BC Shipping News - June 2014

INSIDE: THE TIGER GROUP OF HONG KONG & SHANGHAI

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

Volume 4 Issue 5

NEWS

www.bcshippingnews.com

June 2014

Industry Insight

Denis Horgan, Vice President & General Manager, Westshore Terminals Ltd.

Cargo Logistics Port trucking off the rails

Terminals

Ray Dykes’ annual B.C. terminals review

JUN

CP PM# 42161530 JUNE 2014

Plus:

e-Navigation: Innovation and tradition by Nigel Greenwood

7

25274 80667

$5.45

06

6

THE PORT OF PRINCE RUPERT

Growing fast. Going strong.

Prince Rupert is connecting Canada’s industries and communities to fast-growing Asian economies. As a North American leader in security, marine safety and environmental sustainability, we’re proud to uphold the highest standards while moving the world’s goods and resources through British Columbia’s northern trade corridor.

@rupertport | www.rupertport.com

Power availability and service you can rely on in any marine environment

A pre-designed and certified ship or shore power system delivers safety, reliability, and lower costs, backed by local marine experts based in four major ports With more than 90 years of experience and thousands of marine customers, Schneider Electric™ offers local service teams in Halifax, Montreal, Victoria, and Vancouver, all backed by global marine experts.

Rely on safe, efficient power solutions on board Through one dedicated contact, our marine experts help you reduce project time and costs as you customize power solutions already pre-designed for the harsh marine environment. With available 24/7 preventative maintenance and support services, our solutions reduce the weight of electrical equipment, provide optimum power availability, and seamlessly integrate power management so you can monitor all ship systems from one dashboard.

Clean, cost-effective, and highly available power Electrical distribution LV/MV 24/7 global support Power management and monitoring Secured power ShoreBoX lean shore connection system

Plug into green power on shore As a pre-packed solution of proven components, the scalable and flexible ShoreBoX lean shore connection system offers a small footprint with reduced engineering time and costs. The ShoreBoX minimizes energy consumption by optimizing available power and providing real-time data control. Easy to install and maintain, ShoreBoX is supported by our local and worldwide marine experts.

Lower your port’s air pollution!

Download a FREE white paper on shore connection technology and enter to win a Samsung Galaxy Note™ 3!

Visit www.SEreply.com Key Code h503u ©2014 Schneider Electric. All Rights Reserved. Schneider Electric is a trademark owned by Schneider Electric Industries SAS or its affiliated companies.

All other trademarks are property of their respective owners • www.schneider-electric.com • 998-1189753_CA-GB_Note3

Yo u r B u s i n e s s i s O u r F o c u s .

For over 50 years, Fraser Surrey Docks has provided efficient and reliable solutions for all your container, break-bulk, project cargo, forest product and bulk agri-product handling needs.

4 BC Shipping News www . f sJune d 2014 .bc.ca

BC SHIPPING

Contents

NEWS

June 2014 Volume 4 Issue 5

Cover Story

41 Environment

Green Marine innovates for its seventh annual conference

By Manon Lanthier

22 7 8 12

20

Editor’s note

By Jane McIvor

22

In brief

Industry traffic and news briefs

Industry insight

The importance of coal Denis Horgan, Vice President and General Manager, Westshore Terminals Ltd. Horgan helps BC Shipping News readers get the real facts about coal, coal terminals and just how important this industry is for B.C., Canada and the world.

History lesson The ghost port of Britannia Beach

By Lea Edgar

27

43

Terminals II

On the hook for damages

By Joanna R.Dawson

45 Training

Confined spaces — the tripod-theory approach

By John Lewis

Terminals I

B.C. terminals review: Think billions when it comes to terminal upgrades

By Ray Dykes

Legal affairs

48 Shipbuilding

Bracewell Marine Group launches Revolution I

Pacific Coast Terminals and K+S Potash Canada sign agreement on new potash handling and storage facility

49 Engines

28

Cargo logistics I

50

31

Cargo logistics II

34

International shipping

Port trucking off the rails

By Darryl Anderson & Phil Davies

First workboat with MAN EPA Tier 3 commercially rated engine launched in the U.S.

Maritime security

The rise of Pacific seapower

By Daniel Baart

Panel discusses collaborative port community system

By Colin Laughlan

The Tiger Group of Hong Kong and Shanghai

By Syd Heal

37 e-Navigation

Innovation and tradition

By Nigel Greenwood

12

28

On the cover: The Ocean Prometheus docked at Westshore Terminals; above: The Canelo Arrow docked at Fraser Surrey Docks;. bottom right: Trucks at DP World’s Centerm; bottom left: Denis Horgan, Westshore Terminals. All photos courtesy of Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com).

June 2014 BC Shipping News 5

Subscribe today!

Providing a voice for the West Coast maritime industry...

June 2014 Volume 4/Issue 5

BC Shipping News is as much a business journal as it is a forum for the industry. With informative, educational and entertaining articles, BCSN is a vehicle for discussion on local, national and international maritime issues.

Publisher McIvor Communications Inc. President & Editor Jane McIvor

We invite you to subscribe today!

Sign me up!

Canada:  Three years (Cdn $108.95+gst=$114.40) BEST VALUE!  Two years (Cdn $75.95+gst=$79.75)  One year (Cdn $40.95+gst=$43.00) U.S.  One year ($65 Cdn) International  One year ($82 Cdn) Name:____________________________________ Company:_________________________________ Address:__________________________________ City:_____________________ Prov/State:_______ Zip/Postal:_____________ Country:____________ Email*:____________________________________

Darryl Anderson Phil Davies Ray Dykes Nigel Greenwood Denis Horgan Colin Laughlin

Contributing Writers Daniel Baart Joanna R.Dawson Lea Edgar Syd Heal Manon Lanthier John Lewis

Advertising and Subscriptions Jane McIvor Phone: 604-893-8800 / Email: jane@bcshippingnews.com Lesley McIvor (Advertising only) Phone: 604-893-8800 / Email: lesleymcivor@shaw.ca ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Canada Three Years $108.95 Cdn*

Two Years $75.95 Cdn*

One Year $40.95 Cdn* USA One Year $65.00 Cdn Other Countries One Year $82.00 Cdn Single copies *Canadian rates add 5% GST

$5.45 Cdn*

*Email addresses are required for access to online content.

Cheque / Visa / Mastercard / Invoice Me Name on card:_____________________________ Card #___________________________________ Expiry date:_______________________________ Signature:________________________________ Mail, fax, email or call:

Subscribe online at www.bcshippingnews.com Contents copyrighted 2014 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.

The opinions expressed by contributing writers are not necessarily those of the Publisher. No part of this magazine may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the publisher.

300 – 1275 WEST 6TH AVENUE, VANCOUVER, BC V6H 1A6 T: 604-893-8800 / F: 604-708-1920 E: JANE@BCSHIPPINGNEWS.COM

Member of:

International Sailor’s Society Canada

6 BC Shipping News June 2014

EDITOR’S NOTE

Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

Tackling the tough issues

T

his edition of BC Shipping News has a strong roster of writers.

Good thing too because the issues they tackle are front and centre to key areas of growth for B.C. Take Darryl Anderson and Phil Davies’ article on port trucking, as well as the slightly different approach taken by Colin Laughlin on the same subject — this one issue alone impacts thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of goods that flow through B.C.’s ports.

Or Ray Dykes’ annual terminal review — “think billions when it comes to terminal upgrades” — the investments being

made in infrastructure and equipment will result in well-paying jobs and economic stimulus for years to come.

And of course, Denis Horgan’s insights into the coal industry are invaluable. It’s important to recognize just how much this industry means to B.C.’s eoncomy and the efforts being made to ensure best practices when it comes to environmental responsibility.

And then there are the articles from Syd Heal, Nigel Greenwood and Daniel Baart. Whether it’s an overview of a major shipping interest, a new technology that is changing vessel operations, or an

explanation of how the balance of naval power is shifting eastward and how that will impact shipping, the articles herein provide relevant insights into the underpinnings of B.C.’s shipping industry.

And last, but certainly not least, John Lewis demonstrates yet again that growth in the industry shouldn’t come at the expense of safety and training.

Like I said, good thing we’ve got such experienced and knowledgeable writers — not to mention some expert photography from Dave Roels — to help guide us through these times of growth and change.

— Jane McIvor

At the terminals...with Dave Roels The adventures of Dave continue! This month, Dave provides us with shots from around the waterfront. Visits to Fraser Surrey Docks and Westshore Terminals are supplemented with past excursions to demonstrate the diversity of products shipped through B.C.’s ports.

A full photo essay of Dave’s travels can be found online at www.bcshippingnews.com.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 7

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC News from Corvus Energy: new partnership; new interim CEO

C

orvus Energy announced that it has entered into an agreement in principle with BW Ventures’ Green Marine Capital (GMC), a Maritime Technology Investment Partnership, for a strategic investment of $5 million with the primary purpose of funding working capital requirements.

“The Board of Directors and majority shareholders of Corvus are very pleased to partner with Green Marine Capital. The firm is focused on the benefits that our technology brings to the marine industry and understands its future potential,” said Nick Andrews, Chairman of the Corvus Board. “GMC is an industry leader and they have the capability to promote our technology quickly and globally and accelerate its deployment into the marketplace. GMC also has access to highly experienced engineers and operators as well as a network of legal, financial and maritime experts that can greatly assist Corvus in growing a profitable business that drives shareholder value.”

Green Marine Capital is a sectorspecific growth capital firm which invests

in businesses that offer products or services with immediate or future relevance in the maritime sector. These are typically technology-based companies that address some aspect of minimizing the environmental impact of maritime-related activities.

In addition, Corvus announced that Andrew Morden, Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed as interim CEO replacing Brent Perry.

“Corvus Energy has made tremendous strides in both establishing a market and building an industry-leading product in a short period of time,” said Morden.

“We have made substantial commercial inroads with some of the marine industry’s most important players and I am very excited to take on the challenge of leading Corvus through this transition period and onto the next level of success.”

With over 20 years of operations, corporate finance and M&A experience, Morden is a seasoned executive and leader.

He has held senior management positions in large, medium and startup companies and has a proven track record as a strategic leader including planning, implementing

and leading M&A, operational best practice, restructuring, rapid growth, and change management initiatives.

Corvus Energy provides industrial-sized power in compact, modular lithium-ion battery systems to primarily the commercial marine market. Its battery packs have the capacity to output sustained power comparable to diesel engines in hybrid and full-electric vessels and vehicles. For more information, please visit www.corvus-energy.com.

Andrew Morden, interim CEO, Corvus Energy

Over 50 years of global gas leadership In 2014, shipping celebrates over 50 years of commercial LNG carrier operations. Whether you are talking gas carriers, LNG as a marine fuel, or LNG bunkering, our expertise and leadership in gas operations can help you make the best decisions based on the best, independent, technical insight.

Future performance depends on today’s decisions.

Discover more at www.lr.org/gas

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 2014. A member of the Lloyd’s Register group.

LR_BCShipping_lifeboat_778x5716.indd 1

8 BC Shipping News June 2014

06/03/2014 19:26:33

NEWS BRIEFS New Wave Conference organizers in final stages

I

f you haven’t yet registered for the New Wave Marine Engineering Technical Conference presented by the Vancouver Island Branch of the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering (CIMarE), you’d better hurry.

The conference — June 12-13, 2014 at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort — features an impressive line up of speakers covering topics on Marine Design, Ocean Technology and Marine Operations. Presenters like Roger Girouard, Canadian Coast Guard; Fred Loomis, W&O Supply; Murray Goldberg, Marine Learning Systems; and Grant Brown, Corvus Energy will join Master of Ceremonies Malcolm Barker, Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd. and Esquimalt Mayor Barbara Desjardins to provide updates on leading-edge developments in the marine industry.

In addition to eight sessions with three presentations each, attendees will have plenty of opportunity to network during luncheons, refreshment breaks and especially at the Evening at the Maritime Museum of British Columbia.

And don’t forget the exhibits! Companies like Jastram Engineering, Belzona, Prime Mover Controls and many others are on hand to provide information on products and services.

Nigel S. Greenwood

MA, BSc, Master Mariner, FRIN, MNI Rear-Admiral, RCN (Ret’d)

www.greenwoodmaritime.com nsg@greenwoodmaritime.com / 250-507-8445

For more information and to register, please visit: www.thenewwave.ca.

Letter to the editor Greetings Jane: Noticed a couple of errors in the May issue...

“History Lesson” — First sentence in this article is incorrect (“Back in the 1920s, flying an airplane across...the Atlantic was unheard of”). Alcock and Brown completed their non-stop flight across the Atlantic in a modified Vickers Vimy bomber from Newfoundland to Ireland in June 1919 — both were knighted by King George 5th. Mail and stamps from this flight are valuable!

Due to inflated Yankee publicity, too many people still think Lindbergh made the first non-stop flight — though that was not until 1927!

“PATH: Long-term vision...” Most assuredly, Port Alberni is a long way from being the closest West Coast point to Asia! Perhaps they meant southwest B.C. coast?

Cheers, William Hick

rpm

NEWS: First workboat with MAN EPA Tier 3 comercially rated engine launched in the U.S. See page 49 for details.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 9

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC

Canadian LNG export conference set for Vancouver in June

T

he Canadian LNG Exports Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration Initiative 2014 is set to be held at the Pan Pacific Vancouver Hotel on June 18 and 19. The conference is the first ever Canadian LNG exports event to focus specifically on collaboration and partnership opportunities between all the key stakeholders whose buy-in is required to get the industry off the ground. It will be the only place to discover the latest progress in establishing the support of all the key stakeholders including terminal developers, Asian buyers, regulators, pipeline developers and First Nations and will provide information on how companies throughout the Canadian Oil & Gas industry can benefit.

The two-day event will be unique in delivering: • Canadian-focused Asian LNG buyers: All the Asian buyers at this event, including the likes of PetroChina and Indian Oil have been pre-screened to ensure that they have LNG procurement plans specific to Canada.

• Fresh updates on terminal timings: Key terminal developers such as Shell and Kitsault Energy will deliver fresh updates on the timescales and volumes of supply of proposed LNG export terminals.

10 BC Shipping News June 2014

• Specifics on long-term contracts and pricing: For the very first time, key Asian buyers will be talking specifically about their readiness to enter into longterm contracts and provide forecasts on projected prices and netbacks for Canadian LNG exports to Asia.

• Practical First Nations persepctives: Due to the specific focus on partnerships and stakeholder collaboration at this event, all First Nation presentations will be focused on practical solutions for establishing the requisite First Nation support for getting the industry off the ground.

• Regulator perspectives: Regulators from a number of key departments in the Canadian government will provide perspectives on how each department plans to support the growth of the LNG industry in Canada.

• Solutions for overcoming skilled labour shortages: Evaluating industry and government strategies for securing the skilled labour necessary to deliver Canadian LNG terminal and pipeline infrastructure on time.

• Brand new LNG pipeline updates: Gaining insight into the progress being made in establishing pipelines to feed LNG export terminals in Canada.

• Detailed analysis on availability of

ships and ports: Examining solutions for securing the shipping and port capacity to take Canadian LNG exports to market.

Confirmed speakers include Susannah Pierce, General Manager, LNG Canada (Shell); Madeline Whitaker, Vice President, BG Canada; James O’Hanley, Deputy Commissioner, B.C. Oil and Gas Commission; Krishnan Suthanthiran, President, Kitsault Energy; Tim Meisner, Director General Marine Policy, Transport Canada; Ron Pool, Chief Administrative Officer, District of Kitimat; and Stewart Philip, Grand Chief & President, Union of BC Indian Chiefs just to name a few.

BC Shipping News is proud to be noted as a Media Sponsor for this event. Registrants are encouraged to use the code: ‘BCSN’ to receive a 15 per cent discount.

For more information: www.lng-exports-canada.com.

Vetting/risk management seminar announced

T

he Vancouver Maritime Arbitrators Association is pleased to host the seminar: “RightShip: Vetting/Risk Management” on May 28 in Vancouver.

Initiated and funded by shippers and charterers who were looking for a system to identify quality vessels to carry their cargoes, RightShip has grown to provide the maritime industry’s most comprehensive risk management and environmental system, supporting 2,800 users in over 230 organizations worldwide.

In recent years, from a commercial point of view, RightShip has taken on a very important role for those owners who wish to fix their vessels to major charterers. “RightShip Approval” and downgrading of vessels without the Owner’s knowledge, has prompted debate and has influenced the writing of specific charter party clauses.

The VMMA is very fortunate that Mr. Anuj Chopra, Vice President, Americas, of Houston, Texas has kindly agreed to conduct this seminar which will be held at SFU – Segal Building, 500 Granville Street, on Wednesday, May 28, 2014 from Noon to 1.30pm.

For registration information, contact Mariam Riad at the VMAA office: Telephone: 604-6812351, ext 6137 or email: miriam@cosbc.ca.

NEWS BRIEFS ClassNK releases design support tools for EEDI verification

L

eading classification society ClassNK (Chairman and President: Noboru Ueda) has released the new PrimeShip-GREEN/MinPower software. PrimeShip-GREEN/MinPower was developed to help shipyards comply with the EEDI requirements of the Amendment to MARPOL Annex VI by calculating minimum propulsion power requirements in compliance with the IMO’s 2013 Interim Guidelines for Determining Minimum Propulsion Power to Maintain the Manoeuvrability of Ships in Adverse Conditions.

To evaluate minimum propulsion power requirement, added resistance in irregular waves should be calculated based on a ship’s lines. Calculating added resistance in waves can be difficult especially at the initial design stage. That is why ClassNK developed a simplified formula to calculate added resistance in waves using only basic information such as main ship specifications, allowing

Minimum Propulsion Power Calculation Software and ISO-based Progressive Speed Trial Analysis Software offered free to industry... designers to easily evaluate the minimum propulsion power requirement for their ships.

In addition, ClassNK has released an updated version of the PrimeShipGREEN/PSTA software, which was initially released in June 2013 to provide shipyards with an easy means of calculating progressive speed trial analysis in compliance with the ISO 15016:2002 standard recognized in the IMO’s 2012 Guidelines on Survey and Certification of the Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).

Recently, a new draft of ISO 15016 was released. In order to support the industry’s smooth application of this future standard, ClassNK has released the new version of PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA

to help familiarize users with the new software and future requirements of this draft.

PrimeShip-GREEN/MinPower and PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA are provided to shipyards free of charge. Application forms for the software can be downloaded from the following website: http://www.classnk.or.jp/hp/en/activities/ primeship/index.html.

ClassNK continuously helps shipping industries to implement new regulations smoothly through the development of support tools.

For questions or further information about PrimeShip-GREEN/MinPower and PrimeShip-GREEN/PSTA, please contact the ClassNK EEDI Division (email: eedi@classnk.or.jp).

June 2014 BC Shipping News 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

The importance of coal Denis Horgan Vice President & General Manager Westshore Terminals Ltd.

