ACL and H-L call it splits

 The fallout from the Maersk / Hapag-Lloyd "Gemini Cooperation" began earlier this year. As soon as the arrangement was announced H-L stated that they would be leaving THE Alliance effective early 2025. There was some fear that that the other partners, ONE, HMM and Yang Ming would not be able to survive the loss, but it has now been reported that MSC has stepped in. As the world's largest container line MSC can bring considerable stability to THE Alliance. (MSC had been party to the 2M Alliance with Maersk which will also expire). It is still possible that various lines will re-form into different arrangements, but it is now much less likely.

Atlantic Container Line has announced that it is withdrawing from the longstanding "reciprocal space charter and sailing agreement" with Hapag-Lloyd. Initially established in 1986 and renewed every ten years, the agreement saw ACL moving some of its ships to H-L's Montreal route for a time and even renaming them with "Express" names.

The G3 (third generation) ACL ship Atlantic Companion was renamed Companion Express from 1987 to 1994.

 There was lots of Hapag-Lloyd orange on deck as Atlantic Cartier arrived in Haifax and also on the Atlantic Compass:

Atlantic Concert carried the name Concert Express from 1987-1994.

In recent years H-L boxes (and the green United Arab Shipping Co's UASC boxes) have been fewer and fewer on ACL ships (at least from what can be seen on deck), so it is uncertain how severe a jolt this latest development will be for the Grimaldi-owned ACL. There is also talk that H-L may establish a new transatlantic service of its own calling in Saint John, NB. H-L and CP Rail (now CPKC) also have longstanding ties, so this may be a loss to Halifax which is served only by CN Rail.

 Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd will be establising feeder services as part of of their new network but ACL also has feeders to Gothenborg and between Liverpool and Dublin and Belfast. The shakeup may have more ramifications however, but that is purely speculation at this point.

You can play "Where's Waldo" trying to spot the Hapag-Lloyd and UASC containers on the Atlantic Sky at PSA Fairview Cove yesterday, September 20. 

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ACL's (almost) new names and some more history

Thanks to Halifax Shipping News for alerting us to the names selected for Atlantic Container Lines' new G4 ConRo ships. The names Atlantic Star, Atlantic Sail, Atlantic Sea, Atlantic Sky and Atlantic Sun will become familiar to Halifax as the new ships come into service next year. However one of the names is already familiar, at least to us old timers.

 Atlantic Star (i) March 3, 1970- a banner day.

The first ocean RoRo cargo ever delivered to Halifax was carried aboard the first Atlantic Star, a G1 (1st generation) ACL Con Ro ship. That cargo arrived March 3, 1970 and consisted of 200 crated Volvo car chassis for assembly in Halifax, and 200 finished Volvos for onward distribution to US markets. It landed at the newly built RoRo ramp at pier 36 (still in use today but now within Halterm). Halterm construction was still underway, and no container cranes existed in Halifax. It does not appear that the ship unloaded any containers on that trip.

Dutch flag flying, Atlantic Star has completed unloading the first RoRo cargo.

Ramp down at pier 36 - note the old freight shed - long since gone. The tarped pallet on the left is part of the RoRo cargo. The ship carries the original ACL logo and buff funnel.

 
Atlantic Star was built in 1967 by Atelier et chantier de Dunkerque et Bordeaux (France-Gironde) at Dunkirk, France for Holland-America Line, a founding partner in ACL. In 1976 the ship was sent to Japan and lengthened 25.8 meters by Hitachi Zosen, Innoshima. They also added hull sponsons for strength and stability.  Gross tonnage increased from 11,839 to 15,000 (sources differ) and deadweight from 18,500 to 20,400 (references differ due to changes in tonnage calculations methods, conversion to metric, etc.,). Its container capacity increased by 400 TEU to 1154. The ship had four cellular holds forward and carried 367/20 ft, 94/40 ft containers below deck and 191/20 ft, 204/40 ft on deck.
Ship's propulsion was by means of a single 9 cylinder MAN engine generating 20,700 bhp through a single controllable pitch prop. As built its speed was listed as 21 knots, but this was reduced to 20 knots after lengthening. The twin funnels allowed for a clear RoRo deck access amidships.

