Algoma Growing

 The Algoma Central Corporation is on another growth spurt, with new bulk carriers ordered for its international operations and new tankers for charter.

The company's ships are often seen in Halifax, and this week was no expception with three of its ships in port, each representing a different area of operations. By this evening, November 21, all had sailed on their ways to wisdespread destinations.

In the international bulk shipping realm, Algoma is a partner in CSL's self-unloader pool, with nine ships including the Algoma Integrity which loaded at Gold Bond Gypsum and sailed November 19 for Tampa. In this file photo taken in January 2024 the ship is transitting the Narrows in Halifax headed for the loading dock at Wright's Cove in Bedford Basin.

The former Gypsum Integrity built in 2009 by EISA-Ilha in Rio di Janeiro, was built to service US Gypsum's Canadian operations in Little Narrows and Hantsport. When those operations shut down the ship was reassigned and Algoma purchasd it in 2015. The 33.047 gt, 46,293 dwt ship has a self-unloading rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour.

In January 2023 Algoma and CSL each ordered two Kamsarmax self-unloaders from Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co Ltd. The 72, 250 dwt ships will unload at 5,000 tonnes per hour. The first ship is due for delivery in July 25 and subsequent ships in three month intervals thereafter. They will replace older ships in the CSL pool. (Kamsar is an important bauxite port in the Republic of Guinea. Ships that can load there are considered to be the most versatile.)

In the domestic area, Algoma operates ten self-unloaders and eight gearless bulkers under Canadian flag and took delivery of another new Equinox class ship this year - Algoma Bear. It will likely be restricted to the Great Lakes / Gulf of St. Lawrence iron ore / grain trade.  Some of the self-unloaders can make extended trips to Halifax such as the Radcliffe R.Latimer which delivered a load of grain from the Great Lakes, sailing from Thunder Bay November 9 and arriving here November 19.

 The ship will sail this evening for Auld's Cove on the Strait of Canso to load aggregate. I have recounted the ship's history here before, but briefly again: built in Collingwood in 1978 as Algobay, upgraded to Caribbean class in 1987-88, chartered to CSL as Atlantic Trader 1994 to 1997. Towed to China where new forebody and engine were installed - redelivered in 2009 and renamed in 2012. Now a 26,102 gt, 37,257 dwt Seawaymax ship, can unload at up to 5440 tph; "Coastal Class" with restricted sea voyages.

Algoma Tankers Ltd has also been busy increasing and renewing its fleet, with several additions added this year. In the last week three of its fleet have called in Halifax: Algoscotia, Algoberta, and Algonova. The last of which (see yesterday's post) sailed today for the Esso refinery in Nanticoke. Algoma Tankers was formed with the takeover of the Imperial Oil (Esso Canada) fleet and has been Imperial's dedicated carrier. 

However in 2023 Algoma Tankers announced that they had ordered two Ice class, 37,000 dwt  Mid Range 2 tankers from Hyundai Mipo for delivery in 2025. The ships will be chartered exclusively to Irving Oil and will sail under Canadian flag. They will replace two older ships, the Acadian, and the Esst Coast [see yesterday's post], both built in 2005 and chartered from Iver Ships BV, the tanker operating arm of the Dutch Vroon Group. 

The new ships have not been assigned official names yet, but are listed by builder's hull numbers as Hyundai Mipo 2900 and Hyundai Mipo 2901. The first delivery is due in January so an announcement can be expected soon. The second ship is due in March.

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Busy Day

 There was a lot of activity in Halifax harbour today, November 20, mostly container ships.

An over night arrival anchored in the lower harbour. MSC Sagitta III is on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Canada Gulf Bridge route and does not normally call in Halifax. Because of the large number of containers landed in Halifax during the Montreal longshore workers strike MSC has applied to use this ship and the MSC Baltic III to transfer the stranded boxes to Montreal. (Some have already been dispatched by train and truck, but there were reportedly 5,000 boxes left off in this port.) Canada's cabotage law restricts shipping between Canadian ports to Canadian ships, unless no suitable Canadian ships are available. In such cases a coasting license may be granted to a foreign ship, and I expect the MSC Sagitta III is waiting for the Minister of Public Safety to grant the license  in the next few days.

MSC Sagitta III was built by Nordseewerker, Emden in 2010. The 36,519 gt, 42,614 dwt ship was a capacity of 3428 TEU and has a large nuber of reefer plugs, noted as "392 + 108". [I'm not certain what that means but may describe the number below and above deck or vice versa.]