G

iven all the controversy surrounding the issue of coal and the proposed expansion of Fraser Surrey Docks, one would think that coal was new to the B.C. coast. When you consider, however, that Westshore Terminals — the largest coal terminal on the West Coast of both North and South America — has been in operation for about 44 years and there is a thriving marine wildlife population in the waters and shoreline surrounding the terminal, the current furore just doesn’t make sense. Having been involved in the industry for almost as long, Denis Horgan, Vice President and General Manager of Westshore, agrees and helps BC Shipping News and its readers get the real facts about the industry of coal and the operations of a coal terminal.

BCSN: I’ d like to start with a primer on the coal industry in British Columbia.

DH: While coal has been mined in B.C. since the 1800s, the modern Canadian coal industry really started around 1970 when new mines were developed to serve the Japanese steel industry. Mines like Kaiser Resources’ Balmer mine and Fording Coal’s mine in southeast B.C. were developed with the 12 BC Shipping News June 2014

Photo by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

In 1980, total coal production in B.C. was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 11 million tonnes (today, it’s closer to 40 million tonnes). Incidentally, that’s less than one per cent of the total coal production in the world.

Japanese steel industry in mind. By 1980, Japan accounted for about 80 per cent of the export of coal with the remainder going to a number of countries — Korea, Brazil, Greece, Denmark, etc. — as well as for use within Canada.

Most of the coal was the metallurgical kind — or coking coal as it’s sometimes called. In 1980, total coal production in B.C. was somewhere in the neighbourhood of 11 million tonnes (today, it’s closer to 40 million tonnes). Incidentally, that’s less than one per cent of the total coal production in the world.

During the 1970s, coal was a difficult industry. At that time, Kaiser Resources had the largest mine complex in B.C. but they were essentially bankrupt in 1973 after some bad management decisions.

However the major increase in oil price in 1974 had the benefit of increasing the price of coal by 150 per cent between 1973

and 1975. This set in motion a very profitable era for coal which, by the early 1980s, had encouraged a number of new entrants into the business just in time for the major global recesssion. There then ensued two decades of oversupply and price stagnation and another difficult era for coal miners until China’s impact began to be felt and the coal price increased dramatically in 2005.

In 1980, Kaiser Resources Ltd. was purchased by British Columbia Resources Investment Company, and in 1981, a major world recession hit. Over the next few decades, Canadian mines diversified, investors entered into joint ventures and companies started to market more heavily to other countries in Asia plus Europe and South America.

Today, the industry is fairly diversified geographically. About 60 per cent of the coal shipped from B.C. goes to Asia,

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Photo courtesy Westshore Terminals

30 per cent goes to Europe and roughly 10 per cent goes to South America. For Westshore, about 60 per cent of the coal we ship is the metallurgical type and 86 per cent still goes to Asia but the Japanese market is not as prevalent.

BCSN: Could you briefly describe the difference between metallurgical and thermal coal?

DH: Sure, metallurgical coal — otherwise called steelmaking (or coking coal as mentioned) is the type used for making steel, and thermal coal, typically called energy coal (or steaming coal) is the type used to produce energy. Depending on its chemical properties and heat content, it can fall into a number of categories, for example, lignite, sub-bituminous, bituminous or anthracite. Energy coal is a lower quality than the steelmaking type so it commands a lower price.

The mines in B.C. predominantly produce steelmaking coal but about 10 per cent of the energy coal we ship comes from Alberta. The rest comes from two mines in Montana, just at the north end of the Powder River Basin which is predominantly in Wyoming.

BCSN: Could you compare Westshore’s capacity to other terminals in B.C. and also provide an overview of the current global coal market?

DH: Westshore is the largest on the West Coast of both North and South America with a capacity of about 33 million tonnes.

The original site was about half of the footprint we’re on now. Since 2007, we’ve increased capacity a couple of times — we went from 23.5 million tonnes to 29

Denis Horgan presents MV Wakashiro Captain Antonio Paulo and crew with a plaque for carrying Westshore’s 600-millionth tonne back in November 2008. million tonnes by 2010 and then, by 2012, we increased to about 33 million tonnes which is where we are today.

Comparing that to other terminals in British Columbia, we’re about twice the size of Neptune Terminals on the North Shore — last year, they did 7.5 million tonnes of coal. Neptune just added a new stacker-reclaimer and is in the middle of a $450-million facility upgrade which will increase their capacity to 18.5 tonnes.

Ridley Terminals in Prince Rupert is currently adding new equipment to bring their capacity up to 25 million tonnes.

Last year, they did about 10.6 million tonnes of coal and 1.5 million tonnes of petroleum coke but they might have some cause for concern right now as their largest

client, Walter Energy, just announced the idling of its Wolverine and Brazion mines.

Together, the mines produced about 3.5 million tonnes last year.

Fraser Surrey Docks is still undergoing their permit approval process — if approved, they expect to have capacity for about four million tonnes of coal annually (but are planning for two million initially).

Westshore’s main client is Teck Resources Ltd. Like Walter Energy, they recently announced they would be cutting 600 jobs company-wide in response to the current market and falling prices for coal.

Like any other international commodity market, the principles of supply and demand are at play — the price of coal in the first quarter of 2014 was US$131 per

Before and after — Westshore’s Infrastructure Investment Program includes a new office-warehouse complex and replacement of aging equipment.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 13

INDUSTRY INSIGHT BCSN: I noticed the Jim Pattison Group logo on your website, how are they involved?

Could you provide some background on Westshore’s company structure?

DH: Westshore Terminals opened in 1970 so we’re in our 44th year of operation. As mentioned earlier, Kaiser Resources Ltd., the original owner of Westshore Terminals, was purchased by BC Resources Investment Company in 1980 which changed the Kaiser name to Westar Mining. In the early 1990s, the Westar Group was in financial difficulty and the Jim Pattison Group purchased the distressed debt of Westar which resulted in their control of about 80 per cent of Westshore Terminals — basically, the sole remaining asset of Westar. After Pattison put Westshore Terminals through an Initial Public Offering in January 1997, it became an income trust but they retained the management contract. Pattison’s ownership stake has been up and down — I think it stands at about 18 per cent right now. We’re treated like any of his other companies in terms of reporting cycles and quarterly visits. On top of that, because it is a publicly traded company,

The current “rejuvenation” project we have under way is not an expansion.

We will be investing $275 million over the next five years to replace some of the older equipment and modernize our office complex. tonne compared to US$257 per tonne in 2011. And the market has been getting even worse in recent weeks with spot prices dropping to near $100. While Teck is not reducing output, they are looking for ways to cut costs. They’re very adept at managing costs — they are in the 50th percentile of coal production costs, meaning that 50 per cent of the world’s coking coal mines are more expensive to operate than Teck.

Their unit costs are about US$95/tonne so they are in a good position to weather this current downturn.

What we’ll likely start to see is a rebalancing of supply and demand. It can take a year or two because companies sometimes continue to ship at a loss but in all likelihood, the number of players in the global coal industry will go down.

BCSN: Is the market the same for both steelmaking and energy coal?

DH: Total global coal production is about 7.8 billion tonnes annually and 1.3 of that is for steelmaking and the rest is thermal so it is much more plentiful and very much trades as a commodity whereas the steelmaking coal market is a bit more specialized.

I’ve been in the industry for 37 years and I generally believe that the long-term fundamentals are still good for both coals in the near term — say the next 20 or 30 years. Eventually, other alternative forms of energy will start contributing more. For example, China is building more nuclear and I think Japan will bring back some nuclear energy. Germany has knocked out nuclear and now they’re building coal-fired plants but, given the environmental movement in Germany, that’s a decision that’s probably not sitting well.

W&o introduceS

by GF Piping Systems Your Source for the onlY uScG Approved MArine therMoplAStic pipinG SYSteM W&O is the proud North American distributor for the groundbreaking SeaCor™ piping systems from Georg Fischer – the first and only commercially available United States Coast Guard-Approved (USCG) marine thermoplastic piping system in the world. SeaCor is also the only thermoplastic piping system that meets the requirements of Transport of Canada. Light in weight and long-lasting, the corrosion-resistant SeaCor piping system is a unique, cost-saving solution to optimize vessel performance.

800.962.9696 • wosupply.com No. 164.141/36/0

Pipe

|

Valves

14 BC Shipping News June 2014

|

Fittings

|

Actuation

|

Engineered Solutions

there is a Board of Directors, including four who sit as independent directors — Brian Canfield, Gordon Gibson, Dallas Ross and William Stinson who is currently the Chair and CEO. BCSN: You mentioned that the current capacity of Westshore is at 33 million tonnes.

You have an infrastructure investment project under way — will that increase your capacity?

DH: We will be investing $275 million over the next five years to replace some of the older equipment and modernize our office, shops and employee facility complex. It’s not an expansion but by increasing the efficiency of the terminal — moving the office complex and adding some storage space as well as replacing three of the stacker-reclaimers with slightly larger ones and replacing the ship loader at Berth One — we may be able to increase capacity by two to three million tonnes.

BCSN: Do you require any permitting or need to go out for public consultation for the project?

DH: We did require a permit for a portion of the work and did receive the necessary permits from our regulatory body, Port Metro Vancouver, in January.

Because of the high profile of coal right now, the process was far more rigorous than required by regulation and included greater efforts to ensure that the public had access to all the information they sought, including hosting a public information meeting.

BCSN: Let’s discuss the high profile of coal — Fraser Surrey Docks’ application to ship coal has been met with some stern opposition. Could you comment on that as well as your own efforts to address environmental concerns?

DH: There has been a lot of misinformation circulated. What’s been very disappointing has been the alarmist attitude of health authorities. If you worked underground in a poorly ventilated underground coal mine 50 years ago, you could get black lung. But some incidental dust off a train is not going to harm anyone. I’d stake my life on it. You consider Westshore employees, a number of whom have been working with coal day in/day out for 30 or 40 years with no issues related to coal exposure that we are aware of. I’m out on the site a lot as well and have no health problems.

We did some health tests of employees in the 1990s and we’re in the process of getting volunteers to do it again. We’re not aware of any health issues and neither June 2014 BC Shipping News 15

INDUSTRY INSIGHT In 2011 alone, coal contributed $3.2 billion in valueadded GDP to B.C.’s economy and supports 26,000 direct

Photo courtesy Westtshore Terminals

and indirect jobs.

A smiling Denis Horgan (right) accepts a gift from the Japanese ship owners after the MV First Sun carried the 300-millionth tonne in June 1995. The gift was presented by Glyn Jones, then Vice President Western Canada for shipping agents Nortec Marine Agencies Inc.

are the mines or the railroads, so any incidental exposure via a passing train would be negligible.

Having said that, we are aware of the public perception of dust and do take our environmental stewardship responsibilities seriously. We have taken a number of steps to address the issue of dust. For example, we recently installed a new $8.5-million dust suppression system involving 94 ground level rain guns, 12 new 130-foot high water towers and related equipment. We have set up Mobile Air Monitoring Units in areas around Point Roberts and Delta — we’re still in the process of running tests but it was important for us to address concerns. We also spent another $5.5 million on a water treatment facility that separates coal from water and allows us to recycle about 75 per cent of the water used on site. We’re in the process of installing new whisper-quiet conveyors and replacing all outdoor and indoor lighting with the environmentally friendlier LED lights under the BC Hydro Smart Program to address noise and lighting concerns.

We’re further addressing concerns over dust coming from trains. When the coal leaves the mine, they flatten it and add a latex spray that seals the carload. We found it wasn’t lasting for the full trip so BNSF is adding a secondary spray station which should

Certispec Ser vices Inc. Reliable, professional and accurate inspections...

Photo by Dave Roels

Issuance of reports and certificates acceptable throughout the world....

Photo by Dave Roels

Testing with prompt reporting...

INDEPENDENT MARINE SURVEYING l INSPECTION l SAMPLING l LABORATORY TESTING

Photo by Dave Roels

Certispec Services Inc. Corporate head office: 502-130 Brew Street Port Moody, BC

16 BC Shipping News June 2014

T: 604-939-7070 E: information@certispec.com

www.certispec.com

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Photo courtesy Westshore Terminals

be operational later this year. And the next step is looking at the empty cars going back to the mine — up to now, we spray them with water but we’re looking at a process to spray latex. That should be done within the next few months. Neptune has done something similar.

The last area to look at for possible issues with dust is when the coal is loaded onto a ship. If it dries out as it goes out on the conveyors, we’re looking at having some kind of spray at the last point before it goes to the berth, again, to mitigate dust concerns.

We have also added five employees — one per crew — that specifically focus on monitoring the spray system and washing roads, etc. They are called Site Environmental Services (SES) and they also monitor the high towers that spray Denis Horgan (right) with his now retired former Production Manager John Gray. when the wind is blowing. Currently, the towers aren’t automatic but they will be railroads and the mines. Their website economy and supports 26,000 direct and wind-activated soon. So when the wind (www.coalalliance.ca) provides some key indirect jobs.

We have been operating at Roberts reaches a certain speed, they will auto- facts about the industry and the transportation of coal as well as the import- Bank for 44 years with no impact on the matically turn on. They’re very effective.

We try to counter misinformation ance of coal for the B.C. and Canadian environment. For example, in front of the about coal through the Coal Alliance economy. In 2011 alone, coal contributed terminal, there are eight artificial rock BCSN June 2014_1/2 pg horz 4/29/14 3:07 PM Page 1 — a group that includes ourselves, the $3.2 billion in value-added GDP to B.C.’s reefs which were put in for mitigation

Passionately Delivering The Best Marine Solutions

Phone 604.988.3111 www.seaspan.com

June 2014 BC Shipping News 17

Photo courtesy Westshore Terminals

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Congratulations from Denis Horgan go to Elinor Waddell, who won the Jim Pattison Group 2005 Personal Achiever award for her work at the terminal. purposes for Deltaport. A number of people fish around Roberts Bank in season and the place is littered with crab traps. Also, a major colony of cormorants nests and fishes there and we have sea lions who hang out near Berth One for a couple of months every year so I believe that this is pretty strong evidence of a thriving marine environment. If there is a detrimental effect, it hasn’t materialized in over 40 years.

BCSN: What about the perception of coal’s effect on climate change?

DH: There is a concern with fossil fuels in general and coal in particular as being a major contributor to climate change. There is a lot of energy poverty in the world, I’ve seen numbers like 1.3 billion people with no access to electricity and 3.9 billion people living in energy poverty. In the developing world, their best chance of getting access to electricity in the next decade or two is through coal-fired power plants.

I’m sure eventually the energy mix will change but it’s going to take a long time before renewable sources become a major part of the energy mix. The best alternative to fossil fuels for base-load generation at present is nuclear but it of course has its detractors as well. The bottom line is that you can’t flip a switch without a cost, and consumers will soon find their power bills increasing dramatically if only alternative energy sources are used.

Solar power and wind mills (and by the way, every windmill requires over 100 tonnes of steelmaking coal to produce) — also have the problem of intermittent power — it can’t be stockpiled.

The only way you can stockpile power is with hydro-electricity.

BCSN: There were six applications in the U.S. Pacific North West for coal terminals. Do you know the status of these? If any of them came to be approved, how would that impact Westshore?

DH: I believe there are still three under consideration — two are on the Columbia River. One of those is just a barge facility; the other is the Millennium project near Longview, Washington 18 BC Shipping News June 2014

that used to be an aluminum plant. The issue they will have is the restriction on the size of vessel that can go up the river — likely nothing larger than a Panamax with a deadweight of 60,000 to 65,000 tonnes (by comparison, Westshore can handle anything up to 260,000 dwt).

The other application is for a terminal at Cherry Point, just south of Bellingham. It’s a deep-water facility and already part of an industrial area with two refineries and an aluminum plant.

In terms of the impact on Westshore if these were approved?

We have contracts from the U.S. companies that last through to 2022 so really, our only worry would be on the price of coal and the profit margin. Beyond that, it would certainly be a more competitive environment for us but theoretically, there’s enough tonnage looking for an export home. Wyoming produces 500 million short tons a year and Montana has even bigger reserves.

BCSN: What percentage of the product that Westshore ships comes from the U.S? DH: Last year, it was about 30 per cent. When we expanded the terminal a few years ago, it was in anticipation of more steelmaking coal needing a home but that hasn’t shown up yet so we’re lucky the U.S. product appeared. Teck Resources had planned to increase production to about 30 million tonnes by 2008/09 but they deferred that. They still plan to get there but not for another couple of years. For 2014, they’re estimating production will be at about 25 million tonnes.

BCSN: I’ d like to spend some time looking at Westshore’s operations. How much of the operations are automated?

DH: All four of our stacker-reclaimers are fully automated.

That’s fairly new for us — by about 2010/2011. Most of the time, they’re operated from the central control room — I would estimate we’re running automatically about 80 per cent of the time.

BCSN: How has that affected staffing levels?

DH: We haven’t had to add as much staff despite the fact that our capacity has been going up so automation has basically reduced the increase. Automation has increased our productivity and there is less damage to the machines which was our primary reason for going that route. We don’t have fixed positions with employees doing the same job every day so you could have a hundred different employees operating a stacker-reclaimer in a given year — some employees are better than others. Automation won’t beat the best guy but it will beat the average.

BCSN: What about training and safety?

DH: We are always looking for ways to improve safety at the terminal. Equipment can be fixed but you cannot fix an employee with a serious injury so employee safety is paramount.

We have recently had an independent safety audit performed and are in the process of introducing “Toolbox Talks” which is strongly supported by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. We are also looking to implement a program called SafeStart which is more about attitude and instilling a culture of safety so that it comes naturally to our employees.

I come from the mining industry where safety is a religion, a culture — the mining industry in Canada is probably one of the safest heavy industries in North America.

Accidents happen because a person is rushing, or is complacent or tired and this leads to distractions. This provides the basis of the program. It’s not just about safety in the workplace but safety 24 hours a day — driving a car or doing basic tasks.

BCSN: There are a few issues remaining that I’ d like to touch on: first, the Cape Apricot incident — could you describe the extent of

INDUSTRY INSIGHT the damage. And further, the process of vetting the ships that visit the terminal — is there a system in place to vet vessels?

DH: The Cape Apricot cut through the trestle and conveyor leading to Berth One and some coal was spilled into the water.

We managed to get the conveyor up and running within two months and we built a temporary walkway to replace the trestle. We were lucky in that both Fraser River Pile & Dredge and Canron had capacity and were able to help out right away. The weather also co-operated — it was pretty decent for December.

We had an environmental company supervising to make sure there were no detrimental effects on the local area. Even though the media tried to make a meal of it, coal is inert and doesn’t break down in water so there was no impact. We lost two months of capacity on that berth however and are still in the process of sorting that out with insurance agencies and lawyers.

