The main container terminal operators at the Port of Montreal has served notice of a complete shutdown of their operations for one day in response to violent incidents involving striking dockers. The shut down began this morning at 7:00 am. Normal operations are to resume Saturday, August 1st at 7:00 am. Violence is said to have broken out, reflecting rising tensions at the port. The announcement follows an announcement from the Montreal Longshore Union CUPE 375 earlier this week that a second, 24-hour strike would start immediately after the four-day strike they had earlier this week. The 24-hour strike began at 05:59 today and will end at 05:59 on Saturday. Terminals were planned to be closed for all activity during this separate 24-hour strike.

The Alberta government has appointed CIBC executive, Alicia Dubois, to lead a Crown corporation that will provide $1-billion in loan guarantees to Indigenous groups seeking to buy into resource and infrastructure projects such as pipelines. Dubois is currently the vice-president for Indigenous markets at CIBC, and will become CEO of the Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corp., or AIOC, on Sept. 1.

Rail numbers indicate that while consumers may be bouncing back quickly, producers may not be, especially those that are export-dependent as rail shipments have not shown significant improvement. For the first three weeks of July, CP’s carloads were down 12 per cent from the same period a year earlier; CN’s were down 10 per cent. Revenue ton-miles (RTMs) – a metric that takes into account both shipping volumes and distance transported – were down 12 per cent at CP and 16 per cent at CN. RTMs at both railways are little changed from mid-April, generally regarded as the economic low point of the crisis.

The Minister of Transport, the Honourable Marc Garneau, has launched the fifth call for proposals for assessment and removal projects to be funded through the Abandoned Boats Program under the Oceans Protection Plan. Up to $1.6 million is available this year to help assess, remove or dispose of abandoned and wrecked small boats that pose a hazard in Canadian waters. All projects must be completed by March 31, 2022.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released the finding of their investigation into an engine room fire on board the container vessel MOL Prestige in Haida Gwaii on June 18, 2018. The report indicates that maintenance related issues were the cause of the fire. Specifically, the transferring of cold fuel oil into a high temperature settling tank caused the water in it to boil under the surface of fuel oil, creating an overflow known as frothover. This led to the release of oil and fumes out of an opening at the top of the tank where a level indicator had been previously fitted, resulting in the fire. Additionally, the investigation found that equipment in the engine room was not maintained as required.

The Panama Canal is introducing season measures to protect marine life and reduce emissions from August 1 to November 30, 2020. Ships traveling to and from the Canal via the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean during this period must stay within designated navigation areas known as Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS), which decrease the overlap between vessels entering or exiting the Canal and migrating whales. Vessels traveling through these areas on the Pacific side of the Canal should also proceed at a speed of no more than 10 knots, a practice known as Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR).

Australia is launching a new inspection campaign that will target cargo securing on containerships. The decision is direct response to containers being lost overboard in the waters off the coast of Australia. Lost containers have been responsible for significant marine pollution and the country is seeking to reduce incidents of lost containers in the future.