Nordpol - maybe last call

A pair of ships that have been regular haulers of bauxite to La Baie, QC for RioTinto Alcan have been sold to Chinese owners.

Nordpol and Nordkap were built in 2002 by Kanasashi Heavy Industries in Toyohashi, Japan as Kamsarmax ships of 40,066 gt, 77195 dwt. (Kamsar is a major bauxite port in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa, where ships are limited in size to 229m long). Originally owned by Wealth Line Inc and managed by Fukujin under Panama flag, they moved to the Danish International Register in 2006 for current owners Norden A/S. It is likely that the Norden were the owners all along, but the shipyard financing deal included some form of "charter to own". 

Both ships have called in Halifax before. Nordkap in February 2007 for propellor repairs due to ice damage.
Nordpol was last here March 7, 2013 for a similar repairs to ice damage. It is now due again (March 27) after a trip through the Saguenay and Gulf.  This time it appears to be for fuel, since the ship is only in port for a few hours.

I posted some photos during that last visit:
http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2013/03/port-of-hailfax-on-waether-watch-day-2.html
http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2013/03/nordpol-repairs-completed.html

Since comparable photos are impossible nowadays due to port fences, this is the best I can do.

The new owners have not been identified by name nor is there any indication yet what trade routes they may follow, however the ships were built for the bauxite trade and china needs bauxite. The en bloc price was quoted as $14.5mn.

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Nordpol - repairs completed

The bulker Nordpol sailed this afternoon after completing repairs to her prop at pier 31. The ship had damaged the prop in ice during her trip to La Baie, on the Saguenay River with a cargo of bauxite ore from Kamsar, French Guinea.
She is now headed for Trombitas, Brazil for another load of the same mineral.

Port of Hailfax on weather watch-day 2, and more

 1. Seas roll in with Chebucto Head in the background.

For a second day the Port of Halifax saw no piloted arrivals or departures due to dangerous sea conditions at the pilot station. Stiff winds for the last several days have built up seas that would make it unsafe to embark or disembark pilots.

 2. Devil's Island is almost awash at times.

Yesterday's sole departure was the Oceanex Sanderling which does not require a pilot since her master has a pilotage certificate for Halifax.
One intended departure, Zim Barcelona, left pier 42 Halterm yesterday morning and went out to anchorage west of number 1 anchorage. Surely a rare sight to see a containership anchored there, but since there are no arrivals or departures scheduled it is not in the way. Also the St-Pierre RoRo Fusion moved to anchorage yesterday afternoon.

3. The pilot boat Capt. Alwin G. Soppitt returns to port after checking on conditions off Chebucto Head. Zim Barcelona will have to wait at least until morning.

Meanwhile the containerships Zim Rio Grande and OOCL Shanghai (both due March 8) and the bulker  Wadi Alarab (due March 7) are cooling their heels well offshore until tomorrow morning when conditions may permit their safe arrival.
Things are deceptively calm within the harbour, allowing repairs to continue on Nordpol Friday, with the ship taking bunkers today while workers take the day off.

4. Nordpol is ballasted down by the bow for stern repairs, but takes bunkers anyway. Panamax ships have Panamax size gangways.

Speaking of repairs, it appears that CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent is receiving less than a full scale repair job after her collision off Sydney. From the looks of the work going on right now, she is being patched up to go back to sea, with more extensive repairs to be done later, if at all.

On Monday (upper photo)  a section of damaged rail has been cut out, and some distorted deck too. By this morning (lower photo) new plate has been welded in, and stanchions are back in place. There has been some patching work around the anchor pocket but, it appears to follow the line of the dent. Further aft, where damage appears to be somewhat less severe, no exterior work is evident..

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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