Looking at the vessels that visit the terminal, it generally hasn’t been an issue. When a customer nominates a vessel that has never been to the terminal before, there are a couple of different services that we use to make sure it’s appropriate. Some vessels have been blacklisted in other parts of the world and it’s useful to know that. Usually, age is the main reason where we’ve had an issue. Over a certain age, it’s pretty much a given that Transport Canada will want to inspect it.

The other consideration is the treatment of the crew. Everyone on the waterfront is well paid except for the seafarers on the

About Denis Horgan

About Westshore Terminals

B

Prior to his appointment as Vice President and General Manager for Westshore in 2004, he was Vice President, Administration and Marketing.

In addition to holding a director position for the last 20 years on the board of the Coal Association of Canada, Denis is Chairman of the Coal Export Terminal Operators Association and is involved in numerous industry and government associations.

Denis has deep ties to the community of Tsawwassen where he lives with wife Darlene and daughter Marie. He has served on a number of boards, including the Delta Hospice Foundation, Sacred Heart School and St. Patricks Regional High School. He was recently appointed to the board of the Tsawwassen First Nation Economic Development Corporation.

W

Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

orn in Dublin, Ireland, Denis emigrated to Canada in 1974 to work in the Vancouver office of KPMG. He joined Kaiser Resources in 1975 in Sparwood as the Supervisor of General Accounting, working up to the position of Controller for Westar Mining before joining Westshore Terminals in 1988 as Controller. He has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC since 1981.

ships. There are some unscrupulous players in the industry and compensation and working conditions leave a lot to be desired at times. The shortage of seafarers is growing which will hopefully give them more bargaining power. We’re very supportive of the Mission to Seafarers and its satellite location here at Roberts Bank.

BCSN: Last question: the lawsuit brought on by CN Rail. Can you comment on that?

DH: The issue relates to three incidents a few years ago — two of three involved train cars tipping over and the third relates to a claim over maintenance of a section of track. The only reason it has turned into a lawsuit was to avoid the claims becoming staledated in the courts. We’re still debating the issues and we have a counter-claim that we haven’t filed that deals with some railrelated damage to one of our railcar dumpers. There was also a recent incident where a container train derailed on the causeway leading to the terminal and took out a power pole leading to a 15-hour power outage at both terminals. When you’re operating at capacity, that’s pretty expensive for us.

We don’t like to see incidents such as these but they happen from time to time despite everyone’s best efforts. If you consider that we’re turning over 140 railcars from 2,000 trains every year, there are going to be incidents. It will likely settle out of court but in the meantime, we are proud of our safety record and our continued success. BCSN

estshore Terminals has been in operation for over four decades.

The coal export terminal, located at Roberts Bank in Delta, is part of Port Metro Vancouver. As Canada’s premier export coal facility, it shipped a record 30 million tonnes in 2013, easily surpassing the combined total coal exports of all other Canadian facilities.

Westshore Terminals has two rail loops, two twin rotary dumpers, four stacker-reclaimers, two deep-sea loading berths and seven kilometres of high-speed conveyor systems.

For much of the past decade, Westshore has also been the busiest single coal export terminal in all of North America, bringing in billions of dollars of export revenue for Canada and B.C. In recent years, Westshore has proved to be an increasingly popular choice on the West Coast for United States mines, particularly in the Powder River Basin in Montana and Wyoming. U.S. shipments reached a record 9.3 million tonnes in 2013.

Customers include Teck Coal Limited and Oxbow Carbon & Minerals from B.C.; Coal Valley Resources and Grand Cache Coal Corporation from Alberta; and Cloud Peak Energy and Global Coal Sales from the U.S. The Westshore Terminals Limited Partnership is owned by the Westshore Terminals Investment Corporation. Westar Management has a longterm, renewable contract to operate and manage the terminal.

For more information, visit: www.westshore.com.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 19

HISTORY LESSON

Photo credit: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

The ghost port of Britannia Beach

By Lea Edgar Librarian/Archivist, Vancouver Maritime Museum

A

lthough Britannia Beach is not exactly a ghost town in the traditional sense, the town and its port are mere shades of what was once a bustling mining settlement. The principal draw to Britannia was the promise of copper. There were a few failed attempts at building a mine at the site before the Britannia Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. took over in 1904. The company built two main communities including Jane Camp up on the mountain and Britannia Beach — or “the Beach” — at the shore.

There were also several other small camps in the area. After a series of mud slides destroyed Jane Camp, Mt. Sheer — or “the Townsite” — was built at 2,200 feet.

The community suffered several disasters, reconstructions, and an eventual change in mine ownership, but the company town managed to thrive until 1974.

For much of its existence, the Britannia mine could only be reached by water. It was not until 1956 that a railway was laid between North Vancouver and Squamish and in 1958 the town could finally be

For much of its existence, the Britannia mine could only be reached by water.

It was not until 1956 that a railway was laid between North Vancouver and Squamish... reached by car. In its 70-year history, over 50 million tons of ore were extracted from the mine. All of that ore had to be shipped out from the freight wharf on vessels such as the SS Quadra and processed at Crofton, Vancouver Island or Tacoma, Washington. The CPR’s Princess Louise and the Quadra were also purchased by the company in 1916 and 1917 respectively. However, neither vessel worked for the company for long. Princess Louise was acquired in 1917 by Whalen Pulp & Paper Mills who operated her at the nearby community of Woodfibre until she sank in 1919. In 1918, a new company was formed to operate the Quadra, known as the Quadra Steamship Company. This operation was a subsidiary of the Britannia Mining and Smelting Company. Quadra was under the command of Captain C.C.

Cutler for almost six years until she was sold in 1924 and began life as a rum runner. Sadly, very little remains today of the active freight wharf that these vessels visited in order to export the wealth of the mine to the world.

At Britannia, people also had to come and go by boat. For many years before the mine was built, ship owners went bust trying to work in Howe Sound.

Then, when the mine opened in the early 1900s, a floating pier was built south of Britannia Beach which received passengers from the vessel Defiance. Defiance was run by Captain John Andrew Cates of the Terminal Steam Navigation Company. Captain Cates’ fleet of steamers was the only passenger operation until he sold his business to the Union Steamship Company in 1921. In later

Mill #2 and the freight wharf at Britannia Beach, 1917. (City of Vancouver Archives. AM54-S4-3-: PAN N34. W.J. Moore Photo.)

20 BC Shipping News June 2014

VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM years, the Union Steamship’s “picnic boats” frequented the customs wharf at Britannia Beach. They included the Ladies Alexandra, Cecilia, Rose, Cynthia and Evelyn. They would make trips to the Beach, Squamish, Woodfibre, Bowen and Gambier Islands before heading back to Vancouver. Many of the captains, including Captain Billy Yates of the Lady Alex, were well-loved by the locals. Countless steamship tourists were drawn to “the skip” as an attraction. The skip was a lifeline for the locals and brought goods and people from the Beach up to the Townsite and back. It could only travel at 7.5 miles an hour. Not only that, one had to climb 347 steps before even reaching it! It was not a trip for the faint of heart and many tourists, after learning the details of the task, did not bother.

The vessel SS Ballena perhaps has one of the saddest tales of Britannia to tell.

After the slide at Jane Camp in 1915 killed 56 people, the Ballena, captained

by J.A. Cates, carried a group of doctors and nurses to the site to help where they could. Following the Ballena was the

police launch PML No. 1 which transported a number of officers and Bruce A. “Pinkie” McKelvie of the Vancouver Province newspaper. The Ballena was tasked with carrying 26 bodies and one seriously injured man to Vancouver. Her flag was flown at half-mast as she pulled into the Terminal Steam Navigation Company’s dock at the foot of Carrall Street. Two thousand people packed the dock and watched silently as the vessel pulled in and unloaded the dead. Tragedy struck Britannia again with a flu epidemic in 1918. Bodies this time were sent down the mountain on the aerial tramway to the waiting steamer for Vancouver. It is not documented how many people died at Britannia from the flu. The town’s lifeline to the outside world, boats responded to perhaps every disaster at the mining town, including the 1921 flood that washed some homes out into Howe Sound.

Other notable vessels visited during Britannia’s happier times. One of which was the Norsal. This small yacht brought the Governor General, Lord Willingdon, to inspect the Britannia Mines in

Marine paintings, special commissions, talks, reproductions and books...

John M. Horton, Marine Artist

1927. Additionally, the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches (now the United Church of Canada) both had Britannia Beach as a port of call for their mission boats starting in 1907. Two congregations were eventually started there, one at the Townsite and the other at the Beach. The churches carried on their spiritual business at the mine well into the 1960s and 1970s.

From sad tales to cheerful memories, the waters of Howe Sound were Britannia’s only connection to the world beyond the mine for many years. Today, with only a few vessels occasionally docked at the Beach, it is difficult to imagine a thriving and bustling town with active water traffic steaming to and fro. The last mill and a few old buildings preserved by the Britannia Mine Museum, as well as the rotting pilings of the old customs wharf, provide a small but enduring refuge for the ghosts of Britannia’s harbour.

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

Canada’s Pacific Gateways A new book by Dr. W.B.M. Hick Canada’s Pacific Gateways is a lavishly-illustrated chronicle of trade and development on the West Coast. It is a history of dreams and vision, of political will and, at times, political expediency. Dr. W.B.M. Hick delivers a lively account of the people — the visionaries, financiers, and workers — who built the ports at Vancouver and Prince Rupert and the vital transcontinental rail corridors that serve them.  Order online at www.canadaspacificgateways.com | $39.99 (CAD)

“The Big Push” (24”x36”); oil on board. Contact us re availability.

This deep sea is being turned at the entrance to Vancouver Harbour by the then Cates tugs, a clear demonstration of the power of small docking tugs.

Art is an investment.

Call or email us to obtain that special painting.

(604) 943-4399 / john@johnhorton.ca www.johnhorton.ca

Untitled-1 1

June 2014 BC Shipping News 21

2/7/2013 1:14:42 PM

TERMINALS B.C. terminals review

Think billions when it comes to terminal upgrades

By Ray Dykes

W

ith a combined price tag in the billions of dollars, terminal facilities operating in British Columbia ports and waters continue to upgrade and expand in a frenzy of activity.

Some facilities have spent, or will have spent, around half a billion dollars each — Neptune Bulk Terminals and Westshore Terminals, for example — when spending over the past five to seven years is combined with current projects.

And the project list seems ever expanding. Here’s a list of as many as BC Shipping News could track down. While it’s not a complete list, it should be a good barometer of activity up and down our coast.

Richardson International

A $130-million grain silo expansion project remains on track at Richardson International in the Port Metro Vancouver Inner Harbour.

The east annex concrete pour was completed in seven days by early May and the west side annex pour will begin in July, says Richard International General Manager Phil Hulina.

The boost to storage capacity for Richardson International, Canada’s largest, privately-owned agribusiness, will take grain capacity from three to five million tonnes. And it can’t come soon enough for Hulina after a record 2013 saw the Vancouver terminal handle four million tonnes compared to the 3.1 million tonnes of 2012.

“We filled and emptied our silos 53 times,” says Hulina, “and we had construction going on all around us.” The Winnipeg-based Richardson International ships every grain grown in Western Canada, including wheat, barley, peas, soya beans, oats, flax, canola, and also handles molten barley.

22 BC Shipping News June 2014

These are busy times at Neptune. Since 2009, the multi-commodity importexport facility in North Vancouver has spent over $200 million on terminal improvements and it is not finished yet.

The concrete grain storage facility under construction will hold an additional 80,000 tonnes of grains and oilseeds and bring up to 50 additional permanent jobs at the facility. Hulina says the project, which began in May 2013, should be completed by late Fall 2015.

Alliance Grain Terminal

Port Metro Vancouver approval was received in mid-March for a Shipping Gallery Replacement Project at Alliance Grain Terminal Ltd. on the south shore of the Inner Harbour. The company has until March 2016 to complete the replacement of the existing conveyor gallery and loading spouts with a new conveyor gallery sporting four new towers and requiring 30 to 60 new piles. It will house four new high-capacity loading spouts which can load on either side of the dock. The new gallery will be fabricated and painted off site and once the new system is up and running, the old gallery will be demolished.

Pacific Coast Terminals

Now amid its biggest project ever — a historical $170-million leap back into handling potash — Pacific Coast Terminals is embroiled in the Port Metro Vancouver permitting process and awaiting approval. The facility at the east end of Burrard Inlet in Port Metro Vancouver’s Inner Harbour, last handled potash in the 1960s and 1970s (see related story on Page 27).

PCT has signed a 34-year-term potash handling and storage agreement with K+S

Potash Canada taking the Port Moody terminal back to its roots. But first, the new partners will have to build a potash handling facility for the incoming product by rail from Saskatchewan, and that is expected to be done by the fall of 2016.

Late this year, PCT should finish building its new $35 million canola storage tanks. The terminal also handles sulphur (1,586,869 tonnes in 2013), ethylene glycol (695,647 tonnes), and up until last year, shipped coal for Teck on a temporary basis (433,467 tonnes).

A major hurdle still ahead is a crucial dredging program in Burrard Inlet — something not done since the mid-1990s — needed for navigational safety and to give visiting deep-sea vessels inter-tidal access to the end of the inlet. Significant community consultation will take place this year.

Neptune Bulk Terminals

These are busy times at Neptune. Since 2009, the multi-commodity importexport facility in North Vancouver has spent over $200 million on terminal improvements and it is not finished yet.

The facility in PMV’s Inner Harbour has added a built-in British Columbia $25-million stacker-reclaimer and is halfway through what will eventually be a $450-million capacity upgrade involving all three major systems handling coal, potash, phosphate rock and taking capacity to 30 million tonnes a year.

But, the terminal is not there yet and is busy planning to add a second rail car

TERMINALS

Westshore Terminals

Work is underway on preliminary site preparation to house a new office and workshop complex at the northern end of Westshore’s 54-hectare coal handling facility at Roberts Bank in Delta. This part of a five-year Infrastructure Re-investment Project, expected to cost about $275 million, will see the existing office and workshops now scattered across the site, consolidated into one building. The existing facilities, largely in the centre of the site, will be demolished to make way for more stockpile space.

Part of Westshore’s most comprehensive upgrade in its 44-year history, the current project (see expanded story on Page 12 in this issue) also involves the replacement of three stacker-reclaimers and the shiploader on its largest deep-sea berth. The site will not increase in size, but the removal of the central offices, and addition of higher-capacity machines will add about three million tonnes a year to Westshore’s current 33 mt capacity. In 2013, the terminal handled a record 30.1 million tonnes of steelmaking and energy coal.

Photos by BC Shipping News with gratitude to Alistair Beaton, Certispec

dumper for coal to its North Vancouver site, with construction expected to begin in 2015.

Last year was its best ever at 14.5 million tonnes handled, including 7.5 mt of coal and 6.6 mt of potash. Since last October, Neptune has also been handling phosphate rock bound for Alberta using a new load out and a renovated receiving hopper system. It expects to handle about one million tonnes of the rock this year.

South Richmond Terminal

LeHigh Hanson Materials Limited is seeking PMV approval for a new aggregate processing and distribution facility in South Richmond on lands owned by the port. The sand and gravel handling terminal on No. 7 Road will include a wash plant, aggregate stockpiles, a reclaimer, a rail unloading facility, and two marine berths for loading and unloading barges.

As the land involved will require extensive preload for ground settlement, LeHigh is not expected to start construction until 2020 if the project is approved.

Ridley Terminals

A federally owned coal export terminal, Ridley Terminals in the Port of Prince Rupert is amid a $200 million capacity expansion, which could eventually take its throughput to as high as 30 million tonnes per year from its current 18mtpy.

All civil works have been completed but Ridley has not yet moved onto the 35 extra acres created in that part of the expansion project. With global coal prices down and demand muted somewhat among the big feeders like China, Ridley is reassessing the timing of completing the expansion, according to Michelle Bryant, Corporate Affairs Manager.

Meanwhile, Sandvik has started work refurbishing the 30-year-old stacker-reclaimer 301. The project includes replacing the bucketwheel, all drives and other work and the aim is to bring it up to par performance-wise with a brand new stackerreclaimer 310 now in service. Once the old stacker-reclaimer has been rejuvenated, Sandvik will start a similar project on another old timer, stacker-reclaimer 300.

With Walter Energy temporarily closing two of its mines in the northeast coal fields earlier this year because of poor market

Signs of work all around Vancouver Harbour...from top to bottom: Richardson Terminals; Alliance Grain Terminals; Pacific Coast Terminals and Neptune Bulk Terminals.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 23

Photo courtesy Prince Rupert Port Authority

TERMINALS

The four silos of Prince Rupert’s Westview Wood Pellet Terminal. conditions, Ridley is keen to see the new Vista Mine come on stream for Coalspur Mines Limited in Alberta.

Coalspur signed a shipping agreement for 8.5 mtpy of thermal or energy coal in 2011 from its mine near Hinton and late in March 2014 extended that shipping agreement to 10 mtpy with an option for another 3.5 mt if needed. After some early building contractor troubles for the coal handling and processing plant, Vista has since signed Sedgeman Limited for the work and could be in operation in 2016.

The mine, which has the potential to be the largest thermal export mine in North America, is now in the first phase of its construction.

“We are anxiously awaiting the Coalspur mine startup,” says Bryant as that will influence when Ridley pushes ahead on expansion to its full capacity.

Meanwhile, the profit-making terminal continues to be for sale to the private sector by the Federal Government and while interest in owning and running the terminal is understood to be high, there has been no winning bidder announced yet

by Ottawa.

Prince Rupert

The $42 million Westview Wood Pellet Terminal is in its commissioning phase and is likely to be officially opened in June. Plants in Burns Lake, Houston, and Quesnel are feeding the wood pellets by rail to the new facility which has four silos and 60,000 tonnes of storage. A rail car dumper can unload at about 1,000 tonnes per hour.

Meanwhile, the Phase 2A northern expansion of the Fairview Container Terminal — a $650-million project — is expected to be announced later this year.

24 BC Shipping News June 2014

The project would increase the docks to 800 metres. The project will take TEU capacity from the current 750,000 to 1.2 million. An even larger Phase 2B expansion to the south has yet to be given a timeline.

Watson Island

The troubles over the redevelopment of Watson Island into a multi-purpose deepsea terminal continue in the courts (see an earlier story in our April issue). Colonial Coal of Vancouver, the front-runner to buy the island — the former site of the Skeena Cellulose pulp mill — has now filed a law suit against the City of Prince Rupert. Described by some as a builder’s lien against the island’s sale, Colonial and its subsidiary WatCo are embroiled in a legal battle over its original agreement with the city.

WatCo is still keen to develop the site for coal and much more, and Prince Rupert Mayor Jack Mussallem, says while the company couldn’t meet its exclusivity agreement in time “they could still be given consideration like anyone else.”

Colonial Coal President & CEO David Austin says they still believe they have a deal. The delays are costing them customers, but most have kept the faith. “We still want to do it, we have a signed deal.”

