Last Call for the Zaandam

As the 2023 cruise season reaches its peak in September - October it is unusual to see a ship make its last call in Halifax as early as September 29. Holland-America's Zaandam is the exception as it arrived today. Not only is this the ship's last visit of this season, it is also likely its last visit of any season. 

I hear that the ship, the most frequent caller in 2023 now with 19 visits, will be replaced in 2024 by a sister ship the Volendam which will transfer from the west coast  and Alaska market. That ship, although one year older - it was built in 1999 - has virtually the same passenger capacity of 1432 and a crew size ranging from 615 to 647. Fincantieri, Margerha built the ships, and two more sisters, Amsterdam and Rotterdam - all of which have called here from time to time. Holland America has always prided itself in fine looking ships, and these are no exception. They have also remained popular without resorting to garish graphics and overwrought theme park and mid-way features.

Zaandam began calling in Halifax April 29, 2019 and has been a regular ever since.

 Holland-America Line celebrated its 150th anniversary this year. The Zaandam and fleet mate Zuiderdam hosted celebration events during their calls in Halifax.

Next year's caller, the Volendam, was the last of Holland America's ships to be refitted for shore power connection which it used in Vancouver for the first time on September 27. Many ports, including Halifax, have shore power available (and some make the connection mandatory). It means that ships do not have to use their engines to generate power for the large non-propulsion related "hotel load" while in port. 

Using shore power reduces air pollution in the immediate area of the ship, but in the case of Nova Scotia, which still generates the vast majority of its of power from burning coal and gas, it merely moves the problem elsewhere. The added load of a small town (or two or three) every day during cruise season to Nova Scotia's power generation load for the benefit of a few tourists seems perverse to me. I predict a day of reckoning for the cruise industry within a very few years.

So far however protests in Europe have not dampened the demand for cruises, and Halifax continues to have near record or record years for total visitors.

In 2019 the Zaandam replaced the Maasdam another good looking Italian built ship, coming from Fincantieri Monfalcone in 1993. It was a 55,451 gt vessel with a capacity of 1258 passengers and 580 crew.

 After it stopped calling in Halifax it was sold in 2020 to a company called Seajets and renamed Aegean Myth but was laid up and never sailed for them. In 2022 a new operator Compagnie Française de Croisières (CFT) purchased the ship. They sent it off to Damen's shipyard in Brest for a major makeover starting in October 2022. The ship emerged in June  of this year, with passenger capacity reduced to 1000 and a crew of 560. It was to spend this summer cruising between Le Havre and the British Isles and Belgium then moving to the Mediterranean for this coming winter. It is due to go to the Caribbean and South America next year. The ship will be catering to French travellers.

That Maasdam was the second HAL ship of the line to visit Halifax. In the days of transatlantic passenger travel a 1952 version brought many immigrants to Canada through Pier 21.

Built by Wilton-Fijenoord in the Netherlands in 1952, the ship is shown arriving in Halifax with the assistance of Foundation Maritime tugs in the late 1950s or early 1960s. (Not my photo)

From 1968 to 1988, renamed Stefan Batory,  it continued in service for Polish Ocean Lines, but that is another story.

The Stefan Batory ex Maasdam on the St.Lawrence River - familiar territory for HAL ships in the passenger liner and cruise eras.

When the Zaandam sails this afternoon (the pilot is ordered for 1530) there will likely be a prolonged whistle salute from the ship. A customary end of season thank you for the port's hospitality, the salute is one of the nicer seagoing traditions.

 

September 29, 2023.

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Lee update

 Although there was coastal flooding and shore erosion due to the storm surge, Post Tropical storm Lee did not create the widespread damage to boats and harbours that last year's Hurrucane Fiona did. That is not to belittle the impact of the storm - it was severe - but perhaps it was as much due to wise precautions as to the somewhat less powerful distrurbance.

As previously noted ships vacated Halifax harbour and went well offshore to the east as the storm tracked across mainland Nova Scotia on Septmber 16. For instance the container ship ZIM Iberia which cleared Halifax on Friday September 15 and was destined for New York, instead headed northeasterly and was spotted on AIS well offshore. Similarly the cruise ship Zaandam which sailed on the 15th got ahead of the storm and made for CornerBrook, NL after a day or more at sea.

