Repeaters, 1 and 2

 Repeater 1

 It is always good to see ships that are new to Halifax, but there are many ships that come to Halifax often and become regulars. Usually the repeaters do not attract much attention but sometimes their visit is worth noting.  Today (June 8)'s arrival of CSL's Baie St. Paul sees the return of a familiar ship, but its call may be worth a mention.

 On its way inbound late this morning the Baie St. Paul took the photographically preferrable route west of George's Island on its way to the Gold Bond Gypsum dock in Bedford Basin.

The 24,430 gt, 37,690 dwt ships was the first of CSL's Trillium class self-unloading bulkers, built in 2012 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. Initially intended for Great Lakes and St.Lawrence Seaway trading, it was later strengthened in order to make "short sea" voyages outside the confines of the Gulf of St.Lawrence to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. At the same time it began to carry salt loads out of the Magdalen Islands and to work well into the winter season to meet demand in upriver ports such as Montreal.

Included in those salt cargoes was four loads for Halifax landed at Pier 9C last year. See previous post at: September 20, 2021 . Approximately 100,000 to 150,000 tonnes of the material was stockpiled against the possibility of a disruption in supply from the Pugwash salt mine, which is the usual source for winter road salt in mainland Nova Scotia. (The same Shipfax post also explains the significance of the ship's name).

Now that CSL has taken delivery of a new purpose-built salt carrier called Nukumi (see previous posts at: March 27, April 6 and April 30), Baie St. Paul has returned to more traditional cargoes such as coal, aggregates and ore. In fact the ship is arriving today from Charlottetown where it delivered a load of construction aggregates from Auld's Cove, NS. That is a convenient run as the ship is built to Seawaymax dimensions, as is the Canso Lock, making it a short run along the Northumberland Strait to the PEI capital.

Salt is a notoriously destructive cargo for ships, so returning this ship to carrying less damaging materials should add a few years to its working life.

Recent loads of gypsum from Gold Bond to Canadian ports have been going to Hamilton, ON, although several other ports between here and there may also have demand for raw gypsum ore.

Repeater 2

The container carrier MSC Lucy arrived again today on the Mediterranean Shipping Company's Indus 2 service from north India. In my last post about the ship (see March 27 ) I  regretted that I could only get a "going away" photo instead of the better "arriving" view. So I stirred myself this morning to be on scene when it made its way in to PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, Pier 41.

 The ship, which certainly appeared to be deeply loaded, took the western, deepwater, channel and used a tug as tethered escort astern. It was then met by two more tugs in the Middle Ground between Maugher's Beach and Ives Knoll.

Hyundai Heavy Industry and Construction Co, Busan, South Korea built the MSC Lucy  in 2005 and it measures 89,954 gt, 104,954 dwt. It has a container capacity of 8089 TEU including 550 reefers.

MSC seems to be doing good business on the Indus 2 service, with some of the orginal 8,200 TEU size ships now being replaced with larger ones. I am not sure they could squeeze too many more boxes aboard this one, so more capacity may be on the way.

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Nukumi - amended

 Canada Steamjhip Lines' brand new salt hauler the Nukumi sailed from its berth in Halifax on Friday April 29, just over a month after it arrived from the shipyard in China. See Shipfax March 27, 2022

Built to carry salt from the Magdalen Islands the ship is in ballast and has not yet carried any cargo. Therefore its destination of Charlottetown is a bit of a mystery since no cargo would be loaded there. Perhaps CSL will clarify this in the coming days.

 Addendum: 

The ship will be sailing via the Cabot Strait and Cape North rather than using the Canso Canal - again unclear as to why, since the lock (and the ship) are built to Seaway dimensions. I do note that fleet mate Baie St.Paul has unloaded a cargo of coal at Belledune, NB and is headed for the Magdalen Islands for salt. I thought the Nukumi would be taking over from the Baie St. Paul, but demand for salt must be very high if two ships are needed.

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Nukumi reflagged

 The new bulk salt carrier Nukumi delivered to Canada March 27 arrived under the temporary flag of the Bahamas, registered in Nassau. 

The Bahamas flag is barely visible in this photo, but the port of Nassau is clear as is the Canadian flag flying in the courtesy position along with the pilot flag and the yellow "free pratique" flag.

It did not take long for CSL to enroll the ship under the Canadian flag, and it was registered in Montreal the next day, March 28.

With the "Canadianization" process under way, the permanent crew did not have a lot of time for repainting the port of registry on the stern, not to mention the rainy and even snowy weather of the past few days. Conditions improved yesterday, and "Nassau" was painted out, revealing the large welded letters for "Montreal" which had been applied at the shipyard. (The Canadian flag had been flying since the 28th.)

 Today the white paint appeared, and the ship looks complete.

The ship is also flying the CSL houseflag, although it is difficult to see.

Of note is the stern anchor. At one time all ships travelling in the St.Lawerence Seaway system were required to have a stern anchor. It is no longer required of foreign ships, but Canadian ships have one. They also have what are commonly called "Port Colborne fairleads" in specific locations. These are rotating rollers in the fairlead, such as the one amidships in the stern rail. They allow wire lines to be adjusted in the Seaway locks with minimal chafe. 

No sailing date has been posted yet for the ship, but it will be entering service soon.

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Nukumi arrives

 Canada Steamship Line's newest ship, the Nukumi, arrived today, March 27, on its delivery trip from the Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China via the Pacific Ocean and Panama Canal.

Built especially to carry salt, the ship will operate from the Mines Seleine mine in the Magdalen Islands to ports around eastern Canada and into the Great Lakes. Salt is a notoriously hard cargo on ships, and this one has been purpose built, in cooperation with Windsor Salt, to withstand the rigors of that trade.

The ship has established many firsts, such as the first diesel electric powered "laker", and the first single point loader/ selfunloader. Measuring 22,715 gt, 25,800 dwt. The ship was temporarily registered in the Bahamas for the delivery trip, but will be re-flagged Canadian and registered in Halifax before entering service.

CSL has done a fine job in publicizing the ship, and providing additional detail; see: Nukumi

The ship is named Nukumi, pronounced "noo-goo-mee", for the legendary wise old grandmother figure of the Native American Mi’kmaq people, traditional occupants of the unceded lands of eastern Canada.

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