HMCS Margaret Brooke - (Exodus from Bedford Basin - Part 2)

 Bedford Basin, that circular body of water at the head of Halifax harbour, has been a sheltering haven for ships for centuries. During the First and Second World Wars it was an assembly area for convoys and was sometimes congested with scores of ships. In recent years it has hosted naval reviews, embargoed ships, ships awaiting orders and more often has provided shelter in bad weather.

Today, January 10, the weather forecast for high winds, light snow and a possible storm surge was not enough to keep several merchant ships at anchor in the Basin (see Exodus from Bedford Basin - Part 1).

That left only one ship in the anchorages, HMCS Margaret Brooke AOPV 431. No stranger to the Basin, the ship was launched there (more accurately floated off) on November 10, 2019, and has conducted various trials and calibrations there. The second ship of the Harry DeWolf class of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels, built at Halifax Shipyard it was commissioned by the Royal Canadian Navy on October 28, 2022.

Today marked the official send off for the ship on an ambitious mission entitled Operation PROTECT 2025. As is frequently the case with these "send offs", the ship leaves the confines of HMC Dockyard, but still has some work ups, calibrations, trials and drills to do. It may also have some technicians on board to carry out work before the ship actually outs out to sea. Compass swings and dynamic positioning trials are among the adjustments that can't be done while the ship is still alongside.

Margaret Brooke off Africville Park this morning as the BBC Tarragona prepares to get underway in the background.

HMCS Margaret Brooke is expected to be away from Halifax until May, by which time it will have visited several South American ports, recorded the first ever visit of a Canadian naval vessel to Antarctica, conducted various research projects and diplomatic events. It will also be the first Canadian naval vessel to circumnavigate South America, returning to Halifax via the Panama Canal.

Bon Voyage!

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AOPVs

 Irving Shipbuilding Inc has reached another milestone in the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel program with AOPV 4 leaving Halifax Shipyard today (July 27) for builder's trials. The future HMCS William Hall AOP 433 is the fourth of eight AOPVs that ISI is building for the Royal Canadian Navy plus two variants for the Canadian Coast Guard.

The shipyard appears to be working full out to overcome the delays due to COVID and "supply chain" issues. The major building blocks of AOPV5, the future HMCS Frédérick Rolette will be rolled out soon.

 

Things do not appear to be operating quite so swimmingly on the Navy side.

 HMCS Harry DeWolf AOP 430, looking somewhat seedy, alongside HMC Dockyard.

 By the end of July activity in the far north is usually well underway with the first arctic sealift ships arriving at outposts and the Coast Guard icebreaking fleet begining their work. And indeed that is the case this year with ports such as Iqaluit welcoming the first ships of the year. Tugs are also standing by there for the first ships to load ore at Milne Inlet. (This year they must wait until ice starts to break up naturally).

However the RCN's three AOPVs are still at their docks in Halifax There appears to be some activity with dive tenders alongside, so perhaps departures are planned.

HMCS Max Bernays AOP 432 (left) and HMCS Margaret Brooke AOP 432 (right), with what appear to be commercial diving vessels alongside, possibly for hull cleaning.

 The RCN is stepping up its efforts to attract recruits. Some reports indicate that there is a 20% vacancy rate and an urgent need for 1,400 more people. Applications to join all of the armed forces are about half of what is needed.

It is hard to imagine how the RCN will be able to operate all the new AOPVs if they are so short of people with not even half the projected number of the ships delivered.

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More and More Containers and other traffic - updated

 PSA Halifax's Atlantic Gateway terminal is looking at a busy few days, with all berths occupied and ships waiting.

Today it was the ZIM feeder AS Felicia at Pier 42 (see yesterday's  post) and the Ultra size COSCO Shipping Himalayas at Pier 41. The latter ship is reported to be here on a trial basis for China Ocean Shipping Co (which also owns OOCL) to see if there is benefit in calling here en route to congested US east coast ports. (The arrival of Hurricane Ian in Charleston is coincidental, but is expected to create more havoc in schedules.)

COSCO Shipping Himalayas dates from 2017 when it was built by Shanghai Jiangnan Changxing Heavy Industry. The 154,300 gt, 153,811 dwt ship is rated for 14,568 TEU. The massive ship stacks its containers so high that there was minimal clearance for PSA's "Super Post Panamax Cranes". 

Even with the Equinoctal new moon low tide late this afternoon, the largest cranes had maybe a two box clearance.

Waiting offshore the APL Sentosa and Vivienne Sheri D (Eimskip) formed a backdrop for the inbound CMA CGM Montreal. Also anchored outside was the ZIM Yokohama.

