Lois M back again

 A sometime visitor, Lois M has made another arrival in Halifax. It arrived October 24 with the flat deck barge Glovertown Spirit to take away a heavy load.

Both vessels are owned by McKeil Marine of Hamilton, ON, but generally work in the Nova Scotia / Newfoundland region - last port was Sydney, NS.

The Japanese-built Lois M dates from 1991 when it was built as Lambert for service in Australia. A 4800 bhp ASD, it was acquired by McKeil and renamed in 2014.  For more see: http://tugfaxblogspotcom.blogspot.com/2014/09/first-of-two-for-mckeil.html

The barge will load a bridge built by Cherubini Metal Workers, which should be well within its 4800 tonne capacity. The barge was built by Damen, Gorinchem, Netherlands in 2012.

.

Barge Day

 Today (October 24) should have been designated "barge day" in Halifax as there was one large barge arrival and one even larger barge move.

The arrival was the barge Glovertown Spirit from Sydney, NS in tow of the tug Lois M. The 2073 gt barge was built in 2012 by Damen Shipyards, Gorinchem, Netherlands for use in the Newfoundland oil projects, and is named for a town on the east cost of the island of Newfoundland. Both barge and tug are owned by McKeil Work Boats GP of Hamilton, ON.

The barge was secured at the Cherubini Metal Workers dock in Eisner's Cove, Dartmouth, to load a bridge built  by Cherubini.

The barge measures 74.25m x 23.5m and has a capacity of 4800 tonnes.

With the Imperial Oil docks in the background, Lois M springs the barge into position.

 The second barge is Boa Barge 37 on long term charter to Halifax Shipyard. As a foreign flag vessel, it requires a coasting license to operate in Canadian waters. The current license running from October 15 to November 6 allows the vessel to transport sections of the Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships and cradles and trestles from the shipyard's Woodside fabrication facility to the main yard. Six units and 27 cradles totaling 503.044 tonnes are to be moved using wheeled transporters to drive the components on and off the barge.

Although the barge is semi-submersible, that capability will not be needed for this move. However its ballasting system will be used to ensure that the barge deck is level with the dock.

.

Contship Ice - CMA CGM feeder

 With several weather related schedule disruptions, and still with stranded containers in Halifax from strikes and blockades elsewhere, lines are making unusual moves to reposition containers and find other ways to distribute cargo. Today's arrival of Contship Ice for CMA CGM seems to be a "one of" as the feeder service normally operates from Saint John - which is where this ship is headed next.

The ship dates from 2011 when it was built by Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipyard in Jangyin, China as Mell Springwood. It was soon renamed Tammo, a name it carried until 2019 when it took its present name.

At 16,137 gt, 17,191 dwt it has a capacity of 1350 TEU and carries a pair of 45 tonne capacity cranes.

The ship's last port was Philipsburg, St.Martin's.

.

MOL Marvel- still a novelty

It has been nearly two years since ships began to appear in the "cherry blossom magenta" colour scheme of Ocean Network Express (ONE), but it may be some time before the novelty wears off. 

ONE, the merged entity of the major Japanese container lines MOL, NYK, and K-Line took effect in October 2017 and the first new ship in the colour scheme was delivered in July 2018. It was not until April 5 of this year that the first one appeared in Halifax - ONE Magnificence - assigned to THE Alliance. As existing ships are routinely drydocked, they are being renamed and repainted in the new colour scheme and are now appearing here regularly.

Today's arrival is ONE Marvel, a first time caller, and fairly fresh out of drydock. Its renaming from MOL Marvel became official September 1. Built in 2010 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Kobe it is typical of the former MOL "M" class at 78,316 gt, 79,460 dwt with a capacity of 6724 TEU (including 500 reefers). The paint still looks relatively fresh, but there are already some souvenir tug scuff marks from the ports it has visited.

.

Not on Schedule

 The unscheduled arrival of the autocarrier Horizon Highway was brought about by a power failure of some sort about 120 miles off Halifax. The tug/supplier Siem Commander was dispatched early yesterday morning (October 19) to the disabled ship and towed it into port this morning.

Once inside the harbour the tow was passed off to three harbour tugs, but Siem Commander stood by until the ship was secured at Pier 9C. Spitfire III took the bow tow line and Atlantic Fir and Atlantic Oak made up near the stern.

It is not often that we see autocarriers in the Narrows, since their usual berth is at Autoport, but if the ship does not have any cargo for Halifax there would be no need to tie up at Autoport. Pier 9C is a good location for a possible long stay for repairs.

The ship's last port is given as Southampton, UK, and it was bound for US east coast destinations.

Thanks to an alert Shipfax reader in Australia who noted the ship's "not under command" status on AIS I was alerted to the ship's arrival and managed to reach the Narrows in time to see its arrival.

.

New Ships

 Despite the global pandemic shipyards are still managing to deliver some new ships to shipowners. Two ships dating from 2020 are in port today.

The tanker  GW Dolphin arrived at Imperial Oil from Antwerp. The ship was built by Changxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China and measures 34,998 gt, 55,604 dwt and was delivered at the end of June. Imperial Oil imports most of its fuel products for Halifax and the maritime provinces from Europe, and receives very little from Canadian refineries. Thus several Canadian product tankers, such as Algoscotia and Mia Desgagnes are laid up.

Grande New Jersey arrived at Autoport on its first trip. The ship was delivered September 4 by Yangfan Shipbuilding in Zhoushan, China. It is the fourth in a series of seven new autocarriers for the Grimaldi Group. (Grande Halifax, Grande Baltimora and Grande Torino have all called in Halifax.)

The 65,148 gt, 15,853 dwt ship has a capacity of 7600 CEU (car equivalent units.). It has been assigned to Grimaldi's 15 port Mediterranean/ North American service that originates in Italy and extends to Mexico. Its last port was Savona, Italy and is bound for Davisville, RI.

.

Florencia Bay - second of two

The second of the new Canadian Coast Guard Bay class lifeboats, Florencia Bay arrived in Halifax late this afternoon (October 13) in advance of some stormy weather.

Not quite as nice a day as it was for the arrival of its sister Cadboro Bay yesterday (October 12), nevertheless the crew conned the boat from the flying bridge. It must have been a bracing trip, racing  along the eastern shore in excess of 20 knots to get in ahead of weather.

Hike Metal Products in Wheatley, ON built the Florencia Bay, which has been delivered all the way to Halifax on its own hull. It will be stationed in British Columbia and is to be transported to the west coast by heavy lift ship.

.