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Blue Star Ithaki a.k.a. Canada 2014

November 24, 2014, 7:20 am
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The new Digby-Saint John ferry Blue Star Ithaki, temporarily (we hope) renamed Canada 2014, is at this moment in Funchal, Azores for fueling en route to Halifax. Once it arrives here next week, it will be refitted for Canadian service,  and given its permanent name.

The present ferry Princess of Acadia was given its name by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which had a longstanding naming tradition. Its deep sea passenger lines were Empresses and its coastal passenger ships (all but one of which were on the west coast) were Princesses. That Bay Ferries and the Minster of Transport kept the Princess of Acadia's name long after CP's involvement stopped was certainly laudable, but it is now time for some creative thinking. The CPR days are gone, and its time for something original.

The recent tendency to name ships based on contests and suggestion box entries relieves the operators of the responsibility for picking names. Similarly the government's tendency to name ships after politicians is self-serving and should not be tolerated. Continuously re-using the same name over and over or appending a "II" or "III" is also an easy way out.

The cruise industry's lamentable record in ship's names should also be an example of what not to do. A "brand" or a sponsor is a despicable excuse for naming a ship.

Prince Edward Island ferries were named after Fathers of Confederation, but some genius decided to part from that tradition and we got "Holiday Island" and "Vacationland" instead. These names had no local resonance and could have been anywhere on earth. Good sense returned when the name Abegweit was chosen for the last ferry to be built for the Cape Tormentine-Borden route (recalling also the name of a previous ship) and Confederation for the last ferry built for the Caribou-Wood Island run.

Now we have a chance to follow in that sensible direction, and I am suggesting something such as Loyalist  for the new ship. I would not be in favour of appending some descriptor to that such as "Fundy" since that weakens the impact. Saint John is known as the "Loyalist City" and I suppose the good residents of Digby might take exception to my suggestion, but there are good Loyalist streams in that area too.

Bottom line is let's have a serious name for the new ship. One that is thought out, appropriate and with serious intent.

I don't suppose the new ship will be making any 3 minute arrivals in Digby, but it is possible - see this You Tube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBwo_OqGwpI


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Vera D, Voyage 001 for Melfi

November 25, 2014, 1:01 pm
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Vera D is on its first voyage for Melfi Lines. Although slightly smaller than the other new ships that have joined Melfi recently, it is similar in most respsects.

Chebucto Pilot accompanies Vera D outbound this afternoon. 
The ship will swing to port to take the western deep water channel, keeping the eastern channel free for the inbound HMCS Montreal (see later post)

Laid down by in 2004 by Daewoo Mangalia it was completed by the German Sietas shipyard. That probably means that the hull was built by Daewoo's yard in Romania and towed to Germany for completion. 
It measures 17,188 grt, 22,613 dwt and has a container capacity of 1719 TEU. It is fitted with three 45 tonne cranes to work containers or other cargo.

It is owned by Peter Doehle Schiffs. of Hamburg and has carried two previous names. Launched as Pyxis it was renamed Maersk Veracruz on delivery. On completion of a five year charter in 2009, the owners saved on paint by renaming it Vera D. Melfi does not appear to be entering into long term charters, so it is seems unlikely that the ship will be renamed this time.

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Frigates

November 25, 2014, 3:16 pm
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The political spin doctors are at work again, trying to find something positive to say about the Royal Canadian Navy.  Thus the press releases went out playing up the fact that four RCN frigates (two on each coast) have concluded their mid-life refits, and the first will "hit the seas" [where did this expression come from?] in 2015 when HMCS Fredericton will be deployed. HMCS Halifax on this coast should not be far behind.
The story, if there is one, is that the FELEX program is on schedule. Other than that there is really no news here. As ships emerge from Halifax Shipyard and Seaspan, they are handed over to HMC Dockyard where naval and defence contractors' crews complete the remainder of the work within navy territory, and then start work ups.


