgicaux, obstétricaux et anesthésiques de qualité en Afrique d’ici 2030 dans l’espoir de voir l’Union africaine approuver cette déclaration marquante vers la réalisation de l’objectif de développement durable lié à santé et bien-être.

Zoom sur l’Afrique émergente

Selon la directrice de GE7, Amy Sarr Fall, l’objectif de la réunion de décembre, intitulée « The Africa Chapter » et qui se déroule en marge du Sommet des dirigeants américains, est d’améliorer le récit sur l’Afrique et de démontrer, par le biais d’initiatives bien avancées, partenariats privés et projets d’infrastructure, que le continent est sur une voie émergente.

Plus de 100 dirigeants africains, notamment de la finance, de l’énergie verte et de la communication, se sont réunis lors de l’événement de haut niveau sur invitation du sommet qui s’est tenu dans la capitale nationale pour discuter des principaux défis du développement durable.

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Added 6 January 2023

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Watching the Gangway 4  by Paul Ridgway

 

Ship design for Northern Lighthouse Board, to be named Pole Star

New tonnage for Scotland

From Edinburgh the Northern Lighthouse Board (NLB), the General Lighthouse Authority for Scotland and the Isle of Man announced last month the award of a £51.8 million contract to Spanish shipyard Astilleros Gondán SA, for the build of an advanced hybrid-powered ship to support its vital safety service to mariners.

Gondán is a well-established and highly respected family business with a track record of delivering quality vessels. The tender includes a commitment to place over £2 million of contracts with UK suppliers with a requirement for any contract over £25k to be advertised in the UK. As part of the deal Gondán will also create a special fully funded internship programme for up to 15 UK-based students who will benefit from a range of placements at the yard during the vessel’s construction.

Mike Bullock, NLB’s Chief Executive commented: “This is a really exciting time for us, and we are delighted we can now take forward our ambitious plans for the build of a hybrid powered aid to navigation tender to replace NLV Pole Star, which after 23 years of service is rapidly approaching the end of her economic life.

“The new vessel, which will take the name Pole Star, will be a step change from what has gone before using new technology to minimise the impact on the environment and will bring additional capability to help deal with the effects of Climate Change. This will ensure that we can continue to protect mariners and our precious marine environment in Scottish and Manx waters into the 2050s.’

NLB operates two ships NLV Pharos and NLV Pole Star. These ships carry out buoy work, deliver stores and supplies to lighthouses and inspect aids to navigation on oil and gas rigs in the Scottish sector. The new vessel, which will follow a tradition started in 1892, will be the fifth NLB vessel to bear the name Pole Star. It will be constructed to a detailed specification which ensures improved sea keeping, better and safer buoy servicing operations, towing and firefighting capability. There will also be improved crew accommodation and substantial environmental improvements over its predecessor.

It is understood the vessel will enter service in June 2025 and will meet the ambitious environmental targets set out in the UK Government Clean Maritime Plan, whilst future proofing NLB’s ability to deliver its vital safety services over the next 25 years.

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The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) spacecraft on a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, 18 November 2022. Photo: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula

Measuring Earth’s water levels

A UK-backed mission, which will observe huge swathes of ocean and surface water in unprecedented detail, has been launched into space. This was reported in mid-December by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and it is understood that the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite was launched from Vandenberg in California on 16 December.

SWOT will use a revolutionary radar instrument, named KaRIn, to survey at least 90% of the Earth’s surface, measuring and monitoring changes in the ocean, lakes, reservoirs, rivers and wetlands, to produce data that will help improve understanding of climate change, as well as to predict and mitigate flood risks around the world, it was reported. SWOT is a satellite jointly developed by NASA and the French space agency, CNES, in partnership with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and the UK Space Agency.

In the west of England’s Bristol Channel waters will be observed once a day during a three-month period in April to June 2023 to provide unprecedented information from space on water level changes in this dynamic coastal environment.

UK Space Agency CEO Dr Paul Bate commented: “SWOT will revolutionise our understanding of our planet’s surface water and how its patterns are changing, giving us vital information to improve how we manage one of humanity’s most precious resources.

“This is an important mission for the UK to be involved in, both in terms of building the radar instrument and in directly receiving and analysing Earth observation data for the UK.”

At Plymouth the Marine Laboratory will work with the Ocean University of China to analyse the data returned to identify and track eddies, looking specifically at how the Mid-Atlantic Ridge impacts their progression across the South Atlantic and how this affects the north-south transport of heat by the ocean.

For brief video [3:27] on SWOT see below:

See also Into the Blue Podcast: Space, Satellites and SWOT with Professor Christine Gommenginger [16:16]

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Port Lockroy, Base A, Antarctica. Picture: UKAHT

Preserving polar history

In the UK the Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) is responsible for managing and conserving a number of historic British bases within the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). It aims to help conserve British historic sites and monuments on the Antarctic Peninsula for the enjoyment and education of visitors.

Additionally it supports the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust in conserving the historic huts in the Ross Sea area built by Scott, Shackleton and Borchgrevink. These efforts stimulate interest in the future of Antarctica through education on the inspiration of earlier British Antarctic endeavours and will help with the acquisition and preservation of Antarctic artefacts.

The trust operates out of Port Lockroy, the site of an old British base, which has been restored and is open during the summer months as a living museum. Port Lockroy is one of the most popular and highly visited sites in Antarctica and is also the BAT’s primary Post Office where the Trust acts as its Philatelic Clerk for the sale of its much sought after postage stamps.

An introductory video on the work of the Trust [1:57] may be watched below:

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Screenshot of HMS Protector

HMS Protector

In recent weeks sailors and Royal Marines from the navy’s ice patrol ship HMS Protector shifted several tonnes of snow to dig out the staff of the isolated Antarctic scientific base at Port Lockroy. The site was hit by heavy spring snowfall – between two and four metres – which buried some of the buildings and damaged the roof of one key structure. Protector’s team spent two days clearing snow and carrying out temporary repairs.

Protector regularly visits international bases on the frozen continent, delivering supplies, supporting scientific research and conducting her own, from monitoring climate change including glacial retreat and melting ice to updating seafaring charts using her hi-tech sensors.

The weight of snow on Bransfield Hut – home to Lockroy’s museum, gift shop, and post office – caused the roof to sag. Protector’s marine engineers used traditional naval damage control methods with wooden stakes and blocks to stabilise the structure, similar to how they would support a deckhead or bulkhead in a damaged warship.

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Remembering Shackleton’s expedition

Remaining with polar news for a moment I am reminded of the book The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition, by Caroline Alexander. This was re-issued by Seaforth Publishing in 2021 and is still available. Of 224 pages with 140 black and white illustrations it is priced at £16.99 (ISBN: 978 1 52670 878 6) this softback draws upon previously unavailable sources.

Alexander provides a well-written account of Shackleton’s expedition – one of history’s greatest epics of survival. She presents the astonishing work of Frank Hurley, the Australian photographer whose visual record of the adventure had never before been published comprehensively. Together, text and images recreate the beauty of Antarctica, the destruction of Shackleton’s ship Endurance, and his crew’s heroic daily struggle to stay alive, a miracle achieved largely through Ernest Shackleton’s inspiring leadership.

Furthermore, the survival of Hurley’s remarkable images is scarcely less miraculous. Original glass plate negatives, from which most of the book’s illustrations are splendidly reproduced, were stored in hermetically sealed canisters that survived months on the ice floes, a week in an open boat on the polar seas, and several more months buried in the snows of a rocky outcrop called Elephant Island in the South Shetland Islands, of the Southern Ocean.

Finally, Hurley was forced to abandon his professional equipment; thereafter he captured some of the most unforgettable images of the struggle with a pocket camera and three rolls of Kodak film.

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HMS Severn: Ministry of Defence Crown Copyright 2022 ©

What did the Navy do in ’twenty-two?

Without doubt the Royal Navy ended 2022 as it began the year – on patrol at home and worldwide

“The world doesn’t stop and we cannot either.” They are the words of Lieutenant Commander Grahame Flint, Executive Officer of patrol ship HMS Severn, one of thousands of sailors and Royal Marines on duty or on call over the festive period guaranteeing safety and security of the nation, its people and those States with which the UK has alliances.

Towards the end of an unrelenting 2022 there was little let-up in the pace of operations or demands on the personnel of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Christmas Day ship’s routine is generally fairly relaxed whether a warship is at sea or in port. In addition to personal mobile phones and internet/e-mail connectivity aboard, welfare calls allow sailors and marines to speak to loved ones at home at no charge.

Many warships organise a collective opening of presents – as well as gifts from friends and families, there are also surprises from charities as a thank-you to the Forces for their service – often the youngest sailor aboard enjoys the chance to be captain for the day, and traditional Christmas dinner is served up by officers.

In an end-of-year message to the Royal Navy, its Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Andrew Burns, thanked all for their efforts throughout a demanding year. He said: “I recognise the commitment of both you and your families and what your tireless work means to our Service and the nation.

“I hope most of you can take some well-earned rest over the Christmas period and celebrate all that has been delivered this year. Meanwhile our thoughts and gratitude will be with those who remain on-watch over the festive period.

“I recognise the commitment of both you and your families and what your tireless work means to our Service and the nation.”

In the North Atlantic hydrographic survey ship HMS Scott continued her record-breaking final deployment gathering data. In the South Atlantic Forth was on patrol around the Falklands.

HMS Medway was undergoing maintenance in Florida after covering 10,000 miles this autumn around the Caribbean and in the Indo-Pacific region HMS Tamar had just completed a visit to Brunei while HMS Spey was in Japan undergoing maintenance before resuming patrols.

HMSs Cutlass and Dagger in the Mediterranean were enjoying their first Christmas on The Rock with the RN Gibraltar Squadron, accompanied by patrol ship HMS Trent.

Elements of 3 Commando Brigade and the Commando Helicopter Force were in the Norwegian Arctic ready for their annual winter training ramping up.

HMS Lancaster was enjoying her first Christmas in Bahrain, having relieved HMS Montrose; The Gulf-based minehunting force – HMSs Bangor, Chiddingfold and Middleton, plus RFA Cardigan Bay– enjoyed a festive break after working around the clock providing security for the World Cup in Qatar earlier in December.

In Home Waters Portsmouth-based HMS Severn was assigned to operations in the Channel while Somerset stood ready supported by Royal Marines, Fleet Air Arm and Royal Fleet Auxiliary to respond to any incident.

Royal Navy medics and surgical staff were on duty throughout the festive period, working alongside National Health Service staff, especially at Derriford and Queen Alexandra Hospitals in the naval cities of Plymouth and Portsmouth.

And as there has been since Christmas 1969, one Royal Navy submarine was on patrol somewhere on Operation Relentless, the nuclear deterrence mission.

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IMEC CEO Francesco Gargiulo (left) at the meeting with President Marcos in Brussels in December. Image sourced from PH government official presidential broadcaster, RTVMalacanang

Key seafarer issues: Industry welcomes action

In mid-December global leaders from organisations representing seafarers, ship owners and other maritime employers, met President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr of the Philippines, as part of his foreign policy tour in Brussels.

President Marcos ordered his country’s Department of Migrant Worker to create an advisory board be made up of employers, ship owners and unions, in conjunction with the Philippines government and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

As we well know The Philippines is one of the major suppliers of maritime labour globally and seafarers were high on the President’s agenda. Top of the agenda, I understand, was the immediate concern of employers and crew that as many as 50,000 seafarers face being barred from crewing EU-flagged vessels over qualification issues.

This threat is due to a warning from the EU’s maritime regulator that the Philippines needed to address unacceptable deficiencies in crews’ education, training and certification. Failure to do so would push out Filipino seafarers, a labour source so critical that one delegate described as too big to fail.

Delegates were reassured to hear Marcos’ pledge that his administration will do everything to address these deficiencies identified by the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA). Marcos’ actions would prevent job losses among Filipino seafarers.

Furthermore, delegates also urged Marcos to defend Filipino jobs, by reforming the country’s problematic seafarers’ claims industry. While intended to secure speedy resolution and compensation for injured and aggrieved crew, the injury claims industry system today sees seafarers’ hardship and goodwill exploited by ambulance-chasing lawyers, it was reported by the ILO in a statement of 14 December.

It was further reported that victimisation of Filipino seafarers by people or groups to make fraudulent and costly injury claims against their employers, has resulted in companies to look elsewhere for their seafarer workforce.

In 2000, Filipino crew made up 28.5% of the global seafarer population, however by 2020, that figure had dropped to just 14%. Any further decline would jeopardise the US$6.54 billion in wages Filipino seafarers send home each year to their families – money critical to the Philippines’ economy.

CEO Francesco Gargiulo of the International Maritime Employers’ Council  (IMEC) commented: “It was refreshing to meet a leader that is so in tune with the needs of his citizens today. I was impressed with the President’s grasp of the complex picture of the maritime industry in the Philippines and comforted by his stern determination to tackle our common challenges head on.

“The creation of this advisory board is an inspired initiative which we are convinced will soon help steer the country towards calmer seas. We look forward to working with his team on current and future challenges to ensure the Philippines retain their key position at the table of global shipping.”

ICS Secretary General Guy Platten added: “Seafarers are at the very heart of our industry and cannot be forgotten as we look to the future. Every member of the delegation meeting with President Marcos Jr today recognises this and we ensured that our seafarers were not lost sight of. As a major seafaring nation, the Philippines is key to our industry and its future, and collaboration and cooperation with governments is vital. Our industry’s importance cannot be underestimated and the collective representation within the maritime sector today shows the willingness to work together for a brighter future.”

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Added 5 January 2023

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News continues below

WHARF TALK: SA Port Statistics for November 2022

The former RMS St Helena, now simply St Helena, passes Wilson’s Wharf as she progresses from the Esplanade Channel into the Maydon Channel of Durban Bay, en route to the Dormac floating dock at the Bayhead, on 28 December 2022. Picture by Trevor Jones

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

They reflect a recovery from the port strike of the previous month that so decimated much of the cargo and ships handled at the ports.

The statistics below reflect 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, November 2021 CLICK HERE

Port Statistics continue below…..

Figures for the respective ports during November 2022 are:

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

PORT November 2022 million tonnes
Richards Bay 8.603
Durban 7.024
Saldanha Bay 6.124
Cape Town 1.481
Port Elizabeth 0.811
Ngqura 1.151
Mossel Bay 0.097
East London 0.248
Total all ports 25.538 million tonnes

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

PORT November 2022 TEUs
Durban 225,202
Cape Town 71,768
Port Elizabeth 8,598
Ngqura 46,594
East London 11,136
Richards Bay 0
Total all ports 363,298 TEU

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

PORT November 2022 CEUs
Durban 40,502
Cape Town 4
Port Elizabeth 1,199
East London 3,187
Richards Bay 1
Total all ports 44,893

SHIP CALLS for November 2022

PORT November 2022 vessels gross tons
Durban 250 9,116,026
Cape Town 128 3,608,490
Richards Bay 124 5,057,945
Port Elizabeth 69 1,724,939
Saldanha Bay 38 2,375,654
Ngqura 56 2,628,057
East London 22 744,186
Mossel Bay 26 176,037
Total ship calls 713 25,431,334
— source TNPA, with adjustments regarding container weights by Africa Ports & Ships
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Added 31 December 2022

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FIRE ON SHIP IN DURBAN PORT – UPDATE

De Sheng 1 at New Pier berth 103, 29 December 2022. Picture courtesy Jumaine Kruger

The following update received from the Port of Durban:

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA), Port of Durban ceased operations on a registered bulk carrier vessel, M/V DE SHENG 1, which docked at the Maydon Wharf Precinct on Tuesday, 20 December 2022 and later shifted to Pier 1 on Saturday, 24 December 2022.

The suspension of operations on the bulk carrier follows the discovery of smoldering in the vessel cargo hold of plywood used to support cargo (soda ash) on board the vessel.

The incident was reported on Thursday, 29 December 2022 and the vessel is currently put on lock down pending further investigations into the matter.

The crew on board the vessel has been safely evacuated with no reported injuries. The affected customers and stakeholders have been notified of the incident and its impact on port operations.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA)’s Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Safety, Port Control and the eThekwini Fire Department were dispatched to closely monitor the situation and provide the appropriate relief.

The Port welcomes the support it has been receiving from the industry and is constantly monitoring recovery to ensure minimal impact on operations whilst not increasing the cost of doing business.

TNPA Port of Durban has invoked Business Continuity Management (BCM) in order to monitor environmental pollution and any disruption to operations.

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Added 30 December 2022 14h00

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News continues below

BREAKING NEWS: FIRE ON SHIP IN DURBAN HARBOUR

In some breaking news on Thursday late afternoon, a fire on board what appears to be the bulk carrier DE SHENG 1 saw the port being closed to traffic.

Not much detail on the fire is available except that it appears to have broken out within one of the holds of the vessel berthed at New Pier 103.

According to AIS two other ships, AAL PARIS and SEVGI, occupy adjacent berths 100 and 101.

Shortly after white smoke was observed coming from the area the port authority put out a notice advising the port to have closed to all traffic.

Prior to that another notice earlier in the day advised the port to be closed to selective traffic and the Maydon Channel similarly closed. No reason was offered.

This is a developing story.

The video below is courtesy of FaceBook and appears to be via Jenny Botes and the Gatvol Bluff FaceBook page.

www.facebook.com/groups/gatvol/permalink/6080697995274037/

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Added 29 December 2022

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News continues below

Watching the Gangway 3  by Paul Ridgway

MSC boosts connections

MSC Angola Service

As part of MSC’s decision to expand its Sub-Saharan Africa network, the company is reshuffling its Angola service, offering Pointe-Noire, Congo Republic (CR), and Matadi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as from January 2023. This was reported before the festive break.

