Atlantic Superior no more

The latest name to join the regrettably lengthening list of ships sold for scrap is Atlantic Superior an on and off caller here since 1982.

Loaded to deep draft, the ship sails out the Narrows with another cargo of gypsum.

Built for Canada Steamship Lines as their first domestically built self-unloader for deep sea trading (previous ones were restricted to the Lakes or to coastal work) the  ship measured 730' x 76', the maximum allowable St.Lawrence Seaway dimensions when it was built. Its depth was 50', allowing it load to deep sea draft.
Its tonnages were 24,638 grt, 38,510 dwt.

Its construction was a bit unusual. The 600 foot long stern section was built by Collingwood Shipbuilding Co in Collingwood, ON and its 130 ft long bow section by Port Arthur Shipbuilding in Thunder Bay, ON (both yards were owned by CSL). The stern section was launched in the fall of 1981 and towed to Portship and joined to the bow in 1982.

It was powered with a 6 cylinder Sulzer engine driving a single controllable pitch screw in a steering nozzle.  The system required a great deal of maintenance and several times the ship was seen at pier 23 with its bow ballasted down for repairs.

Workers have welded platforms to the nozzle/rudder blade to permit work on the prop.

The ship's first trip was with grain for Halifax, and it continued to call here regularly for gypsum, but was often assigned to overseas work for lengthy periods. It worked the Caribbean, Pacific Northwest to Mexico and in Europe, ranging from Portugal, to the UK, Netherlands and Norway, carrying coal or aggregates.
In 1986 it was transferred to Bahamas flag, but was back under Canadian flag, and registrered in Halifax November 10, 1986 (it had previously been registered in Collingwood.)

The ship lost its Canada Steamship Lines banner when it was flagged out.

It took up a long term charter with National Gypsum and was renamed  M.H.Baker III and flagged out to the Bahamas March 30, 1987. It was a regular caller here after that, loading for US ports as far afield as Tampa, FL.  

Immediately after being renamed, the ship sailed with a tiny "Nassau" port of registry, and the new name on the bow only. 

The third ship to carry the name of Melvin H.Baker, founder of National Gypsum, it loaded to varying drafts depending on the season, and the destination port.

 

M.H.Baker III bunkers from Imperial Dartmouth (also built at Collingwood) while it undergoes repairs to its steering prop / nozzle (again).

 
In 2002 was reassigned to work in the far east, but returned to Canadian flag as Atlantic Superior in early 2003. In January 2006 it had an engine cylinder failure off Halifax and limped into port on 5 cylinders, and transferred its aggregate cargo to fleet mate Atlantic Erie. It then entered drydock at Halifax Shipyard after which it was reflagged to the Bahamas again.

On August 19, 2007 it delivered a cargo of coal to pier 9D.

It was brought back to Canadian registry in 2010 (registered in Montreal) and in 2011 began the Pointe-Noire shuttle service in Sept-Iles bay, running iron ore out to larger ships at anchor.
It arrived on Halifax again in January 2012 for drydocking and winter layup, and returned in December of the same year and spent the winter at pier 25-26 where its self-unloading system was overhauled.
 

Atlantic Superior received a major refit at Halifax in 2012, and now sported a CSL red hull. CSL self-unloaders had traditionally been black because of their coal cargoes.

 The ship had also received the new domestic CSL funnel mark, with the white stripe turning down the after side of the stack, and again had the Canada Steamship Lines banner on its flanks.

March 19, 2013, my last photos of Atlantic Superior. Due to decreased demand for gypsum in the US, the ship rarely loaded to deepest draft.

 On September 17, 2013 it was again transferred to Bahamas flag and returned to the BC coast running aggregates south to the US.

Following on the delivery of the last of the new Trillium class self-unloaders from China, Atlantic Superior set out for China and arrived in Xinhui March 16 for scrap.

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Atlantic Superior- last gasp

1. Atlantic Superior arriving for perhaps the last time in Halifax.



Reports seem to agree that the self-unloading bulk carrier Atlantic Superior is on her last trip.She made her way down the Lakes to Belledune, NB with a load of coal and has come on to Halifax for gypsum, arriving very on a very foggy Saturday May 25. When she unloads that cargo in Montreal she is to go into long term layup pending sale for scrap.

