The NSP Plant at Tuffs Cove took the Tanker Ice Point this morning, to top up the tanks with Bunker C. While the plant primarily runs on Natural Gas, it was originally constructed to burn oil, and a tanker seems to tie up every year or so to re-supply the plant.
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
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.
the Woodward group products tanker Qikiqtaaluk W, has been anchored off Halifax for a number of days, and will be towed into port.
The Tugs Atlantic Oak and Spitfire III will be conducting the move from the outer anchorages to Pier 31. The ship sailed from Montreal on the 23rd, bound for Savannah Ga. under the Marshal Islands flag. it arrived off Halifax on the afternoon of the 26th, and has remained there since.
The Ship was built in Turkey in 2011, and is Ice Class A1. The Newfoundland Based Coastal Shipping is owned by the Woodward group, and spends the summer resupplying the arctic. in the winter, ships are laid up or charted out under foreign flags.
Update: After raising the anchor, the ship actully sailed into the harbour, turned around at anchorage 1, and sailed out again. where it picked up the tugs that brought it back into harbour as a dead ship move.
(Above) Newfoundland Based Woodward Group runs Coastal Shippijng, which brought the tanker KIVALLIQ W to IOL #4. The tanker sailed Monday morning for Come by Chance NL.
(Below) Acadian tied up at the Irving Oil wharf, arriving from the refinery in Saint John. She sailed late Sunday for St. John’s
The products tanker Tasing Swan arrived at pier 9 yesterday. Today a coasting trade application was filed by Petro-Nav to use the tanker to shuttle refined product from the refinery in Levis to ports around the great lakes before the seaway shuts down at the end of December.
Petro-Nav cited delays in its tankers returning from arctic work as the reason the coasting trade license is required. Petro-Nav currently has at least 5 tankers working on coasting trade licenses in Canadian waters.
Given the volume of product being carried domestically by foreign flagged ships, Canadian fleet expansion should be in order.
(Above)Atlantic Sail inbound at the ferry track Saturday morning. (Below) Catharine Schulte for Melfi lines, and the tanker Jinan at anchor in the basin, waiting on weather. both ships sailed early afternoon.
Nor’easter (below) also sailed, after waiting 
on weather.
Algoma recently purchased the Swedish registered tanker Ramira, and registered it in Canada as AlgoNorth. The 2008 Turkish built tanker is scheduled to sail on the 12th from Goteborg Sweden for Canada. as the ship is registered in Halifax, its likely this will be the first stop.
A Products tanker, she is 135 meters long =, and similar in size to the other products tankers Algoma operates.
the Algoma Dartmouth, which has been providing bunkering service in Halifax since 2009, has been chartered by irving, and will be headed to Saint John to take up bunkering duties there.Currently Halifax is the only Eastern Canadian Port other then Montreal offering bunkering service, leading to many vessel calls simply for fuel.
the ship was first operated by Algoma for imperial oil, as a replacement for the single hulled tanker NT Dartmouth. Algoma then operated the tanker for Stirling fuels who took over the bunkering contract in Halifax when Imperial got out of the business when they shut down the refinery in 2014. Sterling fuels picked up the charter of the Algoma Dartmouth in 2014. that charter has now ended as of a week ago.
Sterling Fuels is presumably still providing fuel Service in Halifax, as the Algoma Value was seen today at Pier 31 with tank trucks along side. This may also explain why Horizon Star was reported to be fueling from Wilson’s fuels at pier 9. no word has been heard on a replacement Bunkering tanker for Halifax, if there will even be one.
Algoma Dartmouth has spent the last week or so at pier 9, I had assumed due to strong winds, but its actually preparing for the next charter. I’m not aware of Sterling Fuel’s plans going forward, nor do i see another appropriate tanker due in Halifax in the next few weeks.
The bunkering tanker Algoma Dartmouth will be kept busy today with 3 vessels anchoring to top up their tanks.
First up is the Norwegian flagged, geared bulker, NordKap. She arrived from Brazil, and will likely sail for the St Lawrence, likely with a load of Bauxite for aluminum production. She is Due to Sail at 15:00. (She Sailed giving Port Alfred PQ as her destination – Home to Rio-Tinto Alcan)
Due at the Pilot station at 1500 is the Liberian flagged Crude oil tanker ALMI GALAXY, which arrived from Scapa Flow Scotland and spent the last couple of days at anchor in the approaches. Shes due to anchor at anchorage #1 (between Georges Is. and McNabs Is.) laden, she was required to enter port with a tug escort, and will be bound for the refinery in Saint John NB. on departure. She sailed at 2245.
also due for fuel is the products tanker Navig8 Sirius. the marshal islands flagged ship is arriving at the pilot station at 1600 from Houston Texas, unladen with refined product. she is Due to sail at 0200
Ill try to update this post later tonight with photos of the tankers, when they arrive.
