Newest pilot boat

 The newest pilot boat for the Atlantic Pilotage Authority arrived today, May25, from Aviles, Spain as deck cargo on the ship Acadia Desgagnés. The ship used its own cranes to lift the boat and place it in the water at Pier 9B. Much of this activity was not visible from shore, but I expect there will be photos taken from the ship on social media sometime soon.

 

Once safely in the water the boat was moved to the pilot dock in Dartmouth by another of the pilot boats, the Nova Pilot.

 The Nova Pilot (ex SC Lynx) and its near sister boat Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) were acquired in 2017 from the Netherlands, and are "fair weather" boats. The new boat is expected to operate in all conditions. The APA has only been operating one all weather boat in Halifax, the Capt E.T.Rogers. A second all weather boat is expected to reduce the number of cancellations and provide a back-up.

The new boat is named Foundation Pilot and unlike the two fleet mates, does not appear to be water jet propelled as far as I can tell. I have no more details at present, but will post when available.

(The name "Foundation" seems to  commemorate the company Foundation Maritime which took over harbour tug operations in Halifax harbour in 1935 and achieved fame as a leading marine salvage operator with their legendary tug Foundation Franklin. The parent company Foundation Company of Canada was also a large engineering and construction firm. They sold the tug operations in 1973.)

Transport Desgagnés, ownersof the Acadia Desgagnés is a Quebec based company that operates tankers and dry cargo vessels. Many of its dry cargo ships are used for northern supply in the summer and are flagged out to operate internationally for the rest of the year often working for BBC Chartering.

The Acadia Desgagnés was launched as the Montelema by Shandong Balbuting, Rongcheng and completed as BBT Ocean in 2013. It was soon renamed Sider Tis and was acquired and renamed by Desgagnés in 2017. It is a 7875 gt, 11,353 dwt vessel with two 30 tonne capacity cranes. Each year it carries the Canadian flag for six to eight months then swithches to Barbados flag. I expect it will reflag back to Canada while in Halifax.

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Pilot Boat Changes

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has made another change in pilot boat assignments in Halifax as its fleet of boats goes through refits. The Captain A.G.Soppit (see October 13 post) has returned to its normal post in Saint John, NB.

Its place has been taken by Captain E.T.Rogers, also normally based in Saint John, but fresh from refit in Meteghan. The Rogers was built in 2012 by Abco Industries in Lunenburg as Chebucto Pilot for service in Halifax.  Captain A.G. Soppitt was built to the same design and APA chose to group similar boats in the same ports for operational familiarity and maintenance.  Chebucto Pilot went to Saint John and was renamed.

The usual Halifax pilot boat Scotia Pilot is presumably still in refit, and for now the Rogers shares duties with the Nova Pilot.

The pilot boats have moved from the north to the south side of the former Foundation / ECTUG / Svitzer pier, giving room for a floating landing stage. The Province of Nova Scotia purchased the dock and the adjacent former salvage dock to the south which I expect will be demolished as an eyesore. Both piers are old timber pile construction and would need extensive repairs if they were to be re-purposed.

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Flat

Weather moderated considerably last evening and by today, although it was gloomy, Halifax harbour activity returned to normal. Three cruise ships put in, Norwegian Dawn, Zuiderdam and Riviera. Of these the latter two sailed before dark, in calm conditions although there was some residual swell.

Riviera makes its way outbound past a late season sailor (not making much way in fitful conditions) as the substitute pilot boat Capt A.G.Soppit paces the ship.[see below]

Only three minutes later Zuiderdam passes the end of the new pier 42 extension.

(The sailor has made little progress.)

Pilot boat operations in recent weeks have been carried out in part by Captain A.G.Soppit a boat built in 2012 by ABCO in Lunenburg, NS, and assigned to Saint John, NB. The Atlantic Pilotage Authority normally operates the two former Dutch crew boats Nova Pilot (ex SC Lynx) and Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) in Halifax. The latter is apparently out of service, and the Soppitt has been brought in to ensure that there are two boats available.

Captain A.G.Soppitt has an operating speed of 18 knots.

