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)....Read More
Woodfibre LNG Limited and Enbridge Inc. announced an agreement to jointly invest in the construction and operation of the Woodfibre LNG project. Under the partnership agreement, Enbridge will invest in a 30% ownership stake in the $5.1 billion Woodfibre LNG project, with Pacific Energy retaining the remaining 70% stake in the facility. Capital for the...Read More
As record-breaking container ship queues threaten to tie up ports around the country ahead the of the fall peak shipping season, the Port of New York and New Jersey announced it will be charging ocean carriers a $100 per-container fee on long-dwelling import or export containers, with the goal of freeing up space and improving...Read More
Asset manager Atlas Corp (ATCO.N) has received a takeover offer from consortium group Poseidon Acquisition Corp in an all-cash deal for $3.64 billion. Poseidon, which comprises Atlas’ board chairman David Sokol, affiliates of Canadian investment company Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd (FFH.TO), the Washington Family, and Japanese shipping company Ocean Network Express Pte Ltd, has made an offer to...Read More
RightShip is acquiring Thynk Software’s maritime tech business as it recognizes big data and predictive analytics play a massive role in the ship vetting agency’s business, enabling owners to select greener and safer vessels. The agency is also working with the Australian Marine Environment Protection Association to develop a maritime emissions portal, enabling ports and...Read More
China’s military exercises in the waters around Taiwan have prompted some ships to navigate around the Taiwan Strait and give the island a wide berth, disrupting key trading routes for cargo and commodities sailing around the world. The exercises, China’s largest-ever around Taiwan, are a major show of strength after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi...Read More
A total of 147 ports around the globe can bunker LNG to vessels at the moment and this figure is likely to reach 200 by 2024 as demand continues to grow, estimates from Clarksons Research show. Europe is leading the way with LNG bunkering infrastructure, with the majority of its top ports offering the service, including...Read More
Three more ships loaded with grain have left Ukrainian ports today, only days after the first grain-laden vessel left the country since Russia’s invasion. The initial shipment under the deal brokered by the United Nations amid concerns of a global food shortage left Ukraine’s Port of Odesa on Monday on the Razoni. The vessel was escorted by...Read More
On September 8 and 9, 2022, the Competition Bureau will host two virtual public information sessions to let the public know about changes to the Competition Act. Members of the public can register and send questions on Eventbrite. Notable changes to the Act that came into effect on June 23, 2022, include clarifying that incomplete price disclosure—drip pricing—is a deceptive...Read More
As part of the Oceans Protection Plan, the federal government’s 2022 budget announced intentions to update the Canada Shipping Act, 2001. These proposed changes take into account comments from Indigenous peoples, coastal communities, and marine stakeholders in all coastal regions over the past few years as outlined in the discussion paper. A virtual engagement session...Read More
CN Rail has released its highly anticipated 2022-23 Grain Plan as required under the Canadian Transportation Modernization Act. CN expects the movement of Western Canadian grain via carload on CN in 2022–23 to rebound to 24.5–27.0 million metric tons (MMT), with grain shipped via container direct from Western Canada in addition to these volumes. The...Read More
The Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) and European Shippers’ Council (ESC) will now collaborate to accelerate the adoption of the DCSA standards. The two associations will leverage DCSA’s open-source, vendor-neutral standards to help their members and other business partners make data exchange more timely, accurate, and interoperable. Standardizing documents such as the bill of lading...Read More
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority has confirmed that no changes have been made to the Rolling Truck Age Program effective as of September 15, 2022. As of now, 15 trucks will age out of the program on that date. The port authority thanks the many trucking companies and drivers, representing 80% of container trucks serving...Read More
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is seeking public comments on a proposed plan for gathering import and export information from vessel-operating common carriers as required under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA). The FMC is mandated to collect and publish total import and export tonnage and the total loaded and empty 20-foot equivalent units (TEU)...Read More
Last week the Federal Court released the judgment and decision in the judicial review filed by GCT Canada Limited Partnership with respect to the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA) executives’ conduct and perceived bias with respect to the preliminary project enquiry submitted for GCT’s proposed expansion at Deltaport (DP4). The Honourable Mr. Justice Pamel determined...Read More
The Canadian Ferry Association (CFA) has elected Captain Jamie Marshall as Chair of the Board of Directors. Captain Marshall’s previous mandate as Chair (ended in 2019) had seen unprecedented growth for the association. CFA thanked Mark Collins for his dedication and leadership as Chair of CFA. Capt. Marshall has just been appointed as Vice President Safety...Read More
BC Ferries and the Snuneymuxw First Nation say they’ve entered into a historic formal agreement recognizing the nation’s treaty rights, that will guide the ferry company’s business decisions in Snuneymuxw territory in Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island. Four ferry terminals operate in the nation’s traditional territory: Departure Bay, Nanaimo Harbour and Duke Point in Nanaimo, and...Read More
