Ferry Found for Yarmouth - the Cat is Back

 The Cat Is back!
The new Yarmouth ferry service will Start June 15th, and feature a return to Bay ferries operation and a high speed catamaran . The province has reached a 10-year agreement with Bay Ferries Limited to manage and operate a high-speed ferry between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine. The 2016 season schedule is anticipated to run June 15 to Sept. 30, departing Yarmouth and Portland daily at 8 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. respectively and returning to Yarmouth at 9 p.m.

Government will provide annual funding for the ferry service, including marketing, at $10.2 million for the first season and $9.4 million for the second. There will also be $4.1 million for start-up costs that will include terminal upgrades and $9 million towards the ferry's retrofit, in lieu of two years of charter fees.

This catamaran has a different hull form from the previous cats.  The vessel itself is very similar to the hull form used by the US Navy in its Spearhead class of Joint High-Speed Vessels. The vessel is rumored to be the former Hawaiian Super ferry Alakai.

Built in 2007, she ran for over a year before court cases surrounding an environmental review of the ferry service caused the service to be suspended in 2009, the company went bankrupt, and the 2 ferries became the property of the US Federal government who help finance their construction. She  was auctioned off by the court in 2010 for $25 million, and purchased by the US Maritime Administration. The US Navy acquired the boat in 2012, her sister going into service in the pacific, but Alakai was renamed USNS Puerto Rico and laid up in Philadelphia.

The new service is Yarmouth-based, leaving Yarmouth in the morning, travelling to Portland, and returning to Nova Scotia that evening. It will increase overnight stays in the region and provide an economic boost to Nova Scotia businesses.

It will reduce the travel time in half and eliminate the need for vessel cabins and additional onboard staff. It will also be quicker than driving between Portland and Nova Scotia.

Original:
News conference is Booked for 1 PM with the Nova Scotia transportation minister and the president of Bay ferries.

Panama Canal Expansion opens June 26th

Mark your calendars, the Panama Canal Expansion opens on June 26th. this will likely cause shipping lines to shift their vessels, and routes - especially with recent mergers and Takeovers.

Mexican Navy Tall Ship ARM Cuauhtemoc Due in May

Word is the Mexican Navy tall ship ARM Cuauhtemoc is due for a port visit in May.
She was her once before in 2008. (Will post photo when i locate it)

She is the last of four sister ships (the other 3 being Colombia's Gloria, Ecuador's Guayas and Venezuela's Simón Bolívar) built by the Naval Shipyards of Bilbao, Spain, in 1982, all built to a design similar to the 1930 designs of the German firm Blohm & Voss, like German navy tall ship Gorch Fock and her sister USCGC Eagle.

More to follow.

Stena Icemax Now 24nm Off Halifax

The Stena Icemax has now moved to a position about 24 Nautical miles off Halifax Harbour.
It is unlikely she will actually enter Halifax, but the new position makes supply runs much shorter.

She is the Blue Square in the Bottom Right corner of the Chart.

The Stena Icemax Lost her Riser when it disconnected in a storm Earlier this Month. They are now likely in the process of preparing to recover it.

Overseas Jademar Tops up Tufts Cove

Another vessel that sailed last night, Overseas Jademar spent 2 days offloading into Tufts cove tank.
The Power Plant can burn both heavy oil and Natural Gas, and will see a tanker once a year or so.

Built in 2002, Overseas Jademar is a Panamax tanker. Noteably she failed a port state control inspection in Washington State last year, due to faulty fire fighting equipment. She was allowed to sail once repairs were made.

Meta for ACL

The 2001 built 2732teu Meta made her second call in Halifax for ACL. Her first was March 6 on her Westbound Leg. She Sailed last night for Liverpool.

ACL is using Conventional Containerships to bridge the Gap between the Retirement of the G3 vessels and the service entry of the New G4 vessels.

ACL Renews Contract to 2022 - Projects Doubling Volumes

Atlantic Container Line (ACL) has decided to maintain its twice weekly call at Halifax with its new G4 RORO/Containerships. ACL will continue to serve the North American and European markets at the Fairview Cove Container Terminal of Ceres Halifax Inc. ACL and Ceres have signed a new contract that runs through 2022.

