Lobster season waits for good weather

 The lobster season from Halifax around to Digby started to day when good weather finally dawned. The start was to have been Monday last, but bad weather made it too dangerous to set the first traps. Fishers pile their boats high with traps to set on the first day, and they become very unstable in high winds and seas, and could be the cause of serious accidents or loss of life. 

 1. Sunrise saw clear skies in Halifax. Lights from the tanker Mount Kibo at anchorage B outside the harbour, shine over the breakwater at Meagher's Beach.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Coast Guard had most available resources on the water for the early morning start, including the newly commissioned CCGS G. Peddle S.C. and CCGS Edward Cornwallis from Halifax.

2. CCGS G.Peddle S.C. seen on November 14, was among the craft standing by for the opening.

3. Once the day was underway, this unnamed Fisheries and Oceans Canada boat returned to base at BIO. The 30 foot glass fibre jet boat was built about 2011 by Samson Enterprses.

4. Rustic scenes such as this 1971 view of Portuguese Cove may be rarer in Nova Scotia these days, but the six month long lobster fishery is still the lifeblood of many communities on Nova Scotia's coasts.

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Minerva Marina - crude tanker - but no crude

The crude oil tanker Minerva Marina arrived last night at Imperial Oil dock 5, but the ship is in ballast and carrying no cargo. We weren't expecting to see crude tankers in Halifax anymore, but a light ship means she must be taking on bunkers.
Built in 2009 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea, she measures 81,467 gross tons, 157,984 deadweight tonnes, and is fairly typical of the tankers that used to call here to deliver crude when the refnery was operating.

Quick visit for Tufty

The Canadian Forest Navigation Group ship Tufty made a quick turnaround in Halifax to take on a part load of grain or wood pellets at pier 28. It arrived late on Thursday, loaded all day today and into this evening, and is sailing at about 0100 hrs in the morning. sailed at 0700 Saturday morning.

Canfornav is one of Canada's largest shipping companies, without actually having any ships under the Canadian flag. Specializing in trade to the St.Lawrence River and Great Lakes, its forty ship fleet is mostly registered in Cyprus, and on long term charter agreements with Greek owners.
Tufty's last port of call was Hamilton, ON, November 19-22 where it loaded (probably soy beans) and returned down the Seaway on November 23-24. Prior to that it had been up the Saguenay River, to discharge cargo. Its destination now is Ghent, Belgium.
The ship was built in 2009 by Shanhaiguan Shipbuilding in Qinhuangdong, China. It is fitted with three 30 tonne cranes and has hydraulic folding hatch covers.It measures 19,814 gross tons, 30,803 deadweight tonnes.
All Canfornav's ships are named after breeds of ducks - (many not indigenous to Canada) - and are geared bulk carriers of the handy size. Their top notch web site gives particulars of each ship, stowage plans, etc.,
See: http://www.canfornav.com/en/about-us.aspx

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Bunkering in Halifax

Despite my dire warnings, it is possible that Algoma Dartmouth may be given a reprieve. She went alongside IT Interceptor at pier 9 November 26, so it is possible that she will be fueling some other ships.  Rumour has it that the last fuel she had aboard was for Oceanex Sanderling but the contract to refuel her expires November 30. Today she moved the short distance from pier 34 to pier 36 to refuel the Sanderling.

1. The end of an era?

Bunkers

From the advent of steam propulsion, ships have put into Halifax for fuel. A nearby supply of coal in Pictou and Cumberland Counties and Cape Breton could be brought to Halifax by ship or barge and stored here until called for. The Royal Navy was a prime consumer, and there are many wonderful photos of "all hands"- including officers- turned to for coaling ships (and themselves). Another customer was the Nova Scotia Light and Power Co that generated electricity and gas, using coal, at its generating station at the foot of Morris Street.
Sometimes the ships went to the coal, and sometimes the coal was brought to the ships. Similarly N.S Power had a rail spur and a dock for coal. Photos of the coaling scows and barges that carried it are rare, but I have found a couple.

1. Although taken after World War II, this uncredited aerial photo shows a an old  three masted schooner, reduced to a coaling scow, alongside the NSP Light +Power dock at the foot of Morris Street. The scow might also have been used to take coal out to ships at anchor.

