Thunder Bay for National Gypsum

 Canada Steamship Lines' Thunder Bay arrived today to load at National Gypsum. The sun was a little more co-operative than it was in May when I photographed the ship last:   http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/05/thunder-bay.html

Thunder Bay in the Narrows today.

Ships of the Trillium class have now displaced the first generation of "salty/lakers" - ships built to maximum St.Lawrence Seaway dimensions but reinforced for coastal/ocean work. With the sale for scrap of Salarium (see earlier post) the only remaining ship of the first generation is Atlantic Huron, now laid up (coincidentally) in the port of  Thunder Bay, and unlikely to return to service.

Although built originally for the Lakes only, Thunder Bay and sister Baie St-Paul have been upgraded and are now regulars in Halifax and other coastal ports. Thunder Bay is arriving today from Charlottetown, where it offloaded aggregates after delivering coal to Sydney from the Great Lakes. Although exhibiting lots of "lock rash" - abraded areas on the hull from scraping along the approach walls to the locks - the ship was built for this kind of treatment. 

There is an interesting video showing Atlantic Huron making such an approach: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEGZMJ1aofY

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Christmas Eve

The day before Christmas can be a busy one in the port, since Christmas Day and Boxing Day are 'no work' days for longshoremen. Ships do not wish to sit idle in port for two days, so they try to get their work done and get away to sea.

There are several ships working to get away today. The sister ships Asian Moon and Asian Sun are in port - but for different lines. Asian Moon is busy unloading its nickel concentrate cargo at pier 31 (regrettably no longer photographable due to Halterm expansion) for Nirint Lines. It will sail late morning.

And arriving appropriately at sunrise this morning was Asian Sun for Tropical Shipping.
 

There is no posted sailing time for it, so it may be here over Christmas.

Meanwhile the CMA CGM Orfeo anchored offshore early this morning. The 11,249 gt, 120,986 dwt ship was originally due yesterday, and is now slated to arrive in port tomorrow. Linehandlers (members of the Longshoremen's union) will get a hefty paycheck to tie the ship up if in fact it does berth on Christmas Day.

Built in 2008 by Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan, the ship has a capacity of 9658 TEU, including 700 reefers. Normally these CMA CGM ships called on Saturdays, but for the last month they have been in port on Tuesdays or Wednesdays.

Also due at Halterm tomorrow, Oceanex Sanderling will berth at pier 36. It often takes time off over Christmas.

ACL's Atlantic Sail departed late morning. At first it was into a dead calm and gloomy Bedford Basin.

By the time the ship cleared the Narrows there was bright sun as the ship passed west of George's Island bound for Liverpool.

Also sailing this morning was Atlantic Huron. The CSLer has a load of gypsum for Cote-Ste-Catherine, QC.

With the St.Lawrence Seaway set to close December 31, it is expected that the ship will just manage to unload then move to Montreal for winter layup. Last year it laid up there from January 14 to March 17.

Last winter Radcliffe R. Latimer laid up in Halifax from January 6 to March 18. This year it sailed from Halifax December 14 with a load of gypsum.

It reached Goderich, ON on Lake Huron, loaded salt and sailed yesterday for Johnstown, ON, just above the Iroquois lock. It is also likely to leave the Lakes before the close of the season.

The oil docks normally work on Christmas, as their shore workers are not members of the ILA. Irving Oil's Acadian is due this evening, so may be in port Christmas Day. So far there are no scheduled arrivals at Imperial Oil.

Also arriving today, Troms Sirius from Bay Bulls, NL. It accompanied the oil rig West Aquarius when it completed work on BP's (unsuccessful) exploration well on the Scotian Slope.

 
It likely has equipment to land from the rig, and then will probably layup as it has no other scheduled work. Fleetmate Lundstrom Tide is already laid up at The Cove. Both vessels, on charter from Tidewater to Horizon, will likely be unemployed for a time.

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Saturday action

Several arrivals today meant that there was something happening almost continuously.

The earliest arrival was Maersk Patras at Halterm. This is a ship that was a week late last month, but now that Arica has been inserted in the lineup, Maersk Patras is here on a Saturday.

