Quebec Report #1

Having established a reliable internet connection in Quebec I am now able to post at will. I won't be posting every day, but today's superb weather made for some good photo opportunities.

There were many ships in the river today, and with an incoming tide late in the afternoon, lighting was ideal. At my location about 90 miles northeast of Quebec City, most ships time their upbound trips to take advantage of a knot or two of rising tide. This may not seem like a lot, but the alternative is to fight a falling tide, which can be considerably stronger, especially at pinch points like Ile-aux-Coudres and Quebec City.

First upbound that I caught was NCC Noor, a 29,163 grt, 45,565 dwt mid-range tanker of the National Chemical Carriers fleet of Saudi Arabia, now part of the "Bahri" brand. Nevertheless it flies the Panama flag.
 

It was built in 2011 by SLS Shipbuilding Co in Tongyeong, South Korea.

Next along was the Wagenborg ship Aragonborg. Its destination was the nearby wharf at Pointe-au-Pic, where it will be paper for export to Europe. Royal Wagenborg is one of the prime forest product carriers.

It was built in 2010 by Hudong-Zhonghua in Shanghai and measures 11,885 grt, 17,294 dwt. It has moveable tween decks and three 60 tonne cranes. After a few days loading paper from the Resolute mill in Clermont, it will sail to Baie-Comeau to take on more.

A few minutes later it was another mid-range tanker BW Osprey, 290,768 grt, 49,999 dwt, built in 2015 by SPP Shipbuilding Co in Goseong, South Korea.

The distinctive hull colours of BW Tankers from Singapore certainly sets them out from the rest. BW apparently stands for Bergesen Worldwide, a name adopted by World Wide Shipping (of Hong Kong) when it acquired Bergesen of Norway. It is presently has the world's largest fleet of VLCCs.

The last upbound in daylight was Algoma Integrity. After a lengthy winter layup in Montreal it has only recently resumed service carrying iron ore from Port-Cartier to Contrecouer in a constant  shuttle service.

The former Gypsum Integrity to 2015t it was built in 2009 to sail from Hantsport, NS, but that was a short-lived job. After US Gypsum shut down its mine nearby the ship was chartered out and eventually sold.
 Built in Rio de Janeiro by EISA-Ilha it measures 33,047 grt, 47,701 dwt.

To watch for

Watch for the Atlantic Pilotage Authority's new pilot boats. As mentioned in a previous post, crews are putting the boats through their paces before they go into service.

This morning the Nova Pilot was on trials at pier 23. Expect to see them accompanying ships out to the pilot station, but not actually boarding pilots. Nova Pilot and Scotia Pilot will replace the venerable A.P.A.No.1 in Halifax and be available to replace other boats as they go in for refits.

A.P.A.No.1 (left) will be replaced. The new boats have heated decks and rails which will make it safer for pilots in freezing spray conditions. Chebucto Pilot (right) was built with heated decks and rails, but they have not functioned properly. (February 14, 2017 photo)

.

Off Watch and thank you

 Veendam outbound in the main channel, Reykjafoss (Eimskip) inbound in the western channel, Fritz Reuter (Melfi) oubound in the western channel and Vega Omega (Tropical) outbound in the main channel.

Shipfax will be going off watch, as far as Halifax Harbour is concerned, for the next few weeks. Periodic reports may follow, but they will be few and far between and may be filed from far away places.

Thanks to everyone who came to my exhibition, which is now closed. Thanks also for the many kind comments. If you missed it, I hope to have an online version sometime this fall.

.

Themis ramps it down

The large autocarrier Themis made its first call in Halifax today, on a very gloomy morning. It stopped first at pier 31 to unload some wheeled machinery and in the afternoon moved to Autoport to unload cars.

As soon as the ship was made fast it began to lower its giant stern ramp.

Built in 2016 by Hyundai Samho, the ship has a capacity of 8,000 cars, but can carry a variety of RoRo cargo too. Its 320 tonne capacity stern ramp allows for some very heavy loads. The ship is owned by Toda Shipping and managed by MMS Co Ltd. It sails for Wilhelmsen Lines under the Wallenius Wilhelmsen banner. Its gross tonnage is 75,283 with a deadweight tonnage of 23,786.

