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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
These news reports are updated on an ongoing basis. Check back regularly for the latest news as it develops – where necessary refresh your page at www.africaports.co.za
Week commencing 6 March 2023. Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return
FIRST VIEW: MURRAY EXPRESS
- Mozambique braces for return of Cyclone Freddy
- WHARF TALK: Superyacht ODYSSEY
- IN CONVERSATION: Ukraine: Russia’s inability to dominate the sea has changed the course of the war
- Xeneta Container Update: Week 10 – Reefer spot rates head back to pre-pandemic levels
- Coal train on Sena Railway derailment – repairs underway
- Port of Cape Town operations under the weather
- WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker HTM WARRIOR
- A.P. Moller-Maersk integrates Asia, India and Africa into one region – IMEA
- IN CONVERSATION: We now have a treaty governing the high seas. Can it protect the Wild West of the oceans?
- Yoram Cohen, founder of Liberian International Ships Registry, dies
- ICS welcomes historic breakthrough of UN High Seas Treaty
- MSC revises Ingwe Service – Asia to Mauritius to South Africa
- WHARF TALK: AMSOL tug SAVE RIVER
- IMO welcomes new oceans treaty
- NEW BOOKS: Rock Lighthouses of Britain and Ireland
- IN CONVERSATION: I dug for evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian rebellion – here’s what I found
- Cyclone Freddy building its strength again, heading northwest
- WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker PUFFIN PACIFIC
- Kenmare’s Moma production of ilmenite and rutile set back by weather
- APM Terminals’ Vessel Inspection App relaunched
- MSC Istanbul aground in Suez Canal – quickly refloated
- Yinson to supply Eni with FPSO Agogo in Angola
- Grindrod records successful year on back of strong commodity markets
- WHARF TALK: return of the hospital ship AFRICA MERCY
- Cyclone Freddy back in Mozambique Channel heading for southern Madagascar
- Hapag-Lloyd publishes 2022 annual report and announces forecast for the current financial year
- SAECS vessel Mehuin to omit Cape Town call
- NEW BOOKS: The Ocean Class of the Secnd World War
- CEO Johny Smith to leave TransNamib
- Somaliland’s Berbera Port Economic Zone opens
- Transnet says allocating available capacity to emerging miners is a fair solution
- EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND UNDER NEWS CATEGORIES…….
Masthead: PORT OF CAPE TOWN
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FIRST VIEW: MURRAY EXPRESS


The small Luxembourg-flagged livestock carrier MURRAY EXPRESS (IMO 9103960) has of late been involved with just three ports – East London, Durban, and Port Louis. The 1995-built ship with a deadweight of 1559 tons has a length of 80 metres and a beam of 10m. For some years now Murray Express has been engaged in carrying livestock – mainly cattle, from the port at East London to Port Louis in Mauritius. East London is the only South African port handling livestock, a commodity that has become increasingly controversial in recent years. Thus far these controversies have not involved Murray Express which has been able to quietly get on with moving live cattle from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to the market in Port Louis. However, the ship has also spent some time in Durban, occupying a berth at the repair yards while undergoing maintenance or general repair. From the appearance of the ship as she sailed from Durban in January this year, it can be deduced that Murray Express has recently undergone such care. The pictures are taken by Keith Betts
Pictures by Keith Betts
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Mozambique braces for return of Cyclone Freddy

Mozambique’s National Meteorological Institute (INAM) has issued a warning that Cyclone Freddy could make landfall on the Mozambican coast for the second time on late Friday/early Saturday (10/11 March).
This will be the second visitation of this unwanted visitor, the cyclone having already struck further south at Vilanculos in Inhambane province before moving inland as far as Zimbabwe, before turning about and moving back over its path and re-entering the Mozambique Channel although by then in a weakened form.
The storm system moved away from the Mozambique coast regathering strength as it moved across the channel and was threatening to come ashore near the southern Madagascan port and town of Toliara when it once again reversed course and headed northeast toward Mozambique.
According to INAM the storm, once again back as a full cyclone after drawing its strength from the warm waters of the Mozambique Channel, will come ashore in the central province of Zambezia, in Pebane and Maganja da Costa districts, where heavy rainfall, of over 200 millimetres in 24 hours is expected.
The storm could also bring rains of over 100 millimetres in 24 hours to much of Manica, Sofala and Tete provinces.
Freddy is already the longest lasting tropical storm on record. It was first detected on 6 February in the Indian Ocean, between western Australia and Indonesia.
Moving westwards, it passed close to Mauritius, crossed central Madagascar, and then made landfall on the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane (Vilanculos) on 24 February. Cyclones normally weaken over land, and Freddy was expected to dissipate as it moved towards the Zimbabwean border.
Unexpectedly, Freddy changed direction and re-entered the Mozambique Channel, posing a serious threat to shipping. It brushed the south-western coast of Madagascar, before turning northwest wards.
According to the US Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC), the cyclone is now on a north-westerly course that will bring it to the Zambezia coast by Friday night.
Its current wind speed is 100 knots (185 kilometres an hour), but this is expected to fall to 75 knots as it reaches Zambezia.
Mozambique authorities are warning that the expected heavy rain will swell the rivers in Zambezia province, causing them to burst their banks with extensive flooding occurring.
It said the river system most at risk is the Lucungo basin. There are no dams or reservoirs on the Licungo, and so all the water from the cyclone will sweep downstream, threatening floods in Maganja da Costa district.
Two earlier storms, Ana and Gombe, had broken dikes in the Licungo basin, and so people living in the basin are now completely unprotected. People living near the banks of the Licungo are advised to move immediately to higher ground to avoid the loss of human life.
Also at risk are the basins of the Chiure and Revobue, which are the two largest tributaries of the Zambezi.
High death toll
Mozambican prime minister Adriano Maleiane told parliament in Maputo that 117 people have died as a result of the storms and floods across parts of the country since the beginning of February.
He said that up to 5 march 272,000 people have been affected.
Cause of much of the damage is Cyclone Freddy, the prime minister said. When it hit parts of the southern provinces of Inhambane and Gaza in late February, it dropped between 300 and 900 millimetres of rain in 24 hours.
Instead of dissipating, this cyclone has returned to the Mozambique Channel and is now heading northwesterly towards Zambezia province, where it is expected to make landfall on Friday.
Maleiane said that the Limpopo, Incomati, Maputo, Pungoe and Rovuma rivers have all risen to flood alert level.
He said that so far about 50,000 houses have been destroyed or damaged, as well as 686 classrooms and 69 health units. The storms have also knocked down 194 electricity pylons.
11,000 kilometres of roads were damaged, and 73,000 hectares of crops were inundated.
Public Works Minister Carlos Mesquita told the Assembly that 265 aquaculture tanks were destroyed, and 86 fishing boats. 1,747 fishing nets were swept away.
The destruction of the 686 classrooms in 1,012 schools affected slightly more than a million pupils and 11,895 teachers.
Farmers lost over a thousand head of cattle and tens of thousands of poultry. sources: JTWC, MeteoFrance, INAM, AIM
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Added 10 March 2023
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WHARF TALK: Superyacht ODYSSEY

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates
It has been said before, and it can be said again. Casual maritime observers in South Africa are spoilt, in respect that they get to see virtually every type of vessel there is to see, from the huge Capesize bulk carriers, all the way down to the smallest fishing vessels, and all to be found at a range of ports, whose number can be counted on the fingers of both hands.
Another rarely looked at area of maritime South Africa is yachting, whether of the sailing variety, or the big motor kind. Yet South Africa, and especially Cape Town, gets to see some of the world’s most exotic yachts, either calling in under sail, on the great global yacht sailing races, or with superyachts motoring in whilst the wealthy owner is on a world tour.
Now, just because it is a superyacht doesn’t mean that it is merely an oligarch’s gin palace, as some superyachts hide a more important side to them. Despite their external plush appearance, there is the odd superyacht that conducts important oceanographic research. Yes, you read that right, a research superyacht.
Way back on 13th November 2022, at 09h00 in the morning, the superyacht ODYSSEY (IMO 7347823) arrived off Cape Town, after a voyage from Lavrio in Greece, via the Suez Canal. She entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded to the Repair Quay in the Duncan Dock.

Visiting Superyachts on stopovers, or layovers, are generally afforded the luxury of being given a berth at, what is now, the prestigious V&A waterfront. For a superyacht to head directly for the repair quay indicates that her call is for something more serious, such as a major maintenance requirement, a big refit programme, or for major upgrade works.
Built in 1974 by the Ateliers et Chantiers C. Auroux shipyard at Arcachon in France, ‘Odyssey’ is 56 metres in length and has a deadweight of 959 tons. She is powered by two Cummins KTA50M2 16 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 1,600 bhp (1,063 kW) each, driving two fixed pitch propellers for a service speed of 13 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes three Detroit 60 generators providing 298 kW each. For added manoeuvrability ‘Odyssey’ has a bow Gilljet thruster providing 440 kW, and she has two fully independent rudders. To enable her to maintain better, and more comfortable, seakeeping qualities, she is fitted with Quantum QC1800 fin stabilisers.
She is described as a Research Expeditionary Yacht, and operates with a crew of 22, and carries 11 passengers, which includes marine scientists. She has a maximum endurance of 41 days, and can cover 10,000 nautical miles in that time, operating at 11 knots, or 7,500 nautical miles if operating at 12 knots.

She was originally built as a support vessel and recovery platform for diving and submersible operations. She supported the French submersible ‘Nautile’, which made a famous series of dives on ‘RMS Titanic’ back in 1987. She operated for the French Government Oceanographic Institute (IFREMER) until 2015.
When she was sold on by the French Government, she was converted into a luxury superyacht, with her accommodation, and interior design, completed in 2016 by Joseph Artese Design. She was capable of carrying 16 guests in 6 luxurious suites, and had an operating crew of 14. Despite this upgrade, her new owners were an expeditionary filming company, and she was outfitted to enable her to carry out a mix of luxury cruising, or TV documentary filming.
She carries two Triton 3300/3 submersibles, capable of carrying a crew of three, and operating to a depth of 1,000 metres, or two Deep Rover 2 submersibles, capable of carrying a crew of two, and also able to operate down to a depth of 1,000 metres. The submersibles are deployed over the stern using a 22.5 ton A-Frame.
Her submersible work is supported by a 10 metre, Twinjet, Northwind rigid hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), and two Zodiac outboard inflatables. For movement of her RHIB, inflatables and Zodiacs, ‘Odyssey’ has a 12 ton deck crane on the aft deck. For logistic and support work, she also has an aft fully lit helideck, capable of operating helicopters up to Agusta A109 size. The helicopter operation is supported with an onboard JET A1 fuel supply of 20,000 litres.

For her diving support work, and when diving operations are underway, she carries a four man hyperbaric decompression chamber, and has a mixed gas diving support, production, and storage system fitted. She also has a fully equipped Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) Mission Control Room. Unusually for a superyacht, ‘Odyssey’ is equipped with a multibeam sonar to allow her to search for underwater locations of interest.
For her oceanographic, scientific, and TV filming work, ‘Odyssey’ has a wet laboratory, a dry laboratory, a deepwater aquarium, a fully outfitted TV recording studio and a TV editing suite. On her aft deck she carries a scientific winch holding 4,000 metres of co-axial cable, and a hydrographic CTD winch holding 2,000 metres of co-axial cable.
In 2015-2016 her work included being the base vessel, off the east coast of Australia, for the filming of the award-winning BBC-TV series ‘Great Barrier Reef’, presented by Sir David Attenborough. This endeavour was so successful that in 2016-2017 ‘Odyssey’ was selected again to act as base vessel for the even greater award-winning BBC-TV series, ‘Blue Planet II’, once more presented by Sir David Attenborough. She provided the filming platform for a three month period in Antarctica, when that segment of the TV series was filmed.
Working in conjunction for many years with the great American marine academic centre, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI), of Woods Hole in the state of Massachusetts, ‘Odyssey’ currently operates for the Ocean Conservation, Exploration and Education Foundation (OCEEF), of Miami in Florida. She also conducts luxury high end, expeditionary cruises for EYOS Expeditions, in conjunction with OCEEF. She was purchased by her new owners in 2022, for a price reputed to be in the region of US$17.5 million (ZAR325.04 million).

