BC Shipping News - November 2016

Inland Ports: Conference sparks dialogue

Risk Management: The modern Northwest Passage

Marine Insurance: The forgotten industry

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

Volume 6 Issue 9

NEWS

www.bcshippingnews.com

November 2016

Canadian Navy Commander prepares for the ‘new’ Navy

Industry Insight

Ken Burton, Executive Director Vancouver Maritime Museum

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Contents

NEWS

November 2016 Volume 6 Issue 9

Cover Story

22

36

Risk management

The modern Northwest Passage

By Nigel Greenwood

41 Navigation

Government of Canada announces $1.8 million for OSI Maritime Systems

42 7 8 12

Editor’s note

By Jane McIvor

20

In brief

Industry traffic and news briefs

Industry insight

For the love of a challenge Captain Ken Burton, Executive Director, Vancouver Maritime Museum Burton is one of those rare examples of a leader who usually chooses the road "less travelled by" and always excels at the task at hand.

22 26

Canadian Coast Guard

49

Royal Canadian Navy

51

Commander prepares for the 'new' Navy

JRCC Victoria

32

RCM-SAR

34

46

Coast Guard Chief determined to live up to public expectations

By Ray Dykes

30

12

History lesson

From captain to cult leader The curious tale of Brother XII

By Lea Edgar

Effective collaboration saves lives

A key partner in marine safety B.C.'s community-based search and rescue organization

By Rob Duffus

Inland ports

Inland Port Conference sparks dialogue

By Colin Laughlan

Liquid gas exports

Natural gas liquid exports via Pacific Northwest ports

By Darryl Anderson

Marine insurance

The forgotten industry

By Syd Heal

Legal affairs

Succession planning for small businesses

By Catherine Hofmann

36

Firefighting vessels

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services welcomes Fireboat 1

By Michael Gardiner

On the cover: RCM-SAR vessels in Vancouver Harbour (photo courtesy Rob Duffus); above: Canadian Coast Guard vessels (photo courtesy CCT); right: The Crystal Serenity and RSS Ernest Shackleton (image courtesy EVC & Crystal Cruises); left: Captain Ken Burton.

November 2016 BC Shipping News 5

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November 2016 Volume 6/Issue 9

Publisher McIvor Communications Inc. President & Editor Jane McIvor Contributing Writers

Darryl Anderson Ken Burton Rob Duffus Ray Dykes Lea Edgar Michael Gardiner Nigel Greenwood Syd Heal Catherine Hofmann Colin Laughlan Justin Olsen Editorial Assistant Amanda Schuldt-Thompson Advertising and Subscriptions Phone: 604-893-8800 Jane McIvor (jane@bcshippingnews.com) Advertising only: Lesley McIvor (lesleymcivor@shaw.ca) ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION Canada Three Years $116.95 Cdn*

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

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.

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

International Sailor’s Society Canada

EDITOR’S NOTE

Photos by Dave Roels, www.daveroels.com

Exciting changes afoot

A

s is our tradition, the November issue of BC Shipping News is dedicated to those in the profession of service to Canada. While once a year is not nearly enough, it's important to recognize the dedication and efforts of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Joint Rescue Coordiation Centre, the Canadian Coast Guard, the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue and all those, both paid and volunteers, who help to keep mariners safe.

BRACEWELL

means

This year, I was impressed with how much change is afoot within both the RCN and the CCG. Ray Dykes' interview with CCG's Western Region Assistant Commissioner, Roger Girouard, shows that government investment in vessels, infrastructure and personnel is creating an "exciting and busy" time.

And I was honoured to be able to interview Rear Admiral Art McDonald, Commander of the Pacific Marine Forces and JRCC Victoria, who spoke of many

BUILT WELL

changes — new vessels, new facilities and new training systems. Clearly, the magnitude of work underway at the RCN is unprecedented.

So, while we remember those who gave their lives in the service of defending our country, for which we are eternally grateful, I thought it fitting to give a nod to future forces and the leadership that is ensuring a continued safe and prosperous Canada.

Thank you for your service.

— Jane McIvor

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November 2016 BC Shipping News 7

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC First ‘unannounced’ spill response exercise carried out in Nanaimo

W

to 21. As part of the exercise, equipment and vessels from WCMRC’s South Coast and Vancouver Island fleets deployed to a simulated spill in Nanaimo Harbour.

