Where the Action is - Part 2

 It was turnabout today, December 14 as most of the harbour action shifted to the south end of the port.

Arriving at Pier 42, PSA Atlantic Hub (South End Container Terminal) was the MSC Kim from Sines, Portugal on MSC's Med Canada run. The ship is en route to Montreal and will be dropping off a few boxes here to reduce draft to meet St. Lawrence River restrictions.

Built in 2008 by Zhejiang Yangfan in Ningbo, it is a 41,225 gt, 56,395 dwt ship with a container capacity of 4254 TEU with 500 reefer slots. It is also a speedster, rated at 23.5 knots, and is especially impressive while underway doing 20 knots at light draft.

Next along was the Eagle II from Cuba for Nirint Shipping. It berthed at Pier 27 where it will use its own gear to unload.

The odd configuration of the deck load is to allow access to the hold where the cargo of nickel sulfides, in bulk cargo bags, can be accessed without having to move any containers.

The Eagle II was built in 2006 by Shandong Weihai Shipyard in Weihai, China. It measures 15,633 gt, 16,986 dwt and can carry 1306 TEU including 258 reefers, but can also carry general cargo and break bulk. It is fitted with a pair of 45 tonne SWL cranes. It sailed orginally as Hooge for Briese Schiffsharts. It was renamed Eagle II in 2022 by obscure Liberian owners and operates under charter to the Dutch company Nirint Lines.

Vacating the berth at Pier 41 the MSC Pamela sailed for Norfolk on the Indus Express route, a fairly recent addition to MSC's Halifax calls.

The ship dates from 2005 when it was handed over by Samsung Shipbuilding, Geoje, South Korea. The 108,930 gt, 132,035 dwt ship has a capacity of 9300 TEU and at the time had the largest container capacity of any ship. 

[How times have changed: MSC has just confirmed an order for ten ships of 24,000 TEU. In September they ordered ten 21,000 TEU ships bringing their total order book to 2 million TEU. All the ships are to be alternate or dual fuel / LNG.]

As the MSC Pamela was outbound the next ship for berth 41 was inbound, also on the Indus Express, direct from Colombo. The Karlskrona has a longer and more varied history, and does not carry a traditional MSC name. 

The Karlskrona had been standing by off Halilfax for a couple of days during periods of high winds, along with several other ships, including the ONE Cygnus which was silhouetted in its position in an outer anchorage.

Odense Staalskibs in Lindø, Denmark built the ship for its parent company AP Moller-Maersk in 1996. Named Karen Maersk until 2008 it became Maersk Karlskrona until 2016 then MSC Karlskrona to 2018 when it was renamed Karl, briefly, in 2018 and then Maersk Karlskrona. In 2023 it took its present name. The 81,488 gt, 96,103 dwt ship has a capacity of 7403 TEU with 703 reefer plugs.

There was another transfer of rubber tired gantries (RTGs) this afternoon, as the two units (numbers 79  and  80) were moved aboard the barge Atlantic Swordfish at Pier 39. The tug Atlantic Larch then took the barge on the hip and headed for PSA Fairvwiew Cove, with the Atlantic Beaver. [A previous transfer took place on December 11 - see post.]

These RTGs are relatively new, having arrived in Halifax from Kone cranes on February 6, 2020 aboard the ship Spuigracht. With eight new electric RTGs now in service at the SECT, these units can see continued service at Fairview Cove, replacing some older units.

 ,

Under Cover Operations - Part 1

 Some activities are carried out under cover of darkness in order to escape detection. Today, December 11, most operations in Halifax harbour were nearly invisible due to dense fog. Particulary as temperatures reached 7ºC as the rising tide brought in sea water of nearly the same temperature.

Operation 1

PSA Halifax operates both container terminals in Halifax. They took over operation of the South End Container Terminal (SECT) in 2019 and rebranded it as PSA Atlantic Hub. In 2022, PSA purchased Ceres Halifax Inc from NYK and renamed the facility located in Bedford Basin as PSA Fairview Cove.   

PSA has been continually upgrading equipment with new super post-panamax ship to shore cranes (STS) at the SECT in 2023. Thay have also purchased new Rubber Tired Gantries (RTG). The first two (numbered 79 and 80) arrived aboard the ship Spuigracht from Kone Cranes in Finland February 6, 2020. With their arrival some of the older RTGs were dismantled (in dramatic fashion see November 26, 2020.)

In May of this year PSA took delivery of eight new E-RTGs. Painted green to identify them as electrically operated, they also have expanded capabilities over the diesel powered units they are to to replace. The first batch  of four arrived on the Sampogracht on May 3, 2024 and the second group of four on the Singelgracht on May 26, 2024. There were some teething issues (believed to related to missing parts) but the units now appear to be in service.

With the E-RTGs operational PSA opted to move some of its diesel RTGs to Fairview Cove. They obviousy can't be driven over roads, so the deck barge Atlantic Swordfish was employed as a transporter. The barge had been sitting idle at the C.O.V.E dock in Dartmouth since some time last year, so was readily available. Yesterday, December 10, it was moved to Pier 39 - the last open berth on the southernmost finger pier. (The former Pier 40 is now buried with the SECT, where Pier 41 starts.) It was then possible to "drive" two RTGs onto the barge (or perhaps to lift them - I did not see). Two stackers were also loaded on.

This morning the barge got underway with the tugs Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Fir providing power for the slow trip to Fairview Cove. The procession was barely visible as it passed beneath the A.Murray MacKay bridge, thanks tothe aforementioned fog. However digital technology permitted some enhancement of an image.

Atlantic Larch (near side) and Atlantic Fir (far side) and Atlantic Swordfish in the Narrows.

The barge Atlantic Swordfish was built in 2000 by the Jinling Shipyard in Nanjing, China, It is 76.04 m registered length x 21.95 m breadth  and rated at 2318 gt. It has been registered in Canada since 2010, but its backgound is equally murky, however it was previously the Boabarge 17.

 The RTGs on the barge are numbered 76 and 77, so are among those once operated by previous operators of the SECT. 

See next post for Operation 2.

.