Grain, more grain, and oil - with a diversionary preface

 Preface

There was not a great deal of port activity today, November 11, since most people took time off for Remembrance Day. It is a particularly poignant day for Halifax since lives were lost virtually within sight of the port during two World Wars. Every year there are fewer left who can remember the dark days of 1939-1945, so it is left to us children of the immediate post-war era to recall the sacrifices of our parents at home and overseas. Observing a couple of minutes of silence and contemplation on November 11 seems to me to be a small price for us to pay as beneficiaries. Regrettably many do not share this opinion placing commerce and pleasure first. 

 (File photo of Sackville, April 17, 2018.)

My direct recollections are of ships I saw that had survived the war and returned to normal activity afterwards. Fortunately we have two in Halifax, CSS Acadia which served in both World Wars and the former HMCS Sackville (now in refit), Canada's naval memorial. There are very few other surviving ships now.

The first such ship I can recall seeing was RMS Scythia, a Cunard liner, built in 1921 that was pressed into troop service in 1939, was heavily damaged in North Africa in 1942, returned to work then became a war brides and refugee ship. After returning to normal passenger service in 1950 it was a regular caller in Canadian ports such as Quebec City, where I saw her as a small child, and Halifax. Late in life it became a refugee ship again, docking at Pier 21 in Halifax in January 1957 with Hungarians fleeing the communist takeover of their country. The ship was scrapped in 1958, having set the record as the longest serving passenger liner of the 20th century.

Grain

The fall is grain season as farms ship out their crops to all corners of the world. There is a particular rush on the Great Lakes as shippers push to get the cargoes out of the Seaway system before winter freeze up.  Thunder Bay is the major grain port and at this time of year there is a constant stream of ships loading and sailing with grain. Some of the grain is for Canadian use in flour and feed mills, and the familiar ship Algoma Mariner arrived November 10 at pier 26, with a cargo loaded at Thunder Bay on October 31- November 2.

Showing many signs of an arduous season, the Algoma Mariner off loads at the Pier 26 grain terminal. The self-unloader was built in 2010 at Chengxi, Jiangyin, Jiangsu, China to maximum Seaway dimensions of 740' x 77'-11". It will complete unloading this afternoon and then move to National Gypsum to load again for the Lakes.

Also arriving from the Great Lakes is the bulker Whistler, operated for Canadian Forest Navigation (CANFORNAV). A 22,790 gt, 37,272 dwt ship, equipped with four 30 tonne cranes, it was built by Tianjin Xingang in China in 2007 and is 655'-10" long x 77'-9" wide. 

The ship entered the Seaway system October 25 with a cargo for Toronto. After unloading there it proceeded to Johnstown, ON where it loaded grain, sailing November 6. However it was not a full load, due to Seaway draft restrictions, so will top off to sea-going draft here.

This is the second trip the ship has made to Canada this year - it was in the Seaway/Lakes to Thunder Bay June 17 to July 6.

Oil

The demand for oil may be down due to COVID, but there is still a need, and Imperial Oil satisfies local demand with imported refined product from Antwerp, Belgium. The latest caller is BSL Elsa, which arrived November 10 at Imperial's number 3 dock.

It is a 29,626 gt, 51,747 dwt vessel, built in 2009 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan. Originally named CPO Korea it was renamed in 2011 and now operates for Zeaborn Tankers.

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Sanderliing makes a RORO only trip

 Due to a backlog of automobiles destined for Newfoundland, Oceanex Sanderling made a rare mid-week, RoRo only trip to Halifax today. It usually sails on Friday with container and RoRo cargo. On this special trip it did not carry any container traffic, and docked only at Autoport. It is rare to see the ship with no containers on deck, and regrettably I did not get a photo this time.

