Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Ships Monthly

DREDGER The dredger Rhône has been working on the Mersey over the course of the summer. Rhône is one of two new hybrid water injection dredgers which were christened at Rotterdam in April. The other vessel, Rijn, has been working on the Maas. Rijn and Rhône are sister vessels of the Maas and Mersey, which were ordered in 2021. Rijn was christened by Ms Bartje de Boer-Veenstra, wife of Hidde de Boer, Staff Manager at Van Oord. Ms Liedy Bijsterbosch-Meijer performed the christening for Rhône. She is the wife of Herman Bijsterbosch, Captain at Van Oord for 50 years. Rijn and Rhône are among the most sustainable water injection dredgers in service. The hybrid energy management and heat recovery systems, and exhaust gas aftertreatment devices, reduce’ energy consumption and emissions…

ISLE OF MAN The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company’s new flagship has won a top title in the prestigious Shippax Awards, being named as the best and most innovative roll-on/roll-off passenger and freight ferry of 2024. The 24,161gt Manxman, built at the Hyundai Mipo Shipyard in North Korea, is the third holder of a famous fleet name and was the company’s first major newbuilding since the 12,747gt Ben-My-Chree. Manxman cost £78 million and came into service between island capital Douglas and the Lancashire port of Heysham in June 2023, crossing in three hours 30 minutes each way, with power from four Wärtsilä diesel engines. Shippax, based in Halmstad, Sweden, made the presentation to Steam Packet MD Brian Thomson during a Baltic cruise aboard the Tallink vessel Baltic Queen in…

STENA LINE Swedish ferry company Stena Line reached a milestone in its fleet investment programme with the keel-laying of the first hybrid methanol-fuelled ‘NewMax’ vessel on 28 June at the China Merchants Jinling (Weihai) Yard, China. The ship will be deployed on the Belfast-Heysham route, with a sister vessel due to follow. The new vessels will significantly enhance freight capacity on the route. The ship has also been officially named Stena Futura. A priority during the construction of the vessels will be to provide built-in technologies that can take advantage of both battery propulsion and shore power, where available. The ships will be future-proofed with a progressive propulsion configuration. Stena Line is also working with port partners, Peel Ports and Belfast Harbour, to secure the smooth introduction of the vessels.…

CARNIVAL CRUISE LINE With the recent orders for two more 188,000gt Excel class vessels from Meyer Werft at Papenburg, Carnival Cruise Line now appears to have bitten the bullet and placed an order with Fincantieri for a trio of 230,000gt LNG-fuelled ships. The vessels are set for delivery in summer 2029, 2031 and 2033. Lower berth capacity for this series will be around 6,000 passengers, but with the potential to have that increased to 8,000 with the use of upper berths. With this order, there have been five new ship orders for the Carnival brand announced in 2024, and one will be delivered every year until 2033. Once the newbuilids are delivered in 2033, Carnival Corp will have a total of 16 LNG-powered ships, including eight in the Carnival brand,…

INDUSTRY NEWS Two German single-ship operators have recently announced their future plans. Plantours, operator of the 15,067gt 400-passenger Hamburg, has decided to concentrate on more departures from German ports. That could so easily have been a series of short cruises, but in fact they are offering a number of long cruises, which have been inserted into the ship’s schedule. One such offering is a 133-night round-the-world cruise, and there will be several circumnavigations of Cuba, along with cruises to more local destinations easily served from Hamburg, including Greenland and Iceland. The 1997-built ship has been with Plantours since 2012, having previously been Hapag Lloyd’s c. Columbus, and recently been given a new livery. The second German operator, currently out of service with no ship, although very long-established, is Hansa Touristik.…

BELGIAN-DUTCH The lead mine countermeasures vessel of the joint Belgian-Dutch rMCM programme has sailed for the first time. The future BNS Oostende (M940) conducted maiden sea trials out of Concarneau on 17 July, ahead of delivery in August 2025. Six other ships are currently at various stages of construction, with three now afloat, following the launch of Tournai (M941) on 2 July. Under the rMCM programme, Belgium Naval & Robotics, a consortium formed by Naval Group and Exail in 2019, will supply the Belgian Navy and the Royal Netherlands Navy with 12 mine countermeasures ‘motherships’, as well as around 100 unmanned drones integrated into a toolbox to equip them. In September 2023 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between France, Belgium and the Netherlands, allowing France to use the…

