Morning Christina and yes winter must be here

 The Eukor car carrier Morning Christina made a late morning arrival today, January 3, and docked directly at Autoport. I believe this is the ship's first call in Halifax, so it is worth a little extra note.

It was close to noon when the ship came into view, but because of heavy cloud cover onshore and clearing offshore it looked more like sunrise.

Imabari Shipbuilding constructed the ship at their Marugame shipyard in 2010. The 59,601 gt, 18,703 dwt ship has a reported capacity of 6,142 CEU. This is the typical size for Eukor ships, but is smaller than the usual such ships we see here. Those larger ships of up to 8,000 CEU usually belong to Wallenius Wilhelmsen - the parent of Eukor (Hyundai and Kia own 20% of Eukor.) The Eukor fleet now consists of about 80 ships. Some pooling of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean's ships and Eukor's ships has always existed - allowing ships to be reassigned as needed.

The size of the ship's funnel suggests that it is equipped with an exhaust gas scrubber system installed in an enclosed structure adjacent to the regular funnel casing.

Such is the demand for auto carriers in Asia than many of the larger ships have been assisgned to Asia routes, and slightly smaller ships such as Morning Christina will be seen on European and North Atlantic routes in additIon to their usual transPacific journies.

As an example of the world wide scope of these ships it is interesting to trace the Morning Christina's position over the past couple of months. It unloaded at Vancouver's Annacis Island October 20, 2023 then called in Nagoya and Toyohashi, Japan en route to the Suez Canal for November 29. It then proceeded to Sagunto (Valencia's auto port), Spain, December 4, Avonmouth (Royal Portbury Dock), UK December 9 and Zeebrugge December 11 to 15. It then followed the usual transatlantic path of Bremerhaven December 17-20 and Goteborg December 21-22.

And now for the other news:

Halifax boasts that it is an ice free port - and that is mostly true, however very thin ice does form from time to time in the shallow corners around Bedford Basin and has little if any effect on shipping. Where there is somewhat lower salinity, and very little wind and no ship traffic to disturb the water - and of course below freezing temperatures - ice does form. It was interesting to see today with a falling tide running in the Narrows that a very thin sheet of shorefast ice had broken free and was heading outbound. As the Navy tug Glenside made its way past the BIO and Pier 9C, there was the tinkling sound of ice cubes. There has been very little snow in Halifax, so the ice was as clear as mirror glass.

Also in port today, at PSA Halifax, Pier 42, was the CMA CGM Paranagua from Montreal on the joint CMA CGM /Maersk  transatlantic run. Ships on this service usually call in Halifax on the weekend outbound from Montreal for Bremerhaven, and run year round. This ship's schedule may have been disrupted by the holidays.

The Port of Montreal still observes the tradition of recognizing the first ship of the calendar year to arrive without stopping at an intermediate port. The event used to take place in the spring when the ice had broken out and it was safe to try for Montreal. The first arrival was often as late as May, but starting in the mid 1950s the first arrival came earlier and earlier until winter navigation became a reality on the St.Lawrence.  

The Helga Dan with its icebreaking bow and ice spotter's crows nest, was the pioneer of winter navigation on the St.Lawrence River. In 1964 it was the first ship ever to reach Montreal in January.It also called in Halifax from time to time with cargo from Sweden for the Volvo assembly plant.

Nowadays the first ship of the year usually arrives in Montreal on January first and the Port presents the master of that ship with a gold headed cane.  (This year it was the Helena G on January 2.)

Winter navigation certainly changed the way the Port of Halifax worked, as it had long been one of the "Winter Ports" (with Saint John, NB and Portland, Maine) that handled the Quebec City and Montreal ships for three to four months of the year. In the pre-container days this meant that a huge workforce of several hundred longshoremen was needed to load and unload ships. Passenger ships were also diverted to Halifax for the winter

Winter navigation on the St.Lawrence, coupled with the opening of the St.Lawrence Seaway was then followed by containerisation but none proved to be the death knell for Halifax. Interestingly Halifax and Montreal maintain a symbiotic relationship to this day, but are still rivals for transatlantic and other cargoes, but now year round. 

 

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Arrivals of Note (and Footnote)

 Among the arrivals in Halifax today, January 2, 2024, there were some notable ones.