The heavy load ship GPO Sapphire, which had been anchored off Halifax made for the shelter of Chedabucto Bay. It likely did not anchor because with its Dynamic Positioning capability, it was able to keep station. The huge windage of its deck load of six wind turbine tower components could have put unbearable strain on conventional anchors and chain.

GPO Sapphire anchored off Halifax on September 13.

Speaking of anchors however, the stress was too much for one of those red white and blue navy trot buoys off Macnab's Cove (on the right and left of the photo above.) It and a green navigation buoy were spotted adrift in the harbour, but were later coralled by tugs.

Coastal tankers sought shelter too with Acadian off Lismore and Big Island to the eastern of the Northumberland Strait. (It was bound for Charlottetown.)

Algoscotia and Mia Desgagnés were in St.Ann's Bay (northeast coast of Cape Breton) and not far away the cruise ship Norwegian Joy (which had been due in Halifax September 17) stood by off Wreck Cove (an inauspicious name under the circumstances.)

That made today (Monday, September 18) a double header Norwegian day in Halifax with both Norwegian Joy and Norwegian Pearl in at the same time. They were joined by the Pearl Mist which must have had a rough time of it en route from Portland, ME.

 Wind gusts of 117 kph (72 miles per hour) were recorded at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport (well inland) and there were power outages all over NovA Scotia and New Brunswick. Ship Centreal Eastern (- the home of Shipfax) was without electricity for 28 hours from roughly 0715 hrs ADT Saturday, September 16 to 1100 hrs Sunday, September 17.

The storm was well passed by Sunday, Septemeber 17, but the only commercial activity in the harbour was the arrival and departure of the EM Kea on the Maersk / CMA CGM St-Laurent 1 service. It would normally have been here on Saturday en route from Montreal to Bremerhavem but can quite likely make up the time on the long transatlantic leg.

By today harbour activity had returned to normal (ferry service had been suspended on Saturday for example) with comings and goings at both container terminals. 

CMA CGM Mexico (15,000 plus TEU) made its call (westbound from Tanger Med) at PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway, along with Tropic Hope...

 ... and Atlantic Sky at PSA Fairview Cove (west bound en route for New York).

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Zaandam - medical emergency

 The cruise ship Zaandam was outbound after a day in port today (July 25) when there was a medical emergency on board. The ship still had its pilot on board, so was able to turn around in a safe area off Bear Cove and returned to Pier 21. 

The unusual sight of a cruise ship arriving in the evening [1844 hrs, ADT]

 The ship came alongside directly, bow north.[1858 hrs]

Once the ship was made fast with all the usual mooring lines paid out, the patient was safely transferred to a waiting ambulance, and the ship sailed again within a half hour. It made its way north and east of George's Island outbound en route to Sydney, NS.

The Zaandam picks up speed outbound [1950 hrs ADT]

The Zaandam is the most frequent cruise ship caller in Halifax early in the season. It is scheduled for twenty visits this year - this is its fourteenth. Fincantieri Marghera delivered the ship to Holland America Line in 2000. With a grt of 61,396 it can carry 1432 passengers and crew of 615.

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Busy, Busy - REVISED

 Perhaps as the Tuesday following the Victoria Day long weekend, today, May 23, was little busier than usual in the port of Halifax.

There were ships at both container piers, with MSC Sandra docking at Fairview Cove on the Turkey-Greece service. (Ships on this route usually dock at the other terminal, but it was also busy).

 

Built in 2000 by Hanjin Heavy Industry + Construction Co Ltd in Busan, it is a 43,575 gt, 61,468 dwt  ship with a capacity of 4340 TEU including 150 reefers.

On sailing for Boston late this afternoon, the ship passed a sister ship (not just a fleet mate) at Pier 42.

MSC Alyssa was built at the same shipyard, but in 2001, and has the same gross tonnage and container capacity. Its deadweight tonnage is recorded as 61,487 however.  The ship is en route from Montreal on the Canada Express 2 service and is topping up to ocean draft before sailing this evening for Spain and Italy.

 Also at the southend terminal, but at Pier 41 was the APL California. It sailed late this afternoon for Suez after working its way up the usual US east coast ports of Norfolk, Charleston, and Savannah. The ship appears to be on a non-standard route from Asia. It passed Suez westbound on April 29.

Judging by the containers on deck it appears to be sailing for THE Alliance. As with all APL (for American President Line, owned by CMA CGM) ships it was built for transPacific work and has a large lashing frame at the stern to protect against following seas. The ship has also been retro-fitted with an exhaust gas scrubber system, in a huge enclosed structure. An entire bay of container capacity appears to have been sacrificed for the scrubber tower.

