After the Blow

 After creating mass devastation in the Caribbean Hurricane Melissa weakened as it made its way northward. By the time it reached our latitude (45 degrees north or so) October 31- November 1, it was a post tropical storm and tracked well offshore. There was still wind in the 30 kph (18 mph) range with gusts over 60 kph (37 mph) which was enough to put unnecessary strain on mooring lines and jetties.With plenty of advance warning, ships took precautions by doubling up on lines or moving to better places. Some ships remained in port until the storm passed.

At mid-day October 31 the coastal tanker Algoma Acadian moved from Irving Oil's Woodside terminal to anchorage number 12 in Bedford Basin. The oil terminal facility is quite exposed and not built to take the strain of bad weather. There is the added risk of parting an oil line, so ships generally move off in bad weather.

 Following soon after to number 10 anchorage in the Basin was the bulk carrier Eva Bright. It moved from Pier 27 where it had been transferring cargo from the AP Revelin (see yesterday's post and others). 

The AP Revelin moved to Pier 26 yesterday to free up the Pier 27 berth for last night's arrival of the Gotland  for Nirint Shipping.

Using its own cranes it discharged the latest cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba. I can't track the ship's route to Halifax precisely, but it sailed from Moa October 25, well ahead of the hurricane. Moa was severely impacted by hurricane Melissa and detailed reports are hard to find because the eastern part of the island is still without power or most communications.

The ship is due to sail to sail this evening (November 1) for Villagarcia, Bilbao and Rotterdam.
 

The Gotland is a general cargo vessel of 12,772 gt, 17,400 dwt built in 2011 by the Xinshun Shipyard Group. It can carry about 900 TEU (630 at 14 tonnes), has 60 reefer plugs and has three cranes: one crane of 80 tonnes SWL and two cranes of 150 tonnes SWL which are combinable. 

The ship was built as the Rickmers Tianjin but was sold in 2015 to Gotland Schiffahrts. It has retained the famous green paint of the legendary Rickmers Group.  

 Another arrival from late October 31 was the EF Ava for the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip. It arrived on the regular Green Line service from Portland, ME and sailed today, November 1, for Reykjavik. From there it will head for the Faroe Islands, then Denmark and England and will remain operating in European waters for some time.

The ship seems to have missed the worst of the weather, but there will still be high seas to contend with. Ferry service to Newfoundland has been cancelled for today as the remnants of the storm work north easterly.

The EF Ava has been a regular for Eimskip since about 2018. Its original name was OPDR Rotterdam but that was changed on delivery in 2008 to OPDR Tanger for a ten year charter to Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampshiffs Rederei. Its current name, given in 2018, includes the initials EF which stands for ElbFeeder, which is a German company owned by Eimskip, and which builds and charters ships to Eimskip.

The EF Ava as built in 2008 by Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding and is reported to be 7545 gt, 8168dwt with a capacity of 698 TEU with 120 reefer plugs. It is gearless. 

. 

 

Friday exodus

 Ships like to sail on Fridays, in part to avoid  possible overtime charges or weekend rates, but also because many cargo terminals operate Monday to Friday at the land gate, with no truck arrvials and departures processed on the weekends. 

It is therefore not unusual to see several ships sailing from Halifax on a Friday afternoon, but today (April 19) was still notable notable due to the number leaving in quick succession.

When I got to my favourite vantage point at Point Pleasant Patk shortly after 1800 hrs ADT, the Atlantic SaiI was out of sight, but I did just manage to catch the EF Ava well off in the distance, having left PSA Halifax's South End Container Terminal (SECT) about 20 minutes before.

EF Ava 18:26 hrs ADT

It is headed for Reykjavik on Eimskip's weekly Green Line service to / from Portland, ME.

At the same time the NYK Rigel was passing my position outbound on The Alliance's AL5 route to Port Everglades.

NYK Rigel 18:26 hrs ADT

No sooner had the NYK Rigel passed than the MSC Sines R got underway from the SECT for Sines, Portugal on the CANEX2 service from Montreal. The ship was here March 15 westbound en route to Montreal.

 

MSC Sines R 18:29 hrs ADT

In a break from commercial activity the next outbound was the CCGS Jean Goodwill on SAR patrol east.

CCGS Jean Goodwill 18:39 hrs ADT

Next along was the auto carrier Morning Lynn from Autoport en route to New York. It was following the usual Wallenius Wilhelmsen transatlantic port rotation of Bremerhaven, Goteborg, Zeebrugge, Southampton, Halifax.

 Morning Lynn 18:45 hrs ADT.

 

The ship was built in 2009 by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industry Co Ltd and is registered at 68,701 gt, 28,092 dwt with a capacity of 8,011 CEU. Eukor is the former car carrier divison of Hyundai Merchant Marine acquired by Wallenius Wilhelmsen to gain control of Korean auto exports (and fend off the Japanese car carriers). It is still a South Korean company, but is now jointly owned by Wallenius Wilhelmsen, American Roll-on-Roll-off Carriers (ARC) and United European Car Carriers.