HMCS Montreal has been busily doing just that over the last several weeks, as it was today.
The FrigatE Life EXtensions will mean  that the ships will remain in service until the 2030s - at least - when their replacements [maybe] are ready.

HMCS Montreal was laid dopwn by Saint John Dry Dock and Shipbuilding February 9, 1991, floated up on February 26, 1992, handed over to the RCN July 27, 1993 and commissioned June 21, 1994.

 HMC Montreal fully operational in 1996.

I do give credit however to those reporters that saw fit not to just regurgitate the press releases, but also to include in their articles the unfortunate fact that we will still  be short two destroyers and two supply ships for up to ten years or more, and therefore no matter how up to date the frigates are, we will only have a half a navy.

This situation must be terrible for internal RCN morale. It is certainly an embarrassment on the world stage.


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Vitagrace for vital nutrients

November 25, 2014, 4:56 pm
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After biding its time in Bedford Basin since November 14, the bulker Vitagrace moved alongside pier 28 today to being loading grain. See also: November 15

The tugs Atlantic Larch (left) and Atlantic Willow (right) wait for Vitagrace to pass the Woodside ferry track. They will then scoot around to the ship's port side to assist it alongside pier 28.
 
All the export grain from Halifax this year has arrived by rail car and it has taken some time to accumulate this ship's full cargo. Last week's Gargeney also loaded some 30,000 tonnes.
The Halifax Grain Elevator has a capacity of  6.4 mn cu.ft./181,350 cu.m., although some of that is dedicated to wood pellets. It can load ships at up to 50,000 bu per hr.
 
 Badly in need of paint, the grain elevators are nonetheless an imposing sight at sunrise.

Confused?
1 Imperial bushel = 8 gallons = 2219 cu.in. = 1.28 cu. ft.=.036 cu.m.
(US bushels are smaller, just as US gallons are smaller, and give different numbers.)
Canadian grain cars have a capacity of 128.8 cu.m, and a load capacity of 101,500 kg (about 100 tonnes).
Grain weights have been standardized, e.g. wheat is 36.77 bu /tonne (60 lb/bu, or 27.2 kg/bu). Corn and soybeans are similar in weight, while oats is much lighter.

Vitagrace has a capacity of 90,165 cu.m. of grain and a deadweight capacity of 75,921 tonnes. If it is loading wheat, then it will take 2.5 mn bushels. At 60 lb per bushel that is 68,306 tonnes (683 rail cars) . Therefore the ship's volume will be taken up by grain before it runs out of lifting capacity. On sailing it will not be at full draft, but will be within the safe margins for winter North Atlantic- the severest load line.requirement.

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Skelt takes bunkers

November 26, 2014, 2:33 pm
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The bulk carrier Skelt made a brief port stop today for bunkers en route to Port Cartier, QC to load grain.


The orange visor of Algoma Dartmouth shows above the deck of Skelt at anchor for bunkers. The ship's hatches are opened slightly to air the holds as part of the cleaning process before loading grain.
The rubble in the foreground is fill from the old Dartmouth Marine Slips site which is under redevelopment as Kings Wharf.

Skelt was built in 2010 by SPP Shipbuilding Co of Tongyeong, South Korea as Stella Alnilam for Singaporean owners, but under management of the Italian company D'Amato. In 2013 the ship was acquired by the Wellard Group and renamed Skelt, also under Singaporean flag. Wellard is a Fremantle, Australia based cattle and sheep producer, and also operates three livestock carriers. http://www.wellard.com.au/home/shipping/  Their web site does not mention this ship however, but as a grain carrier it could well fit into the company's large agricultural interests.

