Stena

Halifax pilotage operations were suspended again today for a  time due to weather. That weather consists of high winds and seas. There is also sometimes near zero visibility in rain and heavy fog, the latter brought on by unseasonable high temperatures.

Time therefore for some more deep background.

Stena

 The name Stena has become synonymous with ferries world wide. They always seem to be building and selling ferries, and Stena has become one the great success stories in the shipping world.

Stena was named by its founder Sten Allan Olsen when he started his ferry service between his native Sweden and Denmark in 1962. Already well established in the scrap metal business, since 1939 and in a small way with cargo ships since 1946, Olsen entered the market when road transportation really took off. Trucks, containers and trucks carrying containers became the preferred means of transportation and more and more people were travelling in their own cars.

Bigger and bigger ferries on more and more routes, catering to freight and passengers created an almost insatiable demand, and Stena was there to cater to it. Eventually Olsen's business spread to tankers, offshore supply and drilling and investments in non-shipping companies, making Stena and its various subsidiaries, known as Stena Sphere, one of the largest corporations in Sweden.

Stena developed and perfected what are now called RoPax ships: Roll On/ Roll Off Passenger ships, but also RoLo: Roll On / Roll Off - Lift On / Lift Off, that could carry containers and trucks / cars. Some of the ships catered to cars, trucks and passengers, and others to trucks only, with limited accommodation for their drivers.

When other operators saw the success of Stena, Olsen was ready to charter out or sell his ships, giving him leverage to build more and better vessels.

A number of those charters and sales were to Canadian operators, particularly to what has become Marine Atlantic. Its mandate is to connect Newfoundland with mainland Canada by sea. That role was defined in the terms of Newfoundland Confederation when it joined Canada in 1949. The Newfoundland Railway, and its ferry service, was taken over by the Canadian National Railway in 1949. In 1977 CNR formed its CN Marine division as the ferry operator. In 1986 that operation, which also included Northumberland Strait and Bay of Fundy ferries, was spun off as a separate crown corporation and named Marine Atlantic. A crown corporation is to be run as a business, with the government of Canada (the Crown) as sole shareholder. The Crown also names the Board of Directors, and in the case of Marine Atlantic, also subsidizes the operation with tax payer funds.

Marine Atlantic's main service to Newfoundland was between North Sydney, NS and Port aux Basques, NL. [The official name of the province is now Newfoundland and Labrador - abbreviated hereinafter as Newfoundland or NL]. Freight had traditionally been carried as break bulk, then in rail cars, laboriously converted from standard to narrow gauge at each crossing. As roads in Newfoundland improved the demand to carry trucks exploded. The rail road did adapt to containers, but never did convert to standard gauge and was closed down in 1988.

To keep up, Marine Atlantic chartered and purchased ships to supplement those it had built domestically. As the cost of Canadian built ships increased over the years, it has relied on charters and purchase of second hand tonnage, almost exclusively from Stena.

Stena Trailer,  Jarl Transporter

The first Stena ships that CNR used were two small cargo only RoRo vessels. Stena Trailer and Jarl Transporter (launched as Stena Transporter). Built on 1972 and 1973 respectively they measured a modest 1306 grt. They carried truck trailers exclusively.
In February 1974 when ice was particularly heavy in the Sydney Bight they operated from Halifax for two trips each. Normally when ice was heavy CNR moved its ships to Point Tupper, on the Strait of Canso, but that port had no RoRo or container handling facilities.

Stena Trailer in foreground is still loading.\

Jarl Transporter appears ready to sail. The ships look like miniature versions of ships built 20 or more years later.

Both ships were built by Akers Tronhhjems in Norway, with Jarl Transporter sold on delivery to Det Nordenfjelske, and soon after reacquired by Stena, without change of name.
The ships were used for a year by CN Marine and returned to Stena. They later carried several names each either under charter or for new owners.
Stena Trailer became 74: Nopal Sky, 77: Stena Tailer, 78: Kirk Trailer, 80 Caribbean Trailer and was delivered to Aliaga for scrap in August 2009.
Jarl Transporter was renamed Stena Transporter in 1975 then 76: Leon R.E., 83: Weymouth, 84:Nusa Dharma for Indonesian owners. It may still be operational. 


