Presever to the scrappers

FILED REMOTELY

File photo: Preserver in use as a fuel shuttle, relied on tugs to move it between the HMC Dockyard and Imperial Oil after it was withdrawn from seagoing in 2014.

Although I was not in Halifax to see it go, I followed yesterday's departure of the decommissioned HMCS Preserver on the internet.

The tug Lois M of McKeil Marine got underway on schedule at 1030 hrs, and with assistance of the Dockyard tugs Glenevis and Glenbrook they were soon off the berth. The latter tug was tethered aft as stern escort.

Once out to the Middle Ground area, inside Meagher's Beach, the ship pilot disembarked to Scotia Pilot while the pilot assigned to the tug remained on board until reaching the pilot station.
By this morning the tow was making good progress and was off Guysboro.

The ship was sold to Marine Recycling Corporation of Port Colborne, ON, and there was idle speculation that the ship would be towed to the Great Lakes to be broken up. This was never in the cards. Although the ship could fit into the Seaway locks, it would have been an expensive proposition to tow it all the way to the Welland Canal. There would also be the question of the many delays caused to commercial shipping with such an ungainly tow.

Despite protestations in the press that they are not in the ship scrapping business, Heddle Marine of Hamilton, ON, a company associated with McKeil Marine, was instrumental in having the ship broken up in Nova Scotia. McKeil and Heddle have leased the Sydport area in Point Edward, NS as a ship repair and staging base, with an option to purchase the entire facility. They have apparently sub-leased some of the space to MRC and that is where Preserver will be broken up.

MRC has also acquired the retired ferry Princess of Acadia, the research vessel Quest (and possibly the destroyer Athabaskan) all of which will also be cut up at the facility. Heddle was contracted by the federal government to provide shipkeeping services when the ferry was retired and laid up  at Sydport.

MRC will undoubtedly use the facilities of Heddle Marine to assist in the initial dismantling and removal of recyclables and re-usables from Preserver and the other ships. There is still a plan to remove the marine re-fueling gear from Preserver for re-use by the RCN.

File photo: Preserver in its role as a floating gas station allowed RCN ships to refuel within the Dockyard until permanent fueling facilities could be arranged after Imperial Oil shut down its refinery and became a deport only.

The last of the Canadian Navy's supply ships, Preserver was laid down built in Saint John, NB in 1967, launched in 1969 and commissioned in 1970. It is ironic that its arrival date in Sydney harbour will be very close to the anniversary date of August 7, 1970.

It was removed from seagoing service in 2014 with corrosion, electrical issues and other problems, and finally decommissioned  October 21, 2016. Its disposal for scrap has very rapid by Canadian standards, which is partly explained by the fact that instead of the RCN's own forces removing re-usables, the MRC/Heddle operation will do that work.

Preserver's twin fleet mate Protecteur has been scrapped by R.J.MacIsaac in Liverpool, NS which has left the RCN in an awkward position of being unable to refuel its own ships at sea.

The fueler to be named Asterix Resolute is expected  to come into service this fall. It was recently unveiled at Davie in Lauzon, QC. A converted container ship hull, that ship has been contracted to serve the RCN until 2021 (at the earliest) when the RCN takes delivery of the second of two Queenston class fleet replenishment ships. It is not clear at this point how the fueling gear will be transferred to the Asterix  Resolute, but if it is done, McKeil / Heddle have lots of tugs and barges to do the work.

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BIG Changes

It is a time of big changes in Halifax's port and on many other fronts.

To pick up where I left off, the veteran ferry Princess of Acadia was laid up in Saint John after its replacement Fundy Rose came into service. After de-storing by operators Bay Ferries, and their corporate symbols were painted over, it was handed over to owner, the Minister of Transport.

Saint John is not an ideal layup port, due to its high tides, requiring a lot of line tending. On September 11, it arrived in Halifax where it tied up at the old Coast Guard base in Dartmouth. That unused facility is still government property, so presumably there are no berthing fees, and Halifax's feeble tides require very little line tending.

  

Still handsome, but looking bare without its Bay Ferries markings, and still wearing storm shields over the lounge windows, Princess of Acadia awaits its fate. A sale for scrap is almost certain, but it may take a while.

