Another Sign of Spring

 There have been a few signs of spring this year - intermixed with snow showers. This evening, March 24, was just one of those as the bulk carrier Baie St. Paul sailed with a load of gypsum, bound for Hamilton, ON.

As the ship was leaving Bedford Basin and as the sun was going down, a brief snow shower swept over the area. Although it did not effect visibility, the snow did "fuzzy up" the view as the ship approached the A. Murray MacKay bridge.

The sure sign of spring however was the annual opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway after nearly three months of winter shutdown. Despite the dire predictions in 1959 when the Seaway first opened it was not the death knell of Halifax as a port. In fact there continiues to be trade between Halifax and Great Lakes ports.

The tanker Algotitan, which has been working out of Halifax this winter is in the Seaway en route to Sarnia. The cement carrier NACC Argonaut, after leaving Halifax March 17, proceeded to Port Daniel, QC to load and arrived today at Cote-Ste-Catherine (near Montreal and within the Seaway) to offload.

The Baie St.Paul which often carries salt, is a regular caller at Gold Bond Gypsum in Bedford Basin and in recent years has delivered the raw material to Hamilton, ON. It is a Canadian flagged ship and as per a previous post is a member of Canada Steamship Lines' domestic fleet - a fact that is underlined by the large lettering on the ship's hull. Members of the company's international fleet make do with the abbreviated "CSL" on the flanks. The lettering on the red hull is not quite so legible in the glinting sun, but shows off well at a distance when in the shade.

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