Thin on Top

 I don't pay close attention to Atlantic Container Lines ships - they come and go, usually twice weekly- one eastbound and one westbound - and are more or less a fixture of Halifax Harbour. Today however I took particular note of the Atlantic Sun  when it was alongside at PSA Fairview Cove. 

Through a rainy-streaked windshield (thanks to Post Tropical Storm Melissa, passing by well out to sea, there was no SUN) the ship appeared to have very few containers on deck.

Sister ship Atlantic Sky had less than a full deck load when I noticed it on September 11.  

After the rush of imports for late fall (US Thanksgiving and Christmas consumer goods), cargo volumes tend to tail off, so I should not be too surprised. East bound cargoes are always lighter than westbound too, and as today's arrival is eastbound from Norfolk I guess it is to be expected that it would be lightly loaded. 

Atlantic Container Line is owned by the Italian Grimaldi Group and is one of the longest standing customers of the port.

ACL runs five 100,430 gt. 49,600 dwt, ConRo ships Atlantic Star, Sail, Sea, Sky and Sun built in 2015-2016. In addition to a modest 3800 TEU container capacity, the have immense RoRo space of 6412 linear meters, served by a 420 tonne capacity stern ramp. 

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More Firsts, Updates, but first an Oops

Oops

Following upon yesterday's Firsts (October 29) is a needed correction regarding the new Canadian Coast Guard ice breaking patrol vessel Donjek. 

In fact it was rolled out in two sections (not in one piece as stated yesterday) which were very quickly aligned  ready for joining.

What I saw yesterday was the bow section, which later emerged by itself, then was moved laterally in position in front of the other (western) door. (Although it appeared to have burst through a blue screen, it was some distance away from the roll up curtain/door.)

 

 

This apparently allowed the remainder of the ship to be rolled out and moved well away from the assembly hall.

 

The bow was moved into position in very short order, and was soon aligned ready to be joined. The red and white power plant chimneys and Canadian Tire containers in the background and foreground made for a colourful scene.

It will be interesting to see the ship in one piece and to compare it to the original RCN design. The two CCG version ships will have some differences in accommodation and other features such as helicopter facilities. The recent transfer of the Canadian Coast Guard from the federal government's Department of Fisheries and Oceans to the Department of National Defence, so far at least, does not signal a militarization of the CCG. It will still be a civilian service, with civilian crews, and as such will mean some very different features in these ships.

More Firsts

Among today's (October 30) firsts were an auto carrier and general cargo ship.

The NOCC Atlantic is a member of the Norwegian Car Carrier AS fleet. Built in 2009 by the Samjin Shipbuilding Industries Co Ltd shipyard in Weihai, China, it is a 60,868 gt, 22,500 dwt ship with a capacity of 6754 CEU. It has a 125 tonne capacity stern ramp and four hoistable car decks to make space for oversize loads. It also has a small side ramp.

 The ship is on an unusual routing. Instead of coming from western Europe it is arriving from Pyeongtaek, Masan and Ulsan, South Korea. Asian car makers are beginning to send cars to east coast North American cities directly, rather than facing congestion and other issues with west coast ports. Subaru is reported to be one of the manufacturers.

The general cargo ship is the Lady Diana from the well known Netherlands small ship operator Wijjnne & Barends  (part of the Spliethoff Group). A typical European style ship with box shaped holds, it was built in 2020 by Hexing Shipbuilding & Repair in Wenling, China. The 2862 gt, 4092 dwt ship is gearless and has a traveling gantry to move hatch covers.

The ship arrived from Belfast, so must be carrying aircraft components. A mobile crane was brought in to unload the cargo. (It looked to me like they first rigged some cargo-specific spreaders that stay in Halifax for use by the stevedores, Logistec.)

Update

As reported yesterday the disabled ship AT Revelin completed cargo transfer to the bulker Eva Bright at Pier 27-28, using the latter's cranes. They employed buckets from one ship or the other - more likely the AP Revelin.

