Monthly Archives: May 2018

The Return of Weekly News Bits

from 2008 to 2010 I ran posts with weekly news summaries. I stopped for some reason, but have been inspired by Halifax Re-tails and the 5 year anniversary of their weekly summaries – So today marks the first Thursday installment  covering the various happenings that didn’t warrant a post of their own.

I’m open to Suggestions for a better name then Weekly News Bits.

The News

The Chemical Tanker MT Chem Norma ran aground after a steering failure in the Saint Lawrence near Morrisburg Ont. on the 29th. There is no pollution, and tugs are on scene. The best coverage of this incident is being provided by SeawayNNY and PrescottAnchor on twitter.

On Wednesday, a 53′ container was knocked overboard from the Oceanex Sanderling into the water during cargo operations at pier 41.

The RCN sail training ship HMCS Oriole (above) is now assigned to Marlant. She was previously based in BC, came east last year for canada 150 events, and underwent a refit in Lunenburg over the winter. She is now bound for a Great lakes tour.

Boat builder ABCO, Also of Lunenburg will be building Aluminum landing craft for the new AOPS under construction at the Halifax Shipyard. (below)

In other shipbuilding news, The feds signed a contract with Vancouver’s Seaspan to begin construction on up to 52 of the blocks that will make of the 2 ships. the construction will begin in advance, to fill a lull between coast guard vessels.

US Navy Submarine USS Toledo spent the past weekend in  Shearwater for the memorial day weekend. the US navy traditionally sends a vessel every memorial day weekend for a ceremony at the graves of US Servicemen who died as POWs and are buried on Deadmans island in the NW Arm. USS Toledo was previously here for NATO Exercises in September 2016.

With the 1 year anniversary of the loss of the SorcaCBC Reports on a legal battle between the ships owner and its insurer Llyods.

With Summer around the corner, I’ts a good time to link to Mario Vittone’s Article Drowning Doesnt look like drowning this is an important read if you hang out near the water. If you plan on operating a vessel this summer, you may need a Pleasure craft operator Card. Good news, you can get it online. We did a Full Post – So You Want to be a Captain, which covers the requirements to operate various vessels.

 

This Week in History

May 30 1950 – RCMP Schooner St. Roch arrives in Halifax, completing the first Circumnavigation of North America.

May 29 1914 – CP Liner Empress of Ireland collides with Storstad near Rimouski, sinking in 14 minutes

May 28 1782 – US Privateer Jack is defeated by HMS Observer after a 90 minute engagement off Sambro Island Light

May 26 1941 – the Royal navy sinks the German battleship Bismark.

May 24 1941 – the German battleship  Bismark sinks HMS Hood

 

Theodore Too to Summer in Saint John

For whatever reason (probably waterfront construction) Theodore Too will spend the summer operating out of Saint John NB. a fixture of the Halifax Waterfront, He has traveled before with the Tall ships regatta, into the US, and the great lakes on good will tours. Work as a promotional piece for Halifax is a good reason for him to travel, though moving him to liven up the Saint John waterfront is weak. (Send the Harbour Hoppers, Haligonians seem to hate those)

the TV Show Theodore Tugboat ran between 1993 and 2001. The Big Harbour is based on Halifax, and Theodore himself is the personification of the Tugs at Eastern Towing and Salvage, such as Point Vim (below). the models and the Set from the show are on display at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

Maersk Adds Second Weekly Call.

Maersk Line yesterday announced the expansion of its product portfolio between Europe’s Mediterranean region and Canada to cater for the growing demands of importers and exporters on both sides of the Atlantic.

The fully Maersk Line-operated weekly Med/Montreal express(MMX) service will be a five-vessel rotation stopping in Salerno and La Spezia (Italy), Fos-sur-Mer (France), Algeciras (Spain), Montreal and Halifax (Canada), and Valencia (Spain). The exclusive Maersk-operated service, the Med / Montreal Express, will have its first sailing on July 2nd, departing from Salerno, Italy, and arriving in Montreal on July 19th.

The new service will call Montreal’s Cast terminal, operated by MGT, which is conveniently located closest to the ocean and offers easy access to rail and trucking options.

In addition, the service will make an Eastbound call in Halifax, Nova Scotia, catering for an important Canadian perishable market and facilitating refrigerated shipments of foodstuff traditionally exported from Canadian Maritime Provinces.

The New Service will compete with ZIM’s ZCI service, and The Alliance’s AL6

Maersk will be maintaining its long standing CAE Service, which makes a weekly call on Saturday with stops in Bremerhaven, Antwerp and Rotterdam.

Acadia Desgagnés at pier 25

The general cargo ship Acadia Desgagnés arrived at pier 25 this morning. She will be reflaged to Canada. Transport Desgagnés operates a number of vessels running re-supply trips to the arctic. rather then lay the ships up over the winter, they are re-flagged and chartered out over the winter, before returning to Canada for the summer.

Built in China in 2013, She was acquired by Transport Desgagnés in the spring of 2017, undergoing refit in Shelburne. before taking up arctic duties.

 

Horizon Star @ Pier 9

The offshore Supply vessel Horizon Star tied up at Pier 9 over the weekend. Operated by Horizon Maritime, Shes registered in St. Johns, and is currently working on BP’s offshore exploration project.

A frequent caller, she has manged to escape my camera until now.

Yesterdays Cruise Ship – Victory 1

The 202 Passenger Victory 1 put in at pier 24 yesterday, sailing around 8pm for Charlottetown. Belonging to Miami based Victory Cruises, the company offers small ship cruses on the Great Lakes, New England, the St Lawrence river, as well as a circumnavigation of Cuba, and the Yucatan peninsula.

Marketed as a high end product – the cruises cost ~$6000us for 10 days.

 

Alex Thomson and Hugo Boss IMOCA 60 at RNSYS

Alex Thomson and his Hugo Boss Imoca 60 racing yacht arrived at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron last night. built to compete in Distance off shore races – Thomson last ran the 2016 Vendee Globe. The yacht is built for single handed operation.

The Yacht will be making stops in Canada and America in June & July this year. The dates and stops are as follows: Montreal – 2nd – 4th June Toronto – 11th – 15th June Boston 1st – 3rd July New York – 10th – 15th July

 

Thompson is probably best known outside sailing circles for his Hugo Boss Promotional work Which featured climbing the mast while the boat was heeled, Standing on the Keel, And wakeboarding behind the boat.

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