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oceans Image by Alan Calvert The New Zealand government research ship Tangaroa sailing from Lyttelton after a 15 minute stop to land a sick crew member TANGAROA SAILS UNDER SNOW Good evening from a very cold and wet Lyttelton. Yes, that is snow on the hills behind the ship and the rain was pouring down when this shot was taken. DAMEN DELIVERY TAKEN Singapore firm Thong Yong have taken delivery of two Damen Shoalbuster 3209 tugs. Note the names Otago and Taupo, with a third, larger Shoalbuster 3511 Kaikoura, due later in the year. Otago is being shipped aboard Paula with the Damen Multicat 2611 Opua. DUNEDIN TOUR OPERATORS 'PERPLEX' CRUISE LINES The only port in New Zealand to allow private tour operators on its wharves Dunedin appears to have gained a bad reputation with cruise lines. Port Otago has banned tour operators from the wharf for the next summer cruise season. Cruise New Zealand chairman Craig Harris said allowing tour operators to solicit business on the wharf at Port Chalmers "perplexed" cruise lines. "Nowhere else in the world are tour operators allowed on the wharf, and for good reason," Harris said. Complaints were received about tour operators fighting among themselves, sleeping in vehicles to secure prime positions and being abusive to cruise passengers at Port Chalmers. Port Otago commercial manager Peter Brown said that it was a small minority of tour operators that were responsible for the bad behaviour. Up to 47 tour providers accessed the wharf each cruise day during the 2012-13 season. Port Otago received complaints directly from passengers, cruise lines and other tour operators, as well as an expression of concern from Cruise New Zealand. Peter Brown reported that some operators were delaying tours to secure more passengers and changed tour itineraries after passengers had paid for specific tours. Some taxi drivers accessed the wharf as taxis then changed their operation to tour providers. It reflected badly on Port Otago, as well as Port Chalmers and Dunedin as a cruise destination, Brown said. From October i-site staff will operate a marquee on the wharf to welcome passengers and organise tours. Staff will collect payments, take a 12.5 percent commission and call tour operators to pick up paid passengers. Before the season starts all tour operators must register with i-site staff. BISON EXPRESS SQUEEZES IN known Dutch ship owner Vroon at Breskens. The Bison Express was the first in a series of three vessels and both sister ships were lengthened 16.8 metres during their construction. After delivery of the Shorthorn Express, it was decided to increase the capacity of the Bison Express by lengthening the vessel 22.40 metres, giving her an overall length of Livestock carrier Bison Express undergoing repairs 99.677 metres. The Bison Express is trading between Australia and the Middle East, and for this reason the vessel has to comply with the rules and regulations of the Australian Maritime Safety Authorities, along with the rules and regulations of Bureau Veritas and Flag State Authorities. NO COMFORT FOR MOL On June 17, the fully cellular containership MOL Comfort (90613 Dwt), broke in half in six to seven metre seas off the coast of Yemen. All 26 crewmembers were rescued by containership Yantian Express with pollution and debris reported in the area. MOL Comfort split in two in what was believed to be a major structural failure. The aft section of the ship sank on June 27 to an approximate depth of 4,000 metres, along with some 1,700 containers. The breaking of the MOL Comfort (formerly named the APL Russia) disturbed the global maritime industry, as she was a relatively new ship with a quality pedigree. Five-year-old MOL Comfort was owned and operated by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines of Japan, known as MOL. The ship was one of 11 vessels deployed on the G6-Alliance's MOL and APLoperated Far East to Europe Loop 1. At the time of the incident, the 316m vessel was underway from Singapore to Jeddah. Rescue operations were coordinated by the Indian Coastguard in Mumbai. The first images from the accident site showed that the vessel was carrying a near-full load of containers. MOL Comfort was one of two 8,540teu sister vessels built for Mitsui O.S.K. Lines at Imabari's Koyo Dockyard, Japan, and part of a wider series of 12 similar vessels built between 2007 and 2011 at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Shipyard. A further two (near) sister ships are due for delivery this year. The MOL Comfort is classed by NKK and insured through the Japan Ship Owner's P&I association. Fire broke out on the remaining fore section while under tow, and for four days the Indian Coast Guard pollution response vessel ICGS Samudra Prahari assisted in the firefighting efforts. Finally, the fore section also sank, MOL Comfort burns off the coast of Yemen A tight fit in the Lyttelton dry-dock and possibly the longest vessel to have used the dry-dock since it was completed in 1883, Bison Express is undergoing repairs to her rudder and controllable pitch propeller. The livestock carrier was built in 1995 by V/H Scheepswerven Gebr. van Diepen at Waterhuizen, Netherlands, for Livestock Express, a subsidiary of the well70 Professional Skipper September/October 2013 www.skipper.co.nz