In The Harbour: August 29th-September 5th

Another week has passed, and that means it's time to review a few of the ships that came through this week.

The Wellservicer in St. John's, September 2014. Photo by Heather Elliott.

WellServicer

  • Nationality: British

  • Length: 111.4 metres

  • Beam: 23 metres

  • Weight: 4615 tonnes

  • Draught: 6.6 metres

  • Speed: 10.5 knots

  • Crew: 139

  • Year: 1989

This ship has been in and out of the harbour a few times this summer. Another dive support vessel (there have been a few this summer) she's been back and forth between the city and the White Rose oil field. She is owned by Technip, and is one of the seven dive support ships in their fleet. (They also have ties with the Skandi Inspector).

The Wellservicer can be used to provide a few different services, including laying cables, installing structures, and providing support to unmanned subsea vehicles. She has a type of propulsion system that allows her to stay in one place, regardless of seas around her. Her diving system can support 18 divers under pressure. She left today to head to the oil fields, but I would guess she will be back a couple of more times for sure.

Sancto Spirit

Fuelling up before leaving port. September 2014. Photo by Heather Elliott.

  • Nationality: Gibraltar

  • Length: 86.5 metres

  • Beam: 16 metres

  • Weight: 2550 tonnes

  • Draught: 5.7 metres

  • Speed: 8.3 knots

  • Year: 2009

First of all, I think people should watch this video of this particular vessel in the middle of some weather out on the Atlantic (warning: there's a bit of language, and the sound quality isn't all that great). The Sanco Spirit is a seismic research vessel that pops into the harbour a couple of times a year. She is equipped to do to couple of different types of imaging, and is used to locate possible oil sources from the service. She's used in a partnership between Nalcor Energy and the Norwegian companies TGS and PGS.

Calvao

The Calvao dockside, September 2014. Photo by Heather Elliott.

  • Nationality: Portuguese

  • Length: 61.4 metres

  • Beam: 11.7 metres

  • Weight: 603 tonnes

  • Draught: 5.5 metres

  • Speed: 9.7 metres

  • Year: 1977

On a sombre note, the fishing trawler Calvao pulled into port this morning, after a reported death on board the vessel. Emergency crews were alongside to help the crew, and all initial reports have suggested that the death was not of a suspicious nature. The crew is going to be in port for a couple of days while everything gets sorted out, and then they will be back underway.

It's not the first time that the Calvao has made headlines in Newfoundland. Last year they were issued a citation for continuing to fish past the closure of the red fish season.

That's it for this week. Next week the cruise ships start arriving!

Images used this week are my own.