A perennial post card from Halifax has the usual spaces for address and message on the reverse, but the image side is completely white or slightly grey with  "Welcome to Halifax - fog capital of the world" or a similar thought. (Halifax is not the fog capital of the world, although it could be a contender.)

Today, January 29, a similar card could be sent but with a greeting from the "White Out Capital". A heavy snow fall caused icy roads, fender benders, early school closings and a very likely drop off in retail activity. 

It was not to be a busy day in the harbour in any case, so port activity may only have been slowed a bit. There was only one arrival from sea, the ConRo ship Oceanex Sanderling on its weekly arrival from St.John's and only two scheduled departures: the container ship Ophelia (see yesterday's post) and the coastal tanker Algotitan.

A "through the fence" view of the Algotitan at pier 25 on January 28. Erosion of its anti-fouling hull paint looks unsightly, but is normal - particularly when the ship has been operating in ice.

 The Algotitan is a fairly recent addition to the Algoma Tankers fleet. It arrived in Halifax late in 2022 with the name Chantaco. After renaming and registration in Canada it sailed with its first cargo on January 30, 2023.

It has been a regular caller in Halifax carrying product for Imperial Oil, and its details were covered here on its last call January 8-10. After tank washing slops were discharged at Pier 9C it sailed for Montreal. It loaded in Sainte-Victoire-de-Sorel, QC, and returned to Halifax January 24. It off loaded some product at Imperial Oil then moved over to Pier 25, in ballast on January 26. (Sainte-Victoire is the location of the Kildare Service ULC facility, which stores and blends heavy fuels, marine fuels and liquid asphalt in addtion to crude oil.)

The Algotitan is due to sail this evening - still in ballast. Its destination, is Quebec City.

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Ophelia for ZIM

 ZIM's two year old ZIM Colibri Express (ZCX) service continues to use a variety of chartered tonnage. Since the service from the west coast of South America to the Caribbean and US East Coast US was announced February 1, 2023 it has expanded to Halifax and has been combined with a previous service called the Canada Feeder Express (CFX). Initially using six 1700 TEU ships, it has been marketed as a weekly premium line with fast transit tomes and large reefer capacity. It appears they are now able to maintain the service with five ships.

Today's (January 28) arrival made port just before a short heavy snow squall reduced visibility to zero.

 

The ship was built in 2018 by Guangzhou Wenchong and is rated 17,907 gt, 22,000 dwt. Its operators, Leonhardt + Blumberg of Hamburg, give its capacity as 1717 TEU with 362 reefer plugs, 202 of which are in the holds. On arrival today from New York it appeared to be carrying a good many reefers - but many of them would have to be empties.

The port rotation for the line is: Callao - Paita - Guayaquil - Panama Canal. - Kingston - Miami - Philadelphia - New York - Halifax - Kingston - Panama Canal. - Calla.

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Morning Calypso - more cars

 Today's (January 25) auto carrier caller was more typical in terms of its route than yesterday's arrival. The Morning Calypso is on the usual Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WWO) run from North Europe to North America. Its last port was Southampton (January 15) from Zeebrugge (January 14), Bremerhaven (January 12), and Gothenburg (January 10) en route for New York. As a EUKOR ship it can be slotted in to the parent company (WWO) schedule as needed.

After off loading at Autoport this morning the ship moved to Pier 9C to discharge "high and heavy" and other RoRo cargo. As usual it headed to Bedford Basin and made a quick turn with the assistance of the Atlantic Larch (forward) and Atlantic Oak (aft) then returning to the Narrows and Pier 9C.

Built in 2013 by Imabari Zosen, Marugame, it is a 59,580 gt, 18,713 dwt ship with a capacity of 6200 CEU or 6142 RT43 size cars. I can't find a published figure for the capacity of its stern ramp, (but expect it is in the 250 tonne range) nor its small starboard side ramp. 

 

It is always a treat to have one of these moves in the afternoon as the ship transits both bridges and navigates the Narrows, in clear skies and bright sunshine, never mind the -5º C temperature.

Although the ship carries the EUKOR Car Carriers Inc banner, it appears to be chartered from Japanese owners. It is operated by Excel Marine, a Japanese company that manages some 135 ships for itself and others. The ship's movements over the past several months show a wide range of port calls starting from Japan and Indonesia in November 2024 via the Panama Canal to Spain and North Europe. After its US port calls it is likely to head back to the Pacific.

