Category Archives: Halifax Shipyard

Fire on board ship Updated – HMCS St John’s at Halifax Shipyard

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Thanks to HRM fire buffs for informing us that halifax crews from university ave were paged out to a ship fire just after noon.

The fire is reported extinguished, and smoke is being cleared. 
Given the location of the crews it’s likely the ship was at the ocean terminals suggesting the Pearl mist or one of the offshore supply vessels.
More to follow as known

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.

A tale of 2 docks – Halifax Shipyard, and the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II

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As a Followup to the news that the NovaDock at Halifax Shipyards needs to be replaced, i was asked a few questions about the NovaDock and the Scotia Dock II. this post should clarify things.

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.

The Scotia Dock II Sunk in May 2010 while submerged to dock the Stvens breaker for inspection. Her registry was finally closed on June 22 2010 and the Scotia Dock II  sold to Southern Recycling, a metal recycler on the Gulf of Mexico for Scraping. The shipyard announced at that time they would be replacing it.
(Above) Scotia Dock Just after sinking (left) About a month after sinking, Still on the bottom and (Below) being toed to the scrapper.
The Nova Dock, Was the Larger of the 2 Docks. built as a Pananmax dock, it could handle any vessel that can fit through the panama canal. Considerably newer, it was built in 1982 for MIL Industries in Sorel Quebec. I am unsure of when Halifax Shipyards picked it up, However shipbuildinghistory.com indicates that she was built for Halifax Shipyard, and it appears her registry from 1984 never had a name change. the Sorel MIL yard was closed in 1986, shortly after they merged with Davie, which resulted in the closure of the Vickers yard in Montreal and the MIL yard in Sorel, leaving only Davie.
The NovaDock was Repaired following a Collision with HMCS Preserver in November 2011 that left an above the waterline gash, and some damaged stairs in her. She was repaired, but post Scotia Dock II sinking likely subject to more scrutiny. I have been told that her inner compartments are corroded, and extensive work would be needed to refurbish her – the cost being prohibitive, it was decided to simply replace her.
As best as I can tell, the last vessel to be Docked in the NovaDock was the Tanker Havelstern (left) which emerged from the Dock in February of 2014. Since then, The Blue Putties had work done in Boston, and the CCGS Louis St Laurent was refit at Davie in Quebec – Both these are regular clients of the NovaDock. I have also been told that the unavailability of the dock has been responsible for layoffs due to lack of work.

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.

Nova Dock Needs to be Replaced

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I have heard rumors that the Nova dock at Halifax Shipyard was broken and in repair.

Today I received confirmation of this:

I was told that the Nova Dock has needed repairs since at least April, and that after evaluating options, costs to repair are approaching the cost of a  New Submersible Dock. They have therefore decided to replace the dock. as the shipyard does not have the facilities to build a new dock, and are therefore in the process of attempting to source a replacement.

Halifax Shipyard’s Graving Dock now a National Historic Civil Engineering Site

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Today the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) officially designated the Halifax Shipyard’s Graving Dock as a National Historic Civil Engineering Site. Now owned by Irving Shipbuilding, the large dry dock was constructed in the 1880s for shipbuilding and repairs. It has functioned during two World Wars and is still serving the industry today. According to the CSCE’s Program of Designation, the 173-metre-long and 24-metre-wide graving dock is a remarkable engineering accomplishment: at 125 years old it is still performing, essentially according to its original design. At the time of its construction, it was the largest dry dock on the Eastern Seaboard and could handle the world’s largest vessels.

The Graving Dock remains a critical part of Irving Shipbuilding’s operation to this day.  Currently in dock is HMCS St. John’s, one of the Canadian Navy’s Halifax-Class frigates.  Originally Irving-built at Saint John Shipbuilding, seven of these ships are now in the midst of a refit program.  It can take anywhere from 12 – 18 months to complete each ship.  The program began in 2011 and will continue into 2017.

It is fitting that the Graving Dock has been recognized for its significance from a historical civil engineering stand-point.  It has survived the Halifax Explosion, several World Wars, and the inevitable advancement of the industry from wooden to steel ships as well as the exponential growth in vessel size and weight.  It helped repair several thousand ships during World War II and now is the repair site for our Navy’s current combatant fleet, in the very shipyard that will construct the Navy’s new combatant fleet beginning in 2015.

The Ocean terminals At pier 20 are also Registered as a National Historic Civil Engineering Site

Blue Putties, In Drydock, In Boston.

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I Recived an email this morning form a reader who noticed the BluePutties in Drydock in Boston.
In the past, Marine Atlantic work has been done in the NovaDock at Halifax shipyards, however I have heard that the Nova Dock is having some sort of issue and is not serviceable. It may also be that the shipyard does not have capacity given its renovations, Final work on the Hero Class, and Ongoing FELEX Work.

Davie in Quebec Has a Drydock large enough, however I belive it is occupied by newbuilds/and or the Louis St Laurent.

Hero #9 Launched – CCGS Captain Goddard M.S.M

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The 9th and Final Hero Class Vessel, the CCGS Captain Goddard M.S.M, was launched saturday morning. She will be transported to the West Coast with Hero #8 later this year. The Last of the 9 Hero Class boats, She also has the distinction of being the last vessel to be launched on those particular launching ways, which have existed for close to 100 years. When Halifax Shipyard renovations are complete, ships will be launched via a semi-submersable barge at the pier 9 end of the yard.

Photos to follow.

Lévis Shipyard to Refit CCGS Louis St. Laurent

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The Government of Canada has awarded a $6.5 million contract to Babcock Canada Inc. for critical refit work for Canadian Coast Guard ship CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent. This contract was awarded as the result of an open and competitive procurement process. The shipyard portion of the work will be carried out by Chantier Davie Canada Inc., a sub-contractor to Babcock Canada. The refit work to be completed on the vessel includes regulatory maintenance to the propulsion systems, hull, auxiliary/domestic systems and the navigation and communications systems. In the past this work has been Caried out in the Nova Dock By Halifax Shipyards.

The CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent is Canada’s largest and heaviest icebreaker. While in drydock at the Davie Shipyard in Lévis, Québec, the vessel will undergo critical maintenance. This work will be completed prior to the vessel’s deployment to the Arctic to provide icebreaking services and other activities including scientific research, search and rescue support, and delivery of essential supplies to remote communities.

File Photo Above.

DND Penelized after 2011 Fuel Spill from Preserver

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DND was fined 1$ and mandated to donate $20,000 to the Coastal Research Network and $7,500 to the Environmental Damages Fund as punishment for a March 2011 Spill, while fueling at Imperial Oil. Aprox 14,000 litres of marine diesel fuel was discharged, but caused no damage to the shore or Wildlife.

A Technical investigation conducted by the military determined the spill was caused by a defective valve on the supply ship’s grey-water line, a waste discharge pipe that runs through the main fuel tank. Once the vessel’s fuel tank was loaded to the point that the valve on the waste discharge pipe was submerged, the diesel fuel flowed into that line through the valve and was discharged overboard.

The Preserver had just been returned to the navy from a work period at Halifax shipyard, where repairs were made to the valve assembly running through the tank.

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