One other charter that ‘Odyssey’ was called on to perform took place in April 2011. Two years earlier, on 1st June 2009, an Airbus A330-200 airliner of Air France, operating under flight number AF447, and on a routine scheduled flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, carrying 228 passengers and crew, disappeared over the South Atlantic Ocean after flying into poor weather. A few days later, her whole tailplane, some wreckage, and 51 bodies from the doomed aircraft were found floating on the ocean surface, in the area that the aircraft had disappeared.
After three unsuccessful attempts to trace the wreckage of the aircraft, and recover her flight ‘black box’ recorders, a Remote Operating Vehicle (ROV) from ‘Odyssey’ discovered the wreckage of the aircraft in almost 4,000 metres of water. The ROV filmed the engines, undercarriage, wings, and fuselage debris from the stricken aircraft on the seabed, which were then recovered a month later, including a further 104 bodies still trapped inside the wreckage.
The ‘black box’ recorders were both recovered from the wreck site, and the French Aviation Accident Investigators (BEA) were able to determine that severe icing of the pitot tubes, which indicate airspeed, caused the initial flight control problems, but pilot error in handling the situation, and the stall recovery, exacerbated by erroneous instruments, were the main contributors to the fatal accident.
Four months on from her arrival in Cape Town, ‘Odyssey’ still continues her stay alongside the Repair Quay. There is no indication, as yet, as to when she will complete her stay, nor where she will be sailing to, nor what projects she will be undertaking in the future.
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IN CONVERSATION: Ukraine: Russia’s inability to dominate the sea has changed the course of the war
With the hype surrounding the visit to South Africa by a Russian missile frigate, and the hypersonic weapon it was supposed to be carrying, though never displayed, this article has some relevance: – ap&s
Basil Germond, Lancaster University
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a year ago, most of the fighting has been on land. However, there has also been a less visible – but nonetheless crucial – maritime dimension to the war across the full spectrum of tactical, strategic, economic and diplomatic considerations.
After land troops crossed the Ukraine border on February 24 2022, the Russian navy quickly secured control of the northwestern Black Sea. This meant it could contribute to the air campaign against Ukraine by launching cruise missiles from the sea. This diversified Russia’s attack vectors, thus increasing the chance of penetration by overwhelming Ukraine’s air defence systems.
This operational control gave the invaders the ability to threaten the important port city of Odesa with an amphibious assault. The prospect initially required Ukraine’s war planners to divert resources away from the main fronts in the east and north around Kyiv. It also enabled Russia to deny Ukraine access to and from its own ports, which resulted in a de facto maritime blockade of Ukraine.

Since Vladimir Putin sent his war machine into Ukraine on February 24 2022, The Conversation has called upon some of the leading experts in international security, geopolitics and military tactics to help our readers understand the big issues. You can also subscribe to our weekly recap of expert analysis of the conflict in Ukraine.
But Russia failed to translate this early dominance into strategic effects by opening up a new front in Odesa. This has been attributed to the navy’s subordination to the objectives of Russia’s land forces, whose focus was elsewhere.
For its part, Ukraine was without an operational navy able to directly engage the Russian navy at sea. Its position was made all the more insecure due to the inability of its western allies to intervene at sea – because of the closure of the Turkish Straits and the risk of escalation in the case of any direct involvement of Nato ships.
But despite all this, Kyiv managed to undermine Russia’s naval dominance by demonstrating innovation and initiative.
Sinking the Moskva
Its first major victory was sinking the cruiser Moskva on April 14. In addition to the prestige of sinking the flagship of the Black Sea fleet, this exposed the shortcomings of Russia’s air defence onboard its surface ships.
The sinking of the Moskva demonstrated that the Russian navy could not operate safely in the vicinity of Ukraine’s coast, due to the threat from anti-ship missiles – both the Ukrainian-developed Neptune and western-supplied Harpoon missiles.
The Black Sea fleet surface ships have needed the protection of Russia’s naval air force, mainly land-based in Crimea. This limited their operational range to about 20 miles in order to benefit from full air support.
Another notable success was when Ukraine regained control over Snake Island, a small but strategically important outpost in the Black Sea (about 70 nautical miles south of Odesa) that had been taken by Russian forces in the opening days of the conflict.
Ukraine’s creative opportunism
Things began to move faster in August as Kyiv launched counterattacks, especially in the south. As part of this shift in momentum, Ukraine adopted a bold strategy of harassing Russian naval assets. This included an attack on the Black Sea fleet’s air arm at the Saky airbase in Crimea on August 9, followed on August 20 by a drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol.
Maritime drones were then used on October 29 to target Russian warships in Sevastopol, highlighting the constant state of insecurity of the Russian navy, which was put in full “defence mode”.
In practice, with its surface fleet “hiding”, this reduced Moscow’s ability to plan for an amphibious assault on Odesa. It also limited its ability to strike from the sea, and restricted its initial geostrategic objective to control the southern coast of Ukraine from Crimea to Transnistria.
Importantly, it also affected the overall conduct of the war by enabling Ukraine to move its counter-offensive closer to Crimea.
The maritime supply chain
But with its limited navy, Ukraine has not been able to secure control of the sea. Moscow remains able to prohibit civilian traffic to and from Ukrainian ports, by making it too risky for shipping companies to operate outside the remit of the maritime corridor for grain exports – a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey, and agreed on July 22.
Russia’s denial of the northwestern Black Sea has been enough to prevent the shipment of grain and other agricultural products. This has led to increased food prices, hurting many developing nations. But Russia’s own lack of control over global supply chains has also contributed to the effectiveness of sanctions targeting its military-industrial base.
All major shipping companies bar the Chinese have suspended their operations to and from Russia. But this significant collective effort has come at a cost to shipping companies. Declining trade with Russia and the ban on Russian flagged, owned or operated ships has also affected business in western ports.
Seapower and global leadership
Despite reports that a new Russian offensive is impending, naval power is not expected to play a major role as it is unlikely that the Russian navy will consider opening a new front around Odesa. But the longer a war lasts, the more likely it is to be won by a coalition of maritime nations that can control the global supply chain.
Well aware of this, Russia stressed in its July 2022 maritime doctrine the need to consolidate its sea power. But it’s not clear how it can do this, given the current difficulties facing Russia’s naval-industrial base.
So while the war’s maritime dimension is limited, it still demonstrates that Kyiv has the capacity to seize opportunities created by Russia’s weakness at sea. And in a lengthy war – as in other lengthy conflicts – this could eventually tip the scales in Ukraine’s favour.
Basil Germond, Professor, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Xeneta Container Update: Week 10 – Reefer spot rates head back to pre-pandemic levels
The latest ocean freight rates data from Xeneta suggests an increasing ‘normalization’ of the reefer market, with spot rates from the Far East to Northern Europe now back to pre-pandemic levels. This means short-term reefer rates on the trade have collapsed from a high of almost USD 16,000 per FEU in January 2022 down to around USD 2,300 per FEU today.
Market distortion
“There’s a range of interesting developments on this trade which speak volumes about wider macroeconomic factors,” comments Peter Sand, Chief Analyst at Oslo-based Xeneta.
Sand explains: “The COVID years created a new reality for the ocean freight market, with strained supply chains and high demand distorting established patterns. As a result we saw a rush for dry units pushing up prices, to the extent that dry containers commanded a premium over reefers of USD 3,600 per FEU during June 2021. This was the peak, but the premium became a market feature from pretty much late 2020 through to the middle of 2022.”
Sliding away
However, after July 2022, Sand notes, Xeneta’s data shows a gradual ‘normalization’ of the dry/reefer relationship, with reefer prices edging back in front. Reefers have since commanded an average premium of USD 493 per FEU.

“What we’ve seen is both dry and reefer rates sliding consistently since summer of last year, as congestion eases, demand drops, and carriers tailor their networks to adjust to another new reality,” he says. “Reefer rates have dipped back below their dry counterparts once or twice in that period, but not since November 2022.
“With dry spot rates seemingly still trending downwards, as carriers scramble for cargoes to reach profitable filling factor levels, the spread now looks to be opening up. By early March reefers were commanding almost USD 1,000 per FEU more on the spot market. Those rates are now marginally above, but very close to, pre-pandemic levels.”
Blank balance
Sand adds that the shortage of reefer equipment that pushed prices to record levels “is no more” and notes that “for European exporters of refrigerated goods, this return to normal is welcomed.”
However, the sheer volume of blank sailings – around 30% on this major global trade route – is impacting upon plans.
“The return trip to the Far East is a fronthaul for reefers,” he concludes, “so if the ships don’t show up at all the exporters obviously face a challenge!”
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Coal train on Sena Railway derailment – repairs underway
A railway repair team from CFM has arrived onsite to make repairs and restore the Sena Railway, following a derailment on Monday this week of a train hauling 20 wagons loaded with coal.
The train was taking the coal from the mines at Moatize, operated by Indian company ICVL Group, to the port at Beira.
CFM has delivered to site a crane as well as other necessary equipment to clear the line and restore the service.
The Moatize administrator, Eugenio Muchana, while confirming that CFM was on site and that repairs were underway, was unable to indicate when the line would be cleared.
Muchanga said there were no serious injuries but passengers [on the train] were forced to return to Moatize.
The reports do not indicate where the accident occurred except that it appears to have been within the Moatize district.
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Port of Cape Town operations under the weather

Cape Town’s notorious windy season, when winds blow consistently in excess of 85 kph (50 mph) – as has been occurring these past two weeks, is impacting severely on ship cargo working and in particular, on deciduous fruit exports.
It also happens that this coincides with the peak export season for this fruit.
According to Port Manager Rajesh Dana, this has resulted in total lost time of 94 hours over the past fortnight.
He said this impacted on vessel turnaround time, resulting in vessels being delayed at berth and follow-up vessels forced to wait for prolonged periods at anchorage.
As at Tuesday 7 March 2023, the Port of Cape Town had 11 container vessels waiting at anchorage. On the following day, Wednesday late afternoon, 10 boxships remained outside port, queueing for a berth.
Transnet says the terminals have recovery plans in place to alleviate the backlog and speed up productivity as the weather conditions continue to improve.
The increased number of vessels calling the Port of Cape Town during the peak deciduous export season has necessitated the constant review of berth utilization to ensure that all port infrastructure (including berths) is optimally utilized, and that vessel and cargo operations are efficient.
Dana said TNPA at the Port of Cape Town has established communication platforms with stakeholders and continues to provide daily and weekly updates on port operations, to ensure the continuous flow of information to the integrated maritime transport logistics chain.
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Added 9 March 2023
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WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker – HTM WARRIOR

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates
The continuous flow of MR2 tankers into Southern African ports tends to point to the majority of the fuel products loading ports being mainly set in the Singapore greater area, including the adjacent Malaysian oil terminals, the many Arabic terminals of the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and those of the growing power of Indian refineries.
The latter are having a great time of it at the moment, as they are showing their BRICS loyalty to Russia, by claiming neutrality in the illegal invasion, and buying up the majority of Russian crude oil output, at a great discount. They then refine it, blend it with other grades, and simply sell it on, at great profit to anyone who wants to buy it. South Africa being the prime example of a buyer with no scruples.
However, despite virtually no Russian crude oil entering any European oil terminal, due to international sanctions against Russia, there is still a great deal of crude oil arriving at the massive oil refining capacity, that is scattered across the vast sprawl, that is known as the ARA hub, and that covers the Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp port complexes. That crude oil continues to arrive from Norway, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, West Africa and Brazil.
It is not only the ARA hub that is featuring, more and more, in the flow of refined fuel products into South Africa. The oil terminals in the UK, Spain, Italy and Istanbul have all featured over the last few months as tankers arrive in South African ports from these locations. From the ARA hub, the refined fuel products are loaded for South African ports, but they are not necessarily the products that most would associate with an MR2 tanker.

The desperately needed domestic products such as petrol, diesel, kerosene and Jet fuel, are always arriving from all parts of the globe. But there is one important South African sector that also needs fuel of its own, and that is the marine sector. The marine sector is responsible for refueling passing, arriving and departing vessels from Richards Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. The fuel that these vessels need are Marine Gas Oil (MGO), Marine Fuel Oil (MFO), and the new ‘eco-friendly’ Low Sulphur (LS) variants of both, namely LSMGO and LSMFO.
On 3rd March at 07h00 in the morning the MR2 products tanker HTM WARRIOR (IMO 9399911) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, originally from her loading port of Rotterdam. She had spent a three day period at the Lomé anchorage, in Togo, when southbound, presumably awaiting her discharge orders. Her time at the Table Bay anchorage was for a day only. At 20h00 that evening, she raised her anchor and entered Cape Town harbour, going into the Duncan Dock and, initially, going alongside the Eastern Mole tanker berth, to begin her discharge.
The Eastern Mole tanker berth is the location of the FFS tank farm, where marine bunker fuels are stored, for distribution directly into vessels that come alongside the berth, or for later discharging into the Cape Town Bunker Tankers that work within the harbour.

Built in 2009 by SPP Shipbuilding at Sacheon in South Korea, ‘HTM Warrior’ is 183 metres in length, and has a deadweight of 50,576 tons. She is powered by a single Doosan MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 10,960 bhp (8,061 kW), and driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes three STX MAN 6L23/30H generators providing 960 kW each. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission TM XW exhaust gas fired boiler, and a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission TM OL oil fired boiler. She is an extremely popular design of MR2 tanker, with SPP having built in excess of 50 of the sisterships to ‘HTM Warrior’, and to many owners.
She has 12 cargo tanks with a cargo carrying capacity of 52,115 m3. She can carry 6 product grades at any one time, and she has 12 cargo pumps, all capable of discharging at a rate of 600 m3/hour. All of her tanks are coated with pure epoxy. She has an IMO II/III classification, which allows her to carry clean fuel products, dirty fuel products, vegetable oils, biofuel blends, and Fatty Acid Methyl Ester (FAME).

