Why No Posts

It's not as if there has been no activity in Halifax harbour since Friday, but weather has not been conducive - particularly for photography. Here are some highlights.

On Monday the Liberian flag, Greek owned tanker Elka Eleftheria arrived at Irving Oil Woodside from Amsterdam.

Photo taken Tuesday, by which time some cargo had been discharged. The large white shapes that appear to be on the ship's deck are in fact on shore and are part of Irving Oil's propane terminal. The Imperial tank is actually next door to the Irving facility, and the checkerboard tank on the horizon is part of Canadian Forces Base Shearwater.


The 27,539 gt, 44,787 dwt ship dates from 2001 when it was built by Brodosplit in Croatia as Fulgar. It was very quickly renamed  by European Product Carriers Ltd of Athens, part of European Navigation  Inc. All its product tankers carry the name "Elka"  followed by a Greek geographical or mythological name.

Arriving Tuesday under marginal sea and weather conditions the diminutive cargo schooner Avontuur tied up at pier 26.

The crew rig tires as fenders as they prepare to berth. Sea conditions outside prevented the pilot from boarding at the usual place, and so it had to lead the vessel in to a point inside Maugher's Beach where it was safe to get aboard. Conditions did not deter lobster fishermen as they enter the final weeks of the season and try to maximize their catch.

Built in 1920 by Otto Schmidt in Stadskanal, Netherlands, the 138 gt vessel plies the world's trade routes with paying crew, transporting cargo (for example coffee) and spends as much time under sail as possible.

On Tuesday pilotage operations were suspended due to extreme high winds and building seas. Operations did not resume until late this afternoon, and even then some ships did not arrive until  after 1900 hrs.

Grande New York was one, and it only became visible through the rain when it was well into the Middle Ground area.

The 62,134 gt, 18,360 dwt ship was last here 13 months ago - to the day. With a 6700 CEU capacity, the ship was built by Jinling, Nanjing in 2017. After off loading some cars at Autoport, the ship will move to pier 31. Its last port was Valencia, Spain, and unusual source for autocarriers, but it likely came from Italy before that.

Also inbound a few minutes earlier, YM Movement was barely visible until it got well into the harbour.

 It was still raining heavily when the ship passed under the MacKay bridge. A regular caller on THE Alliance EC5 service, the ship has a 6258 TEU capacity, and measures 71,821 gt, 72,370 dwt. Koyo Dockyard in Mihara, Japan built the ship in 2013.

Last to arrive this evening was the little cruise ship Fram. It sailed from Saint John yesterday, expecting to disembark passengers in Halifax first thing this morning. Instead they spent the day rolling around outside the harbour, before finally tying up about 12 hours late. The ship was to sail this evening, but will now stay in port until tomorrow afternoon.

The famous Norwegian coastal passenger line has extended its range to include the arctic and antarctic regions, but so far has bot included Nova Scotia fog and rain as highlights of their cruises.

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Friday inaction

There was lots of action in Halifax harbour today - unfortunately I was somewhere else when most of it was happening, so almost all the photos were of static ships.

The autocarrier Manon finally got out of port after a lengthy stay. It arrived  Tuesday at pier 31, but when it completed unloading machinery, it remained there until late Thursday while Columbia Highway and Oceanex Sanderling did their work at Autoport.

Offshore fog swirls outside Eastern Passage while Manon completes unloading at Autport..

Manon sailed late this afternoon.

Back in service:

 Chebucto Pilot getting underway looking very smart after its refit. It is heading out with pilots for the inbound Budapest Bridge and will disembark the pilot from the outbound UACC Manama.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority will soon be welcoming two more pilot boats. Under the current names of SC Lynx and SC Cheetah they are water jet propelled boats with 20 knot plus cruising speed, they were built in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and have been working in Europe.


In for CFIA inspection:

 Just getting underway after inspection UACC Manama exhibits no less than 27 manifold connections, signified by the dots between the "A" and the "C". This means that the ship can carry a wide array of chemicals at the same time. Note also the array of piping on deck compared to typical product carriers.

The chemical tanker UACC Manama bound for Quebec, stopped off for Asian Gypsy Moth inspection. A 2010 product of the SLS Shipbuilding Co in Tongyeong, South Korea, the 29,124 grt, 45,612 dwt ship was built as Bunga Balsam for MISC Bhd but was acquired by United Arab Chemical Carriers and renamed in 2014.

Short end of the pier:
K-Line's Budapest Bridge got the short end of the Fairview Cove container pier on its arrival on THE Alliance AL6 service.

