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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 8 May 2023.  Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return 

FIRST VIEW:   TRAPICHE EMERALD

• WHARF TALK: Supramax bulk carrier – BEATRICE
• IMO: Africa, Low-Carbon Shipping – at the core of decarbonisation
• In Conversation: All three Karpowership ‘emergency plans’ back on the table for late approval
• Xeneta container freight rates update: Week 19
• Eastern Cape Port Development Roadshow kicks off TNPA plans
• WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker – TORM TORINO
• Dealing with South African port congestion
• Namport has 17% increase in cargo tonnage handled in 2022
• TRADE NEWS: Vesconite Bearing receives China Classification Society (CCS) Certificate of Works Approval
• CMA CGM commits to purchase of Bolloré Group’s transport, logistics operations
• WHARF TALK: unexpected Durban caller, rotorship – E-SHIP 1
• Airfreight: Emirates expects to double its capacity in next decade
• APM Terminals marks 17 years of Apapa port concession
• Ferry operator increases frequency between Angola’s Soyo and Cabinda
• Operador de ferry aumenta frequência entre Soyo e Cabinda em Angola
• TNPA seeks interested to develop & operate LPG terminal at port of Cape Town
• Transnet Freight Rail increases manganese export capacity
• WHARF TALK: The Russians are coming
• Mauritius: Boosting maritime security
• Invictus Energy finds payable oil, gas and helium in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin
• The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, 6 May 2023
• WHARF TALK: finale ship of the season – SEVEN SEAS MARINER
• A.P. Moller – Maersk inaugurates its first warehouse & distribution facility in Cape Town, South Africa
• Seafarer green skills momentum: African leaders urged to harness
• India expresses interest in helping build Mozambique’s North-South railway
• NEW BOOK: The Norwegian Merchant Fleet in the Second World War
• Brazilian court ruling bans export of livestock from its ports
• Opinion: The Outlook for African Oil in 2023 is Promising
• Opinion: Les perspectives du pétrole africain en 2023 sont prometteuses
• EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND UNDER NEWS CATEGORIES…….

Masthead:  PORT OF CAPE TOWN

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FIRST VIEW:   TRAPICHE EMERALD

A recent arrival at the port of Durban is the offshore dive support vessel, TRAPICHE EMERALD (IMO 9554597) which arrived from Singapore on 2 May. Whilst not able to confirm at this stage, it appears the offshore dive support vessel is conducting operations at the offshore single buoy mooring at Isipingo a few kilometres to the south of the port entrance.

It was at the SBM where most of South Africa’s crude oil imports were landed, although much of this has been curtailed since the two large Durban refineries ceased this type of operation. Some crude is still landed and transported inland through the Transnet pipeline network.

What can be said about Trapiche Emerald is that she is a dive support vessel that was built in 2010 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia. The 2,106-dwt (4,038-gt) vessel has a length of 82.2 metres and width of 20.4 metres.

The ship has used her current name only since September 2022 when she came under the ownership, at least nominally, of Rolandys Ltd, care of her ship and commercial manager, Harren & Partner Services of Mexico. But from the time she first entered service in November 2010 that ship operated with the name of Crest Odyssey 2 and ownership then of either Pacific Crest Pte or CSI Offshore Pte Ltd of Singapore.

Technical:

Trapiche Emerald was built at the Wison Nantong Heavy Industry shipyard in Nantong, China and homeported at Singapore for her then owner, Strato Maritime Services also of Singapore. She is powered by two Caterpillar type 3616b V-16, 4-Stroke-Cycle diesel engines and an aux.Caterpillar 6 engine.

The Crest Odyssey 2 is configured for both air and saturation diving and includes a three-man moonpool launch dive bell and two three-man hyperbaric chambers for saturation diving.

Picture: by Trevor Jones

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WHARF TALK: Supramax bulk carrier – BEATRICE

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

The agricultural sector of Southern Africa has arrived at that seasonal time of year when thoughts move to next year’s harvest. As Autumn slides into Winter, this year’s harvest is underway and the fields have now to be prepared for the next year’s crop. It not only includes possible ploughing, tilling or planting, but the soil itself requires renourishing to ensure that the future crop yield makes it all worthwhile. Renourishing the soil means fertilising it, and for that you need fertilisers, and for that you have to look overseas, and import it into the country.

On 5th May, at 08h00 in the morning, the Supramax bulk carrier BEATRICE (IMO 9430818) arrived off Cape Town, from Murmansk in Russia, and immediately entered Cape Town harbour, and proceeded into the Duncan Dock and went alongside B berth to begin her discharge. The length of her stay in Cape Town would determine if her voyage was intended for a discharge in more than one port along the coast.

Built in 2009 by Mitsui Shipbuilding at Tamano in Japan, ‘Beatrice’ is 190 metres in length and has a deadweight of 55,700 tons. She is powered by a single Mitsui MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C4 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine producing 12,880 bhp (9,480 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 13.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Daihatsu 5DK-20 generators providing 506 kW each, and a single Deutz BF6L913 emergency generator providing 122 kW. She has a single Osaka OEV C2 auxiliary vertical composite boiler.

She has five holds, each with MacGregor electro-hydraulic folding hatch covers, and serviced by four Mitsui electro-hydraulic cranes, capable of lifting 30 tons, and each equipped with Tobu SMAG grabs with a grab capacity of 12 m3 each. Her cargo carrying capacity is 70,855 m3.

Effectively owned, operated, and managed by Technomar Shipping Incorporated, of Athens, whose houseflag she displays on her funnel, ‘Beatrice’ is one of the extremely successful Mitsui 56 design of bulk carrier, the design of which has seen over 170 of this class of vessel built. The design was so successful that Mitsui have updated the design and now offer the Mitsui Neo56 bulk carrier, which has now seen over 200 of the combined designs enter service worldwide.
She was purchased, second hand in 2014, by Technomar Shipping Incorporated for US$25.5 million (ZAR480.72 million).

The Mitsui 56 bulk carrier is capable of loading various kinds of bulk cargo, both bulky and heavy. The size of hatch openings is the largest for this type of vessel, in terms of both length and width, with each cargo hold having a sufficient clear length to load long pipes, and with tank tops strengthened to carry heavy cargo such as steel coils etc. Additionally, her hatch covers are designed for the carriage of packaged lumber cargoes.

She also has Eco-Ship credentials as the main engine design is light, compact and has a high output that satisfies the Environment Standards for Exhaust Gas emissions, and the generators also comply with MARPOL NOx exhaust gas emission requirements. She has a Ballast Water treatment System, which allows for ballast water to be changed during navigation, for protection of the marine environment.

Her cargo of fertiliser, coming from Russia, whilst not unknown, is unusual, and may point to further pressure to import commodities from the seemingly best favoured nations of the ANC government. There are two fertiliser export cargoes, Potash and Phosphate, which are now being exported from Murmansk, one locally extracted, and one effectively being re-exported.

In August 2022, as a result of President Lukashenko, of Belarus, not only fully supporting President Putin in his illegal war in Ukraine, but also allowing the Russian military machine to utilise Belorussian territory to conduct her illegal invasion of Ukraine, and because of his belligerent posturing to his neighbouring EU states, sanctions were enacted on Belarus. This meant that Belarusian exports could not be shipped out from the port of Klaipeda, in Lithuania, which borders Belarus.

Belarus accounts for 20% of the world’s exports of Potash fertiliser, and virtually all of it was sent by rail to Klaipeda, for onward export. This route was now closed, and President Lukashenko was forced to negotiate with the Governor of Murmansk for his Potash exports to be routed through Murmansk, for export. The Byelorussians [old name] were also offered an export route via St. Petersburg. Both routes add both distance, and therefore cost, to the Potash export.

The port of Murmansk is where the majority of Russian exports of Phosphate fertiliser takes place. Located some 185 kilometres south of Murmansk, is the town of Apatity. The town is named after the mineral Apatite, which is the most common of the phosphate minerals. The main employer of Apatity is the Joint Stock Company (JSC) ‘Apatit’, which is the largest phosphate mining, and concentrating, enterprise not only in Russia, but also in Europe.

In November 2014, whilst lying at anchor at the Murua Berau anchorage, which is an offshore coal loading terminal, located off the coast of East Kalimantan in Indonesia, she was boarded by local pirates. The duty crew, on routine deck rounds, noticed seven men armed with knives on the forecastle. The bridge was immediately notified, and the alarm was raised. Hearing the alarm, the robbers escaped with three coils of mooring rope. Other ships in the anchorage were informed, as well as the local port authority, and the local Indonesian Police.

In April 2017, shortly after departing from the Argentinean river port of Rosario, en route to As Salif in Yemen, ‘Beatrice’ ran aground in the Paraná River, at the Km343 ‘mile’ marker, as she passed the river port of San Nicolas. The vessel was refloated nine hours later. She then sailed downstream, and anchored near Puerto Paraná, in the river estuary, to make an inspection of her hull, prior to continuing with her voyage.

The grounding of ‘Beatrice’ was blamed on the local Argentine Coast Guard changing the designated main channel, to that of what was before considered to be a secondary channel, and that was previously only utilised by barges and small vessels. Despite local River Pilots complaining that the channel was not properly waymarked, four previous vessels had run aground in the new channel, before ‘Beatrice’ became the fifth to do so. She completely blocked this channel when she went aground.

In August 2022, ‘Beatrice’ was en route from Pécem, in Brazil, to Houston, in Texas, when the Chief Engineer fell ill. When she was passing the Texas port of Galveston, the US Coast Guard sent a medical boarding team out to the vessel. After consulting with Doctors ashore, it was recommended that the Chief engineer be medically evacuated to a local hospital. The sick crewman was landed in Galveston, and transferred to a local hospital for further treatment.

With her partial discharge taking less than 36 hours, ‘Beatrice’ was ready to sail from Cape Town at 1600 in the afternoon, on the 6th May. Her next port of discharge was given on her AIS as Durban. She duly arrived off the Durban Bluff at 10h00 in the morning of 10th May, and immediately entered Durban harbour, proceeding down the Maydon Channel, and going alongside Maydon Wharf 6 to continue with her cargo discharge. There is no indication, as yet, of where her next port of loading will be.

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Added 12 May 2023

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IMO: Africa, Low-Carbon Shipping – at the core of decarbonisation

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

Africa’s abundance of solar, wind and thermal energy across the continent can place Africa at the core of the global decarbonisation of maritime transport, the IMO conference on Low-Carbon Shipping in Africa heard on 5 May.

Speaking at the Conference, held in Mombasa and co-organized with the Kenya Maritime Authority, Mr Xiaojie Zhang, Director, Technical Cooperation Division, IMO, reminded delegates that 2023 is a critical year for maritime decarbonisation, with Member States at the 80th session of IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) in London in the first week of July set to adopt IMO’s 2023 GHG Strategy.

He emphasized the importance of carbon revenues that could be generated through an IMO economic measure – like a fuel levy – for financing port infrastructure, retrofitting capacity, or bunkering facilities across Africa.

Range of financing mechanisms

This theme was echoed by Ambassador Ms Nancy Karigithu, Special Envoy on Blue Economy, Kenya, who highlighted the range of range of financing mechanisms, such as public-private partnerships, climate funds, and green bonds, to support the transition to low-carbon shipping. She emphasized, too, the need for the transition in maritime to low-carbon shipping in Africa to consider the socio-economic dimensions of the challenge. She commented: ‘The transition needs to be inclusive and equitable.’

Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, Minister of Transport, Ghana, echoed the call for Africa’s participation at IMO meetings by saying: “to ensure our needs and concerns are addressed and also indicate our support or otherwise for global maritime regulations.”

He continued: “Africa is the key to speeding up global climate action on the Decarbonization Agenda. With its young and growing workforce, vast lands and various natural resources, the continent has the potential to make an important contribution to tackle climate change. These assets could be crucial in driving global efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change, while creating new economic opportunities.”

Panel sessions

The IMO conference on Low-Carbon Shipping in Africa focused on Overcoming challenges by unlocking opportunities and investments. It included panel sessions on the following:

* Setting the scene: Global climate action and IMO’s efforts to reduce GHG emissions from shipping.

