BC’S EXPORTS SURGE 14 PER CENT IN FIRST HALF OF 2011
Figures released by Statistics Canada show that B.C.’s international merchandise exports from January to June were worth $15.9 billion, compared with $14 billion last year. Solid growth is being recorded in exports of forestry products, industrial goods and energy products, along with gains in agricultural and fishing products, machinery and equipment and automotive products.

Over the first half of 2011, British Columbia’s domestic-exports to Asia are worth $6.9 billion, surpassing the $6.8 worth of goods shipped to the United States and healthy year-to-date increases in exports have also been recorded to the European Union, up by 27 per cent to reach $1.2 billion, and to South America, up by 44 per cent and worth $454 million.  View News Release.

NEW COLLECTIVE AGREEMENTS
The new Collective Agreement between the Pacific Pilotage Authority and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 520 was ratified on August 5^th. Local 520 represents the office clerical staff, dispatchers, deckhands for the pilot launches.

Also Local 517, representing Nanaimo Port Workers, reached a four-year agreement with the Nanaimo Port Authority on August 4^th.

CANADIAN RAILWAY AND CHINA’S CNBM FOREST PRODUCTS STRIKE DEAL FOR BC LUMBER EXPORT
Canadian National Railway Company (CN) and China’s CNBM Forest Products Trading Ltd. announced that they have reached an agreement to use CN’s new lumber transload facility in Vancouver to increase the supply chain capacity for Canadian lumber exports. CN is scheduled to start operation of the lumber container export facility at its Thornton Yard in Surrey, BC, in the fall of 2011. It will have an initial footprint of eight acres and throughput capacity of approximately 10,000 containers per year, with room to grow up to 20 acres. The facility, supplied with rail cars of lumber originating in communities in the BC Interior, will make it easier to transport lumber to export markets in China.
 

VITERRA OPENS OFFICE IN VIETNAM
Viterra Inc announced that its subsidiary in Asia has opened a new marketing office in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The office will focus on milling and feed wheat, malt barley, and proteins such as soybean meal and canola meal.
 

NOTICE OF ECOLOGY FIELD STUDIES AT ROBERTS BANK
As part of the Container Capacity Improvement Program, Port Metro Vancouver is conducting ecology field studies in and around Roberts Bank in mid to late August 2011. The studies will gather information and data to assist in evaluating potential road and rail improvements at Deltaport. These surveys will consist of field teams of two walking or cycling along the Roberts Bank causeway and Deltaport Way to Highway 17. Known as encounter transects surveys, the field surveys will involve documenting all species encountered to inventory existing vegetation and wildlife habitat within the study area. These surveys are observational only and are non-intrusive to vegetation and wildlife habitat.

Other News

CONTAINER SCHEDULING RELIABILITY IMPROVES
Despite the current pressure on rates, in a survey on container line reliability, Drewry is reporting improved punctuality. Q2 on time arrivals increased by 5% to 56%. The most improved performance was in the Asia-Europe-Mediterranean trades, which increased by 13% to 62%. Maersk was rated top of the tree on those routes whilst APL came out top in the Pacific and Hamburg Sud in the Atlantic.
 
 

Still with containers, the World Shipping Council, the leading voice for container lines, has dramatically revised the number of containers lost overboard each year. A detailed survey has revealed that around 350 containers are lost overboard in a typical year, excluding catastrophic events, rising to 675 losses at most in an exceptionally bad year. The IMO has often quoted 10,000 containers damaged each year, of which between 3,000- 4,000 are assumed to be washed overboard.

NEW YORK & NEW JERSEY FACES NEW TOLLS
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last week proposed raising tolls on bridge and tunnels crossing Hudson River by as much as 50% to pay for capital expenses, including the $1 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge. The increases would include a surcharge of $3 to increase the cash toll for using its bridges and tunnels from $8 to $15.
 

The Port Authority has been under pressure to raise the bridge’s height clearance to accommodate the Post-Panamax container vessels anticipated to call East Coast ports directly from Asia following completion of the Panama Canal widening in 2014. The Bayonne Bridge was the longest steel arch bridge in the world when it opened in November 1931 and built at a cost of $13 million. The American Institute of Steel Construction named it "the most beautiful bridge of steel," erected that year among structures costing $1 million or more — ahead of the George Washington Bridge which opened in October 1931.

CHILEAN SAIL TRAINING SHIP ESMERALDA VISITS NORTH VANCOUVER
The Chilean sail training vessel Esmeralda which is currently on a goodwill visit to North Vancouver is the sixth vessel to carry her name. Construction began in Cádiz, Spain, in 1946 when she was intended to become Spain's national training ship but in 1947 the shipyard in question was damaged and subsequently bankrupted, halting all work. In 1950 Chile and Spain entered into negotiations in which Spain offered to repay debts incurred to Chile as a result of the Spanish Civil War in the form of manufactured products, including the not yet completed Esmeralda. Chile accepted the offer and the ship was formally transferred to the ownership of Chile in 1951. She was finally launched in May 1953 and delivered as a four-masted topsail schooner to the Government of Chile in June 1954.