CANADIAN NAVY The federal government has launched the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project (CPSP), with plans to acquire up to 12 new conventionally powered submarines. The investment is urgently required to bolster security and increase surveillance of Canada’s Northwest Passage and wider Arctic territory, as climate change makes the region more accessible. The initiative is outlined in the ‘Our North, Strong and Free’ defence policy update, which includes billions in new proposed defence spending. Canada is the country with the largest coastline in the world, yet the increased military budget still falls short of the NATO target of two per cent of GDP. With a key requirement to operate in all three of Canada’s oceans, including extended periods under Arctic ice, the proposed submarines must have extended range and endurance, which…

The former RFA Diligence leaving Portsmouth Harbour for the last time on 13 March 2024. The one-time Forward Repair Ship headed for scrapping in Aliaga, Turkey, under tow of Boluda Towage’s 2011-built ocean-going tugVB Hispania (1,374gt, ex-Fairplay 32), arriving in Turkey on 7 April. Originally built as an oil rig support ship named Stena Inspector in 1981, Diligence was requisitioned by the Ministry of Defence to support naval activities during the 1982 Falklands War and was subsequently purchased by the MoD to provide heavy engineering repair and maintenance facilities after the War. She was also involved in both Gulf conflicts, supporting the multinational minesweeping operation to clear the Straits of Hormuz and repairing, among others, two American ships damaged by mines. After 33 years of valuable service, Diligence became surplus…

At the entrance to Southampton Water lies a bank of shingle known as Calshot Spit. From the western shore it extends a mile into the shipping lanes and, with the nearby Brambles Bank, creates an obstacle course for shipping entering or leaving the port. The spit itself was fortified by Henry VIII, who had Calshot Castle built as an artillery fort between 1539 and 1540, and the Spit was later home to RAF flying boats, while today it hosts NCI (National Coastwatch) and an RNLI lifeboat station. From 1842 until 1987 a lightship stood guard at the entrance to Southampton Water. With bright red hulls and names in six-foot-high white letters along each side, lightships were floating beacons to warn ships of hazards in locations where a lighthouse could not…

SHIPS MAIL BLUE FUNNEL’S P CLASS letter of the month I enjoyed Mike Dovey’s article (SM, Apr), as I have always admired Blue Funnel and Glen Line ships, although I thought the P class were somewhat dated when they first appeared. After HMS Conway, I joined my first ship, P&O’s Perim, at No.9 berth King George 5th Dock in September 1962. The next two berths were occupied by wonderful old Glen Line ships. That area is now all part of London City Airport. I was pleased to see the stylish combi liner Centaur entering Singapore, the last Blue Funnel passenger ship. She was a smart-looking ship designed to carry passengers, livestock and general cargo from Western Australia to Singapore and what is now Malaysia. But I am not sure if…

WORLD NAVIES REVIEW An overview of the latest global naval developments over the past year, including Australia, Japan, USA, France and Portugal. PLUS REMEMBERING CRUISE & MARITIME • Founded in 2010, Cruise and Maritime Voyages enjoyed a decade of expansion, until Covid shut down cruising, and the company did not survive. NUCLEAR SHIP OTTO HAHN • When Germany’s ground-breaking nuclear vessel Otto Hahn was launched 60 years ago, she was seen as the future. CORK PORT PROFILE • Cork Harbour forms an international gateway to Ireland and is home to ferry terminals, oil refining facilities, dockyards, container berths and a cruise terminal. EAST ASIATIC COMPANY • The East Asiatic Company was a pioneer in the operation of diesel-powered ships, but its expansion as a leading cargo carrier was followed by…

