COS Weekly Newsletter - Friday, 12 November 2021

As southern resident killer whales have been seen several times by trusted observers in the slowdown area in the last two weeks, the vessel slowdowns in Haro Strait and Boundary Pass will be extended for an additional two weeks and conclude on November 30, 2021. On December 1, an email will be issued to participants confirming the end to the Haro Strait and Boundary Pass slowdown for the year and the Canadian Coast Guard Navigational Warning will expire.

The Musqueam Indian Band and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority have signed a historic relationship agreement creating a framework for a long-term, meaningful relationship. The multi-faceted, long-term agreement reframes their working relationship to better deliver on joint commitments. Through this agreement, the parties will work together to uphold the rights of Musqueam and move towards a more productive and collaborative shared future.

Canada is one of the signatory nations on the ‘Clydebank Declaration’ launched at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. The Declaration supports the installation of at least six green corridors by 2025, that will require support for zero-emission fuels, the infrastructure required for carbon-neutral shipping and regulatory frameworks. The declaration stated, “It is our collective aim to support the establishment of at least 6 green corridors by the middle of this decade, while aiming to scale activity up in the following years, by inter alia supporting the establishment of more routes, longer routes and/or having more ships on the same routes. It is our aspiration to see many more corridors in operation by 2030. We will assess these goals by the middle of this decade, with a view to increasing the number of green corridors.” Signatory nations include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Republic of Ireland, Japan, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. As the name itself suggests, the ‘Clydebank Declaration’ pays tribute to the heritage of the City of Glasgow and the River Clyde where the Declaration was signed.

The Southern California shipping industry will limit the number of ships allowed to drop anchor directly off the coast starting Nov. 16 to improve safety and reduce emissions as the number of container ships and other types of vessels waiting at anchor reached 92 ships earlier this week. The plan will require eastbound ships to anchor 150 miles west off the coast, and north- and south-bound vessels stay at least 50 miles offshore. The new process, developed by the Pacific Maritime Association, the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association, the Marine Exchange of Southern California, and individual companies, will not apply to vessels currently at anchor. Starting Tuesday, arriving ships will be assigned a spot in the arrival queue that is based on when they left their last port of call. That will allow ships to slow their speeds, reducing emissions and risk of accidents as winter weather conditions approach, according to Capt. James Kipling Louttit, the marine exchange’s executive director.  As of Tuesday, there were 30 container ships at berth and a record 81 vessels at anchor in the Los Angeles-Long Beach complex, according to the marine exchange. There was a total of 103 ships that same day at anchor and another 63 at berth.

As part of the Administration’s ongoing efforts to address disruptions to the global supply chain the Biden-Harris Administration has announced its  Port Action Plan. This plan is a set of concrete steps to accelerate investment in our ports, waterways, and freight networks. This action plan will increase federal flexibilities for port grants; accelerate port infrastructure grant awards; announce new construction projects for coastal navigation, inland waterways, and land ports of entry; and launch the first round of expanded port infrastructure grants funded through the bipartisan infrastructure deal that will invest $17 billion into modernizing infrastructure at ports and waterways, making it the largest federal investment in ports in US history.

Two Federal Maritime Commissioners have raised concerns about the planned acquisition of Ports America by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), which has previously been a minority investor in the company. In a letter to Janet L Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury Department of the Treasury, they voice their concern on the potential investment proposed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) to acquire 100% ownership of Ports America and request the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) exercise its authority and launch a full and thorough review of the national security implications of Ports America’s acquisition by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.  The letter also notes concerns around Canadian Pacific Railway's access through the proposed acquisition of Kansas City Southern.

Meeting in the margins of the Shaping the Future of Shipping conference in Glasgow, the Deputy Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund, the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, and the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping met to discuss funding options for the proposed ‘IMO Maritime Research Fund’ (IMRF). A key aim with the meeting was to develop potential solutions to ensure that developing economies from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Pacific can access technology and funding for zero carbon ships and the required infrastructure. One solution to be discussed further in the coming weeks is the potential availability of up to USD 1.5 million from the GCF Project Preparation Facility (PFF) to fast track the creation of the IMRF; a USD 5 billion research and development fund to accelerate research and development into zero emission technologies to be used by shipping.

In a landmark moment for maritime workers the formation of a Just Transition Maritime Task Force has been agreed to drive decarbonization of the industry and support millions of seafarers through shipping’s green transition. The task force will push forward shipping's climate goals while protecting its works and their communities, ensuring opportunity for all. It will focus on the development of new green skills and green and decent work, identifying best practice across the value chain and providing policy recommendations for an equitable transition - with a specific focus on developing economies. The task force was agreed during high-level discussions at COP26, including in discussions with the Shipping lead, UN climate champions team, whose founding members include the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing shipowners, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), representing seafarers and port workers, and the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative. Other influential UN organisations including the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will join the task force as formal partners.

On November 4, the methanol carrier "Capilano Sun", which can run on either heavy oil or low-environmental impact methanol fuel, was delivered at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard.  Hisafuku Kisen K.K. and Vancouver-based Waterfront Shipping Company Limited will charter the vessel from MOL under a long-term contract.

MOL is one of the largest operators for methanol carriers, operating 18 vessels (including "Capilano Sun"), and in 2016, started owning and operating dual-fuel vessels that can run on environment-friendly methanol fuel, continuously expanding the fleet. Currently, MOL operates 4 of the 13 methanol dual-fuel tankers in service around the world. These methanol dual-fuel vessels can reduce emissions of sulfur oxide (SOx) by up to 99%, particulate matter (PM) by up to 95%, nitrogen oxide (NOx) by up to 80%, and carbon dioxide (CO2) by up to 15%, compared to vessels using conventional fuel oil. The "Capilano Sun" is the most advanced low-emission vessel , which adopts advanced technology that adjusts the combustion temperature by mixing water into methanol fuel and can meet Tier 3 NOx regulations  without a scrubber. In the future, duel fuel methanol carriers can become an Environmental circulation-type business, by synthesizing the carbon dioxide from carbon capture methods, CO2 Carrries, with Hydrgen derived from renewable resource based electricity such as offshore wind power and wave power, which MOL looks into. The methanol produced from the cycle can be used or provided as fuel, which will reduce the net CO2 emission.

LOA: 186.07m
Breadth: 32.30m
DWT: 49,999MT