BC Shipping News - December 2016 / January 2017

History Lesson: Fisgard...

The West’s first lighthouse

Tugboat Safety: Common-sense safety tips

Legal Affairs: New tools for WorkSafeBC

BC SHIPPING Commercial Marine News for Canada’s West Coast.

Volume 6 Issue 10

www.bcshippingnews.com

NEWS

December 2016/January 2017

Tugs & Towboats

B.C. tug and towboat industry stable but challenged

Industry Insight Gordon Yahn, Samson Tugboats

Risk Management

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Contents

NEWS

December 2016/January 2017 Volume 6 Issue 10

Cover Story

40

Class society

Lloyd’s Register adapts and evolves to meet the needs of a changing industry

43 Surveyors

20 7

Editor’s note

8

In brief

12

By Jane McIvor

Industry traffic and news briefs

Industry insight

A credit to his mentors Gordon Yahn, Samson Tugboats Proving that he has taken the lessons of past mentors to heart, Gordon and the Samson team have built a company that prides itself on innovation, safety and quality service.

18 20 30

12

Saam SMIT welcomes the SST Salish

34

Tugboat safety

36

How to win the war on cabotage

By Terry Engler

Legal affairs

New tools aim to strengthen WorkSafeBC

By Lorna Pawluk

Prime Mover Controls releases new Navigation Light Control panel

B.C. tug and towboat industry stable but challenged

By Ray Dykes

Op-Ed: Cabotage

Surveyor’s diary Summer 2016

By Tim Ellis

47 Navigation

Tugs & towboats

31

45

History lesson

Fisgard: The West Coast’s first lighthouse

By Lea Edgar

ABD Enterprises delivers SST’s newest vessel.

48 50

Fire safety

The “ungoverned space” of marine safety

By Dr. Carl Hunter

Survival gear

Climate Technical Gear expanding to the West Coast

34

Common-sense safety tips for tugs

By John Lewis

Risk Management

Managing risk...really?

By Nigel Greenwood

On the cover: The Shuswap assists the Glovis Prestige (photo: Dave Roels); above: the Seaspan Commander meets up with the David J (photo: Dave Roels); right: safety training, including emergency exits from confined spaces (photo: Seafire Training); left: Gordon Yahn (photo: Dave Roels).

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 5

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December 2016/January 2017 Volume 6/Issue 10 Publisher McIvor Communications Inc. President & Editor Jane McIvor Contributing Writers

Clinton Desveaux Ray Dykes Lea Edgar Tim Ellis Terry Engler Nigel Greenwood Peter Hurme John Lewis Lorna Pawluk Gordon Yahn Editorial Assistant Amanda Schuldt-Thompson Advertising and Subscriptions Phone: 604-893-8800 Jane McIvor (jane@bcshippingnews.com) Advertising only: Lesley McIvor (lesleymcivor@shaw.ca) ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Canada Three Years $116.95 Cdn*

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Contents copyrighted 2016 McIvor Communications Inc. 300 - 1275 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia Canada V6H 1A6 Phone: 604-893-8800/Fax: 604-708-1920 E-mail: contact@bcshippingnews.com International Standard Serial Number ISSN: 1925-4865 / Published 10 times per year.

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Proud member of: 300 – 1275 WEST 6TH AVENUE, VANCOUVER, BC V6H 1A6 T: 604-893-8800 / F: 604-708-1920 E: JANE@BCSHIPPINGNEWS.COM 6 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

International Sailor’s Society Canada

EDITOR’S NOTE

Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

The problem with tugs

W

e’re going to have to rethink our editorial calendar. Each year, we dedicate this issue of BC Shipping News to B.C.’s tug industry.

The problem, however, is that news about B.C. tugs could easily fill three to four times the space we have available.

In addition to the activities of the tug companies themselves — and Ray Dykes does a great job in highlighting the trends (albeit couldn’t get to everyone) — there is the impact this sector has on the rest of the industry. From naval architects and shipyards, to technology, safe operations,

government regulations and so much more, it’s difficult to squeeze it all in and still do justice to such an important part of B.C.’s shipping industry.

There are also dozens of photos from Dave Roels that illustrate the daily operations of tugs and the people who make it all happen. To compensate, we’ll be posting Dave’s photos in galleries online at www.bcshippingnews.com. Not only did Dave travel with a number of tug operators over the past month, but he also visited many shipyards where new tugs are being built.

On a final note, we’re saddened to write that this is Ray Dykes’ last article with BC Shipping News, at least for the time being.

Ray and his wife, Meriel, are planning an adventure that will keep Ray away from the typewriter.

It has been a true honour to have Ray write for BC Shipping News — not only did I benefit from his journalism skills and his knowledge of the industry, but I found a good friend along the way.

Best of luck, Ray! You will be missed.

— Jane McIvor

Cyber-enabled ships: ShipRight procedure With autonomous ships likely to enter service soon, LR has set out the ‘how’ of marine autonomous operations in a new ShipRight procedure guidance.

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Working together for a safer world Lloyd’s Register and variants of it are trading names of Lloyd’s Register Group Limited, its subsidiaries and affiliates.

Copyright © Lloyd’s Register Group Limited 2016. A member of the Lloyd’s Register group.

Half page BC shipping_CYBER_060516.indd 1

11/07/2016 13:39:10

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 7

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC

Teekay’s President announces retirement

T

eekay Corporation has announced that its President and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Evensen, plans to retire effective January 31, 2017, after more than 13 years of service with Teekay. The announcement also included Mr. Evensen’s retirement as CEO and CFO from Teekay LNG Partners and Teekay Offshore Partners, as well as his board positions at Teekay, Teekay LNG, Teekay Offshore and Teekay Tankers.

Concurrently, the Board of Directors has appointed Kenneth Hvid, who is currently serving as the President and CEO of Teekay Offshore Group, as CEO-elect to succeed Mr. Evensen.

In connection with Mr. Evensen’s retirement from Teekay Offshore and Teekay LNG, Ingvild Saether will be appointed President and CEO of Teekay Offshore Group Ltd. in place of Mr. Hvid; and Mark Kremin will be appointed President and CEO of Teekay Gas Group Ltd. As part of the transition process, Mr. Evensen will be retained as an advisor following his retirement.

Since Mr. Evensen became CEO in 2011, he has continued Teekay’s growth

by building on its daughter company structure and partnering model to expand Teekay’s broad service offerings to its customers in the oil and gas industry. Today, the Company is one of the world’s largest independent operators of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers; the world’s largest operator of shuttle tankers; a leader in floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) units; and the largest operator of medium-sized crude oil tankers. The combined Teekay entities currently manage and operate consolidated assets of approximately $13 billion, comprised of approximately 220 liquefied gas, offshore, and conventional tanker assets, and have forward fee-based contracted revenue totalling over $20 billion.

“It has been an honour and privilege to lead this company, and I am very confident that Kenneth Hvid is the right person to be my successor to lead Teekay into the next phase of its strategy,” commented Mr. Evensen. “Teekay’s success is largely about how we work together as a team, not only within the company, but also with our customers and business partners. The decline in the oil price has significantly

8 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Peter Evensen

affected our energy customers. Faced with these challenges, the Teekay team has responded with resilience, adapting to the new environment in many ways, including implementing cost reduction programs while maintaining our high safety standards, increasing focus on efficient operations, and systematically completing the financing of our existing growth projects which, once delivered, are expected to increase Teekay’s future consolidated cash flows.”

“I am excited and honoured to take on this role,” commented Mr. Hvid. “I look forward to leading our talented and dedicated team as we enter the next phase of Teekay’s strategy that takes into account the current industry challenges and opportunities as well as building upon our past accomplishments. I would like to thank the Board of Directors for their confidence in entrusting the leadership of Teekay to me following Peter’s retirement. I look forward to working with the Board of Directors, the executive team and our 7,900 employees onshore and offshore as we build on our reputation of delivering high-quality marine services to the oil and gas industry while upholding the standards of safety and excellence.

Like Peter, I remain committed to creating value for our customers, shareholders, business partners and employees.”

NEWS BRIEFS

Maritime Museum of B.C. announces recipients of 2016 SS Beaver Awards

T

he Maritime Museum of B.C. has announced the recipients of this year’s SS Beaver Medals. Captain Stephen Brown, Dr. John Harland, John Horton, Captain David Woodman and BC Ferries have been recognized for their contributions to the maritime industry in B.C. Since 2012, the MMBC has bestowed the honour of the SS Beaver Medal for Maritime Excellence to those who have made outstanding contributions to B.C.’s marine sector. The SS Beaver — the first steam-powered vessel on the West Coast of North America — operated up and down the B.C. coast for 52 years before running aground on Siwash Rock outside Vancouver in 1888. The gold-plated medals are cast from materials salvaged from the wreck of the ship.

Recipients

Captain Stephen Brown started sailing as a cadet with the Furness Withy Group at 16 years old. His first Captain’s post came at the age of 30 with the Salen Group. After then serving with Jardine Matheson out of Hong Kong, Stephen was recruited by Gearbulk Shipping, serving in management positions in South Africa, China, Indonesia and the U.K. before coming to Vancouver. Stephen joined Tidal Transport and Trading Ltd. before becoming the President of the Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia. While he retired in 2016, he remains active in the industry.

Dr. John Harland is recognized worldwide as an authority on marine technology and is the author of standard books

in this area. He is a retired physician currently residing in Kelowna.

John Horton has upwards of 1,400 pieces of marine art to his name. He is a founding member of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists and a member of the Federation of Canadian Artists, the Naval Officers Association of B.C., and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners in Canada. In addition to being the first marine artist to go into a theatre of war under the Canadian Forces Artists Program, he has been commissioned several times by the Royal Canadian Mint to design special-edition coins.

Captain David Woodman was born in London, Ontario, and grew up on and under the waters of Lake Huron, sailing and scuba diving, before joining the Canadian Navy where he served for 11 years. Upon his return to civilian life, he remained in the maritime industry, recently retiring as a Senior Master for B.C. Ferries. Captain Woodman is well known as the author of two books about the ill-fated Sir John Franklin Expedition.

From 1992 to 2004 he led or participated in nine expeditions to Canada’s Arctic in search of the wreck.

BC Ferries began in 1960 as a twovessel, two-terminal operation and has grown into one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated ferry transportation systems. With 35 vessels and 47 terminals, BC Ferries provides service on 25 routes and is the primary provider of coastal ferry transportation in British Columbia. BC Ferries is being recognized for their high operating and safety standards as well as quality of service.

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INDUSTRY TRAFFIC

International media visit Vancouver Photo courtesy Seaspan

D

espite a bit of typical Vancouver rain — okay, a lot of Vancouver rain — journalists representing some of the most prominent maritime magazines in the world descended on Vancouver for three days in mid-October to meet with local industry representatives. Based on feedback, we made quite an impression.

The press tour was one of many that has been organized by Blue-C over the years. Blue-C is a Norwegian public relations firm who, in addition to representing the media needs of a number of marine companies, is also in charge of Nor-Shipping’s press office. Blue-C reps Mark Fuhrmann and Christina Dupré Roos left nothing (except the weather) to chance and set a program that not only highlighted key activities ongoing in Vancouver (e.g., a visit to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards) but also key players (e.g., Robert Lewis-Manning, Chamber of Shipping; Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Vancouver International Maritime Centre; and Lanna Hodgson, International Ship-Owners Alliance Canada) and key organizations (Seaspan Corporation, Methanex and Waterfront Shipping, Port of Vancouver and DNV GL).

During the month of December, BC Shipping News will be posting a full series of articles online to report on the trip, the presentations and insightful feedback from the journalists in attendance. Visit www.bcshippingnews.com for a full recap.

International maritime media representatives join Brian Carter and William Clewes for a visit to Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards.

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NEWS BRIEFS

AAL wins Breakbulk Operator of the Year 2016’ Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

A

t a glittering ceremony in London, AAL collected the Global Freight Awards’ ‘Breakbulk Operator of the Year 2016’ — the first time these annual awards have featured a dedicated category for the breakbulk sector.

Kyriacos Panayides, AAL’s Managing Director, picked up the award on the carrier’s behalf. He commented, “This is a tremendous honour and especially significant in that the award was independently voted for by the readers of Lloyd’s Loading List — a readership comprising of our customers, partners and associates from all over the world.”

He continued, “Breakbulk Operator of the Year 2016 is the fifth industry award for AAL in the past two years and is dedicated to all our teams, on land and sea, who work tirelessly to provide the 24/7 commitment to excellence that our global service is built upon, and such industry honours recognize.”

AAL activity continues to grow on the West Coast.

This latest win for AAL is recognition of a sustained period of growth and development in which it has expanded its global footprint, boosted its operating

fleet capacity, and launched new addedvalue services, like scheduled semi-liner sailings between the Middle East and its key trading partners.

Introducing the SST Salish www.saamsmit.com December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Gordon Yahn Samson Tugboats

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

A credit to his mentors

While his success is a testament to his mentors, one realizes the truth of an age-old adage: If you work with giants long enough, you eventually become one yourself.

W

hen Gordon Yahn describes his career in the marine industry in British Columbia, he does so in the context of the various mentors who have provided him with guidance and advice — Don Mackenzie, John Cosulich, Bob Shields, Wayne Cammell and others who have helped shape B.C.’s tugboat sector. As his own career has progressed, Yahn has taken the lessons learned from these masters and applied them to various roles. Now, as an owner of Samson Tugboats, he employs the sum of his education to develop a company that prides itself on innovation, safety, and quality service and relationships. While his success is a testament to his mentors, one realizes the truth of an age-old adage: If you work with giants long enough, you eventually become one yourself.

BCSN: Let’s start with a bit of background — tell me how you got involved in the marine industry.

GY: I got my start while still in high school. I worked summers with Mackenzie Sea Services/Seaforth Towing — they had

a collection of older docking tugs in Port Moody. Their fleet contained tugs of single-engine, Second World War-vintage, but they got the job done. Seaforth was a very well-run company — it was small but very professional and well-managed and respected. The experience has always stuck with me and I wanted to emulate that culture. It’s how we try to run Samson Tugboats, albeit with more modern assets.

By the time I got there, Seaforth had been purchased by the Cates Group but was still partially operating out of Port Moody. Seaforth owner Don Mackenzie was focusing on his marine construction and towing business. It was an interesting experience and gave me a good overview of a number of sectors within the industry.

In 1999, I started working for Rivtow and became their operations manager, including responsibility for the company’s chemical barge towing contract. It was still owned by the Cosulich family at that time. Working for John Cosulich was a great experience. I haven’t seen his equal in terms of a sharp mind for business. He

12 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

was not afraid to make tough decisions, and if an activity didn’t make money, it was considered a hobby. He turned an unfocused organization into a really good profit centre to his credit.

Following Rivtow, I became the assistant operations manager for Island Tug and Barge. Bob Shields is another leader who greatly impressed me with his technical knowledge, plus a deep understanding of the regulatory issues as well as his business ethics. I was responsible for ITB’s bunker business in Vancouver harbour and both North and South Coast pool barge runs.

I went back to Rivtow after it had been acquired by Smit Marine Canada. Wayne Cammell was in charge at that point — another great leader in the industry.

