Update, CSL Flexvik ex Ale

 The newly named CSL Flexvik formerly the Ale and before that the Raba is showing even more signs of progress today (September 27.) Repairs to its grounding damage (mostly below the waterline) including replacement of the tail shaft and controllable pitch propellor hub and prop blades appears to be completed. Its rudder has now been moved nearer to the ship, although there is still work to be done on it before it is re-hung.

Looking well above the waterline, crew members were repainting the funnel with the traditional CSL black, white and red colours.

Those colours date back to well before the founding of Canada Steamship Lines. They were used by the Montreal owned Allen Line (the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company) on its earliest steamships in the mid 1800s. The Allen's domestic shipping operation, the Canadian Navigation Company, also used the same colours and carried them into the Richelieu  +  Ontario Navigation Company formed in an 1875 merger with the Richelieu Navigation Company. Canada Steamship Lines was formed in 1913 in a giant merger of  several other shipping companies, including R+O, and it adopted the black / white / red funnel marking.

The current CSL Group continues the tradition, with a minor twist. Its offshore operations, such as CSL Europe - owner of the CSL Flexvik - use the colours in the conventional way (as bands on the sides of the funnels - but not necesarily on the after side.) Canadian flagged ships of Canada Steamship Lines have used a modified form of the bands since the late 1990s.

The (now scrapped) Atlantic Erie shows the then new pattern, with the black and white bands sloping down parallel to the trailing edge of the funnels. ( Even twin, side by side, funnels received the treatment on both sides.)

From the time of coal burning steamers, a black cap was a way of concealing the build up of soot on a funnel. Once diesel engines became the norm there was still some black sooty residue, often trailing down the after side of the funnel. so "cranking" the black cap downwards may have been a practical solution.

My 1959 photo of CSL's Elgin, taken in the Beauharnois Lock of the St.Lawrence Seaway in its first year of operation, shows (regrettably not in colour) that the coal burners carried a much wider black cap in proportion to the height of the funnel. Even so the white band became sooty.

It was on CSL's long gone "white ships" of the St.Lawrence and Saguenay River cruises that the bright red really stood out, giving an elegant touch. Even as late as 1965 when the ships were retired, there were still those who could remember the R+O and even the Allen Line.

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NIOVI.GR - new twist in naming

 In some of my more curmudgeonly posts, I have decried current naming themes for ships, due to lack of originality [oh yes - see previous post] but today's subject is a member of a fleet with an originak scheme for naming. Many of M-Maritime's ships have a domain name followed by the extension for Greece. Thus Niovi. Gr. (Niovi or Niobe is a figure from Greek mythology.)

The ship is tied up at Pier 28 loading grain, and is thus almost impossible to photograph (maybe when it sails I can do better).

The ship itself is quite new, delivered in October 2019 by Namura  Shipbuilding Co Ltd, Hakodate Dock. Following current practice for Handysize bulkers, it is double hulled, with five holds. Holds 2, 3 and 4 are box shaped and served by four 30 tonne cranes, with grabs.

M-Maritime, based in Greece, manages about fifteen ships of several different classes, and assigned to operating pools. Niovi.Gr appears to be in the Hamburg based TMA Bulk Pool.

This is not the first time that a domain name has appeared on a ship however. In 1998 Canada Steamship Lines was among the first - if not the very first - to show the company's web address on the ship's side.

The ship was Atlantic Erie *(built in 1985 as Hon. Paul Martin, renamed in 1988) a self-unloader of Seaway size. It was repainted as part of a drydocking at Verreault Maritime in Méchins, QC, and when it emerged in October 1998 the ship had " www.csl.ca" on its sides instead of Canada Steamship Lines or the simpler CSL of its fleet mates. 

Web sites are de rigeur for companies now, but CSL was certainly ahead of its time in 1998 posting theirs on the ship's flanks. 

Seen here in the pool between the Snell and Eisenhower locks of the US portion of the St.Lawrence Seaway, the Atlantic Erie displays CSL's web address.

 * Atlantic Erie incurred severe bottom damage when it grounded January 11, 2015 in the Magdalen Islands. It was patched up sufficiently to be towed to layup in Montreal. In 2016 it was towed to Aliaga, Turkey for scrap.

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Atlantic Erie - one for the books

The days are numbered for the self-unloading bulk carrier Atlantic Erie. Its Canadian register was closed October 5 and  CSL company markings have been painted over. It has been registered in St.Vincent and the Grenadines and will be taken in tow for the breakers in Turkey.

