The Coast Guard ship Hudson sailed into Halifax harbour for the last time today. the ship is being decommissioned after 59 years of service after suffering a starboard motor failure. She was escorted in by Several vessels, including the sir William Alexander, which showed off its water monitors.
As the Hudson sailed down the harbour, she was saluted by a chourus of horns throughout the harbour.
The CCGS Hudson is to be Decommissioned. The feds made the announcement at 1:30 today. The ship suffered a failure of the Starboard propulsion motor. Nov 5th, and has been tied up in St. John’s since.
Hudson was subject to extensive refits in 2020 and 2021, which Davie declined to bid on, citeing the condition of the ship in a public letter.
Hudson is powered by a diesel electric propulsion system. Power is provided by four V-16 Alco diesel engines, which drive 4 1500 kW, 600 volts DC generators, connected to two electric motors each driving a shaft.
UPDATE: Here is the formal Announcement:
Following 59 years of dedicated service, the Canadian Coast Guard’s oldest serving vessel, the CCGS Hudson is being decommissioned. In November 2021, a failure of the starboard propulsion motor placed the CCGS Hudson out of service. Due to the scale of the problem and the time and cost to repair it, combined with the costs associated with an upcoming period of regulatory compliance work, it has been determined that the ship is beyond economical repair and further investment would not allow it to return to reliable service.
The CCGS Hudson is a key platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s oceanographic science program. While there are no science missions planned for the CCGS Hudson over the winter months, the vessel’s permanent replacement, the yet to be named Offshore Oceanographic and Science Vessel, isn’t expected to be delivered until 2025. The Canadian Coast Guard is working closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to evaluate the near and long terms impacts on programming and developing a plan to mitigate these impacts. Discussions are focused on which parts of the science program can be completed by other Canadian Coast Guard vessels, by chartered vessels, or through the use of other technology.
The decommissioning of the CCGS Hudson marks the end of an era for the Canadian Coast Guard. In the coming months, plans for a celebration of the ship and the crews’ accomplishments over the past 59 years will be developed and Canadians will have the opportunity to share memories and experiences of their own interactions with the ship and all of its past crews.
DFO Release.
The Bulk Carrier Tanja has been sitting at anchor in the basin for the past several days, presumably waiting for better weather. the ship sailed from Grand Anse, on the Sagunay river in Quebec.
The ship is fitted to carry kaolin clay in slurry form. kaolin is used in the production of paper. recent high winds caused the ship to have to reposition after it started to drag anchor.
The Crude Oil tanker Aurviken Arrived on the 12th and tied up at pier 9. it sailed yesterday around 6pm.
The ship sailed for the NuStar terminal in point Tupper with a load of crude form Libya. its stop in halifax was to load fuel for its cargo heating boiler.
Earlier in the afternoon, the ship was conducting an oil transfer which led to a strong chemically smell to blanket the north end. Heavy fuel oils need to be heated to flow, and this was reportley the source of the smell. the Port Authority ordered the ship to stop the transfer, and the smell dissipated.
The smell prompted numerous 911 calls, and the Halifax shipyard activated the fire alarm to evacuate their staff from the building while they figured out what was going on.
the Pnumatic Cement Carrier tied up at pier 9 after arriving back form its 5 year survey in Portugal. The ship is operated by a joint venture between Algoma and Nova Short sea carriers of Luxembourg. (NACC being the abbreviated form of Nova Algoma Cement Carriers)
NACC operate the ship under contract to transport cement from the McInnis Cement plant, on the Gaspe peninsula in Quebec to locations up the great lakes. The ships basically use vacuums and air pressure to load and discharge powdered cement – preventing dust, and keeping the product dry.
the Tug Atlantic Cedar was the first arrival of the year in port. It Arrived around 6:30pm new years day. Dallas Express was the first Container ship. it took to Anchor in the basin, arriving Jan 2.
West light is reasonable walking distance to Main Station. At this point its primarily occupied by BIO scientists studying the islands seal population, and the house is Known as BIO House now.
the light still exists, though it was decommissioned in the early 2000’s
A Universal Carrier lies on the south beach at west light. this tracked vehicle was surplus from the war and was used to move boats and other equipment on the island.
remains of Quonset huts that were used to store equipment and supplies. these were made of steel and are rusting in the sand. some of the contents of the huts lay around the area, including this bucket from an excavator.
(below) collapsed supports for a tank farm. These and the quonset huts are located on the north beach behind West light.
A non directional beacon was installed to aid in aircraft navigation. It failed, and lies abandoned.
Next to West light is Aliant House. the island briefly had cell service, when Aliant installed cellular equipment in an attempt to service the nearby oil platforms. It didn’t work, and the equipment removed. The tower is still in use, providing trunked communications on the island.
NYK Constellation to anchor in the basin to wait out weather after spending Saturday at Fairview cove. NYK Constellation was built in 2007, and is rated for 4888TEU. It currently operating on the Alliances AL5 service. AL5 serves Northern Europe, making stops in Halifax and Port Everglades Florida, before stopping in South America,passing through the panama canal, stopping in LA, Seattle, Vancouver, and Oakland. NYK Constellation is currently on the return leg, heading back to Southampton.
Hyundai Faith arrived Saturday and took to anchor to wait out weather before moving to the terminal this morning. the ship is serving on the Alliances EC5 service. the ship was built in 2008, and is rated for 8566TEU.