 

The Eva Bright then moved to Number 10 anchorage in Bedford Basin...

 

...and AP Revelin was moved, cold move, by tugs to Pier 26, astern of the tug Ezra Sol.

 

 The Eva Bright did not appear fully loaded and the AP Revelin did not appear fully unloaded, so this operation may be reversed to complete the work after the predicted bad weather (wind and rain from post tropical storm Melissa) passes in the next two days.

 Lasts

Cruise ships are making their last appearances for the season, and in a traditional gesture, ships often salute the port in thanks for hospitality on their final departure. This evening (October 30) the Brilliance of the Seas sent out three window rattling blasts when it sailed from Pier 22 and headed for Boston. They may be headed into some rough weather, so Bon Voyage!

The ship was built by Meyer Weft, Papenburg, Germany in 2002. It can carry 2140 passengers (double occupancy) / 2543 maximum berths, with a very busy crew of 848.
 

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A day of firsts - and lasts

 Firsts

There were some first time callers today (October 29) in Halifax. The largest and most apparent was the Norwegian Prima - a ship that exemplifies the latest trends in popular cruise ship design (said to be "minimalist" on doubtful authority). Despite its hulking shape and 20 decks it is still only the 59th largest cruise ship in the world. (It arrived last evening after dark. and berthed at Pier 22.)

 Built by Fincantieri in 2022 it registers 145,535 gt with a capacity of 3,099 passengers and 1,506 crew. Sixteen of those 20 decks are accessible to guests. 

Among the ship's features are a visual reality theatre, the largest go-kart track afloat, an overside dry slide, and other venues for entertainment and eating beyond number.

The ship is on a repositioning cruise from the Mediterranean, via Southampton, to the Caribbean. I imagined some alteration to plans would be inevitable, as the remnant of the disastrous hurricane Melissa pass offshore Nova Scotia, but the ship is scheduled to sail this evening for New York - break out the Dramamine.

A more subdued looking ship was also a first time caller in Halifax today. The Liberian flagged Koi arrived on CMA CGM's Indamex service from India for the US east coast. It appears that the ship came via the Suez Canal.CMA CGM has been an early return user of the Canal while many lines are still avoiding the Red Sea, and sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. The ship's last port was Tanger Med.

The ship was built in 2011 by Hyundai Samho as Hanjin Rotterdam but was renamed SM Savannah in 2017; then in 2020 it became DS Koi briefly until it was renamed Koi later in the same year. It is a 91,585 gt, 102,517 dwt ship with a capacity of 8586 TEU with 700 reefer plugs. It is among the largest container ships with a single superstructure. Most ships of 9,000 TEU or more have an isolated bridge structure farther forward.

Lasts

As the cruise season winds down, only half a dozen or so ships are scheduled before the season ends with the Aidadiva on November 19. There will be no more multiple ships days, so workers today retrieved the pontoons from the landing stage at Pier 24. There will be no more need for "lightering off" of passengers in ships' tenders from anchorage. [see several previous posts.]

 The removal will allow ships to tie up at the opposite side of the camber at Pier 25-26, and sure enough that began to happen. The American tug Ezra Sol arrived and tied up well in at Pier 25.

 It has returned from Norfolk, its home base, after its earlier visit September 21 to 26. On that call, it towed in the disabled AP Revelin and stood by it for a time. Now that ship has transferred cargo to the Eva Bright at nearby Pier 27, and tomorrow will be moved (cold move) to pier 26, just astern of the tug, where it will likely be rigged up for another tow.

 The AP Revelin will be going to drydock - somewhere - likely the United States, for repairs after losing its prop or a blade from the prop, and is therefore unable to move on its own. There way also be other damage related to the loss, which will also require repair. Its grain cargo will likely be taken by the Eva Bright to its original destination.

More Firsts 

We got a first glimpse at a new Canadian Coast Guard Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel as Halifax Shipyard prepares to roll out the first ship from the Assembly hall.