The ship tied up out near the end of pier 42 allowing room for the next arrival, APL Santiago.

 Built in 2014 by Daewoo, Okpo, the 109,712 grt, 115,077 dwt ship has a capacity of 9200 TEU.

The ship's distinctive full width bridge, is more than 45 meters from side to side.

After a short wait, the next arrival was Atlantic Huron for a load of gypsum. Its last port was Charlottetown, PE where is had delivered a cargo of construction aggregates.

Built in 1984, converted to self-unloader in 1989 and rebuilt mid-body in 2002, the ship just keeps on keeping on. Once a frequent caller here with grain, it seems to specialize in coal, aggregates and gypsum now.

Next up was the MOL Paradise for Fairview Cove.

 MOL Paradise glides in abreast of George's Island, with Bluenose II and Chebucto Head in the background.

This is the ship's first arrival in Halifax and is on THE Alliance's EC5 service. The 71,902 grt, 72,968 dwt ship was built in 2005 by Koyo Dockyard Co in Mihara, with a capacity of 6350 TEU (including 500 reefers).


As the ship was only minutes away from the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge, someone or something plunged off into the water near the Halifax side. It was surprising that no shipping in the harbour was aware that police had closed the bridge and were on the scene.

When HMCS Charlottetown reported the incident a minute or so after I saw the splash at 11:11, it dispatched a RHIB to the scene, however nothing appeared to have re-surfaced. A general Mayday was issued for ships in the area to assist if possible.

CCGC Pennant Bay, which had passed the area few minutes earlier came about in Bedford Basin and sped to the scene.

CCGC Pennant Bay with crew on the flying bridge make haste off Pier 9. The lifeboat, delivered late in 2017 will be stationed in Sambro, NS.

 It was far too late to halt the movement of MOL Paradise which passed though the area only about 5 minutes later.

Later this afternoon two autocarriers arrived. However only one entered port. Viking Conquest went to anchor offshore while Shanghai Highway continued on in.
 

Built in 2005 by Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corp at the Nantong COSCO shipyard in China it is of an older type design, with no aerodynamic faring that is common on modern car boats. It also has numerous hull penetrations that appear to be small sections of open deck.

The ship is also smaller than many we see here. It comes in at 48,927 grt, 15,413 dwt and has a reported capacity of 5,036 cars.

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The dawning of a new day

The dawn brings a new day (but shorter)

1. Every dawn brings a new crop of cruise ships at the height of the cruise season.

 Celebrity Summit, Queen Mary 2 and Zuiderdam arrive on Thursday morning.

Rotterdam overtakes Insignia on Friday. Insignia used a tug to slip into the narrow camber of pier 23.

Silver Whisper and Pearl Mist arrive this morning.

Once risen the morning sun is directly behind inbounds as the come into the port, making photos nearly impossible.

Pearl Mist recent recipient of a fine for speeding in the right whale protection area in the Gulf of St.Lawrence. So much for eco-tours!

Silver Whisper in the classic pose. Unlike most cruise ships at this time of year it sailed in daylight.

2. New era for cabotage

Maersk Penanag arrives with the first domestic / cabotage cargo under CETA. 

With the Canada Europe (Free) Trade Agreement in force, Maersk / CMA CGM can now ship empty containers from Montreal to Halifax on a foreign flag ship. They had not been allowed to do this under traditional cabotage rules, and in fact were denied coasting licenses in the past because Canadian ships could have carried the cargo. None did because the cost was prohibitive. 

The seventy empties are being repositioned to Halifax where there is more demand for seasonal eastbound reefer cargo. This saves the line the cost of shipping empties by rail. 

But the question is where will  it end?  Applications for coasting licenses are expected to dry up - there were only two in all of September and none so far this month. That compares to 11 in July and 14 in August.  

Canadian ship owners may have to flag out their fleets to survive the onslaught of foreign flag ships. 

