Parade of Shipping

 There was quite a parade of ships in Halifax today, February 25, and most of them had never been here before. In no particular order:

MSC England arrived for MSC's Gulf Canada service en route from Montreal via Corner Brook, heading for Mexico.

The ship was built in 2001 by Hyundai Ulsan as the CMA CGM Vega. The 39,812 gt, 51,020 dwt ship has a capacity of 4132 TEU, and took its present name in 2007. Ships on the Gulf Canada service do not normally call in Halifax, but this ship did call here late last year during the Montreal port workers strike, and left containers here to be forwarded by rail or truck. 

There is no apparent reason for today's call unless it had something to do with the grounding of the MSC Baltic III February 15 near Corner Brook. That ship is in perilous condition. Salvage operations have not been possible due to weather and sea conditions. 

At PSA Fairview Cove the Vela was due to depart early this evening for New York. The ship arrived yesterday on ZIM's ZCA Transatlantic service from the Mediterranean.

 

Built by Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co Ltd in 2009 it was delivered as JPO Vela but renamed Bunga Raya Sambilan in the same year. It reverted to JPO Vela in 2010 and became the Vela in 2019. A 41,225 gt, 50,420 dwt ship, it has a capacity of 4254 TEU. Oddly it does not appear to be carrying many reefers - usually a major part of cargo at this time of the year.

There was considerable activity in the Pier 9B and Pier 9C areas known as Richmond Terminals. The Canadian flag tanker Algotitan made an overnight stopover at Pier 9B and sailed late morning for Montreal, apparently in ballast.  

The twin screw ship made a neat turn, right off the berth in the Narrows, and headed directly for sea. (Not so neat is its appearance due to St.Lawrence Seaway "lock rash".)

 

Inbound from sea for Pier 9C the Industrial Charger has aircraft components loaded in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

 The ship has had several names since built in 2000 by Estaleiros Navais, Lda de Viano do Castelo in Spain. It was launched as Virgo J but renamed on delivery as Industrial Charger, but became Virgo J again in the same year. In 2009 it was renamed Ocean Charger, then in 2015 Zea Charger and in 2020 Charger. It finally ended up as Industrial Charger in 2022. The 7252 gt, 7428 (or 8024) dwt ship is a flexible tween deck type, with box shaped holds and a container capacity of 516 TEU with 80 reefer plugs. It also carries a pair of 200 tonne SWL cranes, which can operate in combinaiton for a 400 tonne lift. It also carries some large blue coloured spreaders on deck.

 A second ship is due after dark, also from Belfast, the Onego Deusto is more familiair here with cargoes of rail from Poland. Interestingly it was here February 26, 2024 with just such a cargo.

PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub had MSC England at Pier 42 using a variety of cranes, including two of the large cranes after they had completed work on the ship at Pier 41. The smallest cranes remained unused and the third large crane (which is rarely raised) remained at Pier 41.

 

 The ship at Pier 41 was a first time caller the APL Esplanade in from Colombo via the Cape of Good Hope on the Ocean Alliance PSW3 and AWE3 service from Asia.

A ten year old ship, it appears by the condition of its paint to have recently been drydocked for its ten year survey. It was completed in 2014 by Hyundai Samho and is rated at 152,350 gt, 154,103 dwt with a capacity of 13,900 TEU. It was built originally as APL Ascend but was renamed MOL Quintet on delivery and took its present name in 2017.

American President Lines LLC (APL) is the American subsidiary of CMA CGM and was acquired in 2016 when CMA CGM bought Neptune Orient Lines (NOL) of Singapore which in turn had purchased APL in 1997. 

CMA CGM, thankfully, uses the initials of two predecessor companies, Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM). The Company, based in Marseille, France, is the third largest container shipping company after MSC (based in Switzerland) and Maersk (from Denmark.)

 More shipping for the day arrived after dark and may be visible tomorrow.

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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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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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Algoberta calls home

 Algoma Tankers announced in December last year that they had acquired three tankers to replace older ships in their fleet. As reported here the first of the ships was the Chantaco which had been trading to the Great Lakes. It arrived in Halifax December 30, 2022 and was renamed Algotitan and registered in Canada January 11, 2023. Since then it has called here with product for Imperial Oil, loaded in Sarnia and Nanticoke.

