Yearly Archives: 2014

Did the CCGS Louis St Laurent Spend its fuel budget already?

Leave a reply

After a previous post  mentioned concerns about icebreaking delays impacting shipping; and the fact that the Largest CCGS Ice breaker was tied up for the past month, A reader emailed me to say that As a result of heavier ice then in recent years, the Louis St. Laurent has already spent their fuel budget, and are waiting for the budget year to roll over March 31.

The Louis St. Laurent Burns fuel at a rate 80 cubic meters per day breaking ice. 80cu m is aprox 80000 liters /day.  Given that recent years have been light on ice, the budget was likely lower then what it should have been for a full ice year.  Being the largest and oldest ship in the fleet, high full consumption is not surprising.

UPDATE: I received 2 notes to say that its actually more likely to 80 cubic Meters and not 80 cubic feet. I corrected the post.

Ice Causing Delays.

Leave a reply

Ice has been a big issue this year, And Halifax based CCGS Craft have been working in Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence this winter.  Earl Grey responded to the grounding of John 1, and Edward Cornwallis and Sir William Alexander are also both working that area. Newfoundland sent CCGS Cape Roger to fill in here.

The one Oddity in all this Is the Louis St Laurent. The Largest icebreaker in the CCGS Fleet, she has been tied up at BIO since arriving on February 11th.  In January, She put in to port for a week for crew change, so she may be expected to sail in the coming days, but that still begs the question why the largest icebreaker in the fleet took a full rotation off.

The Canadian Ice Service, has stated that there is 10 per cent more ice this year compared to the 30-year average referring to both the amount and thickness of the ice.

CSA Release:

With the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway facing the thickest and broadest ice cover in years, the Canadian Shipowners Association (CSA) is extremely concerned that Canada’s ice-breakers will not be able to create and maintain the routes needed to move key cargo to Canadian and American industries.  The Canadian Coast Guard is doing its utmost to work with resources across a large geographical area subject to heavy ice, but this situation is rippling into Canada’s transportation and economic system.

Concerns over ice conditions and the ability of the Canadian Coast Guard to provide sufficient ice-breaking has delayed the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway past opening dates achieved in recent years. Despite Canadian government efforts to encourage the movement of Canadian grain, it will remain stored in ports such as Thunder Bay until ice breakers open ports and support ship movements. Not only are Canadian grain movements threatened by insufficient ice-breaking, so too are other industries with already low stocks of commodities such as iron ore, construction materials, salt and petroleum products which are moved by ships.
CSA and its members have advised the Canadian Coast Guard of the need to employ three ice-breakers to support the opening of the Great Lakes- Seaway system. Disappointingly, the Canadian Coast Guard’s effort to commit the necessary resources appears to be late as it manages challenging winter conditions in many regions.

The Canadian Coast Guard’s fleet of ice-breaking ships is aging and too few in numbers to support the economic and environmental benefits of short-sea-shipping in Canada. The CSA calls on the Canadian Coast Guard to fulfill its support to maritime commerce immediately by deploying three additional ice-breaking assets to support shipping throughout the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system while also meeting obligations to support navigation in the St. Lawrence River and Maritimes. Furthermore, CSA encourages the Government of Canada to find a longer-term solution to augment assets.

what is ice like on the lakes, Check out this time lapse of the Laker Wilfred Sykes leaving winter layup.

Various Mechanical Issues.

Leave a reply

its been a bad week for Bulk Carries and Mechanical issues.

1. The John 1 Lost power and went aground off Rose Blanche Newfoundland.

2. The Rt Hon Paul E Martin Waited out weather in the outer Anchorage before proceeding  to Shelbourn Ship Repair with the tug Atlantic Fir with a drive issue.

3. The Bulker Pioneer arrived at National Gypsum, appeared to load cargo, and On Friday was cold moved to Pier 25, with her bow Heavily ballasted down. This morning she appears to have propeller  work going on.

