All Sizes

 The Port of Halifax can accommodate ships of virtually all sizes, and today, June 12, saw a range of ships, from small to large.

 The multi-purpose general cargo type ship has become a common dight in ports around the world. Because container ships can only handle containers, there are many types of cargo that do not fit into standardsize containers and that still need transportation by sea. The multi-purpose type had been developed to handle such cargos. The usually have cranes to work their cargo, and can handle some containers if needed.

This morning's arrival, the Sloman Dispatcher is such a multi-purpose, tween deck type, but with the added capability of handling heavy lifts and heavy loads. It arrived from Belfast, and off loaded aircraft components at Pier 9C. 

Because of all the wind turbine tower sections on the pier, it was not possible to see the cargo from the road. There was also a better view of the ship when it sailed early in the afternoon for Las Palmas.

The ship was built in 2012 by Jiangzhou Union Shipbuilding in Ruichang, China. Construction of the ship followed the Beluga E/F, F-300 design. It was laid down before the German company Beluga Shipping was declared insolvent in 2011, so was likely ordered by Beluga. However it was delivered as Sloman Dispatcher to another German shipping company Sloman Neptun.

 It is a 9611 gt, 12,624 dwt ship with two 150 tonne SWL cranes that can combine for a 300 tonne lift. The ship can carry 657 TEU (326 in the hold and 331 on deck) and has 25 reefer points. The ship was renamed Sun Dispatcher for a time betweeen 2016 and 2017.

A mid-afternoon  arrival was also on the small end of the scale, the chemical tanker T Procyon. Obviously well laden, it anchored for examination by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency before proceeding further into Canadian waters - likely on the St.Lawrence River.

 The ship was built by Rushan Shipbuilding, in China and measures 12,112 gt, 19,101 dwt. It was orginally ordered in 2012 by Marnavi of Italy as "Attilio Ievoli", but due to late delivery by the shipyard, it (and three sister ships) were abandoned by the owners. The shipyard kept possession and renamed the ship "Long Shun". Rushan was declared bankkrupt in 2018 and the ships were sold at auction in 2019. It seems likely that the ships were incomplete at the time, and were then completed by another shipyard, Jiangsu Yangzijiang. Current owners, associated with Lynx Shipping Pte Ltd, and Seacon Ship Management renamed the ship T Procyon in 2021.

 Its movements in recent months are not completely clear, but it was reported in Saudi Arabia in late April, transited the Suez Canal April 30 and called in several ports in Turkey in early May, then Varna, Bulgaria May 19 to 21. It was reported in Sevastopol and Istanbul on May 22 - depending on the source - then Gibraltar May 31.

A ship that has always been in the hands of solvent owers as far as I know, weighs in at the top end of the size scale. The CMA CGM J.Adams was built in 2017 by Hyundai, Ulsan, and has tonnages of 141,950 gross and 148,425 dwt with a capacity of 14,414 TEU. 

The ship is named for a President of the United States of America, following the custom of American President Lines (APL) which was part of the Singapore - based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) which in turn was taken over the CMA CGM in 2015. (Previous owners of NOL, the state-owned Temasek, are owners of PSA.)

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There They Go

 Three ships sailed in quick succession early this afternoon - each with its own point of interest.

MSC Mexico V 

First off was the container ship MSC Mexico V leaving PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, Pier 42. The ship is on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Indus Express service, sailing from Mundra May 10 non-stop to Halifax, passing Capetown June 4, and arriving here last evening. It is now en route to New York for June 13.

I gave the ship's history in detail when it was here previously, see October 12, 2023  but the basic details are:

It was built in 2002 by Hyundai, Ulsan, and is 53,453 gt, 66,547 dwt with a capacity of 4839 TEU (other sources give 4992 TEU nominal and 3433 TEU at 14 tonnes), and has 500 reefer points. It was retrofitted with an exhaust gas scrubber system, stacked tight against the superstructure.

