A bit of everything

As usual the Port of Halifax provides something for everybody, with a wide range of shipping activity. Today, March 10, had an unusual variety.

At PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway, Tropical Shipping's Tropic Lissette was alongside Pier 42. Its sister ship Tropic Hope did not call last Monday on the weekly service - perhaps avoiding bad weather on the US east coast by staying in Freeport, Bahamas, so there may be more cargo to work today. 

At Pier 41 it was the CMA CGM Paranagua on the joint Maerk CMA CGM service from Montreal. Again the ship is not on the usual Saturday call, so may have been delayed due to St.Lawrence ice or other factors. The Vistula Maersk, on the same service, was just here March 8-9.

 

Imperial Oil was taking a delivery of refined product from Antwerp on the unusually named CL Toni Morrison. A 30,259 gt, 49,352 dwt Long Range tanker, it was built in 2024 by New Times Shipbuilding Co Ltd and delivered to Chinese owners associated with the China Development Bank, just a year ago.

The ship is named for the Nobel prize winning American author, teacher and editor (1931-2019), but I do not know what "CL" stands for. Other ships in the fleet, managed by Synergy Denmark A/S, are also named for female authors and have the CI prefix.

The unusual angle for the preceeding photos was due to my outlook from the Shearwater Married Quarters park where I positioned myself to photograph the arrival of an unusual naval visitor.

 FS Tourville S637 is a Suffren class nuclear attack submarine of the French navy. It is also quite new, and was commissioned November 16, 2024. (Construction started in 2011).

The boat (subs are called boats) was met by an entourage of two Glen and two Ville class tugs and several small craft.  

The Royal Canadian Navy will be in the market for submarines soon, and let's hope they can avoid the controversy the Australians had when they cancelled plans to buy French subs and paid a monetary penalty. Canada already abandonded an earlier scheme to buy French non-nuclear subs.

The good news for the RCN, Irving Shipbuilding and Halifax in general, is the announcement that an $8 billion deal has been signed for the first six years of construction of the new RCN River class destroyers. Halifax Shipyard will build an initial tranche of three destroyers at an estimated cost of $22.2 billion (all in with taxes, equipment, and even ammunition), with the remaining ships to be delivered by 2039. (Total dollar numbers and even dates at this stage must be considered wildly optimistic at best in my opinion.)

Work is well under way on the new berth at the Shipyard. McNally Construction has been dredging, preparing seabottom and building caissons for the new pier and launch facility.

The Shipyard will employ more than 5,000 people, ensuring that Halifax's boom times continue as the remaining twelve ships (fifteen ships in total) are built at the yard. 

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Sonderborg for Tropical

 Tropical Shipping's weekly service from Halifax to the Caribbean has been using the gearless container ship Sonderborg since January 29, 2024 in place of the Tropical Lissette which has been switched to more southern routes. Tropic Hope remains on the Halifax run.

Sonderborg was built in 2012 as Sonderborg Strait by Nanjing Wujiazui, and is a 12,514 gt, 14,222 dwt ship with a capacity of 1085 TEU including 250 reefers. It dropped the "Strait" from its name in 2017.

Normally the Tropical ships arrive at PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway on Mondays, but this week Sonderborg did not arrive on Monday, March 11, but instead arrived on Thursday, March 13 and instead of tying up at Pier 42 (which was occupied by other ships) it went to Pier 27. That pier has no container cranes. To work cargo there, it must have used mobile cranes since it has no cranes of its own.

The Sonderborg sailed this afternoon, March 16 for San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Tropic Hope is due Monday March 18 from Limetree Bay USVI on the regularly scheduled date. 

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Arrivals of Note (and Footnote)

 Among the arrivals in Halifax today, January 2, 2024, there were some notable ones.

The tanker Harbour Pioneer was noteworthy on a couple ofcounts. Firrst was that it arrived at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal from New York. By far the majority of ships that arrive at that dock are Irving Oil's own (albeit long term chartered) tankers, doing their rounds delivering product for local consumption from Irving's own refinery in Saint John, NB. Irving Oil also receives refined product at that dock from its own sources in Europe, shipped out of Amsterdam, but those shipments have been relatively rare lately.

