ZIM to CMA CGM

 

 Zim Tarragona meets a CGM ship April 27, 2016.

I noted on an international shipping news site that two familiar ZIM ships have just been sold to CMA CGM. The sister ships ZIM Constanza and ZIM Tarragona were built in 2010 by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang in Jingjiang, China. At 40,542 gt and 50,106 dwt /50,088 dwt (respectively) they have a container capacity of 4256 TEU including 698 reefers. 

 The ZIM Tarragona November 10, 2016.

The ships have been regular callers in Halifax since new, on ZIM's ZCA service, and they are Israeli flagged. They were built with a relatively high reefer plug number to cater to the important fruit exports from Israel.

The Zim Constanza May 3, 2017.

The selling price was reported to be US$72 million each, which seems a good price for ships that were thought to be too small only a few years ago. The high demand for ships now has changed all that. It will be interesting to see what ZIM will use as replacements.  

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Busy Sunday

There was a fair amount of activity in the Port today, some of which I was able to catch.

ZIM Constanza was an early morning arrival and early afternoon departure. Built by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang in Jingjiang, China it is a 40,542 gt , 50,107 dwt ship with a container capacity of 4256 TEU including 698 reefers. Interestingly the ship's keel was laid December 25, 2009, and it was completed August 11, 2010.

Meeting the inbound Algoma Mariner in the Middle Ground area took some careful coordination by the pilots.

Algoma Mariner was also built in China about a year later. Its keel was laid October 21, 2010 and it was completed May 31, 2011 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin.

The ship went to anchor in Bedford Basin for a time then went in to National Gypsum to load. A Seaway sized self-unloader its gt is 24,535 with a dwt of 35,500. Its last port was Sydney where it delivered a load of coal from the Great Lakes.

ZIM Constanza's Pier 41 berth was taken almost immediately by APL Yangshan. Another of the "biggies" with a capacity of 10,960 TEU, it measures 128,929 gt, 131,229 dwt. Built in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co in Okpo, it is owned by NOL Liner Pte Ltd of Singapore. NOL (Neptune Orient Line) and APL (American President Line are all owned by CMA CGM.

There has been some unusual tanker activity at Imperial Oil in the last few days. I neglected to mention the very rare visit of a Canadian tanker. Algoscotia made a quick trip from Montreal, arriving December 17 and heading back December 18.

Since Imperial demolished the refinery the Dartmouth facility has been a depot for local deliveries, with the source of fuel usually the southern US or Europe, so getting product from Canada is rare.

The tanker Avon was on and off the dock several times due to weather and to allow Algoscotia to dock, then another Canadian tanker, Kitikmeot W.

Today Kitikmeot W. had moved to Pier 9 B where it was in the process off re-flagging to the Marshal Islands for the winter.

And Avon was back at Imperial Oil for the third time, unloading the last of its cargo.

And for something completely different the British research ship James Cook arrived at The Cove just as the threatened rain arrived.

Operated by the National Environment Research Council, the ship was built in 2006 in a combined effort between the Crist yard in Gdansk, Poland for the hull and Flekkefjord Slip in Norway for completion.
It has had many accomplishments in its career as a Royal Research Ship, many of which are listed in the Wikipedia entry:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_James_Cook

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More fog (revised)

 If you read this before, you might be further enlightened if you read it again - particularly towards the end, where several typos disguised the meaning. Some other corrections and additions have also been made.

Another week of frequent fog and rain might discourage some shipwatchers, but it brings about the little appreciated side benefit of ship's whistles. The sound of those deep throated bellows penetrating through the soup and echoing endlessly off downtown buildings is a wonderful feature of this port city.

Today's arrivals and departures, while largely unseen, were certainly not unheard. Of particular note was Oceanex Sanderling, which early this evening made the half hour or so move from Autoport to Halterm. It sounded its fog signal for the entire trip. Much of that time if was steering a nor'west to westerly course, which meant that its fog horn was pointed directly at the southern half of the Halifax peninsula. I hope everyone appreciated it as much as I did.

Normal comings and goings during the past week included another load of rail for CN. The huge demand for track upgrade sees pier 27 stockpiling thousands of tonnes, which is sent out on special rail cars  on an almost daily basis. Once the stockpile begins to become depleted, along comes another ship from Poland with another load.

The ship's sponsoned hull - sure sign of a Damen and Carisbrooke ship - maximizes hold and hatch size while maintaining a narrower bow and stern.
The same ship was also here in January with a similar load.

 
The most recent ship arrived April 28 and sailed Friday, May 5. Margaretha discharged about 10,000 tonnes, using its own cranes. The ship is a popular type for this work, because it is built with boxlike holds, that help to keep the cargo from shifting. Its large hatches make it easy to pick the cargo directly from the hold without having to shift it within the ship.

The ship was built to their own standard design by the Dutch company Damen. The hull was built at their shipyard in Galati, Romania, but the ship was completed at the home yard in Hoogezand, Netherlands in 2002. Measuring 7752 grt, it it has a deadweight capacity of 10,526 tonnes.

