Senator Greene ...

Senator Greene has dropped his personal bombshell on the port of Hailfax. Promoting Point Melford and Sydney as replacements for Halifax's container piers in order to improve downtown street traffic in Halifax makes as much sense as his support for converting the present railway cut into a truck corridor.
If the container piers are gone, who would need a truck corridor? The port of Halifax would not have enough non-container traffic to warrant such a hugely disruptive project.
Senator Green, a minor cog in the defeated former Tory provincial government, has been named to the Senate. Predictably his agenda is muddled, his facts askew and and his credibility is zero.
He has apparently concluded that a large increase in Halifax container traffic would result in traffic grid-lock in Halifax. Does he think that all those additional containers would be loaded onto trucks? Apparently so, but that would require a massive increase in locally generated traffic. Traditionally the vast majority of Halifax container traffic is sent on by rail to central Canada or the US mid-west. So a big increase in container traffic in Halifax might well result in some increase in truck traffic, but there are other solutions to Halifax traffic problems.
Railways in the US are now carrying containers on realtively short hauls, keeping more trucks off the highways. Who is to say that this would not happen in Halifax?
Short-sea shipping has been promoted for container transfers. Such services would transship containers right at the container terminal, without clogging city streets.
As for Point Melford or Sydney, they should be allowed to sink or swim as container hubs on a purely business basis, all on their own, without his or any other government's interference.
My advice to Sentor Greene is to take the big pay cheque, wait for the big pension and keep quiet. Nobody actually expects him to do anything to earn either.

From the shoebox... Douglas Reid

Another oldie.

The tug Douglas Reid pictured on Octber 2, 1969 during construction of the Halterm container pier. The tug was built in 1914 at Cleveland, Ohio, as Racine for Great Lakes Towing. In 1940 A.B.MacLean & Sons of Sault Ste.Marie, Ontario bought her. They in turn sold her to McNamara Construction Ltd of Whitby, Ontario in 1950.

McNamara rebuilt the tug, converting it from steam to diesel power and giving it the name Douglas Reid.

McNamara were contracted for the marine construction portion of the Halterm pier, and in this photo workers are doing some repairs on a day off.

The tug was removed from the register in 1978, by which time she had been broken up.

For more on the A.B.MacLean companies, see the new book "A.B. MacLean & Sons Ltd" by Buck Longhurst and Skip Gillham, published by Glenaden Press, 3750 King St, Vineland, ON, L0R 2C0 (ISBN# 978-1-926744-01-8)

If you were wondering why there is no pier 40 in Halifax (berth numbers skip from 39 to 41) this photo is part of the answer. The tug's bow is pointed at berth 40, which was filled in during the Halterm construction.

Svitzer Bedford Fire

The Halifax based tug Svitzer Bedford was abandoned on fire off Quebec City on Wednesday October 28 at about 10 am local time. The tug had sailed from Quebec City for Becancour, towing the barge Transport 1 when the fire broke out. The master decided to abandon ship when the engine room fire could not be brought under control and requested that the Coast Guard vessel Cap Tourmente take the crew off.

The tug has been away from Halifax for several months towing supply barges from Quebec to Hudson's Bay. It was pressed into service when the tug Point Halifax was damaged in ice.

The tugs are owned and operated by Svitzer Canada Limited of Halifax (formerly Eastern Canada Towing Ltd)

Update 1: The fire was brought under control quickly by the Quebec Fire Department and was confined to the engine room. There was a lot of smoke, and the exent of damage is still to be determined.

Awaiting updates.

Oldie from the shoebox... Federal Pioneer

If you've seen Piet Sinke's newsletter he often concludes with an "oldie from the shoebox." Firmly believing that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I will do the same from time to time. I have posted lots of old stuff on Shipspotting, but the photos I will post here will not be the standard ship portraits.

I took this October 15, 1969 from Barrington Street, looking down into the Graving Dock at Halifax Shipyard. It shows FEDERAL PIONEER (ex Brazilian Prince -58, Outremont Park -56) 7158/44 United Shipbuilding, Montreal.

She spent her last years lying in Halifax until needed for northern supply work in the summers.

In 1970 she was sold for scrap to China. She sailed there on her own via Honolulu (December 19, 1970) and arrived in Hsinkiang January 21, 1971 where she was broken up.

The photo also shows a swanky looking vehicle pulled up at the front gate - perhaps a Jaguar.

Cruise countdown

The cruise season is winding down, and Crown Princess sailed this afternoon after her fifth visit to Halifax this year.

Only two ships to follow - Queen Mary 2 on November 2 and Crystal Symphony on November 5.

That's Pearl Mist in the background - still undergoing corrective surgery at the Woodside dock of Halifax Shipyard/ Irving Shipbulding.

A painted ship upon a painted ship upon a painted sea...

Perhaps a little poetic liberty here, but it was a beautifully calm afternoon on Tuesday, October 27 when the lift boat Seajacks Kraken (painted red), on the deck of Swan (painted orange) sailed for European waters.

Deutschland

It was a wild night and morning in Halifax with gales, lashing rain and high seas. Tugs were scurrying to re-anchor Swan and its deck load, which had started to wander. Both cruise ships required tugs today, Deutschland which arrived early, and Crystal Symphony which delayed arrival until 9 am. But it was all over by noon and a beautiful day broke out.

Deutschland sailed in near perfect conditions.