Noted Arrivals

Among the arrivals in Halifax harbour today (May 19) there were two of note.

Federal Mosel arrived and anchored for an as yet undeclared reason. A launch alongside (appears to be Captains Pride), is normally used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, however the ship does not seem to be undergoing an Asian Gypsy Moth inspection. Those inspections are conducted on ships arriving in Canadian waters for the first time. This ship passed Montreal inbound to the Great Lakes May 5, and it loaded  grain in Thunder Bay, ON May 7, then apparently topped up in Port Cartier, QC May 15.

One of three sister ships in the Fednav fleet, it was built in 2017 by New Times Shipbuilding Co in Jiangjiang, China. It is a frequent visitor to the Great Lakes:
http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2019/01/federal-ruhr-ghostly-visitor.html

Arriving at The Cove is an unusual "houseboat" as it is termed by a certain classification society. Bold is clearly a luxury "super yacht" of 1551 gt, built in 2019 by Silver Yachts of Fremantle, Australia as Silver Loft and renamed shortly after delivery.
https://silveryachts.com/

The vessel is moderately impressive looking, but all the publicity photos appear to have been taken with an extreme wide angle lens making it look much longer (and sleeker) than its actual 85 meters. With a weekly charter rate of 950,000 Euros (really!) I would expect something more like the pictures. The glassed in appendages projecting out from the sides of the superstructure would certainly pose many practicality problems, particularly in tying up at most wharves, passing through canal locks, etc..
The vessel is billed as economical to operate. It has very shallow draft and a range of 5,000 miles at 18 knots cruising speed and is capable of 23 or 24 knots for fast positioning.

Its last port was New York City but was in the Caribbean prior to that and in the Mediterranean last summer.

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Fednav

As a follow up to the March 1 post that noted the arrival of Federal Yamaska I am posting this account , which I had been holding for a while:

One of the success stories in Canadian Shipping is Fednav Ltd (Federal Commerce and Navigation). Founded in the late 1940s using surplus war-built ships, it has grown into one of the largest users of the St.Lawrence Seaway by tonnage and number of ships. Any trip along the St.Lawrence and Seaway is bound to include several sightings of these distinctively red painted ships.

 Federal Mosel was built in 2017 by New Times Shipbuilding Co in Jingjiang, China. A bulk carrier of 22,947 grt, 36,583 dwt it is equipped with four 36 tonne cranes. It is seen here at Sorel with cargo from Klaipeda.

Fednav's current fleet consists of about 80 ships, with about 47 of Seawaymax (Laker) size.
Known as progressive operators, the company is always renewing its fleet with five new ships joining the fleet this year, two of which are Laker size.

Federal Dart was new in 2018, and is one of two from Oshima Shipbuilding in Saiki, Jpana. It is a 20,763 grt, 34,318 dwt bulker with four 36 tonne cranes. It is unloading steel from Tianjin at Sorel.

Federal Biscay clearing the Cote-Ste-Catherine Lock downbound for Ravenna, Italy, is a 20,789 grt, 34,564 dwt bulker with four 35 tonne cranes. The ship has hull strakes installed to assist in locking through the Seaway using suction devices rather than mooring wires.

Since the majority of their trade is international, the company has only two ships flying the Canadian flag. It was announced earlier this year (see a previous post) that Arctic will be replaced. The company has developed expertise in ice navigation, and its ships are active in the Canadian arctic.

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Federal Ruhr - ghostly visitor (plus addendum)

The geared bulker Federal Ruhr made an over night visit at pier 26, and sailed this morning at 0800 hrs AST, in dense fog. While the ship's bow was visible, the stern was not, but the name was readable!

The ship is one of three built in 2016 and 2017 by The New Times Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Jingjiang, China for Fednav's Great Lakes trade. Federal Alster (2016), Federal Mosel and Federal Ruhr are Seawaymax size (199.918m x 23.753m), and 22,947 gt, 36,754 dwt. They are multi-purpose dry cargo ships with box shaped holds, and are fitted with four 36 tonne cranes that can use grabs. Fednav charters the ships from Canada Osiris Shipping Ltd, and they are managed by Intership Navigation of Cypress.

