Tanker Twins

 

When Irving Oil contracted with Algoma Tankers to provide two products tankers on long term charter, it was inevitable that both ships would eventually appear in Halifax at the same time. Today, December 5 was the first time, according to my records.

The ships essentially identical, at 23,451 gt, 37,242 dwt and were built by Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan. They replaced two chartered ships named East Coast and Acadian and were given the names Algoma East Coast and Algoma Acadian. Since the end of the charters to Irving Oil the older ships, owned by the Dutch company Vroon, are operating in Europe without change of name.

The new ships work on a fairly tight loop out of Saint John, NB where Irving Oil's refinery turns out refined products for eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Since delivery in the spring of this year both ships have been frequent callers at Irving Oil's distribution terminal in Halifax harbour. Located in the Woodside area on the Dartmouth side of the harbour, the terminal stores various grades of fuel until it is transferred to trucks for delivery to outlets mostly in mainland Nova Scotia. The ships go on to ports such as Charlottetown and St. John's, with occasional runs to Portland, ME or other US ports and as far west as Montreal (they are too large for the St.Lawrence Seaway.)
The Algoma Acadian (left in photo above) arrived yesterday from Saint John and sailed this afternoon for Charlottetown. The Algoma East Coast arrived from Saint John, picking up  dusting of frozen spray en route. 

 At Imperial Oil (background in photo above) the tanker Success is offloading refined products from Houston. It is 29,335 gt, 46,803 dwt ship, built in 2004 by Hyundai Mipo. Originally named British Security it sailed for BP until 2016 when it was renamed Security. In 2019 it was renamed Success under the flag of India.

 

 Algoma Tankers also has tankers contracted to Imperial Oil. They are wider ranging, with trips to Great Lakes ports, such as Sarnia and Nanticoke where Imperial has refineries. They bring fule to Halifax bit also carry fuel from their Woodside storage facility to regional ports such as Sydney.

Today the Algoscotia arrived in ballast from Sydney and tied up at Pier 26. (The Success is occupying the only operational berth at Imperial Oil.)

 While alongside the ship may be able to carry out some maintenance work that can't be done at the oil dock. Built in 2004 by the Jiangnan Shipyard Group at the Qiuxin yard in Shanghai, the 13,352 grt, 18,610 dwt double hulled tanker normally runs year round with a few weeks respite during mid-winter when the St.Lawrence Seaway is closed.

New Bulker, old car boat, Fill 'er Up

 New Bulker

A bulk carrier that was handed over by the shipyard in October made a brief call in Halifax today, November 20. The BBC Pluto is one a series of Supramax ships that is part of BBC Chartering's foray into new territory.

 BBC Chartering, based in Leer, Germany, is best known for its fleet of 140 multi-purpose general cargo ships, often equipped with heavy lift cranes. In 2024 the company accepted the first of its fifteen revolutionary (wheelhouse forward) Laker-Max class ships equipped for 500 tonne lifts.

For the past three years the company has also been adding Supramax ships of about 40,000 dwt with four cranes, and now number ten in its fleet. BBC Pluto comes from Jiangmen Nanyoung Ship Engineering, It is a 25,173 ft, 40,459 dwt vessel with four 30 tonne capacity cranes. It is also features full length hatches and box shaped holds.

The ship arrival from Sundsvall, Sweden and is bound for Searsport, Maine. Reason for calling in Halifax: unknown; reason for going to Searsport: unknown.

 Old Car Boat

Tenty-two years of age is getting on for auto carriers. A booming demand after an industry-wide clear out a few years ago, is keeping even older ships on the hop.

The Spendid Ace dates from 2003 when it was built by Minami Nippon Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Osuki City. Gross tonnage has been quoted at both 36,026 gt and 56,439 gt. (the latter seems more accurate) and 19,863 dwt. Its capacity is 5,281 standard cars, but has also been  noted at 6,400 medium size cars. Side ramps are not as common as they once were, but port side ramps are even rarer. On line photos show that the ship has a starboard side ramp too.

On this trip the ship sailed from several ports in Japan, the last being Yokohama October 16. It has since called in San Juan, Brunswick, Dundalk (Baltimore) and New York. It is presumably carrying Japanese built cars, but avoiding the usual west coast auto terminals.

