Yearly Archives: 2019

Feds announce funding for the Port

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The Feds announced funding for two port related projects. A total of 47.5 million federally will be spent to upgrade rail between the 2 terminals with the goal of removing 75% of the port related trucks from downtown streets. The announcement was vauge, but it appers trucks will be handled at the Ceres yard, then containers moved by rail to Halterm as required. CN, the port and the City own a great deal of land by Ceres, so there is ample space for expansion.

The second announcement will fix the Windsor Street Exchange with changes to Lady Hammond and the Bedford Highway To improve flow.

The total cost of the two projects in 90 million, with the feds picking up 47.5 milliion, and the rest divided between the Port, Province, City and CN.

Cynically this announcement could be viewed as an attempt by the federal liberals to secure Andy Fillmore’s seat. Most Haligonians I suspect are most interested in the Promised improvements to the Windsor street exchange. that the announcement featured no renderings suggests that the improvements could be seen as politically damming to Fillmore.

Here is what the Release said about the project.

The second project will upgrade the Windsor Street Exchange, which is the main access road to the Port of Halifax. This work includes realigning the Bedford Highway, upgrading Lady Hammond Road and installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow. These upgrades will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and increase the reliability and efficiency of freight movements.

Area Councilor Waye Mason tweeted

If you look at the mechanics of the Windsor street exchange, the biggest problem is people coming off Joe Howe and crossing the lanes to get to the bridge. At the same time, Joe Howe is the way to get trucks from Ceres to Highway 102. Lets Look at what the Announcement tells us.

“realigning the Bedford Highway” this likely means that the the Bedford highway will now end at an intersection with Joseph Howe. this would also be the entry and exit point for the Ceres Terminal. This is evidenced by the statement “installing new traffic signals to improve traffic flow” suggesting the addition of an intersection. controlling the flow from Joe Howe would solve alot of the congestion problem. “Upgrading Lady Hammond Road” suggests that the street will be extended towards the new intersection, and the existing exchange will likely be simplified.

Though not explicitly mentioned, i would expect transit priority measures to be put in place as well. The Costs also suggest that an overpass is to be constructed, likely to expand the Fairview overpass to accommodate an intersection over the rail lines.

Concept from the 1945 master plan for Halifax. the traffic circle was never built, but the original road alignment can be seen, with the origins of Joe Howe.
From the Functional plan for Harbour Drive. Again shows the connections through Fairview.

The Changes i have proposed are not without historical President. The Bedford highway previously joined with Dutch Village Rd before Joseph Howe was built, and Lady Hammond served as the main road onto the peninsula via the passage under the train tracks where the fairview overpass now is.

Everything old is new Again.

Fleet Renewal for the Coast Guard

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Today brought a number of Simultaneous announcements about the Coast Guard.

The Prime Minister Announced in Vancouver an investment of $15.7B to renew the CCGS fleet, investing in up to 18 large ships to be built by Canadian shipyards. The Minister for Nova Scotia announced the 2 rumored AOPS for the Coast Guard at BIO. Those ships are to be built as fisheries patrol vessels. A role it is suited for

From the Release:

The Government of Canada is investing in two new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships, which will be adapted for the Coast Guard to perform tasks including offshore patrols. These ships will be built by Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax.

The Government of Canada is investing in up to 16 Multi-Purpose Vessels to support a variety of missions, including light icebreaking, environmental response, and offshore search and rescue. These ships will be built by Vancouver Shipyards.

The Government of Canada will also proceed through a competitive process with the design of a new class of smaller ships, the new Mid-Shore Multi-Mission Ship, which would complement the work of the large fleet in shallow areas and deliver mid-shore science activities.

Repairs, refits, and vessel life extension work will be carried out on the existing fleet until the new ships are delivered, with over $2 billion to be invested on a competitive basis for this purpose.In addition to funding for shipbuilding, the Government of Canada is also providing over $351 million to support ongoing Canadian Coast Guard capacity enhancements such as strengthening management oversight and promoting innovation and greener practices.

CCGS Ann Harvey one of the Type 1100 muti-purpose light icebreakers currently in use.

So besides the 2 AOPS – they are committing to Replacing the 1100 class. These ships are a big win for the Vancouver shipyard, but will take years to deliver given to volume of work that is needed now by the Coast Guard. Its unclear what the design of these vessels will be, though VARD has been commissioned to study this. the design is likely several years out.

the reference to the Midshore vessels is interesting, as that is a less well defined project, and there is no vessel count assigned to it. However the announcement also included the line

the Government of Canada intends to add a third Canadian shipyard as a partner under the NSS. The Government of Canada will move forward with a competitive process to select the third shipyard in the coming months.

