On the Waterfront: Saiki yard products familiar visitors at Port Chalmers

Saiki Heavy Industries, a division of the Onomichi Dockyard Company, delivered its first two vessels, a small 998gt tanker in December 1988, followed in April 1989 by a 12,357gt woodchip carrier, much smaller again than vessels of this type that call here from time to time.

Since then, production at the yard, with few exceptions, has centred on the construction of three classes of handysize bulk/lumber carriers.

The first of these was a series of 13,700gt/22,200dwt vessels built up to 1995.

They were followed by a class of 14,700gt/23,500dwt series built over the next four years until they were eclipsed in size by a larger 19,800gt/31,800dwt design.

Fourteen Saiki-built vessels have now called here, seven of the earlier series, three of the 14,700-tonners, and four of the 1999 design of which the latest visitor is the 19,882gt/31,640dwt Aeolos.

Due to depart for Bluff today, this vessel is the fifth to have loaded logs at Dunedin since last April.

One of the yard's valued customers is the Inui Steam Ship Company of Tokyo.

The yard has now built 20 Ken-named vessels for this company, of which seven operated by associated interests have made 13 local calls, mainly to load logs.

And the first of these vessels to call here on the first of three visits on March 17, 1991 was the 13,695gt Ken Wood, completed in July 1989.

As Yard No 1003, it was the third vessel built by Saiki and the first of a long line of bulk/lumber carriers that followed.

Earlier this month, the yard launched its 186th vessel, the bulk carrier UBC Sugana.

Another satisfied customer has been Egon Oldendorff's Oldendorff Carriers GmbH &Co KG, of Lubeck.

It had 20 vessels built by the Saiki yard from 1992-2007 for operation under the Liberian flag.

One of these, 13,696gt Caroline Oldendorff , delivered in April 1993, berthed at Port Chalmers on July 12, 1994, to load logs.

And the larger 19,882gt Lucas Oldendorff, delivered in February 2002, arrived earlier this year, on March 19, for logs.

Until August 2008, Aeolos was also a unit of this fleet.

Laid down on November 21, 2000, it was launched as Eduard Oldendorff on Christmas Day and was completed on February 26, 2001.

The vessel is now owned by Onirato Navigation Ltd, managed by Alexandria Shipping SA, of Athens, and is registered at Majuro in the Marshall Islands.

Two other visitors of this larger design, which the shipbuilder markets as a multi-purpose, box-shaped, bulk carrier, are the 2001-built, three-time visitor Ken Goh and Tequila Sunrise, a 2009 completion that has made two visits this year.

Recent log ship activity at Port Chalmers saw a return visit by the 17,977gt, 1996-built, Panama-flagged, Super Challenge.

The ship made its first visit to Ravensbourne in October 1998, and was here for logs in December 2005.

For a period from 2002-03, it had the prefix IVS added to its name.

Also trading under the same flag, newcomer Clipper Imabari, owned by La Darien Navegacion SA, of Imabari, is on charter to the Clipper group of Nassau.

Another of the Imabari Shipbuilding group's 28,000dwt type that is becoming increasingly familiar here, the 16,960gt vessel was handed over from the Shimanami yard on May 22, 2008.

Another of the smaller Chinese-built, 1118teu container ships, the 9983gt Cypriot- flag JRS Pegasus makes its first visit today.

The ship is owned by a one-ship company that includes its name, one that comes under the control of Schoening Bereederungs, of Haren (Eems) Germany.

It had been trading under the name CCL Moji until early last month.

The Fujian Mawei shipyard at Fuzhou laid it down on September 6, 2008, launched it on December 31, and handed it over on October 26, 2009.

Others of this type seen here since November 2005 are ANL Yarrunga, Maersk's Fuji, Fukuoka and Radford, as well as MSC Frisia and Vega Gotland, which makes its 81st visit next week.