Former Australian Venture sold for scrap

[Phil English]

It's come to light this week that the former AUSTRALIAN VENTURE - now named MSC NURIA - has been sold for demolition in India. She is due to arrive Alang in the next week or so.

Cheers
Phil

[Torben_OWL]

Hi Phil,

where does this lead to?
The MSC NURIA was old but in my not a bad one, compared to other ships this size.
I've watched her in 1994 berthing at Kaiserhafen II, at the same berth where the the Norway was layed up before she transfered to Alang.
Is that an omen?

MfG Torben
 :cry:

[Phil English]

Hi Torben,

It's not a question of good or bad, just simple economics. She's lucky to have lasted so long. Others in her class were scrapped a few years ago. However, the container market had something of a boom time recently with a lot of cargoes to be shipped but not enough ships to carry them. Therefore a lot of old ships that would otherwise have been scrapped continued to trade. The market seems to have topped out however, so more old ships are gradually finding their way to the breakers yards.

Cheers
Phil

[Aleksi Lindström]

That's right Phil, during the last couple of weeks at least these container ships, in addition to MSC NURIA, have been sold for scrap:

CAP BRETT, IMO 7800162, photo + details
CAP YORK, IMO 7800174, photo at Shipspotting
UNI-FOREVER, IMO 7806647, ex-EVER FOREVER, details

Brgds,
Aleksi

[Glenn Towler]

Sad to see a ship going to the nackers yard.

But I reckon MSC might off had enough of this ship, the first time she came to Hobart, she stalled her main engine on the approach to Macquarie Wharf no 6 to turn around before berthing at Macquarie Wharf no 4.  The lost all power and had only one tug which could not slow the ship down on its own fortuanatley there was another tug near by having just completed assisting another shipt to sea.  If there had not have been the 2nd tug she would have hit the Tasman Bridge.

I understand that she has had few mechanical problems with MSC also.  She perhaps she has become a little expensive to operate and MSC are replacing it with a younger ship of simila capacity?

[Mike Cornwall]

Hi there,

I went on board this vessel several times in the 80's and she wqas a bit of a mess compared with the others of her class. The Aussies had not looked after her very well at all, she was a bucket of bolts.

So I find it supreemly ironic that she has lasted about three years longer than her sisters who all went for the big chop in 2002/3.

Sad to see none the less.

Rgds/Mike

[David Duggan]

Glenn and Phill,

I guess that means that except for the Bauxite Carriers River Embley and River Boyne,it is the final curtain on the ships of the ANL.

Any comments/observations?

Regards
David D.  :-(

[Phil English]

Hi David,

ANL hasn't existed as such for some years now. The Australian government sold it off in 1998. The liner business went to CMA-CGM (who still use the ANL brand name) and the bulk business went to Canada Steamship Lines (CSL). The two ships that you mention are both owned by the CSL affiliate Autralian River Co.

Cheers
Phil

[matthew]

hello,which is sad that the aussie venture is going to the scrap yard like here sister ships.i knew this ship very well in the 1990s when she called into the port of lyttelton new zealnd,i knew most the the crew during the 5 years i visted her in  the port.i have photos and plans as i did build a model of her,if anyone can get pics of her at the scrap yard they would be interesting,she was the first of the five built the new zealand pacifc beening the last,thats why the venture had engine trouble as allways the first of the 5 ships and she was older to by a year,i know msc didnt look after her eaither i visted here once,decks were clean and tidy but she has been detained a few times,anyway sad shes gone but thats life,

cheers

matt :-D

[Aleksi Lindström]

Hi,

just for info: last week the MSC LEANNE (IMO 8107309) was sold for scrap to Alang.

Source: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PMASON8/marketre.htm

Brgds,
Aleksi

[Aleksi Lindström]

Hi again,

the next MSC vessel sold for demolition is the 1979-built MSC CARMEN, IMO 7712561. She was sold for scrap to Chittagong, Bangladesh last week.

Brgds,
Aleksi