Fire Aboard HMCS Protecteur

HMCS Protecteur was returning to its homeport of CFB Esquimalt, B.C., when at 10:20 p.m. Pacific Standard Time yesterday, HMCS Protecteur contacted the Regional Joint Operations Centre (RJOC), located at Maritime Pacific Headquarters (MARPAC) at CFB Esquimalt, B.C., to report a fire onboard the vessel. The fire was in the vessel's engine room. Sailors onboard the warship put out the fire and crew members are managing the situation. Personnel sustained minor injuries but are safe and they are being treated on board.

Protecteur is presently located approximately 340 nautical miles (630 km) northeast of Pearl Harbour. The ship has limited power and a return to Pearl Harbour is expected. A full assessment of the situation is being conducted to establish the extent of the damage.

HMCS Protecteur was returning from operational duties in the mid-Pacific Ocean with 279 crew, 17 family members and two civilian contractors who joined the ship for the return transit. Having family members on board for the last part of a sail is a common practice with RCN ships returning from extended operations and exercises and one that family members appreciate.

 MARPAC personnel are in contact with U.S. Navy personnel at Third Fleet headquarters. The U.S. Navy has sent the destroyer USS Michael Murphy, to provide assistance to Protecteur.

(Photo Above Sister Ship HMCS Preserver)


UPDATE: Apparently the fire was major, and took a long time to bring under control. Protecteur is now Dead in the water and waiting on tugs to arrive to tow her back to Pearl harbour.

Update 03/01: The ship remains stopped 340 nautical miles North East of Hawaii. During the morning of March 1, United States Ship (USS) Chosin reached HMCS Protecteur and commenced transferring additional relief supplies to HMCS Protecteur using USS Chosin's helicopter. A helicopter then began transferring family members who were on HMCS Protecteur to USS Michael Murphy, where they will sail safely to Pearl Harbour.

Over the next 24 hours it is anticipated that HMCS Protecteur will be taken under tow by the USS Chosin and start her transit back to Pearl Harbour. Once in Hawaii, efforts will commence to prepare Protecteur for her return to Esquimalt. We remain in very close contact with the Protecteur family members.

The Royal Canadian Navy is very appreciative of the tremendous support that has been provided by the USN and United Stated Coast Guard throughout this very difficult situation. It is yet another example of the strong relationship and interoperability that exists between our navies.

The 20 personnel on board HMCS Protecteur who received minor injuries
    have been treated and most have returned to regular duties. The state of
    their health continues to be monitored by the ship's medical staff. 

Yesterday at 3 p.m. PST, USS Michael Murphy arrived at HMCS Protecteur's
    location and provided relief supplies including water. The USN warship
    attempted to take Protecteur under tow but weather conditions,
    specifically high winds, hampered those efforts. The Michael Murphy
    remained on scene with HMCS Protecteur overnight.  Fleet Ocean tug USNS Sioux is also heading towards Protecteur to assist
    in the towing operations if necessary. 

 HMCS Protecteur has limited electrical power and onboard systems are
    being reactivated in a controlled manner. The ships company is well and
    focused on recovery operations in the ship and rest. Ongoing medical and
    support services are being provided to all onboard. 

There are reports of significant fire and heat damage to the ship's
    engine room and considerable heat and smoke damage in surrounding
    compartments. An extensive and detailed damage assessment will be
    commenced once the ship arrives in Hawaii. An investigation into the
    cause of the fire is also being initiated.

UPDATE: March 2

USN released imagery of the tow.

Welcome Home HMCS Toronto

 (Above) Firebird Sprays a salute, (below) Crew on deck for Homecoming.

2014 Cruise schedule released

The 2014 Halifax Cruise Schedule was released, and Begins on May 4th with the arrival of Celebrity Cruises' Infinity, and ends Nov 15th with First time visitor Hamburg.

