Coal from Mozambique

Mozambique is positioning itself as the new frontier for metallurgical coal. The central province of Moatize is estimated to have billion of tonnes of this critical input to the steel making industry, which sells at price multiples to thermal coal.

The Antipodean Mariner did a whistlestop tour of Mozambique in May to study the rail and port infrastructure under development for the first Mozambican coal exports since the end of the post-colonial civil war.



Two key pieces of infrastructure - the Sena Rail Line and the port of Beira will export the first coal from open cast mines at Tete. The Sena Rail Line was heavily damaged during the civil war, and has been rehabilitated by its Indian concessionaires' Rites and Ircon. The port of Beira has languished in post-war obscurity, notably only for its position as the corridor for imports and exports from Zimbabwe. The port had silted up to only 6 metres of water, reducing blue water traffic to a trickle. A new coal terminal is under construction at Beira which will export up to 6M tonnes per year.



Foreign aid has funded dredging of the Pungue River channel back to 8 metres below chart datum. Berth 8 will be refurbished to load up to Supramax bulk carriers and two new tran-shipment vessels purpose built by Coeclerici for Vale's 4M tonne per year capacity.



The Zambesi River flows from Tete to the Indian Ocean and the Mocambican Government are looking at permitting barging to move coal for export.



Mozambique has a goldrush town feel about it - conspicuous wealth side-by-side with grinding poverty. Mozambique certainly felt like a country with a future.



The Antipodean Mariner
13th June 2011

PN65 - First Blocks Commenced

The first blocks of PN65 are in fabrication, and the Site Team's work has started in earnest. At this early stage, we have two Superintendents on site with the team increasing to thirteen Superintendents at the peak of the project (and eight ships under simultaneous construction). The initial task of the Superintendents has been to focus on quality procedures and raising HSE standards with the foremen and workers.



This block is a section of the double bottom and hopper side connecting to the hold tanktop.



Also under construction is the rudder stock which will be attached to the hull.

Keel laying of PN65 is scheduled for the end of July, at which time about one-third of the ship will have been constructed in block form. All of the main equipment has been selected, with only the Ballast Water Treatment System still to be finalised. The main engine will be an MAN B&W 6S70ME-C electronically controlled slow-speed diesel. This engine has electro-hydraulically actuated fuel injection and exhaust valves for improved fuel economy and emissions control.

More next week on naming the series.

The Antipodean Mariner
15th April 2011

The Cult of the 'K' Bike

No shipping content in this post - it's dedicated to the BMW K series motorcycles and my fascination with them.

With the K1200LT, BMW's production of the K series longtidinal four cylinder ceased after 27 years. The K series produced 16 road models (but no dual purpose variants) from 750 to 1,200 cc. The K series was designed by BMW's Dr's Eng Josef Fritzenwenger and Stefan Pachernegg, with the first bikes released in 1983.



The design's revolution was to take a four cylinder engine, integrate the gearbox and drivetrain, then turn it in its side. There is a wealth of material on the 'Net on their design, modifications and 'How to' resources. This posting is about the five K series BMW's I have owned since 1988.



K100 (1988 to 1996)
My first K100 was bought in Melbourne as our transport while I was a student in Tasmania. Over eight years, it transported us around Tasmania and the east coast of Australia, before sailing across the Tasman with me when I worked my passage on 'Union Rotorua'. Sold in 1996 for a BMW F650.



K100RS (2003-2005)
My second (K100RS) was bought sight unseen on eBay - I rode it back to London from Norfolk. We were moving to Australia from the UK, and my 2001 Ducati didn't qualify for importation. At 20 years, the RS was able to be loaded into our household container for a sea trip to Melbourne and new life in the Colonies. Great handling sports tourer, sold on eBay and moved to South Australia.



K1200RS (2005-2006)
The third was an ex-Police K1200RS, which had been converted back to dual-seat configuration. Despite the telltale white, the K1200 was a weapon of smooth power, comfort and long distance weekend runs. Sadly, the only bike I've ever written off - embedded in the back of a sub-compact on the daily commute.