* Shipping as enabler of climate action and energy transition.

* IMO’s future framework and partnerships enabling the global take up of low- and zero-carbon future fuels.

* National coordinated action enabling maritime decarbonisation.

* Unlocking green maritime jobs in Africa.

Many delegates who spoke voiced the need for IMO to give clear direction through its revised climate strategy.

Closing the conference, Mr Shadrack Mwadime, Principal Secretary, State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs, Kenya, said that the discussions held during the conference: “Will better help African countries to prepare for the upcoming Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in July, and for African countries to have a common approach on how we want the international community to address greenhouse gas emissions.”

The conference was organized by IMO, through its Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP), in collaboration with the Kenya Maritime Authority.

Participants came from 49 African countries.

Readers [with time on hand] are invited to watch the video below of the entire eight and half hour Conference

To download the ten-page programme CLICK HERE

In February, Ghana hosted the first African Green Shipping Conference.

To read more SEE HERE

The Regional Conference on the theme Seizing opportunities for green shipping in Asia and the Pacific, organised by the Philippines through the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), and supported by IMOs ITCP, will be held in Manila, Philippines, from 16-17 May.

For more on this CLICK HERE

IMO supports developing countries in renewable energy production which could be made available to international shipping, through the ITCP, projects and the IMO GHG TC Trust Fund. IMO has organised previous events on opportunities in ensuring a just and equitable transition of international shipping as presented during IMO’s 2nd Alternative Fuel Symposium which took place on 21 October 2022.

The 2023 World Maritime theme is ‘MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on’.

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Added 12 May 2023

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In Conversation: All three Karpowership ‘emergency plans’ back on the table for late approval

by Tony Carnie, Daily Maverick

Last month, the national Department of Environmental Affairs issued a series of incremental announcements which gave the impression that the controversial proposals for floating gas-power plants in three South African harbours had struck the rocks.

The department said at the time that environmental approval for the Coega harbour power ship plan had been refused in toto because of opposition from the Transnet harbour authority, which had competing plans for the harbour space proposed by the Turkish-based Karadeniz group.

Approval for the power ship plan for Saldanha Bay was also in jeopardy after The Green Connection environmental group lodged complaints alleging that Karpowership’s environmental consultants, Triplo4, deliberately sought to “mislead” the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) during the environmental approval process.

The third proposal, in Richards Bay harbour, was also in doubt after Triplo4 withdrew from the approval process, citing an “administrative error” during the submission of its environmental authorisation application.

Now it has emerged that all three plans are potentially back on the table for final approval following last-minute legal appeals or requests for extra time by the Turkish-controlled consortium.

The DFFE confirmed on Thursday that it had rejected objections from The Green Connection and was now considering a request for extra time from Karpowership to lodge a new application for environmental approval.

If this request for extra time was refused, Karpowership would have to lodge a new application for approval. If its request for extra time was granted, “the process will continue as per the conditions of approval”.

The department said that, in response to allegations from The Green Connection, it had also received further representations from Karpowership’s consultants.

After perusing the records and “interrogating” submissions from Green Connection, “no evidence could be found that supported the allegations”, the department stated.

Regarding Richards Bay harbour, DFFE spokesperson Peter Mbelengwa said his department had also received an extra-time request from Karpowership to “address challenges identified with the public review of the [environmental impact assessment] report and to ensure that all identified interested and affected parties have an opportunity to review and comment on the report”.

This request for extra time had been granted on 3 May, giving Triplo4 another month to submit a final report to the department.

The situation regarding the rejected Coega harbour application is less clear.

On 7 April, Karpowership attorney Adam Gunn wrote to DFFE Minister Barbara Creecy requesting condonation of extra time to appeal against the department’s decision to refuse permission for the Coega power ship plan.

Stiff opposition expected

Gunn’s letter does not disclose the basis of Karpowership’s appeal. Behind the scenes, however, the Turkish company and Transnet appear to be in discussions over a possible new site for power ships in Coega.

Nevertheless, Karpowership and the DFFE are expected to encounter further stiff legal and public opposition from several quarters.

The Green Connection spokesperson, Liz McDaid, told Our Burning Planet that the group was waiting for official clarity from Creecy’s department, but remained “confident” that the Karpowership plan for Saldanha had been withdrawn.

The Green Connection was also consulting with its legal team on how to take the issue forward.

“We believe this is an open-and-shut case. We are not accepting the department’s decision to dismiss our objections,” she said.

In its official complaint to the department, The Green Connection alleged that Karpowership consultants had sought to “fraudulently present other persons’ comments and views as those of small-scale fishers” during a public consultation meeting in Saldanha Bay.

“All of the attendees at the meeting titled ‘small-scale fisheries engagement’ on 3 October 2022 clearly identified themselves as being directors, owners or officials in the aquaculture industry on the attendance register, with the exception of one person who comes from the commercial pelagic sector.

“None of them are small-scale fishers or interim relief fishers permitted to fish in the Saldanha Bay or Langebaan area. Yet the consultants got them to fill in statements confirming that they were small-scale fishers. Even these participants themselves indicated on the form that they signed that they were actually from the aquaculture sector/pelagic commercial sector. 

“It is difficult to understand why these persons were involved in a focus group that claimed to represent the small-scale sector when they were actually not in a position to do this,” The Green Connection stated in its complaint to DFFE.

Karpowership, for its part, on Thursday reiterated its determination to pursue its plans, stating in response to questions: “South Africa remains central to our operations, and we are committed to contributing towards an energy solution that enables inclusive economic growth.” 

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

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Xeneta container freight rates update: Week 19

 

Ocean freight rates plummet from peaks across European export trades, but main plot fails to reveal full story

The cost of shipping containers out of Europe has plummeted from the peak prices of 2021 and 2022, with spot rates on the main corridors down by close to 70%. However, according to the latest data from Oslo-based Xeneta, some trade lanes are still capable of commanding prices far above pre-pandemic levels, with recent long-term contracts on selected corridors over 100% more expensive than 2019 equivalents.

Xeneta crowd sources real time rates data from leading global shippers, allowing it to assess the very latest market moves. Unsurprisingly, given current sentiment, Xeneta’s European export intelligence shows both spot and long-term ocean freight rates have collapsed compared to the historical highs recorded in the space of the last year to eighteen months.

The bigger they are…

“All arrows are pointing down, with dramatic falls across the board,” says Peter Sand, Chief Analyst, Xeneta, when referring to prices on the five main European export trades (to the Mediterranean, Far East, Middle East, US East Coast, and South American East Coast).

“The biggest lanes are also the biggest losers, with the front haul Far East corridor down 69% year-on-year. Spot prices for the trade are now just under USD 600 per FEU, equivalent to 18% below the pre-pandemic average of 2019. The US East Coast route has experienced the sharpest decline in absolute dollar terms, with prices now a staggering USD 6,000 per FEU lower than their peak in mid-May 2022. As of early May spot prices on this recently very strong trade stood at USD 2,745 per FEU.”

Falling away

Long-term contract developments in the region are, on the whole, equally depressing for carriers, with agreements signed within the last three months down an average of 45% against peak prices. The falls range from a 26% decline on the Middle East bound trade, to a fall of 59% on the short haul to the Mediterranean.

Despite the apparent weakness of the market, Sand is keen to highlight the complexity behind the headline collapse, with a range of individual trends emerging across the corridors.

Hidden strengths?

Starting with the spot rates he points out that the Far East corridor is the only trade where rates are currently below 2019 levels. By contrast, exports to the South American East Coast are currently 96% more expensive than they were in 2019, while rates to the Middle East are 47% up for the same period.

“And this is despite respective falls on the corridors of 43% and 40% from peak prices,” he notes. “So, the question arises, does this point to relative strength, or the capacity for further heavy falls in the months to come?”

Standing strong

On the long-term market, the scale of the drops can, Sand emphasises, distract stakeholders from the size of the gains recorded throughout the pandemic. He says this is particularly evident on two key trades:

“Here we see rates in early May up more than 100% against 2019 levels. The trans-Atlantic front haul to US East Coast is a commanding 114% up, while the smaller, yet still essential, trade into the South American East Coast also shows triple digit growth, up 111% for the same period.

“In fact, the only trade with long-term rates significantly below 2019 levels is the shortest of them all, to the Mediterranean. Here we see rates down 38% since 2019 (and 59% since their peak in mid-August 2021), with current prices at USD 524 per FEU.”

All eyes on Germany

Sand concludes that the rollercoaster rates ride will be “a natural focus” for logistics professionals attending the main Munich shows Transport Logistic 2023 and Air Cargo Europe 2023 this week, but warns against oversimplifying current developments.

“There’s real value to be unlocked in diving down into the data for individual corridors,” he says. “There’s never a ‘one size fits all’ trend in this market, and current developments in European exports make that very clear. Intelligence pays, for all stakeholders in this dynamic industry.”

For more, please visit www.xeneta.com

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Eastern Cape Port Development Roadshow kicks off TNPA plans

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has commenced a series of Port Development Framework Plans (PDFP) via a series of roadshows, with the first session having been held in East London on 3 May 2023 followed by Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) on 5 May 2023.

In collaboration with the Ports Consultative Committee, SAMSA, Department of Transport and the Ports Regulator of South Africa – the roadshows engage stakeholders on the port development plans in the short, medium, and long term.

The Eastern Cape session earmarked strategic projects for the three ports in the region.

Port of East London

The Port of East London plans include the deepening of the N-Berth to support the automotive sector, the realignment of Northern Breakwater, the deepening of the turn basin as well as the completion of the 80-ton bollards to improve ship turnaround time.

Port of Port Elizabeth (P.E.)

The PE plans indicate the construction of the Liquid Bulk Berth A100, the repurposing of the Charl Malan quay to increase volumes and position the port as an automotive hub, and marine infrastructure upgrade.

The Slipway upgrade project is close to completion – awaiting commissioning and additional break bulk storage has become available due to proposed port limits which have been gazetted.

Port of Ngqura

The Port of Ngqura has piloted shore tension which mitigates undercurrent and heavy winds to improve vessel stability. The relocation of manganese and liquid bulk from the Port of P.E. to the Port of Ngqura form part of the short-term plans.

To improve land use, 21 hectares of land is planned for liquid bulk and the construction of a new canal to manage overflow in case of flooding.

Broader plan

The PDFP roadshows form part of a broader plan to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the South African port system. As a key player within the logistics and maritime industry, TNPA’s fundamental role is the maintenance and improvement of port infrastructure.

Sharpening the terminal oversight role is a strategic priority for the ports’ authority with consistent consultation with terminal operators to ensure accountability.

PDFPs are reviewed every two years and updated every four years and requires various cycles of engagement through various stakeholder engagement forums such as the roadshows.

The plans are available on the TNPAs website HERE

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WHARF TALK: MR2 products tanker – TORM TORINO

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

The arrival of ‘E-Ship 1’ in Durban as reported in Africa Ports & Ships on 10th May 2022, reminds folk that changes are sorely needed to the manner in which the worldwide merchant fleet operates, in regard to public environmental protection, reduced emissions, and drawing back from the over use of polluting fossil fuels.

Thankfully, there are some shipowners that take this challenge very seriously, and are not only changing the way their fleets operate, but they are planning for the future, and they intend not only to comply with existing global regulations, as enacted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), but also to experiment with a myriad of new technologies to ensure that their fleets have a zero carbon footprint in our lifetime.

Back on 23rd April, at 19h00 in the evening, the MR2 product tanker TORM TORINO (IMO 9712321) arrived off the Durban Bluff, from Sohar in Oman, and entered Durban Harbour, proceeding to her discharge berth at Island View 8. This would be the first of a two stop voyage along the South African coast to discharge fuel products for the oncoming winter.

