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Singapore Retains Box Crown
Singapore has again emerged as the world's leading container handler, moving 23.9 million TEUs last year compared to number two, Hong Kong, which moved 23.4 million. Singapore's numbers for 2006 represent a 7.6 per cent increase over its 2005 figures, and when its Jurong terminals on the west end of the island are figured in, the island nation moved more than 24.8 million TEUs in 2006. However, China's port of Shanghai may soon eclipse both Singapore and Hong Kong after moving 21.7 million TEUs last year, a 20 per cent increase over the previous year.
New traffic for Manchester
Many years ago it was a common sight to see vessels transit the 36 miles of the Manchester Ship Canal to unload their cargoes in the heart of the city. In recent years, however, only cargoes such as grain have moved into the upper reaches of the canal. So 29 March was something of a red letter day when Tanja (1989/2,190gt), registered in Madeira, made the transit of the canal to Trafford No.1 Dry Dock with a cargo of compressed wood board from Rostock in Germany.
Argyle arrives at last
On 4 May, the long-awaited naming ceremony and introduction into service of Caledonian MacBrayne's second new vessel for the Wemyss Bay-Rothesay service, Argyle, took place. Rementowa in Gdansk constructed Argyle, at a cost of £9 million, and, with sister vessel Bute, she will provide the island of Bute with a two-ship service.
Fram on World Cruise
The Hurtigruten Group has scheduled an unusual voyage for its newly-built 11,647gt expedition ship Fram, which was delivered in April by Italian shipbuilder, Fincantieri at a cost of €68.6m. Following a repositioning cruise at the end of April from Barcelona to Oslo, via London on 11 May and Rotterdam, Hamburg and Copenhagen, she was formally named by Norway's HRH Crown Princess Mette Marit on 19 May at Oslo. She is then spending the summer sailing around Greenland. Her programme began with a 12-day sailing from Reykjavik to the eastern and southern coasts of Greenland, followed by a series of eight-day cruises in Disko Bay.
Has fire helped Cutty Sark?
Investigations into the cause of the fire that ravaged the preserved tea clipper Cutty Sark in Greenwich on 21 May were still being carried out as Ships Monthly went to press. Initial damage assessments showed that, while serious, damage to the ship could have been a lot worse.
Cruising with the gods
Following a high profile naming ceremony in Marseilles on 19 May, Costa Serena, the latest addition to the ever-expanding Costa Cruises fleet, departed the French port on a positioning cruise to Venice via Savona and Palermo. Built in Italy by Fincatieri at Genoa-Sestri Ponente, the 114,500gt ship cost €450 million and is sister vessel to the 2006-built, 114,147gt Costa Concordia.
'Heysham-max' Seatruck newbuild
Former DFDS chief executive Ole Frie joined the Clipper Group's freight-only specialist Seatruck as chairman just after the Irish Sea operator confirmed that the fourth of a series of 120-trailer vessels under construction in Spain by Astilleros de Huelva will, like her three predecessors, be built with a length of 142m to be able to use the port of Heysham.
Former Seacat Scotland moves
MJ Properties, the new Greek owners of the 74m Incat formerly Seacat Scotland, will use the 1992-built catamaran, now renamed Shikra, for Red Sea services between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they already have other vessels deployed. Set up by Liberian company Fortune Maritime and headed by Captain Antonios Lalakis, MJP took delivery of the former Sea Containers craft in late April, when she left a lay-up berth in Sunderland to head for Piraeus, via Algeciras for bunkers. During a two-week stay in Greece, sprinklers and additional seating were due to be fitted.
Channel veterans on Adriatic links
The long-serving ferry Tadla (1970/ 7,836gt), owned by Sevenoaks-based Denval Marine, has been chartered by Veronica Line to launch an Italy-Albania service as Veronica Line. Built in Holland for Townsend Ferries' services from Dover to Calais and Zeebrugge, the ex-Free Enterprise V is to link Otranto with Durres and Velore.
Pier Head return at Liverpool
Mersey Ferries finally resumed operations from Liverpool Pier Head on 30 April after Peel Ports moved Skyline Barge 15 into position to replace the Georges Landing Stage which sank early in March 2006. For over a year, ferry crossings to Seacombe and Woodside had to be fitted around sailings from the Isle of Man Steam Packet's Mersey river berth with a substantial reduction in passenger numbers.
Evolutions of Carnival Fun
Carnival's eight Fantasy class ships, the first of which entered service 17 years ago, are all to be given a major refit of their passenger amenities, with US$250 million being spent on what Carnival is calling 'Evolutions of Fun'. As each is drydocked, they will be renamed with the 'Carnival' prefix.
Royal Princess goes to work
Princess Cruises introduced their 17th ship, Royal Princess (2001/30,277gt), on 19 April, when she sailed on her inaugural cruise from Barcelona under the command of the line's senior master, Commodore Michael Fatchen. As Swan Hellenic's Minerva II, she had spent the previous fortnight undergoing conversion at Cammell Laird's shipyard in Gibraltar. External paint work, cabins and public areas were refurbished, and new amenities were created to bring the ship more in line with her Princess fleetmates.
Greener cruise ships
Holland America Line's Zaandam (2000/60,906) has become the first cruise ship to be fitted with a $US1.5m 'seawater scrubber system', which uses seawater to 'scrub' or reduce engine emissions. The natural chemistry of seawater removes sulphur oxide and reduces other potential harmful emissions.
Regeneration game
Estonia has named its newest mine warfare vessel ENS Admiral Cowan after the British officer who led a Royal Navy light cruiser squadron in support of its War of Independence with Russia (1918-20). Handed over by Babcock Engineering Services on 26 April, the former HMS Sandown is the first of an initial three Single Role Mine Hunters to be transferred as part of a £32 million investment by the Baltic state.
Arctic wind warms Russia
After a gap of 17 years, and for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has launched a strategic missile submarine. The much-delayed Yury Dolgoruky finally emerged from the shed at the Sevmash shipyard at Severodvinsk to a high profile reception on 15 April.
Joined-up thinking
An unusual event took place at DCN's Cherbourg shipyard on 14 March, as Malaysian, French and Spanish officials attended a ceremony commemorating the joining of the fore and aft sections of the first Scorpène class submarine being built for the Malaysian Navy. Malaysia is the second export customer for the state-of-the-art submarines, ordering two from DCN and the Spanish shipbuilder, Navantia in June 2002.
World's largest double-enders
Germany's Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesselschaft shipyard has launched the first of what will be the world's largest double-ended ferries for Canada's BC Ferries, with the first vessel, Coastal Renaissance, scheduled to leave Germany for Canada in late October and enter service in 2008.
The coselle ships
Canada's Teekay Shipping and Japan's Marubeni Corporation are forming a strategic alliance with SeaNG, also of Canada, to develop a system for transporting compressed natural gas using a fleet of vessels employing 'coselles', a contraction of 'coil' and 'carousel', in which gas is carried under very high pressure in a coil of small diameter pipe.
Biggest open-hatch ships
Masterbulk Pte, part of Norway's Westfal-Larsen group, will take delivery of the first of a new series of open-hatch bulk carrier from Japan's Oshima shipyard in late September when the first of four 55,000dwt sister ships is completed. Yet to be named, but tentatively known as the 'Super O' class, the vessels will be the largest of their type in the world, exceeding their smaller sisters in the Masterbulk fleet, the 'O' class, by an extra cargo hold. Like the 'O class', the newbuildings will employ twin electric travelling gantry cranes with a lifting capacity in excess of 68 tonnes.
Ships Monthly, 18 June 2007
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