Its sister ship the Chiberta remained overseas until the St.Lawrence Seaway opened for the 2023 season and was reported upbound in the Seaway March 29 for Sarnia. Renamed Algoberta it was registered Canadian April 5, 2023 and has since been trading between Nanticoke and Tracy, QC. On its most recent trip, after loading in Nanticoke it sailed May 30 and made its way directly to Halifax, arriving late night June 5. Instead of docking at Imperial Oil it tied up at Pier 25, allowing another tanker, the Mia Desgagnés to go to Imperial first. It had product from Sarnia.

 Due to blustery conditions today, June 6, of driving rain and high winds, I commemorated the ship's arrival in its port of registry from the confines of my car. It is due to move to Imperial late tonight.

Built in 2007 by RMK Marine of Tuzla, Turkey, it is a 11,799 gt, 18,734 dwt ship. The Algoberta was expected to replace the Algosea, which was built in 1998. The latter is likely to be retired before a major survey which is due in November.

The third Algoma acquisition, the Birgit Knutsen is still trading between France and the Netherlands. Built in 2010 by Jiangnan in Shanghai, it is a 11,889 gt, 16,536 dwt vessel and is a sister of Algoma's Algoterra. No date has been given for its arrival in Canada.

 

Tanker Time

Halifax once had two oil refineries on its shores, Imperial Oil and Texaco Canada, but both have long since closed. Imperial (owned by Exxon Mobil) ceased refining in 2013 and uses only one of its three docks to receive and distribute refined products. The company continues to use its multitude of tanks for storage, It also receives product by rail and has a large truck loading facility which is used for regional distribution, including to other companies.

The Texaco facility in Eastern Passage, through a variety of mergers, passed through Gulf Canada before closing in 1997. The 475 acres of land including 33 acres water lots had by then been acquired by Ultramar which is now Valero. The storage and distribution facility ceased operation in 2017. Most of the tanks have been removed and a land remediation process is now underway. Some shore side tanks and dock, have been retained, although they are not in use, and the remaining area will be sold for redevelopment.

The other petroleum related facilities in Halifax include Irving Oil's Woodside terminal dock and large storage and distribution site. It also imports product by rail, including propane, and distributes by truck. Irving Oil brings in refined product by tanker from its Saint John, NB refinery and from Europe.

A smaller distribution centre, built by Petrofina, is now operated by Wilson Fuels. Located in the Richmond area in the north end of Halifax, it is chiefly served by truck. However it does have a pipeline to Pier 9, which is rarely used. The company operates service stations and distributes home heating oil.

Two companies that are involved in road building have asphalt receiving facilities on the shores of Halifax harbour. McAsphalt Industries, of the Miller McAsphalt Group, uses the former Dook's dock in Eastern Passage, adjacent to Autoport. It is connected to storage tanks by a heated pipeline. Since 2018 the company has been owned by Colas Canada, which in turn is owned in France.

The Municipal Group has, among its many interests, a large road building operation. It owns General Liquids Canada which receives, processes, stores and distributes asphalt. It uses the Cherubini dock in Eisner's Cove to receive the asphalt and pipes it to storage tanks adjacent to the Imperial Oil refinery. It has a second facility well inland in Waverly which is served by rail. Whether product is moved from the Eisner's Cove facility by rail to Waverly is not known to me.

McAsphalt Marine Transportation has its own tanker barges which supply both McAsphalt and General Liquids. They also have a combination bitumen / asphalt tank ship on order in China for delivery later this year.

All of the above leads to today's (May 22) tanker activity in Halifax harbour.

The coastal tanker Algonova which arrived Friday May 19, indirectly from Sarnia, ON, unloaded fresh product at Imperial Oil and on Saturday May 20 moved to number 2 anchorage  - just off the Imperial Oil docks at the entrance to Eastern Passage.

The number two anchorage is rarely used and then only by smaller ships and for short term. Last night, Sunday, May 21, the ship moved to Pier 9C.

This morning there was a pumper truck on the dock offloading something, possibly slops. The truck carries 'Green for Life' logos, so the material may be going for recycling or incineration.

