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

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

TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

News commencing Sunday 4 February 2024.  Click on headline to go direct to story : use the BACK key to return.  Additional news reports will be included as they are received.

FIRST VIEW:   QUEEN MARY 2

• DCT 2 down to single digit ships at anchor, planning ahead
• Preparations for the removal of the wreck Elke M underway
• TRADE NEWS: Can a single maritime AI research project cut 1% of total global emissions?
• In Conversation: Somaliland-Ethiopia port deal: international opposition flags complex Red Sea politics
• Ivanhoe Mines to bring 240,000 tonnes of annual export capacity along Lobito Corridor
• Give us more time, Transnet’s acting CEO tells government
• WHARF TALK: Roll-On, Roll-Off vessel – HARTLAND POINT
• CENTCOM report of 6 February attacks on Red Sea shipping
• Cape Town Container Terminal reducing backlog – Transnet
• WHARF TALK: Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tanker ECO SORCERER
• Port Maputo investing to benefit from SA port congestion
• AfDB bankrolls rolling stock for Ressano Garcia-Maputo railway
• Grindrod judged the ‘Best Company’ in Mozambique
• TFR and Kalagadi Manganese enable emerging miner entrants
• FFS Tank Terminal to develop Richards Bay Bunker fuel terminal
• WHARF TALK: cable laying vessel WILLEM DE VLAMINGH
• Construction of new Mbamba Bay Port on Lake Nyasa (Malawi) underway
• Seaforth World Naval Review 2024
• Questions asked about Maputo Port concession extension
• South African Port Statistics for the Calendar Year 2023
• WHARF TALK: multi-purpose heavylift cargo vessel BBC RAINBOW
• Transnet sees some improvement on North (Richards Bay) Corridor
• Red Sea maritime situation worsens
• Tender issued for Inhaca Island jetty
• IMO S-G’s fresh maritime agenda
• Hapag-Lloyd weighs in with a weekly ‘Citrus loader’
• Maritime Single Window – advancing digitalization in shipping
• Reload Logistics acquires Sulphur Bulk Terminal at Richards Bay
• EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND UNDER NEWS CATEGORIES…….

Masthead:  PORT OF CAPE TOWN

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

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

Join us on our journey through 2024

‘and stay up to date with Africa Ports & Ships’  – 22 years of reporting directly from Africa (est. 2002).  

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

 FIRST VIEW: QUEEN MARY 2

The Queen’s back in town!  Queen Mary 2 sailed ‘majestically’ into Durban Bay in the early hours of Sunday morning, 4 February. Cunard’s flagship is paying the first of two visits t South Africa this summer and is always a welcome sight.  The ship berthed at the Nelson Mandela Cruise Terminal alongside B berth and is due to sail in the early evening of the same day.  Pictures are by Trevor Steenkamp of Nautical Images 

Africa Ports & Ships

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

DCT 2 down to single digit ships at anchor, planning ahead

Africa Ports & Ships

The Durban Container Terminal (DCT) Pier 2 says it has maintained single digit numbers of vessels at anchor, having increased operational teams to 11 per shift on the waterside handling.

“The combination of employee allocations and evacuation of import containers averaging 35 wagons daily, via rail to back-of-port facilities, has also enabled fluidity on the landside handling,” Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said in a statement on Friday.

The terminal operator says the interventions have resulted in significant improvements and considerable decongestion of the terminal. “At the height of the vessel backlog in November, DCT Pier 2 had 43,491 import containers waiting at anchor, and has since reduced that number to 1,738,” that statement adds.

According to managing executive at the Durban Terminals, Earle Peters, there have been ongoing positive engagements with shipping lines and transporters.

“We have benefited greatly from continuously engaging with our customers and partners and heeding their feedback. The transparency is creating a win-win solution,” he said.

Peters said that terminal management will soon embark on deliberate customer visits. These are part of planning for the 2024/2025 financial year and reviewing what worked well during the November setback that delayed the offloading of import containers for extended periods.

He said the proximity of the DCT Pier 1 and the Durban Multipurpose Terminal, which form part of the Durban Terminals, has also contributed to the improved operations at DCT Pier 2.

The two terminals formed part of the contingency as smaller consignments were diverted in a bid to reduce vessels at anchor.

“The advantages of a complementary port terminal system make flexibility possible in events where we encounter challenges like the ones we had last year. Now, the terminal Planning team is hard at work finalising citrus season plans ahead of April. The terminal has already commenced with preparations.”

Footnote:
By our own inspection there were 12 container ships at anchor or drifting outside the port of Durban at 16h00 Friday 9 February (the day of the above report). Not all these will be for DCT2 with some vessels proceeding to either the Multipurpose Terminal or to DCT1 container terminal on Pier 1.

At the same time 10 container ships were working inside the port – 4 at DCT2, 2 at DCT1, 2 at the Point MPT, 1 at N-shed and 1 at 104. The latter two are likely to be undergoing engineering inspection or repairs.

Added 9 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Preparations for the removal of the wreck Elke M underway

Africa Ports & Ships

Preparations are underway for the removal of the wrecked fishing trawler, Elke M, aground near St Francis Bay.

The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) said on Wednesday that the process of appointing a contractor for the removal of the wreck is nearing completion.

The firm of Resolve Marine has been identified for the contract and the process of formalising the appointment is underway subject to conclusion of discussions with the authorities, said SAMSA.

The fishing vessel Elke M went aground in an environmentally sensitive area close to St Francis Bay on the night of Saturday, 6 January 2024. All 24 crew were brought to safety after they abandoned ship.

The removal operation, as a result of it grounding in an environmentally sensitive area, will initially concentrate on reduction of the wreck to the waterline level. This will be followed by a process to split the sub-sea section into multiple sections for scuttling.

The operation is expected to last two months and targeted for completion before the onset of the winter season.

The costs for the whole operation are covered by the Protection and Indemnity Club (P&I Club) as an insurer.

SAMSA said that in the lead-up to this phase, favourable weather and sea conditions have enabled the removal of more than 27,000 litres of marine fuel from the vessel.

The incident management team, aided by helicopter assistance, had prioritized the removal of remaining fuel and non-oil pollutants, successfully transferring these to designated disposal sites.

Pollutants and Wreck Removal Directives have been issued in line with the Wreck and Salvage Act and the Marine Pollution (Control & Civil Liability) Act, underscoring the commitment to environmental safety and compliance throughout this operation.

SAMSA will continue to oversee the operation, in close collaboration with the Incident Management Structure (IMS).

This collaborative effort involves the vessel’s owners, the insurers (P&I Club), municipal officials, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), environmental management authorities and organizations, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment and the National Department of Transport.

Added 8 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

TRADE NEWS: Can a single maritime AI research project cut 1% of total global emissions?

Africa Ports & Ships

NAVTOR and the GASS partners believe a combination of AI and digital twin technology could cut vessel emissions by around 20%

NAVTOR thinks so.

Pick your jaw up off the floor, as NAVTOR’s Bjørn Åge Hjøllo explains how the Green AI for Sustainable Shipping (GASS) initiative promises to transform the ability of shipowners and operators to slash fuel consumption, emissions and OPEX, ushering in a smarter, greener, more connected maritime future.

Sorry, what did you say?

Bjørn Åge Hjøllo, Chief Sustainability Officer at NAVTOR, smiles in recognition of the obvious disbelief.

He tries again: “I said that this project has the potential to cut 1% of all global emissions.”

1% of all shipping emissions?

“No, 1% of total global emissions… for everything.”

Sorry. What?

Data driven decarbonisation

This may be the first, but it won’t be the last, time Hjøllo is met by someone that needs to reboot their brain while struggling to comes to terms with the ambition of the Norwegian government backed GASS research project.

Led by NAVTOR, the initiative is a partnership with Grieg Star, Maritime CleanTech, Scandinavian Reach Technologies (ScanReach), Simula Research Laboratory, SinOceanic Shipping, and Sustainable Energy/SIVA, with support from the Norwegian Research Council, Innovation Norway, and SIVA.

Over the course of the next three years, it aims to champion what Hjøllo calls a “data driven approach to decarbonization” enabling shipping companies to identify, analyse and address inefficient energy use on any vessel, in any location, in any weather conditions, in real-time.

Powered by machine learning algorithms, digital twin technology, and a constant stream of high-quality data, the end result will be, says Hjøllo, “a simple, powerful decision-making tool that allows users to maintain competitiveness, achieve regulatory compliance and, in short, unlock more sustainable shipping.”

Although he makes it sound ‘easy’ there’s a lot of hard work that needs to be done first.

And this is where the partnership model comes in.

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

Added 8 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

In Conversation: Somaliland-Ethiopia port deal: international opposition flags complex Red Sea politics

Africa Ports & Ships

Jutta Bakonyi, Durham University

The memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland announced on 1 January 2024 set off diplomatic rows in the Horn of Africa – and beyond.

Details of the agreement are not publicly known, but both state leaders have touched on its content. Among the main elements:

• Ethiopia gets a 50-year lease on a strip of land on Somaliland’s Red Sea coast for naval and commercial maritime use and access to the Berbera port.
• Somaliland gets a share of Ethiopian Airlines. It also gets an undertaking that Ethiopia will investigate recognising Somaliland as a sovereign state. If it decides to do so, Ethiopia will be the first country to recognise Somaliland. The breakaway state has operated autonomously since it declared its independence from Somalia in May 1991, but lacks international recognition.

The list of countries opposed to the memorandum of understanding includes those in the region, such as Egypt, and western powers such as the US and the EU. China and Turkey add to the powerful mix.

Reasons for their objections vary. Some attest to the geopolitical significance of ports and other infrastructure like roads, dams or railways. These projects are often contested, a subject I have studied at close quarters.

Infrastructure is deeply intertwined in political identities. Ethiopia’s political leadership, for example, has declared maritime access as a “matter of survival”. It argues that the country’s historical status and its rapid economic growth entitle it to sovereign access to the sea.

Infrastructures aren’t the only drivers of dissent over the deal. But they emphasise geopolitical struggles and point to political and economic competitions that are raising worries of increasing instability in the region.

The diplomatic squabbles show re-configurations of political alliances in the Red Sea region and beyond. The memorandum of understanding has placed the question of Somaliland’s recognition into the centre of these political dynamics.

Opposition

Somalia is the biggest opponent of the port deal. The president of the federal government of Somalia, Sheikh Hassan Mohamud, declared the memorandum a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He announced Somalia would defend its territory against Ethiopian “aggression”.

