IT

 IT International Telecom Canada Inc (to quote their website) "is a privately owned subsea network integrator that designs, installs, and maintains marine cable systems. IT is an ISO-certified company, with locations in Barbados, Montreal, Halifax and marine operations on the east and west coast of North America."

The company's marine base in Halifax is at Pier 9A, and ships of its fleet can be seen there refitting or preparing for submarine cable repair or cable laying projects. Aside from administrative space in the former transit shed on the pier, there is storage and maintenance space for specialized equipment and submarine cable. A moveable bridge is used to transfer cable from the shed to cable ships alongside.

The structure on the extreme right of the photo is the cable transfer bridge, projecting out from the shed toward the ship. Alongside is the cable ship IT Intrepid. The ship has a gantry / A-Frame on the stern used to launch and retrieve its ROV and plough. There is also a cable sheave on the stern which is used to feed the cable out.

The Barbados flag IT Intrepid arrived in Halifax October 23 from Florida and loaded cable for its next project. Since that project is in Canada, IT applied for a temporary coasting license which allows the foreign ship to operate in Canadian waters when there is no suitable Canadian ship available for the work. The license has apparently been granted and the ship sailed today for the Gulf of St.Lawrence.

It will lay a 160 km long fire optic cable from Sept-Iles to Ste-Anne-des-Monts. The work includes trenching, laying and burying the cable itself (all in one operation), using the ship's special Subsea Cable Plough. As the name implies the Sunoque III *cable is the third in a series of transGulf cables. Reports indicate that they are co-owned by Telus and Hydro-Quebec, and Bell has a right of use.

 I have described the now legendary IT Intrepid on this blog several times over the years, but the April 27, 2013 post is the most complete.

 .

 * SU = sud (south)

    NO = nord (north)  

     QUE =Québec

Conspiracy Theories - Updated

 In my February 3 post, I noted several recent breaks in important sub sea cables. Some of the breaks were suspected as deliberate acts of sabotage but nothing could be proven.

The infamous Baltic break in January that implicated the Bulgarian ship Vezhen was explained as due to "defective equipment and seamanship". There was apparently no doubt that the ship dragged its anchor through the cable, but conspiracy theorists did not buy the excuse.

The Cabot Strait breaks of two cables between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland resulted in the Halifax based cable ship IT Intrepid going to the scene and performing splicing operations to restore the connections. 

IT Intrepid 2013 photo.

 Recent press reports show the cable break as a clean cut, and claim that it had to be deliberate. They further state that a previous break in the same area was also deliberate. Apparently the cable was not buried below the sea floor and was likely fetched up by trawl gear. If so it was likely cut to free it from entanglement. Escaping the scene without blame would be understandable, though not justified. One has to wonder what the motivation might be for deliberate sabotage - but the conspiracists are having a field day.

(Readers of the press report might be confused when it referred to a "rover" which was sent down to find the cable. In fact it was a R.O.V. (remotely operated vehicle). 

The IT Intrepid made quick work of the repairs despite the complexity of splicing fibreoptic cable. The ship sailed from Halifax Febraury 1, returned February 6, sailed again February 8 and returned February 13.

.

 

Conspiracy Theories

Recently there have been breaks in submarine cables both in Canada and in Europe. Conspiracy theories abound that the breaks are caused by malicious activity guided by Russia, but one thing is true - there is a Canadian link - odd though it might be.

Canadian Breaks

Disruptions due to cable breaks are more than just an inconvenience to 'phone users. These vital communication links can be critical for businesses and utilities as they transmit vast quantities of data and join networks that contain operating technologies that everyone uses.

Because the cables sit on the sea bottom or in trenches below the sea bottom, breaks are rarely caused by natural events such as storms. Earthquakes can sever cables but that would be a very rare event and could be traced by seismic records. The breaks are more often caused by fishing activity or dragging anchors, and they are usually accidental or the result of negligence.

On February 1 the Halifax-based cable ship IT Intrepid sailed to the Sydney, Nova Scotia area to repair breaks in two fibreoptic communications cables crossing the Cabot Strait between Cape Breton Island and the island of Newfoundland.

IT Intrepid in Halifax, January 4, 2025.

As reported here on January 15, 2025, IT International Telecom applied for a coasting license to use the Barbados registered IT Intrepid to make the repairs. It was not clear to me in the application if in fact the cables would be repaired by splicing in new sections or if an entirely new cable would be laid and covered in a new trench.