Additional inaugural calls of ships visiting  Halifax for the first time in 2014 include

• Celebrity Infinity
• Carnival Splendor
• Seabourn Quest
• Crystal Serenity
• Royal Princess
• Ruby Princess
• Legend of the Seas
• Insignia
• Hamburg

Maasdam is back as a regular, though Carnival Glory has been replaced by the Carnival Splendor and only in the fall. Also of Note is the Arrival of the Pearl Mist in July, and Again in October. Pearl Mist you may remember was built at Halifax Shipyards, and then laid up in Shelburne over contract disputes. (See Posts Here)

The full schedule can be found at http://www.cruisehalifax.ca/our-visitors/index.html

Hero #9 Rolled out

 

The CCGS Captain Goddard M.S.M was rolled out on Monday, after the launching of the CCGS M. Charles Saturday night. With the rollout having occurred, demolition of the remainder of the building can continue, and was quickly resumed this past week. Unlike the previous vessels, she was painted while still in the shop, though is missing her white stripe, name and coast guard markings.

 

Departing and Arriving Visitors

Yesterday saw the Departure of the FGS Bonn from the dockyard. Today brought the arrival of USCGC Campbell. Campbell was last in Halifax back in Nov 2011. Us Budget constraints have reduced visits by US vessels in Recent years.

Approximately 900 personnel from the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force are participating in a major fleet exercise this week until March 14, 2014, off the Eastern seaboard. This exercise will also see the contribution of United States Coast Guard vessel, USCG Campbell, and the Federal German Ship (FGS) Bonn, a Berlin-class replenishment ship

Participating units from Canada are Her Majesty's Canadian (HMC) Ships Iroquois, Preserver, Ville de Quebec and Windsor, as well as a 14 Wing Greenwood CP-140 Aurora aircraft and a 12 Wing Shearwater CH-124 Sea King helicopter.  This specific exercise also aims to prepare HMCS Ville de Quebec to conduct pre-deployment training of a ship's company in preparation for future naval deployments.

CCGS A LEBLANC begins trials

The 7th Hero Class vessel CCGS A LEBLANC began sea trials on Monday.
photos to follow.

Asian Emperor Updates

Monday Night, Asian Emperor moved to Fairview Cove. I am told no cargo operations are underway, however repairs to the ship are occurring with various welders working on the vessel.

For people with cars on this vessel, it seems unlikely that any vehicles will be transferred to the Don Juan, which is due 1800 tonight,

Onego Rotterdam

Another Small General Cargo vessel with Rails for CN. Like other rail deliveries, this vessel features dual cranes, and a box type open hold.

Previous rail posts can be found
here. Onego Vessels are  regular callers in Halifax.

Hero Class Updates

Hero #9, still in the Shop has been painted. As its the Last ship, and the building is coming down when complete, i assume they didn't care about getting paint everywhere.


Hero #8 M.Charles, is due to be launched tomorrow Night, at 11pm.

FGS Bonn Arives for port Visit

 German Naval Supply Ship FGS Bonn Arrived this morning for a port visit. She spent the past few days circling outside the harbour. Bonn is of the base design for the new JSS to be built under the NSPS.

German Naval Supply Ship FGS Bonn is currently approaching the Pilot station
Expect her in town in about 45min.

The Tanker Parade Continues

(Above) Maersk Katalin Departed for CURACAO. (Below) Thorm Thyra Arrived prior to Katalin's departure and circled in the inner harbour until the birth was free.

Asian Emperor Damaged

word has reached me that the PCTC Asian Emperor currently at pier 27 has sustained significant damage to her one of her decks. This is likely the result of cargo breaking loose and shifting.

Asian Emperor arrived on the 15th

UPDATE:
SEVERAL large John Deer farm tractors (completely demolished), massive John Deer Combine machines, Black Mercedes cargo vans. The equipment (farm machinery) was nearly unrecognizable its was damaged so bad. Given the vessel is bow forward they are probably trying to obstruct the damaged equipment from view.

UPDATE: Asian Emperor moved to Autoport just prior to noon on Tuesday the 18th. This revealed some of the Carnage.

People with BMW's on order are frantically trying to find out if their car was trashed. I Have been emailed by a Woman from Montreal, And their are Forum Posts Here and Here of people looking to discover the fate of their vehicles.

CTV News at 6 also offered this video yesterday.

Its Posible this damage is the result of Parametric Rolling. Kenebec Captain (Who Sails PCTC's for a day job) describes taking a parametric roll in a post, speculating that lashings would fail if it continued.

UPDATE  02/19: Asian Emperor is back at Pier 30, after unloading undamaged vehicles at Autoport. Unknown if Damaged cars will not come off, but the stern ramp is visible.

