Saturday traffic

 Aside from the departure of the bulker UBC Tampico (see previous post) today, May 6, there was notable other traffic in the harbour.

The auto carrier Bess made a call at Pier 9C to unload RoRo traffic before proceeding to Autoport to discharge cars.

Bess made its turn in Bedford Basin, and with the UBC Tampico at Gold Bond Gypsum in the background, made its way in glassy calm waters, toward Pier 9C.

A caller in Halifax since it was built in 2010 by Shin Kurushima, Toyohashi, it has appeared in its current Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean livery, and the previous green and white colour scheme of Wallenius Lines. The ship has a capacity of 6,284 cars. It has been mentioned in this blog many times.

The small bulker Endurance arrived at Pier 27 from Moa, Cuba, with a consignment of nickel sulfides. Nirint Lines handles this cargo normally, but this ship does not appear on Nirint schedules, so may be a last minute substitute.

The Endurance was built in 2012 by Nanjing Huatai in Nanjing and is a 5632 gt, 7825 dwt multi-purpose, single decker, with box shaped holds. It is carrying containers on deck for Nirint's general cargo service from/to Europe, and has two 30 tonne SWL cranes

At Imperial Oil the tanker Largo Elegance (see May 4) got underway for Falmouth, UK. It used the western channel outbound. 

That left the entire eastern channel for the tug Atlantic Elm, which was returning to port after an outing to Sheet Harbour to undock the bulker Mediterranean Spirit.

 

The Mediterranean Spirit is hull down on the horizon as it arrives off Halifax to disembark its pilot from Sheet Harbour. The ship arrived in Sheet Harbour May 4 from Vitttoria, Brazil and is sailing for Montreal.

Sheet Harbour is a non-compulsary pilotage port, but most large ships use a Halifax based pilot there. The smaller ship Onego Bayou arrived and anchored in nearby Mushaboom Harbour this morning, May 6, to await the sailing of the Mediterranean Spirit and did not order a pilot.
 

Once the Imperial Oil #3 dock was clear the Canadian tanker Algoscotia moved across from Pier 28, where it has been idle since arriving May 2.

 Algoscotia usually operates between Halifax, Sydney and Corner Brook, with occasional trips to Sept-Iles, QC. It distributes various products from the Halifax storage depot. Product arrives there by rail car, Canadian tanker from Montreal, Nanticoke or Sarnia and on foreign flag tanker, from Antwerp as in the case of the Largo Elegance.

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MSC, ZIM, UBC and WWO

 Continuing on the "initials" theme started two posts ago, today, March 23, was another "initial day" - but with some variations.

An early morning arrival was the ZIM Shekou a familiar caller since 2018 on the ZIM Container Atlantic (ZCA) service. Altough "ZIM" in the company name ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd is always capitalized and pronounced "zim" it is an ancient Hebrew word meaning "a fleet of ships" and should be pronounced "tsim". It is therefore not an abbreviation as many think - (that would be ZISS).

ZIM Shekou tied up at the south end of Pier 42 to allow room for the next arrival.

The ZIM Shekou was built in  2007 by the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co at its Dalian #2 (or New) shipyard. The 39,906 gt, 50,629 dwt ship has a capacity of 4260 TEU.

 At noon time it was another "new to Halifax" ship the MSC Zlata R. arriving on the Turkey / Greece service. MSC is known for running older ships, but it has invested in scrubbers to keep them running on heavy fuel. Scrubber equipped ships often switch from heavy fuel to lighter MDO while maneuvering, but in the case of this ship there was massive particulate emission - all the way in from the pilot station.

 

I have never heard of a ship being fined for air pollution in Halifax, but this one would certainly be a candidate.

 

The ship was built by Samsung HI Co Ltd in Geoje, South Korea in 2002. Its 45,803 gt, 53,452 dwt result in a capacity of 4112 TEU including 1300 reefers. It was launched as Santa Ricarda, but delivered as P+O Nedlloyd Botany Bay. In 2005 it was renamed Maersk Dunafare and became Cap Ricarda in 2010. In 2013 it reverted to Cap Ricarda and in 2015 took its present name.

Much of the smoke was expelled aft when it was still moving, but as the ship slowed the smoke gathered more around the funnel. It cannot have been pleasant for those on board. Even after the ship tied up at Pier 41 it continued to smoke, so perhaps the problems were with the ship's auxiliary engines.

A mid-afternoon departure was the bulker UBC Santos (see previous posts).

When it sailed its AIS signal gave a destination of Fort de France, Martinique.  The company Albioma operates an "all-biomass" generating station in Martinique, which generates power and supplies steam to a large sugar processing operation. The ship's cargo of Nova Scotia wood pellets will feed the plant.

