Back to the Parking Lot

Bedford Basin is the parking lot for idle ships these days.

• GEORGIA S. has returned to her anchorage after making one trip from Halifax to Point Tupper to load gypsum for Brunswick Georgia. After unloading she made a bee line back to Halifax. The ship will remain idle, with a full crew on board, until another contract comes up.
• ZERAN remains at anchor waiting for work. She is reported to have a contract to carry military cargo, but not for a month or so. She recently completed a short trip to sea as part of military exercises.
• Not in Bedford Basin, but at pier 33, is CHERRY, still idle for repairs. There was some sign of life late last week when the crew rigged one of the ship's anchors. Both anchors had been removed in Bayside, NB so that the anchor chains could be used as a towing bridle. It now seems likely that the ship will sail again despite her age. The ship's managers, Holy House Shipping of Stockholm, Sweden, specialize in operating refrigerated cargo ships of "classic design" [read old]. Ships of this age tend to experience mechanical issues - sometimes leading to unfortunate outcomes. A former fleet mate called SNOW FLOWER had engine problems last year, and her engineer made the mistake of pumping oily waste overboard off the US coast. The company was fined $(US)1million+$400,000 community service and the engineer was fined $8,000 and one year's probation. The company was put on 3 years probation and told to implement an Environmental Management Plan. Let's hope they did.