Shipfax

A new floating jetty for the Woodside ferry terminal is under construction and it is built of concrete.
Waterworks Construction is building the new unit at the IEL pier in the Woodside industrial area in Dartmouth, and will be launching it over the next few days. Perhaps by coincidence Waterworks Construction already owns a barge made of concrete.

October 11: the pontoon under construction at Woodside.

The new structure relies on Styrofoam blocks for its floatation capability, and concrete for protection and wearing surfaces, so there is really very little mystery- it's just that the Styrofoam is not visible in the completed form.

The present jetty was built of steel in 1986 when the Woodside ferry was built, and it needs major repairs. To drydock and repair it would disrupt ferry service and it was determined that a new pontoon could be built an installed with minimum inconvenience to commuters.

October 29: workers erect the steel frame for the sheltered pedestrian area. A channel has been dug to allow the pontoon to be launched into a protected basin.

The new concrete unit, if Waterwork's existing barge is any indication, should be good for at least 75 years.
Construction is taking place mere meters from the terminal, which again coincidentally is right next to Waterwork's own base.

For more information on the pontoon see Halifax Regional Municipality documents:
5 page RFP outline, with drawing: https://www.halifax.ca/council/agendasc/documents/140211ca1111.pdf

The pontoon will be similar in appearance and function to the Halifax and Dartmouth terminals:

A hinged ramp connects the floating pontoon portion to the fixed shoreside structure.

Are you feeling left behind?

If you access this blog through another site, you may be misled as to the most recent posting. Some aggregators and other sites, do not seem to register the most recent posting. This is beyond my control!

The best way to find out what is going on with Shipfax and companion siteTugfaxis to enter the sites in the "favourites" bar on your home page and check it daily OR receive an alert by e-mail as a member/follower. That way you will be sure to get the latest posting.

HMCS Athabaskan returned to Halifax this morning after a 53 day mission in the Caribbean called Operation Caribbe (sic) during which it spent 53 days at sea, participated in six intercepts and recovered many tons of cocaine.
Canada's only operational command and control vessel, has returned to port just in time to see sister Iroquois paying off, likely before before Remembrance Day.
The ship's history is too well known to dwell on, but suffice it to say, it was laid down in 1969, launched in 1970 and commissioned in 1972. It completed a TRUMP refit in 1994 (roughly mid-life) and a refit in 2012. On return from the latter it was damaged in a collision with its towing tug. Workups following that refit started in April 2014.
Sister TribalHuron was sunk as a dive site and Algonquin will not be repaired after it was rammed by another ship. With only one true destroyer in the fleet the RCN will be severely compromised for many years to come. Athabaskan is not likely to last much more that a year to eighteen months under the present plan.

Back in 1984
HMCS Athabaskan was in its prime with its very racy twin canted funnels from its gas turbine propulsion system.:

Athabaskan is cold moved from November Alpha (Bedford Magazine) back to HMC Dockyard by Glen tugs (see today's Tugfax for more on the Glen class.)

Meanwhile at HMC Dockyard steamers ruled the day:

HMCS Annapolis and probably HMCS Huron.

HMCS Saguenay

Steam crane YD 251 is connected to shoreside steam, but HMCS Sackville has been allowed to go cold. Its post war superstructure is being removed as it is restored to its war time appearance.

And visiting ships included RFA Sir Geraint L3027 a Roundtableclass Landing Ship Logistic.

Built by no less than the Alexander Stephen shipyard it was commissioned on the glorious 12th of July 1967. It was just about to enter refit when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands April 2, 1982. The ship was very quickly returned to service, stored, bunkered and loaded with commandos, helicopters and other gear and sailed April 6. It arrived off Ascension Island April 14 transferring cargo to other combatants. From then until July it transferred bunkers from commercial tankers into the war zone, landing on several beaches to fuel and restore ground forces. It returned, unscathed, via the Ascension Island to the Marchwood, UK arriving July 23. Of the six sister LSLs in the war Sir Galahad was lost and three others were damaged.

The ship was finally decommissioned in 2003 and sold for scrap in 2005.

Thanks to Halifax Shipping News for alerting us to the names selected for Atlantic Container Lines' new G4 ConRo ships. The names AtlanticStar, Atlantic Sail, Atlantic Sea, Atlantic Sky and Atlantic Sun will become familiar to Halifax as the new ships come into service next year. However one of the names is already familiar, at least to us old timers.

Atlantic Star (i) March 3, 1970- a banner day.

The first ocean RoRo cargo ever delivered to Halifax was carried aboard the first Atlantic Star, a G1 (1st generation) ACL Con Ro ship. That cargo arrived March 3, 1970 and consisted of 200 crated Volvo car chassis for assembly in Halifax, and 200 finished Volvos for onward distribution to US markets. It landed at the newly built RoRo ramp at pier 36 (still in use today but now within Halterm). Halterm construction was still underway, and no container cranes existed in Halifax. It does not appear that the ship unloaded any containers on that trip.

Dutch flag flying, Atlantic Star has completed unloading the first RoRo cargo.

Ramp down at pier 36 - note the old freight shed - long since gone.The tarped pallet on the left is part of the RoRo cargo. The ship carries the original ACL logo and buff funnel.

Atlantic Star was built in 1967 by Atelier et chantier de Dunkerque et Bordeaux (France-Gironde) at Dunkirk, France for Holland-America Line, a founding partner in ACL. In 1976 the ship was sent to Japan and lengthened 25.8 meters by Hitachi Zosen, Innoshima. They also added hull sponsons for strength and stability. Gross tonnage increased from 11,839 to 15,000 (sources differ) and deadweight from 18,500 to 20,400 (references differ due to changes in tonnage calculations methods, conversion to metric, etc.,). Its container capacity increased by 400 TEU to 1154. The ship had four cellular holds forward and carried 367/20 ft, 94/40 ft containers below deck and 191/20 ft, 204/40 ft on deck.
Ship's propulsion was by means of a single 9 cylinder MAN engine generating 20,700 bhp through a single controllable pitch prop. As built its speed was listed as 21 knots, but this was reduced to 20 knots after lengthening. The twin funnels allowed for a clear RoRo deck access amidships.

After lengthening - the hull sponsons were necessary, but unpopular with pilots, who had to board the ship just above a specially built notch.

Passing under the MacKay bridge in 1984, the long gone Navicula and E.E.Prince are among the boats tied up at BIO, along with a weather buoy on the dock.

