Basin boats, and cars and boxes

There is no particular theme to today's post - it is more a random collection of my observations.

There was lots of room in Bedford Basin for various activities. HMCS Fredericton moved, with tug assistance, from HMC Dockyard to the Bedford Magazine (Jetty NN) and HMCS Moncton took up an anchorage position not far away.

Moncton is still wearing its commemorative paint scheme marking the 75th anniversary of the end of the Battle of the Atlantic in 2020. Bedford Basin played a critical role in that battle as it was a marshaling point for ship convoys. Naval escorts and some other ships were painted in a variety of schemes to confuse or mislead the enemy about the ship's position, direction of travel or speed. 

Also in the Basin for some form of trials was the newest vessel in the Fisheries and Oceans fleet based at the Bedford Institute. CCGS Capt. Jacques Cartier was delivered earlier this year by Seaspan and has already conducted several scientific missions.

I earned a stern rebuke some time ago for stating in a previous post that new Canadian ships are too small, but they certainly appear stubby compared to the ones they replace. I am sure they are technically advanced, seaworthy and packed with all necessary equipment, but they are not as aesthetically pleasing as ships of yore. [I am a charter member, and currently the only surviving member (as far as I know), of the Canadian Committee on Aesthetic Responsibility and am therefore qualified to comment.]

On the west side of the Basin at Mill Cove the tour boat fleet has settled in for the winter. 

From left to right these are:

Kawartha Spirit - returned from Lunenburg and laid up. It did not operate in Halifax during 2020.

Theodore Too - laid up and apparently still for sale.

Harbour Queen I - did operate tours in 2020 and provided ferry service to George's Island.

Silva of Halifax - also operated in 2020 giving harbour tours.

Anchored in Mill Cove is the schooner Katie Belle . It appears that they crew went ashore without stowing sails. It made one trip to sea during 2020 - September 19 to October 19. See: September 19

It certainly did those sails no good if they were left that way for a month.

At the other end of the harbour the autocarrier Viking Queen made one of its periodic visits. The 55,775 gt, 16,890 dwt ship was built in 2007 by Ujanik, Pula, Croatia, with a capacity of 7,000 cars.

Outbound rounding Ives Knoll, the Viking Queen leaves lots of room for Dominion Bearcat doing some sort of work off Pier 20-23.

And as an update on the demolition work at the former Foundation Maritime dock (latterly Svitzer Canada) - the salvage pier has been completely removed, and the "cook house" has been removed from the main pier. Work has now started on dismantling the main pier starting with the guard rails.

The crane barge Canadian Argosy removes material and places it on the deck barge VM/S 87. 

(The name painted on the barge is "VMS 087" but that is incorrect.)

.

and more

Some clearing later in the afternoon allowed for a brief outing to catch a traffic jam of one departing and two arriving ships. It was deftly handled and safe passages were had by all, although I did think that perhaps one ship was a little overly eager.

The departing ship was another queen (see earlier post) but this was a more prosaic one. Viking Queen is a Singapore flag autocarrier from the Gram Car Carriers fleet. Built in 2007 by the Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia as Hoegh Delhi it was renamed in 2017.

The 55,775 gt, 16,840 dwt ship has a capacity of 7000 cars (CEUs) and as the largest and least maneuverable of the three ships, it claimed the main channel as its seaward course en route for Davisville, Rhode Island.

The first of the incoming vessels, HMCS Fredericton took the western, or deepwater channel to give Viking Queen some room.

Fredericton emerged from the latest repair session at Halifax Shipyard in November 2018 and for the past few weeks has been seen in Bedford Basin, at the static sound range and loitering offshore. Today's outing may or may not have included a commemoration of the the D-Day landings in Normandy 75 years ago. I could find no reference, to what it was doing, in particular.

As the departure point for thousands of Canadian troops sent to Europe during World War II, the port of Halifax was closer to the war than any other Canadian city. That was recognized today in a special ceremony attended by among others, the Governor General. Although it had to be moved indoors due to the weather - that was nothing new for those who know Halifax! - it was well reported by all news organizations. Attendees included some of the sadly diminishing ranks of those who served in World War II.

Third vessel in the mix was the supplier Trinity Sea returning from the Sable Island area on its regular supply run.

As the smallest of the ships it was able to hug the eastern side of the main channel and gave the outbound 'Queen a port to port passing.

Here is what it looked like as Fredericton emerged from the western channel, Viking Queen carried on and Trinity Sea kept to the eastern side.

.

