The Horizon Star is now ADV Reliant

 Horizon Maritime's former flagship Horizon Star has been renamed ADV Reliant by its new owners, the Australian government. ADV stands for Australian Defence Vessel - it will not use the Royal Australian Navy Ship (RANS) title. I assume this means that as a naval auxiliary vessel it will have a civilian crew, and will not be commissioned as a naval vessel. It may also be unarmed.

Built in 2017 by Kleven, Ulsteinvik, Norway, the state of the art offshore support vessel was sold for USD$ 67 million and is en route from the Netherlands to Las Palmas for refit. Horizon looks to make a substantial profit on the sale since they bought the ship at a distressed price. The original owners apparently cancelled the order and the shipyard sold the ship to recoup losses.

The Australian government had considered building a new "Pacific Support Vessel" but like many governments (such as Canada's) it found that buying "used" made more sense than paying the astronomical costs to build domestically. The ship will be based in Brisbane and will be standing by to respond with humanitarian aid and disaster relief, supplementing the navy's amphibious craft which are based in Sydney.

St.John's based Horizon Maritime used the ship to support oil and gas exploration off Nova Scotia in 2018, but that work dried up and it was assigned to the North Sea. It also supported the salvage operations on the Yantian Express fire in 2019.

 Horizon still has four ships in its stable. Horizon Enabler, Horizon Arctic and K.J.Gardner (the former Siem Commander - quietly acquired in 2021 from Secunda) all offshore support ships. The fourth is the icebreaker Polar Prince, the one time CCGS Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

After wintering in Mulgrave this year, the Polar Prince is now docked at the C.O.V.E. pier in Dartmouth.

 

Storm Over

After yesterday's wind storm (with freezing rain, ice pellets and other delightful forms of precipitation) calmness returned today and several ships that had been delayed finally arrived.

One of these was Wilhelmsen's Theben which went to pier 31 first to unload machinery, then moved to Autoport with cars.

Still carrying the faded orange seen recently on Wilhelmsen ships, it will soon be getting the new colour scheme.

After bouncing around at sea last night MOL Paradise arrived this afternoon. 

THE  Alliance must be confident of a firm resolution to the rail blockades. Some trains are moving but it will be some time before things return to normal. As of yesterday afternoon the Rockingham yard was empty.

By this afternoon some outbound cars with ACL and other containers were being prepared for an outbound train this evening.

Other arrivals include Horizon Star returning from cable work on the Cabot Strait.

Cranes were removing cable repair gear.


Also noted at BIO is the fisheries research vessel Teleost.

The ship is likely here as part of a decommissioning process, since its replacement Capt. Jacques Cartier is en route from North Vancouver, arriving in Miami, FL today. It likely be here in a week or so.

Also in Bedford Basin the tanker Inyala took up position in an anchorage after unloading at Irving Oil Woodside.

A digger continues to place fill off Africville for future pier extension.

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Returns

After a wild night off Halifax with wind gusts approaching hurricane strength, it is no surprise that pilotage operations were suspended until this morning.  When they did resume its was Captain E.T. Rogers doing the duties as pilot boat.

Under the watchful eye of an eagle, perched on the chimney top of the George's Island building in the background, Captain E.T. Rogers returns from a pilotage assignment.

Captain E.T. Rogers has been brought in from Saint John, NB to help out in Halifax while the regular pilot boats are out of service. It is no stranger to Halifax however, as it was built for service here in 2012 and named Chebucto Pilot. In 2017 it was transferred to Saint John to join a sister boat Captain A.G. Soppitt Both boats were built by ABCO Industries in Lunenburg to the same design, and the transfer was intended to rationalize maintenance and operations by having two identical boats.

Horizon Star makes its way inbound for The Cove (former Dartmouth Coast Guard Base.)

Also returning to port this morning as soon as pilotage services resumed was the big OSV (Offshore Service Vessel) Horizon Star. It sailed from Halifax January 15 for the burning Yantian Express carrying salvage equipment and possibly personnel.  That ship is slowly heading for Freeport, Bahamas, in tow and with its chore accomplished Horizon Star has returned to port.

Yantian Express - endless speculation - updated

People are eager to learn how how things are going with the fire fighting and salvage of the ship Yantian Express. This can result in speculation which spreads and is reported as fact. Regrettably this does little except to keep the situation on the front page. [I plead guilty].

Here is what we know for certain:

The Fire
HAPAG-Lloyd's press release of January 10 stated that the fire was under control.
That does not mean the fire is out.

