Returns

After a wild night off Halifax with wind gusts approaching hurricane strength, it is no surprise that pilotage operations were suspended until this morning.  When they did resume its was Captain E.T. Rogers doing the duties as pilot boat.

Under the watchful eye of an eagle, perched on the chimney top of the George's Island building in the background, Captain E.T. Rogers returns from a pilotage assignment.

Captain E.T. Rogers has been brought in from Saint John, NB to help out in Halifax while the regular pilot boats are out of service. It is no stranger to Halifax however, as it was built for service here in 2012 and named Chebucto Pilot. In 2017 it was transferred to Saint John to join a sister boat Captain A.G. Soppitt Both boats were built by ABCO Industries in Lunenburg to the same design, and the transfer was intended to rationalize maintenance and operations by having two identical boats.

Horizon Star makes its way inbound for The Cove (former Dartmouth Coast Guard Base.)

Also returning to port this morning as soon as pilotage services resumed was the big OSV (Offshore Service Vessel) Horizon Star. It sailed from Halifax January 15 for the burning Yantian Express carrying salvage equipment and possibly personnel.  That ship is slowly heading for Freeport, Bahamas, in tow and with its chore accomplished Horizon Star has returned to port.

To watch for

Watch for the Atlantic Pilotage Authority's new pilot boats. As mentioned in a previous post, crews are putting the boats through their paces before they go into service.

This morning the Nova Pilot was on trials at pier 23. Expect to see them accompanying ships out to the pilot station, but not actually boarding pilots. Nova Pilot and Scotia Pilot will replace the venerable A.P.A.No.1 in Halifax and be available to replace other boats as they go in for refits.

A.P.A.No.1 (left) will be replaced. The new boats have heated decks and rails which will make it safer for pilots in freezing spray conditions. Chebucto Pilot (right) was built with heated decks and rails, but they have not functioned properly. (February 14, 2017 photo)

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Roundup

With the annual Shipfax vacation about to start soon, it seems like a good time to do a small round up of pending events.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has acquired a pair of high speed pilot boats to supplement their  fleet. The boats were built in the Netherlands and had seen service for Sima Charters in the UK before they were acquired this spring. Their trip to Halifax was an interesting one. From the port of Waalhaven, they were lifted aboard the Icelandic cargo ship Bakkafoss on June 17. On arrival in Reykjavik they were unloaded and then transferred to the Reykjafoss for the trip to Halifax. On arrival here July 1 they were unloaded and moved to Dominion Diving's facility at Dartmouth Cove for final fit out.

The two boats have now been renamed Nova Pilot (the former SC Lynx) and Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) both were built in Huesden, Netherlands by ShipInstall BV. Although they are  built to the same basic design they are slightly different.

Nestled in at Dartmouth Cove, the pair have recovery platforms on the stern and lifting cradles to recover persons from the water.

Nova Pilot was built in 2010 and is powered by two Volvo engines totalling 1144 kW (1400 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce water jets for a top speed of 24 knots.

Scotia Pilot was built in 2011 (according the previous owners, but 2012 according to Transport Canada) and is powered by a pair of Caterpillar engines totaling 1304 kW (1748 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce waterjets for a maximum speed of 26 knots.

The boats are both 18.5m long by 5.6m breadth with a draft of 21.1m and can carry 12 persons with a range of about 300 miles.
They are also fitted with second steering station outside and extensive man overboard recovery gear. Other fittings include heated deck and hand rails.

Scotia Pilot returning from a practice run with the outbound Ningdo Express in the Middle Ground area, but the regular pilot boat Chebucto Pilot did the actual disembarking at the pilot station.

The ferry Dartmouth III has completed drydocking in Sambro, but is still undergoing some work alongside the government wharf. The new owners plan to sail the vessel to Toronto via the Gulf of St.Lawrence with many stops along the way.

Amongst the fishing vessels at the Sambro government wharf, Dartmouth III looks very much out of place.  Sharp eyes will detect that its name is applied to a plate which presumably covers a new name that will not be revealed until it reaches its now home in Toronto.

Speaking of long trips through the St.Lawrence system, the little bunkering tanker Arca I that got into trouble last winter and ran ashore in Cape Breton, has finally departed from Sydney on its way to its new home in Mexico. This time it is on board the heavy lift ship HHL Tokyo departing Sydney July 19 and now travelling in comfort and safety.

An interesting yacht visited Halifax last week, and sailed this morning, so if you didn't see it, here are some photos.

