Still more bulk and container swap

Bulkers

 There was another bulk carrier arrival this morning, January 13, but this one was more typical for Halifax than yesterday's bulkers [see previous post]. The Algoma Integrity is in from Jacksonville for Gold Bond to load gypsum.

The Algoma Integrity is passing the A. Murray MacKay bridge inbound to the Gold Bond dock in Bedford Basin with a tethered stern escort tug, the Atlantic Fir.

 The Algoma Integrity was built in 2009 by EISA- Ilha in Rio de Janeiro for Gypsum Transportation as the Gypsum Integrity. The 33,047 gt, 47,761 dwt ship was meant to service the export facilities in Hantsport and Little Narrows, NS. When parent company United States Gypsum shut down their Canadian mining operations in 2010 the ship and its sister Gypsum Centennial worked globally for Beltship Management. Algoma Central Corp acquired and renamed the Gypsum Integrity in 2015 while CSL acquired the Gypsum Centennial in 2015 and renamed it CSL Frontier. Both ships went to work in the CSL Americas self-unloader pool.

The gravity fed self-unloader system on the ship discharges gypsum at a rate of 2500 metric tonnes per hour, and uses a boom with a 61 meter outreach at 90 degrees from the ship to position the cargo on shore.

As Algoma Integrity made its way to the dock, a more traditional gearless bulk carrier lay at anchor in Bedford Basin. The JY Lake arrived from the Mississippi River grain port of Romeville, LA, yesterday afternoon (January 12).

A very thin skim of ice has formed along the Rockingham shore where the water is calm and is approximately fresh. A small CCG boat did some unofficial high speed icebreaking but the rest of the ice will be gone by tomorrow as a wind and rain storm passes through tonight, with temperatures well above zero C.

The JY Lake dates from 2019 when it was completed by the Changxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. The gearless ship measures 45,968 gt 81,146 dwt. It is en route to Rotterdam, and is expected to sail over night. 

No particular reason was given for the ship's visit, but a launch did visit the ship, possibly with a repair technician.

 Container Swap

ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd operates two services from Halifax. Its "big ship" service is called ZCA: ZIM Container Atlantic and its "small ship" feeder service is CGX: Central America Gulf Express.

One of the ships serving the ZCA is the familiarly named ZIM Iberia (the second of the name in ZIM's history. The first, built in 1997, was scrapped in 2015 - see post dated November 23, 2015).

Zim Iberia in the Narrows with the tethered escort Atlantic Cedar. 

(The tug Atlantic Cedar is usually based in Saint John, with the Atlantic Larch, but both are exchanging places temporarily as Atlantic Bear and Atlantic Beaver are working in Saint John.)

The current Zim Iberia acquired the name in 2022, but was built in 2009 by Jiangsu New Yangzijiang in Jiangyin. It was delivered as Rudolf Schepers and in 2017 became the Arkas Afrika then in 2018 Als Juno. The 40,541 gt, 50,300 dwt ship has a capacity of 4253 TEU including 698 reefers. Its Mediterranean / East Coast North America service calls in Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Greece Italy and Spain en route to Halifax. It then calls at New York, Norfolk, and Savannah before heading eastbound again.

 Today at the PSA Fairview Cove terminal, the ZIM Iberia joined the Pacific Trader one of five ships (along with the Annie B and Contship Leo, Contship Pep and Contship Art) on the CGX - Central America Gulf Express feeder service. The Pacific Trader began calling in Halifax November 17, 2023 on the newly revised CGX, which includes the former CFX - Canada Feeder Express.

The CGX links Halifax with New York, Kingston, Jamaica, Houston and Caribbean ports of Altamira, Mexico, Santo Tomas De Castilla, Guatemala and Puerto Cortes, Honduras.

ZIM does a substantial reefer business on both routes, and their white boxes are much in evidence on the Pacific Trader and on the dock. Hapag-Lloyd has a "slot charter" or other such arrangement with ZIM for space on the ZCA route, and orange H-L boxes are easy to see on the ZIM Iberia.

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Algoma Integrity - a new name

 A ship with strong Nova Scotia connections is returning to Canada, but under a new name.
The Panamax self-unloader Gypsum Integrity has been acquired by Algoma Central Marine and will be renamed Algoma Integrity.

