Pioneer loads gypsum for Portsmouth

1. Pioneer passes the construction work at pier 9c.

The self-unloader Pioneer sailed this morning with a load of gypsum for Portsmouth, NH. A frequent caller since built way back in 1981, the ship has been absent from Halifax recently due to the slow down in gypsum shipments.
Owned by Marbulk Shipping Inc (MSI) the ship is registered in Vanuatu. MSI is a subsidiary of Marbulk Canada Inc (MCI) and is one of the few shipping companies based in Calagary, AB. MSI is 50% owned by Algoma Central Corp and 50% by CSL. The ship works in the 23 ship CSL International/ Oldendorff/ Klaevenes pool of self-unloaders, operated out of Beverly, MA. CSL acquired their 50% interest in MCI in 2000 from the Upper Lakes Group.
The ship was built by Port Weller Dry Docks in St.Catharines, ON as the Canadian Pioneer, with dimensions suitable for the St.Lawrence Seaway. In 1988 the ship was re-0named and flagged out and has rarely seen in the Seaway since.
Gypsum ships tend to last a long time due to the non-corrosive, non-abrasive nature of the cargo, however the ship also carries, rock, sand, and coal depending on market demand. It is also fitted with a Doxford 76JC4R engine, the last of its type built by Doxfords (subsequent engines of the same design were built under license.) Noted for their rugged reliability, the slow speed Doxford engines tend to last slightly less than forever.
See previous posts about the ship's distinctive funnel marking.

Ambassador takes another load of gypsum

Things must be picking up a bit at National Gypsum with two ships in a week. Ambassador arrived late Sunday night and sailed this morning for Burlington, NJ. The ship was built in 1983 at Port Weller Dry Dock as Canadian Ambassador and the full name still appears on the ship's hull in welded letters.
It has not carried that name since 1986 however, because in that year it was flagged out to Vanuatu when it left the Upper Lakes Shipping domestic fleet for Marbulk.
Aside from a brief interlude from April to December 2000 when it was renamed Algosea and reflagged Canadian, it has been foreign flagged ever since.

 1. Ambassador has passed under the A. Murray MacKay bridge and is southbound in the Narrows off pier 9B, bound for sea.

2. The ship's previous name still appears on the hull, but there is little likelihood that it will ever be used again.

Upper Lakes Shipping sold its share of Marbulk in 2000 and has now exited shipping altogether, selling out to Algoma. Its ships which had the prefix "Canadian" have now been renamed. Algoma has been a co-owner of Marbulk since 1997 but are not likely to bring this older ship back to Canada, so the "Canadian" prefix is history. The ship operates within the CSL self-unloader pool.

Ambassador has appeared on this blog before - see previous posts for more info.

Ambassador

1. Ambassador creeps up west of George's Island, making barely any bow wave.

2. Once clear of the island she swings well to starboard to the anchorages. The asymmetrical name on her stern is a result of painting out the word "Canadian" when she was reflagged in 1986.

The self-unloading bulker Ambassador arrived this afternoon to take on bunkers. A frequent caller at National Gypsum over the years, she rarely puts in without taking cargo.

Built way back in 1983 at Port Weller Dry Dock in St. Catharines, ON, her original name was Canadian Ambassador and she was owned by Upper Lakes Shipping. Built to Seaway dimensions, she measured 24,320 gross tons, and was designed for 37,500 deadweight (less at Seaway draft.)

In 1986 she was placed under the flag of Vanuatu (registered at Port Vila) and began to operate internationally. Although usually confined to the eastern seaboard of North America, she has worked overseas too. The "Canadian" part of her name was painted over, but the welded letters are still there on the bow and stern.

When she was reflagged she was given blue funnels with a yellow seahorse, once the funnel marking for Island Shipping, an Upper Lakes subsidiary that operated some ships offshore. However ownership was vested in another UL subsidiary called Marbulk Shipping. In 1997 Algoma Central Corp acquired a 50% interest in Marbulk, then in 2000 CSL International acquired UL Group's 50%.

Since that time the ship has been in the coal/ aggregates/gypsum trades within the CSL International pool, and is operated from CSL International's offices in Beverly, MA. (CSL ships are in turn operated by V-Ships, a Monaco based company.)

The ship had a major refit in Halifax in 1998. Then in 2000 she came back under the Canadian flag for a few months, being renamed Algosea at Halifax Shipyard on April 13. (Because Upper Lakes no longer had an ownership interest in the ship, it was not appropriate to resume her original name.) The ship resumed trade on the Great Lakes until December 21, when she became Ambassador again, being renamed at Trois-Rivières, QC.

Since that time she has continued in the usual trades, and on this trip is en route from Newington, NH (a favourite gypsum offloading port) to Cape Porcupine, NS on the Strait of Canso to load aggregates.

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