Teck Resources Limited and Ridley Terminals Inc. have announced an expanded commercial agreement for exporting steelmaking coal from Teck’s operations in BC. The deal, announced by Teck on Wednesday, will run from January, 2021, to December, 2027, and will increase its coal shipments through Ridley from a capacity of three million tonnes a year to six million tonnes, with an option to extend up to 8 million tonnes. The deal with Ridley follows a new ownership structure for the terminal after the federal government last year sold a 90-per-cent stake to a company owned largely by Riverstone Holdings LLC and AMCI Group and a recent five-year contract awarded to CN Rail to haul Teck’s BC-mined coal to West Coast ports. Together these agreements will enable Teck to increase its shipment volumes through the Ridley terminal to provide greater flexibility and improved performance within its overall steelmaking coal supply chain.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) has achieved another record year in volume. In 2019, 29.9 million tonnes of cargo moved through the Port of Prince Rupert – 12% more than the 26.7 million tonnes handled in 2018 and the highest total volume to date for the Port.   Supporting the overall positive trend was strong performance at DP World’s Fairview Container Terminal with over 1.2 million TEUs at an increase of 17% over 2018, the addition of propane volume through AltaGas’ Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal, and growth in coal handled at Ridley Terminal where cargo levels were up 18% over the previous year. Northland Cruise Terminal also saw a year-over-year increase in passenger volumes of 35%, totalling over 12,400 visitors to Prince Rupert through cruise travel.

The first of Groupe Ocean’s new tugs, Ocean Kitsilano and Ocean Granville, have arrived on the west coast and are currently stationed in the Port of Nanaimo.  The 381 GT ASD tugs built by Damen’s Song Cam shipyard in Vietnam and temporarily flagged St. Vincent & Grenadines, will be registered in Canada and soon ready for escort work in the Port of Vancouver.  (Photo credit: Martin Leduc @dieselduckster)

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, together with several Lower Mainland municipalities and the commercial transport industry, are making Project Cargo Corridor permits available. Commercial truck drivers will experience significant time savings on their journeys, thanks to a new streamlined provincial and municipal trip permitting process to and from the Lower Mainland (Fraser Surrey Docks and Lynnterm East Gate) and the Alberta border via Highway 16. The hope that this will reduce the red tape and increase confidence for carriers and shippers in order to attract more specialized products through BC ports.  The new permit process will be evaluated throughout the first year of operation, with potential to expand to other highway corridors in the future.

The Canadian Coast Guard is taking action to remove the MV Spudnik from the Fraser River near Surrey, BC. Work is now underway to permanently resolve the threat posed by the vessel to prevent any long-term impacts. A recent assessment of the vessel determined that there are imminent risks of pollution threat, hull corrosion, possible sinking and fire. The Canadian Coast Guard has begun work with the contractor Marine Recycling Corporation to assess various options to safely dismantle and remove the vessel from the marine environment. Removal of the vessel is expected to be complete in the spring. The Coast Guard will monitor the vessel throughout the process and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

SM Line will be the first container carrier to call Portland since ICTSI ended its lease with the port in 2017. The terminal has been dormant for four afters after labour disruptions resulted in the departure of Hanjin Shipping, Hapag-Lloyd, and Westwood Shipping four years ago. The SM Line vessel will deliver about 150 inbound containers and pick up export loads for Asia. Its first call initiates a regular weekly service with 4,300-TEU vessels that will call at Yantian, Ningbo, and Shanghai, China; Pusan, South Korea; Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle and Portland, with return calls in Pusan and Kwangyang, South Korea, and Yantian. If Portland is going to attract additional liner services, International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 8 must demonstrate that it will consistently provide the productivity a carrier requires. The fate of the $93.6 million jury award against the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 8 will become clearer Feb. 14 when US District Court Judge Michael Simon is set to hear oral arguments on the union’s post-trial motion to dismiss the award, or at least reduce it.

The US Coast Guard issued a bulletin reminding facility owners and operators that they must implement a system for providing access through the facility that enables individuals to transit to and from a moored vessel in accordance with guidelines found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 33 CFR 105.237. Access procedures must be documented in the Facility Security Plan for each facility and approved by the local Captain of the Port. A system for seafarers’ shore access must be documented in your Facility Security Plan (FSP) on or before February 3, 2020. The facility owner/operator must implement their Coast Guard approved seafarers’ access system by June 1, 2020. Coast Guard enforcement of the Seafarers’ Access to Maritime Facilities Final Rule begins June 1, 2020.

Excessive rainfall led to a challenging year for farmers in the regions surrounding the Port of Toledo, causing grain exports to drop considerably. Grain shipments through the port were down 50% in 2019, but a diversified portfolio of products helped offset the loss in grain numbers. In the end, it was another solid year for one of the busiest ports on the Great Lakes.

The Indian Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) has issued Addendum No.1 to its earlier DGS Order No. 5 of 2019 on the carriage, use and discharge of single-use plastics and, the subsequent revision of its implementation schedule for the order permitting all ships to continue operating in Indian waters and ports and, discharge plastic waste to port reception facilities in accordance with MARPOL Annex V. The addendum is intended to ease implementation of the prohibition order through a phased in approach over 2020, and to provide clarity with respect to the definition of Single Use Plastics.  As part its efforts, DGS issued a notice stating that its seeks comments on proposed mandatory requirements concerning port reception facilities for the delivery of waste from ships and disposal of such wastes. Comments must be received by 20 January.

Following the January 2nd pirate attack on the trailer suction hopper dredger, Ambika. It is believed that a firefight occurred, after which the pirates boarded the vessel and abducted 3 crew members (2 Russians and 1 Indian) leaving behind 5 crew members. The attack occurred at the mouth of the Ramos River, Nigeria.

Cargill was the largest exporter of soybean and corn from Brazil last year, with combined shipments totaling more than 17 million tonnes according to data released on Thursday by maritime agency Cargonave. Bunge also shipped almost 15 million tonnes of the two commodities. Brazil’s main soybean destination last year was China, with shipments totaling around 57 million tonnes to the Asian country even as it reduced purchases after the Swine Flu hit cutting demand for grains that are used as livestock feed. The data also showed Japan as the largest buyer of corn from Brazil, in a year when shipments out of the country exceeded 40 million tonnes, a new record.

A fire erupted onboard Cosco’s 10,000 teu containership Cosco Pacific last weekend, causing the vessel to reroute. The cause of the fire has been identifies as he self-ignition of misreported lithium batteries. The fire started while the vessel was enroute to Nhava Sheva, India from Port Klang in Malaysia. The vessel had to change its destination to Colombo for inspections. All three containers from the same shipper, along with several containers around the burnt container, have been unloaded from the ship.

Carnival Corporation is preparing to launch four new ships across four global brands in 2020. Longer term, they are planning to add a total of 16 new ships by 2025. The four new ships being added to their fleets this year are: the Iona for P&O Cruises UK; Enchanted Princess for Princess Cruises; Mardi Gras for Carnival Cruise Line; and Costa Firenze for Costa Cruises. The deliveries follow four new ships delivered to Carnival brands in 2019.