After lengthening - the hull sponsons were necessary, but unpopular with pilots, who had to board the ship just above a specially built notch.

Passing under the MacKay bridge in 1984, the long gone Navicula and E.E.Prince are among the boats tied up at BIO, along with a weather buoy on the dock.

ACLS's original partners, Holland-America, A/B Transatlantic, Swedish-America Line and Wallenius Lines were joined in 1967 by Cie Générale Transatlantique and Cunard Steamships. As ACL ownership evolved, Atlantic Star was transferred to Cunard in 1983, and they were the owners when it was sent to Kaohsiung for scrapping December 14, 1987. It went out flying the British flag, and registered in Liverpool.

Sailing from Halifax for the last time October 11, 1987, the ship still looked impressive, despite the sponsons.

Note the dimple in the sponson where the pilot had to board.

There were only four G1 ships: Atlantic Saga, Atlantic Song, Atlantic Span (later renamed Atlantic Service) and Atlantic Star.
The G1s overlapped with the six G2 ships Atlantic Champagne, Atlantic Causeway,  Atlantic Crown, Atlantic Cinderella, Atlantic Cognac, and Atlantic Conveyor (i) and the five (current) G3 ships Atlantic Companion, Atlantic Concert, Atlantic Compass, Atlantic Conveyor (ii) and Atlantic Cartier until they in turn were lengthened in 1987.

The mighty G2s raced across the Atlantic at 24 knots, carrying RoRo cargo and a modest 738 TEU and at great cost. Powered by four STAL-Laval steam turbines giving 35,000 shp to two screws, they were "gas guzzlers" extraordinaire, which meant a relatively short service life. Atlantic Cinderella (the Wallenius motto on the bow, explains the name choice - Wallenius uses operatic figures for all its ship's names) at pier 33-34, for repairs May 12, 1980. It did not sail until May 15.

Atlantic Cinderella was built at Dunkirrk, in 1970 and measured 15,347 gt. It was laid up in Jacksonville, FL in December 1984 and left in tow in October 1985 for Kaohsiung. It arrived at the scrappers January 19, 1986, ending a very short life span for a ConRo ship.
It was stated that at the time when they were no diesel engines powerful enough to drive these ships at 24 knots, and steam was the only alternative.


When the G1s and G2s were scrapped ACL's services on its own ships were consolidated on the G3s and an arrangement was made with HAPAG-Loyd to also carry ACL boxes. After several iterations, Grimaldi Group became ACL's sole owners in 2007.

Back to 1984 for a minute - the G3 ships were brand new in 1984 and 1985, and had some teething trouble:

On April 7, 1984, Atlantic Companion was making its first eastbound transatlantic crossing when it had a supercharger breakdown shortly after leaving Halifax and was towed back in by Point Vibert and Point Vigour It was tied up at pier 33-34 for repairs. The ship was launched December 3, 1983 and made its maiden voyage to Halifax, arriving March 27, 1984. Celebrating thirty years of service this year, these ships have proven to be more durable and more reliable than the G2s and even the G1s.

The red reflection in the photo above is from Cavallo (a.k.a. Cabot in later life) - making its departure from - you guessed it- pier 36. Here's what she looked like in 1984:

Cavallo entering Eastern Passage en route to Autoport, May 28, 1984. It began its weekly sailings to Newfoundland in 1982. Renamed Cabot in 1988 it continued to operate on the St.Lawrence, but sometimes from Halifax, until earlier this year when it finally went to scrap in Turkey. Much more on this ship in earlier Shipfax posts.  (ASL stood for Atlantic SeaRoute, which through mergers, became present day Oceanex).

