Hansa Catalina

Melfi Lines, which is a Cuban company, has been a regular caller in Halifax. They do not own ships, but have chartered in a wide variety of vessels over the years, gradually increasing in size. Local agents are Protos Shipping which has some information about the company: www.protos.ca/English/Lines/melfi/melfi.html

Hansa Catalina arrived at Halterm yesterday, but did not work cargo until today, then sailed late this afternoon. The ship flies the Liberian flag but is owned by Leonhardt & Blumberg, a long time German shipowner. Their excellent website is worth a look: http://www.leonhardt-blumberg.com/

The ship was built in 1997, measures 16, 915 gross tons and carries 1645 TEU, with 108 reefer plugs. It has two 40 tonne and one 10 tonne crane.

The ship has born several names over the years: Hansa Catalina 1997, P&O Nedlloyd Abidjan 1997-1999, CMA Xiamen 1999-2000, Hansa Catalina 2000-2003, Cap Lobos 2003 - 2006 and Hansa Catalina again since 2006.

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BF Esperanza

The German owned and built container ship BF Esperanza arriving this morning for Melfi Marine. The ship is flagged in Antigua, and carries 862 TEU.

She was built in 2003 by the J.J.Sietas yard in Hamburg. Sietas have been noted as innovative builders, with a history dating back to 1635. In all that time a member of the Sietas family was always in charge of the yard until 2009. Several order cancellations put the company into insolvency. However it was rescued and has some orders for specialized heavy lift ships, but is no longer controlled by the Sietas family: http://www.sietas-werft.de/

That is the tug Atlantic Oak coming out to assist in berthing.

Melfi Marine is a Cuban operation and has no web site. It is represented in Halifax by Protos Shipping: http://www.protos.ca/