ACLS's original partners, Holland-America, A/B Transatlantic, Swedish-America Line and Wallenius Lines were joined in 1967 by Cie Générale Transatlantique and Cunard Steamships. As ACL ownership evolved, Atlantic Star was transferred to Cunard in 1983, and they were the owners when it was sent to Kaohsiung for scrapping December 14, 1987. It went out flying the British flag, and registered in Liverpool.

Sailing from Halifax for the last time October 11, 1987, the ship still looked impressive, despite the sponsons.

Note the dimple in the sponson where the pilot had to board.

There were only four G1 ships: Atlantic Saga, Atlantic Song, Atlantic Span (later renamed Atlantic Service) and Atlantic Star.
The G1s overlapped with the six G2 ships Atlantic Champagne, Atlantic Causeway, Atlantic Crown,Atlantic Cinderella, Atlantic Cognac, and Atlantic Conveyor (i) and the five (current) G3 ships Atlantic Companion, Atlantic Concert, Atlantic Compass, Atlantic Conveyor (ii) and Atlantic Cartier until they in turn were lengthened in 1987.

The mighty G2s raced across the Atlantic at 24 knots, carrying RoRo cargo and a modest 738 TEU and at great cost. Powered by four STAL-Laval steam turbines giving 35,000 shp to two screws, they were "gas guzzlers" extraordinaire, which meant a relatively short service life. Atlantic Cinderella (the Wallenius motto on the bow, explains the name choice - Wallenius uses operatic figures for all its ship's names) at pier 33-34, for repairs May 12, 1980. It did not sail until May 15.

Atlantic Cinderella was built at Dunkirrk, in 1970 and measured 15,347 gt. It was laid up in Jacksonville, FL in December 1984 and left in tow in October 1985 for Kaohsiung. It arrived at the scrappers January 19, 1986, ending a very short life span for a ConRo ship.
It was stated that at the time when they were no diesel engines powerful enough to drive these ships at 24 knots, and steam was the only alternative.

When the G1s and G2s were scrapped ACL's services on its own ships were consolidated on the G3s and an arrangement was made with HAPAG-Loyd to also carry ACL boxes. After several iterations, Grimaldi Group became ACL's sole owners in 2007.

Back to 1984 for a minute - the G3 ships were brand new in 1984 and 1985, and had some teething trouble:

On April 7, 1984, Atlantic Companion was making its first eastbound transatlantic crossing when it had a supercharger breakdown shortly after leaving Halifax and was towed back in by Point Vibert and Point Vigour It was tied up at pier 33-34 for repairs. The ship was launched December 3, 1983 and made its maiden voyage to Halifax, arriving March 27, 1984. Celebrating thirty years of service this year, these ships have proven to be more durable and more reliable than the G2s and even the G1s.

The red reflection in the photo above is from Cavallo (a.k.a. Cabot in later life) - making its departure from - you guessed it- pier 36. Here's what she looked like in 1984:

Cavallo entering Eastern Passage en route to Autoport, May 28, 1984. It began its weekly sailings to Newfoundland in 1982. Renamed Cabot in 1988 it continued to operate on the St.Lawrence, but sometimes from Halifax, until earlier this year when it finally went to scrap in Turkey. Much more on this ship in earlier Shipfax posts. (ASL stood for Atlantic SeaRoute, which through mergers, became present day Oceanex).

Container business in Halifax is down, but that is as a result of the current national and world economies. All the lines are still calling here, but are scrambling hard for more business or more economies in operation. .

The world's two largest lines have overbuilt and capacity exceeds demand. In order to achieve more efficiencies, they have come up with a plan. A.P.Moller (Maersk) and MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Co) have managed to convince regulators in Europe, China and the US that a ten-year VSA (Vessel Sharing Agreement) is not a merger, a monopoly, or a threat to other operators. Therefore it will come into effect in January, involving 185 ships on 21 strings on Asia-Europe, Trans-Pacific, and Trans-Atlantic routes. There will be five strings on the Trans-Atlantic alone.
Known as the 2M it replaces the P3 which had included CMA CGM, but which was rejected by China earlier this year. One difference is that the P3 would have had joint management, and was deemed to be an effective merger, at least by China. The new 2M is supposed to have only a small coordinating office, with both Maersk and MSC operating independently. How this will actually work is a mystery, since the lines use different terminals in most ports and have somewhat incompatible practices.

Halifax appears to be fairly immune to direct impact from this new VSA, but there may be fall out.

Maersk Pembroke arriving this morning from Montreal is one of four Maersk and one CMA CGM ships on the TA-4 service.

Maersk has let it be known that their TA-4 (Transatlantic 4) service from North Europe to Montreal, Halifax and return, will remain, and not be included in the VSA. However it is possible that the bumping of mid-size ships may result in different ships on the TA-4. Maersk has a sharing arrangement with CMA CGM, which provides one ship on the five ship rotation.

The 22 knot MSC Kyoto at speed on the St.Lawrence in 2013.

Built in 1981 as Lexa Maersk it was lengthened in 1984, then sold to Costamare and renamed Maersk Tokyo in 1997 and MSC Kyoto in 2007. It was scrapped in July of this year.

It operated on MSC's Caribbean service.

MSC does not call in Halifax, but has two services to Montreal. SLSC1 (jointly with HAPAG-Lloyd and OOCL) and an independent service from Montreal to the Caribbean that calls in Saint John.
They will not be effected likely because their ships have a high ice class and were built for the route, altough MSC has been known to put odd ships on the run.

OOCL Belgium was built for the St.Lawrence service.

As was Montreal Express - they operate year round.

MSC has also announced that its North Europe/Boston/Philadelphia service will be maintained outside the 2M VSA. The 2M's Trans-Atlantic service will concentrate on New York and ports farther south.

Halifax Express is one of the ships on the G6 Alliance service to Halifax that will compete head to head with the 2M.

There are numerous other VSAs and pooling arrangements between shipping lines, notably the G6 Alliance which calls in Halifax and includes HAPAG-Lloyd, OOCL, APL, MOL, NYK and Hyundai. That agreement ends in 2016. It has also announced a winter ship reduction for its Asia-US West Coast and Asia-US East Coast (including Halifax) services. That is as a result of week trading, and will see some 16 ships laid up or reassigned.

One possible ray of sunlight is the immense backlog of ships in Los Angeles/Long Beach port due to logistics delays on land, brought on by larger ships. Many of the ships delayed are ones we see in Halifax, so shippers may decide to re-route their cargoes.

