The Ripple Effect, and other news

 Work appears to be completed on relocating one of the existing cranes at PSA Halifax. The Super Post Panamax crane dubbbed "Max5", was repositioned by loading it back onto the Zhen Hua 23, then off loading it further north (by passing two other cranes) and adjacent to the two newest cranes which have just been delivered from the same ship.

The existing crane (with boom up in the photo) will be "plug and play" I assume. In other words it will be ready to run in short order. The two newest cranes - left in photo - are in the commisssioning process and may be operational in December or January.

(The green cranes in the photo are still aboard the ship Zhen Hua 23 and are not for Halifax. They are en route to the PSA terminal in Sines, Portugal.)

With the new cranes the Port expects to be able to handle 20,000 TEU ships efficiently. Although no ships of that size currently call on east coast North America, their arrival is inevitable as lines look for efficiencies of scale.
 

Ripple 1

Because the Pier 41 berth was occupied with this crane move, the container ship ONE Falcon went to anchorage number one, just off the South End Container Terminal. The 14,026 TEU ship will move alongside tonight when Zhen Hua 23 sails.

Dating from 2017 when it was delivered by Japan Marine United in Kure as NYK Falcon, the ship was renamed in 2020 by NYK Lines, a partner in Ocean Network Express along with the other Japanese container lines. ONE is a member of THE Alliance and the ship is operating on its EC5 service.

Ripple 2

With ONE Falcon occupying number one anchorage, and impeding the usual east channel, the Oceanex Sanderling passed west of George's Island en route to Bedford Basin. The ship is arriving on its weekly route from St.John's, NL.

It will remain at anchor in Bedford Basin until the sailing later this evening of Atlantic Sail frees up the west berth at PSA Fairview Cove.

Ripple 3

The presence of ONE Falcon in number one anchorage also obliged the arriving autocarrier Lake Wanaka to pass west of George's Island then turn, north of the island, then head back east of the island to make its approach to Eastern Passage and Autoport.

The line boat Roseway makes its way to Autoport to take the ship's head lines out to a mooring buoy.

The 47,168 gt, 12,272 dwt autocarrier has become a regular in Halifax (it was last here October 17) working as it does for Volkswagen sailing out of Emden, Germany. Built in 2008 as Triumph by Xiamen Shipbuilding Industry Co, it has a capacity of 4902 CEU. It became Lake Wanaka in 2019. The ship is equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber, housed aft of the usual funnel.

Once the ship neared the Autoport jetty, the tugs turned it to back in alongside. The ship is equipped with a side ramp, which is never used in Halifax, instead using the large stern ramp.

Ripple 4

Adnittedly Ripple 4 effected only me, but what the ONE Falcon did was to (partly) block my customary view of the tanker at Imperial Oil's Number 3 dock.

The Torm Agnes arrived yesterday from Antwerp with a cargo of refined products. A member of the Danish Torm A/S fleet (although apparently re-finanaced and leased back) the ship wears the unique burnt orange painted superstructure and the Torm name and flag on the hull. Built by Guangzhou International, in Guangzhou, in 2011 it is listed at 30,302 gt, 49,999 dwt. That is a rather larger than usual gross tonnage, perhaps as the result of roomier accommodation than the run of the mill MidRange tanker.

The five decks of superstructure (one more than the usual) are more visible from aft.

Non-Ripple

Totally unrelated to the crane delivery issue, was the departure of the cargo ship Franbo Lohas from Pier 9B. Tugs were able to turn the ship right off the berth in the Narrows and so to head it for sea.

This was the ship's third call in Halifax in two years. First in March 2022 and again just a year ago in November 2022. This time it arrived November 2 from Oman. As it did on the last calls, it loaded steel racks for carrying fibreoptic cable. When it sailed today it gave Portsmouth,NH as destination, where it will load another cargo of the cable manaufactured at SubCom's factory in Newington (formerly Tyco and before than Simplex Wire and Cable).

One of ten sister ships built by Honda Heavy Industries (unrelated to the car) in Saiki, Japan for Thorco A/S of Denmark. It was named Thorco Lohas from 2016 to 2021when some of the ships were sold to Franbo Lines of Taiwan and renamed. The 13,110 gt, 16,966 dwt ship has box shaped holds and two 50 tonne SWL cranes. Other ships of the Thorco "L" class have also been fitted with cable racks in Halifax.

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Business As Usual

 Most stores and many businesses were closed for November 11, Remembrance Day, but the port remained in operation with activity at several locations.

At the South End Container Terminal (PSA Atlantic Hub) ships worked at Pier 41-42, leaving the northern portion of Pier 41 for work on the new container cranes.

 Both new Post Panamax cranes have been off loaded now, and are in position at the extreme north end of Pier 41 (left inphoto above). The crane ship Zhen Hua 23 moved out to anchor briefly. As it did so the Volga Maersk arriving from Montreal, slid in to Pier 42.