Initially named Frisia Brussel it was renamed Sagitta in 2010 and MSC Sagitta III in 2021.

The ship is northbound from Freeport, Bahamas, and is expected to top up at PSA Fairview Cove on the first of three trips once the license is granted.

Arriving at PSA Fairview Cove, the NYK Nedula held off the dock allowing Ophelia to sail (see yesterday's post.)

At the same time the Oceanex Sanderling was arriving from St.John's and it also held off in Bedford Basin before coming alongside.

Container activity at PSA Atlantic Gateway got off to a slow start as there was no acitivity in the morning.

With the coastal tanker Algonova at anchor in the foreground waiting its turn at Imperial Oil, there was a backdrop of the South End Container Terminal with all its cranes inactive. Two cranes were in the "down" position. The northmost crane (at right in the photo) is rarely raised. It is one of the new cranes at the facility and may have a problem. One other crane was also down and it certainly did appear to be U/S as traveller wires were sagging and the spreader appeared to be on the ground. (Not sure why the adjacent crane had chains hanging from its spreader.)

 Things picked up at the SECT as the day wore on.

A noontime arrival was the MSC Don Giovanni another Canada Gulf Bridge ship arriving from Montreal, likely to top up to salt water draft. This is another "classic" from MSC, built in 1996. It is a hatchless design of the revolutionary Eco Box 42 class, from the Flensburger Shipbuilding Company in Emden. The 29,181 gt, 41,590 dwt ship has a capacity of somewhere between 2480 and 2604 TEU (depending on sources.)

It was launched in 1996 as the Jean Lykes but delivered as Jean and very soon sold to MSC and renamed. The famous US shipping company Lykes Line was bankrupt in 1995 and may have defaulted on this ship. CP Ships bought Lykes in 1997 and CP in turn was bought by TUI in 2006 and melded into Hapag-Lloyd.

Considered to be very elegant when new, the ship is looking a tad seedy now.

Soon after it was a new to Halifax caller for Melfi Lines. Orinoco is northbound from Mariel, Cuba.

Built in 2010 by Fujian Shipbuilding Co in Fuzhou, the 9994 gt, 12,306 dwt ship has a capacity of 880 TEU and carries two cranes of unknown capacity. The ship was launched as E.R. Helsinki but completed as Friesdijk. It was renamed X-press Tajumulco in 2013 and became the Orinoco in 2020.

There was also tanker activity in Halifax today. As noted above the Algonova arrived and anchored in the lower harbour. It has cargo from Nanticoke, and in the early evening moved to Imperial Oil on the departure of the Al Reem (see previous posts).

There was also a mid-afternoon departure from Irving Oil's Woodside terminal. The East Coast is headed back to Saint John to load after its latest trip to Charlottetown.

The ship makes regular trips to Halifax, Charlottetown and St.John's but also to Boston and Providence from time to time.

The only ship not photographed today was CSL Kajika arriving to load gypsum. The ship made its first call in Halifax on April 19, 2022 and full details are provided in my post of that date.

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Algonova - strike free

 The coastal tanker Algonova arrived at Imperial Oil this morning after a lengthy trip. 

The ship was at Imperial's refinery in Nanticoke, ON October 21-22, when it became certain that St.Lawrence Seaway workers would go on strike at 0001 hrs October 23. The ship went to anchor since its way through the Welland Canal and Seaway would be blocked until the strike was over.

The strike was resolved and workers resumed their duties October 30 and the ship got underway. Despite a massive backlog of upbound and downbound ships, the Algonova made it through to Montreal by November 1 arriving here today (November 5.)

The Algonova was built in 2008 by Med Marine in Eregli, Turkey, and comes in at 8,009 gt, 11,240 dwt. Owners Algoma Tankers Ltd have several regular callers in Halifax, bringing products from the refineries in Sarnia and Nanticoke. Fleet mate Algoscotia cleared the berth last night (November 4) on a regular distribution run to Sydney, NS. (Not Sydney, Australia if you believe AIS.)

Tanker Time

Halifax once had two oil refineries on its shores, Imperial Oil and Texaco Canada, but both have long since closed. Imperial (owned by Exxon Mobil) ceased refining in 2013 and uses only one of its three docks to receive and distribute refined products. The company continues to use its multitude of tanks for storage, It also receives product by rail and has a large truck loading facility which is used for regional distribution, including to other companies.

