Back to the Parking Lot

Bedford Basin is the parking lot for idle ships these days.

• GEORGIA S. has returned to her anchorage after making one trip from Halifax to Point Tupper to load gypsum for Brunswick Georgia. After unloading she made a bee line back to Halifax. The ship will remain idle, with a full crew on board, until another contract comes up.
• ZERAN remains at anchor waiting for work. She is reported to have a contract to carry military cargo, but not for a month or so. She recently completed a short trip to sea as part of military exercises.
• Not in Bedford Basin, but at pier 33, is CHERRY, still idle for repairs. There was some sign of life late last week when the crew rigged one of the ship's anchors. Both anchors had been removed in Bayside, NB so that the anchor chains could be used as a towing bridle. It now seems likely that the ship will sail again despite her age. The ship's managers, Holy House Shipping of Stockholm, Sweden, specialize in operating refrigerated cargo ships of "classic design" [read old]. Ships of this age tend to experience mechanical issues - sometimes leading to unfortunate outcomes. A former fleet mate called SNOW FLOWER had engine problems last year, and her engineer made the mistake of pumping oily waste overboard off the US coast. The company was fined $(US)1million+$400,000 community service and the engineer was fined $8,000 and one year's probation. The company was put on 3 years probation and told to implement an Environmental Management Plan. Let's hope they did.

HMCS Halifax

With some fanfare and some less than sterling line handling by the matelots on deck, HMCS Halifax got away from the Tall Ships Quay late this afternoon to return to HMC Dockyard.

The pup tug Granville worked the bow off and the tug Glenevis provided the power at the stern.

Shoreside line handlers were picked up by RHIB (rigid hull inflatible boat) and sped off with much panache.

Oops

Somebody dropped the ball on George's Island. Here is what I received by e-mail from Parks Canada........

"Dear Mr. Mackay,
Thank you for your email and for your interest in Georges Island National Historic Site of Canada. Unfortunately, there has been a misunderstandingabout the anticipated timeline for opening the island to the public. Over the coming year, Parks Canada will be undertaking a project to construct a wharf and install water, sewer and electrical services on the island. This will be followed in subsequent years by the development of visitor facilities, products and services to support visitation to the island. Parks Canada is presently consulting with the public, stakeholders and partners regarding these aspects of the project to ensure what is developed meets the needs of the local community as well as those of visitors to Halifax. It is hoped that Georges Island will open to the public within three to five years. If you have additional questions or comments regarding the development of Georges Island, please do not hesitate to contact us."

Windcats

A Nova Scotia shipbuilding success story is the aptly named Windcat series of catamaran workboats. Built by Theriault's in Meteghan River, these boats are built to service wind farms offshore Europe. So far 18 boats have been built in this series. They feature a square bow that allows them to moor at offshore wind farms so that tehnicians can service the towers from access doors near the base. On her foredeck she has an articulated crane, and her mast, which has been stowed for shipping.

The boats travel on their own hulls to Halifax, where they are craned ashore and mounted on a trailer, which in turn is wheeled aboard ships of the Atlantic Container Line.

Windcat has its own website -worth a look. www.windcatworkboats.com

Halifax in Halifax

HMCS HALIFAX lead ship in the Halifax class frigates for the RCN is based in Halifax at HMC Dockyard. However yesterday she moved to Tall Ships Quay in connection with the presentation of new Queen's colour to the RCN by the Governor General.

HMCS HALIFAX was built in Saint John NB in 1990 and was commissioned in 1992.

She is seen here boomed off and with some big Yokohama fenders and a mooring camel.

George's Island 2010

The Halifax newspaper announced today that George's Island will be open to the public starting in March 2010. This is great news for ship watchers (and others too I am sure.)

A mentioned below, I visited the island on June 14 and was impressed by the views.

The incongruous sight of period customed people with modern office buildings in the background was priceless.

Much work is needed to make George's ready for visitors, including a water line to run from the mainland, a sewage system, a dock and safety measures to prevent falls.

George's Island is also famous for having more snakes per square foot than anywhere in Nova Scotia. This may or may not raise the island's appeal for visitors, but the snakes are garter snakes and are considered harmless.

Melfi Lines update

Melfi Lines originally announced that they would be canceling calls in Halifax in favour of Montreal. The June 15 visit was to be the last for Melfi.

However, something changed. It now seems that Melfi will only load export cargo in Halifax and will unload import cargo in Montreal. The import cargo is from Spain, and Melfi obviously feels that it can deliver faster and closer to market if it lands that cargo in Montreal.

Export cargo is mostly for Cuba, which is generally not time sensitive, and so it can be shipped from Halifax. As you can see the cargo consists of containers and vehicles - some European and some Canadian - all bound for Cuba.

Yesterday's departure of MELFI IBERIA therefore does not represent the end of the line in Halifax as orginally reported. [see May 24 below]

Update: Initial reports turned out to be correct - Melfi is no longer seen inHalifax, and all ships have been sailing from the St.Lawrence River. Stay tuned for winter!