Canada Day Marine Operations

As part of the 2019 Canada Day celebrations, on-water fireworks displays will occur on the evening of July 1st, commencing at 21:00. Locations of the barges include Coal Harbour and Dundarave.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority anticipates greater than normal volumes of recreational traffic in these areas both during and transiting through the port after these events. To promote safe navigation during this event,  no deep sea vessel traffic movement (including those vessels operated under pilotage waiver) or commercial towing activity is to occur between the western boundary of TCZ1 (First Narrows) and the eastern boundary of TCZ2 (Second Narrows) between the hours of 21:00 and 24:00 of July 1st, 2019. Pilotage assignments and commercial towing activity should be coordinated accordingly.

Refer to active NavWarn for any further details: http://nis.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/public/rest/messages/en/search.  Should you have further questions or concerns, please contact the 24/7 Operations Centre at 604-665-9086 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

New contract between ILWU Canada and BCMEA ratified

The new collective agreement between ILWU Canada and the BC Maritime Employers Association has been ratified. The 5-year agreement is effective retroactively from April 1, 2018 – March 31, 2023 with an average increase to the ILWU of 2.8% per year. Bargaining between the ILWU Local 514 Ship and Dock Foremen is now set to resume with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

China suspend all Canadian meat exports

Canada has been asked to suspend meat exports to China over "forged certificates.” In response, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has ceased issuing export certificates to China for all beef and pork products. The Chinese embassy has said that customs authorities detected ractopamine in a batch of pork products that Canada had sent to China. Ractopamine is a feed additive that’s banned in certain countries, but it can be used in Canada. About 388% more beef was exported to China as of April 2019 compared with the same timeframe last year, and nearly 53% more pork, according to Statistics Canada.

Contaminated grain silos to be demolished

Dozens of grain silos on the port industrial waterfront in East Vancouver have been found to be contaminated with rat and bird droppings. Built in 1918, they are now in the process of being demolished. The facility was permanently shut down in 2010 due to its poor condition, and it has been completely unoccupied for the last two years. A hazard materials assessment report conducted for the site found dangerous substances including PCB’s, mercury, and asbestos, which is present in both within the structure and on the exterior. Demolition work began earlier this month and is scheduled to continue through May 2020.

ISSC’s Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge

The International Sailors’ Society Canada’s third annual Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge took place on Tuesday, June 25th up the Grouse Grind®. This year’s event saw tremendous support from the marine community with 34 teams of three registered in the challenge. Proceeds from this event will benefit seafarer centres across Canada. Final results and photos from the 2019 Peak Challenge and have been posted to: http://sailorssociety.ca/index.php/news-events/peak-challenge

BC government imposes new rates for container trucking sector

The BC government announced that as of Monday, July 1, the container trucking commissioner will have authority to set rates and fuel surcharges. The decision is designed to help maintain stability, fairness and competitiveness in the sector. In setting rates, the commissioner will be guided by the principles of balancing fair compensation for drivers and ensuring the ongoing competitiveness of the sector. This action supports the commissioner’s implementation of a new $25 positioning rate to compensate drivers for trips without containers, which currently are unpaid.

Minister Garneau issues statement on recent deaths of North Atlantic right whales

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport has issued a statement on the deaths of several North Atlantic right whales in Canadian waters. With six deaths reported in the month of June, Transport Canada is implementing an interim precautionary speed restriction of 10 knots, for vessels of 20 metres or more in length travelling in the western the Gulf of St. Lawrence and in the two designated shipping lanes north and south of Anticosti Island, effective immediately. The penalty for non-compliance is $25,000.

Seaspan Shipyards delivers first offshore fisheries science vessel

Seaspan Shipyards is celebrating the official handover of the CCGS Sir John Franklin, the first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel, to the Canadian Coast Guard. As the first large vessel to be built and delivered to the Government of Canada under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, the delivery of the vessel marks a significant milestone in the revitalization of the Canadian marine industrial sector.

