Oil and Chemical Tanker ALGOSCOTIA

So how are we going to get our dirty oil to market? Well, "dirty oil" is what President Barack Obama called that sandy tar that's being dug out of the ground in Northern Alberta and actually his description is pretty much right on the mark from what I've read. It's nothing at all like that bubbling crude that suddenly started oozing out of the ground thanks to Jed Clampett's missed bullet while hunting for some food. Yeah, oil it was, black gold, Texas tea. c):-o

Got to wonder though what would have happened to poor Jed and his mountaineer kin had he picked off that rabbit that was in his sights? For sure he'd be no millionaire and he could forget about loading up the truck and moving to Beverly, Hills that is. You got it Jed, no cement pond, or billy-ard table, for you, NADA!.  c):-() A bit like what a lot of Albertans are feeling since the price of a barrel of oil dropped to near the bottom of the well, or tar pit in their case. When you have the third largest oil reserves in the world next to Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, with a daily production of about 2.3 billion barrels per day, and virtual no refining capabilities in the home province, you can understand why those Northern Albertan oilers have been getting a little ansi since the Keystone XL pipeline construction deal was rejected by the U.S. President in November 2015.
Since shipping capacity of the 1.2 billion barrels of unprocessed bitumen daily to the U.S through the current pipelines to Illinois and Texas just isn't enough, Canadian Jr. Ewing's are looking for ways of getting their week-old-porridge-like glube flowing to refineries in Canada, one way or the other. There's proposals for the construction of new pipelines over the Rockies to British Columbia's seaport, or trans-country tubing to St. John, New Brunswick and even reversing the flow on one line from Sarnia to Montreal.
Hence the question for today's "Double Jeopardy" replay:

"The murky molasses sludge from Alberta is getting to refineries in Atlantic Canada and the Southern States by this means of transportation?? 

How about: "What are 40 to 50 railway car long trains, Alex?" 

Right you are except for those that derail somewhere in between and that happened 4 times last year in Northern Ontario alone. Of course we Canadians should never forget the July 2013 oil train derailment through the centre of Lac-Magantic, Quebec that killed 43 people and will continue to traumatize local residence for many years to come (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130708-oil-train-tragedy-in-canada/).

I've also recently read articles that suggests that there could be a significant cost saving by transporting the not so bubbling crude to east coast and European refineries by tankers from Churchill, Manitoba on Hudson Bay, or along the Seaway from a proposed loading terminal at Morrisburg or Cornwall. c):-() Not in my backyard you're saying? I hear you, but moving crude by tankers on the Great Lakes has been done. In fact in the early 1950's three 620' tankers were built for Imperial Oil to haul Alberta crude from Superior, Minnesota on Lake Superior to Sarnia on the St. Clair River. They were IMPERIAL REDWATER, IMPERIAL WOODBEND and IMPERIAL LEDUC. A fourth tanker, the B.A. PEERLESS was built for the British American Oil Company to haul the crude from Superior to B.A.'s refinery at Clarkson, Ontario on Lake Ontario. When the pipeline was completed to Sarnia in the mid 50's, the three Imperial tankers were converted to bulkers and the REDWATER became known as R. BRUCE ANGUS, the WOODBEND became GOLDEN HIND and the LEDUC became NIPIGON BAY. The B.A. PEERLESS remained a tanker and her name was changed to GULF CANADA when she was sold to Gulf Canada Ltd. in 1969.

Though no longer hauling crude, last year approximately 3 million tonnes of chemicals and petroleum products which includes gasoline, fuel oil and liquid asphalt passed through the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway by double-hulled tankers like the 488' ALGOSCOTIA and though I have read of many groundings along the St. Lawrence Seaway and River, and on the Great Lakes, I have not heard of any incident that involved an oil tanker, Canadian or otherwise.