Mayor Mussallem says a deal could happen “anytime in the next few months.”

The city is keen to get the island sale off taxpayers’ books and there is no shortage of interested parties.

Douglas Channel Energy Partnership, Kitimat

Once set to be the first of a new wave of liquefied natural gas terminal facilities in B.C., the small-scale, barge-mounted

project has landed in financial difficulties and is currently sorting out the future of the eight-company partnership under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act. Tom Tatham, Managing Director of Douglas Channel Gas Services, says the CCAA proceedings “will hopefully be resolved in the next week or so” and a start-up date in 2016 is now “more realistic” than earlier dates given.

Working with the Haisla Nation, the Douglas Channel Energy Partnership had begun front-end engineering design work on the LNG export facility that will be built on a barge and towed to the Douglas Channel near Kitimat. The partners’ original plan was to produce 800,000 tonnes of LNG per year, loading about one vessel a month to Asia.

Stewart World Port

A break bulk wharf will be in operation in January 2015 and bulk concentrate facilities by January 2016 as the $200-million Stewart World Port project gets underway in earnest. Stewart World Port is a Canadian company building a new multi-purpose port at Kitimat to offer a range of bulk, break bulk, and roll-on/rolloff cargo services using a variety of vessels from barges to Panamax ocean carriers.

Project Manager, Brad Moffat, says eventually the new wharf could easily be expanded to handle two deep-sea vessels up to 90,000 deadweight tonnes in what will be a three-phase development.

The port’s customer base is expected to include mining, forestry, oil and gas and project cargoes. Outbound cargoes will include bulk mineral concentrates and wood products while inbound will include mine re-supply, pipe for developing LNG pipeline projects in the area, plus project supply and equipment.

Stewart Bulk Terminals

Owned and run by the Soucie family for the past 20 years, Stewart’s only existing deep-sea facility largely handles copper concentrate and is adding to its customer list this year with the $500 million Red Chris Mine owned by Imperial Metals about to join the shippers.

Red Chris is a copper and gold producing mine 80 kilometres south of Dease Lake, which is due for commissioning in June and could be shipping its first tonnage by October. Stewart Bulk Terminals currently handles copper concentrate from the Huckleberry and Mount Polley

TERMINALS Mines both to the south of the port.

The deep-sea facility has “substantially started” an expansion project of its own with environmental permits received and is now awaiting construction permits through the Canadian Coast Guard, says President and joint-owner, Dan Soucie.

The $15-million project will allow shipside loading for the first time with a new 700-foot long sheet wall and fill instead of conveying the bulk along a trestle to visiting ships.

The facility in the Port of Stewart had an average 2013, loading 180,000 tonnes.

There have been project cargo moves of transformers for BC Hydro and when the expansion project is finished between 2015 and 2017, Soucie says there may be an opportunity for backhauls as “bonus” business.

Port McNeill

A stand-alone aggregate export dock at Port McNeill has finally built up steam after a long wait for the recovery of the West Coast United States construction industry. Opened in 2006 and now the busiest terminal on the Island, the Orca Sand & Gravel facility had been stifled as the recession-hit U.S. market struggled to regain momentum.

“The San Francisco Bay area market is proving to be brisk,” says Herb Wilson, President & CEO of the Polaris Minerals Corporation, owners of Orca Sand & Gravel. “The San Francisco Bay area has proven the right place for us to start but we have had to wait four years for it to happen.”

Orca ships to five receiving facilities in the San Francisco area, including one terminal it owns. Wilson says the market improvement has prompted Polaris to go ahead with another receiving terminal in Long Beach.

Its Port McNeill terminal, which has 47 current employees, has won a strong reputation with shippers and Wilson said he’s been told it is “the most efficient loading port on the whole of the West Coast.” Last year, the Port McNeill facility handled 3.3 mt of sand and gravel and expects to top four million tonnes in 2014. It has a capacity of six million tonnes and Wilson says “we are very happy with where we are.”

However, a long-awaited aggregates export terminal in Port Alberni has yet to turn a sod, but Wilson says Polaris hasn’t given up on the project. “We are still awaiting real recovery in the construction

market, but Port Alberni is never far away from our discussions.

“We are also hearing from a lot of people that we may be surprised at how quickly the market recovers as they say there is a lot of pent up demand and market conditions may change very rapidly,” he adds.

Port Alberni

The Port Alberni Transhipment Hub (PATH) project is the major focus (see the article in our May issue) and that may be up to 10 years away. There is, however, other news from the Port Alberni Port Authority.

In a pilot project, the port is experimenting with the dry land load of raw logs as well as the more traditional waterborne method. Using the existing Berth 3, the logs will be trucked in and stacked ready for two trial shipments — one to Korea in mid-May and another to China at the end

of May. The vessels will be loaded land side and from the water simultaneously.

About 4,000 cubic metres of hemlock — notorious for sinking in the water — will be involved in the landside trial says Terminal Manager Mike Carter who sees many upsides to the experiment including faster loading and improved safety.

Nanaimo Assembly Wharf

Vancouver Island ports are trying to reinvent themselves and Nanaimo Port Authority is no exception. The NPA has received $4.65 million in federal money for shortsea shipping and it will be used to revamp its 1930s vintage Assembly Wharf and get it ready for a future including handling containers.

Nanaimo moved over 10,000 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units) during the recent Vancouver truckers’ strike using an ancient, former CenTerm gantry

June 2014 BC Shipping News 25

TERMINALS The $15-million Fraser Surrey Docks project would initially ship about two million tonnes of Powder River Basin United States energy coal by barge to Texada...

Texada Island

crane and port President & CEO, Bernie Dumas, is keen to get among the boxes in a bigger way.

While the Assembly Wharf is now under geotechnical study and a tender for the upgrades needed is being prepared, another even bigger project is in the wind.

The idea is for a P3 partnership involving the NPA, DP World and another to redevelop Duke Point for greater container traffic. The $50 million project will require the purchase of a newer gantry crane and the addition of a second berth, plus landside work. The NPA and DP World are looking at Duke Point and its marine facilities playing a bigger role in future energy projects along the B.C. coast as a discharge and loading point for barges heading to LNG sites such as Kitimat.

W

year, the popular whale-watching services will be able to pick up and drop off passengers at Ogden Point for the first time instead of solely in the Inner Harbour.

Ogden Point

With around 600,000 passengers and crew coming ashore from 205 cruise ship calls this season, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is busy on a variety of fronts improving how it handles the visitor flow. The latest is a new, L-shaped 48 metre long float has been added at the Ogden Point cruise ship terminal to handle a 40-passenger marine cruise shuttle boat to downtown Victoria in what is termed a pilot project. It will drop off and pick up almost under the shadow of the BC Legislature in the heart of the Inner Harbour.

Last year, the GVHA chartered five BC Transit buses to smooth the flow to and from Ogden Point; upgraded signage for the thousands who chose to walk; and produced a new walking brochure and online site for the fresh air enthusiasts. This

Victoria has given approval for a major coal terminal expansion at Texada Island, clearing the way for incoming coal from Fraser Surrey Docks, should that coal barging project win PMV approval.

The existing Lafarge Texada Quarrying facility currently handles coal from Quinsam on Vancouver Island. The amended permit allows Lafarge to store 800,000 tonnes of coal, double the previous amount.

The $15-million Fraser Surrey Docks project would initially ship about two million tonnes of Powder River Basin United States energy coal by barge to Texada where it would be loaded onto deep-sea vessels for the Asian market. PMV is still considering the FSD project.

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.

Reinvesting for the future

estshore Terminals has just completed one of the biggest equipment upgrades in its history. This five-year, $110 million work has lifted capacity from 23.5 to 33 million tonnes a year; streamlined the way we handle coal; improved our carbon footprint; and greatly enhanced efficiency.

Now we have begun preparing for a $275 million, five-year Terminal Infrastructure Re-Investment Project to replace three of our major coal moving machines, as well as a shiploader and relocate our administration, workshops and warehouse into one complex at the northern end of our site. This will give us a strong future and bring wealth and opportunity for our community and our country.

www.westshore.com

Investing to better serve our customers 26 BC Shipping News June 2014

TERMINALS Pacific Coast Terminals and K+S Potash Canada sign agreement on new potash handling and storage facility

P

acific Coast Terminals Co. Ltd. (PCT) and K+S Potash Canada General Partnership (K+S Potash Canada) have signed an exclusive, long-term contract for the handling and storage of potash products from K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy mine site. “In a sense, this agreement brings PCT back to its roots,” said President and CEO Lorne Friberg, referring to PCT’s handling of potash back in the 1960s and 1970s.

Under the agreement, the parties will construct a new potash handling facility at PCT’s bulk handling terminal in Port Moody, owned by Sultran Ltd. Potash will arrive by rail from the Saskatchewan-based Legacy mine to be unloaded, stored on site and then loaded to vessels destined for K+S Group’s international clients. K+S Potash Canada and Canadian Pacific signed a separate long-term, volume-based contract for potash to be moved from the Legacy Site near Moose Jaw and Regina to PCT. PCT was chosen by K+S Potash Canada in recognition of their high-quality standards, state-of-the-art technology and attention to secure and competitive handling capabilities. Commissioning and mechanical completion of the new potash handling facility, which will handle up to two million tonnes per year, are planned for the fall of 2016. The initial term of the contract is 34 years.

The construction program, which will involve 500 construction jobs and, when complete, about 60 full-time, long shore and administrative jobs, will include new infrastructure, a new railcar unloading station, new covered conveyor systems, systems to control dust emissions and a new storage warehouse. The investment will be the largest capital cost for PCT to date, estimated at $170 million. Construction will start immediately after the required permits are issued. In addition, dredging of the Burrard Inlet will deepen the shipping channel to allow improved vessel navigation and vessel transit windows.

“We are very pleased to have signed a contract with PCT, whose terminal operations are located at a strategically favourable location in Port Moody,” said Dr. Ulrich Lamp, President and CEO, K+S Potash Canada. “PCT will provide its excellent expertise to store and handle the potash produced at the Legacy mine, and will allow K+S to deliver potash products to emerging regions in Asia, South America and North America. This worldclass facility will meet internationally recognized environmental standards.”

“PCT couldn’t be more pleased with this agreement,” said Lorne Friberg, President and CEO of PCT. “Working in collaboration with K+S Potash Canada provides significant mutual benefits to both of our organizations. In return, the expansion of our operations also allows for a greater contribution to the City of Port Moody in terms of new jobs, additional municipal taxes, and increased support to local community organizations and events.”

The benefits to the provincial economy were acknowledged in a message from the Honourable Todd Stone, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure for the Government of British Columbia relayed by Linda Reimer, MLA for the Port MoodyCoquitlam riding. “We welcome the business of K+S Potash Canada to our province. The expansion of Pacific Coast Terminals is great news for B.C. and our expanding Pacific Gateway trade with Asia. The Province’s move to put a permanent cap on the

Ports Property Tax Act in Budget 2014 is helping businesses like PCT expand, in turn creating jobs for B.C. families and contributing to the economy.”

Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay was also on hand and noted the significant contribution the agreement brings to the City.

“The expansion not only means an additional $1.5 million in property taxes but will have spinoffs in the order of $3 million for maintenance, parts and supplies,” he noted. “And PCT’s support of community events and local organizations — not just financial support but participation from staff — demonstrates their commitment and connection to the Port Moody community.” Mayor Clay also highlighted PCT’s outstanding job in managing their environmental footprint and the many highpaying jobs that are generated from the terminal.

Port Metro Vancouver’s representative, Peter Xotta, Vice President, Planning and Operations, congratulated PCT and K+S Potash Canada and brought the expansion into the overall context of the port’s significance to both the local and national economy. “With the increasing demand for products from countries in Asia and elsewhere, collaboration within the supply chain is crucial to facilitate and diversify business for the Pacific Gateway,” he said. Xotta noted that this agreement adds to the 57,000 jobs already generated by the Port.

Delivering an extensive range of innovative maritime support services across an unrivalled worldwide network of 300 offices in 65 countries. Our industry leading ethics programme, dedicated marine professionals and wealth of local knowledge provide a foundation for our customers’ own global success.

A global resource providing: • Port Agency • Drydocking • Husbandry Services • Freight Forwarding Services • Offshore Support Services

• Bunker Coordination • Ship Maintenance • Spares & Supplies • Provisions & Stores • Cash to Master • Marine Surveys • Medical Assistance

• Crew Movements • Accommodation, Air Tickets & Visas • Disbursement Accounting & Financial Management

A world of local expertise For further information: Inchcape Shipping Services 1199 West Hastings Street, Suite 1201 Vancouver BC V6E 3T5 Office: +1 604 684 3750 Email: iss.vancouver@iss-shipping.com

www.iss-shipping.com June 2014 BC Shipping News 27

CARGO LOGISTICS

CARGO LOGISTICS

Port trucking off the rails

By Darryl Anderson, Wave Point Consulting & Phil Davies, Davies Transportation Consulting Inc.

T

he results of the Surface Transportation Annual Review 2014 survey revealed that problems at marine container terminals and in the drayage sector have impacted perceptions of logistics service quality. The withdrawals of service by port truckers in 1999, 2005 and 2014 are the most visible manifestations of problems with container operations at Port Metro Vancouver (PMV). However, Vancouver is not the only port where problems have occurred.

Truckers’ actions at the ports of New York and New Jersey also resulted in disruptions in February this year. Truckers staged similar actions at Georgia Port Authority’s Garden City Terminal and the Port of Oakland in November 2013, and at the Port of Seattle in 2012. Los Angeles and Long Beach are not immune from action by truckers in their ports, with drivers going on strike in late April 2014. The disruption in Los Angeles is the third in the last year.

A high degree of public visibility and angst when container drayage service is withdrawn does not imply that port trucking strikes are the root cause of the problem, nor does a return to work provide a clue as to whether there is a lasting solution. This article will provide some perspective by exploring answers to the following questions: (a) What were the most significant factors that led to the truckers strike? (b) What items in Vancouver’s 15-point Joint Action Plan were most important for settling the strike? (c) What signs indicate that the agreement is working; or are there any lingering areas of concern?

The reason why port trucking has gone off the rails

Gordon Payne, chair of Harbour Link Container Services Inc., observed that the PMV work stoppage “resulted solely from the continuing long waiting times being encountered by truckers to access the port and by the elongated turn times being incurred by truckers to complete a transaction when inside the terminals.” Figure 1 shows the “turn times” — the amount of time it takes a truck to load or unload a container at the terminal.

28 BC Shipping News June 2014

The withdrawals of service by port truckers...are the most visible manifestations of problems with container operations at Port Metro Vancouver (PMV). However, Vancouver is not the only port where problems have occurred.

Since the dominant model for port trucking in North America is the use of owner/operators paid by the trip, the short-run costs of container terminal congestion are born primarily by the truck drivers themselves and not the terminal operator/owner, long-shore labour, container lines, importers, exporters or the port authority.

Factors impacting marine container terminal productivity at PMV

The following three factors contributed to the strike by truckers at PMV: insufficient commercial pressures to improve turn times on marine terminal operators; operational complexity of container terminals; and the impact of larger container vessels.

In Vancouver, shipping lines contract directly for only a small percentage of drayage trucking because they purposely got out of such commercial arrangements after the 1999 strike. All of the Vancouver container terminals are “common-user” terminals, owned by third parties and serving multiple shipping lines. As a result, the shipping lines have limited, if any, control over land operations and in fact may contribute to supply chain volatility by having their ships arrive and depart outside their scheduled windows.

In contrast, at some U.S. ports, the marine container terminals are proprietary and the shipping lines control a major portion of the customer experience.

Marine container terminals at PMV are relatively logistically complex compared to some other North American port operations due to the large share of container volume handled by on-dock rail, local drayage requirements and off-dock storage of empty containers. The implications of such operational complexity may

have inadvertently been overlooked when the ownership of container terminals last changed hands. Operators such as TSI (whose present owners purchased assets near the peak of the market) may now be under extreme cost pressure to achieve the financial returns expected by their owners.

The commercial market is now very different from the pre-recession-boom period.

Since the recession, many ocean carriers have been losing money and using all tactics to reduce their costs. Higher wharfage payments by shipping lines and increases in fixed rent paid by the terminal operator to the port authority are expenses not easily passed on to shippers. Consequently, marine container terminal operators are highly reluctant to absorb additional operating costs from servicing drayage truck drivers. In addition, there are no financial incentives for terminal operators to maintain service levels for trucks. In contrast, in Port Botany, Australia, a system of mandatory performance standards for truckers and terminal operators, supported by financial penalties, has reduced turn times (including queuing) to 30 minutes or less.

Mercator International analysis reveals that of the 12 weekly services operating from Asia to the Puget Sound and B.C., 33 per cent use ships with capacities greater than 7,000 TEUs and provide about 45 per cent of the capacity in the trade. The use of larger container vessels concentrates cargo-handling activity within a shorter time period and can result in terminal congestion. The last agreement with the International Longhshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in British Columbia opted for long-term labour certainty rather than increased port productivity. Lack of flexibility in the collective agreement with the (ILWU) only adds to the challenge of providing acceptable levels of service in a costeffective way. As a result, PMV container

CARGO LOGISTICS terminals, like their North American counterparts, typically operate their truck gates for a single shift, usually around eight hours. North American terminals are reluctant to offer extended gate hours because rigid shift structures and overtime premiums in current long-shore collective agreements make it expensive to add an additional shift. Terminal operators at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach created an organization called PierPass in 2005 which finances the cost of a second shift through fees paid by shippers on daytime moves. Truckers are now calling on the Southern California terminal operators to further extend operations to 24 hours to alleviate long turn times.

Most important factors in settling the PMV strike

Two factors were most important for settling the trucking strike. Both items deal with the knock-on impacts of container terminal inefficiency and not the root causes.

Increasing the minimum remuneration rates for container truck movements, to, from and within Port Metro Vancouver, by 12 per cent as well as doubling the current fuel surcharge.

Strengthening the scope of the audit function and increasing the severity of the penalties for non-compliance with regulated rates of remuneration.

Since trucking operations are surprisingly complex, it will take significant leadership and time for industry to define exactly what the 15-point plan will mean in practical operational terms. Other aspects of the 15-point Joint Action Plan, including the restructuring of the PMV truck licensing system, the implementation of an extended-gate-hours pilot project at container terminals and the enhanced common reservation system, might well determine if the root problems of container drayage logistic performance are being adequately addressed.

Signs to watch that the 15-pont Joint Action Plan is working

Sensitivity to both the approach and substance of the discussions is required at this time. Louise Yako, president and CEO of the British Columbia Trucking Association, advised that, because many of the issues related to the 15-point plan are currently being clarified and discussed, she preferred to speak about the issues once things have settled. Discussions with other

Port Botany

Port Metro Vancouver

Los Angeles/Long Beach

Figure 1: Comparative total turn times. industry participants revealed a variety of perspectives on the 15-point plan. Some shippers, trucking companies and terminal operators have lingering concerns.