While satisfying a short term need, the two RoRos were a stop gap until more ships could be brought in or converted to carry trucks. Then began a long series of larger Stena RoPax ferries, most of similar design.

Marine Nautica

Still in Stena colours, but renamed Marine Nautica the ship is berthed stern in at Port aux Basques in this photo.

 

In 1974 CN was pressed for additional capacity and chartered Stena Nautica and immediately renamed it Marine Nautica. The ship was just out of the Rickmers, Bremerhaven shipyard, the second of four sister ships built by Stena for charter work. With effect in 1980 CN Marine acquired the ship through a bareboat charter arrangement with Roylease (the leasing arm of the Royal Bank of Canada.)

Marine Nautica diverted to Halifax due to ice in March 1980. It had been repainted in CN Marine blue hull with gold stripe, but was sadly worn from service harsh winter conditions.

 Winter traffic was mostly freight, and trucks lined both sides of the piers waiting to load.

Bow in at the North Sydney marine terminal, the ship forms a backdrop for two wooden trawlers, Jean Coleete and Mario G out of Caraquet, NB.

 
The ship ran year round between North Sydney and Port aux Basques until 1986 when it was sold to Tourship Co and operated between Livorno and Bastia as Corsica Marina II, later renamed Corsica Marina Seconda. The ship is still in operation.

Marine Atlantica

Marine Atlantica arrives off North Sydney.

Also in 1974 CN chartered another sister ship, which was launched as Stena Atlantic, but renamed Marine Atlantica on delivery. In 1979 CN Marine acquired the ship through financing in the form of bareboat charter from Roylease. In 1986 when Marine Atlantic was formed the ship was sold to Italian owners and became Corsica Vera and in 1987 Sardinia Vera. Although it was chartered for work on the English Channel for a time, it continues to operate between mainland Italy and Corsica.

Stena Nordica

In 1975 CN Marine chartered the newly built  Stena Nordica, the first of four vessels built by Rickmers, Bremerhaven for charter work. CN Marine used the ship during the peak summer seasons from 1975-1979 and again in 1981. The ship was renamed Hellas each winter for service in Greece. When CN wanted the ship back for 1982 Stena declined. CN Marine then took Stena to court over the terms of the charter and CN was awarded ownership of Stena Jutlandica. [see below]
Stena Nordica was renamed Stena Nautica in 1981 then sold in 1983 to the Government of Belgium and renamed Reine Astrid for cross-Channel service. In 1997 Onorato Overseas Transportation bought the ship which became Moby Kiss, but was chartered to Moroccan owners, Cie Marocaine de Navigation,  the same year, then purchased by them in 1998. Renamed Al Mansour it ran between Algeçiras and Tangier until 2015 when it arrived in Aliaga where it was broken up in August.

Stena Normandica

In 1976 CN Marine took up a brief charter with Stena Normandica, built by Rickmers, Bremerhaven, another of the four sister ships that Stena built for charter work, but also used from time to time on their own ferry routes as relief vessels. The ship made only one call in Halifax according to my records. It loaded some Atco mobile buildings in February 1976. The ship went on to a long career with Sealink as Saint Brendan. In 1990 it was sold to Moby Lines for service as Moby Vincent running between Italy and France. Except for a charter out in 1993-94 as Wasa Sun the ship has served Moby Lines up to the present day.

Jutlandica / Bluenose

When Stena Nordica was not available for North Sydney - Port aux-Basques service in 1983, Stena provided Stena Jutlandica, which was renamed Jutlandica. At the end of that summer, CN Marine took ownership of the ship for use in another of their services - the Yarmouth, NS to Bar Harbour, ME run across the mouth of the Bay of Fundy.

Built in 1973 in Yugoslavia it originally ran on Stena Lines' Goteborg-Frederikshaven service. In 1977 it was rebuilt with a second trailer deck, making the ship look even boxier than before, and necessitating the addition of hull sponsons for stability.

Alongside the Machine Shop Wharf, workers are repairing rust and and spot priming Jutlandica. 

