Hr. Ms. WALRUS

Source: Dutch Royal Navy

The submarine Hr. Ms. Walrus will be entering Rotterdam today to visit the 'Wereldhavendagen'. The submarine was built in 1985 and is one of four 'Walrus'-class submarines of the Dutch Royal Navy. The Walrus has a diesel-electric propulsion. At periscopedepth the diesel engines are turned on to charged the batteries. Under water, the submarine is propelled by electric power. The submarines of this class are well known sparringpartners during NATO-exercises and they are often used in crisissituations. The submarines are also much used in the Caribbean Sea in the war against drugs. Some statistics: Waterdisplacement: 2.350 tons (above water), 2.650 tons (under water) length: 68 meters width: 8.5 meters speed: 13 knots (above water), 20 knots (under water) crew: 50 persons weapons: 4 torpedotubes for Mk. 48 torpedo's or Sub-Harpoon rockets

GUDRUN MAERSK

Until the delivery of the Emma Maersk a few weeks ago, the Gudrun Maersk (IMO: 9302877, Port of Registry: Svenborg, Denmark) was, together with its sisters Gjertrud Maersk, Gerd Maersk, Grete Maersk, Gunvor Maersk and Georg Maersk, the longest containership currently sailing. The Gudrun Maersk is 367 meters long, 43 meters wide and is capable of transporting 8.500 teu. With these capacities the Gudrun Maersk comes to a deadweight tonnage of 115.700.

The vessel entered the Maersk fleet in June 2005 and was built by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark. Currently this Post-Panamax ship is sailing on the Far East - Europe line on which it visits, amongst others, Singapore, Kobe, Hong Kong, Felixstowe, Bremerhaven and of course Rotterdam. The vessel entered Rotterdam this morning and is currently (dis)charging at the APM terminal. The next port of call will be Algeciras on the route via the Suez Canal to Asia.

MSC MARIA ELENA

The MSC Maria Elena was built this year at Samsung Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries and is with its teu capacity of 9200 one of the biggest container vessels sailing and the biggest vessel of the Mediterranean Shipping Company. The ship is 336 meters long, 43 meters wide and has a deadweight tonnage of 110.000. The Maria Elena is currently sailing on the MSC's 'Silk Express', the Far East/China - Northwestern Europe route. The next destination after Rotterdam is Antwerp from where it will depart for the Far East.

The MSC Maria Elena will enter Rotterdam later this evening and will visit the ECT Delta Terminal.

GJERTRUD MAERSK

The picture of today's SOTD is not so great, but the ship itself is. The Gjertrud Maersk is 367 meters long, 43 meters wide and is capable of transporting 8500 teu. The Gjertrud Maersk was built in 2005 by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark. The vessel is currently sailing on the Japan/China - Europe line and will enter Rotterdam this evening from Felixstowe. The next destination of the Gjertrud Maersk is Bremerhaven and it will visit Rotterdam again within 10 days.

GOLDEN PRINCESS

The Golden Princess will visit Rotterdam today for a stopover coming in from Oslo. The Golden Princess is one of the bigger cruisers at this time with a length of almost 290 meters, a width of 36 meters and a full capacity of 3.100 passengers. The vessel was built in 2001 by Fincantieri Shipyards in Monfalcone, Italy. The ship is equipped with several dining rooms and restaurants, bars, a casino and a show lounge, a pool (of course), a spa, a nine-hole putting course (!), duty-free boutiques, a wedding chapel and, the most remarkable feature, the Skywalkers Nightclub at the back of the ship at 15 decks above the sea.

The Golden Princess will continue sailing through Europe until December. The vessel will first make a roundtrip around Great Britain and will continue towards the Mediterranean afterwards. Should you be interested, prices start at about $1.800 per person.

You can see a live picture from the bridge below:


Here you can find also some pictures of the rooms:

Grand suite with balcony

Standard interior double room

FAITH N

The Faith N (flag: Panama, IMO: 8618425), which is due to arrive today at about 16.30 local time at the EMO terminal, Rotterdam from Ponta da Madeira, Brasil, is a bulk carrier owned by the General Ore Carrier Corporation.

The vessel was built in 1990 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali Italiani. Its sister vessels are the Alfred N and Arthur N. The ship has a deadweight tonnage of 260.783, is 325 meters long, 54 meters wide and has a draught of 20.5 meters and is one of the bigger bulkers currently sailing. The ship has 9 trans. bulkheads and 2 long. bulkheads.