The fire apparently started with containers on deck, but H-L warns that there is likely direct or consequential damage to containers below deck. [see previous posts]

Firefighting
The tugs SMIT Nicobar and Maersk Mobiliser have very good firefighting capability. However they would have limited quantities of foam on board, and if they were using foam, they may have exhausted supplies by now. If Maersk Mobiliser was towing the ship, it would be difficult for it to fight the fire at the same time. However it also has superior accommodation for evacuees. It is likely it brought fresh supplies of food, etc., from St.John's

Tugs
As the more powerful tug on scene, it would make sense for it to tow the ship. It is also Canadian and presumably has been hired for the duration of the operation, and thus would be best to tow it to Halifax.
SMIT Nicobar was en route to Mexico when it was called in, so would likely be the first to be relieved of duties if it has contractual obligations elsewhere.

Sovereign (the former Union Sovereign), also a SMIT / Boskalis tug was due to arrive on scene today. It would be bringing fresh supplies as well as more firefighting capability. It is a slightly more powerful tug than SMIT Nicobar, with 178 tonne bollard pull versus 120 tonnes.

Atlantic Enterprise set out from Newark on January 7, but encountered bad weather. It did receive some damage too, so put back to Halifax, the nearest safe port where the damage could be repaired. It is sailing from Halifax at 1800 hrs this evening. Its exact role is certainly a question. It may have been carrying more fire foam, and it does have firefighting capability, though much less than the other tugs.

>>Update Atlantic Enterprise sailed from Halifax this evening giving its desintaiton as Newark, NJ.


Horizon Star another Canadian supply tug has also been dispatched to the scene. It sailed from Halifax early this morning. Also a very large vessel it is equipped with numerous resources, including a helicopter deck. Although well out of any helo rage now, that might change depending on weather and direction of the tow.
It also has survivor accommodation and would have stocked up in food, etc., Since Yantian Express's crew has been fed and watered for nearly two weeks on SMIT Nicobar, grub must be running low

The Tow
In most salvage contracts the destination port is designated. Halifax is the logical one, however weather and the safety of the ship is also a factor, so the actual destination of the tow will not be known for certain for a while.

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Business Developments

Shipfax is normally more interested in ships than the shipping business, but a few recent developments have come to our attention.

HORIZON

Horizon Star is the first owned ship in the Horizon fleet.

Horizon Maritime based in Halifax, had been hopeful of a takeover of Nordic American Offshore. NAO, publicly listed on the NYSE, is an offshoot of Nordic American Tankers and operates 10 supply vessels, mostly in the North Sea. The deal was on again, off again recently, and this week it was announced that NAO has left Horizon at the altar and eloped with Scorpio, an Italian tanker company owned by Emanuele Lauro.  Lauro adds NAO to Scorpio's small offshore startup that has two PSVs and some crew boats.

Nordic American has a "historic" connection with Nova Scotia's offshore. Its tanker Nordic Apollo was for several years the storage vessel at Nova Scotia's offshore oil field - the short-lived Panuke / Cohasset. Their shuttle tanker Nordic Challenger took the oil to refineries.

Nordic American's tanker Nordic Challenger sailing from Halifax June 30, 1992 for Panuke / Cohasset to load the first cargo of commercially produced offshore oil in Canada.

The takoever would have given Horizon an entree into North Sea work and access to more modern vessels, but  there are many more fish in the pond. As the offshore market is showing signs of recovering from a major slump, prices are likely to go up however. The more important aspect I think would have been access to capital and a potential NYSE listing for Horizon/NAO.

 The recentkly acquired Horizon Enababler is the former Tidewater Enabler.

Horizon operates two ships of its own and charters two from Tidewater. The latter two however will soon be out of work in Nova Scotia as BP's drilling program has ended, save for capping the one exploration test hole.

The deal would have given Horizon better footing against competitors such as Siem's Canadian business, operating as Secunda Canada LP which operates a small fleet with four OSVs operating out of Halifax and two out of St.John's.

 Despite the Irving Oil sign in the background, Siem Hanne is at the Mobil dock in Dartmouth this morning taking on material for its work in offshore de-construction. It carries a dominion Diving container on deck to support ROV work.

Siem Offshore is part of the Siem Industries group of autonomous subsidiaries including shipping and industrial concerns, based in the Cayman Islands, but essentially Norwegian. Maersk Canada - another competitor is Danish and is owned by the Moller family, also owners of one of the largest shipping companies in the world.