However, the federal government in Mogadishu has no actual authority in Somaliland. It does not even exert full territorial control across Somalia – Al-Shabaab controls territory in south and central Somalia. The militant Islamist group also declared the agreement a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty.

So far the United Arab Emirates, a close partner of Somaliland and Ethiopia, has been silent. The UAE is increasing its influence in the Red Sea region and Africa more generally. It has containerised and manages Somaliland’s Berbera port. UAE companies are building port infrastructures across Africa. The UAE is among the largest foreign investors on the continent, following China, the US and the EU.

The lineup of globally and regionally powerful countries opposed to the deal suggests that the deck is stacked against the agreement.

The US, the EU and Turkey have invested heavily in attempts to rebuild Somalia’s state and security apparatus and to counter Islamist terrorism.

For example, Turkey took over the management of the airport and seaport in Mogadishu. It has built social and physical infrastructure in the capital, and opened its first external military base in the country.

The US and Turkey have each trained special forces in Somalia, and both countries have military on the ground. A confrontation between Somalia and Ethiopia would put their investments at risk, provide further challenges for the stability of the region and, likely, play into the hands of Al-Shabaab.

The role of the EU and of European countries is more ambiguous. The EU is a crucial financial backer of the Somalia federal government, which is part of its Horn of Africa Global Gateway Initiative.

The initiative promises to connect regional infrastructure to foster economic integration. That’s something Ethiopia also promises with the memorandum of understanding. The EU doesn’t recognise Somaliland, but provided support to build its state institutions.

The UK is even funding the Hargeisa bypass road, part of the Berbera corridor that links Somaliland’s port to the Ethiopian border.

Not surprising is the opposition of Djibouti and China. Djibouti’s seaport processes over 80% of Ethiopia’s overseas trade. Ethiopia’s use of Berbera port is likely to reduce the trade volume handled in Djibouti.

Djibouti is also a crucial location in China’s Belt and Road Initiative. China supports Djibouti’s port development, operates an international free trade zone, and funds the renovation of the railway to Ethiopia.

Eritrea and Egypt also support Somalia. This is mainly because their relations with Ethiopia have been marred with conflicts. Eritrea and Ethiopia fell out again after Ethiopia struck peace with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in November 2022.

Egypt is opposed to the building of Ethiopia’s hydroelectric Grand Renaissance Dam, which increases Ethiopia’s control of the Nile waters on which both countries depend. Egypt and Eritrea are also not eager to see Ethiopia having a naval presence, and Egypt works against the UAE’s expansion of power in the Red Sea region.

The way forward

The regional Intergovernmental Authority for Development, chaired by Djibouti, recently convened an extraordinary meeting to discuss tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia. It affirmed the territorial integrity of Somalia, but also called for de-escalation and dialogue.

Ethiopia did not attend the meeting. But Ethiopia’s president, who uses access to the sea to mobilise public support, has a lot to lose by offending these states. The country’s international reputation has already suffered from allegations of war crimes and mass atrocities in Tigray. The government’s militarised response to opposition in several regions has had a negative impact on Ethiopia’s economy and contributed to food insecurity.

The good news is that a violent confrontation between Ethiopia and Somalia seems unlikely. Ethiopia would risk political isolation, as major world powers and regional organisations, such as the African Union and Arab League, have confirmed Somalia’s territorial integrity.

The winner of rising political tensions in the region would be al-Shabaab, which is already calling Somalis to defend their land from foreign interference.

The most likely loser of the diplomatic row is Somaliland, which now seems even more unlikely to receive the international recognition it so craves.

Jutta Bakonyi, Professor in Development and Conflict, Durham University

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

Added 8 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Ivanhoe Mines to bring 240,000 tonnes of annual export capacity along Lobito Corridor

Africa Ports & Ships

Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula has entered into a Reserve Capacity Agreement to transport along the Lobito rail corridor a minimum of 120,000 tonnes and a maximum of 240,000 tonnes per annum of blister-anode or concentrate.

The agreement is for a minimum five years starting in 2025, following a ramp-up year in 2024.

Ivanhoe Mines says the costs of exporting mineral products along the Lobito Corridor are expected to be cheaper than the current market price for trucking via the existing export routes (see Figure 1), and the rates are anticipated to reduce further as volumes transported along the line increase.

Initial trial shipments, as originally announced in August 2023, and which commenced in December 2023, have been extended with a further 10,000 tonnes to be transported along the corridor during 2024.

“We admire the hard work of the Lobito Corridor consortium and Trafigura, working with their partners in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola, to build a new supply chain that is fast becoming one of the most important trade routes for vital copper metal in the world,” said Ivanhoe Mines’ Founder and Executive Co-Chairman, Robert Friedland.

Lower logistical costs

He said the transformative economic corridor will unlock more copper projects due to the lower logistical costs.

“Cheaper logistics increase the amount of economically recoverable copper across the Copperbelt, as cut-off grades can be lowered,” Friedland said.

“This makes a significant impact on discoveries made in the DRC, such as the recent high-grade and open-ended Kitoko copper discovery in the Western Foreland, where we are stepping up exploration activities this year to find more ultra-green copper metal.

“Kitoko is located only 30 kilometres from the existing rail line.”

Trafigura Group Executive Chairman and CEO, Jeremy Weir welcomed Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula in becoming the first customer to sign a term sheet to export minerals along the Lobito Rail Corridor.

“As a consortium member, Trafigura has also now signed a term sheet over a minimum term of six years, supporting the consortium’s aim to grow the volumes on the corridor so that it becomes the leading rail transport link in sub-Saharan Africa,” Weir said.

The Lobito Atlantic Railway Corridor is a Cape gauge rail line that links the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Copperbelt to the port of Lobito in Angola. The rail line extends 1,289 kilometres east, from the port of Lobito to the Angola-DRC border town of Luau.

Map of export routes currently used by Kamoa-Kakula in red, as well as the Lobito Corridor route in orange. Logistics costs currently account for ~30% of Kamoa-Kakula’s total cash costs, due to the long in-land distances travelled by road for exports to reach port.

The line then extends a further 450 kilometres east into the DRC, on the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer du Congo (SNCC) rail network, to the city of Kolwezi (see Figure 1).

The line passes within five kilometres of the Kamoa-Kakula license boundary and through Ivanhoe’s Western Foreland holdings (see Figure 2 below).

Durban, Dar es Salaam, Beira & Walvis Bay

Kamoa-Kakula currently trucks its copper concentrates by road across sub-Saharan Africa to the ports of Durban in South Africa and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, as well as Beira in Mozambique and Walvis Bay in Namibia.

In 2023, approximately 90% of Kamoa-Kakula’s concentrates were shipped to international customers from the ports of Durban and Dar es Salaam, where an average round-trip takes approximately 40 to 50 days.

The distance from Kamoa-Kakula to the port of Lobito is approximately half that compared with the port of Durban, and transportation by rail is significantly quicker and less energy-intensive.

An initial trial shipment, consisting of two trains carrying approximately 1,110 tonnes of Kamoa-Kakula’s copper concentrate, was loaded onto rail wagons at the Impala Terminals warehouse in Kolwezi and departed west along the Lobito Corridor on 23 December 2023.

The shipment arrived at the port of Lobito eight days later on 31 December 2023. Since then, shipments transporting the remaining tonnes from the trial shipment have continued regularly.

Lobito Atlantic Railway

Lobito Atlantic Railway (LAR) is a consortium that has a 30-year concession for railway services and supports logistics on the Lobito Corridor. It is comprised of leading global commodities trading group Trafigura Pte Ltd, of the Republic of Singapore, Mota-Engil Engenharia e Construcao Africa SA (Mota-Engil), of Porto, Portugal, and Vecturis SA, of Brussels, Belgium.

The consortium has committed to invest US$455 million in Angola and up to a further $100 million in the DRC on the improvement of the Lobito Corridor’s rail infrastructure, capacity and safety, including rolling stock consisting of over 1,500 wagons and 35 locomotives.

The Lobito Corridor will also reduce congestion on the DRC’s other logistics corridors, and dramatically reduce the cost of exporting from and importing into the DRC Copperbelt.

On 9 September 2023, the United States and European Union jointly announced their support for the Lobito Corridor through the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII). The PGII, founded in 2022, is a collaborative effort by G7 nations to fund infrastructure projects in developing nations. DRC, Angola and Zambia will benefit from accelerated social and economic development as a direct consequence of this support.

The LAR Corridor is expected to significantly improve the logistical costs and reduce the Scope 3 emissions carbon footprint of Kamoa-Kakula copper exports, especially once the rail spur has been built connecting the line directly to Kamoa-Kakula.

The development of Ivanhoe’s current and future copper discoveries within the Western Foreland basin will also greatly benefit from the Lobito Corridor.

Ivanhoe Mines is a Canadian mining company focused on advancing its three principal projects in Southern Africa; the expansion of the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC, the construction of the tier-one Platreef palladium- rhodium- platinum- nickel- copper- gold project in South Africa; and the restart of the historic ultra-high-grade Kipushi zinc-copper-germanium-silver mine, also in the DRC.

Ivanhoe Mines also is exploring for new copper discoveries across its circa 2,400 km2 of 80-100% owned licenses, as well as on the 247 km2 of newly acquired joint venture licenses, in the Western Foreland located adjacent to the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Complex in the DRC.

Pictures/|Figures source : Ivanhoe Mines

Added 8 February 2023

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Give us more time, Transnet’s acting CEO tells government

Africa Ports & Ships

Transnet acting chief executive Michelle Phillips says that the logistic reforms necessary to place the port and rail divisions on an even keel are going to take time and should not be rushed.

Phillips was speaking on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba being held in Cape Town this week. In an interview with Reuters she is reported to say that Transnet has informed the government that it requires more time to effect the changes and reforms necessary to turn around the affairs in the ports and on rail.

Saying that Transnet was in discussion with the National Treasury and the shareholder about the timeline presented to Transnet, Phillips said alternate dates had been provided to government. Dates such as March are too early and rushed solutions will not succeed, she said – “we have provided alternate dates.”

In December when approving funding for Transnet, government issued a Freight Logistics Roadmap – aimed at addressing the serious challenges faced by Transnet and the industry sector, and to reform the logistics system in the long term.

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said at the time that the challenges in the industry “pose a significant constraint” on the South African economy, its growth prospects and job creation.

“The immediate priority is to stabilise and improve the operational performance of the freight rail network, which presents a severe constraint on exports,” Ntshavheni said.

