British arrivals, new cruise news and another tanker update

 British Arrival #1 As usual when Cunard's Queen Mary 2 visits Halifax people flock to the waterfront to see it arrive and depart. This morning's (September 25) arrival was delayed, with its ETA at the pilot station changing a couple of times, but eventually picking up its pilot at about 0930 hrs ADT. Nevertheless there were small groups of viewers at various spots along the shore with cameras and smart phones at the ready.

The ship is on a long loop that started in Southampton on September 15 with stops in New York, Rockland ME, and Halifax. It will sail from here for Sept-Iles, Saguenay, Quebec City, Sydney, New York, Newport, Boston, Southampton October 13 and Hamburg October 15.

The ship had the entire Seawall (berths 20 to 22) to itself today, so did not need to use the bright yellow bollard at the end of north end of Pier 20. That bollard, which is visible in today's photo (you may have to squint) is known familiarly as the "Queen Mary bollard" named for this ship's  illustrious predecessor. It has a companion bollard at the south end of Pier 22 which the ship very likely did use today.

As noted in some previous posts, the yellow colour of the bollard represents a maximum load limit of 150 tonnes and is the highest capacity type of bollard in the port. See: May 19, 2022 and May 20, 2022

The small object off the ships starboard bow is likely the tug Dominion Rumbler with the sanitation barge Dominion Branwyn. I saw the duo getting underway September 23 from their base in Dartmouth Cove to service other cruise ships.

The barge is a former Canadian Naval Auxiliary vessel, a fresh water lighter, believed to be YSF 220. If so, it was built in 1956 by Marine Industries in Sorel, QC likely as an ammunition lighter YE 220 and later converted to a water barge YW 220 before becoming YSF 220. When acquired by Dominion Diving it was assigned the less salubrious name Honey Barge but was given its present name a few years ago.
 

British Arrival #2 The second British arrival may not have been as happy a one. The RSS (for Royal Research Ship) Discovery has been working off Nova Scotia for the past weeks, likely for the Bedford Institute. The Discovery put in to Halifax briefly this afternoon, September 25, for a medical evacuation. 

The transfer to the launch Halmar took place at number one anchorage, after which the ship returned immediately back to sea.
  

Cruise News

A new to Halifax cruise ship arrived in Halifax today, September 25.  The French Compagnie du Ponant operates Le Lyrial under the flag of Wallis and Futuna, an overseas collective of France situated between Tahiti and Noumea. The port of registry is Mata Utu.

 Fincantieri's Ancona shipyard delivered Le Lyrial in 2015. The 10,992 gt ship can accommodate 264 passengers and 139 crew. It is on a nine day outing from Montreal to Quebec City, Saguenay, Percé, Cap-aux-Meules and Halifax then on to Boston, Oak Bluffs (Martha's Vineyard), Newport and New York.

More Tanker Update 

Thanks to a well informed source I can report that the "mystery" short return visit of the CB Pacific (see two previous posts), was indeed to discharge a small quanity of cargo. The shore facility reached capacity before the ship offloaded all of its ethanol cargo on a previous visit in August, so the ship carried on with deliveries of other products for Irving Oil (the ship has many segregated tanks and can carry and handle a dozen or so discrete chemicals at the same time). On this recent return visit it offloaded the remaining 5000 cubic meters of ethanol.

The source also reported that the ship has signed a five year charter with Valero, so we may see more of the ship in the future. Valero has a large tank capacity in Eastern Passage, but has not had direct tanker deliveries in several years.

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Annual Events

 The arrival of the Queen Mary 2 for the first time each year brings out the crowds for both the ship's arrivals and its departures. This year's arrival on July 1 was seen by very few as the harbour was socked in with thick fog accompanied by rain showers. The weather caused the cancellation of many Canada Day events, including the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo parade. The usual fireworks over the harbour were postponed for a week. The Queen Mary 2 passengers would have had a front row seat. The ship also arranged to stay in Halifax overnight and passengers were treated to a bright sunny day today, July 2.

 

 While tied up at Pier 21-22 the ship was tended to by divers from the work boat Allen Clipper. HMCS Oriole also took a close up look outbound for sea.