I snapped the high in the water downbound ALGOSCOTIA (above), motoring beside the old Galop Canal just below Cardinal, Ontario while minutes earlier my bil Kirby Butler from London, Ontario captured her near Prescott on September 14, 2014. A few weeks later I snapped her again at the Suncor dock in Oakville, Ontario.
Built at the Jiangnan Shipyards in Shangahi, China in 2004 for Algoma Tankers Ltd of St. Catharines, Ontario, ALGOSCOTIA was the first of three new-builds in Algoma's tanker fleet renewal program. Holding an Ice 1A Notation, the hull strengthened ALGOSCOTIA was built with a 1.4 metre safety separation between the inner and outer hull which allows her to operate year round service on Canada's East Coast and Gulf of St. Lawrence while operating out of her homeport of Halifax, Nova Scotia. However, this winter ALGOSCOTIA has been operating in chartered ocean trade while flying the flag of Barbados and is currently anchored of Belgium in the North Sea. Like so many things in life, if you got the right qualifications you can do just about anything anywhere you want. c):-D  

Gate Lifter VM/S HERCULES

It's not everyday that you're able to capture a legend. Though my recent visit to Montreal was primarily to check out the winter layups, and perhaps snap the aging ALGOMA NAVIGATOR one more time before being hauled away for scrap overseas, I also hoped  that I'd be able to see for the first time the Seaway gate lifter, VM/S HERCULES. I knew she was there because like all the other times I looked on MarineTraffic for a boat transiting St. Lambert Lock, before leaving home I saw her blue diamond icon indicating that the HERCULES was tied off as usual along the old harbour's south wall. While honing in for the perfect shot of this engineering marvel partially hidden behind a cluster of randomly grown trees, I could not help but thinking that she looked a lot like the lonely "Maytag Repairman", sitting patiently day-in and day-out waiting for the next big job to come along. c):-() Being locked in the solid sheet of ice didn't help her cause a single bit when I snapped these shots of her on February 15th.
VM/S (or Voie Marine/Seaway) HERCULES was built in 1962 at Marine Industries of Sorel, Quebec, and the self propelled 200' floating heavy lift crane barge is the only St. Lawrence Seaway owned heavy lift crane specifically designed to lift their lock's large 500 tonne gates. How often she was called upon to complete such a task is unknown with the exception of June 2014, when I read the iron-lady replaced gate number 4 at Cote Set. Catherine Lock. Got Stuff!! c):-))

VM/S HERCULES has been used for other major operations too...

...like when the Welland Canal's Bridge 12 at Port Robinson collapsed into the channel below after being struck by the 620.5' Bethlehem Steel owned ore carrier STEELTON on August 25, 1974 (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/06/ore-carrier-steelton.html), VM/S HERCULES was motored up from Montreal to clear up the wreckage and help get the Welland Canal operational again in just 15 days. I recall my dad, who worked on the canal back then telling me about the accident and then motoring from Leamington with my wife-to-be Janice to catch a glance of the debris. Seeing the former tall towers that were used to haul the counterweights up and down, strewn along bank and channel along with the span was unbelievable as shown in this snap above taken by Janice. It was like something out of a war movie. If you want to see more of wreckage and clean up activity, click on to:  http://www.wellandcanal.ca/shiparc/br12/br12.htm for more great photos courtesy of Dave Whitaker. Nice ones Dave & Thanks for being there! c):-D

Though I have to admit she makes a great prop for harbour front photos, it was also nice to read that VM/S HERCULES was used last June to unload a ship in Montreal harbour with two large transformers destined to a northern Quebec sub station. The two transformers weighed in excess of 170 tons each and they were loaded on to specialized 12 axle depressed rail cars on route to their final destination. WOW!! 54 years old and still going strong. I guess just like the theme song that cartoon show that I watched as a kid and was also created in 1962, she's truly, "The MIGHTY HERCULES"!!   https://youtu.be/laoBvt9CcQo c);-b

