Monthly Archives: January 2019

Weekly News #36

We have Joined Instagram. Give us a follow. Consider becoming a member. 2$ a month really helps cover costs, and in return you get the site Ad Free. For latest port conditions, Including Weather,Wind, Tides, Arrivals and Departures be sure to visit the Port Report

News

1.Fighting Words
Davie issued a release calling Bullshit on the governments claim that assessment was done, and their is no need for a second interim vessel, and several committees actually say the contrary. Davie also released the video below, which makes some problematic statements.

2.Shots Fired
Davie fires shots on the Hudson Procurement – this week in the Herald. This week I talk about the letter Procurement received from Davie declining to bid on refit work, and how TC Ship Safety is silent. You can read the original RFP at BuyandSell.gc.ca

3. Crane Collapse in Vancouver
A gantry crane was struck by the container ship Ever Summit, knocking it off the rails, and causing the boom to collapse onto the ship. The Ship was docking at the terminal when the incident happened. Video has been released.

Different view of the crane collapsing. from r/vancouver

4.River Ice
the St Lawrence ground to a halt due to ice. 3 breakers were required to clear it.

5.Salvage

Interesting

History

Jan 30 1917 – Germany announces that it will carry out unrestricted naval warfare during WWI

Jan 30 1911 – King George V gives consent for adding “Royal” to the fledgling Canadian Navy – becoming “Royal Canadian Navy, abbreviated as RCN.

Jan 29 1774 – James Cook on HMS Resolution sailed to latitude 71°10’South where solid sea ice forced it back – only 200km from the Antarctic coast

Jan 29 1790 – The first boat specializing as a lifeboat was launched

Jan 29 1820 – Russian explorer Bellingshausen sailed his ship Vostok up to the cliffs of the Fimbul ice shelf at latitude 69°21′South, discovering Antartica

Jan 28 1596 – Sir Francis Drake died from yellow fever in W. Indies. He claimed California for England and circumnavigated the world

Jan 26 1962 – the Canadian Coast Guard is formed.

Jan 26 1808 – NSW Governor, Admiral William Bligh was arrested by the NSW Corps following his efforts to reign them in and shut down the rum trade.

The Hudson Debacle – This week in the Herald

CCGS Hudson General Arrangement

This week I talk about the letter Procurement received from Davie declining to bid on refit work.
You can read the original RFP at BuyandSell.gc.ca and Davie’s letter is below

Davies Letter as shown by Global news (Screenshot)

I asked transport Canada’s media contact if they could “tell me if Transport Canada has received a copy of Davie shipbuilding’s letter regarding their safety concerns with the CCGS Hudson, and what actions ship safety will be taking.

Additionally, if TC has not been specifically addressed in the letter, given the concerns were raised publicly, is that sufficient notice for ship safety to take action, if not why not, and what action is being taken”

Their response was:

Transport Canada has not received the letter you are referring to.

The department takes its responsibility for marine safety and security very seriously. Large vessels are inspected and certificated annually by a Recognized Organization, which is a classification society that has an authorization agreement with Transport Canada to inspect and certify vessels. In addition, Transport Canada monitors selected vessels to verify compliance with applicable requirements, such as those set out in the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 and its associated regulations. When concerns are raised, Transport Canada takes appropriate measures if non-compliance or safety risks are identified.  

For more information on large commercial vessel certification, visit:  http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/
marinesafety/dvro-fsc-dspi-1781.htm

Which is really no response – since its a general statement about what the department does, and doesn’t address what they are doing in this situation.

I also have a second piece, where I talk about the Port Expansion, and the details that were released last week.

BREAKING: SAR Underway after Vessel Sinks

Overnight a fishing vessel sank in the approaches to Halifax Harbour. 2 people were rescued, and a third is missing. Navy divers will attempt to search the ~40foot vessel come daylight

CCGS Sambro, Atlantic Bear, and CCGS Corporal Teathier C.V are participating in the search, along with an Cormorant Helicopter.

the vessel is used as a dive boat, and not a fishing vessel. Word is its Owned by RMI Marine. the call came in around 2am

Updates will be posted Here

Captain Jim. file photo.