FORMER NAVAL CRAFT The 2000-built trimaran RV Triton sailed into Portland harbour in mid-July from Hull, where she had been laid up, towed by the tug DMS Condor. She was built in 2000 by British builder Vosper Thornycroft as a technology demonstrator ship for the Royal Navy’s Future Surface Combatant, and was used to both prove the viability of the hull-form and as a trials platform for other QinetiQ innovations. Triton undertook the first helicopter take off and landing on a trimaran. Triton spent over 15 years in service as a prototype demonstrator in the UK and later as a customs border protection vessel with the Australian Customs and Border Patrols. In January 2005, Triton was sold to Gardline Marine Sciences, a UK company based in Great Yarmouth, and was…

ROYAL NAVY On 30 July the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth made her first visit to the Solent off Cowes for a gun salute, taking centre stage at the Cowes week regatta, for which HMS Tyne is guardship. Thousands of people looked on from every vantage point as Britain’s naval flagship exchanged gun salutes off Cowes with the Royal Yacht Squadron. The 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier was sailing past the Island, before returning to base in Portsmouth, and held off Cowes at around 18.30 for the gun salutes. The ship has returned home following four months of repairs at Rosyth Dockyard in Scotland, after arriving there in March for unscheduled work in dry dock to her shaft lines, and a short intensive spell at sea to test her systems. The ship…

FEEDER SHIPS On 9 July X-Press Feeders, the world’s largest independent common carrier, started Europe’s first scheduled feeder network in which the vessels are powered by green methanol, a sustainable marine fuel which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65 per cent. The milestone coincided with the naming and christening ceremony in Rotterdam of Eco Maestro, X-Press Feeders’ first dual-fuel methanol-powered vessel. Eco-Maestro is the first of 14 dual-fuel vessels X-Press Feeders has on order, which it plans to deploy mostly on routes in Europe, creating Europe’s first feeder network powered by green methanol. It will link Rotterdam, Antwerp Bruges, Helsinki, Tallinn, Hamina Kotka, Klaipeda and Riga. The dual-fuel vessels have a capacity of 1,260 TEUs (nominal) at 14 tons, measure 148m overall. X-Press Feeders, which was founded in…

NEW FERRY After delays caused by Covid, supply chain logistics and the Ukrainian war, TT Line’s second ferry for its Bass Strait service was named Spirit of Tasmania V and then floated out at Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) shipyard on the west coast of Finland on 19 July. Appropriately christened by Tasmania’s Governor, Barabara Baker, with a bottle of Tasmanian sparkling wine, the ship was moved to the outfitting dock for completion, with handover scheduled for late next year. Meanwhile, sister Spirit of Tasmania IV is nearby and is almost ready for her August delivery. Both ships are the first to be designed for the 242-nautical-mile service from their homeport Devonport to Geelong, an overnight journey which takes 10 to 12 hours. At 48,000gt in size and 212m in length,…

CALMAC The procurement of seven new electric ferries to help support island communities and improve the resilience of the Clyde and Hebrides ferries network is under way. The first stage of the competitive tender process will assess if shipyards interested in bidding for the contract meet the financial and technical criteria. The estimated costs for Phase 1 of the Small Vessels Replacement Programme are around £175 million, for the seven new vessels as well as port improvements and shore power upgrades. The invitation to tender for this contact is expected to issue around September 2024, with a view to awarding the contract in March 2025. These nine routes currently serve around 30 per cent of the traffic on the Clyde and Hebrides network. Meanwhile, Aygyle and Bute Council, owners of…

WATERJET The Armon Shipyard in Vigo, Spain has delivered the dual-fuel waterjet-powered catamaran Margarita Salas to operate on Balearia’s service from Palma, Majorca to Denia, joining her 2021-built near sister Eleanor Roosevelt. Margarita Salas brings a ten per cent increase in engine power and a second passenger deck, increasing the spaciousness of the interior areas. Both vessels can carry 1,200 passengers, along with 425 cars. With a length of 126m and beam of 28m, the vessel has a range of 470 miles and is supplied with electricity while in port. Margarita Salas has twin azimuth propellers to improve manoeuvrability during berthing, plus a stabilising system that reduces movement and improves passenger comfort.…