The Texaco facility in Eastern Passage, through a variety of mergers, passed through Gulf Canada before closing in 1997. The 475 acres of land including 33 acres water lots had by then been acquired by Ultramar which is now Valero. The storage and distribution facility ceased operation in 2017. Most of the tanks have been removed and a land remediation process is now underway. Some shore side tanks and dock, have been retained, although they are not in use, and the remaining area will be sold for redevelopment.

The other petroleum related facilities in Halifax include Irving Oil's Woodside terminal dock and large storage and distribution site. It also imports product by rail, including propane, and distributes by truck. Irving Oil brings in refined product by tanker from its Saint John, NB refinery and from Europe.

A smaller distribution centre, built by Petrofina, is now operated by Wilson Fuels. Located in the Richmond area in the north end of Halifax, it is chiefly served by truck. However it does have a pipeline to Pier 9, which is rarely used. The company operates service stations and distributes home heating oil.

Two companies that are involved in road building have asphalt receiving facilities on the shores of Halifax harbour. McAsphalt Industries, of the Miller McAsphalt Group, uses the former Dook's dock in Eastern Passage, adjacent to Autoport. It is connected to storage tanks by a heated pipeline. Since 2018 the company has been owned by Colas Canada, which in turn is owned in France.

The Municipal Group has, among its many interests, a large road building operation. It owns General Liquids Canada which receives, processes, stores and distributes asphalt. It uses the Cherubini dock in Eisner's Cove to receive the asphalt and pipes it to storage tanks adjacent to the Imperial Oil refinery. It has a second facility well inland in Waverly which is served by rail. Whether product is moved from the Eisner's Cove facility by rail to Waverly is not known to me.

McAsphalt Marine Transportation has its own tanker barges which supply both McAsphalt and General Liquids. They also have a combination bitumen / asphalt tank ship on order in China for delivery later this year.

All of the above leads to today's (May 22) tanker activity in Halifax harbour.

The coastal tanker Algonova which arrived Friday May 19, indirectly from Sarnia, ON, unloaded fresh product at Imperial Oil and on Saturday May 20 moved to number 2 anchorage  - just off the Imperial Oil docks at the entrance to Eastern Passage.

The number two anchorage is rarely used and then only by smaller ships and for short term. Last night, Sunday, May 21, the ship moved to Pier 9C.

This morning there was a pumper truck on the dock offloading something, possibly slops. The truck carries 'Green for Life' logos, so the material may be going for recycling or incineration.

Sunday Morning May 21 one of Algoma's recently acquired ships, the Algotitan, arrived at Imperial Oil from Sarnia. The former Chantaco arrived in Halifax December 30, 2022 where it was brought under Canadian registry as of January 11, 2023, with the new name Algotitan. It entered service at the end of January and after some coastal voyages, was reported upbound in the St.Lawrence Seaway March 25 for Sarnia. It made one trip down to Sorel April 1-4 then returned to Sarnia and Nanticoke. On this trip it was reported clearing the Seaway April 18. It sailed this afternoon heading back to Sarnia.

 As the Algotitan departs, the auto carrier Morning Calypso , in the background ,is preparing to get underway from Autoport. The remaining Valero tanks appear between the two ships.

So far the tanker's funnel has been repainted in Algoma colours, but the "bear" medallion has yet to appear.

The Irving Oil Woodside terminal received the company tanker Acadian from Saint John early this morning (see recent posts with pictures - the ship was also here last week).

Due to the angle of view, most of the background tanks belong to Irving Oil's next door neighbour Imperial Oil. The checkerboard topped tank is part of the CFB Shearwater military base, and is close to their aircraft runways and heliport.

 With the Woodside dock occupied, the tanker STI Pimlico, also destined for Irving Oil, arrived mid morning and went to anchor.

The ship is arriving from Amsterdam with more product. Irving Oil imports specific product from  Amsterdam storage facilities on a regular basis.

Built in 2014 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, the STI Pimlico is a handysize tanker of 24,320 gt, 38,734 dwt. It is operated by Scorpio Tankers Inc (a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded company it is headquartered in Monaco), which currently has 113 tankers in its fleet. Most are scrubber equipped. 

A ship's full width enclosed bridge usually indicates that it is fitted for winter navigation. The ship is rated Ice class 1A under Det Norske Veritas classification.