 Halifax Shipyard finally rid itself of the decommissioned Novadock floating drydock. Its Canada registry was closed August 18 and it has been renamed F.D. Novadock under an undisclosed foreign flag, likely St.Vincent and the Grenadines. As reported in Halifax Shipping News, a flotilla of McKeil tugs moved the dock to the IEL pier in Dartmouth, where it has since been cut into two sections.

Novadock was originally built in two sections (not the same two sections which it now appears) by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel and Ferguson Industries in Pictou, for the government of Nova Scotia. It was intended to bring Panamax ships to Halifax for repairs. It certainly did that, and when Irving Shipbuilding took over the yard, they also gained ownership of the Novadock.

Following award of the  National Shipbuilding contract for naval vessels, Halifax Shipyard rapidly lost  interest in ship repair in Halifax. (Irving Shipbuilding Inc still operates its smaller repair yard in Shelburne.)
With demolition of its older facilities and during construction of the new assembly building, the yard had no facilities available for ship repair anyway. The Novadock will not be replaced per se, but a new launching dock will be required for the new construction. No announcement has been made on where it will be procured or when.

With Novadock gone from the Shipyard, the full extent of the mammoth new building is revealed in all its splendour.

Steel has now been cut for the first hull under the new shipbuilding program and the first module is underway.

More work remains to the roll out area to the north, where the new Pier 6 cope wall is now under construction, and work has started on the huge roll out pad.

Changes are also underway at the Angus L. Macdonald bridge where the deck replacement project is about to begin in earnest.

Atlantic Cartier [see below] passes beneath the bridge, denuded of its walkway and bike lane and fitted with a traveler for the work, the bridge is ready for its first new deck section starting next weekend.

 The Cherubini dock is all set up to transport the sections with their giant crane and chartered barges.

Atlantic Container Line has started the process of retiring its G3 ships, with Atlantic Concert the first to go. It arrived off the Bhavnagar anchorage in India September 5. The first new G4 ship, Atlantic Star, was registered in England September 1. It is still at the shipyard Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Shanghai, but is due for imminent delivery, followed every two months by is four sisters.

ACL'S schedule still shows Atlantic Concert's next call in Halifax on October 18, so that is the likely arrival date for the first new ship.

A sight soon to be no more, Atlantic Cartier  clear of the Narrows and heading on a course to pass east of George's Island.

More big ships are coming. Ships of the size of  Ningbo Express and OOCL Southampton are joined by CMA CGM ships as lines try to increase efficiency and as the "superships" displace the merely big or not so big on the main trade routes.

Some other changes noted after my return from my August vacation:

McNally Marine has started work on the new HMC Dockyard Jetty under the Macdonald bridge, to accommodate the Arctic Offshore patrol vessels.

Work continues on the new Irving Oil dock in Woodside, also by McNally. Irving Oil has taken delivery of the refurbished Acadian now fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber, just like sister East Coast, both under Canadian flag. As soon as the new dock is completed, Irving ships will  no longer call at the Esso docks.

Of the Marshall Islands pair of the Irving quartet, Great Eastern has now gone to Gibraltar for its similar refit and New England has a Canadian coasting license until September 26.

The navy has revealed the desperate condition of the Athabaskan (no surprise) but it has gone to sea again in recent days.

With no operational supply ship to support its fleet, the RCN is turning to Davie to rebuild a container ship as an interim supplier. Preserver is now a floating feul depot in the Dockyard, no longer moving under its own power when it shifts from one berth to another.

There are other changes too, but perhaps the more relevant here is the upcoming change to Shipfax as I transition to a more relaxed format, but more on that later.

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Preserver's cold move

For the second time in recent weeks HMCS Preserver spent a good part of the day at Imperial Oil taking on fuel. The ship is no longer in operational form, and will not be going to sea, but it is useful to the RCN as a floating fuel depot. Its oil cargo tanks store fuel for other RCN ships, which can refuel directly from her at HMC Dockyard rather than trying to find a berth at Imperial Oil.

HMC ships used to have priority berthing at Imperial Oil, but with the demand for space being what it is since the refinery closed and all refined product arrives by sea, there are days at a time when all berths are full.