Its unclear what work will be going to that yard, though the release does mention Coast Guard work and the midshore vessels are currently unassigned. these would be an odd fit, as there smaller size could be done by a smaller yard. Davie may end up with some of the sea span work. Though the release cites an open competition, it would be a huge shock if it wasen’t Davie.

Breaking: Derek Hatfield’s VOR60 may be lost

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JTFA just tweeted that 8 people were rescued from a sailboat early this morning off Lunenburg.

A quick check of marinetraffic.com appears to show the vessel Esprit De Corps IV aground off cross island. it stopped broadcasting AIS just after 6am this morning.

Esprit De Corps IV is the former Amver Sport 1, the VOR60 yacht that was owned by Derek Hatfield, as Spirit of Adventure. Hatfield died in 2016. the yacht was a frequent participant in the Route Halifax Saint Pierre and Marblehead races.

I have sent a message to Atlas Ocean racing for confirmation. – Updates to Follow.

UPDATE May 24:
Atlas Ocean Racing released a statement on Facebook yesterday:

At 4am AST on the 22nd of May, whilst returning from a season of racing in the Caribbean, SV Esprit de Corps IV was shipwrecked on Cross Island, NS.

20nm before Lunenburg, NS, her final port of destination, and under a very reduced set of sails, gale force winds complicated the manoeuvre of dousing the sails before entering the chanel leading to Lunenburg. The strong gusts and a loss of the ability to use the propeler led the boat to drift towards Cross Island where she ran aground. The crew prompted a PAN PAN to get the boat towed but later a water breech made the situation to upgrade to MAYDAY.

Maxime Grimard, skipper of the delivery of Esprit de Corps IV, acted in accordance with his safety in offshore sailing certifications and with the team’s safety procedures by protecting the crew first and foremost.

The 8 crew members of the sailboat wish to thank the Canadian Coast Guard and the crew of MV Salvage Monarch for their exemplary assistance in evacuating the crew. All members of the crew returned to land safe and sound.

After the crew, the team’s next priority became the recuperation of the vessel for environmental reasons and in order to salvage any equipment left. The team has set a protocol in motion to handle the recovery of any wasteful debris, in collaboration with Environmental Response of the Canadian Coast Guard.

Atlas Ocean Racing, Maxime Grimard, and Gilles Barbot (owner and official skipper of the boat), the insurance company and local experts, are actively seeking the most cost-efficient and practical solutions to recover what’s left of the boat as soon as possible.

We will keep you informed of the next steps in the recovery of the shipwreck. The goal is to return the boat ashore for inspection and evaluation of damage and potential repairs.

Thanks for your support,

Atlas Ocean Racing Team

They also posted that the yacht had been looted since it went aground, and before they could return to remove fuel.

image via Atlas Ocean Racing Facebook
image via Atlas Ocean Racing Facebook

UPDATE June 6:

So you want to run a Water Taxi.

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With recent news of a NW Arm Ferry service waiting for dock installation to start, the question was asked what is required to Setup and operate such a service. So here is what you need to do it.

As a passenger – Look for the vessel registration on the bow, and Blue Compliance Decal

Kings Wharf Water taxi (file photo)

Captain and Crew.
In our post, so you want to be a captain, I covered various licenses, and what they allow you to operate. Since Halifax is a sheltered waters Voyage, A PCOC is valid if you only need to carry 6 or fewer passengers and your boat is under 8m in length. the Kings wharf water taxi operates under this regime. To Carry up to 12 passengers, you will need a SVOP+medA3. In either case you will need a Marine First aid Course.

Crew will Require Med A3, and First aid.

The Vessel.
if the Vessel is over 6 meters, it will need to meet small vessel construction standards. something built as a pleasure craft will not necessarily suffice, though in the case of a pontoon boat, it likely meets the stability and rail height requirements.

The vessel will need to be registered with Transport Canada vessel registry. Registered vessels will either have a name on the stern, or in the case of small vessels, a registry number on the Bow. The vessel is also required to be enrolled in Transport Canada’s Small Vessel Compliance Program (SVCP).