UPDATE 02/21:  Ship is still at pier 30.From a BMW Dealer in the Comments, this apparently came from a bmw official in NJ.

There were 1,200 vehicles on the ship and approximately 30 were damaged. If the damage represents 3% or greater BMW will total the vehicle. at this point new owners will need to re-order or dealers can try to perform a locate for the client, In the US BMW NA will provide some sort of a goo will discount on the vehicle if you are one the unlucky ones

I have also heard that BMW is trying to coordinate a payload transfer, which, essentially, allows for vehicles that have not been damaged to be moved aboard the Turandot. The problem with this is that the space is limited to the amount of vehicles being unloaded in Halifax. So, there will still be some that will have to remain on the Asian Emperor until it is fixed, or until the next ship arrives to port.

Turandot Arrived and Departed on the 20th. Don Juan  is due on the 25th. Will be interesting to see if Asian Emperor moves back to autoport before then.

Suprise visit from FGS Bonn?

The German Replenishment ship FGS Bonn is currently outside the Harbour, and is likely here for a visit. Bonn is one of 3 Berlin Class AOR's (Sister Frankfurt Am Main Has been to Halifax twice before) and the Model for Canada's New Joint Support Ships.

UPDATE - She Appears to be circling and their is no Pilot Order. HMCS Ville De Quebec and Athabaskan are due to be exercising this week, and  HMCS Summerside sailed this morning, so this may all be related.

UPDATE: A reader from Portuguese Cove emailed to say that this afternoon FGS Bonn
"sends a small RIB to meet with our Atlantic Willow Tug  just off off Portuguese Cove today. The RIB then ,this afternoon, motors back out to the Bonn which then headed out to Sea.  it is again seen on the AIS site circling about 30 nm South of Halifax before resuming a southerly course.
AIS shows it's last port as Reykjavik and shows no destination."

He also Provided the Photo Above. Given the previous destination, its possible Bonn embarked an Ice Pilot for the trip to Halifax.

Perseus N for Tufts cove

The tanker Perseus N Departed the Basin this morning to tie up at Tuffts cove.  She Spun around in the Narrows, and tied up bow facing north.

The Power plant located there originally burned bunker oil, but was updated to burn natural gas. It retains the ability to burn oil, and tankers make occasional stops to top up the tanks.

ASOPOS was here, almost a year ago to date

Riding out the Storm

Last night saw 5 Products tankers riding out the weather in the Basin. Algoma Dartmouth Moved to Pier 9, and Atlantic Oak was tied up at Fairview Cove.

Left to right SeaPride, Maersk Katalin, Cielo Di Salerno, and Perseus N. Havelstern Sailed early this morning.

Atlantic Towings New AHTS Delivered.

Jaya Holdings Limited, has delivered its second new build ice class anchor handling tug supply vessel to  Atlantic Towing Limited. The 16,000 BHP vessel was delivered on 7 February 2014 in
Singapore and was christened the “Atlantic Merlin” at a naming ceremony held earlier
today. She was previously known as “Jaya Sovereign” until her delivery to Atlantic
Towing. Atlantic Merlin is a sister ship of “Atlantic Kestrel”, which was delivered to
Atlantic Towing in November 2012.

The Purchase was announced in June 2013 but was indicated earlier in march. Atlantic Towing Previously purchased Sister vessel Atlantic Kestrel.

Peak at HERO #9

With hero #8 rolled out, today brought the opening of the doors offering a peak at hero #9. She will likely be rolled out for painting at some point this weekend, though that may be dependent on the forecast.

Hero #9, the CCGS Captain Goddard M.S.M.,is named after Canadian Army soldier Captain Nichola Goddard, M.S.M, who has the distinction of being the first female Canadian combat soldier killed in combat, and the 16th Canadian soldier killed in Canadian operations in Afghanistan.

Algonova Towed into Port

Tanker AlgoNova was towed into port this afternoon By Atlantic Elm. She is bound for Woodside, but will probably be moved to the Nova Dock. Damage is probably quite severe, if she was towed from Sydney to Halifax.

AlgoNova reported a fire on Jan 19, and requested assistance. She proceeded to Sydney NS with a tug escort.

