2020 Shipping Movements

[Mr Miserable]

RCC ASIA is now in the English Channel, having picked up her European pilot off Cherbourg this morning and should arrive off Zeebrugge around midnight. Southampton is still confirmed for Friday morning at the moment but I would not be surprised if this changes to Thursday morning, or even earlier!

GLOVIS SIGMA She is just entering the Gulf of Panama and is on the home straight to arrive and anchor up at the canal entrance later. I expect her to transit the canal early tomorrow morning. I will post separately about the canal and how to follow the ship through the locks. Don’t forget to enter the GLOVIS SIGMA competition today as it will close as soon as she enters the locks tomorrow morning!

GLOVIS CLIPPER She continues her high speed dash down the Pacific coast with the aim of arriving at the Panama Canal on Thursday. She is due to arrive in Zeebrugge on 16 Sep. She is not due to depart until 14:00 on 17 Sep and so if she is coming to Southampton it will be on 18 Sep. Don’t forget to enter the GLOVIS CLIPPER competition!

GLOVIS CORONA is across the Bay at Benicia at the moment but I am not getting any indication that she will call at Pier 80. I therefore think we have seen the last ship to call at Pier 80 this quarter.

All is not lost as it looks very likely that Tesla have sent a shipment by rail to Newark for shipment to Europe from there. There is a lot of activity at the Milpitas railhead at the moment but no EU spec cars were noted there and so we may have missed the loading since they they have already stopped producing EU spec cars at Fremont. At the moment I am monitoring the ships loading at Newark with the aim of identifying the likely ship. I have already crossed ASIAN MAJESTY off the list and RCC AFRICA is the next one to monitor. ASIAN MAJESTY was disappointing because it was originally scheduled to be in Europe in 2 weeks time and she is still booked into Walhamn in Sweden on 16 Sep and so was looking very good - yet another major schedule change.

 

[Mr Miserable]

The Panama Canal provides a shortcut for shipping travelling from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and vice-versa. Instead of having to route to the south of South America and then back up a distance of about 5000 nm the canal offers a mere 50 mile transit. This comes at a price, calculated by a complicated formula, designed to maximise revenue to the canal operators. The original canal opened in 1914 and was an immediate success. In the first year it handled about 1000 ships and by 2008 it was handling nearly 15000. These figures alone don’t tell the whole story because ships were getting bigger and bigger and one of the limits to the size of ships being built was the size of the locks in the Panama Canal. Ships that were built to fit (just) into the locks were described as Panamax ships. That is why so many cruise ships, container ships and car carriers are 32.3m wide and have a draft of under 12.6m.

The expansion of global trade and the increase in shipping meant that the canal was becoming a bottleneck with frequent delays and queues of ships waiting to transit. Fees for queue jumping became ever more expensive and ever more necessary to avoid delays. Alternatives to the canal were seriously being considered eg the NW passage and a number of alternative canal routes that avoided Panama completely. Panama relies on the income from the canal and could not afford for any of the alternatives plans to be viable and so a plan for the expansion to the existing canal system was commenced in 2007 and completed in 2016. This introduced two new sets of locks built parallel to the existing locks. Significantly, they allow ships up to 366m long, 49m wide and with a draft of up to 15m to transit the canal. The new locks are of a modern design which use less water and are regarded as safer and more reliable too.

So a Panamax ship like GLOVIS CLIPPER can use the old locks - Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun locks to transit whereas bigger ships like GLOVIS SIGMA will use the new locks at Coccoli and Agua Clara.

The canal is big business and so is generally a pretty slick operation entirely dependent on how much you have paid. The Tesla ships are normally booked in several weeks in advance and are given a pretty high priority. Delays of more than 24 hours are rare and normally we can expect the ships to start their northbound transit in the small hours of the morning and be in the Caribbean around 8 hours later.

There are webcams at the locks so you can see a ship going through. The link to the webcams is here.

For GLOVIS SIGMA, I expect her to be at Coccoli around 7am UK time tomorrow and Agua Clara locks around 14:00 UK time. By the time she reaches Agua Clara it will be daylight.

Thanks to @Mister J for providing the above graphic.

 

[Shaynety]

The Panama Canal provides a shortcut for shipping travelling from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and vice-versa. Instead of having to route to the south of South America and then back up a distance of about 5000 nm the canal offers a mere 50 mile transit. This comes at a price, calculated by a complicated formula, designed to maximise revenue to the canal operators. The original canal opened in 1914 and was an immediate success. In the first year it handled about 1000 ships and by 2008 it was handling nearly 15000. These figures alone don’t tell the whole story because ships were getting bigger and bigger and one of the limits to the size of ships being built was the size of the locks in the Panama Canal. Ships that were built to fit (just) into the locks were described as Panamax ships. That is why so many cruise ships, container ships and car carriers are 32.3m wide and have a draft of under 12.6m.

The expansion of global trade and the increase in shipping meant that the canal was becoming a bottleneck with frequent delays and queues of ships waiting to transit. Fees for queue jumping became ever more expensive and ever more necessary to avoid delays. Alternatives to the canal were seriously being considered eg the NW passage and a number of alternative canal routes that avoided Panama completely. Panama relies on the income from the canal and could not afford for any of the alternatives plans to be viable and so a plan for the expansion to the existing canal system was commenced in 2007 and completed in 2016. This introduced two new sets of locks built parallel to the existing locks. Significantly, they allow ships up to 366m long, 49m wide and with a draft of up to 15m to transit the canal. The new locks are of a modern design which use less water and are regarded as safer and more reliable too.

So a Panamax ship like GLOVIS CLIPPER can use the old locks - Miraflores, Pedro Miguel and Gatun locks to transit whereas bigger ships like GLOVIS SIGMA will use the new locks at Coccoli and Agua Clara.

