HighlandersHeading Back to Service

The Marine Atlantic Ferry Highlanders exited the NovaDock this afternoon, bound for Sydney NS.
Highlanders is one of the Stena Lines ferries that were leased and upgraded for Newfoundland service. She and Her Sister replaced the ferries Caribou and the Joseph and Clara Smallwood who are being scrapped in Alang India.

Highlanders has been in service for just over a year, so this work period is probably her annual survey and maintenance period.  Her sister Blue Putties is expected to take her place, and appears to be missing from the upcoming Schedule.

Royal Navy Visitor HMS Scott (H131)

HMS Scott is an ocean survey vessel of the Royal Navy, and the only vessel of her class. She is the third Royal Navy ship to carry the name, and the second to be named after the Antarctic explorer, Robert Falcon Scott. She was ordered to replace the survey ship HMS Hecla.

 Designed to commercial standards, she provides the Royal Navy with a deep bathymetric capability off the continental shelf. At 13,500 tonnes Scott is the fifth largest ship in the Royal Navy. Scott is lean-manned with a complement of only 78. This is made possible by adopting commercial manning practices such as the use of fixed fire fighting systems and extensive machinery safety surveillance technology. Scott has been specially designed to carry the modern High Resolution Multi Beam Sonar System (HRMBSS). This swathe echo sounder is capable of collecting depth information over a strip of the sea bed several kilometers wide & gives Scott the capability of surveying 150km2 of ocean floor every hour.

 She will Be in Halifax untill the 4th.
Info Above form Wikipedia and the Royal Navy

HMCS Preserver

HMCS Preserver entered port this morning just after 8 am, and proceeded to the Bedford Basin (anchorage 10) to perform some excercises. She departed for sea just after Noon. She had had a tug in attendance from the point she passed the Dockyard inbound, untill she passed the dockyard outbound.

Pier 42 Harbour Lookoff

Looks like the Harbour Lookoff at the end of Pier 42 is coming back. The Fence and hand rails are now in place.

Nils B on the St Piere Run?

As reported at Shipfax, Fusion, the regular vessel on the Halifax to St. Piere and Miquelon run has sailed for Spain. In Her place is the Nils B, A small container ship with BBC Shipping.
Her first apperance was last week, and she arrved again this morning. Besides containers on deck, She can carry a variety of cargo in her holds including bulk and break bulk cargos.

Herring Season Is Coming

The Annual Spring run of Herring is almost upon us. The MARGARET ELIZABETH NO.1 has been tied up at pier 24 for the past week, and has now moved to the waterfront downtown. Bay Ferry Man is also reporting that Tasha Marie  and the Leroy and Berry No.2 came out of the shipyard from work periods this past week.

The spring season typicly occurs in May.

See Previous posts of Arrival and Departure from 2011
File Photo of Leroy and Berry No.2

3 Masted Schooner Sedna IV at Maritime Museum Wharf

An arival earlier this morning the Sedna IV Tied up at the Maritime Museum Wharf.

The Sedna IV is a 50 metre (165 ft) three-masted schooner which has been used for scientific expeditions and the filming of documentaries. Currently on a special research voyage called 1000 Days for the Planet, Jean Lemire and his crew are visiting Halifax waterfront from April 21-23 as part of Waterfront Development's Visiting Ships Program.


Tomorrow, Sunday, April 22 (Earth Day), the vessel will be open for free, public tours. There is a limit of 20 people per tour and pre-registration is required.

Tour times will be available at 1:30 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm. Please sign up at Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Information Desk, 1675 Lower Water St.

For more information on the ship, and 1000 Days for the Planet, visit http://my-waterfront.ca/halifax/events-halifax?event=89

NT Dartmouth, where is she Now?

The Former Halifax Bunker Tanker NT Dartmouth has been found. She is now registered in Honduras as Dartmouth, and has her last known location was Santo Tomas Guatemala. Santo Tomas is Guatemala's largest port, and features a cruise terminal, so its very likely she is working as a bunker tanker there as well.

NT Dartmouth was replaced in Halifax by the larger Algoma Dartmouth, Largely due to environmental regulations that baned single hull tankers. NT Dartmouth's Canadian registry was closed in Dec 2010, though she was past her annual inspection and suspended by her class in Aug 2010.

M/V Miner Update

From CBC News.
Though the Miner Looks intact, the bottom has been torn out, and she is bent.
Previous Posts Here (Nov 2011) and Here (Oct 2011)

The Second Titanic Cruise - Balmoral

The Balmoral arrived yesterday after 1700, arriving from the site of Titanic's sinking. She departed on the 10th from southhampton, and followed the Titanic's route.

She is scheduled to depart at 17:45 this evening, bound for New York. The other Titanic Cruise arrived on April 12, departed for the wreck site, and then back to New York.