Second point of interest is the ship's size. Instead of the usual MidRange ship of about 50,000 deadweight tonnes coming from Europe or the 37,500 dwt of its own tankers, the Harbour Pioneer is a mere 13,239 gt, 19,122 dwt. Built in 2010 by Yangfan in Zhoushan, China, it is owned by Vierte Nordtank of Hamburg. Ships of that company are well known Great Lakes callers but are seen here only once in a long while. I note the ship has enclosed bridge wings so it is likely Ice Class, as the prefix "Nord" in the company name implies.

I can also assume that the ship is carrying some small "package" of needed component such as winter fuel additive for local blending or some less commonly used product.

Another arrival has been the subject of some speculation (mine).

The Athina III is a 39,037 gt, 73,305 dwt Panamax bulk carrier, built in 2004 by Namura Shipbuilding Co Ltd at the Imari Shipyard + Works in Japan. It was delivered as the Ioannis Zafirakis and renamed Athina III in 2018 by the current owners Salvia Shipping, and the management of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime.

The ship arrived in Quebec City December 25 having departed Al Fujayrah, UAE anchorage November 19. It transited the Suez Canal November 28-29 and bunkered in Gibraltar December 7. After unloading in the Sillery section of the Port of Quebec (which has bulk cargo storage and distribution facilities) it departed December 29 and anchored off Halifax January 1.

When spotted from shore yesterday (see previous post) the ship appeared to be loaded, but that was a view from sea level, and was misleading. From closer up today, the ship appears to be in ballast and therefore will take a full load in Halifax, not just a top-up. The ship has a history of carrying soybeans, and that is likely what it will load here.

 As you will have noticed from today's two photos, the angle of view and focal length of the camera lens can distort the appearance of the ship, exagerating its proportions.

The autocarrier  Thermopylae made a return visit today. The ship made a quick turn around after it last visit on November 27, 2023. It sailed from here on November 28 and called at Baltimore December 1, Gothenburg December 15, Bremerhaven December 17-18, Zeebrugge December 20 and Southampton December 22-24. On this trip it is carrying only cars for Halifax, so went directly to Autoport, without dropping RoRo cargo at Pier 9C as it did last time.

The first ship of the HERO class (High Efficiency RoRo). it was delivered in 2015 by Hyundai Samho, Mokpo. The 75,283 gt, 23,786 dwt ship can carry 8,000 RT43 class cars and uses a 320 tonne SWL stern ramp.

With port operations now back to normal after the holidays, two container ships arrived from offshore where they had been idling. ONE Wren tied up at Pier 41 and MOL Experience at PSA Fairview Cove. I expect the Atlantic Sail, arriving later today, will have interchange cargo for the idle Nolhan Ava which has been "parked" at Pier 9C. Tropic Lisette at Pier 42 resumed cargo operations today too and is due to sail at the end of the working day.

 Footnote

It is a good time to thank everyone who has supported this blog during the past year with comments including the always welcome corrections, and to add Best Wishes for 2024.

I do not monotize this blog, so I receive no financial reward for readership totals. But I do welcome readers to sign up as followers. 

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Working on all cylinders

 The two container terminals and Autoport were busy today, April 24, and the second cruise ship of the season arrived.

At the Southend Container Terminal PSA Atlantic Gateway there were two ships: Tropic Lissette on Tropical Shipping's regular weekly service to the Caribbean at Pier 42 and MOL Courage back again on the eastbound leg of its EC5 voyage for THE Alliance. The 9060 TEU ship arrived on the westbound leg April 6, and again docked at the Pier 41. Due to its size, it would not be docked at PSA Fairview Cove. It sailed late afternoon for Suez.

Arriving yesterday, the ship took the precaution of using two escort tugs.

On departure today it also used two tugs, to assist in making the swing into the western,, deep water channel.

