Another view of ROWAN GORILLA III with her flotilla of tugs.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
RIG ON THE MOVE
After a full day's delay due to fog, ROWAN GORILLA III got underway this morning for Sable Island and the Deep Panuke gas field. It took a lot of horsepower to get the platform moving, with VENTURE SEA (12,280 bhp) , HEBRON SEA (8,500 bhp) and PANUKE SEA (7,200 bhp) towing and the harbour tugs POINT HALIFAX (4,200bhp) and SVITZER BEDFORD (5,000 bhp) providing braking and steering.
SEAJACKS KRAKEN was also supposed to sail today, but she's still at anchor with technicians working on various chores.
Friday, May 29, 2009
FOG SEASON
One of the delights of living in Halifax is fog season. Every year about this time, and often extending into July, fog descends upon Halifax. This wonderful atmsopheric phenomenon brings with it the greenest of grass and the amplified transmission of noise.
And so it is that ships arriving in fog emit their distinctive signals. Big ships - big deep sounds at regular intervals as they wend their way into port. Smaller ships - more shrill and higher pitched. (Missing of course is the George's Island fog signal, turned off a few years ago because hotel guests were deprived of sleep.)
These sounds do not resemble the steam powered signals still, strangley, dubbed into movies long after the death of steam, but are in fact air horns - cousins of the air horns on trucks and railway locomotives. There are horm afficionados who can identify the horn manufacturer by the sound they make and there are even some web sites devoted to this arcana.
As I wrtite this fog has "descended" once again and the big tanker HEATHER KNUTSEN can be heard on her way in to Imperial oil, with her deep, slightly asthmatic, fog signal booming away.
Earlier in the evening the fog amplified the horn of another ship. For over half an hour from about 7:10 to 7:40 she constantly repeated seven short and one long blast in quick succesion. Telephone lines lit up and VHF radios crackled with concerned citizens and knowledgeable mariners, wondering what was going on, for this is the signal for fire aboard ship.
Eventually the coastal tanker ALGOSCOTIA fessed up as the culprit. While conducting a regular fire drill, the signal button apparently stuck in the ON position and would not stop! It took most of the half hour for the electrician to find the circuit and disable the horn.
The fog transmitted the sound quite nicely to the south end of the Halifax peninsula. But the fog also concealed the source, as it was impossible to see any ships from land. ALGOSCOTIA was tied up at the Imperial Oil, Esso refinery in Dartmouth, but she sounded as if she was right in the backyard.
Harbour traffic carries on, fog or not, day and night, and the fog horns are (usually) a gentle and comforting reminder of our connection to the sea.
And so it is that ships arriving in fog emit their distinctive signals. Big ships - big deep sounds at regular intervals as they wend their way into port. Smaller ships - more shrill and higher pitched. (Missing of course is the George's Island fog signal, turned off a few years ago because hotel guests were deprived of sleep.)
These sounds do not resemble the steam powered signals still, strangley, dubbed into movies long after the death of steam, but are in fact air horns - cousins of the air horns on trucks and railway locomotives. There are horm afficionados who can identify the horn manufacturer by the sound they make and there are even some web sites devoted to this arcana.
As I wrtite this fog has "descended" once again and the big tanker HEATHER KNUTSEN can be heard on her way in to Imperial oil, with her deep, slightly asthmatic, fog signal booming away.
Earlier in the evening the fog amplified the horn of another ship. For over half an hour from about 7:10 to 7:40 she constantly repeated seven short and one long blast in quick succesion. Telephone lines lit up and VHF radios crackled with concerned citizens and knowledgeable mariners, wondering what was going on, for this is the signal for fire aboard ship.
Eventually the coastal tanker ALGOSCOTIA fessed up as the culprit. While conducting a regular fire drill, the signal button apparently stuck in the ON position and would not stop! It took most of the half hour for the electrician to find the circuit and disable the horn.
The fog transmitted the sound quite nicely to the south end of the Halifax peninsula. But the fog also concealed the source, as it was impossible to see any ships from land. ALGOSCOTIA was tied up at the Imperial Oil, Esso refinery in Dartmouth, but she sounded as if she was right in the backyard.
Harbour traffic carries on, fog or not, day and night, and the fog horns are (usually) a gentle and comforting reminder of our connection to the sea.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Lynx or Racoon?
The smallest general cargo ship to visit Halifax in some time is the Danish registered LYNX, measuring only 1395 gross tons.
More common in Norwegian ships, but also seen on some Canadian ships and others is the black paint around the wheelhouse windows, giving it the racoon look. This treatment is said to cut down on glare, particularly when navigating in ice. Confirming that this ship may do some work in northern waters is the full width bridge. The enclosed bridge wings allow the watch to keep an eye on things without resorting to frigid trips outdoors.
