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TODAY’S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS
Newsweek commencing 1 December 2024. Click on headline to go direct to story: use the BACK key to return.
FIRST VIEW: NOMASA
- Chinese fishing vessel seized by Somali pirates
- CFM reports sabotage on Beira-Machipanda railway
- Congestion surcharges levied at the Port of Beira
- First delivery of new straddles arrive for DCT2
- Promoting submarine cable protection – Resilience of undersea cables
- Russia and the west are entering the ‘grey zone’ of warfare – and the oceans are a key battleground
- Police intercept R80 million cocaine shipment through Durban Harbour
- Award for Survitec’s White Paper on shipboard fire safety risks
- German Minister Robert Habeck advocates for stronger economic ties with Africa
- WHARF TALK: Windfarm Installation Support Vessel – SEAWAY MOXIE
- Maersk Completes Order of 20 Dual-Fuel Vessels
- Maersk Names Newest Dual-Fuel Methanol Vessel ‘A.P. Møller’ in Singapore
- Madagascar: Port security training
- Challenge Group launches inaugural flights to Nairobi
- Port Elizabeth waits for tanker berth to reopen
- Hapag-Lloyd breaks ground in Uganda
- Work resumes on fv Elke-M wreck removal near St Francis Bay
- Mozambique unveils natural gas discovery, South Africa eyes Qatar for LNG amid looming supply crisis
- Fair treatment of seafarers: ITF joins affiliate unions’ demands
- WHARF TALK: expeditionary passenger ships – LE BOUGAINVILLE & LE DUMONT D’URVILLE
- U-Ming Marine orders Rotor Sails for VLOC, ship will call in South Africa
- China eyes alternatives as seaborne coal imports lose market share
- IMO and fisheries: Key treaties under FAO, ILO and IMO support – Mombasa workshop
- New Officer in Command for Naval Base Simon’s Town
- Ports Regulator Record of Decision on the Tariff Application by TNPA for the Tariff Year 2025/26
- WHARF TALK: offshore construction vessel – SEVEN SISTERS
- Djibouti maritime forces benefit from EU supported exercise
- COP 29: A common goal – Decarbonising transport
- EARLIER NEWS CAN BE FOUND UNDER NEWS CATEGORIES…….
Africa Ports & Ships
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Masthead: PORT OF CAPE TOWN
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FIRST VIEW: NOMASA
AMSOL’s AHTSV NOMASA (IMO 9366316) departs from the Port of Durban after a period in maintenance that included dry docking.
The anchor handling supply vessel, which was built in 2006 at the Keppel Singmarine shipyard in Singapore, has a length of 60 metres and a width of 16m. Her gross weight is 1727 tons and deadweight 1833 tons.
The vessel was departing Durban for her next assignment at Afungi in northern Mozambique, the peninsula on which much of Mozambique’s land-based Liquefied Natural Gas project has and will in future be taking place.
The Mozambique LNG project is led by TotalEnergies and involves the development of the Golfinho and Atum fields.
Offshore this coast is the FLNG named Coral Sul, operated by Eni, which is processing gas in the southern part of Area 4 of the Rovuma Basin, roughly opposite the little town and harbour of Mocimboa da Praia.
Coral Sul has a production capacity of 3.4 million tons per annum (MTPA) and began operations in mid-2024.
These pictures are by Benny Janse van Rensburg
Africa Ports & Ships
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News continues below
Chinese fishing vessel seized by Somali pirates
Africa Ports & Ships
A Chinese fishing vessel, operating within the territorial waters of Somalia, has been highjacked by Somali pirates, according to a report issued by the European Union Naval Force EUNAVFOR ATALANTA.
Following an alert by the Puntland Maritime Police Force, Eunavfor Atalanta maritime forces began monitoring the fishing vessel off the northeast coast of Puntland to determine whether the vessel has been highjacked.
Operation Atalanta subsequently reported the presence onboard the fishing vessel of armed men, brandishing AK-47 and machine guns and who appeared in control of the vessel.
On board the fishing vessel are 18 crew members plus the pirates. None of the crew appear to be injured and following observation of the vessel the case as been officially classified as ‘Armed Robbery at Sea’.
Operation Atalanta says it is in permanent contact with the appropriate Somali and Chinese authorities, as well as with the Delegation of the European Union to Somalia.
In an update on the situation, Operation Atalanta says it is closely monitoring the incident and strongly recommends merchant and other vulnerable vessels to register in the MSCHOA’s* Voluntary Registration Scheme (VRS), “to provide the most effective monitoring and response by Atalanta forces and their partners in countering maritime security threats.”
Earlier, Operation Atalanta issued a warning of the possibility of piracy occurring with the end of the monsoon, when sea conditions will improve and that a pirate group could become active in the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin.
* MSCHOA – Maritime Security Centre – Horn of Africa
Added 6 December 2024
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CFM reports sabotage on Beira-Machipanda railway
Africa Ports & Ships
Portos e Caminhos-de-Ferro de Moçambique (CFM) reported on Wednesday (4 December) that a section of rail had been removed along the railway between the port city of Beira and Machipanda, on the border with Zimbabwe.
Until the rail can be replaced this means the railway from Zimbabwe to the port remains closed.
This is just a further setback for the port which earlier received news of congestion surcharges being imposed by several of the major container shipping lines.
CFM called the removal of a section of track an act of sabotage, saying that this was “an action carried out by former workers from the Machipanda Line Rehabilitation Brigade (BRLM), who had been hired as part of the Machipanda Line Rehabilitation project.”
There was no explanation as to how they know who caused the damage to the Central Railway System. According to CFM the disgruntled former temporary workers believe they should be integrated into the permanent workforce. Alternately they believe they are entitle to compensation, said CFM.
Mozambique news agency reported that CFM was having meetings with the former workers on the basis that the workers might not have fully realised the scope of the contract.
The railway between Beira and the Zimbabwe border at Machipanda is 318 kilometres in length. When built in early colonial days it was to a gauge of 2ft, later widened to the Southern African standard of Cape gauge 3ft 6ins (1067mm).
Added 6 December 2024
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Congestion surcharges levied at the Port of Beira
Africa Ports & Ships
Several container shipping lines have introduced congestion charges applicable at the Port of Beira.
Delays of up to 10 days outside the central Mozambican port have been reported in the past weeks. Shipping companies have begun to react with surcharges.
CMA CGM – 22 December 2024
French shipping line CMA CGM announced this week it was introducing congestion surcharges for containers at the Beira port, due to ongoing congestion , which it said has created challenging operational conditions.
The congestion surcharge will become effective as from 22 December 2024.
This will apply to shipments originating from the Far East, including China, Hong Kong and Macau SAR, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, all destined for Beira.
In addition, a congestion surcharge will come into affect on shipments to Beira from the Indian Subcontinent & Middle East Gulf, also applicable as from 22 December 2024.
In both instances the surcharge will be US$ 270 per TEU for all cargo types, “considering the present situation in Beira.”
MSC – 9 December 2024
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has announced a congestion surcharge to be implemented at the port of Beira in Mozambique, with effect 9 December 2024.
The latest surcharge comes due to ongoing congestion in the region which has created challenging operational conditions, said MSC.
This surcharge will apply to cargo shipped from the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent, including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, to Beira.
The surcharge will be set at US$ 500 per unit for both dry and reefer cargo, effective from 9 December 2024.
Added 6 December 2024
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First delivery of new straddles arrive for DCT2
Africa Ports & Ships
The first four of an order of 20 Kronecranes Noell diesel-electric straddle carriers arrived in Durban recently aboard the container ship MSC Carole for assembly and commissioning at Durban Container Terminal Pier 2 (DCT2).
The components for the four straddles arrived from Würzburg, Germany and are being assembled and commissioned onsite. The straddle carriers will then be handed over to operations to start their endurance testing towards the end of December 2024 and will be fully operational in mid-January 2025.
The urgent order for another 20 straddle carriers for DCT2, valued at over R440 million, is part of Transnet’s Recovery Plan.
All 20 new straddle carriers will be in full operation at the end of May 2025.
The terminal is renewing its fleet as part of its recovery plan, having invested in haulers and reach stackers earlier in the year. Valued at over R440 million.
“This delivery marks a crucial investment in the future of DCT Pier 2 and a major step forward in enhancing our operational efficiency,” said Earle Peters, Managing Executive for Durban Terminals.
“The addition of these modern, diesel-electric straddle carriers will greatly improve container handling capabilities and foster recovery.”
Based on the system in use at DCT2, straddle carriers are a critical part of the terminal’s direct operations, supporting the loading and unloading of containers aboard vessels with enhanced precision and speed.
Added 5 December 2024
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Promoting submarine cable protection – Resilience of undersea cables
Reported by Paul Ridgway 
Africa Ports & Ships
London
In early November it was reported that two undersea cables in the Baltic Sea had been cut in a suspected act of sabotage, possibly Russian or carried out on its behalf by China.
Investigators looking into the incident, which involved a cable between Finland and Germany, focused on a Chinese-registered bulk carrier, Yi Peng 3. Suspicions grew that she may have dragged her anchor to cause the damage.
Without doubt there is suspicion that Russia is involved in attacking critical infrastructure. Speculation points to such action as revenge for the West providing munitions to Ukraine.
Launch of international advisory body
It was announced from Geneva on 29 November that the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations Agency for Digital Technologies, and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), the leading industry organisation promoting submarine cable protection, have formed the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience to strengthen vital telecommunication infrastructure.
Submarine telecommunication cables form the backbone of global communications, carrying most of the world’s Internet traffic and enabling critical services across the globe, including commerce, financial transactions, government activities, digital health and education.
The Advisory Body will address ways to improve cable resilience by promoting best practices for governments and industry players to ensure the timely deployment and repair of submarine cables, reduce the risks of damage, and enhance the continuity of communications over the cables.
In the words of ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin: “The Advisory Body will mobilise expertise from around the world to ensure this vital digital infrastructure remains resilient in the face of disasters, accidents, and other risks.
“Submarine cables carry over 99 per cent of international data exchanges, making their resilience a global imperative.”
Recognizing the vital role of subsea infrastructure
Damage to submarine cables is not uncommon, with an average of 150 to 200 faults occurring globally each year and requiring about three cable repairs per week, according to the ICPC.
The primary causes of damage include accidental human activity, such as fishing and anchoring, alongside natural hazards, abrasion and equipment failure.
ICPC Chair, Graham Evans, added: “The formation of this International Advisory Body with ITU marks another step toward safeguarding our global digital infrastructure.
“y working together, we can promote best practices, foster international collaboration, and create a consistent approach to protect the vital submarine cable networks that underpin global connectivity.”
