Yesterday it was announced that the first Halifax Fleet week would be taking place Sept 7-10, coinciding with the biannual Cutlass Fury Exercise.
The week will feature a number of ships open to the public on Friday and Saturday Including an AOPS, HMCS Margaret Brooke as well as Naval vessels from the US (USS Porter and USS James E. Williams both Arleigh Burke Class Destroyers), UK, France and Germany.
The event will end on Sunday at noon with a Parade out to sea to mark the start of the Exercise.
More Details can be found at hfxfleetweek.ca
** why does the fleet week logo use a Battle Ship? UPDATE: I spotted this Amazing Fleet week patch on IG. so much better.
The Federal Government announced restrictions on Cruise Vessels in Canadian waters for the upcoming year.
Cruise vessels with greater then 100 passengers are not permitted to operate in Canadian Waters until February 28th 2022. This mirrors the restrictions that were in place last year. The Ban on Pleasure craft in arctic waters is also in place once again.
Those who do not comply with the pleasure craft prohibition could be subject to penalties: $5,000 per day for individuals and $25,000 per day for groups or corporations.
Those who do not comply with the passenger vessel prohibition could be liable on summary conviction to a fine of up to $1 million or to imprisonment for a term of up to 18 months, or to both.
There is no national ban for smaller cruise ships certified to carry 100 or fewer people. They must follow provincial, territorial, local and regional health authority protocols for timelines and processes around their operations.
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.
The 2020 cruise season in Halifax will start on April 11 with the arrival of
Norwegian Star, a Norwegian Cruise Lines vessel. The season will run until November 3.
for the 2020 season the Port of Halifax is expecting 203 vessel calls carrying approximately 350,000 cruise guests. For local tourism providers, planning for the upcoming season is well underway.
2020 Halifax Cruise highlights include:
Eleven (11) scheduled inaugural calls in 2020, starting with the arrival of Norwegian Star on April 11 and flowed by Hanseatic Inspiration (May 20), Empress of the Seas (May 23), Amsterdam (June 1), Norwegian Pearl (June 8), Oasis of the Seas (June 25), Island Princess (Aug 6), Carnival Radiance (Sept 11), Norwegian Encore (Sept 12), Amundsen (Sept 13), and Evrima (Sept 25)
Four (4) visits from Queen Mary 2 on July 1-2, August 2, September 23 and October 21
Two (2) visits from Disney Magic on October 10 and October 19
September 25 is expected to be the busiest passenger day with over 10,000 cruise guests on five vessels
KNM Helge is a Nansen Class Frigate. Pictured is KNM Thor Heyerdahl on a2012 port visit to Halifax
The Norwegian frigate KNM Helge Ingstad was stuck early this morning by the tanker SOLA TS while anchored west of Bergen. The tanker had just loaded North Sea Crude oil, and was departing the fjord when the incident happened.
the frigate appears to have been stuck in the stern area, and flooding continues, with the latest images showing the frigate nearly on its side, a significantly worse state then shortly after the collision, when the frigate was simply low in the stern. the ship also appears to have deliberately run aground at the bow, in an attempt to keep the ship from sinking,
the Frigate was participating in the Nato Exercise Trident Juncture, which also featured Canadian frigates HMCS Halifax and HMCS Toronto. the 137 crew members were able to evacuate the ship, with 7 minor injuries reported. Marine traffic reports the frigate was not broadcasting AIS at the time.
UPDATE 11/09:
New imagery from the Norwegians this morning. looks like the ship has settled on her side. She was not broadcasting AIS at the time of the collision, and appears to have been holed by the tankers protruding anchor hawsepipe, which looks to have left a large gash from the hanger aft.
Still taken from this video
from yesterday:
Just speculation; looks like these might be collision points on 🇳🇴frigate KNM Helge Ingstad and 🇲🇹tanker Sola TS. No other part of tanker hull that sharp, and strong too to take anchor strain. Damage below waterline prob. from bulbous bow. #shipspotting#HelgeIngstadpic.twitter.com/csFlKMmxHm
Images of the damage caused to #Norwegian#frigate#HELGE INGSTAD F313 from #collision with tanker SOLA TS. Views are obvioiusly before the ship partially sank. The below-water damage to the ship was more extensive than the photos can show. pic.twitter.com/7Nbgo8U7Bc
Update 11/13:
Shes Sunk. Overnight the 7 lines holding the ship to shore broke, and she slipped beneath the waves. The Norwegian government announced on the 12th that the ship was secure.
Word is she was actually sailing when the incident occured, and not anchored, and was aware of the presence of the outgoing tanker. An audio log obtained by Norwegian media has revealed that the frigate failed to change course despite repeated warnings that she was on collision course with the tanker. Significant questions about Seamanship and damage control need to be asked after this incident.
