SPRUCE

The Spruce (IMO: 7734167, flag: Marshall Islands) was built in 1975 as the Flash IV (later Mammoth Spruce) by Sumitome heavy industries in Tokyo, Japan. She 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 is scheduled to arrive later this afternoon at the Waalhaven, Rotterdam.

COSCO BEIJING

The Cosco Beijing (IMO: 9308508, Port of Registry: Piraeus) is one of the largest container vessels nowadays, together with its sisters: Cosco Hellas, Cosco Ningbo, Cosco Yantian and Cosco Guangzhou. Only the in 2005 and 2006 built Maersk S-class vessels (amongst which are the Emma Maersk and Estelle Maersk) and three in 2006 for CSCL built containervessels are larger. The vessel is 350 metres long, almost 43 metres wide, has a deadweight tonnage of 107,000 and a teu capacity of 9,450. The Cosco Beijing is currently sailing on the AE1-loop which connects Asia and Europe.

The Cosco Yantian has arrived this morning at the ECT Terminal, Rotterdam, with the last port of call at Singapore. The vessel will leave tomorrow day for Felixstowe, Hamburg and Antwerp before returning to the Far East.

Since the vessel is so new, it was difficult to find a good photo. Above you can find the press release. For a bigger (foggy) picture look at Shipspotting.com

EXPRESS

The Express (IMO: 8116049, Port of Registry: Port Vila, Vanuatu) is an in 1984 built pipelayer, owned by Torch Inc., USA. The vessel is 159 metres long, 31 metres wide, has a maximum draught of 15 metres and provides accomodation to a crew of about 135. She is propelled by 3 x MAK 8 M25 rated at 2,250 kW and 2 x Wartsila 29R32 rated at 2,780 kW driving Siemens alternators (6.6 kV) which give the vessel a maximum speed of 12 kts. The vessel is equipped with a main crane with a load capacity of 400 mt, an auxiliary crane with a capacity of 150 mt and a friction clamp with a capacity of 250 mt. For pipelaying the vessel is equipped with 1 tensioner of 160 mt , 4 track tensioners, one 250 mt A&R, one 80 mt secondary A&R, one installation reels of 1750 mt capacity and one of 1200 mt capacity and a Kongsberg Simrad SDP2 Dual Redundant DP positioning system. The Express has entered the port of Rotterdam this morning and has berthed at Damen Shipyards, Schiedam for maintenance.

Photo by: Jan van Oost, Numansdorp ©ScheepvaartNed.Web-Log.nl

CHICAGO EXPRESS

Today there are, yet again, three in 2006 built post-panamax containervessels entering the Port of Rotterdam. These are the YM Unison (LOA: 336 m., width: 43 m., teu capacity: 8200), CSCL Le Havre (LOA: 337 m., width: 46 m., teu capacity: 9600) and the Chicago Express which will headline today's SotD. The Chicago Express is 336 metres long, 43 metres wide, has a maximum draught of 14.5 metres, a deadweight tonnage of 104,000 and a teu capacity of 8750). She was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea and is currently owned by Hapag Lloyd, Germany for whom she is currently deployed on the EU3 service between China and Europe. Her sister vessels are the Kyoto Express and Colombo Express.

The Chicago Express is scheduled to enter the Port of Rotterdam later this afternoon with the last port of call at Hamburg. She will depart tomorrow with destination Port Kelang, Malaysia and will return to Rotterdam within two months.

IRAN HENGAM

The Iran Hengam (IMO: 9212905, Port of Registry: Bander Busheyr, Iran) is a VLCC of 333 metres long and 58 metres wide. She has a maximum draught of 22 metres, a deadweight tonnage of almost 300,000 and was built in 2003 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea. She is currently owned by the National Iranian Tanker Company, Tehran, Iran.

The Iran Hengam is expected to arrive later this afternoon at the MOT terminal, Rotterdam from Khark Island, Iran.

ARTHUR MAERSK

Today's SOTD is the Arthur Maersk, although there are two other brand new containerships entering Rotterdam today also, namely the MSC Madeleine (length: 349 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 around. This 'Series S' container 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 is scheduled to arrive this evening at the APM Terminal, Rotterdam with a last port of call at Dunkerque, France. The MSC Madeleine will also arrive later this evening and the Hyundai Hongkong will arrive at about 14.00, both at the ECT Terminal, Rotterdam.

EDWARD N

The Edward N (IMO: 7404140, Port of Registry: Panama, Ex.name: Berge Athene) is a 313 metres long, 50 metres wide bulk carrier with a maximum draught of 20 metres and a deadweight tonnage of 225,000. She is characterised by her 2 Burmeister & Wain 6K 90GF engines which deliver 27284 kW at 110 RPM. The vessel was built in 1979 as the 'Konkar Theodoros' by Uljanik Shipyard, Croatia and is currently owned by General Ore Carrier Corporation VI Ltd., Panama and managed by Neu Seeschiffahrt GmbH, Hamburg, Germany.

The Edward N is expected to arrive this evening at the EECV terminal from Tubarao, Brasil.