The SVCP requires reporting to TC every 5 years, and they issue you a decal that certifies your vessel is compliant. The form is essentially a checklist to ensure compliance with regulations that mandate required safety equipment. if the vessel is found compliant, then a decal is issued to the vessel. (Blue is for Passenger vessels and work boats, red for Fishing Vessels.)

Operations.
Transport Canada requires a safety briefing be given to all passengers indicating the location and usage of life jackets. it can be Oral, a Video, or signage with pictograms.

I spoke to another tour boat operator about Insurance. They carry $2 million in Liability coverage, plus hull insurance on the boat. Coverage cost is around $3500/year.

One Ocean Cruise Ships Commandeered by Russians

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Akademik Ioffe at pier 27

Cruise Critic is reporting that the One Ocean Cruise ships Akademik Sergey Vavilov and
Akademik Ioffe have had their charters suddenly ended by the Russian government. Both ships were scheduled to begin arctic cruises in June. those cruises have now been canceled, with the the ships owners recalling the vessels to Kaliningrad for “repairs” at the end of the Antarctic cruise season.

Both ships are registered to Russian Research institutes, and have been on long term charter to One Ocean since 2011, and in the expedition business since the 90’s.

the Akademik Ioffe ended its season early after it ran aground in the arctic. The incident in the Gulf of Boothia resulted in a small spill, which was initially not reported. the ship was repaired in Les Mechins PQ, and joined the Antarctic Cruise season.

Sea Shepard vessel Brigitte Bardot

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The Futuristic Bridget Bardot Arrived in Halifax Friday Morning. The vessel is owned by the Sea Shepard Conservation society. I covered a brief history of the vessel, and Sea Shepard in this Herald Column.

Originally named Cable and Wireless Adventurer she was built for the purpose of circumnavigating the world in less than 80 days. This was successfully accomplished in July 1998 in 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes. Sea Shepard acquired the vessel in 2010. The 114′ long trimaran is powered by two 500hp engines, and has a top speed of 50km/h.

More Vessels Need nose art.

Sea Shepard has a Halifax Chapter, who can be found on Facebook

Herring Fleet is Back

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Sea Life II and Morning Star at Bishop’s Landing. Lady Melissa is not pictured at the museum wharves.

This past week brought the return of the Herring fleet to Halifax. So far, only 3 vessels have tied up, but more may follow.

Maersk Patras Crew Falls Overboard.

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the Second Officer on board the Maersk Patras, inbound for Montreal, fell overboard Sunday morning near the Les Escoumins pilot station around 0930 am. the coast guard called off the search at 8pm. The ship is due in Halifax, after the Montreal Call.

The search was conducted by several coast guard vessels, boats from the Maersk Patras, and RCAF SAR aircraft. Its currently unclear what happened. the officer likely was not wearing a life jacket aboard the ship, and the fall was likely high enough to incapacitate him.

UPDATE May 23:
The ITF Conducted an investigation and discovered that the 2end officer went overboard while conducting lashing operations. the crew were removing lashings on containers prior to arrival in montreal, presumabley to speed discharge. The officer was reported to be handling a long lashing rod, able to reach the third row of containers in the stack, when he went overboard. Those rods are often used on the outside ends of the stack, and our both heavy and long.

the ITF also identified the 2nd officer as Ravindu Lakmal Pieris Telge, a Sri lankan national. His body has not yet been recovered. Apparently having crews lash ships in the river, while under way is a common practice at the port of Montreal. besides being dangerous, the practice increases the chance containers can go overboard in the river, as they are not properly secured when the ship leaves port.

Yantian Express finally makes Halifax

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the container ship Yantian express finally made Halifax this morning, anchoring in the basin. The ship was bound for Halifax, when it suffered a container fire, and was towed to Freeport Bahamas. Our original coverage of that incident, and updates to the Departure from freeport Can be found here.

All salvageable cargo is onboard, and will likely be discharged in Halifax. Cargo where security was paid will probably be loaded onto the next Ship on the route, while the remainder could remain aboard the ship, or dwell in the container yard. the ship is scheduled to move to the pier at Fairview Cove tomorrow morning.

we know there was damage to the front 2 hatches, and the covers were repaired. however the weather this morning obscures the ship, so other damage is not apparent at this time.

UPDATE May 21:
the ship moved to Fairview Cove this morning, and work began to offload. I have been told 3500 moves. As of yesterday, 2975 containers have provided security, with close to 500 providing security since the ship departed Freeport.
The ship has an appointment with a Shipyard in China in August.

Yantian Express, ~1800 May 21.
fire damaged bow.