 (Above) Work On Pioneers Propeller (Below) Pioneer Ballasted down forward.

4. the Bulker Persenk Arrived to repair Ice damage at Anchorage 7. Her propeller was bent causing a bad vibration. Divers removed pieces to re-balance it.

The Rt Hon Paul E Martin due at midnight

Leave a reply
The CSL bulker The Rt Hon Paul E Martin is due to arrive at anchor tonight at midnight. The tug Atlantic fir will be escorting her from port hawksbery to Shelburne ship repair for engin repairs. Atlantic Fir departed halifax a few days ago for this trip. They will be waiting out weather before proceeding.
 
The departure was covered by straight area shipping:

John 1 aground off Newfoundland

3 Replies

The 600′ bulk carrier M/V John 1 went aground ~1.6KM from the community of Rose Blanche Newfoundland this afternoon just after 1330. 23 crew were evacuated by helicopter after issue ing a distress call.

One assumes they will attemp to tow the vessel off the rocks next high tide. The forcast looks stable though winds are expected to pick up Monday morning.
DFO reports the John 1 lost power on Friday and was drifting parallel to the coast. CCGS Earl Grey was dispatched and tug Ryan Leet was hired from mulgrave to assist and was due Saturday. Reports are that the crew stated there was water in the engine room, which could explain the power loss. 
Saturday morning wind changes put the ship in danger of running aground. Earl Grey was unable to establish a tow, and the ship grounded. A helicopter was dispatched from gander to pick up the crew. The CCGS Pierre Radison is also due on scene.

John 1 was built in 1991 and is registered in panama. She was due in Montreal having sailed from Las Palmas. The port of Montreal listed the grain elevator as her birth, so we can assume she was due to load grain for export, and is currently unloaded.
Photo top  by Mary Hardy via Facebook http://t.co/APtxPr5L5u  below JRCC via Twitter
Additional photos below by Rolland Kettle

UPDATE: 04/16 AIS indicates the Tug Ryan Leet arrived on scene around 1430 ADT. She sailed from Mulgrave just after 0700 saturday, and reportedly was slowed by ice. (Below File photo of Ryan Leet)

The transportation Safety Board also announced they are sending investigators to the scene of the grounding.

UPDATE 04/17: The owners have contracted Svitzer  to salvage the vessel. Svitzer has 3 tugs in Port Hawksbury (Point Chebucto, Svitzer Bedford and Point Valiant, all formerly based in Halifax) though they will likely retain the Ryan Leet as she is more powerful. The Coast Guard is amassing pollution control assets in Rose Blanche.

Photos below By Rolland Kettle:

UPDATE: Shifting winds Caused the John 1 to become free overnight Sunday and  she is now securely at anchor. Attempts to pull the John 1 from the shoal by the tug Ryan Leet were suspended Sunday due to deteriorating weather and sea conditions. The Slvage team will board the vessle to perform an assessment once conditions improve.

UPDATE 03/18:
Salvage crews arrived and boarded the John 1. She will be towed by Ryan Leet and Atlantic Fir to Argentia for further assessment. No pollution has been detected, though ccgs Earl Grey will follow along with pollution control gear.
(Below)Salvage crew boarding the MV John I. — Department of Fisheries and Oceans photo

UPDATE 03/19:

Preparations to tow are underway. A generator will be brought to the john 1 to power the anchor winches. Tow cables have already been connected. Once the tow commences the crew will follow aboard the earl grey.

UPDATE 03/20:
The following photo was provided to me. The tow is now underway.

 I have been informed that the tow is progressing nicely making 7 knots. Eta is 0800 Saturday 

UPDATE 03/21:

Overnight The tow  headed for shelter behind St. Pierre due to weather conditions. Weather permitting it should be heading back on course some time Friday.

The tow resumed just after noon with improved weather. Currently making 5 knots south of St Pierre
UPDATE 03/22:
Tow is now in the traffic lanes awaiting a pilot for Argentia.