Built in Rio de Janeiro by Estaleiro Ilha SA (EISA) in 2009* for Gypsum Transportation, the ship was designed to operate from Hantsport, NS or Little Narrows, NS to export gypsum from Canadian Gypsum's mining operations to U.S.Gypsum plants in the United States.

When the Hantsport operation was closed due to weak demand after the US recession, the virtually new ship was reassigned to world trade by operators Beltship Management (a joint venture between Gyspum Transportation Ltd and Globe Master Management, based in Monaco). For the past few years the ship and sister ship Gypsum Centennial have been operating an iron ore shuttle in Sierra Leone while larger port facilities were under construction. The ships have now been freed up as that project is complete.

Gypsum Integrity will be handed over in Las Palmas later this month and will begin operations under the new name Algoma Integrity under the Canadian flag.It will shuttle iron ore from Port Cartier, QC to Contrecouer, QC fr ArcelorMittal. Since the ship will not need to pass though Seaway locks on this trade, it will allow Algoma to free up Seaway size ships for other work.

The ship measures 33,047 grt, 47,761 dwt and can unload at a rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour (gypsum) and 2,500 tph for coal. Its boom has an 18 degree uplift and can swing out 90 degrees from the ships centre line, allowing for considerable flexibility during unloading.

Another recent development at Port Cartier is the acquisition of a third tug to be operated by Svitzer Canada (see recent Tugfax postings). With frequent additional calls by this large ship (a round trip would take less than a week) it can now be understood why a third tug is needed.

I have never seen this ship, but as she is a sister ship to Gyspum Centennial, see Shipfax November 15, 2014 for an idea of her size and shape, although she will look quite different at first, since I believe she is currently painted read, but will eventually acquire Algoma's deep blue hull paint..

* Construction of the ship was delayed from the original delivery date off fall 2007 to fall 2008 or perhaps even later. Some sources give the ship's completion date as 2009.

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Algoma Integrity

Back to carrying the commodity it was built for Algoma Integrity took on a load of gypsum in Halifax and sailed for Baltimore this afternoon.

Built in 2009 by Ilha, Rio de Janeiro, the 33.047 gt, 47,761 dwt self-unloader was originally named Gypsum Integrity and designed to work for Gypsum Transportation Ltd out of Hantsport, NS. That work lasted only until 2011 when Fundy Gypsum closed its mine and loading facility.

The ship was redeployed to carry iron ore, coal and other commodities until 2015 when Algoma Central acquired the ship for the CSL Americas pool. The ship still carried a rust red hull colour for Algoma for some time, and I had not seen the ship since it finally received Algoma's deep blue paint.

The above photo in the Narrows did not capture the blue adequately, but another try in the lower harbour was a bit more successful.

There have been many previous references to this ship in this blog. See: http://shipfax.blogspot.com/search?q=algoma+integrity

Halifax - lots of integrity

Use of the word "integrity" seems to be on the increase. Once it was just an assumed characteristic of most people and things. It now seems necessary to assure others that you, your company or its product has integrity. Overstating it does little to reassure me, but it does make those companies that can bring themselves to use it a sort of cachet, if only in their own minds. 

The Port of Halifax has had lots of "integrity" lately with three ships of the name showing up in within a few days. Yesterday it was the autocarrier Integrity operating for American Roll On Roll Off Carriers. (That company likes the name so well it also has a ship called ARC Integrity in its fleet too.)

When IT International Telecom added another cable ship to its fleet, based at Pier 9A in Halifax, they named it IT Integrity. It returned to port December 12 from a repair mission to Cabot Strait.

Passing Pier 9A today on its way inbound to National Gypsum, Algoma Integrity caught the sunlight quite nicely.

The ship more or less inherited its name from its original owners, Canadian Gypsum who called it Gypsum Integrity. Since they intended it for use in our northerly climate, they equipped it with enclosed bridge wings, giving excellent weather protection year round. The ship is on a more or less regular run these days delivering raw gypsum to Baltimore, and other US ports. It was here twice in November.

Current owners Algoma Central Corp, gave the ship its current name in 2015, and placed it in the CSL Americas pool.

Aspirational and perhaps inspirational names for ships seem common nowadays, but as with many fads and fashions they do get overworked after a time. Perhaps this particular word has hit that mark and thus lost its integrity. 

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East Meets West and All Around the Circle

 The variety of traffic in Halifax Harbour today (November 28) was not unusual, and so is a reminder of how vital the port is to a number of aspects of the Canadian economy. The amount of traffic was due in part to yesterday's stormy weather which caused the suspension of pilotage operations until early this morning when traffic began to arrive in a ,bunch.