Without his support and motivation, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

While at Smit, I was in a number of roles — analyst, traffic co-ordinator, logistics, etc. I helped with business planning and marketing as well as took on the quality, safety and compliance responsibilities. I was very fortunate to get involved in almost every aspect of the organization, including operations in Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Vancouver and New Westminster.

In 2010, I partnered with Brian McWhirter to start Samson Tugboats.

We built our first tug, the Shuswap, which was launched in mid-2011, and then the

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Kootenay, which was in operation by the end of 2012. We also bareboat charter a couple of other approved tugs when needed.

BCSN: Tell me a little bit about Samson Tugboats and its operations.

GY: We have about 10 employees and we focus strictly on ship-assist work, predominantly on the Fraser River although we have done a few jobs out at Roberts Bank. Our tugs were purpose-built for harbour towage and they are two of the more modern tugs you’ll see on the coast.

The Shuswap was built at Sylte Shipyards.

It’s the same design as the Numas Warrior, Jack Davies’ tug. Jack was a big help to us, and building a vessel with Erling Sylte was such a treat. We did the entire deal on a handshake.

We built the Kootenay at ABD Boats.

Again, we followed Jack Davies, who had the Renegade built there, and again, we had a really good experience. Both yards were different in their process but both took about 14 months and produced topnotch vessels.

We’ve been very fortunate where crew are concerned. They are some of the most skilled and professional people I’ve worked with in this industry. We’ve never had a problem filling a vacancy and I think that speaks to how we treat our crew. We also see some of the more senior masters taking the younger ones under their wing, ensuring that their skills and experience are passed on to the next generation.

BCSN: While we’re on the subject of crew, you wrote an article for BC Shipping News in March this past year and you noted some challenges to training and certification. Could you remind me about the issues?

GY: That’s correct. In a nutshell, I noted that, outside of a cadet program, the process of upgrading certificates while on the job is very difficult. If someone wants to go through the cadet program, it takes three years but you’re not working and you’re not getting a true sense of the different roles and responsibilities required when you’re on a specific vessel. Our best masters are those who have spent years at sea, whereas those who go straight into officer positions

from school, might not fully understand all the intricacies of operations.

Leaning on my experience in the aviation industry, the International Civil Aviation Organization has adopted a more methodical process for personnel certification. The process, which includes resources like online learning, provides for a much more practical assessment of a candidate’s abilities. Given that many of the advances within the marine industry — for example, the need for safety management systems, bridge resource management, and automatic identification systems — were implemented in the aviation industry long before they became the norm for marine, I believe we should be looking at that industry’s training process more closely as a way to improve our own.

BCSN: You mentioned the intricacies of tug operations. What sort of trends have you seen over the past two decades? And further, are you able to compare that to other jurisdictions?

GY: Tug operations vary across the globe but the one thing I’ve noticed is that B.C.

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Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Gordon and his family manned Samson’s Jericho feed station during the 2015 Cycling For Seafarers.

It comes down to choosing reliability over technology, so we like to go with whatever is going to provide the safest and most reliable option. is unique in the way that the pilots seem to be more hands-on in ship handling than their European counterparts. B.C. pilots often land the ships with less correction required from the tugs, compared to ports like Rotterdam where the pilot will stop up the ship off the berth and let the tugs take the vessel under tow as a dead ship.

We have some very talented pilots here on the coast and there are occasions when the conditions are just right — the pilot will use the tugs for little to no correction until they are right alongside the dock to hold in and put the lines on.

This truly speaks to the skill level of our pilots. More often than not though, the pilots will require more correction from the tugs — particularly if turning before berthing or in heavy wind or current.

We often perform these manoeuvres at about two to four knots of current on the Fraser River, so we need to make sure our tugs are able to get out sideways at these speeds and provide corrective forces. In the springtime, the Fraser can have a current as much as five knots, and for ships that are as long as 300 metres, we’ll work closely with the pilot to factor in both current and wind issues.

Looking at trends, starting with vessel design, the industry had been going down the path of “bigger is better” and multipurpose tugs were becoming popular.

Today, however — and in large part with credit to naval architects such as Robert

Allan and A.G. McIlwain — the trend is more toward specific tugs for specific purposes. For example, escort tugs don’t make for the most responsive docking tugs, and docking tugs aren’t the best solution for coastal tanker escorts. So there’s definitely been a shift — almost back to where we were 20 years ago of seeing dedicated docking tugs being built again.

Regarding new technologies, absolutely there have been some amazing advances.

Electronics and navigation equipment have improved immensely. Propulsion and alternative fuels are also becoming more and more innovative. I suppose our approach has always been to act with caution and not gamble on unproven technology. It comes down to choosing reliability over technology, so we like to go with whatever is going to provide the safest and most reliable option. If a tug loses power during a critical phase of a landing, the results can be catastrophic.

When we were building the Kootenay, we worked with a few local firms on hybrid technology but felt that the systems weren’t quite proven yet. New technology is great if it’s reliable, but the tug is the last line of defence in some cases and we’re not going to get involved with anything that’s not 100 per cent reliable.

Now, where we have adopted newer and proven technology is in life-saving and ancillary systems. Our crew designed the canister liferaft arms which swing out

14 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

and deploy clear of the tug, rather than expecting the liferaft to float free of the tug. This came about after watching a video of a tug capsizing and we noticed that there was not a single life-saving apparatus that floated free. Because we work in fast-moving water — and if something happens, it’s going to happen quickly — this was an important factor for us, so we removed the hydrostatic releases as a safeguard. That saves about 20 or 30 seconds and can mean the difference between saving a life and losing one.

We’ve employed other safety measures as well — we’ve got quick deploying climb-up chains and man-overboard ladders that can be set out by one man (very helpful when there’s only a two-man crew); we installed video cameras in machinery spaces so, before sending a man down, we can verify his safety and identify any hazards. These are the kinds of things you didn’t have 10 years ago.

BCSN: Looking at technology in the engine room, have you found any challenges in keeping your crew up to date on training?

GY: There was a big change several decades ago in the tug industry where operators went with an unmanned engine room, so we’ve been used to having engine maintenance and repairs done dockside.

That said, while the new systems and technology today are very reliable, if there is a problem, no mere mortal would be able to fix it. All engines now are electronically controlled — you need someone with specific proprietary knowledge or equipment to troubleshoot. In large part, that’s why we selected the equipment we did. For example, Cullen Diesel is 15 minutes away and their reputation for service is legendary. I think that’s a big motivator for many here in the Lower Mainland when choosing their engine supplier (of course, there’s more to it than that but it’s a big advantage).

BCSN: I’ d like to spend some time looking at the trends you’ve seen for activity on the Fraser River. First, what’s the most important commodity for you?

GY: For Samson Tugboats, our busiest area is with Ro-Ro vessels (the car carriers). We see about 30 of those per month.

There’s more and more grain coming out of Fraser Surrey Docks, although that activity goes up and down; and we’ll see about one or two container vessels per

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

week. There is also a steady volume of steel imports and raw log exports.

Other activity on the Fraser, of course, is the log and barge towing activity (although we don’t get involved in that).

Overall, I’d have to say that industry on the river is contracting. When I first started, there were sawmills and gravel depots all along the river. Now, you can count on two hands the number of sawmills still in operation. So there is less raw log towing — less coming inbound to the river and if they do come in, much is going for export.

The volume of traffic has slowed down in the last year — we’re seeing larger ships making fewer calls, which is consistent in shipping overall today. The number of ship calls may be down but overall tonnage is increasing.

In terms of barge movements, the barges are larger now so there are fewer of them out there. The challenge for this however is that, as the barge size has increased, there are still various pinch points along the river — for example,

At the 2014 Chamber of Shipping Members Reception (left to right): Chris Wellstood, Anita BoyalGill, and Egge Kloosteboer (all from the Port of Vancouver); Gordon and Bill Wehnert (Fraser Surrey Docks).

narrow rail bridges and crossings — that haven’t changed in 100 years. The barges are close to their limit for size now.

For container and bulk ships, draft and length are issues. Since we’ve come along

with our tug package, we’ve been able to assist in pushing the boundaries for length, but prior to our arrival with the Kootenay, there wasn’t that kind of horsepower available. Now, we’re assisting container ships

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT

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16 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

that are upwards of 300 meters in length. That was unheard of 10 years ago.

BCSN: Do you think the new Massey Bridge will change activity on the Fraser and allow for bigger ships?

GY: It might help a bit but there are other bottlenecks. Contrary to the conspiracy theorists out there, I don’t believe the new Massey crossing will instantly open up the river to all kinds of new ship traffic. Draft will still be an issue and there’s also the logistics issue of the Steveston Bend. There’s also another water main below the Fraser River that’s a shallower pinch point than the tunnel is.

We do expect an increase in traffic once the airport fuel facility is up and running, plus there’s a good chance that we might see some LNG exports from the upgraded Fortis site at Tilbury.

BCSN: Do you think short sea shipping will ever become more prevalent for the Fraser?

GY: Short sea shipping has been talked about for years and there is some limited activity between Nanaimo and Vancouver, but overall, I believe it would take a government regulation —some kind of initiative that aims to alleviate air shed pollution issues in the Lower Mainland — before you’ll see it catch on in a big way.

I don’t know if the costing will work. If you can move a container from Roberts Bank to Abbotsford or Mission for less cost and in less time via truck, I don’t see short sea shipping as an attractive option for shippers. The more a container gets handled, the more it will cost to deliver.

There is one area where short sea shipping might make more sense and that’s with the airport fuel. The choice between having one barge versus upwards of 25 or 50 fuel trucks per day interfacing with traffic through the tunnel is a no-brainer.

BCSN: What about future trends?

GY: I think you’ll see more consolidation and more of an impact from the encroachment of residential areas, but the Port of Vancouver is doing a good job of trying to secure industrial land for future use — they’re hanging on to what they have and acquiring new land when it becomes available.

BCSN: What about the future for Samson Tugboats?

GY: Well, we’ve got two keels laid already and when economic conditions dictate, we’ll outfit them. ABD Boats built the keels and are storing them for us but they’re booked for the next two years so we may have to get them finished at another yard.

We recently did our first docking of the Shuswap at Allied Shipbuilders and that went very well. I’d love to build a tug with Chuck Ko. He’s got so much technical knowledge and practical know-how and he was extremely helpful in dealing with contractors as well as Transport Canada on the inspection.

BCSN: One last question — Samson Tugboats, and yourself in particular, participate in a number of good causes. Could you describe the kinds of activities and organizations you support?

GY: We do quite a bit with the Mission to Seafarers and the Plimsoll Club — both very good organizations who have the welfare of mariners at the core of everything they do. It’s something we enjoy doing — the Cycling for Seafarers event for the Mission, for example, is not only a great opportunity to raise funds for seafarers but it allows us, as a company, to come together away from work and just enjoy ourselves. It’s a part of our culture — we’re invested in the community and feel a strong moral obligation to participate. BCSN

INDUSTRY INSIGHT About Gordon Yahn safety. During his time at SMIT, Gordon developed their safety management system, risk assessments, training and induction programs as well as ensuring compliance with all external and internal occupational health and safety requirements.

In 2010, Gordon partnered with Brian McWhirter to launch Samson Tugboats, providing harbour towage and docking services for ships travelling the Fraser River. The company prides itself on its innovation, tailor-made solutions for clients, modern fleet and professional crew.

Gordon lives in Tsawwassen with wife Suzanne and son Stuart (with daughter Kate at school in Toronto.

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

G

ordon’s maritime career began in the mid-1990s as a deckhand/engineer for Burrard Towing Company where he gained in-depth knowledge of B.C.’s coast and rivers, from Mission to the Queen Charlotte Islands. He joined Rivtow Marine Inc. in 1999 and ultimately became the company’s operations manager for chemical barge towing contracts. Additional responsibilities included new business development, business planning and assisting with operational procedures and emergency response plans.

Following a position as Island Tug and Barge’s assistant operations manager, Gordon returned to Rivtow, now operating under the SMIT Marine Canada banner. In addition to roles including commercial analyst & operational support, he was the company’s manager for quality, compliance and

About Samson Tugboats

P

artners Gordon Yahn and Brian McWhirter started Samson Tugboats in 2010 to provide harbour towage and docking services along the Fraser River.

Their innovative approach to a modern fleet, professional crew and adaptive management has afforded them a reputation for safety, efficiency and quality service.

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

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For more information, visit samsontugboats.com December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 17

HISTORY LESSON

Fisgard: The West Coast’s first lighthouse

By Lea Edgar Librarian & Archivist, Vancouver Maritime Museum Photo credit: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

It all started with Victoria’s harbourmaster in 1859. He paid $100 for a lantern to be placed at MacLaughlin Point. Unfortunately, ... the tubes overheated and melted.

walls using bricks imported from England. The top was also granite and measured 10 inches thick by four feet. The keeper’s quarters had two rooms on each floor. The lighthouse was praised by the local newspapers, especially for its grand spiral staircase. The staircase was actually designed by the builder, John Wright. He had it cast in San Francisco and the company that made the staircase gave Wright $300 for the rights to the

B

efore 1860, the West Coast ran dark. Ships had no lights to guide them past the various hazards that dot our coast or direct them into safe harbours. All that changed with the building of British Columbia’s first light, Fisgard Lighthouse.

Race Rocks lighthouse followed shortly after. With the new guiding lights, the burgeoning province took its first steps towards a more secure marine transportation network. By 1912, more than 20 lighthouses were built. Thus began a new era of safety for West Coast mariners.

It all started with Victoria’s harbourmaster in 1859. He paid $100 for a lantern to be placed at MacLaughlin Point.

Unfortunately, only a few months later, the tubes of the lantern overheated and melted. He did not have the money to replace it, so Victoria’s merchants got together and petitioned the Colonial Assembly to gather the funds to replace the light. Captain Richards, the master of the survey ship HMS Plumper, suggested the location of two lights: one on Fisgard Island and the other on Race Rocks. Interestingly enough, Fisgard Island was named after the HMS Fisgard by Commander James Woods in honour of the assistance the ship provided while he was surveying Esquimalt Harbour. The two lights, Fisgard and Race Rocks, would hug either end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Once inside the Strait, the light at Race Rocks would mark the outer limit and warn a vessel against the dangerous shoals in the area. The Fisgard light would mark the entrance to Esquimalt Harbour.

Finally, in 1860, permission was granted, funds acquired, and construction of Fisgard Lighthouse began.

Fisgard was designed by German engineer and architect Herman Otto Tiedeman, who also built Victoria’s first Legislative building. A local contractor, John Wright, was hired to build the structure. The foundation of the tower was constructed of twofoot-thick solid granite. On top of that was placed four-foot-thick 18 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Fisgard Lighthouse, circa 1917. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM design. The final lighthouse tower measures 14.5 metres tall with a focal plane of 21.5 metres. The light first shone on November 16, 1860, and flashed its first red, green, and white lights.

George Davies was hired to be the first lighthouse keeper at Fisgard. He was hired on a full-time basis and brought his family over from England with him.