No cause has been given officially for the cable breaks, which in both cases were redundant cable - with a 100% back-up cable elsewhere. That may be why both breaks were not discovered immediately, but it does seem a little odd that there is no system alerting in the case of a break.

It also seems odd that both cables should be severed at about the same time, and in an area where there is very little bottom trawling type fishing activity. However I did note a ship in the area at the time reporting reporting that it was "not under commend."  It is conceivable that it was attempting to anchor and dragged its anchor through the cables. It must take considerable force to break a cable and one would think it would be noticeable even on a ship in emergency conditions. [That the particular ship's operators have a Russian connection is at least worthy of note.]

Baltic Breaks 

Another incident that severed a cable between Sweden and Latvia on January 26 has been declared a case of "defective equipment and seamanship" by the Swedish government, and not the result of state interference. The Latvian State Radio + Television (LVRTC) cable appears to bave been cut by the Navigation Maritime Bulgare ship Vezhen. The ship, which was en route from Ust Luga, Russia to Skagen, Denmark, was detained in Karlskrona but has now been cleared to sail. Photos show one fluke missing from the ship's port anchor.

The ship is a regular caller in Canadian waters and was built in 2022 to trade into the Great Lakes. The 20,848 gt, 32,196 dwt (21,158 dwt on the Great Lakes) bulk carrier came from the Jiangsu Newyangzi Shipbuilding yard in Jingjiang. It is equipped with three 35 tonne capacity cranes and 20 tonne grabs.

My best (and so far only) photo of the ship was taken August 4, 2024 as it emerged from the fog downbound on the St.LawrenceRiver off La Malbaie, QC.

In November 2024 the ship sailed from Imbituba, Brazil with a cargo of petcoke for Port Alfred, QC. It unloaded there from December 9 to 12 then headed to Montreal December 16 -19, Hamilton, ON, December 20-22, Côte Ste-Catherine, QC December 24-25 and set out from Montreal December 25 for Greenore, Eire. It offloaded there January 7-10 and arrived in Ust Luga January 22. (I suspect the ship was carrying corn or other grain from Hamilton.)

Oddly (and here's where the conspiracy theorists can have a field day), the ship passed through the Cabot Strait twice in late December at about the time of the (Canadian) cable breaks. The close ties between Russia and Bulgaria (they both use the Cyrillic alphabet) only add to the conspiracy theories.

Shipfax does not believe in conspiracy theories normally, but there is so much wierd stuff going on these days that even the most outlandish can seem to be in the realm of possibility. 

.

IT Intrepid to the rescue

 A fast track application was made to the Canadian Transportation Agency on January 14 for a temporary coasting license for IT International Telecom's cable ship IT Intrepid. The ship is needed to replace two damaged fibreoptic cables that run between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 

Normally it requires a month to process and grant a temporary coasting license but due to the importance of these cables, IT International is asking for quicker service in order to mobilize starting January 17 and to begin work on January 31.

One cable, belonging to Bell-Aliant runs 134 km from Searston By, NL to Aspy Bay, NS, was severed approximately December 23. The other, belonging to Eastlink, runs 190 kms from Rose Blanche, NL to New Victoria, NS and was broken about January 10.  It appears that both must be replaced in their entirety, and in a continous operation that buries the cable in a trench using a special Remotely Operated Vessel plough.

Today, January 15, the IT Intrepid moved to Bedford Basin for Dynamic Positioning trials, presumably in preparation for the work.

.

 

Connector - gone south

 The offshore construction ship Connector sailed from Halifax today, January 4, after a lengthy stay in port. It is destined for Boston, presumably to be closer to the Vineyard Wind project.

The ship arrived in Halifax September 3 and aside from a brief Dynamic Positioning trial in Bedford Basin in November it has been idle ever since. Its details were given here December 23, 2024 when fleet mate Symphony shifted layup berths.

A year ago it was reported that the Connector would be working on the Hornsea 3 wind farm off the Yorkshore coast starting in January 2025. It would be laying sub-sea power transmission cables for the Danish company Ørsted. However it appears that the ship will be working for Ørsted on the Vineyard Wind project instead. Work on that project is resuming after a five month suspension after a wind vane collapsed. A large power substation will be established to send power ashore via a high capacity sub-sea cable.

As Connector sailed this morning the cable ship IT Intrepid moved from anchorage in Bedford Basin to Pier 9C - likely to refuel. In the background the ship Nord Logos awaits its next asssignment. The ship has been used to carry fibre optic cable, and its last port of call is recorded as Portsmouth (Newington) NH, site of the Sub Com cable factory.

 

.

