Dan Ships and Good Luck

 The legendary J. Lauritzen company of Denmark has long been associated with arctic shipping, and its ice reinforced ships pioneered winter navigation on the St.Lawrence River. Until the early 1960s when Lauritzen began a regular transatlantic service to Montreal, the St.Lawrence was off limits to shipping from December to April due to ice and cold temperatures that froze up anchors, mooring winches and cargo handling gear.

Halifax and Saint John were ice free"winter ports" and virtually all shipping traffic was diverted to these ports or US ports to ensure that ships were not exposed to sea ice.

On February 13, 1959 Lauritzen's Helga Dan arrived in Quebec City - the first ocean vessel to reach that port in winter. Within a few years Lauritzen ships had extended their reach to Trois-Rivières and then Montreal, arriving there March 12, 1962.

Lauritzen Lines also called in Halifax on its transatlantic service.

I have told about Lauritzen here before, particularly my post of June 11, 2018, so I will not repeat that story again.

Today, Febrary 19, 2025 another Lauritzen ship is due to sail from Halifax with a bulk cargo, presumably wood pellets, for Immingham, UK, site of the world's largest biomass storage facility. The ship arrived here February 10 but loading has been delayed by inclement weather including the whole gamut from rain through freezing rain to heavy snow.

Frida Bulker at pier 28 February 12, before the worst of the weather.

Built by Imabari Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Imabari, Japan, the ship is a 25,003 gt, 40,161 dwt vessel with double hull and stengthened for heavy cargo. It is equipped with four 30 tonne cargo cranes and deck stanchions which enable it to carry timber on deck. Although the ship is painted with the traditional red hull colour and the usual five letter woman's name, ending in "A" it does not have the "JL" shield on the bow. That indicates that the ship is on a long term charter rather than owned outright. Lauritzen Bulkers operates in the range of 200 ships, some of which they do own.

The Past vs the Future 

When winter navigation on the St.Lawrence became a possibility there was a large hue and cry from Halifax, the beneficiary of redirected seasonal shipping. Hundreds of seasonal longshore jobs (even though workers had to be brought in from Quebec ports to meet demand) were at risk, not to mention the spin offs for the railway and other ancillary businesses involved with general cargo imports and exports and grain exports.

 A typical winter view of the Port of Halifax deepwater piers until the late 1960s. 

Pier 20, top left, to pier 40, bottom right.

The loss of dozens of ships in port at a time, all working cargo by traditional labour intensive means had been unthinkable. To make matters worse government icebreakers were used to clear the channel to Montreal. It is interesting that the federal government claimed the icebreakers were for flood control (which was certainly at least partly true), whereas Halifax champions claimed political bias to quell separtist grumblings in Quebec. In fact there may have been another factor, again involving Lauritzen. 

Although Lauritzen's Polar class ships were among the only ships that could navigate in winter, there was one other major arctic shipowner and that was the USSR. In fact Lauritzen gave up its St.Lawrence service in 1969 due to competition from the USSR's many ice class ships. Not only did the ships have the capability of navigating in ice, some of the ships were in fact icebreakers and the USSR was threatening to use those ships to keep the St.Lawrence River channels clear for their own use.

The Indigirka of 1957 was a 7661 gt, 7430 dwt heavily ice strengthened general cargo ship.

 The federal governement, wisely, opted to "skate around" the USSR by making the St.Lawrence route useable by ice capable rather than strictly ice reinforced or ice breaking ships. Shipping lines responded and Montreal as well as other St.Lawrence River and Gulf ports opened up for year round activity.

Halifax was also begining to suffer from the decline of ocean passenger shipping. Jet air traffic, even for immigrants, was becoming more popular and affordable, and sea mail was also taking to the air.  Although passenger ships still called Halifax for a time, the shift to cruise ships did not take place for several years.

Italian Lines' elegant Leonardo da Vinci, built in 1960, arriving in Halifax in 1970, was the last Italian transatlantic liner in 1976. It was used for cruising in 1977, retired in 1978 then scrapped in 1982.

 Halifax interests were not pleased with these developments and a few lean years for the port ensued, but luck was about to deliver a lifesaver.

The advent of containerization, coupled with RoRo capability, was revolutionizing shipping. The Port of Halifax jumped on the  band wagon early and by 1969 was firmly in the container and RoRo shipping business, and has never looked back. Recent major investments to support, expand and diversify port activity have confirmed the wisdom of those initial moves.

Atlantic Container Lines' impressive G1 (first generation) ships carried containers, cars, crated, palletized and other RoRo cargo.

