Algoma East Coast - good bye kiss

 The new tanker Algoma East Coast arrived in Halifax April 13 fresh from the Hyundai Mipo Shipyard. It carried the Liberian flag for the delivery trip, but was registered in Saint John, NB on April 14. The 23,451 gt, 37,242 dwt ship underwent some post-delivery maintenance and was made ready to sail this afternoon April 26. It is headed for Saint John, NB to take on its first cargo on long term charter to Irving Oil, replacing the 2005 built East Coast. That ship's charter to Irving Oil ended last month and the ship is now in service inTurkey.

Getting away from Pier 9C the ship had the tug Atlantic Fir made up astern. It had no tug forward as it is equipped with a bow thruster.

 

Once clear of the berth the ship was to make its way northward to Bedford Basin then turn and head southbound for sea. However things did not go quite as planned. I believe the intention was for the tug to swing in alongside and accompany the ship to the Basin and assist in the turn.

However as the tug came in there was a steel-on-steel grinding crunch. From where I was standing (between Pier 9B and 9C) I could not see the actual contact.

 

But as the tug backed away the damage became evident.

 Apparently the tug got in under the ship's overhang and there was contact with the tug's davit/crane and the operator's platform.

 

The platform was partially displaced and deformed and the davit arm was knocked off its base. There did not appear to be any contact with the tug's hull or superstructure.

There was a brief pause in the operation but the move resumed and the tug accompanied the ship to the Basin and assisted in the turn... (that is the tanker Goldway at anchor - see yesterday's post).

 ... than let go and proceeded independantly.

As the two passed the Africville boat ramp I could not see any damage to the ship - other than some scraped paint just aft of the draft marks.

Damage to the tug has certainly put the boat davit out of commission for a time.

 

 The Algoma East Coast will be a frequent caller in Halifax in future, and I am sure that tug operators will be very wary of operating close under the ship's stern overhang.

 

The following photo shows the configuration of the davit and platform:

At one time the tugs rigged a rigid hull inflatible (RHIB) rescue boat under the davit, as in this older photo of sister tug Atlantic Oak...

...but that does not seem to be the case anymore. It seems now that the davit is used as a stores crane only.  I also think the access platform around the crane base was not original equipment but was added later. The davit may have been added later too.

 

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Big Tanker for the Basin

 The crude oil tanker Goldway arrived in Halifax this afternoon, April 25, and headed directly for an anchorage in Bedford Basin.

 Built by Sungdong Shipbuilding in Tongyeong, South Korea, the 81,545 gt, 154,781 dwt ship is classed as Suezmax even though the Suez Canal has been enlarged since the classification was initially devised. 

The ship is equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber, which is housed just abaft the funnel, in a prominent housing painted with the same markings as the funnel. The scrubber was retrofitted by Germak Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey (date not known).

The most notable feature however is the patch of fresh black paint on the hull. That is where the "EPS Tanker" logo has been painted out as part of an ownership change. Orginal owners Eastern Pacific Shipping sold the ship, and a sister ship Diamondway, to Nordic American Tankers for a cool $68 million US each, with effect at the start of Q2 2025. The deal is financed through Ocean Yield with a leaseback and eight year charter and purchase obligation at the end.

The ship arrived from Canaport (Saint John) NB and previously Rotterdam. Its call here may be related to the sale, which could involve a name change or repainting of the funnel colours. 

See today's post of companion blog Tugfax for more news. 

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MSC over Maersk - amended

 Since over taking Maersk last year the Mediterranean Shipping Company has increased its lead as the largest container shipping company. As reported in the previous post, MSC now counts more than 900 ships (including owned and chartered ships) under its control. It was able to build its fleet by vacuuming up older ships from various owners. 

Two of those older ships arrived in Halifax today (April 24) and by coincidence, both are ex Maersk ships.

 MSC Rita V was acquired from Maersk in 2024 after serving as the Maersk Bentonville. It was built in 2006 by PS Werften Stralsund (Volkswerft GmbH) as a 48,853 gt, 53,702 dwt ship with a capacity of 4504 TEU including 1400 reefer plugs, It is unusual to see a ship with engines amidships these days. Although built as Maersk Bentonville it was renamed Bentonville from 2010 to 2013, but reverted to Maersk Bentonville again. Its Maersk hull banner was hastily painted over last year, but is still visible.

 The ship was named for Bentonville, Arkansas home and headquarters of Walmart - a major customer of many container shipping lines. On this trip it is serving MSC's Mediterranean Express and is en route from Sines, Portugal to Montreal.

Today's second arrival was the MSC Anya dating from 2005. Built by Hyundai Samho it is rated at 55,510 gt, 74,938 dwt with a capacity of 4993 TEU. It has also been reported at 5018 TEU and 550 reefer points.

