CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent - Things that go bump in the ice

The Harper government took a break today from its usual press releases regarding the War of 1812 (isn't it over yet?) by announcing some preliminary contracts for the Joint Support Ships, fisheries research vessels and the new icebreaker to be named CCGS John G. Diefenbaker. The statement released in Vancouver, is short on detail, but amounts to $15.7mn for somebody. Since the construction work will take place on the West coast, that is why the announcement was made there, but if it is design work, we're not sure where it will actually be done.
The announcement including the startling statement that delivery of CCGS John G. Diefenbaker will coincide with the decommissioning of CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, skilfully avoids saying when that will be. It was supposed to be in 2017, but it looks like it may be farther off than that if they are unwilling to give a date in a press release.
Speaking of the Louis, word reaches me that she may now be out of service for a time due a puncture in her bow. This was apparently acquired while assisting the broken down cargo ship Maple Lea somewhere north of PEI.
The ship was outbound from Summerside, PE when it lost all power February 17 and began to drift. The tugs Atlantic Beech and Spanish Mist managed to take the ship in tow, but somehow Louis S. St-Laurent and Maple Lea came into contact resulting in  holes in the ship's stern and Louis's bow.
The whole bunch arrived safely in Sydney last night where the fallout is now beginning to rain down.
It is difficult to get direct news on this story, but it would appear that yet again we have a Canadian government ship with a hole in it in Sydney.
The Louis certainly has battle scars, including that long crease in her starboard side near the stern, that has been there for many years - I've never heard how she got that one, but she will certainly have some downtime after this latest incident, and just when she is badly needed for Gulf ice work.

It was also revealed today that Halifax Shipyard will be allowed to bid on major refits of CCGS Earl Grey, Edward Cornwallis and  Sir William Alexander. It was originally thought that being awarded the big contract would make the yard ineligible for work on smaller ships. Is this a subtle way of telling Irving that maybe the contract isn't going to be as full as it once was?
Since all information on the shipbuilding contracts is now being released by the government only, and both ISI and Seaspan are under strict gag orders, only time will tell.

Asopos at N.S. Power

A rare sight these days is a tanker at the Nova Scotia Power generating station in Tuft's Cove. The plant was converted to burn natural gas, so it was a bit of a surprise to see the ship Asopos which arrived earlier this morning.
Built in 2006 by Sumitomo Heavy Industry and Marine Engineering Co Ltd in Yokosuka, Japan, it is a Panamax crude oil tanker of 35,711 gross tons and 61,286 deadweight tonnes. One of seven sister ships operated by Pleiades Shipping Agents of Greece (with offices in the UK and Stamford, CT) it is registered in Liberia. Pleiades also operates a pair of Aframax crude carriers and has three crude/product/chemical carriers on order.
The ship's last port was New York, and it arrived with much less than a full cargo of black oil. The cargo was likely purchased by NSP on the spot market at a bargain price -possibly for incineration.
Unlike the more usual Korean built tankers we see these days, this ship has a dramatically raked stem and prominent bulbous bow.

Farley Mowat for sale again

1. Farley Mowat in tow from Halifax for Lunenburg in 1995.

With the Sea Shepherd Society once more in the headlines for its campaign against Japanese whaling in the south Pacific, one of its former ships is again on the auction block.
In  August 1996 the Sea Sepherd Society in Edinburgh, Scotland acquired a former Norwegian research and fisheries protection trawler. Built in 1958 as Johan Hort, it had been retired in 1983 and operated as a research ship, then an oil field safety and standby ship under the names of Skandi Ocean , STM Ocean, CAM Vulcan and M Vulcan.
Once under Sea Shepherd's ownership it was renamed Sea Shepherd in 1997, and Ocean Warrior in 2000, and finally in 2002 given the name of Farley Mowat, in recognition of that author's support of environmental issues.   