Normal appearance with containers on deck.\ (file photo)

For various reasons, Newfoundland car dealers could not get the cars they needed. With manufacturing shutdowns earlier due to Covid-19, there is a general shortage of vehicles. Also Oceanex's other RoRo ship, Oceanex Connaigra, which operates from Montreal, was in a lengthy refit in Belfast. Although some of those cars were brought to Halifax, they could not be shipped in sufficient quantity to meet demand. 

Oceanex Connaigra at speed on the St.Lawrence. (file photo)

Now that Connaigra is back in service, things are expected to return to normal. 

There have been comments recently on the remarkable age of Oceanex Sanderling. Built in 1977 by Sasebo, Heavy Industries in Japan for D.D.G.Hansa as Ravenfels it was renamed Essen in 1980 and Kongsfjord in 1982. In 1983 it was renamed Onno and it was under that name when it made its first call in Halifax, substituting for ACL. 

Outbound in the Narrows as Onno in 1987.

Later in 1987 it came to Canada to stay, as ASL Sanderling for Atlantic Searoute the predecessor company of the current owners, Oceanex, who renamed the ship in 2008 as Oceanex Sanderling. 

For many years the ship sailed from Halifax to St.John's, then CornerBrook and back to Halifax weekly. After CornerBrook was dropped the ship has sometimes made a mid-week call in Halifax to meet demand, but usually shuttles between Halifax and St.John's once per week.

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CITIES

 Container Lines are fond of naming ships after cities - usually ports - but also those  centres where cargoes may come from or are destined for. Three arrivals today more or less fill those categories.

Kyoto Express (pictured during its August 20, 2020 visit) called in at Cerescorp's Fairview Cove terminal. It is just about as big a ship as the facility can accommodate due to bridge clearances. A 93,750 GT, 103,890 dwt ship it has a capacity of 8749 TEU, including 750 reefers and was built in 2005 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan for HAPAG-Lloyd. Named for Japan's "second city" Kyoto was once the country's capital, it is now the cultural capital, but with neighboring cities of Kobe and Osaka it is also an important industrial hub.

At the southend terminal, PSA Halifax, APL Miami made an early afternoon arrival.

It is named for Florida's largest city, the centre of much of the state's commerce and a significant port. With a capacity of 9200 TEU, the ship is just under the "Ultra" class of 10,000 TEU. Nevertheless it is a sizable vessel of 109,712 gt, 109,712 dwt. Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Co Ltd, Okpo delivered the ship in 2014. Owners APL (American President Lines) merged with Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), in 1997 and in 2016 CMA CGM acquired 100% ownership of NOL so that APL is now a wholly owned subsidiary of CMA CGM.

Autport's arrival is named for Canada's largest city, and thus a major market for the automobiles that Toronto carries. The ship operates in the now merged Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean fleet, but it was built, and is owned by Wilhelmsen Lines. It is that company's policy that all its ships names began with the letter "T".

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nagasaki delivered the 61,482 gt, 19,628 dwt ship in 2005 as a Pure Car and Truck Carrier, with RoRo capability for other cargoes. The ship has a capacity of 6,354 RT43 car equivalent units. 

Wilhlemsen has been hard hit by the drop in demand for vehicles brought on by the pandemic. Up to ten ships were to be put in cold layup in June to reduce the ship's fleet operating costs, and others will be redelivered to charterers. Another four or five ships, more than 24 years old, were to be scrapped. Cold layup, where machinery is not operating, nor maintained, can save US$3000 to $4000 per day, but requires significant outlay to re-condition the ships the longer the layup goes on.

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PSA full steam - plus (revision)

 PSA Halifax was working two ships today, with lots of room at its newly expanded pier.

At pier 41 it was MSC Martina in from Sines, Portugal. A fairly typical MSC ship (generally older than average) it was launched by Samsung, Koje in 1993 as Hansa Atlantic, but delivered as Maersk Hong Kong. It only carried that name until 1997 when it became MSC Martina. It has a capacity of 3398 TEU, including 150 reefers and measures 37,398 gt, 43,346 dwt.

