The Bulker Santiago Basin has spent the past few days at the elevators loading a product.
this could be wood pellets, as they are now expecting to export a large number through the port.
She is owned by Pacific Basin Shipping, and was built in 2008
Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, will be joined by the David Alward, Premier of New Brunswick, and Gordon Wilson, NS MLA for Clare-Digby, to make an announcement concerning ferry services in Eastern Canada.
The government previously announced a new ferry would be purchased for the Digby St John Run, So this is likely the announcement of the New Boat. It Happens at 10am, St John Ferry Terminal.
Yesterday saw 2 asphalt tankers conducting a transfer operation in the basin. it looks like this may have been a workaround to the US Jones act – which basically requires a US built and registered Ship to trade between US Ports.
The Laden, greek flagged, Asphalt Eagle, arrived first from Gibraltar and anchored, and the smaller, Marshal Islands flagged, Asphalt Sailor tied up along side, arriving from New York. The smaller Asphalt Sailor Sailed for Providence Rhode Island, the larger Asphalt Eagle sailed for Portland Maine early this morning.
one would assume a portion of the cargo was bound for each destination, and for whatever reason the larger Asphalt Eagle could not make the trip – Hence the transfer in Halifax, so the 2 cargos originate outside the US, and non US flagged vessels can be used, as would be required to mov the cargo from Portland to Providence.
Thanks to HRM fire buffs for informing us that halifax crews from university ave were paged out to a ship fire just after noon.
Update I was provided with the following info:
at approximately 12noon today light smoke was identified aboard the frigate HMCS St. John’s which is in the yard for a scheduled mid-life refit. Approximately 35 people were working aboard the ship. As a precautionary measure the ship was evacuated. The fire department was called. Initial cause appears to be a pinched electrical line on deck 4 that caused a “hot spot”. Employees extinguished the smoldering area with a fire extinguisher prior to the arrival of the fire department. No person was injured and no damage sustained aboard the ship.
Earlier we reported on a RFP to transport the last 2 hero class vessels to Victoria. The rfp seemed to hint that the 2 vessels could be delivered to a US port, thus averting cabotage requirements.
The CCGS has now filed a request for a coasting trade licence for a to be determined heavy lift vessel to transport the 2 hero class boats to victoria. this suggests that an rfp winner has been selected but not announced.
Seems to me a good PR Move for the feds to sail the vessels via Northwest passage – though such a trip is beyond there design range – the could be resupplied on route by other larger CCGS vessels or the RCN.
I suspect Dockwise or jumbo will be awarded the contract. The range of dates is almost a full year – Nov 1 2014 to Sept 30 2015
STS Lord Nelson, will visit Halifax this August 2/3. This three-masted barque is one of two tall ships that are part of the Jubilee Sailing Trust, a registered charity founded in 1978 in the U.K.
The JST takes both disabled and able-bodied men and women to sea, to not only teach them how to crew a tall ship, but to promote equality, raise awareness and correct misconceptions around disability. The further aim of the JST is to offer the program at rate accessible to all.
Two years in construction, Lord Nelson was launched in 1986 in Southampton, England. Lord Nelson was built with the capability of sailing anywhere in the world with crews of mixed physical abilities aboard. She is on the Return leg of a Circumnavigation of the world.
She will tie up At Tall Ships Quay, and be open for tours
10-12 and 2-4
The Scotia Dock II was built in 1964 by Canadian Vickers Ltd for use in their shipyard in Montreal. Named General Georges P. Vanier, the dock became redundant when VersatileVickers closed down. It spent some time at Davie in Quebec, Before it was sold to Halifax Shipyards in 1998. It was towed to Halifax, Refurbished, and put into service. The original Scotiadock, was built in 1933 as Prins Hendrik Dok No.4in Rotterdam, and acquired and rebuilt by the shipyard in 1979.
UPDATE: Mac over at Shipfax shed a bit more light on the ownership situation. The NovaDock was in fact built for the Province of Nova Scotia, with the intention of improving business at the yard (When Halifax Shipyard was owned by the Government.) The Provence apparently retained ownership of the dock, however, In February 2013 a waterlot was transferred from the Province to the shipyard for $95,000. that lot was leased by the yard since 1982 (when the Novadock was built) for 1$/year and taken up by Irving when they bought the yard from the province in 1994. Taking ownership of this waterlot was considered a critical part of the NSPS. in light of all this, it appears that the province transferred ownership of the Novadock at that time, and it was likely sold as part of the waterlot.