Toledo

 The Pure Car and Ttuck Carrier (PCTC) Toledo called at Autoport today, March 25.

 

The ship has been here many times since new in 2005 and the last visit was in 2022. Although its most recent ports have been the usual ones for the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean transatlantic service, it seems that the ship may have been reassigned from the Pacific to Europe (via Suez) route.

It departed Yokohama January 20 and made directly for the Panama Canal, transiting February 11-12, then proceeding to Savannah February 17-18, Brunswick February 18-20, Philadelphia February 23, and Baltimore February 24-26. It then crossed the Atlantic to Zeebrugge Mar 7-10, Goteborg March 11-12, Bremerhaven March 13-15 and Southampton March 16-17.

With the current conditions in the Red Sea area few ships are risking the Suez route from Asia to Europe with many passing south about the Cape of Good Hope. It now seems that the danger zone is extending farther south into the Indian Ocean and some ships, such as this one, with voyages originating in the far east, appear to be taking the Panama Canal route instead. Recent limitations on Panama Canal transits due to low water levels appear to be easing, but there are still backlogs and long waits for some ships.

Toledo's first visit to Halifax was December 15, 2005 when it was quite new, having been delivered in February 2005 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki. A 61,321 (now revised to 61,482) gt, 21,965 dwt vessel it has capacity for 6,354 cars and works over a 237 tonne capacity stern ramp. As delivered it was painted in the orange and white livery of Willhelm Wilhelmsen and carried a traditional "T" name*. Since then it has been repainted in the blue over grey scheme adopted by the joint fleet of Wallenius Lines and Wilhelm Wilhelmsen.

On its November 17, 2015 call the ship was still wearing the Wilhelmsen orange hull paint.

 The ship sailed this afternoon for New York and will soon complete a round the world transit in somewhat less than the proverbial 80 days. (It was 65 days out of Yokohama when it sailed today.)

Demand for auto carriers is such that very few are being retired. This ship, nearing twenty years of age, can be expected to run for several more years.  (Its next major survey is due January 31, 2025).

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* It is interesting to speculate on which Toledo the ship is named for. The one in Spain seems more likely than the one in Ohio (which itself is named for the one in Spain). Toledo, Ohio is a major port on Lake Erie, and is now accessible from the Atlantic once again with the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway for the season. But not for ships the size of this Toledo (it is too wide). 

Toledo, Ohio did export automobiles overseas at one time however. Jeeps (then owned by the American Motors Corp) were built in Toledo, and Fednav had two RoRo ships, built in Canada in 1972 and 1973, to carry paper products and automobiles. The ships were were sized to trade to the Great Lakes and did carry Jeeps. They also called in Halifax in the early days of Autoport. In later life with the United States Military Sealift Command, at least one of the ships carried Abrams tanks from Toledo to Germany.

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No letup at Autoport

Spring is car buying season in Canada, and so the auto manufacturers are stocking up with the latest models. And as a result Autoport is busy off loading a steady stream of ships from Europe. Wallenius Wilhelmsen is the primary auto carrier line, with a regular North Atlantic service to Halifax and the US east coast. Their Toledo sailed this afternoon, May 18, after discharging RoRo cargo at Pier 9C and cars at Autoport. [see also two previous posts]

Trailing the Toledo outbound, the tug Atlantic Willow is on its way to meet the next car carrier.

When the Toledo sailed, the next inbound was taking its pilot.

That was Morning Celesta, a first time caller in Halifax. Built in 2008 by Hyundai, Samho it is a 57,542 gt, 21.055 dwt vessel with a capacity of 6,645 CEU.

The ship is managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management Korea Ltd. It is owned by an anonymous one ship company, Celesta Maritime Ltd, and works for Eukor, a specialist car carrier company jointly owned by various Wallenius Wilhelmsen entities, American RoRo Carriers and  European Car Carriers. its last port was Southampton, England, but before that had called in Zeebrugge and Goteborg.

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Cars, Passengers and No Passengers

 Cars

 The autocarrier Toledo arrived in Halifax Monday, May 16 and after offloading a large consignment of RoRo cargo at Pier 9C, moved this afternoon (Tuesday, May 17) to Autoport to discharge automobiles.

On arrival, the ship proceeded to Bedford Basin where it turned, then came alongside Pier 9C starboard side to.

There was still some RoRo cargo left on the pier from the last ships, but there was room for lots more. By late afternoon they had filled many of the gaps.

There was the usual array of construction, forestry, mining and agricultural equipment, plus some shrink wrapped boats, which will be trucked away to destinations far inland.

Thick fog blanketed Halifax this morning, but cleared off by early afternoon when the Toledo got underway for Autoport.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd built the ship at the Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works in 2005. It is a 61,482 gt, 21,965 dwt vessel with a capacity of 6354 cars. It has a 237 tonne capacity stern ramp and a sizeable side ramp.

Passengers

The fog and rain also greeted two cruise ships as they arrived in port today.