Victorians were none too pleased that a foreigner was hired over a local, but soon that sentiment passed. Fisgard saw a variety of keepers and their families until 1928 when it suffered the same fate as many other lighthouses on the coast: automation. A causeway was constructed in 1951 between Fort Rodd Hill and Fisgard Island. It served as a military barrier to prevent torpedo attacks against ships anchored in Esquimalt Harbour, but also provided easier access to the lighthouse. The station was later electrified and, in 1961, Fisgard Lighthouse was designated by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site. In 1970, two granddaughters of George Davies visited

Here in British Columbia, with so many of our historical structures lost to time, we are lucky to retain such a beacon as the Fisgard Lighthouse. the lighthouse and gave the first logbook to the Superintendent of the site for posterity. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Parks Canada began work to restore Fisgard to its original Victorian appearance. They reconstructed both the storehouse and boathouse, but the keeper’s house was transformed into a museum. A special plaque was installed in 1982. The Lighthouse again underwent renovation in 2009 to upgrade the historic site with new exhibits. The keeper’s rooms were altered to appear more like the residence it once was.

As a historical site today, inside the building are two floors of exhibits, dealing with shipwrecks, storms, far-flung lights, and the everyday working equipment of the lightkeeper a century ago. Right next

to the tower stirs on the second floor, a specially-made video evokes the loneliness and isolation that was the lot of the l9th century keeper.

Here in British Columbia, with so many of our historical structures lost to time, we are lucky to retain such a beacon as the Fisgard Lighthouse. It is a testament to its lasting design and to the dedication of the people of Canada to preserve our heritage. Now, and into the future, British Columbians can enjoy the history and architecture of the West Coast’s first guiding light.

Lea Edgar started her position as Librarian and Archivist for the Vancouver Maritime Museum in 2013. She can be contacted at archives@vanmaritime.com.

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TUGS & TOWBOATS

B.C. tug and towboat industry stable but challenged

By Ray Dykes Photo by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

...growing concern over tug sinkings in recent years was brought into sharp focus by the grounding of the Nathan E. Stewart near Bella Bella on B.C.’s central coast...

I

n a world where everything marine is suddenly under a microscope, the British Columbia tug and towboat industry could best be described as stable but spinning its props.

While a recovery of sorts was being fashioned a year ago, Bart Reynolds, President of Seaspan Marine, leaves little doubt about how the industry is faring: “The industry is still stagnant and any recovery is stalled.”

However, Reynolds is cautiously optimistic about the future — “there is a lot of hope for a number of different projects, but nothing so far” — with much of the uncertainty coming from the liquefied natural gas sector and its difficulty getting a project built anywhere in the province.

He doubts that a majority of the 20 or so LNG and related projects will ever win approval and be funded, but he remains hopeful for some — case in point, Woodfibre just announced their goal of starting to ship LNG by 2020.

Meanwhile, growing concern over tug sinkings in recent years was brought into sharp focus by the October 13 grounding of the Nathan E. Stewart near Bella Bella on B.C.’s central coast, with 90,000 litres of diesel still to be accounted for, as clean up continues.

The Texas-based Kirby Corporation tug sank, but luckily the 287-foot long fuel barge it was in charge of on its journey south from Alaska was empty.

The incident was not good news for the local tug and towboat industry and the Pacific Pilotage Authority is toughening up its pilot waiver system in the aftermath. Currently, vessels over 350 but under 10,000 gross tons (mostly tugs and barges) are granted waivers if the operator meets certain conditions. The final format for tougher conditions was still being hammered out at press time.

The challenge facing the industry these days is not anything economic, says Captain Phillip Nelson, President of the Council of Marine Carriers (CMC), to which most tug and towboat companies belong. “The biggest challenge we face is maintaining the image we have of being an environmentally friendly industry.”

It’s not difficult to get tug companies agreeing on the need for greater vigilance on safety. Captain Nelson says: “I don’t think there is ever enough concern about safety of the mariner and seaworthiness of the fleet. And if there isn’t, things will deteriorate rapidly.”

Incidents involving tugs on the Fraser River are getting worse in his view and he’s concerned that Port Vancouver is not doing enough, nor acting fast enough, “to prevent vessels being lost and people being injured.” The CMC and the port are currently in talks over the concerns about the Fraser River passage.

Ledcor Resources & Transportation COO, Mark Houghton, agrees the private sector reputation is “a bit of a challenge”

20 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

these days and says when things go wrong “it taints the whole marine industry.”

Although he says there have been fewer sinkings in 2016, Seaspan’s Reynolds agrees that safety remains the biggest challenge and he worries that provincial and federal regulations aren’t always the same, which brings problems with enforcement.

Here is our report from those operators we were able to contact for this year’s industry review (and don’t forget about the Industry Insight with Samson Tugboats’ Gordon Yahn on page 12).

Council of Marine Carriers

Most of the B.C. tug and towboat fleet is represented by the CMC and its President, Captain Phillip Nelson, is keen to see even more come on board “as it would be good for the industry as a whole.” Currently, the council is the voice of the tug and towboat industry in Victoria and Ottawa, or anywhere it’s needed, for about 30 B.C. tug and barge companies.

Few in the industry would have a better handle on the state of the industry than Nelson and these days you’ll find him convinced that stability has been the industry hallmark over the past few years, whether the economy has been in a swoon or not.

“We feel the outlook is positive and the industry is generally in balance,” he says. “What is changing is who is operating the tugs, with more non-CMC members, usually domiciled outside the Lower Mainland.” Nelson says these smaller operators are doing quite well, while the rest of the industry is “staying even” with a “modest uptick” being experienced.

Nelson is clearly in the “optimistic” camp when tit comes to the prospects of an LNG project getting underway

TUGS & TOWBOATS

Amix Marine

The New Westminster-based Amix Marine Services Ltd. is part of a tow and barge company with a wide reach. While it has five tugs and a 24-barge fleet with carrying capacities over 15,000 tons, Amix is much broader than that. The group also has nine cranes, including the 600-ton capacity Arctic Tuk and offers its services on the B.C., Washington, Oregon and Alaska coasts.

Director of Sales Tony Marra says “there always seems to be something going on” and he has “a positive feeling” about the busy workload. He’s happy about what the market is doing today and his fleet has a steady diet of infrastructure and project work with “lots on the go.”

Most companies have found their niche and that’s where they focus. For Amix,

Photo courtesy Amix Marine Services

somewhere in the province. He’s convinced a lot of the fears about the transportation of LNG “are not well founded” and says the industry will be “extremely beneficial” to B.C. and to Canada.

New Westminster-based Amix provides log towing, general cargo and heavy lift loads. Above, the General Jackson.

that is towing logs, general cargo, and heavy lift loads, while, with a presence in Prince Rupert, Amix hasn’t given up on the prospects of an LNG project going ahead in the north.

The biggest challenge facing the industry in Marra’s view is “the amount and quality of qualified people to work on the water.”

He agrees with the suggestion that B.C. has an aging tug fleet, including the Amix

vessels, but says this is being countered by “a very rigorous preventative maintenance and upkeep program.”

At present, Amix has no plans to scrap any of its fleet and just bought another ballastable deck barge late this summer — the same one it has been operating in the log trade for a couple of years before buying it from Northern Transportation Company Ltd. It now has three log barges and a capacity in that sector of over 35,000 tons.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 21

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

TUGS & TOWBOATS

One of 12 tugs in the Catherwood fleet — the Fraser Navigator.

Amix can reach deeper into the logistical chain because of its equipment and fleet, says Marra, giving a better value proposition to its customers with the Artic Tuk being a valuable selling point in that equation, coupled with yards in Surrey and Prince Rupert which have rail access.

Catherwood Towing

The B.C. tug and towing fleet is in better balance now than in the years before, says Ron Dunsire, in Operations for Mission-based Catherwood Towing.

But he agrees with others that crewing is the big issue facing the industry.

Training and retaining are a challenge.

Whether it’s a different generation “not so wrapped up in work” or another reason, he’s just not sure, but being on a tug is

a physical job, with odd and often long hours ... and even then, some crews want even longer hours in what is a “well-paying job.”

Catherwood has 12 tugs in its fleet and has been moving away from single-screw vessels in favour of twin-screw tugs. The company has gained wider use of its fleet in recent years. Once it specialized in log towing, but today, it also hauls aggregates, construction materials and other project cargoes using the same tugs. Two tugs are based in Prince Rupert where they have made inroads in recent years.

There’s a new build due from the Sylte Shipyard near the end of the first quarter of 2017, a 53-foot, 1,000-horsepower combo barge and river tug.

Today, there’s also increasing cooperation between tug companies, says

Dunsire. “Before, a lot of companies had their own customers and their own base.

Now, if there’s extra work, we hire out our capabilities as others do to help us.”

Dunsire feels the tug fleet is safer now than ever before and says the company has grown with its safety management system. However, he is concerned the domestic shipping channels in the Fraser River are not being looked after as they should and says some tugs can’t go up river at low water.

When Catherwood founder Ernie bought his first tug in 1971, the company developed a philosophy that still stands today: “that we can service our customers from A to B, one way or another, even if we have to hire a vessel,” says Dunsire.

“We like to think of ourselves as a onestop shop.”

Harken Towing

Some days, Ian Shandler, as General Manager of Harken Towing, is busy with work, but business is often “day-to-day,” affected by weather, lumber demand, and customers’ scheduling needs. “One day we could have half our boats tied up at our dock and the next day we simply can’t find enough tugs,” he says.

The inconsistency of work is making it harder to find and retain qualified personnel — something he sees as the industry’s biggest challenge. “It’s hard to hire someone when you can’t guarantee consistency of work.”

The Port Coquitlam-based tug operator doesn’t feel the B.C. tug fleet is too old and says the recent “run of bad luck”

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

Harken Towing’s Rose Mackenzie transits the Fraser River.

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in 2015 and 2016 with tug sinkings was not necessarily due to an old fleet.

With 13 tugs — nine river tugs and four coastal towing vessels — Harken is a family-owned company established in 1948. “We pride ourselves on customer service. Our goal is to ensure our customers’ needs are satisfied and all the tasks our employees complete are done in the safest, most efficient manner we can.”

The company also has a fleet of eight barges, including a newly modified 7,700-ton ramp barge with 68-foot by 20-foot ramp and stern thruster. “We are looking to expand the barging division of our company. Acquiring new work for our ramp and aggregate barges is our current focus,” says Shandler.

The company is still “uncertain but optimistic” about LNG prospects and is keen for work in that sector should it ever evolve in B.C.

Hodder Tugboat

“Scary” isn’t a word anyone else used in this review of the tug and towboat industry, but Hodder Tugboat Co. Ltd. General Manager Chris Hodder sees the state of the industry as just that.

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His concern, as echoed by some others, is over the highly experienced generation of seafarers retiring and the loss of that knowledge and experience. He’s also worried by the work ethic of the current generation and the difficulty in trying to hire someone with a master’s ticket so they can run his bigger tugs.

The Richmond-based tug company specializes in log towing and has a fleet of nine tugs, although one is currently laid up in the yard. Add two barges and three water taxis and you get the scope of the enterprise. A couple of the tugs are vintage 1960-1970s, but there are no current plans for their retirement or for any new builds.

Hodder says work isn’t diminishing but there’s not a lot of growth either. He’d like the company to pursue more log towing business as it maintains its relationships with existing customers by “doing a good job and taking care of their product.”

The company has enough experience to know that good communication with customers pays dividends and that, as a service provider, “you need to be doing a good job,” he adds.

ITB Marine

New builds have a deeper meaning for the ITB Marine Group as it builds two revolutionary new pusher tugs at the company’s shipyards on Annacis Island. The pair will be connected by an articulating pin system to existing double-hulled oil barges, which will receive retrofitted pin ladders and stern extensions connecting to the new tugs.

With a clear idea of what it wanted, the new tugs have been developed in collaboration with naval architect Robert Allan and his engineering team. The first of the pusher tugs is expected to be delivered in the second quarter of 2017.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 23

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

TUGS & TOWBOATS

ITB Marine's Cindy Mozel and Island Tugger will be joined by two new pusher tugs, the first to be delivered in 2017.

ITB President Captain Bob Shields says the innovative new tugs will “raise the bar for coastal transportation in terms of efficiency, safety and crew comfort” and will replace existing vessels on contracts that require tugs with a newer hull date.

While he feels the B.C. tug and towboat industry is “thriving in the area of ship berthing and small to medium-sized independent operators,” Shields isn’t afraid to point the finger. He says that while forestry activity continues to decline for the industry and for companies that have

been reliant on it for years, “they continue to lose market share to smaller and newer companies, largely owing to long-standing, entrenched and out-of-date labour agreements.”

Like others in the industry, he sees the prospect of LNG and tanker escorts as “the big carrot and everyone is clamouring to get to the front of this line,” but adds that unfortunately there “remains significant obstacles to this activity becoming a reality, and I fear that with our current economic and environmental climate in B.C., it is unlikely that we will see anything significant in the near future.”

The most promising activity, in his view, is likely an increase in tanker traffic and associated tug work, but he warns “we are in danger of losing all of this work to ports in Washington State if the politics around the movement of petroleum cargoes does not change.”

With 15 vessels, including six tugs and six barges at its Richmond base, the former Island Tug and Barge (now ITB Marine) is the West Coast’s largest bulk transporter of

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TUGS & TOWBOATS

Jones Marine Group

With nine tugs and a barge, the Jones Marine Group, based in Chemainus, has been building its business on Vancouver Island. The commissioning of the 2,400hp David J in October this year has been a boost as the company looks to build its ship-berthing activities, particularly with the Port of Nanaimo, Chemainus and Crofton.

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

refined petroleum products. New energy projects are in the works and ITB’s subsea side also shows promise of growth.

As for the industry’s biggest challenge in 2016, Shields sees the culprit clearly as “labour shortages and increased regulations primarily centred on manning and certification of seafarers.”

And Shields is clear as to why customers should use ITB. “Our company philosophy is based on innovation and safety, which provides our customers with the most advanced, efficient and safe methods of carrying their cargoes and completing their projects.”

The David J was launched from Sylte Shipyard in October this year.

But, even the best run companies have their moments as Jones Marine discovered last May when one of its tugs collided with another in the Northumberland Channel near Gabriola Island.

Still sitting on the bottom of the channel is the smaller tug Alburn while the larger Titan survived. A routine change of

command station from the upper deck to the main deck is believed to have caused one tug to veer into the other during a log tow.

“One tug basically ran over the other,” says Daryl Jones, President of Jones Marine. “They always work in close proximity to each other.” Ever since, he

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TUGS & TOWBOATS has been busy querying other tug companies to see if they have a set procedure or protocol for changing command stations on their tugs. Most don’t, but Jones Marine sure will have from now on.

Despite the setback, Jones is adamant that one of the main benefits of working with his company is “we have a very engaged group of employees.”

It helps also that labour stability can be assured to customers because of the recent signing of a 10-year agreement with its three unions. “If you want continual service with dedicated crews” then give Daryl Jones a call.

Ledcor

Ledcor Resource and Transportation COO Mark Houghton has the industry pegged as healthy with some new building going on, but he is concerned there is no excess capacity and not a lot of inventory out there for a company looking for used equipment it can refurbish.

