Harbour Work Boats (of yore) - Part 1

Several small work boats ply the waters of Halifax Harbour on a daily basis.One operator of these boats is the Port itself. Since 1999 the operating organization has been called the Halifax Port Authority, a federal crown corporation. From 1984 to 1999, it was the Halifax Port Corporation and before that, from 1936, the National Harbours Board. Also a crown corporation the N.H.B. operated eighteen Canadian ports reporting to parliament through the Minister of Transport. (It ceded control of shipping in Halifax to the Royal Canadian Navy from 1939 to November 7, 1945.)
Transport Canada still oversees the Canada Ports Corporation (a.k.a. Ports Canada) which deals with overall transportation objectives, but leaves day to day responsibility for the individual ports to the local Authorities.

N.H.B. PATROL NO.3

From 1963 the National Harbours Board in Halifax operated the workboat N.H.B. Patrol No.3. It was built in Hackett's Cove, NS, in nearby St.Margret's Bay and arrived in Halifax in tow of N.H.B. Patrol No. 2  (built in 1952 in Dayspring, NS) on November 21. Perhaps surprisingly its arrival was front page news in the Halifax Mail Star on November 22, finding space along side coverage of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

 N.H.B. Patrol No.3 works with fenders at pier 25.

The boat was launched on November 20 and hoisted out at pier 3 in Halifax for installation of a 65 bhp engine. The boat's duties included handling the N.H.B's 80 ton floating crane. That crane was removed from service in the mid-1960s.

Fenders in tow, the boat sets out to install them at a pier.

Its main duty was work on pier fenders, which in those days were built of timber, and reinforced with heavy truck tires. The fenders were built by port staff at pier 25 and towed to their positions. They were constantly in need of maintenance and replacement, as were their securing chains. Another chore was to pick up deadheads, snags and debris in the harbour, and to remove washed up objects from the shorelines.

After sinking, the boat was moved to pier 24 where it was taken out of the water.

During the night of December 2-3, 1978 the boat sank at her berth at pier 7. After refloating it was taken to pier 24 and lifted up for clean-up. A replacement boat was due in two weeks anyway. The report at the time was that it was to be renamed Workboat No.101, but this was never done, and I believe it was scrapped.

PORT AUTHORITY
The replacement was called Port Authority. (A strange name, since the Halifax Port Authority was not formed until 1999). It was built in 1978 in DeBaies Cove, on the eastern shore, on the lines of a Cape Island type fishing boat, but was equipped with a derrick for handling the fenders and other work.

Port Authority towing fenders.

Out of the water for annual refit at pier 24, the boat gets new hull sheathing, not so much to protect it from ice, but also from contact with many of the floating objects it would sometimes have to recover.

Port Authority's derrick is no match for the two 500 tonne derricks of Jumbo Challenger in the background, but quite sufficient for the work in the harbour.

To my knowledge, it suffered no mishaps during its career, and worked streadily until its replacement arrived in 1995.

MAINTAINER I
The first steel hulled workboat for the port, Maintainer I was built by A.F.Theriault + Sons Ltd of Meteghan River, NS, in 1992.

Maintainer I heads for the harbour from the camber of pier 30. Instead of a derrick, the boat carries a hydraulic knuckle boom crane.

The boat is almost flat bottomed, and has bilge keels to minimize rolling.

 

Embarassing moment, after which the boat is drylanded for repair.

On February 16, 2003 the boat sank suddenly at its berth at pier 25. Cold weather resulted in a frozen pipe, which burst and flooded the hull. The boat was lifted out by crane and sent to the Brenton Gray boatyard in Sambro, NS where it was repaired and modified. One of the changes was to relocate the waterline exhaust system to a conventional vertical stack.

This is the boat that is still in service today.

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San Fernanado Rey for Nirint

Nirint Shipping may be giving its regular ships a winter vacation, because today's arrival is not one of their usual ships. In fact it appears to be a spot charter for this trip from Moa, Cuba to Halifax only.

San Fernando Rey is owned by CTrans Maritime Services SL of Valencia, Spain, but is registered in the port of Douglas, Isle of Man.

San Fernando Rey stern in at pier 31 has all three cranes working.