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Grand Champion auto carrier

 The auto carrier Grand Champion made a short half day stay at Autoport today, January 24. Its arrival time at the pilot station was 0530 hrs, and allowing for the usual hour and a half or so, it was likely secure alongside around 0700. Its departure order was for 1200 and the ship left quite promptly.

Most auto carriers on the Europe to North America run send a day or more in port, but this ship was not coming from Europe, one of a few recent arrivals from Asia via US east coast ports.

Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co Ltd built the Grand Champion at the Imabari shipyard in 2008. It is a 59,217 gt, 18,262 dwt Pure Car and Truck Carrier (PCTC) with a capacity of 6400 cars on nine decks accessed via a 150 tonne capacity RoRo ramp. It also has a small starboard side ramp. 

It also has an unusual spark arrestor cage around its funnel - a feature I don't recall seeing on any other ship, although smoke diverters were installed on some passenger ships to keep smuts off the open passenger decks.

Owner Cido Shipping is a Korean owned company operating from Hong Kong and Japan. Its current fleet consists of about 72 ships of all types, including 37 car carriers - several of which are more than twenty years old. The company made headlines last year when it ordered forty ships from Korean and Chinese shipyards. That number included twelve PCTCs. Most of Cido's PCTCs are on long term charter to the major auto carrier lines such as Grimaldi, MOL and ZIM. This ship was reported chartered to K-Line two years ago and was running from Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal. Most ships are still avoiding the Red Sea.

The Grand Champion sailed from Kanda, Japan December 17, Yokohama December 20, Kawasaki December 21-23, then sailed directly to Panama anchorage January 13 and Brunswick, GA for January 19-20. It seems that Japanese car manufacturers (who are enduring a major sales slump) have opted to bring cars via the Panama Canal instead off-loading at Pacific coast ports. This is a recent change and appears to be the result of fiercely competitive shipping lines offering bargain rates, but also a return to more normal water levels in Panama, which were delaying ships last summer. Ongoing diversions from the Red Sea and Suez Canal may also figure into the routing.

On sailing the ship gave Newark NJ as its destination.

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ONE after ONE but not the news

 Two Ocean Network Express (ONE) ships were seen in Halifax today, January 23 - one sailing and one arriving, but that was hardly newsworthy.

The departing ship was the ONE Falcon on the westbound leg of the THE Alliance's EC5 service. Its last port was Colombo and it arrived in Halifax January 21. It is now en route to New York.

The arriving ship was the ONE Wren on the eastbound leg of the same service from Charleston. 

Both ships are products of the Japan Marine United Shipyard in Kure, Japan, and are sister ships of the JMU 14000 Class, signifying a nominal capacity of 14,000 TEU. The actual rating is14,096 TEU. Each ship has slightly different tonnage figures.

The ONE Falcon (above) was built in 2017 and rates 146,287 gt, 138,907 dwt.  It was originally named NYK Falcon and was renamed in 2020. It sailed under sunny skies around noon time.

The ONE Wren (above) arrived late in the afternoon in a light snow flurry. It was built in 2018 as NYK Wren, and was renamed in 2021 and comes in at 146,409 gt, 139,335 dwt.

The ONE ships are now regulars, and despite their size and brilliant magenta hull paint, they are becoming matter of fact in the Port of Halifax. They no longer attract the sort of attention they received when they began to call here - certainly not the front page of the local newspaper.

That place of prominence was given over today to a small pleasure craft aground on the rocky shore of Ferguson's Cove, opposite Mauger's Beach.

My own photos, not as dramatic, reveal no name or other identification. The Canadian Coast Guard was on site removing fuel and loose gear so I assume the vessel is abandoned.

For the past few weeks there has been an AIS signal from a pleasure craft in the same area, named Obelix but it is no longer showing - that may only be a coincidence.

Removal of the boat will present a challenge, due to shallow water and a steep shore.

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Mix and Match - tankers and box boats

One of the appeals of Halifax harbour to ship watchers is the several types of ships that call in the port. Container ships of various sizes from a variety of shipping lines are the most predominant form of shipping to be seen. There are regular callers - some of which will be calling in the port for their entire working lives of twenty-five years or more - but there are also short term and one-time ships that add variety. 

