Torino - New Year's Day arrival

 1. The tugs Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Larch have come alongside Torino to assist. The ship must be turned ninety degrees and backed in to the pier.

A rare mid-day arrival for an autocarrier, and also unusually, tying up at pier 30-31. Most autocarriers arrive early in the morning at Autoport, but with New Year's Day a holiday for longshoremen, Torino opted to go to pier 31 first, and to be ready for work when work resumes tomorrow. Whatever she has on board appears to have been loaded last and must come off first - likely a large object!
The ship will move to Autoport tomorrow to unload her cargo of cars.
Torino was built in 2009 and is registered in Southampton, UK, where her owners, Wilhelmsen Lines Car Carrier division is based. The Wilhelmsen parent company is Norwegian and the ship works in the pool with Wallenius Lines of Sweden.The ship measures 61,328 gross tons and has a capacity of 6,354 autos.

2. Viewed from abeam, the ship's size is evident.

 

3. Now alongside pier 30-31, the crew has just lowered and secured the stern ramp and it appears that Canadian Border Services Agency members are preparing to board.

HMCS Athabaskan - docked in North Sydney "indefinitely"

 1. Safe in North Sydney [photo used with permission].

 CCGS Sir William Alexander** (left) did not have a line aboard the ship at one any time. The tug Ocean Delta (at the end of the dock) did eventually recover the tow, after calling in air support, and they did reach Sydney Harbour.

Strangely muted comments by some official sources are underplaying the seriousness of HMCS Athabaskan's abruptly abbreviated trip from St.Catharines toward Halifax. They say it was never in danger of running aground on Scatarie Island. I would say that if your only alternative was to call in air support from Greenwood air base, then there was good reason to fear that the ship would run aground or sink before you reconnected the tow.
Now that it is safely berthed in Halifax {North Sydney!} the spokespersons are saying that they are waiting for good weather to complete the journey. If the ship were a merchant ship, the Department of Transport's Ship Safety inspectors would hold the ship in port until repairs were made.
However this is complicated, because repairs to navy ships are very different to what would be possible in a remote port with a merchant ship.Temporary repairs would permit a merchant ship to be cleared to sail to a port where permanent repairs could be made. Even though the ship is tied up at the Canadian Coast Guard Academy's College's dock in Point Edward I doubt civilian regulators will be anywhere near this one except on an advisory basis.The navy will be the ultimate decision makers on when and under what circumstances the tow resumes. (The dock is in North Sydney, not at the Coast Guard College)
Since the construction of naval ships is far different from merchant ships, even the type of temporary patching that could be done in Sydney might not be acceptable. However the navy can be creative and they may find a way to make the ship seaworthy. Normal damage control measures (applied in combat situations) could get the ship to a safe port, but with no navy crew on board and no ship's power, would these be possible? Stuffing a few mattresses in the holes and shoring then up with timber might have worked for Hornblower, but I'm not sure it will fly here.
No matter how they solve that problem, there is going to be a big repair bill ahead.

2. Hull perforations, indentations, scrapes and bruises. [photo used with permission]

I can see up to eight possible perforations, which could be open to the sea (granted the ones I can see are above the waterline). These would certainly result in additional damage if not patched before sailing. More serious in the long term is a long scrape that has clearly distorted some plates, and likely damaged frames. Then there are all the dents, bumps and scrapes that may have caused additional damage.
Officials say they are keeping a close eye on weather before the ship moves, but my guess is that it may take more than good weather before this ship reaches Halifax.  
Interesting that the tug Ocean Delta is still alongside.Perhaps Groupe Océan has not been fired after all. I hope not - it would seem only fair to allow them to complete job. And what other tug operator would want to take over a previously damaged tow? Most towing contracts are quite firm in taking no responsibility for the towed object short of gross negligence verging on sabotage, so Océan may well be in the clear.
Tugs will have to recover their towing line, several hundred feet of which is still attached to the ship, and will sail for Quebec as soon as January 3.
** conflicting reports here - some say the Coast Guard did and some say it did not have a line aboard. I have nosworn testimonials on this, but would prefer to believe that they did NOT.
The ship shown in the picture is CCGS Sir William Alexander, however other photos (which I have not published) show that it was CCGS Edwrad Cornwallis that was the ships one the scene after the tow line parted. 

