Alfred Needler on the move

 The retired research trawler CCGS Alfred Needler was on the move today (October 4) - but not very far from its start point. In November 2022 a generator failure meant that it could not use its trawl winch. That resulted in cutting short a research trip. Later that month there was a failure in an air receiver tank fitting. The ship returned to its base at the Bedford Institute (BIO) on December 18, 2002 and was laid up. At some point, likely in January 2023, it incurrred structural damage to a potable water tank when it was slammed against the dock in severe weather. In February 2023 Fisheries and Oceans Canada cancelled a planned life extension refit and announced that the ship would not be repaired but would be retired and recycled.

Recently its name and all government identifiers have been painted over. This usually means that the ship will be given a new numerical name prior to selling it. So far at least a new name has not appeared.

 

This morning the navy tugs Glenbrook and Listerville moved the ship to an adjacent berth at the BIO. In recent days the CCGS Sir William Alexander and the visting British research ship RSS Discovery have tied up at Pier 9C because the 'Needler was occupying prime space at BIO.

The CCGS Kopit Hopson 1752 and the CCGS Earl Grey are also alongside the north pier at BIO. (CCGS G.Peddle S.C. is ahead of the Grey but not visible in the photo.) As for the other Halifax based CCGS ships, the CCGS Captain Jacques Cartier is currently in Pictou, NS and the icebreaker CCGS Jean Goodwill is in drydock in St.John's. When the CCG takes delivery of its new Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels in a few years time, it will need more pier space at BIO if one of the ships is based in Halifax. (One of the AOPVs will likely go to the west coast.). The current pier replacement project may make up some of the needed space. 

The CCGS Alfred Needler has been the subject of many posts here over the years. It was built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou in 1981 and measured 925.03 gross tons. It  was originally operated by the Department of Fisheries, but was merged into the Canadian Coast Guard when the Minster of Fisheries and Oceans took over responsiblity in 1977. At that time it adopted the Canadian Coast Guard red hull with white stripe. The ship originally carried a grey hull and white superstructure as a Department of Fisheries vessel. It also had a white hull for a time in 1990s.

Sister ship CCGS Wilfred Templeman, built in 1982, was renamed 2011-01 then sold to McKeil Marine and renamed Blain M in 2012. It was sold to Marine Recycling Corporation (MRC) of Port Colborne, ON. At last report it had been laid up at MRC's scrapping facility in Sydport, NS since 2019. The Needler is likely to be heading in a similar direction.

CCGS Wilfred Templeman in 2004.

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Alfred Needler and other old government ships

 The Canadian Coast Guard announced February 9 that it will not be repairing the CCGS Alfred Needler after the most recent incidents (See previous posts of December 22 and January 19) when the ship had equipment failures and was damaged while alongside at the BIO dock. They have cancelled a planned $5 million refit which was intended to squeeze a few more years of service out of the forty year old research trawler. They have determined that the ship is beyond repair and that further expenditure would not return it to safe operation.

Instead the ship will be prepared for what they politely refer to as "deconstruction" and "environmentally sound disposal." That means scrapping (in Canada) following safe regulations.

The announcement follows the retirement of CCGS Hudson late last year. A contract to demolish that research veteran (at sixty years of age) was awarded to R.J.MacIsaac Construction Ltd (RJMI). They took over "care and custody" of the ship, and in the spring of 2023 will tow it to Sheet Harbour for final disposal. In the meantime RJMI has moved the ship to Pier 9C in Halifax where it awaits the tow.

According to the CCGS press release in December, once the ship arrives in Sheet Harbour there will be a process of hazardous material remediation and disposal.

Then by Fall 2023, the vessel will be removed from the water and the hull and superstructure will be disassembled. The overall project is expected to be completed by the end of Fall 2023.

As per the press release "RJMI will ensure that any steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or other recyclable materials onboard the vessel are recycled while non-recyclable materials are disposed of in an environmentally-responsible manner, in compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal regulations. As well, the contractor will salvage and return the CCGS Hudson's hull transducers and propellers to the CCG."

There has been no visible activity on the Hudson at Pier 9C, and as of this morning, February 10, it still remains intact. RJMI's facility in Sheet Harbour is currently dismantling the fire damaged ferry Holiday Island.

That work is expected to have advanced enough by spring that room can be found for the Hudson.

As for the Alfred Needler there are other contractors that could also bid on the work, and since it is a much smaller ship there could be several locations to do it.