Ocean-class self unloader ALGOMA INTEGRITY

Picked the right day on Monday to venture down to the Port of Montreal to checkout the winter layups. True it was quite cold in the wind which repeatly shut down my camera until I was able to shield in a pocket until I was ready to snap one off. Google Map directed me to Parc-du-harve near the roadway to the old EXPO '67 site from Kanata in 2 hours and 17 minutes nonstop. Though the concession stand and washrooms were closed, the park's shoreline outlooks offered a spectacular view of Montreal's downtown skyline, and most of all, a wonderful upfront array of boats snug and motionless at various piers and docks waiting for a new shipping season to begin but meanwhile easy prey for the my lens' taking. With so many laker's positioning systems shut off for the season, I wasn't completely certain what I was going to find, or how accessible were they going to be to photograph. I lucked big time because there in front of me was a girl I thought I'd never see again, the ALGOMA NAVIGATOR, (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2015/03/self-unloader-algoma-navigator.html) bow outwards and looking pretty normal in a tattered and weathered kind of way with her name clearly on display and not painted over as expected. Perhaps her last voyage to the Turkish shipbreakers has been delayed for another season, or two? That would be nice.
Looking west I also captured a couple girls that I posted about a while ago, the Algoma bulker, TIM S. DOOL (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2014/03/bulk-carrier-tim-s-dool.html) and CSL Trillium-class self unloader, BAIE ST. PAUL both bellied alongside each other. Further west along the Bickerdike basin wall were a few of new views for me, first two Desgagnés RO/RO carriers ANNA, and CAMILLA DESGAGNÉS and then the huge Seaway gate lifter VM/S HERCULES. Oh, when am I going to have the time to writes about these newbies, I thought.
To the east I recognised two of the three red hulled bulkers as CSL WELLAND and CSL ST. LAURENT followed by in the distance, the tanker THALASSA DESGAGNÉS and another gearless bulker, ALGOMA DISCOVERY.
The second surprise of the day came when I realized that the other red hulled vessel that was parked by the Molson beer distillery, was not a CSL but rather the recent Algoma acquisition and another that I had never seen before, the 646.5' ALGOMA INTEGRITY.

When the Panamax ocean-class self unloader was built in 2009 at the EISA shipyards in Rio de Janeiro her name was GYPSUM INTEGRITY and designed specifically to haul gypsum which is used to manufacture wallboard, from Hantsport or Little Narrow, in Nova Scotia to plants in the United States. During the U.S. recession, demand for gypsum declined so the INTEGRITY was reassigned to ocean trade duties primarily hauling iron ore from Sierra Leone. Though smaller in length to most of her fleetmates, ALGOMA INTEGRITY is 105' wide and therefore will never been seen in the Great Lakes due to the Seaway's maximum width requirement of 80'. Not a problem because since this wide body biggy was purchased by Alogoma Central Marine in 2015, she has only being used to haul iron ore from Port Cartier to the ArcelorMittel steel plant at Contrecouer, Quebec. Having ALGOMA INTEGRITY focus on this main run has freed ups other Algoma fleetmates to work other trades on the Great Lakes. Also, along with being wider than what we are used to seeing down here in this neck of the Seaway, ALGOMA INTEGRITY is also equipped with a 40 to 72 metre telescopic boom, which allows her to discharge up to 3,000 tonnes of cargo in an hour. Pretty impressive ship and capture. She's got what it takes and like her owner, she has INTEGRITY.  c):-D

Former TANAC Tug M.R. KANE

I can't tell you how many times I have visited Toronto Harbour to see and an almost lifeless waterfront with its usual cluster of short and longterm layups. True, sometimes I'll luck out and see a Canfornav "duck" boat like the MOTTLER or SHOVELER offloading her cargo of sugar at Redpath's but for the most part with the odd exception of a wind-starved sail excursion boat being motored passed the Harbourcastle, the only motion visible along this once vibrant Great Lakes port, would the half hour crossovers of the Toronto Island ferries.
However, the outcome during my last visit to the big smoke on September 24th was quite different, when while walking Tanner along the west end of the Cherry Beach dog park, there suddenly appeared the veteran tug M.R. KANE making good speed while pushing a low in the water sludge scow into the outer harbour where it would be dumped along the always extended shoreline of Toronto's man-made Lesley Spit. True, it's not a pretty job for the hardworking 60.5' KANE hauling silt from the mouth of the Don River but she was being useful and that's all that counts for the 70 year old former Canadian navy tug.