Sunday Morning May 21 one of Algoma's recently acquired ships, the Algotitan, arrived at Imperial Oil from Sarnia. The former Chantaco arrived in Halifax December 30, 2022 where it was brought under Canadian registry as of January 11, 2023, with the new name Algotitan. It entered service at the end of January and after some coastal voyages, was reported upbound in the St.Lawrence Seaway March 25 for Sarnia. It made one trip down to Sorel April 1-4 then returned to Sarnia and Nanticoke. On this trip it was reported clearing the Seaway April 18. It sailed this afternoon heading back to Sarnia.

 As the Algotitan departs, the auto carrier Morning Calypso , in the background ,is preparing to get underway from Autoport. The remaining Valero tanks appear between the two ships.

So far the tanker's funnel has been repainted in Algoma colours, but the "bear" medallion has yet to appear.

The Irving Oil Woodside terminal received the company tanker Acadian from Saint John early this morning (see recent posts with pictures - the ship was also here last week).

Due to the angle of view, most of the background tanks belong to Irving Oil's next door neighbour Imperial Oil. The checkerboard topped tank is part of the CFB Shearwater military base, and is close to their aircraft runways and heliport.

 With the Woodside dock occupied, the tanker STI Pimlico, also destined for Irving Oil, arrived mid morning and went to anchor.

The ship is arriving from Amsterdam with more product. Irving Oil imports specific product from  Amsterdam storage facilities on a regular basis.

Built in 2014 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, the STI Pimlico is a handysize tanker of 24,320 gt, 38,734 dwt. It is operated by Scorpio Tankers Inc (a New York Stock Exchange publicly traded company it is headquartered in Monaco), which currently has 113 tankers in its fleet. Most are scrubber equipped. 

A ship's full width enclosed bridge usually indicates that it is fitted for winter navigation. The ship is rated Ice class 1A under Det Norske Veritas classification.

 The STI Pimlico's funnel mark includes a stylised Scorpion tail crossing the letter "S". STI was founded in 2009 by Emanuale A. Lauro and is a separate outgrowth of Scorpio Ship Management founded in New York in 1976 by Lauro's grandfather Glauco Lolli-Ghetti.

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Another Sign of Spring

 There have been a few signs of spring this year - intermixed with snow showers. This evening, March 24, was just one of those as the bulk carrier Baie St. Paul sailed with a load of gypsum, bound for Hamilton, ON.

As the ship was leaving Bedford Basin and as the sun was going down, a brief snow shower swept over the area. Although it did not effect visibility, the snow did "fuzzy up" the view as the ship approached the A. Murray MacKay bridge.

The sure sign of spring however was the annual opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway after nearly three months of winter shutdown. Despite the dire predictions in 1959 when the Seaway first opened it was not the death knell of Halifax as a port. In fact there continiues to be trade between Halifax and Great Lakes ports.

The tanker Algotitan, which has been working out of Halifax this winter is in the Seaway en route to Sarnia. The cement carrier NACC Argonaut, after leaving Halifax March 17, proceeded to Port Daniel, QC to load and arrived today at Cote-Ste-Catherine (near Montreal and within the Seaway) to offload.

The Baie St.Paul which often carries salt, is a regular caller at Gold Bond Gypsum in Bedford Basin and in recent years has delivered the raw material to Hamilton, ON. It is a Canadian flagged ship and as per a previous post is a member of Canada Steamship Lines' domestic fleet - a fact that is underlined by the large lettering on the ship's hull. Members of the company's international fleet make do with the abbreviated "CSL" on the flanks. The lettering on the red hull is not quite so legible in the glinting sun, but shows off well at a distance when in the shade.

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Clear up then close in

Following a storm with very high winds last night, things began to clear up and calm down this morning, March 16, allowing most lingering ships to resume their interupted voyages, and a return to normal arrivals and departures. However by late afternoon things began to close in again with fog, strong gusts and periods of rain.

One of the two MSC ships anchored in Bedford Basin, the MSC Brianna moved in to PSA Fairview Cove this morning and completed shedding weight to reach St.Lawrence River draft. With the ships Oceanex Sanderling and Tropic Lisette at the Southend terminal, PSA opted to send the ship to Fairview to unload. Once the operation was completed the MSC Brianna sailed in the early afternoon, leaving fleetmate MSC Rosella at anchor. (It has no ETD yet, but is due in Barcelona March 22.)

