Victory II delayed

The "new" cruise ship Victory II did not make its inaugural visit in Halifax today as originally planned. The ship's refit in Europe has taken longer than hoped, and it will not make its appearance until July - if then.

 

Saint Laurent called in Halifax in 2015.

The ship was one of two small 200 passenger cruise ships built by Atlantic Marine in Jacksonville, FL, to be named Cape May Light (2001) and Cape Cod Light (2004). The retro look ships were to sail to smaller ports on the east coast and Caribbean.  After owners American Classic Voyages folded in 2004 Cape May Light lay idle for some time until it was pressed into service for workers accommodation in Deception Bay in 2011. After that it was renamed Sea Voyager and in 2015 Saint Laurent. It visited Halifax under that name June 4, 2015 but on  June 18 it impacted the Eisenhower Lock sill on the St.Lawrence Seaway and had to be evacuated.   It was repaired and back in service in a month, but after calling in Halifax October 30, 2015 it went on to Portland. ME where the operators filed for bankruptcy protection.
After that was all sorted out, the ship was renamed Victory I and re-entered service in the 2016 season with new operators, Clipper Cruises Ltd.

Victory I has been operating ssuccessfully since 2016.

After two successful seasons, the owners decided to refit the sister ship, built as Cape Cod Light in 2004 but since renamed in 2007 Coastal Queen, 2009 Clipper Discoverer and also in 2009 Sea Discoverer II. It had been laid up in Tilbury, UK after use as an accommodation vessel in Germany. After work is completed in Helsingborg, Sweden it will become Victory II .



With that process delayed, the ship is now scheduled to start its Great Lakes touring season in  Montreal July 27. Whether it will call in Halifax en route has not been announced. Promo material for Victory II shows an identical ship, less the prominenent steer pole on the bow.

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Saint Laurent - and the curse of Portland

While the small cruise ship Saint Laurent was on its way from Halifax to Portland. ME last week, its operators Haimark Line applied in US federal court (in Colorado of all places) for bankruptcy protection under "chapter 11". This US terminology simply means that the company is given time to reorganize before its creditors force liquidation.

Also in Portland the ferry Nova Star was arrested by a creditor as security for payment of outstanding bills.

Saint Laurent in Halifax June 12. On June 18 it sustained serious bow damage in the St.Lawrence Seaway. Repair costs seem to be a factor in the financial woes of the company.

The difference with Saint Laurent appears to be that the creditors are the parent company of the operators and the managers (and perhaps the owners) of the ship. This makes then somewhat more "friendly" and they are apparently willing to allow the ship to continue operating until the finances are straightened out.  The ship has left Portland for Nassau, having cancelled one trip due to weather, but likely to resume its schedule for subsequent cruises.

The parent company Haimark Ltd also operates river cruises in Asia which are not effected.

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Saint Laurent - storm-stayed* in Halifax

 Conditions in the harbour were fairly ferocious yesterday, bu were considerably wilder out at sea.

The small cruise ship Saint Laurent was due in Halifax October 26 on the completion of its summer cruise season on the Great Lakes and St.Lawrence. Due to inclement weather, the ship arrived October 28 and remained in port for two nights. It is scheduled to sail late this afternoon.

The green roof over the Farmers' Market at Pier 20 has taken on its fall colours as Saint Laurent waits for sailing time.

It is a small ship, and I would not want to be out on it in the weather we had yesterday, however this has meant that the operators, Haimark, have had to cancel the next scheduled cruise, which was a 15 day jaunt out of Portland, ME to the Bahamas. Many unhappy passengers are holed up in hotels in Portland and booking trips home - and making claims on their travel insurance.

Passengers in Halifax however have been enjoying extra shore excursions, although some are obviously content to remain on board for meals.

There must be radiant heating panels over the dining area on the fantail, because it was no more than 10 degrees C when I took this picture.

It is very late in the cruise season for Halifax, with just two more ships scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday, but at this time of the year weather is bound to be a factor in any travel plans.

The ship made its first calls here June 4 and 12 then went on to the Lakes. An accident in the St.Lawrence Seaway, when the ship rammed the concrete wall at the end of the Eisenhower Lock, took it out of service for several weeks.

 Saint Laurent arriving June 4 on its first visit.

For more detail see: Shipfax 2015-06-04

* Footnote: the term "storm-stayed" may be unique to Scotland and parts of eastern Canada. It means stranded due to bad weather.

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Pearl Mist - evening departure, footnote on Saint Laurent

Pearl Mist sailed at 1930 hrs ADT this evening after a half day visit to Halifax at pier 23.

The Halifax-built ship is slotted in for seven visits to Halifax this year as part of its eastern seaboard and Great Lakes schedule.

It is one of two small cruise ships working in the area this year, with Halifax calls scheduled. The other is Saint Laurent which has had to cancel some of its cruises after damaging its bow in the Eisenhower Lock of the St.Lawrence Seaway. The ship is currently at the Verreault shipyard in Méchins, QC for repairs.

On June 18 , while entering the lock, the ship surged ahead when its autopilot was disengaged. It struck the concrete sill at the west end of the lock, which protects the lock gate. It severely damaged 10 feet of the bow and flooded the forepeak. About 30 passengers were taken to hospital in Massena, NY for treatment of mostly minor injuries. Only two remained in hospital.
Because of the great depth of the lock, the only way to evacuate the 274 passengers and crew was by bucket lift, using a cherry picker type truck. They were then bussed across the nearby Canadian border and taken back to Montreal to be repatriated to France. (As is usual with ships transiting the Seaway, they had not been cleared in by US Border agents, so were essentially "in bond" until they could be returned to Canada, where the cruise had begun.)