UPDATE 0922: I have been told the vessel is the Captain Jim. I was told the vessels life raft is tethered to the vessel, so the location of the boat is known. JRCC Reported it lost power, then began taking on water, and the crew abandoned ship

Captain Jim was built as Atlantic Walnut in 1989 by GUIMOND’S BOATS of Baie Ste Anne. the boat is 37′ long and made of fiberglass.

UPDATE 1043:

UPDATE 1100:
word is the 2 rescued persons were picked up by the Pilot Boat.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia, where the service boat Captain Jim sank this morning. The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence.

UPDATE 1135:
From Joint task force Atlantic
“The search for the missing crew member this morning is over. Navy divers have located the body of the crew member inside the sunken vessel. JRCC Halifax’s thoughts are with the crew member’s family, friends and colleagues at this difficult time “

UPDATE 1224:
the Captain Jim was reportedly conducting a personnel transfer from one of the tankers at the outer anchorage when the incident occurred. That person is one of the survivors. the tankers Star I for Imperial Oil and Elka Hrecules for Irving Oil are in the anchorage.

UPDATE 1238:
the herald is reporting the Deceased had been with the company since July.

Eastbound EC5 x2

Left: Shanghai Trader at the east birth Right: Dalian Express at the West birth

The Dalian Express is making her east bound stop on the EC5 service. She was last here a few weeks ago heading westbound. Joining her at the east end of Fairview Cove is the Shanghai Trader, which sailed from Bremmerhaven, and appears to have made east bound stops in Savannah and New York in place of the Yantain express.

Shanghai Express

Shanghai Trader’s trip is extra odd, since at least 3 eastbound vessels have called on these cities in the eastbound direction. typically east bound are a large number of empty containers due to to trade in balances between Asia and North America. the Deck Load, and the ship being so high out of the water suggests it is loaded mostly with empties.

Dalian Express

Fire aboard the Tanker Kivalliq W.

KIVALLIQ W on a previous call to IOL #4

Around 6 am Sunday morning, Halifax fire was dispatched to the Imperial Oil Wharves due to a fire on board the tanker Kivalliq W. The fire in a generator compartment was first fought by the ships crew, but when they were unable to bring the flames under control, Halifax fire was dispatched.

Halifax fire then requested DND’s dockyard fire to assist, as they are specialists in ship board firefighting. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire. Crews were on scene for over 2 hours, clearing after 8am. Imperial oil previously had its own fire department on site, but that disbanded when the refinery was shut down, and the refineries 2 engines were sold at auction.

The Tanker, operated by Coastal Shipping, which is part of Newfoundland’s Woodward Group, was scheduled to move to pier 9 overnight, Presumably to effect repairs, However that move has been Canceled, as has the move of the Gotland Carolina from the basin to IOL #4 where the Kivalliq W. is currently tied up.

UPDATE:
the KIVALLIQ W is due to move from IOL#4 to pier 9C today at 13:30 with the Gotland Carolina taking its place at 14:00

Port Expansion Options Revealed.

The Current Expansion project, now underway.

With the interm expansion of pier 42 currently underway, The Port announced its further expansion options yesterday. The Images are photos of slides taken by Councilor Waye Mason, who attended the presentation by the port, and the descriptions are mostly lifted directly from the ports website at portcityhfx.ca, with some additional comments by me.

Halterm North

This scenario involves infilling the main Ocean Terminal slips between Piers A, A1, and B, using a caisson wall that supports a new container pier, thus creating a single UCCV berth. The existing Pier C would continue to operate throughout the development phase.

This proposal would create an efficient container yard that can still accommodate dry bulk and cruise operations along the north side of Pier A. The Halterm North option can be built within the Port’s existing property, with negligible impact on navigation or on adjacent land use. This option requires the least amount of imported fill material and has the shortest development timeline of all three Halterm-based scenarios.

The Halifax Port Authority would investigate relocating users of Ocean Terminals to other locations within the Port of Halifax. This option would be the least expensive and easiest to build.

Halterm South

The Halterm South concept extends the existing Halterm berth southward with significant infilling to accommodate on-dock rail and container storage. The slip between Piers A1 and B would be infilled to create additional yard space.