 2. Farley Mowat in a more colourful paint scheme, sails from Halifax in 2005.

In February 2005 while in Canadian waters protesting the seal hunt, the Department of Transport directed it into Halifax for compliance repairs.Then early in March it was reported leaking and a large Coast Guard operation involving three aircraft and two ships, ensured its safe arrival in Port aux Basques for repairs.
Early in 2006 the ship was detained in South Africa after protest activities against Japanese whaling in the South Pacific. In June it slipped out of Cape Town, claiming yacht status under the Canadian flag, and thus not needing to comply with regulations relating to commercial ships.  It was later reported in Melbourne awaiting the 2007 Antarctic whaling season.
By May 2008 it was back off Newfoundland where it was charged with interfering in the seal hunt and intentionally bumping CCGS Des Groseillers. The ship was seized in Sydney and auctioned off. Buyers were Green Ship LLC of Oregon, which planned to use the ship to monitor and clean up pollution in the mid-Pacific. The ship was towed to Halifax in late 2009 then on the Lunenburg in March 2010.
Still bearing the name Farley Mowat, the ship has languished at a dock there ever since. In March 2011 the Waterfront Development Corp commenced an action against the ship for payment of berthing fees.On January 15, 2013 the Federal Court ordered the ship  to be sold by tender. Bids are requested by  February 27, 2013.

 3. Arriving in Lunenburg with Atlantic Fir.

The Sea Shepherd groups have had many runs ins with authorities and have lost several ships over the years,  through scuttling, arrest or collision. Three of those have visited Halifax.
First was Sea Shepherd II. Built in 1962 as the trawler St.Giles it replaced the original Sea Shepherd, that was scuttled off Leixoes, Portugal in 1979 after ramming a whale catcher. The Sea Shepherd II was in Canadian waters in 1982 and 1983 to protest sealing, and was seized in March 1983 off Chéticamp, NS and all 17 crew arrested (they were tear gassed after walking to shore over ice.) The ship itself was held in Halifax until 1985 when it was released. It was eventually broken up in Esquimalt, BC in 2004.
Another Sea Shepherd ship, was the former CCGS Thomas Carleton, which became the Sea Shepherd's Cleveland Amory in 1993. It made one very brief foray to the Grand Banks where it cut a Cuban vessels trawl lines, but then suffered a main engine failure and was towed to St.John's. It was also seized and sold and eventually reached the Caribbean, where it has likely been scrapped.

4. Cleveland Amory sailing from Halifax in 1993.

ACL double header

1. Atlantic Companion (left) glides into anchorage and Atlantic Conveyor overtakes, passing west of George's Island bound for Bedford Basin.

It is not unheard of to see two ACL ships in port at the same time - it usually happens once or twice a year - but it is still unusual enough to warrant notice. Because the ships make westbound and eastbound calls in Halifax, when the westbound ship is delayed, it overlaps the eastbound caller.
Today's duo is Atlantic Companion and Atlantic Conveyor. Although Atlantic Companion was first to arrive, it apparently lost power and was met by two tugs which shepherded it into the number one anchorage area. Atlantic Conveyor then proceeded up west of George's Island, without tugs and headed directly for Fairview Cove to berth unassisted.
Atlantic Conveyor was built in 1984 by Swan Hunter on the Tyne, and made its first call on Halifax February 1, 1985. It was lengthened in 1987 at Greenock, on the Clyde. As the British ship in Atlantic Container Line as it was originally organized, the ship was in fact owned and operated by Cunard Steamships Co Ltd, and was one of the last cargo ships operated by that venerable line. Under the current ACL configuration all ships are Swedish flagged.
Atlantic Companion was built by Kockums in Malmo, Sweden in 1984 and lengthened in 1987 by Ulsan in South Korea.Originally owned by the Bostroms Group it has always been Swedish registered. From 1987 to 1994 it was renamed Companion Express under a vessel sharing arrangement with Hapag-Lloyd.
Its first call in Halifax was a westbound voyage March 27, 1984. Eastbound out of Halifax on April 7, 1984 it had a supercharger failure and had to be towed back into port by the tugs Point Vibert and Point Vigour. It seems to have suffered a less serious mechanical failure this time round, since it has now anchored in number one anchorage for a few hours for repairs. Atlantic Larch will remain alongside as long as the ship has no engine power.
There are five ships in the ACL fleet, allowing them to maintain a weekly transatlantic schedule -one of the toughest in the world.All are due for replacement in the very near future.