2. Another uncredited photo, this one taken at pier 9, shows a giant coal pile, and a ship unloading coal on the right, using a huge shore crane. The ship on the left is probably Ponoka, an old Great Lakes ship brought to Halifax during World War II for bunkering.  On the far left is a cement storage silo and ship unloader.

By the time I reached Halifax, coal was gone and oil was in, but the term bunker and bunkering remain to describe ship's fuel and the process of  fueling a ship. In the intervening years Halifax has had several bunkering barges (mostly self-propelled) but the first one I saw here was I.O.Ltd. No.6 Under the command of Capt. Mike Harrity, it did the same job as the current ship, but had to be moved by tug. Built in 1903 in Port Richmond, NY, for Imperial's parent company, Standard Oil, it was originally called S.O.Co.No.41.
It was used on the Great Lakes, towed by other Imperial Oil ships, but came to Halifax during World War II when there was a huge demand for bunkering ships at anchor.
In 1946 I.O.Ltd. No.6 was transferred to Saint John, but did go back and forth to Halifax under tow. It was retired in 1970 when a new tanker was ordered from Collingwood Shipyard.

3. I.O.Ltd. No.6  alongside the Dartmouth Marine Slips in 1970 - the year it was retired from service. Note its "woodbine" funnel -it had a boiler to keep the heavy fuel warm. Top Shipspotting marks for identifying CCGS John A. Macdonald at the Coast Guard base in the background. On the adjacent slip is the small Russian trawler Sloboda. 

4. The barge was later laid up in Dartmouth Cove side of the Long Wharf, and is seen here in a 1972  René Beauchamp photo alongside the sealer Arctic Bay with a former navy duty boat.

In 1972 the barge was bought by the consortium of McNamara/ Marine Industries/ J.P.Porter for use on the large Grand Traverse dredging project on the St.Lawrence River. It was renamed Grindstone Island and continued in use as a bunkering barge, carrying fuel to the several dredges and pumping stations as they worked. It was laid up after the project was finished, and eventually broken up in by Alpha Demolition at Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC in 1982-at the venerable age of 79 years.

The Nova Scotia Light and Power (NSL+P) generating station at the foot of Morris Street purchased product from Imperial Oil, and Texaco (which also had a refinery here) and it was delivered by conventional tankers, and by bunker barge.

5. A thoroughly disreputable looking Irvingwood was often used to transfer product around Halifax harbour, usually stove and furnace oil from Dartmouth to the Irving-owned S. Cunard dock, adjacent to NSL+P in Halifax. Sometimes, when its engines were acting up, it was moved around by a tug. Technically not a bunkering barge, because it did not carry ship's fuel, it did perform a similar function, but as a shuttle tanker. Built in 1952 as a cargo ship, it was converted to a tanker in 1957 and was finally scrapped in 1987.

Foundation Company of Canada purchased their own bunkering barge in 1962. It had a long history before ever reaching Halifax. Built in 1921 by Soc. Anciens Etab.Henri Satre of Arles-sur-Rhone, France it started life as a dry cargo ship and carried the names Pientre Peintre (1921), Biessard (1921-23) then Poplarbay (1923-37) for Bay Line, later Tree Line, operated by the Ogilvie Flour Hudson's Bay Co.

In 1937 Canadian Coastwisde Carriers Ltd had the ship converted to a tanker by Muir Brothers of Port Dalhousie, ON and renamed her Translake. She was notable for also carrying deck loads of dry cargo in addition to her tanker cargoes. Despite several collisions and a fire, the ship remained in service until 1958 when the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway made it obsolete and it was laid up.

Foundation bought the ship in 1962, and brought it to Halifax where they rebuilt it at their own yard. They removed the superstructure, but apparently retained a boiler for the heating coils. It was renamed Halfueler and worked around the harbour, often delivering bunker C to NSL+P. It ran aground on Lawlors Island in 1965 but was soon refloated.

In 1973, when Foundation's successors, MIL Tug sold its fleet to Eastern Canada towing Ltd, they kept the barge and it was towed to Sorel where it was to be renamed M.I.L Fueler. It was broken up in 1978 at Louiseville, QC and may never have been used on the dredging project, since its new name was never painted on the hull. For the complete history of this ship (up to about 1978 see: http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/documents/scanner/13/04/default.asp?ID=s005

Unfortunately I took only one very poor photo of the ship. It was taken from a great distance, and doesn't enlarge well.

