Unscheduled for ZIM, more reefer madness and other business

 PSA Halifax, operator of the southend terminal is stacking them high these days as they are chock-a-block with boxes, particularly reefers.

Granted it is harvest season and more perishables are passing through the port, notably potatoes, but likely all other commodities too, and possibly fish. Maersk seems to be the biggest owner. Eimskip and Tropical are also well represented, as they export and import reefer cargo through Halifax..

Even containers bearing obsolete names, such as Maersk-Sealand can be spotted. (That name was in use from 1999-2005 only).

There is no lack of other non-reefer boxes at PSA too, and in order to reduce the inventory of empties, ZIM sent in an "extra loader" today - the unscheduled Seaspan Melbourne.

We don't often see ships with the "Seaspan" prefix, however the company is a large owner of container ships. Seaspan Corp does not operate a container line itself, but instead finances, operates and charters out ships to other shipping lines, and the ships usually adopt the nomenclature of the charterer. Thus a goodly number of their ships do call in Halifax, but are not immediately identifiable as Seaspan ships.

Seaspan Melbourne was built in 2005 by Samsung, Koje, as CSCL Melbourne for long term charter to China Shipping Co Ltd. When that charter ended in 2018 the ship was renamed and chartered to Korea Marine Transport Containers for about a year, then to ZIM.  It is a 39,941 gt, 50,797 dwt ship with a capacity of 4250 TEU including plugs for 400 reefers.

It appears to have been taken off the Asia Gulf Express service (via Suez) and on this trip the ship sailed from Chinese ports in early September, worked its way transpacific through the Panama Canal September 26, and then called in Norfolk and New York. It seems to be headed for ZIM's hub port of Kingston, Jamaica next, loading ZIM boxes (and container leasing company boxes) exclusively. The ship's draft indicates that most of its cargo is empties.

Far right in the photo - a glimpse of the ZIM boxes on the ship.

There was other business in the port too:

CSL Tacoma gliding through the Narrows with the tug Atlantic Willow on its way to Gold Bond Gypsum disturbed a glassy calm, despite a noticeably falling tide.

Mitera made a return visit (it was last here August 30). This time the ship is arriving from Saint John, NB with a small cargo of refined product for Irving Oil. It unloaded most of its cargo from Amsterdam in Saint John early this week before coming to Halifax, the reverse of its last call.

.

MSC out, MSC in

MSC Stella departed this morning after its inaugural call on MSC's Indus 2 service. 

This was the first visit to Halifax for the 6724 TEU capacity ship, which is now underway for Norfolk.

This afternoon's arrival is a regular caller in more ways than one. Since 2020 MSC Veronique has been calling Halifax en route to or from Montreal on MSC's Canada Express 2 service. 

Today the 4437 TEU ship was escorted to its berth at PSA Halifax by the tugs Atlantic Oak (not visible - on the starboard side) and Atlantic Hemlock. (The latter is in port temporarily from Saint John as the big tugs are needed there for an LNG tanker).

MSC Veronique was a regular caller in Halifax as far back as the 1990s when it was the Mette Maersk. Built IN 1989 by Maersk's own Odense shipyard. the 52,1919 gt, 60,9000 dwt ship is one of the oldest on transatlantic routes, but in these boom times (for shipowners) it will likely be kept in service for a while longer.

.

MSC starts Indus 2

 The Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has now included Halifax as a stop on its Indus 2 service, linking ports in India with east coast North America. Today (October 5) marked the first arrival, MSC Stella. The ship sailed from Mundra September 7, subsequently calling in Nava Sheeva, Gioia Tauro (Italy) and Sines (Portugal). After its stop here it is scheduled for Norfolk, Baltimore, Miami and Freeport (Bahamas) before sailing back to Mundra (via Suez).

MSC Stella dates from 2004 when it was delivered by Hyundai, Samho. Measuring 73,8219 gt, 85,680 dwt, it has a capacity of 6724 TEU including 400 reefers.

It was not the only ship at PSA Halifax today, as the ZIM Vancouver was working at Pier 42.

Built in 2007 by Dalian New Shipbuilding Industry Company, it is 39,906 gt, 50,532 dwt ship with a capacity variously reported as 4250 or 4225 TEU. It carried the name Pearl River I from 2007 to 2012. It has been calling Halifax for several years on the ZIM ZCA service (ZIM Container Service Atlantic), which operates also for HAPAG-Lloyd as its Atlantic Loop AL7 service, which is a Mediterranean / North America east coast route, with weekly calls at a dozen or so ports.

.

Green Bulk Carrier

 Aegean Eco Carriers SA operates tankers and bulk carriers. Among the latter are six sister ships with sequential numbers as part of their names. Today, October 4, the Green K-Max 5 sailed from Halifax after an over night visit. 

Externally, there are few signs that the ship is any different from most Kamsarmax bulk carriers. So called because they are the maximum size that the major bauxite port of Kamsar, Guinea can accommodate. 

However on closer view, there is one obvious difference, and that is the absence of  a prominent bulbous bow. Ships designed for relatively high speed can improve performance by having a bulbous bow, but bulk carriers generally do not benefit much from the expense of construction. Instead this ship has other measures to improve efficiency through the water. these  include a  Samsung Asymmetric Rudder Bulb (SARB) and SAVER fins, which reduce drag. The ship also features an electronically controlled Hyundai MAN Tier II main engine that delivers high fuel economy while also reducing pollutants. It has numerous other "green" features in keeping with the company's environmental protection policies.