 

3 New life for a ferry

Wave Sentinel was built in 1995 as the ferry Island Commander to run from Portsmouth, UK to Jersey in the Channel Islands. In 2000 it was converted to a cable ship.
It made a brief overnight stop in Halifax for stores and bunkers before sailing this afternoon for its home port of Portsmouth.
It was last here in September 2000, shortly after conversion. Aside from the orange paint on the visor and an additional satellite dome, it also appears to have acquired some new cable equipment.


4 New fuel for a Newyorker \

 The bulk carrier Newyork Harmony [the first name is all one word] arrived from Belledune, NB for bunkers. The crew were busy airing and cleaning the holds in preparation for its next cargo. However that cargo is as yet unknown, since on sailing this evening it gave is destination as " sea for orders".
Built in 2105 by Shin Kurushima, Toyohashi, the 24,328 grt, 38,511 dwt ship has four cranes and grabs for working cargo.


5 New light on an old bulker

Atlantic Huron - back again for a load of gypsum. Rumours of its retirement have been rife for years. Could it be a candidate for re-flagging?

6 New paint?

USCGC Harriet Lane WMEC 903 certainly did not look its age on sailing this afternoon after a courtesy call at HMC Dockyard. The cutter, commissioned June 14, 1984, is a veteran of many missions but looks like it just stepped out of the band box.
To save you looking it up (I had to) Harriet Lane was the niece of US President James Buchanan (a bachelor) and was a much acclaimed and idolized "first lady" when her uncle was a Senator, Ambassador to the Court of St.James and President (1857-1861). Uncle James however was blamed for not preventing the outbreak of the US Civil War. Harriet Lane's generosity to children's health in the Baltimore area is still recognized.

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More signs of spring (maybe)

One sure sign of spring is the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway, due Monday, March 20. Once decried as the death knell of the port of Halifax (along with winter navigation on the St.Lawrence River) neither has proven to be the case over time.

Halifax was once favoured as an ice free winter port when ice in the St.Lawrence closed the waterway to most navigation. However when the federal government began to break ice for commercial shipping in the 1950s (under the guise of flood control on the upper river - which it always had done in spring) the Port of Halifax feared that it would become a backwater. In fact it became year round port - just the opposite of conventional thinking of the day.

So it was when the St.Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 and larger ships could access the Great Lakes for the first time, the doomsayers predicted it would be the end of the Halifax as a port. That has also not proven to be the case. Many ships are too large for the Seaway anyway and the trip is too long for priority cargoes such as containers, and Halifax has certainly not suffered. For a time the port was a busy transfer port for grain coming from western Canada via the Seaway. That was a result of skewed rail rates, and now Halifax only gets periodic grain cargoes, mostly for domestic use. Nevertheless , on balance, Halifax has not been harmed by the Seaway, and has probably seen some benefits.

In fact we now have our own "export" cargoes to the Great Lakes too.
National Gypsum exports most of its cargo to the US, but Canadian ships also load from time to time. Such was the case today as the Atlantic Huron took on its first cargo of the season and headed for "Upper Canada" this afternoon
 

Atlantic Huron at National Gypsum has its self unloading boom swung out overside to allow the travelling ship-loader to move along the docck and reach all hatches in turn. It makes several passes the length of the ship during the loading process to ensure an even loading pattern. The loader is visible at left with its high control cab and covered conveyor house.

After a winter maintenance period in Halifax since January 2, the ship got under way yesterday and moved to the gypsum pier at Wright's Cove in Bedford Basin to load.

Another sign of spring the arrival of the Fisheries and Oceans research ship CCGS Teleost. It often goes into refit for the winter and then comes to work in Halifax until ice clears out of the Gulf of St.Lawrence - its usual area of operation. The ship is based in St.John;s, NL as is fleet mate CCGS Alfred Needler, which also works from Halifax in winter.

Fresh from drydocking, Teleost has spotless paint, but apparently needs some ballast adjustment. While turning to back into its berth at the Bedford Basin it listed noticeably several times.