Ideally, Ledcor would prefer to have a local company do a new build, but that

could take 18 months to add to its fleet of nine tugs and 23 barges. It deployed two new tugs built by Bracewell Marine in 2016 and brought in a Dutch tug via China in 2015 which is now in action as the Bill L Ledcor. There have been no recent retirees from the fleet.

Interestingly, when a tug is bought overseas, the transportation costs to Canada and the import duty faced, plus refurbishment, make the costs about the same as a new build, he contends.

Ledcor is hopeful at least one or more of the current array of LNG projects will go ahead in B.C. but feels “the clock is ticking, the sands of time are eroding away quickly.” Ledcor is ready for tug escort, ship docking and project supply duties should any proponent make the decision to become the first to go ahead in the province.

With its name and brand well known in Canada and especially British Columbia, the Ledcor Group prides itself on its emphasis on safety and quality. It has won long-term clients, says Houghton,

and is seen as a “newer organization with a younger cross section of mariners.”

The company offers cost-effective, competitive rates and in a lot of places, can do so with new equipment.

Saam Smit

With over 70 years of experience in local waters thanks to its roots in Rivtow, Saam Smit also benefits from its experience in ship assist and tanker escort services on a global multi-port scale. Captain John Armstrong, Vice President of Saam Smit, says “the resulting shared experience with our colleagues and client partners has created a premium service that ship owners, masters, and pilots recognize.”

While it has one of the larger tug fleets in B.C. waters at 22, the age of the fleet has been greatly reduced with an ongoing boat renewal program, bringing on four new tugs since 2014, the latest the SST Salish in November 2016 (see page 30).

These purchases have allowed the retirement of three of the oldest vessels in the fleet, which is spread between Vancouver

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26 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

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TUGS & TOWBOATS Photo courtesy Seaspan

Harbour, the Fraser River, Prince Rupert, Kitimat and Squamish.

Armstrong says the B.C. tug and towboat industry is “relatively stable with general uncertainty around economic outlooks.” While there are probably too many tugs around, he adds “given the age of a good number of them, I’m sure time will take care of balancing things out.”

Even though transportation activities remain somewhat unchanged in recent years, Armstrong says there “continues to be a steady change in who and which tugs are doing a major portion of the work.

There is a steady move away from the bigger, moderately powered tugs operated by larger mainstream towboat companies to smaller, more powerful tugs owned by smaller companies towing larger barges, often on longer voyages.”

Only time will tell whether this will set the new standard or result in unintended consequences which shift this pattern of change, he adds.

Meanwhile, he notes that specialty transportation and marine services such as oil barging, ship docking and tanker escort services are seeing change in a different direction with newer, larger, and technically more advanced design and equipped vessels.

“This is generally because of ever-growing statutory and due diligence requirements demanded by customers, which drives a very high level of competence and safety,” says Captain Armstrong.

The Seaspan Raven will soon be joined by the Raider and the Rogue.

Seaspan Marine

As the big guy on the block, Seaspan Marine operates a fleet of 33 tugs, including three ocean tugs, 10 coastal tugs, 15 ship assist and escort vessels, and four river tugs. Add to that the largest fleet of barges on the West Coast — more than 110 at last count and covering flat deck barges, bulk carriers, chip barges, covered barges, oil barges, chemical barges, rail barges and log barges — and you get the full impact of the company’s dominance.

Seaspan Marine’s Bart Reynolds disagrees with a suggestion that the B.C. fleet is too old. These days, he says, you can replace engines and components and if you take care, you can operate a tug for 35 years or more.

He adds that “steel doesn’t rust as fast on the coast.” And it helps when you have two shipyards and a drydock and the admission December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 27

TUGS & TOWBOATS

Squamish Marine

In his new role as Manager of Squamish Marine Services, Art McGillivray feels progress for the two-tug and one-water-taxi fleet has been steady along with its marina and small boat repair work.

The challenge continues to be an aging workforce rather than aging tugs, with crew safety a major concern as it is with most tug companies.

Squamish Marine is hoping the Woodfibre LNG project goes ahead in the Howe Sound area, and McGillivray says any new build decisions will largely rest on the fate of that proposal, which moved a step closer with the recent announcement from the Woodfibre board of directors that they have made their final investment decision.

As for the future, McGillivray says that at Squamish Marine, “we just try to meet all of our customers’ needs as soon as possible by safely transporting their passengers and storing and

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28 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

that “we get to jump to the front of the line with our equipment.”

While there are no new builds to talk about, Seaspan has given new meaning to “near new” and is bringing two used oceangoing tugs from Singapore, the Raider and the Rogue, which are currently being modified to meet Transport Canada standards as well as being given a full refit. The two 34-metre 3,600-hp tugs should arrive before the end of the year and that will allow a couple of older tugs to be retired.

Reynolds says many Seaspan customers are experiencing tough times; rates are “horrible” and all major shipping segments are “drastically overbuilt.” No wonder Seaspan has excess capacity, and Reynolds says the marine group always has a Plan B and Plan C. He contends that Seaspan is the “safest operator on the coast” with the best mariners. The average Seaspan captain has 26 years’ experience, while senior engineers average 23 years’ experience.

“No one can touch us as we also have the best and most wellmaintained equipment.”

Reynolds says it is fun to promote Seaspan as it is a “wonderful group of people” who are ready to be competitive when market opportunities present. “We hold ourselves accountable to our customers and we do what we say we will do,” he adds.

The Tymac Tide may soon be joined by two more tugs from Sylte Shipyard.

transporting their logs.”

Tymac Launch

While not considered one of the larger tug companies on the B.C. coast, Tymac Launch Service Ltd. has four small tugs, eight barges, and a water taxi. The main mission for the 730-hp river tugs is waste disposal, including clearing cruise ship garbage, plus tug assists with bigger tugs, lube transfers and general towing. Recycling the waste materials they collect is paramount.

Depending how business grows, and it has been doing so slowly in 2015 and 2016, Tymac may build two new vessels at the Sylte Shipyard where the Tymac Tide was built in 2014. Director of Marketing Steve Hnatko says the company will make a decision this fall to see if it makes sense to proceed.

Asked if there are already too many tugs in the industry, Hnatko responds: “Everyone says there is not enough work and too many tugs, but if you are good at what you do you will make adjustments to keep your share of the pie. Tug assists keep us busy, whereas it was sporadic work before. We are finding a way to keep viable.”

Hnatko is another who really hopes the LNG projects go ahead, but he doubts he is alone in feeling that the window is closing.

But Tymac is far from standing still. With its Dispatch Integrated Control Engine (DICE) innovation, the company operations have digitized all work orders, manifests and invoices, allowing for more efficient administration and giving its customers the ability to view information in real time. Hnatko says Tymac is proud of the consistent service it offers. “We do everything in our power not to say ‘no’ to our customers.”

Ray Dykes is a journalist who has worked his way around the world as a writer / photographer. Ray can be reached at prplus@ shaw.ca.

NEW TUG

Saam Smit welcomes the SST Salish Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

W

ith honours to the Coast Salish First Nations, Saam Smit Towage Canada Inc. welcomed their newest tug during a ceremony at ABD Enterprises in mid-October. The SST Salish joins the fleet of 22 tugboats already operating on the West Coast, serving seven locations — Vancouver, New Westminster, Prince Rupert, Kitimat, Stewart, Squamish and Port Mellon.

The new tug is the second built by ABD Enterprises in North Vancouver, following the SST Capilano which was launched last year.

“The new tugboat SST Salish is framed within our fleet’s renovation plan, which contemplates more powerful vessels to provide services to increasingly larger ships,” said Frans Tjallingii, General Manager of SST in one of his last statements on behalf of the company. “We are certain that, with this addition, we are meeting the efficiency and safety requirements needed by our clients.”

As mentioned, the SST Salish name pays tribute to the Coast Salish First Nations, recognizing their traditional territories that span from northern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland areas to western Washington State. With the new tug to be put into service in these territories, it is fitting that the name connotes the guardians of the seas and the environment in which they operate.

Ben Thompson (Lloyd’s Register), Al Dawson (ABD Enterprises) and Frans Tjallingii (formerly Saam SMIT Towage) stand proudly in front of the SST Salish before its launch.

Specifications of the SST Salish:

• Length: 21.69m • Breadth: 10.67m • Depth Mld: 3.96m • Gross Tons 198 • Fuel Capacity: 36,368 L • Power: 2 X MTU 16V4000M61, 2000 kW each • Bollard Pull: 65MT • Auxiliaries: 2 X John Deere 4045 DMF, 40 kW

• Drive Units: 2 X Rolls-Royce US205 FP Z-Drives • Winch (fwd): DMT TW-H300KN, 180 MT braking power, 30 MT pulling power • Towline: Amsteel Blue 200M X 64mm, 300MT breaking strain • Class: Lloyds +100A1 Tug, Coastal Service, LMC, UMS • Voyages: NC2 • Accommodation for 5

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

Saam SMIT’s newest tug — SST Salish — was launched in mid-October.

30 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

OP-ED: CABOTAGE

How to win the war on cabotage

By Terry Engler President, I.L.W.U. Local 400

C

anada’s maritime workers are fighting a long, slow war in defence of cabotage. To win, we need a final, effective battle plan. And we need it urgently.

The fight to reserve trade between Canadian ports for Canadian vessels manned by Canadian crew is being waged against a troubled background: The fierce competition for cargo and contracts. The growing challenge of finding experienced crew. The frustration of watching critical shore-side and regulatory jobs filled through necessity by nonCanadians. Deafening blowback from communities who argue that industry has no social licence to grow — or even operate. Fury on all three coasts from citizens convinced the trade that built their nation now threatens to destroy their marine environment — and that its day is done.

We know there’s a simple answer

Canada’s maritime industry commands the single, most efficient tool in battling back all of those forces. The solution: ensuring there’s a trained, qualified, dedicated Canadian seafarer on deck.

We are the workers, and the industry, who know our waters best. We know the economy of our country and that it is best served through responsible national trade.

We know our communities. We understand the urgency of protecting them and their environment.

We also know that all of these things we value are under fierce attack. Canada has now signed on to the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) with Europe, which will substantially

For those few seafarers and employers who manage to survive CETA, the Emerson Report now under consideration by Ottawa will be the final blow. weaken the cabotage laws that protect our industry, jobs and waters. Unchallenged, it will set a precedent for future trade deals. For those few seafarers and employers who manage to survive CETA, the Emerson Report now under consideration by Ottawa will be the final blow.

Its proposed changes to the Canada Transportation Act would fully dismantle cabotage and sell off our coastal trade.

Cabotage laws matter

Under the Coasting Trade Act (our cabotage law), Canadian commercial activities are reserved for Canadian-registered, duty-paid ships — unless a suitable and adequate Canadian-registered ship is not available for that activity or capable of performing the required task. The Act aims to support domestic marine interests by reserving the coasting trade of Canada to Canadian-registered vessels and Canadian crews.

The protection provided by the Act has allowed the industry to survive and grow. We have healthy marine industries in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Our maritime schools are busy training the next generation of Canadian seafarers. Jobs in the industry in Canada pay good salaries and provide employment for hundreds of Canadian citizens who support their families and contribute

to their communities. Workers, families and employers buy locally and pay taxes municipally, federally and provincially.

The ability of law to underpin economic security matters in many ways. Canada had one of the largest merchant marines in the world after the Second World War. But the government chose to gut it, leaving Canada — a vast trading nation with three coasts — no foreign-going vessels.

To this day, virtually no Canadians work deep-sea.

Our third coast matters. The Arctic is opening rapidly to marine trade and the best way for Canada to secure our claim and territorial rights in the Arctic is to have a robust marine industry employing local citizens throughout the territories.

That means increasing industry training opportunities now to be prepared for this new work as it arises. And it means convincing Canadians that work will be theirs when their training is complete.

Working at sea is a compelling ideal. But the reality is a tough sell when Canadians are watching Ottawa waive cabotage and approve import of temporary foreign workers to fill 50 jobs on a cable ship permanently stationed at Victoria’s Ogden Point. The contract stretches until 2024 — and should be providing dozens of local seafarers with a decent portion of their working lives.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 31

OP-ED: CABOTAGE Local knowledge matters. We are rightly worried that Ottawa is dead set on killing the cabotage laws that respect it.

Canadians across the country, rattled by the loss of jobs and concerns for community, understand where the solutions lie. They applauded Ottawa when it provided a significant boost to the shipbuilding industry by tendering major contracts for our Coast Guard and Navy on both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.

Shipbuilding — a proud, historic, community-supporting industry — is held together in part by the Coasting Trade Act’s requirement that Canadian vessels be used in coastal trade.

Short sea shipping — moving goods over short distances on marine routes — is embraced around the world as productive, efficient and environmentally sustainable transport. A single barge loaded with product or containers can

remove as many as 100 trucks from our congested roads, and a well-organized short sea shipping regime will remove tons of greenhouse gases from our environment. Canada is home to some of the best navigable waters in the world and we need to use these natural resources for our benefit and for the benefit of our environment. Canadians understand this. Canadians embrace this as a tool to build good jobs and a strong economy.

But Canadians worry about our environment — especially our rivers and oceans. Many have sincere concerns about the marine industry. Many people in B.C. believe that a marine environmental disaster is not only likely, but imminent. In reality, B.C.’s maritime safety record is exemplary — due in

large part to the Coasting Trade Act and its requirement that ships and crews be Canadian. Canadian companies are rooted here, buy here and understand the need to protect our environment.

Canadian seafarers are the country’s eyes and ears for the water. We know that safety training is as much for the environment as for ourselves.

And we are right to be proud of our importance. In mid-October, a foreign tug carrying foreign crew was given a waiver on requirements that it take a Canadian pilot aboard while transiting the coast. It ran aground in mid-October off Bella Bella, spilling 200,000 litres of diesel as it sank.

Local knowledge matters. We are rightly worried that Ottawa is dead set on killing the cabotage laws that respect it.

Two years ago, David Emerson was asked to review the Canada Transportation Act with an eye to improving Canada’s long-term, economic wellbeing. His report, the result of select stakeholder consultations that excluded

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OP-ED: CABOTAGE organized labour, is now in Ottawa’s hands. Adopted, it would in fact cripple our economic health.

Its section on marine transport argues that the sector in general, and short sea in particular, are important for Canada now and into the future. But it dismisses the value of the Coasting Trade Act and uncritically supports international competition as a positive to move the sector forward.

We are all familiar with international shipping companies and Flags of Convenience. We watched as European countries abandoned their own cabotage laws, only to watch good maritime jobs lost to their citizens and handed to foreign nationals who are treated poorly and paid even worse. We are sadly familiar with the fact that foreign nationals sail under constant threat of termination and blacklisting should they stand up for doing the safe, decent and responsible way that Canadians are free to insist on.

International takeover of our coasts should worry industry

The long-term consequence of giving up cabotage is a complete loss of marine expertise and knowledge. If Canadians are not employed as ratings (or unlicensed seafarers), they have little or no ability to climb the ladder to become officers. Or to fill the highly-skilled, shore-side jobs that trade also depends on. Or to step confidently and assertively into the regulatory roles that hold safe shipping together and levels the playing field for all parties.

