As many as 35,000 cruise ship passengers may filter by means of Halifax this week. And no two days are busier than Tuesday and Wednesday, Sept. 26 and 27, when 4 ships—the Liberty of the Seas, Norwegian Pearl, Mein Schiff 6 and Carnival Venezia—will deliver an estimated 12,500 guests by means of the Halifax Seaport and into downtown. Every of the 2 days is among the many eight busiest cruise traffic-bringers of all 2023.
This week’s harbour report takes a detour by means of the cruise numbers to a pair of NBA legends, a small city in Australia and a Canadian naval ship. Right here’s a take a look at what else is coming out and in of port in Halifax this week.
Monday, Sept. 25
The arrival of three cruise ships kicked issues off on Monday: The 1,870-passenger Aurora, 1,960-passenger Zuiderdam and 740-passenger Crystal Serenity all got here into port this morning from Portland, Maine; Boston; and Sydney, respectively.
The Atlantic Sea container ship wrapped a nine-day cross-Atlantic voyage from Liverpool, UK. It left Halifax’s Fairview Cove Terminal Monday night for New York Metropolis.
Lastly, the 294-metre-long NYK Rigel container ship arrived two days late from Saint John, NB. It left Halifax early Tuesday morning for Southampton, UK.
Tuesday, Sept. 26
In case you had been a fan of NBA basketball within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, watching your workforce line up in opposition to the San Antonio Spurs was a scary factor. Underneath coach Gregg Popovich, the Spurs gained championships in 1999, 2003 and 2005. (They might additionally win once more in 2007 and 2014.) Much more obscene: Between 1997 and 2003, the Spurs managed a daily season win-loss report of 322-138. That’s largely due to two issues: The Spurs had David Robinson and Tim Duncan. And never solely had been Robinson and Duncan good at basketball—Robinson was a 10-time NBA All-Star; Duncan gained three NBA Finals MVP trophies—they had been additionally frigging tall. Duncan, the shorter of the 2, was listed at 6’11” throughout his taking part in profession. Robinson? He was 7’1”. They had been nicknamed the Twin Towers.
Strolling onto a basketball courtroom and seeing Duncan and Robinson throughout from you, I think about, will need to have evoked an identical feeling to seeing the Liberty of the Seas and Norwegian Pearl cruise ships towering over the Halifax Seaport on Tuesday. Typically, the scale of a factor could make your jaw drop. The previous ship got here in from Portland, Maine and left Tuesday night time for Saint John; the latter arrived from Sydney and reached Portland on Wednesday morning.
click on to enlarge Left: bvi4092 (CC BY 2.0). Proper: Geoff Livingston (CC BY-ND 2.0) Staring up on the Liberty of the Seas is akin to taking part in basketball in opposition to Tim Duncan: You are certain to really feel small.
To not be outsized, the 364-metre-long ONE Crane container ship—which boasts a carrying capability of 139,335 tonnes—arrived on the South Finish Container Terminal round 4:30pm. It got here two days not on time from Suez, Egypt.
Lastly, the HMCS Charlottetown got here again into Halifax on Tuesday. It left Sept. 22 and as of Wednesday, was again within the waters about 4.5 kilometres (or roughly 2.5 nautical miles) off the coast of Hartlen Level.
Wednesday, Sept. 27
The 189-metre-long Violet Ace car provider got here into Halifax early Wednesday morning. It arrived after a nine-day voyage from Houston, Texas, which adopted a three-day voyage from Tuxpan, Mexico. Mexico’s automaking trade has expanded quickly in recent times; automobile and truck fashions together with the Toyota Corolla, GMC Sierra, Chevrolet Trax, Honda Match and Nissan Sentra are all constructed at factories in Mexico. It isn’t clear which autos got here to Halifax on this cargo, however the Violet Ace has room aboard for roughly 4,900 sedan-sized automobiles.
click on to enlarge Bahnfrend (CC BY-SA 4.0) The Violet Ace car provider, seen in Fremantle, Australia in 2017, arrived in Halifax on Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.
The aforementioned Mein Schiff 6 and Carnival Venezia cruise ships made their return to Halifax on Wednesday. The go to marks the previous ship’s second of three Halifax visits in 2023 (it returns Oct. 13), and the latter’s fourth and closing Seaport cease of the season. The TUI Cruises-owned Mein Schiff 6 got here into Halifax Harbour from Boston; the Carnival Cruise Line-owned Venezia arrived round midday from Saint John.
Two harbour regulars spherical out Wednesday’s arrivals: The Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo provider arrived on schedule from St. John’s, NL. It should then, in flip, go away Halifax and return to St. John’s. Late Wednesday afternoon, the Atlantic Sky container ship is predicted to achieve the Fairview Cove Terminal. It left Norfolk, Virginia on Monday.
