Pier 9C has become the "go to" place for odd loads in the Port of Halifax. At the far north end of the waterfront in the Narrows, just before the A. Murray MacKay bridge, the open pier is now used for RoRo traffic that is not handled by Autoport or by one of the container piers. As of today, October 21, it has added two more unusual cargoes.
Number 1
The United States flag SLNC Magothy (see October 12 ) is loading those US military pattern Oshkosh Light Tactical Vehicles. The painfully slow operation, lifting aboard one vehicle at a time using slings, has been going on for days, and may finish up tomorrow. I have yet to catch one vehicle "in the air".
The capacity of the lifting gear of the ship is certainly overkill for the size of the load, but I guess US flag RoRo ships are few, and regular foreign flag RoRos would not be acceptabe carriers when US flag ships are available - no matter their capability.
Number 2
The heavy lift ship Pacific Fortitude arrived out of the drizzle and fog this morning, with a deck load of pleasure craft. The boats were loaded on the Great Lakes and are destined for Fort Lauderdale. The ship is here to add one more boat to the load.
A couple of shipping lines (including Spliethoffs) offer boat transport services, and some even take the owner or crew member(s) along too. It is a convenient way to move a boat from the Great Lakes area to Florida for the winter, instead of having to "drive" all the way south by the various inland water routes. (New York State Canal, the Richelieu River/ Lake Champlain or the Mississippi). The boats I can see for the most part might not be suitable for the arduous Seaway, St.Lawrence and Atlantic Ocean route.
I will post more on the ship if I see some loading action tomorrow in better weather.
Later in the day today crew members appeared to be preparing a landing spot for the Halifax boat well forward.
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