After the Blow

 After creating mass devastation in the Caribbean Hurricane Melissa weakened as it made its way northward. By the time it reached our latitude (45 degrees north or so) October 31- November 1, it was a post tropical storm and tracked well offshore. There was still wind in the 30 kph (18 mph) range with gusts over 60 kph (37 mph) which was enough to put unnecessary strain on mooring lines and jetties.With plenty of advance warning, ships took precautions by doubling up on lines or moving to better places. Some ships remained in port until the storm passed.

At mid-day October 31 the coastal tanker Algoma Acadian moved from Irving Oil's Woodside terminal to anchorage number 12 in Bedford Basin. The oil terminal facility is quite exposed and not built to take the strain of bad weather. There is the added risk of parting an oil line, so ships generally move off in bad weather.

 Following soon after to number 10 anchorage in the Basin was the bulk carrier Eva Bright. It moved from Pier 27 where it had been transferring cargo from the AP Revelin (see yesterday's post and others). 

The AP Revelin moved to Pier 26 yesterday to free up the Pier 27 berth for last night's arrival of the Gotland  for Nirint Shipping.

Using its own cranes it discharged the latest cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba. I can't track the ship's route to Halifax precisely, but it sailed from Moa October 25, well ahead of the hurricane. Moa was severely impacted by hurricane Melissa and detailed reports are hard to find because the eastern part of the island is still without power or most communications.

The ship is due to sail to sail this evening (November 1) for Villagarcia, Bilbao and Rotterdam.
 

The Gotland is a general cargo vessel of 12,772 gt, 17,400 dwt built in 2011 by the Xinshun Shipyard Group. It can carry about 900 TEU (630 at 14 tonnes), has 60 reefer plugs and has three cranes: one crane of 80 tonnes SWL and two cranes of 150 tonnes SWL which are combinable. 

The ship was built as the Rickmers Tianjin but was sold in 2015 to Gotland Schiffahrts. It has retained the famous green paint of the legendary Rickmers Group.  

 Another arrival from late October 31 was the EF Ava for the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip. It arrived on the regular Green Line service from Portland, ME and sailed today, November 1, for Reykjavik. From there it will head for the Faroe Islands, then Denmark and England and will remain operating in European waters for some time.

The ship seems to have missed the worst of the weather, but there will still be high seas to contend with. Ferry service to Newfoundland has been cancelled for today as the remnants of the storm work north easterly.

The EF Ava has been a regular for Eimskip since about 2018. Its original name was OPDR Rotterdam but that was changed on delivery in 2008 to OPDR Tanger for a ten year charter to Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampshiffs Rederei. Its current name, given in 2018, includes the initials EF which stands for ElbFeeder, which is a German company owned by Eimskip, and which builds and charters ships to Eimskip.

The EF Ava as built in 2008 by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and is reported to be 7545 gt, 8168dwt with a capacity of 698 TEU with 120 reefer plugs. It is gearless. 

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