Slow Day in port - time for road trip

Slow Day

 Today, Monday, October 13, was Thanksgiving Day, a statutory holiday. Most businesses were closed, along with schools. There was very little activity in the port - no container ships, and only one tanker arriving (the Algoma Acadian for Irving Oil), the departure of the CMA CGM Silverstone from Autoport (see yesterday's post) and only one cruise ship - but that one was big enough. 

The Majestic Princess arrived shortly after sunrise and tied up at Pier 22.

 Even at 144,216 gt with 19 decks and a capacity of 3500 passengers and 1346 crew, it is still only number 55 on the list of largest cruise ships. It was built in 2017 by Fincantieri, Monfalcone.

[The present largest ship position is occupied by the 248,663 sister ships Icon of the Seas and Star of the Seas, which can pack in 5610 passengers (double occupancy) and 7600 maximum passengers each.

 

Outport 

When there is not enough shipping activity in Halifax it is time to try an outport. The closest and usually the most rewarding is Lunenburg - about 100 km (60 land miles) away. The home of the Bluenose II (it is in port, but invisible) and the Picton Castle (ditto) it also has the last of the Grand Banks salt fish schooners in Canadian captivity - the Theresa E. Connor.

Now under the care and keeping of the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenburg, it is undergoing a drydocking Its hull appears to be hogged, but that is typical of wooden vessels of its age. It was built by Smith and Rhuland, in Lunenburg, in 1938. Unlike its more famous yard mates, it was built as an engine powered vessel and was "bald headed" - that is no top masts and no bowsprit and was intended to use sail as a cost saving measure, or for steadying or in case of an engine failure.

Also visiting for repairs is the United States flag exploration / research vessel the Robert Gray. Built in Seattle in 1936, and a veteran or World War II service in Alaska, it has been owned since 2004 by the Voyagers Club of Charleston, SC and has been well preserved. Despite some tarps to protect ongoing work, the Gray's fine lines are still apparent.

Read more about the Robert Gray at the Voyagers Club website as: The Ship. A riveted steel hulled vessel (wooden hulled tugs along the same lines were typical on the West Coast) it will certainly last through the century mark.

Back to modernity, the contemporary scallop dragging ship the Maude Adams was also alongside.

With the masts of the sailing vessel Picton Castle in the background, the Maude Adams is a reminder that Lunenburg is still a fishing port. Built by Astilleros Armon in Navia, Spain in 2003, the 1160 gt, 750 dwt usually makes 10 day duration trips to the George's Bank scallop grounds. It drags the bottom (the large drag basket is the rusty object amidships). Its crew processes the catch on board, freezing the individual scallops in the midships factory, and storing them in the hold. The shells are ejected back to the sea bottom.

There's always more going on in Lunenburg than meets the eyes, but that is all for this time.
 

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Sized to Suit

 In today's cruise industry boom there are cruises tailored to every taste. Consequently there are cruise ships built to suit all those preferences. The ships range from very small to very large, and this year in Halifax we are seeing samples of most of those sizes.

The French company Ponant has found a niche for expedition type cruises to remote parts of the globe, using small ships so as to go places the big ships can't.  Today's (October 5) arrival is Le Lyrial a member of the Boréal-class, measuring a mere 10,700 gt. Built in 2015 by Fincantieri Ancona (a yacht building yard) its nine decks contain 122 cabins and suites for a maximum capacity of 264 passengers. A crew of 139 are squeezed in somewhere. Unfortunately the ship tied up stern in at Pier 23, not its best angle of view, but it still made a striking contrast with another of today's arrivals, the Majestic Princess at Pier 22.

 The Majestic Princess has 19 decks and accommodates 3,560 passengers maximum. A very different passenger to crew ratio provides 1346 crew.

Despite the faint shadows of container cranes on the lower hull, the ship was an impressive sight when sailing in the late afternoon sun.

Scattering sail boats and gulls in its path the pilot boat accompanied the ship outbound.

The Majestic Princess was also built by Fincantieri, but at their much larger Monfalcone yard, and in 2017 and comes in at 144, 216 gross tons. 

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