Algoma Growing

 The Algoma Central Corporation is on another growth spurt, with new bulk carriers ordered for its international operations and new tankers for charter.

The company's ships are often seen in Halifax, and this week was no expception with three of its ships in port, each representing a different area of operations. By this evening, November 21, all had sailed on their ways to wisdespread destinations.

In the international bulk shipping realm, Algoma is a partner in CSL's self-unloader pool, with nine ships including the Algoma Integrity which loaded at Gold Bond Gypsum and sailed November 19 for Tampa. In this file photo taken in January 2024 the ship is transitting the Narrows in Halifax headed for the loading dock at Wright's Cove in Bedford Basin.

The former Gypsum Integrity built in 2009 by EISA-Ilha in Rio di Janeiro, was built to service US Gypsum's Canadian operations in Little Narrows and Hantsport. When those operations shut down the ship was reassigned and Algoma purchasd it in 2015. The 33.047 gt, 46,293 dwt ship has a self-unloading rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour.

In January 2023 Algoma and CSL each ordered two Kamsarmax self-unloaders from Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co Ltd. The 72, 250 dwt ships will unload at 5,000 tonnes per hour. The first ship is due for delivery in July 25 and subsequent ships in three month intervals thereafter. They will replace older ships in the CSL pool. (Kamsar is an important bauxite port in the Republic of Guinea. Ships that can load there are considered to be the most versatile.)

In the domestic area, Algoma operates ten self-unloaders and eight gearless bulkers under Canadian flag and took delivery of another new Equinox class ship this year - Algoma Bear. It will likely be restricted to the Great Lakes / Gulf of St. Lawrence iron ore / grain trade.  Some of the self-unloaders can make extended trips to Halifax such as the Radcliffe R.Latimer which delivered a load of grain from the Great Lakes, sailing from Thunder Bay November 9 and arriving here November 19.

 The ship will sail this evening for Auld's Cove on the Strait of Canso to load aggregate. I have recounted the ship's history here before, but briefly again: built in Collingwood in 1978 as Algobay, upgraded to Caribbean class in 1987-88, chartered to CSL as Atlantic Trader 1994 to 1997. Towed to China where new forebody and engine were installed - redelivered in 2009 and renamed in 2012. Now a 26,102 gt, 37,257 dwt Seawaymax ship, can unload at up to 5440 tph; "Coastal Class" with restricted sea voyages.

Algoma Tankers Ltd has also been busy increasing and renewing its fleet, with several additions added this year. In the last week three of its fleet have called in Halifax: Algoscotia, Algoberta, and Algonova. The last of which (see yesterday's post) sailed today for the Esso refinery in Nanticoke. Algoma Tankers was formed with the takeover of the Imperial Oil (Esso Canada) fleet and has been Imperial's dedicated carrier. 

However in 2023 Algoma Tankers announced that they had ordered two Ice class, 37,000 dwt  Mid Range 2 tankers from Hyundai Mipo for delivery in 2025. The ships will be chartered exclusively to Irving Oil and will sail under Canadian flag. They will replace two older ships, the Acadian, and the Esst Coast [see yesterday's post], both built in 2005 and chartered from Iver Ships BV, the tanker operating arm of the Dutch Vroon Group. 

The new ships have not been assigned official names yet, but are listed by builder's hull numbers as Hyundai Mipo 2900 and Hyundai Mipo 2901. The first delivery is due in January so an announcement can be expected soon. The second ship is due in March.

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Busy Day

 There was a lot of activity in Halifax harbour today, November 20, mostly container ships.

An over night arrival anchored in the lower harbour. MSC Sagitta III is on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Canada Gulf Bridge route and does not normally call in Halifax. Because of the large number of containers landed in Halifax during the Montreal longshore workers strike MSC has applied to use this ship and the MSC Baltic III to transfer the stranded boxes to Montreal. (Some have already been dispatched by train and truck, but there were reportedly 5,000 boxes left off in this port.) Canada's cabotage law restricts shipping between Canadian ports to Canadian ships, unless no suitable Canadian ships are available. In such cases a coasting license may be granted to a foreign ship, and I expect the MSC Sagitta III is waiting for the Minister of Public Safety to grant the license  in the next few days.