REVISION: I was asleep at the switch on this one, as the APL California is the second ship to call on CMA CGM's India service, operating jointly with COSCO and Hapag-Lloyd. The first call  was APL Southampton on May 14.

One general cargo ship arrived this afternoon. The Augusta Luna, a regular caller for Nirint Lines from Cuba, with some bagged nickel sulfides cargo.  A versatile ship of 12,772 gt, 17,370 dwt, Augusta Luna has a capacity of 903 TEU (nominal) including 60 reefers. It also carries two 150 tonne and one 80 tonne cranes. Built in 2011 by the Xinshun Shipyard Group in Yueqing, China, it started life as Rickmers Yokohama. In 2015 it became Lolland and Augusta Luna in 2019.

Nirint currently has six ships running between Europe and Cuba, with the Gotland and  Eagle II as the other regular callers in Halifax.

Tankers were not to be left out of the equation. As per yesterday's post the STI Pimlico moved from anchor to Irving Oil Woodside early in the morning on departure of the Acadian. At Imperial Oil it was the Navig8 Success arriving from Antwerp with a cargo of refined product.

A 30,075 gt, 50,571 dwt ship it was built in 2009 by SPP Plant + Shipbuilding Co in Sacheon, South Korea. Navig8 Group claims to be the largest independant tanker pool and commercial management company. They have 140 ships under management of which they own 50. If the ship is scrubber equipped it appears to have been well integrated into the ship's superstructure.

As the ship made its way toward the number 3 dock, Imperial's "tank farm" formed a backdrop.

Also appearing in Halifax again this week was the cruise ship Zaandam on its regular itinerary, en route to Sydney and onwards to Montreal.

Despite (or perhps because of) its age - it was delivered by Fincantieri Marghera in 2000 - the ship has a certain elegance of line. It is also free of the added "amenities" of newer  and gaudier ships. Its 1432 passengers and 615 crew perhaps do not travel in, or pay for, extreme luxury, but the 61,396 gt ship provides reliable service.

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The Usual Suspects

Today, Thursday May 18, saw the variety of ship movements, typical of the mixed bag that Halifax is known for. The earliest arrival was the return of the 14,026 TEU ONE Stork on the eastbound leg of its EC5 route for THE Alliance. It was first here on the westbound leg April 26 when its 1530 arrival meant that better photos were possible. This morning's 0530 arrival was not so convenient. Views from Dartmouth were the best I could get.

The ship docked at Pier 42, and the three largest cranes were all at work toward the ship's stern. Meanwhile a lifeboat was lowered from the bridge superstructure.

 More convenient arrival times between 0700 and 0800 allowed for better photos, but backlighting from the strong sun was a challenge. 

The first of those arrivals was cruise ship Zaandam which as usual will be the most frequent cruise caller again this year.

Today is the third of 18 calls scheduled this year as the ship retraces its Boston / Montreal route with stops in several intermediate ports. (The tug was standing  by for the next arrival.)

The third arrival was a little out of the ordinary. The bulk carrier Santander from Trombetas, Brazil. The ship was met by a divers' boat on arrival at Pier 27. It did not work any cargo.

Built only last year at Penglai Zhonghai Jinglu Ship Industry Co Ltd in Penglai, China, it is a 36,108 gt, 63,650 dwt scrubber equipped bulker. It has four cranes and carries its own grabs.

Trombetas is known for its bauxite exports, and is the primary source for Alcan's aluminum operations in the Lac St-Jean region of Quebec.  The ship sailed early this evening, for Port Alfred / La Baie. Due to the amount of traffic for La Baie, ships often anchor in the St.Lawrence River across from the Escoumins pilot station, in Les Razades anchorage until their berth is available.

 The third arrival is typical of  the variety of ships we are likely to see in Halifax. The Italian naval vessel Virginio Fasan F591 is on a courtesy cruise and last called in Quebec City for a few days. It will stay over in Halifax until May 20.

The ship is from the Carlo Bergami class built to the FREMM design developed jointly by Italy and France (FREMM stands for Fregata Europea Multi-Missione / Frégate Européenne Multi-Mission). This particular ship was built by Fincantieri La Spezia and was commissioned in 2013. It has just completed a deployment with the USS George W. Bush Strike Force Group. The US Navy will also be using the FREMM design as the basis for its own series of frigates.

