First-time visitors first of their types

Activity scheduled for the Ravensbourne fertiliser berth today centres on two first-time visitors.

Both are registered at Hong Kong and represent classes not seen here before.

Following the departure of Effy N, Silver Lake will occupy the berth, then, after unloading its cargo, will move to Port Chalmers to load logs.

While Effy N was built by a Japanese yard whose name has been associated with shipbuilding for more than 150 years, Silver Lake was the first vessel to be constructed by one of China's newest shipyards.

Silver Lake was one of eight self-trimming, bulk/lumber carriers ordered by Pacific Basin Shipping of Hong Kong on December 8, 2005 from the Jiangmen Nanyang Ship Engineering Company.

At that time, the yard was still in its planning stages and did not start operations, in Guangdong Province, until June 2006.

It was built on the site of a shrimp and fish farm in what was known as the Silver Lake area.

Pacific Basin acknowledged the district by naming the first of their ships to be built there (Hull No 101) after it.

Silver Lake was named on January 28, 2008, and delivered six months later.

Following the general layout of this well-known type of vessel, the ship has five cargo holds served by four 30-5 tonnes capacity deck cranes.

The 20,418gt, 33.171dwt vessel, owned by Lake Stevens Ltd, has an overall length of 179.86m, a beam of 28.38m and a loaded draught of 10.15m.

Service speed is 13.7 knots. Effy N, of more recent construction, is owned by Aquarius Bulk Carriers Inc, a company affiliated to A. M. Nomikos Transworld Marine Agencies SA of Athens.

The ship was laid down on October 22, 2008, launched this year on May 14, and delivered on July 23.

The ship was built at Yokohama by IHI Marine United Inc, a subsidiary of the IHI Corporation, formerly IHI (Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries).

Ishikawajima established a shipyard on December 5, 1853, which in 1889 was incorporated as the Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Company.

In 1960, it merged with the Harima Dockyard Company, founded in 1907, to form IHI.

IHI was among the first builders to introduce, in 1967, their successful "Freedom" design Liberty replacement series.

Later improved developments were the "Fortune" and "Friendship" types, followed by the "Future 32" type handysize bulk carriers, a number of which have called here.

Effy N represents a more recent design, the 15-knot "Future 56" handymax class of bulk carrier.

The 31,532gt, 55,904dwt vessel has an overall length of 190m, a breadth of 32.26m and a loaded draught of 12.735m.

Its five cargo holds are served by four 30-tonne capacity deck cranes.

Since December 1952, yards linked to the history of IHI have built 70 visitors to this harbour.

Regular visitors were the Japan Line's sister ships, Japan Rimu, Japan Kauri and Japan Totara, built in that order in 1966-67. Between them, they accounted for 76 visits from September 21, 1966, with the arrival of Japan Rimu, to the departure on February 11, 1977, of Japan Totara.

They were displaced by the best-known IHI-built visitor, the Japanese container ship Godwit, built in 1976.

No other IHI-built vessel is likely to get anywhere near this vessel's record number of visits to Port Chalmers, 160 from January 29, 1977, to June 2, 1996.

 

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