The tanker Harbour Pioneer was noteworthy on a couple ofcounts. Firrst was that it arrived at Irving Oil's Woodside terminal from New York. By far the majority of ships that arrive at that dock are Irving Oil's own (albeit long term chartered) tankers, doing their rounds delivering product for local consumption from Irving's own refinery in Saint John, NB. Irving Oil also receives refined product at that dock from its own sources in Europe, shipped out of Amsterdam, but those shipments have been relatively rare lately.

Second point of interest is the ship's size. Instead of the usual MidRange ship of about 50,000 deadweight tonnes coming from Europe or the 37,500 dwt of its own tankers, the Harbour Pioneer is a mere 13,239 gt, 19,122 dwt. Built in 2010 by Yangfan in Zhoushan, China, it is owned by Vierte Nordtank of Hamburg. Ships of that company are well known Great Lakes callers but are seen here only once in a long while. I note the ship has enclosed bridge wings so it is likely Ice Class, as the prefix "Nord" in the company name implies.

I can also assume that the ship is carrying some small "package" of needed component such as winter fuel additive for local blending or some less commonly used product.

Another arrival has been the subject of some speculation (mine).

The Athina III is a 39,037 gt, 73,305 dwt Panamax bulk carrier, built in 2004 by Namura Shipbuilding Co Ltd at the Imari Shipyard + Works in Japan. It was delivered as the Ioannis Zafirakis and renamed Athina III in 2018 by the current owners Salvia Shipping, and the management of Eastern Mediterranean Maritime.

The ship arrived in Quebec City December 25 having departed Al Fujayrah, UAE anchorage November 19. It transited the Suez Canal November 28-29 and bunkered in Gibraltar December 7. After unloading in the Sillery section of the Port of Quebec (which has bulk cargo storage and distribution facilities) it departed December 29 and anchored off Halifax January 1.

When spotted from shore yesterday (see previous post) the ship appeared to be loaded, but that was a view from sea level, and was misleading. From closer up today, the ship appears to be in ballast and therefore will take a full load in Halifax, not just a top-up. The ship has a history of carrying soybeans, and that is likely what it will load here.

 As you will have noticed from today's two photos, the angle of view and focal length of the camera lens can distort the appearance of the ship, exagerating its proportions.

The autocarrier  Thermopylae made a return visit today. The ship made a quick turn around after it last visit on November 27, 2023. It sailed from here on November 28 and called at Baltimore December 1, Gothenburg December 15, Bremerhaven December 17-18, Zeebrugge December 20 and Southampton December 22-24. On this trip it is carrying only cars for Halifax, so went directly to Autoport, without dropping RoRo cargo at Pier 9C as it did last time.

The first ship of the HERO class (High Efficiency RoRo). it was delivered in 2015 by Hyundai Samho, Mokpo. The 75,283 gt, 23,786 dwt ship can carry 8,000 RT43 class cars and uses a 320 tonne SWL stern ramp.

With port operations now back to normal after the holidays, two container ships arrived from offshore where they had been idling. ONE Wren tied up at Pier 41 and MOL Experience at PSA Fairview Cove. I expect the Atlantic Sail, arriving later today, will have interchange cargo for the idle Nolhan Ava which has been "parked" at Pier 9C. Tropic Lisette at Pier 42 resumed cargo operations today too and is due to sail at the end of the working day.

 Footnote

It is a good time to thank everyone who has supported this blog during the past year with comments including the always welcome corrections, and to add Best Wishes for 2024.

I do not monotize this blog, so I receive no financial reward for readership totals. But I do welcome readers to sign up as followers. 

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Waiting

New Year's Day is a holiday, and there is usually no work in the port and January 1, 2024 was no exception, with only two commercial vessels in  the harbour, and both idle.

At Pier 42 the Tropical Lissette was patiently waiting for the end of the holiday period to resume work.

 At Pier 9C it was the Nolhan Ava laying over for the holidays, before returning to its usual weekly trips to St-Pierre et Miqueon and Argentia. (December 30 photo)

Meanwhile offshore two ships could be seen at the anchorages with Devil's Island partially blocking the view.

The larger ship is the ONE Wren a 14,026 TEU container ship. It is expected to move in to PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway tomorrow.

