Ocean freighter MV Tanja officially named in Nanaimo

It was a special day for a large ocean freighter that recently arrived in the Harbour City from Brazil.

MV Tanja, an 185-metre-long bulk carrier, was officially christened at the Nanaimo Port Authority’s Duke Point terminal on Sunday (Sept. 17) during a special ceremony that included Mayor Bill McKay, representatives from the port authority and MST Mineralien Schiffahrt Spedition und Transport GmbH, the ship’s owners.

The cargo ship has been in Nanaimo since Saturday and will depart for Vancouver later this week, after delivering a shipment of clay slurry, which is used in pulp and paper.

Matthias Ruttman, managing director for MST, said Tanja is the 17th ship in his company’s fleet and he described it as a very flexible and special freighter.

“What is so unique about Tanja compared to her predecessors is that we can load either wet cargo or dry cargo in the same hold,” he said. “There are seven holds and five of these holds can hold liquid.”

Tanja was built by AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding Company in Jiangdu, China for the German-based company and began service last year. It has a deadweight of 27,569 metric tonnes and has three generators, state-of-the-art electronic navigation systems and a diesel electric engine that produces 7,063 horsepower and is more efficient than older cargo vessels.

“The electronic engine helps a lot to reduce the power when you don’t need it and by doing that you can reduce fuel consumption and emissions,” said Ruttman, adding that Tanja burns about $10,000 worth of fuel per day.

The ship, which flies the Liberian flag, has already handled 223,000 metric tonnes of cargo, resulting in a delayed naming ceremony. Ruttman said while it may seem strange to hold such an event so far away from German soil, the Nanaimo region is important to MST.

“Vancouver Island is not the most obvious place to baptize a ship, at least from a European perspective. But if you look at the development here at the port and in general, this is a booming region. We’ve been sailing here for over 11 years and we really like the area,” Ruttman said.

Ensuring Tanja operates smoothly and safely are 23 crew members, including Mark Fabregas, a technical officer from the Philippines, who said he enjoys working aboard Tanja, but misses his wife and daughter, whom he hasn’t seen since late May.

“[My family] are the reason why I always work so hard,” he said. “They are my strength, my love, my everything.”

Tanja was named after the daughter of one of the ship’s owners. Following a stopover in Vancouver, the ship will head to Brazil and will be making regular visits to Nanaimo.
Source: Nanaimo Bulletin