Anyone Interested in Ships

[jjb1970]

This one looks a bit precarious, it looks like one of the reefers which serve deep sea fishing fleets (pretty much the only reefer ship segment still doing well as most reefer cargo is now containerised). Ordinarily I'd guess a ship in the that state of trim/heel was listed deliberately for maintenance or work, but given the state of some of the boats serving deep sea fishing anything is possible.

 

[WessexEclectic]

3 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Ordinarily I'd guess a ship in the that state of trim/heel was listed deliberately for maintenance or work, but given the state of some of the boats serving deep sea fishing anything is possible.

It's being prepared to be weathered?...

[jjb1970]

This one is slightly unusual for Tanjong Pagar, we don't see many of the MOL ACE ships in this livery.

 

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, jjb1970 said:

This one is slightly unusual for Tanjong Pagar, we don't see many of the MOL ACE ships in this livery.

 

About as good-looking as a real dugong...

[J. S. Bach]

11 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

This one is slightly unusual for Tanjong Pagar, we don't see many of the MOL ACE ships in this livery.

 

9 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

About as good-looking as a real dugong...

I do not know which is the worse-looking, that "thing" or the moderne cruise ships!

 

Edited May 1 by J. S. Bach
To edit the post

[jjb1970]

I have a soft spot for vehicle carriers. They're ugly but there's a kind of honesty about them, a ruthless application of form following function to maximize volume within length and beam constraints. And they serve a useful purpose. 

[Hroth]

49 minutes ago, J. S. Bach said:

 

I do not know which is the worse-looking, that "thing" or the moderne cruise ships!

 

 

At least there's no passengers on the "thing" to get seasick or upset stomachs from the catering...

 

[jjb1970]

I know what you're all thinking - oh no, another vehicle carrier, ffs can JJB give us a pic of something other than another vehicle carrier?! No. But trust me, this one is a bit different. The CMA CGM Monaco is a new (delivered by the yard in China this year) LNG fuelled vehicle with a battery hybrid system. And luckily, it was an opportunity to also see one of the new LNG bunker vessels at work. Bunker vessels have an image of being dodgy little oil barges but the LNG vessels are very impressive. The Brassavola is also new, delivered this year by Sembcorp. The ship is owned by MOL which is the main vehicle carrier user of Tanjong Pagar.

 

[jjb1970]

And the World Spirit, one of Nissan's boats.

 

[Mol_PMB]

21 minutes ago, jjb1970 said:

I know what you're all thinking - oh no, another vehicle carrier, ffs can JJB give us a pic of something other than another vehicle carrier?! No. But trust me, this one is a bit different. The CMA CGM Monaco is a new (delivered by the yard in China this year) LNG fuelled vehicle with a battery hybrid system. And luckily, it was an opportunity to also see one of the new LNG bunker vessels at work. Bunker vessels have an image of being dodgy little oil barges but the LNG vessels are very impressive. The Brassavola is also new, delivered this year by Sembcorp. The ship is owned by MOL which is the main vehicle carrier user of Tanjong Pagar.

 

Don't worry, I enjoy your regular coverage of "my" eponymous fleet. Living in Manchester I rarely get the chance to see a MOL vessel although one of the tankers 'Mayaro' came to Eastham QE2 last year (Eastham QE2 is theoretically in the Port of Manchester despite being 36 miles away!)

Even MOL containers are getting very scarce these days. I wish ONE would bring back the Alligator, even if it had to be pink!

 

Cheers,

Mol

 

 

[admiles]

On 02/05/2024 at 11:40, jjb1970 said:

I know what you're all thinking - oh no, another vehicle carrier, ffs can JJB give us a pic of something other than another vehicle carrier?! No. But trust me, this one is a bit different. The CMA CGM Monaco is a new (delivered by the yard in China this year) LNG fuelled vehicle with a battery hybrid system. And luckily, it was an opportunity to also see one of the new LNG bunker vessels at work. Bunker vessels have an image of being dodgy little oil barges but the LNG vessels are very impressive. The Brassavola is also new, delivered this year by Sembcorp. The ship is owned by MOL which is the main vehicle carrier user of Tanjong Pagar.

 

 

Interesting (to me at least). I never knew CMA CGM dabbled in the RoRo side of things too.

