Still the Biggest

The Biggest

The ship that holds the record as the largest container ship to call in Halifax arrived again today on the Columbus JAX service of the Ocean Alliance.  CMA CGM Marco Polo is one of several ships of the Explorer class that call here regularly, but this one edges out the other members by millimeters in measurements.

 Due to its overall length of 396 meters, it is required to use two escort tugs tethered astern. A third tug is also needed to berth at PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway. The ship used the deepwater western channel on its way into port. The stern tugs assist the ship in braking and steering as it makes its way through the channels.

Built in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in Okpo, the 176,546 gt, 187,625 dwt ship has a capacity of 16,020 TEU.

As the ship made the crossover from the western channel to the main channel as it approached the pier an other Ultra size container shipc could be seen waiting in the outer anchorages. The ONE Swan a 14,026 TEU ship is due to come in tomorrow. 

 

The extension to the southend terminal and the addition of two more cranes was supposed to allow two Ultra size ships (more than 10,000 TEU) to berth at the same time. 

The CMA CGM Marco Polo deviated from its normal route on this voyage. After sailing from Singapore and the Malacca Strait (January 28) it skipped its usual call in Colombo and sailed directly to the Cape of Good Hope, reporting off Cape Town February 11. It then made for Tanger Med, passing the Canary Islands February 21, and arriving in the Moroccan port February 24. It cleared the same day and headed directly for Halifax. 

Due to the long diversion in order to avoid the Red Sea, the ship was probably given priorty for berthing, although I suspect that PSA Halifax would be hard pressed to work two Ultras at the same time.

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Parting is such sweet sorrow

 In his play Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare wrote "Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow." I seem to have noted several partings from the port today, November 9. Although there were also arrivals, it was only the partings that I caught on camera.

Among those was the sailing of the Silver Shadow, the last cruise ship of the 2023 season.

Built in 2000 by T.Mariotti in Genoa, the 28,258 gt ship carries 388 passengers and 295 crew and with 194 outside suites is reputed to have the most space per passenger of any cruise ship. The ratio of gross tonnage to passenger is 74. Since gross tonnage is now a calculated number (it is no longer measured laboriously at 100 cubic feet to a ton) I am not sure how much actual space each person gets, but it does seem like a lot.

"Till it be morrow" is more like "till next year" in this case as no more cruise ships are anticipated until April or May of 2024. 

A more mundane, but more colourful departure was the bulk carrier Maryam D sailing for Aarhus, Denmark with a cargo of wood pellets for power generaiotn.

The ship arrived off Halifax from Boston on October 28 and anchored until October 30 when it came in and tied up at Pier 28. It took on the cargo which is stored in the grain elevator using the facillity's conveyor system. Some loading time was lost to rain as tarps are not used as shelter for the hatches.

The ship was built in 2016 by Jiangdong Shipyard, Wuhu, China, as Grand Marais, and was renamed in 2019 by current owners, Maryam D BV, and placed under Norbulk Shipping UK Ltd management. A 24,185 gt, 35,093 dwt ship, it is equipped with four cranes.

There was a departure and arrival of sister ships today, but it took place offshore, and was not visible from land. The arriving ship was the ONE Apus, but it did not reach the inner harbour until nearly dusk. The departing ship however did sail in broad daylight. ONE Swan is one of the several ships if its class that are regulars on THE Alliance's EC5 service.

The 145,403 gt, 138,907 dwt ship was built as the NYK Swan in 2017 by Japan Marine United in Kure, and has a capacity of 14,026 TEU. It was renamed in 2020 as part of the consolidation of Japanese container lines into Ocean Network Express.  The ship is eastbound, giving an ETA for the Suez Canal of November 20.

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