    

Her sister ship is the training ship for the Spanish Navy, the four-masted topsail schooner Juan Sebastián Elcano. In the 1970s Esmeralda's rigging was changed to a four-masted barquentine.

Still with the sailing theme, two sailors were rescued from the water at the annual Cowes Week sailing regatta on the UK’s south coast last weekend after their yacht collided with the product tanker Hanne Knutsen.

The racing yacht Atalanta managed to find itself on the bow of the tanker which was inbound to the Fawley oil terminal, near Southampton. The impact threw two crew members overboard but they were quickly rescued. See the link.

TYPHOON MUIFA HITS EASTERN CHINA

Typhoon Muifa this week roared up the east coast of China, the eye of the storm narrowly missing Shanghai and then weakening before battering Shandong Province adjacent to Qingdao. It was estimated that 1.2 million people were evacuated from coastal regions with severe disruption to road, rail and air services. Ports in the region were temporarily closed and all fishing vessels order to take refuge.
    

                     path of the storm                                                         satellite photograph of a narrow brush with Shanghai

Market Update

It didn’t take typhoon Muifa to batter shipping stocks this week, the markets took care of that. However, the Baltic Dry Index held its own for the week at 1277 points compared to 1268 points last week and 1278 points the week previously.

                                        Cape Size             Panamax              Supramax

Index                                  1836                     1501                     1246
Last week                           1807                     1475                     1253

Spot time charter              $10,500 /day    $12,000/day            $13,000/day
Last week                         $10,800/day     $11,800/day            $13,100/day

Tankers: A picture is better than 1000 words – see the chart below. VLCCs trading spot are verging on negative territory with many now wondering when vessel lay-ups will begin.

Upcoming Meetings and Events

PORT, SHIP AND FERRY MARITIME SECURITY TRAINING COURSES
MacDonnell is offering a number of security oriented courses during the months of September and October. Courses offered include training for Marine Facility Security Officers, Auditors, Persons with Security Responsibilities and Ship Security Officer – Certificate of Proficiency. For more information see the attached information or visit: www.macdonnell.com.

CYCLE FOR SEAFARERS
Sep 17 – Join the Mission to Seafarers on their 4^th Annual Cycling for Seafarers. Cyclists can choose from a 40km and 100km route. Further information and participant sign up is available at www.flyingangel.ca/events.

WORLD MARITIME DAY CELEBRATION
Sep 21 –The Mission to Seafarers will host a fundraising dinner at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club to commemorate the International Maritime Organization’s World Maritime Day. The guest speaker for the evening will be Captain Graham Westgarth, Chairman of INTERTANKO and Executive Vice President for Innovation, Technology and Projects for the Teekay Corporation. Sponsorship opportunities are available and tickets are $150 plus HST per person. Please see attached.

COS BUSINESS OF SHIPPING COURSE
Sep 22 – The next Chamber of Shipping full day Business of Shipping course will be held at the Vancouver Club. Seats for this session are limited. See attached program for more information and registration details.

ABS – ISM TRAINING COURSE
Oct 18 - ABS Academy is offering ISM Training Course in Vancouver October 18-20. See attached for more information.

Sep 5 Statutory Holiday – Labour Day – Office Closed
Sep 7 COS Liner Committee Meeting @ 09:30
Sep 7 COS Board of Directors Meeting @ 11:30
Sep 8 COS Navigation & Pilotage Committee Meeting @ 10:00
Sep 13 COS Ship & Port Operations Committee
Sep 14 Regional CMAC @ 08:30
Sep 17 Mission to Seafarer’s 4^th Annual Cycle for Seafarers Event
Sep 21 World Maritime Day / Mission to Seafarers Dinner
Sep 22 Business of Shipping Course
Oct 12-14 Sustainable Shipping Conference
Oct 18-20 ABS – ISM Training Course

Announcements

TSI ANNOUNCEMENTS

Eric Waltz, President of TSI Terminal Systems Inc. announced, with immediate effect, the promotion of Mr. Chris Ng to Director, Marketing and Sales.

John Leonard, Executive Vice President Operating Group, has also announced that Brian Gimblett has been promoted to Director, Terminal Operations – Vanterm effective September 6, 2011.

OFFICE MOVES

OMIC (Overseas Merchandise Inspection Co. Ltd) will relocate on August 29, 2011 to:
Suite 614, 850 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1B4
Tel: (604) 637-6737 Fax: (604) 637-6738

ABS Vancouver has moved to:
305-850 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver, BC, V7P 0A3
New Contact Number: Tel: 604-986-0811; Fax: 604-986-0819
 

Ship of the Week

 

Tugboat Theodore Too – Halifax

Summer is here and we thought that this week we would take a look on the lighter side. Bringing the marine industry into people’s day to day lives is our ever present challenge and therefore all attempts to “connect” deserve our applause. The original idea for a children’s TV series featuring tug boats originated with Halifax born Andrew Cochran in an effort to explain activity on the Halifax waterfront to his young son. The CBC ran with the idea and in 1994 created a model set with radio controlled tug boats before passing the rights to the U.S. Public Broadcasting service in 2001, eventually being sold to more than 80 countries in a series of languages. The star of the show was “Theodore Tugboat.”