Although reports are that MSC is not yet fully committed to calling Halifax, it certainly appears to be having a major impact with PSA's laydown area chockablock with MSC boxes. Perhaps MSC Martina is also acting as a "sweeper" gathering up stranded boxes from the previous service disruptions.

Meanwhile PSA's largest customer, ZIM, had their feeder Taipei Trader working at pier 42.

With Tampa Trader, they operate a weekly service to ZIM's Kingston, Jamaica hub via New York.

See previous references: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/06/trading-closer-to-home.html

In an update from yesterday's post, Boreas was loading at Pier 28. 

From the white colour of the dust the load appeared to be wood pellets.

Revision: The ship loaded grain for Cuba.

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Comings and Goings

 The Port of Halifax is seeing the usual arrivals and departures and some unusual ones.

Boreas arrived at Pier 28 this morning, likely for bunkers, however it also seemed to attract the attention of the Canadian Border Services Agency. It is a little late in the season for Asian Gypsy moth inspection,  since they are thought not to hatch in cold weather.

The ship was built in 2008 by Chongqing, Dongfeng, China and is a general purpose cargo/bulker with two 45 tonne capacity cranes that can work combined for a 90 tonne lift on a single spreader.The 6569 gt, 8090 dwt vessel started life as BBC Tunisia, but became Qing Hua very soon after delivery when current owners Boreas GmbH acquired the ship. In 2010 was renamed Thor Boreas and took its present name in 2014. 

The ship's last port was Santiago de Cuba and it appears to be in ballast.

Across the camber Augusta Luna is also in from Cuba (it arrived yesterday) unloading another cargo of nickel sulfite in bags.

 Longshore workers are on lunch break and the spreaders for the nickel bags are suspended in mid-air.

Built in 2011 by Xinshun Yueqing in Wenzhou, China, it is a 12,772 gt, 17,370 dwt multi-purpose ship, strengthened for heavy cargoes. It carries a pair of 150 tonne cranes that can work in combination for a 300 tonne load. Its container capacity is 894 TEU (504 on deck and 390 below) (or 903 according to its operators) but that decreases to 698 TEU if they are loaded at 14 tonnes. It also has 60 reefer plugs. Originally named Lolland, on delivery it was renamed Rickmers Yokohama then took its present name in 2015.

The ship operates for the Dutch company Nirint Shipping BV with container and general cargo from Rotterdam and Bilboa to Curacao and Cuba. Does the number of liquid bulk containers on deck suggest a thriving rum trade?

PSA Halifax is using the full length of the extended berth at Pier 42, as Skogafoss completed loading. 

Although not ideal for photos, it does show most of the ship.

Also a Chinese built, German ship, it came out of the Sainty Jiangdu yard in 2002 as Ice Bird. A 7545 GT, 8209 dwt ship, it has a capacity of 698 TEU. Chartered by Eimskip as Skogafoss since 2011 the ship is one of three ships on the weekly service between Iceland and Portland ME, that also provides a feeder service for lines from Halifax. (It doesn't appear to have any takers today.)

For something completely different, the crude oil tanker Front Cosmos has taken up position deep in Bedford Basin, in the long term anchorages.

The 82,515 gt, 157,528 dwt ship was delivered by New Times Shipbuilding Co, Jingjiang, China in 2017 and is operated by the former Norwegian (now Cypriot) billionaire John Fredriksen's giant Frontline tankers - the largest tanker fleet in the world. It is perhaps as well that John has very deep pockets, because the crude oil tanker business is in steep decline, with demand and rates tanking (sorry) thanks to COVID-19. 

The ship arrived off Saint John September 26, and did not unload at Canaport until November 3. It now has no immediate prospects for work and may be idle for some time.

