The breakers have them now

Two more ships with Halifax ties have gone to the breakers. One ship had recent a connection and the other went much farther back.

AGILE

The latter one was known in its Halifax days as Len Speer and then Agile, but started life with a much different name and purpose.

Built in 1978 by Holming Oy of Rauma, Finland for Baltic Shipping of Russia, its original name was Stakhanovets Kotov. Essentially a barge carrier, it was equipped to flood its cargo deck and float on or off river barges. Using its pair of 350 tonne gantry cranes it could also lift heavy cargoes and stack barges. It could take RoRo cargo and had a 286 TEU capacity. To add to that it was also ice strengthened for Baltic and arctic service. It had two props, each with controllable pitch.

With the break up of the USSR, the Baltic Shipping Co was dismantled and in 1992 the ship was placed under Wijsmuller management with its fleet of heavy lift ships and barges, Stakhanovets Kotov was rated for 5500 tonnes capacity.

In 1996 the ship was arrested in Singapore and sold at auction. The ship arrived in Halifax the following summer in its more or less original condition, bearing the name Len Speer and registered in Barbados, and owned by Secunda Marine Services.

They had the ship refitted and converted to a cable layer, with the addition of shops and five cable tanks in the massive open cargo bay and two stern sheaves in a cut down stern ramp. Renamed Agile it was back in Halifax several times thereafter as it laid the last section of the 360 net cable.

Agile was chartered to Cable + Wireless (Marine) Ltd for five years - a contract that was transferred to Global Marine Systems Ltd in 1999. The ship was renamed CS Agile for a time between 2003 and 2004.
At the end of the charter it returned to Halifax in late 2003 for further conversion by Allswater at Halifax Shipyard and pier 9c which extended for at least a year.

When Secunda Marine was sold to McDermott in 2007, the ship was assigned to McDermott International where it was further converted. Now with a forward high level helo pad, a large construction crane and other equipment for deep sea construction, pipe lay and cable lay it has accommodation for 112 workers.

Earlier this year Petrobras terminated a 5 year contract for Agile and in July the ship was sold to KNK Ship Management of Mumbai, and renamed  Gil under St.Kitts and Nevis flag. It then sailed from Brazil via South Africa to India where it was beached at Alang on September 22.

HAREFIELD

A ship that spent spring of 2015 in Halifax until a new rudder stock was fabricated has also arrived at Alang. Harefield was sailing from Wilmington to Baie-Comeau in mid-March when it damaged the rudder assembly in ice. It arrived in Halifax March 20, 2015 and tied up at pier 9c.

It was not until June 5 that the new part arrived. It took until June 20 for the installation to be completed and the ship could sail.

 The rudder was trussed up to take the weight off the steering gear.

My observation at the time was that the ship, built in 1985, was certainly a very elderly vessel. However as a specialized carrier, with a pair of 35 tonne gantry cranes, fitted to carry paper and aluminum, it was expected to take a longer to pay off and was well maintained.

By the time the new component arrived the ship's travelling gantries were moved to allow the crew to paint the hatch coamings.

Built by Hyundai, Ulsan it ran for Gearbulk under the same name for its entire career. At 27,818 grt, 41,646 dwt the ship was also equipped to carry juice in special tanks.

It was not all work and no play for the crew however, as they did find time to use their improvised basketball net during off hours.

With several sectors of world shipping in a slump, a familiar name or two crops up every week. Bulk carriers and container ships lead the parade to the torch.

.

Contrasts + update

The St-Pierre et Miquelon feeder service was expecting to inaugurate its "new" ship today, marking the end of the line for the veteran Fusion. When Fusion loomed out of the fog this morning, it headed to pier 31 41 to unload. At the same time Nolhanava ex Shamrock moved from pier 34 to pier 36 to begin loading.

A deck hand heads aft to prepare for tying up at pier 41.

At some point during the day the loading of Nolhanava was cancelled and instead it now seems that Fusion will be making at least one more trip.Nolhanava arrived April 23 and there has been activity on deck and elsewhere indicating repairs and maintenance to ready the ship for its return to the St-Pierre run after an 11 year absence. See addendum



Speaking of fog the intense blanket was only beginning to burn off this morning as Selfoss arrived at Halterm pier 42 a few minutes before the Fusion.

As George's Island becomes visible, the fog still conceals most of the Dartmouth side of the harbour. No audio on this shot, but the ferries were sounding their fog horns.

 Selfoss emerges from the fog. A bit of photo editing shows more of the ship than I saw.

The fog soon burned off completely, and at Pier 9c there was good news for the Harefield as some new component arrive in a large crate. Work under the ship's stern has been going off and on, but it was apparent that they were waiting for something to be manufactured.