The United States Steel Company founded the Quebec Cartier Mining Co in 1957 to extract iron ore from its mines in Labrador. They built Port Cartier as the terminus for the rail line from the mines, and the location of a pelletizing plant. Since the iron ore was destined for US Steel plants on the Great Lakes, QCM also built  grain storage facilities that allowed the lakes ships to haul grain eastbound and iron ore westbound. The grain could be stored and transshipped on a year round basis
USS sold the operation to Dofasco, Mitsui and Caemi. Mitsui sold its 25% to Caemi, giving it 50%, then Investissemtn Quebec bought 50%, but then Dofasco became sole owners in 2005. In 2006 Arcelor SA acquired the majority of Dofasco but later that year merged with Mittal.
Now ArcelotrMittal Mines Canada operates the Mont-Wright mine, the railway and the pelletizing plant and generates a significant percentage of Canada's iron ore production. Port Cartier, almoist by default ahs also become a significant grain exporting port.

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Preserver returns from Bedford Magazine

November 26, 2014, 6:33 pm
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HMCS Preserver returned from the Bedford Magazine (Jetty November November) this morning after spending most of yesterday and last night at the outpost.As usual with in-harbour shifts, it was a cold move. Dockyard tugs powered the ship both ways.

 Preserver approaches Halifax Shipyards, southbound in the Narrows, on its return to HMC Dockyard. The dark area at deck level amidships is safety netting for the gangway.
 
The Bedford Magazine is the navy's munitions storage facility, and was built at the head of Bedford Basin to be sufficiently far away from populated areas to ensure  that a detonation would cause minimal collateral damage. I am not so sure that would be the case today, since residential areas of Bedford and the Burnside Industrial Park are now in close proximity.

On July 18, 1945 an explosion on a barge load of ammunition at the Magazine Pier started a fire and a chain reaction of blasts over a period of two days, which threatened to equal the Halifax Explosion of 1917. Valiant efforts by civilian and military fire crews eventually brought the situation under control, but not before a large portion of the north end of Halifax was evacuated, windows were shattered all over town and roofs collapsed. Due the war's end there was a huge amount of explosive material stockpiled outdoors as naval vessels de-stored and ammunition was brought in from as far as Bermuda. There had not been time to store it all in bunkers and a large quantity stacked on the pier was quick to ignite.

Heroes of the day included two civilian fireboat crews.  The firetug Rouille operated by the City of Halifax and the fireboat James Battle operated by the National Harbours Board fought the blaze. Navy firetugs were there too, but I do not have their names at hand.


James Battle was built by Detroit Shipbuilding Co in 1900. An imposing vessel, with one deck and twin funnels, it served the City of Detroit until 1941 when it was sold to Sincennes-McNaughton Line of Montreal. They chartered it to the National Harbours Board and assigned it to Halifax in 1943. After the Bedford Magazine fire, its boilers were in such bad shape that it was returned to Montreal. There it was rebuilt several times, and as a diesel tug, it operated in the Port of Montreal and in the Seaway for McAllister Towing until 1991 when it was sold for scrap. It retained full firefighting capability until the end.
There are several photos of it on line as built: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fireboats_of_Detroit

By 1983 James Battle had been rebuilt as a stylish motor tug, but retained  firefighting equipment.
 
Rouille was built for the City of Toronto in 1929 by Collingwood Shipbuilding. Far too large for their needs it was leased to the City of Halifax in 1941. It fought several fires in the port during the war, including the Volendam in June 1945. It had a crew of 15 plus 13 firefighters on call and was also the official greater for returning troop ships, giving water displays.
In August 1945 it took over from James Battle and worked for the National Harbours Board until April 1946 when it was sold. New owners J.P.Porter+Co used it as a tug, and it sank December 3, 1954 off Cape Smokey with the loss of five lives .
It could pump 4500 gpm with 3 fire guns and 16 hose outlets on deck.


 
This uncredited photo poster appeared in the Dartmouth Sportsplex community room and shows Rouille in all its glory.

The Royal Canadian Navy augmented its fire fighting capability in Halifax after the Magazine incident, transferring in the Nashwaak from Sydney, and taking delivery of two new boats before the winter of 1945.

