Bedford Basin, and the Narrows leading to it, was the place to be in order to see activity in Halifax harbour today, December 9. The most notable activity was the Float Off of the Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel AOPV 435 (see previous post). It was moved from Halifax Shipyard aboard the barge Boabarge 37 and was floated off late in the afternoon.
At Pier 9C, the last berth to the north end of the Narrows, the Dutch flag ship Schippersgracht arrived to take on an unusual cargo.
The "S" class ship from the Spliethoff fleet is more usually loading forestry products or aluminum ingots or even yachts for seasonal relocations. Built in 2000 by Mitsubishi, Shimonoseki it is a multi-purpose ship of 16,641 gt, 21,402 dwt with moveble tween decks and three 120 tonne SWL cranes. It has starboard side doors accessing internal elevators. It also has a 1134 TEU container capacity.
Today however it was loading surplus* Canadian military vehicles.
Although the vehicles are wheeled, they are not being loaded as RoRo cargo, but are being lifted onboard individually. It also appears that the ship's cranes are spotting them precisely in the ship's hold.
While lifting operations were underway passing ships were requested to make minimal wake, and this was certainly the case as the container ship NYK Daedalus passed en route to PSA Fairview Cove.
Tugs Atlantic Fir and Atantic Maple kept the ship under control but at slow speed as it passed Pier 9C at close quarters.
Name ship of a class of seven ships built by Hyundai, Ulsan, it was completed in 2007. The 55,487 gt, 65,867 dwt ship has a capacity of 4,888 TEU with 330 reefer plugs. It is a regular on THE Alliance's AL5 North Europe to North America service. As with many Japanese ships it was initially registered in Panama, but in 2020 registry was transferred to the Cayman Islands, a rare flag of convenience for a container ship, particularly as it does not appear to have been connected with a change of ownership. (Perhaps Panama's revised registration regulations after the release of the "Panama Papers" might have been a reason.)
Thanks to good communication and good timing, there was no conflict with the ship departing PSA Fairview Cove at the same time. Atlantic Sea made a wide turn away from the berth and went well out into Bedford Basin to make room for the NYK Daedalus to berth. With tug assistance they also stayed clear of the float-off operation off the Rockingham shore.
The small red ouboard craft, leaving a nice wake, is returning to the float-off operation after a pizza run - I'm not sure who the pizzas were for, but they might have benefitted from some reheating after a 10 minute ride in an open boat.
The Atlantic Sea 100,430 gt, 55,738 dwt, and its four sister ships are the most familiar ships in Halifax harbour as they maintain weekly calls eastbound and westbound on their transatlantic service for Atlantic Container Line. They still hold the distinction as the largest multi-purpose container /RoRo (CONRO) ships in the world. They were built in Shanghai by Hudong-Zhonghua between 2015 and 2017, and have a capacity of 3800 TEU and 1300 CEU.
The only other traffic of note in the area was the tug Glenevis YTD 642 which made a brief foray to the Basin for a compass adjustment. This may mean a return to service for the tug, which would be good news as both it and Glenbrook have been in "prolonged" refits, leaving Glenside as the only operational Glen class tug in HMC Dockyard fleet for the past year.
The three Ville class pup tugs, built in1974, and 365 bhp, 7 ton bollard pull remain in service. (View of the tug basin from the Angus L. Macdonald bridge, November 12, 2024.)
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* The vehicles may not be surplus - they may be headed overseas for use by our forces or those of a friend.
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