Supporting digital resilience globally
The Advisory Body’s forty members include Ministers, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, industry executives, and senior experts on the operations of telecommunication cables.
Members come from all world regions, ensuring diversity and inclusion from countries ranging from small island states to major economies. The membership captures the perspectives of those whose livelihoods and digital futures depend on the operation of submarine telecommunication cables, as well as those who work to deploy, maintain and protect this vital infrastructure.
Nigerian joint chair
The Advisory Body is co-chaired by Minister Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Prof. Sandra Maximiano, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Communications Authority of the Republic of Portugal (ANACOM).
Tijani said: “Submarine cables are essential to the functioning of our connected world, but they face risks that require coordinated, proactive action.
“Therefore, we are happy to host the inaugural Submarine Cable Resilience Summit to be held in Nigeria in early 2025.”
Added 5 December 2024
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Russia and the west are entering the ‘grey zone’ of warfare – and the oceans are a key battleground
Africa Ports & Ships
Basil Germond, Lancaster University
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has claimed that Russia now has the right to target assets of nations that supply Ukraine with tactical missiles, after the US authorised the use of such weapons against targets deep into Russian territory.
So far Putin’s warning feel like a rhetorical escalation, which might not yet result in a direct military confrontation. But short of a “real” war, Moscow can destabilize western economies and societies with operations in what is called the “grey zone”.
The grey zone is not defined geographically. It is a functional space between war and peace, where jurisdictions are blurred, contested or left unclear and where responsibilities and accountability are vague and deniable. It’s where hybrid warfare and below-the-threshold operations flourish, because it is more difficult to tell whether an attack has occurred and who might be responsible.
Hybrid warfare comes in myriad different forms. It can be disinformation campaigns designed to create uncertainty or even panic in a population. Or cyberattacks against transport infrastructure intended to seriously disrupt a competitor or adversary.
The maritime domain is often an important theatre for this kind of warfare. The sea is vast and uninhabitable (and in part unmapped) which makes it hard to survey, monitor and control.
Contested and overlapping jurisdictions – for example in the Arctic or South China Sea – make it hard to clearly identify responsibilities. “Fish cross borders”, as do those who fish, and coastguards.
The same is true of people smugglers, drug traffickers and spy ships. What’s more, a multitude of actors are involved in the governance of complex maritime supply chains, from naval forces to shipping companies, from maritime insurers to communication cable operators.
This complexity is particularly salient in the shipping sector. Ships can fly the flag of one country and at the same time be owned and insured by a company from another country. They can have a multinational crew, and transport a cargo whose origin is hardly traceable to any specific state.
So the maritime domain is a perfect playground for a country whose objective is to undermine the prosperity, cohesion or security of an adversary without risking a direct confrontation.
Vulnerabilities at sea
The maritime supply chains and infrastructures on which most nations are dependent for their security and prosperity are under threat.
To take the UK as an example, 90% of its trade by volume is seaborne. Yet relatively unsophisticated non-state groups such as the Houthi rebels in Yemen have managed to disrupt freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, generating a disproportionate costs to the global economy.
About 97% of the UK’s internet communication transits via undersea cables, which are increasingly targeted by hostile players.
On November 15, the Yantar, described by Russia as an “oceanographic research vessel”, was escorted away from critical undersea cables in the Irish Sea. It is very unlikely that the ship was directly involved in sabotage since it operated in plain sight.
Instead, its likely functions are to map important western maritime infrastructures and – crucially – to send the message that Russia is ready to take risks and operate in the west’s backyard.
On November 17, the suspected sabotage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea created suspicion over a cargo ship registered in China and owned by a Chinese company. It started its journey near St Petersburg in Russia and apparently sailed in the area when the incident occurred.
The Danish authorities reacted quickly to stop the ship before it left the Baltic Sea. While a chain of accountability has not yet been established, there might be a better chance to trace back responsibilities this time around.
Establishing responsibility
This incident demonstrates two things: the limits of hybrid warfare and the fact that western countries are ramping up their ability to respond in a timely manner to such incidents.
Being able to establish responsibility is key to this. Maritime surveillance as well as navies maintaining active presence at sea as well as the capacity to respond to incidents in the fastest possible way all play a role in making it harder to conduct hybrid warfare in a deniable way.
Another notable example was the rapid German response to a suspicious drone following the UK aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth into the port of Hamburg on November 24. All these incidents suggest the extent to which tensions are steadily rising between Russia and the west in the grey zone. The direction and firmness of Nato’s response to hybrid warfare and sabotage will be decisive.
Hybrid war at sea entails many uncertainties about jurisdictions and responsibilities as well as the identity, motives, way of operating and capabilities of actual and potential perpetrators.
Grey zone activities create uncertainties and fears. And because of this they can disrupt the global economy, weaken societal cohesion and degrade the west’s ability to respond to security threats in a decisive way. This is why below-the-threshold activities at sea must be addressed in the swiftest and strongest possible way – to prevent deniability.
Basil Germond, Professor of International Security, Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion, Lancaster University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Added 5 December 2024
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Police intercept R80 million cocaine shipment through Durban Harbour
Africa Ports & Ships
An ordinary container that arrived on board a container vessel in Durban harbour has been intercepted by police and found to contain R80 million worth of crushed pure cocaine.
The ship, which was not named in the report, arrived in the port at Durban from Brazil via a third country.
The drugs were hidden in bags disguised as kidney beans.
After being taken off the ship, the container was delivered to a warehouse in Durban’s South Coast Road, where police carried out a search.
During the search, eight bags of crushed pure cocaine were found and according to the documentation, the shipment was destined for Johannesburg.
The police were acting on information received.
The port of Durban, which handles the large majority of containers arriving or leaving South Africa, has long been used by smugglers bringing illicit drugs into the country and over the years a number of interceptions have been conducted.
“We commend the excellent work being done by members of various law enforcement agencies,” said the KwaZulu-Natal premier, Thamsanqa Ntuli. “We are sending a strong message to all criminal syndicates that we are on high alert, we have adopted a zero-tolerance stance against all criminal activity.”
Ntuli said increased police surveillance at targeted crime hot spot areas is yielding positive results, as law enforcement intelligence operations continue to thwart criminal activity in all the corners of the province.
He also acknowledged the Border Management Authority (BMA) effort, who are working around the clock to tighten security measures at all ports of entry and borders of the province.
Ntuli encouraged the community members to continue coming forward with critical information to assist law enforcement to crack down on criminal activity in our province.
Added 4 December 2024
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Award for Survitec’s White Paper on shipboard fire safety risks
Africa Ports & Ships
A White Paper by Survitec, a specialist in Survival Technology, has won the Safety in Maritime (Marine) award at the IBJ Awards.
The paper highlights critical gaps in fire safety and raises awareness of the systemic risks threatening the maritime sector.
Titled “Why Are the Fires Not Going Out? Unveiling the True Cost of Inadequate Fire Safety Inspections”, the paper exposes the widespread failures in fire safety practices that have led to an alarming increase in shipboard fire incidents worldwide.
The paper uncovers troubling lapses in fire safety practices by drawing on data and testimonies from Survitec’s global network of certified service technicians.
The findings show that post-COVID cost-cutting measures have prompted some ship operators to rely on untrained crews for fire safety maintenance. These practices have led to avoidable system failures, such as the use of incorrect or counterfeit parts, poorly fitted equipment, and contamination of essential firefighting systems.
Survitec also documented instances of substandard inspections and approvals where safety certifications were granted despite glaring deficiencies.
Trust & Accountability
Metkel Yohannes, Director of Service & Rental Solutions at Survitec, stressed the importance of fostering trust and accountability in the sector. “Shipboard fires have risen by 17% year-on-year, becoming one of the leading causes of maritime losses and the most expensive source of marine insurance claims, accounting for over 20% of total losses.
“While advancements in fire detection and protection technologies have been made, the industry is still seeing alarming levels of fire safety deficiencies, with thousands of incidents reported each year by international inspection authorities. This highlights an urgent need for improved oversight and maintenance practices across the sector.”
One example highlighted a vessel that experienced an engine room fire. While the crew successfully extinguished the flames, they discovered a fault in their high-expansion foam firefighting system. The issue was traced to a blockage caused by a protective cap left inside the system after the installation of a new foam pump.
In another instance, a fire aboard a bulk carrier in early 2024 caused $2-3 million USD in off-hire and repairs after more than half the recently inspected and certified CO2 cylinders failed to activate.
Alternative fuels & lithium-ion batteries
The study also raises concerns about the growing risks of alternative fuels and lithium-ion batteries, which require specialised detection and firefighting systems.
Survitec argues for more stringent oversight of service providers, urging the maritime industry to adopt higher quality control benchmarks and ensure that all fire safety inspections meet rigorous international standards.
“Shipowners and operators need accredited partners with the expertise to ensure their safety systems perform under the most demanding conditions,” reported Yohannes. “Anything less is not only a false economy but a threat to crew safety and vessel integrity.”
Survitec says this white paper’s recognition of the IBJ Safety in Maritime (Marine) award underscores its commitment to shaping a safer future for the maritime industry.
The white paper can be downloaded in full here
Added 4 December 2024
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German Minister Robert Habeck advocates for stronger economic ties with Africa
Africa Ports & Ships
During the 5th German-African Business Summit being held in Nairobi this week, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection Robert Habeck emphasized the need for closer economic cooperation between Germany and African countries.
As reported by the German News Service, Minister Habeck urged African nations to create better conditions for investment, highlighting the necessity of a secure and stable environment for German investors.
Habeck, who arrived in Kenya on Monday, stressed the importance of economic collaboration in addressing global challenges such as conflict, war, and climate change. He acknowledged Africa’s vulnerability to climate change and emphasized the need for decisive action to mitigate its effects.
The German-African Business Summit, held biennially, is Germany’s premier business event on the African continent, attracting around 800 participants from 35 African countries and Germany. Kenyan Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi also attended the summit.
Africa’s high economic growth rate, second only to Asia, makes it a significant interest for the German economy. Last year, German foreign trade with Africa reached a record €61.2 billion ($64.2 billion).
On the first day of his visit, Habeck explored renewable energy developments and the training of skilled workers in Kenya, where a large number of young, educated individuals enter the labour market annually with limited professional opportunities.
Added 4 December 2024
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WHARF TALK: Windfarm Installation Support Vessel – SEAWAY MOXIE
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’ 
Story by Jay Gates
The ongoing Houthi menace in the Red Sea continues over a year since the first attack took place. As with all down sides, there is always an upside for someone, and so the huge flow of diversions that have resulted in shipowners, charterers, and insurers, avoiding the southern Red Sea, and instead divert around the Cape sea route, have created a pleasant uptick in income and revenue for multiple facets of the South African maritime support industry.