CMA CGM Montreal, arriving from Montreal, had to wait in number one anchorage for a time until AS Felicia sailed for Kingston, Jamaica.

The ship will top up its containers to ocean going draft before resuming its trip to Europe. CMA CGM and Maersk maintina the weekly St.Lawrence, with an outbound (eastbound) Halifax stop. 

Other arrivals of note today were for passengers and for the Royal Canadian Navy.

Norwegian Breakaway and its 3965 passengers (if loaded to capacity) had perfect weather for its call.

The 2013-built ship from Meyer Werft has been a regular weekly caller this year. It will continue that routine until November 4, when it is due to be the second last ship of this cruise season.

Returning from Operation Nanook the RCN's yearly arctic exercise, HMCS Margaret Brooke AOPV 431 arrived this afternoon. The ship had stopped off in St.John's along with HMCS Goose Bay for a few days until post tropical storm Fiona passed.* - see Update below.

There were no reports of technical issues with the ship, unlike sister ship Harry DeWolf AOPV 430 which had to return to Halifax for main engine repairs. 

Halifax Shipyard will be "launching" the next ship in the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel series this fall. The AOPV ships are not launched in the conventional way however. Irving Shipbuilding Inc (ISI) has the Boa Barge 37 on long term charter from Norway. When ships are ready to take to the water they are rolled aboard the barge, then moved from the shipyard to Bedford Basin where they are floated off. ISI has applied for a coasting license for the Boa Barge 37 for the period November 20 to December 19, in order to load, transport and float off the fourth AOPV, the future William Hall AOPV  433. (There are to be six AOPVs for the RCN and two for the Canadian Coast Guard. AOPV 432 Max Bernays was delivered to the RCN on September 2.)

 

Update:

HMCS Margaret Brooke went to the isolated communities of Francois and Grey River on south coast of Newfoundland and conducted damage assessments and wellness checks following the passage of post tropical storm Fiona. I was not aware of this humanitarian assistance when I made the orginal post. 

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Two for MSC and one each for the rest

 It was a busy day in Halifax today, Saturday, May 28, but rain and fog obscured some of the activity and made in downright unpleasant to be out. 

An early morning arrival was another 15,000TEU class ship, CMA CGM Mexico, from Colombo on Ocean Alliance service run by CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen and OOCL. It was a pre-dawn arrival and a midnight departure, so the only view was a poor shot from the Young Avenue bridge. The ship stretches out of sight, but its bridge structure is framed by the last crane on the right.

Built by Hyundai Samho in 2019, it comes in at 149,314 gt, 157,076 dwt and most sources indicate a capacity of 15,128 TEU.

Despite its size there was still room at the southend terminal (PSA Atlantic Hub) for another ship at Pier 42, and that was the afternoon arival MSC Angela eastbound on the CANEX 2 service from Montreal to Italy and Spain.

The ship dates from 2008 when it was built by Zhejiang (Yangfan) Shipbuilding Co, Ningbo. It is a 41,225 gt, 50,568 dwt vessel with a capacity of 4254 TEU, including 550 reefers. Due to draft restrictions on the St.Lawrence River, the ship is lightly loaded, but it will top up in Halifax before resuming its voyage.

MSC was also present at the other end of the harbour at Fairview Cove where MSC Mandy arrived westbound on the Canex 1 service from Italy (via Malta and Portugal).

It was performing the reverse operation to its fleet mate, that is to say it was off-loading some containers to reduce draft before sailing on to Montreal.

MSC Mandy is a true old-timer, built in 1993 by Bremer Vulkan, Vegesack. It is a ship of 37,701 gt, 46,852 dwt with a modest container capacity of 2650 TEU, including 100 reefers. It sailed as Bremen Senator until 2003, then as SCI Vaibhav until 2004.

When it sailed late this afternoon, there were some large gaps in its deck load, which was no more than four tiers high.

There was also activity at Autoport, but short of a visit to that side of the harbour, the ship was barely visible. Treasure is another "classic" dating from 1999, when it was delivered by Hashihama Zosen, Tadotsu. A 58,684 gt, 21,199 dwt PCTC it is rated at up to 6100 CEU (some sources say 5718). Initially named HUAL Treasure until 2006, it then became Hoegh Treasure and in 2014, took its present name.

Looming through the rain and fog, the ship still betrays it previous ownership by the paint scheme. However it is now owned by Blue Arrow Navigation Ltd of Haifa and managed by ASM Maritime BV of the Netherlands. It is en route from Bremerhaven for Wallenius Wilhelmsen and will sail for US ports .