It is understood that offering Pointe-Noire on the Angola service will represent a significant advantage for Asia and India markets in the region. The Congolese port will serve as a key trans-shipment hub for cargo destinated to Angola and Namibia. Stopping tranship via Lomé will reduce by eleven days the transit time to the main Angolan port of Luanda, and Namibe, as well as Walvis Bay in Namibia.

Covering Pointe-Noire on the Angola service, also represents new business opportunities for cargo coming from North Europe and the Mediterranean. Indeed, cargo from the main cities of these markets will trans-ship via Lomé, Togo and be directly discharged to CR and DRC.

Interconnectivity between Angola and Namibia, and its key trade markets will strengthen intra-Africa and international trade. This will support Africa to also enhance trade networks within the continent and support local and regional economies.

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Transaid’s 2022 in review

TRANSAID

For Transaid 2022 has been a year to celebrate. Thanks to the charity’s valuable supporters, the adaptability and commitment of its partners, consultants, organisations and the governments with which Transaid works it has continued to improve road safety and access to vital healthcare services in sub-Saharan Africa. In a few words Transaid transforms lives through safe, available and sustainable transport.

In 2022, supporters of the charity helped it reach major road safety milestones. Transaid has now trained more than 100 professional driver trainers, who have in turn delivered training to over 50,000 drivers since 2008, having a sustainable and lasting impact on road safety standards in the countries where the charity is active.

TRANSAID sponsored Bicycle Ambulance

Transaid’s MAMaZ Against Malaria (MAM) programme reached a major milestone in 2022. Since its scale-up two years ago, Transaid and partners have reached over one million people with the integrated severe malaria and Covid-19 response known as MAM@Scale.

Supporters everywhere used their talents to fundraise for Transaid and its life-saving programmes. For example the Transaid cycle challenges, saw sixty riders returning to their saddles for Hadrian’s Cycleway challenge in northern England and others took part in the Africa cycle challenge in Malawi. Together the two challenges raised over £258,000 for Transaid’s programmes in sub-Saharan Africa.

Many individuals and companies supported the Christmas Appeal this year. This surpassed the fundraising target and reached £37,173.

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Tug Svitzer Mercurius; failure of towline pennant

Svitzer Mercurius (IMO 9695523). Picture: Fleetmon

On 22 December 2019, the Port of Southampton tug Svitzer Mercurius was assisting with the berthing of an ultra-large container ship. Details below are taken from the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report and reproduced with thanks. (MAIB ©).

Svitzer Mercurius, acting as the stern tug, was requested to give 100% astern thrust to slow the container ship using its starboard towline on the forward towing winches. The brake of the tow winch slipped briefly, subjecting the towline and towing pennant to a sudden shock load as the brake regained grip. The pennant suddenly parted, causing it and the towline to recoil back toward the tug. The towline hit and shattered the tug’s starboard forward wheelhouse window, resulting in glass particles injuring the five crew inside.

The following safety issues were identified in the MAIB investigation:

* Svitzer Mercurius had been recently acquired and its temporary crew had not been inducted sufficiently before starting towing duties.

* The towline pennant broke at about 52% of its original minimum breaking load and was not fit for purpose.

* The wheelhouse windows were designed to withstand water pressure and not intended to withstand impact from a towline.

Safety recommendations

The tug’s classification society (DNV) has been recommended to take the findings of this investigation to the International Association of Classification Societies to develop a unified requirement to minimise, in the event of impact from a recoiling towline, the risk of injury from broken window glass to personnel within tug wheelhouses.

A recommendation has also been made to the tug operator to review the risk to wheelhouse crews across its fleet posed by towline snapback and, where it is assessed to be high, evaluate the viability of introducing laminated glass for wheelhouse windows.

The 51-page MAIB report with the title: Report on the investigation of the failure of a towline pennant and injury to the crew on board the tug Svitzer Mercurius in Southampton, England on 22 December 2019 is AVAILABLE HERE

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News from IALA*

IALA WWA Seychelles film

The IALA World-Wide Academy conducted a mission in the Seychelles islands in September and a short film (6:43) to illustrate the activities of the academy team with regard to environmental protection and the safety of navigation in these waters can be SEEN HERE

From 12 to 16 December the 76th session of the IALA Council was held in Rio de Janeiro and by video conference. Many new documents such Recommendations, Guidelines, and Model Courses were approved as well as one workshop proposal. Relevant documents will be made available on the IALA website at the beginning of the New Year, I understand.

Each councillor reported on national matters and the Secretary General Francis Zachariae briefed on the latest news of the IALA Secretariat in St Germain-en-Laye, NW of Paris. By election Cap Spartel Lighthouse in Morocco is to be IALA’s Lighthouse of the Year, 2023.

The Council granted honorary membership to Commodore Barry Goldman who has been the International Harbour Masters’ Association’s representative to IALA for many years. After a 36 career in the Royal Navy he was for ten years manager of the Port of London Authority’s vessel traffic services. This appointment was followed by two years as Harbour Master and Chief Operating Officer of the Ports of Jersey, in the Channel Islands. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation, of the Nautical Institute and is a Younger Brother of Trinity House.

* IALA – International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities

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ILO – IMO meeting adopts seafarer abandonment guidelines

New measures to improve conditions for seafarers, including those who have been abandoned, were adopted at a December meeting involving governments, maritime workers’ and employers’ organizations.

It was reported by IMO (International Maritime Organization) at the meeting that the new Guidelines set out procedures to be taken by States if a ship owner fails to fulfil their obligations to arrange and cover the cost of repatriation of seafarers, outstanding wages and other contracted entitlements, and the provision of essential needs, including medical care.

In these circumstances seafarers are then considered abandoned. These procedures include developing, in cooperation with seafarers’ and shipowners’ organizations, national Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to explicitly define the liabilities and obligations of the competent authority and the roles to be played by the various national stakeholders.

These stakeholders include the relevant national seafarers’ welfare boards, shipping agencies, seafarers’ and shipowners’ organizations, seafarer welfare organizations, seafarer recruitment and placement services, and others.

The ILO–IMO meeting also discussed the importance of the joint ILO-IMO database relating to abandoned seafarers, and the need to update and improve it.

Readers are invited to learn more from the ILO (International Labour Organizaton) Database on reported incidents of abandonment of seafarers to be FOUND HERE

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Remembering the Barren Rocks of Aden*

Port of Aden

News has been received from the Port of Aden of the inauguration of a Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS), commissioning of new tractors and a port tug returning after a refit.

In mid-November a new VTMIS was inaugurated in the port in the presence of Mr Auke Lootsma from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). In recent weeks training courses have been held in the VTMIS for employees and specialized technicians. Tutorial sessions were held in the control building of the Maritime Department at Yemen Gulf of Aden Ports Corporation.

These training courses covered the method of operating the system and its maintenance in addition to the practical training of the system’s supervisors to operate it and train staff in the future.

Aden’s VTMIS is capable of real-time monitoring of port traffic and enhancing navigational safety and environmental protection by identifying, monitoring, planning and managing shipping.

The United Nations Development Program funded the purchase of the system to enable the port to exchange information with the crews of naval vessels. This will help increase the efficiency of maritime traffic activities.

The VTMIS consists of two radars, an AIS unit, a weather forecasting device, and five marine communications units. All sensors were integrated into a single control unit and the system has been successfully operated since October.

New cargo handling equipment (Port of Aden)

In the middle of November fourteen new Italian Mavi tractors arrived to join the fleet of equipment purchased during the current year. This was preceded by the arrival of cranes dedicated to carrying full containers and empties. New forklifts were commissioned.

Aden Container Terminal is witnessing great advances in the modernization of equipment and machinery, in accordance with prepared plans represented in raising the efficiency of the container terminal and its operational and service capacity in line with the requirements of its customers from shipping lines and local merchants.

It is understood that the new land tractors and trailers are capable of carrying two containers in one move with a total weight of 75 tons. This will raise the pace of ship service. The Container Terminal witnessed during the current year a noticeable increase in the handling rates of ships. In turn this had an impact in the great reduction in dwell time of ships and the speed of procedures for the exit of containers to the Customs of the Free Zone, and then to the local market.

With continuous follow-up from the Port Corporation’s leadership, represented by the Executive Chairman of YGAPC, Dr Muhammad Alawi Amzrabah and his deputy, Eng Abdulrab Al-Khulaqi, and the specialized technical team, the port’s tug WADI HATEEB arrived on 23 November after completing its maintenance and repair work in the Republic of Djibouti. This tug carries out its towage tasks with vessels entering and departing the port and the port’s operational capacity has been enhanced.

It is noted that the Corporation’s leadership has sought, and is still seeking, to raise the level of navigational activity, as it has paid great attention to developing and modernizing its marine and land machinery and other equipment to improve its production capacity.

* A march tune associated with the Gordon Highlanders. For the origin and lyrics SEE HERE

and for its piping…..

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Admiral of the Fleet The Lord Boyce

Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Boyce KG GCB OBE DL died on 6 November 2022, aged 79. The Royal Navy has lost one of its great Cold War warriors and post-Cold War leaders with his passing.

Lord Boyce in 2015. Picture: Wikipedia Commons

He championed the causes of young and old connected with the Royal Navy, from supporting Sea Cadets to keeping alive the memory of past naval actions. Above all, he was a submariner through and through, spending the bulk of his operational career beneath the waves after beginning his naval career at Britannia Royal Naval College in 1961.

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key said Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce had served the Royal Navy and the Nation with distinction for over four decades.

He continued: “From commanding three submarines and a frigate at the height of the Cold War, through to the highest level of command as First Sea Lord and then Chief of the Defence Staff, he was a deeply professional and respected military leader

“However, his remarkable life’s accomplishments spread far beyond Defence through the many organisations and causes he supported right through to his last days. The thoughts of the entire Royal Navy are with his family at this time.”

Born in Cape Town in 1943, a young Michael Boyce opted for a career as a submariner and served in both conventional and nuclear-powered boats, commanding three – Oberon, Opossum and finally hunter-killer HMS Superb – as well as frigate HMS Brilliant as a captain in the mid-1980s.

Thereafter came a series of senior training and operational appointments: head of submarine training, Flag Officer Sea Training – responsible for preparing all RN ships for front-line duties – senior RN officer in the Middle East and Flag Officer Surface Flotilla.

Between 1995 and his retirement at the end of 2003, he held the three highest posts in the Royal Navy: Second Sea Lord, Commander-in-Chief, Fleet, and First Sea Lord, then the most senior military role in the UK, Chief of the Defence Staff, during military operations in Afghanistan, then the invasion of Iraq.

And he was the last naval officer – to date – to be promoted to the Royal Navy’s highest rank, Admiral of the Fleet, appointed by Her Majesty the Queen in 2014.

The admiral was created a life peer – Baron Boyce of Pimlico – in 2003 and upon retirement from the military at the end of that year, succeeded The Queen Mother in the historic post of Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports.

It was one of a string of posts and honorary positions which Lord Boyce held in retirement, among them chairman of the RNLI, Vice President of the White Ensign Association, trustee of the National Maritime Museum, president of the RN Submarine Museum in Gosport, and a patron of a string of worthy causes from the Trafalgar Woods initiative to various youth and military charities, plus the Submariners’ Association. He was an outstanding Naval Officer and inspirational leader.

Among Lord Boyce’s many other titles and positions held were: Freeman of the City of London, Elder Brother of Trinity House, Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London and, only in December last year, he was given the honorary rank of Vice Admiral of the United Kingdom.

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NEW BOOKS: Not forgetting the Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve

Uncommon Courage: The yachtsmen volunteers of World War Two was published by Adlard Coles, a division of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, this year. Written by Julia Jones here is an account of heroism and sacrifice by those who sailed for enjoyment and were called up for naval service on account of their knowledge of the ways of the sea and of small craft.

In this absorbing book over 320 pages Julia Jones tells the compelling stories of the yachtsmen. Some were famous (such as Sir Peter Scott), others were wealthy (for example August Courtauld, who returned his pay to help with the war effort) but the majority were just ordinary professionals such as publishers, lawyers and advertising agents, who signed up because they loved sailing.

Few could ever have dreamed that they would end up acting in areas that were so far beyond their normal lives, as they found themselves commanding destroyers and submarines, and undertaking covert missions of sabotage. Some undertook the dangerous daily drudgery of minesweeping; others tackled unexploded bombs, engaged the enemy in high-speed attacks or played key roles in Ian Fleming’s naval intelligence activities.

Informative chapters recall preparations at the time of the Munich Crisis, aspects of training, minesweeping, the Norwegian campaign, Dunkirk, submarine activities, St Nazaire, clandestine operations, the Mediterranean, Dieppe, preparations for D-Day (Operation Neptune) and more.

This varied crew of men in Royal Naval Volunteer Supplementary Reserve were given tasks vital to the war effort, requiring endurance, extraordinary bravery, resourcefulness and quick thinking. Some died in the process, but for the ones who survived, the author tells how their experiences changed them.

After an introduction no fewer than 23 chapters tell the tales of these stalwarts who came to the nation’s call. To these pages are added endnotes, acknowledgements and a bibliography. Price £20.00. ISBN 978 1 4729 8710 5.

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Added 28 December 2022

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News continues below

Watching the Gangway 2  by Paul Ridgway

22 December 2022

Good Day to you all.
I continue here with more international maritime news from London and an African story of some concern.

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Custom fines in Senegal

News has been received from the London insurance market that ship operators continue to be fined for alleged inaccuracies when filing customs declarations at Senegalese ports, with the port of Dakar a particular hotspot. The grounds on which fines are levied have become increasingly diverse and the fines’ monetary value can be substantial.

Senegal, West Africa

The Senegalese Customs Authorities are known for paying close attention to the details in each ship’s custom declarations and stores lists and for imposing very strict penalties for any discrepancies identified, as permitted under its Customs Code.

Local correspondents of GARD have repeatedly warned the industry about customs related challenges in Senegalese ports. In 2021, BUDD Group highlighted that the situation in the port of Dakar had become progressively more difficult, that the grounds on which fines were levied had become increasingly diverse and the amounts of the fines themselves had increased substantially.

This month, December, ETIC SAS, a P&I Club with HQ in Marseille and branches in France, Africa and Oceania, reported that the number of cases of ships being fined for alleged misdeclarations is increasing. ETIC SAS has emphasised that the customs documents must be completed with the utmost care.

According to GARD over the past ten years reports have included incidents of fines being imposed for:

* Differences between declared fuel oil quantities and sounding made by custom officers attending onboard.

* Failure to declare the quantity of “used oil”, i.e., to include fuel oil contained within piping, lube oil contained in the engine sump tank and pumps, hydraulic oil in pressure tanks for windlass and winches and so forth.

* Failure to declare the amount of carbon dioxide and foam concentrate contained within the vessel’s fixed fire extinguishing systems.

* Differences between declared store inventories and calculations made by custom officers during own inventory inspections.

* Attaching “unofficial” documents to the customs declaration, even if their purpose was to clarify details stated in the official declaration.

* Spelling mistakes in crew lists when identified by immigration authorities.

* Failure to have the bunker declaration form completed by the time the customs officers arrived in the master’s cabin; as well as deficits in cargo discharged as compared to the cargo manifest, particularly for bulk and bagged cargoes.

ETIC SAS has advised that Customs Authorities at the port of Dakar are particularly exacting when it comes to ships’ cargo manifests. For example, if a cargo manifest refers to several different discharge ports, Customs will require a separate manifest sheet that describes only the cargo that is to be discharged in Dakar.

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NATO exercises with the Egyptian Navy

NATO Sea Guardian image

According to the public affairs office at NATO Maritime Command, MARCOM, NATO’s Operation Sea Guardian (OSG) Task Group has recently taken part in exercises with the Egyptian Navy in the Eastern Mediterranean. This marks the conclusion of the OSG Task Group’s sixth focused maritime security patrol in the region.

Such patrols play a vital role in a better understanding of the maritime environment, by improving NATO’s collaboration on maritime situational awareness. This ultimately leads to better maritime security in the Mediterranean Sea.

The sixth focused patrol included warships, submarines, maritime patrol aircraft, and airborne early warning units from Germany, Greece, Portugal, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom.

Collaboration with other non-NATO navies led to the establishment of a robust, international cluster of different entities, ready to cooperate in order to ensure the maritime security in the Eastern Mediterranean

Interoperability between nations

The OSG Task Group flagship, HS Salamis (Hellenic Navy), exercised at sea with ENS Bernees, a European multi-purpose frigate (FREMM) commissioned into the Egyptian Navy in 2021. The exercise increased the cooperation and levels of interoperability between nations. The ships’ companies practised a medical evacuation drill, a boarding exercise and a passing exercise.

Operation Sea Guardian is a non-Article 5 maritime security operation aimed at working with Mediterranean stakeholders to maintain maritime situational awareness, deter and counter terrorism, and enhance capacity building.

To quote Captain Ioannis Sarakis, Task group Commander: “Supporting maritime situational awareness and upholding freedom of navigation, delivered excellent training opportunities for both NATO Task Group and the crew of HS Salamis.

“Furthermore, our collaboration with other non-NATO navies lead to the establishment of a robust, international cluster of different entities, ready to cooperate in order to ensure the maritime security in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

Port visit Alexandria

Prior to the exercise, the NATO staff, led by Captain Ioannis Sarakis (HN), made a port visit to Alexandria. On arrival, Captain Sarakis and his staff paid a courtesy call on the local naval authorities, and received the Chief of Northern Fleet, Rear Admiral Yasser El Sherif, on board HS Salamis. Such interactions are a valuable contribution to mutual understanding and deepen NATO partnerships.

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IMO Council

Eastern & Southern Africa region discuss BWMs Code. IMO image

From 28 November to 2 December the 128th meeting of the IMO Council was held at IMO HQ in London.

Election of next Secretary-General

The Council approved the procedures for holding the election of the Secretary-General at the July 2023 session of the Council (C 129). Applications from candidates for the position of Secretary-General will be invited to reach IMO by 31 March 2023 at the latest.

