Saudi Chemicals

Saudi Arabia is not just an oil producer. One of the world's largest chemical companies, Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is also based there, but has facilities around the world. It is a  leading producer of ethylene glycol, but produces scores of other petroleum based commodities.

SABIC, in partnership with Bahri (the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia) operate National Chemical Carriers (to be renamed Bahri Chemicals) , owners of the ship that arrived in Halifax yesterday. The ship had been at anchor offshore for a time before tying up at Imperial Oil dock number 4.

Although not particularly clear in this photo, the ship has about 27 manifold connection symbols on the hull, indicating that it is set up to carry many different cargoes at the same time.

NCC Sama flies the Saudi flag, and is a 2012 product of the now defunct ShinaA Shipbuilding Co of Tongyeong, South Korea. (The yard specialized in product and chemical carriers, which are now in abundant supply). The ship is of  MR (mid-range) size, 29,168 grt, 45,471 dwt.
Another chemical/product tanker of the same fleet, NCC Rabigh called on Halifax in May 2014. Otherwise Saudi flag tankers are rare callers in Halifax.

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Big Ship Day - amended

Two big ships are in port today.
The first arrival was the always impressive Queen Mary 2. I may get a photo when it sails later in the day.


The other big arrival is a relatively rare loaded crude oil tanker. Evridiki built in 2007 by Hyundai Samho is 84,796 grt, 167,294 dwt ship operating under the Liberian flag by the Greek company Liquimar Tankers Management Services Inc of Athens. The ship is assigned to the Blue Fin pool of Suezmax tankers, which provides commercial management of more than 100 tankers of all sizes  under parent company Heidmar.

Evridiki monopolizes number one anchorage while the Canadian Food Inspection Agency conducts its inspection.

Its port call will be brief, since it is here for an Asian gypsy moth inspection, and will be sailing as soon as it receives clearance. As with all large loaded crude tankers it was assigned two pilots on arrival and will also take to pilots on departure.


Inland ports, such as Quebec are particularly sensitive to gypsy moth exposure, since the pest can invade the valuable coniferous forests if not caught in the egg stage. The species originates in China, Japan, North and South Korea and the Russian Far East.


The ship loaded in Novorssysk, Russia with crude oil from the Tengiz field in the Caspian Sea and is bound for Quebec City.

Addenda:
1.
I did get a chance for a photo of Queen Mary 2 on her departure, from virtually the same angle as previous photos of the ship - but this time there was a difference:

 Under a broken sky, Queen Mary 2 gets underway from pier 22 and passes the Italian naval training ship Americgo Vespucci at pier 20.

It was also a cruise with a difference for passengers. While well off Newfoundland, QM2 was tasked with rescuing a single handed sailor, Mervyn Wheatley, after his boat capsized in hurricane conditions. The single-hander was participating in the Ostar race and his was one of five boats damaged by the wind and 15 meter seas. All the sailors were rescued by a variety of ships and a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter. QM2's rescue boat is credited with superb seamanship in carrying out the rescue in difficult conditions.    

2.
Just before Queen Mary 2 sailed the autocarrier Bess left Autoport for sea. It is a 58,750 grt, 18,013 dwt ship with a capacity of 6,284 cars.

The ship is named for the operatic Bess (from Porgy and Bess) - not after good Queen Bess of England.
Built by Shin Kurushima in Toyohashi, Japan iit is owned by EA Car Carriers Panama SA and operates under long term charter to Wallenius Lines for the Wallenius Wilhelmsen pool.

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What's in a name

I am always interested in a ship's name - particularly if it is out of the ordinary. Certainly this afternoon's arrival for Autoport would fit into that category.

 Morning Ninni inbound has passed Meagher's Beach and approaches waiting tugs Atlantic Willow and Spitfire III. Heat haze forms a backdrop in near 30 degree C temperatures.

