COS Weekly News - 4 March 2011

Issue No. 147

 

 

NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR 2011

Following our Annual General Meeting held on February 25, 2011, we are pleased to announce the new Board of Directors for the Chamber of Shipping and their assigned portfolios.

 

Richard Chappell Marine Operations Manager – Canada Westwood Shipping Lines	Chair, Board of Directors
Bruce Rothdram President & CEO, Empire Shipping Agency	Chair, Ship & Port Operations Committee
Peter Bernard Partner, Bernard & Partners	Treasurer
David Hill General Manager, Compass Marine Services	Chair, Navigation & Pilotage Committee
Kim Christensen Operations Manager, ACGI Shipping	Chair, Liner Committee
David Bedwell Executive Vice President, COSCO Canada	Chair, Northern Committee
Terry Koke VP and General Manager, Grieg Star Shipping	Chair, Owners Committee
Kelly Williams General Manager, Gearbulk Shipping Canada	Chair, Island Committee
Scott Galloway Director, Trade Development, Port Metro Vancouver	Chair, Western Marine Community Coalition

NANAIMO CRUISE FACILITY UPDATE

Last week the Port of Nanaimo received a major component of the new floating cruise ship facility at Nanaimo Assembly Wharf. A 350’ x 50’ x 20’ pontoon was constructed by Vancouver Pile and Drive in North Vancouver’s graving dock and towed to Nanaimo. The pontoon took 1500 cubic meters of concrete (130 cement truck loads) 300 metric tons of rebar and required over 33,000 man-hours of labour to construct.  The $22 million cruise ship facility received $8.5 million in federal funding, $5 million from the province, and $3.5 million from the Island Coastal Economic Trust. The Port of Nanaimo will open the terminal on May 5^th and see their first cruise ship, the Norwegian Pearl, arrive on May 7^th.

CP - TSI SERVICE LEVEL AGREEMENT ADDS SUPPLY CHAIN MOMENTUM

Canadian Pacific and TSI Terminal Systems Inc. (TSI), a subsidiary of GCT Global Container Terminals Inc, announced the signing of a Service Level Agreement that builds on their productivity and performance agreement announced last June.

The agreement outlines key performance indicators relating to the flow of containers through the Vancouver Gateway. Meeting the performance indicators will improve productivity, enhance reliability, and increase efficiency. The agreement period is three years.

NEW 1-800 NUMBER FOR BURRARD CLEAN OPERATIONS

Please note that the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation has added a Toll Free Number 1-855-294-9116 that is only accessible in Canada. This new number is routed through our existing emergency number 604-294-9116.

NEW LORENTZEN & STEMOCO OFFICE RECOGNIZED

The establishment of the new Lorentzen & Stemoco office in Vancouver was recognized on February 23 with an industry reception attended by Mr. Axel Lorentzen who travelled from Norway for the occasion. A number of media interviews were also conducted – see attached. L&S is the Chamber’s 168th registered member.

CANADIAN INDUSTRIAL TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION (CITA)

CITA is to host a meeting in Vancouver in April designed for rail customers and users to better understand provisions in the Canadian Transportation Act when dealing with railways. Please see the attached flyer, registration details will be communicated once they become available. COS will be represented at this meeting.

 

 

Government News

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE BREAKBULK EXEMPTION REQUESTS

An amendment to the Reporting of Imported Goods Regulations has been finalized and published in the Canada Gazette Part II – March 2, 2011. In view of specific circumstances in which a suspension or cancellation of an exemption for break-bulk carriers to provide Advance Commercial Information (ACI) to the CBSA is required, the provision fails to mention that the Minister will review the request and provide a response to the person. Therefore, section 13.86 is being amended to indicate that the Minister “shall” review a decision and send, as soon as feasible, a written notice of, as well as the reason for the refusal, suspension or cancellation of an exemption from the ACI program requirements to the person.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE RENEWABLE FUELS REGULATIONS

Environment Canada has published proposed amendments to the regulations in the Canada Gazette Part I – February 26, 2011 for comments.

The Regulations already include full provisions to require fuel producers and importers of diesel fuel and heating distillate oil to have an average annual renewable fuel content equal to at least 2% of the volume of distillates that they produce and import. However, the Regulations do not specify a start date for this requirement. Section 10 of the proposed Amendments would amend subsection 40(3) of the Regulations to set a coming-into-force date of the 2% requirement for diesel fuel and heating distillate oil of July 1, 2011. This requirement leads to the following changes:

· Subsection 1(1) clarifies the definition of “pre-distillate compliance period” by explicitly including the exact dates, specifically from December 15, 2010, to June 30, 2011. This does not result in any change of the actual requirements; and

· Subsection 1(2) clarifies the definition of “distillate compliance period” by explicitly including the exact dates; specifically, the first compliance period is from July 1, 2011, to December 31, 2012. This does not result in any change of the actual requirements.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE ATLANTIC PILOTAGE TARIFF REGULATIONS

Published in the Canada Gazette Part II – March 2, 2011 are increases to the Atlantic Pilotage Tariff. The Regulations will increase pilotage tariffs by the following percentages: Halifax 5.0%, Sydney 5.0%

Strait of Canso 2.5%, Saint John 2.0%. The pilotage tariffs in the remaining 13 compulsory areas will remain at their current levels.