Built in 2016 by Sungdong Shipbuilding at Tongyoung in South Korea, ‘Torm Torino’ is 183 metres in length and had a deadweight of 49,667 tons. She is powered by a STX MAN-B&W 6G50ME-B9.3 6 cylinder 2 stroke main engine, producing 9,812 bhp (7,317 kW) to drive a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14.5 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three generators providing 1,013 kW each, and a single emergency generator providing 120 kW. She has a single Economiser exhaust gas boiler, and a single Composite oil fired boiler. She has 12 cargo tanks, with a cargo carrying capacity of 54,085 m3.

The fifth vessel built of a class of six sisterships, ‘Torm Torino’ is owned by SLSS Shipping SA, of Hellerup in Denmark, and she is both operated and managed by Torm AS, also of Hellerup. Torm AS are well known, not only for operating a fleet of 88 product tankers in immaculate condition, but also for the far reaching environmental credentials.

What is quickly apparent is that ‘Torm Torino’ is fitted with an Exhaust Gas Scrubber System, as witnessed by the size of her overly large funnel. Whilst her funnel proudly displays the houseflag of her owners, Torm AS, it is apparent that its size is due to the Scrubber unit, which together with the normal engine room exhaust pipes, is virtually the same size as the associated accommodation block. Such a comparison brings scale as to how big these Scrubber units are.

The Scrubber unit retrofit took place in late 2019 at the NASCO Shipyard at Zhoushan in China. The unit itself is an Open Loop Scrubber, built by ME Productions of Frederikshavn, in Denmark.

Back in 2019 Torm AS decided to enter into a joint venture (JV) with ME Productions (MEP), and Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) in China, to build Scrubber Units. At the time, Torm AS took a 27.5% holding in the JV, and then placed an order for no less than 54 MEP Scrubber units to be retrofitted to over half of their fleet of tankers, including ‘Torm Torino’, and all to be fitted in China by GSI.

Again, in 2019, Torm AS sold and then leased back ‘Torm Torino’, and her sistership ‘Torm Titan’, for US$52 million (ZAR968.33 million). The deal was with unknown Japanese parties, and the agreement included an arrangement where Torm AS had a purchase obligation for ‘Torm Torino’ in 2024.

So successful was the Scrubber retrofit programme on the Torm AS fleet, that in 2022, Torm AS themselves decided to take a majority 75% shareholding in ME productions itself, thereby making MEP a Torm AS subsidiary company.

The decision to retrofit over half of their fleet, including ‘Torm Torino’, was down to the requirement to eliminate Sulphur Oxides (SOx) emissions from a vessel’s engine and boiler exhaust gases, helping the operators to comply with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on Sulphur emissions, which came into force from 1st January 2020. Torm AS retrofitted more than 20 of their MR2 fleet with Scrubber units in 2019, ahead of the introduction of the IMO regulations.

The IMO regulation aimed to reduce Sulphur emissions from fuel oil, used onboard vessels operating outside designated emission control areas, from the then 3.5%, down to 0.5%. All other vessels in the fleet, that were not going to receive a retrofitted Scrubber unit, were converted to operating with Low Sulphur fuel oils (LSMFO), and all were converted by the end of 2019.

The decision taken by Torm AS was part of their long term environmental strategy, based on their 2008 environmental statistics. They expect to have delivered a 40% reduction in their CO2 emissions, compared to those of 2008, by 2025. This reduction was originally scheduled to be reached in 2030, but is now being brought forward by five years, to 2025. By 2050, Torm AS have said that they intend to have reached ZERO CO2 emissions within their fleet.

Following on from the report on ‘E-Ship 1’ on 10th May, Torm AS took the decision in 2021 to test modern Flettner Rotors on two of their LR1 product tankers, ‘Torm Houston’, and ‘Torm Helene’. Torm AS expect between a 5% and a 7% energy use reduction, and CO2 emissions reductions, from using the Flettner Rotors.

Their forward thinking in reducing their environmental footprint includes consideration in switching from fossil fuels, to Advanced Biofuels, Methanol, Ammonia and LNG. They are also considering methods of onboard Carbon capture, using residual heat pumps, installing hull air lubrication systems, ultrasound on propellers, and using advanced hull paints.

 

This is not her first call to South African waters in this current year, as she called into Beira in January, followed in February by a ubiquitous Indian cargo, from Sikka, to both Nacala, and Beira again, in Mozambique. She was back with yet another Sikka cargo in March, when she made her first South African call of the year, discharging in Durban, with her fourth call in as many months culminating in her current April call to both Durban, yet again, and Cape Town.

That her crew keep her in immaculate condition is borne out by her Port State Inspection record. She has received 20 such inspections in seven years, with only two minor findings being recorded against her in all that time. One was for inadequate Abandon Ship drill training, and one for having a structural access issue to Crew Health and Social Security requirements.

After just over three days discharging, alongside Island View 8 in Durban harbour, ‘Torm Torino’ sailed from Durban at 22h00 in the late evening, bound for Cape Town. She arrived at the Table Bay anchorage at 06h00 in the morning of the 30th April, where she remained for over 2 days.

She finally entered Cape Town harbour at 15h00 in the afternoon of the 2nd May, proceeding into the Duncan Dock and going alongside the inner berth in the Tanker Basin, to complete her discharge on the South African coast. After over four days in Cape Town, her discharge was complete, and at 08h00 in the morning of 7th May, ‘Torm Torino’ sailed from Cape Town, bound for Singapore, where she is scheduled to load her next fuel products cargo.

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Dealing with South African port congestion

by Bidvest International Logistics

How to manage expectations and mitigate risk involved with the movement of your goods

While congestion levels at ports vary, they are a constant that requires companies to develop effective strategies if delays are to be mitigated.

South African ports face regular disruptions in the form of load-shedding and all-too-frequent equipment breakdowns and shortages, resulting in lengthy offload times and backlogs in the supply chain.

Cable theft, which costs South Africa R47-billion annually, is another contributor to congestion. Delays of up to 10 hours have been reported in recent months, while bad weather can wreak further havoc in terms of meeting delivery targets.

It goes without saying that even the slightest setback can put logistics firms at risk of losing customers. While delays may be no fault of their own, the knock-on effect will affect hundreds – possibly even thousands – of people, and given what is at stake, excuses are seldom entertained.

Of course congested ports also account for the loss of vast sums of money.

A 2022 report by the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism revealed that congestion at the Port of Cape Town cost companies R333,000 a day. Multiply that by every port globally and the amount runs into the trillions each year.

The situation is not helped by high freight rates which again are becoming prominent due to market volatility. That being said, they are far from the levels seen at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when the price of a 20-foot long container increased to $15,000 (R274,000) at one point.

 

Saloshini Reddy (pictured left), operations general manager for Bidvest International Logistics (BIL) in KwaZulu-Natal, says while Durban’s port has been fortunate not to experience any major congestion issues of late, there have been delays in allocating slots for containers upon arrival.

“This results in port storage charges,” she says.

Costs are also incurred when the ports implement changes, which happens fairly regularly in South Africa. Developing systems to adapt to these changes requires significant spend.

“This then also impacts the client and the end user in the form of additional costs.”

However, Reddy suggests firms can be proactive in bringing down these expenses. For one, they need to immediately be made aware of port challenges and changes in order to minimise any additional costs. For another, by being acutely aware of the port charges they will be in a better position to budget or recover costs from the end user.

“At BIL we are able to inform clients on container ETA (expected time of arrival) and if there are any delays on urgent cargo. In the event of these delays the client can either airfreight the cargo or delay sale of an item, for example.”

For firms to remain one step ahead, Reddy says companies should ensure that they receive updated port, shipping line and agent updates regularly to identify sudden changes and plan accordingly.

“You should also ensure that your supply chain partners are giving you the maximum benefit of free days in storage and provide you with the necessary status reports to track your cargo.”

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Namport has 17% increase in cargo tonnage handled in 2022

Cargo tonnage handled sets new record in year 2022/23

The Namibian Ports Authority, which is responsible for the ports of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, recorded its highest-ever volume of cargo handled during the 2022/23 financial year, recording 7,691,781 tonnes.

This represents a 17% increase on cargo handled during the previous fiscal year, when 6,576,370 tonnes was recorded.

The major contributor is due to the exportation of goods, including salt, base metals, coal, copper concentrate, copper, ship spares, other minerals, sulphur, frozen fish, petroleum products, and lubricating oil.

These exports contributed a significant 44% increase in comparison to the previous financial year.

Imports through the two ports reflected a 9% increase year-on-year.

During the financial period ended, the number of vessels calling Namibian ports increased by 3%, representing 44 additional port calls.

Typical shipping calling at the two ports were dry bulk, petroleum, passenger, reefer, patrol, and research vessels. As a result, the vessels’ gross tonnages increased by 2.9 million tonnes or 14.9% compared to the previous year.

The financial year under review also recorded an increased occupancy rate of the Syncrolift facilities. The repair jetties’ occupancy rose from 54% to 64%, while the repair bays’ occupancy increased from 47% to 52%.

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TRADE NEWS: Vesconite Bearing receives China Classification Society (CCS) Certificate of Works Approval

Vesconite Bearings has received its China Classification Society (CCS) Certificate of Works Approval.

This was announced by Vesconite Bearings Quality Control Manager Jaco Prinsloo, who noted that the certification is valid for four years and is one of the certifications that clients request to confirm that Vesconite and Vesconite Hilube rudder bearings and stern tubes (including its Superclad bearings) meet certain quality and safety standards.

The certification company required Vesconite Bearings’ ISO 9001:2015 approval,…

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

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CMA CGM commits to purchase of Bolloré Group’s transport, logistics operations

CMA CGM has committed to the purchase of Bolloré Group’s transport, logistics operations.

On Tuesday (9 May) CMA CGM Group granted a put option to the Bolloré Group to sell the transport and logistics operations of Bolloré Logistics.

The put option was granted at the end of the period of exclusive discussions announced on 18 April and Bolloré Group has accepted the proposal.

Final completion of the transaction remains subject, first, to the examination by employee representation, and then to customary regulatory approvals.

Provided the acquisition is finalised, the CMA CGM Group’s logistics business would be significantly strengthened, making CMA CGM one of the ‘top five’ players in global logistics. CMA CGM is already the world’s third largest container shipping company, behind MSC and Maersk.

The combined operations of the CMA CGM Group’s logistics activities and Bolloré Logistics would have combined revenues of approximately USD 24 billion (based on 2022 results).

The combined entity would have an annual shipping volume equivalent to more than 2 million TEUs of sea freight and 0.8 million tons of air freight.

The CMA CGM Group operates in more than 160 countries, with 155,000 employees. This deal would add more than 14,000 new employees operating out of 350 offices in 63 different countries.

The Group’s warehouse space would increase by more than 900,000 square metres at 115 different warehouses, in addition to the 10.3 million square metres already managed by CEVA at its 900 warehouses around the world. The acquisition would also open up access to major logistics hubs, especially in France and Asia.

If, as now seems increasingly likely, the acquisition is finalised, it would significantly strengthen the CMA CGM Group’s logistics business and make it a top five player in global logistics.

The deal would be the largest since the CMA CGM Group was founded in 1978 and would represent a major strategic milestone in the Group’s development of its logistics activities, which the Group has been building since 2019, alongside the original CMA CGM shipping business.

Watch this space!

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WHARF TALK: unexpected Durban caller, rotorship – E-SHIP 1

Pictures as indicated
Story by Jay Gates

Trying to determine the best way to achieve fuel savings, and a drawing back from the use of fossil fuels has been the main driver of the IMO, and thus shipping companies, now for years. With COP promises to mitigate climate change becoming ever more to the fore, shipowners are looking at new ways to achieve the desired results in reducing fossil fuel use, making fuel savings, and reducing environmentally polluting emissions.

One would be led to believe that this is a modern driver, but don’t be fooled. The technology to achieve propelling a modern vessel with less use of fossil fuels, making the required fuel savings, and thus reducing emissions, has been around for more than a century. Only in recent years have shipowners been going back to look at this technology, and put it to good use. The problem is that, up to now, so few are doing so, and so the casual maritime observer is unlikely to get the opportunity to set their eyes upon such a vessel.