 To be named Domjek Glacier the ship is the first of two ships for the Canadian Coast Guard. They are variants of the Harry DeWolf class of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels built for the Royal Canadian Navy. The two CCGS ships were added to the AOPV project to fill the void between completion of the RCN AOPVS and full scale work on the new RCN destroyers.

Little was revealed today, although there is some evidence of measures to be taken to resolve an issue with anchors on the RCN ships. Some plating has been removed or not yet installed over the anchor pockets. Perhaps there will be flaps over the pockets? (No more "old school" cementing the hawse pipes.)

 This is the first of the ships to be fully assembled under cover. the RCN ships were rolled out in sections and joined outdoors. The new destroyers will also be assembled indoors by all accounts.

Work is well underway at the new float out and fitting out berth at Pier 6 as Caisson number 15 was moved by McNally boats from the IEL pier in Dartmouth to the Shipyard.

Enormous amounts of fill have been trucked in from the quarry in Dartmouth to fill the caisson cells, but there will be much more to come as the cope walls are yet to be built. and the grade has to be built up to the level of the Assembly Hall.

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Inspiration at 23

 With two small cruise ships in port today, October 25, either one could have docked at Pier 23, but it was the smaller of the two that got the "inside" berth.  The larger Seabourn Sojourn, which had tied up at Pier 23 on previous visits ( see September 19 ) got the outside berth at Pier 22 while the Hanseatic Inspiration took the more sheltered inner berth of Pier 23.

Not that much shelter was required, but a brief rain and wind squall did pass over the area in the early afternoon. With a trace of rain still in the air, a faint rainbow appeared briefly over the Dartmouth shore in the background.

The Hanseatic Inspiration (the first word is capitalized on the ships' bow) dates from 2019 when it was built by Fincantieri's Norwegian subsidiary Vard. The hull/shell came from the Tulcea yard in Romania, and was completed and fitted out at the Langsten Slip in Norway.

The 15,651 gt ship can carry 230 guests in 120 state rooms and has a crew of 175. It was built to Polar 6 standards for cruises to the Arctic and Antarctic. For the latter, passenger numbers are limited to 199.

This year the ship made a Northwest Passage, west to east, August 21 to September 3. After calls in Greenland, it made its way to the Great Lakes and reached as far inland as Milwaukee visiting half a dozen Great Lakes sites en route. It then retraced its steps via most of the same ports. After calls in Toronto, Montreal and Quebec City it stopped in Tadoussac, Gaspé, the Magdalen Islands, and Charlottetown.

After some "bruisin' in the cruisin' " through the locks it was time for a little touchup work, and Pier 23 was an ideal location.

A modern day equivalent of a bosun's chair was suspended over side, allowing a lucky crew member to apply some fresh paint. The ship is equipped with a traveling window washing gantry on each side, that runs on a recessed rail above the bridge deck. The bosun's chair was suspended from that unit, with another crew member attending from above.

 After Halifax, the Hanseatic Inspiration will make a fourteen day trip to Panama then some local cruising. It departs Colon November 19 for Valparaiso and on December 5 leaves for Ushuaia where it will be based for three trips of 22 to 23 days duration, to Antarctica. On February 23, 2026 it is due to sail from Puerto Montt for Tahiti. After cruising in the Pacific it is due to sail again from Singapore in August for Halifax via the Northwest Passage, Greenland and the Great Lakes. By which time it should be due for some more paint touch up.

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Two for the South End

 

There were two late morning arrivals at the PSA Atlantic Hub today, October 24. Most container ships arrive earlier in the morning - often before sunrise, making picture taking difficult if not impossible. So today, despite backlighting, the ships were clearly visible.

First in line was the CMA CGM T. Roosevelt on the Ocean Alliance Asia-North America service USEC3, directly from Singapore - a 29 day voyage of 12,193.33 miles. 

One of six ships in the neo-Panamax A.Lincoln class it was delivered by Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2017. A 140,872 gt, 138,384 dwt ship it has a theoretical capacity of 14,855 TEU, which is also quoted as 14,414 depending on the source, and 1400 reefer plugs.