IT Infinity - another transformation

 The cable ship IT Infinity returned to Halifax today, January 3, after a major refit in Norway. The former offshore supplier is now a state of the art vessel, fitted with the systems and equipment to lay and repair subsea communication cable. 

 This is not the ship's first conversion, but is certainly the most extensive. Its construction started at the Aker Tulcea shipyard in Romania and was completed in 2008 by Vaard Brattvaag in Norway. Built to the Skipsteknisk ST-216L design of offshore supplier, it measured 4277 gt, 4867 dwt. It is powered by four Caterpillar main engines driving two CP azipods, and has two tunnel thrusters forward and a retractable thruster forward. It also had a large open working deck with numerous reefer points, and below deck tanks for brine, potable water, drill water, oils, drybulk and drilling mud. The two deck cranes had capacities 4 tonnes and 1.5 tonnes. Accommodation was provided for 28 persons plus a hospital berth. It is also Ice Rated to DNV 1B and equipped with navigational equipment for DP2 dynamic positioning.

It worked in the North Sea under the name Volstad Princess and in 2017 became the Standard Princess. It carried that name until 2021 when it was acquired by IT International Telecom and arrived in Halifax November 8, 2022.

IT International Telecom took the ship in hand at their Pier 9A marine base in Halifax and installed a variety of package and containerised work shops and other gear to equip the ship for undersea cable maintenance and repair.

 

Although based in Halifax, and registered in Barbados, the ship was widely deployed. IT International Telecom is independant of carriers and  provides planning, design, route survey and clearance and construction and maintenance of marine networks globally.

In February 2024 the Vard shipyard in Brattvaag, Norway was awarded the contract to refit the ship to a higher standard and to modernize existing systems. The work was completed with sea trials in November and the ship sailed from Rognan, Norway, December 18.

The list of improvements and upgrades is quite impressive, but includes new accommodations for 32, and new electrical and HVAC. It took 550 tonnes of new steel to construct the new cable stowage, two new drum engines, and facilities for fibreoptic cable resting and jointing. Housing is also provided for the MD3 cable plough system and the ROV and a 60 tonne capacity stern mounted gantry for deployment. There is also a large new structure on the stern, replacing the ramp shown in the earlier photo.

In order to make space at Pier 9A this morning the ship's fleet mate, the veteran IT Intrepid moved to anchorage in Bedford Basin.

A classic design, the ship was built by Swan Hunter, Wallsend UK in 1989 as the Sir Eric Sharp. It has the traditional sheaves on the bow but a slightly more modern profile than its predecessors. IT International Telecom renamed the ship in 2005, and it continues to provide valuable service.

 

The Lord Kelvin, built by Swan Hunter in 2016 was based in Halifax until 1966.

Something for everyone

 It was a real mixed bag in the harbour today, March 27, with several ships sailing and arriving. In more or less chronological order:

HMCS Montreal was in and out of the harbour as it works up for its deployment for the Indo-Pacific in the latest Operation Projection (see yesterday's post).

above: time stamp 15:58 hrs ADT

It sailed "officially" yesterday, but is expected to be in and out for the next few days, but not tying up in port.

                                                above: time stamp 16:52 hrs ADT

A pilot was ordered for 1600 hrs to sail the container ship Humen Bridge. It was some time before the ship was actually underway, and it departed Pier 41 with tug assistance. It kept the Atlantic Bear as stern tethered escort because the ship needed to make a sharp turn to use the western channel.

The Humen Bridge was built by IHI Kure in 2007 and is a 98,747 gt, 98,849 dwt ship with a capacity of 9040 TEU. Assigned to THE Alliance's EC5 service, it would normally have been handled at PSA Fairview Cove. But due to its size and the arrival of Atlantic Sky the  ship was handled at PSA Atlantic Gateway, (southend terminal).

Using the wesrern channel allowed the inbound tanker Great Epsilon to use the main channel.

The Great Epsilon was arriving from Antwerp with refined product for Imperial Oil. It is a 30,237 gt, 49,998 dwt MidRange 2 tanker built in 2020 by New Times Shipbuilding Co in Jingjiang, China. It is also scrubber fitted, allowing its Hyundai-built main engine to burn heavy fuel.

Also sailing was the cable ship IT Intrepid. The ship left its berth at Pier 9A early in the morning and  carried out trials in Bedford Basin before putting out to sea for more trials. It is expected back in port early this evening.

 .