Silver Cloud is the world's first SWATH type yacht. The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull design uses small diameter twin hulls to reduce water plane area and increase efficiency through the water. The two cylindrical hulls (11 feet in diameter in the case of the Silver Cloud) are bridged by the ship's deck making a roomy and stable catamaran.
 

This one was built in 2008 by Abeking and Rasmussen in Lemwerder, Germany and measures 134 feet long x 58 feet wide, and has generous accommodation for five guests and five crew. It features all the usual amenities and bells and whistles and can accommodate a small helicopter (of course).

With a Latin dance party going on at full blast on the adjacent dock, I hope the yachters had good sound proofing.

 

For this yacht, there are numerous on line links with many interior photos, and even identification of the owner:
http://yachtsilvercloud.com/index.htm

This is not the first SWATH type craft to call in Halifax,. In fact one of the earliest SWATHs is CCGS Federick G. Creed, built by Swath Ocean Systems Inc of San Diego, CA in 1988 and lease / purchased by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in 1989. Although it sailed out of Halifax for a time it has been based at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont Joli, QC and rarely leaves the confines of Gulf of St.Lawrence conducting marine research.

As  originally painted in white oceanographic colours, Frederick G. Creed approaches a dock in Halifax.

In Fisheries and Oceans colours, and as a Coast Guard ship, the vessels passes George's Island inbound to Halifax.

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Friday inaction

There was lots of action in Halifax harbour today - unfortunately I was somewhere else when most of it was happening, so almost all the photos were of static ships.

The autocarrier Manon finally got out of port after a lengthy stay. It arrived  Tuesday at pier 31, but when it completed unloading machinery, it remained there until late Thursday while Columbia Highway and Oceanex Sanderling did their work at Autoport.

Offshore fog swirls outside Eastern Passage while Manon completes unloading at Autport..

Manon sailed late this afternoon.

Back in service:

 Chebucto Pilot getting underway looking very smart after its refit. It is heading out with pilots for the inbound Budapest Bridge and will disembark the pilot from the outbound UACC Manama.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority will soon be welcoming two more pilot boats. Under the current names of SC Lynx and SC Cheetah they are water jet propelled boats with 20 knot plus cruising speed, they were built in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and have been working in Europe.


In for CFIA inspection:

 Just getting underway after inspection UACC Manama exhibits no less than 27 manifold connections, signified by the dots between the "A" and the "C". This means that the ship can carry a wide array of chemicals at the same time. Note also the array of piping on deck compared to typical product carriers.

The chemical tanker UACC Manama bound for Quebec, stopped off for Asian Gypsy Moth inspection. A 2010 product of the SLS Shipbuilding Co in Tongyeong, South Korea, the 29,124 grt, 45,612 dwt ship was built as Bunga Balsam for MISC Bhd but was acquired by United Arab Chemical Carriers and renamed in 2014.

Short end of the pier:
K-Line's Budapest Bridge got the short end of the Fairview Cove container pier on its arrival on THE Alliance AL6 service.

The 4526 TEU ship is one of 5 on the Med/Transatlantic service, and is relatively small and lightly loaded, so can be served by the smaller cranes at the east end of the pier.

Long end of the pier:

Yang Ming's 6258 TEU  YM Movement occupied the west end  of the pier and used the bigger cranes.

The ship, an "old" post-Panamax is the leading edge of the wave as the new Panama Canal permits much larger ships to reach the North American east coast from the Pacific.
Although Cerescorp, operators of the pier, have not announced any future plans, they need to step up to the plate with bigger cranes and a longer pier if they are to stay ahead of this development. Most of the 6,000 TEU ships can make it under Halifax's bridges, so should be able to use the piers for some time to come.
I expect some announcement soon as the primary Japanese container lines consolidate, and Cerescorp's owners K-Line may have access to more capital.

Meanwhile back at the downtown waterfront the three herring seiners that have been in and out of Halifax for the past week, sailed again this afternoon.

Lady Janice II foreground and Lady Melissa back, sailed soon after, following Morning Star which had already sailed.

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Icy calm before the next storm

The port was moderately active today as ships tried to catch up on time lost due to Thursday night's snow storm. Oceanex Sanderling and Nolhanava shared pier 41 for a change (the pier 36 crane must have had a problem) and Maersk Palermo was at pier 42, so Halterm had a busy day.

The veteran Atlantic Conveyor worked at Fairview Cove, and on leaving still had a thin ice coat which she arrived with.

Still soldiering on well after her retirement date, due to the late deliveries of new ships, Conveyor and fleet mate Atlantic Cartier will almost certainly have to be replaced this year.

