Five Ships - one place

 At the the north end of Haifax Harbour, Bedford Basin has been a refuge and anchorage since the earliest days of the European presence in Nova Scotia. Today it is surrounded by insitutional, residential, recreational and commercial activity and there are also numerous parks and some historic sites. A National Historic Site memorial to Duc D'Anville, who landed there in 1746, is located in a tiny park adjacent to the Canadian National Railway's Pace Yard in Rockingham.

A little bit farther north, just before Birch Cove is an even smaller park with two look-off platforms that give sweeping vistas of the entire Basin and a clear view of ships at anchor and at several piers and moorings. 

On a quiet day, such as today, March 7, it was possible to see five ships at once, but there is no camera lens wide enough to take them all in at once. So working from the north and counter clockwise here is what was to be seen. 

Arriving from Montreal this morning the Vistula Maersk is waiting its turn at PSA Fairview Cove terminal.

It is one of four ships on the joint Maersk /CMA CGM transatlantic service that call in Halifax typically on Saturday, while eastbound for Bremerhaven. The Vistula Maersk was built in 2018 by COSCO Zhoushan Shipyard Co, as an ice class ship for Baltic service to Russia. At 34,882 gt, 40,000 dwt, it has a capacity of 3600 TEU including 600 reeefers. In 2022, following the Russian boycott, along with two sister ships, it was transferred to the joint Maersk / CMA CGM St-Laurent 1 / Canada Atlantic Express service. It made its first call in Halifax June 23, 2022.
 

Also at anchor is the now familiar tanker CB Pacific. It has been in Halifax several times in recent months carrying ethanol for Irving Oil. 

 The CB Pacific, built by Jiangsu New Hantong shipbuilding in Yangzhong, China, was delivered in 2020. The 27,250 gt, 37,787 dwt ship is equipped to handle crude oil, clean petroluem products or chemicals in twelve phenolic epoxy coated tanks (plus two slops tanks). The ship is also built to DNV Baltic Ice Class 1B and is fitted with a hybrid exhaust gas scrubber which can be run at zero emissions. As previously noted it has a covered fore deck - a feature rarely incorporated in tankers. 

Once it offloads at Irving Oil's Woodside termainal, it may head for the St.Lawrence River to supply other refiners.

Across the Basin from Rockingham at Wright's Cove, another CSL ship is loading at Gold Bond Gypsum. This time it is CSL Tarantau.

The stockpile of raw gypsum appears to have been replenished somewhat after its last visit February 27 -March 1 and that of CSL Tacoma on March 4 - 5. CNRail delivers gypsum almost daily, with unit trains from the East Milford mine.

The view from the Africville Park on the south of the Basin gives a better look at the ship itself.

The ship was built for the Torvald Klaveness Selfunloaders and operated under the name Balto until 2015 when Klaveness withdrew from the CSL pool and its ships were taken over by CSL and Algoma.  The red painted deck, hatch coamings and self-unloading gear is a carry over from Klaveness days.

The ship was built by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China in 2013 to the ocean version of CSL's Trillium class design, so it was a natural fit in the CSL Americas roster.  At 43,691 grt, 71,405 dwt it is too large to take a complete load at National Gypsum due to draft restrictions at the Bedford Basin pier. 

The other busy spot in the Basin was the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal. At the east berth was NYK Demeter on the newly former Premier Alliance service.

 

Wires paralleling the CN rail main line are inevitable features of the view.

The Premier Alliance consists of Ocean Network Express (ONE), HMM (formerly Hyundai Merchant Marine) and Yang Ming as the survivors of THE Alliance after the withdrawal of Hapag-Lloyd. It is to be noted that the ship is still carrying many Hapag-Lloyd boxes.

NYK Demeter was built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan, and is a 55,487 gt, 65,965 dwt ship with a capacity of 4922 TEU. It is owned by NYK Line, one of the partners, with MOL and K-Line, of Ocean Network Express.

At the east berth and RoRo ramp the Oceanex Sanderling is loading for its weekly trip to St.John's Newfoundland and Labrador.

 

More lines add to the view which is well above the rail lines.