 Fill'er Up

Tankers need to refuel, and when they do they usually show brand loyalty. But in the case of Algoma Tankers, there may be choices. The company has ships on charter to both Imperial Oil and to Irving Oil.  So when the Algoscotia (which serves Imperial Oil) needs to refuel, it might be expected to use Esso product. Imperial has no refueling capability at its Woodside Dartmouth terminal, nor truck access on the docks, so ships need to tie up at a location where tanks trucks can reach the ship. Pier 9C was the choice this time.

 Imperial may supply the fuel, but it is RST that delivers it to the ship. RST (Road and Sea Transport) is owned by J.D.Irving Ltd - a totally separate company from Irving Oil - and the trucks and the gear to pump the fuel aboard. They will carry fuel from Imperial or Irving as required.

Algoscotia normally works from Halifax primarily to Sydney, but also to Charlottetown, Corner Brook and Sept-Ies, QC.

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Different Ships at 9C (and corrected correction)

 Instead of the recent string of multi-purpose general cargo ships with aircraft components at Pier 9C (see footnote) there have been different ships for different reasons in recent days.

When the coastal tanker Algoscotia arrived on October 14 it did not tie up at Imperial Oil as usual, but went directly to Pier 9C, perhaps for some maintenance work that could not be done at the oil dock. The jetty at Imperial only has a catwalk type access to shore, so in not accessible by trucks.

A mobile crane was soon at work, along with the ship's own derrick, at the ship's pump room. 

 

While alongside the ship also took the opportunity to refuel. A tank truck arrived and set up to pump fuel aboard. The truck and trailer belong to RST Transport which provides refueling services in the port. 

RST, which stands for Road Sea Transport, is part of J.D.Irving, Limited - a separate branch of the Irving family of companies from Irving Oil. Irving Oil has its own fleet of trucks, but RST provides the added service of ship fueling.

 

Once work was completed the ship moved to Imperial Oil October 16. It loaded product and sailed for Sydney on October 17. 

 

Today, October 18 it was a larger ship arrival, the self-unloading bulk carrier CSL Tacoma. A 43,691 gt,71,000 dwt ship, part of the Trillium class, built in 2013 by Chengxi Shipyard.

 

 It was also met by a truck crane and other trucks carrying various materials. Among them was what appeared to be replacement belting for the self-unloading conveyor system. The constant exposure to abrasive and corrosive materials like rock and salt, must put a great deal of wear and tear on the reinforced rubber belts. The belt system runs the full length of the hold and through a series of elevating belts up to the 80 meter long unloading boom. At a rough guess there must be at least 600 meters of conveyor belt on this ship, so the roll I could see on the delivery truck (at right in photo below) represents only a relativeley small section that will presumably be spliced in.

 

 

 Later in the day the ship moved to Gold Bond Gypsum to load. The ship arrived from Wilmington, NC and could be headed for any one of several US ports ranging from New Hampshire to Florida.

 

Correction to Corrections

It is with considerable embarrassment that I acknowledge errors in some past posts. They have to do with the recent visit of the ship Arctic Rock. 

First It seems that the ship did indeed deliver aircraft components from Italy. Two tail sections can be seen at Pier 9C, and had no other means of appearing there, except on that ship.

 

Second the ship did not load a large transformer because that unit is still here, on its heavy rail car, awaiting the arrival of another ship, (a BBC heavy lift ship is due tomorrow.)

 

I have corrected the original entries by striking out the incorrect information and entering new information in italics.

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Busy Day

 It was a busy day in the Port of Halifax today, September 10, with activity at almost every facility - and with multiple moves at some of them. Shipfax is still only able to be in one place at a time, so this report must be less than exhaustive.

Autoport had an early arrival, the Morning Cello -(I believe a first time caller).  Built in 2007 by Hyundai Samho it is a 57,542 gt, 21,055 dwt ship with a capacity of 6500 CEU. Arriving from Bremerhaven, Goteborg, Zeebrugge and Southampton it is heading for New York.

 

There was activity at the two oil terminals, with a ship alongside and another waiting at both.

At Irving Oil it was the colourful Gulf Muttrah which arrived from Amsterdam unloading refined product on September 8.

