Disney Magic and the Future Dream

 One of the best looking cruise ships is the Disney Magic which arrived today October 14 and berthed at Pier 20. Its profile is well balanced, thanks to the second funnel, which also establishes a faintly retro look. The black hull and gold stripe adds to the classic feel.

The ship was built by Fincantieri, Marghera (with the fore part built at Ancona) in 1998 and received a major refit in 2013 when it received the (Donald?) ducktail to improve stability. Its gross tonnage thus increased from 83,338 to 83,969. Passenger capacity remained the same, with 875 cabins giving 1,750 berths with double occupancy and 2,713 with maximum occupancy. The crew totals 950.

The ship has been a regular caller since its first visit here on June 12, 2012. On past visits the ship did use tugs if it was windy, but despite the breezes today, the ship sidled into its berth at Pier 20 unassisted. With the Norwegian Breakway already tied up at Pier 21-22, the Disney Magic quite literally side stepped to its berth, using its three forward and two aft thrusters.

Half a dozen line handlers, in high visibility vests, can be seen on the brow of Pier 20, at the yellow "Queen Mary" 150 tonne bollard ready to take lines and Dominion Diving's tug Roseway is standing by at the Tall Ships Quay to take headlines to the pair of orange 100 tonne bollards at that pier. [ See Shipfax posts of May 19, 20 and 22, 2022 for more on bollards.]

The Future Dream

Disney Cruises is negotiating to buy the incomplete "Global Dream" cruise ship. The 208,000 gt ship was under construction at MV Werften in Germany when ship owners Genting Hong Kong became bankrupt and the shipyard ceased operations in January 2022. The shipyard is to be sold to Thyssenkrupp Marine Sstems (TKMS) to be rebuilt for naval work. The 75% complete "Global Dream" will likely be completed by Meyer Werft in Wismar.

The "Global Dream" was designed for the Asian market with four person / interconnecting cabins which may well suit Disney's family friendly formula. However with a passenger capacity of 9,500 and 2,000 crew it may be too big even for Disney. Lets hope it doesn't become the "Disney Dumbo" white elephant.

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The Ins and the Outs

Three cruise ships called in Halifax today, and all sailed in the late afternoon.

Disney Magic one of the more pleasing looking ships, mostly because  ships it is largely devoid of superfluous décor, but also because of its traditional profile with two funnels.

It was built in 1998 by Fincantieri Breda, Marghera (with bow built in Ancona). In 2013 it was "re-imagined" by Navantia, in Cadiz, Spain, and now measure a modest 83,969 grt. The build included a 20 foot (looks bigger) "duck tail" to improve stability.

Next sail was Holland America's Zuiderdam. Also built by Fincantieri Breda, Marghera, but in 2002 (and much refitted in 2015) it is also a twin stacker. However its pair of vertical cylinders are much less pleasing, especially since they are really a Costa trademark, another line in the Carnival stable.

The ship had been tied up, bows north, at pier 20, but likely due to the stiff breeze, opted to back out southward to number one anchorage, then turn for sea. It saluted fleet mate Veendam (not pictured) which sailed later, which was toed up at pier 31..

Moving within the harbour Glorious Leader shifted berths from Autoport to pier 27 to offload some non-auto cargo. The ship was built in 2007 by Stocznia Gdynia, measuring 57,692 grt, 20,999 dwt.

It is on long term charter by Ray Car Carriers to NYK Line.

The first of two arrivals was a ship for bunkers. Pantazis L is a 39,746 grt, 76,629 dwt gearless bulk carrier built in 2003 by Imabari Zosen, Marugame. It was briefly named Red Tulip, but was mercifully renamed soon after delivery.

The ship arrived in ballast from Gijon, Spain. Once it has fueled it will sail for Sept-Iles, QC where it is due September 20 to load at the Iron Company of Canada dock.

The last arrival may be a one time stand in for Nirint Shipping. Vega Virgo is arriving in the usual slot for the ship Hollandia.  Built in 2011 by Zhejiang Yangfan Shipbuilding Co Ltd, the 9999 grt, 11,768 dwt ship has a container capacity of 957 TEU and carries a pair of 45 tonne capacity cranes.