 

Launched as  Santa Pelagia it was renamed Maersk Detroit on delivery and carried that name until 2010 when it reverted to Santa Pelagia briefly before becoming Cap Serrat the same year. It became Santa Pelagia again from 2012 to 2014 when it was renamed MSC Anya. The ship is arriving from Liverpool, UK on the Montreal Express to Montreal. Ships on that service don't usually call in Halifax, so it may be here to reduce draft to St.Lawrence River requirements. Curiously the ship's funnel does not carry the MSC emblem. (It is not owned by MSC but is under their management.)

Amendment:

Maersk ordered seven high speed container ships to run between China and the US west coast. Capable of a maximum 37 knots and a cruising speed of 29 knots, the ships consumed an estimated 300 tonnes of fuel per day to achieve that speed. The "B" class, which included Maersk Bentonville were delivered just as the economy took a nose dive, and the ships were laid up for nearly a year and never operated on the intended high speed route. Reducing speed to 12 knots also reduced fuel consumption to a more manageable 50 tonnes per day level.

I believe there was some incentive to built these high speed ships for future strategic (that is military) use. They could deliver needed cargo quickly over long distances in case of emergency.

The ships' huge Sulzer / Wärtsilä 12 cylinder main engines, delivering 58,344 kW / 78,240 hp. were too large to squeeze into the narrow after part of the hull, so had to be installed midships. The 96C type engine is a two stroke, turbocharged slow speed engine availabelin various sizes.   

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Carnation Ace

 The cars keep on coming, but today's arrival (April 23) was a bit different. The Carnation Ace, unlike most of the ships arriving at Autoport, did not come from a European port. Instead it arrived from Japan via the Panama Canal and the United States.

The Carnation Ace was reported in Tsuneishi, Japan from February 10 to March 9 - likely in refit - hence the tidy paint work.

 

The ship sailed from Yokohama March 14 and Hitachinaka March 17 then sailed non-stop (via the Panama Canal) to Brunswick, GA arriving April 13. It sailed the next day for Davisville, RI arriving and sailing April 18. It then arrived off Halifax April 21 and anchored until early this morning.

Operated by Mitsui OSK Lines, the ship usually carries Japanese cars, but not exclusively.  Built by Shin Kurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding Co Ltd in 2011 it is listed at 60,975 gt, 16.416 dwt with a capacity of 5196 to 6202 cars (some say 6400) and has a 100 tonne stern ramp. It also has a small starboard side ramp.

Owners, Mitsui OSK Lines (known as MOL), with a fleet of about eighty car carriers, use the "Ace" in their ships' names to indicate Auto Carrier Express.

On sailing today it gave a destination of Baltimore.

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l'Atalante, Endeavor and research

The French research vessel l'Atalante arrived in Halifax this afternoon, April 22 and tied up at the Bedford Institute. It is on a month long mission from its base in Brest, France.

 

An impresssive ship of 3559 gt, it was built originally in 1989 by Atelier et Chantier du Havre but was extensively refitted in 2009 and in 2021. It is a multi-purpose oceanography, biology and marine geosciences research ship. Its numerous capabilities include the operation of a crewed submersible to -6,000 meters and a remotely operated vessel. It has eight labs on board and can also carry containerised mission-specific labs on deck.

It is equipped with a 22 tonne capacity stern A-frame, a 10 tonne deck crane and a 4 tonne traveling crane and a 800mm diameter well or moon pool. It is diesel electric powered with twin screws.

The ship is owned by the Flotte Océanographique Française par IFREMER. (Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer). Its actual operation is conducted by SHOM which is the Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (the French Navy). Depending on the mission the ship carries a crew of 17 to 30 and can accommodate 30 technicians and scientists.

The ship was last in Halifax in June 2023, which apparently escaped the notice of Shipfax. It had assisted in the location and recovery efforts related to the Oceangate Titan submersible loss at the Titanic wreck site, using its ROV Victor 6000.

The ship's arrival in Halifax follows on the departure of the US flagged Endeavor on April 21 after carrying out some reseach for Canada.

 The Endeavor first arrived in Halifax March 26, sailed on March 19 and returned April 18 (photo). The long awaited replacement for the deep sea research ship CCGS Hudson has not yet been completed, which means that the Bedford Institue has chartered in ships to carry out some of its research work - particularly annual fish stock surveys that are conducted jointly with the United States.

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MSC Cagliari IV for Montreal and other Chinese built ships

 The MSC Cagliari IV on MSC's Canada Express service called today, April 19, at PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, Pier 42. The ship's last port was Antwerp and it is en route to en route to Montreal.