 

A 29,535 gt, 46,556 dwt ship, it was built at Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan in 2009.

Yesterday's arrival, the Canadian flagged Algoma East Coast is at anchor in the lower harbour awaiting its turn at the berth.

 

At Imperial Oil, the Ocean Nisa completed offloading product from Antwerp. It arrived September 7 and this afternoon, September 10, moved to Pier 9B to refuel from trucks.  It was escorted to Bedford Basin and turned to come back into the Narrows and tied up starboard side to the pier.

 

 

Big tankers are rare sights in Bedford Basin, but this move may be because there were no berths available in the Ocean Terminals, in the south end of the harbour. Refueling would usually happen at Pier 27, but the Nirint ship Gotland was unloading its regular cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba at that berth.

Awaiting its turn at Imperial Oil, the coastal tanker Algoscotia took up a position in anchorage number 2. It moved to Imperial's dock #3 soon after Ocean Nisa moved off.

 

Number 2 anchorage is to the north of Macnab's Island, between Ives Knoll and Indian Point, and is rarely used except for ships waiting for Imperial Oil and then only for short term since it may obstruct the entrance to EasternPassage for large ships. 

Inbound for Fairview Cove was a first time caller for ZIM's ZCA (Mediterranean - North America) service. Carmel I is quite apparently a charter from the large Greek owner Navios.

 Built in 2010 by Hyunda HIC-Phil in Subic, Philippines,  it is a 40,741 gt, 52,382 dwt vessel with a capacity of 4330 TEU. It was built as Bermuda but was renamed APL Bahrain on delivery and in 2014 became Bermuda again then ZIM Carmel in 2022 and Carmel I in 2023.

Tugs Atlantic Willow at the bow and Altantic Cedar tethered astern shepherded the ship through the Narrows. And while the Ocean Nisa was turning well to the north, the Cedar provided braking and assisted the turn toward PSA Fairview Cove.
 

 The cruise ships Liberty of  the Seas and Seabourn Sojourn added to the mix, 

 

( I missed the Island Princess).

The Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat Hare Bay made its way into port from its station in Sambro, then met a little slop on the way out. 

CCGS Earl Grey also sailed toward the south shore for navaids work.

 
 Also in port was the Lars D at Pier 42 for Melfi:

 

... and sailing from the C.O.V.E for sea trials was the Singapore flag multi-purpose offshore support vessel  Armada 78 02. It returned later in the day.

 

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Pier 9 activity

 In yesterday's post ( March 17 ) I noted the activity at Pier 9C where the Asian Empire sailed after delivering RoRo cargo, and Algoscotia moved from Imperial Oil to Pier 9C. The latter ship, on its usual route from Halifax to Sydney, NS and other ports such as Corner Brook and Sept-Iles delivering refined oil products, would not normally have a reason to go the Pier 9C, since that pier has no bulk liquid cargo facilities, and at present is nearly full of RoRo and wind farm tower sections.

 This time however the ship was met by at least two tank trucks from GHL Inc, a Transforce / TFI International company based in Anjou, QC. That is quite near Imperial Oil's Montreal East refinery, so they were likely carrying some product most likely MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) to refuel the ship itself.

The ship was flying a red warning flag from the foremast (along with the Algoma company flag) to indicate it was working flammable material. Since there is no longer a bunkering barge in the port, ships rarely refuel here, but when they do it is usually with product from Irving Oil - a competitor of Imperial, and delivered by truck, usually to Pier 27-28. 

At Pier 9B another Thorco ship, this time Thorco Liva, completed taking on cable racks and sailed this afternoon for Portsmouth, NH to load subsea fibreoptic cable direct from the SubCom factory in suburban Newington.

 

The ship arrived March 11 and loaded the racks in sections, which were then assembled in the ship's hold with the assistance of its own cranes. The ship, and several of its fleet mates have called here many times before, always to load the single use racks. What becomes of the racks after the cable is delivered is a mystery - they never seem to come back.
 

Thorco Liva arriving March 11.

 Built in 2012 by the family-owned Honda Shipyard in Saiki, Japan, Thorco Liva is a 13,110 gt, 16,901 dwt ship. It is fitted with portable pontoon tween decks and a pair of 50 tonne SWL capacity cranes.

