On February 2nd COSCO Shipping Lines (Canada) Inc. participated in the commissioning test of the shore power installation at DP World's Fairview Terminal in the Port of Prince Rupert.  The CSCL Summer operated off the shore power system for the 24-hour test and appears to have drawn about 27805 kWh (27.805mWh), averaging 1.183MW per hour.  The Port of Prince Rupert thanks all those on the commissioning team and their ability to adapt to various restrictions in place. The team spanned the continent from Prince Rupert to Vancouver to North Carolina, and includes the team at DP World and crew of the CSCL Summer.  Other organizations that participated in the project include BC Hydro, Moffat & Nicol, SEL Schweitzer, Magna IV, Pacific Northwest Electric, Crown, and Schneider Electric. Funding for the project came from the Environment and Climate Change Canada's Low Carbon Challenge Fund and Climate Smart.  Full operation of shore power is expected to start later this year or early 2022.

Two men are dead and one man has been rescued after a tugboat capsized while underway with tow from Kitimat to Kemano. The RCMP say at 12:40 a.m. Thursday, the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre received an emergency beacon from a tugboat in the Gardner Canal near Kemano, about 75 kilometres southeast of Kitimat. An RCMP West Coast Marine vessel stationed in Hartley Bay responded and recovered found one crew member and Canadian Coast Guard assisted and found the second member, sadly both were unresponsive. The RCMP indicated the third crew member was spotted by a private helicopter on the shore and has been transported to local hospital.

The federal Minister of Labour, Filomena Tassi, along with representatives from the BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada, and the Ending Violence Association of BC (EVA BC), has launched a new harassment and violence prevention training program that will benefit British Columbia’s 10,000-person waterfront workforce.  The BCMEA and its partners have co-developed a comprehensive training program bringing employers, unions and anti-violence experts together to provide training and education in support of safer, more respectful workplaces for everyone. This includes an emphasis on supporting populations most at risk of experiencing workplace harassment and violence, including LGBTQ2+ and Indigenous communities.

Pinnacle Renewable Energy Inc. has announced that it has entered into an arrangement agreement with Drax Group plc and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Drax Canadian Holdings Inc., pursuant to which Drax will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Pinnacle in an all-cash transaction valued at C$831 million, including the assumption of net debt and Pinnacle's non-controlling interests in its joint ventures. Pinnacle is the second largest producer of industrial wood pellets in the world and the transaction plans to reinforce Drax's position as the worlds' leading sustainable biomass generation and supply company.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) issued a public statement on the Government of Canada's decision to defer the cruise season to February 29, 2022.  The VFPA is working with other Canadian cruise ports through the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA) to develop consistent national safety protocols for the resumption of cruising across Canada as soon as conditions allow. The Vancouver cruise industry is a key contributor to the local economy, stimulating $3.17 million in direct economic activity for each ship that calls at Canada Place, and $2.2 billion of total economic impact.

The Government of Canada is developing a Blue Economy Strategy to grow our ocean sectors through job creation, inclusion and conservation. This strategy will harness opportunities on all three coasts to spur innovative ideas, create more jobs, leading to a more prosperous future for Indigenous and coastal communities. It will also position Canada as a world leader in the global blue economy. In the first week of the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard roundtable discussions, she has heard about the importance of British Colombia's fisheries and coastal tourism from the Pacific region, the level of importance of having reliable, timely, and accessible data on our oceans from ocean scientists and professors and the need for collaboration between communities, first nations and industry to produce a strategy that considers economic, social and environmental factors. Roundtables and online engagement will continue until June 15, 2021.

The Government of Canada has released the findings of the Marine Transportation Safety Board's investigation on the dragging anchor of the Golden Cecilie and subsequent collision with Green K-Max 1. On March 19. 2020, high winds caused the Golden Cecilie to drag anchor and collide with Green K-Max 1. The collision damage to both vessels above the waterline, and no pollution. The report can be found here.

Alaskan Senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Representative Don Young have released a statement over concerns for the consequences of Canada’s cruise ban extension through Feb 1, 2022. The letter notes that Canada’s announcement came as a surprise, and the move did not take Alaska, or their economy into consideration. The extension effectively kills the Seattle-Alaska cruise season for foreign-flagged ships, as ships that sail between Alaska and continental US ports under foreign flag must call enroute at a Canadian port. To circumvent Canada’s ban, the delegation may to an exemption under the Passenger Vessel Services Act which may result in long-term consequences to the BC's cruise industry.

The US Coast Guard’s Cruise Ship National Center of Expertise (CSNCOE) has just published its winter edition of its newsletter and outlines the CDC Conditional Sail Order and details on how the USCG will enforce the Certification of Compliance.   Other notable articles in the newsletter includes how US ports and the USCG are preparing for duel-fueled cruise ships and CSNCOE's scorecard noting continuous improvement on cruise ship safety.  The Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance has been working closely with LNG carriers and field subject matters to create the training framework for LNG and other Low Flash-point Fuels (LFF).

Haifa, Israel, headquartered ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. (NYSE: ZIM) has entered a 12-year agreement with Seaspan Corporation to charter in ten 15,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel newbuilds from Seaspan Corporation. Seaspan has ordered the vessels at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries. They are anticipated to begin deliveries in the first half of 2023 and the ships will deploy on its Asia – US East Coast trade where it has an estimated market share of 9%.  The value of the agreement is in excess of one billion dollars.

Russia’s president has announced plans to ban the exportation of softwood logs and high-value hardwood logs as of January 1, 2022 and is also considering new regulations aimed at reducing the exportation of green softwood lumber. Reducing log and green lumber exports is hoped to stimulate further value-added processing within Russia and better control illegal logging.  Russia exported 15 million m3 of logs in 2020, which accounted for almost 12% of the global trade.  The changes to trade flows and upward pressure on log prices may pressure China to buy more lumber and value-added forest products.

On 4th December, at Song Cam Shipyard in Vietnam, the world’s first fully-electric ship-handling tug of 70 tonnes bollard pull – the Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 – was launched into the water. Damen is building the vessel to support its customer, New Zealand’s Ports of Auckland, in achieving its ambitious sustainability targets. The RSD-E Tug 2513 takes an already efficient design and optimises it for maximum maritime sustainability. Ports of Auckland has the goal of being a zero emissions organisation by 2040. With this is mind, the organisation approached Damen with the question – was a fully-electric, zero emissions tug a possibility? Damen, with its own goal to become the world’s most sustainable shipbuilder, was keen to take up the challenge. With Ports of Auckland already operating a Damen ASD Tug 2411, the shipbuilder was able to assess the potential for a fully electric tug. The idea proved not only to be possible, but economically viable.

Sjoerd de Bruin, Damen sales manager Asia Pacific, said “With 40% of New Zealand’s energy being generated from sustainable sources – including 80% of electricity – Sparky offers the chance to complete the sustainable circle in Ports of Auckland’s tug operation. “Since receiving the order for this historic vessel, we have been working towards this moment – the introduction of the first fully-electric tug of this capability to the water. We are looking forward to continuing in our task and completing the vessel in the coming months.” The next stages of construction will see Damen install the vessel’s innovative hardware. The RSD-E Tug 2513 is scheduled to be delivered to Ports of Auckland at the end of 2021. Following a naming competition, Ports of Auckland is planning to name the vessel ‘Sparky’.