New projects funded by the Province of British Columbia in partnership with coastal communities and Indigenous Peoples will clean as much as 1,000 kilometres of BC’s coastline, remove as many as 30 derelict vessels and support local jobs. An additional $3.8 million from the Clean Coast, Clean Waters Initiative Fund will be used this summer to...Read More
BNSF Railway and J.B. Hunt will begin serving a new intermodal terminal at the Port of Tacoma next month. BNSF and the Northwest Seaport Alliance said the terminal will meet increased demand for intermodal service in the Seattle region. The new terminal, on 16 acres leased from the port authority, will have a capacity for 50,000...Read More
The first shipment of grain from the Odesa region following the agreement by Russia and Ukraine mediated by Turkey, is set to depart from the Odesa region. Officials from the UN, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia have established a Joint Coordination Centre and are finalizing details on how to safely transport ships through the Black Sea...Read More
The Port of Oakland is back in business this week, after five days of protests against California’s AB5 law hampered and even forced the closure of port operations. On Monday, July 25, truckers largely returned to work after authorities warned that continuing to block the gates could lead to arrest. Protesters were moved to “Free Speech Zones”...Read More
Workers at the port of Felixstowe in Suffolk balloted 92% in favour of a strike next month, rejecting a 5% pay rise offer from the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company, which their union, Unite, pointed out would be a real-terms pay cut with retail price inflation standing at 11.8%. Unite’s 1,900 Felixstowe members are responsible for all...Read More
The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is moving quickly to fulfill the requirements of the new Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022. The most immediate deadline the Commission must meet is initiating and completing a rulemaking on unreasonable refusal to deal or negotiate on vessel space accommodations. Commission staff initiated this rulemaking effort the day OSRA...Read More
In a positive sign that the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) are finding common ground, comes the July 26th announcement from the ILWU that the two sides “reached a tentative agreement on health benefits, subject to other issues in the negotiations.” The previous agreement expired on July 1,...Read More
The Canadian Marine Industry Foundation (“CMIF”) has announced the appointment of Julia Fields as Executive Director, effective August 22, 2022. Julia joins the CMIF with more than 20 years’ experience in communications and journalism in Canada, the U.S. and the UK, including most recently as the Communications Director with the Chamber of Marine Commerce. In her role as...Read More
The Ocean Cleanup has now officially removed more than 100,000 kg of plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP). Since deployment in August 2021, System 002 has now collected 101,353 kg of plastic over 45 extractions, sweeping an area of ocean of over 3000km2 – comparable to the size of Luxembourg or Rhode Island. Added to...Read More
Globally, less than 2% of world trade is carried on electronic bills of lading. This is partly due to lack of open standards and interoperability. To help increase adoption of digital trade documents in shipping, BIMCO has published an electronic bill of lading standard. The BIMCO electronic bill of lading standard is a structured dataset...Read More
Last week the Happy Dover, a heavy load carrier departed Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock after a quick clean up that included removal of marine growth, painting the underwater hull and hull sides, ballast tank inspections and replacing the seals on the propeller blades and stern tube. The 157m long vessel features two large holds, which can...Read More
The British Columbia Ferry Services Board has appointed Jill Sharland as Interim President and CEO of BC Ferries, effective today following the dismissal of Mark Collins. The announcement comes from the newly appointed chair, Joy MacPhail who states, “Like many organizations, BC Ferries has faced recent staffing shortages, service interruptions and COVID-related challenges. There are...Read More
Denien Ford, our Director of Policy and Senior Advisor for Intermodal retired from the Chamber at the end of June after 8 years with our organization. She joined the Chamber after serving as a member of our Liner Committee for many years, and while she was instrumental in supporting many of our committees, she is...Read More
The Financial Post article this week, “Maritime shipping tries to reduce emissions, but key obstacles remain in its lane,” provides a good outline of the challenges facing the shipping industry’s efforts to decarbonize. While technology is evolving to support lower emissions, the lack of clarity on the availability of low-emission fuels and shore power needed...Read More
Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements today with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way for 22 million of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain exports — as well as Russian grain and fertilizer — ending a wartime standoff that had threatened food security around the globe. The plan, known as the “Black Sea...Read More
Last Friday President Biden signed an Executive Order ahead of a deadline to intervene in labour negotiations between freight rail carriers and their unions. The Order triggers a “cooling-off” period and establishes a Presidential Emergency Board to help resolve the ongoing dispute. The Board will provide a structure for workers and management to resolve their...Read More
Canada, along with Australia, Brazil, Canada, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States, has signed a joint statement at the 2022 Supply Chain Ministerial Forum to work together to further strengthen...Read More