MSC Sagitta III was built by Nordseewerker, Emden in 2010. The 36,519 gt, 42,614 dwt ship was a capacity of 3428 TEU and has a large nuber of reefer plugs, noted as "392 + 108". [I'm not certain what that means but may describe the number below and above deck or vice versa.]

Initially named Frisia Brussel it was renamed Sagitta in 2010 and MSC Sagitta III in 2021.

The ship is northbound from Freeport, Bahamas, and is expected to top up at PSA Fairview Cove on the first of three trips once the license is granted.

Arriving at PSA Fairview Cove, the NYK Nedula held off the dock allowing Ophelia to sail (see yesterday's post.)

At the same time the Oceanex Sanderling was arriving from St.John's and it also held off in Bedford Basin before coming alongside.

Container activity at PSA Atlantic Gateway got off to a slow start as there was no acitivity in the morning.

With the coastal tanker Algonova at anchor in the foreground waiting its turn at Imperial Oil, there was a backdrop of the South End Container Terminal with all its cranes inactive. Two cranes were in the "down" position. The northmost crane (at right in the photo) is rarely raised. It is one of the new cranes at the facility and may have a problem. One other crane was also down and it certainly did appear to be U/S as traveller wires were sagging and the spreader appeared to be on the ground. (Not sure why the adjacent crane had chains hanging from its spreader.)

 Things picked up at the SECT as the day wore on.

A noontime arrival was the MSC Don Giovanni another Canada Gulf Bridge ship arriving from Montreal, likely to top up to salt water draft. This is another "classic" from MSC, built in 1996. It is a hatchless design of the revolutionary Eco Box 42 class, from the Flensburger Shipbuilding Company in Emden. The 29,181 gt, 41,590 dwt ship has a capacity of somewhere between 2480 and 2604 TEU (depending on sources.)

It was launched in 1996 as the Jean Lykes but delivered as Jean and very soon sold to MSC and renamed. The famous US shipping company Lykes Line was bankrupt in 1995 and may have defaulted on this ship. CP Ships bought Lykes in 1997 and CP in turn was bought by TUI in 2006 and melded into Hapag-Lloyd.

Considered to be very elegant when new, the ship is looking a tad seedy now.

Soon after it was a new to Halifax caller for Melfi Lines. Orinoco is northbound from Mariel, Cuba.

Built in 2010 by Fujian Shipbuilding Co in Fuzhou, the 9994 gt, 12,306 dwt ship has a capacity of 880 TEU and carries two cranes of unknown capacity. The ship was launched as E.R. Helsinki but completed as Friesdijk. It was renamed X-press Tajumulco in 2013 and became the Orinoco in 2020.

There was also tanker activity in Halifax today. As noted above the Algonova arrived and anchored in the lower harbour. It has cargo from Nanticoke, and in the early evening moved to Imperial Oil on the departure of the Al Reem (see previous posts).

There was also a mid-afternoon departure from Irving Oil's Woodside terminal. The East Coast is headed back to Saint John to load after its latest trip to Charlottetown.

The ship makes regular trips to Halifax, Charlottetown and St.John's but also to Boston and Providence from time to time.

The only ship not photographed today was CSL Kajika arriving to load gypsum. The ship made its first call in Halifax on April 19, 2022 and full details are provided in my post of that date.

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Ophelia for ZIM

 As reported November 4, ZIM has joined the former CFX (Canada Feeder Express) with its ZCX Colibri Express west coast South America service. The service operates to numerous North and South American ports from ZIM's Kingston, Jamaica hub.

 Today's arrival on that run is the Ophelia on charter from the long standing German operators Leonhardt + Blumberg (founded in 1903).

 Leonhardt + Blumberg now operates 27 feeder container carriers and five product tankers. Ophelia is fairly typical at 17,907 gt, 21,700 dwt. Dating from 2018, it was delivered by Guangzhou Wenchong. Its capacity is 1717 TEU with 362 reefer plugs, 202 of which are in the holds. South America is a major exporter of produce to Canada, as is ZIM, so the number of temperature controlled boxes on deck is not surprising. The number of loads of course is unkown.