As built the ship had a black hull, which was typical for all CSL self-unloaders at the time.

Once a familiar sight in Halifax under two names and flags, it was also registered in Halifax for a time.
The ship was a pioneer of its type when launched November 1, 1984 by Collingwood Shipbuilding as Hon. Paul Martin. It was named for Senator Paul J.J.G. Martin (1903-1992), father of a future prime minister Paul E.P. Martin, the owner of Canada Steamship Lines. Mrs Eleanor Martin was sponsor for the ship named for her husband.


It was also built to the maximum allowable St.Lawrence Seaway dimensions of the day, and was thus the largest ship ever built by Collingwood up until then. However the ship was also built for ocean going, and after its first summer of service on the Great Lakes / St.Lawrence it arrived in Halifax September 1, 1985 and loaded gypsum for Tampa and New Orleans.

In December 1988 the ship was renamed Atlantic Erie in preparation for re-flagging to the Bahamas early in 1989 to work internationally. [Some sources say it was transferred in April, but it arrived in Halifax in February under Bahamas flag.]

On a frigid February day in 1989, the ship had been renamed and re-flagged to Nassau. It would have to wait for warmer climes to paint out the Canada Steamship Lines banner.

 

The ship continued to call in Halifax from time to time under foreign flag, but it ranged widely.

Ballasted down by the bow for prop and shaft maintenance at pier 23, the ship carries a pair of spare prop blades lashed to the house.

Powered by a reliable 6 cylinder Sulzer of 11,100 bhp, it had a controllable pitch prop in a steering nozzle.

Atlantic Erie worked on a CSL contract with National Gypsum until 1993 when it went to Europe ranging from Spain to the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. It returned to North American east coast gypsum work in late 1993.

Topping off the Bernhard Oldendorff in Bedford Basin was among the many duties the ship performed. The larger ship could not load to its maximum draft at the National Gypsum pier, but was able to take a full load with the top off. Both ships were in the CSL self-unloader pool.

Under foreign flag, the ship lost its white paint on the bow bulwark.

 In August 1996 the ship returned to the Canadian flag and was registered in Halifax.


In May 1997 the ship arrived at the IEL dock in Dartmouth joining fleet mates Atlantic Huron and Nanticoke for modifications to its cargo handling system. The ship had been chartered to deliver rock  ballast to the Hibernia gravity base. The huge concrete structure was towed out from Newfoundland to the Grand Banks where it was settled on the bottom and was then ballasted with iron ore. The heavy ore, called magnetite, was delivered by deck mounted conveyors to the  bow of the ship where a special nozzle added water to form a slurry.

When the project was completed, the ship returned to its normal configuration. In the meantime it had reacquired the white bulwark forward and an abbreviated company banner on the side.

During its late 1998 refit at Verreault in Méchins it  took on a red hull paint - the traditional CSL colour for non-self unloaders, but which had been adopted by the whole fleet. The story I heard is that since the self-unloaders used to carry so much coal, it was difficult to keep the red paint clean. Newer, cleaner,  technology and a desire to advertise CSL caused the company to paint all its ships red.

A frequent caller in Halifax for several years, Atlantic Erie delivered cargoes of corn and coal and loaded out gypsum. It also had a major refit alongside in Dartmouth in March April 2000. It did its winter layup / self-maintenance here from December 2001 to March 2002, and several other shorter stays for work.

Becoming a fully fledged member of the Canadian CSL fleet again, it adopted the now standard CSL red hull colour, and carried "www.csl.ca" on its flanks - claimed to be an industry first. 

Arriving at pier 9D with a cargo of coal in 1999. It repeated the performance in 2001 and 2002.

 A sunrise passing in the Seaway. 

Viewed from the bridge of the downbound CSLer Jean Parisien, Atlantic Erie (displaying its Halifax port of registry) is upbound in the Interpool between the Snell and Eisenhower Locks in the US Seaway.

A spring paint job in the Novadock at Halifax Shipyard had the ship looking neat as a pin for the 2009 season.

A work horse for CSL it often carried heavy and difficult cargoes such as petcoke and coal. It also carried salt, which is very destructive over time.

In later years the ship spent most of its time on the St.Lawrence.

However it was not the salt cargo, but the salt port of Grande Entrée, Magdalen Island that was the undoing of the ship in the end.

