Fairview Cove turns 40

 The Fairview Cove container terminal in Bedford Basin welcomed its first ship on November 10, 1981. It was the second container terminal in Halifax harbour and brought a level of competition for shipping business between the two. The first terminal, the South End terminal, which was then operated by and known as Halterm, opened for business officially in 1971. (It is now operated by PSA Halifax).

 The Fairview Cove terminal was so new in November 1981 that it still did not have container cranes, but relied on mobile construction type cranes. Cerescorp, a Chicago based stevedoring company, were appointed as operators, but their contract did not begin officially until January 1, 1982.  It was a twenty year deal which was renewed November 12, 2002 for another twenty years, effective January 1, 2003.

 The navy tug Glenbrook and the crane barge YD 253 carrying a construction crane approach the RoRo ramp at the west end of the new terminal, November 7, 1981.

The first commercial ship to berth at the facility was the Tadeusz Kosciuszko a nearly new container / roro ship. It made its maiden voyage call in Halifax June 12, 1981, at Halterm. The impressive ship with engines amidship, full width bridge and large RoRo ramp, had much sleeker lines than its ACL competitors.

It was joined over the following months by three sister ships. All were built in France for the French-Polish Shipping Company, and were operated by the Polish Ocean Line.

In December 1981 components for the shore cranes began to arrive from Montreal. 

The small cargo ship J.A.Z.Desgagnés (ex Vison Consol) brought the crane components from Quebec.

Over the years there have been many improvements and equipment replacememts, but as of November 2021 there are 70 acres within the fences. The dock face is 2,297 ft long and there is 11,000 ft of rail line. There are 498 reefer plugs, and four cranes, including three super post panamax (however the fourth crane is obsolete). The annual throughput capacity is rated at 650,000 TEU.

Fill is constantly being placed for a major extension to the pier face and back up land. A new truck entrance and realignment of the approach roads is in the works as part of a multi-year Windsor Street Exchange Redevelopment. New truck access roads to and from the A.Murray MacKay bridge, as well as improved bus and commmuter routes will be part of that project.

 See the Halifax Regional Municipality's planning process for the area:

Windsor Street Exchange 

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Algoma Dartmouth - sold to Greece [#3 of 3 posts for November 5]

 The bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth has been sold and has taken up its new career as a pollution cleanup vessel in Piraueus, Greece. Its Canadian registration was closed on September 14 and it was re-registered in Greece as Aktea II OSRV.

 

The Algoma Dartmouth eventually kept a pair of Yokohama type fenders permanently rigged on the starboard side.

The small tanker was initially ordered by the Clipper Wonsild Group from the Tukter Shipyard in Tuzla, Turkey. Construction began in 2005, but the ship was not delivered until 2007 after Yardimci Shipyard took over the build and completed the ship as Clipper Bardolino. Classed as a chemical and product tanker it measured 2999 gt, 3569 dwt.

In 2008 it was sold and renamed Samistal Due (possibly repossessed) and under Turkish flag, carried that name only briefly until acquired by Algoma Tankers. The ship was stationed in Halifax harbour for bunkering work and renamed Algoma Dartmouth.

 

The ship arrived in Halifax as Samistal Due.

Imperial Oil provided the bunkering service with fuel from their Dartmouth refinery, and had previously operated their own tanker Imperial Dartmouth. When Imperial Oil sold their tanker fleet to Algoma Tankers, they kept the bunkering service and the Imperial Dartmouth for a time, but sold it in 2006. It still operated in Halifax, but was owned by Northern Transportation, renamed NT Dartmouth under charter to Imperial Oil. However that contract ended in 2009. The ship was eventaully sold south.

In 2009, when Algoma Tankers brought the Algoma Dartmouth into service it was also on charter to Imperial Oil, but in 2013 Imperial closed the Dartmouth refinery, thus reducing the ready availability of heavy fuel and marine diesel oil. In 2014 Sterling Fuels, a subsidiary of the Miller/ McAsphalt companies took over as charterer. Sterling operates bunkering services on the Great Lakes from its base in Windsor, ON. However it is a long supply line to Halifax harbour, so they accessed fuel from a variety of sources in Canada and the US.

 At the end of the cruise season in November 2018, Algoma Dartmouth was transferred to Saint John, NB, with the charter being transferred to Irving Oil. Cruise ships were a major source of business for bunkers, and most of the ships that called in Halifax also called in Saint John. With a refinery at hand there was also a ready supply of fuels. However the off season (that is between November and May) saw very little business, and the operation was marginal. However when COVID 19 struck the cruise business dried up completely and the Algoma Dartmouth was moved Sydport in Sydney, NS and laid up.

