Shelter or Not

  The confluence of two low pressure storm centres off Cape Breton today, November 4, is bringing heavy rain, which the region needs badly, but also some less desirable very high winds and rough seas. Regional ferry services between Saint John, NB and Digby, NS; Caribou, NS and Wood Islands PE; and North Sydney, NS and Port aux Basques, NL have all had cancellations or delays. In an unusual move Bay Ferries advanced the departure time of the Fundy Rose from Saint John this morning by three hours to get a crossing in ahead of the bad weather.

Other ships depending on their destination, opted to remain in port or to bypass a port or to take shelter until conditions improved. Some ships rerouted to take a southern sweep to pass behind the north easterly moving storm (technically an extratropical cyclone).

 Last evening the cement carrier NACCArgonaut en route from Providence, RI to Port Daniel, QC, and in ballast, put in to Halifax rather than being caught out in the Gulf of St.Lawrence. The ship tied up at Pier 26.

The Canadian flag ship was built by Kyukyo Shipyard Corp in Shimonoseki in 2003, as a gearless bulk carrier named Arklow Wave. In 2017 - 2018 it was rebuilt as a cement carrier with a pneumatic self-unloading system. Nova Algoma Cement Carriers renamed the ship NACC Toronto briefly but later in 2018 changed its name to NACC Argonaut after Toronto's professional football team, the Argonauts. Its tonnages are now 9255 gt, 13,977 dwt, or 12,576 dwt in summer freshwater.

Two fleet mates the NACC Providence and NACC New Yorker, opted to shelter deep in St. Margaret's Bay (to the southwest of Halifax) off Queensland and Mill Cove respectively.
 

After closing out the cruise season in previous ports, the Allura opted not to call in Halifax this morning (November 4),  instead continuing southbound to Boston. Two other cruise ships did decide to call.

The Victory 1 arrived mid-day from the Great Lakes via Charlottetown and the Strait of Canso.

 The former Cape May Light, built in 2001 by Atlantic Marine in Jacksonville, FL, has been in Halifax previously under several of its former names: Sea Voyager, Saint Laurent and Ocean Voyager. It can carry up to 210 passengers in 105 suites and has a crew of 61. Its "retro" look is supposed to recall the grand inland passengers ships of the early 20th century. It has a substantial rub rail and fenders to prevent damage while transiting the St.Lawrence Seaway locks (and the Canso lock, which was built to the same dimensions.)

Due later today is the Seabourn Sojourn. It will remain in port until tomorrow afternoon.

One ship that opted to depart today was the container ship MSC Yang R, a first time caller here on the Canada Express route from Malaga, Sines, Antwerp and Le Havre, it is bound for Montreal. Since it will be following in the storm's wake, so to speak, it may do some slow steaming to avoid catching up.

A product of Samsung Shipbuilding & Heavy Industry Co Ltd in Geoje in 2002 it sailed initially under the name Cap San Rafael. In 2012 it was renamed  Cap Doukato until 2017 when it became the Doukato and in the same year took the name Xin Feng Yang Zi Jiang which it carried until 2021 when it was acquired by MSC and got its present name. A 40,085 gt, 51,059 dwt ship, it has a capacity of 3739 TEU with 800 reefer plugs.

On sailing today, the ship appeared very lightly loaded, having off loaded enough cargo here to reduce its draft here to suit St.Lawrence River conditions.

The container ship ZIM Atlantic arrived yesterday and remains in port until early tomorrow morning (November 5).

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MSC Cagliari IV for Montreal and other Chinese built ships

 The MSC Cagliari IV on MSC's Canada Express service called today, April 19, at PSA Halifax Atlantic Hub, Pier 42. The ship's last port was Antwerp and it is en route to en route to Montreal.

 

The ship may have been here before under a previous name. It was built in 2007 as ZIM Genova and became Genova in 2018 and MSC Genova IV in 2022. It is a 40,372 gt, 52,943 dwt ship with a capacity of 4253 TEU including 400 reefers. The Roman numeral "IV" in its name indicates the ship's capacity range. It is therefore an aid to classifying the ship in the bewildering array of ships in the Mediterranean Shipping Company fleet.

That fleet has just reached the (almost) unheard of number of 900 ships. Aside from Helen of Troy's reputed flotilla, no other shipping fleet has reached that size. (MSC owns several separate companies which are included to make up the 900 ship total.) The fleet consists of 609 owned and 291 chartered vessels with a capacity of 6.7 million TEU (that's a million TEU larger than Maersk). A further 132 ships are on firm order with various shipyards. 

This one was built at the Dalian Ship Industry Co in Dalian, China, and as such may soon be facing  a Trump tax on Chinese built ships.