Arriving as it is today from Moa, Cuba with nickel sulfides, it must have had a wild trip through some portion of Hurricane Florence.

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Don't forget the big picture

An on-line dictionary defines 'the big picture' with an example:




"He's so involved with the minutiae that he misses the big picture"




As the cruise ship Disney Magic arrived in Halifax this morning it was hard to miss the impressive sunrise as a big picture backdrop.

However for those of us interested in more detail, the ship is also impressive in its own right.



Although only one of the funnels is for the propulsion system, the two funnel arrangement is distinctive and balances the ship's massive profile. It was very windy this morning and the ship used a tug to reach its berth at pier 22.

Although I could do without some of the whimsical décor, the Disney people got it right with the ship's lines and classic colour scheme.


Built in 1998 (and refit in 2013) with a passenger capacity of 2700 (but only 875 cabins) the ship is not a big one by current standards at 83,338 grt. It has called here a few times each year as a break from its usual Caribbean operations.

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More of the same, a newby and some old stuff

More of the same

It was five cruise ships today, but much fewer passengers, and two of them were small and one was a hold over.

Disney Magic (2400 passengers) remained in port all night and only sailed this afternoon, giving its passengers a second look around Halifax or shore excursions farther afield.

The extra day gave the ship time to take on fuel and perform some other chores.

 Algoma Dartmouth delivers fuel on the port side and platform lift works from the dock side, and as always the painter attends to the ship's name.

Disney Magic is certainly one of the most striking looking cruise ships.

Zuiderdam (1916 passengers) and Crystal Serenity (1080 passengers) also spent the day in port.

 Zuiderdam is free of the decorative excesses of some other lines and has a remarkably clear upper deck.

Pearl Mist arrived at pier 23 on her final visit of the season. The Halifax-built ship sailed mid-afternoon. With a capacity for 210 passengers, it has a gross tonnage of 5109 grt.

Pearl Mist sailed for Lunenburg, where it will spend the night.

Victory I arrived at pier 24 and sailed mid-afternoon for Yarmouth. It has a capacity of 210 to 215 passengers.

 The ship was a late addition to the cruise schedule after its previous operators went bankrupt after a collision with the end wall of a Seaway lock last year. The former Saint Laurent was hastily re-branded and went back into service. It spent the summer on the Great Lakes from July, with cruises from Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. 

Built as the Cape May Light in 2001 it also carried the name Sea Voyager from 2009 to 2015. Last year's planned cruises from Florida to Cuba were cancelled but are scheduled for this winter. 

A newby

Atlantic Sea is the third of ACL's new G4 ConRos. It tied up at Fairview Cove early this morning and sailed late this evening.

The 100,430 grt ship is registered in Liverpool. UK, where it will be welcomed October 10 for a christening ceremony. The sponsor will be Princess Anne. 

Some oldies 

I have been mentioning that Shipfax was started in 1986, and that is the same year that two active Canadian Coast Guard ships were built. In the background of the Atlantic Sea photo above is CCGS Earl Grey, built by Pictou Industries in Pictou, NS. It entered service in June 1986. The ship received a nine month $11mn+ Vessel Life Extension refit at Davie Quebec and returned to Halifax in January of this year.

Also recently refitted is CCGS Edward Cornwallis. It had a $2.6mn re-do at Newdock, St.John's a year ago. It arrived this afternoon.

Built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel, QC, it arrived in Halifax for the first time August 21, 1986, with a firetug greeting. It did not enter service immediately due to engine and derrick problems and first set sail in December, but returned to port with electrical problems. It still had issues in January and February of 1987 but those were apparently worked out by March when it was at work icebreaking in the Gulf of St.Lawrence as far north as Blanc Sablon.