 Container shipping had the benefit of being year round, with most lines preferring to call at the same ports on a regular basis. Both Halifax and Saint John and Montreal developed consistant relations with shipping lines - sometimes competing with each other for business,  but there was very little seasonal shifting of routes. 

Shipping Lines operating from Europe to the United States on the Great Circle Route could make a slight course deviation to call in Halifax en route to New York and Canada bound cargo incidentally received a huge subsidy as a result. US bound cargo could be loaded on a train and be most of the way to Chicago before the ship arrived in New York. Halifax thus became a useful waypoint for shipping lines, without the added costs and time to reach Montreal, and this applied to export as well as import cargo.

 Halterm, the first container terminal in Halifax, extended the port's facilites  from pier 40 (slightly left of centre) to the south (right in photo) creating Pier C with berths 41 and 42. Much has changed since this 1974 photo.

Thanks are due to Lauritzen for nudging the port in the right direction. 

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Morning Christina and yes winter must be here

 The Eukor car carrier Morning Christina made a late morning arrival today, January 3, and docked directly at Autoport. I believe this is the ship's first call in Halifax, so it is worth a little extra note.

It was close to noon when the ship came into view, but because of heavy cloud cover onshore and clearing offshore it looked more like sunrise.

Imabari Shipbuilding constructed the ship at their Marugame shipyard in 2010. The 59,601 gt, 18,703 dwt ship has a reported capacity of 6,142 CEU. This is the typical size for Eukor ships, but is smaller than the usual such ships we see here. Those larger ships of up to 8,000 CEU usually belong to Wallenius Wilhelmsen - the parent of Eukor (Hyundai and Kia own 20% of Eukor.) The Eukor fleet now consists of about 80 ships. Some pooling of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean's ships and Eukor's ships has always existed - allowing ships to be reassigned as needed.

The size of the ship's funnel suggests that it is equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber system installed in an enclosed structure adjacent to the regular funnel casing.

Such is the demand for auto carriers in Asia than many of the larger ships have been assisgned to Asia routes, and slightly smaller ships such as Morning Christina will be seen on European and North Atlantic routes in additIon to their usual transPacific journies.

As an example of the world wide scope of these ships it is interesting to trace the Morning Christina's position over the past couple of months. It unloaded at Vancouver's Annacis Island October 20, 2023 then called in Nagoya and Toyohashi, Japan en route to the Suez Canal for November 29. It then proceeded to Sagunto (Valencia's auto port), Spain, December 4, Avonmouth (Royal Portbury Dock), UK December 9 and Zeebrugge December 11 to 15. It then followed the usual transatlantic path of Bremerhaven December 17-20 and Goteborg December 21-22.

And now for the other news:

Halifax boasts that it is an ice free port - and that is mostly true, however very thin ice does form from time to time in the shallow corners around Bedford Basin and has little if any effect on shipping. Where there is somewhat lower salinity, and very little wind and no ship traffic to disturb the water - and of course below freezing temperatures - ice does form. It was interesting to see today with a falling tide running in the Narrows that a very thin sheet of shorefast ice had broken free and was heading outbound. As the Navy tug Glenside made its way past the BIO and Pier 9C, there was the tinkling sound of ice cubes. There has been very little snow in Halifax, so the ice was as clear as mirror glass.

Also in port today, at PSA Halifax, Pier 42, was the CMA CGM Paranagua from Montreal on the joint CMA CGM /Maersk  transatlantic run. Ships on this service usually call in Halifax on the weekend outbound from Montreal for Bremerhaven, and run year round. This ship's schedule may have been disrupted by the holidays.

The Port of Montreal still observes the tradition of recognizing the first ship of the calendar year to arrive without stopping at an intermediate port. The event used to take place in the spring when the ice had broken out and it was safe to try for Montreal. The first arrival was often as late as May, but starting in the mid 1950s the first arrival came earlier and earlier until winter navigation became a reality on the St.Lawrence.  

The Helga Dan with its icebreaking bow and ice spotter's crows nest, was the pioneer of winter navigation on the St.Lawrence River. In 1964 it was the first ship ever to reach Montreal in January.It also called in Halifax from time to time with cargo from Sweden for the Volvo assembly plant.

Nowadays the first ship of the year usually arrives in Montreal on January first and the Port presents the master of that ship with a gold headed cane.  (This year it was the Helena G on January 2.)