Another ship that will be facing that punishing tax also called in Halifax today. The auto carrier Lake Tazawa docked first at Pier 9C with RoRo cargo then moved to Autoport to discharge cars.

The 71,631 gt, 19,213 dwt ship has a capacity of 7,000 CEU on 12 decks with a 150 tonne capacity stern ramp and a 20 tonne starboard side ramp.The ship is dual fuel to Tier III standard and carries two 2,000 cubic meter LNG tanks. It also has shaft generators and lithium battery storage and can connect to shore power.

It was built in 2024 by China Merchants Jinling Shipyard Co Ltd, and is one of series of ships to be operated by Eukor. It and its sister ship Lake Shirasagi are now regular callers on the Wallenius Wilhemsen transatlantic service - at least for now. The addition of punishing tarifs on imported cars may well change that.

Another familiar caller is back again and will not be facing any similar taxes. As one the few US built cruise ships Victory I resumes its usual itinerary of cruises to the Great Lakes. 

Docked at Pier 23, its heavy fendering shows up well. The combination of standoffs and a full length rub rail protect the ship's hull while transiting the Seaway locks. With sister ship Victory II they have had checkered careers since delivered by Atlantic Marine of Jacksonville, FL in 2001and 2004 as Cape May  Light and Cape Cod Light respectively. After several renamings and ownership changes, the 200 paasnger ships remain popular.

Coming from the direction of the Great Lakes is the Canadian tanker Kivalliq W. of Coastal Shipping Ltd. It anchored in the lower harbour waiting its turn at Imperial Oil with cargo from Sarnia, ON.

The ship's owner, part of the Woodward Group, is headquartered in Goose Bay, NL, but the ship operates out of Lewisporte, NL and in the summer season serves the far north. In the off season, as it was this past winter, it is flagged out to operate overseas. Its registration was shifted to the Marshall Islands December 1, 2024 and it returned to Canadian flag April 7.

Built in 2004 by Jiangyang Shipyard, Shanghai it is listed at 8882 gt, 13,670 dwt. Initially named Falcon it was renamed Sten Fjord in 2009 and renamed again when acquired by Coastal Shipping in 2018. It rarely trades to the United States so will likely escape the tax on Chinese built ships.

 

Algoberta at Imperial dock number 3, April 18.

Algoma's thanker Algoberta also working for Imperial Oil sailed back to Nanticoke this morning after unloading and Algoscotia, which has been waiting at Pier 27, moved over to Imperial Oil on departure. Algoscotia most commonly runs between Halifax and Sydney, NS.

 While Algoscotia was at Pier 27 April 8, there was a tank truck on the dock (not visible in the photo) possibly for refueling or possibly to take off tank washings.

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Weather delayed

The windy weather continues, but abated sufficiently that the tanker FMT Knidos was able to arrive in port safely this afternoon. High seas accompanied the winds and made it unsafe to board pilots, particularly with low freeboard ships with decks nearly awash. FMT Knidos was originally due October 24, but remained at sea until this afternoon.

Fully loaded the ship's main deck is very close to the water.

The ship was here as recently as July 14 [see details in that post]. On that trip it was carrying caustic soda from Freeport, Bahamas to Port Alfred, QC. On this trip it is arriving from Houston. It will remain in port to take bunkers.


Another ship with a delay is Victory I. It was arrived late afternoon Tuesday a day early, and was due to sail yesterday, but remained in port over night. It is now due to sail at midnight tonight..

Regal Princess in the background is apparently not effected by weather. However the yellow caution tape tells the tale about the wind.

Victory I has completed its summer season sailing on the Great Lakes and St.Lawrence and is headed south for the winter. Operators Victory Cruise Lines have announced that they will not charge a "singles supplement" starting next year. Having learned that many of their clients are single, they will now (effectively) base their fares on a per person basis.

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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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Cruise Ship Countdown - CORRECTED

October 31 is the last day of the cruise ship season. We were expecting one last ship today, but as it turned out there were four ships in port, thanks to some very rough weather outside.

The remnants of tropical storm Philippe passing out to sea brought very high winds to Halifax and as a result
there were many delays in sailings and arrivals since late last week.  The Silver Whisper was one of two ships that arrived on Sunday October 29 and opted to remain in port.

Although not exactly red, the Sunday morning sky certainly gave sailors a warning of what was to come. 90 kph plus winds and lashing rain were the order of the day from Sunday evening to late Monday afternoon, when the rain let up but not the wind. High seas delayed pilots from getting to ships and there were numerous cancellations or postponements.
For more photos of the ship, scroll down to September 23 and October 7.