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Harbour Meet

 Ships often meet entering or leaving Halifax, and good communication ship-to-ship and between the ship and the Vessel Traffic Centre ensure that the meets occur without incident.

Meets become complicated when they take place in the lower harbour when one ship may be leaving the Narrows and another will be entering the Narrows where there is no room to pass. It is made even more complicated as two passenger ferry routes cross the vessel track. At peak hours there are two ferries on each route, and they normally give way to larger ships, unless the ship's pilot judges that they have time to cross the ship's track safely. 

Today, March 17 there was such an interesting meet as the coastal tanker Algoscotia moved from Imperial Oil to Pier C in the Narrows. The autocarrier Asian Empire completed unloading RoRo cargo at Pier 9C and was moving to Autoport. The meet was arranged so that it took place in the widest part of the harbour, and between the two ferry tracks.

 The Algoscotia passes the Woodside ferry terminal, northbound for the Narrows.

 

The Asian Empire has passed both ferry tracks, southbound (one ferry is visible in the background).

 

 

The  Asian Empire passes east of Geroge's Island en route to Autoport with the tug Atlantic Oak alongside.

 

Built in 1998 the Asian Empire is a larger size Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) of 71,383 gt, 25,756 dwt with a capacity of 7,645 CEU. Operators Eukor [Europe/ Korea] had the ship built by Hyundai Ulsan, and in fact it carries its name in Korean and English characters on the bow and flies the flag of the Republic of South Korea.

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Return to normal

 After several days of unsettled weather and resulting delays, with ships at anchor, today, Sunday March 9, ships were once again coming and going.

The CMA CGM Hermes arrived this morning, March 9, at PSA Atlantic Gateway on the Ocean Alliance service from Colombo, via the Cape of Good Hope*. After standing by off Halifax since yesterday during a period of high winds, there was only a light snow to contend with today.

Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Shipbuilding delivered the ship in 2021, one of the five ship Zephyr class. It is rated at 154,995 gt, 150,055 dwt with a capacity of 15,536 TEU. It made its first call here February 9, 2022 .

 

Surprisingly CMA CGM has over taken Maersk as the second largest container shipping line, if the number of ships on order is included. With a capacity of 5.42 million TEU it edged ahead of Maerk's 5.28 million TEU.

 

The coastal tanker Algoscotia arrived March 5 at Imperial Oil then moved to Pier 25 March 6, due to the high winds. 

Yesterday, March 8 the ship returned to Imperial Oil to complete loading and is due to sail tonight for the usual eastern Canada ports.

 

As predicted the CB Pacific moved from anchorage to Irving Oil March 8 and is due to sail tonight for the St.Lawrence River. Its place will be taken by the Acadian.

 

The container / cargo vessel Frisian Octa arrived March 4 and docked at PSA Fairview Cove. The ship has been carrying containers loaded with propane in tanks to Moa, Cuba. It moved later in the same day to anchor in the lower harbour and remains there today.

 

 There has been no word yet if the ship will be making more trips.

 

Atlantic Container Line's Atlantic Sail departed yesterday - not the usual sailing day - probably delayed by weather -  eastbound for Liverpool, UK. 

Since ending the forty-year slot sharing arrangement with Hapag-Lloyd in November, ACL ships are almost exclusively loaded with the rust coloured or white ACL boxes and a few blue boxes from parent company Grimaldi.

 

 

Now with Daylight Saving Time in place, real spring isn't far off.

 

*CMA CGM is among the first lines to resume routing ships through the Suez Canal. Starting in January ships sailing from Asia for European ports resumed use of "the Ditch", However I cannot verify that this ship did so as no reports are available of any calling in points between Colombo and Halifax.

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MSC goes alone and big small(er) moves

 The Mediterranean Shipping Company is now the world's largest container shipping company and quite likely the Port of  Halifax's largest customer. With nearly daily arrivals, it is hard to keep track of all the ships that come and go. Today's (January 14) arrival however seems to be a first time visit, with this name. MSC Silvana VIII added the the Roman numeral "VIII" in 2024 to signify its capacity classification in thousands of TEUs. Whereas with most MSC ships the Roman numeral indicates the upper limit of  capacity, this one seems to be the lower threshold as most sources indicate a capacity of 8400 TEU. It was built as simply MSC Silvana, and carried that name from new in 2006, and it was under that name that it called in Halifax in November 2021.

