Too Wet

 There was no work at Pier 28 today, January 16, due to rainy and windy weather. The bulk carrier Midland Trader arrived on Saturday January 14 in high winds and rain, and aside from a mix with snow pellets and freezing rain on Sunday, the wetness has persisted, with temperatures rising to an unseasonal +10 degrees C.

The ship is classed as a "Handysize" bulk carrier of 22,918 gt, 35,762 dwt and carries four 36 tonne cranes [marked as 36t on hook, 26t on grab and 45 tonnes SWL at 26m] and four 12 cubic meter grabs to serve its five holds. The ship was built in 2019 by Samjin Shipbuilding Industries Co Ltd in Weihai for Oldendorff Carriers GmbH + Co KG of Lubeck, Germany.

Sources differ on the name assigned to the ship when it was laid down. Some say Christiane Oldendorff and others Conrad Oldendorff. However it was delivered as Midland Trader for long term employment with "a major trading house", assumed to be Archers-Daniel-Midland. The giant Chicago based agri-business has large holdings in transportation and logistics, including 23,500 rail cars and its own Mississippi river barge fleet of 1700 barges and 58 towboats, not to mention 1600 truck trailers, and at least five (chartered) bulk carriers.

The ship appears ready to load when conditions suit. Unlike some ports, Halifax does not rig tarps over ship's hatches when loading sensitive products in the rain (in this case soy beans or wood pellets), so must await dry weather. 

Note the ship's "sliced off" bow, which brings it in at 179.99m (590 ft 6.3 inches) length overall. I am not sure why it has this feature, inless there is a specific place the ship must fit. Oldendorff's fleet of bulkers now numbers in the range of 750 ships of 65 million tonnes deadweight, and they come in all sizes. This ship is not restricted to carrying food products, as the stanchions indicate that it is fitted to carry deck loads of timber.

 To make room for the Midland Trader at pier 28, the tanker Algonorth [see previous post] moved out to anchor in the lower harbour. The tanker its awaiting its turn to load at Imperial Oil.

As mentioned in that last note, service in the St.Lawrence Seaway has not done the ship's paint scheme any favours. All that scraping in and out of the locks has resulted in a case of "lock rash". The black boot topping also shows normal erosion of the anti-fouling paint. The friction of the water exposes fresh layers of biocide in a controlled release of the toxic molecules, thus preventing the build up of marine organisms on the hull. Though effective, it is does not improve a ship's appearance. With drydocking due this year, there will likely be new paint above and a touch up below the waterline

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