Canadian Coast Guard Ship Molly Kool (corrected)

 The Bedford Institute jetty in Dartmouth was the berth for the CCGS CaptainMolly Kool when it arrived from a standby mission last evening May 29. This is  a rare visit for the St.John's based former Swedish icebreaking/supplier Vidar Viking. It was here for the first time last year May 14, 2021

Acquired with two sister ships in 2018, the 9,000 18,000 hp vessel was refitted by Chantier Davie Canada Inc in Lévis, Quebec to be a Polar Class 4 medium "interim" icebreaker and commissioned in 2019. As with all CCG vessels it is multi-tasked for Search and Rescue work. 

 It was such a case that brought the ship to Halifax this time. The northern shrimp trawler Mersey Phoenix was holed below the water line by ice last week 90 miles off Nain, Labrador. There was ingress of water, but it was under control. Owners Mersey Seafoods directed the ship back to its base in Country Harbour, NS. CCGS Captain Molly Kool was assigned to accompany the trawler as a precaution, and so came on to Halifax. Since it was near the end of the month, it may also be doing a crew change here.

CCGS Molly Kool is based in St.John's and sister ship CCGS Jean Goodwill ex Balder Viking is based here at the Dartmouth base (and is also in port at this time.) The third vessel CCGS Vincent Massey ex Tor VIking and Tor Viking II is still at Chantier Davie and will likely emerge later this year. The conversions for CCG duty are being done in stages to allow the ships to enter service as soon as possible, with non-essentail work to be carried out in phases. The three vessels will serve until new pupose built icebreakers a can be delivered.

The factory trawler Mersey Phoenix was also in Halifax, just over a year ago, and was covered by a Shipfax post April 7, 2021

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Jana Desgagnés update

Jana Desgagnés remains in heavy ice off the mouth of St.George's Bay in western Newfoundland. According to reports CCGS Captain Molly Kool has resumed towing (hooray) until conditions improve and the tug Lois M can take up the assignment.

In my previous report I stated that the nearest ice class tug to the scene was Océan Arctique. That was not strictly true since another Groupe Océan ice class tug, Océan Sept Iles is based in Gaspé this winter, however it is kept busy docking ships at the McInnis Cement plant in Port Daniel, QC. Océan Arctique is also busy with ship docking assignments in the port of Sept-Iles. Neither one was dispatched to the scene.

I did not count on the McKeil tug Lois M which has been tied up in North Sydney and not dedicated to any particular work. I am not sure of the tug's Ice Class (if any) - none appears to be listed in any source I can find.

Lois M in Quebec City last summer when it was working for Groupe Océan.

However this is the tug hired to assist Jana Desgagnés. It required CCGS Louis S. St-Laurnet to escort the tug to the tnaker's position. Ice conditions in the Gulf are the worst off the west coast of Newfoundland as several days of westerly winds have pushed the ice eastward. Shipping though the Gulf is now routing south of the Magdalen Islands, rather than north, to take avoid the heaviest ice concentrations.

The plan is to tow the Jana Desgagnés to Sydney, which appears to be largely free of ice, thanks to the wind. However getting through the Cabot Strait will be the challenge.

Jana Desgagnés was seen in Halifax more frequently as Jade Star .

Jade Star topping up the tanks at Nova Scotia Power's Tufts Cove generating station in 2005

As mentioned in the last post, the ship arrived in Canada for the first time in March 1994 and its name was changed from Jadestern to Jade Star while docked at the Ultramar jetty in Eastern Passage.

 Crew members are overside repainting the name and port of registry on the stern, March 6, 1994. The ship's registration in Canada was effective March 7, 1994.

The ship was operated by Desgagnés for several years before they purchased it outright in 2008 and renamed it in 2010.

Is it weather or is it climate

Following another day of intermittent withdrawal of pilotage services in and out of Halifax, and challenging ice conditions in the Gulf of St.Lawrence and Cabot Strait, it is fair to ask the question. Is it just that this is a bad year for weather related events or is it a new condition brought about by change in the climate?

Substitute pilot boat Captain E.T. Rogers dips it nose in a swell within the harbour, on its way outbound this afternoon.

Conventional wisdom now is that there is climate change, and one of the signs of it is more extremes in weather. Whether this will become the norm, and what can be done about it is an important issue. Certainly as a port, Halifax cannot become known as a place where you can expect delays because it is too rough for pilots. Schedule is important in container shipping, and other port users, so a solution needs to be found.

As for ice in the St.Lawrence there are several issues there as well, including the Canadian Coast Guard's ability to keep ships moving, and the adequacy of the ships themselves.

Periods of high winds and rough seas made it unsafe to embark and disembark pilots Friday and into this morning with several ships delayed or postponed.

The autocarrier Goodwood arrived early Friday morning but kept the tug Atlantic Willow alongside for the better part of the day. Whether this was due to high winds or some other issue with the ship, I have not heard. The next ship for Autoport, Boheme was due to arrive early this morning but it was put off  until noon time. Goodwood got away from the dock but went to anchorage number one, with two anchors down, where it remained until late this afternoon with a tug alongside for a time. (This suggests an engine problem.)

Goodwood weighs anchor after spending the afternoon in number one anchorage.

Boheme is tied up at Autoport in the background.

The gypsum carrier CSL Tacoma was due yesterday evening but has held off and for a time was scheduled for today, but is now due to enter tomorrow morning. It is outside the harbour drifting because the outer anchorages are not reliable in these conditions.