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Emerson makes his argument in a series of seductive steps: promote short sea shipping as a solution to pollution; modernize recruiting and training for Canadian seafarers — and yet certify foreign workers; phase out the Act entirely; remove all duties on imported or specialized vessels; and toss Canadian-flag operators to the wolves of international operations.

According to Emerson, we should promote marine training in Canada even as we destroy our marine industry. We should recruit and train Canadian seafarers and yet fast-track certifying and hiring of foreign workers. We are also assured that removing duties on imported vessels will somehow help Canadian shipbuilders — the ones with nothing but the thin armour of cabotage laws to protect them now — already struggling as national governments around the globe heavily subsidize their own industries.

We know better. Industry knows better. Canada’s thousands of maritime workers and the families and communities they are part of know better too.

Canada’s maritime industry should join with us and tell them in a loud, proud voice that there is a solution to this looming assault on our jobs, our economy, our communities and our environment.

It’s simple: Leave Canadians on deck.

Terry Engler is President of I.L.W.U. Local 400. He can be reached at ilwu400@telus.net.

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December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 33

TUGBOAT SAFETY

Common-sense safety tips for tugs

By John Lewis, FNI, CRSP Seafire Training

Because tugboats are relatively small, we often forget that they do contain “confined spaces” — as opposed to the merely confined areas below decks.

T

ug or towboats are unusual; they have the power of larger vessels, yet are “boats.” They are heavy, usually steel, and very stable — “stiff” — and rock violently at times.

Much may be written of towing; length of line, lost lines, broken lines and the dangers of girding (girting). However, I am not a tugboat guy and my experiences of towing mostly concern small craft, towing and being towed.

So, if I am not experienced with towboats, what is there to discuss? I have worked on and around towboats when in service and when in dry dock for service or repair. I have noticed some things which struck me as worth remembering; not all points are unique to tugboats but

all are relevant. These brief observations may be addressed under: • Fires and evacuation; • Confined spaces; • Safety when under way; and • Emergency station bills.

Fire

Fire drills, properly performed, should identify and address issues that will be problematic during a real incident. I have noticed that people frequently underestimate the time required to evacuate a space, especially berths and engine rooms.

I tested this by putting smoke machines into spaces and having the crew escape.

Despite knowing what was to happen, and knowing the way out, they were

34 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

usually working blind before they reached the exit. “It all happened so fast,” was the usual comment.

Yet, while things were rapidly becoming hectic inside, it usually took longer for the skipper to notice the smoke from the outside. If you wait until the wheelhouse person sees the smoke, it may be too late.

Finally, many crew were unaware of where and how to activate fixed fire extinguishing systems; and often did not know how to close off ventilation and fuel for the space.

Conclusions: practise getting out of spaces in darkness and/or smoke. Practise raising the alarm. Practise scanning all parts of the vessel, all the time. Know where and how to activate fire extinguishing systems.

Confined spaces

Because tugboats are relatively small, we often forget that they do contain “confined spaces” — as opposed to the merely confined areas below decks. Mostly, such spaces as fuel, water and ballast tanks are entered only during dry dock. “Grey areas” include lazarettes and steering gear spaces.

Hazards are real — people have died when septic tanks have malfunctioned — but risks are generally low. However, simply getting someone out of a space is more difficult than one might think. One training exercise I use is to get a “casualty” from a cofferdam tank to the wharf. It became a multi-stage event; bottom of tank to midway; midday to entrance (inside steering gear room); steering gear room to aft deck; aft deck to float; float to wharf.

Conclusion: Practise casualty removal from different spaces onboard. You do not need a lot of special equipment, but

TUGBOAT SAFETY

Safety training needs to include the practice of getting crew out of confined spaces.

you do need to practise. (For most cases, a 4:1 tackle, harness, slings and a backboard will suffice — provided you have a hauling point. Casualty removal does require practice, but competency comes quickly.)

Safety on passage

Usually, we focus on lines under tension and use of winches, but what issues should we address when making way?

Amazingly enough, crew members are lost overboard when going on deck during passage (for a smoke or other reason — see tugboat Regent, March 5, 2009, when the Master fell overboard and treaded water for 70 minutes before rescue). Those bulwarks are low and the vessel can rock suddenly.

The vessel’s doors and hatches are closed to maintain watertight integrity, so who will notice when someone goes over?

A crew member is missing: what do you do? If towing, the ability to turn or stop may be greatly limited, depending on water depth, proximity of land and traffic.

If the crew member is not wearing a PFD, the chances of recovery are lessened. Our waters are cold. A “simple” MOB manoeuvre may not be easily executed with a tugboat, despite its own manoeuvrability.

Dropping the tow may be necessary and all this takes time.

Conclusions: Know where all crew members are at all times, and don’t go on deck without telling another crew member. Wear PFDs when on deck — and wear the PFD properly, fully fastened.

Practise MOB manoeuvres and assess how they might be done in different circumstances and conditions. Practise recovering a member from the water; on

some tugs the freeboard and the rubber fenders impede access.

Emergency station bills

One of the most disconcerting things I have noticed, especially in large companies, is the Emergency Station Bill or Muster List. Often a perfectly good set of actions will be copied from a larger vessel

and posted for, say, a tug with a threemember crew — Skipper, Engineer and Deckhand/Cook. Actions are outlined for every emergency, and duties for each position. Except, what do you do when one of the members is missing or incapacitated?

What if the Skipper is MOB, as happened on the Regent?

Conclusions: Review your emergency stations. Test them for usability at sea, alongside. Test them with one person missing, then two. See what emergency actions are doable with only two on board, or one. Then place equipment where it can best be accessed in an emergency, not just where it “seemed okay.”

I trust the foregoing comments may be of help and may promote some fresh approaches to on board safety on tugboats.

John Lewis is a safety and risk management consultant. He has taught marine firefighting for land-based firefighters to many departments in Canada, Ireland and the U.S. and is a Master Mariner with a chemical tanker background.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 35

RISK MANAGEMENT

Managing risk... really?

By Nigel Greenwood Greenwood Maritime Solutions Ltd.

This common misperception of risk makes the mistake of accepting, as a virtual certainty, the worst possible outcome.

M

odern western society is a curious dream world — a place in which government is expected to observe, legislate, protect and even compensate for all sorts of risks, while at the same time leaving citizens free to indulge in any manner of hazardous activity they choose for themselves personally. So, naturally, there is much to debate when one talks about “managing risk in the marine environment.” Who is doing the managing, of what risk, for whose profit (or protection), and with what degree of certainty? That this risk management (RM) may take place in a domain that is, by turns, a medium of livelihood (for people as well as marine animals) or a highway for commerce (another type of livelihood) means that the subject is well-charged with stronglyheld positions.

This multifaceted issue thus provides ample scope for an interesting and spirited professional conference. Such will be the case indeed from May 10 to 12, 2017, when the Nautical Institute BC Branch (NIBC) hosts their biannual conference on the theme: “Managing Marine Risks in the Pacific Northwest.” The purpose of this article is to preview some of the issues and to stimulate interest in this complex subject.

What is it all about?

Everyone has some picture of risk.

This often takes the form of a wellknown undesirable outcome. Indeed, the notion of risk is so well connected with disaster that the names of spectacular

failures become synonymous in the public mind with, and a type of shorthand for, the risks of entire industry segments — think: “Titanic,” “Exxon Valdez,” and “Deepwater Horizon.”

This common misperception of risk makes the mistake of accepting, as a virtual certainty, the worst possible outcome.

In fact, the taking of “risk” is not a choice between certainties, but a choice between uncertainties. To take a risk is not to accept fate, but rather to tempt it. In fact, the English word derives from the Italian risicare, which is “to dare.” Daring is very personal and circumstantial. It occurs, therefore, that people who may be daring in their personal lives, for example when contemplating the momentary thrill of the drop on a bungee-jump, could also be quite risk-adverse when the “dare” is too complex to comprehend directly and/or the pay-off more remote.

Where one sits with respect to any particular risk is largely based on what one stands to gain or lose in the dare. Some organizations must take risks to prosper. This is especially so in the field of commercial enterprise where innovation and development must explore unknown territory to create and dominate new markets for significant gain. Other organizations, conversely, may have a more well-developed sense of what they have to lose. Governments are among the latter; while they consider themselves responsible for innovation and job stimulation, they know that public failures are not so easily “written-off ” as will be a poor investment.

36 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

The public, if they are not intimately familiar with a given object of risk appreciation, may be challenged to find their place on this spectrum of risk-tolerance.

What is the appropriate balance between profitability and avoidance of harm?

Often, the test is not just “balance of probability” as in a favourable outcome of investment (more profit than loss), but very high confidence that no harm will come to oneself or others. In the extreme position, this could amount to insistence on a virtual guarantee of no harm. This is called the Precautionary Principle, which is often used in policy decisions where extensive scientific knowledge may be lacking — it places the onus on the risk-taker that no significant harm will result, regardless of gains associated with the risk.

Although the Precautionary Principle approach may be appropriate in various risk applications, it is a very difficult standard to implement practically. It is especially so in a complex economic, industrial, environmental and socially relevant enterprise such as shipping.

However, perception is reality: even if there is just a widespread perception of harm, this must be mitigated and public confidence raised to an agreed level. This is as much about improving confidence through knowledge as it is about diminishing risk. This is why the NIBC conference topic is relevant today, and will continue to be so.

Who takes the risk?

The process of risk management has become highly systematized in the last 50 years. Increasing mechanization of public transport since the 1800s undoubtedly had an impact on this evolution. The

RISK MANAGEMENT Photo: BC Shipping News

science of risk grew with the development of operations research in the Second World War, in which scarce military assets could be deployed (weighted) for the best effect against uncertain (unseen) adversaries. Later, refinements in the insurance industry in the period 19551964 also drove development of RM. On the scientific side, the technical innovations of the nuclear power industry and the space race also demanded appropriate recognition and handling of new and largely unknown risks.

Nowadays, there is scarcely a field of human endeavour that is not required to have a Risk Management Plan/System. In many cases these take the form of a Safety Management System. This is explicitly so in the shipping industry with the requirement for all SOLAS ships (those sailing internationally) to comply with the International Safety Management Code (ISM Code). In Googling “x Risk Management,” one quickly finds out how pervasively this term is used: “playground” substituted for “x” yields 1,230 hits, with “beach”=2,190, “driving”=12,300, and “home”=23,700.

With the search terms defined more loosely (i.e., without the confining quotation marks), the search for Home Risk Management yields 204 million hits!

Comparable searches for Ship RM yield 4,190 and 15.2 million hits respectively.

A very large number of companies now specialize in qualifying, quantifying and “managing” risk. This commoditization of the RM process tends to obscure the fact that risk taking is a natural human process. Many people pursue risk to generate a sense of fleeting danger, thrill and challenge. Gambling is the oldest example of this kind of risk-taking activity, either as a “game” or as a serious financial occupation. Taking it further in the financial domain, many investments may carry the connotation of a gamble, but with the element of chance eliminated by research and good judgement (at least, that is what the successful investors will tell us!)

Other risk takers, although perhaps not any more risk adverse, see the problem through the opposite lens: the issue is not how to maximize gains, but how to minimize losses. This may be so in military strategy (especially for inferior forces in a defensive position/situation), but is more particularly so for safety systems

Technical, procedural, regulatory and social mitigations go hand in hand…

engineering. An investment strategy that favours protection of capital and guaranteed returns, rather than high-yield (high risk) speculation also fits this mold.

Whether taking a high-risk/high-gain or low-risk/no-loss approach, a RM system may have to consider contributory factors in all the different dimensions of a given enterprise or activity. This may be operational/procedural, that is, having mitigations (means of limiting risk) in the “how” of which an activity is conducted (e.g., navigation as a human activity). Or, the dimension of risk could have technical, financial or legal elements of adverse consequence or limitation. And there may also be less tangible risks that

attach to reputational risks, which result in losses in the social/political sphere (not always insignificant).

The shipping industry undertakes risk in all these domains. This is risk in which individual ships, shipping companies and associated industries all have a share. And so do we, who rely on the free flow of goods around the world, largely by sea.

How much can we stand?

As much as risk tolerance may be a personal issue, risk is not just a matter of “gut feel.” In fact, just as the systems of risk management have become more developed, so also have the means of determining what is the risk that must be managed.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 37

RISK MANAGEMENT Risk in a formal sense is usually conceived in the equation “risk = likelihood of occurrence x consequence.” These two terms, likelihood and consequence, can be treated on a subjective, relative scale (say very low to very high in five steps) or subject to detailed scientific and statistical analysis to determine more precise and objective measures of risk. Statistical methods are favoured in applications where the contributing factors can be isolated for individual analysis, or when a single outcome can be forecast from a very large accumulation of evidence. An example of the latter is the case where different factors or conditions are attributed to similarly increased chance of death. For example: smoking 1.4 cigarettes, drinking a half-litre of wine, travelling 300 miles by car, or living within five miles of a nuclear reactor for 50 years all bear the same risk (one-in-one-million increased chance of death).

In most cases, however, the consequence will not be as easily identifiable or meaningful (to a human audience) as the stark measure of death, and will have quite different values to varied stakeholders. A very topical example illustrates this: a ship-sinking on the B.C. coast has very widely ranging values of impact in the human, operational, financial, legal, environmental, social and political domains. There is, in some cases, an effort to reconcile disparate consequences to a common yardstick, usually cost, but this is less than satisfactory when trying to compare human impacts with pure financial losses. The weighting of certain impacts can also be quite different depending on where one sits physically; the consequences of a spill (both immediate and long-term) look different to a coastal community close to the scene, than to a more remote community that depends on affordable coastal shipping for its sustenance, or to a well-supplied suburbanite in Vancouver who “values” a pristine coastal environment but is otherwise unaffected directly by either the spill or any resulting constraints/costs on the shipping industry.

What can we do about it?

In the end, it not just about how the risk is assessed, but what one does about it. Through whatever means is employed 38 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

in determining the risk, whether qualitative-relative or scientifically precise, the agents “managing” the risk must answer three questions: (1) what can be changed?

(2) how much will this affect the outcome? and (3) at what cost? Furthermore, these questions must be placed in the context of what is in that particular agent’s power to change, and what are his or her incentives to act.

None of this is simple, and less of it is obvious. In an industry as well-established and regulated as shipping, the incentives for efficiency, reliability and self-sufficiency — while sometimes competing with each other — have assured that much “low-hanging fruit” of easily achieved safety and effectiveness improvement has already been plucked. Much of this has taken place under regulatory pressure arising from previous mistakes.

But increasingly, companies are being pressed to demonstrate, through their own risk management programs, a proactive approach to identifying hazards and limiting exposure before accidents happen. The process of Pilotage Risk Management Methodology employed by Canada’s Pilotage Authorities is just one example of this, in which contemplated changes to pilotage regulations or practices are subject to expert analysis to determine the net effect on the risk calculation.

Risk mitigation is complex in another way also: there is no “silver bullet” answer.

