COS Weekly News - 2 July 2010

Monday, 05 July 2010 00:00

 

COS News – Week ending 2 July 2010

Issue No. 113

 

 

 

PORT ACCESS CARDS

The offices of the Chamber of Shipping will be undergoing renovations beginning July 19^th through to the end August.  During this time, appointments for port access cards will be accommodated on an ‘urgent’ basis only.  Please contact Lana at 604-681-2351 for appointments.

 

 

Government News

 

TRANSPORT CANADA APPOINTS NEW MEMBER TO THE VPFA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

June 29^th – Transport Minister, John Baird announced the appointment of Ms. Marcella Szel to the board of directors of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority for a term of three years, effective June 19^th. Ms Szel has a distinguished corporate and legal background, including many years working in senior positions with Canadian Pacific Railway. Government of Canada news link.

 

 

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA RATIFIES NEW REGULATIONS FOR MARINE WORKER SAFETY

June 30^th – The government of Canada ratified a new set of marine worker safety regulations that will replace the old ‘Marine Occupational Safety and Health Regulations’, which came into effect under Part 2 of the Canada Labour Code in 1987. According to the Labour Minister, Lisa Raitt, the new regulations will better protect the health and safety of marine workers. Extensive effort has gone into ensure the regulations reflect current technology, national and international regulations as well as international marine best practices.

 

 

FINAL LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL FOR CANADA – COLOMBIA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT

The Legislation for a Canadian – Colombian free trade agreement has now been passed into law in Canada. The agreement has not yet been passed into law in Colombia. The free trade agreement targets topics such as tariffs, duties, labour relations and environmental standards. Of particular significance is the reduction or removal of almost all tariffs on Canadian Exports. Colombia has a population of 44 million, a GDP of USD 401 Billion and bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and Colombia was nearly 1.3 Billion in 2009.

 

 

CANADA STRENGTHENS CARGO RELATIONSHIP WITH JAPAN, SINGAPORE AND SOUTH KOREA

June 25^th - The CBSA has announced that it has signed Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRA’s) with customs organizations in Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The MRA’s are intended to confirm that Japan, Singapore and South Korea are using similar criteria to those used in Canada’s Partners in Protection(PIP) program when approving companies for membership in their respective cross-border programs. The MRA’s will allow Canadian companies in theses countries greater facilitation, and provide CBSA customs agents the ability to focus more on unknown or high risk areas. CBSA news link

 

 

Other News

EU ADVANCE CARGO REPORTING WITH EFFECT FROM JANUARY 1 2011

Attention is drawn to the attached guide to implementation of advance cargo declaration regime produced by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA). Members are also advised that the European Commission recently launched a web portal to assist companies to comply with EU customs procedures for the import and export of goods.  The portal brings together in one place a variety of relevant and practical information, such as EU legislation and explanatory documents, and explains, through the use of interactive animations, the main steps in standard import, export, and transit customs procedures for entry/exit of the EU. Further information can be found at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/ecip. and it is envisaged that the portal will be further extended in the future.

 

CLERICAL WORKERS STRIKE IN LA/LB

Clerical workers in Los Angeles and Long Beach went on strike as of midnight on July 1. The ILWU Local 63 Office Clerical Unit submitted a demand for a 21% wage increase over three years, just three hours before the expiry of the old contract at midnight on June 30. The Harbour Employers’ Association, which represents terminals and liner agencies in negotiations with OCU countered with a proposal including job security and a $1 per hour pay hike spread over six years, in addition to an $1 hourly increase implemented in May.

 

HIJACKINGS RESUME

After a one month lull, the small chemical tanker Golden Blessing on passage from Mumbai to Saudi Arabia with a cargo of glycol ethylene was hijacked earlier this week despite being within the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor. In recent hijackings, pirates have been swarming vessels with attacks from all sides in order to gain access.

 

 

SENATOR McCAIN PROPOSES TO ABOLISH JONES ACT

Senator John McCain, has tabled a legislative proposal to abolish the Jones Act, first introduced 90 years ago. The basis for the move is the Deepwater Horizon spill where the U.S. administration is accused of turning down 21 aid offers from 17 countries related to vessels and crews with experience in removing oil spill debris, because of the Jones Act. The Act requires that all goods transported from one US port to another be carried by vessels built in the US, and owned, crewed and operated by American citizen entities. McCain voiced opinion that the law hinders free trade and favors labor unions over consumers by denying a 22% reduction in shipping costs and annual savings of $1 bn for the US economy. In particular, the states of Hawaii and Alaska claim to disproportionally impacted. In response, the U.S. Maritime Cabotage Task Force, a coalition with more than 400 members drawn from ship owners, shipyards, maritime labor and other groups, said Senator McCain’s proposed Open America’s Waters Act would “only put more Americans out of work”.

Meanwhile the 6 month old OBO “A WHALE”, recently converted in Portugal and described as the world’s largest oil skimmer has this week been inspected by USCG in an effort to seek Jones Act dispensation to engage in the Gulf of Mexico clean up. The vessel is owned by Taiwan’s TMT Group which describes the vessel as capable of cleaning the Gulf of Mexico  "like a lawn mower cutting grass and capable of ingesting up to 500,000 barrels of oil contaminated water a day”. The vessel is designed to work 20 to 50 miles offshore where smaller skimmers cannot. A vessel to be named B WHALE will follow.

