As a rule, I loathe emails and would spend a fortune to never read another. But there are exceptions: Coast readers are a wonderful bunch, and I’ve been nothing short of delighted with many of the correspondences I’ve had with them. This past week was no different. One reader, Al, wrote in about our weekly Halifax Harbour traffic report to share that he’d been a port agent for years and “represented six shipping lines that brought the RoRo cargo.” He’d taken part in the grand opening of the Fairview Cove Container Terminal. Heck, he’d married his wife on board a Polish Ocean Lines container ship.
Al kindly shared a selection of photos from his time on the high seas. Hope you enjoy them below—along with the rest of this week’s harbour traffic report.
Monday
It was a busy start to the week in Halifax Harbour: The 260-metre ZIM Monaco container ship arrived early yesterday morning from Valencia, Spain, along with the oil/chemical tanker Acadian (inbound from Saint John, New Brunswick) and the 10,119-tonne Lagarfoss container ship (inbound from Portland, Maine).
(A quick backstory on the Lagarfoss: The word foss means “waterfall” in Icelandic—remember that for later. The Lagarfoss’s namesake is a mammoth river waterfall in northeast Iceland that was converted into a hydroelectric dam in 1975. The falls generate enough electricity for about 37,700 homes.)
The MSC Rosaria was scheduled to arrive Monday after crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Sines, Portugal, but the ship’s last posted coordinates came on Thursday, Mar. 2 when it was west of the Azores. (Have you seen it in port in Halifax? Let us know.) The Rosaria will head onward to Boston after its stop in Halifax. Meanwhile, the Monaco left Halifax yesterday afternoon for New York City, while the Lagarfoss and Acadian departed earlier this morning.
Tuesday
This morning brought more action on the Halifax waterfront, as three container ships arrived in port: The Hyundai Courage completed its month-long crossing from Colombo, Sri Lanka; the 86,692-tonne Mol Charisma arrived from Norfolk, Virginia; and the Tropic Hope came from the US Virgin Islands’ St. Croix. It’s a quick turnaround for each: The Courage is scheduled to leave port Tuesday afternoon for New York City, while the Charisma and Hope are both slated to depart from Halifax later this afternoon and tonight.
The vehicle carrier Morning Courier is also expected to arrive later this afternoon after a two-week crossing from Zeebrugge, Belgium, while the oil/chemical tanker Algotitan is pegged for a nighttime arrival from Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Which brings us to this week’s “name-change that definitely gives off divorced dad energy” award: The Algotitan used to be known as Chantaco, which—while also a region in France—is arguably better known as the name of a Lacoste handbag. Now, it sounds like a 1980s-era Transformer that’s just a little bit insecure with its masculinity. But, hey, with all its newfound free time, it can finally watch all the Monday Night Football games that it wants, right?
Wednesday
What do you call a wandering Greek philosopher that’s running behind schedule? The Siem Aristotle would like to know. The vehicle carrier is scheduled to make its delayed arrival Wednesday evening from Emden, Germany. It was supposed to arrive last Sunday—as forecast in last week’s Coast harbour traffic report—but evidently ran into delays in its Atlantic voyage. One can only imagine it became lost in a sea of syllogisms en route.
Also coming Wednesday: The 26,900-tonne Aldabra oil products tanker and the Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/container carrier are scheduled to arrive in the morning from IJmuiden, Netherlands and St. John’s, Newfoundland, respectively; while the Atlantic Sun ro-ro/container carrier finishes its week-long crossing from Liverpool this afternoon, and the AS Felicia container ship arrives late Wednesday night from New York City.
Thursday
If Wednesday’s arrival had been named Siem Nietzsche instead of Aristotle, it might have argued that Thursday’s cargo/container ship bound for Halifax, Gotland, is dead. But no, it’s currently travelling the Baltic Sea between Västerås, Sweden and Liepāja, Latvia.
Joining Gotland in port on Thursday are the 55,487-tonne NYK Delphinus container ship, expected to arrive from Caucedo, Dominican Republic, and the 129-metre Skogafoss container ship, slated to arrive from Reykjavik, Iceland. (Yes, this one’s named after a waterfall too.) Take it from this writer: If you find yourself in Iceland, go to Skogafoss. It is absolutely worth the visit, if you ever get the chance to go.
Friday
Remember the Marvel Comics bounty hunter Elektra? Greek assassin… trained in martial arts… helps Wolverine find himself in Vol. 2 #100? Has the ability to hitchhike her consciousness between people’s minds? Jennifer Garner played the role in Daredevil? Anyway… the Wallenius Wilhelmsen-owned Elektra vehicle carrier makes its Halifax arrival later this week, en route from Vigo, Spain. (Take this travel advice, too: If you ever find yourself contemplating a vacation in Vigo, don’t bother. It is absolutely not worth the visit. Porto is less than a two-hour drive away. Stay in Porto. Drink the wine. Enjoy yourself.)
It’s a busy end to the week elsewhere in Halifax Harbour: The general cargo ship Onego Deusto is expected to arrive early Friday morning after a 16-day voyage from Szczecin, Poland, while the 37,398-tonne MSC Rossella is slated to reach Halifax after its journey from Montreal. Meanwhile, the ro-ro/cargo carrier Nolhan Ava makes its weekly arrival from St. Pierre & Miquelon, and the 100,430-tonne Atlantic Sea ro-ro/container carrier embarks on its return voyage from New York City before crossing the pond to the UK.
Last but not least, in our “sexiest port calls of the week” category: The X Press Irazu container ship is scheduled to arrive from Lisbon, Portugal, while the ZIM Qingdao container ship is slated to dock after crossing from Barcelona and Valencia, Spain.
Saturday
Our Shakespearean friend, the CMA CGM Otello container ship, is expected to arrive early Saturday morning from Tanger Med, Morocco. At 334 metres, the Otello is no slouch; it’s nearly 50 metres longer than the distance from Queen Street to Barrington Street. (Technically speaking, the Otello’s namesake is the 1887 Italian opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi, and not the Shakespeare original that inspired it, but I digress…)
Also coming to port Saturday: The MSC Brianna container ship is expected to arrive in Halifax from Sines, Portugal.
Sunday
At long last, the Tropic Lissette container ship is scheduled to arrive in our city this weekend. It’s currently sailing the Caribbean, having left San Juan, Puerto Rico on Tuesday morning.