Two Glens and three Villes provide the power and direction for Preserver as it heads back to HMC Dockyard this evening.

Today's move was made as a cold move - not using the ship's own propulsion, however its auxiliaries were running, since it had radar, communication and power to deck machinery, pumps, etc., It took two Glens and three Villes to move the ship, not to mention the oil boom boat and a line crew boat.

Service boat 128 tows 900 feet of oil boom from Preserver back to the Dockyard.

A rigid hull boat with inflatable collar carriers a squad of line handlers from the Imperial Oil pier back to HMC Dockyard. They are moving a lot more quickly than the Preserver.

HMCS Preserver en route to the Dockyard,

Passengers on the Woodside ferry Christopher Stannix got a good view of Preserver as it passes between the anchored Sloman Hermes and the Cable Wharf.

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Louis, Maria, Graceful Leader, CSL Tacoma - playing catchup

After a foggy morning yesterday, then no harbour movements later, today was catch up day.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent at BIO.  Pardon the utility lines, but normal photo vantage points are blocked by new fences and old snow and ice.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent was tied up at the Bedford Institute pier and this evening it took bunkers. Both the Louis and the Henry Larsen that was in earlier in the week probably took stores, had minor repairs and maybe even had crew changes , taking a few days off from ice breaking activities in the Gulf.

Back at pier 25, Sarah Desgagnés resumes winter maintenance.

The tanker Sarah Desgagnés arrived last Saturday with cargo and after unloading at Imperial Oil, moved over to pier 25. The ship was in for a week earlier in the year for maintenance, but went back to work. Presumably it will continue from where it left off. Last time there were divers working under the ship.

Another odd view of Autoport thanks to snow and ice banks at the normal vantage points.

The autocarrier Graceful Leader sailed late this afternoon after finally being able to complete unloading. It arrived Tuesday, but with icy conditions persisting at Autoport, disembarking cars have to be moved to backup storage areas, taking much longer to unload.

I may never get used to the bluff bow of the new Trillium class CSL ships.

CSL Tacoma sailed early this afternoon with a part load of gypsum. It probably loaded to permissible draft at National Gypsum. It arrived early yesterday morning, so delays due to frozen material likely held up what would normally have been a 12 hour operation.

Unaccustomed visitor to pier 27.

To round off, the supplier Atlantic Condor was over on the Halifax side this afternoon. It uses the Mobil dock in Dartmouth to work cargo and supplies for offshore.When not working it usually ties up at the IEL dock, but space there is a t premium because the tanker Algonova is also in for a maintenance period.

Not photographed, but worth mentioning, HMCS Preserver made a cold move to Imperial Oil today to take fuel.

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Preserver returns from Bedford Magazine

HMCS Preserver returned from the Bedford Magazine (Jetty November November) this morning after spending most of yesterday and last night at the outpost.As usual with in-harbour shifts, it was a cold move. Dockyard tugs powered the ship both ways.

 Preserver approaches Halifax Shipyards, southbound in the Narrows, on its return to HMC Dockyard. The dark area at deck level amidships is safety netting for the gangway.

 
The Bedford Magazine is the navy's munitions storage facility, and was built at the head of Bedford Basin to be sufficiently far away from populated areas to ensure  that a detonation would cause minimal collateral damage. I am not so sure that would be the case today, since residential areas of Bedford and the Burnside Industrial Park are now in close proximity.

On July 18, 1945 an explosion on a barge load of ammunition at the Magazine Pier started a fire and a chain reaction of blasts over a period of two days, which threatened to equal the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Valiant efforts by civilian and military fire crews eventually brought the situation under control, but not before a large portion of the north end of Halifax was evacuated, windows were shattered all over town and roofs collapsed. Due the war's end there was a huge amount of explosive material stockpiled outdoors as naval vessels de-stored and ammunition was brought in from as far as Bermuda. There had not been time to store it all in bunkers and a large quantity stacked on the pier was quick to ignite.

Heroes of the day included two civilian fireboat crews.  The firetug Rouille operated by the City of Halifax and the fireboat James Battle operated by the National Harbours Board fought the blaze. Navy firetugs were there too, but I do not have their names at hand.


