Canada West Coast News

The first electric tugs of the SAAM Towage's fleet, built by SANMAR Shipyards, have reached the Port of Vancouver in Canada. The vessels are named Saam Volta and Chief Dan George."We continue to make progress on this milestone for SAAM Towage, which is part of our strategy to drive innovation and development for increasingly sustainable operations. These tugs, which are the result our alliance with Teck and Neptune Terminals, show our commitment to seek alternatives in our industry to reduce the carbon footprint and support the fight against global climate change…

The first electric tugs for SAAM Towage's fleet are ready to sail from the Port of Tuzla to Vancouver, Canada, where they will join the fleet operating in that country.SAAM Towage's Engineering and Development Manager, Pablo Cáceres, said, "We are one step closer to having our electric tugs operating, which for us represents the way to advance towards more sustainable operations and move our business into the future."The Sanmar-built vessels have successfully completed their final seaworthiness trials and will soon be loaded onto the cargo ship BBC Emerald…

Dock workers in western Canada voted to accept an improved labor contract after a month-long dispute that affected trade and disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports, their union said on Friday.The vote was 74.66% in favor of the terms of the settlement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said in a statement.Disagreements in contract negotiations have disrupted billions of dollars in trade, raising concerns about fueling inflation.The union provisionally agreed to a new contract on Sunday…

Dock workers on Canada's West Coast and their employers said they reached a new labor agreement, averting an immediate strike, as they sought to end a dispute that has disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports.The International Longshore and Warehouse Canada Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) are recommending the ratification of the deal, they said in a joint statement late on Sunday.

In 2021, Trans Mountain, on behalf of shippers for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), awarded KOTUG Canada Inc. a long-term contract to provide escort towage services for tankers that load crude oil at Trans Mountain’s Westridge Marine Terminal.Trans Mountain operates Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources.Under the agreement, KOTUG Canada, which is a partnership between KOTUG International B.V.

Marine services and towage firm KOTUG Canada Inc., a partnership between KOTUG International and Canada’s Horizon Maritime Inc., has won a long-term agreement with Trans Mountain, operator of Canada’s only oil pipeline servicing the West Coast of Canada providing tidewater access to foreign markets for Canada’s petroleum resources. KOTUG Canada will provide escort towage to tankers loaded at Westridge Marine Terminal. "KOTUG Canada was selected for this purpose by shippers on the Trans Mountain Pipeline after a rigorous and competitive process facilitated by Trans Mountain.

Turkish shipbuilder Sanmar Shipyards announced it has inked a deal with HaiSea Marine for the build and delivery of three liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled escort tugs and two battery-electric harbor tugs which will provide ship-assist and escort towing services to LNG carriers calling at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, B.C., on Canada's west coast.Following an initial tender process which began in 2018, HaiSea Marine has awarded the contract for all five tugs to Sanmar plus an option for a sixth.

Seaspan Shipyards said its operations remain up and running as the Canadian shipbuilder continues to closely watch the fast-developing COVID-19 situation.Seaspan, which operates shipyards in Vancouver and Victoria on Canada's west coast, noted it is following the guidance and direction of public health and government authorities, and added that it has not received a recommendation or directive to shut down operations in B.C. It said no Seaspan employee has tested positive for COVID-19 to date."As COVID-19 developments continue to unfold…

Dubai-based port operator DP World announced it has completed the acquisition of Fraser Surrey Docks in Canada from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners (MIP) alongside its partner Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).The enabler of global trade said in a press release that said the acquisition complements its footprint in Canada, which also includes terminal operations in Vancouver, Nanaimo, Prince Rupert and St John’s, without disclosing the value of the purchase.The integrated coast-to-coast platform provides customers with bulk, breakbulk and general cargo services.DP World's global strategy is to become a trade enabler and solutions provider as the company looks to participate across a wider part of the supply chain.

North American energy infrastructure company energy infrastructure company AltaGas celebrated the grand opening of its Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal (RIPET), located in Prince Rupert, British Columbia – the first marine export facility for propane in Canada.The facility began introducing propane feedstock in mid-April, and the first shipment departed the terminal on May 23, 2019 bound for Asia."The completion of this game-changing project and the shipment of our first cargo are historic milestones for AltaGas, as well as for our project partners, customers, local Indigenous Peoples, surrounding communities, and western Canada's upstream energy sector…

The first major liquefied natural gas (LNG) project to be approved globally in five years will be built in Canada, but its underlying philosophy appears to be more closely allied to the Australian concept of "she'll be right, mate."The LNG Canada project was given the green light on Tuesday by Royal Dutch Shell, which is leading the $31 billion venture along with partners Petronas, Mitsubishi, PetroChina and Korea Gas.What makes the first export plant on Canada's west coast different…

Seaspan Shipyards has contracted Hawboldt Industries to provide deck equipment for a pair of naval supply vessels it is building for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) under Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS).Under the two contracts, which together are valued at $8 million, Hawboldt will design and build the anchoring and mooring packages and the primary cranes for the two Joint Support Ships (JSS) being built at Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyard.Seaspan began building the first JSS in June.

