Service Disruption

The relentless to-ing and fro-ing of the Halifax harbour ferries was disrupted for a few hours today as heavy snow forced the shutdown of municipal services such as transit and refuse collection. With schools, colleges and unversities also closed and many businesses shuttered, at least for a time, the ferries would not have had much business had they been operational for the morning commute.

Unlike ferry services in less sheltered waters, the harbour ferries are rarely effected by weather, and then only in the most extreme conditions. They often run when all other means of transportation grind to a halt.

Today's interruption was short lived as the boats began to run again in the late morning once some roads were clear and it was safe for passengers (and crews) to reach the three terminals. Credited as the oldest (and continously operated) salt water ferry service in North America, and the second oldest in the world* after the Mersey ferry in England, the service dates back to the founding of Halifax in 1749. The first municipally chartered service began in 1752, and has relied on several means of propulsion including horses turning paddle wheels. They were double ended, with two wheelhouses.

 In the early 20th century, the boats were steam powered and carried automobiles until 1956 when the Angus L. Macdonald bridge was built connecting Halifax and Dartmouth. It was then that the noted naval architect William Roue (of schooner Bluenose fame) designed a pair of wooden hulled, diesel powered, pedestrian only, boats that established the basis for future designs.

The little double enders with a centre wheelhouse, did not need to turn around as they travelled  back and forth across the harbour, as they were built with propellors at bow and stern, and operated in forward or reverse mode.They also used the old docking slips at each end of the run. They operated until 1978 when a second generation of boats came into service. These new boats were steel hulled and were sideloading.  New floating terminal structures, gave passengers somewhat more shelter in bad weather.

Named Halifax III and Dartmouth III, they used the Voith - Schneider propulsion system, allowing the engines to change direction and speed by altering the pitch of the vertical prop blades. Otherwise they were remarkably similar in concept and appearance to their Roue-designed predecessors.

Designers E.Y.E. provided a virtually identical design when a third ferry was added to the fleet in 1986 when a second terminal was added on the Dartmouth shore at Woodside. The newest boat was named,  perhaps predictably, Woodside I.

The new route was longer, but all three boats were interchangeable and did take turns, sometimes confusing patrons. All three vessels were built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou, NS.

The current fleet numbers five boats. All were built by A.F.Thériault in Meteghan River between 2014 and 2018 to an upgraded E.Y.E. design, but which still has the distinctive profile given by Roue.
 

Having five boats in the fleet allows for two vessels on each route and a spare to cover maintenenace periods or breakdowns. All boats are named for people, and each boat carries an interpretive panel explaining that person's role in history. 

 

The Wikipedia page on the ferry service gives a brief bio of the namesake for each boat. 

See: Ferry and namesakes

When the current boats came into service the three previuous boats were sold. Dartmouth III made its way to Toronto where it was to run to a waterfront amusement park. So far it has not entered service. Dartmouth III and Woodside I, were acquired by the same owners, but at last report were laid up in Lunenburg, NS.

*I am always wary of "firsts" and "biggests" and "oldests". Our Eurocentric version of history normally excludes a lot of (perhaps) unrecorded events that happened far from western eyes. There have been salt water ferry services as long as there have been bodies of salt water to cross (real or imagined or even flaming). See: Charon

The current boats' "rooster tails" when underway give a bustling appearance, which is entirely appropriate. There is also a hardy breed of passengers who ride "outside" on the weather deck whenever possible. (Sometimes the crew closes the upper deck for safety.)

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Where are they now

The "Where Are They Now" department of Shipfax has not been heard from in some time, but a recent Facebook post has inspired a revisit.

The history of the Halifax - Dartmouth ferry service is a long one. In fact from the date of the first charter in 1752, it is claimed to be the oldest salt water ferry service in North America, and the second oldest in the world after the Mersey ferry between Liverpool and Birkenhead, England. Before the first steam paddle ferry was introduced in 1832, there was even a "team" ferry where horses were used on a sort of treadmill to power paddle wheels.

Although this photo from my collection is dated 1959 it is almost certainly pre-1956.

