Panama

Panama Terminal Visit
 

This sea term was busier than ever with a Panama Transit (once every four years), field trip to the Manzanillo International Terminal (MIT) and the reception on board the TS ‘Kennedy’ during the Port call (Bilbao, Panama) between Jan 24-Jan 27, 2020.

The Panama Transit was a rare opportunity that the IMB students could witness as the TS ‘Kennedy’ negotiated the famous Panama Canal locks on its transit from the Atlantic to the Pacific side of the Americas. The southerly transit  gave the students an opportunity to observe  ship operations that included anchoring, mooring in the locks and Port docking  in a spate of 24 hours.The easterly transit is due on Feb 4 as the ship crosses back into the Atlantic Caribbean from the Pacific.

The field trip to MIT, a state of-the-art container terminal was arranged in close cooperation with the top management at MIT that included a welcome lunch, presentation by MIT executives and a guided tour of the facility. Students were able to apply the theoretical concepts learned in class to experience how a container terminal works in practice. A good lesson in container terminal logistics and box management was the take away from the field trip.

The reception onboard provided a great networking opportunity as the MIT personnel, UMIP executives and Panama Canal Authority (PCA) executives joined a large number of MMA alumni and Pilots to celebrate the ship transit.
 

Willemstad, Curacao

The TS ‘Kennedy’ steamed into the picturesque town of Willemstad on Feb.7 for a three day visit. Willemstad, known for its pastel colored Dutch architecture also has the Queen Emma bridge, a floating pontoon type that connects the neighborhood across Sint Anna Bay. The IMB students visited the Damen Shiprepair Yard in Curacao on Saturday,Feb.8, one of the largest ship repair and drydocking facilities in the Caribbean.

Damen Shiprepair Curaçao is strategically located in the Caribbean, en route to the Panama Canal, and outside the Hurricane Belt. The yard offers excellent working conditions within a natural bay. The Willemstad ship repair facility is one of sixteen that the Damen group operates globally and consists of two graving and two floating docks. The field trip included a presentation on the Damen Group activities in the Caribbean and their global footprint in ship repair, shipbuilding and the conversion market. The students witnessed an LPG tanker in drydock, the floating docks and had a tour of the workshops. We would like to express our thanks to Managing Dir.Mr.Lodewijk and Ms Jurine Thomas for coordinating this visit locally. Mr. Daan Dijxhoorn (Area Manager, N.America) co-ordinated the visit from Damen HQ in the Netherlands.

We thank Damen Shipyards group for having made this trip a success!

Tampa

On the last leg of seaterm’20, the students had the opportunity to visit a Carnival cruise ship , the ‘Carnival Legend’ docked in Tampa, Florida. Carnival is one of the largest cruise line in the world based on annual revenue and the number of ships in the fleet. Waste management ,pollution prevention and ship safety is the central focus of sustainable ship operations and cleaner oceans at Carnival which was on display as environmental officer Richard Bryan showed us around the majestic ship. Students witnessed the logistics of moving thousands of passengers, stores and provisions under elaborate security checks. All this had to be achieved within a few hours since the ship had a scheduled departure in the afternoon. Ships in general and cruise ships in particular make their money at sea and have to keep their itineraries whether full or not. The visit was marked by a sumptuous lunch aboard a luxury cruise liner. We wish to thank Richard Bryan and the officers and crew of ‘Carnival Legend’ who made this visit a success.