With crude prices very low, some refiners bought up supply, but with poor demand for product, they are storing the crude on tankers all around the world, since there is limited storage for refined product. Once unloaded the crude ships at idled. There are reported to be 2,464 tankers larger than 80,000 dwt, with 37 more to be delivered from shipyards. Despite the fact that 120 of the ships are more than 20 years old, only 11 tankers have been scrapped in 2020. Owners are clearly expecting a return to "pre-COVID" in 2021, but if that does not happen, expect even newer ships to go under the torch. In the meantime the big ships are laid up wherever they can find space.

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Swiftly doth daylight flee...and other seasonal thoughts

 Most ships coming and going from Halifax tend to align their movements with the normal working day of longshoremen to avoid overtime rates if they can. Now that we are back to Standard Time it will be dark for many ship arrivals and departures until February, making it difficult shooting for this shipwatcher. Fortunately some ships vary from the norm by spending less than a full day in port - nevertheless the days are short so it is essential to take every opportunity. So it was that I was poised for the midday departure of the autocarrier Swift Ace.  (Why Swift? - not sure!)

Despite yesterday's record 12 cm of snow, today's temperature rocketed back up into the teens with a warm but stiff wind, melting away most of the white stuff. One die-heart sailor was out for a sail from Shearwater [see off the ship's stern] but for the rest of us, it is a reminder that winter is nearly here.

Swift Ace, remarkably, is owned by Snowscape Car Carriers SA, and managed by MOL Ship, the operations arm of Mitsui OSK Lines. It was built in 2008 by Minami-Nippon, Shitanoe, and measures 56,685 gt, 18,865 dwt, with a capacity of 5,220 Car Equivalent Units (CEUs).

My regrets about the fading light of dusk are aptly summed up in the first stanza of the ode Landlocked by Celia Thaxter, written as long ago as 1861.

Black lie the hills; swiftly doth daylight flee;
And, catching gleams of sunset’s dying smile,
Through the dusk land for many a changing mile
The river runneth softly to the sea.

O happy river, could I follow thee!
O yearning heart, that never can be still!
O wistful eyes, that watch the steadfast hill,
Longing for level line of solemn sea!

Have patience; here are flowers and songs of birds,
Beauty and fragrance, wealth of sound and sight,
All summer’s glory thine from morn till night,
And life too full of joy for uttered words.

Neither am I ungrateful; but I dream
Deliciously how twilight falls to-night
Over the glimmering water, how the light
Dies blissfully away, until I seem

To feel the wind, sea-scented, on my cheek,
To catch the sound of dusky flapping sail
And dip of oars, and voices on the gale
Afar off, calling low, — my name they speak!

O Earth! thy summer song of joy may soar
Ringing to heaven in triumph. I but crave
The sad, caressing murmur of the wave
That breaks in tender music on the shore.

(After the first stanza, the rest of the poem describes the poet's feeling about life in landlocked Massachusetts after growing up on Isles of Shoals in the Gulf of Maine, off the Maine/New Hampshire border, where her father was light keeper.)

The camera tends to flatten the appearance of waves, but the ferry Viola Desmond en route from Halifax to Woodside had its own method of ironing out the surface.

Note the yellow marker leaning into the breeze. It has been placed to warn shipping away from the demolition work at the Svitzer (former Foundation Maritime) pier.

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PSA crane demolition

PSA Halifax is shedding another crane. After adding a new Super Post Panamax crane last summer, it appears they are scrapping the one remaining old Panamax crane.

Stationed at pier 36-37, the crane appears to be the crane that was originally built to move from the Pier 41-42 pier face to Pier 36-37 thanks to a specially designed swiveling carriage. However that set up was the same rail gauge as the old Panamax cranes, now replaced with a wider gauge track. There is apparently insufficient demand for a crane at pier 36-37. Halifax's original RoRo ramp was built in the old Pier 35 / 36 corner. 

The only user of Pier 36 now is Oceanex, when Oceanex Sanderling makes its weekly call. However it must move to Pier 41 to load containers and complete its RoRo loading. If Oceanex should move to Fairview to reduce truck traffic downtown, that will allow the camber can be filled in creating much more laydown area for PSA Halifax.

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