Sailing across the Atlantic from the US to the Port of Waterford was Meghna Sun, a bulk carrier that arrived at the Irish Port earlier this week laden with a cargo of animal feedstuffs, writes Jehan Ashmore.
The 58,000 deadweight (dwt) bulker departed New Orleans and through the Gulf of Mexico and then the longer voyage of the Atlantic until finally reaching the Celtic Sea.
Prior to its arrival on 30 July, the Waterford estuary bound Bangladesh flagged bulker firstly called to Foynes on the Shannon to involve it is understood a part cargo. The main port on the mid-western estuary represents one of six terminals that forms the Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) with its natural deepwater waterway.
On completion of duties at the Co. Limerick port, the 190m bulker with 18,000 tonnes of animal feedstuffs continued its coastal passage to Waterford, where the port in the south-east is one of the closest of Irish ports to mainland Europe.
The unloading of animal feed took place at Belview Container Terminal, the east Munster port’s main facility, where bulk cargoes such as the Meghna Sun are also handled. In addition to a lesser extent, facilities at Waterford City quays, on the North Quays but only at the Frank Cassin Wharf, the original terminal of the Irish owned former lo-lo operator Bell Lines.
The cargo was bound for customers locally in the region that borders the counties of Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford.
On its arrival off the Waterford coast, according to the port’s social media, pilot Michael Griffin was transferred from the pilot boat to guide the ship from the pilot boarding area located off Dunmore East.
At that stage, Meghna Sun was taken along the winding estuary and upriver of the Suir to safely berth at Belview, which involved a passage time of approximately 1.5 hours.
On approach to the terminal (when opened in 1992, Bell Lines relocated operations) and where the bulker was escorted to the berth by tugs operated by local firms.
This involved the long-serving 30 ton bollard pull (tbp) Voith Schneider tug Tramontane operated by South East Tugs, which is their principle tug, which was tasked with towage operations at the stern of the bulker.
While the 45 tbp azimuth tractor tug Fastnet Lir handled the bow of the Meghna Sun, which was built in 2014 and can carry almost 33,000 tonnes of cargo.
The latter tug, Afloat also notes, was with the global tug/port terminal infrastructure provider Svitzer but is now the newest addition to Fastnet Shipping Limited’s multi-role fleet, which includes five tugs.
