Familiar name resurfaces at Dunedin harbour

The name Portland Bay is associated with the largest visiting container ship, a vessel whose colourful career saw it make 43 calls here under four names.

This name resurfaces tomorrow evening when the first log ship to arrive this year makes its maiden call. Portland Bay is another of the standard type, Imabari-built, single deck, self-trimming, bulk/lumber carriers that have been calling here for some time now.

Currently on charter to Pacific Basin Shipping of Hong Kong, the 16,960gt, 28,446dwt vessel was delivered to its original owner, Evergood International Ltd on January 15, 2004.

The ship then traded on the Hong Kong register as Portland Bay until last November.

Ownership then changed to Uhland Shipping (BVI) Ltd of the Virgin Islands and the flag to Panama.

As for the container ship Portland Bay, it still holds the record of being the largest vessel of its type to call here on a gross tonnage basis.

The vessel made its only visit here under that name on October 19. 1983, while on charter to Overseas Containers Ltd for three round voyages in the United Kingdom-New Zealand trade. At the time, Portland Bay was a vessel of 53,790gt.

This figure was later amended to 52,055gt after the ship was remeasured in accordance with the requirements of the 1969 International Convention on Tonnage Measurements of Ships. Built by A.

G.

"Weser" at Bremerhaven, the 258.55m long vessel was launched as City of Durban on September 16, 1977, and completed in May 1978. Owned jointly by Ellerman Lines Ltd and the Charente Steam Ship Company (T. and J.

Harrison), the ship was built to operate on the Ellerman/Harrison Container Line's South African service.

Managed by Ellerman Lines, it was also the third City of Durban to be associated with these interests.

Designed for a service speed of 21.5 knots, the twin-screw vessel was powered by two eight-cylinder MAN diesels having a combined output of 32,000bhp.

Total container capacity of 2436TEU was later increased to 2870TEU.

After being renamed Portland Bay in 1983, the ship reverted to its original name later that year. Then, as City of Durban, it made three local calls from March to June 1985.

Later that year, the ship transferred from British to Isle of Man registry when chartered by ACT(A).

Renamed ACT 8, the ship made 13 visits to Port Chalmers between November 1985, and October 1990.

It then reverted to the name City of Durban.

When P&O Containers acquired the Ellerman interests ownership passed to P&O Containers Ltd and the Charente S. S. Company.

In turn this became P&O Nedlloyd and the Charente S. S. Company in 1997 and finally P&O Nedlloyd two years later.

The ship returned to the New Zealand trade after being renamed Pegasus Bay in 1996.

It then made a further 26 calls at Port Chalmers between September 17, 1996, and July 11, 2002.

The career of this interesting vessel ended not long afterwards when it arrived at Jiangyin on October 19, 2002, for demolition by the Jiangyin Shipbreaking Company.

And from one ship demolished in China to another built there by the Nanjing Jinling Shipyard at Nanjin.

This vessel, another newcomer due this week, is the Hong Kong-registered Maersk Radford owned by Maersk B.

V., of the Netherlands.

The 9957gt vessel is another of the 1118TEU series that have emerged from Chinese shipyards in recent years.

Laid down as early as December 30, 2004, it was launched on April 20, 2007, and delivered on July 20 that year.

Others of this type seen here are ANL Yarrunga, Maersk Fuji, Maersk Fukuoka and Vega Gotland.

 

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