On January 11, 2015 while sailing from the Mines Seleine facility it strayed from the channel and grounded.  After lightering off 5,000 tonnes of salt, it was refloated January 14 by the tugs  Beverly M. 1 and  Tim McKeil.  A survey at Sept-Iles revealed extensive bottom damage. After delivering its cargo the ship laid up in Montreal January 18 and has not sailed since.

It is expected to put to sea at the end of a tow line November 4, with the tug Pacific Hickory in the lead.  That is just a few days past its launch date of November 1 thirty-three years ago.

For more on the tug see: Tugfax

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Berhard Oldendorff - big self-unloader

Seeing CSL Tacoma sail the other day with a part load of gypsum reminded me of some other large self-unloaders that could not load to their maximum draft at National Gypsum. These big ships had usually delivered coal to Nova Scotia Power in Cape Breton. The gypsum was a backhaul cargo going to plants in the US that may also have had draft limitations, or did not require large quantities of the material delivered all at once.  

One of these ships was so high out of the water when empty that it could not fit under National Gypsum's loader in Dartmouth. Instead it anchored in Bedford Basin and had cargo shuttled out to it. Cargo shuttling and top offs had become a specialty of CSL, and had been taking place in the Strait of Canso and other ports for some time. Usually the cargoes were iron ore or coal, but this was the first to happen in Halifax, and the first with gypsum that I know of.

A broadside view of the ship in Tampa gives an indication of its size.

The big ship was built in 1991 by Daewoo, Okpo and it measured 43,332 grt, 77,548 dwt. Initially named Yeoman Burn for a charter to the British quarry owners Foster Yeoman, its owners were Egon Oldendorff of Lubeck, Germany. In December 1993 it was time chartered to CSL International and in 1994 renamed Bernhard Oldendorff. The ship was fitted with a self-unloading system that could unload coal at 4,000 tonnes per hour and ore at 6,000 tph.Unusual for a bulk carrier it was also equipped with fore and aft thrusters.

Anchored in Bedford Basin, as seen from the National Gypsum dock.

It arrived in Halifax March 17, 1995 and did tie up briefly at National Gypsum but soon moved out to anchor in Bedford Basin.

Atlantic Erie alongside, must move back and forth along the length of the bigger ship to distribute the cargo.

CSL's Atlantic Erie (ex Hon. Paul Martin) 24,300 grt, built in 1985, arrived soon after and made three shuttle trips out to the bigger ship to load it up to near capacity.

Unloading aggregates at Tampa, the ship carries "CSL" on its boom.

Berhard Oldendorff is still sailing in the CSL Americas pool, running Gulf of Mexico, and east coast North America. Atlantic Erie is part of CSL's domestic fleet and operates mostly on the St.Lawrence with coal/coke, iron ore and salt, and visits Halifax periodically for gypsum.

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Atlantic Erie aground

CSL's self-unloading bulk carrier Atlantic Erie has been aground in the Magdalen Islands since Sunday, fully loaded with salt. The ship was sailing from the Mines Saleine loader when high winds took the ship out of the channel. Reprts indicate that there is only minor hull damage, and that tugs are attempting to free the ship.

Atlantic Erie downbound on the St.Lawrence, was one of the first ships ever to display a website on its side.

A familiar ship in Halifax, it took its first load of gypsum here September 15, 1985 when it was brand new and carrying its original name of  Hon. Paul Martin. The name changed in 1988  and it traded internationally for several years as Atlantic Erie before returning to Canada in 1996. Since then participated in the Hibernia ballasting operation, it has had refits in Halifax, brought in cargoes of coal in 2001 and 2002, and wintered over in 2001 after unloading a cargo of corn and has made numerous calls at National Gypsum..

 

Under its original name, Hon. Paul Martin, the ship was painted black. It is shown arriving in Halifax in its first full year of operation.

 
Recently it has been chartered to carry salt from the Magdalen Islands to Quebec ports. Salt that is a tough cargo on ships, and is usually relegated to ships that are finishing out their years of service. Now entering its thirtieth year Atlantic Erie does not have too many years left.

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Atlantic Erie on a shuttle run

Word has reached my ear that both Atlantic Erie and Atlantic Huron are shuttling between Lower Cove and Bull Arm, Newfoundland.

