Project Cargo on the Atlantic Dawn - Updated

 The multi-purpose cargo ship Atlantic Dawn arrived today, May 14, from the unlikely port of Bermuda Freeport. The former naval dockyard located on the northern part of Ireland Island has been converted to accommodate dry bulk, break bulk, liquid, RoRo and passenger cargo. Nevertheless Bermuda is not noted for exports. Prior to Bermuda the ship had been in Australia and New Zealand in March and cleared the Panama Canal April 19.

Built in 2013 jointly by Partner Sp in Police, Poland and Shipkits BV in Groningen, Netherlands the 5460 gt, 4476 dwt ship has box shaped holds and is strengthened for heavy cargoes. It has pontoon type hatch covers and removable pontoon tween decks. Its two 150 tonne SWL cranes can work in combination for 300 tonne lifts. It is also set up to carry 261 TEU containers, with 124 TEU in the hold and 137 TEU on deck. It is licensed to carry 62 TEU of explosives on deck. To maximize clear space on deck the superstructure is mounted forward, with only an exhaust stack on the starboard side aft. (It appears to have 49 FEUs / 98 TEUs on deck on this trip). The ship is also licensed for open top sailing (that is without hatch covers in place.)

The Atlantic Dawn is owned by Hartmann Shipping 2 BV of the Netherlands, but is under the commercial management of Ocean 7 Projects, a Dutch project cargo specalist. And it appears that it is carrying a project cargo. The containers on deck seem to be privately owned and do not carry any shipping line or other corporate identity aside from IMO reporting marks (which were illegible from shore). At least one container has a side door, and so may do double duty for storage.

The ship docked at PSA Fairview Cove and is due to sail after dark this evening. It will be interesting to know if it loaded or unloaded in Halifax. I will update this post if further information comes to light.

Update:

By early evening all the deck cargo had been landed and one shore crane was working away on the below deck cargo.

 

 It seems likely then that the entire cargo of some 100 FEU (Forty Foot Equivalents) or more are to be offloaded in Halifax. Reliable sources indicate these containers may be for SailGP, the sailing race that will be happening in Halifax June 1-2.

.

Halifax Sailings

Among the ships sailing from Halifax today were some biggies and one smaller one.

Biggest was Beate Oldendorff, a 112,895 grt, 227,183 dwt bulk carrier. This bruiser was built way back in 1988 by Mitsui Ichihara Engineering and Shipbuilding of Ichihara, Japan, as Kasuza Maru. It was renamed Kasuza in 1995, and received its present name in 2010 when acquired by Oldendorff Carriers of Lubeck, Germany. It arrived in Halifax June 27 and tied up at pier 31 for repairs. It gave Sept-Iles, QC as its destination when leaving today.

By comparison Aliki, which arrived soon after seems like a big ship too. But at 90,091 grt, 180,235 dwt it is not nearly as large.

It was built in 2005 by Imabari Shipbuilding, Saijo Dockyard in Imabari, Japan as Cape Pelican, a name it held until 2007. Now registered in the Marshall Islands, it is operated by Dian Shipping of Athens.

After Asian Gyspy Moth inspection by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the ship sailed for Pointe-Noire, QC, on the other side of Sept-Iles Bay.

A fairly beat up looking Atlantic Conveyor also sailed this evening, on its regular transatlantic run.

No shrimp, at 58,438 grt, it will soon be celebrating a milestone. It was on July 12, 1984 that the ship was launched by Swan Hunter, on the Tyne, and it has been making the brutal transatlantic run monthly ever since.(It was lengthened in 1987.)
It made its first arrival in Halifax February 1, 1985, another 30th anniversary it is likely to celebrate. Replacement ships for the 5 ACL sisters are on the way, but forty thirty-one years may be possible - an unusual achievement for a ship these days.

A more modest ship bunkered this afternoon and sailed this evening:

Atlantic Dawn is registered in the Netherlands, where it is owned and was built. Owners, Hartman Shipping of Urk, specialize in project cargoes, and the ship has a long uninterupted deck space for awkward shaped loads. It was built in 2013 by Shipkits of Groningen and measures 5460 grt, 4200 dwt. It arrived from the St.Lawrence River and sailed for Charleston.

.