Atlantic Conveyor - finale

This may be my final posting on the Atlantic Conveyor except perhaps for a report that she has headed for the scrap yard. Her arrival today is likely her last westbound trip, and since I will be away when she makes the return eastbound call next week, today was also my last chance to see the ship.
As the last Atlantic Container Liners (ACL) G3 in operation it is worth repeating some of the history that I have recounted before.

 Atlantic Conveyor passes Meagher's Beach this moring, to be joined by its escort tug Spitfire III.

The ship was launched July 12, 1984 at Swan Hunter on the Waalsend-Neptune yard on the Tyne and made her maiden call  in Halifax February 1, 1985. Named Atlantic Conveyor by her owners, Cunard Steam Ship Co Ltd, she was was the second ship to carry that name.  The first Atlantic Conveyor was also a product of Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd from their Walker yard in Newcastle in 1970. It was one of the second generation (G2) series built for service with ACL and was a regular Halifax caller. 

The first Atlantic Conveyor taking water at the pier 36 RoRo ramp. This was its regular berth until the Halterm container terminal was completed.

A steam turbine ship, it needed to replenish its fresh water supply from time to time..

It served ACL until 1982 when it was requistioned by the UK Minister of Defence for service in the Falklands War. Fitted out to carry military supplies, it was not armed. On May 26, 1982 it was struck by two exocet missiles from Argentinian aircraft. Unspent propellant ignited a fire that gutted the ship, killing twelve including the ship's long time master, Capt. Ian North, well known in Halifax. The seven helicopters that were on board were also destroyed and many other supplies. Prince Andrew witnessed the strike and was first on scene in his helicopter to lift off survivors. It sank a few days later in tow.
 

 A few months before lenghtening, Atlantic Conveyor arrives in Halifax.

 The second Atlantic Conveyor arrived at Scott Lithgow Ltd in Greenock, Scotland July 14, 1987 and was lengthened 42m (to 291.92m) , increasing its capacity substantially. RoRo capacity was increased by 3570m2, containers by 336 TEU (to 2908) , cars by 500 units, and its engine increased by 3,670 bhp (to 27,398 bhp) . That engine, a massive 6 cylinder B+W was built under license by John G. Kincaid, also in Greenock. The ship was already distinguished by the turtleback cowl over its forepeak - unique amongst all the ACL G3s. All the other G3s were lengthened by Hyundai Mipo.

 

The lengthened Atlantic Conveyor passes the Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard, monopolizing the Narrows.

Through the various re-arrangements of ownership of ACL, Atlantic Conveyor has at various times flown the British and Bahamas flags, but since 2003 it has flown the Swedish flag, as ownership is vested in Atlantic Container Lines AB, which in turn is owned by the Grimaldi Group.

Outbound this evening after 32 years.

.

Icy calm before the next storm

The port was moderately active today as ships tried to catch up on time lost due to Thursday night's snow storm. Oceanex Sanderling and Nolhanava shared pier 41 for a change (the pier 36 crane must have had a problem) and Maersk Palermo was at pier 42, so Halterm had a busy day.

The veteran Atlantic Conveyor worked at Fairview Cove, and on leaving still had a thin ice coat which she arrived with.

Still soldiering on well after her retirement date, due to the late deliveries of new ships, Conveyor and fleet mate Atlantic Cartier will almost certainly have to be replaced this year.

Chebucto Pilot has a heated deck for safety*, but can still accumulate some ice in -12C daytime temperatures.

At Imperial Oil the High Pearl was also showing a bit of ice which she gathered on her trip up from Beaumont, TX.

Operated by d'Amico Tankers, DAC of Dublin, Eire, the ship is registered in Singapore to Blue Wake Shipping Pte Ltd. In a bit of a break from the endless sausage links of Korean built tankers, this one came from Iwagi Zosen in Iwagi, Japan in 2009. It has typical Mid Range tanker dimensions of 28,813 grt, 48,023 dwt.

*Addendum:  The boat was built with heated deck and heated handrails to prevent the accumulation of ice. I am relaibly informed that this system has not functioned for some years, and there is no plan to repair it...

Freezing Fog

Before the sun penetrated through the sea smoke this morning there were freezing fog conditions in Halifax. Cold steel - particularly on ships - is an ideal surface for attracting frozen fog, but most ships that were visible seemed little effected. After yesterday's very busy day in the port, things are returning to relative calm again.

BW Lynx sailed from number one anchorage. It had been at Valero Eastern Passage until last night when it moved out for bunkers.

Atlantic Conveyor sailed from Fairview Cove on its usual routine, passing Connors Diving's Eastcom off Point Pleasant Park.

Anchored in the main harbor British Integrity awaits its turn for bunkers.

And George's Island remains anchored in its usual position, with a nice coating of snow.

The orange buoys have been set out to mark the anchors for Waterworks Construction's barge that is working on the new cruise ship bollard at Tall Ship Quay.

.

Sunday roundup

Perhaps unusual for a Sunday, there was a fair amount of traffic in the harbour today. Aside from the asphalt sailings this morning (see previous post) there were the following:

 A well worn Atlantic Conveyor made a very brief call at Fairview Cove. On its eastbound leg it was alongside for little more than three hours.
 