The ship has an unusual construction history. The hull was built by the Yantar shipyard in Kaliningrad, Lithuania but construction was completed by nearby Stoc.Gdanska, in Poland in 1999. Measuring 10,069 grt, 12,126 dwt, it is equipped with three 36 tonne cranes and has a container cpacity of 519 TEU.

The ship started out with the name Harjumaa, becoming Didon soon after, then Harjumaa again from 2002 to 2003. It was then renamed Safmarine Houston from 2003 to 2012, when it was again renamed Harjumaa. During all this time it was owned by Harjumaa Maritime Co, under the management of First Baltic Ship Management and flying the Estonian flag.

The current owners took over the ship in 2014 and  gave it its present name.

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The ship is unloading bagged nickel sulfides from Cuba.

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C.T.M.A. Vacançier calls in the big guy

After my feature on C.T.M.A. ferries on February 13 http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2015/02/ctma-mulls-fleet-replacement.html  , the ferry C.T.M.A. Vacançier has again asked for icebreaker assistance in reaching Souris PEI from Cap-aux-Meules. Due to heavy ice in the area, the ship was at sea for 30 hours (as opposed to 5 hours in open water). The CCG called in CCGS Henry Larsen  from Newfoundland.
It had also assisted the tanker Acadian in reaching Charlottetown.

C.T.M.A. Vacançier on its St. Lawrence River summer run.

CCGS Henry Larsen fills the frame while tied up at the old Coast Guard Base in Dartmouth in 1991.

Meanwhile at North Sydney the Leif Ericson was trapped in ice for a time and its arrival was delayed by five hours. Ice experts state that conditions are normal for this time of year.

 Tugs assist Leif Ericson as it prepares to go into drydock in Halifax in 2011.

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Ships named Chebucto

Before there was Halifax, there was  jipugtug  - the big harbour - in the language of the local Mi-'kmaq population.[ Here it spoken at: http://www.mikmaqonline.org/servlet/words/Jipugtug.html ]. The word was adapted by the settlers to become Chebucto, and has come to be used for the entire peninsula between St.Margaret's Bay to the east and Halifax harbour to the west.(Although the largest concentration of population in Nova Scotia resides on the Chebucto Peninsula, the land is largely a protected wilderness.)
Chebucto Head is the name given to the prominent cape that defines the entrance to Halifax and is marked by a lighthouse. The word has also been attached to a major street, an electoral riding and any number of businesses and schools.
Such an important local name has also been used, sparingly, on ships of various sorts too.

CHEBUCTO (i)
The first Chebucto was a ferry built in 1865, but not registered until 1878. It operated between Halifax and Dartmouth on Halifax Harbour until 1892.

CHEBUCTO (ii)
A second Chebucto ferry was built in 1897 and was sold in 1951. It was built in Glasgow, Scotland by John Shearer + Son, Kelvinhaugh slip. A 125 ft loa vessel of 600 grt, it was a double ended ferry with screws bow and stern driven by steam engines built by McKie+Baxter of Govan. It arrived on its own, via the Azores, in 1898, having had to put back at least once in its first attempt in 1897.

 Chebucto (ii) laid up in 1950 at Dartmouth.

A typical double ender, it had passenger cabins on each side of its sponsoned hull, with two carriageways, one on each side of the funnel casing. It managed the transition from horsedrawn to self propelled vehicles, but was retired before the construction of the first permanent bridge across the harbour resulted in the withdrawal of vehicle ferries. It was also a coal burner.

When it was retired from ferry service it was towed to Montreal where it was used as a floating machine shop until about 1956.

CGS CHEBUCTO
The next Chebucto was a Fisheries Protection Vessel, built by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou, NS in 1966. It was christened in May of that year by Mme Gertrude Robichaud, wife of the Minister of Fisheries Hon. Hédard-J. Robichaud, and was handed over December 21 after trails. It sailed the next day for Halifax where it was based at Queen's Wharf. The 179 ft loa, 563 grt ship was armed with a gun forward and had a suite of search and rescue equipment and a towing winch.

CGS Chebucto had a gun mounted forward.

Modifications to the ship over time included plating in a portion of her side alleys for more crew space, increasing grt to 751. At the same time the large fibreglass rescue launch / lifeboats were replaced with additional RHIBs. It was also disarmed.

