AOPS #4, the future HMCS William Hall was moved onto the boa barge 37 today, and ready for its impending launch. the barge will be towed to the Basin, where it will be slowly submerged, until the William Hall floats off.
After launching, the ship will be moved along side Pier 7 at the ship yard for completion.
AOPS #3, HMCS Max Bernays was spotted tonight in the Graving dock at Halifax Shipyard. The ship was only delivered to the Navy in September, so it must be a recent issue.
HMCS Max Bernays is scheduled to be the first of the Pacific Based AOPS.
The USCGC Morro Bay looks to be headed back to the great lakes for the winter. the ship arrived at Tall Ships Quay, by the NSP building, this morning.
Maersk Idaho arrived in Halifax on the 9th, at tied up at PSA Atlantic Hub. the Ship sailed on the 10th, but returned to Anchor in the basin on the 12th. The ship is now scheduled to move back to PSA’s Atlantic Hub again on the 15th, and then sail for Montreal.
Built in South korea in 2000 as Gosport Maersk, the ship took the US flag and its current name in 2009. Maersk Idaho was then moved to Maersk Singapore subsidiary, and took that flag in January 2022.
The General cargo ship Franbo Lohas took to the basin anchorage before moving to pier 9. the ship is likely loading cable tanks.
Built as Thorco Lohas in 2015, the ship took its current name in 2021. Franbo Shipping lines is based in Taiwan, and was founded in 1998.
The latest Freedom class LCS, USS Cooperstown (LCS 23) stopped in Halifax yesterday for about 8 hours. the ship arrived in the morning and sailed from the dockyard at 4:30.
The freedom class LCS program has been beset by a number of issues, including problems with the combining gear that connect the diesel engines and the turbines to the shafts, given the location of that combining gear, the navy has mothballed many of the early ships of the class, as the repair is too costly.
The Offshore vessel Virginia Ann made a brief stop in Halifax, on its way south from Newfoundland. The ship is outfitted for ROV operations.
it is scheduled to sail later today.
The Rt. Hon. Paul Martin (above) took to the basin. its scheduled to move to Gold bond on the departure of Algoma Integrity.
The USS Gerald R. Ford offered a media availability yesterday, which i had the privilege to attend. All manner of tour boats, and a Halifax transit ferry were pressed into service to move people form the carrier to shore and back, including tour vessels from Oak Island and Lunenburg – sort of a mini Dunkirk.
The carrier is designed for stern boarding, and a barge was used as a floating dock. from there, its up two flights to the hanger deck.
Those doors lead to the hanger deck.
The flight deck is several flights of stairs up from the hanger deck.
(below) the view form vultures alley, the lowest balcony on the tower.
Most of the Air wing looked to be on deck, and was made up up of F-18 hornets. This one had a kill; a SU-22 in 2017.
(above) E-2 Hawkeye (below) SH-60 seahawk (which is the naval variant of a blackhawk)
As Part of the Media availability, various officials spoke of the the importance of the deployment, both to test the Ford, but also to hone interoperability between navies, and show that nato can work together as a unified force.
The Ford has on board a liaison officer from each of the participating navies. (Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Spain. These officers also spoke to the importance of the work
A full gallery of the tour can be found at https://www.flickr.com/photos/hfxshippingnews/albums/72177720303273562/page1
The Strike group is set to depart Tuesday. HMCS Montreal and NRU Asterix will be joining the group.
(Above) USS Normandy and USS Ramage
(Below)HNLMS DE ZEVEN PROVINCIEN and HNLMS VAN AMSTEL
(Above)HDMS PETER WILLEMOES
(Below) ALVARO DE BAZAN
FGS Hessen was previously in HAlifax in 2012. (file photo below)