Andrew Abbott, President/CEO of Atlantic Container Line commented, “We value our long-term working relationships with the Halifax Port Authority and Ceres. We looked long and hard at various schedule alternatives for our new ships. Some excluded Halifax. But we just could not ignore the close cooperation and support of the HPA and Ceres that removed every obstacle to a long-term agreement. The quality improvements to the CN Rail service and the consistent cooperation of our ILA colleagues were also influential factors in our decision. As a result of this, all the stakeholders of the port will benefit, as ACL volume via Halifax will eventually double as all of our new ships enter service. ACL looks forward to a long future in Halifax with our large, new, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly G4 vessels. The Port of Halifax will now remain our largest port in North America, and our gateway for Canada and the US Midwest.”

“ACL has been a very important partner throughout the years,” said Calvin Whidden, President, Ceres Halifax Inc. “With the signing of this new agreement, we will now focus on working together to grow cargo volume.” “This is very positive news for all of the key players involved in reaching
this new contract,” said Karen Oldfield, President and CEO, Halifax Port Authority. “We offer our
congratulations to ACL and Ceres-Halifax, and would like to acknowledge the level of commitment shown by CN Rail throughout this process. We look forward to continuing to welcome the next generation of ACL vessels to the Port of Halifax.”

Atlantic Container Line has been continuously calling the Port of Halifax since 1970 following the inaugural call of the ACL G1 vessel Atlantic Starin 1969.In January of this year, the Port of Halifax welcomed the newest Atlantic Star which is the first of the five new G-4 ACL CONRO vessels, and was named by a ACL Halifax Staffer.

Algoma Value Tops up the Tanks

Algoma Value spent yesterday at anchor taking bunkers. Recently purchased by Algoma from the Torvald Klaveness Group of Oslo, as part of a 4 ship sale, she is the Ex Baldock.

Baldock was an infrequent visitor to Halifax, Last stopping here for bunkers in August 2011.
The Ship continues to trade in the CSL International Pool.

Stenna Icemax Looses Drilling Riser

CBC News is reporting that the Stenna Icemax, drilling for shell, disconnected from and lost the drilling riser over the weekend. It is now lying on the seabed.

In anticipation of bad weather, all drilling fluids were stopped, the drill pipe removed, and the blowout preventer on the seafloor secured. The riser is the pipe that is used to control the Blow out preventer, Supply drilling mud, and contains the drill bit. It will disconnect form the drill ship if conditions get to rough, as it acts like a fixed tether to the ship.

The Stenna Icemax is currently drilling a well names Cheshire L-97. To date she has reached a depth of 6,669.09m, with a projected final dell depth of 7,532m. The water depth is 2,143.02m. weekly status reports indicate no progress was made on the well for 3 weeks in January - the reasons for this are not known.

Atlantic Towing's New PSV's

Photo From Maasmond Maritime Daily News Clippings February 28th.

Clipper Macau - More Cement Plant.

Clipper Macau, Currently sits at anchor in the Basin, after unloading the second load of a Cement plant. She Arrived at Pier 30 Febuary 29th, and moved to the basin Mach 1. The Hold Photo below was provided. Note the TweenDeck segments being removed

BBC Louisiana, who arrived on February 18, delivered the first load of the plant, which was built in china, and is bound for Quebec.

Bluenose to get a new Rudder

 The province is accepting recommendations from an engineering review of the steering system of Bluenose II. You can find the reports Online

The report recommends replacing the steel rudder with either a wooden rudder or a composite made of fiberglass with a carbon stock. Work is underway to design a new rudder, including determining which is the better material to use. The 2016 sailing season will take place as scheduled with work on the rudder being done during the fall and winter.

The province has also resolved the outstanding delay claims with the Lunenburg Shipyard Alliance with a settlement of five million dollars of which one-point-eight million had already been paid prior to the final settlement agreement. The settlement brings the total cost of the project to $23.8 million, which includes the cost of the steering system review.

The cost of the rudder is not expected to push the final total beyond the allocated capital budget of $25 million for the project.

Cruise Schedule is Out

The 2016 cruise schedule is out. Looks to be another Good Year. Veendam Kicks things off April 30, and is back every 10 days or so. AidaMar wraps things up October 28.

Highlights include Eight inaugural calls.

