Ports & Ships Maritime News

31 January 2017
Author: Terry Hutson

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

TODAY'S BULLETIN OF MARITIME NEWS

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• First View : UQOYI
• Dar es Salaam port receives $305 million World Bank loan
• Navy communications hit by Silvermine cable theft
• GE and Transnet share plans to digitize Africa's transport
• Things looking up as TAZARA secures new business
• Africa in focus at Europe's Nor-Shipping 2017 Conference
• Expected Ship Arrivals and Ships in Port
• Cruise News and Naval Activities
• Pics of the Day : BRIGHT HORIZON

This is the final edition of maritime news at this address www.ports.co.za www.ports.co.za - from 1 February 2017 we will have moved to www.africaports.co.za

All information on the old site will meanwhile continue to be available but go to the new site for the latest News, Ship Movement reports and other maritime information.

See you at www.africaports.co.za

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

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FIRST VIEW : UQOYI

One of the many workboats in use in the port of Durban, the Transnet National Ports Authority's unglamorous 'rope boat' UQOYI heads off on another job involving the mooring or sailing of a merchant ship somewhere in the harbour. These launches perform a very necessary task of taking the gang of workmen to each berthing site by means of across the water, rather than having them transfer around the harbour by road. Durban Bay has an outer perimeter of more than 20kms which makes road transport not very viable even without taking account of the road congestion frequently encountered. As a result and depending on the number of ship movements, boats like Uqoyi will frequently be seen hurrying their way across the bay, heading out to another job. This picture is by Keith Betts

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DAR ES SALAAM PORT RECEIVES $305 MILLION WORLD BANK LOAN

Part of a much bigger loan

Tanzania will receive World Bank financing for the Port of Dar es Salaam to the amount of US$305 million, it was announced after talks between President John Magafuli and Makhtar Diop, the World Bank's vice president for Africa.

Tanzania is seeking a larger loan amounting to $785 million which will be used for various infrastructural projects. The $305 million is specifically directed for the expansion of the port and the tackling of deficiencies in its service.

Three years ago the World Bank reported that the cost of inefficiencies at the Port of Dar es Salaam was costing Tanzania and its neighbours a staggering $2.6 billion annually.

Tanzania's neighbours -- Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern DRC all look to the port of Dar es Salaam as their gateway to the sea. Rwanda, Burundi and the DRC have the choice of either Dar es Salaam or the Kenyan port of Mombasa as their 'port of choice' whilst Zambia and Malawi can also look south to Mozambique and South Africa. Therefore the standard of efficiency at Dar es Salaam becomes a critical factor in Tanzania benefiting from landlocked neighbours.

The port currently handles around 15 million tonnes of cargo a year, a figure that the government hopes will increase to 28 million tonnes by 2020.

With Kenya's standard gauge railway connecting the port of Mombasa inland and reaching towards the Uganda border, the urgency facing Dar es Salaam to improve its services has been raised a notch.

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NAVY COMMUNICATIONS HIT BY SILVERMINE CABLE THEFT

Second embarrassing heist at Silvermine

SAS Amatola. Picture: SA Navy

The South African Navy has been hit again by cable and antenna theft at the navy's communication centre at Silvermine, near Cape Town.

This forms the body of a report in the Afrikaans weekly newspaper Rapport. The article said that the theft led to the navy base at Simon's Town having to make use of communication links in Durban and those aboard one of the submarines to maintain contact with the frigate SAS DURBAN, which is currently off the African west coast en route to the UK and the SS MENDI Centenary later in February.

This is the second time in recent years that a theft of this nature has taken place at Silvermine. In March 2013 cable was stolen from the communication centre but was downplayed by the naval authorities who said that communications with ships at sea, including the frigate SAS MENDI on patrol in the Mozambique Channel, had remained good.

On that occasion communications also involved maritime aircraft patrols in the Channel which was said to be not affected.

Rapport reported that military police were concerned about the latest theft which had apparently included large antennas that had been in position near the entrance to the underground comms centre. The report said that trenches were dug to facilitate the removal of copper cable and that the heist had clearly been well planned and conducted over a period of time.