Half the length of the side alleys were plated in when the large boats were removed.

In 1996 the Canadian Coast Guard  and Fisheries and Oceans fleets merged under the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and the ship was repainted and re-designated CCGS Chebucto having previously been referred to as CGS Chebucto or FPV Chebucto.

It was also painted in CCG colours, although the process to time. For a while it sailed with white superstructure and grey hull.

The ship was laid up and decommissioned August 24, 1997 and lay idle until it was named 1998-03 in preparation for sale by Crown Assets.  That sale was completed by the end of the year and its register closed December 24, 1998. A sister ship named Cape Freels was built by Halifax Shipyard at the same time, but it was lost at sea in March 1975 due to fire.

The ship sailed from Halifax early 1999 as Lady Chebucto, classed as a yacht, under Antigua flag. In 2006 an attempt by the Sea Shepherd Society to buy the ship was blocked by the Antiguan government. It was reportedly dry docked in 2008 and has been listed for sale for several years.Last reported, it was in Chaguaramas, Barbados.

POINT CHEBUCTO
Eastern Canada Towing Ltd ordered a new tug in 1993. Initially the order went to East Isle Shipyard Georgetown, PE, but when the J.D.Irving group's Irving Shipbuilding Inc took over the yard, the construction was transferred to Halifax. Irving's Atlantic Towing Ltd was a competitor of Eastern Canada Towing Ltd (ECTUG), and that was given as the reason for the switch. Although Irving did not own the Halifax yard at the time, they were very much present on the site and in its management, in what some described as a creeping takeover.

 J.D.Irving equipment moves the hull of Point Chebucto to the launch way.

The new tug was a big one, at 4100 bhp, driven by two azimuthing stern drives. It was launched October 25, 1992 as Point Chebucto (ECTUG already had a Point Halifax) and the name was entirely fitting as the new tug was built to serve Halifax harbour.

Point Chebucto as delivered in ECTUG colours.

Through a series of ownership changes, Eastern Canada Towing Ltd's parent company Cory Towage of England was acquired by the Dutch Wijsmuller Group which in turn was bought by Svitzer of Denmark. Svitzer Canada Ltd was formed  to operate the ECTUG fleet.

 Point Chebucto in Svitzer Canada Ltd colours.

 They found themselves in competition in Halifax and  the Strait of Canso with Atlantic Towing and eventually formed a partnership to cover the two ports. As a result the former Eastern Canada Towing Ltd tugs were transferred to Point Tupper, NS, and Point Chebucto continues to work out of that port.

Reported by crews to be a fine sea boat Point Chebucto has also been dispatched to outports such as Liverpool. NS, Sheet Harbour, NS and Sydney, NS.

CHEBUCTO PILOT
The Atlantic Canada Pilotage Authority, is a crown corporation responsible for providing piloting services in a number of ports in eastern Canada. To do this it operates a small fleet of pilot boats (in some ports the boats are provided by private contractors) Halifax being one such port.
In 2012 it commissioned its newest pilot boat, Chebucto Pilot, launched in May by Abco (the Atlantic Bridge Co) of Lunenburg. The 17 m boat is capable of 20 knots and operates from a berth on the Halifax waterfront.

 At harbour cruising speed Chebucto Pilot moves past the Tall Ship Quay.

 Once opposite pier 20, the boat digs in and puts on some speed, where its wake will not cause any harm.

It embarks and disembarks pilots off Chebucto Head at the entrance to Halifax harbour.

Newer APA boats have adopted a high visibility yellow hull, with a very fine blue line at deck level. A black finish around windows and tinted glass reduces glare. The decks are covered with a non-slip coating and there are numerous railings and tie off points. The boat is also fitted with a man-overboard recovery ramp at the stern.

CHEBUCTO tanker
CP (Bermuda) Ltd was the large shipowning arm of the Canadian Pacific Railway. In the 1980s it built a fleet of chemical and product tankers in Japan, one of which was named Fort Rouge dating from 1980. In 1989 they sold it to Livanos and it became Courageventure L. In 1998 it was passed on to other owners as Courageventure. For a brief time between 2002 and 2003 the ship was renamed Chebucto. In 2003 it became Fair Rainbow and was broken up in Chittagong in 2006.
To my knowledge it never appeared in its namesake port.