It is already carrying the CN Marine funnel mark.

Refitting continues in the Graving Dock, with the new name Bluenose already applied.

Emerging from the Graving Dock, the hull sponsons are visible, as is the extra steel inserted when the second truck deck was added - it appears as a slightly darker band below the line of portholes on the original truck deck.

Refitted at Halifax Shipyard it became the second Bluenose, replacing a ship of the same name built in 1955. In 1979 CN Marine became Marine Atlantic and ownership was transferred to the Minister of Transport, with Marine Atlantic as operators. In 1997 Marine Atlantic gave up the route to Bay Ferries and they bought and operated the ship for the 1997 season only.

Despite being slightly boxier because of the extra truck deck, the ship still made a good impression as its sailed into Yarmouth harbour. When the hull was painted blue the painter gave the ship a bit of shear which did not actually have.

After layup in Shelburne and a renaming to Hull 309, Bay Ferries sold the ship and it sailed to Spain in the spring of 1999. Becoming Euroferrys Atlantica it ran between Algeçiras and Tangiers. In 2010 it was renamed Ace II when sold to Indian breakers. It arrived at Alang December 22, 2010.

Scotia Prince

Scotia Prince started life as a sister ship to Bluenose, but was lengthened and did not get the extra car deck. It was a better looking ship as a result, but never as elegant in white and faded denim stripes.

Another ferry service operated from Yarmouth, NS to Portland, ME, also acquired a Stena ship, Stena Olympica, built in 1971 in Yugoslavia, for Goteborg-Keil service for Stena Lines. Renamed Scotia Prince for the seasonal operation starting in 1982 it ran under the 'Prince of Fundy Cruises' banner.  In 1986-87 it was lengthened 18m. With more cabin space it was then marketed more as a cruise ship than a ferry.
It found winter work running between Tampa, FL and Tampico, MX, and in 2002 -2003 from Tampa to the Yucatan as the 'Yucatan Express'.
At the end of the 2004 season, the Portland Terminal was found to be contaminated with mold and the Yarmouth-Portland service was discontinued.
The ship was used by the US government's Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] in New Orleans in 2005-2006, then went to the Mediterranean where it served a variety of routes and carried out humanitarian evacuations from Libya in early 2011. It finally arrived in Colombo in March 2012, renamed Prince, and the next month arrived in Chittagong where it was scrapped.

For more photos of these Stena ships see:
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/StenaLine3.html#anchor130016

Stena Grecia / Atlantic Freighter

Still in Stena livery, alongside at North Sydney, the future Atlantic Freighter loads cargo in its first season with CN Marine.

CN Marine's needs also extended to freight only and they again turned to Stena in 1986, chartering Stena Grecia. a 5465 grt RoRo with capacity of 75 drop trailers/ 110 TEU , it was built as Tor Felicia by Hyundai, Ulsan in 1978 and ran as Merzaro Grecia from 1978 to 1983 until acquired by Stena Gulf Line Ltd. CN Marine chartered the ship for 150 days from April 1986 for its drop trailer service.

 In Marine Atlantic colours, and renamed, the ship sits out most of the winter season in North Sydney. Other ships can carry the traffic until the busy summer season. However the ship was brought out of layup from time to time to clear backlogs.

During that time CN Marine became Marine Atlantic, and at the end of the charter Marine Atlantic purchased the ship renaming it Atlantic Freighter. Although it had capacity for 12 passengers, it did not normally carry any.
In December 1990 the ship was chartered to the US Military Sealift for Persian Gulf war service. It was returned in April 1991 having made the one trip, spending the rest of the time on standby in Italy.
Plans to replace the ship had been in the works since 1998, but the ship was kept in service, even though it was laid up over the winter of 2007-2008 for asbestos removal, then refitted at Halifax Shipyard.
It was finally sold in 2010 and renamed Pelagitis first for Panamanian, the Greek owners. It is reported to be still in service.