As per the previous post it also has a history with Halifax, having arrived here for the first time April 5, 2002 on its maiden voyage. It was then called ZIM Mediterranean and continued to call here for several years. It was the first of a series of six Panamax ships built for ZIM, and flying the Israeli flag. (See photos in that previous post.)

It was renamed OOCL Mexico in 2014, and simply Mexico in 2016. In 2022 it became MSC Mexico and the "V" was added later the same year.

Mount Cook 

The big dry bulker Mount Cook spent less than six hours in port this morning while the Canadian Food Inspection Agency conducted an examination for invasive species, particularly the dangerous "spongy moth" [Lymantria dispar], which would attack deciduous trees. Upon completion the ship was given clearance to proceed on its voyage from Rotterdam to Sept-Iles, QC, where it is due to load 170,000 tonnes of iron ore.

 The ship was built by New Times Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jingjiang City in 2023. The Newcastlemax sized 112,435 gt, 208,886 dwt dual fuel ship carries its LNG storage tanks on deck, and has a widely projecting stern to make room. The ship is one of eleven sister ships ordered by Eastern Pacific Shipping.

 

The ship is named for the highest peak in New Zealand, the 3,724 meter (12,218 ft) high Aoraki / Mount Cook to give its present official name. It was named Mount Cook in 1851 to commemorate Captain James Cook, who explored the area in 1771 (but never actually saw the mountain.) It was renamed, adding its Maori name, in 1998.  

[Captain Cook has more connection with Halifax. He was stationed in Halifax from 1758-1762 as sailing master of HMS Pembroke (60 gun, fourth rate) and later HMS Northumberland (70 gun, third rate) and participated in the capture of Louisbourg, Quebec City and the re-capture of St.John's. He also conducted innumerable surveys and mapping in the region, most notably Halifax harbour itself, and participated in construction of defences.]

 Marsgracht

It was a very short stay for the multi-purpose type general cargo ship Marsgracht. It arrived at the pilot station at 0815 hrs ADT, berthed at Fairview Cove an hour or so later, and ordered a pilot for a 1330 hrs departure.

 Unlike many of the Spliethoff ships we see here, this one, a member of the "M" class, has  conventional folding hatches, and no side loading elevators. It is a typical tween deck type with moveable pontoon tween decks that can be arranged as ten compartments at TEU intervals. The holds are ventilated and de-humidifed.

Built in 2011 by Zhejiang Oahu Shipbuilding Co in Zhoushan, it measures 9524 gt, 12,284 dwt with a capacity for bulk and breakbulk and heavy cargo or 696 TEU. It carries three cranes each of 80 tonnes SWL, which can be combined for 160 tonne lifts. It has ice class F/S 1A  and is fitted for the Great Lakes and Australia. 

The ship arrived from Salerno, Italy, and sailed for the English Channel. I could not see what the ship offloaded that was worth a solo trip from the Mediterranean. 

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Quite a Parade

 With three ships all arriving at the pilot station for 0600 hrs ADT, there was an interesting procession. Not long after that there was another procession of outbound naval vessels, making for a busy morning.

The inbound ships, all regular callers in Halifax in order of arrival were:

Irving Oil's Acadian on one of its last trips through Halifax. Its replacement the new Algoma Acadian is due today in Savannah, Georgia on its working delivery trip, via Brazil, from Korea.

 Nirint's Gotland with another delivery of nickel sulfides from Cuba:

 and Tropical Shipping's Tropic Hope on the weekly service from the Caribbean.

 Morning deparures included a naval contingent heading to near shore areas for exercses:

The Royal Canadian Navy charter Asterix was first to leave (no photo here- I had to eat breakfast sometime) and HMCS Montreal:

 ... followed by an as yet unidentified, by name, US submarine:

 and the visiting Danish air defence frigate HDMS Vaedderen:

 There was also later activity, stretching through to noon time.

The cable carrier Fairwind Legion arrived for Pier 9B to load cable racks.

and the cable ship IT Infinity:

Then there was a departure from Autoport. Wallenius Wilhelmsen's Oberon is on the usual route from north Europe.

Aside from the Danish visitor, all of these ships are regular callers and have been covered in detail previously in this blog, so no details are given here.