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Record Day...a bell rings...and a new autocarrier

RECORD DAY

It was a record day for cruise ship passengers in the port of Halifax despite or because of weather. It would have been busy enough with the regularly scheduled Anthem of the Seas (4,905 pax) and Carnival Sunshine (3,006 pax) but there was also the arrival of Disney Magic (2,400 more) to contend with.
The Disney Magic was diverted from its usual route out of New York to avoid Hurricane Matthew, and instead headed for Saint John and Halifax.The passengers probably thought they got the worst of it anyway as a fierce storm passed through the area last night with extreme high winds and torrential rain, and certainly very rough seas.

Carnival Sunshine inbound for pier 20, with Anthem of the Seas already occupying pier 21-22, frame the bow of Disney Magic at pier 30-31.

By the time they put in to Halifax however, it was a bright and shiny fall day. Not so last afternoon and evening (Thanksgiving Day) when the southwest bound Norwegian Gem sailed more or less on time, but the northeast bound Rotterdam opted to stay in port until 0230 hrs this morning. It ended up hove too off the eastern shore of Nova Scotia as the storm rolled on. It was scheduled for Charlottetown, but near hurricane force winds in the Cabot Strait and Gulf may change those plans.
Both Newfoundland and PEI ferry routes were shut down for at least 24 hours, and wide spread flooding and power outrages ravaged the Sydney area, which has been declared a disaster zone.
The Canso Causeway was closed to traffic due to boulders washed up on the road by high seas. Car traffic was permitted later as snow plow escorts cleared the boulders for a path.

A LITTLE BELL RINGS

My short term memory may be playing tricks on me, but when a ship named Common Venture was scheduled to arrive today for bunkers, a little bell went off in my head. The name sounded familiar.
It was in March - April 1987 when drift ice from the Gulf of St.Lawrence was blown in to Halifax harbour for few days by a strange combination of wind, tide and the Gulf Stream. This rare occurrence was certainly noteworthy and it did play some havoc with shipping, and even brought the icebreaker CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent into the port to escort ships.

One ship that was in port at that time was called the Common Venture. It arrived to load grain, and was in port for the week long duration of that event.

 On arrival March 27, 1987 a small chunk of ice alongside the Common Venture (i) was the precursor of more to come. There was a ten mile wide band of ice along the coast outside the port at that time.

Once the ship moved to pier 28 to load on March  31, the port was choked with ice and closed to traffic. The ice eventually departed on the tide and the harbour was clear again April 5, 1987.

That Common Venture (i) was built in 1971 as the Kurushima Maru by Kurushima Dockyard in Hashihama, Japan. It was sold and renamed Wealth Venture in 1972 and became the Common Venture in 1974. Her Greek owners retained the ship until 1993 when it was sold and renamed Odysseas and again in 1994 became Valeria R. under the Cyprus flag. In 1997 it sold again becoming Pearl of Dammam under St.Vincent flag.
On June 9, 1998 it broke its moorings during a cyclone and grounded in the port of Kandla in western India with a cargo of sulphur. The ship was refloated by Smit Tak on July 24 and towed to Alang where it arrived September 12, 1998.
The ship was a bulk carrier of 15,589 grt, 26,000 dwt and carried five derricks of 10 tonne capacity.

Today's Common Venture is owned by the same Greek company, Common Progress Compania SA of Athens. Also a bulk carrier, it was built in 2011 by COSCO Dalian in China.

This ship carries four 36 tonne cranes (and four bright blue bucket grabs) and measures 32,987 grt, 57,002 dwt. It is one of  six identical sisters in the owner's current fleet.  See: http://www.commonprogress.gr/fleet.htm

October 11, 2016

March 27,1987

The Dartmouth shore is almost unrecognizable after 29 years, and the ships are quite different too. The newer one is 20m longer, 10m wider and 4m deeper, with more than twice the carrying capacity. It would also have a significantly smaller crew and will operate more efficiently as well.

NEW AUTO CARRIER

Wallenius-Wilhelmsen is in the midst of a fleet upgrade, bringing in new larger and more efficient ships. Today's arrival Theben is the third of the new ships, with an 8,000 car capacity. Sisters are Thalatta and Thermopylae.
The new HERO (High Efficiency RoRo) ships are built to neo-Panamax dimensions, but so far have been working Asia / Europe via Suez.

