RoRo, LoLo, PoPo

 The terms RoRo for Roll / On Roll Off and LoLo for Lift On /  Lift Off are well used in these pages, but today I had to add PoPo for Pump On / Pump Off to include all the traffic in Halifax harbour today, Decmber 4.

RoRo 1

There was lots of RoRo activity including, at least for me, a surprise arrival. When the Palmela sailed from Autoport yesterday (December 3) it was giving Cristobal Panama as its destination. However once the ship was well offshore, it came about and stood by until late this morning (December 4) when it entered port again. Yesterday it offloaded at Autoport, but today it went to Pier 9C. This necessitated a trip through the Narrows to Bedford Basin to turn and then return back to dock, port side to the pier.

I rook a good many pictures of the ship's arrival yesterday, and noted that the ship had the unusual feature of a ramp on each side, but that they were obscured from view. Today they were both easy to see: The port side ramp is just forward of midships and just aft of the tug Atlantic Cedar.

The starboard side ramp, just forward of midships was also easy to see, [the broken line rectangle is presumably a safe pushing point for tugs] but the Plimsoll mark (at midships) could use a touch up.

The 80 tonne capacity stern ramp was also easier to see.

 I  am not sure why the ship went to sea over night, but I suppose it had to do with security as both Autoport and Pier 9C would require extra security if a ship were alongside, but it may also have been because another ship was scheduled for this morning at Autoport.

RoRo 2

The much larger autocarrier Tannhauser arrived early this morning (December 4) from European ports on the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Atlantic service. 

Built in 2020 in Tianjin, China by Tianjin Xingang, it is a 73,358 gt, 23,892 dwt ship with a capacity of 7656 cars of RT43 size. It also has a 350 tonne capacity stern ramp to handle heavy cargo. Once it had completed its work at Autoport it was also due to move to Pier 9C (after dark).

RoRo3 LoLo1

The RoRo / LoLo ship Oceanex Sanderling (also termed a ConRo) has been a familiar sight in the harbour since 1987, running weekly (sometimes twice weekly) to Newfoundland. It arrived this morning as usual and headed directly to PSA Fairview Cove where it will handle container and RoRo cargo. The ship will also call at Autoport where it will load new cars and light trucks for Newfoundland. Its usual sailing time is end of working day on Fridays.

 As it strides through the Narrows, the Oceanex Sanderling passes Halifax Shipyard and the next RoRo on my list.

 

RoRo 4

The fourth RoRo is a little bit different: Boabarge 37 is a semi-submersible barge used by Halifax Shipyard to "launch" new ships by float off. The shipyard is preparing to launch the sixth and last Harry DeWolf class Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel. AOPV 435 will be rolled on to the barge using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs) in the next few days. Once lowered back onto the cradles the ship will then be readied to float off in Bedford Basin later in the month.

This morning tugs were positioning the barge in line with the pier so that the ship (at right) can be rolled onto the barge.

The barge remains in Norwegian registry, so Irving Shipbuilding Inc has to apply for a coasting license each time it is to be used. The current application runs from December 7 to 31. Once launched there will still be many months of fit out before the ship can be handed over to the RCN. It will eventually be commissioned as HMCS Robert Hampton Gray. 

Halifax Shipyard has two variants of the AOPV to be built for the Canadian Coast Guard before it  shifts to production of new River class destroyers for the Royal Canadian Navy.

LoLo2

 A relative new comer to Halifax is the Box Endurance on charter to ZIM's expanded ZCX service.

The feeder size ship was delivered in 2015 by Guangzhou Wenchong and is registered at 17,907 gt, 21,667 dwt with a capacity of 1708 TEU. It appears to have significant reefer capacity too. It last sailed from Halifax October 29 for Kingston, Jamaica and has since called at Callao, Peru and other west coast South America ports, then worked its way back through the Panama Canal to Kingston, Miami, and Philadelphia. 

It is always fun to catch a container on the bridge as a ship from the same line passes under. Lucky day today - unless the container missed the boat!

 

 LoLo 3

Another regular Lift On Lift Off ship is the Volga Maersk on the Maersk / CMA CGM transatlantic service from Montreal to Bremerhaven, Rotterdam and Antwerp. Built in 2018 by COSCO (Zhoushan) Shipyard Co in China, it is a 34,882 gt, 40,079 dwt ship rated as LR Ice Class 1A with a capacity of 3600 TEU. One of seven "V" class ships, it was intended for Baltic service to Russia, but was displaced due to sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. It is an ideal size and classification for year round St.Lawrence River service. (Ships of this class were the largest ever Ice Class 1A ships when built.) The ship's Maersk sky blue colour is highly visible (and fresh looking) even from across the harbour.

LoLo 4

Not quite so visible was the other ship in at PSA Atlantic Gateway. The MSC Matilde V is en route to Montreal on the Med Canadian route. (Photo taken December 3).

The ship was built in 1999 by Samsung Geoje and registers 53,208 gt, 70,753 dwt, with a capacity of 4400 TEU with 350 reefer plugs.

The ship was originally called Saudi Jubail and in 2002 was renamed MSC Matilde. The Roman numeral "V" was added in 2023 to denote MSC's cargo capacity class.

Since August 2020 MSC has purchased more than 400 second hand ships equalling 1.6 million TEU. With an average age of 20 years, the ships maintain MSC's reputation for getting the most out of older tonnage. The company is building new ships too, with an order book of twenty ships under construction or pending - all from Chinese shipyards. 

Competitor Maersk held off building new ships until recently but has just signed for construction of twenty new dual fuel ships ranging in size from 9,000 TEU to 17,000 TEU, (six from Korea, 14 from China) for delivery between 2028 and 2030. It will also charter ships with a total of some 500,000 TEU capacity and dual fuel capability of methanol and LNG.

Po Po

I left the "new" category of Pump On / Pump Off to last as the operation is somewhat specialized. The barge John J. Carrick and its articulated tug Leo A. McArthur arrived this morning with a cargo of asphalt for General Liquids Canada. The cargo, which must be kept heated, is pumped ashore in an insulated pipeline to tanks at Eisner's Cove.

The pipeline runs from the Cherubini pier to the so called Dexter Terminal, where the storage tanks are located. General Liquids is part of the Dexter Group of companies which includes Municipal Contracting - a large quarrying and road building operation. They carry out asphalt paving as part of their work, and would seem to be in competition with Miller / McAsphalt - operators of the tug / barge and paving contractors in their own right. They are also asphalt producers and formulators and are part of the Colas Group from France. McAsphalt also has its own marine terminal and storage tanks farther along into Eastern Passage next to Autoport.

McAsphalt has taken delivery of its new 73,600 bbl capacity tanker Asphalt Advantage. It arrived in Montreal from China last month and is now in Hamilton, ON. It is still not known if the new ship will be an addition to the current fleet or if it will mean the retirement of an older articulated tug/barge.  

The tug Everlast was built in 1977 and with its barge Norman McLeod (built in 2001) are normally used only on the Great Lakes / St.Lawrence. If they are retired the Leo A. McArthur / John J.Carrick might take their place and the Asphalt Advantage would do the coastal work. We will have to wait and see as the winter shutdown of the St.Lawrence Seaway nears.

.