Just below the starboard bridge wing the world "Buss" appears with a red symbol. According to available references Buss were listed as managers for a short time in 2018. The Buss company is multi-faceted with interests in shipping, resources, real estate and terminal operation and is a shareholder in Leonhardt + Blumberg.

The name Ophelia is an odd one for a ship, as the character in Shakespeare's Hamlet (and subsequent operas and movies) lost her mind and drowned. The name is not Danish however but is Greek, as are two other L+B feeders, Octavia and Olympia.

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Cars, Boxes and Propane

There were ships in port today, November 18, with the usual mix of cargoes - containers and automobiles, but there was also one for an unusual commodity.

Among the usual container ships there were two sister ships at PSA Atlantic Gateway - the South End Container Terminal (aka SECT). The ONE Monaco, which arrived yesterday (see previous post) was a late morning departure on the eastbound leg of THE Alliance's EC5 service. The ship is destined for Singapore via the Cape of Good Hope.

With three tugs to assist, the ONE Monaco prepares to get underway.

Meanwhile the sister ship ONE Minato was approaching Halifax on the west bound leg of the same service, passing Cape Town November 6. The two ships met well offshore beyond camera range.

As the ONE Minato arrives, a previous departure, the CMA CGM Rigoletto is visible at an outer anchorage. It went to anchor there after sailing on November 16, and departed for New York later today.

 ONE Minato is the tenth and last of the series of ships in the Milau Bridge class. Built in 2018 it did not carry a "Bridge" name but was delivered as a ONE ship (Ocean Network Express) to partner K-Line. Built by Imabari Zosen in Mihara, the 152,180 gt, 146,696 dwt ship has a capacity of 13,900 TEU.

 Three tugs turn the ship to back in to Pier 41. It appears to be loaded to capacity.

While all this was going on today's Autoport visitor was also getting underway with two tugs (there are currently seven harbour tugs operating in Halifax). Unlike its previous visit on April 28, 2023 the Grand Pavo will not be discharging machinery at Pier 9C.

Built in 2005 by Toyohashi Shipbuilding in Japan, the 59,217 gt, 18,376 dwt ship has a capacity for 6400 cars.  The Pure Truck and Car Carrier (PCTC) operates for the Hong Kong-based Korean company CIDO Shipping and is not related to the Grimaldi Ocean RoRo operator which has ships with the "Grande" prefix. CIDO is set to be a major player in the shipping scene with 72 ships in its current fleet and 40 more on order.

The Grand Pavo appears to be on a round-the-world trip leaving Singapore June 25 it has called in Korea, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and back to Japan and Singapore then to Sagunto (Spain), Avonmouth (UK), Zeebrugge (Belgium), Rya Harbour (Goteborg, Sweden) and Marchwood Military Port (Southampton, UK). It is now headed for New York.

Rounding out today's arrivals is the small Dutch cargo ship Frisian Octa on its second call in Halifax. 

The ship was first here October 22 to October 30 bringing in 30 containers. After several days at anchor the ship moved alongside PSA Fairview Cove where it took on a quantity of containers carrying propane and sailed for Moa, Cuba. This was the first of a possible six month charter to call in Halifax every two weeks for propane and possibly other cargo. [My post of October 25 called it a "mystery ship" - thanks to a reader I now know why it was here.]

Cuba has been in an energy crisis due to a deteriorated power infrastructure, coupled with an unreliable fuel source (namely Venezuela). On top of that the country had two hurricane strikes - Oscar on October 20 and Rafael on November 7, plus a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake on November 10. The entire nation was blacked out on October 18 and there have been periodic outages since. Propane is a useful alternative fuel for vehicles and various appliances. Due to continued uncertainty of fuel supply, propane from Canada would seem to be more dependable,at least for now. US policy toward Cuba may well become more restrictive in the coming months.