Viking Queen

The Gram Car Carriers, Singapore flag Viking Queen arrived at Autoport mid-morning yesterday. That gave shore side crews time to clear about 10cm of snow that had piled up Sunday. Fortunately temperatures were relatively mild and the ground was not frozen, so the sun melted most of it away quite rapidly.

The Viking Queen  was built in 2007 by the Uljanik yard in Pula, Croatia as Hoegh Delhi. The ship called in Halifax under that name, but somehow managed to escape my camera. In early 2017 it was acquired by Gram, based in Oslo, and is time chartered back to Hoegh Autoliners and managed by Hoegh Wallem. A substantial vessel it has a capacity of 7,000 cars with a grt of 55,775 and dwt of 16,890.  (Interestingly Hoegh only rated its capacity at 6500 CEU).

Arriving from Emden, Germany, its next stops are to be Davisville, RI, then on to Houston, TX and Veracruz, MX.

A close look at the tree on the left will reveal some buds - a good sign!

.

Viking Queen - finally arrives

In the serene surroundings of Eastern Passage, Viking Queen (and its crew) are taking a well earned break from the high seas.

It must have been a relief to the crew when Viking Queen finally tied up at Autoport this morning. The ship had been holding off Halifax since about December 23 in some of the worst weather we have seen this year. Its wanderings took it as far south as Liverpool, NS - but well out to sea. It must have steamed hundreds of miles in the four or five days it was offshore..Once the port re-opened after the Christmas Day shut down, it had to wait its turn after Otello which unloaded at both Pier 31 and Autoport.

Viking Queen is making a small contribution to the thousands of new cars in Autoport. 

It is a wonder there wasn't some damage to its precious cargo, but from what I could see today, it safely delivered a number of BMWs loaded in its last port, Emden, December 13.

Viking Queen was built as Hoegh Delhi by Uljanik, Pula, Croatia in 2007. A big ship of 55,775 grt, 16,870 dwt, it has a capacity of 7,000 cars.It became Viking Queen earlier in 2017.

The ship's owners, Gram Car Carriers, lists the ship's next port as Houston, with an ETA of December 29.  That schedule has obviously been thrown into disarray - it will be a week late at least.

For more on the ship, see Shipfax June 18, 2017

.

 

A sub and more cars

The absence of a submarine in Halifax harbour for many months was broken for a short spell yesterday and today as HNLMS Zeeleeuw [Sea Lion] put in for a brief visit. One of four Walrus class subs of the Dutch navy it has been in commission since 1990.

An RCN sailor stands by to pipe a salute as the pup tug Granville turns the sub off the pier. 

The civilian tug Atlantic Willow did the work of "lifting" the sub away from the jetty.

 

HNLMS Zeeleeuw underway for sea.

The Dutch diesel electric subs have been instrumental in numerous intelligence gathering operations and have been deployed in anti-piracy operations.


Our own local submarine HMCS Windsor (all the others are on the west coast) has been invisible for many months. However it was announced last week that the RCN will keep the subs for another decade or more, which will mean many billions in refits to extend their life expectancy from 2020 to the 2030s. New subs will then not be needed until the frigate program is complete.

A much more common sight in Halifax is car boats - love' em or hate' em they are a fact of life, and their daily (or more frequent) arrivals and departures create lots of work for pilots, tug crews and longshoremen. 

 Talia has rounded Indian Point headed for Ives Knoll- at the north end of Macnab's Island. 

Note the ship's sloping forepeak, which improves visibility forward, but also improves areodynamics.

Talia arrived this morning and sailed late afternoon. A  57,692 grt, 21.021 dwt ship, built in 2006 by Gdynia Shipyard in Poland, the ship is owned by Ray Car Carriers and is on long term charter to Wilhelmsen Lines. Although auto carriers look alike, there are subtle differences in appearance and size.

From nearly broadside, the ship's immense size becomes apparent - it has a capacity in excess of 6,500 cars. The tug Spitfire III follows the ship outbound for its next assignment (see below)

As Talia left, the next Autoport customer was arriving. Viking Queen is a new name for ship that has been in service for nearly ten years. Built as Hoegh Delhi by Uljanik Shipyard in Pula, Croatia, the 55, 775 grt, 16,890- dwt ship was renamed earlier this year, reflecting an ownership change that took place in 2014. Current owners are listed as Gram Car Carriers Holdings, but the original owners were Viking Car Carriers, so this might have been an internal transfer rather than an actual sale. Nevertheless it is unusual for car carriers to change names.

Viking Queen has a slightly more conventional appearance, and somewhat smaller tonnage, but can still carry 7,000 cars.Tug Spitfire III has made up aft and Atlantic Oak moves in forward, to assist the ship to Autoport.

.