Inbound shortly after was the autocarrier Bess. A 2010 product of Shin Kurushima Toyohashi, it is a 58.750 gt, 18,013 dwt ship with a capacity of 6,284 cars (RT43).

This was my first opportunity to catch the ship in the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean colours. It was originally painted in traditional Wallenius colours, and called here frequently with its green hull.

In my April 25, 2011 photo the ship looked brand new. It is interesting that the painters of the original scheme dropped the white topside to clear the banner name. The "broken" line certainly looked odd. In the new scheme they decided on a straight line, and the teal colour just barely clears the banner name, which appears to be in exactly the same location - no doubt outlined in a thin bead of weld.

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Big Ship Day - amended

Two big ships are in port today.
The first arrival was the always impressive Queen Mary 2. I may get a photo when it sails later in the day.


The other big arrival is a relatively rare loaded crude oil tanker. Evridiki built in 2007 by Hyundai Samho is 84,796 grt, 167,294 dwt ship operating under the Liberian flag by the Greek company Liquimar Tankers Management Services Inc of Athens. The ship is assigned to the Blue Fin pool of Suezmax tankers, which provides commercial management of more than 100 tankers of all sizes  under parent company Heidmar.

Evridiki monopolizes number one anchorage while the Canadian Food Inspection Agency conducts its inspection.

Its port call will be brief, since it is here for an Asian gypsy moth inspection, and will be sailing as soon as it receives clearance. As with all large loaded crude tankers it was assigned two pilots on arrival and will also take to pilots on departure.


Inland ports, such as Quebec are particularly sensitive to gypsy moth exposure, since the pest can invade the valuable coniferous forests if not caught in the egg stage. The species originates in China, Japan, North and South Korea and the Russian Far East.


The ship loaded in Novorssysk, Russia with crude oil from the Tengiz field in the Caspian Sea and is bound for Quebec City.

Addenda:
1.
I did get a chance for a photo of Queen Mary 2 on her departure, from virtually the same angle as previous photos of the ship - but this time there was a difference:

 Under a broken sky, Queen Mary 2 gets underway from pier 22 and passes the Italian naval training ship Americgo Vespucci at pier 20.

It was also a cruise with a difference for passengers. While well off Newfoundland, QM2 was tasked with rescuing a single handed sailor, Mervyn Wheatley, after his boat capsized in hurricane conditions. The single-hander was participating in the Ostar race and his was one of five boats damaged by the wind and 15 meter seas. All the sailors were rescued by a variety of ships and a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter. QM2's rescue boat is credited with superb seamanship in carrying out the rescue in difficult conditions.    

2.
Just before Queen Mary 2 sailed the autocarrier Bess left Autoport for sea. It is a 58,750 grt, 18,013 dwt ship with a capacity of 6,284 cars.

The ship is named for the operatic Bess (from Porgy and Bess) - not after good Queen Bess of England.
Built by Shin Kurushima in Toyohashi, Japan iit is owned by EA Car Carriers Panama SA and operates under long term charter to Wallenius Lines for the Wallenius Wilhelmsen pool.

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Today's activities-from the Dartmouth side

Bess at Autoport, unloading an endless stream of Mercs and Bimmers:

Acadian at anchor waiting a berth at Imperial Oil, while Survival Systems lifeboat training goes on:

Repairs to Louis S. St-Laurent continuing (note the odd shape around the anchor pocket):

and CNAV Quest made a cold move to the gun wharf:

Even uglier PCTC

1. Bess leaves Eastern Passage, and will turn around Indian Point and Ives Knoll to head for sea.

2. Her plumb bow is a feature rarely seen on modern ships.

3. A broadside view shows the shoebox-like proportions of the ship.

Pure Car and Truck carriers (PCTCs) are floating garages, and much effort has been expended on making them both hydroponically and aerodynamically efficient. Their great slab sides and blunt bows, have usually been softened by some rounded shapes and often a fairly graceful stem.

As the pressure increases to cram more and more cars aboard, the boundaries are again being pushed.

Today's arrival, Bess, built in 2010 and on long term charter to Wallenius-Wilhelmsen by Japanese owners, Excel Marine Co., has pushed another boundary for sure. Her perfectly vertical stem, is no doubt the result of intense study and computer modelling, but it is no thing of beauty! Even compared to the last posting of Capricornus Leader, she is a definitely a runner up in the pageant.

[As with all Wallenius vessels, it is named for an operatic character, in this case Bess of Porgy and Bess, a 20th century American opera, as opposed to a more classical European one.]