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Monthly Archives: July 2014
Rockingham yard
The Latest on the Nova Dock
Word is that it will cost $60-70 million to replace the NovaDock. the shipyard is planning to issue the Tender for the replacement dock in Jan 2015 with expected delivery of 2 years from that.
The Yard is selling the Novadock for scrap.
The Current Timeline for AOPS construction starts next July with first plates cut in new facility at Windmill Rd site. From start of cutting to expected launch will be roughly 2 years which would coincide with the delivery of the new dry dock. The New building will allow more work to be done indoors, so launches will now occur much closer to overall completion. They will also be able to do 2 vessels at once.
This means the yard will be largely unavailable for commercial service for the next 2 years, until a replacement dock is found. No doubt Davie is thrilled, as they are the logical choice to pick up this work. There is no word on the replacement for the ScotiaDock II, which was announced in 2012.
Princess of Acadia Replacement to be announced tommorow.
Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, will be joined by the David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick, and Gordon Wilson, NS MLA for Clare-Digby, to make an announcement concerning ferry services in Eastern Canada.
The government previously announced a new ferry would be purchased for the Digby St John Run, So this is likely the announcement of the New Boat. It Happens at 10am, St John Ferry Terminal.
NYK Meteor for Fairview Cove
NYK Meteor arrived this morning from Rotterdam. She will Sail overnight for NewYork as part of the G6 Service.
Built in 2007, she is registered in Panama, and carries 4800TEU.
Asphalt tankers Transferring in the Basin
Yesterday saw 2 asphalt tankers conducting a transfer operation in the basin. it looks like this may have been a workaround to the US Jones act – which basically requires a US built and registered Ship to trade between US Ports.
The Laden, greek flagged, Asphalt Eagle, arrived first from Gibraltar and anchored, and the smaller, Marshal Islands flagged, Asphalt Sailor tied up along side, arriving from New York. The smaller Asphalt Sailor Sailed for Providence Rhode Island, the larger Asphalt Eagle sailed for Portland Maine early this morning.
one would assume a portion of the cargo was bound for each destination, and for whatever reason the larger Asphalt Eagle could not make the trip – Hence the transfer in Halifax, so the 2 cargos originate outside the US, and non US flagged vessels can be used, as would be required to mov the cargo from Portland to Providence.
Fire on board ship Updated – HMCS St John’s at Halifax Shipyard
Thanks to HRM fire buffs for informing us that halifax crews from university ave were paged out to a ship fire just after noon.
The fire is reported extinguished, and smoke is being cleared.
More to follow as known
Update I was provided with the following info:
at approximately 12noon today light smoke was identified aboard the frigate HMCS St. John’s which is in the yard for a scheduled mid-life refit. Approximately 35 people were working aboard the ship. As a precautionary measure the ship was evacuated. The fire department was called. Initial cause appears to be a pinched electrical line on deck 4 that caused a “hot spot”. Employees extinguished the smoldering area with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of the fire department. No person was injured and no damage sustained aboard the ship.
Coasting Trade application Filled by CCGS
Earlier we reported on a RFP to transport the last 2 hero class vessels to Victoria. The rfp seemed to hint that the 2 vessels could be delivered to a US port, thus averting cabotage requirements.
The CCGS has now filed a request for a coasting trade licence for a to be determined heavy lift vessel to transport the 2 hero class boats to victoria. this suggests that an rfp winner has been selected but not announced.
Seems to me a good PR Move for the feds to sail the vessels via Northwest passage – though such a trip is beyond there design range – the could be resupplied on route by other larger CCGS vessels or the RCN.
I suspect Dockwise or jumbo will be awarded the contract. The range of dates is almost a full year – Nov 1 2014 to Sept 30 2015
STS Lord Nelson to Visit Halifax Aug 2/3
STS Lord Nelson, will visit Halifax this August 2/3. This three-masted barque is one of two tall ships that are part of the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a registered charity founded in 1978 in the U.K.
The JST takes both disabled and able-bodied men and women to sea, to not only teach them how to crew a tall ship, but to promote equality, raise awareness and correct misconceptions around disability. The further aim of the JST is to offer the program at rate accessible to all.
Two years in construction, Lord Nelson was launched in 1986 in Southampton, England. Lord Nelson was built with the capability of sailing anywhere in the world with crews of mixed physical abilities aboard. She is on the Return leg of a Circumnavigation of the world.
She will tie up At Tall Ships Quay, and be open for tours
10-12 and 2-4
A tale of 2 docks – Halifax Shipyard, and the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II
As a Followup to the news that the NovaDock at Halifax Shipyards needs to be replaced, i was asked a few questions about the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II. this post should clarify things.
The Scotia Dock II was built in 1964 by Canadian Vickers Ltd for use in their shipyard in Montreal. Named General Georges P. Vanier, the dock became redundant when VersatileVickers closed down. It spent some time at Davie in Quebec, Before it was sold to Halifax Shipyards in 1998. It was towed to Halifax, Refurbished, and put into service. The original Scotiadock, was built in 1933 as Prins Hendrik Dok No.4in Rotterdam, and acquired and rebuilt by the shipyard in 1979.
The Scotia Dock II Sunk in May 2010 while submerged to dock the Stvens breaker for inspection. Her registry was finally closed on June 22 2010 and the Scotia Dock II sold to Southern Recycling, a metal recycler on the Gulf of Mexico for Scraping. The shipyard announced at that time they would be replacing it.
(Above) Scotia Dock Just after sinking (left) About a month after sinking, Still on the bottom and (Below) being toed to the scrapper.
The Nova Dock, Was the Larger of the 2 Docks. built as a Pananmax dock, it could handle any vessel that can fit through the panama canal. Considerably newer, it was built in 1982 for MIL Industries in Sorel Quebec. I am unsure of when Halifax Shipyards picked it up, However shipbuildinghistory.com indicates that she was built for Halifax Shipyard, and it appears her registry from 1984 never had a name change. the Sorel MIL yard was closed in 1986, shortly after they merged with Davie, which resulted in the closure of the Vickers yard in Montreal and the MIL yard in Sorel, leaving only Davie.
The NovaDock was Repaired following a Collision with HMCS Preserver in November 2011 that left an above the waterline gash, and some damaged stairs in her. She was repaired, but post Scotia Dock II sinking likely subject to more scrutiny. I have been told that her inner compartments are corroded, and extensive work would be needed to refurbish her – the cost being prohibitive, it was decided to simply replace her.
As best as I can tell, the last vessel to be Docked in the NovaDock was the Tanker Havelstern (left) which emerged from the Dock in February of 2014. Since then, The Blue Putties had work done in Boston, and the CCGS Louis St Laurent was refit at Davie in Quebec – Both these are regular clients of the NovaDock. I have also been told that the unavailability of the dock has been responsible for layoffs due to lack of work.
UPDATE: Mac over at Shipfax shed a bit more light on the ownership situation. The NovaDock was in fact built for the Province of Nova Scotia, with the intention of improving business at the yard (When Halifax Shipyard was owned by the Government.) The Provence apparently retained ownership of the dock, however, In February 2013 a waterlot was transferred from the Province to the shipyard for $95,000. that lot was leased by the yard since 1982 (when the Novadock was built) for 1$/year and taken up by Irving when they bought the yard from the province in 1994. Taking ownership of this waterlot was considered a critical part of the NSPS. in light of all this, it appears that the province transferred ownership of the Novadock at that time, and it was likely sold as part of the waterlot.
