Delays

The tanker Skyros moved out from Imperial Oil to an anchorage today and was expected to sail this afternoon. However that did not happen, and no new ETD has been posted.

Note the silhouetted crew members standing bridge watch while the ship is at anchor.

Meanwhile the ferry Christopher Stannix was busy shuttling back and forth on the Woodside run. The Woodside route, normally served by two ferries, was down to one boat this morning and thus running on a half hour schedule. Halifax Transit cited "staffing issues" for the service reduction.
It does seem odd that they could not find staff willing to work. Could this be a polite way of saying that they have some labour relations problems?   

In the background several McNally Construction barges are spudded down off the old Coast Guard base in Dartmouth.

.

Ins and Outs

The harbour ferry Christopher Stannix returned to the inner harbour after a week on Canadian Maritime Engineering Ltd's marine railway at Sambro Head (at the western mainland side of the entrance to Halifax harbour). It was taken out of service on July 14 when its aft propulsor failed.  Powered by two Voith Schneider cycloidal units, one each bow and stern, the ferry was allowed to go to drydock with only one working unit. Repairs could only be made with the boat out of water.

On its return this afternoon, in a brisk wind, it seemed to be running more than adequately on both units, and the crew was enjoying the ride as deck passengers. Ferry service between Woodside and Halifax should soon return to normal after ten days on reduced schedule.

Another arrival, but on a significantly larger scale, was Bernhard Oldendorff. The 43,332 grt, 77458 dwt self-unloader was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Heavy Machinery in Okpo, South Korea in 1991. Originally named Yeoman Burn for a charter to the Foster Yeoman aggregates company of the UK, it was renamed by owners, an Egon Oldendorff company of Luebeck, Germany, when it began a charter to CSL International in December 1993.

Oldendorff Carriers Ltd is a partner in what is now called the CSL Americas pool and the ship carries a CSL sign on its boom. It is too large to load gypsum in Halifax, but is a frequent caller on the Strait of Canso to load rock, its next destination on this trip.

An unusual feature for bulker of this size, the ship has thrusters forward and aft. The aft thruster symbol is painted on the hull just below the funnel. The ship flew the Liberian flag until 2012 when it was reflagged to Madeira, an offshore flag for Portugal.

Meanwhile at Imperial Oil the tanker NS Stream is unloading. It arrived Thursday.
A Liberian flagged ship of 27,357 grt, 47,197 dwt, it was built in 2006 by Brodotrogir in Croatia for SCF Novoship JSC of Novorossiysk, Russia.

When it leaves, another tanker, Overseas Kimolos is waiting at outside anchorage to take its place.

Another visitor to Halifax today was the Icelandic container ship Reykjafoss. It tied up as usual at Halterm and had worked its cargo by early afternoon and was scheduled to sail at 14000 hrs.

Icelandic imports are largely related to fish, but exports could include any known commodity. Several open frame containers on the dock appear to be ready to load on top of standard containers as the final lifts.

.

Suddenly Winter

It had to happen - winter temperatures and sea smoke have returned to Halifax harbor - at least for today.

The Woodside ferry Christopher Stannix makes its way across the harbor, with Imperial Oil as a backdrop. The tanker Mare di Venezia , tied up at dock 4 should be sailing this morning.

The survey ship Ridley Thomas waits at anchor until later this morning when it is due to shift to pier 27. The boat has been working off Newfoundland and St-Pierre doing geophysical  and geotechnical surveys. Built in 1981 in Singapore by Sing Koon Song Shipbuilding, it is owned by HoKoi Marine of Hong Kong and is operated by EGS Marine of the Philippines. Its original name was Western Inlet, but carried the name Inlet from 2005 to 2007 when it adopted is present name. It flies the flag of the Marshal Islands. From the EGS website, it can conduct echo sounding surveys in 2,000m of water depth.

Temporary disruption to harbour ferry service

The Alderney ferry schedule has been disrupted due to serviceability issues with the ferry Christopher Stannix. The newest ferry in the fleet is having control problems and has been removed from the Woodside ferry route.With the ferry Woodside I already out of service due to regular maintenance and drydocking in Lunenburg, it leaves Halifax III and Dartmouth III to handle to both routes across Halifax harbor. As of this afternoon, it was Dartmouth III running Halifax/Woodside. (All the boats are supposed to be interchangeable, and any boat can make any run, so the names are not necessarily indicative of the route they serve.)

Christopher Stannix is idled at the Halifax terminal and Halifax III approaches from the Alderney terminal in Dartmouth.

At one point this afternoon, the tug Atlantic Larch was called to stand  by off the Cable Wharf  if needed.

 

After an hour or so it returned to its dock in Woodside, adjacent to the ferry terminal, as Dartmouth III scuttles across the harbor to Halifax.

Since September 8, the ferry service has been operating on a reduced schedule anyway to allow for the regular maintenance of its boats. When this happens people can use the bus, but that can be a longer ride and not nearly as convenient as the ferry for many.

With two new boats on the way, the first one due next year, the planning was for Halifax Transit to maintain dependable schedules even after retiring the two old boats and scheduling regular maintenance. However I think a fifth boat will still be needed to provide absolutely dependable service at all times.

.

Free Ferry Day

To celebrate the arrival of the new Halifax harbour ferry, Metro Transit declared today to be Free Ferry Day.
Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I made my way to the waterfront and enjoyed an all expenses paid cruise from Halifax to Woodside and return on the Woodside I . (Even at full fare it is one of the best bargain cruises available.)

Built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou, its naming ceremony was held  October 11, 1986, and it arrived in Halifax November 29, 1986, but did not enter service until January 1987. It began the Woodside service May 2, 1987. (It does not run exclusively Halifax-Woodside, but takes turns with the other boats on both runs.)

 
Meanwhile the other two ferries Halifax III and Dartmouth III  were running between Halifax and Dartmouth, as they have done since 1979. Also built in Pictou, Dartmouth III arrived in Halifax in May 1979 and Halifax III in July 1979 (in those days the City of Dartmouth operated the ferry system.) Both ferries entered service September 10, 1979, and I rode one way on each of the ferries on that day.

In 2004 Metro Transit took over operation of the ferries, and have now taken delivery of Christopher Stannix, built to the same basic design, but with many modifications, from A.F.Theriault +Son Ltd of Meteghan River, NS. Although the boat arrived in Halifax on Sunday, it has not entered service, but is undergoing trials and crew training until early next month.

Well out in the lower harbour, with Chebucto Head in the background, Christopher Stannix does trials and training. Here it is sailing bow first (the anchor is on the centre line of the bow.)

The most noticeable differences in the new craft are the exhaust pipes, moved from the waterline location to an upright position adjacent to the wheelhouse, which is also larger. Differences in windows and fittings are also apparent.

As with its fleetmates, the boat loads from one side only (its starboard side) but works equally well running forward or aft, and carries dual riding lights for forward or reverse operation.

Aside from the noticeable differences, the new ferry will run just as the others do, and although built to supplement the Halifax-Woodside route, it will be able to operate on the Alderney (Halifax-Dartmouth) service too.

For a more detailed look at the new boat see today's Halifax Shipping News.

On September 9, 1979 the previous ferries Halifax II and Dartmouth II were laid up together. Of wooden construction, they were built by Smith +Rhuland in Lunenburg in 1956. Following a collision with the tug Point Viking July 26, 1979, Dartmouth II wore a plywood patch over the hole. Therefore it is the ferry on the left:

.