HMCS Fredericton was outbound this morning and met the inbound CSL Tacoma in the Middle Ground area off Point Pleasant. The Canadian frigate is named for the capital city of New Brunswick and was built in Saint John, New Brunswick by Saint John Shipbuilding Ltd. It was commissioned in 1994 and is based in Halifax.

CSL Tacoma operates for CSL Americas and was named for the sister city to Seattle, WA, which occupies the southernmost reaches of Puget Sound. CSL operates ships on the Pacific coast also, often carrying aggregates from Canadian quarries to US cities such as Tacoma. Oddly there is a Tacoma Drive in Dartmouth, NS. How it acquired that name is not known to me, but it is in the Westphal area, which in itself is named for a pair of brother Royal Navy admirals, originally from Nova Scotia. One of the brothers, Sir George Augustus Alexander Westphal, served with Nelson (and was also wounded) on HMS Victory, and was the last surviving RN officer from the batle of Trafalgar when he died at age 90 in 1875.)

CSL Tacoma is a Trillium class self-unloading ocean bulker of 43,691 gt, 71,552 dwt, built in 2013 by Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China. It will load a cargo of gypsum at the Gold Bond Gypsum facility in Bedford Basin.

Also arriving to load gypsum was Algoma Integrity, also a self-unloader, built in 2009 by EISA-Ilha in Rio de Janeiro. It was built for the United States Gypsum Company's Gypsum Transportation Ltd, and named Gypsum Integrity, Designed to serve their Hantsport and Little Narrows, Nova Scotia export facilities, it measured 33,047 gt, 47,761 dwt. When USG's Canadian subsidury Canadian Gypsum Corp (CGC) closed the Hantsport facility in 2011 the ship was chartered out and in 2015 was sold to Algoma and renamed Algoma Integrity. CGC closed the Little Narrows mine in 2016, but earlier this year announced the re-opening, although it will be some time before they ship any product.

Algoma Integrity will remain at anchor in Bedford Basin until the CSL Tacoma sails.

Lingering waves from yesterday's storm brought out some hardy surfers off Point Pleasant as ship traffic made its way inbound.

Another of those early arrivals was the container ship BF Fortaleza for the first time for Melfi Shipping of Cuba. The ship stood by off Halifax most of yesterday and boarded its pilot for 0700 hrs AST this morning.

It tied up at Pier 42 and so had a view of a lobster boat working just off the pier. The lobster season in this region opened a day early, on Sunday November 26, in view of the predicted weather for the usual opening day - the last Monday in November. I was surprised to see the boat however as there is a newly imposed ban this year on lobstering in many areas of Halifax harbour close to industrial and port facilities.

BF Fortaleza was built by the famed, but now defunct, J.J.Sietas shipyard in Nuenfeld, Germany in 1996. It was launched as Partnership but renamed Yvette on delivery. It became Partnership again from 2003 to 2004 then City of Lisbon until 2005, Carla until 2009 and WEC Rubens until 2011.  The 6362 gt, 7202 dwt ship has a capacity of 700 TEU, and unusual for Melfi, it is gearless.

Another ship that spent yesterday standing by off Halifax arrived this morning for Imperial Oil. The oddly named Silver Ginny is an otherwise typical Mid-Range tanker of 29,460 gt, 49,746 dwt, built in 2014 by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan.

The ship is arriving from Good Hope -Norco, Louisiana, an area upstream of New Orelans on the Mississippi River, and home to two large refineries. Shell Oil's Norco refinery produces 250,000 bbl per day and Valero's St. Charles refinery produces 340,000 bbl per day. Both also produce a variety of chemicals. Since Shell and Valero are competitors of Imperial (Exxon Mobil) today's cargo is likely part of an elaborate trade off mechanism to meet a specific need.

The ship is owned by Sinokor Petrochemical Co Ltd which has several ships named "silver + woman's name".

Rounding off the arrivals was the westbound Atlantic Sky from Liverpool, UK.

Once again the weakness of Transatlantic trade is evident with the very light deck load. Most Atlantic ports are showing a decline in traffic after a few years of dependably steady traffic or slight growth. Halifax and Montreal are no excepetions to this trend. The Port of Halifax saw a 12.9% decline in container traffic in the third quarter of 2023 over last year. That gives a year to date total of 409,000 TEU versus the 2022 YTD of 448,000 TEU. The year 2022 saw a record 601,700 TEU throughput (import + export). This year's projection may be be in the range of an 8% to 10% decline.

