Travestern in the Novadock

1. Travestern has just entered Novadock.

The Coastal Shipping Ltd tanker Travestern arrived yesterday (in thick fog) and anchored in the harbour until this morning when it entered the Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard.

Coastal (part of ther Woodward Group of Goose Bay, NL) acquired the tanker in March of this year from Rigel Shiffahrts of Bremen, Germany.
It arrived in Lewisporte March 11 after waiting several days for icebreaker assistance, and was registered in Canada on March 15. A chemical / product tanker of 11,423 gross tons and 17,080 deadweight, it was built in 1995 by MTW Schiffwerft in Wismar, Germany.
It is one of three sister ships  bought by Woodward (Alsterstern and Havelstern inn 2011) to replace older units of the fleet. The ships have been very busy this summer running from Saint John to destinations in Newfoundland and the far north.

Coastal has recently taken to keeping ships names from previous owners, however in their earlier ships they did select family or local names.

Among those names was Sibyl W., used twice for Woodward Group ships.

Sybil W. (i) was the former Imperial Quebec. Built by Collingwood Shipyard, it was launched August 21,
1957 and delivered in December. At 375' x 52' x 27' depth, it was too large to transit the old St.Lawrence canals, so was confined to the Lakes until the St.Lawrence Seaway was opened in 1959. It was then fitted with a bulbous bow and saw service on the coast and as far afield as Frobisher Bay and Venezuela, based out of Halifax.

2. Imperial Quebec alongside pier 23 in Halifax March 21, 1983 for some minor repairs, the ship shows off her bulbous bow.

The ship started life with the traditional Imperial Oil black hull and red superstructure, but looked far better with the blue and cream scheme. It was also smaller than the newer ships at 4,679 gross tons, 6150 deadweight. With those larger fleetmates working more efficiently and some mechanical problems, Imperial sold the ship to Woodward in 1987.

3. In 1982 she was starting to have some engine issues and was easily identified from a great distance by her smoke plume.

Renamed Sibyl W. by Woodward, the ship served Atlantic Canada and the north until March 1992 when she was sold to the Panamanian company SSS Trading and renamed Panama Trader. She was later re-flagged to Belize, but she was laid up in 1995 and scrapped at Guyamas, Mexico in May 1996.

Woodward meanwhile had added Sibyl W. (ii) to the fleet. It was also a former Imperial tanker, the much smaller Imperial Tofino, built in 1973 by McKenzie Barge & Marine Ways of North Vancouver. Designed to serve small coastal communities it originally measured only 650 gross tons. In 1979 it was lengthened 24 feet to about 170 ft loa and re-measured at 764 gross tons. 

The ship made its first call in Halifax  September 1, 1992 and called here about once a year for a few years, but was mostly confined to Newfoundland and Labradorian waters.

4. The second Sybil W. in Halifax in 1995.

In 2009 as the fleet expanded again, Coastal Shipping sold the second Sibyl W. to Honduras Aero Marine S de RL of Atlantide, Honduras. They did not rename the ship and she is reportedly still in service as a bunkering tanker in the Atlantic anchorage off Panama.

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Mokami - Canadian tanker sold

The small tanker Mokami has been sold to Guyanese interests. The ship's Canadian register was closed October 11 and it was reflagged to Bolivia, with owners listed at Japarts of Georgetown, Guyana. The ship had been for sale for some time after owners Coastal Shipping Ltd (part of the Woodward Group) of Newfoundland acquired several new and larger tankers for work in Newfoundland, Labrador and the north.
The ship was rarely seen in Halifax, but it did put in an appearance in June-July 2000 when it was drydocked for repairs to rudder damage.

Built in 1989 by Kvaerner Masa in Rauma-Repola, Finland, as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy it was first registered by Coastal Shipping in St.John's August 28, 1997. Since then it has been used to deliver fuel to remote or icebound locations. Its new owners, a large industrial company in Guyana, will not need that ice reinforcing, but will instead take advantage of its small size. At 3,015 gross tons, its deadweight tonnage is listed as 2,853 on a draft of 4.5 meters, It has eight tanks with heating coils.  