(Above: Atlantic Elm, sailing around Georges Is. After handing off the tow, she turned and headed out to sea. Below: Algonova after Atlantic Elm handed off the tow to tugs Atlantic Oak and Atlantic  Willow)

NTSB Release Bounty Report

The US NTSB released its report into the Sinking of the Bounty. The Bounty was Built in Lunenburg for the 1962 MGM Movie. You can find all our coverage of the Sinking Here (Above: Bounty from tall ships 2009  Below: from Tallships 2012, 2 months before her sinking)

From the Release:
A captain's "reckless decision to sail into the well-forecasted path of Hurricane Sandy" was the probable cause of the sinking of a ship off the North Carolina coast in October 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released today. The captain and one crewmember died in the accident. Three other crewmembers were seriously injured.

On the evening of October 25, 2012, a day after a closely watched developing storm had reached hurricane strength, the 108-foot-long tall wooden ship, the Bounty, set sail from New London, Conn., for St. Petersburg, Fla., into the forecasted path of Superstorm Sandy. The 52-year-old vessel, a replica of the original 18th Century British Admiralty ship of the same name, was built for MGM Studios for the 1962 movie, "Mutiny on the Bounty."

Prior to setting off from New London, some of the crewmembers had expressed their concerns to the captain that sailing into a severe storm could put all of them and the ship at risk. The captain assured the crew that the Bounty could handle the rough seas and that the voyage would be a success. Just a month earlier, in an interview with a Maine TV station, the captain said that the Bounty "chased hurricanes," and by getting close to the eye of the storm, sailors could use hurricane winds to their advantage.

The 16-page report details how a mostly inexperienced crew - some injured from falls, others seasick and fatigued from the constant thrashing of 30-foot seas - struggled for many hours to keep the ships engines running and bilge pumps operating so the seawater filling the vessel would not overtake it.
In the early morning hours of October 29, 2012, about 110 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., the Bounty heeled sharply to the starboard side after taking on more than 10 feet of water in the final hours of a three and a half day voyage that the NTSB said, "should never have been attempted."
Despite hurricane winds gusting upwards of 100 mph, the U.S. Coast Guard was able to rescue all but two of the Bounty's 16 crewmembers by hoisting them from the sea into three Jayhawk helicopters in the midst of the storm. The body of one crewmember was found, still in a protective immersion suit, about 10 hours after rescue operations had commenced. The captain was presumed lost at sea; his body was never recovered.

"Although this wooden ship was modeled after an 18th century vessel, the Captain had access to 21st century hurricane modeling tools that predicted the path and severity of Hurricane Sandy," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "The Bounty's crew was put into an extraordinarily hazardous situation through decisions that by any measure didn't prioritize safety."

Prior to setting to sea, the Bounty had been in a Maine shipyard for maintenance and repairs, most of which was accomplished by a crew with little experience in such specialized work. One of their tasks was to caulk and reseam a wooden hull, which had known areas of rot, with compounds supplied by the captain, including a silicone sealant marketed for household use.

The entity that owned and operated the ship, HMS Bounty Organization, LLC, did nothing to dissuade the captain from sailing into known severe weather conditions. The NTSB said that such a lack of effective safety oversight by the vessel organization contributed to the sinking.

The entire report is available at www.ntsb.gov/investigations/fulltext/MAB1403.html

Havelstern Emerges from Nova Dock

Woodward group Tanker Havelstern emerged from the NovaDock this afternoon, Just over a month after entering. Tugs Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Willow helped her out, and dead ship moved her to Ocean Terminals.

Photos to follow

Update on AOPS

Today Federal Ministers offered an update on the AOPS Project.
The first 2 of 7 phases of the 288 million definition contract were completed on time and on budget. This contract was announced in March 2013. an additional 2 phases of the 7 phases have now authorized, valued at 53 million. (presumably phases 3 and 4) Phases 3 and 4 Include 

Engineering Design Phase 2 – This task will include the system engineering activities, integrated logistical support analysis and supplier engagement activities that are necessary to demonstrate that the Arctic/Offshore patrol ship design is a complete and integrated solution that meets all the contract design specification requirements with acceptable risk and within the cost and schedule constraints. 

