Busy Day

 It was a busy day in the Port of Halifax today, September 10, with activity at almost every facility - and with multiple moves at some of them. Shipfax is still only able to be in one place at a time, so this report must be less than exhaustive.

Autoport had an early arrival, the Morning Cello -(I believe a first time caller).  Built in 2007 by Hyundai Samho it is a 57,542 gt, 21,055 dwt ship with a capacity of 6500 CEU. Arriving from Bremerhaven, Goteborg, Zeebrugge and Southampton it is heading for New York.

 

There was activity at the two oil terminals, with a ship alongside and another waiting at both.

At Irving Oil it was the colourful Gulf Muttrah which arrived from Amsterdam unloading refined product on September 8.

 

A 29,535 gt, 46,556 dwt ship, it was built at Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan in 2009.

Yesterday's arrival, the Canadian flagged Algoma East Coast is at anchor in the lower harbour awaiting its turn at the berth.

 

At Imperial Oil, the Ocean Nisa completed offloading product from Antwerp. It arrived September 7 and this afternoon, September 10, moved to Pier 9B to refuel from trucks.  It was escorted to Bedford Basin and turned to come back into the Narrows and tied up starboard side to the pier.

 

 

Big tankers are rare sights in Bedford Basin, but this move may be because there were no berths available in the Ocean Terminals, in the south end of the harbour. Refueling would usually happen at Pier 27, but the Nirint ship Gotland was unloading its regular cargo of nickel sulfides from Cuba at that berth.

Awaiting its turn at Imperial Oil, the coastal tanker Algoscotia took up a position in anchorage number 2. It moved to Imperial's dock #3 soon after Ocean Nisa moved off.

 

Number 2 anchorage is to the north of Macnab's Island, between Ives Knoll and Indian Point, and is rarely used except for ships waiting for Imperial Oil and then only for short term since it may obstruct the entrance to EasternPassage for large ships. 

Inbound for Fairview Cove was a first time caller for ZIM's ZCA (Mediterranean - North America) service. Carmel I is quite apparently a charter from the large Greek owner Navios.

 Built in 2010 by Hyunda HIC-Phil in Subic, Philippines,  it is a 40,741 gt, 52,382 dwt vessel with a capacity of 4330 TEU. It was built as Bermuda but was renamed APL Bahrain on delivery and in 2014 became Bermuda again then ZIM Carmel in 2022 and Carmel I in 2023.

Tugs Atlantic Willow at the bow and Altantic Cedar tethered astern shepherded the ship through the Narrows. And while the Ocean Nisa was turning well to the north, the Cedar provided braking and assisted the turn toward PSA Fairview Cove.
 

 The cruise ships Liberty of  the Seas and Seabourn Sojourn added to the mix, 

 

( I missed the Island Princess).

The Canadian Coast Guard lifeboat Hare Bay made its way into port from its station in Sambro, then met a little slop on the way out. 

CCGS Earl Grey also sailed toward the south shore for navaids work.

 
 Also in port was the Lars D at Pier 42 for Melfi:

 

... and sailing from the C.O.V.E for sea trials was the Singapore flag multi-purpose offshore support vessel  Armada 78 02. It returned later in the day.

 

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Large and Small

 There two cruise ships in Halifax today, May 22 - one large, one small. They effectivley demonstrated two trends in the cruise ship business.

The trend for bigger and bigger ships was demonstrated by the Liberty of the Seas and the market for smaller and more exclusive ships was exemplified by the SH Vega.

The size difference showed well as the ships were tied up at Piers 22 and 23.

 The Liberty of the Seas, 155,889 grt, with a capacity of 3,798 passengers and 1360 crew dates from 2007 when it was built by Aker Finnyards, Turku Shipyard in Finland. At that time it was the largest cruise ship in the world. It has now been eclipsed so often it sits in 38th place with the largest ship Icon of the Seas coming in at 248,663 gt with a maximum capacity of 7500. It has all the usual amenities including a giant water slide and and an ice skating rink.

On the other hand Swan Hellenic Cruises' SH Vega 10,517 gt, built in 2022 by the Helsinki Shipyard in Finland, has only 76 cabins, including six suites for 152 passengers. Providing  Luxury Polar Expedition Cruises to remote regions, it carries the usual array of Zodiacs and kayaks for shore excursions.

I included a tank truck in the photo. I am not sure what it was doing there - perhaps refueling. Almost visible under the bow is the dive boat Allen Clipper tending to some underwater work. The SH Vega is en route from Nassau to St-Pierre.

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Liberty

 The Liberty of the Seas will be a familiar sight by the end of the 2023 cruise season if it makes all eight of its planned calls. Today, June 22 is only the second call, (its first was May 25) so it is still a bit of a novelty as an impressively large visitor.

As it made its way in early this morning it entered a glaasy calm harbour.

And as it approached Pier 22, it swung round and backed in alongside.

Built in 2007 by Aker Yards in Turku, Finland, the 155,889 gt ship has a maximum capacity of 4960 passengers (3,798 double occupancy) and 1300 (average) crew.

With Zaandam also arriving today, the waterfront will be a busy place.

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Liberty of the Seas - biggest yet

 The Liberty of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship to call in Halifax so far this season. At the time it was built in 2007 it was considered to be the world's largest cruise ship, and shared the title with two sister ships, Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas. It has been long since superceded and is now ranked 31st largest. (How about that for a commentary on the growth of cruise ships?).(Royal Caribbean also holds the top eight spots with the 236,857 gt Wonder of the Seas in first place with 6,988 maximum total passengers - 5,734 at double occupancy).

Built by Aker, Turku, Finland, Liberty of the Seas comes in at 155,889 gt. With 18 total decks (fifteeen for passengers) it has a capacity of 3,798 (double occupancy) and 4,960 maximum. There is an average crew size of 1300, but may have 1360 on occasion. (Guess who gets the lowest decks).

On the soon to be unveiled Shipfax Uglometer scale it rates reasonably well, despite the amusement park on the upper deck aft. It is just a tad too long for my likes, but otherwise is more than average attractive.

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Liberty of the Seas

The Royal Caribbean International Freedom class Liberty of the Seas made a wide sweep around George's Island this morning on its approach to pier 20.

Built in 2007, the ship and its two sisters, Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas  held the title of world's largest cruise ships until 2009 when the even larger Oasis class ships came along.
Rivaling in size the container ships mentioned yesterday, this ship measures 154,407 grt and has a capacity 3,634 passengers and 1360 crew. With an overall length of 1,119 ft it makes remarkably sharp turns using a variety of thrusters, all without the need of tugs.
The ship is based in Port Liberty, in Bayonne, NJ, on the western side of New York harbor. After the autumn season it will transfer to Galveston, TX in November.

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