The visits of many vessels not expected in these parts are also a boon to the casual maritime observer, who have got to set eyes on vessels, and more importantly types of vessels, that would never otherwise have been passing by in South African waters. Some of these vessel types are all associated with the Wind Farm industry. From the wind turbine transports, through the wind farm construction vessels, and to the field support vessels, they have all called in at some point. Occasionally, one of these callers is both innovative, and quite unique.
On 18th November, at 09:00 in the morning, the Windfarm Installation Support Vessel ‘Seaway Moxie’ (IMO 9676216) arrived off the Table Bay anchorage, from Port Louis in Mauritius. She went to anchor for just under 30 hours, and at 13:00 in the early afternoon of 19th November she entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock, and went alongside at the Landing Wall. Such a vessel would only be calling for a mix of bunkers, stores, fresh provisions, and some possible light, shoreside, engineering support and assistance.
With her hull built in 2013 at the ADA Denizcilik ve Tersane Isletmeciligi AS shipyard at Tuzla in Turkey. ‘Seaway Moxie’ was then towed around to the Fjellstrand Verft AS shipyard at Omastrand in Norway for completion and outfitting. She was commissioned in 2014 and is 74 metres in length with a gross registered tonnage of 4,367 tons.
She was designed by Ulstein Design and Solutions AS, of Ulsteinvik in Norway, to a SX163 design, the one thing that stands out with ‘Seaway Moxie’ is her X-BOW, which is a signature design feature of Ulstein vessels. The huge inverted bow shape, gives a more comfortable ride in adverse weather conditions, by reducing slamming, and offers greater fuel savings.
She is powered by two Rolls-Royce MTU 16V4000Mx3 generators providing 1,840 kW each, and two Rolls-Royce MTU 12V4000Mx3 generators providing 1,380 kW each. Power is transferred to two stern Voith Schneider VSP 28R5 EC5/234-2 cycloidal drive units, producing 1,840 kW each, to give her a transit sea speed of 10 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes a Scania DI-12 62M emergency generator providing 315 kW. For added manoeuvrability ‘Seaway Moxie’ has a bow Brunvoll AR63LNC retractable azimuth thruster providing 1,650 kW, and two bow Brunvoll FU80 transverse thrusters providing 1,200 kW each. For stability, she has an active anti-heeling system, capable of pumping water between two tanks at a rate of up to 400 m3/hour.
Her mix of Voith Schneider propulsion, and thrusters, gives ‘Seaway Moxie’ a dynamic positioning classification of DP2. Her DP capabilities are provided through a Dynapos AUTR system, which utilises three motion sensor reference units, two Differential GPS systems, two wind sensor units, one Cyscan laser reference system, and one Radarscan relative position sensor system.
She has a working deck area of 190 m2, with a deck strength of 5 tons/m2, and capable of holding up to 500 tons of cargo. For cargo work ‘Seaway Moxie’ is fitted with a MacGregor three axis (3D), active motion compensated (AMC) knuckleboom deck crane, with a lifting capacity of 5 tons. Her crane was the first 3D AMC crane fitted to any offshore vessel.
She is also fitted with an Uptime, active motion compensated (AMC), covered gangway, giving her a walk to work (W2W) classification for her onboard workforce. Her gangway is rated to allow ‘Seaway Moxie’ to continue working alongside any installation in a sea state of up to 3.5 metres, maintaining her personnel transfer access, as well as allowing the continuation of cargo transfers using her deck crane in most weather conditions.
By having an Ulstein X-BOW, Voith Schneider propulsion, and the 3D AMC crane, ‘Seaway Moxie’ was, and is still, both innovative and unique. From the outset this mix gave her lower vibration levels, a safer working environment, reduced fuel consumption, and reduced emissions. In 2014 she was awarded both the ‘Offshore Renewables Award’, as well as the ‘Innovations Award’.
As an Installation Support Vessel (ISP), ‘Seaway Moxie’ was designed to provide continuous access for an offshore workforce to prepare windfarm platforms, and foundation piles, for the pull-in and termination of inter array submarine power cables, and data cables. She has accommodation for up to 60 personnel, which includes 18 crew, and up to 42 offshore workers. Onboard facilities for relaxation include mess rooms, lounges, a gymnasium and a cinema.
Originally built for Siem Offshore Contractors GmbH, of Hamburg in Germany, and named ‘Siem Moxie’, she was sold on in 2018 to Subsea 7 Group, of Oslo in Norway. Subsea 7 then created a new company, Seaway 7, as their offshore renewables business unit. Nominally owned by Seaway Moxie AS, ‘Seaway Moxie’ is operated by Seaway Offshore Cables GmbH, of Leer in Germany, and managed by Subsea 7 International Contracting Ltd., of London in the UK.
Her voyage to Cape Town, was via Singapore and Port Louis, both calls being for logistical purposes. Her voyage began from the port of Anping in Taiwan, where ‘Seaway Moxie’ has been contracted to the Yunlin windfarm, which is the second largest windfarm in Taiwan. It is located between 4 nautical miles, and 10 nautical miles offshore, in the Taiwan Strait, and in water depths ranging from 7 metres to 35 metres, with the Yunlin field covering an area of 82 km2, and incorporating 80 wind turbines.
The field will be producing 640 MW when it enters full production shortly, with each offshore turbine being a Siemens Gamesa 8MW turbine, and which incorporates 272 km of field interarray cables, all of which were secured by ‘Seaway Moxie’ to the individual wind turbine foundations by the end of August 2024, and where she had begun work in the field in May 2024. The interarray cables included a total of 81 cable runs of three core, 66 kV, cables.
Prior to operating out in the Far East, ‘Seaway Moxie’ completed a number of contracts in Northwest Europe, mainly in the North Sea. Her first completion and support contract included the E.ON operated Amrumbank West windfarm, in the German Bight, which cover s an area of 32 km2, and incorporates 80 wind turbines, each producing 3.6 MW of power, and giving the field an output of 288 MW, providing power to 300,000 homes in Northern Germany.
This contract was followed by two more windfarms in the German Bight, namely the Noordsee One windfarm, with 54 wind turbines, producing 332 MW to provide power to 400,000 German homes, and the Veja Mate windfarm, providing 402 MW to provide power to an additional 450,000 German homes. From there ‘Seaway Moxie’ moved slightly south to complete the Rental windfarm, lying off the coast of Belgium. The Rental windfarm consists of 42 wind turbines, producing 309 MW to provide power to 288,000 Belgian homes.
Her most interesting completion contract was across in the United Kingdom, where she completed the HyWind windfarm, which lies 18 nautical miles off the coast of Northeast Scotland, in water depths ranging from 94 metres to 120 metres. The unique HyWind windfarm was the first in the world to incorporate floating wind turbines, sited on Spar Buoys, rather than seafloor, fixed pile, foundations. The HyWind field covers only 4 km2, and consists of just five floating turbines, each with a Siemens Gamesa turbine providing 6 MW each, giving the field a power output of 30 MW which provides electricity to 30,000 homes in Scotland.
The call of ‘Seaway Moxie’ in Cape Town was a relatively short one, as expected, and with any loading of bunkers, stores, provisions, all completed, plus the conclusion of any shoreside maintenance assistance completed, she was ready to sail. At 2200 in the late evening of 20th November, after just over 36 hours alongside, ‘Seaway Moxie’ sailed from Cape Town.
Her AIS showed that her next destination was to be Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, and another standard bunker and logistics, call for many vessels forced into a Cape sea route diversionary voyage. It is expected that she will then continue on to Northwestern Europe to continue with her important work completing the cable installations on further wind farm developments in the North Sea. It is a future industry that is bypassing South Africa.
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Maersk Completes Order of 20 Dual-Fuel Vessels
Africa Ports & Ships
A.P. Moller – Maersk has finalised agreements for the acquisition of 20 container vessels equipped with dual-fuel engines, marking a significant milestone in its fleet renewal plan announced in August 2024.
These vessels, with a combined capacity of 300,000 TEU, will enhance the company’s commitment to decarbonization.
Anda Cristescu, head of Chartering & Newbuilding at Maersk, commented on the development, saying, “We are pleased to have signed agreements for 20 vessels and thereby completed the acquisition of 300,000 TEU capacity as announced in August.
“These orders are a part of our ongoing fleet renewal program and in line with our commitment to decarbonisation, as all the vessels will have dual-fuel engines with the intent to operate them on lower emissions fuel.”
The 20 ships, varying in size from 9,000 to 17,000 TEU, will be outfitted with liquified gas dual-fuel propulsion systems, providing flexibility for various roles within Maersk’s future network. The first deliveries are scheduled for 2028, with the final vessels arriving in 2030.
In addition, Maersk has completed charter contracts for a range of methanol and liquified gas dual-fuel vessels totaling 500,000 TEU capacity. These chartered vessels will replace existing capacity in the company’s fleet once phased in.
Maersk’s newbuilding orders include:
2x 9,000 TEU vessels ordered at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, China
12x 15,000 TEU vessels (6 at Hanwha Ocean, South Korea and 6 at New Times Shipbuilding, China)
6x 17,000 TEU vessels at Yangzijiang Shipbuilding, China
These strategic acquisitions underscore Maersk’s dedication to expanding its fleet while supporting global sustainability efforts.
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Maersk Names Newest Dual-Fuel Methanol Vessel ‘A.P. Møller’ in Singapore
Africa Ports & Ships
A.P. Moller – Maersk has introduced its latest dual-fuel methanol container vessel, ‘A.P. Møller’ (IMO 9948803), in Singapore, marking a significant milestone in the company’s decarbonization efforts. The vessel, named in honour of the founder Arnold Peter Møller, embarked on its maiden voyage from Asia to Europe last week.
The naming ceremony, hosted by Robert Uggla, Chair of the Board of Directors at A.P. Moller – Maersk, featured Ms. Chan Su-Shan, the godmother of the vessel and wife of the CEO of Temasek Holdings. Mr. Murali Pillai, Minister of State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Transport, highlighted the importance of this event, stating, “The arrival of ‘A.P. Møller’ in Singapore not only showcases advancements in shipping technology but also reinforces our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”
The “A.P. Møller” is part of a series of 18 large dual-fuel methanol vessels set for delivery in 2024 and 2025. Built at Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, it has a capacity of 16,592 TEU. Seven of these vessels joined the Maersk fleet in 2024.
Ditlev Blicher, President of Asia Pacific at Maersk, expressed pride in the launch, emphasising its role in advancing decarbonization in the region and calling for international regulations to support the transition to cleaner fuels.
