Sunday arrivals - through thick and thin

The long awaited arrival of the semi-submersible barge for Halifax Shipyard finally took place this morning. Boabarge 37 arrived in tow of the tug Boa Bison (see Tugfax). It was originally expected on April 17 but the tow met with some extremely heavy weather and was battling head winds for many days. However once clear of the bad weather it made good time (for a tow).

In drizzly gray weather, the pilots disembark from the tug Boa Bison to board the Boabarge 37 for its inbound passage to Halifax Shipyard.

The barge has been hired to float out the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) from their building berth at Halifax Shipyard. Last week the shipyard made application for coasting licenses to use the Norwegian flagged barge in Canadian waters. They explained in the application that each AOPS will be moved onto the barge using Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) with 232 axle lines and six power packs. The ship plus its temporary cradles and the SPMTs will weigh 7,129.5 tonnes. Once aboard the barge, the SPMTs will move off leaving the ship on its cradles. The barge will then be moved by tugs to Bedford Basin where the it will be submerged and the ship floated off. The first float off for AOPS #1 Harry DeWolf will take place in September.

Harbour tugs Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Oak take charge of the barge in the Narrows, and dock it a Pier 6

 

In the meantime the barge will also be used to transport modules from the Woodside fabrication shop to the shipyard. These modules are components for the next ships in the production line, and will weigh from 13 tonnes to 60 tonnes.

After several days without tanker activity Imperial Oil has now received two tankers in two days.
Yesterday (in even thicker fog and heavier rain) Conti Agulhas arrived from Port Neches, TX and tied up at dock #4.

 Conti Agulhas sports a spotless red hull.

A Handyszie tanker of 23,403 grt, 37,606 dwt it was built by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan in 2008. Owners CONTI Group of Munich (but with operations in Hamburg), registered the ship in Liberia.

This afternoon, in bright sunshine, a slightly larger ship, of the the Mid-Range class, High Voyager, arrived at number 3 dock from Paldiski, Estonia.

Tugs push High Voyager alongside at number 3 dock.

Also built by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, but in 2014, it comes in at 29,935 grt, 45,999 dwt and flies the Maltese flag for d'Amico Tankers DAC of Italy.

There were some developments at Pier 9B where yesterday's arrival, Nore, while still flying the flag of Malta, is now nameless, in anticipation of a good painting day - perhaps as early as tomorrow - to apply its new name and port of registry.

Making a 180 turn and facing south, the Algoma Dartmouth was bunkering the tug Boa Bison. The Halifax based tanker is virtually indistinguishable, except for hull colour, from the ex Nore.

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