“The main implementation mechanism for the short-term interventions will oversee operational improvement through five corridors, with full alignment with the Transnet board approved turnaround plan which identifies short and medium term actions to improve operations and stabilise the company’s finances.”

Private sector involvement

The Roadmap includes plans for greater private sector involvement in the country’s rail and port networks.

Among the provisions are the creation of a separate infrastructure management unit and a timeframe for appointing an infrastructure manager by March 2024, as well as allowing requests from private players for rights to operate parts of the freight rail network from April.

Phillips said that while Transnet supported the proposed reforms, there was a concern that if things were rushed mistakes would be made.

Transnet Board chairperson, Andile Sangqu, however, intimated that deadlines provided to government would be met.

“One of the things that is important for us to do, is to do the kind of things that we have said we will. If we’ve said we are going to do something, that we do.”

The chairperson said the board has promised it was going to appoint a permanent leadership between December and the end of February. “I’m happy to say we are on course and will be able to deliver on the commitment,” he stated.

Video interview with Transnet Board chairperson:[2:21]

CLICK HERE for interview with chairperson of the Transnet Board, Mr Andile Sangqu, at this week’s Mining Indaba 24 being held in Cape Town.

Added 7 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Roll-On, Roll-Off vessel – HARTLAND POINT

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

The one kind of vessel that was probably not expected to be a diversionary visitor to South African shores would be one with a military connection. Most casual maritime observers are very well aware that there are two elements to British naval forces, and that is the Royal Navy itself, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary that supports it. What few casual maritime observers are aware of is that there is a third much smaller squadron, known as the Point Class Sealift Ships.

These vessels are a result of a Strategic Defense Review, that looked into how to provide British Forces worldwide with a non-military sealift capability, and one that did not come about from the previously utilised ‘Ships Taken Up From Trade’, or STUFT vessels, as happened in the Falklands War in 1982.

A Public Finance Initiative (PFI) project was set up by the Ministry of Defence for the strategic transport of military cargoes, and vehicles, in times of national need. A class of specially designed roll-on, roll-off, transport vessels, with strengthened decks for the carriage of heavy military armoured vehicles, would be built and utilised for this purpose, being both owned by, and manned by, British civilian contractors.

The PFI outcome was for a class of six Ro-Ro vessels to be built, where four of them would be for permanent engagement on military transport activities worldwide, and with a further two Ro-Ro vessels being utilised, in normal times, on commercial charters with a maximum 30 day recall agreement, should the security situation result in the military requiring their use.

The PFI agreement is set to run until the end of 2024, with a potential 5 year extension to 2030, should a new agreement be concluded that requires a new class of vessel. Similarly, as with Royal Fleet Auxiliary crews, the crews on the Sealift vessels are considered to be part of the Naval Reserve, and will come under Naval Discipline in times of conflict.

On 4th February, at 08:00 in the morning, the Roll-On, Roll-Off, vessel ‘Hartland Point (IMO 9248538) arrived off Cape Town, from Mombasa in Kenya, and immediately entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock, and going alongside the Cruise Passenger Terminal at E berth, which is a strange berth for such a vessel. A Ro-Ro vessel in Cape Town is a very rare occurrence, and her arrival was solely due to the Houthi menace in the southern Red Sea.

Built in 2002 by the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard, at Belfast in Northern Ireland, and the same place where the great ‘Titanic’ was built, ‘Hartland Point’ is 193 metres in length, and has a deadweight of 13,274 tons. She is powered by two MaK 7M43 seven cylinder, four stroke, main engines providing 17,130 bhp (12,600 kW), and driving two controllable pitch propellers for a service speed of 17 knots. For added manoeuvrability she has a bow transverse thruster.

Cargo is loaded by a Stern Ramp, with a deck loading strength of 77 tons/m2. There is also a Side Ramp on the starboard side of ‘Hartland Point’ which has a deck loading strength of 68 tons. She has 3 vehicle decks, and a capacity of 2,650 lane metres, which gives her the capability of loading up to 220 vehicles, including 130 armoured fighting vehicles, and 70 military trucks, plus support vehicles, and ammunition, totaling 13,000 tons.

She has a container carrying capacity of 668 TEU, with deck plugs provided for 30 reefers. For loading, and discharging her container capacity, ‘Hartland Point’ has a crane capable of lifting 40 tons, which is offset to the starboard side of the vessel. She has a range of 9,200 nautical miles, and carries a crew of 22, with additional accommodation provided for 12 persons.

Built to an upgraded, popular German design known as the Flensburger RoRo-2700 series, the six sealift vessels are known as the Point Class, and all were named after Lighthouses of the Trinity House Lighthouse Service, namely ‘Beachy Head’, ‘Longstone’, ‘Anvil Point’, Hurst Point’, ‘Eddystone’, and ‘Hartland Point’. Hartland Point Lighthouse was built in 1874, and is located on the North Devon coast, providing reassurance to mariners navigating the Bristol Channel.

Owned by Foreland Shipping Ltd., of London, whose FSL company logo is displayed on her funnel, ‘Hartland Point’ is operated by Andrew Weir Shipping Ltd., of London, and managed by AW Ship Management Ltd., also of London. The casual maritime observer will be aware that Andrew Weir were the owners of the great Bank Line, whose vessels regularly called at South African ports on their round the world cargo service. They are also the same company that operated the ‘RMS St. Helena’ mail ship.

In 2013, it was decided by the UK Ministry of Defence that due to budget constraints, and defence cutbacks, that the two Ro-Ro vessels of the class used primarily on commercial charters would be laid up and sold on. The four remaining Ro-Ro vessels continue on their military support work, including providing one vessel to act as the Falkland Islands Resupply Ship (FIRS), as well as providing vessels to the 15 vessel NATO Sealift Consortium.

The question of why a British Military Sealift vessel is in the Indian Ocean is easily explained when you look back at her current voyage. Sailing in early December from the Marchwood Military Port, located at 50°53’ North 001°26’ West, near Southampton in the United Kingdom, ‘Hartland Point’ first called at Gibraltar, where there is a large British Military presence, and then she went on to the port of Limassol in Cyprus, where there is also a large British Military presence. From there, she transited through the Suez Canal, before the Houthi attacks started.

She then called in at Jeddah, where there is a small British Military training mission, before exiting the Red Sea and calling in at the port of Duqm, in Oman. Here the British Military operate the United Kingdom Joint Logistics Support Base (UKJLSB), which is based in the port and facilitates the deployment of Naval forces in the Indian Ocean to provide security patrols, which are provided by the Royal Navy Littoral Response Group (South). Duqm also supports the Joint Training Area (JTA), where joint British and Omani Army training takes place.

From Duqm, ‘Hartland Point’ proceeded to Mina Sulman in Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf. Here the United Kingdom Naval Support Facility (UKNSF), previously known as HMS Jufair, is located and where a flotilla of five naval vessels, comprising a Frigate, three Minesweepers and a Fleet Auxiliary are based to provide training and security for the Persian Gulf region.

Her last port, prior to the arrival in Cape Town of ‘Hartland Point’ was Mombasa in Kenya. Here the British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) operates from three bases throughout Kenya, and where up to six Infantry Battalions exercise each year. The permanent staff of 100 military personnel includes Royal Engineers who provide infrastructure projects for the local population, and Army Medical staff who provide free local healthcare provision and assistance.

On her previous voyage, whilst passing the Canary Islands, and en route back to Marchwood Military Port, ‘Hartland Point’ rescued 54 persons, who were aboard an inflatable craft some 100 nautical miles south of Las Palmas. They were all migrants making the illegal voyage from Senegal, in the hope of a better life in Europe, and their boat was in danger of sinking in rough seas, with one of those onboard the inflatable having already died from exposure. Many others were hypothermic, and they were landed in Las Palmas to be transferred into the care of the Spanish authorities.

Back in Cape Town, after two days alongside, ‘Hartland Point’ had completed her uplift of bunkers, stores and fresh provisions, and was ready to sail. At 10:00 in the morning of 6th February, she sailed from Cape Town, with her AIS showing her destination to be Marchwood Military Port in the UK. By the time she arrives home later this month, she will have circumnavigated the continent of Africa, a feat that she was probably not expecting to do when she first sailed from Marchwood in early December.

Added 7 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

CENTCOM report of 6 February attacks on Red Sea shipping

Africa Ports & Ships

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued the following report of an attack by missiles in the Southern Red Sea on Tuesday (6 February).

On Feb. 6, from approximately 1:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Arabian Standard Time) Iranian-backed Houthi militants fired six anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBM) from Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen toward the Southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Three of the ASBMs were attempting to hit MV Star Nasia, a Marshall Island-flagged, Greek owned-and-operated bulk carrier transiting the Gulf of Aden.

At approximately 3:20 a.m., MV Star Nasia reported an explosion near the ship causing minor damage but no injuries. At 2 p.m. another missile impacted the water near the ship with no effect. At 4:30 p.m., USS Laboon (DDG 58), operating near MV Star Nasia, intercepted and shot down a third anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

MV Star Nasia remains seaworthy and is continuing toward its destination.

The remaining three ASBMs were likely targeting MV Morning Tide, a Barbados-flagged, UK-owned cargo ship operating in the Southern Red Sea. The three missiles impacted the water near the ship without effect. MV Morning Tide is continuing its journey and is reporting no injuries or damage. source:

Added 7 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Cape Town Container Terminal reducing backlog – Transnet

Africa Ports & Ships

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said on Tuesday that the backlog at the Cape Town Container Terminal (CTCT) was being reduced, after having completed three vessels in a single shift over the weekend.

This saw four container vessels at anchor reduced to one, and that despite three hours of lost time due to fog.

According to TPT, the recent marked improvement in productivity demonstrates responsive plans that have been put in place on the road to recovery.

The problem with this type of measuring is that the goalposts are constantly being moved. Whilst there may be only one container ship outside waiting for the container terminal, that situation can change hourly as additional ships arrive. For as long as the terminal is taking an average of four days to work a ship at the container terminal, it is inevitable that other vessels will arrive and join the queue.

In fact, by 19:00 on Tuesday, not one but three container ships were at anchor outside – MSC Rida, MSC Anchorage and Maersk Nansha.

Inside port, CTCT had three ships on berth – MSC Lorena, Cosco Izmir and Santa Rita, with a fourth ship, MSC Singapore over at the MPT in the Duncan Dock.

Two of the ships outside may well be intended for the MPT rather than CTCT, leaving just the single vessel for CTCT.

