The YM Upsurgence made its eastbound arrival this afternoon. Unlike the weather for its westbound visit, it was clear and sunny today!
If any evidence is needed to confirm trade imbalance, a comparison of drafts east and westbound will show the ship is very lightly loaded now - with lots of empty containers going back to Asia.
It was also noted that the ship had three escort tugs, one on each side and one astern.
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It happens often enough, but it is still interesting to see two ships from the same line in Halifax at the same time. Today it was two MOL (Mitsui OSK Line) ships, with one arriving as the other departed.
The larger ship MOL Maestro was the first ship in, arriving early this morning. This afternoon, when it was ready to go, MOL Emissary was inbound. To avoid an awkward meet in the harbour, the Emissary sailed straight through to Bedford Basin allowing lots of room for Maestro to sail after it had passed.
( If this all sounds slightly familiar MOL Emissary did the same thing June 1 with Atlantic Sail as the outbound ship, and thus a photo from exactly the same position.)
http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/06/ships-that-pass-in-basin.html
MOL Emissary, 54,940 gt, 67,170 dwt has a capacity of 5087 TEU including 330 reefers and was built in 2009 by Hyundai, Ulsan. It is owned by Seaspan Corp on long term charter to MOL under Hong Kong flag.
MOL Maestro a first time caller if my records are correct, is a 78,316 gt, 79,423 dwt ship with a capacity of 6724 TEU including 500 reefers. It was built by Mitsubishi, Kobe in 2010 and is owned by a Panama corporation.
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The CCGS Capt Jacques Cartier [*] has spent the weekend anchored out in Bedford Basin. Whether this is part of its commissioning or some other activity I have no idea.
The ship is not in official service yet as far as I can tell, however it was delivered in the spring and should be just about ready by now despite COVID related delays.
* see my carping about ships named after people on April 1, 2020
Meanwhile on the topic of names, the life extension refit continues at Shelburne on CCGS Edward Cornwallis which will be renamed on completion.
This evening the jack-up drilling rig Noble Regina Allen is due to leave port secured to the deck of the semi-submersible heavy load ship GPO Amethyst.
(Above) I could see what looked like welding flashes on deck this evening.
According to industry reports the rig is going to work offshore Trinidad but will be deployed from Guyana. It is not going to Africa as per some reports. Noble Drilling is emerging from Chapter 11 with a debt for equity deal with lenders.
Earlier in the day the research vessel Ocean Seeker was making its way out of Bedford Basin. The former RCMP Murray is an aluminum catamaran built in 2003.
The record book has been revised again when it comes to the largest container ship to call in Halifax. But this time it is not just the largest in Halifax, but the largest in any Canadian port. CMA CGM Brazil has a capacity of 15,072 TEU and it appeared to be pretty close to that number as it sailed early this afternoon.
The ship is quite new, having just been delivered in May of this year by Hyundai Samho. The ship at 366m long, 51m breadth and 12.1m draft, measures 149,314 gt, 157,076 dwt.
CMA CGM Brazil operates on the Columbus JAX route for the OCEAN Alliance partners CMA CGM (and its wholly owned APL), Evergreen and COSCO. (That service runs from West Coast North American transpacific through south Asia, the Middle East and Mediterranean to the east coast of North America, and return via Suez. Ships call in Halifax west bound only and arrive direct from Colombo, Sri Lanka.)
Container terminal PSA Halifax is the only facility in eastern Canada able to handle ships of this size. It now has five PostPanamax cranes. A pier extension soon to be completed will allow the terminal to handle two ship of this size at the same time. If that should happen it will need at least one more crane (which is on order) if not more.
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The Yantian Express got away from Cerescorp, Fairvew Cove this morning and was soon enveloped in fog.
The ship was then virtually invisible as it made its way out to sea. The sun was working hard at eating away the fog as the day progressed.
The ship was launched as Berlin Express, delivered in 2002 as Shangai Express by Hyundai, Ulsan and renamed in 2012. It measures 88,493 gt, 100,003 dwt with a capacity of 7506 TEU including 700 reefers. Ships of more than 100,000 dwt are becoming commonplace at Fairview Cove these days and appear to be close to full laden.
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The process of loading the jack-up rig Noble Regina Allen has been a day long exercise in patience and precision. Staring early this morning, in limited visibility, the ship GPO Amethyst was ballasted down in its position, adjacent to number one anchorage.
The four harbour tugs Atlantic Fir, Atlantic Oak, Atlantic Willow and Spitfire III then attended the rig as its jack-up legs were raised and the rig's hull was floated. The exacting process of moving the rig into position over the ship's hull took the rest of the morning.
Three of the tugs were sent back to base at about 1300hrs, after the mooring lines were rigged and the ship had control of the rig. Atlantic Oak remained as standby while the rig was positioned with the ship's winches.
By late afternoon the rig was in final position and the ship could be de-ballasted. It is expected to move back to anchorage number 1 about 2000 hrs. After that the process of final securement to the deck can be completed.
nb Initially posted at 1730hrs - may be updated later.
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