Spotted unloading scrap metal at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 105 on the Duwamish River
In modern dry bulk cargo shipping, the majority of the world’s fleet consists of three general types of vessel: container ships, bulk carriers, and the generically-dubbed general cargo vessels.While container ships and bulkers are regular visitors to Elliott Bay and the Port of Seattle,, with lat years transfer of operations to Tacoma by Westwood Shipping LInes, a visit by a general cargo vessel is a quite uncommon occurrence.
In many cases it can be difficult to differentiate the latter from the other two classes, as the often can be found carrying containers or bulk cargo. In general, however, while the other classes are specialized for their designed cargo type, general cargo ships are specialized towards none. Also known as break bulk cargo, the goods aboard these vessels are usually items that must be loaded and unloaded individually instead of in containers or in bulk in the manner of grain or ore. The logistics of loading and unloading these types of cargoes are generally the most time consuming of dry goods. Additionally, due to the hazy line between bulk, break bulk and containerized cargo, judging the class of ship by appearance alone can be difficult. In that case, consulting online databases is the best bet.
Fortunately, this visitor to Terminal 105 on the Duwamish River is of the easier-to-identify variety. Among the details that mark the Thorco Alliance as a general cargo vessel are the cranes offset to the port side, and the hatch covers stacked fore and aft while open. The presence of the cranes is especially significant, as they allow most general cargo ships to call at ports with little or no shore infrastructure, perhaps the most notable advantage they maintain over their bulk and container cousins.
As mentioned previously, the Puyallup-based Westwood Shipping Lines operate a fleet of general cargo vessels that used to call at Seattle’s Terminal 5. With closure of that facility for upgrading, these vessels, used to transport packaged lumber products, have shifted operations to Husky Terminal in Tacoma.
Other than an exceedingly rare visit for another purpose, and small cargo vessel traffic to-and-from Alaska, that leaves the only general cargo visits to Seattle as one’s like Thorco Alliance’s, briefly stopping to unload scrap metal on the Duwamish.
The operator of this particular vessel, Thorco Shipping A/S, is involved in much more than scrap hauling. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark with a fleet of more than 80 owned and chartered vessels, the line has a worldwide presence shipping cargoes as diverse as bulk freight, energy infrastructure, and even tugs and yachts (as deck cargo).
THORCO ALLIANCE
IMO #: 9559884
Owner: Marship, Haren (Ems), Germany
Flag: Antigua & Barbuda
Hailing Port: St. John’s
Call Sign: V2FW3
Length: 132.20 m
Beam: 15.87 m
Tonnage: 6,351 GT/3,617 NT/9,677 DWT
Year of Build: 2012
Builder: Jiangsu Changbo Shipyard, Jingjiang, China
Yard Number: 700
Former Name:
VELOCITY SCAN (2012)
SINUS IRIDIUM (2012)
Puget Ships 