When launched in 1945 at the Central Bridge Company of Trenton, Ontario, she was known as the TANAC V-276. Don't quote me on this but I've read that the word TANAC was an acronym that combined the letter "T" for tug with the start of "Canada" spelled backwards to identify the 265 Canadian tugs that were built during World War II for the British Ministry of War who foresaw a need for several small harbour tugs worldwide. If you ask me, a simple "CT" for "Canadian Tug" could have worked just as easily too along with the real meaning of the letter "V" which some say it was "V for Victory" while others say it was for the tug's "Vivian" diesel engines that were built in Vancouver. No one seems to know but for certain, the dimensions for the single screw tugs were 60.5' x 16.5' x 7', they could accommodate a crew of 6 and each had firefighting capability.

Just the other day I watched in amazement at a time-lapsed video of a cruise ships being put together in sections, meanwhile the made of steel Tanacs were also prefabricated and assembled by a group of established or makeshift shipbuilders along the Great Lakes. During the war years, 69 Tanacs were built at Canada Bridge in Walkerville (currently Windsor), 156 were assembled at Trenton's Central Bridge and according to Steve Briggs who manages the RussellBrothers.com website, 13 were assembled by Russell Brothers Limited's Steelcraft Products in Owen Sound. Of the 35 wooden versions of the tug, 25 were built in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and the other ten were built at nearby Mahone Bay.  Once completed the Trenton built tugs were motored across Lake Ontario to Oswego, New York and then they continued their journey via the Erie Canal and Hudson River to New York City where they were loaded onto freighters and shipped to destination all over the world. The upper lakes' built Tanacs were loaded and shipped out from New Orleans after making their way south down the Mississippi River via Chicago.

I wasn't able to find anything that suggested exactly where the Tanacs were shipped to, but I did read that the Royal Navy had 38 and were said to have been used during the D-Day invasion. After the war, of the 50 that were still under construction in Canada, 12 were shipped to China, the Royal Canadian Navy kept 9 and were used on both coasts for yard duty, firefighting and also towed target vessels for anti-submarine warfare training.

The remaining Tanacs were sold off for commercial use and at some point McKeil Marine of Hamilton had four including the LAC MANITOBA which many of us living along or near the St. Lawrence, know of this little workhouse which sank after a collision while trying in ernest to maneouvre a crane barge in an extremely swift current at Cornwall, Ontario last summer.

TANAC V-276 was sold off for civilian use in 1947 and became known as M.R. KANE. Though I've not been able to find any background information about what she's done since her navy days or even who her namesake was, I'm happy to say the little lady, M.R. KANE is still operational in Toronto and doing what she was built to do along with many TANAC that remain in use in Australia, Malta and the United States. Meanwhile, please let me know if there are other TANAC tugs near you? I'd be interested sharing their stories. Meanwhile, for a more comprehensive overview and archive photos of other TANAC tugs, check out this link: http://stevebriggs.netfirms.com/osmrm/navytugstanac.html
    

Self Unloader ALGOMA TRANSPORT

There’s just no stopping this girl this year. I bearly made it to Iroquois Lock in time last April to get these snaps of the 730' ALGOMA TRANSPORT as she made her way downbound heading to Port Cartier, Quebec. And then look at yesterday, while all other of Algoma Central's self discharging and gearless bulk carriers were laid up at variety of Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River ports, the  TRANSPORT was still underway motoring downbound on Lake Huron making her way to Sarnia after dropping another load of road salt at Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While tracking her last night on MarineTraffic, it looked like she was simply heading down to the Esso dock to top up her tanks in preparation for another salt run but at around 12:15 this morning I saw that with the assistance of the harbour tug, PRIDE, the hardworking ALGOMA TRANSPORT's extended shipping season was coming to an end as she backed-in to Sarnia's Government dock.

