2021 marks the 100th birthday of the original Bluenose, which was launched in 1921, and wrecked on a reef off Hati in 1946. To celebrate the ships entrance to Halifax, Dominion Diving arranged an Escort through the harbour.
(Above) HMCS Oriole, the Navys Sail training vessel. It is also 100 years old, Launched as the Yacht Oriole IV in 1921. It was sold to the Navy Leauge train sea cadets in 1941, then leased to the RCN, eventually being commissioned into the Navy in 1952. From 1956-2018 Oriole was based on the west coast.
(Below) Ocean Seeker is the ex RCMP Patrol vessel Murray. It is used by kraken robotics as a test platform for their sonar products.
(Above) the Navy’s Fleet Diving Unit took part as well, providing two small vessels. (Below) the second FDU rhib, and ALUTASI, formerly Peggys Cove Express, was converted to electric, repainted, and renamed.
(above) New Coastguard Lifeboat Hare Bay sailed into BIO. The boat had been stationed in Sambro. (below)CCGS Ann Harvey also put into BIO
Also Not pictured was the s/v Passage Maker, and the Tug Atlantic Oak.
The Kwartha Spirit underwent some work earlier this spring in Woodside, and included a new coat of paint. The vessel traded it white hull, for Navy Blue, but retained its very Ontario name.
The Kwartha Spirit replaced the Haligonian III, in Murphys fleet. an almost identical vessel, its actually a few years older then the vessel it replaced, a feat possible due to the fact the kwartha spirit spent her life in Ontario, and sailed only in Fresh Water.
Though the federal government has yet to publicly announce the new name for the CCGS Edward Cornwallis which is currently undergoing refit at Shelburne ship repair, they have updated the Canadian Vessel Registry with it.
CCGS Edward Cornwallis is now registered as CCGS Kopit Hopson 1752.
The name is a reference to the 2 signatories of the 1752 Peace and friendship treaty between the Mi’kmaq people and the British which was signed By Chief Kopit, and Cornwallis’ successor as Governor of Nova Scotia, Peregrine Thomas Hopson in November 1752.
Last March I devoted a post and a herald column to advocating for the ship to be renamed post refit.
The 20000TEU Ever Given lost power and wedged itself into the bank of the Suez Canal, blocking traffic in both directions. The Suez Canal saves about 12 days sailing time around Africa, so right now shipping lines are likely trying to decide if its better to wait or divert, knowing their schedules are now going to be thrown out of whack by the closure.
There look to be about 8 tugs on scene, and there is an excavator digging sand at the bow. Below is a photo and narrative for a crew member on the US Flagged Maersk Denver.
Several Halifax Services including the Oceans Alliance (CMA-CGM) and The Alliance (Hapag-Lloyd) rely on routing through the SUEZ Canal
UPDATE – ships managers are claiming all machinery was in working order, so the reason for the grounding is unclear. The ship is still stuck
This post needed an update. the original version was spurred by a March 2021 announcement that the province would be placing an AED in every school in the province. I asked if we taught CPR in schools. – We Don’t.
I first learned CPR in Grade 8, back in 1994, in school (in Ottawa). We should add this to the school curriculum. its a life skill. Its also important if we want to improve outcomes for patients who suffer sudden cardiac arrest.
The latest information I can find shows that the survival rate for out of hospital cardiac arrest in Nova Scotia is around 6%. Put bluntly, if you are a victim of sudden cardiac arrest, you will probably not survive. Many jurisdictions however have survival rates closer to 70%.
The Key to that massive jump in survival rates is prompt intervention by bystanders.
Bystander CPR is Critical. If you see someone collapse, and call 911, it will take at least 5 minutes for help to arrive. The chances of survival decrease by 10% for every minute without CPR. This fall, EHS will begin to provide telephone CPR instruction. This is good, but you can also learn the skill in advance . The video below can teach you to do effective CPR in less then 2 minutes. (or go take a course)
The second key piece to improving survival rates is bystander defibrillation. Research tells us that the sooner Defibrillation can be applied the better, and should happen within 3-5 minutes. ideally the goal for defibrillation should be 2.5 minutes. In any event, defibrillation needs to occur before professional responder’s can be expected to arrive.
