Yearly Archives: 2019

2019 in review

As I have done almost every year, this post highlights the key harbor events in 2019. 2019 marks the 11th year of this site, and Saw a full year of Herald Columns, and a huge upgrade to the AIS System. I also did a nautical tour of the uK.

Previous Years: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011

At the beginning of the year i asked “What does 2019 hold? Port expansion, new container ship size records, and the delivery of the HMCS Harry DeWolf to the navy are easy predictions to make – the rest, time will tell.” – Yes, One, not yet – the rest, see below.

Incidents

January Began with a flury of incidents. the PCTC Sincerity Ace caught fire in the Pacific. Days Later the Yantain Express bound for Halifax caught fire. It Eventually made it to Fairview cove in May. The tanker Kivalliq W suffered an generator room fire at Imperial oil, the the RMI Dive boat Captain Jim sank with the the loss of deckhand. In March, Viking Sky lost power off Norway, the Carvos Harmony lost power in Vancouver Harbour. Derick Hadfields VOR60 was lost off Lunenburg. A crew member of Maersk Patras was lost while lashing in the Saint Lawrence. the Ex NF Ferry Apollo twice struck docks in Quebec.

Container/Cargo Operations

The CMA-CGM Libre set the record for largest container ship to call at 11,388TEU. Halterm was Acquired and became PSA Halifax, and ordered new equipment

The port revealed all the options that were looked at for port expansion, dredging for the temporary expansion began, and the pier casons were installed. The Feds announced funding to deal with port truck traffic through the city.

2 BBC Shipping vessels conducted a ship to ship cargo transfer.

Tall Ships

Coffee arrived by Sail, via the cargo schooner Avontuur, And the Tall ship Caledonia went on to become a restaurant in Boston. The Mexican navies sail training vessel ARM Cuauhtemoc visited port ,and Activ played the Whaler Volunteer in Lunenburg.

Coast Guard.

The hudson went in for a work period. Davie thought it was a bad idea. CCGS Captain Molly Kool put in a tow. Fleet Renewal was announced for the Coast Guard. The CCGS did more cleanup on the ex HMCS Comrorant.the Ex CCGS Matthew Sold, as did the ex RCMP Murry Sold

Cruise

One Ocean Expeditions ran into trouble. they lost the use of their 2 Russian ships when the charters could not be renewed. the RCGS Resolute then had a trip ended abruptly, and the RCGS Resolute was arrested in Argentina. Their problems then got worse. The Cruise industry as a whole is problematic.

In Happier news, Cunards 2 queens preformed a sailpast and Georges Island is getting a new Wharf

Navy

USCG Campbell, FS Fulmar and USS Jason Dunham visited in April. The Mexican navies sail training vessel ARM Cuauhtemoc visited port. Cutlass Fury brought the Nato Fleet, Including HDMS PETER WILLEMOES (Danish),HNLMS VAN SPEIJK (Dutch) and HNOMS THOR HEYERDAHL, USNS PATUXENT and NRP FRANCISCO DE ALMEIDA USS GRIDLEY, USS JASON DUNHAM , and BNS LEOPOLD HMS Northumberland, HMS Dragon, RFA Tideforce and the UK’s new Aircraft Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth .USS Billings stopped in her first salt water trip. USS Gravely also stopped in. the RAF’s red arrows put on a show. HNLMS De Reuyer and USS Indianapolis also visited.

Asterix Returned from deployment, and i got a tour

Naval Shipbuilding

the Future HMCS Margerette Brooke become whole, and was launched. tragically a worker was killed when sandblasting equipment failed. The HMCS Harry Dewolf underwent builders trials. new tugs were finally ordered for the RCN, with a new to Canada RAL Design

Other Notable

Sea Shepard’s Bridget Bardot visited port as well. NOAA Okeanos Explorer, and RRS James Cook stopped at COVE. the Noble Regina Allen finished capping Sable Offshore gas wells, and returned to Halifax. Someone when overboard from the ferry, the yacht squadron ran afowl of the traffic lanes.

Noble Regina Allen

the Noble Regina Allen returned to Halifax today, after sealing the wells of the Sable offshore Field. the rig tied up at woodside, where it will undergo a work period. in Febuary, it is scheduled to work for EnCana sealing the wells of the Deep Panuke project. When that work is complete in June, the rig is booked in Trinidad.

the rig arrived in Nov 2017, aboard Forte, and went to work later that month.

RRS James Cook

The Royal Research Ship James Cook tied up at Cove yesterday.. The Ship is operated by the UK’s National Oceanography Center, and was conducting the Atlantic Zone Monitoring Program of Newfoundland for DFO – Science work that would have been conducted by the Hudson normally.

Cormorant is a Mess.

This week in the Herald I talk about the work done by the Coast Guard to HMCS Cormorant.

This should be an easy case for the CG to deal with, yet it appears they did a substandard job dealing with the ships 2015 sinking, and now needed to come back and fix what they did.Even this most recent action is problematic, as steps that probably should have been taken when the assessment being conducted discovered the issues. The assessment was completed in October, and Work began Dec 1.

Bellow are the CCGS Tweets on the work.

CP Buys Central Maine and Quebec Railway.

CP announced today that it purchased the Central Maine and Quebec Railway. What makes this buy so weird, is that the track once belonged to CP.

in 1994, CP sold off all its trackage east of Montreal. those assets were owned by Iron Road, which want bankrupt. the Montreal Maine and Atlantic was formed out of a portion of those assets, itself went bankrupt in 2014 after the Lac Megantic disaster.

Other assets in the area were sold to Irving, and operate as the NBSR. CP maintained rights over those lines until 1993.

since CP is re-acquiring the track, it will now have direct access to Saint John. this suggests they have business. Oil by Rail is certainly a possibility, however that has already been occurring form North Dakota. Alberta oil is to heavy to be processed by the saint john refinery, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an opportunity to load crude tankers with Alberta oil on a second leg voyage. is that play big enough? good question.

what if MSC shipping were to pull out of Montreal – even Partially? MSC currently calls on Montreal and Saint John. Montreal is out of the way, and delays in recent years due to ice, and North Atlantic Right Whale speed reductions likely cause grief to the MSC Schedule. A suitable rail partner could get the containers inland just as fast, and save days of sailing.

Saint John terminal operator DP World is already listing connections to CP via the NBSR on its website, previously that connection was only possible via PanAm Railways, into New York state.

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