Departure today was in ideal conditions. The ship also obliged by sailing north about and east of George's Island, making a fine sight. 

A perhaps less anticipated arrival each year is the first shipment of grain from the Great Lakes. That usually occurs soon after the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway in April, or perhaps in May. A June 30 arrival is unusually late, but that was the case this year when the Algoma Mariner arrived.

The Algoma Mariner has been the regular carrier for the past several years. It began to unload immediately on arrival, using its own self-unloader system at pier 26. The ship is due to sail shortly after midnight July 2-3.

Grain is for local consumption by the P+H flour mill (which is also supplied by rail). There is very little grain exported from Halifax anymore.

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Queen Mary 2

 Durng cruise season (generally May to the end of October) the arrival and departure of the Queen Mary 2 attracts scores of people to the waterfront.

 File photo 2015-07-10

Last night (December 9) the ship arrived unannounced, and largely unnoticed, and sailed within an hour. It was an amazing sight to see the great ship, ablaze with lights and doing avery bit of 14 knots as it made its way in from the pilot staiton. It did not tie up at a pier, but stopped north of George's Island, very close to the Halifax shore, in order to disembark a medical case.

It is not unusual for cruise ships to have medical emergencies that on board staff cannot handle. If they are close to shore they can divert to a port that has hospital facilities. The ship can then transfer the patient to land with one of their own tenders or with a local launch. Helicopter evacuations are uncommon as the risks to the patient usually outweigh the gravity of the medical condition. On this trip the Queen Mary 2 sailed from New York December 8 and is due in Southampton on December 15. Fortunately for the ailing passenger, the ship's course took it no more than 100 miles off Halifax.

The Queen Mary 2 is the last ocean liner. It makes regular transatlantic crossings - unlike cruise ships that seek quieter venues and are built to lighter standards. It is currently the only ocean liner in existance, and the largest one ever built.

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A 5 ship day

 It was a five cruise ship day in Halifax for the first of October. 

Ctystal Serenity after over-nighting in Halifax moved in the early hours from Pier 20 to Pier 27 to make room for the Norwegian Pearl, then sailed in the early afternoon for Sydney, NS. 

Queen Mary 2 tied up at Pier 22, as usual. giving a solid panorama of ships at the seawall.

The World arrived at Pier 23 and Pearl Mist at Pier 24.

The World, arriving from Montreal, will be staying in port over night. It will then depart for US east coast ports, the Caribbean, and the Pacific coast of South America and eventually to Antarctica by the end of the year.

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Fogged in again

 For the second day in a row (although today was an improvement some of the time) thick fog covered much of the harbour activity. Yesterday's (July 2) arrival and departure of the Queen Mary 2 was largely invisible - no doubt disappointing the many fans that usually show up for its visits. (There has been no further information about the medical emergency that caused its unplanned visit to Halifax on June 29, when it was visible - see previous post.)

It is futile to try to demonstrate the thickness of the fog by photos, but I tried, and no amount of digital tweeking helped!

 

One arrival yesterday, and departure today that I also would have liked to photograph was Coastal Shipping Ltd's tanker Kitikmeot W.  It is not unknown in Halifax,  but this particular call was a bit unusual. Coastal Shipping, founded by Mel Woodward, Sr, in Goose Bay, NL has had a long-standing relationship with Imperial Oil and distributes their products into many isolated northern and arctic communities. Their tanker fleet is based in Lewisporte, NL - a port that is accessible year round.

 (file photo 2021-02-12)

On this particular trip the Kitikmeot W. has ventured outside its usual range and on May 24 it was upbound in the St.Lawrence Seaway for Imperial's refinery in Nanticoke, ON. It was downbound again June 3, but quickly discharged in the Montreal area and was reported upbound again June 7 for Sarnia. It then made an unusual call to Green Bay, WI before returning to Sarnia. It made another trip from Sarnia June19 to an unknown destination, returning June 24. It sailed June 25 and made its way to Halifax. On departure this afternoon (July 3) it gave its home port of Lewisporte as destination.