On its first trip in 2017 it was the largest ship to transit the Panama Canal and held that record until 2019. Its immense dimensions of 336m long (1202 ft) and 48m breadth (157 ft) can best be appreciated at close range when it is possible to count the number of boxes. (eighteen across and up to nine high). There is also a large lashing frame structure on the after deck to secure containers to secure containers in case of following seas.

 

As tugs swung the ship around to slide back in alongside Pier 41, the next ship was making its way in close behind to tie up at Pier 42. MSC Kilimanjaro IV is on the Med-Canada route from Sines, Portugal, bound for Montreal.

 Despite a retro-fitted exhaust gas scrubber, the ship was able to contribute some particulate matter to the pristine air of Halifax harbour.

Built in 2006 by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group it comes in at 40,110 gt, 50,689 dwt with a capacity of 4253 TEU. It operated as the ZIM Livorno until 2017 (and was a regular caller in Halifax), then ran as the Livorno from 2017 to 2019. It carried the name X-Press Kilimanjaro from 2019 to 2024 when it received its current name. Oddly, Roman the numeral in MSC ship's names usually refers to the next largest 1,000 TEU capacity, and so this ship would normally have a V for 5,000 TEU. It is possible therefore that the 4253 TEU number is over stated.

 As the ship turned to back in to the berth, the exhaust gas scrubber tower could be seen aft of the regular funnel, with a large exposed pipe angling in to the original funnel casing.

The ship will offload some containers in Halifax to reduce draft. Record low water levels on the St.Lawrence River mean more business for Halifax as ships drop off cargo here before sailing to Montreal and then top up again outbound. Currently ship are restricted to 11 meters draft in the freshwater port of Montreal. This is well below optimal seagoing (salt water) draft for ships in the 5,000 to 6,000 TEU size. To take advantage of that capacity, and maximize efficiency, ships are making the calls in Halifax. This of course, inadvertently makes for an express service through Halifax, cutting off a day or more from the transit time to inland destinations, by moving the "extra" containers by rail. 

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RCN's new MRBs - REVISION

 

 The Royal Canadian Navy is replacing the RHIBs (Rigid Hill Inflatable Boats) on the Halifax class frigates*. The new boats called MRBs (Multi-Role Rigid Inflatable Boats) are 9 meters long and can also carry up to twelve persons in shock absorbing seats.  They have two diesel engines driving twin screws and can achieve 40 knots. 

 Each of the Halifax class frigates will receive two of the craft and have had new cranes fitted to deploy and recover them. The lifting gear secures to the structure seen at midships of the boat.

Zodiac Hurricane Technologies was awarded the contract to built thirty of the boats and all should be in service by early 2026. The boats have a rigid hull with an inflatable collar that serves as flotation device and fender. 

The multi-role capability includes Search and Rescue, Humanitarian Aid, and Interdiction. There is a bit dead centre astern which can be used for towing.

Other branches of the Canadian government's marine services also use RHIBs, including the Canadian Coast Guard and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police:

 

 The RCN's Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic (FDUA)also operates some RHIBs:

* REVISION

The boat shown in the first photo is  NOT the type assigned to the Halifax class frigates, but is in fact a MRRB attached to the AOPS ships:  A Multi-Role Rescue Boat.

Another Lake

 
Another of Eastern Pacific's new dual fuel auto carriers arrived at Autoport today, October 22. The Lake Victoria is a 71,631 gt, 19,800 dwt ship with a capacity of 7,000 CEU. As with its sister ships it advertises that is was built with shore power connectivity and is fueled by LNG. The ship is on charter to Volkswagen and arrived from Emden.

China Merchants Jinling Co Ltd delivered the ship earlier this year. It carries the name of the largest lake in Africa, which was named for the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland (including colonies like Canada) by the explorer John H Speke in 1858. Despite several local names, the British name has been retained. It is the world's second largest fresh water lake (by surface area) after Lake Superior.

