Big Changes at PSA Halifax

On August 20 we learned through media that the thirty day written submission period was ending the next day for the latest "plans" deposited with the Canadian Impact Assessment Agency for a major redevelopment of the southend container terminal operated by PSA Halifax. No public notice had ever been posted by the Port, thus removing any reasonable opportunity to comment or make constructive suggestions.

The submission to CIAA was verbal only, with no engineering drawings or artists renderings to show the nature of the "proposed" work at and around the terminal, changes to roads, and to CN rail lines and another, perhaps unrelated, expansion of warehouse space at P+H Milling's flour mill. It would require a fairly intimate knowledge of the facility to determine how the changes would impact the public without seeing engineering drawings. A contact address was available to an engineering firm, but there was no way anyone could see the nature of the project in the submission itself, or even to learn if there had been comments received. Apparently work will now begin almost immediately.

In addition to additional tracks in the terminal, the truck arrival gate will be changed and several buildings removed or rebuilt. The area can be choked with truck traffic in the present configuration, resulting in long wait times for truckers. Can you count the trucks? [I counted fifty]

The "proposed" project will mean major disruptions to truck, train and likely car traffic, but there is no explanation of how this will be mitigated during construction.  It is also stated that a pedestrian and bicycle bridge will be built to assist in crossing tracks during train shunting. However the media report August 21 suggested that the bridge may be optional, or built much later.

Underutilized track between the terminal and the P+H flour mill (to the right of the pole in the photo) will be removed and the area converted to port workers' parking. The mill will also be expanding its warehouse space.

Those tracks were once heavily used before the container era. Freight was moved through pier sheds to and from box cars. It took some years for the full transition to containers.

In the early days of Halterm (now PSA Halifax) there was still freight being handled from general cargo ships through pier sheds into box cars, but container cars were also showing up on the tracks.

This pair of  sequential late 1973 or early 1974 photos show the original Halterm configuration, which has since been changed more than once as has the alignment of Marginal Road.

The top (colour) picture was taken from the Young Avenue bridge. The lower two (black and white) photos were taken from the Ogilvie Towers apartment building.

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PSA Halifax - Halterm no more

The Port of Halifax's South End Container Terminal, known since 1969 as Halterm, has been rebranded by its new operators as PSA Halifax. Those owners, part of the Port of Singapore Authority have adopted the name to align with their own image building exercise as a major world terminal operator. It certainly lacks the originality and catchiness of "Halterm" but I guess all things shall pass.

The old Halterm "H" may still be found in a couple of spots:

Such as this RTG which may be the next one for the scrap pile. (See previous post)

The oldest of the ships cranes is the only one left with the Halterm logos (maybe it is bound for the scrapper too?)

The PSA logo has yet to go on the big cranes  but it hasn't exactly been painting weather.

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Pier C extension

In a communiqué yesterday the Halifax Port Authority  announced that work is progressing on the Pier C extension at the Southend Container Terminal operated by Halterm.

Dredging has passed the 50% mark, and this is about right by my calculations. The dredging was to take about 14 weeks and we are now in week 8.  McNally Construction's dipper dredge Derrick No.4 has been working steadily removing loose material from the bottom. The tugs Mister Joe and J.F.Whalen  using two scows, S.11 and S.12 transport the spoil to a basin at Fairview Cove where it has been re-deposited.

Mister Joe with an empty scow making the long haul back to Pier C.

The dredge plant is based at Pier 9 and works Monday to Friday off the south end of Pier 42. The plant is returned to Pier 9 for the weekend where its re-fueled and necessary maintenance takes place.

The J.F.Whalen hauls the Derrick No.4 back to Pier 9 last Friday.

HPA also announced that caisson construction will be starting soon using pier 9C in the Richmond Terminals. This is the same location where all other recent caisson work has been done. McNally Construction has built caissons for Halifax Shipyard Pier 6, Fairview Cove container terminal and HMC Dockyard Jetty NK in the past few years, using a semi-submersible barge. The caissons are built of concrete using slip-forming and once completed they are floated off the barge. Compressed air provides buoyancy, and when the units are towed to location they are sunk in position by releasing the air.

The current schedule has the placement of the caissons this summer with infilling over the next winter. As usual with caissons, they are allowed to settle for several months before the cope walls and topping are completed, and that work will begin in the spring of 2020.

