CF ANJA (IMO: 1079644) Table Bay, Cape Town
CF ANJA (IMO 1079644) at Anchor in Table Bay | MOS
CF ANJA (IMO 1079644) photographed at anchor in Table Bay with a Canon EOS R6 Mark III and RF 800mm f/11 as part of the MOS archive.
Photographer's Note: CF ANJA (IMO: 1079644) Table Bay, Cape Town was photographed by Vernon Chalmers in Table Bay, Cape Town. The image forms part of the Vernon Chalmers Photography Maritime Studies Project and is also published in the Shipspotting.com database.
A Table Bay Observation at 800mm
The CF ANJA (IMO: 1079644) is a brand-new General Cargo Ship / Combi Freighter 3850 built in 2026 by DamenCF ANJA (IMO: 1079644) — At Anchor in Table Bay
Maritime Observation System
Maritime Observation System (MOS)
Observe → Photograph → Identify → Investigate → Document → Archive → Interpret
A vessel at anchor in Table Bay can initially appear to be little more than another ship waiting offshore. Through the Maritime Observation System (MOS), however, that observation becomes the beginning of a structured process of photographic and maritime investigation.
The CF ANJA (IMO: 1079644) was photographed at anchor in Table Bay using a Canon EOS R6 Mark III with the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM.
The photograph therefore represents more than a record of a vessel. It is a specific observation from a specific location, made with a specific photographic system, at a particular point in the vessel's operational history.
Vessel Specifications
- Vessel Type: General Cargo Ship / Combi Freighter 3850 (Damen design)
- Built: 2026
- Flag: Cyprus
- Length Overall (LOA): 89 m
- Beam (Width): 12 m
- Deadweight (DWT): 3,761 – 3,850 MT
- Gross Tonnage: 2,518 GT
- Call Sign: 5BAL7
- MMSI: 210882000
Operational Features
- Eco-Friendly Build: Built to operate on HVO biofuel and equipped with a Damen wake equalising duct to reduce fuel consumption, noise, and vibration.
- Shore Power: Fitted with a 120-kilowatt shore connection for power during port calls.
- Propulsion Prep: Prepared for future wind-assisted ship propulsion (WASP) VentoFoil installation.
Vernon Chalmers Ship Spotting Photography Portfolio
OBSERVE
The first stage of MOS is deliberately uncomplicated: observe what is in front of the camera.
From my Table Bay observation point, CF ANJA was lying at anchor offshore. The vessel's position immediately established the photographic context. This was not a photograph made alongside a quay or during a close harbour passage. The ship was distant, isolated against the seascape and sufficiently far offshore for long focal length photography to become particularly valuable.
At this distance, the vessel's visual details become part of the observation process.
The bridge structure, hull form, deck equipment, superstructure, markings and other visible characteristics provide potential identification evidence. At the same time, the surrounding sea provides geographical context.
This is one of the reasons I have increasingly regarded maritime photography as an observational discipline rather than simply another photographic genre.
The photograph asks a question:
What exactly am I looking at?
PHOTOGRAPH
The CF ANJA observation was made with the Canon EOS R6 Mark III and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM.
The 800mm focal length is particularly interesting in the Table Bay environment. Vessels frequently appear at substantial distances from the shoreline, and a conventional short or medium telephoto lens can leave them occupying only a relatively small portion of the frame.
At 800mm, the relationship changes.
The vessel becomes sufficiently large within the frame for its physical characteristics to be examined photographically while retaining the surrounding maritime environment as part of the record.
This is one of the practical strengths of the RF 800mm f/11 IS STM in my maritime work. Although its fixed f/11 maximum aperture places particular demands on exposure and light, the combination of long focal length and the high-resolution sensor of the R6 Mark III provides a useful observational tool for distant vessels.
The photograph is therefore simultaneously a maritime record and a photographic test of distance, focal length, atmospheric conditions and subject detail.
IDENTIFY
The next MOS stage is identification.
The vessel was identified as CF ANJA, with IMO number 107964 providing the critical unique identifier.
