One Summer(like) Day

A rapid turnaround in weather gave Halifax a summer-like day and thus the land side of the waterfront was jammed with people and traffic. This imposed serious limitations on photographic mobility, and so coverage of today's port activity is a little thinner than usual.

Late last night the tanker Zephyros arrived and anchored in the lower harbour.  It is not common for these ships to anchor inside the harbor, particularly when the destination berth is unoccupied. Coming from Port Arthur, TX, the ship has refined product for Imperial Oil.

Built in 2013 by SPP Shipbuilding in Sacheon, South Korea, the 29,924 gt, 50,155 dwt ship flies the Panama flag for the anonymous Zefyros Trading SA of Greece. Management of the ship is handled by Benetech Shipping SA, employing a crew entirely of Georgian nationality through Elvictor Ltd, also of Athens. (The pyramidal shape symbol on the funnel is the Benetech logo.)

The ship is expected to move to Imperial Oil by midnight tonight.

Also at anchor for the morning CMA CGM Libra required an Asian Gypsy Moth inspection before it moved to Halterm for noon.

Cerescorp remained busy today, with Atlantic Sun arriving this morning, sailing this afternoon, and its berth taken by MOL Partner soon after.

MOL Partner works its way inbound with the tug Spitfire III as tethered escort.

The tour boat Peggys Cove Express speeds along inbound for the Cable Wharf.

The Yantain Express did not go to anchor in Bedford Basin last night as expected. Instead it was still working cargo at the west berth through the night. It finally moved to the east berth at 0400hrs this morning. It remained idle today.

One of the large stacks of boxes offloaded from Yantian Express.

It has been reported that it will take twelve days to unload the Yantian Express's cargo. Containers that have been cleared by the insurers will be arranged on the dock to allow forwarding by rail or ship. Another stack will be created for those boxes for which security has not been posted. Their fate remains unknown.

An unusual Saturday arrival at Halterm was Oceanex Sanderling. It normally sails for St.John's weekly on Fridays. However this week it arrived and sailed on Tuesday, making a quick turnaround at Halterm and Autoport. It will now make another hasty round trip, due to heavier summer demand, sailing early tomorrow morning. 

Also from Halterm, dredging work stopped early this week. The last I saw the dredge Derrick No.4 working was on Wednesday. 

McNally's barges and tugs and other gear are now at pier 9 and pier 9C setting up for construction of the cribs for the Halterm extension. The Port Authority states the extension work will be completed in the first quarter of 2020.

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The ins and outs of it

Late afternoon today was the busiest I have seen Halifax in some time. In the space of little more than an hour there were two arrivals and three departures of large ships.

First off the mark was the autocarrier Hoegh Bangkok one of about 55 ships in the well known Norwegian fleet. The ship has been a caller here on several occasions.

Hoegh Bangkok has made the turn around the Ives Knoll buy and is outbound for the western channel. A continuous line of autorack rail cars stretches across the background.

Built in 2007 by Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia, the ship has a capacity of 6500 CEU and measures 55,775 gt, 16,632 dwt. Its next port of call is Davisville, RI.

Next out was Vuoksi Maersk, a very new ship, delivered from the COSCO (Zhoushan) Shipyard Co in September. It made its first Halifax call December 8, 2018 on the Maersk / CMA CGM  Canada Atlantic Express. One of seven ships in a new "Baltic Feeder" or "V" class, reputed to be the world's largest ice class container ships, it also uses diesel fuel to comply with the latest emission standards. Despite its capability it was slowed by ice on its westbound leg to Montreal, so its arrival here was also delayed - it would normally have called on Saturday.

Easily distinguishable by the nearly plumb stem and high superstructure, the V-class are striking ships. Other ships of the class are trading to Russia, which explains the name.

A 34,882 grt, 39819 dwt ship it has a container capacity of 3596 TEU including a large reefer capacity of 600 TEU - ideal for the Canadian service.

Typical of ships trading to the St.Lawrence River, it is not loaded to capacity, to keep draft within safe limits.

Following close on its heels was the departing Budapest Bridge. Built in 2011 by Samsung it is a 46,441 gt, 58,200 dwt ship of 4526 TEU. It is one of five ships on the AL1 service operated by THE Alliance and ACL.

Owned by Seaspan Corporation it is on charter to K-Line, but is now the merged entity of K-Line, MOL and NYK called ONE Ocean Network Express.

The next ship was the inbound MOL Paramount also a ONE ship, but on THE Alliance's EC5 route.

Well loaded, the ship catches a few rays of late afternoon sun.

 

Built in 2005 by Koyo Dockyard in Mihare it is a 71,902 gt, 72,968 dwt ship with a capacity of 6350 TEU, including 500 reefers.  It is also third party owned, by Tokei KK Ltd, and on charter to ONE.

With the merger of the three Japanese container lines, ships will remain in their original colours for some time to come.  New ships are being delivered in the same eye-searing colour as the new ONE containers.