Ever since then the port has relied on the naval fireboat for firefighting. After years of debate on whether the Port or the City should also have a fireboat, civilian tugs and offshore suppliers began to be equipped with firefighting capability and the debate died out.

Currently the RCN has CFAV Firebird in operation, with Dockyard Fire Department firefighters on board.  Atlantic Towing Ltd has much superior firefighting capability on Atlantic Oak and Atlantic Willow, although their crews are not career firefighters.

The Bedford Magazine is now much safer, and has its own fire department in house. As a reminder of 1945 there are areas around the magazine that are still off limits due to the presence of unexploded munitions.

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Temporary disruption to harbour ferry service

November 27, 2014, 10:57 am
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The Alderney ferry schedule has been disrupted due to serviceability issues with the ferry Christopher Stannix. The newest ferry in the fleet is having control problems and has been removed from the Woodside ferry route.With the ferry Woodside I already out of service due to regular maintenance and drydocking in Lunenburg, it leaves Halifax III and Dartmouth III to handle to both routes across Halifax harbor. As of this afternoon, it was Dartmouth III running Halifax/Woodside. (All the boats are supposed to be interchangeable, and any boat can make any run, so the names are not necessarily indicative of the route they serve.)

Christopher Stannix is idled at the Halifax terminal and Halifax III approaches from the Alderney terminal in Dartmouth.

At one point this afternoon, the tug Atlantic Larch was called to stand  by off the Cable Wharf  if needed.
 
After an hour or so it returned to its dock in Woodside, adjacent to the ferry terminal, as Dartmouth III scuttles across the harbor to Halifax.

Since September 8, the ferry service has been operating on a reduced schedule anyway to allow for the regular maintenance of its boats. When this happens people can use the bus, but that can be a longer ride and not nearly as convenient as the ferry for many.

With two new boats on the way, the first one due next year, the planning was for Halifax Transit to maintain dependable schedules even after retiring the two old boats and scheduling regular maintenance. However I think a fifth boat will still be needed to provide absolutely dependable service at all times.


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Bahri Yanbu

November 29, 2014, 11:33 am
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Number 6 of 6 new ships built by Hyundai Mipo, Ulsan South Korea, for the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia, Bahri Yanbu arrived this morning at pier 31.



The 50,714 grt RoRo, container, cargo ship was delivered in April, and this was my first chance to get a photo. The multi-purpose ship appears to be identical to her five sister ships, and is an impressive vessel. Equipped with a pair of cranes that can lift 240 tonnes, a small container carrying area forward, an open car deck and a vast stern ramp, the ship was built specifically for the cargo needs of Saudi Arabia.


  The ship also appears to have larger than normal accommodation area. Although not advertised to have passenger capacity, I suspect that she does carry more than crew from time to time.



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Khalilah - a visitor from Wisconsin

November 29, 2014, 12:02 pm
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Sturgeon Bay, WI is not famous for its caviar, but for Palmer-Johnson, a shipyard devoted to building high end luxury yachts. Their latest product glided into Halifax at noon time today after a sometimes speedy trip from the shipyard en route to Florida.



The ship's hull was built of carbon fiber by Brodrene Aa of Hyen, Norway, and delivered to Sturgeon Bay in 2013 by the Canadian cargo ship Qamutik. (That ship works for its previous owners, Spleithoff's, in the winter season, and the Dutch company  transports yachts in addition to its other special cargo capabilities.)
The hull was fitted out in Sturgeon Bay, conducted trials this fall, and set out on November 16 for its destination in Florida. ON the way it encountered the horrific snow storm that struck Buffalo, NY and held over in Port Weller on the Welland Canal until November 21.  It also stopped in Montreal for a few days.
Yesterday AIS recorded it downbound off Rimouski, QC in the morning. When in AIS range it averaged better than 22 knots, and passed through the Canso Lock at about 0330 this morning, arriving off the Maritime Museum dock about 12:30. (Reports indicate that its top speed is about 32 knots).