The ship is also equipped with a larger than usual side ramp, mounted well aft. Newer ships have dispensed with side ramps as they are seldom used in most ports, and cannot be used in Autoport due to the narrow pier. 

Waiting patiently at Pier 42 for this parade to pass was the Silver Arctic the interim ship on TSMI's St-Pierre et Miquelon and Argentia, NL service. It was facing bow north, so had to turn off the dock before heading out to sea.

Silver Arctic 18:47 hrs ADT

The Silver Arctic is a six to eight week replacement while TMSI's CONRO ship the Nolhan Ava is on scheduled refit [see previous posts]. Despite having no RoRo capability, the Silver Arctic was carrying acouple of cargo vans which appear to be lashed to a 45 ft platform type container (with no walls or roof, but a heavy flat base.) It will require special sling arrangements to off-load, as a standard container spreader will not work.

Also sailing, but a little later in the evening, was Oceanex Sanderling after dark.

.

Saturday Round UP, PSA, Irving Oil and Autoport

 Several things were happening in the port today, so I am rounding them up into one post.

At PSA Halifax, ZIM had a different feeder ship in today. Contship Leo is a 9957 gt, 13,803 dwt ship with a capacity of 1118 TEU and carries a pair of 45 tonne cranes.

On the left, at Pier 42 EF Ava for Eimskip and on the right at Pier 41, Contship Leo for ZIM.

Contship Leo was built in 2008 by Kouan Shipbuilding Co in Taizhou, China as Vega Saturn. In 2016 it became CFS Paceno and took its present name in 2020. It appears to be owned by Syracuse Marine Ltd and operated by Contships Management Inc.

Since starting the Canada Feeder Express (CFX) service to Florida and Kingston, Jamaica in 2018, ZIM has used a variety of charters, most recently Tampa Trader and Taipei Trader.  Today's arrival, similar to Fouma on February 25 is replacing Tampa Trader, but it shows on ZIM's schedule for at least three more trips, into May. Tampa Trader is operating between Port Everglades and the Dominican Republic.

East Coast (left) at number one anchorage, and Acadian (right) at number 7?.

It was very windy in the harbour today and thus tankers were not docking at Imperial Oil and Irving Oil where the jetties are not considered secure. It was unusual however to see two Irving Oil tankers in port at the same time. One was due for Irving's Woodside facility and one was due for Imperial Oil.

An indication of the high wind is the bar taught anchor line. The ship offloaded part of its cargo at Irving Oil and has more for Imperial Oil.

Acadian arrived Thursday night at Irving's Woodside terminal and moved out to anchor last night (Friday) as an electrical storm passed through. It is due to move to Imperial Oil when today's winds die down.

East Coast arrived this morning and was due to tie up at Woodside, but anchored instead. It will also move when conditions improve.

Although not visible from the shore the auto carrier Manon kept two tugs alongside pushing while it unloaded at Autoport. That facility also relies on a jetty and mooring lines to a buoy and is not safe during periods of high winds. 

Tugs pinned the ship to the jetty while unloading. 

Manon in its new Wallenius Wilhelmsen paint scheme was built as far back as 1999, but was lengthened in 2005 increasing its size to 67,264 gt, 28,360 dwt and a capacity of 7,194 RT43 cars. It was a regular caller here in its original Wallenius green and white scheme, and this is the first time I have had a chance to photograph it in the new colours.

.

Pictor - catching up with Eimskip

 With one of their ships out of service, the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip has responded by transferring ships and chartering in tonnage to meet schedules. On December 27 Lagsarfoss lost power and was towed back to Reykjavik, arriving December 30. Since then EF Ava has been transferred back to the Green Line (which serves Argentia, Halifax and Portland, Maine). This has allowed the line to catch up with the lost trip.

Today's arrival in Halifax is the regular caller Pictor, which began working for Eimskip on their Green Line in May 2019. At that time its name was Pictor J. That changed in August 2020 when it appears that the ship was sold by a one ship company manged by Jungerhans to Pictor Atlantic Feeder AG, managed by F+L Schiffahrts.

The ship was built in 2009 by the Naval Gijon shipyard in Spain, measuring 10,965 gt, 12,640 dwt. It is a gearless container ship with a capacity of 925 TEU including 200 reefers. That large reefer capacity is needed due to the large quantity of fish exported by Iceland.

The ship is due to sail this afternoon for Portland. 

.

 

Eimskip - special delivery

 Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company was the subject of good news and bad news this week.

First the good news: The line was selected to deliver a Christmas tree from Nova Scotia. Since 1971, the people of Nova Scotia have sent a giant tree to Boston as thanks for the vital aid Boston sent to Halifax immediately after the Halifax explosion of December 6, 1917. A special train, loaded with supplies and carrying doctors and nurses was dispatched from Boston the day of the explosion. The tree is erected on the Boston Common and the illumination is a much anticipated annual celebration.

This year, instead of sending the tree by truck, it left Halifax today, November 18, aboard Eimskip's EF Ava on its regular feeder run from Halifax to Portland, ME, Eimskip's US terminus. It will then be trucked the short distance to Boston.

EF Ava clears PSA Halifax at midday.