6. Seen here off pier 20 with a Foundation tug on the hip, it has cleared the NSL+P plant and is headed for Dartmouth.

7. Again thanks to René Beauchamp we have have this June 1972 photo of Halfueler alongside what is now the pilot boat dock in Halifax.

While awaiting delivery of their new bunkering tanker Imperial brought in one of their veteran tankers, Imperial Cornwall. Built in 1930 as Acadialite by Furness Shipbuilding, HavertonHill-on-Tees, it operated under that name until 1947 when the fleet was renamed. It became Imperial Cornwall and continued to work on the Great Lakes in summer with some winter work on the coast. In 1965 when Imperial repainted most of its fleet in new colours, it retained the old black hull and red superstructure, which suited it well.It came to Halifax in 1969  (still a steamship itself) to service an Imperial contract to supply bunker C to NSL+P, both at Morris Street, and a new plant at Tuft's Cove.

7., 8., 9.,  Imperial Cornwall alongside NSL+P. A photo taken from this location today would show successor company Nova Scotia Power Corp's new headquarters office building, built around the shell of the old power plant. Note the "Queen Mary" bollard in the foreground of photo #9, part of the pier 20 seawall, built to accommodate the largest passengers ships afloat. There was still a railway spur and car dumping shed for coal at the plant in 1970, but it had been converted to oil.

Imperial Cornwall was also used for ship bunkering, but it was not a great success. Its ability to move in reverse (in any predictable direction) was limited, and it took forever to back into position. 

10., 11., Imperial Cornwall coming alongside the Gwendolyn Isle at pier 31, made many Full Astern moves before finally getting into position. Pier 31 was used by Dart Container Line before Halterm was completed. Also Volvo brought in boxed car shells and palletized parts to pier 31, using Gwendolyn Isle and other similar ships.

Finally in 1970 the new bunkering tanker arrived in Halifax and Imperial Cornwall was sold in May 1971.It made only two trips for its new owner and was sold at auction in July 1971. Renamed Golden Sable for service through a contractor, to Golden Eagle Refinery in Lévis, QC, it made only one round trip between Lévis and Buffalo, NY when it was condemned as unfit for clean petroleum products.It was sold for scrap and after use as a dock at Louiseville, QC where it was broken up within a few years.

The new bunkering tanker was appropriately named Imperial Dartmouth.and sailed from Collingwood December 2, 1970. It was a hair-raising trip, with storm damage in Georgian Bay, repaired in Sarnia, and reached Lauzon for final fitting out work and handover to Imperial Oil.  When it sailed for Halifax, it was in tow of Foundation Valour in a convoy with other ships, and a CCG icebreaker in the lead. It arrived in Halifax December 23.

12. Imperial Dartmouth passes pier 20 en route to NSL+P.

At 205 ft long x 40 ft wide, it had a capacity of 15,300 bbls with a variety of pumping capacities depending on cargo. With 750 bhp and capable of 8 knots, it was a really a powered barge, with no sleeping accommodation. However its directional propellors allowed it to work in alongside ships with ease.

13. Sharing Novadock with the the high speed ferry The Cat, the barge shows its flat bottom and steering propellors, which required no rudders.

Nevertheless it did make some short sea voyages. Twice it went out to refuel the Virgin Atlantic speed record tries, but was towed to Liverpool for drydocking. In about 1994 an aerial device from an old fire truck was installed on deck to ease the boarding of ships.

14. The aerial device was mounted immediately forward of the bridge and could reach the deck of most ships. It also had conventional ladders mounted aft of the bridge

15. The aerial unit worked like a cherry picker, and carried a cage to lift a person. An oil boom reel was also added. Here seen refueling the heavy lift ship Envoyager at pier 23. 

In Hurricane Juan in September 2003 the Esso sign was lost overboard. Even though the ship was sheltering at Fairview Cove, it was flying debris and containers that swept the sign over the side.

By 2006 it was the last ship in Imperial Oil's tanker fleet (the others were sold to Algoma) and it was sold to Northern Transportation Ltd. Renamed  NT Dartmouth it was painted green, but carried on with the same work. In 2009 it sailed to Shelburne on its own for refit and returned with a red and black paint scheme. NTCL's contract ended in July 2009 and the ship was sent to Newfoundland where it was laid up until sold in 2012. It is still sailing, as Dartmouth, working as a bunkering tanker in Panama and flying the flag of Honduras.  