Lower Cove is an aggregate/ limestone /dolomite quarry port. In 2010 it shipped 2 million tonnes of material! It is set to exceed 2.4 million tonnes this year. It is located on the Port au Port peninsula on the west coast of Newfoundland.

Bull Arm is on the eastern side of the province, and is where the Hibernia gravity base was built, among other things.

Atlantic Erie was in Halifax today for bunkers and sailed for Lower Cove.

Atlantic Erie

1. Atlantic Erie looms out of the Halifax fog as it approaches pier 25-26 this morning.

2. The indented knuckle area of the hull shows up in bright sunshine.

3. Atlantic Erie surges downstream passing Cap Charles last Saturday.

The self-unloading bulker Atlantic Erie arrived this morning with another load of grains from the Great Lakes. This is the second time I have seen this ship is less than a week.
The first time was with a group of shipspotters at Cap Charles, QC last Saturday.
It was from that look-off that I first noted the damage to the ship's port bow, at the "knuckle".
As with most ships that transit the St.Lawrence Seaway they do not drive directly into the locks. Instead they come alongside the approach wall at a slight angle, allowing the "knuckle" (that portion of the hull where the curve of the ship's bow transitions into the flat side of the ship) to slide along the wall, guiding the ship into the lock. This behaviour of course causes wear and tear on the hull, and removes the paint quite effectively.
However it appears that at some point Atlantic Erie gave the wall a real slap as she came along, causing a few deep impressions and hull plate distortion. No hull perforation appears to have taken place, so the ship carries on, but repairs will be needed at some point.
Atlantic Erie was built in 1985 in Collingwood as Hon Paul Martin, and became Atlantic Erie in 1988. it flew the Bahamas flag from 1989 to 1996.
In 1998 it became very distinctive by posting the owners web address on the side of the ship - possibly a world's first.

Political Fog in the Basin?

1. Shawinigan exercising.

2. Atlantic Erie clears to MacKay bridge, bound for National Gypsum.

It was "black tick o' fog" in most of the harbour today, but the fog did come and go from Bedford Basin, to reveal some shipping activity. There is a very interesting political coincidence going on with the two ships.

HMCS Shawinigan MMA 704 was doing some exercising with her summer crew (these ships are used intensively for reserves training.) Named for the hometown of a former prime minister, the ship was launched by Halifax Shipyard on November 15, 1996. The ship's sponsor was Mme Aline Chrétien, wife of that prime minister, Hon. Jean Chrétien.

In the early evening Atlantic Erie arrived to load gypsum. The ship was built at Collingwood Shipyard and launched as Hon. Paul Martin on November 1, 1984. Sponsor was Mrs. Eleanor Martin, wife of Senator Paul Martin, and mother of later prime minister Hon. Paul Martin Jr., owner of Canada Steamship Lines. The ship was renamed in December 1988 and it was flagged out to the Bahamas in January 1989. It returned to Canadian flag in 1996, but has kept the name Atlantic Erie ever since. Mr. Martin Jr. succeeded M. Chrétien and was the last Liberal Prime Minister of Canada.

Last Grain for the Season

The last load of grain from the Great Lakes arrived on Atlantic Erie on Saturday. The ship completed unloading on Sunday and moved to National Gypsum to take on a return cargo. It is shown here at pier 26 discharging into the grain hopper. The grain is then conveyed to the storage elevator through the structure on the right.

The grain that arrives in Halifax is mostly for local use, and is stored in the grain elevator until needed. It is then trucked out to farms as far away as northern New Brunswick for feed, or milled locally for flour. Grain is a broad term and may include corn, wheat, oats and barley.

The ship was built in 1984 at Collingwood, ON as Hon. Paul Martin. In 1988 it was renamed Atlantic Erie and from 1989 to 1996 it operated under the Bahamas flag in worldwide trade. Since 1996 it has been back under the Canadian flag, and has been less widely travelled. A self-unloading bulk carrier, it can discharge at a rate of up to 5,4000 tons per hour, depending on the cargo. Its carrying capacity is 26,320 tons at Seaway draft and 37,411 at full 34 foot draft.

The St.Lawrence Seaway system will be closing at the end of this week until spring. Grain also arrives in Halifax by train, and some grain is exported, such as a small quantity to Cuba last week on the ship Nirint Canada.

Footnote: Atlantic Erie loaded gypsum for Valleyfield, QC, After unloading there on December 29, the ship left the St.Lawrence Seaway for Montreal and was the last commercial ship of the season.