Built by Ikdas in Biga, Turkey in 2010 the 13,097 gt, 19,982 dwt ship was originally named Ikdas-09 and was acquired and renamed by Coastal Shipping Ltd in 2018. 

Another notable departure from Halifax today was by a pair of Royal Canadian Navy vessels, sailing for a four month deployment to NATO. HMCS Shawinigan MM704  and HMCS Summerside MM711 and are headed for the Baltic and Operation Reassurance.

 Both ships were built at Halifax Shipyards as part of the twelve ship Kingston class of coastal defence vessels. Shawinigan was launched (conventioanlly) November 15, 1996 and commissioned January 14, 1997. Summerside was the last ship in the series, and was launched September 25, 1998 and commissioned July 18, 1999.

The ships are propelled by azimuthing stern drives, (in reverse position for the launch in photo above) and are thus highly maneurverable.

Unrelated to fog: As predicted there were some delays due to limited berth space at PSA Halifax south end terminal on the long weekend. There was a steady stream of ships from Friday through to today, with some anchoring to await their berth. 

The Atlantic Hub, southend terminal processed a remarkable ten ships from Friday June 30 to Monday July 3 whereas  Fairview Cove had only four. Some of the ships (3 or 4 by my count) were too large to get to Fairview Cove, but I believe some delays could have been avoided by rationalization. (i.e. by relocating some lines to Fairview Cove permanently).

I hear that some changes are indeed planned this month to balance demand for pier space with the under utilized Fairview Cove terminal. Details to follow.

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Queen Mary 2 - preview visit

 The famous liner Queen Mary 2 was due in Halifax on July 2, so it came as a surprise when it made an unscheduled call today June 29. The brief time in port - less than a half hour - was unfortunately due to a medical emergency. An ambulance and Emergency Health Service workers met the ship when it tied up at Pier 22. As usual with such incidents the privacy of the passenger or crew member was respected and details were not released.

It was quite foggy when the ship arrived, but a little tweeking of the digital image brought out the superb look of the ship. Word of its arrival brought out a small group of ship watchers -  as it always does - regardless of weather.

When it sailed, the ship went north about George's Island, and made for sea in good order.

 

The Queen Mary 2 is the last of the great liners and makes regular transatlantic passenger crossings, in season. In addition to the novelty and tradition of such voyages it is a convenience to those who cannot fly and unique among cruise ships (and unlike many airlines), it allows pets to travel with the owners. The cancellation of any crossing causes great inconvenience as there are no alternatives aside from some cruise ship re-positioning trips.

The ship's trip out of Southampton scheduled for April 23, and its return trip out of New York scheduled for April 30, 2023 were cancelled for unspecified "technical issues". Those have been quite rare for the now nearly twenty year old ship. Delivered by Chantier de l'Atlantique, St-Nazaire in December 2003 the 149,215 gt ship has a capacity of 2,695 passengers and as Cunard would have it 1253 "officers and crew". 

Cunard of course is part of the Carnival Corporation and from recent press reports, its boss reports to P+O Cruises in the corporate chain of command. 

 Cunard's Halifax roots are not forgottten and a statue of Sir Samuel Cunard stands outside the Halifax Port Autohority offices at Pier 20.

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The British are coming (and going) and shipyard news

 It was a minor British invasion of Halifax this morning (October 5) as P+0's Aurora and Cunard's Queen Mary 2 (both actually part of Carnival PLC) tied up at adjacent berths. What with gloomy overcast conditions and early evening darkness I was only able to get underway photos of only the Aurora.

 There was a stiff breeze at 1700 hrs as Aurora was getting away and the tug Atlantic Beaver was called in to assist. Once Aurora was off the dock it let go the tug and sailed north and east of George's Island outbound for Sydney.

Built in 2000 by Jos. L.Meyer, Papenburg, the 76,152 gt ship has a capacity of 1,950 passengers (all berths) and 850 crew. It is also one of the better looking cruise ships despite the stylized Union flag graphics.

The ship is on an extended re-positioning voyage, sailing from Southampton September 18 and calling in Quebec City September 27-29 (extended stay due to Hurricane Fiona), Saguenay / Port Alfred September 30, and CornerBrook October 2. The brief last of smoke on departure was offered in lieu of a whistle salute.