There are also bulk carriers and tankers on a steady basis with some general cargo ships from time to time, and a regular parade of auto carriers on about a weekly basis.  

There is also a substantial number of support vessels such as tugs, workboats and various marine construction and dredging "floating plant" that work around the harbour.

On the non-commercial side the Royal Canadian Navy has its Atlantic base in Halifax and there are often comings and goings of RCN ships and some NATO visitors. The Canadian Coast Guard and Canadian government research ships, operated the Coast Guard, form a colourful back drop with their red hulls. 

Halifax Regional Municipality operates harbour ferries on two routes across the lower harbour with plans under way for a longer run from Bedford. Halifax Fire and Emergency Services operates a fireboat which can be seen regularly, but is seldom needed to fight a fire.

Adding to all that activity are pleasure craft and tour boats, which operate seasonally, as do their larger passenger carrying kin - cruise ships.

All of the above leads up to the variety of shipping that can be seen on just one day - such as today - January 21.

At the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal ZIM Integrated Shipping Services operates two weekly services. One operates between the west coast of South America to the East Coast of North America, and Halifax is the nothernmost port. Called the ZCX, Colibri Express, it also serves as a feeder to ZIM's hub port of Kingston, Jamaica. 

ZIM also operates the ZCA (ZIM Container Service Atlantic) service from the Mediterranean to the North American east coast. Today's caller on that service is the chartered ship Spyros V on its return visit to Halifax. It was last here November 17, 2024.

The ZCA service makes 13 calls in its long loop from Ashdod to Haifa, Izmir (Aliaga), Piraeus, Genoa, Barcelona and Valencia to Halifax. It is next scheduled to call in New York, then to Norfolk and Savannah before heading back across the Atlantic to Valencia and Barcelona. 

The Spyros V dates from 2011 when it was delivered by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang Shipyard in Jingjiang, China, as theBella Schulte. In 2017 it was acquired by current owner Technomar Shipping Inc of Athens. The 40,542 gt, 49,891 dwt ship has a capacity of 4250 TEU.

(Note the larger number of Hapag-Lloyd containers on deck on this trip. Perhaps a sign of things to come as Hapag-Lloyd amd Maersk re-align their services under a new joint venture called the Gemini Cooperation.)

At PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub in the south end of the port, the Mediterranean Shipping company's MSC Tamara was at Pier 42 - a regular caller it is serving MSC's Med Canadian route from  Halifax and Montreal. 

At Pier 41 it was a "two chairs - no waiting" situation as the departing ONE Cygnus was soon replaced by the arriving sister ship ONE Falcon.

The outbound ONE Cygnus is accompanied by two tugs, as tethered escorts.

 

Ships of this class are regular callers now on THE alliance's Asia - North America service, arriving from Colombo, via the Cape of Good Hope. But that may change next month as Hapag-Lloyd withdraws from THE Alliance. (Another ship with a large number of Hapag-Lloyd and UASC boxes on deck.) The ship measures 146,694 gt, 138,611 dwt and has a capacity of 14,026 TEU, and was built by Japan Marine United in 2019.

There are tankers in and out of Halifax on a nearly daily basis as both Imperial Oil and Irving Oil have large storage and distribution depots. Today at Irving Oil it was the East Coast while at Imperial Oil the PS Augusta was still discharging after its arrival Sunday January 19 from Antwerp, Belgium.

Ships of this size, around 50,000 dwt are the most common type of tanker and are seen world wide. This one was built in 2011 by STX Shipbuilding Co in Jinhae, South Korea, and comes in at 29,717 gt, 51,063 dwt. It was built as Gold Point and was erenamed PS Augusta in 2020.

 

Another tanker was also in Halifax, but not at one of the fuel terminals. Instead the Sten Aurora was tied up at Pier 9C to take on fuel for its own use. Irving Oil delivered fuel to the ship by truck.

 

Largely concealed from view by a large number of wind turbine towers, the refueling trucks are not visible.