Boheme to Pier 9C and an Update on IT Intrepid

 The second autocarrier to use Pier 9C this week arrived today, April 9. Initially the Boheme anchored in number one anchorage for Canadian Food Inspection Agency clearance. The Agency inspects for LDD moth larvae (formerly called European gypsy moth) and LDA (formerly called Asian gypsy moth) and several related species (which may be renamed again) before the ship is allowed to dock in a Canadian port.  (The ship was here  January 20, 2022 , but inspections are not carried out in mid-winter as the larvae are inactive then.)

Tugs Atlantic Beaver (nearest) and Atlantic Fir preparing to makeup to the Boheme in number one anchorage, as the mist thickens. 

Things were much clearer in the Basin. The tugs have turned the ship and it is now lined up to pass under the MacKay bridge (again).

It will soon be alongside Pier 9C, starboard side to the dock .

The Boheme has some 'high and heavy" RoRo cargo to discharge at Pier 9C, then will move to Autoport to unload automobiles from Europe.

At nearby Fairview Cove work was finishing up on NYK Demeter on THE Alliance's AL5 (North Europe) service Westbound loop.

NYK Demeter arriving this morning. It sailed in the early evening for Port Everglades.

Update:

The cable ship IT Intrepid sailed today giving the Panama Canal as its destination. The ship will be heading for a cable job, starting at Cape Beale, British Columbia. It will be working under a temporary coasting license to retrieve and rebury an existing subsea cable.

(older file photo of the ship)

As reported here April 2 IT Telcom applied for two coasting licenses. The first one, for work in Quebec, has been put on hold due to concerns raised by fishermen in the area of the work. The Sunoque III cable ( SU = sud, NO = nord, QUE = Quebec:  translation south, north, Quebec) was to run from Ste-Anne-des-Monts to Sept-Iles, but crab, shrimp and lobster fishermen objected to the ban on fishing within 500 meters of the cable, and the disturbance to the seabottom caused by plowing and burying the cable.
 

While in port the ship offloaded the remains of an older cable, which had been cut up in convenient lengths for handling. Older cable, likely made of copper, has significant resale value. The armoured casing may be recyclable too.

.

 

The usual suspects

There were several arrivals, departures and moves today, April 2. All but one of which were familiar ships going about their usual business.

The only unusual move was Irving Oil's tanker Acadian moving from Irving's Woodside terminal to Esso dock 3. Imperial Oil (Esso) has recently shifted supply from their usual European source in Antwerp and has been acquiring stock from competitor Valero in Quebec (see previous post and tanker Algoterra.) They are also "importing" by rail from their own refinery in central Canada.

Irving Oil's refinery in Saint John, NB is the largest in Canada (350,000 bbls per day or more), so apparently it can produce enough fuel to supply its own needs and those of others. Although not unheard of in recent years, Irving and Esso only rarely swap product.

The relatively rare sight of an Irving tanker at Imperial Oil.

The usual Saturday arrival of a ship on the Maersk / CMA CGM transatlantic service to Montreal and Halifax was Maersk Penang.

Due to winter conditions, some Halifax calls on this service have been bypassed in recent months, with ships returning from Montreal directly to Bremerhaven. Now that conditions are better and ice is retreating in the Gulf, the ships should be able to keep their regular weekly schedule.

 

Trade to Cuba has dimished in the past few years as the country has retreated into greater poverty. One of the two shipping lines running between Europe and Cuba is Melfi Marine Corp. The company reduced its sailings through Halifax from every 12 days to once a month in May 2021, using only one ship.  That ship is X-press Irazu which arrived today and anchored. (Melfi ships often arrive on the wekend and wait until Monday to load/unload.)

The ship dates from 2007 when it was built by Guangzhou Wenchang Shipyard Co Ltd. At 18,480 gt, 23,716 dwt, it has a capacity of 1732 TEU including 379 reefers. It also carries a pair of 45 tonne capacity cranes.

The Melfi route, called MEDCAN, is westbound from Livorno, Genoa, Barcelona, Valencia, Setubal (for Lisbon), Halifax, Mariel.The ship looked very lightly loaded today.

The other typical arrival was Eimskip's Lagarfoss, which is one of three ships providing a service to the much more affluent island nation of Iceland.

The Lagarfoss was built in 2014 by Shenfei Shipbuilding Co in Rongcheng, China. With a gt of 10,119 and dwt of 11,811 it has a container capacity of 880 TEU and carries a pair of cranes.The ship is on the east bound leg of its journey and is expected to sail this evening for Argentia, NL.

 

Among today's departures was the container carrier Hyundai Force. The ship has been the subject of a couple of previous posts.