One was the familiar Pearl Mist. Launched by Halifax Shipyard in 2008, it was finally completed elsewhere and entered service in 2014. The 5109 gt ship can carry 210 passengers in 105 double rooms and has a crew of 70.

The other was somewhat larger Zaandam which will be a regular caller this year.

Built by Fincantieri in 2000, it is a 61,396 gt ship for 1432 passengers and 615 crew. It tied up at Pier 22 where it was tended to by Dominion Diving's tug Dominion Rumbler (that's what it says on the stern -  now registered by number only, so the name is unofficial) and a refuse barge. 

That is the container ship ZIM Constanza sailing in the background. It will soon be enveloped by offshore fog.
 

No Passengers

Also sailing today, but earlier in the morning while the fog was still heavy, was the ferry Svanoy (see previous posts, April 12 and May 10). 

The Svanoy has been chartered for a year (with options to extend) by Quebec Province's ferry operator the La Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ). It arrived in Halifax from Norway in April and after being "Canadianized" is now registered in Canada. On sailing today it gave a destination of Pictou, suggesting it may be hauled out for survey before taking up duties in Quebec. That is not unusual as the ship's condition needs to be well documented before and after the charter.

It is expected to take up service in June, running between St-Joseph-de-la-Rive and Ile-aux-Coudres, about 60 miles downstream from Quebec City. So far there has been no suggestion that the ship will be renamed.

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Holiday Catch Up

It was a busy day in the harbour to make up for the Christmas Day holiday when there was almost no activity. Longshoremen do not work on Christmas Day, so there were idle ships waiting to work cargo.

The big bulker Xin Hong arrived on Christmas Eve and tied up at pier 28. It loaded soybeans in Sorel, QC, to maximum allowable draft on that portion of the the St.Lawrence River, and will top off here.

Xin Hong is a product of the Dalian #2 shipyard in China and  measures 44,5453 grt, 82,226 dwt. Owned by FEH Shipping of the Cayman Islands, it is managed by Global Marine Ship Management of Qingdao and flies the flag of Hong Kong. It remained idle on December 26, also a holiday in Halifax, which means that longshoremen get paid overtime.

Two other ships in port on Christmas Day were Kobe Express [see below] and Dinkeldiep, the St-Pierre et Miquelon feeder ship. The latter's Ukrainian crew have spent Christmas in Halifax for many years.

There was also an early morning sailing from Imperial Oil on Christmas Day. Zambezi Star arrived on December 21 and was originally due to sail December 24, but likely remained in port due to very high winds on Christmas Eve.

December 22 photo

Zambezi Star was built in 2010 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, and measures only 23,312 grt, 37,814 dwt (most handysize tankers are in the 50,000 dwt range). It is owned by Rigel Schiffahrts of Bremen, Germany and flies the Isle of Man flag.

Among the few vessels moving in Halifax harbour on Christmas Day was the tour boat Haligonian III. It was on what would be called a re-positioning cruise if it had been carrying any passengers. There was no one aboard however, except the crew - and a small one at that - as the boat moved from its summer berth at the Cable Wharf to Bedford Basin where it joined its fleet mates in winter layup.

Haligonian III has been a fixture in Halifax harbour since 1972 when it was built at Wheatley, ON by Hike Metal Products Ltd..
And why is it named Haligonian with a three?  There actually were Haligonians I and II, which were replaced when this boat was delivered.  They were wooden vessel, built on the lines of fishing boats. I caught Haligonian II in spring refit in Sambro in April 1970:

Built in 1968 by Deschamp + Jackson in Shelburne, NS, it was sold to owners in the Gaspé and is still in operation taking tourists to Percé rock. It was extensively rebuilt in 1997, but looks very much the same and surprisingly still carries its original name.

Mar (background) Haligonian III, Harbour Queen I, Summer Bay and Silva of Halifax at their winter quarters in Mill Cove, Bedford. Missing from this grouping is Theodore Too.

In recent years these boats have wintered at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth or at the Cable Wharf, so this is a new arrangement for them. The entire fleet and related business including Murphy's restaurant and gift ship was acquired during 2014 by Ambassatours, owners of a fleet of doubledecker and other tour buses and the Harbour Hoppers.


Both container piers were busy today, with two arrivals each. At Fairview Cove, the first in was OOCL Kuala Lumpur, a ship I have never photographed before, although it called in Halifax first July 30, 2012.

 Kuala Lumpur Express strides up the Narrows and into a brisk northerly wind with Atlantic Larch forward and Atlantic Oak as stern tethered escort. 

The ship was built by Koyo Dockyard Co in Mihara, Japan in 2007 for Nissen Kaiun Co and has been chartered to OOCL ever since. In 2012 it was sold to Grace Ocean Investment of Kowloon, Taiwan and reflagged from Hong Kong to Singapore. It measures 66,462 grt, 66,940 dwt and has a capacity of 5888 TEU including 586 reefers.

