The Dartmouth Ferry Christopher Stannix is going in for its 5 year refit. The city issued the tender today. The Christopher Stannix entered service in 2014, and is the first of the 5 newbuilds.
The scope of work is mostly Painting and General repair work plus inspections. there are also a few modifications to match features of the newer boats. Of particular interest to users – The back angle on the benches is being fixed, so they will not so reclined
New fender, shown in green
Interestingly, An additional fender is being added, which requires removing some ballast. the current ballast consists of 273 concrete blocks (2.19 MT) held in place with ratchet straps. and must be reduced to 181 concrete blocks (1.45 MT)
The Bella Vita spent a few days at tall ships Quay, before sailing for Lunenburg Saturday Morning. At 255′ in length, she is the largest purpose built yacht to call in Halifax. The largest yacht to Call in Halifax was the Lone Ranger, which then belonged to a google co-founder, and converted from a ocean going tug.
The Baie St. Paul made its first call to Halifax, Loading Gypsum for Cote Ste. Catherine in Quebec. The ship sailed just after 1400 on Sunday.
Baie St Paul is the first of 4 trillium Class Geared Bulkers, and was completed in China in 2012. CSL Also built 6 new panamax Trillum Class Ships for its Americas fleet, though they are built like traditional ocean going bulkers, and lack the seawaymax form of the Lakers. 2 additional trillium class lakers were built without the self unloading gear.
Though built in China, the ships were not built for ocean voyages, and arrived with temporary reinforcing that was removed on arrival to Canada. Baie St. Paul had additional reinforcing added during last winters layup to allow it perform coastal work. – Previous CSL Lakers were common callers in Halifax, Particularly Atlantic Huron and Salarium
(Above) CCGS Earl Grey gets some topside paint form the shore side, and some hull paint from the sea side. (Below) CCGS Sir William Alexander tied up along side.
Work on the Halterm Expansion has moved to Pier 9. Dredging was completed at pier 9 Mid may, and the dump scows have been used to prepare the sea bed with coarse gravel loaded at pier 9. the Slip forming equipment is also now on site, and the first forms are being placed on the barge (above left). once the floor is cast, the outside walls and interior dividers will be cast by slip forming until the entire block is constructed. Once complete, it will be towed into place, and filler with gravel.
The Feds announced funding for two port related projects. A total of 47.5 million federally will be spent to upgrade rail between the 2 terminals with the goal of removing 75% of the port related trucks from downtown streets. The announcement was vauge, but it appers trucks will be handled at the Ceres yard, then containers moved by rail to Halterm as required. CN, the port and the City own a great deal of land by Ceres, so there is ample space for expansion.
The second announcement will fix the Windsor Street Exchange with changes to Lady Hammond and the Bedford Highway To improve flow.
The total cost of the two projects in 90 million, with the feds picking up 47.5 milliion, and the rest divided between the Port, Province, City and CN.
Cynically this announcement could be viewed as an attempt by the federal liberals to secure Andy Fillmore’s seat. Most Haligonians I suspect are most interested in the Promised improvements to the Windsor street exchange. that the announcement featured no renderings suggests that the improvements could be seen as politically damming to Fillmore.
Here is what the Release said about the project.
The second project will upgrade the Windsor Street Exchange, which is the main access road to the Port of Halifax. This work includes realigning the Bedford Highway, upgrading Lady Hammond Road and installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow. These upgrades will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and increase the reliability and efficiency of freight movements.
Area Councilor Waye Mason tweeted
Only what is in the press release. 'realigning the Bedford Highway, upgrading Lady Hammond Road and installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow' and that the objective is that trucks can get out of Ceres and get to highway 102.
If you look at the mechanics of the Windsor street exchange, the biggest problem is people coming off Joe Howe and crossing the lanes to get to the bridge. At the same time, Joe Howe is the way to get trucks from Ceres to Highway 102. Lets Look at what the Announcement tells us.
“realigning the Bedford Highway” this likely means that the the Bedford highway will now end at an intersection with Joseph Howe. this would also be the entry and exit point for the Ceres Terminal. This is evidenced by the statement “installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow” suggesting the addition of an intersection. controlling the flow from Joe Howe would solve alot of the congestion problem. “Upgrading Lady Hammond Road” suggests that the street will be extended towards the new intersection, and the existing exchange will likely be simplified.
