Bigger bulker - Equinox Star, and more bulk bags from Helga

Today's arrival was another bulker, slightly larger than yesterday's arrival.

Equinox Star measures 33,231 grt, 58,680 dwt, making it too large for the St.Lawrence Seaway. However with a visit for bunkers, and in ballast, at this time of year it is likely that it is headed for a St.Lawrence River port to load grain. [At time of writing ca.2100 hrs AST, the bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth was undergoing pump repairs, and was unable to deliver the fuel.] [By about 2200 it did get underway.]
UPDATE: Bad Guess! The ship is headed for Lome, Togo!

Built by Nantong COSCO KHI* in Nantong, China in 2011 and described as a Supramax, the ship carries four 30 tonne cranes each with its own 12.5 cbm grab bucket stowed on deck. It also has the vertical bow and non-projecting bulb that has been found to be more efficient for ships that do not make high speeds. It also allows the hull to be fuller forward to maximize carrying capacity. The very basic accommodation block aft and slender funnel speaks to the drive for minimizing costs in the competitive bulker business. The ship is owned by Equinox Maritime Ltd of Athens, Greece and flies the Cayman Islands flag.

The Cayman registry used to be the haven for yachts owned by wealthy persons with assets parked offshore to avoid taxes. It has recently become more respectable for commercial shipping, but it is still rare to see a very new and well found ship registered in that country.
For more on this ship see http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/09/sunday-round-up-autoports-safety-valve.html

* Kawaski Heavy Industroes (KHI) of Japan is a 50/50 partner with China COSCO Holdings Co Ltd in two Chinese shipyards DACKS = Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering and NACKS = Nantong COSCO KHI Ship Engineering.

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Meanwhile at pier 31 the Netherlands flag Helga was busy offloading the latest cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba for Nirint Lines. The ship is managed by Wagenborg Shipping BV for a single ship company of Van Dijk Rederij. It has been used on a series of charters. Built in 2009 as Helga it was renamed Kent Atlas in 2010 (serving the Irving owned Kent Line) , 2012: Helga, 2013: Clipper Avalon, 2014: Thorco Tribute and reverted to its original name again in 2015.


It is also the product of a Chinese shipyard, this one 100% owned by the Dutch shipbuilder Damen, and located in Yichang, China. The ship is also a standard design CF 12000 [combi-freigher, 12,000 tonnes deadweight] to carry a wide variety of bulk and break bulk cargoes and has a capacity of 684 TEU. It also has two 80 tonne cranes, which were in use today lifting spreader loads of bagged cargo.

Forklifts big and small race around with bagged cargo as the ship discharges spreader loads of the cargo. Some bags are loaded directly onto railroad gondola cars, and others are stored in the warehouse.

It was no where near as nice a day June 21 when the ship was here for the first time. With its cranes neatly stowed, and the hatches left clear for cargo operations, it still managed to carry a small number of containers on deck.

Sunday round up: Autoport's safety valve, ACL's substitute, and please take a bow - any bow

With four autocarriers due in Halifax in the space of two days, Autoport needed congestion relief. As it turned out there was relief in sight.

Cattleya Ace ready to sail from Autoport, with tug alongside.

While the larger Cattleya Ace  took up the usual Autoport berth, Glovis Century made the transit up to Pier 9C  where it quickly began to unload a dock full of Italian built Jeeps (Fiat owns Chrysler owns Jeep) North American export cars including Fords, Chryslers, and Jeeps.

 Glovis Century ties up at Pier 9C. It is the first autocarrier to use the multi-functional pier, which was just completed this year. The pier face is 1640 ft long and has a minimum 45 ft depth of water alongside and 450,000 sq ft of open area.

 A portion of Pier 9C is already filled with cars after 4 hours of unloading.

Glovis Century has a phantom crew member posted adjacent to the stern ramp control house.

It will be interesting to see how these cars will be shipped on from Halifax. They may well be transported overland to Autoport for prep work before leaving by rail. The cars are to be stored at Pier 9C while the ship goes to Montreal to load a military cargo. The fully loaded ship would draw too much water for the St.Lawrence River, so it was decided to offload here where there was available space. The ship will return for the cars in ten days or so.

Glovis Century 58,288 grt, car capacity 6,000 units, built 2012 by Hyundai, Ulsan for Hyundai Glovis, Panama flag.

Cattleya Ace 60,975 grt, car capacity: 6400 units, built 2011 by Shin Kurushima, Toyohashi, for Mitsui OSK Lines, Cayman flag.

 
With Atlantic Container Line transitioning into its new fourth generation ships, it is using the conventional container ship Northern Delegation to cover a spot in the rotation. It does not carry RoRo cargo, and appeared to be lightly loaded on departure today.

As it made the sweeping turn past the knuckle between Pier 9 and Pier 9A, it set up a miniature standing wave with its bulbous bow. The tug Atlantic Oak is providing tethered stern escort by regulation.
Ships details: http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/07/northern-delegation.html

Featuring a different kind of bulbous bow, that began to makes its first appearance in the past year or so, Equinox Star shows a non-projecting bulb. This is similar to the original bulbous bows of the 1940s and 1950s, and is more suitable for bulkers and tankers that do not require great speed.

After bunkering, the ship sailed in ballast for Lower Cove, NL to load aggregates. It carries four 30 tonne cranes and four 12.5 cubic meter capacity grabs (they are the yellow objects lashed on deck) for discharging cargo.

Equinox Star 33,232 grt, 58,600 dwt, built 2011 Nantong COSCO KHI, Nantong for Equinox Maritime Ltd, Athens, Cayman flag.

Speaking of bows, the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Sir William Alexander sailed this afternoon. Equipped for buoy laying it also has an icebreaking bow and is classed as a light icebreaker.

Also sailing today was the United States Coast Guard Cutter Morro Bay. It is also classed as an icebreaker and was built to serve the USCG on such bodies of water as the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. It was already pitching as it left the harbour. Its bluff bow and egg shaped hull are not built for deep sea work, but each year one or more of these craft sail to and from the Great Lakes. They often stop over in Halifax for a day or two en route.
Although its AIS gave its destination as Boston, I believe it is headed to the Lakes to replace USCGC Bristol Bay, which exited the Lakes in August.

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