Halifax Visitor in Trouble

The small cruise ship Clelia II, reported the loss of one engine while heading for Antarctica in heavy weather. Dramatic footage from another ship shows her pitching in very steep seas, and making a very heavy time of it.

The ship called in Halifax on October 9, 2010 (see post from that date) after completing a summer on the Great Lakes. I am sure she would be a fine ship for that type of work. Taking her to Antarctica seems to me to be nothing less than foolish. Her bridge is very low to the water and quite exposed to seas over the bow.

Late reports indicate that the ship and passengers are safe, but I doubt they are having much fun.

See Globe and Mail article and newsclip:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/video/limping-cruise-ship-tossed-in-high-seas/article1829980/

Icons take a beating

All ships suffer wear and tear and deteriorate over time - even such icons as Bluenose II and HMCS Sackville.

Today's Chronicle Herald newspaper has a front page report on the schooner Bluenose II. That Nova Scotia ambassador and Canadian icon (a similar vessel appears on the back of the Canadian 10 cent coin) is in Lunenburg for a major rebuilding, which according to the paper, has resulted in scrapping the boat's entire hull-keel, frames and planking. The deck has somehow survived, but may also be scrapped. Mast and rigging have been set aside to be re-used. Much wringing of hands has ensued since all the wood was sent to a chipper to prevent it falling into the wrong hands.

Instead of building a new Bluenose III - as had been planned, this rebuilding was organized. It turns out however to in fact be a new Bluenose II, since little if anything of the original will survive. She will get an entire new hull, engines, mostly new deck and will be re-rigged to sail again. Of course Bluenose II was a replica to begin with, and was not strictly true to the original Bluenose, built as a fishing schooner.

As a wooden vessel, nearing forty years of age, it would certainly not be expected to survive in any event, so the hand wringing seems to be a little odd, particularly for replica.

Of more concern is the deplorable condition of Sackville, Canada's (and the world's) last surviving World War II corvette. Not a replica, she is the real thing. Built under wartime emergency conditions, and not intended to survive World War II, Sackville has hung on, thanks largely to voluntary contributions and the navy's own limited resources.

Her condition is perilous - her frames are so wasted that she could not survive drydocking - they are too weak to support the hull except in water. She is leaking badly, and there is no hope in sight for a swift rescue. Plans for a permanent home on the waterfront have been put on hold, and there is no real plan in place to do more than apply bandaids.

Sackville will almost certainly be lost if action is not taken soon. She is more than worthy of a complete rebuilding, but of course with that most of her heritage value would be lost. She was built from 'barn steel' - not high grade warship steel, and she was riveted- an almost lost art. Although she has been much patched and repaired over time, she is still, at least for a short time, intact. Nevertheless as Canada's Naval War Memorial Sackville deserves at least as ambitious a plan as Bluenose II and certainly better - including a permanent indoor home where at least the last vestiges of the ship can be preserved for posterity. Restoration still seems to be a possibility, but much replication is inevitable if she is to survive.

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Rare Day - Ferries Cancelled

1. Storm surge at the Halterm breakwall this morning.

2. Ferry Dartmouth III in more pleasant conditions, November 15, 2010.

It is a rare day indeed when the Halifax harbour ferries are shut down due to weather. High winds and seas this morning resulted in the cancellation. Sustained winds of over 60 kph and gusts over 100 kph were recorded, combined with a storm surge.

No ships are due to arrive or depart today, but there is still activity in the harbour. The port's work boat Maintainer I was sent out to retrieve a drifting fender. The tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Larch were dispatched to HMCS Preserver at the Shipyard to hold her alongside in the high winds. Reports are also coming in on damage to several timber wharves.

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Preserver move

On Saturday morning HMCS Preserver was moved as a dead ship from behind the Novadock at Halifax Shipyard, to the Machine Shop Wharf. The Navy's sole east coast supply vessel is undergoing a massive refit - the third in ten years - to allow her to remain in service until a replacement is built.

There is still no definite word on that - it will be next year at the earliest -when the shipyard is selected to build such a vessel and its west coast twin. No third ship will be built, even though one is needed. There are now rumblings that a used UK ship might be available - HORRORS!

If the RCN believes it was only used by a little old lady to drive to church on Sundays they will believe anything.

Yesterday's move went well, with the tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Willow moving the big ship on a flat calm day. She is pretty tender however, with no ballast and extremely high out of the water. She took a pretty good lean when turning, even at a very slow speed.

She still looks quite capable despite her age. She was laid down October 17, 1967, launched by Saint John DD May 29, 1969 and commissioned July 30, 1970. Her west coast counterpart, Protecteur was laid down in Saint John on the same day, launched July 18, 1968, and commissioned August 30, 1969.

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Unhappy Saga continued

1. Pearl Mist returning from trials.

2. The ship was built in two sections that were joined on the launchway.

Pearl Seas Cruises has removed the 2011 schedule from their website. Until recently it had shown a July 2011 start up of the ship Pearl Mist, sailing from Halifax. That schedule has now been taken down, and in its place is a note that says "Under Revision."

Recent press reports detail some of the issues regarding the dispute between Pearl Seas and Halifax Shipyard, so I won't deal with them here.

However, the bottom line is that Pearl Seas is not accepting delivery of the ship, and it remains laid up in Shelburne, NS. Pearl Seas is apparently suing the yard, so the matter is far from resolution.

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Shipyard crane truck tips

1. This afternoon. Slings have been attached to the outriggers of the crane in preparation to raise it from the water.

2. November 28, the yellow crane truck sitting on its wheels.

A crane truck at Halifax Shipyard tipped over this morning while lifting a fork-lift off the ferry Holiday Island. The forklift ended up on the harbour bottom, with the crane truck nose down over the edge of the pier. The crane driver escaped with bruises.

According to press reports there was no damage to the ferry, and retrieval operations are underway.

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Ferry subsidies extended

1. The 39 year old Holiday Island is curently in refit at Halifax Shipyard. November 28, 2010 photo. (She is a double ender, so the half that's not in the photo is the same as the half that is.)



A short life line has been thrown to three Atlantic Canada ferry services with a three year, $51 mn announcement from Ottawa.

The Atlantic Canada premiers wanted a much longer 15 year deal, which would allow planning for new ships, but this stopgap at least allows some breathing room, and perhaps earnest planning for new ships will start.

The three services that have been funded are:
- Digby, NS to Saint John, NB (needs new ferry)
- Caribou, NS to Wood Island, PEI (needs one new ferry)
- Souris, PEI to Cap-aux-Meules, Magdalen Islands.

The Minister of Transport owns both Princess of Acadia and Holiday Island which must be replaced with new ships. These should be purpose built and need to be in place, or at least ordered by the time the current subsidy arrangement ends.

The subsidy for the Magdalen Islands operation also extends the service to year round (it used to stop in February and March due to ice) The ferry operator, CTMA owns the ship in question there, but that company should be looking for newer tonnage fairly soon too.

See the full press release here:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2010/30/c9249.html