Queen Mary 2, as befits the last great transatlantic liner, tied up at Pier 21-22, (with its bow extending part way across the end of Pier 23).

Constructed by Chantiers Atlantique St-Nazaire and delivered in  December 2003, the 149,215 gt ship has a capacity of 2,695 passengers and 1,253 crew and staff. 

Queen Mary 2 sailed from Le Havre September 16 and arrived in New York September 23, skirting Fiona. It then sailed to Quebec City, stopping over from September 29 to October 1 and Sept-Iles, QC October 3-4. It is now due in New York October 7.

On the more mundane commercial level, it was another first time caller for the Mediterranean Shipping Company. MSC Odessa arrived on the Turkey-Greece service via Spain and Portugal.

The ship was built in 2010 by Hyundai, Samho as Rio Chicago and carried that name until 2014. It then became Schubert. Earlier this year it was renamed again. Its new name pays tribute to the Ukranain port that has been under siege during the invasion by Russia.

The 41,331 gt, 51,687 dwt ship has a capacity of 4255 TEU.

Other News

The rumours have been spreading for some time, but it was made official today that Groupe Océan has acquired the Verreault shipyard in Méchins, QC. Océan, well known for its tugs, marine construction activity and dredging, also owns the Industrie Océan shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres, QC (currently building tugs for the RCN) and a major ship repair unit (including a floating drydock) in Quebec City. The Verreault yard consists of a huge 800 ft x 184 ft (243.84 x 56.08m) graving dock and ship repair, fabrication and construction facilities on the north coast of the Gaspé peninsula. 

Verreault can accommodate the largest Great Lakes ships and regularly services Marine Atlantic ferries and Canadian Coast Guard vessels. The previously family owned yard will now be part of a large corporation with access to a huge pool of capital through Quebec government investment funds.

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IJzerborg for Nirint and other things

 Nirint Shipping, based in Barendrecht, Netherlands, operates a regular general cargo and container service between Rotterdam, Netherlands, Bilbao, Spain and the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao and Cuba and returning to Europe via Halifax. The primary cargo for Halifax is nickel sulfides from Cuba. They use up to seven different ships to maintain the service, not all of which call in Halifax on every trip.

Today's arrival (July 6) has not been one of the regulars, and I believe it is making its first call in Halifax. The IJzerborg is a multi-purpose general cargo ship of the open hatch, moveable tween decks, box shaped hold type. With a hull built in 2010 by Damen Yichang, and completed in Gorinchem, it is a 8999 gt, 12,080 dwt vessel fitted with a pair of 80 tonne capacity cranes. It is also strengthened for heavy cargoes, and containers in all holds and on all hatches. The container capacity is 686 TEU and includes 80 reefer plugs. To add to the ship's utility it can carry grain, is fitted for Great Lakes trade, has hold ventilation, dehumidification and CO2, and is Ice Class 1A Swedish/Finnish. Its tween decks are removable and can be installed as temporary bulkheads. (Sister ship IJsselborg has called in Halifax numeorus times in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2021.)

 

 

Despite today's heavy rain, the ship was seen working cargo, which I appears to be nickel sulfides in bulk bags, which protect it from weather. The doors to the Pier 27 shed were open, so I expect the bags were forklifted to the shed for storage. They will eventually be loaded on open gondola rail cars for Sherritt International's refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, AB. 

Recent work at Pier 29 (in the foreground of the photos) has involved installation of a weigh scale for dump trucks to deliver pyritic slate to be used to infill the pier A-1 / Pier B  basin. That means, at least for now, a much clearer view of proceedings at Pier 27 and 28, although there are new fences in between.

In the misty background MSC Manzanillo is in number one anchorage. After working cargo at PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, the ship returned to anchor. (See yesterday's post.)

 The previous occupant of Pier 27-28 Tomini Ghibli (see July 1 post) completed loading and sailed last evening (July 5) for Ghent, Belgium.

