MS Berge Stahl

MS Berge Stahl was a bulk carrier. Until the delivery of MS Vale Brasil in 2011 she was the longest and largest iron ore carrier in the world.[3] She was registered in Comoros. Before that, she was registered in Douglas, Isle of Man, Stavanger, Norway as well as in Monrovia, Liberia.

Berge Stahl
History
Name	Berge Stahl (1986-2021) Geostahl (since 2021)
Owner	1986–2008: Partrederiet Bergesen GOIC DA 2008–2009: Bergesen D.Y. Shipping AS 2009–2012: BW Bulk (Norway) AS 2012: Berge Stahl Company S.A. (under Berge Bulk)[1]
Operator	1986–2008: Bergesen Worldwide Gas ASA 2008–2012: BW Fleet Management Pte. Ltd.[1] Since 2012: Berge Bulk
Port of registry	1986–2011: Stavanger  Norway 2011–2021: Douglas  Isle of Man since 2021:  Comoros
Route	Brazil to Oman Previously Brazil to Rotterdam
Builder	Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. Ulsan, South Korea
Laid down	14 March 1986[1]
Launched	4 September 1986[1]
Completed	4 December 1986[1]
Identification	DNV ID: 14702 Call sign: 2EZE5 IMO number: 8420804 MMSI number: 235089333
Fate	Scrapped Gadani July 2021
General characteristics
Type	Bulk carrier (Ore carrier)[2]
Tonnage	175,720 GT 364,767 DWT
Length	342.08 m (1,122.3 ft)[1]
Beam	63.53 m (208.4 ft)[1]
Draught	23 m (75 ft)
Installed power	Hyundai 7L90MCE
Propulsion	Single shaft; 9 m (30 ft) fixed pitch propeller
Speed	13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph)
Crew	24
Notes	[1]

An iron ore carrier, Berge Stahl had a capacity of 364,767 tonnes deadweight (DWT) . She was built in 1986 by Hyundai Heavy Industries.[1][4] The vessel was 342.08 m (1,122 ft) long, had a beam, or width, of 63.5 m (208 ft), and a draft, or depth in the water, of 23 m (75 ft).[1]

Her MAN B&W 7L90MCE diesel engine drove a single 9 m (30 ft) propeller giving a top speed of 13.5 knots (25.0 km/h; 15.5 mph).[1]

Because of its massive size, Berge Stahl could originally only tie up, fully loaded, at two ports in the world, hauling ore from the Terminal Marítimo de Ponta da Madeira in Brazil to the Europoort near Rotterdam in the Netherlands. Even at these ports, passage must be timed to coincide with high tides to prevent the ship running aground. Berge Stahl made this trip about ten times each year, or a round-trip about every five weeks.[5]

The newly opened deep-water iron ore wharf at Caofeidian in China received the fully loaded Berge Stahl in October 2011,[6] and several other Chinese ports have since opened to receive Vale's even larger Valemax ships. Berge Stahl can operate from other ports if not fully loaded. In September 2006, the ship carried ore to the port of Majishan, China.[7] On the return voyage to Rotterdam, the ship picked up a partial load of ore in Dampier, Western Australia, and Saldanha Bay in South Africa (where the maximum draft permitted is 21 m).[8] In April 2014, the Berge Stahl received her last dry-docking, in Portugal.[9] The owner, Berge Bulk, announced that the thirty-year-old vessel performed her last voyage to Rotterdam in the autumn of 2016. She was then headed for dry dock, where she was refitted before commencing a new contract transporting iron ore from the Port of Tubarão in Brazil to Sohar, Oman.[9]

In July 2021 the ship was beached at Gadani ship-breaking yard and scrapped.