Montreal Diverisons - Updated

Continuing labour issues are making the Port of Montreal a questionable destination for container ships. A second work stoppage by longshoremen has resulted in two MSC ships diverting to Halifax. 

PSA Halifax's new crane works MSC Veronique on Sunday afternoon, August 2.

As a terminal port, Montreal is accustomed to completely off-loading ships. Such is not the usual case in Halifax, which is a way port. However PSA Halifax has found room in its facility to accommodate MSC import boxes - many of which appear to be empties. Export boxes are expected to start arriving by road and rail.

Sunday evening sister ship MSC Sariska arrived at PSA Halifax. Both ships were once regular callers in their earlier lives as Maersk ships. [See later post]

Monday morning MSC Veronique sailed, likely for an outer anchorage, to await the arrival of export boxes.

Updated#1:  The ship is giving New York as its destination, so there must be some other plan.

Update#2:  MSC Veronique was once a regular caller in Halifax, but under another name.

Built in 1989 by Odense Staalskibs in Denmark its first name was Mette Maersk and at 52,191 gt, 60,900 dwt and 4437 TEU (including 500 reefers) was considered a very large ship at the time. It was on a regular service to Halifax for several years. In 2006 it became Maersk Merritt, and in 2007 MSC Sweden. It reverted to Maersk Merritt in 2010, and took its current name in 2011.

On a 1997 visit the ship was carrying a rubber tired gantry (RTG) as cargo on its after deck.

Sister ship MSC Sariska in port today (enshrouded in fog for much of the time) was built in 1990 by the same yard as Majestic Maersk, 52,181 gt, 60,639 dwt, and called in Halifax on its maiden voyage in 1990.It carried the name Majestic 2010-2011 until becoming MSC Sariska.

Almost concealed from view MSC Sariska unloads at PSA Halifax. MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company) is noted for using older ships, and these sisters, at thirty years of age, must be pushing the limit. Because they were built Maersk's own shipyard (since closed) in Odense, their build quality may have been higher than those built elsewhere.

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Gypsum - Part 2 - no rebound for Hantsport

The expansion of the National Gypsum quarry in Milford, NS (see Part 1) solidifies the future of gypsum shipments from the company's facilities in Halifax. A recovery of the US economy, and a low Canadian dollar are largely responsible for this turn of events, but that does not seem to have had any effect on their competitor United States Gypsum, or USG Corp as it is now called.

That company shut down its mines near Windsor, NS and storage and shiploader in Hantsport, NS permanently in 2011 and although much of the infrastructure remains, there is little hope that it will reopen. The short line Windsor + Hantsport railroad that carried the gypsum from the mines to the pier has also been mothballed.

The fascinating little port of Hantsport, governed by extreme tides, was one of the most interesting operations in Nova Scotia. Ships were limited to only a three hour window for loading at high tide, and had to beat a hasty retreat from the Minas Basin to the Bay of Fundy while there was still water enough to float the ship.

Winter operations were also awkward due to caked ice on the bottom at the pier, and heavy broken flows in the approaches. Some winters the port was closed to shipping, and through some form of cooperation between the competitors, the ships came to Halifax to load at National Gypsum. Through subsidiary Canada Gypsum (CGC) the company also operates a gypsum and anhydrite quarry at Little Narrows in Cape Breton. It is a seasonal operation from roughly May to December, when the port facility is free of ice. Ships that called in Little Narrows in summer moved to Hantsport in winter - conditions permitting.

Also early adopters of the self-unloader systems, the ships of the Gypsum Packet Co (later Gypsum Transportation Co) were built uniquely to serve Hantsport and the plant facilities of US Gypsum in the United States. They were built with the wheelhouse well forward to keep a clear deck space over the cargo hold for the slewing loader arm at Hansport. They did have a general cargo hold forward, which was used to carry plant equipment or other supplies for the company.

There were four generations of ships owned by the company following World War II.
The first generation were built in Kearney, NJ by the Federal Shipbuilding + Dry Dock Co and measured 7969 grt.

Bulk Queen at Halifax Shipyard in 1980.

Gypsum Queen was built in 1947 and sold in 1975, renamed Bulk Queen in 1978 and was used on and off until it went into a long layup in Bath, ME and was eventually towed out for scrap in the Caribbean in April 1987.