Nevertheless, this is welcome progress the TFR teams at CTCT and the MPT are reporting. The ultimate answer to the delays and resultant chronic congestion hinges on improving productivity levels, incorporating having adequate equipment and most importantly, a productive team at work in the terminal.

As part of its productivity drive, the terminal is continuing to facilitate plans and work with its stakeholders, including shipping lines and fruit exporters, to ensure that the full consignment of planned containers arrive at the terminal while the vessel is still loading.

“It’s important that we maximise refrigerated container intake,” says acting managing executive at the Western Cape, Oscar Borchards.

Vessel Santa Rita, currently at CTCT, is planned to sail with a planned total of 1,750 refrigerated containers in the next two days. However, the confirmed number of refrigerated containers that have reached the terminal is 1,730.

Customers are battling a global shortage of empty refrigerated containers that has long been a matter in peak seasons, placing pressure on both the terminal’s and supply chain’s capacity.

Borchards added that recovery initiatives are progressing well, including scheduled overtime workings and increased management visibility on the quayside. He said that volumes had increased weekly, giving assurance that continuous improvements were starting to yield results.

Added 7 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tanker ECO SORCERER

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

There appears to be a link between the diversionary traffic from the Red Sea, and the type of vessels that are represented in this transit traffic. It is a strange thing that, seemingly, a good number of the vessels associated with that diversionary traffic, arriving into the South African ports of Durban and Cape Town, all appear to be linked to the energy industries.

It has already been reported that a good number of these callers are representative of the huge offshore, and onshore, wind farm renewal energy industry. Around the world, a great majority of the developed world have transitioned away from carbon fuels to power the nation, especially coal, and have moved over to gas powered power stations.

So it is that the casual maritime observer will note that there are a large number of both LNG, and LPG, tankers arriving both off port limits at Durban and Cape Town, and coming into these ports for bunkers and stores. As with the wind energy industry, South Africa seems to be well behind the drag curve in utilising this form of fuel. It remains to be seen if the scales fall from the eyes of Government in recognising that they appear to be far behind the rest of the world.

Natural Gas is more carbon friendly, and less polluting than other fossil fuels. It does not emit soot, dust, or particulates, and produces insignificant amounts of sulphur dioxide, mercury, and other compounds considered harmful to the earth’s atmosphere. Clear, odourless and colourless, LNG is typically 85-95% methane, which contains less carbon than other forms of fossil fuels.

Petroleum Gas is also recognised as a low carbon alternative fuel, it emits 33% less CO2 than coal and 12% less than oil. It also emits almost no black carbon, arguably the second biggest contributor to global warming. It is non-toxic, and does not emit sulfur dioxide, methane, or nitrogen oxides. Its potential in road transport, power generation, industry, agriculture, and maritime transport, positions it as an ideal alternative to high-carbon fossil fuels.

On 4th February, at 09:00, the Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) Tanker ‘Eco Sorcerer’ (IMO 9933468) arrived off Cape Town harbour, from Tanjung Sekong in Indonesia, and entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock and going alongside the Landing Wall. That Cape Town has no facilities to discharge LPG, made it quite obvious that she was here for a bunkers, stores and fresh provisions uplift. Her routing indicated she was a Red Sea diversion.

She is a relatively new vessel, built in 2023 by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard at Ulsan in South Korea. With a length of 180 metres, ‘Eco Sorcerer’ has a gross registered tonnage of 26,252 tons. She is powered by a HHI MAN-B&W 6G50ME-C9.6-HPSCR six cylinder, two stroke, main engine producing 8,447 bhp (6,299 kW), which drives a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 15 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes a MAN-B&W 6H21/32(HR) generator providing 1,320 kW, and two MAN-B&W 5H21/32 generators providing 960 kW. She has a single Doosan Leroy Somer AD126TIS emergency generator providing 180 kW. She has a single Kangrim PC0201P001 composite boiler.

She has a cargo carrying capacity of 40,551 m3, with six main cargo tanks, and two smaller deck tanks. She is able to carry three grades of cargo at any one time, with two of the cargoes carried able to be fully refrigerated. She has six Svanehøj AS deepwell, vertical, centrifugal cargo pumps, each capable of pumping at a rate of 400 m3/hour. She also has two Svanehøj AS horizontal cargo pumps, for the deck tanks, each capable of pumping at a rate of 400 m3/hour.

She is able to load two cargo tanks at a time through a single manifold at a loading rate of 1,600 m3/hour, and ‘Eco Sorcerer’ can load three cargo tanks, via two manifolds, at a loading rate of 2,400 m3/hour. She has a full discharge capability of 19 hours, with a back pressure of up to 5 bar, which increases to a discharge capability of 50 hours if the back pressure is up to 10 bar.

With her design being primarily the carriage of liquid cargoes of Propane, NH3 Ammonia, and Vinyl Chloride Monomer (VCM), ‘Eco Sorcerer’ is also able to load and transport Propylene, Butane, Butylene, Butadiene, Anhydrous Ammonia, and Dimethyl Ether. Her cargoes can be refrigerated down to -50°C if required, such as with Propane.

One of four sisterships, ‘Eco Sorcerer’ was the second of the class delivered in 2023, with the last one shortly to be delivered in 2024. The names of her sisterships all follow names linked to magic, with the first in the class named ‘Eco Merlin’, and the others named ‘Eco Oracle’, and ‘Eco Wizard’. The company has ordered a fifth vessel of the class, to be named ‘Eco Enchanted’. The class were all built at a unit rate of US$46 million (ZAR875.69 million) each.

Nominally owned by Gas Enterprises International Incorporated, ‘Eco Sorcerer’ is operated by Stealth Maritime Corporation SA, of Kifista in Greece. She is managed by StealthGas Incorporated, also of Kifista, whose company name she carries on her hull, and whose houseflag she proudly flies on her funnel.

Her previous voyage to her current one was one where she loaded her LPG cargo in Arzew in Algeria, and made a successful passage through the Suez Canal, to discharge in Tanjung Sekong in Indonesia. A passage through the Red Sea in late December, and early January, that occurred before the escalation of Houthi attacks.

However, her current voyage, has her proceeding in ballast to load her next LPG cargo in the USA, and no doubt this link to America made her return voyage one with risks that the owners, charterers, and possibly her insurers, were not happy to take, hence her arrival in Cape Town for a bunker uplift.

Her departure port, Tanjung Sekong in Indonesia, is located at 05°55’ South 106°01’ East, and sits on the far Northwest coast of the island of Java, directly opposite the island of Sumatra, and facing the Sunda Strait. It is primarily a Liquid Storage Terminal port, owned and operated by the Indonesian state owned energy company, PT Pertamina.

The port was developed as recently as 2012, as an oil storage facility, and in January 2020 a dedicated LPG refrigerated terminal was opened. The LPG terminal has two storage tanks with a capacity of 88,000 tons of Propane and Butane, and a further four smaller tanks, with a storage of 10,000 tons of other refrigerated liquids. The port has three discharge berths for tankers, linked directly to the terminal via pipeline, and it provides 40% of the LPG demand requirement of Indonesia.

After less than 24 hours alongside in Cape Town, ‘Eco Sorcerer’ was ready to sail, and on 5th February, at 04:00, she sailed from Cape Town, bound for Houston in the US State of Texas, where she will load her next LPG cargo for use in a developed nation, and in the furtherance of carbon reduction goals of that nation, and the betterment of her economy.

Added 6 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Port Maputo investing to benefit from SA port congestion

Africa Ports & Ships

The Port of Maputo is to invest around USD 600 million to increase cargo handling capacity at a time when neighbouring South African ports are taking strain from congestion and other challenges.

In an interview with Rádio Moçambique, Osório Lucas, executive director of the Port of Maputo Investment Company, said $600 million will be invested in improving Maputo’s infrastructure from a current capacity of 37 million tonnes to 43mt.

Announcing that rehabilitation works in Porto will shortly commence, he explained that one of the clauses in having the concession period extended to 2058, is that they have three years to carry out the first phase of investments.

This is in the order of 500 to 600 million dollars, which means that there will be assets, such as the pier, that will have their capacities affected “because we are going to intervene in these infrastructures,” he said.

Lucas said several challenges will be imposed on infrastructure management to reinforce the port’s regional positioning.

“The reason we asked for the extension is that we are aware of the state of affairs at South African ports. Everyone involved in the sector knows that South African ports are going through delicate times, from the condition of infrastructure and equipment services.

“This greatly justifies the pressure that EN4 has been under. There is a lot of demand for Maputo ports because of the condition of South African ports. Therefore, the Port of Maputo must position itself immediately, under penalty of losing its hegemonic position or market share. That’s why making this investment now is strategic,” he said.

Added 6 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

AfDB bankrolls rolling stock for Ressano Garcia-Maputo railway

Africa Ports & Ships

The redevelopment of the strategically important railway from South Africa at the Lebombo/Ressano Garcia border, to the port and city of Maputo, has advanced further with a loan of USD 40 million by the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The money is to be used by Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de Moçambique (CFM), the state-owned railway and port company, to assist with financing strategic plans for the Cape gauge railway that provides a vital link with neighbouring South Africa.

Much of the port activity at Port Maputo comes from or goes to South Africa and the 88 kilometre railway plays a significant role in the success the port is having.

According to CFM, 70 per cent of the total rail traffic in Mozambique is carried on the Ressano Garcia line. Additionally, 90 per cent of the rail activity on the Ressano Garcia line is port related.

The Bank also plans to mobilize an additional $30 million for the project from other potential lenders.

The $40 million will go toward the acquisition of 10 diesel-electric locomotives with horsepower of between 3000 to 3300 HP, plus 300 rail wagons and 120 tank containers. Some of the financing will be used to cover a three-year maintenance programme for the locomotives and for training purposes.

The Bank plans to mobilize an additional $30 million for the project from other potential lenders.

The AfDB says the project will significantly increase foreign earnings, which will grow from $225 million in 2022 to $360 million in 2036. During this period, the project is expected to bring the government a cumulative total of $1 billion in tax revenue.

The project will “strengthen intra-African trade and regional integration by increasing capacity and the volume of goods transported from neighbouring countries by the most efficient route, with Mozambique serving its neighbouring countries of South Africa, Eswatini, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, providing them with a port for exporting their products and importing goods.

The project will achieve net carbon savings of 744,511 kilotonnes of CO2 over the period 2023-2035,” said the bank.

Added 6 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Grindrod judged the ‘Best Company’ in Mozambique

Africa Ports & Ships

The firm of Grindrod Mozambique, which has extensive investments and interests in that country, and in particular the Port of Maputo and Matola, has been adjudged as the Best Company in Mozambique.