A crane gets ready to offload a crate, positioning it so that the Harefield's engine room gantry will be able to access its contents. Note the exhaust scrubber adjacent to the ship's funnel, partly blocking the Gearbulk logo. It allows the ship to burn heavy fuel and still meet emissions regulations.

Addendum:

Saturday update: Nolhanava idle at pier 36, Fusion loading at pier 37 Saturday morning, with a sailing time scheduled for later in the day.

No fun: Fusion loading in the driving rain, and Nolhanava idle.

.

Fog, fog go away....

My usual Saturday round up was somewhat compromised by early morning fog, which meant that I again missed Courageous Ace (actually the fog had burned off when it sailed and had I been in the right place I might have got a shot).
The first arrival that loomed through the fog was the herring seiner Lady Janice II  arriving to unload its catch.

It was built in 1970 in Pictou as Sealife No.1, and was renamed Mari-Lynne Anita until 2001 when it was renamed Lady Janice II by Comeau's Seafoods.

It was followed by the Silver Harvester I, causing a major traffic jam at pier 24 where Lady Melissa, Leroy and Barry II and Margaret Elizabeth No.1 were also unloading. The traffic jam extended to the dock where a dozen trucks were waiting to load, and on the pier face where the boats were "bumper to bumper".

The last two boats had originally intended to unload at Sheet Harbour, but in view of inclement weather predicted they wanted to lay over in Halifax rather than the somewhat quieter port of Sheet Harbour.

By the time Silver Harvester I had unloaded, things had cleared off wonderfully and the boat had to dodge sailors all they way up the harbour. Built in 1990 by Snyders in Dayspring, NS, it is one of the few remaining large wooden fishing vessels that we see.

But first, the research ship Sea Surveyor arrived at pier 27. It was also fog bound all the way in, but there was brilliant sunshine above. It is something of a relic, built in 1979 by Clelands Shipbuilding Co, Wallsend-on-Tyne, England. It began life as a degaussing vessel named Magnet and carried powerful generators to demagnitize or deperm naval ships, to make them less attractive targets to magnetic mines. In 1998 it was acquired by Gardline Surveys and converted for geotechnical survey work.

CSAV Rio Nevado arrived as the fog had cleared off most of the harbour. The 46,800 grt, 12,322 dwt car carrier was built in 2007 by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co in China for Zodiac Maritime of London. It operates for Compagnia Sud Americana de Vapores, a major container, reefer and auto shipping copmany based in Valparaiso, Chile.

By afternoon with the fog well cleared off the next arrival was CSL's Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin. Dating from 2012, it was the first of CSL's deep sea Trillium class of modern self-unloaders. Built by Chengxi Shipyard, Jiangyin City, it measures 43,691 grt, 71,406 dwt . In February 2014 it experienced a crankshaft problem and was laid up in Point Tupper and then in Shelburne for many months until it could be repaired. Since then it has operated with frequent visits to Cape Breton in coal or aggregates work.
It tied up at pier 30-31 for maintenance.

Meanwhile the rest of the harbour enjoyed sunny warm conditions, but no ship movements. At pier 9B North the idle crew of Stadt Cadiz (also Chinese built and in port with engine trouble since May 6) decided to do a little painting. It is rare to see this kind of overside work since most ships are not in port long enough to take it on. Painting was also in full swing on Fundy Rose at Pier 9B South, but at Pier 9C the crew of Harefield (in since March 19) had knocked off painting for the week, having worked their way along the hatch coaming from the bow, about half the way aft.

May 25 photo, Harefield at the extreme north end of Pier 9C, almost under the MacKay bridge, has been in port since March for rudder repairs, and now sports some new paint on the hatch coaming.

.

.  

Saturday Summary

It was quiet in Halifax harbour for most of the day, then all activity seemed to be happening at once for a short time, before quietng down again. Here is a north to south tour:

Early this morning saw CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent at BIO undergoing maintenance in preparation for her summer duties.

Louis S. St-Laurent at BIO, and behind her Sir William Alexander prepares for  trials trip.\

At pier 9C the beleaguered Harefield, still undergoing repairs since March 21, has been keeping her crew busy on daywork touching up paint and maintaining the two gantry cranes. 

 I noticed last evening one of the gantry cranes had been moved toward midships, and the crew were working on deck.

Today I discovered why...

They had built a net screen around their basketball hoop, to contain errant free throws. After being in port for nearly two months, and to now built this net, suggests that they expect to be here for some time to come.

At pier 9 the classic herring seiner Margaret Elizabeth No.1 put in one of her occasional appearances.

The grande dame of the herring fleet was built in 1971 in Pictou and has been featured here before. It was joined later in the day by Lady Melissa and Leroy and Barry II both also elder statesmen in the fleet. 

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2012/04/margaret-elizabeth-no1-is-number-one.html

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/06/halifax-herring-season-winds-down.html

Early this morning the autocarrier Grand Ruby anchored for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to conduct a check for Asian Gypsy Moth.

