Nordpol - tangled with ice

The bulker Nordpol arrived this morning in very light condition and tied up at pier 31. The ship had discharged a cargo of bauxite at La Baie, on the icy Saguenay River, and proceeded directly to Halifax where it was met by divers. They were soon at work on the stern of the ship, hinting at rudder or propeller damage, incurred in the ice.
The ship was built in 2002 by Kanasashi Heavy Industries in Toyohashi, Japan, and is a bulk carrier of 40,066 gross tons, 77,195 deadweight tonnes, of the Panamax type. It is part of a large fleet operated by the Danish company Norden http://www.ds-norden.com/
The company operates more than sixty Panamaxes and numerous other ships of varying sizes. Most are gearless, but this ship carries four 30 tonne cranes with grab buckets for loading or unloading bulk cargoes.

Third Bulker

1. Nordpol arrives this afternoon for bunkers. It is quite obvious that this ship has not been through any ice recently.

Today's third bulker arrival is Nordpol. Built in 2002, the ship is a 40,066 gross/77,195 tonne deadweight vessel, owned and operated by Norden A/S of Hellerup, Denmark.

Norden is a very old company, founded in 1871, but it operates a fleet of 166 modern bulkers and tankers. See: http://www.ds-norden.com/

This ship, and its sister Nordkap, have been fixed on ten year charters to Rio Tinto-Alcan to carry bauxite to La Baie, QC, on the Saguenay River. To operate year round, the ships have been reinforced to navigate in ice.

It is carrying a load of bauxite from Port Kamsar, Equatorial Guinea, the largest bauxite loading port in the world. Many Panamax ships, such as this one, are designed to also be Kamsarmax ships. This means that they are built to the maximum length that Port Kamsar can handle, which is 229m. The ship has four 30 tonne cranes and "grabs" (clamshell buckets) for handling cargo.

Norden has also recently signed a contract with Rio Tinto-Alcan for two new ships, custom designed to carry alumina (the concentrated version of bauxite), from South America to La Baie. They will be ice reinforced, and have a low air draft to accommodate height restrictions in some South American ports.

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