Another visitor in Halifax today is the always popular Queen Mary 2. The ship's arrival and departure drew the usual crowds, despite the weather. I did not make an effort to take a photo this time because I have many pictures already, and taken in good conditions, such as:

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The Queen Mary bollard - what's in a name [Part One]

 A substantial piece of cast iron on the north corner of the seawall at Pier 20 looks like a fairly utilitarian piece of hardware, but over time it has acquired a name. Known as the "Queen Mary bollard" it deserves more attention than the recent coat of yellow paint gives it.

It is difficult to gauge the size of the bollard because it is now fenced off for saferty, however compared to other bollards that creep into my photos, it is much larger. A "sister" Queen Mary bollard is in place at the very south end of the seawall at the Pier 22-23 corner. It can be seen in the background in comparison to the longshoremen standing by for line handling on the arrival of the Silver Cloud on May 14.

The typical bollard (like the one in the foreground in the above photo) is set into the pier face and has two "horns" that prevent ship's lines from slipping off.

Several sets of lines may be run to the same bollard and sometimes pose quite a tangle for longhoremen to cast off when a ship sails.

The Queen Mary bollards however are essentially cylindrical with a "mushroom" top. Their main feature is not visible - it is that they are set very deep into the pier structure and are meant to withstand huge stresses from the lines of very big ships.

Much has changed on the waterfront since the bollard was first installed. We now have a pedestrian boardwalk, replacing numerous industrial facilites, and an office building conversion of the former power plant.

As my (snowy) 1968 photo tells:

 An attractve safety fence does not obstruct the view unduly - except for a camera.

Although they have taken on the "Queen Mary" sobriquet, the big bollards likely pre-date that "Queen of the North Atlantic" by twenty-five years or so.

The (first) Queen Mary was built on the Clyde in 1936, and set an Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage - the first ship to average more than 30 knots westbound - winning the Blue Riband. When the French ship Normandie set a new speed record, the Queen Mary promptly re-won the Blue Riband. It served as a troop ship in World War II and because of its great speed it usually sailed without naval escort. It was the world's largest passenger ship when built, at 80,774 gt, measuring 1019 ft long over all (310.7m] and 118 ft [36 m] breadth.

The Seawall (Pier 20-22) was designed in the early teens of the 20th century as part of the huge Ocean Terminals project. Construction started in 1912, continued through World War I and after the Halifax Explosion in 1917, with final completion in 1928. The development of the new port area, including the passenger and Immigration facility was intended to accomodate the largest ships of the day. Dock hardware was designed accordingly, and these large bollards were likely part of the original infrastructure. 

It is worth noting that the largest ships at the time were the Olympic and Titanic, 46,328 gt, at 882'=9" [269.1m] length overall x 92'-6" [28.2m] breadth. Until 1910 when the Olympic was launched, the world's largest passenger ship was Cunard's Mauretania of 1906. It was a 31,938 gt vessel of 790 ft [240.8m] length overall x 88 ft [26.8m] breadth. So the design of the new Halifax Seawall included considerable foresight, as ships have since grown exponentially.

I think the term "Queen Mary bollards" was likely given by the longshoremen as a means of denoting size. The ship Queen Mary was large and so were the bollards. The Queen Mary did call (rarely) in Halifax, as did her fleet mate, the larger Queen Elizabeth, in regular passenger service, but also as troop ships.They certainly would have used these bollards, and needed fixtures of their great size and strength.

The original Queen Mary was retired in 1967 and is preserved at Long Beach, California (although its survival is in question.) It would be interesting to know what sort of bollards it uses at its berth there. 

The current holder of the name, Queen Mary 2 is a vastly larger ship at 149,215 gt, 1132 ft [345.03m] length overall x 135' [41m breadth] and usually calls in Halifax a couple of times each year during the cruise season. [2021 was the first year a Cunard passenger ship has not called in Halifax probably since since 1840 and Cunard's first steamship the Unicorn.] The Queen Mary 2 uses one of the Queen Mary bollards, but may also employ an even larger structure installed more recently at the Tall Ships Quay.

