BUMP IN THE EVENING

Rumours have reached me that HMCS KINGSTON may have bumped another ship while attempting to berth at HMC Dockyard late in the day yesterday. The coastal defence vessel then backed out into the harbour and awaited tugs to assist her in berthing.
KINGSTON is the first ship built in this class of vessels, which are used mostly for reserves training. She was returning to port with sisters SHAWINIGAN and GLACE BAY and the frigate ST. JOHN'S after exercising offshore.
There was slight damage to the other ship, and unknown damage to KINGSTON.

Tugs

With two tug companies in Halifax, operating a total of four tugs, one would be forgiven for thinking that they never seem to be doing anything! Well times are tough for the tugs. There is certainly less work for them, but there are still opportunities.

POINT HALIFAX recently went to Bayside, New Brunswick to dock the ship CHERRY, and SVITZER BEDFORD later went to Bayside and towed the ship to Halifax.

POINT HALIFAX went on to Bull Arm, Newfoundland helping with a float off from a submersible ship. She is expected to go to Quebec to start her summer's work running to the arctic. SVITZER BEDFORD then may go to Bull Arm to relieve POINT HALIFAX.

Meanwhile POINT CHEBUCTO has been doing a lot of the harbour work. Here she is returning to dock at sunset Monday evening after unberthing the container ship SAUDI DIRIYAH.

Oldie

The classic refrigerated cargo ship CHERRY arrived in Halifax in tow of the tug SVITZER BEDFORD on Friday. Built in 1971, she is a true classic.

Not many ships of that age are still sailing, so it is a bit of a treat to see her. She was built by Nylands of Oslo for German owners as CHERRY. She sailed as CAYMAN (1984-87) and R.P. CAYMAN (1987-1996) before reverting to her orginal name. She has sailed under various flags, and presently flies the very rare Cook Islands flag, a flag of convenience usually used by ships that are well past their life expectancies.

Her longevity may be explained by the fact that she is a refrigerated cargo ship. They are more costly to build than conventional cargo ships or bulkers, and so must retain their value over time in order to make a return on the investment.

The ship is in the Scotiadock II floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard, showing off her flowing hull lines (rarely seen on ships anymore.)

Big White Ship

It's unusual to see a crude oil tanker painted white. HELLESPONT TRINITY, with its white hull and blue diagonal stripes presented a refreshing change to the usual business-like tanker colours.

Her owners, Hellespont Shipping are an intrigiung company, with an interesting Canadian connection.

Their web site - one of the best shipping company web sites around, is well worth a visit. Look under the "Our History" label to see more at:

http://www.hellespont.com/

The ship was in Halifax on Trinity Sunday, but left after dark, so did not cooperate with the camera for an "underway" photo.

Blue Ice Anyone?

Distilled exclusively from Idaho Russet potatoes. Certified kosher and USDA Organic. America's only vodka. Produced by Distilled Resources Inc of Rigby, Idaho. The favourite of rappers, gangstas, and obviously millions of others. Blue Ice vodka.

Can there be any doubt that its profits have finded this over the top mega-yacht? A 45m Palmer Johnson, fresh from the shipyard, and bound for a summer of charter work in the Med, with a rate starting from 175,000 euros per week.

No ordinary vodka, no ordinary yacht.

She is tied up at the Queen's wharf, just north of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

MARIA DESGAGNES

The tanker MARIA DESGAGNES got underway this afternoon for Come-by-Chance, Newfoundland, after a lengthy layup in Halifax. The ship arrived in March and spent some time in drydock, but has been idle ever since.

Her owners, Transport Desgagnes of Quebec (and their tanker subsidiary PetroNav), have had several of their tankers laid up during this time.

There is some speculation that MARIA DESGAGNES will be working overseas and flying a flag of convenience. Several other Desgagnes ships do this seasonally, and return to Canadian flag for summer work in the arctic, then head overseas again for the rest of the year. Their tanker fleet however have always remained Canadian flagged year round.

A drop in demand for Canadian flag tankers, an increase in the number of Canadian tankers available (Algoma bought two tankers this year alone, and Desgagnes bought one) and Ultramar's use of a tug and barge on the St.Lawrence River, all lead to this situation.

Fleet mates VEGA DESGAGNES and PETROLIA DESGAGNES remain laid up in Montreal and Quebec City respectively. THALASSA DESGAGNES was laid up until May 31 but has resumed service for a trip to the US with asphalt. SARAH DESGAGNES is trading in the Caribbean.

The three Rigel tankers, formerly chartered by Desgagnes, but purchased outright early this year, DIAMOND STAR, EMERALD STAR and JADE STAR are all still operating for Ultramar.

SHEILA ANN arrives

The self-unloading bulk carrier SHEILA ANN arrived for bunkers at noon time. The ship was built in 1999 at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China for the CSL Group. It can carry 70,000 tonnes of cargo and can unload at a rate of up to 5,000 tones per hour depending on the type of cargo. It usually carries coal to Point Tupper or Sydney and stone from Cape Porcupine to the US. It can also carry gypsum, phosphate rock and similar bulk cargoes.

The ship was named for the Sheila Ann Martin, whose husband was, for a time, Prime Minister of Canada, and was the owner of the CSL (Canada Steamship Lines) group of companies. Her sons now own CSL.

The pilot boat APA No.1 is shown in the mid-ground, with some of the herring seiner fleet in the foreground.