Big Ships in the Big Harbour

 Halifax Harbour has been known as "the big harbour" since time immemorial. The original Mi'kmaq people called it that in their language, which modern orthography renders as Kjipuktuk. The name Kjipuktuk has been given to the Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency Services fireboat, which also has the unofficial call out name "Fireboat No.1".

 English colonizers corrupted Kjipuktuk to Chebucto, which continues as the name for an important road and countless other uses. Nevertheless Halifax remains the name of the Metropolitan area and the harbour.

The Big Harbour continues to live up to its name as it hosts ships of all sorts, some that might not be able to use other ports due to their size. Both the main harbour and the headwater Bedford Basin are in almost constant use.

In the Bedford Basin the tanker Ionic Anax has been at anchor since May 14 when it arrived in ballast from Canaport, off Saint John, NB, after unloading a cargo of Texas crude.

The diving tender Allen Clipper is alongside the ship - usually a sign of some underwater activity such as hull cleaning. (If the tender had been closer to the stern I would have suspected propellor trimming or removal of tangled rope.) 

Built in 2017 by Namura Shipbuilding in Imari, Japan, it is a 63,502 gt, 114,720 dwt Suezmax ship. As the name implies it is Greek owned and named for a mythical giant.

Arriving today, May 15, to anchor in the lower harbour is a former crude oil tanker, converted to a far different use. The Target is now a semi-submersible heavy load carrier.

Built in 1990 by Brodosplit in Croatia, as the Jahre Target it was renamed Nord-Jahre Target in 1993,  Crude Target in 2000, and was renamed Genmar Centaur in 2003 and Front Target in 2004. In 2007 it was rebuilt to its present configuration by Cosco Nantong Shipyard and renamed Target. It can now be ballasted down to submerge its main deck so that cargo can be floated over.

In the rebuild it was shortened about 10 meters, and its hull cut down and and a heavily reinforced deck installed, with resulting changes to its tonnages, from 77,931 gt to 42,515 gt and 142,031 dwt to 53,806 dwt. A secondary wheelhouse was installed forward for use if large loads block sightlines from the main bridge.

The ship is carrying cradles on deck which are used for transporting wind generator monopiles.

At PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway the large container ship ONE Wren sailed this morning after a 24 hour port call.

 The ship was built by Japan Marine United in Kure in 2018 as NYK Wren. When it was renamed in 2021 its gross tonnage was revised from 144,285 to 146,409 tons.  Deadweight tonnage remained the same at 139,335 tonnes as did container capacity of 14,026 TEU. 

The ONE Wren is on the EC3 service of the new Premier Alliance. It was previously a regular on the old THE Alliance service which has been renamed after the withdrawal of Hapag-Lloyd. Remaining members HMM, ONE and Yang Ming formed the Premier Alliance, maintaining many of the same routes and using the same designations. The EC3 runs to and from Asia and the US east coast. ONE Wren is currently east bound from New York and is due in Singapore June 18. It will likely be sailing non-stop via the Cape of Good Hope.

Not all ships using the harbour are big however. Some are realtively small, such as the multi-purpose general cargo ship Franbo Logic which sailed today after a shortish visit. It arrived May 12 from the Philppines via the Cape of Good Hope.

 Although the ship appears lightly loaded, it did take on steel racking to spool fibreoptic submarine cable. It also seems to have refueled at Pier 27 this morning. It has been here several times before going back to 2019, to take on the same "cargo". 

The ship was built by the Honda Heavy Industries Co Ltd in Saiki, Japan under the name Thorco Logic. It is a 13,110 gt, 16,969 dwt with movable pontoon tween decks and two 50 tonne cranes. It was renamed in 2021.

A sister ship the Franbo Lohas ex Thorco Lohas was port in April (see April 18) and also took on cable racking. It eventually sailed to Portsmouth, NH to load cable. However today's departure, the Franbo Logic, sailed for Avonmouth, UK.

