Carlz Boats: Chemical/Oil Tanker HARBOUR FASHION

Carlz Boats: Chemical/Oil Tanker HARBOUR FASHION: Despite facing strong headwinds with gusts up 60 kph, the 469' tanker HARBOUR FASHION motored along quite fashionably as she pass...

Chemical/Oil Tanker HARBOUR FASHION

Despite facing strong headwinds with gusts up to 60 kph, the 473' tanker HARBOUR FASHION motored along quite fashionably as she passed us at Windmill Point by near Prescott, Ontario on May 12. Built in China in 2011, the HARBOUR FASHION is owned by Nordic Tanker Marine of Copenhagen, Denmark, though she flies the flag of Portugal. Her home port is Madeira which is located on the small Portuguese island of the same name which is situated closer to Morocco than Portugal.

With the bulk carrier ALGOMA SPIRIT  minutes ahead, the FASHION looked pretty impressive as I snapped her managing the wind and white caps like a professional model prancing her goods for new markets and onlookers along the way to the Great Lakes, on this runway called the St. Lawrence River.  

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader CSL ASSINIBOINE (Revisited)

Carlz Boats: Self Unloader CSL ASSINIBOINE (Revisited): Hee-Haww!!! What a ride the 740'-ish CSL ASSINIBOINE was experiencing while motoring up-bound near Morrisburg, Ontario last Su...

Self Unloader CSL ASSINIBOINE (Revisited)

Hee-Haww!!! What a ride the 739' 10" CSL ASSINIBOINE was experiencing while motoring upbound near Morrisburg, Ontario last Sunday. Combine the Seaway's maximum speed of 12 knots/hr (13.8 MPH) with wind gusts of up to 64 klicks/hr  (40 MPH), and the answer to a Jeopardy question to what it feels like when a wave makes contact with the rounded bow of the CSL ASSINIBOINE, the reply might be, 'What is 'blunt force trauma', Alex? c):-()

Past spring winds have not been kind to CSL ASSINIBOINE. Sometime overnight on March 3, 2012, high winds caused her to break loose from her holdings and collide with the ALGOWOOD (https://carlzboats.blogspot.com/2012/07/self-unloader-csl-assiniboine.html) which was tied off to the opposite wall at the entrance to the Welland Canal in Port Colborne, Ontario. Fortunately, neither ship sustained major damages due to the collision.

No collisions occurred last Sunday and the wave action was reduced significantly as the big self unloader passed by Mariatown's Loyalist Park during her approach to Iroquois Lock. Hey, nice pic of me trying to catch up by my better half, Janice. Happy Mother's Day! c):-D
CSL ASSINIBOINE was originally built at Davie Shipbuilding at Lauzon, Quebec and when launched in 1977, she was 730 feet long, could carry 27,890 tons of cargo and her name was JEAN PARISIEN.

In 2004, she was given a new forebody (the section from the bow to the superstructure) at Port Weller Dry Docks in St. Catharines, Ontario. Once removed, the old forebody was to towed to Marine Salvage in Port Colborne and later scrapped. Re-christened CSL ASSINIBOINE in July 2005, the length of new self unloader was extended to 739' 10" long, her cargo capacity was to expanded to 36,768 tons and the new vessel was good to continue to battle choppy lakes and Seaway channels for an additional 25 years.

Meanwhile, whether you're an 'out of the closet' boat-ludder or not, next time you're at Iroquois lock to snap a few pics at that long, huge structure that's made of steel, with colourful pipes and wires everywhere, and generally floats by you real slow, be sure to visit the Lockview Gift Shop. They've got a lot of neat Seaway memorabilia there, post cards, a chip stand, CLEAN washrooms and the ice cream tastes great and is inexpensive. Note of warning, if you're boat-lubbing (OR NOT) with puppy in the car, be sure to leave some of the cone for him or be prepared for those 'dogly' hate stares or payback looks. I hate it when that happens!!

Carlz Boats: River Barge WICOMICO

Carlz Boats: River Barge WICOMICO: If the rust and rugged worn-out look, so perfectly shown in my friend Jim's photo taken recently in Salisbury, Maryland is any ind...

River Barge WICOMICO

If the rust and rugged worn-out look, so perfectly shown in my friend Jim's photo taken recently in Salisbury, Maryland is any indication, one might believe the end of the line maybe near for the river barge WICOMICO. Now let's not jump the gun here because on that day, the rake bow  WICOMICO was actually just sitting easy banking rays while a large hydraulic excavator being careful not to put a hole in her, gingerly scooped out a load of stone from her deep hold and onto a nearby conveyor. From there the stone is piled on the dock and ready for use in construction, road repairs or other applications in and around this Delmarva Peninsula community.

Unfortunately, unlike so many other ships that I have researched in this blog, there's not a lot of background information about barges like when or where they were built, who owns them, or how big are they? I did read in an article in the Salisbury Daily Times, which said hopper barges like the WICOMICO can be as long as 285 feet and 54 feet wide and according to the Delmarva Water Transportation Committee,  one fully loaded barge carries the same amount as 150 tractor-trailers. Also over two thousand of these large trucks would be needed per day or over one hundred thousand annually to transport the same products. Now that's a lot of wear and tear on area highways, not to mention the environment impact and safety aspect of having all those trucks on the road. Definitely something for everyone to think and talk about, but when push comes to shove, it's off to another market along the Wicomico River for the barge WICOMICO, leading the way for the pushboat at her stern and continuing to make herself a useful cost effective dry cargo vessel for her owner and the communities that appreciate the services she provides. A lot like life in general for all of us, eh?

Carlz Boats: Seismic Survey Ship VANTAGE

Carlz Boats: Seismic Survey Ship VANTAGE: Owned by CGGVeritas, the 307' VANTAGE is a Viking-class high-capacity 3D seismic vessel.