With average container drayage trip rates increasing to about $147 from the previous level of $131 (and the prospect of increased fuel surcharges) it is not hard to see why shippers may feel they are the ones being required to pay to fix the problems.

Pro West Trucking Ltd. and a group of 32 other trucking firms commenced legal action against PMV by filing a notice of civil claim in Vancouver Supreme Court on April 25, 2014. Based on a constitutional challenge, the claim asserts that the port and federal government do not have

jurisdiction to set the container remuneration rates to the extent that they require provincially regulated trucking companies involved in the local container trucking industry to pay minimum load (or haulage) rates.

Interestingly enough, on April 28, 2014, container terminal operators TSI and DP World applied for a judicial review in Federal Court. The outcome of this review will be watched closely since it will consider administrative law principles in regard to decisions arising from the 15-point plan. Yet, the Supreme Court has ruled that marine terminal operations are the subject of Canadian maritime law and are subject to federal legislation but it

maritime and commercial law on canada’s west coast Nevin Fishman Mark W. Hilton Katherine A. Arnold James Vander Woude

W. Gary Wharton David K. Jones Connie Risi Joanna R. Dawson

Peter Swanson Catherine A. Hofmann Paul D. Mooney Megan Nicholls

Thomas S. Hawkins Tom Beasley David S. Jarrett

associate counsel: Lorna Pawluk tel: 604.681. 17 0 0 fax: 6 0 4 . 6 8 1. 17 8 8 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

June 2014 BC Shipping News 29

CARGO LOGISTICS ...the various parties will need to balance both their short-term commercial interests with customer expectations. is unclear if this broader issue of federal jurisdiction will be considered.

Peter Xotta, Vice President, Planning and Operations, Port Metro Vancouver, emphasizes that they are one the most transparent ports in North America with respect to the issue of marine container terminal drayage sector performance and supply chain fluidity as a result of the Smart Fleet action plan and GPS program. Xotta acknowledged the need for container terminal operators to extend their gate hours.

On April 2, 2014, Harbour Link Services announced their new Richmond Container Terminal (RCT). Payne commented: “The reason for opening RCT is to provide a solution-driven alternative to the container sector.” RCT removes the limitations imposed on supply chains caused by changes in estimated vessel arrivals and/or departures for the assembly of export cargo; the problems associated with securing matching reservations for import and export containers to fit with customer supply-chain need; and removes the problems created by the limited gate hours at the Port for land-side operations.

Initially, the transfer of containers between the PMV’s container terminals and RCT will be performed using trucks. However,

the operating plan is to establish a barge service to perform the container relay supplemented by trucks for special situations such as the transfer of reefer and timesensitive cargoes.

Conclusions

It remains to be seen if the content in the 15-point Joint Action Plan will be sufficient to provide a long-lasting solution to the root problems experienced by the drayage sector in Vancouver, much less serve as a template for other North American ports.

The above analysis raises important questions. The first issue is whether PMV’s structural rigidity in container terminal operations will come at a cost of the Pacific Gateway’s long-term competitiveness. If so, then the lLWU and members of the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association may face a more intense round of bargaining on issues related to labour flexibility and productivity for the next collective agreement as shippers place more accountability on supply-chain performance in their direction rather than on the backs of port truckers.

The actions of those impacted, or directly involved in the port trucking strike,

Customs Brokers • Steamship Agents Complete Import & Export Services Quality Service Since 1911

also highlights the issue of whether shippers, 3PLs, transload facilities, trucking companies and the drayage drivers are also willing to be part of a solution that will lead to improved supply-chain performance for the Vancouver gateway.

Perhaps the business case for change is too weak and the periodic disruption of drayage service is something we should continue to expect.

The issues outlined in this article suggest that the various parties will need to balance both their short-term commercial interests with customer expectations. PMV’s Xotta, stated: “The current emphasis on increased accountability could be a catalyst for everyone to improve performance provided there is a will to move forward in an equitable fashion.” BC Shipping News readers will know that change management will be a difficult task. With leadership at all levels, the root causes of the current problems can be addressed for the benefit of everyone.

Darryl Anderson is a strategy, trade development, logistics and transportation consultant. His blog, Shipping Matters, focuses exclusively on transportation and policy issues. http://wavepointconsulting.ca/ shipping-matters

401-1208 Wharf St., Victoria, B.C. V8W 3B9 Tel: 250-384-1653 • Fax: 250-382-3231 E-mail: kingbros@kibro.com

World Class Photography for the Professional Community Since 1973

www.daveroels.com 604.733.9222 / dave@daveroels.com

30 BC Shipping News June 2014

Phil Davies is a transportation economist who has over 30 years of experience in market research, freight planning and intercity passenger transportation. He is Principal of Davies Transportation Consulting Inc. in Vancouver.

CARGO LOGISTICS CARGO LOGISTICS

Panel discusses collaborative port community system

By Colin Laughlan Director of Communications, Logico Carbon Solutions Inc.

T

wo inconvenient truths surfaced this year in the wake of Port Metro Vancouver’s rapid acceleration in freight transportation. One, greenhouse gas emissions data pointed to an alarming rate of increase: Regional land-side CO2 emissions — this year over 100,000 tonnes — are forecast to double by 2025 and triple by 2030. The other, labour tensions, also increased — manifesting in the first truckers strike in nearly a decade.

Increased pay for drivers suffering long wait times at PMV terminals may have got goods moving again, but it is doubtful that a sustainable solution was found for the underlying problem. In fact, as discussed by a panel of PMV stakeholders at the Cargo Logistics Canada Expo and Conference in Vancouver at the end of January, the logistical inefficiencies that produce both excessive emissions and costly operational disruptions appear to have a common solution: a collaborative port community that shares operations data through a common IT platform on the cloud.

“It’s proved to be a workable concept in other busy ports around the world,” said Dr. Warren Wolfe, President of Logico Carbon Solutions Inc., the panel’s

...inefficiencies that produce both excessive emissions and costly operational disruptions...have a common solution: a collaborative port community that shares operations data through a common IT platform on the cloud. moderator who also presented an overview of a collaborative system.

“Regional port operations have become a complex web of competing interests,” said Wolfe. “At present, PMV communications are a morass of messaging and exchanges between various stakeholders using phone, fax, email, and EDI. Multiply each node by the number of different players in each category, such as hundreds of trucking companies, multiple ships, railways, terminals, off-dock facilities, agents and customers, and one sees why communications within PMV can be very inefficient and frustrating.”

Wolfe presented a model for sharing information within a port community using an automated communications hub.

Port messages are channeled through a single point of access via a simple browser running on an office PC, a field laptop, or a smart phone. Message originators can define read-rules, or broadcast

opportunities and alerts to the whole community. An important part of the model is a skimmer that collects the operational data essential to identify problems and suggest well-founded solutions for the port and its stakeholders.

“Accessing operational data according to permission rules granted by each data provider is the first step to a fully collaborative system,” Wolfe explained. “Ideally, the system would capture the terminals’ reservation system as well as data from vessels, off-dock facilities, GPS on trucks — even empty container locations, drayage availability, security alerts, hazardous materials, and road and weather conditions,” he said.

“The system could significantly improve truck turn times and reduce waste such as one-way payloads,” he said. Later acknowledging that the truckers’ settlement had promised PMV would implement an enhanced common

The complexities of communications amongst each player in the cargo logistic supply chain and how a collaborative, common platform would address ineficiencies.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 31

CARGO LOGISTICS “From a terminal operator’s perspective, what you’re trying to get is 100 per cent use of all reservations in the most...effective way. If you had one platform it would make it easier for everyone to interact with all the systems...” reservation system by January 2015, Wolfe added: “That’s only one part of a complex operations equation. Even if a new reservations system can increase twoway payloads at the terminal, it doesn’t address the other side of the moves at the off-docks.”

Wolfe also pointed out that a fully collaborative system would not only produce economic benefits for all stakeholders, but could generate its own operating revenue through the sale of carbon credits for its reduction in transport emissions.

“Operational efficiency and emissions reduction are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

Four perspectives on Wolfe’s collaboration proposal were presented by a panel of PMV stakeholders composed of a large Canadian retail importer, a PMV terminal operator, a B.C. container drayage firm, and a trans-Pacific trade expert.

Lee Ann Carver, Manager of International Transportation for Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC), Canada’s largest private trucking fleet, said among the company’s various ways of reducing GHG emissions was to move its transload facilities from Port Coquitlam to Richmond near the end of 2013.

32 BC Shipping News June 2014

Carver observed, however, that land constraints in the Vancouver region made it difficult to make large reductions in drayage emissions by changing locations.

“CTC imported approximately 65 million cubic feet by ocean carrier in 2013, but the overall drayage distance and emissions remained about the same,” she said.

“For the month of December, drayage emissions were about 493 tonnes of C02 equivalent, a little on the high side compared to other months — due to highly cube-intensive products imported during that time period.”

Carver said unusual circumstances often presented themselves and could be costly if communications didn’t flow smoothly. “Information sharing improves decision making in a multi-part system,” she said. “If we’re communicating with the terminals, the drayage provider, and the transload, and we’re always, always, always going through status updates, and how the freight is coming in, and how we need it to be moved, I am intuitively confident that if I recommend a change to them that it will work and they’ll go for it.”

A collaborative system for sharing operational data would also benefit the other supply chain partners, Carver added.

“Forecasts and trend data could be easily shared with partners such as transloaders and terminals. It would mean the right resources in the right places, and would be more intuitive and less wasteful.”

Jeff Scott, President and CEO of Fraser Surrey Docks, said most terminal operators like the idea of a common platform.

“From a terminal operator’s perspective, what you’re trying to get is 100 per cent use of all reservations in the most consistent and effective way. If you had one platform it would make it easier for everyone to interact with all the systems. It creates consistency, it creates the opportunity for people to share and move things around, and it’s much more efficient,” Scott said.

Scott’s analysis of carbon emissions, based on the drayage distance from regional off-dock facilities to PMV’s four container terminals, showed the emissions volume is lowest for Fraser Surrey Docks — slightly less than the volume for Vancouver’s two downtown terminals, and almost half the volume for Deltaport. “The total one-way distance travelled to FSD from each off-dock facility in the surrounding municipalities of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, New Westminster, Richmond, Surrey, Delta, Burnaby and Vancouver is approximately 900 kilometres. Depending on the number of transactions, one day’s trip distance could contribute more than 10 tonnes of C02e. At present, our daily transactions are about 400 maximum.” Scott said.

“There’s definitely an advantage of being

CARGO LOGISTICS closer to the off-docks and cutting down on the emissions.”

Scott added that improving operational efficiency at terminals was an ongoing priority although FSD’s current truck turn time was “pretty good” with an average of 40 minutes. “We’re in a unique position and probably among the best in the gateway from a turn perspective, but we’d still like to reduce it. We would like to automate, but that will require more volume,” he said.

“Overall, if we truly want to realize the full capacity and potential of our terminals, we have to make information sharing and the efficient throughput of that information the primary key. That is what will enable our success,” he said. “Certainly, a collaborative system could also significantly reduce emissions.”

John Bourbonniere, Executive Vice President at Harbour Link Container Services Inc. presented a drayage company’s perspective. Bringing 40 years of experience, the freight transportation veteran said data sharing could have many benefits in principle. However, he identified several changes that are needed in the existing system to make a collaborative system work.

“It’s important to get away from one truck, one container thinking,” said Bourbonniere. “For an efficient truck dray operation working in a marine terminal, what really drives efficiency is the ability to go in with a loaded export container and come out with a loaded import container that has just come off a vessel.”

He said a common information system would also require collaboration with the steamship lines. “You have to get some additional co-operation on the basis that the steamship line dictates where they want their empties to go.”

Bourbonniere pointed out that the terminals’ current reservation system was unable to provide information necessary to optimize movements. “The system that we have today is disjointed,” he said. “It’s nearly impossible to match your reservations because of the fact that the systems work independently of each other.”

Bourbonniere added that it would be important to adopt operating strategies that provide a consistent flow of container traffic between adjacent industrial centres and off-dock container storage facilities.

“This is where the whole stakeholder community needs to be working beyond

their own gates — to find the most efficient way to operate,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Bourbonniere was optimistic that a collaborative system would eventually evolve. “The right people are around the table talking about these issues,” he said. “It’s just that there’s nobody to really grab it by the horns yet, to say, ‘this is what is needed to happen, and what we’re going to do’ — that’s about the only thing that’s really lacking.”

Yuen Pau Woo, President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, spoke to the idea of port community collaboration regarding the benefits to be derived for port users as well as the whole of Canada. Referring to a report released by his organization last year, Seizing the Continent: Opportunities for a Gateway, Woo said deeper collaboration between all PMV stakeholders could produce such greater efficiencies that the port could increase its market share over U.S. West Coast ports by as much as five per cent.

“The promise is substantial,” said Woo, “It’s going to be a benefit to our ports, our logistics providers, our transportation

providers, but beyond that I think the efficiency gains from less down time, less waiting time, fewer disruptions, the ability to divert shipments when problems crop up — all that would have gains for specific users of the system, and there are also gains for the economy as a whole.”

Woo said Canada’s substantial investment in hard infrastructure for the physical movement of containers now needs to be followed with investment in “what I call soft infrastructure, meaning a collaborative information technology system because there are still bottlenecks that have to do with the co-ordination of different users of the system.”

Colin Laughlan is Director of Communications for Logico Carbon Solutions Inc., a Delta BC-based company that develops technology solutions for optimizing freight transportation. Logico’s new load planning software XacPac is one of the most sophisticated tools that can be used to maximize the use of container space while adhering to strict routing, balancing and insurance industry rules. Colin can be reached at colin.laughlan@gologico.com.

EARTH MATTERs A leading environmental and energy services company, Tervita is a key service provider to the marine industry, specializing in: Bilge water & sludge • Waste fuel & oil • Hazardous waste Recycling & disposal of solid waste & garbage Victoria, B.C. (250)-380-0436 24hrs: 1-800-327-7455

tervita.com

June 2014 BC Shipping News 33

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING

The Tiger Group of Hong Kong and Shanghai

By Syd Heal

T

he Tiger Group of Hong Kong has been emerging since starting its business activities in the early years of this century. It’s growth has more or less paralleled the start-up and development of the Seaspan Corporation which first came to the attention of the public in 2001 with the completion of its first five 4,250 TEU container ships delivered from Samsung in South Korea.

Seaspan was already a well-recognized name that had been in business as Seaspan International since 1970 when it became the name adopted following the merger between Vancouver Tug Boat Co. and Island Tug & Barge Ltd. At the time of its acquisition in 1995 by American investor, Dennis R. Washington of Missoula, Montana, Seaspan International was the largest towing company in Canada. It had a retinue of subsidiaries and Mr. Washington

It was Stokke, while at Seaspan Offshore, who first recognized the potential of China as it struggled to cast off the shackles of a very restrictive form of communist ideology. was to add more in what became a huge conglomerate of coastal towing, ship berthing, ferry operations, ship construction and repairs somewhat loosely joined together in the Washington Marine Group to which can be added the Southern Railway of BC which is also a Washington-controlled company. All were, so far as is known, either wholly or partly engaged in business in B.C., but an exception had been Seaspan Offshore Services which was truly an international operator that had been successfully built and headed by Svein Stokke, who had come to Seaspan after leaving

MacMillan Bloedel’s transportation subsidiary, Canadian Transport Ltd. A big part of the pre-Washington period of ownership had been controlled by the local tugboat operator Peter Shields.

Unfortunately, with a need to cut back on commitments and probably under some pressure from his partner, the TorontoDominion Bank, the decision was made to get rid of non-core investments, primarily Seaspan Offshore which had supported its own office in Vancouver with a branch in Houston, Texas. Stokke was

The COSCO Prince Rupert (built in 2011, 8,500 TEU) — Through the Tiger Investment Group, the Porter interests hold a major stake in Seaspan Corporation, owners of this vessel.

Photo credit: Erik Furstrand

34 BC Shipping News June 2014

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING instructed to set about selling the assets of Seaspan Offshore, consisting of large semi-submersible barges and three oceangoing tugs that had been employed in moving huge oil rigs and other outsize cargo under tow half-way around the world. Seaspan Offshore was a money maker for the parent company and for some years it was numbered among the most successful companies in its field.

It was Stokke, while at Seaspan Offshore, who first recognized the potential of China as it struggled to cast off the shackles of a very restrictive form of communist ideology. Under the leadership of Chairman Deng Xiao Ping, it gradually opened its doors to the West and increased foreign trade as it converted itself from a heavily engaged agrarian economy into an always growing industrial economy.

Stokke made some good contacts and managed to sell one of the large Seaspan Publication Offshore barges to the Chinese.

BC Shipping Among theNews contacts made was Cathy Ma, a lady employed by the Chinese government to assist visitors to China who Issue were coming on special visas. Stokke June did2014 two such trips and later, Cathy Ma showed up at UBC as a student who renewed contact with Stokke. Soon after, Size Gerry Wang came over on a visitor’s perIsland page mit to(half see Cathy Ma,vertical) his wife, and as Stokke was one of their few contacts in Vancouver, it was not long before Wang Deadline met Stokke and was engaged by the latMayter6,at 2014 Seaspan Offshore in 1990. Wang’s credentials were very strong and while here waiting to gain his Canadian citizenship he attended UBC and added an Features MBA to his educational attainments. In EDITORIAL FOCUS China he had been an assistant professor Terminals at Shanghai Maritime and also Ÿ Industry InsightUniversity – Denis had been employed in an executive posHorgan, Westshore ition by the COSCO Terminals (TBC)container line.

Stokke of the bulk of the offŸ Put PEP disposed into your shore barge fleet to Norwegian emergency response (by owner, Ole Bjornevik of Boa A/S and at the John Lewis) same time agreed to act as Boa’s agents in seeking employment for the Boa fleet. It EXTRA DISTRIBUTION turned out Wave to be an important bridging Ÿ The New Engineering contract needed by Stokke as in the new Conference arrangement he ended up as the majorŸ GreenTech 2014 ity shareholder at Seaspan Offshore, with Seaspan International as the minority shareholder. Most importantly, he needed to maintain his activities in long distance heavy lift cargoes.

When Shields sold Seaspan in 1995 via a deal with former owners Genstar Capital Corporation of San Francisco to Dennis

Washington, he acquired the incorporation of Island Tug & Barge which was basically a set of papers and a seal, and thus Island Tug or ITB was to have new life breathed into it to become the second largest operator on the coast today and number one in oil transportation.

With the sale of Seaspan International, the minority interest in Seaspan Offshore passed to Dennis Washington and probably at that point it represented very little to him. But going back to 1992, a bright young graduate of 22 from UBC, named Graham Porter, with a freshly minted

degree in Transportation and Finance, presented himself at the Seaspan Offshore office where Stokke was impressed enough to hire him. It soon became apparent that Porter and Wang had the makings of a great team and as Stokke wanted to retire, a deal was struck and Wang and Porter acquired Seaspan Offshore, which they operated alongside a new company, Seaspan Shipbrokers, with one of their early moves being to open an office in Shanghai under the brand name Great Horse and a change of name from Seaspan to Seabridge.