Nor is there a single mitigation that will prevent reoccurrences of the accident one wishes to avoid. Or if there is, it comes at a known cost of significant expense, or an unknown cost of shifting the risk to another casual chain. Consider driving to the store to buy milk: “don’t drive” may not be an option for everyone unless they are going to give up shopping altogether; “ride your bike” only substitutes one risk for another; “don’t drink milk” only moves the risk into an entirely different risk category of nutritional alternatives; and so on. Similarly for the shipping industry … a grasping of easy solutions ignores the complexity of the problem.

A diligent and effective search for risk mitigation must start with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of the system and comprehension of the related factors. Each one of these must be examined to determine how much it affects the

RISK MANAGEMENT outcome and what scope for improvement exists. It may be that a small improvement in several successive factors may compound the mitigation in a way far more significant than a large (and expensive) improvement in one more publicly visible factor.

Every instance of risk allows many approaches to the problem. In the same way that diversification of financial holdings protects against singular devastating losses, prudent risk management covers many options also. Apart from avoidance of risk (sometimes but not always an option), there are material, human factors and social dimensions of the risk-chain to be addressed. The material elements include all measures to ensure reliability, including redundancy of design and fail-safe modes of operation. The human factors comprise all aspects of manmachine interface, individual (intellectual and professional) competence and physiological capacity, including fatigue.

And the social aspects could cover all the contributing pressures that incentivize

risk-taking, which includes taking shortcuts, or liberties with established rules, over-valuing one’s own skill, or just being ignorant to the risks one casually accepts for oneself, but also by extension, for others. Training for risk awareness and operational risk management (i.e., good and prudent decision-making under duress) is a very important aspect of this latter element.

After the event…

One final aspect of risk management is the consequence management — once “stuff happens,” what can you do about it? This is the part that most people do get: the financial costs, the legal ramifications, the mutual recriminations in the press. But there is more to this than “punishing the guilty parties” or “making the story go away.” Any realistic appraisal of risk has to recognize that there remains a finite probability of an adverse outcome, and we need to accept that as our part in the equation of risk and benefit, plan for it, deal with it without emotion

or grandstanding, and move on then to further examine what can be improved.

Even good risk management is not a zerorisk guarantee.

The BC Branch of the Nautical Institute particularly aims in its May conference on Managing Marine Risks in the Pacific Northwest to address this last issue: how do we improve the culture of mutual understanding and continuous improvement of risk in the maritime domain of B.C. and the neighbouring coastline? This is a subject of vital importance, not just for sailors and environmentalists, for ship owners, port operators and regulators, but for all those who live in B.C. and see our future prosperity linked to our province’s privileged geographical position and its vibrant and competitive marine industries.

RAdm Nigel Greenwood, RCN (Ret’ d) runs the consultancy Greenwood Maritime Solutions Ltd, dealing with operational and risk-assessment studies in the maritime domain. He is also the Chair and conference planning leader for the NIBC.

NIBC CONFERENCE 2017

Managing Marine Risks in the Pacific Northwest May 10-12, 2017 Victoria, BC

Hosted by

www.nibcconference2017.com

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 39 info@nibcconference2017.com

CLASS SOCIETY

LR adapts and evolves to meet the needs of a changing industry Since moving back to the U.K., Brown has joined LR’s executive in looking at ways to best structure the organization to meet the needs of the industry...

S

ince its inception in 1760, Lloyd’s Register has been committed to providing an independent, third-party assurance of quality and safety. The commitment has never wavered, and indeed, it is the catalyst for some of the fundamental changes within Lloyd’s Register (LR), reflecting the evolution of the maritime industry in both technology and location of activity. During an interview with Nick Brown, Marine and Offshore Director, it’s apparent that the executive of LR have been watching the trends, doing their research, and aligning their resources to ensure the continued effective and efficient delivery of service that has defined the classification society for over 250 years.

Background

Nick Brown was appointed LR’s Marine and Offshore Director, responsible for LR’s entire marine and offshore business, in January 2016. He succeeds Tom Boardley, who is now Executive Vice President and Global Head of Corporate and External Affairs (see the BCSN interview with Boardley in the July/August 2016 issue) — all part of a larger transition with new CEO Alistair Marsh implementing a refreshed approach to LR’s leadership.

Brown joined LR in 1996 after graduating from Nottingham University as a Chartered Mechanical Engineer. With extensive experience in new construction, ship repair and conversion projects, Brown’s first seven years working on plan approvals and surveys took him to countries in Northern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In 2004, he returned to London to work on the development of LR’s Hull Integrity service. “At that time,” Brown recalls, “The Tanker Management Selfassessment scheme had been brought out and it called for owners and operators

carrying energy cargo to have their own internal inspection regime for hull structures. So, LR developed specific inspection guidelines and provided some training for crew to perform effective cargo tank and ballast tank inspections.

The service was launched in 2006.”

The experience gained from the Hull Integrity service program provided Brown with the right background and skills to become LR’s segment manager for their global oil tanker business. Part of his new portfolio included making sure LR and its clients were well-positioned when the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) launched their common structural rules in 2006.

Brown’s next move within LR was to Shanghai, China, where he first led the sales team, then, after signing contracts for over 400 new builds in one year, became the country manager, tasked with figuring out how to deliver it all.

“This was in 2008,” Brown said, “and at the peak of China’s economic growth, which was stimulating a massive demand for both raw materials and the ships that carry them.”

After seven years leading LR’s activities in China, Brown moved back to the U.K. to assume the responsibilities of the Director for Business Development and Innovation, then Marine Chief Operating Officer and now LR’s Marine and Offshore Director.

three regions to a six-area service delivery model, which meant we were better aligned to serve core markets in each part of the world.”

Originally, LR’s services were split into the Americas; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (with a region covering Iceland to Pakistan); and Asia (which stretched from the Indian border to New Zealand).

Recognizing the diverse range of business, client requirements and cultures, LR is now sectioned into six areas: the Americas remain as one area; North Asia (China, Korea and Japan); South Asia, Middle East and Africa; South Europe (Italy and southward); North Europe (everything north of Italy, including mainland Europe); and, because LR has always had a large presence in the historical centre of the shipping industry, the U.K. and Ireland operate as an individual area.

“The six area managers who are responsible for our day-to-day service delivery, client relationships and business growth all report to me,” Brown said, noting that he chose not to fill his old role as Chief Operating Officer. “The rest of my team is based at our Global Technology Centre in Southampton, where we’ve transitioned from our traditional home in London to

Responding to industry changes

Since moving back to the U.K., Brown has joined LR’s executive in looking at ways to best structure the organization to meet the needs of the industry and the innovations occurring. “One of the first changes we made was to our operating structure,” he said. “We went from

40 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Nick Brown, Marine and Offshore Director, Lloyd's Register.

CLASS SOCIETY a new building based on the University of Southampton campus. It puts us in a better position to act as a conduit between academia and leading-edge research.”

In bringing the offshore and marine sectors together, Brown and his team have been seeing synergies that have allowed for more cost-effective operations. “The tasks, whether it’s classification, verification, certification or consultancy in the energy business is almost identical to our core marine business. So the skills our colleagues need to deliver those services all have very similar training requirements — whether it’s plan approval activity, inspecting components and plates of steel, surveying in a shipyard or inspecting the assets for an FPSO, an oil tanker, a container ship or a cruise ship. This has led to additional synergies found within sales, research, and operational management.”

Another main task that Brown undertook was to split the head office into two functions — governance, that maintains their rules, statutory instructions and survey procedures as well as the training of surveyors and the continual upgrading of software tools used to carry out survey procedures; and innovation, focused on working with sales teams and account managers around the world to identify challenges and develop pilot projects that can provide solutions.

are our core roles in everything we do,” Brown said, “these top the list of themes.

We have to be confident that a more connected ship isn’t inherently less safe than a ship that isn’t connected; and we also have to make sure that there are no concerns from a security angle — to ensure systems are not compromised through that connectivity.”

The third theme looks at autonomy.

While there’s already a huge amount of autonomy within the industry, the potential evolution of it extends to unmanned vessels. “I believe you’ll see a pilot project with unmanned harbour vessels within the next two years,” Brown said. “Not a busy harbour but rather one which is isolated to minimize the risks.” Brown used the analogy of the mining industry where driverless trucks load iron ore onto driverless trains, which are then taken to the export terminal where loading machinery is controlled from a distance. “We have the technology but we have to start with lowerrisk projects to prove the concept,” he said.

Another theme looks at conditionbased maintenance. “Currently, because of class and statutory flag regulations, ships are inspected at set time intervals — annual inspections; inspections every five years for the engine room; dry docking every three years (or five if new), etc. So it’s time based.” Brown describes a process

Value-add research

In addition to being driven by the market, the projects managed by the Innovation team are designed to add value and be delivered at the right time.

Brown used the recent partnership with QinetiQ to address cyber security to illustrate his point. The project with QinetiQ, which has a very strong footprint in the naval sector (and was originally part of the U.K. Ministry of Defence), combines the expertise of QinetiQ around security system integration and connectivity with LR’s knowledge of the commercial aspects of the marine industry. “At present, they’re looking at how navies implement protocols for warships and whether these could be applied as best practice procedures for commercial shipping companies.”

The project falls within five key themes that focus on cyber-enabled ships.

“Recognizing that safety and security

where assured data could be provided to class societies for review and, if results are within threshold limits set by the class society, the inspection could be postponed. “It will take some time to develop this kind of process,” Brown continued.

“We would have to work closely with flag states but I think it’s an opportunity to be more efficient. That’s not to say we would be performing fewer inspections, but it would mean we could use the 2,000 surveyors we have around the world in a much more targeted manner.”

The fifth theme focuses on using all of the data from a cyber-enabled ship to drive performance improvements in both fleet and assets. “It sounds a bit strange, but at the moment, no one is doing a lot of analysis of the data being collected.

Many companies are collecting a lot of data but they don’t have a data strategy.

There are also questions about who owns the data — whether it’s the OEM or the ship owner; and how do we get that data from the asset back into the design cycle at the shipyard?

“As an independent stakeholder, we see a role for LR to play as a host for that data, to be able to analyze it to identify trends that can be then fed back into our rules and the design cycle so the industry can learn and look for better efficiencies in performance.”

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CLASS SOCIETY

Allseas' Pioneering Spirit — capable of transporting over 48,000 tonnes of topsides for offshore platforms — is one of the largest offshore engineering projects undertaken by LR recently.

Technology on the rise

As ships become increasingly sophisticated, Brown sees a potential impact that may even require changes to the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention. “We are moving nearer to a situation where the equipment onboard will need highlyspecialized maintenance. Crew on board would serve to operate the equipment and vessel rather than maintain them.

Through the connectivity and data collection, maintenance would be managed by professionals employed by the OEM. The role of the deck officer wouldn’t be affected but I do see the role of an engineering officer changing.”

Brown was quick to note that these concepts have not necessarily been proven in today’s economic market but he does see the potential for required onboard skills to evolve.

maritime and commercial law on canada’s west coast W. Gary Wharton Catherine A. Hofmann Russell Robertson

Peter Swanson David S. Jarrett Michael M. Soltynski

Thomas S. Hawkins Tom Beasley Megan Nicholls

David K. Jones Connie Risi Roger Tangry

Mark Gill associate counsel: Lorna Pawluk tel: 604 . 6 8 1 . 1 7 0 0 fax: 604.681.1788 emergency response: 6 0 4 . 6 8 1. 17 0 0 address: 1500–570 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6C 3P1 web: www.bernardllp.ca

42 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

When asked, out of all the innovation research being undertaken, which holds the most promise, Brown felt that data analytics, with the highest probability of a direct commercial payback, was the one to watch. There are, however, equally promising, albeit further into the future, technologies that will continue to change the industry.

One such area is nanotechnology. “The LR Foundation has been working with the University of Manchester and they have invented “graphene” — a single atom layer of carbon,” Brown said. “You can grow a layer of graphene on top of steel and it doesn’t corrode, is stronger than steel and more flexible. You wouldn’t need to coat the hull.”

Another area where LR is getting quite involved is in ship recycling. “We’ve had a number of ship recycling yards request certification from us — especially in India and China. The vessel owners also want a surveyor in attendance during the process to provide confidence that the ship is being recycled according to expectations.”

And it’s not only ships that require recycling but offshore rigs as well, especially with many coming to the end of their viable life.

“There’s a lot of debate currently in the U.K. and Norway on how to recycle the hundreds of offshore assets in the North Sea,” Brown continued. “Two of our largest offshore engineering projects that were just completed focus on getting the rig and its parts back to shore for recycling. Allseas’ Pioneering Spirit, for example, which we classed, is effectively two VLCC-sized hulls able to support installation and decommissioning transport of over 48,000 tonnes of topsides for offshore platforms.”

Brown further noted that these kinds of projects often don’t get enough profile as to how they could help industries around the world. “It’s something that we all need to think more about — the end of life of the asset and not just the new technology and exciting designs.”

And to that end, Brown and the entire Lloyd’s Register team remain committed to continually adapt, advance new research, and pursue their ongoing mandate to provide assurance of quality and safety to the maritime industry. BCSN

SURVEYORS Surveyor’s diary

Summer 2016

By Tim Ellis

DNP Marine Surveyors

O

n any given day, a marine surveyor will be inspecting, measuring, weighing and reporting on a wide variety of cargoes and vessels. Surveyor Tim Ellis, offers the following insights for BC Shipping News readers to gain greater understanding of the roles a surveyor can play.

The trouble with mega-yachts

W

hile smaller yachts have enjoyed positioning services for years, larger pleasure yachts (i.e., those in the range of 25 to 40 metres) can now enjoy this service without having to travel half-way around the world for their owners and charterers to experience diverse cruising grounds. A growing number of ship owners operate specialist heavy lift services with handy-size vessels in the 15,000-tonne range, many with cranes capable of handling lifts of 75 to 275 tonnes, often operating in tandem, capable of handling vessels in excess of 200 tonnes and well over 100 feet in overall length. Professional yacht captains love this positioning arrangement: less wear and tear on machinery according to some, and a lot more time in port with no commensurate drop in wages.

As the warranty surveyor, it is my job to ensure the load and off-load of the yacht runs according to plan.

However, and there is always a “however” or an “if” somewhere if you look hard enough. High-speed motor yachts depend on three major elements to achieve high speeds: powerful engines right aft driving water jets or v-drives, a long water line and lightweight construction. In fact, these lightweight high-performance vessels may not be suitable for the ocean passages commonly undertaken by their displacement counterparts due to their unsuitability for operations at slow speeds

and in difficult weather conditions, making them ideal candidates for positioning by freighter rather than on their own bottoms.

Few of these craft are accompanied by their own purpose-built cradles, and almost none of them have alternative lifting arrangements such as pad eyes on their decks. Instead, vessel operators rely on independent loadmasters who follow the ocean-going vessels to each port, superintending lifts on and off the ocean-going vessels. A displacement

motor yacht with machinery roughly amidship can be lifted easily with slings fore’n aft, but not so the high speed one — the after sling takes an unequal share of the lifted burden and the forward sling is not forward enough to support the relatively stiff but fragile hull form.