Following the election in July 2023, the decision of the Council will be submitted to the 33rd session of the Assembly of IMO in late 2023, and the elected Secretary-General will take office on 1 January 2024.

Development of Strategic Plan for 2024 to 2029

The Council initiated the development of the Strategic Plan for the six-year period 2024 to 2029, which will be adopted at the Assembly’s 33rd session (December 2023). A work plan was agreed to further develop the plan, including an inter-sessional working group.

The current strategic directions are to:

SD 1 Improve implementation;
SD 2 Integrate new and advancing technologies in the regulatory framework;
SD 3 Respond to climate change;
SD 4 Engage in ocean governance;
SD 5 Enhance global facilitation and security of international trade;
SD 6 Address the human element;
SD 7 Ensure regulatory effectiveness;
SD 8 Ensure organizational effectiveness.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative

The Council was provided with an update on the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

The Council encouraged the Secretary-General to continue to work on humanitarian efforts to evacuate all stranded ships and seafarers in the conflict area, including efforts to expand the Black Sea Grain Initiative to other types of ships and additional ports;

At the meeting the Council thanked the Secretary-General and the Secretariat for the important contribution to the success of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which has been achieved through an interagency “One UN approach” involving relevant UN bodies, other international agencies, NGOs and the Member States concerned.

Furthermore, the IMO Council emphasized the important contribution that the Black Sea Grain Initiative, recognised by the UN Secretary-General as a landmark agreement to help vulnerable people in every corner of the world, is making to alleviate the global food supply shortages resulting from the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Ballast Water Management Convention: Eastern and Southern Africa region discussions

Officials from 15 countries in the Eastern and Southern Africa region have taken part in a workshop in the United Republic of Tanzania on compliance, monitoring and enforcement of the Ballast Water Management Convention (BWM Convention). The Convention is designed to protect the marine environment from the transfer of harmful aquatic organisms in ballast water carried by ships. Since it entered into force in 2017, ships must manage their ballast water so that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the water is released into a new location.

The workshop in Dar es Salaam (from 12 to 14 December) enabled detailed discussion about the roles and responsibilities of a flag, port and coastal State in the context of compliance with the Convention’s D-1 and D-2 two performance standards for the discharge of ballast water. It also raised awareness on the content of the Convention and relevant guidelines, and participants were given step-by-step procedures to assist their countries in the full ratification, domestication and implementation of the treaty.

Hosted by the Tanzania Shipping Agencies Corporation (TASAC) with the support of the Ministry of Works and Transport, United Republic of Tanzania, the event was organised as part of IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP).

The countries present were: Angola, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia. Of those, five have so far ratified the Convention (Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia, Seychelles and South Africa). The rest are at different stages of ratification and legislation.

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Added 22 December 2022

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MSC completes full ownership of Bolloré Africa Logistics

Douala Container Terminal, Cameroon, one of the port terminals operated on concession by Bolloré and now by MSC

The MSC Group has through its wholly owned subsidiary, Shipping Agencies Services (SAS), completed the acquisition of Bolloré Africa Logistics, with the transaction having been approved by all necessary regulatory authorities.

Tis means that MSC has considerably increased its landside operations on the continent of Africa and further afield, including port and inland dry terminals and in other logistics operations.

Making the announcement MSC said its acquisition of Bolloré Africa Logistics highlights the long-term commitment of MSC to invest in African supply chains and infrastructure, and supporting the needs of clients of both businesses.

MSC said it will operate Bolloré Africa Logistics Group as an autonomous entity with its portfolio of diversified partners, but this will be under a new brand to be unveiled in 2023.

Philippe Labonne will continue his longstanding role at the helm of the business as President of Bolloré Africa Logistics.

“MSC intends to continue enhancing the continent’s connectivity with the rest of the world and enable trade within Africa amid the implementation of the continental free trade (AfCFTA). Backed by MSC Group’s financial strength and operational expertise, Bolloré Africa Logistics will be able to meet all its commitments to governments, particularly regarding port concessions,” said the statement.

“We are delighted to welcome more than 21,000 new colleagues to the MSC family through our acquisition of Bolloré Africa Logistics,” said MSC Group President, Diego Aponte.

“The deal will strengthen MSC’s longstanding ties with Africa and will reinforce our commitment to the continent’s economic growth, including investment in the ships, shipyards, container terminals, logistic solutions, storage facilities, road and rail networks that will support and enhance trade across the African continent and with the rest of the world.

“Our strategy remains rooted in our values and in our long-term vision that protects over 150,000 employees in 155 countries worldwide,” said Aponte.

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Added 22 December 2022

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Xeneta Freight Rates Update: Week 50

Cold comfort for carriers, as resilient reefer spot rates finally fall

One of the most steady performers in the ocean freight spot market has finally begun to follow the wider industry trend, as rates for reefer containers from North Europe to China lock into a downward trajectory.

According to the latest real-time data from Xeneta, rates on the key corridor have fallen from a long-term average of around USD 5,000 per unit to USD 4,300. The pace of the decline is now accelerating, from edging below USD 5,000 in early October to dropping 11% month-on-month in the first two weeks of December alone.

Under pressure

“After demonstrating singular stability in a rapidly changing pandemic market, the winds of change are clearly blowing for this major reefer trade,” notes Peter Sand, Xeneta’s Chief Analyst.

Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta

“We saw spot rates remain largely static for much of 2021 and 2022, hovering around USD 5,000. As rates were falling market-wide, reefers stayed strong, especially on this route, a dry container back-haul.

“However, the combination of weak demand, dropping volumes and a supply chain that is now freeing itself from congestion (with less volumes overall) is applying real downward pressure on prices. Our data suggested this was coming and now, as with the rest of the market, the trend is clear for all to see.”

Declining volumes

Although prices have remained resilient, Sand points out that volumes have actually been declining from Q2 2021. From a stable start in Q1, he notes that demand evaporated for the remainder of the year, eventually resulting in a drop of 19.5% in volumes year-on-year (from 304,000 TEU in 2020). This continued in the early months of 2022, with demand initially collapsing by 36%.

“We now appear to have found a balance,” he adds, “with October ending as the first month of year-on-year volume growth since March 2021. Nevertheless, it wasn’t enough to protect the rates which are adjusting to the now established market and macroeconomic fortunes.”

Everything’s relative

Sand concludes: “But, it’s worth remembering that, relatively speaking, reefer rates on this corridor are still strong. In the pre-pandemic days of 2019, the average unit spot price for a 40” reefer was USD 2 185. That shows current strength, of course, but it also suggests there’s potential for them to fall a great deal more. Time, and the data, will tell.”

Despite the ‘bumpy ride’ experienced on the main China trade, reefer imports from North Europe to North Asia and Southeast Asia have remained robust. After a year-on-year growth in volumes of 8.7% in 2021, another 6.4% has been added across the first ten months of 2022 for North Asia. Southeast Asian import volumes have declined, however, but only by 1.8%.

To learn more, please visit www.xeneta.com

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Added 22 December 2022

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Watching the Gangway 1 by Paul Ridgway

Good Day to you all.
It falls to me once again to perform chowkidar* duties during the Christmas and New Year break so here is a selection of maritime and related news that has been received or researched in recent days.

Before I leave I send best wishes for the days ahead with your festivities and seasonal events as 2023 succeeds 2022.

* Chowkidar – watchman or gatekeeper

APL England. ATSB

Loss of containers overboard

On 24 May 2020, APL ENGLAND was making way down the east coast of New South Wales, with a cargo of containers, bound for Melbourne, Victoria. Early that morning, in adverse weather, the ship underwent a series of heavy rolls that resulted in the loss of 50 containers overboard and shutdown of the main engine.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) found that APL England’s fixed container securing arrangements on deck were in a poor state of repair and the strength of many securing fixtures was severely reduced by corrosion.

Picture ATSB

In the seas encountered, the fittings failed, and containers were lost overboard. The investigation also found that this condition would have taken several years of poor maintenance to develop. This showed that the ship had not received the scrutiny from crewmembers, shore management or other agencies that a ship of its age or condition required. This presented an increased risk to the continued safe operation of the vessel, security of the cargo carried, and safety of crew members working around the containers.

In addition, the investigation found that procedures for adverse weather were not followed. Had these procedures and associated assessment tools been used, navigational and operational decisions could have been made, which would have better prepared the ship for the conditions encountered.

With regard to the repairs conducted on APL England, the ATSB has been advised that the deck and container fittings in all other vessels in the APL fleet were inspected and repaired as required. The company also implemented improved vessel inspections and associated reporting requirements for both ship and shore staff. APL assessed the safe stowage and carriage of high cube containers and conducted an internal safety assessment of the practice. As a result, limits were placed on the numbers of high cube containers that could be loaded into bays fitted with cell guides, which limited the extent to which containers protruded above the cell guides. Cargo securing manuals were reviewed and updated to include the revised stowage arrangements for high cube containers.

Additionally, APL implemented additional safety action regarding passage planning and navigation in heavy weather. They also advised that the wider CMA CGM Group and subsidiary entity fleets were made aware of these issues and the safety actions taken in response to this investigation.

Finally, in July 2022 the classification society, DNV, updated Class Guideline DNV-CG-0182 to include a new section which provided requirements and guidance on the allowable wear and tear of container supporting structures and container securing equipment.

The investigation report

The 46-page ATSB document: Loss of containers overboard from APL England 46 NM south-east of Sydney, New South Wales on 24 May 2020 is  AVAILABLE HERE

Editorial note

The material published here is issued from the source: The Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and is reproduced here with thanks.

Illustrations reproduced by kind permission of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

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Port of Felixstowe, a ministerial visit…

The Egyptian Minister of Transport, Lieutenant General Kamel Elwazer and Clemence Cheng, Managing Director Hutchison Ports Europe, at the Port of Felixstowe

The Egyptian Minister of Transport, Lieutenant General Kamel Elwazer, has paid a visit to Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe

The Minister was accompanied by HE Sherif Kamel, the Egyptian Ambassador to the UK and a delegation from the Ministry of Transport. The group met with port executives and were welcomed by Eric Ip, Group Managing Director of Hutchison Ports, via video link from Hong Kong.

While at the port the Minister was given a demonstration of the latest remote controlled yard cranes and the first two automated tractor units working at the UK’s largest container port.

Commenting on the visit, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe and Hutchison Ports Executive Director, said: “We were deeply honoured to welcome the Minister to the Port of Felixstowe and to show him some of the cutting-edge projects we have at the port. We look forward to working with him and the Government of Egypt to further deepen our relationship and to develop the new terminals at Sokhna and El Dekheila.”

Hutchison Ports has been operating the Alexandria International Container Terminal (AICT) in Egypt for nearly 20 years. It recently announced an expanded cooperation with the Egyptian Government through the initialling of agreements for two new concessions to operate world-class container terminals in Ain Sokhna Port and El Dekheila Port.

…and autonomous trucks


The Port of Felixstowe has introduced its first autonomous trucks

In a ground-breaking move, Hutchison Ports Port of Felixstowe is believed to be the first port in Europe to introduce autonomous terminal tractor units (ATs) into mixed traffic container terminal operations. The first two battery-powered units to enter service at the UK’s largest container port have been supplied by manufacturer Westwell. This was announced in mid-December.

Commenting on the new equipment, Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer at the Port of Felixstowe, said: “These new autonomous trucks represent a significant technological step forward for the Port of Felixstowe. The tools underpinning port operations have evolved continuously and we already have a range of very advanced systems and equipment in place but this is the first time we will have wholly driverless vehicles.

“Safety is our No.1 priority. This applies equally to technological developments and especially when introducing new equipment into live terminal operations. The ATs have a range of built-in safety features which will allow them to navigate effectively and safely within our container terminals.”

The autonomous trucks use a digital map which is loaded to a fleet management system that controls the navigation around the port. The AT then combines that map with its on-board GPS navigation to track its real-time position.

Project Director, and Hutchison Ports UK Chief Information Officer, Karen Poulter explained: “The Port of Felixstowe has a long record of innovation and we are very excited by this latest development at the port. The ATs use LiDAR – a light sensing technology that creates a 3D map of an AT’s surroundings using a laser and receiver, which, when combined with its on-board 360-degree cameras, provide real-time, all-round ‘vision’. This enables it to ‘see’ everything instantaneously in its vicinity to allow safe and accurate navigation.

“With the support of Extreme Precise Position (EPP) system, it can achieve positioning accuracy of 2 cm and a steering angle accuracy of 0.5 degrees.”

The ATs have been through a thorough commissioning and testing programme. They are to be used initially to transport containers between the port’s Trinity and North Rail terminals.

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IMO video on clean ships’ hulls

A new IMO video [1:50] on the topic highlights the importance of maintaining smooth and clean ships’ hulls free from biofouling. It was launched on 13 December at IMO HQ. The video explains how reducing and managing biofouling is key to improve fuel efficiency in ships and reduce GHG emissions. Biofouling is the accumulation of aquatic organisms on wetted or immersed surfaces such as ships and other offshore structures.

The video also spotlights the results of the report Analysing the Impact of Marine Biofouling on the Energy Efficiency of Ships and the GHG Abatement Potential of Biofouling Management Measures* which highlights that a layer of slime as thin as 0.5 mm covering up to 50% of a hull surface could trigger an increase of GHG emissions in the range of 25 to 30% depending on ship characteristics, its speed and other prevailing conditions. These percentages can be much higher for more severe biofouling conditions, depending on the type of ship and other parameters.

Development of new technologies for preventing and managing biofouling is also featured in the new video as an essential component on the goal of reducing GHG emissions.

To read more about Biofouling SEE HERE

And to download the reports on the topic READ HERE

To see more about the GloFouling Partnerships Project CLICK HERE

The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships Project is a global initiative bringing together key partners to respond to a global environmental problem, namely invasive aquatic species introduced via biofouling.

* CLICK HERE

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Loss of ILT Isolda

ILT Isolda Picture per www.irishlights.ie ©

19 December marked the 82nd anniversary of the sinking of Isolda, a service vessel owned by the Commissioners of Irish Lights (Irish Lights). On this day in 1940, Isolda sailed from Rosslare with a relief crew on board for the Barrels and Conninbeg lightships.

Irish Lights, operating the lighthouse service, was considered neutral during the Second World War. A German aircraft attacked the vessel despite it being clearly marked ‘Lighthouse Service’.

Isolda was carrying buoys, which may have been mistaken for mines. It is reported that the aircraft circled three times over Isolda, and on the last pass released bombs, which hit the ship starting a fire. The survivors landed at Kilmore Quay in their own lifeboats. There were twenty-eight crew on board, including the master, Captain Alan Bestic. Six men were killed and seven wounded.

There is a video here that was created for the 80th year commemoration to honour the lives lost: [2:50]

The video may also be FOUND HERE

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NEW BOOKS: Seaforth World Naval Review 2023

The multi-purpose inshore patrol vessel King Sekhukhune I is the first of three units based on the Damen Stan Patrol 6211 design being delivered to the South African Navy. Images per Pen & Sword © 2022

A new title edited by Conrad Water has been published by Seaforth Publishing. Priced at £26.25 and at 192 pages with 200 colour and mono illustrations, the publication was launched on 12 December. (ISBN: 978 1 3990 2307 8).

Pen & Sword has for long had a strong list of naval, military, transport and history tiles. For over a decade this publication has provided an authoritative summary of all that has happened in the naval world in the previous twelve months, combining regional surveys with exclusive major articles on noteworthy new warships and other important developments. Besides the latest projects, it also looks at wider issues of significance to navies, such as aviation and weaponry, and calls on expertise from around the globe to give a balanced picture of what is going on and to interpret its significance.

As 2022 saw the outbreak of the first major European war since 1945, it is not surprising that the naval aspects of the conflict in Ukraine take centre stage, with an interim assessment of the fighting so far and what can be gleaned of the strategies and tactics of the warring parties. Another newsworthy topic, that of hypersonic missiles, is the subject of Norman Friedman’s expert analysis.

Of the regular features, Significant Ships covers the US Navy’s Nimitz class carriers, now representing fifty years of evolution; and HMNZS Aotearoa, the largest warship built for New Zealand. Of the Fleet Reviews, one looks at the US Navy’s adaptation to the return of Great Power competition, not least with China, and the second covers the Vietnam People’s Navy, which faces Chinese pressure at close quarters.

Firmly established as the only annual naval overview of its type, Seaforth World Naval Review is essential reading for anyone, be they enthusiast or professional, interested in contemporary naval affairs.

Conrad Waters, a lawyer by training and a banker by profession, has had a lifelong interest in modern navies, about which he has written extensively. He edited the recent Navies in the 21st Century, while his British Town Class Cruisers, also published by Seaforth, has received many plaudits. He has been the editor of the Seaforth World Naval Review since its foundation in 2009.

Forthcoming titles by Pen & Sword can be FOUND HERE

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Added 20 December 2022

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IN CONVERSATION: Africa’s ports race is hyped as ‘development’ but also creates pathways for plunder

The Lamu Port project is a flagship development project in Kenya.  Elisa Gambino

Ricardo Reboredo, Metropolitan University Prague and Elisa Gambino, London School of Economics and Political Science

Ports have long been integral to Africa’s connectivity with the rest of the world. Yet over the last 15 years, a new stage in maritime infrastructure planning and development has begun. Between 2004 and 2019, over US$50 billion was spent on this infrastructure – roughly 13 times more than was spent between 1990 and 2004.

Ports reflect more than simple economic imperatives. They are crucial in creating and reinforcing social, political, and cultural systems. Infrastructure can be a useful lens to understand what particular groups in society value and how political elites aim to structure the social order. Indeed, port investment makes visible the linkages and disconnections between different agendas (those of leaders, global capital and civil society).

In a recently published paper, we explored two key questions about port investment and construction. What explains the massive increase? And what does this tell us about the nature of economic growth and political change across Africa?

We argue that the latest phase of port infrastructure development – the “ports race” – is shaped by (and simultaneously shapes) three Africa-specific macro trends.