There were some small craft at work in the harbour too. The Halifax Port Corporation's own workboat Maintainer I was spotted at Pier 23 working on the removal of inflatable fenders for the winter. The fenders, commonly called Yokohama fenders (which is a trade name of the Yokohma Rubber Co) are deployed at cruise ship berths to protect visiting ships from impact with the piers. The resilient surfaces sometimes attract marine growth which is removed before they are set out again in the spring.

Built by A.F.Theriualt + Sons Ltd in Meteghan River, NS in 1995 it is a 12 gt vessel with a 210 bhp engine driving a single screw. It is equipped with a substantial Palfinger knuckle boom crane with a lifting capacity of up to 3.3 tonnes.

Nearby was the Canadian Coast Guard boat Point Caveau a 31.9 gt aluminum hulled work boat built in 2003 by ABCO in Lunenburg, NS. The 14.6m (47.9 ft) vessel has reputed top speed of 30 knots.

I think the Pointe Caveau was displaced from its usual inside berth at the Bedford Institute by construction of the new section of dock. Also displaced from BIO was CCGS Jean Goodwill which has been tied up at Pier 9C for the last couple of days. (November 27 photo)

The ship took on stores today and sailed on SAR patrol as CCGS Sir William Alexander arrived.

With lobster season now underway from in Areas 33 and 34, from Halifax down the southwest shore and around the western end of the province to Digby, Coast Guard SAR patrols are stepped up due to the hundreds of small craft in coastal waters.

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Algoma Growing

 The Algoma Central Corporation is on another growth spurt, with new bulk carriers ordered for its international operations and new tankers for charter.

The company's ships are often seen in Halifax, and this week was no expception with three of its ships in port, each representing a different area of operations. By this evening, November 21, all had sailed on their ways to wisdespread destinations.

In the international bulk shipping realm, Algoma is a partner in CSL's self-unloader pool, with nine ships including the Algoma Integrity which loaded at Gold Bond Gypsum and sailed November 19 for Tampa. In this file photo taken in January 2024 the ship is transitting the Narrows in Halifax headed for the loading dock at Wright's Cove in Bedford Basin.

The former Gypsum Integrity built in 2009 by EISA-Ilha in Rio di Janeiro, was built to service US Gypsum's Canadian operations in Little Narrows and Hantsport. When those operations shut down the ship was reassigned and Algoma purchasd it in 2015. The 33.047 gt, 46,293 dwt ship has a self-unloading rate of 3,000 tonnes per hour.

In January 2023 Algoma and CSL each ordered two Kamsarmax self-unloaders from Jiangsu Yangzi-Mitsui Shipbuilding Co Ltd. The 72, 250 dwt ships will unload at 5,000 tonnes per hour. The first ship is due for delivery in July 25 and subsequent ships in three month intervals thereafter. They will replace older ships in the CSL pool. (Kamsar is an important bauxite port in the Republic of Guinea. Ships that can load there are considered to be the most versatile.)

In the domestic area, Algoma operates ten self-unloaders and eight gearless bulkers under Canadian flag and took delivery of another new Equinox class ship this year - Algoma Bear. It will likely be restricted to the Great Lakes / Gulf of St. Lawrence iron ore / grain trade.  Some of the self-unloaders can make extended trips to Halifax such as the Radcliffe R.Latimer which delivered a load of grain from the Great Lakes, sailing from Thunder Bay November 9 and arriving here November 19.

 The ship will sail this evening for Auld's Cove on the Strait of Canso to load aggregate. I have recounted the ship's history here before, but briefly again: built in Collingwood in 1978 as Algobay, upgraded to Caribbean class in 1987-88, chartered to CSL as Atlantic Trader 1994 to 1997. Towed to China where new forebody and engine were installed - redelivered in 2009 and renamed in 2012. Now a 26,102 gt, 37,257 dwt Seawaymax ship, can unload at up to 5440 tph; "Coastal Class" with restricted sea voyages.

Algoma Tankers Ltd has also been busy increasing and renewing its fleet, with several additions added this year. In the last week three of its fleet have called in Halifax: Algoscotia, Algoberta, and Algonova. The last of which (see yesterday's post) sailed today for the Esso refinery in Nanticoke. Algoma Tankers was formed with the takeover of the Imperial Oil (Esso Canada) fleet and has been Imperial's dedicated carrier. 