The recognition is the result of KPMG Moçambique’s survey for its 25th Edition of the country’s largest companies.

According to KPMG, Grindrod’s dry bulk terminal at the Port of Maputo (Grindrod Moçambique Limitada) demonstrated exceptional performance across multiple parameters, securing first position with an impressive total score of 485 points.

This resulted in Grindrod being adjudged as the Best Company in Mozambique for 2023.

The notable growth in Grindrod’s turnover at the port terminal of 355 per cent earned the company 98 points alone!

Also contributing heavily towards Grindrod taking the first position were 84 points earned for Turnover Profitability, and 96 points for Equity.

Pedro Alberto Poh-Quong, Director of Grindrod Operations in Mozambique, said the recognition is the result of the commitment and dedication of the entire Grindrod team.

“These results are a recognition of the effectiveness of our strategies and the continued trust in us, our customers and shareholders,” Poh-Quong said.

Added 6 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

TFR and Kalagadi Manganese enable emerging miner entrants

Africa Ports & Ships

The manganese export project entered into between Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) and Kalagadi Manganese (Pty) Ltd, has yielded positive rewards for new emerging miner entrants.

This was disclosed on Monday (5 February) during a pledge signing ceremony held at the Yacht Club, Cape Town, on the first day of the Mining Indaba 2024.

The event was attended by key industry stakeholders, including the project beneficiaries.

In April 2023, TFR made available 2mtpa of rail and port capacity to emerging miners. Kalagadi Manganese came on board and provided the miners access to its state-of-the-art rapid load-out station, so that they too could reap benefit from the TFR allocation.

The partnership between TFR and Kalagadi Manganese, officially signed alongside the Mining Indaba of 2023, allowed emerging miners use of the facility, which is based at the coal face of Kalagadi Mine Farm in Hotazel, Northern Cape, at a capped reduced fee.

The facility turns around Transnet trains in less than four hours – against the rail service design of 12 hours.

TFR Chief Commercial Officer Bonginkosi Mabaso says the project – a transformation first – promotes a more inclusive and competitive environment.

“The access to the common user facility ensures that emerging miners, who would not have been able to raise the required capital for investment in a loading facility, are accommodated on the rail. This is critical to the Manganese Export Capacity Allocation (MECA) III project,” Mabaso said.

Chairperson and Founder of Kalagadi Manganese (PTY) Ltd, Daphne Mashile-Nkosi, says she hopes this cooperation model will be adopted throughout the industry.

“This model showcases the power of working together and leveraging collective expertise and resources to create greater opportunities for growth and success, not only benefitting the individual organisations involved, but also positively impacting the industry as a whole,” Mashile-Nkosi said.

Added 5 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

FFS Tank Terminal to develop Richards Bay Bunker fuel terminal

Africa Ports & Ships

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) announced on Monday (5 February) that it has appointed FFS Tank Terminal (Pty) Ltd as the preferred bidder to develop and operate a liquid bulk terminal at the Port of Richards Bay specialising in bunker fuels.

The concession will be for a period of 25 years.

This follows the conclusion of a Request for Proposals (RFP) process that TNPA embarked on in September 2023.

The RFP process called for the design, develop, finance, refurbish, construct, operate, maintain and transfer of the liquid bulk terminal specializing in bunker fuels at the Port of Richards Bay at a site previously operated by Engen.

Brown field project

The project marks the commencement of TNPA’s first brown field project and is in line with the Richards Bay Port Master Plan, which seeks to increase the liquid bulk volume and revenue at the port’s South Dunes Precinct.

The terminal is expected to promote economic activity, job creation and skills development in the Eastern Region.

“The award of this concession marks a significant milestone in the lifeline of this brown field project,” said Richards Bay port manager, Dennis Mqadi.

“TNPA is also very eager about the prospects of the concession, as the bunkering facility demonstrates our commitment to reposition our port for dry bulk and liquified natural gas (LNG).”

FFS Tank Terminal

FFS Tank Terminal is a Proprietary Limited company in South Africa (Durban) with years of experience and competency in handling liquid bulk.

The company has multiple manufacturing sites, storage facilities and tank farms across the country. FFS handles products including heavy fuel oil, liquefied petroleum gas, liquefied natural gas, coal tar fuel, and distillate fuel oil.

Added 5 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: cable laying vessel WILLEM DE VLAMINGH

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

If there is one thing that the original history of the establishment of Cape Town tells us, it is that it was created as a victualing station for the vessels of the Dutch East India Company, or the Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC).

If the casual maritime observer is also a casual historical observer of the Cape and the VOC, it will also awaken a distant memory of a calling vessel that has a name that brings forth such a long parked memory.

On 28th January, at 07:00 in the morning, the cable laying vessel ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ (IMO 9573074) arrived off the Table Bay anchorage, from Singapore, and went to anchor for just over a two day period. As all previous visiting vessels of this type, it was clear that her arrival would not be of a commercial nature, and could only be as a transient visitor seeking replenishment.

And so it turned out to be, as at midday on 30th January, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ raised her anchor, departed from the Table Bay anchorage and made her way into Cape Town harbour, where she proceeded into the Duncan Dock, and was taken to the far end of the dock, going alongside the Repair Quay. Such a berth was a confirmation that her call was indeed transient.

Her voyage had begun in Shanghai, and then Nantong, in China, with a bunkers only call at Singapore en route to Cape Town. Her next destination after Cape Town was another strong indicator that she was a Red Sea diversion. Of interest to the casual maritime observer is that, possibly due to her low freeboard, that she had rolls of barbed wire deployed along the full length of her hull, and around her bow.

One can only assume that her voyage from Singapore was originally set for a transit across the Gulf of Aden, and into the Red Sea, bound for the Suez Canal. Notwithstanding owners, and insurers, determining that she was too valuable an asset to risk a transit of the Southern Red Sea, due to Houthi missile and drone activity, the scourge of piracy has returned.

The potential emergence once more of Somali pirates in this area, taking advantage of the chaos in the shipping lanes, and preying on suitable vessels, may have prompted ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ to prepare for the passage by deploying this oft seen, and regularly used, anti-piracy method. A standard, straight voyage across the Indian Ocean from Singapore to Cape Town has no need for this kind of anti-boarding defense, unless Indonesian piracy is also on the increase.

Built in 2011 by STX Offshore Shipbuilding at Ulsan in South Korea, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ is 118 metres in length, and has a deadweight of 6,500 tons. She is a diesel electric vessel, and has a total installed power capacity of 8,975 kW. She has two stern azimuth thrusters, providing 2,150 kW each, giving her a sea transit speed of 13 knots.

For added manoeuvrability ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ has two bow transverse thrusters providing 1,500 kW each. Her bow thrusters, together with her stern azimuth thrusters, gives her a Dynamic Positioning classification of DP2, utilising a Dynapos AM/RT R Class 2 system.

Originally built as a Stone Carrier and Rock Dumping vessel, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ was converted to a Cable Laying vessel by the EPG Shipyard, at Gdynia in Poland. Her onboard accommodation was increased from 35 persons, up to 65 persons, to take into account her changed role.

Her primary function as a cable laying vessel was to be in support of offshore wind farm construction worldwide, and her conversion included the fitting of a cable carousel capable of storing 5,400 tons of cable. She has a maximum cable laying speed of 900 metres/hour. Her cable laying operations are supported by a SMD Quasar Working Remotely Operated Vehicle (WROV), which is launched from an ‘A’ frame on the port side of her stern.

Her cable laying operations are via by a wide stern sheave, with her overboard operations supported by a SMST active heave compensated knuckleboom crane, capable of lifting 40 tons. Further deck equipment movement, and cable movement, on her aft working deck is provided by a midships mounted Red Rock RCS5600-13-24 crane capable of lifting 13 tons.

She is nominally owned by Willem SA, of Antwerp in Belgium, and is operated by the Jan de Nul Group, of Capellen in Luxembourg, whose JDN company badge adorns the side of her accommodation block. She is managed by a Jan de Nul subsidiary company, Dredging Maritime Management SA, also of Capellen in Luxembourg.

Once more, a diversionary vessel is advertising the strength of the offshore wind farm industry around the world, indicative of the sheer number of movements, recently hosted in both Durban and Cape Town, solely due to the indiscriminate Houthi attacks in the Red Sea region. As with a number of similar vessels, transiting via South Africa recently, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ has been active in the offshore wind farm construction projects in Taiwan.

Between 2019 and 2021 she was responsible for the laying of 17 inter array cables, and three export cables, for the Formosa 1 offshore wind farm, located 4 nautical miles off the west coast of Taiwan, off Maioli. The wind farm consists of 22 Siemens SWT-6.0-154 wind turbines, each generating 6 MW, and producing a total of 120 MW of renewable power, able to provide electricity to 128,000 homes.

She then laid 4 export cables, totaling 34 km in length, for the Formosa 2 offshore wind farm, which is located up to 10 nautical miles off Maioli, and consisting of 47 wind turbines, each generating 8 MW, and producing 376 MW of renewable power, able to provide electricity to a further 380,000 homes in Taiwan.

In October 2021, during her work on the Formosa 2 wind farm, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ was alongside in the nearby port of Anping, when a freak accident occurred onboard. An Indonesian member of the Engine Room crew was discovered trapped by a power operated water tight door that had closed on him. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time, it took an hour to get permission for the crewman to be landed. Sadly, he died of his injuries, whilst en route to the local hospital.

For the history buff, Willem Hesselsz de Vlamingh (1640-1698) was a Sea Captain with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He had already made two voyages from Amsterdam to Batavia, in the Dutch East Indies, when the VOC tasked him to search for a missing VOC vessel, thought to have been lost on the coast of New Holland, now known as Western Australia.

Taking command of a small fleet of three vessels, Willem de Vlamingh sailed from Amsterdam early in 1696, first arriving in Table Bay in September 1696, where he stayed for a month. On 27th October 1696 he sailed for St. Paul Island and Amsterdam Island in the South Indian Ocean, before arriving at Rottnest Island off New Holland, in search of the missing VOC vessel.

He searched for the missing vessel along the coastline of New Holland, but without success, and entered a river where he came across a new species of bird, namely the Black Swan. He named the river the Swan River, which is now the site of Perth, the capital city of the State of Western Australia. He then sailed for Batavia. He departed from Batavia in February 1698, bound for Cape Town, and arrived back in Amsterdam in August 1698.

