Messages

1

Shipping News and information / Re: Collision in Malacca Straits.

« on: April 01, 2013, 11:26:03 PM »

Hi Rick

This was a bad one but near misses in the Strait are not surprising considering how tight the channel is there. I was on Kusu with the usual gang on 8th February and what looked like a collision occurred straight off us between two laden bulkers, THRUSH and DAEBO YEOSU . THRUSH had just left the Eastern anchorage heading West and the DAEBO was on her port side in transit, but the former suddenly turned to port even though slightly behind the DAEBO, and inexplicably headed straight for the side of the transiting vessel. A great deal of continuous hooting and the DAEBO managed to turn to port across the (fortunately clear) eastbound lane and off into Indonesian waters West of Batam whilst the THRUSH just about managed to turn to starboard enough that there only appeared to be a glancing blow just aft of their foc'sles  as we could see it. Fortunately no VLCC coming east laden on this occasion. BERGE EVEREST was not far ahead of the two but don't think this was a factor. We stood somewhat spellbound watching this unfold and there was an audible thump. The DAEBO YEOSU went to anchor off Batam for a day and then visited Sembawang shipyard before continuing her voyage. The THRUSH stopped at the Western end of the Sultan Shoal for a few hours then proceeded. Have a pic or two but whilst they show no clear water between the vessels they don't evidence the collision . Being on Kusu we didn't have AIS switched on but that would be interesting to see. 

Cheers,Ron

2

Trip reports / Re: Shipspotting in Singapore

« on: February 10, 2011, 11:26:56 PM »

Good luck with it...

When you go to Kusu...remember the advice from everyone on here and take a hat and plenty of liquid and enough food for the day...you will dehydrate quickly otherwise. There are reasonable toilets on the island. You may find the wildlife out there rather interesting, especially the lizards which live in the big bush at the end of the area where the shelters are... They are monitor lizards and the adults are about 2 metres long, but they are not interested in humans...so far!! If you like birds, there are many exotic ones out there ..bee-eaters, kingfishers, various egrets & herons, sea eagles, magpie robins, and flame back woodpeckers.. they are all around there and are not so shy as we are used to. If you are tempted to swim in the lagoon, then beware of jellyish... one of my friends had to go to hospital as he was badly stung. There are mudhoppers on the lagoon beach. It is quite idyllic if you like sun, ships and nature!  If you find a blue flag with VLCC written on it.. please let me know as it's owner (from Germany) has lost it there and would early like it back.

Enjoy...

3

Trip reports / Re: Shipspotting in Singapore

« on: February 09, 2011, 07:53:28 PM »

Hi there

Have been a regular visitor to Singapore for shipwatching for since 1993 and there is one hotel venue where you are really able to see a lot. Depends on whether you mainly want to take pics..for which can recommend Kusu Island ... the three shelters at the sea end are a superb location with all passing traffic photo accessible with a decent telephoto lens. Make sure not to miss the last ferry back which normally around 1600 . You will very likely find other shipwatchers there... we regularly meet old friends there and make new ones, particularly from UK, Germany, and Aus.

If spotting is most important then can really recommend the M Hotel in Anson Road, Tanjong Pagar. Get a sea view room and you'll be busy from dawn to dusk. It overlooks the entrance channel to Brani container terminal and pilot boarding ground A & B. Use AIS and from the upper floors (they go to 28 but highest ones over 23 are more expensive club rooms) you can see to the eastern horizon and observe the vessels coming and going into the anchorages as far away as Changi and even off Pasir Gudang. From the lift lobby on the 28th which you'd have to walk up to from 23rd unless a club level guest, you can see large vessels such as VLCCs appearing over the horizon from the east about 25 miles away. For viewing the Western side anchorages , Sinki Fairway berths, Pulau Bukom and other refineries, plus the Jurong container berths, visit Mount Faber viewpoint... best done early in the day or evening so as to minimise heat haze. You can get distant views from there of the Western side of the strait over to Karimun Island, a reasonable but not wonderful view of the LNG and other anchorages at Sultan Shoal, the oil transhipment area in Malaysian waters off Tanjong Pelepas beyond Tuas...though with a lot of clutter and foreground obstructions. There is also a very cluttered distant view to the right of the Jurong and Tuas shipyards  where some large vessels can be picked out. To view Sembawang Shipyard go to Sembawang Park on the North of the Island..where you can get a reasonable view of the vessels on the outer berths, and the Pasir Gudang shipyard in the other direction. This is next to military installations so suggest be quick and not pay obvious attention to the military installations as you will be spotted and have to explain yourself... as several I know have had to do. In fact it is illegal to take pics of military items there so steer clear of that.