Nova Pilot although capable of 24 knots operates at a maximum 20 knots.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has back up boats available to cover refits, and they do shuffle them around as the various ports have different requirements. The run from downtown Halifax to the pilot station area off Chebucto Head, requires a boat with a reasonable turn of speed and some of the back up boats would not be able to do it in the 45 minutes to one hour that the above boats can do.

While Captain A.G.Soppitt is in Halifax, the port of Saint John is making do with  Fundy Pilot, and A.PA. No.18. The other regular Saint John boat and Soppitt sister vessel Captain E.T. Rogers appears on AIS to be in refit at Meteghan, NS.

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Weather fallout

As predicted Sunday's storm resulted in the suspension of pilotage operations in Halifax from Sunday pm until 1500 Monday.

Some ships managed to squeeze in and out of port before conditions worsened. The container ship Paxi sailed and the bulker Salarium arrived. Thorco Liva also sailed, but continued on to Portsmouth, NH where it will eventually load cable at Newington. East Coast also sailed, and headed for Portland, ME. It must not have unloaded all its cargo here at Irving Oil and Imperial.

Scheduled arrivals put back out to sea. Maersk Penang and Algoma Integrity stood well offshore and although pilotage operations resumed at 1500 hrs today, it took the ships until 1630 and 18630 respectively to reach the pilot station. Although not listed on yesterday's arrivals, APL Detroit would normally have arrived Saturday or Sunday. It arrived at the pilot station at 1700 today.

Tropic Hope went to anchor well into St.Margaet's Bay and put off arrival until tomorrow. Since the preferred berths at Halterm are now occupied there was no point in coming in tonight and having to shift berths again tomorrow. The autocarrier Delhi Highway has also put off coming in until tomorrow.

Salarium is listed to depart tomorrow also. Since the storm moved off in a northeasterly direction, it ran the risk of catching up with it before reaching Cabot Strait. Also Algonorth will move from its standby berth at Pier 9C to Imperial Oil.

It seems that there have been many more suspensions of pilotage operations in the last six months than anyone can recall. Scientists have observed that weather is becoming more severe, and that storm events in particular are more intense. Therefore the risks to vessels and to pilots are increasing, and it is with safety in mind that these suspensions are becoming more common.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority is also at something of a disadvantage at the moment with both its regular Halifax pilot boats out of service.

The Nova Pilot and Scotia Pilot were only acquired in the summer of 2017 and have been less than reliable. In part this is due to their water jet propulsion system, which is apparently somewhat fragile and prone to leaking. Both boats were built as pilot transfer and crew boats for use in protected waters, and may not be durable enough for the rigours of offshore pilotage.

Nova Pilot was sent to Meteghan for repairs late last year and has not yet returned. Scotia Pilot was removed from service last week and is tied up at Dominion Diving in Dartmouth. Filling in are the veterans A.P.A. No.18 (built in 1974) and Fundy Pilot (built 1983). Both were serving as backup boats elsewhere, but are now in daily service here.

The veteran APA No.18 is one of three similar boats built in the 1970s and still answering the call.

Fundy Pilot has been here since June, orginally to fill in for the Scotia Pilot. It is now in regular use  as both Nova Pilot (shown here) and Scotia Pilot are out of service.

Certainly conditions have been extreme lately, and it is unlikely that any pilot boat could have stood up to some of the recent weather. However that may be the new normal, and if so durable pilot boats will be essential to the smooth running of the port.

To watch for

Watch for the Atlantic Pilotage Authority's new pilot boats. As mentioned in a previous post, crews are putting the boats through their paces before they go into service.

This morning the Nova Pilot was on trials at pier 23. Expect to see them accompanying ships out to the pilot station, but not actually boarding pilots. Nova Pilot and Scotia Pilot will replace the venerable A.P.A.No.1 in Halifax and be available to replace other boats as they go in for refits.