 

 

Other News

SOMALI PIRATES TAKE DANISH FAMILY

Three Danish children, their parents and two crew members were kidnapped by pirates who hijacked their sailing boat earlier this week. At the same time, the Chamber of Shipping of BC has actively supported the decision by frustrated international industry associations to circumvent the lack of United Nations leadership by launching a media campaign having the objective to underline the seriousness of the current situation. The ‘Save our Seafarers’ campaign, backed by the Round Table of industry associations, was unveiled on March 1. Advertisements highlight the plight of the 800 seafarers currently being held hostage by pirates and attempt to put pressure on governments to respond. See www.saveourseafarers.com

Included in the campaign’s six stated requests to governments is a demand for increased naval assets in piracy prone regions. While the Round Table has long praised the commitment of the various international naval forces that operate anti-piracy vessels off Somalia, industry and naval officials have increasingly been voicing concerns that the number of vessels is far too small to be effective.

Rocket propelled grenades were launched earlier today at the Chandris owned Aframax tanker Aegea in the Red Sea. UK based private security guards were successful in resisting the attempted hijacking. Damage was sustained to the ship’s bridge but there were no reported injuries to crew.

LIBYAN PORTS RESUME LIMITED OPERATIONS

Main ports in Libya have resumed limited operations as the stalemate between government and liberation forces continues. The ports of Tobruk, Tripoli and Benghazi are all handling food and medical supplies. The oil port of Marsa El-Brega is however closed with shipping agents advising owners to avoid all Libyan ports until further notice. All Libyan ports and terminals have been added to the list of areas excluded from cover under annual war risks policies by London underwriters. It remains to be seen whether insurers will require additional premiums for tankers loading in Libya but the move lays the ground for this to happen. Owners can face substantial premiums to buy short term cover.

MORE JONES ACT LEGAL QUESTIONS

The controversy over Jones Act ships rebuilt at foreign shipyards being allowed to retain their eligibility has resurfaced. The US Coast Guard has published a notice in the US Federal Register seeking public comments on whether it should amend its existing rule, which allows US-built but foreign-rebuilt ships to retain Jones Act eligibility provided the conversion work stays under certain thresholds of steel weight.

The reopening of this discussion has disappointed U.S. ship owners because of the enormous cost savings when undertaking conversions in foreign yards.  Proponents of a review are the customary U.S. shipbuilding lobbies and unions opposed to foreign conversions. Currently, foreign repairs that do not involve more than 7.5% of the ship’s steel weight can be performed as a matter of course. Replacements that exceed 7.5% need USCG approval, subject to a cap of 10%.

CARGILL HOOKED ON SKYSAILS

Cargill is to install a SkySail on a handysize bulker by the end of the year in what will be the largest installation of its kind to date. Hamburg-based SkySails claims its kite technology can generate enough propulsion to cut bunker consumption levels by up to 35% in ideal sailing conditions. Cargill believes the ship will be largest vessel to be propelled by a kite and expects to have the system fully operational by early 2012. The kite functions at a height of between 100 to 420 metres and flies in a figure of eight formation. The system is automated and is said to require only minimal adjustment.

PORT OF LYTTLETON MAY TAKE IN CRUISE SHIPS FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP

Following the second devastating and deadly earthquake in Christchurch NZ last week, and with typical Kiwi focus on sporting priorities there is concern that the city will be hard pressed to host its share of the Rugby World Cup which kicks off in September. The city is projected to host seven games and the hire of additional cruise ships is being promoted as a practical solution. However,  the availability of same at such short notice is another matter. To date, confirmed cruise ships in New Zealand for the event are Rhapsody of the Seas, MS Volendam and Pacific Dawn. These vessels are chartered to cater for around 5500 people, with cruise packages including tickets, transfers and hospitality. The packages come with opportunities to visit other New Zealand tourist destinations such as Picton, Napier, Tauranga and the Bay of Islands.

Rhapsody of the Seas and MS Volendam will berth in Wellington, whilst Pacific Dawn will be located in Lyttleton for the quarter-final matches. The three ships will then sail to Auckland for the semi-finals and final. The Pacific Dawn will also host 2000 rugby fans on a cruise that will visit Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland for the latter stages of the tournament.