The 58m yacht is operating under a temporary US registry, using its shipyard hull number as a name: PJ265. On delivery to its owners, it will carry its intended name Khalilah.[translation: Friend, also a female given name].

A bulbous bow, barely visible at the water surface, projects well beyond the reverse rake stem. A little frozen spray has accumulated at the bow on some windows.


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Woodside to Halifax

December 1, 2014, 7:35 am
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Woodside to Halifax took on new a new meaning on Saturday, when the old Woodside ferry pontoon was removed and replaced with the new one. Dominion Diving's Halmar assisted by Waterworks Construction's Waterworks I towed the old pontoon across the harbor and tied it up at the Svitzer Canada dock. It will be cut up for scrap.


The new pontoon was connected and was in service for Monday morning.
As previously reported, the distinctive gull wing overhanging roofs have been removed from the other ferry pontoons in Halifax and Dartmouth, and the new Woodside pontoon has been built without them.

The ferry Woodside I also returned to Halifax Saturday night after a refit in Lunenburg, and so the ferry fleet is back up to strength. The Christopher Stannix was in service this morning, so whatever its problems were on Friday they are apparently resolved.


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Tankers - and names

December 1, 2014, 2:59 pm
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Two more product tankera re in port today. The first arrived last night and anchored in Bedford Basin. Cenito is clearly emblazoned as a Super Ice class ship, and if that were not enough its full width bridge and penguin logo would certainly give a good hint that it is intended for icy locations.

Owned by LGR di Navigazione of Naples, and flying the Italian flag, the 29,313 grt, 53,115 dwt tanker was built in 2009 by Guangzhou International in Guangzhou, China.The substantial additional investment required to build an ice class tanker, means that it must see regular winter service in the Baltic, on the St.Lawrence River or perhaps even the northeast passage.The ship was last here for nearly a week in May, see http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/05/unusual-tankers-in-basin.html


The second arrived last night too, but went directly to number four dock at Imperial Oil.


My recent comments about inappropriate ship naming have really been exemplified with this one. FPMC 21 is a typical product tanker, and is owned by the Formosa Plastic Marine Corp of  Taipei, Taiwan. Its name typifies the corporate approach to ships that we are seeing more and more. To its owner, it is merely another tool or machine and does not warrant the dignity of a proper name. It will be thrown away when it is used up and no one will shed a tear, because a bigger and better one will take its place. In 20 years or so there will be a FPMC 21b or FPMC 41 sailing these seas.

A standard handysize tanker of 29,734 grt, 50,995 dwt, FPMC 21 was built in 2009 by STX Shipbuilding Co of Jinhae, South Korea. It flies the Liberian flag.

It's too bad that an ancient tradition of treating ships as something special and even wonderful, and giving them a name of significance is fading fast.


FPMC has achieved new heights of wierdness with its ship naming - have a look at their website, particularly the fleet list:   http://www.fpmc.com.tw/

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Bulker for Bunker, Tanker for Power

December 5, 2014, 1:23 pm
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The bulker Prabhu Daya arrived this morning for bunkers. It sailed again in a few hours on its way with a cargo of grain, loaded on the St.Lawrence. Indian owned, but Singapore registered, the 29,986 grt, 52,822 dwt ship was built in Japan in 2001 by Onomichi Dockyard.
 
Algoma Dartmouth alongside Prabhu Daya at anchorage number 5.
 
 
Also arriving this morning, the tanker Serifos tied up at Nova Scotia Power's Tufts Cove generating station, with the assistance of tugs Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Fir  and the line boat Northcom. The line boat's crew also used an aluminum outboard motor boat to run lines to the mooring buoys.
 

 
 
Serifos flies the Greek flag and is owned by Eletson Tankers of Athens. Eletson is noted for its well kept and tidy looking ships and seems to be a favourite with Nova Scotia Power. Built in 1995 by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan, South Korea, the ship measures 28,507 grt, 46,700 dwt.
With the price of oil "tanking" NS Power has probably switched over from gas for at least one of its generators.
 
