Double Dutch - updated

 For a time this morning, April 12, two ships with Dutch connections were tied up at adjacent berths in Halifax. The first ship was flying the Dutch flag, and the second only had a Dutch crew.

First to arrive was the Scheldegracht, the multi-purpose and heavy lift ship, built in 2000 by Szczcinska in Poland, it is a 16,639 gt, 21,250 dwt vessel. It has portable tween decks and cranes of 120, 90 and 55 tonne capacity. The ship is equipped with side doors and elevators for forklift loading.

Today's cargo was a pair of 60 ft long x 15 ft wide x 10 ft high tarped objects which were loaded directly from ship to truck, using the ship's cranes.

From the look of them I would say they are aircraft componenents, headed for Bombardier Aviation in Dorval, QC. Bombardier brings in fuselages, wings and tail assemblies from the former Short Brothers factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Scheldegracht's owners Spliethoff, run a regular service to the Great Lakes in summer, but perhaps they did not want to make the trip all they way to Montreal this time. The cargo could be there tomorrow travelling by road, assuming permits and escort vehicles were in order. The ship was only in port a few hours before heading out to sea for Baltimore.

 The second ship with a Dutch connection is actually a Norwegian ship (for the time being) but with the Dutch ship delivery company Redwise delivering the ship to Canadian owners. 

The ship is the ferry Svanoy built in 1992 by Johan Drage in Rognan, Norway, and measuring 1639 gt. It has a capacity of 299 passengers and 89 cars on two levels. It is also double ended and in fact turned end for end while inbound this morning.

Moving northbound (right to left in the photo), passing Pier 20, the ship's funnel is forward, on the pert side.

 

A few minutes later, still northbound,  but now moving left to right in the picture (taken from Dartmouth), the ship has turned end for end and the funnel is on the starboard side, aft. This will make for better visibility for docking at Pier 9B.

The Svanoy has visor type gates at both ends so that vehicles can drive straight through.

The Province of Quebec's ferry corporation La Société des Traversiers du Québec has chartered the ship for one year, with possible extensions, to serve the St-Joseph-de-la-Rive to Ile-aux-Coudres route while other ferries are in refit, and to serve as a back-up for other routes if needed. The Quebec company Logistec is the owner and it will be managing all aspects of the ship's operation. (It also operates several other ships for northern supply.)

The Redwise flag flies above the ship's bridge. An acronym from the founding company Rederi Wijsmuller, the Redwise name is known worldwide for crewing and delivery services.

 

Update:

The ferry Svanoy will be managed by Logistec, but the Newfoundland firm Canship will be providing two captains and two engineers to actually run the ship. I assume that the seafarer's union will be providing crew members.  

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Visitor from St-Pierre

 Just as the archipelago of St-Pierre et Miquelon off the south coast of Newfoundland is a tiny outpost of France in North America, the naval vessel normally assigned to the islands is very small too. FS Fulmar P740 is a former trawler of modest dimensions: 38.9m long and 680 tonnes full load displacement.

Nevertheless the vessel is a very capable one, fitted for search and rescue and law enforcement, with 30 days endurance and a range of 3500 nautical miles at 15 knots. Its hardy crew conists of an officer and 10 sailors.

Fulmar regularly exercises with the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard and has participated in Operation Nanook in the arctic, reaching 70 degrees North. It has also coordinated with the Danish navy in Greenland waters.

Built in 1991 as the civilian trawler Jonathan it was converted to a patrol vessel in 1997. Initially assigned to the French maritime police it was commissioned into the French navy in 2009. It is due for replacement in 2027. To save on a return trip to France it had its 2020 refit at the Industrie Océan shipyard in Ile-aux-Coudres, QC.

FS Fulmar makes courtesy visits to Canadian ports from time to time and has accompanied the Halifax to St-Pierre sailing race. It usually ties up at the Tall Ship Quay on the Halifax waterfront, as it did this morning. However it had to hold off for a time as Develop Nova Scotia's workboat crew rigged some fenders and moved a number of lobster traps that had been set nearby.

