Green Marine has determined that the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is once again one of the highest environmental performers in North America, significantly exceeding jurisdictional regulations and further establishing its reputation as a global leader in environmental stewardship. Green Marine is a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American marine industry that encourages participants to reduce their environmental footprint by taking concrete actions. PRPA’s performance report achieved the highest level in environmental criteria related to community impacts, spill prevention, aquatic invasive species, waste management, and environmental leadership.

This week GCT Global Container Terminals’ Vanterm facility in the Port of Vancouver took delivery of two new 14,000 TEU capable ship-to-shore cranes. The heavy load carrier, Zhen Hua 35, carried a total of five gantry cranes over 5,000 nautical miles from Shanghai. GCT’s new cranes will be among the most advanced in North America. Electrically powered, they feature regenerative drives that can provide power back into the grid and high-efficiency LED lighting.  The cranes will reduce glare and light pollution along with features intended to reduce operational noise. The cranes, along with other equipment upgrades and process improvements in GCT’s $160M private sector investment, will improve safety for the workforce, increase terminal capability, and reduce equipment emissions by 55% – all within the same footprint.

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) has appointed Martin Imbleau to the position of President and CEO, effective January 1, 2021. In senior management positions for some fifteen years and having developed extensive experience in strategy, operations, business development and managing major infrastructure projects, he will succeed Sylvie Vachon, who will be retiring on December 31, 2020. Mr. Imbleau brings hands-on experience in the utilities sector serving communities. He has held various management and vice-presidential positions for close to twenty years at Energir, and since last April was Vice President - Corporate Strategies and Business Development at Hydro-Québec.

A shortage of containers at the Port of Vancouver is slowing Canada’s exports of lentils and peas, the latest ripple in a phenomenon that has roiled trade. Companies are rushing to get the steel boxes to Asia so that consumer goods made in factories there can be shipped to North America, which is proving to be more profitable than waiting for agricultural products to be loaded and sent. As a result, tons of pea and lentil crops from the world’s biggest producer remain in storage on farms and in elevators. The bottleneck is hitting farmers just as pulse exports to Asia and India typically pick up following a large Canadian harvest.

The Indigenous Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary has fully launched in B.C. and has already completed a number of missions. The auxiliary consists of 50 volunteer members from five First Nations along B.C.'s coast — the Ahousat, the Heiltsuk, the Gitxaala, the Nisgaa and the Kitasoo. The auxiliary will work in tandem with the Canadian Coast Guard, responding to remote areas that would take the Coast Guard a long time to attend. The volunteer members have been provided with training, equipment and certification for their community boats. New Search and Rescue boats are also being built with funding from government grants.

A study commissioned by the Canadian Government is recommending individual governments, including Canada, take unilateral action to restrict or prohibit scrubber discharges from both open-loop and closed-loop systems. The report comes from the International Council on Clean Transportation, and claims that ships fitted with scrubbers were not effectively meeting the global fuel standard. Findings indicate that scrubbers are harmful to both the air and the sea. Although scrubber discharges usually comply with IMO guidelines, the study indicates that compliance does not guarantee that scrubber discharges are safe.

The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has released a draft report of its analysis of the Montreal Port Authority's (MPA) proposed Contrecoeur container terminal project. In planning for more than 30 years, the expansion of the port in Contrecoeur, Quebec, is now needed because Canadian importers and exporters continue to increase their activity in Quebec and Ontario. The MPA will proceed with the report's analysis and reiterate its commitment to implement "exemplary" mitigation and compensation measures. It also will remain attentive to agency requests during the project's design, construction and operation, agency officials said.

The Federal Maritime Commission has issued letters to the three global carrier alliances (2M, THE, and OCEAN) requiring that certain carrier-specific trade data currently filed with the Commission quarterly, must now be submitted on a monthly basis. The Commission’s Bureau of Trade Analysis has determined that given recent fluctuations in the markets, they need to receive key trade data directly from alliance carriers on a more frequent basis in order to better position staff economists to timely evaluate changes in the transpacific and transatlantic trades and report findings to the Commission.

On November 18th, the CMTS COVID-19 Working Group hosted a webinar for the maritime industry on "Covid-19 Testing Strategies for U.S. Merchant Mariners." Two CDC subject matter experts addressed pandemic data; workplace prevention and control strategies; the types, availability and reliability of testing for mariners; preventive measures; CDC recommendations for mariners; and answered questions from the audience. To download a copy of the webinar presentation slide deck, click here.

The IMO has approved a ban on the use of heavy fuel oil in the Arctic region. The move has been criticized by green groups who believe that loopholes will allow many vessels to keep sailing without enough regulatory control. Antarctic waters are protected by stringent regulations, including a ban on heavy oil fuel (HFO) adopted in 2011, even though no cargo moves through. For the Arctic, the rules have been looser. The IMO’s new regulations include exemptions and waivers, which would mean a complete HFO ban would only come into effect in mid-2029. Exemption will apply to ships with oil fuel tanks located inside their double hull. There would also be a provision allowing countries with coastlines bordering Arctic waters to issue waivers to ships flying their flag while they operate there until July 1, 2029.

The Round Table of international shipping associations have penned open letter to the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, urging him to take a stand for stranded seafarers. The letter indicates that 90% of global trade relies on shipping, which underpins success of key retail dates like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The letter comes from BIMCO, INTERCARGO, International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), and INTERTANKO.

Many carriers are no longer loading the boxes with exports before returning to Asia. The practice is pushing demand for containers while simultaneously driving spot rates upward. Consumer demand is expected to remain elevated until the Lunar New Year holiday in February. Some 43.5% of containers at China’s Ningbo-Zhoushan port left on a different vessel than originally scheduled in October, up from 30.1% in September. The increase in the rollover rate reflects a shortage of boxes and disruptions to the supply chain.