SNMG-2 Arrives this Morning

SNMG-2 is Currently inbound. 5 vessels are due, roughly spaced 1 hour apart.

 The First, USS Leyt Gulf took her pilot and should be in town in 40 minutes. (CG-55) is a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser. Commissioned in 1987, shes homeported in Norfolk.

 She is Followed By the Lewis And Clark Class USNS Medgar Evers (T-AKE-13). Classed as a Dry Cargo ship, she is New, having been accepted in april 2012.

The Third Vessel is the Cruiser USS Anzio. Also Ticonderoga Class, She was commissioned in 1992.

Next is the German Bremen Class frigate, F208 FGS Niedersachsen. Commissioned in 1982, this is her last cruise before she is Decommissioned.

The 4th Vessel is the Turkish Frigate  TCG Kemalreis (F-247). She was commissioned in 2000, and built to a German design MEKO-200. variants of the design include the Anzac Class, and vessels used by Greece, Portugal and South Africa.

Photos to follow..

Bluenose II Handed Over to Province - not sialing this year.

The Bluenose II(I) has been moved today, July 30, from the Lunenburg Foundry dock, where it has been berthed for the past two years, to a dock near the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. The move coincides with the official handover of the vessel to the provincial government.

Bluenose II is undergoing finishing touches by the builder and the crew, however, the move will allow people to view the boat from the waterfront, take close-up photos, and chat with the crew.

Bluenose II's new steering system has been designed and equipment orders have been placed. Building, installing and testing the equipment is expected to take most, if not all, of this year's sailing season.

Update on SNMG-2

SNMG-2 is due in Halifax on the 31st. At last check, It was made up of
FGS Niedersachsen (FFG) (Germany)
HMCS Regina (FFH) (Canada)
TCG Kemalreis (FFG) (Turkey)
USS Leyte Gulf (CG)(American)

USS Leyte Gulf and FGS Niedersachsen are confirmed attendees from various sources.
Halifax may see a west coast frigate.

Stand by for more details.

APL Coral To Fairview Cove.

APL Coral Arrived on the G6 service today and tied up at the west pier of Fairview Cove. On arrival, she tied up port side to the pier, which is opposite of normal, however makes for better photographs. (For comparison, See our Singapore Express Post.)

HMCS Toronto Sails..

HMCS Toronto Sailed on schedule at 10am. Canadian warship grey was once described to me as the color of Halifax Fog. Yep. this was the best shot of the ship I got.

HMCS Toronto sails for Mediterranean tommorow

Minister Nicholson will announce the immediate deployment of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Toronto to join NATO Reassurance measures in the Mediterranean.

Media are invited to attend the departure ceremony for HMCS Toronto as the ship sets sail for the Mediterranean Sea. There will be no media availability.

HMCS Toronto will be replacing HMCS Regina, which has been part of Standing NATO Maritime Forces since May 2014.

When: Thursday, July 24th, 2014 at 10:00 a.m.

Where: Canadian Forces Base Halifax Dockyard 

SNMG-2 which hmcs Regina is a part is scheduled to arrive in Halifax in the near future.

Unique Developer at Anchor

The Products tanker Unique Developer arrived last week from Houston loaded with refined product for Imperial Oil. She completed the offload yesterday, and moved to anchor for bunkers today.

she is scheduled to sail later this afternoon.

Lady Clarissa for Bunkers

Another One of the Ladys Stopped in for bunkers. These distinct ships with their unique crane are occasional stoppers in Halifax. Lady Christina and Lady Claudia have both stopped in Halifax in the past.

These vessels are part of the Wijnne Barends Logistics fleet. She was built in 1999, and has 2 holds, and is rated for bulk, breakbulk, and 280TEU. The crane can be used to handle containers.

EDIT 07/23: It was Lady Carissa who anchored yesterday, not Lady Claudia.

NYK Daedalus to Fairview Cove.

Todays arrival brought another NYK Vessel, NYK Daedalus. Built in Korea in 2007, she is rated at 4800TEU.

SNMG-2 to Exercise off North America.

The Nato Standing Maritime group 2, will be departing Rota Spain for exercises on the Atlantic Coast.
though the Makup of the group Can change, it currently consists of :

FGS Niedersachsen (FFG) (Germany)
HMCS Regina (FFH) (Canada)
TCG Kemalreis (FFG) (Turkey)
USS Leyte Gulf (CG)(American)

Halifax may see a west coast frigate. More details when known.