Endurable Designs

designs@ral.ca

Photo by Mike Zelt

RAstar 2800

Offshore Terminal/Escort Tugs Seaspan Raven and Osprey

June 2014 BC Shipping News 35

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING In 2000, Seaspan Container Lines was presented as a project developed by the two new partners complete with potential leasing contracts to Dennis Washington as a logical investor. Washington possessed the strength and financial resources to back Wang and Porter and thus Seaspan Container Lines was able to acquire its first five ships that were delivered from 2001 on.

From that start, Seaspan Container Lines — since floated as a public company known as Seaspan Corporation in 2005 when the fleet had grown to 13 ships — now boasts a fleet of 108 ships of which 72 are in the water and operating on worldwide routes. The rest are under construction or on order for deliveries through to 2016. According to SEC documents, Graham Porter beneficially owns 7.68 million Seaspan common shares and is the third largest shareholder in the corporation. In pulling Seaspan into the public market place it was Porter who devised the financial plan and sold it to the bankers, while Wang with his somewhat longer record and impeccable connections in China became the CEO and co-chairman of the

corporation. It has been under Wang’s leadership that Seaspan has become the leading ship leasing company in the international container ship leasing industry.

At some point in the last 10 years, Porter, who is still a director of Seaspan Corporation, set up in business in Hong Kong as the Tiger Investment Group which pulled together all the interests of himself and unnamed high net worth individuals that are outside of any Seaspan interest. In so doing, his investment either in his own name, his immediate family or Tiger itself in the stock of Seaspan is worth close to $170 million at today’s approximate market price. Seaspan Corporation was the springboard that enabled Porter to build what amounts to his empire. Great Horse, controlled by Tiger, started as a basic sales agency connecting foreign owners with the Chinese and Korean shipbuilding industries. Its success bred further opportunity until today it is the owner of 17 bulk carriers, chemical tankers and smaller feeder-type container ships all backed by long-term charter contracts with Chinese owners. Some of the bulkers are Capesize of about 180,000 dwt. But in the latest

TRAVEL WITH THE INDUSTRY’S BEST...

Marine and corporate travel experts available 24/7.

If you’re looking for a Marine Travel Management Company to manage your marine & shipping travel, we offer the perfect solution.

Our multi-national buying power for marine, offshore and corporate travel, together with our local and global expertise, make us a perfect partner to meet your travel needs.

ATP Instone agents are worldwide travel experts specializing in the shipping and energy sectors. We understand the complexities of moving a diverse crew around the world and the challenges of finding efficient and effective travel for the marine industry.

Contact: Louise Kawaler ACTM, Director Canada Mobile: 604.329.1143 Email: Louise.Kawaler@atpi.com

www.atpi.com 36 BC Shipping News June 2014

development, Great Horse has ordered additional bulk carriers to start up its own operating fleet as a common carrier.

At the same time, Seabridge, under the management of Porter’s brother, Geoff Porter, and Scott Lindsay, has been enjoying the fruits of expansion into the Asian scene. Based in West Vancouver, it has successfully entered into joint ventures with Singapore-based owners who are heavily involved with running a fleet of oil rigs.

The result is Terasea Pte, a Singaporean company with a fleet of eight recently built or building, 16,000 bhp ocean-going tugs, to which can be added the Pacific Hickory, a somewhat smaller and older ocean-going tug registered to Pacific Offshore Services in Dominica but owned by Seabridge. This powerful tug was originally designed by now retired Vancouver Naval Architects, Cove Dixon, about 40 years ago and built on our East Coast. It was put through a life extension refit in 2007. The joint venture vehicle is POSH Terasea with the other partner being a large owner of offshore oil rigs.

To round out Graham Porter’s considerable maritime interests, he also shows up as a director of MC Services, owners of a fleet of around 20 product tankers engaged mostly in the Asiatic trades.

Additionally, he is also a director of a French corporation JACCAR, a holding company with interests that include sugar production in Reunion and Mauritus and fish farming in the far distant Subantarctic Kerguelen Islands. JACCAR owns a part of Bourbon, a major mover in the offshore services industry and is planning to acquire control of France’s major operator in this field with about 500 vessels under its control. Since JACCAR and MC are private companies, there is no knowledge of Porter’s investment in either, but in that both are heavily involved in shipping, an industry where influence and connections are of great importance, they both undoubtedly relate to Tiger’s grand plan.

Not bad for a 22-year-old UBC graduate who, 22 years later at age 44, rides high as a shipping entrepreneur in the top ranks of the international shipping industry. Good luck to Mr. Porter — another 22 years of activity means lots of time for further developments.

Svein Stokke and Syd Heal are co-authors of the book ‘Canadian Capers’, an historically comprehensive enlargement of much that this article alludes to.

E-NAVIGATION

e-Navigation: Innovation and tradition

By Nigel Greenwood Vice-Chair, Nautical Institute of BC

I

n a world that is increasingly “connected”, “linked-up”, “integrated” and “electronified”, it was only a matter of time before the full scope of modern technology looked for greater application in the maritime industry. Of course, in the famously conservative domain of ship owners and masters, this was likely to generate a mix of enthusiasm for technology-enabled support together with deep suspicion of the potential for creeping constraints to the traditional independence of Captains at sea. This was indeed the case at the recent conference in April 2014 at the California Maritime Academy (CMA).

Under the leadership of Captain Sam Pecota, the Director of Simulation at CMA, and jointly sponsored by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) and the Danish Maritime Authority, this “e-Navigation Underway — North America” conference was presented as the first “New World” edition of a successful series of conferences on this subject held in Europe since 2011.

Over the course of the two-day conference, 150-plus delegates from as far afield as Australia, South Korea, Norway and Malta were treated to views on the subject that were, by turns, inspiring in technological innovation, impressive in practical implementation, and numbing in bureaucratic complexity.

e-Navigation defined and envisioned

The IMO definition of e-Navigation has been locked-in for some years now but still got a good airing at this conference in helping to establish an early common baseline for discussion. In this at least, there was a clear consensus: as much as the “e” promises much potential for improved connectivity between ship and shore, the topic was widely agreed to be

...e-Nav conference attendees were treated not only to great visions of the future but also to impressive examples of leading-edge implementation of the concepts. primarily about the “enhanced” navigation of ships for safety at sea, “enabled” by “electronic” means.

The conference provided great opportunities for detailed examination of this theme. Over six plenary and concurrent sessions, the subject was debated from technical, practical, human-factors, regulatory and training perspectives.

Speakers represented the best informed and technically innovative sources from industry and academia, and also some of the national Maritime Authorities most advanced in practical implementation of the concepts.

In operational terms, e-Navigation includes all manner of “electron-enabled and enhanced” navigation and ship-shore communication for the purpose of improving safety and security. The increasing carriage of advanced electronic charting equipment (ECDIS) married with “precision navigation and timing” (PNT) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are only some of the currently available parts of the complete vision. The full scope of proposed e-Nav “solutions” foresees improved info-management and presentation onboard … think: “headsup displays” (HUD) on the bridge. Such advanced capabilities will, in the future, leverage enhanced levels of data transmission to present real-time current and under-keel clearances in such critical areas as the St. Lawrence River/Seaway and the Mississippi River (where this is already a reality). In addition, e-Navigation is seen

as providing the means to significantly reduce the administrative burden on seafarers through providing “one-stop-shop” access to key navigational information on one hand, and on the other hand, giving a single data stream ashore to satisfy the multiple demands for crew lists, manifests, regulatory compliance forms and securityrelated arrival information, as well as company-required management reports.

Technical promise and practical implementation

E-Nav conference attendees were treated not only to great visions of the future but also to impressive examples of leadingedge implementation of the concepts.

Captain Douglas Grubbs of the Crescent River Pilots demonstrated how PNT, AIS and daily route surveys are enabling the almost real-time forecasting of under-keel clearances in the Mississippi River, enabling the best use of a constricted waterway by vessels as large as 1000 feet, even in “zero-zero” visibility.

In demonstrating a functional model of single-portal data access, Canada was acknowledged as a world-leader. Mr. Daniel Breton of the Canadian Coast Guard presented the e-Nav website which is ready to serve the St. Lawrence River and Seaway (http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/enavigation/index). Dr. Captain (USN, Ret’d) Lee Alexander of the University of New Hampshire also highlighted this in his overview and mentioned similar work underway for the Fraser River.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 37

E-NAVIGATION {The MONALISA 2.0] project enables the rapid exchange of routing information between Vessel Traffic Service (VTS)

Photo credit: http://monalisaproject.eu

and ships (and between ships), thus permitting better

E-Navigation and traffic management: guidance or control?

The potential use of e-Nav solutions for wide-area surveillance of traffic and management of coastal shipping risks was demonstrated by Captain An Kwang of South Korea whose Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is much focused on the loss of life associated with small vessel accidents (<100t). Captain Ulf Svenberg of the Swedish Maritime Administration covered management of traffic at the upper end of the shipping scale in presenting a simulation of MONALISA 2.0. This project enables the rapid exchange of routing information between Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) and ships (and between ships), thus permitting better conflict avoidance than is possible with just ARPA and AIS. Increasingly, it is not only mobile structures which need collision-avoidance support. Dr Alwyn Williams, of the General Lighthouse Authority of U.K./Ireland, presented ACCSEAS, a project to enhance “maritime geospatial management” (MGM) for the benefit of mariners navigating in a North Sea increasingly constrained by offshore oil/gas production facilities and also wind farms. Similarly, in the most rapid-fire presentation of the conference, two officers of the USCG’s VTS in San Francisco convincingly demonstrated the positioning of “virtual aids to navigation” (VATON) through AIS. Such temporary, invisible aids were critical to effective traffic management in the

recent holding of the America’s Cup sailing races in an already crowded harbour.

In some of the more interesting presentations of the conference, the importance of human factor and “human-centred design” were addressed. Dr. Margareta Lutzhoft (also a Master Mariner) of the University of Tasmania emphasized that both humans and their perceptions must be understood in providing value-added information to the onboard data barrage. This was also dealt with convincingly in the session on Human-Machine Interface by Dr. Eric Holder, who spoke of optical perspective challenges associated with operationalizing HUD onboard ships.

While this innovation is not as easy as science-fiction makes it look, Captain Pecota was able to demonstrate a working prototype as the result of his collaboration at CMA with Dr. Holder.

Photo: Captain S. Pecota, CMA

“e-problems” and operational challenges

Heads-up Displays: a developing innovation which marries data streams with advanced presentation technologies to aid decision-making.

38 BC Shipping News June 2014

conflict avoidance than is possible with just ARPA and AIS.

While the future of e-Navigation is full of promise, several speakers sounded notes of caution, especially those associated with the industry. Captain Jorge Pecci, representing the insurer AIG, expressed concerns regarding over-reliance on electronic means of navigation and suggested that the insurance industry is getting too far from actually “knowing” (experiencing) the risk personally. Captain (USCG, Ret’d) Lee Cullen drew on both nautical and aviation experience to advocate greater simulation practice of catastrophe, in order to train mental “muscle memory” for worst-case scenarios. And Captain Michael Carthew, President of Chevron Shipping, spoke at the conference banquet of “judgment based on experience” as a continuing part of Chevron’s business model, and the need for e-Nav to offer a set of advanced tools that will nonetheless keep the human in the decision loop.

Various speakers throughout the conference also expressed a number of related concerns. These can be summarized as follows: Reliability of position: As a principal input to current e-Navigation, position by GPS is relied upon to an unhealthy degree.

Greater provision for and disposition towards cross-checking (an ancient and traditional function of navigational responsibility) should be taught and rigorously required.

Abdication of responsibility: It was acknowledged by several speakers that the precision and graphical persuasion of e-Nav systems could lead to an unquestioning reliance on what is being presented as “truth.” Notwithstanding the demonstrated unreliability of both humans and software(!), e-Nav solutions must be user-, rather than technology-driven in order to actively engage the mariner in the decision process (even if facilitating this).

Standardization: Increasing reliance on complex systems will pose challenges of familiarity given the mobility of mariners between different ships and companies. Quite apart from the training challenge, this will also pose issues of certification and ship-shore interface for different systems. The bureaucratic issues will be significant.

Implementation: This concern is related to the foregoing one.

For example, the pace of ECDIS implementation does not offer

E-NAVIGATION Photo credit: RCN

great hope for quick universal solutions: with technology being available now for about 20 years, phased implementation of ECDIS is only to be complete in 2018! Progress in e-Nav is more likely therefore to be driven by user-requirements and systems which soonest answer demand (e.g., commercial services operating to common interfaces?)

Independence: This was the “elephant in the room” throughout the conference, with frequent suggestion of increased VTS “control” of maritime traffic (vice “guidance”) and analogy to international flight control regimes. This generated some push-back from experienced mariners regarding the primordial independence of traditional ship masters.

“e-Navigators” and “traditional” navigators

A later session in the conference, to which I was asked to present, dealt with maritime education and training (MET) in an e-Navigation world. My assigned topic was “Making e-Navigators from Traditional Navigators.” This begs the question: what is the difference? Or slightly differently: how should we modify maritime training in a world “enhanced” by e-Navigation?

For nautical colleges in the “developed world,” such as CMA, Vancouver’s own BCIT Marine Campus, the RCN’s Naval Officers’ Training Centre (NOTC), getting electrified is no problem. Cadets are trained from the ground up on computer “part-task trainers”, ECDIS and simulators. From there they will usually go to well-found ships the same sort ofAMgear SCA0043A Ad modern, - BC Shipping News.pdf 1 with 5/1/2014 10:21:10 as they have trained on. For these new mariners, the problem will

e-Navigation displays: too clean to be un-believable? be more likely one of how do we “traditionalize” them, infusing the spirit of cautious skepticism so that they are constantly aware of and alert for the failings of complex systems.

Conversely, for many nautical training establishments in the third world (an increasing source of sea-going personnel on a global scale), the challenge will be how to prepare their graduates for the increasing technical global environment of navigation. This is especially true when they may be trained in more

June 2014 BC Shipping News 39

E-NAVIGATION

Located at Vancouver Waterfront and Roberts Bank

www.flyingangel.ca

traditional methods that rely on rote learning and predictable question banks, rather than competence-based training (i.e., performance assessments rather than knowledge verification). In this way, the progress of e-Navigation could heighten growing disparities in global standards of nautical professionalism.

However, there did seem to be a consistent response in the MET session of the conference. It was widely agreed that lack of information is not the key problem to be solved. Collisions and groundings continue to take place due to human error, not necessarily lack of information. E-Nav has great potential for aiding the decisionmaking process, with easier info-flow and presentation among other things, but this will only be a positive innovation if it supports and confirms the ship master’s fundamental risk management responsibility and command accountability.

Conclusion

It would have been easy for this conference to generate into a contest of inspirational innovators versus confirmed sea-going luddites. In fact this did not happen, proving once again that, for all its conservatism, the maritime industry is committed to positive change. Captain Carthew expressed this best by relating that the opening direction at his annual report to the Board is always “please start with what you are doing to protect our people and the environment.” e-Navigation will continue to be an interesting and evolving topic during the next few years. This is not only a priority issue for the IMO and related organization such as the Nautical Institute, but it will also be closely followed by innovators in the academic, maritime and technical industries. For those in the Pacific Northwest wanting to follow this topic, the next opportunity will be the November 12-13, 2014, e-Navigation Conference in Seattle (www.enavigation.org ) With such sustained interest in the appropriate use of technology at sea, it is encouraging to look forward to a day when navigation is in fact “enhanced, effective, and where appropriate, electronic.”

Nigel Greenwood is a retired RearAdmiral of the RCN. A qualified Master Mariner, he consults as Greenwood Maritime Solutions Ltd, having special interests in maritime security, leadership & training and risk assessment.

40 BC Shipping News June 2014

CARGO LOGISTICS ENVIRONMENT GreenTech 2014

Green Marine innovates for its seventh annual conference

By Manon Lanthier

Communications Manager, Green Marine

I

t’s time to register for GreenTech 2014, which is being held June 10 to 12 in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Green Marine’s seventh annual conference will be chock-full of new features.

A quick look at the preliminary program makes it abundantly clear why it’s relevant and worthwhile to take part. The program includes conference sessions on air emissions, community relations and environmental crisis management, partnerships and collaboration in support of financing sustainability, waste management, marine ecosystems protection, and the challenges linked to oil and gas transportation.

The conference will basically follow the structure that attendees have praised over the past six years. Topics of broader interest will be addressed in general sessions, after which parallel sessions will be held for representatives of port authorities and terminal facilities in one conference room, and for the delegates from shipping companies in another.

GreenTech’s attendees will hear more on the SmartWay Transport Partnership, Carbon War Room’s innovative financial models for fuel-saving retrofits, Ducks Unlimited and Irving Oil’s collaborative efforts on coastal research, the Green Passport for responsible ship dismantling, underwater noise management, and the ShoreZone Port Response Tool among other topics and emerging issues.

In addition to enriching conference sessions and unique networking opportunities, GreenTech is offering, in partnership with Canaport, an industrial tour of the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Canada. Canaport LNG is a state-of-the-art LNG receiving and regasification terminal. Supplying natural gas to Canadian and American markets, Canaport LNG has a maximum send-out

capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Green Marine is proud to note that GreenTech 2014 will be its first carbonneutral conference. Green Marine is seeking Planetair’s certification for GreenTech 2014’s carbon neutrality. With Planetair’s assistance, the conference’s organizers will quantify the event’s greenhouse gas emissions, identify opportunities to reduce that GHG, and then offset the conference’s climate impact with the purchase of carbon credits.

The annual conference is an opportunity to promote a company’s sustainability commitment, showcase products and services, and ensure great visibility for an organization by becoming a sponsor or an exhibitor. Green Marine is once again counting on the maritime community and its willingness to continue to improve its environmental performance to make GreenTech 2014 as big a success as past conferences. The annual conference also enables Green Marine to tangibly pursue its mission with all of the profits generated by the event being re-invested in further improving the environmental program.

GreenTech 2014’s sponsorship plan has been diversified. The addition of several new categories offers a greater choice in terms of the level of commitment and type of visibility desired. An organization can sponsor a coffee break or meal, become the “wired” sponsor by facilitating Internet access for all of the conference’s attendees, or help Green Marine to hold a carbon-neutral event by becoming the conference’s Green sponsor (with an exclusive sponsorship package that will help pay for the certification and carbon offsets).

As for GreenTech 2014’s commercial exhibition, there are only a few booths left: hurry to book yours! The conference

program will include, as in past years, a technology forum that provides selected GreenTech 2014’s exhibitors an opportunity to make short presentations on new technologies and innovation for marine transportation.