Addendum - to keep track of the G4s go to: http://www.nextgenerationconro.com/

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HS Beethoven - all may become clear- REVISED DECEMBER 5

When HS Beethoven arrived at dusk and in foggy, rainy, misty conditions on Monday December 2, it looked like a routine arrival, albeit the ship is not a regular caller.
The ship first appeared in Halifax on August 21, 2013 for Atlantic Container Line, as a substitute while regular ACL ships were in refit or under repair.    Monday's arrival was for Hapag-Lloyd, and again as a substitute on H-L's ATA Service, its traditional Transatlantic service between Europe and the North American east coast.
That it did nor leave on time on Tuesday was not particularly unusual because of high winds and heavy rain, which would have slowed unloading.
Now however we hear that there was an incident aboard involving the possible collapse of a container stack and the puncture of a fuel tank.
Repairs will take a considerable time, and the ship may well have be unloaded before it can sail again.
Updates will be posted when available.

HS Beethoven was built by Hanjin Heavy Industries of Busan, South Korea in 2002 as HS Voyager for Hansa Shipping of Germany - its current owners. It was renamed MSC Arizona in 2003 for a charter and then APL Italy in 2005 for a charter. It received its present name in 2009. It measures 50,243 gross tons and had a capacity of 4,350 TEU (500 refrigerated.)

DECEMBER 5

HS Beethoven at Fairview Cove this morning was still being unloaded. It does appear that the ship will have to be completely unloaded, and its cargo transferred to other ships.

HS Beethoven - all may become clear

When HS Beethovern arrived at dusk and in foggy, rainy, misty conditions on Monday December 2, it looked like a routine arrival, albeit the ship is not a regular caller.
The ship first appeared in Halifax on August 21, 2013 for Atlantic Container Line, as a substitute while regular ACL ships were in refit or under repair.    Monday's arrival was for Hapag-Lloyd, and again as a substitute on H-L's ATA Service, its traditional Transatlantic service between Europe and the North American east coast.
That it did nor leave on time on Tuesday was not particularly unusual because of high winds and heavy rain, which would have slowed unloading.
Now however we hear that there was an incident aboard involving the possible collapse of a container stack and the puncture of a fuel tank.
Repairs will take a considerable time, and the ship may well have be unloaded before it can sail again.
Updates will be posted when available. 

HS Beethoven was built by Hanjin Heavy Industries of Busan, South Korea in 2002 as HS Voyager for Hansa Shipping of Germany - its current owners. It was renamed MSC Arizona in 2003 for a charter and then APL Italy in 2005 for a charter. It received its present name in 2009. It measures 50,243 gross tons and had a capacity of 4,350 TEU (500 refrigerated0.

Harmony N - on the return leg for ACL

Harmony N arrived this afternoon on the return leg of its voyage for Atlantic Container Line.

It was also here September 17 on the westbound leg (shown above).

The ship is filling in for other ACL ships as they go through drydockling and painting. Atlantic Concert was in drydock in Dunkerque, France for a month until September 16, and its place was taken by Atlantic Compass .Also in port today, Atlantic Companion was sporting fresh paint, acquired in Dunkerque during an August drydocking.

Harmony N was built in 2006 by Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan, South Korea and is a 2824 TEU ship of 28,592 gross tons and 39,420 deadweight. Now sailing for Navios Shipping of Piraeus, Greece (and flying the Cyprus flag) was originally an Ahrenkiel owned ship and worked as Maersk Jakarta until 2011 and AS Caria until earlier this year when sold to Navios.

