Sunday roundup

Perhaps unusual for a Sunday, there was a fair amount of traffic in the harbour today. Aside from the asphalt sailings this morning (see previous post) there were the following:

 A well worn Atlantic Conveyor made a very brief call at Fairview Cove. On its eastbound leg it was alongside for little more than three hours.
 

 The seismic ship Ocean Odyssey arrived early this afternoon. Soon after tying up at pier 30, the bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth was alongside for refueling.

There was also a brief visit from the cruise ship Pearl Mist. It arrived this morning and sailed early this afternoon, on a sunny and hot day.

  Like an old time coastal schooner, it slings a skiff off its stern. Unlike those boats, this one, named Launch 7, has a landing craft type bow door.

 Arriving for the G6 Alliance, NYK Meteor made its way to Fairview Cove with the assistance of tugs Atlantic Spruce on the bow and Atlantic Oak on the stern. Built in 2007 by Hyundai Heavy Industries of Ulsan, the 55,534 grt ship has a capacity of 4922 TEU.  The port of Halifax seems to have been added to its usual Asia / US East coast route of NYK ships.

Other comings and goings included the departure of suppliers Scotian Sea (for Shell seismic ships) and Atlantic Condor (for Deep Panuke) and the wood chip carrier Taiho Maru dropping off its pilot on return from Sheet Harbour. The tug Atlantic Willow had gone to Sheet Harbour yesterday to berth the ship and unberth it today. It also returned to port this afternoon.

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More seismics

The summer seismic projects continue to gear up with several more ships arriving over the next few days.

Geco Diamond arrived early this afternoon. Built in 1993 and measuring 4,547 gross tons, a product of the Palmer Johnson Norway yard in Flekkefjord, it looks almost yacht-like. (Palmer Johnson is better known for its high speed power boats.) The helicopter platform is forward, and accommodation appears to be substantial.

When the ship was here in 2000 it had the name Schlumberger applied prominently on its flanks. Now that Schlumberger (Geco) and Western have merged, there is a different logo, but there has also been a change in the configuration of the stern of the ship, including relocation of the satellite domes and other modifications. The rebuilt stern portion has been repainted, with the white arrow gone.

Geco Diamond is one of three "gun boats" to used in the BP seismic program this summer. It will work with Western Pride and Western Neptune, both UT 743 types.

Later this afternoon another seismic craft arrived. Ocean Odyssey is not among those listed for the BP project, so it presumably to be used by Shell.

Owned by Remoy Shipping of Fosnavag, Norway, it was built in 2005 by Soviknes Verft, of Sovik Norway. It measures 3,658 gross tons. A more businesslike looking vessel, based on a supplier configuration, it has a large enclosed hangar deck with helicopter pad above.

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Ocean Odssey

The seismic research vessel Ocean Odyssey arrived at pier 27 this morning. Built on conventional supply vessel lines, it has an enclosed after deck and helicopter platform.
Owned by Remoy Shipping of Fossnavaag, Norway it is registered with the Norwegian International Register.
As with many European vessels, the hull was built in one location and the ship was finished in another. In this case the hull was built at the Aker Tuclea Shipyard in Romania, and completed at the Soviknes Werft AS in Sovik, Norway. The cost saving is apparently worth it, even including the cost of towing the ship all the way round from the Black Sea through the Mediterranean to Norway.
Dating from 2005, the ship measures 3658 gross tons.
The ship has been operating under charter to Western Geco, since built.

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