• Pacific Princess (June 2)
• Norwegian Breakaway (June 29)
• Anthem of the Seas (Sept 1)
• Zuiderdam (Sept 5)
• Europa 2 (Sept 22)
• Seven Seas Mariner (Sept 22)
• Azamara Quest (Sept 30)
• Viking Star (October 9)

Anthem of the Seas is notable, as she (And her classmates) are the largest Cruise Ships in Existence. Carrying 4905 passengers + crew . Norwegian Breakaway also makes several appearances - her construction was the subject of a 2 part episode of Mighty Ships


There may be 2 more however - I have no record of Carnival Sunshine (Glory and Splendor have been the past carnival Ships) Appearing in Halifax also Serina Changed hands and was refurbished, She has previously called as Ocean Princess.

Disney Magic is back in the fall, after an inaugural run in 2014, and then not appearing in 2015.

Dutch Twins in Port today.

 

 Saturday brought the arrival of the General Cargo ship Singelgracht. She waited for Algoma Dartmouth to to return from Port Hawksbury for bunkers, topped up, and has remained at anchor since.

Last night brought the arrival of the Slotergracht to Pier 27. She is loaded with containers and a Fishing vessel on deck. (and presumably something else in her holds.

Both Vessels are part of Spliethoff's Fleet. The S Class Features three 120ton cranes - two (Aft and Midship) to the Port Side and the Forward one to Starboard. and 5 Side loading Elevators,  Which stick up on the port side, and allow the holds to be loaded without opening the hatch covers - which is useful for loading products like paper that must remain dry.

Zim Shanghai to Pier 41

Zim Shanghai arrived this morning for Pier 41. She is a regular caller in Halifax.

SPS Patiño - the Interm Interm AOR

This morning brought the arrival of SPS Patiño, a Spanish replenishment ship. She is on loan to the RCN, to allow the continued training of crews with Replenishment at Sea Duties.

She has the Distinction of having been attacked by Pirates in 2012

Photo above by @darceymckay on Twitter.

Palmerton to Pier 9

Combi-lifts ship Palmerton tied up at pier 9 Last Night. Part of Combi-Lift's CL900 class each crane is rated to 450tons, or 900tons combined lifting power. She is also Ice Class E3. Built by the Kouan Shipyard in China she and her 6 classmates were built between 2009-2010 (She is First of Class)

No word on what she's offloading, though its likely some sort of project cargo.

Primus for Melfi

Today's one arrival Primus at pier 42. She is due to sail this afternoon.

CMA-CGM Titus

CMA-CGM Titus arrived around noon at pier 41 and is expected to sail later tonight.

M/V Arrow Oil Spill circa 1970

ARROW was an enlarged version of the standard American wartime tanker design. She was one of the oldest tankers in the fleet of Aristotle Onassis, owned by the holding company Sunstone Marine Panama. At only 11379 Tons, she is about the size of  AlgoCanada, one of the many products tankers that frequent Halifax.

 On February 4, 1970 ARROW was approaching Port Hawkesbury under charter to Imperial Oil Limited and just about to complete a voyage from Aruba. She was carrying 10 million litres of Bunker "C" oil bound for a paper company near Point Tupper. Entering Chedabucto Bay, the tanker encountered severe weather and gale force winds. She ran aground on Cerberus Rock, a well-known navigational hazard that lies in wait just below the surface of the bay. While it initially appeared that there was no threat of fuel leakage, the heavy weather continued to pound the stricken tanker.

Imperial Oil issued an oil spill alert and the crew were evacuated. By the next day, an oil slick one mile long had formed and on the 8th, the ship finally split in two, with the stern sinking in deeper water. Attempts to take off the cargo were not successful nor were the attempts to recover her stern. In all, about 10,330 tons of fuel were spilled, coating 75 miles of the shoreline with thick black sludge threatening wildlife and the fishery.

 Shore cleanup was a long difficult process as was the transfer of what was left of the oil aboard ARROW to the barge, IRVING WHALE (Ironically the IRVING WHALE became an another environmental concern a few months later when she sank off Prince Edward Island with oil and PCBs which had to be recovered in 1996.) The final retrieval of oil from the ARROW wreck was completed on April 11 and pioneered many clean-up techniques used in later tanker disasters.

First AOPS off to a Good Start at Shipyard.

Global News Today Showed the following Images from Irving Shipbuilding of the First AOPS Under Construction.

Noon Hour Traffic

 NYK Rumina inbound for Fairview Cove. She met Maersk Cutter (Below) sailing from Pier 9 outside the narrows.