Fulmar loiters along the Dartmouth shore while some lobster traps are relocated. Their retrieval lines and buoys could become entangled in the ship's prop - not a nice welcome for a visitor.

Develop Nova Scotia is a crown corporation, incorporating the former Waterfront Development Corporation, and is responsibie for the public waterfront wharves and boardwalks in Halifax and Lunenburg. It has a much wider mandate for sustainable infrastructure development across the province. Its workboat is most often seen maintaing the floating boat docks in Halifax. 

(    The workboat has "developns.ca" or "develop nova scotia"plastered all over it in at least eight locations, but it does not display its registration number, and its builders name is illegible. It reminds me of one of those radio ads where they repeat the phone number five times.)

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The large get larger, the small get smaller

So much cargo travels by container ship these days that ships are built of all different sizes to cater to the needs of specific trade routes. As some of those routes acquire larger and larger ships, what were once the "largest" ships are eclipsed. What would have been considered a large ship, in terms of capacity, years ago has now been relegated to mid-size or even small size.

Similarly the "largest" ship to call in Halifax holds the record only for a few months or a year until it is eclipsed by a larger ship. Today's sailing (April 10) of the CMA CGM T. Jefferson is a reminder of how elusive those records may be. The ship set the record for largest ship to call in Halifax on March 21, 2020. It was also the first ship to call here with a capacity of more than 14,000 TEU.

 Built in 2017 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is still a large ship, at 148,872 gt, 147,966 dwt, but has since been eclipsed in December of the 2021 by the 16,020 TEU capacity ships of CMA CGM's Explorer class, such as CMA CGM Marco Polo - the current record holder.

At the other end of the scale is today's arrival for the Icelandic shipping company Eimskip. The Selfoss has a capacity of 698 TEU. 

That is an appropriate size for the ship that trades between Reykjavik, Halifax, Portland, ME and Argentia NL and back again. Many of its containers are refrigerated, so it is likely to have a large number of reefer plugs. It also has two cargo cranes, to handle boxes in smaller ports. 

The 7464 gt, 8166 dwt ship was built in 2008 by the Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding Co in Fuzhou, China. Originally named Sophia by German owners, it was renamed Selfoss when acquired by Eimskip in 2017.

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Boheme to Pier 9C and an Update on IT Intrepid

 The second autocarrier to use Pier 9C this week arrived today, April 9. Initially the Boheme anchored in number one anchorage for Canadian Food Inspection Agency clearance. The Agency inspects for LDD moth larvae (formerly called European gypsy moth) and LDA (formerly called Asian gypsy moth) and several related species (which may be renamed again) before the ship is allowed to dock in a Canadian port.  (The ship was here  January 20, 2022 , but inspections are not carried out in mid-winter as the larvae are inactive then.)

Tugs Atlantic Beaver (nearest) and Atlantic Fir preparing to makeup to the Boheme in number one anchorage, as the mist thickens. 

Things were much clearer in the Basin. The tugs have turned the ship and it is now lined up to pass under the MacKay bridge (again).

It will soon be alongside Pier 9C, starboard side to the dock .

The Boheme has some 'high and heavy" RoRo cargo to discharge at Pier 9C, then will move to Autoport to unload automobiles from Europe.

At nearby Fairview Cove work was finishing up on NYK Demeter on THE Alliance's AL5 (North Europe) service Westbound loop.

NYK Demeter arriving this morning. It sailed in the early evening for Port Everglades.

Update:

The cable ship IT Intrepid sailed today giving the Panama Canal as its destination. The ship will be heading for a cable job, starting at Cape Beale, British Columbia. It will be working under a temporary coasting license to retrieve and rebury an existing subsea cable.