 The service carried vehicles until 1956 when the Angus L. Macdonald bridge was completed, allowing cars, trucks and buses to cross the harbour at will. At that time a pair of little wooden hulled pedestrian only ferries, designed by William Roue and built by Smith+Rhuland in Lunenburg entered service (They bore no resemblance to the schooner Bluenose designed and built by the same team!). They were named Dartmouth II and Halifax II after much larger car carrying predecessors. They were "double enders" and with dual controls of rudders and props fore and aft, they did not have to turn or reverse to dock at each end of the run.

 The wooden ferries were given orange "speed" chevrons and wheelhouse bands in their later years.

As with all wooden hulled vessels, they had limited service lives and were replaced by the steel hulled vessels Dartmouth III and Halifax III in 1979. Built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou, NS, these unique craft were "side loaders" embarking and disembarking passengers to floating landing stages via short ramps on one side only. 

First day of service in 1979.

 

The landing stages had canopies to shelter passengers as they embarked or disembarked.

The "passenger" side of the ferry had a recessed, open vestibule with four small ramps that lowered to the landing stage. Steps lead to the open upper deck and there were doors to the main cabin.

The "off" side of the  boats had windows to the main cabin.

Propelled by Voith-Schneider drives, they were highly maneuverable and could sidle up to the landing crab wise.  They also kept their engines running at efficient rpms at all times and varied speed and direction by adjusting the pitch of the vertical drive blades. In 1986 a third ferry of the same design named Woodside I entered service. A new terminal on the Dartmouth side of the harbour in the Woodside neighbourhood was built to serve the growing Dartmouth suburbs, however the three ferries were interchangeable and any one of the three could be found on either the main Halifax-Alderney or new Halifax-Woodside route.

 

The boats had a variety of colour schmes over the years. At cruising speed the boats created a small "rooster tail" wake.

In 2013 the Halifax Regional Municipality began the next fleet replacement program. Between 2014 and 2018 A.F.Theriault + Son Ltd in Meteghan River, NS delivered five new boats, improved versions of the previous design. Named Christopher Stannix (2014), Craig Blake (2015), Viola Desmond (2016), Vincent Coleman (2018) and Rita Joe (2018), they allow for efficient service of both routes at all times while allowing for one boat to be out of service for maintenance and refits.

 

The second generation ferries are quite similar to the first, but have a roomier wheelhouse and peculiar exposed exhaust stacks (and distinctive sound).

As the new boats were delivered the first generation boats were decommissioned then put up for sale. In the end all three were sold to Toronto Island Transit Services Inc, a private enterprise associated with an amusement park in Toronto. Dartmouth III made the long haul to Toronto on its own in 2017, despite having no sleeping accommodation or galley. Since arriving in Toronto it has apparently not entered service. 

The other two boats also remain idle, but closer to home, with Halifax III in Sambro, NS and Woodside I in Lunenburg, NS.

Looking somewhat uncomfortable amid the fishing vessels, Halifax III is tied up in Sambro, NS.

Woodside I is looking equally unhappy in Lunenburg, with patches of pealing paint.

There is no sign that either one of the boats will be going anywhere soon, which is unfortunate since they did have some useful service left when they were retired. However with no maintenance, and sitting idle that may no longer be the case.

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Roundup

With the annual Shipfax vacation about to start soon, it seems like a good time to do a small round up of pending events.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has acquired a pair of high speed pilot boats to supplement their  fleet. The boats were built in the Netherlands and had seen service for Sima Charters in the UK before they were acquired this spring. Their trip to Halifax was an interesting one. From the port of Waalhaven, they were lifted aboard the Icelandic cargo ship Bakkafoss on June 17. On arrival in Reykjavik they were unloaded and then transferred to the Reykjafoss for the trip to Halifax. On arrival here July 1 they were unloaded and moved to Dominion Diving's facility at Dartmouth Cove for final fit out.

The two boats have now been renamed Nova Pilot (the former SC Lynx) and Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) both were built in Huesden, Netherlands by ShipInstall BV. Although they are  built to the same basic design they are slightly different.