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Canada 2014 arrives

December 5, 2014, 1:34 pm
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The ferry that will take over the Digby, NS to Saint John, NB ferry service next year arrived at first light this morning. Its first stop in Canada was in Saint John, NB on Tuesday, when it passed the outbound Princess of Acadia, which it will replace. After a brief goodwill visit to its new homeport, and a political photo op, it sailed for Digby to do a docking trial then on to Halifax.


It berthed at pier 9A where it will undergo a major refit before it is ready for service in the spring.

Renamed Canada 2014 and registered in Ottawa (it is owned by the Minister of Transport) it is the former Blue Star Ithaki, a name which still appears on the ship's hull, but has been painted over.


Let us hope that "Canada 2014" will also be painted over soon, and the ship will be given a proper ship's name, befitting is importance to  both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

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more Canada 2014

December 6, 2014, 5:57 pm
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Now alongside at pier 9A Canada 2014 is ready for work to begin ion its refit. The ship is certainly not new, and looks ready for some TLC, but looks like a very fine vessel.

 Just to the right of the fence, and below the ship;s bridge, is a small hydraulic gangway which allows pedestrian access while the ship is alongside.Note the storm shields over the ventilation louvers below the bridge. The  ship's bow door is closed and sealed.

A generous sheltered passenger deck looks more suitable for tropical climes, where protection from the sun is more important. There also seem to be a separate stern ramps for vehicles and pedestrians. The rectangular shapes on the sides of the hull are for evacuation chutes and rafts. 

Since most of the refit work will be internal, there may be very little to see during the next few months as work progresses.

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Suddenly Winter

December 8, 2014, 5:06 am
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It had to happen - winter temperatures and sea smoke have returned to Halifax harbor - at least for today.


The Woodside ferry Christopher Stannix makes its way across the harbor, with Imperial Oil as a backdrop. The tanker Mare di Venezia , tied up at dock 4 should be sailing this morning.



The survey ship Ridley Thomas waits at anchor until later this morning when it is due to shift to pier 27. The boat has been working off Newfoundland and St-Pierre doing geophysical  and geotechnical surveys. Built in 1981 in Singapore by Sing Koon Song Shipbuilding, it is owned by HoKoi Marine of Hong Kong and is operated by EGS Marine of the Philippines. Its original name was Western Inlet, but carried the name Inlet from 2005 to 2007 when it adopted is present name. It flies the flag of the Marshal Islands. From the EGS website, it can conduct echo sounding surveys in 2,000m of water depth.
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Tanker change

December 8, 2014, 11:07 am
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After a week at anchor in Bedford Basin the tanker Cenito was finally able to move to Imperial Oil this afternoon. See also http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2014/12/tankers-and-names.html

 Cenito makes its way in the Narrows with the tethered escort tug Atlantic Fir tucked in under its stern. The full width bridge will provide a comfortable space for the pilot in today's sub-freezing temperatures. The A. Murray MacKay bridge is in the background.

Atlantic Fir is filling in for Atlantic Oak as the designated escort tug in Halifax. Atlantic Oak is at Shelburne Marine Shipyard for its 5 year survey.


Meanwhile at Imperial Oil another Italian tanker, Mare di Venezia completed unloading and was ready to sail. As soon as it cleared the berth, Cenito came right in to take its place.

The tugs Atlantic Larch and Atlantic Willow are alongside Mare di Venizia at Imperial Oil dock 4 ready to pull the ship clear. The George's Island landing stage is in the foreground. Note the extra long headlines extending to the dock 5 dolphin.
 
 
Mare di Venezia arrived December 4, and also spent some time at anchor in Bedford Basin until going alongside December 5. Built in 2008 in Tongyoung, South Korea, it measures 29,683 grt and 51,371 dwt and is owned by Gesarma of Ravenna, Italy. Its open bridge wings would certainly present some challenges in this weather.
 