It seems that the Lake Victoria will be in port over night and most of the day tomorrow. As a result the ASL Sanderling will remain at anchor until late in the day tomorrow before moving to Autoport.

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Tenders and regular business

 With five cruise ships in port at one time, there were an estimated 11,000 passengers visiting Halifax today, October 21. Unlike Venice, Barcelona and ports in Alaska, Halifax welcomed the ships and the people without any serious hiccups. 

With limited berthing space and only a very small  cruise terminal it meant that two ships anchored out in the harbour and ferried the passengers (and crew members with shore leave) ashore using their own tenders.

 The lineup in order of arrival was the Norwegian Getaway at Pier 22, Brilliance of the Seas at Pier 20, Silver Shadow at Pier 23, Norwegian Gem at number one anchorage south and Azamara Quest at number one anchorage north.

Both anchored ships were close to the landing stage at Pier 24, where there was a constant shuttle of tenders, with a maximum of three alongside at any one time.

Tenders from the Norwegian Gem are catamarans with side loading doors.

 Although the day started off with rain, the sun came out by mid-morning. There was a breeze, but conditions were quite calm for tendering operations.

 The landing stage has two ramps leading from the floating pontoons to the tented reception area on Pier 24.

Even with the Silver Shadow at Pier 23 doing waste disposal work, there was lots of room for the tenders to come and go.
 

  

The two anchored ships operated their tenders from their starboard /lee sides, although conditions were quite calm.

 Other parts of the port were operating as usual. unhindered by the cruise ships.

Autoport had the Traviata in from the usual western Europe ports.

 Imperial Oil's number 3 berth was not idle for long. When the Algoberta sailed for Quebec, the TORM Dagmar was arriving from Antwerp to take its place.

TORM Dagmar, in the unique colour scheme of the Danish TORM A/S is carrying refined product, which will be stored, then distributed throughout the region by coastal tankers or trucks.

Built in 2015 by Hyundai Mipo Co Ltd in Ulsan as the Jane S the Torm Dagmar was acquired by TORM A/S and renamed in 2023. It is a Mid Range chemical /product tanker of 29,225 gt, 49,999 dwt. Its extra large funnel casing also houses an exhaust gas scrubber system to meet International emission requirements. New tankers (see yesterday) are being built for LNG / dual fuel as a more effective interim measure until alternative fuels become widely available.

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Seeing Red - Yellow Too -updated

 Red is not an unusual colour for ships, but it is most commonly seen in Halifax on ships of the Canadian Coast Guard, and ships that value high visibility for arctic operations.

Two red ships arrived today (October 20) - and they may or may not fit the latter description. First in was the Swedish tanker Ramanda from Albany, NY. The ship went to anchor to await loading of the Irving Oil (chartered) tanker Algoma East Coast at Irving Oil's Woodside Terminal.

 The ship was built by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard (or Avic Dungheng) in 2018. It is a dual fuel ship (with 2000 cubic meter LNG tanks on deck) of 12,770 dwt, 17,994 dwt and built to the high standard of Ice Class 1A. The ship does not appear to be carrying much, if any, cargo, so my guess is that it has been hired by Coastal Shipping Ltd to complete the northern supply rounds of the Kivalliq W. (see yesterday's post).* The ship briefly carried the names Zhong Ding 42 and Ju Feng 1 in 2018.

 The second red arrival was the heavy lift multi-purpose ship BBC Rheiderland a 14,941gt, 17,551 dwt vessel built in 2013 by Sanfu Ship Engineering in Taizhou. It carries three 80 tonne SWL cranes that can work in combination for 150 tonne lifts. It has the usual pontoon hatches and moveable tween decks.

 Arriving at Pier 9C from Belfast it is perhaps safe to say that it is carrying more aircraft components. (previous posts may not have been reliable). Something I have never noted before, is flashing red lights near the top of the crane boom. These are typically aircraft warning lights and may be required in  some ports, but were flashing here today. (The unintentional smiley face is probably not a requirement.)