She is owned by Merlin Shipping Ltd., of Cadiz in Spain, and operated by Optra Shipping Ltd., of Athens in Greece. A clue to her current voyage is that she is managed by Peninsula Petroleum SL, also of Cadiz. Peninsula Petroleum specialise is the provision and supply of marine bunker fuels around the world.
In 2017 ‘HTM Warrior’ was sold by her original owners for a sum of US$19 million (ZAR350.49 million) to Pacific Carriers Ltd. (PCL), of Singapore, and named ‘Plover Pacific’. In December 2022 she was sold to her current owners for a profitable increased sum of US$23.5 million (ZAR433.5 million). She was still flying her PCL house colours on her funnel until January of this year, prior to her departure from Rotterdam. Her funnel is now simply of an overall blue colour.
As with other PCL tankers that have called in at South African ports, anti-piracy measures are very visible on ‘HTM Warrior’. All windows, and all port holes that face out onto an open deck are fitted with burglar bars, and there is a mannequin, on a permanent look-out watch, placed in a prominent, and visible, position on her upper bridge deck.
After almost three days alongside in Cape Town, which included a shift along to one of the traditional discharge berths in the tanker basin, ‘HTM Warrior’ sailed from Cape Town at 10h00 in the morning of 6th March, bound for Durban. She is due to arrive there in the early hours of the morning on 9th March, where she will continue her discharge at the Island View oil terminal.

Until recently, there were as many as four bunker tankers in Cape Town harbour, but the long term resident ‘Southern Valour’ appears to be empty, and possibly laid up on the Landing Wall. She served the Astron contract, that now appears to belong to the recently arrived AMSOL bunker tanker ‘Lipuma’.
The other regular tanker ‘Al Safa’, which served the BP contract, has now sailed off to Algoa Bay, and the Christmas interloper ‘Vemaharmony’ has already headed back to Richards Bay. That leaves only ‘Lipuma’ as the sole, operational, bunker tanker operating in Cape Town harbour, for the time being.
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A.P. Moller-Maersk integrates Asia, India and Africa into one region – IMEA

The changes keep getting rung on the A.P. Moller-Maersk (Maersk) bell. The latest directly affects the African region with the integration of the West and Central Asia and Africa markets to form IMEA – Indian Subcontinent, Middle East & Africa region.
In an announcement to this effect Maersk described the move as an effort to strengthen its integrator strategy and serve its customers even better.
“Maersk has integrated two emerging markets – West & Central Asia and Africa to form a new combined IMEA region. This new region will encompass the core geographies of the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, and Africa, including important markets such as India, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana, amongst others.
The statement said Maersk has come a long way in its integrator journey and it is now time to look further into the future.
“Today, the market conditions are constantly changing, especially in the post-pandemic era, where the demand is softening, customer behaviours are evolving and there is an ever-increasing need to provide competitive, reliable and resilient logistics.”

Heading up the new operation is Richard Morgan, who has been appointed as the Regional Managing Director for the IMEA region.
“Our ambition is to create value to our customers’ supply chains,” Morgan said.
“To achieve this, it is imperative for us to evolve and organise ourselves in the same way that most of our customers are organised geographically. This will not only allow us to harvest synergies in these markets in a unified way but also serve our customers better through strengthened offerings and resilient solutions.”
He added that the IMEA region has a geographically strategic location, with the natural advantage of creating hubs for both ocean and air transport that will connect the manufacturing and consumer markets across the globe. Through this, the customers’ supply chains will have further access and ease, creating more efficiency with increased reach and scope.
The customers will continue to work with the same team that has supported them so far, and the products and solutions offered by Maersk will stay the same until informed otherwise.
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IN CONVERSATION: We now have a treaty governing the high seas. Can it protect the Wild West of the oceans?
Dr Sarah Lothian, University of Wollongong
Delegates gave a jubilant cheer at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Saturday night, as nations reached an agreement on ways to protect marine life in the high seas and the international seabed area.
It has been a long time coming, debated for almost two decades. It took nine years of discussions by an Informal Working Group, four sessions of a Preparatory Committee, five meetings of an Intergovernmental Conference and a 36-hour marathon final push to reach agreement.
So why was it so hard to achieve? And what does it do?
In short, the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement paves the way for the establishment of more high seas marine protected areas. Only 1% of the high seas are currently fully protected, so the new agreement is a vital step towards achieving the recently adopted Kunming-Montreal biodiversity pact, which pledges to protect 30% of terrestrial and marine habitats by 2030.
In turn, the designation of more high seas marine protected areas could assist in curbing fishing activities in these waters. At present, distant water fleets can scoop up almost everything that swims or scuttles thousands of kilometres from their home country. As the high seas are also teeming with marine life, the new agreement also ensures this genetic wealth is shared fairly and equitably among the international community.
It’s not too much to say this agreement marks a significant turning point in the protection of our deep oceans.
Where are we talking about?
Nations have rights to marine resources out to 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from their coastline. After that? It’s almost completely unregulated, much like the Wild West. It’s a huge area, representing over 60% of our oceans.
But this agreement doesn’t just cover what lives in the high seas water column. It also covers the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil beyond a coastal country’s continental shelf.
Major discoveries on the ocean floor have dispelled the long perceived myth that the deep seabed is a barren desert and featureless plain. One important breakthrough has been the discovery of hydrothermal vents and their rich biological community. These seabed habitats, have been labelled one of the richest nurseries of life on Earth and harbour unique organisms of particular interest to science and industry alike. These organisms may offer a limitless catalogue of medical, pharmaceutical and industrial applications. They may even hold the cure for cancer.
Isolation is no longer protection
Due to their remote nature, the high seas were long considered protected from human impact. But only 13% of the ocean is now classified as marine wilderness, completely free from human disturbance, with most being located in the high seas.
International law, as it stands, is not up to the task of protecting this region. Regulations and rules are haphazard, with some regions and resources (like marine genetic resources) not protected at all. Enforcement is weak, and cooperation lacking, as I have found in my research.
Without adequate regulation, the high seas are being heavily exploited with 34% of all fished species now overfished. Illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing is also a serious problem on the high seas.
There is also growing interest in deep-sea mineral resources. The International Seabed Authority has entered into contracts with companies to mine deep-seabed areas, but the long term impacts of this mining activity are difficult to predict and its effects could have irreversible consequences for marine ecosystems. Marine pollution is also a growing problem with approximately 6.4 million tonnes of litter entering our oceans every year.
What solutions does this agreement offer?
Under this agreement, the door is open to establish marine parks and sanctuaries covering key areas of the high seas. Fishing could be banned or heavily restricted in these areas along with other activities that could have a detrimental impact on marine life.
You might have expected fishing to be a key reason for the long delay in getting this agreement across the line. However, one of the main stumbling blocks was how to share the genetic wealth of the high seas. Under the agreement, all countries will have to share benefits – financial and otherwise – from efforts to harness the benefits to be derived from these resources. Think of the possible new cancer treatments coming from compounds in sponges and starfish.
Why was this a challenge? It was difficult to find common ground on how to share benefits from this genetic wealth, with a clear divide between developed and developing nations. But it was achieved and now data, samples and research advances will need to be shared with the world.
What’s next?
Reaching agreement has been achieved. To make it legally binding, it must be adopted and ratified by countries. Will the world’s nations sign up? We’ll need as close to universal participation as possible to make this work. The first part is done. But getting States to sign on, ratify and follow the agreement is likely to be a harder task.
Dr Sarah Lothian, Lecturer and Academic Barrister, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Yoram Cohen, founder of Liberian International Ships Registry, dies
Yoram Cohen, founder of the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR), passed away on Saturday 4 March.
Mr Cohen was the founding father of the Liberian Registry in 1999 which has since grown to be the world’s second largest ships register, and likely to regain top position later next year from the Panama registry.
Although retired and with his sons running the Liberian Register from their base in the United States, Yoram Cohen remained in touch as a guiding figure of the organisation he founded as an entrepreneur more than 50 years ago.

“Yoram was a consummate optimist and risk taker,” his sons said in a statement.
So original in everything he did. He rescued the registry during an acutely difficult time and made it flourish. His creative imagination was unmatched, and allowed him to build multiple businesses and commercial teams.”
They described their father as a mentor to so many and who was responsible for so much of Liberia’s local economic development. “He was a pillar in the various industries and countries that he worked in. We are so proud of who he was and what he built.”
The Liberian Maritime Authority said the legacy of Mr Cohen, “in transforming the Liberian Ship Registry as a key player in the global maritime sector, is unmatched and will be remembered and celebrated forever.
“The Liberian Registry remains the largest white-listed registry and the second largest registry in the world. The Registry is also the fastest growing globally. All this is due to his farsighted and innovative business thinking.”
The LMA described him as a towering figure in the global maritime industry. “The establishment of the Cellcom Telecommunication Company and many other businesses by him in Liberia was critical in the economic stability and advancement of the Liberian economy and society. For this and more, we are sincerely grateful.”
Mr Cohen has been laid to rest in Florida, USA.
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ICS welcomes historic breakthrough of UN High Seas Treaty
Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
On 7 March the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) issued a statement welcoming the historic breakthrough in finalising the text of the landmark High Seas Treaty agreement achieved at the UN at the weekend (4 / 5 March).
Nearly 200 nation States took part in the discussions and while it is understood that there is still some work to do before the text is officially adopted, the agreement on substance marks the culmination of nearly two decades of work.

ICS has taken an active part of the discussions since 2016, ensuring that the international shipping community is engaged, its unique nature taken into account, and that governments understand the IMO’s role as shipping’s global regulator. For international shipping, the matters which the convention is designed to address are within the remit of the IMO.
“We are pleased that an agreement has been reached that should ensure that emerging high seas industries will now also be regulated through this convention,” the ICS said.
“The agreement should also enhance cooperation and coordination between UN agencies and other global and regional regulators, promoting a holistic approach to the protection of marine biodiversity and ecosystems in areas beyond national jurisdiction.”
UNCLOS
The new agreement builds on the requirements to protect the marine environment contained in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

One of its important features is that it sets out a process to enable the establishment of cross-sectoral Marine Protected Areas and other area-based management tools in the high seas and the underlying seabed.
The agreement takes account of IMO’s role, and the measures that emerge from it will complement existing regulations, with the detail of any measures that may be needed for ships to be discussed and agreed at IMO.
Guy Platten, Secretary General of the ICS, commented: “This outcome is the result of hard work over a number of years by a unique group of stakeholders all with the aim of creating a treaty to protect the high seas. I thank everyone for their dedication.”
About the ICS
ICS is the global trade association for ship owners and operators, representing the world’s national shipowner associations and over 80% of the world merchant fleet.
ICS has members from around 40 countries. Its membership comprises national ship owners’ associations, through which structure ICS uniquely and legitimately speaks for and represents the significant majority of international shipping.
Its national member associations represent shipping companies from all sectors of the ship owner community. These include dry bulk carriers, oil tankers, chemical tankers, gas carriers, container ships, general cargo ships, offshore support vessels, and passenger ships.
As the collective voice of the international shipping industry, ICS articulates and advocates ship owner positions to international regulators IMO and the ILO as well as to other government regulators and relevant stakeholders. ICS aims to positively influence regulatory changes while maintaining high standards of quality, safety and environmental protection.
An introductory video to the ICS is to be FOUND HERE
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MSC revises Ingwe Service, Asia to Mauritius to South Africa

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has improved on its ‘fast lane’ rotation of the Ingwe service, operating between Asia, Mauritius and South Africa.
With effect from week 13, MSC will improve the transit times from Asia to Mauritius and South Africa, connecting Singapore and Port Louis in less than 10 days, and Singapore with Durban in less than 17 days.
MSC will continue to offer Colombo call but on northbound only.
The full rotation is:
Qingdao – Shanghai – Ningbo – Shekou- Singapore – Port Louis – Durban – Ngqura – Port Louis – Colombo – Singapore – Qingdao
MSC will continue enhancing the interconnectivity within South Africa with the Shosholoza, a dedicated feeder to Cape Town from Ngqura.
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WHARF TALK: AMSOL tug SAVE RIVER

Pictures by AMSOL & ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates
Small harbour and towage tugs are infrequent visitors to South African shores. Generally speaking, they are on a delivery voyage of one sort or another, either directly from the shipyard to a new owner, or they are undertaking an oceanic tow, delivering something equally small from one part of the globe to another.
Every now and then, they are returning back to their owners for a period of maintenance or, occasionally, to go into a period of lay-up between contracts, or even in readiness for disposal. One tends to forget that some specialist South African shipowners are busy working in other areas of the continent, and this includes operating their own small tugs elsewhere in Africa, and which do turn up from time to time, back to a port of their home country.
Back on 12th February, at 21h00 in the late evening, the small tug SAVE RIVER (IMO 9546942) arrived off Cape Town, from Walvis Bay in Namibia, and entered Cape Town harbour, going straight to Berth 700 in the corner of the Ben Schoeman Dock. These berths are mainly used for vessels in lay-up, although this is not always the case. Shortly afterwards she shifted further into the Ben Schoeman Dock, entering into the small Elliot Basin at the far end of the dock, which itself is not a normal berth for a vessel that is simply passing through Cape Town.