 There were some other arrivals and departures today, so it was a very busy day in the port.

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MSC Banu III

 The MSC Banu III made its first call in Halifax today (June 8) on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Canada Express service. The ship is on its eastbound return leg from Montreal to Spain and Italy, with an ETA of June 16 in Malaga, Spain.

Shanghai Shipyard built the ship as Northern Devotion in 2004, but it was renamed on delivery, becoming MSC Queensland. In 2007 it was renamed MSC Banu and the Roman numeral "III", designating capacity range, was added in 2022 and it became MSC Banu III.

It is a 36,082 gt, 48,015 dwt ship with a capacity of 3400 TEU, with 500 reefer points. As usual with MSC transatlantic/ St.Lawrence routes, ships may stop in Halifax westbound to offload containers to reduce draft to suit St.Lawrence River restrictions. When eastbound they can "top off" in Halifax adding more cargo to maximize draft. This also permits an "express" service for some cargo to reduce seagoing time and speed up delivery by truck or train.

On departure this afternoon, the ship was well down on it marks and reported a draft of 12.1 meters (39'-8"). The shallowest section on the St.Lawrence, between Quebec City and Montreal has a draft restriction of 10.2 meters (35 ft). This represents a significant difference in tonnage carried on a ship.

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 P.S.

There is a difference between "ship pictures" (pictures with ships in them) and "pictures of ships" (pictures with only ships in them.) See above for one of each. I usually try for the former.

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Wicky Spirit update

 In what I believe is an unprecedented evolution, one tanker is transhipping commodity to another tanker, while berthed in the Port. While there have been several notable transfers of cargo between tankers at anchor, I cannot think of a time when the transfer has occurred with the ships alongside.

The product and chemical tanker Basat arrived in Halifax on May 12 in ballast and tied up at Pier 25. It has been idle there ever since. 

Yesterday when the Canadian flag tanker Wicky Spirit arrived it first went to anchor, then last evening moved in alongside the Basat. I had thought the Wicky Spirit was in ballast, but this morning I observed a hose rigged between the two ships and over the period of about two hours, and a noticeable decline in the Wicky Spirit's draft. Photo above taken at 10:30 ADT.

 

A comparison between the two photos shows the Wicky Spirit (left) higher in the water in the second photo which was taken at 12:40 hrs ADT.

Whether the transfer is bunkers, residual cargo, chemicals, or tank washings (slops) I can't tell.

Later this afternoon the Wicky Spirit is due to move to Pier 27, which would normally indicate that the ship will be refueling from trucks. 

Addendum: in the end the ship sailed directly from Pier 25 to sea without going to Pier 27.

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McKeil presence and others of note - [see Update, June 7]

Today, June 6, marks another time when there is more than one ship from the same owner in the Port of Halifax. (See recent posts on Desgagnés duos).

 McKeil Marine, headquartered in Burlington, ON, has spread its wings in recent years. From the operator of small work boats in the 1950s, to tugs and barges and now adding coastal tankers and bulk carriers, the company's activities have expanded beyond the Great Lakes to Atlantic Canada. 

On Tuesday June 3 the tug Beverly M 1 arrived with the barge Glovertown Spirit and tied up at the Cherubini Metal Works dock in Eisner's Cove. A shoreside crane was soon at work loading wind generator tower sections.

 

By today there appeared to be only two or three sections left to load. In April fleet mate tug TimMcKeil with the barge MM 161 was also in port to load the first shipment of tower sections. They were offloaded in Dalhousie, NB. See Tugfax April 25.
 

The BeverlyM 1 was built in 1993 by Imamura Shipbuilding in Hiroshima, Japan. The 4200 bhp ASD tug originally served in Hong Kong as the Shek-O to 2004, then Hunter to 2006 and Pacific Typhoon until 2013 when acquired by McKeil.

The barge Glovertown Spirit is a 2073 gt, 4900 dwt (or so) deck barge reinforced for heavy loads of 20 tonnes per square meter. It was built in 2012 by Damen Gorinchem, Netherlands.

