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Newnew Polar Bear

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The ship photographed as Baltic Fulmar outside the Port of Rotterdam in 2020
History
Name
  • Reinbek (as built)
  • Cast Prestige (2005–2006)
  • Reinbek (2006–2017)[1]
  • Baltic Fulmar (2017–2023)
  • Newnew Polar Bear (2023–present)[2]
Owner
  • Hansa Hamburg Shipping Company (2005–2017)
  • Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (2017–2023)
  • Hainan Xin Xin Yang Shipping (2023–present)[2]
Port of registry
OrderedDecember 2003[3]
BuilderJos.L. Meyer Werft (Papenburg, Germany)
Yard number672[3]
Laid down24 June 2004[3]
Launched29 December 2004[3]
Completed11 March 2005[4]
In service2005–present
Identification
StatusIn service
General characteristics
TypeEilbek-class container ship[5]
Tonnage
Displacement23,847 t (23,470 long tons)
Length169.0 m (554.5 ft)
Beam27.2 m (89 ft)
Draught9.0 m (29.5 ft)
Ice class1A Super
Installed powerMAN B&W 8S50MC-C (12,640 kW)
Propulsion
Speed20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Capacity1,620 TEU
Crew
  • 17 crew
  • 12 passengers

Newnew Polar Bear is a Hong Kong-registered feeder container ship.

The vessel is the prime suspect for damaging the Balticconnector natural gas pipeline in the Gulf of Finland in October 2023 by dragging its anchor.[6]

Description

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Newnew Polar Bear is a fully-cellular feeder container ship with a container capacity of 1,620 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) and a deadweight tonnage of 15,952 tons.[2][5] The ship is 169 metres (554 ft) long, 27.2 metres (89 ft) wide, and has a displacement of 23,847 tonnes (23,470 long tons)[3] when loaded to the maximum draught of 9 metres (30 ft).[7] The ship has a crew of 17 and berthing for up to 12 passengers in six cabins.[5]

Newnew Polar Bear is powered by a single low-speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine driving a controllable pitch propeller. The ship's eight-cylinder MAN B&W 8S50MC-C[3] is rated at 12,640 kW (16,950 hp) and is capable of propelling it at a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[5] In addition, the ship has three 880 kW (1,180 hp) 12-cylinder Cummins KTA-38-M auxiliary generators to produce electrical power.[3] For maneuvering at ports, Newnew Polar Bear has a 950 kW (1,270 hp) bow thruster and a 650 kW (870 hp) stern thruster.[3]

The ship was built to the highest Finnish-Swedish ice class of 1A Super.[5]

History

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Construction

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The ship was the second of four Eilbek-class [de] feeder container ships commissioned by the German shipowner Hansa Hamburg Shipping International in the early 2000s.[5] The ship was laid down at Jos.L. Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on 24 June 2004, launched on 29 December 2004,[3] and delivered on 11 March 2005.[4]

Career

[edit]
Reinbek in Bremerhaven, Germany, in 2010

While originally named Reinbek,[8] the ship was renamed Cast Prestige shortly after delivery[3] and chartered by the Canadian operator CP Ships for service between Canada and northwestern Europe under the German flag until April 2006.[5]

After reverting to its original name, Reinbek, the ship was chartered by Hapag-Lloyd for the company's EEX Service between Mediterranean and Continental European ports.[9] This was followed by charters to Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC),[10] Team Lines,[11] Delphis,[12] and Unifeeder.[5] During this time, the ship was reflagged first to United Kingdom in 2006, Liberia in 2010, Malta in 2014, and then back to Liberia in 2016.[3]

In mid-April 2017, Reinbek's ownership was transferred to Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement and the ship was reflagged to Cyprus.[5] Shortly thereafter, Reinbek was renamed Baltic Fulmar. The charter with Unifeeder continued and was later followed by CMA CGM.[3]

In June 2023, Baltic Fulmar was sold to the Chinese shipowner Hainan Xin Xin Yang Shipping, reflagged to Hong Kong, and renamed Newnew Polar Bear.[3]

As of 9 October 2023 Newnew Polar Bear sails under NewNew Shipping Line.[13]

In October 2023, the ship completed a round trip through the Northern Sea Route from Russia to China and back. A regular service is planned.[13][14][15]

Damage to undersea infrastructure

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In October 2023, Newnew Polar Bear became one of the ships suspected by Finnish police of possible involvement in damage to the Balticconnector natural gas pipeline and telecommunication cables that occurred in the Gulf of Finland on 7 October.[16] Another ship was the Russian nuclear-powered cargo ship Sevmorput.[17] Both ships are also suspected of possible involvement in damage to EE-S1, a submarine communications cable between Sweden and Estonia.[18][19][20]