She is very much a home grown vessel, and was built in 2012 at the Damen Shipyards in Cape Town (DSCT). With a length of 23 metres, ‘Save River’ has a deadweight of 70 tons. She is powered by two Caterpillar 3512C 12 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 2,720 bhp (2,028 kW), driving two fixed pitch Kaplan propellers, located in Optima nozzles, for a service speed of 11.8 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes two Caterpillar 3304B generators providing 50 kW each. She also has a third Caterpillar 3304B generator used as part of her FiFi1 firefighting capability, and which provides power to a fire pump capable of throwing a water deluge of 300 m3/hour from her two fire monitors.

Built as one of a series of six tugs, by Damen Shipyards Cape Town (DSCT), to the popular Damen Stan Tug 2208 design, where ‘Stan’ is an abbreviation of ‘Standard’, ‘Save River was delivered originally to Smit Amandla Marine (Pty) Ltd., of Cape Town.
For ship handling, and towage work, ‘Save River’ has a 45 ton towing hook, and has a bollard pull of 40 tons. Her aft deck has a working area of 41.5 m2, and is fitted with a small 2.2 ton deck crane. Whilst not of any particular use in Southern Africa, she has a classification of Ice Class C, which allows her to operate in first year ice up to 0.4 metres in thickness. She has accommodation for a crew of six.
Now owned, operated and managed by African Marine Solutions Investments (AMSOL), of Cape Town, ‘Save River’ has spent the majority of her working career at Beira in Mozambique, for which she was originally purchased. She was a regular caller into Durban, where she returned for any maintenance requirements, or for her annual survey and refit programmes. Her last voyage, recently completed with her arrival back in the Mother City, saw her departing Cape Town on 7th January for a contract period to Walvis Bay.

Her contract work in Beira had her engaged in a variety of roles in support of the offshore terminal, for CFM, and for a variety of clients, and which included shiphandling, harbour towage, coastal towage, ship to ship (STS) transfers, fender provision, and general work in the Beira off port limits (OPL) area. She was also utilised for marine construction projects.
It was interesting to note that, on arrival in Cape Town, the traditional AMSOL markings of her hull bulwarks, being painted royal blue with a gold top stripe, was missing. However, her AMSOL name and houseflag was prominently displayed on a plate, on both sides of the fire monitor platform, abaft her mainmast.
Whilst not necessarily connected in any way, it was interesting to note that, recently, a Dutch Ship Sales website had details of a Stan Tug 2208, located in Southern Africa, that was being offered for sale, and which used a well-known photograph, taken from other social media sources, of ‘Save River’. The representative photograph, also used on the AMSOL Facebook page, did not display the name of the tug, but the AMSOL blue and gold bow bulwark was very prominent in the picture.

The Damen Stan Tug 2208 is also a very popular tug design with many other African ship owners. There are a number of Stan Tug 2208 vessels operating throughout Africa, including in Angola, Morocco, Egypt, Nigeria, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, as well as ‘Save River’ operating in the Southern African states of Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique.
For the nomenclature addicts, and in keeping with her first, and major, assignment, ‘Save River’ was named after a major river that flows into the Indian Ocean, some 125 kilometres southeast of Beira, in Mozambique. The Save River, which is pronounced as ‘Sah-Veh’, was also previously known as the Sabi River, not to be confused with the more well-known Sabie River, of Mpumalanga in South Africa.

The river itself rises 80 kilometres to the south of Harare in Zimbabwe, before flowing 640 kilometres down the escarpment to the Indian Ocean. The river delta is located at 21° south, and is considered to correspond to the separation of the Tropical Marine Ecosystems, which lie to the north of the Save River delta, and the Sub-Tropical Marine Ecosystems, which lie to the south of the Save River delta.
It is not known how long ‘Save River’ will remain in the Elliot Basin in Cape Town harbour, nor how long she will remain in Cape Town harbour itself, but it is currently assumed she is merely between contracts, and in for some local maintenance. It is also not known where she will be headed to next, and what work she will undertake once she arrives there.
Footnote: A spokesperson for AMSOL confirmed to Africa Ports & Ships that ‘Save River’ is being marketed across the region for commercial opportunities or sale.
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IMO welcomes new oceans treaty

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
IMO has welcomed the landmark agreement on a new oceans treaty to protect marine biodiversity on the high seas.
This new legally binding international instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction – known as BBNJ was agreed on 4 March, following conclusion of the fifth round of treaty negotiations at the UN HQ in New York.
IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim commented: “Following almost two decades of discussions and negotiations, I am pleased to see the conclusion of the new legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, which was finalized in New York on Saturday 4 March.
“This landmark achievement will no doubt reinforce efforts to protect biodiversity in line with the aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Kunming-Montreal Global Framework for Biodiversity.
“IMO has participated throughout the negotiations given the organzation’s mandate and expertise and will continue to participate, in the implementation of the new instrument. IMO looks forward to further strengthening our cooperation with Member States, the UN family and all other stakeholders.”
The BBNJ treaty addresses, among other things:
* The conservation and sustainable use of marine BBNJ;
* Marine genetic resources, including questions on benefit-sharing (MGR);
* Area Based Management Tools (ABMT), including marine protected areas;
* Environmental impact assessments (EIA); and
* Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TMT).
DOALOS, ISA, FAO, IOC and ILO
IMO has been present throughout the negotiations and has actively cooperated with the UN, in particular with Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) of the Office of Legal Affairs of the United Nations; the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and with other specialized agencies like The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC) IOC of UNESCO and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
IMO officials have outlined IMO’s experience in developing universal binding regulations for international shipping to ensure shipping’s sustainable use of the oceans, through more than 50 globally-binding treaties.
Ships plying their trade across the world’s oceans are subject to stringent environmental, safety and security rules, which apply throughout their voyage.
IMO regulations are enforced through a well-established system of flag, coastal and port State control.
Many IMO measures actively contribute to the conservation of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution by ships (MARPOL) and the International Ballast Water Management Convention – which aims to prevent the transfer of potentially invasive aquatic species – as well as the London Convention and Protocol regulating the dumping of wastes at sea.
IMO has adopted numerous protective measures, which all ships must adhere to, both in and outside designated sensitive sea areas (PSSAs) and in special areas and emission control areas. These include strict rules on operational discharges as well as areas to be avoided and other ship routing systems, including those aimed at keeping shipping away from whales’ breeding grounds. IMO’s Polar Code is mandatory for ships for operating in the Arctic and Antarctic. IMO has also issued guidance on protecting marine life from underwater ship noise.
The series of conferences to develop the new BBNJ legally-binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) began in 2018.
UNCLOS and BBNJ
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982. It lays down a comprehensive regime of law and order in the world’s oceans and seas establishing rules governing all uses of the oceans and their resources. It embodies in one instrument traditional rules for the uses of the oceans and at the same time introduces new legal concepts and regimes and addresses new concerns. The Convention also provides the framework for further development of specific areas of the law of the sea.
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) decided, in 2015, to develop an international legally binding instrument under UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (UNGA resolution 69/292).
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Rock Lighthouses of Britain and Ireland
By Christopher Nicholson
Published by Whittles Publishing
Dunbeath, Caithness, Scotland KW6 6EG
ISBN 978 184995 544 7
Pages 320. Softback, A4 dimensions. Price £24.95
Chapters concern the design, build, operation and trials encountered at: Eddystone, The Skerries, The Smalls, Longships, Longstone, Bell Rock, Tuskar Rock, The Skelligs, Skerryvore, Bishop Rock, Fastnet, Muckle Flugga, The Bull and Calf, Wolf Rock, Dubh Artach, Chicken Rock, Flannan Isles, Rockall and, South Rock.
Each chapter takes a brief look at subsequent modernisation and automation for there are now no lighthouses keepers. Chapters are supported by a reading list for further information on lighthouses and their history, To close there is a brief glossary of terms and six pages of further listings of the rock towers of Trinity House, the Irish Lights and the Northern Lighthouse Board with light character, range and so forth.
This is a much expanded new edition of Nicholson’s classic bestselling lighthouse book and features in the region of 350 illustrations and many dramatic photographs, in full colour. The foreword is by HRH The Princess Royal, Patron of the Northern Lighthouse Board and Master of Trinity House and an experienced pharologists. The wealth of graphics includes 28 plans and 58 drawings.
To close it has to be said that the coastline of Britain and Ireland is lit by many more rock lights than those that feature in the individual chapters (although they are all listed in the detailed appendixes) so the author has chosen only those with the most dramatic and fascinating histories with unbelievable stories of the battles between Man and Nature during and after their construction.
Export potential
It is fair to comment that manufacturers of aids to navigation equipment for the lighthouse services of France (BBT), Britain (Chance Brothers), Germany (Juliu Pintsch), Spain (La Maquinista) and Sweden (AGA) sent their products throughout the world with much of it tried and tested in the waters of Europe. What worked at home was then exported for the greater gain of the world’s seafarers.
As a footnote may I be permitted to add that I have been involved in the research, writing, editing, reading and reviewing books on GB lighthouses for half a century and it is fair to explain that that the lighthouse book to end all lighthouse books has yet to be published? The ultimate book would be an expanded Admiralty List of Lights (that would be 15 regional volumes) with every engineers’ drawings produced of the fixed aids to navigation and accompanied by a selection of photographs taken down the years, a veritable pharological encyclopaedia and probably impossible to create and that is before you assemble the text. Remember, the full series of British Admiralty Lists of Lights carries information on some 85,000 structures around the world..
With regard to these islands, that said, this volume is going in the right direction with its depth of research and broad gallery of illustrations, a sheer labour of love by a dedicated writer who has been with his chosen subjects for more than four decades.
Orders may be placed at www.whittlespublishing.com Delivery rates to addresses outside the UK can be provided on application on that website.
Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
London Correspondent
Africa Ports & Ships
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IN CONVERSATION: I dug for evidence of the Rosetta Stone’s ancient Egyptian rebellion – here’s what I found
Readers may wonder at the presence of this Conversation piece in a maritime publication. Justification is tenuous at best. There is an isolated reference to an Egyptian harbour, and a suggestion that our history of the modern world, which one supposes would include shipping, may have been shaped differently had not events taken the course they did. Besides that, well, there’s no other possible reason except that the story is informative and, most important, interesting. So here it is, enjoy or simply ignore!
World History Encyclopedia
Jay Silverstein, Nottingham Trent University
The Rosetta Stone is not known for its content, but as a lexicon of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The decree inscribed on the stone, however, discusses a violent revolt – largely lost to history – that shaped the trajectory of western civilisation.
Had the young pharaoh Ptolemy V been overthrown, events like the Hasmonean revolt (which established a Jewish kingdom), the affairs of Cleopatra with Julius Caesar and Marc Anthony, and even the rise of Christianity may have looked very different.
Until recently, the story of the struggle between the Greeks and the Egyptians was known only through Greek sources and shreds of evidence like graffiti.
Professor Robert Littman, of the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, and I uncovered evidence of the civil war at Tell Timai – the ruins of the ancient city of Thmouis in Egypt’s Nile delta. The archaeological evidence has revealed widespread destruction from the time of the rebellion, 204-186BC.

In 2009, evidence of burned buildings with ceramic vessels still in place first suggested that there had been a catastrophic event at Tell Timai. The destruction was widespread and followed by a levelling and rebuilding of the ruined city. Over the following years, evidence including weapons and unburied bodies that graphically pointed to an episode of extreme violence accumulated.
One of the bodies had old wounds (suggesting he had been a warrior) and unhealed wounds (suggesting he had died violently). A young man was found in a kiln, suggesting he had crawled in there to hide and perhaps died of his wounds.
Dating the destruction
Having identified the destruction at the city of Thmouis, we wanted to know why it fell victim to war.
Establishing the precise timing of events in archaeological excavations is difficult. The range from radiocarbon dating, for instance, is often too broad to provide a concise date that aligns with historic records. At Thmouis, however, one room held evidence that allowed for more accurate dating.

A hoard of coins on the floor dated to the reign of Pharaoh Ptolemy IV, while all of the coins from the levelling layer dated to Ptolemy VI. A dinner setting for four also had some distinctive vessels following an Athenian style that placed them in the first quarter of the second century BC during the reign of Ptolemy V.
Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who was just a boy when his father was murdered in 204BC, assumed power in a tumultuous time. The economy was ravaged by foreign wars and there was a growing violent insurrection from the native Egyptian population, who no longer wished to live as second-class citizens while the Macedonian dynasty and Greek imperialists prospered at their expense.
Ptolemy V is known for the Memphis Decree of 196BC in which the priests of Ptah (supporters of the Ptolemaic dynasty) proclaimed the anointment of Ptolemy V as the divine pharaoh of Egypt. In this decree, they outlined Ptolemy’s successful prosecution of the war against the Egyptian rebels and noted his success in besieging a city close to Thmouis.
The decree was inscribed on hard stone and copies were placed in all temples. It was written in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek so that all could read it. The most famous copy today was found in the Nile delta by a French officer in 1799.
It proved to be the key that philologist Jean-François Champollion used to decode Egyptian hieroglyphs – the Rosetta Stone.
What were the consequences of the Egyptian revolt?
Evidence from other sites in the delta suggested that there were economic and political consequences for those cities that joined the rebellion, such as closing harbours.
Another stone decree gave an account of the Greek general Aristonicus who led some of the forces of Ptolemy V and his campaign to root out the last of rebels at Tell el Balamun, a city just north of Thmouis.
Historical accounts carved on the Rosetta Stone and the Aristonicus stone aligned with the evidence we found at Thmouis. The cities of the central Nile delta played a major part in the great rebellion and their citizens suffered greatly for their part.