45 Years Ago Today, The Moon Belongs to Man

Santiago Basin Loads at Elevators

The Bulker Santiago Basin has spent the past few days at the elevators loading a product.
this could be wood pellets, as they are now expecting to export a large number through the port.

She is owned by Pacific Basin Shipping, and was built in 2008

Singapore Express ties up

Panamax Container ship Singapore Express tied up this evening. She arrived form Southampton, UK, and will be bound for New York on Departure.

The Latest on the Nova Dock

Word is that it will cost $60-70 million to replace the NovaDock. the shipyard is planning to issue the Tender for the replacement dock in Jan 2015 with expected delivery of 2 years from that.

The Yard is selling the Novadock for scrap.

The Current Timeline for AOPS construction starts next July with first plates cut in new facility at Windmill Rd site.  From start of cutting to expected launch will be roughly 2 years which would coincide with the delivery of the new dry dock. The New building will allow more work to be done indoors, so launches will now occur much closer to overall completion. They will also be able to do 2 vessels at once. 

This means the yard will be largely unavailable for commercial service for the next 2 years, until a replacement dock is found. No doubt Davie is thrilled, as they are the logical choice to pick up this work. There is no word on the replacement for the ScotiaDock II, which was announced in 2012.

Princess of Acadia Replacement to be announced tommorow.

Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, will be joined by the  David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick, and Gordon Wilson, NS MLA for Clare-Digby, to make an announcement concerning ferry services in Eastern Canada.

The government previously announced a new ferry would be purchased for the Digby St John Run, So this is likely the announcement of the New Boat. It Happens at 10am, St John Ferry Terminal.

NYK Meteor for Fairview Cove

NYK Meteor arrived this morning from Rotterdam. She will Sail overnight for NewYork as part of the G6 Service.

Built in 2007, she is registered in Panama, and carries 4800TEU.

Asphalt tankers Transferring in the Basin

Yesterday saw 2 asphalt tankers conducting a transfer operation in the basin. it looks like this may have been a workaround to the US Jones act - which basically requires a US built and registered Ship to trade between US Ports.

The Laden, greek flagged, Asphalt Eagle, arrived first from Gibraltar and anchored, and the smaller, Marshal Islands flagged, Asphalt Sailor  tied up along side, arriving from New York.  The smaller Asphalt Sailor Sailed for Providence Rhode Island, the larger Asphalt  Eagle sailed for Portland Maine early this morning.

one would assume a portion of the cargo was bound for each destination, and for whatever reason the larger  Asphalt Eagle could not make the trip - Hence the transfer in Halifax, so the 2 cargos originate outside the US, and non US flagged vessels can be used, as would be required to mov the cargo from Portland to Providence.

Fire on board ship Updated - HMCS St John's at Halifax Shipyard

Thanks to HRM fire buffs for informing us that halifax crews from university ave were paged out to a ship fire just after noon.

The fire is reported extinguished, and smoke is being cleared. 

Given the location of the crews it's likely the ship was at the ocean terminals suggesting the Pearl mist or one of the offshore supply vessels.

More to follow as known

Update I was provided with the following info:

at approximately 12noon today light smoke was identified aboard the frigate HMCS St. John's which is in the yard for a scheduled mid-life refit. Approximately 35 people were working aboard the ship. As a precautionary measure the ship was evacuated. The fire department was called. Initial cause appears to be a pinched electrical line on deck 4 that caused a "hot spot". Employees extinguished the smoldering area with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of the fire department. No person was injured and no damage sustained aboard the ship.

Coasting Trade application Filled by CCGS

Earlier we reported on a RFP to transport the last 2 hero class vessels to Victoria. The rfp seemed to hint that the 2 vessels could be delivered to a US port, thus averting cabotage requirements.

The CCGS has now filed a request for a coasting trade licence for a to be determined heavy lift vessel to transport the 2 hero class boats to victoria. this suggests that an rfp winner has been selected but not announced.

Seems to me a good PR Move for the feds to sail the vessels via Northwest passage - though such a trip is beyond there design range - the could be resupplied on route by other larger CCGS vessels or the RCN.

I suspect Dockwise or jumbo will be awarded the contract. The range of dates is almost a full year - Nov 1 2014 to Sept 30 2015

STS Lord Nelson to Visit Halifax Aug 2/3

STS Lord Nelson, will visit Halifax this August 2/3. This three-masted barque is one of two tall ships that are part of the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a registered charity founded in 1978 in the U.K.

The JST takes both disabled and able-bodied men and women to sea, to not only teach them how to crew a tall ship, but to promote equality, raise awareness and correct misconceptions around disability. The further aim of the JST is to offer the program at rate accessible to all.

