Friday, August 8, 2014

Vancouver USA Welcomes Vessel’s Maiden Voyage

By Mark Edward Nero

The Port of Vancouver USA welcomed the chemical/oil carrier Nord Geranium, commanded by Capt. Kim Aarup of Denmark, during her first voyage to the United States on July 29.

Capt. Aarup and his 22-member Danish and Filipino crew were welcomed to Vancouver by Aaron Flett, terminal manager with NuStar Energy Corp.; Gary Martinke, a vessel agent with Inchcape Shipping Services; and Mike Schiller, the Port of Vancouver’s business development manager.

The July 29 visit in Vancouver was the Nord Geranium’s maiden voyage, after being launched on June 25, 2014. The tanker was built in China in 2014, and is owned and operated by Danish shipping company Norden A/S Dampskibsselskabet. The 601-foot-long vessel has a deadweight capacity of 39,826 metric tons.

The Nord Geranium arrived at the Port of Vancouver USA from Mailiao, Taiwan. Once at the port, she discharged about 20,000 tons of sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide, commonly known as lye, is used in many industries, including as a base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, soaps and detergents.

After discharging the lye at Vancouver, the Nord Geranium sailed to the Port of Long Beach to discharge additional cargo before departing for Russia on Aug. 6.