Chebucto Pilot has a heated deck for safety*, but can still accumulate some ice in -12C daytime temperatures.

At Imperial Oil the High Pearl was also showing a bit of ice which she gathered on her trip up from Beaumont, TX.

Operated by d'Amico Tankers, DAC of Dublin, Eire, the ship is registered in Singapore to Blue Wake Shipping Pte Ltd. In a bit of a break from the endless sausage links of Korean built tankers, this one came from Iwagi Zosen in Iwagi, Japan in 2009. It has typical Mid Range tanker dimensions of 28,813 grt, 48,023 dwt.

*Addendum:  The boat was built with heated deck and heated handrails to prevent the accumulation of ice. I am relaibly informed that this system has not functioned for some years, and there is no plan to repair it...

Frosty Saturday

It was a frosty day with temperatures plunging from plus 8C yesterday to minus 8C or colder today. It did not seem to slow down shipping activity with half a dozen arrivals and about the same number of departures.

Chebucto Pilot was busy and accumulated a bit of frozen spray as it ran back and forth to the pilot station.

An early morning move was Minerva Virgo from Imperial Oil to Irving Oil. The ship appeared to be nearly empty, by late morning and is due to sail over night. A 2006 product of the STX Shipbuilding Co in Jinhae,South Korea, the 28,960 grt, 50,921 dwt tanker is operated by Minerva Marine Inc of Athens.

A regular is Maersk Palaermo making one of the weekly calls on Maersk's Canada Express transatlantic service in conjunction with CMA CGM and NYK Line. The lightly loaded ship is certainly showing signs of the brutal conditions it experiences on that run. The heavily wrinkled bow plates are a result of constant slamming into seas.

Built in 1998 as P+O Nedlloyd Auckland it carried the name Lykes Pioneer from 2000 to 2002, then returned to its original name. Maersk acquired PONL and it became Maersk Palermo in 2006. Although ideally suited in size to its present service, one wonders how long it will stand up to the pounding.
Its capacity is 2890 TEU (including 400 reefers) on 31,333 grt, 37,842 dwt. It is one of the rare container ships built in Europe, a product of Warnowwerft, Warnemunde. It still flies the Dutch flag, as a reflection of its original owners.


As Maersk Palermo slipped away from pier 42, CMA CGM Bianca arrived and turned off the pier , with tug assistance, and backed in to pier 41.

Only the second ship to call in Halifax on the Columbus Loop service, it arrived August 31, 2015. The service was inaugurated officially the next month with the arrival of CMA CGM Melissande September 13, 2015. CMA CGM Bianca dates from 2011 when it was delivered by Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Heavy Industries Co Ltd. The 90,500 grt, 101,433 dwt ship carries 8530 TEU, including 700 reefers, and always arrives in Halifax looking almost fully loaded.

A mid-afternoon arrival was another regular, OOCL Antwerp, looking quite trim in the low sun.

The 66,462 grt, 66,940 dwt ship, built in 2006 by Koyo Dockyard Co in Mihara, Japan can carry 5888 TEU, including 586 reefers. It did not appear to have much ice accumulation on its run up from New York.

All the above ships are typical, if not regulars in Halifax. Today however there was one unique arrival. The multi-purpose cable laying / trenching support vessel Isaac Newton would be an unusual sight no matter where it arrived.

Operated by the Luxembourg based dredging and marine construction giant Jan De Nul Group, the 16,255 grt, 13,433 dwt ship is fresh off a cable laying project between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The large yellow "basket" on deck amidships carries some of the cable, more is accommodated below deck.

The ship conducted trenching and cable laying (including the use of an ROV) across the Northumberland Strait between Cape Tormentine, and Borden (the former ferry route) of a pair of 3 phase 138 kV power cables, 17 km long. The work started in October and was completed in December 2016.
An impressive ship, built by the Uljanik Shipyard in Pula, Croatia, it can carry 10,700 tonnes of cable, with turntables above and below deck, served by two large heave compensating cranes and numerous other appliances. Alternatively it can also carry 10,000 tonnes of rock for subsea rock installation work using a fall pipe, for depths up to 200m - or a combination of the two modes.
It bristles with thrusters, one retractable, and is equipped for Dynamic Positioning level 2. 

The slides fitted over the stern allow the cable to slip off as the ship progresses.

A gantry on the starboard quarter handles the ROV.