The ship was built as the factory stern trawler Atlantic Champion in 1988. Construction started at Tangen Verft, Kragero, Norway, but was completed at Langsten Slip-Batbyggeri A/S in Tomrefjord. Acquired from Clearwater Seafoods in 1994 it was converted for research work and renamed. It now measures 2405 grt - up from 2336 as built.

Autoport is still processing hoards of cars for the spring sales rush. Some of the backlog has been cleared however and overflow areas emptied - but the cars keep coming.

Today's caller was the Blue Ridge Highway. Despite being built as recently as 2009, it has the appearance of a much older type of autocarrier. The 48,927 grt, 15.290 dwt ship was delivered by Nantong COSCO KHI in Nantong, China to Fukunaga Kaiun KK, and operates for K-Line.

An overflow car storage area is empty now, but was full for the past few months. 

The line tug Roseway awaits departure time to let the head lines go from the Autoport mooring buoy (at right - out of the picture).

Unlike modern autocarriers the ship does not have the streamlined rounded car decks above the bow, and has numerous deck openings in the sides of the ship.

Yesterday's caller Tosca is more typical:

 Built in 2013 by Mitsubishi in Nagasaki Tosca is a 61,106 grt, 22,585 dwt ship with a capacity of 6,459 cars.

Also in port yesterday the autocarrier MSC Immacolata required crane assistance to release a fouled wire, and was turned end for end at Pier 31 after unloading some RoRo machinery. It had unloaded cars at Autoport Thursday.

File photo ofMSC Immacolata built in 2012 by STX Dalian, Wafangdian, China. 59,835 grt, 22,196 dwt.

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All Atlantic

A casual ship watcher in Halifax today might think that every ship must have the prefix Atlantic in its name.
That was certainly the case for many of the ships in port.

 

Atlantic Container Line's Atlantic Star sailed for New York in the early afternoon. Built in 2015 it was the first of five fourth generation ConRos (the largest in the world) built specifically for ACL's transatlantic service. Only three of the ships are in service - two remain at the shipyard in Shanghai for unexplained reasons.

It was assisted by Atlantic Towing Ltd's tugs Atlantic Fir and sister tug Atlantic Oak acted as tethered escort.

On their way through the Narrows, they passed the tug / supplier Atlantic Shrike which is in the last stages of fitting out at pier 9A.  Today it was loading lube oil.

 
Its sister Atlantic Griffon sailed for its new home port of St.John's last week, to join Atlantic Heron already delivered from Romania via the Netherlands. (The fourth tug in the series, Paul A. Sacuta is en route from the Netherlands.)  All four are owned by Atlantic Towing Ltd. Griffon and Shrike were completed in Halifax after their hulls and superstructures were delivered from Romania.

Meanwhile at pier 27 the bulk carrier Atlantic Huron is now fitting out for the Great Lakes shipping season after a two month winter layup. Today it was ballasted by the stern exposing its bow thruster. The ship is owned by Canada Steamship Lines and owes its name to the fact that it can operate on the Great Lakes and deep sea.

The interesting shell plating transition that was required to widen the mid-body of the ship was also revealed and shows how awkward it was to increase the ship's tonnage to maximum St.Lawrence Seaway dimensions. The additional cargo carrying capacity was apparently worth the effort.

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Saturday Activity

There was a fair amount of activity on the Halifax waterfront Saturday morning. Ships were hustling to get their work done in advance of a major snow storm.
At pier 31 Helga was busily unloading its nickel cargo onto rail cars and into the wharf shed.

Using its own 80 tonne cranes for the work, Helga unloads its cargo from Cuba.

Meanwhile at pier 27 opposite Margaretha was working its cargo of rail track, also using its own cranes. The ship had put in at St.John's, NL January 1 on its way from Europe, possibly to re-stow some of the cargo. It's port of registry is also in St.John's, but it is the port in Antigua.

Margaretha has the sponsoned hull form, allowing for large box shaped holds and maximum hatch size.

