Hot on the Heals of the Port Authorities Land purchase from CN, Work has already begun at Halterm. The new road alignment can be seen, as can the realigned rail sidings. Once this is complete, the new truck marshalling yard and gate complex will be constructed.
Tall Ships NS has confirmed some Addtional Attendies. They are: Amistad – A Replica of a slave ship that was aken over by the slaves;Harvey Gamage; Gazela – a Portugase Grand Banks Schooner from 1901; Peacemaker. Also on the list is the Bluenose II. his is interesting, as she is only scheduled to be launched from refit in July.
Another First time caller to Halifax, Lieke is on charter to Nirint. She was Lieke here to load a special break bulk cargo, as she tied up away from container handling or dry bulk handling equipment.
OOCL Kuala Lumpur at Fairview Cove. She is another new caller this year. Hapag Lloyd has added numerous new vessels this year, making Fairview Cove more interesting so far this year.
Atlantic Towings newest tug Alantic Birch II arrived in Halifax yesterday. She was recently aquired From Thor (See Shipfax), and was immedialy tasked with a siesmic survey off Greenland.
Last September, Atlantic Towing aquired Atlantic Raven, a UT722 Anchor Handling Supply Tug (Same model as thier other AHST’s)
UPDATE: As indicated in the Comments, Atlantic Birch II appears to be filling in for Atlantic Condor, Whos last location appeared to the ISI Shelbune Ship Repair Facility. It sems tha alo of work ha might have ben done in the damaged Scotia Dock is now occuring on the Refurbishd marine railway there.
From the US Consulate website:
The doubt surrounding the fate of the former HMCS Ojibwa, currently tied up at the Naval Dockyard Annex in Dartmouth has been resolved. Peter Mackay, The minister of Defence, signed an agreement turning over the Sub to the Elgin Military Museum in St. Thomas Ontario.
UPDATE: The London Free Press is reporting the Tug Florence M is on her way to Halifax from Hamilton to return with the Sub which is scheduled to be Installed on September 8.The Florence M shows an ETA of May 25th for her Halifax arival.
This week has seen the return of the Herring Sieners to Halifax. After an attempted early start failed, The fleet has returned this week with vessels tied up at Pier 9 and and along the waterfront.
The Fishing Fleet is an annual sight every May and June, and the vessels remain largely unchanged from year to year.
The Port Authority has issued some press releases, and purchased some land from CN, But has been relatively quiet on what the plans for Pier 9 are. Most of the statements are that the 9D Section will be improved, and that there may be additional sheds, Rail Access, and the addition of container cranes.
Construction has now begun, with Harbour Development having finished dredging work, and McNally construction now working on the pier. Since Projects of this size require an environmental assessment prior to being approved, I requested a copy from the federal Environment Department.
It Reveals a substantial addition to the pier, stretching from the existing pier 9b/9c junction to the Mackay Bridge. It features On Pier rail, which makes sense, since part of the idea was to perform addtional heavy lift operations from the upgraded pier. Also shown is a new shed, parking lot, and on pier gantry crane. All of this infrastructure really formalizes the use of the pier in recent years, as Jumbo Shipping previously exported Locomotives from pier 9, and Nirint Shipping stopped there as well to perform container operations.
The first hero class mid-shore patrol vessel has been launched. Originally scheduled for 11:45, the launch we delayed by high winds and the need for an additional tug. Unlike Atlantic Condors Launch, The Private Robertson was gently slid into the water, stern first, and then moved to Pier 9B.
Tugs Atlantic Oak and Willow, as well as Dominion Diving Vessels were in attendance, as well as CCGS Sambro, Who came to watch.
UPDATE 1: Private Robertson VC at Pier 9 Today.
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| Prior To Launch |
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| Moving Down the Marine Railway |
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| Almost In |
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| Getting Wet |
I Also have some Video, But it needs to be Edited.
UPDATE: Here is the Video. It was shot on my point and Shoot, so the quality is low. Sorry.