Photo courtesy WCMRC/NPA

estern Canada Marine Response Corporation has wrapped-up a two-day oil spill response exercise in Nanaimo Harbour that ran from September 20

Nanaimo comes together: WCMRC was joined by Nanaimo Port Authority, City of Nanaimo, Transport Canada, Canadian Coast Guard and many others to exercise for a 2,000-tonne spill.

8 BC Shipping News November 2016

The unannounced exercise was a live “on water” multi-agency effort which was the first of its kind on the West Coast and was designed to test WCMRC’s capacity for rapid response. WCMRC was supported in the exercise by the Nanaimo Port Authority. In total, nearly 60 response personnel and over a dozen response vessels were involved in the operation. They came from diverse locations and with various levels of expertise including Transport Canada, Canadian Coast Guard, Nanaimo City, RCMP and a large contingent of support contractors.

The scenario involved the hard landing of a cruise ship while approaching the berth, resulting in a release of 2,000 tonnes of diesel mixed with fuel bunker and hydraulic fluid. WCMRC crews deployed to the scene, contained the casualty vessel, placed protection boom around sensitivities in the harbour and began containment sweeps.

“While we already have a robust annual exercise program in place, we are always looking at ways to continuously improve.

This unannounced exercise will help us to identify any gaps in our planning and ensure our contractor network is strong,” says Kevin Gardner, President of WCMRC. President & CEO of the Nanaimo Port Authority, Bernie Dumas, stated: “This exercise was a success on many levels. One of the biggest values of the two-day exercise was strengthening our relationship with our professional response team.”

WCMRC is also exploring the establishment of a new response base in Nanaimo on port property.

Construction of the new base is dependent on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project moving forward. The project is contingent Federal Cabinet approval, anticipated in December 2016.

The Nanaimo base would be part of a broader spill response enhancement program for Trans Mountain. The enhancements would include five new response bases, approximately 115 new employees and approximately 26 new vessels at strategic locations along B.C.’s southern shipping lane.

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In memoriam

Erling Sylte, Sylte Shipyard Maritime Human Resource:

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.C.’s marine industry mourns the loss of Erling Olav Sylte, owner of Sylte Shipyard which, for 28 years at their Maple Ridge location, built some of the finest vessels to ply the B.C. coast.

Erling passed away peacefully at his home in Maple Ridge in the late evening of September 13, 2016 at the age of 88, after a courageous battle with Cancer.

Erling was born in Tresfjord, Norway on July 26, 1928. He left Norway and brought his family to Canada in 1952 in the hopes of a better life. While working in the shipbuilding industry soon after his arrival to Canada — first with Vestad, then Star Shipyard before starting Tri Star in 1975 and finally Sylte Shipyard in 1988, both on Wharf Street in Maple Ridge — his reputation as a first-class shipbuilder grew with each vessel that left Sylte Shipyard. And with over 100

vessels to his name, including fish boats, tugs and yachts, Erling was recognized as a man of word, often closing deals with a handshake which meant more to him than a piece of paper. He worked closely with Al McIlwain to produce some of the more iconic vessels on the water today for companies like Saam Smit, Catherwood and Gowlland — too many to list but tugs that will continue to remind the industry of the skills of both Al and Erling.

Erling was predeceased by wife Edna, brother Olaf and son Stolie. He is survived by his family that loved him dearly and will miss him always. Children Annette, Stephen, Douglas (Lisa); David (Tracey); sister Kjellfrid; nephew Einar (Svanhild), sister-in-law Annamarit; his six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren as well as several nieces and nephews and many close family and friends.

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November 2016 BC Shipping News 9

INDUSTRY TRAFFIC

In memoriam

Fred Spoke, former Vancouver Port Manager

F

red Spoke, P.Eng, former Manager of the Port of Vancouver (19741983) passed away peacefully on October 1, 2016, just a few weeks after his 96th birthday.

Fred was born in 1920 in the Dutch East Indies (DEI) and emigrated to Canada in 1951 with his wife Henny and three young children, settling initially in Port Alberni, and later in Vancouver. He grew up in colonial Indonesia and in Holland. His early life was shaped by those experiences including living through the early years of the Second World War in occupied Holland as a member of the Dutch Underground and then escaping on foot through Europe in order to join Queen Juliana and other Dutch Officers in the U.K. He then served in the Dutch Army as an Engineer officer in Surinam and later in the DEI prior to its independence in 1949.

