COS Weekly Newsletter - Friday, 24 June 2022

CN Rail has announced plans to invest approximately C$390 million in British Columbia in 2022. This includes investments in technology, capacity, rolling stock units and company-wide decarbonization initiatives, as well as network improvements. These investments will power sustainable growth and ensure the continued safe movement of goods in British Columbia and everywhere on CN’s transcontinental network.  Included in the maintenance work is the replacement of 111 miles of rail, installing approximately 126,000 new railroad ties, and rebuilding 37 road crossing surfaces.

In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022 BC Ferries carried 17.9 million passengers and 8.5 million vehicles, an increase of 37 percent and 26 percent, respectively, compared to the prior year. While these increases are significant, passenger and vehicle traffic was 20 percent and 5 percent lower respectively, compared to the same period in fiscal 2019, a pre-COVID 19 year. Financially there was a net loss of $68.2 million prior to recognizing Safe Restart Funding. After recognizing $102.3 million of this federal-provincial funding, net earnings were $34.1 million, an increase of $13.1 million compared to the previous year, which included $186.0 million in Safe Restart Funding. BC Ferries’ full financial statements, including notes and Management’s Discussion and Analysis, are filed on SEDAR and will be available at www.sedar.com.

Yesterday the International Sailors' Society Canada held its fourth annual Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge after a two-year hiatus.  The event was sold out with teams from DPW, GCT, Western Stevedoring, Seaspan, SAAM Towage, Group Ocean, Pacific Basin, Seapeak, BC Coast Pilots, Pacific Pilotage Authority, Transport Canada, and Coastal Mountain Fuels.  Despite the sudden hail storm, two hikers - Brandon Flumerfelt and Radek Rocek both from DPW - completed the climb up the Grouse Grind with the fastest time of 35 minutes.  Seaspan's team comprised of Luke Pyper, Walker Lunsford and Tony Ivancic, was the fastest team with a combined time of 2 hours and 26 minutes.  Congratulations to all the participants for completing the 2022 Peak Challenge.

Amendments to the Competition Act that are viewed as a preliminary phase in modernizing the Canada’s competition regime take effect today. The amendments fix certain loopholes in the law, tackle business practices harmful to workers and consumers, increase penalties, and improve access to justice. The Competition Act now defines an anti-competitive act as one that is intended to have a predatory, exclusionary, or disciplinary negative impact on a competitor, or to have an adverse effect on competition includes a non-exhaustive list of examples of business practices that may be considered under abuse of dominance.

In its investigation report (M20P0353), the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) found that weakened hardware and an improperly secured lifeboat sling caused the accidental release of a free-fall lifeboat during a drill aboard the bulk carrier Blue Bosporus in BC resulting in two crew members being seriously injured in December 2020.  The investigation found that the crimp sleeves, which are used to secure the eyes on the lifeboat slings, had weakened over time.  While the vessel owner had regular maintenance routines in place to verify the condition of the lifeboat and its launching appliances, they did not prompt the crew to specifically check the condition of the slings. In the absence of any international guidance free-fall lifeboat slings should be verified periodically, inspected before use and marked with a safe working load.

Three members of the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) this week urged rail regulators to reject the proposed merger of Canadian Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern, saying while it may open more port routings for US shippers, it will ultimately hurt US ports and intermodal railway systems by shifting cargo volumes to competing Canadian ports.  Carl Bentzel, Louis Sola, and Max Vekich sent a letter sent Tuesday to the Surface Transportation Board, saying the merger, which the companies hope to close in the fourth quarter, would hurt US employment, US port volumes, and investment in the US intermodal rail network. STB has been gathering testimony from stakeholders on CP’s request to acquire KCS. Shareholders of CP (NYSE: CP) and KCS approved

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is focusing on seafarer’s experiences, voyages and journeys as the theme of the 2022 Day of the Seafarer, drawing attention to how the onboard working environment continues to change. This focus aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.  This year’s Day of the Seafarer theme – “Your voyage – then and now, share your journey” – invites seafarers across the globe to share images and information about what truly resonates with them. #SeafarerJourney is the new hashtag for this campaign and anyone paying tribute to seafarers is also encouraged to use this hashtag to be a part of the campaign on social media.

In 2021, international liner carriers’ onshore staff and crews managed 6300 ships, successfully delivering vital supplies worth $7 trillion to the people of the world, in approximately 241 million containers. The World Shipping Council (WSC) Containers Lost at Sea Report covering 2020-2021 shows that containers lost overboard represent less than one-thousandth of 1% (0.001%). However, the past two years have seen a worrying break in the downward trend for losses, with the average number of containers lost at sea per year since the start of the survey increasing by 18% to 1,629.

Triggered by these events, maritime actors across the supply chain have initiated the MARIN Top Tier project to enhance container safety, with WSC and member lines among the founding partners. This project will run over three years and will use scientific analyses, studies, and desktop as well as real-life measurements and data collection to develop and publish specific, actionable recommendations to reduce the risk of containers lost overboard.  Initial results from the study show that parametric rolling in following seas is especially hazardous for container vessels, a phenomenon that is not well known and can develop unexpectedly with severe consequences. To help in preventing further incidents a Notice to Mariners has been developed, describing how container vessel crew and operational staff can plan, recognize and act to prevent parametric rolling in following seas. Many more topics, tests and measurements will be undertaken by the project, which will continue reporting on progress and sharing insights on a regular basis through the IMO and other forums.

Le Commandant Charcot is a luxury polar exploration vessel designed to sail in extreme polar regions with minimal environmental impact with its hybrid electric/LNG-powered engine. When in battery mode, the ship can sail for up to eight hours at a time without producing any emissions and with very low noise levels.

With eight departures for the summer 2022 and 2023 Arctic season beginning at $35,960 per person, Ponant's North Pole sailings will take tourists to the farthest corners of the region.   Off-ship excursions range from outings in Zodiacs, kayaks, snowshoes, or by foot. There will also be opportunities to practice ice fishing and go ice floating.

Year built:  2021
Builder: VARD shipyards (Tulcea Romania and Soviknes-Alesund Norway)
Class: PC2-Polar Class 2 icebreaker cruise ship
Building cost:  USD 324 million (EUR 274 million)
Propulsion Power:  34 MW / 45595 hp
Speed:  15 kn / 28 kph / 17 mph
Length: 150 m / 492 ft
Beam: 28 m / 92 ft
Gross Tonnage: 31757 gt
Passengers: 245
Crew: 235
Owner: Groupe Artemis (Financiere Pinault)
Operator: Compagnie du Ponant Cruises