Atlantic Towing Ltd, part of the J.D.Irving group of companies is an independent, based in Canada.


HHL

  HHL Mississippi

Hansa Heavy Lift (HHL), based in Hamburg, Germany filed for insolvency December 10. The company was backed by funds under Oaktree Capital Management which has now thrown in the towel. HHL is down to five ships, one of which has been detained in France. It has 18 ships earlier this year according to reliable sources.

HHL was originally formed using some ships from the short lived Beluga Shipping, founded in Bremen in 1995 and wound up in 2011, with Oaktree as its principal shareholder. Beluga built up a fleet of 70 heavy lift ships and was held out as an innovative and public spirited company, however its collapse was also tainted by allegations of fraud against its managers. 

Beluga Efficiency

Transport Desgagnés had a working relationship with Beluga and then HHL and operates several ships built under Beluga's building program. This past summer Desgagnés hired HHL New York to fill in when one of its own ships was late returning from a charter. HHL New York carried a project cargo consisting of a 110 tonne generator and several heavy plant modules from Becancour, QC to Rankin Inlet. The ship is fitted with a pair of 400 tonne cranes.
Desgagnés has more recently seen its dry cargo ships working off season with Briese's BBC Chartering.

Maersk Supply Service Canada

After shedding a pair of older suppliers earlier this year, the St.John's based company has now added a new monster supplier from parent company Maersk Supply AS of Denmark. Maersk Mobiliser was delivered by Kleven Werft AS, Ulsteinvik at the end of October, and was registered in St.John's, NL on December 11. The huge vessel measures 10,181 grt, 4,900 dwt and has a 260 tonne bollard pull, and is equipped to operate an ROV in harsh environments. It is the fifth in a class of six Starfish vessels built for Maersk. It is reported that the ship has been contracted for drilling support and ice management by a major Canadian oil company. It is suspected that the sixth vessel, to be delivered mid next year will also follow to Canada.


K+S and Belships
The handysize / supramax bulk carrier Belnor arrived in Halifax last night and tied up at pier 9C, loaded with salt. Built in 2010 by Yangzhou Dayang, it carries four cranes and grabs. Its last port was Caleta Patillos, Chile, which barely qualifies as a port. It consists of a giant conveyor system projecting out over the sea, where ships are secured by a spread of seven or more anchors and must winch themselves back and forth to load. However it is the loading port for a huge salt mine owned by K+S AG of Germany, one of the major players in the salt and phosphate business. K+S acquired Morton Salt in 2009 and Potash One in Saskatchewan in 2011. Its history goes back to the 1890s when potash came into use as a fertilizer. It later acquired salt mines, becoming Kali und Salz.

The ship is owned by another legendary company, Belships, founded by the Norwegian former naval officer Christian Smith in 1918. An early pioneer in heavy lifts, it specialized in transporting complete railroad locomotives, something never done before. The company has been saved and re-formed more than once during depressions, recessions and wars (both international and internecine) , to survive as Belships. It got out of heavy lifting in the 1970s and now has a fleet of five bulkers and two on order, chartered to Canpotex (the Saskatchewan potash marketing arm) and Cargill.
Belnor is time chartered to Canpotex until mid-2020, but as we can see it does back hauls that are not potash, to make for profitable use.


Grain Trade
Continuing from yesterday's post about Algoma's newest tanker Algonorth,  the company is still very much in the bulk trades, and its Radcliffe R. Latimer arrived last evening with a cargo from the Great Lakes. likely Thunder Bay. This is probably the last grain cargo for this year from that destination as the St.Lawrence Seaway will be closing December 31. (While Algoma is heavily involved in the domestic grain trade, its international fleet of self-unloaders, pooled with CSL, carry only minerals such as sand, aggregates, coal, and gypsum. )

Radcliffe R. Latimer self-unloads its cargo at pier 25-26 while McNally Construction sets up at pier 24 for Phase 1 dredging at pier 42 Halterm.

Halifax is a very minor of player in the grain trade, with most of the inbound cargo consisting of feed stock for local consumption. Grain also arrives by rail and yesterday's sailing of the Nirint ship Augusta Sun with a load for Rotterdam indicates that the grain elevator facility still has some utility for export.
Phase 2 of the Port's Halterm expansion, which will fill in the space between the finger piers, will mean that the current grain export galleries will no longer be accessible to ships. It may be possible to somehow rebuild the import facilities at pier 25-26 to export grain too, but that would be a major investment for a minor amount of business. 