Astern of it is the Panamax bulker Athina III also due tomorrow at Pier 28 to take a top-up load of grain or soyabeans. The ship loaded in Quebec City, but due to draft restrictions on the St.Lawrence River it could not take a full cargo. (Some sources have identified the ship as the crude oil tanker Athina, but this was an error on someone's part.)

Otherwise the port was very quiet with ships settled in for the winter. Among them is the museum ship Acadia at an unusual berth. Due to planned construction activity at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the Halifax side of the harbour, the ship was moved to the forner Coast Guard base in Dartmouth. Now the home base for COVE - the Centre for Ocean Ventures and Entrepreneurship - It is also the base for several active research ships.

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Mystery 1 - solved

 As for yesterday's (December 30, 2023) Mysteries, thanks to a reader, Mystery #1 has been solved.

The bulk carrier Seahope put into Halifax for bunkers. Hardly surprising as the ship had sailed from Brazil to Port Alfred / LaBaie with a cargo of bauxite for RioTinto Alcan. I did not see the ship taking bunkers - which must be brought to the ship  by truck - so was puzzled by why it arrived here.

The ship apparently sailed from Port Alfred for orders, and since they did not know where they might be headed next, taking bunkers was a good plan, and Halifax was the nearest port to do that.

While in Halifax they received orders to proceed to New Orleans to load a cargo of soybeans for the Dominican Republic. The latter nation is a major importer and a significant exporter of soybeans. The careful cleaning of the hold would thus be important to avoid polluting a food grade product.

I don't usually mention the flag state of ships. So many ships fly flags of convenience, where the country of registration is unrelated to the nationality of the beneficial owner, that flag is largely irrelevant to ship watchers. The Seahope for instance is beneficially owned, and managed from Greece (the N on the funnel is for Navarone SA of Athens) but is registered in the Marshall Islands, where the port of registry is Majuro. The Republic of the Marshall Islands has become the third largest flag of convenience for shipping after Panama and Liberia. 

Reasons for selecting a flag of convenience are many, but the flag states have their own regulations such as vessel ownership rules, tax structures, labour regulations and vessel standards that make registering a ship in one the many states that cater to such use more convenient and financially beneficial to the owners and managers. It is a big topic and controversial - particulary in labour circles - and much too large a subject for a paragraph here and there.

As to why some Canadian ships flag out to foreign countries for the winter, it is generally agreed that the ability to hire foreign cews, at significantly lower wages than Canadian unionized crews, is the main reason. With those international crew rates the Canadian owned ships can thus compete for work with other foreign ships. The alternative of laying up ships for six or more months of the year is a costly one and with no income coming in, gives little incentive to be a ship owner at all.

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Mystery Bulker, Mystery Move

Shipfax never claims to be all-knowing, and this is especially evident today, December 30, when there are events in the harbour that were not at first evident to our all-seeing eye.

Event #1

First was the arrival of the Handysize builk carrier Seahope to Pier 9C. 

 The ship arrived last night (December 29) from La Baie (Port Alfred) QC where it unloaded a cargo of bauxite from the Alumar terminal in Porto di Itaqui, Brazil. When seen this afternoon, two of the ship's hatch covers were cracked open, indicating that the crew was at work cleaning the holds in preparation for the next cargo. Meticulous cleaning is necessary if the ship is to load food grade cargo, and it is the season to do that. The ship must pass a rigorous inspection before it would be allowed to load a food product.With the ship due to sail this evening, I wonder why they came to Halifax to clean the hold. Perhaps it would be too rough todo the work at sea or maybe the ship was doing some self-maintenance that required its main engine to be shut down.

The Seahope was built in 2012 by Yangfan Group in Zhoushan as the Bufflehead and was on charter to Canfornav (Canadian Forest Navigation) until 2019. Canfornav ships, named for species of waterfowl, are usually painted green and are regular callers to ports on the St.Lawrence River and Great Lakes. Evidence of a hasty repainting is evident about midships where the dark red of the after part of the hull changes abruptly to a faded pinkier tone.

The 19,943 gt, 32,922 dwt ship carries four 30 tonne cranes. Navarone SA, of Athens, manage most, if not all, Canfornav ships and have managed this ship since new. It changed owners and was renamed in 2019. The current anonymous proprietors, Seahope Shipping Inc, may still be carrying cargo for Canfornav, as ships from that fleet are among the few ships to load grain / soy in Halifax in recent years. 