Morning Ninni is an otherwise typical autocarrier of 51,917 grt, 17,372 dwt., with a capacity of 5,340 cars. Built in 2008 by Tsuneishi in Tadotsu, Japan, it is operated by Eukor (EUrope KOrea). Eukor, based in Hamburg, was set up to carry Hyundai and Kia cars but as with most autocarriers, it works world wide carrying autos for all manufacturers.

 With tugs in place, the ship prepares to make its run into Autoport in Eastern Passage.

There is no great secret to the name "Ninni" - it is a woman's given name [pronounced Nee-Nee]. It is not to be confused with Ninny (a female donkey, but used unflatteringly to describe someone whose mental faculties may be scrambled.)

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Big and small - we serve them all

Two ships at opposite ends of the size spectrum called in Halifax today (Sunday).

CMA CGM Elbe
Another of CMA CGMs 9,000+ TEU container ships arrived on the Columbus JAX weekly service from the far east. CMA CGM Elbe dates from 2014 when it was delivered by Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co, all with a capacity of 9,365 TEU (including 1458 reefers).

CMA CGM Elbe arrives off Halterm in the early morning sun. Imagine a ship with 30% more capacity - they may not be coming to Halifax any time soon. 


This is the fifth of the six sisters to cal in Halifax (APL Danube, CMA CGM Loire, CMA CGM Rhone and CMA CGM Tage have already called. CMA CGM Thames has yet to put in an appearance - but it is due next week).

As much larger ships are delivered and take over the Asia, Far East /Europe routes, ships of this size and bigger are being displaced to North American routes. Some 13,500 TEU ships are accessing US east coast ports via the Panama canal. Halifax may be left out in the cold for these larger ships unless its infrastructure is improved - and soon.


Sichem Challenge
There will always be smaller ships on the high seas, designed for specific cargoes. Such ships as chemical tankers, which carry relatively small (and highly concentrated) batches of cargo are usually smaller than the product tankers that deliver refined fuel.

Another shipwatcher gets a closer shot of Sichem Challenge refueling from Algoma Dartmouth. 

The ship arrived from Port Alfred (La Baie), QC.

Sichem Challenge measures a modest 7,179 grt, 12,1818 dwt. It was built by Watanbe Zosen in Hakata Japan in 129978 and has carried a variety of names, thanks largely to the mergers of various tanker companies. It was built as Queen of Montreux, and became 97: North Challenge, 06: Songa Challenge and 07: Sichem Challenge. Current owners are Team Tankers Regional Ltd, operators of more than 40 ships part of the Eitzen Chemical empire.

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Two ways to train

Two seagoing training ships arrived to today -

Amerigo Vespucci

The Italian naval training vessel Amerigo Vespucci is a full rigged ship, purpose built in 1930, but borrowing from a design of a previous century.

The long tradition of training naval officers in sail is well upheld by Italy.

For berthing at pier 20, the tug Atlantic Willow draped white canvas over its bow to protect the ship's paint scheme from unsightly black smudges. The ship will be open to the public Monday and Tuesday and will sail Wednesday morning.


State of Maine
The Maine Maritime Academy based in Castine*, Maine has a very different purpose in mind when it trains merchant marine officers on its ship State of Maine.

The ship is used to replicate conditions that officers will experience on US flag merchant ships. Sail is not in the cards.
  

 A number of the ship's complement are stationed on monkey island to observe proceedings as the ship is nudged into pier 23.

Built in 1990 by Bethlehem Steel, Sparrows Point, as USNS Tanner (T-AGS-40) it was a fast oceanographic vessel for the US Navy. However in 1993 a catastrophic fire destroyed its main engines. The ship was removed from service and eventually handed over the the US Maritime Administration (MARAD). It was rebuilt with a less powerful MaK main engine of 8,046 bhp giving a speed of 16 knots. (The orginal engines delivered 17,000 hp for 20 knots). Accommodation was also increased from 108 to 302 and reconfigured.

 
On a previous visit to Halifax in 1997 the ship still had a navy grey superstructure.