Market Update

Assisted by fresh interest in Panamaxes and smaller sized vessels, the Baltic Dry Index closed on Thursday at 1317 points compared to 1242 points last week and 1292 points the week previously.

Cape Size    Panamax       Supramax

Index                                   1390            1929               1454

Last week                            1319            1813               1362

Spot time charter             $5,300/day    $15,500/day     $15,200/day

Last week                       $5,300/day    $14,800/day     $13,900/day

 

Tankers: Suezmaxes and product tankers have been much in demand this week and rates have soared on account of the continuing political uncertainty in the Middle East. In the broader picture, Despite delayed the VLCC fleet is forecast to grow from 547 today to 695 vessels by 2015. Suezmax tankers will increase from 381 to 487 vessels during the same period. In the same period, Chinese crude oil imports are being forecast to reach 350m tons per year equivalent to 6m barrels or approximately 3 VLCCs each day.

 

 

Upcoming Meetings and Events

LLOYD’S REGISTER – RISK MANAGEMENT AND INVESTIGATION TRAINING

March 8-9th – LR is offering a 2 day training course on "Risk Management and Incident Investigation" in their offices located in North Vancouver. The cost is $1000 per person – registration details and course information can be found in the flyer (contact Lloyds Register for more information).

BUSINESS OF SHIPPING UPCOMING COURSES

March 10 – The March 10 event entitled, “Inter-Modal Cargo Movement Through Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway - Next Steps” is now 95% full with pre-registrations. Port Metro Vancouver, all our container terminals and an array of important players in the supply chain have graciously made themselves available for the event. Any last minute takers, please contact the Chamber of Shipping at tel: 604-681-2351 for program and registration details.

March 31 - The next full day “Business of Shipping” course will be held on March 31 which is specifically customized for an Executive and Management audience is also close to a sellout.  Please contact the Chamber of Shipping at tel: 604-681-2351 for program and registration details.

June 29 - Regular full day Business of Shipping course in Vancouver

NAUTICAL INSTITUTE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – VICTORIA, BC

June 2-3 – The Nautical Institute will hold its first Annual General Meeting and Command Series Conference to coincide with BIMCO’s General Meeting in Vancouver, BC on the following week.

BIMCO GENERAL MEETING JUNE 5-8

June 5-8 - The program and registration details for the BIMCO General Meeting in Vancouver this year is now available at http://gm.bimco.org. BIMCO 39 http://gm.bimco.org/en/BIMCO39.aspx

 

 

Mar 8-9 Lloyd’s Register – Risk Management and Incident Investigation

Mar 8 COS Ship & Port Operations Committee Meeting @ 12:00

Mar 9 COS Liner Committee Meeting @ 10:00

Mar 10 COS / ICS Business of Shipping Course – Intermodal Cargo Movement @ 08:00

Mar 15 ISSC Board of Directors Meeting @ 12:00

Mar 16 Regional CMAC Meeting @ 09:00

Mar 17 COS Navigation & Pilotage Committee @ 10:00

Mar 29 VMAA Board of Directors Meeting

Mar 30 PACMAR/NANS Committee Meeting

Mar 31 Business of Shipping Executive Course, Vancouver

 

 

Ship of the Week

Twinkling Star - The Star Ferry Company

The Star Ferry's ferry crossings at Victoria Harbour are acclaimed as an important part of the commuter system between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, and essential journeys for visitors. The National Geographic Traveler named the ferry crossing as one of 50 places of a lifetime.

The Star Ferry traces its origins to 1880 when a Parsee cook, embarked on a new vocation. He began a ferry service across Victoria Harbour with his steamboat, the Morning Star. By 1890, the company was operating four single-deck ferries. During the next ten years, a local businessman bought all the boats and in May 1898 the Star Ferry Company, as it is known today, became a public company. Its name derives from the ferries, which all bore the name “Star”.

The Company celebrated its centenary in 1998. Its fleet of 12 ferries serves two franchised ferry routes between Tsimshatsui and Central, and Tsimshatsui and Wanchai, and two licensed ferry routes, between Hunghom and Central and Hunghom and Wanchai. In addition to ferry services, Star Ferry launched the only licensed harbour tour (Star Ferry's Harbour Tour) in Hong Kong in July 2003. The one-hour journey starts in Tsimshatsui and goes on to Central, Wanchai and Hunghom before returning to Tsimshatsui.

Each ferry has a cabin on the upper deck equipped with air conditioning and for which in the summer months is good value for money. The fleet includes 'star' in all their names, the complete fleet list being Celestial Star, Solar Star, Northern Star, Day Star, Night Star, Morning Star, Silver Star, Gold Star, Heaven Star, Twinkling Star, World Star and Shining Star.

Shining Star

converted back to the original single deck for harbor cruises