CSL Tarantau ex Balto

It has been some time since a ship loaded at National Gypsum. Despite an improving US economy, demand for gypsum is still low and ships have been few and far between.

Today's arrival is perhaps encouraging. CSL Tarantau arrived in ballast from Baltimore, indicating a demand, rather than just a backhaul cargo.

 

CSL Tarantau arriving in Halifax today.

This is the first time I have seen the ship since it was renamed in January 2016. It had sailed as Balto for  Klaveness Self-unloaders, a partner in the CSL self-unloader pool with CSL, Algoma and Oldendorff. Late in 2015 Klaveness divested its five ships to pool partners CSL and Algoma, and all have since been renamed.

The ship first called in Halifax as Balto.

Balto was built by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China in 2013 to the ocean version of CSL's Trillium class design, so it was a natural fit in the CSL Americas roster.  At 43,691 grt, 71,405 dwt it is too large to take a complete load at National Gypsum due to draft restrictions at the Bedford Basin pier. However ships of this class take full loads of stone at Auld's Cove and bring in full cargoes of coal also.

The ship's upper works look fine, but the hull paint is decidedly inferior.

CSL's takeover involved repainting the funnel to CSL colours, and a hasty repainting of the name and clumsy paint over of the Klaveness bow banner. Nothing has yet been done to correct the terrible paint job the ship received at the shipyard. (Its starboard side is much worse). I guess that will have to wait until a scheduled drydocking a few years off into the future. At that time of course it will adopt the CSL black hull to match the rest of the fleet.

The ship's name recalls a Great Lakes self-unloader, built in 1964 and sold for scrap in 1999. That Tarantau also used the unusual spelling and pronunciation TARE'-AN-TOE.

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CSL Pool Update

CSL Metis got underway from pier 26 to National Gypsum this morning on completion of its maintenance work.

 As it did so, more details emerged about the CSL / Algoma deal to purchase the five Klaveness self-unloaders.

CSL Americas will take over  Balto (which is built to CSL Trillium standard) and  Barkald.

Balto - arriving Halifax for gypsum

Barkald - waiting to load gypsum Halifax


Algoma Shipping will take over Balchen and Baldock.

Baldock - unloading coal at Point Tupper, NS

Marbulk (a 50/50 CSL/ Algoma operation ) will take over Balder.

Balder - sailing from Halifax with gypsum

Name changes can be expected as well as funnel markings. Perhaps the latter will get the golden seahorse, which we have been kissing in Halifax lately. See Shipfax nelvana-end-of-road.html:

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Trillium with a difference

When CSL (Canada Steamship Lines) embarked on its ambitious fleet renewal program, it called the new class of ships Trillium, after the Province of Ontario's official wildflower. Intended to replace older inefficient ships, the program was to incorporate new greener technologies and other improvements in vessel design and construction. 
The Canadian shipbuilding industry had long ceased to be competitive on the world stage, and so it was to China that CSL turned, and the Changxi Shipyard in Jiangyin City. That Canada was ready to give up the tariff on foreign built ships may have been a factor in the final decision, but ships in this quantity and of this size could certainly never have been built in Canada so quickly and for the price.
In fact the Trillium class consists of nine ships of three different types.

To serve CSL's domestic fleet there were four self-unloading Seaway max self-unloading bulk carriers, Baie St. Paul (2012), Baie Comeau, Whitefish Bay and Thunder Bay (2013). The 24,430 grt ships measure 225.2m x 23.76m x 14.75m depth, and 8.077m Seaway draft, with a cargo capacity of 37,690 tonnes.

They have now been followed by two more ships without self-unloading capability (called straight-deckers in Great Lakes parlance)  CSL Welland has arrived in Port Cartier to load a cargo of iron ore for winter storage in Montreal. CSL St-Laurent is en route from China and is in the Pacific Ocean. Essentially identical in exterior form to the self-unloaders, these two ships have greater cargo carrying capacity.

CSL Americas (the former CSL International) and its pool of self-unloaders also received Trillium class ships, but these are built to Panamax size standards 228.6m x 32.26m x 20.15m depth, 13.48m summer draft, and a cargo capacity of roughly 70,000 tonnes.Of these Rt.Hon. Paul E. Martin, CSL Tecumseh and CSL Tacoma are operated directly by CSL. However two more were built for CSL Pool partner Thorvald Klaveness, of Oslo, named Balto and Balchem.

Balto arrived in Halifax today and anchored in Bedford Basin. It was quite a n arrival, in very high winds, when the ship had to make at least two if not three complete 360 degree turns off the pilot station while creating a lee for the pilot boat to board the pilot. As sen from shore through binoculars, the ship took some vicious rolls - close to 10 degrees by my estimate.

Once inbound its bluff bow, similar to the Seaway type, but with a bit of bulbous shape below the waterline, kicked up lots of spray in today's gale force winds.

Fitted with an 80m long slewing boom to unload, the ship presents a much cleaner profile than fleet mate Barkald which arrived in Friday.

Crew members work on the forepeak to prepare for anchoring.

The Panamax version of the Trilliums are speedy unloaders: coal:4200 tonnes per hour, gypsum 4500 tph, stone 5,000 tph, iron ore 6,000 tph. (Compared to Barkald's 1,000 tph using buckets and conveyors.) 

Balto measures 43,691 grt, 71,405.3 dwt, and was built in 2013.

 

The ship went to anchor in Bedford Basin, due to the high winds, which are expected to continue through tonight.