Nestled in at Dartmouth Cove, the pair have recovery platforms on the stern and lifting cradles to recover persons from the water.

Nova Pilot was built in 2010 and is powered by two Volvo engines totalling 1144 kW (1400 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce water jets for a top speed of 24 knots.

Scotia Pilot was built in 2011 (according the previous owners, but 2012 according to Transport Canada) and is powered by a pair of Caterpillar engines totaling 1304 kW (1748 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce waterjets for a maximum speed of 26 knots.

The boats are both 18.5m long by 5.6m breadth with a draft of 21.1m and can carry 12 persons with a range of about 300 miles.
They are also fitted with second steering station outside and extensive man overboard recovery gear. Other fittings include heated deck and hand rails.

Scotia Pilot returning from a practice run with the outbound Ningdo Express in the Middle Ground area, but the regular pilot boat Chebucto Pilot did the actual disembarking at the pilot station.

The ferry Dartmouth III has completed drydocking in Sambro, but is still undergoing some work alongside the government wharf. The new owners plan to sail the vessel to Toronto via the Gulf of St.Lawrence with many stops along the way.

Amongst the fishing vessels at the Sambro government wharf, Dartmouth III looks very much out of place.  Sharp eyes will detect that its name is applied to a plate which presumably covers a new name that will not be revealed until it reaches its now home in Toronto.

Speaking of long trips through the St.Lawrence system, the little bunkering tanker Arca I that got into trouble last winter and ran ashore in Cape Breton, has finally departed from Sydney on its way to its new home in Mexico. This time it is on board the heavy lift ship HHL Tokyo departing Sydney July 19 and now travelling in comfort and safety.

An interesting yacht visited Halifax last week, and sailed this morning, so if you didn't see it, here are some photos.

Silver Cloud is the world's first SWATH type yacht. The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull design uses small diameter twin hulls to reduce water plane area and increase efficiency through the water. The two cylindrical hulls (11 feet in diameter in the case of the Silver Cloud) are bridged by the ship's deck making a roomy and stable catamaran.
 

This one was built in 2008 by Abeking and Rasmussen in Lemwerder, Germany and measures 134 feet long x 58 feet wide, and has generous accommodation for five guests and five crew. It features all the usual amenities and bells and whistles and can accommodate a small helicopter (of course).

With a Latin dance party going on at full blast on the adjacent dock, I hope the yachters had good sound proofing.

 

For this yacht, there are numerous on line links with many interior photos, and even identification of the owner:
http://yachtsilvercloud.com/index.htm

This is not the first SWATH type craft to call in Halifax,. In fact one of the earliest SWATHs is CCGS Federick G. Creed, built by Swath Ocean Systems Inc of San Diego, CA in 1988 and lease / purchased by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in 1989. Although it sailed out of Halifax for a time it has been based at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont Joli, QC and rarely leaves the confines of Gulf of St.Lawrence conducting marine research.

As  originally painted in white oceanographic colours, Frederick G. Creed approaches a dock in Halifax.

In Fisheries and Oceans colours, and as a Coast Guard ship, the vessels passes George's Island inbound to Halifax.

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Dartmouth III heading west

The oldest of the Halifax harbour ferries has been sold and will be heading to Toronto to work for the Toronto Island Transit Service Inc. Dartmouth III dates from 1979 when it was built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou, NS (Hull No. 205). It arrived in Halifax on May 3, 1979 but did not enter service until September 10, 1979. That was the day that it and its sister Halifax III (Ferguson Hull No. 206)
replaced the 1956 era wooden ferries Dartmouth II and Halifax II. Your faithful reporter made a one way cruise on each during his noon time lunch hour on that day.

At that time the ferry service was operated by the then City of Dartmouth, and so it was that Dartmouth III was christened by Genevieve Brownlow the wife of Dartmouth mayor Daniel Brownlow on Sunday, September 9. There was an open house and trial cruise in the harbour.

