Seeing double

 It is not unusual to see two ships from the same shipping company at the same time. Particularly with companies like the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) that have several service lines, serving the same port, ships come and go with no coordination between them. The ships generally arrive on their own timetables and sometimes meet in port.

It may not happen as often with general cargo ships from the same owners. Because they operate more or less at random, having two ships in port at the same time is worthy of note.

Today May 11, two ships each from two owners appear in Halifax.

There were two MSC ships scheduled to arrive at the pilot station at 0600 ADT this morning. The MSC Carmen proceeded inbound to PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway Pier 41 where four cranes went to work.

Launched as the Buxcity it was delivered in 2008 by Daewoo-Mangalia as MSC Carmen. The 50,963 gt, 63,359 dwt ship has a capacity of 4884 TEU including 560 reefers. 

On a previous call in Halifax, September 30, 2023, MSC Carmen was on the INDUSA (India / USA) service, but has since shifted to the Canada Express service from London, Antwerp, Le Havre, but arriving from Sines, Portugal and is en route to Montreal.

The other MSC arrival was the MSC Aquarius, but it did not dock immediately - instead it went to number one anchorage. The ship was subject to examination for invasive species by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

After few hours the ship was underway for Pier 42, while fleet mate MSC Carmen slid along the dock to Pier 42. The MSC Aquarius is on the INDUSA service from India and having been in Asia recently requires clearance from CFIA before landing at a Canadain port. The ship arrived from Mundra via the Cape of Good Hope. MSC may or may not be re-instituting the INDUSA service here - it has been bypassing Halifax recently.

MSC Aquarius was built as NYK Aquarius by IHI Kure in 2003. It is a 75,484 gt, 81,171 dwt ship with a capacity if 6492 TEU. It changed name - but not owners - in 2019. Those owners are based in Cyprus where the ship is registered.

 The other fleet mates in port today are Canadian owned by Transport Desgagnés Inc. Marcellin A. Desgagnés arrived yesterday May 10 and also anchored in the lower harbour. It is currently flying the Barbados flag, having spent the winter months trading internationally. In March it was reported in Brazil, then the Gulf of Mexico. In early April it sailed from Morehead City, SC, for Montoir, France, then called in Antwerp and Esbjerg, Denmark before heading back across the Atlantic to New London, CT.

 

The MSC Carmen has left anchorage, heading for Pier 42 as Marcellin A. Desgagnés awaits.

The Marcellin A. Desgagnés is a two hold, ice class 3 general cargo ship, strengthened to carry leavy loads and fitted to carry containers. It carres two 250 tonne SWL cranes that can combine for a 500tonne lift, and one 80 tonne SWL crane. It was built in 2012 by Tianjin Xingang Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Co Ltd as BBC Parana and was acquired by Desgagnés and renamed in 2023. For the winters of 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 it was reflagged to Bardaos and worked for BBC. It may return to Canadian flag while in Halifax. That would likely include a crew change.

 The other Desgagnés ship in port also arrived yesterday, May 10, and tied up at Pier 9C.  Argentia Desgagnés is classed as a general cargo ship, but frequently carries bulk salt and is equipped with two 35 tonne cranes and carries its own clam shell bucket grabs. The grabs are stowed alongside the forward crane.

Built in 2007 by Ustaoglu Yat in Eregli, Turkey, it served as the Ofmar from 2007 to 2017. It is a three hold ship of 6369 gt, 8950 dwt, strengthened to carry heavy cargo. In season, it is a frequent caller in Pugwash, Nova Scotia where it loads road salt. I believe the ship's last port was Gros Cacouna, QC.

 So far there has been no sign of cargo work - it is likely waiting for the start of the work week tomorrow (Monday, May 12). Pier 9C is chock full of wind generator tower sections, but there is still room alongside the ship for truck and rail access.

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Busy

 It was a very busy day today (September 30) in the Port of Halifax, with ships at most berths. Dense fog early in the day had mostly burned off by mid-afternoon, but there was still a noticeable haze of forest fire smoke from western Canada.

There were four cruise ships- two arriving in the early morning; the familiar Jewel of the Seas and Silver Shadow; the Star Pride arriving at noon time and the Crystal Serenity in the early evening (it will stay over night).

The Star Pride is the former Seabourn Pride built in 1988 by Schichau Seebeck in Bremerhaven. Originally 9975 gt with a passenger capacity of 212 maximum and 164 crew, it was lengthened by Fincantieri, Palermo in 2021 with a new 25.6m mid-section and re-powered with four new engines and generators. The addition of 50 suites upped the passenger capacity to 312.

Star Pride at Pier 23 with the tug Dominion Rumbler and barge collecting waste.

Autoport had the SFL Composer with import Volkswagens loaded in Emden.

It is a 58,631 gt, 18,881 dwt ship with a capacity of 6500 CEU. Built in 2005 by Minami Nippon in Shitanoe, it was originally the Excellent Ace becoming Glovis Composer in 2012 and SFL Composer in 2020.

The Mediterranean Shipping Company had two ships in port - one for each container pier.

MSC Carmen on the Turkey-Greece service, westbound from Sines, arrived at PSA Fairview Cove.

Launched as the Buxcity it was delivered in 2008 by Daewoo-Mangalia as MSC Carmen. The 50,963 gt, 63,359 dwt ship has a capacity of 4884 TEU including 560 reefers.

MSC Esthi arrived at the Southend terminal, PSA Atlantic Hub, in the late afternoon from Baltimore on the eastbound leg of the Indusa service to India.

Built by Samsung, Geoje in 2006, it is a 108,930 gt, 132,035 dwt ship with a capacity of 9178 TEU including 700 reefers. Predictably eastbound ships are more lighly loaded and the MSC Esthi had topped off its deck load at four boxes high, and had a lot of empty space aft.

Tomorrow (October 1) will also be a busy day, with five cruise ships including the Queen Mary 2.

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