Busy Sunday

There was a fair amount of activity in the Port today, some of which I was able to catch.

ZIM Constanza was an early morning arrival and early afternoon departure. Built by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang in Jingjiang, China it is a 40,542 gt , 50,107 dwt ship with a container capacity of 4256 TEU including 698 reefers. Interestingly the ship's keel was laid December 25, 2009, and it was completed August 11, 2010.

Meeting the inbound Algoma Mariner in the Middle Ground area took some careful coordination by the pilots.

Algoma Mariner was also built in China about a year later. Its keel was laid October 21, 2010 and it was completed May 31, 2011 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin.

The ship went to anchor in Bedford Basin for a time then went in to National Gypsum to load. A Seaway sized self-unloader its gt is 24,535 with a dwt of 35,500. Its last port was Sydney where it delivered a load of coal from the Great Lakes.

ZIM Constanza's Pier 41 berth was taken almost immediately by APL Yangshan. Another of the "biggies" with a capacity of 10,960 TEU, it measures 128,929 gt, 131,229 dwt. Built in 2012 by Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co in Okpo, it is owned by NOL Liner Pte Ltd of Singapore. NOL (Neptune Orient Line) and APL (American President Line are all owned by CMA CGM.

There has been some unusual tanker activity at Imperial Oil in the last few days. I neglected to mention the very rare visit of a Canadian tanker. Algoscotia made a quick trip from Montreal, arriving December 17 and heading back December 18.

Since Imperial demolished the refinery the Dartmouth facility has been a depot for local deliveries, with the source of fuel usually the southern US or Europe, so getting product from Canada is rare.

The tanker Avon was on and off the dock several times due to weather and to allow Algoscotia to dock, then another Canadian tanker, Kitikmeot W.

Today Kitikmeot W. had moved to Pier 9 B where it was in the process off re-flagging to the Marshal Islands for the winter.

And Avon was back at Imperial Oil for the third time, unloading the last of its cargo.

And for something completely different the British research ship James Cook arrived at The Cove just as the threatened rain arrived.

Operated by the National Environment Research Council, the ship was built in 2006 in a combined effort between the Crist yard in Gdansk, Poland for the hull and Flekkefjord Slip in Norway for completion.
It has had many accomplishments in its career as a Royal Research Ship, many of which are listed in the Wikipedia entry:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RRS_James_Cook

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Cabrera - bulk load

The Malta flag bulker Cabrera arrived Wednesday to load bulk cargo from the grain elevator. The ship had discharged a cargo of gypsum in Saint John, NB and came directly to Halifax. The new cargo is likely a wood pellet product.

Built in 2011 by Qidong Daoda Marine in Qidong, China, the ship ship measures 24,210 gt and 34,613 dwt and carries four cranes. It was one of the first of the Seahorse 35 design which has become a popular bulk carrier type. I could not read the capacity ratings on the cranes, but they appear to be a typical 35 tonne type rigged for 20 tonne grabs.

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Dimitra C

The Greek owned, Malta flagged container ship Dimitra C arrived today on THE Alliance service. Owned by Danaos Corp, it is a 74,071 gt, 74,453 dwt ship built in 2002 by IHI, Kure. Its nominal container capacity of 6402 TEU includes 500 reefers. However its "homogeneous" rating at 14 tonnes per TEU is 4734 TEU.

Dimitra C passes George's Island inbound.

Note construction activity on the island where the wharf is being rebuilt for next summer when it will be open to the public for the first time.

Danaos Corp owns more than sixty ships chartered out to most of the major container lines.

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Let it Blow

Continuing bursts of high winds have been playing havoc with schedules. Gusts were down from the early week's 100 kph to 70 kph last night and weakening today, so ships began to arrive and depart again.

There was lots of splashing this morning as ships arrived in Bedford Basin, facing into northerly winds.

Budapest Bridge arriving at Fairview Cove. 

CSL Tacoma arrived for National Gypsum.

Things were calmer this afternoon at the south end as winds continued to die down.

Mister Joe dumped the split hull scow Pitts No.12 without much fuss at the Pier 42 extension.

X-Press Makalu sailed and 

Tropic Hope arrived to take its place at pier 42 as the pilot boat heads outbound. 
(APL Houston occupied Pier 41 from before sunrise until after sunset.) 

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Wallenius Wilhelmsen - new colour

The autocarrier Toscana exhibited the new Wallenius Wilhelmsen hull colour scheme  at Autoport yesterday and Pier 31 today before sailing for New York.

Signalling the 2018 combination of ownership between the once separate companies the new scheme owes little to tradition! Wallenius, of Sweden, pioneers in seabourn auto transport, traditionally painted their ships with green hulls and white superstructure. Norwegian Wilhelmsen, ConRo experts,  used orange for the hull and white on the superstructure. The new scheme consists of sea foam green signifying water and grey for land on the hull. Superstructure appears to be largely white, but some deck fittings such as fan hoods are grey. I could not see the new funnel mark, which consists of stylized "W" and "O".