On 6th May, at 20h00 in the evening, the Rotorship E-SHIP 1 (IMO 9417141) arrived off the Durban Bluff, from Mejillones in Chile, and entered Durban harbour. Her title of Rotorship is due to the fact that she is fitted with no less than four Flettner Rotors. Her arrival was a transient event, as she was not here for working cargo, but merely calling for bunkers.

Built in 2010, originally at the Lindenau Werft GmbH shipyard at Kiel in Germany, she was completed at the Cassens Werft GmbH shipyard at Emden in Germany. The change of shipyards, halfway through construction, was due to the fact that the credit crisis of 2008 caused the Lindenau shipyard to go out of business.

At 130 metres in length, ‘E-Ship 1’ has a deadweight of 10,020 tons. She has diesel electric propulsion, and power is provided by two Caterpillar 3512 generators producing 1,500 bhp (1,119 kW) each, and with a further five Caterpillar 3508 generators producing 1,000 bhp (746 kW) each. These provide power to Enercon motors, driving two fixed pitch propellers for a service speed of 14.5 knots. For added manoeuvrability ‘E-Ship 1’ has two bow transverse thrusters, and one stern transverse thruster.

Whilst she has conventional diesel electric propulsion, ‘E-Ship 1’ also has two exhaust gas boilers, which provide steam power to a Siemens steam turbine, which drives the Flettner Rotors. The rotors cut down fuel consumption, thus reducing operating costs for the owners, and reduce emissions. The use of four Flettner Rotors on ‘E-Ship 1’ is reported to result in a fuel costs saving of as much as 30%.

The Flettner Rotors are designed to rotate anywhere from 0 rpm, up to 350 rpm, and are 25 metres in height, with a diameter of 4 metres. The use of the Flettner Rotors takes advantage of what is known as the Magnus Effect. The principle of the Flettner Rotor sail is that a spinning cylinder in a moving airstream creates a lateral force, that is perpendicular to the direction of the airstream which, when used on ships, provides lift, which on a ship is translated into thrust, and thus propels the ship to move forward.

The Magnus Effect is known to all of us who play ball sports, but not readily realised. It is the reason that David Beckham was able to bend a football around a defensive wall, or why Shane Warne could make a cricket ball deceive any batsman. It is because the Magnus Effect, in layman’s terms, is that any ball which is given a spin, and is moving through an air mass, will change direction and accelerate. It was described in 1852 by German Scientist Heinrich Magnus (1802-1870), although Sir Isaac Newton had described the same effect, in different terms, two centuries before.

The Flettner Rotor is named after Anton Flettner (1885-1961), a German Engineer who, in 1920, developed the principle of using a rotor to harness the Magnus Effect on a vessel, in order to propel it forward. In 1924 he converted a 54 metres Sailing Schooner, replacing its masts with two Rotors to demonstrate its use. The vessel was named ‘Buckau’ and it was fitted with two 18 metres tall Rotors, with a diameter of 3 metres, which were driven by an electric propulsion system producing just 50 hp. Her first commercial voyage was in February 1925, and was to carry a cargo of timber from Danzig in German Prussia (now Gdansk in Poland) to Leith, which is the port of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Very much a ‘green’ vessel, ‘E-Ship 1’ is equipped with a biological clarification plant, a waste management system, a ballast water treatment system, and a SCR Catalytic converter. Her green credentials, along with her Flettner Rotors, are due her ownership.

She is owned and operated by Enercon GmbH, of Aurich in Germany, and is managed by Auerbach Schiffahrt GmbH of Hamburg in Germany. Enercon are one of the world leaders in wind turbine technology, and have factories located in eight countries around the world that manufacture every component, and structure, utilised in both onshore, and offshore, wind turbines and wind farms.

Enercon had ‘E-Ship 1’ built in order to transport their wind turbines around the world. To enable her to reach almost any destination, she was built to Germanischer Lloyd E3 Ice classification, which allows her to operate in first year Baltic Ice of 0.8 metres thickness. The first commercial voyage of ‘E-Ship 1’, once commissioned in 2010, was to carry wind turbine components from Emden in Germany, to Dublin in Ireland, for the Castledockrell Wind Farm. The wind farm is onshore, and is located in County Wexford, and consists of twelve wind turbines, with an electrical producing capacity of 41.4 MW.

For her cargo carrying operations, ‘E-Ship 1’ is equipped with two Liebherr CBW100 cranes, both with a lifting capacity of 90 tons, and which can be used in tandem to lift 180 tons. She is also fitted with a stern ramp to allow wheeled cargo to be loaded. This lift on-lift off capacity, together with her roll on- roll off capabilities makes ‘E-Ship 1’ a Ro-Lo class of vessel.

She has a single hold which is 90 metres in length, 20 metres in width, and has a depth of 19 metres. The hold has a capacity of 20,898 m3, and is on three levels, being a tweendeck, a ro-ro deck, and a tanktop deck, Her tanktop deck strength allows for heavy cargoes with a capacity for 18 tons/m2 to be loaded. She also has a container carrying capacity of 847 TEU.

Sadly, despite the dangers that climate change is bringing, and the seemingly unwillingness of the shipping industry to diversify into propulsion methods, and alternative fuels, in any meaningful quantity, there are a few forward thinking shipowners that are experimenting, or have experimented, with Flettner Rotor technology.

Although their number is increasing, the vessels utilising such technology are few and far between, and include product tankers such as ‘Maersk Pelican’, bulk carriers such as ‘Afros’, Ro-Ro vessels such as ‘Estraden’, general cargo vessels such as ‘Fehn Pollux’, and passenger ferries such as ‘Viking Grace’, ‘Copenhagen’, and ‘Berlin’. There is even a small experimental catamaran yacht, named ‘Uni-Kat’, in use by the University of Flensburg in Germany, which uses a Flettner Rotor, rather than a traditional mast and sail. One of the Flettner Rotor fitted vessels, the Ro-Con vessels ‘SC Connector’, has folding rotors to allow her to pass under bridges, and thus enables her to reach upriver ports.

As her call into Durban was for bunkers and stores only, ‘E-Ship 1’ was not expected to be in port for long, and so it turned out to be. At 13h00 on 7th May, she sailed from Durban, with her AIS destination set for Tuticorin in India.

It may be a while until you see the like of ‘E-Ship 1’ again, not only due to her rare design, but because the South African government does not seem, unlike most other industrialised countries, to have any interest in wind power to provide domestic electricity for its people.

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Airfreight: Emirates expects to double its capacity in next decade

Emirates SkyCargo has added 2 Boeing 747-400Fs to its freighter fleet, showing its strong confidence in the global cargo market in a current environment of volatility.

The cargo division of Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, is expecting 15 more freighters to join its fleet from announced orders and its freighter conversion program, plus a boost in belly-hold capacity from new passenger aircraft deliveries starting with Airbus A350s in late summer 2024, followed by 777-Xs the year after.

Over the next decade, Emirates SkyCargo expects to double its existing capacity, add over 20 new destinations to its freighter network, and offer even more flexibility and services to its customers with a fleet mix of over 300 wide-body aircraft comprising: 777s, 777-Fs, 747-Fs, A350s, and A380s.

“While the current market volatility may cause others to hesitate, Emirates SkyCargo is pushing full steam ahead with our plans,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Skycargo’s Divisional Senior Vice President.

He said the medium to long term projections for global air cargo show an upward trajectory of between 3-5%. “Combine that Dubai’s strategy to double its foreign trade where multi-modal logistics will play a big role, and the economic activity happening in markets around the Gulf, West Asia, and Africa, and the opportunity for Emirates SkyCargo is clear.

“The two new 747-Fs which we have leased will give us immediate capacity, while we wait for delivery of five new 777Fs in 2024 and 2025, and 10 777-300ERs to roll out of our conversion program over the next five years. We believe even these additional planes will not be sufficient. By then, we’ll have the MRO set-up to quickly and efficiently scale-up our freighter conversion program if we needed to.”

Secured on a long-term wet-lease basis, the two Boeing 747-Fs complement Emirates SkyCargo’s existing fleet of 11 Boeing 777 freighters, and are currently being deployed to Chicago three times weekly, and to Hong Kong nine times weekly.

Emirates SkyCargo is the airfreight division of Emirates. Through its state-of-the-art hub in Dubai, Emirates SkyCargo transports cargo to 150 destinations across a global network spanning six continents. The air cargo carrier offers customers cargo capacity on its modern fleet of all wide-body Boeing 777, Airbus A380 aircraft and dedicated freighters – 11 Boeing 777-Fs and 2 747-Fs.

It operates two state-of-the-art cargo terminals at its hub in Dubai, offering transit times of as little as three hours air-to-air. The terminals offer a total cargo capacity of around one million tonnes per year, with the ability to raise this to 1.3 million tonnes. Reference www.skycargo.com

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APM Terminals marks 17 years of Apapa port concession

APM Terminals recently commemorated the 17th anniversary of its port concession agreement with the Nigerian Ports Authority for the Nigeria’s largest container terminal at Apapa in Lagos.

The moment was commemorated at an event attended by a range of high-profile dignitaries and customer representatives.

Thanking the Federal Government for granting the port concession, the Country Managing Director of APM Terminals Nigeria, Frederik Klinke, said that since 2006, the employees of APM Terminals Apapa have been responsible for ensuring cargo keeps flowing to and from importers and exporters, consumers and producers in the country.

“This has not only contributed to the economy by facilitating growing trade with the rest of the world, but also through the more than USD 440 million worth of Foreign Direct Investment made in the terminal, and most importantly, through the training and development of young Nigerians to take on increasingly senior roles in the company and further in the industry.”

Terminal Manager Steen Knudsen presented the 17th Anniversary Photobook highlighting the transformation of the terminal between 2006 and 2023.

“For APM Terminals Apapa, it has been a success story of transformation, improved efficiency, innovation, and value-added service,” he said.

Improved terminal infrastructure

Knudsen said investment by APM Terminals Apapa has led to improved terminal infrastructure. “This includes the acquisition of high-grade terminal equipment such as Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHCs), Rubber-Tyred Gantry Cranes (RTGs) and many others as well as civil works including a world standard administrative building with full information technology capacity.”

For her part, Commercial Manager Temilade Ogunniyi said the company will continue to collaborate with relevant government agencies and stakeholders to build a vibrant economy.

“Everyone has mentioned how APM Terminals Apapa has improved and transformed over the years – we owe that to our valued employees who adopted cultural and transformational changes with open arms through the past 17 years,” she said.

“I am confident to say that APM Terminals Apapa can compete favorably with terminals all over the world. What you see here is what you see in other terminals be it Europe or America.”

Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko, sent a message of praise for APM Terminals for fulfilling its concession agreement with the Federal Government and for delivering efficient service at the port.

He assured APM Terminals of NPA’s continued collaboration and support.

“You have transformed the port business and have become a force to be reckoned with. Through APM Terminals, the NPA has been able to upgrade the port facility. We must also acknowledge the fact that you have been compliant to all the rules and regulations guiding the port. We celebrate your uniqueness and expertise,” Bello-Koko said.

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Ferry operator increases frequency between Angola’s Soyo and Cabinda

 

 

As from this week Monday, the ferry operator Secil Marítima has increased the frequencies of the weekly Soyo/Cabinda route and vice versa.

This is in response to meeting both cargo and passenger demand.

The new revised service is available on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with the Wednesday service making the increase in frequency.

Ferries depart from Soyo at 08h00 and arrive in Cabinda at 11h00, while the departure in Cabinda is at 13h00, arriving back in Soyo at 16h00.

Angolan state news agency Angop reports that the measure will also help small, medium and large companies that need to transport goods between these provinces, thus facilitating the movement of people and goods and boosting the Angolan economy.

Luanda – Cabinda route

In another change of frequency, the Luanda-Cabinda ferry leaves on Mondays, returning Cabinda-Luanda on Fridays, with both departures at 08h00, arriving at 18h00.

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Operador de ferry aumenta frequência entre Soyo e Cabinda em Angola

 

 

A partir desta segunda-feira, o operador marítimo Secil Marítima aumentou as frequências das rotas semanais Soyo/Cabinda e vice-versa.

