Container Change for Melfi, ZIM and Maersk

Perhaps by coincidence or perhaps with the coming of winter, both Melfi Marine and ZIM are changing out some ships on their Halifax routes.

Melfi, which trades between Europe and Cuba, with three ships on a 12 day rotation, has concluded charters for the ships Jona and Catharine Schulte

Melfi

Jona, a 2007 TEU ship with 510 reefer spots, made its last call October 30. It was Voyage number 008 for the ship since December 2017. Built as Rio Stora in 2007 byZhejiang Yangfan Shipbuilding Co in Ningbo, and measuring 26,358 grt, 34,438 dwt. It was renamed CMA CGM Togo in 2007, Rio Stora in 2012 and Jona in 2013. Despite the similarity in names to the biblical character that was swallowed by a whale, the ship did not seem to have brought any bad luck to Melfi.

Jona

Its replacement is to be JPO Aries due on December 6, a larger ship at 2546 TEU. Both ships carry three 45 tonne capacity cranes.

Catharina Schulte, built in  2006 by STX Shipbuilding Co, Jinhae, with a capacity of 2602 TEU and four 45 tonne cranes, carried the name Cape Bon between 2006 and 2012. It arrived on Halifax on its Voyage 008 on November 14, but due to weather related congestion at Halterm, it moved from pier 41 to pier 36 to complete cargo work yesterday, then proceeded to anchor in Bedford Basin. A violent winter storm moving through the area was no doubt the cause.

Catharina Schulte

It will be replaced by the Artemis a 2546 TEU ship,  with no cranes. I understood that ship's cranes were needed to handle cargo in Cuba, but perhaps they have shore cranes available. It's first scheduled call in Halifax is December 20.

The third ship on the Melfi service is Julius S [ see October 16, 2018 ] which made its first call August 27. It appears to be remaining with Melfi, although published schedules do not run past year end.

ZIM

The new service started by ZIM in April, called Canada Florida Express (CFX) apparently does not call in Florida at all, but operates between Kingston, Jamaica, New York and Halifax as a feeder to ZIM's other services.  It has been operating two ships, AS Felicia and Arsos since it began. Both of those ships have now been replaced.

AS Felicia made the first call for CFX April 3 and its last call November 1. Built in 2006 by Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Zhoushan, with tonnages of 15,375 grt, 18,291 dwt, it had a capacity of 1296 TE, including 390 reefers, and had two 45 tonne cranes. It was launched as Medocean but entered service as EWL Cribbean. In 2007 it became APL Managua and in 2014  Medocean and in 2015  AS Felicia.

AS Felicia

Its replacement, Jennifer Schepers arrived Thursday November 15 and sailed early November 16. A 21,108 grt, 25,775 dwt ship, it was built by Taizhou Kouan Shipbuilding Co (China Commerce Group). Taizhou in 2009 as Mistral Strait, but was renamed BF Copocabana on delivery, and carried that name until 2016. It has a capacity of 1795 TEU, including 319 reefers and has two 40 tonne cranes. [Weather did not co-operate with photo attempts.]

Its running mate Arsos dated from 2007 when it was also built by Zhejiang Ouhua, with similar measurements of 15,375 grt, 12,700 dwt and a capacity of 1296 TEU and a pair of 45 tonne cranes. Its first ZCX arrival was April 10 and last was November 8.
As mentioned in a May 22, 2018 post, Arsos also worked a short lived CMA CGM feeder serice here in 2010.

 

Arsos

Its replacement will be RHL Agilitas due November 22, It has a capacity of 1732 TEU.

It appears that ZIM is increasing the capacity of ships on the service - a good sign, that perhaps as predicted, that there would not be a reduction in ZIM business in Halifax despite the loss of its traditional ZCS service, split between ZCX and slots on THE Alliance and 2M (MSC Maersk).

Maersk

Not to be outdone in the replacement department Maersk Canada's Montreal Mediterranean Express (MMX) is also still bringing in short term charters. Jonni Ritscher was due yesterday but has opted to skip Halifax this time and is heading direct for Algeçiras from Montreal.

Speaking of skipping, Maersk / CMA CGM's Canada Atlantic Express (CAE) has also been skipping Halifax in recent weeks. Both the November 3 and November 10 ships were no shows, heading directly for north Europe, and no ship is currently scheduled for this weekend, as EM Kea was scheduled for November 18, and is en route directly to Europe. With Maersk Penang now due in Montreal on November 17 (it was anchored in the St.Lawrence until today) , it will now try to meet a November 24 target. Maersk Patras is in the eastern Atlantic, heading well south for the Azores to escape weather, and may still reach Montreal by November 26.

The extreme weather, now off Newfoundland will undoubtedly throw off a number of scheduled arrivals, and pilotage services are still suspended in Halifax tonight. A number of ships are also held in port awaiting clearance.