This event follows the inaugural ship-to-containership methanol bunkering for the Laura Maersk in Singapore, supported by the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore, marking significant progress in the supply and adoption of alternative maritime fuels.
Maersk’s new dual-fuel fleet is integral to the company’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, with methanol expected to reduce emissions by at least 65% compared to conventional fossil fuels.
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Madagascar: Port security training
Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London
Malagasy port personnel have received training under the IMO Port Security Project, funded by the EU, to increase port security in the country.
This was reported by the IMO news service on 2 December.
The workshop in Toamasina was held from 25 to 29 November and saw 22 representatives from the Maritime and Port Agency (APMF), from major ports, and included 14 Port State Control Officers.
Focus was on applying control and compliance measures under IMO’s SOLAS Convention, specifically Chapter XI-2 on special measures to enhance maritime security.
This training was aimed to help reduce the volume of substandard vessels calling at Malagasy ports.
It is reported that the event included theoretical lessons and practical inspections on board ships at the port of Toamasina. Here they were guided by IMO experts on how to carry out effective control and compliance measures on ships entering port.
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Challenge Group launches inaugural flights to Nairobi
Africa Ports & Ships
Challenge Group commenced its inaugural flights to Nairobi, Kenya, marking its first foray into the African market.
The new service began on Monday, December 2, 2024, with bi-weekly flights operating on Mondays and Thursdays using a B767 freighter aircraft, which boasts a 52-ton capacity and 400 cubic metre volume.
Or Zak, Chief Commercial Officer at Challenge Group, emphasised the strategic importance of this expansion: “Our decision to launch flights to Nairobi is driven by our customer-centric approach,” he said.
“With the increasing demand for airfreight solutions out of Africa, we are delighted to offer our clients dependable access to this emerging market. Additionally, by linking Nairobi to our hub in Liege, we are strengthening Liege’s role as a competitive and well-equipped hub for handling and distributing perishable cargo.”
This new route not only facilitates global trade by connecting Nairobi — a key market for perishable goods — with Challenge Group’s operational expertise at Liege Airport but also aligns with Liege Airport’s strategy to enhance its capabilities for handling perishable cargo.
Challenge Group’s entry into Africa signifies a significant milestone for the company, its partners, and its clients worldwide. With its expanding network and innovative services, Challenge Group, which operates a fleet of Boeing 747 and 767 freighters and employs over 1000 people across three airlines, continues to solidify its position as a key enabler of global trade.
The company has tripled its capacity over the past four years, now handling over 500,000 tons of cargo annually.
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Port Elizabeth waits for tanker berth to reopen
by Terry Hutson 
Africa Ports & Ships
Motorists in the greater Nelson Mandela Bay region will be watching with some anxiety for sight of a tanker vessel tying up at the repaired Port Elizabeth tanker berth.
The tanker berth was put out of action when a vessel in the Eastern Cape port collided with the dolphin berth in June this year, rendering it unusable.
This had the result of no fuel being delivered by ship in Port Elizabeth. The nearest alternate tanker berth is in East London, 280 km away by road and even further by rail (if and when that service is available).
It also caused more than an upset among motorists when they found they had to pay a premium for filling their vehicle tanks, on account of the long distance and resultant cost of transporting petrol, diesel and other fuels by road from East London.
When the price of petrol dropped elsewhere in South Africa, motorists in the wider Nelson Mandela Bay region continued paying a premium close to the previous higher price.
When Transport Minister Barbara Creecy, on an oversight of the twin ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura, was challenged for an answer as to when the tanker berth would be reopened, she gave the date as 6 December at the latest.
Since then there has been silence and now, with the 6th expected this week, many people are wondering if that date will indeed be graced with the sight of a fuel products tanker arriving in port.
The damage to the berth was the result of a tanker vessel, under pilotage, crashing into the dolphin section. The cost of the repair was initially estimated at R20 million but the wider cost involving fuel pricing has made the real price very much higher.
The collision was reminiscent of a similar accident in March 2019 that also placed the tanker berth out of action. The damage then was not as bad and took just three weeks to repair, but both incidents have highlighted the risks involved of an important industrial and commercial region having to rely on a single and vulnerable berth for its fuel supply.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area is home to an estimated 1.3 million people or almost 20% of the population of the Eastern Cape. The region is also the base for a significant part of the country’s motor industry and manufacturing sector.
With the NMBM region having not one but two of the country’s official eight ports, it emphasises the absurdity of there being a single and obviously vulnerable tanker berth and facility available for the importation of fuel on which the regional economy is dependent.
Meanwhile, there’s still no word whether the berth will be reopened this week.
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Africa Ports & Ships
Hapag-Lloyd on Monday (2 December) opened its new office in the city of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The shipping company explained that Uganda is strategically situated and provides excellent connections to five neighbouring countries in East and Central Africa.
With a population of around 50 million, the country has become an attractive market on the African continent. The Ugandan economy is on the rise with an expected GDP growth of 5.9% in 2024.
As a landlocked country with no direct access to the sea, Uganda relies on neighbouring ports, such as Mombasa in Kenya and Dar-es-Salaam in Tanzania, to facilitate its international trade.
In 2023 the Kenyan Port of Mombasa handled approximately 200,000 TEU of exports, of which 22% originated from Uganda. This, says Hapag-Lloyd, demonstrates the country’s significant role in the region’s trade flows.
Most of the cargo between Uganda and the ports is transported by trucks.
Apart from exporting its own commodities, Uganda’s importance also lies in its role as a business hub for packaging and consolidating a diverse range of commodities that move throughout the region.
Key exports passing through Uganda include timber and dry hides from South Sudan, cocoa, minerals, and timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as coffee from Rwanda.
These flows highlight Uganda’s growing impact on East African exports and its potential for facilitating trade across borders, argues Hapag-Lloyd.
“Uganda plays a vital role in the export landscape of Africa and continues to see economic growth,” says Lars Sorensen, Senior Managing Director Region Middle East at Hapag-Lloyd.
“Opening our office in Kampala is part of our long-term strategy to establish an early presence in emerging markets with high potential,” Sorensen adds. “With Kampala as our new hub, we can strengthen our position in the African market, improve service delivery, and better meet the needs of our customers both in Uganda and in neighbouring regions.”
Prashant Sindhwani and five employees will manage the new Hapag-Lloyd office in Kampala.
Added 2 December 2024
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Work resumes on fv Elke-M wreck removal near St Francis Bay
Africa Ports & Ships
The South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) confirmed last week that work has resumed on removing the last batch of loosened parts from the wreck of the fishing trawler FV Elke M, which ran aground near St Francis Bay in January 2024.
The removal of loose steel parts from the vessel began on Thursday the previous week and was continuing last week. The operations, which were halted in May 2024 due to severe winter weather, recommenced following an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by Dr. Warwick Sauer from Rhodes University.
The EIA revealed that the steel structure had settled on the rocky shoreline faster than anticipated.
The FV Elke M, a 376-ton fishing trawler, measuring 33 metres in length by 8m wide, grounded on a rocky area of the Eastern Cape coast on 6 January 2024. All 22 crew members were safely evacuated with the assistance of the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI).
Initial salvage efforts included removing 35 tons of marine fuel and approximately 2000 litres of lubricating oil.
P&I insurance representative Mr. Nick Sloane noted that a monitoring team has been in place to ensure safety and collect debris. The removal work, involving a helicopter to lift the steel parts, is expected to continue through February 2025.
Watch a video of an interview with Nick Sloane regarding how the salvage has gone so far, the challenges encountered as well as his impression on the state of readiness of South Africa’s maritime community for incidents of this nature. Click on the video below. [9:48]
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Mozambique unveils natural gas discovery, South Africa eyes Qatar for LNG amid looming supply crisis
Africa Ports & Ships
In a significant energy development, the Mozambique government announced the discovery of a new natural gas reserve in Inhambane province. The discovery, revealed in early November, resulted from a well drilled by Sasol in the Pande and Temane onshore area (PT5C) within the Mozambique Basin and marks a promising addition to the country’s energy resources.
Filimao Suaze, the spokesman for the Mozambique ministerial cabinet, stated that the commercial viability of the find is yet to be assessed, with further evaluations planned to determine its size and feasibility.
The PT5C onshore area was awarded in 2018 to Sasol Petroleum Mozambique Exploration Limitada, holding a 70% stake, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos, with 30%. This new find is distinct from the other Sasol-operated PSA and PPA areas in the region, known for hydrocarbon developments including gas-to-power, gas export, and LPG production.
South Africa is in negotiations to secure liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar to address a looming supply shortfall from Mozambique. Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said in Cape Town that a potential commercial agreement, led by Sasol Ltd. and state power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., is under consideration.
As South Africa’s gas supplies from Mozambique are projected to decline by 2027, the nation is urgently seeking alternative sources to prevent an economic downturn. “We are likely to hit a gas cliff in 30 months, and 5% of the country’s gross domestic product is at great risk,” Ramokgopa warned, following his visit to Qatar for discussions.
Transnet National Ports Authority has already issued a request for proposals for a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Ngqura. Additionally, a terminal at Richards Bay on the east coast, expected to be operational by the first quarter of 2028, is in development to bolster the country’s LNG infrastructure. sources acknowledged: Africa Oil+Gas Report and Worldoil
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Fair treatment of seafarers: ITF joins affiliate unions’ demands
Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London
Seafarers must be treated fairly and not subjected to unjust criminalisation or unfair treatment – that was the message delivered to governments from around the world gathered in Geneva in week ending 30 November.
Guidelines
The ITF joined global seafarers’ union affiliates at the Third meeting of the Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group to Identify and Address Seafarers Issues and the Human Element.
The meeting had the specific aim of discussing and adopting ‘Guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes’.
Seafarers’ Section Chair and President of the Seafarers International Union of North America, David Heindel, commented: “Time and again, we have seen cases where seafarers are treated like criminals, held for months on end without trial and given sentences for crimes they didn’t commit.
“These are gross human rights abuses, and they must be called out as such so that this appalling criminalisation of seafarers ends.”
Consistent lobbying
The ITF has consistently lobbied for a strengthening of frameworks protecting seafarers, citing the global nature of unjust seafarer criminalisation and unfair treatment, and the wide range of issues for which seafarers are increasingly criminalised and detained, whether maritime accidents, illicit cargo or pollution infringements.
In September this year, two seafarers were sentenced to 30 years imprisonment after drugs were found on a vessel docked in Turkey. The pair, who had already spent a year in remand prison, had their sentence handed down despite no evidence of wrongdoing.
At the time, General Secretary of ITF affiliate, the Croatian Seafarers’ Union, Neven Melvan, called the decision “outrageous” and showing “a complete lack of understanding and respect for what seafarers do”.