In April 2018 the two companies created Wallenius Wilhelmsen Group, to operate the combined fleet under the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean name.   The Group also includes EUKOR and ARC operating under their own brand names.

Toscana, built in 2009 by Mitsubishi HI in Nagasaki, is a 61,328 gt, 22,250 dwt Pure Truck and Car Carrier, with a capacity of 6354 CEU. Owners are still identified as Wilhelmsen in on-line registry listings.

It appears that the new branding consists of the colour scheme, but not the ship names. Therefore it should still be possible to identify Wilhelmsen ships from their names beginning with the letter 'T" and Wallenius ships using operatic characters for their ships' names. Toscana also carries the new Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean monogram on the bow.

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Cormorant - another chapter

Another chapter has been added to the saga of Cormorant the former Royal Canadian Navy diving support ship HMCS Cormorant ALS-20. The Canadian Coast Guard has apparently now undertaken to remove the ship which has been lying effectively abandoned, in Bridgewater, NS.

Thanks to Bernadette Jordan, MP for South Shore -  St.Margarets, legislation was finally passed in the last parliament to deal with abandoned vessels. Ms. Jordan is now Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Coast Guard in the new parliament.

Cormorant was seen as an unsightly addition to the shores of the La Have River.

Built in 1965 by Cantiare Navale Apuania, Marina-Carrera, Italy, as a factory freezer trawler, named  Aspa Quarto, it was acquired by the RCN in 1975. Davie Shipbuilding converted the ship to carry the SDL-1 submersible in a special hangar, and to support its operation using the stern ramp and gantry. There was considerable controversy at the time about the cost of the conversion which incidentally included facilities to accommodate the first women to serve at sea with the RCN.

The vessel was finally commissioned November 10, 1978, and served in a variety of roles for the RCN including the arctic (although it was once holed by ice in process.) Originally 1643 gt, it was listed at 2350 tons displacement following conversion. It was powered by three Mirelli-Deutz diesels, with electric drive to a single controllable pitch screw.

The ship was laid up in June 1997 and paid off July 2. In June 1998 the tug Churchill River (now Mister Joe) towed the ship to Shelburne, NS. Since then there have been several changes of ownership, some disputed, and perhaps some half-hearted attempts to convert the ship to other uses. Since 2000 it has been tied up in Bridgewater and in 2015 it took a 45 degree list. The Coast Guard stepped in at the time to right the ship. The cost of clean up and temporarily securing it was covered by the Ship-Source Oil Pollution Fund, but to be recovered from the owner.

In July 2019 the federal court refused permission to allow the ship to be sold, citing the lack of any evidence that there was a potential buyer, particularly one with the wherewithal to remove and dispose of the ship. The application to sell was seen as a ploy to avoid responsibility for clean up costs.

The ship stubbornly insists on listing due to uncontrolled ingress of water from faulty hull fittings and from rain water through other unsecured openings.

Now that the Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act has been given royal ascent, the Coast Guard is stepping  up efforts to remove old wrecks. An ad appeared in today's papers for some more hulks in Prospect Bay. More on those in a later post.

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New Arrival

The Handysize bulk carrier Ultra Lascar made it into port this morning after a weather delay. The ship tied up at pier 28, under the grain spouts, so it will be loading whatever cargo is currently stored in the grain elevators. Based on the recent truck traffic at the facility, I would say it is wood pellets. Now commonly called "biomass" the material is used as a fuel in power generation as a more sustainable alternative to coal or other hydrocarbons such as oil or gas.

The ship is operated by Ultrabulk, a division of Ultranav, the Chilean / German  shipping conglomerate. The bulk  carrier division's roots however are with Eitzen Bulk of Denmark, acquired by Ultranav in 2010, which in turn was founded as the (Danish) East Asiatic Company. That explains why Ultrabulk's head office is in Copenhagen.

Built in 2015 by Oshima Shipbuilding, Saikai, Japan, the 22,469 gt, 37,429 dwt ship carries four cranes and is fitted with a hold ventilation system.

The ship's name pays tribute to the thousands of sailors from east of the Cape of Good Hope (mostly from what was India, but would now included Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Indian regions such as Goa, but also Malayans) who crewed British and other ships for centuries. Although largely displaced by seafarers from the Philippines, they still form a significant presence on the high seas. Their ranks include those working in the engine rooms, on deck, in catering, and nowadays include the officers in both departments.

The term "lascar" is not intended to be a pejorative or racist term, but if I have offended anyone by using it I apologize. Certainly many indignities were suffered by east Asian crews, including being banned from landing in Canada at one time, and being signed under different articles from European sailors.

A most shameful aspect of the history was that more than 600 seafarers from India served on Canadian Pacific ships during World War II. All were awarded service medals by the Admiralty, but none were actually presented.[Source of this report is Wikipedia]. I would be interested in learning more about this issue.

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