CHEBUCTO SEA
Another tug took the name in 1994. Built in 1957 by Saint John Dry Dock + Shipbuilding for the Royal Canadian Navy, it was named St. Charles. One of three sister tugs, it was a seagoing vessel, intended for towing large naval vessels. Modestly powered with a 1950 bhp Fairbanks Morse engine, with a single screw, it was not adequate for towing large ships. Except for an aircraft carrier, the RCN had few large ships, and the tug was generally underutilized, although it did accompany the fleet south for winter exercises.
Most of its work seemed to involve towing gunnery targets. It operated as a naval auxiliary vessel, with civilian crew until 1994.

 St.Charles returns from sea towing a gunnery target.

Secunda Marine Services, a local operator of offshore supply vessels saw an opportunity for tug and barge work, and bought the tug. It received a complete refit at Dartmouth Marie Slips and was renamed Chebucto Sea. (All Secunda's vessels had the word "sea" as part of their name.) It operated towing a barge carrying pulpwood and gravel generally in the Gulf of St.Lawrence.

As Chebucto Sea the tug carried Secunda's red hull stripe.

The tug was bareboat chartered in 1998 and in 1999 broke its tail shaft, and it returned to Halifax where it was laid up while an insurance case worked its way through the courts. When that was resolved in Secunda's favour in 2005 the tug was refitted and put up for sale. However its controllable pitch propellor function was no longer operational.
A new owner acquired the tug in 2009 and it was towed to Newfoundland. Renamed Matterhorn it was never made operational and its registration was suspended in July 2014.
[For more on Chebucto Sea see Tugfax]

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CSL Spirit - back again (updated)

 CSL Spirit arriving in Halifax for the first time May 28, 2001.

The largest bulk carrier under the Canadian flag arrived in Halifax for a rare call today to take bunkers. CSL Spirit was a regular caller here for gypsum until 2011, but under the Bahamas flag. It was then transferred to the Canadian flag and sent to Sept-Iles, QC where it has operated ever since as a shuttle vessel. It picks up iron ore at Pointe Noire or Sept-Iles and ferries the cargo out to larger ships anchored in Sept-Iles Bay.
Using its 79m long telescoping conveyor boom, it fills up the larger ships at a rate of up to 6,000 tonnes per hour. It can take three or four shuttle trips to load the largest bulk carriers.

Construction of a new multi-user pier at Pointe-Noire was completed in October, with loader equipment due to be operational by this summer. It will allow Chinamax ships of 350,000 dwt to tie up and load directly. Added to that the closure of Cliff's Wabush/Bloom lake mine and the prospective sale of its assets in the area, CSL Spirit's services may no longer be required when the new pier starts up.
But demands by Alderon's new Kami mine and Rio Tinto's mine and even the Iron Ore Company of Canada to use larger ships mean that I may be premature in my suggestion.

CSL Spirit has been shown on these pages several times before.

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/11/csl-spirit-soon-to-be-canadian.html

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2011/12/basin-doings.html

http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2012/01/spruceglen-going-red-csl-spirit-getting.html

CSL Spirit was built by Jiangnan Shipyard in China in 2000. It measures 41,428 grt and 70,018 dwt.

My favorite photo of CSL Spirit, thanks to a co-operative gull, December 20, 2011.

CSL Spirit with Algoma Dartmouth alongside in anchorage number 1. The ship has cargo aboard, which must be iron ore. It has also accumulated a lot of frozen spray on deck on its trip from Sept-Iles.
The CCG/DFO boat Sigma T. makes its way back in to BIO after doing water sampling off Chebucto Head.

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Ferries Named Halifax and Dartmouth - Part 2

Continuing the story of ferries named Halifax and Dartmouth a fourth set of ferries bearing the names entered service in 1979. Although they looked vaguely similar to their predecessors, they were radically different in many ways.
Both boats were built by Ferguson Industries in Pictou , NS. Dartmouth III arrived from the builders May 3, 1979 and Halifax III in July. They spend several months on trials and in crew training due their unique characteristics.

