US-Houthi conflict shows early signs of affecting ship arrivals in Halifax
When the hard-to-miss ONE Crane container ship arrived in Halifax late Monday morning, it did so by a most unusual route—and not just because of the channel it followed into the harbour. As is often the case, the 364-metre-long ship came in from Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ordinarily, that would have involved passage through the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea and Egypt’s Suez Canal. But the ONE Crane’s crew took a different approach, as Shipfax’s Mac Mackay wrote on Monday: Rather than take the shorter route, the ship sailed around the southern tip of Africa to reach the Atlantic Ocean (and eventually, Halifax). And that’s because right now, the Red Sea is the centre stage for a war.
As The Canadian Press reports, Houthi rebel-led attacks on ships are affecting Canadian shipping companies’ ability to keep to their schedules. Yesterday, the Iran-backed militia fired a missile at a US-owned cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden near Yemen. That followed another attack on an American warship on Sunday—and weeks of similar strikes on ships in the Red Sea. (The US and UK, meanwhile, have retaliated with strikes of their own against sites in Yemen.)
The Houthis—a resistance group born out of the 1980s, with ties to both Hezbollah and Hamas—say they’re targeting Israeli-owned ships, or vessels heading to Israel, as a means to evoke a ceasefire in Gaza, where Palestinian authorities say the death toll has surpassed 24,000 since October. That stance has won the militia group support from some corners, including in Canada—where two days ago, demonstrators in Toronto chanted, “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around.” But—as with nearly all conflicts—the closer picture get messier: As the BBC reports, many of the two-dozen ships the Houthis have attacked in recent weeks have no connections to Israel at all. Meanwhile, Canada has entered the fray: The country’s foreign affairs minister and defence minister have jointly called on the Houthis to “cease their attacks immediately,” threatening that “they bear the consequences of their actions.”
Detours (and delays) seem likely to continue. As The Economist reports, four of the world’s largest container-shipping companies—CMA CGM, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and MSC—have now halted their routes in the Red Sea.
With that covered, here’s a look at what else arrives in Halifax this week:
Monday, January 15
Three container ships and an oil tanker came into Halifax Harbour on Monday. The earliest arrival of the bunch was the STI Pontiac double-hulled oil tanker, which arrived from Houston, Texas, just before 7:30am. It’s berthed at Dartmouth’s Imperial Oil Terminal and set to leave early Wednesday morning.
Shipfax / Mac Mackay
The STI Pontiac oil tanker arrived in Dartmouth from Houston, Texas, on Jan. 15, 2024.
The aforementioned ONE Crane arrived at the South End Container Terminal around 11am—a fitting hour, as the container ship was also 11 days behind schedule. It left Halifax early Tuesday morning for New York City.
Finally, the MSC Leigh container ship came into port on Monday. It arrived a week late after an eight-day crossing from Sines, Portugal, and is now en route to Montreal.
Tuesday, January 16
The longest river in Europe isn’t the Danube, never mind if it passes through 10 different countries on its way to the Black Sea. The Volga holds that distinction. The Russian river meanders more than 3,500 kilometres from the country’s Valdai Hills through steppes, nature reserves and bustling cities en route to the Caspian Sea. Its namesake, the Volga Maersk container ship, took a more direct route to Halifax: It arrived Tuesday morning from Montreal (10 days behind schedule), after a voyage along the St. Lawrence River. The ship is set to leave by 6pm for Bremerhaven, Germany.
pverdonk / Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0)
The Algoscotia oil tanker, seen on the St. Clair River in 2016, returned to Halifax on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024.
Elsewhere in the harbour, two oil tankers, a car carrier and a container ship are on the books for Tuesday. The Algoscotia and East Coast oil tankers came in from Corner Brook, NL, and St. John’s, NL, respectively. The former is berthed at the Richmond Terminals near the Macdonald Bridge until early Thursday morning, while the latter departs the Irving Oil Terminal for Saint John, NB around 11pm Tuesday night.
The Wallenius Wilhelmsen-owned Don Pasquale car carrier arrived in Halifax just after noon from Zeebrugge, Belgium. It leaves Wednesday afternoon for New York.
Lastly, the MSC Cornelia container ship berthed at the South End Container Terminal on Tuesday morning. Like its peer, the Volga Maersk, it arrived late from Montreal (nine days behind schedule, as opposed to Volga’s 10). As visits go, it’s a quick one: The ship leaves Tuesday afternoon for Barcelona, Spain.
Wednesday, January 17
Welcome back to the Lake Wanaka, which makes its first Halifax trip of 2024. The car carrier left Emden, Germany on Jan. 6 and is due at the CN Autoport on Wednesday morning. It comes in behind the Don Pasquale in terms of sheer car capacity: While the former has room for 6,100 cars aboard, the latter can hold up to 4,900. (The SFL Composer, meanwhile, can carry up to 6,500 cars. It arrives Friday from Emden.) After Halifax, the Lake Wanaka is headed to Jacksonville, Florida.
The ZIM Atlantic container ship arrives at the Fairview Cove Terminal later Wednesday morning. It’s currently en route from Valencia, Spain, after stops in Barcelona; Genova, Italy; and Piraeus, Greece. (Which also makes it the instant winner of “best ship itinerary of the week.”) That also might explain its tardiness: The ship will reach Halifax one week behind schedule, only to leave for New York first thing Thursday morning.
The Oceanex Sanderling ro-ro/cargo ship returns to Fairview Cove on Wednesday morning from St. John’s, NL. The ship will stick around until Friday evening.
Thursday, January 18
The ancient Romans believed the goddess Rumina looked after nursing infants—and not just humans, but animals, too. As such, her devotees would offer milk, instead of wine, as a tribute. They built a sanctuary near a fig tree at the foot of the Palatine Hill, overlooking the Coliseum. The goddess’ namesake, the NYK Rumina container ship, comes into Halifax on Thursday. It just arrived in Saint John, NB, after a long trip from Cartagena, Colombia. Of all the ships to arrive in Halifax this week, the Rumina is the most behind schedule: It was initially set to reach Nova Scotia three weeks ago.
The Acadian oil tanker is also due to arrive from Saint John. It’s expected at the Irving Oil Terminal early Thursday morning, before it departs around 8pm for St. John’s, NL.
Gordon Leggett (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The Acadian oil tanker, seen near St. John’s in 2022, returns to Halifax on Jan. 18, 2024.
The last two arrivals of the day, the Bakkafoss container ship and Nolhan Ava ro-ro/cargo carrier, come in from Portland, Maine, and St. Pierre and Miquelon, respectively. The former is due at the South End Container Terminal, while the latter will berth in Fairview Cove.
Friday, January 19
As mentioned, the SFL Composer car carrier is due in port. It’s set to reach the CN Autoport just before 6am and depart again for Baltimore, Maryland, by 5pm.
The biggest ship of the day, though, is the CMA CGM Cassiopeia. The 363-metre-long container ship will arrive at the South End Container Terminal around 2pm. It’s currently one week behind schedule. Unlike the ONE Crane, though, which sailed around the south of Africa to reach Halifax from Sri Lanka, the Cassiopeia opted to travel the Gulf of Aden and Suez Canal to stop in Tanger Med, Morocco.
Saturday, January 20
No ship arrivals or departures on the books.
Sunday, January 21
Five container ships—the ZIM China, Em Kea, MSC Nerissa, Tropic Hope and NYK Rigel—are all expected in port on Sunday. The latest of the bunch is the MSC Nerissa, which—if it arrives as planned on Sunday—will be 10 days behind schedule. The ship is currently sailing from Baltimore to New York.