We may see more smaller ships with breakbulk cargo if Halifax suceeds in attracting this type of business. With container tonnages down dramatically, the port is seeking new business wherever it can be found.
LYNX is scheduled to sail at 2200 hrs this evening.
Swellmaster is back
The veteran tug SWELLMASTER returned to Halifax yesterday afternoon. Built way back in 1956, this tug just keeps on trucking for Harbour Development Ltd ( http://www.harbourdev.com/ ), towing dredges and scows and performing other duties.
The tug was built orginally for service in Southampton, England, and was a state of the art, twin screw, fire fighting tug stationed at the Fowey refinery. She was replaced there by more modern tugs and arrived in Canada on her own bottom, to work for Harbour Development. In this service she was re-engined with Caterpillar diesels.
She was orginally named ATHERTON, and was renamed IRVING HEMLOCK when she crossed to this side of the pond. She took on the name SWELLMASTER to fall into line with the naming scheme of the other Harbour Development vessels.
SPEED RECORD UPDATE
I have been asked to fill in the details on the NT DARTMOUTH and the Atlantic speed record (see below.)
In 1985, the adventurer Richard Branson, founder of Virgin airlines, attempted a record transatlantic crossing in his power boat VIRGIN ATLANTIC CHALLENGER. The boat, capable of 50 knots left New York, and refueled at sea off Halifax, from the then IMPERIAL DARTMOUTH. The attempt failed however, when the boat sank off Land's End.
In 1986 Branson had a second try with the 72 foot VIRGIN ATLANTIC CHALLENGER II. Again he left New York and did a quick refuel from IMPERIAL DARTMOUTH off Halifax. He screamed off over the horizon at 50 knots and reached the UK in 3 days and 8 hours from New York. This time was about 2 hours better than the ss UNITED STATES record set in 1952. Branson was denied the Blue Riband however, because her refueled en route.
Ever the adventurer (now Sir Richard) Branson attempted another transatlantic speed record in 2008, this one for sailing vessels. His 99 foot VIRGIN MONEY blew out several sails only 30 hours into the trip and he instead headed for Bermuda.
To the purist, the ss UNITED STATES record will hold forever since it was set by a passenger ship in regular service. All subsequent records for powered vessels, whether recognized or not, have been set by high speed catamarans on delivery trips, and although impressive, were not in the spirit of the Blue Riband.
In 1985, the adventurer Richard Branson, founder of Virgin airlines, attempted a record transatlantic crossing in his power boat VIRGIN ATLANTIC CHALLENGER. The boat, capable of 50 knots left New York, and refueled at sea off Halifax, from the then IMPERIAL DARTMOUTH. The attempt failed however, when the boat sank off Land's End.
In 1986 Branson had a second try with the 72 foot VIRGIN ATLANTIC CHALLENGER II. Again he left New York and did a quick refuel from IMPERIAL DARTMOUTH off Halifax. He screamed off over the horizon at 50 knots and reached the UK in 3 days and 8 hours from New York. This time was about 2 hours better than the ss UNITED STATES record set in 1952. Branson was denied the Blue Riband however, because her refueled en route.
Ever the adventurer (now Sir Richard) Branson attempted another transatlantic speed record in 2008, this one for sailing vessels. His 99 foot VIRGIN MONEY blew out several sails only 30 hours into the trip and he instead headed for Bermuda.
To the purist, the ss UNITED STATES record will hold forever since it was set by a passenger ship in regular service. All subsequent records for powered vessels, whether recognized or not, have been set by high speed catamarans on delivery trips, and although impressive, were not in the spirit of the Blue Riband.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Norwegian frigate ROALD AMUNDSEN arrived this afternoon for a visit to HMC Dockyard. The ship is the second in a class of 5 Fridtjof Nansen class frigates, fitted with Aegis combat systems and built in Spain for service in NATO's permanent Atlantic force. All ships are named for Norwegian explorers.
Although intended for the North Atlantic, the name ship of the class will see service in the EU's Gulf of Aden anti-piracy task force. FRIDTJOF NANSEN will be joining the task force in August.
The third ship in the class, OTTO SVERDUP was delivered last year, and the subsequent ships, HELGE INGSTAD and THOR HEYERDAHL, will be delivered in 2009 and 2010.
Although intended for the North Atlantic, the name ship of the class will see service in the EU's Gulf of Aden anti-piracy task force. FRIDTJOF NANSEN will be joining the task force in August.
The third ship in the class, OTTO SVERDUP was delivered last year, and the subsequent ships, HELGE INGSTAD and THOR HEYERDAHL, will be delivered in 2009 and 2010.
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