Now handing off tow to Atlantic Fir and North Atlantic Osprey

Now getting lines on the dock

UPDATE 03/23;

The Ryan Leet ,Atlantic Fir and CCGS Earl Grey are tied up in Argentia. The John 1 is under going diver survey and assessment, the Ryan Leet and Atlantic Fir are standing by until Sivzters Salvage team makes a decision on where the John 1 is going and how it will get there.

Dalian Express to Anchor in the Basin

Leave a reply

Hapag-Lloyd container ship Dalian Express looks to be the first victim of the closure at Fairview Cove. She is currently inbound, and was due to sail tomorrow afternoon, but will now have to wait until Monday for the terminal to reopen, and Atlantic Companion and London Express to clear the Pier. she will likely sail on Tuesday.

This could also affect other Rotations, with Fairview Cove being busiest early in the week.

(File Photo)

Radioactive leak at Fairview Cove

3 Replies

 Last night, around Quarter to 10, Halifax Fire received a Call about a hazardous material Spill at Fairview Cove. It Now appears that a container containing  uranium tetrachloride cylinders failed while being unloaded from the Atlantic Companion resulting in the cylinders being dropped on the ship.

Radiation levels three times the acceptable amount have been detected. Halifax fire later clarified that there was no material Leaking, but elevated radiation  levels existed. Workers were released at 1am. I have now been informed that Fairview is closed until Monday morning for cleanup. A specialist cleanup team is due to arrive from Toronto this afternoon.

(Left)this is the type of container that failed.  I believe this one safely came off Atlantic companion earlier. Its more of a bulkhead flat then Container, and holds the 4 cylinders. Note the abundance of Hazmat labels on the sides. The top one is Radioactive.

These bulkhead flats are frequently used to ship Vehicles and other odd sized and shaped cargos on container vessels.

From Transport Canada offers the following Health notes should the cylinder fail
  • Radiation presents minimal risk to transport workers, emergency response personnel and the public during transportation accidents. Packaging durability increases as potential radiation and criticality hazards of the content increase.
  • Chemical hazard greatly exceeds radiation hazard.
  • Substance reacts with water and water vapor in air to form toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride gas and an extremely irritating and corrosive, white-colored, water-soluble residue.
  • If inhaled, may be fatal.
  • Direct contact causes burns to skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.
  • Low-level radioactive material; very low radiation hazard to people.
  • Runoff from control of cargo fire may cause low-level pollution.

Small spills suggest 100m exclusion zone

Original Reports:
 the area below was generated as details were unfolding:

Reports are that Halifax fire is dealing with a leaking container at Fairview cove. Atlantic Companion and London Express are both at the pier. Fire received the call at 21:46

A witness has told me that the fire department is by the Atlantic Companion. The container is reportedly damaged though May not be leaking.

Reportedly the commodity is Uranium Hexofloride, which wikipedia describes as “highly toxic, reacts violently with water and is corrosive to most metals”
Update:
Halifax fire confirm the container had uranium tetrachloride inside. The container was dropped on the ship and not on the pier.
Fire Crews confirm container is breached, levels three times the acceptable amount have been detected. Halifax fire later clarified that there was no breach, but elevated levels existed.
A source on site indicates that the container dropped off the crane. Workers have been told to report back at midnight  though federal nuclear authorities have been contacted. The workers were sent home around 1am
Longshoreman and ships crew near the dropped container are reportedly under quarantine. This is likely due to the potential toxic effects of the product. They were also released at 1am
Fire have requested a metro transit bus which will be used for evacuations. Nuclear safety teams are Apprently due around 0800 tommorow, now requiring longer term accommodations then the bus.
Workers are being scanned for radiation and released. Sounds like fire units are also returning to base. Halifax fire confirmed that there are no injuries an no persons are contaminated. no evacuations are required. They report that 4 cylinders fell from a container but did not rupture. This might suggest that the container failed rather then the container falling from the crane, which has now been confirmed to be the case
About the material
From transport canada 
  • Radiation presents minimal risk to transport workers, emergency response personnel and the public during transportation accidents. Packaging durability increases as potential radiation and criticality hazards of the content increase.
  • Chemical hazard greatly exceeds radiation hazard.
  • Substance reacts with water and water vapor in air to form toxic and corrosive hydrogen fluoride gas and an extremely irritating and corrosive, white-colored, water-soluble residue.
  • If inhaled, may be fatal.
  • Direct contact causes burns to skin, eyes, and respiratory tract.
  • Low-level radioactive material; very low radiation hazard to people.
  • Runoff from control of cargo fire may cause low-level pollution.