Built in 2020 by COSCO (Zhousam) Shipyard, it is a 44,051 gt, 80,873 dwt ship. It arrived in Halifax October 3 after delivering a cargo of bauxite from Trombetas, Brazil to La Baie, QC.  It was detained there for two days by Transport Canada, Port State Control for unspecified deficiencies. It is now heading for Norfolk, VA, most likely to load coal.

.

New and Repeats

 Another "extra loader" container ship arrived today at PSA Halifax. These non-scheduled ships are not assigned to any particular route, but can move loads when the regular ships are held up in other ports or where empties and other boxes are accumulating in ports with little export cargo. MSC Noa was built by Hyundai, Ulsan in 2009 as APL Texas, and was renamed Texas in 2014 - presumably after a five year charter. It became MSC Noa in 2018.

It is a 75,582 gt, 85,713 dwt ship with a container capacity of 6500 TEU. I like the tanker style bridge wings. The ship is arriving from Le Havre, France, not a usual port for MSC ships coming to Halifax. It doesn't look like it has much extra capacity.

At Autoport it was Wallenius Wilhelmsen's Thalatta, one of the HERO class of High Efficiency RoRos, with a capacity of 8,000 CEU (Car Equivalent Units).

 I covered this ship when it arrived in Halifax for the first time May 10, 2016  At that time the ship was wearing its original Wilhelmsen colours , but has since adopted the new combination scheme shared by both companies.

The weather was superb this weekend and boaters were out in droves, as next weekend, (Canadian) Thanksgiving, is the traditional end of the season when many seasonal boat insurance policies expire. There were sails all the way to the horizon it seemed as the tanker Quartz [see previous post] sailed from Imperial Oil. Also the Tropical Shipping vessel Tropic Hope arrived at an outer anchorage, and will wait until tomorrow to tie up at PSA Halifax. 

It is an unusual trip for a tanker in ballast to sail from Halifax to Quebec City. The ship does not show on the Port of Quebec schedule yet, so it is not possible to say where it will dock or what it will load.

It was also unusual that the ship moved from Imperial Oil to Pier 27 yesterday (October 2). This may have been to take bunkers, but I could not see if there were tank trucks on the pier to deliver the fuel.

.

Departures

 Shorter days in our latitude (roughly halfway between equator and north pole) mean that most ships arrive in darkness and now the light is fading for many departures. There was barely enough light for photographing two ships as they sailed this evening.

First off the berth was MOL Experience sailing from Cerescorp, Fairview Cove.  

It was last here September 7 on the westbound loop of THE Alliance's AL5 service. It is now bound for Port Everglades, FL before stops in Panama and Colombia then the Panama Canal. Due to congestion on the west coast it may be skipping Los Angeles and Oakland, instead heading directly to Seattle, then Vancouver. On its return eastbound leg it may also skip Oakland and LA and may skip Halifax too on its way back to Southampton.

Sailing from Pier 9C, SLNC Severn first headed into Bedford Basin to turn outbound.

The ship arrived September 30 for fuel and for other unspecified business. The ship is now bound for Auld's Cove on the Strait of Canso to load aggregates for the United States. It is a rare US flag (non-Jones Act) ship.

.

Business, more or less as usual

 September 30 was observed as a Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. However it was not declared as a statutory holiday, so some businesses remained open. Others closed out of respect for Canada's indigenous population and in particular the victims of the residential schools program.

Even the port of Halifax did not have a consistent approach. PSA Halifax reduced its truck gate hours to a half day - 0800 to 1200 but Cerescorp kept its truck gate closed for the day. Both terminals had ships alongside however, and they were worked as usual.

At PSA Halifax it was a first time caller, CMA CGM J. Madison. It was built in 2018 by Hyundai, Ulsan and is a 140,872 gt,, 147,966 dwt ship with a capacity of 14,414 TEU. It certainly appeared well loaded with containers stacked seven to eight high on deck.

There are reports that PSA Halifax has confirmed its order for another super post-panamax crane, which it certainly could use if it is to handle two ships of this size at the same time.

Cerescorp was also handling a very large ship for its facility. ONE Hangzhou Bridge is a 96,760 gt, 96,980 dwt ship with a capacity of 9120 TEU. It was built for K-Line by IHI Kure in 2012 as Hangzhou Bay Bridge and renamed in January 2021 and given its new hull colour. The ship made its first call here on THE Alliance's EC5 service June 28, 2021 and is scheduled again for October 20.

Fairview Cove could also use a new crane to replace the old crane at the far end of the pier. It seems to be out of service. ONE Hangzhou Bridge shares the pier with the Nolhan Ava which makes its usual weekly sailing to Argentia and St-Pierre on Fridays.

Imperial Oil also had an arrival today. Quartz brought in a cargo of refined product from Beaumont, TX.

The ship is operated by Sinokor Petrochemical Co and was built by SPP Shipbuilding Co, Incheon, South Korea in 2015. The ship is a 29,767 gt, 49,990 MidRange type.

At Pier 9C it was a return call for the United States flag bulk carrier SLNC Severn. It was here for the first time June 26, 2021 for a compliance inspection by Transport Canada.

    

This time the ship appeared to be taking bunker fuel (under the watchful eye of the Canada Border Services Agency). The ship's operators Schuyler Lines Navigation Company (SLNC) have been carrying aggregates from Auld's Cove, Strait of Canso, where there are no bunkering facilities. The ship has also been reported in the South Atlantic (Saint Helena), and Cape Verde and the Canary Islands recently. 

.