UPDATE May 22, 0845:
It looks like the first containers removed yesterday were the original container bound for Halifax. the ship was worked overnight, and i am aware of ~1300 containers to be removed. Yantian Express is due to move to the east end of the pier Tonight, and the Brighton will take its place at the pier working the eastbound EC5 leg. I have also been told the ship will load 1000 empties to take back to china.

UPDATE May 23, 0924:
the offload will continue slowly, due to lack of yard space for the containers. I have been told it will probably take 10 days to fully discharge the ship.

UPDATE May 24:
Yantain Express shifted back to the west end birth last night, and work removing containers began again this morning. The ship is scheduled to move to Anchor tonight to make room for MOL Partner and Atlantic Sun who arrive tomorrow.

UPDATE May 27:
the Yantian Express spent most of the weekend shifted to the east birth to allow regularly scheduled ships to call at the western birth. it is due to move back to the western birth tonight. Hapag lloyd issued a statement last week about the offload.

Given the particular complexity of the operational handling and considering the fire damage sustained by the vessel and related repairs to be undertaken, the intent is to totally discharge all containers (over 3,200) in Halifax. Once ashore, containers for which General Average and Salvage security has been provided (“secured containers”) will be stacked apart from those which remain unsecured (“unsecured containers”).

It is anticipated that discharge of the 3,200 containers will take an estimated 85 hours of work. During this time, the MV “Yantian Express” must, at times, shift along the berth in order to allow access to other regularly scheduled vessels, and will thereafter shift back in order to resume cargo operations. We anticipate that the actual discharge operation will take 12 days or more.

As part of these operations, the vessel must also back load empty containers to achieve the necessary stability criteria for a subsequent safe passage to Asia where the vessel will undergo permanent repairs.

As of the 24th, 3128 containers have posted the required security.

UPDATE May 29
word is 1200 containers remain on Board, with the offload set to be finished Saturday.

UPDATE June 2:
The offload is complete, and 800 empties have been re-stowed aboard the Yantian Express. The Ship is scheduled to sail at 1400 local, bound for Tanger. I have been provided with photos of the Damaged Bow Section of the Ship.

UPDATE June 3:
the Yantian Express Sailed yesterday, 6 months less a day of when it ran into trouble. As of May 31, 3217 Containers had provided security. Ceres continues to be full, with an extra row of stacks covering the last set of rails – tracks 8, 9, and 10.

Containers cover the last 3 tracks at Ceres
Yantian Express, Prior to Departure. It was pouring rain when i took the photo.

UPDATE June 5:
Hapag Lloyd issued a statement today that says forwarding of Containers will take 2-3 weeks to complete. there are also 200 for which no security has been provided.

UPDATE July 31:

Tim Bousquet discovered a Sheriffs Warrant related to the ship, and wrote about in today’s morning File

One warrant is SMIT Salvage Americas LLC vs Yantian Express. The Yantian Express is the container ship that caught fire in the North Atlantic back in January and was eventually towed to Halifax, arriving in May.
SMIT Salvage is a Houston-based firm that is perhaps best known for its involvement in the Deepwater Horizon response — president Doug Martin’s testimony before Congress detailed how his firm was frustrated in the response by BP.
I called Martin yesterday and asked him what was up with the Yantian Express. He told me he had no idea. He said he has a team dealing with the ship, but he hasn’t been informed of any legal action. “It’s nothing big,” he assured me, as otherwise he would know about it. He did say that the fire was related to a single container on the ship.

The warrant from Smit likely relates to cargo that has not yet paid the Salvage Security. That Cargo would be sitting at Fairview Cove, and if the Security is not paid by the cargo owner, it can be sold. Given Cargo was delayed 6 months, and the Salvage and General Average Securities are 60% cargo value, and not everyone had insurance, they are likely taking action to secure the cargo. 3432 Containers have now provided security.

Sea Shepard Vessel due for port visit

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word has reached me that the Sea Shepard Conservation Society Vessel Brigitte Bardot is headed to Halifax. I was told the vessel will be open for tours. its currently off Lunenburg, I estimate an eta of 1400.

Originally named Cable and Wireless Adventurer she was built for the purpose of circumnavigating the world in less than 80 days. This was successfully accomplished in July 1998 in 74 days, 20 hours, 58 minutes. Sea Shepard acquired the vessel in 2010.

UPDATES to follow at: https://blog.halifaxshippingnews.ca/2019/05/sea-shepard-vessel-due-for-port-visit.html

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