With a stiff breeze blowing in from the north off Bedford Basin, the ship used three tugs to get away from the berth at Fairview Cove. Once clear the tugs took up positions to starboard, Atlantic Fir; port, Atlantic Oak; and Atlantic Beaver as stern tethered escort.

Once across Bedford Basin, they lined up for a quick passage through the Narrows, with a tail wind.

Those bow lines in the foreground belong to the familiar cable ship IT Intrepid which arrived this morning from Sines, Portugal, and tied up at IT International Telecom's Marine Base at Pier 9B.

The Barbados flag ship is nominally based in Halifax but works world wide. The owners have been granted a temporary Admission to the Coasting Trade of Canada to install a 130 km subsea fibre cable called Sunoque II from Sept-Iles, QC to Ste-Anne des Monts, QC. The work is to take place between April 15 and 30. It will involve trenching and burying the cable with a Subsea Cable Plough. They will also use a remotely operated tracked vehicle (ROV).

 The owners have a second coasting trade license application pending for the ship to recover and reinstall 35 km of undersea cable in the La Perouse Bank area of British Columbia. The work will include burying the cable using a submarine trenching plow and underwater splicing using an ROV. The plan is to carry out the work from May 13 to 20, subject to approval of the application. (A permit may be granted by the Minister of Public Safety if no suitable Canadian vessel is available.)

IT Telcom's IT Integrity is also at the IT base. It is a Canadian flagged vessel and recently returned from work in the Rose Blanche area of Newfoundland, which is a major cable landing station.

There is a third cable ship in port. That is the Durable which arrived at Pier 27 on March 30.

 

The ship is owned by Transoceanic Cable Ship Inc and was built by Keppel Hitachi in Singapore in 2002 as the Tyco Durable. When Tyco became over extended and failed, the ship was sold and renamed in 2010. Transoceanic has a huge contract with the US Navy, signed in 2018 and extending to 2023. Presumably it involves maintaining seabed communication and monitoring systems.

.

 

 

More Cable Ships

 Halifax has frequently hosted cable ships, going back to the early days of the technology. Western Union, the French cable company and others have made Halifax their base. In recent years IT International Telecom has established its marine base here and IT ships are in and out of port regularly. Their IT Intrepid is currently in port as is the offshore supplier Siem Dorado undergoing conversion for cable work. The general cargo ship Enna is still alongside the Siem Dorado possibly transferring cable or other gear.

A crane has lifted off a section of gunwale or transom from Siem Dorado and is landing it on the dock next to IT Intrepid at Pier 9A.

On August 12 another cable ship arrived, but for a completely different company. The Marshall Islands flag Durable is owned by Transoceanic Cable Ship Company LLC, a US corporation, with bases in Baltimore, MD and Honolulu. 

The ship was built by Keppel Hitachi in Singapore in 2002 as the Tyco Durable. When Tyco became over extended and failed, the ship was sold and renamed in 2010. Transoceanic has a huge contract with the US Navy, signed in 2018 and extending to 2023. Presumably it involves maintaining seabed communication and monitoring systems.

The Cable Wharf, adjacent to the Halifax ferry terminal, still uses the name, but has not been used for cable since the 1960s. It was once the Western Union wharf, and had a large storage building for cable and other equipment, and was the base for two famous cable ships the Cyrus Field and the Lord Kelvin. My 1971 photo of the "ferry plaza" between the Law Courts and  Queen's wharf is barely recognizable today.

Taken from beneath the Law Courts bridge across Water Street, the white building is the Fisherman's Market - most recently Nova Scotia Crystal. The Western Union building - long since demolished - is in the background.

 I have published the following photo before, showing the cable ship Lord Kelvin arriving in Halifax in 1955. 

There are several interpretive plaques on the Cable Wharf outlining the history of subsea cables.

.

Trilliums and More

The trillium is a wildflower that at one time was so prolific in Ontario that it became the province's floral emblem. The flower is unknown in Nova Scotia, but today there were two Trilliums in Halifax harbour. Canada Steamship Lines named its 21st century series of Chinese built ships the Trilliums and had two classes constructed. One is for deep sea work and one is primarily for the Great Lakes/St.Lawrence but with some modifications has allowed for coastal voyages.

The deep sea ship are operated by CSL Americas under Bahamas registry, whereas the lakers operate under Canadian flag for Canada Steamship Lines.

Today's Trilliums were of the deep sea variety (too large for the St.Lawrence Seaway) both here to load gypsum. Arriving yesterday afternoon was Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin. Built in 2012 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, it is a 43,691 gt, 71,406 dwt self-unloader.