 

The ship may have been here before under a previous name. It was built in 2007 as ZIM Genova and became Genova in 2018 and MSC Genova IV in 2022. It is a 40,372 gt, 52,943 dwt ship with a capacity of 4253 TEU including 400 reefers. The Roman numeral "IV" in its name indicates the ship's capacity range. It is therefore an aid to classifying the ship in the bewildering array of ships in the Mediterranean Shipping Company fleet.

That fleet has just reached the (almost) unheard of number of 900 ships. Aside from Helen of Troy's reputed flotilla, no other shipping fleet has reached that size. (MSC owns several separate companies which are included to make up the 900 ship total.) The fleet consists of 609 owned and 291 chartered vessels with a capacity of 6.7 million TEU (that's a million TEU larger than Maersk). A further 132 ships are on firm order with various shipyards. 

This one was built at the Dalian Ship Industry Co in Dalian, China, and as such may soon be facing  a Trump tax on Chinese built ships.

Another ship that will be facing that punishing tax also called in Halifax today. The auto carrier Lake Tazawa docked first at Pier 9C with RoRo cargo then moved to Autoport to discharge cars.

The 71,631 gt, 19,213 dwt ship has a capacity of 7,000 CEU on 12 decks with a 150 tonne capacity stern ramp and a 20 tonne starboard side ramp.The ship is dual fuel to Tier III standard and carries two 2,000 cubic meter LNG tanks. It also has shaft generators and lithium battery storage and can connect to shore power.

It was built in 2024 by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Co Ltd, and is one of series of ships to be operated by Eukor. It and its sister ship Lake Shirasagi are now regular callers on the Wallenius Wilhemsen transatlantic service - at least for now. The addition of punishing tarifs on imported cars may well change that.

Another familiar caller is back again and will not be facing any similar taxes. As one the few US built cruise ships Victory I resumes its usual itinerary of cruises to the Great Lakes. 

Docked at Pier 23, its heavy fendering shows up well. The combination of standoffs and a full length rub rail protect the ship's hull while transiting the Seaway locks. With sister ship Victory II they have had checkered careers since delivered by Atlantic Marine of Jacksonville, FL in 2001and 2004 as Cape May  Light and Cape Cod Light respectively. After several renamings and ownership changes, the 200 paasnger ships remain popular.

Coming from the direction of the Great Lakes is the Canadian tanker Kivalliq W. of Coastal Shipping Ltd. It anchored in the lower harbour waiting its turn at Imperial Oil with cargo from Sarnia, ON.

The ship's owner, part of the Woodward Group, is headquartered in Goose Bay, NL, but the ship operates out of Lewisporte, NL and in the summer season serves the far north. In the off season, as it was this past winter, it is flagged out to operate overseas. Its registration was shifted to the Marshall Islands December 1, 2024 and it returned to Canadian flag April 7.

Built in 2004 by Jiangyang Shipyard, Shanghai it is listed at 8882 gt, 13,670 dwt. Initially named Falcon it was renamed Sten Fjord in 2009 and renamed again when acquired by Coastal Shipping in 2018. It rarely trades to the United States so will likely escape the tax on Chinese built ships.

 

Algoberta at Imperial dock number 3, April 18.

Algoma's thanker Algoberta also working for Imperial Oil sailed back to Nanticoke this morning after unloading and Algoscotia, which has been waiting at Pier 27, moved over to Imperial Oil on departure. Algoscotia most commonly runs between Halifax and Sydney, NS.

 While Algoscotia was at Pier 27 April 8, there was a tank truck on the dock (not visible in the photo) possibly for refueling or possibly to take off tank washings.

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Yellowbill - new for Canfornav - CORRECTED

 Canada Forest Navigation, CANFORNAVfor short, is a growing Canadian based deep sea shipping company. Its current fleet of 47 ships trade internationally in and out of the Great Lakes. All owned or chartered bulk carriers, they are registered offshore. Their green hull colour is distinctive - as are the ship's names which are all species of ducks. 

 One of their newest ships, the Handysize Yellowbill, arrived in Halifax this afternoon, April 17, and anchored in the lower harbour. It was soon met by the launch Halmar presumably bearing inspectors from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 

At 32 m wide, it is too large for the St.Lawrence Seaway and comes in at 25,069 gt, 39,633 dwt and carries four 31 tonne SWL cranes. It was delivered in Jul 2025 by Saiki Heavy Industries in Saiki, Japan. CANFORNAV ships are frequent grain carriers, despite the name of the operating company.

 The ship arrived from Asian ports, most recently Singapore, and is due to sail this evening for Quebec City likely for grain.

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