T minus 4

Silver Whisper sailed early this morning.

T minus 3

Crown Princess arrived on Monday October 30 and opted to remain in port over night. The 113,651 grt ship, built in 2006 by Fincantieri Italiani, Monfalcone, with a capacity of 3,080 passengers is one of the larger ships to call this year,.

It sailed late this afternoon, still in a brisk breeze, but at least the seas had subsided.

T minus 2

Scheduled to be the last cruise ship of the season, Sevens Seas Mariner arrived on schedule this morning, and sailed this afternoon.

At 48,075 grt, it is one of the mid-size ships, carrying only 700 passengers. Built in 2001 by Chantier de l'atlantique, St-Nazaire, it was the world's first "all-suite / all-balcony" cruise ship.

Seven Seas Mariner was the last scheduled cruise ship of the season, however....

T minus 1

The honour for last ship however will go to the inland seas vessel Victory 1. Returning from its cruise season on the Great Lakes, it arrived in Halifax Sunday, remained in port and is planning to sail late this evening.

Tucked in at pier 24 it was only possible to get a broadside shot of it.
For more, see  Shipfax 2016-10-12 and 2015-06-04 .

The End ...

of the cruise ship season for this year anyway.
By my count there were 180 cruise ship calls this season. There were also two brief med-evacs that did not tie up (not included in that number). The number does include two unscheduled diversions to Halifax due to weather. There was also only one cancellation that I am aware of. Artania AIDAmar was on the schedule for October 27 but may have by-passed Halifax due to weather The pilot boat was off station at her scheduled arrival time and I believe she kept on for her next port in rough weather.

P.S. Thanks to readers for the correction to a double error. Artania arrived on the 25th and sailed on the 26th. I may still be in error, but I am fairly certain that AIDAmar did by-pass Halifax - I await further information. 

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More of the same, a newby and some old stuff

More of the same

It was five cruise ships today, but much fewer passengers, and two of them were small and one was a hold over.

Disney Magic (2400 passengers) remained in port all night and only sailed this afternoon, giving its passengers a second look around Halifax or shore excursions farther afield.

The extra day gave the ship time to take on fuel and perform some other chores.

 Algoma Dartmouth delivers fuel on the port side and platform lift works from the dock side, and as always the painter attends to the ship's name.

Disney Magic is certainly one of the most striking looking cruise ships.

Zuiderdam (1916 passengers) and Crystal Serenity (1080 passengers) also spent the day in port.

 Zuiderdam is free of the decorative excesses of some other lines and has a remarkably clear upper deck.

Pearl Mist arrived at pier 23 on her final visit of the season. The Halifax-built ship sailed mid-afternoon. With a capacity for 210 passengers, it has a gross tonnage of 5109 grt.

Pearl Mist sailed for Lunenburg, where it will spend the night.

Victory I arrived at pier 24 and sailed mid-afternoon for Yarmouth. It has a capacity of 210 to 215 passengers.

 The ship was a late addition to the cruise schedule after its previous operators went bankrupt after a collision with the end wall of a Seaway lock last year. The former Saint Laurent was hastily re-branded and went back into service. It spent the summer on the Great Lakes from July, with cruises from Chicago, Toronto and Montreal. 

Built as the Cape May Light in 2001 it also carried the name Sea Voyager from 2009 to 2015. Last year's planned cruises from Florida to Cuba were cancelled but are scheduled for this winter. 

A newby

Atlantic Sea is the third of ACL's new G4 ConRos. It tied up at Fairview Cove early this morning and sailed late this evening.

The 100,430 grt ship is registered in Liverpool. UK, where it will be welcomed October 10 for a christening ceremony. The sponsor will be Princess Anne. 

Some oldies 

I have been mentioning that Shipfax was started in 1986, and that is the same year that two active Canadian Coast Guard ships were built. In the background of the Atlantic Sea photo above is CCGS Earl Grey, built by Pictou Industries in Pictou, NS. It entered service in June 1986. The ship received a nine month $11mn+ Vessel Life Extension refit at Davie Quebec and returned to Halifax in January of this year.

Also recently refitted is CCGS Edward Cornwallis. It had a $2.6mn re-do at Newdock, St.John's a year ago. It arrived this afternoon.

Built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel, QC, it arrived in Halifax for the first time August 21, 1986, with a firetug greeting. It did not enter service immediately due to engine and derrick problems and first set sail in December, but returned to port with electrical problems. It still had issues in January and February of 1987 but those were apparently worked out by March when it was at work icebreaking in the Gulf of St.Lawrence as far north as Blanc Sablon.

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