The two boats were state of the art vessels, propelled by Voith-Schneider cycloidal drives and were especially configured for the new ferry terminals in Halifax and Dartmouth, with offset wheelhouse and side loading ramps.

Cycloidal drives are rarely visible, and difficult to explain. The vertical vanes rotate on a turnatable. The captain adjusts the pitch of the vanes to go forward or in reverse or in fact any direction, including sideways.

 
The Cities of Halifax and Dartmouth and Halifax County formed Metro Transit in 1981 to operate the area's bus services, but it was not until 1994 that the commission took over the ferry service. In 1996 when the three municipalities joined to form the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), the new body operated the transit services directly but it was still called Metro Transit. In 2014 it was rebranded Halifax Transit and the HRM was re-branded Halifax (minus the cross bars on the As).
[Despite all this the areas of Halifax and Dartmouth are still used in common parlance and in postal addresses, and in this blog.]

 Dartmouth III dressed all over and with a large load of passengers during Tall Ships 2009.

Dartmouth III was removed from service in 2016 after new ferries came into service and it laid up over the last winter at the former Coast Guard base in Dartmouth.  On June 5 it was towed out to Sambro by Halifax Tugger and Capt. Jim and hauled out on the slip at the Canadian Maritime Engineering shipyard.

On the slip at Sambro Head

It will be interesting to see how the Dartmouth III will get to Toronto. It might be possible to sail on its own hull, but at 8 knots and no sleeping accommodation it would make a long trip of many short hops.
It seems an unlikely candidate for a tow since it relies on its propulsion system to stay on track. Perhaps on a barge?

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Best Deal in Town

The Best Deal in Town to me has always been a ferry trip across Halifax Harbour. Although the price has increased over the years, the $1.75 one way price also entitles you to a transfer to bus routes for no additional charge.
Today was an exceptional day for the end of January - mostly sunny, little wind and and a temperature several degrees above zero. It was ideal for a quick round trip errand to Dartmouth - over, errand and back in one hour.

I went to Dartmouth on Craig Blake the second of the second generation ferries, completed in 2015.
 

 Among the features of this revised design is the larger wheelhouse, and exhaust stacks.

The new design wheelhouse has more room, but also better visibility of the approaches and the landing stages. (The flag on the left is the Acadian flag, a french tricolour differenced with a gold star.)

 The original 1978 version on Halifax III (which was on the Woodside run today, with Woodside I) had a much smaller pilothouse, which was offset to one side to allow for "eyebrows" on the landing stages. These shelters have now been removed to suit the newer ferries.

I returned on the newest of the second generation boats, Viola Desmond.

 Delivered to Halifax  by the builders, A.F.Thériault + Son Ltd, from Meteghan River June 12, 2016, it entered service July 7.

This was my first trip aboard, so I took the opportunity of photographing the plaque that commemorates the vessels namesake.

There was no passing shipping during my trip, but there were views of ships nevertheless. At HMC Dockyard, HMCS Athabaskan was alongside.

The last survivor of the Tribal class vessels, it is also Canada's only destroyer. By current estimates, when it is decommissioned, the RCN will be without a destroyer, and the command capabilities that go with it, for as much as ten if not fifteen years.

On the Dartmouth side, the former Canadian Coast Guard base, in the process of transformation to an ocean research centre, is the winter berth for several vessels.

The research ships Leeway Odyssey (red hull) and Coriolis II ( blue, white, yellow hull) have been joined in recent days by the Secunda Marine supplier Scotian Sea. It had been working for Shell Oil's exploration program with Stena IceMAX . That programn has been wound up, the drill ship has offloaded all its drill pipe and has now sailed for Las Palmas. en route to its next assignment.

Also tied up at the base are the retired first generation ferry Dartmouth III and the supplier Trinity Sea (out of the not picture to the right).

At the Alderney landing dock the first of the second generation ferries Christopher Stannix (delivered in 2014), was enjoying a day off.  It received its paint scheme before Metro Transit and Halifax itself was re-branded with the cross bar-free letter A. It thus escaped the dazzle paint scheme reminiscent of World War I that its later fleetmates received (see above). I hope the next two ferries - to be delivered in 2017 and 2018 will have another variation, (World War II camo perhpas?)  just because it is nice to be able to distinguish between them.