Another point of future interest is the embryonic Canada Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) that still must be ratified by EU countries. If adopted as is, it will allow European shipping lines to trade between Canadain ports. Maersk's TA-4 would then be able to transport empties from Montreal to Halifax (which they are not allowed to do now) and even some cargo or make it a feeder service. MSC could do the same between Montreal and Saint John.

A well loaded Zim Tarragona sails on misty October 29, carrying numerous HAPAG-Lloyd boxes

Left out of all the above is the notable exception of ZIM. It is the only major not included in any of these VSAs and alliances (altough it does have slot charter arrangements). Whether this will be to the line's advantage or disadvantage is hard to tell. Some say it will benefit them. As they enter a new era after financial restructuring, they are expected to order larger ships (they are already chartering in larger ships that call in Halifax). Working from their hub in Kingston, Jamaica, it is possible they will be able to compete even on trans-Atlantic work, which they abandoned years ago. Unfortunately ZIM has been targeted by protestors in the US due to its association with the state of Israel. In recent weeks ZIM ships have been delayed in Oakland, CA, and Tampa, FL, by demonstrations against Israel's recent actions in Palestine.

Amoing other factors that will bear on Halifax in the coming months:
- the new Panamax canal and its larger size limits (which will be exceeded by improvements to the Suez Canal)
- fuel surcharges on containers to compensate for the new low sulphur content regulations that come in to effect in January.
- pressure for improved port efficiency. With some Asian ports moving 120 containers per ship per hour, major US ports in the 80-85 range, Halifax's and Montreal's 51 seems slow. However the number of cranes per ship in some of those ports is twice what we offer.Halterm has already added new cranes this year and Fairvew is expecting some next year, but the giant ships that would justify more cranes are not on the horizon. Productivity in our case would be to ensure that ships get out of port in 8 hours, without overtime charges.

One big ship and seven cranes would certainly show vastly more moves per hour per ship than Halifax could produce. One mid-size ship with three cranes or maybe four would be about our limit, but usually it is only two.

Cerescorp's two large cranes work the largest sizes of ships that come to Halifax. Its smaller cranes don't have the height or reach to work the big ships fully.

The Shipfax archives contain thousands of old photos, which will begin to appear again on this blog.

Wooden Ships

In the late 1960s it was not uncommon to see wooden hulled ships in Halifax. There were still lots of fishing vessels being built of wood in those days, but wooden cargo ships were still trading with Newfoundland and St-Pierre et Miquelon.

Trade from the Magdalen Islands was multi-directional. The islands, stuck in the middle of the Gulf of St.Lawrence are part of the Province of Quebec, but the fish catches were exported not only to Quebec, but also to Cape Breton, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. The Co-opérative de transport maritime et aérien (CTMA) was responsible for much of that trade, (and as the name implied also operated aircraft).
They ran a weekly service to Halifax via the Strait of Canso and Canso town, using two Nova Scotia built wooden ships.Generally carrying fish to Halifax and returning with a variety of freight.

Flojald II was built in 1936 at Metéghan, NS and measured 92 gross tons. First owner was LeRoy E. Russell of Grand Manan, NB. He traded to the east coast US as far afield as Gloucester and Salem, MA, carrying lumber from such ports as Weymouth, and Metéghan NS and returning with general freight. After World War II ownership passed to Ernest L. Cormier of the Madgalen Islands then to the CTMA.
Flojald II was retired in 1969. Built along rum runner lines, it housed its crew forward in a traditional schooner-like forecastle. Its hull was sheathed in hardwood from just above the waterline for work in ice.

Maid of Clare came from A.F.Thériault + Son shipyard in Metéghan River, NS in 1944 (Clare is the district of Yarmouth County where Metégahn is located). It measured 145 gross tons. It was slightly modified from the rum-runner form with crew's forecastle, but with its galley in the deckhouse. Its hull was also sheathed for working ice.

First owners were Bernard Melanson and Ernest Melanson of Gilbert's Cove, NS. Ownership passed to the Co-op in the early 1950s. On June 23, 1969 a galley fire broke out while the ship was in the Strait of Canso while en route to Halifax. All seven crew escaped, and landed on Cranberry Island off Cape Canso, but the ship was a total loss. Her cargo of smoked herring, canned clams and other general freight was also lost.

The ships used a rickety old pier that is barely recognizable now as the tourist friendly Privateer's Wharf.

With the Made of Clare fire the wooden boat era was over for the Co-op, but the service was resumed with the steel ship Brion, which had a story of its own - but that is for another time.

The Swiss flagged Clipper Helvetia arrived this morning (in driving rain) and tied up at pier 27.
It carries on its deck a cargo of wind turbine blades, apparently from Spain.

Built in 2013 by Sanfu Ship Engineering Co in Taizhou, China, Clipper Helvetia measures 14,941 gt / 17,551 dw and carries three 80 tonne cranes, which can combine for 150 tonne lifts. The ship's bridge is also offset to the starboard side of the superstructure.
The ship is owned by Enzian Shipping of Zurich, but operates in the Thorco pool, which includes Thorco and Clipper Projects ships.

Nowadays most refrigerated cargo goes by container, where plug in diesel generators provide shore power and ships are equipped with plug ins and monitoring systems. All the container lines using Halifax carry extensive reefer capacity, not least of which are Zim, Maersk and HAPAG-Lloyd.

Meat, produce, fish and other temperature sensitive cargoes are all carefully climate controlled in containers these days. There are still dedicated refrigerated ships, but even they carry containers.

While in Hamburg in June I was reminded that 'was not always thus. The preserved refrigerated cargo ship Cap San Diego is an excellent example of the late reefer era, when fruit and produce, especially bananas, was transported by fast ship, generally painted white, that were designed for speed more than capacity. Germany was one of the biggest users of reefer ships, with Hamburg being a primary port for refrigerated cargoes.

Cap San Diego is one of several preserved ships in Hamburg.

Many general cargo liners had reefer capacity too - but usually only in one or two holds.

Even in 1984 (Shipfax's featured year this time around) and well into the container era, there were still lots of refrigerated ships calling in Halifax.

In 1984 Satsuma was operated by Swedish company Salén, but was originally one of the Maritime Fruit Carriers fleet from Israel, named Satsumacore built in 1970 in Norway.

When MFC went into bankruptcy in 1975 due to the collapse of its tanker business, its fleet of 42 attractive modern ships, many with engines 3/4 aft, were dispersed to different owners. Sold again in 1988 and renamed Copacabana, it was damaged by fire in Piraeus in 1993 and broken up in Aliaga, Turkey later that year.