Algoma Tankers won the contract for bunkering services and bought the present Algoma Dartmouth in 2009 . By this time the Morris Street NSL+P plant was gone, Tuft's Cove was converted to gas, and ships were using less bunker C and more low sulphur fuels.Nevertheless Algoma felt that there was sufficient business in Halifax to purchase this fine ship. Now its future is uncertain.
More on it another time.

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Overseas Kimolos - a question of identity

The tanker Overseas Kimolos sailed this morning for Come-by-Chance, NL, but there seemed to be some confusion, either with the Atlantic Pilotage Authority or with Halifax Traffic (or me) as to the actual identity of the ship. Built in 2008 by STX Shipbuilding in Jinhae, South Korea, it flies the Marshal Island flag, and is owned by Capital Project Partners/Capital Ship Management but is on a 10 year bareboat charter to OSG, the Oversea Shipping Group. OSG has a buy option, but in view of its current bankruptcy protection status there is some question about whether the owners or OSG can terminate the charter early. As with all ships, it was assigned its own unique IMO number, in this case 938409.

1. This morning.

The pilot and Halifax traffic were using the ship name Kimolos (minus the "Overseas") this morning, but the word Overseas was still clearly painted on the ship's bow, and the OSG logo still appears on the funnel. There is another ship called Kimolos, a tanker of similar size, built in 2010, but it flies the Liberian flag and is currently anchored in the Mississippi River upstream of the Huey Long bridge, bound for Baton Rouge.Its IMO number is 9405540. Clearly not the same ship.

Adding to the confusion is the fact that a court action for relief from "tanker Kimolos Corp" has been filed against OSG. Presumably the Capital people have a one ship company to own the Overseas Kimolos, but other listings show that to be Belerion Maritime Co. The ship was built as Aris II (all Capital Ships' names begin with "A") but the ship was renamed before delivery in view of its bareboat charter. If legal proceedings have allowed Capital to get out of its charter or for OSG to renegotiate or drop its charter, it is possible that the ship would be renamed, and if so this may have happened in the last few days. Indeed the ship's name may now be Kimolos, but there are no outside indicators of that.

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Gimme Shelter

Bedford Basin became something of a parking lot last night as a major storm swept through Halifax. High winds sent many ships to anchor in the Basin. Two tankers left their berths to anchor and three navy ships came in from exercises. The navy's research ship Quest also came in and anchored in the lower harbour in anchorage #6.

 
Also in the lower harbour the supplier Atlantic Condor left its berth for anchorage #2, but did not anchor. Instead it maintained position through the night using its dynamic positioning DP2 system.

The bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth went to pier 9B to avoid the swells which would be coming into its normal berth at pier 34. The larger ships Oceanex Connaigra (awaiting parts at pier 25-26), Oceanex Sanderling at pier 36 and Zim Savannah at pier 41-42 put out extra lines and waited out the storm.

Meanwhile back in the Basin, Algoscotia, which had been at Ultramar in Eastern Passage took up posiotn in the north end of the Basin.

Also the tanker Overseas Kimolos, that had been at Imperial Oil, anchored in the north eastern sector of the Basin leaving lots of room for HMCS Iroquois to anchor closer to the Halifax shore.

 HMCS Ville de Quebec (332) and HMCS Halifax (330) anchored close along the Rockingham shore, giving an opportunity for a before and after comparison of ships. Ville De Quebec has not had its FELEX modernisation yet, and Halifax has completed its refit.

 

Ships in the Basin were almost joined by some wayward containers blown around at Fairview Cove. From what I could see, one was only shifted from its position, and the other tumbled off a stack onto the shore where it was then in the lee of the wind.

Container ships Atlantic Conveyor and Rotterdam Express at Fairview Cove and Zim Savannah  at Halterm resumed work this morning. Loading/unloading had been suspended yesterday due to high winds.

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IT Intrepid - fuels up at Imperial

Lending credence to rumours of the demise of ship to ship bunkering in Halifax, the cable ship IT Interceptor sailed over to Imperial Oil this morning, fueled up and sailed back to Pier 9 this afternoon (via Bedford Basin to turn). The ship is in port to transfer cable at pier 9, but imagine how much more convenient it would have been to take fuel right at the berth, without moving, and having to pay for pilotage, etc., The ship uses diesel fuel, so that is apparently still available at Imperial Oil.

