On the Waterfront: Hamburg-Suds now has even bigger ships in its fleet

Further to Hamburg-Suds' 50-year association with this port and the introduction, during the past few years, of larger vessels into the fleet, mentioned last week; I have found even bigger ships have joined the fleet since last October.

Once again the company turned to the Daewoo yard at Okpo to build these vessels.

Santa Clara is an 85,676gt, 93.552dwt that was laid down on May 19, 2010, launched on July 24, and delivered on October 12. Corresponding dates for the second vessel, Santa Isabel, are August 2, October 16, and December 10.

Five more of this class will enter service soon. Santa Catarina and Santa Cruz have already been laid down.

Designed to operate at 22.2 knots, these vessels have an overall length of 299.95m, a breadth of 42.8m and a loaded draught of 13.5m. Their nominal slot capacity of 7100teu includes 1600 reefer plugs, which makes them the largest refrigerated container ships in the world.

The ships are employed in the New Good Hope Express service between Asia, South Africa and South America, one that is steadily demanding an increase in refrigerated capacity.

Today BBC Brazil is due to arrive at Leith wharf to discharge the wind turbine components for TrustPower's Mahinerangi project.

After loading these at Nakskov (Denmark) last month, the vessel was reported to have passed west of Dover Strait on December 17, before heading for the Panama Canal and on to Dunedin.

The vessel belongs to the smaller, multipurpose type, which we seldom see here nowadays. Yet there is quite a demand for vessels of this type, which are employed in carrying a variety of cargoes with often bulky and heavy-project items on deck.

Last month, another of this type of vessel, Florijngracht, arrived at Dunedin from Vietnam with the columns for erection at the Mahinerangi site.

BBC Brazil is a 7576gt, 10,380dwt, one of about 80 vessels ranging from 2543gt-24,901gt that are owned or chartered by the Briese Shipping group. The 142.69m long, Dutch-built vessel is fitted with two 80-tonne deck cranes, has a container capacity of 676teu and a speed of 14.7 knots. Built at Foxhol by BV Scheepswerf Damen Hoogezand, the ship was launched on July 5, 2002.

The ship was completed on September 19, 2002, as Ile de Re for the Southern Islands Navigation Company Ltd.

The next year it passed to Eckhoff GmbH & Co K.G. of Jork (Germany), who renamed it Ursula. In September, 2005, the ship received its current name when it joined the Briese fleet on charter. It has been registered at Majuro in the Marshall Islands since new.

First of this year's visitors to Ravensbourne, and calling for the first time at the end of this month, is the bulk carrier Komatsushima Star. The 30,816gt vessel, which has a deadweight of 55,522 tonnes, is owned by Lua Line S.A, of Manila and registered at Panama.

In keeping with several of the larger bulkers seen in the upper harbour in recent years, the ship has an overall length of 189.90m. Built two years ago, it was launched on March 31, and delivered on June 8, 2009, from the Kawasaki yard at Kobe. It is only the seventh Kawasaki-built visitor that I recall arriving here, the first being Kota Salam, of Singapore, in November, 1984.

Ships that pass in the night. Somewhere off the coast last Thursday night the 77,441gt cruise ships Dawn Princess (built 1997) and Sun Princess (1995) would have passed each other.

While Dawn Princess was heading from Port Chalmers to Lyttelton, Sun Princess was on its way here from the northern port. During this and the previous cruise season, Dawn Princess has been operating out of Melbourne and Sun Princess out of Sydney.