Event #2 

As container ships go, thirty year olds are rare. With the upcoming predicted glut of new ships coming out over the next two years, ships of that vintage will become even rarer sightings. Although the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has long been known for maximizing the use of older ships. today's (December 30) thirty year old arrival from Montreal on the Canada Express 2 service is old even for MSC.

The  MSC Roberta V was built in 1993 by Samsung, Koje (now Geoje) and started out as one of eight sister ships built for Hapag-Lloyd. Named Stuttgart Express it was a 53,815 gt, 67,640 dwt ship with a capacity of 4,422 TEU. (Ships of that class were regular callers in Halifax.)

In 2015 MSC acquired the ship and renamed it MSC Roberta. In 2022 they added the Roman numeral "V" to the name, to indicate a container capacity of less than 5,000 TEU. At some point they also equipped the ship with an exhaust gas scrubber system. 

The ship arrived in Halfax to top up cargo that would have increased the ship's draft beyond St.Lawrence River limits. This is a regular occurrence, but what is unusual is that after working PSA Halifax Gateway Pier 42, the ship is due to move to PSA Fairview Cove. It is virtually unheard of that one ship would work cargo at both terminals. The careful pre-arrangement of cargo arriving by truck and rail (and feeder ships) would normally preclude such an unusual event. Perhaps the upcoming holiday, or the late arrival of cargo, from say Newfoundland, by feeder ship, might be the explanation. There would be no way to shuttle the boxes by land from one terminal to the other outside normal hours.

According to most sources the ship's next classification survey is due tomorrow - December 31, 2023 . I assume that such a survey must be done in a shipyard, unless the ship is headed for the breakers, but in any event to have valid classification must be a high priority for any shipowner. Other sources indicate that the current classification is valid until November 11, 2025. It also appears that the ship was re-insured December 21, and may have changed classification society at that time.

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Another storm day

 Another storm passed over the region today with high winds and rain. Pilotage operations were suspended until mid-afternoon, with several ships standing by offshore waiting to enter port and some in port waiting to leave.

Picture taking conditions were less than ideal, with somewhat reduced visibility in the rain and some fog. As the old expression goes it was good weather for ducks.

CSL Tacoma was inbound for Gold Bond Gypsum as soon as pilotage operations were resumed at 1500 hrs AST. A small population of ducks, apparently mallards, stood by off Black Rock beach. There is a regular goup of about 30 mallards that stay around the area.

For the winter birders - the cormorants are gone for the winter, no eiders have yet been seen, some Canada geese are lingering in Eastern Passage near Shearwater and the usual lone Little Gull has arrived in the Pier 20 area. (December 23 photo).

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Kopit Hopson 1752 makes a move

 The CCGS Kopit Hopson 1752 made a move today (December 28), but it was not without assistance - nor was it very far.

The buoy tender / light icebreaker was built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel, QC in 1981. A Vessel Life Extension project was awarded to Irving Shipbuilding Inc (ISI) in March 2020, with the work to carried out at the Shelburne Marine Shipyard. When ISI sold the Shelburne yard the ship was towed to Halifax in March 2022 and tied up at the Bedford Institute. Reports at the time indicated that the refit was nearly complete, but it was not until December 2022 that the ship carried out sea trials and was handed over to the Canadian Coast Guard. 

The ship conducted more trials in April 2023 but until today it has not moved from its berth. Even this move was conducted by RCN tugs Glenside, Granville and Merrickville as a "cold move" and only to an adjacent berth at BIO (the one recently vacated by the Alfred Needler).

 It appears that the CCG's resources in the Nova Scotia / New Brunswick region may be stretched a bit thin, as the research trawler Teleost (which was due for retirement), and which is based in Newfoundland, has been pressed into Search and Rescue Patrol duties in Nova Scotia. Certainly having the Kopit Hopson in service during buoy removal / winter replacement season would be helpful. Since all CCG ships are multi-tasked, it would also be available for SAR petrol during the busy southwest Nova Scotia lobster season.

As for the other Halifax based CCG ships, the CCGS Sir William Alexander and CCGS Jean Goodwill are currently assigned to SAR patrol and Navaids work in Nova Scotia while CCGS Earl Grey is doing buoy work in Prince Edward Island.

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