But looking deeper into the shoebox we can find more reefers:

In 1970 The United Fruit Co (Chiquita) was still operating its traditional looking Great White Fleet.

The newly renamed Patia was built in 1947 at Sparrows Point, PA by Bethlehem Shipbuilding

and broken up in Italy in 1972. It had carried the name Yaque until 1970, when it was transferred within UFC to Fyffes Group Ltd. It was in Halifax loading corrugated cardboad to take to South America for banana cartons.

Now known as Chiquita Brands International, the company's shipping arm still exists, and uses its former nickname as part of its corporate identity: http://www.greatwhitefleet.com/About/AboutGWF.asp

Cuba had a fleet of reefers for exporting fruit and transporting its fish products. Golfo de Guacanayabo was built in Japan in 1978. After a lengthy career, with a variety of names it was broken up in Turkey in 2013.

One well known reefer operator was the Dutch Dammers and van der Hiede. Their Atlantic Star measured 499 tons and was in Halifax to load fish and general cargo for the Caribbean.

From 1964 to 1973 it operated on charter to Shaw Steamships of Halifax. It then had nine subsequent names, and flew the flags of Panama, Ghana and Honduras until removed from Lloyd's in 2012.

The Japanese were large reefer operators, and Ryusei Maru was in Halifax in 1984 following the tuna fishing fleet.

The most prized tuna catches were airfreighted to Japan, but some went home the long way by sea. However, on this trip, the ship was carrying frozen squid from South America, used to bait the tuna hooks.

In 1995 the ship was converted to a livestock carrier and scrapped in 2011.

Only a few Canadian ships had refrigerated capacity. Caribou Reefer ran between Newfoundland and Gloucester, MA with fish, returning with produce and general cargo.

It made some trips further afield as well, participating in Northern Supply in 1966, reaching Frobisher Bay.

A 1963 product of Collingwood Shipyard, the 490 tonner was reflagged to the Bahamas in 1976 and was sold in 1979, then carried the names 79: Polar Queen, 80: Toma, 87: El Cancun, 90: Transcargo, 91: Caonabo I. It was removed from Lloyd's in 2012.

Polar Ecuador accelerates out of Halifax in 1979 working up to its 23.5 knot cruising speed.

The best looking reefers ever built in my opinion were the six twin funnel sister ships of the Polar class, of Hamburg-Sudamerikanische D.G. Built by Blohm+Voss in Hamburg, they came out in 1967-68, and featured early computerized engine controls, shaft powered generators, and even a hands free flag dipper. They were plagued with glitches however and their 14,880 bhp Pielsticks had an unfortunate history of crank case explosions. Most were sold after ten years, and went through a variety of owners and names.

Polar Argentina was lost by engine room fire in 1982, Polar Brasil was scrapped in 1986, Polar Colombia lasted until 1998, Polar Ecuador was scrapped in 1985. Polar Paraguay was arrested in Halifax in 1985 and sold at auction, but lasted to 1993.

Dedicated reefer ships are not extinct - they still run on many routes, but the reefer can has certainly cut in to their numbers.

For the second time in a month, two United Product Tanker ships are in port at the same time. On October 1 it was Mount Kibo and Conti Guinea : http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/10/upt-times-two-in-basin.html
This time around it is Conti Guinea and Cape Beale and this time both have red hulls.

Cape Beale arrived after dark on November 1, anchored in the Basin and moved to number 4 dock yesterday. It is owned by Columbia Ship Management of Hamburg.

Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in UIsan built both ships, Cape Beale in 2005, at 25,108 gt, 40,327 dwt. Conti Guinea in 2008 at 23,403 gt, 37,554 dwt. Both tankers operate in the United Product Tanker pool, and wear their respective owners funnel marks and colour schemes, which include similar hull colours.

Conti Guinea arrived for this visit before dark on November 1, and anchored in Bedford Basin and moved alongside Imperial Oil's number 3 dock yesterday.

I mentioned in the previous post about ACL G1 ships that the sponsoned hulls presented problems for pilot boarding. Regrettably I don't have photos of the actual boarding or disembarking operation. However, if you can visualize it, the pilot boat must come alongside the ship, often in swells, and align itself with the ship so that the pilot can use the pilot ladder safely, timing his movements with the swells so that he is not crushed between pilot boat and ship.

Nowadays
On high freeboard ships, such as some container ships and autocarriers, there is a door let into the ship's hull, below the weather deck and closer to the waterline. This reduces the height the pilot has to climb.
OOCL Oakland is an example of how this works:

A pilot ladder is suspended adjacent to the hull door. Although the pilot needs some agility to transfer from ladder to doorway, the door is sufficiently high that he is out of the way of the boat whern he makes that transition. The is also a safety railing around the doorway.

On the current Atlantic Container Line G3 ships, the ladder is rigged from the doorway itself, Atlantic Cartier is typical:

The door is also sufficiently high above the waterline that it will be clear of the pilot boat except in extreme sea conditions. In that case, the companionway is positioned such that it could be used instead of the doorway.

In 1984
When the G1 (S class) ACL's were lengthened, large sponsons were attached to the hull for strength and stability. Atlantic Song is typical:

The sponsons prevented the pilot from getting alongside the ship's hull, and thus to reach a pilot ladder. The solution was to recess the pilot door in a recessed area of the sponson (well aft of amidships), and extend a small platform and steps for boardng directly into the ship.

Here's a blowup:

It doesn't take much imagination to visualize how awkward this could be in any kind of sea. I suspect that there were may wet pilots in those days.

Another feature of the lenghtening of the G1s and G3s were long steel plate battens welded to the ships' hulls just below the deck line. These added longitudinal strength to the longer ships.

Clipper Helvetia sailed last night [http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/11/clipper-helvetia-look-what-just-blew-in.html]- still with its deck cargo of wind turbine blades. These were not destined for Halifax. Instead the ship unloaded rails from its aftermost hold.
It then went on to Liverpool, NS where the blades are to be unloaded at the former Bowater Mersey paper mill site at Brooklyn. The site is being used as the staging point for the blades for transport overland to the South Canoe Wind Farm near New Ross.
There will be 34 turbines at the South Canoe site when it is completed.
By coincidence, the blades come through the port of Bilbao, Spain and so do rails for CN. The ship was able to combine the two cargoes.

A new book The Canadian Coast Guard Fleet 1962-2012 by lead author C.D.Maginley celebrates the service's ships during its first 50 years. It is available from Long Hill Publishing. For more information and ordering see: http://longhillpublishing.ca/

Looking back over the CCG it has seen many changes, and as 1984 is the feature year for Shipfax, here is a look at what was happening thirty years ago.