Like her self discharging fleetmates, the TRANSPORT remained busy throughout this year's shipping season transferring another bumper crop of prairie wheat to St. Lawrence River grain elevators for deepsea bulk carrier passage to European markets, then hauling Labrador ore back up to Great Lakes steel mills. However the trade that got her season going and ending was hauling road salt like what she was about to do when fellow boat watcher, Bonnie Fera snapped this shot of her loading salt at the Sifto Canada facilities in Goderich, "Canada's Prettiest Town" by the way according to Bonnie on April 17th. It's what ALGOMA TRANSPORT was hauling when she motored by me at Iroquois just days later. Meanwhile, in the past few weeks since the Seaway closed for winter, the 35,000 ton capacity TRANSPORT also delivered the mined under Lake Huron ice and snow melting product to Detroit, Chicago and at least one earlier visit to Milwaukee.

When launched in 1979 at Port Weller Dry Docks for Toronto's Upper Lakes Group, her name was CANADIAN TRANSPORT which was the name that she bore when I first captured her (above) during winter layup in Port Colborne on January 2, 2011. Little did I know when I snapped this picture that the TRANSPORT and her Upper Lakes fleetmates would all lose their unique "CANADIAN" suffix to their name and have it replaced with "ALGOMA" when Algoma Central acquired the shipping company outright just a few weeks later on February 25th, 2011.

Just like her almost identical former ULS sisters, ENTERPRISE and OLYMPIC (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2013/03/self-unloader-canadian-olympic.html), ALGOMA  TRANSPORT remains useful despite their age while wearing the Algoma colours and names. While kicking up the lock waters astern and then turning towards Mariatown, ALGOMA TRANSPORT looked pretty eager to get to her next destination last April.  Meanwhile though, it's time for a much deserved break for all concerned as a new shipping season is fast approaching. I know I can hardly wait. How about you? c);-b

Hardworking Tugs of NOLA's CRESCENT TOWING & SALVAGE

She's called the river that never sleeps and what better way is there to see all that Mississippi River boat action than on the authentic steam-powered paddlewheeler NATCHEZ like my wife and I did back in May 2014. The view is quite incredible as the 40 year old steam-powered replica  NATCHEZ sauntered along at an anticipated "Big Easy" pace passing sleepy neighbourhoods behind the high man-made levy on either side of the river, the lay in waiting barges and tow boats tied off to the shoreline waiting for dock space or a wide body Panamax bulk carrier to motor up from the Gulf and take on their loads of coal, grain and various aggregates. Then there's the in your face action of underway tow boats & barges, container and cruise ships, tankers, coast guard launches or speedy harbour tugs like the LOUISIANA (up top) looking pretty impressive in her tan and red Crescent Towing colours pushing water all the way to her home base after completed another call of duty. c):-))

Just like what any of their tugs may be tasked to push or pull on any given day, Crescent Towing's headquarters is located on a huge and long barge. How apropo is that? Established in 1942 by the Smith Family of New Orleans and after 37 years of providing premier service of ship escorts, dock or undocking from Baton Rouge to the mouth of the Mississippi River, Crescent expanded their operations to Mobile, Alabama in 1979 and Savannah, Georgia in 1983. Crescent Towing & Salvage has a fleet of 28 tugs of which 18 are based in New Orleans. However, when the NATCHEZ paddled by their floating HQ, five of the veteran tugs sat idle but like any harbour tug, ready and waiting for their next task.

The first tug we came across while heading back up river towards Algiers Point was 94' PORT ALLEN. She was originally built for the U.S. Navy at Consolidated Shipbuilding in Morrison Heights, New York, and designated YTB-541 (OCETTE). Soon after launching in 1945, the yard tugboat was assigned to the 1st Naval District in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1970, OCETTE was decommissioned from the navy and named DIRIGO, and after 45 years of working the waters around Boston for other government agencies, the single screw harbour tug as acquired by Crescent Towing & Salvage Inc. in 1980 and renamed PORT ALLEN.

