Hanover Express, new mega containership for Hapag-Lloyd

The 'Hanover Express' is one of the world's largest containerships, capable of carrying 8,750 containers.

The new building was named today in Hamburg. Naming ceremonies for large containerships are still something special even in Hamburg and nearly 300 guests from business and politics, including the Mayor of Hamburg Ole von Beust and the Mayor of Hanover Bernd Strauch, attended the event at Container Terminal Altenwerder, at the quays of which the 'Hanover Express' had berthed. The patron was Gabriele Frenzel, wife of TUI's CEO and chairman of the supervisory board of Hapag-Lloyd, Dr. Michael Frenzel. Gabriele Frenzel named Hapag-Lloyd’s latest new building. With her length of 335m and beam of 43m, the 'Hanover Express' has the dimensions of three football fields and is deployed between Europe and Far East.

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Leaking ship passed through Barrier Reef

A foreign container ship, which was leaking a highly combustible gas was allowed to travel through the Great Barrier Reef by Australia's maritime safety bureau.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has released its findings into the journey of the Kota Pahlawan through the Great Barrier Reef, which went ahead despite the ship's master reporting the ship was leaking a dangerous chemical. The German-owned, Liberian-registered ship Kota Pahlawan departed Singapore for Brisbane on June 12, with eight containers on board carrying chemicals known as xanthates, which are used in industry and mining. ATSB report says that a highly flammable and foul-smelling vapour known as carbon disulphide is emitted by xanthates when it is exposed to moisture. The safety body also has called for a review of the international guidelines for the packaging of xanthates.

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Japan’s political brawl for meat

Japan greeted the dispatch yesterday of its largest whaling hunt in two decades with a collective yawn, when factory ship Nisshin Maru and three chaser ships left after its ceremonial departure to newer levels of whaling from Shimonoseki.

Six ships and dozens of men set out to kill nearly 1,000 of the planet's biggest mammals, the largest whaling hunt in two decades. Local media considered the victory of Mizuki Noguchi in the Tokyo International Women's Marathon a more important story. While the rest of the world reacts with fury to these whaling expeditions, Japan shrugs its shoulders and says "What's the fuss?" The government's $1bn campaign to overturn the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling has been waged largely out of sight. Most Japanese would rather eat hamburger than whale. Hundreds of tonness of whale meat sits in freezers. The Fisheries Agency sees itself as Japan's defender against Western "culinary imperialism" and its right to marine resources. The agency says Japan's low food self-sufficiency – less than 40 per cent – gives it the right to hunt all sustainable sea life, including whales.

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French navy deters Somali pirates

Two ships carrying food aid to Somalia was escorted by the French navy to deter possible attacks from pirates.

The waters off the war-torn country are among the most dangerous in the world. Twenty-six ships, including three carrying food aid, have been attacked this year. In 2007, about 580,000 Somalis have fled their homes due to increased conflict. The country has also been ravaged by drought. The ships transported 3,650 metric tons of food aid from the Kenyan port of Mombasa to Merka, 100 km (60 miles) south of the Somali capital, Mogadishu. France says it will continue its escort operation for two months. World Food Programme Executive Director, Josette Sheeran says that piracy has damaged their ability to reach Somalia's most vulnerable people and they cannot tackle this challenge alone and are grateful to those helping to protect their ships. The attacks have led the WFP to transport some food to Somalia by road, which is far more expensive.

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Ships run aground in TN

A Vishakapatinam-bound private ship ran aground in the wee hours in the district after fishing net was entangled with its propeller on Tuesday.

The crew, which was headed by Captain D Selva was safe and had enough food and water for survival. The vessel "Jasmine", belonging to a Mumbai based company, was towing a barge along, which also ran aground near the beach at Azhagankuppam at around 4 am. Sources say that a tug from Mumbai was on its way to tow the ship back to the sea and if it did not succeed in its mission, the Coast Guard help would be sought. With the help of local anglers, the officials have been keeping in touch with the crew. The ship was on its return from Puducherry after offloading some construction materials for the port there, sources added.

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ICTSI takes over Georgian port operation

The Batumi Sea Port officially handed over the operation and management of the Batumi Container Terminal (BICT) a Georgian Company, to an International Container Terminal Services (ICTSI).

Nugzar Katamadze, BSP deputy director general; Harsh Khare, ICTSI vice president; and the entire BICT management team lead by its general manager and chief operating officer, Tonny P. Bestenbreur, witnessed the handover. BSP and BICT representatives signed the Hand-Over Protocol later in the afternoon. The container terminal handover also includes the rail ferry terminal facilities and the 181-metre general cargo berth, Berth 6. This berth caters to the receiving and loading to an export vessel of metal scraps coming from Georgia and her neighboring countries. The lease agreement to operate and manage the Batumi Container Terminal for 48 years was signed in September 2007.

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