Star Pyxis - leaves with a souvenir

 The bulker Star Pyxis, at anchor in Bedford Basin since February 2 for unspecified repairs finally sailed today for Norfolk, VA. See previous posts February 7  and February 9.

The ship carried with it - at least for a time - a souvenir of its visit. Draped from its port anchor was a large gob of prime quality Halifax mud and some old wire, dredged up from the anchorages. (The ship had to re-anchor at least once when it began to drag anchor in high winds.)

The harbour bottom is littered with the detritus of centuries, including wire, chain and other jetsom. It is not unsual for ship's anchors to foul something and it may require assistance from divers or others to free the material. 

In the case of the Star Pyxis, the ship's own crew were working with a chain and grapple attempting to remove the wire. 

 

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Winter

Winter conditions can mean problems for shipping. These can range from severe such as ice damage, to frozen spray on deck or ice clogging sea chests and a whole host of other issues. Halifax is a convenient place to deal with problems that may arise since the port is ice free, there are lots of berths and achorages available and there are technicians nearby for most ship components.

Nevertheless it is rare to see three ships in port at the same time, due to winter conditions.

It is even rarer to be able to squeeze all three ships into the same photo.

At anchor in Bedford Basin, the Star Pyxis is still in port (see previous posts) but some progress has apparently been made on whatever issues it had. The ship is due to make trials in the Basin this afternoon (February 15) with a pilot aboard, then move to Pier 9C tomorrow. (The ship is visible in the far right background of the photo above).

The heavy oil / bitumen tanker Iver Ambition arrived at Pier 9C yesterday after discharging cargo in Sept-Iles, QC. The ship loaded the cargo in Antwerp  and completed unloading in Sept-Iles January 31. Why it took two weeks to reach Halifax is not known, but it is likely winter related.

Built as San Lorenzo in 2009 by Kraljevica Shipyard in Croatia the ship retained its Italian flag when it was renamed Iver Ambition in 2015 by Vroon / Iver Ships. The 6296 gt, 8962 dwt tanker carries the Vroon "V" in white on its hull.

Also at Pier 9C is the container ship MSC Jersey. The ship was en route from Le Havre to Montreal when it put in to Halifax yesterday January 14.

 

Aside from frozen spray forward on the spray shield (see top photo) and on deck, there was no outward sign of any issues with the ship. Pier 9C was busy with trucks moving salt from a large stockpile, but there did not seem to be much activity at the ship itself.

The ship was built by Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Zhoushan as Seaviolet. It was renamed Sapphire in 2014, Hammonia Sapphire in 2015, X-Press Jersey in 2019 and MSC Jerseay in 2021. The 47,873 gt, 60,550 dwt ship has a capacity of 4896 TEU including 750 reefers.

Some ships avoid winter conditions by laying up until spring.That is usually true of Great Lakes ships, as the fresh water freezes up and the locks are closed. However some of the newer classes of CSL and Algoma ships run well after the traditional December layup dates. One such ship, CSL's Baie St.Paul has been busy delivering salt from the Magdalen Islands to St.Lawrence River ports. (It also delivered salt to Halifax late last year.) It has now arrived in Halifax (February 14) for an abbreviated "winter layup".

The ship is docked stern in at Pier 25-26, to allow easier access to the ship's machinery spaces. Generally these layup periods allow for major maintenance to engines and other equipment. The ships usually return to service toward the end of March when the St.Lawrence Seaway reopens for the season.

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Big Ships, and various updates

Container lines keep adding bigger ships to their fleets, and placing them on routes that once were served by much smaller ships. This certainly places pressure on the ports and terminals they visit to be able to berth and serve the larger ships efficiently. PSA Halifax is able to handle two "Ultra" class ships (larger than 10,000 TEU, 350m long) at the same time. Thanks to the most recent extension to Pier 42 they can berth the ships, but they do not yet have sufficient cranes to work the ships efficiently. 

One new crane is reported to be on order and there is an option for another. But with build times of up to 18 months, crane manufacturers have backlogs and it will years before the second crane arrives. By that time even larger ships will be calling and there will likely be demand for even more cranes. Certainly if there are two Ultra class ships, or even two moderately large ships in port at the same time, they need to be served quickly or the port loses advantage over other ports.The Port of Saint John will apparently be getting some cranes second hand from Prince Rupert, BC. Terminal operator DP World took delivery of the largest crane in Canada in Prince Rupert in June 2021, and will transfer a pair of older cranes to their newly enlarged Saint John operation.

Today's arrival at PSA Halifax seems to have had a domino effect on other ships.

CMA CGM Hermes arrives this morning February 9, while ZIM Vancouver continues to wait at an outer anchorage (it has been there since at least February 5). The ship used all four harbour tugs to berth, including Atlantic Oak the stern tethered escort tug that met the ship off the pilot station, (in the photo the fourth tug is not visible on ship's starboard side) .
 

CMA CGM Hermes is still very new, just delivered by Chinese builders in October. The 154,995 gt, 156,500 dwt ship, with a capacity of 15,536 TEU, including 1800 reefers, is about 1,000 TEU shy of being the largest container ship to call in Halifax, but at 366m x 51m it still monopolizes the resources (including cranes) of PSA Halifax. 

