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oceans Amid speculation missile-tracking ship Yuan Wang 6 stopped in Auckland CHINESE MISSILE TRACKING SHIP STOPS IN AUCKLAND The 22686gt Chinese satellite and intercontinental ballistic missile-tracking ship Yuan Wang 6 made an eight day stop-over in the Port of Auckland. Although she arrived off Auckland on the 11 May, she did not berth in the city until 19 May, having spent eight days on an anchorage some few kilometres off the city's northern east coast bays. According to a recent report, local Chinese sources (Chinese consulate and Auckland agents COSCO) are being tight-lipped about the reasons for her visit and will not even tell if she is part of the Chinese Navy. However, Ports of Auckland Ltd and Royal New Zealand Navy spokespersons confirmed that she is part of the Peoples Liberation Army Navy. Launched in 2007, Yuan Wang 6 last visited Auckland in November 2011 after helping monitor China's unmanned Shenzhou 8 space-shuttle. The spacecraft twice docked with another module during a two-week mission before landing in China's western desert area. A BEHEMOTH LAUNCHES An enormous ship, due for launch on June 28, is the world's biggest, a behemoth even in a world of huge ships and the first in a new fleet of 19 sister ships. The vessel has the ability to carry 18,000 twenty-foot shipping containers and will weigh-in at 165,000 metric tonnes. At 400m the MV Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller is significantly longer than any aircraft carrier. Officers needing to walk the bridge's width, wing-to-wing, will be getting their daily exercise. With a sailing draft of 14.5m (48ft) she is too deep for most American ports and according to Maersk the vessel will be calling on just 13 ports, all located in Asia and Northern Europe. The vessel is also too large for even the expanded Panama Canal but is well within the maximum 20m draft and 77.5m beam requirements for vessels sailing through the Suez Canal. BIG CONTRACT PLAGUES SPANISH NAVY One of the biggest contracts ever awarded in Spain's military history is set to cost the navy far more than they originally expected. The commissioning of four modern conventional submarines at a cost of 2.2 billion Euro is now expected to see costs jump after state owned shipbuilders Navantia admitted that there have been serious miscalculations in the engineering stage – miscalculations which Engineering miscalculations could see could see the new 71m the Spanish subs unable to surface long S-80 series Isaac www.skipper.co.nz Peral submarines unable to resurface. Estimated to be around 75 tonnes overweight, the company has called in technical experts from abroad to assist in a redesign that will most likely mean the vessels will need to be lengthened. The cost is thought to be around 7.7 million Euro per metre. Navantia have admitted that there are: "Deviations related to the balance of weight," and says that the redesign will most likely take two extra years rectify the problem. The Spanish Navy will not only incur the extra costs of the submarines but also an estimated 15 million Euro per year in keeping the current ageing fleet in operation for another two years at a time when the Spanish defence budget has been slashed by nearly 30 percent since the beginning of the global economic woes in 2008. SHANSI AND SHANTUNG OF CHINA NAVIGATION COMPANY China Navigation Company, the deep-sea arm of Swire Shipping, took delivery of the first pair of eight S31-class multi-purpose (general cargo – container) ships in March. Built at Zhoushan, China, Shansi and Shantung, were named on March 13, and are the first of a new generation vessel designed to produce the lowest fuel consumption per tonne mile possible. Shansi sailing from Auckland with a This has been achieved pilot launch and helicopter escort through an extensive five year hull, rudder and propeller optimisation research programme and the use of low resistance hull coatings. The new vessels also offer clients far more flexible cargo options, with heavy-lift capability for loads of up to 120 tonnes and carrying up to 147 deck-mounted reefer containers. The 25483grt Shansi, named after an 1898 built ship of the same name, called at Auckland for the first time over May 10 and 11. The other seven vessels in the class will link the North, East and SE Asia area with markets in Australasia and the Pacific Islands. MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES Captain Francesco Schettino, master of the Costa Concordia faces a manslaughter trial over the loss of the 32 lives when the ship foundered on rocks at the Tuscan island of Giglio in January last year. Schettino could face up to 20 years behind bars if found guilty. Captain Schettino is charged with causing the ship to run aground while under his command and abandoning ship while the 4000-plus passengers and crew were still aboard. Plea bargains by four officers and a crisis co-ordinator have been accepted. However, a plea bargain made by Schettino, as well as a recent request to have new evidence admitted, has been refused. It was claimed by Schettino's counsel that there were other factors involved which were beyond the captain's control. The ship's owner, Costa Cruises, a Carnival Corp subsidiary, made a plea bargain in which they agreed to pay US 1.28 million to settle any potential criminal charges. July/August 2013 Professional Skipper 65