The area at the West end around Tuas and Jurong is very sensitive and patrolled regularly by the police, usually Ghurka ex soldiers in landrovers. They are armed and will always stop to see what you are doing , and as long as you are not looking at or photographing military installations, they seem quite ok. That area is very big and you need to use a car to drive around. We always get a feeling of discomfort there as though we are misbehaving in some way, but there is a lot to see.

There is no better place to shipwatch than Singapore. If you don't mind the heat it is fine...and the food is just amazing there. Recommend visit Lau Pa Sat hawker centre for cheap and decent food and beer.  A further point about the M Hotel... they are used to shipspotters and understand what you are doing. The duty managers there have been there for many years and although not quite understanding why we do it...they do accept it and let you enjoy the views and make you most welcome.   There is a bus stop opposite M Hotel whence buses go direct to the Marina Bay ferry terminal for Kusu.

The M is a 4 star hotel , so will not come cheap...but the full day in airconditioned comfort from high up is an advantage to make the cost worthwhile to our group anyway. If you stay in cheap hotels you cannot observe from dawn to dusk as you have no view. Kusu is good but low down and unless you visit in the Festival season which is a few weeks from Oct into Nov each year, you cannot go before 1000 and have to leave by 1600.  So far, without going to 5 star and even more expensive high rise hotels, we have found the M is virtually an ideal spotters venue. Another feature to bear in mind is that a good number of vessels arrive from the East, bunker either inside or outside port limits, and sail away East again...never getting closer that about 8 miles from Kusu and too far over the horizon to see. This particularly happens with capesize bulkers.

Hope all this helps... good luck

Ron 
 

4

Shipping News and information / Re: Beluga Endurance (bringing 8 freightliner locos to the uk)

« on: February 03, 2011, 12:29:25 AM »

Hi again all

Apparently no injuries except to the vessels hold... Believe plenty of surveyors etc were in evidence after the event, but the vessel sailed within a day or so. The pictures seem to indicate the loco has an S bend in its frames.. rather a costly accident.

Ron

5

Shipping News and information / Re: Beluga Endurance (bringing 8 freightliner locos to the uk)

« on: February 02, 2011, 04:23:01 PM »

You may all be interested to know that things did not go too well at discharge in Newport . The last loco...70012 unfortunately was dropped at one end, seemingly as the crane failed...and landed back in the hold with its frames buckled
 
Has now been taken away by road for assessment, but has to be a write off. The other locos were in normal traffic within a couple of days and 70008 was seen at Felixstowe on Freightliner intermodal traffic on Thursday 13th January.   

Have a look at the pictures on this site.. http://martinturner.fotopic.net/c1774877.html


Ron

6

Shipping News and information / Final demise of Mont ex Knock Nevis

« on: December 19, 2010, 10:13:27 PM »

Hi all

The last view of her at Alang is on the Midship Century website with the vessel cut down to the pump room forward bulkhead and a few familiar bits of deck pipework evident...as the pics were taken in November , no doubt the last of her is now completely gone. The end of a very fine vessel.

Ron

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Shipping News and information / Re: Knock Nevis / Mont

« on: April 10, 2010, 09:33:30 PM »

Hi all

There are some new pics of the vessel being broken up at Alang on the excellent website ... http://www.midshipcentury.com/  

Work is well in hand now. The breakers have reached the mid section.

Cheers, Ron

8

Help and Advice / Re: Help Required

« on: April 09, 2010, 10:21:57 PM »

Hi

Just might have been the 42000 Grt CAPE TEXEL which is red and has UPT on the side in white letters... arrived Ro'dam 8th, so could have been at anchor between the time you saw her and berthing. Not quite very large but a good size one.

Not many tanker companies have three letters on the side of orange/red hulls... this one actually has quite an orangy red hue...there are pics of her on Shipspotting.