Also arriving, but late this afternoon, was the 6730 TEU MSC Melissa on the return (eastbound) leg of the Indusa service. It was here March 4 and in the meantime has been to India and back to the US east coast. Its last port was Baltimore, and it will be sailing for Mediterranean ports late tonight.

The ship docked at Pier 42, PSA Halifax Atlantic Gateway, where the two smaller cranes were able to meet its needs.

 

Not pictured, but adding to the variety was the auto carrier Morning Charlotte. It arrived yesterday  from Southampton and sailed this afternoon for New York, and the tanker Acadian which also arrived yesterday, sailed mid-day for Saint John, NB.

 

 

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Working on all cylinders

 The two container terminals and Autoport were busy today, April 24, and the second cruise ship of the season arrived.

At the Southend Container Terminal PSA Atlantic Gateway there were two ships: Tropic Lissette on Tropical Shipping's regular weekly service to the Caribbean at Pier 42 and MOL Courage back again on the eastbound leg of its EC5 voyage for THE Alliance. The 9060 TEU ship arrived on the westbound leg April 6, and again docked at the Pier 41. Due to its size, it would not be docked at PSA Fairview Cove. It sailed late afternoon for Suez.

Arriving yesterday, the ship took the precaution of using two escort tugs.

On departure today it also used two tugs, to assist in making the swing into the western,, deep water channel.

A smaller fleetmate the MOL Experience arrived at Fairview Cove this morning and sailed this afternoon for Port Everglades on the AL5 service.

The 54,098 gt, 62,953 dwt ship was built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan. It has a capacity of 4803 TEU including 330 reefers. From 2008 to 2010 it carried the name APL Experience before reverting back to its original and current name.

Autoport hosted the SFL Composer. It was last here June 24 last year and is still on dedicated Volkswagen service.

 

Built in 2005 by Minami Nippon, Shitanoe, the 58,631 gt, 18,881 dwt ship was named Excellent Ace until 2012 then Glovis Composer until 2020. It has a rated capacity of 6500 CEU. It arrived from Emden and sailed for Houston.

It was a chillly day for cruise ship passengers, but the Zaandam's passengers were well prepared.  The Holland America ship has been a regular here for several years, and is accustomed to early season trips. 

 

Tied up at Pier 22, with a container crane in the distant background, the Zaandam was preparing to sail late this afternoon.

 Starting in Fort Lauderdale April 18 the Zaandam called in Newport RI April 21, Boston April 22, Bar Harbor April 23 and is due in Sydney tomorrow, followed by Charlottetown April 26, Quebec City April 28 and Montreal April 29. It will be making seven and ten day trips from Boston to Montreal / Montreal to Boston through Halifax until late September.

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Here they come, There they go and a no show

Today (September 22) was a busy day for shipping as several ships made port and hustled to work their cargo in advance of the oncoming Fiona. Expected to be a post tropical storm when it reaches us late tomorrow, it is currently a dangerous hurricane, and is pushing high winds and seas and a storm surge. Ships do not like to be in port in such conditions, which stress mooring lines and anchor chains beyond their capacity, not to mention tossing ships against piers.

A partial tally of the activity: 

Arrivals included the Ultra class CMA CGM Brazil (not pictured) at PSA Atlantic Gateway, Pier 41. At Pier 42 it was MSC Manya (see yesterday's post) which sailed for Montreal on the Canex 1.

Its place was quickly taken by the MSC Angela, also westbound on the Canex 1 service.

A 41,225 gt, 50,568 dwt ship, built in 2008 by Zhejiang Shipbuilding Co in Ningbo, it has a capacity of 4254 TEU including 550 reefers.

Not to be left out PSA Fairview Cove welcomed the Conti Crystal westbound on THE Alliance's EC5 service.

Samsung Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Co Ltd, built the ship in Koje in 2006. It was delivered as Hatsu Crystal and carried that name until 2018 when it was taken over by Hamburg based Conti. A sizeable ship of 90,449 gt, 106,930 dwt it has a capacity of 8084 TEU including 700 reefers.

The ship used three tugs as it made its way through the Narrows. Atlantic Willow (starboard side forward) was no longer needed when the ship reached Bedford Basin. Atlantic Oak, remained on the port side forward and assisted in turning the ship with Atlantic Bear on the stern giving lateral force.