It was also recently announced that the Coast Guard itself has begin to demolish in place the former CCGS Tupper at Marie Joseph, NS. The ship was sold by the Coast Guard in 2000 for conversion to a yacht and renamed Caruso but work never took place and after a fire in 2008 it was sold to a scrapper and towed to Marie Joseph in 2011. Scrapping was never completed and the Coast Guard undertook to remove the remains as a pollution threat. They will likely also demolish the tug Craig Trans at the same location and attempt to recover costs from the same owner. See previous post of June 21, 2011 and April 4, 2021.

There was been a long list of "dreamers" buying former government ships with schemes to reuse or convert them, but the ships usually ended up abandonned when funds ran out, or were involved in smuggling operations. None of this did any credit to the government or to Canada. In recent years, whether intentionally or not, surplus government craft have been few and as per the first three ships mentoned above, were in no state to be reused and so have been sold to be dismantled appropriately.

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More DFO woes - now its the Needler

 The federal government's Department of Fisheries and Oceans operates a variety of reseach vessels and the ships of the Canadian Coast Guard. After many years of what can only be called neglect in government budgets, a program was finally put in place to rejuvenate the DFO fleet, but not before several aging vessels reached what should have been end of life. Notable among these was the recently decommissioned CCGS Hudson, which was well past its expected retirement date when it broke down. (See December 19 post).

The CBC is now reporting another ship with problems, but which must soldier on for several more years service. CCGS Alfred Needler is a 925 gt fisheries research trawler, built in 1981 by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou, NS. 

 According to the news report a generator that powers the trawl winch failed in November and forced the ship to return to St.John's. Because the vessel's research involves the accumulation of comparative data, it is important that the ship replicate its previous missions (fishing in the same place, with the same gear, at the same time of year, etc.,) Repairing the generator is thus essential to being able to complete the research program. Then on November 23 there was a failure on an air receiver tank fitting. (The ship starts its engine on compressed air). That may have been repaired quickly, but the work to get the ship back in full service will not be completed until February. The ship has been alongside at the Bedford Institute since December 18.

 The Alfred Needler was to be retired this month, but will now require a $4.1 mn Vessel Life Extension project to keep it in service. The other DFO research trawler, the Teleost, which was also to be retired, will be maintained as well in order to transfer the above noted comparative data programs to new ships.

All this is very strange since the National Shipbuilding Strategy has long since delivered all three of the planned new offshore fisheries research vessels. CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier was delivered in 2019 and the CCGS John Cabot in 2020. (The first of the three, CCGS Sir John Franklin was delivered in 2019 for service on the West Coast.) There should have been time to carry out the transitions from old to new ships, but there may have been issues with the new ships too, all of which were built by Seaspan's Vancouver Shipyard Co Ltd.

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Government Ships

 It was a day for various government marine services vessels to move in and out of Halifax Harbour, and for merchant vessels to remain largely invisible.

The most notable move was that of the newly commissioned HMCS Harry DeWolf as it prepared to embark on its first mission as an Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel. It is the first, and "name ship" of a new class of ships to be built for the Royal Canadian Navy. The ship first made a short move from HMC Dockyard to Irving Oil to top up its fuel bunkers. 

It later put out to sea on what will be an epic voyage combining arctic exercises, a transit of the Northwest Passage from Atlantic to Pacific, followed by a long west coast voyage to the Panama Canal. The ship will then participate in drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean with the United States Coast Guard before returning to Halifax completing a circumnavigation of North America.

The voyage will mark many firsts in addition to a return to arctic operations by the RCN. The navy has not had an icebreaker in its fleet since HMCS Labrador was transferred to Department of Transport in 1957. Tellingly Harry DeWolf's trip will retrace that of HMCS Labrador in 1954 when it became the first warship to make a Northwest Passage and then completed a circumnavigation of North America. Some considered the 1957 transfer of the Labrador to civilian service a slap in the face to the Navy, and a purely political move. Whatever it was, the RCN transferred its focus to anti-submarine warfare. The (previous) Canadian government's determination to assert its sovereignty in the Arctic lead in part to the current national shipbuilding program which will see more Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, frigates, Naval supply ships and icebreakers.

Alluding to the Canadian Coast Guard, there have been "visiting" CCG patrol boats in Halifax recently. As Halifax based boats are in refit, boats from other bases have appeared in Halifax. Today CCGC Caporal Kaeble V.C. was noted at the Tall Ships Quay.

The second in the Hero class of patrol boats to be built by Halifax Shipyard, it was commissioned in 2013 and is based in Quebec City. The boat is a modified Damen Stanpatrol 4207 (42 m long by 7 m wide). The boat also carries an RCMP crew when it is engaged in law enforcement duties. However it appears to be more likely to be engaged in Coast Guard College cadet training at the present time.