Crushed chines, buckled plating and distorted frames are the result. Repairing these damages is problematic as few yards can handle the size and complexity of these vessels resulting in delays and costly repairs.

A typical high-speed Alloy Motor Yacht of 25 metres with engines developing around 3,500 hp. Note the relatively steep propeller shaft angle permitted by the use of v-drives, the engines are located immediately over the shafts.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 43

SURVEYOR’S DIARY

Transporting wine: another look

W

ine, whether boxed, bagged, or bottled, usually arrives in bulk, sometimes in specially built tankers which ply the U.S. West Coast and South Australia to Europe route, but usually in stainless steel tankcontainers, and more recently in 20,000litre bladders of woven polypropylene designed to fit inside a standard 20-foot box.

In preparation for shipment, a standard container is lined, and bulkheads installed to restrain the bladder from self-damaging movement. Damage to these bladders, when it occurs, may appear in the form of leakage as a result of a puncture or a loose fitting. Most wines shipped by bladder or tank tend to be plonk but not always. One recent, high-value, wine shipment arrived in port dripping wine from the lower door seals, generating much excitement amongst the longshoremen, and requiring the transfer of the cargo from it’s damaged bladder to a replacement.

This requires stringent cleanliness and careful planning. In this case, a milk tanker was prepared and brought to the transfer station to handle the transfer.

Milk tanker between the defective unit and the new container with bag installed and fully loaded.

Ballast water regulations

T

he new ballast water regulations are receiving publicity, and testing and enforcement procedures are being conducted by PSC. The dilemma for ship owners is how to deal with ballast that fails to meet the minimum requirements of the regulations.

For example, a vessel arrives in port and all or a portion of its ballast is determined to be out-of-specification.

These appear to be the choices: employ a barge to receive the undischargeable ballast and pay for it to be received into shore-based infrastructure such as sewage or storm water treatment facilities, pay for the barge to be towed

A fully loaded woven poly wine bag of 20,000 litres in one 20TEU.

beyond the limits of regulation and the ballast water then discharged, or sail with the ballast on board resulting in loss of freights and a charter dispute.

None of these are attractive and all are expensive.

44 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Tim Ellis worked for a U.K. shipping and forwarding company in London’s East End with postings to Vienna and Hong Kong and as an independent surveyors since February 1977. He can be reached through www.dnpmarinesurveyors.com.

LEGAL AFFAIRS

New tools aim to strengthen WorkSafeBC

By Lorna Pawluk

Associate Counsel with Bernard LLP

E

mployers in British Columbia should be aware of the new tools now available to WorkSafeBC to enforce compliance with workplace safety obligations. Legislation passed in the summer of 2014 has resulted in a greater range of enforcement tools available to WorkSafeBC to deal with employers who do not comply with their health and safety obligations under the Workers Compensation Act and the Occupational Health & Safety Regulation. In addition to the power to impose OHS orders and administrative penalties, WorkSafeBC has strengthened authority to shut down worksites and businesses, and to stop directors and officers from continuing business operations in a new organization.

Background

The impetus for these extensive changes was the January 20, 2012, explosion at the Babine Sawmills in Burns Lake. The mill burst into flames, killing two workers.

WorkSafeBC dispatched officials to commence an investigation, but three months later and before their inspection was complete, another explosion killed two more workers at the Lakeland Mill in Prince George. A second investigation ensued.

Both investigations culminated in a report from WorkSafeBC to Crown Counsel to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to commence a prosecution in the courts. The vast majority of workplace accidents and inspections are prosecuted through an administrative penalty system that bypasses the courts and is dealt with by a system of WorkSafeBC tribunals. But the severity and profile of the Babine and Lakeland mill explosions led WorkSafeBC

The impetus for these extensive changes was the January 20, 2012, explosion at the Babine Sawmills in Burns Lake ... and second explosion at Lakeland Mill... to take the more unusual route of seeking a prosecution in the courts.

After reviewing the evidence gathered by WorkSafeBC personnel, Crown Counsel took the rare step of publishing a “Clear Statement” to explain why evidence was insufficient to prosecute the mills in court. Essentially, the Clear Statement pointed to deficits in the investigation protocol followed

by WorkSafeBC, concluding that most of the gathered evidence would not be admissible in a court of law. Not only was there unexplored evidence of due diligence by the employer, many of the interviews were not conducted in accordance with procedures necessary because of the Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

In response, Premier Christy Clark appointed Deputy Minister John Dyble to respond to the Clear Statement. After a review of relevant material, he issued a statement that was very critical of WorkSafeBC and recommended the appointment of Vancouver lawyer Len Doust to oversee a series of improvements in the WorkSafeBC investigation and enforcement system. As part of that process, Minister Shirley Bond appointed former Deputy Minister Gord Macatee to recommend changes to the WorkSafeBC processes. On July 1, 2014, he delivered a report “WorkSafeBC Review and Action Plan” that recommended 43 amendments

to the Workers Compensation Act. Bill 9, the Workers Compensation Amendment Act, passed on May 14, 2015, expanded WorkSafeBC power to foster compliance with safety regulations, expedite workplace accident investigations and issue stop work orders.

New measures

The vast majority of non-compliances with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health & Safety Regulation will continue to be enforced with orders as outlined in an Inspection Report, with more serious or repeat infractions being addressed with an administrative penalty.

However, Bill 9 provided a number of additional enforcement tools that may allow more nuanced regulatory responses. These include: Compliance agreement — A compliance order is available to WorkSafeBC as an alternative to issuing an order. It is available in low-risk situations where an employer voluntarily agrees to correct any violations by a specified date. The agreement can be unilaterally rescinded

by WorkSafeBC when the conditions or reporting conditions have not been met by a specified date; when the employer intentionally provides misleading or false information; or when new evidence shows that workers are at immediate risk of injury or occupational disease.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 45

LEGAL AFFAIRS It is important to remember that the new enforcement options do not replace OHS compliance orders or administrative penalties...

This option isn’t available for high-risk non-compliances, such as fall protection or asbestos exposure. However, it would be available where, for instance, the safety documentation or “paper trail” is inadequate, or where there is a training deficit.

A compliance agreement forms part of an employer’s “record,” and may be considered, for better or worse, in subsequent enforcement actions.

OHS citation — An OHS citation is a smaller penalty available where there has been a low-risk violation. The first penalty will be $500, regardless of the employer’s size or assessable payroll, and the second penalty, within three years, will be $1,000. In contrast to administrative penalties that may be imposed any time (and often later than a year) after a violation, the OHS citation will be imposed quickly (ordinarily within seven days) as this is thought to maximize effectiveness. It cannot be imposed at all for the same violation committed any time in the previous three years.

Like the compliance agreement, the OHS citation applies only in the case of a low-risk violation and cannot be substituted for an Administrative Penalty in the appeal or review process. Due diligence is

not a defence; it is a question of whether there was compliance or not.

Stop work orders — Previously, stop work orders could only be issued where there was immediate risk to worker health and safety. Changes mean that a stop work order is more broadly available and may be issued to protect the health and safety of the worker when they will be at risk if work continues.

This option is available to shut down work not only in the workplace where conditions demonstrate a risk to health and safety, but also to shut down another workplace of the same employer where the same or similar working conditions exist or “would exist.”

The changes significantly increase the availability of this enforcement option.

Injunction — prior to Bill 9, only an employer could be prevented from carrying on business by a WorkSafeBC injunction.

This allowed a business to open a new corporation free from the obligations incurred by the predecessor operation, including administrative penalties. To prevent this abuse, the Act was amended to allow a court to prohibit related individuals, including directors, executives, officers or others participating in management, from

46 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

carrying on business in a new structure.

OHS obligations can be enforced with “section 198 Injunctions” against directors, executives, officers or others participating in management.

Former enforcement provisions continue in force

It is important to remember that the new enforcement options do not replace OHS compliance orders or administrative penalties, and regulatory or criminal proceedings. Orders and administrative penalties continue to be (by far) the most frequently used enforcement tool, and will probably continue to be the most important bow in the WorkSafeBC enforcement quiver. Orders may be issued whenever a non-compliance is identified, and administrative penalties will be imposed for repeated or serious infractions, regardless of whether an incident or injury occurred.

Administrative penalty amounts (for a first high-risk offence) can go as high as $314,017.29 (±30 per cent) with repeat penalties going as high as 64 times that amount (and doubling for each similar penalty) for similar subsequent violations.

While an administrative penalty and regulatory enforcement proceedings cannot be used for the same violation, WorkSafeBC can continue to apply a claims cost levy as an “additional tool to motivate the employer.” This allows WorkSafeBC to nullify insurance coverage for claims costs, up to a maximum of $54,426.67 per claim, related to the circumstances also covered by the penalty or prosecution.

To date, WorkSafeBC investigations have not led to “workplace criminal negligence” charges under the Criminal Code, but regulatory prosecutions have become more frequent. The latter take place under the provincial Office Act for violation of Workers Compensation Act or Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. Such prosecutions can result in fines and/or imprisonment for employers, supervisors, workers, prime contractors, directors and executives and suppliers.

The range of enforcement options available to WorkSafeBC means that employers must continue to be vigilant or face yet a broader range of consequences.

Lorna Pawluk is Associate Counsel with Bernard LLP. She can be reached at pawluk@bernardllp.ca.

NAVIGATION

Prime Mover Controls releases new Navigation Light Control panel

T

he PMC series 8014 LED Navigation Light Control is a compact, control, alarm and monitoring system for Single, Twin Single, or Dual style LED navigation light fixtures.

The Display Unit contains all push buttons and audible/visual indicators required for monitoring and control functions.

Illuminated push buttons are provided for individual lamp on-off control, group functions, primary and secondary power source selection, dimming control, and test/silence. Dimming control of all panel back lighting and indicators is provided for viewing in conditions ranging from direct sunlight to night operations.

An internal horn is provided for audible indication of all faults.

The Control Unit is connected to the display unit by serial communication. All navigation light fixture connections are made at the control unit. The internal control circuitry monitors the fixtures for failure or wire breakage. Fixture ‘running hour’ monitoring can be enabled to provide notification of the calculated end of useful life of the LED array. On primary lamp failure, there is automatic transfer to secondary lamp for duplex fixtures. Input power is similarly monitored for availability and failure; transfer to secondary power will automatically occur on primary power failure. All fuses for power inputs and lamp outputs are front replaceable, without disassembly/opening of the control unit.

12 Vdc, 24 Vdc, 120 Vac, or 240 Vac operation in 10 or 14 position sizes to suit vessel requirements. Multiple Display Units and Control Units can be interconnected to create larger fixture capacity.

The PMC series 8014 LED Navigation Light Control — compact control, alarm and monitoring system provides for increased functionality.

Additional features: • self-diagnostics and troubleshooting display for ease of maintenance; • serial output for connection to ship’s vessel monitoring system (Modbus RTU slave) for remote monitoring and control of the navigation light fixtures; • grouping of common task lights to activate together; • function keys to change multiple lamps or special lamp functions; • serial output for connection to ship’s VDR (NMEA 0183); • optional inputs/outputs can be provided to interface with remote mimic panels.

Other products from PMC

Marine Propulsion Controls for vessels with controllable pitch and fixed pitch propellers, Integrated Machinery Alarm and Control Systems, Marine Instrumentation (tachometers, pitch indication, azimuth indication, engine serial communication), Tank Level Monitoring, Engine Order Telegraphs (lever, pushbutton, and azimuth styles), Navigation Light Controls (for incandescent and LED fixtures), and Hardwired Mimics.

About PMC

Located at Vancouver Waterfront and Roberts Bank

www.flyingangel.ca

Prime Mover Controls is a world-leading manufacturer of Marine Propulsion Controls and Integrated Machinery Alarm and Control Systems. They have been designing and manufacturing high quality marine systems for over 47 years. Their proven and reliable products can be found in service on all types of vessels in challenging conditions throughout the world. For more information, visit www.pmc-controls.com.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 47

FIRE SAFETY The “ungoverned space” of marine safety

By Dr. Carl Hunter, CEO, Coltraco Ultrasonics With multiple ships sailing with partially-filled, over-filled or empty fire extinguishing systems cylinders ... there is real cause for concern — and impetus to change.

A

lthough the value of the marine assets that fire systems protect is increasing rapidly, the competitiveness of the free market places great pressure on cost cutting. Often, cheap systems only minimally comply with the regulations and, in fact, there are very few qualified engineers who may be considered experts on the subject matter. This creates an environment in which a ‘safety first’ culture remains both unpursued and unrewarded.

In shipping, unless a fatality occurs, it is left unreported. In the current state of the market, where ‘price is king,’ it is either due to unwillingness on the part of the regulators to create an environment where safe engineering is rewarded, or because the industry itself is unaware of new technology that will help them meet both the spirit and letter of the regulation. Given both the crew lives and cargo at stake, it seems unfathomable that these fire extinguishing systems are not permanently monitored, rather than certified just once a year, particularly since it is a regulatory obligation: The SOLAS Fire Safety Systems Code states the “means shall be provided for the crew to safely check the quantity of the fire extinguishing medium in the containers.” With multiple ships sailing with partially-filled, overfilled or empty fire extinguishing systems cylinders, and many unshared instances of accidental discharges or slow seepages, there is real cause for concern — and impetus to change.

Fire extinguishing systems

In terms of ships’ and boats’ extinguishing systems, there exist two broad categories: sprinkler systems and gas systems (CO2 or Halon 1301 or Novec™1230 typically). While the former can suffer

leakage, the latter can cause a catastrophic effect given the high physical pressures.

An average ship’s CO2 system comprises between 200 and 600 cylinders, each containing 45kg of CO2; tugboats and workboats are smaller in scale and barges have very limited fire protection, except for the very large barges which often have a CO2 system consisting of two 22kg cylinders.

CO2 is stored under high 720 psi/ 49 bar pressure. One of the highest probabilities of discharge occurs during their maintenance. Some marine service companies estimate that 20 per cent of a ship’s CO2 cylinders have discharged or partially leaked their contents at some point in their lifetime.

Traditional method: weighing

Accidents make high-quality servicing particularly important. This requires not just a company that is properly resourced (rather than simply the lowest bidder) but also an appropriate amount of time. In many cases, marine servicing contractors only have access to the vessel for about four hours. If using the historical method of servicing the vessel’s fire system by weighing, the service crews would shut down the ship’s CO2 system, dismantle it and weigh each cylinder, taking about 40 minutes per cylinder.

There are less scrupulous companies placing ‘tested’ stickers on those untested, or chaining bathroom weighing scales to cylinders in an effort to comply with IMO SOLAS FSS Code regulations — ignoring the fact that none onboard are qualified. Random checks are not suitable in shipping because the normal design concentration of CO2 of 34-72 v/v per cent is above the nearly immediate acute lethality level. Weighing is becoming increasingly impractical, time and labour intensive,

48 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

combined with a real risk of damage to the system, not to mention the potential safety risks to personnel involved in the handling of these heavy cylinders.