As the ship moved past my position I noted some interesting features:

When the ship was built in 1996 by Daewoo, Okpo it was equipped with Japanese style radio masts at each bridge wing. In those days ships carried morse code marine radio, and a radio operator. That type of communication was on the way out by then, and the last official broadcast was in 1999. But even in 1996 few ships still carried it. Although the aerial wires that were slung between the towers have been removed, the towers remain as supports for lighting and some wires and wire stays remain.

A more modern touch is the exhaust gas scrubber system retrofitted to the ship , and highly visible as a large high yellow/orange box on the after deck. There is exhaust coming from the regular exhaust pipe in the ship's funnel as the ship is likely using low sulfur MDO (Marine Diesel Oil) while in port and maneuvering. Once at sea it will switch to HFO (heavy fuel oil) and the exhaust gasses will be diverted to the scrubber.

As the ship squeaks under the A. Murray MacKay bridge, it gives bridge users a smoke bath.

A delayed arrival due to weather was the coastal tanker Algotitan. Since acquired by Algoma late last year, the former Chantaco was renamed and brought under Canadian flag January 11. It has now settled in to regular coastal voyages between Imperial Oil's Halifax depot, and Sydney, NS, CornerBrook, NL and Sept-Iles, QC.

It must have had a fairly lumpy ride along the eastern shore last night. It arrived at the Halifax pilot station at 0800 hrs ADT this morning, but pilot boarding was put off until 1500 hrs, perhaps due to sea conditions from the lingering effects of the storm.

The autocarrier Morning Peace put off its arrival from Southampton, UK, until 1030 hrs this morning when it made for Autoport. By the time it was ready to sail at 1800 hrs rain had moved in again and it was touch and go for a photo as it passed the Mauger's Beach light outbound for Manzanillo. 

 A 2017 product of Hyundai Samho, the 66,802 gt, 22,438 dwt ship has a capacity of 7,368 (or 7,549 - take your choice, depending on the source) cars.

 

An arrival of note was the new to Halifax CMA CGM Nouga from Montreal on the joint CMA CGM/ Maersk St-Laurent 1 service  (Bremerhaven, Rotterdam, Antwerp, Montreal, Halifax, Bremerhaven).

 

A dark and rainy arrival, but not as dark as it will be on departure at 0230 hrs.

 

CMA CGM Louga dates from 2018 when it was built by Jinhai Heavy Industry Co in Daishan County, China.The 29,316 gt, 34,694 dwt ship has a capacity of 2462 TEU and was built to the heavy 1A Baltic ice class. Until last year it was employed on a service to St.Petersburg, Russia and was expected to transit the Baltic Sea without icebreaker assistance. Its bridge wings are fully enclosed, and it no doubt has other features for winter navigation.

It is not clear if the ship will be replacing the EM Kea on the St-Laurent 1 service or if it has been added to Maersk's two ships Vayenga Maersk and Vistula Maersk to increase voyage frequency.

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More Algo - revised

 Algoma Tankers Ltd continues to make the news, this time not with a purchase, but with a sale*. The Algonorth a frequent visitor to Halifax has been sold* to an Algoma partner company Furetank and is en route to Kalundborg, Denmark for handover. A reliable report says that it will be drydocked, then renamed.[Algoma and Furetank operate a 50/50 owned company in European trades]. 

[ Revision - there ship may not have been sold, but has been transferred the 50.50 operation]

The ship was last in Halifax earlier this month, arrriving January 11 from Lévis, QC. After unloading at Imperial Oil, it moved over to Pier 28 where it was bow to bow with one of Algoma's recent additions the Chantaco, which was subsequently renamed Algotitan. The latter is still in Halifax and is due to sail this evening, January 30, for Sydney, NS, with its first cargo.

On January 17 Algonorth moved back to Imperial Oil and loaded for Sydney, sailing January 18. Arriving there January 19 it discharged cargo and departed January 20 for Baltimore.

The purpose of its visit to Baltimore is unknown, but its sailing draft was reported to be 6.7m (nearly 22 ft), so it must have loaded some cargo there. It sailed January 25 and is now due in Kalundborg on February 8.

At 12,164 gt,16,979 dwt, 144m x 23m, the Algonorth has a slightly smaller cargo capacity than the Algotitan's 11,793 gt, 18,734 dwt, 143m x 23m. Built in 2008 it is one year newer than the Algotitan. Both were built in Turkey, but at different yeards, Algonorth at Tuzla Gemi and Algotitan at R.M.K. Tuzla. There must be some feature of the Algonorth that makes it desirable to Furetank, but as previously reported it is due for survey this year.

