Posible Tall Ships Atendees.

The Following vessels are showing as confirmed at preceeding stops on the 2012 Tall Ships tour. As not all vessels make all the stops, it is likely that not all will visit Halifax.


Alliance
Lynx
Appledore V
Peacemaker
Bounty
Picton Castle
Pride of Baltimore II
Etoile
Roseway
La Belle Poule
Sir Martin II
Mystic Whaler
Unicorn
The Gazela
The Tree of Life
The Providence
Summerwind
Spirit of Massachusetts

UPDATE: The Following  Tall Ships America Member Vessels are showing as appearing in Halifax.
UNICORN
SORCA
PRIDE OF BALTIMORE II
PICTON CASTLE
LYNX
EAGLE
BOUNTY
APPLEDORE IV
APPLEDORE V

First Call as Dallas Express

Another first time caller (Kind of) to Halifax, Dallas Express arrived and tied up at Fairview Cove.

This Vessel is the former Antwerpen Express who was a regular in Halifax. She Emerged as Dallas Express early this year after emerging from Dry Dock in Hong Kong.

Best guess is that a new vessel will be named Antwerpen Express in the Near future.

Replacing Preserver and Protectur

The Protectur Class AOR's were commisioned in 1970. Now over 40 years old, they are Long in need of replacement, and in 2006 the first RFP went out.

 Act 1. "Aircraft Carriers"

Panned by the oposition and the media as Aircraft Carriers, the Joint support ship as originalay envisioned would serve not just the Replenishment Role, But would also feature a Hospital, Command and Control Capabilities, Helecopter Faclities, and a Landing Dock able to deploy vehicles.

Around the same time, the Dutch undertook a simalar program, and developed a simalar set of requirements. They Came up with the Karel Doorman class support ship. Canada Balked at the Cost, The Dutch Went ahead. The first Dutch vessel will be Delivered in 2014.

 Act 2. "what do our friends use?"

With the JSS Now too expensive, The government went looking for Other options. They First found the Berlin Class, in use by the German Navy. They are mostly a traditional AOR, but have a hospital, can carry cargo, and have a flight deck. Option 2 was the Cantabria Class, in Use with the Spanish Navy. it is simalar in features to the Berlin Class, though slightly smaller. Negotiations to secure one of these designs for Canadian use failed, and with that, on to act 3.

Act 3. "Finally!?" 
New Design Contracts were awarded to BMT Fleet Technology of Kanata, ON and TysenKrupp (TKMS). BMT will be designing a new vessel, which will likely be a a variation of their AEGIR-18 Design, while TKMS will offer a Modified version of the Berlin Class. The Winner of this Competition will be Built by the Vacouver shipyard under the National Ship Procurment Strategy.

Anapa - In For Repairs?

The Bulker Anapa Anchored in Anchorage 1 Friday. The presence of a tug suggests she had to power down her engine. Vessels at anchor need to maintain a constant Anchor watch, and have power available in case the anchor begins to drag, or then need to move to avoid a collision.

EL Jaguar with Marmac 400

The tug El Jaguar and barge Marmac 400 took shelter at pier 25 today.
The barge carries more assemblies for the Nickel Smelter being constructed in Long Harbour Newfoundland. Several Tug and Barges with cargos for this project have sought shelter in Halifax over the past weeks. See Gulf Cajun with Barge Atlantic Bridge

Cable Ship Rene Descartes

The French Cable Ship Rene Descartes arrived in Halifax this morning and tied up at pier 25. Owned By FT Marine, she is dedicated to laying cable (as opposed to repair). She Is likely Here to Lay the Hibernia Atlantic Cable to the UK.

The Route for the cable was Surveyed back in October. See Previous Post

Victoria Class Submarine Update

The Much maligned Victoria Class Submarine program is finally making some Headway.
HMCS Windsor is being prepaired to move off the Sychrolift at the shipyard and to be put back into the water. Sources indicate this will happen in April.

HMCS Victoria (Above, DND Photo) has so far made the most Progress. She emerged from Reft, Has been Degaused In bangor washington at the US Navy's Submarine base, And has Sucessfully dived and fired torpedos.

HMCS Cornerbrook, the One working submarine is tied up in Esquimalt, after suffering damage in a collision with the bottom. It will be going into an extended maintinace period. HMCS Chicoutimi is Also in BC Though heavily damaged by the fire that occured on her delivery trip.