(older file photo of the ship)

As reported here April 2 IT Telcom applied for two coasting licenses. The first one, for work in Quebec, has been put on hold due to concerns raised by fishermen in the area of the work. The Sunoque III cable ( SU = sud, NO = nord, QUE = Quebec:  translation south, north, Quebec) was to run from Ste-Anne-des-Monts to Sept-Iles, but crab, shrimp and lobster fishermen objected to the ban on fishing within 500 meters of the cable, and the disturbance to the seabottom caused by plowing and burying the cable.
 

While in port the ship offloaded the remains of an older cable, which had been cut up in convenient lengths for handling. Older cable, likely made of copper, has significant resale value. The armoured casing may be recyclable too.

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Marener cranking out boats [UPDATED FROM 2011]

 NOTE: This is an updfate from a 2011 post. Since this post was written, the boats have entered service and the builders, Marener entered bankruptcy proceedings and were liquidated.

 Marener Industries in Halifax is cranking out aluminum emergency response boats for the Canadian Coast Guard. As part of the government's economic action plan, the Department of Fisheries & Oceans awarded a $7.9 mn contract to build 15 of the 50 47 foot boats. Marener is building ten of them,. Three others are under construction at Kanter Boats in St.Thomas, ON and two more at Alberni Engineering in Alberni, BC. The boats are assembled at Marener's facilities at pier 9B in Halifax, although some of the work has been subcontracted. Laurentian Steel Fabricators of Sydney, NS built seven of the hull frames, to jump start the project. 1. A boat returns from trials in Bedford Basin.

2. An unfinished hull awaits completion.

3. A house, well advanced with most fittings installed. It will have seating for six, a galley and head.

4. With the house installed on the hull, the boat sits on a special cradle to be backed into the assembly building.

5. Boating & Receiving? A boat is assembling in the shed.

6. A fully painted craft emerges from the shed.

7. An extreme shallow draft forward and flat bottom, will allow the boat to ride up on beaches and use its 6,000 lb ton capacity bow door to unload ATVs, spill booms and other equipment.

8. At 50 47 ft long and 15 ft wide and low profile, the boats are easily truckable. The DPH outdrives are in the raised position, which will also be useful in beaching. Main engines are 250 bhp Volvos.

9. Underway on trials, these are distinctive looking craft.

Marener, a locally owned company has formed a joint venture with Weldmec Ab of Finland, called Serecraft NA. Weldmec has its own line of similar boats, but these new ones are distinctive types.

The boats were designed by Robert Alan Ltd. of Vancouver.

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More Bluster

Mist, wind and rain again, (April showers, etc.,...) did not deter shipping activity in the harbour with several arrivals and departures today (April 8).

At Fairview Cove it was Conti Contessa on THE Alliance's EC5 service. The ship arrived early yesterday morning (April 7) and sailed early this afternoon, with some mist in the air. 

Built in 2006 by Samsung Koje, the 90,449 gt, 101,007 dwt ship has a capacity of 8084 TEU including 700 reefers. Initially named ITAL Contessa, it took its current name in 2019 for owners Niederelbe Schiffahrts. There was a very brisk breeze blowing on the ship as it headed for the Narrows, and the stern escort tug was working hard. Once into the Narrows, things were a little calmer, but the ship kept the all three tugs for the passage.

I've always wanted to catch a "did I miss the boat?" shot. A truck with a Hapag-Lloyd container hustles across the MacKay bridge toward Fairview Cove - after the ship has sailed.

At Fairview Cove, the rebranding has started. With the PSA takeover and a new multi-year lease, the "Ceres" sign was coming down.

PSA rebranded the southend terminal when they took it over , but there are still a few remnants of "Halterm" if you look closely. Here's one I saw yesterday, looking a little worse for the wear:

At Imperial Oil the Chinese owned tanker Lian Xi Hu completed unloading product from Antwerp and sailed for Houston in ballast.

The ship took the western, deepwater channel to make room for the inbound MSC Annick.

Arriving from Montreal, to top up to sea going draft, the MSC Annick appears to be lightly loaded. As reported just about a year ago, the ship has been renamed eight times - see April 10, 2021

 By the time the ship neared PSA's Atlantic Hub Pier 42, the mist had become driving drizzle. With the high humidity, the ship's vapour plume lingered for quite a while. This ship's exhaust gas scrubber was obviously working (see yesterday's post where I accused a ship of turning off its scrubber).