 As with several BBC Chartering Ships it has had previous names: named initially SCL Helvtia it was renamed Clipper Helvetia in 2013, and Helvetia from 2016 to 2020. Rheiderland is a region in the vicinity of the River Ems and includes portions of Germany and the Netherlands.

To contrast with the red was the bright yellow of the Grande Costa D'Avorio arriving at Autoport.

 Grimaldi Lines of Italy, primarily operates between Europe and Africa, where the bright sun must make the yellow ships glow. (Grimaldi also owns the Atlantic Container Line, but its ships have dark blue hulls.)

This ship was built by Uljanik in Pula, Croatia in 2011, with tonnages of 47,218 gt, 24,800 dwt. and capacities of about 800 TEU and carries RoRo cargo of up to 1200 CEU in hold or on deck.  It has two cargo cranes and a 250 tonne stern ramp. Today it  was carrying a helicopter, which showed up at the ramp. It likely has Italian cars and trucks as cargo.

The ship made the headlines in July-August 2023 when fire broke out while it was loading used cars in Port Newark. Two firefighters lost their lives.  The cars (none of which were electric, and some not in running order, were bound for Africa.)

 

Wrong guess! The tanker Sarah Desgagnés has been engaged, and is en route to Lewisporte to load.

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Perils of the North - News and Update

 Following up on my September 12 post entitled Another Grounding :

With diminishing ice in the far north there has been a dramatic increase the amount of shipping activity in the Canadian arctic. All this activity is not without risk and this year there have been at least four instances of ships in trouble in the far north.

The first that I became aware of was the Dutch ship Tiberborg which went adrift in Baffin Bay in mid-August. A 14,695 gt, 21,303 dwt multi-purpose ship, rated Finnish / Swedish Ice Class 1A, it carries four 50 tonne SWL cranes to serve two box shaped holds with full width hatches. Built by Hudong Zhonghua in 2013, it is one of four sister ships in the Royal Wagenborg fleet. It has made several Northwest Passages, and this time had sailed from Baie-Comeau, QC August 4 and Matane, QC, August 8. (Those ports suggest it was carrying paper.)

The ship was taken in tow by the tug Beverly M 1 and towed back to Baie-Comeau, QC, arriving September 9, where presumably the problem was rectified. The ship then sailed from Baie-Comeau September 22, this time by a more southern route, transiting the Panama Canal October 4. It is now due in Osnan, South Korea on November 7. 

The sister ship Thamesborg as reported in the previous post, went aground September 6 (or 7th) off Tasmania Island in Franklin Strait, not a usual route, and seemingly poorly charted.  After lightering off some 5,000 tonnes of cargo to the Silver Copenhagen and the Canadian ship Nunalik it was refloated October 10 using the Estonian flag icebreaker Botnica and the Canadian tug Beverly M 1. Some dewatering of ballast tanks was also carried out. After survey in Pond Inlet, it was reported underway, taking the Bellot Strait, Gulf of Boothia / Brentford Bay route to avoid newly forming ice.

The ship was en route from China to Baie-Comeau, QC with a cargo of carbon blocks, some of which is still aboard. It is now due in Baie-Comeau October 24.

Meanwhile the ship Nunalik which had been on northern supply, and was to return to Bécancour, QC, stopped off in Baie-Comeau to discharge the lightered cargo and was on its way again Ocotober 15. Silver Copenhagen meanwhile (a refrigerated cargo ship, normally serving Greenland, and which may not have appropriate cargo handling gear) is also en route for Baie-Comeau and is due there October 24. The Beverly M 1 is accompanying and is also due October 24.

The Thamesborg sailing under its own power is making its way toward Baie-Comeau at 10.5 knots. On arrival, also October 24, it will presumably use its cargo cranes to off load the Silver Copenhagen. The Botnica is heading for St.John's (the Port of Entry for its Custom's clearance.) The ship had previously been granted a coasting license to assist late season shipping from the Baffinland / Mary River iron ore mine port of Milne Inlet. It will likely be heading back in that direction once cleared.