 Although I have told it several times before, it seems an appropriate time to repeat the history of the Oceanex Sanderling:

Built in 1977 (!) by Sasebo Heavy Industries in Japan, it served the now defunct DDG Hansa as Ravenfels until 1980, then became Essen briefly for a Hapag-Lloyd subsidiary. In 1981 it was renamed Kongsfjord by S.E.A.L RoRo, a Norwegian American Line service in East Africa/ Indian Ocean. That only lasted until 1983 when it went to Amasis Rederei of Germany (Heyon-Janssen) as Onno.

It was under the latter name when it made its first appearance in Halifax as a substitute on the ACL Line service on April 12, 1987.

Later the same year Atlantic Searoute Ltd bought the ship and it became ASL Sanderling and a Halifax regular. It entered service January 10, 1988, running Halifax / Newfoundland, which it has done pretty much continuously ever since, aside from refits.(Corner Brook was later dropped and the ship now only runs between Halifax and St.John's.)

It was renamed in Oceanex Sanderling in 2008, although Oceanex had succeeded ASL in 1991.

 

The ship was given a major refit in 2022 and is currently listed at 21,489 gt, 15,195 dwt, with a capacity of 522 TEU. Its next major survey is due in 2026. With the limited number of ConRos availabe as a replacement, it is expected to be renewed for continued operation.

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Hapag-Maersk - Gemini Cooperation Agreement

 The plan for Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to work together under the Gemini Cooperation Agreement has run aground - at least temporarily, but has not yet been written off as a total loss.

The lines' application to the United States Federal Maritime Commission was rejected July12. The regulator may review a revised submission with more information. Other major world regulators will also have to approve the plan before it can be implemented.

The Gemini Caooperation Agreement would see the two lines join forces when the current 2M Alliance of Maersk and MSC expires, and THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, HMM, Yang Ming and ONE) expires, both in February 2025. However the Agreement was to take effect this week in order to allow for the necessary preliminary work.

The plan will see a major shakeup as the two former competitors withdraw from competing services and realign. Yesterday (July 14) the NYK Demeter sailed from Halifax with the usual large number of Hapag-Loyd, UASC and CSAV boxes. The ship operates for THE Alliance, as  NYK Line is a partner in ONE (Ocean Network Express). The potential loss of Hapag-Lloyd related cargo may well see the collapse of THE Alliance as the other lines my find it difficult to maintain service.

With the ports of Halifax (and partner CN Rail) and Saint John (with the newly merged CPKC) vying for the realigned services, the fallout for Halifax may be quite significant. However to the credit of the FEC, the lines must show some benefit to customers, not just an improvement in their own operating ratios before regulatory approval is granted. 

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Another Box and Pax day

 May 31 was another day for containers (boxes) and passengers (pax) in the Port of Halifax.

The ultra size container ships ONE Blue Jay (see yesterday) sailed and its sister ship ONE Hawk arrived. Timing was such that both ships were not visible at the same time from my position on shore. Both ships used the main channel unexpectedly, since these large ships usually take the deeper western channel.

ONE Blue Jay outbound for New York.

 ONE Hawk inbound from Norfolk.

The ONE Hawk is returning eastbound on the EC5 service of THE Alliance.

On the much smaller size range Melfi Marine's X-Press Irazu arrived from Genoa, Barcelona, Valencia and Lisbon en route to Mariel, Cuba.

 The X-Press Irazu at Pier 42 with two of PSA's cranes at work.

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. It has been on the Melfi service since January 2021 and has been the only ship on that run since May of that year.

 Not to be left out, PSA Fairview Cove had the NYK Demeter in from Antwerp on THE Alliance's AL5 service. It is another of the Daedalus class of 4922 TEU ships favoured on the route.

The ship sailed late this afternoon for Port Everglades.

Autoport had a ship today too, SIEM Cicero. With its swooping white upper hull paint over red lower hull, the ship looks very odd from astern. The graphic designer seems to have achieved the disruptive effect of wartime ship camouflage by making the bow look like the stern:

Siem Cicero outbound.(It is traveling left to right, and away from the camera)

SIEM Cicero took the western channnel outbound, leaving the main channel to the inbound ONE Hawk with its attendant tugs.

Siem Cicero is a regular since first arriving in Halifax July 21, 2017 on its maiden voyage. Built by Uljanik in Pula, Croatia, the 56,677 gt, 17,416 dwt ship has a capacity of about 7,000 RT. It has a 100 tonne capacity stern ramp and a 15 tonne capacity side ramp.

On the passenger side it was the Island Princess back again for its only scheduled visit of the 2023 season.