Nautilus International General Secretary and Seafarers’ spokesperson at the ILO, Mark Dickinson said it is well known that right now the industry is facing a recruitment and retention crisis.
“Seafarers are too often considered guilty until proven innocent, denied their fundamental rights, and this sends a terrible message which risks the future of our maritime industry and undermines the resilience of global supply chains.”
The IMO and the ILO new Guidelines are intended to ensure that, “seafarers detained on suspicion of committing a crime are treated fairly during any investigation and detention… ”
The new Guidelines:
* Set out the different responsibilities to treat seafarers fairly when detained on suspicion of committing crimes: for port and coastal states, flag states, shipowners and the state of which the seafarer is a national.
* Provide support towards seafarers, including access to consular services, legal assistance, and specify the importance of non-custodial measures during an investigation.
* Emphasise the enjoyment of fundamental human rights for seafarers, and the need to treat seafarers with respect and dignity at all times.
* Call for the strengthening of co-operation between flag states, the states of nationality of seafarers, the port state where the seafarers are investigated or detained, and also with ship owners and seafarers’ representatives.
* Agree that seafarers need to be made aware of the risks of incriminating themselves, and the options available should they end up in a situation where they are investigated or detained.
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WHARF TALK: expeditionary passenger ships – LE BOUGAINVILLE & LE DUMONT D’URVILLE
Pictures: Keith Betts
and Trevor Jones
Story by Jay Gates
As most all casual maritime observers are aware, passenger cruise vessels come in all shapes and sizes, and very often are built as a class of sisterships. What then happens is that the various sisterships are deployed by their owners across all points of the compass, and around all four corners of the globe.
What doesn’t normally occur is for the sisterships to be deployed on the same cruise circuit, and turn up at the same port together, on the same day, after both arriving from the same previous operational area, and heading to a new, and same operational area. However, in this period of time where the Houthi menace has turned the shipping world on its head, nothing remains as it was, and Cape sea route diversions mean that the norm is no longer the norm.
On 26th November, two expeditionary passenger cruise liners, sisterships of each other, arrived within four hours of each other off the Durban Bluff, with both having departed from Athens within three days of each other, and having tracked each other via bunker calls at both Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, and then Walvis Bay, in Namibia. At this point their itineraries diverged until they both arrived together off Durban Harbour.
The vessels in question were ‘Le Bougainville’ (IMO 9814040), and ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ (IMO 9814052), with the former entering Durban harbour on the 26th November, at 07:00 in the morning, from Walvis Bay, and the latter entering Durban harbour on the 26th November, at 11:00 in the morning, from East London.
Both vessels were built in 2019 with their hulls being built by the Vard Tulcea SA shipyard, at Tulcea in Rumania, and then towed to Norway where they were both outfitted and completed by the Vard Søviknes Werft AS shipyard, at Ålesund in Norway. They are both 132 metres in length and both have a gross registered tonnage of 10,038 tons.
They are diesel electric vessels with power being provided by four Wärtsilä 8L20 generators providing 1,480 kW each. Power is transferred to two ABB Indar electric motors, producing 2,000 kW each, which drive two Rolls-Royce controllable pitch propellers, giving them a cruising speed of 12.5 knots, and a maximum speed of 15 knots.
Their auxiliary machinery includes a single emergency generator providing 775 kW. They each have four Alfa Laval Aalborg CHR Economiser exhaust gas boilers, and two Alfa Laval Aalborg CHO oil fired boilers. For added manoeuvrability they have a single bow transverse thruster providing 800 kW.
As expeditionary passenger cruise vessels, operating in some of the worlds most restricted, and sometimes challenging waters, the sisterships have sixteen watertight compartments and an ice classification of ICE 1C, which allows them to operate in Baltic Sea first year ice thickness of 0.4 metres. The accommodation was designed by the naval architect company of Stirling Design International, of Nantes in France, and the internal outfitting was designed by Studio Jean-Philippe Nuel, of Paris in France.
Both vessels are a part of a group of six sisterships, and with ‘Le Bougainville’ being the third built of the class, and ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ being the fourth built of the class. The class is known as the ‘Explorer’ class, with all of the sisterships being named after famous French, historical, maritime explorers, with ‘Le Bougainville’ named after Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811), and ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ named after Jules Sébastien César Dumont D’Urville (1790-1842). Each vessel of the class cost US$150 million (ZAR2.71 billion) to build.
Both vessels are owned by Compagnie des Îles du Ponant, of Marseilles in France, and both are operated and managed by Compagnie de Ponant Cruises, also of Marseilles. They have seven decks, with five of the decks for passenger use, and four of those decks being cabin decks. There are a total of 92 cabins, all of which have balconies, terraces, or verandahs.
A total of 184 passengers can be carried, looked after by a crew of 112. The onboard facilities of the class include two restaurants, two lounges, two bars, theatre, boutique, art gallery, kids playroom, spa, massage rooms, treatment rooms, beauty salon, gymnasium, deck shuffleboard, golf driving range, and nine hole mini-golf course. Unusually, the single swimming pool is set extremely aft, on a lower deck, and is an infinity pool, which overlooks the retractable marina, which is used as the boarding area for her onboard fleet of zodiacs, used by passengers for landing at remote locations, as well as kayaks, paddleboards, and snorkel diving.
One other unique passenger facility of the ‘Explorer’ class is that they all have an underwater lounge. The lounge is located 3 metres below the waterline, and incorporates two large, eye shaped, underwater viewing windows. There are also three underwater cameras, which project their views on large TV screens around the lounge. There is also a hydrophone mounted on the vessel keel, which transmits the received underwater sounds on to vibrating sofas, which give the passengers a full interactive experience of the waters in which the vessels are navigating.
Both vessels are on diversionary voyages, courtesy of the Houthi terror, and both appear to be positioning voyages, without carrying a full load of passengers, and both taking slightly different routes to reach their final destinations on each voyage. The itinerary of ‘Le Bougainville’ appears to be long passages between bunker stops only. Her itinerary was Athens- Las Palmas- Walvis-Bay-Durban. After a short eight hour stop in Durban, and on completion of her uplift of bunkers, stores, and fresh provisions, ‘Le Bougainville’ was ready to sail. At 15:00 in the afternoon of 26th November she sailed from Durban, now bound for Victoria, in the Seychelles.
The itinerary of ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ was entirely different from her sistership. Whilst she also followed the same Athens- Las Palmas- Walvis Bay routing, she then completed a full, coastal port call through to her arrival in Durban. Her diversionary voyage was utilised by the Ponant Cruises decision makers, and future cruise planners, as a scouting voyage to sample what each port along the Southern African coast could offer for passengers on a future cruise programme.
Her itinerary from Walvis Bay was Walvis-Bay (16th November 09:00-19:00)- Saldanha Bay (19th-20th November 09:00-07:00)- Cape Town (20th-21st November 13:00-20:00)- Hermanus (22nd November 08:00-18:00)- Mossel Bay (23rd November 08:00-18:00)- Port Elizabeth (24th November 11:00-19:00)- East London (25th November 06:00-14:00)- Durban (26th November). At 19:00 in the early evening of 26th November, four hours after her consort had sailed, ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ was also ready to sail, and she sailed from Durban, now bound for Maputo, in Mozambique.
Her call in Maputo (28th-29th November 06:00-07:00) was not the end of her slow ramble along the Southern African coast, as ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ then continued to sail further along the Mozambican coast, arriving off Pomene (the MSC leisure destination) on 30th November at 19:00 in the evening. Her ultimate destination of this ‘taste’ cruise is expected to be Port Louis in Mauritius, as she is scheduled to undertake a series of cruises around the Indian Ocean islands, and East Africa, starting from Port Louis on 8th December.
The Indian Ocean cruises of ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ will continue until late February 2025, when she is expected to once more take the Cape sea route, and a further potential call at South African ports, whilst enroute back to begin a European summer cruising season in the Eastern Mediterranean from March 2025 onwards. At the end of the European Summer, in late 2025, ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’ is scheduled to make a crossing of the North Atlantic Ocean, where she will conduct a winter cruising season in the Caribbean Sea.
For ‘Le Bougainville’, after her voyage from Durban, direct to Victoria in the Seychelles, she is then expected to sail for the Persian Gulf, where she is scheduled to complete a short season of cruises around the Western Gulf States and Oman, before she will voyage south once more, and back into the Indian Ocean, to conduct a further series of cruises to the Indian Ocean islands and East Africa. On completion of her Indian Ocean cruise programme in March 2025 she is also due to reposition via the Cape sea route, back to the Mediterranean Sea, for a European summer cruise season.
Louis Antoine de Bougainville, after whom the vessel was named, was the Commander of an expedition in 1764 that set up a French Colony in the Falkland Islands, which he termed Îles Malouines’ after the settlers who hailed from the Brittany port of St.Malo. This term was corrupted by future Spanish settlers as ‘Las Malvinas’.
On his return to France he was made the Commander of the first French expedition to circumnavigate the world. His voyage on the frigate ‘Bodeuse’, departed from the French port of Brest, in Normandy, on 5th December 1766. He arrived in Rio de Janeiro in June 1767, where his onboard botanist, Philibert Commerçon, brought back a new flowering shrub back to the vessel, that he had found outside Rio, and which he named after his Commander. The Bougainvillea, a beautiful, climbing, pink flowering shrub that adorns many houses in South Africa, is the result of its discovery on this voyage.
The ‘Bodeuse’ then went through the Magellan Straits, into the Pacific Ocean, where Bougainville thought he had discovered Tahiti, where he had arrived on 5th April 1768, but which had been claimed the previous year, on 18th June 1767, by Captain Samuel Wallis RN, Commander of HMS Dolphin on his voyage of circumnavigation. It was in Tahiti that Philibert Commerçon’s botanical assistant, Jean Baret, was discovered to be a woman masquerading as a man, and who was, in fact, the Botanist’s lover. She thus, inadvertently, became the first woman in history to complete a circumnavigation of the globe.
After calls at Batavia, in the Dutch East Indies, and Port Louis in Mauritius, Bougainville and ‘Bodeuse’ arrived in Table Bay on 9th January 1769. His stay in Cape Town was only for just over one week, and on 17th January 1769, ‘Bodeuse’ sailed for France, where she arrived in the port of St.Malo on 16th March 1769 to complete the circumnavigation.
