Monthly Archives: December 2018

Man the lifeboats, and other news #29

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News

1.This week in the Herald

This week i talk about CN’s proposed acquisition of Halterm and why its a good fit with what the company is doing on the west coast.

2.Feds want to award CSC
Defense watch says the feds want to award the type 26 contract ASAP. the trade tribunal agreed. Incidentally, the Dutch hull was jointly developed with the Spanish, and may also be flawed.

3.Offshore leases up for bid
despite BP and shell not finding anything, more leases are up to bid.

4.Canada  takes Command
the RCN Took over command of CTF150. The Task force sails the Indian Ocean near the exit of the Suez providing Anti-piracy and terrorism related patrols.

Interesting

1. Lifeboats for buildings.
wartsilla bringing attention to climate change.

History

Dec. 11,1916   -HMCS GRILSE (1st) reported lost with all hands in a storm while sailing for Caribbean. Three days later she arrived in Shelburne, NS severely damaged, 6 sailors killed in the ordeal.

Dec10, 1945 – -HMCS VENTURE paid-off. She was the only sailing ship to serve in the RCN during WWII, acting as a guard ship & accommodation ship

Dec 9, 1949 – RCN officially changes the green Maple Leaf on its ships funnels to red. 

Dec 7, 1964 – HMCS ASSINIBOINE, following a refit from DDE to DDH, becomes the first RCN ship to embark a Sea King helicopter.

Bulker Belnor at Pier 9

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The bulker Belnor tied up at pier 9. Belnor was built in 2010 by DAYANG SHIPBUILDING in YANGZHOU, CHINA. Currently sailing under the flag of Singapore, and is operated by Belship management.

Likely bound for Quebec, she passed through the Panama Canal on the 3rd.

This Week in the Herald

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This week i talk about CN’s proposed acquisition of Halterm and why its a good fit with what the company is doing on the west coast.

RTG in use to unload rail cars at Fairview Cove

I Suggested that Doubling the number of tracks at Halterm from 4 to 8 would actually allow an entire train to be made up in the terminal. Right now, there are 2000′ of track at Pier 36, and 6000′ parallel to Pier 41/42. If those double tracks were doubled, and the equipment changed from Toplifts to RTG’s then there would be more then enough room to accommodate the increased capacity.

unloading railcars with a toplift.

we covered Halifax Area Rail Operations in ShipSpotting 101 as well as how a container terminal works.


Augusta Sun for Nirint

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Augusta Sun has spent the last week tied up at Pier 28, likely unloading Nickle from Cuba. She is due to sail later this afternoon. Curiously, she seems to be lacking a load of containers on the deck, which is normal for Nirint’s service.

Onego Trader lies behind her, at pier 27, likely with a load of rail for CN.

Onego Trader, File photo from 2013


Horizon detained and deficient

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horizon at pier 9

The bulk carrier Horizon spent the weekend tied up at pier 9, where she took on fuel from at least 5 tractor trailers. 

Horizon appeared to be  empty, and arrived from Port Alfred in Quebec, where she had failed a Port State Inspection, and had been detained for 5 days. She was released to sail for a US Gulf Shipyard for repairs, stopping in Halifax for Fuel.

At the time of inspection, 22 Deficiencies were noted, 9 of which were severe enough to detain the ship. Among the detainable deficiencies, there were issues with the lifeboats, improper visibility for the bridge, problems with water tight openings, the rudder angle indicator didn’t work, nor was the magnetic compass readable, and the general alarm was inadequate.

The other deficiencies included failure to comply with labor standards, an overheated cold storage,  issues with the galley, water supply, sickbay, and improper paperwork.


Horizon Enabler for cable work.

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Horizon maritime of Dartmouth registered the multifunction offshore support vessel Horizon Enabler on November 21. The former Tidewater Enabler was built by STX Offshore of Norway in 2010, and had been on charter to Horizon Maritime since August. The ship was recently involved with the removal of oil form the sunken Manolis L for the Coast Guard.

The ship arrived at pier 9 in Halifax December 4th, and will be doing work on a sub sea cable off the Magdalen Islands. She spent today on trials in the basin.

The ship joins Horizon Star as the second ship owned by Horizon though they currently operate several other Tidewater vessels on Charter.

Feds buy 8 more Bay Class Lifeboats for CCGS

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The Feds are acquiring eight new high-endurance search and rescue (SAR) lifeboats for the Coast Guard. the boats will be purchased from Chantier Naval Forillon of Gaspé, Quebec, and Hike Metal Products of Wheatley, Ontario.

Chantier Naval Forillon and Hike Metal Products were already producing six SAR lifeboats each under existing contracts signed in 2015. Under the amended contracts, each shipyard will build four additional lifeboats at a total cost of $61,757,896. These contracts were awarded under the small vessel component of the National Shipbuilding Strategy and will help maintain well-paying, middle-class jobs at both shipyards.

With the ability to operate up to 100 nautical miles from shore, these new high-endurance SAR lifeboats are enhancing the Coast Guard’s search and rescue capabilities. Vessels from this class are named after bays in Canada and are being built under the Federal Infrastructure Initiative, the Fleet Renewal Plan and Oceans Protection Plan.

CSS Acadia finally getting repairs.

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Today the province announced repair work on the CSS Acadia. From the Release:

The Provencal Government is making repairs to the only vessel still afloat to have survived the Halifax Explosion, the historic CSS Acadia.

The CSS Acadia is a national historic site that is permanently moored at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax. The 105-year-old steel-hulled ship also served in the Royal Canadian Navy during both World Wars.

Restoration work that is necessary to preserve the CSS Acadia will include repair of the deck and sub-deck and drydocking the vessel to repair the hull, electrical systems and ballast tank.

No word on the cost estimate, or who will be doing the work. I believe the only available facility in Nova Scotia able to accommodate the Acadia would be shelburne ship repair.

No tender notice has yet been posted, nor has a time line for the work.

Halterm Expansion Underway

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The expansion of Halterm is underway, with Ocean Construction removing the walkway from the existing pier. The new Caseons will butt up against the back, widening the pier, as well as extending it Seaward.

McNally construction appears to have won the dredging tender, as their tugs and scows have been arriving in town the past week.

CN makes offer to buy Halterm

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CN Rail’s CEO told the financial post on Wednesday that it made an offer to buy Halterm from Macquarie Infrastructure. Macquarie Infrastructure bought the terminal in 2007 for 173 million.

CN wants to tern Halterm into the Prince Rupert of the east coast, and attempt to lure traffic from New York. CN’s rail network reaches extensively into the US, and has port access in the Gulf of Mexico.

this is the best possible terminal operator for halifax, is they want to fill their trains, and have the ability to market the terminal and lure new customers here.



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