More Lighetring

With three cruise ships in port today, there was only room at the usual passenger berths at Pier 20 and Pier 22 for the Viking Mars and Enchanted Princess respectively and they occupied the entire length of the sea wall.

 

With the deep water commercial piers no longer used for passengers due to construction and expansion of the South End Container Terminal, the only spot left for a large ship was anchorage number 1. That is where the Zuiderdam fetched up.

Passengers wishing to go ashore were then transported on the ship's own lighters - in this case boats number 11, 12, 13, 15 and 16 - to the floating landing stage at Pier 24. It appears that the passengers were "processed" through the Pier 23 building, not the temporary tents at Pier 24.

That is the autocarrier Amethyst Ace at Autoport in the background.

Lightering ashore may not be to every passenger's liking. and it remains to be seen what happens in inclement (or worse) weather.

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Amethyst Ace

 With the hundreds of auto carriers sailing the seven seas (see May 24 post) it is not a surprise when one arrives in Halifax for the first time. It is interesting however when the ship is not a new one but a more "middle aged" one. That seems to be the case again today May 29 when the Amethyst Ace tied up at Autoport.

The Amethyst Ace was built by Mitsubishi in Kobe in 2008 and registers 60,143 gt, 18,760 dwt with a capacity of 6,334 autos.

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd* of Japan operates the ship under their ACE (Auto Carrier Express) banner. Recent ports of call have been Sparrows Point, MD March 30-31; Tuxpan, MX April 12-13; Freeport, TX April 18-19; Veracruz, MX April 25-27; and Sparrows Point again May 3. In the interim it has been to Emden, so it likely carrying Volkswagen vehicles. It is next due at Davisville, RI June 1.

*Mitsui O.S.K.Lines was formed in 1964 when Mitsui Steamship Co merged with Oska Shoshen Kaisha. It is now a giant publicly traded shipping cpmany with vessels of all types, including nearly sixty autocarriers. It is also partner in Ocean Network Express (ONE)  Line in the joint venture conglomerate of Japanese container lines with K-Line and NYK.

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