World Ship Society Southend Branch News and Views Newsletter Edition 32 -Local st 31 May 2021 Chairman & Secretary Stuart Emery [email protected] News & Views Coordinator Richard King [email protected] Notes Thanks go to Graham, Tony, Stuart, and Colin Roger for their contributions Contents News Visitors Sailing Barges in Dock Quiz Barge Blue Mermaid Barge Wrecks at Leigh Colins pictures Little Ships that keep the river going Opening the Suez Canal and Death on the Ice Mystic Seaport Part 2 Rogers Pictures Shipbuilding – Vickers High Walker Part 1 Short History of a Line – Bibby Line News Jetstream Tours . In 2014, Jetstream Tours started trading with a small and agile vessel, “Twist”, a 9m aluminium Jetboat offering river safaris and thrill rides. The tours were a resounding success and allowed visitors in Medway an opportunity to use the river and to discover Chatham Historic Dockyard and its fascinating naval history. Over the next few years, Jetstream Tours has worked tirelessly to maintaining and improving its jetboat service, striving to ensure its customers were 100% satisfied with the service they received and our success is down to our team of committed staff members. We understood the initial complications with “Twist” as she is a seasonal vessel and only appealed to the fit and able-bodied sailors. In a five year plan the company aimed to provide Medway with a slower and more accessible tour suited for younger families. We made it possible in just three. In February 2016, Jetstream Tours secured it’s second vessel, Jacob Marley. This unique vessel ticked every box on the companies wish list. Capable of carrying up to 100 persons with disabled access, a bar, toilets and low enough to pass underneath Rochester Bridge. By April, Jacob Marley made her 32-hour voyage from Jersey to the River Medway. Now passengers of all ages and abilities can see the beauty of the river. Almost 1 year later, Jetstream Tours was awarded the contract for the Gravesend to Tilbury ferry. Our second vessel Thames swift joined the fleet in order to maintain a daily service between Kent and Essex 6 days per week. Suez Canal Expansion Following the grounding of a container ship and the subsequent week-long shutdown in March, the Suez Canal is to undergo a two-year ad hoc expansion project. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi recently okayed plans to widen and deepen the canal’s southern single-lane section and to extend the current two-lane system by an additional 10 km. While no formal guidance regarding the project schedule has been provided, dredging has already begun and the project could be completed by mid-2023. The new parallel 10 km fairway will be dredged entirely under water in the south eastern section of the Bitter Lake, also known as the Small Bitter Lake. Combined with the existing second canal in the central section around Ismailia, which opened in 2015, and with the Bitter Lakes, the new fairway will extend the length of the two-way traffic system to around 82 km. This is roughly half of the Suez Canal’s overall length. In parallel with the extension of the second fairway, the Suez Canal Authority plans to widen and deepen the 32km canal section between the Small Bitter Lake and the Red Sea. This will not directly create extra capacity, but it will generally improve the safety of navigation, particularly for ultra-large deep-draft vessels in this single- lane part of the waterway Explosion shakes X-Press Pearl as fire situation deteriorates X-Press Pearl was denied entry in India and Qatar before catching fire off Colombo The burning ship at the centre of an environmental catastrophe off Sri Lanka was denied access at two ports, Debris from the burning containership has washed ashore and locals have been warned not to touch any of it as it could be contaminated with harmful chemicals. While salvage teams – assisted by Sri Lankan and Indian military forces – fight to minimise damage, acid and fuel is thought to have spilled into the sea, and the ship’s owner is anticipating the London P&I Club-insured vessel will be declared a total loss. The blaze on an X-Press Feeders box ship off Sri Lanka appears to be out of control again after an explosion rocked the vessel on Tuesday. The Sri Lanka Navy said the blast was reported from inside the 2,743-teu X-Press Pearl (built 2021), which is carrying 25 tonnes of nitric acid. Eight containers have fallen into the sea and new photos from the Sri Lanka Air Force showed flames erupting from the vessel and black smoke billowing upwards in a tall plume. All 25 crew members have been evacuated safely from the box ship, which is at anchorage 18km off Colombo. The fire broke out in a container on deck on 20 