The outcome of the Egyptian revolt against Hellenistic imperialism had far-reaching consequences. The Egyptians had appointed their own pharaohs and, with the help of the Nubians, took control of much of Egypt.
After 20 years of conflict, the Hellenistic military machine subdued the rebellion and the last rebel leaders were murdered when they came to negotiate peace at the Nile delta city of Sais.
Had the Egyptians prevailed, Egypt might have taken a different turn. Their traditional gods of Isis and her son Horus, for example, might not have so easily surrendered their identities to Mary and Jesus with the coming of Christianity.
After securing control of Egypt, the Ptolemaic dynasty played a key role in the geopolitics of the eastern Mediterranean. It supported the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, establishing a Jewish kingdom. And, of course, the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra was a vital character in the story of how the Roman republic became an empire.
Thmouis was rebuilt as a city full of Greek colonists and soon became the regional seat of power as the Ptolemaic dynasty took power away from Egyptian temple priests who participated in the rebellion.
The transformation of Thmouis from a small tributary town to a regional capital reflects the hand of an oppressive government that wanted to make sure that no major revolt from the people they ruled would ever pose a threat to their control again.
Jay Silverstein, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology , Nottingham Trent University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Cyclone Freddy building its strength again, heading northwest

Cyclone Freddy could strike northern Mozambique around Friday at the end of this week as once again a mature cyclone.
That is becoming an increasing likelihood, unless the storm system does another of its about-turns and heads off in another direction.
Freddy (11S) was situated near 24.1S 42.9E at 12h00 on Monday 6 March 2023, about 188 n.miles southeqsat of Europa Island and tracking westward at 3 knots over the previous 6 hours. Wave height at that stage was noted as 20 ft and warnings were being issued of rough seas from Cape Saint-Vincent to Cape Saint-Marie (the southernmost tip of Madagascar), which were expected to gradually ease from Monday night onwards.
The southern areas of Madagascar have received heavy rainfall from Freddy’s second visit to the island, despite any easing of the storm as it remains close to the coast, but may regain strength as Freddy continues to move away towards the west. Presently the wind intensity has been revised downwards to 47 knots.
Although the storm centre remained several hundred miles east of the town of Toliara on the Madagascan southwest coast, the winds accompanying the rain caused houses to collapse and leave people homeless.
The local French-language publication La Vérité advised that on Sunday a child died in Andranovory, Fokontany d’Anjambaky, following the collapse of a house. It reported 689 households, or 2,863 people, as affected by the deluge in the Atsimo-Andrefana and Menabe Regions. 362 people from another 60 households are displaced in the sites of Toliara I and Morombe, while 1,939 people are staying with their neighbours in the District of Manja. 414 huts are flooded or destroyed, La Vérité reported.
During the first passage of Freddy 7 people died and more than 100,000 people were left homeless – that was on 21 February, more than two weeks ago. Having commenced near Indonesia about a month agao, Cyclne Freddy is being regarded in some quarters as the world’s longest-lasting tropical cyclone.
MeteoFrance advises that Freddy’s movement should slow down significantly during Monday under the influence of contradictory steering flows. A gradual turn towards the west and then the northwest should take place and the trajectory should be established permanently towards the northwest from Tuesday, the weather service informs.
MeteoFrance advises that according to the present forecast, Freddy could approach Mozambique at a mature stage at the end of this week.
At that stage, the improvement of the environment, says MeteoFrance, and especially the arrival on a pocket of very warm waters, should allow Freddy to intensify and to reach the stage of an intense tropical cyclone.
The service adds that the forecast is still too uncertain to be able to provide porecise timing and to indicate exposed areas.
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WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker PUFFIN PACIFIC

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates
Sometimes the arrival of a vessel in port brings about a feeling of deja-vu, in that you don’t believe that you have seen the vessel in question before, but the funnel colours seem very familiar, due to the unique colours and logo style. You just can’t place where exactly you have seen that funnel design before, nor what circumstances were involved when that particular shipping company colours were on display before.
Back on 16th February, at 16h00 in the afternoon, the MR2 products tanker PUFFIN PACIFIC (IMO 9876402) arrived at the Table Bay anchorage, from Pengerang in Malaysia, and went to anchor for the next four and half days. On 21st February, at 08h00 in the morning, she entered Cape Town harbour and proceeded into the Duncan Dock, and on to the Tanker Basin to begin her discharge of fuel products.
With the modern penchant of the fitting of scrubber units, the funnel proportions of ‘Puffin Pacific’ tells you that she is a modern vessel. She was built in 2020 by STX Shipbuilding at Jinhae in South Korea. She is 183 metres in length and she has a deadweight of 49,904 tons. She is powered by a single STX MAN-B&W 6G50ME-C9.5 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 9,763 bhp (7,280 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 13.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Yanmar 6EY22ALW generators providing 1,020 kW each. She has 12 cargo tanks, and a cargo carrying capacity of 51,445 m3. She is capable of carrying 6 products simultaneously, and she has 12 cargo pumps, capable of discharging at 600 m3/hour. The cargo tanks of ‘Puffin Pacific’ all have a phenolic epoxy coating.
She has been given an IMO classification II/III to allow her to carry clean petroleum products, dirty petroleum products, and fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). Her modern design makes her a Super-Eco’ vessel, and she is Tier III NOx compliant and, as expected, she is fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber unit. All of this has given her ‘Green Ship Programme’ certification from the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore.
She is owned by Pacific Carriers Ltd. (PCL), of Singapore, whose bright houseflag colours she proudly displays on her funnel, with a nominal ownership of Puffin Pacific Pte. Ltd., of Singapore. She is operated by PCL Tankers Pte. Ltd., and managed by PACC Tanker Management Pte. Ltd., both of Singapore.
She is one of four sisterships, all named after a seabird, and with a suffix of Pacific. A further four MR2 tankers, of a similar, but advanced design, are also joining the fleet from the same shipbuilder, which will give PCL a tanker fleet of 16 vessels. As well as a Tanker division, PCL also have a bulk carrier division.

In July 2021, ‘Puffin Pacific’ was lying at the anchorage of Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea, located at 04°15’ South 152°11’ East, when two individuals, one armed with a long knife, were spotted by a deck patrol just after 02h30 in the morning. The alarm was raised and the two individuals managed to escape by climbing through the hawse pipe, and down the anchor chain, where a paddle boat, and a third individual, was waiting to paddle them away into the night.
The robbers had managed to steal a laptop computer from the ship’s office. In a salutary lesson of what can happen when you do not carry out your vessel security orders to the letter, it transpired that the two robbers had gained access to the accommodation block by going through a main deck security gate. The gate in question had been left unlocked when the deck patrol had gone off for a break. There were no reports of injury to any of the crew, and nothing else was reported to have been stolen.
After five days alongside in Cape Town discharging, ‘Puffin Pacific’ was ready to sail by 11h00 in the morning of 26th February. She had obviously loaded in Malaysia for a multiple port delivery voyage on the Southern African coast, as she sailed for Walvis Bay in Namibia. She duly arrived in that desert port on 28th February, at 23h00 in the late evening.
Her discharge in Walvis Bay was complete after three and a half days, and at 11h00 on 4th March, ‘Puffin Pacific’ sailed from Namibia. It appears that she is not yet finished with her discharge, and she still carries a parcel of products onboard, as she did not sail in ballast for a loading port, but set her AIS as being bound for Port Elizabeth, with an ETA given as 14h00 on 8th March. It can only be assumed that this is her final discharge port on this coastal voyage, and her next loading port is, as yet, unknown.

This is not the first visit to Southern African waters for ‘Puffin Pacific’, as in the last year she called in at both Cape Town and Walvis Bay in January 2022 on a single voyage, and then called in at both Durban and Port Elizabeth in April 2022, again on a single voyage.
Going back to the feeling of deja-vu about her funnel colours being familiar, her owning company acronym being PCL, and the fact that PCL have a bulk carrier division continued to irk. A quick check on the PCL fleet list finds that a number of that bulk carrier fleet having a name prefix of ‘Ikan’, and the penny slowly, but finally, dropped.
Back in early September 2001, the bulk carrier ‘Ikan Tanda’, fully loaded with a cargo of nitrate fertilisers, and on a voyage from Tocopilla in Chile, with her destination initially shown as Port Elizabeth, and thence to Singapore, was slowly edging towards Cape Town, where a crew change was to be carried out, prior to her continuing to her first port of discharge.
Owned by PCL, with their initials on her hull, and her PCL funnel colours proudly showing, ‘Ikan Tanda’ (IMO 7640469) was built in 1979, and came under the ownership of PCL in 1988, and at the time of her grounding she was managed of PACC Ship Managers Pte. Ltd. She was built by Ishikawajima Kure of Japan, was 146 metres in length, and had a deadweight of 17,800 tons.

On 5th September, whilst still over 20 nautical miles from Cape Town, ‘Ikan Tanda’ suffered a fire in her engine room, which caused a complete loss of power. At the time a major Northwesterly storm was raging, with 50 knot winds, and seas in excess of 10 metres high. Within three hours of losing power, and still unable to restart her engine, she had been blown close inshore, and had drifted into shallow water off Slangkop Lighthouse at Kommetjie, south of Cape Town.
She dropped both of her anchors to try and arrest her drift, but they could not hold in the prevailing rough weather conditions, and she eventually ran aground, just 300 metres off the small village of Scarborough. A total of 18 of her crew of 23 were rescued by SAAF Oryx SAR helicopters from AFB Ysterplaat, with 5 remaining onboard to assist with salvage efforts. The Smit salvage tug ‘John Ross’ was dispatched from Cape Town to try and get her off the rocks, and back into deep water.
Unfortunately, by the time that ‘John Ross’ had arrived, ‘Ikan Tanda’ was firmly aground, and would remain in situ until the next spring tide, scheduled for mid-October. Smit Marine salvage teams were airlifted aboard by CHC Africa S-61N helicopters, and the Smit Marine vessel ‘Ocean Pride’ was brought alongside to begin pumping off 230 tons of oil from her fuel tanks.

On the first high tide of 17th October, with the assistance of ‘Pentow Skua’, the Smit Marine salvage tug ‘Wolraad Woltemade’ was able to get ‘Ikan Tanda’ off the rocks, and she was towed into deeper waters, and the tow begin heading for Cape Town. However, the Cape Town Port Captain refused to allow ‘Ikan Tanda’ to be brought into Cape Town for a damage inspection survey by her owners, with a view to repairing her.
The reason given was that the owners of ‘Ikan Tanda’ could not give guarantees that they would cover all costs associated with her sinking, or with any resultant pollution. The list of 25 degrees that ‘Ikan Tanda’ had taken on whilst she was aground, was corrected to one of only 3 degrees, and she was slowly towed away from the Cape coast, to a position 200 nautical miles offshore. The decision was taken that she was a total constructive loss, and she was to be scuttled. She was deliberately sunk in the evening of 27th October 2001.
For the ship nomenclature fans out there, ‘Ikan Tanda’ is the Malaysian descriptive name of a local fish, widely used in Malay fish curries, and the name given to certain members of the Snapper family, belonging to the genus Lutjanidae.
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Kenmare’s Moma production of ilmenite and rutile set back by weather

Kenmare Resources plc, which mines titanium minerals and zircon at the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in northern Mozambique, said last week that weather-related setbacks had severely disrupted mining operations and that it is likely to produce half of its projected 2023 ilmenite as a result.
“The southern hemisphere rainy season lasts from November to April, bringing widespread electrical storms to northern Mozambique. During these storms, lightning strikes often lead to instability in the power supply to the mine,” Kenmare said in a statement.
“Kenmare employs a range of protection systems to minimise the impact on operations, including the recently installed Rotary Uninterruptible Power Supply (‘RUPS’) system to ensure stable power to the Mineral Separation Plant (‘MSP’) and a synchronous condenser (a voltage stabilisation device referred to as a ‘Dip Doctor’), which alleviates approximately 80% of the dips and spikes in power supply to the mine.”
Kenmare said that in early February 2023, power lines nearby the mine were subject to a direct lightning strike of unusually high intensity.
The severity of the strike cut two of the powerline conductors and the energy discharged overwhelmed the mine’s lightning protection systems.
In addition to damaging the power line infrastructure, a large number of variable speed drives and electronic devices at the mine were also damaged, primarily at the three Wet Concentrator Plants (‘WCPs’).
“This was a highly unusual event, which has not previously occurred in Kenmare’s 15 years of operations.”
Mining operations were severely disrupted while repairs were carried out. “While Kenmare is working hard to recover lost production of Heavy Mineral Concentrate, production of ilmenite and rutile is now expected to be towards the lower half of the guidance range for 2023.”