Axpo, a Swiss utility and energy trader, said on Thursday it was in talks for a 10-year supply deal with a Canadian company planning to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal.A sales and purchase agreement would boost the chances that Pieridae Energy would decide to build the C$10 billion ($7.6 billion) Goldboro project, which would be the first LNG export terminal on Canada's East Coast.Canada is rich in oil and gas but has yet to export major shipments of LNG to Asia from its West Coast or across the Atlantic from its East Coast."Under the term sheet with Pieridae Energy, Axpo will purchase LNG from Train 2 of the Goldboro liquefaction facility and sell it across Europe…

The Port of Prince Rupert and DP World have agreed on terms of a project development plan that outlines the next phase of expansion for the DP World Prince Rupert Fairview Container Terminal. The Phase 2B expansion will increase annual throughput capacity at Canada’s second largest container terminal to 1.8 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) when complete in 2022. DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “Canada is an important part of our global network and we are delighted to confirm these plans, which underline our commitment to Prince Rupert, which plays a major role in enabling trade in the region and across the west coast with rail connections inland to the rest of the country and the United States.

Canada’s shipbuilding and ship repair company Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan), joined by representatives from industry and government,  celebrated the start of construction on the first Joint Support Ship (JSS) for the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). The steel cutting ceremony held at Vancouver Shipyards is a significant milestone for Seaspan, the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) and Canada’s shipbuilding industry. With the start of construction on JSS, Seaspan is leading the way in rebuilding Canada’s shipbuilding industry. In addition, start of construction ensures that Seaspan will see the continued growth of Vancouver Shipyards’ workforce while mitigating any possible downturn in production.

UZMAR SHIPYARD of Turkey has officially joined the Robert Allan Ltd. Century Club, with construction underway on its 100th tug to a Robert Allan Ltd. design. This new tug is a RAstar 3200-W destined for service on Canada’s West Coast with SAAM-SMIT Canada. This milestone tug, expected to be delivered in early 2019, represents the state-of-the-art in the design and construction of ASD escort tugs in a sub-500 GRT hull. With its RAstar hull and deep skeg, the design is optimized for generating high indirect escort forces and is also capable of providing towing operations from the stern. The tug features gas detection, explosion-proof deck equipment, off-ship fire-fighting capability, and one of the first applications of an IMO Tier III emissions compliant propulsion package on a tug.

Transas says its mission to explain the true benefits and impacts of digitalization to the maritime world will be given new impetus by staging its 2018 global conference to Vancouver, one of North America's top technology hubs. The three-day event, which will take place at the Marriott Parq Hotel Vancouver, March 6-8, has been christened 'THESIS18 – Enterprise Change' to focus minds on the steps Transas believes are necessary if its pioneering THESIS vision for a connected maritime operational environment is to become reality.

The Vancouver International Maritime Centre (VIMC) is on a mission to grow the city and port into one of the world’s premiere maritime centers. Maritime Reporter & Engineering News recently spoke with Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Executive Director of the newly re-established VIMC, for her insights on the pace and direction of the initiative. Let’s start out easily. Why Vancouver? Why now? Why Vancouver? Projections and studies indicate that global trade will increase and shift to the Pacific due to the demand of resources by China and India.

A container vessel that spent months sitting off Canada's west coast due to the collapse of a major South Korea shipping company is set to dock in Vancouver on Thursday, port and union officials said. The Hanjin Scarlet, with nearly 800 containers on board, has been sitting some 45 km (28 miles) outside of Prince Rupert for several months, said Peter Lahay, an inspector and coordinator with the International Transport Workers Federation. Emily Hamer, a spokeswoman at the Port of Vancouver, confirmed that the vessel would be arriving at the port. She referred questions about the ship's cargo to terminal operator DP World. Officials there could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ocean Shipping Consultants' 2016 container traffic report for the west coast of Canada forecasted that container demand through the Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert would be 6.62 million twenty-foot equivalent unit containers (TEUs) by 2030 (base case), with 5.93 million TEUs and 7.53 million TEUs as the low case and high case respectively. The forecast shows continued growth in container trade through the west coast of Canada at a compound annual growth rate of about 4 percent, and reinforces the need for planned increases of capacity to ship goods in containers through the existing Deltaport and Centerm terminals in Vancouver and the Fairview Terminal in Prince Rupert. The report also confirms that the proposed Roberts Bank Terminal 2 Project will be needed by the mid-2020s.

Valley Power Systems has entered into a distributor agreement with Yanmar America Corporation for the sale and service of Yanmar’s commercial marine diesel engine line throughout the states of California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. In business for over 65 years, Valley Power Systems provides power and propulsion products for the commercial and pleasure craft marine industries from manufacturers such as MTU, Electro-Motive (EMD), Scania, Northern Lights, Technicold and now Yanmar Commercial Marine.

Conventional wisdom in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector is that no new projects will be built for several years, given the vast cost can't be reconciled with the current low prices. This view has led some in the industry to predict that the market will flip back to a structural shortage sometime in the early to mid-2020s, once again sending prices soaring as new supply takes so long to be built and become operational. The cancellation or deferment of investment decisions on several projects in Australia, Canada, the United States and elsewhere seems to perfectly illustrate the view that no new LNG will be coming to market once the plants currently under construction are completed.

In response to the Government of Canada’s announcement of a series of enhancements to strengthen the National Shipbuilding Strategy, Seaspan Shipyards’ president Brian Carter issued a statement commending the government’s efforts and reinforcing the shipbuilder’s role in producing ships for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy. “We are pleased to receive the Government of Canada’s support for the National Shipbuilding Strategy, and applaud its commitment to continuous improvement,” Carter said.