 

The ship was built in 2007 by the Jiangnan Shipbuilding Group at the Qiuxin shipyard in Shanghai. It is a 11,943 gt, 16,596 dwt ship, rated as Ice Class 1A with polymer lined tanks for chemicals. Its most recent routing is more specific to a chemical carrier. It was in Sarnia December 2 to 4 then called in Quebec City, New York, New Orleans and Houston December 31. It then returned to New Orleans and sailed January 2 directly to Port Alfred (La Baie), QC, arriving January 16. There is a demand for a variety of chemicals to support the aluminum and the biomaterials industries in the Saguenay region.

The ship is due to sail this evening for Taft, Louisiana, site of large Mosaic and Dow / Union Carbide chemical plants about 30 miles upstream of New Orleans..

 

The berth at Piet 9C was only vacated yesterday by the general cargo ship Nord Ling, which moved out to anchor in Bedford Basin to make room.

 

Since arriving January 6 [qv] the ship has been fitted with fiberoptic cable racks. If that work is complete, the ship may be anchored for a while waiting its turn to go the Portsmouth, NH to load the cable.
 

Adding to the colourful activity in the harbour the CCGS Sir William Alexander has been running in and out port on its winter buoy program, which involves removing buoys from ice prone areas. As a multi-tasked ship, it also provides icebreaking assistance, Search and Rescue standby and patrol.

 

On arrival January 20 the ship had a number of buoys on deck to be taken ashore for maintenance and storage until spring.

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Titania at Autoport

 The Wallenius Wilhelmsen auto carrier Titania is today's (January 20) caller at Autoport, on the North Europe to North America service from Bremerhaven, Zeebrugge and Southampton.

 Unlike the subjects of Saturday's post (January 18: Your Roots are Showing) the ship's Wilhelm Wilhelmsen origin is apparent only in the "T" name, the first initial of all Wilhelmsen ships. Its orginal Wilhelmsen red/orange hull colour has long since been replaced with the teal over gray of the combined fleet with Wallenius Lines. That merger occured in 1999 and this ship has always operated for Wallenius Wilhelmsen. It was not until a late 2016 re-organization that the two lines began to integrate their operations under the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean brand and to adopt a common colour scheme.

The Titania was built in 2011 by Daewoo Shipbuilding + Marine Engineering Co in Okpo. The 74,255 gt, 31,143 dwt ship has a carrying capacity of 7620 RT43 sze cars. It is equipped with a 320 tonne capacity stern ramp and a smaller starboard side ramp.

 

The Titiania was wearing the traditonal Wilhelmsen hull colour and funnel marking when it called in Halifax June 27, 2016.

 

The ship will now sail for US ports, starting with Baltimore. One has to wonder how the imposition of substantial duties on auto imports to the US will effect the operations of shipping lines such as Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean.  

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Your Roots are Showing

 When ships change owners they often change names, funnel markings and other identifiers, but it is a major expense to change hull colours. That change is generally made during a regular drydocking, which, short of some accident or malfunction, only occurs every five years. Even then if the paint is in good condition, perhaps it will get a touch up rather than a change of colour. It is therefore not unheard of for ships to go ten years before hull repainting.

Today, January 18, there was a curious occurence in Halifax relating to two ships from different owners, docking at adjacent berths. CMA CGM Veracruz arrived early in the morning from Montreal on MSC's Canada Express service. It tied up at Pier 42, PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub but was hard to see thanks to a forest of cranes.

The MSC Veracruz was built in 2005 by Hanjing Heavy Industry and Construction Co. A 54,758 gt, 72,717 dwt ship it has a capacity of 5060 TEU.  The fore part of the ship was built at the Pusan yard and joined to the stern at the Ulsan yard. Originally named the Margit Rickmers for the long time Hamburg owners, it was chartered out as the Maersk Dhaka from 2005 to 2010 then reverted to Margit Rickmers until 2016 when it was renamed ANL Werrivee until 2017. 

In 2017 the Rickmers Group became insolvent. The 130 ship fleet was operated by receivers. and this ship reverted to Margit Rickmers again. It was sold that year and renamed MP The Edelman. In 2021 MSC swept up the ship along with numerous others in its fleet expansion phase, and it became MSC Veracruz. 

When the ship worked for Maersk it was repainted in their distinctive blue colour, but was returned to the traditional Rickmers green in 2010 and carried that until the sale in 2017 when it appeared in black. It still carries the black hull now, which is typical of MSC ships.

The noon time arrival today was the CMA CGM Missouri on the Ocean Alliance service from Singapore (apparently skipping Colombo) via the Cape of Good Hope.