Algonorth's bright red hull paint and white racing stripe made it an easily identifiable (and admired) member of the Algoma Tankers fleet.

 

Unfortunatetly, several years of work in the Seaway locks left the ship much worse for the wear (at least in appearance).

Algoma did not own the ship long enough for a required drydocking and repainting in traditional Algoma colours, so it was a standout in the fleet even if a bit shop worn. Originally named Gan-Gesture for various Turkish owners it was renamed Ramira in 2009 by Swedish owners Alvtank Rederi AB and carried that name until 2019 when renamed by Algoma.

Algoma Tankers also operates the 2004 built Algoscotia on the east coast. It is a 13,352 gt, 18,610 dwt ship. The company also has ships that see mostly Great Lakes service and rarely travel to the Atlantic. They sold one of those ships earlier this year too. The Algoma Hansa, renamed Algo sailed from Halifax January 21 and is due in Las Palmas February 2 where  it will be drydocked before taking up a new career reported to be as a shuttle tanker, possibly in Africa.

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Right Time, Right Place

 Sometimes you just get lucky. Hoping for a photo of the Algotitan underway, I ventured to Dartmouth this morning (January 27). The ship had returned to anchor yesterday morning to sit out the 100 km per hour gusts and steady high winds and was moving back to Imperial Oil #3 dock for its first load as an Algoma tanker.

The angle of the ship, and the sun position co-operated (they don't always!) for a nice shot from the tug dock.

I expect the ship (the former Chantaco) will be a common sight this winter and over the next several years, but it will be hard to beat this photo.

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Last Man Standing

 The Ocean Terminals piers recently had four ships alongside but the last one will be sailing today, January 25. The Algoma Tankers' Algotitan (ex Chantaco) moved from Pier 27 via anchorage yesterday to Imperial Oil this morning, and the former Algoma Hansa sailed from Pier 25 as Algo on January 21. The high-heat tanker Iver Ambition sailed in the very early hours of this morning from Pier 26, resuming its trip to Ghent, Belgium, although giving suburban Zelzate as its destination.

The newly renamed Algotitan posed for photos at anchor yesterday.

 That left the bulk carrier Midland Trader to finish loading wood pellets at Pier 28. By this afternoon the ship was buttoned up and ready to sail for Skagen, Denmark where the wood will be converted to "sulphur and fossil free" bio-fuel. The ship arrived here January 16 [see previous posts.]

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Algo Update

 With Algoma tankers all over Halifax harbour (four at least count if you include ex vessels) it is time for a brief update.

The former Algoma Hansa, officially removed from the Canadian register on January 13 and renamed Algo remains at Pier 25 -26. The weather has finally co-operated enough for the painters to modify the name and add Monrovia as the port of registry. 

The painters also hastily covered the Algoma crest on the funnel. Most ships sold for scrap are renamed (as economically as possible) and any traces of prior ownersdhip are obliterated before sailing.

If the ship is going to India for scrap it is usually re-registered under a marginal flag of convenience such as St.Kitts and Nevis. However registering the ship in Liberia (a higher standard flag of convenience) indicates that the ship will remain insured until it reaches its destination, likely Turkey, and will sail under its own power, rather than in tow. There is little chance that the ship will be re-sold for further trading, but that is still an outside possibility. I have heard reports that it will be used for bunkering or for shuttle service.

Once the Algoma shield was painted over on the funnel, there appeared the original Dannebrog swallow tail pennant which was not just painted on, but built on, with steel plate.

 Algoma's latest acquistion Algotitan (ex Chataco) remains at Pier 27. Algonorth is due to sail this afternoon with the newly arrived Algoscotia standing by to to take its berth.

Street views of the harbour, such as this one from Sackville Street, are sometimes rewarding. Algoscotia arriving from Sept Iles, did a "harbour tour" around George's Island while the Algonorth was getting underway for Sydney.

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Three's a crowd

 The old phrase that "two's company, three's a crowd" might well be leveled at Algoma Tankers Ltd today (January 12) as there are ships from the fleet at Piers 26, 27 and 28.

The latest arrival is Algonorth which moved over from Imperial Oil this morning to Pier 28. It is bow to bow with Algotitan which is receiving its new name today. (It was officially registered in Halifax under the new name yesterday.) At nearby Pier 25-26 the Algoma Hansa, the third member, awaits a sale and transfer to new owners.