The Coast Guard's Search and Rescue ships were painted in a distinctive scheme, which didn't last long! The scheme included the smaller inshore boats as well as the mid-shore and deep sea rescue vessels:

CG 124 arriving in Tadoussac, QC displays the CCG SAR colour scheme. Built in 1980 by Breton Industrial+Marine, Point Tupper, NS, it was later renamed Ile Rouge. It served until 2011 when it was decommissioned and laid up in Prescott, ON and renamed 2013-01.Earlier this year it was sold as a pleasure craft and renamed Never on Time by Provincial Maintenance Inc of Niagara Falls, ON.

Ville Marie in the shadows of the mobile grain legs in Quebec City was built in 1960 by Russel-Hipwell Engine Co, Owen Sound, ON. It was built as a survey vessel, but transferred to SAR duties in 1980. The smallest diesel electric ship in the fleet, it was retired in 1986 and sold to a mission society.. Renamed Heavenbound, its conversion stalled for funds, then acquired by a Toronto area owner in 1995. He renamed it Still Watch and it achieved some fame in a TV sereis where iut was given the unofficial name of Vast Explorer. For more photos see the Russel web site: http://stevebriggs.netfirms.com/osmrm/xvillemarie.html

In 1984 the primary SAR vessel in Halifax was Alert, built in 1969 by Davie SB+R in Lauzon, QC. It was laid up in 1994, chartered to the RCN, then back to the CCG in 1995 when it was finally decommissioned and renamed 1996-01. It was sold to J.Marr Co of the UK for offshore standby work and renamed Ocean Alert and after several resales, ended up treasure hunting in the Caribbean. It was scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey October 24, 2011.

With new ships ordered for buoy work and light icebreaking the older units were enjoying their last years of service.

Alexander Mackenzie was built in 1950 by Burrard DryDock in North Vancouver, with a sister ship Sir James Douglas, for navaids work on the West Coast. It was transferred east in 1982 in exchange for Wolfe, and remained in service until 1988 when it was in turn replaced by Montmorency.
Renamed 902 It was sold in 1990 to Quebec owners involved in selling old fishing vessels to South America. Its activities have been somewaht vague since then, but in 1990 it became Viviane II for Balladier Shipping of Panama City, Panama and is still in existence according to Lloyds.

Thomas Carleton was one of series of similar ice strengthened buoy tenders. Built by Saint John Dry Dock in 1960, for service in the Bay of Fundy. It is seen above riding heard on spectator craft during the 1984 Tall Ships Parade in Halifax. It was powered by durable Fairbanks Morse diesels.
It served until 1991 when it was renamed 1003. Breifly renamed Aurora Explorer (the name was never painted on the ship's hull). It became the Sea Shepherd Society's Cleveland Amory in 1993 and achieved notoriety when it cut the trawl lines of the Spanish fishing vessel Rio Las Casas on the Grand Banks. However it suffered and engine failiure, was towed into St.John's, seized and sold at auction. The new owners renamed it Hawkeye Express and it reached Willemstad, Curaçao where it was arrested again for wage claims.It is believed to have been scrapped, and was dropped from Lloyds in 2002.

Some of the Navaids ships were still steamers:

Walter E. Foster was a product of Canadian Vickers in Montreal in 1954. It was also built for the Bay if Fundy and worked out of Saint John, and was rarely seen in Halifax. However in July of 1985 it arrived in Halifax in tow (yes) of Mary Hichens and laid up after a boiler collapse. It was soon de-rigged and cannibalized for parts. It was fitted with a Unaflow steam engine.

In Janaury 1986 it was moved to the Jetty Lima (still with its hammerhead crane). All its ports were welded over and in early October it was towed to sea and sunk as a target by the RCN.

My favourite steamer was:

The first Edward Cornwallis, built in 1949 by Canadian Vickers, the builders also constructed its steam machinery on the Unaflow system. Note the little wisp of steam emanating from its stack while alongside at the Dartmouth CG base.
The prototype for the 1950s era ice strengthened ships of various sizes, she served until 1986 when she was replaced by a new ship of the same name. Renamed Edward to avoid a conflict, she was finally sold in 1987 and towed to Coburg, ON. Her future as night club or inn came to naught and in 1993 she was towed to Port Maitland, ON and broken up.

The icebreaking fleet was hard at work, with three ships based in Halifax, Labrador, John A. Macdonald and Louis S. St-Laurent. More of that in Part 2.

The Coast Guard's heavy icebreakers based in Halifax in 1984 were Labrador, John A. Macdonald and Louis S. St-Laurent. It was a trick to get all three ships in the same photo, so I had to dig a bit deeper into the shoe box for this 1982 photo:

John A. Macdonald, Louis S. St-Laurent and Labrador at the Coast Guard base in Dartmouth.

Labrador

CCGS Labrador in the graving dock at Halifax Shipyard

Built for the Royal Canadian Navy but unceremoniously transferred to the Minister of Transport in 1958, Labrador was the first naval ship to complete a Northwest Passage and the first naval ship to circumnavigate North America: Halifax to Halifax July 23 to November 21, 1955. Built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel, QC in 1953 and based on the USCG Wind class, it acquitted itself well in CCG service, and probably broke a lot more ice than it ever would have for the RCN.
Nearing the end of its working life in 1984, it was finally laid up in 1987 and renamed 1210 in February 1988. In September of that year it was towed out of Halifax by the Polish operated tug Rembertiturm. Upon reaching Balboa, 1201 was left while the tug returned to Mobile, AB for USCG Westwind and on return to Panama took the ships in tandem tow for Taiwan. The tug was sold en route, renamed Ocean Range and handed over the tow to Pacific Rescuer. The trio arrived in Kaohsiung June 24, 1989.

John A. Macdonald

Arguably the finest icebreaker the Coast Guard ever operated, John A. Macdonald did many remarkable things in its 31 year career. Built in 1960 by Davie SB+R in Lauzon, QC, the 15,000 shp triple screw diesel electric ship broke through the Northwest Passage in 1967 to rescue fleetmate Camsell from ice in the western Arctic, then broke out USCG Northwind north of Point Barrow, returning to Halifax via Panama. In 1969 she escorted the tanker Manhattan both ways in the Northwest Passage, and in 1975 rescued Camsell again.