The Zhen Hua 23 is still carrying the two green cranes destined for PSA Sines, Portugal, and made an unusual backdrop to the Volga Maersk after it tied up. (The two oldest and smallest cranes, at the extreme south of Pier 42, worked the ship.)

 

 The Zhen Hua 23 moved back along side Pier 41-42 (mid-berth) because it has one more chore to do before leaving Halifax. It will load the older and highest of the existing cranes and roll it off alongside the new cranes.

Autoport had the Morning Lady unloading autos from Europe. It had previously been at Pier 9C last evening delivering the usual array of machinery.

The 70,853 gt, 27,343 dwt ship was built by Hyundai, Ulsan in 2010 and has a capacity of 8100 cars. This is achieved within an overall length of 232.38 m (762.40 ft) and a width of 32.26 m (105.8399 ft). The ship is owned by Eukor Car Carriers Inc of South Korea and operates under the management of Wilhelmsen Ship Management Korea Ltd.

The "mystery" ship Jessica B sailed late this afternoon, with its deck load of TCCL* containers. (see yesterday's post.)

The ship is giving Argentia, NL as destination.

 Interestingly the ship's funnel mark is for Intersac, a Canadian chemical manufacturing and distribution company, based in suburban Montreal. 

*Among the things than TCCL might stand for I have eliminated Traumatic Cranio-Cerebral Lesions and the Tulsa City-County Library and have pretty much settled on Travencore Cochin Chemicals Ltd in view of the connection with Intersac. Among the industries Intersac serves is mining.

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New Cranes

 Two new Super Post Panamax cranes arrived in Halifax at the PSA Atlantic Hub terminal today (November 6) aboard the specially equipped ship Zhen Hua 23. The ship made an impressive sight as it made its way inbound from sea.

 Built in 1986 by the Shin Kasado Dockyard Co Ltd in Kudamatsu, Japan as the crude oil tanker Rich Duchess, it was rendered obsolete when double hull regulations came into effect. Its hull and machinery were still sound however and it was rebuilt as a heavy load carrier in 2007. The work altered the ship's tonnages from 50,285 gt, 79,999 dwt to 37,879 gt, 48,412 dwt.

 

 

Zhen Hua Shipping Company, the transportation arm of the Zhen Hua Port Machinery Corp, builders of the cranes operates the ship. It has been equipped with a ballasting system that allows it to adjust its deck level with docks so that the fully assembled cranes can be rolled on and rolled off.

The Zhen Hua 23 sailed from Yangshan Port, south of Shanghai September 12 (some say September 13), and due to its great height it could not transit either the Suez or Panama canals, so took the "long way round" via the Cape of Good Hope. It was reported passing Port Louis, Mauritius October 3, but sailed non-stop for Halifax.

 

 

The Zhen Hua 23 slid in to dock at Pier 41, where the two (red and white) cranes will be offloaded. After a short commissioning  and independant certification process, they will  be ready to run. The ship will not remain in port for long. It is also carrying two cranes for PSA Sines in Portugal (green coloured.). That port is becoming a major transshipment hub with several lines calling there en route to Halifax.

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Slow Boat from China

 The legendary "slow boat to China" of song, will be appearing in Halifax, but in reverse, this fall. The Zhen Hua 23, a Chinese specialized heavy lift ship, is giving an ETA of November 5, having left Shanghai September 13.

The ship will be carrying two new Super Post Panamax container cranes for PSA Halifax's South End Container Terminal. The crane manufacturer, Zhenhua Port Machinery Company, provides its own transportation for the fully assembled cranes. On arrival in port, the ship is able to adjust its draft so that the cranes can be rolled ashore directly from the deck of the ship. Zhen Hua technicians also set up and commission the cranes once they are on shore, which can take several weeks.

Zhen Hua has had several ships over the years, and some of them have been to Halifax delivering previous cranes. As with those ships the expected ship Zhen Hua 23 is a converted tanker. Built in1986 by Kasado Kudamatsu as a 50,285 gt, 79,999 dwt single hull crude oil tanker, it became obsolete when double hull tankers became mandatory. The Rich Duchess as it was called, still had good machinery and sound structure, and so in 2007 it was converted with a new reinforced cargo deck and a sophisticated ballast control system to allow it to load and unload large and heavy cargoes.

Although the ship has not been in Halifax before, the company's earlier vessels were of similar appearance, and generated considerable attention when they called here.

 Zhen Hua 4 had two cranes and two Rubber Tired Gantries (RTGs) for Halifax in 2000. It also had two cranes for another port.

 

Zhen Hua 29 came to Halifax in 2020 with one crane while en route to France and Algeria with four more cranes.

The Zhen Hua 23 cleared Port Louis, Mauritius October 3 and is en route to Halifax via the Cape of Good Hope. (It is too high to pass through the Suez Canal, and is taking the westbound route to avoid a long, and potentially rough, Pacific crossing.)

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