Transitions

 I guess most of us will be pleased to see the end of 2020. However there must certainly be widespread consternation about 2021 as to whether it will be more of the same, a return to normal or the advent of a "new" normal. A transition of some sort is inevitable.

There was also anxiety, but on a different scale, in the shipping world, fifty years ago as containers were making a significant impact on how cargo was transported. Hard as it is to believe today, Maersk Lines, now the world's largest container operator, was slow to make a commitment to containers. Much of its trade was with Asia where things were still done in the traditional way. Therefore Maersk was still building conventional cargo ships.

The handsome Clifford Maersk was built in 1969 by Bergens MV in Norway. A 10,918 gt, 14,159 dwt ship it was equipped with an array of two 25 tonne cranes, one 60 ton, one 30 ton, ten 10 ton and six 5 ton derricks! It had six holds, some of which were refrigerated and accessed through side doors. It also had tank space to carry latex, vegetable oil or molasses and high flash point liquids. Its massive 9 cylinder B+W main engine propelled the ship at 22.5 knots.

In this early 1971 photo at pier 36,  you can see Canron erecting a container crane at Halterm in the background, and so the writing was definitely on the wall as ACL and DART had already started serving Halifax with containers and RoRo.

By 1980 Maersk built a new, longer, cellular forebody for the ship and converted it to a 21,349 gt, 21,349 dwt container ship. They sold it in 1988, and renamed Jian He it lasted until 1988 when it was broken up in Tianjin.

Clara Maersk was built to the similar specs by Kockums MV, Malmo, Sweden in 1968, measuring 11,000 gt, and 14,164 dwt, with one 80 ton, one 25 ton, eight 10 ton and twelve 5 ton derricks. In 1980 it received a similar conversion with a wider, longer forebody, emerging as a 21,609 gt, 25,078 dwt container ship. It served as TFL Adams from 1984-1986, reverting to Clara Maersk until 1988 when it was sold and renamed Yi He. It was not broken up until May 2004. 

 

Another sister of the C class was Chastine Maersk, also built by Bergens MV, but in 1968. The 10,918 gt, 14,169 dwt ship was equally equipped with a veritable catalog of cargo gear.It therefore made for an awkward container carrier.

Later in 1980 it received a similar conversion with a new 11.6 m longer forebody, resulting in a 21,609 gt, 25,007 dwt ship. Sold and renamed Hui He in 1987 it was reportedly broken up in China in 2002.
 

Maersk was regularly serving Halifax in 1970 with several similar ships, including Trein Maersk.

Seen here at pier 37, with the Canadian coaster O.K.Service XI at pier 34, they were all handling cargo the old way with slings and palettes, although modern "towmotor" forklifts had taken the place of hand carts.

Built at Maersk's company owned Odense Staalskibs AS, in Denmark, but completed by Burmeister + Wain's Copenhagen shipyard, in 1962 Trein Maersk measured 12,310 gt and 14,387 dwt. Also powered by B+W its speed was listed as 21.75 knots. It was fitted out with one 80 ton, one 25 ton, eight 10 ton and twelve 5 ton derricks. 

By 1981 Maersk became fully committed to containers and they sold the ship. It became New Stallion but only lasted until 1985 when it was broken up in China.  

 

Sister ship Thomas Maersk also dating from 1962 and 12,310gt, 14,390 dwt was built entirely by B+W in Copenhagen. Sold in 1980 and renamed Sarika B it was scrapped in Kaohsiung in 1982.

Slightly older ships such as Lica Maersk were also smaller, with five holds.

Built in 1962 by AG Weser in Bremen, it was a 6365 gt, 9725 dwt ship also fitted with tanks for vegetable oil, latex or molasses and had a similar outfit of one 80 ton, two 15 ton and twenty 5 ton derricks. It also had side doors (just forward of the "E" in "LINE" and midway aft). Its 10,000 bhp B+W, fitted amidships, gave it a tamer 17.5 knots cruising speed. Ships of this class did not make the cut when it came to the container age, and were sent directly to Kaohsiung, where this one was scrapped in 1980.

 

Maersk eventually made a successful transition to the "new normal" (although it is being challenged for the number one spot by MSC as noted in yesterday's post) and its trademark blue hulls and seven pointed star continue to be seen in Halifax and in ports around the world.

 

 

 Shipfax wishes all its readers a successful transition into 2021 and a safe and prosperous new year.

.