Update 11/14
#HelgeIngstad: radar and radio logs indicate she was speeding south at 17 knots. Minutes before collision, Sola appeared to suggest Ingstad to swing stbd (pass portside to portside), but Ingstad feared getting too close to shore, so tried to pass stbd-stbd https://t.co/E7yRRzzZJ5pic.twitter.com/ItoHSmH9TO
the federal government issued a release identifying Lockheed Martin as the preferred design for the CSC. Canada’s Combat Ship Team – composed of Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and CAE, MDA, L3 Technologies, and Ultra Electronics – submitted a proposal based on the British Type 26 Global Combat Ship. the British are currently building this ship, though it is not yet in service.
The Government of Canada and Irving Shipbuilding Inc. have identified Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. as the preferred bidder to provide the design and design team for the Royal Canadian Navy’s future Canadian Surface Combatants.
While this represents a significant milestone in the competitive process, more work is required before a contract is awarded.
Lockheed Martin Canada Inc. must now go through the “due diligence process,” which includes:
negotiations with the company on intellectual property rights
an assessment of combat systems performance
an assessment of the company’s financial capability to deliver the project, together with the verification of various other administrative matters
Should the preferred bidder not successfully demonstrate to Canada and Irving Shipbuilding Inc. that it meets all of the due diligence requirements, then the next highest ranked compliant bidder will become the preferred bidder. The new preferred bidder will then have to successfully demonstrate that it meets all of the due diligence requirements.
The identification of the preferred bidder follows a rigorous bid evaluation process. This process has been, and will continue to be, overseen by an independent Fairness Monitor. To date, the Fairness Monitor has submitted a series of interim reports on the Canadian Surface Combatant procurement process, and each of these reports have not identified any fairness deficiencies.
More recently, the Fairness Monitor provided the following statement to Public Services and Procurement Canada:
“As the Fairness Monitor for the Canadian Surface Combatant project, we have monitored the evaluation of proposals submitted in response to the Request for Proposals and have identified no fairness deficiencies. It is our opinion that the evaluation of proposals was conducted in a fair manner. Decisions were made objectively and free from personal favouritism or improper influence, and the process encompassed the elements of openness, competitiveness, transparency and compliance with the Request for Proposals.”
A contract award is expected this winter, with construction beginning in the early 2020s.
The Canadian Surface Combatant project is the largest, most complex procurement ever undertaken by the Government of Canada. These ships will form the backbone of our Royal Canadian Navy and will be Canada’s major surface component of maritime combat power for decades to come.
The Government of Canada remains committed to being open and transparent at each stage of the procurement process.
On Friday, the Feds signed a contract for $610million to have Davie acquire and convert 3 Icebreakers for Coast Guard use. The first ship is to be delivered by December 2018, with the other 2 to be delivered in Summer and fall 2019.
The ships were built for the offshore industry to work in Alaska, so should be well suited for the job. The Proposed ships are Tor Viking II, Balder Viking and Vidar Viking. the Ships are owned by Norwegian tor, but are flagged, and currently are tied up in Sweden. Built to DNV Ice-10 standards, they will be classed as medium icebreakers in CG Service.
In a separate announcement last week, the feds awarded a contract for emergency towing vessels. the need for these vessels became apparent After several ships broke down in BC Waters, and were rescued by US based Tugs, the feds have awarded a contract to Atlantic towing to provide 2 emergency towing vessels in BC waters for the next 3 years. Word is Atlantic Eagle and Atlantic Raven will be the ships stationed on the west coast.
The 3 consortiums that submitted bids for the CSC had their final Submissions due last Friday on the 20th. this final submission allowed them to clean up and clarify portions of the submissions based on feedback from the federal government and Irving.
The Three Bidders Are:
Canada’s Combat Ship Team – composed of Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems and CAE, MDA, L3 Technologies, and Ultra Electronics – submitted their proposal based on the British Type 26 Global Combat Ship. the British are currently building this ship, though it is not yet in service.
Alion Science and Technology-led team with a proposal based on the De Zeven Provinciën Air Defence and Command frigate which is in service with the Dutch Navy. The combat system solution is based on the world-class capabilities of ATLAS-Elektronik and Hensoldt Sensors
The third bidder is Spanish Navantia with its F-105 frigate design. The company will partner with Saab and CEA Technologies to deliver the ships should it be selected. The F-105 is a variation of the Spanish Álvaro de Bazán-class frigates and is the basis for the Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen class, and the under construction Australian Hobart Class. The ships use the American Ageis system. Their CSC Proposal is fitted with a 127mm main gun by Leonardo, a CEAFAR2 radar by CEA, 2x RAM launchers by Raytheon, 2x 35mm Millenium CIWS guns by Rheinmetall, 48x VLS and 8x RBS-15 Mk3 anti-ship missiles by Saab