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New Bollard for Tall Ships Quay

December 9, 2014, 5:14 pm
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Work has started on construction of a new bollard on the Tall Ships Quay, behind the Nova Scotia Power office building. Crews from Waterworks Construction have cut out a section of the deck and were busily removing timber piles this morning in order to make room for the new bollard.

Waterworks Construction's ubiquitous concrete barge Commdive II with workboat Waterworks I alongside, draws a pile - just like pulling teeth.

The new bollard will take the head lines of cruise ships tying up at nearby Pier 20, thus making it possible for larger ships to berth at the sea wall from Piers 20 through 22. As it is now, two large cruises ships cannot tie up at the same time, without extending mooring lines across the camber at Pier 23 to Pier 26, blocking access to four berths. The new bollard will allow sufficient scope on the headline of a ship to tie up safely at Pier 20.

When the seawall was built it was expected that only one large transatlantic passenger ship would tie up at a time, using the immigration facilities of Pier 21. The famous photo of Aquitania's four funnels projecting above the roof of the sheds shows how the pier was intended to be used.

Now it is not unusual to have three or four large cruise ships in port at the same time. As cruise ships grow in size they need more and more room and the 2,006 ft long seawall can accommodate only two ships. Without extending the pier itself, this seems to be the only way to increase the capacity.

There will be several problems:
One is how longshoremen will be able to secure such a long line. I hear that the ships may use a rocket gun to fire a messenger line. That will certainly mean that the Tall Ship Quay will be closed to "civilians" during mooring. I hope that NS Power has glass insurance!
The linehandlers will have to use some sort of capstan to haul the heavy line in, since it will be several hundred feet long.
Another is security of the line while the ship is in port. There will have to be a fence around the bollard to prevent tampering.
And there is the risk of a line parting during the docking, undocking or in bad weather. A parting line can be lethal, so there will be more restrictions on pedestrians in the area if the line is over tensioned- and who watches out for that?

A large area of deck has been removed and a number of piles have been removed.

Far from being a cleat bolted down to the wharf, this bollard will require its own piles driven well down into the seabed and a large concrete top. The bollard itself will also be a substantial piece of steel if the old "Queen Mary" type bollard at the north end of Pier 20 is any indication..

The large bollard at the north end of Pier 20 is substantial enough for large passenger ships. 
Before the Tall Ships Quay, the timber wharf to the north of Pier 20 was the loading dock for Nova Scotia Light+Power and was fitted to take coal from rail cars and bunker C fuel from tankers, such as the Imperial Cornwall, the port bunkering tanker. The power plant has been transforned into the new corporate headquarters for the Power Corp.
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Texel - a rough time

December 10, 2014, 10:27 am
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The cargo ship Texel arrived late last night, and it was too rough to board the pilot at the pilot station. Instead the pilot boat lead the ship in almost to Meagher's Beach before the pilot could board safely.
Texel then proceeded in and tied up at Pier 9C. The ship was due several days ago, and must have encountered more rough conditions on the way across the Atlantic from Poland, via Scotland and Portugal.


This morning it continued with gales and driving rain, and work did not start unloading what is presumed to be a load of rails for CN. This would be the first such load to use the new Pier 9C extension. Freeing up space on the south end piers was the motivation for building the Pier 9C extension, which is served rail sidings. (The yellow barriers in the photo mark the locations of rail switches.)

