Wilfred Templeman, sold and renamed

The research trawler CCGS Wilfred Templeman has been sold and renamed. Built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou in 1981, it was one of two such vessels constructed for the Department of Fisheries & Oceans. Sister ship Alfred Needler is stationed at Bedford Institute in Halifax and Wilfred Templeman in St.John's.
When the Coast Guard was merged into DFO, the ships lost their grey hulls and went to CCG red, and added some other duties to their repertoires, such as search and rescue, when needed.
The Templeman was built to replace the A.T.Cameron (which often visited Halifax).

The Templeton lead a fairly uneventful career with DFO compared to its sister, and in fact was called in to BIO in 2003 following a serious fire on the Needler, and was brought back in 2007 when the Needler was in transitional refit. The Templeman never received a similar refit, and so its career has proven shorter.

Oddly however, its twin Alco/MLW engines were given a rebuild in 2009, and the ship was withdrawn from service with only 30 hours on the rebuild, in September 2009. [Those engines were originally troublesome and kept the ship out of service well in to 1982, and extended the service of the A.T.Cameron, which had been renamed 81-4 pending disposal].

By July of 2011, the Templeman had been renamed 2011-01 and was advertised for sale, with an asking price of $400,000. There were no takers for that price, and the sale was extended to September. The successful bidder was McKeil Work Boats Ltd of Hamilton, ON for $371,956.55.

The ship was registered on March 20, 2012 as Blain M, named for a member of the McKeil family.

Better known for their tug and barge work, McKeil have owned research ships in the past, and perhaps they see an opportunity for this one in Newfoundand or Nova Scotia waters. Or perhpas farther afield. Predeccesor A.T.Cameron when it was sold in 1984 became Arctic Ranger for Newfoundland owners and in 1992 became Arctic Discoverer for Caribbean treasure hunters.

Footnote: Dr. Wilfred Templeman was a distinguished marine biologist and when the ship was named, it was the first time that a DFO ship had been named for a living scientist.

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HMCS Preserver returns from sea

1. The tug Glenevis stands by the Preserver as it returns to port this morning.

2. A rigid hull inflatable powers away from the ship as part of a personnel transfer.

3. Preserver veers to starboard, heading back out to sea.

HMCS Preserver returned from sea this morning (she sailed Tuesday). It was reported in the press that her commanding officer had been relieved of command a few weeks ago in relation to the incident last November when the ship struck the Novadock floating drydock while maneuvering in the harbour.

The ship was laid down at Saint John Dry Dock on October 17, 1967, launched May 29, 1969 and commissioned July 30, 1970. Long overdue for replacement, the ship has provided sterling service to the RCN including participation in the October 2001-April 2002 Arabian Gulf/Afghanistan war.

There is still no final decision on the design of Canada's new naval supply vessels, though it seems a modified German design is currently under consideration. Without some movement quite soon, the three to five year window for Preserver's future may be extended again - maybe she will reach fifty years in commission.

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HMCS Athabaskan - off to refit

A decidedly shabby HMCS Athabaskan sailed this afternoon for refit at the Seaway Marine & Industrial Inc [corrected -see comment] shipyard at St. Catharines (Port Weller) ON.

Although in need of a shave and a haircut, the ship will obviously be getting more than two bits worth of work. The $21.7mn contract is to be completed by autumn, so that the ship will be able to leave the Great Lakes before freeze-up closes the St.Lawrence Seaway.

Before sailing, local Dockyard forces removed obsolete radars and other weapon systems-giving the ship a very stripped down and bare look.

The St. Lawrence Seaway opens for business again this year on March 22, so Athabaskan will be arriving at Port Weller when the yard releases the ships it has worked on over the winter.

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America Express - another oddball for Hapag-Lloyd

Hapag-Lloyd is bringing in more and more chartered tonnage to Halifax [see Pusan ] and today's arrival is very different from the others.

Built in 2008 by the China Shipbuilding Corp in Kaoshiung, as Wan Hai 510, this ship was renamed last summer as America Express. It has not however been repainted or otherwise identified to Hapag-Lloyd, and still bears the owner's banner on its sides. There large white "W" on a blue funnel is still prominent.

The ship was formerly deployed on the owners' Far East Europe service.

With a capacity of 4,252 TEU it is line for size with other ships on its new Pacific Atlantic Express route.

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BBC Plata - two stop shopping

BBC Plata tied up at pier 9A this afternoon, displacing the bulker Atlantic Superior. BBC Plata will load a packed boiler unit at pier 9A and then move to pier 31 to load four more. The boilers arrived on rail cars, and apparently there was no space at pier 31 to accommodate the fifth rail car.

The pier 9C extension project, ongoing nearby will alleviate this situation by providing more room to handle such cargoes.

BBC Plata was built in 2005 (or 2004 according to her owners) as Asian Voyager by Jiangdong Shipyard in Wuhu, China. It flies the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, and is owned by the large Bockstiegel Reederei GmbH of Emden, Germany. It is classed as a multi-purpose ship, capable of carrying 665 TEU, bulk cargoes or heavy lifts and is fitted with two 120 tonne cranes. It is a ship of 9,618 gross tons and 12,780 deadweight. [It is hard to believe that it has greater capacity than a WWII Empire, Fort of Park ship]

The Bockstiegel company has an excellent website, with a fleet list and fleet position map (you will need to download Java for this.)

http://www.reederei-bockstiegel.de/ [press the Union Flag for English]

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Atlantic Superior - on the move, but not far

1. Atlantic Superior being turned in the Narrows by tugs as she gets away form pier 9A.

2. One of three locations on the port side where hull plating was cut out and welded back in. The white line was painted on before the cut as a guideline.

3. Taking up all available room in the Narrows.

Atlantic Superior moved from pier 9A to pier 25-26 this afternoon after several false starts yesterday (she was scheduled to move, but didn't) and earlier this morning.

The move was carried out entirely by tugs, as she was not using her main engine.

Her refit is apparently not complete, as there is some paint work needed where openings have been made in her hull. Men were also working on her self-unloading gear.

The move was hastened by the arrival of BBC Plata which tied up at pier 9A a few minutes later. [see following post]

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Hoechst Express rolls in to Halifax

1. Hoechst Express rolling to port.

The German flagged container ship Hoechst Express was rolling noticeably as it arrived in Halifax this afternoon. If it was rolling this much within the harbour, it must have been pretty uncomfortable outside.

Built in 1991 by Samsung Shipbuilding & Heavy Industries Ltd in Koje, the 4,639 TEU ship has been a regular caller in Halifax for many years. It appeared to have a pretty full deck load, with a fine coating of frozen spray on top of the boxes. This would not be a significant factor in the ship's stability, so the rolling must be a normal habit.

At the extreme of the roll to the port side, the bottoms of the letters "p", "g" and "y" were just at the water line, when it rolled back to starboard, there was a couple of feet of black showing below them.

Hapag-Lloyd's parent TUI AG announced last month that it would be selling another 17.4% of the company to the group headed by Albert Ballin, bringing Ballin's total to 78%. The Ballin group is comprised of the State of Hamburg and other smaller investors and banks. An IPO was scrubbed last year due to uncertainty in the economy. TUI AG wants to concentrate on its travel company and to get out of shipping altogether.

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