In this 2014 view, the Queen Mary 2 has cast off its lines. The "Queen Mary" bollard was painted red at that time - the same colour as all other bollards in the port, and is visible, bottom centre of the photo.

See Part 2 - May 20, 2022

 

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Having a Bad Day (times two)

 December 20 was a less than pleasant day for passengers on two ships, far apart in the world, but both with a tenuous connection to Halifax. 

 Bad Day #1

The great transatlantic passenger liner Queen Mary 2 arrived in New York from Southampton on its first transatlantic crossing in 23 months - the longest suspension of regular service since World War II. There were 1,473 passengers rattling around in the space designed for 2,691 (and 1,250 crew) and all were reported to be fully vacinated and testing negative for COVID-19 on departure December 13.

However on arrival in NYC on December 20 there were 10 persons on board testing positive for COVID-19. Isolation measures were put in place and the ten cases were removed from the ship. Some passengers are remaining on board as they are booked for the continuation of the voyage as a Caribbean cruise. They are self-isolating.

The ship is a favourite in Halifax, drawing crowds whenever it is in port. Halifax acclaims its native son Sir Samuel Cunard, the pioneer steamship promoter and owner. Read the Wikipedia article about Cunard's personal and family history here . Carnival Cruise Lines owns the Cunard "brand" now, along with several others.

Bad Day #2

Passengers travelling between Piraeus, Chios, Lesvos, Lemnos and Thessaloniki, Greece  were delayed after their ship the Pelagitis lost power in one engine December 22 while crossing the Saronic Sea. The ship returned to Piraeus on one engine where it was detained until repairs are made. A news account of the event showed a picture of the ship and its distinctive profile was unmistakably the former Marine Atlantic truck ferry Atlantic Freighter.

Built in 1977 by Hyundai, Ulsan the 5466 gt, 8672 dwt ship sailed as Tor Felicia until 1978, Merzario Grecia until 1983, and Stena Grecia until 1986. In April of that year CN Marine (as it was then) chartered the ship for 150 days. Then, having become Marine Atlantic, purchased it outright. Renamed Atlantic Freighter  and with a capacity of 75 drop trailers and 110 - 40 ft containers, it also had accommodation for 12 passengers (in six cabins) and was Ice Class 1A. It operated year round between North Sydney, NS and Port aux Basques, NL in freight only service.  

 
In December 1990 the ship sailed from North Sydney to take up a charter to the US government  for the Gulf War. It made two trips to the Persian Gulf with a Canadian volunteer crew, then stood by in Italy until it was returned April 30, 1991. It was also chartered out to the UK for a time in 1994-95.

The ship was drydocked in Halifax at various times in 2002 and 2006. When asbestos was discovered aboard in November 2007 (quelle surprise!)  it was laid up in Point Edward, NS until 2008 to allow for encapsulation of the material.

Despite rumours of replacing the ship as early as 1998 there was no real action until the February 2008 federal budget set aside $17 million for a replacement. Nevertheless the ship remained in service until early 2010 when it was sold to Greek owners and renamed Pelagitis.

The current engine ailment is not the first time the Pelagitis has had problems. Engine damage was also reported February 11, 2019 while the ship was on a similar route with Mytilene listed instead of Lesvos among the ports.

At the time of the most recent incident it was carrying 12 passengers, 28 cars and 36 trucks.It was unclear if there were drivers for each of the vehicles.

For more on the term "Pelagic" [English translation of Pelagitis] see the Wikipedia entry: here

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Queen Mary 2 emergency medevac

The Queen Mary 2 is due in Halifax at about midnight tonight for an emergency medical evacuation. The ship will tie up at pier 21-22 long enough to disembark the person then put back to sea. The Cunarder is en route from New York for Southampton.

The ship is a regular caller during the cruise season.

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Big Show Today

Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth arrived this morning, to tie up at adjacent piers 20 and 22. It is always an impressive sight when Queen Mary 2 arrives and sails, but there will be a special treat this evening when both ships leave port at the same time.

Starting at 6 pm when the ships begin to let go their lines, there will be a complex maneuver as the ships meet north  of George's Island and sail outbound in tandem. It takes some time to get away and move slowly, so the entire operation is expected to take 90 minutes (or more).

