The request for the visit came from Sasol, who wanted to see the vessel to get a better understanding of our activity in South Africa. Bow Cecil was purchased by Odfjell’s JV partner in South Africa in 2019, and is on a bareboat charter to Odfjell.
SASOL is one of Odfjell’s many customers for the transporting and storage of fine chemicals. During 2020, Odfjell Tankers moved about 620,000 mt of various products to Singapore, India, Middle East Gulf (MEG) and Antwerp for SASOL. The company also has its hub storage in Northeast Asia at Odfjell Terminals Korea, seven tanks with a total capacity of 14,210 cbm.
Bow Cecil is one of the Kværner class vessels, built in Norway in 1998. Today, the 37k dwt chemical tanker is presently trading between South Africa and Singapore, MEG and India. The vessel has a total of 26 crew from the Philippines and two cadets from South Africa.
"We were very grateful that the vessel’s Master, Captain Alexander A. Madriaga and Ship Management allowed us onboard during such difficult times. The visit was therefore planned weeks in advance to ensure that all the stringent measures set in place were adhered to, to limit the risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus to the vessel’s crew."
Gunnar Moen, General Manager, Odfjell Mazibuko S.A.
For extra precaution, all visitors also carried out a rapid Covid-19 antigen test before proceeding to the vessel. During the visit, the Captain gave the guests the safety briefing and a general introduction about the vessel, and they got a good chance to discuss and observe the vessel and operations.
The visitors gave very positive feedback, and Nduna Maritime’s Chairman said:
"The vessel is in an excellent condition considering her age. The reception by the Captain onboard was great, all in all it was an event carried out in a very professional manner from start to end, impressive!"