The auto carrier Morning Chorus arrived early this morning and berthed at Pier 9C to off load RoRo cargo.

Built in 2007 by Hyundai, Ulsan, it is a 57,536 gt, 21,276 dwt vessel with a capacity of 6,645 cars.It can carry a variety of other RoRo cargo employing its 150 tonne capacity stern ramp.

Once the RoRo cargo is all landed the Morning Chorus will not go to Autoport as usual, as that facility is working another ship. Torrens also arrived today and is due to sail this evening. 

(Those cylindrical objects on rail cars are not part of this ship's cargo. They are jacking pipe sections that arrived on ACL ships and are headed for a gas pipeline project in western Canada.)

Built by Mitsubishi Nagasaki, the Torrens comes in at 61,482 gt, 21,965 dwt with a car capacity of 6,354 RT43 and a 237 tonne capacity stern ramp.

As Torrens was arriving Canada's naval Memorial, the Sackville was returning to its berth after a ceremony off Point Pleasant Shoal. The corvette was under control of the tugs Listerville on a bow line and the Glenbrook alongside.

One scheduled ship did not appear. Enchanted Princess out of Saint John on a cruise arrived off the pilot station at 1030 hrs. Instead of embarking a pilot and making its way into port, the ship put back out to sea, giving New York as its destination. I am assuming that the ship will head well out into the Atlantic to the east of Fiona's track and return its 3,660 passengers and 1,346 crew to New York intact. The 145,281 gt ship was built in 2020 by Fincantieri, Monflacone and entered service in November 2021 after a year's delay due to COVID.

There were several other movements of domestic shipping. The Irving Oil tanker East Coast went alongside the Woodside terminal after the Ipanema Street sailed [see previous post]. I expect the East Coast will unload and sail before the storm arrives.

Oceanex Sanderling went to sanchor in Bedford Basin indicating a long term stay. It will likely remain in port until after the storm passes and tracks for Newfoundland, which is expecting the brunt on Sunday / Monday.

Nolhan Ava which would also normally sail on Friday for Argentia and St-Pierre also went to anchor, presumably until after the storm passes.

The cruise regular Zaandam sailed this afternoon for Boston. Perhaps hoping to skirt to the west of Fiona and reaching port tomorrow. At time of writing this evening the ship was showing on AIS as bucketing along at 19.2 knots off southwest Nova Scotia. I think the passengers will get a thrill crossing the Gulf of Maine tonight. "Please fasten your seat belts".

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Passenger Invasion

 With three passenger ships in port, Thursday August 11, downtown Halifax was awash with visitors, not to mention outlying tourist destinations as far flung as Peggy's Cove and the vineyards of the Annapolis Valley. If the three ships were loaded to capacity, the number of guests totaled more than 11,000, not to mention 3,000 crew members. 

The three  were all regulars and thus not particularly noteworthy except for their size and the conjunction of three ships in port at once.

Zaandam, built in 2000 by Fincantieri, Marhera was the smallest ship at 61,396 gt and a capacity of 1,432 passengers and 615 crew.

 (May 26, 2022 photo)

The other two ships are comparable in size and capacity, but dissimilar in appearance:

 Caribbean Princess, built in 2004 is a 289.9m long ship of 112,894 gt, built in 2004 by Fincantieri, Monfalcone, has seventeen decks (two of which are not for passengers) and has a capacity of 3,142 passengers and approximately 1,200 crew members.

 

Visualising the ship without the "push bar" lounge over the stern, I imagine it could be a handsome vessel by current standards.

Adventure of the Seas, dating from 2001 is a product of the Kvaerner Masa New yard, in Turku, Finland and claims a capacity of 3,807 passengers with 1,185 crew spread over fourteen decks. At 311 meters long, it has a gross tonnage of 138,193.

 

Although I am not a great fan of modern cruise ship design, this one is perhaps the better looking of the two large ships.

Three cruise ships can be accommodated with ease in Halifax with the current port facilities. However as the work begins to fill in the basins betwen the ocean terminals finger piers, valuable berthing space will be lost. So far no firm plan has emerged for a new cruise terminal facility. I note Quebec City has moved its cruise ship terminal to underutilized industrial port space, far from the old Lower Town, but with easier access for tour buses, fuel trucks and ship chandlers - and beyond walking distance to any tourist attractions. Perhaps a similar supplementary space is needed in Halifax when there are more than two ships in port at once.