The first is reliance on the large scale export of natural resources (“extractivism”).

The second is an embrace of state-led development strategies that privilege large scale infrastructure.

Third is the repackaging of narratives that link economic growth and global connectivity. Elites do this to bolster their domestic power and legitimise processes that are often socially or environmentally destructive.

In essence, the ports race is the result of both new alliances between African political elites and global economic circumstances that favour large-scale infrastructure building. These may be drying up post-COVID-19, however.

Fashioning the ports race

African countries have long relied on primary commodity exports. This system, which began during the colonial period, largely continues today. The majority of African economies are still set up around two production systems: the export of oil and minerals, or the export of tropical agricultural products (there are a few exceptions, including Morocco).

The ports race is symptomatic of a new pattern in national development.

African politicians are aiming to use the export of unprocessed resources and commodities to develop pockets of domestic value-addition in certain strategic industries. This strategy has become ubiquitous under the umbrella of “resource-led development”. Yet it creates the conditions for the continued plunder of African resources and for hugely environmentally or socially damaging processes.

A good example is Ghana’s US$2 billion bauxite-for-infrastructure agreement with Sinohydro, a Chinese multinational. Bauxite will be processed domestically for export markets. But at least part of the Atewa forest reserve, where the bauxite is located, will be destroyed in the mining process.

The need for greater export capacity also drives port expansion projects across Africa. Increasingly, states are seeking to attract capital and bolster their legitimacy at home and abroad by creating “safe spaces” for investment.

For example, Djibouti has attracted over $4 billion for infrastructure development in the past 10 years alone. Yet, this has done little to reduce Djibouti’s poverty rates or improve employment levels. Instead, new infrastructure has served to gather international support for Ismail Omar Guelleh’s repressive regime, as corporate and state actors present the port of Djibouti as a secure regional pivot for transhipments.

The domestic stability needed to attract capital to Djibouti was realised through the erosion of press freedoms, harsh crackdowns on dissent and non-competitive elections. It is in the alliance between the interests of local political elites and foreign capital that the developmental effects of port projects are defined.

Due to rising levels of indebtedness and growing competition among African states to attract foreign investment, this is not a lasting solution.

The economic and political consequences of costly infrastructure projects falling short in delivering growth and development can be disastrous. For instance, loans might not be repaid, or funding could be directed away from projects with greater potential social impacts.

The ports race is a “risky business”. How, then, do African elites legitimise port development domestically?

They do it by associating infrastructure with modernity and connectivity. In essence, they create an idea of a future with high-tech port operations, smoothly paved roads and uninterrupted flows of goods.

Infrastructural visions are closely connected to extractivism and state-led development. They speak of “unlocking” the potential of specific African regions by connecting them with global trade and capital flows. And they portray domestic peripheries as “unproductive” and in need of infrastructure development.

Conclusion

Considering the number of large-scale maritime infrastructure projects currently under way in Africa, we view the ports race as an ongoing process. Major world events like COVID-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine could have an impact on it, though.

Not all port projects are harmful for growth and development. The developmental effects of ports and other maritime infrastructure are complex and varied. They depend on local factors and whether projects are tied to overarching plans.

For some countries, port construction or expansion may enhance the implementation of industrial policy frameworks by reducing transport costs and inefficiencies. Yet this is not a given. Moreover, construction of multiple ports in the same region attempting to gain the status of transhipment or gateway “hubs” means that some will certainly fall short. There will be severe political and economic consequences.The Conversation

Ricardo Reboredo, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan University Prague and Elisa Gambino, Fellow, Department of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

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

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Added 15 December 2022

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WHARF TALK: Antarctic krill trawler SEJONG

The South Korean krill trawler Sejong in Cape Town harbour. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

Throughout this past year, I have reported on a number of vessels that have called into Cape Town, and which are connected to operations in Antarctica. I try never to miss a new Antarctic visitor, because that genre of vessel is close to my heart, as I spent a good deal of time down south as a Radio Officer (remember them?) on both S.A. Agulhas, and on R.S. Africana. Just like being at sea, Antarctica gets into your blood, and it doesn’t ever want to leave.

One of the vessel types that I have frequently reported on, is the Antarctic fishing vessel. It includes reports on three of the most advanced toothfish longliners currently operating down South. There are 28 longliners licensed by CCAMLR and fishing in Antarctica, one of which is listed under South Africa, and licensed to fish in South Africa’s only overseas territory, that of Marion Island and Prince Edward Island.

However, the big fishing vessels that get the attention are the large krill trawlers. The reason for that is not just based on their size, but rather more on their rarity, because there are now only 12 of them licensed by CCAMLR. That is one for every month, to cover the waters of the whole of the continent of Antarctica. And yet, it would appear that Cape Town is their preferred ‘home away from home’.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

In 2022 no less than 7 of the 12 world’s krill trawlers, that’s 60% of the total, chose to spend the winter in the Mother City, in order to conduct end of season refits, drydocking, modifications, overhauls, storing, bunkering and conducting crew changes. I have reported on six of them, and there are two of them still left in port. One is the Ukrainian Krill Trawler ‘More Sudrozhestva’ (Slava Ukraini, Geroyam Slava), whom I have previously covered. That leaves just one.

As this is expected to be the last edition ofAfrica Ports & Ships for 2023, and is not expected to return until mid-January 2023 (even the Editor needs a break!), there is the strong possibility that the one Krill Trawler not yet covered in these pages may have sailed by the time that the next edition comes out. As such, there is no better time than to end the year, and declare a ‘full house’ on Krill Trawlers in Cape Town, with a background look at lucky number seven.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

As far back as 14th August the South Korean Krill Trawler SEJONG (IMO 8607385) arrived off Cape Town, from the Antarctic Peninsula, and entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock, and initially, going alongside the Landing Wall, to begin a well-earned, and long, winter refit. Her time in port, would include time spent at the Landing Wall, in the Sturrock Drydock, on the Repair Quay, at E Berth, at the Eastern Mole, and in the Ben Schoeman Dock, at the outer lay-up Berth 700, where she resides to this day, awaiting her orders, from her owners, to sail for Antarctica once more.

In a strange series of movements, when ‘Sejong’ came out of the Sturrock Drydock on 28th October, she was escorted out of the harbour completely, where she promptly turned around, was brought escorted straight back into Cape Town harbour, and berthed back at the Landing wall, which was a point that she had passed when she left Drydock some 60 minutes before.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Built in 1990 by the VEB Volkswerft Shipyard at Stralsund, in what was then the German Democratic Republic, or East Germany, ‘Sejong’ is 121 metres in length and has a deadweight of 3,417 tons. She was ordered by the Soviet Union, as one of the Project Atlantik 466 ‘Moonzund’ class of freezer trawler. Between 1986 and 1993, a total of 37 Moonzund Class trawlers were built, all at Stralsund, and ‘Sejong’ was the 29th of the class to enter service.

Originally named ‘Kapitan Butrimov’, she entered service a year after the fall of the Soviet Union, so she never flew the Hammer and Sickle on her funnel. Instead she received the blue, red and white stripes of the Russian flag on her funnel, operating for the Kerchrybprom fishing company, of Kerch in the Ukraine, before transferring to Russia, when Ukraine received her independence from Russia.

Kapitan Butrimov (Sejong), 2009. Picture by Regil Torkinsson

If the casual observer thinks that ‘Sejong’ looks familiar, there are three other Moonzund Class trawlers who call at Cape Town. The first, regular, and most obvious due to a similar hull colour scheme is Cape Town based ‘Desert Diamond’, owned by the Oceana Group. The other two are ‘Long Teng’, and ‘Long Fa’, both Chinese state owned Krill trawlers who have both undergone recent winter refits in Cape Town.

As built she was powered by two SKL 6VDS48/42 6 cylinder 4 stroke main engines, producing 3,600 bhp (2,648 kW) each, to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a transit service speed of 15 knots. In 2011, she was sold to South Korean interests, and shortly afterwards she had her engines replaced with two, more powerful, 4,023 bhp (3,000 kW) MaK engines.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

As built, her auxiliary machinery included two SKL 8VDS26/20 generators providing 760 kW each, and a SKL 6NVD26.2 emergency generator providing 132 kW. Capable of freezing 250 tons of Krill per day, ‘Sejong’ has a three cargo holds, with a cargo carrying capacity of 3,744 m3, and an ability to hold 2,000 tons of frozen cargo. She has six working derricks, ranging from 2.5 tons, to 3.7 tons, to assist with handling nets, and moving cargo on her aft deck.

Her Krill net is CCAMLR approved, and it is 138 metres in length, with a mouth opening that is 30 metres wide, and 25 metres high. The catch cod end is 28 metres in length, and the net is fitted with a marine mammal exclusion device, which allows Antarctic seals to escape the net.


Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Operating with a crew of 120 persons, ‘Sejong’ is licensed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to fish solely for Krill (Euphausia Superba) in FAO Subareas 48.1 (Antarctic Peninsula), 48.2 (South Shetland Islands), and 48.3 (South Orkney Islands). She has held a CCAMLR license since 2011, and her current license is valid until July 2025.

Should ‘Sejong’ choose not to fish for Krill in Antarctic waters, she is also licensed by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation (SPFMO) to fish for Jack Mackerel, in the waters off the South American states of Chile and Peru.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

She is owned, operated, and managed by Dongwon Industries Co. Ltd., of Seoul in South Korea, and her owners are members of the Association Responsible Krill harvesting companies (ARK). To show how small the Krill Industry is, ARK currently only has nine members, coming from five CCAMLR member states (Norway, China, Chile, Ukraine, and South Korea), with 12 registered Krill trawlers between them. That said, ARK is responsible for landing 90% of the annual total catch of Krill in Antarctic waters.

In order to ensure that she does not take part in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, ‘Sejong’ is fitted with an Argos MAR-GE V2 Automatic Locating Communicator (ALC), better known as a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). The unit is tamper proof and provides real time position, speed, course, and weather data by satellite back to the owners, and for state monitoring purposes.

Sejong, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

South Korean fishing vessels operate under very strict rules when fishing in distant waters, and the carriage of VMS, and the information it provides, is sent directly back to a Government Monitoring Service, in accordance with the Korean Fisheries (Satellite Vessel Monitoring) Regulation of 1993.

The name ‘Sejong’ is venerated in South Korea, as it is the name of a great Korean King, Sejong of Joseon (1397-1450), better known as Sejong the Great, and considered one of the greatest leaders in Korean history. The name ‘Sejong’ is also the name of a modern South Korean city, the name of, and a class of a modern Aegis guided missile destroyer, and the name of the premier South Korean Antarctic research station, located at 62°13’ South 058°47’ West, and situated on the Barton Peninsula, at King George Island.

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Cruise News: Unexpected arrival & MSC launches latest flagship, MSC Seascape

Aft view of MSC Seascape. Picture: MSC Cruises

MSC Sinfonia & Orchestra

An unexpected cruise ship visit to Durban this week was made by MSC SINFONIA, which was en route to Cape Town on her positioning voyage from Italy.

It appears the cruise ship – no stranger to South Africa and to Durban in particular where she has for several summer seasons past been homeported – had some passengers to drop off.

MSC Sinfonia arrived in untypical misty and rainy conditions. Her arrival this week in Cape Town will hopefully be in kinder weather and will be welcomed by those passengers who have booked coastal cruises to Mossel Bay and to Walvis Bay.

The MSC ship homeported in Durban this season is the larger MSC ORCHESTRA which arrived at her destination from Italy on 19 November to undertake a series of cruises to Mozambique’s Portuguese Island and to Pomene and two longer Christmas and New Year cruises.

Fred Olsen’s Braemar, to be sold or possibly scrapped

Fred Olsen’s Braemar

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines has decided to part with one of its longest serving ships, BRAEMAR, and to concentrate on more modern larger tonnage by selling the 24,344-gt, 1993-built ship, which is currently in lay up in Scotland.

“While Braemar’s smaller size brings many benefits, her size also brings constraints that are not aligned with where we now want to be as a business,” Fred Olsen Lines said in a statement.

The crew on board will be absorbed into the remaining three ships in the fleet, the BALMORAL, BOLETTE and BOREALIS.

The statement added that the two latest ships in the fleet, Borealis and Bolette, brought with them the opportunity of modernising the fleet while still offering the small ship experience, yet with plenty of space with larger cabins.

MSC Seascape arriving in New York

MSC Cruises latest flagship MSC Seascape 

On 7 December, MSC Cruises latest flagship, MSC SEASCAPE, was introduced to New York where the 170,000-gt ship will be homeported from April 2023.

When MSC introduces a new cruise ship they do it in style and on this occasion more than 3,000 guests including VIPs, key travel partners and global media as well as top management from the entire Cruise Division of the company and its parent MSC Group, were in attendance.

The line’s newest flagship was officially named at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal in New York City. Performing the naming was, as has become custom with MSC, the Godmother of the MSC Cruises fleet and international movie icon Sophia Loren who blessed the ship virtually.

As she did this Alexa Aponte-Vago, daughter of MSC Group’s founder and executive chairman Gianluigi Aponte, performed the traditional cutting of the ribbon to officially name the ship.

Loren shared her good luck wishes for the new ship and commented: “One of the highlights of the past 20 years has been to officiate the christening of MSC Cruises fleet not only because the Apontes have become like family to me but also because MSC has always occupied a special place in my heart. Let me bless the MSC Seascape, her great crew and all her passengers.”

One of the highlights of the traditional maritime ceremony was a stunning performance from international singer-songwriter Matteo Bocelli, hot off the heels of his performance at the naming ceremony of MSC World Europa last month.

MSC Seascape becomes the 21st ship in the MSC Cruises fleet and the second ship to be launched in less than one month after MSC World Europa launched in November. She will be closely followed by the line’s second LNG-powered vessel MSC Euribia, due to come into service in June 2023.

MSC Seascape will sail in the Caribbean based out of Miami during her inaugural season, with week-long eastern and western Mediterranean options. She is the fourth vessel in the line’s Seaside class and the sister ship to MSC Seashore, which launched last year.

The ship has 2,270 cabins with 12 different types of staterooms and suites, 11 dining venues and 19 bars and lounges, six swimming pools, including an aft infinity pool, an expansive waterfront promenade, a spectacular Bridge of Sighs on deck 16 with a breath-taking view of the ocean, and one of the most luxurious Yacht Clubs in the entire fleet.

Guests sailing on MSC Seascape will enjoy 98 hours of live entertainment per cruise and amusement options, including ROBOTRON, a thrilling amusement ride available at sea for the first time.

MSC Seascape also has the latest environmental technologies. These include the best in-class wastewater treatment systems with purification standards higher than most wastewater treatments facilities on land and selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by up to 90 percent by converting the gas into nitrogen and water.

Following her glittering naming ceremony she departed New York on 8 December and sailed to her new homeport of Miami, where she has begun sailing to the Caribbean and the Bahamas for her inaugural season.

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Holding Steady in a Turbulent Oil and Gas Market

FLNG Coral Sul now in production off the coast of Mozambique and loading her first cargo here. Picture: Eni

Africa’s Upstream Industry

By NJ Ayuk

Executive Chairman
African Energy Chamber

Africa’s oil and gas industry is going to breathe new life into many African economies and will create new opportunities for every many Africans in 2023. During the recent African Energy Week, many players and host nations outlined some of the most ambitious plans produce more natural gas, diversify our economies and create more jobs especially for women and our young people. This is a better plan than development aid.

In September 2022, the EU approved an additional 15 million euros to support counterinsurgency efforts in Mozambique. That fresh funding – intended to protect the natural gas-rich area of Cabo Delgado – brings the bloc’s total support up to 104 million euros this year.

This sudden involvement in the area’s five-year security saga highlights Europe’s newfound interest in a stable, energy-producing Africa.

Oil prices spiked to $85 a barrel by November and currently show no signs of slowing. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has sent shockwaves through the entire oil and gas industry, with Western nations, particularly in the EU, searching for alternate fuel sources. While the U.S. immediately banned Russian oil imports in March, similar measures by the U.K. and EU were put off until December.

As we point out in our released report, ‘The State of African Energy: 2023 Outlook,’ During African Energy Week, African oil and gas production remains steady — and fairly immune to the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Oil – Marginal increase

Take Nigeria, whose oil production hit a 30-year low this August but is now projected to see an overall increase through 2023. By tackling its most dramatic setbacks, the West African nation has managed to maintain equilibrium.

One such setback came to light at the Forcados crude oil terminal in July, when operators discovered leaks around the loading buoy, halting exports from the terminal. The operators, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) of Nigeria, promptly promised to repair the leaks and resume exports by late October — and they met the self-appointed deadline.

Last summer also saw a huge escalation in pipeline theft that culminated in Nigeria losing its spot as Africa’s biggest oil producer. Ironically, this may have served as a much-needed wake-up call to tackle the decades-old problem of theft. After a July and August that saw Nigeria’s output fall below 1 million bpd, the government awarded security contracts to protect the pipelines. The tactic yielded fruit within a month when contractors uncovered an illicit pipeline that had been siphoning stolen oil for nine years. By November, Nigeria’s output had climbed back to 1 million bpd.

Libya experienced an even more dramatic pendulum, with production falling from 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 100,000 bpd this spring. In a now-familiar pattern, the conflict between two competing governments led to production outages and blockades. By August, however, production had returned to a steady 1.2 million bpd.

These setbacks in Nigeria and Libya have something in common: The solutions came from within. In a world reeling from the ripple effects of the Ukraine conflict, any producer that can tackle its largest issues in-house, without relying on geopolitical trends, deserves some notice.

Europe seems to share this attitude. Total and Eni are “close” to finalising oil production deals with Libya, where BP is also due to begin new onshore drilling. These reassuring signs all address the other major challenge shared by Libya, Angola, and Nigeria: Lack of new projects and foreign investment. Exxon also recently discovered a new well in Angola, another nation in need of fresh prospects. I had a chance to keynote the Angola oil and gas gathering and held discussions with key industry players. There is fresh hope and excitement on the horizon.