Unlike the Canadian Coast Guard ships which are crewed by civilians (plus police as needed), United States Coast Guard ships are military. Two USCG vessels sailed from HMC Dockyard today after a weekend in Halifax. They had previously been exercising off Nova Scotia.

USCG Richard Snyder WPC-1127 is a Sentinel class patrol vessel commissioned in 2018. (Based on a Damen Stanpatrol 4708 (47 m long x 8 m wide), this is the size and type that the CCG should have acquired due to their better sea keeping ability.)

Here is a comparison photo of CCGS Constable Carriere taken July 27.

Also sailing was the Boston based USCGC Escanaba, WMEC 907, a Famous class cutter that has called here several times since it was commissioned in 1987.

Unlike the USCG, the CCG also operates outside the enforcement sphere. Since 1995 the CCG has also incorporated the Department of Fisheries and Oceans fleet of research vessels. This included CGS Alfred Needler which arrived today as CCGS Alfred Needler.

Built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou in 1982, it is a fisheries research trawler. It must be very close to decommissioning as the current National Shipbuilding procurement Strategy has completed all three of the new "Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels". The two east coast vessels, CCGS John Cabot and CCGS Captain Jacques Cartier have been delivered and are supposedly in servic, replacing Alfred Needler and Teleost. Maintenance issues with other ships, including CCGS Hudson may explain why the Needler is still operational.

The sole merchant ship movement noted today was the early morning arrival of MSC Anya which has been anchored off Halifax since July 29. Presumably it is bound for Montreal.

MSC Anya was visible on holiday Monday, through the haze, as it waited at anchor off Halifax.

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Capt. Jacques Cartier - here we go again

We are stuck with historical characters  - warts and all - whether we like it or not. Denying that these characters existed doesn't work - sweeping them under the carpet is not possible. Nor is it desirable to keep them in the spotlight by glorifying them despite their defects, faults and obedience to cultural norms of the time.
Nevertheless there must be ways of naming ships without being controversial!

The Canadian Coast Guard has "put its foot in it" again with the choice of names for the latest offshore fisheries science vessel . CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier [there is no period after the abbreviated "captain" in the ship's official name*] recognizes the French navigator, cartographer, explorer and colonizer of the early 1500s. It is Cartier we have to thank for being Canada (he misunderstood the Iroquoian word kanata meaning village to mean the entire country).  The ship arrived at BIO March 6 for the first time after completion by Seaspan.

Capt Jacques Cartier at its new home at BIO.

There is no disputing Cartier's navigating skills - he charted much of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and St. Lawrence River for the first time and never lost a ship. His relations with indigenous people were mixed, particularly after he attempted the first year-round colonies near Quebec. Even though those same people saved Cartier and his crews from scurvy by sharing the recipe for what was likely spruce beer, he managed to alienate them by claiming the land for the King of France (as he was ordered to do.)

The CCGS had to use the term "Capt" because there was already a Jacques-Cartier registered in Canada.




That significant ship has born the name since 1924, and is a virtual floating landmark. See my Navigation Quebec blog http://navigationquebec.blogspot.com/2015/10/post-2-jacques-cartier.html.
That particular ship has been laid up for several years and was to be brought back into service this year, but that is certainly in doubt now due to the pandemic. Nevertheless do we need two ships named for this man?

Coast Guard ship naming policy requires that sizable ships in the Offshore Oceanographic or Fishing Science category are to be named for "former Canadian scientists or explorers of Canada." To me that means that scientists should be the first choice. Surely the name of a former Canadian scientist could be found, perhaps Sir Frederick Banting? [No scientists are perfect either.]

I know I am "famous" for carping about ships names, but the current policy is not only subject to political interference, but brings the Coast Guard and the federal government into disrepute by its poor, and in some cases thoughtless, choices. Naming ships after people has to be dangerous territory. Why not name ships after species of fish or marine life? One of the ships to be replaced in the current program is the Teleost named uncontroversially after the large class of ray-finned fishes. There are apparently 26,000 species in that group - lots of name choices there!

The other ship is named - wait for it - a former distinguished scientist, Dr. Alfred Needler CM, OBE, FRSC.

CCGS Alfred Needler, built in 1981 was named for a noted scientist.