Both ships are products of the Netherland based Damen shipbuilding group.
Margaretha was built as Hanna C for Carisbrooke Shipping, Isle of Wight. The hull was fabricated in Galati, Romania, then towed to Hoogezand, Holland for completion in 2002. In 2002 it was renamed Corral, in 2004 Hanna C again, then in 2006 Opalace and in 2009 Hanna C.  In 2012 Rudolph Schepers, GmbH of Haren (Ems) acquired the ship and gave it its present name. The ship measures 7752 grt, 10,526 dwt.

Helga on the other hand was built at Damen's Yichang Shipyard in China. It was built as Helga, but renamed in 2010: Kent Atlas, 2012: Helga, 2013: Clipper Avalon, 2014: Thorco Tribute, reverting the Helga again in 2015. Owners are listed as VanDijk Rederij, Westerbroek, Netherlands, with Wagenborg Shipping BV as managers. It has been calling in  Halifax since 2015 for Nirint Shipping. A 8999grt, 12.044 dwt ship it is a member of the CF12000 class of combi-freighters.

Margaretha was not the only ship with a sponsoned hull. At pier 25 Atlantic Huron is in port for winter layup. The ship was widened below the level of the main deck in 2002 to take advantage of greater allowable width in the St.Lawrence Seaway locks. The modification increased the ship's deadweight capacity by about 2,000 tonnes.

A thin layer of snow along the hull projection shows were the ship was widened. Great Lakes ships take tremendous abuse entering the Seaway locks, and the numerous dented plates at the "knuckle" show how hard life can be for lakers.

The tanker Cape Brasilia was working at Imperial Oil. It arrived Thursday, but had been anchored outside since earlier in the week.

A 2008 Hyundai, Mipo - built ship of 25,108 grt,  40,237dwt, it is owned by Columbia Ship Management of Hamburg and works in the large United Product Tankers (UPT) pool.

It was a very un-Saudi Arabian scene at Fairview Cove where Bahri Abha was finishing up its work. The National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia ship made its fir call in Halifax May 17, 2013.

In the foreground some snowy picnic tables at the Africville Museum, in the middle ground some fill stockpiling for future expansion of the Fairview Cove container terminal, and a pollutant containment mountain. In the background CN Rail's Rockingham yard.

Also this morning Atlantic Towing tugs moved Atlantic Towing Ltd's new supplier Atlantic Griffon from Halifax Shipyard to pier 9B. The cold move signified completion of the construction process and commencement of the trials period. One of tow suppliers built by Damen's Galati yard in Romania, it arrived in Halifax in two pieces in August. The superstructure was connected to the main hull over the last four months, and it is now being made ready for sea trials.

Atlantic Willlow pushes on the bow while Atlantic Oak works the stern as Atlantic Griffon is made fast alongside pier 9B.

 Immediately astern, Algoma Dartmouth has taken up a berth to shelter from the incoming storm, and astern of her Maersk Nexus is tied up at pier 9C.

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2017 - a slow start

There was not a great deal of traffic in the port yesterday, nor today, which most people took as a holiday.
Mitiq completed its work at Fairview Cove and sailed mid-morning - obviously in ballast and for Trois-Rivières, QC.

 
Atlantic Huron arrived in ballast, and tied up at pier 25-26. Most Canadian Great Lakes ships go into a form of hibernation called winter layup, but for many it is a time of intense maintenance and repair work, sometimes extending over several months.

The tanker Ridgebury Cindy A after returning to Imperial Oil December 30, tied up at number 3 dock, then today went out to anchor. It did not appear to take bunkers and is due to sail at midnight, very much in ballast.

A new arrival at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal is the handymax tanker STI Wembley, part of the Scorpio Tankers Pool, headquartered in Monaco and arrived from Ijmuiden, Netherlands.

Built by Hyundai, Mipo in 2014 it measures 24,162 grt, 38,734 dwt and looks quite different from the usual Korean built mid-range tankers. It is an ice class vessel with a full width bridge structure. This is the second overseas arrival At the Irving terminal, both have been from the Netherlands. The first was Energy Panther which delivered a partial cargo October 22.


Also arriving, but too late for a photo,  Atlantic Sea is still missing its starboard anchor.