The IMO number is particularly important within the MOS archive because vessel names can change during a ship's lifetime. A name alone can therefore be insufficient for creating a durable record.
The IMO number provides a more stable reference point.
This distinction is fundamental to the way I am developing my Table Bay vessel index. The objective is not simply to accumulate attractive photographs of ships. It is to build an increasingly structured visual record in which individual vessels can be located, identified and revisited.
CF ANJA consequently becomes one entry within a larger observational dataset.
INVESTIGATE
Once the vessel has been identified, the photograph creates an opportunity for further investigation.
Why was CF ANJA at anchor in Table Bay?
How long had it been there?
Where had it come from?
Where was it subsequently heading?
What type of vessel was it?
What was its operational role?
These questions transform the photograph from a static image into the starting point of maritime research.
This is an important distinction within MOS. Investigation does not have to take place before the photograph is made. In many cases, the photograph itself creates the research question.
The camera becomes an observational instrument.
The resulting image becomes evidence from which further questions can be developed.
Table Bay Maritime Environment Through Photography
DOCUMENT
Documentation brings together the observations and identification.
For this record, the core photographic information is:
Vessel: CF ANJA
IMO: 107964
Location: Table Bay, Cape Town
Status: At anchor
Reference point: Milnerton Lighthouse, Table Bay, Cape Town
Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark III
Lens: Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM
System: Canon EOS R mirrorless
The inclusion of the photographic equipment is intentional.
Within my broader Canon photography work, the equipment is part of the observational record. A photograph made from the shoreline with an 800mm lens is materially different from an image made from a harbour wall, a vessel or a much closer observation point.
The equipment establishes something about the circumstances under which the observation was made.
ARCHIVE
The sixth MOS stage is archival.
CF ANJA now forms part of my developing Table Bay maritime image archive.
This is where individual photographs begin to acquire a different significance. One photograph can document a vessel at one moment. Multiple photographs, made over time, can begin to document movement, recurrence, changing vessel identities and the evolving maritime activity visible from the Cape Town coastline.
The archive can therefore become more valuable as it grows.
A vessel photographed once is an observation.
A vessel photographed repeatedly becomes part of a chronology.
A collection of vessels photographed from the same geographical reference point begins to describe something about the maritime environment itself.
The Milnerton Lighthouse reference point is useful in this regard. It provides a consistent geographical anchor for observations made from the Table Bay side of Cape Town.
INTERPRET
The final MOS stage is interpretation.
For me, this is where maritime photography becomes particularly interesting.
CF ANJA was not selected because it was necessarily an unusual or spectacular vessel. It became significant because it was there — visible from the Cape Town coastline, identifiable through observation and photography, and capable of being incorporated into a growing maritime record.
The 800mm photograph changes the relationship between observer and vessel.
At normal viewing distance, a ship at anchor can be perceived simply as a small object on the horizon. Through the long lens, the vessel becomes sufficiently present for its physical characteristics to enter the photographic record.
This illustrates something fundamental about the Maritime Observation System:
Distance does not necessarily prevent detailed observation. It changes the tools required to make that observation.
The Canon EOS R6 Mark III and RF 800mm f/11 IS STM provide one such combination.
From Photograph to Maritime Record
My maritime photography is developing alongside my broader Canon photography work, but MOS has given it a particular structure.
The process begins with curiosity.
I see a vessel.
I photograph it.
I identify it.
I investigate it.
I document the observation.
I archive the image.
And eventually, I can return to the photograph and ask what it tells me.
That final step is important.
The photograph is not necessarily the conclusion of the observation. It may be the beginning.
CF ANJA, photographed at anchor in Table Bay, therefore joins a growing body of images that are gradually turning my everyday view of the Cape Town coastline into a visual maritime archive.
The vessel was there.
I observed it.
The camera recorded it.
MOS gives me a method for remembering what I saw.
Photographic Equipment
Camera: Canon EOS R6 Mark III
Lens: Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM Lens
Photographic Genre: Maritime Photography / Ship Spotting
Post Processing: Adobe Lightroom Classic Version 15
Reference point: Milnerton Lighthouse, Table Bay, Cape Town