The second generation, and by far the most stylish were the European built series. Their self-unloading gear was completely concealed, with twin conveyors running up each side of the hull through the engine room to a transverse conveyor near the stern. Doors on each side closed off that "shuttle" conveyor space when at sea.The ship's steam turbine machinery allowed for placement of boilers fairly high in the engine space, and the turbine low, allowing the conveyors room to work.

Gypsum Duchess makes a winter arrival in Halifax to load from its competitor's dock.

Gypsum Duchess and sister Gypsum Emporess were built in 1956 by Deutsche Werft, Hamburg, measuring 8240 grt, 10,677 dwt Gypsum Duchess was sold in 1986 and renamed Duchess I, but was broken up in Brazil in 1987.

Gypsum Empress departs loaded, having just passed the inbound Gypsum Duchess.

Gypsum Empress was sold directly to scrappers in Tuxpan, MX and arrived there in early 1984.

Gypsy Countess from the stern. The arrow points to the conveyor door.

Gypsum Countess, came from Atelier et Chantier de la Seine-Maritime, Le Trait in 1960, and also measured 8240 grt, 10,720 dwt. Equally elegant, it had the same raised forecastle and streamlined forward house. It was sold in 1989 becoming Gypsy Countess. It arrived in Halifax in tow of Point Halifax November 17, 1991 after losing power. It was repaired and in 1994 became Josiff I . It was broken up in 1998 - reportedly in Canada, but I have my doubts.

The third generation were Canadian  built by Collingwood Shipyard, and were among the last steamships built in this country. The layout of that machinery allowed for the self-unloading gear to pass through the engine room, which it would not be able to do with a bulky diesel engine.

 Gypsum King fresh from drydock in Halifax in 1998 sported the traditional Fundy Gypsum colour scheme of white over black with rusty red deck and boot topping. The conveyor door is just above the stern tug's bow.
 

Gypsum Baron shows the new blue hull colour in 2002. The conveyor door is visible just forward of the rudder, below the weather deck.

 Gypsum Baron (1976) and Gypsum King (1975) measured 12,272 grt and unloaded at a rate of 1800 tonnes per hour. This was quite slow by modern standards, but suited USG's needs. Gypsum King was sold in 2003, renamed G.King and arrived in Alang for scrap May 20, 2003. Gyspum Baron was renamed Baron in 2007 and arrived in Alang August 23, 2007 for scrap. Both ships called in Halifax for drydockings, bunkers and occasional winter loads of gypsum.

A.V. Kastner sails from Hantsport at high tide with hatches still open. The ship had to leave on tide time, whether fully loaded or not.

A single ship A.V. Kastner followed in 1987 from Hyundai. Ulsan. It measured 12,702 grt, 19,075 dwt and featured an unique stern mounted slewing unloader boom. Sold in 2010, it became Silica II for owners in Dubai. It arrived in Alang July 18, 2014 where it was broken up.

The final generation, built after the company increased its load out rate at Hantsport with twin arms and extended the dock to deeper water, had a short lived career at Hantsport.

They are still operating however, but now in Africa as previously reported:
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/11/gypsum-centennial-from-where-are-they.html

As an update to that post, when the ship returned to Africa after its refit, it took much needed supplies for the fight against ebola.

There was also a post when USG closed the facilities permanently in November 2011:
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/11/usg-pulls-plug.html

USCG was not the only gypsum producer in Nova Scotia to close down. Georgia-Pacific in Cape Breton, with quarries at Sugar Camp (River Denys) and Melford, and ship loading facilities at Point Tupper announced its closing in December 2011. There has been no indication that they might resume operations any time soon either.