She was not so fortunate in 1984 when she broke a prop blade while breaking out the Irving Oil tanker Arctic in the high north. On November 7, 1984 CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent was sent to assist in getting the John A. back to base by about December 1. John A. went into the Novadock floating drydock at Halifax Shipyard December 3 and completed repairs and the fitting of a new prop December 19.
The ship received a life extension refit in 1987, and despite more distinguished service the ship made its paying off trip in Halifax harbour December 2, 1991. It was renamed 1201 in 1992 and left Halifax November 22, 1993 in tow of the Dutch tug Elizabeth for India.

The day before its paying off trip John A. Macdonald looked amazingly good.

Many plaques and other mementos of its activities lined the bulkhead. The Manhattan trip held pride of place (despite the misspelling of the ship's name!). The 1987 refit, only four years before was not enough to save it from the ax.

Almost finished with engines.

Louis S. St-Laurent

Louis S. St-Laurent is still with us and will be be for many more years. As stated above, it was thirty years ago that the Louis was called out to fetch John A. Macdonald, but it was during the famous Manhattan voyage that it cut a wide swath around the stalled convoy and impressed even the most jaded arctic hands.
However it was on one of those passes that it acquired the famous "Manhattan crease" which still appears on its hull, starboard side aft, at main deck level.

After refits, repowering and an entirely new bow, the Louis looks quite different today, and of course it is no longer based in Halifax.

All three icebreakers at the Dartmouth base in 1982, with the Dartmouth Marine Slips in the foreground, as seen from the Queen's Square building. Today's view from the same window would be barely recognizable.

For Part 3 we will look back at some of the "lesser lights" of the CCG fleet in 1984.

It has often been German ships that have wound up the cruise season in Halifax. This year Plantours'Hamburg is the second last ship. Despite the fact of missing out on the honours, it is certanily a ship worth a second look.
Built in 1997 by the MTW shipyard in Wismar, Germany for operation by HAPAG-Lloyd, it carried the unusual official name of c.Columbus. The small "c" was usually omitted in marketing the ship, and it was known simply as Columbus. In 1997 there was already a Columbus registered in the Bahamas, a tanker, the former Maersk Javelin ex Jakob Maersk, and regulations prevented name duplication for official purposes.
A relatively small cruise ship, with a capacity of 420 passengers and 170 crew, it was built with several unusual destinations in mind, including the Great Lakes. To fit the St.Lawrence Seaway locks, the ship was built with no projections beyond the ship's sides. Therefore it has no bridge wings but does have small hinged platforms that allow for one person to see the ship's side when berthing. Also all lifeboats are accommodated completely inboard, and there are no rub rails.
After periodic Great Lakes visits until 2011, HAPAG decided to redeploy the ship when they ordered a newer vessel.
In 2012 operation shifted to Plantours, and the ship was renamed Hamburg.
It first called in Halifax the year it was built,

c.Columbus arrived on a beautiful fall day in 1997, in HAPAG-Loyd colours..

Its 2014 visit as Hamburg was on a much less pleasant day, with driving rain on and off. I noted the addition of another communications "golf ball" just forward of the funnel, and perhaps a larger one over the bridge. Other than the colour change, and new funnel mark, the ship looks to be otherwise unchanged.

Rumours that HMCS Iroquois would be paid off today proved to be just that. The word went out a few weeks ago when the government announced that the ship's career would be coming to an end due to hull corrosion.

No sail past event took place today, and no one is committing to a date. Such an important event is usually well publicized, certainly for a ship that has such a distinguished career. A paying off ceremony usually includes a sail past at HMC Dockyard, for a formal salute, and the ship is dressed and flies a paying off pennant.
The pennant, by Royal Navy tradition, is the length of the ship plus one foot per year of service.
By my strictly unofficial calculation, that would make a pennant of 426 ft plus 42 ft (if the date of the ship's first commission is used) = 468 feet.
Although I do not know if the RCN has ever done this, some navies have used balloons to fly the long pennant.

There is nothing new about tankers in waiting in Halifax. It seems to be the rule now that product tankers arrive, wait their time at Imperial Oil and sail - most never to be seen here again. Except there is a minor twist on today's list.

Valle Bianca tugs at its anchor line in a stiff breeze in Bedford Basin.

Valle Bianca, Italian owned and flagged, predictably built in South Korea in 2007, measures 29,996 grt, 50,633 dwt. Builders are listed as SPP Shipbuilding Co, Tongyeong - a new one on me. It is anchored in Bedford Basin until Esso is ready for it.

East Coast, also Korean built, has been flying the Canadian flag since October 6, when Irving Oil needed another ship for domestic work. It is on long term charter from Vroon and previously flew the Marshal Islands flag as Nor'Easter. http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/10/noreaster-blows-in-to-east-coast.html

East Coast comes to anchor this afternoon in the lower harbour.

This is not the first time it has been in Halifax with its new name, but when it was here October 16, the fog was too thick to see it, let alone take a picture. It is here for bunkers, but may have to wait until the wind dies down before Algoma Dartmouth comes alongside. It is interesting that the ship would bunker with fuel other than Irving's own, but I understand that the Saint John terminal is very busy importing crude and exporting product due to work on the Canaport buoy, where the crude is normally unloaded. Some crude tankers are even going into the LNG terminal to unload. A shuttle has also been set up with the Afrodite and Great Eastern pressed into service as lighters to transfer crude from anchored ships to the refinery terminal.

The letter "N" below the funnel distinguishes the ship from its three sisters.

I wondered in my previous post if the ship would have its letter "N" replaced with an "E" - that has not happened yet. Perhaps uniquely in a tanker fleet, each ship carries the first letter of its name on its superstructure. Since all four of the ships are identical, this is likely a means of identifying them visually when the name isn't visible.
There is a credible rumour that Irving Oil will be acquiring a fifth charter tanker which will be named Nor'Easter.

Atlantic Larch on the port bow, and Atlantic Willow on the starboard quarter (not visible) get set to turn Macao Strait in the stream off Halterm.One tug could do the job if there was no wind.

Melfi Lines ships change in and out frequently, so a first timer is not a rarity. Today's arrival Macao Strait is on its first voyage for Melfi from Europe to Cuba. The 21,108 grt, 25,903 dwt ship is a product of the Taizhou Kouan Shipbuidling Co in Taizhou, China in 2008. It is equipped with a pair of 40 tonne cranes and has a capacity of 1795 TEU of which 319 may be refrigerated. It is owned by the German company of Carsten Rehder and has changed names six times in its short life. It started off as Macao Strait but was soon renamed Niledutch Qingdao for a charter. When that ended in 2011 it reverted to its original name and in 2012 became BG Freight Atlantic. That only lasted to 2103 when it reverted again briefly, before becoming Vento di Ponente. It assumed its original name again earlier this year. It is registered in the Portuguese offshore registry in Madeira.