Arriving from New York and occupying an anchorage, the cement carrier NACC Providence is in port for CFIA invasive species examination. Once it has been determined to be free of LDA moth, it will likely sail for Port Daniel, QC to load for McInnes Cement.

The 12,047 gt, 20,200 swt ship dates from 2006 when construction was completed by Labroy Shipbuilding and Engineering Pte Ltd in Singapore. The ship was laid down at Nahindah Mutiara Shipbuilding at Batam, Indonesia in 2005 and launched a year later, but it is unclear how much work was done there. Labroy completed the project in less than six months.It was named Glory Atlantic until February of this year.

NACC Providence is operated by Nova Algoma Cement Carriers, a joint venture between Algoma Central Corp of St.Catharines, ON and Nova, from Luxembourg. The ship is registered in Panama, and as its name implies will deliver cement to McInnes customers in the US northeast.

Meanwhile, despite the gloom and rain, Halifax Shipyard was in a festive mood for a double naming ceremony. 

The future HMCS Max Bernays, the third Artctic Offshore Patrol Vessel, was dressed all over and various banners and bunting were on display at Pier 6 -7 in the Shipyard. A special marquee tent was also erected to keep dignitaries fresh and dry. A naval trials crew has been busy on the ship starting in January when its captain was named. So far it has been known as AOPS 3, but will now be known as Max Bernays. (The HMCS designation will not be used until it is handed over to the RCN  and commissioned.) I believe the ship will soon be sailing to its west coast base in Esquimalt before it is actually commissioned. Post acceptance trials will be held en route or after arrival in Esquimalt.

Margaret Brooke (AOPS 2), at its Pier in HMC Dockyard was similarly decked out  and will also be named officially. The ship has been in RCN hands since July 2021 and has conducted post-acceptance ice trials and warm weather trials. The badging / naming / trialing and finally commissioning is a long and complex process, particularly with the sophisticated systems in use on naval vessels. I understand the ship will be commissioned in October, on the anniversary of the loss of the Newfoundland ferry Caribou in 1942.

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In from the cold

 Recent warm weather may be cause to forget that there is cold weather ahead. However two of today's arrivals have put the cold weather behind them - at least for a while.

CCGS Jean Goodwill returned to its base at the Bedford Institute after its first season in the arctic for the  Canadian Coast Guard. 

 The former icebreaking / anchor handling tug/supplier, Balder Viking has been upgraded for Canadian Coast Guard use, although that work may not be entirely complete. Built in 2000, the 18,020 hp ship is considered an "interim" solution to icebreaking needs until new vessels can be built.

Today's other arrival from the north is of a similar age, but is larger and vastly more powerful. The USCGC Healy WAGB-20 was commissioned in 1999 and develops 46,350 hp.

It is arriving in Halifax having made a Northwest Passage from its home base in Seattle. This is the ship's second visit to Halifax. The first was in the year 2000. It will now return to Seattle via the Panama Canal. While en route it will pass the HMCS Harry DeWolf AOPV 430 which has recently completed its own Northwest Passage from east to west, arriving in Esquimalt October 4. It will be returning to Halifax via the Panama Canal too.

While Harry DeWolf is in full service as the first of the RCN's Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels, the second, Margaret Brooke AOPV 431 is alongside HMC Dockyard. AOPV 3 to be named Max Bernays AOPV 432 is under construction at Halifax Shipyard. 

Launch date for the ship has not been announced yet, but that is expected soon after October 15 when the coasting license for Boa Barge 37 kicks in. (It is used as the launching platform.)

On this visit to Halifax USGC Healy is tied up at HMC Dockyard. But back in the pre 9/11 days of April 2000 the ship berthed at Pier 20, with minimal security.

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The Big Move - Part 1

Saturday, November 9 - the day for the big move of Boabarge37 from Halifax Shipyard to Bedford Basin seems to have come off without a hitch.

The barge's payload, AOPS #2 (the future HMCS Margaret Brooke) had been rolled aboard and secured on the barge deck.

With three tugs in attendance, the barge was eased out into the stream off pier 6 and guided through the Narrows to Bedford Basin.

Once clear of the Narrrows the barge took up position just north of anchorage 7, where it will be readied for float off tomorrow morning.

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Roll Out the Bow

Halifax Shipyard marked more milestones today when they rolled out the bow megablock for AOPS2, the second arctic patrol vessel, and officially started construction of AOPS4.

