Gypsum in Demand

 There seems to be a large demand for gypsum - with three ships in Halifax to carry away some of the material. It is usually the sign of a strong economy when there is demand for gypsum as it is used in building construction materials, steel making and other manufacturing.

As reported on April 15 the bulker Ocean Pearl arrived to load at Gold Bond. Due to its arrangement with many large hatch covers, it is a slow ship to load, as the travelling loader must be worked in and out around the covers. The usual self-unloading ships also have stacking hatch covers for quicker loading.

This morning, April 17, the ship was still loading with the traveller working well forward. A pilot has been ordered for 1700 to depart for sea with a destination of Tampa, FL.

Meanwhile the Canadian flag CSL self-unloader Baie St. Paul arrived yesterday, April 16, and anchoraged in the lower harbour awaiting its turn to load.

 The Baie St. Paul, like many Canadian ships that work the Great Lakes, was laid up from January 14 to March 12. When it left its layup berth in Montreal it proceeded up the Seaway system and the Great Lakes to Thunder Bay. Returning downbound it arrived in Montreal April 11. It unloaded its cargo (assumed to be grain) and sailed April 13 for Halifax.

When the Ocean Pearl sails this afternoon, the Baie St. Paul will move to the Gold Bond dock to load for Hamilton, ON. The Baie St. Paul is a member of the Trillium class of Lakers, and was built in 2012 by the Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. It is strengthened for coastal voyages and is a regular caller in Halifax.

This morning, April 17, the CSL Metis arrived and went to anchor in Bedford Basin to wait its turn to load.

Although it is now a self-unloading bulk carrier, that is the result of an extensive rebuilding. Starting life as the tanker Berge Helene in 1981 at the Mitsui Chiba shipyard it carried the names Lagovan Sinamaica from 1981 to 1993, Sinamaica from 1993 to 2000 and Ektoras from 2000 to 2007 and briefly Ektora in 2007. A 31,849 gt, 61,403 dwt ship, it was rendered obsolete when double hulls became mandatory for tankers. Its mechanicals and accommodations were still in good condition however, and CSL acquired the ship on favourable terms. They contracted Chengxi Shipyard to fabricate a new forebody (cargo section and bow), complete with self-unloading apparatus, which was joined to the stern section in a mere 53 days with completion in October 2007. It then became a 43,022 gt, 69,304 dwt ship and increased in length from 222.3m to 245.0m. It is registered in the Bahamas and works in the CSL Americas self-unloader pool of fifteen ships.

It is rare that we see two CSLers in port at the same time - one from the domestic Canada Steamship Lines fleet in traditional red hull colour - and one from the CSL Americas foreign flag fleet in black.

The CSL Metis arrived from Baltimore, which may also be its destinaiton as several recent gypsum loads have gone there. Other Gold Bond destinations are Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville and Tampa.

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