MS Berge Stahl

Summary

MS Berge Stahl was a bulk carrier. Until the delivery of MS Vale Brasil in 2011 she was the longest and largest iron ore carrier in the world.[3][failed verification] She was registered in Comoros. Before that, she was registered in Douglas, Isle of Man, Stavanger, Norway as well as in Monrovia, Liberia.

Berge Stahl
History
Name
  • Berge Stahl (1986-2021)
  • Geostahl (since 2021)
Owner
  • 1986–2008: Partrederiet Bergesen GOIC DA
  • 2008–2009: Bergesen D.Y. Shipping AS
  • 2009–2012: BW Bulk (Norway) AS
  • 2012: Berge Stahl Company S.A. (under Berge Bulk)[1]
Operator
  • 1986–2008: Bergesen Worldwide Gas ASA
  • 2008–2012: BW Fleet Management Pte. Ltd.[1]
  • Since 2012: Berge Bulk
Port of registry
RouteBrazil to Oman Previously Brazil to Rotterdam
Builder
Laid down14 March 1986[1]
Launched4 September 1986[1]
Completed4 December 1986[1]
Identification
FateScrapped Gadani July 2021
General characteristics
TypeBulk carrier (Ore carrier)[2]
Tonnage
  • 175,720 GT
  • 364,767 DWT
Length342.08 m (1,122.3 ft)[1]
Beam63.53 m (208.4 ft)[1]
Draught23 m (75 ft)
Installed powerHyundai 7L90MCE
PropulsionSingle shaft; 9 m (30 ft) fixed pitch propeller
Speed13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Crew24
Notes[1]

An iron ore carrier, Berge Stahl had a capacity of 364,767 tonnes deadweight (DWT) . She was built in 1986 by Hyundai Heavy Industries.[1][4] The vessel was 342.08 m (1,122 ft) long, had a beam, or width, of 63.5 m (208 ft), and a draft, or depth in the water, of 23 m (75 ft).[1]

Her MAN B&W 7L90MCE diesel engine drove a single 9 m (30 ft) propeller giving a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph).[1]

Because of its massive size, Berge Stahl could originally only tie up, fully loaded, at two ports in the world, hauling ore from the Terminal Marítimo de Ponta da Madeira in Brazil to the Europoort near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Even at these ports, passage must be timed to coincide with high tides to prevent the ship running aground. Berge Stahl made this trip about ten times each year, or a round-trip about every five weeks.[5]

The newly opened deep-water iron ore wharf at Caofeidian in China received the fully loaded Berge Stahl in October 2011,[6] and several other Chinese ports have since opened to receive Vale's even larger Valemax ships. Berge Stahl can operate from other ports if not fully loaded. In September 2006, the ship carried ore to the port of Majishan, China.[7] On the return voyage to Rotterdam, the ship picked up a partial load of ore in Dampier, Western Australia, and Saldanha Bay in South Africa (where the maximum draft permitted is 21 m).[8] In April 2014, the Berge Stahl received her last dry-docking, in Portugal.[9] The owner, Berge Bulk, announced that the thirty-year-old vessel performed her last voyage to Rotterdam in the autumn of 2016. She was then headed for dry dock, where she was refitted before commencing a new contract transporting iron ore from the Port of Tubarão in Brazil to Sohar, Oman.[9]

In July 2021 the ship was beached at Gadani ship-breaking yard and scrapped.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Berge Stahl (14702)". Vessel Register for DNV. DNV. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
  2. ^ Equasis
  3. ^ "Vale Brasil (30616)". Vessel Register for DNV. DNV. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. ^ "Propulsion Trends in Bulk Carriers" MAN Diesel Group – retrieved: 12 April 2007 (Adobe Acrobat *.pdf document)
  5. ^ "Machine Support services on world's largest dry bulk carrier" Machine Support News
  6. ^ 曹妃甸港首次接卸30万吨以上铁矿石巨轮, 31 October 2011, archived from the original on 26 April 2012
  7. ^ "Largest bulk cargo ship in the world comes to China" – CNSPhoto.com – 7 September 2006
  8. ^ "Media Miss Once-Off South African Visit by Berge Stahl" (PDF). Cape Times. 27 December 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
  9. ^ a b "Berge Stahl". Berge Bulk Website. 18 December 2017. Retrieved 18 December 2017.

External links edit

  • Technical information and image gallery aukevisser.nl
  • Image of MS Berge Stahl in port