There has always been competition with CN Marine and later Marine Atlantic for freight service between the mainland and the island of Newfoundland. Since the advent of containerization and RoRo the competition has intensified, with the resulting company Oceanex as the last remaining competitor. It is in fact the result of various consolidations and mergers among some of the earlier shipping companies. It has three ships, two running from Montreal and one from Halifax, each on a weekly basis. When those ships are out of service for any prolonged period, Oceanex has to find substitutes.
It has used used two Stena ships to fill in. Stena Foreteller and Stena Carrier are similar ships with large stern ramps accessing several enclosed decks and an open cargo deck.

Stena Foreteller

An enlarged, but more attractive version of its 1970s predecessors, Stena Foreteller glides into Halifax for Oceanex.

Stena Foreteller was built in 2001 by Dalian Shipyard in China and also operated as Cetam Massilia from 2002 to 2003. A large ship of 24,688 grt, and 12,640 dwt, it has 3,000 lane meters of capacity. Following service with Oceanex from June to July 2004, when it operated weekly between Halifax, CornerBrook (since dropped as a port of call by Oceanex) and St.John's, the ship returned to the Baltic where it is still working. It has been reported sold however, but the new owners have not yet been revealed.

Stena Carrier

Equally as impressive, Stena Carrier sails up the St.Lawrence toward Montreal on a breezy day. It still bears the banner of a previous charter.

Stena Carrier was built in 2004 in Italy and is a 21,171 grt, 12,350 dwt RoLo. It was used by Oceanex in 2016 when Oceanex Connaigra was refitting. It has also since been sold, and since August has been operating as Mexico Star for Baja Ferries.

Leif Erikson

In 2000 Marine Atlantic purchased the ten year old Stena Challenger, built by Fosen MV in Rissa, Norway. Although normally used for commercial vehicles only, the ship does have capacity for 500 un-berthed passengers and 300 vehicles. There are berths for 92 truck drivers.

Marine Atlantic took delivery in 2001 and renamed the ship Leif Erikson to observe the anniversary of the arrival (perhaps) of the first European to North  America.

Leif Erikson passes the MacKay bridge in Halifax to take shelter in Bedford Basin while Tropical Storm Ophelia passes. It then went to drydock at Halifax Shipyard.

In 2010 Marine Atlantic announced an $18mn mid-life refit for the ship . That would indicate it may be replaced as soon as 2020.


When it became time to upgrade the passenger fleet Marine Atlantica turned to Stena again, and chartered two sister ships for year round passenger and freight service between North Sydney and Port aux Basques. The ships were built as Stena's Seabridger class by AO Baltijsky Zaved in St.Petersburg, Russia with final completion at Fosen MV in Rissa, Norway.

Before they were ready for service in Canada each was modified by taking the unusual step of shortening the ships by 12.5m and adding accommodations in the form of 96 more cabins in addition to the 100 already provided, and lounge space with 500 recliner seats. Also a third bow thruster was added by MAI in Bremerhaven.

One year before expiry of their five year charters, Marine Atlantic exercised its purchase option and bought the ships outright in 2015 for a reported total price of $100 mn.

Blue Puttees

 Blue Puttees in drydock in Halifax.

 
First to be taken over by Marine Atlantic  was the former Stena Trader, built in 2006. Renamed Blue Putttees after the World War I  Newfoundland Regiment, it entered service in March 2011.

Highlanders

Sister ship Stena Traveller, had operated between Hoek van Holland and Killingolme, England from 2007 to 2009. After modification it was renamed after the Cape Breton Highlanders regiment  and entered service for Marine Atlantic in April 2011.

Impressive ships, capable of 22 knots, and built for severe Baltic ice conditions, both have acquitted themselves well for Marine Atlantic.

Future

What the future holds for Marine Atlantic is always a subject for speculation. Their flaghisp Atlantic Vision (never a Stena ship)  may be up for replacement as early as November 2019, and as stated above Leif Erikson may have as little as two years left in service. Will Marine Atlantic turn to Stena again?
Stay tuned.

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Nova Star a snowbird - NOT : Updated Post

Update: 

Original post  (see below for latest news)

The ferry Nova Star , like many Canadians, is heading to Florida for the winter. Reports indicate that winter heating a costs in Yarmouth are behind the move to Fort Pierce, FL. The ship is due to sail November 15 and arrive in Fort Pierce November 20.