A smaller fleetmate the MOL Experience arrived at Fairview Cove this morning and sailed this afternoon for Port Everglades on the AL5 service.

The 54,098 gt, 62,953 dwt ship was built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan. It has a capacity of 4803 TEU including 330 reefers. From 2008 to 2010 it carried the name APL Experience before reverting back to its original and current name.

Autoport hosted the SFL Composer. It was last here June 24 last year and is still on dedicated Volkswagen service.

 

Built in 2005 by Minami Nippon, Shitanoe, the 58,631 gt, 18,881 dwt ship was named Excellent Ace until 2012 then Glovis Composer until 2020. It has a rated capacity of 6500 CEU. It arrived from Emden and sailed for Houston.

It was a chillly day for cruise ship passengers, but the Zaandam's passengers were well prepared.  The Holland America ship has been a regular here for several years, and is accustomed to early season trips. 

 

Tied up at Pier 22, with a container crane in the distant background, the Zaandam was preparing to sail late this afternoon.

 Starting in Fort Lauderdale April 18 the Zaandam called in Newport RI April 21, Boston April 22, Bar Harbor April 23 and is due in Sydney tomorrow, followed by Charlottetown April 26, Quebec City April 28 and Montreal April 29. It will be making seven and ten day trips from Boston to Montreal / Montreal to Boston through Halifax until late September.

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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).

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Three by Two

 Today (September 5) was the first "three ship" day of this year's cruise season. It was also a day with two ships anchored in Bedford Basin.

Threes

Early morning harbour watchers were rewarded with the arrivals of Mein Schiff 1,  Seabourn Quest and Caribbean Princess. All three arrived within an hour of each other and took up all available space at Piers 20-21, 22 and 23.

 Mein Schiff 1 is a 111,554 gt ship with a capacity of 2,534 to 2,894 passengers (in 1447 cabins) with a crew of 1,000. Built in 2018 by Meyer Turku at the Perno Shipyard in Finland, it is owned by TUI cruises and caters to German passengers. The hull graffiti promotes the healthy and luxurious ocean cruise experience and defies literal translation.

 Despite its name it is the second ship to carry the name, and replaced the 1996 incumbent.

Next in line was one of the smallest, but most luxuriousof the main line cruise ships. Seabourn Quest can accommoidate 450 passengers with 335 crew.

Built by the T.Marriotti Shipyard in Genoa in 2011, it received a major refit at the same yard in 2013,  and is now registered at 32,477 gt. It will be staying in Halifax over night.

The third ship was the Caribbean Princess which has already been here this year - and was posted on this blog on August 1. Its capacity is maximum 3600 passengers with 1200 crew. 

It is difficult to see much of the cruise ships from the Halifax side of the harbour, but suffice it to say it is an impressive sight to see so much tonnage in one place.

 I did manage another photo with three ships in the frame. As Seabourn Quest was arriving it overtook the container ship Tropic Lissette while the Humen Bridge languished at anchor off the port. (It arrived September 1 and is now due alongside September 7.)

Twos

There is lots of room for tonnage in Bedford Basin. The famous World War II pictures showing scores of ships anchored there preparing to sail in convoy, attests to the size of this "lake" (actually an enclosed bay) at the head of Halifax harbour. Its extreme dimensions are 8 km x 5 km (4.9 miles x 3.1 miles).

Even so it is rare nowadays to see more than one ship anchored there at the same time. This morning's arrival of  the bulk carrier Baie St.Paul is typical of the ships that make use of the anchorage before loading at Gold Bond Gypsum.

A diver's launch was alongside the ship this afternoon. That may be the reason the ship did not go in to load. However other ships in the past weeks have also anchored for a time before going in.

Despite up to six trains a week (with 65 or so hopper cars) from the gypsum quarry in East Milford, NS, Gold Bond's stockpile appears to be relatively small right now, so it may be that strong demand is taxing the loading facility to keep up. (Note the "stacker" is loading up the stockpile in the photo.)

