Verity for Tampa

Algoma Verity sailed this morning for Tampa, Fl with its cargo of gypsum.

Transiting the Narrows gives a view of the grab crane/ hopper/ conveyor self-unloading system. 

The ship took two days to load - a bit longer than most ships, likely due to having to work around the awkward self-unloading system, but also because some of the gypsum in National Gypsum's Wright's Cove stockpile may have been frozen. [see also yesterday's post.]

Reading the ship's draft marks forward (midships have been obliterated) it appears the ship is drawing about 11.5m which would represent 47 to 48,000 deadweight tonnes - very close to the ship's winter capacity. See the ship's spec sheet - especially the pdf attachment:https://www.cslships.com/en/csl-americas/fleet/vessels-and-specs/algoma-verity

The Narrows was the place to be today - see Tugfax for more of the action.

.

Follow ups

Less than ideal photos of several ships recently left a challenge to do a bit better.

The November 9 photo of Atlantic Sky alongside Fairview Cove taken from Granbury Place in Fairview was one of those, and today's ideal conditions gave a chance to catch the ship as it approached the MacKay bridge inbound.

The ship is on the eastbound leg of its trip and is due to sail over night for Liverpool.

I wasn't able to improve much on the July 18 [http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2019/07/harbour-round-up.html  ] photo of Algoma Verity but today's shot does underline the point that when Algoma took over the former Alice Oldendorff they did not plan to do much repainting.

In today's photo, the shoreside traveling loader is working on the forward holds, and so the unloading boom is not swung out over the dock, but is raised to allow the loader access to the hatches.

The green spar buoy is H-39 Seaview Point, and opposite Bedford Institute and marks the  entrance to the Narrows from Bedford Basin.

[No there is no view of the sea, but that was the name for a park in the area. In 2011 the park was renamed Africville Park officially, in recognition of the community that was located in the area until the 1960s . When Africville was razed to build the bridge approaches and as part of so called urban renewal, the area not used for the roadways was made into a park and named Seaview Park. A community church in the area, named Seaview African United Baptist Church was demolished in 1969. As part of the civic apology for the mis-treatment of Africville residents in 2002, a replica church has been built, the area has been declared a national historic site and the park renamed. ]

A sculpture in the park pays tribute to the Africville residents who died in the Halifax Explosion - largely unrecognized. The community was severely damaged in the 1917 blast that occurred  nearby.

Also arriving today is the Zim feeder Hansa Meersburg referenced October 31 when it made its first call: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2019/10/tropical-surprise-and-mystery-guest.html

Arriving just at sunset, the ship caught a few last rays.

.

Seasonal Change

After yesterday's wild winds and driving rain, it was colder, clearer air today. The fresh breeze did not hinder shipping, but it certainly felt more like late autumn as temperatures dipped below freezing.

Far from the equatorial headquarters of its owners, Unicorn Moon Pte Ltd of Singapore, Leopard Moon was discharging cargo at Imperial Oil's number 3 dock. Built in 2013 by SPP Shipbuilding in Tongyeong, South Korea, it is a 29,939 gt, 49,999 dwt product tanker. In a bit of a change from recent deliveries from Antwerp, this one appears to be from Baton Rouge, LA. Exxon Mobil operates a giant 503,000 bbl/day refinery in the port city located just over 200 miles up the Mississippi from the Gulf of Mexico.

Clearing for Rotterdam the Hooge made its way to sea early this afternoon, allowing for a clear photo  unencumbered by the fences in my November 9 report.

The crane set up is interesting, allowing a clear deck space between for four stacks of forty foot containers. On this trip access to number three hold was kept clear for discharging its nickel sulfide cargo. This is a unique trip for this ship as the Nirint Schedule shows the ships Geeske taking over this slot but with no call in Halifax until January.

Hooge is one of six sister ships in the Briese Schiffahrt fleet, all named for islands in the North Frisian group.

.

USS Indianapolis

The Freedom class Littoral Combat Ship USS Indianapolis LCS 17 arrived this morning at the same time as the first wave of high winds and heavy rains.

