Thanksgivinig Holiday

Canada declares a holiday on a mid-October Monday, and today (October 14) is the day this year. Traditionally it is the day that we face the inevitable and acknowledge that summer is really over, the leaves are turning and it is time to prepare for winter. Businesses are closed and most workers get a long week end.

It is called Thanksgiving and I want to give thanks to all readers who sent well wishes during my recent health crisis. I am also thankful that there do not appear to be any long term effects and that my return to "normal" is well underway.

That said it was not so obvious that it was a holiday in Halifax harbour today as most activities seemed to continue as usual.

Autoport had  the Hoegh Sydney as an early morning arrival that sailed at noon time. The ship has been here many times over the years since it was built in 2007 by Tsuneishi Cebu, in Balamban, Philippines.

Flying the Japanese flag, the ship is owned by Chijin Shipping SA and on charter to Hoegh Autoliners (a company 61.25% owned by Leif Hoegh  and 38.75% by AP Moller-Maersk). The 51,731 gt, 17,311 dwt ship has a capacity of 4379 CEU.

There was one lone cruise ship in port. Silver Wind tied up at pier 23.

A small (but luxurious) ship of only 17,235 gt, it has a capacity of 294 passengers with 208 crew. Built in 1995 by Canitiere Navale Visentini in Donada, Porto Viro, near Venice, Italy it sails for Silverseas Cruises.

Fairview Cove hosted two container ships, Atlantic Sea and YM Enlightenment, both scheduled to sail after dusk this evening.

It did not appear to be a holiday at Halifax Shipyard either  where workers were overside in a suspended crane basket touching up hull paint on AOPS 1 (Harry DeWolfe) before the ship starts trials - expected soon.

Irving Shipbuilding has extended the expected float off date for AOPS 2 (Margaret Brooke) to late November or even December.

The Norwegian flagged semi-submersible Boabarge 37 stands ready for the operation when it does occur. A new application has been made to for a coasting license to start November 23 and end December 23, 2019. The previous application was for the period October 18 to November 18.

The Royal Netherlands Navy's frigate RLNMS De Ruyter, after a visit shortened to one day, (thanks to foul weather) moved with civilian tug assistance from HMC Dockyard to pier 9 this afternoon for fueling. With no bunkering tanker in Halifax anymore, ships must go to the fuel or it must be brought to the ship by truck.

The tug Atlantic Fir side steps along with the ship as Spitfire III provides the propulsion.

Once in position off pier 9 the tugs swung the ship in the channel and placed it smartly alongside.

Wilson's Fuel's depot on Barrington Street, connected by pipeline to Pier 9, has been the fuel source of choice for offshore vessels and other smaller ships. Irving Oil also provides bunkering at its  Woodside terminal and can accommodate larger ships. To my knowledge Imperial Oil does not offer alongside bunkering, but may provide fuel by truck.

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Saturday Round Up

Saturday began and ended (for me) with the arrival adn departure of MSC Meraviglia, the giant lead ship of MSC Cruises Vista Project class. The 171,589 grt behemoth can carry 4,500 passengers and 1,536 crew stacked in 15 decks.

Built in 2017 by Chantier de l'Atlantique in St-Nazaire, it lacks the grace and distinction of other big ships, granted it is a full 25,000 grt or so larger than, for example, Queen Mary 2.

It tied up at pier 21-22, turning and backing in unaided,  leaving just enough room for Viking Sun at pier 20.

On departure a bit of low level light improved the looks somewhat as the ship sailed for New York.