What was to be the last cruise ship of the 2014 season arrived off Halifax early this morning, but opted to keep on going. There were very high winds and seas at the time, and perhaps that is why it kept going. In any event it continued on its merry way at all of 12 knots until late this afternoon when it struck out across the Gulf of Maine and picked up its pace to 13 knots. This cruising speed may have been to give its passengers a more pleasant ride - I hope so, because it might have been unpleasant out there otherwise.

Legend of the Seas on a more placid day when it did arrive as scheduled in September.

Legend of the Seas was to be the finalist in the 2014 cruise season, but that distinction now reverts to yesterday's visitor Hamburg. This was the first year for this Legend to call in Halifax - see also: http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/09/legend-arrives.html

Seas had flattened, making it possible for the pilot to disembark safely when Fusion sailed this afternoon, but it was still breezy.

The wind was severe enough that the St-Pierre RoRo ship Fusion remained in port last night and waited until noon today to sail. Also the cargo ship Clipper Helvetia that was supposed to come up from Liverpool, NS this morning remained there.

High winds also forced the cancellation of the ferry services between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland today. Also the Bay of Fundy service between Digby, NS and Saint John, NB was to resume today, but did not. The ferry Princess of Acadia passed Halifax last night en route from its repairs at the Verreault shipyard in Méchins, but it hove too off Yarmouth for the night due to wind and sea conditions.
The winds are headed for Newfoundland and Oceanex's Oceanex Avalon opted to go north about on its departure from St.John's yesterday. Instead of heading south, then through the Cabot Strait to the Gulf as usual, it set a course for the Strait of Belle Isle and will sail through the Mingan Passage, north of Anticosti Island on its way to Montreal.. Such a rerouting is not unheard of, but only occurs in the most severe conditions.

Today marks the twenty-five anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the re-unification of Germany after it was partitioned following World War II.
During the Cold War era, when the Berlin Wall symbolically and physically separated east from west, there was a strange truce of sorts on the fishing grounds off Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Eastern bloc countries had a huge fishing effort, lead by the USSR, including Latvia and Lithuania, but also with the participation of Poland, East Germany, and even Bulgaria and Rumania. Cuba was also involved. They fished near West German, British, Canadian, American, Spanish and Italian ships and generally avoided conflict.

Seen across the deck of a Polish side trawler, the modern West German stern trawler Neufundland lies at pier 30 . Built in 1967 it was renamed Hildesheim in 1970, and sold to Cape Town owners in 1976. Renamed Sacip it was sunk as a naval target off South Africa in 2001.

Neufundland fished out of Bremerhaven and carried number BX 108. Its stern ramp was used to haul the fish net aboard in sheltered conditions. It was much safer than the side trawling method.

Halifax and St.John's, as the closest major ports to the fishing grounds, often hosted these ships for repairs, stores and just plain rest and recreation for the crews.
It was not unusual to see East and West German ships berthed close to each other. What interaction there might have been between crews was usually limited by political officers aboard the Russian ships, but these were somewhat less obvious with the Polish and East German vessels.
With Canada gradually increasing its territorial claims from 3 miles, to 12 then to 200 miles offshore, the Eastern Bloc fishing presence diminished over time, but even so the cod stock declined and eventually collapsed. By the late 1980s most of the foreign fleet had gone elsewhere or had been scrapped.

Robert Koch was a mother ship that accompanied the East German fishing fleet. Built in 1955. It contained hospital facilities and other support functions including a spare parts store and a machine shop.Based in Rostock, the home port of the East German Fischkombinat, it was broken up in 1987 at Santander, Spain.

Zwickau was a side trawler, built in 1952 by Volswerft Stralsund in East Germany. Carrying number ROS-203 it was outmoded by the 1970s as stern trawlers took over. Winter conditions for fishing crews were unpleasant enough, but when freezing spray accumulated the ships put in to Halifax to clear the ice before the ship's stability was compromised. Purdy's Wharf was a favourite berth.

The West German Venus fished out of Bremerhaven, where it was built in 1962, and was a modern stern trawler. In addition to its 1800 bhp main engine, it had a 545 bhp diesel generator that drove an electric motor for secondary propulsion. Sold to Spain in 1973, it suffered a fire at sea and sank in tow December 8, 1979. It arrives at pier 23 with linesmen and one avid photographer waiting on the brow of the pier.

Elvira Eisenschneider was one of a large class of East German stern trawlers. Built in 1966 it arrived in San Esteban de Pravia May 12, 1987, and was broken up June 25, 1987 at La Arena. It is shown tied up on the south side of Purdy's wharf.

The East German Willi Bredel was similar to the Russian fish factory stern trawlers that processed fish on board. It was built in 1966.Following re-unification it was laid up and arrived El Ferrol December 9, 1991 for scrapping. Spending long periods at sea without maintenance, meant that most trawlers, especially from the Eastern Bloc, were notoriously rusty.

Ludwig Renn, also a freezer factory trawler, was stuck in Halifax for a few days in 1988 when ice choked the harbour. The ice did not form in Halifax, but had drifted down the coast from the Gulf of St.Lawrence. Built in 1982, it passed to the German flag on re-unification, and was renamed Hercules in 1993. In 1995 it was sold to Russia and renamed Mekhanik Bryzgalin. It has not been reported recently.

Ernst Haeckel , as with most East German trawlers, was built by Volkswerft in Stralsund, and was one of the last ones built before re-unification. It came out in 1987 and soon passed to the German flag. In 1995 it was sold to Russian interests, and renamed Mio. It was broken up at Jingjiang, China in February of 2014.

With the declaration of Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone to 200 miles offshore, and its policing of fishing effort outside of that zone on the nose and tail of the Grand Banks, European nations also began to police fishing activity under the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Association Convention. Some former trawlers became research or patrol vessels, such as Ernst Haeckel.

All Easter bloc ships were suspected of spying on Canadian and American naval activity, and were often seen shadowing NATO exercises. These accusations were difficult to prove, but most of the trawlers we saw in Halifax certainly did a lot of fishing too.

