Northern British Columbia News

The development and construction of multimission vessels (MMVs) remains active across the maritime market.The ability to perform multiple tasks when those different duties are needed is central to an MMV’s value. Multimission capabilities mean that an expensive asset doesn’t sit idle when it isn’t being used for a singular purpose, such as firefighting. This is particularly important for public sector officials who have to weigh costs and benefits across a wide range of demands…

A Canadian company has loaded a test cargo of solid bitumen onto a vessel destined for a refinery in China, the latest effort by the energy industry to avoid congested export pipelines and find new ways to export more oil sands crude.Calgary, Alberta-based Melius Energy loaded 130 barrels of neat bitumen, similar in consistency to a hockey puck, onto a 20-foot shipping container in Edmonton, Alberta, and transported it by rail to the Port of Prince Rupert in northern British Columbia.

The Government of Canada is acting to preserve and restore marine ecosystems that are vulnerable to increased marine shipping and development.Transport Canada has awarded a contract to ESSA Technologies Ltd. under the Oceans Protection Plan to look at methodologies and tools to assess the cumulative impacts of marine shipping on coastal marine ecosystems.Transport Canada’s national cumulative effects assessment framework for marine shipping will identify regionally specific tools…

The International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), representing the world’s national shipowners’ associations and 80% of the world merchant fleet, has voiced deep concern about a proposed legislation in Canada which it says will interfere with international maritime trade. The Canadian Parliament is giving consideration to legislation that would have the effect of establishing a moratorium on the shipment of crude oil in the waters of Northern British Columbia (Bill C-48: An Act respecting the regulation of vessels that transport crude oil or persistent oil to or from ports or marine installations located along British Columbia’s north coast).

The transportation system is something Canadians rely on every day, from getting us to work, or bringing us the products we use in our homes. The Government of Canada is working to ensure that goods are transported in a safe and responsible way while protecting our marine environment and clean water. "The Government of Canada is committed to demonstrating a clean environment and a strong economy can go hand-in-hand. Tabling this legislation is another step towards fulfilling our promise to formalize the tanker moratorium on British Columbia's north coast. This, and other actions we are taking to improve marine safety through the Oceans Protection Plan, will protect the coasts and waterways that Canadians depend on for generations to come, " said Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport.

ICS Secretary General Peter Hinchliffe reaches out to the Canadian Transport Minister in a letter this week. I am writing on behalf of the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) which is the principal global trade association for shipowners representing over 80% of the world merchant fleet. ICS membership comprises national shipowners’ associations from 37 nations, and includes the Canadian Shipowners’ Association and the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. ICS represents all sectors and trades of the shipping industry…

British Columbia's finance minister Michael de Jong said that the construction of Petroliam Nasional Bhd’s (Petronas) $36 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project in Canada is expected to start in September. “We are awaiting the final environmental certificate. We are hoping by this fall. All of the other prerequisites have been dealt with now,” said Michael. Michael is travelling to Malaysia to discuss  and will meet with officials over the next six days to discuss the ratification of a project agreement with Pacific Northwest LNG, a consortium led by Malaysia energy giant Petronas. The province passed legislation this week that allowed it to enter into an agreement with the consortium to build an LNG export terminal near Prince Rupert.

TransCanada Corp said on Friday a consortium led by Malaysian national oil company Petronas has decided to proceed with plans to build a terminal in northern British Columbia to export Canadian natural gas to Asia. TransCanada said it plans to start construction this year of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, to connect the Montney field near Fort St. John, British Columbia, to the PNW LNG terminal at Lelu Island, near Prince Rupert. The final decision on the line will be confirmed by the partners of PNW LNG after receiving approvals from the British Columbia and Canadian governments, TransCanada said. TransCanada said it planned to put the 900-km (560-mile) into service by 2019-20.

The Canadian government has approved TransCanada Corp's proposed C$1.7 billion ($1.38 billion) North Montney Mainline natural gas pipeline that would connect natural gas fields in northern British Columbia with a Pacific Coast export terminal. The North Montney line would feed into a second new pipeline, the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission line, that would serve an $11 billion liquefied natural gas export terminal, called the Pacific NorthWest LNG project, proposed by state-owned Malaysian energy company Petronas. The federal natural resources department announced the North Montney approval late on Wednesday. In April, the Canadian regulator…

British Columbian officials on Friday criticized the Canadian government's response to an oil spill in the waters around Vancouver, calling into question plans for new crude oil export pipelines in the Pacific Coast province. Nearly 3,000 liters of oil spilled after an anchored bulk carrier began leaking bunker fuel in English Bay, just west of Vancouver's downtown core, on Wednesday. Officials in the province said the coast guard responded but was slow to contain the slick, which spread towards beaches. They said the federal agency failed to notify the cities of Vancouver and West Vancouver until early Thursday, delaying public safety warnings by more than 12 hours. "It took them six hours to get booms in place ...

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)

Canadian, U.S. Coast Guards and Foss Maritime coordinate a textbook response operation. Robust response trumps the need for later salvage. In the early hours of Friday, October 17, the crew of the Russian cargo ship Simushir attempted to repair a broken oil heater. On its way to Pevek in the Russian Far East, the vessel suddenly lost propulsion and began drifting toward the nearest land, which in this case was the archipeligo Haida Gwaii. Just off the coast of northern British Columbia…

A  Canadian company jumped into British Columbia's crowded liquefied natural gas (LNG) export fray with a plan to build a $30 billion terminal on Vancouver Island. Steelhead LNG said it applied to Canadian regulators for permission to export up to 30 million tonnes of LNG a year for 25 years, joining a list of fourteen companies vying to build projects in the Pacific Coast province. The National Energy Board has already approved export licenses for nine projects in British Columbia. With Steelhead, it has five more under review, as global and domestic companies scramble to build the facilities needed to ship cheap Canadian gas to energy-hungry Asian markets. "It is a competitive market.

Canada unveiled new rules on Wednesday to enhance pipeline safety and spill response, ahead of the development of new projects proposed to carry crude from Alberta's oil sands to coastal ports for export. The new legislation will give Canada's energy regulator, the National Energy Board (NEB), more power to enforce compliance on safety and the authority to step in to lead spill response if a company is unwilling or unable to do so. Companies will also now be held liable, up to C$1 billion ($917 million), for all spills or incidents on their lines, whether or not they are at-fault or negligent, putting the onus on owners to ensure safe operations.

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.

Kitimat LNG partners Apache Canada Ltd. (Apache Canada) and EOG Resources Canada Inc. (EOG Canada) announced that they have agreed to purchase the 50 percent interest in the Pacific Trail Pipelines Limited Partnership (PTPLP) they do not own from Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) for $50m. Apache Canada and EOG Canada will pay PNG $30m on closing – expected by the end of February – and a second payment of $20m when the purchasers decide to proceed with construction of the Kitimat liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility. "Acquiring the PTP is an important step in building a comprehensive system that will enable Apache and EOG to tap Asian markets for our abundant natural gas resources in the Horn River Basin and elsewhere in Western Canada," said Janine McArdle, president of Kitimat LNG.

When the season's first cruise ship docked this spring, it was met by more than the usual welcoming celebration. Protestors greeted the 2,020-passenger Norwegian Sky with demands for stronger environmental controls on the booming cruise business and a goal of making Alaska the first state to regulate the often foreign-flagged vessels. As it sailed south to Ketchikan two days later, the Coast Guard charges, the Norwegian Cruise Line ship trailed a wake at least half a mile (1 km) long of waste with fecal coliform levels 3,500 times the federal standard for treated sewage. That, say critics of the Alaska cruise business, explains why the huge ships are wearing out their welcome here.