Recent Halifax Harbour Shipping

I'm short on time to provide detailed commentary, but here are some of the commercial ships that have visited Halifax over the past couple of months or so. I will start with the cargo carriers and freighters.

Budapest Bridge

OOCL Kuala Lumpur with tug Spitfire III.

OOCL Kuala Lumpur.

OOCL Kuala Lumpur with tug Spitfire III.

OOCL Kuala Lumpur.

Vega Omega (ex-Surinam River). 

YM Express.

NYK Terra.

Atlantic Cartier.

Atlantic Oak escorting Atlantic Cartier. No relation.

Atlantic Cartier is approaching the end of her life as ACL's new G4 ships come online, and it shows.

Atlantic Cartier.

Atlantic Cartier.

Irving's tanker Acadian. The Woodside ferry is sometimes better for getting close to anchored ships.

Car carrier Liberty.

Liberty. Once again, the Woodside ferry provided a better vantage point.

Desert Osprey and Algoma Dartmouth.

Car carrier Splendid Ace.

Polar Prince (aka Canada C3) is undertaking a Canada 150 cruise through Canada's arctic. This shot is actually a panorama taken through the chain link fence with my cell phone. One must be inventive at times to get the shot.

Polar Prince was berthed at Pier 24, which made camera angles rather...limited. The vignetting in this image is from the chain link fence I was forced to shoot through.

Polar Prince.

Spring brings the herring fishing fleet into Halifax.

Morning Star.

Morning Star (left, with stabilizers still deployed) and Tasha Marie (right).

It is also the time of year for cruise ship status to start in Halifax.

Crystal Symphony.

Maasdam at Pier 20. Another shot from the Woodside ferry.

Anthem of the Seas departing for sea.

Queen Mary 2 departing for sea.

Queen Mary 2 departing for sea.

Queen Mary 2 departing for sea. By the time she reached this far out, the heat haze was significantly deteriorating the quality of my photos.

Lured to Point Pleasant Park to catch the departure of USS DWIGHT D EISENHOWER, I managed to catch the arrival of Grandeur of the Seas.

Grandeur of the Seas.

Grandeur of the Seas. The back-lighting of these images makes processing a challenge.

Grandeur of the Seas.

I will finish off with this photo of Fundy Pilot, a new face in Halifax.

Fundy Pilot and Vega Omega.

There appear to be two new pilot boats at the Dominion Diving wharf over in Dartmouth near King's Wharf, but I have yet to get a photo.

Queen Mary 2: Cunard first voyage 175th Anniversary

RMS Queen Mary 2 arrived in Halifax from Liverpool this morning, retracing the voyage of Cunard's first steamer RMS Britannia, 175 years ago. She left this evening, headed for Boston: Theodore Too and Atlantic Oak led her out of the main harbour, while HMCS MONTREAL followed astern and escorted her out to sea.

Shipfax has a good account of her sailpast.

I had another commitment earlier in the evening, and only managed to make it to the waterfront for her final run down the Halifax waterfront and out to sea. Some photos from her visit and sailpast today:

Scheduled for an 0730 arrival, QM2 was already alongside before 0630.

A three shot panorama as she cleared the Svitzer pier. Sometime panoramas are necessary when you just don't have time to put a wider lens on the camera. 

HMCS MONTREAL (FFH 336).

HMCS MONTREAL escorting QM2 out to sea.

A lit up QM2 heading out to sea as the light fails. HMCS MONTREAL is noticeably smaller in this image.

Next stop, Boston!