ALSTER N

The Alster N (IMO: 8418162, Port of Registry: Panama, Ex.name: Alster Ore) is a bulk carrier owned by General Ore Carrier Corporation III limited, Panama and managed by Neu Seeschiffahrt GmbH, Germany. The vessel was built in 1988 by China Shipbuilding Corporation, Taiwan. Her sister vessel is the Ruhr N. Other bulk carriers managed by Neu Seeschiffahrt are: Faith N and Alfred N. The Alster N is 340 metres long, 57 metres wide and has a maximum draught of 22 metres. All these dimensions ensure a deadweight tonnage of 305,893.
The Alster N will enter the Port of Rotterdam later today with a last port of call at Saldanha Bay, South Africa. She will be berthed at the EECV terminal and will stay there for about 5 days discharging iron ore.

GEORG MAERSK

The Georg Maersk (IMO: 9320257, Port of Registry: Hellerup, Denmark) is a 367 meters long, 43 meters wide container vessel, capable of transporting up to 10,000 teu. The Georg Maersk was delivered in April 2006 by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark and was the last in a serie of six post-panamax container ships. Its sisters are: Gudrun Maersk, Gerd Maersk, Grete Maersk, Gunvor Maersk and Gjertrud Maersk. These vessels were then the largest container vessels sailing in dimensions. Since a few months the Emma Maersk has taken over the leadership. The Estelle Maersk has recently also entered the Maersk fleet to ensure Maersk its leadership in the container shipping industry.

The Georg Maersk is currently sailing on the AE1 (Far East to Europe) loop and will enter Rotterdam later this day from Felixstowe. The next destination of the the vessel will be Bremerhaven, Germany.

HAMBURG EXPRESS

Photo by: Hapag Lloyd

The Hamburg Express (IMO: 9229829, Port of Registry: Hamburg, Germany) is a 7,500 teu container vessel, built in 2001 by Hyundai Heavy Industries , Ulson, Korea. She is owned by Hapag-Lloyd and currently deployed on their Europe - Asia Loop 4 on which the vessel visits, amongst others, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Southampton, Singapore, Shanghai and Pusan. The Hamburg Express is 320 metres long, almost 43 metres wide, has a maximum draught of 14.5 metres, a maximum speed of 25 kts and a deadweight tonnage of 100,000. The Hamburg Express will arrive this evening at the ECT Terminal, Rotterdam and will depart Sunday morning with the next port of call at Hamburg, Germany.

RHINE FOREST & SPRUCE

Today we have two LASH-vessels entering Rotterdam. Since they are both equally interesting, we will cover them both. 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.

Rhine Forest

The Liberian flagged Rhine Forest (IMO: 7125706) is 237 meters long, 33 meters wide and has a draught of 12 meters. The vessel is equipped with a 500-ton gantry crane to lift and stow 83 barges. Each barge is 18.26 meters long and 9.16 meters wide and has a capacity of 385 metric tons. She was built in 1972 by Cockerill Mechanical Industries, Belgium and is currently owned by LCI Shipholding Inc., New Orleans and managed by Central Gulf Lines Inc., New Orleans.

The Rhine Forest has entered Rotterdam this morning and is currenlty moored at the Waalhaven for a few days. The vessel will then leave for New Orleans and will return to Rotterdam in 6 weeks

For more great pictures of the Rhine Forest see the (Dutch) site of Peter Bolhuis: http://members.lycos.nl/scheepvaart/fourdescphotos3.html

Spruce

The Spruce (IMO: 7734167, flag: Marshall Islands) is a 112 meters long, 34 meters wide LASH ship.
She was built in 1975 as the Flash IV (later Mammoth Spruce) by Sumitome heavy industries in Tokyo, Japan and is currently owned by Central Gulf Lines Inc., New Orleans

The Spruce arrived this morning at the Waalhaven, Rotterdam for charging/discharging and will stay there for a few days before returning to New Orleans.

HR. MS. DE RUYTER (F804)

The Hr. Ms. Tromp is an air defense and command frigate of the Dutch Royal navy. It is one of the four Dutch frigates of the 'Zeven Provinciën'-class and is therefor a sistership of the 'Hr. Ms. De Zeven Provinciën' and the 'Hr. Ms. Tromp'.