It is rare to see a container ship at anchor in Bedford Basin. Short duration stays normally anchor in the lower harbour, but ships that are in for an extended period are usually directed to Bedford Basin. MSC Sandra arrived yesterday (September 4) from Montreal to top off its cargo before heading to Europe on MSC's Canada Express 2 service. It moved to Basin anchorage last evening. 

Built in 2020 by Hyundai, Busan, the 43,575 gt, 61,468 dwt MSC Sandra has a capacity of 4340 TEU including 150 reefers. It does not appear to be fully loaded to ocean draft, so may be awaiting the end of the longshore Labour Day "no work" period before completing the loading process.

MSC's schedule shows the ship sailing September 6, but that may be optimistic as PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway will not have an available berth until at least September 7, as Tropic Lisssette is occupying Pier 42 and tomorrow will see the arrival of the giant 16,020 TEU CMA CGM Marco Polo at Pier 41.

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The Regulars

 Shipfax usually makes note of new or different ships coming and going to Halifax, and tends to ignore the day to day regulars unless something unusual happens. To correct that imbalance, here are a few of the regulars, just going about their normal business:

Tropical Shipping

On Monday, March 21 the Tropical Lissette sailed on its regular run to the Caribbean for Tropical Shipping.

Tropical Shipping is one of the more visible shipping lines calling at PSA Halifax, thanks to its white reefer containers with large lettering. Tropic Lissette (new in 2019) is one of two ships, with sister Tropic Hope (new in 2018) serving the line with weekly calls in Halifax. The purpose built 15,215g, 20,313 dwt ships have a capacity of 1100 TEU with 200 reefer plugs.

Since 2014, Tropical Shipping has been part of the Saltchuck Family of companies which includes interests in logistics, air cargo, tugs (Foss, Cook Inlet, Young Bros), oil and the domestic US shipping company TOTE Services. The line moved its operations to Halifax from Saint John, NB in 2017.

Nirint Shipping BV

On Wednesday, March 23 the Trinitas arrived for Nirint Shipping BV, with a cargo of nickel sulfides and containers from Cuba.

Built as Trinitas in 2007, with the hull by Damen Okean, Mykolayiv and completed by Damen Hoogezand, Foxhol, the ship was delivered as Nirint Hollandia. It was renamed Hollandia in 2012, but remained on Nirint service. It started to call in Halifax in 2014 and was renamed Trinitas in 2019.

It is a 8,999 gt, 12,016 dwt vessel with a container capacity of 684 TEU, including 80 reefer plugs on deck. It uses a pair of 80 tonne SWL cranes to handle cargo, which in the case of the nickel concentrates is in bulk bags. It has movable tween decks and ventilated box shaped holds, so is an adaptable multi-purpose vessel capable of carrying bulk and general cargoes. Uusally it also has a number of tank containers on deck - which are rumoured to carry rum, molasses or sucrose.

 

Atlantic Container Line

Among the most regular of callers in Halifax are the five giant CONROs (the world's largest) of Atlantic Container Lines. In addition to the visible deck loads of containers, the ships also carry substantial quantities of RoRo, including new and used cars and trucks, machinery, and oversize loads.

 

Atlantic Sun arrived Thursday, March 24 on its regular run from Hamburg / Antwerp / Liverpool.
 
Delivered in 2017 by Hudong-Zhonghua, Shanghai, the ships have an immense gross tonnage of 100,430 gt and 55,547 dwt. ACL (owned by the Grimaldi Group) has been calling in Halifax since the late 1960s and had the ships built to clear the Halifax bridges to make their berth at Fairview Cove. They are the largest ships (by volume) to transit the Narrows of Halifax harbour. They have a capacity of 3800 TEU and 1300 plus autos in about 18,500 square meters of RoRo space.

Canada Steamship Lines

 

As an update to previous posts, I can report that Baie St.Paul sailed yesterday, March 24, for Hamilton, ON with a cargo of Gold Bond gypsum. (Compare the ship's draft in this picture to previous posts.)

