Yearly Archives: 2014

Asphalt tankers Transferring in the Basin

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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

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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. 
Given the location of the crews it’s likely the ship was at the ocean terminals suggesting the Pearl mist or one of the offshore supply vessels.
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

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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

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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

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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.

Nova Dock Needs to be Replaced

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I have heard rumors that the Nova dock at Halifax Shipyard was broken and in repair.

Today I received confirmation of this:

I was told that the Nova Dock has needed repairs since at least April, and that after evaluating options, costs to repair are approaching the cost of a  New Submersible Dock. They have therefore decided to replace the dock. as the shipyard does not have the facilities to build a new dock, and are therefore in the process of attempting to source a replacement.

Shipspotting 101: Bulk Carriers.

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Recent CSL Arrivals make a good lead into Bulker terminology. Firstly a bulker is a Bulk Carrier – they typically carry bulk cargos such as gravel, salt, grain, gypsum, wood pellets etc. They come in 2 Basic Types – Geared and Gearless.
Atlantic Huron is a Geared bulker, She carries her own fixed to ship unloading Gear.
Atlantic Huron is built to Seaway max dimensions, hence its stout appearance. Passing through tight locks also leaves her sides looking rough as seen in a stop from 2012 . Compare her to CSL Tacoma Earlier in the week, which is only built for ocean travel.  (Below)
Both of these bulkers are self unloading. the Holds empty onto a conveyor belt, that travels up and to the end of the boom. this greatly speeds the unloading process though at a cost of capacity. Atlantic Huron at top is unloading to the Halifax grain Elevators, but you can truly See the power of the unloading boom on CSL Metis in Tampa
Malmens (below) is a much smaller bulker, and usually carries gravel. She too is a self unloader with her boom mounted midship, and able to swing out over the pier.

Another type of geared Bulker uses cranes and clamshell buckets for unloading. Universal Amsterdam clearly shows the clamshells on deck between the First and second Crane.

Other Vessels, offer both Options – Such as Barkald, Which has both unloading Cranes and the Self unloading arm. Presumably this offers some flexibility, such as being able to load trucks or rail cars directly with the buckets at unimproved ports.

Finally we have Gearless Bulkers. These vessels rely on shore side handing facilities to offload Cargo. CSL Birchglen is an example of these.

While this post has concerned itself with unloading, We do have 2 posts on Loading. first we have Patron, a Small gearless Bulker loading grain for export. We also had a post on the geared bulker Irma loading wood Pellets.