Construction of the ship started at Zaliv in Kerch, Ukraine, and was completed by Damen Bergum, in Friesland in 2010. The Ice Class 1 ship has ventilated box shaped holds with pontoon type tween decks. It carries two 40 tonne SWL cranes. The 5425 gt, 8284 dwt ship was built as Beauforce and took its present name in 2021. It is also licensed to carry dangerous cargoes.

At some date the ship was fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber system. The ship's normal exhaust stack was re-routed to the scrubber housing in a sort of Frankenstein arrangement. It appears that exhaust from the ship's auxiliary engines may not be diverted to the scrubber, since the two small stacks are still visible atop the funnel housing.

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A newcomer, among others

 A new to Halifax ship showed up in Halifax today, November 17, along with a pair of previous callers.

ONE Monaco arrived at PSA Atlantic Gateway on THE Alliance's EC5 Asia / North America service, this time east bound from New York. It was here October 14 westbound from Colombo, Sri Lanka, via the Cape of Good Hope, and has since called at the US east coast ports of New York, Norfolk, Savannah, Jaksonvillle, Charleston and New York again.

The seventh of ten ships in its class, it was built in 2018 by Imabari Zosen, Mihara as Monaco Bridge for K-Line. The 150,706 gt, 147,021 dwt ship has a capacity of 13,900 TEU. K-Line joined with the MOL and NYK to form Ocean Network Express (ONE) in 2017 and some of  the ships have been rebranded and repainted to ONE livery. The name change in this case came in 2023. Sister ship ONE Minato is due tomorrow on the westbound leg of the EC5.

The new to Halifax ship is the Spyros V on ZIM's ZCA route from the Mediterranean. Its last port was Messina, Italy and it is bound for New York.

Built in 2011 by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang in Jingjiang, it is a 40,542 gt, 49,891 dwt ship with a capacity of 4250 TEU including 698 reefer slots. It operated as the Bella Schulte for the Thomas Schulte Reederei until 2015 when it was acquired by affiliates of the Greek operator Technomar Shipping Inc, and renamed. The "V" presumably is the Roman numeral, representing the capacity class, similar to MSC's new naming policy.

A repeat visitor, but not a regular one, is the auto carrier Morning Cindy at Autoport on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen North Atlantic route from Bremerhaven and Zeebrugge for New York.

Morning Cindy was built in 2012 by Imabari Zosen in Marugame. The 59,580 gt, 18,735 dwt ship has a capacity of 6,142 Car Equivalent Units. Despite operating for EUKOR (a partnership of Wilhelmsen, Wallenius, American RoRo and United European Car Carriers), ostensibly to carry Korean made auotmobiles, the ship is owned and managed by Japanese interests through a Panama corporation: Excel Marine Co Ltd of Fukuoka.

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MSC Diversion fallout

 Short term work stoppages followed by an indefinite longshore workers strike in the Port of Montreal started on October 31. The employers then declared a lock out as of November 10. The strikers were ordered back to work, by government edict, effective today, November 16, with binding arbitration to follow. As a result of the Montreal shutdown The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) diverted ships to Halifax. The scale of the diversions was apparent from the number of MSC boxes piled up at the two container terminals. [see previous posts]

It is also apparent that clearing those boxes and sending them back on their way to Montreal now that the strike is over will be a major operation. CN Rail has added extra trains, but that is apparently insufficient to move the large number of stranded containers on top of the normal amount of cargo moving through the port at the height of the consumer goods season.

Montreal is a terminal port, where ships unload completely then load new cargo. Halifax in the other hand is usually a waypoint, handling only a portion of the cargo aboard any given ship. When Montreal is unavailable the ships that divert to Halifax must offload all their cargo here. It is fortunate that the Port of Halifax has the additional capacity available so that ships can keep moving instead of being stalled at anchor for the duration of a strike.

