Last Man Standing

 The Ocean Terminals piers recently had four ships alongside but the last one will be sailing today, January 25. The Algoma Tankers' Algotitan (ex Chantaco) moved from Pier 27 via anchorage yesterday to Imperial Oil this morning, and the former Algoma Hansa sailed from Pier 25 as Algo on January 21. The high-heat tanker Iver Ambition sailed in the very early hours of this morning from Pier 26, resuming its trip to Ghent, Belgium, although giving suburban Zelzate as its destination.

The newly renamed Algotitan posed for photos at anchor yesterday.

 That left the bulk carrier Midland Trader to finish loading wood pellets at Pier 28. By this afternoon the ship was buttoned up and ready to sail for Skagen, Denmark where the wood will be converted to "sulphur and fossil free" bio-fuel. The ship arrived here January 16 [see previous posts.]

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Iver Ambition

 The Dutch company Iver Ships BV has fleet of about 100 ships, which includes around 40 offshore service vessels. Earlier this months a group of banks took over control of the company from the Vroon family and announced that the Vroon Offshore Services (VOS) vessels would be sold off over the next eighteen months to reduce a high debt level.

The 133 year old company will retain its 60 some tankers, livestock carriers and Emergency Response and Rescue Vessels (ERRVs). Among the tankers are the six product tankers on long term charter to Irving Oil - two under Canadian flag: Acadian and East Coast ex Nor'Easter (i) and four foreign flag: Great Eastern, New England , Nor'Easter (ii) ex Iver Progress and Iver Prosperity.

Iver Ships BV also specializes in "high heat tankers" - ships especially built to carry bitumen and asphalt cargoes that must be kept heated at temperatures from 150 degrees C to 190 degrees C (302 degrees F to 374 degrees F). The cargo is carried in special tanks within the hull that are heavily insulated and physically isolated on rubber mounts so that stresses of expansion and contraction are not transmitted to the ship's hull.

Among the high heat tankers is the Iver Ambition, which arrived in Halifax January 20 and tied up at Pier 26 East.

The ship was built by Brodospas Kraljevica in Croatia in 2009. Named San Lorenzo, the 6296 gt, 8962 dwt ship was renamed in 2015 after a major refit in Singapore. It has two blocks of high heat tanks (each with six cells) - one forward of the midships pump room and one aft. It continues to fly the Italian flag and is owned by the Vroon subsidiary Petrolmar SRL.

The ship made the news in 2021 when it was quarantined in Conception Bay, Nfld from July 5 to 22 with fourteen cases of COVID-19. Last winter it arrived in Halifax February 14 from Sept-Iles, QC for some unspecified issues related to winter conditions. This year it arrived from Trois-Rivières, QC, again for unspecified reasons.

Last year, when the ship was at Pier 9C, its hull paint was in much better condition.

Among the cargoes the ship carries is coal tar pitch, an essential material used as a binder for the electrodes used in aluminum smelting. Canada's largest aluminum smelter is located in Sept-Iles, QC, and the port of Trois-Rivières serves Alcoa's Deschambault smelter. The ship often calls at those ports.

 Conditions last February 2022 look much the same as today, January 22, 2023 with lots of snow on the ground.

The ship maintains its transatlantic service running from Ghent or Antwerp, Belgium or Zelzate, Netherlands, and in addition to the ports in Quebec it also sails into the Great Lakes. It reached Hamilton, ON in April, May, July and October and finally on November 27, 2022 and sailed December 1 returning to Antwerp December 18-20, Zelzate December 20-23 and Trois-Rivières January 14-16.

A slightly smaller "high heat" fleet mate, the Netherlands flag Iver Bright usually spends the entire year on the Great Lakes operating between Sarnia, ON and US ports summer and winter. (It can remain registered foreign as long as it doesn't trade between ports of the same country).

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Winter

Winter conditions can mean problems for shipping. These can range from severe such as ice damage, to frozen spray on deck or ice clogging sea chests and a whole host of other issues. Halifax is a convenient place to deal with problems that may arise since the port is ice free, there are lots of berths and achorages available and there are technicians nearby for most ship components.

Nevertheless it is rare to see three ships in port at the same time, due to winter conditions.

It is even rarer to be able to squeeze all three ships into the same photo.

At anchor in Bedford Basin, the Star Pyxis is still in port (see previous posts) but some progress has apparently been made on whatever issues it had. The ship is due to make trials in the Basin this afternoon (February 15) with a pilot aboard, then move to Pier 9C tomorrow. (The ship is visible in the far right background of the photo above).

The heavy oil / bitumen tanker Iver Ambition arrived at Pier 9C yesterday after discharging cargo in Sept-Iles, QC. The ship loaded the cargo in Antwerp  and completed unloading in Sept-Iles January 31. Why it took two weeks to reach Halifax is not known, but it is likely winter related.

Built as San Lorenzo in 2009 by Kraljevica Shipyard in Croatia the ship retained its Italian flag when it was renamed Iver Ambition in 2015 by Vroon / Iver Ships. The 6296 gt, 8962 dwt tanker carries the Vroon "V" in white on its hull.

Also at Pier 9C is the container ship MSC Jersey. The ship was en route from Le Havre to Montreal when it put in to Halifax yesterday January 14.

 

Aside from frozen spray forward on the spray shield (see top photo) and on deck, there was no outward sign of any issues with the ship. Pier 9C was busy with trucks moving salt from a large stockpile, but there did not seem to be much activity at the ship itself.

The ship was built by Zhejiang Ouhua Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Zhoushan as Seaviolet. It was renamed Sapphire in 2014, Hammonia Sapphire in 2015, X-Press Jersey in 2019 and MSC Jerseay in 2021. The 47,873 gt, 60,550 dwt ship has a capacity of 4896 TEU including 750 reefers.

Some ships avoid winter conditions by laying up until spring.That is usually true of Great Lakes ships, as the fresh water freezes up and the locks are closed. However some of the newer classes of CSL and Algoma ships run well after the traditional December layup dates. One such ship, CSL's Baie St.Paul has been busy delivering salt from the Magdalen Islands to St.Lawrence River ports. (It also delivered salt to Halifax late last year.) It has now arrived in Halifax (February 14) for an abbreviated "winter layup".

The ship is docked stern in at Pier 25-26, to allow easier access to the ship's machinery spaces. Generally these layup periods allow for major maintenance to engines and other equipment. The ships usually return to service toward the end of March when the St.Lawrence Seaway reopens for the season.

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