Uncharacteristically the French Line ship has a green hull, certainly indicative of a Rickmers history. It seems that the ship was at least ordered by Rickmers, but construction was completed in 2016 by STX Offshore Shipbuilding in Jinhae for unidentifiable owners, but with the name CMA CGM Missouri.

It is a 102,931 gt, 115,600 dwt ship with a capacity of 9220 TEU. Actual CMA CGM ownership was not listed until 2024, and the ship still has the Rickmers green hull paint. It is likely to carry that colour until the next drydocking, which is due in March 2026.

 Rickmers did emerge to a degree from insolvency, but was a shadow of its former self. The five generation family owned company traced its roots to the 1830s. A Hamburg landmark is the barque Rickmer Rickmers now a popular tourist attraction, and yes, with a green hull.

Built in 1896 by the Rickmers shipyard in Bremerhaven, the square rigger has a notable history, summed up on its Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rickmer_Rickmers 

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IT Intrepid to the rescue

 A fast track application was made to the Canadian Transportation Agency on January 14 for a temporary coasting license for IT International Telecom's cable ship IT Intrepid. The ship is needed to replace two damaged fibreoptic cables that run between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. 

Normally it requires a month to process and grant a temporary coasting license but due to the importance of these cables, IT International is asking for quicker service in order to mobilize starting January 17 and to begin work on January 31.

One cable, belonging to Bell-Aliant runs 134 km from Searston By, NL to Aspy Bay, NS, was severed approximately December 23. The other, belonging to Eastlink, runs 190 kms from Rose Blanche, NL to New Victoria, NS and was broken about January 10.  It appears that both must be replaced in their entirety, and in a continous operation that buries the cable in a trench using a special Remotely Operated Vessel plough.

Today, January 15, the IT Intrepid moved to Bedford Basin for Dynamic Positioning trials, presumably in preparation for the work.

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MSC goes alone and big small(er) moves

 The Mediterranean Shipping Company is now the world's largest container shipping company and quite likely the Port of  Halifax's largest customer. With nearly daily arrivals, it is hard to keep track of all the ships that come and go. Today's (January 14) arrival however seems to be a first time visit, with this name. MSC Silvana VIII added the the Roman numeral "VIII" in 2024 to signify its capacity classification in thousands of TEUs. Whereas with most MSC ships the Roman numeral indicates the upper limit of  capacity, this one seems to be the lower threshold as most sources indicate a capacity of 8400 TEU. It was built as simply MSC Silvana, and carried that name from new in 2006, and it was under that name that it called in Halifax in November 2021.

 On arrival today it was met by three tugs (one not visible in photo) but all were close tethered, and none was acting as stern escort.

As of February MSC will have removed itself from the 2M Alliance with Maesk and will return to being a stand alone operation. Already the evidence is there as not a single container on deck was not either MSC (mostly putty colour, but some rusty red) or a rental / leasing box. Altough MSC has been said to pick up some slack from Hapag-Lloyd's simultaneous withdawal from the THE Alliance, it is not obvious here, at least yet.

MSC Silvana was built by Daewoo Ship Building + Marine Engineering in Geoje in 2006, and is rated at 94,489 gt, 128,560 dwt and is running on the Indus Express direct from Colombo via the Cape of Good Hope.

Three ships made moves or departed the harbour today, and they ranged in size from relatively large to relatively small.

The largest ship was the bulker Ceci which completed loading its soy cargo at Pier 28 and moved out to harbour anchorage last night, January 13. 

The ship arrived from Quebec City (Sillery specifically) January 9, and was due to sail in the late afternoon today to a port as yet to be designated. but likely Bandar Khomeni, Iran. [see previous post for ship details.]

This morning the tanker Bosporos moved from Nova Scotia Power Corporation's Tuft's Cove power plant to Pier 28, occupying the berth vacated by Ceci. [see also previous posts]

There does not seem to be a reason for the Bosporos to move to Pier 28 - it was certainly not to take cargo - and I did not see any re-fueling trucks on the pier. Perhaps it was to take on stores, which would have been difficult at NSP. It is due to sail this evening too.

The smallest ship to move today was the coastal tanker Algoscotia one of the most frequent callers of the Algoma Tankers' fleet. It moved from Pier 9C- where it had some tank cleaning (possibly after carrying black oil) - to Imperial Oil's number three dock to load refined product. 