Source: Dutch Royal Navy

The Hr. Ms. De Ruyter has a crew of 174 persons and is already the 13th ship to bear the name 'De Ruyter'. Of course the ship was named after the well-known hero at sea Michiel Adriaenszoon de Ruyter, who was born on March 24th, 1607 in Flushing and died on April 29th,1676 on board of his flagship 'Eendracht'.

The frigate was built by 'De Schelde' in Flushing between 2000 en 2002. It 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.

The ship will enter Rotterdam this afternoon and will take berth at the Holland Amerikakade.

FRONT CHIEF

The Front Chief (IMO: 9169691, Port of Registry: Nassau, Bahamas) is a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC), delivered in 1999 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea. The vessel is 334 metres long, 58 metres wide and has a maximum draught of 22.7 metres. These dimensions give the vessel a deadweight tonnage of 311,224. The ship's technical operator is International Tanker Management (Germany), its commercial operator is V.Ships UK Ltd and she is chartered by Frontline Management. The vessel is equipped with 3 cargo pumps with a capacity of 5000 Cu. Metres/Hour for discharging the cargo swiftly.

The Front Chief is expected to arrive this evening at the MOT terminal, Rotterdam from Juaymah Terminal, Saudi Arabia.

XIN LOS ANGELES

Just a few months ago the Xin Los Angeles was the largest containervessel around. But since the launching of the Emma Maersk and the upcoming launch of the Estelle Maersk, the vessel is 'just' one of the bigger ones. The Xin Los Angeles is 336.7 metres long, 45.6 metres wide and has a maximum draught of 15 metres. She can carry a maximum of 18 rows of containers by eight tiers on the weather deck and 16 rows by 10 tiers in the holds which gives the vessel a total capacity of 9,600 teu. The ship is propelled by an MAN B&W 12K98MC-C Mk6, with a power of 68,520 kW. During sea trials the ship achieved a ballast service speed of 25.4 knots. The CSCL Pusan and Xin Shanghai are her sistervessels.

The Xin Los Angeles is expected to arrive later this morning at the ECT terminal, Rotterdam. The next port of call will be Hamburg. She will return within two months to Rotterdam.

TOISA POLARIS

The Toisa Polaris (IMO: 9187526, Port of Registry: London) is a multi-purpose offshore support vessel, built in 1999 by Van der Giessen, Netherlands. She is managed by Sealion Shipping Ltd., United Kingdom and chartered by Subsea7.
Offering a primary dive support capability, the vessel has the ability to perform a variety of offshore and subsea operations. To perform these operations in an accurate way, the Toisa Polaris is equipped with different state-of-the-art positioning systems. Furthermore the vessel is equipped with a 150 tonne SWL deck crane, a 18 man twin-bell saturation diving system rated to 300 metres, a ROV spread comprising one workclass ROV and one observation class ROV with a full suite of support facilities and a helideck which has a D value of 19.5 and is approved for Super Puma helicopters.
She has a length overall of 114 metres, is 22 metres wide, has 4 engine of 2680 kW each and provides accomodation to a maximum of 104 persons.

The Toisa Polaris is scheduled to enter the Port of Rotterdam later this day. She will take berth at the EECV quay in the Calandkanaal.

MORNING CALM

The Morning Calm (IMO: 9285615, Port of Registry: Nassau, Bahamas) is a vehicle transporter with a length over all of almost 200 metres, a width of 33 metres and a maximum draught of 10 metres. She was built in 2004 by Stocznia Gdynia S.A., Poland and is managed by Stamco Ship Management Company Ltd., Greece. The vessel is a floating car parking of 12 decks and has a capacity of about 6,400 cars.

The Morning Calm will arrive later today at the Rotterdam Car Terminal.

COSCO YANTIAN

Today's SotD should have been the Emma Maersk, but since she was discussed just one week ago, the Cosco Yantian will have the honour to appear as Ship of the Day. The Cosco Yantian(IMO: 9305594, Port of Registry: Piraeus, Greece) is one of the largest container vessels nowadays, together with its sisters: Cosco Hellas, Cosco Ningbo, Cosco Beijing and Cosco Guangzhou. Only the in 2005 and 2006 built Maersk S-class vessels and three in 2006 for CSCL built containervessels are larger. This post-panamax container 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. She will arrive later today at the ECT Terminal, Rotterdam, with the last port of call at Hamburg. The vessel will leave the following day for Antwerp before returning to the Far East.