Any ideas on colour of funnel and superstructure or how many cranes she had amidships? Also, was she bigger than the Urals Princess or similar/smaller?  Per ShipAIS history there seems to have been a line of largish tankers going up with the Front VLCC , Petrozavodsk , Iasonas, and the LPG Captain John NP all ahead of this one.  

Cheers, Ron

9

Shipping News and information / Laid up vessels between La Spezia and Porto Venere , Italy 1964

« on: January 11, 2010, 07:24:19 PM »

Hi all

This is a long shot and not quite a current topic...but would anbody by any chance have passed along the coast road and taken a picture in August '64 or around that time, as there were two rafts of laid up freighters there which I vividly remember passing on my holidays as a child. Lots of tall stacks and masts, so guess mainly WW2 or earlier tonnage. They were quite close to the road and stern to shore in blocks of 15-20 vessels. As La Spezia was a scrapping port at the time, I'd surmise many ended their days there. Porto Venere is on a promontory along the South side of the bay leading to Spezia, so the road passed to the South of the vessels.  Any input appreciated

Cheers, Ron

10

Shipping News and information / Re: Peoples Favourite ship of 2009

« on: January 04, 2010, 05:34:20 PM »

Interesting question Ramiz.... not surprised you came up with a VLCC...my favourite would be a Hyundai design one.  Athenian Victory or the eight NSCSA ones like Sahba/Layla/ Ghazal jump out. . A last look at the superb looking Knock Nevis in November (now at the breakers)  perhaps, or a threequarter aft bridge 29 year old   freighter like the North Korean Am Nok Gang, seen Singapore in October.   My son likes Car Carriers most of all...reckons they are imposing... so beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!  

Cheers, Ron

11

Shipping News and information / Re: Knock Nevis bound for breakers?!

« on: January 04, 2010, 10:59:29 AM »

Yes, GMS reports her beached 22nd Dec.... end of an era!!

Cheers Ron

12

Shipping News and information / Re: do supertankers visit port of galveston for maintenance?

« on: December 26, 2009, 11:33:49 AM »

Hi there

I beleive you'll find that the lightering area is as close as they will come, unless in exceptional circumstances.  I've never heard of one entering port as the berths would have to be considerably upgraded for them and draft and turning space is a huge consideration, plus the penalties for any incident are very heavy in the U.S, so Aframax size lightering tankers shuttle the cargoes into port.  The only place you might see one inside port in the U.S. is in the Delaware river, where a few berths can handle them part loaded after lightering offshore. Excellent pictures of them on the Delaware taken by John Curdy appear in publications  sometimes.  Also, at Long Beach where they can be seen offshore.  

Happy Christmas

Ron

13

Shipping News and information / Re: Knock Nevis bound for breakers?!

« on: December 26, 2009, 11:20:26 AM »

Yes...finding a bank to stump up the dosh must be a challenge... prices over 340 bucks per LDT in India at present, so $27 million plus!

Happy Christmas to all
Ron

14

Shipping News and information / Re: VLCC on Finnart oil terminal

« on: December 23, 2009, 10:21:26 AM »

Hi John

Finnart was BPs deep water terminal for Grangemouth refinery via pipeline and used to get regular VLCC and ULCC visits from their inception. Incredibly deep water there, and certainly the 81 ft draft Universe Ireland type did call there sometimes. There are two VLCC berths there, and in the mid seventies, BP semi laid up Vs on the southern one...British Resolution springs to mind. Fantastically beautiful location too.  Pics awkward due high steep mountainsides and secluded location, but stern shots with zoom could be got from the main road north of  the terminal. Have a slide of World NKK on there in Japan Line colours in '75. With Grangemouth on line to N Sea crude sources, usage dropped off hugely, but the occasional suezmax or shuttle tanker has been calling, but a V is quite a rarity.  

ASHNA just left Weds morning and off Dunoon outbound as I write, bound Falmouth for bunkering...

Cheers, Ron

15

Shipping News and information / VLCC on Finnart oil terminal

« on: December 22, 2009, 01:38:32 PM »

A rare event...but the ASHNA appears to have arrived today, drawing just over 17m  and also briefly showed on the Falmouth vessels due list this morning - but has disappeared again for the moment at least.  

Cheers