K100RT (2008 - )
My fourth is another ex-Police K100RT. The 'RT started life in Tasmania with a fellow uni student, migrated to New Zealand for a while then back to Queensland and now Melbourne. Like an old racehorse, she has been put out to pasture and the odd weekend ride. Roadworthy, but with only 107,000 km on the clock after 26 years, plenty of riding left.



K1100LT (2011 - )
My fifth and current squeeze is K1100LT full dress tourer. For less than the price of a scooter, it's got full luggage, stereo and an 1,100 cc powerplant that pulls like a tractor. This will be the mount for my forthcoming East Coast road trip (2 weeks plus or minus). What has made the K series a legend? K series bikes are bulletproof and will run to 300,000km. The gearboxes are legendary for smoothness and parts are readily available from after-market suppliers worldwide. Hopefully, there will always be a K in my garage.

The Antipodean Mariner
10th April 2011

'Vale Brasil' - 400,000 DWT Very Large Ore Carrier

For the followers of Capesize bulk carriers, the Brazilian iron ore giant Vale (formerly CVRD) has created waves with their game-changing 400,000 DWT Very Large Ore Carriers (VLOC). In conjunction with traditional Ship Owners and Sovereign Wealth Funds, Vale has commissioned as many as 35 VLOC's of between 388,000 and 400,000 DWT to be built at Yards in China and Korea. With Vale's freight penalty betwen Brazil and Australia to China currently running at $12.50 per tonne (and this is in an unsustainably low freight market), the Brazilian's strategy is to effectively remove their exposure to freight market fluctuations. In the pre-GFC spot market, when Capes were earning $200,000 a day time-charter equivalent, the freight differential reached over $35 per tonne - all lost sales margin again the better geographically positioned Australian exporters. The impact of this rapid introduction of 14M DWT of capacity, or put another way the loss of over 380 Capesize cargoes annually from the freight market strikes fear into the heart of Capesize Owners who 'super-sized' at the peak of the shipbuilding boom. Vale's first VLOC is the 'Vale Brasil', which takes over the 'Berge Stahl's (364,000 DWT) mantle of the largest dry bulk carrier afloat and in service.



Photos are of 'Vale Brasil' undergoing sea trials in Korea. Ironically, it has been South Korea's Daewoo Shipyard which has beaten China's Rongsheng to deliver the first vessel, despite over a year's headstart by Rongsheng. 'Vale Brasil' is scheduled to load her first Brazilian ore cargo in May 2011.

VALE BRASIL
IMO Number 9488918
Flag SINGAPORE
DWT 400,000 tonnes
GRT 200,000
Speed (knots) 14.8
Draught (m) 23.00 (75.46 ft)
Depth Moulded (m) 30.40 (99.74 ft)
Breadth (m) 65.00 (213.25 ft)
Length 362.00 (1,187.66 ft) (LO)
Class Society Det Norske Veritas
Engine MAN-B&W 7S80ME-C8
Power 27,162 (Kw)





News is circulating of long delays at Rongsheng and the reported scrapping of some hull blocks due to problems with blasting and painting.

The Antipodean Mariner
30th March 2010

Hull PN65 - The birth of a Capesize

Back to blogging after a long layoff (and a lot of guilt for not maintaining fresh material). With a view to keeping content 'fresh' for the next year or so, I'm blogging the birth of our first Capesize bulk carrier. The Antipodean Mariner's company went to the shipbuilding markets in late 2009 as the first glimmers of post-GFC recover were flickering. The container ship market was in complete meltdown, with ships being cancelled or deferred left, right and centre. Our requirement was for a series of Capesize bulkers for deployment in our iron ore and coal trades, and the 205,000 DWT NewcastleMax were assessed as best in class.



Developed by the Japanese yards for the domestic steel mills, these vessel can be regularly tracked alternating between the west and east Coast of Australia with iron ore and coking coal. The Yard which won the business had held a healthy order book of mega-container ships up until the 2009 crash. With the collapse of the financial structures behind these vessels, the cupboard was suddenly bare. The Yard turned to bulk carriers to maintain production at its facility and employment for its workforce.



