More Pier 9C and beyond

Aside from regular port activity - that is scheduled shipping lines, with repetitive ships - Pier 9C is the location of unusual and "one of"  ships. Lately that has meant ships related to the decommissioning of the offshore gas fields.

Certainly that would explain the two Maersk tug/suppliers rafted together at the centre berth.

Maersk Detector on the outside of Maersk Cutter. Of very different designs, they are both equipped to support offshore activity and set anchors for rigs. Although both work for Maersk Supply Service Canada, under Canadian flag, they were both built in Chile, but by different ship yards. (Canada has a free trade agreement with Chile.)

Just to the north the general cargo ship BBC Kwiatkowski arrived July 11 from Willemstad, Curacao.

Built in 2008 by the Polish Shipyards Polnoca, completed by Remontowa, it was launched as Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski but completed with its present name. It is a 6115 gt, 7732 dwt ship with a pair of 120 tonne cranes. The ship has called in Halifax before for offshore related cargoes or to fit out to carry submarine cable. Its most recent visit was in February of this year, so it may be here to offload the cable racks.

At the south end of Pier 9C the big barge BOA Barge 37 finally made its move to the IEL dock in Woodside. The move had been planned for some time, but was postponed, I believe due to lack of visibility in fog.

The barge is on long term charter to Halifax Shipyard, and has two uses. One is to transfer ship's hull components from the Woodside fabrication hall to the shipyard. It is also used to launch the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships. The blue cradles on the deck are used to support the ship's hull or components. These will now be removed at the IEL dock.

As might be imagined the barge is idle a lot of the time. It was therefore available when COVID-19 delayed plans to install two new 300 tonne capacity cranes on the Hibernia offshore structure. The new crane was supposed to be installed by the giant crane ship Thialf but with time running out on its work off Nova Scotia plans had to change. Instead the cranes will be loaded onto the BOA Barge 34, and transferred to a storage site in Argentia, NL for installation next year.

There was also activity beyond Pier 9C today. At Cerscorp's Fairview Cove it was another visit of ONE Magnificence - so far the only ship of the Ocean Network Express to call here in the new magenta hull colour. (It was MOL Magnificence until early this year) But so far I have not been able to catch it with ideal lighting conditions or in the best location. (If it hadn't sailed during my dinner hour tonight I might have caught it this time.)

With the pilot boat running interference to clear pleasure craft from the route path, the ship approaches Ives Knoll. Meanwhile, in a well timed departure Bishu Highway clears Eastern Passage for Baltimore.

Built in 2009 by Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co Ltd the auto carrier is still in traditional K-Line colours. These are gradually being repainted with a new scheme. K-Line has kept ownership of all its ships except the container ships, which went into the One Network Express, ONE.

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Leave Takings

Several ships took their leave from Halifax at around the same time this afternoon. Of these, three consented  to pass before my camera.

Augusta Mars, sailing for Nirint Lines, completed discharging nickel sulfide from Cuba at pier 31. That cargo travels in bulk bags and is handled by the ship's own gear. Since the ship also carries containerized cargo from Cuba, the decks are kept clear over midship holds to allow access to the bulk cargo.

Built as Atlantic Power in 2000 by Jingjiang Shipyard, the ship has held the names Seaboard Power from 2001 to 2007, Federal Power from 2007 to 2013, Atlantic Power 2013-2015, Onego Power 2015-2016, and Atlantic Power again from 2016 until it broke from tradition and became Augusta Mars in 2018.

Recent losses of bulk carriers when certain bulk cargoes liquified underlines the wisdom of carrying semi-refined concentrates in bags.

The Bishu Highway sailed from Autoport after unloading a small part of its 6,135 CEU capacity.

Since it was built in 2009 by Shin Kurushima , Toyohashi, the 56,978 gt, 17,649 dwt ship has been repainted in a lighter hull colour but has not yet adopted K-Line's new scheme, which features a giant red band punctuated by a huge letter "K" near the stern.

Also outbound was the Finland flag general cargo ship Antonia. The 6351 gt, 9770 dwt 'tween decker was built in 2012 Jiangsu Yangzi Changbo and is equipped with two 80 tonne cranes.It was built as Pietro Benedetti and adopted its current name earlier this year when acquired by Helmer Lundstrom AB OY of Turku.

The ship arrived at the IEL dock this morning from Invergordon, Scotland, (on Cromarty Firth) which suggest a cargo related to the offshore petroleum industry. Its next port of call is shown as Albany, NY.

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Monday, Monday

A busy Monday brings up a number of interesting developments.

The merger of the three Japanese container lines, K-Line, MOL and NYK to form Ocean Network Express, called ONE, has included building some new ships, but there will be a lengthy transition for existing ships to adopt common livery and for the introduction of the brand on containers. The merger, which started in 2016 came into effect in October 2017.

Yesterday a white ONE box was spotted on the inbound Berlin Bridge, a K-Line charter from Seaspan International.. However the real news was today's spotting of a new ONE dry container.

There has been some discussion in the shipping industry about the new ONE colour. Called cherry blossom magenta, it is traditionally a symbol of spring in Japan. However there is the question of the practicality of maintaining the colour. The general consensus seems to fit into the "What were they thinking" category. ONE has some ships in service now with this colour applied to the ship's hull. Can't wait to see one here.

ONE is a member of the THE Alliance with Yang Ming and HAPAG-Lloyd, so we are sure to see one someday.

