The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, issued a Ministerial Order ceasing all train movement, with the exception of emergency fire response and maintenance and repair work, between Kamloops and Boston Bar, B.C. for 48 hours. The Order took effect at 12:01 am PDT on July 9, 2021 and applies to both CP and CN rail lines routing through the BC interior area affected by the wildfires. Trains already located in the restricted area are permitted to continue to operate for the purposes of exiting. The Ministerial Order was issued in the interest of safe railway operations, and to protect public safety for the temporary return of residents to inspect their homes and properties in Lytton. A copy of the Ministerial Order can be found here:  Transport Canada Ministerial Order.

Large vessel anchorage demand continues to exceed capacity. All anchorage class assignments are experiencing heightened demand. Vessel operators are slow steaming to delay arrival in Vancouver. Vessels in port can be viewed on the home page of the PortVan eHub app by selecting “Vessels in Port”.

In a ruling that will undoubtedly have far-reaching implications on other cases, on June 29, 2021, the British Columbia Supreme Court released its decision in Yahey v British Columbia, in which it ruled that the rights of the Blueberry River First Nations (BRFN) under Treaty 8 in northeast British Columbia had been infringed by the cumulative impacts of industrial developments within Blueberry’s traditional territory, including forestry, oil and gas, renewable energy and agriculture. This decision marks a significant departure from past cases involving cumulative effects and treaty rights infringement. Depending on the outcome of any appeal, it could materially increase regulatory risks for new infrastructure projects in northeast British Columbia, and could extend to other areas in Canada where similar claims may be made. Click here to read the full article from Osler Law Firm.

Victoria-based Helm Operations has launched a new set of tools to help companies combat crew fatigue and ensure rest time compliance across their fleets by allowing them to efficiently manage onboard work schedules from a single screen. The new tool will let companies plan, forecast, and manage their work rest easily, guaranteeing their crew rest times are compliant with STCW rules or their own corporate standards.  With regulators having implemented ever more stringent work-rest tracking requirements, including ILO 180, the IMO’s STCW 2010 Manila Amendments, MLC 2013, and the US’s Subchapter M among a flurry of other national regulations, captains and operators have had to carefully manage crew shifts in an effort to manage fatigue and minimize accidents. Built based on direct feedback from captains, crews, and regulators, Helm CONNECT Work Rest makes it easy for anyone—even the most software-averse captain—to easily track and prove compliance with regulations. Click here for more information.

The Vancouver Maritime Museum Silent Auction that began on June 24 will continue through to July 24. The auction raises funds for education programs for children, families, schools, and adults that help build a connection to the West Coast maritime community. Items featured include limited edition and framed prints of artwork (including John Horton's Desolation Sound), roundtrip tickets with Helijet, gift certificates, hotel stays, jewelry and much more. Visit the VMM Silent Auction.

The Government of Canada has ruled against the Laurentia Project: Port of Quebec Deep-Water Wharf – Beauport Sector, noting that it was likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects to fish and fish habitat, air quality and human health, socio-economic conditions, and the current use of lands and resources for traditional purposed by Indigenous peoples. Read the full decision statement here.

In its transportation statistics 2020, TSB Canada recorded a total of 262 marine accidents (resulting directly from the operation of a ship), down from the 2019 total of 267 and below the 10-year average of 289. In 2020, 18 marine fatalities were reported, up from the 17 fatalities reported in 2019, and above the annual average of 15.4 in the 2010–2019 time period. Of the 18 fatalities in 2020, 12 were the result of four shipping accidents, while the remaining six fatalities resulted from five accidents aboard ship. In 2020, there were 43 accidents aboard ship, down from 60 in 2019 and down from the 2010–2019 average of 51. The majority of accidents aboard ship occurred on cargo vessels (35%) and fishing vessels (35%). Source and more details: Maritime Magazine

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra announced almost $750,000 in funding through the Quiet Vessel Initiative for five Indigenous communities along the Trans Mountain Expansion Project marine shipping route. The Indigenous communities receiving funding are the Malahat Nation, Cowichan Tribes, T’Sou-ke First Nation, Pacheedaht First Nation and Tseycum First Nation. Recipient communities will use this funding to build and improve their scientific capacity and expertise to measure and monitor the local impacts of underwater vessel noise. The five-year, $26 million Quiet Vessel Initiative is a critical investment in the most promising technologies, vessel designs, retrofits and operational practices to make vessels quieter.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, welcomed Royal Assent of the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, which has become law. It marks the first time a Canadian government has legislated emissions reductions accountability to address climate change, by setting legal requirements on the current government and future governments to plan, report, and course correct on the path to net-zero emissions by or before 2050.  the Act enshrines in legislation Canada's commitment to set national targets for the reduction of GHG emissions with the objective of attaining net-zero emissions by 2050.

Transport Canada has issued Ship Safety Bulletin No. 07/2021 which provides guidance on how to comply with Canada's regulations for transporting oil, fuels, and oil or fuel by-products such as waste oil. The Bulletin notes that, of late, there have been numerous instances where oil and fuel have been transported in an unsafe and non-compliant manner. Guidance is provided for the transportation of oil in bulk, oil in packaged form in portable tanks, oil in integrated as well as portable tanks (hybrid model) and additional cautions and requirements. Click here to read the full Bulletin.

NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement and the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries on the West Coast have teamed up to kick off its inaugural Operation Clean Seas, an effort to raise public awareness on sanctuary discharge rules in the Olympic Coast, Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands national marine sanctuaries. The awareness program, which will be promoted through Labor Day weekend, will involve informational pamphlets to those who operate commercial fishing, recreational, and charter vessels at dockside inspections and at-sea boardings, as well as to the public at national marine sanctuary and marina offices.

High shipment volume continued to flow through facilities on both the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic coasts at a record-setting pace. Volume at the Port of Los Angeles — the country’s busiest port — soared 74% to 1,012,047 TEUs moved, the first time a Western Hemisphere port has handled more than 1 million TEUs in a month. The  Port of Long Beach also had a record-setting May with a 44% increase over 2020, making it the busiest month in the port’s 110-year history. The Port of Oakland saw a 22% increase; the Northwest Seaport Alliance saw volumes jump 38.4%. On the East Coast, the Port of New York/New Jersey moved 796,693 TEUs, a 23.8% increase above last May. The Port of Virginia also set a May record, moving 314,942 containers for a 56% gain. Georgia’s Port of Savannah reported its second-best month ever, up 42% over last year. South Carolina’s Port of Charleston finished May with its second-strongest monthly volume ever with a 36% gain. And the Port of Baltimore reported its second-best month on record, reporting a nearly 22% increase.

Suez Canal authorities have released the Ever Given vessel that had blocked the passage for nearly a week, causing major disruptions to traffic. The containership was seen leaving the Suez Canal after its Japanese owner, Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd., reached a settlement with the canal authorities over a compensation amount after more than three months of negotiations and a court standoff. The settlement deal was signed in a ceremony Wednesday in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia, after which the vessel was seen sailing to the Mediterranean.

A court in Togo sentenced nine individuals to prison for acts of piracy in a landmark trial for a Gulf of Guinea state. The group of pirates, which includes seven Nigerians, a Ghanaian and a Togolese, boarded a small tanker at anchor near Lomé and robbed the crew before being apprehended by the Togo Navy in May 2019. The group members were charged with piracy, assault, robbery and belonging to a criminal organization and sentenced to prison terms ranging from 12-20 years, with each ordered to pay fines of USD $45,000-90,000.

One million seafarers, on board more than half the world’s shipping fleet, have now benefitted from the ShipVisitor welfare app, which helps to provide continuity of care as ships and their crew move from port to port. Developed by international charity Sailors’ Society, the app is used free of charge around the globe by 23 maritime welfare organizations, who provide chaplaincy support to seafarers far from home. Using AIS data provided by MarineTraffic, the app enables chaplains and ship visitors to report their activities in real time and maintain a history of ship visits and support provided to seafarers. This information can then be used to provide ongoing care and assistance as ship and crew continue their voyage.

The first ever Unmanned Marine Systems (UMS) certificate has been awarded to SEA-KIT International by Lloyd’s Register, representing an important milestone for the maritime industry. SEA-KIT has worked closely with Lloyd’s Register since early 2020 in a concerted effort to achieve the highest standards for the Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) sector, culminating with their latest 12m X-class USV for geo-data specialist Fugro being awarded the new UMS certification. Unmanned systems technologies continue to gain a stronghold in the offshore sector. SEA-KIT is already working on commercial projects around the world, with multiple additional builds planned that include a larger vessel later this year.

Seaspan Corporation ("Seaspan"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Corp. ("Atlas") announced that it has entered into long-term charters with ZIM Integrated Shipping Services Ltd. ("ZIM") (NYSE: ZIM) relating to ten ultra-modern 7,000 TEU dual-fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) containership newbuilds. Seaspan will enter into agreements with a major shipyard to construct the LNG Containerships, which are anticipated to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter of 2023 and through 2024. The LNG Containerships are anticipated to be financed from existing liquidity, cash flow from operations, and additional borrowings. The vessels have an aggregate purchase price of about $1.05 billion. The transaction also notes 12-year charters totalling approximately $1.8 billion of gross contracted cash flow.

Owned by the Swedish firm Furetank, the Fure Viten product tanker was delivered from the China Merchants Jinling Shipyard in Yangzhou in late June. The brand new gas-powered 17,999 dwt Fure Viten has a very low Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) score of 4.65 points, more than 50% better than the required score for this size of ship. She is the last in a series of eight ships that the Swedish owner has taken delivery of over the past months – four of which it owns and another four it commercially operates. With the delivery of Fure Viten, the average carbon dioxide emissions from Furetank’s fleet has been slashed by 50% compared to 2008 levels, the baseline IMO took when making its 2050 goals. The eight dual fuel vessels will be operated with liquefied biogas or LNG. Fure Viten and preceding sister vessel Fure Vinga are the very first tankers in Europe that are fully equipped to operate the energy-demanding cargo pumps with 6.6 kV high voltage shore power.

Flag: Sweden
Gross Tonnage: 12,763
DWT: 17,999 dwt
Length Overall: 150m
Breadth Extreme: 23m
Year Built: 2021