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 A sister shipm Franbo Logic is

 
 

ONE after ONE but not the news

 Two Ocean Network Express (ONE) ships were seen in Halifax today, January 23 - one sailing and one arriving, but that was hardly newsworthy.

The departing ship was the ONE Falcon on the westbound leg of the THE Alliance's EC5 service. Its last port was Colombo and it arrived in Halifax January 21. It is now en route to New York.

The arriving ship was the ONE Wren on the eastbound leg of the same service from Charleston. 

Both ships are products of the Japan Marine United Shipyard in Kure, Japan, and are sister ships of the JMU 14000 Class, signifying a nominal capacity of 14,000 TEU. The actual rating is14,096 TEU. Each ship has slightly different tonnage figures.

The ONE Falcon (above) was built in 2017 and rates 146,287 gt, 138,907 dwt.  It was originally named NYK Falcon and was renamed in 2020. It sailed under sunny skies around noon time.

The ONE Wren (above) arrived late in the afternoon in a light snow flurry. It was built in 2018 as NYK Wren, and was renamed in 2021 and comes in at 146,409 gt, 139,335 dwt.

The ONE ships are now regulars, and despite their size and brilliant magenta hull paint, they are becoming matter of fact in the Port of Halifax. They no longer attract the sort of attention they received when they began to call here - certainly not the front page of the local newspaper.

That place of prominence was given over today to a small pleasure craft aground on the rocky shore of Ferguson's Cove, opposite Mauger's Beach.

My own photos, not as dramatic, reveal no name or other identification. The Canadian Coast Guard was on site removing fuel and loose gear so I assume the vessel is abandoned.

For the past few weeks there has been an AIS signal from a pleasure craft in the same area, named Obelix but it is no longer showing - that may only be a coincidence.

Removal of the boat will present a challenge, due to shallow water and a steep shore.

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Norwegian Prima - you decide

The immense cruise ship Norwegian Prima spent the day, April 29, in Halifax en route from New York to Europe.

 

The ship was built by Fincantieri, Marghera and entered service in 2022. At 143,535 gt, it has a passenger capacity variously reported as 3,099 and up to 3,215 with a crew of 1,506. Passenger accommodation is spread over 16 of the ship's total of 20 decks.

The ship is the first of six Prima class vessels, although subsequent ships will be longer and wider with the final two about 20% larger than this one. (Fortunately you can't get 20% uglier).

From Halifax the ship has planned calls in Reykjavik, Amsterdam, Zeebrugge and LeHavre, arriving in Southampton May 12.

Although very large, the ship does not operate at a very deep draft (8.4 meters / 27'-7" on sailing) so it was able to exit using the main channel, giving over the deep water western channel to the inbound ONE Wren which was reporting 15 meters / 49'-2 1/2" draft. Interestingly the 14,056 TEU ONE Wren has a gross tonnage of 146,409, but like the proverbial iceberg, much of it is underwater.

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Arrivals of Note (and Footnote)

 Among the arrivals in Halifax today, January 2, 2024, there were some notable ones.

The tanker Harbour Pioneer was noteworthy on a couple ofcounts. Firrst was that it arrived at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal from New York. By far the majority of ships that arrive at that dock are Irving Oil's own (albeit long term chartered) tankers, doing their rounds delivering product for local consumption from Irving's own refinery in Saint John, NB. Irving Oil also receives refined product at that dock from its own sources in Europe, shipped out of Amsterdam, but those shipments have been relatively rare lately.

Second point of interest is the ship's size. Instead of the usual MidRange ship of about 50,000 deadweight tonnes coming from Europe or the 37,500 dwt of its own tankers, the Harbour Pioneer is a mere 13,239 gt, 19,122 dwt. Built in 2010 by Yangfan in Zhoushan, China, it is owned by Vierte Nordtank of Hamburg. Ships of that company are well known Great Lakes callers but are seen here only once in a long while. I note the ship has enclosed bridge wings so it is likely Ice Class, as the prefix "Nord" in the company name implies.