*Another curiosity about Capt Jacques Cartier's name is that despite being named after a Breton, and resident of St-Malo, France, the name on the ship is rendered "en anglais".  A ship named after a person, in current French usage, should have a hyphen between the first and last names. The abbreviation "Capt" is presumably supposed to do double duty for Captain and Capitaine, but it would also be followed by a hyphen if rendered according to French usage. Interestingly the other ship named for the same explorer has had a hyphen since 1924.

Names for the other two ships in the series Sir John Franklin and John Cabot (aka Zuan Chabotto) are somewhat less controversial choices.

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Roundup

Shipfax was beset in the space of a few days last week, but has now overhauled most of its rigging and has resumed its course. What happened in the harbour was noted but not photo'd  observed, but there is still left over info from the previous weekend.

April 1

The bulker Longshore (ex Ethel -16) 23,456 *grt, 34,399 dwt arrived and anchored in Bedford Basin.
After few days of hold cleaning the ship moved to pier 28 and loaded grain.

It sailed April 8. Although the AIS shows its destination as Belledune, NB, that is clearly not the case since it headed south.
* with a grt of 23456 it should have a dwt of 34567!

Sailing April 1, the cargo ship Saimagraacht made its second call this year, on what has become a regular service for Spliethoff's.
Built in 2005 by Szczecinska Nowa in Poland the 18,321 grt, 23,660 dwt ship has side loading doors and enclosed elevators specifically for forest products, but as on this trip she was also carrying a few containers on deck. She can carry 1273 TEU.

The ship is also retro-fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber system (and none too elegantly either)  - which like most of those installation smokes like an old stogy. Nothing like removing SOx and NOx and leaving a trail of particulate.

The Frankenstein version scrubber system was added after the ship was built.



Also sailing on April 1, the CCGS Alfred Needler on temporary winter assignment to work out of Halifax, the research trawler headed for the Gulf and Argentia.

The ship was built in 1982 in Pictou and based in Halifax. After an engine room fire in 2003 it was laid up, but then rebuilt and transferred to Newfoundland,replacing sister ship Wilfred Templeman when it was retired in 2011.
Three replacement ships (one for the west coast) will be built by Seaspan as part of the National Ship Procurement program now under way.

April 2: becalmed 

April 3: in irons

April 4: broached to

April 5: decks swept

April 6: abacked

April 7: bilges pumped , jury rigged

The veteran Newfoundland based offshore patrol vessel Cape Roger sailed on another of its frequent patrols. It works out of Halifax in winter (February to April) then returns to Gulf and Newfoundland waters.
Built in 1977 by Ferguson Industries Ltd of Pictou it was modernized in 1996 at Shelburne, and wintered over in St.Catharines, ON 2010-2011 where it was refitted at the Port Weller drydock. At that time its flight deck was decommissioned and hangar removed.
Construction was well underway April 1, 1976 when fisheries minister (and later Governor General) Roméo LeBlanc announced its name and spring 1977 delivery. This year is its 40th anniversary.
A later vessel of the same basic design and class is CCGS Cygnus, built in 1982, and distinguishable by its full width all weather bridge and some smaller details such as mast placement. It is alo based in Newfoundland.

April 8: re-rigged and underway 

The big cable ship Dependable got underway for a cable repair job off Nova Scotia. It arrived April 6 to load cable for the work. Followng that job it will return to its normal base of Baltimore.

Dependable arrives in misty weather. The davit forward of amidships is used to deploy a buoy to mark one end of a severed cable while the ship goes off to retrieve the other end.  

Built in 2002 the ship is one of six sisters operated by TE-Subcom (formerlyTyco) world-wide. Some of the sisters, including Reliance and Responder have worked out of Halifax in the past.

 A 12,184 grt ship, built in 2002, it does its cable work over the stern through multiple sheaves.

There is also a gantry (here in the stowed position) that can be hoisted out over the stern to deploy is trenching plow.

The blue structure at left is the shoreside cable loading conveyor.

The usual run of  "car boats" visited Autoport during the week. However Wilhemsen's Toscana unloaded a large quantity of wheeled material and odd loads at pier 31, before shifting to Autoport.

Built in 2009 by MHI Nagasaki Shipyard and Engineering Works, the 61,328 grt ship can carry 6542 cars.
Odd loads? How about a shrink wrapped helicopter?

It was transferred from its Maafi trailer to a highway trailer today, ready for the next leg of its trip.

April 9: arrived in port

There was early morning activity in the harbour as the small chemical tanker Lutsen prepared to sail after taking bunkers overnight.

A.P.A. No.1 takes the pilot out to the departing Lutsen at number 2 anchorage, as Toscana unloads at Autoport.