Astern is the Dartmouth-built trawler yacht Full Steam and alongside the seawall the tug Gulf Spray is laid up for the winter. It will be back at work in April shuttling refuse scows to cruise ships.

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Ferries go off course - on purpose

The harbour ferries plow their furrows back and forth across the harbour day in and day out. Although any of the four current ferries may operate on either the Halifax - Alderney or the Halifax - Woodside route, they seldom vary their courses unless it is too avoid other harbour traffic. Even then they invariably arrive at their terminals to do it all over again.

Today was an exception as the boats took turns docking at the Svitzer Canada wharf (previously ECTUG, MILTug and Foundation Mariitmes). This surprise docking did not effect passengers - the re-routings took place during the morning post-rush hour schedule, when two ferries were on time-off from their usual runs, but it may have puzzled a few waterfront idlers.   

Dartmouth III gets away and Halifax III approaches the Svitzer Canada dock.

The reason for the visit to Svitzer, was that the Halifax Transit could use a boom truck to remove liferaft capsules for servicing and replace them with fresh ones. This servicing is required on a regular basis but there was no convenient way to do it at Dartmouth-Alderney Landing due to snow accumulation on the docks.

Halifax III in an unusual spot, but an easy one for a boom truck to lift off life raft capsules.

 In the background Algoma Dartmouth bunkers the tanker Sloman Hermes.

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Harbour Watching - live

Always committed to reporting on the activities of Halifax Harbour, Shipfax took life in hand and walked to the waterfront today. Harbour business had returned to normal, even if the landside conditions were still a challenge.

The ferries were running again today. They did not run yesterday - not due to any navigational issues, but simply because Halifax transit cancelled all bus operations, and people were encouraged to stay at home. Most offices and businesses were closed, and it was dangerous to be outdoors during near blizzard conditions.

Dartmouth III at the Halifax dock, still carrying a load of snow around the upper deck.

Update on Movements:
The autocarrier Opal Ace did not arrive this morning, allowing Tosca to move over to Autoport as planned.
[see Tosca in the background in one of today's Tugfax photos]

Redhead was thus able to move to pier 27 at noon time:

 

Redhead met the tugs Atlantic Larch (bow) and Atlantic Willow (stern) off the Cable Wharf, then made a wide swing east around George's Island to align with pier 27. From the position of the tugs, the ship would be berthing stern in, to provide shelter for work on the prop.

Harefield will now be arriving Friday March 20.

Algonova got away from the IEL dock after maintenance.

BBC Vermont also sailed from pier 9c.

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Ferries Named Halifax and Dartmouth - Part 2

Continuing the story of ferries named Halifax and Dartmouth a fourth set of ferries bearing the names entered service in 1979. Although they looked vaguely similar to their predecessors, they were radically different in many ways.
Both boats were built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou , NS. Dartmouth III arrived from the builders May 3, 1979 and Halifax III in July. They spend several months on trials and in crew training due their unique characteristics.

On Day 1 of the service, Dartmouth III heads for Dartmouth. The passenger loading side has ramps that fold up flush with the hull. (Shipfax made a one way trip on each boat on Day 1)

 Halifax III approaches Halifax. The off-side of the boats has more windows, and engine exhaust vents just above deck level.

The hull was still short and wide with rounded ends, and the wheelhouse was perched amidships (but offset to one side), but the similarity ended there. The most obvious new feature was that they were side loading. Passengers embarked and disembarked on new floating landing stages, and remained under cover and out of the weather all the way through the new ferry terminals, that were built as part of the ferry replacement program.
Gone also were the ladies and gents cabins, although that segregation had ended many years before. Passengers were accommodated in one full width cabin, with molded plastic seats, instead of slatted pew like benches and for the diehard outdoors types, there was an open deck with similar plastic seats.

Halifax III passenger boarding side.