McKeil frequently uses the word "spirit" in its ship's names to commemorate important persons in the company's history, or in this case the namesake is a community on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland. It is the location of a bustling shipyard which is the likely connection with McKeil Marine. McKeil tugs and barges have supported the major offshore petroleum projects in Newfoundland for many years.

Today's arrival in the lower harbour is the tanker Wicky Spirit from St.John's. A member of the McKeil Tankers Ltd fleet since 2019, it was built by Gisan Shipyard, Tuzla, Turkey in 2008. The 8660 gt, 13,947 dwt ship carried the name Turquoise T to 2019 and briefly Turquoise - I in 2019.

 Since the start of the St.Lawrence Seaway  season in April of this year the ship has been shuttling between Hamilton, ON and St.John's, making three trips. It will be moving to the Halifax side of the harbour when a berth is clear, presumably for some maintenance or refueling, as it is obviously not carrying any cargo.

The ship normally carries product for Petro-Canada, and its namesake is Robert "Wicky" Wickens, a race car driver sponsored by Petro-Canada Lubricants. 

Not far away, in Eastern Passage, it was a totally different sort of ship as the autocarrier Way Forward arrived at Autoport.

 To avoid encountering deer ticks I am staying out of long grass, but I will soon need an elevated platform to see ships at Autoport.

It is another in the new series of ships built for Wallenius Marine on long term charter to Volkswagen. Sister ship Future Way was here February 5  and has all the same specifications and characteristics:

It was built by Yantai  CIMC Raffles, Longkou in 2024 and features gas / diesel / synthetic diesel fuel engines, can sail fully loaded with no ballast water, has a shore power connector and can be converted to add battery power. It reduces fuel consumption by prop design, hull shape and aerodynamic features. The 62,432 gt, 18,565 dwt ship has a capacity of 6500 CEUs.

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CMA CGM Francoise Sagan - another ad hoc

 The container ship CMA CGM Françoise Sagan made an "ad hoc" call in Halifax today - the second for a CMA CGM ship in the last month or so. By ad hoc, I mean that the ship's call was not a regular one on the Premier Alliance schedule, but appears to be a trial run - or demonstration - to see if calling in Halifax is a good fit for the Premier Alliance AT3 service from North Europe to US and Mexico.

 The first ad hoc caller on the AT3 was the CMA CGM Molière on May 3 (I missed that one due to fog). Although ONE is nominally running the service, their Ocean Alliance partner, CMA CGM, is providing the ships. (Oddly, the CMA CGM Françoise Sagan is a former NYK ship.) The AT3 port rotation is Southampton, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Antwerp, (Halifax), Veracruz, Altamira, Houston, New Orleans, Southampton.

 The tug Atlantic Maple is preparing to make up on the ship's starboard side, and will soon be hidden from my view. The Atlantic Ash is trying to make up on the port bow, and is steaming full astern. Due to the ship's extreme bow flare, the tug neeeds to take care to avoid contact with its superstructure when working in close.  

 

It then appeared that the Atlantic Ash would instead take a heaving line from the ship's bow, but the heaving line may have fouled the anchor. The ship was moving quite fast and was soon hidden from view, but it was eventually turned and brought alongside Pier 41.

The CMA CGM Françoise Sagan was built as NYK Themis by Hyundai Ulsan in 2008. The 76,826 gt, 80,227 dwt ship has a nominal capacity of 6661 TEU including 460 reefer points. Ships of the Triton class are notable for their twin funnels - a considerable expense, one assumes, for an unknown reason.

 

CMA CGM is naming ships after notableFrench historical figures, including explorers and authors. Mlle Françoise Sagan (1935-2004) [pen name of Françoise Delphine Quoirez] was a novelist, playwright, lyricist and screen writer, achieving fame (and notoriety) for her work from the young age of 18.

Fallout from Hapag-Lloyd's exit from the forner THE Alliance, and re-forming of the Premier Alliance with ONE, HMM and Yang Ming is still settling in, with MSC playing an odd card too.

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