James Battle was built by Detroit Shipbuilding Co in 1900. An imposing vessel, with one deck and twin funnels, it served the City of Detroit until 1941 when it was sold to Sincennes-McNaughton Line of Montreal. They chartered it to the National Harbours Board and assigned it to Halifax in 1943. After the Bedford Magazine fire, its boilers were in such bad shape that it was returned to Montreal. There it was rebuilt several times, and as a diesel tug, it operated in the Port of Montreal and in the Seaway for McAllister Towing until 1991 when it was sold for scrap. It retained full firefighting capability until the end.
There are several photos of it on line as built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireboats_of_Detroit

By 1983 James Battle had been rebuilt as a stylish motor tug, but retained  firefighting equipment.

 
Rouille was built for the City of Toronto in 1929 by Collingwood Shipbuilding. Far too large for their needs it was leased to the City of Halifax in 1941. It fought several fires in the port during the war, including the Volendam in June 1945. It had a crew of 15 plus 13 firefighters on call and was also the official greater for returning troop ships, giving water displays.
In August 1945 it took over from James Battle and worked for the National Harbours Board until April 1946 when it was sold. New owners J.P.Porter+Co used it as a tug, and it sank December 3, 1954 off Cape Smokey with the loss of five lives .
It could pump 4500 gpm with 3 fire guns and 16 hose outlets on deck.

 

This uncredited photo poster appeared in the Dartmouth Sportsplex community room and shows Rouille in all its glory.

The Royal Canadian Navy augmented its fire fighting capability in Halifax after the Magazine incident, transferring in the Nashwaak from Sydney, and taking delivery of two new boats before the winter of 1945.

Ever since then the port has relied on the naval fireboat for firefighting. After years of debate on whether the Port or the City should also have a fireboat, civilian tugs and offshore suppliers began to be equipped with firefighting capability and the debate died out.

Currently the RCN has CFAV Firebird in operation, with Dockyard Fire Department firefighters on board.  Atlantic Towing Ltd has much superior firefighting capability on Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Willow, although their crews are not career firefighters.

The Bedford Magazine is now much safer, and has its own fire department in house. As a reminder of 1945 there are areas around the magazine that are still off limits due to the presence of unexploded munitions.

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Classics - time running out

There are a number of older ships still running in Canada despite all the predictions about their ultimate demise-but timwe is quickly running out for most of them.

The ferry Holiday Island sailed late this afternoon from Halifax Shipyard after a refit which included a sparkling new paint job. The ship is scheduled to be re-engined, which shows considerable faith by the Minister of Transport (her owner) that she has a good many years lefty in her. Built in 1971 she has certainly reached a respectable age.

1. Holiday Island at noon time today, ready to be floated out at 1600 hrs. Sharp eyes will detect HMCS Preserver in the background. Of similar vintage it is on the replacement list to be built by Seaspan as part of the NSPS.

Speaking of ferries the Trans St-Laurent reached her 50th anniversary this summer, without fanfare. Her owners Clarke Inc, a mere shadow of the former Clarke Shipping,  is down to just this one ship in Canadian waters (and one other, the container RoRo Shamrock in the Caribbean). With only about three years left on her charter to Société des Traversiers de Québec we should enjoy her while we can.

 2. Purpose built in 1963 for the Rivière-du-Loup to St-Siméon run, the ship is still going strong (it has never been anywhere near Halifax..)

Back to Halifax the wonderful CCGS Hudson sailed this afternoon on another scientific mission. Her days are numbered, because a replacement is part of the NSPS contract awarded to Seaspan in Vancouver. The new ship is still a few years away.

3. After a short evolution in Bedford Basin, CCGS Hudson enters the Narrows bound for sea at noon time today. Her replacement will not have the dramatic shear and graceful lines of this ship.

 Not so lucky is the laker Algoma Québecois. Built in 1963 by Canadian Vickers in Montreal as Québecois the ship sailed for original owners Eastern Lake Cariiers (Papachristidis) until 1972, then Upper Lakes Shipping until 2011 when she was acquired and renamed by Algoma. The ship was laid up at the end of the 2012 season and since June has been sitting in Toronto, where I was able to grab a quick shot of her last week.

4. Idle on the Toronto waterfront November 6 Québecois awaited her fate.

As early as tomorrow tugs will arrive to tow her to the scrappers in Port Colborne.

