Catching Up

 Returning to Halifax after more than two months away* (aside from two short returns home) it may take some time to get back into a (new /old) normal routine - especially posts to this blog. Instead of seeing ships directly on the St.Lawrence River, and right outside my front window, I will now need to do a bit more planning so that I can be in the right place at the right time.

In checking out Halifax harbour today, September 6, I needed to go all the way to Autoport to get a look at the Noble Ace. Although the ship has been here before, I did not have a photo. The long grass has apparently withered away - or someone may have cut it - so I did not need to wade in up to my waist to get my shot.

 The ship was well secured with a number of head lines out to the buoy and the dock. I could see some pieces of heavy machinery on the dock near the ship's stern, but these are not normal cargo for Autoport. It is possible that they were "last on" due to their size, and were driven off the ship so that the normal cargo of cars can be driven off. They would then be re-loaded before the ship sails.

Built by Imabari Zosen in Marugame in 2011 it is a 59,515 gt / 18,946 dwt ship with a capacity of 6,172 CEU. Despite is MOL colours and name (MOL car carriers are named "ACE" for Auto Carrier Express) the ship flies the British flag for owners Zodiac Maritime Inc, and thus must be on long term charter to MOL. 

The ship is en route from European ports - the last was Zeebrugge - and is bound for Brunswick, GA. 

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Despite the desire to photograph ships with no distracting background clutter. I do like to catch ships passing beneath the A.Murray MacKay bridge on their way to or from Bedford Basin.Today I was fortunate to get the ZIM Asia inbound for the PSA Fairview Cove container terminal.

I also prefer not to use a wide angle lens, but I risked some distortion by zooming down to 35 mm to get the bridge deck and west tower in the shot.

  

Going away photos aren't my favourite views either, but the sun was just right this tme.

That is the Atlantic Oak providing stern tethered escort. It will soon swing out to assist the ship's turn. Sharp eyes may spot the CSL Tacoma loading at the Gold Bond Gypsum dock in the right background.

ZIM Asia has been a regular caller here since October 2023, and the reason for its non-typical colour scheme may be found here: Shipfax October 16, 2023
 

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 * When I get settled in I will post some St.Lawrence River highlights.

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Friday

 High winds coupled with rain, may have slowed the work at container terminals again today November 15, but ships were still coming and going. Photos as a result are bit fuzzy due to the rain.

Yesterday the Oceanex Sanderling and ZIM Asia (photo above) joined the tanker Al Reem (see November 13 post and below) at anchor in Bedford Basin, awaiting their berths. When Atlantic Sail sailed later yesterday afternoon they both moved alongside PSA Fairview Cove.

Oceanex Sanderling is expected to sail late afternoon today on its usual departure for St.John's.

ZIM Asia sailed at noon time today, taking a wide turn out into Bedford Basin before lining up for the Narrows. 

A rather bedraggled Africville park asill looked green, thanks to recent mild weather. Canada geese, rather than migrate, have been feeding on the grass and making a mess. The flags were set up to discourage them, but also make effective wind indicators.

The inbound Delphinus C on THE Alliance's AL5 service arrived from Antwerp to take the ZIM Asia's berth.

Another of the seven ship Daedalus class ships built by Hyundai Ulsan in 2007, it was originally the NYK Delphinus, fifth in the series. The 55,487 gt, 65,950 dwt ship has a capacity of 4,888 TEU including 330 reefer plugs. In 2003 the ship was renamed Delphinus C by Cosmoship Management SA of Piraeus, but remains on the AL5 route.

Once again it is worth noting the large number of Hapag-Lloyd and UASC boxes on deck. In February 2025 when the new Maersk / Hapag-Lloyd Gemini Cooperation comes into effect Hapag-Lloyd will withdraw from THE Alliance. MSC may take up some of the slots but Gemini will form other services some of which will no doubt call in Halifax. New schedules will be posted in December.

At PSA Atlantic Gateway it was an unusual ship for the Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL.) 

The CMA CGM Rigoletto is quite a bit smaller than the usual 15,000 TEU ships on the route from Asia via the Cape of Good Hope. (Last port Colombo.)

The CMA CGM Rigoletto comes in at 107,711 gt, 114,004 dwt with a capacity of 9415 TEU including 700 reefers. It would be among the largest ships with all superstructure aft. Most ships of that size have an "island" bridge well forward. It was built in 2006 by Hyundai Ulsan.

Still anchored in Bedford Basin, the tanker Al Reem (see above) awaits a berth at Imperial Oil.

Today the Algoscotia moved back from Pier 26 to Imperial Oil as winds died down sufficiently for safe operation. The Al Reem appears to have quite a bit of product yet to unload.

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ZIM Asia

 ZIM (now officially known as Zim Integrated Shipping Services Ltd) operates two lines in and out of Halifax. A feeder service called CFX (for Canada Florida Express, but which extends as far as Kingston, Jamaica) and its ZCA service (ZIM Container Atlantic), operating from the Mediterranean to the North America east coast (Halifax, New York, Norfolk, Savannah and return). Today (October 16) the ZCA arrival was a new ship to the service, ZIM Asia.

The ship dates from 2010 when it was built by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co in Okpo, measuring 42,110 gt and 54,308 dwt with a container capacity of 4300 TEU. Its size is in line with most of the ships ZIM employs on the ZCA. A few years ago it was said that ships of this size were obsolete, but that appears to have changed, at least for now, and ZIM certainly has establsihed a niche for them.

Initially named MOL Distinction, the ship was renamed in 2016 as SCT Distinction, then in 2017 as ALS Ceres before becoming ZIM Asia as of April 1, 2022.

So far the ship has not taken on any ZIM identifiers, such as funnel mark, paint colours or hull banner. That may mean that it is a short term charter. (There is lots of room on the name board for a longer name.)

The wide but shallow superstructure appears to incorporate an exhaust gas scrubber system, which would be original to when the ship was built.

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