SCILLY SERVICES The 590gt/2018-built 42m catamaran Atlantic Wolff, which was due to start operating between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly this summer, disappeared before making a single crossing. She arrived at Portsmouth from Vilanova, Spain, on 10 May for a refit and on 5 June, in new ScillyFerries colours, departed for Newlyn ahead of trials. However, at the end of July, ScillyFerries, having already put back a start date, announced that the whole operation had ceased. With owner Harland and Wolff in financial difficulty, it decided to refocus on its core activities and the ferry operation was deemed as being overly ambitious. The vessel was then returned to Damen. Meanwhile, the building of the Isle of Scilly Shipping Group’s new passenger and freight vessels is under way in Vietnam,…

RITZ-CARLTON Ilma, the second ultra-luxury superyacht from The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, officially joined the fleet on 12 July, when the company took delivery of the new vessel at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire. The vessel has taken two years to build, and the delivery ceremony marked the final milestone, being celebrated with several maritime traditions. Ilma, named after the Maltese word for water, measures 790ft (241m) in length and can accommodate up to 448 guests in 224 suites. With one of the highest space ratios at sea, Ilma includes two new, spacious upper category suites. The other two vessels in the fleet are Evrima and Luminara. Evrima was the first of the superyachts and marked Ritz-Carlton’s cruise debut. Originally due to launch in February 2020, she suffered a…

UKRAINE NAVY The Ukrainian Navy Command has confirmed their newbuild, Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F211), has carried out sea trials in the Sea of Marmara. To date, the corvette’s equipment fit has not been formally disclosed, but an official video reveals that much of the future flagship’s weapons and sensors are already in place. The images reveal a more powerful configuration than the Turkish and Pakistani versions of the Ada class platform. They show an eight-cell MICA VL as the primary air defence system, along with a Turkish 35mm Gökdeniz CIWS and two Aselsan STAMP remote-controlled weapon stations, with 12.7mm machine guns. It also carries a Leonardo 76mm Super Rapid gun. An antiship missile system is expected to be added in Ukraine following the ship’s delivery later this year. According to…

RUSSIAN NAVY The first of two new ‘combat icebreakers’ has conducted builders’ sea trials. The Project 23550 vessel Ivan Papanin, described as an Arctic class patrol ship by the Russian Navy, is set to join the Northern Fleet later this year. A second, Nikolay Zubov, is also slated for delivery in 2024. Both are being built by Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg. From the outset, the 8,500-tonne ice breakers will be armed with a 76 mm AK-176MA naval gun and, once operational, containerised launchers for Kalibr-K or Uran cruise missiles. They will also carry a pair of Project 03160 Raptor high-speed patrol boats and a Project 23321 Manul air-cushion landing craft. The ship also includes a deck hangar capable of accommodating a Ka-27 or Ka-226 helicopter. The vessel is classified…

GREEN TECHNOLOGY Berge Bulk’s bulker Berge Neblina, a 388,000dwt Valemax Ore Carrier, has recently completed her voyage to Brazil following the successful installation of four 5x35m Rotor Sails from Anemoi Marine Technologies Ltd. The installation, which took place during the vessel’s scheduled dry-docking, was completed at Yiu Lian Dockyards (Shekou) Ltd in China. The Rotor Sails were installed on Anemoi’s folding deployment system, whereby the sails can be folded from the vertical to mitigate impact on air draught and cargo-handling operations when in port. The Rotor Sails can deliver up to eight per cent carbon reduction. Rotor Sails, also known as ‘Flettner Rotors’, comprise vertical cylinders which, when driven, harness the the wind to propel ships, using an aerodynamic phenomenon known as the Magnus Effect.…

COMPANY NEWS At the beginning of July the Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) became the first liner company to reach the 20 per cent milestone, meaning it now has a 20 per cent share of the global container capacity. The company is now just one megaship delivery away from becoming the first carrier in the world to operate a fleet in excess of six million TEU. The company’s fleet has grown faster than that of any other shipping line, fuelled by a massive newbuilding programme, which has seen no fewer than 28 new buildings, adding 324,000TEU delivered so far this year and a huge number of second-hand ship purchases. Launched in 1970, MSC reached a fleet capacity of one million TEU in January of 2007. The two million TWU mark was…