As with most ship sales there was little publicity, and so the newly renamed Aktea II OSRV quietly slipped port on October 1, 2021 - escaping my notice altogether. Thanks are due to an alert reader of these posts who detected the sale from reading a financial report from Algoma Central. The ship arrived in Ceuta, Spain October 16 (likely for bunkers) and Piraeus October 22, where it remains today.

The new owners, called Polrom Oil Maritime Co, also operate a smaller and older tanker called Aktea OSRV which is an Oil Spill Recovery Vessel. So we know what OSRV stands for. Aktea is the name of a goddess from Greek mythology, and associated with the shoreline.

The ship will apparenrtly be used to vacuum up spilled oil in and around Piraeus, but may travel farther afield if needed.

Left without a bunkering tanker, Halifax nevertheless offers bunkering by trucks from Irving Oil. Ships must now tie up at a berth instead of taking their fuel while at anchor. This seems to have reduced the number of bunker calls considerably.

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Bags and Bags of Cargo [Post #2 of 3 for November 5] - REVISED

 Two ships, in at the same time at adjacent berths, one loading bagged cargo and one unloading bagged cargo! What are the odds?

First ship in was the gearless bulk carrier Kohl I which arrived from Israel, then Turkey, on November 3. Built in 2007 by Shanghai-Chengyi in Jiangyin and initially named Goodwill it was quickly renamed Pomorye by the Murmansk Shipping Co. In 2019 it was acquired by Regano Navigation Corp and renamed Kohl I.

There does not seem to be a connection between those owners and the huge letter "Z" on the funnel.

Tied up as it was at Pier 27, photography was almost impossible, but it was easy to see two shore cranes loading bagged cargo.

[Hearing the dryers at the Halifax Grain Elevator roaring away in the background leads me to believe it is a pulse crop cargo such as soy beans. The port recently shipped some soybeans on the ship Tufty, and these are sometimes shipped bagged and in containers. With the current backlogs in container shipping, cargo shippers are resorting to novel methods of moving cargo. Bagging food grade cargo allows it to be shipped in bulk carriers that might not be suitable for bulk grain. - see Update below]

Across the camber at Pier 31 the Gotland on its regular run from Cuba for Nirint Shipping was unloading bagged nickel sulfides. Again a difficult ship to photograph.

The ship uses its own gear to handle the bagged cargo with special "spreaders" equipped to lift the bags. See the background on this ship in my post from April

Update:

Thanks to a reader for pointing out that Kohl I was actually unloading cargo. Still don't know what it was.

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Acadia Returns [ Post#1 of 3 for November 5 ]

 The 1913-built Acadia returned to its berth at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic this morning. 

 

The veteran of two World Wars and decades of hydrographic survey work has been a static display fixture at the Museum since 1982, but was retired many years before (in 1969) and declared a National Historic Site in 1976. It does require periodic hull maintenance, and that used to be done in Halifax, but there is a shortage of drydocking capability here now, so in August the ship was towed to Shelburne, NS where Irving Shipbuilding Inc has appropriate facilities to effect some much needed repairs to its aged hull.

See previous post:http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2021/08/acadia-to-sea.html

 The ship was towed back in today by the tug Irving Elm which has only recently returned from a summer's work with a barge ferrying cargo into Rankin Inlet from the mouth of Chesterfield Inlet on the west coast of Hudson Bay.

 

The pair were met off Maugher's Beach by the harbour tug Atlantic Fir suitably draped with white sheets to prevent scuff marks on the newly painted hull.

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Coast Guard vessel G.Peddle S.C., Cold Move

 The Canadian Coast Guard patrol vessel G.Peddle S.C. had been hauled out on the cradle at the CME shipyard in Sambro, NS for some time. Today it was moved back into Halifax harbour, where refit work will be continued at the Bedford Institute. I noted that a scaffolding structure has been erected on the  after deck.

 

The cold move was conducted by Dominion Diving's new small tugs Dominion Rumbler (towing) and Dominion Enforcer (with a stern line). The Coast Guard's lifeboat Hare Bay, which has been stationed in Sambro accompanied the tow into port then returned to Sambro.

 

It is unsual for refits to be split like this, but perhaps the shipyard needed the cradle for another vessel. The G.Peddle S.C. was removed from service in June 2020 reportedly to have its engines replaced.