The ship is en route from Alaska to England via Iceland. It sailed from Port Everglades May 26 and is due in Reykjavik June 5 then Falmouth June 11 and Southampton June 12. The ship is offering cruises in northern Europe for the rest of the year.
 

Chantier de l'Atlantique, St-Nazaire, France, delivered the ship to Princess Cruise Line in 2003. It is a 92,822 gt ship with a capacity for 2214 passengers (double occupancy) with 900 crew.
 

Explanation

If today's photos appear a bit hazy, there is a reason.

 The duty pilot boat Capt E.T.Rogers outbound passing Pier 20 with a hazy looking Dartmouth waterfront in the background.

A large and out of control forest fire in suburban Halifax is responsible for thin smoke over the city. About 16,000 people have been evacuated and more than 200 houses have been damaged or destroyed by the fire. The wind along the waterfront was onshore for most of the day today, so the air was relatively fresh, but that could change.

A second larger fire between Shelburne and Yarmouth, which is also out of control, could also effect air quality over a large area depending on wind direction. As no significant rain is forecast for several days, there is no relief in sight.

Depending on wind direction in the coming days, I may be staying indoors as recommended. 

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Halifax Loss, Saint John Gain

 The ports of Halifax and Saint John have been rivals over the years, but Halifax has usually come out on top in terms of winning container lines. However Saint John has upped the ante this year with new facilities and larger cranes. Most recently it was the final official approval of the Canadian Pacific Railway merger with Kansas City Southern. CPR links the Port of Saint John to Montreal through the United States with a much shorter route than Canadian National Railway's route from Halifax to Montreal. Now with the KCS network it reaches into Mexico.

Saint John's terminal operator DP World has had a long standing relationship with THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd, ONE, Yang Ming and HMM) and handles THE Alliance's ships in UK ports.

Therefore it was perhaps not a complete surprise when one of THE Alliance's ships on its Atlantic Loop 5 (AL5) service is passing over Halifax this week on its eastbound leg and calling in Saint John instead on April 27.  

NYK Demeter * in Halifax, March 15, 2022.

The AL5 service route has been Southampton, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Halifax, Port Everglades, Cartagena, Panama, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Vancouver, Oakland, Los Angles-Long Beach, Panama, Cartagena, Caucedo, Halifax, Southampton.

It seems that the April 21 Halifax call of NYK Rigel may be the last AL5 call at this port. No further AL5 calls are shown on the Port's published schedule. However THE Alliance partner ONE's schedules still show Halifax as the AL5 port. No official announcement seems to have been made.

NYK Demeter was built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan and comes in at 55,487 gt, 65,965 dwt with a container capacity variously reported at 4888 TEU or 4922 TEU.  Sister ships of the Daedalus class on the AL5 service are scheduled at Saint John as follows:

NYK Romulus May 5

NYK Constellation May 13

NYK Meteor May 21

So far it appears that these are all eastbound ships.

NYK Demeter clearing the MacKay bridge, April 23, 2016.

As closest Canadian port to Europe, Halifax has been a logical "first port" for westbound ships on the Great Circle route. The additional sailing time to Saint John has to be balanced with faster railroad service to Quebec, Ontario and the US Mid-west. CP trains run through Maine to Montreal, Toronto, and cross to the US at Fort Erie, ON / Buffalo, NY and run on CSX tracks to Chicago, avoiding some height clearance and other issues in northeast US. However as those are eliminated and with access to KCS tracks, CP may have become the game changer.

The Port of Saint John it must be noted has no bridge clearance or draft restrictions, and given super post Panamax cranes can handle large ships, perhaps on a even footing with Halifax.

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*Note: As a partner with the other Japanese container lines MOL and K-Line, in the joint venture Ocean Network Express (ONE), the NYK Line now charters its ships to ONE and has painted over the NYK Line banners in their ship's sides.

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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.

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Taking Turns at Fairview Cove

 As Hyundai Faith was finishing up cargo work this morning March 15 at Fairview Cove the NYK Demeter was inbound from sea to to take its place.

Tugs are preparing to make up to the 8566 TEU Hyundai Faith at Fairivew Cove.

Hyundai Faith arrived yesterday March 14 [see previous post] westbound, on THE Alliance's EC5 service. (stated port rotation is: Laem Chabang, Cai Mep, Singapore, Colombo, Halifax, New York, Savannah, Jacksonville, Norfolk, Halifax, Jebel Ali, Singapore, Laem Chabang = 84 days) However the line is skipping eastbound Halfax calls on this service.