Rebranding is also afoot in the oil distribution business in Atlantic Canada, with Irving Oil purchasing the Ultramar gas stations and convenience stores in the region.

Workers swarm over a former Ultramar station and get the Irving sign into position.

This will likely result in more business at Irving's Woodside marine terminal in Halifax harbour.

Old tanks coming down at Valero, with cars in the background.

The stations were previously supplied by Valero, and I note demolitions at their Eastern Passage tank storage facility. Valero still supplies Petro-Canada, and perhaps other gas stations in the area from their refinery in Lévis, QC, but  the local facility is underutilized. The site of the former Gulf Oil refinery - long since shut down - is right next door to Autoport, and they allow Autoport to use some of their land already. Despite a huge expansion to Autoport's storage facility recently, they will likely do a deal for more.

With no refineries in Halifax it is rare to see a crude oil tanker, particularly a fully laden one. Today's arrival of the Malta flag Patroclus involved some very careful navigation. Despite the tide being relatively high, the ship took to the deep water western channel  and even deviated from that to avoid a high spot. Other ships and boats were cautioned out of the way and the pilot boat stood by off middle ground to help guide the ship. Harbour regulations require two pilots and two tugs for tankers of this size.

Patroclus returns from the deep water western channel to the main channel as the supplier Venture Sea and a pleasure craft move toward the western channel. The stern escort tug Atlantic Oak is out of sight moving the ship's stern.

It is not immediately apparent where the ship is coming from, but its course approaching Halifax was from the south. Its destination will be revealed when it departs later this evening - watch for an update

The ship was built by Hyundai Ulsan in 2009 as Astro Patroclus but was renamed in the same year. At 79,890 grt, 158,267 dwt it is not the largest ship to call in Halifax, but it may be one of the deepest. Due to the position of tugs and shadows I was not able to read the draft marks, but the web says it is 17m (55.7 ft). However based on the way the ship was handled I suspect it was in excess of 17.7m (58.07 ft) - the figure requiring special permission from the Port. Update: on departing the ship reported a draft of 16.95m, and gave Saint John, NB as its destination.

Patroclus brings up in number one anchorage in preparation to take bunkers.

Bishu Highway was unloading cars at Autoport this morning when BMW announced that it is raising car prices because of the current trade and tariff war. What this uncertainly will mean for Autoport, and Canadian car buyers remains to be seen, except it is likely not good news.

Bishu Highway dates from 2009 when it was cranked out by Shin Kurushima Toyohashi. With a gross tonnage of 56,978 grt, 17,649 dwt, it has a capacity of 6,135 cars on 11 decks. The ship has called in Halifax many times, averaging about one call a year, although it was last here as recently as March 13.

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Departures

It was mostly a day of departures as far as my camera was concerned.

The auto carrier Bishu Highway, I beliewve oin its first visit to Halifax, arrived in fog and sailed into fog, but it was clear while making its way out of Eastern Passage into the lower harbour.

Built in 2009 by Shin Kurushima in Toyohashi the 56,978 grt ship is operated by K-Line under the Japanese flag.

Fog lingered off Meagher's Beach and the ship soon disappeared from view.

Another Japanese owned first time caller was NYK Romulus, which also arrived in fog and sailed into fog. Its outbound passage through the harbour was clear however.

It flies the Singapore flag for NYK Line and was built in 2009 by Hyundai in Samho, South Korea. It is a 55,487 grt, 65,883 dwt ship with a capacity of 4922 TEU , including 330 reefers.

The last sailing before fog really took over the harbour was Stadt Cadiz which finally got underway from Bedford Basin after five weeks in port for main engine repairs.

During that time the crew managed to do a lot of painting, but only got about halfway aft on the starboard side. The ship is givning Brooklyn, NY as its next port of call.

Also in the fog-free north end of the harbour is the cargo ship BBC Skysails is unloading large diameter gas pipe at pier pier 9C (I still think it should be called pier 9D).

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Bishu Highway and Hoegh Kunsan - well timed

A well timed arrival and departure this afternoon, allowed the Bishu Highway to sail from Autoport, and the Hoegh Kunsan to dock very shortly afterwards. As Bishu Highway emerged from Eastern Passage, Hoegh Kunsan passed Ives Knoll. It then sailed west and north about George's Island and headed for Autoport.

Hoegh Kunsan, flying the flag of Singapore, was built in 1996 as Maersk Taiyo, and is of a much older design than we normally see in Halifax these days. The forepeak is open and it has a much finer flare to its bow and stern. It has very narrow side ramps on both port and starboard and interestingly also has a protective ice knife over it rudder. Renamed in 2008, it is still managed by Maersk Tankers, but owned by Hoegh. Its 44,219 grt encloses sufficient space to carry 4300 autos. It was built by Tadotsu Factory, Tadotsu, Japan.

The Japanese flag Bishu Highway is owned by K-Line and operated by their management company Taiyo NK [note Maersk Taiyo  above] and was built by Shin Kurushima, in Toyohashi, Japan in 2009. It is of a more modern design, with maximized hull form including car decks over the forepeak. Its eleven decks have a capacity of 6,135 cars, on a gross tonnage of 56,978. It has a side door on the starboard side only.  Even with a service speed of 23 knots it is said to be 10% to 15% more fuel efficient than previous generations of car carriers. Its last port was Emden and it sailed for Houston.

 

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