BBC Haren

Jones Tide returns

 

I finally caught one of these suppliers up close and not tied up at the pier.

Ningbo Express

Ningbo Express took the Western Channel through the inner harbour, as the Skogafoss was outbound from Pier 42.

British Merlin Arrives - Svitzer Nerthus gets a Job

The Disabled Tanker British Merlin arrived after midnight this morning, and took to anchorage 1. She was towed to port by Maersk Cutter, and Helped to Anchor by Altantic Oak and Willow.

Once she took up anchor, Svitzer Nerthus went along side to provide propulsion if needed.

British Merlin suffered from an engine failure enroute from Whiffen Head NL to Philidephia.

Goodwood and Tosca

The PCTC Goodwood departed Autoport over the noon hour, Her place was promptly taken by Tosca, who moved from pier 31.

Recent Incidents

ShipSpotting.com

© jack2

The MSC Monica Grounded Thursday in the St.Lawrence between Trois Rivers and Quebec. Sailing from Montreal for Saint John New Brunswick, She apparentl suffered from a Rudder failure and drifted off course.

She was refloated, by tugs OCEAN TUNDRA, OCEAN BRAVO, and OCEAN ROSS GAUDRAULT and tied up in Quebec Yesterday.


The Oil tanker British Merlin, suffered an Engine failure sailing form Whiffen Head NL to Philadelphia PA. She is currently under tow by the Anchor Handling tug Maersk Cutter, and is due in Halifax tomorrow.

British Merlin is Owned by BP and has British registry. More to follow on both these stories.

Dinkeldiep @ Pier 42

The Current holder of the St. Pierre run.

Milo for Montreal

The Tanker Milo Arrived Jan 17th. She is reportedly bound for Montreal where she will take on bunkering duties for Shell. She will likely be Canadianized, and renamed here before sailing to Montreal.

Update: She sailed tonight, for Montreal, maintaining her Name and Belize registry.

The Death of the Herald.

The Chronicle Herald news room employees went on strike today, in advance of management raming through the changes they demanded. In doing so, they have lost the one last thing that was keeping the paper alive. What Follows below is not directed at the actual (now Striking) content creators at the Herald. They do fine work. (I've even talked to a few of them about stories http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/p/media.html) No this is directed at Management of the Company.

I used to be a subscriber to the Herald. I like paper - there's something about reading print that is much more enjoyable then the screen. As a 35 y/o IT professional, that probably makes me some kind of oddity - It also makes me a member of a prime target market for the Herald. But sadly the content I wanted disappeared in the first round of layoffs in 2009. That's when I canceled my subscription. I could read wire stories for free, and in a more timely manner elsewhere, so absent a value-add opinions and news room, why would I continue subscribing.

Since then, the Herald's content has gotten thinner, and more advertorial. Real stories often are simply cut up press releases - I Cut up press releases - but I run this blog off the side of my desk in my spare time. I try to be informative, entertaining and factual, but I'll be the first to admit this site lacks production quality. That's fine for a blogger - but not a paper of record. slow news days aside, Im sure just as much news worthy stuff happens today as it did in 2008 - there are just fewer people to cover it in any detail - and that shows.

Chronicle Herald, You missed the boat. In the internet age, quality local content is king. You had the quality, but you squandered it through successive rounds of layoffs. A strong regional newsroom, Independent from regional and national corporate interest was your greatest strength. You should have leveraged that to become the dominant content creators and distributors in Eastern Canada but you let that slip away.

Betting the farm on free weekly's isn't going to do it either - Just as regularly as one is thrown on my door step, I promptly recycle it - as is, unopened. it is a product without value, that frankly I would rather not receive,  and it is just a matter of time before your advertisers realize there is no value to them. You still get my eyes online, which are marketable eyes to advertisers on your website, but they are likely soon gone, now with the decimation of your news room.

Chronicle Herald, without your newsroom, You have sunk to the level of this blog. I'm Quite Proud of this blog, but I'm not evaluated on, nor due I claim the standards of a professional news organization.  Nope scratch that. if you cant produce news with professional journalists in house, and only bet on advertorial content, then you are no better then a spammy clickbate site.

