Finally,  I have found time and inspiration to update the blog. Long and extensive reports are quite time consuming to write, thus I will instead try to present news, pictures and information I come across. Hopefully this will result in a more steady flow of information.

Last week I found some interesting historical pictures on Ebay. Let’s have a look at these pictures and see if they bring back some good old memories. The first picture shows M/V Timmerland, the second unit in a series of 6 vessels (3 if we pay attention to minor differences) ordered at Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding, Chiba Works in August 1977. She was delivered in early 1979 and is here seen off Tilbury, UK on the 3rd of August, the same year. As you can see, the funnel colours are not the ones of Broströms but of the FÅA (The Finnish Steamship Company) whom she was chartered to. FÅA later acquired Timmerland and renamed her Hektos. She was eventually scrapped in Turkey, after 33 years of service.

In the second picture we can see the third unit in the same series, M/V Tyrusland off Tilbury on the 19th of August 1980. Known as the MEDRO vessels, they were employed on two similar routes, that started in the Baltic Sea where the vessels called Swedish and Finnish ports, before they continued through the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay and finally reached the Mediterranean Sea. Unlike the previously described sister vessel, Tyrusland is actually still in service in 2013, between the Med region and West Africa.

With the third picture we are moving on to the fourth vessel in the MEDRO series, which was also the first of them with a name starting with the letter “V”. One obvious difference is the positioning of the 25 ton Hägglunds deck crane, which is located significantly further to the aft, than on her predecessors. These vessels were, in many aspects many years ahead of time and the result of several years of project work. I am constantly collecting information, pictures, drawings and facts about these vessels, and hopefully, I will be able to present them in a more extensive report in the future. And to finish of the story about the Vasaland, she is still (Feb 2013) in service in Greek waters, as the Hellenic Master.

With the fourth picture, we leave the MEDRO series behind and start looking at one of the vessels ordered by Ocean Transport & Trading, Liverpool (UK) at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki and delivered as the Barber Perseus in 1979. She was employed in world wide service, in the BBS network, together with five similar vessels; Barber Nara, Barber Priam, Barber Tonsberg, Barber Toba and Barber Taif. These vessels introduced the jumbo quarter ramp, with a driving lane, wide enough to allow two direction (parallel) traffic and project cargo loads with a total weight of approx 400 tons. When Ocean Transport & Trading a.k.a. the “Blue Funnel Line” pulled out of the BBS network, Barber Perseus was sold to Swedish owners, registered in Gothenburg and renamed Talabot. She was later acquired by Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Norway and finally sold for scrap to Chinese breakers in 2009.

In the fifth and final picture we are looking at the Barber Hector, which was the final vessel ordered by Ocean Transport and Trading. This time the order went to a South Korean shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. She was, along with her two sister vessels, the Barber Tampa and Barber Taiko (ordered by Wilhelmsen) by far the biggest deep sea roro vessels built at that time, and until this day only surpassed by the new Wilhelmsen Mark V series. But since these vessels, known as the Mark II series, originally had container capacity, it’s not a straight comparison. Alike the Barber Perseus, the Barber Hector was also registered in Sweden for a few years and renamed Taiko, a name she still has, although she was acquired by Wilhelmsen and transferred to the NIS register many years ago. The W/D container capacity disappeared in 2003, when she was rebuilt with three new vehicle garages.

Comments and corrections are always appreciated. Feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or would like to discuss these vessels further!

Bahri (until recently trading as NSCSA) are currently replacing the first generation ConRo vessels, delivered by the Swedish Kockums Yard in 1983, with a second, improved generation of vessels. The order was placed at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in March 2011.

The order was for four vessels and options for further two units, that was later confirmed. The first vessel, Bahri ABHA = HMD hull no 8085 left the yard for trials on the 7th of February 2013 and thanks to a colleague present on site, I have some pictures to present here today.

A few basic facts, copied from the naval architect, KEH of Denmark, website.