5. In 1995 she was still Québecois and was passing Quebec City when I took this photo. 

The ship has the sad distinction of being the second last operating cargo steamship in Canada. Her sister and fleet mate, which is not expected to sail beyond this season, Algoma Montréalais ex Montréalais is, for now the only (and will be last) steamer* in operation.  Were it not for the excellent construction of these ships and the care with which they were maintained - not to mention a great deal of time in fresh water- they would have been gone long ago. However their virtually indestructible steam turbine propulsion systems have kept them running when disels have supplanted steam almost everywhere in the world.

6. This may be last season for Algoma Montréalis and the for the last commercial steamship operation in Canada. 

Built to traditional laker design, with wheelhouse forward and maximum Seaway dimensions of the time, the sisters have outlasted several newer ships. To give another sense of their longevity, they were built with escrow credits, reserved from the sale of wartime built Victory ships. As a form of subsidy to Canadian shipyards, owners were allowed to sell the Victory ships to foreign owners, but the proceeds had to be used to finance construction of new ships in Canada. The canny shipowner owner, P.B.Papachrisitidis parlayed credits from a few war-built ships into a Great Lakes fleet, that was then sold to finance an international fleet, which is now Hellespont Shipping. He did not skimp however, these were among the finest lakers (and best looking) ever built.

[* One exception to the demise of steam, is the Toronto ferry Trillium. With steam reciprocating machinery, the 103 year old paddle wheeler is an incredible example of steam at its finest, however its operation could not be considered commercial in the same way as a a cargo ship.]

[Other exceptions include the steam tug Master in British Columbia, the excursion steamer Segwun in Muskoka, and a handful of non-operational preserved steamships such as CSS Acadia HMCS Sackville in Halifax and the passenger ships Keewatin and Norisle on the Great Lakes.]

[None of these are cargo ships, so we are truly seeing the end of an era..]

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HMCS Windsor -carrying on, and RCN too

Canada's east coast submarine HMCS Windsor is exercising around Halifax, due to a restriction on activities.  It has been reported that the sub is confined to Canadian coastal waters due to a faulty generator. One of the boat's two generators has packed it in and must be removed and replaced. The restriction means that Windsor cannot participate in exercises in the south.
Windsor arrived this morning for a PAX transfer and sailed, just as the two cruise ships were arriving.  It returned later this afternoon, for another PAX transfer, then proceeded up west of George's Island to Bedford Basin.
And from correspondents:

•  Canada's west coast sub HMCS Victoria caused some excitement last week when it had to evacuate someone by CCGS lifeboat off Powell River. A SAR helicopter also responded. It has a hull dent acquired before joining the RCN, and is not able to fire torpedoes. Sorry - she can and does fire torpedoes. Contributed photo

•  The little RCN fleet visiting the UK has generated a lot of interest, particularly HMCS Preserver, with photos posted on numerous sites, and this video on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hi1iK4bQLAc  She is sailing in company with HMCS St.John's and HMCS Iroquois.

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Naval Exodus

Three RCN ships sailed this morning.
First out was HMCS St.John's:

Followed by HMCS Iroquois:

And HMCS Preserver:

 

HMCS Windsor and other navy news

1. HMCS Windsor

When HMCS Windsor put to sea yesterday (see photo) it represented the culmination of a huge refit program conducted by HMCS Cape Scott, the navy's repair arm in HMC Dockyard. The sub entered the Extended Docking Work Period  (EDWP) in 2007 and was expected to emerge in 2009. However virtually every one of the 200 systems aboard the boat required extensive work, and was not until April of 2012 that the sub re-entered the water. The work period ended officially December 13 and last weekend Windsor could be seen in Bedford Basin on the start of work-ups and trials, which include crew certification.
The sub will be fully operational during 2013, possibly as early as the first quarter.
Meanwhile on the west coast, HMCS Victoria is operational, HMCS Corner Brook will start its Extended Docking, with repair to grounding damage in 2013, and HMCS Chicoutimi will be assessed for fire damage and begin its rebuilding in 2013.
It had always been the intention to have two subs operational, one on each coast, and two in various stages of refit. The next EDWP for these subs will begin in 2016 and will extend to 2024, allowing about two years for each sub. By that  time of course we might be aware of more detailed plans for replacement. Discussion is underway, but it will be a long process to try and avoid some of the problems encountered with the acquisition of this class of subs. The long and sometimes sad story of the former Upholder class RN , and now Victoria class RCN subs is worthy of a much longer essay than I can give here. Suffice it to say however, that bringing Windsor back to service is a major milestone and achievement for the RCN.