Engineering Design Phase 3 – This task will include the system engineering activities, integrated logistic support analysis and supplier engagement activities that are necessary to demonstrate that the Arctic/Offshore patrol ship design is a complete and integrated solution that meets all of the contract design specification requirements and is ready for the start of vessel construction.

UPDATE: the 2 additional packages authorized were actually 3 and 5, Which are Engineering Design Phase 2 and the Project Implementation Proposal Development. The Project Implementation Proposal Development

Project Implementation Proposal Development – This task will encompass all the procurement, engineering, production and estimating activities required to develop the detailed project implementation proposal, including the required plans and a substantive cost for the implementation contract.

No Number of vessels has been set yet  - So it still stands at the vague 6-8

Diving Ops

Connors Diving vessel Divecom III working off the ferry terminal yesterday.

Fusion at Anchor

Regular caller Fusion arrived and went to anchor this morning. Her birth at pier 36 was occupied by Oceanex Sanderling. While Sanderling offers regualr service to St Johns NF, Fusion offers regular service the the French Islands of St Pierre and Miquleon, just south of the Avalon Peninsula.

Fusion has holds, and can carry container and RO-RO cargo.

Hero #8 Rolled out - CCGS M. Charles

The second to last hero class vessel was rolled out on the weekend, after the delayed launch of CCGS A. Leblanc occured last weekend.

She was rolled out for painting way back at the Beginning of October. Much work that is normally completed in the yard appears to have been done indoors, inducing installation of the crane on the rear deck, and some antennas and other equipment. Once the mast is installed, launching should occur fairly quickly.

Irma loading Wood Pelets

The Bulk carrier Irma arrived this morning for a load of grain. This year was apparently a good year for grain, and ice was causing problems on the seaway before it closed for the winter, potentially requiring changes to shipping arrangements. Draft restrictions usually cause larger bulkers to top up in Halifax, However given how high Irma is out of the water, she is empty.

Update: I received an Email from the the Port Authority. Irma is being loaded with wood pellets, not grain. I was also informed that this is the first shipment of wood pellets in a number of years.


Grain Pellets were flowing from one of the spouts when I was by this morning.  For a View of the process, this post shows the loading of Patron last year.

Addtional Update: The wood pelets in question are from the Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company, which was formed when Viridis Energy acquired a pellet plant that was dormant in 2012. It was renamed Scotia Atlantic Biomass Company Limited and refurbished before opening in September of 2013. The plant is based in Middle Musquoboit, Nova Scotia with storage and port loading facilities in Halifax, Nova Scotia.


In 2013 Viridis signed a contract with Ekman & Co., based in Sweden to distribute our pellets throughout Europe for power generation, district to heating and residential heating. Halifax is just over 3,000 km to Rotterdam, the hub import for Europe. The tremendous location enables the company to take advantage of the rapidly growing demand for pellets in Europe.

Irma is currently loading 25,000 tonnes of wood pellets that are bound for Ghent, Belgium. The value of the shipment is 3-4 million dollars. She is due to Sail on the 5th. (Below our some loading shots, Courtesy of a friendly Longshoreman (thanks!))

Cabot to Pier 9 A

With Oceanex Connaigra back in service after some propeller work in Boston, Cabot can once again go into layup. Cabot normally operated the Montreal - St. Johns route, and is being replaced by the Connaigra. When displaced by Connaigra's arrival, she laid up in Montreal. it appears she will now spend some time at Pier 9a in Halifax.

Navy Cuts to CFAV Vessels

The Navy recently cut service on firebird to normal Business hours, monday to friday. It was also Announced by the CBC that CFAV Quest had the remainder of her sailing days cut for this fiscal year.

The cancelation of the FireBird evenings and weekends is really not a major issue. Atlantic Oak, and Atlantic Willow, are both equipped for firefighting - in fact - Firebirds days were numbered anyway, and the large tug replacement project specified the new tugs to replace the Glen class had to include fire capability. I am also only aware of her being used once in recent memory - back in 2008.

Quest Supports the work of the Defence Research Establishment. It is likely that Quest will continue to be funded, though out of research budgets of DRDC and not operational budgets of the Navy. DRDC is getting a new building at the French cable Wharf in Dartmouth, and their research activities have expanded in recent years, so it seems unlikely they would be left without a vessel. Given there are only 2 months left in the fiscal year, the number of sailing days cut is probably minimal.