Cunard, now part of Carnival, still pays tribute to its founder Samuel Cunard, a Halifax businessman, with special events, awards and now this sail past.

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Later:

On schedule, Queen Elizabeth got away first, moving south around George's Island, then northbound on the east side.

There were lots of spectator craft in attendance including the harbour mascot Theodore Too.

Meanwhile the tug Spitfire III was assisting Queen Mary 2 to get off pier 20 and head north of George's Island.

Once Queen Mary 2 was well underway, the tug scooted ahead and began a water display as Queen Elizabeth made its turn.

With its turn completed the two ships met at the ferry track and exchanged whistle salutes.

The tug fell in behind Queen Elizabeth and accompanied it outbound west of George's Islands, saluting at several locations en route.

Queen Mary 2 completed it turn and followed. Aside from a small Border Services patrol boat, it was unaccompanied. I thought this was a breach of etiquette. As senior ship, and flagship of the fleet, it deserved better. I guess the cost of two tugs was too much for Cruise Halifax.

Although it is an imposing looking ship, Queen Elizabeth is the smaller of the two. Due to the higher freeboard of the transatlantic liner, Queen Mary 2 has fewer open and exposed decks, and this greater gross tonnage.

Queen Elizabeth 90,901 grt, 294m x 32.3m, 2,092 passengers (lower berths only).
Queeen Mary 2 149,215 grt, 345m x 45m, 2,695 passengers (lower berths only).

After the Holiday

It was quiet in the harbour for the July1 holiday, but things picked up a bit today.

Irving Oil welcomed the tanker Elka Hercules from Amsterdam. This is the ship's second call in Halifax. It was here January 29 to February 1, also from Amsterdam, with a cargo of refined product. Its visit will be a short one as it has to vacate the berth tomorrow for the arrival of Irving's Acadian.

Elka Hercules unloads at Irving Oil, Woodside as the tug Spitfire III heads to Autoport.

A 2002 product of Brodosplit shipyard in Croatia it is a 27,539gt, 44,481 dwt MidRange tanker. It is part of the European Product Carriers Ltd fleet from Athens, and one of about twenty ships with the "Elka" prefix, several of which have called here recently.

The autocarrier Hoegh London made a brief call at Autoport this morning. This is the ship's first visit to Halifax according to my records. It is on an eastbound routing, so may have loaded export cargo.

Hoegh London has a side ramp positioned well aft. Most autocarriers have them nearer midships.

The pilot boarding door is just forward of the ramp.

Built by Daewoo, Okpo in 2008 it carried the name Alliance Charleston from 2010 to 2013 and flew the US flag as a non-Jones Act vessel. As a ship not built in the US, it was not permitted to trade between US ports, but was eligible for certain preferences in foreign trade, such as US government cargo.
The 68,871 gt, 27,100 dwt ship has a capacity of 7850 CEU.

It was an unusual mid-day arrival for Oceanex Sanderling returning from St.John's. The ship sailed from Halifax on Friday as usual but must have done a quick Sunday turnaround in St.John's to avoid the holiday.

The ship is carrying a large number of Oceanex (blue) 53 foot containers. These are among the few "sea going" 53 footers, as most container ships can't accommodate them in their cellular holds. Therefore most 53 foot containers are not built to IMO sea-going standards, and are restricted to intermodal or RoRo traffic.

Queen Mary 2 made a return call today. With Celebrity Summit overnighting at pier 20, the big ship berthed at pier 22, and had to extend lines across the camber to pier 26 in order to be properly secured.

It is not only container ships that are getting bigger! The port has to accommodate some large cruise ships too, and with three in port today, Insignia had to take the back seat - at pier 27 - in amongst a lot of unsightly commercial port activity. If I were a tourist I would not be impressed.

Queen Mary 2 made its stately way out of Halifax this evening nicely catching the sun on its way to the pilot station. 

To make room for tour boats at the Tall Ships Quay, the yacht Sycara V shifted north to the Salter pier, and appeared to be undergoing some maintenance. There may have been divers working at the bow. Note the hatch doors open at the forepeak.