Halterm pier 42 south

The new extension to Halterm's pier 42 has been closed to the public since last week's big snow storm. As the prime shipwatching spot in Halifax it was rarely if ever closed before this extension was built. There were times that the walkway was knee deep in snow, but it was always open any time I was willing to brave it.
I regret not having the vantage point now, but as today's storm front passed through I think it was probably necessary to close it off for safety reasons.
Since the extension was built much larger waves have been washing in on the breakwater, and as can be seen from the above below, swells are actually reaching up onto the breakwater portion. There is no telling how much undermining this is doing, but there were several iffy areas before, and I expect a survey will reveal that they are much worse now.

Adding to the problem is the fact that the new pier extension walkway is too narrow for the snow clearing "Bobcat" that would normally be tasked with plowing. The old walkway was much wider. Not only that but the new pier extension area now drains across the walkway, resulting in very dangerous icing. In summary the walkway might not be safe even in good weather, if it is snow covered or icy.
Then there is the issue of  the pier deck itself. Soon after it was built a number of heavy weight containers appeared on the deck. These are not waiting to be shipped anywhere-they are placed in nice even rows, well spaced, and must be there for a purpose. Is it true that they are there to ballast down the deck due to concerns about uplift from seas under the deck? If that is so, how about the cantilevered walkway itself?
The old walkway was of an entirely different design and was in fact an excellent deflector of seas. The new one does not give that level of confidence, and it will be interesting to see what it looks like when it re-opens.

Heinrich J arrives in ballast

Arriving for Melfi Lines this morning, Heinrich J anchored until Monday morning. The ship is obviously in ballast, and a check of the Melfi schedule on the Protos Shipping website reveals that is not arriving from Europe.www.protos.ca/

 It appearts to have come directly froim Cuba instead, possibly due to the Christmas time  problems with Renate Schulte, previously reported here. That ship made its last call here last week.

US Coast Guard in Halifax and a Triumphant return (not)

For the 1,000th posting on this blog I have nothing particularly celebratory  to report, so instead I will do a double header.

U.S. Coast Guard in Halifax

Despite the fact that the US of A is our closest neighbour, there is almost no US ship traffic in Halifax. There is a long tradition of the US Coast Guard paying courtesy calls, but they are usually few and far between. This week however we have seen quite a bit more of the US Coast Guard, with two cutters stopping over in Halifax for crew R&R.
First in was USCGC Northland, WMEC-904, which made a stopover February 11-14. It is based in Portsmouth, VA.

1. Northland sails on February 14, passing the old Canadian Coast Guard base in Dartmouth.

Today the Boston based USCGC Seneca WMEC 906 arrived.

2. The tug Atlantic Willow makes up to Seneca to assist in berthing.

Since the USCG's primary duties are SAR and law enforcement, one would be free to assume that some coordinated activity in the latter category may have brought the boats to this area. Both cutters  belong to the Famous class of medium endurance patrol vessels. They have a crew of about 100 and are packed with serious surveillance electronics and are armed.

Both ships were hosted by HMC Dockyard.

Triumphant Return (not)

The almost ridiculously appalling conditions on the cruise ship Carnival Triumph after an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, became the subject of considerable (and often over the top) media attention this week. Despite the lack of adequate food, sanitation, air conditioning (and stabilizers) all passengers survived their trip and landed back in Mobile yesterday. It will take several months to repair and sanitize the ship, but it does raise some interesting questions about cruise ship engineering design.  

How is it that a modern ship has so little system redundancy that it would loose all but the most basic emergency systems after a fire? 

The ship is powered by six diesel engines powering six generators and two electric propulsion motors. This is a fairly standard arrangement in modern ships (it was built in 1999 by Fincantieri). Should it not be possible to isolate some components to ensure that basic services can be maintained at all times? The US Transportation Safety Board will eventually publish findings on this, which may lead to changes in ship design.

3. Carnival Triumph made several calls in Halifax in 1999 when it was brand new.