MSC has applied for coasting licenses to use two foreign flag ships to move the stranded boxes from Halifax to Montreal. There are no Canadian ships able to handle the amount and type containers, so it is expected that permission will be granted. Trade between Canadian ports is restricted by law to Canadian flagged ships. If no suitable Canadian ships are available a coasting license may be granted to a foreign flag ship by the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness upon recommendation by the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

In their application to the CTA, MSC requested permission to use the MSC Baltic III 2526 TEU and MSC Sagitta III 3426 TEU for three trips each between November 24 and December 31 from Halifax to Montreal. The ships normally operate on the Canada Gulf Bridge route from Montreal to Mexico, so may be calling in Halifax on their northbound legs and adding the diverted boxes to whatever cargo they may already have on board or they may be making special trips. They also have relatively large reefer capacity - in excess of 300 TEU each.

In its application to the CTA MSC noted the names of ships that were diverted to Halifax while en route to Montreal: MSC Nahara, MSC Levina III, MSC England and MSC Jordan III [see previous posts]. The application suggests that in excess of 5,000 containers are involved, both loads and empties. There are several hundred temperature controlled containers included, that must be maintained in operation.

Readily identifiable MSC boxes, and others that may have been carried on MSC ships, are stacked in all available space in the two terminals sharing space with the regular number of containers from other lines.

A letter from the Port of Halifax supporting the CTA application states that yard utilization stands at 60% for PSA Fairview Cove and 92% for the PSA Atlantic Gateway. Plug in space for temperature controlled boxes stands at 95% for Fairview and 65% for the Atlantic Gateway.

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Friday

 High winds coupled with rain, may have slowed the work at container terminals again today November 15, but ships were still coming and going. Photos as a result are bit fuzzy due to the rain.

Yesterday the Oceanex Sanderling and ZIM Asia (photo above) joined the tanker Al Reem (see November 13 post and below) at anchor in Bedford Basin, awaiting their berths. When Atlantic Sail sailed later yesterday afternoon they both moved alongside PSA Fairview Cove.

Oceanex Sanderling is expected to sail late afternoon today on its usual departure for St.John's.

ZIM Asia sailed at noon time today, taking a wide turn out into Bedford Basin before lining up for the Narrows. 

A rather bedraggled Africville park asill looked green, thanks to recent mild weather. Canada geese, rather than migrate, have been feeding on the grass and making a mess. The flags were set up to discourage them, but also make effective wind indicators.

The inbound Delphinus C on THE Alliance's AL5 service arrived from Antwerp to take the ZIM Asia's berth.

Another of the seven ship Daedalus class ships built by Hyundai Ulsan in 2007, it was originally the NYK Delphinus, fifth in the series. The 55,487 gt, 65,950 dwt ship has a capacity of 4,888 TEU including 330 reefer plugs. In 2003 the ship was renamed Delphinus C by Cosmoship Management SA of Piraeus, but remains on the AL5 route.

Once again it is worth noting the large number of Hapag-Lloyd and UASC boxes on deck. In February 2025 when the new Maersk / Hapag-Lloyd Gemini Cooperation comes into effect Hapag-Lloyd will withdraw from THE Alliance. MSC may take up some of the slots but Gemini will form other services some of which will no doubt call in Halifax. New schedules will be posted in December.

At PSA Atlantic Gateway it was an unusual ship for the Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL.) 

The CMA CGM Rigoletto is quite a bit smaller than the usual 15,000 TEU ships on the route from Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. (Last port Colombo.)

The CMA CGM Rigoletto comes in at 107,711 gt, 114,004 dwt with a capacity of 9415 TEU including 700 reefers. It would be among the largest ships with all superstructure aft. Most ships of that size have an "island" bridge well forward. It was built in 2006 by Hyundai Ulsan.

Still anchored in Bedford Basin, the tanker Al Reem (see above) awaits a berth at Imperial Oil.

Today the Algoscotia moved back from Pier 26 to Imperial Oil as winds died down sufficiently for safe operation. The Al Reem appears to have quite a bit of product yet to unload.

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Prince Edward Island ferry update

 It was reported today, November 13, that ferry service to Prince Edward Island may resume December 6. The service was suspended after the ferry Confederation alided with the dock at Wood Island PE September 15 and damaged its bow visor and a portion of the hull. The second ferry, Saaremaa I was also removed from service in September with engine malfunctions.