However in 2023 Algoma Tankers announced that they had ordered two Ice class, 37,000 dwt  Mid Range 2 tankers from Hyundai Mipo for delivery in 2025. The ships will be chartered exclusively to Irving Oil and will sail under Canadian flag. They will replace two older ships, the Acadian, and the Esst Coast [see yesterday's post], both built in 2005 and chartered from Iver Ships BV, the tanker operating arm of the Dutch Vroon Group. 

The new ships have not been assigned official names yet, but are listed by builder's hull numbers as Hyundai Mipo 2900 and Hyundai Mipo 2901. The first delivery is due in January so an announcement can be expected soon. The second ship is due in March.

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Algoma Integrity is back

Algoma Integrity arrived just at dusk this evening for another load of gypsum. It went to anchor in Bedford Basin however as the Rt Hon Paul E. Martin is also due late this evening and it will load first,

As mentioned last time, Algoma Integrity is extremely seedy looking (especially compared to CSL Frontier), so it is difficult to get a photo making it look decent!

And, will they ever figure out how to house the anchors properly - they had a terrible time after the last visit, dipping the anchor several times while outbound, apparently without success.

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Algoma Days - Part 2

 Another day, another Algoma. After yesterday's two Algoma ships, there were again two today,  November 27, with Algoma Integrity arriving for another load of Gold Bond gypsum.

 Purpose built to serve CGC (Canadian Gypsum Corp) the Canadian branch of US Gypsum, in 2009 by EISA-Ilha, Rio de Janeiro, the ship was originally called Gypsum Integrity and was owned by the shipping subsidiary Fundy Transportation. When USG closed its operations in Hantsport and Grand Narrows, NS, the ship 's managers, Beltships Ltd, found work for the ship and its sister Gypsum Centennial in Africa, shuttling iron ore to larger bulk carriers in Sierra Leone.

Algoma Central Corp acquired and renamed the ship Gypsum Integrity in 2015 and operated it under Canadian flag for two years until new ships were completed. It was then registered in the Bahamas and placed in the CSL Americas pool of self-unloaders. It continues to carry gypsum, but also carries coal and aggregates. It has become a regular caller in Halifax for Gold Bond (formerly National Gypsum) the direct competitors of its first owners.

The tugs Spitfire III (aft) and  Atlantic Willow (forward) make up to the ship as it passes Pier 9 in the Narrows bound for the Gold Bond dock in Bedford Basin.

The 33.047 gt, 47,761 dwt ship can unload gypsum, coal and aggregates at an average rate of 2,500 tonnes per hour, and ore at 3,000 tonnes per hour. (CSL Americas quotes the ship's capacity at 46,293 dwt.)  Its 76.50 meters long telescoping unloading boom has an outreach of 60.40 meters.

When I checked up on the other Algoma ship, the Radcliffe R. Latimer at Pier 26 this morning, it was not unloading its grain cargo - possibly due to off and on rain showers. 

(See yesterday's post for a photo of the ship with its boom swung out for unloading.)

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Busy Friday

A number of ship movement are taking place Friday afternoon, and several at the same time, so only some will receive notice here. Some moves may have been due to the upcoming holiday Monday.

A late posted arrival this morning was MOL Partner. The 71,902 grt, 72,968 dwt ship arrived from Colombo, via the Suez Canal on THE Alliance EC5 service, again apparently replacing a regular ship in the rotation as part of the Japanese container line merger. Built in 2005 by Koyo Dockyard Co in Mihara, it has a capacity of 6350 TEU, including 500 reefers.

The ship anchored in Bedford Basin at first then is to move to Fairview Cove on departure of  Brevik Bridge. YM Modesty is also in at Fairview Cove - all for THE Alliance.