GreenTech 2014 follows Port Saint John’s Port Days. The Saint John Port Authority is offering special pricing for GreenTech delegates. One of the highlights is the Seafood Fiesta on Tuesday night (June 10). GreenTech attendees can obtain a 20 per cent discount off a full registration to Port Days 2014 or 10 per cent off tickets purchased for individual events.

The conference would not be complete without the presentation of the Green Marine certificates to all of the companies participating in the environmental program. This year the certification ceremony includes a seated dinner that will take place at the new Diamond Jubilee Cruise Terminal. The evening will also features guest speaker Mylène Paquette, the first North American woman to row solo across the North Atlantic Ocean, from Canada to France.

Mark the dates: GreenTech 2014, Saint John, New Brunswick, June 10-12, 2014.

For more information, to view the preliminary program or to register, visit Green Marine website: www.green-marine.org.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 41

42 BC Shipping News June 2014

LEGAL AFFAIRS

On the hook for damages

By Joanna R.Dawson

A Vancouver Lawyer with Bernard LLP

O

f importance to maritime insurers and fishermen alike is a recent decision from the Supreme Court of Canada where a crab fisherman was found personally liable, and uninsured, for damages he caused to property. This is significant because it is the first Canadian case where it was considered whether Article 4 of the Convention on the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 could bar a liable party to the limitation of liability under section 29 of the Marine Liability Act, S.C. 2001, c. 6.

The Convention has a high standard of fault and has historically been an unbreakable limit on liability. However, in Société Telus Communications v. Peracomo Inc., 2011 FC 494, the Federal Court decided for the first time that it could be broken.

The Supreme Court of Canada subsequently disagreed in Peracomo Inc. v.

TELUS Communications Co., 2014 SCC 29. The SCC held that while the appellant’s conduct did not meet the very high level of fault so that he loses the benefit of the Convention’s limit on liability, it did constitute willful misconduct for insurance purposes, thus excluding the loss from insurance coverage pursuant to the Marine Insurance Act, S.C. 1993, c. 22. A summary of this case is as follows.

Réal Vallée, a crab fisherman, operated his fishing boat “Realice” through his company, Peracomo Inc. While fishing in the St. Lawrence River, Mr. Vallée’s fishing gear became entangled in an obstacle on the river bottom. He raised his anchor and discovered the snagged item was a cable. Sometime thereafter, Mr. Vallée had a brief look at a map on a museum wall that had a line running through the area he had been fishing, with a handwritten note “abandoned”. Mr. Vallée had only

The Convention has a high standard of fault and has historically been an unbreakable limit on liability. However, in Société Telus Communications v.

Peracomo Inc., 2011 FC 494, the Federal Court decided for the first time that it could be broken. looked at this map briefly and without much further thought he concluded this must have been the obstacle that hooked onto his anchor. The following year when Mr. Vallée was fishing in the same area, his anchor again became caught on the cable. This time he made a decision to cut it with a circular electric saw. A few days later, his anchor became entangled once more and he cut the cable a second time.

While he considered there could be a risk that the cable was in use, he did not make any further inquiries. Unfortunately, his belief was incorrect and the cable was a live fiber-optic cable used by Telus. The result was approximately $1,000,000 in damage.

Mr. Vallée, his company and his vessel were successfully sued in Federal Court.

The court held that Mr. Vallée was negligent and had breached both his common law duty of care and statutory duty to be aware of submarine cables while fishing. As his actions were deliberate and done with intent to cause the loss, Mr. Vallée was liable for the loss. Further, the owner of Realice, Peracomo Inc., was liable for Mr. Vallée’s actions, not only vicariously, but also personally. Peracomo Inc. is a one-man company, Mr. Vallée was its directing mind or alter ego and, therefore, his act or omission is the corporation’s act or omission. Mr. Vallée submitted that damages ought to be limited to the $500,000 cap as provided in section 29 of the Marine Liability Act. However, the

trial judge disagreed on the basis that Mr. Vallée, having cut the cable intentionally, was a bar to the limitation of damages.

Pursuant to the Convention, the damages cap on maritime liability does not apply where a loss has been caused by a person’s intentional and reckless conduct. In addition, Mr. Vallée was barred from any insurance coverage. The Marine Insurance Act provides a statutory exclusion for marine liability insurance for losses that are attributable to “wilful misconduct”. The trial judge held that Mr. Vallée’s conduct was reckless in the extreme, and “was in marked departure from the norm and so the assureds have lost benefit of the policy”. As a result, Mr. Vallée, Peracomo, and the Realice as an in rem defendant were found jointly and severally liable for a total amount of $980,433.54.

The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed Mr. Vallée’s appeal and agreed with the trial court in regards to the issues of liability, the limitation of liability, and insurance coverage (Peracomo Inc. v. Société Telus Communications, 2012 FCA 109).

Mr. Vallée appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, which considered three main issues: • Is Mr. Vallée personally responsible for the loss?

• Are the appellants (Mr. Vallée, Peracomo and Realice) entitled to a limit on marine liability despite the Convention?

June 2014 BC Shipping News 43

LEGAL AFFAIRS The Court concluded that Mr. Vallée did not intentionally or recklessly cause the loss within the meaning of the Convention and is therefore entitled to its limitation of liability.

• Was the loss caused by Mr. Vallée’s “wilful misconduct” thus barring him from coverage under his insurance policy?

In the first issue, the SCC held that Mr. Vallée was personally liable for breaching his duty to the respondents. He was the directing mind and alter ego of Peracomo and was liable in his personal capacity since he was personally negligent in cutting the cable.

In the second issue, an exclusion depends upon the fault of the person liable.

According to Article 4 of the Convention, a person “shall not be entitled to limit his liability if it is proved that the loss resulted from his personal act or omission, committed with the intent to cause such loss, or recklessly and with knowledge that such loss would probably result.” The Court confirmed that the Convention

establishes a high fault requirement and the limitation of liability is difficult to break. Mr. Vallée did not have sufficient knowledge of the probable consequences of his actions. Although he intentionally cut the cable, he did not actually know that his actions would probably result in damage. The Court concluded that Mr. Vallée did not intentionally or recklessly cause the loss within the meaning of the Convention and is therefore entitled to its limitation of liability.

Concerning the third issue, the Court distinguished between the fault standard under the insurance exclusion and the Convention. The threshold to break liability under the latter requires intention or recklessness with knowledge that the loss will occur. In contrast, the former simply requires misconduct with reckless indifference to the known risk despite a

duty to know. Mr. Vallée, who had a duty to know better, cut the cable on the sole basis of a map he had seen briefly almost a year prior to the incident. For insurance purposes, the fact that Mr. Vallée believed that the cable was not in use is beside the point. He knew that what he was cutting was a cable. He adverted to the risk that it could be in use but failed to make further inquiries in order to confirm or dispel his belief that the cable was abandoned and useless. As a result, the Court concluded that Mr. Vallée’s loss was excluded from insurance coverage.

This decision reaffirms that the limitation of liability under the Convention remains virtually unbreakable. It is, in the absence of a high degree of subjective blameworthiness, almost impossible for claims to break the limit. However, caution must be taken. While wilful misconduct may not be egregious enough to break the limitation under the Convention, it may amount to breach under a marine insurance policy, thus rendering it void.

Joanna R.Dawson is a lawyer with Bernard LLP. She can be reached at Dawson@bernardllp.ca.

REDDEN NET & ROPE:

Bringing the best of high-performance synthetic tug lines directly to you.

We have the products and services When and Where you need us. > Ready available stock of Samson mainlines, backer lines, and chafe products made with Dyneema® > Expert consultation to aid in the proper selection and design of your towing system > Onboard installation, inspection and training in proper handling Redden-Rope.com

Dyneema® is a registered trademark of Royal DSM N.V. Dyneema is DSM’s high-performance polyethylene product.

F A B R I C AT I N G D I S T R I B U T O R

#27 - 12491 Number 2 Rd, Richmond, BC V7E 2G3 Toll Free: 1-866-233-1422 604-274-1422

44 BC Shipping News June 2014

Marine Fire and Safety Training and Consulting • Safety and risk management • Safety audits • Offering courses in Marina and Small Craft Harbours Fire Fighting; Confined Spaces Entry and Rescue; Waterfront Hazmat; Initial Emergency Response to Incidents for Terminal and Port Operators; Spill Response; and Basic Fire Fighting

SeaFire Training Ltd John F. Lewis, FNI CRSP Tel: 604 951 0061 Cel: 604 318 0985 Email: seafire@shaw.ca

www.seafire.org

TRAINING

Confined spaces — the tripod theory approach

By John Lewis, FNI, CRSP SeaFire Training Ltd.

We have an appalling record in B.C. for confined space fatalities. In the

T

his article is intended to promote discussion on how best to deal with confined spaces. There are comments on definitions and some remarks on assessment, testing, ventilation and rescue.

We have an appalling record in B.C. for confined space fatalities. In the marine world, it appears a seafarer dies every day in a confined or enclosed space. Why? (For this article, confined and enclosed should be seen as synonymous.)

I suggest the reason so many die is because: 1) many workers/seafarers are ignorant of confined spaces (despite great efforts by WorkSafe BC, IMO, etc.); and 2) many workers/seafarers become confused by definitions and simply cannot appreciate the hazards caused by atmospheric containment.

Most articles on confined spaces begin with defining confined spaces. A sample definition of a confined space is a space or area that: 1. is enclosed or partly enclosed; 2. is not designed or intended for continuous human occupation; 3. has limited or restricted means of entry or exit that may complicate the provision of First Aid, evacuation, rescue or other emergency response; 4. has, or may develop a hazardous atmosphere due to its contents, design or location, or the contents, design or location of adjacent* spaces; 5. may develop a hazardous atmosphere due to work being performed in or adjacent to it, or in an adjacent* compartment; and 6. is large enough and so configured that a worker could enter to perform assigned work. Typical examples are void spaces, ballast tanks, fuel tanks, water meter chambers, crane supports.

marine world, it appears a seafarer dies every day in a confined or enclosed space. Why? *The word “adjacent” is important, as fatalities have occurred (in B.C. and in the U.S.) where workers have fallen into confined spaces which they had no intention of entering.

The definition is more comprehensive than most. Some definitions refer only to access issues and do not even mention atmosphere. While the definition is useful, does it apply to areas like attics and crawlspaces? A pumphouse on a farm? A manure pit? On a marine vessel, does it apply to a Lazarette? Steering gear or bow thruster compartments? Passageways adjacent to holds? Refrigeration compartments?

Clearly, the definition is limited, as people have died in such spaces, yet many such spaces do not meet the definition and are not regulated. Some spaces, such as attics and crawlspaces, are specifically excluded from regulation as they cannot be controlled by enforcement and the risk is very low. The spaces excluded from regulation are generally those with low-hazard atmospheres — but people die in “low-hazard atmospheres.” There are few deaths in industries with highhazard atmosphere confined spaces.

The new CSA Z 1006-10 focuses on definition. The WorkSafeBC Regulation, Part 9, while defining confined spaces, also attempts to categorize by defining low, moderate and high-hazard atmospheres. This is important: atmospheres, not spaces, are categorized.

The problem with definitions

The main problem with defining confined spaces is that: 1) so many spaces which meet the definition must be excluded from regulation; or 2) the

regulation is ignored because the spaces are seen as regularly used and not a problem; and 3) people focus on the definition instead of the job.

The definition is neither wrong nor bad: people focus on having a space not meet the definition because they don’t want the hassle of implementing controls such as testing and ventilation — not to mention the paperwork. Instead of dealing with what is, they seek excuses. It really doesn’t matter what you call a space so long as you control the atmosphere inside and adjacent to it.

There are many misconceptions about confined spaces, such as: • “If there are two entries it’s not a confined space” • “If I’ll only be a minute I can just hold my breath” • “I’ve been doing this for 40 years” and other equally false statements.

We train workers in the marine and other industries in confined spaces entry and rescue. Over time, our focus has changed. While we still teach confined space definition, we no longer make it the deciding factor in developing a work plan. Workers and employers try very hard to avoid labelling their spaces as “confined”: many confined spaces are perfectly safe in normal operation.

Between these two situations a grey area has developed and people die. Often, the final decision is subjective and allows room for error.

When too many spaces are defined as confined, workers become confused.

When training, we focus on prevention through control of the atmosphere. We always practice rescue from the spaces June 2014 BC Shipping News 45

TRAINING also and the usual comment is “that was tougher than I expected.”

How do we train people to understand that a space such as a steering gear space or fish hold on a fishing boat, or a lazarette, may be a confined space by definition?

They will not treat such a space as confined as experience tells them it is usually safe.

The space may not be hazardous in normal operations, but may become hazardous due to work being performed in or near it, or due to gas leakage from other areas.

It is not unusual to see gasoline-powered equipment operating near an air intake, or an inert gas plant near an airconditioning intake.

Over-focus on the definition may result in poor overall risk assessment.

A slightly different approach

Now we attempt a more comprehensive approach: the “tripod theory”. This involves assessing, for any job, • The space, as it is, before opening or entering: Does it present hazards?

• The task: Will it generate any contaminants?

• The day and time: Will this be relevant to the work?

Or, more simply, Where+ What + When = How. Example: A task such as pouring gasoline from one container into another has varying degrees of hazard if performed in the kitchen, in the back of a pickup, in the yard. The kitchen has ignition sources and vapours may build to a hazardous level; static electricity may be generated in the back of the pick-up and ignite the vapours; and it’s probably safe in the yard provided there are no ignition sources present and the air is moving.

Space-specific: a hazard assessment of any potential confined space will identify which spaces are clearly hazardous. Not all spaces are hazardous of themselves.

On board, this assessment is fairly easy to achieve.

Task-specific: the work procedure to be performed must be reviewed to assess its potential hazard if performed when confined. Many, otherwise harmless tasks become hazardous when confined.

Time-specific: time of day affects lighting, number of personnel available, accessibility and other factors. Choose the best time to perform a job for minimum risk and maximum assistance. The CSE Permit draws together these factors with the Hazard Assessment and the Work Procedure.

The three elements — space, task, time — are best represented by three overlapping circles. Some factors, such as ventilation, will appear in all three.

Often, when hazard assessments are made of spaces, the anticipated task is included. The actual work to be done is often different from the work anticipated.

This results in a failure to fully merge the planned work with the space.

Control of the atmosphere in the work space — regardless of whether the space is defined as confined — is the most important factor in worker safety and health. This is achieved through testing and ventilation.

• oxygen — without sufficient oxygen we die • LEL — levels of flammable vapours from fuel or paint. Volatile vapours can poison us, cause fires or explosions.

• Carbon monoxide — most common from any gasoline-powered engine, it is rightly called the silent killer.

• Hydrogen sulphide — a deadly gas, more common than realized. It can be found when organic matter decays, as well as in crude oil and some fuels.

If a specific hazard other than these is present, a specific tester for that hazard is required.

The rules for testing are simple. Never put yourself into a space first. Put the tester in, leave it inside long enough to read the atmosphere and don’t enter until you have satisfactory readings. We do this by means of dog leash (for vertical entry) and expanding pole (for horizontal entries). Many people like to use testers with tubes and pumps to draw an air sample. These are useful, but the time delay often results in workers rushing before they have a reading and failing to obtain an adequate sample. If a sample of “bad air” is obtained it may take some time to clear the tubing. Insertion of the tester into the space is quicker and more effective. If the tester does not alarm, that is good. The actual readings can be checked by scrolling the menu.

Testing

Ventilation is stabilization of the environment in a space to establish and maintain a safe atmosphere. This is achieved by introduction and maintenance of a supply of clean breathable air from an

Testing of the atmosphere in the space is done by gas testers which identify the potential hazards. The most common factors tested for are:

Ventilation

Photos courtesy Seafire Training

Using a gas detector to test an atmosphere.

46 BC Shipping News June 2014

Hoisting demonstrates the correct harness adjustments.

TRAINING uncontaminated source (clear of exhaust outlets, etc.) and by removing contaminants by either local or general exhaust.

When ventilating, sketch a flow diagram on the CSE Permit. This helps establish a ventilation plan. If the desired results are not achieved, change the plan and note changes on the sketch. When future work is to be done in the space, the sketch of the successful ventilation method(s) will be helpful. The most important part of ventilation is to ensure flow.

It is common that the cubic capacity of a space is measured and the number of air changes per hour agreed and the number of fans required calculated. However, if the fans are not well placed there will be insufficient flow and parts of the space will remain contaminated.

If we test and ventilate, and maintain testing and ventilation, the only rescue we will ever have to perform is when a worker suffers illness or injury.

If the atmosphere in a space is life threatening (IDLH — “immediately dangerous to life and health”), there is no rescue team on earth capable of getting there in time to rescue workers, unless the team is already on the scene with all equipment rigged.

Many focus too much on rescue and miss the point of stabilizing the atmosphere. Look at the WorkSafe magazine for January/February 2009, cover and page 9 (“Into the void”). What is shown as a rescue-training exercise must actually be a body-recovery exercise. Why? The rescuers are wearing breathing apparatus and the casualty is not. If they need it, why does he not have it? If he doesn’t need it, why are they wearing it? I have seen this error many times while observing training demonstrations. The over-focus on rescuers wearing all the gear results in a waste of resources, a failure to tend to the “casualty” and an assumption that rescue from atmospheric hazard is always possible — it may not be.

When training for rescue, use a fellow worker, not a dummy. The dummy won’t complain if handled roughly: your colleague will and the team will rapidly learn how best to handle a casualty in “their space.”

What I am proposing is not new. Much of what I have written is covered in greater detail in Safety and Health in Confined Spaces by Neil McManus. However,

workers will only accept so much change at one time and most will never read such books, excellent though they are.

It is time to get beyond definitions only: • Stop arguing whether a space fits the definition.

• Focus on the risk of performing a task in a space.

• Stabilize the atmosphere and maintain it.

• Have a plan to rescue injured or ill workers.

Ask: “is the space hazardous?” and “Will the planned work generate a hazard in the space?”

Remember: If we test and ventilate, and maintain testing and ventilation, the only rescue we will ever have to perform is when a worker suffers illness or injury.

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. John can be reached at seafire@shaw.ca.

Rescue

Rescue is the enticing part of training. There is often too much emphasis on rescue and not enough on prevention through controlling the atmosphere (through testing and ventilation).

Rescue without equipment can be very difficult in most spaces, yet the equipment required is usually simple. While we have an approved davit arm and winch, most situations we encounter can be set up for rescue with a 4:1 pulley, a back board and some webbing straps.

Breathing apparatus, whether SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) or SABA (supplied air breathing apparatus) is used when the atmosphere is IDLH. In such cases, entry is required and we enter fully aware and fully protected. Breathing apparatus is unlikely to be effective in atmospheric rescue unless the rescuers train to a high level and a hoisting system is already in place. Many entrance holes are too tight to allow entrance using BA. I have performed two confined space rescues in my life and in both cases the factors aiding in the rescue were: 1) a rescue system was already in place; and 2) the casualty was wearing a harness and had simply to be clipped on and hoisted.