 The STI Pimlico's funnel mark includes a stylised Scorpion tail crossing the letter "S". STI was founded in 2009 by Emanuale A. Lauro and is a separate outgrowth of Scorpio Ship Management founded in New York in 1976 by Lauro's grandfather Glauco Lolli-Ghetti.

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Esso Stocks Up - Part 2 - REVISED

 See IMPORTANT Revision in bold itlalics

 As per yesterday's post, the tanker Algonova arrived at Imperial Oil today (October 13) from the Esso refinery in Nanticoke, ON.

 The ship was built by Med Marine in Eregli,Turkey in 2008 and originally operated mainly from Imperial's Dartmouth (Halifax harbour) refinery. When the refinery was closed in 2013 the ship moved to serve the Great Lakes / St.Lawrence area with only occasional visits to Halifax..

When built it was listed at 7773 gt,  but that has since been revised to 8009 gt. Gross tonnage is now a calculation made on a formula that accounts for hull shape and other factors. It was once a measurement made by counting every 100 cubic feet of enclosed space as 1 ton. Deadweight tonnage remains at 11,240 tonnes, and is a measurement of weight rather than volume. 

This is the second Algonova in the Algoma Tankers Ltd fleet. (Nova is for Nova Scotia.) When Algoma took over the Imperial Oil fleet in 1998 it inherited a mixed bag of ships, one of which was built in 1969 in Collingwood, ON as Texaco Brave and although owned by Imperial Oil, never carried an Imperial name. Not only that, it did not start out to be a tanker at all.
Originally designed to be a small general cargo ship to carry steel products around the Great Lakes, and with winter navigation in mind, the order was never actually placed with the shipyard. However Collingwood Shipbuilding had reserved a spot for it and had materials on hand, and so by the time the keel was laid July 23, 1968 they had reached a deal with Texaco Canada Ltd to build it as a tanker. Named Texaco Chief it traded on the Great Lakes, St.Lawrence and Atlantic coast. It measured 5038 grt, 6885 dwt and had a capacity of 54,241 bbl. In 1986 it was renamed A.G.Farquharson after Andrew Gray Farquharson, the retired boss of Texaco.

Revision: The portion of the above paragraph which has been lined over was taken from a previously published account. I have now received word that the story is untrue, and I regret that I have inadvertantly perpetuated the myth. There was apparently no connection between construction of the Texaco Chief and the cargo ship (which turned out to be the Yankcanuck). As always I am pleased to receive corrections to any of my posts.  

In 1986 Imperial Oil took over Texaco Canada, including the Texaco Chief, which it chartered out for a time to Socanav and then to Desgagnés. When Algoma acquired the Imperial fleet in 1998 they renamed the ship Algonova. The renaming, appropriately enough, took place at Pier 23 in Halifax.

The paint was still fresh when I took this picture of the newly renamed Algonova (i).

Algoma Tankers hung onto the ship, more or less as a spare, and its last single hull tanker, as it gradually rebuilt the fleet with newer tonnage, but finally sold it in 2007 when it sailed (again from Halifax) as Pacifico Trader. It served as a bunkering tanker in the Panama Canal anchorages and was renamed Great Portobello in 2012. It was scrapped in August 2019 after several years of cold layup at anchor off Cristobal, Panama.

For more on Imperial Oil tankers see Shipfax May 23, 2015.

The new Algonova had mechanical problems early in its career, then suffered an engine room fire off the Gaspé coast on January 14, 2014. The ship has been operating without incident since it was repaired in Halifax.

Esso stocks up

 Imperial Oil (Esso in Canada) acquires refined product for the eastern Canada region from various sources, including their own refineries in Ontario, sometimes from other Canadian producers and in recent years from Belgium. Their depot in Dartmouth sits on a huge tract of land (estimated at 900 acres) that was once a refinery. The refinery was closed in 2013 and all that remains are storage tanks and three jetties (only one of which remains in service). 

Today's (October 12) arrival at the Number 3 dock was the tanker Gaia Desgagnés with cargo from Imperial's refinery in Sarnia, ON.

Transport Desgagnés, headquartered in Quebec City, acquired the "nearly new" tanker in early 2019 from Swedish owners Furetank Rederi AS. It is a 12,770 gt, 17,999 dwt product tanker that operates as a dual fuel ship (marine diesel oil or LNG).

The ship was built in 2018 by the AVIC Dingheng Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jiangdu, China as the Fure Vinga but was renamed after "Gaia", the "Mother of Life" and personification of earth in Greek mythology. 

