1. CSL Atlas weaves her way past ferries and the inbound Italy Express. For a bird's eye view see Armchair Captain!
2. CSL Atlas ghosts past the Tall Ships Quay with a part load of gypsum.
3. Her articulated unloading booms rest on deck. Her signal mast has also been struck to reduce airdraft passing under harbour bridges.
4. Her booms swing well out over the dock, as she unloads Nova Scotia gypsum in Tampa, Florida in 1993.CSL Atlas is the largest gypsum carrier to make regular calls in Halifax. It is so large that it cannot take a full load at National Gypsum due to draft restrictions at the dock. If fullyloaded its deadweight tonnage is 67,308 tonnes, and draft is 13.418m.
On leaving this afternoon her draft was about 10.5m, giving a deadweight of about 43,000 tonnes, which is still a substantial cargo of gypsum.
When built by Verolme Estaleiros Reunidas do Brasil in Agra dos Reis, Brazil in 1990, she was the only Panamax size self-unloading bulk carrier in the world. Since then she has been joined by many others, of which 14 are in the CSL International pool alone.
She also had a new type of unloading boom, that was articulated in the middle. The inner boom can swing 100 degrees and is connected to an outboard boom which can swing 300 degrees from the pivot point. This gives the ship considerably more flexibility to position cargo than ships fitted with the conventional single boom. Unloading speed ranges from 3,000 tonnes per hour for coal up to 4,500 tonnes per hour for ore.
The ship is also a regular caller in other Canadian ports with ore and coal, and loading stone and gypsum outbound.
For detailed particulars on the ship CSL has provided the following fact sheet:
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I saw this massive ship arrive yesterday at Port Canaveral and watched it leave this afternoon from beautiful Jetty Beach. I was in awe of its size and wanted to know all about it! Unbelievable. I would love to go on that ship for a full voyage! I am happy to have seen it! jomypa@aol.com
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