CMA CGM NORMA

The CMA CGM Norma (IMO: 9299812, Port of Registry: Marseille) is an in 2006, by Hyundai Heavy Industries built, Post-Panamax container vessel, capable of transporting 9415 teu. She is 350 metres long, almost 43 metres wide, has a maximum draught of about 14.5 metres and a deadweight tonnage of 107,200. The CMA CGM Norma is the first of eight super mega container vessels deployed in the new European (FAL2) service jointly operated by CMA CGM and China Shipping.

The CMA CGM Norma has entered the Port of Rotterdam this morning and is currently berthed at the ECT terminal with the last port of call at Le Havre. She is scheduled to depart tomorrow morning with destination Hamburg.

TOG MOR

The Tog Mor (IMO: 8759152, Port of Registry: Panama) is a multi-purpose pipelay vessel, owned by the Swiss-based Allseas Group S.A. The barge is intended for world-wide use, primarily in shallow water areas in support of Lorelay and Solitaire as well as independently contracted. Tog Mor is able to install pipelines with a diameter up to 60" O.D. She is moored on anchors, can work in a minimum water depth of approximately 4m (13') and is equipped with a 300 tonne crane. She was built in 1976 by Nederlandsche Dok & Scheepsbouw Mij., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is 125 metres long and provides accomodation to 112 persons.

The Tog Mor has entered the Port of Rotterdam this morning and is currently under maintenance at Keppel Verolme shipyards.

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 will berth at Damen Shipyards, Schiedam for maintenance.

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

GJERTRUD MAERSK

The Gjertrud Maersk (IMO: 9197894, Port of Registry: Ringkøbing, Denmark) is a 367 meters long, 43 meters wide container vessel, capable of transporting upto 10,000 teu. The Gjertrud Maersk was delivered in December 2005 by Odense Steel Shipyard, Denmark and was then, together with its sisters, Gudrun Maersk, Gerd Maersk, Grete Maersk, Gunvor Maersk and Georg Maersk, the largest container vessel sailing. Since a few months the Emma Maersk has taken over the leadership. In a few weeks the Estelle Maersk will also enter the Maersk fleet to ensure Maersk its leadership in the container shipping industry.

The Gjrertrud Maersk is currently sailing on the Japan/China - Europe line and will enter Rotterdam later this day from Bremerhaven. The next destination of the Gjertrud Maersk will be the Suez Canal Zone terminal, Egypt. From there she will set sail for Singapore. The Gjertrud Maersk will return to Rotterdam around New Year's day.

SAMCO ASIA

The Samco Asia (IMO: 9237632, Port of Registry: Majuro, Marshall Islands) is a Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) with a length of 333 metres, a width of 60 metres, a draught of 22.5 metres and a deadweight capacity of 318,000 tons. The vessel was built in 2003 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, Korea and is currently owned by Samco Beta Ltd and managed by TESMA Singapore.

The Samco Asia will arrive today at the TEAM terminal, Rotterdam from Sidi Kerir Terminal, Egypt and will stay there discharging for about 2 1/2 days

EMMA MAERSK

The Emma Maersk is the largest containership of all times with a total teu capacity 11,000 teu (of which 1,000 forty foot reefer containers) according to the A.P. Moller - Maersk Group . Rumours are that a total capacity of 13,500 teu is also possible. This capacity is possible by stacking the containers in 22 rows wide. The vessel is 397 meters long, 56 meters wide, has a depth of 30 meters and a deadweigth of 156,907 tons. The specially designed Wärtsilä diesel engine delivers 80,000 kW. A waste heat recovery system is installed to optimise the use of the energy produced, so that the engine can deliver up to 90,000 kW. The ship was built this year by Odense Steel Shipyard Ltd. Within a few weeks, the Emma Maersk its sister, Estelle Maersk, will also be delivered. She will have the same dimensions as the Emma Maersk.

