APL Agate - military cargo -surprise

APL Agate was back today on the G-6 Alliance service. (The ship made its first call July 10 - see: http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2013/07/blog-post.html ) This time it had some noticeably distinct cargo - military vehicles perched atop the containers on deck. Most containerized cargo remains a mystery to the onlooker, but this time the army trucks were at least partially visible. Some were tarped, a pair were uncovered, and the tarp on at least one had already blown clear before the ship left Bedford Basin.  
As a US flag vessel, it is presumably more than eligible to carry US military cargo, but it was not possible to identify the nationality of these trucks.

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APL Agate - the latest G6

The latest ship to arrive for the G6 Alliance, APL Agate tied up at Fairview Cove this morning. The ship is the second of  APL's (formerly American President Lines) five contributions to the new schedule. At 5,020 TEUs, it is not among the largest ships to call in Halifax, but it is impressively large nonetheless.
See Capt' Ken's photo on Ship's Nostalgia for a "bow on" view.http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/382833/title/apl-agate/cat/513
Built in 1997 by Samsung in Koje, South Korea, it comes in at 65,475 gross tons, and is an example of the type of ship now being displaced from former routes by even larger ships. This trickle down effect. will be exacerbated by the opening of the new Panama Canal locks next year (they are talking about even large locks already!) and by the glut of ships in the struggling container trades. Further mergers, rationalizations and scrappings will alleviate this situation somewhat. Mass scrappings are really the only solution, but then there would be a dearth of ships if the world's economy suddenly turned around. Shipping lines are therefore absorbing huge losses in hopes of recovery. Inevitably there will be some that will not be able to hold out, some lines may go under. 
The ship is expected to sail after dark tonight.