Since the second week of last month, the port has hosted visits by nine container ships calling for the first time, with five appearing over the last eight days. Latest to arrive, yesterday, was Hamburg-Sud's Bahia Castillo.
This vessel is the fourth of their larger 41,483gt Bahia class vessels that are replacing the 28,616gt, 2824 TEU chartered ships which have been calling here in their Trident service since July 2008.
Bahia Grande introduced this class locally last January, followed by class leader Bahia three months later. And last Monday Bahia Negra was in port for the first time. This class comprising six vessels, whose capacity of 3630 TEU includes 844 reefer plugs, was built at Okpo, South Korea by the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co (DSME).
Bahia Castillo, the third to be built, was laid down on November 6, 2006, and the following year was launched on February 4, and delivered on April 19.
Corresponding dates in 2007 for Bahia Negra, the last to be constructed, were keel-laying, March 26; launching, June 23; and handing over, August 23. Since entering service, the ship has also spent a period on charter as CCNI Shenzen. The other two members of the class are Bahias Blanca and Laura.
Another of last week's newcomers, and now operating on the Tanjung Pelepas run, Olympia has had an interesting past. For it is one of two sister ships that have shared the same name, Cap Campbell, on charter periods to Hamburg-Sud.
Both these 28,050gt, 2702 TEU Liberian-registered vessels were ordered by Martime Ges of Elsfleth, Germany as yard numbers 553 and 554 from the Thyssen Nordseewerke yard at Emden, Germany.
Number 554 was launched as Olympia on July 18, 2007, and following delivery on November 15, 2007, entered service as Cap Campbell. When this charter ended in mid-2009, the vessel reverted to its build name until chartered out again as APL Chennai. It has been serving again as Olympia since last May.
Its sister ship, launched as Olivia on March 23, 2007, and completed on June 29, 2007, commenced its working life under the name Americas Bridge. It became the second Cap Campbell immediately after its sister ship's charter ended. The ship is also now operating under its launching name.
The 18,327gt Hansa Coburg is the third of Leonhardt and Blumberg's chartered vessels to turn up here on the CMA CGM service from Port Kelang, Malaysia. It is another of the 1740 TEU class built by the Guangzhou Wenchong shipyard in south China. The ship was completed on April 2, 2007, but until the middle of last year was operating under the name Niledutch Asia.
Veteran MSC Didem, here also for the first time a week ago, has been around a bit since the DSME yard handed it over on June 1, 1987, as Hanjin Savannah.
Before receiving its current name six years ago the 35,598gt, 3074 TEU vessel was twice known as Savannah and once as SCI Asha. Sister ships MSC Brasilia and MSC Sabrina are also known here.
Another first-timer last week, the 17,953gt Eco Vanquish was the third vessel to call at Dunedin this year to load scrap for overseas. The earlier loadings were by TPC Samjin and Vega Venus in June.
Eco Vanquish hails from the fleet managed by Austbulk Shipping Sdn Bhd of Port Kelang. Bought by these interests earlier this year, the ship had traded as Basic Reliance under the flag of Panama, since the Shikoku Dockyard handed it over on March 8, 2002.
