Halifax Harbour - sublime to ridiculous

 There is seemingly no end to the variety of shipping activity in Halifax harbour. From containers to bulk cargo, tankers to cruise ships, Navy and Coast Guard and personal recreation to super yachts.

Then there are the specialty vessels in several categories, among them the offshore installation ship Orion with its 5,000 tonne capacity crane dominating the skyline again. The ship returned Thursday, July 27 after its first session installing wind turbine towers off Massachusetts.

Due to some technical issues, the ship took a long time to install the first six towers. Now two heavy cargo ships are anchored in the harbour each carrying six more towers. The time clock must be running out on the installation season.

GPO Grace (pictured) and sister ship GPO Sapphire are both anchored in Halifax - each carrying the components for six wind towers. The components are to be transferred (six at a time) to the Orion which will them go to the Vineyard wind site for intallation.

Little notice is thereby given to the "ordinary" ships such as STI Marvel which also arrived July 27 from Amsterdam with a cargo of refined pteroleum products for Irving Oil. 

Built in 2019 by Hyundai Vinashin Shipyard Co in Ninh Hoa, Vietnam it is a 29,991 gt, 47,499 dwt chemical and product tanker operated by Scorpio Tankers Inc. It carried the name Marlin Marvel to 2020. The ship is due to sail this evening (July 29).

Similarlry, without fanfare, the Canadian flag self-unloading bulk carrier Baie St.Paul made its way to the Gold Bond Gypsum pier in Bedford Basin this afternoon (July 29) to take on another load, probably for Hamilton, ON.

The ship delivered a cargo of coal from the Great Lakes to Sydney, NS and arrived Halifax light ship.

The William Hall, the fourth Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessel is undergoing builder's sea trials off Halifax. It left Halifax Shipyard July 27 and after calibrations in Bedford Basin put out to sea. The ship has been put through its paces, allowing Irving Shipbuilding Inc to perform multiple tests and adjustments before handing the ship over to the Royal Canadian Navy later this year.

 At this time of the year the harbour is busy with pleasure craft and tour boats. many of the former are elegant sailing vessels or sleek motor yachts. The tour boat category includes a variety including sailing vessels and motor vessels - the latter are seldom elegant, but well suited to carrying passengers around the harbour and entertaining them as they feel necessary.

One vessel with a fake paddle wheel and fake chimneys and not fooling anyone as a Mississippi River boat. has been a regular in Halifax for decades and has a well earned reputation as a party boat and is very popular among locals and visitors.

Built in the improbable shipbuilding centre of Oromocto,NB in 1985 as Pioneer Princess II it has been operating in Halifax since 1986.

I wonder how long the Mi Cabana will operate in Halifax. Introduced in June of this year by Tiki Tours Halifax it is a pontoon craft built by Soudure Technikal 13 Inc of Shawinigan, QC [soudure translates as welding] earlier this year. It is one of several similar craft operating in Ottawa and Lake Huron all with the Tiki theme.

 Although its gross tonnage is listed as only 4.99 tons and it has two outboard motors, it is registered in the ship registry by name as a passenger vessel. The three aluminum pontoons would provide a stable ride in moderate conditions. That may mean that there will be some days off depending on wind and sea state. (Batten down the thatches?)

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Basin boats, and cars and boxes

There is no particular theme to today's post - it is more a random collection of my observations.

There was lots of room in Bedford Basin for various activities. HMCS Fredericton moved, with tug assistance, from HMC Dockyard to the Bedford Magazine (Jetty NN) and HMCS Moncton took up an anchorage position not far away.

Moncton is still wearing its commemorative paint scheme marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic in 2020. Bedford Basin played a critical role in that battle as it was a marshaling point for ship convoys. Naval escorts and some other ships were painted in a variety of schemes to confuse or mislead the enemy about the ship's position, direction of travel or speed. 

Also in the Basin for some form of trials was the newest vessel in the Fisheries and Oceans fleet based at the Bedford Institute. CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier was delivered earlier this year by Seaspan and has already conducted several scientific missions.

I earned a stern rebuke some time ago for stating in a previous post that new Canadian ships are too small, but they certainly appear stubby compared to the ones they replace. I am sure they are technically advanced, seaworthy and packed with all necessary equipment, but they are not as aesthetically pleasing as ships of yore. [I am a charter member, and currently the only surviving member (as far as I know), of the Canadian Committee on Aesthetic Responsibility and am therefore qualified to comment.]

On the west side of the Basin at Mill Cove the tour boat fleet has settled in for the winter. 

From left to right these are:

Kawartha Spirit - returned from Lunenburg and laid up. It did not operate in Halifax during 2020.

Theodore Too - laid up and apparently still for sale.

Harbour Queen I - did operate tours in 2020 and provided ferry service to George's Island.

Silva of Halifax - also operated in 2020 giving harbour tours.

Anchored in Mill Cove is the schooner Katie Belle . It appears that they crew went ashore without stowing sails. It made one trip to sea during 2020 - September 19 to October 19. See: September 19

It certainly did those sails no good if they were left that way for a month.