The bow megablock is coaxed into position late this afternoon for AOPS2, while AOPS1 lies alongside at the fitting out berth.

AOPS2, the future HMCS Margaret Brooke was laid down May 29, 2017 and the first two megablocks were rolled out September 21 and 22, 2018. Today's megablock (actually Megablock #1 in the shipyard's plan) completes the major assembly phase.  It took much longer to bring this bow section out than it did on the first ship of the series AOPS1 (future HMCS Harry DeWolf) - 7 1/2 months versus 5 months.

AOPS1 was launched September 15, 2018 and it is alongside the shipyard fitting out. It will be delivered this summer. Based on the previous timeline it may be up to 9 months before AOPS2 is actually launched.

The Defence Minister was in town today to witness the start of construction of AOPS4, the future HMCS William Hall. He agreed that there have been production delays because a sixth ship was added to the contract. How that explains the delays he did not elaborate.

He is also reported to have said he wasn't concerned about delays if it meant quality standards are upheld. This may be a veiled reference to problems that have been rumoured, but never acknowledged. Certainly Irving Shipbuilding and Sesapan started close to ground zero in shipbuilding, and all sorts of issues would have been anticipated. Much was made of welding quality in Seaspan's ships, and some had to be re-done.

The sixth AOPS ship is expected to be completed in 2024. The minster apparently did refer to the gap between that delivery and the start of the frigate replacement program, when the shipyard will not be able to sustain full employment for some period of time. The sixth vessel was supposed to reduce that gap, but it is by no means clear on how the government plans to "mitigate" it.

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Some weekend activity

Far from  a complete rundown of weekend activity - this will have to be a few glimpses.

On Friday the centre section of AOPS 2 (Halifax Shipyard Hull No. 104, future HMCS Margaret Brooke) was rolled out onto the hardstand. This is Megablock #2 of the three sections that will make up the ship, and is by far the largest.

 Workers are lowering the (red) transporters so that the (blue) cradles will rest on the ground.

Despite high winds and showers Megablock#3, the stern section, was rolled out Saturday morning and perfectly aligned with Megablock #2.

In the case of AOPS1, it was five months before the bow was moved into position.

The ship will likely remain in this condition for some time until the bow section, Megablock#1 is ready for assembly. In the meantime it is much easier for workers to access the innards of the ship.

It was still dark and blustery at 0800 hrs as CCGS Hudson arrived from sea, and it did not attempt to tie up at the Bedford Institute, instead continuing on out to anchor in Bedford Basin.

Hudson bypasses its berth at BIO.

 Those high winds caused some interesting moments docking the cruise ships Disney Magic and Adventure of the Seas on Saturday morning. The Disney Magic had tug assistance. However by sailing time conditions had changed considerably and it was a glorious sunny afternoon, although still windy.

Sailing in the late afternoon,  Adventure of the Seas made a large swing to starboard to create a lee for the pilot boat (which is barely visible alongside the ship).

The product tanker Star N was also due on Saturday, and it was planned that it would anchor in Bedford Basin until its berth at Imperial Oil was free. The Harbour Feature was due at the berth first. Instead Star N remained at sea until Sunday morning, then anchored in the lower harbour.

Unlike Saturday, Sunday was more or less dead calm - the anchor is straight up and down.

Star N dates from 2009 when it was built as Mekong Star  by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan. A handysize tanker of 23,312 grt, 37,836 dwt, it was renamed in 2013 and is managed by Navios Tankers for anonymous owners. Its last port was Milford Haven, UK.

For a compressed view of last Thursday's bustling harbour activity see:

https://youtu.be/6_dLX_sjjfk

Be sure to read the play by play commentary on the YouTube page.

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MAN for AOPS

At Halifax Shipyard work is progressing on the construction of the first of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels. Since the work is going on indoors in the shipyard's new Assembly facility it is rare to get a glimpse of any activity.

Today I was fortunate enough to see one of a pair of MAN diesel engines underway from pier 9C to the shipyard. Rigging and transport of the engines was being carried out by Anderson Haulage of Stouffville, ON.

 The engine is sitting on a Scheuerle motorized dolly, controlled by an operator walking behind. (The rig is moving to the left in this picture.)

In the background the telephone wire is raised for the dolly to pass. The operator follows and there is an escort vehicle with an understated sign.

The first AOPS, the future HMCS Harry DeWolf was laid down September 1, 2015, followed by HMCS Margaret Brooke. They are to be powered by four x 3600 kW / 4800 hp diesel generators driving two 4500 kW / 6,000 hp electric motors [ratings are approximate].

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