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.
Dimitra C tied up at Fairview Cove Sunday on the westbound leg of the Alliances EC5 Service. the ship spent most of Sunday working, sailing around 11pm for New York
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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News
1.This Week in the Herald
This week I talk about HNS Cargoes, and the response to incidents involving them. Oil Spills are a big concern, but are often simple to deal with – and there are pre-existing plans and resources.
2.Alliance Extended The Oceans Alliance, consisting of container Lines COSCO, CMA-CGM, Evergreen and OOCL have announced the extension of their Alliance until 2027. The alliance, which formed in 2017, was initially for 5 years, with 2 five year options for extension, both of which have now been exercised 2 years into the Alliance.
3.Charters Over
Troms Sirius (left) and Lundstrom Tide (right) at Pier 9
Troms Sirius and Lundstrom Tide ended their Charter to Horizon Maritime and were reflagged and Sailed from Halifax. Both vessels were chartered from Tidewater for use during BP’s exploration program, which has since ended.
4.Naval Gazing HMCS Ville De Quebec returned to Halifax Monday, after being deployed to the Mediterranean with NATO. HMCS Toronto sailed to take VDQ’s place on Saturday. The 22nd saw HMCS Shawinigan and HMCS Kingston deploy for 3 months to West Africa.
5.Bernie Smith is wrong. This past weekend, Bernie Smith wrote an opinion piece in the Herald, arguing that Halterm should be moved to Dartmouth. Hes wrong, for a number of reasons, but the big one, is Halifax can have multiple terminals.
6.Baby Whales Another North Atlantic right whale calf has been spotted off the coast of Florida. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says it’s the third calf sighting since December. Right whales typically migrate from the North Atlantic to give birth off Georgia and Florida from December through March.
Jan 22, 1982 – Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Opens
Jan 21, 1840 – The continent of Antarctica was discovered by Captain Dumont D’Urville. He Claimed it for France naming it “ Terre Adélie “after his wife Adele.
Jan 19, 1840 – The continent of Antarctica was first sighted by Lt. Charles Wilkes
Jan 18, 1821 – Halifax Harbour freezes over.
Jan 17 1898 – Halifax – Bermuda submarine cable extended to Jamaica
This week I talk about HNS Cargoes, and the response to incidents involving them. Oil Spills are a big concern, but are often simple to deal with – and there are pre-existing plans and resources.
With the Yantain Express fire being on the verge of taking the second place spot for most popular post i thought it was worth mentioning the real second most popular post. Since moving the Site off Blogger, the Popular posts widget was reset. The 5th most popular post on the current site is more popular then all but the most popular post from the old host.
The Asian emperor was a car-carrier that had some cargo break free off halifax, and get trashed as it rolled about the hold. the ship was also carrying a number of custom order BMW’s which the owners were tracking online, and following the progress of the ship.
when it was delayed, they started posting in Car forums, and i started receiving anxious emails from people wondering if their car had survived.