SAFER, SMARTER, GREENER

Stepping up as DNV GL With safety and quality being top of the agenda for the new DNV GL, the world’s largest classification society, we put greater focus on risk-based rules, safety barriers and identifying high-risk areas as a way to ensure your safer shipping.

www.dnvgl.com June 2014 BC Shipping News 47

SHIPBUILDING

Bracewell Marine Group launches Revolution I

B

racewell Marine Group celebrated the launch of their latest new build, the Revolution I, at a

christening ceremony in mid-April with owners Marine Harvest Canada The vessel — 13.4 metres in length with a width

Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

More photos by Dave Roels online at www.bcshippingnews.com

Bracewell’s General Manager Tim Bell does a final check before launching the Revolution I.

Marine and Shipyard

Solutions

Commercial and Industrial Products CORIX supplies fire, water, bilge, booster, HVAC and waste products to the marine and shipyard industry. We work with clients to develop and deliver efficient, cost-effective solutions.

• Engineered products and systems • Pump and piping systems • Pipe and fittings • Transmission products • DeZURIK valves • Shurjoint and Straub couplings

Building a World of Sustainable Communities 48 BC Shipping News June 2014

604.455.3500 www.corix.com

of seven metres — was commissioned at Shelter Island Marina following a celebratory lunch with staff, owners and friends at Tugboat Annie’s Restaurant.

“This is the first of a number of vessels for Marine Harvest Canada,” said Bracewell’s General Manager Tim Bell.

“We expect to build two or three more of the same design for use in Marine Harvest Canada’s operations in the Broughtons.”

Bell noted that, from start to finish, the vessel took 11 months to complete.

The DNV GL-approved hull design was shortened slightly from the original Nordic boat standard. Revolution I, originally named Iron Knight (but changed to match MHC’s new branding initiative), is a solid, flat work platform which will assist in fish farm operations. MHC has built over 200 of the vessels in Norway for MHC’s parent company.

Among those helping Bracewell construct the Revolution I were Comar Electrical Services and Brentco who cut the steel plates for the hull. Bell also spoke highly of the services provided

by Swiftsure Marine’s Kate Armstrong: “Kate was instrumental in our dealings with Transport Canada and guiding us through the certification process for construction standards.”

Particulars of the Revolution I include: • Length: 13.4 metres • Beam: 7 m • Propulsion: John Deere PowerTechTM 6081 8.1 Litre • Classed: DNV GL certified hull structure • Area of operation: Port Hardy/ Broughtons

CARGO LOGISTICS ENGINES

First workboat with MAN EPA Tier 3 commercially rated engine launched in the U.S.

T

he Ava Jane was launched in Washington State on April 15 as the first workboat with a MAN EPA Tier 3 commercially certified engine. Right on time, the German engine manufacturer made its entire product line conform with the current emission standards by optimizing the internal engine design without increasing its fuel consumption at full load.

RDI Marine, MAN’s West Coast distributor has been heavily involved in the workboat industry since the early 1990s. They commissioned the installation on April 21 and since then the boat has been operating in the Puget Sound for extensive testing by its new owner. Capable of running at speeds of over 25 knots, the 32-foot gillnetter for the salmon fisheries will be one of the highest performers in Bristol Bay when it arrives there for the 2014 season.

The boat is equipped with a MAN in-line six-cylinder engine with an output of 537kW (730hp) at 2,300 rpm. Like all other MAN engines, it fulfills the U.S. emission standards for commercial use (EPA Tier 3) since January 2014 and is therefore extremely environmentally friendly. The current regulation required a 20 per cent reduction in nitrous oxides and an additional 40 per cent reduction in particle emission compared to EPA Tier 2.

George Dauber, a Bristol Bay fisherman with 35 years of experience, and heavily involved with the Mavrik Marine shipyard in the Ava Jane project, can’t speak highly enough of the R6-730: “The MAN engine has no equal when it comes to overall vessel noise comfort whether it is in the pilothouse or on the working deck. The engine is unequaled in maintaining its quietness throughout the entire rpm range. It is difficult to describe in words just how quiet the MAN engine is. With other engine brands, it was always a welcome relief to shut down the engine and its noise after a long day; that’s just not the case with the MAN.”

Broad engine range for workboats — even for EPA Tier 3

MAN offers a broad range of high-speed four-stroke diesel engines for commercial marine applications. For heavy duty applications – unlimited operating hours at up to 100 per cent load – including tug and other workboats, MAN offers an output range from 190 to 735 kW (258 to 1,000 hp) at 1,800 rpm.

For medium duty applications (up to 4,000 hours per year at a full-load operation share of up to 50 per cent), including for ferries, fishing boats, and passenger boats, the output range runs from 294 to 1,029 kW (400 to 1,400 hp) at 2,100 rpm. For light duty applications (up to 1,000 hours per year at a full-load operation share of up to 20 per cent), including for escorts, ambulances, and police boats, MAN’s engine range offers efficient six, eight, and 12-cylinder engines providing 537 to 1,324 kW (730 to 1,800 hp).

MAN marine engines are noted for their powerful acceleration with extremely low fuel consumption levels. Their key advantages include the excellent power capacity utilization and compact installation dimensions. The engines are delivered ready for installation and are optimally designed for the given application and usage conditions. After installation, MAN offers inspection and acceptance services and even full commissioning of the engine. All engines comply with internationally applicable exhaust regulations.

Compact and efficient despite EPA Tier 3

At its International Engine Competence Center in Nuremberg (Germany), MAN adjusted all 16 performance levels of the in-line six-cylinder engines as well as the V8 and V12 new generation engines to meet the new emission standard in time. Neither an after-exhaust recirculation nor an exhaust after-treatment system had to be used. Because of the internal optimization of the engine there was no need to add on any additional emission reducing components. Therefore, the MAN engine’s compact size was not affected. “Our commitment to achieve the highest level of efficiency has also been fulfilled with our EPA Tier 3 engines. As one example, we have set a new benchmark for fuel consumption with our MAN D2862 engine for heavy duty applications and that reflects very positively in the total costs of ownership,” says Reiner Roessner, Head of Sales for MAN Engines.

Photos courtesy MAN Engines

The Ava Jane, a 32-foot gillnetter with a beam of 14 feet, four inches and a draft of 35 feet, is launched from the Mavrik Marine shipyard in La Conner, Washington. The vessel is the first workboat in the U.S. to have the MAN R6-730 — an in-line six-cylinder EPA Tier 3 commercially rated engine . Additional specs include a ZF 360 A1 gearbox and a four-blade 30-inch propeller.

June 2014 BC Shipping News 49

MARITIME SECURITY

The rise of Pacific seapower

By Daniel Baart, Analyst, Department of National Defence

Asia’s big advantage — its world leading maritime transport industry and expanding naval power — is also its biggest potential source of conflict. The Maritime Security Challenges 2014 conference will examine this paradox and the region’s future outlook.

T

he Maritime Security Challenges (MSC) conferences have explored a wide range of topics related to security at sea since the series began in 2005. The sixth edition of the conference will continue this tradition by exploring the Pacific region’s rising seapower and the implications of this ascendance on the worldwide maritime community.

The MSC series is designed to attract participation from all members of the sea-going fraternity. This is particularly important as the MSC14 theme of Pacific Seapower is one that concerns all manner of maritime activities, from the operations of navies, to developments in the commercial shipping realm and resource extraction industries, as well as the governmental and intergovernmental organizations that seek to foster international co-operation in the maritime arena.

50 BC Shipping News June 2014

Seapower is about a country’s ability to use the sea freely for its own purposes, like transport, fishing, or resource extraction, while simultaneously protecting those activities It is important to remember that seapower involves much more than just the actions of navies and warships. Though the term ‘power’ in military or political speak often refers to something that is either violent or coercive, seapower is, at its core, a principle that is concerned as much with commerce and prosperity as it is with naval strategy. Seapower is about a country’s ability to use the sea freely for its own purposes, like transport, fishing, or resource extraction, while simultaneously protecting those activities and building the capacity to threaten similar

endeavours by rivals during times of crisis or war.

The MSC14 program, introduced in the previous issue of BC Shipping News

by Jacquie Brower-Berkhoven, is designed to examine the full scope of the seapower concept and its development in Asia by promoting discussion of topics that concern both the practitioners and beneficiaries of maritime security. This is particularly important in a region like the Indo-Pacific which, like the rest of the progressively interconnected global economy, is increasingly dependent on

MARITIME SECURITY

Photo source: Japan Maritime Self Defense Force

Growing naval power in countries like Japan, China and South Korea coincides with stagnation of naval capabilities of western nations, creating an eastward shift in the worldwide centre of naval gravity. maritime trade for its continued prosperity. The region stretching broadly from the Western Indian Ocean to the shores of the Americas has also witnessed a substantial increase in the size and capability of its resident navies.

Growing naval power and confidence in the Pacific has coincided with stagnation in the naval capabilities in many western nations that had previously been amongst the most active maritime states. Taken together, these trends suggest an eastward shift in the worldwide centre of naval gravity. This change can be viewed as the other Pacific Rebalance, which is occurring alongside the much more widely publicized American strategic rebalance to Asia. This refocusing of U.S. military and diplomatic assets was spurred in large part by this rise in Asian military and political influence, a phenomenon which will also be a major topic of discussion at MSC14.

The American example also provides an unalloyed example of the range of strategic advantages that seapower can confer upon a dominant power. The United States Navy, like its world-dominating Royal Navy predecessor, has allowed the U.S. the ability to expand its overseas trade networks and influence, which in turn stimulated the American economy. Professor Geoffrey Till, a preeminent scholar on the modern theory of seapower, suggests that this is a “virtuous maritime cycle” where safe trade begets resource wealth, which, in turn, funds naval forces that protect continued

commercial endeavours. Professor Till — who will be speaking at MSC14 — suggests that seapower is “a tight and inseparable system in which naval power

protects the maritime assets that are the ultimate source of its effectiveness.”

According to this model, a growth in sea-based commercial activity leads to

* Safety * Quality * Service

Aarc-West Mechanical Insulation and Aarc-West Industrial Coatings.

A single source provider for all your Insulation, Sandblasting and Painting needs.

19131 21st Avenue, Surrey, B.C. Phone: 604.535.9963 (ext. 113) Toll-free: 800.853.2133 (ext. 113) Email: don@aarc-west.com

www.aarc-west.com/www.awcoatings.com June 2014 BC Shipping News 51

MARITIME SECURITY This build-up has led to a debate regarding whether a possible naval arms race is underway, or whether the nations in the region are responding in reasonable fashion to their increased maritime interests and responsibilities. an increased interest in protecting that source of prosperity. Massive economic growth in Asia in the past few decades, particularly in China, has encouraged an expansion of the naval forces that protect this trade. Statistics and anecdotal evidence suggests a huge growth in naval capabilities in the region, with states acquiring more and more advanced equipment, like ultra-quiet submarines and advanced anti-ship missile systems.

This build-up has led to a debate regarding whether a possible naval arms race is underway, or whether the nations in the region are responding in reasonable fashion to their increased maritime interests and responsibilities. Regardless of the relative merits of either argument, it is extremely difficult to question the absolutely critical importance of commercial shipping to the global economy,

and continued prosperity for peoples in Asia and around the globe. Asia’s growing dominance of the commercial shipping realm is clear: nine of the 10 busiest ports in the world by tonnage are in Asia, six of the 10 largest shipping companies are Asian, and the 10 largest shipbuilders are located in South Korea, Japan, and China.

However, this dominance is risky because the Indo-Pacific region is as strategically fragile as it is important. Half the world’s maritime traffic is estimated to travel through the politically volatile South China Sea, an area subject to overlapping boundary disputes from six different nations. Similar disputes exist throughout the region between naval heavyweights like China and Japan, and South Korea and Japan, and various smaller states and their neighbours.

Ready to take your call!

Tel: 604-681-8628 Tel (24hr): 604-685-0756 E: tymaclaunch@tymac.ca

Prompt, reliable and professional service...

24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Regular flare-ups in these perennial irritations serve as a stark reminder that the world’s emerging centre of maritime trade is built upon an unstable foundation, and the steady, dependable movement of seaborne trade and commerce could slow to a halt in the event of open conflict.

Clearly, it is in our interest to prevent this. British Columbians have benefitted greatly from the rapid expansion of economic activity in Asia over the past few decades, and evidence of the centrality of shipping to this effort can be seen in the number of vessels transiting the Strait of Georgia or the construction of new terminals at ports along our coast. We are tied more tightly than ever to the maritime networks that reinforce our prosperity and way of life, and the traditional definition of seapower as a state-based capability have given way to more co-operative approaches amongst like-minded partners. The Maritime Security Challenges conference series is designed to foster international dialogue on co-operative approaches to securing the ocean commons while furthering the cause of collective Pacific Seapower.

Zincs with Aluminum Anodes

Replace

Meets VGP regulations on Cathodic Protection

Benefits of Aluminum: • Outlasts Zinc by 150% • Environmentally friendly (Cadmium Free) • Costs less • Weighs 50% less

Photo courtesy of Mike Zelt

Pilot boarding and disembarkation / Water taxi service Marine towage services / Cruise vessel waste removal Barge services including supply of fresh water Sludge oil and bilge water removal / CBSA bonded carrier Blackwater/greywater removal / Transportation of ship’s stores Certified for handling of dangerous goods Barge loading ramp SWL 66 tonnes

More than just launches... www.tymac.ca

52 BC Shipping News June 2014

MARITIME SECURITY CHALLENGES 2014 OCTOBER 6-9, 2014

l

VICTORIA, B.C. CANADA

Presenting topical maritime security issues on the edge of the Pacific.

• The Naval Rebalance to the Pacific

Photo: Master Corporal David Singleton-Browne, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

• Building the Fleets of Tomorrow • The Expansion of Economic and Commercial Activities at Sea • Navigating Maritime Disputes • Technology and Naval Operations • The Future of Navies

Presented by The Navy League

Find out more about conference speakers and the MSC 2014 programme.

Register now for special Early Bird Rate.

www.mscconference.com In co-operation with Maritime Forces Pacific of the Royal Canadian Navy

Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Connect with maritime and industry leaders!

Contact the MSC 2014 Secretariat to join the growing list of sponsors.

250.472.7644 / msc@dearmondmanagement.com June 2014 BC Shipping News 53

ADVERTISERS Ropes & Cordage Tow Lines · Tie-up Lines · Couplers Emergency & Pilot Ladders Cargo, Safety & Gangway Nets Complete Rigging & Splicing Shop CUSTOM RIGGING WITH MANILA ROPE 831 1st Street W., North Vancouver, BC V7P 1A4 Toll free 877-985-7673 · Tel 604-985-7673

Strength . Quality . Service www.donaldsonropes.com

Aarc West Mechanical Insulation / Aarc West Industrial Coatings.......... 51 ABS Americas.................................. 15 Adonis............................................. BC AMIX Group..................................... 54 ATP Instone Marine Travel............... 36 Bernard LLP..................................... 29 Bracewell Marine Group.................... 9 Canada Metal / Martyr Anodes........ 52 Canada’s Pacific Gateways (Prince Rupert Port Authority)........ 21 Canadian LNG Exports Conference..................................... IBC Certispec Services Inc...................... 16 Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia.............................. 10 ClassNK........................................... 11 Corix Water Products....................... 48 Dave Roels Photography................. 30 DNV GL............................................ 47 Donaldson Ropes Ltd....................... 54 Fraser Surrey Docks........................... 4 Gateway Shipping / Transport......... 25 Greenwood Maritime Solutions......... 9 IMS Marine Surveyors & Analytical Laboratories................... 25 Inchcape Shipping Services............. 27

Jastram Technologies Ltd................ 50 John Horton, Marine Artist.............. 21 King Bros. Limited........................... 30 Lloyd’s Register................................. 8 MAN Engines & Components / RDI Marine ....................................... 9 Maritime Security Challenges......... 53 Mercy Ships..................................... 33 Meridian Marine Industries............. 54 Mission to Seafarers........................ 40 Nanaimo Port Authority.................. 32 Osborne Propellers.......................... 48 Prince Rupert Port Authority...........IFC Redden Net & Rope......................... 44 Robert Allan Ltd.............................. 35 Schneider Electric.............................. 3 Seafire Training Ltd......................... 44 Seaspan Marine.............................. 17 Survitec Group................................ 39 Tervita............................................. 33 Tymac Launch Service Ltd............... 52 Vancouver Maritime Museum......... 42 W&O Supply.................................... 14 Western Canada Marine Response Corporation..................... 40 Westshore Terminals....................... 26

Serving BC’s Coast since 1988 www.amixgroup.ca

1.888.600.AMIX

410-713 Columbia Street, New Westminster, BC V3M 1B2

Heavy Lift Marine Salvage Demolition Towing & Barging

ACCOUNTABILITY l RELIABILITY SERVICE EXCELLENCE

9311 River Drive Richmond, B.C. Phone: 604-270-2775

www.meridianmarine-inc.com Let’s Do This.

54 BC Shipping News June 2014

15% DISCOUNT

*

THE ONLY CANADA SPECIFIC EVENT TO FEATURE PERSPECTIVES FROM LNG BUYERS, SELLERS, REGULATORS & FIRST NATIONS IN ONE PLACE

Use Code BCSN

June 18-19, 2014 | Vancouver | Canada

Examining Strategies

For LNG Terminal & Pipeline Developers To Collaborate With Regulators, First Nations & Asian Buyers To Establish A Globally Competitive Canadian LNG Export Industry Before The Opportunity Is Missed Key Issues To Be Discussed Include: • ASIAN BUYER PERSPECTIVES

• BRAND NEW LNG PIPELINE UPDATES

• FRESH UPDATES ON TERMINAL TIMINGS

• SOLUTIONS FOR OVERCOMING SKILLED LABOR SHORTAGES

• A FULL RANGE OF REGULATOR PERSPECTIVES • PRACTICAL FIRST NATIONS PERSPECTIVES

• DETAILED ANALYSIS ON AVAILABILITY OF SHIPS & PORTS

20+ Expert Speakers Including: Susannah Pierce General Manager - LNG Canada

Shell

Co-Sponsor:

Deputy Commissioner

Vice-President BG Canada

British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission

BG Group

Keo Lukefahr

Krishnan Suthanthiran

General Manager for Natural Gas

President

PetroChina

James O’Hanley

Madeline Whitaker

Dave Byng Deputy Minister

Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training

Kitsault Energy

Legal Partner:

Organized by:

www.lng-exports-canada-2014.com

Headline Sponsor:

Coffee Break Sponsor:

M Follow us @UnconventOilGas (1) 800 721 3915 info@canadian-business-conferences.com