.

Atlantic Conveyor - finale

This may be my final posting on the Atlantic Conveyor except perhaps for a report that she has headed for the scrap yard. Her arrival today is likely her last westbound trip, and since I will be away when she makes the return eastbound call next week, today was also my last chance to see the ship.
As the last Atlantic Container Liners (ACL) G3 in operation it is worth repeating some of the history that I have recounted before.

 Atlantic Conveyor passes Meagher's Beach this moring, to be joined by its escort tug Spitfire III.

The ship was launched July 12, 1984 at Swan Hunter on the Waalsend-Neptune yard on the Tyne and made her maiden call  in Halifax February 1, 1985. Named Atlantic Conveyor by her owners, Cunard Steam Ship Co Ltd, she was was the second ship to carry that name.  The first Atlantic Conveyor was also a product of Swan Hunter Shipbuilders Ltd from their Walker yard in Newcastle in 1970. It was one of the second generation (G2) series built for service with ACL and was a regular Halifax caller. 

The first Atlantic Conveyor taking water at the pier 36 RoRo ramp. This was its regular berth until the Halterm container terminal was completed.

A steam turbine ship, it needed to replenish its fresh water supply from time to time..

It served ACL until 1982 when it was requistioned by the UK Minister of Defence for service in the Falklands War. Fitted out to carry military supplies, it was not armed. On May 26, 1982 it was struck by two exocet missiles from Argentinian aircraft. Unspent propellant ignited a fire that gutted the ship, killing twelve including the ship's long time master, Capt. Ian North, well known in Halifax. The seven helicopters that were on board were also destroyed and many other supplies. Prince Andrew witnessed the strike and was first on scene in his helicopter to lift off survivors. It sank a few days later in tow.
 

 A few months before lenghtening, Atlantic Conveyor arrives in Halifax.

 The second Atlantic Conveyor arrived at Scott Lithgow Ltd in Greenock, Scotland July 14, 1987 and was lengthened 42m (to 291.92m) , increasing its capacity substantially. RoRo capacity was increased by 3570m2, containers by 336 TEU (to 2908) , cars by 500 units, and its engine increased by 3,670 bhp (to 27,398 bhp) . That engine, a massive 6 cylinder B+W was built under license by John G. Kincaid, also in Greenock. The ship was already distinguished by the turtleback cowl over its forepeak - unique amongst all the ACL G3s. All the other G3s were lengthened by Hyundai Mipo.

 

The lengthened Atlantic Conveyor passes the Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard, monopolizing the Narrows.

Through the various re-arrangements of ownership of ACL, Atlantic Conveyor has at various times flown the British and Bahamas flags, but since 2003 it has flown the Swedish flag, as ownership is vested in Atlantic Container Lines AB, which in turn is owned by the Grimaldi Group.

Outbound this evening after 32 years.

.

Roundup

With the annual Shipfax vacation about to start soon, it seems like a good time to do a small round up of pending events.

The Atlantic Pilotage Authority has acquired a pair of high speed pilot boats to supplement their  fleet. The boats were built in the Netherlands and had seen service for Sima Charters in the UK before they were acquired this spring. Their trip to Halifax was an interesting one. From the port of Waalhaven, they were lifted aboard the Icelandic cargo ship Bakkafoss on June 17. On arrival in Reykjavik they were unloaded and then transferred to the Reykjafoss for the trip to Halifax. On arrival here July 1 they were unloaded and moved to Dominion Diving's facility at Dartmouth Cove for final fit out.

The two boats have now been renamed Nova Pilot (the former SC Lynx) and Scotia Pilot (ex SC Cheetah) both were built in Huesden, Netherlands by ShipInstall BV. Although they are  built to the same basic design they are slightly different.

Nestled in at Dartmouth Cove, the pair have recovery platforms on the stern and lifting cradles to recover persons from the water.