For Jules Sébastien César Dumont D’Urville, he had completed a voyage to Australasia and the Pacific Ocean, which began from Toulon on 22nd April 1826, but was not undertaken as a voyage of circumnavigation. His vessel for this voyage was the Fluyt ‘L’Astrolabe’. He was on his way back to France, having sailed from Port Louis in Mauritius, and he arrived in Table Bay on 23rd December 1828. His stay in Cape Town only covered the Christmas period, and on 2nd January 1829 he sailed from Table Bay, bound for France, where he arrived back in Marseilles on 25th March 1829. His ship was to gain fame on his next major voyage.
Jules Sébastien César Dumont D’Urville is revered in France, as he was the first French man to conduct explorations in Antarctica. His second voyage, once more conducted on ‘L’Astrolabe’ had departed from Toulon on 7th September 1837. On 22nd January 1840, he discovered new lands on the Antarctic continent, which he named Terre Adélie, after his wife, and claimed for France. He also discovered a new species of Penguin, the Adélie Penguin, again named after his wife. His Antarctic voyage was completed when he returned to Toulon on 6th November 1840.
The French Antarctic, and Sub-Antarctic possessions are collectively known as ‘Terres Australes et Antarctiques Françaises (TAAF), and the administration of Terre Adélie is conducted from the French Scientific Research station on the continent, which is named ‘Dumont D’Urville’. The current French Antarctic resupply icebreaker, which is manned by the French Navy, and is an irregular visitor to both Cape Town and Durban, is ‘FNS L’Astrolabe P800’ named after the exploration vessel of Dumont D’Urville, and which was reported on in the 27th June 2023 edition of Africa Ports & Ships.
That both Louis Antoine de Bougainville, and Jules Sébastien César Dumont D’Urville, both stepped ashore in Cape Town, on both of their respective voyages of discovery, gives a nice touch to the fact that both the modern iterations of exploration passenger cruise vessels, ‘Le Bougainville’ and ‘Le Dumont D’Urville’, will possibly once more call into Cape Town, or possibly into Durban, on their return voyages from the Indian Ocean in March 2025. It is a nice touch.
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U-Ming Marine orders Rotor Sails for VLOC, ship will call in South Africa
Africa Ports & Ships
U-Ming Marine Transport has appointed UK technology provider, Anemoi Marine Technologies Ltd, to install Rotor Sails on a VLOC, in another investment in sustainable initiatives by the Taiwan-based corporation.
The agreement is for four Rotor Sails to be installed on one of U-Ming’s 325,000-dwt Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC).
The installation work is expected to be completed at the end of 2025, with fuel and emission savings of approximately 10-12% anticipated on deep-sea routes between China and Brazil, South Africa, and Australia.
The vessel will be retrofitted with four of Anemoi’s 35m tall, 5m in diameter, cylindrical sails. The Rotor Sails will also be installed with Anemoi’s bespoke folding deployment system, whereby the sails can be folded from vertical to mitigate impact on air draught and cargo handling operations.
This latest announcement follows the successful installation of Anemoi Rotor Sails on various vessels including four Anemoi Rotor Sails with Rail Deployment Systems aboard an 82,000-dwt Kamsarmax bulk carrier in June 2023 and the retrofit of four folding Rotor Sails aboard a 388,000-dwt Valemax ore carrier in May 2024.
Rotor Sails, also known as Flettner Rotors, are vertical cylinders that harness the renewable power of the wind to provide additional forward thrust and improve the energy efficiency of the vessel, along with significant cuts to harmful emissions.
Rotor Sails are proving a popular choice amongst ship owners seeking net-zero technologies to enhance the energy efficiency of their vessels and aid their ships in meeting critical international emission reduction targets, including the Carbon Intensity Indicator.
Mr CK Ong, President of U-Ming said the state-of-the-art rotor sails will play a key role in U-Ming’s decarbonisation strategy and will complement their portfolio of existing emission-reducing technologies, including a fleet of LNG dual-fuel vessels.
“In addition, we will continue to research other emission lowering pathways such as carbon capture systems and retrofitting conventional vessels to Methanol dual-fuel. We look forward to continuing working with like-minded partners, like Anemoi, to help us reach our target of net zero,” Mr Ong said.
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China eyes alternatives as seaborne coal imports lose market share
Africa Ports & Ships
World’s largest coal importer diversifying supply with increased land borne providers
The share of Chinese coal imports being transported by sea have fallen sharply in the last two years, down from 93% of the total between 2015-2022 to 76% in 2023-2024 according to a new report by commodity market intelligence provider Oceanbolt (Veson Nautical).
The report ‘How China’s New Silk Road is Impacting Maritime Coal Transport’, states that despite coal exports to the world’s second largest economy soaring 62% to 473.4 million tonnes in 2023, seaborne imports only increased by 45%.
The data represents a seismic shift in global trade flows as China looks to diversify supply away from traditional exporters and capitalize on geopolitical uncertainty by purchasing discounted coal from other sources.
Australia bearing the brunt
The report also states that Australia’s share of China’s coal imports fell sharply, from 26% in 2019 to just 11% in 2023 after the unofficial ban on Australian coal imports was lifted. Since all Australian coal exports to China are seaborne, this decline largely explains the recent drop in seaborne coal volumes.
“The country that has been impacted the most in this shift to higher land borne volumes is Australia,” Mikkel Nordberg, Senior Maritime Analyst at Veson Nautical says. “And while there has been a recovery in imports of Australian steam coal to China after trade resumed in 2023, the coking coal trade has been heavily impacted.”
Nordberg adds that China imported just 2.8 million tonnes of Australian coking coal, a staggering 91% decline from pre-ban levels.
Cheap Russian coal sees imports rise
The report cites Russia as a growing supplier of coal to China. Russia’s share of Chinese coal imports grew from 11% in 2019 to 22% in 2023. This shift could be linked with the war in Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia by Western nations.
These sanctions effectively halted Russian coal exports to the EU and other Western allies, forcing Russia to seek alternative markets.
“With reduced global demand and limited buyers, China has capitalized on the opportunity to purchase Russian coal at discounted prices,” Nordberg says. “As a result, the Russia-China coal trade surged, increasing by 20% in 2022 and a further 50% in 2023, reaching 102 million tonnes.”
Mongolia emerging as major player
The report also cites Mongolia as a big winner as coal exports to China soar as infrastructure improves.
Around 90% of Mongolia’s coal production is destined for export to China due to limited domestic demand. According to the Mongolian Coal Association, the country has the potential to produce up to 100 million tonnes annually.
However, this capacity is constrained by border infrastructure and customs processes. In 2023, Mongolia took significant steps to enhance its coal export capabilities, including the inauguration of a new railway line connecting its coal mines to the Chinese border.
Consequently, Mongolia’s coal exports to China surged by 125% in 2023, reaching 70 million tonnes, and have grown another 27% so far in 2024. Approximately 75% of these exports are coking coal, making Mongolia China’s largest supplier of this resource.
“In 2023, Mongolia accounted for 53% of China’s total coking coal imports,” Nordberg says. “As a landlocked country, all of Mongolia’s coal exports are transported overland, which means that it is effectively replacing the seaborne coking coal volumes previously sourced from Australia.”
Growing land borne trade hurts seaborne trade growth
The report concludes that the increase in land borne coal volumes could have significant repercussions in the bulk carrier sector. Assuming that the land borne volumes should otherwise be sourced from Australia, the report argues that the total ton-mile demand lost out on 1% growth last year.
“This development has unquestionably hurt the Capesize and the Panamax class vessels, which are the largest carriers of Chinese coal imports,” Nordberg concludes. “It has been particularly evident in Panamax freight rates which underperformed the Supramaxes in Q3, and the usual seasonal rebound we tend to see in Q4 has not materialised.”
To read the whitepaper in full on the Veson Nautical website, see here
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IMO and fisheries: Key treaties under FAO, ILO and IMO support – Mombasa workshop
Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London
Coordinated implementation of instruments
On 28 November the IMO new service reported that a workshop held in Mombasa from 18 to 24 November brought together officials from the three UN entities along with Kenyan officials to develop a model of coordinated implementation of these instruments, which address fishing vessel safety, labour rights, and rigorous port State measures against illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
Treaties related to fisheries, which Kenya has ratified, are:
* The FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA)
* The ILO Work in Fishing Convention (C.188)
* The IMO 2012 Cape Town Agreement (CTA)
* The STCW-F Convention
Inter-agency collaboration
Implementing the treaties in a holistic and harmonized manner helps strengthen inter-agency collaboration in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, forced labour and poor safety standards of fishing vessels.
Broad attendance
This workshop brought together the Kenya Fisheries Service (KeFS), responsible for the implementation of the PSMA, the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), competent authority for implementing both the CTA and C.188, alongside experts from FAO, ILO and IMO, to review Kenya’s progress in aligning its legal, institutional and operational frameworks with these international standards.
Field visit
A field visit to the Liwatoni fishing port in Mombasa allowed for simulated inspections and interactive discussions to explore practical mechanisms for cooperation, evaluating resourcing needs and laying the groundwork for an inter-agency approach.
Collective action
The workshop underscored the importance of collective action in enhancing safety and working conditions of fishers, protecting marine ecosystems and combating IUU fishing, through collaboration across sectors.
Bolstering sustainable fisheries management
It was reported that outcomes of this initiative will bolster sustainable fisheries management in Kenya and support planning of a scalable model for other nations seeking to implement these vital treaties effectively.
FAO coordination
The workshop was coordinated by FAO with contributions from ILO and IMO.
CTA
To see the 2012 Cape Town Agreement (made simple) portal, for further information readers are invited to use the link here
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New Officer in Command for Naval Base Simon’s Town
by defenceWeb
In the same week a new Flag Officer Fleet (FOF) was named in Simon’s Town, management of the premier SA Navy (SAN) base at the same location was handed to a new commander.
A change of command parade at Martello sports ground saw Rear Admiral (JG) Sikumbuzo Msikinya given command of Naval Base (NB) Simon’s Town by outgoing base boss Rear Admiral (JG) Joseph Dlamini.
Msikinya has command at sea and ashore experience on his CV covering 27 years of service in the SAN.
One command at sea was as Officer in Command of SAS Protea (A324) from June 2017 before taking charge of the premier SAN training unit, SAS Saldanha. Msikinya’s association with the “White Lady” as the hydrographic vessel is affectionately known, all told covers 18 years – with three breaks – serving in training, as gunnery officer, executive officer and Officer in Command.
While away from Protea he attended a number of military development courses, was a divisional officer at the SA Naval College and did time as Officer Commanding the mine counter measures (MCM) vessel SAS Umkomaas (M1499).
Other Msikinya CV entries show he commanded the South African task group in the 2014 Exercise Good Hope, was part of the 2015 Exercise Oxide and was training officer entrusted with the junior officers’ combat course.