AUSTRALIABORG in the Outer Anchorage

AUSTRALIABORG in the Outer Anchorage Update (April 17:) She Departed the Anchorage at 1530 for Baie Comeau

USCGC Juniper to visit Halifax

U.S. Coast GuardCutter Juniper, homeported in Newport, R.I., is scheduled to arrive at the Maritime Museum wharf around 1500 this afternoon. She will depart late afternoon on the 17th. She is Visiting as part of USCG Titanic Commemorations, having Completed her mission to scatter 1.5 million dried rose petals over the final resting place of the RMS Titanic, on April 14, 2012, as part of a memorial ceremony for the 100th anniversary of the tragedy.

Photo above is USCGC Juniper off Chebucto Head about to board her Pilot.
Additional Photos to follow. UPDATE: USCGC Juniper now scheduled to Depart Tomorow Morning at 0800

 

The Titanic Post

This April 15th marks 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic. The events of the Night of April 14/15 are very well known. Titanic sets sail on her maiden voyage, hits an iceberg, and sinks. hundreds die.

Halifax's connection to the wreck is in the aftermath. Cable Ships such as the Mina and the Mackay Bennett are dispatched from Halifax to search for survivors/recover bodies. They found hundreds, and they are buried in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Dr. John Henry Barnstead, a Halifax Physician was tasked with identifying the Dead. the Methods he Developed for identifying bodies in mass casualty situations are still in use today (and his records are held in the NS Archives)

More broadly, the titanic disaster led to changes that greatly improved safety at sea. The SOLAS (Safety of life at Sea) Conventions were a direct result of the Disaster, as were the Codification of ship board Radio requirements, and the adoption of S.O.S and MAYDAY as distress signals.

For More on Titanic's Nova Scotia Connections, Including Documents, See the Provincial governments site http://titanic.gov.ns.ca/

The IEEE Spectrum has an article on the radio changes that Titanic brought about.

AZAMARA JOURNEY - First Cruise Ship of the Season

The first Crusise ship of the Season arived this morning, on a Titanic Aniversary cruise. Unlike the Balmoral (who will be in Halifax on the 14/15th), which is retracing the Titanics voyage, the AZAMARA JOURNEY Departed New York for a Tour of Titanic related sites, arriving today in Halifax, and then heading to the sinking site on Saturday, before returning to New York. You can Find out more about the Aniversary Cruise here

Ambassatours is running Titanic themed tours which feature a Titanic Theeme wrapped bus. The tours cover titanic sites, such as the Cable Wharf, Maritime Museaum of the Atlantic, and Fairview Lawn Cemetery.

Crowded Basin

Was Busy in the Basin this evening with the inbounds arriving prior to the outbounds heading out.

Anchored AFL New England (Center), Outbound Atlantic Companion, Inbound Itally Express (right)

Tied Up (And Leaving) London Express (right), Tieing Up Atlantic Compass(left)

Sub HMCS Windsor - Back in the Water.

HMCS Windsor returned to halifax Harbour just past noon today. After Some addtional in water Quay side tests, she will proceed to conduct a series of sea trials. In the Top picture she has just been pulled off the Synchrolift. Bellow, the tugs are Positioning to move her along side the jetty.

 

Shipfax Caught the action from the Halifax Side, and Had the benifit of having the sun to his back

Highlanders in for Work

The Marine Atlantic Ferry Highlanders arrived for its maintanace period this morning, Proceeding directly to the Nova Dock. Highlanders, and her Sister Blue Putties are named after Newfoundland regiments, and replaced Caribou and the Joseph and Clara Smallwood.

More (better) Pics at Shipfax

HMCS Windsor Gets Wet Wendsday Morning!

The Chronicle Herald is reporting that the navy will begin undocking HMCS Windsor from the synchrolift Wendsday morning at 6am. The Operation is expected to take about 6 hours to complete.

Photos to come tomorow morning.

Hero Class Mid Shore Patrol Vessels Rolling off the Line

Thursday brought the rollout of the Second Mid Shore Patrol Vessel, Corporal Kaeble VC. The First, Private Robertson VC, has been located outside the module shop for some time, as additional work is completed. She Has now been moved farther down the ways and tarpped to allow the next vessel to be painted.

There is no known date for the launch at the moment.

Stowaway on Atlantic Concert.

The Chronicle Herald is reporting that CBSA removed a stowaway from Atlantic Concert this Morning. This is The third time In recent memory stoways have been found on Atlantic Concert. Previous incidents on this vessel were reported in April 2009 and Febuary 2011 Photo Above from 0745 this morning.

60 Second Lesson on Tall Ship Rigs

Found this on Sea-Fever