I can also assume that the ship is carrying some small "package" of needed component such as winter fuel additive for local blending or some less commonly used product.

Another arrival has been the subject of some speculation (mine).

The Athina III is a 39,037 gt, 73,305 dwt Panamax bulk carrier, built in 2004 by Namura Shipbuilding Co Ltd at the Imari Shipyard + Works in Japan. It was delivered as the Ioannis Zafirakis and renamed Athina III in 2018 by the current owners Salvia Shipping, and the management of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime.

The ship arrived in Quebec City December 25 having departed Al Fujayrah, UAE anchorage November 19. It transited the Suez Canal November 28-29 and bunkered in Gibraltar December 7. After unloading in the Sillery section of the Port of Quebec (which has bulk cargo storage and distribution facilities) it departed December 29 and anchored off Halifax January 1.

When spotted from shore yesterday (see previous post) the ship appeared to be loaded, but that was a view from sea level, and was misleading. From closer up today, the ship appears to be in ballast and therefore will take a full load in Halifax, not just a top-up. The ship has a history of carrying soybeans, and that is likely what it will load here.

 As you will have noticed from today's two photos, the angle of view and focal length of the camera lens can distort the appearance of the ship, exagerating its proportions.

The autocarrier  Thermopylae made a return visit today. The ship made a quick turn around after it last visit on November 27, 2023. It sailed from here on November 28 and called at Baltimore December 1, Gothenburg December 15, Bremerhaven December 17-18, Zeebrugge December 20 and Southampton December 22-24. On this trip it is carrying only cars for Halifax, so went directly to Autoport, without dropping RoRo cargo at Pier 9C as it did last time.

The first ship of the HERO class (High Efficiency RoRo). it was delivered in 2015 by Hyundai Samho, Mokpo. The 75,283 gt, 23,786 dwt ship can carry 8,000 RT43 class cars and uses a 320 tonne SWL stern ramp.

With port operations now back to normal after the holidays, two container ships arrived from offshore where they had been idling. ONE Wren tied up at Pier 41 and MOL Experience at PSA Fairview Cove. I expect the Atlantic Sail, arriving later today, will have interchange cargo for the idle Nolhan Ava which has been "parked" at Pier 9C. Tropic Lisette at Pier 42 resumed cargo operations today too and is due to sail at the end of the working day.

 Footnote

It is a good time to thank everyone who has supported this blog during the past year with comments including the always welcome corrections, and to add Best Wishes for 2024.

I do not monotize this blog, so I receive no financial reward for readership totals. But I do welcome readers to sign up as followers. 

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Waiting

New Year's Day is a holiday, and there is usually no work in the port and January 1, 2024 was no exception, with only two commercial vessels in  the harbour, and both idle.

At Pier 42 the Tropical Lissette was patiently waiting for the end of the holiday period to resume work.

 At Pier 9C it was the Nolhan Ava laying over for the holidays, before returning to its usual weekly trips to St-Pierre et Miqueon and Argentia. (December 30 photo)

Meanwhile offshore two ships could be seen at the anchorages with Devil's Island partially blocking the view.

The larger ship is the ONE Wren a 14,026 TEU container ship. It is expected to move in to PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway tomorrow.

Astern of it is the Panamax bulker Athina III also due tomorrow at Pier 28 to take a top-up load of grain or soyabeans. The ship loaded in Quebec City, but due to draft restrictions on the St.Lawrence River it could not take a full cargo. (Some sources have identified the ship as the crude oil tanker Athina, but this was an error on someone's part.)

Otherwise the port was very quiet with ships settled in for the winter. Among them is the museum ship Acadia at an unusual berth. Due to planned construction activity at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the Halifax side of the harbour, the ship was moved to the forner Coast Guard base in Dartmouth. Now the home base for COVE - the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship - It is also the base for several active research ships.

