Western Canada News

Turkey's Sanmar Shipyards announced it has delivered a second electric-powered tug to HaiSea Marine in Canada.The newly built HaiSea Wee’git and its sister HaiSea Wamis, delivered earlier this year, will provide harbor and escort tugboat services to tankers calling at LNG Canada’s new export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia. A third electric tug, HaiSea Brave,  is scheduled to be delivered later this year.The 28.4-meter-long tugs are based on the exclusive-to-Sanmar ElectRA 2800SX design from Vancouver-headquartered naval architects, Robert Allan Ltd.

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…

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.

Two new oil spill response barges were recently completed at ASL Shipyard in Singapore for Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC).The two 3,500 tonne barges, Sentinel 303 and Sentinel 304, will be delivered to WCMRC in October, with arrival in Canada by the end of 2022. The response barges will join WCMRC’s fleet of pollution response vessels stationed along the south coast of British Columbia.These new barges represent a significant enhancement to the pollution response capabilities already in place and will benefit the entire local maritime industry…

Woodside Energy Group, Australia's top independent natural gas producer, sees liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices staying high for a few years as the market adjusts to supply disruptions after sanctions on Russia for its Ukraine invasion."With the invasion, we are seeing the world try to move away from Russian hydrocarbons and that means that demand for LNG from places like Australia is up," Woodside Chief Executive Meg O'Neill said."We do expect ... prices to remain elevated for the next year…

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.

Engine manufacturer Scania said it has been selected by the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation (WCMRC) to power four 52-foot oil spill response landing crafts.Currently in production by family-owned Burlington, Wash welded aluminum boat manufacturer the William E. Munson Company, the vessels are powered by twin keel-cooled 750 HP Scania DI13-liter 088M engines with Twin Disc 5095 marine gearboxes, supplied by distributor Cascade Engine Center. Propulsion is provided by Hamilton 403 waterjets. This combination offers a top speed of 35 knots at full power.

Veth Propulsion’s portfolio of products, including azimuth rudder propellers, thrusters and marine electronics, will now be fully available across North America, parent company Twin Disc announced. The equipment will be offered through Twin Disc’s Authorized Sales and Service Providers.“Increasing the availability of Veth Propulsion’s products in North America strategically expands our market opportunity within the marine industry,” said Tim Batten, vice president, sales, Twin Disc, provider of power transmission technology for marine and land-based applications.

Canadian grain shipments through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway trade corridor are up 20% in response to continuing world demand for wheat and canola, the latest figures show.Year-to-date shipments of grain (from April 1 to August 31) totaled 5.2 million tonnes, as ships transported Prairie wheat and canola and Ontario wheat and soybeans for both domestic use and for export to markets around the world.The rush of grain, which is carry over from last year’s crops, has helped to offset continuing pandemic-related declines in other key cargoes such as iron ore (down 23%)…

On July 20, the tanker Cabo de Hornos delivered an estimated 450,000 barrels of crude oil to the Irving Oil refinery’s Canaport storage facilities in Saint John, N.B.What made Cabo de Hornos’s delivery different was that it was the first time crude oil had arrived in Saint John by ship from Alberta. It came via the Trans Mountain pipeline to the Westbridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, B.C., and then through the Panama Canal.By the end of April next year, a second tanker will arrive at Canaport carrying 350,000 to one million barrels of Western Canadian crude oil. In this case, the oil will have come via pipeline from Alberta to a crude oil exporting terminal in Texas or Louisiana.For most of the Saint John refinery’s 50 years of operation…

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunker barge on North America’s west coast, which is expected to serve shipping from 2023, is to be built to ABS class.Cryopeak LNG Solutions Corporation and Island Tug & Barge Ltd. (ITB) have developed a design for a 4,000 cubic meter capacity articulated tug and barge (ATB). The design utilizes one of ITB’s tugs to deliver LNG as a fuel to shipping companies calling to ports on the West Coast.Cryopeak CEO Calum McClure recently told MarineLink that design work is underway in Vancouver, B.C. as the partners finalize a shipyard selection.

Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) provider FortisBC has joined SEA\LNG, a multi-sector industry coalition accelerating the widespread adoption of LNG as a marine fuel.Peter Keller, Chairman, SEA\LNG, said: “We’re pleased to welcome FortisBC to the SEA\LNG coalition. Our North American member network grows as the appetite for LNG as marine fuel expands across the globe.”FortisBC brings to the coalition nearly 45 years’ experience in LNG production in Western Canada. It owns and operates two LNG facilities on the west coast; its Tilbury LNG facility began operations in 1971, while it’s Mount Hayes facility on Vancouver Island launched operations in 2011.Douglas Stout…

Scania USA Announces Expansion of Marine Territory for Distributor, Cascade Engine Center, LLC.As of September 1st, Cascade Engine Center, LLC has been assigned additional marine territory in the West Coast of the United States to include Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah.Cascade Engine Center currently represents Scania’s latest marine platform: 13- and 16-liter engines for auxiliary and propulsion applications; and currently distributes themin Alaska, Gulf Coast, Hawaii, Idaho…

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…

Canada's Port of Prince Rupert, and DP World Prince Rupert announced a new weekly marine carrier service at the Fairview Container Terminal.ZIM Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM) partnered with the 2M Alliance and has added Prince Rupert as one of their port destinations.With a global reach to over 100 countries, the new ZIM service has made its inaugural call at the Port of Prince Rupert on Wednesday, March 27, 2019 with the arrival of ZIM containers on the Maersk Altair vessel.“The Prince Rupert Port Authority is proud to welcome ZIM. The addition of ZIM to the Port of Prince Rupert further validates the Prince Rupert advantages of speed, reliability and reach.