 

This week I've been in Southampton dealing with some of the contents of Wallenius Wilhelmsen's vessel "Salome". A little more "Old Skool" than the CMA CGM Monaco...

[Mol_PMB]

Talking of 'Old Skool', on Sunday I'll be taking a trip from Liverpool to Manchester on the Daniel Adamson, 121 years old.

I think there are still a few places available:

https://thedanny.digitickets.co.uk/event/19521565

 

Here's a photo of the Danny's trip to Manchester last year:

And in more regular territory on the River Weaver:

 

[62613]

5 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Talking of 'Old Skool', on Sunday I'll be taking a trip from Liverpool to Manchester on the Daniel Adamson, 121 years old.

I think there are still a few places available:

https://thedanny.digitickets.co.uk/event/19521565

 

Here's a photo of the Danny's trip to Manchester last year:

And in more regular territory on the River Weaver:

 

Just saw the advert: 'ow much?! I know it's an all day job and you have to pay for fuel and stuff, but, chuffinell!

[Mol_PMB]

Everything costs more these days. I don't think it's a bad price for a full day out - cheaper than a main line steam railtour.

The MSC is particularly expensive for them to sail on because they have to pay the pilot fees and for the locks and swingbridges to be worked. That's one of the main reasons the Danny normally operates on the Weaver - they can offer a more attractive fare and still cover costs. But the hard-core MSC nerds like me will pay the extra for it!

[The Johnster]

10 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

Talking of 'Old Skool', on Sunday I'll be taking a trip from Liverpool to Manchester on the Daniel Adamson, 121 years old.

I think there are still a few places available:

https://thedanny.digitickets.co.uk/event/19521565

 

Here's a photo of the Danny's trip to Manchester last year:

And in more regular territory on the River Weaver:

 

 

Thought you were supposed to have a bus on a bridge...

 

Though to be fair on the MSC you can see a boat on a bridge, and the next minute the bridge is somewhere else.  Genius!

[jjb1970]

Wind turbines seem to be a very popular cargo these days.

 

[jjb1970]

A heavy lift ship.

 

 

[jjb1970]

Unfortunately an especially poor image (digital zooming on my phone to get it) but it seems the former MoD RoRo Beachy Head has had a big bit added onto the the back since being sold.

 

[Ozexpatriate]

On 02/05/2024 at 03:40, jjb1970 said:

I know what you're all thinking - oh no, another vehicle carrier, ffs can JJB give us a pic of something other than another vehicle carrier?!

They do look like a floating bar of soap - or perhaps more accurately those plastic boxes with rounded corners that you used to be able to get to store a bar of soap while travelling. Amazon obliges - like these.

[Mol_PMB]

3 hours ago, The Johnster said:

 

Thought you were supposed to have a bus on a bridge...

 

Though to be fair on the MSC you can see a boat on a bridge, and the next minute the bridge is somewhere else.  Genius!

 

Only one engineer was daft enough to build a swing aqueduct! In the background here:

The nearer swingbridge carries several bus routes, should you prefer a bus on a bridge. 

CEG Orbit distinguished itself soon afterwards by trying to sail to Belfast through the Isle of Man. Fortunately it ended up beached rather than wrecked on rocks. 

Here’s the might of the Royal Navy at the same location at Barton Swing Aqueduct:

 

[Bon Accord]

12 hours ago, jjb1970 said:

Unfortunately an especially poor image (digital zooming on my phone to get it) but it seems the former MoD RoRo Beachy Head has had a big bit added onto the the back since being sold.

 

 

Those are very recent modifications, i.e. the past year or so.

I wonder who's operating her now and what as? The extra accommodation suggests training ship or something military.

[Bon Accord]

A few pictures of BEACHY HEAD when I was in her in 2007.

At that time she was on charter to Transfennica, however the charter had the provision that she was available to the MOD at 21 days notice should she be required.

This was the original intent of these ships; that when not required for use by MOD they would be chartered out commercially to earn their keep, but still be available at short notice should the "balloon go up". MOD exercised that option with Beachy Head once and with her other sisters more regularly.

She was therefore a strategic asset and a lesson learned from the Falklands and first Gulf Wars. When on commercial charter she retained her all-British crew, all of whom were also RN reservists as required by their contracts of employment.

