The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) has announced that it has finalized the update to its Land Use Plan. PRPA’s Land Use Plan is a strategic document that helps guide PRPA’s vision to continue its sustainable growth within the lands and waters under its formal jurisdiction, and impact Canada’s trade with the world through the next 20 years. The plan emulates local Official Community Plans, and contains many new adaptations, features and commitments in response to feedback from local First Nations, government and residents. Several new land use designations were created to recognize a local desire to improve waterfront recreation, viewscape buffers, and habitat enhancement. PRPA also acted on its prior commitment to formalize an industrial moratorium in the Flora Bank marine area. The Plan can be accessed at: https://www.rupertport.com/land-use-plan/.

Canadian Pacific Railway has announced a strategic, multi-year rail agreement with A.P. Moller - Maersk to move freight through the ports of Vancouver and Montreal. The agreement further solidifies the strategic relationship announced in September regarding the construction of a new, world-class transload and distribution facility in Vancouver to expand CP's and Maersk Canada's supply chain options for customers. CP is expected to begin moving Maersk dry and refrigerated cargo March 1, 2021.

Grain companies facing skyrocketing rent at the Port of Vancouver are seeking intervention from the Minister of Transport. The Western Grain Elevators Association has stated rent on federal property at the port went up 13 to 30 percent this year. WGEA members believe their rent increases are paying for container-related projects at the port, noting that there is an inherent conflict of interest because the port is both a regulator and a developer and the grain companies are captive.  Agriculture and transport ministers in the three prairie provinces have picked up on these concerns and written to both Garneau and federal agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau asking for changes to the port’s board of directors.

The International Harbour Masters' Association (IHMA) has appointed Captain Yoss Leclerc as their new president earlier this month. Captain Leclerc, who many in the area know from his years as Harbour Master at the Port of Vancouver, brings to the position over 30 years of experience in the maritime field, logistics, transportation, and port operations. 

Transport Canada has announced a call for proposals under the National Trade Corridors Fund for projects to address transportation challenges in Canada’s Arctic and northern regions.  This call for proposals encourages eligible applicants to submit transportation infrastructure proposals that support long-term social benefits and economic development, while also considering the impacts of climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has indicated that the federal government is taking more interesting carbon border adjustments (CBAs), a method of applying carbon pricing to imports. This reflects an evolving position in Ottawa, who may be playing catch-up as carbon tariffs gain traction among its trading partners. The EU is already in the process of designing a CBA, and there is potential for the US to follow suit if Joe Biden wins the US election next month.

Presidential Candidate Joe Biden has vowed to become significantly more engaged with the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) push for decarbonization. Under the so-called Biden Plan, the environmental agenda laid out by the Democrat nominee, there is a call to lead the world in reducing emissions in global shipping and aviation.

Commissioner Louis Sola has issued a new report examining the economic impacts of the cancelled cruise season on Alaska, Washington, and Oregon. The report concludes that when considered on a per capita basis, Alaska may be the hardest hit from the loss of the cruise season. Alaska’s economy rests on three key industries: energy, fishing, and tourism. Tourism has been a growth industry for Alaska, with the number of visitors increasing 45% from 1.5 million in 2010 to 2.2 million in 2019. In 2019, twice as many people than the number who live in the state came to Alaska and took a cruise. The loss has affected several port facilities and terminals, a hotel sector, dining facilities, transportation, and shopping that are supported largely by tourism from passenger vessels.

The congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach is expected to worsen over the next two weeks due to an increased level of imports. The increase is expected to impact productivity, intensify chassis, and stretch drayage capacity. US imports from Asia moving through LA-LB increased 22 percent in both September and August from the same months last year. The ports handled 828,880 TEU in September after 832,210 TEU in August.

Six Russian intelligence officers were charged by the US Justice Department with a string of hacking offences, including the NotPetya ransomware attack that cost Maersk hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues three years ago. The men, aged between 27 and 35, have been placed on the FBI’s wanted list. The hackers are allegedly members of Unit 74455, the cyber hacking division of Russia’s intelligence services.

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) has welcomed a comprehensive package of additional CO2 reduction measures for the existing global fleet, which has been agreed upon by a significant number of governments from across the world following a week-long virtual meeting at the UN IMO. The agreement includes legally binding measures to ensure a 40% reduction of carbon intensity across the global fleet by 2030, compared to 2008, and is a key steppingstone in achieving 100% decarbonisation as soon as possible after 2050.

Floating Storage and Offshore (FSO) vessel, Nabarima, containing tens of million of gallons of oil now has a severe list, raising fears an environmental disaster. The vessel, anchored in the Gulf of Paria, off the coast of Venezuela, is holding some 1.3 million barrels of crude oil. Built in 2005, the facility is operated by a joint venture by Venezuela state oil company PDVSA and Italy’s Eni, which have been exploring options to offload crude from the vessel. It has been idled for over a year due to U.S. sanctions on PDVSA.

MOL is studying autonomous collision avoidance technology in Tokyo Bay. The goal of the study will be to develop an advanced navigation support system that lays the groundwork for autonomous collision avoidance using rule-based artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.

The Port of Rotterdam and the Municipality of Rotterdam are working together on the joint rollout of shore-based power for sea-going vessels in Rotterdam. By 2030, they are hoping to have a significant share of sea-going vessels to ‘plug in’ once they have moored along one of the port’s quays. Over the next five years, they will initiate a series of projects intended to accelerate and scale up the adoption of shore-based power. Depending on the experiences gained in these projects, the municipality and the port authority may adapt their targets in this area in 2025. This programme is expected to require a total investment of some €125 million. The majority of this budget will be contributed by the companies involved, the municipality and the port authority. Another €50 million will need to be covered by public funding.

Canada was recently removed from a list of countries approved to travel to the EU for non-essential purposes. The original list contained 15 countries that EU officials deemed acceptable for non-essential travel amid COVID-19. But the list is now down to eight countries, and Canada is one of the removed countries. In August, the EU removed Algeria, Montenegro, Morocco and Serbia from the list because of rising COVID-19 case numbers in those countries. More recently, they removed Canada, Tunisia and Georgia, while adding Singapore to the approved travel list. The updated list is expected to be released soon, and is expected to include Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Rwanda, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Uruguay.