Lutsen was built in 2006 by Samho Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Tongyong as Songa Diamond. It weas quickly renamed Brovig Bay, then in 2007 it became Liquid Velvet and Ben. It was renamed Lutsen in 2016. Measuring only 8,450 grt and 12,901 dwt, it is small by contemporary standards.  It headed for Montreal.

Also at anchor April the general cargo ship Norderney underwent Asian gypsy moth inspection before proceeding to pier 9c.

At pier 9c work began to fit the ship with prefabbed cable tank components. This is a regular activity at the pier, with several ships fitted with the steel frames in the past few years.

Built in 2012 the ship measures 4591 grt, 5475 dwt. It flies the Antigua and Barbuda flag for German owners. It carries a pair of what appear to be 40 tonne cranes, serving box shaped holds.

Container traffic continues apace with several new faces, but some familiar ones too.


OOCL Kaohsiung a 5888 TEU (including 586 reefers) ship built in 2006 by Koyo Dockyard in Mihara, is operated under OOCL long term charter by Nissen Kaiun Co Ltd.

Where it will go when OOCL finally leaves the G6 Alliance, will be interesting to see since larger ships are displacing "old post Panamax" ships in large numbers.

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Canadian Coast Guard, more news as the NSPS continues to roll out

There was another announcement on Wednesday regarding shipbuilding as part of the massive replacement/ modernization of Canada's government fleet.

First it was the combatant (Halifax Shipyard) and non-combatant (Seaspan Shipyard) ships, announced last year as part of the NSPS (National Ship Procurement Strategy) both of which will inject major money into the economy for a long time to come. The government finally woke up to the fact that shipyard's are good for the economy, and became willing to build not just ships, but a whole shipbuilding industry. How that will work out in the long term remains to be seen, but it cannot be denied that we will get a whole bunch of new ships for the navy and Coast Guard, and a vastly upgraded shipbuilding industry. Whether it will pay back a return on the government's investment is a moot point, since it is so far beyond any one government's normal planning process. It is a kind of Keynesian attitude of leaving it to future generations to worry about.
Irving Shipbuilding's Halifax yard is a beehive of activity already, where it is expanding northward to build the bigger ships.

The research ship CCGS Alfred Needler is one of the ships to be replaced under the larger NSPS announcement. The new ship will be built in Vancouver.

Second was the announcement in February that $360 mn will be put into 18  Coast Guard ships to upgrade them and give then life extensions. This includes the four heavy icebreakers (Amundesn is already done now.  Because of engine failures last year it had a major rebuild at St.Catharines over the winter.)

CCGS Edward Cornwallis is one of the six multi-tasked vessels to get a life extension.

Six multi-tasked vessels, (3 based here), one medium endurance (based here) one science, two offshore patrol, two special navaids and two air cushions will also be upgraded over the next ten years - none too soon for some of them. There may be no NSPS restrictions on which yard can bid on this work.

CCGS Early Grey is the medium endurance ship that will get a life extension/upgrade.

Wednesday's announcement of $488 mn for Coast Guard small ships and craft, under 1,000 tonnes, which will not be built by Irving or Seaspan (that was also part of NSPS) will see 18 to 21 new boats added in the next seven years. These would not be good fits for the big yards anyway, and it was NSPS  strategy to give some boatbuilding yards and some smaller shipyards some needed business too.

Still to come are new tugs for the navy, both large and small. We are sure to get that announcement fairly soon as the summer spending continues.

 The navy will be replacing all its tugs (large and small) and its fireboats.

Meanwhile there are some puzzles. Such as CCGS Matthew which has not re-entered service this year after its winter layup. The survey ship has not been mentioned in any announcements, so presumably it is idled by lack of funds.Built in 1991 it is one of the newest ships in the CCG/DFO and and uniquely a hydrographic ship - it doesn't seem to perform any other function, and recent government cuts may be to blame.

A forlorn CCGS Matthew sits alongside BIO- not in service this summer. That is Halifax Traffic VTS station on the hill behind.

HMCS Toronto - heading to the shipyard

1. HMCS Toronto glides through the Narrows this morning on the way to HMC Dockyard.

It was announced yesterday that HMCS Toronto will be heading to Halifax Shipyard later this work for work prior to an overseas deployment. This is welcome news for the yard which had to lay off some people after completing the refit of the ferry Atlantic Vision last week.
The same announcement stated that CCGS Alfred Needler and CFAV Firebird were going to Shelburne for refit work, resulting in the recall of some of the laid off workers there.

2. A shore party disembarks to a RHIB.

3. The forecastle crew stands by forward.