Eimskip is taking delivery of new owned ships, which may mean replacement of some of the chartered ships we see in Halifax. EF Ava, a charter, was launched by Fujian Mawei, Fuzhou in 2008 as OPDR Rotterdam and was delivered as OPDR Tanger and carried that name until 2018. The 7545 gt, 8169 dwt ship has a capacity of 698 TEU, including 120 reefers.

More Good News: The company took delivery of its newest ship in China October 9. The 2150 TEU vessel revives a name that has been used before on more than one ship, but the best remembered Bruarfoss was built in 1960 by Aalborg Verft as a general cargo / reefer, but adapted to carry containers.

The 1960 version Bruarfoss was also a regular in Halifax.

After the stylish vessel's twenty year career with Eimskip it was sold in 1980 and renamed 84: Horizon, 86: Willem Reefer, 86: Triton Trader. In December 1987 it was (safely) abandoned 300 miles SE of Halifax when its cargo of particle board shifted on a voyage from New London, CT to Ashdod, Israel. After a dramatic recovery operation, the tug Irving Miami towed the ship into Shelburne, NS December 24, 1987. In 1988 the ship was renamed Global Trader, then in 1989  reverted to Triton Trader and moved to Sydney, NS.  On April 26, 1990 it was towed out of Sydney by Pacific Rescuer. It took until August 18 to reach Alang, India where it was scrapped.

The Bad News: Eimskip currently maintains a weekly Iceland to Canada, US service with three ships, but that has now been disrupted by the grounding of Skogafoss in St.Anthony, NF on November 12. The ship had called in Halifax westbound November 6 and was on the eastbound leg of its trip after calling in Portland, ME. In high winds the ship alided with a buoy and made bottom contact, damaging several controllable pitch propeller blades and releasing oil. At first the ship went to anchor, then yesterday it docked at St.Anthony. Its next westbound voyage from Reykjavik was due to start today, but that has been canceled.  

The Eimskip Green Line port rotation is Rekjavik, Argentia, Halifax, Portland, Argentia (optional), St.Anthony (optional), Rekjavik. 

The next arrival in Halifax will this be Pictor, December 3, which was last here on Friday November 13. It will be followed by Lagarfoss on December 12.

 The company operates other lines between Europe, Iceland and Greenland.

.

EF Ava- another lost life, APL Vancouver - another fire

EF Ava, one of three ships operating on Eimskip's weekly Green Line (Reykjavik / Argentia / Halifax / Portland / Halifax  / Argentia  / Reykjavik was en route from Argentia to Reykjavik January 29 when it was struck by a large wave. The ship's master, a Polish national, lost his balance and hit his head. The ship was 700 miles off Rekjavik, well outside helicopter range, and  nothing could be done to save the man's life. He died before the ship reached port on January 31.

The ship began calling here in July on a charter to Eimskip from German owners. It is registered in Madeira (Portugal). Its last call in Hailfax was on January 17, westbound. It skipped its January 21 eastbound stop.

The third ship on the Eimskip rotation will be Lomur arriving in Halifax for the first time tomorrow.


Off Vietnam, fire broke out on the container ship APL Vancouver . The ship, a 9200 TEU vessel last called in Halifax October 27 on the Columbus JAX route, but has since been reassigned.  A major response by the Vietnamese Coast Guard was hampered at first by severe weather. From photos and accounts online, the fire began below deck in containers closer to the bridge than midships..
 

The ship was en route from Shekou to Singapore when the fire broke out January 31, and the ship diverted to Vietnamese waters for assistance.

.

Eimskip's substitute

The Icelandic shipping company Eimskip maintains a regular three ship service calling Halifax weekly (approximately) called its Green Line. The ships run from Reykjavik to Argentia, Halifax, Portland, ME, Argentia, St.Anthony (if traffic warrants) and back to Reykjavik. (Eimskip also has a Orange, Blue, Yellow, Gray and Red lines serving other ports).

This week's arrival would have been Pantonio, which was added to the fleet in January, but has been replaced - at least for this trip - by an almost identical ship, the EF Ava.

Gloomy skies, brought about by tropical storm Chris passing well offshore, greeted EF Ava on arrival this morning.

EF Ava is one of a series of about forty Chinese built ships of the Wawei 700 class. Measuring 7545 grt, 8169 dwt, it has a capacity of 698 TEU, including 120 reefers. Builders Wawei Shipyard in Fuzhou built the ship in 2008 as OPDR Rotterdam, but it was soon renamed OPDR Tanger (OPDR stands for Oldenburg-Portugiesische  Dampschiffarts Reederei). German owners MacAndrews, then Bernhard Schulte and now EF Ava Ltd have operated the ship under the flag of Madeira, the Portuguese international registry.

Sister ship Pantonia was built by the now failed Sainty Shipbuilding Corp of Jiangdu and it has worked for Dutch owners, Marlow Navigation, under Cyprus flag, so there appears to be no connection between the two ships except the standard design.

Pantonio arriving under similar leaden skies in March.

Pantonio is still shown on Eimskip's schedule for today's call and for August 2, but AIS indicates it is in Rotterdam, leaving little time for it to catch up.