When Spirit of Britain entered service in January 2011, she became the largest ferry ever to operate on the Dover-Calais crossing, and the first of two sisterships which have given more than a decade of service linking Dover and Calais. But even before the ships appeared, there were changes to the original names and a reorganisation of their Finnish builders. To coincide with London hosting the 2012 Olympic Games, P&O first planned to bring in their biggest English Channel vessels to date as Olympic Pride and Olympic Spirit, but problems over the names came up with Olympic sponsors, so they had to think again and opted for Spirit of Britain and Spirit of France. There was a big change for Spirit of Britain in June, when she was moved on…

The interior of the new Cunarder Queen Anne features a 21st century interpretation of Cunard, in a shake-up of the line’s internal design not seen since Queen Elizabeth 2 entered service in 1969. Unlike on her fleet mates Queen Mary 2 (2004), Queen Victoria (2007) and Queen Elizabeth (2010), there is a noticeable lack of traditional marine art, a significantly toned down ballroom, and a far more contemporary colour scheme. But the 249th ship to fly the Cunard flag brings a range of new amenities, aiming to catapult Cunard’s onboard experience into the modern era. And if one knows where to look, Queen Anne offers abundant nods to the past. CUNARD’S 249TH SHIP Cunard revealed its plan to introduce a new ship during the September 2017 QE2 50th Anniversary Celebration hosted…

The well-known ferry Isle of Arran is the only current major ship in the fleet of Caledonian MacBrayne more than 40 years of age. She is the second oldest vessel of the fleet, second only to the smaller Isle of Cumbrae, having been built in 1976. Nicknamed the ‘Auld Trooper’ by enthusiasts, Isle of Arran still serves the island she was built to operate from in the mid-1980s, while also being a valuable member of the fleet, having seen service on the majority of the company’s routes serving major island destinations. Following the failure of the 1964-built Clansman, converted a decade earlier from a hoist-loader into a drive-through ferry, because of a career-ending breakdown in March 1984, the Ardrossan to Brodick service became increasingly unreliable and those that used it hoped…

Judging by the wide range of itineraries currently on offer around the beautiful west coast and Western Isles of Scotland, the area appears to be growing ever more popular as a cruise destination. Today, one can choose to travel there on a range of ships, from one operated by a large established cruise line to a small expedition ship, with exclusive luxury vessels in between. In the years before World War II, however, the choice was far more limited, and summer cruises to the Scotland’s west coast were largely the preserve of one company, Coast Lines Ltd, and their steamship Killarney. Killarney was launched from Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard on 20 April 1893 as Magic. The 1,630gt vessel had a speed of 18 knots and spent the first 21…

NEWBUILD North Star has secured a contract with Siemens Gamesa to build a hybrid service operations vessel (SOV) for long-term charter at the East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm development off the Suffolk coast. It will be the eighth hybrid offshore wind ship to enter the organisation’s renewables fleet since it expanded into the market two-and-a-half years ago. North Star will now support two of the world’s largest windfarms, having already delivered three of four planned SOVs ahead of schedule to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is being operated out of Port of Tyne. It is the company’s first SOV contract in the southern North Sea. The East Anglia THREE wind farm will have a total capacity of 1,400MW, generating green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 1.3…

CALMAC FERRY The 1985-built ferry Hebridean Isles will leave CalMac’s fleet this November after almost four decades of operation. The vessel, one of the oldest in the fleet, has served west coast communities with distinction since her maiden voyage in December 1985. She has primarily served Islay in recent years. The first of four new vessels being built in Turkey, Isle of Islay, will operate the route when she enters service later this year. A second vessel, Loch Indaal, will serve Islay from early 2025. Works are ongoing to upgrade Kennacraig port and Port Askaig on Islay, in preparation for the new vessels arriving. They will increase vehicle and freight capacity on the route by almost 40 per cent. Hebridean Isles’ planned disposal marks the latest step in a period…