On Day 1 of the service, Dartmouth III heads for Dartmouth. The passenger loading side has ramps that fold up flush with the hull. (Shipfax made a one way trip on each boat on Day 1)

 Halifax III approaches Halifax. The off-side of the boats has more windows, and engine exhaust vents just above deck level.

The hull was still short and wide with rounded ends, and the wheelhouse was perched amidships (but offset to one side), but the similarity ended there. The most obvious new feature was that they were side loading. Passengers embarked and disembarked on new floating landing stages, and remained under cover and out of the weather all the way through the new ferry terminals, that were built as part of the ferry replacement program.
Gone also were the ladies and gents cabins, although that segregation had ended many years before. Passengers were accommodated in one full width cabin, with molded plastic seats, instead of slatted pew like benches and for the diehard outdoors types, there was an open deck with similar plastic seats.

Halifax III passenger boarding side.

The most novel aspect of the new boats however was not visible. These were the Voith-Schneider propulsion drives, located bow and stern. Consisting of variable pitch vertical blades, rotating on a turntable, they allowed the boats to move sideways with ease. Direction and speed were controlled by blade pitch, permitting constant engine speed and better fuel efficiency. The boats could travel equally wqell ahead or astern.. This propulsion system had been in use on tugs for many years (including navy tugs in Halifax, built at about the same time) and on two Northumberland Strait summer ferries. It was a relatively costly system and was unusual in smaller vessels such as these.
 
A joint christening ceremony was held September 9, 1979 with Lorraine Morris, the wife of Halifax Mayor Edmund Morris sponsoring Halifax III and Genevieve Brownlow the wife of Halifax mayor Daniel Brownlow performing the honors for Dartmouth III.
The boats entered service on September 10, 1979 and have been running ever since.

The original colour scheme featured alternating dark and light blue chevrons and a light blue stripe on the wheelhouse.

Management of the boats has changed over the years, and with it their various paint schemes.Original owners were the City of Dartmouth. In 1981 Halifax and Dartmouth merged their bus systems, forming Metro Transit, and in 1994 it was entrusted with the operation of the ferries. Fare structures are integrated, and bus stops are located at the ferry termini.

 In Metro Transit colours, the light blue became green, and chevrons were removed, a stylized "M" appeared with a green blue band.

The words Metro Transit also appeared bow and stern. in line with the stripe.

Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Halifax County merged in 1996 forming the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), and Metro Transit rejuvenated its graphics.

 

Yellow replaced lime green in a new Metro Transit graphic scheme.

 Another graphic change features a dramatic swoop of blue of yellow. Note also that the mast has been extended and another radar scanner mounted on the top.

The boarding side is less dramatic, but the chevrons have returned beside the words Metro Transit.

In July 2014, Metro transit was renamed Halifax Transit, as part of a rebranding of the HRM to simply Halifax which had started in April. Since then they have changed their graphic design once more, with the cross bar free HALIFAX. This was too late for the newest ferry, so another repainting is expected in 2015.
(Urban Legend has it that a graphic designer who had been staring at his Samsung monitor too long, decided to drop the cross bars on the letter A in Halifax and declared "what a good boy am I")

Halifax III and Dartmouth III were joined in 1986 by Woodside I a virtually exact sister, when a new route was inaugurated between Woodside and Halifax. Any of the tree boats might be found on any run, to allow for maintenance work or training..

In 2014 A.F.Thériault + Son of Meteghan River, NS, delivered Christopher Stannix, an upgrade of the same basic design. A fourth boat, to be named Craig Blake will be delivered by the same yard in 2015 and is slated to replace one of the original pair, and a third new boat will join in 2016.
However due to a two year long redecking of the Angus L.Macdonald bridge, ferry traffic is expected to increase, at least for a time, and so it is likely that the displaced boat (s) will be kept on for backup and standby.

Perhaps there will be a return to excursions, which used to happen from time to time, as family day for the ship's crews, or for open house days on George's Island..

Halifax III returns from a rare trip to Bedford Basin, passing beneath the A. Murray MacKay bridge. The excursion was part of family day for the ferry crews. A ferry service to Bedford has been an on and off topic for years, but has been quiet lately.

Another interesting aspect of the boats is that they identifiable bows and sterns. The bow is identified by the centre line anchor mounting.