Built by Toyohashi Shipbuidlig in Japam, the 59,217 grt, 18,117 dwt ship flies the Panama flag and operates for Cido Shipping Korea Ltd.

 Once the berth at Autoport was clear later this afternoon, the ship weighed anchor and got underway.

At Autoport since mid-day yesterday, Wallenius Wilhelmsen's Elektra finished its work mid-afternoon and got underway to move over to the Halifax side to unload machinery at pier 31. 

 The tugs Atlantic Willow, bow, and Atlantic Larch stern, made fast,

and turned the ship in number one anchorage to back it in to pier 31. Appearing on the right is the arrival for Halterm:

Maersk Pembroke looks pretty good in the afternoon sun, on arrival from Montreal.

But on close inspection the ship is definitely showing signs of heavy use. The wrinkled bow plates speak of heavy slamming into seas as it makes its way back and forth across the Atlantic. 

The port then returned to relative quietude.

.

 

Weekend Roundup

Work continues seven days a week to prepare Canada 2014 for its service between Digby ands Saint John.

The ship's old name, Blue Star Ithaki has been burned off the bow and stern, at least on the shore side. Let's hope something at least as stylish and appropriate replaces the temporary name.

Please be seated. A trailer load of old seats - headed for the dump? or to be recovered?

Work has resumed on the Harefield's ice damaged rudder. There was no activity for a couple of weeks while new components were fabricated.

Fusion sailed on Friday as usual, but has been advertised for sale.
http://commercial.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=410506
Work on replacement Nolhavna continues at pier 34. Perhaps this week will see Fusion's last call.

Iroquois at Jetty NB Sunday morning. The former HMCS Iroquois was paid off with great pomp and ceremony Friday.

.

Saturday roundup - avant le déluge

The early bird was rewarded today as another heavy snow fall began late morning blotting out the view.
CCGS Cape Roger arrived last evening and anchored until this morning when it moved to Imperial Oil to refuel. The ship is on Search and Rescue standby along the South Shore of Nova Scotia.

Also in this week is CCGS Alfred Needler at BIO. Both ship are based in Newfoundland, but are often displaced in winter and spring by ice, and exchange places with Halifax based ships.
 

One visitor this week that I failed to post was CCGS Terry Fox, in for refueling March 25. We have now seen the entire east coast icebreaker fleet this spring - so much for the wisdom of moving them to Newfoundland.

Bow doors open, ramp being lowered on hydraulic pistons.

Bow ramp in lowered position appears very narrow and of a very low weight capacity compared to the stern ramp.     [ Say  AAAAH!]

At pier 9A work on the ferry Canada 2014 is, if you will pardon the expression, "ramping up". This morning workers had both the bow and stern doors open for work.

The stern ramp, with a red painted pedestrian pathway. A temporary partition has been built inside the car deck to retain heat during the refit process. After this photo a mobile crane came along to take the weight of the ramp for work on the bearing.

The ship is expected to enter service between Digby, NS and Saint John, NB, sometime this summer.


See Tugfax for the tug Lois M and barge Nunavut Spirit at pier 9B.


At pier 9C Harefield is still tied up for repairs.

Work continues on the rudder using a raft and various tackles to take the weight off the pintle.

In Bedford Basin the Torm Rosetta lies at anchor until it is time to go alongside Imperial Oil Another handysize tanker product tanker, it was built in 2003 by Onomichi Dockyard in Japan as Rosetta for OMI. It was acquired by Torm A/S in 2008. The ship measures 28,567 grt, 47,038 dwt and is enrolled under the Danish International register. (Denmark and Norway, among others have offshore registers which have different regulations from their national registers, as to foreign crewing, taxes, etc.,)

At anchor the tanker Sloman Hermes will be sailing this afternoon for the St.Lawrence. It has been awaiting the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway, which has been postponed from March 25  27 to April 5 2 due to ice. Rather than anchoring in ice off the Escoumins pilot station or farther upriver, the ship opted for the comforts of Halifax harbour. An ice adviser boarded the ship late in the morning from the launch Halmar.

Autoport is still struggling with frozen in cars - thousands are still in ice up to their hubcaps, but it appears that more recent arrivals are still being processed, as the trains keep rolling out every days with a dozen or more autoracks full of imports. [In the photo of Terry Fox above, there is a string of autorack cars waiting in a siding.] Recent arrivals are leapfrogging ahead of the January and February arrivals which are waiting for natural melting to free them.

Today Mermaid Ace made a morning visit. It was built in 2010 by Minami- Nippon in Usuki, Japan, measuring 58,939 grt, 18,828 dwt, with a capacity of 5,219 cars. It is owned by Masumoto Shipping Co Ltd under the Panama flag, on charter to MOL (Mitsui OSK Lines).

.