Texel is typical of many Dutch short sea or coastal vessels. Built in 2002 by the de Hoop shipyard in Foxhol, it measures 6,301 grt, 8,930 dwt and carries two 45 tonne cargo cranes. It also has travelling deck gantry to lift the pontoon type hatch covers. It is owned by Harlingen Kustvaart (Harlingen Coastal Shipping) , which despite its name sends it ships far beyond its own coast. Since built the ship has carried the names Dewi Parwati to 2003, Beluga Spirit during 2003, Dewi Parwati again until 2008, Texel to 2011 and Onego Merchant to 2013.
Harlingen Kustvaart is  a co-operative type arrangement between four owner operators. See their web site and spec sheets n al four of their ships: http://www.kustvaartharlingen.nl/index.html

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Firebird Farewell

December 10, 2014, 5:00 pm
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The Royal Canadian Navy has retired the CNAV Firebird,.the long serving HMC Dockyard fireboat. A fixture in Halifax harbour as it made its daily security rounds to the DRDC barge in Bedford Basin, it also performed the occasional demonstration and water display, and was called upon (rarely) to fight a fire. Another little known and overlooked role was in recovering bodies from the harbour, particularly jumpers from the bridges.

Built in 1978 by Vancouver Shipyard, in North Vancouver BC, with sister Firebrand based at Esquimault, Firebird arrived in Halifax ca. August 1, 1978 in a rather novel manner. It was mounted on a cradle and secured to the deck of a barge and towed from Vanvouver via the Panama Canal. The tug Ocean Crown (which did the towing) and two barges G of G232 and G of G 240 had been purchased by the Quebec firm Techno Maritime. To defray the coast of bringing the barges east, they took a passenger! In the end Techno Maritime refused delivery of the tug, but kept the barges.


At 76' long by 20'-6" wide the boat packed in a  lot of power. It had two 385 bhp Cat engines for propulsion and two more 365 bhp engines for pumping. Each could pump 1500 igpm at 150 psi. The crew of seven had three 1250 gpm monitors and numerous deck fittings to fight fires. It also had 500 igals of AFFF (foam).

It generally responded to all Dockyard fire calls (The Dockyard also has a land based fire department) and elsewhere in the harbour. The only year for which I have figures is 1990 and in the first ten months it responded to 133 calls. Its daily harbour rounds were cut back to Monday to Friday earlier this year.
 


Thankfully there have not been many ship fires during its tenure, the most recent being on board Caruso the former CCGS Tupper in 2008.


Operated under the Queen's Harbour Master with a civilian crew, Firebird was originally designated YFB 561 (Yard Fire Boat). This was later changed to YTR 561 (Yard Tug Rescue). Although classed as a tug it is too small to do any significant towing . The initials CNAV (Canadian Naval Auxiliary Vessel) have also replaced CFAV (Canadian Forces Auxiliary Vessel) to distinguish it from a commissioned naval vessel, which would be designated HMCS.

With two civilian tugs in the harbour with substantial firefighting capability and other resources in HMC Dockyard the need for such a vessel has diminished, and it will not be replaced. New large naval tugs are planned and they will also have firefighting capability.


Firebird has been declared surplus and will be put up for disposal.
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Heather Knusten - big tanker going

December 12, 2014, 5:58 am
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The big Canadian tanker Heather Knutsen sailed this morning from anchorage in the harbour.

The Port Authority work boat Maintainer I  goes about its business as the Heather Knutsen weighs anchor, and fog sets in.

After laying off Halifax for a day until weather improved, the ship made a first attempt to enter port yesterday afternoon. It was till too rough to board the pilot safely, and it put back to sea until last evening, when it was finally able to enter. As a (partially) loaded tanker, it required a tethered escort tug.
After taking on bunkers, stores and making some crew changes, the ship sailed this morning, timing its departure to pass the inbound Australian Spirit under tow.

Escort tug Atlantic Fir swings the ship's stern around.

The ship has oil aboard, but is nonetheless heading to Hibernia to load more. I suspect that loading operations there were suspended due to weather and the ship made for Halifax as a nearby convenient port that could handle a ship of its size.
Built in 2005, the 80,918 grt, 148,644 dwt ship is one of Canada's two largest tankers. It shares the distinction with sister ship Jasmine Knusten. They are products of Samsung, Koje, South Korea.


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