Look toward the Halifax Seaport this week, and odds are you’ll see a cruise ship rising above Pier 21. From Monday to Thursday, a different cruise arrives every day of the week—and one ship makes a return visit on Saturday.
If ships bypassing Halifax were a concern earlier in August, that worry seems long-distant: Monday alone saw eight vessels coming into port in Halifax Harbour.
Here’s a look at what else is heading in and out of port this week:
Monday, Aug. 14
The Algocanada oil tanker was initially expected to arrive in Halifax around 1am, but it actually snuck into port in Eastern Passage before midnight on Sunday. The double-hulled ship came in from Sept-Îles, QC, after leaving Port Weller, Ont., on Aug. 4. It left early Tuesday morning for Cape Breton.
A busy week for cruise ships kicked off on Monday with the arrival of the 2,000-passenger Coral Princess. (Remember the Caribbean Princess from last week? The Coral Princess is run by the same company, Princess Cruises.) It came into the Halifax Seaport from Sydney and left by evening for New York City. The ship will then carry onward to Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.
Six more ships rounded out a jam-packed Monday of arrivals: The Morning Claire vehicle carrier, NYK Demeter, Lagarfoss, Atlantic Sky and ONE Hawk container ships and the Pacific Ace bulk carrier all came into port. The 364-metre-long ONE Hawk had the longest voyage of the bunch; it arrived after an 11-day crossing from Suez, Egypt, and will leave late Tuesday for New York City. The Pacific Ace might have it beat for the most interesting travel log, however: Before the dry bulk carrier’s stop in Bécancour, QC, its most recent port visits came in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, and Bunbury, Australia. G’day, indeed.
Tuesday, Aug. 15
The 380-passenger Viking Polaris is the second cruise ship to arrive in Halifax this week. It comes in via Charlottetown, PEI, and will leave by evening for New York City.
The MSC Shristi container ship was due for a stop around 1am, but appears to be bypassing Halifax en route to Barcelona, Spain, from Montreal.
Finally, the NYK Delphinus container ship docked at the Fairview Cove Terminal around 5:45am, three days behind schedule from Cartagena, Colombia. The ship arrives in Halifax after a westward swing through Panama and the west coast of the US. It will then carry onward to Southampton, UK.
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Guess who’s back? The Caribbean Princess cruise ship is due for its third Halifax visit of 2023 after stops on July 31 and Aug. 10. This time, it’s set to come into port from New York City. The 3,100-passenger cruise ship leaves for Sydney, NS, and will carry onward to Greenland.
On its heels, the East Coast oil tanker is expected to arrive from Saint John, NB. The ship leaves next for Searsport, Maine.
Three more ships round out the midweek arrivals: The Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo ship, Grande New York vehicle carrier and Atlantic Star container ship are all due in port. The Grande New York is the farthest-flung arrival, inbound from Valencia, Spain. The 200-metre-long ship is run by the Italy-based Grimaldi Group and can carry up to 6,700 cars.
Thursday, Aug. 17
The cruise ships continue Thursday with the arrival of the 3,975-passenger Carnival Venezia. The ship is expected to reach Halifax after visiting Saint John, NB. It will then carry onward to New York City.
Earlier in the morning, the ONE Stork container ship is expected at the South End Container Terminal around 5:30am. It’s currently eight days behind schedule from Norfolk, Virginia.
The Nolhan Ava ro-ro/cargo ship is expected to make its weekly arrival around 6pm, inbound from St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Finally, the MSC Qingdao container ship is due around 10pm at South End Container Terminal. It’s currently in Baltimore, Maryland. The ship is one of the bigger arrivals of the week, with a summer deadweight of 105,162 tonnes.
Friday, Aug. 18
A belated welcome to the 294-metre-long ZIM Virginia container ship. It’s expected to arrive at the Fairview Cove Terminal around 7am, almost eight days behind its planned schedule from Valencia, Spain. As far as port calls go, it’s had quite the summer run lately: Before Valencia, the ship and its crew stopped in Barcelona, Genova and Athens. And next, the ship leaves for New York City. Not a bad run of destinations.
The MSC Japan container ship is due at the Fairview Cove Terminal around noon. It’s wrapping a weeklong crossing from Sines, Portugal.
Finally, both the SFL Conductor vehicle carrier and CMA CGM Amerigo Vespucci container ship are due late on Friday. The former is expected around 9pm from Emden, Germany, while the latter—the biggest container ship of the week, at 366 metres long and with a carrying capacity of 165,171 tonnes—is slated for arrival closer to 10pm.
Saturday, Aug. 19
The Em Kea container ship is slated to be the weekend’s first arrival. It’s due at the South End Container Terminal around 7am, inbound from Montreal. The ship is managed by Eurobulk, a company based in Greece. The Em Kea can hold 3,112 20-foot containers—or roughly the equivalent of 19 kilometres, if all of those containers were laid end-to-end.
The Viking Polaris cruise ship returns for its second visit of the week, as the ship returns northward from New York.
Lastly, the Augusta Luna general cargo ship is due at the Ocean Terminals around noon from Moa, Cuba.
Sunday, Aug. 20
Two more ships round out the week’s arrivals: The NYK Daedalus and Contship Leo container ships are both expected in port on Sunday. The former is expected at the Fairview Cove Terminal around 8am; it’s currently five days behind schedule from Antwerp, Belgium. The latter, meanwhile, is expected around 10am—it's currently sailing from Kingston, Jamaica, to New York.