Even without factoring in these recent deals, our 2023 report predicts marginal growth for Africa’s oil production at just over 7 million bpd. Intriguingly, a stable Libya and fresh projects could see that output grow to 7.25 million bpd by 2030. In the Russia-roiled short term, Africa’s sheer consistency offers relief to energy-hungry nations – and in the long term, potential energy security.

Gas – Growing Steady

As with oil, Africa’s natural gas output remains quite resilient to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Some nations have already stepped up their exports to Europe, and several major projects are on track for production by 2030. While our report predicts a marginal decline in production for the short term, the continent’s overall future looks bright.

Take Algeria, whose Berkine field went from discovery to production in record-breaking time. NOC Sonatrach discovered the 12 trillion cubic feet (tcf) in reserves in March and, in partnership with Italian major Eni, began production by November. The deal was enabled by Algeria’s international oil company (IOC)-friendly hydrocarbon law and bodes well for Eni’s and Sonatrach’s agreement to increase Italian imports by 20%.

Similarly accommodating of IOCs, Mauritania and Senegal are also growing strong. Their Tortue/Ahmeyim field contains approximately 15 tcf of gas, with operators hoping to begin production in 2024. Mauritania is also in talks with BP to develop their equally rich BirAllah gas field. While young in the industry, the two nations have proven quite competent at cooperating with both each other and international majors.

Even more intriguing, war-torn Mozambique began exporting natural gas to Europe this November – an unexpected first. This milestone likely owes something to the EU’s recent investment in Mozambique’s security. The question remains, of course, whether Mozambique will remain stable enough to continue these gains and truly become a part of Europe’s energy security solution.

Short- and Long-Term Goals

On the surface, the state of Africa’s energy is a simple one – the continent’s production should remain steady in the short-term and has already offered Europe some energy relief. Underneath the surface, of course, individual nations face different circumstances and play their own parts in the larger picture.

Libya, with its history of alternating peaceful production and violent dry spells, is a very different nation from a stable newcomer like Senegal. As the West eyes Africa for long-term energy security and the green transition, it behooves them to examine individual nations for their strengths, weaknesses, and unique opportunities for partnership. We encourage all parties to investigate – and invest in – Africa’s rising stars for long-term energy solutions.

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UNCLOS – The UN Law of the Sea Convention: More relevant than ever

Viti Levu, in Fiji. Picture Unsplash/Alec Douglas

Adoption by most nations of the world of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) forty years ago, was a ‘vital step to bring governance and order’ to the vast collective treasure that is the ocean, said the UN SG António Guterres on 8 December as reported in UN News at the end of the week just gone.

“The ocean is life. The ocean is livelihoods and the ocean binds humanity together across history and cultures,” he reflected. Guterres was speaking at a major General Assembly meeting marking the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention.

He highlighted the breadth of the accord, spanning from “the air we breathe, to the atmosphere that sustains all life, to the ocean-based industries that employ some 40 million people, to the species that call the ocean home.”

Conservation, protection, sustainability

Among the key provisions of the Convention are conservation of the world’s fisheries, marine protection, the right to resources within 200 nautical miles of national shorelines, and of increasing importance, the sustainable and equitable management of mineral-related activities in international waters.

“As we gather today, the Convention is more relevant than ever. The ocean is in dire straits,” the UN SG warned.

He said around 35% of the world’s fisheries are simply being overexploited. Sea levels are rising as the climate crisis continues, and the ocean is acidifying and choked with pollution.

Dangers at sea

Coral reefs are bleaching, epic floods threaten coastal cities everywhere, and too often, people working in ocean-based industries are not accessing the support or safe working conditions they need and deserve.

Greater ambition is needed, he told delegates, and the anniversary should be an important reminder to continue using this critical instrument to tackle today’s challenges.

He said the recently adopted Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies needed to be adopted swiftly, ensuring that all policies towards the ocean are underpinned by the best science, and the best economic and social expertise.

He indicated that it meant bringing the wisdom and knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities into the Convention, ending what he called the plastic pollution crisis and, concluding next year, the agreement on marine biological diversity of areas beyond national borders.

Indian Ocean Maldives islands   Unsplash

False dichotomy

Mr Guterres declared: “It is high time to end the false dichotomy between profit and protection of the ocean.” He added that if we fail to protect it for future generations, “there can be no profit for anyone.”

He said governments should develop laws and policies that put protection and conservation first, while marine industries and investors, should make conservation, protection and climate resilience a top priority, along with worker safety.

“At every step, you can count on the United Nations to work with you to bring peace, stability and security to the ocean and its seas. Let us safely deliver these incredible gifts into the waiting hands of the next generation.”

True UN success story

The President of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, reminded the anniversary meeting that the Convention was known by many as “the constitution of the oceans.” He continued by saying: “The fact that UNCLOS is just as relevant as ever is a true UN success story. This document can serve as an excellent example of what can be achieved when multilateralism is done right. What global governance can and should look like.”

Countless species and immense biodiversity were facing extinction, amid rising sea temperatures. While the climate crisis threatens all humankind, in the context of the oceans, small islands are particularly vulnerable and face nothing short of an existential threat.

He commended Portugal and Kenya for co-hosting the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon this past summer, which addressed the major threats to the health, ecology, economy, and governance.

In conclusion Kőrösi said: “I commend these efforts to mobilize action and seek major transformations. We need science-based, innovative, and shared solutions, that involve green technology and inventive uses of marine resources.”

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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IN CONVERSATION: Joe Biden is meeting African leaders – why free trade is a major talking point

The Agoa agreement provides eligible African countries with duty-free access to the US market.

James Thuo Gathii, Loyola University Chicago

African leaders face a dilemma over trade relations with the United States. Should they push for the extension of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) or for each country’s bilateral trade deal with the world’s biggest economy?

AGOA was the signature economic policy of the Bill Clinton administration. It provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products. It is set to expire in 2025 but is up for discussion at the annual forum on AGOA taking place alongside the US-African Leaders Summit (13-15 December 2022).

The Trump administration preferred to negotiate bilateral trade deals with African countries.

A free trade agreement negotiation with Kenya in early 2020 was supposed “to serve as a model bilateral deal for other African countries”.

I have been studying Africa’s trade deals and trade blocs for over 25 years. I was one of the zero-draft authors of the Africa continental free trade area, and have assessed regional blocs, the World Trade Organisation and the AGOA.

My view is that African leaders should seek a renewal of AGOA. The individual bilateral trade agreements would undermine the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. One of the goals of the continental market is to boost intra-Africa trade and encourage production of higher value exports.

US trade preferences

The Biden administration’s trade agenda continues to be greatly influenced by US multinational corporations that want access to African markets.

For example, in July 2022, the US launched a US-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership.

Although the agenda is less ambitious than the Trump administration’s, it poses many risks for Kenya. For example, the proposed regime may require lifting of tariffs on agricultural imports from the US, exposing Kenyan farmers to an onslaught of highly subsidised US exports.

The proposed deal’s call for “good regulatory practices” imply rollback of public-interest administrative processes in favour of foreign corporations. For instance, African governments may have to give up regulations on environment, labour, consumer and public health whenever deemed to be barriers to foreign investments.

Likewise, the “digital trade agenda” is likely to be harmful. This agenda requires governments to protect the interests of the biggest technology companies. That often happens at the expense of smaller domestic firms and their workers. The digital agenda is therefore likely to entrench the ability of big-tech companies to undermine national laws on competition and data privacy. These are all undesirable consequences that Africa should avoid.

Africa’s agenda

A high proportion of exports from Africa to the US have been precious stones and metals, such as platinum and diamonds, as well as mineral fuels and apparel. These exports reflect the continued inability of African economies to move away from primary products to industrial production.

Moving African products onto higher rungs of the global value chain requires at least two things: increased intra-Africa trade and international market policy support.

More intra-African trade would produce savings that could be reinvested into producing higher value products. For example, billions of dollars invested in buying food from outside Africa could be reinvested in agro-processing firms if intra-African food trade became successful, as contemplated under the continental market.

Similarly, countries like the US can reorient their trade and investment policies to support the development of productive capacities and value addition of African agriculture, trade and services.

Unless African economies are able to produce higher value exports, they will continue to earn minimal returns from global trade.

One of the complicating factors for Africa is the sheer diversity of interests in each of the 55 member states of the African Union. There are the least developed economies like Burundi, on one hand, and sub-regional powers like South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, on the other. Balancing the competing interests among these countries has been one of the stumbling blocks to realising the vision of a continental market. These differences have also manifested themselves in negotiations of the Economic Partnership Agreements with the European Union.

Pursuing bilateral trade deals with the US will probably burden African economies with trade obligations that disproportionately favour highly subsidised US industries.

The US, for example, heavily subsidises agriculture. Bilateral trade deals will likely overwhelm Africa’s agricultural sector. This will in turn undermine the continent’s industrialisation goals.

AGOA has a price

Going for the extension of AGOA beyond 2025 isn’t an easy route. This is because, as the US has pointed out, few African countries that qualify for AGOA benefits have used them fully. Of 36 African countries eligible to bring in their exports to the US duty free, almost none fully utilises this preferential access.

Choosing AGOA could also mean having to give up the aim of growing domestic industries that can export products of high value. For example, Rwanda’s apparel AGOA benefits were suspended in July 2018 after Rwanda banned imports of secondhand clothes to support its own apparel industry. Kenya faced the same dilemma but chose AGOA benefits.

So, supporting renewal of Agoa may under certain conditions come at a price: the ability to become makers and exporters of high-value products.

What works

There is one issue where African countries should speak in one voice. US-Africa trade relations must be designed in a way that does not undermine the African continental free trade area’s goal of increasing intra-African trade.

This goal could save Africa billions of dollars annually by buying goods produced within the continent.

African countries should not sacrifice their collective goal of promoting intra-African trade through the African Continental Free Trade Area, and other sub-regional groups like the East African Community, by negotiating bilateral trade deals that will disproportionately favour US industries while hurting African firms.The Conversation

James Thuo Gathii, Professor of law , Loyola University Chicago

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

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UNCTAD releases key data report on global economic, trade and development trends

The annual UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics provides timely and reliable data on a wide range of economic and trade indicators so policymakers can take evidence-based decisions.

UNCTAD released on 12 December the Handbook of Statistics 2022 – the global reference for trade and development trends published each year. SEE HERE

This valuable 104-page document provides in one report the key data and indicators on how the global economy has evolved – for regions, countries and sectors.

Handbook of Statistics 2022 provides projections based on real-time estimates – called nowcasts – to help governments anticipate ongoing shifts and improve policymaking.

In the words of UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan: “Timely and quality data are critical now more than ever as concurrent global crises test our resilience. These statistics will help countries take evidence-based policy measures to cushion the blow of the global crisis on the most vulnerable.”

Key findings

1.Global economy slowed down in 2022

Growth in global real GDP will drop from 5.7% in 2021 to 3.3% in 2022.

The report shows that trade in both goods and services will slow down. Growth in merchandise exports is expected to decline by half, from the strong 26.5% increase recorded in 2021 to 13.8% this year. For services exports, which include transport and travel, the slowdown will be less pronounced – from 17.2% to 14.6%.

Despite the strong growth in trade in services in 2021, the value of exports ($6.1 trillion) remained below their pre-COVID-19 levels ($6.3 trillion in 2019).

2.Prices soared, especially for fuels, driving inflation

The prices of primary commodities, such as food and energy, soared by 55% in 2021. Fuels accounted for 22 percentage points of the growth.

The upward trend continued this year, with prices hitting in August 2022 their highest levels in nearly three decades.

Inflation also soared, especially in Africa, where consumer prices jumped by 22.7% in 2021. Meanwhile, households in Latin America and the Caribbean saw prices rise by 15%.

Maritime transport indicators

3.Trade surplus of developing economies increased; Africa

The trade surplus of developing economies grew, especially in Africa. The increase was mirrored by a widening trade deficit for developed economies.

Developing countries traded more with developed nations ($8 trillion) than among themselves ($5.4 trillion). Trade between developed nations was slightly higher at $8.5 trillion.

4.Export diversification remains a challenge for developing countries; Africa

Export diversification in many developing countries remained low in 2021. Western Asia and Northern Africa had the least diversified basket of exports, followed by Oceania and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Products that countries depended on varied across regions. Around three quarters of Africa’s exports consisted of primary goods (77%), while developing economies in Asia and Oceania exported manufactured goods in nearly equal proportions (76%).

Merchant fleet from UNCTAD Handbook of Statistics 2022

Least developed countries fall short of growth targets

The world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs) reported real GDP growth of only 2% in 2021, less than half the global average of 5.7%.

GDP growth in LDCs fell far short of the 7% annual per-capita growth target enshrined in the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Population hits 8 billion while dependency rates increase

The global population hit 8 billion in November 2022, even though growth has been declining since the late 1980s. In 2021, this decline stood at 0.87%.

Global dependency rates also increased among the population. On average, there are 54 dependent children or older people for every 100 workers. Africa has the highest dependency ratio at 72%.

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: Fisheries Protection Vessel VICTORIA MXENGE

Victoria Mxenge, Cape Town. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

After the fall of Apartheid in 1994, the South African Fisheries Industry was finally, and rightly, open for all, and many previously disadvantaged citizens entered the industry on a level playing field, with many of them becoming highly successful, and their fishing enterprises adding greatly to the development, and wealth, of the Rainbow Nation.

Conversely, many of the previously disadvantaged citizens had no chance of entering the fishing industry due to education, financial, social and other reasons. Not everybody can be a Boss! However, the change in attitudes meant that access to the ocean, at any point, and from any direction, was open for all. Some decided that the best place to operate a fishing enterprise was to do it outside of the law.

The illegal poaching, fishing, collecting, and exporting of much of South Africa’s inshore fisheries stocks was so rampant, and overt, that it nearly collapsed parts of the industry. Sadly, shady dealers, and big business in the Far East, will pay big money to poor people, in order to get what they crave, irrespective if the commodity is brought to the edge of extinction.

FPV Victoria Mxenge, Cape Town. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

What was desperately missing was a dedicated law enforcement unit, focused solely on Fisheries, as existing law enforcement agencies had bigger fish to fry, if you will excuse the pun. As such, the South African Government made the bold decision to order three modern, high tech, fast, Inshore Patrol Vessels (IPV), to patrol South Africa’s coastal waters, protect the legal fishermen from law breaking riff-raff, and support the fisheries industry as a whole.

Farocean Marine, of Cape Town, won the government tender to construct the three vessels, at a cost of ZAR280 million for all three, and the winning design was to be based on the highly successful Damen STAN 4708 Patrol Vessel. They would be known as Fisheries Protection Vessels (FPV), and as is always the case with a Government with no other vision, and who seem incapable of attaching names to vessels that fit their role, they would all be named after female heroines of the struggle.

FPV Lilian Ngoyi, Cape Town.  Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Known as the Lilian Ngoyi Class of FPV, the first of the class to be launched, was the ‘Lilian Ngoyi’ (IMO 9282223) herself, which was commissioned for service in November 2004. She was followed by the ‘Ruth First’ (IMO 9282235), which was commissioned in July 2005, with the ‘Victoria Mxenge’ (IMO 9282247), the final of the three sisterships, being commissioned in September 2005.

The three vessels are all owned by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), of Cape Town, and are operated on behalf of the Government Marine Living Resources Fund, and managed through SAMSA Maritime Special Projects. Whilst the three vessels tend to utilise Cape Town as a major operating base, they can be found conducting their patrols along the whole of the South African coastline, and are frequently to be seen, at forward operating bases in Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London, as well as elsewhere.

Victoria Mxenge, Cape Town. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

With a deadweight of 126 tons, they are considered to be a standard design of Damen Patrol Vessel, and are all 47 metres in length, with a beam of 8 metres, hence the designation STAN 4708 for the vessels. They are powered by two MTU 4000 16 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 3,710 bhp (2,770 kW), driving two controllable pitch propellers for a maximum service speed of 25 knots, on a draught of 4 metres.

For added manoeuvrability they have a transverse bow thruster providing 75 kW. They are also fitted with two 180 kW generators. Their range is 2,500 nautical miles, with an endurance of 14 days, and they can operate up to 200 nautical miles from shore, which allows them to cover the entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of South Africa. Range can be extended to 3,500 nautical miles, if service speed is reduced to 15 knots.

They all operate with a standard crew of 12 persons, together with 3 Fisheries Inspectors. For boarding, and interdiction, operations, she carries a 7 metre RHIB, which is used in pursuit of protecting the Rock Lobster (Kreef), Abalone (Perlemoen), and Reef Line Fish coastal industries from poachers and unregistered Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishermen. She also inspects the inshore water fishing fleets engaged in pelagic (Anchovy, Sardine and Horse Mackerel), Squid (Chokka), and demersal (Hake and Sole) fisheries.


FPVs Ruth First & Victoria Mxenge, Cape Town. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

As well as their Fisheries Inspection mandate, all of the vessels are fully equipped for Oil Spill Response, Firefighting, Search and Rescue (SAR) and to undertake limited Towing operations. Although not military in nature, and unarmed, they are able to conduct Constabulary missions.

The Damen STAN 4708 Patrol Vessel was also the design chosen by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for their new class of Inshore Patrol Vessel, known as the ‘Sentinel’ Class. A total of 58 of the Sentinel Class have been delivered, with all of them being built at the Bollinger Shipyard, at Lockport in Louisiana.

Being Coast Guard vessels, they operate with a larger crew of 22, and are well armed for their missions, with a bow mounted Bushmaster mark 2, 25mm Autocannon, plus four Browning M2 machine guns. They also have a very sophisticated communications, navigation and sensor array.

