COS Weekly Newsletter - Friday, 12 August 2022

FortisBC Holdings Inc. and Musqueam Indian Band have signed an agreement, which will result in the parties sharing benefits associated with the Tilbury LNG Projects, including the LNG storage expansion and Tilbury marine jetty. This agreement is in addition to the project mitigations that have been or will be implemented as part of the Tilbury LNG Projects’ regulatory processes. Musqueam will continue to work with FortisBC and regulators to ensure Musqueam’s interests are addressed. Tilbury is powered by renewable hydroelectricity, which means it can produce LNG that is nearly 30 per cent less carbon intensive than the average global LNG.

The T'Sou-ke First Nation on southern Vancouver Island and Victoria-based MarineLabs are working together in an effort to preserve and build up capacity for seafood harvesting.  Marine Labs, has been collecting real-time data about the ocean to better understand what's going on in the Sooke Basin and other areas it uses. Climate change has wreaked havoc on the area: increased temperatures both in the air and the sea have killed off marine life, including important traditional food sources for the nation; while extreme storms are becoming more common, something the nation's leaders want the community to be better prepared for.  T'Sou-ke Nation Chief Gordon Planes said. "Knowing a history of what's been happening in the last few years will be able to really tell us where we are. It will set a foundation for the future."  Planes, who also goes by Hyakwacha, said he hopes the buoys will help detect an increase in shipping, reveal what environmental concerns exist and help determine what his First Nation can do to address and adapt to climate change.

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, has announced more than $3.1 million for 22 projects to help reduce the impact of underwater vessel noise.  These projects include workshops to identify safe and practical approaches to reducing underwater noise; developing a tool available to all members of the marine industry to predict and implement effective quiet designs into new vessels being built; developing new, real-time tools to track underwater noise released by marine vessels; and developing a tool to detect marine mammals and alert nearby vessels. Projects are funded through Transport Canada’s Quiet Vessel Initiative and builds on previous actions taken to keep the marine ecosystem safe, such as the Whales Initiative.

The Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Joyce Murray, announced funding under the renewed and expanded Oceans Protection Plan to improve the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) and enhance the Canadian Coast Guard's (CCG) response capabilities in the Arctic. $84 million will enable CHS to continue its work to map the seafloor and provide 72 new Electronic Navigational Charts in priority areas, while $24.7 million will enhance the Arctic search and rescue station with marine response capabilities at Rankin Inlet.

 

The US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is seeking public comment on whether supply chain congestion has created conditions warranting the issuance of a 60-day emergency order requiring common carriers and marine terminal operators to share key information with shippers, truckers and railroads.  Under the new Ocean Shipping Reform Act (2022), interested parties can submit their views on whether congestion has had an adverse effect on the competitiveness and reliability of the international ocean transportation supply system; whether an emergency order would alleviate the emergency situation; and what the appropriate scope of an emergency order should be.

The Association of Pacific Ports (APP) has announced that Bobby Olvera Jr. is its newly elected President. Representing the Port of Long Beach, California, Mr. Olvera assumes the role following the tenure of Kimberlyn King-Hinds from the Commonwealth Ports Authority, Northern Mariana Islands, hosts of the upcoming APP Annual Conference (September 25 to 28, 2022). “I look forward to working with APP members in the coming year,” he said adding that “collaboration and communication between us all are essential as we work to further the best interests of our communities and constituents.”

Based on current economic and market trends, global coal consumption is forecast to rise by 0.7% in 2022 to 8 billion tonnes, assuming the Chinese economy recovers as expected in the second half of the year, the International Energy Agency's (IEA’s) July 2022 Coal Market Update says. This global total would match the annual record set in 2013, and coal demand is likely to increase further next year to a new all-time high. This comes despite projected negligible growth in seaborne imports into both China and India with both countries ramping domestic production a great deal this year.  The price of coal has tripled this year and old mining communities have been resuscitated as Europe in particular seeks alternative energy supplies outside of Russia. The full ban on imports of Russian coal into the European Union is only days away, with the competition for alternative sources set to continue to increase.

The 300,000 DWT newbuilding vessel M/T Amore Mio is an eco-type crude oil carrier fitted with a scrubber in compliance with the IMO 2020 sulphur cap.  The Amore Mio is one of two VLCC's owned by Capital Ship Management Corp. that are ammonia and LNG fuel ready.

The $110 million vessel was built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, South Korea and are Tier III compliant for reduced Nox emissions, and assigned with ABS ENVIRO notation as well as ABS Ammonia Fuel Ready and LNG Fuel Ready notations. They also feature IHM notation for safe recycling.

Capital currently operating a fleet of 37 tankers with a total dwt of 5.72 million tons approx. It also manages various vessel types and sizes in the dry bulk and containership segment.