 

 

After a brief "winter layup" (since Febraury 15) the ship returned to service as the St.Lawrence Seaway opened for the season. CSL ships, both domestic and international (through the CSL Americas pool), are regular gypsum haulers, but also deliver the occasional grain cargoes from the Lakehead during the Seaway season.  CSL will also be taking delivery of a new ship in the coming days - stay tuned.

 

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Timing is everything

 A well coordinated departure and arrival this afternoon saw the two ships meeting in the Middle Ground area, where there was lots of room for two ships to pass. The light drizzle / rain did not impede their progress.

The departing ship was the autocarrier Boheme, a member of the large Wallenius Wilhelmsen fleet, and still wearing the traditional Olof Wallenius funnel marking (which looks a little incongruous with the new hull colour). The ship arrived in Halifax yesterday (January 19) at Autoport, later moving over to Pier 31 on the Halifax side of the harbour.

 Boheme was built in 1999 by Daewoo, Okpo. In 2005 the ship was lengthened from 219.3m to 227.9m thus increasing gross tonnage from 57,018 to 67,264 gt and deadweight from 22,619 to 28,360 dwt. It now has a capacity of 7194 cars. It can also carry other RoRo cargo.

The inbound ship was Tropic Lissette one of a pair of sister ships that maintain a weekly schedule for Tropical Shipping.

The Tropical Lissette took the western channel inbound, leaving room for Boheme to take the straighter main channel. The ship was built by Guangzhou Wenchong in 2019, and is 15,215 gt, 20,313 dwt. It has been serving Halifax since new, joining Tropic Hope built in 2018 with the same gt, but with 20,325 dwt. Both ships have a capacity of 1100 TEU, including 200 reefers and have two 45 tonne capacity cranes.

Tropical Shipping normally calls in Halifax on Mondays, so this late arrival is likely weather related.The line has been calling in Halifax since moving from Saint John, NB in 2017. It serves a variety of Caribbean ports directly or indirectly, from its home base in West Palm Beach, FL. Since 2014, Tropical Shipping has been part of the Saltchuck Family of companies which includes interests in logistics, air cargo, tugs (Foss, Cook Inlet, Young Bros), oil and the domestic US shipping company TOTE Services.

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Storm Over

 A reprieve, maybe short lived, from bad weather allowed for things to return to normal in the harbour today, December 7, with only a bit of swell remaining after last night's rain, thunder, lightning and wind. 

The high winds delayed the scheduled move of the American Roll-On Roll Off Carriers ship Tiger from Autoport to Pier 27 from yesterday afternoon until this morning. The ship was then able to unload its RoRo cargo and sail for New York without further delay at 1300 today.

On its way outbound, accompanied by the pilot boat Capt E.T.Rogers off its bow, it passsed the lobster boat Knot Lookin' Back out of Portuguese Cove. 

The start of the local lobster season was delayed from November 30 until December 1, due to bad weather. Fishers traditionally load their boats high with all their traps for "dumping day" and risk serious accidents and capsizing if the weather is bad. They all want to get their traps in the water as soon as possible, and claim their own "patch".

Knot Lookin' Back was built in 2018 by Hustler's Fibreglass Boats Ltd of Bloomfield, NS and features a port side shelter of translucent material. It appeared to be tending traps and placing new traps for the first time between Black Rock Beach (Point Pleasant Park) and PSA Halifax Pier 42. (Several traps were poised on the ship's rail ready to "launch").

At PSA Halifax Tropical Shipping's Tropical Lissette was finishing up its loading.

 The ship arrived yesterday morning, December 6, and was scheduled to sail last evening, but was delayed until this morning when high winds prevented the cranes from operating.

 Also in port, likely to shelter from bad weather, is the oil pollution clean up barge Fundy Responder which arrived from Saint John, NB in tow of the Atlasntic Larch on Sunday, December 5.