 On arrival today it was met by three tugs (one not visible in photo) but all were close tethered, and none was acting as stern escort.

As of February MSC will have removed itself from the 2M Alliance with Maesk and will return to being a stand alone operation. Already the evidence is there as not a single container on deck was not either MSC (mostly putty colour, but some rusty red) or a rental / leasing box. Altough MSC has been said to pick up some slack from Hapag-Lloyd's simultaneous withdawal from the THE Alliance, it is not obvious here, at least yet.

MSC Silvana was built by Daewoo Ship Building + Marine Engineering in Geoje in 2006, and is rated at 94,489 gt, 128,560 dwt and is running on the Indus Express direct from Colombo via the Cape of Good Hope.

Three ships made moves or departed the harbour today, and they ranged in size from relatively large to relatively small.

The largest ship was the bulker Ceci which completed loading its soy cargo at Pier 28 and moved out to harbour anchorage last night, January 13. 

The ship arrived from Quebec City (Sillery specifically) January 9, and was due to sail in the late afternoon today to a port as yet to be designated. but likely Bandar Khomeni, Iran. [see previous post for ship details.]

This morning the tanker Bosporos moved from Nova Scotia Power Corporation's Tuft's Cove power plant to Pier 28, occupying the berth vacated by Ceci. [see also previous posts]

There does not seem to be a reason for the Bosporos to move to Pier 28 - it was certainly not to take cargo - and I did not see any re-fueling trucks on the pier. Perhaps it was to take on stores, which would have been difficult at NSP. It is due to sail this evening too.

The smallest ship to move today was the coastal tanker Algoscotia one of the most frequent callers of the Algoma Tankers' fleet. It moved from Pier 9C- where it had some tank cleaning (possibly after carrying black oil) - to Imperial Oil's number three dock to load refined product. 

The senior member of the Algoma Tankers fleet - it was built in 2004 - it is continues to soldier on, with an upgraded ballast water system fitted last year. It regular route is Halifax to Sydney, Corner Brook and Sept-Iles.

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Friday

 High winds coupled with rain, may have slowed the work at container terminals again today November 15, but ships were still coming and going. Photos as a result are bit fuzzy due to the rain.

Yesterday the Oceanex Sanderling and ZIM Asia (photo above) joined the tanker Al Reem (see November 13 post and below) at anchor in Bedford Basin, awaiting their berths. When Atlantic Sail sailed later yesterday afternoon they both moved alongside PSA Fairview Cove.

Oceanex Sanderling is expected to sail late afternoon today on its usual departure for St.John's.

ZIM Asia sailed at noon time today, taking a wide turn out into Bedford Basin before lining up for the Narrows. 

A rather bedraggled Africville park asill looked green, thanks to recent mild weather. Canada geese, rather than migrate, have been feeding on the grass and making a mess. The flags were set up to discourage them, but also make effective wind indicators.

The inbound Delphinus C on THE Alliance's AL5 service arrived from Antwerp to take the ZIM Asia's berth.

Another of the seven ship Daedalus class ships built by Hyundai Ulsan in 2007, it was originally the NYK Delphinus, fifth in the series. The 55,487 gt, 65,950 dwt ship has a capacity of 4,888 TEU including 330 reefer plugs. In 2003 the ship was renamed Delphinus C by Cosmoship Management SA of Piraeus, but remains on the AL5 route.

Once again it is worth noting the large number of Hapag-Lloyd and UASC boxes on deck. In February 2025 when the new Maersk / Hapag-Lloyd Gemini Cooperation comes into effect Hapag-Lloyd will withdraw from THE Alliance. MSC may take up some of the slots but Gemini will form other services some of which will no doubt call in Halifax. New schedules will be posted in December.

At PSA Atlantic Gateway it was an unusual ship for the Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL.) 

The CMA CGM Rigoletto is quite a bit smaller than the usual 15,000 TEU ships on the route from Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. (Last port Colombo.)