CSL Reliance - New name for an Old Face

The Bulker Barkald, recently made a run from Halifax to Philidephia. While in the City of brothery love,  She took a new name - CSL Reliance, but Maintained her Bahamas registry. She returned to National Gypsum yesterday with her new Identity.

She was built in Oshima, Japan in 2002 she was owned by the Torvald Klaveness Group of Oslo. Until November 2015 when CSL purchased her and Trilium Class vessel Balto. Both ships operates in the CSL International pool with ships of CSL Americas, Oldendorff Carriers, Marbulk Shipping Inc and Algoma Shipping Inc.

Under similar deals at the same time, Marbulk, which is owned 50/50 by CSL and Algoma, Purchased Balder (now Venture)  and Algoma  purchased Balchen (Now Algoma Vision) and Baldock (Now Algoma Value) from the Torvald Klaveness Group

ZIM Haifa at pier 42

ZIM Haida working pier 42 today.

Atlantic Star on Return Trip

This trip she went west of Georges Island, leading to nice closeups.

Svitzer Nerthus and Njal Return

The Svitzer Tugs Nerthus and Njal Returned from Milne Inlet on Bafin Island. they arrived in Halifax in June, and Sailed to Baffin Island in July. They have now likely returned to wait out the winter before returning to work up north. (the mine works all year, but only ships product July to October)

See Previous Stories From June and July,

Port Closed due to Weather

Due to Wind, All Ship Movements have stopped.

Atlantic Runner, Em Kea, and Afrodate are all circling. Several Suppliers and the Algoma Dartmouth have sheltered at pier 9, or at anchor in the BAsin.

CSl Atlas Riding the Hook

CSL Atlas Arrived last week, took bunkers and has been sitting At anchor in the basin since then.
She is likely awaiting orders..

As part of CSL's International Fleet, she is Foreign registered in the Bahamas.

Atlantic Star - Teething Issues

Atlantic Stars first Atlantic Crossing was Apparently a little rough.
On Arrival in Halifax, It was discovered that the RO-RO ramp would not lower.

No word on a Cause, but she is spending the night.

I Should Note, that A few Issues are to be expected on the first trip, of a new ship, of  a new Design.

UPDATE:
The ramp was down  when I drove by this morning, so all appears to be good now.

Maiden Call, on maiden Voyage of Atlantic Star

ACL's New Ship Atlantic Star made her first Appearance in Halifax Today. A Con-RO, the RO-RO cargo is kept centered, and containers are stored on either side. (and Above)  She is loaded right to the bow, and features a blunt nose. She also took 2 tugs - g3 vessels usually took none.

ACL Sent me the following Release:

Fritz B. King, Managing Director of Atlantic Container Line said “he is proud to see ACL’s innovative design that increases capacity without significantly changing the footprint of the previous vessels.” The “Atlantic Star” joined the company’s transatlantic service in December. The remaining four G4 vessels will be delivered during the first half of 2016. “ACL’s new fleet represents a clear commitment by our parent company, Grimaldi Group, to our clients that ACL’s unique product brand and service level will remain a strong force in markets for years to come.”

ACL provides a portfolio of five weekly transatlantic sailings covering ports in Europe, the United States and Canada. ACL’s main Container/RORO Service calls weekly at Baltimore, Norfolk, New York and Halifax, Liverpool, Antwerp, Hamburg and Gothenburg. In addition to this service, ACL provides four additional pure container strings covering 15 ports in Europe and North America.

In 2014, the company held a company-wide contest to name the new vessels, over 5,000 names were received. The “Atlantic Star” and her sister ships, “Atlantic Sail, Sea, Atlantic Sky and Atlantic Sun” were submitted and named by Halifax’s own Andrea Cox, who is a Customer Service Representative at our Halifax Customer Service Center.

The G4s are bigger, greener and more efficient than their predecessors. The container capacity is more than doubled at 3800 TEUs, plus 28,900 square meters of RORO space and a car capacity of 1300+ vehicles. The RORO ramps are wider and shallower and the RORO decks are higher (up to 7.4 meters) with fewer columns, enabling much easier loading and discharge of oversized cargo. Emissions per TEU are reduced by 65%. The fleet continues to employ cell-guides on deck, a feature that will allow ACL to extend its enviable record: ACL ships have never lost a container over the side during the last 30 years.

Paganino from Autoport

The PCTC Paganino Sailed from Autoport over the noon hour.