Containers on the move

 Both container terminnls were working today, Sunday, November 13 and there was one ship waiting. Unlike yesterday's high winds and driving rain, it was mostly sunny and calm.

The South End Terminal, PSA's Atlantic Hub, was working another Ultra size ship the CMA CGM Jules Verne.

 

The 176,435 gt, 196,470 dwt ship dates from 2013 when it was delivered by Daewoo Shipbuilding + Marine Engineering Co Ltd in Okpo. The ship measures 396 m (1299.21 feet) long and has a capacity of 16,020 TEU. 

As mentioned in a previous post the Maersk Idaho returned to port yesterday, November 12, after idling offshore for two days, and anchored in Bedford Basin. Perhaps the move was made to avoid the high winds and steep seas accompanying the remnant of the late season post tropical storm (former hurricane) Nicole which was  passing over.

 

As per my previous post there is some mystery associated with this particular ship as it shows no sign of working cargo or moving on to another port. Cargo owners must be frustrated if they are waiting for goods. Although the ship has lots of boxes on deck, its draft marks indicate that it is lightly loaded.

At PSA Fairview Cove it was MOL Maestro on THE Alliance's EC5 route from Vietnam, Singapore, Sri Lanka via Suez to Halifax and on to New York.

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) is one of the lines (with NYK and K-Line) that founded Ocean Network Express. However their ships retain the MOL standard blue hull and orange funnel. It seems that it is mostly new ships built for ONE that are painted in the unique magenta hull colour. 

MOL Maestro was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Ltd in Kobe in 2010. It is a 78,316 gt, 79,423 dwt ship with a capacity of 6724 TEU including 500 reefers.

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New Biggest?

 The debate rages on as to which ship is the biggest container ship to call in Halifax. The latest contender arrived yesterday and will be sailing from PSA Halifax this evening (December 27).

CMA CGM Alexander von Humboldt was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd, Okpo, South Korea in 2013. One of three sister ships with CMA CGM Marco Polo and CMA CGM Jules Verne. Dimensionally the ships measure 396.0*m length,  53.6m breadth and a depth of 29.9m and maximum draft of 16m. All have the same stated container capacity of 16,020 TEU. [*One sources says 399.0m for the von Humboldt but this is likely a typo.]

Gross tonnage, which is not a measurement, but a calculation based on a formula,  comes in at 176,546 for the von Humboldt and is the same for the Polo, whereas the Verne comes in at 176,435. [The Verne was due in Halifax December 25, but bypassed the port, with the notation "omitted sailing".]

Deadweight tonnage for the von Humboldt is 186,802 tonnes (according to Bureau Veritas)  whereas the Polo comes in at 187,625 and the Verne is 186,470.

While I believe these "biggest' arguments are a bit of a mug's game, I am declaring the CMA CGM Marco Polo the winner by a technical knockout, and still the champion.

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CMA CGM again

 CMA CGM's Columbus JAX schedule has been "bunched up" with two ships arriving in quick succession rather than the usual week apart. Sailing yesterday was the CMA CGM Jules Verne after an overnight port call.

The 16,020 TEU ship arrived early a.m. July 31 and sailed mid-day August 1.

Following close on its heels today CMA CGM Leo made an early morning arrival.

Built by Hyundai Ulsan in 2010, it is a 131,322 gt, 131,236 dwt ship with a capacity of 11,200 TEU. Of note is the fact that all superstructure is together. Most ships of its size have an island bridge structure well forward.

The previous ship CMA Jules Verne had had a slower passage between Colombo (July 9) and Suez (July 18-19) while CMA CGM Leo sailed from Colombo July 13 but reached Suez July 21-22. Most schedule delays these days are blamed on port congestion or labour availability issues, but this situation appears to be more a matter of ship's speed with Leo catching up more on each leg.

The Columbus JAX service operates with COSCO, OOCL and Evergreen under the Ocean Alliance banner. Currently the service uses nineteen ships, all provided by CMA CGM or subsidiary APL. The rotation is thus about four months for each ship. The ships call at seventeen individual ports between east coast North America and west coast North America via Suez / Far East with no European ports of call.

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New Faces in New Places

 Two first time callers put in to Halifax July 31.

At PSA Halifax it was CMA CGM Jules Verne another of the Ultra size ships on the Columbus JAX service. Built in 2013 by Daewoo, Okpo. it is a 176,435 gt, 186,470 dwt ship with a capacity of 16,020 TEU. Built to the same design (Daewoo 16000) as the current "largest container ship in Halifax" title holder CMA CGM Marco Polo, the Verne may be a few gross tons smaller than the Polo. However as a calculated (rather than measured) description of the ship's cubic capacity, gross tonnage is not a fair comparison. In terms of lifting capacity, deadweight tonnage may be a better gauge. Verne's 186,470 dwt is just shy of Polo's 187,625 tonnes. Nevertheless both ships have the same hull dimensions ( 396m x 53.6m) and declared container cafrrying capacity.

I will leave it up to someone more fastidious about these things than I am to declare a winner.

At the other end of the harbour, IT International Telecom welcomed the Offshore Construction Vessel Siem Dorado arriving from Aberdeen, Scotland.

Built in 2009 by Kleven Ulsteinvik in Norway, it is a 4869 gt, 4257 dwt vessel, equipped with the usual variety of thrusters. Coupled with a diesel electric propulsion system, it has a high grade dynamic positioning capability. It is also equipped with a 100 tonne capacity, heave compensating crane, equipment to support an ROV including a moon pool, not to mention the obvious helicopter landing platform.

Owner Siem Offshore AS is the parent company of Secunda Canada LP, but this ship appears to be directed by the parent company. It was built as Siem Dorado but carried the names Adams Vision 2010-2013, Siem Stork 2013-2015 and Siem N-Sea 2015-2019. The ship was laid up in 2020 and has been reactivated for whatever work IT has for it. I am not aware of any application for a coasting license, so the work is likely well offshore, outside territorial waters.

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