This means AEDs need to be readily available. The average person can walk 400m in about 4 minutes, meaning you need to be within 200m of an AED if your going to rely on it. I did a quick analysis to see what areas fall within 200m of a Public Access AED in Halifax.
The map above is based on data from the EHS AED registry. The analysis is imperfect, as it only assumes a 200m as the crow flys radius around each AED, and makes no allowances for vertical height, or obstructions on the ground. In short it overstates the actual AED Coverage area.
AED’s will tell you how to use them. you simply need to open the cover, or press the on Button. Below is 90 second video on AED use.
Research tells us that vertical living can also greatly effect you chances of survival. A 2016 study suggests that those suffering sudden cardiac arrest on the third floor or below, are twice as likely to survive as those living above the third floor. In an analysis by floor, survival was less then 1% above floor 16, and there were no survivors above the 25th floor.
If you have an AED, register it with EHS at savelivesns.ca. if your building doesn’t have an AED, you should get one, especially if it is over 3 stories.
You – probably have a few questions:
Q: Hands only CPR – is that it? yes it is. Studies have shown that rapid CPR is essential to improving survive ability of cardiac events. get the blood flowing again as fast as you can.
Q: what about breaths? not that important. there is still quite a bit of oxygen in the blood, but it needs to circulate. Plus, breaths are gross – they subject you to communicable diseases, and people having cpr done to them tend to throw up.
Q: Don’t I need Training? Ideally, yes. training will give you practice, and have your technique evaluated by a Professional. In the case of a sudden cardiac arrest, nothing you do will make the situation worse for the patient. you can only help.
Q:What happens when responders arrive? fire departments are trained to Health Care provider level CPR. They have tools to secure airways, and start providing breaths. Paramedics come with a collection of drugs and more advanced tools.
CCGS Cadboro Bay (above) is loaded aboard the Atlantic Condor while CCGS Florencia Bay (below) waits her turn. Both vessels were delivered to Halifax from their builders, for delivery by ship to the West Coast.
Atlantic Towing won the job using its recently unemployed Platform supply vessel Atlantic Condor. Atlantic towing also has a contract for 2 emergency towing vessels on the west coast, so its unclear if thier western expansion has found work for the PSV, or if its simply a freight trip.
Buried in HHB’s submission to the UARB for a toll increase, is the options study for rehabbing the Mackay Bridge. The Study comes to the conclusion that a new bridge is probably the best way forward, to be in service for 2040.
when it was built, the MacKay was built more lightly then a modern bridge would be. this means it flexes more, and is prone to more wear. it also means rehabbing the bridge is going to me more difficult then doing the MacDonald bridge.
The preferred alignment for the new bridge is the blue line, which leads to a 500m suspended span between the towers. there is more land and space available to the north of the bridge, and alignment 3 (in green) would require demolition of houses in Halifax. the red option is for a 800m cable stay bridge that goes clear across bio.
The new bridge is would feature 2 traffic lanes in each direction, with a third transit priority lane, and Active transportation lanes on both sides of the bridge. The new bridge deck would be 10m (~30′) higher then the current deck for ship clearance and to accommodate 100 year sea level change.
above is the 500m centre span cable stay bridge. It is considered to be the most economical option, and features concrete H towers. it would be similar to the current bridge footprint, just to the north.
below is the 800m centre span bridge. the towers for this bridge are both located on land and the bridge clears BIO by 65m.
below is the tower comparison for the 800m centre span bridge compared to the current towers.
This bridge also looks the best. Please build this one.
the study also covered replacement suspension bridges, and options for rehabilitating and twining the current bridge. You can read the full report here (7mb .pdf)
The Port Authority announced big changes the Seaport Farmers Market today. Going forward, it will be a primarily outdoor market on weekends, moving into Pier 22 on weekends in the winter (presumably when that space is unneeded for the cruise vendors) the Outdoor market will be covered, and renderings show it to be located in the parking lots at Pier 20.
The current Building at pier 20 will be renamed The PIER which is short for Port Innovation, Engagement and Research. It will be renovated to add leased storefront space for retail and restaurant, and the rest will become a living lab for the Transportation industry.
The PIER will become an innovation center for local companies connected to shipping and transportation, supply chain and logistics, and Maritime policy development to conduct meetings and collaborate.
The transition will take place beginning Mid March.