Enhancement options for Point Pleasant Park were included as part of the Halterm South expansion concept. This option would be more expensive and would require more time to build than Halterm North.

Halterm East

Phase One would involve infilling the slip between Piers A and B and a new berth would be developed east of the existing Pier C. Should container volume continue to increase, the new berth would be expanded southward to increase the capacity in subsequent phases.
 
The Halifax Port Authority would investigate relocating users of Ocean Terminals to other locations within the Port of Halifax.This option would be more expensive and would require more time to build than Halterm North.

Dartmouth

The optimal location of a new Dartmouth container terminal was identified as being to the south of downtown Dartmouth and to the north of Eastern Passage. This location was determined by navigational issues and by land use developments along the Dartmouth shoreline. (this is essentially the imperial oil site)

For the Dartmouth concept, two rail options were considered to provide necessary rail access to the site:

  • Trains running along the existing Dartmouth waterfront line
  • Trains running along new track east of Dartmouth

Trains running along the existing Dartmouth waterfront were found to be impractical due to the 4200 meter length required for efficient operation. A route for a 20+ km track running east of Dartmouth was examined in detail and adjusted to mitigate property and environment impacts.

Not including rail costs and costs related to property purchases, capital cost for this option was estimated at $1.4 billion CAD in 2017, with operation not expected to start until early-to-middle 2030. This option was determined to have much higher costs, longer timeline, increased logistical/construction challenges, and significant impact on properties and residents in Dartmouth. the real costs for this will likely be north of 3 billion dollars.

Other Options

Barges
Assessed the use of barges to transship local containers between Halterm and Fairview Cove. This option would result in inconsistent movement of freight with increased exposure to weather-related delays and would add substantial operating costs to port-related goods movement

Halifax East/South Byway through Rock Cut
Extensively studied the option of moving both rail cargo and trucks safely through the rock cut. This option would require expanding the width of the rock cut to 83 feet, or 25 metres. Several portions of the rock cut would require significant alteration (excavation and blasting) in predominantly residential areas. It would also require the rebuilding of 13 bridges and one rail bridge, plus the costs associated with design, construction and land acquisition (which would include expropriation) for a new highway intersection in the North End.

Halifax Northwest Arm Crossing
Evaluated the diversion of local traffic to a new tunnel under the Northwest Arm, with connections to the west-side roads. This option would take too much time, would be cost-prohibitive, would pose significant engineering challenges to achieve the necessary 8% grade and would displace a large number of residents.

Raising the Harbour Bridges to expand Fairview Cove
Evaluated the reconstruction of the harbour bridges to increase the vertical clearance to accommodate ultra-class vessels.This option would result in significant traffic disruptions in Halifax over many years and would result in a significant timeline disadvantage when compared to other more viable concepts

McNabs Island
Assessed the option of building a new Greenfield terminal at McNabs Island.This option would take too much time, would be cost-prohibitive, would pose significant engineering challenges to develop the required cross-harbour connections for both road and rail lines, and does not have stakeholder support.

Bomar Rebeca Sits Out

Tropical Shipping’s Bomar Rebecca has been resting at pier 25 for the past 2 weeks. After arriving and Discharging cargo, she tied up at pier 25, and missed a trip. This week brought the arrival of of the other ship on the run, the brand new Tropic Hope, so i would expect her to rejoin the rotation next week.

Given the ship sails in warmer climates, note the sun shades on the bridge wings.

UPDATE: Confirmed the Tropical Shipping schedule, she is due to load in Halifax on the 28th.

Dredging Underway

though it began last week, Tuesday marked the official start of dredging for the Halterm expansion. McNally appears to be using two dump scows, dumping the spoil at the reclamation area off Fairview Cove.

A loaded scow heads towards the basin

Gotland Carolina riding the hook.

the products tanker Gotland Carolina took to Bedford Basin anchorage. She looks to be empty, and may be waiting out weather, or for her next assignment. It looks like they just completed a lifeboat drill, and were re-stowing the free-fall lifeboat on the stern.

note the position of the lifeboat on the stern
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...