Author Archives: Peter Ziobrowski

Mexican Navy Tall Ship ARM Cuauhtemoc Due in May

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

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

UPDATE: I don’t have a Confirmed Schedule, But she is Scheduled to be in New London Ct. May 2-6, making her halifax Arrival likely the second week of May.

Stena Icemax Now 24nm Off Halifax

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

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

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

Overseas Jademar Tops up Tufts Cove

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

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

Meta for ACL

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

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

ACL Renews Contract to 2022 – Projects Doubling Volumes

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

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

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

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

Stenna Icemax Looses Drilling Riser

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

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

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