AVIC (the Chinese government owned Aviation Industry Corp of China) is one of the world's largest companies (in the top 200 of the Fortune 500) and is present in most aspects of industry, including shipbuilding, with a specialty in tankers. That interest also includes ownership, since 2013, of Deltamarin, one of the leading naval architecture and engineeing firms.

Imperial Oil is expecting a second ship tomorrow, Algonova, also from the Great Lakes, but in this case from their Nanticoke, ON refinery on Lake Erie.

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Canadian Tanker traffic

The Canadian tanker business is in a state of flux, with comings and goings in various fleets.

Algoma
Algoma Tankers, which took over the Imperial Oil (Esso) fleet in 1998, faced a major shift in its business when Imperial decided to close the refinery in Halifax (Dartmouth) in 2013. Several ships that regularly served the refinery delivering refined products in the Atlantic region were moved around and changed their patterns, working instead from Montreal or on the Great Lakes.
Rumours abound as to the future plans for Algoma, and I have no particular insight, but the following  events are worthy of note.
Last year Algoma brought the Algoma Hansa under Canadian flag, very likely to cover for the troubled Algonova that seems to have perpetual mechanical issues, and to replace the Algoeast that was sold. Algonova is now reported to be for sale too.

Algonova was laid up for geabox repairs for much of the summer of 2015.

One of the older tankers, Algosar, that serves the Lakes with occasional trips on the St.Lawrence as far as Sept-Iles, was thought to be on the retirement list, but instead it seems to have caught a second wind and is being refitted this winter in Port Weller. (Algoma Central Corp  has rented the drydock from the St.Lawrence Seaway Authority and is carrying out the work with its own ship repair unit.)

Algoscotia arrived in Halifax August 13, 2004 fresh from the Quixin Shipyard in China.

Meanwhile their largest tanker, Algoscotia sailed form Sarnia December 22 for Finland, where it will take up a charter for at least four months. The work is apparently lucrative enough to warrant a transatlantic passage. The ship is high ice class so it will be useful in the winter Baltic.It will be reflagged for this work, and a return date is somewhat uncertain as the charter may be extended.


Algoma seems to be concentrating its efforts in the bulk business instead, with several orders for new Great Lakes ships announced this year.
On January 15 they also announced a joint venture with Nova Marine holdings of Switzerland, that will see Algoma buy a 50% interest in 3 existing and 2 new building cement carriers. The new venture, to be called NovaAlgoma Cement Carriers (NACC) [not much imagination in that name!] will concentrate in the Europe Asia regions.

Pétro-Nav

The tanker branch of Transport Desgagnés is going from strength to strength. It now has both of its large tankers Espada Desgagnés and Laurentia Desgagnés under the Canadian flag (the latter was registered January 6) and they are operating the shuttle service from the Montreal terminus of the Enbridge Line 9 pipeline to the Valéro refinery in Lévis, QC.
Among the other members of the tanker fleet Sarah Desgagnés is working in Europe again this winter as in the past.
Also the fleet will be expanding again when several new tankers are delivered, starting this year..
These include two new asphalt / bitumen tankers under construction in Turkey to be named Damia Desgagnés and Mia Desgagnés. They will be approximately 15,000 dwt dual fuel ships (diesel and LNG) and are expected this year. They will likely replace two older tankers, Vega Desgagnés sold in 2015 (now Fort Abel under the Panamanian flag and operating between Nigeria and Togo) and Thalassa Desgagnés.

Time is running out for Thalassa Desgagnés

A new  product tanker is also in the works.
Also recently announced is a joint venture with Stolt Tankers to serve the LNG plant in Becancour with two new build LNG carriers of approximately 30-45,000 cu.m. capacity. They will also be dual fuel.

Irving
Work on Irving Oil's new terminal at Woodside, on the Dartmouth side of Halifax harbour will be completed this spring. It will replace a shared facility with Imperial Oil and will allow Irving's tankers to come and go at will, and load directly into their own tank farm instead of routing through Imperial Oil.

McNally Construction has built the dolphins and crib for a new pier at Woodside. Right next door to Imperial's former refinery, it will connect directly to Irving Oil's tanks on shore, and more well inland, not visible in this photo. Imperial will be dismantling the refinery (in the background to the right)  over a stretch of several years, but will be keeping some storage tanks for local distribution of imported refined product. 

 

In 2015 Irving completed the installation of exhaust scrubbers on their four ship charter fleet, and in 2014 brought Nor'easter under Canadian flag as East Coast to join Acadian.