Winter navigation certainly changed the way the Port of Halifax worked, as it had long been one of the "Winter Ports" (with Saint John, NB and Portland, Maine) that handled the Quebec City and Montreal ships for three to four months of the year. In the pre-container days this meant that a huge workforce of several hundred longshoremen was needed to load and unload ships. Passenger ships were also diverted to Halifax for the winter

Winter navigation on the St.Lawrence, coupled with the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway was then followed by containerisation but none proved to be the death knell for Halifax. Interestingly Halifax and Montreal maintain a symbiotic relationship to this day, but are still rivals for transatlantic and other cargoes, but now year round. 

 

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Bow Wow- part one of several

 My post a few days ago showing the impressive bows of the Royal Viking cruise ships is another reminder that ship design has changed over the years. Modern computer programs allow for ship's hulls to be maximized for such factors as cargo capacity (including passengers) or speed through the water. Graceful appearance is not always the end result. Even cruise ships, supposedly the most stylish of vessels, are quite rightly criticized as resembling "blocks of flats".

I recall as a youth reading in Sea Breezes the letters from crusty old salts barking about the degradation of standards in ship design. Such horrors as engines aft were cited as the first steps to perdition. I have long since entered the age range of those old gaffers and can see their point. Ship's appearances have changed, and not necessarily for the better aesthetically.

Elder Dempster's Lithgows- Port Glasgow built Fulani of 1964 was considered by many to be typical of the epitome of ship design (although the bi-pod masts were criticized as a modern affectation by the oldsters), but at 7689 gt and 8115 dwt its cargo capacity was limited by today's standards. Its hull dimensions were a sleek 141.7m x 19.0m. and it had a decent turn of speed of 16 knots. In its defence, it was designed for west African trade, which was slow, and often had to handle cargo to or from lighters or surf boats at anchorages, with ittle support from shore. It was equipped with an astonishing 16 derricks: 1x80, 2x30, 4x15, 2x12 1/2, 4x71/2, and 6x5 tons.

(The epitome may not yet have been reached in car design as an inspection of the longshoremen's vehicles may reveal.) 

The incoming at 11 o'clock high appears to be an RCN "Tracker" aircraft heading for Shearwater. TheASW planes flew off the aircraft carrier HMCS Bonaventure which was still in commission in 1969.

 Ships like the Fulani were overtaken by the container revolution and were soon broken up or consigned to remote trades. It was sold twice, renamed 1976: Cam Azobe, 1981: Cotton Trader. After an explosion and fire in the Gulf of Oman July 13, 1983 it was broken up on Gadani Beach in May 1985.

By comparison, a ship of similar size (but vastly different appearance) arrived in Halifax on January 11.

Augusta Unity's hull dimensions of 143.2m x 22.8m give 12,993 gt and 17,451 dwt - the latter nearly twice that of the Fulani. The more box shaped hull is compensated for in part by a bulbous bow. It also requires only two cranes as most of its mixed cargo consists of containers which can also be handled from shore.

The Augusta Unity carried the name Federal Pioneer from 2007 to 2011, inviting the inevitable comparison to the wartime standard ship of the same name.

United Shipyards of Montreal delivered the Outremont Park to the Canadian government's wartime shipping company Park Steamships in 1944. One of hundreds of similar ships built in Canada and the US during World War II, it was considered large for its time at 7158 gt, 10,000 (approximate) dwt with hull dimensions of 134.6m x 17.4m. It became Furness' Prince Line's Brazilian Prince in 1946 and Federal Commerce and Navigation's Federal Pioneer in 1958. Used for northern supply for many years (with the hope that its bottom would fall out in the arctic somewhere) it managed to survive until 1971 when it was broken up in Hsinkiang, China after having sailed on its own hull from Halifax.

But back to Bows...

One overriding aspect of ship's designs applies to those built to break ice. On January 12 I could see two icebreaker bows from the same place. The heavy reinforcing was quite visible on the CCGS Jean Goodwill. It was tied up at Pier 9 due to a space shortage at BIO.

Nearby at Halifax Shipyard, AOPV3, the future HMCS Mac Burnays, was bows on.

Thicker plating at the bow is clearly visible even at a distance.

What happens when you don't have a reinforced bow has been seen in Halifax from time to time.

In June 1974 the bulker Ivory Star struck a growler in the Strait of Belle Isle and suffered a giant hole in the bow. The CCGS Montcalm removed 33 of the 43 persons aboard and the ship made for Halifax. Workers from Halifax Shipyards reinforced the collision bulkhead and the ship sailed cautiously to Europe for permanent repairs - still with the gaping hole. (Note the enclosed crow's nest from where someone might have spotted the growler in time to avoid it.)