The vessels will be 300m LOA by 50m beam and 18.4m summer draft. Electronically-controlled slow-speed diesel main engines have been specified for best performance under MARPOL Tier II regulations. The technical team managing the design process are incorporating features to make the vessels productive, easy to operate and a nice place to live and work.



Steel cutting for the first vessel, PN065, was in February and her progress will be reported regulary in this blog. PN065 is the first of eight identical vessels which will be built in a single dock. The first two will be laid down at the front of the dock and built side-by-side, with the second pair immediately behind them. As each pair are floated out, the pair behind will be floated forward and the next two
started. Sea trials and deliveries commence in 2011.



More to follow...

And by the way, I bought another bike for touring. The Street Triple is a hot 'point and shoot' but is a lonely trip without my pillion buddy.



Antipodean Mariner
March 2011

Old Seafarer, New Bike

This posting has no shipping content whatsoever.



On Tuesday, I took delivery of a new Triumph Street Triple - in red! After 22 years riding BMW's I have foresworn Teutonic efficiency for English hooliganism, and it's great! The Street Triple is a naked sports bike based on the Triumph Daytona 675. The engine is Triumph's trademark triple and there is nothing on the bike which isn't essential to make it go or stop. No ABS, no heated hand grips, no anything except engine, wheels and brakes. Touring is out of the question, and pillions are tolerated begrudingly.



Think of it as two wheel's answer to the sports car, and you have it.



Life is good.

The Antipodean Mariner
12th September 2010

The life and death of a greenfields Shipyard

This posting comes after a long layup from my blogging. No excuses for the lack of activity - will try harder...



The post is on the short life of a Korean 'greenfields' shipyard. A greenfield is defined as a start-up shipyard, and while normally Chinese, there are several Korean yards which have suffered a similar fate post-GFC. Our interest in Orient Shipyard came about through the time-charter of two Capesize bulk carrier from their Head Owners which were in turn contracted and financed against the charter



The plan was ambitious - to simultaneously build a shipyard and two Capesize bulk carriers at the peak of the dry bulk boom in 2008. The Yards' plan was to built a floating dock and the first Capesize on a land-based building pad. The dock would be launched and the five by 5,000 tonne ship sections of the Cape rolled on to the dock for joining. It was explained to me that the South Korean Gov't discourages the development of graving docks, and that floating dock launching is a well proven technology in the industry.



My company became concerned at the vague assurances from the Head Owners on delivery, and I was dispatched to Gwangyang to visit the Yard and sight progress on the vessels. The Yard itself was in a sorry state, with steel plate and sub-assemblies lying among mud and gravel on a partially-paved site. There were no covered workshops, and pre-cut and formed steel was being brought in from outside contractors for welding and assembly. A single keel block had been completed (which lead to a contractual stage payment) and sat forlornly in the middle of the Yard, festooned with tattered bunting from the keel laying ceremony six months earlier.



The delivery date duly came and passed with no prospect of delivery, legal notices were issued and the prospect of the first vessel being delivered into charter became more and more unlikely. The last inspection in April of this year revealed the first vessel well advanced in terms of the 5,000 tonne blocks and the floating dock launched. The Head Owners were desperate to delivery one of the two vessels contracted and were unwilling to see the charter (and their structured financing) collapse.



July 28th 2010, and Lloyds List reported that Orient Shipyard had filed for bankruptcy protection. The Busan Yard had succeeded in delivering Handysize bulkers, but the delays in the Capes from the Gwangyang hard had apparently brought the company down. I have not been able to find out whether the first Cape was successfully transferred on to the floating dock for assembly and float out. The wreckage of Orient Shipyard will no doubt be picked over for salvageable assets. Given the parlous state of the Capesize charter market it would seem that the last thing needed is two more speculatively financed 180,000 DWT bulk carriers.

Acknowledgement to Paul R. for additional photos of the near-completed super-blocks, April 2010.

The Antipodean Mariner
8th August 2010