Two years in construction, Lord Nelson was launched in 1986 in Southampton, England. Lord Nelson was built with the capability of sailing anywhere in the world with crews of mixed physical abilities aboard. She is on the Return leg of a Circumnavigation of the world.

She will tie up At Tall Ships Quay, and be open for tours
10-12 and 2-4

A tale of 2 docks - Halifax Shipyard, and the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II

As a Followup to the news that the NovaDock at Halifax Shipyards needs to be replaced, i was asked a few questions about the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II. this post should clarify things.

The Scotia Dock II was built in 1964 by Canadian Vickers Ltd for use in their shipyard in Montreal. Named General Georges P. Vanier, the dock became redundant when VersatileVickers closed down. It spent some time at Davie in Quebec, Before it was sold to Halifax Shipyards in 1998. It was towed to Halifax, Refurbished, and put into service. The original Scotiadock, was built in 1933 as Prins Hendrik Dok No.4in Rotterdam, and acquired and rebuilt by the shipyard in 1979.

The Scotia Dock II Sunk in May 2010 while submerged to dock the Stvens breaker for inspection. Her registry was finally closed on June 22 2010 and the Scotia Dock II  sold to Southern Recycling, a metal recycler on the Gulf of Mexico for Scraping. The shipyard announced at that time they would be replacing it.

(Above) Scotia Dock Just after sinking (left) About a month after sinking, Still on the bottom and (Below) being toed to the scrapper.

The Nova Dock, Was the Larger of the 2 Docks. built as a Pananmax dock, it could handle any vessel that can fit through the panama canal. Considerably newer, it was built in 1982 for MIL Industries in Sorel Quebec. I am unsure of when Halifax Shipyards picked it up, However shipbuildinghistory.com indicates that she was built for Halifax Shipyard, and it appears her registry from 1984 never had a name change. the Sorel MIL yard was closed in 1986, shortly after they merged with Davie, which resulted in the closure of the Vickers yard in Montreal and the MIL yard in Sorel, leaving only Davie.

The NovaDock was Repaired following a Collision with HMCS Preserver in November 2011 that left an above the waterline gash, and some damaged stairs in her. She was repaired, but post Scotia Dock II sinking likely subject to more scrutiny. I have been told that her inner compartments are corroded, and extensive work would be needed to refurbish her - the cost being prohibitive, it was decided to simply replace her.

As best as I can tell, the last vessel to be Docked in the NovaDock was the Tanker Havelstern (left) which emerged from the Dock in February of 2014. Since then, The Blue Putties had work done in Boston, and the CCGS Louis St Laurent was refit at Davie in Quebec - Both these are regular clients of the NovaDock. I have also been told that the unavailability of the dock has been responsible for layoffs due to lack of work.



UPDATE: Mac over at Shipfax shed a bit more light on the ownership situation. The NovaDock was in fact built for the Province of Nova Scotia, with the intention of improving business at the yard (When Halifax Shipyard was owned by the Government.) The Provence apparently retained ownership of the dock, however, In February 2013 a waterlot was transferred from the Province to the shipyard for $95,000. that lot was leased by the yard since 1982 (when the Novadock was built) for 1$/year and taken up by Irving when they bought the yard from the province in 1994. Taking ownership of this waterlot was considered a critical part of the NSPS. in light of all this, it appears that the province transferred ownership of the Novadock at that time, and it was likely sold as part of the waterlot.

Lasers

Nova Dock Needs to be Replaced

I have heard rumors that the Nova dock at Halifax Shipyard was broken and in repair.

Today I received confirmation of this:

I was told that the Nova Dock has needed repairs since at least April, and that after evaluating options, costs to repair are approaching the cost of a  New Submersible Dock. They have therefore decided to replace the dock. as the shipyard does not have the facilities to build a new dock, and are therefore in the process of attempting to source a replacement.

Shipspotting 101: Bulk Carriers.

Recent CSL Arrivals make a good lead into Bulker terminology. Firstly a bulker is a Bulk Carrier - they typically carry bulk cargos such as gravel, salt, grain, gypsum, wood pellets etc. They come in 2 Basic Types - Geared and Gearless.

Atlantic Huron is a Geared bulker, She carries her own fixed to ship unloading Gear.