Quite remarkably the ship was back in Halifax in October of the same year - good as new. Note the lack of bulbous bow - they were still uncommon in the 1960s.

For the record the ship was built in 1963 as the Norwegian Jarosa by Frederikstad MV. In 1972 Greek owners purchased and renamed the ship Ivory Star. Its gross tonnage was adjusted from 16,321 to 14,336 with deadweight of 24,790 tonnes. It was sold and re named Turicum in 1975 and Iapetos in 1979. 

On December 8, 1983 it was abandoned by the crew after it came under rocket and machine gun air attack off Bandar Khomeni while en route from Immingham. It was apparently at least partially repaired, but on March 29, 1984 it was again attacked by air, this time with bombs and missiles, in the Khor Mussa channel while en route to Piraeus. 

The ship was towed to Dubai and later sold for scrap. It was then towed to Chittagong where it was broken up in January 1985.

 The Ivory Star could have used some ice reinforcing such as that of the Danish Lauritzen ships which pioneered winter navigation on the St.Lawrence in the early 1960s. Helga Dan, built in 1957, reached Quebec City February 13, 1959 and Montreal January 4, 1964, setting new records and establishing Montreal as a year round port (for some kinds of ships).

Despite the jolity of the linehandlers, many thought that winter navigation on the St.Lawrence would be the death knell for the Port of Halifax.

The 4040 gt, 5050 dwt ship, built by H.C.Stulcken Sohn in Hamburg also carried an array of cargo handling gear, consisting of  1x35, 4x10, and 6x5 ton derricks. 

Renmaed Mitsa K. in 1974, it was wrecked April 4, 1982 and broken up in nearby Laurium, Greece. The high crowsnest must have been a challenge to reach in bad weather. (The ladder is just visible on the opposite side of the foremast.)

Containers saved the day for Halifax as the harbour was able to accommodate larger ships than Montreal could, and most container ships were not reinforced for ice, but that is for a later post.

More bow wows another time.........

Another historic shipping line

Among the best known names in shipowning. J. Lauritzen is rarely seen in Halifax, although it was once a familiar (and sometimes controversial) one.

The Danish shipping company J.Lauritzen was named for Jorgen Lauritzen, the father of founder Ditliev Lautitzen, who was a timber merchant importing products from Norway. Ditliev had not reached the age of 25 (then the age of majority) and could not legally found a firm in his own name, so used that of his father instead to start his own shipping business. This all took place in 1884 and the company still goes by the name to this day.  Over the subsequent years the company grew to become a major player in many branches of shipping including tankers, reefers, general cargo, the offshore and polar navigation.

Now the company is focused on bulk carriers and small gas tankers, although it has other smaller interests too, including ferry operator DFDS. With more than 60 bulkers in its fleet, it is a major player in the world market. Its 31 gas carriers make up 4% of the world's fleet.

Today's arrival, Indian Bulker, is a modern handysize ship of 23,232 grt, 37,717 dwt, built in 1917 by I-S Shipyard, Imabari, Japan for anonymous Japanese owners registered in Panama. It can carry grain, cement in bulk and timber, among other commodities.
 

 
It is on long charter to J.Lautitzen and wears the traditional red hull with familiar funnel marking, hull banner and logo.

 

The ship loaded its cargo in Sorel, QC to maximum freshwater St.Lawrence depth and is here to top up. It is equipped with four 30.5 tonne cranes, but these will not be needed for loading, since the cargo will be delivered by spouts from the grain gallery at pier 28.



The J.Lautitzen company's connection to Halifax goes back to World War I days when its ships were occasional visitors. During World War II several of their ships spent time in Canadian waters. Randa was in Sydney, NS in 1940 when Germany invaded Denmark. The ship was taken over by the Canadian government and operated by CNR for a time. It survived the war and was returned to Lauritzen.

Australian Reefer was one of more than 30 Danish ships in the United States in 1940. Most were taken over by the US government. This one was renamed Pontiac and spent most of the war shuttling between Norfolk, Boston, Halifax, Sydney and Argentia, NL (with side trips to the Caribbean and Iceland). On her last trip in 1945 she was holed by a loose paravane and beached in shallow water near Halifax. The ship was raised, repaired in Halifax and returned to the US but was laid up and never sailed again.

And finally Nora was taken over by the US in 1940, renamed Halma, and was en route Boston to Greenland via Halifax when it was torpedoed and sank off Halifax June 3, 1943.

