Yearly Archives: 2014

Big lift at shipyard

 

Word is that the overhead cranes will be installed at the shipyard this week. The Kone overhead cranes were delivered to pier 9 last week.

Irving has two of their largest cranes, A
Liebherr – LR1400 440 ton in the foreground, and a MANITOWOC – M-2250 300 ton, to lift the assembled cranes and put them into place. The overhead cranes themselves span the width of the ultra hall and are 200ton capacity each.

 

Another Basin Transfer

The tanker Atlantic Muse tied up along side the Travelstern and began what appears to be a transfer operation. We have seen 2 similar transfers occur with asphalt tanker arriving, and transferring a portion of its cargo to a smaller vessel.

Atlantic Muse appears to have arrived from the UAE via the Panama Canal. Travelstern is owned by the Woodward group of Newfoundland, and is used to re-supply northern communities. She is also under contract to Valero, and is a frequent visitor to the Ultramar docks.
Photo to follow

Ottawa

This blog started in 2008, a month or 2 after I moved to Halifax from Ottawa.
I attended remembrance day ceremonies at the Monument, I have taken numerous tours of Parliament; heck we used to park behind the library on weekends when we went downtown for something.  I know yesterdays crime scene well.

The whole thing unfolded in a very calm Canadian way. People were calm, and followed instructions. A Mountie got his man, and Parliament sat today, Honoring one hero’s actions and another’s loss.

we feel anger when we loose a soldier in a training accident – its needless. Its tragic and noble when we loose one operating over seas – they knew the risks and went anyway. I don’t have words for loosing a soldier standing watch over a monument to those who fell for our freedom.

Anchor from HMCS Niobe Uncovered



An anchor, believed to have belonged to His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS)Niobe, has been unearthed at HMC Dockyard in Halifax. HMCS Niobe was the first Canadian warship to enter Canada’s territorial waters, on October 21, 1910, a landmark event in the beginnings of the Naval Service of Canada.

As fate would have it, the discovery of the roughly 900-kilo (2000-pound) anchor was made just days before the commemoration of Niobe Day, which will from now on, be celebrated annually by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) on the 21st day of October. An excavation crew working at HMC Dockyard recovered an anchor and chain buried beneath a demolition site on the morning of October 14. The anchor has been inspected, assessed against relevant documents and photographs, and is now believed to be that of HMCS Niobe.

The anchor was unearthed at former Jetty 4, where Building D-19, a Second World War dockside warehouse and one of the first structures at HMC Dockyard, once stood and is now being demolished.

The position of the anchor speaks to a particular time and function. The direction of the chain links is consistent with the position of the Niobe’s bow when employed as a depot ship and the size is consistent with an estimated size of the links of the Niobe’s anchor in a post-Halifax Explosion photo. 
While a list of stores left behind by the Royal Navy is not available, no vessels in the newly formed Royal Canadian Navy were large enough for this size anchor except for the Niobe, or possibly the Rainbow (based in Esquimalt, BC). Additionally there would have been no other use for a heavy chain and anchor at the discovery site, except to permanently moor a large vessel such as Niobe.

After she was paid off, Niobe functioned as a depot ship from July, 1915 until 1920 moored in Halifax Harbour. The Halifax Explosion on December 6, 1917, pulled the ship’s concrete embedded anchor from the harbour floor and dragged the ship. Once re-secured to Jetty 4, additional anchors were put in place including one to the shore from the stem and one from the stern. The anchor that has been discovered is believed to be one of these three bow anchors that were used to keep Niobe in place

The dimensions of the roughly 900-kilo (2000-pound) anchor are, 4 metres (13 feet) from crown to head, 4.1 metres (13.5 feet) across the stock, and 3.35 metres (11 feet) from bill to bill of the flukes. Additionally, each link of the anchor’s chain is 51 centimetres (20 inches) by 28 centimetres (11 inches) and weighs approximately 34 kilos (75 pounds)

Hey, This isnt Bermuda.

Todays arrival of Explorer of the seas was the result of a weather related change in schedule. I had assumed this was the case when i discovered her arrival listed, but not appearing on the schedule. This led me to believe a trip to Newfoundland was adjusted due to weather.

Nope, todays arrival from New York brings passengers who were expecting to disembark in Bermuda. Bermudian Authorities requested the ship not dock there due to the aftermath of Hurricane Gonzolo, so the trip was re-routed to Halifax and Saint John.

Suffice it to say, the voyage is getting a chilly reception.

Jana crew stranded in Argentia NF

(HALIFAX, Nova Scotia) — International Transport Workers Federation inspector Gerard Bradbury has reported another vessel and crew stranded in the port of Argentia in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Bradbury said the crew of the Jana comprised of three Russians and eight Ukrainians contacted him stating they had not been paid since June of this year with outstanding wages topping $120,000 for current and former crew. The Jana has provisions for less than a month and fuel for less than 10 days.

“Contact has been made with the current owners in Germany,” said Bradbury. “We are awaiting word for the plan for the ship, but something has to be done as this crew doesn’t have many options.”

ITF Canadian coordinator Peter Lahay has also been in touch with a liquidation company with some interest in the vessel. They hope that the ship can be sold before winter sets in.

It was around the same time last year that the vessel Navi Wind ran into problems with safety and was blown back into the port of Argentia where it was discovered the crew were owed more than $100,000 in back wages and also had a long list of safety issues that the ship was detained on.

Jana has made at least 2 stops in halifax with rails for CN 

http://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/2014/01/jana-with-rails.html?m=1