Shipping schedule
“Due to a drawdown of intermediate stocks at the MSP, the guidance range for zircon and concentrates remains unchanged. The shipping schedule has also been less affected, as the MSP continued to operate, and existing finished product inventories have been sufficient to allow product shipments to continue.
“Kenmare said the Company has undertaken a process of either replacing or repairing the damaged equipment and WCP production capacity has now been restored at close to normal operating levels.
“The MSP sustained only minor damage, because of additional protection provided by the RUPS system, and returned to operations quickly. The Company is engaging with suppliers to rebuild normal spares inventories of variable speed drives.
“Kenmare is working to establish and mitigate the capital and operating cost impacts of the disruptions. Insurance cover is in place and Kenmare is liaising with its insurers to process claims in relation to the lightning strike.”
The Company expects to announce its 2022 Preliminary Results on 22 March 2023.
Kenmare, one of the world’s largest producers of mineral sands, is listed on the London and Dublin stock exchanges. The mine is situated on the coast at Moma in Nampula province, northern Mozambique, and accounts for approximately 8% of global titanium raw materials.
The heavy minerals are used in paints, plastics and ceramics.
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APM Terminals’ Vessel Inspection App relaunched

APM Terminals’ Vessel Inspection App has been relaunched with new features to further support safe working environments for stevedores and other terminal staff.
The app, which is available in six languages: Arabic, English, French, Georgian, Portuguese and Spanish, takes inspectors through a standardised eight-step procedure, ensuring consistent, comparable and tracked results.
Eight-steps to Safety
Inspectors are guided to ensure the gangway is safe before they board a vessel, to inspect all relevant work areas and address concerns before operations start. By digitizing the inspection process, key concerns are reported consistently across vessels, and across terminals.
With the App, Pre-existing or historic issues are flagged and visible, and a scoring system from one to four (rather than the previous yes/no response) facilitates the rating of criticality.
Further upgrades include training materials and visual guides to improve ease of use, and escalation steps in the event of safety critical or recurring issues. Standardized processes for managing critical risks have, as a result, been further enhanced.
So far, 23,000 inspections have been carried out globally using the App which has been credited with elevating safety Standards across shipping lines. The relaunched App has already received positive feedback from inspectors from APM Terminal’s six pilot terminals.
No shortcomings
The App has also attracted the attention of APM’s joint venture and non-controlled APM Terminals partners. Additionally, it received the recent accolade of being placed first in the industry-leading TT Innovation in Safety Awards on 23 February.
Jack Craig, Chief Operations Officer at APM Terminals said they are delighted with this recognition for the safety app which waqs developed in-house in collaboration with Maersk.
“The app provides a standardised digital platform for terminals to carry out vessel inspections, highlighting potential critical risk,” he said. “It underpins our continuous focus on safety throughout our operations and is a great example of how we can smartly deploy technology to be even better at this.”
Watch short YouTube [3:31] video of this safety app
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MSC Istanbul aground in Suez Canal – quickly refloated

The Suez Canal Authority said at the weekend that the container ship MSC ISTANBUL (IMO 9606326) which went aground while crossing the Suez Canal, has been successfully refloated.
The boxship was in the northbound convoy when she grounded. The SCA dispatched tugs to assist with the refloating while other ships crossing the canal were diverted from the western to eastern channel.
As a result there were no delays and movement through the Suez Canal was unaffected, the SCA said.
Ships from time to time do go aground while crossing the waterway and in most cases are quickly refloated and able to continue on their way. For that reason the canal authority maintains a fleet of tugs to assist and is continually dredging the waterway using SCA dredgers.
Ever Given
However, the Ever Given drama in 2021 that saw the the waterway being blocked to all traffic for six days with a resultant massive back-up of shipping on both ends of the canal, ensures that any container ship getting stuck however briefly becomes suddenly newsworthy.
In related news, the Dutch salvage firm SMIT Salvage is demanding additional payment from the Ever Given’s owners via a London court, on the grounds of having been denied a proper payout.
According to lawyers from Higaki Sangyo HKaisha Ltd, SMIT, a division of Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, had agreed a contract which precludes them from claiming an ‘opportunistic’ salvage award that is potentially worth ten times what it recieved.
SMIT’s tugs were part of the salvage attempt and were attached to the giant container ship, then one of the largest in the world, when the Ever Given was finally pulled clear.
The ship’s lawyers say that SMIT’s role was minimal and that the Suez Canal Authority was in control of the salvage attempt, not SMIT.
The matter is continuing.
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Yinson to supply Eni with FPSO Agogo in Angola

Yinson Holdings Bhd, the Malaysian energy infrastructure and technology company, has signed a firm contract with Eni Angola SpA to supply a floating, production, storage and offloading vessel (FPSO Agogo) for the Agogo Integrated West Hub Development Project in Angola.
According to Yinson, its Yinson Production division signed the deal with Azule, Angola’s largest independent oil and gas producer, as well as forming a 50/50 joint venture with BP Plc and Eni SpA.
The contract has an estimated value of around US$ 5.3 billion and a firm perid of 15 years from the date of the final acceptance, wit an option to extend for a furthr five years.
FPSO AGOGO is expected to commence operations in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The project will be Yinson’s eighth FPSO project for the West African region.
“Our long-standing relationship with Eni, one of the JV partners in Azule alongside BP, started with the contract award for FPSO JOHN AGYEKUM KUFUOR back in 2017, which we delivered three months ahead of schedule,” said Yinson group chief executive Lim Chern Yuan.
“We have also maintained an excellent safety and uptime track record which paved the way for our involvement in the FPSO AGOGO project.”
The FPSO Agogo will become Yinson’s first offshore production project in Angola.
According to Eni, the Agogo discovery off Angola contains one billion barrels of oil in place.
The Agogo wells 1 and 2 were drilled by the Poseidon drillship approximately 180 kilomteres off the Angolan coast and 23km from the N’Goma West FPSO.
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Grindrod records successful year on back of strong commodity markets
Announcing its final results for the year ended 31 December 2022, Grindrod Limited said that on the back of strong commodity markets, its core operations, Port and Terminals and Logistics, were able to report R1.1 billion in headline earnings, up 37% on the prior period.
The port exported a record 10 million tonnes, up 29% on the prior period. Grindrod’s terminals also handled a record 16 million tonnes, up 23% on the prior period. This has allowed Grindrod to return in excess of R600 million to the shareholders in dividends.
The disposal of Grindrod Bank to African Bank was concluded successfully in November 2022, a significant milestone in progressing the non-core exit strategy, Grindrod said.
Port and Terminals
Record volume growth in the Port of Maputo was underpinned by its rehabilitated berths, expanded slabs, new handling equipment, upgraded rail wagon discharge facility and a 24-hour border operation.
Grindrod’s record performance contribution came from its Matola facility, which handled 8.1 million tonnes, and Maputo coal terminal, which grew its volume nearly 5-fold to 3.2 million tonnes. Richards Bay and Namibia also recorded strong volume growth.
Emerging miners
Grindrod provided access to the export market to seven emerging miners, with a combined tonnage of 3.2 million tonnes across its facilities in Richards Bay, Durban and Maputo.
The alternative route to market through the Goba line in Eswatini (Swaziland), easing the Lebombo and Ressano Garcia border traffic, continues to deliver with an additional customer having signed up. Over 1 million tonnes of cargo have been handled through this route, providing business and employment opportunities to Eswatini communities. Support from Eswatini Rail and CFM has enabled this performance.

Logistics
Grindrod says it is pleased with the implementation of the joint venture with Maersk, which became operational on 1 January 2023. Plans are afoot to integrate and grow this solution for their customers.
“We took advantage of the strong shipping rates on our charter subleases which contributed markedly to the coastal shipping and container depot results. We expanded our Denver container facility in Johannesburg by adding 75,000 m2 of container handling yard. This facility is strategic in our quest to provide an efficient solution for container volume between Durban and Johannesburg. We are establishing two new intermodal sites in Durban and implementing a long-haul transport offering from Gauteng to KwaZulu Natal,” Grindrod said in a statement .

Sierra Leone Heavy-Haul
The heavy haul operation in Sierra Leone, where 11 locomotives remain deployed, exceeded everyone’s expectations. To date, 5.6 million tonnes of iron ore was hauled from the mine to Pepel Port, providing a complete mine-to-port solution for Grindrod’s customer through their rail capability.
The graphite export solution in Nacala continues to deliver well for the customer. Responding to container shortages, Grindrod supports an alternative route to market by shipping bagged graphite as breakbulk through Pemba and has commenced construction of a facility in Pemba Port to support this solution.
Ntiso Logistics
Grindrod has joined forces with Ntiso Logistics as its business partner in its South African operations. Ntiso Logistics is a subsidiary company of Ntiso Investment Holdings founded by the executive chairman, Mcebisi Jonas.
“We are relentless in remaining relevant to our existing customer base and attractive to new customers looking for the most efficient and cost-effective route to market,” said Xolani Mbambo, Grindrod Limited CEO.
“We have committed people and strategically positioned infrastructure to craft unique and bespoke solutions for our customers,” he said.
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WHARF TALK: return of the hospital ship AFRICA MERCY

Story by Jay Gates
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done”
Proverbs 19:17
Now I don’t suppose it can be considered normal to open a maritime article with a biblical quote, and there are certain to be some out there who will outright object to such a thing. Yet, even in the maritime world, there is one religious, charitable, foundation that carries out the sort of work that underpins such a quote. Their main tool is a vessel of magnificent proportions, and one whose importance cannot be underestimated. The quote emanates from the said foundation featured here.
Those who work onboard are all volunteers, and they generally operate quietly, out of sight, and therefore for many people, they are out of mind. Once in a while, in a figurative blue moon, their flagship vessel turns up in South African waters, and calls into a South African port. Such a visit gives the public the rare opportunity of learning about their work, maybe even seeing what they have to offer, and the understanding of how huge a part they play in the lives of those less fortunate than our own.
On 4th March at 10h00 in the morning, the hospital ship AFRICA MERCY (IMO 7803188) arrived off the Durban Bluff, at the conclusion of a positioning voyage from Dakar in Senegal, and entered Durban harbour, proceeding down the full length of the Maydon Channel, and going alongside at the Dormac facility at the Bayhead. Such a place of arrival signals that a programme of major maintenance, and a major refit, is about to get underway for the vessel.

Built as far back as 1980 by Helsingørs Skibsværft AS at Helsingør in Denmark. She was named ‘Dronning Ingrid’ (Queen Ingrid), as a Train Ferry for Den Danske Statsbaner (DSB), better known as Danish State Railways, to operate across the Great Belt, at the entrance to the Baltic Sea in Denmark. In 1999, she was retired from service on the opening of the bridge and tunnel complex that now spans that great body of water, and which allowed trains to cross without the need of a ferry.
In 2000 she was purchased for US$6.5 million (ZAR117.93 million) for conversion from a ferry, to a hospital ship, for use in Africa. Her purchase was made possible by a full grant made available by Ann Gloag, from her Balcraig Foundation. Ann Gloag owns the vast Stagecoach bus, coach, train and railway operating company.
She was sailed across to the River Tyne, in the United Kingdom, and her conversion by A&P Shipbuilders, at Hebburn, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne began. Her conversion cost US$62 million (ZAR1.12 billion), and It took seven long years to complete, as a result of financial, industrial, manpower, and other constraints.
By 2007 ‘Africa Mercy’ was ready to sail for West Africa, and she was christened by her godmother, Dame Norma Major, the wife of ex British Prime Minister John Major. She departed for Monrovia, in Liberia, to replace another hospital ship, ‘Anastasis’, which had been operating since 1991, and was a vessel that was no stranger herself to the shores of South Africa.

Nominally owned by Africa Mercy Malta Ltd., of Valetta in Malta, ‘Africa Mercy’ is operated by her real owners, Mercy Ships, whose head office is at Lausanne in Switzerland. She is managed by Mercy Ships of Lindale, in the US state of Texas.
At 152 metres in length, ‘Africa Mercy’ has a deadweight of 4,150 tons. She is powered by four MAN-B&W Alpha 16U28LU 16 cylinder 4 stroke main engines producing 4,300 bhp (3,120 kW) each, giving her an overall power output of 17,200 bhp (12,480 kW), and which drive two controllable pitch propellers for a service speed of 16 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes four MAN-B&W 5L21/31 generators providing 1,000 kW each. As part of their current charitable support package for ‘Africa Mercy’, MAN has provided the vessel with in excess of US$1 million (ZAR19.32 million) of spare parts, at no cost to Mercy Ships. MAN also encourages, and supports, their own employees, both from their engineering and administrative departments, to volunteer themselves to serve as crew aboard ‘Africa Mercy’ in any capacity that they can be used.

