Wilson Monsoon arrived Sunday night from Scotland, to collect the unused anchor gear that was to be used to anchor the Deep Panuke field production platform in Mulgrave. Since they are no longer needed, they are presumably going back to Scotland.
Sister ship Wilson Mistral delivered the anchors in July.
Last week in the Herald I outlined how ongoing labour strife could be an issue for the Port of Montreal, leading to a loss of Cargo in the longer term..
JOC posted an article suggesting 50% of Montreal’s cargo volume is Discretionary – shippers are not tied to the port, and use it for convenience sake. Summer whale and Winter ice delays, plus geographical challenges already were cause for concern for Montreal, and now labour issues are added.
After this article ran, one of the Longshore Unions at the port of montreal gave 72 hour strike notice for an indefinite strike, to begin Monday. That means effective tommorw, most terminals are shut down, Causing ships to divert.
A 4 day strike 2 weeks ago caused two MSC Vessels to divert to Halifax, Maersk to call out of Order, and Hapag-Lloyd sent a ship to Saint John NB. Canadian Pacific Railways re-acquisition of the line through Maine seems to be paying off, and CP has simply moved its customers to Saint John. Another Hapag-Llloyd ship called this week in Saint John.
MSC Rochelle arrived in the outer anchorage Saturday – its due at PSA Halifax on the 18th. The wait is required to maintain schedule, as a week is saved by calling in Halifax Vs Montreal.
Maersk Palermo arrived Sunday morning. it usually spends around 6 hours in port. this call the ship is due to sail late Monday afternoon.
Montreal Express and OOCL Belgium also look to be diverting to Halifax, Due on the 11th and 15th respectively. I expect more to divert given the nature of the labour actions.
This weeks caller on the Columbus Loop is the CMA-CGM Channai. the ship spent Saturday at pier 41, sailing Sunday Morning.
Due to sail tonight at 2230, the CSL Trillium Class self unloading bulk carrier Thunder Bay finishing loading at National Gypsum.
The Noble Regina Allen has completed plugging the 5 wells of the Deep Panuke Gas field, and has returned to Woodside, alongside the Deep Panuke Production platform. The semi-submersible heavy lift ship GPO Amethyst has sailed from Rotterdam, likely to pickup the Noble Regina Allen and bring her to her next job. GPO Amethyst has an Eta of Aug 31.
NRA Arrived in November 2017, and spent a year plugging the sable Field. It finished that work in Dec 2019, and returned to Halifax for a few months of maintenance, heading out to Deep Panuke in February.
USCGC Tahoma is due to arrive at the Dockyard tomorrow. This marks the first port visit for a US Government vessel this year. the PCU St. Louis, the latest LCS bypassed traditional stops in Canada on her way out of the great lakes a few weeks ago, and no other US Navy or Coast Guard vessels have stopped in Halifax so far this year.
USCGC Tahoma is based in New Hampshire, and is likely make a stop for provisions.
The Coast guards inshore rescue boat towed a disabled sailboat back to the NW Arm this evening from out past Maughers Beach. I didnt catch what the issue was, but the 3 people aboard the sailboat (and the IRB boat crew) seem to be pretty relaxed.
the IRB is staffed by post secondary students, and is in service between the May long weekend and Labour day.
Augusta Sun departed from Pier 27 bound for Rotterdam just after 6pm. the ship unloaded Nickle sulfide “mud” form Cuba, and then loaded her holds with wood pellets at pier 27.
Bigroll Beaufort is still in the outer anchorage of Halifax, likely waiting on her next assignment. Today was a nice clear day, so she was well visible.
Car Carriers have become a more rare site in recent months thanks to covid, but Toscana called at autoport today. Toscana is a frequent caller in Halifax, and recently changed paint schemes. She was previously Red and white.