Isso é uma resposta para atender a demanda de carga e passageiros.

O novo serviço revisto está disponível às segundas, quartas e sextas-feiras, com o serviço de quarta-feira a aumentar a frequência.

Os ferries partem do Soyo às 08h00 e chegam a Cabinda às 11h00, enquanto a partida de Cabinda é às 13h00, com chegada ao Soyo às 16h00.

A agência noticiosa estatal angolana Angop informa que a medida vai também ajudar as pequenas, médias e grandes empresas que necessitem de transportar mercadorias entre estas províncias, facilitando assim a circulação de pessoas e mercadorias e dinamizando a economia angolana.

Rota Luanda – Cabinda

Noutra mudança de frequência, o ferry Luanda-Cabinda sai às segundas-feiras, regressando Cabinda-Luanda às sextas-feiras, com ambas as saídas às 08h00, com chegada às 18h00. fonte: Angop

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TNPA seeks interested to develop & operate LPG terminal at port of Cape Town

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) is calling on interested parties to respond to a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a suitable LPG terminal operator at the Port of Cape Town.

A successful operator will be required to finance, design, construct and operate the terminal in addition to common user infrastructure for the handling of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) at the Liquid Bulk Precinct in the port for a period of 25 years.

As a result of the growing demand for the commodity, the Port of Cape Town has identified vacant land for the storage and handling of LPG, which is targeted for the niche market in the City of Cape Town and parts of the Western Cape Province.

“The RFP for LPG is in line with the Port’s liquid bulk strategy for the development of alternative energy sources and supports the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy’s LPG rollout strategy,” said port manager Rajesh Dana.

RFP documents can be accessed from the National Treasury’s e-tender portal or from the Transnet website

A briefing session has been scheduled for 19 May 2023. RSVPs for the briefing session and queries for clarification in respect of this RFP must be directed to POCTLPGRFP@transnet.net

Responses to the RFP must be submitted by no later than 15 June 2023 at 16h00 as per the submission requirements of the RFP.

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Transnet Freight Rail increases manganese export capacity

The majority of South Africa’s manganese exports is handled on rail by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). This week TFR announced it is providing additional capacity on the rail network for the export of this commodity.

This increase in capacity is via the extension of the current Mamathwane crossing loop in the Northern Cape, a development that has the potential of additional revenue for TFR and an estimated R4.4 billion in foreign earnings for the South African economy.

The extension of the current loop, which is scheduled for completion at the end of July 2023, aims to improve efficiencies, and translates to a potential 1.5 million tons of additional capacity.

The construction of the loop will capacitate export efficiency in both the Cape and Ore Corridors.

TFR’s longer term expansion project will increase manganese volumes from 16 million tons to 22 million tons by 2027/28.

Additional trains

The loop extension will ensure maximum slot usage on the line between Sishen and Hotazel, enabling the movement of additional trains in this constrained section.

As things stand, TFR runs 104-wagon trains to Port Elizabeth and 125-wagon trains to Saldanha. The loop extension will result in an increase of an estimated four trains per week.

Bottleneck

The bottleneck in the rail network from the Manganese Basin in Hotazel in the Northern Cape to Port Elizabeth, or Saldanha, is the line between Hotazel and Sishen. This section of the line is currently maxed out in terms of the number of slots that TFR can enable.

Extending this loop will enable a sizeable number of additional slots over and above the current capacity in this section.

TFR says it has been engaging with industry players – both big and small – on a regular basis, to explore areas of collaboration in either improving efficiencies or creating new capacities. “Outside of this project, TFR is embarking on several other capacity creation projects in partnership with key industry players.”

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WHARF TALK: The Russians are coming

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming. It used to be a cold war cry to strike the fear of God into you but, nowadays in South Africa, it normally raises questions about why they are coming, what are they up to, and is this all legitimate and above board? Usually, it refers to the arrival of one Russian vessel, possibly two, but never as many as four together.

Each year, Cape Town does get to see up to four Russian vessels, and all connected to the Russian Antarctic Expedition programme. The odd one spends the winter in Cape Town, and the arrivals normally call for stores and bunkers, and to pick up the odd member of the scientific contingent they require for their work. Then they are off on their individual voyages to, and from, Antarctica. Very rarely, does more than one arrive at the same time, but recently all four of them were in Cape Town at the same time, but on unconnected programmes.

Back on 4th March, the research and supply icebreaker ‘Akademik Federov’ arrived back from her resupply mission to Russian bases in Antarctica. She was to spend a month in Cape Town undergoing essential maintenance. She was followed on 26th March by the second research and supply icebreaker ‘Akademik Tryoshnikov’, which arrived from St. Petersburg en route for a late season resupply voyage to Russian Antarctic bases. That was two Russians in together.

Then, on 3rd April, the marine research vessel ‘Akademik Aleksandr Karpinskiy’ arrived from a geophysical survey of Antarctic waters. The next day, 4th April, saw the arrival of the supply icebreaker ‘Vasiliy Golovnin’, arriving back from a supply mission to the Indian Antarctic bases. So for, quite probably, the first time ever, all four Russian vessels assigned for Antarctic duties, were in one port at the same time, and that port was Cape Town, ‘The Gateway to Antarctica’.

All four vessels have been reported on in previous editions of Africa Ports & Ships, between 2021 and 2022, as they arrived in Cape Town. On 5th April, both ‘Akademik Federov’ and ‘Akademik Tryoshnikov’ sailed from Cape Town, one heading south and one heading north back to St. Petersburg. On 12th April, ‘Akademik Aleksandr Karpinskiy’ sailed from Cape Town, also heading north back to St. Petersburg. This left ‘Vasiliy Golovnin’ in port, and she is still here a month later, lying at the Dormac repair quay at berth 501 in the Ben Schoeman Dock.

However, it is not these four Russians that are the unique group of visitors, as they are regulars in the port on an annual basis. Instead, Cape Town was visited over a two day period by no less than four Russian offshore anchor handling supply tugs. The question was what were they doing here at the same time, and all so far from home. Also strange was that one of them had arrived well ahead of the others, from a different direction, but had stayed off port limits, waiting off Cape Town for a week, and entering port only once one of the cohort had arrived.

On 1st May, at 05h00 in the morning, the first of the Russian anchor handling supply tugs (AHST) ‘Ossoy’ (IMO 9701102) arrived off Cape Town, from Port Louis in Mauritius, but having begun her voyage back in February from South Korea, with another stop in Singapore en route. She entered Cape Town harbour and went directly to the Cruise Passenger Terminal at E berth in the Duncan Dock.

Built in 2015 by Zhejiang Shipbuilding at Ningbo in China, ‘Ossoy’ is 72 metres in length and has a deadweight of 2,881 tons. She is powered by two Bergen Diesels, producing 12,240 bhp, giving her a bollard pull of 150 tons. She has a dynamic positioning classification of DP2, and a firefighting classification of Fifi2. Her aft working deck covers an area of 516 m2, and she has accommodation for 36 crew.

The first of four sisterships built, and the first AHST ever built by the Zhejiang shipyard, ‘Ossoy’ is a SPA150 design, and comes from the Shanghai Design Associates (SDA), who are the internal ship design team of the Sinopacific Group, who own the shipyard. This unique aspect of ‘Ossoy’ being the first AHST from SDA meant that she was awarded the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA) ‘Significant Small Ship of 2015’ award.

Although her flag was switched to that of Liberia, back in 2022, possibly as a result of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine, ‘Ossoy’ is nominally owned by Crown Libra 3 Ltd., but falls under the true ownership of FEMCO-West company of St. Petersburg in Russia, and she is managed by Genmarca Shipping Ltd., of Paphos in Cyprus.

She had been on a sanctions watch list back in May 2021, as ‘Ossoy’ was one of the Russian vessels that supported the pipelayer on the infamous Nordstream 2 pipeline project in the Baltic Sea. Although no sanctions were applied to the support vessels, all of which were Russian, sanctions were applied to the two Russian pipelaying vessels themselves.

Sanctions also meant that no Western offshore company, capable of conducting the Nordstream 2 project, would accept any contract on the project, and Russia, which had little experience in this sophisticated sphere, had to collect whatever offshore vessels were available to conduct the project themselves. Many offshore periodicals of the day commented on how the Russian fleet assigned to Nordstream 2 were not of a modern enough standard acceptable to Western operators, who were specialists in offshore oil and gas pipelaying projects.

No sooner had ‘Ossoy’ arrived, than the bunker tanker ‘Ana Nzinga’ arrived from Ngqura at 07h00 the same morning, and unusually for a bunker tanker, also went straight to E berth, tying up directly behind ‘Ossoy’. Crew were also seen coming off ‘Ossoy’ with their suitcases, so the call was not simply for stores and bunkers, but a crew change was also to take place.

Three hours later, at 10h00 on 1st May, the Russian AHST ‘Vengery’ (IMO 9451642) arrived off Cape Town, but she had come the opposite direction, from Murmansk in Russia. Although she had actually arrived a week earlier, she had held offshore, well outside Cape Town port limits, to await the arrival of her fleetmates. She entered Cape Town harbour, and also went straight to E berth in the Duncan Dock to join ‘Ossoy’, but in another unusual move, she was berthed on the outside of the bunker tanker ‘Ana Nzinga’.

Built in 2010 by Yuexin Shipyard at Guangzhou in China, ‘Vengery’ is 75 metres in length and has a deadweight of 2,577 tons. She is powered by two Caterpillar 3408C engines producing 16,315 bhp, giving her a bollard pull of 200 tons. She has a dynamic positioning classification of DP2, and a firefighting classification of Fifi1. Her aft working deck covers 504 m2, and she has accommodation for up to 42 crew.

A Havyard 842 design, and one of two sisterships originally built for the offshore ocean tug company, POSH of Singapore, she is now owned by Morsevlogistic Ltd., of St. Petersburg, and is managed by FEMCO Management of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, in the Russian Far East.

Also involved in the Nordstream 2 project, ‘Vengery’ joined the disparate pipelaying fleet in April 2021, and was also placed on a sanctions watch list. When she sailed from Murmansk, for Cape Town, she routed to the west of Ireland, and it was reported at the time that she was sailing with her AIS switched off, which is unusual for an offshore supply vessel, and illegal.

With both ‘Ossoy’ and ‘Vengery’ having completed their bunkering requirements at E berth, ‘Vengery’ was the first to sail. At 20h00 on 2nd May, she departed Cape Town, with her AIS showing her next destination to be Dakar in Senegal. The question asked is why does an AHST sail all the way from Murmansk, in partial secrecy, to Cape Town over a distance of 9,262 nautical miles, and then sail back in the same direction to Dakar over a distance of 4,455 nautical miles. A total of 13,717 nautical miles sailed, and just to take on bunkers. The answer will become apparent.

With ‘Vengery’ having sailed, ‘Ossoy’ followed her at 02h00 on 3rd May, and also with her AIS giving Dakar as her destination. The plot thickens! No sooner had the two Russian AHST vessels left Cape Town, that a third Russian AHST arrived later the same day. At 18h00, on 3rd May the Russian AHST ‘Venie’ (IMO 9451654) arrived off Cape Town, from Singapore, and went straight to the Ben Schoeman Dock, berthing at the outer lay up 700 berths.

She is, in fact, the sistership to ‘Vengery’, also being built in 2010 at the Yuexin Shipyard at Guangzhou in China. Like Vengery, she was also involved in the Nordstream 2 pipeline project, arriving in February 2021, and also going on to a sanctions watch list.

Having departed Murmansk back in December 2022, ‘Venie’ had proceeded to Okpo in South Korea, which is from where ‘Ossoy’ had started her voyage. Yet another vessel owned by FEMCO, which is an acronym for Far Eastern Marine Exploration Company, she is managed by FEMCO Management Ltd., of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The next day, at 12h00 on 4th May, ‘Venie’ sailed from Cape Town, and was the third Russian AHST to signal on her AIS that Dakar was to be her next destination.

