BCMEA and ILWU Local 514 reach tentative agreement

On October 2, 2019 the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and Local 514 Ship and Dock Foremen reached a tentative agreement. The last Foremen’s agreement expired on March 31, 2019 and negotiations resumed shortly after the longshore collective agreement was ratified at the end of June. The parties have agreed that no details of the agreement will be released until the tentative agreement has been ratified by both parties.

Grain harvest behind schedule

Slow harvest due to rain and early snowfall in Western Canada is delaying the movement of grain to prairie elevators and export terminals on the West Coast and at Thunder Bay. Some are saying the harvest is behind as much as 30 percent and CP indicated that they have shipped about 1,000 cars fewer compared to the first three weeks of last season. The size of this year’s crop is estimated at 70 million metric tonnes plus. 

Canola values remained sluggish with predicted canola production of around 19.358 million tonnes. Despite continued disinterest from China, increased demand from the European Union has provided support to values. Traders anticipate more demand from the European Union later in the year, totalling between one million and three million tonnes. If a deal with China were to come back into the mix, export sales would be considerably stronger.

Vancouver Port joins Getting to Zero 2030 Coalition

The Port of Vancouver has joined the newly launched Getting to Zero 2030 Coalition. This coalition is an alliance of more than 70 public and private organization and calls on the shipping industry to make the transition to zero emission ships by 2030. The creation of an industry roadmap will engage stakeholders to identify technologies, investments and timelines for decarbonization of fuel and associated infrastructure.

Termont Montreal goes greener

The Government of Canada is investing $1.4 million in a project that will help the Port of Montreal reduce greenhouse gas emissions during container handling. Under the project, Termont Montreal, a LOGISTEC joint venture, will convert 57 terminal tractors into diesel-electric hybrid vehicles equipped with automatic stop-start technology. With this financial support, Termont will become the first port operator in the world to convert its entire fleet into hybrid vehicles and will help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at the Port of Montreal. Montreal-based environmental technology company, Effenco, expects its hybrid propulsion system to improve air quality for port workers by burning 26 per cent less fuel and emitting 39 per cent less nitrogen oxide. It also reduces engine use by 46 per cent.

Maintenance for pilot launches

The Pacific Pilotage Authority has advised that the pilot launches will be undergoing major haul out maintenance services over the next six to eight weeks. Pilot transfer services at the Cape Beale pilot boarding station will not be available until the boats are back in service.

China resumes buying US soybeans

The US Department of Agriculture has confirmed that private exporters sold 464,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to China for shipment in the 2019/20 marketing year that began Sept. 1.This announcement was part of a flurry of activity resulting from a tariff-free quota awarded to some importers causing soybean prices to rally ahead of trade talks nexxt week. Chinese buyers purchased more than 1.5 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans last week alone, according to data from the US Agriculture Department, and have purchased at least 716,000 tons this week.

Senator introduces ban on oil and gas exports

Senator Edward J. Markey, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate author of the Green New Deal, has introduced the Block all New (BAN) Oil Exports Act (S. 2527) to amend the Energy Policy and Conservation Act to reinstate the four-decade ban on the export of crude oil and natural gas produced in the United States. This move follows Senator Markey’s concerns with the US dependence on foreign oil following the Saudi Oil Field Attack. The Green New Deal seeks to transition to 100 percent clean, renewable, zero-emitting energy and put an end to America’s dependence on fossil fuels that put the US economy and national security at risk.

UPS to start a new drone airline

United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) is the first US company to be given government approval by the Federal Aviation Administration to run a drone airline. UPS plans to expand deliveries on hospital campuses and eventually other industries. Its subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, has operated more than 1,000 flights at Wake Forest University’s medical centre in Raleigh, North Carolina. The designation removes limits on the size of the company’s potential drone operation. Flight Forward can fly an unlimited number of drones, and fly drones at night installing the necessary colored warning lights on each drone.