After sailing out of the Baltic Sea, Newnew Polar Bear was photographed arriving in the port of Arkhangelsk with the port side anchor seemingly missing on 22 October.[21][22] On 24 October, the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation announced that they had retrieved an anchor embedded in the seabed next to the damaged pipeline in co-operation with the Finnish Navy and Finnish Border Guard, and that Newnew Polar Bear was the prime suspect for the incident.[6]

In August 2024, an internal Chinese investigation indicated that the ship was indeed responsible for the damage, claiming it was an accident due to heavy weather rather than intentional sabotage.[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Reinbek - IMO 9313204". Scheepvaartwest. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "NEWNEW POLAR BEAR (9313204)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "NEWNEW POLAR BEAR (9313204)". Sea-web. S&P Global. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ^ a b "MEYER WERFT delivers MS Reinbek". Meyer Werft. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Eilbeck Class Container Ships". Ship Technology. 19 February 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "KRP: "Vierasesine" on ankkuri, josta puuttuu yksi piikki — kiinalaisalus vaikuttanut vastahankaiselta puhutteluun" [KRP: "Foreign object" is an anchor with one spike missing - the Chinese ship seemed reluctant to talk]. Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma Media Finland. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  7. ^ "NEWNEW POLAR BEAR (9313204)". LR ships in class. Lloyd's Register. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Hansa Hamburg's MS Reinbek Christened". MarineLink. 14 April 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  9. ^ Hapag-Lloyd CustomerNEWS, December 2007, retrieved 21 October 2023
  10. ^ "Ice-class feederships keeping premium with outlook 'firm'", TradeWinds, 3 December 2010, retrieved 21 October 2023
  11. ^ "Seltenes Zusammentreffen in Hamburg" [Unusual meeting in Hamburg] (PDF), Täglicher Hafenbericht (in German), 6 September 2011, retrieved 21 October 2023
  12. ^ "MS "Reinbek"", 2008 Leistungsbilantz (in German), Hansa Hamburg Shipping, pp. 76–77, retrieved 24 October 2023
  13. ^ a b "Chinese Container Ship Completes First Round Trip Voyage Across Arctic". www.highnorthnews.com. 9 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  14. ^ "First Arctic liner link with China started by New New Shipping". theloadstar.com. 2023-07-26. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  15. ^ "Chinese liner adding up to 10 boxships on Northern Sea Route next year". splash247.com. 2023-09-12. Retrieved 2024-02-01.
  16. ^ "KRP nimesi kaksi alusta, jotka olivat Balticconnectorin lähistöllä yön tunteina – täällä ne liikkuvat nyt" [KRP named two ships that were in the vicinity of the Balticconnector during the night hours - this is where they are moving now]. Ilta-Sanomat. Sanoma Media Finland. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  17. ^ Nyheter, S. V. T.; Granlund, John; Velizelos, Aris (2023-10-18). "Finländsk polis pekar ut "intressant" ryskt fartyg – färdades över förstörd svensk kabel" [Finnish police point out "interesting" Russian ship - traveled over destroyed Swedish cable]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-10-18.
  18. ^ The Maritime Executive (2023-10-17). "Swedish Telecom Cable Was Damaged at the Same Time as Baltic Pipeline". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  19. ^ Munukka, Jouni; Bonnor, Maria; Juutilainen, Ville; Eklund, Marko (2023-10-20). "Video näyttää, kuinka kaasuputkirikosta epäilty alus ylittää Ruotsi–Viro-datakaapelin: vaurio tapahtui samoihin aikoihin" [The video shows how a vessel suspected of gas pipeline crime crosses the Sweden-Estonia data cable: the damage occurred at the same time]. Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  20. ^ Nyheter, SVT (2023-10-18). "Finländsk polis pekar ut "intressant" ryskt fartyg – färdades över förstörd svensk kabel" [Finnish police point out "interesting" Russian ship - traveled over destroyed Swedish cable]. SVT Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  21. ^ "Newnew Polar Bear". FleetPhoto (in Russian). 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  22. ^ "Kiinalaisaluksesta otetut kuvat vahvistavat ankkuriteoriaa kaasuputkitutkinnassa" [The images taken from (of?) the Chinese ship confirm the anchor theory in the gas pipeline investigation] (in Finnish). YLE. 24 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Beijing admits Chinese ship destroyed key Baltic gas pipeline 'by accident'". South China Morning Post. 2024-08-12. Retrieved 2024-08-12.
  24. ^ "China admits container ship Newnew Polar Bear damaged undersea gas pipeline". ERR.ee. 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
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