She has eight decks, and ‘Africa Mercy’ operates with a crew of around 450. The crew, including all Marine staff, from the Master down, all of the vessel services and hospital administrative staff, and all of the medical staff are volunteers, and they pay their own way whilst serving on the vessel.
She can provide 474 berths, to cope with additional staff, and her crew accommodation comprises 126 cabins of single, double, and four berth occupancy. The accommodation includes 26 family cabins for those crew whose children accompany them.
Due to this unique family crew arrangement, ‘Africa Mercy’ has an internationally accredited school onboard, which caters for up to 50 schoolchildren, and a daycare centre. Her crew facilities also include a library, launderette, supermarket, coffee shop, restaurant, boutique, gymnasium, swimming pool, salon, and even a bank and a post office.

Her onboard hospital covers an area of 1,200 m2, and is state of the art. It is often bigger, and better equipped, than most of the hospitals in the countries in which she serves. There are five operating theatres, an intensive care unit (ICU), a low dependency unit, and a provision of 80 hospital ward beds. This includes a four bed recovery ward, and five ICU beds. The hospital also has an ophthalmology department, two CT Scanners, an X-Ray unit, a pathology laboratory, and a dental surgery department. Her medical supplies, and cargo, hold covers 1,724 m3.
In effect, ‘Africa Mercy’ was the largest non-governmental, non-military, hospital ship in the world. In addition to her onboard medical provisions, ‘Africa Mercy’ provides a land based projects operation. For this purpose she carries 28 vehicles onboard, mainly Land Rover Defenders, which are used on their outreach programmes, which includes providing rural clinics, renovating rural clinics, community health projects, and medical staff training.
Since she began her medical work in 2007, ‘Africa Mercy’ spends 10 month seasons in each port, followed by a refit period. Her operating port is always changed with each season, to ensure that her medical facilities can be offered to as many people as possible throughout West Africa. Other than a few seasons spent in Madagascar (Toamasina and Tamatave), one might ask why West Africa appears to see ‘Africa Mercy’ for almost 100% of the time she has been operational.

The nations served by Mercy Ships are very carefully selected. Most rank at the bottom of the Human Development Index (HDI), as measured by the United Nations. As one would expect, West Africa features predominantly on this index. The ‘Africa Mercy’ is a floating hospital that provides quality health care to some of the world’s most desperate people, bringing hope and healing that these inhabitants never thought possible, and which their own countries could not possibly provide.
The typical types of medical surgery, and medical care, that ‘Africa Mercy’ provides includes the following;
Maxillofacial surgery: Head and neck tumours, cleft lip, cleft palate, ear-nose-throat diseases
Pediatric Orthopedic surgery: Club feet, bowed legs, windswept legs, knocked knees
Reconstructive Plastic surgery: Severe wound scars, benign tumours, chronic ulcers, burn contractures
Women’s health: Vesicovaginal and rectovaginal fistulas, prolapse.
General surgery: Hernias, goiters, other issues correctible by surgery
Pediatric specialised general surgery
Eye surgery: Cataracts, pterygium, and strabismus
Dental Care and Clinics, including Dental Surgery
Palliative Care.
On top of the medical procedures provided, ‘Africa Mercy’ also provides a vast programme of medical training to local medical practitioners of all levels. This includes;
Anaesthesia (SAFE) courses
Essential Surgical Skills
Primary Trauma Care
Mentoring
Caregiving
Physiotherapy
Essential Pain Management
Biomedical Technician Training
Palliative Care
Ophthalmology
Nutritional Agriculture
Mental Healthcare (including a course provided in South Africa in 2021)
Paramedical Healthcare
One has to remember that Africa has less than 1 specialist surgeon per every 100,000 inhabitants. Since 2007 ‘Africa Mercy’ has provided in excess of US$1.3 billion (ZAR23.59 billion) worth of free surgery in countries such as Benin, Cameroon, DRC, Gambia, Ivory Coast, Togo, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau.
All training given by ‘Africa Mercy’ is task specific to the unique needs of the host nation, and is planned in collaboration with the National Ministry of Health of that nation. Her statistics are massively impressive, especially when one considers that all medical care, and training, is provided absolutely free, and provided entirely by volunteer medical personnel of all types.
In a typical day alongside in a West African port, ‘Africa Mercy’ will complete 36 surgical procedures, 138 dental procedures, 10 radiology procedures, 93 ophthalmic consultations, 45 laboratory tests, 128 outpatient consultations, served over 2,000 hot meals to all aboard, and taught 55 schoolchildren, and all completed with 1,600 work hours by her staff.
Even greater statistics are covered when one looks at her record since 2007. In that time ‘Africa Mercy’ has completed 105,000 surgical procedures, 488,000 dental procedures, 252,000 basic healthcare consultations, trained 49,000 medical personnel, trained 6,600 medical trainers, and completed over 1,100 outreach infrastructure development projects. Again, to repeat, all free.

Since its foundation back in 1978, by an American couple living in Switzerland, Mercy Ships, one has to remember, is a faith based charity, which has delivered free specialised surgical care and medical training to nearly 3 million people, in order to build the local healthcare systems, which has benefitted greatly the host African nations that they have been based in. This has been provided by a dedicated flow of over 1,200 volunteer professional from all disciplines, from all walks of life, and from all over the world, including South Africa.
Mercy Ships has an office in South Africa, based in Cape Town, and currently one of Mercy Ships International Board of Directors is Roland Decorvet, of Centurion in Gauteng province. He is also Chairman of Mercy Ships in South Africa. Should any one wish to volunteer for, or donate to, Mercy Ships in South Africa, please contact the Cape Town office to gain more information.
The visits to South Africa by ‘Africa Mercy’ are generally done as part of her season end refit periods. In 2010, she spent time at what was then known as SA Shipyards, in Durban Bayhead, for her refit, and which included having her new MAN generators fitted. She also visited Durban again in 2016. Her current call at Dormac is for a substantial refit, and is part of her ongoing Life Extension Programme, which Mercy Ships are hoping will take her safely through to 2035.

This long refit is made possible as ‘Africa Mercy’ has now been supplanted as the world’s largest NGO hospital ship. Mercy Ships have introduced a brand new hospital ship, built new in China, and named GLOBAL MERCY, which is now the largest NGO hospital ship in the world. Both hospital ships met last month in Dakar, where medical staff, stores and equipment from ‘Africa Mercy’ were transferred across to ‘Global Mercy’, who will now spend the next ten months alongside in Dakar as the resident hospital ship. On completion of the required transfers, ‘Africa Mercy’ sailed directly for Durban.
Not all visits to South Africa are for heavy maintenance purposes. In September 2014 ‘Africa Mercy’ arrived in Cape Town for an almost three week stay. She came alongside Quay 6 in the V&A Basin, and she was open to the public for tours. A great opportunity for Capetonians to see and learn about Mercy Ships, to possibly volunteer, and even to donate to their great cause. Sadly, this is not something that can happen today, due to Transnet closing the V&A to these kind of visits. On completion of her call for stores and bunkers, ‘Africa Mercy’ sailed on 17th October for Port Louis in Mauritius, and then on to Toamasina in Madagascar, where she was to spend the next ten months as the resident hospital ship.
Prior to entering service in 2007, Mercy Ships operated the ‘Anastasis’, which was also no stranger to visiting South Africa, including Durban, East London and Cape Town in September 2005, for maintenance and public relations calls. Starting life as the 1953 built Italian liner ‘Victoria’, of Lloyd Triestino, in whose name she also visited Cape Town and Durban. She was sold to Mercy Ships in 1978 for her scrap value of US$1 million (ZAR18.14 million). After conversion to a hospital ship, and renamed ‘Anastasis’, she served in that role in Africa until 2007, when she was replaced by ‘Africa Mercy’. She was then sent for scrapping at the beaches of Alang, in India.
Knowing how impressive ‘Africa Mercy’ is, and what she can achieve, one cannot help but wonder what her newer, and larger, sister ‘Global Mercy’ will achieve, and how long local maritime observers are going to have to wait before they see her in a South African port. Africa is certainly the better for her presence. One needs to ask the ANC if Russia, or even China, has provided anything close to this endeavour since 1978 in Africa? Answers on a postage stamp.
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Added 6 March 2023
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Cyclone Freddy back in Mozambique Channel heading for southern Madagascar

If this were the Caribbean or North American east coast it would be top of the hour news across all local and international media, with detailed accounts of the damage brought about by the storm that won’t go away.
We are talking here of Cyclone Freddy, here on the western side of the Indian Ocean, where the countries most affected are Madagascar and Mozambique – both far enough away from the world’s centre stage that neither merits more than a few lines remarking that another cyclone has hit the island.
The fact is that we are seeing one of the longest travelling storm systems that has several times increased in intensity to tropical cyclone status, a storm that began its journey just to the south of Indonesia and a little to the north of Australia, that in its travels has covered the length of the Indian Ocean, narrowly missing Mauritius and Reunion, before making landfall over western Madagascar and then crossing that large island, losing strength as it moved inland before emerging over the Mozambique Channel where it regained its strength and cyclone status before going ashore again near Vilanculos in Mozambique.
That, by the way, is a paragraph consisting of a single sentence containing about 102 words, something we usually try to avoid. Short sentences are more in favour in these electronic pages – it makes for easier reading. But this was deliberate in order to give a sense of length of just how far this storm system has travelled, and it is not finished yet. In fact Cyclone Freddy has done an about-turn and and is currently retracing its steps back across the Mozambique Channel, regaining strength from the warm waters of the channel. Cyclone Freddy may once again, it seems, punish the poor people of southern and central Mozambique with its fury.
After that, who knows. Under normal circumstances, if anything about a cyclone can be regarded as ‘normal’ the storm would cross southern Madagascar and then continue in a southeasterly direction, losing strength as it encounters the cooler waters further south, until it quietly disappeared. That’s what storms are supposed to do.
Maybe.
On 15h00 on Sunday 5 March Cyclone Freddy 11S was in position near 23.1S 42.3E where the intensity of the storm was being maintained with wind speeds of 45 knots gusting to 55 knots. This was situated approximately 121 nautical miles east-southeast of Europa Island – another island that has felt the storm’s anger more than once.
MeteoFrance in its report states that a new subtropical ridge southwest of Freddy should however cause the cyclone to turn to a northwest track – another twist in this tale perhaps, though MeteoFrance suggests there is some uncertainty about the exact location of this change of track but that the likelihood of the storm making landfall on Madagascar once more is now reduced.
Nevertheless, the storm is close enough for heavy rain to fall over much of the southern and central part of that island, while sea conditions will be rough with strong swells of 20ft and strong winds.
If one looks at the path of Freddy, it has crossed the channel and moved inland across central Mozambique, extending as far inland as Zimbabwe where heavy rains were experienced – and at least two deaths have been reported. But there the weakened storm system did an about turn and moved back across the coast and entered the channel once more, on a southeastern direction that would, it seemed, take it toward the coastal town of Toliara on the southwest coast of Madagascar.
Now, if the latest reports and forecasts prove correct, Freddy will intensify as it reverses direction once again and moves northwestward across the Mozambique Channel. Going back into Mozambique? Who knows?
Shipping conditions in the southern channel are probably not pleasant and may remain so for several more days with heavy rainfall.

Missing longliner crew
It is only now that the news is becoming available of the effects of the cyclone as it crossed the Indian Ocean, skirting Mauritius and Reunion but passing close to Rodrigues to the northeast of Mauritius.
During this passage a 26-metre x 6m Taiwanese longliner LIEN SHENG FA (MMSI 416189600) appears to have been caught in the storm and disappeared. On or about Sunday 19 February Taiwanese authorities, not having heard from the vessel, requested assistance in finding the Lien Sheng Fa. A formal request was made to ships in the area to keep a lookout.
Then came news on Friday 24 February that a passing cargo ship, the Star Venture, had spotted the upturned hull of a vessel, some 115 nautical miles off Rodrigues. The Mauritius Coast Guard sent a vessel to the scene and divers entered the semi-submerged longliner and searched the cabins and other areas to confirm this was the Lien Sheng Fa and that there was no one on board.
The 16 crew, a Taiwanese captain and 15 Indonesians remain missing. Also missing were the ship’s liferafts. Another victim of a cycone in the Indian Ocean.
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Added 6 March 2023
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Hapag-Lloyd publishes 2022 annual report and announces forecast for the current financial year

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London
HAPAG Annual Report 2022
On 2 March Hapag-Lloyd published its annual report for 2022, the year of its 175th anniversary.
According to the report, Hapag-Lloyd’s EBITDA* increased to US 20.5 billion (€19.4 billion). EBIT** grew to US$18.5 billion (€17.5 billion), and the Group profit improved to US$18 billion (€17 billion).
In the words of Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG: “Overall, we look back on a very successful 2022 with exceptionally strong results. This has enabled us to strengthen our financial resilience and asset structure once again. In addition, we have improved the quality of service for our customers and invested in terminals and infrastructure as well as in the efficiency of our fleet. However, costs – such as for fuel, charter vessels and container handling – have risen significantly.”
Revenues increased to US$36.4 billion (€34.5 billion). This can mainly be attributed to an increase in the average freight rate, to $2,863 /TEU (2021: $2,003 USD/TEU).
However, already by the end of the year, the freight rate had significantly decreased due to easing congestion in ports and lower demand. Transport volumes remained on a par with the prior-year level, at 11.8 million TEU (2021: 11.9 million TEU), due to the strained supply chains. At the same time, high inflation was clearly noticeable in the per-unit costs. Transport expenses rose by 18.5%, to US$ 14.5 billion (€13.7 billion).