The canal is big business and so is generally a pretty slick operation entirely dependent on how much you have paid. The Tesla ships are normally booked in several weeks in advance and are given a pretty high priority. Delays of more than 24 hours are rare and normally we can expect the ships to start their northbound transit in the small hours of the morning and be in the Caribbean around 8 hours later.

There are webcams at the locks so you can see a ship going through. The link to the webcams is here.

For GLOVIS SIGMA, I expect her to be at Coccoli around 7am UK time tomorrow and Agua Clara locks around 14:00 UK time. By the time she reaches Agua Clara it will be daylight.

View attachment 582713

Thanks to @Mister J for providing the above graphic.

Thanks Mr M.

 

[Green warrior]

Afternoon all.. Just had my daily call with Tesla ;-) My car is still on the docks of Newark, but will go on a ship which is currently listed as "un-named" but is due to dock in Southampton on the 19th Sept. Then expects delivery between 25th - 30th following customs etc.

He also said he'd let them know I'm ready to take delivery sooner, so I might get a call and moved to a earlier ship delivery if one comes up. He's sure everything will be delivered before the end of the month...

 

[Mr Miserable]

Afternoon all.. Just had my daily call with Tesla ;-) My car is still on the docks of Newark, but will go on a ship which is currently listed as "un-named" but is due to dock in Southampton on the 19th Sept. Then expects delivery between 25th - 30th following customs etc.

He also said he'd let them know I'm ready to take delivery sooner, so I might get a call and moved to a earlier ship delivery if one comes up. He's sure everything will be delivered before the end of the month...

On that basis, your car may not be on the dock at Newark but actually on the way to Newark. I would expect to see the ship leave Newark in a week's time.

 

[Vedaprime]

Thought I'd mention the Safmarine Mafadi is heading up the English channel on it's way to Belgium/Netherlands today. Hopefully with a container of some MX'es on board.

I should have all the Safmarine Mafadi data within the Next 24 hours shortly after Rotterdam arrival.

 

[Mr Miserable]

RCC AFRICA has just repositioned in Newark port - this looks promising.
I'm hoping she will take 2-3 days to load.

 

[crouchy]

Glovis Sigma going through Cocoli lock!

 

[Runescom]

RCC AFRICA has just repositioned in Newark port - this looks promising.
I'm hoping she will take 2-3 days to load.

When did we know if it is going to Europe? And will it have M3 onboard?

 

[Green warrior]

When did we know if it is going to Europe? And will it have M3 onboard?

I have been told my M3 LR is there and will arrive in Southampton by the 19th Sept, I ordered a midnight silver .

 

[Mr Miserable]

When did we know if it is going to Europe? And will it have M3 onboard?

We don't know yet. We shall find out when it departs. If it is the ship it will only have Model 3s on board.

 

[duta-dk]

Hi
So I just spoke to a Tesla service dude that told me my M3 is arriving in DK around sep 22.
Do you still think that its on the RCC ASIA, because that ship is already in port in ZEEBRUGGE?

Hard to imagine that it takes 22 days for transport from ZEEBRUGGE to DK?

 

[Mr Miserable]

Hi
So I just spoke to a Tesla service dude that told me my M3 is arriving in DK around sep 22.
Do you still think that its on the RCC ASIA, because that ship is already in port in ZEEBRUGGE?

Hard to imagine that it takes 22 days for transport from ZEEBRUGGE to DK?

Next ship to arrive in Zeebrugge is GLOVIS SIGMA on 12 Sep followed by GLOVIS CLIPPER on 16 Sep. Take your pick!

 

[Mr Miserable]

RCC ASIA is now unloading in Zeebrugge .
She will then load Model S & X that were reassembled in Tilburg for shipment to UK.
Southampton is still confirmed for Friday morning at the moment but I would not be surprised if this changes to Thursday morning, or even earlier!

GLOVIS SIGMA She is currently negotiating the Panama canal.
She will shortly enter the Agua Clara lock and then once clear, she will be in the Caribbean. The next decision will be to decide which route to use to enter the Atlantic, the Windward Passage or the Mona Passage. There is a nasty bit of weather between her and the Windward passage at the moment which may sway the decision.

GLOVIS CLIPPER She continues her high speed dash down the Pacific coast with the aim of arriving at the Panama Canal on Thursday. She is due to arrive in Zeebrugge on 16 Sep. She is not due to depart until 14:00 on 17 Sep and so if she is coming to Southampton it will be on 18 Sep.
Don’t forget to enter the GLOVIS CLIPPER competition!

No more ships are likely to load at Pier 80 until October (Q4).

However, all is not lost as it looks very likely that Tesla have sent a shipment by rail to Newark for shipment to Europe from there.
RCC AFRICA is looking promising, it repositioned in Newark late last night. We shall see…

 

[Vedaprime]

Looking at the vins, there are 298 Model S/X unloading from Safmarine Mafadi now.

 

[Okrib]

My Model S is to be delivered this Monday. Still no date on the Model X at the moment.

Cannot arrange insurance as I don't have a registration number, which seems rather silly!

 

[Green warrior]

Looking at the vins, there are 298 Model S/X unloading from Safmarine Mafadi now.

Thanks Vedaprime, Is there a link so I can see if my VIN is on the RCC Africa?

 

[Mr Miserable]

Thanks Vedaprime, Is there a link so I can see if my VIN is on the RCC Africa?

No, you are waiting for a Model 3 - different system.

 

[Jerryjal]

I should have all the Safmarine Mafadi data within the Next 24 hours shortly after Rotterdam arrival.

I have my MS vin, is there a way to find out if it is on this vessel?

 

[Nvg123]

Is there a way of knowing where my car is based on the VIN?