The story continues in the early 1960s when Lautitzen's ice strengthened ships made winter navigation to Montreal a reality. Helga Dan arrived in Montreal March 12, 1962 setting an early season record. Fleetmate Thora Dan arrived February 28, 1963 and Helga Dan arrived January 4, 1964 and January 1, 1965 - essentially making  Montreal a year round port (for certain ships.)  Prior to this the St.Lawrence was closed to winter navigation from December to April and all its traffic diverted to Halifax or Saint John, NB or even to New York. This meant a lot of work for the Port of Halifax, even though Montreal longshoremen came to Halifax to work in the winter.

Helga Dan 3884 grt, built in 1957 was sold to Cyprus flag owners and renamed Mistsa K. in 1974. Following a grounding in the Bosphorus  April 4, 1982 it was sold for breaking up (oddly) in Greece.
Thora Dan 4014 grt, 1956 was sold to the same owners in 1974 and renamed Elias K. It was broken up in Bomaby in January 1979 following a fire off Madras in November 1977. (Both had been sold on to other owners, but not renamed by the time they were lost.)

When the St.Lawrence opened up, many thought it would be the death knell for Halifax as a port -particulary certain politicians, who objected to federal government icebreaker assistance-  but the coincidental development of containerization saved Halifax from the predicted oblivion.

J.Lautitzen first built ice class vessels for winter Baltic navigation to Finland, but soon augmented its fleet with stronger ships to be able to sail to Greenland with general cargo and return with iron ore. The ships' capabilities became well known and they were hired for various polar expeditions both to the Arctic and Antarctic. To improve visibility in ice the ships were painted red, now a tradition with the company even though they exited polar work in 1987.


Due to their capabilities in ice several Canadian shipowners acquired J.Lauritzen ships for their fleets. Chief among these was Karlsen Shipping Co of Halifax, an offshoot of the Aalesund, Norway firm of Martin Karlsen. The Halifax company was involved in fishing, whaling and sealing and provision of research ships. The parent firm acquired one of Lauritzen's first polar class ships Kista Dan (and their first ship to be painted red) built in 1952. Renamed Martin Karlsen in 1966 it was brought to Canada in 1968 and participated in the seal hunt and numerous research trips.

In 1979 it was sold to another legendary shipping name, Bowring Steamship Co Ltd of London.
Renamed Benjamin Bowring it served as support vessel for the 1979 British Transglobe Expedition to circumnavigate the globe via the South and North Poles. It became Arctic Gael in 1983 and Olympiakos in 1984. After decade or more laid up in Syros, Greece, it was finally scrapped in Aliaga in 1998.

Karlsens also bought the Varla Dan. A 2354 grt general cargo vessel built in 1960 it was heavily ice strengthened. It had been sold in 1970 to other Norwegian owners and renamed Warla before Karlsen's bought it in 1972 and renamed it Minna. On August 8, 1974 it went aground on a rock pinnacle off Resolution Island in Hudson Strait while on an oceanographic survey. Overcome by heavy weather it slipped off, broke its back and sank before salvage operations could begin.  [Regrettably I have no pictures of this ship.]

Chimo Shipping of St.John's purchased the 2353 grt Perla Dan in 1971. They renamed the 12 year old ship Percy M. Crosbie. After Chimo went out of business Boréal Navigation of Quebec bought the ship in 1981 and renamed it Baie James As the name would imply it was put to work on northern supply but was sold later the same year and became the Panamanian Mothi. It was arrested for wages in 1983, sold at auction in September 1984 and promptly sank in Cuddalore, India in December.

Ritva Dan 3065 grt of 1961 was another polar class vessel acquired by Canadian owners. Transpolaire Ltée of Montreal bought the ship in 1973, renaming it Kakawi. It only lasted a short time in their ownership and was sold to and Egyptian owner in 1975 and renamed Kuwait. Some time later it was beached on Alexandria port mole and remained a derelict for many years.

Perhaps not as relevant, but certainly with a Canadian connection was the collision between Chilean Reefer and Cape Breton Miner in the River Scheldt April 4, 1965. The 'Miner rammed the 'Reefer, which was loaded with bananas, piercing it with the bulbous bow and flooding number two hold, the engine room to the top of the engines, and the shaft tunnel. Remarkably the 'Reefer was beached, salvaged, towed to Hamburg, repaired and returned to service. No word on the bananas.