The container ship Zim Monaco was due to sail yesterday afternoon, but it remained in port over night and sailed this morning. The coastal container ship Nolhan Ava was due to sail yesterday afternoon, but went to anchor in Bedford Basin instead and may sail this evening. It is still under some regulatory restrictions and requires tug escort in and out of port.

Without harping on this anymore, is it possible that the port's pilot boarding arrangements make it too hazardous under certain circumstances, and if so, are there other arrangements that can be made?

Observers agree that this has been a year of very heavy ice in the Gulf of St.Lawrence. With ferry service disrupted the Canadian Coast Guard ended up delivering food stuffs by icebreaker to Strait of Belle Isle communities where many store shelves were almost empty of perishables. Milk was to be delivered by airplane. Even icebreakers could not keep the St.Barbe / Blanc Sablon ferry running.

Ice-related casualties have been rare however, there is one in the news now, The Quebec based tanker Jana Desgagnés  suffered steering failure Thursday March 21 in very heavy ice about 16 nautical wiles SW of Port aux Basques. As a result the ship was going to go where the ice took it and there were concerns since the tanker was fully laden with cargo loaded at Come by Chance and bound for Quebec.

Jana Desgagnés has an icebreaking bow and large ice knife at the stern to protect the rudder, but that was not enough in the difficult condition this winter.

The tanker, a veteran of many years of winter ice navigation on the St.Lawrence and arctic supply work, is certainly equipped for these kinds of conditions, but rudders are the most susceptible to being jammed by ice, and that it likely what happened in this case.

The ship was built in 1993 by MTW Schiffswerft, Wismar as Jadestern for Rigel Shipping. It arrived in Halifax March 5, 1994 under that name and was renamed Jade Star while docked at Ultramar, Eastern Passage. It worked for Rigel's Canadian subsidiary and on charter to Pétro-Nav, Desgagnés' tanker company for Ultramar until 2010 when it was acquired by Transport Desgagnés Inc and renamed Jana Desgagnés. A small ship of 6262 gt, 10,550 dwt, it distributes fuel for Valero's (formerly Ultramar) refinery in Lévis, QC.

The Coast Guard response, while timely and useful, does bring to mind a number of issues. First Canada's "newest" icebreaker CCGS Captain Molly Kool the former Swedish offshore supplier Vidar Viking, in its first season of work, was on scene quickly and stopped the ship's drift.  Captain Molly Kool is still apparently fully equipped for towing, and using tow wires nestled the tanker's bow into a notch in its stern and made fast.

Sometimes referred to as a Baltic stern notch, this form of close-in towing, is rarely used in Canada for several reasons. First it is contrary to CCG policy except in direst emergency, to actually tow a ship. And secondly because no Canadian icebreakers are fitted with a Baltic stern notch.

CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent's remarkably clean fantail is totally unequipped for towing, as per CCG policy.

The last CCG icebreaker to be so equipped was CCGS Labrador (which was built to the USCG Wind class design, and originally sailed for the RCN)  which was scrapped in 1989.

CCGS Labrador emerging from the Graving Dock at Halifax Shipyards, shows the stern notch and rope work pudding to protect the escorted ship's bow.

USCG Westwind, was similarly fitted. Apparently the USCG had no strictures against towing,

It is interesting that Captain Molly Kool retained this feature, because it was exactly what was needed in this case.

Had the Captain Molly Kool been an emergency towing vessel (ETV) which it could have been, it then would have towed the Jana Desgagnés to a safe port and sent the owners a bill for services or lodged a salvage claim.
However as a Coast Guard vessel it is obliged to stand by the tanker until a civilian tug arrives. The nearest available ice class tug is apparently Océan Arctique out of Sept-Iles. It was dispatched to the scene, and CCGS Louis St-Laurent was sent off to escort it to the scene. [See Updatre - March 25]

This seems a huge waste of resources where two CCG ships are tied up for days, when one ship (either CCG or a privately operated ETV) could have dealt with the matter in a day.

My previous cries for ETVs on this coast, that apparently fell on deaf ears, are hereby renewed.

In other CCG news Pierre Radisson has been assigned to spring break out on the Great Lakes and was the first ship up through the St.Lawrence Seaway on Thursday several days before the waterway re-opens for commercial traffic. The 'breaker is bound for Lake Superior (eventually) but has stopped off in Toronto, I hear because of engine problems.

This is not the first time the Radisson has gone to the Lakes, nor is it the first time it has had engine problems, despite several rebuilds and a re-engining.

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Coast Guard ramps up

The Canadian Coast Guard has taken delivery of a new ship and transferred patrol vessels to cover for sahips in refit and under repair.

In Quebec City, the CCGS Captain Molly Kool has joined the icebreaker fleet after an initial refit. The former supply vessel Vidar Viking is the first of three icebreaking ships purchased from Sweden last summer to supplement the fleet. Named for the legendary Saint John, NB woman who became the first Canadian female to be licensed as ship's captain, it will work on the St.Lawrence and Saguenay Rivers and Gulf this winter. Meanwhile the two sister vessels Balder Viking and Tor Viking will be fitted out for service in the north next summer. At that point Captain Molly Kool will complete its refit. Its base will be St. John's NL.

Patrol capability on the east coast has been supplemented with the transfer of Corporal Teather CV  and A. Leblanc from the Central and Arctic Region. The Halifax based Corporal McLaren M.M.V.  was damaged in drydock and will be out of service for repairs, leaving only G.Peddle to carry out patrols. All the patrol boats of this class were built at Halifax Shipyard.

 The  A. Leblanc, G.Peddle and Corporal Teather tied up in a row at the BIO this afternoon.