Quebec Express - strike catch up

 Quebec Express sailed today after a lengthy stay. The ship initially arrived at anchor off Halifax about August 19, then entered port August 25 after being diverted from Montreal due to the longshore strike there. See:  http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/08/container-catch-up.html

Since then it has been tied up at Cerescorp, Fairview Cove and has been shifted back and forth along the pier to accommodate other ships. It was unloaded and eventually loaded, and finally sailed for London Gateway as HAPAG-Lloyd and partners try to get their schedule back on track.

Friday Activity

 Another arrival for Asian Gypsy Moth inspection came to anchor mid-day.

LMZ Ariel is a fairly typical bulker of 33,032 gt, 56,418 dwt, fitted with four cranes and clamshell buckets. It was built in 2012 by Yangzhou Guoyu in Yizheng, China. Operators LMZ Shipping SA have  ten bulkers in their fleet.

The ship is bound for Montreal, likely to load grain.

The ship's arrival was timed to take the place of the tanker Acadian which had just left the anchorage for Irving Oil's Woodside terminal.

At pier 31 Nirint Shipping's Augusta Luna completed unloading and put out to sea, bound for Bilbao, Spain.

Not all the action was in the harbour. The road approach to PSA Halifax southend container terminal was absolutely jammed with trucks.

The jam was likely caused in part by traffic for Oceanex Sanderling's regular Friday departure for St.John's. The line has reduced capacity out of Montreal at the moment since their largest ship Oceanex Connaigra is in Belfast, Northern Ireland for refit. The other ship on the Montreal run, Oceanex Avalon has no RoRo capability, so trucks have likely been sent here.

Other traffic at PSA must also be from Tropical Shipping which did not send a ship to Halifax on August 31 as per schedule, no doubt due to hurricanes in the Caribbean. Tropic Hope is due in Halifax  September 6.

Both PSA and Cerescorp are still dealing with the aftermath of the Montreal longshore strike with empties piled up all over the place. It will take weeks to return to normal at the rate they are going.

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I stand corrected

 In yesterday's post on the YM Upsurgence I mistakenly stated that the ship used no stern escort tug when leaving Fairview Cove. In fact the ship did take three tugs -two flanking, and one astern.

I did not take the time to check if there was a tug on the stern. No excuse, but it was raining and I didn't want to get too wet!

Thanks to a reader, I am reminded that it is a Halifax harbour regulation that ships more than 330m long require three escort tugs.

I do welcome corrections.

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Emerging from the fog

 One of the realities about Halifax harbour is fog. Even with relatively warm air temperatures, the ocean remains cold. At time of writing the Herring Cove smart buoy just off Halifax is reporting air temperature of 19.7C and sea surface temperature of 12.4C. With very little wind (7.8kts) and high relative humidity (approx. 100%), conditions are ideal for fog.

Visibility was reported to be one mile or less in the harbour approaches, and so it was possible to hear the arrival of Atlantic Sun before seeing it emerge from the fog.

Once the ship was in past Ives Knoll it became fully visible even though Macnab's Island in the background was still well fogged in.

The tug Atlantic Fir tucks in astern to provide braking and steering escort through the Narrows. The irony of the ship's name is not lost as the term "Halifax Sun" means "fog" to some.

Once into the main harbour, the water warms up, and the air clears and there is normal visibility.

The pneumatic cement carrier UBC Cyprus waits at anchor until it is cleared by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency after Asian Gypsy Moth inspection. Built in 2010 by Huanghai Shipbuilding Co in Rongcheng, China it is a 8559 gt, 15,053 dwt ship operated by United Bulk Carriers.

The ship arrived from Mylaki, Greece and is bound for Montreal. It appears to be loaded despite closer sources of cement, even within Quebec. The ship sailed soon after I took this picture, and soon "vanished" in the fog.

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New YM for THE Alliance - CORRECTED

 THE Alliance is bringing in different and larger ships these days, with both HAPAG-Lloyd and Yang Ming using ships of over 100,000dwt.  YM Upsurgence arrived last evening and sailed this morning.

Instead of  In addition to a tethered escort astern, the ship relied on tugs on each side as it transited the Narrows outbound.

China Shipbuilding Corp of Kaohsiung, Taiwan built the 90,532 gt, 103,235 dwt ship in 2012. It has a capacity of 8626 TEU. It is therefore among the largest container ships to use the Cerescorp terminal at Fairview Cove. (The ACL ConRos are still the largest ships.)

Recent press reports have rekindled rumours that PSA, operators of the Southend container terminal, are interested in acquiring Cerescorp's lease on Fairview Cove from NYK. Such a move would perhaps rationalize operations somewhat by concentrating the larger ships at the southend and moving the smaller ships, and those with a lot of truck traffic to Fairview Cove. Certainly ships of the size of YM Upsurgence must be pushing the limits of navigation in the Narrows.

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Two from Argentia

 There is a surprising amount of shipping traffic between Halifax and Argentia, in the province of  Newfoundland and Labrador. A weekly container and RoRo service operates also to the French islands of St-Pierre et Miquelon.

Another service operating between Iceland and the United States calls in Halifax and Argentia. One of the ships, Skogafoss arrived this morning.

Eimskip, the Icelandic shipping company, usually has a great many reefer containers to carry since fish and fresh produce are the most common cargoes.

A second arrival from Argentia today was a bit more unusual. The Boabarge 37 was returned to Halifax in tow of the Avalon Sea after transferring some heavy crane components to Argentia for storage until next year. The cranes will be installed on the Hibernia offshore oil structure.

Harbour tugs return the barge to Halifax Shipyard, where it is on long term charter. It is used to float out out new built ships.

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Putting on a Brave Face

With the 2020 tourist season a virtual washout, many businesses are suffering. Halifax's harbour cruise business is certainly one, with only two boats operating and two more laid up for sale. Murphy Sailing Tours, operated by Ambassatours, still offers harbour tours, but with distancing requirements limiting the number of passengers, revenues must be way down.

The three masted schooner Silva of Halifax is popular and does sailing trips around the harbor. Built in 1939 in Sweden it was rebuilt in 2001 to return it to close to its original form. 

Famed party boat Harbour Queen I, built in 1985 is ferrying people to and from George's Island now that the historic site is open to the public. Fleet mate Theodore Too built in 2001 is putting a brave, but badly faded, face on things, while listed for sale.

Another member of the fleet, Kawartha Spirit, despite being built in 1964, having spent most of its life in fresh water  is likely in excellent condition. It is idle and listed for sale in Lunenburg

Ambassatours also operates the Harbour Hoppers, some of which are still running, but in much reduced numbers.

They also offer "deep sea" fishing trips on a boat called Autasi. It is the former Peggy's Cove Express, renamed after a redecorating with handsome indigenous art work.

And then there is the J.Farwell a 45 foot Beneteau that also offers sailing tours - whether there is wind or not.

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