ARTHUR MAERSK

Today's SOTD is the Arthur Maersk, although there are two other brand new containerships entering Rotterdam today also, namely the Ever Conquest (length: 334 m., width: 43 m., total teu: over 8000) and the Hyundai Hongkong (length: 304 m., width 40 m., total teu: 6800). However, there are no pictures of these ships available yet, so we had to choose the Arthur Maersk, which also is one of the biggest containerships (Series S) around. The vessel was built in 2003 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea and can carry a total number of containers of 9000. The ship is 352 meters long, 43 meters wide, has a deadweight tonnage of 109.000 and is currently sailing on the China - Europe route. The Arthur Maersk will arrive at about 14.00 local time at APM Terminal, Rotterdam. The Ever Conquest will arrive at about 10.00 and the Hyundai Hongkong will arrive at about 14.00, both at the ECT Terminal, Rotterdam.

Hr. Ms. DE ZEVEN PROVINCIËN

The Hr. Ms. De Zeven Provinciën is an air defense and command frigate of the Dutch navy. The vessel will make only a short stop at the Stena Line terminal, Hoek van Holland at about 16.30 local time to drop off some passengers.

Source: Dutch Royal Navy

The ship has a crew of 174 persons and is already the 8th ship to bear the name 'De Zeven Provinciën' and was built by 'De Schelde' in Flushing between 1998 en 2001. The frigate is 144 meters long, 17 meters wide, can reach a speed of 30 knots, is incorporated with Stealth techniques and is armed with a Oto Breda-cannon 127 mm, Vertical Launch System (VLS) Mk 41 for Enhanced Sea Sparrow Missiles en Standard Missiles, Harpoon Missile, Goalkeeper (fast fire cannon), Mk. 46 Torpedo-weapons and a Lynx orNH-90 helikopter.

ADRIAN MAERSK

The Adrian Maersk (flag: Denmark) is a Series S type vessel of the Maersk Sealand group. The vessel was built in 2004 by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark. The Adrian Maersk is 352 meters long, almost 43 meters wide and has a deadweight of 109.000 tons. The vessel can transport about 9000 teu and sails mainly on the from Asia-Europe-Asia route. It will arrive today at about 13.00 local time at the APM terminal, Rotterdam. The next destination is Algeciras, Spain.

MS ROTTERDAM

Naturally, we can't go around the ms Rotterdam (port of registry: Rotterdam), which has entered the port of Rotterdam this morning. The Rotterdam is the flagship of the Holland America Line and has a capacity of 1.316 passengers. It is already the sixth ship of the HAL to bear the name.
The vessel has 658 rooms of which there are 4 penthouse suites, 36 normal suites, 120 mini suites, 381 outside staterooms and 117 inside staterooms. Furthermore there are several restaurants, bars, a theather, a kids club, a library, a casino and a health spa on board. This in 1997 in Italy built vessel is 238 meters long, 32 meters wide and has a gross tonnage of almost 60.000. It will depart this evening for Oslo and will continue its tour to Arhus, Warnemunde, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Prices start from about $ 2.000 per person.

Pictures below are of the penthouse and the atrium.

EVER CHIVALRY

The Ever Chivalry (IMO: 9293791) is a 334 meters long, 42.5 meters wide container ship that has been built this year by Samsung Heavy Industries in Seoul, Korea. The Chivalry is capable op carrying more than 8000 teu and is one of the biggest container ships at this moment.
The vessel is owned by the German Conti Reederei and is sailing under the flag of the Marshall Islands. The vessel will arrive Satuday evening at the ECT terminal, Rotterdam with the last port of call in Hamburg. The next port to visit is Thamesport. The Ever Chivalry will visit Rotterdam every two months.

BERGELAND

Smaller than its sister the 'Berge Stahl', but still no small ship is today's SOTD, the Bergeland (IMO:9002776) with its deadweight of 322.941 tons. This in 1992 built, 338 meters long, 55 meters wide, ore carrier has a draught of 23 meters and 7 holds and hatches and was built by Hyundai Heavy Ind. Co. Ltd. Ulsan, Korea. The Bergeland should arrive today at 12.00 local time at the EECV terminal, Rotterdam from Ponta da Madeira, Brasil.

AL TAHREER

Today's SOTD is the Al Tahreer (flag: Kuwait, IMO: 9016868) which is due to arrive today at 12:00 local time at the MOT terminal in Rotterdam. The Al Tahreer is a crude oil tanker with a deadweight of 284.500 tons, is 322 meters long, 56 meters wide and has a draught of 21.6 meters. The vessel was built in 1992 by Hyundai Shipbuilding & Heavy Ind. Ltd. in Korea. The vessel has 12 different cargo tanks: 3 port, 6 centre and 3 starboard tanks. The vessel is owned by Kuwait Oil Tanker Co. S.A.K. The Tahreer's sister vessel are: Al Awdah, Al Samidoon and Al Shuhada.

SPRUCE

The Spruce (IMO: 7734167) is a 112 meters long, 34 meters wide LASH ship. LASH, an acronym for Lighter Aboard SHip vessels each carry about 82 LASH barges. The barges, all of a standard size with cargo capacity of 385 tons, are towed in ports and on inland waterways to various shipping points where they are loaded with cargo and then returned to the oceangoing vessel. They are hoisted aboard by a special shipboard gantry-type crane and transported overseas where the process is reversed. LASH ships do not require special docks or terminals.