Originally I thought that Imperial Oil had merely stopped producing bunker C and that lighter marine fuels would still be available for Algoma Dartmouth to deliver. Now it seems that only diesel will be available from Imperial, and no heavy oils or marine fuels will be stored.
Therefore there is nothing for Algoma Dartmouth to deliver and she will likely be removed from service after making a last delivery to Oceanex Sanderling this weekend. ( Bunker C and heavy marine fuels are considered to be "black" or "dirty" oil, and need to be heated to flow properly - diesel is considered to be "clean", is light and is not heated. Tankers require different equipment to handle clean products, and Algoma Dartmouth was built as a bunkering tanker for "dirty" products only.)

This is a major blow to Halifax's status as a full service port. If a ship comes in now for fuel, it must tie up at Imperial Oil to get diesel, or tie up at a pier and have the other grades of fuel trucked in from Saint John or Quebec. That can't be cheap compared to tanker delivery. It is also well nigh impossible for a cruise ship to fuel from trucks while embarking and disembarking passengers over the same pier, so that business will be lost.

Visiting naval vessels often received fuel while in port, and that business will be gone - I can't imagine a dozen tanker trucks lined up along their piers to fuel a ship. Similarly container ships will not be able to fuel while they are working cargo - the cranes will be in the way- not to mention the chaos that would be created with fuel trucks on the pier.

Then there is the matter of fueling naval, Coast Guard and government ships - I wonder where they will get their fuel (those that don't burn diesel.)

With the decline in use of Bunker C fuel for ships, it is only a matter of time until it is banned completely, as it is now in the coastal US. Other marine fuels will still be needed, but they won't be available here by bunkering tanker.  Algoma Dartmouth's days are numbered.

It is sad to see another reduction in service to the port, just when it is poised to take advantage of some new developments, such as the opening of the new Panama Canal. As first/last North American stop, one of the advantages of Halifax was that it was also a ready source of fuel, that could be taken while a ship was at anchor. The provincial government even removed some tax from the product to encourage ships to come here just to take bunkers.

Not so anymore.

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Halifax and Fredericton - post FELEX update and post Halifax class [slightly revised]

1. HMCS Halifax reposes at the Docyard this afternoon. [A Canadian maple leaf flag that appears to be flying from the ship's stern, is actually on shore in Dartmouth.]

Of the four east coast RCN ships undergoing FELEX (Frigate Equipment Life Extension) programs, three are "ex shipyard" and one is still in progress.
HMCS Halifax was the first ship in the program, and it emerged in September 2011, then spent many months alongside at HMC Dockyard for other related work. HMCS Fredericton came out in October 2012 and after a similar period alongside, is now working up.
HMCS Montreal left the shipyard in July and is still in the "alongside" mode at the Dockyard. while HMCS Charlottetown is in the graving dock at Halifax Shipyard. It is due for completion of the shipyard program in April 2014.

2. HMCS Fredericton has spent the weekend at the north end of Bedford Basin tied up to trot buoys for trials.

For a fairly complete description of the scope of these refits see:

http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/halifax/

According to the latest schedule I have been able to find, HMCS Ville de Quebec is next in line to start in the fall of 2014, followed  preceeded by HMCS St. John's in the winter of 2013-2014 and HMCS Toronto in the summer of 2015. This is quite different in the order of ships (and the end dates) from what was originally published.

Why there has been such a long gap between the current Charlottetown refit and the next Ville de Quebec start is a mystery to me.

Someday we will learn how close Lockheed-Martin came to budget and timetable.

Meanwhile defense industry fat cats, in Halifax this weekend for a conference, while not being chauffered around town in a fleet of Audis (with Ontario license plates), were told that the the French company DCNS is eager to sell their design to Canada for the next class of frigates to be acquired under the NSPS. This was not news, as the splendid FS Aquitaine was here earlier this year and impressed most people.

3. FS Aquitaine on April 11, 2013, for comparison purposes.

4. Spy Central in the background, and a license plate with indigestion in the foreground. I hope this security conference attendee did not over indulge on the way to work.
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Atlantic Companion - an aversion to tugs

 1. Atlantic Companion  enters the Narrows on departure, with a stiff breeze blowing cross channel (the flags on the ship's mast are flying strait out.)