Fred had a varied and accomplished career in both Canada and Holland as a Civil Engineer, however he had to earn that qualification the hard way. As his student days were interrupted by the war, his qualifications as a Cadet Engineering Officer were not recognized in Canada.

He studied at night through correspondence courses for several years and finally sat all of his exams to qualify as a Professional Engineer in B.C. in 1959.

His first job on arrival in Canada was sweeping floors in the pulp mill in Port Alberni. His skills and drive however soon led him into proper engineering jobs. His first opportunity was as an engineering draftsman on the Kemano hydro-electric project in Kitimat. He then moved to Vancouver to work for

H.A. Simons where he worked on numerous major pulp mill design projects. In 1954, he applied for and was awarded the position of Project Engineer for the new head office of the B.C. Electric Co. at the corner of Nelson and Burrard Street in downtown Vancouver, a building which is still a landmark in the city today.

He also worked as Project Engineer on the BC Engineering Building and the Burrard Thermal Generating Station.

With the transition of BC Electric to the Crown Corporation BC Hydro, Fred was nominated to be the Senior Project Engineer for the Peace River Power Project.

He later was Director of Engineering for the design of the Duncan, Mica and Arrow Dams on the Columbia River, and subsequently Assistant Construction Manager on the same three major hydro projects.

Frustrated by the union structure in these major construction projects in Canada, he returned to Holland in 1967 to act as Project Director for the construction of the Erasmus University Hospital in Rotterdam. In 1970, he was appointed Deputy Managing Director for the Port of Rotterdam. In that position, he met a delegation from the Port of Vancouver including former Mayor Bill Rathie who encouraged him to apply for an emerging position in Vancouver. So, in 1974, he returned to Canada to finish his distinguished professional life as Manager of the Port of Vancouver until his retirement in 1983. In that capacity, he pushed hard for the autonomy of the Port (rather than from Directors in Ottawa) and was a key player in the development of the new Canada Ports Act in 1981. He was instrumental

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in the development of both the Vanterm and Lynnterm Terminals, and in the major expansion of the Roberts Bank Terminal.

He also led numerous initiatives to promote the port on the international stage.

In spite of his demanding professional career, Fred led an active social life with Henny, their five children and a very wide circle of good friends. Predeceased by Henny and two of his three brothers, he leaves behind a close family; Mary Spoke (Jake Brown d. 2014), Fred and Marie Lucie Spoke, Enneke and Robert Allan, Peter and Janis Spoke, and Jennifer and Malcolm Cant. He was also much loved by his eight grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren.

A long life, well-lived!

NEWS BRIEFS

First World Maritime Day Breakfast Conference a success

T

he Vancouver International Maritime Centre hosted a successful Breakfast Conference marking World Maritime Day 2016. Given the strong turnout, the conference agenda sparked interest from many sectors of the maritime industry. A long list of partners and sponsors also demonstrated the importance of the event to Vancouver’s shipping community.

Moderator Craig Eason, Deputy Editor, Lloyd’s List, did an outstanding job in leading panelists and guest speakers through topics that included “Shipping: Indespensable to the World” and “Shipping is not just about Ships.”

The first panel, representing some of the leading shipping firms in Vancouver as well as the Port of Vancouver and Chamber of Shipping of America President & CEO Kathy Metcalf, who discussed the many aspects of their operations, critical to ensuring a vibrant world trade economy.

The second panel, consisting of the “business” side of shipping — i.e., labour, legal, accounting, taxation, and education — provided insights into the value-add jobs and careers that are borne by the industry.

And, while keynote speaker Kathy Metcalf provided an engaging presentation that touched on trends within the industry, and MLA

Naomi Yamamoto spoke about the creation of new jobs in the shipbuilding sector, perhaps the highpoint of the conference was Peter Economides, Owner & Founder, Felix BNI. Economides, a world-leading branding strategy executive, presented an impressive video developed to underline the importance of shipping and how it impacts on, quite literally, every aspect of our lives.

Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Executive Director; Graham Clarke, Chair; and all of the staff of the VIMC are to be congratulated on a successful event!

Oscar Pinto, Kaity Arsoniadis-Stein, Naomi Yamamoto and Graham Clarke.