Nova Pilot was built in 2010 and is powered by two Volvo engines totalling 1144 kW (1400 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce water jets for a top speed of 24 knots.

Scotia Pilot was built in 2011 (according the previous owners, but 2012 according to Transport Canada) and is powered by a pair of Caterpillar engines totaling 1304 kW (1748 hp) and driving a pair of Rolls Royce waterjets for a maximum speed of 26 knots.

The boats are both 18.5m long by 5.6m breadth with a draft of 21.1m and can carry 12 persons with a range of about 300 miles.
They are also fitted with second steering station outside and extensive man overboard recovery gear. Other fittings include heated deck and hand rails.

Scotia Pilot returning from a practice run with the outbound Ningdo Express in the Middle Ground area, but the regular pilot boat Chebucto Pilot did the actual disembarking at the pilot station.

The ferry Dartmouth III has completed drydocking in Sambro, but is still undergoing some work alongside the government wharf. The new owners plan to sail the vessel to Toronto via the Gulf of St.Lawrence with many stops along the way.

Amongst the fishing vessels at the Sambro government wharf, Dartmouth III looks very much out of place.  Sharp eyes will detect that its name is applied to a plate which presumably covers a new name that will not be revealed until it reaches its now home in Toronto.

Speaking of long trips through the St.Lawrence system, the little bunkering tanker Arca I that got into trouble last winter and ran ashore in Cape Breton, has finally departed from Sydney on its way to its new home in Mexico. This time it is on board the heavy lift ship HHL Tokyo departing Sydney July 19 and now travelling in comfort and safety.

An interesting yacht visited Halifax last week, and sailed this morning, so if you didn't see it, here are some photos.

Silver Cloud is the world's first SWATH type yacht. The Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull design uses small diameter twin hulls to reduce water plane area and increase efficiency through the water. The two cylindrical hulls (11 feet in diameter in the case of the Silver Cloud) are bridged by the ship's deck making a roomy and stable catamaran.
 

This one was built in 2008 by Abeking and Rasmussen in Lemwerder, Germany and measures 134 feet long x 58 feet wide, and has generous accommodation for five guests and five crew. It features all the usual amenities and bells and whistles and can accommodate a small helicopter (of course).

With a Latin dance party going on at full blast on the adjacent dock, I hope the yachters had good sound proofing.

 

For this yacht, there are numerous on line links with many interior photos, and even identification of the owner:
http://yachtsilvercloud.com/index.htm

This is not the first SWATH type craft to call in Halifax,. In fact one of the earliest SWATHs is CCGS Federick G. Creed, built by Swath Ocean Systems Inc of San Diego, CA in 1988 and lease / purchased by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in 1989. Although it sailed out of Halifax for a time it has been based at the Maurice Lamontagne Institute in Mont Joli, QC and rarely leaves the confines of Gulf of St.Lawrence conducting marine research.

As  originally painted in white oceanographic colours, Frederick G. Creed approaches a dock in Halifax.

In Fisheries and Oceans colours, and as a Coast Guard ship, the vessels passes George's Island inbound to Halifax.

.

Siem Cicero on maiden voyage

The auto carrier Siem Cicero made its first arrival in Halifax today on its first revenue trip (aka its maiden voyage).

The ship was launched as recently as November 12, 2016 by Uljanik shipyard in Pula, Croatia, one of three new auto carriers under construction for Auto Marine Transport Inc of the Cayman Islands. It is on charter to and managed by Siem Car Carriers Inc of Norway. (The Siem group of companies includes Secunda Marine of Halifax and St.John's and is active in offshore work among other shipping interests).

The ship was delivered about June 30 and voyaged to Emden, Germany where it took on its first load. While sailing on July 13 it lost its ability to steer, through some sort of software glitch and ran aground in the River Ems. It was pulled off without damage and was able to resume its trip the next day.

The ship measure 56,677 grt and 17,416 dwt and has a capacity of approximately 7,000 cars.

There are several videos of its impressive stern first launch, including on Siem Carrier's web site: http://www.siemcarcarriers.com/siem-cicero-launch-12th-november-2016/

.