Hudson Bay News

KVH Industries, Inc. expanded the capacity of its mini-VSAT Broadband network with two upgrades recently, supporting growing customer demand for broadband at sea. One expansion added a new satellite beam that doubled the mini-VSAT Broadband network capacity in the North Atlantic Ocean region, including Canada’s Hudson Bay. The second expansion added a new beam across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa to add 30 percent more capacity across areas such as the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

For as long as men have traveled and traded by water-routes, ice has been a nemesis for ships and their hulls. And with good reason since, on average, sea ice covers about 25 million square kilometers (9,652,553 square miles) of the planet—amounting to about two-and-a-half times the area of Canada. To wage ice battle, even in the earliest days of polar exploration, sailors used strengthened ships to ply icy waters. Naturally, these ships were originally wooden and based on existing designs but reinforced…

Officials from the northern Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba, are lobbying insurance giant Lloyd's of London to reduce the rates and extend the season for the Hudson Bay shipping terminal, Reuters reported. "There's a clear business case for this," Steve Ashton, Manitoba's government services minister told Reuters on Wednesday. "We felt that giving the current weather patterns and also the technology that's out there, and the general ability to get ships in, that there was a clear argument for the enhancement of the shipping season, said Ashton. Ashton is part of a Canadian delegation in Europe that is meeting with Lloyd's officials, international shipping companies and specialty crop merchants to boost Churchill's profile and long-term viability.

Officials from the northern Canadian port of Churchill, Manitoba, last month lobbied insurance giant Lloyd's of London to reduce the rates and extend the season for the Hudson Bay shipping terminal. "There's a clear business case for this," Steve Ashton, Manitoba's government services minister said. "We felt that giving the current weather patterns and also the technology that's out there, and the general ability to get ships in, that there was a clear argument for the enhancement of the shipping season, said Ashton. Ashton is part of a Canadian delegation in Europe that is meeting with Lloyd's officials, international shipping companies and specialty crop merchants to boost Churchill's profile and long-term viability.

In September the shipyard completed repairs on nine vessels with various descriptions on the jobs performed. Standard shiprepair jobs were performed on the 8,945 dwt reefer vessel Hudson Bay, owned by German company Thien & Heyenga, and the 5,782 dwt LPG vessel Gas Century, managed by Cyprus based Hanseatic Shipping. The 18,582 dwt product tanker Calitea, owned by CA LI SA, Italy underwent standard drydock works continuing the good cooperation between the shipyard and the owner (the vessel has been under repair and conversion several times in Viktor Lenac during the last few years). After completion of the repair of the 5,885 dwt Mekhanik Yuzvovich…

Hudson Bay Port Company, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, has received its first vessel of the 2005 shipping season. The MV Federal Polaris, a bulk carrier, docked at Churchill on July 28, 2005. The ship's arrival signals what is presently expected to be a positive season with a forecast of 500,000 tonnes of grain products. In addition, efforts to diversify import and export opportunities for the port continue. Over three days the Port Company loaded the MV Federal Polaris to capacity with 30,000 tonnes of wheat. The ship departed on July 31 for delivery of the cargo to Lagos, Nigeria. Transportation of the wheat to the Churchill Port was via the Hudson Bay Railway, a 900-mile rail route linking Churchill to farmers and shipping interests throughout Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.