Later in the afternoon Algoma Integrity made its first arrival in Halifax. Built as Gypsum Integrity in 2008 by Estaleiro Ilha SA in Rio de Janiero, the self-unloader was built to the same spec as Gypsum Centennial. Both ship were operated by Gypsum Transportation, the cargo carrying division of Canadian Gypsum / United Sates Gypsum. When that company closed up its Canadian mines, first in Hantsport than in Grand Narrows, the ships were out of work. However Joint Venture partners in Beltship Management, Globe Master, found other work for the ships shuttling iron ore in Afrcia. At the end of that operation Algoma Transportation acquired the ship in 2015 originally as a two year stop gap until new ships were delivered. Registered as Algoma Integrity in Hamilton, ON on April 23, 2015 the ship was dedicated to running from Port Cartier to Contrecouer, QC. Last December the ship was laid up for the winter in  Montreal. On April 26, 2018 its Canadian registry was closed and it was transferred to Algoma's international fleet to work in the CSL pool of ocean self-unloaders under the Bahamas flag.
A 33,047 grt, 47,761 dwt ship it had many innovations when built including a telescoping self-unloading boom.

After a busy stretch at Autoport this week, the Wallenius Wilhelmsen Tugela sailed. Classed as a Large Car and Truck Carrier, the ship first berthed at pier 31 Wednesday and offloaded wheeled machinery. It moved to Autoport yesterday.

Hyundai Heavy built the ship in Ulsan in 2011 and it has a capacity of 7,934 RT43 type cars.

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More Algoma in Halifax

Algoma Central Corporation is on the move again with more acquisitions.

The Algoma Tankers division's Algonorth arrived again today on its shuttle run from the Valero refinery in Lévis, Quebec for Imperial Oil. In view of impending bad weather - including high winds tomorrow - the ship tied up at Pier 9C to wait it out. Since the ship arrived from Sweden at the end of November it has been dedicated to the Halifax run.

Algoma got into the tanker business when it acquired the remnants of the Imperial Oil fleet in 1998. When Imperial closed its Dartmouth refinery, Algoma tankers became rare sights in Halifax. Imperial began to source it refined products in the US or Europe, but has now apparently done a deal with Valero. Most of what Valero refines is now sourced from western Canada, via pipeline to Montreal. Shuttle tankers transfer the crude to Lévis where it is refined. At one time the product was sold under the Ultramar label, but labels don't mean much anymore as far as origin is concerned. (For example, under cover of darkness tonight, Irving's East Coast will shift from the Irving Oil dock to Imperial dock 4 to discharge some cargo.)

Inbound in the Narrows, the ship's colour scheme fits well with the surroundings. I will be sorry to see it repainted in Algoma's deep blue. I will also miss the distinctive white stripe..

The ship's last name, Ramira is still visible above the new name. Due to the stenciler's spacing it looks like two words, but is one.

The ship went into Bedford Basin far enough to turn around.  Although accompanied by the tug Atlantic Fir from the lower harbour it was not until the ship had turned that the tug came along side and made fast.

 

Back under the A.Murray MacKay bridge again it headed for Pier 9C.

Built in 2008 by Tuzla Gemi Endustrisi in Turkey, he 12,164 grt, 16,8979 dwt tanker was named Gan-Gesture until 2009 when it was acquired by Alvtank Rederi AB and renamed Ramira under the Swedish flag. A DNV Ice class 1A vessel it is well suited to a winter shuttle service between Lévis and Halifax. The ship was registered in Halifax November 9, 2018, but did not arrive in Canada until November 30. Its first arrival in Halifax was December 11, 2018.

Algoma's deep sea fleet will also be growing as they announced Friday that they had made an offer to acquire the Oldendorff Carriers GmbH + Co interest in the CSL International self-unloader pool. In 2016 CSL and Algoma divided up the Klaveness ships in the pool which will now have only CSL and Algoma ships. In this transaction they will acquire three Oldendorff ships.

The three ships in alphabetical order are:

Alice Oldendorff, built in 2000 by Shanghai Shipyard, measuring 27,825 grt, 48,000 dwt. It is called a hybrid self-unloader. A conventional bulk carrier with four cranes and clamshells it was then fitted with a complex hopper, conveyor and swing boom arrangement. All the gear is above deck, which allows for greater hold capacity, and could be retrofitted with minimal modifications to the ship. Unloading rates are dramatically slower than the "built in" systems. Alice Oldendorff unloads at 750 tonnes per hour versus 5,000 tph or more for the other ships.

Alice Oldendorff  in Bedford Basin with a less than full cargo of gypsum.

Harmen Oldendorff dates from 2005 when it was built by Damen Okean in Mykolayiv, Ukraine. It was then completed as a self-unloader in 2006.  Measurements changed from 41,790 gt to 42,033 and 66,500 dwt to 66,187 dwt with the conversion.

An (old) Panamax size ship, the self-unloading gear is mounted forward, where it takes up less cargo space in the hold.