The most novel aspect of the new boats however was not visible. These were the Voith-Schneider propulsion drives, located bow and stern. Consisting of variable pitch vertical blades, rotating on a turntable, they allowed the boats to move sideways with ease. Direction and speed were controlled by blade pitch, permitting constant engine speed and better fuel efficiency. The boats could travel equally wqell ahead or astern.. This propulsion system had been in use on tugs for many years (including navy tugs in Halifax, built at about the same time) and on two Northumberland Strait summer ferries. It was a relatively costly system and was unusual in smaller vessels such as these.
 
A joint christening ceremony was held September 9, 1979 with Lorraine Morris, the wife of Halifax Mayor Edmund Morris sponsoring Halifax III and Genevieve Brownlow the wife of Halifax mayor Daniel Brownlow performing the honors for Dartmouth III.
The boats entered service on September 10, 1979 and have been running ever since.

The original colour scheme featured alternating dark and light blue chevrons and a light blue stripe on the wheelhouse.

Management of the boats has changed over the years, and with it their various paint schemes.Original owners were the City of Dartmouth. In 1981 Halifax and Dartmouth merged their bus systems, forming Metro Transit, and in 1994 it was entrusted with the operation of the ferries. Fare structures are integrated, and bus stops are located at the ferry termini.

 In Metro Transit colours, the light blue became green, and chevrons were removed, a stylized "M" appeared with a green blue band.

The words Metro Transit also appeared bow and stern. in line with the stripe.

Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Halifax County merged in 1996 forming the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), and Metro Transit rejuvenated its graphics.

 

Yellow replaced lime green in a new Metro Transit graphic scheme.

 Another graphic change features a dramatic swoop of blue of yellow. Note also that the mast has been extended and another radar scanner mounted on the top.

The boarding side is less dramatic, but the chevrons have returned beside the words Metro Transit.

In July 2014, Metro transit was renamed Halifax Transit, as part of a rebranding of the HRM to simply Halifax which had started in April. Since then they have changed their graphic design once more, with the cross bar free HALIFAX. This was too late for the newest ferry, so another repainting is expected in 2015.
(Urban Legend has it that a graphic designer who had been staring at his Samsung monitor too long, decided to drop the cross bars on the letter A in Halifax and declared "what a good boy am I")

Halifax III and Dartmouth III were joined in 1986 by Woodside I a virtually exact sister, when a new route was inaugurated between Woodside and Halifax. Any of the tree boats might be found on any run, to allow for maintenance work or training..

In 2014 A.F.Thériault + Son of Meteghan River, NS, delivered Christopher Stannix, an upgrade of the same basic design. A fourth boat, to be named Craig Blake will be delivered by the same yard in 2015 and is slated to replace one of the original pair, and a third new boat will join in 2016.
However due to a two year long redecking of the Angus L.Macdonald bridge, ferry traffic is expected to increase, at least for a time, and so it is likely that the displaced boat (s) will be kept on for backup and standby.

Perhaps there will be a return to excursions, which used to happen from time to time, as family day for the ship's crews, or for open house days on George's Island..

Halifax III returns from a rare trip to Bedford Basin, passing beneath the A. Murray MacKay bridge. The excursion was part of family day for the ferry crews. A ferry service to Bedford has been an on and off topic for years, but has been quiet lately.

Another interesting aspect of the boats is that they identifiable bows and sterns. The bow is identified by the centre line anchor mounting.

Dartmouth II approaches Halifax, working bow forward.

Thus passengers board via the starboard side, and the wheelhouse is offset to starboard. The stern is flush without an anchor, and carries the port of registration

Woodside I leaves Dartmouth, working stern first toward Halifax. All lights are duplicated. so the boat can work in either direction at night. The offset wheelhouse shows up in this photo.

Dartmouth III approaches Halifax stern first. The boat's port of registration is shown as "Halifax, NS."

The eyebrow over the loading gates has since been removed, because in certain conditions the wheelhouse could strike the structure. The wheelhouse offset allows the operator to see the landing area.

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