The Spruce (flag: Marshall Islands) was built in 1975 as the Flash IV (later Mammoth Spruce) by Sumitome heavy industries in Tokyo, Japan. The Spruce arrived this morning at 4:10 local time at the Waalhaven, Rotterdam.

OOCL ASIA

The OOCL Asia (IMO: 9300790) is a SX class container vessel capable of transporting 8063 TEU. The vessel was built this year by Samsung Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Co. Ltd, Korea and is 323 meters long and 43 meters wide. The ship is registered in Hong Kong, China and is currently sailing on the OOCL EU-3 route (Asia-Europe-Asia) which will ensure the OOCL Asia to visit Rotterdam every 56 days. The OOCL Asia has arrived this morning at the ECT Delta terminal in Rotterdam and will be leaving for Hamburg tomorrow evening. It is due to arrive at October 8th in Rotterdam again.

BERGE NORD

Today the Berge Nord (IMO: 9127150) is being reviewed which will arrive at about 13.00 local time at the EECV bulk terminal in Rotterdam from Seven Islands, Canada. This 305 meters long, 53 meters wide bulk carrier is the biggest ship to enter the Arctic sea and is serviced by a crew of Norwegians and Indians.

The Berge Nord has a deadweight tonnage of 218.000, has a draught of almost 19 meters and has seven holds and hatches. The ship was built in 1997 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea.

RHINE ORE

The Rhine Ore (ex. Onoe Maru) arrived this morning at 6.30 at the EECV terminal in Rotterdam from Tubarao, Brasil. The ship has a deadweight of 233.000 tons, is 315 meters long, 54 meters wide and has a draught of about 19 meters.

The ship is owned by NYK line and her port of registry is Tokyo. It is one of the biggest Japanese ships currently sailing.

GRACE N

Bulk carrier Grace N (Flag: Liberia, IMO: 8118267), sistership of the Waterman N, which has been reviewed only a few days ago, has a deadweight tonnage of 224.222, is 312 meters long, 50 meters wide and has a draught of 20 meters. It has 9 holds and hatches and was built in 1983 in Japan. Until a year ago, it was known as the Elbe Ore. Before that it was named the Frontier Maru.

The Grace N will be arriving at 14.40 local time at the EMO Bulk Terminal in Rotterdam from Tubarao, Brasil carrying iron ore.

TI AFRICA

Today's SOTD is the TI Africa (ex. Hellespont Metropolis, IMO:9224764). It is one of the four TI ships which are the biggest crude oil tankers in the world nowadays. This size of supertankers is called "ULCC-VPlus". The three other TI ships are: TI Asia, TI Europe and TI Oceania. There used to be bigger tankers, such as the Knock Nevis and Sea Giant, but these are currently not sailing anymore.

The TI Africa (flag: Marshall Islands) has a summer deadweight of 441.655 tons, a draught of 24.5 meters and is 380 meters long and 68 meters wide. It was built in 2002 by Daewoo Heavy Industries and is currently owned by OSG Ship management. The ship is should arrive at 12:15 local time at the '8e Petroleumhaven', Rotterdam from Sidi Kerir Terminal, Egypt, but due to a delay it will probably arrive at about 4:15 (August 12.)

WATERMAN N

The Waterman N (IMO: 8404147, port of registry: Panama, ex.name: Hyundai Giant) is to arrive at 10:40 local time in Rotterdam at the EMO bulk terminal, from Tubarao, Brasil.


The ship has a deadweight tonnage of almost 260.000 tons, a maximum draught of almost 20 meters, is 328 meters long, 54 meters wide and was built in 1985. It contains 9 holds with the same number of hatches for the bulk transport of iron ore and coal.

HEDWIG OLDENDORFF

Today's Ship of the Day is the Hedwig Oldendorff (IMO: 8015697), which arrived this morning at 5:35 local time from Seven Islands, Canada in Rotterdam at the EECV terminal containing a load of iron ore .

This under Liberian flag sailing bulk carrier was built in 1984 by Hyundai, has a deadweight of about 150.000 tons and contains 9 holds and hatches. The ship is 281 meters long, 53 meters wide and has a maximum draught of 15 meters .

SEVEN SEAS NAVIGATOR

The first ship to appear in this (almost) daily updated page is the Seven Seas Navigator. It has entered the Port of Rotterdam on August 8th at 7:10 AM and will be leaving at about 18.00 local time for Dover.



This 'small' ship (172 meters long) can carry up to 490 passengers in a very luxury environment. Next to a casino, several small lounges and a cigar bar, there is a big show lounge on board with a full-size stage where performances are held. Furthermore there's an international restaurant and a Italian restaurant where the best Italian dishes are served.

This summer it is sailing the North Sea and the Mediterranean. For those who are interested, prices start at $3.800...

The suites: