Zim Iberia arrives off Chittagong

The end is near for a one time Halifax caller. Zim Iberia arrived at the Chittagong anchorages today, and will soon be headed to the scrappers. It was reported in October 2014 that the ship had been sold to Indian breakers for scrap, and so it is a little surprising that it would take this long to get there. Of course Chittagong is in Bangladesh, so it is possible that the ship has been bought and sold several times over the past year.

Zim Iberia approaches Halterm ion a foggy day in 2003.

Built in 1997 by Howaldswerke Deutsche-Werft in Kiel, Germany, the ship was a good size for its day, at 41,507 grt, 45,850 dwt with a capacity of 3429 TEU. We are told that 3500 TEU ships are no longer efficient since ships of twice or more the size can be operated with about the same crew and the price to carry per box is dramatically lower, even with the larger engines required for bigger ships.

Zim Iberia called in Halifax from the time it was new (replacing another ship of the same name) until August 12, 2006 when it was reassigned. It operated for its entire career for Zim, initially under the Israeli flag but since 2008 under the Liberian flag.

It is certainly a sign of the times that an 18 year old ship would be sent to the breakers.

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