Big and Small

 Halifax harbour can accommodate ships of all sizes.Today, May 21, there were ships at both ends of the scale and some in the middle. 

At PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway there were two container ships. One "ultra" size and one standard size. The "ultra" ship (with a capacity of more than 10,000 TEU) was the ONE Cygnus of 146,694 gt, 138,611 dwt built in 2019 by Japan Marine United, Kure its capacity is usually quoted at 14,026 TEU. It was working at Pier 41 under the largest cranes (and not really visible from shore), while the more standard sized MSC Leigh was at Pier 42.

Built by Daewoo, Mangalia, it is a 50,963 gt, 63,420 dwt ship with a capacity of 4884 TEU including 560 reefers. Although launched as the Buxtime it was completed as MSC Leigh. Working on the CANEX2 Mediterranean service, the ship is en route from Montreal to Sines, Portugal.

Another Ultra ship, the 15,536 TEU CMA CGM Zephyr was scheduled to arrive this morning, but is standing by offshore until the ONE Cygnus sails. It is now due tomorrow morning, May 22.

An even larger ship made a short visit to number one anchorage in the lower harbour this morning. The NYK Canary is the second K-Line bulk carrier in recent days to put in for Canadian Food Inspection Agency clearance. Once inspectors had determined that there was no invasive species of LDD moth on board, the ship was cleared to proceed to Sept-Iles, QC to load iron ore.

The Cape Canary was built in 2009 by Kawasaki, Sakaide and is a 93,378 gt, 192,577 dwt gearless bulker. It deployed a conventional combination ladder at about midships for pilot boarding but also rigged an accommodation ladder farther aft, that would normally only be used when alongside. In consideration of the CFIA inspectors, it would be a much better way to board and disembark. A rather generous safety net was also rigged, which may have been a requirement of CFIA.

I noted the ship appears to have been retrofitted with an exhasut gas scrubber system which was appended to the ship's original funnel structure, and carries Kawaski Kaisen Kaisha's letter "K".

[As a footnote to the post of Saturday May 18 the other K-Line ship that called in Halifax for CFIA inpsection, the Cape Keystone, appears to have missed its scheduled slot to load at Port Cartier. That port is so busy there are usually several ships waiting at anchor to load, so missing a date may mean going to the end of the line. The ship is standing by off Sydney, NS in the Cabot Strait waiting for orders - it may be sent to another port to load.]

At the small end of the scale was today's arrival of the Royal Portuguese Navy submarine NRP Arpão measuring 1,700 tons surfaced displacement and 2,000 tons submerged, it is slightly smaller than the Royal Canadian Navy submarines which come in at 2,200 tons surfaced and 2,439 submerged.

It was met by two Ville class "pup" tugs from HMC Dockyard, Listerville (aft) and Granville (forward). Due to the sub's size, larger tugs were not needed, but also the commercial tugs of Atlantic Towing Ltd are not suited for working with submarines due to their underwater profile, and fendering. 

Arpão is a Tridente class atttack submarine built by Howaldswerke - Deutsche Werft and commissioned in 2010. As a "conventional" (i.e. non-nuclear) submarine it is preferred for use in naval exercises where finding the sub may be part of the task.

The sub's arrival was not the only naval activity in the harbour today as Canada's newest naval ship put out to sea.

HMCS William Hall AOPV 433 is the fourth ship of the Harry DeWolf class of Arctic Patrol Vessel built by Irving Shipbulding Inc at Halifax Shipyard. It was completed in August 2023 and has been undergoing trials and training, culminating in its official commissioning on Thursday, May 16.

.