Odds and Sods

 Most of the shipping in Halifax harbour is scheduled container / cargo ships or regular callers such as coastal tankers or gypsum carriers. Occasionally however there are odd callers of the "one of" variety.

There were two such calls in Halifax today, October 3, and there is an update on two more.

This morning's arrival of the Hosei Sakura appears to have been a "one of" although its sister ships have made many visits.

 

Arriving at the pilot station at 0700 hrs ADT meant strong backlighting, and a poor view of the ship and its odd looking deck load. Ships of Bao Shang Ship Management, and formerly of Thorco have been regulars here loading submarine cable racks, but this time the ship had more or less an opposite cargo.

It appeared to be an aircraft tail assembly. These often arrive in Halifax from Belfast, on unscheduled general cargo ships. This ship however has been no where near Belfast, but instead comes from Nemrut, Turkey (September 10-14) with a stop over in the Algeciras anchorage - likely for bunkers. The container frame comes from Leonardo SpA, a major Italian defense and aircraft manufacturer.

The Hosei Sakura was built in 2014 as the Thorco Lineage, taking is present name in 2021. It is a 13,110 gt, 16,949 dwt general purpose carrier with two 50 tonne cranes and grabs. It is one of a large series of sister ships built by Honda Heavy Industries in Saiki, Japan. 

When the ship sailed this afternoon its deck load appeared to be cable reels - some small and some large ones in sections.

 Arriving October 1 and anchoring in Bedford Basin, the tanker Hafnia Lise was neither bringing cargo nor taking cargo away.

 

A more or less typical LR2 tanker of 29,658 gt, 49,875 dwt, it was not built by the usual Korean shipyard but by Guangzhou Shipyard International in 2016. Today, October 3, I noted the workboat Allen Clipper alongside. That normally means underwater work such as hull cleaning, propeller clearing or balancing.

 It is the height of the cruise season and there were two ships in today. The Volendam with 1432passengers and the mammoth Symphony of the Seas with 6,360 passengers (its maximum capacity is 6680 with 2200 crew.)

Passengers on this trip will have a tale to tell when they get home. On October 1 the ship diverted from its planned course due to high winds. It was invited to dock in Sydney, NS, but the master opted not to enter port, due, presumably, to the ship's very great windage. Instead they did a large series of loops in the relatively protected Sydney Bight, then made for Halifax. It will not be sailing from Halifax until midnight tonight, so no better photo is available.

 The 228,081 gt Symphony OTS was the largest cruise ship in the world from 2018 to 2022.

Update:

The ship AP Revelin, which has been anchored in Halifax after losing its prop at sea, was moved this afternoon to Pier 27. This may mean a new prop will be fitted. The tug Point Chebucto from the Strait of Canso stood by the ship while it was at anchor. The tug remains in Halifax at least for now.

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