Summer Layup

 Some ships go into winter layup to avoid the harsh conditions of the season. It also gives time for necessary repairs and maintenance and perhaps some time off for the crew.

Last year Shipfax went into an unexpected "summer layup" when it found itself without an internet connection in August. Regretably this caused dismay amongst readers.

Now that summer is (officially) here again, Shipfax wishes to allay fears by announcing an extended summer layup again this year - largely for the same reason. No internet connection for most of July and August will mean that regular publication will not be possible.

Shipfax is normally published from "Ship Central Eastern" in Halifax, but Ship Central Eastern will be shifting its locus operandi to "Ship Central St-Laurent" in Quebec for July and August. (Note Shipfax's subtitle includes the phrase "and beyond".)

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For the record, the first "issue" of Shipfax covered the Port of Halifax for January 1986. It was a one page hard copy version sent by mail or fax to a select readership. It eventually expanded to eight pages, and aside from the odd hiatus, was published continuously until 2008. The online version took flight for the first time in 2009.  

For a more detailed history, see the April 3, 2015 post. That post stated that a change was coming in 2016, but I am not sure what that was. Shipfax has evolved a bit, and in the last five years or so has become a nearly daily publication, documenting interesting activities in the port (and beyond), with occasional reference to the past - near and distant.

Much like older ships that require mandatory surveys on five year intervals, with major inspections every ten years, Shipfax will be off line (or in drydock, to keep the metaphor going) this summer. Not a total wreck yet... 

...the plan is to resume regular publication in September. (Explanation of the above photo may be revealed in the next edition of Shipfax.

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A Double Play

 Autocarriers are common sights in Halifax, but it is rare to have two in port at the same time, and even rarer to be able to see two at the same time. That event did occur today, June 27, for the first time that I can recall.

Autocarriers discharge import cars at Autoport, which is located on the Eastern Passage at the far south end of the harbour on the Dartmouth (east) side. It can only handle one ship at a time. Auto carriers can also offload non-auto RoRo cargo at Pier 9C which is at the far north end of the port on the Halifax (west) side. The two berths are almost as far apart as possible and still be in Halifax Harbour.

Last evening, June 16, the Titania arrived from Southampton, UK and went directly to Pier 9C.

 It then unloaded a variety of wheeled mining and construction equipment and some unidentifiable large objects on roll trailers (commonly called MAFI).

Built in 2011 by Daewoo SB+E Co, Okpo it comes in at 74,255 gt, 30,907 dwt with a capacity of 7934 CEU. It also has facilities for oversize RoRo, with a 320 tonne capacity stern ramp and a small side ramp. It is a Wilhelmsen ship (its name begind with a "T"). As noted and shown in this blog when it called here January 20, 2025 it originally wore the Wilhelsen red/orange hull colour.

It is working the Wallenius Wilhelmsen transatantic service, and will likely be heading for US east coast ports next.

Late this morning, June 27, the ship was cleared to move to Autoport to offload cars. (Autoport is a specialized facility owned by CN Rail, which imports, stores and forwards automobiles primarily by train, but also by truck and sometimes by driveaway. They also have facilities to repair transit damage, clean, prep and accessorize vehicles.

 

Meanwhile another auto carrier, the SFL Composer, arrived at Autoport early this morning. It had been anchored offshore since June 25, and was finished its cargo work by noon time today, and was cleared to sail.

The movement of the two ships was nicely coordinated so the SFL Composer could clear the confined waters of the Eastern Passage and the Titania could slip in right after.

From the Halifax side of the harbour, it was possible to see the Titania moving along east of George's Island while the SFL Composer came into view south of George's Island- a rare shot.

 The SFL Composer dates from 2005 when it was delivered by Minami-Nippon, Shitanoe as the Excellent Ace. In 2012 it became the Glovis Composer and in 2020 took its current name. It is a 58,631 gt, 18,881 dwt ship with a capacity of 6500 CEU.

 

The ship was here last on April 29 and since then has called in Davisville RI, Vercruz and Tuxpan MX, Freeport TX, Sparrows Point MD, then made a transatlantic hop to Barcelona before heading again for Halifax. It has now sailed for Freeport TX again. The ship is chartered exclusively to Volkswagen and distributes its many brands of cars and trucks.

The ship's owners, SFL Composer Inc, are part of the SFL Corporation (formerly Ship Finance International Ltd), a Norwegian based company, publicly traded on the NYSE. Once primarily tanker owners, SFL now owns more than sixty ships of all types, mostly container ships, but also seven autocarriers. It is connected with such companies such as Frontline, Golden Ocean and other interests of John Fredericksen, Norway's richest person. 

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MSC Double Header

Two veteran Mediterranean Shipping Company ships arrived in Halifax today, June 26. They went to separate terminals, tying up at almost the same time. MSC England went to PSA Fairview Cove, and MSC Bhavya V went to PSA Atlantic Gateway (the South End Container Terminal).

First to arrive at the pilot station was MSC England as it had the longer run inbound to Bedford Basin, and would leave room for the second ship to maneuver off its berth.

The older of the two ships, MSC England dates from 2001 when it was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. The 39,812 gt, 51,020 dwt ship is rated for 4132 TEU with 500 reefer points and has been retrofitted with an exhaust gas scrubber system. It has been an on again off again caller on more than one service, but this time is on the Med Canadian route and is en route from Sines, Portugal to Montreal. 

Second arrival at the pilot station was MSC Bhavya V on the Montreal Express service from Montreal en route to North Europe, with the first call likely to be Antwerp. It was here previously May 14 -15 on the westbound leg and I got a not much better photo. 

June 26, 2025. 

May 14, 2025.

The difference, aside from crane positions, is the larger number of Hapag-Lloyd containers in today's photo. (This may be due to Hapag-Lloyd being short of ships on the North Atlantic - see footnote.)

The MSC Bhavya V was built by Hyundai Samho in 2005 and at 54,771 gt, 66,800 dwt, it has a capacity of 5018 TEU with 550 reefer plugs. It was built as the Santa Petrissa but was renamed Maersk Douglas on delivery. In 2010 it was renamed UASC Sharjah but reverted to Santa Petrissa again in 2012. In 2014 it became the MSC Bhavya and sailed with that name until 2023 when the "V" was added to denote is capacity class. It is also scrubber fitted.

Both ships are "getting along in years", but MSC has always been noted for operating older ships, and these apparently are still worth running.

Footnote:

Hapag-Loyd's Livorno Express suffered a main engine failure in May and was stuck in Montreal  - apparently needing shipyard attention that was not available in Canada. The tug Abeille Horizon was dispatched from France and on June 23 departed Montreal towing the ship back to France. I understand that there is still some crew aboard the ship. The Quebec City based tug Ocean Tundra was tethered stern escort for the passage downstream to the vicinity of the Escoumins pilot station. Two tugs were also hired from McKeil Marine to accompany the tow for security. The Beverly M 1 was in Halifax recently towing a barge with wind turbine tower sections and the Leonard M is the former Point Halifax. Both left the tow once into the Gulf and the Tim McKeil came out from Port Daniel (perhaps coincidentally to accompany the ship as far as Cape North.)

The Livorno Express has not called in Halifax, but was a regular on the St.Lawrence, even though it was built to serve ports in West Africa that did not have ship to shore cranes. It carries four cranes of its own, three forward and one aft. It was built in 2014 by HHIC Subic as Believer. Renamed MOL Nabila from 2014 to 2016, it was then renamed Livorno Express. It is a 41,286 gt, 51,916 dwt ship with a capacity of 3832 TEU. It has had at least two previous engine failures while on St.Lawrence service.