Though not explicitly mentioned, i would expect transit priority measures to be put in place as well. The Costs also suggest that an overpass is to be constructed, likely to expand the Fairview overpass to accommodate an intersection over the rail lines.
Concept from the 1945 master plan for Halifax. the traffic circle was never built, but the original road alignment can be seen, with the origins of Joe Howe. From the Functional plan for Harbour Drive. Again shows the connections through Fairview.
The Changes i have proposed are not without historical President. The Bedford highway previously joined with Dutch Village Rd before Joseph Howe was built, and Lady Hammond served as the main road onto the peninsula via the passage under the train tracks where the fairview overpass now is.
Today brought a number of Simultaneous announcements about the Coast Guard.
The Prime Minister Announced in Vancouver an investment of $15.7B to renew the CCGS fleet, investing in up to 18 large ships to be built by Canadian shipyards. The Minister for Nova Scotia announced the 2 rumored AOPS for the Coast Guard at BIO. Those ships are to be built as fisheries patrol vessels. A role it is suited for
From the Release:
The Government of Canada is investing in two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, which will be adapted for the Coast Guard to perform tasks including offshore patrols. These ships will be built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax.
The Government of Canada is investing in up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels to support a variety of missions, including light icebreaking, environmental response, and offshore search and rescue. These ships will be built by Vancouver Shipyards.
The Government of Canada will also proceed through a competitive process with the design of a new class of smaller ships, the new Mid-Shore Multi-Mission Ship, which would complement the work of the large fleet in shallow areas and deliver mid-shore science activities.
Repairs, refits, and vessel life extension work will be carried out on the existing fleet until the new ships are delivered, with over $2 billion to be invested on a competitive basis for this purpose.In addition to funding for shipbuilding, the Government of Canada is also providing over $351 million to support ongoing Canadian Coast Guard capacity enhancements such as strengthening management oversight and promoting innovation and greener practices.
CCGS Ann Harvey one of the Type 1100 muti-purpose light icebreakers currently in use.
So besides the 2 AOPS – they are committing to Replacing the 1100 class. These ships are a big win for the Vancouver shipyard, but will take years to deliver given to volume of work that is needed now by the Coast Guard. Its unclear what the design of these vessels will be, though VARD has been commissioned to study this. the design is likely several years out.
the reference to the Midshore vessels is interesting, as that is a less well defined project, and there is no vessel count assigned to it. However the announcement also included the line
the Government of Canada intends to add a third Canadian shipyard as a partner under the NSS. The Government of Canada will move forward with a competitive process to select the third shipyard in the coming months.
Its unclear what work will be going to that yard, though the release does mention Coast Guard work and the midshore vessels are currently unassigned. these would be an odd fit, as there smaller size could be done by a smaller yard. Davie may end up with some of the sea span work. Though the release cites an open competition, it would be a huge shock if it wasen’t Davie.
JTFA just tweeted that 8 people were rescued from a sailboat early this morning off Lunenburg.
A quick check of marinetraffic.com appears to show the vessel Esprit De Corps IV aground off cross island. it stopped broadcasting AIS just after 6am this morning.
Esprit De Corps IV is the former Amver Sport 1, the VOR60 yacht that was owned by Derek Hatfield, as Spirit of Adventure. Hatfield died in 2016. the yacht was a frequent participant in the Route Halifax Saint Pierre and Marblehead races.
I have sent a message to Atlas Ocean racing for confirmation. – Updates to Follow.
UPDATE May 24: Atlas Ocean Racing released a statement on Facebook yesterday:
At 4am AST on the 22nd of May, whilst returning from a season of racing in the Caribbean, SV Esprit de Corps IV was shipwrecked on Cross Island, NS.
20nm before Lunenburg, NS, her final port of destination, and under a very reduced set of sails, gale force winds complicated the manoeuvre of dousing the sails before entering the chanel leading to Lunenburg. The strong gusts and a loss of the ability to use the propeler led the boat to drift towards Cross Island where she ran aground. The crew prompted a PAN PAN to get the boat towed but later a water breech made the situation to upgrade to MAYDAY.
