Maiden Voyage of Norwegian Bliss

While not the largest cruise ship to visit Halifax, Norwegian Bliss is certainly getting up there, boasting 303 metres in length, 168,000 tonnes, and up to 4,004 passengers. She also boasts a more than 300 metre long go-cart track that spans two levels and large water slides that actually hang over the side of the ship.

Watching Norwegian Bliss pull out from behind George's Island in the fog reminded me of the opening gag in the movie "Spaceballs" where, in a parody of the opening of "Star Wars", there is a seemingly endless reveal of a space ship.

OK, I think that's all of her.

 No, apparently the fog bank was hiding the upper decks.

This angle isn't any better.

As impressive as these ships undoubtedly are, the artwork on the bow of these ships is presumably intended to distract the viewer from the fact that the age of beautiful ocean liners is long past.

Another look at the bow artwork.

Another "Spaceballs" type shot.

This is probably the most flattering angle on one of these ships.

One would trust that prices for cruises at this time of year are heavily discounted - for their visit today, passengers could look forward to heavy fog, heavy rain, and a chilly wind. Not exactly the weather for sunning oneself on the upper deck or taking in the water slides.

After leaving Halifax in the evening, Norwegian Bliss is headed to New York. 

Some information here was cribbed from this CTV story.

Photos this week: September 19-23

I don't have much time to write today, so I'll just share some of the photos I took this week around the harbour.

Norwegian Gem arriving in the fog on Monday morning.

If you look closely, you can see HMCS SUMMERSIDE sneaking in behind Norwegian Gem.

Norwegian Gem turned 180 degrees before coming alongside.

A large crane on a barge has been stored on the Dartmouth shore next to the Macdonald Bridge. It looked particularly interesting in the fog on Monday.

Bluenose v2.5 was in port this week, and the calm harbour on Monday made for nice reflections.

The Navy was also busy this week too, starting on Monday when GOOSE BAY and SUMMERSIDE emerged out of the fog. The Navy's paint scheme blends well into the fog, and I had to resort to manual focus for many of these shots, as there was not enough contract to use the autofocus. 

HMCS GOOSE BAY.

HMCS GOOSE BAY passing the George's Island lighthouse.

The fog thickened up a little bit before SUMMERSIDE could make her way in.

Friday provided two special treats, with GOOSE BAY and SUMMERSIDE anchored in formation at dawn, and HMCS ST. JOHN'S being hoisted on the Syncrolift for maintenance.

GOOSE BAY and SUMMERSIDE at dawn.

The Syncrolift was originally built to handle the OBERON class submarines purchased for the RCN in the 1960s, and there was originally a tent-shaped shed that the subs could be rolled into for long term maintenance and refits. In the mid-1980s, the Syncrolift itself was upgraded to handle up to 6000 tonne "NATO" frigates, and it could then handle the destroyers of the day. With the purchase of the VICTORIA class submarines in the late 1990s, the old shed was no longer big enough, and while the Syncrolift platform could lift the new subs, it could not support them to be rolled inshore as the VICTORIA class have a larger load density (e.g. higher tonnes per length) and the inshore portion of the platform (and associated winches) had to be upgraded once again. Around the same time, the sub shed itself was torn down, and replaced with the new structure shown in the photos below which can handle the VICTORIA class.

Blocked up on the Syncrolift, ST. JOHN'S is hoisted out of the water. 

The blocking under the ship has to be fairly tall in order to accommodate the ship's propellers, which draw considerably more water than the hull. If you look closely, you can see some of the old blue antifouling paint peaking out from underneath the current black colour. Prior to the blue, I believe a grey colour was used. You could probably write a short paper on the procession of different colours of antifouling paint used by the Navy over the years. 

The heaviest part (or greatest load density) of the ships and subs is the middle part of the ship, and the platform and winches under that portion of the ship have to be able to handle the larger load. You can see the smaller winches on the harbour side, with larger winches located under the ship's funnel (and machinery spaces). 

I got a good chuckle when I zoomed in on images of what I presume is one of hte Navy's boarding teams heading out on Friday, with several members holding what appeared to be Tim Horton's cups in their hands.