Saarema I, on "loan" (in the form of a bare boat charter) from the Société des Traversiers du Quebec (STQ) until the end of October, instead sailed (on three of its four engines) from Wood Islands on October 27. It is now laid up in Trois-Rivières. A spare ferry in the STQ fleet, it was brought in as a replacement for the Holiday Island which was declared a total loss (and since scrapped) after a fire in 2022. A longer term replacement, the Norwegian Fanafjord, renamed Northumberland is presently undergoing sea trials in Norway and is expected to be in service for the 2025 season. It is supposed to serve until 2028 when a permanent replacement arrives. (I am not betting on that date.)

 Confederation is under repair at the CME Pictou Shipyard, with the bow visor removed and placed under cover. A suggestion that the ship could operate without the visor was not followed up due to the time needed to make a technical application to regulators. (Car deck flooding is a sensitive issue after several notorious sinkings with large loss of life. Authorities and classification Societies are understandably very wary of any possibility of a repeat.) 

Operators Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL) have announced that the repairs to the bow visor and the ship's apron, should be completed in time to resume service on December 6. They have also stated that the alision with the wharf was not caused by any mechanical malfunction, contrary to media reports at the time.

(The Caribou, NS to Wood Island, PE service is seasonal and usually closes down during ice season, from January to late May.)

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It's an ill wind and other activity

There was activity in several areas of the port today, November 13:

Imperial Oil

  If it's an ill wind that blows no good, tell that to Imperial Oil. Despite new robust mooring facilities at the number 3 oil dock at the Imperoyal terminal in Dartmouth, it is still an unsuitable berth in high winds. It is also unsafe to be transferring oil cargo in wind in case mooring lines part and stresses cause the fueling line to let go. Imperial and other oil majors have strict operating procedures regarding conditions at the dock, and cease transfers before the arrival of high winds. Ships may then leave the dock for other piers or go to anchor until calmer conditions return.

That is the case today, November 13 with three tankers idled in port as the usual autumnal gales blast away.

The Canadian flag tanker Algoscotia arrived in Halifax November 9 (see previous posts) from Sydney, NS, and anchored in the lower harbour, waiting its turn at Imperial Oil.

 Yesterday, November 12, the ship moved from anchor to Pier 25 to wait out the winds.

It was the Marshal Island flag tanker Al Reem from Antwerp with a fresh batch of product that was next in cue. It arrived November 10 and docked directly at Imperial's number 3 dock to unload. It was windy on November 11, and 12, but still within safe limits.

Early this morning, November 13, as winds were predicted to pick up again the Al Reem moved to anchor in Bedford Basin.

 A typical Medium Range 2 (MR2) tanker of 29,155 gt, 46,046 dwt, it was built in 2010 [see following ship] by the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. It was initially named Alpine Venture (an odd name for a seagoing ship) then became Celsius Randers in 2019. (Celsius Shipping is a Danish company and names its ships after cities. Randers is a Danish city.) In mid-2023 the Dubai based Marakeb Shipping LLC renamed the ship Al Reem after an island in Adu Dhabi.

While at anchor the ship did not stow its crane. The device is used to handle the ship's unloading hose and is usually rated at about 10 tonnes SWL.

Also in port was another Canadian tanker, the Algoberta. It also arrived November 11 and went directly to Pier 27 to wait for its turn at Imperial Oil.

Autoport

 Apparently uneffected by today's wind was the Container/ RoRo ship Grande Marocco (not named for a Starbucks order). Arriving from several Italian ports, it offloaded vehicles at Autoport.  The ship and its several sisters are occasional callers in Halifax, always from Italy, and always with cars and vans.

 Although the ship had a number of containers on deck, it did not handle any containers while in Halifax. Built in 2010 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, [see previous ship] it is a 47,636 gt, 25,725 dwt vessel with a capacity of 800 TEU and 2,000 CEU. It is fitted with a pair of 40 tonne SWL cranes and 250 tonne capacity stern ramp. It sailed later in the day for Baltimore.

PSA Fairview Cove

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had the H Mercury in port on its ZCX feeder service to Jamaica. This is the ship's second visit after a first arrival October 9. It was unusual to see so many reefers on one ship,but ZIM is a major carrier of fruit.

