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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Sedna Desgagnés - back

 Another in the "back again" category is the Canadian owned Sedna Desgagnés which has returned from overseas trading under the Barbados flag. 

 

It is an annual pattern towards the end of each year, when the ship is reflagged to Barbados under a bareboat charter arrangement with BBC Chartering. When spring arrives, the ship returns to Canadian flag in preparation for northern supply work.

The ship is well equipped for that work, as it carries a pair of 180 tonne cranes, that can lift lighterage barges and tugs which are used to ferry cargo in to remote ports.

The ship was one of a series built for the German shipowner, Beluga, as the "F" class Beluga Festivity. However Beluga failed in the same year of 2009, and the ship was acquired by Transport Desgagnés, and renamed for a goddess in Inuit mythology. Builder Qingshan, Wuhan constructed the 9611 gt, 12,612 dwt multi-purpose / heavy lifter which also has a container capacity of 665 TEU.

The Sedna Desgagnés arrived this morning May 31 and tied up at Pier 25-26. Its last port was Norfolk, VA, but had recently called in Freeport, Bahamas, and Houston TX. Prior to that it had been in Brazil, France and England.

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News from the North

News from the north is generally hard to come by, but a few nuggets have escaped.

Ice conditions in the north are the worst in the last four years according to one report. They are so bad that even Fednav, have had to resort to reinforcements to make up for delays. Their Arctic is contracted to transport nickel concentrates from the Raglan Mine through the port of Deception Bay to Quebec City. However ice was so thick that the ship was delayed from June 1 to June 17 and they risk not being able to transport the required quantities of the ore, both to keep the mine operating, (stockpiling is limited at the port) and to feed the smelter in Sudbury.  They have therefore applied for a coasting license to use one of their foreign flag ships to make one trip in September or October to make up the potential deficit.

Speaking of Arctic this significant ship is due for retirement in 2020, and its replacement has been ordered from  Japan Marine United Corp Shipyard  (the merged Universal and IHI).

It was built in 1978 by Port Weller Dry Dock initially to serve the Nanisivik zinc-lead mine on the north coast of Baffin Island. In 1984-85 it was rebuilt as a combination ore / bulk / oil /carrier with a new bow. It then loaded oil from the Bent Horn field on Cameron Island, transshipping it at Rae Point to Imperial Bedford for refining in Montreal. The ship also landed some of the oil in Halifax for refining.

For some reason two of the cranes are missing their booms.

Nanisivik mine was closed in 2002 and Bent Horn in 1996. production started at the Raglan Mine in 1997.

In 2007 the ship went to Jiangyin China for life extension. The work was to allow the ship an extra ten to twenty years. It then went back to work running from Deception Bay, on Hudson Strait, to Quebec City during the eight month shipping season.

Arctic also carries general cargo in containers to provide supplies to the mine.

Fednav operates two other ice breaking bulk carriers in northern waters. Nunavik and Umiak I, the most powerful ice-class bulk carriers in the world.

Meanwhile the number of pleasure craft passing through northern waters is exploding. In 2017 no less than 23 pleasure craft completed a northwest passage. Two commercial passenger ships, three non-government icebreakers, two cargo ships and a tanker also made northwest passages. All this is on top of the necessary re-supply and ore extraction voyages to the north, and several other passenger ships that made incursions into the arctic waters.

On July 16 the yacht Ice Angel (registered in Douglas Isle of Man) sailed for Nuuk, Greenland, the jumping off point for a Northwest Passage. Built in 2009, and previously named C9 and Cloud 9, the 1307 grt vessel was built by CNM Yachts of Cherbourg, France, and refitted in 2017. It has a steel hull and aluminum superstructure. What specific features it may have for arctic work is not known.

 Ice Angel with some of its attendant craft leaving port.

It is the second vessel to sail from Halifax recently giving Nuuk as destination. The previous one was the sailing vessel Kamaxitha which left port July 8.

As reported in Tugfax numerous cargo ships are employed each summer to deliver cargo to remote communities. Most of these places have no port facilities, and cargo must be landed by barge. The ships carry the barges and small tugs to handle all the cargo.

Logistec operates the former Spliethoff ship Qamutik and four other ships for NEAS (Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc and Nunavik Eastern Arctic Shipping Inc).

Transport Desgagnés operates five seven general cargo ships including Sedna Desgagnés and four tankers for northern supply. They have also chartered in a foreign flag ship to meet demand.

Other companies such as Woodward's Coastal Shipping also operate tankers in northern supply. All this activity will stretch the capabilities of the Canadian Coast Guard to cover such a vast area.

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