FPVs Victoria Mxenge & Ruth First, Cape Town. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Since their introduction over fifteen years ago, all three FPVs have provided invaluable service for South Africa, which has resulted in dozens of arrests of poachers and other criminals, heavy fines for infractions of fishing regulations, the detention and seizure of unlicensed fishing vessels, and the confiscation of illegal catches and protected species.

The only complaint, oft heard, and which is common with Government owned vessels, is that the three FPVs do not spend nearly enough time at sea, carrying out the missions that they were designed for, and doing what they are best suited for, which is protecting the marine resources of South Africa, for the benefit of future generations of fisher folk.

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Port of Walvis Bay to handle 110,900 tonnes of salt over eight days

The bulk carrier Carlota Bolten which is currently loading bulk salt at Walvis Bay.  Picture: Namport

The Namibian Ports Authority and the Port of Walvis Bay are continuing to set operational milestones with the latest achievement being the export of almost 111,000 tons of salt in just over a week.

In the space of eight days Walvis Bay will have handled 110,900 tons of salt loaded into four ships.

The first vessel was the BOLD MARINER (IMO 9136955), which arrived in port last week Thursday, 8 December to load 45,000 tons of bulk salt. She completed her loading on Tuesday 13 December and sailed for her next port in Lagos, Nigeria.

Meanwhile, two other ships arrived in port to commence loading the same commodity, the MARIA DA PAZ (IMO 9150432), and CARLOTA BOLTEN (IMO 9718442), both of which are currently loading 4,500 tons of bagged salt and 30,700 tons of bulk salt respectively.

Towards the end of the week, the Ports Authority is expecting to receive a fourth vessel, LILA (IMO 9748837), which will load another 30,700 tonnes of bulk salt, bringing the volume of salt consignment handled to 110,900 tonnes.

Loading bagged salt at Walvis Bay. Picture: Namport

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IN CONVERSATION: Kenya’s Lapsset development corridor: between a bright future and a grim past

A broken pipe is the only remnant of a road built during colonial times in Kenya. This literal “ruin of empire” lies on the route of the LAPSSET corridor.   Theo Aalders, CC BY-NC-SA

Theo Aalders, University of Bonn

The Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport – or Lapsset – corridor is the flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030 development agenda. Inaugurated in 2012, the planned corridor includes a railway, highways and an oil pipeline connecting newly discovered oil fields in the north to a new port in Lamu, north of Mombasa.

Projects like this are often understood in the context of a new “infrastructure boom”, fundamental for “Africa’s future”. But infrastructure in Africa has a long history. As a contribution to the “long view” on infrastructure in Kenya, I recently compared the Lapsset corridor with the Uganda Railway, a colonial project completed in 1901. I focused on different and often competing visions and imagined futures.

The official promises made about Lapsset are ambitious: “Infinite possibilities. Endless opportunities” pledges the website, as well as a “seamless connected Africa”. But when I listened to people living in the vicinity of the corridor’s planned route – mostly Samburu, Pokot and Turkana pastoralists – a more complicated picture emerged. “Lapsset will bring the new world,” one interviewee told me. But another said: “It is actually a monster!”

My analysis shows how people who will be affected by projects such as the Lapsset corridor have to navigate a highly uncertain future. For many, colonial infrastructure projects of the past provide a frame of reference for their hopes and anxieties. Infrastructure projects are an enticing promise of a better future – but they can also evoke a violent colonial past.

Both the Uganda Railway and the Lapsset corridor aimed to mobilise capital – to get it moving – while keeping local people “in their place”. But people are also aware that many things have changed since colonial times and the new corridor might actually deliver on its promises.

One of the people I spoke to was Rashid, a poet living in a small town called Oldonyiro. He summarised the ambivalence in a poem he had written about the corridor, titled “Tunu Lenye Utata” in Kiswahili or “Tricky Treasure” in English. He recognised the promise of the corridor – “Lapsset is the future!” Yet he also saw a connection between the new corridor and the colonial era – “history repeats itself”, he writes.

History repeats itself

What history is Rashid alluding to in his poem? The history of colonial violence in Africa is interwoven with infrastructure projects, along which imperial power could be projected.

The Kenya Uganda Railway, which linked the Indian Ocean port of Mombasa with the Lake Victoria port of Kisumu, was one of these projects. Colonists saw the railway as a necessary precondition for all of Britain’s colonial projects in the region. The line was completed in 1901, and functions as a blueprint for contemporary infrastructure projects. For example, the Standard Gauge Railway, which is not part of the Lapsset corridor, follows its lines quite literally, running approximately on the same route.

To Rashid, both the Lapsset and colonial infrastructure projects are lines of extraction, primarily meant to exploit the land and its people for the benefit of outside powers. In a conversation about his poem he said:

What came to mind after reading the history of my country, I said: ‘This is the second colony’; I said, ‘Okay, this is a plan: the resources that the British left in our country are still flowing and this second time it will be very dangerous.

At the same time, Rashid recognised the promise of the Lapsset corridor. After all, it could bring a better life to a region of Kenya that had long been neglected. He admitted the corridor might have many positive effects: “When you enter the hotel, you just charge your phone there!”, he suggested. His poem’s title itself, “Tricky Treasure”, shows that he saw infrastructure projects as two things at the same time: a promise of a better future and an impending re-enactment of a violent colonial past. His question – “who would I trust?” – remains unanswered:

My faith is loosening, who would I trust?

My great grandfathers suffered greatly,

Is it my turn to face and test the worst?

I wonder, a tricky treasure!

Ruins of empire

The ambiguity expressed in Rashid’s poem and many other interviews also speaks to a central concern of postcolonial infrastructure studies: how are former colonies such as Kenya still influenced by their colonial past?

On the one hand, framing Kenya’s development agenda as a mere repeat of imperial practice would be to disregard African agency. On the other hand, the many similarities between colonial and postcolonial developmental practices cannot be overlooked.

My aim is not to resolve this ambiguity, but rather to find concepts that help to understand it. The anthropologist Ann Laura Stoler has introduced a term that’s helpful in this context: “Ruins of Empire”. In my research, I investigate how the ruins of empire are durable but do not determine the present; how they are persistent but never entirely permanent. I understand the ruins of empire both as a metaphor for the enduring effects of colonial violence, as well as a literal description of the material remains left over from the colonial period.

In a Lapsset promotional video, the reconstruction of the ruins of empire is seen as positive:

And just as the transport sector – the old railway over a hundred years ago – opened up Kenya’s only development corridor that has been the anchor of Kenya’s development, the new oil and gas industry represents our opportunity to open up Northern Kenya for expansion and development.

The common factor, or so the claim goes, is a commitment to the “development” of Kenya – a term that is repeated three times in a single sentence. The oil pipeline of the Lapsset corridor is portrayed as continuing a trend towards the “opening up” of hitherto underdeveloped areas.

The connection between infrastructure and ideas of development, progress and modernity, as well as imperial power, is well established in the literature. Infrastructure functioned as a symbol and material embodiment of modernity, and as a way to control people. Armies, police forces and government officials all need roads or railways to travel on, after all.

The ruins of empire, in Rashid’s perspective, are haunted by the ghosts of past violence and great suffering, but also by the promises of a bright future. The Lapsset project is a Tunu Lenye Utata in this sense – a tricky treasure.The Conversation

Theo Aalders, Post-doctoral Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Bonn

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

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Indian Ocean wreck removal – Seychelles and Reunion

Tresta Star grounded on the island of Reunion. Picture by Prefecture La Reunion in Africa Ports & Ships

Tresta Star grounded on the island of Reunion. Picture by Prefecture La Reunion

The U.S. Navy has been assisting the Seychelles Coast Guard in the removal of a shipwreck located at the Seychelles Coast Guard Pier area. This is being undertaken ahead of the Port of Victoria expansion and rehabilitation project.

The project has been organised between the U.S.Embassy together with the U.S. Commander Task Force 68 (CTF-68), the Seychelles Ports Authority (SPA) and the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG).

During this a complete hydrographic survey of the Seychelles harbour and the Seychelles Coast Guard pier area is also being carried out.

The dive activities involved with it commenced on 3 December and will continue until 23 December.

This is involving 13 divers from the U.S. Navy and their SCG counterparts who dive for up to eight hours a day removing submerged wreckage from the vessel Oceans Bounty that sank at the pier in 2018.

The wreckage is considered a navigational hazard in the port area and also blocks valuable pier space.

It is intended to construct a new quay wall that will extend to this point and will involve a lot of boat activities in the future.

This is the first of seven wrecks to be removed in the area. Due to their size and the sediment that has accumulated around each wreck, it is necessary for divers to cut away sections of each wreck at a time.

Reunion: Wreck of tanker Tresta Star to remain on island

From the French island of Reunion further south it is learned that the decision has been taken to leave the wreck of the bunker tanker Tresta Star where it is and allow the vessel to rust away over time.

This is because it will cost too much to have the tanker salvaged by a specialist team.

Tresta Star went aground on the night of 3 February this year at Pointe du Tremblet on the south-east coast of Reunion while fleeing the path of tropical cyclone Batsirai.

Africa Ports & Ships reported the incident at the time – our final report can be SEEN HERE

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Championing women in maritime

Picture: IMO ©

Senegal

The newest group set up with the support of IMO to champion the place of women in the maritime sector has held its first conference since being inaugurated in Dakar, Senegal. This is being reported by the IMO media service.

Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa (WIMOWCA) is part of IMO’s Women in Maritime programme, WIMA. WIMOWCA is the eighth regional body to be formed in line with IMO’s strategy of promoting the contribution of women as key maritime stakeholders.

Transitioning theme

The theme of the conference, held as a hybrid event over two days (6-7 December), was ‘Transitioning to Decarbonized, Digitalized and Sustainable Shipping.’ Fourteen countries were represented: Cameroon, Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.

Representing IMO were Mariana Noceti, Dallas Laryea and Edwige Ogoula.

Other organisations that took part were Women in Maritime Eastern and Southern Africa (WOMESA), Network of Professional Women in Maritime and Port Sectors of West and Central Africa (NPWMP-WCA), Women in Shipping and Trade Associations (WISTA), and Women in Maritime Africa (WIMAFRICA). Several Senegalese government agencies also attended.

Day One of the meeting focused on smart ports and policy changes for a sustainable maritime industry, as well as the decarbonisation of shipping. Day Two concentrated on managing diversity, women’s leadership and empowerment in the maritime community and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Ten resolutions were passed by delegates, including those on:

* The use of digital technology.

* The need for long-term national strategies in the region aligned with UN Conventions to promote economic growth whilst protecting the marine ecosystem.

* Access to leadership training for women.

* The development of policies to prevent marine litter.

* The fight against piracy.

* The need for political backing to support the decarbonisation of shipping.

Communiqué

Readers wishing to see the full communiqué adopted by the meeting are invited to SEE HERE

Women in Maritime

To learn more about IMO’s Women in Maritime work readers are invited to GO HERE

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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WHARF TALK: The mystery of the Lady R – gun runner or just an innocent distressed ship?

Russian freighter Lady R (IMO 9161003), subject of a mysterious and unexplained call at the Simonstown Naval Base. Picture: Shipspotting

Report by Jay Gates

Jay Gates in Africa Ports & Ships

“Remember, Remember, the Fifth of November. Gunpowder, Treason and Plot”. So goes the ditty for a well-known piece of political skullduggery, involving a gentleman by the name of Guy Fawkes. Change the date to 7th of December, and you still have all the pieces you need to have what may turn out to be another piece of political skullduggery, but the name is now not Guy Fawkes but, potentially, a senior functionary, and apparatchik, of the South African Government.

As most maritime folk in Southern Africa, and increasingly around the world, now know is that a Russian merchant vessel, supposedly en route from Douala in the Cameroon, to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, stopped displaying any AIS data, slipped unannounced into a South African military port, and under cover of darkness, carried out a series of secretive cargo operations, before once more slipping out of the military base, in the early hours, still without displaying any AIS data, and then once well underway, switched on her AIS to display a completely different destination than that previously shown.

Under any normal circumstance, all merchant vessels, who are conducting business with South Africa, are expected to call at one of South Africa’s commercial ports. In this case it would be Cape Town. They do not call into a military port, unless they are either carrying, or they are about to collect, a military cargo.

Furthermore, as merchant vessels, not displaying your AIS information whilst transiting through South African waters would draw the attention of both the Maritime Authority, and the South Africa Navy, as to why. Instead, the vessel was allowed to make her way to a military port, in almost blanket secrecy, with the full acquiescence of the Government, and the Military.

Lady R awaiting cargo with hatch open, Simonstown Naval base. Picture: SA People News

All vessels conduct themselves under the internationally adopted regulations of the United Nations agency that is responsible for setting out the rules. This agency is the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), of which Russia is a signatory party. The rules that every maritime nation bides by are known as the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Regulations. Chapter V/19 is headed ‘Carriage requirements for shipborne navigational systems and equipment’. It sets out navigational equipment to be carried on board ships, according to ship type.

In 2000, IMO adopted a new requirement (as part of a revised new Chapter V) for all ships to carry Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), which are capable of providing information about the ship, where her information is broadcast on a continuous basis to other ships, and especially to coastal authorities, automatically. In regard to ‘Lady R’, the regulation requires AIS to be fitted aboard all ships of 300 gross tonnage, and upwards, and engaged on international voyages.

Ships fitted with AIS shall maintain their AIS in operation at all times, except where international agreements, rules or standards provide for the protection of navigational information. The regulation requires that AIS shall provide information, which includes the ship’s identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status and other safety-related information. This information is provided automatically to appropriately equipped shore stations, other ships, and aircraft.

It is clear that LADY R was not operating to SOLAS regulations in this regard, and yet it would appear she was doing so with the approval of the South African authorities, who allowed a merchant vessel to approach a military port without maintaining any required identification. It has been stated that she switched off her AIS on 5th December, which showed her en route from Douala to Dar es Salaam, whilst she was south of Cape Agulhas, and then changed course for Simonstown.

The spurious reason of the arrival of the ‘Lady R’ in Simonstown was given, initially, as a distress situation, requiring escort to the nearest port. If that was true, her nearest port would have been Cape Town, as she is not a military vessel, and she would not have then conducted cargo work within the closed confines of a military port if she was merely in distress.

That local observers state that she appeared to only conduct her cargo operations at night, and especially during load shedding periods, is interesting but not of huge concern. What is unusual is that her cargo operating periods were limited to night time when, presumably, outside observers would be unable to see what was occurring with the vessel, or what cargo was being moved. That raises the question as to why that was an operating ‘modus operandi’.

The vessel itself has been placed on a sanctions list by the US Treasury Department, and the EU, because she has been identified as being associated with the Russian Military Complex, and is known as being a vessel that has carried military cargoes for the Russian Military this year. This gives a loose credence that brings her to a South African military port. However, the reason for this is still not clear.

Russia is currently waging an illegal and bestial war against Ukraine, where they are expending vast amounts of ammunition and equipment in the prosecution of that war, where non-military infrastructure, and civilians, are clear targets of that prosecution. The international intelligence agencies are all agreed that Russia is running short of ammunition, especially heavy weaponry ammunition, i.e. large howitzer calibre and missiles, and are desperately looking elsewhere in order to procure replacement supplies.

Lady R at Simonstown Naval Base, cargo hatch open. One of the SA Navy frigates out in the bay.  Picture: Daily Maverick

This includes reports of Russia working with other pariah states such as North Korea, and Iran, in their search for ammunition supplies. One has to hope that South Africa has not joined that list. The thought that a South African munition may one day be responsible for the destruction of a school, or a hospital, or a shelter, and that results in the deaths of innocent women and children of all ages is not one that sits comfortably with anybody who has a conscience.

There is a photograph taken with a long lens, which shows night cargo work going on with ‘Lady R’. It shows what looks suspiciously like a pallet of ammunition boxes being loaded by a shoreside, mobile crane, into a clearly open, and well lit cargo hold, whilst trucks with 40 foot containers wait their turn for their contents to be unloaded. If it was ammunition, it would explain why the trucks were held under very close guard prior to them being taken to the vessel. After all, you don’t guard an empty container truck if they were there to pick up a load.

The question is would ‘Lady R’ be delivering military supplies to South Africa? The general answer to that is probably no, that would not be the case. The South African military does not operate with Russian arms, weapons systems, or equipment. Armscor produces everything that the South African Military requires to function, and they have no need for Russian equipment, other than Russia is probably in a position where they are not selling anything that they can themselves use in their illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory. So that is hardly likely to be the reason she is calling, i.e. she is not here to discharge any military hardware.

Previous arrivals in South Africa of Russian military hardware, i.e. for Military shows and Military Fairs, have arrived by air on either Russian operated Antonov AN-124, or Ilyushin IL-76 freighter aircraft, and they both utilised Cape Town International Airport. It was not a furtive ‘secret squirrel’ operation like this one.

Russia, however, is desperately short of not just ammunition and offensive weapons systems, but more mundane military supplies such as helmets, ballistic vests, cold weather clothing and communications equipment, and lots of it. They are desperately seeking it wherever they can procure it. Such are the amounts that they are after, that this would require a ship, and not an aircraft to carry it. It is increasingly likely that she was here to collect, and not to drop off.

South Africa is a member of BRICS, and due to the history of the ANC involvement with the Soviet Union, prior to 1989, and to Russia since joining BRICS, they seem unable to criticize, or vote sensibly, in any debate concerning Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine. This is despite the fact that Russia has no positive legacy in modern Africa, unlike China which, despite rounding up the natural resources of Africa, at least leaves behind Roads, Bridges, Harbours, Railways and Ports that the local populace can utilise towards their ongoing development.

Russia, on the other hand, has no such legacy in Africa. In fact, their legacy is the AK-47, which has left Africa struggling for decades through ongoing civil wars, coup d’etats, insurgencies, militia thug groups and other deadly terrorist atrocities. South Africa owes them nothing. However, using their history of unfettered support for Robert Mugabe, at least the ANC are maintaining the same approach to Russia.