Now: ultrasonic liquid level indication

The use of an ultrasonic liquid level indicator not only reduces the labour time by at least 40 per cent, with competent users testing one cylinder in 30 seconds or less (for example, with Coltraco’s Portalevel MAX Marine), it also provides a reliable means of determining cylinder content levels which is safer for personnel and equipment alike. This new technology meets the intent of NFPA 12, reduces the risk of physical injury, property damage, accidental discharge and labour time.

Room integrity

In addition to monitoring the extinguishing systems, it is vital that the room integrity is inspected to ensure total airtight seals. This is particularly important in towboats due to the large windows in the bulkheads and overhead skylight vents. In small compartments like lockers, which are protected by small CO2 or Halon 1301 flooding systems, it is vital that the openings are closed to contact with the extinguishing agent. Due to the smaller size of tugs and workboats, the confinement of the agent, especially CO2, is critical for life safety.

Technological answers

Technologies exist right now that can easily and accurately monitor everything from liquefied contents, to corrosion of pipework to room integrity. Having systems that operate transparently will convince owners that their assets are in good hands, and reassure crew that their safety is taken seriously by their employer and the marine servicing company. Ultrasonics is one of the sciences being harnessed by innovators: acoustic (sound) energy in the form of waves of high frequency that are above the human audible range. Sound is vibration that

FIRE SAFETY propagates as a mechanical wave or pressure and transmits through solid, liquid or gaseous mediums.

Innovation through ultrasound

Coltraco’s Portalevel™ MAX delivers the liquid level content readings and Portasteele™ Calculator converts these to ones of weight and mass.

Photo: Dave Roels

Coltraco is one of a number of companies using these fundamental physical principles to design and manufacture systems and products to monitor and inspect: fire extinguishing systems (clean agent and sprinkler); and watertight/airtight integrity of rooms, hatch-covers, doors and multiple cable transits. Operating in safety-critical and high-value infrastructure in 108 countries across 19 market sectors worldwide, Coltraco Ultrasonics is committed to a safety-first approach, going above and beyond regulation compliance.

As the world changes, so must our industry integrate technological solutions to provide a bulwark against wider industry misinterpretation and minimal, even occasional and flagrant, disregard in the application of standards and good global engineering practise, creating standards that all can understand and apply.

Dr. Carl Hunter is CEO and Managing Director of Coltraco Ultrasonics, a British designer and manufacturer of portable instruments and fixed monitoring systems for the naval, shipping, offshore, energy and fire sectors. He is a former Greenjacket Officer in the British Army and a Graduate and Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Durham, a Fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers and Member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects.

Your donation will help us “Save Lives at Sea” Email: info@canadianlifeboatinstitution.org

www. canadianlifeboatinstitution.org Registered Charity #88999 8977 RR0001

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 49

SURVIVAL GEAR

Climate Technical Gear expanding to the West Coast It’s not often that one can find a company that designs, engineers, tests, AND manufactures in Canada anymore...

B

C Shipping News sat down for a telephone interview with Clinton Desveaux, Marketing & Global Sales Manager for Climate Technical Gear. Clinton points out that “against all odds, in one way or another, Climate Technical Gear began life 34 years ago in Halifax, Nova Scotia,” and he states that Climate was “asserting its strength, which was its design and engineering ideas on the East Coast of Canada.” The company is known for listening to its customers and using that feedback to make workwear clothing better and longer lasting. In the early days, Climate Technical Gear started life as Helly Hansen Canada Ltd. In recent years, the name Climate Technical Gear Ltd emerged with its Sevean brand of workwear pronounced “Sa-Vay-In,” a very Scandinavian-sounding name indeed.

It’s not often that one can find a company that designs, engineers, tests, AND manufactures in Canada anymore — and yet,

Dave aboard the CSL Tecumseh “Action Photography - everywhere!”

“Dave’s not just a photographer, he’s an artist.”

Jane McIvor, Publisher BC Shipping News

50 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

Climate Technical Gear continues to do so. It’s a second generation, family-run business with deep experience across many workwear industries.

Climate Technical Gear has two new lines of industrial workwear for the West Coast called the “Industrial Series,” and the “Downrigger Series.” Clinton states that “both lines are intended for people who work in the commercial marine industries, such as dock workers and crew onboard ships.”

In recent years, the company aggressively expanded into the northeastern United States with an American distributer and a dealer network from Maine to Rhode Island and all points in between. It used that as a jumping off point to move into the southeastern seaboard.

According to Clinton, “Climate Technical Gear has big expansion plans for 2017 — we want to be seen and worn in British Columbia and the West Coast of the U.S.” The company is looking for a distributor in B.C. so that “he or she can help us build a dealer network in all of the marine communities on the West Coast.”

Climate Technical Gear’s name captures what the company is about and who it is, and why its employees get out of bed every morning to go to work. It all starts with their customers.

These dedicated, high-tech specialists launch themselves into the harshest, most extreme conditions every day. They rely on, and trust in Climate Technical Gear’s knowledge of climate and danger to keep them dry, safe and warm when it matters most.

Climate Technical Gear takes that responsibility seriously.

Solid performance in unforgiving climates is not an option, so its work starts where others stop, too. The company works in tandem with industrial clients to innovate and create new solutions for the age-old battle between a garment’s function and form.

Clinton is rather proud of the fact that Climate Technical Gear is “composed of a world-class manufacturing team that is second to none — serves its clients by remembering their customer; and starting where others stop.” The passion can be heard in Clinton’s voice as he states “combining close relationships with end-users enables Climate Technical Gear to work collaboratively to develop uncompromising, relevant garments for extreme work environments.”

One of Climate’s goals at the end of the day is “preventing industrial injury and illness, and maximizing comfort and performance,” Desveaux states, and “this is what matters most to workers and their employers.”

According to Clinton, “the Deluxe Industrial Series is really for the hardcore worker who knows no boundaries.”

It is available in a jacket or bib; has tear resistant ripstop 420D nylon outer shell with PU coated polyester knit waterproof fabric. Features include a detachable three-panel hood with lime facing, Velcro front closure, drawcord and cordlock adjustment, soft suede polyester lined collar, two

SURVIVAL GEAR inner pockets, neoprene cuffs and concealed rust-resistant metal snap front closure. The inner lining is fully waterproof with micro-welded seams and an inside snapped storm flap. The hook and loop velcro on the hood neck and collar meet ASTM 5170 and D5169 standard for peel and sheer strength, thus preventing the hood from becoming a potential snag hazard.

Clinton explains “the Downrigger Deluxe Series is also available in a jacket or bib, and is the more traditional pvc workwear” consisting of a woven cotton textile base 480g/m2 with resistance to fish oil and crack resistant to -30 degrees Celsius. The pant features micro-welded waterproof seams, double bib with inside waterproof pocket, adjustable suspenders, two-inch webbing with velcro adjustment at the waist and above the hem. The chest has reinforcement panels, the hem is reinforced with scuff resistant panels and the thigh and knees are foam padded to give extra protection and comfort while working.

With plans to expand to the West Coast, Climate Technical Gear’s Industrial Series workwear (above) is one of the products to be promoted as ideal for the commercial marine industry.

The company, according to Clinton, has further plans to release additional innovative workwear clothing for the

various marine industries well into 2018.

“You can count on the fact that we plan to be on the West Coast in the long run.”

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www .maritimeed. com December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 51

CARGO LOGISTCS Fourth Cargo Logistics Canada 2017 Expo + Conference Preview

Here comes the cargo: Is Canada ready?

By Peter Hurme, Show Director & Editor, Cargo Logistics Canada

T

he primary theme to come out of the third Cargo Logistics Canada Expo + Conference in Montreal earlier this year was that of growth, which is the ideal lead-in for CLC17 that returns to Vancouver, February 8 to 9, 2017, in terms of how the logistics and multimodal transport sectors are preparing to handle these increases.

Industry leaders in Montreal shared forecasts that included close to a million more TEUs entering the Canadian market over the next five years.

New, and impending trade deals could help spur this growth, such as the newly inked Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, and the behemoth Transpacific Trade Partnership.

These trade agreements, and how the ensuing global cargos they produce will move, shall be discussed in a variety of ways at CLC17 in Vancouver with panels that include: • Ocean Shipping Outlook with a group of industry leaders and experts • Air Cargo 2017 providing the air-side perspective • North American Economic Outlook on the CLC Main Stage on the show floor featuring noted economists • Competitive Trade Routes that will focus on the Panama and Suez canals, among other related global trade routing trends • Shippers Roundtable: Cargo customers will include discussion on these growth patterns and challenges from the cargo customers’ perspective • Lunch Keynote fireside chat with Bjorn Vang Jensen, global logistics director of Electrolux, the second largest appliance manufacturer in the world • Mayors’ Summit is the featured Day 2 Lunch Keynote roundtable with the leaders of major Canadian cities discussing the opportunities and challenges their regions face with economic growth

For all the goods moving in, through, and out of Canada, the many corresponding supply chains need to be ready and several panels at CLC will deal with this, including: • Goods Movement Strategies Parts 1 & II will go from the importance of different, yet interconnected stakeholders being on the same page, to plans for intermodal rail and inland port projects all over North America • Meeting the Challenges of Growth Demand: A Shipper’s Perspective • The Shortage of Logistics Land and the Evolving Warehouse • The Nexus of Economic Development & Logistics • Commodities Transport & Logistics Trends • Seafood Logistics: Nothing fishy here The CLC conference agenda will also drill down into how the many diverse, multimodal supply chains operate, especially from the technological side of things, which can present its set of challenges if not navigated properly. Panels in this subject area will include: • Future Logistics Technologies Available Right Now • Multimodal Technology Trends • Disruptive, Necessary, or Both? The impacts of evolving logistics technologies on your supply chain • The Refrigerated Transportation Best Practices Guide • Dock Safety: Where trucks and the warehouse meet • Time for a checkup: Optimize your CBSA container exam What is just as important as the trends, issues, and operational aspects for cargo logistics supply chains, is the professional development and educational aspects as the conference will also feature this type of content, including: • Trying to reduce operational costs?

Leadership strategies for improvement • How effective leaders build strong teams • Motivation: Getting the most from yourself and your team

52 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

• You mean I can get a degree in this field?

• Responsible Procurement and Sustainable Supply Chains • Comply or Die? Untangling compliance issues Cargo Logistics Canada aligns a lot of the show conference content under the respective banners of the following summits, befitting North America’s only multimodal expo where all supply chains gather under one roof: • Commodities & Cold Chain Summit • Distribution Logistics Summit • Port Productivity Summit • Shippers Summit With regard to the Shippers Summit, CLC has instituted a VIP Shippers Program whereby importers, exporters, and manufacturers from around Canada and the U.S. will be attending as part of an exclusive program tailored for them.

Cargo Logistics Canada will also offer a variety of additional, dynamic platforms for attendees to network, connect, and do business with 2,500-plus peers, customers, prospects, and vendors in attendance, including: • A show floor of 150 + exhibitors representing a wide array of products and services • More conference content on the show floor including the new CLC Main Stage for VIP all-access and a la carte passholders, plus the free CLC Live! area • A big welcome reception on the third floor of the Vancouver Convention Centre with spectacular evening views of the harbour on February 7 • Networking Reception on the show floor on February 8 followed by the Halifax Social at Mahoney & Sons Burrard Landing • Happy Hour on the show floor on February 9 For learn more about attending, eshibiting or sponsoring Canada’s largest logistics event, go to: www.cargologisticscanada.com.

December 2016/January 2017 BC Shipping News 53

ADVERTISERS Adonis............................................... 9 Allied Shipbuilders.......................... 15 Arrow Marine Services.................... 24 BC Maritime Employers Ass’n.......... 26 Beclawat Manufacturing................. 23 Bernard LLP..................................... 42 BNAC Environmental Solutions....... 25 Bracewell Marine Group.................. 33 Canada Metal/Martyr Anodes......... 25 Canadian Lifeboat Institution.......... 49 Capilano Maritime Design Ltd........... 8 Cargo Logistics Canada.................... 53 Chamber of Shipping...................... 37 Corix Water Products....................... 16 Dave Roels Photography................. 50 Donaldson Ropes............................ 15 Envirosystems................................... 9 Furuno............................................ 13 Greenwood Maritime Solutions......... 8 Harken Towing................................ 25 IMS Marine Surveyors & Analytical Laboratories Ltd.............. 41 ITB Marine....................................... 34 Jastram Engineering Ltd./ Jastram Technologies Ltd................ 29 John Horton, Marine Artist.............. 19

Jones Marine Group Ltd................... 32 Kongsberg Maritime Simulation..... 10 Lloyd’s Register................................. 7 Lonnie Wishart Photography........... 54 Lubri-Lab Inc................................... 24 Mercy Ships..................................... 46 Mission to Seafarers........................ 47 Nanaimo Port Authority.................. 54 NIBC Conference 2017..................... 39 Osborne Propellers.......................... 22 Port of Prince Rupert....................... BC Purity Casting Alloys Ltd.................. 32 Redden Net & Rope......................... 27 Robert Allan Ltd................................ 3 Saam SMIT Towage Canada............. 11 Samson Tug Boats........................... 28 Seafire Training............................... 33 Seaspan Shipyards......................... IBC Survitec Group................................ 21 Sylte Shipyard................................. 26 Tactical Marine Solutions Ltd.......... 38 Tymac.............................................. 35 Vancouver Int'l Maritime Centre......IFC Vancouver Maritime Museum......... 49 Viega................................................. 4 Western Maritime Institute............. 51

Better Solutions...

Duke Point Deep Sea Terminal Vancouver Island’s first load-on/load-off container barge service

THE SOLUTIONS PORT

Our new 104-metric-tonne crane & barge berth provides...

...just a phone call away... @portnanaimo 54 BC Shipping News December 2016/January 2017

• Lower logistics costs & continuous cargo movement with personalized, expert service • Fast, direct and efficient connection between Vancouver Island & the Mainland • Environmentally friendly features with larger cargo capacities & reduced trips for fewer C02 emissions • Direct service to Asian markets • Large storage yard / lay down area • New load & discharge options & cargo types for barges, coasters & Post Panamax vessels — Containers, Bulk, Break Bulk , Project Cargo

250-753-4146 ext.229

www.npa.ca

WEST COAST

SHIP REPAIR

Pacific Marine Expo Find us at Booth #907

SPECIALISTS

Whether you have one vessel or an entire fleet you should get to know our shipyards. We provide a complete range of services to marine operators and boat owners in the Pacific Northwest. We repair, modernize, re-engine, refit and maintain virtually every kind of vessel. Yachts included.

Name your problem. From a kort nozzle repair/installation to a full drydock, our shipyards combine the expertise and technology to give you precisely what you need.

Now that you know, give us a call.

www.seaspan.com

Vancouver Drydock 604 988 7444 Vancouver Shipyards 604 988 6361 Victoria Shipyards 250 380 1602

THE PORT OF PRINCE RUPERT

Prince Rupert is expanding its advantage.

Our shippers understand that the Prince Rupert gateway anchors the West Coastâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most efficient trade lane. Combined with our industry-leading reliability and market reach, we provide an exceptional service. With new capacity coming online in 2017 to handle half a million more containers each year, the Rupert Advantage is growing faster than ever.

rupertport.com @rupertport