A.P.A.No.1 (left) will be replaced. The new boats have heated decks and rails which will make it safer for pilots in freezing spray conditions. Chebucto Pilot (right) was built with heated decks and rails, but they have not functioned properly. (February 14, 2017 photo)

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Roundup

With the annual Shipfax vacation about to start soon, it seems like a good time to do a small round up of pending events.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has acquired a pair of high speed pilot boats to supplement their  fleet. The boats were built in the Netherlands and had seen service for Sima Charters in the UK before they were acquired this spring. Their trip to Halifax was an interesting one. From the port of Waalhaven, they were lifted aboard the Icelandic cargo ship Bakkafoss on June 17. On arrival in Reykjavik they were unloaded and then transferred to the Reykjafoss for the trip to Halifax. On arrival here July 1 they were unloaded and moved to Dominion Diving's facility at Dartmouth Cove for final fit out.

The two boats have now been renamed Nova Pilot (the former SC Lynx) and Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) both were built in Huesden, Netherlands by ShipInstall BV. Although they are  built to the same basic design they are slightly different.

Nestled in at Dartmouth Cove, the pair have recovery platforms on the stern and lifting cradles to recover persons from the water.

Nova Pilot was built in 2010 and is powered by two Volvo engines totalling 1144 kW (1400 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce water jets for a top speed of 24 knots.

Scotia Pilot was built in 2011 (according the previous owners, but 2012 according to Transport Canada) and is powered by a pair of Caterpillar engines totaling 1304 kW (1748 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce waterjets for a maximum speed of 26 knots.

The boats are both 18.5m long by 5.6m breadth with a draft of 21.1m and can carry 12 persons with a range of about 300 miles.
They are also fitted with second steering station outside and extensive man overboard recovery gear. Other fittings include heated deck and hand rails.

Scotia Pilot returning from a practice run with the outbound Ningdo Express in the Middle Ground area, but the regular pilot boat Chebucto Pilot did the actual disembarking at the pilot station.

The ferry Dartmouth III has completed drydocking in Sambro, but is still undergoing some work alongside the government wharf. The new owners plan to sail the vessel to Toronto via the Gulf of St.Lawrence with many stops along the way.

Amongst the fishing vessels at the Sambro government wharf, Dartmouth III looks very much out of place.  Sharp eyes will detect that its name is applied to a plate which presumably covers a new name that will not be revealed until it reaches its now home in Toronto.

Speaking of long trips through the St.Lawrence system, the little bunkering tanker Arca I that got into trouble last winter and ran ashore in Cape Breton, has finally departed from Sydney on its way to its new home in Mexico. This time it is on board the heavy lift ship HHL Tokyo departing Sydney July 19 and now travelling in comfort and safety.

An interesting yacht visited Halifax last week, and sailed this morning, so if you didn't see it, here are some photos.

Silver Cloud is the world's first SWATH type yacht. The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull design uses small diameter twin hulls to reduce water plane area and increase efficiency through the water. The two cylindrical hulls (11 feet in diameter in the case of the Silver Cloud) are bridged by the ship's deck making a roomy and stable catamaran.
 

This one was built in 2008 by Abeking and Rasmussen in Lemwerder, Germany and measures 134 feet long x 58 feet wide, and has generous accommodation for five guests and five crew. It features all the usual amenities and bells and whistles and can accommodate a small helicopter (of course).

With a Latin dance party going on at full blast on the adjacent dock, I hope the yachters had good sound proofing.

 

For this yacht, there are numerous on line links with many interior photos, and even identification of the owner:
http://yachtsilvercloud.com/index.htm

This is not the first SWATH type craft to call in Halifax,. In fact one of the earliest SWATHs is CCGS Federick G. Creed, built by Swath Ocean Systems Inc of San Diego, CA in 1988 and lease / purchased by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in 1989. Although it sailed out of Halifax for a time it has been based at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont Joli, QC and rarely leaves the confines of Gulf of St.Lawrence conducting marine research.

As  originally painted in white oceanographic colours, Frederick G. Creed approaches a dock in Halifax.

In Fisheries and Oceans colours, and as a Coast Guard ship, the vessels passes George's Island inbound to Halifax.

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