The ship is named for Paul Edgar Philippe Martin QC, CC, QC, 21st Prime Minister of Canada (2003-2006). He was also owner of CSL, which he has apparently developed upon his sons.

The ship sailed this afternoon for Burlington, NJ, but due to its size the ship cannot load completely at the Gold Bond Gypsum dock where there is shallow water. (Burlington, NJ is on the Delaware River, well upstream form Philadelphia, and may have draft restrictions too.)

This evening the second Trillium was inbound from Tampa, FL. - the CSL Tacoma. Built in 2013 by the same shipyards its tonnages are similar at 43,691 gt, 71,552 dwt.

CSL ships have operated on the west coast in the aggregates trade where Tacoma, WA is a common port of call. 

On arrival CSL Tacoma got in ahead of the usual evening fog bank, but outgoing ships would have met the "wall" not far offshore.

IT Intrepid, heading for the Bay of Fundy (see previous post) sailed in bright sunshine (filtered somewhat by the smoke from western forest fires) but could expect a very foggy trip once it "cleared" port.

.

IT Intrepid to repair a cable

 The specialist cable ship IT Intrepid arrived this evening July 17 to prepare for a cable repair project. The ship, owned by the Halifax based IT International Telecom, is equipped for cable laying and repair and is positioned to respond to cable projects in the eastern Atlantic, coast of North America and the Caribbean. It is registered in Barbados and must apply for coasting license to operate in Canadian waters. The Minister of Public Safety, following a recommendation by the Canadian Transportation Authority, usually grants such a license as no Canadian flagged ship is capable of the highly sophisticated work.

IT Intrepid approached its berth at Pier 9A just as a light drizzle began.

A regular caller in Halifax since built by Swan Hunter in 1989 as Sir Eric Sharp for Cable + Wireless, the ship has been more frequently in Halifax since acquired by IT in 2005.

The ship has been tasked with repairing a damaged section of subsea fibre cable in the Bay of Fundy, which runs from St.Martin's, NB to Mosher's Corner, NS. The section, up to the shore end, will be replaced and spliced into the existing cable. A ROV and cable plow will be used, tied into the ship's Dynamic Positioning system.

While in Halifax the ship will load the new cable and board the cable repair crew, including splicing gear. There will be up to seventy people aboard for the work which is to take place between July 21 and 28. On completion the ship will return to Halifax to unload the scrap cable, equipment and personnel.

.

IT Intrepid sails

 The cable ship IT Intrepid sailed this afternoon after a period of maintenance at the owner's headquarters at Pier 9B. IT International Telecom is based in Halifax, but services cables in many areas around the North Atlantic basin.

The ship has been based here for many years, and mentioned in this blog many times:

http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2013/04/it-intrepid-off-to-deep-panuke.html

As with all of the old time and traditional cable ships it has huge sheaves mounted over the bow, which are used to pay out or retrieve submarine cable.

 This morning before the ship departed some sailors were working in the bow, giving some idea of the scale of the sheaves.

(Water vapour exhaust from the Nova Scotia Power Corp's gas fired generating station at Tuft's Cove, in the background, is condensing in minus 0 degrees C air.)

.

IT Intrepid - a classic

With the arrival on May 17 of IT Integrity, International Telecom's new ship, the veteran IT Intrepid may not be around that much longer, so I am taking every opportunity to get photos of the older ship.

IT Integrity at left and IT Intrepid at right both arrived in Halifax on May 17.

IT Intrepid returned to Halifax after a few days of work in Newfoundland and sailed this afternoon for an even shorter trip.

Outbound this afternoon IT Intrepid displays what are now considered to be classic lines for a cable ship. The bow sheaves are very rarely seen anymore.

The ship is heading out to International waters (still 12 miles for Canada Customs purposes) to fulfill some sort of legal obligation, and will be returning to Halifax later this evening.

IT Intrepid has worked out of Halifax for many years and has been featured in this blog many times:

http://shipfax.blogspot.com/search?q=it+intrepid

The ship is  certainly getting on in years, but had a major survey renewal in March of last year, so is good until 2024. We suspect that IT Integrity , which appears to be more of a cable repair ship than a cable laying ship, will supplement IT Intrepid at least for a time, but retirement is inevitable.

In the last few years IT International Telecom has hired local tug/suppliers from Maersk and Atlantic Towing for some cable repair work, so it looks like IT Integrity may be able to keep that work in house.

.