Back in present day Cape Town, ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ completed her period of uplifting bunkers, stores and fresh provisions, and after just under 30 hours alongside, she was ready to sail. At 17:00 in the late afternoon of 31st January, she sailed from Cape Town, bound for Ciudad del Carmen, in Mexico. Her destination port was further evidence that she was a diversionary vessel, as a route from China, to Mexico, would not ordinarily be via the Cape Sea Route.

The port of Ciudad del Carmen, is located at 18°38’ North 091°50’ West, and sits in the State of Campeche, on the Gulf of Mexico coastline of the Western Yucatán peninsula. It is almost exclusively a dual fishing port, and one which supports the large offshore oil and gas industry of the Mexican state oil company, Pemex. There is a large oil field offshore Ciudad del Carmen, and it is thought that ‘Willem de Vlamingh’ is heading to Mexico to lay connector cables between the oilfield and the coast.

Added 5 February 2924

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Construction of new Mbamba Bay Port on Lake Nyasa (Malawi) underway

Africa Ports & Ships

The Tanzania Port Authority (TPA) has handed over the construction site of the planned new Mbamba Bay port on Lake Nyasa.

The planned port is on the eastern shores of Lake Nyasa (also known as Lake Malawi), close to the Tanzania border with Mozambique.

Construction of the new port has been awarded to Xiamen Ongoing Construction Group Co and will take 24 months to complete.

Addressing those present at the official handing over of the project, Lake Nyasa Port Manager Ndg. Manga Gassaya, emphasized the importance of adhering to standards and completing the project within the agreed timeframe.

Gassaya said the port will play a crucial role in connecting Tanzania with Malawi and Zambia, serving as a vital link for the transportation of food and agricultural products between these regions.

Currently served by motorised dhow, the site for the port forms a natural curve along the otherwise straight line of the lake, thus providing some shelter from the conditions.

The lake port will form an important section of the Mtwara Development Corridor, connecting Lake Nyasa with Tanzania’s southernmost Indian Ocean port of Mtwara. The port will be part of a high-capacity ferry link with the opposite side of the lake in Malawi.

It will also create employment and economic opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and entrepreneurship ventures for the communities of Nyasa District, Ruvuma Region, and neighbouring areas. source: TanzaniaInvest

Added 5 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Seaforth World Naval Review 2024

 

Reviewed by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

Edited by Conrad Waters and published by Seaforth Publishing, a division of Pen & Sword (www.seaforthpublishing.com ) this fine and much sought after 192-page volume is priced at £28.00 (ISBN 978 1 3990 2311 5).

For more than a decade this annual volume has provided an authoritative summary of developments in the world’s navies.

After Section 1, an Overview with Introduction, there are three further sections: No 2, World Fleet Reviews; No 3, Significant Ships and No 4, Technological Reviews. All are supported by biographies of nine contributors who come from around the globe to provide a balanced picture of naval developments. In turn they interpret their significance and explain their context.

Section No 2 contains a regional review of the navies of North and South America. There is closer detail of the navy of Brazil followed by regional reviews of the navies of Asia and the Pacific region, the Indian Ocean and Africa, Europe and Russia. Greater attention is paid to fleet reviews of the Royal Navy over twelve pages and the navy of Greece at nine pages. These reviews consider important new warships, and look at wider issues of significance such as naval aviation and weaponry.

Under Section 3, Significant Ships concerns three classes: France’s warships designed for policing the nation’s overseas territories, Les Patrouilleurs Outre-Mer; the Indian Navy’s Kolkata Class destroyers, the Project 15A and 15B designs and Spain’s Navantia’s S-80 Class submarines, the nation’s first indigenous boats.

Technological Reviews under Section 4 include coverage of developments in maritime air power; warship power plant design and a naval strike missile (NSM) by Norway’s Kongsberg with orders from NATO members and beyond reported.

The Indian contribution is of particular interest with a sixteen-page article by Mrityunjoy Mazumdar, regular contributor to this publication and elsewhere. Introducing the Project P15A & Project P15B Kolkata/Visakhapatnam class destroyers, it is well-illustrated and with a table of the projects’ construction chronologies from contract to commissioning from 2008 to 2026 (tbc) of the seven hulls. Here are provided in classic Seaforth way the warships’ brief technical details and a profile drawing to support an overview of the programme, its armament, upgrades and more.

Now firmly established The Seaforth World Naval Review is essential reading for professional and enthusiast alike and takes the reader to the heart of contemporary maritime affairs.

Conrad Waters, editor, is a banker by profession and a barrister by training with a lifelong interest in modern navies, about which he has written extensively. He has edited World Naval Review since its foundation in 2009, demonstrating what is probably one of the most authoritative title of the world’s navies.

On reflection this highly relevant annual publication should be on the reading list of the politicians of any country with naval forces. Reading it and referring to it would save a lot of breath and enable better briefing at a high level, starting in Westminster.

Waters’ expertise extends to historical subjects and in 2019 Seaforth published his major study of British Town Class Cruisers.

Added 5 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Questions asked about Maputo Port concession extension

Africa Ports & Ships

Questions have been raised in Mozambique about the advisability of the Mozambique government awarding a 25-year extension to Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC) well ahead of when the first concession period ends in 2033, and also in the final year of the current government.

The concession extension allows the MPDC to continue managing and operating the port until 2058.

The two principal shareholders within MPDC are South Africa’s Grindrod Group and the UAE’s DP World.

Among the topics being raised among Mozambican civil society is whether there is any connection between the recent visit to Dubai of President Filipe Nyusi and stories that DP World is the biggest beneficiary of the extended concession.

Transport Minster Mateus Magala in response to a newspaper report said the decision by the government to award the extension was made while it is still in office, with a year to go. “The interpretation is incorrect,” he said, adding the they are still in government until 31 December 2024.

In any case, he said, discussions about extending the concession began in 2022. “The most important thing is that decisions are made in a transparent manner.”

Reports argue that awarding the concession now will limit the decision-making of the next government. Magala responded by saying “We decided to extend the concession because we are sure that we are right. DP World is a giant in the port business. It is in the US, UK, Australia and other countries with bigger and better ports.”

There has been no mention in the public discussion of the role of Grindrod Group in the port concession.

DP World, one of the largest and most successful terminal operators, was recently embroiled in another controversy over the awarding, by the Tanzanian government, of a 30-year concession to operate and modernise the multi-purpose Dar es Salaam Port. The partnership aims to enhance the port’s operations, improve transport and logistics services in Tanzania, and benefit its hinterland.

Tanzania Ports Authority continues in the landlord function at Dar es Salaam. sources: Center for Public Integrity, Notícias, MZNews

Added 5 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below
South African Port Statistics for the Calendar Year 2023

South African and Namibian ports

Africa PORTS & SHIPS

Statistics for the calendar year 2023, courtesy TNPA, once again make for interesting and thoughtful scrutiny, reflecting how each port has coped with yet another problematic year.

A year ago we reflected that South Africa’s economy, based of these imports and exports, appeared to be in the doldrums. In 2023 there has been slight progress hindered though by ongoing challenges in the ports, management and nature’s untimely disruptions.

The collective ports enjoyed the slightest of improvements on the previous year when measured in tonnage throughput – a bare 1.7% increase, and still well below the volumes of recent years. As we reported a year ago, take a look. The figures as always speak for themselves.

To understand why this was so, one might direct them towards the problems of rail, especially where coal exports to the port of Richards Bay are concerned.  Ore exports through Saldanha enjoyed a little growth. The lack of growth with containers continues to be a worry and one needs to look at the state of South Africa’s economy as much as to look at the ports for answers.

Saldanha showed improvement in exports and volumes over 2022 but still lags behind earlier years.

Containers fell below the TEU volumes of the previous two years, once  again reflecting the condition of the country’s economy and the state of the terminals.

On top of which the container ports have continued delays in berthing the ships and working the container cargo.  The excessive time that ships remain in South Africa’s ports continue to place our ports near the bottom  of the World Bank index on container port performance.

The volume of motor vehicles handled at all three ‘car ports’ just about held its own against the previous year.

Our tables below show the figures achieved at all ports including rolling five year comparisons 2019 – 2023 for total volumes and for containers, and two years of comparison for ship calls and tonnages.

As with our regular monthly statistics, container figures include a calculation made for container weights, based on an average of 13.5 tonnes per TEU. Africa PORTS & SHIPS presents these figures this way, which provides results that make for easier comparison with other worldwide ports. See the tables for details.

Details of volumes by individual port are set out below.

Figures for the respective ports during the calendar years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2023:

CARGO HANDLED BY (MILLION) TONNES

PORT	2022 mt	2021 mt	2020 mt	2019 mt	2023 mt
Richards Bay	81.034	84.879	95.190	98.699	77.849
Durban	79.497	79.258	73.904	81.211	78.329
Saldanha Bay	59.155	66.070	67.307	71.555	63.519
Cape Town	18.226	17.270	15.634	15.754	15.491
Port Elizabeth	12.948	12.061	11.364	13.065	13.648
Ngqura	14.333	15.955	11.981	12.846	13.918
Mossel Bay	0.907	0.964	1.085	1.527	1.303
East London	1.956	1.650	1.438	1.925	2.199
Total all ports	262.057	278.107	277.945	296.582	266.256

 

CONTAINERS (measured by TEUs)
(TEUs include Deepsea, Coastal, Transship and empty containers all subject to being invoiced by TNPA

PORT	2022 TEUs	2021 TEUs	2020 TEUs	2019 TEUs	2023 TEUs
Durban	2,574,931	2,737,288	2,595,402	2,843,928	2,544,068
Cape Town	856,177	823,263	768,731	861,865	777,570
Port Elizabeth	135,518	129,886	112,215nbsp	164,864nbsp	158,422
Ngqura	619,614	739,857	559,195	744,660	583,887
East London	53,761	39,716	31,962	56,473	49,697
Richards Bay	4,509	3,490	8,113	10,206	177
Total all ports	4,244,510 TEUs	4,473,506 TEUs	4,075,618 TEUs	4,682,000 TEUs	4,113,821 TEUs

 

MOTOR VEHICLES HANDLED (measured by Units/tons)

PORT	2022 units	2021 units	2020 units	2019 units	2023 units
Durban	592,655	482,823	322,402	521,280	579,559
Port Elizabeth	145,868	118,311	114,729	156,051	161,673
East London	91,536	46,854	59,598	96,591	98,105
Cape Town	77	39	30	70	47
Richards Bay	0	17	9	36	132
Total All Ports	830,136	648,004	496,768	774,028	839,506

SHIP CALLS IN 2022 & 2023

PORT	2022-vessels	2022gt	2023-vessels	2023 gt
Durban	2854	103,513,538	2,933	106,364,965
Cape Town	1733	39,865,129	1,823	41,899,161
Richards Bay	1,438	58,643,322	1,397	56,920,683
Port Elizabeth	842	22,378,446	948	25,015,311
Saldanha Bay	570	38,447,697	594	39,584,251
Ngqura	647	26,632,006	675	31,088,756
East London	276	9,820,119	281	9,664,314
Mossel Bay	417	2,412,812	314	2,624,900
Total ship calls	8,777	301,713,069	8,965	313,162,341

– source TNPA, with adjustments made by Africa Ports & Ships to include container tonnages

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

WHARF TALK: multi-purpose heavylift cargo vessel BBC RAINBOW

Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates

As a result of the Houthi menace in the southern Red Sea, and Gulf of Aden, resulting in the simply huge increase in diversionary shipping arriving at Durban and Cape Town for bunkers and stores, the casual maritime observer might be starting to notice that there is a huge other economic maritime industry underway in the world, and one that South Africa knows little.