Canadian National Railway (CN) said it plans to invest more than $245 million in Saskatchewan in 2019 to expand and strengthen the company’s rail network across the province.“Following a record capital program in 2018, CN brought on 25% more qualified train conductors in Western Canada and added over 10% more active high horse power locomotives to its network. This year, CN is investing $35M more than last year to bring greater capacity to CN’s mainline to benefit all commodities,” said Doug Ryhorchuk, vice-president of CN’s Western Region.The Saskatchewan investments are part of CN’s 2019 record $3.9 billion capital investment focused on enabling growth from all commodity segments…

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is expected to have increased by 9%, from 288 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2017 to 313 mtpa in 2018, said GasLog.The Monaco-based owner, operator and manager of LNG carriers said in a stock exchange announcement that China’s LNG imports increased by approximately 16 mtpa, or 41%, to 54 mtpa in 2018, driven mainly by continued coal-to-gas switching in the industrial, commercial and residential sectors.South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand and Mexico also experienced strong growth in LNG imports during 2018. The outlook remains robust, with Wood Mackenzie forecasting compound annual growth in global LNG demand of 6% between 2018 and 2025.This growth is expected to be broad-based…

The global Oil and natural gas prices will be volatile, but also range-bound in 2019, Moody's Investors Service says in its annual report outlining key credit themes in oil and gas for the year ahead.While the recent announcement that OPEC and Russia will cut production helps alleviate concerns about oversupply, the pivotal questions in the coming year are whether OPEC and Russia will maintain their production discipline and what might happen in June, when the current agreement expires.Moody's expects the medium-term price band for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, the main North American benchmark, to be $50-$70 per barrel (bbl)…

The British Columbia’s Port of Prince Rupert and DP World have marked a historic milestone as Fairview Container Terminal handled its millionth container (TEU) for the first time in a calendar year.The 40-foot TEU was loaded with dimensional lumber in Prince George before being shipped to Prince Rupert by train and loaded onto the COSCO Africa container ship to be sent to market.“DP World is proud to have achieved the million TEU milestone,” said Maksim Mihic, General Manager DP World (Canada) Inc. “We congratulate and thank the men and women whose hard work and dedication made this achievement possible. This accomplishment is also a testament to the strong collaboration and support amongst the supply chain and community partners.

Canada's energy-rich province of Alberta is in talks to buy rail cars to transport 120,000 barrels per day of crude oil and expects a deal to conclude within weeks, Premier Rachel Notley said on Wednesday.Notley, who says the cars are needed to help deal with a glut of oil that has slashed the price of Alberta oil, told a business audience in Ottawa she was disappointed the federal government was not helping fund the purchase.Full pipelines have stranded much of Western Canada's expanding crude output, driving down the price U.S. refineries are willing to pay.

ENTREC Corporation, a heavy haul transportation and crane solutions provider, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of Capstan Hauling .Based in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Capstan is a leading provider of heavy haul transportation services to the oil and natural gas industry in north-west Alberta and north-east B.C. Capstan has approximately 45 employees and lease operators and operates an extensive equipment fleet valued in excess of $9.0 million.Capstan’s fleet consists of mobile cranes, picker trucks, winch trucks and a wide variety of multi-wheeled trailers.“With our outlook improving for the oil and natural gas industry in western Canada, this acquisition is very timely for ENTREC,” said John M.

The launch of a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Canada has finally fired the starting gun on a wave of plan approvals around the world, needed to avoid a supply crunch after 2020.Royal Dutch Shell said it would export LNG from Western Canada by 2025 after approving a $14 billion project, hot on the heels of Qatar's commitment last week to expand its facilities.The two announcements, adding 37 million tonnes a year (mtpa) to the 290 million tonnes traded in 2017…

PSA International through its subsidiary has acquired 60 per cent of Ashcroft Terminal (AT) , an inland port facility about 300km east of the Port of Vancouver in western Canada, making its first foray into Canada.AT is an inland port facility located approximately 300 kilometres east of the Port of Vancouver (POV).Comprising 320 acres of free-hold industrial land, it is the only major privately-owned industrial property in Canada where both Class 1 railroad lines – including Canadian National (CN) Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway – run through, transporting import and export cargoes to and from the POV, across Canada and as far as Chicago and other North American markets.