What’s the one thing nearly two out of every three ships arriving in Halifax this week have in common? They’re running late. Of the 17 cargo ships, container ships, bulk carriers and oil tankers that have berthed—or are still scheduled to berth—in Halifax before Sunday, 11 are behind schedule. And those delays vary anywhere from a day (as with the Lagarfoss, set to arrive on Thursday, Jan. 11) to nearly two-and-a-half weeks, in the case of Tuesday’s arrival of the NYK Daedalus (more on that below).
What’s behind those delays? Danish shipping line Maersk (owner of the Volga Maersk, currently nine days behind its planned Halifax arrival) says it can be anything from extreme weather to slow-downs at customs. The former is a more common occurrence as of late: Last summer, flash floods in Nova Scotia washed out roadways across the province and briefly rendered a key portion of CN Rail track linking the Port of Halifax to the rest of Canada unusable. Farther south, historic droughts in the Panama Canal prompted backlogs of more than 200 ships—some stuck for as long as three weeks.
Wednesday’s blustery weather prompted Environment Canada to issue a pair of wind and rainfall warnings, along with a special weather statement about “strong winds and large waves” along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast. The good news—for us and the crews trying to reach port—is that the wind is forecast to ease by Thursday, with a mix of sun and cloud.
Here’s a look at what’s happening around Halifax Harbour this week:
Monday, January 8
Nothing to see here, folks.
Tuesday, January 9
The ancient Greeks told stories of an architect from Crete who was so skilled at his craft that he built a labyrinth to contain the monstrous Minotaur at the behest of King Minos. That ingenuity backfired when the king later imprisoned him and his son, Icarus, within it. That architect’s name was Daedalus. And so, Daedalus, trapped in a maze of his own making, set to crafting a set of wings that could take him to distant shores. If only he could see his namesake: The aforementioned NYK Daedalus container ship arrived in Halifax from Caucedo, Dominican Republic, around 10:40am. It leaves Wednesday for Southampton, UK.
(For a glimpse into the lives of the crew aboard the Daedalus, and what a port visit looks like for them, Emily Brady wrote a touching story for the New York Times in 2008.)
The Atlantic Star and Sky container ships, meanwhile, returned to Halifax’s Fairview Cove Terminal this week. The former came in just after 5:30am from New York City, while the latter arrived around 5pm from Norfolk, Virginia. Both are now bound for Liverpool, UK.
Wednesday, January 10
Welcome back to the Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo ship, which made its second Halifax stop of 2024 when it arrived just after 4:30am on Wednesday morning. The Sanderling will stick around at the Fairview Cove Terminal until Friday, when it departs for St. John’s, NL.
Thursday, January 11
The EIMSKIP-managed Lagarfoss is the smallest container ship to arrive in Halifax this week. At 141 metres long, it has a carrying capacity of 11,811 tonnes—less than one-tenth of what the 364-metre-long ONE Crane, arriving on Saturday, can hold in its stores. It’s set to reach the South End Container Terminal at 8:15am, inbound from Portland, Maine. It departs by 1pm for Reykjavik, Iceland.
Later Thursday evening, we’ll see the arrival of the Ramhan ro-ro/container carrier (formerly the impeccably-named Jolly Cobalto). When it was built for Italian shipping company Ignazio Messina & Co. in 2015, it was heralded as the “world’s biggest ConRo vessel”—shorthand for ro-ro/container ships. (That honour lasted less than a year, until Atlantic Container Lines built its fleet of the Sea, Star, Sun, Sky and Sail freighters.) The United Arab Emirates-based SAFEEN Group bought the Cobalto and renamed it Rahman in September 2023 (meaning “compassionate” or “merciful” in Arabic). It’s due to arrive around 6pm from Davisville, Rhode Island.
As our harbour arrivals go, longtime shipwatcher Mac Mackay describes the Ramhan’s visit as a “rarity for Halifax.” Inbound from Citavecchia, Italy, before Rhode Island, it’s linked to the delivery of Fiat vehicles.
Friday, January 12
The Pacific Trader container ship is due to return to Halifax on Friday. It’s set to berth at the Fairview Cove Terminal around 4:20pm, inbound from New York. The 16-year-old ship is managed by Cyprus-based Marlow Navigation, which has been growing in recent years: The shipping management company bought up Germany’s Opielok Offshore Carriers in 2021 and was set to merge with Cyprus-based Columbia Group, before calling the arrangement off in 2022.
The Pacific Trader also happens to be eight days behind schedule. After Halifax, it will depart for Kingston, Jamaica.
Almost as tardy, at one week behind schedule, the ZIM Iberia container ship is slated to arrive from Valencia, Spain. (Which… can you really blame anyone for when it’s 15 degrees and sunny?) It’s due to berth at the Fairview Cove Terminal and will depart Saturday morning for New York.
The STI Pontiac oil tanker left Houston, Texas, on Jan. 5 and is set to reach Dartmouth’s Imperial Oil Terminal around 5pm. It leaves Sunday evening, though its next destination isn’t yet disclosed.
Elsewhere in the harbour, the MSC Cornelia container ship and Nolhan Ava ro-ro/cargo carrier are both expected to arrive. The former is en route from Montreal and later headed to Barcelona, Spain, while the latter makes its weekly rounds between Halifax, Argentia and St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Saturday, January 13
Two container ships and a bulk carrier are on the books for Saturday: The ONE Crane and MSC Aby container ships are both forecast to arrive between noon and 4:30pm, while the Algoma Integrity self-discharging bulk carrier comes in extra early, at 3am.
The Crane arrives from Colombo, Sri Lanka, and wraps a month-long Atlantic voyage. It leaves Sunday morning for New York. The Aby, meanwhile, makes the trek in reverse from the Big Apple and looks set to travel onward to Saudi Arabia.
Finally, the Integrity is en route from Jacksonville, Florida. It left the Sunshine State on Jan. 8 and will berth at the South End Container Terminal.
Sunday, January 14
The last day of the week starts with the Atlantic Sea container ship, due to arrive from Liverpool, UK, around 6am. The ship has spent the past three weeks travelling between Germany, Belgium and northwest England—not a bad route in warmer months, but not quite as alluring in January, when the wind blows off the Mersey River through Albert Dock. Blimey. Sunday’s visit marks the Sea’s first in 2024, after it left Halifax for Hamburg on Dec. 15, 2023. Like its peers, the Star and Sky, the ship will berth at the Fairview Cove Terminal.
Meanwhile, the Volga Maersk and Tropic Lissette container ships are both expected at the South End Container Terminal. The former arrived in Montreal on Tuesday, while the latter docked in sunny Sint Maarten early Wednesday morning.
Enjoy that sunshine while it lasts.