Dartmouth II approaches Halifax, working bow forward.

Thus passengers board via the starboard side, and the wheelhouse is offset to starboard. The stern is flush without an anchor, and carries the port of registration

Woodside I leaves Dartmouth, working stern first toward Halifax. All lights are duplicated. so the boat can work in either direction at night. The offset wheelhouse shows up in this photo.

Dartmouth III approaches Halifax stern first. The boat's port of registration is shown as "Halifax, NS."

The eyebrow over the loading gates has since been removed, because in certain conditions the wheelhouse could strike the structure. The wheelhouse offset allows the operator to see the landing area.

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Ferries named Halifax (and Dartmouth) - Part 1

 The Halifax-Dartmouth ferry service must be one of the most reliable means of transportation in the Halifax area. It seems to operate no matter the weather. However for the first time in many moons it was shut down Sunday, February 15, 2015 during an intense rain and ice storm. People were asked to stay home and off the roads, due to the hazardous conditions. The ferries probably could have run, but for the safety of crews and to discourage travel they were out of service for the day.

Having featured ships named Halifax in several posts, the series would not be complete without mention of the several harbour ferries that have carried the name Halifax. Since the ferries were operated for many years by the Dartmouth Ferry Commission (to 1958), the Town of Dartmouth (to 1961) and the City of Dartmouth, the ferries usually operated in pairs, with a running mate named Dartmouth.

The Halifax - Dartmouth ferry service pre-dates the steamboat era, and was initially started with a paddle vessel, powered by horses on a treadmill. It was well into the steam age, and several boats later, before ferries were named for the two towns facing each other across the harbour.

HALIFAX (i) and DARTMOUTH  (i)

The first Halifax (i) ferry, a side paddle wheeler, dated from 1878 when it was built by William H.Baldwin of New Baltimore, NY with the patriotic name of States Rights. It was renamed Annex 2 in 1888 and was operating between Brooklyn, NY and Jersey City, NJ in 1890 when the Dartmouth Ferry Commission bought the ship. It sailed on its own via Yarmouth and arrived in Dartmouth June 26, 1890. On December 9, 1909 an arsonist set fire to the ship and it was so badly damaged that it was sold for scrap to Charles Brister.

Its running mate Dartmouth (i) came from the Burrell - Johnson Iron Co in Yarmouth, NS in 1888. It was a side wheel paddle steamer and operated for 47 years. Renamed Old Veteran in 1934 when a new Dartmouth (ii) was built, it was sold for scrap the same year and broken up in 1935. 

HALIFAX (ii) and DARTMOUTH (ii)
The next Halifax also lasted for a long time, logging 45 years in harbour service. Built in 1911 by Napier + Miller of Old Kilpatrick, Scotland it was a typical double ender, with rudders and props fore and aft, and corresponding wheelhouses. It had passenger cabins on each side of the hull with carriageways each side of the centre line funnel casing. Its delivery trip from started from Clydebank August 8, 1911, but was interrupted by storm damage, when the ferry put in to Lough Swilly three days later. What followed was a harrowing trip, with the boat continually swamped and pumped out only to be swamped again. A temporary bow, or breakwater, built at one end of the deck was smashed and the master was severely injured in a fall. However the boat arrived in Halifax towards the end of August but it took several months to get it in shape to operate.

Halifax (ii) approaches the Halifax ferry terminal in 1950.

After 45 years of service, the boat was sold for scrap in October 1956. However it was only reduced to a hulk and the hull was used as an equipment float by Construction Equipment Ltd (a division of Foundation Maritime.) but was undocumented, since it was no longer used for transportation purposes. 


Its fleet mate Dartmouth (ii) came from DavieShipbuilding+Repair in Lauzon, QC in 1934. It followed the proven double ender design with fore and aft screws and rudders and two wheelhouses.

  It was licensed for 550 passengers and could carry 18-20 vehicles. It lasted until 1957 when it was broken up at pier 9 in Halifax. Some of its components survived however. One of its wheelhouses was used in rebuilding the former Lurcher lightship as the coaster St-Yves.

 The lightship was converted in 1956-57 by Lunenburg Foundry, and in Halifax, and the coaster (and its recycled wheelhouse) worked on the St.Lawrence River until at least 1983 when the boat was finally lost or scrapped (accounts vary).