A year ago the armoury at Simon's Town naval base was broken into and weapons removed, including rifles, sub-machine guns, hand grenades and detonators. Arrests were subsequently made. source: Rapport, defenceWeb

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GE AND TRANSNET SHARE PLANS TO DIGITIZE AFRICA'S TRANSPORT

Partnership goes beyond locomotive manufacture and export

Siyabonga Gama (left), Transnet Group CE, and Jeff Immelt, GE Chairman and CEO

The world's premier digital industrial company, GE, and Transnet, Africa's largest and most developed rail and ports operator, are teaming up in partnership to digitise Africa's transport sector.

The two companies have been in partnership for ten years and now propose to deliver a digital solution that will seamlessly connect shippers and transport operators, making it dramatically easier for a company to understand pricing and capacity on the network, plan a shipment, and get goods to market.

Every day, 13,000 containers and 620,000 tons of goods critical to Africa's economy are delivered by Transnet. Africa's intracontinental trade has nearly doubled since 1995, and the increasing volume of goods moving through the supply chain is creating transportation and logistical complexities that slow down shipments.

The digital solution will be enabled by Predix, the operating system for GE's Industrial Internet or Internet of Things (IOT).

This will connect shippers and transport operators by providing real-time, data-driven insights on the status of shipments. It takes laborious processes, like payment, customs and inspection, from paper to digital, and creates an on-demand solution for transporting freight inspired by consumer on-demand transportation models.

Speaking at the Gordon Institute of Business Science, GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said, "The digital opportunity for industry is now.

"At GE, we have embraced data and analytics, and see it as a driving force transforming our operations and those of our customers globally," he continued.

"This planned digital partnership with Transnet will be another step forward in how we can work together to improve Africa's Transport sector, delivering efficiency and productivity."

Transnet's Group Chief Executive, Siyabonga Gama said this is another first for the GE and Transnet partnership that continues to deliver value to South Africa's growth strategy -- the National Development Plan.

"This digital solution will be key in optimising freight efficiency and bringing products to market faster and for less cost across the continent. The cost of moving goods from point A to point B is very high and it is passed onto the end customer, impeding Africa's ability to be competitive in pricing."

Gama said businesses will be subsequently enabled to meet the high level of customer expectations, gain competitive edge and continue to thrive in today's robust digital economy.

The planned partnership will further strengthen the already existing relationship that the two companies enjoy, through leveraging on Transnet's domain experience and expertise with the established GE digital knowledge.

GE South Africa Technologies (GESAT) -- a subsidiary of GE started working with Transnet in 2008 on Transnet's locomotive fleet renewal program which is part of its R300 billion capital investment program -- the market demand strategy (MDS).

Three years ago, GESAT and Transnet signed an export agreement to jointly manufacture locomotives in South Africa and sell to the rest of Africa.

About GE Transportation
GE Transportation is a global technology leader and supplier of equipment, services and solutions to the rail, mining, marine, stationary power and drilling industries. Established more than a century ago, GE Transportation is a division of the General Electric Company that began as a pioneer in passenger and freight locomotives. GE Transportation is headquartered in Chicago, IL, and employs approximately 10,000 employees.

About Transnet
Transnet is the largest and most crucial part of the freight logistics chain that delivers goods to each South African. Every day Transnet delivers thousands of tons of goods around South Africa, through its pipelines and both to and from its ports. It moves that cargo on to ships for export while it unloads goods from overseas. Transnet is a fully owned South African state enterprise but operates as a corporate entity aimed at both supporting and contributing to the country's freight logistics network.

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THINGS LOOKING UP AS TAZARA SECURES NEW BUSINESS

Fuel train on Tazara

The TAZARA railway (Tanzania-Zambia Railway Authority) said in a statement this week that it has secured at least 15,000 tonnes of new business to be transported by the railway, which will also be of benefit to the port at Dar es Salaam.

The new freight business emanates from a number of mining companies on the Zambia Copperbelt.

Credit is being ascribed to TAZARA's managing director, Bruno Ching'andu who has undertaken visits to various shippers as well as logistics companies in the Northern, Lusaka and Copperbelt Provinces of Zambia.

He returned from these business trips with orders for new freight to be carried on TAZARA amounting to at least 15,000 tons a month, commencing in February this year.

The Cape-gauge TAZARA railway extends from inside Zambia, where it connects with the Cape gauge North-South railway and runs north-east into Tanzania, terminating at Dar es Salaam. source: The Citizen (Tanzania)

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AFRICA IN FOCUS AT EUROPE'S NOR-SHIPPING 2017 CONFERENCE

Africa firmly on the agenda at this year's event

Despite the fact that African economies are becoming more connected to the world economy than ever before, many international companies have not discovered the great business opportunities on offer in Africa.