Thursday, Sept. 28
Issues choose up in Halifax Harbour towards the week’s finish: 4 container ships, one cruise ship and one ro-ro/cargo provider are all anticipated in port on Thursday.
The 148-metre-long Contship Leo container ship figures to be among the many first arrivals: It’s due on the Fairview Cove Terminal at 5:30am. The ship is en route from New York Metropolis and two weeks behind its schedule.The three,080-passenger Emerald Princess cruise ship is slated to achieve Pier 22 round 8am, having departed Saint John, NB for Halifax on Wednesday afternoon.
click on to enlarge Franz Neumeier (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) The three,080-passenger Emerald Princess, seen in 2009, arrives in Halifax on Sept. 28, 2023.
The Nolhan Ava ro-ro/cargo provider is scheduled for its weekly Halifax cease en route from St. Pierre and Miquelon.
Two extra container ships spherical out the day’s anticipated arrivals: The NYK Nebula and Lagarfoss are due in port round 10am and 2pm, respectively. The previous is wrapping an eight-day voyage from Antwerp, Belgium, whereas the latter is on its approach from Portland, Maine.
The MSC Nuria container ship was initially scheduled for an additional cease on the South Finish Container Terminal, however—and this may need one thing to do with the truth that it was 4 days not on time—the ship’s newest itinerary reveals it bypassing Halifax and heading straight from Montreal to Gioia Tauro, Italy.
Friday, Sept. 29
Bear in mind the Zaandam cruise ship that saved visiting Halifax all spring and summer time? The 1,430-passenger ship makes its nineteenth and closing Halifax go to of 2023 this Friday. The Holland America Line-owned ship is within the midst of a 13-day crusing from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. It arrives in Halifax after stops in Charlottetown, PEI and Sydney.
Additionally on the arrivals listing: The 4,260-passenger Norwegian Escape cruise ship is due at Pier 22 round 2:30pm. It’s on the return leg of a seven-day spherical journey by means of Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia that begins and ends in New York Metropolis.
4 container ships spherical out the day’s anticipated arrivals: The MSC Carmen (at the moment 5 days not on time), Tongala (practically seven days forward of schedule), MSC Esthi and CMA CGM Marco Polo are all due for arrival between 5:30am and 2pm. What’s a Tongala, you ask? Seems it’s a smallish city in southern Australia (to not be confused with South Australia, which is an Aussie state). Tongala sits about 225 kilometres north of Melbourne and is generally well-known for producing milk. The title is believed to have come from the phrase Dhungala, which is the title the Yorta Yorta individuals gave to the close by Murray River.
Saturday, Sept. 30
Three extra cruise ships arrive Saturday, though two of them are on the smaller finish: The 210-passenger Star Pleasure, 380-passenger Silver Shadow and a pair of,140-passenger Jewel of the Seas are all due in port between 8am and 1pm. The Star Pleasure is within the midst of an 11-day, one-way journey from Montreal to Boston, whereas the Silver Shadow is midway by means of a 10-day journey from Quebec Metropolis to New York. The Jewel of the Seas, in the meantime, embarks on a reverse journey—11 days from New York to Quebec Metropolis—beginning Thursday, Sept. 28.
Lastly, the SFL Composer car provider is predicted to wrap a nine-day crossing from Emden, Germany early Saturday morning. It’s due on the CN Autoport round 1am.
Sunday, Oct. 1
What number of cruise ships can Halifax accommodate in a single day? The reply is 5—a feat we’ll witness this Sunday, when the Crystal Serenity, Pearl Mist, Norwegian Pearl, Queen Mary 2 and The World (sure, actually, The World) all berth on the Halifax Seaport, in an event that I can solely think about resembles an alley of clowns making an attempt to suit right into a tiny automobile. (Solely as soon as in 2023 does the Port of Halifax see 5 cruise ships in a single day. Twenty-four instances, three cruise ships arrive on the identical day, and twice, 4 ships arrive on the identical day.)
click on to enlarge The Coast The enormous Queen Mary 2 throughout a go to to Halifax in 2015.
Of these 5 cruise ships on Sunday, Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 is the most important, with room for two,691 passengers. However the Norwegian Pearl comes a powerful second, in a position to carry 2,394 passengers; it arrives in Halifax en route from Boston to Quebec Metropolis and also will cease in Sydney, Charlottetown and Saguenay.
Lastly, the 160-metre-long Tropic Hope container ship is predicted to reach on the South Finish Container Terminal. As of Wednesday, it was nonetheless en route from Puerto Rico to the US Virgin Islands.