COVID scare at BIO and CCG News

 The local newspaper reported in this morning's edition that contractors working on CCGS Jean Goodwill and CCGS Hudson exposed crew members to COVID-19 before the crews went home for Christmas breaks. The Coast Guard's response and method of communication with the crews are being questioned by the Chronicle-Herald and others.

As previously reported, the Bedford Institute, where the boats are based, is full up over the Christmas week:

CCGS Jean Goodwill, G.Peddle S.C., Captain Jacques Cartier, Hudson, Corporal McLaren M.M.V., M.Perley.

Among the ships at the base is CCGS M.Perley. It would normally be in winter layup, but a crew may be called to re-activate the ship to participate in the wreck location of the scallop dragger Captain William Saulis which was lost in the Bay of Fundy with all hands on December 15. Some debris has been found, and the body of one of the six crew has been recovered. However despite air and sea searches the wreck itself has not been located, nor the remaining crew. 

CCGS M.Perley as seen in 2018.

Built in 2012 by Méridien Maritime Réparations in Matane, QC, the 22m long, 211 gt vessel is used for nearshore fisheries research. However for this operation it would assist the CCGC North Light workboat with a Sonar search.

(Moses Perley (1804-1862) was appointed New Brunswick's Fisheries Commissioner in 1855 and was an early cataloguer of fish species in the region.)

.

More MSC

 There was another MSC ship at PSA Halifax today. This time it was the eastbound MSC Lorena from Montreal on the Turkey-Canada service.

I noted yesterday that MSC is well known for using older ships, often with interesting histories. MSC Lorena however has spent its entire career with MSC. From the time it was built in 2006 by Daewoo, Okpo, it has carried the same name. The 50,963 gt, 59,587 dwt ship with a capacity of 4860 TEU, including 500 reefers, was originally owned by Compton Overseas Equities Corp. In 2016 ownership was transferred to Pegasus Carriers. These are likely investment vehicles, giving no hint as to actual ownership.

MSC, which may surpass Maersk as the world's largest container line sometime in 2021, is apparently re-jigging its Canada services again, this time combining their Turkey-Canada Express with their Canada Express 2, running Montreal, Halifax, Valencia, Sines, Halifax, Montreal. The objective is to make the Atlantic crossings at maximum draft and cargo capacity. They will top up eastbound or lighter off westbound in Halifax to reduce draft to meet seasonal requirements for the St.Lawrence River's Quebec to Montreal section. This will allow them to use their ships as efficiently as possible. (It is impractical to build wide, shallow draft vessels exclusively for St.Lawrence service, although it has been done by some other lines, such as HAPAG-Lloyd.)

The ships that MSC operates were designed for world wide trade, and to restrict them to under 12m  draft means that they are carrying far less than their ideal capacity.  This photo of yesterday's visitor MSC Rochelle shows the lightly loaded ship on the St.Lawrence River.

So far we have seen MSC Poh Lin and MSC Rochelle stop in Halifax westbound and eastbound, and it looks like we will see ships on a weekly basis into the new year.

.

Some Boxes Moving, Oil too

 The port was back to full operation today with PSA Halifax working two ships. While there is no glitch in PSA's operations, there may be a delay for one of the lines it serves.

The Icelandic shipping line Eimskip's vessel Lagarfoss en route from Reykjavik for Halifax had a main engine breakdown December 27, while some 230 miles off Gardskagi. The Iceland Coast Guard took the ship in tow and it is due in Reykjavik, December 31. 

A dramatic night time photo on Eimskip's website shows the ICG making up the tow:

Icelandic Coast Guard photo

Not only does the Shipping line connect Iceland to eastern North America, it also works a feeder service from Halifax to the Boston area through Portland, Maine, carrying boxes for other lines such as CMA CGM.

Both ZIM and MSC had ships at PSA Halifax today. The ZIM ship was not one of their usual vessels, but was a spot charter,  ALS Apollo at Pier 42.

Built in 2009 by Samsung, Koje, the ship was launched as Benedict Schulte but delivered as UASC Jubail for a charter that last until 2015 when it reverted to its original name. It became APL Apollo in 2017. A 40,030 gt, 51,758 dwt vessel, it has a capacity of 4253 TEU.

At Pier 41, MSC Rochelle was making another call for MSC. It had called previously during the Montreal labour dispute in August. No official announcement has been made, but it seems MSC has decided to speed up its import (westbound) Europe -St.Lawrence service by calling Halifax first, at least for a trial period.