Sitting just above the PORT ALLEN were another pair of beauties, the twin screw  LOUISIANA and the single screw PORT HUDSON. The 98.4' LOUISIANA was built in 1959 by Dravco Corporation of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and after launching she worked as a railway tug for Pennsylvania Railroad Company of Philadelphia while named HARRISBURG. Her name was changed to ELIZABETH SMITH when Crescent Towing purchased her in 1985. The hard working girl got repowered and quite the facelift with a new wheelhouse, stacks and window to improve visibility in 2004 during a life extension rebuild in 2004. ELIZABETH SMITH became known as LOUISIANA in 2008.
Meanwhile, the 93.1' PORT HUDSON was built in 1943 at Canulette Shipbuilding of Slidell, Louisiana, for the United States Maritime Commission. In 1945 she was transferred to the U.S. Navy and designated YTB-724 (WABAQUASSET) until she was acquired by Crescent Towing in 1946 and renamed PORT HUDSON.

In her early years, the 98.4' MARGARET F. COOPER  also worked as a railroad tug for Pennsylvania Railroad while named CINCINNATI. Like the LOUISIANA, she was also built at Dravco Corporation of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania in 1959. Her names was changed to REBECCA SMITH when the tug was purchased by Crescent Towing and transferred to New Orleans in 1978. Soon after she was repowered and given a life extension rebuild, her name was changed to MARGARET F. COOPER in 2008. Yupe, that's her sitting high and dry just across the river in Bollinger Shipyard's floating drydock, MISS DARBY. Check out her huge twin screws, eh!! Oh YAA c):-D

 ...and last but not least during our NATCHEZ paddle-by was the 95.4' MIRIAM WALMSLEY COOPER who started her life as the New York City Fireboat HARVEY H. ARCHER M.D.. She was built in 1958 at John H. Mathis Shipyards of Camden, New Jersey and when bought be Crescent Towing in 1995, she was converted into a towing vessel and renamed MIRIAM WALMSLEY COOPER.

Sometimes tugs and their crews have must go above and beyond their regular call of duty to save lives or keep a community going. Like while Hurricane Katrina lashed her wrath on the people of New Orleans and along the Gulf coast just almost ten and a half years ago, the crews and tugs of Crescent Towing served as first responders on the Mississippi River, working around the clock to catch break-away ships, hold-in large vessels to various docks, dock and moor ships delivering military personnel and crucial supplies needed to support rescue operations as well as fight many large fires that engulfed several wharves. For your gallant efforts during New Orleans and Louisiana's greatest time of need, I say thank you and my hat c) goes off to you all.  :-))

Oil & Chemical Tanker MARIA DESGAGNÉS

   I haven't often seen such calm waters when photographing boats along the St. Lawrence Seaway like when I snapped the downbound 394' oil and chemical tanker MARIA DESGAGNÉS near Mariatown last June as she motionlessly approached like that finger-snapping dance move from the Broadway play "East Side Story". c):-o

   Yeah, I guess you had to be there, but due to her sleekish style you could easily fall in love with this beauty which was built in 1999 at the Qiu Xin Shipyards in Shanghai, China. Then her name was KILCHEM ASIA but later that year she was sold to Groupe Desgagnés of Quebec City.

   Along with her liquid bulk carrying Desgagnés sisters DARA, ESTA, JANA, SARAH and THALESSA, MARIA is double-hulled, rated for navigation through ice and  chartered through Petro-Nav, a Desgagnés company subsidiary.  Petro-Nav is one of North America's leaders in ship chartering of petroleum and chemical products which may include crude oil, refined oil, vegetable oils and fats, petroleum, chemicals and asphalt.

   While so many of her liquid and dry bulk fleetmates that we see throughout the shipping season and are currently laid up for winter, MARIA DESGAGNÉS remains active trading along the St. Lawrence River and Gulf, as well as the U.S. Eastern Seaboard while ice and winter conditions permit. However while our El Niño friend continues to bring milder than normal winter conditions, so is true along the St. Lawrence and east coast which has allowed MARIA to freely navigate to ports from Montreal to Sydney, Nova Scotia, including her current rest stop in Quebec City. Good luck with your next performance girl and "Break A Leg!!" c);-b

No Football or Real Hockey this weekend? c):-(( No Problem!! Just check out one of my first Groupe Desgagnés boat posts about another hard working beauty, the general cargo ship MÉLISSA DESGAGNÉS http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/09/cargo-vessel-melissa-desgagnes.html, Or NOT!! c);-b