There were two noticeable absences from HPA's press release. The first was that the word "temporary" did not appear anywhere in the text. The Pier C southward extension was up until now always referred to as temporary. Perhaps they are considering more options for Phase 2. Certainly they are opening more avenues for public consultation.

The second is the absence of the well used walkway along the extension. I was personally assured that there would be a walkway, however it does not appear in the latest drawings. The only walkway shown is the existing breakwater walkway, which has been closed for the duration of construction. It ends abruptly at the new extension, with some form of blockade. Probably a combination of chain link and barbed wire fencing - hardly an appealing option. 

When Pier 42 was extended the last time the same thing happened. The old walkway was unceremoniously severed at the breakwater. After public pressure a narrow walkway was added to that extension, cantilevered out over the water. While better than nothing it was stingy by comparison to its predecessor which had a gathering area at the end allowing for good viewing both of Halterm activity and also of ships arriving and leaving the harbour. It also made a satisfactory destination for those who made the walk.

 Although poorly maintained with only two park benches and no means of refuse disposal, the entire breakwater and walkway remained popular and even in the worst weather it was well used. Some walkers carried a garbage bag with them to pick up debris on their walk, but it was a thankless and never ending task.

The Port is missing a big opportunity for public engagement by deleting the walkway from the new extension. Interpretative panels erected by Halterm at the entrance to the breakwater are informative, but they are a very small gesture when a larger one is called for. This is a chance for the Port to interact with the public - both residents and visitors - and to highlight its importance of the Port to the economy. Particularly where so much of the working port has now been cut off from view by walls of containers and security fencing, the Port needs to find ways to interact with the public.

Here's a bit of an  album of the evolution of the end of pier:

 When Halterm was built in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the old Seaward Command breakwater, complete with miniature lighthouse, extended beyond the pier face. Public access was unlimited and despite being an unmaintained and even dangerous location at times, it was a popular look-off.
In this 1975 photo the bulk carrier Ontario Power was inbound to load at National Gypsum.

 From the lighthouse it was possible to look back along the pier face. Note that there were three ships tied up at the same time with some room left over. Ships have grown. The feeder ship Yankee Clipper ran to the US weekly, Cézanne was a cargo/container ship for the French line CGM and Atlantic Prosper was on ACL's B service. 

Beaver Marine, the predecessor company to McNally, built caissons at pier 25 for the first Halterm extension in 1985. Delivering concrete round the clock resulted in a lot of truck activity in the area. Extending the pier meant that the breakwater was cut back and the lighthouse - sadly- disappeared.

The short extension that cut off the breakwater had a gathering area at the end providing an excellent viewing platform for passing ships such as Queen Mary 2. The platform's curved underside deflected waves. The Ives Knoll buoy was still visible from the land side of the breakwater.

A pilots eye view (from Atlantic Conveyor (ii)) showed that the first extension was quite short.

 Large crowds were known to congregate on the look-off, particularly during cruise ship season.

When Halterm was extended the last time a walkway was added to the deck, but it only returned part way across the end of the pier and was very narrow - barely five feet, and had no gathering space at the end.

The extension was built on piles, minimizing the amount of fill needed.

 The walkway - now gone - had many drawbacks, not least of which was that a portion of the pier deck drained across it, creating a wet or icy surface. It was also too narrow for a skid-steer plow. As a result it was not maintained in winter, and snow collected and drifted across it. Intrepid ship watchers broke trail for subsequent visitors.

 

The cantilevered end platform - obviously an afterthought, and less generous than the previous one - was still an excellent vantage point. A good many Shipfax photos were taken from this spot.

It stopped just short of a large bollard (orange object next to the yellow crane bumper) for safety reasons in case a line parted. I have only seen the bollard used once.  

This impression from the Port's publicity shows the new extension to be more than twice as long as the previous one, with armour stone dumped around the shore side and no walkway past the old breakwater sidewalk. Certainly an unfriendly aspect.

It also shows two new cranes (one has been ordered and there is an option for a second) and no crane at pier 36. Discussion about changes within Halterm will have to wait for another post. 

(P.S. Why are all the containers blue?)