The fourth, and last, Russian AHST to arrive was ‘Argi’ (IMO 9674608), which arrived three hours after ‘Venie’ at 21h00 on 3rd May, and again was brought into a different berth, this time to the Repair Quay in the Duncan Dock, which indicated she required some local shoreside engineering support.

Built in 2015 by Jiangsu Shipyard at Zhenjiang in China, ‘Argi’ is the biggest of the cohort, and is 85 metres in length, with a deadweight of 3,781 tons. She is powered by two diesels producing 17,620 bhp, and giving her a bollard pull of 205 tons. She also has a dynamic positioning classification of DP2, and a working deck area of 650 m2. She has accommodation for up to 60 persons.

Also owned by FEMCO, ‘Argi’ is also managed by FEMCO Management. Her engineering problem fixed, and bunkers now safely aboard, ‘Argi’ sailed from Cape Town at 10h00 on 4th May, but her AIS destination was different, in that is was given as Shanghai in China. It would seem that ‘Vengery’ had arrived to take over duties from ‘Argi’, which was returning to the Far East.

The reason for all the Cape Town arrivals of Russian AHST vessels, and all effectively at the same time, was down to the delivery voyage of the first ever floating storage unit (FSU), designed for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). The LNG FSU ‘Saam’ (IMO 9915090) was not under sanctions, as she had been ordered three years ago, paid for, and completed, before sanctions had been applied due to the Ukraine invasion. She was held offshore Cape Town as each pair of AHST took it in turn to enter Cape Town, conduct their business, and return to the FSU ‘Saam’.

Built by Daewoo Shipbuilding of Okpo in South Korea, ‘Saam’ is 400 metres in length and has a deadweight of 192,237 tons. She is capable of storing 360,000 m3 of LNG, and is the first of two LNG FSU for the Russian Arctic ‘Yamal’ project. She cost US$748.2 million (ZAR13.78 billion) to construct, and is owned by the Russian State Transport Leasing Company, and operated by Arkticheskaya Perevalka.

She departed Okpo on 22nd February, under the tow of ‘Ossoy’, ‘Venie’ and ‘Argi’, on a 12,000 nautical mile journey, originally via the Suez Canal, bound for Ura Bay, an ice free fjord located at 69°19’N 32°48’E, some 40 nautical miles northwest of the port of Murmansk. Her position is very close to the closed military town of Vidyayaevo, which is the home to the Russian Navy Northern Fleet Submarine Base.

The purpose of the LNG FSU ‘Saam’ is that the Yamal LNG project, which is located in the Russian Arctic, is icebound for most of the year. To access the LNG terminal at Yamal, a fleet of 15 icebreaking LNG tankers were constructed between 2016 and 2019, to be able to export LNG year round from both Yamal, which became operational in 2017, and the new Gydan LNG field.

These specialised icebreaking LNG tankers, which are of ARC7 classification, and capable of breaking ice that is 2 metres thick, will export the LNG from Yamal, and without the need for independent icebreaker assistance, will transport the LNG to the ice-free Ura Bay, where it will be transshipped into the FSU. From there, standard ocean going LNG tankers will be able to load the LNG for export to European destinations.

A second LNG FSU is due for completion soon by Daewoo, and is destined for an ice free bay close to Sakhalin Island, in the Russian Far East, where it will do the same as the FSU ‘Saam’, but for the Far East market. The specialised icebreaking LNG tankers have conducted proving winter voyage from Yamal using the Northern Sea Route, to both Europe and the Far East, to show that year round independent voyages can be undertaken.

Arrival off Murmansk, of FSU ‘Saam’ and her three AHST towing team, is scheduled for June, with commissioning expected to be before the end of 2023. The LNG operation is being conducted by Novatek, but the sanctions applied to Russian, and her export of LNG, due to the Ukraine invasion, will hamper their ability to export LNG, and for western shipowners to send their LNG tankers to Ura Bay to load the LNG cargoes.

Normally, any long oceanic towing voyage of an oil and gas asset would be carried out by the specialised towage companies with ultra-modern, and powerful, ocean tugs, such as the ALP Group, Boskalis, and POSH. However, due to sanctions, and no western specialised company willing to undertake the towing mission, as with Nordstream 2, the Russians had to cobble together a disparate fleet from all around the globe, in order to complete the towing voyage.

Interestingly, although ‘Venie’ was displaying Dakar as her AIS destination on sailing from Cape Town, she did not join ‘Ossoy’ and ‘Vengery’ on the towage of FSU ‘Saam’, but instead she is steaming north separately at 10 knots, some 100 nautical miles to the Northeast of the other two, who were towing FSU ‘Saam’ at 6.8 knots.

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Mauritius: Boosting maritime security

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

According to a statement from the IMO media service on 4 May the organization is working with the Mauritian maritime administration to put in place a legal framework that gives full and complete effect to IMO instruments dealing with maritime security.

A three-day workshop was held from 2 to 4 May in Port Louis, Mauritius, hosted by the Shipping Division, under the Ministry of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping. This brought together thirty participants from key national agencies*.

Opening the event, Mr Sudheer Maudhoo, the Mauritian Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping, welcomed the capacity building initiatives provided under the project on Port Security and Safety of Navigation in Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean**.

In his key-note address, he stressed the need for enhanced cooperation at both regional at international level, to be able to respond to maritime security threats.

Mr Alan Ganoo, Minister of Land, Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, also welcomed the initiative. Emphasising the importance of establishing a framework in the region, he stated that port security and safety of navigation remains a top priority for Mauritius.

Topics discussed during the event include flag, port, and coastal State obligations relevant to the ISPS Code, as well familiarity with the content of IMO circular MSC.1/Circ.15253*** on Guidance for the development of national maritime security legislation.

It is anticipated that future workshops will involve further IMO collaboration with implementing partners, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and INTERPOL, with coordination from the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) and funding from the European Union.

The workshop is the latest in a series of activities under the EU-funded project on Port Security and Safety of Navigation in Eastern and Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean. Under the project, IMO aims to assist the nine beneficiary countries to enhance maritime security and safety within the region in line with the 2050 Africa’s Integrated Maritime Strategy.

* The Office of the Attorney General; Prime Minister’s Office; Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade; Minister of Blue Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping (Shipping Division, and Fisheries Division); Mauritius Port Authority; Mauritius Police Force; National Coast Guard; Mauritius Revenue Authority; Tourism Authority; Mauritius Radio Services; National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Centre (NDRRMC); Passport & Immigration Office; Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd.

** CLICK HERE

*** AND HERE

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Invictus Energy finds payable oil, gas and helium in Zimbabwe’s Cabora Bassa Basin

Watch a YouTube announcement by Invictus [1:45]

Australian-listed independent upstream oil and gas company, Invictus Energy, last week confirmed the discovery of light oil, gas condensate, and helium at its Zimbabwe project near the Cabora Bassa Basin.

Cabora Bassa Basin is one of the largest under-explored interior rift basins in Africa.

The announcement saw its shares rising by 8.7%.

According to Invictus Energy, the Mukuyu-1 well that was drilled in 2022 showed from an analysis of mudgas the presence of hydrocarbons in multiple reservoir pay zones.

“Analysis shows the presence of light oil and rich natural gas condensate, with condensate gas ratios estimated at between 30 and 135 barrels per million cubic feet,” Invictus said.

Equally important, the analysis showed the presence of helium gas in commercial concentrations that are comparable to helium producing fields.

A second well known as Makuyu-1 will be drilled during the third quarter of this year.

Mukuyu-2 will also test additional prospectivity in the deeper Upper Angwa and undrilled Lower Angwa, which were not penetrated in the Mukuyu-1/ST1 campaign, providing further upside potential.

It will also aim to test the Post Dande horizon away from the major east-west fault on the southern flank.

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The Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, 6 May 2023

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

During the Service in Westminster Abbey, at the exact moment the St Edward’s Crown was placed on the King’s head, celebratory 21-gun salutes were fired across the UK, in Gibraltar, Cyprus and Bermuda, and on deployed Royal Navy ships in tribute to His Majesty.

In London, members of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery fired a six-gun salvo on Horse Guards Parade, using 13 Pounder Quick Fire Howitzers – all of which saw active service in the First and Second World Wars. At the same time The Honourable Artillery Company fired a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

The UK Armed Forces conducted their largest ceremonial operation for 70 years on 6 May and accompanied Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla to the Coronation service at Westminster Abbey.

More than 7,000 soldiers, sailors and aviators from across the UK and Commonwealth participated in ceremonial activities across processions, fly pasts and gun salutes marking the historic event. With around 200 personnel providing a Guard of Honour at Buckingham Palace, together this made up the largest UK military ceremonial operation for 70 years.

As well as marching detachments from across the Household Division, Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force, more than 400 troops from the Commonwealth nations and British Overseas Territories were on parade, representing the diversity and traditions of Armed Forces around the globe with connections to His Majesty The King.

Foot Guards of the Household Division lined The Mall, the Royal Navy lined their spiritual home at Admiralty Arch, the Royal Marines at Trafalgar Square and the Royal Air Force in Whitehall and Parliament Square.

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WHARF TALK: finale ship of the season – SEVEN SEAS MARINER

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

It feels like that no sooner has it started, that it has finished. I am, naturally, referring to the 2022-2023 cruise season. Yet, this particular cruise season for the austral summer, to all South African ports, started a full seven months ago. That’s right, seven whole months, believe it or not, as a certain Mr. Ripley would say.

It was as far back as 19th October 2022, as reported in the 21st October edition of Africa Ports & Ships, that the German expedition cruise ship ‘Hanseatic Explorer’ entered Cape Town Harbour to kick off the first full season, post the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown. Since then, literally dozens of cruise ship callers, of all shapes and sizes, and some multiple times, have entered all ports on the Southern African coast in that period.

If this season is the shape of things to come, then the 2023-2024 cruise liner season to South Africa will be something to look forward to. As can be expected, this current season had to end at some point. Finally, the last cruise liner caller, at the last South African port along the route, has made the last arrival, of the last cruise itinerary, to close off the 2022-2023 cruise season.

On 5th May, at 09h00 in the morning, the passenger cruise liner SEVEN SEAS MARINER arrived off Cape Town, from Mossel Bay, and entered Cape Town harbour to proceed directly to the Passenger Cruise Terminal, at E berth in the Duncan Dock. This was her 60th port call on a mammoth 143 day, 73 port, itinerary which was advertised as the ‘Navigate the World’ cruise.

Built in 2001 by Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard at St. Nazaire in France, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ is 216 metres in length and has a gross registered tonnage of 47,075 tons. She is powered by four Wärtsilä 12V38B generators producing 6,700 kW each, which provide electrical power to drive two Rolls-Royce Mermaid Azipods providing 8,500 kW each, to give her a service speed of 20 knots. For added manoeuvrability she has two bow transverse thrusters.

When built, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ was the first passenger vessel in the world to offer all suite, all balcony cabins, with no inside cabins in her design, nor any cabins which simply offered an ocean view through windows, or port holes. Her passenger carrying capacity is 696, with 348 cabins located over 5 decks. She operates with a crew of 459.

With 12 decks in total, of which 8 are passenger decks, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ offers a wide variety of passenger venues, with four restaurants, four cafés, four bars, three lounges, a theatre, a casino, a library, a card room, a gymnasium, a spa, and a swimming pool. She also offers a small set of boutique shops, and a whole deck set aside for traditional deck sports.

Nominally owned by Mariner LLC, of Plantation in Florida, in the USA, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ is operated by Regent Seven Seas Cruises Incorporated, of Miami in Florida, and is managed by Prestige Cruise Services LLC, of Doral in Florida, with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Incorporated, also of Miami in Florida, being the parent company.

This was the second call this season of a passenger vessel from Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as her fleetmate ‘Seven Seas Voyager’ called at Cape Town on 5th December 2022, on a cruise that had originated in Europe, and then carried a short programme of two coastal cruises around the Southern African coast, before sailing north to St. Helena and on to Brazil. Her call was reported in the 7th December edition of Africa Ports and Ships.