The senior member of the Algoma Tankers fleet - it was built in 2004 - it is continues to soldier on, with an upgraded ballast water system fitted last year. It regular route is Halifax to Sydney, Corner Brook and Sept-Iles.

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Cargoes in Quantity

 The Port of Halifax is known as a container port, although not huge on the wortld scale, it did exceed the half million TEU number in 2023 handling 546,143 TEU. This was down significantly from 600,700 in 2022 and 595,755 in 2021. Total figures for 2024 are not in yet, but seem likely to fall below the 500k mark.

The port also ships and and receives bulk cargoes, moslty export gypsum and import fuels.

Today, January 12, there are two ships in the category for bulk cargoes: one export and one import.

The export cargo is a large shipment of soy loading from the grain elevator to the bulk carrier Ceci at Pier 28.

Ship managers Minoa Marine Ltd of Marousi, Greece display the letter "M" on the ship's bow. All thirteen ships in the fleet are owned by single ship companies.

 The Ceci is a gearless bulker of 42,665 gt, 82,338 dwt same from Oshima Shipbuilding in Saiki, Japan in 2009. Built to the shipyard's J-Max design it is also designated as a Kamsarmax bulker. Due to its dimensions of 224.9m length overall and 32.3m breadth it can load at Kamsar, Guinea, a major bauxite port, which is restricted to ships of 239m overall length. Also the ship fits within the maximum dimensions for the Panama Canal of 294m x 32.31m.

The Ceci was deliverd with the name Fortune Miracle and in 2012 was renamed Magic Argo. It received its current name in late 2023 when it was acquired by its current owner for US$17.75 mn.

A rare cargo of heavy fuel oil arrived overnight at the Nova Scotia Power Corporation's Tuft's Cove generating station on the Narrows, opposite Pier 9. The plant normally burns natural gas, but keeps heavy oil on hand in case of interruption or shortage. This latest cargo arrived from Texas City on the Marshal Islanads flag tanker Bosporos.

The Bosporos is a MidRange 1 tanker of 23,310 gt, 39,590 dwt built in 2007 by Hyundai Mipo in Ulsan, South Korea. It is operated by the 100 ship strong Tsakos Shipping and Trading SA based near Piraeus, Greece. The Tsakos Group is involved in numerous shipping related businesses, and with ships of all types. One its companies is Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd (or TEN Ltd) separately listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub

 PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, had both berths operating the South End Container Terminal for a brief time this morning. The ONE Madrid sailed from Pier 41 soon after the MSC Shannon III arrived ar Pier 42.

The ONE Madrid was built by Imabari Zosen, Mihara, Japan as Madrid Bridge, 152,068 gt, 146,778 dwt with a capacity of 13,900 TEU. The ship's owners, K-Line, joined the other Japanese container Lines, NYK Line and MOL to form Ocean Network Express (ONE) in 2017 and began the process of renaming their ships and giving them them the "cherry blossom" hull colour. Madrid Bridge was renamed in 2023.

Due to its size the ship required two tethered escorts astern. The Atlantic Ash (left) and the Atlantic Maple (right) are positioned to turn the ship into the western, deep water channel.

 

The ONE Madrid is currently on the EC5 Asia to North America service of THE Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd / ONE / Yang Ming / HMM). Next month when Hapag-Lloyd drops out, the remaining lines (ONE, Yang Ming and HMM) will carry on as the Premier Alliance. If you can imagine the ship without any Hapag-Lloyd containers, you will have an idea of how the reduction will effect both the shipping companies and the Port of Halifax. Hapag-Lloyd has joined with Maersk to form the Gemini Cooperation and so far will not be calling in Halifax.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company is the largest container line and will exit the 2M Alliance with rival Maersk as of next month and remain unaffiliated. It operates several services through Halifax, including the Canada Express from the London Gateway, Antwerp and Le Havre to Montreal with an outbound call in Halifax.

MSC Shannon III arrived from Montreal this morning and appears to be new to the Canada Express route. It and was previously running between Antwerp and St.Petersburg, until this trip.

Hiding behind a forest of cranes and RTGS, the MSC Shannon III lies at Pier 42, with the ONE Madrid on its off side (its bow and funnel are visible to sharp eyes) sliding back into berth 41.