NYK Demeter is eastbound on THE Alliance's AL5 service (Southampton, Le Havre, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Halifax, Port Everglades, Cartagena, Panama, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, Vancouver, Oakland, Los Angeles, Panama, Cartagena, Caucedo, Halifax, Southampton = 77 days.)

NYK Demeter passes Halifax Shipyard where the third RCN Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel is fitting out. To be named Max Bernays, it was launched in October 2021.

NYK Demeter was built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan, and is a 55,487 gt, 65,965 DWT ship with a capacity of 4922 TEU.

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Fairview Cove Action - and more for Halterm

Cerescorp's Fairview Cove container terminal was a busy spot for a time today. An early morning arrival of Atlantic Sail had the west end of the pier busy all morning. The late morning arrival of NYK Demeter then had the place jumping into full action.

NYK Demeter, sailing for the G6 Alliance made its way to the pier with the tug Atlantic Oak as stern escort, and was joined for berthing by Atlantic Willow, which saved on fuel by remaining at Fairview Cove all morning after docking Atlantic Sail.

Once it was longside, but not yet made fast, the bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth had finished operations with Atlantic Sail and got underway to return to its home at pier 34.

Through all this activity a lone pleasure sailor decided to take a close up view, while towing an open boat. 


At the other end of the port, Halterm had a short visit from the Icelandic Reykjafoss but was otherwise quiet today. That was not the case yesterday when it worked four ships.

Zim Tarragona spent most of yesterday at number one anchorage waiting for fleet mate Zim San Franciso to clear the berth at pier 42. Pier 41 was occupied by Oceanex Sanderling which would normally have been there on a Friday. Nolhanava occupied its usual berth at pier 36, loading for St-Pierre et Miquelon on a Thursday instead of  a Friday.

All this Thursday activity was as a result of Remembrance Day observances today. Most Nova Scotians who work on Remembrance Day are entitled to another day off with pay, so most businesses shut their doors on November 11.

Halterm also announced that it has landed a new line, Tropical Shipping, relocating from Saint John after many years. Tropical, which serves the Caribbean was not able to come to terms with new terminal operators in Saint John and had little choice but to find an alternative port.
Their two ship rotation will make Halterm busier, and will only add to downtown Halifax traffic woes.

I hope to see all the small ship lines transfer to Fairview Cove when the two Halifax piers merge under common management. Even then we will see days when there is not enough pier space.  An extension to Fairview Cove, with an additional RoRo berth seems inevitable as a short to medium term answer to the needs of the port.

Shipfax will be unveling its long term master plan shortly - stay tuned.

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Quiet Saturday

There was very little activity in Halifax harbour today, with only one daylight arrival, and that was the regular caller NYK Demeter for Fairview Cove.

The 55,534 grt, 66,000 dwt ship has been calling here since 2014. It was built in 2007 by Hyundia, Ulsan and has a container capacity of 4922 TEU, putting on the small side these days. Flying the Panama flag, it is operated by Hachiuma SS Co Ltd for NYK Lines.

The offshore supply boat Skandi Flora was exercising in Bedford Basin, and trhe bulk carrier CSL Atlas remains at anchor there after arriving January 6. It bunkered soon after arrival, but has been idle ever since.

Anchored well up in the Basin off Prince's Lodge, the ship is showing signs of wear and tear.

Built in 1990 by Verolme do Brasil in Angrados Reis, it was the world's only Panamax self-unloading bulk carrier. That is no longer the case, and the ship is certainly beginning to show its age. One has to wonder, with CSL acquiring many newer ships recently, what is next for this once innovative ship. It has recently been been involved in transshipment operations in Africa and now appears to be awaiting orders.

For a more complete description of the ship see Shipfax April 27, 2011.

The only other action in the harbour was the installation of another new deck section on the Angus L.Macdonald bridge. After a hiatus of many weeks, work resumed again last night when workers cut out the old section. It was lowered to a waiting barge this morning and the new section raised into position this afternoon.

Workers lower an old deck section to the waiting barge where a new section is ready to lift. This is fourth section of the project which will install an entirely new deck over a period of a year and a half. The bridge will reopen again Monday morning.