The ‘Navigate the World’ cruise of ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ started back in Miami in Florida, on 8th January, and will terminate in Barcelona in Spain, on 30th May, after a voyage of 143 days in duration. Along the way ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ offered Fly-Cruise options, and as is always the case, Cape Town was one of those options. Grab a World Atlas to follow her 73 port call itinerary, which is as follows:

Miami- Cartagena (Colombia)- Panama Canal- Manta (Ecuador)- Salaverry- Callao- Easter Island (all Peru)- Fakarava- Rangiroa- Raiatea- Papeete- Bora Bora (all French Polynesia)- Pago Pago (American Samoa)- Lautoka- Suva (both Fiji)- Espiritu Santo- Port Vila (both Vanuatu)- Alotau (Papua New Guinea)- Cairns- Thursday Island- Darwin (all Australia)- Benoa- Celukan Benang- Surubaya (all Indonesia)- Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei)- Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia)- Puerto Princesa- Boracay- Manila (all Philippines)- Naha- Ishigakijima (both Japan)- Keelung (Taiwan)- Hong Kong- Ha Long- Da Nang- Saigon (all Vietnam)- Laem Chabang- Koh Samui (both Thailand)- Singapore- Port Klang- Penang (both Malaysia)- Phuket (Thailand)- Sabang (Indonesia)- Colombo (Sri Lanka)- Male (Maldives)- Goa- Mumbai (both India)- Muscat (Oman)- Dubai- Abu Dhabi (both UAE)- Salalah (Oman)- Praslin- Victoria (both Seychelles)- Nosy Be (Madagascar)- Mayotte (Comores)- Maputo (Mozambique)- Richards Bay- Mossel Bay- Cape Town.

Her Fly Cruise option from Cape Town meant a night alongside in the Mother City, where she took on bunkers from the harbour bunker barge ‘Lipuma’. On departure from Cape Town her cruise continued with the following itinerary to come:

Cape Town- Walvis Bay (Namibia)- Principe (São Tomé and Principe)- Lomé (Togo)- Takoradi (Ghana)- Abidjan (Ivory Coast)- Dakar (Senegal)- Mindelo (Cape Verde)- Tenerife- Arrecife (both Canary Islands)- Agadir (Morocco)- Granada- Alicante (both Spain)- Barcelona. On completion of this magnificent cruise itinerary, she will spend the upcoming European summer cruising mainly in the Mediterranean Sea.

On one of her previous round the world cruises, back in 2009, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ carried out an ocean rescue of a round the world yacht, whose solo navigator, was in distress, whilst in a position to the west of New Zealand.

In July 2018, whilst on an Alaskan cruise, and en route between the US West Coast and British Columbia in Canada, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ reported that a 73 year old passenger had gone overboard. The US Coast Guard (USCG) MRCC at Puget Sound, near Seattle, despatched a USCG rescue helicopter, and three USCG rescue vessels to the area. The Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) MRCC at Vancouver also despatched a rescue helicopter, to search for the missing passenger.

The USCG rescue helicopter located the man in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates the US State of Washington, from British Columbia in Canada, rescued him from the water, and airlifted him to a hospital in nearby Port Angeles, in Washington State. Sadly, the man was later pronounced dead.

With her bunkers replenished, and her new set of passengers now aboard, ‘Seven Seas Mariner’ sailed from Cape Town at 17h00 on 6th May, bound for Walvis Bay in Namibia, where she is scheduled to arrive at 08h00 on 8th May.

She will not be returning to South African waters any time soon, as her forward cruise programme, published by Regent Seven Seas Cruises for the next two years ahead, does not have her calling back to Southern Africa for that whole two year period.

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A.P. Moller – Maersk inaugurates its first warehouse & distribution facility in Cape Town, South Africa

A. P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk) new 10,000 m2 bonded warehousing & distribution (W&D) facility in Cape Town will offer Maersk’s customers easy connectivity to rail, road, air and port infrastructure while playing the role of an important link in integrated logistics solutions

The W&D facility was inaugurated last week in the presence of Ryan Best, Head of Logistics & Services, Maersk Indian Subcontinent, Middle East and Africa, Lubabalo Mtya, Managing Director, Maersk Southern Africa, and other leaders from Maersk.

The new W&D facility is spread over 10,000 m2 and has an additional open yard space of 3,500 m2 The facility has over 85% area covered with racking providing for 7,000 pallet locations.

The warehouse is strategically located with access to the strategic Belcon rail siding at under 5 km, Port of Cape Town at 22 km and fast and easy connectivity to N1 and N2 highways as well as close proximity to Cape Town International Airport.

This will allow customers to use different modes of transport to move their goods to and from the Maersk warehouse. The rail siding will enable reliable, faster, cost-efficient, and greener access into/out of the port, bypassing traffic and port gate congestion.

“Our first warehouse in South Africa is a significant milestone in our journey to building integrated logistics solutions for our customers in this region,” said Lubabalo Mtya, Managing Director, Maersk Southern Africa.

“This facility strengthens our commitment to our customers by connecting and simplifying their supply chains with end-to-end logistics solutions.”

Maersk’s new W&D facility in Cape Town will become a crucial link in the end-to-end supply chain management for the customers’ cargo from origin to destination. Featuring complete data integration into its state-of-the-art Warehouse Management System (WMS), customers will be guaranteed clear visibility of their cargo’s movement and better inventory management. The facility also boasts dedicated backup power and top-notch safety for fire compliance with Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (ASIB) certification.

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Seafarer green skills momentum: African leaders urged to harness

Edited by Paul Ridgway
London

As the maritime industry transitions to a low and zero-carbon future, African policymakers are being advised to implement training infrastructure as quickly as possible to maximize high-quality employment opportunities for African workers and to facilitate the continent’s green transition.

Speakers at the Unlocking Green Maritime Jobs panel-discussion on 5 May outlined the growing demand for seafarers able to handle low and zero-carbon fuels (such as hydrogen and ammonia) and new technologies that will be needed in order to progress towards a decarbonised maritime shipping sector by 2050. This was reported by International Transport Federation (ITF) on 5 May.

Negotiations are reported as being underway in IMO Member States this July to consider a target for net zero emissions for shipping by 2050 in line with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.

Were this to be adopted, seafarer supply countries that take early action are likely to reap significant socio-economic benefits, it is understood. In fact, research commissioned by the Maritime Just Transition Task Force has found up to 800,000 seafarers could require additional training by the mid-2030s to use these low- to zero-carbon fuels under the possible net zero target.

African initiatives

Africa is well positioned to be a green seafarer hub, explains South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) Occupational Health & Safety and Maritime Welfare Manager, Sibusiso Rantsoabe.

“There is currently unprecedented demand for African seafarers and the urgent need to decarbonise creates further opportunities for our workers, who have already demonstrated their excellence in a global setting” he said.

“A supply hub of the seafarers of the future is a win-win situation that will not only benefit African countries through the creation of good quality jobs, but the entire world by lowering the environmental impact of human actions. This presents an opportunity for Africa to ensure that we are not left behind but also cement our place as a potential new crewing frontier for shipping.”

In fact, there are some noteworthy initiatives already in place. The National Seafarer Development Programme (NSDP), run by the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI), is a regional effort that is empowering the deck, engine room and fishing crew of the future and creating good jobs for workers.

SAIMI and the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC) are also due to launch an IMEC South African cadet training programme this year, with the first group of fifty cadets starting this month, May.

Rewarding efforts

As one of the world’s biggest growth markets with 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.5 trillion dollars, Africa could reap some of the rewards of shipping’s green transition.

ITF Africa Regional Secretary, Mohammed Dauda Safiyanu, pointed out that transitioning away from fossil fuels requires additional skill sets that must be properly developed. “While this is definitely a challenge, it is also an opportunity for African countries to develop their own highly skilled seafaring workforces.

“As part of a Just Transition, these jobs must be decent, which includes meeting the highest health and safety standards. They should also be fairly-paid, bringing economic benefits to the region and thereby improving parity between the global north and the global south.

“The sooner that we begin investing in green skills, the more likely it is that we can crew the low emission vessels of tomorrow. The future of green shipping in the region must involve high skill, high quality jobs for African seafarers.”

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India expresses interest in helping build Mozambique’s North-South railway

India’s Foreign Minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, says his country is interested in assisting with the gradual construction of a North-South railway to provide a ‘backbone’ for Mozambique that will link the southeastern African country by rail for the first time.

Mozambique’s existing railways were mostly built in colonial days and run from the coast to inland destinations. Each is independent with no internal connectivity, save the Nacala railway which now connects with the Beira-Tete Sena Railway system.

The foreign minister was visiting Mozambique – see Africa Ports & Ships report on his recent visit HERE

India has already provided support for Mozambique’s railway network with the acquisition of locomotives and rolling stock. Additionally, India has vested interests in Mozambican mining, particularly coal mining where Indian companies now own and operate most of the coal mining ventures in the Tete province, including the Moatize operation formerly owned and operated by Brazil’s Vale.

The Mozambique government has indicated a North-South railway is a long-standing project to connect the southern and northern provinces together with the central area of the large country. As a straight line the distance from South to North is about 1,800 kilometres.

Mozambique has a land mass slightly less than twice the size of California in the United States, and is bordered by South Africa in the south and Tanzania in the north.

Its principal ports are Maputo/Matola, Beira, Nacala and Pemba.

Mozambique’s Minister of Transport, Carlos Mesquita, said during the visit by the Indian Foreign Minister that two companies have expressed interest in the construction of a North-South railway.

He did not identify the companies and no feasibility study is known to have been produced.

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NEW BOOK

The Norwegian Merchant Fleet in the Second World War

By Kenneth L Privratsky

Published by Pen & Sword Maritime, Barnsley, S71 1HN UK
ISBN: 978 1 3990 4386 1
Pages 224; 32 monochrome illustrations
Price £15.40

Those of us who pass through the largely maritime quarter of the City of London, within the Square Mile and the EC3 postal district, will be familiar with the Merchant Navy War Memorial to both the world wars on Tower Hill.

See film extract HERE

In the Second World War, losses were considerable in the early years, reaching a peak in 1942. The heaviest losses were suffered in the Atlantic, but convoys making their way to Russia around the North Cape, and those supplying Malta in the Mediterranean were also particularly vulnerable to attack. In all, 4,786 merchant ships flying the Red Ensign were lost during the war with a total of 32,000 lives. More than one quarter of this total were lost in home waters.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Britain, desperately short of merchant shipping, turned to the Norwegians who agreed to loan several hundred of its modern cargo vessels and tankers.

By 1939, Norway’s merchant fleet was the most modern in the world with some cargo liners capable of 17 knots, which made them desirable for commercial markets. Some were refrigerated and were in high demand during the war. The Norwegians provided 150 tankers to the British immediately after the outbreak of war. By 1941 they were carrying nearly half the oil that Britain needed.

In early 1940 when Hitler invaded Norway, both the British and Germans rushed to seize the remainder of the fleet. King Haakon VII and his government, now fleeing to Britain from Nazi occupation, refused to relinquish control of this vital national asset. Instead, they nationalised the fleet and established the Norwegian Shipping and Trade Mission.

Known as Nortraship, it became overnight the largest shipping company the world had seen with a thousand ships and offices on six continents. Generously made available to Great Britain, it became a priceless Allied asset without which victory over Germany would arguably have been impossible. By the end of the war, about half Nortraship’s fleet had been lost to enemy action.

This hardback book is the story of Norway’s Merchant Fleet in the Second World War. It is a splendidly researched addition to Second World War maritime history and is claimed to be the first detailed account in English of Norway’s critical contribution to the Allies’ war effort.

Here I quote a concluding piece by the author who said, and I echo, “it is hard to imagine what would have happened if King Haakon and the Norwegian Government had not escaped the Germans and taken control of their country’s merchant fleet.”

Nortraship took part in all the naval operations of significance during the war, carrying 145 million tons of cargo for the Allies. Over 33,000 seamen sailed on Norwegian ships during the war, with 2,600 of them serving continuously from its beginning to the end.