The Emma Maersk will arrive at the APM terminal, Rotterdam from Felixstowe later this day. The vessel will then set sail for Bremerhaven, Gothenburg and Aarhus on the APM AE1 line. She will return within about 10 days to Rotterdam.

USS HALYBURTON

The USS Halyburton is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate owned by the U.S. Navy. The Oliver Hazard Perry class of frigates were purchased by the U.S. Navy in the 1970s and 1980s as general-purpose escort vessels capable enough to do most jobs adequately, yet cheap enough to be bought in large quantities to replace aging World War II-era destroyers. The Halyburton was laid down on 26 September 1980 by the Todd Pacific Shipyards Co., Seattle Division, Seattle, Wash.; launched on 13 October 1981; and commissioned on 7 January 1984. She has earned 3 Battle 'E' awards for combat readiness.
The vessel is 138 metres long, 13.7 metres wide, is propelled by 2 General Electric LM2500-30 gas turbines generating 41,000 shp (31 MW), which gives the frigate a speed of 29+ knots. At 19 knots, the vessel has a range of 9,300 km. The Halyburton is crewed by 15 officers and 190 enlisted and armed with one OTO Melara Mk 75 76 mm/62 caliber naval gun, two Mk 32 triple-tube (324 mm) launchers for Mark 46 torpedoes, one Vulcan Phalanx CIWS and four .50-cal (12.7 mm) machine guns.

The USS Halyburton will arrive later this afternoon at the Holland Amerikakade, Rotterdam, together with the destroyer USS Roosevelt (see picture below).

BERGE NORD

Today the Berge Nord (IMO: 9127150) is being reviewed which has arrived this morning at the EECV bulk terminal in Rotterdam from Seven Islands, Canada carrying iron ore. From Rotterdam the iron ore is transported in barges to the steel mills of ThyssenKrupp and Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann in Germany. This 305 meters long, 53 meters wide bulk carrier is the biggest ship to enter the Arctic sea.

The Berge Nord has a deadweight tonnage of 218,000, a draught of almost 19 meters and has seven holds and hatches. The ship was built in 1997 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea and is owned by Bergesen Worldwide Shipping. Other vessels owned by Bergesen and visiting the EECV terminal regurlarly are: Berge Stahl, Bergeland, Berge Arctic and Berge Pacific.

DOKTER WAGEMAKER

Today's SotD is one of Holland's most well-known vessels, the 'Dokter Wagemaker'. The Dokter Wagemaker is owned by Texels Eigen Stoomboot Onderneming N.V. (Teso) which has been operating the ferry service between the island of Texel and Den Helder since 1907. The vessel was built between 2003 and 2005 by Damen Shipyards. The hull of the ferry was built in Galatz, Romania; the remainder of the vessel was built by Koninklijke Schelde shipyard, Flushing, Netherlands.

The vessel is 130 metres long, 22 metres wide, has a draught of 4 metres and a passenger capacity of 1,750. A maximum of 300 vehicles should be possible, without any trucks. A standard trip carries about 30 trucks and 200 cars.

The Dokter Wagemaker has entered the Port of Rotterdam this afternoon and is currently berthed at Damen Shipyards for maintenance. She is expected to leave the docks in about one week.

ALFRED N

The Alfred N (IMO: 8900438, Port of Registry: Panama) is a bulk carrier owned by General Ore Carrier Corporation IV Limited, Panama and managed by Neu Seeschiffahrt GmbH, Germany. The vessel was built in 1991 by Fincantieri Cantieri Navali, Italy. Her sister vessels are the Arthur N and Faith N. The Alfred N is 325 metres long, 54 metres wide and has a maximum draught of almost 21 metres. All these dimensions ensure a deadweight tonnage of 260,826. The Alfred N will enter the Port of Rotterdam this morning with a last of call at Tubarao, Brasil. She will be berthed at the EMO terminal and will stay there for about 5 days discharging iron ore.

Source: Bernd Dahlmann (www.ship-world.de)

GUDRUN MAERSK

Until the delivery of the Emma Maersk a few months 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 sailing at that time. 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 Gudrun Maersk will enter Rotterdam later this afternoon from Bremerhaven, Germany and will take berth at the APM terminal. The next port of call will be Algeciras, Spain and from there it will sail towards the Far East. The vessel will return in Rotterdam within two months.