HALIFAX II  and DARTMOUTH II
With the opening of the  Angus L. Macdonald Bridge in 1956 the Dartmouth Ferry Commission realized that car and truck ferries were no longer needed, and ordered a pair of small pedestrian-only ferries.  They were originally intended to be steel vessels, but the tendered prices exceeded the budget. The ferry commission engaged W.J.Roue to redraw the plans for wood construction and Smith + Rhuland built the two boats in Lunenburg.

 
Halifax II was christened by Mrs. Dalton Randall (Capt. Randall was superintendent of the ferry operation) and launched July 27, 1956. Sister ferry Dartmouth II had been launched July 24, 1956 with Mrs. I.W. Akerley as sponsor (Mr. Akerley was the newly elected mayor of Dartmouth and chairman of the Ferry Commission).
The 171 grt boats were about 75 ft loa x 34.9 ft beam and were also double enders, with screws and rudders fore and aft, and two independently operated 260 bhp Cummins diesel engines. However the boats were operated from a single midships mounted wheelhouse. There were two cabins, port and starboard, originally designated for ladies and gentlemen, as were the previous generations of ferries, but they were soon integrated.

Orange chevrons were added in 1969 in an attempt to dress up the ferries' dowdy image, and were described as "mod". By the 1970s many passengers refused to use the cabins, which were described in the lingo of the day as "grotty", and remained out on deck in all weathers.

As the only boats in the fleet, they ran in tandem, without backups, between Halifax and Dartmouth until 1979. There were many incidents, and a few accidents over the years.

On December 23, 1963 Halifax II collided with the cable ship Lord Kelvin and then with sister Dartmouth II and sustained damage above the water line.

On July 26, 1979 Dartmouth II collided with he tug Point Viking acquiring a gaping hole 15 ft  x 7 ft above the waterline. Repairs were made with plywood, blanking out two windows on one side, to get the boat through to September when it was retired.

The most spectacular accident occurred January 29, 1977 when Dartmouth II parted her lines in a gale, went adrift and ran aground on the Dartmouth shore. It was towed off at high tide without damage by the tug Point Valiant.

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The boats' egg shaped hulls were quite durable and heavily fendered.

The boats were exceptionally sturdy and survived numerous bumps and scrapes when docking in Halifax and Dartmouth.

The pair served until September 9, 1979 when a new pair of ferries went into service. Although they only served for 23 years, they are well remembered as reliable - if funky.

The boats looked pretty drab by the time they were laid up, complete with plywood patches, and no attempt to repaint the chevrons.

Post ferry work, Dartmouth II ended up in LaHave, NS where it was advertised for sheriff's sale in April 1983, then again for sale in the Autotrader in June of the same year and still with its engines. By 1986 it was back in Halifax where it was converted to the non-propelled floating restaurant Lobsters Ahoy.

Dartmouth II at pier 25 undergoing conversion to a restaurant.

It berthed at the old ferry slip, where it sank October 18, 1992 when a bilge pump burned out.

The boat was raised and was next sighted in Liverpool. NS in 1996, where it was being dismantled.

Although Dartmouth II was raised, it was never repaired. Considerably worse for the wear, it was being dismantled in Liverpool in 1996.

It is likely that the hull was used for fish farming for a time, but I lost track of it after that. Its registration was finally closed April 2, 2000.

Halifax II seems to have traveled extensively after its ferry days.It was purchased by H.B.Nickerson + Sons Ltd of North Sydney, NS and reduced to a barge and renamed Labrador II . Its wheelhouse became the gatehouse at Sydney Engineering and Drydock Co (which Nickersons owned) , and its hull was spotted in Canso in 1992 and in Jeddore in 1993, apparently working its way back to Halifax! It looked like it was being used as a work float for dismantling some old trawlers, and probably did not survive long after that work was done.

Its registration was closed April 22, 2004.

Required Reading: For those interested in the history of the Dartmouth ferry service, the definitive story is contained in a book entitled Like a Weaver's Shuttle by Joan and Lewis Payzant. It was written in 1979 but can still be found on line and in used book shops.

To be continued for HALIFAX III and DARTMOUTH III