Ship Grave a US Marine Sanctuary

Earlier this year a new national marine sanctuary was established about 40 miles south of Washington, DC to protect the remains of more than 100 abandoned steamships and vessels (referred to as the “Ghost Fleet”) built as part of America’s engagement in World War I. Although the ships never saw action during the war, their construction at more than 40 shipyards in 17 states reflected the massive national wartime effort that drove the expansion and economic development of waterfront communities and maritime service industries. The oldest ships sank there in the 1700s; the most recent ones are from the 20th century. Their skeletal remains rise up in the air, looking like spirits rising out of the Potomac River. It is said to be the first sanctuary to protect not only sea creatures, but also partially covered shipwrecks.

BIMCO support ship's power to curb emission

BIMCO has submitted a proposal to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to regulate propulsion power of ships in order to sustain the GHG savings already achieved through slower steaming. While it remains a fact that ships’ speed is the single most important variable influencing their CO2 emissions, there are different views as to which regulatory measure is best when it comes to enforcement and achieving the objective of curbing emissions. It has been concluded that limiting ships’ propulsion power can be controlled accurately and at the same time, it has a close correlation to speed. Setting a limit for ships’ power has already been suggested by Japan. BIMCO recommends the power limit should be derived for each shipping sector from an assumed performance of an average ship sailing at current average trading speed within each sector. The proposal will be introduced at the Intersessional meeting of the working group on reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from ships at the IMO in London on 11-15 October. Maersk is said to be already backing the proposal.

VLCC spot rate near $100,000/day

Geopolitics are pushing VLCC spot rates towards $100,000 a day, as charterers work around the clock to snap up tonnage in a red hot market. The attacks on Saudi oil installations last month, combined with US sanctions on Cosco’s tankers 11 days later have sent the supertanker sector soaring with spot rates for some routes now in excess of $70,000 a day and a number of analysts pointing out that six-figure sums are on the horizon, backed up by news from tanker derivatives desks in London and Singapore reporting exceptionally brisk trading this week deep into Q4.

Nur Allya found

Pinger locators have finally found where the Nur Allya sank six weeks ago. After an extraordinary search over thousands of square kilometres, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Commission has located the Gurita Lintas Samudra-owned ship in the Halmahera Sea, north of Buru Island in the Maluku area that sits in the heart of the Indonesian archipelago. The ship’s last contact with its owner was on August 20, after which a giant search and rescue operation got underway. The vessel was carrying nickel ore when it sank with 25 crew onboard, a cargo prone to dangerous liquefacation. None of the crew have been found. Since the incident, Intercargo urged all shipping companies to exercise “extreme caution” when accepting, for carriage, nickel ore and other cargoes that have the potential to liquefy.

Volumes on Northern Sea Route up 40%

Goods volumes are expected to reach 29 million tons in course of 2019, says leader of Russia’s Northern Sea Route (NSR) Administration. The lion’s share of NSR ship traffic is related to the liquified natural gas produced by Novatek. The company’s Yamal LNG is expected to produce more than 16 million tons in 2019. The number of ships operating on the Northern Sea Route remains low with a total of 743 vessels requested sailing permission year to date. Only a limited number of these vessels carry goods, the official NSR list of vessels shows that almost half are tugs and support and service vessels, most of which are involved in oil and gas-related activities.

South China Sea tensions ramp up

Hanoi says Beijing’s survey and coastguard vessels are widening their activities in disputed, energy-rich waters. Vietnam accused a Chinese oil-surveying vessel and coastguard escorts of territorial violations after entering the country’s exclusive economic zone and operating within offshore blocks for three months. The region contains unexploited hydrocarbons that the US says could be worth US$2.5 trillion. Vietnam has become increasingly isolated in its efforts to push back against China, which is nearing a deal with the Philippines for joint energy exploration in a contested area of the sea and just set up one-on-one talks with Malaysia to settle disputes in the waters.

MOL to set sail with new technology

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) today announced that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. have jointly obtained "Approval In Principle (AIP)" from Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK) for the design of a hard sail system. The system converts wind energy to propulsive force with telescopic hard sail, and is a fundamental technology of the "Wind Challenger Project" that MOL and Oshima Shipbuilding are spearheading to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using wind energy. It is estimated that emissions will be reduced by 5% on a Japan-Australia voyage, and about 8% on Japan-North America West Coast voyage. The long-term goal is to develop a widely accepted solution to achieve the IMO target in combination with other measures to reduce GHGs by equipping vessels with multiple sails.