As I understand the port redevelopment proposal, filling in the space between the finger piers would create more land for the Halterm container terminal, but would effectively cut off the the grain export trade.

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Weather - again

Last night's very high winds played havoc with ship arrivals and departures today as seas continued to run high, and pilots could not embark or disembark safely.

The cruise ship Insignia arrived this morning off Halifax from Saint John, NB, and after standing on and off for many hours was still not able to board a pilot safely by mid afternoon. The ship was determined to call in Halifax eventually so it steamed back and forth well offshore, until 1930 when the pilot was finally able to embark. The ship will take bunkers then head back to sea.

 Insignia as it appeared in 2015. The ship is due for one more call in Halifax on November 6.

ACL's scheduled arrival Atlantic Sky is also standing by offshore waiting for conditions to improve, along with the supply vessel Horizon Star. Another container ship, Maersk Patras, which would normally have called on Saturday is now due tomorrow.

At Halterm APL Vancouver [see yesterday's post] was able to start working cargo this morning when the winds died off, but its scheduled departure time of 1630hrs has been put off.

Dalian Express at Fairview Cove was also finally able to get away for 2100. Its original departure time was 0400 hrs, but that was delayed by a combination of high winds at the terminal that delayed unloading, and conditions at the pilot station that would not permit pilot disembarkation.

Autumn is the usual windy season here, but it seems that this year has been windier than usual, resulting in numerous delays and some skipped calls from cruise ships.

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Seeing Stars

The stars were out in daylight today - at least as far as ship's names go.

ACL's Atlantic Star called on the eastbound leg of its voyage AST0918, next stop Liverpool, UK. Arriving and departing through the Narrows it passed Asian Sun and Horizon Star.

Asian Sun is at pier 9B for a two week maintenance period.

At pier 9C Horizon Star was loading more drill riser for the offshore rig West Aquarius which has now taken up its drilling position  about 250 nkm off the southeast coast. It will drill one well for BP. BP has hired two more suppliers through Halifax based Horizon Maritime and registered them in Canada. Lundstrom Tide (3943 grt, built 2013) and Troms Sirius (4201 grt, built 2012) are owned by industry giant Tidewater, but appear to have been bareboat chartered to Horizon. So far they have been working out of Mulgrave to mobilize West Aquarius. However Horizon Star must come to Halifax to pick up the risers as the two month (minimum) project progresses. It is also apparently picking up cement and fluids from the new MI-Swaco tank facility at the far north end of pier 9C.

As soon as Atlantic Star had passed Pier 9c the supplier Horizon Star moved from 9C to 9 to take fuel from Wilson's Fuel's pipeline. It was being chased by a rain shower, precluding a closer shot.

Further down the harbour at pier 31 the Augusta Mars (see yesterday) was unloading, but  will sail this evening ahead of the next big storm and head back to Europe. It apparently will establish its own orbit.

The only exception to the stellar cast above were also at the deep water piers. The Large Car and Truck Carrier (LCTC) Undine discharged some machinery at pier 27 after visiting Autoport with cars.

Built in 2003 by Daewoo Shipbuilding + Marine Engineering Co, Okpo, it was lengthened by about 28 meters in 2006 by Hyundai-Vinashin, Ninh Hoa yard in Viet Nam.  The added space projected it into the LCTC ranks with a capacity of 7,194 CEU. It has a relatively light 125 tonne stern ramp, but that still allows it to carry a variety of heavy equipment.

At Halterm the APL Mexico City had the whole place to itself, allowing all four cranes to work one ship. Flagged in Singapore, it measures 109,712 grt, 108,564 dwt. The 9200 TEU vessel dates from 2014 when it was also built by Daewoo, Okpo. [as was the drill rig West Aquarius mentioned above - in 2009.]

Daewoo set up a wind turbine factory in Nova Scotia, with $56mn in government assistance. However the plant (and the company) fell on hard times, the plant was closed, with the province, as 49% owners,  left holding the bag so to speak. They now have to decide whether to demolish the plant or sell it off in pieces, as no new owner has come along. It is the former Trenton Car Works, in Pictou County. Daewoo has been in the news recently over additional convictions in corruption cases that extended to the President of South Korea.

A major storm developing off Cape Hatteras will work its way up across Nova Scotia tomorrow, with 10-15 cm of snow (which converts to "a lot" in Imperial units). That may be why there are no arrivals departures or moves scheduled so far for tomorrow.

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