Due to the exceptionally strong Group profit, equity has grown to €28 billion and the equity ratio has risen to over 70%. For these reasons, the Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Hapag-Lloyd AG have decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of € 63 per share be paid out for the 2022 financial year – which corresponds to a total payout of €11.1 billion.
Looking ahead, Hapag-Lloyd expects earnings to gradually normalise in the current 2023 financial year. EBITDA is expected to be in the range of US$ 4.3 to 6.5 billion (€4 to 6 billion) and EBIT to be in the range of US$2.1 to 4.3 billion (€2 to 4 billion). However, this forecast remains subject to considerable uncertainty given the ongoing war in Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts as well as the impacts of high inflation.
Jansen added. “We have got the current financial year off to a decent start, but the economy has cooled and a significant decrease in earnings remains inevitable. So we will continue to act flexibly in the market and keep a close eye on our costs. In addition, we will be working very intensively on formulating the strategic course that we will pursue until 2030. Quality and sustainability will continue to have the highest priority for us, as will the safety and well-being of our employees.”
The detailed full-year 2022 figures, including explanatory notes relating to the performance measures EBITDA and EBIT referred to herein, can be found in the download section of the digital Annual Report HERE

About Hapag-Lloyd
With a fleet of 251 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.8 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world’s leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 14,200 employees and more than 400 offices in 135 countries.
Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of 3 million TEU – including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 119 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents. Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.
* EPITDA = Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization.
** EBIT = Earnings Before Interest and Taxes.
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Added 6 March 2023
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SAECS vessel Mehuin to omit Cape Town call
In a service update Ocean Express Network (ONE) advises that due to ongoing berthing delays at the Cape Town Container Terminal, and in order to maintain her schedule reliability, the container ship MEHUIN on voyage 230S/230N will omit her Cape Town call and sail directly to Europe.
All Cape Town import cargo onboard will be discharged in Coega and the interim plan is to use MOL Proficiency on voyage 230S to bring this cargo to Cape Town, with an arrival ETA of 23 March 2023.
Customers will be kept updated on any further developments, ONE advises.
Further questions may be addressed at the local sale office, and further details can be found on ONE’s website https://www.one-line.com/.
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Added 6 March 2023
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The Ocean Class of the Second World War
By Malcolm Cooper
Published by Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, S70 2AS UK
ISBN 978 1 3990 1553 0
Pages 216; 125 monochrome illustrations
Price £22.50
This new book tells the story of the Ocean class of 60 standard cargo ships, their design, build and careers, and the author places them firmly in the context of the Battle of the Atlantic which was raging at the time of the first launchings and lasted to the end of the war in Europe, VE-Day, on 8 May 1945. Finally, some of the class joined the invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945.
Briefly, the specification was for a welded-construction vessel of 414 ft loa, breadth 57ft, of 7174 gt, five hatches, coal fired, three boilers, with a service speed of 11 kts.
This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, puts the Oceans in their rightful place in history.
Design antecedents of the ships are explained, and their ordering, financing and construction are well-analysed. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theatre and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of the subsequent peacetime careers of the class and a comparison with other war-built designs.
The Oceans entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat threat was at its height, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit.
They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North Africa and Italy and the advance in Europe which followed, in the D-Day landings and later amphibious operations on the south coast of France.
A heavy price was paid for these accomplishments by the class, 26 out of the class of 60 were lost with nearly 200 crew, yet their robustness and welded construction probably save many lives.
Impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves.
The yards in which they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942.
Todd-California was one such yard specifically created for building the Oceans.
Even more important, the Oceans’ blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,710-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies’ favour and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet.
Each of the Oceans cost an average £515,300.
I have no criticism and find this a useful volume for the reader to appreciate that needs must when it come to rapid and extensive shipbuilding much of which was to replace lost tonnage in order to achieve sheer survival in war. It is also a brief chronicle of the part played by the merchant fleet in all theatres.
If there was one appeal for more, I would say: ‘Oh for a GA!’ For there is none. Surely something could have been created on the end papers or even, a departure here, on the inside of the dust jacket providing the naval architect with 160 square inches in which to show us more.
Here is a splendid example of a merchant ship history of a highly significant class.
This title is also available as an e-Pub and as a Kindle.
Orders may be placed at www.seaforthpublishing.com Delivery rates to addresses outside the UK can be provided on application on that website.
Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
London Correspondent
Africa Ports & Ships
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Added 6 March 2023
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CEO Johny Smith to leave TransNamib
TransNamib chief executive officer Johny Smith will be leaving the employ of TransNamib at the end of this month.
It is reported that Smith, who came to the rail company of Namibia five years ago from the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (WBCG) after a successful career with that marketing body, has declined an offer by the TransNamib Board for him to continue for another five-year extension.

He took up his position as CEO with the parastatal in February 2018.
In a statement issued by Smith at the end of last week, he said that while it had not been an easy decision, he was confident that TransNamib is better poised to become a sustainable organisation.
“The staff is led by both a committed board of directors and a very solid senior management team, whom I would like to thank for their support over my tenure,” Smith said.
Theo Mberirua, TransNamib board chairperson said Smith turned down an offer to remain with TransNamib as CEO. Instead the CEO indicated he wished to pursue other opportunities.
“We are thankful to Smith for his dedication to the task of transforming TransNamib over the past five years. During his tenure and during a very challenging period for all organisations in Namibia and globally, Smith managed to achieve key highlights,” said Mberirua.
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Added 6 March 2023
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Somaliland’s Berbera Port Economic Zone opens

The government of the autonomous region of Somaliland and the port developer and operator DP World have formally opened the Economic Zone at the Port of Berbera.
Performing the inauguration ceremony were the president of Somaliland, Muse Bihi Abdi and Sultan Bin Sulayem, group chairman and and chief executive of DP World.
In addition to the several hundred guests were representatives from DP World’s investment partner in the port and zone, British International Investment (BII), the UK’s Development Finance Institution (DFI) and impact investor.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said the dynamics of global trade are changing, and there is a growing need for trade infrastructure, such as economic zones, with easy and fast access to international shipping.
“The integration of Berbera port with the new Economic Zone is a great example of this, making Berbera a world-class trading ecosystem, now and for the future,” he said.

The opening followed the inauguration of the new container terminal at Berbera Port in June 2021. DP World says its vision for Berbera is to develop it into a trade hub, taking advantage of its strategic location along one of the busiest sea routes in the world and roviding access to the vast hinterland in the region, including Ethiopia.
Berbera is situated in a central position in the Gulf of Aden and opposite one of the world’s great trade lanes of the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
The EZ is located just 15 km from the port along the Berbera to Wajaale road (Berbera Corridor) that connects to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, a country that needs multiple sea gateways to meet its trade requirements.
This integrated maritime, logistics and industrial hub will serve the Horn of Africa, a dynamic region with a population of more than 140 million people.
The Berbera EZ is based on the highly successful model of DP World’s Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) in Dubai. There will also be synergies between the two zones, where companies in Dubai can register for Berbera through the Jafza one-stop shop, while companies in Berbera can access Jafza’s incubation centre facilities.

The zone is designed to create a business-friendly environment to attract investment and create jobs for Somaliland. It includes a competitive and conducive environment, enabled by a new Special Economic Zone Law, Special Economic Zone Companies Law, fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, along with a one-stop shop for all registration and licensing requirements, modern offices, warehousing and serviced land plots.
DP World has already signed an agreement with IFFCO, a major UAE-based food company, to develop a 300,000 square feet (27,871 m2) edible oil packing plant in the EZ and a dozen more companies operating across various sectors have already registered.
Liz Lloyd, Chief Impact Officer of British International Investment, said the overall expansion of the port is expected to improve the quality of life and livelihoods for over a million Somalilanders, increasing the availability and affordability of goods and indirectly supporting over 53,000 jobs locally.
The Master Plan for the Berbera EZ covers more than 1,200 hectares and will be expanded over time as demand grows.
With phase one now open, it offers serviced land plots for the construction of company facilities, 10,000 square metres of pre-built warehouses, build-to-suit facilities, open yard storage, a common user warehouse which DP World will operate to handle customers’ cargo, as well as office space with end-to-end IT services.
The Berbera Port is a multipurpose port with world-class infrastructure, including extensive bulk and breakbulk handling facilities, liquid cargo handling capability and a state-of-the-art container terminal.
The port has a deep draft of 17 metres, a quay with a length of 400 metres and three ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, which can receive the largest container vessels in operation today.
It also has the capacity to handle 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) a year. The terminal also includes a modern container yard with eight rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) and a one-stop service centre.
The Berbera Port has become a cornerstone of the economy. As a result of the expansion, it is expected to facilitate trade equivalent to approximately 27% of Somaliland’s GDP and 75% of regional trade by 2035.
The Berbera EZ will make trade easier for businesses in Somaliland and also the wider Horn of Africa. This will benefit a variety of sectors including exporters, importers and processors of livestock, agricultural and perishable goods, textiles and construction materials.
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Added 6 March 2023
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Transnet says allocating available capacity to emerging miners is a fair solution
Port Elizabeth Manganese Terminal handles 47% of SA’s manganese exports. Picture Transnet
Transnet SOC Ltd, the parent body of Transnet Freight Rail (TFR), National Ports Authority(TNPA) and Transnet Port Terminal (TPT), among others, says it is fully committed to ensuring a fair and sustainable distribution of capacity to major mining companies and emerging miners.
This is in response to some concerns expressed at the news earlier in the week of its decision to allocate capacity to emerging miners.
We need to emphasise that this will not affect the allocations that have already been guaranteed to the major manganese exporters, the company said in a statement.
Major miners guaranteed capacity remains, the company said.
As part of expanding capacity allocation and creating a more inclusive and competitive environment, Transnet recently announced the addition of six new entrants who have been allocated capacity on rail and at the ports under the MECA III programme (Manganese Export Capacity Allocation).
“This brings the share of emerging miners’ allocation to 25% of total available capacity. This does not affect the existing major miners, as their guaranteed capacity remains.”
The special terms governing the current allocation of uncommitted tonnage under the existing contracts allow Transnet to re-allocate the whole or any portion of the uncommitted tonnage, currently 15%, in order to facilitate new entrants into the export market.
“This is a fair and sustainable way of introducing additional participants in the system, as opposed to starting from a zero-based allocation.
“Furthermore, Transnet is moving ahead with the expansion of the manganese channel, working with both major and emerging miners in the sector.”
Interventions include the relocation of the manganese terminal from the Port of Port Elizabeth with current capacity at 10mtpa, to a new manganese export terminal at the Port of Ngqura for 16mtpa, expected to be commissioned by December 2027.
Rail Infrastructure
TFR meanwhile has completed confirmation of the designs for the extension of existing and the construction of new crossing loops for longer trains.
TFR says there is an equivalent ramp up in locomotives, wagons and operational resources, resulting in an increase in slot capacity on the line, increasing capacity by 6mtpa on rail.
Additionally, Transnet is also planning to expand its manganese export capacity (rail, terminal and port infrastructure) to 6Mtpa through the Saldanha export channel.
“It is important to emphasise that Transnet is fully committed to collaborating with industry in fast-tracking the expansion of the manganese channel, for the benefit of all industry players and the South African economy,” Transnet stated.
Exports via other ports
In response to Africa Ports & Ships query, TFR said the largest portion of the Manganese exported at TNPA is handled via the Port of Port Elizabeth.
“The Ports of Durban and Richards Bay handle much smaller volumes compared to PE and Saldanha. The table below depicts the total manganese handled by TNPA for the last financial year.
“These are the latest available, audited figures.”
CARGO HANDLED BY (MILLION) TONNES
TNPA Total Manganese Exports by Port: 21,431,057 tonnes (100%)
Port of Durban: 2,446,868 tonnes (11%)
Port of Richards Bay: 224,480 tonnes (1%)
Port of East London: nil tonnes (0%)
Port of Ngqura: 3,903,726 tonnes (18%)
Port of Port Elizabeth: 9,969,024 tonnes (47%)
Port of Cape Town: 204,318 tonnes (1%)
Port of Saldanha: 4,682,641 tonnes (22%)
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GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY
in partnership with – APO
More News at https://africaports.co.za/category/News/
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THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
There are three kinds of men: The ones that learn by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves.
– Will Rogers
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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT
Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port
Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.
In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.
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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES
QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman
We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.
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