Here is the text of the Press Release I received:

Port of Halifax South End Terminal Extension Update

March 5, 2019, Halifax, Nova Scotia – The first phase of work on the South End Container Terminal extension at the Port of Halifax is well underway. This involves dredging of soft material that has accumulated over time. The first phase of the project is over 50% complete. The next phase, construction of concrete caissons, will begin in the coming weeks. Construction will take place at Richmond Terminals and completed caissons will be barged for placement. An updated project timeline can be found at www.portcityhfx.ca.

As the South End Container Terminal extension moves forward, the Halifax Authority continues to seek a solution that will reduce port-related traffic in downtown Halifax. Discussions are underway with HPA tenants and CN Rail on how to better use existing assets and infrastructure. With partners, the Halifax Port Authority has submitted an application for funding through the National Trade Corridors Fund in the most recent round. We are preparing for additional community consultation as well.

The purpose of the extension is to ensure the Port of Halifax can berth and service two of the Ultra-Class vessels (over 350 metres length overall) now serving trade routes along the East Coast of North America. Future cargo growth through the Port of Halifax will be rail-based, connecting inland markets to Europe and Southeast Asia through our international Ultra-Class vessel gateway.

 

For more information on the Port's plans go to the embeeded link above or:
https://portcityhfx.ca/en/

Halterm Expansion - continued

Following up on yesterday's post comes today's news that CN Rail has made a preliminary offer to acquire the Halterm operation from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, owners since 2007. CN's offer includes an undisclosed partner and is part of a larger strategic plan by CN to expand its eastern interests and that includes two other ports, one in Nova Scotia and one on the St.Lawrence River.

There is much speculation on what the other ports may be. Quebec City would certainly be one, but so is the Ceres terminal at Fairview Cove in Halifax (also reported to be available for purchase) and even the proposed Melford project on the Strait of Canso. CN's plan is to make Halifax the "Prince Rupert of the east" and would involve a major upgrade in its Halifax rail infrastructure to allow it to assemble complete trains at Halterm. Presently trains of up to 12,000 feet are assembled in the crowded Rockingham yard with cars brought from Halterm, Ceres and CN's intermodal terminal near pier 9.

CN shunting currently blocks road access to Halterm at least twice a day for several minutes at a time.

Assembling a complete train at Halterm would be a more efficient process, and a separate train from Fairview and the intermodal terminal could then be assembled in the Rockingham yard. Similarly arriving trains would run directly into Halterm without requiring a lot of shunting at Rockingham.

CN's southend rail yard is outside the gates of Halterm, but could be reconfigured. 

Entrance track to Halterm at far right.

CN south end yard also serves the deepwater piers, the grain elevator and the VIA Rail station and discourages visitors from its land with varying degrees of success.

There are many other aspects that remain to be discovered during this sale process - specifically the impact on road traffic in downtown Halifax and the future of commuter rail sharing CN's tracks from suburban areas to downtown. If Halterm's perimter were to expand (again) would there be through traffic on Marginal Raod, through the port?

Meanwhile work on the berth 42 extension has started in earnest, with the removal of the pedestrian walkway along the present extension. Yesterday's photo shows that some of the walkway had already been removed.

Sawcutting away the pier 42 walkway to allow for expansion.

Today crews were busy sawing off some more. This is a big boo-hoo for ship watchers and others who use the breakwater and walkway for exercise, but I have been assured by the Chairman of the Port that there will be a walkway as part of the new expansion.

 Nevertheless illustrations of the new addition do not show a walkway on the extension. The breakwater itself has been gated off so even that section of the walk that will not be effected by construction is no longer accessible.


Halterm has all berths filled and two ships waiting this morning, so an expansion is obviously in order. My contention that smaller ships should go to Fairview would certainly relieve this pressure, but would never happen if the two terminals are competitors as they are now.

Asian Sun waits at anchor to load for Tropical Shipping, while Halterm works Eimskip's EF Eva.

I have heard no mention recent;y of  a CN "land bridge" that would connect CN's west coast terminal at Prince Rupert (by coincidence also called Fairview) with Halifax. A "Fairview to Fairview" train would cut days off the Asia to Europe sea route and could serve the US mid-west and east coast by "peeling off" trains at various CN terminals en route. But this is part of much bigger picture.

Last night the tug Mister Joe arrived with the dredge Derrick No.4 and work boat J.F.WHalen on deck.  Currently docked at pier 9, they are being readied to begin dredging.

 
Over the coming months Shipfax will be monitoring the southward expansion of Halterm, but I will try not to be totally preoccupied with the project.