High winds were blowing in from the north, pinning the ship on the dock. It may have been too windy for the cranes to work cargo.

The ship was built in 2022 by Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding in Jingjiang, China. At 28,848 gt, 24,468 dwt, it has a capacity of 1800 TEU. Owners are listed as Yangze Mercury Shipping Pte incorporated in Singapore.
 

Update:

Yesterday's arrival, the BBC Regalia, did not stay in port for very long. Arriving at the Halifax pilot station at 12 noon its pilot order for sailing from PSA Fairview Cove was for 2100 AST. It does not appear to have unloaded any of the deck cargo, so may only have handled some containers. Its next port is shown as Bécancour, QC, a port noted for handling wind turbine cargoes.

 

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Other activity (post number 2)

 There was enough activity in Halifax harbour today, November 12, to warrant two Shipfax posts. The first noted the enforced end to labour strikes in the ports of Vancouver, Montreal and Quebec City. 

This is the second post, and covers two movements in the port of Halifax.

BBC Regalia

The multi-purpose and heavy lift tween-decker BBC Regalia arrived after a very long trip from China. The ship left Minhang port on October 6 and crossed the Pacific, arriving in Panama November 1, clearing the Panama Canal November 5. It then sailed directly for Halifax and headed inbound for the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal.

 The ship is carrying a number of cylindrical objects, as yet unidentified, on deck (and likely more below) and a small number of containers. It is unusual for project cargo such as this to be unloaded at PSA Fairview Cove, particularly when they are accommodating so many diverted containers from Montreal. However space at Pier 9C is also at a premium - see previous posts - due to a previous shipment of wind turbine towers.

The BBC Regalia was built in China by Wuhu Xinlian in Wuhu. Measuring 14,859 gt, 17,907 dwt it carries three 80 tonne SWL cranes that can operate in pairs for 150 tonne lifts. It has the usual portable tween decks and is also rated for 1054 TEU with 144 reefer plugs.

The ship was originally named Safmarine Saguta and was owned by Safmarine Container Lines. It was renamed Thorco Royal in 2016 then BBC Regalia in 2019. The South African Marine Corporation (a.k.a. Safmarine) was owned by Maersk from 1999, but not merged into Maersk until 2020. The ship was sold to investors in 2015 and then acquired by Briese Schiffahrts (BBC Chartering) affiliates in 2021.

Caisson #1

The construction of the new pier at Halifax Shipyard is proceeding on two fronts. From the land side, quantities of crushed stone and armour rock have been arriving by truck and placed along the shore line by. McNally Construction's crane barges have been dredging out contaminents and placing material, preparing the harbour bottom for new pier cribs.

Meanwhile at the IEL Pier (or perhaps officially the Develop Nova Scotia Pier) at Woodside on the Dartmouth side of the harbour, McNally is building the concrete cribs aboard the semi-submersible barge J.G.Burke. [See my July 22 post.] (The barge was re-registered from US to Canada on October 11.) The first crib was floated off in the past week or so and tethered alongside the dock.

Today the tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Cedar moved the unit from Woodside to the Shipyard. Unofficially named "Caisson # 1, the structure was afloat on an even keel and was jockeyed into position over the newly prepared gravel mattress where it will be settled into place. 

 

The cells will then be filled with more rock and the topsides structures of deck and cope wall will be installed. 

The Angus L. Macdonald bridge is an ideal vantage point for ship photography given the right conditions. Now that the offending construction crane (see previous post) is coming down, it is unlikely there will be any further interruptions. 

Today the big crane was being dismantled by a bigger crane.

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The Montreal strike is over

 The day after a holiday, (even it it was one that was not widely observed) is usually a busy catch up day. Today Tuesday, November 12, was no exception in Halifax harbour with a number of comings and goings of interest. Therefore there will be two posts today, of which this is the first.

The big news comes from Ottawa where the Federal Minister of Labour ordered a return to work for longshore workers in Vancouver and Montreal and the enforcement of binding arbitraiton in the two ports and in the Port of Quebec City where there has also been a long standing labour issue. The announcement follows on the heels of a legal strike, failed negotiations and the employers locking out the workers.