RO-PAX Polish Baltic Shipping’s (Polferries) impressive new ro-pax ferry Varsovia made her first scheduled voyage with Polferries on 27 July, departing Swinoujscie in Poland at 12:30 for Ystad in Sweden. The new ro-pax ferry has been completed by the Italian shipyard Cantiere Navale Visentini, and is the largest vessel built to date at the yard. She has been taken on a ten-year charter with the Polish shipowner, with the possibility of purchase after six years. The NAOS-designed Varsovia measures 216.2m by 28.2m and has capacity for 976 passengers with 230 cabins, and 3,775 lane metres of freight, making her the largest vessel in the Polferries fleet and one of the largest ferries operating out of Swinoujscie.…

POLISH NAVY On 26 June the launching ceremony of the future minehunter ORP Jaskółka (604) took place at the Remontowa Shipbuilding yard in Gdansk. She is the first of the second three-ship series of 258 project (Kormoran II class) ships which are being built for the 12th Wolin Minesweeper Squadron of the 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla. The future ORP Jaskółka is the fourth ship in the history of the Polish Navy to carry a name inextricably linked with mine countermeasure forces. The first was the former German minesweeper FM 27, the second was the first of a series of six minesweepers designed and built in Poland, and the third was introduced after World War II, as the ex-Soviet minesweeper T-231. The godmother of Jaskółka was Mrs Małgorzata Zdonek, wife of…

CRYSTAL CRUISES With the purchase out of bankruptcy of Crystal Cruises and its two now ageing ships, the likely direction of the new company is being assessed. It is now owned by A&K Travel Group, which is part-owned by the former Silver Sea chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre d’Ovidio. The first step in the process was to significantly upgrade Crystal Serenity (2003/68,870gt) and Crystal Symphony (1995/51,044gt). The recent upgrades to these ships included a significant reduction in their passenger capacities. The company’s expansion plans have begun with a new order placed with Fincantieri for a pair of 61,800gt, 690 lower-berth passenger ships, for expected delivery in 2028 and 2029. There is an option for a third ship to be delivered in 2032. Although the current ships were built in other yards, d’Ovidio’s…

CELEBRITY On 27 July Celebrity Cruises’ 130,818gt Celebrity Apex broke the record for the largest passenger ship (in terms of gross tonnage) to use the western Solent. The Edge class ship was outward bound for Vigo from Southampton. Built by Chantiers d’Atlantique in St Nazaire, the ship was delivered in 2020, measures 306m by 39.05m. The 2024 season is the ship’s first based at Southampton, and she has replaced the 122,210gt Celebrity Silhouette (2011) operating out of the south coast port. Celebrity Apex ttok the western Solent record from her 121,828gt/2010-built fleet mate, the Celebrity Eclipse, which was deployed at Southampton for eight seasons from new until 2018. Celebrity Apex made a second departure via The Needles on 3 August. Using this route can save fuel and pilotage is not…

CANADIAN NAVY Ships in the Royal Canadian Navy’s new fleet of Canadian Surface Combatant are to be known as the River class and they will be classified as destroyers. The announcement was made by the Minister of National Defence on 28 June at the formal start of construction activities at the Irving Shipbuilding yard in Halifax. The first three ships are to be named Fraser, Saint-Laurent and Mackenzie, after Canada’s most important waterways that reach the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The CSC is based on BAE Systems’ design for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigate. While the two still share a common hull form and propulsion system, the RCN has chosen to equip its ships with the US AEGIS combat system and a range of American missile systems, notably…

COMPANY NEWS Chinese-backed newcomer to the container market, NewNew Shipping Line, has partnered with Russian icebreaker provider Rosatom to launch Arctic Express No.1 rail-sea freight service. Freight will be moved by rail from Moscow to the Russian port of Arkhangelsk, where it will then be taken through Russia’s northern Arctic waters to markets in China and the Pacific, using specialist ice-classed vessels. All four container ships, NewNew Polar Bear, Xin Xin Hai 1, Xin Xin Tian 1, and Xin Xin Shan, feature light to medium ice protection and can carry between 1,200 and 2,800 TEU. As part of the plans for a permanent container service, the partners want to develop a fleet made up of five container ships to operate through the Northern Sea Route, year round. NewNew Shipping began…