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Halterm cut off

A passenger train derailment this morning blocked off rail access to the Halterm container terminal. Some backlog of inbound rail cars is expected, but judging by the speed at which CN has responded to the incident it is unlikely that there will be any significant effect on the port.

 VIA rail operates a passenger rail service, using CN tracks that serve Halterm, the deepwater piers, a large rail yard, the grain elevator, P&H Milling and the passenger station.
Passenger trains arrive at the station "head first". Before departing again they back out of the station and use the balloon track through Halterm to turn the entire train around. Then they back into the station ready for departure. In preparation for today's departure the train had backed out of the station and was entering the lead to Halterm when three cars left the rails. The engines were apparently not effected as it appears the second car "picked" the switch, and tried to go straight instead of following the lead.

Today's passenger train departure was therefore cancelled, and when I arrived on site (at the normal departure time) the cars that remained on the rails had been hauled off to another CN rail yard, but the three locomotives and derailed cars were blocking all tracks, both for passenger and freight trains.

Later in the afternoon CN had brought in equipment from as far away as Truro and had hired a crane and other equipment to remove the cars. It appears that there will be considerable work in rebuilding the switches and rails in the area before the tracks can be opened up to traffic again. Crews seem prepared to work all night to restore the track and permit freight cars to move into the ocean terminals and Halterm.

Photos were taken from the Young Avenue bridge looking (CN) west toward the Tower Road bridge and the rail cut. Halterm is behind me.

This is the rail cut that some are proposing as a dual purpose route for trucks and trains to get truck traffic off downtown streets. Although built with tax payers' money it it is now owned by CN, who are understandably lukewarm on the idea.

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Out with the old

Crews have been dismantling two old straddle carriers at Halterm this week.

Number 76 undergoes the torch.

All that's left of another one.

The old units have been out of service for a while, replaced with newer ones.

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Crane move - nearly complete

The Halterm crane move apparently took place over night, because by this morning it was at pier 36, and workers were burning off the lifting brackets and preparing to set it down in position.

1. Crane #3 now at pier 36.

There seemed to be very little inconvenience to shipping. Normally the St-Pierre feeder Fusion would work at pier 36 on Friday, using the RoRo ramp. Today she was at pier 42. One has to wonder how they worked RoRo cargo since Oceanex Sanderling was at pier 41, monopolizing the only other RoRo ramp.

2. Fusion at an unusual dock.

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Crane - moving now

 At Halterm the southernmost crane on pier 41-42 has finally begun to move to its new position on pier 36.

1. To the left is the old crane (#3) on its way to a new position. The large cranes (Max 1 and Max 2) have been moved south out of the way, onto the new Pier C extension. 

When it proved impossible to move it by ship in September, it was decided to move crane #3 over land. Last week Global Rigging and Transport mobilized a multi-wheel dolly system and by today had moved the crane off its rails and clear of the pier face.

 

2. and 3. A system of dollies and hydraulic jacks was used to lift the crane and move it off its rails.

4. Last week the dollies were lined up in readiness to lift and move the crane.

5. At some point the newest Halterm cranes, Max 3 and Max 4 will also have to move out of the way to allow the older unit to pass on its way to pier 36 to join two similar small cranes.  There is also one crane (seen immediately behind Max 3 and Max4) which has special bogies, that allow it move back and forth between the roughly perpendicular pier 36, and pier 41 

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Flashback Zim New York

Halterm had all four post-Panamax cranes in operation yesterday working the Zim New York.

Back in 1975 Halterm had three cranes available to work a ship of the same name.

 The first Zim New York was built in 1972 by Italcantieri Spa of Genoa as Thermopylae, but was sold to Zim while fitting out. It measured 25,831 gross tons. In those days the TEU capacity was not published in Lloyd's Register.  Soon after the ship went into service, Zim added a secondary wheelhouse above the main bridge, to allow for additional container stacks on deck. Its capacity was then listed as 1426 TEU. It was also a steam ship, powered by a 38,000 shp steam turbine. The ship lasted until 1991 when it was broken up in Kaohsiung.

In those days the breakwater had a small lighthouse on the end and was a gathering spot for fishermen and ship watchers. It also extended out beyond the Halterm pier face.

 A June 1975 view of Halterm with Zim New York approaching pier 41.

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