The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has published a Notice of Amendment to its Port Information Guide on May 5, 2021.  The amendments define procedures for Traffic Control Zone 3 (Eastern Burrard Inlet), include Fraser River bridge transit procedures, and introduce new pre-arrival declaration requirement for vessels equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems.  These items will be discussed in our upcoming meetings as the deadline for comments is June 5, 2021.

With interest on the rise for electric and hybrid technologies, Albion Marine recently highlighted their concept design for an actual zero-emission cable ferry, the Albion Zero. The concept utilizes solar power and the power of river streams to generate sufficient charge for ferry operation. The ferry carries eight vehicles or two large trucks and capable of operating in shallow waters. The vessel does not need an electric grid, and it does not utilize engines during the regular process. Director of Albion Marine Mr. Yakovenko says: “It is an elegant engineering concept specifically designed for a river crossing in remote Northern location with limited or non-existing infrastructure. Our modular design makes it suitable for a large range of ferry designs. The conversion payback period only a few years.”

On Thursday, the Federal Government announced its commitment to building two heavy icebreakers for operations in the Arctic. The ships will be constructed at Seaspan Shipyards in North Vancouver and by Davie Shipbuilding in Levi, Quebec. These new ships will to replace the coast guard’s principal heavy icebreaker, the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, which is almost 55 years old. In a press release, Seaspan states that construction of an icebreaker will sustain approximately 1,400 jobs at Seaspan’s Vancouver shipyard and 1,400 additional jobs in the marine industry across the country. The icebreaker, Seaspan’s fourth class of vessel for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, will be constructed at the company’s North Vancouver shipyard, a high-capacity multi-program yard that is one of the most modern and efficient in North America and was purpose-built to deliver Canada’s largest and most complex ships. The Polar Icebreaker will be built concurrently with the second Joint Support Ship for the Royal Canadian Navy, the largest naval vessel by length ever to be built in Canada, and the largest and most advanced ocean science research ship for the Canadian Coast Guard.

The US Coast Guard's Cruise Ship National Centre of Expertise (NCOE) has issued Industry Notice 21-01 to provide information to owners and operators within the cruise industry regarding new requirements established with the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). All cruise ships with 250 passenger or more on international and coastwise voyages must meet new requirements that include having a physician always present and available, compliance with health care guidelines, and safety briefings for all passengers on appropriate steps during a medical emergency. The USCG Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance also issued Policy Letter 21-02 “Foreign Passenger Vessel Examination COVID-19 Guidance” to provide guidance to the NCOE and Officers in Charge, Marine Inspection on Coast Guard examination requirements for all foreign cruise ships seeking to resume suspended operations within US ports due to the COVID- 19 pandemic.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has also issued a lengthy COVID-19 Operations Manual for voyages under the Conditional Sailing Order.

Puget LNG, LLC and GAC Bunker Fuels Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate in the supply and sale of clean-burning LNG marine fuel from Puget LNG’s terminal to GAC’s customers in the Pacific Northwest. When the Tacoma LNG Terminal becomes operational in the second quarter of 2021, it will be the first such terminal on North America’s west coast providing direct shoreside loading access for a bunker barge. GAC Bunker Fuels is planning to issue a Request for Proposal for a Jones Act-compliant LNG bunker barge to be constructed, owned, and operated by a third party.  Loading from Puget LNG’s terminal in Tacoma, the barge will be able to bunker vessels in port in 2023.  In April SeaspanLNG announced its Approval in Principle with Bureau Veritas to design a 7600cbm bunker vessel to provided ship-to-ship LNG transfers.

The Port of Long Beach has approved a new sublease agreement with Space Explorations Technologies Corp. – known widely as SpaceX – to provide the company with a marine terminal for its West Coast rocket recovery operations. On Saturday, May 1, the pioneering space technology company took over part of a waterfront, wharf-equipped Long Beach facility vacated just over one year ago by Sea Launch, a commercial satellite launching company that had been based at the Port for 20 years. SpaceX will occupy about 6.5 acres on the Port’s Pier T, which was once the site of a US Navy complex.

The Seafarers International Relief Fund has issued an urgent call to action in support of seafarers and their families devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic in India and other countries. Seafarers have been the invisible victims of COVID-19, with hundreds of thousands marooned on vessels for months beyond agreed contracts, in some cases. Despite suggestions that the crew change crisis was near its end, the escalation of COVID-19 cases in India to more than 400,000 per day has prompted some major ports to prohibit ship crew changes for seafarers with recent travel history to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. With your help, the Seafarers International Relief Fund is aiming to raise US$1 million to assist in delivering critical aid and support for seafarers and their families in India. To donate, please visit: https://donate.theseafarerscharity.org/sirf.

The looming crisis in India is highlighting the desperate need for seafarers to be a priority for immunization. India supplies 14 per cent of the world's global seafarer workforce. Seafarers have endured significant hardships during the pandemic, including prolonged periods in ships extending well beyond one year and the impossibility of crew changes due to border closures, while their families suffered the effects of the pandemic in their home countries. Esben Poulsson, the chairman of the International Chamber of Shipping, urged all trading nations to prioritize the immunization of seafarers who have facilitated the movement of critical goods during the pandemic. In Canada, a working group of the National Seafarer Welfare Board is examining this situation ahead of making formal recommendations to the Federal Government. With an abundance of vaccines, the United States is already vaccinating foreign seafarers.

The International Maritime Organisation’s 2020 global sulphur limit for marine fuel oil has been in force for more than a year. BIMCO, The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), INTERCARGO and INTERTANKO are calling on Fleet Managers, Vessel Managers, Technical Superintendents, Masters and Chief Engineers to share their insight and experiences with marine fuels in a new survey aimed at identifying potential quality and quantity issues. The purpose of the survey is to gain a better understanding of issues encountered by the industry, particularly issues related to the bunkering and use of marine fuel oil. This Survey will run for a year until 1 May 2022 and the information gathered will help identify specific areas in the fuel supply and management chain that need improvement.  The questionnaire can be downloaded here.

Wärtsilä Voyage and Vancouver-based PortLink have partnered with Tanger Med Port Authority, the largest Mediterranean and African container port, to take a new step forward in global port efficiency by co-developing a new cutting-edge Port Management Information System. The smart port upgrade will include the new Wärtsilä Navi-Harbour VTS System which enables Just-in-Time arrival, helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as PortLink's Port Management Information System that digitalizes the entire port-call process, reducing chances of human error and increasing efficiencies.

ONEX Peace, an Aframax tanker built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HHI) is the world’s first merchant ship to receive DNV’s SILENT-E notation. The SILENT-E notation ensures ships do not exceed average-to-moderate Underwater Radiation Noise (URN) levels. Vessels with this notation can minimize their impact on marine life and document noise performance for authorities, or those requiring proof of noise emissions for transit through vulnerable areas.

DNV, HHI and the Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering are conducting a joint research project on measuring and evaluating underwater radiation noise. As part of the study, the parties carried out the underwater noise measurement and analysis of the ONEX Peace. Following verification of his ability to meet the requirement DNV granted the SILENT-E notation.

Flag:  Panama
Gross Tonnage:  62,500
Summer Deadweight: 115,000
Length x Breadth: 250 x 44 m