CMA CGM Hermes was built to Tier III emission standards and has numerous eco-friendly features. Builders are reported by some sources to be Shanghai Jiangnan Chiangxing Shipbuilding Co Ltd, and by others as Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co (the latter may be the parent company - both are state owned).

PSA Halifax is also expecting the MSC Leigh later in the day, so will be full with its arrival.

The Fairview Cove container facility at the north end was also busy with ONE Majesty at the west berth on THE Alliance's AL5 route. It was joined by the MSC Tianjin (see February 7 post) on the Indus2 run, which had moved from PSA Halifax to Bedford Basin anchorage and moved again today, to Fairview Cove's east berth.

ONE Majesty is the former MOL Majesty, which was renamed and repainted in 2021. Built in 2010 by Mitsubishi, Kobe, it is a 78,316 gt, 79,443 dwt ship with a capacity of 6724 TEU,  including 500 reefers.

It seems that Fairview Cove may have been doing PSA and MSC a favour by allowing the MSC Tianjin to use the east berth, likely for repairs, since it did not appear to be working cargo. There is still no word on whether PSA's takeover of the Fairview lease will be permitted under the competition laws. Cooperation between the two is not unheard of however as the Southend terminal under Halterm operation and now PSA has accommodated ships in the past that were too large to reach Fairview Cove.
 

 MSC Tianjin, as previously reported, arrived off Halifax February 4 and anchored for a time until entering port on February 5. Built in 2005 by Samsung Koje it is a 89,097 gt, 105,528 dwt ship with a capacity of 8063 TEU, including a very large capacity of 1400 reefers. It was built as OOCL Tianjin, renamed GSL Tianjin in 2007 and became CMA CGM Tianjin in 2019.

Note both ships have substantial container lashing bridges at the stern, a feature common on ships built for Pacific Ocean service where large following seas can wash containers overboard.

Updates

Stormy weather again February 8, caused Star Pyxis to drag anchor in Bedford Basin, and a pilot was called to re-anchor the ship. It was re-established somewhat to the south of where it had been. (See previous post).

I like to get pictures of ships from both sides!

Also in Beford Basin Algoma Integrity was taking on cargo at Gold Bond Gypsum.

HMCS Kingston has been exercising in the Basin for the past few days with HMCS Summerside. While the latter was nowhere to be seen today, Kingston was in an unusual anchorage position off Rockingham in an area where large ships don't go.

The lead ship of its class, it was launched by Halifax Shipyard August 12, 1995 and commissioned September 21, 1966.

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More than Weather

 That old quote "Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it*" has certainly applied to Shipfax during the past week. A series of fine days at the end of January followed by three days of rain, fog, more rain, freezing rain, some snow, and then cold have played havoc with shipping to a certain extent, but more particularly to ship observation. Barely passable roads and low visibility have kept my direct observation to a minimum. 

Numerous ships were delayed, with some steaming back and forth off Halifax, or anchoring depending on conditions, and some bypassing entirely. Icing up of facilities on shore is believed to be at least part of the problem, but high winds were also a factor.

The longest delay was MSC Tianjin, which arrived off Halifax January 31 and finally tied up at PSA Halifax today, February 7. There have been several other delays too including NYK Deneb which arrived off Halifax February 5, and docked at Fairview Cove February 6. It is due to sail early in the morning of February 8.

The ship is a regular on THE Alliance's AL5 service. Built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is  55,487gt, 65,953 dwt vessel with a capacity of 4922 TEU. 

Winter conditions on the St.Lawrence River are believed to be the reason for the arrival of the bulk carrier Star Pyxis on February 2. Since anchoring in Bedford Basin the ship has received extended visits from the launch/tenders Captain's Pride and Dominion Bearcat, both of which are used for diving work and transporting agents, technicians and others to ships at anchor. 

Built as Pyxis in 2013 by Jiangsu Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co and taking its present name in 2019 it is a 33,114 gt, 56,615 dwt bulker equipped with four cranes and clamshell bucket grabs. (The grabs are stowed on the crane pedestals, close to deck level).

Operated by the Piraeus based Technomar, the ship has also been equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber system, which appears like a second funnel just aft of the orginal.

The ship is in ballast, having discharged cargo (likely urea) at Contrecoeur, QC at fertilizer giant Yara Canada Inc's import terminal. It sailed from Contrecoeur January 30 and put in to Quebec City briefly the same day. Ships navigating in icy conditions can suffer from a variety of maladies, and there are several ships in various states of "ill health" in various St.Lawrence ports as of today.

One that was bound for Halifax was the bulker Efficiency OL It had engine trouble in Lac St-Pierre January 8 while outbound from Montreal. Tugs ecorted the ship to Trois-Rivières. It then moved on to Quebec City January 12 where it was detained by Port State Control for a variety of deficiencies until January 27. Most sources gave its destination as Halifax with an optomistic due date of January 29. High winds offshore caused the ship to seek shelter in Chedabucto Bay January 30. On February 1 it sailed giving its destination as "open sea" . It certainly skipped Halifax and is now off Florida en route to Puerto Cabello, Venezula. (At one point it also gave its destination as Kahlifa, UAE. In some languages "H" and "KH" are the same sound, so this was likely a mistranslation as it appeared on Halifax "due" lists for several days.)

*According to Wikipedia, the "weather" quote has long been mis-attributed to Mark Twain, but was apparently coined by his friend Charles Dudley Warner. No matter who said it first, it is still true.

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