• L.O.A. 220.0 m, breadth 32.3 m, max draught 9.5 m, dwt 26,000 t.
• RoRo capacity (deck area): 24,000 m2.
• Container capacity: 364 TEU.
• Service speed: 17+ knots.
• Main engine (MCR): 12,500 kW.
• Aux. engines: 2 x 1,500 + 1 x 2,200 kW.
• Classification: Lloyd’s Register

  Saudi Dirayah, a first generation vessel, soon to be replaced. Baltimore, 2008.

In two of the previous blog entries, I have described the Wilhelmsen Mark II vessels in brief.

A few weeks ago, I came across quite an interesting item on Ebay – A metal plaque, received as a gift to those who were invited to the naming ceremony of the first vessel in the series, Hyundai Heavy Industries, hull no 248.

As the plaque suggests, she was named Barber Tampa on the 28th of March 1984, moored alongside the NYC Passenger Ship Terminal. The plaque came in a plush lined box, with the program of the day, including some basic facts about the new vessel.

Barber Tampa was later joined by two sister vessels, the Barber Texas and Barber Hector, the largest combined RoRo/Container ships in the world, at the time. The RoRo capacity is still impressive in 2012, although the container capacity has to be considered as small, when compared to the modern day cellular container vessels.

Here are a few pictures of the plaque, the program, the smart looking BBS logotype, and finally, a picture of a model, of a Mark I vessel, the Barber Toba, in the Hong Kong Maritime Museum in February 2012.

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) currently employs five third generation (G3) combined RoRo/Container vessels. in service between Europe and North American ports. One of the vessels, the Atlantic Conveyor has previously been described in a report in Swedish, which was one of the very first blog entries.

I have, by a coincidence, come across some archive pictures of the first vessel in the series, the Atlantic Companion and the third vessel, the Atlantic Compass, which I would like to share with others who might be interested in these vessels.

Along with the second vessel, the Atlantic Concert (not presented in this blog entry) these two vessels were ordered in July 1982, at the Kockums Shipyard in Malmoe, Sweden by the ACL partners at the time, Transatlantic, Broströms and Wallenius Lines.

As with most vessel series, the first unit got most of the publicity. She received her name at a ceremony in February the 1st, 1984 and was handed over to her owners on the 6th of March the same year.

On Wednesday the 7th of March, the Atlantic Companion arrived to her port of registry, Gothenburg, for the first time, accompanied by half a dozen of tug boats, operated by the Red Tug Fleet, another company in the Broströms sphere.

The arrival of the vessel was an important milestone, not only to her owners, but also the port authorities, the cargo owners, her builders and various equipment manufacturers.

Most importantly, the new vessels had a much higher capacity and lower fuel consumption than the previous, second generation (G2) vessels. Some remarkable features were the jumbo sized quarter ramp and the container cell guide system. The latter was developed to reduce the number of hours in port, as no additional lashing systems were required.

The second batch of pictures was taken three years later, in March 1987, at the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) in Korea, when the Atlantic Compass was lengthened with a new 42,5 meter mid section. The shipyard has since entered the newbuilding market and have a splendid reputation for building quality RoRo vessels, delivered on time.

Back in 1987 however, the yard was still a conversion and repair yard. The ACL partner Transatlantic had previously sent their cellular container vessel ”Nihon” to HMD, where she was lengthened with a mid section. With positive experiences, a decision was made to send four of the G3 vessels to HMD as well. (The fifth vessel was lengthened in the U.K)

With the addditional mid sections in place, the first generation vessels, (G1) were no longer needed and they were sent for scrap in 1987. Ever since then, the G3 vessels have been employed in the same service. For the last 15 years, except for a few years, the service has been profitable and in 2012, ACL announced that a new generation of technically advanced vessels, with even higher capacity had been ordered at the Hudong Shioyard in Shanghai, China.

According to the plan, the G3 vessels will be phased out in 2015 and either sold to the US Naval Reserve or for scrap. Like most other major ship operators, ACL do not want to sell the vessels to any potential competitor.

I have obtained a large photo collection from the building of the Atlantic Companion, from the assembling of very first keel sections to the test trials, ranging from the spring 1983 to the winter 1984. Thus, I hope to find the time, to write a more extensive report about the G3′s this year.

Enjoy the rest of the pictures pictures and your weekend!