I write this as preparations are in hand for the eightieth anniversary commemoration of the Battle of the Atlantic, known as BOA80, in the Port of Liverpool this month. According to www.usmm.org (that is the American Merchant Marine at War website) the US Navy reported the Allied United Nations lost 4,774 vessels totalling 21,141,000 tons to Axis air and sea attacks throughout hostilities. An additional 1,603 ships were lost to storms, collision and fire during the war.

The author, Major General Kenneth L Privratsky, served in the US Infantry in Vietnam before becoming a logistics specialist. He taught at the US military academy, West Point, and commanded organizations supplying US Forces worldwide. He was a military fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In civilian life he was an executive in the ocean transport industry. He writes and lectures regularly and lives in Alaska.

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Reviewed by Paul Ridgway

London Correspondent
Africa Ports & Ships

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Brazilian court ruling bans export of livestock from its ports

Brazil has joined with New Zealand in banning the export of livestock from its ports.

A federal judge in the South American country ruled that “Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear.”

This was after the National Forum for the Protection and Defence of animals filed a law suit in 2017.

But the fight to stop all mass transport of live animals by sea is not yet over in Brazil. The judge’s ruling remains subject to a possible appeal.

In New Zealand in April the government placed a ban on the live export of sheep following a petition with over 30,000 signatures asking for such a ban.

Across the Tasman Sea Australia is moving in the direction of banning livestock exports after cases where thousands of sheep have suffered and died from hunger, heat and thirst on long voyages from Australian ports to destinations in the Middle East.

There are similar pressures coming from other parts of the world, including the European Union countries, though no ban currently exists.

South Africa

In South Africa several law suits have resulted in judgements for and against individual instances of live export of sheep and cattle. The National Council for SPCAs in South Africa, is leading most of these together with attempts to place controls on the temporary handling of livestock ashore while waiting the arrival of livestock carrier ships.

Currently only the port of East London is used for these exports, with the result that appeals to the South African courts to prevent such shipments have been heard in the Grahamstown High Court in Makhanda.

In May 2021 a report in Four Paws International stated that every year 4.5 million cattle, pigs, sheep and goats are exported from the EU to third countries. It said the journeys are long, overcrowded and animals fall sick, are injured or die during transport. When loaded or unloaded, many animals endue cruelty.

Cruel and torturous

“Transporting animals overseas is cruel and torturous, and we must finally put an end to this suffering,” said Four Paws International, pointing out that tragedies at sea keep repeating.

“Thousands of sheep and hundreds of cattle had to wait and suffer on vessels when the Suez Canal was blocked in spring 2021; 2,600 cattle were killed after being stranded at sea for over three months on the vessels ‘Elbeik’ and ‘Karim Allah’ from December 2020 until March 2021; more than 14,000 sheep drowned when the ‘Queen Hind’ capsized in November 2019 close to the port of Midia, Romania.”

Calling for a ban on all live animal transports to third countries, by sea and by land, Four Paws added that if at all, only carcasses and/or genetic material (semen) should be exported.

“Animals transported from the EU to third countries are often embarked on ships that don’t even meet the minimum legal requirements for animal welfare. Most livestock vessels are very old, converted cargo vessels, and over half of them pose a high risk to maritime safety.”

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Opinion: The Outlook for African Oil in 2023 is Promising

by NJ Ayuk
African Energy Chamber

Several years ago, the African energy industry was in survival mode. The COVID-19 pandemic had practically eliminated demand for crude oil, and African exports dropped sharply.

That’s why — though many African states are still feeling the wounds inflicted by COVID — I find it encouraging to learn that Africa’s liquids supply in 2023 has reached nearly 7 million barrels per day (MMbbs/d), more than 430,000 barrels per day (bpd) above Africa’s 2020 lows of about 6.55 MMbbs/d.

This progress is among the topics covered in the African Energy Chamber’s newly released State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report. The report details the emerging trends shaping the world’s oil economy and highlights Africa’s role in meeting global demand.

And the overall outlook for African oil production in 2023 is promising.

Russian energy supplies to Europe continue to decline in the wake of the Ukraine war, Africa is poised to increase its oil and natural gas exports to the continent, and African oil supplies are expected to remain steady throughout 2023 and beyond.

Highlighting Africa’s Role in the Global Oil Economy

The State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report provides several key insights into African oil production for the remainder of this year.

The 2023 global liquids (crude + condensates) month-on-month outlook is expected to stay flat and stable with an annual average of 83.4 million bpd.

Africa’s liquids supply is expected to contribute 8% of the global volume over the year.

The continent’s top five producers—Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Angola, and Egypt—will contribute to over 80% of Africa’s 2023 liquids output.

While the majority of the production from Nigeria and Angola is from offshore projects, Algeria, Libya, and Egypt’s production comes from their respective onshore fields. Libya is expected to deliver increased 2023 production as its civil war subsides.

New Projects Across the Continent Will Drive 2023 Supply

A number of new projects are expected to drive African supply in 2023.

In Nigeria, Shell’s Bonga North project, believed to hold as much as 525 million barrels of crude, could help the country boost its production to pre-pandemic levels. Nigeria’s production is on the rebound, reaching a one-year high of 1.44 million barrels per day in February and accounting for two-thirds of the rise in OPEC’s oil production that month.

With a $10 billion investment from TotalEnergies, Uganda’s Lake Albert development, together with the Tilenga and Kingfisher projects and the 1,500-kilometre East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), is predicted to produce as much as 230,000 barrels per day.

Ghana stands to double its production to over 400,000 barrels per day with recent discoveries in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points Block, operated by Norway’s Aker Energy. Ghana will have a significant role in shaping the region’s outlook this year as it also reopens its 45,000 barrel-per-day Tema oil refinery.

Senegal’s Sangomar Field Development, reported 60% complete as of last September, is expected to yield its first oil this year. The $4.6 billion project, led by Woodside Energy in partnership with Senegal’s national oil firm Petrosen, is expected to yield approximately 231 million barrels of oil in its first phase of development, with total recoverable oil resources estimated at around 500 million barrels over its lifetime.

Angola’s output has soared, reaching 34.29 million barrels in January — an increase of more than 580,000 barrels over the prior month. Its capacity has more than tripled since it completed the rehabilitation and expansion of its 65,000 barrel-per-day Luanda Refinery.

These impressive numbers represent a significant growth trend for Africa as we move further into 2023. With more than 70 oil and gas projects slated to come online by 2025, analysts predict Africa could produce as much as 2.3 million barrels per day of crude by 2025.

Oil Production Boosts Mean New Life for African Economies

The data and forecasts in our State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report paint an encouraging picture of Africa’s energy industry. In a turbulent global oil and gas market, the continent’s oil production is steady and growing. Our oil and gas industry is poised to breathe new life into our economies and create new opportunities for Africans in 2023.

Read the full report at www.EnergyChamber.org.

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Opinion: Les perspectives du pétrole africain en 2023 sont prometteuses

par NJ Ayuk
African Energy Chamber

Il y a quelques années, l’industrie énergétique africaine était en mode survie. La pandémie de COVID-19 avait pratiquement éliminé la demande de pétrole brut et les exportations africaines avaient fortement chuté.

C’est pourquoi, bien que de nombreux États africains ressentent encore les blessures infligées par le COVID, je trouve encourageant d’apprendre que l’offre de liquides en Afrique en 2023 a atteint près de 7 millions de barils par jour (Mbps/j), soit plus de 430 000 barils par jour (bpj) de plus que les niveaux les plus bas de l’Afrique en 2020, qui étaient d’environ 6,55 Mbps/j.

Ces progrès figurent parmi les sujets abordés dans le rapport « State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report » (Rapport sur l’état de l’énergie en Afrique au 1er trimestre 2023) de la Chambre africaine de l’énergie, qui sera bientôt publié. Le rapport détaille les tendances émergentes qui façonnent l’économie pétrolière mondiale et souligne le rôle de l’Afrique dans la satisfaction de la demande mondiale.

Les perspectives générales de la production pétrolière africaine en 2023 sont prometteuses.

Les approvisionnements énergétiques russes vers l’Europe continuent de diminuer à la suite de la guerre en Ukraine, l’Afrique est prête à augmenter ses exportations de pétrole et de gaz naturel vers le continent, et les approvisionnements pétroliers africains devraient rester stables tout au long de l’année 2023 et au-delà.

Souligner le rôle de l’Afrique dans l’économie pétrolière mondiale

Le rapport « The State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report » fournit plusieurs informations essentielles sur la production pétrolière africaine pour le reste de l’année.

L’approvisionnement en liquides de l’Afrique devrait contribuer à hauteur de 8 % du volume mondial au cours de l’année.
Les cinq principaux producteurs du continent – le Nigeria, la Libye, l’Algérie, l’Angola et l’Égypte – contribueront à plus de 80 % de la production de liquides de l’Afrique en 2023.

Alors que la majorité de la production du Nigeria et de l’Angola provient de projets offshores, la production de l’Algérie, de la Libye et de l’Égypte provient de leurs champs onshore respectifs. La Libye devrait augmenter sa production en 2023 à mesure que la guerre civile s’apaise.

De nouveaux projets sur tout le continent alimenteront l’offre en 2023

Un certain nombre de nouveaux projets devraient stimuler l’offre africaine en 2023.

Au Nigeria, le projet Bonga North de Shell, qui pourrait contenir jusqu’à 525 millions de barils de brut, pourrait aider le pays à faire remonter sa production à ses niveaux d’avant la pandémie. La production du Nigeria est en train de rebondir, atteignant en février son plus haut niveau depuis un an, soit 1,44 million de barils par jour, et représentant les deux tiers de l’augmentation de la production pétrolière de l’OPEP ce mois-là.

Grâce à un investissement de 10 milliards de dollars de TotalEnergies, le développement du lac Albert en Ouganda, ainsi que les projets Tilenga et Kingfisher et l’oléoduc est-africain (EACOP) de 1 500 km, devraient produire jusqu’à 230 000 barils par jour.

Le Ghana devrait doubler sa production pour atteindre plus de 400 000 barils par jour grâce aux récentes découvertes dans le bloc Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points, exploité par la société norvégienne Aker Energy. Le Ghana jouera un rôle important dans les perspectives de la région cette année, car il rouvrira également sa raffinerie de pétrole de Tema, d’une capacité de 45 000 barils par jour.

Au Sénégal, le développement du champ de Sangomar, achevé à 60 % en septembre dernier, devrait produire son premier pétrole cette année. Le projet de 4,6 milliards de dollars, mené par Woodside Energy en partenariat avec la société pétrolière nationale sénégalaise Petrosen, devrait produire environ 231 millions de barils de pétrole au cours de sa première phase de développement, avec des ressources pétrolières récupérables totales estimées à environ 500 millions de barils au cours de sa durée de vie.

La production angolaise est montée en flèche, atteignant 34,29 millions de barils en janvier, soit une augmentation de plus de 580 000 barils par rapport au mois précédent. Sa capacité a plus que triplé depuis l’achèvement de la réhabilitation et de l’expansion de sa raffinerie de Luanda, d’une capacité de 65 000 barils par jour.

Ces chiffres impressionnants représentent une tendance de croissance significative pour l’Afrique à l’horizon 2023. Avec plus de 70 projets pétroliers et gaziers devant entrer en service d’ici 2025, les analystes prévoient que l’Afrique pourrait produire jusqu’à 2,3 millions de barils de brut par jour d’ici 2025.

L’augmentation de la production de pétrole est synonyme de renouveau pour les économies africaines

Les données et les prévisions de notre rapport « The State of African Energy Q1 2023 Report » dressent un tableau encourageant de l’industrie énergétique africaine. Dans un marché mondial du pétrole et du gaz en pleine turbulence, la production pétrolière du continent est stable et en croissance. Notre industrie pétrolière et gazière est prête à donner un nouveau souffle à nos économies et à créer de nouvelles opportunités pour les Africains en 2023.

Pour en savoir plus et lire le rapport complet, consultez le site www.EnergyChamber.org.

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