Plunked down at the entrance to Mahone Bay, are two islands, named Big Tancook Island and Little Tancook Island. Big Tancook has about 120 year round residents, and Little Tancook about 35. The summer population is somewhat larger, swelling to perhaps 200.
Transportation to the mainland is provided by the Province of Nova Scotia's ferry William G. Ernst. It makes the six mile run about three times a day, but there have been problems this year. In June it had a cracked prop, then in August it failed a Transport Canada inspection. The ferry, built in 1982, does not meet current stability regulations and had its passenger capacity reduced from 92 to 45 during the high point of the summer season.

William G. Ernst in refit at Dayspring, NS in 1987.

On November 8 it was withdrawn from service due a port engine failure, and may be out of service for two weeks or more, just as the residents are ramping up for the lobster season by bringing in bait and fuel.

Tied up this morning (November 10, 2014) at Chester, NS.

William G. Ernst was built by Georgetown Shipyard in Prince Edward Island and delivered in June of 1982. In 1997-98 it was refitted and a new large hydraulic crane was installed. In the meantime a substitute ferry was equipped with a school bus on deck, since many of the passengers are students going in to Chester to school. Big Tancook's one room school house (the last in Nova Scotia) only teaches the lower grades.

I made my first trip to the Tancooks in 1981, the last year of operation of the previous ferry, Shoreham. It was built in 1961 in Metéghan

Shoreham was built of wood and had a derrick mounted over its open after deck.

It had semi-enclosed bridge wings, and had bench seats in the forecastle below deck forward, usually the domain of school kids.

All sorts of cargo made its way to the island on the ferry. A rudimentary freight container (with plywood walls) was used for miscellaneous unaccompanied or carry on cargo such as groceries.

Shoreham moved to Halifax in 1982 where it became a harbour tour boat, but was also used to transport shipyard workers out to oil rigs that were spudded down for repairs. Its derrick was removed and a sun deck built out over the after deck.The sporty funnel and Coke machine were late additions.

In its last years, the boat was getting banged up and was retired in the late 1990s. Its registry was suspended in 2008.

In 1987 while William G. Ernst was in refit at Snyder's Shipyard in Dayspring, NS, it was replaced by a quaint little tug and RoRo scow. There are vehicles on Tancook, where there are few actual roads, and the vehicles are not licensed. Once on the island they rarely leave again.

The unnamed tug had some passenger accommodation in the deck house.

(It may be the T.I.Service, predecessor to Shoreham and built in 1944.)

During its current layup for repairs, there is no such vessel available and William G. Ernst is being replaced by the Lunenburg whale tour boat Eastern Points.

Built in 2002 by Provincial Boat + Marine of Kensington, PE, Eastern Points ties up at a rickety floating stage adjacent to the ferry wharf. Boarding is by means of portable wooden steps. One passenger for the 10:30 crossing this morning got his leg caught between the two floating sections, but luckily escaped a broken ankle or worse when the crew ran to one end allowing him to extricate himself.

Passengers complain that the deckhouse is open to the elements.

While Eastern Points is a fine boat by any standard it does not have many of the capabilities of the Ernst (when it is working).

The Ernst can carry a variety of aluminum freight containers or other cargo, which is craned on and off.

It also has a starboard side RoRo ramp and a high level gangway which is necessary at Tancook. Passengers now have to climb a vertical ladder.

Calls for a new ferry are probably reasonable, particularly if the stability issue is not resolved. The Province is certainly not making money on fares, so whatever the cost, the taxpayers at large will be subsidizing any operation.

As reported yesterday the Tancook Island ferry is out of service for at least two weeks for engine repairs. It would normally be replaced on a temporary basis by the Scotian (built 1983 in Pictou) but that boat is already replacing another ferry on the Englishtown / Jersey Harbour run.
The Englishtown ferry is the busiest in the province, carrying 226,000 vehicles and 470,000 passengers in its year round operation. The current boat, the cable ferry Torquil MacLean, has been undergoing repairs at Pictou since July and is nearly 8 weeks overdue on its return to service. The refit, which was to replace the engine and generator and add more ice reinforcement to the hull was projected to cost $776,000. An additional $280,000 has been racked up for extra work.
Built in 2007 by A.F.Thériault+Son in Metéghan River, NS, it entered service in July 2008 and carries 15 cars.

On the slip at Aecon-Fabco in Pictou today, with its bow ramp removed, Torquil MacLean looks to be ready for work soon.

Meanwhile at the other end of the province, A.F.Thériault +Son, are refitting the New Brunswick cable ferry R.G.L Fairweather.

It operates on the Gondola Point run with twin William Pitt II. They are 25 car capacity boats, and one boat can usually handle the traffic in the off peak season.

Thériault is building the new ferries for Halifax harbour, to replace Halifax III and Dartmouth III.Their newer fleet mate Woodside I is on the slip in Lunenburg for its refit, but the newest ferry Christopher Stannix is able to cover the route in its absence.

New Brunswick operates a large cable ferry fleet:
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/dti/bridges_ferries/content/ferries.html

Nova Scotia's smaller ferry fleet is described at:
http://novascotia.ca/tran/hottopics/ferries.asp

There are many war memorials in Halifax, recognizing the sacrifices of the many soldiers, sailors and air forces during both World Wars, the Korean War and subsequent hostilities. Most were heavily attended on November 11 and fitting tributes were paid by veterans and the citizenry at large. Most were well covered by the press and images were widely available.
But there is also one memorial that received little attention.

At the side of a parking lot opposite the main gate of the Imperial Oil refinery on Pleasant Street in the Woodside neighbourhood of Dartmouth stands a small granite block. It carries two plaques, one for refinery employees who died in World War II after joining the military.

The other remembers those who were lost while serving on Esso tankers. Imperial Oil had a large fleet during World War II, and for a time managed fourteen more ships under the Panamanian flag until the United States joined the war. Some ships were lost, many took part in convoy gun battles and some were captured and the crews taken prisoner.
I do not know how many Esso sailors were lost during that conflict, but they are remembered.

Woodside pontoon - ready to launch

Left Behind

Athabaskan home again

ACL's (almost) new names and some more history

Halifax container look ahead

From the archives - back by popular demand

Clipper Helvetia - look what just blew in

Reefer madness - then and now

UPT times two at Imperial Oil

Sidedoor pilot boarding now and 1984

Clipper Helvetia for the record

Canadian Coast Guard - a new book and a look back - Part 1

Canadian Coast Guard 1984 - Part 2

Hamburg - second last cruise ship

HMCS Iroquois - non event

Tankers in waiting, a first timer and a no show, among other things

No wall in Halifax

Tancook Troubles

More Ferry Trouble

Memorials