Halterm -

On Friday the tugs Oshawa (pulling) and J.F.Whelan (pushing) moved the crane barge Derrick No.4 from pier 42 Halterm to pier 9C.

This move left the new pier extension clear of any construction equipment and left an unobstructed view.

McNally Construction has completed building the concrete cribs for the project. Work remaining includes building up the cope walls to the level of the existing pier before the new working surface, crane rails, etc., can be installed. It appears that one or two cribs remain to be positioned.

As the 220m long  EM Kea sailed this afternoon, it gave the new work a sense of scale. EM Kea is a regular caller on the Maersk /CMA CGM transatlantic service calling Montreal westbound and Halifax eastbound.

At the same time CMA CGM Butterfly was inbound on its first visit to Halifax.

Although owned by the Claus-Peter Offen group and registered in Hamburg it has adopted CMA CGM's operatic naming scheme for the duration of its charter. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan in 2008, it measures 111,249 gt, 120,934 dwt and has a capacity of 9658 TEU including plugs for 700 reefers.

In another part of the harbour there was an unusual operation underway. The bulk carrier Fearless had arrived at anchor for underwater hull cleaning.

The Naikai shipyard in Setoda, Japan built the ship in 2001 as Bright Laker, a name it carried until 2013. The 18,049 gt, 30,778 dwt bulk  carrier carries four cranes and has been a regular caller to the Great Lakes. Most recently it loaded (likely grain) in Thunder Bay, ON September 5 to 8. The requirement for hull cleaning may be to rid the ship of some invasive species such as zebra mussels acquired during its  visit to the Lakes.  Not only can these pernicious pests be transported to other ports, they can also clog cooling water intakes.

A stiff breeze from the north encouraged the cruise ship Zuiderdam to back away from its berth at pier 20 on departure, rather than sailing north about George's Island.

The 82,820 gt, 1916 passenger ship was  built by Fincantieri, Marghera and is the first of Holland America's Vista class. The ship is equipped with three bow thrusters and electric drive azipod props aft. It has an unusual integrated electric propulsion system, originally designed for warships. Its three 16 cylinder and two 12 cylinder Sulzer main engines and a GE gas turbine generate electricity to power the thrusters, ABB azipods, and all other electrical service needs of the ship. One of the benefits of electric drive is the elimination of propeller shafts, a common source of vibration in passenger ships. It also allows for positioning of the engine room in the most convenient location. The omni-directional (azimuthing) pod drives provide thrust in any direction for ease of manoeuvring.

This system allowed the ship to move off the berth laterally without the aid of tugs, entertaining the many waterfront walkers enjoying the last week end of summer.

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Sunday comings and goings

A visitor from the Great Lakes made a stop over for bunkers before sailing for Foynes, Ireland this afternoon. Fearless is a bulk carrier built in 2001 by the Naikai shipyard in Setoda, Japan. Its original name was Bright Laker and it made several trips to the Great Lakes under that name, before it was sold and became Fearless in 2013. Its dimensions of 606'-11" x 77'-5" make it a "Seawaymax" ship. It is fitted with four 30 tonne cranes to allow it to handle a variety of cargoes such as steel.

Its tonnages are 18,049 grt, 30,778 dwt, but due to draft restrictions in the St.Lawrence Seaway it cannot load to full deadweight tonnage on the Lakes.

It made its most recent trip to the Great Lakes when it entered the St.Lawrence Seaway June 2. It unloaded cargo in Oshawa, ON and Detroit, MI before arriving in Milwaukee June 17. There it loaded its grain cargo, sailing on June 23, and exiting the Seaway June 28. Unlike some Great Lakes callers it did not top up its cargo on the St.Lawrence, but continued direct to Halifax.

We will be saying goodbye to the the tall ship Esmerelda this evening. It moved out to anchor this morning to give the cruise ship Celebrity Summit lots of room to leave pier 21 (the cruise ship over- nighted in Halifax so that passengers could enjoy Canada Day celebrations).

Back in its previous anchorage, Esmerelda battens down in preparation for heading to sea.

 Also sailing this afternoon, was the newest member of the Canadian tanker fleet. Golden Oak, which arrived June 25, has been chartered by Algoma Tankers for six months, and placed under Canadian flag. That means it has a Canadian crew and can trade between Canadian ports at will. This is a refreshing change from the flurry of coastal licenses the various tanker companies resort to when there is an increased demand. The ship was registered in Halifax on June 15.

In this case Esso refinery shutdowns have meant an increased demand for tankers to deliver fuel to the Greater Toronto Area, and southern On tarioas  a whole.

I neglected to mention in my post of June 25, that the ship was built as Sichem Berlin in 2008 but was very soon renamed  Marida Margeurite. It took its present name in 2014. 

 

Golden Oak outbound for Nanticoke, ON.

Those coastal licenses allow foreign flagged ships (and their crews) to sail in Canadian waters, sometimes for prolonged periods. Most however are for a month, which makes it impractical to sign on a Canadian crew, much to the consternation of the seafarers.


See Tugfax for one such example.

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