As the ship nears the A.Murray MacKay bridge the tug Atlantic Willow comes alongside. As soon as the ship clears the bridge, Atlantic Oak will cast off and return to the lower harbour for the next ship. Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Willow will berth the ship at Fairveiw Cove west, under the big cranes.

Atlantic Oak has control of  Oakland Express as it takes a broader turn around the knuckle at Pier 9-9A. It will go out into Bedford Basin to await its berth at Fairview Cove east - occupied by fleet mate Kobe Express.

By coincidence the ship was built as Kuala Lumpur Express in 2000 by Hyundai Mipo. Built for Costamare Shipping Co of Greece it has been on charter to Hapag-Lloyd ever since. It was renamed in 2008 to free up the name for a larger ship. In 2013 Costamare shifted its operation to a Chinese subsidiary and reflagged the ship from Greece to Hong Kong. It has been a regular caller in Halifax under both names.

Another regular caller in Halifax, Kobe Express arrived on the morning of December 24. It got about a half day's work then and finished up with a half day today sitting idle on Christmas Day.  It dates from 1998 when it was produced by Samsung, Koje as Shanghai Express. It rates 4612 TEU , including 350 reefers, carried by 52,523 grt, 67,058 dwt. The ship has always been owned by Hapag-Lloyd directly and received its current name in 2002 when a larger ship rated the Shanghai name.

Not to be outdone by commercial shipping, the sailing catamaran Butterflies are Free took a leisurely Boxing Day cruise around the harbour. In the background Wilhelmsen's Toledo unloads at Autoport. It later moved to Pier 31 to unload before sailing for New York.

Although identified as Butterflies are Free (US flag) on AIS, I believe this boat to be Pride MMXVI  A Dufour 44' built in 2014 and registered in Halifax on November 10. Perhaps it is time the owners reset the AIS.

Also getting in a last cruise, several kayakers round Point Pleasant Park as the next inbound arrives.

That inbound was due for Halterm where an early arrival was the regular Maerk Pembroke in from Montreal on the transatlantic Maersk - CMA CGM service.

It had no operational bow thruster on arrival, but it may have been fixed by the time the ship sailed.


The next arrival was another CMA CGM ship far from its usual run.

 A group of eider ducks, recently arrived for the winter, seems undisturbed by the arrival of a ship.


CMA CGM Lavender is one of seven ships on the Panama Direct Line, operated by CMA CGM, ANL and Marfret. [ANL is the former Australian National Line, now part of CMA CGM. Marfet (Marseille-Fret) is an independent, serving the Mediterranean, Caribbean and South Pacific.]

Its normal route is Tilbury - Rotterdam - Dunkerque - LeHavre - New York - Savannah - Kingston, Jamaica - Cartagena - Papeete, then returning northbound via Noumea - Sydney - Melbourne - Wellington - Tauranga - Napier - Lyttleton - Manzanillo - Savannah - Philadephia - Tilbury.

This is the first time I have seen Marfret containers in Halifax, but they are not likely to be unloaded here. Instead, I conjecture that the the ship will take on some of the containers left by HH Emilie and forward them on to another shipping hub, such as Kingston.

 The ship was built by Hyundai, Mipo in 2006 and measures a modest 28,927 grt, 39,418 dwt, with a nominal capacity of 2,824 TEU. It is very lightly loaded, so should be able to take a fair chunk of the boxes left by HH Emilia.

There was also a ship for Imperial Oil today. The colourful Inyala arrived mid-afternoon.

Another smaller handysize tanker of 25,400 grt, 40,037 dwt, it was built by SLS Shipbuilding Co, Tongyeong, South Korea in 2008 for Unicorn Shipping of Durban, part of Grindrod Shipping.

The Unicorn motif appears on the funnel and the bridge front, but the Inyala is a South African antelope with two horns, as far as I can tell..

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Toledo

The pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) Toledo arrived for Autoport this morning. Because there were other ships arriving it had to wait in number one anchorage for a second tug.

Toledo with Atlantic Willow alongside awaiting a second tug, just before a snow shower created a brief "white out".

Although it has been here before several times, this is the first chance I have had to get a photo. Its first visit was December 15, 2005 when it was quite new, having been delivered in February 2005 by MHI Nagasaki. A 61,321 grt vessel it has capacity for 6,354 cars and works over a 235 tonne capacity stern ramp.

The WilhelmWilhelmsen fleet uses names begining with the letter T and has used some names five or six times. This is only the third Toledo as far I can tell. The first, a general cargo ship was built in 1926 and lasted with the fleet until 1958. It was sold for re-use and finally scrapped in 1964.
The second was a cargo reefer built in 1960, sold in 1979 and broken up in 1984.
The current Toledo may well last 24 years, but it is hard to image it lasting until 2043.

For a complete spec on the current ship see: http://www.wilhelmsenasa.com/aboutus/ourbusiness/thefleet/Pages/mvtoledo.aspx

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