MSC Shannon III is another MSC veteran, built in 1991 by Bremer Vulkan AG in Vegesack as Berlin Senator and renamed NSC Shannon in 2004. In 2023 it had "III" added in a company- wide effort to classify ships by size. The 37,071 gt, 56,127 dwt ship has a capacity of 2668 TEU.

 

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HMCS Margaret Brooke - (Exodus from Bedford Basin - Part 2)

 Bedford Basin, that circular body of water at the head of Halifax harbour, has been a sheltering haven for ships for centuries. During the First and Second World Wars it was an assembly area for convoys and was sometimes congested with scores of ships. In recent years it has hosted naval reviews, embargoed ships, ships awaiting orders and more often has provided shelter in bad weather.

Today, January 10, the weather forecast for high winds, light snow and a possible storm surge was not enough to keep several merchant ships at anchor in the Basin (see Exodus from Bedford Basin - Part 1).

That left only one ship in the anchorages, HMCS Margaret Brooke AOPV 431. No stranger to the Basin, the ship was launched there (more accurately floated off) on November 10, 2019, and has conducted various trials and calibrations there. The second ship of the Harry DeWolf class of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, built at Halifax Shipyard it was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy on October 28, 2022.

Today marked the official send off for the ship on an ambitious mission entitled Operation PROTECT 2025. As is frequently the case with these "send offs", the ship leaves the confines of HMC Dockyard, but still has some work ups, calibrations, trials and drills to do. It may also have some technicians on board to carry out work before the ship actually outs out to sea. Compass swings and dynamic positioning trials are among the adjustments that can't be done while the ship is still alongside.

Margaret Brooke off Africville Park this morning as the BBC Tarragona prepares to get underway in the background.

HMCS Margaret Brooke is expected to be away from Halifax until May, by which time it will have visited several South American ports, recorded the first ever visit of a Canadian naval vessel to Antarctica, conducted various research projects and diplomatic events. It will also be the first Canadian naval vessel to circumnavigate South America, returning to Halifax via the Panama Canal.

Bon Voyage!

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Exodus from Bedford Basin - Part 1

 It was a day of departures from Bedford Basin as several ships put out sea despite storm warnings. After several weeks of up to three ships at anchor in the Basin at any one time, the anchorages cleared of merchant ships (with one naval vessel remaining - see Part 2). Not surprisingly for the time of year, all the ships headed south.

CSL Tacoma arrived January 8 and anchored in Bedford Basin until fleet mate and sister ship Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin completed loading yesterday, January 9, and sailed for Baltimore. It is not often that the two ships are in port at the same time, and due to positioning it was diffficult to get any kind of photo with the two ships in the same frame.

CSL Tacoma back, left and Rt.Hon Paul E. Martin front, right, December 9.

CSL Tacoma then moved in to Gold Bond Gypsum, loaded overnight and sailed today, January 10 for for Burlington, NJ. Both ships are Trillium class self-unloaders, are for all intents and purposes identical, and were built by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. Rt. Hon. Paul E. Martin was completed in September 2012 and is a 43,691 gt, 71,406 dwt vessel. CSL Tacoma came out in October 2013 with the same gross tonnage, but 71,552 dwt. Unloading rates range from 4,200 tonnes per hour (tph) for coal, 4,500 tph for gypsum and 5,000 tph for aggregates.

CSL Tacoma outbound this morning.

Next away was the UBC Tarragona, a ship that has been in port since December 22. After unloading containers at PSA Fairview Cove it moved out to anchor December 23. As noted here December 24 , the ship is a general cargo vessel, with no provision for carrying containers in celluar guides as dedicated container ships do. 

UBC Tarragona outbound with the Nord Logos at anchor in the background.

(Number one crane is stowed in such as way that its boom is not visible from this angle)

The last merchant ship anchored in the Basin is the Nord Logos and it is due to sail this evening. It has been in port since December 29 when it arrived from Portsmouth, NH. 

 Nord Logos usually carries fibreportic cable, as does its sister ship Nord Ling which is  being fitted for cable racks at Pier 9C. The racks are fabricated in sections and assembled in the ship's holds.

The cable racks (or tanks in cable parlance) are used to stow the cable in a circular pattern for ease of loading and deployment.

