COS Weekly Newsletter - Friday, 24 December 2021

CN operations in British Columbia have nearly returned to normal after disruptions from Nov. 14 to Dec. 3 caused by flooding and washouts, the railroad reported on Tuesday, even as repairs continue around the clock. A 150-mile stretch on the railroad’s line between Vancouver and Kamloops, B.C., experienced 58 outages from flood damage. More than 400 employees and contract workers and more than 110 pieces of heavy equipment worked 24 hours a day to restore the line. The effort required moving more than 282,000 cubic yards of rock, earth, and backfill materials. The recovery efforts and the quick restoration of service for both CN and CP has been truly amazing and the Global News footage of the damage sustained by CN clearly shows that this was not an easy task.  We applaud the great collarboration and the demanding efforts that made this possible by all.

Mr. Li, Dong will succeed Ms. Helen Xia and assume responsibilities as the President of COSCO SHIPPING Lines (Canada) Inc. on December 21, 2021. Mr. Li has over 22 years of experience in the industry and has served in various locations around the world, including Greece and Germany. Prior to his assignment to Canada, he was the General Manager of Equipment Management Center of COSCO SHIPPING Lines & OOCL. With his vast knowledge and experience, COSCO SHIPPING Canada are confident that he can lead the organization to great successes in the coming years.

Outgoing President, Ms. Helen Xia, will be finishing her tenure in Canada and returning to China in December. She has been a great leader and an inspiration with her work ethics and efforts, as we are sure you would agree. It is with sadness that she has to leave, but we can only wish her all the best in her future endeavours. The Chamber of Shipping would like to thank Ms. Helen Xia for her contributions, and to welcome Mr. Li, Dong to the association.

The Canadian Food Inspectin Agency has advised that following the emergency measures announced by China in October 2021 regarding Pine Wood Nematode (PWN), Customs China has communicated the implementation of new phytosanitory requirements regarding imports of pine wood (Pinus spp.) including logs and lumber. The new requirements will come into force as of February 1, 2022, and are applicable to pine wood originating from the following countries: Canada, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and USA. The implementation date will be strictly enforced and all shipments arriving in China by February 1 must meet the new requirements of heat treatment and/or prior testing by a CFIA lab for Pine Wood Nematode prior to export and fumigation.  Shipments must accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate and will be subject to testing, inspections and/or quarantine upon arrival. Any non-compliant consignments will be destroyed or returned.

US Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced the award of more than $241 million in discretionary grant funding for 25 projects to improve port facilities in 19 states and one territory through the Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). The projects awarded grants include coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports, and inland river ports. The funding includes $52.3M to the Port of Long Beach for Pier B on-dock rail facility development and $16.7M to the Port of Tacoma for a off-dock container support facility as part of the port’s capital improvement program to modernize and optimize the use of its container terminals and support facilities. The project improves 24.5 acres of land adjacent to the Husky, West Sitcum, and Washington United terminals and will help improve the movement of goods through the facility. The PIDP is in its third year and has already awarded $492 million for 32 projects of regional and national economic significance within its first two years.

US truck drivers who transport goods into Canada are frustrated by looming vaccine requirements, and causing concer that reciprocal mandates could further disrupt the supply chain. Starting Jan. 15, 2022, Canada will require all "essential service providers, including truck drivers," to be fully vaccinated upon entry into the country. Similarly, all truck drivers will also be required to be fully vaccinated to enter the US one week later on Jan. 22. Industry associations are worried that drivers that are unable to work due to the vaccine mandate will move onto other jobs at a time when there is ongoing shortage of drivers in both countries.

AP Moller-Maersk is buying an Asian warehouse specialist in a transaction worth $3.6 billion in enterprise value, expanding its push into land-based logistics that’s become more profitable than its traditional sea-container business. The world’s biggest container line is acquiring Hong Kong-based LF Logistics in an all-cash deal, it said on Wednesday. With the purchase, Maersk gets an additional 10,000 employees and more than 200 warehouses in 14 countries. Maersk will boost annual revenue in its logistics and services business by about $1bn with the acquisition. The transaction is second only to its $4bn takeover of Hamburg Sud in 2017. This acquisition enables Maersk to expand in land-based logistics where there’s more potential for growth and profit margins are higher. In September, Maersk and CP Railway opened the new Pacific Transload Express facility in the Port of Vancouver and also announced plans to buy air-freight company Senator International as it seeks a presence in all parts of the transport chain.

Royal Caribbean's cruise ship, Odyssey of the Seas, was denied entry into Curacao and Aruba after a COVID-19 outbreak.  Of the estimated 5,500 passengers and crew members, 55 people tested positive for COVID-19.  According to Royal Caribbean, the passengers who tested positive are mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic, and their close contacts were placed in quarantine prior to testing. The ship set sail from Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 18th with 95% of passengers and crew vaccinated, and the company's guidelines require travelers over the age of 12 to be fully vaccinated. The cruise ship had docked on Sunday at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas, and will now remain at sea until its planned return Dec. 26 to Fort Lauderdale.

Last weekend residents of North Vancouver may have seen Her Majesty’s New Zealand Ship (HMNZS) Te Mana alongside at the Pier.  The Te Mana is Royal New Zealand Navy's second Anzac Class frigate and purpose-built warship constructed to the German MEKO 2000 design.  Te Mana is crewed by 178 sailors including 10 flight personnel from the vast majority of branches and trades in the Navy.

Built:  1999
Flag:   New Zealand
Type: Navy Frigate
Range: 6,000 nm at 18 knots
Hull #: F-111
Displacement:  3500 tns
LOA: 118 mtrs
Beam: 14.8 Mtrs
Draught:  6.2 mtrs

The Te Mana is the second New Zealand Navy frigate to be upgraded by Lockheed Martin Canada and Seaspan Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd in Victoria, BC.  The ships comprise the entirety of New Zealand's frigate fleet and the upgrades are intended to extend the life of the warships into the mid-2030s. The ANZAC Frigate Systems Upgrade project includes upgrading upgrading the surveillance, combat and self-defence capabilities of HMNZS Te Mana to match current and potential future threats and address obsolescence of some of the current systems. This will include a new combat management system, new radars, electronic detection and other above water sensors, the self-defence missile system, decoys against missiles and torpedoes, and an upgrade to the hull-mounted sonar. HMNZS Te Mana's FSU was completed in late 2021 and following sea acceptance trials she is planned to return to New Zealand in early 2022.