Canadian Port News

Talks in Pacific Canada between striking dock workers and their employers have resumed after four days away from the negotiation table, a statement on Saturday by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) showed.The BCMEA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) met on Saturday, supported by federal mediators, the statement said. The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations.Some 7,500 port workers went on strike on July 1 for higher wages…

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) and Global Spatial Technology Solutions (GSTS), a company that specializes in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to shipping, announced the launch of a new project to measure and reduce the carbon footprint of vessels using the Canadian port.Based on the OCIANATM modular platform, the project provides real-time data on the route, speed and position of vessels heading to Montreal. These data are then analyzed to obtain an accurate estimate of a vessel’s arrival time and adjust its route to coordinate with the availability of berths in the Port of Montreal.

The St. Lawrence Seaway is made up of a broad network of interconnected infrastructures. Channels, canals, port facilities and fleets illustrate the connections between transportation equipment, industrial production and the artificial, human-made environment.This valuable infrastructure represents significant capital investments that have already been amortized. The maintenance, modernization and adaptation of the sea-river network make it possible to meet the demands for capacity, fluidity and reliability imposed by the transport industry.From their position as supply chain nodes, the St.

Docked at a Canadian port, crew members returned from a test run of the Ocean Cleanup's system to rid the Pacific of plastic trash were thrilled by the meager results — even as marine scientists and other ocean experts doubted the effort could succeed.The non-profit, launched in 2013 amid buoyant media coverage, hopes to clear 90% of floating plastic from the world's oceans by 2040. But the group's own best-case scenario — still likely years away — envisions removing 20,000 tonnes a year from the North Pacific…

Marine shipping drives 90% of global trade, moving over 11 billion tonnes of containers, solid and liquid bulk cargo across the world’s seas annually. Almost all consumer products we buy — or the raw materials required to make them — arrive at Canadian ports via ship.Each year, Canadian port facilities handle about 340 million tonnes of goods, worth about $400 billion. Roughly 25% of Canadian exports and imports, by value, are transported by marine shipping.Despite their economic importance…

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) said it will initiate an investigation into whether ballast water regulations proposed by the Government of Canada discriminate against U.S. flag vessel operators in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.The FMC commissioners voted unanimously to accept a petition filed by trade group the Lake Carriers’ Association (LCA) asking the commision to perform the investigation and examine the detriment and harm to the U.S. flag fleet resulting…

Algoma Central Corporation, a leading provider of marine transportation services, announced that the first Equinox Class self-unloader, the seaway-max size Algoma Niagara, arrived at the Canadian port of Sept Iles, Quebec on November 1st. The Algoma Niagara is the fifth Equinox Class vessel in Canada and she joins her four gearless sister ships in the Algoma fleet. The vessel is currently undergoing inspections and re-flagging as a Canadian vessel before beginning commercial operations. “We are very pleased to see the Algoma Niagara in her home waters” said Gregg Ruhl, Chief Operating Officer of Algoma. “The performance of the Equinox Class has met all our objectives for efficiency and reliability”, Mr. Ruhl continued.

125 years ago, the steamship “Cremon” set sail from Europe to Canada for the first time under the Hapag flag. Hapag-Lloyd will be celebrating this anniversary in Montreal today with the shipping company’s customers and other partners. “As an important connection between Atlantic and Pacific, as well as between the United States, Asia and Europe, Canada has been and continues to be an important and special partner for us,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, the CEO of Hapag-Lloyd AG. At the end of the 19th century, Canada became so attractive in business terms that it made economic sense for the Hamburg-based shipping company to establish a regular liner service to it. Today, Hapag-Lloyd accounts for almost one-fifth of the total containerized cargo handled each year in Canadian ports.

Dubai-based port operator DP World has signed a long-term lease agreement for the expansion and operation of the multi-purpose Rodney Container Terminal (RTC) at Saint John in New Brunswick, Canada. The global trade enabler will start running existing operations on 1 January 2017 and work in partnership with the Saint John Port Authority on a planned expansion programme expected to be completed in 2021, with the lease continuing for 30 years after. The Rodney Container Terminal is a multi-purpose terminal handling container traffic in Saint John, the only Atlantic Canada port that is served by the country’s Class I railways, Canada National Railway (CN) and Canada Pacific Railway (CP) and is CP’s only Atlantic gateway port.

Marine-based commissioning work is now underway at Liverpool2, with Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) committing vessel support to Peel Ports to help make the trial a success. Berthing and marine trials began last week with MV MSC Nederland and will be followed by a variety of cargo handling tests throughout July and August. As well as 3,007 TEU MV MSC Nederland, four other MSC vessels will be used during the trials – 2,668 TEU MV MSC Santhya, 2,768 TEU MV MSC Koroni, 4,340 TEU MV MSC Sandra and 4,355 TEU MV MSC Alyssa. The five vessels operate on the two MSC services currently calling at Liverpool – the North West Continent feeder service…

Port Metro Vancouver today released its 2015 year-end statistics. Overall volume remained steady at 138 million tonnes of cargo as sectors experiencing declines were offset by others that hit new records. This is the port’s third consecutive year of strong cargo volumes, with new records set in the container, potash, and grain and agri-product sectors. Cargo shipped in containers continued to show substantial growth due to increased trade with Asia, with a five per cent jump in units (known as twenty-foot-equivalent units or TEUs) for a new record of 3.1 million TEUs. Grain and agri-product exports increased by eight per cent over 2014 to 25.1 million metric tonnes, and potash exports were 8.7 million metric tonnes, up 15.6 per cent from the prior year.

