The spectacular shipping of two car-ferries from Hamburg to Mombasa

GERMANY: MV “Beluga Singapore” – one of Beluga Shipping’s 16 new flag ships with 800 to 1400 tons crane capacities and a deadweight capacity of 20,000 tons – mastered the lifting und transport of both ferries which are designated to transport 1500 passengers or up to 65 cars several times a day.

Red, fat and bulky - two sisters are reclining at the Dradenau Terminal in Hamburg. Coming from Dresden they are awaiting the biggest trip of their life: ”Likoni“ tightened athwart and her sister-ship ”Kwale“, which is already right alongside a blue and white multi purpose heavy lift project carrier, are on their way to Mombasa. Both ladies are designated to transport 1500 passengers or up to 65 cars several times a day. First of all, the two ferries will be loaded themselves: from the port basin directly under and onto the deck of the 166 metres long MV “Beluga Singapore“.

The loading of the brand new ferries will be a custom made masterpiece. The freight hold, in which ”Kwale“ is going to travel the 9000 nautical miles to Mombasa, measures just a few decimetres more than the cargo itself. Accurate to centimetre two on-board NMF-cranes of the ”Beluga Singapore“ will have to place the vessel precisely in its hold. Only after “Kwale“ – fitting like one Russian Matryoshka into the other – is positioned in the hull of the vessel and protected against any movement, her identical twin ”Likoni“ will be lifted onto the deck of the multi purpose heavy lift project carrier. “Beluga Singapore“ is one out of 69 vessels of the Beluga Shipping GmbH, which is specialized for innovative and tailored project and heavy lift shipments. She is the third of altogether 16 newly built vessels of the super modern P1/P2-series providing 800 to 1400 tons crane capacity in tandem usage, the Bremen based company will bring into service by 2011.

“Likoni“ und “Kwale“, her prominent passengers to Kenya, are the first ferries at all built at the shipyard Schiffs- und Yachtwerft Dresden (SYWD). They are special orders placed from the state-owned Kenya Ferry Service Ltd in Mombasa at SYWD. The shipyard, which once built paddle-steamers for the river Elbe, planned and worked on the ferries for about two years. The Saxons were proud, the professional world was astonished, when finally on the yards lawn close to the “Blaues Wunder“, Dresden`s famous river-bridge, the two red ferries were ready for their long voyage to Kenya. First of all they were transported via the river Elbe to Hamburg, on which, due to the low bridges on the way their wheelhouses had to be demounted. Now they will set out the sea route to Kenya with completely mounted wheelhouses again – in their usual height of more than 13 metres.

One of the delicate moments of this shipment is the lifting of each ferry out of the water with on-board crane gear. In the moment of transferring its massive weight of some hundred tons out of the water to the on-board cranes will change intermittently the barycentre of the ”Beluga Singapore“. Who ever has been in a kayak trying to help a second person to board, knows the danger of toppling over and can imagine the precision work the ships crew including crane operators and the highly specialized transport engineers of the shipping company have to accomplish in such a voluminous project. Several times they calculated the entire loading procedure and studied it simulated on the computer.

Now theory comes to practise. Accurate to the litre the “Beluga Singapore“ will be trimmed regarding to the progress of loading by tank-to-tank transferring water of the ballast tanks. The stabilisation of the vessel and the handling of the cranes demands sensible instincts where as, at the same time, the dimensions of handled load and loading gear are thus huge: Already the hooks of the two cranes, on which the entire weight of the ferry is hanging during lifting operation, are humungous: they weigh more than ten tons – each of them.

Side by side like the two huge crawls of a gigantic raptor the two hooks are now taken to the skies. Centimetre by centimetre they are towing “Kwale“ with them. Suddenly, like a flying fish with 60 metres of length, the ferry is taking off. It really seems to fly – thus in extremely slow motion. An hour later hundreds of tons of steel and iron are smoothly swinging about 15 metres high outboard the “Beluga Singapore“. The entire weight is hanging on just two blue belts. At the beginning of the operation four divers had pulled these extremely durable special laces underneath the ferry´s hull and slung it accurate to the millimetre around her fat belly. For that the valuable freight will not be smashed by its own weight between the belts, an iron girder between each pair of ends is holding them apart.

What is happening now reminds on a ballet dance on a wire. High above water level and the open deck of the “Singapore” each movement has to be extremely precise. The two 400-ton-onboard cranes of the cargo vessel are steering the “Kwale“ in tandem usage - like a puppet on a string - in a diagonal movement through the small space in between each other on board. The entire time the red ferry stays in horizontal position. Fine variation of the Singapore´s heeling – „no more than two grades“, reassures Captain Heiner Heise, with 50 years at sea the most experienced man on board – is helping the cranes to swing their huge load step by step to its final position before stowed under deck. Forth – slightly back – forth – slightly back – each time a little further. Some of the numerous spectators stop breathing at some moments. “This is a very difficult shipment” says Jarek Klimczak, supercargo of Beluga Shipping. “To some extent we just have very, very little space during this operation.“ Like the other persons involved in the operation on board he is giving his short commands wireless via radio.

After more than two additional hours the “Kwale“ is hanging - like a red colossus wearing a blue corset - longwise over the freighter. Wheelhouse including it is than completely disappearing in its huge cargo hold. In that moment it seems the “Beluga Singapore“ just swallows a gigantic, 60 metres long canapé. The two cranes gently put down the ferry like their oversized toy - gently onto several huge wooden beams which are placed amidships in the cargo hold. The difficult operation succeeds without complications: Despite the tight dimensions not the slightest physical contact between ferry, crane and shell plate of the „Singapore” happened. – So far, the orchestral interplay between vessels crew and the team of Beluga Shipping has perfectly functioned.

But not until the “Kwale“ is tightly lashed and secured with v- girders with the size of a grown up, which are now welded to the holds ground, the crew will close the loading hatches of the multipurpose heavy lift project carrier with iron plates more than a metre thick. Now the entire game is starting all over again from the very beginning. It is now the “Likoni“ which is lifting up out of the water like a gigantic flying fish from alongside. She will go onto her long voyage to East Africa on the deck of the “Beluga Singapore”.

The loading of the weighty red sisters in Hamburg takes two days in total. About four weeks are planned for their sea passage to Mombasa. Indeed, already ahead of their arrival the two ladies yet are celebrities in Kenya: For about two years the media of the East African country impatiently has been commenting each step of the two ferries` construction in Germany. As Mombasa is located on an island the smallest disturbance of the ferry connection between the second largest city of Kenya and the mainland immediately leads to enormous traffic jams and tremendous logistical problems. Because of that people and economy have to suffer. “Likoni“ and “Kwale“ shall finally solve this problem by substituting two very old ferries

„The 800.000 inhabitants of Mombasa longingly are awaiting the arrival of “Kwale“ und “Likoni“, says Harun Mwau, Kenyas Assistant Minister of Transport into the camera for a broadcast on Kenyan TV the same night. Together with representatives of the state-owned Kenya Ferry Service Ltd he is watching how the “Likoni“ is safely lifted on board now. The delegation from Kenya especially travelled to Germany to be eye-witness of the spectacular loading of their so urgently awaited ferries. Joseph Kingi Kahindi, the Chairman of Kenya Ferry Service calls both ships already “our babies”. He is impressed of the loading operation and is taking some gladsome memory pictures of Beluga-employees at the quay wall. Kahindi: „We are very, very happy to see our babies well on board.“