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More boxes for ONE

 Ocean Network Express ships of the Bird class are now regular callers in Halifax. Today (September 21) saw two of the ships in port - although not at the same time. The ONE Blue Jay, which arrived early yesterday morning sailed mid-afternoon today for Port Said, Egypt on the eastbound leg of its EC5 route for THE Alliance.

It was just about hull down on the horizon (from my position) when the ONE Wren arrived at the pilot station from Colombo (via Suez) on the westbound leg. I could not manage both ships in the same photo as I was too close to sea level. 

 

I did note that both ships were well loaded, with ONE Wren carrying containers up to eight high on deck. The ship was built by Japan Marine United in Kure in 2018 as NYK Wren. When it was renamed in 2021 its gross tonnage was revised from 144,285 to 146,409 tons.  Deadweight tonnage remained the same at 13,335 tonnes as did container capacity of 14,026 TEU.

When ONE Wren arrived in Halifax on June 11, 2023 (also westbound) it was only loaded to four containers high, and so it was possible to see some of the ship's superstructure:

 

The lead up to Christmas is usually the busiest time of year for imports from Asia, which would explain the considerable difference in beck load and hull draft between June 11 and September 21.

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MSC in, NYK out , ONE in, (updated)

 A well organized meeting of container ships took place late this morning, June 11, as the arriving MSC Elma took the western, deep water, channel leaving the smaller NYK Nebula a straight run outbound in the shallower eastern channel.

The MSC Elma keeps close to the western shore...

 

 

 

leaving lots of room for the NYK Nebula.

(see yesterday's post for more on this ship)

When the MSC Elma re-entered the main channel it very unusually began its turn to back in to PSA Halifax, Pier 41. The turn is usually made much closer to the pier, but the ship was berthing at the extreme south end of Pier 42 to allow for the next arrival.

The tug Atlantic Fir acting as brake, assisted in the turn...

and was joined by the tug Atlantic Bear.

Note the unusual deck loading of alternate bays.

MSC Elma is the first ship to call in Halifax on a newly reconfigured MSC route from Northwest Europe to the west coast of South America, called the Ecuador - NWC (for North West Continent). The eight week rotation from Antwerp will call in Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Halifax, Boston, Freeport, Rodman (Balboa), Guayaquil, Puerto Bolivar, Guayaquil, Paita, Cristobal, Moin (Costa Rica) and Antwerp.

MSC has discontinued the "Boston Express" route that used four ships and ran from Antwerp, Bremerhaven, Boston, Montreal and Antwerp. The MSC Samira III (2564 TEU) was the last ship to service that route.

The MSC Elma was built in 2016 by Jinhai Heavy Industry Co in Daishan County, China. The 97,805 gt, 110,103 dwt ship has a capacity of 8800 TEU (other sources say 9408) including 1700 reefer plugs. 

So far three other ships names have been listed for the service: MSC Lily, MSC Antonella (both 8819 TEU) and MSC Amalfi (9403 TEU).

Addendum #1:

The South American route is considered "reefer heavy" with large quantities of fruit and other perishables coming out of the region and headed for the northern hemisphere. That may explain the lashing bridges on the main deck and the large number of white boxes.

Addendum #2:

It was late afternoon when ONE Wren arrived from Colombo, Ceylon- the latest of the bird class ships built for NYK now operating for ONE on THE Alliance's EC5 service.

The ship was built in 2018 by Japan Marine United in Kure as NYK Wren and delivered with the traditional NYK black hull, white superstructures and black funnel with two red stripes and three white stripes.

In 2021 the ship was renamed ONE Wren and repainted in the magenta based colour scheme of Ocean Network Express.

 The tug Atlantic Bear provided braking and steering assist with a line astern while Atlantic Oak worked forward on the port side. Atlantic Fir was not visible on the starboard side.

The ship's deck was loaded in four high tiers, unlike sister ship ONE Cygnus when it arrived June 6 loaded three high, but still appeared lightly loaded.

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