That thriving industry is the offshore wind farm industry. If there is something to be worked out from the type of vessel that is calling, and a type that is otherwise rarely seen in these waters, it is that of a vessel either carrying wind farm components, or engaged in the construction of wind farms themselves. It is clearly obvious that elsewhere in the world the renewal energy sector is in full flow. For South Africa, with its Eskom woes, it begs the obvious question.

On 28th January, at 10:00 in the morning, the multi-purpose heavylift cargo vessel ‘BBC Rainbow’ (IMO 9423516) arrived off Cape Town, from Tuticorin in India, and immediately entered Cape Town harbour. She proceeded into the Duncan Dock, and went alongside the outer berth on the Eastern Mole, a place where transient callers are placed when arriving for bunkers.

Built in 2010 by Jiangsu Sugang Shipbuilding at Yizheng in China, ‘BBC Rainbow’ is 162 metres long, and has a deadweight of 18,019 tons. Such building details may not actually ring any bells with the casual maritime observer, but ‘BBC Rainbow’ was launched as ‘Safmarine Sumba’, and was the first multi-purpose vessel built for the company since it was subsumed as a member of the AP Moller-Maersk Group more than ten years earlier.

She was built as the lead vessel of a class of six multi-purpose vessels for Safmarine Container Lines, with the other five following over a period of two years. The others were named ‘Safmarine Shaba’, ‘Safmarine Sahel’, ‘Safmarine Sahara’, ‘Safmarine Suguta’, and ‘Safmarine Sudd’. Safmarine purchased the first two from the shipyard during their construction, and the other four sisterships were built at another yard in China.

The power of ‘BBC Rainbow’ comes from a single STX license built MAN-B&W 6S50MC-C8 six cylinder, two stroke, main engine producing 13,542 bhp (9,960 kW), driving a fixed pitch propeller for a service speed of 14 knots.

Her auxiliary machinery includes three Shaanxi Daihatsu 6DK-20 generators providing 960 kW each, and she has a single emergency generator. She has a single Alfa Laval Aalborg Mission OC composite boiler. For added manoeuvrability ‘BBC Rainbow’ has a Kawasaki bow transverse thruster providing 750 kW.

She has three cargo holds, with a cargo carrying capacity of 25,521 m3, and a tanktop deck cargo strength of 18 tons/m2. Her holds have MacGregor hydraulic folding hatch covers, and they are serviced by three MacGregor cranes, each capable of lifting 80 tons, and when used in tandem configuration, capable of lifting 160 tons. All three of her cranes are offset on the port side of the vessel, which gives ‘BBC Rainbow’ a long cargo working deck, suitable for outsized deck cargo. She has a container carrying capacity of 1,047 TEU, and she has deck plugs for a total of 152 reefers.

Her deck cargo on this voyage was not containers, but was clearly a load of outsized wind turbine blades. Her voyage began in Shanghai, where there is a large offshore wind turbine manufacturing industry. That her deck cargo was all loaded on her port side, indicates that her previous load on her starboard side may have been discharged in Tuticorin. The port authority at Tuticorin indicated that a 2 GW wind farm will be constructed offshore Tuticorin in 2024.

The renewal energy market in India for the construction of wind farms is huge, with the State of Tamil Nadu, where Tuticorin is located, planning to produce a total of 30 GW of renewal energy from offshore wind farms in the next few years. In 2021-2022 alone, the port of Tuticorin imported no less than 2,906 wind turbine blades, and in the first six months of 2022 (April to September) they had imported 1,598 wind turbine blades.

In 2016 ‘Safmarine Sumba’ was sold to her current owners, who are a joint venture between Anabuki Works Co. Ltd., and Futurum Partners Ltd., of Hong Kong. She is managed by Transworld Fleet Management (India) Pvt. Ltd., of Mumbai in India. As with the giveaway of her name, she is operated by BBC Chartering GmbH, of Leer in Germany. BBC Chartering market ‘BBC Rainbow’, and her sisterships, as being their BBC-18K-160A class of vessel.

She has received a total of 50 Port State Inspections, and in September 2012, when sailing as ‘Safmarine Sumba’, she received a United States Coast Guard (USCG) inspection in the port of Savannah, in the US State of Georgia’. She failed the inspection with three grounds for detention. They were for failures with her Rescue Boat, Fire Safety, and Unattended Machinery Spaces (UMS). She was detained at Savannah for three days by the USCG.

Her uplift in Cape Town included bunkers, stores and fresh provisions, and after a 26 hour period alongside she was ready to sail. At midday on 29th January, ‘BBC Rainbow’ was ready to continue her voyage. She sailed from Cape Town, with her AIS set for Searsport, in the USA, which is located in the US State of Maine. Her destination was another pointer to the fact that she was on a diversionary voyage.

A voyage from China, via India, to the US Northeast coast, would not ordinarily route via the Cape Sea Route. Again, no doubt, the high value of her cargo of large wind turbine blades, were too valuable to risk to Houthi missile strikes and, no doubt, her cargo underwriters requested that she avoid the Red Sea, as probably did her owners, and possibly her charterers.

The port of Searsport in Maine, is located on Penobscot Bay, and is a natural deepwater port. The State of Maine is in New England, and lies in the Northeast of the USA, being the most easterly American State, and has a border with Canada to the north. The port of Searsport is located at 44°27’ North 068°55’ West.

An indication of why ‘BBC Rainbow’ might be heading for that particular destination, with a deckload of offshore wind turbine blades, is that the Government of the State of Maine had identified Searsport, and an area close to Searsport, to be developed as the ‘Maine Wind Energy Port’, where floating offshore wind turbine bases were to be manufactured for the US market on the East Coast.

Once more, an arriving vessel in a South African port, here solely by courtesy of the Houthis, has given an indication for South Africans, marooned at the bottom of Africa, that the offshore renewal energy sector of Wind Farms is simply immense, and is seemingly taking place everywhere else on the planet, but that it is bypassing them. The call of ‘BBC Rainbow’ is not likely to be the last one associated with this industry, mark my words.

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Transnet sees some improvement on Northern (Richards Bay) Corridor

Africa PORTS & SHIPS

Transnet Freight Rail (TFR) says it experienced an improvement in rail volumes in the last quarter of the 2023 calendar year, which it credits to the implementation of the Transnet Recovery Plan.

The quarterly performance rate of delivery to the Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) increased from 47,10 million tons in the third quarter to 48,74 million tons (annualised) in the fourth quarter.

TFR’s North Corridor handles an estimated 41% of total TFR volumes and supports key commodity sectors including export coal and chrome. The line remains critical not only to the clients who rely on it for their exports, but TFR itself.

The latest figures show that the North Corridor has improved its weekly RBCT export coal volume tonnages from below 1 million tonnes average per week, to 1.1 million tonnes by December 2023.

TFR’s performance on this key corridor has been hampered in recent years with security, locomotive availability & reliability and network reliability issues. TFR says management has implemented a number of initiatives in the short, medium and long-term to ensure operational improvements.

In this respect, TFR has entered into a partnership with industry which it says has seen a decline in the number of cable theft incidents on the corridor, although some sporadic incidents still occur.

According to Transnet it is continuing to intensify deployment of security measures to reduce cable theft and infrastructure vandalism.

Fast-tracking maintenance and operations

In addition, Transnet and RBCT signed a Mutual Cooperation Agreement in November 2023, which allows for – amongst others – collaboration on fast-tracking maintenance and operations sustaining procurement.

Fiscal year ending March 2024

Transnet forecasts it will have railed 49 million tonnes of export coal to RBCT by the end of the financial year. This is against a declared capacity of 60 million tonnes. By the end of December 2023, which three months still to go, a total of 35.8 million tonnes had been delivered.

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Red Sea maritime situation worsens

Africa PORTS & SHIPS

Threats to maritime safety in the Red Sea have widened and now include the Gulf of Aden and north-western Indian Ocean.

Last week and during the current weekend the US and UK conducted numerous sorties on Houthi positions thought to be from where drone and missile attacks on merchant and naval shipping are being carried out. The attacks were intended to degrade the ability of the Houthi’s from conducting further attacks on international shipping.

Similarly, aircraft and some cruise missile attacks, including from a US submarine have been carried out against what the US/UK forces say are Iran-supported positions in several other countries across the Middle East, notably in Iraq and Syria. This follows a drone attack on an American military base in Jordan that resulted in the death of three US servicemen.

The result of this latest outbreak of hostilities and drama is an increasing number of ships that are re-routing around the Cape of Good Hope, with South African ports beginning to experience the effect of this increase in shipping activity.

In the north-western Indian Ocean the threat of piracy is again becoming evident, with attacks on several ships and vessels having been carried out.

In an executive summary, security company and adviser Ambrey, says the threats have grown significantly, are complex and cover a wider area of operations.

The situation poses a significant risk to life and the safety of vessels in the area, the report says, with the Houthis having widened their targets and area of operations.

“An unprecedented international naval response has degraded their capabilities, but the Houthis have continued to attack shipping. As affiliated vessels reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, risk levels on other routes increase as weapon capability also improves.”

The report says that the international military presence cannot ensure safe passage of the region and that all available mitigation measures should be evaluated and considered.

Iran, says Ambrey, has become more assertive in its response to US sanctions, widened its area of operations, and acted in support of the Houthis.

“Security has deteriorated in the region. Since November, Iran, the Houthis, and Somali pirates have attacked civilian merchant Somali pirates have hijacked a bulk carrier and are assessed to have attacked three other merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. Their attacks have utilised hijacked dhows to act as motherships to reach international waters over 750M from the Somali coast.”