A day before taking office the SAN introduced its new FOF – Rear Admiral Handsome Matsane – to senior SA National Defence Force (SANDF) and SAN officers as well as SAN personnel at another Martello sports ground change of command parade.
Written by defenceWeb and republished with permission. The original article can be found here
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Ports Regulator Record of Decision on the Tariff Application by TNPA for the Tariff Year 2025/26
Africa Ports & Ships
On 29 November 2024, Ms. Mukondeleli Johanna Mulaudzi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ports Regulator of South Africa stated as follows:
1. On 01 August 2024 the National Ports Authority (“the Authority”) submitted its tariff application to the Ports Regulator of South Africa (‘’the Regulator”) in accordance with Section 72 of the National Ports Act, 12 of 2005.
2. The Authority requested an average tariff increase of 7,90% for the period 01 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, along with indicative tariffs increases of 18,61% for the period 01 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 and 2,52% for 01 April 2027 to 31 March 2028.
3. After reviewing the Application, stakeholder submissions, presentations in the public consultation process, and the updated inflation as per the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS, November 2024), the Regulator applied the Tariff Methodology, Tariff Strategy and the use of ETIMC to the Application and determined that an appropriate overall weighted average tariff increase for the Financial Year 2025/26 is 4,40%.
4. This will be differentiated as follows:
4.1. Marine services and related tariffs (Sections 1-8 of the Tariff Book, excluding Section 7 that deals with cargo dues) are to increase by 6.15%.
4.2. All cargo dues categories are to increase by 3.40%, except for:
4.2.1.Dry Bulk imports and exports which are to increase by 4.00%; and
4.2.2.Tariffs for empty containers on Deepsea and Transhipment will be equalised to Coastwise tariffs.
5. All marine tariffs (Sections 1-8 of the Tariff Book, excluding Section 7 that relates to cargo dues) for existing commercial South African flagged vessels, as well as commercial vessels registered in South Africa from 2019/20, will receive a 30% discount, applicable year on year until reviewed by the Regulator.
6. All license fees for port activities as per Section 5 of the Tariff Book, will continue to be discounted by 30%. Additionally, all license fees (Tariff) applicable per port for the tariff year 2025/26, can continue to be paid in equal instalments on an annual basis over the period of the license.
7. For the 2025/26 tariff year, a reduction in port dues will continue to apply in the following instances (as per Section 4.1.1. of the Tariff Book):
7.1. Vessels not engaged in cargo working for the first 30 days only;
7.2. Bona fide coasters;
7.3. Passenger vessels; and
7.4. Small vessels classified under Section 4, Clause 2 when visiting a port other than their registered port.
8. Vessels in port for longer than 30 days not engaged in cargo working or undergoing repairs will incur a 20% surcharge on the incremental fee of port dues.
9. Additionally, a 60% reduction will be granted to vessels calling for the sole purpose of taking on bunkers and/or stores and/or water or a combination of all three, provided the vessel’s entire stay does not exceed 48 hours. This reduction will not be enjoyed in addition to the 35% reduction granted for vessels not engaged in cargo working for the first 30 days only, bona fide coasters, passenger vessels and small vessels classified under Section 4, Clause 2.
10. The Authority’s request for a 10% reduction on port dues in liquid bulk tankers in possession of a Green Award Certification is supported by the Regulator.
11. Tariff Assessment and approved revenue for the NPA
11.1. The Regulator takes cognisance of the volatility and fluctuations on the components of the Required Revenue which are driven by economic factors, deviation from projected and actual volumes, and over/under recovery of revenues by the Authority.
11.2. A key component of this tariff assessment was the inflation number. The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) expects inflation to stabilise around the midpoint of the Reserve Bank’s 3.00% – 6.00% target.
11.3. The MTBPS figure suggests that the country has entered a transitional period to a low inflation trajectory. Whilst low inflation is favourable in increasing disposable incomes for households, in the adopted rate of return regulatory methodology low inflation increases the real return of capital. In an environment where volume growth is also muted, low inflation results in
increased tariffs in the transitionary period.
11.4. As a result, the Regulator has opted to use ETIMC to soften the switch from high to low inflation phase. Going forward, the low inflation phase allows port users to afford increasing tariffs which will be necessary for the NPA’s investment program.
11.5. The Regulator considers the long-term sustainability and affordability of the port sector. As a result, the Regulator will use R225 million of the ETIMC to mitigate transition to the low inflation phase and smooth tariffs for the FY 2025/26 for port users.
11.6. The Authority is approved Opex of R6 854m, including Group Overhead costs. In so doing, the Regulator disallowed the difference between approved operational costs and actual costs incurred in FY 2023/24, amounting to R 185 million as it believes that the Authority ought to control operational costs and over expenditure should not be passed onto port users. Furthermore, an insignificant disallowance comes from fruitless and wasteful expenditure of R 12 million.
11.7. Reported irregular expenditure of approximately R169 million has been noted in the Authority’s information. Whilst the Authority has substantiated the causes of the expenditure and reported that no financial losses were suffered, the Regulator will follow up to establish the outcomes of the determination tests to decide whether to any of this amount should be clawed back in the next tariff application.
11.8. The Regulator notes that the Ship Repair Strategy, requested in the last Record of Decision, has not been published. The tariff increase on ship repair activities is contingent on the publishing of the Strategy by 30 September 2025. Failure to do so will result in a clawback on the additional revenue resulting from the tariff increase approved herein for ship repair.
11.9. The approved tariff adjustment amounts to revenue of R15 318 million as opposed to the R15 663 million applied for. This will be recovered from R 10 292 million in Marine Services and Cargo Dues, and R 5 026 million in Real Estate Revenue.
12. Port Efficiency
12.1. The Regulator has again noted reports of continued deterioration of port performance caused by lack of refurbishment and investments in equipment by terminal operators. South African ports continue to rank poorly in performance indicators compared with other ports regionally and globally, resulting in increased costs for shipping lines, cargo owners and ultimately South African consumers.
12.2. The deteriorating port efficiency levels, measured through the Weighted Efficiency Gains from Operations (WEGO), have resulted in a loss of R217 million.
12.3. The Regulator will continue to monitor port performance and efficiency levels through the stakeholder engagement process.
13. Corporatisation of the National Ports Authority
13.1. The corporatisation of the NPA, first announced in June 2021 by the President, is expected to be finalised by 30 April 2025. The Minister of Transport, who now represents the shareholder of Transnet SOC Ltd (“Transnet”) has committed to this timeline, a position reinforced by the Minister of Finance (Treasury) through the reported conditions attached to the R47 billion guarantee facilities provided to Transnet.
13.2. The Treasury’s conditions reportedly include implementation of institutional reforms i.e. the corporatisation of the NPA and reform of Transnet Freight Rail business through the establishment of an infrastructure manager separate from rail operations, amongst others.
13.3. In noting the developments within government in relation to corporatisation of the NPA, the Regulator in evaluating the tariff application, has treated the Authority as a corporatised entity.
13.4. Furthermore, the Regulator anticipates that a corporatised NPA, will emerge as an autonomous entity, with an investment grade credit rating able to raise funding at a reasonable cost (interest rates) from the markets.
13.5. The Tariff Methodology is due for a review in FY 2025/26. During the review the Regulator will embark on an overhaul of all the aspects of the required revenue and tariff setting to suit the corporatised entity. The comprehensive review will include the assessment of the cost of funding, efficiency of the tariff structure and the strengthening of the abilities to provide
adequate infrastructure.
14. Conclusion
14.1. The Regulator’s decision follows a prudent approach and takes cognisance of the economic environment within which port users, importers and exporters find themselves in. Even within the binding constraints evident in the ports sector, the Regulator is committed to incentivising National Ports Authority investment, managerial and operational behaviour that will lead to
efficient ports.
14.2. The Regulator is guided by the Directives and in particular, Directive 23(1) that sets out the requirements and/or principles which must reflect and balance amongst others, the following:
i. A systematic tariff methodology that is applicable on a consistent and comparable basis;
ii. Fairness;
iii. The avoidance of discrimination, save where discrimination is in the public interest;
iv. Simplicity and Transparency;
v. Predictability and stability;
vi. Avoidance of cross-subsidisation save in the public interest; and
vii. Promotion of access to ports and efficient and effective management and operations in
ports.
15. The official tariff Record of Decision for 2025/26 tariff year can be found on the Ports Regulator website, www.portsregulator.org. The Tariff Book will be published by 31 March 2024.
About the Ports Regulator of South Africa
The Ports Regulator (the Regulator) was established in terms of Section 29 of the National Ports Act, No. 12 of 2005 (the Ports Act). The Ports Regulator is a Schedule 3A Public Entity of the Department of Transport, in terms of the Public Finance Management Act, No.1 of 1999, as amended. The Regulator is a key component of the ports regulatory architecture envisaged in the National
Commercial Ports Policy
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WHARF TALK: offshore construction vessel – SEVEN SISTERS
Pictures by ‘Dockrat’
Story by Jay Gates
Sometimes an interesting vessel calls in to Durban or Cape Town, along with one or two others calling at the same time, and after placing the said vessels in an order for putting down in a series of articles over the period of that week, the vessel given last priority then gets demoted down the list because something else more interesting, or topical, arrives and takes its place in the writing stakes. So it sometimes takes a while for the vessel to make it to the top of the list.
Yet the ignored vessel still retains a definite interest, if not because in itself it is an interesting vessel, representing a part of the maritime industry that always produces stupendous vessels, and one that invokes thrills for the casual maritime observer, but also because it has an African story to tell that evokes interest, and this publication is, after all, called Africa Ports & Ships.
A month ago, back on 25th October at 07:00 in the morning, the offshore construction vessel ‘Seven Sisters’ (IMO 9390604) arrived off the Table Bay anchorage, from Dakar in Senegal, and went to anchor for the next 24 hours. The next morning, at 08:00 on 25th October, she entered Cape Town harbour, proceeding into the Duncan Dock and went alongside outer berth of the Eastern Mole. As always, such a vessel, and such a berth, is a strong indication that the call is purely logistical and is almost certainly limited to a relatively quick turnaround based on uplifting bunkers, stores and provisions.
Built in 2008 by Kleven Werft shipyard at Ulsteinvik in Norway, ‘Seven Sisters’ is 104 metres in length and has a gross registered tonnage of 5,275 tons. She is a diesel electric vessel, and is powered by four Caterpillar 3516HD generators providing 2,188 kW each, which provide power to two Rolls-Royce AZP100 azimuth thrusters, each producing 2,000 kW, and giving her a service speed of 12 knots.