Atlantic Huron is built to Seaway max dimensions, hence its stout appearance. Passing through tight locks also leaves her sides looking rough as seen in a stop from 2012 . Compare her to CSL Tacoma Earlier in the week, which is only built for ocean travel.  (Below)

Both of these bulkers are self unloading. the Holds empty onto a conveyor belt, that travels up and to the end of the boom. this greatly speeds the unloading process though at a cost of capacity. Atlantic Huron at top is unloading to the Halifax grain Elevators, but you can truly See the power of the unloading boom on CSL Metis in Tampa

Malmens (below) is a much smaller bulker, and usually carries gravel. She too is a self unloader with her boom mounted midship, and able to swing out over the pier.

Another type of geared Bulker uses cranes and clamshell buckets for unloading. Universal Amsterdam clearly shows the clamshells on deck between the First and second Crane.

Other Vessels, offer both Options - Such as Barkald, Which has both unloading Cranes and the Self unloading arm. Presumably this offers some flexibility, such as being able to load trucks or rail cars directly with the buckets at unimproved ports.

Finally we have Gearless Bulkers. These vessels rely on shore side handing facilities to offload Cargo. CSL Birchglen is an example of these.

While this post has concerned itself with unloading, We do have 2 posts on Loading. first we have Patron, a Small gearless Bulker loading grain for export. We also had a post on the geared bulker Irma loading wood Pellets.

Route Halifax St Pierre Starts

The Art of Stevedore

Windmill Parts for Sheet Harbour.

The HHL Tokyo arrived last night for bunkers, and will be proceeding to Sheet Harbour to unload wind turbine parts.

Designed for project cargo and heavy lift, HHL Tokyo was built as Beluga Procession, originally for upstart Beluga, who attempted to grow to fast and collapsed in 2011. (Beluga made a few trips to Halifax, including delivering new CGCS Lifeboats) She was Picked up by Hansa Heavy Lift of Germany as a brand new vessel, being on the blocks when Beluga Failed.

Bright Fortune Waits Her Turn

Products Tanker Bright Fortune Arrived yesterday morning and went to anchor. She is likely waiting her turn at Imperial Oil. She Arrived from Houston Tx. and likely carries refined product.

Built in 2010, She is registered in Panama.

Route Halifax Saint Pierre. Starts Tomorow.

Tomorrow marks the Start of the  Route Halifax Saint Pierre yacht race. Held Every second year, opposite the MarbleHead to Halifax Race. The Start is at noon, with the starting line near Sackville Wharf on the downtown Halifax waterfront (near Lat 44° 38.9’ N,Lon 63° 34.0’ W)

 

The finishing line will be between a flagpole with a red flashing light (Lat 46° 47.643' N, Long 56° 09.560' W) on the Frigorifique deep water wharf and the North Cardinal Buoy "Bouée du Flétan" with a white flashing light (Lat 46° 47.342' N, Long 56° 09. 170' W)

The french naval Patrol Boat Fulmar is in town for the race, and will be escorting participants. You can Follow the race progress With Yellow brick (Needs Flash)

Beauforte with Rails

The general Cargo Ship Beauforte has been tied up at pier 27 for the past week. I believe she was here with a load of rails for CN. She sailed from Poland on the 14th of June. She is owned by Beau Shipping, and currently chartered to Onego.

Built to an off the shelf design, she is a Damen Combi Freighter 8200, and was built in 2011. As an off the shelf Design, any shipyard can be licensed to produce it. For example, The Canadian Coast Guards Hero Class are Damen Designs, and have been built for many countries, by different yards.

CSL Tacoma for National Gypsum

New Trillium Class Geared bulker CSL Tacoma, passing through the narrows earlier today on her way to National Gypsum. She may now be serving as a replacement for Pioneer, who recently reportedly sailed for the scrappers.

PCTC Iris Ace

Tied up at Autoport.

Setback for McAsphalt/Stirling

McAsphalt/Stirling who are now running the Algoma Dartmouth were in the process of adding a tank to their farm in eastern passage to store bunker fuels. I stopped by to take a photo, and discovered it was damaged in yesterdays wind. As the tank was still being erected, it was lacking full support, including a roof.

Hurricane Arthur Update

With the worst of the storm still due in Halifax, many arrivals have taken shelter.

(Above)Offshore supply Vessel Panuke Sea is riding out the storm in the basin. (Below) Zim Texas arived, and went right to anchor. Maersk Palermo also arrived this morning, but tied up at 42, which is one of the most exposed piers in the port.

(Below)Thorco Celebration arrived and also went to anchor. She is Pretty typical of the general cargo vessels we get in Halifax.

(Below) Irving Tanker Acadian, also at anchor. She recently arrived from St johns, and may have product for the irving facility here.