The Con Ro Atlantic Companion made its regular westbound call in Halifax today -a day earlier than the usual ACL call, probably to get to New York before the US Thanksgiving holiday.
In view of my recent blog about tethered escort tugs in the Narrows, it is interesting to observe that the ship may have arrived and tied up this morning without any tug assistance at all. At one time ACL ships routinely made "tug free" calls. Since the ships are equipped with bow and stern thrusters they berth and unberth more easily than most ships. However they have been using tugs much more frequently in recent years, and have frequently used a tethered escort tug in the Narrows - at least until there was extra charge for it..
This afternoon, with the breeze having picked up, the ship left with one tug to assist it off the berth and turn it  but the tug was not tethered during its transit of the Narrows.The tug Atlantic Larch remained close to the ships for the transit. Untethered, a tug can only be of limited use if needed, and tying up to an underway ship in a wind could be a challenge.

2. Atlantic Larch takes up position aft of the ship as it enters the Narrows, but remains untethered. (That is HMCS Fredericton at the trot buoys in Bedford Basin in the background)

3. Even on a cold and windy day in late November, you can't count on having the Narrows all to yourself.

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Anchored in the port but where

1

For those who are mystified by my frequent references to anchorage positions and pier numbers (and I am sure there are many)- here is a partial solution to your woes:

2

For more particular information about the piers themselves, and their capacities (and several not shown on the map) see the Halifax Port Authority website:

  http://www.portofhalifax.ca/english/port-facilities/index.html

And if that is not enough, there is a more detailed description giving latitude and longitude of the anchorages and some restrictions on their use in the Halifax Port Authority's Practices and Procedures:

http://www.portofhalifax.ca/english/port-facilities/port-security/documents/PortPracticesProcedures.pdf.

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1. An anchor and chain from HMCS Bonaventure is a positioned in Point Pleasant Park as a Peace Time Sailors Memorial.
http://www.pointpleasantpark.ca/en/home/education/dykt/bonaventure.aspx

2. Map - not to scale, not for navigation purposes (obviously) and schematic only.

Oceanex Connaigra - arrives for repairs

Oceanex Connaigra did indeed arrive this morning.  The tug Atlantic Oak made up a bow line and Atlantic Larch at the stern, to assist the ship into pier 25-26.
Progress on repairs will be updated as info becomes available.

Oceanex Connaigra -where to for repairs

Oceanex Connaigra will not be drydocking in St.John's as I had reported earlier, for the very simple reason that the ship is too large to fit into the confines of the graving dock at Newfoundland Dockyard.

As of this writing the ship appears to be eastbound, on the south coast of Newfoundland, heading in the general direction of Burgeo. Earlier in the day it was westbound in the same general area. AIS also has it due in Halifax November 23. The Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard can accommodate the ship, but the present occupant, Travestern would have to vacate first.

The nearest other drydocks that could accommodate it are at Méchins, QC and Lévis, QC.

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Updater: It could happen again

See my posting of November 15, updated.

Oceanex Connaigra - prop woes

The new ConRo Oceanex Connaigra will be removed from service and drydocked due to a malfunctioning propellor hub. The failure occurred on November 18, while upbound on the St.Lawrence. A temporary fix has allowed the ship to travel at a much reduced speed. It will return from Montreal to St.John's November 20 to unload then enter the Newdock graving dock in St.John's. See Updates

Fortunately her predecessor, Cabot is still in Montreal and will be reactivated to fill in until repairs are completed.

Algoma Dartmouth - uncertain future

I have now heard from three sources, all of whom prefer to preserve their anonymity, that there is an uncertain future for the Halifax bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth. With the closure of the Imperial Oil refinery in Dartmouth in September, and the consequent absence of a source of Bunker C fuel, the small tanker has been virtually without work.
Last week it loaded some fuel at the (now) Imperial Oil terminal for CCGS Hudson, which it refueled on November 12, but that has been its only work in some time. It used to refuel container ships, gypsum carriers, large tankers and other ocean going craft that used Bunker C, including passenger ships, but that is no more. The Imperial terminal now stores only gasoline, diesel and furnace oil for local consumption. The other specialized marine fuels are no longer stocked.
One of  Algoma Dartmouth's regular jobs was refueling Algoma coastal tankers that distributed product from the refinery to various Atlantic ports. That trade has dried up now and the tankers Algonova and Algoscotia have been reassigned.
I have also been told that a contract to provide fuel to Oceanex Sanderling will be up soon, and the ship will source its fuel elsewhere.
This leaves Algoma Dartmouth without work. I can't imagine Algoma keeping the ship here if it is not needed. Where it may go, if they keep it at all, may soon be known.