Maxime Grimard, skipper of the delivery of Esprit de Corps IV, acted in accordance with his safety in offshore sailing certifications and with the team’s safety procedures by protecting the crew first and foremost.
The 8 crew members of the sailboat wish to thank the Canadian Coast Guard and the crew of MV Salvage Monarch for their exemplary assistance in evacuating the crew. All members of the crew returned to land safe and sound.
After the crew, the team’s next priority became the recuperation of the vessel for environmental reasons and in order to salvage any equipment left. The team has set a protocol in motion to handle the recovery of any wasteful debris, in collaboration with Environmental Response of the Canadian Coast Guard.
Atlas Ocean Racing, Maxime Grimard, and Gilles Barbot (owner and official skipper of the boat), the insurance company and local experts, are actively seeking the most cost-efficient and practical solutions to recover what’s left of the boat as soon as possible.
We will keep you informed of the next steps in the recovery of the shipwreck. The goal is to return the boat ashore for inspection and evaluation of damage and potential repairs.
Thanks for your support,
Atlas Ocean Racing Team
They also posted that the yacht had been looted since it went aground, and before they could return to remove fuel.
image via Atlas Ocean Racing Facebook image via Atlas Ocean Racing Facebook
#CCGRescueStories: This week in Mahone Bay, #NovaScotia the Inshore Rescue Boat team rescued 8 people from a vessel that ran aground. There were sustained winds of 25 knots and 2 metre seas. The crew worked hard to ensure all were safe. #CCGProudpic.twitter.com/ZByWdcET8h
— Canadian Coast Guard (@CoastGuardCAN) May 24, 2019
With recent news of a NW Arm Ferry service waiting for dock installation to start, the question was asked what is required to Setup and operate such a service. So here is what you need to do it.
As a passenger – Look for the vessel registration on the bow, and Blue Compliance Decal
Kings Wharf Water taxi (file photo)
Captain and Crew. In our post, so you want to be a captain, I covered various licenses, and what they allow you to operate. Since Halifax is a sheltered waters Voyage, A PCOC is valid if you only need to carry 6 or fewer passengers and your boat is under 8m in length. the Kings wharf water taxi operates under this regime. To Carry up to 12 passengers, you will need a SVOP+medA3. In either case you will need a Marine First aid Course.
Crew will Require Med A3, and First aid.
The Vessel. if the Vessel is over 6 meters, it will need to meet small vessel construction standards. something built as a pleasure craft will not necessarily suffice, though in the case of a pontoon boat, it likely meets the stability and rail height requirements.
The vessel will need to be registered with Transport Canada vessel registry. Registered vessels will either have a name on the stern, or in the case of small vessels, a registry number on the Bow. The vessel is also required to be enrolled in Transport Canada’s Small Vessel Compliance Program (SVCP).
The SVCP requires reporting to TC every 5 years, and they issue you a decal that certifies your vessel is compliant. The form is essentially a checklist to ensure compliance with regulations that mandate required safety equipment. if the vessel is found compliant, then a decal is issued to the vessel. (Blue is for Passenger vessels and work boats, red for Fishing Vessels.)
Operations. Transport Canada requires a safety briefing be given to all passengers indicating the location and usage of life jackets. it can be Oral, a Video, or signage with pictograms.
I spoke to another tour boat operator about Insurance. They carry $2 million in Liability coverage, plus hull insurance on the boat. Coverage cost is around $3500/year.
Cruise Critic is reporting that the One Ocean Cruise ships Akademik Sergey Vavilov and Akademik Ioffe have had their charters suddenly ended by the Russian government. Both ships were scheduled to begin arctic cruises in June. those cruises have now been canceled, with the the ships owners recalling the vessels to Kaliningrad for “repairs” at the end of the Antarctic cruise season.
Both ships are registered to Russian Research institutes, and have been on long term charter to One Ocean since 2011, and in the expedition business since the 90’s.
the Akademik Ioffe ended its season early after it ran aground in the arctic. The incident in the Gulf of Boothia resulted in a small spill, which was initially not reported. the ship was repaired in Les Mechins PQ, and joined the Antarctic Cruise season.