Citing damage to the Canadian economy and Canada's reputation in the world as a reliable trading partner, the Minister of course failed to mention that the Ports of Halifax and Saint John have pretty much taken the edge off the Montreal strike - granted there have been the inevitable delays in delivering and dispatching cargo, as trucks and trains had the burden of extra cargo.

A large proportion of the cargo running into the Port of Montreal goes west to Toronto and the US mid-west, so the strike, at most, added a day or two for import cargo and due to shorter sailing time to Halifax may have added the same or less time to export cargo. It should be noted that Montreal is also a grian exporting ports, and certainly generates considerable local cargo.

In any event the two Halifax container terminals had extra space, openings in schedules and the equipment and workforce to handle the extra work involved in handling Montreal cargo. It was interesting to see all the additional containers.

It may be some time before things return to normal as some ships will continue to come to Halifax to pick up "stranded" boxes. Others, that would be coming anyway to lighten draft or top off, may handle more than the usual quantity. Some ships that are already en route and diverted to Halifax will have to come anyway as their cargo is already here.

Today's one MSC arrival, MSC Annick from Sines, Portugal, on the Med-Canada service, has been standing by off Halifax since Saturday November 9 (a fleet mate MSC Lisa has been anchored off this port since at least November 6 and is now due tomorrow.)

The MSC Annick would normally only be here to lighten off to St.Lawrence River draft, but may have more cargo to off load here now, but could well have been planning to completely discharge and load.

MSC Annick has had seven previous names and has operated for several major container lines. Another of MSC's older ships, it was built in 1998 by Hyundai, Ulsan. A 40,306 gt, 52,329 dwt vessel it has a relatively modest (published) capacity of 3987 TEU.

Arriving from Montreal to top up, MSC Annick was operating at freshwater draft in this 2021 photo.

 The ship has carried the names 1998: Mare Superum, 98: Elbe Bridge, 2004: P+O Nedlloyd Cartagena, 2005: Maersk Tirana, 2006: Dalian Express, 2006: Maersk Tirana, 2009: Mare Superum, 2013: MSC Annick.

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Remembrance Day

 November 11 is observed to varying degrees as Remembrance Day. The date was established by the signing of the Armistice that ended the First World War at 11:00 a.m. November 11, 1918. It has since become the commemoration day for those lost and those who served in the First and Second Word Wars, the Korean War and subsequent conflicts.

Some businesses close for all or part of the day, but it is not a statutory holiday. There are ceremonies and wreath laying at memorial sites throughout the country with gun salutes and (conditions permitting) fly pasts. 

In the Halifax area there are numerous events on land, with a minute of silence observed at 11:00 a.m. and a twenty-one gun salute from Citadel Hill. The Royal Canadian Navy participates with a wreath laying off the Naval Memorial at Point Pleasant. Today the HMCS St. John's was designated as host ship. It got underway from HMC Dockyard with three Dockyard tugs assisting then following at a distance to assist in positioning the ship for the ceremony.

A small RHIB boat brought the mooring party back on board after they cast off the ship's lines.

The tugs Glenside, Listerville and Granville assisted in the operation.

(The tanker Algoscotia, anchored in the background, is visible through the rain.) 

 Unfortunately due to the rain, high winds, and low ceiling, a helicopter fly past was cancelled. Last week I saw what may have been practice flights for formation flying - a rare event for naval helos.

                                       Three helicopters over Shearwater, November 3.

 

Two RCN Cormorant helicopters seen from Point Pleasant, November 6. 

Normal harbour traffic continued throughout the solemn hour with ships coming and going. Dollars win every war. Even the Hero class patrol vessel CCGC Private Robertson V.C. arrived about noon, apparently oblivious to the significance of the day and time and even the name of their own ship. Private James Peter Robertson was a native of Nova Scotia and died November 6, 1917 while rescuing two of his wounded comrades during the Second Battle of Passchendaele. He was awarded the Victoria Cross posthumously, the highest military honour. Surely the ship could have timed its arrival by half and hour to at least stand by for the wreath laying.

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