The newest dry-bulk cargoship of the fleet of Arklow Shipping Nederland B.V.,the Arklow Glen was observed arriving in Dublin Bay yesterday having picked up a pilot off the Baily Lighthouse, writes Jehan Ashmore.
Registered in Rotterdam, the Dutch flagged newbuild is the second of five G series 5,120 deadweight tonnes (dwt) dry-bulk cargoships which was launched on 16th June this year from Ferus Smit’s shipyard near Groningen.
Arklow Glen which was in ballast to Dublin Port had sailed overnight from the Port of Workington in Cumbria where the 87m newbuild had previously discharged cargo after arriving a week ago (5th September). The day marked the merchant ship's first call to the north-west English port.
In March, Afloat also reported the call of Arklow Villa which had discharged a cargo of powdered cement from Portuguese suppliers in a contract with Arklow Shipping to import the product to the UK port.
On an annual basis the Port of Workington handles up to 500,000 tonnes from among cargoes are dry-bulk, break-bulk, (forest products) trades, liquid bulk, to energy, project cargo and containers.
The Arklow Glen has a 1,600 kW MaK engine that propelled the vessel across the Irish Sea on a passage of around 12 hours. Currently, the newbuild is at a berth at Dublin's Alexandra Basin, next to the grain loading facility. The 2,999 gross tonnage vessel has a maximized hold volume of 220.000 cft and a carrying capacity over 5000 deadweight tons using a single hold.
The singledeck, box hold Arklow Glen can carry project cargoes such as grain, generals and bulk commodities including those classified under International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations. The IMO is the United Nations specialized agency with responsibility for the safety and security of shipping and the prevention of marine and atmospheric pollution by ship.
The Offices of the IMO Secretariat has its headquarters on the banks of the Thames, at the Albert Embankment in central London and downriver on the Thames estuary, opposite of Tilbury Docks is Northfleet. This is where Arklow Gem is due next to make a port of call with an arrival this Friday, the concluding day of the prestigious London International Shipping Week (LISW).
As Afloat reported last week, the Port of London Authority ‘Shipping Movements’ located the Arklow Raider to Northfleet at a berth at Bevans Wharf. The 2007 built cargo ship, is one of just a trio of remaining R series (originally 16) in service for ASL following their recent disposal of Arklow Rainbow to Norwegian ship-owners.