Atlantic Willow nudges up in the bow of Federal Ruhr as it prepares to sail at 0800 hrs this morning.

 
The usual trade of these ships is to bring in steel products, and take away export grain. Federal Ruhr made one trip to the Great Lakes in December 2017 to Oshawa, Windsor and Hamilton, but sailed in ballast - likely loading grain at a St.Lawrence port.

In 2018 the ship made four trips to the Lakes. On the first it unloaded at Sault Ste.Marine and loaded grain in Thunder Bay. On its way downbound in the Seaway May 15 it struck a Seaway workboat and jetty at the St.Lambert lock, but was not damaged itself.

The St.Lawrencxe Seaway snag recovery boat VM/S 002 appeared to be more or less intact when I saw it through the fence at St-Lambert in August.

On its second trip it unloaded at Gary, IN, and loaded at Windsor, ON in June.

On the third trip it unloaded at Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee and loaded grain at Thunder Bay, clearing the Seaway October 17.

On its fourth and final trip it had unloaded some cargo at Trois-Rivières, then entered the Seaway December 3, unloaded at Oshawa, Cleveland and Detroit and loaded grain at Thunder Bay December 18 to 22, and was exiting the Seaway on December 26. That leaves several days unaccounted for before its arrival in Halifax, so it may have had a mechanical problem or perhaps topped up its cargo at a St.Lawrence port. Its destination is Trieste, Italy.

This visit to Halifax, of less than eight hours, would likely have been to perform some sort of repair.

I didn't get a decent picture of the Federal Ruhr today, but did catch one of its sister ships this summer. Federal Mosel unloaded at Sorel but did not venture into the Lakes on that trip.

Federal Mosel is a sister ship of Federal Ruhr.

A few other arrivals and departures today were largely invisible. Somewhere out there in the lower photo Atlantic Sail was making its way round George's Island.

Addendum:

In looking more closely at the photo of the Seaway workboat VM/S-002 I can see some damage to the bulwark on the starboard quarter, which is why it was taken out of service.

The boat was built of aluminum by Eastern Equipment Ltd in Vile LaSalle, QC in 1977. That company built numerous similar  vessels for the Coast Guard and others, but only appears to have been in business for about eight years.
VM/S -002 [the initials stand for Voie Maritime/Seaway] is owned by the St.Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. As mentioned its primary use was as a snag boat, and here is photo of it in operation. Note the forward gantry frame is removable, and is rigged with lifting gear to haul the snags and other debris on board.

 

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Light Loads - Quebec Report #9

There has been lots of daytime shipping activity in recent days, but many of the ships appear to be lightly loaded.

Detroit Express with its ungainly cranes, and light draft is carrying a normal load. Built by Hyundai Heavy Industries and Construction, it was not however built in Korea, but at their satellite shipyard in Subic, Philippines.

Carrying no cargo at all the sailing vessel Mondango 3 made an impressive sight as it motored up river, on its way from Halifax to Quebec City. The skein of geese is an early sign of autumn.

Federal Mosel was also quite obviously carrying little if any cargo, but did sport a lone container on deck. The ship is new this for Fednav. Built by New Times Shipbuilding Co in Jingjiang, China, it measures 22,947 grt, 36,583 dwt, and is max-sized for the Seaway with its plumb bow and no bulb. It is destined for Hamilton, ON.

The tour boar Cabaret has been operating from Pointe-au-Pic this summer, with nature and sightseeing trips to the Gros Cap-a-l'Aigle area, usually twice or three time daily.

The tanker Patras was also in ballast. It is returning from a delivery to Sydney, NS. The ship is working on a coasting license for Pétro-Nav, due to a shortage of Canadian flag tankers. Pétro-Nav sent two of its small tankers north this summer to refuel various outposts, and so were not available for St.Lawrence cargoes.\

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