HMCS HARRY DEWOLF (AOPV 430) returns from her circum-Newfoundland cruise

Upon seeing that HARRY DEWOLF was entering Halifax Harbour yesterday morning, and not having any meetings on my calendar, I was able to nip down to Alderney Landing to take a few photos. The weather did not cooperate, starting off with light fog and ending with actual rain.

HARRY DEWOLF just rounding George's Island with McNab's Island in the background and a Canadian Coast Guard Bell 412 helicopter in the background.

One of the Glen tugs approaches HARRY DEWOLF as a CCG RHIB speeds by in the foreground.

HARRY DEWOLF with George's Island in the background.

It was at this point that the rain started, which supplanted the fog in degrading my image quality.

At this point, I think I got a single shot off before rain coated my front filter, and I had to retreat to the back of the car to clean it off.

HARRY DEWOLF passing in front of MV Asterix.

As the first of a new class of Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessels (AOPV), the Navy has been putting HARRY DEWOLF through her paces both in Bedford Basin and at sea, with her most recent cruise a counterclockwise circumnavigation of Newfoundland that also took her into the Northumberland Strait where she had a photo op with the Confederation Bridge. With a planned Arctic passage in 2021, all her systems need to be certified and the crew needs to be well familiar with the ship. It is also a time to root out any inevitable bugs and deficiencies, like some recent fuel pump failures, which presumably need to be fixed under warranty by the shipyard. 

Capsize of the Transatlantic

On April 10, 1965, the Poseidon Lines freighter Transatlantic was inbound on the St. Lawrence Seaway just below Sorel. Having just departed Sorel, the outgoing freighter Hermes made way for the incoming Transatlantic in the Lac Saint-Pierre area, but Hermes seems to have strayed into shallow water. The latter's stern got sucked toward the shore, which sent her bow out into the incoming channel and caused her to strike Transatlantic on the port side. 

Photo of Transatlantic, © Frans Kerkhof, from Shipspotting.com.

According to Shipspotting.com, "Transatlantic was heavily damaged, burst into flames, and was soon on the bottom of the river. Three lives were lost on the latter ship while Hermes suffered considerable bow damage and ultimately had to go to Montreal for bow repairs."  

Viewed from astern, the now burning Transatlantic is under the care of  two tugs, with Marine Industries Ltd.'s Capitaine Simard in the foreground. The tug in the background is probably George M. McKee. Firefighters can be seen here working aft of the superstructure.

The tugs in the above photo belong to Marine Industries Limited (MIL), and Mac Mackay had mentioned them in his Tugfax blog here (Capitaine Simard) and here (George M McKee).

Efforts to save the ship were unsuccessful, and Transatlantic ended up capsizing to port, and sank to the bottom with her starboard side exposed above the surface. 

Transatlantic lying on her port side with the passing Saguenay Lines freighter Sunrise in the background. You can see the fire-charred paint on the bridge of the former. There is a petroleum slick enveloping the bow of the ship.

Viewed from forward, the ship's bilge keels and a set of empty lifeboat davits can be seen.

This time viewed from aft, the empty lifeboat davits can also be seen in this photo.

Looking forward from the bridge, you can see a deck cargo of drums, which may explain why the ship caught on fire after the collision (or maybe the just contributed to the fire). 

A man stands forward of the bridge on the side of the capsized ship, with fire-charred paint on the superstructure visible to the left of the photo.

A group of men stands on the side of the bridge superstructure.

Tugs in the background appear to be approaching the capsized Transatlantic.

Looking at the photos on the Mariner's Weather Log website, the bow of Hermes was fairly sharp and protruded well beyond the waterline, and the post-salvage photo shows there is significant damage to Transatlantic's superstructure. In addition, where the post-salvage photo does not clearly show damage to the hull (though any hole may have been patched in order to refloat the ship) and the pre-sinking photo above shows the ship initially heeling to starboard, I wonder if it was the firefighting efforts that caused the capsize to port.

While the photos in this post (except where indicated) are from the Foundation Maritime / AECON collection, I have been unable to determine if Foundation Maritime was actually involved in the salvage operation, and I have not even found mention of any firm connected with the work. Transatlantic herself was determined to be a constructive total loss, and she was broken up in Sorel in 1967. 

For more information, the websites listed below have additional information on the incident and its aftermath, along with more photos of the ship both before and after the sinking. In addition, the Bowling Green State University site has information on the tug Capitaine Simard.

Additional Sources:

Mariner's Weather Log website

Shipspotting.com

Historical Collections of the Great Lakes, Bowling Green State University

Demolishing the Foundation Wharves

 I frequently cover the salvage operations of Foundation Maritime here, but there usually isn't anything new to share. But this month, work continues on the demolition of the old Foundation wharves on the Halifax Waterfront, and I've been following their progress during my occasional days in the office.

The Foundation Company of Canada lot with the Foundation Maritime wharves in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Construction Equipment Company was another subsidiary. At the wharves in the background are Foundation Josephine II (centre) and Foundation Frances beside the salvage shed to the right. 

Viewed from the water side from the air, this is an older image of the Foundation wharves. Beside the salvage shed to the left is the laid up Foundation Franklin, with Foundation Josephine just off Franklin's starboard side at the main wharf, and Foundation Lillian partly hidden on the other side of the main wharf.

One final image taken several years later, with the shed on the main wharf torn down and replaced with an office for Foundation Maritime. Foundation Frances is at left alongside the salvage shed, and possibly Foundation Vera in the centre.

In more recent years, the wharves have been used by Eastern Canada Towing (ECTUG), the successor to Foundation Maritime, and the firm is now owned by Svitzer and the tugs have moved to Mulgrave, NS. Until recently, the Atlantic Pilotage Authority also operated from these wharves, but they have now moved to the former Fader Agencies location near the Macdonald Bridge in Dartmouth. With the wharves now rather decrepit and the property itself is now owned by Develop Nova Scotia, the wharves are being removed to allow for further development. McNally has been hired to carry out the work, and their crane barge Canadian Argosy arrived in September.

The crane barge Canadian Argosy under tow by the small tug Oshawa on her way to the Foundation wharves. 

Canadian Argosy alongside in the same camber variously inhabited by the tugs Foundation Franklin, Foundation Josephine, and Foundation Frances in the photos above, with the salvage shed to the left (still displaying the remnants of the Svitzer logo).

The sun rising behind the spuds of Canadian Argosy.

Demolition progressing on the old salvage shed.

Canadian Argosy serves as the platform for a large crawler crane, of the type you would normally see on land. It is firmly lashed to the deck of the barge.

Looking out towards the partially demolished Salvage Shed.

A view with the Salvage Shed now gone (to the right), but with the old office building still standing.

Demolition has yet to begin in this image of the main wharf.

The Salvage Shed is gone, and the wharf it was on is now being removed - pile by pile.

Now the office building is gone from the main wharf.

The piles are the remnants of the Salvage Wharf.

This area is slated to become the new home for an arts district centered on the new Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and there is a rendering on the AGNS website here (although it still shows the main wharf in place, and doesn't show much in the way of the development intention for the wharf area itself). 

One hopes that the new developments pay homage in some manner to the history associated with these wharves.