Algonorth built in 2008 by Tuzla Gemi, in Turkey, is a 12,164 gt, 16,979 dwt ship, originally named Gan Gesture, until 2009 and Ramira until 2018.

Algonorth is still wearing the (once) attractive red hull colour of its previous owners Alvtank Rederi AB of Sweden. Most of the ship's certificates expire 2023-10-17, so I anticipate a drydocking for renewal  this year, at which time it is likely to be repainted in Algoma's customary deep blue.

The only repainting expected on the Algotitan, is the name, which was underway earlier today. The former Chataco had its new name on the starboard bow, and there were painters working from staging on the port bow (no more bosun's chairs for this work.) 

The only ship wearing traditional Algoma colours was Algoma Hansa which, with extra lines and fire wires overside, is settling in for an indeterminate layup peroid until it is sold.

The reason for Algonorth's arrival in Halifax was to load cargo from Imperial Oil, and I am supposing that it moved over the Halifax to allow for the arrival of more product today on the Danish flag tanker Nord Superior. It is a 30,229 gt, 49,753 dwt vessel built in 2015 by STX Offshore + Shipbuilding in Jinhae. The ship features an unusually tall funnel, which carries the colours of Damps. NORDEN A/S.

The ship operates in the Norient Product Pool APS (an operation founded 50:50 by NORDEN and Interorient, but now100% owned by NORDEN). The ship has not followed the usual route of  Imperial's imported product. [See previous post.] Instead of sailing from Exxon/Mobil's refinery in Antwerp, the ship sailed from Al Fujayrah, Saudi Arabia December 9 and after transiting the Suez Canal December 17 it anchored off Barcelona December 24-30, then spent December 30-31 in the port itself. The Lipsa refinery in Barcelona is a large producer of bio-fuels.

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Algoma Hansa - retires

 The Canadian flag tanker Algoma Hansa arrived in Halifax on January 7. It came from the Great Lakes with stops at Kildair Sorel-Tracy and Montreal. It arrived in ballast (and likely with tanks cleaned and gas freed) and will be laid up until it can be transferred to new owners.

The ship was built in 1998 and is nearing the end of its economic life. After twenty-five years of service ships must undergo a major refit to maintain their classification, and the expense is usually not warranted. Owners then sell the ship for further use where its classification will not be renewed, or in many cases the ship goes to scrap.

Algoma Hansa is an unusual ship in many ways. It was built at Alabama Shipyard in Mobile, AB for Dannebrog Rederi A/S of Denmark. Named Amelienborg it was delivered in April 1998 and a sistership, named Aggersborg was delivered in November of the same year. Measuring 11,290 gt, and 16,775 dwt it was registered in Denmark and was a double hull chemical / product tanker with phenolic coated cargo tanks. Algoma Tankers Ltd acquired the ship in 2006 and operated it in the Hanseatic and later Navig8 tanker pools, largely in Europe, but it did make some trips to the Great Lakes. 

Algoma renamed the Aggersborg as Algosea in 2005 and registered it in Canada. They renamed the Amalienborg to Algoma Hansa in 2008 but did not bring into Canadian registry until 2014. By that time its projecting bridge wings had been cut back flush with the ship's sides to permit safe passage through the St.Lawrence Seaway locks.

It will now be replaced in the Algoma fleet by the recently acquired Chantaco which arrived in Halifax December 30 [see post]. Algoma has selected the name Algotitan for the new acquistion, and when it enters service (expected shortly) it will operate this winter with Algoscotia which arrived in Halifax January 8. 

Algoscotia sailed again January 9 for Sydney with cargo from Imperial Oil for its Sydney depot.

There is no word yet on when the sister Algosea will be retired, and it is operating this winter on the Great Lakes. Its replacement, the future Algoberta, is currently working in Europe as Chiberta.

On Monday January 9 the Algoma Hansa swapped places with its replacement. The Chantaco moved to Pier 27 and the Algoma Hansa to Pier 25. Once along side at Pier 25 the workboat Allen Clipper came along to carry out some underwaterwork (perhaps hull cleaning or camera survey). 

There is some indication that a sale has already been arranged for the Algoma Hansa and handover and renaming will take place shortly.

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