 There was more activity in Bedford Basin, but that is for Part 2 - to follow.

Algotitan at Pier 9C

 The Canadian flag coastal tanker Algotitan moved today, January 9, from Imperial Oil to Pier 9C for a maintenance period.

The ship looks a bit rugged, having worked intensively in and out of the Great Lakes even before its acquistion by AlgomaTankers Ltd.

Built by R.M.K. in Tuzla, Turkey in 2007, the 11,793 gt, 18,734 dwt ship carried the name Chantaco and traded under the Maltese and French flags until purchased in late 2022 by Algoma and reflagged and renamed in Halifax in January 2023.

On its most recent trip it sailed from Sarnia, ON to Sept-Iles, QC then on to Halifax arriving January 8. With the St.Lawrence Seaway now closed for the winter, the ship will take a breather for some needed maintenance. I noted four large tank trucks and a pumper truck waiting for the ship to arrive at Pier 9C, so some of that work will involve tank cleaning and removal of slops.

One interesting feature of the ship is its bridge wings. They appear to protrude beyond the hull, which is unusual for ships using the Seaway. Some previous Algoma acquistions had the bridge wings trimmed back to avoid damage to the ship or to lock walls.

Algotitan's bridge wings appear unscathed however, so perhaps they will remain as is.

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East Coast - countdown

 The tanker East Coast arrived today, January 8, at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal with more product from the Saint John refinery. This may be one of the ship's last calls in Halifax as its replacement is due sometime in the first quarter of this year.

Irving Oil has entered into a long term charter arrangement with Algoma Tankers Ltd for two new 37,000 dwt ships to replace East Coast and Acadian to trade under the Canadian flag. 

East Coast was delivered in March 2005 by Hyundai Mipo as a 23,552 gt, 37,515 dwt product tanker. It was initially named Nor'Easter and flew the Marshall Islands flag, trading out of Saint John to ports on the US east coast. In 2014 it was brought under Canadian flag and reanmed East Coast. Another ship, the similar sized former Iver Progress, built in 2007, joined the fleet in 2016 and was given the name Nor'easter, with Marshall Islands registry.

Reports indicate that the new ships, of essentially the same size, and also built by Hyundai Mipo, will be named Algoma East Coast and Algoma Acadian. They will be "methanol ready" as that fuel seems to be the fuel of the future, although there is no ready source for the stuff as yet.

The East Coast and the other members of the Irving Oil charter fleet, were retrofitted with exhaust gas scrubbers which are housed in large appendages to their orginal funnels. Presumably the new ships will be built to use low sulfur fuels (which Irving Oil produces) at first and will not have scrubbers. (Some ports have banned scrubbers, particularly the open loop type.)

East Coast was retro-fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber in 2015. 

(August 20, 2022 photo)

The other two Marshall Islands flag sister ships in the Irving Oil charter fleet, New England and Great Eastern will also be coming up for renewal surveys in the fall of 2025, but there has been no word on replacements (at least to my ear). 

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CCGS Corporal McLaren M.M.V.

 It will be a sad end for the CCGS Corporal McLaren M.M.V. On November 17, 2018 vandals cut mooring lines while the ship was drydocked at Sambro, NS. The ship slipped off its cradle and partially capsized, with most internal spaces flooded.

The vessel was quickly righted but the damage was done, with estimates of up to $11 million to replace wiring and major components and repair the other damage. The government issued various contracts to stablize the ship and prepare it for rebuild, but in the end it was found to be too expensive.

In August 2024 the Coast Guard issued an RFP to dismantle the ship It has now been announced that Marine Recycling Corp's proposal to transport, break up and recycle was accepted for the sum of $412,467.25. The scrapping will take place at the company's yard at Edwardsville, NS (in Sydney Harbour). (MRC is based in Port Colborne, ON and has a larger facility there.)

After the vessel was righted it was partially cocooned while assessment was taking place.

 The CCGS Corporal McLaren M.M.V. was the sixth Hero class patrol vessel built by Halifax Shipyard. It was launched September 13, 2013, completed October 26, 2013 and commissioned in 2014.

Built to a modified Damen design, the Hero boats were the last ships to be launched on the slipway at Halifax Shipyard.

Immediately after launch the ship was towed to Pier 9B for final fitting out.

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