Greater Victoria Harbour Authority (GVHA) CEO Ian Robertson is advocating to Transport Canada to announce plans to rescind the order suspending cruise in Canada that is currently in effect until Feb. 28, 2022. The temporary exemption to the US Passenger Vessel Services Act signed into law in May 2021 allows cruise ships to bypass Canada for the 2021 season, but the threat of any temporary legislation becoming permanent exists and could decimate the $2.7 billion cruise industry in B.C. Robertson is asking for Transport Canada to announce that the current suspension of cruise ships calling to Canadian waters will end by this fall, confirming that the industry is welcome to return in 2022 by adhering to measures determined by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority Board of Directors has approved the following proposed new Truck Exception Application Fee of $1100 to cover vehicle inspections for those applying for exception from the Rolling Truck Age Program. The VFPA Notice states that the fee will take effect on August 18, 2021 and is intended to recover third-party costs of initial inspection and reporting on applicant vehicles, and to recover port authority costs associated with implementation and management of the exception application process. Costs associated with more extensive inspection, if required, are not intended to be captured under this fee.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced the formation of two partnerships this week with Indigenous groups. Canada's third-largest pipeline company has formed Chinook Pathways, an “equal” partnership with Western Indigenous Pipeline Group to pursue ownership of the government-owned Trans Mountain company that includes the $12.9-billion expansion project between Edmonton and Burnaby. The second partnership is with Haisla Nation in Kitimat, B.C., to build Cedar LNG, a floating export project near Kitimat that would ship 3 million tonnes of LNG per year from B.C. to Asian markets at a total project cost of $3 billion.

The federal government is taking steps to remove bulk fuel from a vessel that sank in 1968 and is leaking oil off the west coast of Vancouver Island. A technical assessment has found two tanks containing about 146 cubic metres of heavy fuel oil, one with marine diesel oil and the other with mixed oil product on board the vessel, called the MV Schiedyk. The federal government has awarded a $5.7-million contract to a Florida company that it says will use a process called hot tapping to reduce the volume of fuel by drilling a hole in the tanks and pumping out the fuel.

The Canadian Marine Pilots' Association (CMPA) has announced the launch of a National Centre of Expertise that brings together pilots from every pilotage district across Canada and provides a unique source of expertise on technical matters, training and accreditation, and professional conduct. The Centre will provide government and stakeholders with advice on key matters related to the technical dimension of piloting and on any issue affecting the exercise of the profession, and will work with industry to optimize operational parameters. Through the CMPA's relationship with the International Maritime Pilots' Association, the Centre will also have input into decisions of the International Maritime Organization affecting maritime pilotage.

As British Columbia’s marine sector and blue economy grows, so too does the demand for a workforce trained in environmental management, monitoring, and ecosystem restoration. Students in Coast Mountain College’s Applied Coastal Ecology (ACE) program are learning foundational knowledge and taking part in real-world, community-based projects in Prince Rupert, to gain the necessary experience that will help meet that need. Since 2012, ACE students have teamed up with the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to help support local marine life, through hands-on collaborations. Each summer, ACE works alongside PRPA’s Environmental Sustainability team to conduct monitoring programs at waterfront sites around the North Coast, looking for evidence of aquatic invasive species.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA), through a funding partnership with Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT), has published a Northern BC Export Profile that illustrates the critical role that international exports play in underpinning local economies in communities from the Cariboo to the Yukon border. The interactive web platform will broaden visibility for community, business and economic policy leaders on the diverse resource export industries that currently support the economy of Northern BC, and will be an important tool to identify new export and economic development opportunities for the region.  The profile confirmed Northern BC as a key economic driver for British Columbia, particularly with respect to export sectors like forestry, petrochemicals, mining, agriculture and fisheries. Increasing the capacity, capabilities and flexibility of supply chains, and ensuring competitive market access to a diversified international market for Northern BC products, is a fundamental approach to improving the stability of local industries and communities.

As G7 world leaders gather in the UK to address global challenges, the Honorable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, announced the Government of Canada’s public policy statement on new thermal coal mining or expansion projects. The statement indicates that the Government considers that these projects are likely to cause unacceptable environmental effects within federal jurisdiction and are not aligned with Canada’s domestic and international climate change commitments. Accordingly, this position is intended to inform federal decision making on thermal coal mining projects and provide industry and potential investors with clarity and regulatory certainty.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced that it is launching investigations to determine whether container chassis from China are being sold at unfair prices in Canada and whether these goods are being subsidized. The complainant alleges that as a result of an increase of the volume of the dumped and subsidized imports from China, it has suffered material injury in the form of lost market share, lost sales, price undercutting, price depression, declining financial performance and reduced capacity utilization. The Canadian International Trade Tribunal will begin a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the imports are harming Canadian producers and will issue a decision by August 9, 2021. Concurrently, the CBSA will investigate whether the imports are being sold in Canada at unfair prices and/or are being subsidized, and will make a preliminary decision by September 8, 2021.

Some 9,000 Canadian Border Service Agency workers are preparing for strike votes starting next week while Canada-U.S. border reopening talks get underway. According to the Public Service Alliance of Canada, 5,500 border services officers, 2,000 headquarters staff and other workers at Canada Post facilities and in inland enforcement jobs will begin strike votes on Wednesday, which will then continue throughout the month. The workers, employed by the CBSA and Treasury Board, have been without a contract for nearly three years and say talks broke off between the two sides in December. As the two parties try to resolve their issues, they are waiting to receive recommendations from a public interest commission they appeared before in May to present arguments around compensation.