CALAMITY JANE

The Calamity Jane is a support vessel for Allseas' mechanical subsea pipeline vessel Digging Donald, which is fully remote controlled from the Calamity Jane and has a maximum depth of 350 meters. In addition to trenching, other support services on dynamic positioning can be performed by the Calamity Jane, such as pipeline crossing preparation, mattress installation in deep water, surveys and pigging and testing of pipelines, all diverless.
The vessel is 151 meters long, 20 meters wide and can accomodate 72 persons. It is equipped with one fixed lifting frame for lifting up to a maximum of 200 tons and a general purpose crane for lifting up to 55 tons. The Calamity Jane is owned by the Swiss-based Allseas Group S.A. which is one of the major offshore pipelay and subsea construction companies in the world, operating specialised vessels - which were designed in-house.

The Calamity Jane will enter the Port of Rotterdam this evening with destination the Keppel Verolme shipyard.

ALBERT MAERSK

The Albert Maersk (IMO:9260469, Port of Registry: Copenhagen) is a Post-Panamax, Series S, container vessel owned by A.P. Møller-Maersk. The vessel was built in 2004 by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark as the 25th in line of 29 almost identical ships. She is 352 metres long, 43 metres wide, has a maximum draught of 15 metres and a maximum official teu capacity of 6,600 but believed to carry a maximum of up to 10,000 teu. For whatever reason, Maersk is always vague about their teu capacities.

The Albert Maersk is scheduled to arrive tonight at the APM terminal, Rotterdam from Felixstowe. Her next port of call will be Bremerhaven. The Albert Maersk is scheduled to return to Rotterdam at December 20.

ARDENNE VENTURE

The Ardenne Venture (IMO: 9290347, Port of Registry: Hong Kong) is a Very Large Crude Carrier, built in 2004 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea and owned in a joint venture by Euronav, Belgium and Wah Kwong Shipmanagement, Hong Kong. The vessel has a deadweight tonnage of 318,000, is 333 metres long, 60 metres wide and has a maximum draught of 22.5 metres. It has one continuous freeboard deck from stem to stern with sunken deck-type stem deck, transverse bulkheads and four longitudinal bulkheads in way of the cargo space. Special attention has been paid to the ship's maneuverability, resulting in a large rudder being fitted. The Ardenne Venture is designed to carry three grades of cargo simultaneously, handled by three steam turbine cargo pumps, each delivering 5,000 m3/hr and housed in a pump room at the forward of engine room.


The Ardenne Venture has entered the Port of Rotterdam this morning and is currently discharging at the MOT Terminal. The vessel's last port of call was Sidi Kerir Terminal, Egypt.

STENA ANTARCTICA

No 'real' photo of our Ship of the Day today, but since the Stena Antarctica (IMO: 9322827, Port of Registry: George Town, Cayman Islands) is quite unique because there are only a few ice class tankers with the dimensions this vessel has, we will settle with a drawing. The Stena Antarctica is 250 metres long, almost 44 metres wide and has a draught of almost 15 metres. These dimensions give the Aframax-dimensioned tanker a deadweight tonnage of 115,000. She was built this year by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea, is currently owned by Moon Shipping Servicos e Navegacao Lda and is on a 10 year long timecharter for Progetra, Russia.

The Stena Antarctica has arrived last night at the TEAM Terminal, Rotterdam from Angra dos Reis, Brasil.

NORMAND CUTTER

The Normand Cutter (IMO: 9231535, flag:
Isle of Man) is a pipelaying construction crane vessel owned by Solstad Offshore ASA. She was built in 2001 by Maritim Ltd, Gdansk, Poland and converted from a cable laying and repair vessel to its current form in 2001 by Ulstein Verft AS, Norway.
The vessel is equipped with a number of features for a wide range of offshore operations like:

• Laying of flexible pipes
• Lay rate of up to 1000 m/hr.
• Heavy lift crane 300 t for sub-sea installation and construction work
• Large deck for offshore construction operations
• Three permanent locations and two temporary locations for work ROVs and control vans
• Operation in both shallow and deep water
• Range 6000 n.m. at service speed
• Continuous operation at sea for 40 days

It is 127 metres long, 27 metres wide, has a helicopter deck dimensioned for the Super Puma AS 332 L2 and provides accomodation for a total of 114 persons. The vessel is equipped with all the latest manoeuvering and communication devices for an accurate positioning.

The Normand Cutter has been under maintenance at the Wilhelminahaven, Rotterdam and made a seashift this morning to the Maasvlakte.

OOCL ASIA

The OOCL Asia (IMO: 9300790, Port of Registry: Hong Kong) 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 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 last night at the ECT Delta terminal in Rotterdam from Hamburg. She is scheduled to leave Rotterdam tomorrow heading for Port Kelang, Malaysia.

BERGELAND

Today's SOTD is the Bergeland (IMO:9002776, Port of registry: Stavanger, Norway) that replaces the Berge Stahl while it's out of service for maintenance. The Bergeland is a bit smaller than the Berge Stahl, but still the second largest bulk carrier owned by Bergesen Worldwide Shipping 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, has 7 holds and hatches and was built by Hyundai Heavy Ind. Co. Ltd. Ulsan, Korea.
The Bergeland transports iron ore from the 'Companhia Vale do Rio Doce' mines in the eastern part of the Amazone, Brasil. From Rotterdam the iron ore is transported in barges to the steel mills of ThyssenKrupp and Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann in Germany.

The Bergeland will arrive tonight at the EECV terminal, Rotterdam from Ponta da Madeira, Brasil.