Gac Houston Hub Agency Center News

Interests in southern portions of the Baja California peninsula have been advised to monitor the progress of Sandra, as Tropical Storm or Hurricane Watches may be required for portions of this area later today (25 November). According to the Hurricane Sandra Advisory No.7 issued at 0900 UTC today by the USA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami Fl, the center of Hurricane Sandra was near latitude 12.5 North, longitude 109.0 West. Sandra is moving toward the west-northwest near 10 mph (17 km/h) and a turn toward the northwest is expected later today, with a turn toward the north on Thursday. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 85mph (140 km/h) with higher gusts.

Chile's government has declared a state of emergency in the central region struck by Wednesday's earthquake, the biggest to hit the country since 2010 and the most powerful in the world this year. The 8.3-magnitude tremor struck off the coast of Coquimbo, 46km west of Illapel, at 19:54 local time (22:54 GMT) on Wednesday evening. Tsunami waves hit the coast at Coquimbo and further out from the epicentre, with waves half a metre higher than usual as far north as La Punta. Small tsunamis were also reported along the west coast of the USA and Canada, as far away as Alaska. A powerful aftershock estimated to be close to 8 on the Richter scale shook the central part of Chile yesterday afternoon (17 September). All ships were again ordered to leave port ahead of a possible tsunami.

The navigation channel at km 287 of the Parana River is obstructed after a bulk vessel went aground on the right margin during the early hours of 13 May during her navigation to San Nicolas. The Coast Guard has allowed navigation for vessels with max draft of 7.40m only through the secondary channel. (For information about operations in Argentina, and elsewhere in the Americas, contact the GAC Houston Hub Agency Center at [email protected]) Source: AMI Argentina - GAC agent

River levels in Argentina are currently decreasing and they are expected to continue over the coming week. The bottleneck remains in the River Plate access channel, where the maximum recommended sailing draft us 10.51 metres fw. Shippers are advised to check river levels and weather conditions before fixing and loading cargo to ensure that they sail with the maximum cargo/achievable draft. (For details of current drafts at the country's port and information about operations in Argentina, and elsewhere in the Americas, contact the GAC Houston Hub Agency Center at [email protected]) Source: AMI Argentina – GAC agent

Discharge/loading operations at Timbues, San Martin and San Lorenzo are are affected by the indefinite strike declared by CGT San Lorenzo starting at 18:00 hours local time yesterday (16 July). Meanwhile, the Customs Union S.U.P.A.R.A. has announced a strike on from 13:00 to 06:00 (next day) on July 24 and 25, and from 11:00 t0 06:00 hours (next day) on July 31 and August 1. No overtime work will be available during these periods. Ports affected to date so far are Bahia Blanca, Necochea and upriver ports: Timbues, San Martin and San Lorenzo. Further information about operations in Argentina, and elsewhere in the Americas, contact the GAC Houston Hub Agency Center at [email protected]

Following discussions at Vancouver the tug company Seaspan has announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the GUILD union, agreeing to enter federal ediation/arbitration with regards to collective agreement negotiation. As per the MOA, Seaspan will defer implementation of their own Term of Agreement and the union, whose members will meet today to discuss a strike vote have agreed not to go on strike. The Federal Labour Minister will remain engaged in discussions with Seaspan’s other labour union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in regards to the collective agreement negotiation with Seaspan. GAC Houston Hub Agency Center