COS Weekly Newsletter - Friday, 21 January 2022

In response to concerns raised with current supply chain issues and challenges in procuring compliant used or new vehicles to replace aging trucks as required under the Rolling Truck Age Program, the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has deferred the planned implementation date of February 1, 2022 for at least 90 days and has committed to following up with stakeholders to share information and gather feedback before finalizing implementation plans later this year.  The Rolling Truck Age Program is intended to implement a 10-year rolling maximum truck age for all container trucks registered under the Truck Licensing System in an effort to improve air quality and support cleaner, healthier communities in Metro Vancouver.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) has released its annual statistics showing that over 25 million tonnes moved through the Prince Rupert Gateway in 2021. Despite the uncharacteristic 23 percent decrease in year-over-year total volume, the Port of Prince Rupert is feeling optimistic about 2022. Over the last year, the port has added an express COSCO shipping service between DP World-Prince Rupert’s Fairview Container Terminal and Asia, a new trans-Pacific service offered by MSC, and added two new expedited rail services between Prince Rupert and Chicago, and Prince Rupert and Toronto. Also, several milestones have been achieved with new infrastructure projects including Pembina's LPG Terminal, the Fairview Container Terminal expansion, the Fairview-Ridley Connector Corridor, Wolverine Terminals, and Ridley Island Export Logistics Project. To view the Prince Rupert Port Authority’s December 2021 traffic summary, click here.

The Port of Vancouver is gearing up for the return of cruise ships starting in April this year.  Mandy Chan, manager of cruise ship services for the Port of Vancouver, indicated that they are expecting 325 cruise ship calls with up to 1.3 million passengers. Work, including upgrades to bollards and pilings, is underway to ensure that Canada Place can accommodate the larger vessels and process passengers through the terminal efficiently. Noted in the article with Cruise Industry News, 18 of the ships calling are enabled to receive shore power, and calling Vancouver for the first time will be Holland America Line's Koningsdam.

Canadian Pacific Railway has increased its order of fuel cells to expand its hydrogen locomotive program. CP has requested eight additional 200 kW fuel cell modules from Vancouver-based Ballard Power to support the expansion of the railway's Hydrogen Locomotive Program from one to three locomotives, with expected delivery in 2022. CP intends to refine the process of converting diesel-electric powertrains to hydrogen-electric powertrains over a series of three categories of locomotives which collectively represent the majority of locomotives in use throughout North America. Ballard's hydrogen power modules are used in the UK’s first full-sized train refurbished with hydrogen power. It has also partnered with companies, including German industrial conglomerate Siemens on hydrogen rail projects in Europe and Asia.

Winners of two Innovative Solutions Canada challenges include Envisioning Labs Inc., Robert Allan Ltd., and BPE Technologies Inc. who will be awarded funds to help develop new technologies to make ships quieter, particularly when they pass through the critical habitat of whales.  Envisioning Labs Inc. will use the funding to create and test a new depth-finder technology that uses light, and not sound, to determine the depth of water for small, recreational vessels; Robert Allan Ltd. will use the funding to implement a quiet propeller and propulsion system in conjunction with an innovative tool to evaluate and predict underwater vessel noise from tugs; and BPE Technologies Inc. will use the funding to develop a novel retrofit concept that aims to improve the flow of water around the hull, addressing the inefficiencies in tugboat hull shape and reducing underwater vessel noise.

The US Army plans to invest more than $14 billion to upgrade ports and waterways and help coastal communities deal with extreme weather and natural disasters. More than 500 projects across 52 states and territories are planned to improve decades of underinvestment and neglect that have left infrastructure vulnerable to climate change. The US Army Corps of Engineers will use about $4 billion to address commercial-navigation improvements at coastal ports and inland waterways and another $5 billion towards improving community resilience in the face of global climate change.

A warrant for the arrest of the cruise ship Crystal Symphony, which is operated by Genting Hong Kong subsidiary Crystal Cruises was issued in a Florida court yesterday.  The arrest warrant has been issued against the ship, along with “its engines, tackle, apparel, etc.,” in response to a complaint filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida by bunker supplier Peninsula Petroleum Far East Pte. Ltd.  The court order states that Peninsula has not been paid for the maritime necessaries provided to the Vessel and therefore proceeds to arrest the vessel to execute on its maritime liens in rem, for sale of the vessel and satisfaction of its maritime liens. Genting Hong Kong’s filing of its winding-up petition in Bermuda came just over week after its German shipyard operation, MV Werften, filed for insolvency in Germany. Crystal Symphony’s current voyage is set to terminate in Miami on January 22.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Maritime Pilots’ Association (IMPA) have recently updated the Shipping Industry Guidance on Pilot Transfer Arrangements. Version three can be downloaded from the ICS website. The Guide reminds seafarers and companies of the vital importance of adhering to the rules and established procedures concerning the provision of safe transfer arrangements for pilots and adds new guidance on combination embarkation platform arrangements. It was last updated in 2012 and was recently reviewed in parallel with the sixth edition of the ICS Bridge Procedures Guide.

In a statement by the Canadian Coast Guard, its oldest serving vessel, the CCGS Hudson is being decommissioned following 59 years of dedicated service. In November 2021, a failure of the starboard propulsion motor placed the CCGS Hudson out of service. Due to the scale of the problem and the time and cost to repair it, combined with the costs associated with an upcoming period of regulatory compliance work, it has been determined that the ship is beyond economical repair and further investment would not allow it to return to reliable service. The CCGS Hudson is a key platform for Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s oceanographic science program and its replacement isn’t expected to be delivered until 2025. The Canadian Coast Guard is working closely with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to evaluate the near and long terms impacts on programming and develop a plan to mitigate these impacts. Discussions are focused on which parts of the science program can be completed by other Canadian Coast Guard vessels, by chartered vessels, or through the use of other technology. In the coming months, plans for a celebration of the ship and the crews’ accomplishments over the past 59 years will be developed and Canadians will have the opportunity to share memories and experiences of their own interactions with the ship and all of its past crews.