New Self Unloading Ship Calls at Port of Redwood City
New bulk ship CSL Tecumseh made its maiden voyage to the Port of Redwood City on Wednesday, May 29. Named after a respected war chief of the Shawnee Indians in the early 1800s, Tecumseh brought 40,000 tons of construction aggregates from the Orca Quarry in British Columbia.
The material was delivered to Cemex Aggregates, a major port tenant. This is an essential material for ready-mix concrete plants from Santa Rosa to San Jose. The self-unloading Panamax-sized ship unloads all of its cargo of construction materials in 18-24 hours.
The CSL Tecumseh is the sister ship to The Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin (named after a former Canadian prime minister and shipping executive), which made its first voyage to the port last November. The two ships are CSLI Trillium Class self-unloading Panamax vessels, owned and operated by CSL International, a division of The CSL Group, owner and operator of self-unloading vessels. Featuring the most advanced technology available, these Trillium Class vessels set new standards in operational and environmental performance, energy efficiency and reliability.
“Together these two ships are planning to bring millions of tons of high quality construction aggregates from British Columbia to the three ports in the San Francisco Bay Area – Port of Redwood City, Port of Richmond, and Port of San Francisco,” Port Executive Director Michael J. Giari said. “With increased construction, these materials are vital for ready-mix concrete plants in the Greater Bay Area.”
These ships face serious navigation restrictions at the Port of Redwood City because its authorized depth of 30 feet is down to 27 feet, which limits their transportation efficiency and increases the cost of this construction material, Giari said. Many times these ships have to wait for high tide and bring less than full loads because of the draft restrictions. Giari said that the Port is working with federal legislators to obtain maintenance dredging funds.
Meanwhile, the ships are drawing raves in the maritime industry because of their environmental efficiency. Dust suppression is significantly improved on the new ship through feeder gates, boom dust enclosures, dust collectors and a foam spray dust suppression system. The new ships meet or exceed compliance with current and anticipated environmental regulations, from reductions in NOx, Sox and other air emissions, to fuel efficiency and waste and pollution management.
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