Since completing a disappointing first season a bit earlier than planned, the ship has been idle in Yarmouth.
The owners have been seeking winter work for the ship, but so far have not announced any success. Various subsidies from Nova Scotia and perhaps Maine are expected to allow the ship to continue to run in 2015.

Meanwhile a group called Canamerica Cruises, which includes a number of people associated with the previous service offered by Scotia Prince Cruises, say that they will be proposing an alternative for the 2015 season. They have secured a ship which they are calling Scotia Prince II, a 30 year old ship with a passenger capacity of 700 (versus 1,120 on Nova Star). They are not revealing its present name.
Canamerica claims that they can run the service profitably with the smaller ship.

Scotia Prince, built as Stena Olympia in 1971, operated a seasonal Yarmouth -Portland service from 1982 to 2004. Its passenger capacity was 886 berths and 634 deck passengers. That service ended when a dispute with Portland could not be resolved. 
After emergency duties as an accommodation ship in New Orleans in 2005-2006, it worked in the Mediterranean. A plan to use it as a duty free ship in Sri Lanka fell through, and it arrived off  Chittagong, Bangladesh April 2, 2012. It was beached April 10 and broken up.

Perhaps with time to build up more publicity, lower gasoline prices and a lower Canadain dollar, 2015 may be a better season for Nova Star. After all the money poured into it I don't see governments entertaining an alternative or competing service. I give the Scotia Prince II a snowball's chance in Florida.


Latest:
Last night's post was correct at one point, but plans change!. Apparently under pressure from the Province of Nova Scotia to keep the ship within the Province's legal jurisdiction, the decision was made to go move the ship to Shelburne instead of Florida. Today's Chronicle Herald states that the agreement with Nova Star Cruises, the operator of the ferry, has expired. The Province has been in talks with the ferry's owners, ST Marine, but is not saying what the future may be, including whether a different operator may be sought.
As I understand it ST Marine is an offshoot of the ship's builders, who were unable to sell the ship.It was chartered to Nova Star, but no one is saying if that charter is still in effect.

Nova Star is a big ship to tie up in Shelburne, but not the first troubled passenger vessel to reside there. Pearl Mist resided there until the dispute between Irving Shipbuidling and Pearl Seas Crsuises was resolved.
But before that the Mercator One was brought to Shelburne in March 1978 after the Province's first attempt to enter the cruise ship business flopped.The converted ferry was heavily financed by the Province, but only had one short season of cruising in the Caribbean before it was put up for sale.       

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Scotia Prince - end of the line

The ferry that once linked Yarmouth, NS with Portland, ME has been sold to shipbreakers in India. Scotia Prince provided an overnight cruise/ferry experience and competed with the shorter sea route Yarmouth/Bar Harbor, ME provided by the ferry Bluenose and later fast Cats.
1. Scotia Prince arrives in Halifax in April 1987 to prepare for a trade mission to Boston.

2. In April 1983 Scotia Prince (at left) is tied up at pier 6 Halifax Shipyards for refit. Meanwhile the newly renamed Bluenose is in the Graving Dock fitting out for its first season under that name. On the hull the word "Blue" has not yet been painted on.

Scotia Prince was built as Stena Olympia in 1971 in Brodo, Yugoslavia and could carry 1100 passengers (886 berths). It became Scotia Prince in 1982. It was lengthened in 1986-87 increasing passenger capacity to 178 cabin, 1078 berth and 446 deck passengers.

The ferry was withdrawn at the end of the 2004 season in a dispute with the Port of Portland. Although the Cat ferry tried to cover the route, it was not as successful. In the end the Cat ferry was also removed from service and so today there is no Nova Scotia/ US ferry service at all - a major blow to western Nova Scotia tourism.

The ship sometimes found winter work after the close of the summer tourist season. It ran for a time from Tampa FL to Progreso MX and later Tampa to Yucatan.

In 2005-2006 it provided emergency accommodation in New Orleans then worked in the Mediterranean. In 2011 it was sold to operate between Sri Lanka and India but was diverted on its delivery trip to evacuate 1200 Sri Lankan nationals from Libya.