East Coast on long term charter from Vroon, carries the Vroon crest on the bow, but wears Irving hull colours and funnel mark.

That leaves two ships under foreign flag, Great Eastern and New England, trading from Saint John to the US East Coast. Another ship from the Vroon fleet, Iver Progress has been on dedicated Irving service in 2015, but has not been given an Irving name.
Irving Oil does do ship bunkering in Halifax, but delivers the fuel by truck to ships that are tied up. With the new facility they may be able once again to bunker ships from their own dock. 

Shell
Although not in the tanker business in Canada, Shell does a brisk ship bunkering business in Montreal and Sarnia. The motorized bunkering barge Arca (ex Murex-03, Josee M-03, Imperial Lachine-03), which began operating for them in Montreal in 2003 was laid up in December 2014 and was not operating in 2015 at all. Ships taking Shell bunkers in Montreal were doing so at Shell's dock, but I am sure this was unpopular with foreign shipping lines that do not want to hire pilots and tugs to shift docks just for fuel.
Opening of the Enbridge pipeline may have been a factor in Shell's decision to acquire a new bunkering tanker. That vessel, currently name Milo arrived in Halifax today (January 17) from South America.

Built in 2004 by Miura, Saiki, Japan, the 2191 grt, 1952 dwt ship is a miniature tanker, built specifically for bunkering work. Originally named Alios Apollo it worked for BP among others and was renamed Elin Apollo in 2010 for Elinoil.Its last port was Rosario, Argentina.

After such a long trip in ballast, with some very bad weather on the way,  I am sure the delivery crew could sing their own version of "Rolling Down to Rio". The ship was rolling a bit even in the harbour.

The big deck crane could be used to handle lube oil in drums. Shell is one of the few producers of that product in this region. 

 

Milo will likely remain in Halifax for a time to be Canadianized, and may get a more typical Shell name before taking up duties in Montreal. Its seagoing ability will allow it range outside the confines of Montreal harbour if need be to fuel ships in other river ports.It was flying the Belize flag on arrival in Halifax.

Coastal
Newfoundland based Coastal Shipping Ltd, part of the Woodward Group does most of its work seasonally, supplying northern ports in Labrador and the Arctic, but recently it has been supplying Wilson Fuels in Halifax. The tanker Nanny is due again this month at pier 9 where it will pump ashore to Wilson's tanks on north Barrington street.

Nanny at pier 9 in November.

The supply boat Skandi Flora taking on Wilson fuel at pier 9.

Interestingly the same pier 9 berth has also been supplying fuel to the support craft for Shell's offshore drilling ship Stena Icemax in the Shelburne Basin. This is the first time that I am aware of that Wilson has been done ship fueling, and is apparently in association with Shell Oil, since that is the ultimate user of the fuel.

Sterling / McAsphalt
Sterling Fuels still provides the bunkering fuel in Halifax that is delivered by the tanker Algoma Dartmouth. It is the only fuel company in Halifax that can deliver fuel to ships at anchor. Some of the fuel comes from Imperial Oil (likely diesel only). From time to time Algoma Dartmouth goes to Point Tupper to take on other grades of ship's fuel from the NuStar Energy storage facilities.  

Algoma Dartmouth makes an early morning run up the Narrows to bunker CSL Atlas at anchor in Bedford Basin.

Sterling's parent company McAsphalt continues to operate its two tug/tanker barge combinations, primarily on the Lower Great Lakes and Seaway, with very occasional trips to Saint John and Newfoundland. Both units carry only heavy fuel/ bunker C/ asphalt  and are wintering on the Great Lakes this year.

The Oil Majors
Oil companies themselves have generally remained at arm's length from tanker ownership and operation for many years, after several infamous oil spills and ship wrecks. Irving Oil (see above) is a notable exception.
Exxon Mobil's Canadian operation Imperial Oil (marketing under the  Esso label) now imports most of its Atlantic Canada supply or refined product from the US. Paying for that fuel in low value Canadian dollars, even with depressed oil prices, must still be painful. A steady stream of handysize foreign tankers comes and goes from Imperial's Dartmouth storage facility (and former refinery.) All that fule is for local consumption or is transported by truck in the region.
Imperial also supplies refined product from Montreal to Cape Breton and Newfoundland by ship, but not is own. It uses Algoma tankers for the most part.
Valéro's huge refinery in Lévis produces Ultramar brand product which is distributed by Desgagnés' PétroNav tankers. Valéro has a storage facility in Eastern Passage (also a former refinery) but it is seldom visited by ships.
Other nationally recognized brands such as PetroCanada and Shell purchase their product for this region from competitors and distribute it by truck.
Smaller local fuel suppliers such as Wilsons and the many independent furnace oil dealers, buy their products where they can from whom they can, and aside from Wilson (see above under Coastal) use truck and train to distribute.
  