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Big and Bigger

 The Port of Halifax is accustomed to big ships. As noted here recently, the Seawall (Pier 20-22) was designed to accommodate the world's largest passenger liners when it was built in the first decades of the last century. I am sure no one then envisaged the end of the passenger liner era (thanks to jet aircraft) a half century later, nor the advent of the cruise industry. Now however that Seawall welcomes cruise ship of all sizes from moderate to monster, and the Cruise segment is one of the Port's major lines of business.  

Today, May 30, the Seawall handled two moderate sized cruise ships with ease. One was the familiar Zaandam, which is in port almost weekly as it conducts seven and ten day cruises from New England to the Maritimes, Quebec and Newfoundland. Built in 2000, it carries 1432 passengers with 615 crew. It tied up at Pier 20.

Arriving at Pier 22 it was Island Princess.

Dating from 2003 when it was delivered by Chantier de l'Atlantique, the 92,822 gt ship has a capacity of 2214 passengers and 900 crew. It is a member of the Coral class of Panamax ships.

Big ships calling in Halifax are not all passenger ships. Among the biggest are bulk carriers, such as today's arrival Berge Atlas.

It is a 90,197 gt, 180,180 dwt ship built in 2008 by Imabari Zosen in Saijo, Japan. Originally named BW Atlas it was built for the BW Group, the Singapore based successors to the large Norwegian Sigval Bergeson fleet. It was acquired and renamed in 2010 by Berge Bulk Maritime Pte Ltd, also of Singapore. ("Berge" was the first name of founder Sigval Bergeson's father.)

The ship anchored for Canadian Food Inspection Agency LDA moth examination, and once cleared headed for Sept-Iles. QC for another load of 130,000 tonnes of iron ore. The ship was also in Sept-Iles in April, and carried ore to Port Talbot, Wales and Amsterdam. Why it should require another examination is not known, since the moth is native to Asia. 

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Three first timers and a regular

 This morning, May 26, three ships arrived in Halifax for the first time, and two others returned for the "umpteenth" time.

The first of the regulars was the Canadian flag Nolhan Ava returning from its weekly trip to Argentia and St-Pierre.

The ship carries containers and RoRo.
 

The next repeater was the cruise ship Zaandam, on its regular call. On its way inbound it maintained the main (eastern) channel while the first newcomer MSC Joanna slowed and took the western, deepwater, channel. Because the western channel is slightly longer, due to a dog leg, the Zaandam was able to overtake and proceed ahead to its berth.

MSC Joanna was well ahead initially, but Zaandam took a shorter, faster route.

 

The Zaandam passed east of George's Island, and turned north of the island to come alongside Pier 22 starboard side to.

 

 Due to its size and channel dog leg, the MSC Joanna had two tugs in attendance from well out.

 MSC Joanna was built by Samsung Shipbuilding and Heavy Industry Co Ltd, Koje, South Korea, in 2006. It is a 108,930 gt, 117,333 dwt ship with a capacity of 9178 TEU including 700 reefers. It is serving MSC's Indus 2 service from North India. MSC was using 8200 TEU ships on the run, but recent callers have been larger.

Next along was the general cargo ship Pacific Dawn. Registered in the Netherlands, it was built in 2010 in Poland by the intriguingly named Partner Shipyard, in a town called Police. It is a multi-purpose type of 2981 gt, 3750 dwt, equipped with two 120 tonne capacity cranes, that can work in combination for a 240 tonne lift.

The ship is en route from Laem Chebang, Thailand to Oshawa, ON, and called in Halifax for Canadian Food Inspection Agency examination. Having been found to carry no Lymantria dispars asiatica moth larvae, the ship was cleared to sail futher into Canadian waters. It is worth noting that crated deck cargo is rare on such long journeys. The ship must have avoided bad weather successfully.

 Next along was another multi-purpose type, also built in Poland. BBC Gdansk is a larger ship of 6155 gt, 7786 dwt, also fitted with a pair of 120 tonne cranes that can work in combination. It was delivered by Polnacna Shipyard in Gdansk in 2009.

Its cargo, which consists of several lots, is all below deck, and will be off loaded at Pier 9C. Its last ports were Bremen May 1-6, Antwerp May 8-11, and Gijon, Spain, May 14. Some of the cargo may be destined for Halifax Shipyard from what I hear.

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