This is the fourth ship of the name for the Maine Maritime Academy.
The previous one, State of Maine (iii) also made a call in Halifax back in 1988. It was the former USNS Upshur (T-AP-18) . Completed in 1951 as the cargo/passenger President Hayes by New York Shipbuilding Co in Camden, NJ, for American President Lines, it was requisitioned by the USN during the Korean War for use as a troop ship. It served until 1973 when it was assigned to the Maine Maritime Academy.

 State of Maine (iii) shows off its fine lines at pier 30.

In 1995 it was transferred to the US Coast Guard and positioned in Mobile, AB to test firefighting technology. It was damaged by hurricanes Katrina in 2005 and Ike in 2008 but remains in Mobile.

 * Castine, Maine and Halifax share an interesting history. Castine, at the mouth of the Penobscot River was much fought over by English, French, Dutch and Americans from its founding in 1613 as a French outpost. However during the war of 1812-14, it was seized by the British and held for the next three years. When it was surrendered to the Americans in 1815 under the Treaty of Ghent, the British kept the 10,750  pounds sterling they had collected as customs duties and used the money to found Dalhousie University in Halifax.

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Nord Taipei for bunkers and Veendam

The general cargo ship Nord Taipei dropped in for few hours to take bunkers. It was due to sail at 0730 hrs but may have been held up for a short time.
Built in 2011 by Kando Zoshensho in Kawajiri, Japan, measuring 21,483 grt, 33,143 dwt, and judging by its ports of call is likely in the bulk trades. It carries four cranes and grab buckets on deck.

The ship's last port is given as Fairless Hills, PA and it is bound for Baie Comeau, QC in ballast. US Steel's famous Fairless Works, 30 miles upstream from Philadelphia on the Delaware River, is now the home of  the Keystone Industrial Port Complex, where the highly polluted former steel and chemical plant site has been redeveloped for other industries. The huge mill was built to process iron ore from the Orinoco River region of Venezuela and named for Benjamin Franklin Fairless president of US Steel, and once employed 7,000 people.

The ship's departure might have been delayed for a few minutes to allow the arrival of Veendam which came in east and north of George's Island to berth at pier 22, bows south.

Veendam and sister Maasdam have been regular cruise ship callers for many years.

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More product tankers and a return

Product tankers of the mid-range size continue to call in Halifax on a random basis - and there seems to be no end to the variety of operating companies. That variety however does not extend much to the ships themselves. Most come from a few shipyards in Korea, with occasional ships from other yards, but still built to much the same pattern.

Sunday's arrival at Imperial Oil berth 3 is among the most typical. Atlantic Crown came from the Hyundai Mipo yard in Ulsan in 2007. Its tonnages are quite typical of MR tankers - 29,266 grt, 47,128 dwt.

The ship is owned by Heroic Artemis Inc (sounds Greek) and managed by ST Shipping + Transport Pte of Singapore, with the ship registered in Hong Kong.

Today's arrival breaks the mold only slightly. The Malta flag Sea Halcyone is owned by Halcyone Maritime Co Ltd and managed by Sea World Management + Trading Ltd of Greece - part of the Laliotis Group. It's tonnage is typical: 28,553 grt, 47,087 dwt, but it was built, not in Korea, but by Onomichi Zosen, Onomichi Japan in 2001.

Its original name was Unique Sunshine for Leo Navigation Corp Ltd and had a variety of far east managers until 2013 when it was acquired and renamed by its current owners. As with most foreign flag tankers calling at Irving's Woodside terminal in recent months it arrived from Amsterdam (via the Ijmuiden sea locks).

Returning to port in the last week or so CCGS Earl Grey has resumed normal spring and early summer duties out of Halifax. It had been working in the northern Gulf of St.Lawrence and Strait of Belle Isle assisting ships in late season ice.

Its most recent trip was a Saturday departure and Sunday return for navaids maintenance and patrol.

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