    

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Harbour Watching - live

Always committed to reporting on the activities of Halifax Harbour, Shipfax took life in hand and walked to the waterfront today. Harbour business had returned to normal, even if the landside conditions were still a challenge.

The ferries were running again today. They did not run yesterday - not due to any navigational issues, but simply because Halifax transit cancelled all bus operations, and people were encouraged to stay at home. Most offices and businesses were closed, and it was dangerous to be outdoors during near blizzard conditions.

Dartmouth III at the Halifax dock, still carrying a load of snow around the upper deck.

Update on Movements:
The autocarrier Opal Ace did not arrive this morning, allowing Tosca to move over to Autoport as planned.
[see Tosca in the background in one of today's Tugfax photos]

Redhead was thus able to move to pier 27 at noon time:

 

Redhead met the tugs Atlantic Larch (bow) and Atlantic Willow (stern) off the Cable Wharf, then made a wide swing east around George's Island to align with pier 27. From the position of the tugs, the ship would be berthing stern in, to provide shelter for work on the prop.

Harefield will now be arriving Friday March 20.

Algonova got away from the IEL dock after maintenance.

BBC Vermont also sailed from pier 9c.

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Tanker time - again

After  a few days of little tanker activity, we again have three tankers in port.  Two arrived today, but the third has been here almost all month.

Energy Pride picks up some golden energy from the setting sun. It has been anchored in the Bedford Basin since September 3.See Shipfax from September 5 for more details..

Also in the Basin:

Challenge Paradise will be the next up to go the Imperial Oil in the morning. It appears to be in ballast, so it may here to load - not sure what. A member of the huge NYK fleet, it was built in 2007 and measures 28,603 grt, 45,980 dwt. It flies the flag of Panama, and has arrived from the St.Lawrence River.

Meanwhile in the lower harbour:

Apollon, predictably a Greek owned ship, part of the Tsakos Coumbia fleet of Athens, it is registered in the Bahamas. It was built in 2005, measures 30,053 grt, 53,148 dwt. Despite being anchored in the lower harbour, usually the place for short term visits, it has no orders to move yet.

Canadian tanker Algonova arrived September 13, bunkered, then moved to Imperial Oil to unload. It moved out to anchor September 15, then to Valero (Ultramar) in Eastern Passage where it loaded cargo, moving it to Imperial Oil early this morning.

It has been an eventful year for the Turkish-built tanker. Emerging from the now defunct Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard a year ago, the ship was soon reassigned when Imperial Oil stopped refining operations in Halifax. The ship continued to serve Imperial customers, but from the St.Lawrence, with only occasional calls in Halifax. Then on January 19, 2014 it suffered a serious engine room fire in the Gulf and came to Halifax eventually and under went repairs until April. Since then I believe the ship has been running uneventfully.

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Quiet day in Halifax

There was an eerie calm about Halifax today, with no commercial shipping in the port, with all the piers devoid of working ships.

A quiet Halterm just before Easter Sunday sunrise.

In fact there were only two ships in port (aside from tugs that are based here, and the supplier Scotian Sea in lay up). The research ship Coriolus II lying at the Svitzer Canada  dock and the tanker Algonova peacefully anchored in Bedford Basin.

 Algonova in Bedford Basin, between shuttle runs from Valero to Imperial Oil.

The only arrival scheduled for this date is Oceanex Sanderling for Autoport at midnight to load cars for Newfoundland and due to sail early tomorrow morning..

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Algonova - trials trip to the Basin

Algonova left the IEL dock for trials in Bedford Basin late this evening. The ship suffered a serious engine room fire in the Gulf of St.Lawrence January 19, and has been tied up at the IEL dock since February 10.
A complex of temporary buildings was set up on the pier for the repair work.

As pictured last evening, there were still some yellow "elephant trunk" ventilation ducts running to the engine room. 

 Some engine room components were trucked away by Canadian Maritime Engineering in February.