At the other end of the harbour the autocarrier Viking Queen made one of its periodic visits. The 55,775 gt, 16,890 dwt ship was built in 2007 by Ujanik, Pula, Croatia, with a capacity of 7,000 cars.

Outbound rounding Ives Knoll, the Viking Queen leaves lots of room for Dominion Bearcat doing some sort of work off Pier 20-23.

And as an update on the demolition work at the former Foundation Maritime dock (latterly Svitzer Canada) - the salvage pier has been completely removed, and the "cook house" has been removed from the main pier. Work has now started on dismantling the main pier starting with the guard rails.

The crane barge Canadian Argosy removes material and places it on the deck barge VM/S 87. 

(The name painted on the barge is "VMS 087" but that is incorrect.)

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Small Craft - Part 1

This blog normally concentrates on larger ships that come and go in Halifax. However there are numerous small craft that work in the harbour and are often overlooked. These includes, work boats,  Navy, Coast Guard and research small craft.

Harbour tour boats are kept busy this time of year, not only with cruise ship passengers, but also the many "fall foliage" bus tour visitors and late season tourists who came after the summer rush.

Most of the boats have been here for many years, but some are relative newcomers.

Murphy's

Longtime tour boat operators Murphy's, founded by the Murphy family, was sold and in 2014 merged with the Ambassatours Gray Line bus operators. In September 2019 it was announced that Ambassatours has sold its bus operations to Coach Atlantic of Prince Edward Island, operators Maritime Bus. Murphy's, which also includes restaurants and shops, was apparently not part of the deal.

The longest serving vessel in the fleet is Harbour Queen One, the faux-Mississippi paddlewheeler is typical of similar craft operating in many ports of the world. They are out of keeping everywhere - except New Orleans, where they actually have a real one!

Another Murphy veteran the Summer Bay was retired at the end of last season and is reported to be for sale.

Back in Halifax this year after spending last summer in Saint John, NB, Theodore Too does nor seem particularly busy, but does put in an appearance at special events.

Acquired two years ago from Ontario operators, Kawartha Spirit has still not been renamed with a more local moniker. I suggest that it be named Haligonian IV as it is fourth in line of direct succession from the first tour boat operated by Murphy's.

Murphy's headquarters at the Cable Wharf is crowded with their fleet.

Murphy's also operate the stylish Peggys Cove Express built on lobster boat lines and providing very fast service and nature cruises. Its hull was painted blue in past years, but is now white in line with the rest of the fleet.

The amphibious Harbour Hoppers (there are upwards of five) are ever present in the harbour and on the streets - enough said. A Hopper was stationed in Sydney, NS last year but has not returned this year.

The "Tall Ship" Silva operates under sail or bare poles depending on conditions and continues to be popular.

Winstar

Winstar Cruise operates from Alderney Landing in Dartmouth and caters to Asian visitors with seafood meals and service in Chinese. The boat was new to Halifax last year. See previous post: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-halifax-tour-boat.html

Others

There are other smaller boats in the harbour tour and Northwest Arm tour business. This is a boat I have seen only once and unable to identify by name. Vessels under 15 gross tons are not necessarily registered by name, but by number. However they commonly have unofficial names. They are also required to display the registration number. They can also be registered by name. If so the name is to be displayed.
The operators have a web site: https://halifaxharbourtours.ca

The 60 minute tour for six people, is billed as quietly "all electric" in a classy thirties "European river boat" style replica. The 30 footer is new this year and runs from Purdy's Wharf.


The Cameron Brothers of Stewiacke, NS built the schooner Katie Belle themselves and brought it to Halifax in 2016 with the intention of operating harbour tours, but the boat has remained idle in Mill Cove again this year.

Several boat operators in Eastern Passage offer fishing trips outside the harbour, but that is the subject of a future post.

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Drama Queen 1

A small drama unfolded in Halifax harbour Sunday evening when the party /tour boat Harbour Queen 1 lost power during a tour. The boat drifted inside the Halterm pier extension onto the breakwater.

It took the combined efforts of the Halifax Tugger and Atlantic Oak to get the boat off and back to its base at the Cable Wharf.

Divers were to examine the boat for damage today, and before it re-enters service there will be an investigation to determine why it lost power.

 Harbour Queen 1 shortly after entering service in Halifax in April 1987.

Harbour Queen 1 was built in 1985 in Oromocto, NB as Pioneer Princess II and operated tours out of Fredericton for a couple of years before making the voyage to Halifax. An imitation of a Mississippi river boat, it has a pair of dummy funnels and a motorized paddle that does not propel the boat.

 I am not sure anyone is fooled by the paddle, but it is part of the package.

The boat is equipped with an anchor (see port bow above) which was deployed when it went adrift, but likely did little to stop the boat.

Vessel operators Murphy Sailing Tours Ltd will certainly miss the services of this vessel as we are entering the height of the cruise season, with three ships in today (Veendam, Norwegian Gem and Insignia.)

Today Halifax Tugger was back at its more prosaic duties, wrangling the garbage scow from the cruise ships, such as the Insignia.

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