The Jan de Nul Group is multi-faceted, and its web site is very informative. Look for Isaac Newton in  the Equipment Section, under Cable and Umbilical Installation Vessels: http://www.jandenul.com/en

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Another busy weekend

Stormy weather at the end of last week, and some mechanical "issues" meant some ships spent longer in port or arrived later than expected. Other ships opted to remain in port rather than sailing into bad weather. All this lead to busy times at the container terminals and in the Bedford Basin anchorages. 

NYK Diana arrived on Thursday.

On Friday it moved out to anchor in Bedford Basin, joining Bahri Jazan which had moved out earlier to layover during the incoming weather.
It was too windy to board pilots for much of the day Friday and several ship werr delayed in arriving. These including NYK Constellation, Dinkeldiep and BBC London.

On Saturday, things had returned to normal and the North Atlantic veteran Atlantic Conveyor arrived on what may be its last trip.

It is debraggled looking as little effort is made to maintain the ship which is expected to head to the scrap yard very soon.

As it arrived the Atlantic Star moved out to anchor, having been in port since Wednesday with "mechanical issues". Atlantic Conveyor then moved alongside Fairveiw Cove.

BBC London was busy at Pier 9C, unloading more riser pipe for Shell's exploration drill ship Stena Icemax. BBC London  was built in 2011 by Dongfang Shipbuilding Group in Yueqing, China as Rhoon. It was renamed in 2014. It measures 7138 grt, 7892 dwt and carrieds a pair of 80 tonne cranes that in combination can lift up to 160 tonnes. 

 Unlike the first shipment, this pipe came with the flotation collars already applied.

As Saturday wore on Bahri Jazan sailed, passing the CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell tied up at pier 9A. The ship spent early Friday morning wandering around Bedford Basin dragging anchor. A pilot was called in and the ship re-established its position. See Halifax Shipping News for a plot of its track.
While Bedfrod Bassin is well sheltered from the sea, it does not provide great "holding ground" for anchored ships. High sided vessels can often find themselves drifting in windy conditions.

After disembarking some technicians by service launch, Atlantic Star sailed at low tide. 

As it made its way through the Narrows, the stern tethered escort tug Atlantic Oak earned its keep by pulling the ship's stern around as it cleared the dogleg at pier 9.

CCGS Hudson went out to Bedford Basin for trials, then cleared for sea.

At the McAsphalt dock in Eastern Passage the tanker Esta Desgagnés made one of its infrequent visits. Normally dedicated to Ultramar service on the St.Lawrence it does make the odd trip to these parts. After bunkering at anchor from Algoma Dartmouth in the afternoon, it returned to the dock then sailed Sunday morning.

A heavy snow fall early Sunday followed freezing rain Saturday night, but it was melting quickly by early afternoon

Nanny is becoming a regular at pier 9 with cargo from Come-by-Chance for Wilson's Fuel. It arrived Sunday morning and connected to the underground pipeline.

BBC London completed unloading its cargo of risers,seen neatly arrayed on pier 9C, and prepared to sail in the evening.

Another North Atlantic veteran Atlantic Compass made a westbound port call today to, making it a three ACL weekend.

Chebucto Pilot sets out as Atlantic Compass sails. It is also carrying the pilot for the next inbound ship.

That ship was the post-Panamax (for now but not for long as the new canal is about to open) OOCL Kaohsiung for Fairview Cove.

A stiff breeze blowing across the Basin gave Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak a bit of a workout.

The last daytime arrival was Maersk Palermo in from Montreal. It would normally be here on a Saturday, but was likely slowed by the bad weather Friday and Saturday night.

CPO Miami, Zim Tarragona - in from the fog

A swirling band of fog greeted CPO Miami and Zim Tarragona as they arrived for Halterm this morning.

 CPO Miami emerges from the band as the tug Atlantic Larch comes alongside. (Atlantic Willow is on the ship's starboard side, out of view.)

 

The fog had thinned a bit once the ship reached Pleasant Shoal.

CPO Miami is here to take on the cargo of the broken-down Stadt Cadiz running for the joint Maersk - CMA/CGM transatlantic service. See: http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/05/maersk-help-on-way-to-be-updated.html

 Fifteen minutes later Zim Tarragona passed Middle Ground.

It was quite clear at Pleasant Shoal.

Zim Tarragona is a regular caller on Zim's service. It was built in 2010 by Jiangsu Yangzijiang, Jiangyin, China. At 40,542 grt and 50,089 dwt it carries 4256 TEU (698 refrigerated).Rickmers Management operates the sip under the Liberian flag.

Chebucto Pilot stirred up the fog as it sped inbound. 

The sun tries to burn its way through the lingering fog.

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