It was built originally for Carisbrooke Shipping, based on the Isle of Wight in England. It was to be named Anna-C, bu t was renamed Hanna-C before launching. It was soon after renamed Corral then in 2006 Opal Ace and in 2009 became Hanna C. In 2012 it took its present name, and management was shifted from Carisbrooke to Reederei Rudolf Schepers GmbH+Co. It is registered in St.John's, Antigua.


I did observe on odd activity on Wednesday May 3 as the container ship  ZIM Constanza sailed from pier 42. The ship seemed to slide well south along the pier face, before its bow could be lifted off by tugs. Ships usually stay well clear off the end of pier 42 due to relatively shallow water.

The ship's stem was almost even with the end of the pier - something rarely seen. The ship then reversed, and began to move off.

 Once clear the ship took the normal outbound course.

ZIM Constanza was builtr in 2010 Jiangsu by Yangzijiang Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. It has a capacity of 4256 TEU (including 698 reefers)  and measures 40,542 grt, 50,170 dwt.
The ship (known by some wags as the ZIM George Constanza) is on the ZIM Container Service Atlantic (ZCA), from Haifa to Piraeus, Genoa, Tarragona, Halifax, New York, Savannah, Kingston, Tarragona, Haifa. This ship inaugurated the service June 28, 2012 and has been a regular caller ever since.

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Zim out, Zim in with fog

Dense fog descended on the south end of the harbour when it was time for Zim Constanza to sail this afternoon. The incoming Octavia, also for Zim, was inbound at the same time and the two ships passed without seeing each other - except on radar.
Their automated fog signals were well synchronized, and from my vantage point the sounds bellowed most impressively and continued to echo back and forth from the fog and the land for several seconds after the initial blasts.

Longshoremen are standing by to let go the lines as Zim Constanza readies to sail.

Once clear, the ship was almost totally enveloped in fog.

 

This what I saw, but the camera could be coaxed into revealing a bit more:

Zim Constanza dates from 2010 when it emerged from the Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipyard. It measures 40,252 grt, 50,107 dwt with a capacity of 4256 TEU, including 698 refrigerated. On June 28, 2010 it initiated a new Zim service from the Mediterranean to Halifax, New York, Savannah and Kingston, Jamaica before returning to Tarragona and Haifa.It flies the Liberian flag for Rickmers Ship Management (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

The somewhat larger Octavia barely emerged from the fog.

 

What I saw,

 what the camera revealed.

The tug Atlantic Larch, which was alongside, but barely visible in the photos above, is swinging the ship around,

and it almost disappears as it comes alongside.

Octavia was built in 2005 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan for the Herman Dauelsburg company under the Atlantic Lloyd banner. Its capacity of 5117 TEU, including 500 reefers, is carried in 53,807 grt, 66,501 dwt. The ship is registered in Majuro, Marshall Islands.

Earlier in the day it was quite clear as Toscana worked cargo at pier 30-31.

The supplier Scotian Sea at pier 27 unloads some special gear as Toscana unloads.

Toscana later moved to Autoport (also in dense fog) to work its automobile cargo.

Toscana was the last of a series of ten sister ships built for Wilhelmsen Lines by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Nagasaki. Completed in 2009 by Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard and Engineering Works, it measures 61,328 grt, 22,144 dwt and has a capacity of 6350 CEU. It is specially fitted to carry other types of RoRo and project cargo, and has a 307 tonne capacity stern ramp.

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Zim has good news for Halifax

Zim Container Line brought some good news to the Port of Halifax today, along with a new service and a new (to Halifax) ship.
Zim Constanza is the first ship to arrive since Halifax was added to a weekly transatlantic service from Israel to the US. The ship starts in Haifa, then calls in Piraeus, Genoa, Tarragona, Halifax, New York, Savannah, Kingston (Jamaica) and back to Tarragona and Haifa.
Kingston is a major traffic hub for Zim and other lines, and an interchange port for other Zim services. The added tonnage will also be good news for Halterm which lost the eastbound leg of Zim's Asia service last year, leaving one weekly call on Wednesdays westbound for the far east.

Zim Constanza was built in 2010 by Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipyard in Jiangyin, China, and is a ship of 40,542 gross tons, 50,107 deadweight, with a capacity for 4,256 containers, including 698 reefers. It is owned by Rickmers Shipmanagement (Singapore) Pte Ltd (a major German shipowner), registered in Liberia, and on long term charter to Zim.
Through the fewnce photos of sahips at Halterm are not my favourite form of photo, but they do form useful comparisons. On April 28, 1975 Dart Europe was tied up in about the same place. Although it was a large ship of 30,491 gross tons, it could carry only 1556 TEU. First generation cranes were able to reach all the  way across the ship.

Built in 1970 Dart Europe was broken up in 1999, and Halterm has been extended to the south twice.