This week has seen heightened concerns and more precautionary measures implemented over the spread of the infectious Novel Coronavirus as 23 countries now have confirmed cases.  The US has just announced that they will place 195 evacuees from Wuhan and other US citizens returning from the Hebei province under quarantine for 14-days.  The entry of foreign nationals who are not immediate family members of US citizens or permanent residents has been suspended.  In China, the Lunar New Year celebrations have been extended by three days for most of the country, and through Feb. 9^th in the areas hardest hit by the virus – Shanghai, Shenzhen, Ningbo, Xiamen, and Qingdao.  Reduced labour and staff at marine terminals, warehouses, container freight stations, drayage companies and regulatory agencies was prevalent throughout the week.  With already 40 blank sailings planned at the beginning of February, carriers are re-assessing what other network capacity adjustments might be needed.

CN Rail is taking steps towards replicating the Port of Prince Rupert model in Eastern Canada. The model has driven US-bound cargo through the Canadian West Coast, and CN hopes to have and eastern counterpart up and running in a matter of years rather than a decade. Growing intermodal volume in Montreal faces several challenges, including ship size limits, a truck-centric market, and a tendency for ship discharges to prioritize containers for the local market. CN envisions Quebec attracting Suez-routed services moving goods from factories south of Singapore and possibly from Vietnam. Halifax is also well-placed to tap manufacturing shifting from China to the likes of India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.

The second application intake period for the Centerm Community Fund is now open until April 3, 2020. The Centerm Community Fund is a $500,000 fund created to benefit the local community as a part of the Centerm Expansion Project. It will be distributed over three years and three intake periods. The fund is designed to support organizations located along the south shore of the Burrard Inlet, where significant construction is taking place over the next few years. Funding comes from the port authority in collaboration with DP World. Organizations located in Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, Hastings-Sunrise, or Grandview-Woodland are invited to submit proposals to receive funding as part of the Centerm Community Fund. Apply online.

Last week Vancouver firefighters extinguished a stubborn fire at Viterra Pacific grain elevator that burned for around 40 hours. Firefighters surrounded Viterra’s facility around 7 p.m. Thursday January 23^rd and crews struggled to put the fire out. No report yet on what caused the incident or what exactly was burning and there have been no reports of any injuries resulting from the fire.

The US Coast Guard issued very useful guidance on the implementation of its compliance/enforcement policy for MARPOL Annex VI Regulation 14, including the IMO 2020 sulphur cap.

The California Air Resources Board has issued a Marine Notice reminding owners and operators that the requirements under the CARB OGV Fuel Regulation remain in effect. The reminder states that regulations such as the existing North American Emission Control Area (ECA) requirements and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) fuel sulphur limit of 0.5% do not change the requirement to use marine distillate grade fuel (marine gas oil or marine diesel oil) with a maximum sulphur level of 0.1% while operating auxiliary diesel and diesel-electric engines, main propulsion diesel engines, and auxiliary boilers on ocean-going vessels within Regulated California Waters (all waters within 24 nautical miles of the California baseline). The regulation does not allow compliance via scrubbers. Only the low sulfur distillate grades of fuel can be used to comply with the CARB OGV Fuel Regulation.

The US has lifted sanctions against the Dalian units of China COSCO Shipping Corp, accused of hauling Iranian crude in violation of American restrictions.  In September, restrictions were implemented on COSCO sending freight rates soaring as traders cancelled charters linked to the parent company. Four other Chinese entities were also sanctioned.  Tanker stocks DHT Holdings Inc, Nordic American Tankers Ltd., Frontline Ltd. and Teekay Corp. fell following the Jan. 31 announcement, all dropping by more than 4%.

Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith and Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin have joined eight other senators in advocating for a new Great Lakes icebreaker by signing a letter sent to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Karl Schultz. The move comes in the wake of new research released by the Lake Carriers Association which shows that more than $1 billion in revenues was sacrificed last winter due to delays resulting from inadequate icebreaking. Congress has provided $10 million to design and begin the procurement of a vessel at least as capable as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and has requested funding for such a purchase be included in the 2021 fiscal year. An icebreaker of such scale is expected to cost between $200 million and $250 million.

The Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) is entering into a partnership with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help close the gender gap in the traditionally male-dominated shipping industry. Women make up just 2 percent of the world’s 1.2 million seafarers and the vast majority of them work in the cruise sector. WISTA and the IMO will work together to promote greater gender diversity and inclusion through various initiatives. Among key highlights of the agreement they two organizations will carry out a joint study to collect and analyse data on the number of women employed in the maritime sector. In addition, they will look for opportunities to partner on maritime issues, which may include organising workshops or speaking on at conferences to make panels more diverse.  Those interested in learning more about WISTA Canada and activities in the region, visit: https://wistainternational.com/association/wista-canada/  

Seaspan Corporation’s fleet is approaching one million TEU as the company closed the purchase of six container ships for USD 380 million. The vessels comprise three 10,700 TEU and three 9,200 TEU units, adding a total of about 59,700 TEU to the company’s global fleet. With a total fleet size of approximately 975,000 TEU, Seaspan’s fleet consists of 119 containerships, including one yet-to-be delivered ship. Seaspan’s current operating fleet of 118 vessels has an average age of approximately seven years and an average remaining lease period of approximately four years, on a TEU-weighted basis.