MSC Alyssa Makes a Splash

 Arriving today, April 7, on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Canada Express 2 route from Sines, Portugal for Montreal, the MSC Alyssa faced a brisk headwind. The camera flattens the waves, and so does the wind, but the texture of the water is an indicator that it was very breezy.

The tugs Atlantic Beaver and Atlantic Oak met the ship inside Mauger's Beach and prepared to make up foreward and aft (respectively).

Despite several attempts the heaving line from the ship's bow kept blowing away and the deck hands on the Atlantic Beaver were getting soaked and perhaps dangerously so. 

 Fortunately Azimuthing Stern Drive tugs can work well going astern so the tug master peeled away and turned to come alongside stern first. This provided a bit of a lee for the tug's deck hands to make up their winch line to the ship's heaving line, but not before the tug was inundated with spray. (The winch is on the foredeck).

The Atlantic Beaver's after deck, which is much lower than the bow, took a lot of water. 

With the quantity of water streaming from the clearing ports there may have been more than a foot on deck.

 The white arrow on the ship's hull indicates a safe pushing point for the tug. The light heaving line can be seen draped over the ship's name.

Eventually the connection was made and the ship berthed successfully at Pier 42. (The flock of eider ducks were disinterested spectators.)

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