Svitzer Australia Adds Third New Tug
Svitzer Australia has taken delivery of its third and final new tug, Svitzer Wilu, welcomed to the Port of Geraldton on March 22, joining Svitzer North and Svitzer Abrolhos to form the new fleet.Designed by Robert Allan Ltd., the RAstar 3000-W series ASD tug Svitzer Wilu is 30 meters long, has 70 tonnes of bollard pull and increased safety capabilities with advanced firefighting capabilities on board.Main propulsion comprises of a pair of Caterpillar 3516C, IMO Tier II 2 certified diesel engines, each rated 2240 bkW at 1800 rpm, and driving a Schottel SRP 460FP Z-drive unit.
New Tug Delivered to Svitzer Australia
Svitzer Australia recently took delivery of a new RAstar 3000-W series ASD tug, Svitzer North, from ASL Shipyard in Singapore.The vessel's design was developed by Robert Allan Ltd. in close cooperation with Svitzer’s operations team, to meet the unique demands of the Port of Geraldton, Western Australia. With over 400 ship visits per year, the port’s primary cargo is iron ore, with over 10 MTPA exported. The port is located in a sensitive environmental area, requiring the tug to be at the forefront of safety and reliability…
Australia Aids Listing Livestock Carrier
A Marshall Islands flagged livestock carrier listing from hull damage off Australia's western coast was directed to the Port of Geraldton.On Monday night, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) tasked its Challenger search and rescue jet to fly over the vessel Barkly Pearl, and it was able to confirm damage to the starboard side of the vessel, which was listing to port.AMSA General Manager of Response Mark Morrow said there were significant concerns for the integrity of the vessel and its ability to safely reach Indonesia, its planned destination.
MH370 Search Update
Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) informs that the vessel 'ADV Ocean Shield' has arrived at Geraldton, Western Australia, to begin preparations to receive spare parts related to the transponder mounted on the 'Ocean Shield' and the transponder mounted on the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, 'Bluefin-21'. JACC explains that the repairs are necessary to correct a hardware issue affecting the ability of the transponders to communicate with each other during a dive. The problem became apparent during Bluefin-21's last mission on Tuesday. Ocean Shield was originally going to Dampier to await the transponder parts, however, it was determined that the parts could be delivered to the ship more quickly via the port of Geraldton.
WSS Expands in Australia
Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) has opened a new office in Western Australia to meet increased business opportunities as the port of Geraldton continues to grow. “By concentrating on the growing port of Geraldton, we are putting ourselves in a strong position to provide ship owners with easy access to our globally-renowned agency services. The new office has been operational from day one, with a number of experienced local staff on hand to utilise existing relationships with the port.
