Siem Plato - brings in the cars

 The auto carrier Siem Plato arrived at Autoport, Halifax, November 8 from Emden, Germany. Included in its cargo are the eagerly awaited 2022 model Porsche Taycans, the new $100,000 plus all electric cars.

Built in 2009 as CSAV Rio Itata, the ship was renamed Paganino in 2014 and became Siem Plato in 2017. Constructed by the Yangfan Group, Zhoushan, it is a 47,020 gt, 11,373 dwt vessel with a capacity of 4900 TR (cars) making it a medium size RoRo carrier. It is fitted with a 120 tonne capacity stern ramp and a 15 tonne capacity side ramp.

Siem Car Carriers AS is based in Norway and has the same ownership as Secunda Canada LP, the supply vessel operators. Siem Car Carriers has six ships, most of which have been to Halifax, but I think this is the first time for Siem Plato. 

The Siem Plato is not planning to deliver any cargo on the Halifax side of the harbour. The last auto carrier to call, Morning Claire arrived in Friday, November 5. After off loading cars it moved over to Pier 30-31 where it unloaded a variety of machinery, but also an attractive sail boat (which may or may not have been destined for Halifax). Pier 30-31is now under the control of PSA Halifax and is included in their fenced area. Containers are stacked everywhere, effectively blocking many views.

Docking at Pier 31 the Morning Claire did not make it easy for photographers.

Picture taking through chain link fences does not always have happy results.

Morning Claire, although branded for Eukor, was sailing on Wallenius Wilhelmsen's SVC1 service. Built in 2012 by Shin Kurushima, Toyohashi, it is a 60,978 gt, 16,491 dwt ship with a capacity of 5,000 cars.

Also in port on the weekend was the Grande Houston - but its arrival and departure did not co-operate with daylight, sorry no pictures.

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Grande Houston - new for Grimaldi

 The Grande Houston was delivered to the Grimaldi Euromed SpA by Yangfan, Zhoushan, China in January and entered service in March of 2020. Although slotted into Grimaldi's Mediterranean / North America service, today marked its first visit to Halifax according to my records. That it has not been here before indicates the current state of the auto industry with plant shutdowns and fluctuating demand.

Grande Houston  is the third of seven new ships ordered from Yangfan. The first, Grande Torino has called here, but not Grande Miafiori so far.

Measuring 65,148 gt, 15,863 dwt, it has a capacity of 7600 CEU and can carry a variety of RoRo cargo using a 150 tonne capacity stern ramp. It is also fitted with the usual side ramp, but these are rarely if ever used in Halifax.

The Grimaldi Group, which also owns Atlantic Container Line (ACL), continues to have bad luck with its autocarriers. Yesterday Grande Europe experienced an engine room fire while en route between Antwerp and Southampton and lost all power. A tug was dispatched to tow the ship. In May 2019 the captain and two other of the ship's officers were arrested on arson charges after two separate fires on the same ship while in Spanish waters. Some crew had to be evacuated by helicopter during the ensuing firefighting. The company however identified faulty car batteries as the cause. [I have been unable to find any further information on the arrests, except that the three were granted bail.]

Grimaldi also had the Hoegh Xiamen on charter when it caught fire in June 2020 off Jacksonville, FL. In that case it was thought that faults in the used cars on board were the reason for the outbreak. In addition the container ship Grande America was lost in the Bay of Biscay after a container caught fire. All these incidents occurred while the Grimaldi Group is in the midst of a $2 billion newbuilding and upgrade program to reduce emissions and increase the efficiency of its ships.

The company has been very proactive in measures to ensure the proper declaration of cargo in containers.

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