The last few months have seen a succession of Netherlands-based operator Wagenborg’s A class 17,300dwt vessels visit the port of Leith in Scotland. To date six different vessels have visited, some, like Arneborg, have made three trips.
The vessels have been arriving in Scotland to load coated pipes from the Bredero Shaw facility for Varna, Bulgaria. Other vessels of the class that have visited include Azoresborg, Alamosborg, Alaskaborg, Albanyborg, and Arubaborg.
The voyage to Bulgaria takes just under two weeks with a round trip of near six weeks allowing for loading, unloading and waiting time. Most of the vessels have sailed direct via the English Channel but a few have gone round the north of Scotland and the Irish Sea, with the return trip often including calls at the Spanish port of San Ciprian and on to Farsund in Norway.
The pipes are part of three contracts won in 2014 for concrete weight coating pipes. The first contract was for Line 1 of the South Stream Offshore Pipeline system which comprises of four pipelines planned to cross the Black Sea and transport gas from Russia to Bulgaria and on the Central and Southern Europe. Roy Cressey
Photo: The Wagenborg vessel Azoresborg (17,407dwt/2010) visited Leith on 21 July to load a cargo of concrete weight coating pipes for Varna in Bulgaria. Iain McGeachy