TANKERS Gearbulk, which is currently in the process of a takeover by Mitsui OSK Lines, has sold its share in the joint venture High Heat Tankers (HHT) to partner Trafigura. The 50/50 joint venture operated 14 tankers, ranging in size between 15,000dwt and 37,000dwt, primarily shipping liquid coal pitch under long-term agreements for use in aluminium smelters. The joint venture was set up in July 2018 and, following the announcement, Trafigura has ordered two 17,500dwt specialist tankers from Chengxi Shipyard, China, for delivery in the third quarter of 2026. The sale will enable Gearbulk to focus on its core activities and on the open-hatch dry bulk market.…

INCIDENT Hafnia Tankers’ 74,190dwt tanker Hafnia Nile collided with the Sao Tome and Principe-flagged VLCC Ceres I, roughly 100km east of Singapore on 19 July. The Singaporean tanker was carrying a cargo of naphtha from Spain to the Far East when the incident occurred. Both ships caught fire, which was later extinguished. Plans were put in place to transfer the cargo, which had been loaded at Cepsa’s terminal at Huelva, and send the panamax tanker for repairs. At the time of the incident, the VLCC had been at anchor in the approaches to Singapore Straits off the Malaysian coast. Built in 2001, the 300,000dwt vessel has reportedly been carrying Iranian crude in recent months, a cargo which was transferred in the vicinity of the Malaysian peninsula. Following the collision, the…

Following the modifications of 1927-28, Killarney’s appearance was enhanced by a new and elegant livery of light grey hull, white upperworks and pale yellow funnels. Her saloon deckhouse was extended aft to provide additional accommodation, and her original lower deck cabins were converted for use by the crew, whose numbers were significantly increased as a result of the need for additional catering and housekeeping staff. For passengers, there were 17 single cabins and a special two-berth cabin at the forward end of the boat deck, 71 twin-berth cabins on the main and promenade decks, and an elaborate private suite aft on the latter deck, consisting of a sitting room, four two-berth cabins and a private bathroom and WC. If this suite was not required by a single group, the individual…

A number of former British lightships remain, but sadly many have either fallen into disrepair or been broken up. They perhaps lack the glamour of their lighthouse cousins, and less has been published about their service. Thankfully, some of the most recent lightships to have served at Calshot Spit still survive. As well as being the club house for The Royal Northumberland Yacht Club, LV50 is looked after by a group of enthusiasts, known as the Friends of LV50. Their aim is to preserve the ship and maintain it as a historic craft. She was built by Fletcher, Son and Fearnell of Limehouse, London, and has a hull similar to that of an 18th century fighting ship. She served for 70 years, and in 1952 was bought by the Royal…

The famous liner SS Rotterdam sits serenely at her berth in the port of Rotterdam, along an inlet near the city’s Passenger Ship Terminal. Holland America Line’s venerable former flagship is undoubtedly resplendent in her original light grey livery, which sparkles in the sun. She is just like a swan which is all elegance above the waterline, but there is frantic activity below and inside, with much activity throughout her many decks. The ship now provides a 250-room hotel (one of the port’s largest), conference venues, escape rooms and tours, with all deftly managed by General Manager Ton Wesselink. Wesselink harks from a public relations and marketing background, having been Director of Rotterdam Marketing on behalf of Rotterdam Marketing and Convention Board for six years, with a lengthy stint in…

JULY’S MYSTERY The mystery ship is the P&O cargo liner Coromandel. She was berthed in London’s King George V dock at the same time that I was an Engineer Officer on the steamer Singapore in 1954. She was built, alongside her sister ship Cannanore, in 1949 by Barclay Curle & Co Ltd in Glasgow and sailed on the London-Calcutta and Far East route. The 8,720dwt ships were powered by Barclay Curle Doxford opposed piston solid injection engines developing 6,800bhp, giving a service speed of 14 knots. She had a large crew consisting of 43 on deck, 23 in the engineering department, and 21 in the Purser’s department She ended her days sailing for the P&O subsidiary British India Line, but was sold to the Shun Hing Group in 1969 and…