 Sophie Oldendorff also an (old) Panamax, was built by Jiangnan, Shanghai in 2000 to the same design as two CSLers in the pool, Sheila Ann and CSL Spirit.  The largest of the three ships, its tonnages are 41,428 gt, 70,369 dwt (or 70,034 according to CSL).

Seen here at National Gypsum in Dartmouth on its first call, the ship has a midships mounted self-unloading system, with an articulated boom.

Algomna will thus have a 40% interest in the CSLI pool, which numbers 18 self-unloaders. When the transaction is finalized in 2Q 2019 Algoma will have eight of them. One, Algoma Integrity, is due in Halifax tomorrow (weather permitting) for another load of gypsum.

Purchase of these ships for a reported $100mn was made possible by the refund of deposits on four ships that were to be built by Uljanik's 3 Maj shipyard in Croatia. The yard has been closed due to financial issues, and could only deliver one of five planned ships. The refund amounts to $115mn.
Algoma has also extended options for three ships with the Yangzijiang shipyard in China. These ships may join the domestic or ocean fleets.

On the domestic front Algoma's Great Lakes fleet is shrinking (temporarily at least) as two veteran lakers have been laid up ready to go for scrap next year. However with one new delivery last year and another in February the number of ships will remain the same year over year.

The ships that have been retired are:

 Capt. Henry Jackman (ex Lake Wabush -87) built in 1981, and converted to a self-unloader in 1995-96.

Capt. Henry Jackman, before conversion to a self-unloader, in the US Seaway between the Eisenhower and Snell locks.

Algowood, also built in 1981 was a self-unloader from the beginning.

  

Algowood approaching the Iroquois lock dressed all over to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Algoma Central.

Both ships were confined in their travels to the Great Lakes / St.Lawrence system and did not venture into the ocean.

Algoma also has interests in cement carriers and smaller ships through other allliances.

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Gypsum outbound

 There has been a slight lull in harbour traffic over the Chrisitmas / New Year week, and a few days of bad weather slowed traffic down, and discouraged ship watching, so there has not been much to report of late. 

This morning's (January 9) sailing of Algoma Integrity would otherwise have attracted little notice but for the fact that it occurred in daylight.

The former Gypsum Integrity until 2015 - no surprise -  loaded Gold Bond gypsum for Baltimore. It was of note however that the ship was not down to its marks, that is to say it was not fully loaded. Drawing 10.1m  according to AIS, but according to my observation it appeared closer to 10m.

As ships earn their keep by carrying tonnage, a slight difference in draft can be converted fairly directly to dollars. Draft may be restricted at the loading dock (as it is at the Gold Bond dock in Bedford Basin) or at the unloading facility (unknown to me) or by the amount of cargo the customer can take at one time, but can also be dictated by the classification society in the interests of safety. The latter does not seem to be the case this time, since the plimsoll mark shows more than a meter of additional draft beyond the 11.1m allowed for winter, but perhpas there is an additional margin for safety.

The ship sails for the CSL Americas self-unloader pool, and CSL's website has highly detailed specifications for all its ships: Integrity specs

The data sheet for the Algoma Integrity shows a  deadweight of 39,500 tonnes at 10.1m versus a 46,293 deadweight at  just over 11.4 m summer draft. That reduction of cargo would only be in the interests of safety or requirements of the customer.

One interesting data column on the spec sheet is "TPC". That stands for "tonnage per centimeter" . For more on that topic see: https://marineinbox.com/marine-exams/tonnes-per-centimetre-immersion-tpc/

As there was no wind to speak of on departure, the ship only required one tug to get away from the dock and turn outbound for sea. That duty fell to the Atlantic Willow, which still carried a bit of snow around the edges from the January 7-8 storm. 

Atlantic Willow is a 4,000 bhp ASD (Azimuthing Stern Drive) tug with 50 tonnes of bollard pull, and firefighting capability. It was built in 1998 for service at the Strait of Canso, based on the NuStar oil storage facility, and is registered in Port Hawksbury. The joint-venture arrangement between Svitzer Canada and Atlantic Towing Ltd formed in 2010 has Svitzer providing tug service on the Strait and Atlantic working in Halifax, so Atlantic Willow is one of four Atlantic Towing Ltd tugs normally based in Halifax. The other tugs range from 5,000 to 5,500 bhp and 66 to 70 tonne bllard pull.