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Full House container traffic, not to mention more cars and product tankers

There were four container ships in port on Saturday and three more on Sunday, making for a very full house.

Saturday's arrivals for Fairview Cove were Herma P for Hapag-Lloyd on the G-6 service and Atlantic Compass for ACL.

The big Lift project, to replace the roadway of the Angus L. Macdonald bridge got underway on Saturday, with the first old section lowered to a barge and continued on Sunday with the raising of the first new section. In all 46 sections will be replaced in this way, working across the centre span of the bridge. There were no ship traffic restrictions this weekend (except the cautionary for ships to make a low wake in the area). As the project continues however, there will be over night stoppages for harbour traffic. The process of roadway replacement will take until 2017 and will be done in this way to allow for normal bridge traffic during the day.

 The first new section of roadway was lifted into place on Sunday. It was hoisted from a barge by the yellow gantry unit.

See also Tugfax: http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.ca/2015/10/big-lift-small-tugs.html


Meanwhile on Saturday at Halterm EM Kea (under charter to CMA CGM) made another call for the Maersk /CMA CGM transatlantic service. First time caller UASC Zamzam called on the other CMA CGM far east service operated jointly with United Arab Shipping Co (UASC) and China Shipping Container Line (CSCL) called Ocean Three.

 UASC Zamzam was here for the first time. Renamed this year from Asiatic Summer it is a 94,784 grt, 112,171 dwt ship with a capacity of 9034 TEU - the largest yet to visit Halifax. It flies the Singapore flag for owners Asiatic Lloyd and was built in 2014 by Hyundai Samho.
It arrived and sailed in the dark.
 
 On Sunday Fairview Cove was full again with NYK Demeter and NYK Rumina  Halterm had 'only' Berlin Express on its east bound call. [The later ship has eluded my camera on several occasions, including today.]

 
Autoport was chock a block once again, with Pleiades Spirit on Saturday, Grande Napoli early Sunday and Hoegh Bangkok later, staying until Monday.

Pleiades Spirit was built in 2008 by Toyohashi Shipbuilding and measures 60,330 grt, 17,424 dwt. It is owned by Mizuho Sangyo and flies the flag of Panama. It is operated by World Wide Marine but its commercial activities are managed by Nissan.

Product tanker traffic was busy too, with BW Panther arriving Friday, STI Seneca sailing Saturday, via anchorage, and Star I  arriving Sunday.

STI Seneca stopped at anchorage for a few hours to pump out something into containment units on a Dominion Diving barge, with tug Roseway in attendance.

Diehards got in some of their last sailing on Saturday as BW Panther  occupies number 4 berth and Algoma Dartmouth uses number 3 berth at Imperial Oil.

BW Panther was launched by SPP Shipbuilding Co of Goseong, South Korea in 2014 as Elandra Panther, but was renamed on delivery to BW Maritime of Singapore. It has typical handysize dimensions of 29,737 grt, 49,999 dwt.

If that wasn't enough the offshore supply boats seemed to be busy with all three Shell charters gearing up for work, as the drill ship Stena Icemax is finally on its way toward the Shelburne Basin to begin drilling for Shell Oil. The ship is off Florida now and will be in position in a few days. It not expected to call in Halifax.

See also Tugfax for more on the suppliers.

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All containers all day

Both Halifax container piers were booked solid today, although high winds probably slowed down production considerably. At Halterm Zm Piraeus and Macao Strait kept the cranes busy.

At Fairveiw Cove, NYK Demeter occupied the berth with Oakland Express waiting at anchor. Both ships require the big cranes, so only one ship could be worked at a time.
NYK Demeter is a 2007 product of Hyundai Heavy Industries, Ulsan and at 55,534 grt 66,000 dwt has a capacity of 4922 TEU. The tug Atlantic Oak tied up at the pier also, rather than returning to its exposed berth in the lower harbour.

Oakland Express also came from Hyundai, Ulsan, but in 2000. It was built as Kuala Lumpur Express, of 54,437 grt, 66781 dwt, with a capacity of 4890 TEU. It arrived in Halifax March 1, 2008 for the first time under its present name. Its former name was assigned to a 91,000 grt ship built at the same shipyard.

Late this afternoon Atlantic Cartier also arrived and it was expected to dock at he west end of Fairview Cove using the ramp. It caught some of the last of today's sun as it passed Sandwich Point.

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