Basel, situated on the River Rhine, is Switzerland's second largest city, the capital of the German-speaking canton Basel-Town, the country's largest railway junction and its only river port.
Last week it featured on the local scene when two chartered container ships were in port together.
And while the German-owned vessel carries the name MSC Basel, the Swiss-owned Maersk Jenaz is registered there.
Here on only its second visit, MSC Basel, is a 34,231gt, 2680TEU vessel built at Emden by Thyssen Nordseewereke GmbH.
The ship entered service in August, 1992 as DSR Atlantic and became Shanghai Senator in 1997. A unit of the F.
Laeisz fleet of Hamburg, the ship has been on charter to Mediterranean Shipping as MSC Basel since 2004. Making its third call, Maersk Jenaz has been on charter to the Maersk Line since it was completed in September, 2006.
Owner Oceana Shipping S.
A. comes under the control of the Suisse-Atlantique Societe de Navigation Maritime S.
A. whose headquarters are at Renens, a municipality in the canton of Vaud.
The 28,911gt, 2826TEU, 222m-long ship is one of a series of 22-knot vessels built in recent years by the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Company at Ulsan.
Eleven of this class have now been seen here regularly since January, 2007.
Six of them, on charter to Hamburg-Sud, are employed in its Australia-New Zealand-North America east coast-Europe service.
Another chartered Ulsan-built container ship making its maiden call last week was Maersk Niagara.
The ship, which is making a voyage on the Tanjung Pelepas link, is owned by Fair Hugo Shipping Ltd, of Malta, and is registered at Hong Kong.
Delivered late last year, this 28,636gt, 210m-long vessel is one of a series of 22-knot vessels constructed in recent years by the Hyundai Heavy Industries Company Ltd.
Unlike the gearless Hyundai Mipo series, the class is fitted with four 40-tonne capacity cranes.
This type is no stranger to Port Chalmers, for it was represented here on 76 occasions from December 12, 2003, to May 11, 2008, by P&O Nedlloyd's Adriana, Marita, Regina and Susana, vessels employed on the Singapore service.
The four Liberian-flag ships were built for P&O's German subsidiary, Reederei Blue Star Gmbh, of Hamburg.
These vessels also reintroduced the former British company's funnel markings to the port.
The last of its London-registered container ships to call here was America Star on November 21, 2002. Following Maersk's take-over of P&O Nedlloyd, the ships were renamed.
Subsequently P&O Regina made one further visit as Maersk Nottingham and P&O Marita three as Nedlloyd Marita. The last of these sisters to call here was Nedlloyd Juliana, on its eighth visit on May 11, 2008.
This vessel had never called here under its former name P&O Nedlloyd Juliana. Unlike bygone days, when ships engaged in liner services were owned by the companies they were identified with, and the odd chartered ship appeared from time to time, operations today are centred on a large percentage of chartered tonnage.
Of the 28 individual container ships that have called here so far this year, only eight belong to the interests they represent.
Half of the total are owned by German interests and 13 are products of South Korea's shipbuilding industry.
Seldom do we see three tankers arriving at Dunedin within four days of each other.
Last week, however, was an exception with the foreign-owned overseas vessels STX Ace 7, berthing on Monday, Cilaos on Thursday and the Polish-built New Zealand coastal tanker Kakariki on Friday.
STX Ace 7 (mentioned last week) and Cilaos are both products of South Korea's shipbuilding industry.
And while STX Ace 7 is the first tanker from the STX Pan Ocean fleet to call, Cilaos is the first Luxembourg-flag tanker to berth here.
This flag has not been seen here for almost 14 years.
It first appeared here when Cornelis Verolme berthed at Port Chalmers on April 1,1991.
The vessel was one of six Belgian-flag, bulk/container carriers employed in a round-the-world service by the ABC Containerline N. V., of Antwerp.
In 1991 these ships were all transferred to Luxembourg registry .
The ABC Containerline started calling here in October, 1984, but after Brussel berthed on June 6,1994, its South Island operations were switched from Port Chalmers to Lyttelton.
But the ship returned to Port Chalmers on April 7, 1995, after the Lyttelton container crane broke down.
Even then, the vessel had to wait for two days outside this harbour because of northeasterly weather conditions.
Incidentally, ABC went into receivership in 1996.
Cilaos is a 29,083gt, 44,885dwt, tanker built by Halla Engineering and Heavy Industries Ltd.
The vessel was among the last of a series built at its Inchon shipyard before production was being shifted to its Samho yard, which completed its first ship in 1996. In March, 2002, it became the Hyundai Samho shipyard. Sister ships seen here are Hastula, Nedimar and Bro Caroline.
The latter vessel completed in January, 1996, berthed at Dunedin on April 5, 2007.
With Port-Aux-Francais as its port of registry it was the first Kerguelen Islands registered vessel to call here.
Delivered on February 28. 1996, Cilaos was also registered there originally. under the name Port Christine.
The tanker was given its present name when purchased by Union Maritime de L'Ocean Indien (Umoil) in 1998.
At the same time, its port of registry was transferred to Saint-Denis on Reunion Island.
So, after spending most of its life registered in French Territories, Cilaos is currently on its first voyage under the flag of Luxembourg.
It was transferred to this register recently, on February 9.
Next Wednesday the largest cruise ship to visit Dunedin makes is maiden visit to this harbour.
The 15,067gt, Nassau-registered vessel is operated by Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and carries the name c.
Columbus. Photos of the vessel show that the first c in the name appears in the lower case.
Much smaller in size to the cruise ships that berth in the lower harbour, c.
Columbus was designed to carry 423 passengers in 205 cabins, and has a crew of 170.
The ship has an overall length of 145m, a breadth of 21.5m and a loaded draught of 5.100m.
A twin-screw motor ship having a service speed of 18.5 knots, it was constructed at Wismar, Germany, by MTW Schiffswerft GmbH.
Keel-laying took place on September 5, 1996, launching a few weeks later on October 30, and delivery in June, 1997.
It is the fourth Hapag-Lloyd cruise ship to call here.
The Europa of 1981 made four visits, while the Europa of 1999 and the 1990-built Bremen made two each.