With this in mind, Nor-Shipping, one of the world's leading maritime events, will put Africa on the agenda at the 2017 event.

"We are delighted to present the first Africa week to our delegates next year," said Birgit Liodden, Nor-Shipping director. "The goal is to create a high-quality platform for leading European and African maritime industry players to investigate business opportunities on the continent that represents the second biggest growth market in the world."

The program for 2017 has been dubbed Africa@Nor-Shipping 2017, and will represent the very first time that Nor-Shipping has featured a platform promoting mutually beneficial business opportunities between Africa and Europe in the maritime and ocean industries.

A dedicated conference, Africa Pavilion, and a social program with unique networking opportunities are all part of the Africa focus during Nor-Shipping week 2017.

A wide range of topical issues will be covered that not only represent key challenges and opportunities, but also highlight opportunities for improving sustainable business practices in the maritime and ocean industries on both continents.

North and South meet at the sea
Norway is host to a world-leading maritime and ocean industry cluster featuring cutting edge innovation, technology, competence and commercial solutions, and is a spearhead in implementing greener and more sustainable business practices in the global ocean and maritime industries. Africa@Nor-Shipping 2017 will provide a platform for exploring new opportunities and partnerships between Africa, Norway and the Nordics in the maritime industries, matching Norway's ocean industries expertise with the enormous growth potential and forward leaning business climate of sub-Saharan Africa.

The basis for the 2017 African participation is an agreement between Nor-Shipping and two influential organisations, the Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA) and AO Energy Consulting (AOEC).

Under the agreement, NABA and AOEC will partner with Norway Trade Fairs/Nor-Shipping in order to: "support and facilitate more business activity and improved business relations between the maritime and ocean industries in the Nordic countries and the African region, leading up to and during Nor-Shipping 2017."

NABA and AOEC will also be pavilion co-organisers for the African Pavilion during Nor-Shipping 2017. Companies from Africa's maritime sector are invited to contact NABA and AOEC to discuss taking part in the Africa Pavilion.

About, About, About
Nor-Shipping is Europe's leading maritime event week, held this year in Oslo between 30 May and 2 June 2017. Its top-quality exhibition, high-level conferences and prime networking opportunities attract the international maritime industry to Oslo every other year. For more than 50 years and with visitors from around 80 countries, Nor-Shipping has provided a platform for the maritime world to explore the future.

The Norwegian-African Business Association (NABA) seeks to promote business opportunities on the African continent and to serve as a bridge between Norwegian and African business communities. NABA aims to increase more efficient and less risky trade between Norway and Africa. As a member of the European Business Council for Africa and the Mediterranean (EBCAM), NABA is linked to more than 4000 European companies present on the African continent.

AO Energy Consulting (AOEC) provides business development and strategy advice and support services to the electric power and oil and gas industries, with a strong focus on value creation and the optimal use of organisational resources. It is also involved in projects to develop infrastructure assets in West Africa's electric power sector. AOEC is a member of NABA.

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EXPECTED SHIP ARRIVALS and SHIPS IN PORT

Port Louis - Indian Ocean gateway port

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 going 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, but this is also available in a dedicated Cruise News section. This section will include various stories and news not covered in the general news so if you have an interest in this sector don't forget to check regularly on our CRUISE NEWS page.

This you will find here in CRUISE NEWS & REVIEWS

Naval News

Similarly you can read our regular Naval News reports and stories which also have their own dedicated section, although some stories may be duplicated in the general news section.

Find the Naval Review section HERE

Remember to use your backspace key to return to this page.

PIC OF THE DAY : BRIGHT HORIZON

The MACS Carriers' container ship BRIGHT HORIZON (30,500-dwt, built 2001) sails from Durban and makes an aptly named appearance at Ports & Ships on this our final edition. Tomorrow the news reappears at the new site www.africaports.co.za where we too trust in a bright horizon.

Bright Horizon operates with MACS Carriers on its South Africa-Northern Europe service. The ship, which is flagged in the Marshall Islands, was built at the Dalian Shipyard of China Shipbuilding Heavy Industries Corp, China as the shipyard's hull number 300-1. She has a container capacity of 1842 TEU when fully loaded. This picture is by Trevor Jones

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