 

The barge was built in 1974 in Singapore as the AN 2803 and arrived in Canada in 1979 when Atlantic Towing acquired the tug Irving Teak (later Atlantic Teak and since scrapped) also from Singapore. It was renamed Irving Seal in 1980, then Seal VII in 1990 and got its present name in 2000.

It is owned by Atlantic Towing Ltd and works for Irving Oil as part of the Atlantic Emergency Response Team (ALERT) Inc, which is responsible for the oil industry voluntary pollution control program in the Bay of Fundy. They maintain a 10,000 tonne capacity for spill cleanup.

ALERT works with the Eastern Canada Response Corp (ECRC) which maintains a fleet of pollution control and cleanup craft in ports around the region. Halifax used to have a similar barge on standby in the harbour, but it was removed in 2018. After Imperial Oil closed its refinery, the risk of a large spill was greatly reduced.

The pollution cleanup barge John P. Oxley was towed out of Halifax for Sydney, NS by the tug Lois M June 9, 2018.

 Some ships that had been waiting offshore will now be arriving later in the day, including EM Kea for Maersk/CMA CGM transatlantic service and CMA CGM A.Lincoln for the Ocean Alliance Asia-North America loop.

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In From the Storm

A couple of days of very high winds forced the suspension of pilotage activities on the weekend, which delayed the arrival of some ships. One of these was Tropic Lissette which rode out the stormy weather anchored deep within St. Margaret's Bay off  Mill Cove. 

The Tropic Lissette has been a regular for Tropical Shipping ever since September 16, 2019 fresh from  Guangzhou Wenchong Shipyard in China. The 15,215 gt, 20,313 dwt ship has a capacity of 1100 TEU, including 200 reefers, and alternates its weekly calls with sister ship Tropic Hope. 

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Tropic Lissette

Tropical Shipping's Tropic Lissette arrived this afternoon instead of the usual Monday morning arrival. No doubt the frightful weather offshore over the last few days kept the ship away, however it was calm and sunny today.

The tug J.F.Whelan and dump scow Pitts No.11 had just dumped another load of rock for the Pier C extension and held off until the ship passed.

Since moving from Saint John to Halifax in January 2017, Tropical has expanded its business and brought in new larger ships. Tropical Hope (first call in January 2019) and Tropical Lissette (first call in September 2019) are 1100 TEU (including 200 reefers) vessels newly built by Guangzhou Wenchong.

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November 11

November 11 is observed as Remembrance Day and most activity comes to a halt at least for a minute at 11:00 am, the hour of the Armistice that ended World War I. As might be expected there are numerous memorial sites around Halifax recognizing the contributions from various communities and the different armed services.

Nevertheless (shamefully) the day is not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, so many businesses remain open and industries such as construction and shipbuilding continue unabated. Some enlightened employers however do close their doors for the day and allow their employees to observe the day in their own ways.

At Halifax Shipyard it was a regular working day, with the newly launched AOPS2 (future Margaret Brooke pennant number 431) alongside at pier 6, after yesterday's float off (and yes Shipfax did not observe that operation).

Halterm welcomed Tropic Lissette for Tropical Shipping on the usual Monday schedule. The ship was off for one trip due to some mechanical issues, and may still have some deficiencies, but is at least back in service.

Cerescorp had two ships at Fairview Cove. CLI Pride is back again after several trips to Montreal and is now headed back to Rotterdam.

The much larger Budapest Bridge had the whole terminal to itself later in the day after CLI Pride sailed.

Even National Gypsum got in on the act today with CSL Tacoma sailing this morning for Savannah with less than a full load.

Siem Hanne was alongside at the southernmost end of pier pier 9B, and late in the day the Atlantic Condor arrived for pier 9C north.

One of the most attended Remembrance Day services is at the naval memorial at Point Pleasant Park. Seen from Purcell's Cove shortly after the end of the service, it was a particularly fine day to linger along the shore while poppies were placed at the base of the monument.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the service - and maybe not noticed by participants, was the aggregation of seals on rocks just off the point as the service progressed. From one seal at the start of the service, there were at least six by the time eleven o'clock had passed.

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