Truck protests, originally intended to last a few days, have swelled since they began Monday, bringing cargo movements at the Port of Oakland almost to a standstill. Truckers say they are prepared to block the West Coast’s third-busiest container port until California Gov. Gavin Newsom listens to concerns about a new state law that will...Read More
This week on Bowen Island, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, along with the Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard, Joyce Murray, announced that the Government of Canada is committing another $2 billion to continue and expand the work under the Oceans Protection Plan for another 9 years. ...Read More
The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced $18.3 million in funding for four new projects under the National Trade Corridors Fund, which will help to improve the efficiency of rail networks in Regina and in southern Saskatchewan. The Government of Canada’s investment includes $1 million to develop a preliminary design to relocate railroad...Read More
The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority launched a second round of public consultation this week, which will include two information sessions, an online survey, and the opportunity to provide written submissions. This public engagement follows targeted engagement with certain local government officials such as the Islands Trust and the Cowichan Valley Regional District. As reported in...Read More
MS Medstraum is the world’s first zero-emission fast ferry and will be operating the commuter route between Stavanger and Hommersåk on the west coast of Norway. It will be equipped with two electric motors and a battery with a capacity of 1.5MWh and a charging power of over 2MW. The vessel will reduce emissions by...Read More
The global pool of shipping containers increased by 13% to almost 50 million TEUs in 2021, which was three times prior trend growth. This reflected lessors and ocean carriers ordering a record number of containers, while retiring fewer aging units, as congestion across global supply chains meant containers were an estimated 15% to 20% less...Read More
As part of EV Week in Canada, the federal government has unveiled incentives for the purchase of medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles. The Incentives for Medium- and Heavy-Duty Zero-Emission Vehicles (iMHZEV) Program began on July 11. Scheduled for four years, the program, will help businesses and communities across the country make the switch to zero-emission vehicles with close to $550...Read More
Navy leaders have disciplined more than 20 senior officers and sailors in connection with widespread leadership and other failures that contributed to the July 2020 arson fire that destroyed the USS Bonhomme Richard. The ship was undergoing a two-year, $250 million upgrade pierside in San Diego when the fire broke out. About 115 sailors were...Read More
Major global wheat exporters Ukraine and Russia see positive signs in discussions which could lead to the resumption of Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports after Wednesday’s talks in Istanbul. It is hoped that Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will sign a deal next week aimed at resuming Ukraine’s grain exports. Ukraine’s Black Sea...Read More
The clock is ticking for President Biden to decide what to do about a labour showdown that could see more than 100,000 rail workers going on strike. After more than two years of negotiations, railroads and the unions representing rail workers are at a stalemate over compensation and benefits related to their contracts. That impasse...Read More
The Port of Québec officially inaugurated Terminal 30, providing additional cruise berthing at a multipurpose facility. The cruise terminal was built following consultation with the local cruise industry, which had identified the need for a new terminal to improve the reception of cruise passengers in Québec City and ensure a high satisfaction rate. The two-story...Read More
Renewable energy company Drax Group and Japanese shipping company MOL Drybulk are working together to reduce the emissions and fuel costs associated with shipping biomass by deploying wind power technology on its vessels. The companies plan to facilitate the development of wind-powered vessels to transport bulk cargoes of Drax’s wood pellets to its customers in...Read More
Following consultations, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has announced details of its new simplified, value-based toll structure. The new structure includes clarification of its application to vessels in ballast condition and empty containers, and a deferral of new tolls for passenger vessels until 2024 in view of the ongoing challenges. All other tariffs will be...Read More
Congressman Alan Lowenthal who represents the Port of Long Beach, along with co-sponsor congresswoman Nanette Barragán, introduced the Clean Shipping Act of 2022. This bill becomes the first stand-alone legislation to zero out pollution from all ocean shipping companies that do business with the United States. The Clean Shipping Act of 2022, modelled off of...Read More
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. and Miura Co., Ltd. have announced the development of new centrifugal-type microplastic (MP) collection device, which can continuously collect MPs while a vessel is underway, by leveraging their technology and knowledge of an earlier MP collection device they co-developed. The new device was installed on the MOL-operated car carrier Emerald Ace last month for...Read More
ClassNK has released the “Guidelines for Ships Using Alternative Fuels (Edition 2.0),” which sets forth safety requirements for ships fueled by methanol, ethanol, LPG, and ammonia. In particular, specific requirements for ammonia-fueled ships have been added to provide guidance for the design of alternative-fueled ships. These guidelines comprehensively describe safety requirements for methanol, ethanol, and ammonia-fueled...Read More
