Imperial Oil (Esso in Canada) acquires refined product for the eastern Canada region from various sources, including their own refineries in Ontario, sometimes from other Canadian producers and in recent years from Belgium. Their depot in Dartmouth sits on a huge tract of land (estimated at 900 acres) that was once a refinery. The refinery was closed in 2013 and all that remains are storage tanks and three jetties (only one of which remains in service).
Today's (October 12) arrival at the Number 3 dock was the tanker Gaia Desgagnés with cargo from Imperial's refinery in Sarnia, ON.
Transport Desgagnés, headquartered in Quebec City, acquired the "nearly new" tanker in early 2019 from Swedish owners Furetank Rederi AS. It is a 12,770 gt, 17,999 dwt product tanker that operates as a dual fuel ship (marine diesel oil or LNG).
The ship was built in 2018 by the AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jiangdu, China as the Fure Vinga but was renamed after "Gaia", the "Mother of Life" and personification of earth in Greek mythology.
AVIC (the Chinese government owned Aviation Industry Corp of China) is one of the world's largest companies (in the top 200 of the Fortune 500) and is present in most aspects of industry, including shipbuilding, with a specialty in tankers. That interest also includes ownership, since 2013, of Deltamarin, one of the leading naval architecture and engineeing firms.
Imperial Oil is expecting a second ship tomorrow, Algonova, also from the Great Lakes, but in this case from their Nanticoke, ON refinery on Lake Erie.
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