The ship has had a long term relationship with Halifax, going back to her first year in service.
A product of Collingwood Shipbuilding, in Collingwood, ON, she took to the water for the first time in phases. The stern was launched on November 9, 1981 and the bow in May 1982. The sections were then towed to Thunder Bay where they were joined together by Portship, a sister yard in what was then Canadian Shipbuilding + Marine Engineering Ltd. By June 25, 1982 the ship was ready for service with Canada Steamship Lines (then the parent company of CSB+E). She loaded grain and sailed for Halifax on her maiden voyage.

2. Atlantic Superior arrived in Halifax for the first time July 15, 1982 with a cargo of grain. There was no facility for self-unloading in those days, and it took three days to unload using the grain leg. 

CSL had decided to expand its scope, and this was their first ship to be suitable for unrestricted ocean trading. CSL had developed the self-unloader technology to a high degree and could see a demand off Lakes. The ship's name, which became the first in a series, connected the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
In her first season she brought grain to Halifax then backhauled gypsum and iron ore for the rest of the summer. Come winter she headed south and loaded salt in Baltimore for Longview, WA, returning with potash.
In 1985 she was sent to Europe with a load of iron ore from Sept-Iles, then went to work carrying coal from England and the Netherlands to a new power plant in Sines, Portugal. She was re-flagged to the Bahamas for this overseas work, but returned to Canadian flag briefly and was registered in Halifax on November 10, 1986. She was back to Bahamas flag March 30, 1987 for more overseas work, which in 1988 included carrying stone for the Chunnel project.

 3. Her first port of registry of Collingwood was outlined with weld bead, but was painted out when she went to the Bahamas. When she came back to Canada a more modest Halifax appeared.

She ranged far and wide over the next few years, working in the Pacific between Mexico and British Columbia carrying gypsum, stone, fertilizer and coal.

4. Returning to Halifax on March 21, 1997 for renaming.

5. Her name had already been painted out on the stern in preparation for her new name, and Nassau remained as port of registry.

On March 22, 1997 she was renamed M.H.Baker III in Halifax for contracting to National Gypsum, running out of Dartmouth to ports from Newington, NH to Tampa, FL.

6. Ballasted down by the bow for repairs to her steering nozzle, M.H.Baker III was bunkering from fellow Collingwood-built Imperial Dartmouth.

In 2002 she went to the Far East and was refitted there, but returned to Nova Scotia in April 2003 loading stone in Auld's Cove for Newington, and was renamed Atlantic Superior.
She had a winter layup in Halifax January-February 2004, then continued in the gypsum, coal and ore trades in Canadian and US waters.
In January 2006 she arrived in Halifax, having suffered an engine failure. She transferred her cargo to fleet mate Atlantic Erie and drydocked. In February she was reflagged to the Bahamas again, until 2010. In May 2007 she delivered a cargo of coal to pier 9 for the Lafarge Cement plant in Brookfield. 
On May 3, 2010 she returned to Canadian flag and was registered in Montreal. By then she had adopted CSL's traditional red hull colour.(Self-unloaders had been black due to their usual cargoes of coal, and CSL International's ships were always black). In 2011 she spent most of her time shuttling iron ore from Pointe-Noire, QC out to larger bulk carriers anchored in Sept-Iles Bay.

7. The ship's last drydocking was in Halifax in January-February 2012.

8. The ship looked pretty good when she resumed service in the spring of 2012.

On Jan, 20, 2012 she arrived in Halifax for drydocking and repainting, leaving port February 22.
She returned On December 29 and spent the winter at pier 25-26 where her unloading boom was reconditioned, but she received very little other attention as far as could be seen from the outside. She returned to service March 19, and has been running the Sept-Iles./Great Lakes.

9. A brief blast of weak sun greeted the ship as it passed up the Narrows this afternoon with the tug Atlantic Willow alongside.

With brand new self-unloaders on their way to Canada from China, CSL seems to have enough ships to handle present work without Atlantic Superior. The first new Chinese built self-unloader Baie St-Paul was delivered last fall, Whitefish Bay sailed form China May 17 and Thunder Bay was registered in Montreal May 16, and started sea trials in China.

Atlantic Superior certainly earned her keep over her 31 years, and it is probably time to go.