The last inbound was Atlantic Sail which would not be close before the light was gone. It was following the MOL Paramount to the Cerescorp terminal at Fairview Cove, which would have to dock first.

 Atlantic Sail looms out of the haze as Budapest Bridge makes its way to the pilot station.

 

 Dredging continues at Halterm, as it will for some time. The McNally dredge Derrick No.3 4 is working close in along the most recent Pier 42 extension.

The Port is under considerable pressure to upgrade facilities as new larger container ships are delivered. They will displace slightly smaller ships in a "cascade" effect that will see those ships coming to Halifax. Projections for increased terminal demand for 2019 remain around 4%, representing a world wide increase of 30 mn TEU to over 800 mn TEU in 2019. Terminal expansion is seen by many as a good investment despite market uncertainties brought on by Brexit and US-China and Canada-China disputes.

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Acivity north and south

There was activity at both ends of the harbour today.

In south end off Halterm, McNally Marine began to mobilize for its dredging contract. The tugs Mister Joe and J.F.Whalen moved the Derrick No.3 into position off the end of pier 42. One of the mud scows has also been moved from pier 9 to pier 23, which will be the operational base for the work.

The dredging is the first phase of the pier extension and is expected to take at least two months. A second phase is to build the concrete cribs that will be sunk in position to form the pier.

Rounding Ives Knoll in the southend the autocarier Siem Cicero headed inbound for Autoport.

The tugs Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Larch shepherd the ship around Ives Point.

(Atlantic Larch is temporarily assigned to Halifax while Atlantic Bear is in Saint John assisting with the LNG tanker Pan Europe.)

The ship has been calling here since its maiden voyage. See Shipfax July 21, 2017
With a capacity of 7,000 cars,  it is one of the larger autocarriers.

Moving from the southend piers to anchor in Bedford Basin, Onego Rio passed in and out of the late afternoon shadows from waterfront buildings.

The ship arrived January 6 and unloaded a cargo of rails at pier 27. This what I said in my January 7 post:

 " Onego Rio  is a 7576 grt, 10,300 dwt ship built in 2003 by Damen Okean in Mykolayiv, Ukraine. It carries a pair of 80 tonne capacity cranes."

Since there is no severe weather in the immediate forecast, the ship is likely waiting for orders. 

 

It will join another ship that is waiting for orders, although the orders may be well known:

Thorco Liva rests at anchor in a very frigid Bedford Basin Sunday morning.

Thorco Liva will likely be heading for Newington, NH to load fibreoptic cable, and is just waiting for the a date to be there.

At pier 9C in the north end, beside the usual crop of suppliers, Trinity Sea at 9C and Horizon Enabler fueling at 9, the tug Atlantic Enterprise appears to be getting some repair work to a window in its winch house. A piece of plywood has been hastily applied.

Atlantic Enterprise picked up a coating of frozen spray on its trip up from New Jersey, and perhaps a broken window in its winch control house.

For more on the tug, see: Tugfax January 13

What its role will be in the Yantian Express is a bit of a mystery. SMIT has dispatched another tug from Rotterdam. Sovereign is due at the ship Tuesday, joining fleet mate SMIT Nicobar and Maersk Mobiliser. Sovereign is well equipped for fire fighting with dual water/foam monitors.

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Late news from the Dredging Scene

Late News from the Dredging Scene


As Bay Ferry Man has reported the last two Verreault hopper boats, I.V. No.9 and I.V.No.10 departed Meteghan for Quebec.
I.V. No. 11 and I.V. No.14 were sitting forlornly in Quebec City over the May long weekend, along with the two former DPW dredges, D-7 and D-8.

1. I.V.No.14 and I.V.No.11 at Québec, May 20, with Groupe Océan tugs in the background.

2. The twin dredges D-7 and D-8 sit nearby.

What plans Océan may have for the fleet remains in question. They have certainly been able to corner most of the market with their existing fleet, so it is likely at least some of the former Verreault plant will go to scrap.

Meanwhile Océan’s new dredge is rapidly taking shape at the Industrie Océan shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres.

 3. Océan Traverse Nord on the launchway at Ile-aux-Coudres May 19. The bow mounted ejector nozzle is prominent. It can be connected to a pipeline or used to "rainbow" the dredge spoil.

4. The split hull construction is visible in this stern shot. The house is offset and fitted on rollers to remain level even as the hulls open. They are hinged at deck level. The funnels casings are canted outboard so they do not touch when the hull opens. The ship is propelled by azimuthing thrusters, similar to a tug.

To be named Océan Traverse Nord, it is a trailing suction hopper dredge, self -propelled and of the split hull type. In other words, its hull is divided lengthwise and is hinged so that the two halves will open to dump its cargo. If conditions dictate however, it can pump out over the bow, either through a pipeline or by “rainbowing” - that is discharging in a giant stream. The new ship is to be in service in August, and will take up a multi-year contract to dredge the St.Lawrence River channel at the eastern end of Ile d’Orléans, in an area called the North Traverse. It is the main shipping channel and is subject to annual silting due to spring run off.

