A day of firsts - and lasts

 Firsts

There were some first time callers today (October 29) in Halifax. The largest and most apparent was the Norwegian Prima - a ship that exemplifies the latest trends in popular cruise ship design (said to be "minimalist" on doubtful authority). Despite its hulking shape and 20 decks it is still only the 59th largest cruise ship in the world. (It arrived last evening after dark. and berthed at Pier 22.)

 Built by Fincantieri in 2022 it registers 145,535 gt with a capacity of 3,099 passengers and 1,506 crew. Sixteen of those 20 decks are accessible to guests. 

Among the ship's features are a visual reality theatre, the largest go-kart track afloat, an overside dry slide, and other venues for entertainment and eating beyond number.

The ship is on a repositioning cruise from the Mediterranean, via Southampton, to the Caribbean. I imagined some alteration to plans would be inevitable, as the remnant of the disastrous hurricane Melissa pass offshore Nova Scotia, but the ship is scheduled to sail this evening for New York - break out the Dramamine.

A more subdued looking ship was also a first time caller in Halifax today. The Liberian flagged Koi arrived on CMA CGM's Indamex service from India for the US east coast. It appears that the ship came via the Suez Canal.CMA CGM has been an early return user of the Canal while many lines are still avoiding the Red Sea, and sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. The ship's last port was Tanger Med.

The ship was built in 2011 by Hyundai Samho as Hanjin Rotterdam but was renamed SM Savannah in 2017; then in 2020 it became DS Koi briefly until it was renamed Koi later in the same year. It is a 91,585 gt, 102,517 dwt ship with a capacity of 8586 TEU with 700 reefer plugs. It is among the largest container ships with a single superstructure. Most ships of 9,000 TEU or more have an isolated bridge structure farther forward.

Lasts

As the cruise season winds down, only half a dozen or so ships are scheduled before the season ends with the Aidadiva on November 19. There will be no more multiple ships days, so workers today retrieved the pontoons from the landing stage at Pier 24. There will be no more need for "lightering off" of passengers in ships' tenders from anchorage. [see several previous posts.]

 The removal will allow ships to tie up at the opposite side of the camber at Pier 25-26, and sure enough that began to happen. The American tug Ezra Sol arrived and tied up well in at Pier 25.

 It has returned from Norfolk, its home base, after its earlier visit September 21 to 26. On that call, it towed in the disabled AP Revelin and stood by it for a time. Now that ship has transferred cargo to the Eva Bright at nearby Pier 27, and tomorrow will be moved (cold move) to pier 26, just astern of the tug, where it will likely be rigged up for another tow.

 The AP Revelin will be going to drydock - somewhere - likely the United States, for repairs after losing its prop or a blade from the prop, and is therefore unable to move on its own. There way also be other damage related to the loss, which will also require repair. Its grain cargo will likely be taken by the Eva Bright to its original destination.

More Firsts 

We got a first glimpse at a new Canadian Coast Guard Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel as Halifax Shipyard prepares to roll out the first ship from the Assembly hall.

 To be named Domjek Glacier the ship is the first of two ships for the Canadian Coast Guard. They are variants of the Harry DeWolf class of six Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels built for the Royal Canadian Navy. The two CCGS ships were added to the AOPV project to fill the void between completion of the RCN AOPVS and full scale work on the new RCN destroyers.

Little was revealed today, although there is some evidence of measures to be taken to resolve an issue with anchors on the RCN ships. Some plating has been removed or not yet installed over the anchor pockets. Perhaps there will be flaps over the pockets? (No more "old school" cementing the hawse pipes.)

 This is the first of the ships to be fully assembled under cover. the RCN ships were rolled out in sections and joined outdoors. The new destroyers will also be assembled indoors by all accounts.

Work is well underway at the new float out and fitting out berth at Pier 6 as Caisson number 15 was moved by McNally boats from the IEL pier in Dartmouth to the Shipyard.

Enormous amounts of fill have been trucked in from the quarry in Dartmouth to fill the caisson cells, but there will be much more to come as the cope walls are yet to be built. and the grade has to be built up to the level of the Assembly Hall.

.

 

 

 

Norwegian Prima - you decide

The immense cruise ship Norwegian Prima spent the day, April 29, in Halifax en route from New York to Europe.

 

The ship was built by Fincantieri, Marghera and entered service in 2022. At 143,535 gt, it has a passenger capacity variously reported as 3,099 and up to 3,215 with a crew of 1,506. Passenger accommodation is spread over 16 of the ship's total of 20 decks.

The ship is the first of six Prima class vessels, although subsequent ships will be longer and wider with the final two about 20% larger than this one. (Fortunately you can't get 20% uglier).

From Halifax the ship has planned calls in Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge and LeHavre, arriving in Southampton May 12.

Although very large, the ship does not operate at a very deep draft (8.4 meters / 27'-7" on sailing) so it was able to exit using the main channel, giving over the deep water western channel to the inbound ONE Wren which was reporting 15 meters / 49'-2 1/2" draft. Interestingly the 14,056 TEU ONE Wren has a gross tonnage of 146,409, but like the proverbial iceberg, much of it is underwater.

.

Box Ships and Cruisers

 The cruise season is now well underway and today, May 16, marked the arrival of both a familiar ship and a new ship to Halifax.

The Pearl Mist ought to be familiar because it was built by the Halifax Shipyard. Its story is a convoluted one, best summarized by its Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Mist

 With a passenger capacity of 210 (in 105 cabins, all outside with balconies) and 70 crew, the ship is one of the smallest cruise ships to call in Halifax. It arrived this morning from Portland, ME and sailed this afternoon for the Strait of Canso en route to the Great Lakes for the summer.