Despite the large amount of reefer traffic in Halifax in the 1980s I do not recall seeing a J.Lauritzen reefer here.

Although it did not come to Halifax as a Lauritzen polar vessel, the Sirpa Dan called here many times in its second and third careers. Built in 1962 as a 1725 grt, 2325 dwt general cargo ship, it was sold and in 1968 converted to a cable ship, renamed Northern. It was fitted with bow sheaves and all the usual cable ship gear. It worked for the Great Northern Telegraph Company, and called in Halifax frequently. The ship's dramatically cut away icebreaking bow (below the waterline) must have made it difficult to manoeuvre, so a bow thruster was also added.

The ship passed on to Cable + Wireless (Marine) Ltd in 1988 and in 1990 was converted to an oceanographic research ship and renamed Ocean Surveyor. It also called in Halifax under that name - minus the bow sheaves but with other added gear. It may also have been involved in seismic work.
Louis Dreyfus took over ownership in 1995, retaining the name, and finally sold the ship for scrap in Aviles, Spain in 2000.

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Bright Red at Imperial Oil

The bright red Danish tanker Hafnia Crux arrived at Imperial Oil this morning from Antwerp, Belgium. (So Irving Oil is not the only company importing refined products from Europe.) Tankers come in all colours, but this one is certainly about the brightest red available - and there is a reason for it.

The ship was built by Guangzhou International in 2012 for Lauritzen Tankers as Freja Crux. In 2014 when Lautitzen decided to get out of the Medium Range tanker business, they sold this ship (30,241 grt, 52,550 dwt) and nine other similar ones to Hafnia Tankers, another Danish tanker operator. Lauritzen instead chose to concentrate on gas carriers and drybulk.  Rather than repaint the ship entirely, Hafnia just painted over the Lauritzen name and kept the bright red.

The red colour goes back to Lauritzen's specialization in navigating northern waters. They chose the bright red colour for the highest visibility in arctic conditions. Even in clear weather, red proved to be considerably more visible over distance than other colours. (It is also the principal colour of the Danish flag.)
Their first polar class vessel Kista Dan was built in 1952, and adopted the red colour, first with lifeboats, then with the crows nest and mast and finally with the entire hull. It later became the Canadian sealer/researcher Martin Karlsen in 1967.

Despite heavy snow, Martin Karlsen (ex Kista Dan) is still visible as it returns from the seal hunt in April 1978.

 Lauritzen pioneered winter navigation on the St.Lawrence River (much to the displeasure of Halifax) when the Helga Dan arrived in Quebec City on February 13, 1959. It was the first commercial ship to arrive from Europe in winter. (It received ice breaker assistance and aerial ice surveys, which was the bone of contention. That taxpayer's dollars went to support St.Lawrence ports for winter navigation at the expense of Halifax and Saint John was a political issue for many years thereafter.)

Helga Dan arrives at Pier 9 in 1969 on a general cargo run. The oil rig Sedco H is under construction at Halifax Shipyards in the background. The ship has an ice reinforced bow, and heated crows nest among many other features to permit navigation in ice.

Helga Dan again made history in 1962 when it arrived in Montreal on March 12. In 1964 it arrived there January 4 and in 1965 on January 1.Since then Montreal has been deemed a year round port for suitably equipped ships.

Founded in 1884, the J.Lautitzen companies have been active in many shipping sectors. They were a very large reefer operator for many years and have been in and out of tankers in various ways. With a large exposure to the drybulk sector they were hard hit by the (continuing) 2008 economic slow down, which prompted them to sell the very new tankers such as today's caller Hafnia Crux.

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Nona Bulker in for bunkers

The bulk carrier Nona Bulker is shown arriving last evening. The ship is owned in Singapore by the Danish Lauritzen group, and was built in 2009. She took bunkers and sailed this morning.

Lauritzen were the pioneers of winter navigation on the St.Lawrence in the 1960s and were regular callers in Halifax for many years, when they operated general cargo ships.

For the last number of years they have concentrated on reefers and bulkers.

Lauritzen's Helga Dan won three gold headed canes from the Port of Montreal for first arrivals: Mar 12, 1962, January 4, 1964 and January 1, 1965. Their Thora Dan arrived February 28, 1963. They were the first ships ever to arrive in Montreal in February and January. Ever since then, the Port of Montreal has been considered a year round port, with every first arrival of the year registered on January 1.

Helga Dan is shown here arriving at pier 9 on October 2, 1969 with cargo for the Volvo assembly plant. She was built in 1957 and was broken up in 1982.