Another arctic grounding - Rosaire A. Desgagnés

 A second ship has run aground in the far north. This one is a bit luckier than the first however. 

The first ship is the Dutch flagged Thamesborg, which fetched up on rocks in a poorly charted stretch of the Franklin Strait on September 7. It was en route from China to Baie Comeau, QC with a cargo of carbon blocks (industrial water filters) and was taking an unconventional route in a Northwest Passage. According to reports, its double bottom was breached but is fuel tanks are intact and there has been no pollution. A McKeil tug has been dispatched to go to the ship's assistance, but may take weeks to reach the site. Numerous CCG assets are on location, including CCGS Wilfred Laurier and CCGS Jean Goodwill. (The latter, despite CCG plans to provide towing is not yet equipped to do so.) The cargo ship Miena Desgagnés was also reported standing by, perhaps to provide ligthering if needed.

The second ship to find bottom is the Canadian flagged Rosaire A. Desgagnés. It was on its annual arctic supply voyage in Arctic Bay, Baffin Island, Nunavut August 23 when it grounded, but was able to refloat itself at high tide. At last report it is due in St. John's September 13 under its own power. 

The ship has called in Halifax after winter work under foreign flag. Built in 2007 by Jiangzhou Union Shipyard in Ruichang, China it is a 9611 gt, 12,777 dwt ship with a pair of 120 tonne SWL cranes. Built for the failed German company Beluga Shipping it was launched as Beluga Fortitude but was acquired and renamed by Tranport Desgagnés in the same year.

Earlier this summer I saw the ship taking on its lighterage barges and tugs off Ile-aux-Coudres, QC, on its first arctic sealift trip of the summer season. (For more on the tugs and barges, see companion blog Tugfax for September 7)

Northern communities rely on these ships for their necessities, and generally only receive one shipment per year. If a ship misses a call, there are few alternatives, creating considerable hardship for residents and businesses. 

Cargo has to be lightered off the ship and delivered to shore by barge as most artic communities have no port facilities. Spare ships and lighterage equipment are not readily available. The short northern shipping season also complicates matters should there be disruptions to schedules.

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More departures for Quebec

 The tug W.N.Twolan which arrived in Halifax December 12 [see post of that date]with its barge NT 1802 finally sailed Sunday January 8. Once again it did so without pilot, despite the barge exceeding 1000 gross tons. The tug was in port to load some components for the McInnis Cement facility on Port Daniel, QC. 

The cargo was loaded at PSA Fairview Cove, but the process was barely visible from any shoreside vantage point. Several cranes were employed initially, but the very large red crane in the photo above was not one of them. It is employed in dismantling the smallest of the container cranes. 

It is possible that the presence of the ship Rosaire A. Desgagnés at Fairview Cove at the same time might be connected in some way to the McInnis cargo, but I have no inside info. [see previous post]

Today January 9 there was another departure for Quebec. 

The Oslo Bulk 1 arrived from New Haven, CT on January 7 and anchored offshore until this morning when it came alongside Pier 28. It appears to have taken on bunkers from trucks and did not handle any cargo. It sailed mid-afternoon for Quebec City. It is rather small for the usual bulk carriers calling at that port, so bears watching for future developments.

The ship was built as Oslo Bulk 1 in 2010 by Jiangsu Yangzijiang in Jiangyin and is a 5629 gt, 8040 dwt vessel fitted with two 25 tonne cranes. It also carries its own grabs for bulk cargo. It was renamed Corral from 2010 to 2012, then reverrted to its orginal and current name. The ship is termed a "single deck, open hatch, boxy bulker".  In other words the ship has no 'tween decks, its hatches are the same size as its holds, which are generally box shaped. Its three holds have ventilation and the ship can carry 109 (empty) TEU containers on deck or 48 x 20 ft @ 14 tonnes, or 24 x 40 ft @24 tonnes loaded containers on deck.

At Pier 28, the ship is just ahead of the future Algotitan (still called Chantaco) see another post.

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A bit of everything

 The Port of Halifax carries out many types of business from containers and RoRo, to break bulk and bulk, but also as a conveniently located ice free and sheltered harbour just off the North Atlantic Great Circle route, it welcomes ships that have had misadventures and need a place to make repairs and get straightnend out again.

Today, January 4, saw ships of most of these categories:

Conti Courage arrived from India via Suez, with recent stops in Haifa and Valencia on MSC's Indus Express service. Built in 2005 as Hatsu Service by Samsung Shipbuilding + Heavy Industry Co, Geoje, it was renamed by Conti Lines in 2017. The 90,449 gt, 106,984 dwt ship has a capacity of 8084 TEU including 700 reefers. The ship is a first time caller in Halifax, and tied up at PSA Atlantic Hub, Southend Terminal.

A regular caller in Halifax on THE Alliance's EC5 route, the Hyundai Faith arrived at PSA Fairview Cove and experienced very calm conditions in Bedford Basin.

 Hyundai Faith is a 8562 TEU ship built in 2008 by Hyundai Samho. At 94,511 gt, 98,967 dwt, it is among the largest pure container ships to call at Fairview Cove. (The ACL Con Ros are larger)

Roll on Roll Off is very big part of the port's business and it consists of two types of cargo. One is automobiles, most of which are imports from Europe to CN Rails's Autoport facility in Eastern Passage. (Cars are also imported and exported at Fairview Cove, with a few exports at the deep water piers.) (Cars are also shipped to Newfoundland from Autoport.)

Today's caller at Autoport is the car carrier Asian Dynasty.

The 55,719 gt, 21,224 dwt ship is among the smaller auto carriers with a capacity of 6,450 CEU. Built in 1999 by Hyundai, Ulsan in operates for Eukor Car Carriers, and is managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management (Korea) Ltd. 

Yesterday the ship was at Pier 9C  where it off loaded a large consignment of industrial vehicles and machinery before moving to Autoport last evening..

Unlike most Eukor ships it is registered in Korea and carries its name both in Korean and English on the bow and stern. Signage above the ship's stern ramp declares a SWL of 150 tons. (Korea uses the metric system.)

The Transport Desgagnés general cargo ship Rosaire A. Desgagnés arrived at daybreak this morning and requested anchorage in the lower harbour. The ship normally spends half the year on northern supply work, then in winter it is chartered out to Briese Schiffahrts to operate internationally under Barbados flag, and with an international crew. That appears to be the pattern again this year, with the ship transferring from Canadian to Barbados registry in early December in Montreal and sailing to El Ferrol, Spain. The reason for its return to Canada is unclear. (I have a theory, that someone needs a heavy lift, but it would involve returning the ships to Canadian flag).

The ship was built in 2007 by Jiangzhou Union, Ruichang, China as part of a large order for the German company Beluga. A 9611 gt, 12,776 dwt vessel it is equipped with two 120 tonne SWL cranes that can work in unison for a 240 tonne lift. When the Beluga company failed, also in 2007, the ship, which was named Beluga Fortification, and two sisters, Beluga Festivity and Beluga Freedom were aquired by Transport Desgagnés. The latter two became the Sedna Desgagnés and Zelada Desgagnés. respectively.

"Casualties" are rare sights in Halifax these days, but today's arrival is a first in many months. It will be subject of a following post.

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