Saturday provided a bit of a break in traffic along the waterfront allowing a quick snap of HMCS Moncton MM 708 in its commemorative paint scheme. 2019 marks the 80th anniversary of the declarations that began World War II. As in World War I navies tried a variety of camouflage schemes to make ships difficult to target at sea. Much thought, experiment and even science went into developing the schemes, which had mixed results at best. Often called dazzle, they were intended to confuse the human eye from a distance, particularly naval gunnery and U-boats.
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest running campaign of the war waged right through to the end, with extremely heavy losses on all sides. The advent of radar may have meant the end of camo for ships as a defensive mechanism.
To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the end of the battle of the Atlantic in 2020, Moncton, on the east coast and HMCS Regina on the west coast will wear what is correctly termed Admiralty disruptive pattern paint scheme for about a year. They will participate in several events in 2020, as wide spread as the Great Lakes and Hawaii. (Disruptive paint schemes would be inherently different for Atlantic and Pacific deployments due to differences in atmospherics and thus the colour of the seas. It will be interesting to see if that is the case with the current commemoration.)

Many of my photos are taken from a position not far from the location of the wartime Halifax Harbour gates, and within sight and sound of some of those losses.

The English language portion of one of several memorial plaques in Halifax.

Preparations are underway to start sea trials for the next new ship to join the RCN. AOPS 1 (Harry DeWolf) is expected to leave Halifax Shipyard mid-month to make way for the "launch" of the AOPS 2 (Margaret Brooke). That ship will be transferred to the semi-submersible Boa Barge 37, floated off in Bedford Basin and returned to the shipyard for fitting out.

AOPS 1 in the water, and AOPS 2 almost ready to take its place.

In Bedford Basin it appears that the bulk carrier Bulk Newport may be getting a hull cleaning below the waterline. The diving tender Lady Georgina could be seen in the area of the ship this morning.
With its hatches cracked open, the ship appears to be getting an inside cleaning too.

On the Dartmouth side of the Basin, I can now acknowledge that my recent comment about Hydra Mariner (ex Cape Mira, Geo. T. Davie, 1963) was incorrect (based on info received on the internet). The old side trawler is still at anchor in the same spot in Navy Island Cove that it has occupied for ten years. One of several side trawlers languishing in backwaters of Nova Scotia, it has not been abandoned however, so is likely to be there for some time yet. As I stated in my September 27 post: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2019/09/waterfront.html
 there are few reminders of Halifax's history as a fishing port, this vessel is one, but is well hidden.

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Harry DeWolf - float off

In a day long exercise that for the most part resembled watching paint dry, the future Harry DeWolf AOPS1 was floated free of the Boa Barge 37 and finally secured at pier 8 Halifax Shipyard.

It was a complex exercise, done with considerable precision and care and was apparently 100% successful. The operation began shortly after sunrise, when the harbour was socked in by fog. Tugs towed Boa Barge 37 from pier 6 Halifax Shipyard to an deep water anchorage in Bedford Basin off Rockingham.

Once it was safely anchored the slow process of ballasting began, and it was after noon before the barge's deck was fully submerged.

 For a time the stern of the barge was considerably lower in the water than the bow.

A flotilla of small craft including several from RMI Marine, and some other official looking vessels attended the operation.

The trim was eventually corrected with some impressive pumping.

When the second and this tug arrived, it was not clear if Spitfire III was putting on a water display or cooling off a small Coast Guard boat.

By late afternoon, the ship's hull achieved buoyancy - granted with a slight starboard list- and the second and third tugs arrived for the actual float off, and the cold move back to the shipyard began.

The ship was safely alongside pier 8 and the tugs stood down by 1830 hrs.

 

Harry DeWolf - we have lift off

The future HMCS Harry DeWolf - still known as AOPS1, was lifted off the ground today by multi-wheel transporters.

The blue cradles support the ship, but the red transporters carry the weight as the cradles are raised off the ground.

 
This is in preparation for tonight or tomorrow's move onto the barge Boa Barge 37. On Saturday morning the barge, with ship aboard, will be moved to Bedford Basin anchorage for the "launch" , or more properly "float off".

The ship will them be moved back to the shipyard for continued fitting out. With the hard stand area free, it is expected that AOPS 2 will very soon move out from the Assembly Hall.

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