The bulker Centennial Harmony (92,752 grt, 181,338 dwt) heavily laden with iron ore from Sept-Iles for Port Talbot experienced flooding and main engine failure yesterday, 270 mi from St.John's. With seas of 18 to 20 meters and winds of 85 knots, there were fears that the ship would founder, and the crew even considered abandoning. However they were eventually able to make sufficient repairs to get underway again. A RCAF Hercules aircraft and CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell responded but there was little they could do to assist.

 Maersk Cutter

The tug / supplier  Maersk Cutter was 80 miles away standing by the FPSO Terra Nova and was prepared to assist if needed. However given the conditions it would have taken half a day or more to reach the ships, let alone make a towing connection or attempt to rescue crew.

. 

Return of the Arsos and Asuka II

Two ships whose names coincidentally begin with the letter A are returning to Halifax after long absences.

First in this morning was the container feeder ship Arsos which is now serving ZIM'S new Canada-Florida Express, which extends to the Kingston, Jamaica hub. It made its first visit in that service April 10. The ship was last here in 2010 on a short lived CMA CGM feeder service called Gulf Bridge - also running to Kingston, Jamaica.

 
Built in 2007 by Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Zhoushan it is a 15,375 grt, 12,700 dwt ship with a capacity of 1296 TEU and carrying a pair of 45 tonne capacity cranes.
 

Following shortly after was the cruise ship Asuka II. It was here previously as Crystal Harmony, a name it carried until 2006. It was then transferred from Crystal Cruises to parent company K-Line and renamed.

When Mistubishi Heavy Industries of Nagasaki built the ship in 1990 it was registered at 48,621 grt, Following a refurbishment in 2006 the tonnage was revised to 50,142. There are few outward signs of that refit, but the two red stripes previously found at the foot of the signal mast forward have been transferred to the funnel, replacing the Crystal logo.

It is rare for cruise ships to take tugs, but this time the Atlantic Bear assisted the ship in turning off pier 22 and then moved around to push it alongside.

 

Other arrivals this morning included Pearl Mist, a yearly caller. Initial construction was completed by Halifax Shipyard in 2009, but a lengthy dispute saw the ship laid up then refitted in the United States before it entered service in 2014. It will spend the summer cruising the Great Lakes.

The first ship to arrive this morning was Oceanex Sanderling. It does not usually arrive this early in the week, but it will make two trips to Newfoundland this week instead of the usual one.It is scheduled to sail later today and again on Saturday.

It is one of the few ships in the world to carry 53 foot containers. Boxes of that size are usually restricted to intermodal (road and rail) service. Note the Canadian Tire and Oceanex 53 footers in the third, fourth and fifth stacks aft of the bow.

.

Arsos-part 2

Anchored off yesterday, Arsos arrived this morning for CMA/CGM. It was early, and pretty dark for pictures, but it was still light when she got away (about an hour late) this afternoon.

The ship is on the CMA/CGM feeder to Jamaica, and feeds a number of different ports and picks up in US ports before it hits Halifax.

An unusual deck cargo was two armored cars perched pretty much dead amidships and way up high. The ship was built in 2007 in China and can carry 1296 TEU. Its two 45 tonne cranes can work cargo and containers, but were not needed in Halifax.

.

Anchored off

1. Left Arsos, right Stellar Lily in the outer anchorages.

2. CCGS Edward Cornwallis rolls a bit as she sails close inshore. Arsos blocks the view of Stellar Lily.

Eastern Passage provided a good viewing spot this afternoon. There were two ships anchored off and one passing. The outer anchorages are used by ships not wishing to enter port, as no pilot is required to reach the area from sea. It is not good holding ground however, and is only used when winds are moderate.

The container ships Arsos, is anchored until tomorrow, when she will berth at pier 42 for CMA/CGM.

Stellar Lily is a specialized wood chip carrier. She is bound for Sheet Harbour and is awaiting a berth there. She will take a pilot from Halifax. She will also need tugs. These have usually been provided by Svitzer, but with the change in tug service in Halifax under the new joint venture with Atlantic Towing, it is likely that tow Atlantic tugs will be dispatched. Since it is almost a 100 mile round trip to Sheet Harbour, taking a good chunk out of the day for tugs, the ship may also be waiting for a time when tugs are available for that long a period.

The Coast Guard's Edward Cornwallis was arriving from work on the Eastern Shore and was sailing along the coast. This route is outside the normal shipping lanes, and so it is rare to see a ship this close to shore.

.

Arsos for CMA/CGM

The container carrier CMA/CGM runs a weekly service from Halifax to Kingston, Jamaica. Kingston is a hub port for CMA/CGM, and allows connections to other routes. After calling in Kingston the ship will do a circuit of Gulf of Mexico and US east coast ports, as part of CMA/CGM's Gulf Bridge Service.

Today's caller was Arsos, a Cypriot registered ship, built in 2007 in Zhoushan China. It is rated for 1296 TEU. Typical of feeder container ships, it is fitted with cranes, which allows it to work the boxes at smaller ports.