At the other end of the scale was the first time caller Norwegian Prima, a 143,535 gt behemoth with a passenger capacity of 3,099 and crew of 1,506.

 The first of six ships to be built by Fincantieri, Marghera, it is just about the ugliest passenger ship I have ever seen. It boasts large open deck space including a ten deck water slide and a race track, plus an exclusive First Class section called The Haven which is isolated from the common passenger area. No doubt it has many other amenities, which can be enjoyed without actually having to see the ship.

There was lots of more prosaic container ship activity in the port too. The MSC Rossella made a call at PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway to top up cargo en route from Montreal to Barcelona on MSC's Canada Express 2 service.

A veteran ship, built in 1993 by Samsung Geoje, it is a 37,398 gt, 43,605 dwt vessel with a container capacity of 3398 TEU. Launched as Hansa Europe it was delivered as Ville de Carina and renamed MSC Rossella in 1997. With the fluctuating market for ships these days it is hard to know how much longer it will survive. With all the deliveries of new ships scheduled for 2023-2024, the market may become saturated, but few of then will be this size, which is ideal for the St.Lawrence trade. However thirty year old ships are rare due to the cost of keeping them in class. It is due for its next surveys later this year and almost all of its certificates expire December 31, 2023.

In the above photo, the MSC Rossella is outbound in the Main (Eastern) channel and the tug Atlantic Willow is on its way to meet the ZIM Qingdao inbound in the Deepwater (Western) channel. Ferguson's Cove is an ideal viewing spot for ships in the western channel as they swing close to shore.

On the Zim Container Atlantic (ZCA) service, arriving from Valencia, Spain, the ZIM Qingdao is a 39,906 gt, 60,690 dwt ship with a capacity of 4250 TEU. It was built in 2006 by Dalian New Shipbuilding.

By using the Western Channel, ZIM Qingdao gave the Norwegian Prima lots of room in the Eastern Channel.

Another arrival, about an hour later sailed on through the harbour to PSA Fairview Cove. The NYK Constellation is another of the Daedalus class of 55,534 gt, 65,919 dwt, with a capacity of 4922 TEU with 330 reefer plugs. As with several recent sister ships it is on THE Alliance's AL5 service arriving from Saint John, NB on the eastbound leg. Its sister ship NYK Daedalus arrived early this morning westbound from Antwerp, also at PSA Fairview Cove. There was thus the rare opportunity to see two ships of the same class together - which I missed.

Despite best efforts (Shipfax can only be in one place at a time - so far) I also managed to miss the MSC Cornelia on the Turkey-Greece run en route to Boston and the auto carrier Supreme Ace from Emden for Houston. (Both ships hsave been mentioned in this blog before.)

.

Still at full steam and "Why This"

PSA Halifax's Atlantic Gateway is still processing a quite steady stream of ships. They continue to arrive, some from offshore anchorage where they have been waiting their turn.

Today's arrivals (October 3) started (in the dark) with Tropic Lissette for Tropical Shipping. The next arrivals were in full daylight this afternoon. 

Lagarfoss is westbound from Reykjavik and is en route to Portland , ME.

 The Lagarfoss has been a regular since 2014 when it was built by Rongcheng Shenfei Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Rongcheng, China. Measuring 10,119 gt, 11,811 dwt it has a capacity for 880 TEU (875 according to Eimskip) and carries a pair of 45 tonne SWL cranes. It likely has a good many reefer  plugs, but I can't find a reference to the number.

Also arriving this afternoon was MSC Aniello en route from Italy, via Sines, Portugal for Montreal for MSC's Canada Express 1.

 A 40,631 gt, 56,903 dwt ship with a capacity of 4056 TEU, including 150 reefers, it was built in 2000 by Hanjin Heavy Industry + Construction Co Ltd, Busan. On arrival it took the centre berth at Pier C, between Tropic Lissette at Pier 41 and Lagarfoss at Pier 42.

The brand new cruise ship Norwegian Prima arrived in Halifax for the first time this morning. I was mystified as to why it was assigned to Pier 31 when there were no ships scheduled for the usual berths at Piers 20, 21 and 22.

The ship was delivered by Fincantieri Marghera on July 29 of this year and entered service in August - the first of a projected six ships in the Prima class. At 143,535 gt it is a huge ship with a capacity of 3,215 passengers (lower berths).
 

Once alongside it was apparent why the ship went to Pier 31. It has what appear to be pairs of spiral waterslides projecting out from the ship's sides. These overhang the dock to such an extent that they would interfere with the port's gangway structures, and the buildings at Piers 20 to 22. To eliminate any such risk, the ship docked at the open pier - which is hardly welcoming to cruise ship passengers. (Due to port industrial activity there, pedestrain access is not permitted - passengers are bused to the Pier 22 terminal.)

Of course I consider these apppendages to be ridiculous, but the Norwegian Cruise Line (incorporated in Bermuda and headquartered in Miami) apparently knows what sells, and (quite obviously) are not concerned about traditional ship's lines. The ship is due again on October 8.

Another arrival this afternoon was Atlantic Sky from Antwerp for Atlantic Container Line, docking at PSA Fairview Cove.

As mentioned in a previous post, dockworkers in Liverpool, UK initiated job action eleven days ago, but have now returned to work and entered negotiations with the employer. They may walk out again October 11 to 17 if there is no agreement on demands. Atlantic Sky last called in Liverpool September 16-18, but has skipped the port westbound, calling instead at Antwerp (eastbound September 20-21), Hamburg (September 22-23) and Antwerp (westbound, September 24-26).

.