After about a year in its duty free shopping excursion role between Tuticorin and Colombo the ship was laid up and has now been sold.

It was a similar ship to its competitor Bluenose ex Jutlandica, ex Stena Jutlandica, built in 1973 in Trogir, Yugoslavia. Bluenose was a smaller ship and did not need as many passenger cabins. It operated from 1993 to 1997 and was old for further service, also in the Mediterranean and scrapped in India in December 2010.

Where are they now department

1. Scotia Prince visits Halifax, 1987-04-27 to embark a trade show for Boston.

2. Bluenose emerges from the drydock for the first time in Marine Atlantic colours 1983-04-24.

Part 1

The ferry Scotia Prince, which operated the Yarmouth/Portland service until the end of the 2004 season has lead an interesting life. Built as Stena Olympica in 1971 by the Titovo shipyard in Kraljevica, Yugoslavia, it initially ran in the Baltic on such routes as Gothenburg-Kiel, Korso-Kiel and Gothenburg-Frederickshaven for Stena Lines. In had capacity of 886 berths and 634 deck passengers. More berths were added in 1974.

In 1982 it was sold to Scotia Prince Cruises Ltd of Miami, was renamed Scotia Prince, and began the Portland-Yarmouth sericve. In 1986 it was lengthened 18m., increasing gross tonnage from 7,118 to 12,087. Passenger capacity stands at unberthed 146, berths 1,054.

It was registered in Nassau, Bahamas, and operated on the NS-US route seasonally, with sometime winter service in various southern locations including Tampa-Progresso in 1999-2000. and Tampa-Yucatan/ Merida in 2002-2003.

The owners withdrew the ship from the Yarmouth-Portland service at the end of the 2004 season, following a dispute with the Port of Portland.

In 2005-2006 it was pressed into service for the Federal Emergency Management department and provided temporary shelter in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. It then crossed the Atlantic and operated a variety of Mediterranean routes including 2006:Tangier-Genoa and Oran-Alicante-Marseilles.

In 2007 Clipper Group purchased the ship and chartered it out to a variety of different operators. It ran 2007, 2008: Almiera-Nador and 2009: Almiera-Ghazout.

At the end of the 2010 season running from Ancona-Cesne it went into winter layup in Greece. Earlier this month it was announced that it was to be chartered to Flamingo Duty Free Shop Pvt of India, to run from Tuticorin to Colombo, Sri Lanka for fourteen months. It departed Greece February 18 and passed through the Suez Canal February 20-22.

However it was called back to the Med to evacuate 1200 Sri Lankan nationals from Libya to Malta. It was due in Benghazi February 27.

Part 2

A similar ship was built for Stena Lines in 1973, named Stena Jutlandica. Builders were "Jozo Lozovina-Mosor" shipyard in Trgir, Yugoslavia. It measured 6524 gross tons with a capacity of unberthed 1632, berths 168. [Tonnage was later recalculated as 13,179 when its vehicle decks were included.] In 1982 the ship was renamed Jutlandica, and it was under this name that it arrived in Halifax late 1982 to be refitted for new operators CN Marine (which became Marine Atlantic.) She operated under the Bahamas flag.

In 1983 it was renamed Bluenose, reviving the name of its predeccessor, and recalling the famous Nova Scotia racing schooner. (Not to mention creating endless confusion with its replica Bluenose II.) It went into service running from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, Maine.

In 1997 the service was taken over by Bay Ferries and the ship ran for them to December 1997 and was laid up in Shelburne, NS and renamed Hull 309. [Her builder's hull number was 162.]

In early 1999 she sailed to Spain and became Euroferrys Atlantica running Algeciras-Tangiers. In late 2010 she was sold for scrap. A deal with Turkish scrappers apparently fell through and she was resold to Indian scrappers and renamed Ace II for her trip to Alang. She arrived there 2010-12-22.

There are noticeable differences between the tow ships, Bluenose has the extra car deck, and prominent hull sponsons to provid added stability. Scotia Prince was lengthened and this can be seen on the section just aft of the bridge where there are more vertical windows.

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