Theben measures 75,283 grt and was built by Hyundai Samho and delivered in April of this year.

The large funnel structure contains an exhaust gas scrubber.

On entering harbour Theben idled in the anchorages until another ship cleared Autoport. That was Triton Leader a 60, 876 grt ship built in 2010 by Imabari Zosen in Japan. It has a 7,500 car capacity, and is one of more than 120 auto carriers in the NYK fleet.

In one of those strange twists of the shipping business, Theben is not actually owned by Wallenius-Wilhelmsen. It is owned Orix Corp of Tokyo and managed by Eukor Car Carriers Inc, a Wilhelmsen partner company that specializes in carrying Korean cars.

Triton Leader,  although owned by competitor NYK Line, is actually managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Busy, but foggy and drizzly

A oslty drizzly day cleared off somewhat giving a chance to see most of the departures.

A new to Halifax autocarrier Paganino got a bit ahead of me departing Autoport. Built in 2009 as CSAV Rio Tata, it was renamed last year when it was acquired by the legendary Laiesz Reederei of Rostock.

Paganino - not under sail, passes a boat that is.

A product of the Yangfan Group in Zhoushan the 47,020 grt, 11,4373 dwt ship now carries a name beginning with the letter "P" as have all the Laiesz ships, going back to the age of sail when the Flying P Line was world famous for its Cape Horners. While this ship perhaps does not have the elegance of one of those mighty square riggers, it does carry their colour scheme of white boot top, black hull and white "upper works".

A return visit from the impressive Disney Magic allowed for a comparison with its appearance before it was "reeimagineered" in 2013 by the Navantia shipyard in Cadiz, Spain. A 20 foot long "ducktail" to improve stability seems to be the only noticeable exterior sign of that work. The 1998 built ship's tonnage increased from 83,338 to 83,969 . The ship was built by Fincantieri's Breda yard in Marghera, with forepart built by the Ancona yard.Here are some befores and some afters.

2012 appearance (above) and 2015 (below).

 The attractive stern before (above) has been altered radically (below) by additional of the Donald Ducktail.

CCGC Sambro seen pacing Disney Magic outbound, had responded to a pleasure craft in trouble in the harbour, and was returning to base in Sambro. While crossing the Magic's wake, it met up with a few good breaking waves.

An impressive ship in it own way, APL Scotland sailed a few minutes earlier. It came from the Samsung yard in Koje and measures 65,792 grt, 68,018 dwt, with a capacity of 5762 TEU (including 656 reefers).

Meanwhile we did get a return visit from the herring fleet.

 It was a highly nostalgic scene at pier 24 when Margaret Elizabeth No.1's crew set about mending their seine net. Usually the net is stowed on deck, and it is difficult to imagine its size. Some hint of that, and how the net is hauled using power blocks and its boom, can be imagined. The stainless steel chute for pumping the fish is mounted just abaft the bridge.

Meanwhile Leroy and Barry II was taking fuel at the Tall Ship Quay while Lady Melissa idled at Bishop's Landing.

Disney Magic - first time in Halifax

The cruise ship Disney Magic made it first appearance in Halifax today. Built in 1999 the 83,338 gross ton ship and its sister Disney Wonder have taken the Disney experience to sea for 2700 passengers served by a "cast and crew" of 950.
The ship is registered in the Bahamas and does incorporate some traditional design elements, including two funnels. Despite the incongruous funnel markings and the gratuitous "scrambled eggs" on the bow it is a handsome ship.
It is also fitted with a melodious whistle, which it sounded while casting off. The seven notes of the whistle sound out the first phrase of the song "If You Wish Upon a Star". The ship gave five blasts on a more conventional sounding horn soon after to shoo away some sailing craft that were crossing its outbound course. [ No doubt a sound recording of the signature Disney tune is available somewhere on the www.]