May and had seemed to be under control over the weekend. In its last update on Monday, operator X-Press Feeders had said fire and smoke were still seen on board, "but is currently under control". A salvage team led by Smit was on board at that time. Specialist firefighting equipment had been due to arrive on Tuesday. The ship is deployed in the Straits Middle East SMX service. Ambassador Cruises Replaces CMV at Tilbury UK operator Ambassador Cruise Line has announced that it will acquire the 1,400-berth Ambience, the former P&O Australia ship Pacific Dawn to cruise out of the UK. The product will be no-fly ex-UK cruises and many of CMV’s executives have now joined the new line. The Ambience will make her maiden voyage from Tilbury on April 6, 2022. Ambassador is funded by the London private equity house Njord Partners. The one-ship cruise line may soon be expanded. Belships ASA acquires Ultramax bulk carrier Belships ASA has agreed to acquire a new-building resale financed through a bareboat agreement for 10 years. The 61 000 DWT Ultramax bulk carrier of Japanese design is expected to be delivered upon completion of construction at a Chinese yard during November 2021 and will be named BELFORCE BELFOREST has been fixed for a time charter contract to a global agricultural corporation for approximately one year at a daily rate of US$21 250/d gross. The contract starts running within the end of May 2021. The previously announced sale of BELORIENT has been completed and the vessel has been delivered to its new owners. Five new-buildings are expected to be delivered between August - November 2021, all of which have finance arranged. Following completion of all announced transactions, the Belships fleet will count 26 Supramax/Ultramax bulk carriers, with an average age of under five years. Royal Australian Navy’ Second Supply-Class AOR Sails Home The ‘Stalwart’ is the second of two supply vessels (AOR) built by Navantia Ferrol for the Royal Australian Navy. The ship will now navigate for 30 days towards her homeport, HMAS Sterling, in Western Australia. ‘Stalwart’ will then undergo a final fit-out where the installation and testing of the combat and communications systems, as well as some logistics areas, will be completed by Australian industry. The contract for two AOR vessels was the fourth signed between Navantia and the Commonwealth of Australia, after the construction of two LHDs and its 12 landing crafts and the design and transfer of technology for three AWD destroyers. This contract for the two AOR vessels also includes their sustainment, for which Navantia Australia is developing an advanced asset management model to support the life cycle during the first five years. Likewise, it will also require an important participation of the Australian industry that will be responsible for the installation and testing of elements of the combat and communications systems, as well as some logistic areas. After completing these works, the ship will be delivered on August 31. When the second AOR is operational, the Royal Australian Navy will have in service 19 naval units designed by Navantia. UK MoD Launches Fleet Solid Support Ships Competition The launch of the Fleet Solid Support competition presents a really exciting opportunity for the shipbuilding industry to support the design and build of a new class of ship that will primarily resupply our Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. The FSS ships will join the QEC Task Group, carrying out replenishment at sea to supply stores and ammunition to sustain operations, which is essential to meeting the UK’s defence commitments. To do this the ships will be able to transfer loads of more than two tonnes at a time while at high speed. Navantia image The future three (two with an option for a third one as previously outlined in the initial RFP) Fleet Solid Support Ships of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary will replace the ageing RFA Fort Austin and RFA Fort Rosalie. These vessels will supply dry stores such as ammunition, explosives and food to Royal Navy ships at sea. In May 2020, Spanish shipbuilder Navantia and Northern Irish shipyard Harland and Wolff (H&W) announced they entered an exclusive teaming agreement to jointly bid for the FSS Program. Recent Visitor to Medway DFDS takes delivery of new ferry Côte d’Opale will be the longe to operate on the Channel when it joins DFDS’s route from Dove Côte d’Opale was ordered by DFDS in April 2018, and it will operate the vessel for an initial decade with an option to buy it from Stena RoRo following that. Sea Cloud Cruises takes delivery of Sea Cloud Spirit Sea Cloud Cruises has taken delivery of its new sailing ship Sea Cloud Spirit.