The ship was built in 2007 by Yardimci Gemi Insa SA in Tuzla, Turkey as Clipper Bardolino, a name which still appears in prominent welded letters (now painted over) on her stern. It is a twin screw ships of 2,999 gross tons, 3,569 deadweight tonnes, and is double hulled with cargo heating coils.
In 2008 she became Samistal Due. Algoma acquired the ship in 2009, initially on a three year charter, and it arrived in Halifax July 27 of that year. It  was to run as a Canadian flag, non-duty paid ship, under a coastal license. With  changes in Canadian import laws in 2010 Algoma bought the ship outright. Since then she has only left Halifax once, in 2012 for refit in Shelburne. It has been based at pier 34.
Today it moved to pier 9 due to high winds in the harbour.

Travestern in the Novadock

1. Travestern has just entered Novadock.

The Coastal Shipping Ltd tanker Travestern arrived yesterday (in thick fog) and anchored in the harbour until this morning when it entered the Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard.

Coastal (part of ther Woodward Group of Goose Bay, NL) acquired the tanker in March of this year from Rigel Shiffahrts of Bremen, Germany.
It arrived in Lewisporte March 11 after waiting several days for icebreaker assistance, and was registered in Canada on March 15. A chemical / product tanker of 11,423 gross tons and 17,080 deadweight, it was built in 1995 by MTW Schiffwerft in Wismar, Germany.
It is one of three sister ships  bought by Woodward (Alsterstern and Havelstern inn 2011) to replace older units of the fleet. The ships have been very busy this summer running from Saint John to destinations in Newfoundland and the far north.

Coastal has recently taken to keeping ships names from previous owners, however in their earlier ships they did select family or local names.

Among those names was Sibyl W., used twice for Woodward Group ships.

Sybil W. (i) was the former Imperial Quebec. Built by Collingwood Shipyard, it was launched August 21,
1957 and delivered in December. At 375' x 52' x 27' depth, it was too large to transit the old St.Lawrence canals, so was confined to the Lakes until the St.Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959. It was then fitted with a bulbous bow and saw service on the coast and as far afield as Frobisher Bay and Venezuela, based out of Halifax.

2. Imperial Quebec alongside pier 23 in Halifax March 21, 1983 for some minor repairs, the ship shows off her bulbous bow.

The ship started life with the traditional Imperial Oil black hull and red superstructure, but looked far better with the blue and cream scheme. It was also smaller than the newer ships at 4,679 gross tons, 6150 deadweight. With those larger fleetmates working more efficiently and some mechanical problems, Imperial sold the ship to Woodward in 1987.

3. In 1982 she was starting to have some engine issues and was easily identified from a great distance by her smoke plume.

Renamed Sibyl W. by Woodward, the ship served Atlantic Canada and the north until March 1992 when she was sold to the Panamanian company SSS Trading and renamed Panama Trader. She was later re-flagged to Belize, but she was laid up in 1995 and scrapped at Guyamas, Mexico in May 1996.

Woodward meanwhile had added Sibyl W. (ii) to the fleet. It was also a former Imperial tanker, the much smaller Imperial Tofino, built in 1973 by McKenzie Barge & Marine Ways of North Vancouver. Designed to serve small coastal communities it originally measured only 650 gross tons. In 1979 it was lengthened 24 feet to about 170 ft loa and re-measured at 764 gross tons. 

The ship made its first call in Halifax  September 1, 1992 and called here about once a year for a few years, but was mostly confined to Newfoundland and Labradorian waters.

4. The second Sybil W. in Halifax in 1995.

In 2009 as the fleet expanded again, Coastal Shipping sold the second Sibyl W. to Honduras Aero Marine S de RL of Atlantide, Honduras. They did not rename the ship and she is reportedly still in service as a bunkering tanker in the Atlantic anchorage off Panama.

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