The ship was built in Turkey in 2008 and has had a history of problems. It was towed from Nanticoke to Port Colborne in April 2009 after a previous repair session. Then in the winter of 2010-2011 it had an engine breakdown that required repairs at Matane, QC and other locations.

   Fresh from drydocking at Halifax Shipyard in September.

It was drydocked at Halifax Shipyard last year for normal maintenance and came out with a fresh coat of paint. The prominent  cylindrical tanks on deck are for tank washing slops.

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Coastal Tankers in and out they go

Algoscotia at anchor this morning.

The coastal tanker Algoscotia shows some signs of wear and tear on her bow, likely due to ice abrasion. The ship has been running all winter from the Valero refinery in Quebec to a variety of ports, primarily the Ultramar depot in Eastern Passage and with in-harbor shuttle runs between Ultramar and the Esso storage terminal in Dartmouth.

This is major change in trade pattern for the ship which used to run almost exclusively from Imperial Oil Dartmouth to Atlantic Canada Esso depots when Imperial's facility was a refinery..

On most visits to Halifax it also takes bunkers form fleet mate Algoma Dartmouth.
A third fleet-mate, Algonova, is undergoing major engine room repairs at the IEL dock in Dartmouth after a fire on January 19.

A miniature ship repair yard has been set up on the IEL dock to work on Algonova. 

(March 29, 2014 photo)

The Jean Gaulin refinery opposite Quebec City also has charters with PetroNav, the Desgagnés tanker subsidiary to deliver refined product to Quebec ports, Newfoundland and the maritime provinces, including Halifax. Their Jana Desgagnes was at the Imperial Oil depot this week, but got away this morning before I could take a photo. Sister Dara Desganés is due tonight.

The refinery, operating by Valero markets its products under the Ultramar brand name, but also sells and trades product with Irving Oil and Imperial Oil/Esso. They receive crude oil by tanker from overseas - witness the "Cap" tankers that have called in Halifax in recent weeks.

Starting this summer however they will also be shuttling crude oil from the Alberta pipeline terminus in Montreal to the Lévis refinery using two newly acquired ships, to be operated by Transport Maritime St-Laurent Inc a new shipping company established as a joint venture with  Groupe Desgagnés.

The company has purchased two panamax tankers from Neste OY and Concordia Ship Management. Stena Poseidon and Palva were built in 2007 and each have a capacity of 500,000 bbls. Due to St.Lawrence River draft restrictions, they will likely carry only 350,000 bbls per trip.

It was only just a year ago that post-Panamax ships were allowed to sail from Quebec City as far as Montreal. Previously the river channel was restricted to narrower ships.Last year only six post-Panamax ships made the trip as far as Montreal last  year. All were foreign flag tankers with import crude oil.

The new Transport Maritime St-Laurent ships will fly the Canadian flag. They will be reconditioned and brought to Canada this summer.Both are familiar sights on the St.Lawrence already, with Stena Poseidon regularly running to Montreal year round. The ice class 1-A ships come from the Brodosplit Croatia yard and measure 42,810 grt and 74,927 and 74,940 dwt respectively.

Meanwhile the articulated tug / barge combination Victorious / John J.Carrick is set to sail from anchor this afternoon after wintering over in Halifax. The tanker barge, which normally carries asphalt, was brought to Halifax to supply the bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth when Sterling Fuels, a division of the Miller Group / McAsphalt, took over ship bunkering in Halifax. Now with all the fuel offloaded, the ship will return to the Great Lakes and Seaway where it normally operates. The combo went to anchorage #2 on April 2, and was awaiting changes to weather conditions, and possibly Cabot Strait ice.

 Victorious and John J. Carrick spent the winter alongside McAsphalt's dock (the former Dook's dock) adjacent to Autoport, in Eastern Passage. (March 31, 2014 photo)

The tug's name has an interesting background. When McAsphalt acquired their first tug/barge combination (Everlast / Norman McLeod) they partnered with Upper Lakes Shipping to operate the ship. With the second pair, Upper Lakes chose to commemorate the name of a previous ship in their group, the laker Victorious. Built in 1895 in Chicago, the 4,976 grt steamer was originally called Victory under the US flag, by the Interlake Steamship Co. When ULS acquired the ship in 1940 they modified its name to Victorious. ULS operated the ship until 1969 when it was sunk as a breakwall off the CNE in Toronto, where its remains can still be seen..

The original Victorious, then 71 years old and still steaming, in the Welland Canal May 14, 1966.

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