All went well until the change of government in 2010, when the incomers decided that having such ships on the books of the MOD was a waste and that any requirements could be fulfilled commercially when required - which of course proved to be short sighted, idiotic, nonsense.

BEACHY HEAD and her sister LONGSTONE were therefore finally sold off in 2014 after a protracted disposal process and the crews made redundant.

The really mad thing was that on their commercial charters they not only covered their operating costs but they actually turned a profit!

Back in 2007 during my time onboard our home port was Lubeck, with the regular run being to/from Hanko in Finland. Other ports visited on regular rotation were Paldiski (Estonia) and Gdynia (Poland).

Cargoes northbound were containers, articulated trailers and brand new high-end German cars, nearly all of which was going into Russia via Finland. The return cargoes were empty containers/artics and rolls of paper. The latter came in 1 tonne rolls and we would usually load 1000-3000 of them for the voyage south, to be used by printers/publishers in mainland Europe.

It was a 30 hour run from Germany to Finland at 21 knots and when alongside we didn't work cargo at nights, therefore we enjoyed regular and lengthy spells in port as it was quite time consuming to load/discharge the paper as it was "break bulk", with the rolls literally being loaded individually.

Lubeck and Hanko are two delightful places, as was Rauma where we occasionally loaded paper.

A very pleasant 3 months or so onboard.

 

Alongside in Lubeck, May 2007 when I was onboard her sister LONGSTONE.

 

Lubeck, 21/07/07.

 

Approaching Hanko, 22/07/07. This is the site of the new accommodation block.

 

Alongside in Hanko, 08/08/07.

 

Alongside in Hanko, 08/08/07

[KeithMacdonald]

11 hours ago, Bon Accord said:

All went well until the change of government in 2010, when the incomers decided that having such ships on the books of the MOD was a waste and that any requirements could be fulfilled commercially when required - which of course proved to be short sighted, idiotic, nonsense. BEACHY HEAD and her sister LONGSTONE were therefore finally sold off in 2014 after a protracted disposal process and the crews made redundant.

 

This is an excellent example (amongst thousands) of the current Idiocracy. Which, by a death of a thousand cuts, destroys the UK/EU/NATO ability to sustain any prolonged operations. What we did have we've outsourced beyond usable reach, not enough industry/manufacturing, a shortage of skilled people, a broken supply chain ... the list goes on.

 

But, maybe it's a good thing? Despite the sound-bite sabre-rattling of people like Chief-Clown Boris, the physical reality will prevent too many being sucked into current and future conflicts?

 

[KeithMacdonald]

Manwhile, in the Med ... many of us have been aware that the so-called "sanctions" against Russia have hurt UK/EU more than it's hurt them. Relevant to this topic has the UK buying "Indian" oil instead of Russian. Still arriving by ship, just by a different route.

 

I confess I hadn't paid much attention to what the routes were, or how much ship-to-ship or STS transfers played in the logistics.  Here's an example, it seems to be shifting from the Med to the Red Sea.

 

Quote

Traders and shipping companies have ensured millions of barrels of Russian crude and crude products flow around the world despite European Union sanctions against Moscow for its 'special operation' in Ukraine. One method to ensure the flow has been cargo switching at sea, known by traders as ship-to-ship or STS transfers.  One of the hottest STS transfer spots for Russian crude and crude products was in Greece's Laconian Gulf, a gulf in the south-eastern Peloponnese. Now, research firm TankerTrackers reports that Russian oil transfers in the area have "completely vacated" the area this week. 

 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/reasons-unknown-floating-russian-oil-base-greece-abruptly-shifts-south

 

That article ends with a question.

 

Quote

The puzzling thing here is why the abrupt shift away from the Laconian Gulf region? 

 

 

[jjb1970]

The only thing I can think of is to move things further from Europe in case EU littoral states decide to take action on the high seas. Strictly speaking ships have to obey the laws of the Flag State and the Coastal/Port State when in their territorial waters, so if tankers are operating in accordance with the laws of the Flag in international waters they're doing nothing wrong (legally, it's a personal judgement call whether people think they're trading unethically). However I'm hearing the phrase 'it's our water' to describe areas beyond the territorial sea in Europe and increasing demands to act as though large areas of international seas are within their sovereign control so maybe operators are pre-empting potential moves against them?