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Big Ship Day

 It was a big day for ships or put another way it was a day for big ships. 

The first arrival was Algoma Integrity to take on a load of gypsum from Gold Bond. 

Algoma Integrity loading at Wright's Cove in Bedford Basin.

At 33,047 gt, 47,761 dwt, the self-unloader is a regular caller. The former Gypsum Integrity was acquired and renamed by Algoma in 2015 after a brief career with U.S. Gypsum's Fundy Gypsum fleet. It was built in 2009 by EISA-Ilha in Rio de Janeiro to serve Hantsport, NS and Little Narrows, NS, but was redeployed, then sold, when the parent  company shut down its Nova Scotia operations.

Next along was a most unusual caller. The Marshal Islands flag crude oil tanker Elli arrived at Pier 9C. It first went to Bedford Basin where it was turned by tugs then tied up at Pier 9C, with its bow facing seaward.

The ship was met at Pier 9C by a pair of fuel tankers, operated by the J.D.Irving trucking company RST Transport. 

( The large grey objects are fenders which are used along the pier faces for cruise ships. They are unlikely to be deployed this year.)

New Times Shipbuilding Co of Jingjiang, China, built the ship in 2010 as United Fortitude. It took its present name in 2018 when Halkidon Shipping Corp of Piraeus, Greece took over. The ship figures to be 62,775 gt, 112,719 dwt.

Elli arrived from Point Tupper, NS where it off loaded a cargo to Nu-Star's terminal.Canaport, Saint John, NB . Once it had refueled it sailed for sea for tank cleaning, then will be headed for Sorel-Tracy, QC .

In ballast Elli was an impressive sight in the Narrows.*

Sprague Energy operates the Kildair Services ULC facility in Sorel-Tracy, where they store and export diluted bitumen crude for Suncor. That crude comes from Alberta by rail. In 2013 the federal government permitted ships wider than 32 meters on that portion of the St.Lawrence River, but they still restrict draft. Tankers loading at Kildair are known to top up at other facilities once they get to deep water.

When Elli sailed, the ConRo Atlantic Sky was inbound, and a passing plan was arranged whereby Elli would pass west of George's Island and Atlantic Sky would pass to the east, leaving each vessel lots of room.

At 100,430 gt, 55,828 dwt, the ACL G4 ships are the largest by dimension to transit the Narrows on a regular basis., but not the largest in terms in terms of container capacity.

Among the other ships in Halifax today is Energy Progress arriving from Port Neches, TX (Beaumont-Port Arthur) for Imperial Oil. Most ships arriving for Imperial lately have been from Antwerp, in part because of the disruption to refining caused by severe winter weather in the southern US.

Tugs Atlantic Willow and Atlantic Fir push the ship alongside Imperial Oil #3 dock.**

A fairly typical MR tanker of 29,605 gt, 46,606 dwt, it was built in 2008 by the lesser known Sungdong Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering of Tongyeong, South Korea. Unusual also is that it is registered in Douglas, Isle of Man. 

Operators Golden Energy Management are based in Athens, Greece.

The other sizable ship to call in Halifax today was the container vessel Bilbao Bridge, which, at 46,944 gt, 59,623 dwt would be considered medium sized to small these days, with a capacity of 4526 TEU.

Such is the demand for container ships these days, there is little talk of inefficiency in sips of this size. It was built by Samsung Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry in Koje, South Korea in 2011. It is on charter to K-Line from Seaspan Corp. (K-Line's container operations are now part of Ocean Network Express ONE).

Footnotes:

I rarely mention the fact that I like to include wild life in my photos if possible, without distracting from the main subject. Halifax harbour and its shores are home to many species of birds - some seasonal - and mammals such as seals, occasional whales and squirrels. I feel fortunate when I am able to include one of these creatures, since they are rarely willing to sit still:

Today I was able to include birds on two occasions.

* - (dead centre bottom) - a starling (year round residents)

** - (bottom left and bottom right) - common eiders (seasonal)

Sometimes of course I see an animal when there is no ship in sight and I am forced to take a solo photo. Recently I spotted two birds that are usually hard to get:  this thick billed murre, a fairly rare sight in my experience.

Red breasted mergansers usually dive out of sight before I can get a picture:

Some readers noted the squirrel in a post a while back: 2021-02-04

I have no intention of making this a nature photo blog, so will refrain from noting animal life in future unless it is particularly noteworthy.

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