Her auxiliary machinery includes a single Caterpillar 3508 auxiliary generator providing 968 kW, and a single Caterpillar C9 ACERT emergency generator providing 189 kW. She can produce 25 m3 of fresh water per day. For added manoeuvrability ‘Seven Sisters’ has two bow Rolls-Royce Kamewa TT2200 transverse thrusters providing 1,050 kW each, and a single bow Rolls-Royce Aquamaster UL1201 retractable azimuth thruster providing 883 kW.
She has an Ice class classification of ICE C, which allows her to operate in Baltic Sea first year ice with a thickness of 0.4 metres. Her mix of azimuth and transverse thrusters gives ‘Seven Sisters’ a dynamic positioning classification of DP2, with her position holding requirements all controlled through a Kongsberg K-Pos DP-22 system which takes its position holding data from two DGPS systems, three Gyro compasses, two wind sensor systems, two vertical reference systems, one Fanbeam system, one taut wire system, and one HiPap system.
In terms of dynamic positioning classification, DP2 differs from DP1 by having some system redundancy, and allows the vessel to keep station with the failure of an active component. The redundant system must provide the ability to keep station until work can be safely stopped, and the transfer of operations must be automatic. The highest classification, DP3, has segregated redundancy and can continue station keeping even with the failure of an active, or static component, and the total loss of the equipment in a compartment due to fire or flood.
For her construction work ‘Seven Sisters’ has a Hydramarine knuckleboom crane, with active heave compensation, and a lifting capacity of 150 tons, which is able to work down to a depth of 3,000 metres. Her aft working deck has an area of 850 m2, with an additional mezzanine deck with an area of 290 m2, and a deck strength of 10 tons/m2.
In support of her subsea construction work she has a 7 x 7 metre moonpool, and is equipped with two Work Remote Operating Vehicles (WROV), one a Hercules 17 model, and one a Hercules 29 model, both able to work down to a depth of 3,000 metres. For logistical support, urgent needs, and crew change requirements, ‘Seven Sisters’ has a raised, bow, helideck which has a ‘D’ value of 20.9 metres, and a weight limit of 12 tons, which allows her to accept all models of offshore support helicopter up to the largest type in use, namely the Sikorsky S-92A.
With accommodation for 92 persons, ‘Seven Sisters’ is a part of Subsea 7 SA, of Luxembourg, and is owned by Subsea 7 Offshore Resources (UK) Ltd., in the London suburb of Sutton in the UK. She is operated by Subsea 7 International, of Aberdeen in Scotland, and is managed by Subsea 7 International Contracting Ltd., also of Sutton in London. She is a MT 6026 L design, and was purchased by her owners at a cost of US$84 million (ZAR1.53 billion).
Her arrival from Dakar was due to ‘Seven Sisters’ being contracted to the commissioning of the Sangomar Field since May 2024. The Sangomar Field is the first offshore oil project in Senegal’s history, and is located 54 nautical miles to the south of Dakar. It was discovered in 2014, and covers an area of 400 km2, lying in a water depth of up to 1,400 metres. It is estimated to contain 230 million barrels of oil.
Subsea 7 International were contracted from the outset in 2020 with a work scope for the engineering, procurement, construction, transportation, and installation of the Subsea Umbilicals, Risers and Flowlines (SURF) system and Subsea Production System (SPS). The Sangomar Field has a total of 46 pipeline terminations, with 45 km of umbilicals, 107 km of rigid flowlines, 28 km of flexible risers, and 24 km of flowlines of installed water injection, all installed in water depths ranging from 700 metres to 1,400 metres.
All of the SURF and SPS installations are linked back to Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading (FPSO) vessel, named ‘Léopold Sédar Senghor’ after the 1st State President of Senegal. The FPSO was originally built in 2001 as the Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) tanker ‘Astipalaia’, with a length of 332 metres, and a gross registered tonnage of 170,296 tons.
The FPSO conversion from a VLCC took place at the Seatrium shipyard in Singapore. She sailed from Singapore in December 2023, under tow, and rounded the Cape, arriving on station in the Sangomar Field in February 2024, with Subsea 7 responsible for the hook-up of the FPSO to the subsea systems, using ‘Seven Sisters’, ‘Seven Oceans’, and ‘Seven Vega’, and with the first oil from the field being produced in June 2024.
FPSO ‘Léopold Sédar Senghor’ is moored in 780 metres depth of water, and is connected to 23 subsea wells. She has a production capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day, 130,000 ft3 of natural gas, and 145,000 barrels per day of water injection. Her oil storage capacity is 1.3 million barrels of oil, which are offloaded on a regular basis into receiving Shuttle Tankers.
The operator of the Sangomar Field is Woodside Energy, the Australian oil and gas company, who have an 82% interest in the field, and with the Senegal state owned oil company, Petrosen, holding the remaining 18% interest. The development costs of the Sangomar Field were set at US$5.2 billion (ZAR94.52 billion).
The stay in Cape Town for ‘Seven Sisters’ was, as expected, a short one and after 36 hours alongside uplifting bunkers, loading stores, and taking on fresh provisions, she was ready for departure. At 20:00 in the evening of 26th October she sailed from Cape Town, now bound eastward to Singapore, in anticipation of her next contract. She arrived there safely at midday on 20th November.
For the nomenclature aficionado, Subsea 7 have a fleet naming policy of giving their vessels names beginning with that of the owning company, namely ‘Seven’, followed by a word, with vessels in the fleet that have visited Cape Town over the past few years such as ‘Seven Oceans’, ‘Seven Oceanic’, ‘Seven Pegasus’, and ‘Seven Borealis’. In this instance ‘Seven Sisters’ is named after the range of coastal white chalk cliffs, which run along the coast to Beachy Head, in East Sussex in England, and which are a favourite area for coastal walkers, and weekend picnickers.
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Djibouti maritime forces benefit from EU supported exercise
by defenceWeb
The recently finished Exercise Doraleh in Djibouti is a further example of capacity building and improving training for the Djiboutian Navy and Coast Guard.
The European Union (EU) naval force in the area under the Operation Atalanta flag worked with the Djibouti code of conduct and regional training centre to improve regional co-operation, maritime security and capacity enhancement among nations and institutions involved with maritime security in the western Indian Ocean.
The exercise, held from 10 to 14 November, was the first tangible evidence of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed eight months ago.
“The Doraleh regional exercise is an excellent example of how collaborative efforts, particularly with the Djiboutian Navy and Coast Guard, can significantly improve maritime security in the region,” Force Commander Commodore Armando Valente Tinoco said at the opening ceremony.
“Several activities,” according to an EU NavFor statement, were carried out to improve the knowledge and capacities in maritime security of the trainees. The search and rescue seminar covered survival at sea and current and future search and rescue means concerning Operation Atalanta.
The legal seminar covered relevant areas of maritime interdiction operations (MIO), counter piracy operations (CPO), counter narcotics operations (CNO) and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUUF).
Maritime domain awareness (MDA) and maritime training operations (MTO) were also covered. The MDA component addressed different platforms to familiarise participants with maritime safety management technological tools followed by discussions of practical cases. The second consisted of theoretical session workshops on board the frigate and practical exercises at sea including an integration exercise.
Representatives from the Somali Police Force Department of the Coast Guard, Puntland Maritime Police Force, Djibouti Navy, Djibouti Coast Guard, EUCAP Somalia, CRIMARIO, Djibouti Code of Conduct, Djibouti Regional Training Centre and Djibouti Port Authority attended.
Doraleh, named after an extension to Djibouti Port, was the first time that maritime security forces of Djibouti and Somalia worked with the Seychellois and Madagascan co-ordination and fusion centres.
Written by defenceWeb and republished with permission. The original article can be found here
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COP 29: A common goal – Decarbonising transport
Edited by Paul Ridgway
Africa Ports & Ships
London
An official side event at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP 29) brought together IMO, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) for a side event at COP 29: Decarbonising Transport: Policies and Strategies For Aviation, Maritime and Land. This was reported by the IMO new service in recent days.
IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez reminded participants that international shipping carries more than 80% of international trade and has already improved its energy efficiency performance by over 20% since the first IMO climate regulations came into force.
The S-G said: “I wish to highlight just one aspect which I think is key in achieving ambitious strategies in all transport modes – the need for abundant, safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable fuels and energy sources.
“While the end-fuels may vary across different transport sectors, we can work together to scale up the demand, and thereby boost the production and supply of zero- and near-zero fuels.”
A global framework for action
The IMO Strategy on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships, adopted in 2023, provides the global framework for action in the shipping sector.
According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), inland transport contributes more than 72% of global energy-related CO2 emissions in the transport sector, with 69% stemming from road transport. Aviation is responsible for approximately 2.4% of total anthropogenic emissions of CO2 on an annual basis, whereas estimated total emissions from maritime transport correspond to 2–3%.
Progress made
The event at COP29 highlighted the recent progress made by UNECE, ICAO and IMO in addressing the impact of their transport sectors on climate change, as well as showcased how their Member States and key stakeholders are contributing to actions necessary to achieve carbon neutrality.
Need for global rules
In the shipping panel, public and private maritime experts highlighted various aspects of shipping decarbonisation under IMO’s leadership, including the development of sustainable marine fuel standards, the need for global rules, the importance of technological innovation, and the need for enhanced cooperation between governments, shipowners, charterers, shippers, fuel providers and the port sector.
The COP 29 side event
For more on the COP 29 side event readers are invited to see the link see here.
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Port Louis – Indian Ocean gateway port
Africa Ports & Ships publishes regularly updated SHIP MOVEMENT reports including ETAs for ports extending from West Africa to South Africa to East Africa and including Port Louis in Mauritius.
In the case of South Africa’s container ports of Durban, Ngqura, Ports Elizabeth and Cape Town links to container Stack Dates are also available.
You can access this information, including the list of ports covered, by CLICKING HERE remember to use your BACKSPACE to return to this page.
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CRUISE NEWS AND NAVAL ACTIVITIES
QM2 in Cape Town. Picture by Ian Shiffman
We publish news about the cruise industry here in the general news section.
Naval News
Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories here in the general news section.
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ADVERTISING
For a Rate Card please contact us at info@africaports.co.za
Don’t forget to send us your news and press releases for inclusion in the News Bulletins. Shipping related pictures submitted by readers are always welcome. Email to info@africaports.co.za
Total cargo handled by tonnes during October 2024, including containers by weight
- see full report for the month in the news section here
| PORT | October 2024 million tonnes |
| Richards Bay | 7.650 |
| Durban | 5.821 |
| Saldanha Bay | 3.321 |
| Cape Town | 1.105 |
| Port Elizabeth | 0.088 |
| Ngqura | 1.229 |
| Mossel Bay | 0.088 |
| East London | 0.141 |
| Total all ports during October 2024 | 20.105 million tonnes |