The 4526 TEU ship is one of 5 on the Med/Transatlantic service, and is relatively small and lightly loaded, so can be served by the smaller cranes at the east end of the pier.

Long end of the pier:

Yang Ming's 6258 TEU  YM Movement occupied the west end  of the pier and used the bigger cranes.

The ship, an "old" post-Panamax is the leading edge of the wave as the new Panama Canal permits much larger ships to reach the North American east coast from the Pacific.
Although Cerescorp, operators of the pier, have not announced any future plans, they need to step up to the plate with bigger cranes and a longer pier if they are to stay ahead of this development. Most of the 6,000 TEU ships can make it under Halifax's bridges, so should be able to use the piers for some time to come.
I expect some announcement soon as the primary Japanese container lines consolidate, and Cerescorp's owners K-Line may have access to more capital.

Meanwhile back at the downtown waterfront the three herring seiners that have been in and out of Halifax for the past week, sailed again this afternoon.

Lady Janice II foreground and Lady Melissa back, sailed soon after, following Morning Star which had already sailed.

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Long Weekend Assignment - Part 1

The Victoria Day weekend - a Canadian holiday to commemorate the birthday of Queen Victoria (May 24) - involves little celebration of that notable empress, because it generally marks the first weekend of summer. This year's weekend was no exception, including some summer like weather on Friday with record high temperates for the date, but it was a much cooler Saturday with stiff a stiff breeze off the ocean.

Friday saw another new to us K-Line ship, Brotonne Bridge another member of the same class of ships serving THE Alliance AL6 service (also Zim's ZCI).

Samsung SB+HI Co Ltd delivered the 46,444 grt, 58,200 dwt ship in 2010. With a capacity  of 4526 TEU it is operated by Seaspan on a 12 year charter (with two three year options) to K-Line.

Another new to Halifax ship showed up on Saturday. YM Movement is also on THE Alliance service, but this time the EC5 run.

The ship dates from 2013 when it was built by Koyo Dockyard Co in Mihara, Japan. It rates 6258 TEU on 71,821 grt, 72,370 dwt.

Arriving Thursday, the Radcliffe R. Latimer discharged its grain cargo from Thunder Bay at pier 25. On Friday night it moved to National Gypsum to load and is due to sail overnight Saturday/Sunday.

Named for a now retired President of Algoma Corp, the ship is the former Algobay built in 1978 by Collingwood Shipbuilding for Great Lakes and ocean work, called the "Nova Scotia class".  After a three stint under the Liberian flag, from 1990 to 1993 it then had a three year charter from 1994 to 1997 to CSL as Atlantic Trader, after which reverted to its original name.
It was laid up in 2002 but in 2007 Algoma announced it would be rebuilt in China. With its engine and self-unloading boom and other gear removed it was towed from Hamilton, ON (May 13, 2008) to Shanghai, China (September 7, 2008) then to Jiangyin 100 miles upstream.
The forward part of the ship was removed and broken up and the superstructure attached to a new self-unloading cargo body.
It returned to North America via the Panama Canal, arriving in Portland, ME, December 30, 2009 where it wintered over, entering service in 2010. Its first load out of Halifax was September 11 of that year.
Since then it has been a infrequent caller, but with the closure of US Gypsum's facility in Little Narrows, NS, we can expect to see it more frequently.

Also in port is the general cargo ship Thorco Luna at pier 9c. It arrived off Halifax in early May and entered port May 15 (in less than ideal photographic conditions.) At pier 9c it is being fitted with cable racks.

The ship was built by Honda Heavy Industries Ltd [no relation to the car] in Saiki, Japan, in 2014, one of ten ships of the same class for the Danish Thorco Shipping. Sister ship Thorco Liva was here in October last year, also to be fitted to carry cable.
Measuring 13,110 grt, 16,953 dwt, it carries a pair of 50 tonne cranes that can work in tandem.

As the crew closes the forward hatch, several portable tween decks are stacked forward. Note also the yellow 100 tonne spreader on deck behind the forward crane (right in line with the base of the transmission tower). 

Another sign of spring - is the annual arrival of the herring fleet. Four seiners appeared on the waterfront over the past few days.

Left to right: Morning Star, Lady Janice II, and Lady Melissa. The fourth, Dual Venture was also in port and possibly another - not visible due to waterfront congestion.

And as a bonus to the May 7    post, Ningbo Express sailed today on the eastbound (return) leg of its trip - this time in clear weather. It sailed just in time to allow YM Movement to dock, and this time it was Atlantic Cartier at the east end of Fairview Cove yesterday and Itea today.

assignment to be continued..........