The one remaining member of the former Verreault fleet not to be included in the auction sale to Océan was the trailing suction hopper dredge (TSHD) Port Méchins. According to reports it was denied renewal of its inspection certificate several years ago and could no longer operate in Canadian waters. However in 2009 it was sent to Mexico to work on dredging the Rio Coatzacoalcos at Minatitlan for Erosion Control SA CV. Following that work it was laid up and was reported to be in Veracuruz at the time of Verreault’s bankruptcy.

5. Port Méchins in Quebec in 2001. The port trailing suction pipe is stowed alongside. The ship has bottom doors to discharge dredge spoil.

It was built by Lobnitz in Renfrew Scotland in 1949 for The British Tanker Co Ltd (later BP Tanker Co Ltd.) as Haffar. The name is associated with Iran, but means “excavated” or “dug out” in Arabic. I believe the dredge was used or was to be used in Iran by the parent Anglo-Persian Oil Co. However Iran nationalised the oil industry in 1951 and British Petroleum was formed in 1954 and BP Tanker Co in 1955.Where the dredge was used from this point I am not sure. When the Suez Canal was re-opened following the closure of 1956 I understand the dredge may ha e worked on the canal before it was returned to the UK, and eventually sold.

The J.P.Porter Co brought it to Canada as Lockeport in 1961. In worked in many areas of eastern Canada and the Great Lakes, including the North Traverse.

6. Still in steam, Lockeport rests at The J.P.Porter Co yard in Dartmouth, amid the junk and wreckage left when the company failed.Porter's dock was almost under the Macdonald bridge, and has since been (mostly) cleaned up.

7. Following a drydocking at Dartmouth Marire Slips, Lockeport was rebuilt and re-engined at the French Cable Wharf by Sceptre Dredging.

8. In Sceptre colours, Lockeport in winter layup at the French Cable Wharf. It continued dredging the North Traverse despite changes in ownership.

When Porter’s was wound up following the dredging scandal, Sceptre Dredging acquired it in 1977 and it was extensively rebuilt, and converted from steam to diesel. Sceptre ran into trouble finding other work and Fraser River Pile and Dredge bought the ship intending to expand their interests to the east. They also did not succeed and the ship was sold to Verreault in 1992 and renamed Port Méchins. Despite a lot of money spent in upgrades, the ship did not meet Canadian standards and the long term contract for the Traverse was lost.

The receivers took possession of the ship in December 2011 and has also now been sold . Its Canadian register was closed May 23.

In recent years TSHDs have been chartered in from overseas to dredge the Traverse and the ports of the Magdalen Islands due to an absence of any Canadian TSHD dredges on the east coast. Recently a Dutch dredge was used to dredge the Sydney, NS harbour for new port development.

Two interesting developments on this front are worthy of note:

      An application has been made to grant a coasting license to the dredge Manzanillo II owned by the Belgian dredging giant Jan de Nul. The application is to use the ship to dredge Saint John harbour in New Brunswick. For mam years Verreault did this work and used conventional clam bucket dredges. In recent years Harbour Development has had the contract for this work (and may still have) and have also used clam shell dredges for the work. This has proven to be highly laborious, time consuming and expensive. Now the work will be done -presumably at a lower cost by using a TSHD. Work is to start July 1 and to be completed November 12.

     Weeks Construction of the US (and parent company of McNally Construction) has contracted for a new TSHD in the US. It would be safe to assume that this vessel might be available to work in Canada should conditions warrant. BAE Systems of Mobile, AB will build the 8,500 cy capacity vessel to a design by IHC Merwede, a leading Dutch dredge builder.

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Pier C Extension - April Completion?

I wonder if they will meet the April 2012 completion date for the Pier C (Halterm) extension. There has been no activity around the McNally Construction part of the site for several days - no workers, no office operation, no security guard at the gate.

Is it too quiet to be on track for a timely completion?

Just askin'

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Back to Work

1. Whitby towing the dredge Canadian Argosy with the dump scow FDJV3 and tug Carl M alongside for the ride to Halterm.

2. Getting away from pier 9 with the new bucket installed on Canadian Argosy's Liebherr dredge crane.

3. Rigging the new bucket at pier 9 this morning.

4. The new bucket, on Christmas Day at pier 9.

After a Christmas break, McNally Construction got back to work today with dredging off Halterm. Before they did so, they attached a new bucket to the dredge Canadian Argosy. The bucket was built by Anvil Attachments of Slaughter, LA, and is especially built for dredging.

Perhaps, judging by its colour, the bucket was a Christmas gift.

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Big Digger for Halterm

McNally's big crane barge/dredge Canadian Argosy finally arrived over the week end. It had been delayed by bad weather in the Gulf and on the coast, on its journey from the Great Lakes to work at Halterm.

This morning it was underway in tow of the small tug Whitby, bound for the end of pier 42 where it will get to work on the digging/dredging required for the Halterm pier extension.