The ship was inspected, then towed out of the lock on June 21 and escorted to the shipyard by tug Océan Pierre Julien.  
It appears that the ship may be able to resume service for its July 5 sailing from Montreal for Chicago, and sailing from there July 14 back to Montreal.

The ship made its inaugural call in Halifax June 4, and called again June 12.
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/06/big-tanker-small-cruiser.html
http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/06/inbound-traffic.html

It is not scheduled back in Halifax until October 26.

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Inbound traffic

There was a variety of inbound traffic this morning, including the usual paddle board commuter, who travels from his Northwest Arm home to his downtown office on a daily basis (weather permitting).

The cruise ship Saint Laurent made its second arrival of the season,

Before that the Maersk/CMA CGM service brought in the AS Palatia. It is the first vist for this well travelled ship since it was built in 2006 by STX Shipbuidling in Jinhae, South Korea.

The 27,100 grt, 34,600dwt ship has a capacity of 2602 TEU and carries four 45 tonne cranes. It was built as Palatia and immediately renamed MOL Supremacy. In 2008 it was renamed three times becoming CMA CGM Oceano, Palatia, and AS Plalatia, It became Niledutch Durban in 2011 and earlier this year became AS Palatia again. It is owned by Ahrenkiel Steamship of Hamburg. The ship seems to be substituting for CMA/CGM, since the regular Maersk ship, Maersk Pembroke is en route from Montreal.

Reefers form a large part of the cargo loaded in Halifax, and stacks of white "seacans" await the ship, which is actually arriving a day earlier than the normal schedule would indicate.

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Big Tanker, Small Cruiser

As the cruise industry continues to expand and as the Esso refinery is no more, we have become accustomed to ever larger cruise ships and an endless parade of handysize product tankers. Today the table turned somewhat as the large tanker Princimar Joy and the small cruise ship Saint Laurent arrived.

Princimar Joy, built in 2010 by Jiangsu Rongsheng in Rugao, China measures 83,850 grt, 156,493 dwt. Princimar Maritime is based in Southport CT, but the ship is managed by Northern Marine Management of Clydebank, Scotland.It flies the Marshall Islands flag.

With stern escort tug Atlantic Oak in close company, Princimar Joy anchors in number one anchorage. Esso's Imperoyal facility in the background no longer refines oil, but there is no sign of the promised dismantling.

The ship was at anchor for little more than two hours- just long enough for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to conduct an Asian gypsy moth inspection. It then sailed for Saint John, NB with is cargo of crude oil.

Following soon after was Saint Laurent:

Saint Laurent began life in 2001 at Atlantic Marine in Jacksonville, FL as Cape May Light, one of a pair of "retro" look pocket cruisers that attempted to recapture the bygone days of the bay, sound and river passengers ships, such as CSL's Great Lakes and St.Lawrence cruise boats.
Cape May Light operated for a few months in 2011 until the 9/11 terror attacks resulted in the bankruptcy of several cruise companies, including its owners American Classic Voyages. Both Cape May Light and the uncompleted sister Cape Cod Light were repossessed by the shipyard and eventually sold by the U.S. Maritime Administration in 2008 to Clipper Cruises Ltd (managers International Shipping Partners). Renamed Sea Voyager the former Cape May Light was chartered by the United Nations to house aid workers in Haiti in 2010.
It received a Canadian coasting license to house construction workers at Deception Bay, Nunavik for Xstrata's Raglan (now called Katinniq) nickel mine's port expansion from July to November 2011.
After another period of layup Fleetpro (formerly International Shipping Partners) announced in September last year that a charter had been agreed with Haimark Line, a UK company. A $3.5 mn refit followed and the ship entered service this spring as Saint Laurent cruising the east coast, St.Lawrence and Great Lakes. It will move to the Caribbean and South America for the winter.

Saint Laurent is dwarfed even by the modestly sized Maasdam as it nestles up to pier 21.

Fleetpro are the technical and hotel services managers, as they are on the Nova Star ferry among numerous other ships:
https://www.fleetpro-psm.com/press-release/ms-saint-laurent-proudly-sailing-fleetpro
Haimark are the cruise operators:
http://www.haimarkline.com/

Designed by Guido Perla & Associates, for 227 passengers and 77 crew, it is now marketed as 105 staterooms and all new expedition type amenities.It is powered with azimuthing stern drives, driven by two main engines at 1970 bhp each and a 1,000 bhp bow thruster.

During some refit it lost its forward dummy funnel, but its prominent steering pole was extended, and it received some cranes to handle expedition boats, bridge awnings and other minor adjustments.

In its only season of operation as Cape May Light it visited Quebec City and tied up at the Pointe-à- Carcy sea wall astern of Queen Elizabeth 2. Note it has a forward dummy funnel and short steering pole.

This may be the look they were trying to achieve in the original design. I will let you be the judge.

Canada Steamship Lines' Quebec and its fleet mates were the epitome of  gracious cruising on the St.Lawrence, while also carrying some freight and vehicles.

 This photo was taken about 100 yards from the photo immediately above it.

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