See my previous post on this: Previous Post

Also buzzing around the area at the same time was the CGE 316 (an unofficial name).

 Since the boat is under 15 gross tons, it is not required to be registered by name, so it carries the registration number C19179NS. According to Transport Canada's on line system that registration has been "Suspended". Interesting.

Speaking of suspension, the boat's weight of 12,674 lbs has been posted on the wheelhouse just above the side windows, no doubt to facilitate craning aboard a truck.

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PSA Full Out

 PSA Halifax, operators of the South End container terminal, have been busy the last few days. In the four days from Saturday October 30 up to today, November 2, they have accommodated seven ships, and at times have been working three ships at once.

ZIM Yokohama arrived yesterday and is due to sail this afternoon. It occupies the southern most berth, pier 42. The 39,906 gt, 50,532 dwt ship dates from 2007 when it was built by Dalian New Shipbuilding in China. The 4250 TEU ship serves the joint ZIM ZCA and Hapag-Lloyd AL7 service from the Mediterranean.

With this morning's departures of the Lagarfoss (see yesterday's post) and Tropic Hope there was room at Pier 41 for CMA CGM Leo.

It is a 131,332 gt, 131,236 dwt ship with a capacity of 11,200 TEU. Built in 2010 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is operating on the OCEAN, CMA CGM, COSCO, Evergreen, OOCL service from Asia. Another one of that service's ships, CMA CGM T. Jefferson, was here on Saturday, the normally scheduled day.

This ship has been hove to or drifting offshore for several days. Service delays are the norm these days as many ports are backed up and lines are omitting certain calls.

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Fossil Fuels Flow

With climate change and the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels much in the news today, the material continues to be an essential commodity, and it flows into the Port of Halifax, by means of tankers and in the fuel tanks of ships.

Sources of refined petroleum products include refineries in Canada and in Europe and the United States. Imperial Oil, Exxon Mobil Corp's Canadian subsidiary, provides fuel to dealers under the brand names of Esso, Mobil and others. The company brought in more product today, November 1, on the tanker Lady Malou.

The ship makes its way round Ives Knoll with tug assistance. 

Built in 2013 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan, it is a 29,762 gt, 51,486 dwt vessel. Its last port was Beaumont, TX where Exxon Mobil has a 366,000 bbl per day refinery.

Wearing the big Latsis "L" on its funnel, it is part of the 29 ship Latsco Shipping fleet, founded by Capt. John L. Latsis, consisting of 18 product carriers and 11 gas carriers. The company also has four VLCCs on order for delivery in 2022.

Another petroleum product, which is not used as fuel, but is an essential commodity in the construction of roads, is asphalt. The Port of Halifax has two asphalt import facilities. One is owned by McAsphalt Industries Ltd and one by General Liquids Ltd. Altough seemingly competitors in the road paving business, McAsphalt through Miller Paving and General through parent copmany Municipal Group, they both source asphalt from Irving Oil's refinery in Saint John, NB. McAsphalt's own tug / tanker barge delivers asphalt from Saint John to both companies. The barge is equipped with boilers to keep the asphalt in liquid form.

The barge John J. Carrick and its articulated tug Leo A. McArthur discharge to McAsphalt's terminal in Eastern Passage October 22.The insulated pipeline can be seen stretching from the head of the jetty to the shore where there are large storage tanks. 

McAsphalt received another load of material yesterday and over night the tug / barge moved to the Cherubini dock, not too far away, to hook up to the General Liquids pipeline to its storage tanks.

With the tanker Lady Malou in the background, John. J. Carrick discharges cargo today, November 1. The relatively small diameter hose leading ashore must mean a very slow discharge rate.

For the record both the McAsphalt and General terminals can also receive product by rail car and of course distribute the material to asphalt paving plants by truck.

Fossil fuels continue to power ships, as the reintroduction of sail and the use of alternatives such as stored electricity have not become feasible to any extent yet. However all ships must comply with new regulations, and use scrubbers if burning heavy fuel or burn low emission marine diesel fuel.

Ships such as the regular caller Lagarfoss from the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip, use low emission fuel.

Lagarfoss has very minimal freeboard as it arrives from Reykjavik en route to Portland. Its engines and auxiliaries also provide power for numerous reefer containers.

Lagarfoss was built in 2014 in Rongfeng, China by Ronfeng Shenfei Shipbuilding Co. It is a 10,119 gt, 11,811 dwt vessel with a capacity of 880 TEU and carries a pair of 45 tonne capacity cranes.

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