The MSC Annick also had to wait for the Zim Tarragona to clear the berth, so sailed on into the harbour, turning north of George's Island. I bailed out before that happened, so no photos of the second ship to turn around George's Island recently. (See March 30 for the auto carrier MSC Antigua.)

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This and That

 While waiting for arrivals at PSA Halifax's Atlantic Hub (the terminal formerly known as Halterm) I was able to wander out to the end of the breakwater, which has finally opened after its winter closure. This gave an excellent view of the departing Thalatta from Autoport. On its way out from Eastern Passage it passed Imperial Oil's number 3 dock where the Lian Xi Hu was still offloading product from Antwerp. Yesterday's backlit photo did not do justice to the latter ship's blue hull colour.

Speaking of colour I was not impressed by the browm smoke from the supposedly scrubber equipped autocarrier. Scrubbbers can apparently be bypassed at will.

There was time for one more "for the road" photo of the Thalatta despite plenty from the last two days.

The ship left a tremendous amount of cargo at Pier 9C before moving over to Autoport last night. [see also previous posts]

 The two late afternoon arrivals were a sort of bonus since ships usually arrive pre-dawn. First up was Oceanex Avalon arriving from St.John's, NL.

The ship is substituting on Oceanex's Halifax - St.John's service, alternating weekly with Oceanex Connaigra. On alternate weeks each ship runs to and from Montreal. This routine is expected to continue at least until June 17, the predicted return date for Oceanex Sanderling which is undergoing an extended refit in Amsterdam.

Oceanex Avalon has a hatch cover over number one hold, but the remainder of the cargo hold space is open to the elements. This speeds up loading and unloading, since heavy hatch covers do not have to be lifted on and off. The last "bay" of containers, immediatley forward of the bridge, is carried on the deck over the engine room, and terminates with a large lashing frame.

The ship I was waiting for arrived next for Pier 42. MSC Sao Paulo arrived on MSC's CANEX1 service from the Mediterranean.

Built "way back" in 1998 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is a 53,324 gt, 63,537 dwt ship with a container capacity of 4688 TEU. It started life as Pohang Senator and in 2008 became CSAV Pyrenees and in 2013 became Pohang for a short spell before taking its present name. (As usual these former names give a road map of developments in world shipping- see footnote)

Once the ship offloads some boxes here and reduces its draft to suit St.Lawrence River regulations, it will sail for Montreal.

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 The names ships carry can often tell a story, not just about the ship and where it traded, but about the companies it worked for, and events in the shipping businesss.

> Many ships were built for German investment syndicates and chartered out to shipping lines. These arrangements were beneficial to both parties and in the case of this ship, the charter was with Senator Line. Initially a German line, Senator went through a number of owners, finally in the hands of the Korean Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd, with the venerable German company Laiesz, having a minority holding. In 2009, with Hanjin ranked as seventh largest container line, Hanjin-Senator was closed down. In 2016 Hanjin itself was insolvent and was delcared bankrupt in 2017 - the largest ever failure of a container line. Hanjin-Senator's Mediterranean-Montreal traffic was largely picked up by MSC.

> CSAV, Compagnia Sud-Americana de Vapores is a large Chilean owned shipping conglomerate. In 2014 it merged its container shipping business into Hapag-Lloyd, while keeping its other shipping interests independent. Rationalisation of service meant that several chartered ships, including this one, were released. An early end of the charter meant the ship was on the spot maket for a time before a longer term arrangement could be found, this time with MSC. It is now close to the 10th year of that charter, and with an aging ship, it will be interesting to see what is next. Demand is so high for container ships right now, that even 24 year old ships are making top dollar.

> As a rule MSC ships with women's names are owned directly by MSC or indirectly through one of its subsidiaries. Ships with geographical names are on charter from arm's length independent owners.

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