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Havelstern - another from Woodward's

Coastal Shipping, rare callers until this year, had their fourth ship in port inside of a month. This time it is Havelstern one of a pair of ice class coastal tankers purchased last year from Rigel Shipping of Germany. A sister to Alsterstern, the ship is 11,423 gross tons, 17,080 deadweight and was built in 1994 by WTW Schiffs. of Wismar. Owners Coastal Shipping Ltd of HappyValley-Goose Bay, NL, are part of the Woodward Group.

Havelstern anchored in number 2 anchorage to take on bunkers. It will proceed to Ultramar to load and will sail north to service remote comnunities.
For the other Woodward ships see: Nanny June 9, Alsterstern June14, Tuvaq Jume 16.

Tuvaq - convincing icebreaker

The Coastal Shipping tanker Tuvaq made one if its rare calls in Halifax - the third visit by a Woodward tanker in the last week or so. It anchored this afternoon for bunkers.

Built in 1977 by the Werft Nobiskrug in Rendsburg, Germany for Neste O/Y of Finland, it is an icebreaking tanker, intended for the harshest conditions of the Baltic. Originally named Tiira it was acquired by the Woodward Group in late 2002 and renamed.
It has also proven itself in the Canadian arctic with numerous forays into the far north  and winter service in the St.Lawrence. It was here first in  February 2004 at Ultramar.
Originally powered by two V-12 MaK engines generating 15,600 bhp it was re-engined with two Wartsilsa 6 cylinder engines in 1997, this time giving 15,908 bhp on a single controllable pitch screw. For a ship of 11,290 gross tons/ 15,954 deadweight tonnes, this is about twice the power of a comparable non-icebreaking tanker.
Its impressive bow gives it a distinctive and powerful look.

More New Ferries for Newfoundland (and News)

Marine Atlantic’s new ferries Blue Puttees and Highlanders and now both in service, and despite some early controversy, including one death, things may finally be settling down for the long haul on the Strait.(Marine Atlantic seems to be a target-wonder why?)

It is now time to turn the spotlight on the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador’s own intraprovincial ferry service, operated by the Department of Transportation and Works. The department runs 15 ferry routes within the province, and has been suffering for years with an inadequate fleet. There is good news on the horizon however.

First off are two new 80 passenger short sea ferries, just completed by Pieter Kiewit’s Marystown/ Cow Head shipyard. [Perhaps the yard’s experience with these small ships has put them off big shipbuilding - they have withdrawn from the Federal shipbuilding strategy program.] The ships are reported to have cost $27.5mn each.

The two new ships, christened March 11 measure 42m in length and can carry a combination of vehicles, up to 16 cars. The first of these, Grace Sparkes, was registered in St. John’s on April 19. It will run on the St. Brendans route. It is named for the first woman to run for election to the provincial legislature.

Sister ship Hazel McIsaac, which will enter service within the next month, is named for the first woman to be elected to the legislature. It will serve ports in Green Bay.

These are proper little ships with bow doors and stern ramps. Excellent spec sheets, and photos are on line: http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2011/tw/0311n06specs.pdf

In further news, Fleetway Inc was contracted in January to design six more new ferries for a variety of routes around the province. Designs should be completed by early next year, and an expression of interest will be issued soon for construction. These boats will also be built in the province.

See the Newfoundland intraprovincial routes here:

http://www.tw.gov.nl.ca/ferryservices/schedules/index.html


News:
There is also news about the St. Barbe/Blanc Sablon service across the Strait of Belle Isle. This service is operated by Labrador Marine (part of the Woodward Group) under contract to the Province. During the past winter when the ferry Apollo was in refit in St.John's, the service was operated by the Province's much larger ferry Sir Robert Bond, but its Newfoundland terminus had to be switched to Corner Brook, due to the large size of the ship. That service ended mid-March when Apollo returned to service.
However on or about April 15, Apollo damaged a prop and shaft and had to go to St.John's for emergency drydocking. The ship will return to service next week, using only one prop, until the prop/shaft can be repaired or replaced. It will then go back to drydock for permanent repairs. In the meantime the ancient RoRo vessel Astron (also owned by Woodward) will service the route, supplemented by aircraft, since Astron can only carry 12 passengers.
Apollo will have to operate on one prop for several weeks.

For photos of some of these ships see: http://newfoundlandshipmovements.blogspot.com/

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