Atlantic Superior and Algoma Mariner - lakers arrive

Wit the closing of the St.Lawrence Seaway on December 29, we can expect a slight in crease in cargo activity in Halifax, but it is rare to see two lakes ships arriving and tying up at adjacent berths.
Algoma Mariner was first to arrive on December 29 and tied up at pier 27-28. Today she could be seen loading grain. This may well be the first time that a Laker has loaded grain in Halifax. Normally they bring grain in and take gypsum out.  

 1. Algoma Mariner has her unloading boom raised slightly to allow access to her hatches. One grain spout is till working up forward, but the other spouts have been stowed at the end of the work day, before the holiday.

Algoma Mariner was built to Seaway dimensions, but she is also capable of going to sea as well, so perhaps her owners have decided to keep her busy this winter working on the coast.The ship was completed in 2011 by Chengxi Shipyard in China. Her forebody was built in 2010 to be attached to the reconditioned stern of the laker Algoport. However that ship sank in tow en route to China and the new stern section, including engines, accommodations and some self-unloading gear was built and attached in 2011.
The ship had delivered a load of coal from the Lakes to Sydney, NS, before arriving here.

Second ship to arrive on December 29 was the well known Atlantic Superior. She arrived and berthed stern in at pier 25-26 for winter layup.

 2. Crew members set out 'hurricane' moorings, extra lines that are normally not used for ordinary port calls but which would be sufficient for any expected weather conditions when the ship does not have a full crew aboard.

Last winter she spent almost a month in the Novadock for refit, so this year's winter layup will likely not involve a drydocking. Built in 1982 and modified in 1983 she worked under the Bahamas flag as M.H.Baker III from 1997 to 2003. She has also traveled widely including Europe and the far east, again under foreign flag form 2006 to 2010.
Winter layup is a bit of a misnomer, but is a term generally used when Great Lakes ships remain tied up for the winter. The deck crew is normally paid off, but some engineering staff are kept aboard to carry out necessary maintenance. During the eight month St.Lawrence Seaway season the ships want to cram as many sailing days in as they can and do not stop for maintenance unless essential. A lot of other work is carried on in winter months.

HMCS Athabaskan - more detail comes out

With time more information keeps coming out on the HMCS Athabaskan tow.
I hear that Océan Delta had more than one breakdown in the Gulf, and that André H. had to recover the tow more than once.
I also hear that at one point Océan Delta was without power, and stopped dead. The Athabaskan however was still moving, and there was contact between the the two, resulting in some perforations of the Athabaskan's hull.and other damage.
Since I was not on the scene I can't describe these in any more detail, but, but a sleek hulled ship like a destroyer is going to move through the water pretty well, and the chances of it overtaking its towing tug would be a real risk, particularly if it did not have reliable power. The relatively fragile fabric of a destroyer is also not going to stand up too well to banging into anything, let alone a stationary tug.
The final parting of the tow line off Scatarie Island was especially dramatic, since it was not possible to reconnect the tow line directly from the tug. CBC News reported that a navy observer on the tug and a crew member from the tug, were lifted off by a Cormorant rescue helicopter and landed on Athabaskan to secure the tow line. All this in the teeth of a gale, in the winter North Atlantic!
Now I hear that the contract with Groupe Océan has been terminated, and that another company will be given the task of completing the tow to Halifax.
There will be more to follow on this potential cause célèbre. 