On her departure from Simonstown, on 9th December, done very early in the morning when very few people were around, ‘Lady R’ maintained her ‘ghost’ presence with still no AIS information being displayed. Again, why did the South African military authority, and the South African maritime authority allow her to move through South African waters with no AIS display, which they claimed was why she arrived in the first place, i.e. in distress with no AIS. Only when she was well clear of False Bay, had gone around Cape Agulhas, and was now well en route, did her AIS get mysteriously start working again, and was switched on.

Lady R at the Simonstown Naval Base, loading what appears to be ammunition boxes. Picture: Militarniya Ukraine

Surprise, surprise, her destination was not Dar es Salaam, as she had previously showed when approaching the Cape, but it now showed that she was bound for Istanbul, in Turkey. In fact, her AIS history did not show an arrival, or a departure, from Simonstown at all. It was as if she had never called there. She was en route from Douala to Istanbul. Just like the Russian owned VLCCs that use South African ports, when they are knowingly carrying sanctions busting cargoes from Venezuela, and heading to either Iran or China, ‘Lady R’ was a ‘ghost’.

It is not lost on any maritime observer that Istanbul is the gateway to the Black Sea, and the place where the Russian military machine requires military supplies to see it through the oncoming winter. The question would be that if suspicion still lies in ‘Lady R’ carrying sanctioned cargo for use in a war, could the Turkish authorities detain the vessel for a search?

Some of the more enlightened readers will be well aware that the passage of all vessels through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus, that lead between the Mediterranean Sea, and the Black Sea, is actually governed by an international agreement that has been in force since 1936. This is the Montreaux Convention, of which Russia is a signatory.

The Montreaux Convention was set up after the First World War to prevent a situation where warships could transit into, or out of, the Black Sea and create instability, war, or chaos, to Turkey and any nation that has a maritime border in the Black Sea. Turkey manages the convention and it is the Turkish authorities that enforces the provisions of the agreement. This is why they recently refused entry to two Russian warships that arrived from the Mediterranean Sea and hoping to enter the Black Sea, no doubt to engage in the war in Ukraine. It was a decision accepted by Russia, but under protest.

Article 1 of the convention states the following “The High Contracting Parties recognise and affirm the principle of freedom of transit and navigation by sea in the Straits. The exercise of this freedom shall henceforth be regulated by the provisions of the present Convention.”

Section 1 of the Montreaux Convention covers Merchant vessels specifically, stating the following in Article 2 of the section “In time of peace, merchant vessels shall enjoy complete freedom of transit and navigation in the Straits, by day and by night, under any flag any and with any kind of cargo, without any formalities.” This precludes a vessel search.

However, it is not a time of peace in the Black Sea, and so it is Article 4 that comes into play, which states “In time of war, Turkey not being belligerent, merchant vessels, under any flag or with any kind of cargo, shall enjoy freedom of transit and navigation in the Straits”. So again, there is no legal requirement for any check to be made on ‘Lady R’ if she is intent in entering the Black Sea, in order to proceed to a Russian port.

Bear in mind, that due to the current secrecy that both the South African Military authorities, and the South Government, are currently hiding behind in regard to what actually happened when, and why, ‘Lady R’ called at a South African military port, we are merely assuming, by using logic, and reasonable assessment, that she loaded arms and ammunition in Simonstown, as is being claimed by some news outlets. I think we all await the truth, and the details.

Lady R sails from Simonstown, destination Turkey? Picture: Daily Maverick

As for the vessel itself, ‘Lady R’ (IMO 9161003) was built in 2004 by Turkiye Gemi Shipbuilding at Istanbul in Turkey. She is 122 metres in length and has a deadweight of 7,630 tons. She is powered by a single MAN 12V32/40 12 cylinder 4 stroke main engine producing 7,831 bhp (5,760 kW), driving a controllable pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

For added manoeuvrability ‘Lady R’ has a transverse bow thruster providing 400 kW. She has a stern ramp for Ro-Ro cargoes, and a single continuous hold with a cargo carrying capacity of 10,600 m3. She has a container carrying capacity of 783 TEU, and her holds are serviced by two 60 ton Liebherr cranes.

She is owned, operated and managed by Transmorflot LLC, of Akhty in Russia. Unusually, ‘Lady R’ is registered in Astrakhan, which is a river port, located at 46°21’ North 048°02’ East, on the Volga River, some 60 miles from the Caspian Sea. She is one of two sisterships.

In November 2019, whilst en route from Rouen, in France, to St.Petersburg in Russia, ‘Lady R’ lost rudder control whilst entering the Kiel Canal locks at Brunsbüttel. She destroyed, or damaged, seven dolphins, as well as fender wood leading into the locks. After an inspection by German authorities, she was allowed to continue her voyage.

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New man, Vincent Clerc replaces Soren Skou as CEO at Maersk 

Søren Skou (left), who is retiring as Maersk CEO, with his successor, Vincent Clerc. Picture: Maersk

Søren Skou, who has led A.P. Møller – Maersk as CEO since 2016, will hand over the helm of the shipping and logistic company to Vincent Clerc as the new chief executive as from 1 January 2023.

Skou led the transformation of A.P. Møller – Maersk from a diversified conglomerate to an integrated logistic company – an example duplicated by several other shipping groups – and in the process set the business on a new growth trajectory.

His successor is currently CEO of the company’s Ocean & Logistics business.

“Søren has contributed to our Group’s development over almost forty years, of which eleven years as CEO for Maersk Tankers, four years as CEO for Maersk Line and close to seven years as CEO for Maersk,” said Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of the Board of Directors.

Robert Maersk Uggla, chairman of the Board of Directors.

“During his tenure as CEO of Maersk, Søren has been instrumental in redefining Maersk into a customer centric end-to-end logistics provider with a global leadership position in sustainable transportation solutions.

“On behalf of the Board, I sincerely thank Søren for his valued leadership and impressive results. I am equally grateful for Søren’s support in the CEO succession review making sure the company does not lose any momentum in its strategic endeavors in a changing and difficult market.”

Uggla said the Board is pleased to announce Swiss-born Vincent Clerc (50) as the new CEO of Maersk.

“Since 2019, Vincent has been the CEO of Maersk Ocean & Logistics, which contributes a significant part of the company’s invested capital and results. He has been a pivotal leader for Maersk’s transformation, demonstrating great strategic acumen, an ability to execute complex plans and deliver long term shareholder value through compelling customer solutions.”

Uggla said the strong tail winds that benefited the supply chain industries during the pandemic are coming to an end.

“With an increasingly challenging outlook, the Board believes Vincent holds the right experience and capabilities as CEO to pursue and oversee Maersk’s strategic and organizational development in the years to come.”

Skou said he was leaving Maersk with gratitude and pride.

“Now is the right time for Maersk, for Vincent, and for me to make this transition. The Company has executed very well over the past years. We have never been stronger financially and we have an inspiring and visionary plan for the continuation of our global integrator strategy that will guide Maersk for many years to come.”

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TNPA calls for Request for Proposals for a LPG Terminal at Durban’s Island View

Durban’s Island View precinct. Picture by Russell Cleaver

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) said yesterday (Monday 12 December) it is calling on interested parties to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) regarding construction and operation of a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) terminal at the island View precinct at the port of Durban.

The quest is for a “suitable terminal operator to finance, refurbish, operate, maintain and transfer a liquid bulk terminal specialising in liquified petroleum gas (LPG) for a 25-year concession at the Port of Durban.”

TNPA said in a statement that issuing the RFP will assist it to respond to potential investors in the LPG industry.

Bidders are required to submit bid responses for the exclusive right to complete the financing, refurbishment, procurement of terminal equipment, operation, maintenance, and transfer of the facility to the TNPA after the concession period.

“The process demonstrates our commitment to the push towards the reduction of emissions and decarbonisation that has triggered the move towards environmentally-friendly and sustainable sources of energy,” said Mpumi Dweba-Kwetana, the port manager at Durban.

RFP documents are available from the National Treasury’s e-tender portal www.etenders.gov.za and/or the Transnet website: www.transnet.net.

TNOA advises a briefing session is scheduled for 19 January 2023. RSVPs for the briefing session and queries for clarification in respect of this RFP must be directed to portofdurbanlpgrfp@transnet.net

Responses to the RFP must be submitted by no later than 28 April 2023 at 10h00 as per the submission requirements of the RFP.

Remember you read it here first, at www.africaports.co.za

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Tanker attacked by pirates off Cameroon coast

 

The UK/French Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT-GoG) reports that a crude oil tanker in the Gulf of Guinea has been fired on by pirates.

The attack took place yesterday (12 December 2022) some 89 nautical miles off the Kome-Kribi Marine Terminal in Cameroon.

The tanker had completed loading a cargo when pirates approached in a skiff and at a range of about 200 metres opened fire with three shots towards the tanker’s accommodation area.

For some reason the attack went no further and was not escalated.

The crew of the tanker, which was not immediately identified, were unharmed and the vessel was able to depart on its voyage away from the coast. The ship’s ultimate destination is thought to be Wilhelmshaven.

MDAT-GoG is a cooperation centre between the Royal Navy (UKMTO) and the French Navy (MICA-Center) in support of the Yaounde Process. This centre has been in operation since 20 June 2016.

According to MDAT-GoG its primary purpose is to contribute by “maintaining coherent maritime situational awareness in the central and western African Maritime areas, with the ability to inform and support industry.

“MDAT-GoG contributes to the safety and security of the Mariner in the regional maritime domain.”

Global piracy and armed robbery incidents

Of the 90 global piracy and armed robbery incidents, 13 have been reported in the Gulf of Guinea region – compared to 27 over the same period of 2021.

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Compliance with STCW: IMO reports first regional workshop in Jeddah

Picture: IMO ©

Independent evaluation

Independent evaluation is an essential part of the STCW Convention* requirements, to ensure countries can be kept in the so called STCW White List.

A regional workshop on awareness and importance of the independent evaluation was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia from 4-8 December. This was for participants responsible for STCW Independent Evaluation reports from IMO Member States in North Africa and the Middle East (MENA) region.

IMO reported on 8 December that the workshop, the first of its kind, provided guidance on the preparation, reporting and review of Independent Evaluations, required under regulation I/8, and the steps usually taken to implement mandatory amendments to the STCW Convention.

A successful independent evaluation is a proof of compliance with the STCW Convention, so seafarers from the Member State can be employed and / or work onboard foreign-going ships.

This workshop was delivered by IMO, jointly with the Transport General Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is envisaged that this workshop will be used as a template for similar IMO activities to be delivered in different regions around the globe under the umbrella of IMO’s Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP).

The workshop was attended by 23 participants from eight countries.

Regulation I/8 of the STCW Convention 1978, as amended, says that each Party shall ensure that an evaluation is periodically undertaken and that a report containing the results of the evaluation shall be communicated to the IMO Secretary-General.

* SEE HERE

Paul Ridgway, London Correspondent, in Africa Ports & Ships

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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Six more people arrested for Transnet pipeline theft

Transnet Pipelines network

Another six suspects in an attempted theft of product from the Transnet multi-product pipeline between the port at Durban and Gauteng were apprehended last Saturday (10 December) near Harrismith in the Free State.

As the thieves involved in the theft made their escape in a motor vehicle and two tankers, the joint team went into action across the three provinces of Free State, Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

The fleeing vehicle was spotted and stopped near Standerton where all four occupants were arrested.

Meanwhile, the two tankers seen at the crime scene near Harrismith also attempted to flee the scene. During the chase that followed, one of the tanker’s brakes failed resulting in the vehicle crashing and catching on fire. The driver escaped his burning vehicle and was arrested.

The second tanker was intercepted and stopped. Both drivers were taken into custody.

The investigating team, acting on evidence presented searched a nearby ‘safe house’ and discovered incriminating evidence that may lead to further arrests.

All six suspects appeared in court on Monday (12 December 2022).

According to TPL, this brings the total number of arrests in this financial year to 68 which TPL says sends a strong message to all perpetrators tampering and/or colluding to tamper with the pipelines.

“TPL has adopted a zero tolerance to product theft and our appointed service provider will continue to apprehend these perpetrators,” said Michelle Phillips, TPL Chief Executive.

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Walvis Bay handles largest 42,000 ton consignment of petcoke

The Global Brave docked at the Port of Walvis Bay

The Namibian port of Walvis Bay is feeling chuffed right now, after having discharged the port’s largest single cargo yet handled.

The consignment on board the bulk carrier GLOBAL BRAVE (IMO 9434606) consisted of 42,000 tons of petroleum coke (petcoke) – the largest single shipment on record via the Namibian port.

The vessel was expected to remain in port for about three days discharging the petcoke which was loaded at the port of Houston in the United States of America.

After discharge the petcoke is being transported by road to one of Namibia’s neighbouring countries, Zambia where it will be used in a limestone factory.

Shipments of petcoke are not unusual for Walvis Bay. Back in 2019 the port handled a trial run of the product which was successfully handled and the port has since proven to be a suitable and capable facility for this commodity.

Another consignment is expected to be offloaded at the port of Walvis Bay in April 2023.

Petroleum coke is a material relatively low in cost and high in heat value and carbon content with good chemical stability, making it an efficient and cost-effective fuel for producing metal, brick and related products.

The Walvis Bay Bulk Terminal is handling the cargo on behalf of the Walvis Bay Cargo Terminal.

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WHARF TALK: Chinese krill trawler SHEN LAN

The Chinese Krill Trawler SHEN LAN (IMO 9849332) arrived off Cape Town, at the end of a long positioning voyage from Zhoushan in China. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

Pictures by ‘Dockat’
Story by Jay Gates

Jay Gates in Africa Ports & Ships

In another London Bus comparison, where you can wait around for an age with nothing on the horizon, and then two will turn up together, so it was in the world of the Antarctic Krill Trawler, or rather a true purpose-built Krill Trawler, and not a converted usurper, except in this case three of them turned up one after another.

On 29th September, the Norwegian Krill Trawler ‘Antarctic Endurance’ arrived in Cape Town, for her winter refit, with the boast that she was the first vessel ever to be built as a bespoke designed Krill trawler, as described in the 13th November edition of Africa Ports & Ships. Except that she wasn’t.

Already lying in Cape Town harbour was the Ukrainian Krill Trawler ‘More Sodruzhestva’, already undergoing her overwinter refit, and which was built for that very same reason thirty years before by the Soviet Union as one of the ‘Antarktida’ class, especially built to catch Krill, as described in the 30th June 2021 edition of Africa Ports & Ships.

To re-emphasise that such a boast no longer has the same effect, yet another bespoke designed Krill Trawler turned up in Cape Town, for a minor refit, with the other two Krill Trawlers still in port. This ‘new kid on the block’ went even further and boasted that she was also the ‘world’s most advanced krill fishing and processing vessel’. They went even further, claiming that she was the ‘world’s largest, purpose-built, vessel for fishing Antarctic krill’. The third London Bus was in town.

On 15th November, at 15h00 in the afternoon, the Krill Trawler SHEN LAN (IMO 9849332) arrived off Cape Town, at the end of a long positioning voyage from Zhoushan in China. She entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock and went alongside the Landing Wall. It was obvious she was in for some shoreside maintenance assistance, and a minor refit, prior to heading south, at a later stage, for the forthcoming Antarctic Krill fishing season.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

To accentuate the growing importance of Cape Town as the ‘Gateway to Antarctica’ for the Krill fishing industry, she was the no less than the seventh Krill Trawler to arrive in Cape Town this year, to undergo a preseason refit. She joined five others already in port completing their refits. Her country mate, ‘Long Fa’, had already sailed for Antarctica prior to the arrival of ‘Shen Lan’.

Built in 2020 by the Huangpu Wenchong Shipyard at Guangzhou in China, ‘Shen Lan’ is 120 metres in length and has a deadweight of 4,990 tons. This size comparison with ‘Antarctic Endurance’ (130 metres and 6,300 tons) will show that their boast of being the ‘world’s largest purpose-built vessel for fishing Antarctic Krill has very little accuracy, or merit. She is powered by two Wärtsilä 8L32 8 cylinder 4 stroke main engines, each providing 5,362 bhp (3,944 kW), to drive two fixed pitch propellers for a transit service speed of 15 knots.

For added manoeuvrability required for her fishing operations, she has two transverse bow thrusters, and a single transverse stern thruster. For her catch, ‘Shen Lan’ has three freezer cargo holds, providing a cargo area of 5,870 m3, with a cargo carrying capacity of 3,500 tons.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

She was designed by the Wärtsilä Ship Design Company, from an order received from Chonghe Marine Industry (CHI), of Shanghai, and is designed to operate in outside air temperatures as low as -25°C. She operates with a crew of 99, and she has accommodation, and onboard laboratory provision for scientific research.

The specialised equipment that equips her whole factory processing deck is provided by Carsoe, of Aalborg in Denmark. Her catch is sorted into three automated processing and packaging lines in the factory, producing Krill Meat blocks and Krill Meal powder for feedstock use in the agriculture and aquaculture industries of China, plus Omega 3 Krill Oil for human consumption.

She has been licensed by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Living Marine Resources (CCAMLR) to fish solely for Antarctic Krill (Euphausia Superba) in FAO Subareas 48.1 (South Shetland Islands), 48.2 (South Orkney Islands), 48.3 (South Georgia), and 48.4 (South Sandwich Islands), with her license recently renewed to remain in force until November 2023.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

She is capable of catching and processing up to 600 tons of Krill per day, with an estimated annual season catch estimated between 70,000 and 100,000 tons. Her operating environment is mirrored in her Ice Classification, which is Ice Class 1A, which allows her to operate in first year ice with a thickness up to 0.8m.

Whilst the total catch for ‘Shen Lan’ may sound high, the CCAMLR catch limit for Krill within FAO Subarea 48 was set at 620,000 tons in 2021, which is less than 1% of the estimated biomass of Krill in Subarea 48. At the end of the 2021 Krill fishing season, a total catch of only 446,783 tons was reported by all licensed Krill Trawlers.