Small spills suggest 100m exclusion zone

Go West Young Vessels..

Leave a reply

The Government of Canada issued a rfp for the transport of the final two  Hero Class Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels aboard a larger vessel with heavy-lift capability. This one-way transport voyage,  is expected to commence in October 2014 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, arriving at an international port, closest to Victoria, British Columbia. This last requirement is oddly written as it seems to imply that Victoria need not be the final Destination.

The Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels (MSPVs) were built to replace aging CCG vessels patrolling Canadian waters on both coasts and in the Great Lakes. The last two MSPVs in the series of nine, to be built under Contract for CCG by Irving Shipbuilding, will be based in Victoria. The Contract with the Ship-builder does not provide transport for any of the nine Mid-Shore Patrol Vessels to their eventual destinations.

CCGS A. LeBlanc  and CCGS Caporal Kaeble V.C. are based in Quebec, PQ; CCGS Private Robertson V.C., CCGS Corporal Teather C.V. and CCGS Constable Carrière are based in Burlington, Ontario; CCGS G. Peddle and CCGS Corporal McLaren M.M.V. are based in Halifax, and CCGS M. Charles and CCGS Captain Goddard M.S.M. will be based in Victoria BC, and are the vessels subject to this RFP. Previous vessels sailed to their home ports.

Heavy-lift transport of the two MSPVs was only one of the options investigated; others such as sailing the ships on their own hulls were researched to determine what option was the most cost-effective; Sailing the MSPVs on their own hulls would seem to be cheapest method of transporting, but these small vessels are only allowed to travel up to 120 nautical miles off the coastline and MSPVs only have a maximum range of 2000 nautical miles. By following the shape of the coast closely and entering a number of harbours to re-fuel along the coast, this strategy can add up to 800 Nautical Miles to the length of the voyage and more voyage costs than a larger vessel would incur, such as harbour fees, pilotage fees, fuelling and provisioning costs. The time taken to sail this additional mileage will increase the delivery time to the final destination. Larger, heavy-lift commercial vessels do not have the same voyage restrictions off the coast as MSPVs; therefore they can use more direct, shorter routes and make less port visits, which cuts the time and costs needed to deliver both MSPVs to CCG – Pacific Region.

 This last section, Taken directly from the RFP clarifies the point, and blatantly offers advice on working around Canadian Cabotage laws (Cabotage laws basically state that cargo moved between Canadian ports must be done via Canadian Flagged and crewed vessel.)

 Since there are few, if any, Canadian heavy-lift vessels capable of performing this transport, most likely an international shipper will be using a foreign-flagged vessel to complete this Contract work. Shipping cargo from a Canadian departure point, aboard a foreign heavy-lift vessel means that there are Canadian Cabotage Law considerations and potential tariffs at the destination; To avoid punitive tariffs most shippers would recommend the use of the closest U.S. sea-port to Victoria, B.C., such as Seattle, Washington, to be their destination.

the Full set of requirements can be found at https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-14-00624110. 

In 2011, 3 CCGS Lifeboats were delivered by Beulga Favourisation to BIO. These vessels were built by Victoria Shipyard Ltd, and were ultimately bound for Quebec. As I see no Coasting Trade application, the lifeboats were likely sailed to Seattle WA to be loaded.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...