Tugela Comes to Baltimore May 25, 2020

This 229x32m (751x105ft) roro vehicles carrier was built in 2011 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea according to BalticShipping.com. She is owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen and is one of their LCTC (Large Car and Truck Carrier) ships and can carry up to 7,934 cars. These ships are longer than their PCTC (Pure Car and Truck Carriers) which are up to 200m (656ft) in length and they also have a higher ramp and deck capacity.

I did not find any news items on this ship, however I did find some other videos. Friend of Baltimore Shipspotting, binmei.jp, has gotten video of this ship more than once passing through Japan’s Kanmon Strait.. In this video from 2011 her paint was still looking quite good. In this video from 2018 she was starting to look a little worse for the wear, especially around the bow, but still looked good.

She was last seen by me in Baltimore almost exactly a year earlier on May 26, 2019. She looked like she’d had a rough year compared to when she was seen in 2018 by binmei.jp.

In my 9 minute video below she can be seen turning onto the Patapsco River then being passed from behind by the tug Pearl Coast pushing a barge and tug Palm Coast pushing a barge passing in front, both tugs belonging to Dann Marine Towing. A good amount of pleasure boat traffic is present during this ship’s Memorial Day arrival. The pilot boat is Vedette. Her paint is faded and patched and one wonders if a drydocking is in store for her soon. The tug Patrick McAllister has come alongside after the Key Bridge pass. The docked container ship being worked by the white cranes is the Maersk Yukon. In the final scenes her giant stern ramp becomes visble.

You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.