2. HMCS Toronto ditto

After completing a very brief drydocking at Halifax Shipyard last week end HMCS Toronto has been preparing for its next assignment. This evening it headed for the Static Sound Range off Macnab's Island.  Range work is usually one of the last steps before the ship leaves port.

3. HMCS Preserver calls in civvy tug

HMCS Preserver arrived this evening from sea in gale conditions, with gusts of 40 knots and driving rain. Pilotage operations for commercial traffic were suspended by the Atlantic Pilotage Authority due to the weather, but this does not effect naval vessels who have their own berthing master/ docking pilots.
In view of the previous incident when Preserver allided with the Novadock floating drydock with extensive damage to both, the RCN called in the commercial tug Atlantic Larch to assist navy tugs to berth the ship at Jetty Hotel.
This underscores the need for new tugs in HMC Dockyard, and as reported lately in Tugfax http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2012/12/naval-large-tug-construction-project.html
 efforts are underway, or at least in their early stages, to acquire new tugs, with considerably more power, for events such as this.

4. HMCS Athabaskan

Meanwhile at Seaway Marine and Industrial in St.Catharines, ON, the tugs Ocean Delta and André H. have just departed (1930 AST) the shipyard with Athabaskan in tow for Halifax. Ocean Delta is the lead tug and will carry out the tow all the way to Halifax. It is not clear if André H. will come all the way. It may just assist with the Seaway Locks and river as far as the Cap-aux-Oies area. However with such an important tow, it would seen prudent to have two tugs along all the way.

HMCS Preserver

HMCS Preserver sailed this morning-little noticed due to thick fog-one day after CBC News revealed the cost of recent repairs. The ship was turning in the Narrows in November when it alided with the Novadock floating drydock. Damage to the ship included mangled bulwarks forward and twisted frames. Repairs took place within HMC Dockyard, and CBC was not able to say who carried out the work. The total of $490,000 for the repairs must also be brought into question, since there were other associated costs that were not or could not be calculated, including loss of sea time.

The incident cost the commanding officer loss of command.

CBC News also had no luck in determining the costs to repair the Novadock. Damage to the dock included scuff marks, two companionways on the outer face (only one of which has been replaced) several dents and an actual perforation of the shell plating. Immediate repairs were necessary to keep the dock operational, and over the winter crews could be seen from time to time working from floats on repair and repainting. Granted much of the painting would have been done as part of regular maintenance, but there would still be many thous for the  actual repair work.

 Upper photos: the immediate aftermath- twisted stairs, scuffed paint indented plates and a puncture.

Lower photos: repairs underway in March-hole patched, dock repainted, one stair not replaced. The workboat Harbour Diver alongside a small scow, with staging used for repairs.

It would be surprising to me if the total cost for the whole incident did not reach closer to $ 3/4 million.

HMCS Preserver returns from sea

1. The tug Glenevis stands by the Preserver as it returns to port this morning.

2. A rigid hull inflatable powers away from the ship as part of a personnel transfer.

3. Preserver veers to starboard, heading back out to sea.

HMCS Preserver returned from sea this morning (she sailed Tuesday). It was reported in the press that her commanding officer had been relieved of command a few weeks ago in relation to the incident last November when the ship struck the Novadock floating drydock while maneuvering in the harbour.

The ship was laid down at Saint John Dry Dock on October 17, 1967, launched May 29, 1969 and commissioned July 30, 1970. Long overdue for replacement, the ship has provided sterling service to the RCN including participation in the October 2001-April 2002 Arabian Gulf/Afghanistan war.

There is still no final decision on the design of Canada's new naval supply vessels, though it seems a modified German design is currently under consideration. Without some movement quite soon, the three to five year window for Preserver's future may be extended again - maybe she will reach fifty years in commission.

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