CSL times two

 Ships of Canada Steamship Lines carry gypsum out of Halifax on a regular basis - both domestic, Canadian flag ships and the foreign flag ships of CSL's international fleet. It is therefore not unusual to see one ship loading at the Gold Bond Gypsum dock in the Bedford Basin and another waiting at anchor. (CSL Americas operates the CSL International pool of of self-unloader ships with Algoma Shipping Inc.)

Most ships are in and out relatively quickly, loading in eight to twelve hours, but occasionally a ship takes longer. That is certainly the case today, May 12.

The CSL Americas ship Sheila Ann arrived in the late evening of Friday, May 12 and berthed at Gold Bond on arrival. The 41,428 gt, 70.037 dwt ship dates from 1999 when it was built by Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai. 

April 21, 2024 photo

The ship is named for Sheila Martin (née) Cowan, wife of the former Prime Minister of Canada, Rt. Hon. Paul Edgar Martin, PC CC KC, and former owner of the CSL Group. Mr and Mrs Martin's three sons now own and operate the company.

The ship is one of three sister ships in the CSL Americas pool, CSL Spirit and Algoma Victory (the former Sophie Oldendorff). A Panamax vessel of 41,428 gt, 70,037 dwt, it has an unloading rate of 4,200 tones per hour (tph) to 6,000 tph depending on the cargo, with gypsum rated at 4,200 tph. Loading is another matter however as the midships mounted unloader housing makes for slow work as the travelling loader on the dock cannot make continuous passes the length of the ship, but must be raised and lowered to work around the housing. That may be the reason for the lengthy stay in port this time.

This afternoon (May 12) it was possible to see the Sheila Ann at the Gold Bond Dock and fleet mate Rt. Hon.Paul E. Martin anchored waiting its turn. The "husband and wife team" may not be seen at the same time very often.

The Rt. Hon.Paul E. Martin was built in 2012 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jianyin and is a similar size: 43,691 gt, 71,405 dwt, but is one of the Trillium ocean class with the more common aft mounted conveyor arrangement and with the same unloading rates as its fleet mate. It actually arrived earlier on May 10, but anchored, despite being a quicker loader.

While at anchored yesterday. May 10, the ship conducted lifeboat trials.

 The "free fall" type lifeboat was in the water when I saw it, so I don't know if they made an actual  free fall launch or not. These rapid evacuation type enclosed boats are common these days, but take careful maintenance and rigorous crew training in order to work safely in an emergency.

At time of writing this post the Sheila Ann is due to sail at midnight (2400 hrs ADT May 12) with the Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin moving to the Gold Bond dock as soon the berth is clear.

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