 The seismic ship Ocean Odyssey arrived early this afternoon. Soon after tying up at pier 30, the bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth was alongside for refueling.

There was also a brief visit from the cruise ship Pearl Mist. It arrived this morning and sailed early this afternoon, on a sunny and hot day.

  Like an old time coastal schooner, it slings a skiff off its stern. Unlike those boats, this one, named Launch 7, has a landing craft type bow door.

 Arriving for the G6 Alliance, NYK Meteor made its way to Fairview Cove with the assistance of tugs Atlantic Spruce on the bow and Atlantic Oak on the stern. Built in 2007 by Hyundai Heavy Industries of Ulsan, the 55,534 grt ship has a capacity of 4922 TEU.  The port of Halifax seems to have been added to its usual Asia / US East coast route of NYK ships.

Other comings and goings included the departure of suppliers Scotian Sea (for Shell seismic ships) and Atlantic Condor (for Deep Panuke) and the wood chip carrier Taiho Maru dropping off its pilot on return from Sheet Harbour. The tug Atlantic Willow had gone to Sheet Harbour yesterday to berth the ship and unberth it today. It also returned to port this afternoon.

.

Halifax Sailings

Among the ships sailing from Halifax today were some biggies and one smaller one.

Biggest was Beate Oldendorff, a 112,895 grt, 227,183 dwt bulk carrier. This bruiser was built way back in 1988 by Mitsui Ichihara Engineering and Shipbuilding of Ichihara, Japan, as Kasuza Maru. It was renamed Kasuza in 1995, and received its present name in 2010 when acquired by Oldendorff Carriers of Lubeck, Germany. It arrived in Halifax June 27 and tied up at pier 31 for repairs. It gave Sept-Iles, QC as its destination when leaving today.

By comparison Aliki, which arrived soon after seems like a big ship too. But at 90,091 grt, 180,235 dwt it is not nearly as large.

It was built in 2005 by Imabari Shipbuilding, Saijo Dockyard in Imabari, Japan as Cape Pelican, a name it held until 2007. Now registered in the Marshall Islands, it is operated by Dian Shipping of Athens.

After Asian Gyspy Moth inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the ship sailed for Pointe-Noire, QC, on the other side of Sept-Iles Bay.

A fairly beat up looking Atlantic Conveyor also sailed this evening, on its regular transatlantic run.

No shrimp, at 58,438 grt, it will soon be celebrating a milestone. It was on July 12, 1984 that the ship was launched by Swan Hunter, on the Tyne, and it has been making the brutal transatlantic run monthly ever since.(It was lengthened in 1987.)
It made its first arrival in Halifax February 1, 1985, another 30th anniversary it is likely to celebrate. Replacement ships for the 5 ACL sisters are on the way, but forty thirty-one years may be possible - an unusual achievement for a ship these days.

A more modest ship bunkered this afternoon and sailed this evening:

Atlantic Dawn is registered in the Netherlands, where it is owned and was built. Owners, Hartman Shipping of Urk, specialize in project cargoes, and the ship has a long uninterupted deck space for awkward shaped loads. It was built in 2013 by Shipkits of Groningen and measures 5460 grt, 4200 dwt. It arrived from the St.Lawrence River and sailed for Charleston.

.

ACL double header

1. Atlantic Companion (left) glides into anchorage and Atlantic Conveyor overtakes, passing west of George's Island bound for Bedford Basin.

It is not unheard of to see two ACL ships in port at the same time - it usually happens once or twice a year - but it is still unusual enough to warrant notice. Because the ships make westbound and eastbound calls in Halifax, when the westbound ship is delayed, it overlaps the eastbound caller.
Today's duo is Atlantic Companion and Atlantic Conveyor. Although Atlantic Companion was first to arrive, it apparently lost power and was met by two tugs which shepherded it into the number one anchorage area. Atlantic Conveyor then proceeded up west of George's Island, without tugs and headed directly for Fairview Cove to berth unassisted.
Atlantic Conveyor was built in 1984 by Swan Hunter on the Tyne, and made its first call on Halifax February 1, 1985. It was lengthened in 1987 at Greenock, on the Clyde. As the British ship in Atlantic Container Line as it was originally organized, the ship was in fact owned and operated by Cunard Steamships Co Ltd, and was one of the last cargo ships operated by that venerable line. Under the current ACL configuration all ships are Swedish flagged.
Atlantic Companion was built by Kockums in Malmo, Sweden in 1984 and lengthened in 1987 by Ulsan in South Korea.Originally owned by the Bostroms Group it has always been Swedish registered. From 1987 to 1994 it was renamed Companion Express under a vessel sharing arrangement with Hapag-Lloyd.
Its first call in Halifax was a westbound voyage March 27, 1984. Eastbound out of Halifax on April 7, 1984 it had a supercharger failure and had to be towed back into port by the tugs Point Vibert and Point Vigour. It seems to have suffered a less serious mechanical failure this time round, since it has now anchored in number one anchorage for a few hours for repairs. Atlantic Larch will remain alongside as long as the ship has no engine power.
There are five ships in the ACL fleet, allowing them to maintain a weekly transatlantic schedule -one of the toughest in the world.All are due for replacement in the very near future.

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.

.