ACL scrambles

With the removal from service of Atlantic Cartier due to fire in Hamburg on May 2, ACL is maintaining its normal rotation - more or less (Atlantic Conveyor seems to be the odd ball)
Atlantic Conveyor arrived in Halifax May 6 eastbound, so it seems to have slipped a week somewhere, since Atlantic Companion was only here on May 5 eastbound. Atlantic Concert was in on May 6, westbound.
The normal rotation would have Atlantic Cartier arriving in Halifax on May 13 (sailing form Liverpool on May 7.)
As of May12 the ship is still in Hamburg and no ACL ship is posted as due in Halifax for Cartier's slot. Containers can certainly be diverted to Hapag-Lloyd ships, but RoRo cargo would have to go to other lines. 
Lloyd's List reported that ACL is seeking a replacement of the ship, but as mentioned before big ConRos are no longer easy to find.(See also recent post on scrapping of Wloclawek.)

Atlantic Cartier fire in Hamburg

1. Atlantic Cartier in the Narrows March 14, 2013.

A fire broke out on Atlantic Cartier while it was loading in Hamburg on the evening of May 1. At the time there were 70 to 80 new cars aboard, and it is reported that 12 were destroyed. Firefighters did a masterful job of fighting the fire by cooling the outside of the hull using fireboats and tugs, while battling the fire with CO2 from within. The risk of flooding and capsizing was recognized early and the ship appears to have maintained stability throughout. Not only that, but longshoremen unloaded the ship's deck cargo of containers, which included some hazardous materials.
The blaze was finally extinguished in the afternoon of May 2 (Hamburg time).
It is too early to state the severity of damage to the ship, but it will certainly be out of service for some time. Atlantic Container Line maintains its weekly transatlantic service with just five ships (there are usually calls in Halifax by one eastbound and one westbound ship each week.) To maintain the service they will have to charter in another ship, but it will not be easy to find one with the unique capabilities of the Atlantic Cartier and its sisters.
Currently the largest ConRo ships in the world, the five G3 class ships are due to be replaced with revolutionary G4 ships in 2015. ACL ordered the new ships in August of 2012.
For details and images see:  http://www.marinelog.com/index.php?option=com_content&id=2780:acl

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Atlantic Conveyor 1 and 2

1. Atlantic Conveyor (number two) sails from Halifax this afternoon.

2. Atlantic Conveyor (number one) taking on water from the navy lighter YSW 219 at pier 36 on her maiden voyage in May 1970.

3. ACL's Atlantic Cinderella also at pier 36. Halterm's first container crane is still under construction in the background, and there are still sheds on pier B.

4. Ten years later Atlantic Cinderella lies at pier 33 with some mechanical problems.

The posting about Atlantic Container Lines two weeks ago when Atlantic Cartier had engine trouble, mentioned that these are the third generation of ConRo ships operated by ACL.

The first generation ships were built in 1970 and started calling in Halifax before the Halterm container pier was completed. There were six ships in this class, named Atlantic Causeway, Atlantic Cinderella, Atlantic Cognac, Atlantic Crown, Atlantic Champage and Atlantic Conveyor. They were very large ships for the time (but puny by today's standards) of 14,946 gross tons, powered by 38,500 shp steam turbines. Each was owned by one of the original partners in ACL.

The first Atlantic Conveyor was built by Swan Hunter at the Walker yard in Newcastle, UK and owned by the Cunard Steamship Co Ltd.

It made its first call in Halifax fresh from the shipyard, and operated on ACL's regular transatlantic route until 1982. At that time it was requisitioned by the British Minister of Defense for service in the Falklands War. On May 25, 1982 it was struck by two Exocet missiles fired from an Argentinian aircraft. The explosion and following fire lead to the death of six crew and three servicemen, including its well liked Capt. North. The ship was a total loss and sank about May 31.

In honour of this ship the new G3 ship was named Atlantic Conveyor in 1986, a name it still carries, despite the subsequent sale of the ship to Sweden and later acquisition by the Grimaldi group.

It was built by the same Swan Hunter yard and made its maiden voyage to Halifax February 1, 1985. It was lengthened in 1987 at Greenock, and with its four fleet mates shares the distinction of being the largest ConRo ships in service.

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