The Oshawa Port Authority, one of Green Marine’s founding members as the former Oshawa Harbor Commission, announced it is again a Green Marine participant. Green Marine is a voluntary initiative in Canada and the U.S. targeting levels of environmental performance that exceed the marine industry’s regulatory requirements. The Port of Oshawa temporarily suspended its participation in the Green Marine environmental program in 2012 while it transitioned to become one of 18 Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs). “Becoming a CPA was a very demanding goal for our small port, and we did not simultaneously have the resources to comply with all of the requirements within the Green Marine certification process,” explained Donna Taylor, the Oshawa Port Authority’s CEO.

AAL, one of the world’s leading global breakbulk, project cargo and heavy lift shipping operators, has strengthened its foothold in the oil rich mining region of Northern Alberta, by expanding its popular ‘Pacific Service’ liner route to include the British Columbia Port of Prince Rupert. Its inaugural sailing into the Canadian port on May 10 2015 was with a cargo of process units for a major new oil sands project in Alberta. The Port of Prince Rupert, with its newly established road and rail links, has emerged as an important new gateway for project cargo imports to the oil-rich mining area of Alberta, Canada, and the wider Pacific North West.

Maher Terminals Holding Corp said on Tuesday it would boost container-handling capacity by more than half at the Port of Prince Rupert under an expansion of its container terminal at the northern British Columbia port.   The Fairview Container terminal will be expanded to 1.3 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year, up from its current capacity of some 850,000 TEUs. Construction is set to start in April and is expected to wrap up by mid-2017.     (Reporting by Julie Gordon)

Total cargo shipments on the St. Lawrence Seaway have surpassed 2013 levels despite one of the most difficult starts to the shipping season in years due to ice coverage. According to Seaway figures, total cargo tonnage from March 25 to August 31 reached 20 million metric tons, up 3 percent over the same period last year. Vanta Coda, Executive Director of the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, said, “It’s taken several months to even get close to catching up from the icy start to this shipping season but, by mid-summer, cargo shipments through the Port of Duluth-Superior had rebounded significantly.

Green Marine and the Association of Canadian Port Authorities (ACPA) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the goal of jointly expanding efforts to reduce the marine industry’s environmental footprint and encourage the industry to continuously improve its environmental performance. The announcement was made in conjunction with the ACPA 56th Annual General Meeting and Assembly taking place in Belledune, New Brunswick. The MoU was signed earlier this summer during Green Marine’s annual conference, GreenTech 2014, in Saint John New Brunswick. The agreement will serve as a framework for the advancement of the Green Marine Environmental Program and increased collaboration on related initiatives.

Transport Canada informs that the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, has spoken of the important role Canada's marine ports play in supporting trade and economic growth in a speech to the 56th annual conference of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, hosted by the Belledune Port Authority. Building on this year's conference theme of 'Anchors Away', Minister Raitt highlighted the opportunities and challenges in global shipping for Canada's ports, while promoting the importance of women – their contributions and potential for shaping the future of the transportation industry. Minister Raitt announced changes that…

National Retail System (NRS) one of the leading 3PL logistics providers in North America has released the results of its survey on how a West Coast ports strike could impact logistics in the USA. With a strike looming as the holiday season gets nearer, the NRS' survey found that only 52% of the companies who responded are prepared. Although about 20% of those surveyed didn't know, or didn't want to disclose their potential losses in the case of a strike, the information from the remainder was quite stark. A week-long strike will not be too painful for most with 70% (of those that expressed a value) having losses of less than $250k, although 5% of the businesses will lose over $1 million with only a week long strike.

The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, on behalf of the Honourable James Moore, Minister of Industry, has announced a $2-million repayable contribution for research and development activities on new maritime surveillance technology being performed by AXYS Technologies Inc. Minister Raitt made the announcement at the 55th Annual General Meeting of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities in Nanaimo, British Columbia. AXYS specializes in environmental monitoring systems for ports worldwide. This project will help the company develop applications that collect, analyze and display sensitive maritime data to enhance port and harbour security. Users will be able to monitor potential criminal threats in real time.

The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, spoke of the important role played by ports in the economic well-being of Canadians in a speech to the 55th annual general meeting and conference of the Association of Canadian Port Authorities, hosted by the Nanaimo Port Authority. Speaking to this year's conference theme of "Building partnerships," Minister Raitt said that the marine transportation system creates jobs and supports growth and prosperity for all Canadians while highlighting the importance of trade and collaboration with the United States on initiatives such as the Beyond the Border Action Plan. “Our government is convinced that by working together…

The clock is ticking toward the deadline to submit to the U.S. Coast Guard an oil spill response plan that meets the requirements of the NTVRP regulation. The long-awaited nontank vessel response plan (NTVRP) rulemaking was published on September 30, 2013 and came into effect on October 30, 2013. Neither of these are significant dates for the owners, operators, and masters of nontank vessels operating on the navigable waters of the United States. The truly significant date is January 30, 2014.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster  (R-PA) have been jointly selected to receive the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2014 “Port Person of the Year” award. The bi-partisan nomination for AAPA’s most prestigious annual award was submitted by the California Association of Port Authorities (CAPA). Marking its 102nd year as the Western Hemisphere’s leading trade association representing port authorities, AAPA selected Sen. Boxer and Cong. Shuster based on their dedication to improving America’s water resources, infrastructure and freight transportation policy. Their work toward reforming federal water resources development legislation…

Hundreds of construction workers in booming northern British Columbia will take up residence this week in unique digs on board a cruise ferry revamped into a floating luxury hotel. The aging ship will help relieve a housing shortage in one busy Canadian port town already bursting ahead of a promised energy boom that could last more than a decade. The Silja Festival - a Baltic ferry made over as the Delta Spirit Lodge - will spend at least a year docked outside Kitimat, British Columbia, where it will provide housing for about 600 workers in town for Rio Tinto Alcan's $3.3 billion smelter-upgrade project, which is expected to wrap up in 2015.