HMCS Athabaskan tow in trouble - AMENDED

The problem plagued tow of the HMCS Athabaskan took a major turn for the worse today when the tow line parted and the ship had to be rescued, in all places, off Scatarie Island. That island, at the eastern most edge of Cape Breton Island is of course where the laker Miner ran aground - and remains there - despite a year of efforts by the Province of Nova Scotia to have it removed. 
HMCS Athabaskan however is far from a worn out bulker on its way to the breakers. It is as sophisticated a warship as the Canadian navy owns, and one of only two destroyers on the east coast. Any damage, let alone a loss of the ship, would result in catastrophic costs, loss of strategic asset for a lengthy period of time, and some very serious loss of prestige for the RCN.
The saga really started with Athabaskan going to Seaway Industrial and Marine in St. Catharines, ON for a refit in the spring of 2012. The work was to be completed before the winter closing of the St.Lawrence Seaway, so that the ship could be back in Halifax for workups. The wisdom of sending warships to the Lakes for refit has always been the subject of some controversy in case the do have to winter over. However, it was considered by many to be a wise move to allow the newly rejuvenated yard to get some navy work
Nevertheless, as it turned out, the work could not be completed before Seaway closing time [it closed today]  and the Navy decided to have the ship towed to Halifax to avoid having it "trapped" for the winter.
The Quebec City Groupe Océan was awarded the bid for the tow and two of its tugs arrived at the shipyard in mid-December. Groupe Océan is the largest tug company in eastern Canada, has a good reputation, and has one of the few deep sea tugs in the region.
Things got off to a bad, and perhaps ominous, start. As I hear it, the lead tug Océan Delta was having mechanical problems and the tow out was delayed until it had made repairs. The tow out started on December 18 - about a week late and encountered poor weather on the way. They had to stop over in Montreal for more repairs to Océan Delta and at Trois-Rivières. It appears that they may also have gone into Baie-Comeau on December 24, are perhaps sheltered there for the night.
By this time the Canso Canal was closed for the season and the tow was forced to take the more exposed route via Cape North. They took shelter in Sydney harbour due to a passing storm  December 27, but apparently set out today for Halifax.
At some point late this morning the tow line parted off Scatarie and BUT Océan Delta was apparently unable to reconnect,  but then lost power.. The trailing tug André H. would not have been in a position to assist if they were tethered to the Athabaskan' s stern did manage to pick up the "insurance wire" [the trailing line] and save the day.

I do not know how long the ship was adrift, but the last report I received early this afternoon was that the Coast Guard was towing the ship into Sydney. But this was incorrect As we know from previous incidents, it would have to be a pretty dire condition before the Coast Guard would tow anything. There must have been no assistance anywhere near, and conditions or proximity to the coast, must have forced the situation. The tug André H. was able to tow both ships in to Sydney.

With another major winter storm arriving in Nova Scotia overnight, Sydney is the best place for the ship until a suitable weather window arrives.
I have long advocated for a dedicated rescue tug or tugs on the east coast of Canada, and this is the seond time in tow years where such a tug could have stepped in. Unfortunately for the aforementioned Miner no such tug was available, and the ship piled up on the island and will be major headache to remove.  I am sure there will be much to say about the Athabaskan story in the future when more details emerge, but in my opinion a rescue tug should have been available.

 

above: Athabaskan as built, with distinctive canted funnels.

Amendment: The original post has been revised based on subsequent information.

For a bit deeper background on the tugs see Tugfax. 

Renate Schulte - patch

Yesterday's assumption that the Renate Schulte was getting bow thruster repairs, appears to be incorrect. From comments to the previous post, it seems a loose anchor at sea perforated the hull and flooded the bow thruster compartment. Today, once a few trailers were moved inside Halterm, and the tide rose a bit, I was able to see a that a small section of hull plate just aft of the bulbous bow has been removed. This would certainly explain why the ship has been ballasted down in the way it has. The area is now above water, allowing work to proceed.
However with another storm and high winds on the way, there was no work going on today. Perhaps they are in a warm shop somewhere fabricating a new plate. It will therefore be several days before the ship could be ready for sea.

Christmas Business

As usual the port was very quiet on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

On Christmas Eve, the last ship to leave port was Hollandia. It sailed for Grande Anse, QC:

On Christmas Day itself, the St-Pierre et Miquelon feeder Fusion sailed from anchorage in Bedford Basin, to arrive at St-Pierre tonight.
And today the RoRo ASL Sanderling made a rare mid-day arrival for Autoport:

Remaining in port over the holiday were three foreign flag ships. The tug Craig Trans still detained for deficiencies, the cable ship IT Interceptor standing by at pier 9 and the container ship Renate Schulte. Crews from Dominion Diving have been working at the bow of the ship since before Christmas. The ship was moved end for end at pier 36 on the 24th to give them some more shelter. The ship has also been ballasted down by the stern and to the starboard.  I am assuming this is to give better access to the bow thruster, which is the likely source of the problem.

The ship's position makes photography somewhat awkward. Not visible is Dominion Diving's tug/workboat Roseway tucked in under the bow.