The CMA CGM Rigoletto comes in at 107,711 gt, 114,004 dwt with a capacity of 9415 TEU including 700 reefers. It would be among the largest ships with all superstructure aft. Most ships of that size have an "island" bridge well forward. It was built in 2006 by Hyundai Ulsan.

Still anchored in Bedford Basin, the tanker Al Reem (see above) awaits a berth at Imperial Oil.

Today the Algoscotia moved back from Pier 26 to Imperial Oil as winds died down sufficiently for safe operation. The Al Reem appears to have quite a bit of product yet to unload.

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It's an ill wind and other activity

There was activity in several areas of the port today, November 13:

Imperial Oil

  If it's an ill wind that blows no good, tell that to Imperial Oil. Despite new robust mooring facilities at the number 3 oil dock at the Imperoyal terminal in Dartmouth, it is still an unsuitable berth in high winds. It is also unsafe to be transferring oil cargo in wind in case mooring lines part and stresses cause the fueling line to let go. Imperial and other oil majors have strict operating procedures regarding conditions at the dock, and cease transfers before the arrival of high winds. Ships may then leave the dock for other piers or go to anchor until calmer conditions return.

That is the case today, November 13 with three tankers idled in port as the usual autumnal gales blast away.

The Canadian flag tanker Algoscotia arrived in Halifax November 9 (see previous posts) from Sydney, NS, and anchored in the lower harbour, waiting its turn at Imperial Oil.

 Yesterday, November 12, the ship moved from anchor to Pier 25 to wait out the winds.

It was the Marshal Island flag tanker Al Reem from Antwerp with a fresh batch of product that was next in cue. It arrived November 10 and docked directly at Imperial's number 3 dock to unload. It was windy on November 11, and 12, but still within safe limits.

Early this morning, November 13, as winds were predicted to pick up again the Al Reem moved to anchor in Bedford Basin.

 A typical Medium Range 2 (MR2) tanker of 29,155 gt, 46,046 dwt, it was built in 2010 [see following ship] by the Hyundai Mipo shipyard in Ulsan, South Korea. It was initially named Alpine Venture (an odd name for a seagoing ship) then became Celsius Randers in 2019. (Celsius Shipping is a Danish company and names its ships after cities. Randers is a Danish city.) In mid-2023 the Dubai based Marakeb Shipping LLC renamed the ship Al Reem after an island in Adu Dhabi.

While at anchor the ship did not stow its crane. The device is used to handle the ship's unloading hose and is usually rated at about 10 tonnes SWL.

Also in port was another Canadian tanker, the Algoberta. It also arrived November 11 and went directly to Pier 27 to wait for its turn at Imperial Oil.

Autoport

 Apparently uneffected by today's wind was the Container/ RoRo ship Grande Marocco (not named for a Starbucks order). Arriving from several Italian ports, it offloaded vehicles at Autoport.  The ship and its several sisters are occasional callers in Halifax, always from Italy, and always with cars and vans.

 Although the ship had a number of containers on deck, it did not handle any containers while in Halifax. Built in 2010 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, [see previous ship] it is a 47,636 gt, 25,725 dwt vessel with a capacity of 800 TEU and 2,000 CEU. It is fitted with a pair of 40 tonne SWL cranes and 250 tonne capacity stern ramp. It sailed later in the day for Baltimore.

PSA Fairview Cove

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services had the H Mercury in port on its ZCX feeder service to Jamaica. This is the ship's second visit after a first arrival October 9. It was unusual to see so many reefers on one ship,but ZIM is a major carrier of fruit.

High winds were blowing in from the north, pinning the ship on the dock. It may have been too windy for the cranes to work cargo.

The ship was built in 2022 by Jiangsu Yangzi Xinfu Shipbuilding in Jingjiang, China. At 28,848 gt, 24,468 dwt, it has a capacity of 1800 TEU. Owners are listed as Yangze Mercury Shipping Pte incorporated in Singapore.
 

Update:

Yesterday's arrival, the BBC Regalia, did not stay in port for very long. Arriving at the Halifax pilot station at 12 noon its pilot order for sailing from PSA Fairview Cove was for 2100 AST. It does not appear to have unloaded any of the deck cargo, so may only have handled some containers. Its next port is shown as Bécancour, QC, a port noted for handling wind turbine cargoes.

 

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