The latest addition to a growing and diverse collection of ship models from the 20th and 21st centuries on display at the Savannah International Trade & Convention Center should be familiar to anyone who regularly comes into Savannah by way of the Talmadge Bridge.
The huge, bright orange vessels that dock just to the right of the bridge at Ocean Terminal are difficult to miss.
The big, boxy ships of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics carry cars, trucks, heavy equipment and specialized cargo. The company also handles complex project cargoes such as rail cars, power generators, mining equipment and yachts.
At Ocean Terminal, the WWL ships handle everything from JCB heavy equipment to cars, trucks and boats — cargo known as roll-on/roll-off, or ro/ro.
Soon, it will begin transporting construction equipment from the new Caterpillar plant outside Athens.
In fact, it was the ability of Ocean Terminal and Wallenius to handle its exports that prompted Caterpillar to locate its manufacturing facility in Georgia.
The ship model, which was presented to the Trade Center on Wednesday, is of the WWL Torrens, an award-winning “Pure Car & Truck Carrier” that has earned a reputation for its innovative design and flexibility to carry a wide variety of roll-on/roll-off cargo.
Built in 2004, the Torrens is the first of a class of 10 ships built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki, Japan. Owned by Lloyds TSB Marine, the ship is 660 feet long with a 106-foot beam and a draft of 35 feet.
Sailing under the flag of the United Kingdom, the ship has a total capacity of 6,350 cars and carries 27 officers and crew.
The vessel is fitted with a 237-ton capacity stern ramp, angled to allow discharge of cargo onto an adjacent dock, and a mid-ship ramp with a 90-degree angle and maximum capacity of 35 tons.
All crew-passenger cabins are located on the upper deck, and the vessel is equipped with a gym and lounges for officers and crew. Pilot, canal transit and spare cabins are provided with easy access to the bridge.
A fan system provides exhaust ventilation during loading, unloading and under way and can change the air volume 20 times an hour during cargo operation and 10 times an hour under way.
Main propulsion is by an 18,000-horsepower Mitsubishi-UE 7UEC60LSII engine. The vessel also has a 1,630-horsepower Hitachi bow thruster and a highly effective double-plated spade rudder. Three large generators provide the ship’s electrical power, backed by one Detroit Diesel 6MC emergency generator.
The model, which is on display in the Trade Center’s Jasper board room, is on loan from Wallenius Wilhelmsmen’s Savannah office.
ILA, Maritime Alliance approve master contract
The International Longshoremen’s Association and the Maritime Alliance have apparently worked through all their local issues, paving the way for ratification of a new six-year contract.
Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Director George H. Cohen made the announcement Wednesday.
“I am extremely pleased to announce that today the parties have approved their tentative agreement for a successor master agreement. In doing so, the parties have successfully concluded lengthy, complex and understandably, sometimes contentious negotiations concerning a multitude of economic and job-related issues. Mutual respect, good, old-fashioned ‘roll up your sleeves’ hard work and applying innovative problem-solving skills ultimately prevailed.”
The agreement, which will be submitted to the parties’ respective memberships for ratification, means six years of stable labor-management relations covering all the Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports.
“What this means in real-life terms is that once again, collective bargaining proved up to the task and played a major constructive role in helping to avoid a potential disruption that unquestionably would have had severe impact on the nation’s economy at the precise time that a significant recovery is in progress,” Cohen said.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
BY MARY CARR MAYLE
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
TERMINAL SHIP NAME ARRIVAL
GCT HANJIN MADRID Today
GCT RANJAN Today
GCT MAERSK MADRID Today
GCT ZIM RIO GRANDE Today
GCT OOCL ANTWERP Today
OT RANDE MAROCCO Today
GCT APL CORAL Saturday
GCT LADY MALOU Saturday
GCT HANJIN LOS ANGELES Saturday
GCT EVER DECENT Saturday
GCT MSC VITTORIA Saturday
GCT CORNELIA MAERSK Saturday
GCT BUXCLIFF Saturday
GCT CHARLESTON EXPRESS Saturday
GCT CSCL VANCOUVER Saturday
OT SAFMARINE SAHEL Saturday
OT SKAGEN Saturday
GCT MUKADDES KALKAVAN Sunday
OT TAMERLANE Sunday
GCT HANJIN OTTAWA Monday
GCT APL ATLANTA Monday
GCT GENOA EXPRESS Monday
GCT MSC METHONI Monday
GCT MSC CATANIA Monday
GCT NYK DENEB Monday
GCT NYK CLARA Monday
OT ZEBRA WIND Monday
GCT MSC BUSAN Tuesday
GCT APL QATAR Tuesday
GCT KOBE EXPRESS Tuesday
GCT HYUNDAI TIANJIN Tuesday
GCT HANJIN MALTA Tuesday
OT TUBARAO Tuesday
GCT ZIM QINGDAO Wednesday
GCT MOL PREMIUM Wednesday
GCT SEA-LAND CHAMPION Wednesday
GCT CONRAD S Wednesday
GCT NYK ROMULUS Wednesday
OT TAMPA Wednesday
OT ANIARA Wednesday
GCT ZIM NEW YORK Thursday
GCT SCT ZURICH Thursday
GCT ISLANDIA Thursday
GCT MSC STELLA Thursday
GCT CSAV LLANQUIHUE Thursday
GCT MAERSK IOWA Thursday