Coriolis II - return visit

  The Canadian research ship Coriolis II has made a return visit to Halifax. Past visits have usually been related to research work done in association with the Bedford Institute, but this time it is quite different. The ship is on the return leg of a three month research mission in Argentina. The co-operative voyage, carried out in partnership with the Argentine government is a first for the ship.

Coriolis II in Bedford Basin, October 5, 2011.

Coriolis II is one of very few Canadian research ships of any significant size which is not operated directly by the Federal government. As a result it must seek work to support its upkeep, but it is also able to do interesting work such as this recent project.
For more see:
http://www.conicet.gov.ar/the-coriolis-ii-research-vessel-will-conduct-a-comprehensive-study-of-the-san-jorge-gulf/

Operated out of Rimouski, QC for a consortium of universities and research institutes, the ship usually works in the St.Lawrence River and Gulf. However it has done some traveling before.

Built in 1990 by Versatile Pacific Shipyard in Victoria, BC for the Canadian Coast Guard, it was originally named 501. This rather unimaginative moniker was changed to CCGS John Jacobsen in 1992. It was one of two rescue cutters of the 500 class, the other becoming CCGS Gordon Reid.

The shipbuilder apparently substituted a steel superstructure for the aluminum one that its designers specified. This lead to serious stability issues. John Jacobsen was paid off in 2000 and renamed 2000-03 and was eventually sold to the present owners in 2002. The ship sailed on its own from Victoria to Rimouski via the Panama Canal and following a $10mn conversion to a research vessel entered service in 2003.

The stability issues were resolved and the ship has run successfully ever since.

On May 16, 2012 the ship struck an uncharted shoal off Pointe-des-Monts, QC, but following a survey in Baie-Comeau, the ship was quickly repaired and returned to service. 

On arrival in Halifax this morning, the ship tied up at the Svitzer Canada (former ECTUG) dock on the Halifax Waterfront.

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Coriolis II visits Halifax for the first time

The research ship Coriolis II arrived in Halifax this week for the first time. It originally tied up at pier 27, but was noted today in Bedford Basin, where it was trying to establish an anchorage position in high winds. It may have given up on that option and decided to keep station using its engines, because it had no anchor down when I saw it last about 16:30 hrs.

The ship was built by Versatile Pacific Shipyard in Victoria, BC in 1990 as one of two 500 class Coast Guard cutters. Originally named CCG 501 it was to be a dedicated Search & Rescue vessel. In 1992 it was renamed John Jacobsen and its sister CCG 500 became Gordon Reid.

There were serious stability issues with the vessels, as I understand it, because the superstructures were built of steel instead of aluminum as originally designed. Gordon Reid was rebuilt in 2001 and John Jacobsen was renamed 2000-03 in the year 2000 and put up for sale.

It was subsequently sold to the Université de Québec à Rimouski and rebuilt in British Columbia as an oceanographic research vessel before arriving in Rimouski in July 2002. Total cost of acquisition rebuild and conversion was reported at the time to be $10 mn.

Since its arrival on this side of Canada, the ship has carried out a variety of programs on the St.Lawrence River and Gulf, but to my knowledge has never ventured out to the coast before. Now operated by a consortium of five institutions, you can see more on the web page: http://reformar.ca/spip.php?article8

A nice looking vessel, originally of Robert Allen design, the ship has accommodation for 24 persons.

Halifax Parking Lot

Halifax Harbour looked like a parking lot this afternoon as the first nor'easter of the autumn season bore down on Atlantic Canada, sending ships scurrying for cover.
At least one ship cancelled its visit to Halifax - the cruise ship MSC Poesia, but the ships that did arrive opted not to tie up due to the strong winds.
1. AFL New England, Seaconger, Algosea and Canada Express anchored in the Basin. Unfazed by rough conditions the tug Roseway and a stores barge have cleared Seaconger and are headed back to Dartmouth Cove.

2. Seaconger arrives for bunkers. The German owned/built and registered tanker dates from 2005 and measures 21,329 gross tons, 32,200 deadweight.

3. Canada Express was the OOCL Dubai until last year when Hapag-Lloyd took over the charter and gave the post-panamax ship a Hapag name.

In the Basin, in no particular order, were Canada Express and AFL New England, both destined for the Fairview Cove container terminal. With seas washing over the pier face at high tide, it was thought wise to hold off.

The tanker Seaconger is in for bunkers, but will have to wait until things calm down. Algosea is also at anchor after loading at Imperial Oil for a coastal trip.

At the head of the line is the interesting survey ship Coriolis II on what is probably her first visit to Halifax- see following post.

Meanwhile in the lower harbour Algoscotia and Fusion occupy two of the anchorages, and the cruise ship Maasdam is in port for the night. Another cruise ship, Seabourn Sojourn, opted to stay in for a second night.

Tomorrow will see the delayed arrival of two autocarriers. Both Manon and Grand Pioneer were orginally due today.