                        

                   “A WHALE”

FMC INCREASES OVERSIGHT OF CONTAINER TRADES

In response to shipper complaints and a subsequent enquiry, the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is to establish so called “rapid response teams” to handle disputes between ocean carriers and US shippers related to such issues as space availability, container availability, cancelled bookings and rolled cargo. The FMC also plans to require the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement and Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement to provide transcripts of certain meetings. A work group of six exporters and four members of the WTSA has been formed to identify the information that would be provided to exporters.

FLOATING NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS

The first of seven floating nuclear power station Akademik Lomonossov has been launched at Baltiysky Zavod shipyard in Russia for Rosenergoatom, the state-owned nuclear power company. All units are to deployed in support of commodity exploration and extraction projects and have capacity for 240,000 cu m of seawater desalination a day. The Akademik Lomonosov (named after academician Mikhail Lomonosov) will be deployed in 2012 at Vilyuchinsk, in the Kamchatka region in Russia's far east. Being non propelled, the units are reliant on tugs for positioning.

 

 

US FLAG QUALITY DOWN GRADED BY PARIS MOU

The U.S. flag has been downgraded to the Paris MOU Port State Control’s Grey List based on data for ships calling at European ports between 2007 and 2009. The Paris MOU regime terms flag states on its grey list as having “an average performance” and says that “their appearance on this list may act as an incentive to improve and move to the white list”. The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation meeting in Washington DC in June discussed the role foreign flags play in enforcing maritime safety standards in the US.

MISSION TO SEAFARERS RECEIVES ROYAL BACKING

In a ceremony on the Queen Mary 2 in Southampton, Princess Anne, President of the Mission to Seafarers has encouraged the shipping industry to fund the Mission’s bid to expand from the current 230 ports covered to another nine ports in Spain, Russia, Estonia and Vietnam at a cost of $2.25m.

 

 

Market Update

The market this week was about as dull as our Canada Day weather as the Northern Hemisphere holiday season began to kick in resulting with the Baltic Dry Index closing down on Thursday at 2351 points compared to 2502 points last week and 2784 points the week before.

 

                                     Cape Size           Panamax           Supramax

Index                                2658                   2627                    2036                                               

Spot time charter        $23,800/day       $21,150/day        $21,300/day

Last week                   $24,000/day       $24,700/day        $22,200/day

 

Carriage of good by sea trade is expected to increase by some 6% to around 8.3bn tons this year over 2009 figures. The numbers indicate a solid return to pre-recession movement of freight according to the most recent forecast from Clarksons Research. Notable numbers are almost 1bn tons of iron ore and 250m tons of coking coal. Total bulk trade is forecast to be around 3.2bn tons this year.

 

 

 

Upcoming Meetings and Events

 

MISSION TO SEAFARERS – JULY 5TH MARINE LUNCHEON LAST CALL
July 5th – Robert Allen of Robert Allan Ltd. will be the guest speaker at the Mission to Seafarers annual lunch held at the Terminal City Club.  The Mission to Seafarers is an Anglican mission that has been caring for seafarers from around the world since 1903 and each year up to 15,000 seafarers from more than 40 countries visit the Mission. Tickets are $55 per person (includes $25 tax receipt).  We’d love to sell a few more seats so for more information call 604 253 4421

 

 

ENBRIDGE PRESENTATION

July 8^th – The Enbridge presentation to the marine community is scheduled to take place on Thursday July 8^th from 10:30-13:30 at the SFU downtown campus (Room 7000, 515 West Hastings St.). Please note that this event is booked to capacity, and if you have RSVP’d but will not be able to attend, please notify the Chamber of Shipping via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it so we may accommodate those on a waiting list.

HAZMAT EXPERTS TRAINING COURSE

July 19-22^nd - Germanischer Lloyd is offering a three-day seminar specifically developed to train HazMat Experts in line with the IMO Guidelines for Preparation of Inventory of Hazardous Materials (IHM). The course outlines the rules and regulations in respect of ship recycling including requirements for shipowners and documentation of hazardous materials for allowing safe ship dismantling activities.  For more information call 1-800-590-3932.

 

 

AN EVENING AT THE MUSEUM

July 21^st – The Vancouver Maritime Museum is hosting a fundraising dinner on the opening night of the Celebration of Light.  Tickets are $160 plus HST (includes a $100 tax receipt).  To reserve your tickets, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

 

July 3                Pacific Coast Terminals Open House

July 5                Mission to Seafarers – Marine Lunch 2010

July 6                CIABC Board Meeting @ 10:30

July 8                Business of Shipping – Enbridge Presentation

July 8                CIFFA Annual Golf Tournament

July 8                Business of Shipping – Enbridge Northern Gateway Project

July 9                IMC Annual General Meeting @ 12:00

July 13              COS Ship & Port Operations Meeting @ 12:00

July 13              ICS Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting @ 16:00

July 14              COS Liner Committee Meeting @ 10:00

July 14              COS Board of Directors Meeting @ 11:30

July 19              HAZMAT Experts Training Course

July 20              ISSC Annual General Meeting @ 12:00

July 21              An Evening at the Vancouver Maritime Museum

July 22              COS Navigation & Pilotage Committee @ 10:30

July 22              COS Owners Committee Meeting @ 12:00

 

 

 

Ship of the Week

 

 

                                     Cape Unity

            K Line Capesize Bulk Carrier in Port Hedland, Australia

                      to load iron ore on her maiden voyage in 2007

 

Built Imbari Yard, Japan

LOA 289m

Beam 45m

DWT 181,180 MT

Speed 15.3 knots

Sister ship: Cape Canary

 

 

                                         Cape Canary

 

These vessels are categorized as so called “Dunkirkmax” meaning the largest size of vessel that can access the Port of Dunkirk in Northern France.

     

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