It is surprising how many other ships were in the vicinity and stood by or offered aid if needed.  Canadian Coast Guard ships that did assist were CCGS Jean Goodwill (which has since returned to Halifax October 3) and CCGS Des Groseilliers. Another Wagenborg fleetmate the Atlanticborg also en route from China (and presumably loaded with cargo), stood by for a time, and arrived without incident in Baie-Comeau October 14.

Also mentioned in the September 12 post was the Canadian flag Rosaire A. Desgagnés which took the ground in Pelly Bay August 23. It refloated at high tide and was given clearance to sail to Las Palmas, Canary Islands, arriving there September 25. Las Palmas is a favourite repair spot for Canadian ships for a variety of reasons.

The latest incident - although not apparently related to northern conditions, was a "mechanical failure" with the tanker Kivalliq W. while delivering fuel to Baker Lake on October 15. A fuel tank was damaged and the ship must go to drydock for repairs. Another tanker has been engaged to pick up fuel product in Lewisporte, NL and complete deliveries to northern communities before ice conditions close in. There was no pollution reported, and it is not clear yet where the ship will go for repairs.

 All this brings up the hazards of shipping in the north, and the pressure to provide better charts. more resources in case of more serious accidents, and oil spills.There have been no incidents involving cruise ships this year, but the number of those ships in the north is also increasing. Then there is the recent announcement of rehabilitation of the port of Churchill, MB for grain export to Asia via northern waters. But that is a topic for another day.

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Different Ships at 9C (and corrected correction)

 Instead of the recent string of multi-purpose general cargo ships with aircraft components at Pier 9C (see footnote) there have been different ships for different reasons in recent days.

When the coastal tanker Algoscotia arrived on October 14 it did not tie up at Imperial Oil as usual, but went directly to Pier 9C, perhaps for some maintenance work that could not be done at the oil dock. The jetty at Imperial only has a catwalk type access to shore, so in not accessible by trucks.

A mobile crane was soon at work, along with the ship's own derrick, at the ship's pump room. 

 

While alongside the ship also took the opportunity to refuel. A tank truck arrived and set up to pump fuel aboard. The truck and trailer belong to RST Transport which provides refueling services in the port. 

RST, which stands for Road Sea Transport, is part of J.D.Irving, Limited - a separate branch of the Irving family of companies from Irving Oil. Irving Oil has its own fleet of trucks, but RST provides the added service of ship fueling.

 

Once work was completed the ship moved to Imperial Oil October 16. It loaded product and sailed for Sydney on October 17. 

 

Today, October 18 it was a larger ship arrival, the self-unloading bulk carrier CSL Tacoma. A 43,691 gt,71,000 dwt ship, part of the Trillium class, built in 2013 by Chengxi Shipyard.

 

 It was also met by a truck crane and other trucks carrying various materials. Among them was what appeared to be replacement belting for the self-unloading conveyor system. The constant exposure to abrasive and corrosive materials like rock and salt, must put a great deal of wear and tear on the reinforced rubber belts. The belt system runs the full length of the hold and through a series of elevating belts up to the 80 meter long unloading boom. At a rough guess there must be at least 600 meters of conveyor belt on this ship, so the roll I could see on the delivery truck (at right in photo below) represents only a relativeley small section that will presumably be spliced in.

 

 

 Later in the day the ship moved to Gold Bond Gypsum to load. The ship arrived from Wilmington, NC and could be headed for any one of several US ports ranging from New Hampshire to Florida.

 

Correction to Corrections

It is with considerable embarrassment that I acknowledge errors in some past posts. They have to do with the recent visit of the ship Arctic Rock. 

First It seems that the ship did indeed deliver aircraft components from Italy. Two tail sections can be seen at Pier 9C, and had no other means of appearing there, except on that ship.

 

Second the ship did not load a large transformer because that unit is still here, on its heavy rail car, awaiting the arrival of another ship, (a BBC heavy lift ship is due tomorrow.)

 

I have corrected the original entries by striking out the incorrect information and entering new information in italics.

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