Lorraine Cunningham reappointed to the Pacific Pilotage Authority

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, has announced the reappointment of Lorraine Cunningham as the Chairperson of the Pacific Pilotage Authority for a term of eight months, commencing on October 4, 2019. Cunningham has been Chairperson of the PPA since 2012 and prior to that she served as a director between 1999 and 2012.

Freight Forwarders to Serve Prison Time in U.S. for Price Fixing

Two executives from freight forwarding company, Dip Shipping Co, have been sentenced to prison for fixing the prices of freight forwarding services. Their conduct is reported to have raised freight-forwarding prices by as much as 20 percent. Roberto Dip, CEO, was sentenced to 18 months while Jason Handal, Sales Manager, was sentenced to 15 months for fixing the prices of freight forwarding from about 2010 to 2015.

Port of Los Angeles Argues Against New Tariffs on Chinese Goods

With the Trump administration considering an additional 25 percent tariff on goods imported from China to the US, the Port of Los Angeles has spoken out about a number of unintended consequences, including higher consumer prices, lower profitability for American firms, and uncertainty in the maritime supply chain. As the largest single gateway for marine containerized cargo entering and leaving the United States, handling approximately 40 percent of all containerized imports, the amount of Chinese cargo exposed to the tariffs would be more pronounced than at other gateways.

IMO Approves Autonomous Ship Trial Guidelines

The IMO has approved an initial set of guidelines for the conduct of autonomous ship trials. The guidelines state that trials should be conducted in a manner that provides at least the same degree of safety, security and protection of the environment as provided by the relevant instruments. Risks associated with the trials should be appropriately identified and measures to reduce the risks should be put in place. Additionally, the guidelines specify that onboard or remote operators of MASS should be appropriately qualified for operating MASS subject to the trial.

Caroline Yang elected president of Singapore Shipping Association

Caroline Yang, the CEO of Hong Lam Marine, has been elected president of the Singapore Shipping Association. Yang succeeds ICS chairman Esben Poulsson, who has led the 460-member association since July 2015. She will be the association’s first female president. Yang started her career with Hong Lam Marine as in-house counsel in 1991 and was appointed executive director in 2002.

Hurtigruten secures LNG supply for ships until 2030

Cruise operator Hurtigruten has agreed a long-term LNG supply deal for its ships with Gasnor, part of Royal Dutch Shell. Gasnor will supply the company’s ships along the Norwegian coast with LNG until 2030. Hurtigruten is scheduled to start upgrading six of its vessels from this winter to run on a combination of LNG, battery packs and liquid biogas.

Inland-waterway LNG bunker vessel begins operations in Rotterdam

Europe’s first inland-waterway LNG bunker vessel has officially begun its bunkering operations in Rotterdam with the LNG-powered Containerships Polar and Containerships Nord. The LNG London, which is owned by LNG Shipping, is on long-term charter to Shell and will be used for LNG bunkering in the ports of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Antwerp. The vessel measures 110 meters long and 15 meters wide, with a cargo capacity of 3,000 cubic meters of LNG.

Maersk launches ‘Maersk Spot’

Maersk is launching a new product, Maersk Spot which will see penalties to shippers for failing to produce containers associated with the slots they book, while Maersk would pay a penalty if it fails to load cargo booked through its online platform. Maersk Spot is currently offered globally on all global trades except those regulated by the US Federal Maritime Commission, but they are hoping to get regulatory approval I the US later this year. The product is currently being offered through a beta website but will roll out to the wider Maersk.com website in August.

Largest container terminal in the Mediterranean opens

Moroccan port TangerMed and Danish shipping major A.P. Moller-Maersk celebrated the opening the first automated container terminal in Africa. The terminal has a capacity of 5 million TEU and is expected to be one of the most important transshipment locations in the world. APM Terminals MedPort Tangier investment of USD 800 million will raise the port’s annual throughput capacity to 9 million TEU with its ability to handle ultra large container vessels.