As anticipated with the transition to the new Pilotage Act, the fourth and last Order in Council (OIC) was published in the Canada Gazette Part II on June 9, 2021 and is now in force. This OIC transfers regulation-making powers, and authority to issue and suspend pilotage licences and pilotage certificates from the Pilotage Authorities to the Minister of Transport.

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, launched a second call for proposals under the Ghost Gear Fund to support the identification and removal of ghost gear within the Fraser River, B.C. and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as well as the responsible disposal of ghost gear from Canadian waters. Through the Ghost Gear Fund, the Government of Canada will provide up to $2 million in funding under this call for proposals. More information on the application criteria can be found at Canada.ca/ghost-gear. Proposals must be submitted by July 7, 2021 at 23:59 PST. For more information:

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Bernadette Jordan, announced the guiding principles of the federal government’s $647.1 million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) announced in Budget 2021. The strategy will represent the largest-ever Government investment in efforts to save Pacific salmon, and aims to stop the declines now while helping rebuild populations over the longer term. The plan will guide investments and action in four key areas: conservation and stewardship, enhanced hatchery production, harvest transformation, and integrated management and collaboration.

Transport Canada has published their 4th Report to Canadians — a summary of the work accomplished to date through Canada’s Oceans Protection Plan. The Report provides results across more than 50 initiatives and hundreds of projects from coast-to-coast-to-coast. Highlights from the report include the creation of marine training programs; making CCG Regional Operations Centres operational 24/7 and installing new marine weather forecasting and radar coverage; preserving and restoring 64 marine ecosystems; co-developing enhanced maritime situational awareness systems with Indigenous communities; and funding over 300 projects to remove and dispose of abandoned or wrecked boats.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) has introduced three bills to repeal and reform the Passenger Vessel Services Act of 1886 (PVSA), saying that the Act is an outdated, protectionist law that harms American jobs and American tourism. “The PVSA is bad news,” said Sen. Lee. “This arcane law benefits Canada, Mexico, and other countries who receive increased maritime traffic, at the expense of American workers in our coastal cities, towns, and ports. Reducing demand for jobs and travel opportunities here in the U.S. is the opposite of ‘America First.’ And in the context of ocean liners, this ‘protectionist’ law is literally protecting no one, as there hasn’t been a cruise ship built domestically in over half a century. The PVSA is bad economics and bad law, and it’s far past time that Congress reconsider it.”

The Port of Los Angeles has deployed five hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles and opened of two hydrogen fueling stations. The roll out is part of a $82.5 million project, called Shore-to-Store, which includes more than a dozen public and private sector partners who teamed up for a 12-month demonstration of zero-emission Class 8 trucks. Five additional hydrogen-fueled heavy-duty trucks, two battery-electric yard tractors, and two battery-electric forklifts will also be brought in. Toyota designed and built the powertrain’s fuel cell electric power supply system; Kenworth designed and built 10 of the Class 8 T680 fuel cell electric trucks; and Shell designed, built and will operate the project’s two new high-capacity hydrogen fueling stations in Wilmington and Ontario, California.

The Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS),  a grass roots initiative led by marine research non-profit ProMare with support from IBM and a global consortium of partners, is set to make its first journey from the U.S. to the U.S. MAS has spent the last several months in sea trials and various research missions to prepare for the big journey from Plymouth, England, to Massachusetts in the US. It'll work with scientists and other autonomous vessels to gather information on issues like global warming, micro-plastic pollution and marine mammal conservation.

Argentina has become the 100th Contracting State to the mandatory International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations on cutting air pollution from shipping. With this ratification, the regulations now apply to 96.65% of world merchant shipping by tonnage. MARPOL Annex VI (Regulations for the prevention of Air Pollution from Ships) sets mandatory limits on sulphur oxide (SOx) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from ship's engine exhaust, regulates onboard incineration and prohibits deliberate emissions of ozone depleting substances. It also includes provisions for designated emission control areas with more stringent standards for SOx, NOx and particulate matter.

The IMO's Environment Protection Committee meeting is now underway. MEPC 76 is expected to adopt proposed amendments to the MARPOL Convention that would require ships to combine a technical and an operational approach to reduce their carbon intensity. This is in line with the ambition of the Initial IMO GHG Strategy, which aims to reduce carbon intensity of international shipping by 40% by 2030, compared to 2008. These are two new measures: the technical requirement to reduce carbon intensity, based on a new Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI); and the operational carbon intensity reduction requirements, based on a new operational carbon intensity indicator (CII). The dual approach aims to address both technical (how the ship is equipped and retrofitted ) and operational measures (how the ship operates). Click here to read more.

At the 103rd session of the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee -- May 5 to 14, 2021 -- the Committee finalized its regulatory scoping exercise (RSE) on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS), providing an important first step in paving the way for focused discussions to ensure regulations keep pace with technological developments. The scoping exercise was initiated in 2017 to determine how safe, secure and environmentally sound MASS operations might be addressed in IMO instruments. The RSE highlighted a number of high-priority issues, including the development of terminology and definitions for such terms as "master," "crew," or "responsible person." Other key issues include addressing the functional and operational requirements of the remote-control station and the possible designation of a remote operator as a seafarer. Click here for a deeper read.

The Forest Trader, currently docked in Vancouver Harbour after a 27-day voyage from Kobe, Japan, is a bulk carrier (dry bulk Handysize) owned by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers. The Forest Trader was built in 2013 by Shin Kochi Jyuko Shipyard in Kochi, Japan. She is classed by ClassNK.

Flag: Panama
Gross Tonnage: 21,158
DWT: 33,513 t
Length Overall: 176m
Breadth Extreme: 28m
Year Built: 2013