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Frosty Winds Make Moan

One of the lines in the Christmas song In the Bleak Midwinter says that "frosty winds make moan". There was no frost but a fair amount of moaning today as high winds wreaked havoc on transportation generally with the usual Fundy and Newfoundland ferry cancellations, bridge and causeway restrictions against high sided vehicles and numerous shipping delays and incidents.

In Halifax the tanker Ridgebury Cindy A began to drag anchor in Bedford Basin and a pilot was called to re-secure the ship. And at pier 42 Halterm, the container ship ZIM Virginia also called for tugs and pilot, likely due to parting lines. It kept the tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Willow alongside all day.

Surf crashes the onshore at Herring Cove, with Chebucto Head in the background.

Several arrivals were also been delayed due to unfavourable conditions at the pilot station and farther afield. NYK Deneb, CSL Tacoma and Bruarfoss all postponed arrivals in Halifax until later in the day. They had been scheduled for early this morning but those ETAs were adjusted yesterday in view of the forecast. They finally made it in starting at 1530.

NYK Deneb was doing some pretty good rolling off Herring Cove.

CSL Tacoma was in ballast but didn't seem to be rolling too much.

Bruarfoss was pitching more than rolling

All ships are trying to get in and out before the New Year's Day holiday, so they are squeezing up against deadlines with these delays (hence the moaning).

The only departure was the supplier Venture Sea.

There were some fair swells off Macnab's Island - but probably much larger at sea.

Farther afield the bulk carrier Atlantic Huron took shelter well into St.George's Bay, at the western entrance to the Strait of Canso, far off its intended course for Halifax. Had the Canso Canal been open, the ship would likely have transited yesterday afternoon. However the Canal has been closed since November 1 and will not re-open until mid-May to allow for bridge repairs. That meant that Atlantic Huron will have to go around Cape North to reach Halifax. With winds in that area predicted to exceed 170 kph, the ship sailed down the west coast of Cape Breton instead and sought shelter in the lee of the land. It will mean at least two days extra sailing time once the winds abate. Former fleetmate Atlantic Erie (renamed Spirit of Shpongle) also took shelter near the same area last month while in tow of the tug Pacific Hickory for the trip to the breakers in Turkey.

Fortunately the frost in Christina Rossetti's words is not present. In fact some of the warmest temperatures in Canada accompanied the winds, with +7 to +9 degrees C common in many areas.

Both CSL ships Atlantic Huron and CSL Tacoma will be loading gypsum in Halifax, but another one of their fleet mates, once a frequent caller, will not be back in Halifax.


CSL Atlas was sold recently and is heading for the breakers in Bangladesh under the name of Anita.
Under the current economic conditions, with widespread scrappings in the container and bulk carrier market, ship owners are favouring India for container ships, but Pakistan and Bangladesh are getting the bulk carriers. India's move toward responsible practices is attracting many ships, particularly from German and EU owners. Pakistan's appalling safety record, particularly after recent tanker fires and huge loss of life, has seen only a short-lived drop in business, due in part to the desperate need to scrap ships.


CSL Atlas , built in 1990 with a deadweight capacity of 67,634 dwt and 41,173 grt, was too large to take complete loads at National Gypsum in Halifax, but it was a frequent caller at Auld's Cove where it loaded stone for the US market. Nevertheless it made many trips from Halifax as backhauls after unloading coal in Cape Breton. Its last call in Halifax was June 11, 2016.

CSL Atlas in January 2016 was looking quite seedy when it anchored in Bedford Basin. The writing must have been on the wall even then.

When built in 1990 in Brazil it was the only panamax self-unloader in the world. Its holds were lined with Teflon and it had a revolutionary boom, with the outward 100 ft slewing on a pivot from the inner boom which swung from its own pivot. This arrangement allowed it much greater flexibility in unloading.


I wrote about the ship here: http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/04/csl-atlas.html


Interestingly the ship's last port of call was Iskenderun, Turkey. Apparently scrap prices at Chittagong were higher than Turkish prices, warranting the trip all the way to Bangladesh. The ship is now mid-way down the west coast of India, in the Arabian Sea.

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