HMCS Preserver Update

CBC News is reporting that HMCS Preserver's Commander has been relived of command Following the Collision with the Nova Dock.

The Damage to The Nova Dock has been Repaired, as has the Damage to Preserver. Preserver was Seen Docked at the Magazine Jetty in the Bedford Basin, a sign that she is now loaded and ready for duty.

Update: HMCS Preserver was seen operating outside Halifax.

Tall Ships 2009 Review

Review Photos form the 2009 Tallships Event on our Facebook page. You can find the Gallery Here

Tall Ship Simón Bolívar

The Venezuelan Navy tall ship Simon Bolivar Arrived today and tied up at the Cable Wharf. She will be here until the 24th

The Ship open to the public:
March 19 2pm-6pm
March 20 9am-Noon and 4pm–6pm
March 21, 22 & 23 9am - 6pm

For More - See Wikipedia

More Export Locomotives

2 Export Locomotives arrived on Flatcars to the Rockingham Yard yesterday. The units are painted for Vale and appear to be destined for a mine in Brazil. As they lack trucks, The Units are likley bound for a Narrow Gague Route.

Expect a Jumbo Shipping Vessel in the Comming weeks. Stellanova is Due on the 24th.

Caribou and Smallwoods Fate.

Thanks to Bay ferry Man to alerting me to addtional photos of the 2 ferries on the beach in alang. From a Site called MidShipCentury, who specializes in salvage of fixtures from scrapped ships.
Caribou in Feb 2012:

Smallwood in Feb 2012:

Tall ships in Modern Times..

The original Bluenose wrecked off Haiti in 1946, while working as a frighter. The working Sail tradition in parts of the Caribian is still in existance to this day long after large motorized ships have become commonplace, However this tradition is vansihing. This Film explores the History.



For more visit http://www.vanishingsail.com

Another New Ship on PAX - America Express

Hapag-Lloyd has another new charter ship on the PAX Service; America Express. She is Owned by Wan Hai Shipping,of Singapore, who has an extensive charter fleet with vessels chartered to most major lines. She Carries a Hapag Llyod name, but is still in her Parents Paint.

She previously operated as Wan Hai 510, was built in 2008 and is 4252 TEU.

Tall Ships Preview

The Tall ships are coming July 19 – 23. While the details of the Nova Scotia stops are thin, The American stops feature a significant Non-sail naval presence to commemorate the war of 1812 along with the Tall ships themselves. Though not confirmed for Halifax, these are some likely Sail Attendees.

BAE Guayas (BE-21) - Ecuadoran Navy
KRI Dewaruci - Indonesian Navy
ARC Gloria - Colombian Navy.
NE Cisne Branco (u20) - Brazilian navy
SPS Juan Sebastian De Elcano (A01) - Spanish Navy
USCGC Eagle - US Coast Guard

I would also expect a significant NATO Presence around this time, due to their stops in the US - Including HMS Talent, RFA Argus, FGS Hessen, HDMS Absalon, and KNM Thor Heyerdahl.

Photo Above is the Picton Castle form Tall Ships 2009

Onego Merchant

Onego Merchant has been tied up at pier 27 for the past few days. this pier typically handles break bulk cargo where the Onego merchant is currently tied up, however the fact that the cranes are swung out of the way indicates she may move up to the Grain Elevator spouts.

Flying Ops

A rare site in the inner harbour, HMCS Ville De Quebec launched her Seaking.
Canadian vessels usually take on their helecopters offshore, just after exiting port.

Dead Ship Move

Atlantic Superior moving dead ship with tugs from Pier 9 to Pier 25. She needed to move to make room for the BBC Plata. Dead ship refers to the fact that the ship is not powered, and appears to be running a generator aft of the bridge. She recently came out of dry dock at Halifax Shipyards.

Update: she left pier 25 on her own power the next day.

BBC Plata

Inbound for Pier 9.
She has containers on deck, But may also have Break Bulk Cargo onboard. She is due to move to Pier 30 tonight.

The Germans Are Coming

Seawaves is reporting that German frigates FGS Emden (F210)and FGS Hessen (F221) With Supply Ship FGS Frankfurt am Main (A1412) will be visiting Halifax in May. FGS Frankfurt am Main (Photo Above) was previously here in May 2009.

Dates to Follow when Known