You can see the full Ambrey report here

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Tender issued for Inhaca Island jetty

Africa PORTS & SHIPS

A tender has been issued for the construction of a new jetty for the Bay of Maputo’s Inhaca Island.

Inhaca Island lies in Maputo Bay opposite the port and is an important tourist attraction, serviced by ferries operating from Maputo port.

Cruise ships at anchor off adjacent Portuguese Island also provide ferry services for cruise tourists to visit the much larger and populated island.

An existing jetty does not extend far enough into deep water. Some of the ferries visiting the island are of the landing ship type and even these are unable to approach too close to the beach. According to the tide they stop as much as a hundred meters offshore in knee-deep water, for passengers to alight and wade ashore, with luggage carried on heads or held high.

“The ministry of transport and communications – MTC, in partnership with Maputo city council, intends to replace the jetty on KaNyaka island [Inhaca] with a new structure that will allow, among other things, it to accommodate passengers and an emergency vehicle of up to five tonnes, in any type of tide, a situation that does not currently exist,” reads the government tender notification.

The tender is open until 18 March 2024.

According to the document, the jetty will have a length of about 1,000 metres.

Mozambique’s Minister of Transport Mateus Magala indicated that the work could begin within three months and be completed this year.

He said the infrastructure will make it safer and more accessible for tourists and other passengers while contributing towards sustainable development.

Inhaca island is home to about 6,000 people and is administered as part of the city of Maputo.

Part of the funding for the jetty will be guaranteed by the Maputo Port Development Company (MPDC), which holds the long-term concession to manage and operate the Port of Maputo.

MPDC recently had its concession extended until 2058 and will be investing almost €2 billion for the port’s extension. source: Lusa & AIM

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

IMO S-G’s fresh maritime agenda

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez has shared the Organization’s plans and focus areas for the next four years, with the aim of ensuring safer, more secure and environmentally friendly shipping.

Speaking at a press conference at IMO HQ in London and reported on 2 February, Mr Dominguez outlined four strategic priorities:

1. IMO’s work to regulate international shipping.
2. Its support to Member States – particularly Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries.
3. Enhancing public awareness and image.
4. Relations with people and stakeholders.

He commented: “As a global industry that is responsible for transporting over 80% of trade around the world, shipping is indispensable. One thing I am very focused on is to make this organization a more diverse, inclusive and transparent institution.”

Seafarer safety and Red Sea attacks

The Secretary-General touched on various challenges and opportunities for the maritime sector.

Highlighting the ongoing attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, he condemned the attacks and underscored the paramount importance of protecting seafarers’ lives. He continued to call for the de-escalation of tensions and the freedom of navigation of ships in the area.

Trade volume going through the Suez Canal has fallen by 42% over the last two months, according to estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The Secretary-General underscored the resilience of shipping in the face of global challenges and confirmed that IMO is in actively dialogue with countries, industry partners and the international community to find solutions.

GHG emissions

The Secretary-General provided an update on IMO work towards decarbonising shipping by or around 2050. This makes it the first UN agency and first sector to define a global strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, including mandatory measures to deliver on targets.

A timeline has been set, following IMO processes:

* March 2024 – Advance discussions of ‘mid-term measures’ to support emissions reduction in the medium term. These measures include a global marine fuel standard and pricing mechanism. An interim report of the impact assessment that these measures will have on countries will be considered by the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) at its 81st session (MEPC 81).

* October 2024 – Finalization of impact assessment (MEPC 82).

* Spring 2025 – Approval of measures (MEPC 83).

* Autumn 2025 – Adoption of measures (six months after MEPC 83).

Supporting transparency, diversity and inclusion

The Secretary-General stressed his commitment to encouraging a culture of transparency, diversity and inclusion in the work of the IMO.

In December 2023, the Organization trialled the live-streaming of the most recent meeting of the Assembly – the highest decision-making body of the Organization, including all 175 Member States. Meetings of the Committees and Sub-Committees are also open to media.

Since taking office on 1 January 2024, the Secretary-General has appointed a gender-balanced senior management team, enhanced multilingualism in IMO processes, and set a policy of participating only in public events or panels with gender representation.

source:IMO

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Hapag-Lloyd weighs in with a weekly ‘Citrus loader’

Africa PORTS & SHIPS

During the coming 2024 South African citrus season, German container carrier Hapag-Lloyd will operate a weekly ‘Citrus Loader’ service operating from Durban and the Eastern Cape ports from between the end of May and through September.

“This service will support our long-term commitment with the South African export market, covering seasonal needs during 2024 and the coming years,” Hapag-Lloyd said.

“Our Citrus Loader will connect your cargo from Durban and the Eastern Cape directly to our terminal in Tangier, to all final destinations in North Europe, the Mediterranean and the East Coast of the United States and Canada.”

According to Hapag-LLoyd the Citrus Loader will provide the following:

Reefer plugs: a seasonal service will provide growers and exporters with an average of 800 plugs per sailing.

Reefer units: to cater for all requirements 2,200 brand-new reefers have been pre-positioned to South Africa, ready to meet the demand.

Expert support: Hapag-Lloyd’s on-the-ground service will be supported by additional depots and dedicated professionals to ensure quality in the execution of its services. From pre-trip inspections and container release to the final delivery at destination.

Reefer value-added services: Reefer remote monitoring for more cold chain transparency, Controlled Atmosphere to address the need of highly sensitive products, Cold Treatment to comply with governmental regulations and a Control Tower to proactively ensure on time loading and delivery of the cargo.

“Our Citrus Loader will be an extension of one of our West Africa services to support the South African fresh produce industry,” says Hapag-Lloyd.

“We are ready to provide personalised solutions, with a clear focus in quality and on-time delivery.”

Added 4 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Maritime Single Window – advancing digitalization in shipping

Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London

This year 2024 marks a milestone in the acceleration of digitalization in shipping – the mandatory Maritime Single Window

The requirement under the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL), requires Governments to use a single digital platform or Maritime Single Window (MSW) to share and exchange information with ships when they call at ports, since 1 January 2024. This will streamline procedures to clear the arrival, stay and departure of ships and greatly enhance the efficiency of shipping worldwide.

“Digitalization is critical for greater efficiency in shipping. The Maritime Single Window delivers information between ships, ports and government agencies quickly, reliably and smoothly,” noted IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez.

More than 4.6 million port calls were recorded globally in 2022. Typically, ships spend at least one full day in port (more or less depending on the ship type).

The IMO MSW video

Readers are invited to see the IMO MSW video here [2:15]:

IMO has supported countries to implement the Maritime Single Window. In November 2023, a generic Maritime Single Window (MSW) platform was handed over to the Port of Lobito in Angola, following a Single Window for Facilitation of Trade (SWiFT) project which was supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) and IMO.

This initiative built upon an earlier successful project coordinated by IMO that saw excellent delivery in 2019 of a Maritime Single Window system in Antigua and Barbuda.

Guidelines

The Facilitation Committee of IMO has issued guidelines to assist Member States to implement the MSW, including the revised guidelines for setting up a maritime single window and the guidelines on authentication, integrity and confidentiality of information exchanges via maritime single windows and related services.

IMO Facilitation Convention

The IMO Facilitation Convention was adopted in 1965 and contains Standards and Recommended Practices with rules and procedures for simplifying formalities, documentary requirements and procedures on ships’ arrival, stay and departure. The Convention has been updated continuously, embracing digitalization and automation for procedures. (To read more see here.

Corruption prevention

Other amendments to the Facilitation Convention, which entered into force on 1 January 2024, include those addressing lessons learnt from the Covid-19 pandemic and new and amended Recommended Practices to prevent corruption and illicit activities in the maritime sector.

Lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic

Contracting Governments and their relevant public authorities are required to allow ships and ports to remain fully operational during a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), in order to maintain complete functionality of global supply chains to the greatest extent possible.

Key workers

Public authorities are also required to designate port workers and ships’ crew as key workers (or equivalent), regardless of their nationality or the flag of their ship, when in their territory.

Importance of easy crew movement

Best practice recommendations aim to prevent obstacles to crew movement for repatriation, crew change and travel, and encourage dissemination of information about public health matters and expected protection measures by ship operators.

Tackling maritime corruption

Updates to the FAL Convention take a systemic approach to addressing the issue of corruption associated with the ship-shore interface in ports. Contracting Governments are now required to encourage public authorities to assess the risks of corruption and address them by developing and implementing preventive measures to strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability.

Added 2 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

News continues below

Reload Logistics acquires 50,000m2 Sulphur Bulk Terminal at Richards Bay

Africa Ports & Ships

Reload Logistics new 50,000 m2 sulphur bulk terminal at Richards Bay is already performing record-setting discharging at this strategic location.

Since taking over the facility in November 2023, Reload Logistics has made significant upgrades to the complex, equipment, and related systems, enhancing the discharge rate of sulphur vessels, and increasing the holding capacity of the undercover warehousing.

These enhancements have already made an impact, with Reload Logistics achieving the record for tonnage unloaded from a vessel in a 24-hour period.

Now operating the facility under the name Reload Dry Bulk Richards Bay Facility, this asset joins Reload Logistics’ extensive portfolio, covering all of Sub-Saharan Africa, and has the capacity to move 200,000 Mt per month to and from 7 ports and provides clients with true multi-modal solutions.

Reload’s latest acquisition has an indoor storage of 20,000 m2, a loading area of 10,000 m2, and has operations for simultaneous offloading, bagging, and loading for both rail and trucks of containerized or break-bulk cargo.

The latest in a series of acquisitions, this is a strategic asset for Reload Logistics, empowering the company to deliver reliable and efficient services for the handling, storage, and distribution of sulphur and other dry bulk commodities to clients.

“We are thrilled to share this news with our clients and the public,” said Michael-John Saunders, Managing Director of Reload Logistics.

“This acquisition and upgrade underscore our commitment to providing the best logistics solutions for our clients and the industry. We take pride in our team and the remarkable results they have achieved thus far,” he said.

About Reload Logistics

Reload Logistics is one of Africa’s leading providers of end-to-end supply chain solutions for metals, minerals, soft commodities, and project cargo.

With 1,000+ trucks, rail wagons, and over 1 million m2 of storage, Reload Logistics operates in 12 countries – Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Malta, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Zambia, Zimbabwe – providing seamless freight solutions across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Added 1 February 2024

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

 

 

GENERAL NEWS REPORTS – UPDATED THROUGH THE DAY

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