MSC is noted for operating older, but interesting, ships, and this one is no exception. Built in 1997 by Hyundai Ulsan, it is a 53,324 gt,, 62,000 dwt carrier with a 4688 TEU capacity. It started life as Pugwash Senator for a ten year charter. In 2007 it was renamed CSAV Appennini and in 2012 became Pugwash. After a short stint as MSC Curitiba in 2013 it reverted to Pugwash in 2014, but became MSC Rochelle later the same year.

The village of Pugwash on Nova Scotia's Northumberland Shore achieved renown when the industrialist Cyrus Eaton  (a native of the village) established a conference centre and conferences on science and world affairs, eventually winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995. 

Despite good close up observation from the breakwater, stacks of boxes block a clear view. As unloaded containers pass the "gear boxes" in the foreground, longshore workers remove connector twist locks, and deposit them in the boxes, which are returned to the ship.

Both Imperial Oil and Irving Oil had ships in today. The latter had Acadian, from Saint John, and the former has Atlantic Journey from Garyville, LA. a 29,256 gt, 49,999 dwt ship, built by Hyundai Mipo in 2018. I hope they had a paint warranty - the ship is looking very scruffy for only two years old.

 

This is the second ship in the last few days from Garyville, site of a Marathon Oil refinery. Imperial had been sourcing product from Antwerp until quite recently.

Speaking of scruffy, Imperial Oil has plans to upgrade the number three oil dock next year. The jetty and catwalks are badly deteriorated. They will also be installing mooring buoys that will allow ships to remain alongside in bad weather, but will likely need the services of a line boat to secure the ships' lines to the buoys.

.

 

More Big Ships

 There was another 10,000 TEU ship at PSA Halifax today, following on after yesterday's 10,000 TEU ship. As I have suggested previously, the novelty will soon wear off as the 10,000 TEU benchmark becomes commonplace.

Yesterday's caller was CMA CGM Chennai, a ship that has called here several times before, and is the first 10,000 TEU ship to be considered a "regular": http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2018/11/cma-cgm-chennai-10000-teu.html

Today's arrival is APL Gwangyang for its first visit. Built in 2012 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is a 113,735 gt, 123,159 dwt ship with a capacity of 10,700 TEU (including 700 reefers.) It berthed at Pier 41.

With the re-opening of the breakwater walkway it is possible to get a close up look at the ship, but  to get an overall view is difficult  except from the Dartmouth side of the harbour. 

    There was still lots of room at PSA Halifax, with the newly extended pier. so the ZIM feeder Tampa Trader looked very small at pier 42. [See http://shipfax.blogspot.com/2020/06/trading-closer-to-home.html  ]

.

A Merry Christmas

Thanks to the Longshore workers union it appears that the Port of Halifax will be quiet for a couple of days to celebrate Christmas. Overtime rates for unionized port workers are extremely high for Christmas day, which certainly discourages most shippers from scheduling ships. Even today, Christmas Eve, there were no arrivals or departures scheduled, and there did not appear to be any work on Niovi.GR which is in the process of loading wood pellets. (Not grain as per previous post).

Oceanex Sanderling was tied up at pier 36, with its RoRo ramp down, but no work going on this afternoon.

Given that there will be little activity in the harbour, there will also be little activity on this blog. However before signing off for a few days I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, hoping that the restrictions we are all experiencing will not be too onerous.

Business in the port may be quite busy between Christmas and New Year, so Shipfax is standing by for action.

.

Full House at BIO

 The Bedford Institute has a full house for the holidays and as a result is farming out some of its craft to other locations in the harbour. The Canadian Coast Guard in Halifax has added two ships to its fleet this year, with no retirements, so far, so space is at a premium.

CCGS Hudson returned to port December 4 for winter layup and will be in refit until the end of March. A cocoon has already been installed to permit some sort of climate controlled work on her decks.

The CCGS Alfred Needler is idle for Christmas, but not undergoing any specific major maintenance, so has taken up temporary residence at Pier 9.

Despite delivery of new vessels, Alfred Needler is scheduled to remain in service for some time to come, and in fact was scheduled for drydocking this month.

Also at BIO is CCGS Jean Goodwill, recently delivered, but not in full service yet. That may not happen until after March 31, so it will need to be alongside a lot until then.

Also the Capt. Jacques Cartier will be in port over Christmas, taking up some more dock space. Most research vessels do not go to sea during the holidays.

Even with the additional ships, BIO is still down two vessels from normal strength. CCGS Edward Cornwallis is in Vessel Life Extension at Shelburne and CCGS Earl Grey is in drydock in St.John's.

CCGS Sir William Alexander was in today, possibly for crew change, occupying the last open berth. It soon returned to SAR patrol.

.