Fairlift in Halifax - but no lift.

The heavy load carrier Fairlift made a day long visit to Halifax, but from my observation did not work any cargo. It did take on some fuel from RST (Irving) tank trucks,and there was some activity on and below decks as one of the cranes was slewed out for a time. It is likely that the crew was stowing dunnage used to secure the load.

Fairlift emerges from the fog. Fog still surrounds the nature of its visit to Halifax.

My intelligence indicates that the ship may have delivered some component(s) to the drill ship Stena Icemax at the Shelburne Basin well site that was vacated when the drill ship dropped the drill riser due to a heave compensation failure. What that component could have been my sources do not say. This ship could handle some very large pierce of gear. [Of note the supplier Breaux Tide has been idle at anchor in Halifax all the time that Fairlift was reported to be with the Stena Icemax  It would normally have been shuttling back and forth to the drill ship.]

The Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board is still being very tight lipped about the details of the riser drop. 

Fairlift was built in 1990 by Ysselwerft BV in Capelle o/d Ijssel, Netherlands and is a 6953 grt, 7561 dwt shallow draft ship equipped with one 400 tone and one 250 tonne crane (combined for 650 tonne lifts). It was in Halifax in 2006 and 2007 loading locomotives for the UK and once in 2013 with unknown cargo.

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Dutch treats -- light and heavy loads

The unusual appearance of no less than four Dutch flagged ships in Halifax at the same time was impossible to capture in one photo - unless I had a helicopter.
Speaking of which, the lightest load lifted in Halifax harbour today was made by a Canadian military Search and Rescue Agusta/Westland CH-149 Cormorant off George's Island this afternoon. (The SAR version of the proven military EH-101 is the helicopter the Canadian navy should have in service by now if the previous government had not cancelled  the order. The substitute from Sikorsky has not been delivered yet, and may never be).

1. Where I would need to be to take a picture of four Dutch flagged ships - no thanks.

Among the visitors from the Netherlands was the big cruise ship Eurodam:

2. Eurodam sails, leading Seven Seas Adventurer.

Heavy lift ship Fairlift brought in some large cargo packages and sailed this afternoon for Hamilton, ON.

3. Outbound Fairlift stows its heavy cranes in a vertical position.

Fairlift was built in 1990 and carries one 400 tonne and one 250 tonne crane, which can work in combination. It is a shallow draft ship with a single large hold served by a single hatch. It called in Halifax in 2006 and 2007  loading GM EMD export locomotives both times.

The fourth Dutch ship in Halifax today is Hollandia, operating for Nirint and off-loading the usual cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba. (For a photo see Halifax Shipping News.)

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