Back Again and Shine A Light on Halterm

The Algoma Central Corp self-unloader Radcliffe R. Latimer arrived back in Halifax on Friday. This time it was with a load of grain from Thunder Bay.The ship spent the winter at the same pier undergoing routine maintenance.
It had arrived January 7 and on March 17 it sailed light ship for Port-Cartier and loaded iron ore for Contrecoeur, QC. It subsequently made two more shuttle trips between Port-Cartier and Contrecoeur, sailing April 3 for Thunder Bay. It loaded there April 9 and was on its way back to Halifax. It anchored for a time off Grande-Entrée, Magdalen Is April 16 due to weather, but was underway again the next day. Sailing via the Cabot Strait for Halifax.

This afternoon after completing its grain work the ship moved to National Gypsum.

Arriving at Autoport the autocarrier Sunshine Ace brought out some welcome sunshine. (Another autocarrier named Sunlight Ace also called here March 27).

As Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak move in to position a survey boat (see below) works off Halterm.

Sunshine Ace dates from 2009 when it was built by Minami-Nippon in Marugame. The 58,917 grt, 18,858 dwt ship has a capacity of 5,200 cars. It flies the Bahamas flag for MOL Ship Management (Singapore).

Connors Diving Services Ltd operates this nameless Stanley workboat. Powered by a pair of 150 horse Yamahas it has a bow ramp  qualifying it as a landing craft.

No registration number could be seen on the hull.

The boat has been surveying off Halterm for the past several weeks. No doubt its activity is related to a recent tender notice from the Port of Halifax for rock anchor installation for a 200 tonne bollard. My expectation is that a dolphin / crib will be constructed off Pier 42 to take the headlines for large ships. Since the cranes on the pier can run right out to the end,  there is a lot of unused length to the pier taken up by ships' headlines. A bollard off the end of the pier would increase the effective length of the pier by 100 feet or more.

I only hope that the new installation will not deprive ship watchers of a favourite vantage point. 

The same boat has also been assisting Connor's work barge with a core drilling rig off pier 31-37 which is where the port is expected to infill the camber to expand Halterm's land area.

This is my interpretation - not announced by the port - of what I think will be happening:

Note the two cranes shown on pier 37 have been demolished. There are five cranes shown on Pier C. This includes the one crane now at pier 36, which was built with specail bogies that allowed it to move to Pier C..

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