Tugs Atlantic Fir and Spitfire III met up with the ship while it was inbound east of George's Island.

Built by Fincantieri's Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, the ship was commissioned in Burns Harbor, Indiana on October 26. It made its way down through the Lakes and Seaway, sometimes with tug escort, and a brief stopover in Quebec City. It is en route to its home port of Mayport, FL.

This is the ninth ship of its class built in Marinette, and all have called in Halifax on their delivery trips.

Hardy crew members took up station on deck when even Halifax gulls decided to remain on shore.

.

November 11

November 11 is observed as Remembrance Day and most activity comes to a halt at least for a minute at 11:00 am, the hour of the Armistice that ended World War I. As might be expected there are numerous memorial sites around Halifax recognizing the contributions from various communities and the different armed services.

Nevertheless (shamefully) the day is not a statutory holiday in Nova Scotia, so many businesses remain open and industries such as construction and shipbuilding continue unabated. Some enlightened employers however do close their doors for the day and allow their employees to observe the day in their own ways.

At Halifax Shipyard it was a regular working day, with the newly launched AOPS2 (future Margaret Brooke pennant number 431) alongside at pier 6, after yesterday's float off (and yes Shipfax did not observe that operation).

Halterm welcomed Tropic Lissette for Tropical Shipping on the usual Monday schedule. The ship was off for one trip due to some mechanical issues, and may still have some deficiencies, but is at least back in service.

Cerescorp had two ships at Fairview Cove. CLI Pride is back again after several trips to Montreal and is now headed back to Rotterdam.

The much larger Budapest Bridge had the whole terminal to itself later in the day after CLI Pride sailed.

Even National Gypsum got in on the act today with CSL Tacoma sailing this morning for Savannah with less than a full load.

Siem Hanne was alongside at the southernmost end of pier pier 9B, and late in the day the Atlantic Condor arrived for pier 9C north.

One of the most attended Remembrance Day services is at the naval memorial at Point Pleasant Park. Seen from Purcell's Cove shortly after the end of the service, it was a particularly fine day to linger along the shore while poppies were placed at the base of the monument.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the service - and maybe not noticed by participants, was the aggregation of seals on rocks just off the point as the service progressed. From one seal at the start of the service, there were at least six by the time eleven o'clock had passed.

.

Saturday business

It was typical Saturday business in Halifax, despite a light dusting of snow over night.

It was back to more typical sized ships as CMA CGM Norma arrived at Halterm and tied up at pier 41. Built in 2006 by Hyundai, Samho, it is a 107,711 gt, 113,999 dwt vessel with a capacity of 9415 TEU, including 700 reefers.

Maersk Patras tied up at pier 42. It is a regular on the five ship rotation usuallly calling on Saturday  from Montreal.

It was a different ship for Nirint's service from Cuba at pier 31. Hooge flies the Gibraltar flag while sailing in the Briese fleet.

Dating from 2006 when it was built by Shandong Weihai, the 15633 gt, 16,986 dwt ship has a capacity of 1306 TEU (870 if loaded to 14 tonnes) and has a pair of 45 tonne cranes. Both cranes were working today to unload bagged nickel cargo. (I would not have taken a picture through so many fences if it had not been a first time caller.)

The PCTC Morning Crystal managed to squeeze in at the adjacent pier 27 to unload RoRo cargo.

With a capacity of 6,215 cars, the ship can also carry a variety of wheeled cargo, some of which will be offloaded at pier 27. Built in 2011 by Imabarai Zosen in Marugame, the ship measures 59,524 gt, 18,918 dwt.

.

The Big Move - Part 1

Saturday, November 9 - the day for the big move of Boabarge37 from Halifax Shipyard to Bedford Basin seems to have come off without a hitch.

The barge's payload, AOPS #2 (the future HMCS Margaret Brooke) had been rolled aboard and secured on the barge deck.

With three tugs in attendance, the barge was eased out into the stream off pier 6 and guided through the Narrows to Bedford Basin.

Once clear of the Narrrows the barge took up position just north of anchorage 7, where it will be readied for float off tomorrow morning.

.