Baie Comeau (2012 ship)

Baie Comeau is the fourth and last self-unloading lake freighter in Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) Trillium class. Like her sister ships, Baie St. Paul, Thunder Bay, and Whitefish Bay she was built in China, being launched in 2012 and entered service in 2013.

Baie Comeau leaving Two Harbors, Minnesota
History
Name	Baie Comeau
Operator	Canada Steamship Lines
Port of registry	Canada
Builder	Chengxi shipyard, Jiangyin
Yard number	CX9304
Laid down	27 July 2012
Launched	21 August 2012
Completed	20 June 2013
Identification	IMO number: 9639892 MMSI number: 316023808 Callsign: CFN6357
Status	In active service
General characteristics
Class and type	Trillium-class freighter
Tonnage	24,430 GT 34,402 DWT
Length	225.5 m (739 ft 10 in)
Beam	23.76 m (77 ft 11 in)
Draught	9 m (29 ft 6 in)
Installed power	1 x IMO Tier III MAN B&W 6S50ME diesel engine, 8,750 kW (11,730 hp)
Propulsion	1 shaft

Design and description

Baie Comeau is a self-unloading lake freighter in service on the North American Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway. The fourth of the CSL Trillium class,^[1][2] the vessel, according to the Miramar Ship Index, has a gross tonnage (GT) of 32,000 tons and a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 37,690 tons.^[3] However, on the CSL website, the ship is stated as having a GT of 24,430 and DWT of 34,490 tons.^[4] While Equasis, the ship registry of the French Ministry of Transport states the gross tonnage of the vessel is 24,430 and the deadweight tonnage is 34,402.^[5]

Baie Comeau is 225.5 metres (739 ft 10 in) long overall with a beam of 23.76 metres (77 ft 11 in).^[3] Baie Comeau has a maximum draught of 9 metres (29 ft 6 in). The ship is powered by one IMO Tier III MAN B&W 6S50ME diesel engine driving one shaft creating 8,750 kilowatts (11,730 hp).^[6] The vessel has a maximum speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph).^[3] The ship is equipped with five holds and has a net hold capacity of 41,917.96 m³ (1,480,319 cu ft). The vessel has an average unloading rate of 5,450 tonnes (5,360 long tons; 6,010 short tons) per hour.^[4]

Construction and career

Baie Comeau was constructed at the Chengxi shipyard in Jiangyin, China with the yard number CX9304. The ship was laid down on 27 July 2012 and launched on 21 September later that year.^[3] Completed on 20 June 2013, Baie Comeau left China on 30 June, arrived in Montreal, Quebec, on 24 August.^[7] The ship is registered in Canada and has the IMO number 9639892.^[3]

In an inaugural salute to the completion of its first voyage carrying cargo, Claude Dumais, CSL's vice president of technical operations, presented Christine Brisson, mayor of Baie-Comeau, with an 2.4-metre (7.9 ft) model of the vessel, which will be displayed in the city's municipal offices.^[8] In April 2018, a strike by CSL's shipping deck officers led to all of CSL's self-unloading ships being laid up until the strike could be mediated, with Baie Comeau remaining at Thunder Bay, Ontario.^[9]

The Quebec & Ontario Transportation Company launched an earlier vessel named Baie Comeau in 1954.^[10]

References

1. "The Baie Comeau, CSL's fourth Trillium-Class laker, arrives from Transoceanic voyage". canadiansailings.ca. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2016. Canada Steamship Lines welcomed the final of four Trillium Class self-unloading lakers, the Baie Comeau. The vessel arrived in the port of Montreal on August 24. The Baie Comeau's maiden voyage began on June 30 when it set sail from Chengxi Shipyard in Jiangyin, China.
2. "Maiden voyage begins for Baie Comeau, the latest Trillium Class self unloader". Boatnerd.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013. The Baie Comeau was preceded by the Whitefish Bay and Thunder Bay, both departing in May on their maiden voyages, and also by the award-winning Trillium Class self-unloader Baie St. Paul in 2012.
3. "Baie Comeau (9639892)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
4. "Baie Comeau". CSL Group. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
5. "Baie Comeau (9639892)". Equasis. Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
6. "CSL'S Trillium Class Laker". CSL Group. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
7. "The MV Baie Comeau, CSL's Fourth Trillium Class Laker, Arrives from Transoceanic Voyage". CSL Group. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
8. "The MV Baie Comeau Celebrated in Namesake City". Canada Steamship Lines. 7 October 2013. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Canada Steamship Lines (CSL) held a celebration today to salute the maiden voyage of the fourth newly built Trillium Class Laker, the MV Baie Comeau, to her namesake city.
9. "Mediation underway as Canada Steamship Lines deck officer strike continues". CBC News. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
10. Gillham, Skip (7 November 2013). "Unknown end for old Baie Comeau". Port Colborne Leader. Retrieved 22 June 2016. Lloyds Register for Shipping deleted the ship from its listings in 1986 with the notation "continued existence in doubt".