It is important to bear in mind that there are only thirteen CCAMLR licensed Krill trawlers fishing in the waters of a whole continent. The Krill biomass for the whole of Antarctica waters was estimated to be 379 million tons for the 2021 season. The CCAMLR total catch limit, for all licensed Krill trawlers, was set at 3.75 million tons. Again, this is only 1% of the total available biomass. It should also be borne in mind that this small 1% total continental catch total was also not reached last year. That said, Krill is not going to be threatened by overfishing.

To ensure that she does not engage in Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, ‘Shen Lan’ is fitted with a Triton Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), which is contained within a tamper proof unit, and has 100% global coverage, through the Iridium Satellite System. The system reports position, heading and speed on a continuous basis, and can also be interrogated remotely to provide weather data, and catch data.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’ 

For her fishing operation, ‘Shen Lan’ utilises a pelagic, midwater, trawl net that is 169 metres in length, with a mouth that is 23 metres wide, and 18 metres high. The catch cod-end is 24 metres in length, and the net is fitted with a marine mammal exclusion device.

As expected with current Chinese development and growth, they have now decided to focus, and build, their Antarctic Krill fishing operation. Prior to the arrival of ‘Shen Lan’, the Chinese already had three Krill trawlers, licensed by CCCAMLR, and engaged in Antarctic operations. These trawlers were mostly state owned, and were supported by state owned reefer vessels.

The importance to the Chinese state of the Antarctic Krill fishery was shown when the Chinese government Agriculture Vice Minister, Yu Kang Zhen, was an invited guest at the launch of ‘Shen Lan’. The Chinese government have already announced they are building another Wärtsilä designed, advanced, Krill trawler, which is going to be larger than both ‘Shen Lan’, and even larger than ‘Antarctic Endurance’.

Further evidence of the importance to China of the Antarctic Krill fishery, was that the Jiangsu Provincial Government has announced that they want priority for an investment project to be located on a 142 hectare site at Haimen, which is 50 miles north of Shanghai. The project calls for the construction of processing, research, and development, facilities that are capable of handling 50,000 tons of Krill per year.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

The total investment in this project is expected to be in the region of US$1 billion (ZAR17.35 billion). It will include residential properties, leisure facilities and retail outlets. The Krill research at the site will be health focused, in regard to the development of products available for human consumption, and to benefit personal health.

She is owned by Jiangsu Sunline Deep Sea Fisheries Co. Ltd., of Haimen in China, and is operated by Shanghai Kaichuang Deep Sea Fisheries Co. Ltd., of Shanghai. She is managed by Jiangsu Shen Lan Distant Water Fishing Co. Ltd., of Shanghai. For the nomenclature addict, ‘Shen Lan’ means ‘Deep Blue’ in the Mandarin language.

Her initial stay only lasted for two days, and at 17h00 on 17th November, she sailed from Cape Town harbour, but only to go to anchor in the Table Bay anchorage for a week. She then returned to Cape Town harbour on 28th November, at 1400, completing her pre-season refit on 8th December, at the Repair Quay, when she sailed once more, but just to proceed to an off port limits (OPL) position, where she conducted a series of sea trials.

Shen Lan, Cape Town December 2022. Picture by ‘Dockrat’

She remained OPL for 24 hours, and then satisfied that she was ready to proceed to her fishing grounds, she clearly set sail for Antarctica, with a heading of 229°, at a sea speed of 12.4 knots. Interestingly, the Krill fishing season was definitely getting underway as there was movement on other Krill trawlers in Cape Town harbour.

On the same day, 8th December, the ‘Antarctic Endurance’ sailed from Cape Town at 20h00, heading south on a course of 250°, and the ‘Sae In Leader’ sailed at 1600, heading 274° at a speed of 10.5 knots. A week earlier, on 30th November, ‘Sae In Champion’ had sailed south, heading 257°. With ‘Long Fa’ having sailed as early as 23rd September for Antarctica, this leaves only two Antarctic Krill trawlers left in Cape Town harbour.

Coincidently, with the departure of this gaggle of Antarctic Krill trawlers, the arrival in Cape Town harbour, on 10th December, of the perennial Russian Antarctic Expedition icebreaker, ‘Akademik Federov’, in town for stores and bunkers, prior to heading south for the Antarctic summer resupply season, showed that Cape Town’s ‘Gateway to Antarctica’ is very much open.

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DP World signs to develop Puntland’s Port of Bosaso

Ahmed Yaasiin Saalah, Puntland’s Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport, Suhail Albanna, DP World’s CEO and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, and Nabil Milad Abou Rjaili, General Manager of Mar Marine & Building Contracting.  Picture DP World

Africa Ports & Ships has reported on this previously but now there’s confirmation of the upgrade of the Somaliland port of Bosaso.

See that previous report HERE – Puntland state port is getting a revamp

Construction contracts have now been signed between the developer, DP World, and the Puntland Government for the upgrade of the Bosaso port to commence.

“The expansion and upgrade of the Port of Bosaso is key to Puntland’s economic growth, which will benefit not just the people of the state, but also Somalia and the Horn of Africa,” said Ahmed Yaasiin Saalah, Puntland’s Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport.

“It will ensure the region is further integrated into the global trade ecosystem, as a bigger, more efficient port with the ability to receive container vessels, will facilitate increased trade,” he said.

This was during the signing ceremony which included Suhail Albanna, DP World’s CEO and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Abdurazak Ali Seid, Governor of the Bari region, Hassan Abdalle Buhe, Mayor of Bosaso, Dr. Abdifatah nour Ahmed, State minister of information and communication- Puntland state of Somalia, Ali Omar Arshe, Deputy Minister revenue of Finance, Jama Salad Mohamoud, Puntland chamber of commerce and Hassan Abdullahi, representative of the office of Puntland’s President.

That provides a sense of the importance of the port upgrade to Somaliland, which is an autonomous region north of Somalia which regards itself s independent of its southern neighbour.

The 12-month project, which is expected to start in early 2023, will include the development of a 150-metre quay, as well as repairs to the current 215-metre quay.

Puntland’s Port of Bosaso (also spelt as Bosasso)

Other infrastructure will include the development of a new 3000 square metre container yard, and a 4000 square metre container stripping yard. The gate area to the port will also be upgraded to improve access control.

Once complete, the port will be able to handle container vessels and attract more direct calls from feeder ships from Dubai and other regional hubs. It will also become an important hub for dhow transport serving the Somali coast.

Suhail Al Banna, CEO and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, pointed out that DP World has a lot of experience in the development and operation of ports and terminals, not just around the world, but also in Africa.

“We will bring all our expertise and capability to the project, to support the Government’s vision for the port as an enabler for economic growth. I would like to thank the Government of Puntland for partnering with us on this exciting project.”

DP World, which was evicted from the Doraleh Container Terminal in the port of Djibouti, also facing the Gulf of Aden, is now developing and operating two other port along the Gulf of Aden African coast, at Berbera in Somaliland, and now at Bosaso in Puntland.

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Maritime security legislation: Support for Angola

 

Picture: IMO

Training on IMO port security and safety legislation was held at a workshop in Luanda, Angola from 5-9 December.

More than 50 participants from Angola’s Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs Authority and other key agencies* were learning how international IMO instruments can be brought into national laws and regulations, with particular emphasis on the legislative drafting process.

This was reported by the IMO news service on 9 December.

In the spotlight were IMO instruments including SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the ISPS Code1, with control and compliance measures and reference was made to MSC.1/Circ.15252 on development of national maritime security legislation.

This event, funded by the EU Port Security Project3, featured a visit to the Port of Luanda to observe the physical security measures applied by the port in accord with the ISPS Code.

* Agencies including the Agência Marítima Nacional (AMN-sede), Ministério da Justiça e do Direitos Humanos, Ministério das Relações Exteriores (MIREX) and Capitania do Porto de Luanda and Lobito.

1 SOLAS XI-2 and the ISPS Code

2 IMO: Guidance for the development of National Maritime Security Legislation

3 IMO: Port Security Project

Paul Ridgway, London Correspondent, in Africa Ports & Ships

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London, based on material
provided by the IMO media service

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Good news as Saldanha reduces ship time spent in port

“Ship-loader at the Saldanha multi-purpose terminal, introduced in 2020.  Picture: Transnet

Good news coming from Transnet at the Port of Saldanha is that, as part of its ongoing plans to improve efficiencies and productivity, the Saldanha Multi-Purpose Terminal has successfully decreased the stay of vessels in the terminal from 12 days to 7 days.

This was achieved following a study done on vessel stays, and then the implementation of its recommendations.

The study aimed at reducing idle time from the back of port, reducing inefficiencies on the landside and waterside, reducing vessel turnaround time and vessel port stay, and ultimately reducing the cost of doing business. The objective remains to reduce vessels stays to five days in the terminal.

The study was divided into two phases: phase one which looked at vessel planning with the aim of identifying gaps that are causing delays and reducing the vessel stay, and phase two which will focus on reducing the vessel port stay from 7 to 5 days. This will be done in collaboration with the back-of-port operations through the introduction of increased resources.

To date, Transnet says the Saldanha MPT has successfully implemented 100% of the phase one process, which has seen great improvement in operations. One of the recommendations implemented was the upgrade of the terminal weigh bridge, which obtained its National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications, NRSC accreditation.

This upgrade allowed the introduction of multiple-gangs operation on specific vessels calling at the Saldanha MPT.

This optimisation drive will soon be rolled out to all Bulk and Break Bulk commodities at the Terminal.

“The terminal is confident that this initiative is of value not only to the Transnet, but the region at large and subsequently the economy of the country,” says Andiswa Dlanga: Managing Executive, Western Cape Region.

“Saldanha MPT is committed to ensuring that we deliver on the promise made to our customers by being agile in our service and turning around their vessels on time.”

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UK Government £45 million award: Maintaining UK Flagship scientific research vessels

Research ship RRS James Cook undergoing sea trials. Picture: Wartsila

On 10 December Industry and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani announced £45 million in funding to maintain the UK’s fleet of research vessels.

The £45 million contract, awarded to Babcock International by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), is a key component of the government’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, boosting investment in the prestigious UK shipbuilding industry.

Maintenance and upgrades will be carried out on RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery, and RRS James Cook, three ships which conduct innovative scientific research into our oceans and polar regions, and support scientists tackling global issues such as climate change and pollution.

“RRS Sir David Attenborough and its maiden voyage to Antarctica inspired the explorer in all of us, venturing into some of the world’s most unforgiving climates, while conducting vital scientific research on pressing global issues like sea level rise and marine biodiversity,” said Nusrat Ghani, Industry and Maritime Minister.

“This research is invaluable, which is why we are committing the funding needed for the upkeep of these key research vessels, drawing on Rosyth Shipyard’s proven track record of excellent work maintaining UK ships.”

The shipbuilding industry supports more than 40,000 jobs across the UK. This investment will secure highly skilled jobs and suppliers to maintain the UK’s advanced fleet of research ships.

RRS Sir David Attenborough. Picture: www.gov.uk.government/news

The initial three-year contract, with additional two-year option, will see the large oceanographic and polar research vessels dock at Babcock’s advanced facilities in Rosyth, Scotland, for programmed maintenance and upgrade work.

Babcock Rosyth is a leading provider of maritime support, and where maintenance, repairs and upgrades are also carried out on the UK Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers.

RRS Sir David Attenborough is operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and is one of the world’s most advanced polar research vessels, having departed the UK for its maiden voyage in November 2021.

The vessel recently left its UK home port on 20 November for a six-month expedition to Antarctica. In the coming expedition, Sir David Attenborough will be testing a new artificial intelligence system which will help chart the most environmentally-friendly route at any given time.

Measuring 129 metres loa and with a range of 19,000 nautical miles, it accommodates up to 90 crew, scientists, and support staff, and will enable research of the oceans, seafloor, ice and atmosphere.

RRS Discovery (2013) and RRS James Cook (2006) are operated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and conduct oceanic exploration around the world, undertaking multi -disciplinary marine science to unlock the mysteries of the deep ocean.

Following the refit, RRS Discovery will be heading to the Arctic to explore nitrogen fixation with the University of Liverpool and NERC, whilst RRS James Cook will continue its research expeditions to some of Earth’s most challenging environments, from tropical oceans to the edge of ice sheets.

All three research ships use the latest technologies such as autonomous underwater vehicles, including the famous NOC Autosub named Boaty McBoatface.

Boaty, and other NOC-developed technologies have the ability to travel under ice and to depths of 6,000m to investigate the process driving change in the Polar Regions. The marine robot fleet at NOC is one of the most capable in the world and support the ships’ scientific research with environmentally-friendly marine observation.

Paul Ridgway, London Correspondent, in Africa Ports & Ships

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

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The making of a global port, and the unmaking of a people

The Geelle work at the port in Berbera, Somaliland. Picture: May Darwich

By Nasir M Ali, Jutta Bakonyi & May Darwich

Having survived centuries of successive governments, colonialism and war, have Berbera’s dockworkers finally met their match?

Somaliland’s dockworkers have been part of the unique fabric of the breakaway republic – and the broader Horn of Africa region – for centuries. Known locally as Geelle or Geelaha Dekeda – Somali for “camel” or “camels of the port” respectively – this association of men have carried heavy goods on their backs, moving like a caravan from docks to warehouses under high temperatures and humid conditions, since at least the 19th century.

Since then, the Geelle have been an integral part of Somaliland’s infrastructure and history.

Today, the dockworkers’ professional association, in which membership is inherited through kinship, is well known in the de facto sovereign state. Many of the group’s hees hawleed (“work songs”) – spontaneously composed while loading and unloading ships – have become famous across Somali-speaking regions of the Horn.

During the Ethio-Somali war in 1977-78, one such song became notorious for revealing to the people how military officers had secretly ordered the dockworkers to divert sugar to the army.

“You are wondering and waiting for a sack of sugar which travelled to Godey [a city in Ethiopia] at midnight wearing a military uniform,” it went. More recently, Geelle work songs describing everyday activities and perceived injustices have spread online through platforms like YouTube and TikTok.

For hundreds of years then, the Geelle have persisted through successive democratic and military governments, colonial rule, and the Somali civil war.

However, their toughest challenge may be unfolding today. In 2017, the UAE-based DP World, a leading global port operator and logistics giant, signed an agreement with the Somaliland government to modernise Berbera, the region’s main port.

This may change everything for the Geelle.

As one dockworker told us in May 2022: “We have been doing the work manually, and there is no reason to purge us from the port, but the modernisation of the port puts a great risk to our future.”

The modernisation of Berbera

The modernisation of Berbera port, the opening of the new container terminal June 2021.  Picture DP World

Since taking over Berbera [port], DP World has expanded the quay by 400m, established a new container terminal, and recently launched ‘Berbera Economic Zone’, a free zone that exempts traders and business partners from taxation for re-exports and allows them to employ foreign labour.

In 2021, the multinational also started managing the port’s operations, with the latest in crane models becoming operational that June. Since that shift, just 30% of goods arriving to the port have been unloaded and reloaded by the Gelle.

In Somaliland, as elsewhere, containerisation – which allows goods to be transferred across various modes of transport without unpacking – has made much traditional dock work redundant.

The majority of manual labour has been replaced by computerised work in cranes and offices.

This has increased the turn-around speed of goods and profoundly changed the kind of port work required. Despite the dockworkers’ efforts, DP World has declined to hire them, though the company has recruited 500 Salavtore, labourers who arrange goods inside ships before the crane lifts them up.

Most of them worked in the port before DP World and now receive regular income and, so far uniquely in Berbera, medical insurance.

Nonetheless, these overall shifts have integrated Berbera into what anthropologist Anna Tsing describes as “supply chain capitalism” – new and innovative ways of linking labour, capital, and nature into a global network of containerised commodity production and distribution.

They are also an illustration of how the “just-in-time” containerised global trade has placed dockworkers in complex technological chains of maritime logistics in which working conditions and power structures have altered.

Between aspiration and despair

While the dockworkers have been allowed to continue working at Berbera, their status and future remain uncertain. As has happened in other port cities around the world, the Geelle and their families may have to migrate to find work elsewhere before long.

This would not only end centuries of history and change the port’s job markets, but it could transform the whole urban outlook of Berbera.

However, the Geelle are not ready to simply disappear just yet. Their labour union has more than 1,000 members and continues to negotiate with the Somaliland Port Authority. In the last few years, dockworkers have organised several protests, claiming that they are losing their jobs and rights, and demanding regular employment in the port.

During these protests, the association itself has faced conflicts, as many members feel the organisation has stopped representing their interests. These splits are hampering the Geelle’s negotiation power vis-a-vis both Somaliland Ports Authority and DP World.

It should also be noted that not all Geelle are against the port’s modernisation. Some believe the new infrastructure will lead to more wealth and comfort. These individuals are resigned to seeing an end to the physically demanding labour of loading and unloading ships manually in extreme weather and imagine a future in which their children operate computers in the air-conditioned offices at the port.

While many Geelle despair at the manner and effects of the developments at Berbera, one told us: “Things are now changing; there are cranes loading and unloading ships. We are sticking around now to raise our children to go to school and get better jobs. We don’t want our children to replace us”.

Nasir M. Ali, Jutta Bakonyi & May Darwich

Nasir M. Ali is a Lecturer of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland. Jutta Bakonyi is a Professor in Development and Conflict at Durham University, UK. May Darwich is an Associate Professor of International Relations of the Middle East at the University of Birmingham, UK.

Research in this piece was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The statements made and views expressed are solely the responsibility of the authors. The research is part of the project: Port Infrastructure, International Politics, and Everyday Life in the Horn of Africa.

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This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

“The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.”
― George Carlin

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News continues below………

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

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TO ADVERTISE HERE

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

 


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.

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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

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