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USG pulls the plug

USG Corp (United States Gypsum ) (and indirectly through USG Canada Mining and CGC (Canadian Gypsum Co)) has announced that its Fundy Gypsum Co operation is to be closed permanently. The quarries at Wentworth and Miller's Creek, just north of Windsor, NS and the storage and port facilities at Hantsport, just to the west of Windsor were once a mainstay to the local economy. The operation has been inactive for most of this year, due to the sluggish US construction industry, the destination for most of its product, and only a skeleton maintenance staff have been kept on. No gypsum has been shipped in months.
This is a sad end to a unique operation which used an abundant local mineral (there is lots of gypsum left in the ground, but synthetic gypsum and the economy have left the industry devastated.) The mine and port were joined by a railroad, the Windsor & Hantsport, a short line that was once part of Canadian Pacific's Dominion and Atlantic Railway (DAR.) Fundy Gypsum was the line's only customer recently and it has also been shut down.
The port of Hantsport, once a booming shipbuilding centre in the age of sail, is home to a huge warehouse and modern shiploader which have been idled since the last ship was loaded earlier this year. The tug Spanish Mist which was owned by CGC, was sold in the spring to the Magdelan Islands.
The other Hantsport Industry CKF (Canadian Keyes Fibre) now uses recycled paper as the main component of its paper products, and no longer brings in pulpwood or wood pulp by water to its mill as it once did.
Gypsum Transportation, the shipping arm of USG, and prior to that Fundy Gypsum itself were operators of many notable ships over the years, usually with the prefix "Gypsum" but sometimes commemorating important personages, and since World War II all self-unloaders.
Its most recent fleet upgrade saw two new self-unloaders, Gypsum Centennial built in 2001 and Gyspum Integrity built in 2008. Ostensibly sister ships, they could carry 42,000 tonnes, and unload gypsum at a rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour. These ships have now found work in other bulk trades.
Hantsport posed an interesting challenge due to its tidal range in excess of 50 feet - the largest of any commercial port in the world. Ships had to arrive in port on a rising tide (the wharf dried out at low tide) and sail on the high tide or risk being stranded. Loading time was 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and the ship had to sail no matter how much cargo had been taken on. The new ship loaders could load in excess of 10,000 tonnes per hour each. These were amongst the fastest loaders on earth when commissioned in 2004.
Gypsum Centennial loaded January 2, 2011 in 4 hours and six minutes, but loaded to less than capacity because of the lack of demand at the other end. At that time it was reported that there might be one or two more shiploads left in the warehouse.
At its peak the port saw up to a dozen ships a month and exported 2 mn tonnes of gypsum a year. The material went to such ports as Boston, Stoney Point, NY, Norfolk, Baltimore, Savannah and Tampa. Several of those plants have now been shuttered. USG still operate a mine in Cape Breton and ships through Little Narrows, NS, which is a seasonal port on the Bras d'Or Lakes. Some of its product goes to Quebec and Ontario for use in cement manufacturing, but even that trade is threatened.
Some member of the Gypsum fleet:
1. Gypsum Empress and sisters Gypsum Countess, Gypsum Duchess were of the second generation of self-unloaders built after Word War II. Built between 1956 and 1960 in France and Germany, they were 10,000 deadweight ton steam ships. They had small general cargo holds forward, and self unloading gear conveyors recessed in the house aft. The photo was taken in Halifax when winter ice closed both Hantsport and Little Narrows.

2. Gypsum King commemorated J.B.King the guiding force behind gypsum operations from the 1890s to 1924. The ship was built in Collingwood ON in 1975 and was a 12,272 deadweight tonne steam turbine ship. It could unload at 1800 tons per hour using a retractable shuttle conveyor. It is shown here in Halifax going into drydock.

4. Gypsum Baron was also built in Collingwood in 1976. It is shown leaving Halifax in winter after loading at competitor National Gypsum's dock. On the rare occasions when Hantsport was blocked by heavy ice, Fundy Gypsum arranged for these loads. Spray has frozen to the ship's side.

4. A.V.Kastner approaches to old loaders at Hantsport on a rising tide. The tug Spanish Mist
has just turned the ship to face outbound and is nudging it to the dock while it stems the tide. The ship was built in 1987 and was 19,075 deadweight tonnes. It was sold in 2010 to Dubai, where it is trading as Silica II (no doubt named for an abundant material in the United Arab Emirates.)

5. A.V.Kastner in the new Gypsum Transportation colour scheme leaves the new dock with less than a full load. Cargo quantities were based on available loading time and demands by the processing plants and limited stockpile capacity. There was no time to secure hatches before the ship had to leave the dock with the falling tide. Its unusual self-unloader works over the stern and can slew to port or starboard.
6. Gypsum Centennial at the new loader. The two spouts will keep loading until the last possible second. Each spout can swing on an arc and reach half the ship's hatches. The ship was built in Korea in 2001, and measured in at 47,950 deadweight. This was the ship's first visit to Hantsport. It was the first ship in the world to be fitted with the new Wartsila/Sulzer common rail fuel injection system. The engines were therefore supposed to be smokeless-you be the judge:7. Gypsum Centennial looks like a more conventional self-unloader. With sister Gypsum Integrity, built in Brazil in 2008 to the same specification, these ships are now trading overseas.
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