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

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

Half page BC shipping_CYBER_060516.indd 1

11/07/2016 13:39:10

November 2016 BC Shipping News 11

INDUSTRY INSIGHT

For the love of a challenge

Captain Ken Burton Executive Director Vancouver Maritime Museum

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

Burton is one of those rare examples of a leader who usually chooses the road “less travelled by” and always excels at the task at hand.

K

en Burton describes the choices he’s made in his career as “if the door was open, I was prone to step through it.” Indeed, moving from a background in fine arts, through to medical forensic photography, then the many opportunities presented to him during a career with the RCMP, and finally to Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, it’s difficult to determine which part of his career is the highlight — his time on RCMP patrol boats on B.C.’s coast; his leadership in the Millennium project to trace the route of the St. Roch with a 20-metre aluminum catamaran; his experiences onboard the recent Crystal Serenity voyage through the Northwest Passage; or his current role as Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

Regardless of identifying the highlight, there are constant themes throughout Burton’s career that remind one of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.”

12 BC Shipping News November 2016

Burton is one of those rare examples of a leader who usually chooses the road “less travelled by” and always excels at the task at hand. And clearly, he loves a challenge.

BCSN: The easiest way to start is at the beginning. Could you provide an overview of how you came to be the Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum?

KB: It’s been an interesting evolution.

My background was originally in the arts. I worked at museums in Ontario as well as producing documentary films at Toronto Western Hospital where I became interested in medical forensic photography. Through an early mentor who worked at the Ontario Provincial Police Forensic Lab, I applied for both the OPP and RCMP with the intent on moving into the forensic lab. Being a police officer was the furthest thing from my mind — trust me, they were more apt to be chasing me.

I had to go through the same training as any police officer, which was followed

by two years in the field. My first posting was in North Vancouver in 1981 where I was first exposed to the marine industry and the shipyards where the Terry Fox was being built at that time.

By 1986, I had become a diver and spent most of that summer underwater during Expo as part of the security detail.

It was during this time that I was exposed to coastal patrol boats and, one thing led to another, and I found myself working on a patrol vessel in 1989 in Sechelt — the Regina, a 41-foot Canoe Cove. After some traditional marine training, I received my command endorsement.

Over the course of the next 10 years or so, I was skipper on all four of the RCMP patrol vessels at the time — working on the coasts off Sechelt, Nanaimo, the West Coast of Vancouver Island and Prince Rupert. I really got to know the coast, the shipping industry and the industries related to shipping — fishing, logging, mining, etc. And to further my marine experience, I was able to do some extracurricular activities — for example, I joined Don McKenzie, a tug boat operator in Sechelt, on a 300-tonne tow up to Alaska and I skippered a pocket cruise ship for a season running the B.C./Alaska route.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT All of this experience gave me a deep appreciation and understanding of how the industry works and how resilient — and at the same time fragile — the marine industry could be.

BCSN: Aside from the St. Roch II voyage which we’ ll cover in a minute, what were some of the highlights of your career with the RCMP? KB: The St. Roch II voyage was definitely a significant highlight. Following that excursion, I ended up within the corporate management group. I became the Director of Internal Security for the RCMP in the Pacific Region. This coincided with the Olympics and I was able to spend a lot of time on the marine security.

Another significant memory is receiving a call at 1:00 am in the morning for the Queen of the North incident. I was the lead police agency investigator and point person for the first critical stages. So all of the background, training and education I had gained was key to directing and assisting the emergency police response. I directed

the investigation for the initial stages and then turned it over to specialized units because it was going to be a big file.

Most recently, I was charged with building a tactical weapons range in Chilliwack. It is a 54,000-square-foot facility. I put the team together, got the project done and got it off the ground under budget and ahead of schedule.

I’ve had an amazing career with the RCMP and have received a number of accolades — the Member of Order of Merit Award, the Diamond Jubilee Medal and others.

BCSN: How did the St. Roch II voyage come about?

KB: So I was immersed in the marine industry but with a unique lens and a diverse set of experiences which all merged together to ultimately give me the idea that, for the approaching Millennium celebrations, it would be a great challenge to take one of the RCMP vessels and retrace the voyage of the St. Roch. That was in 1998 and the idea was met with varying amounts of laughter.

About three months later, I got a call from the Vancouver Maritime Museum who asked if I was serious. From there, I connected with some high-ranking retired senior RCMP officials and they said the idea had merit and wanted me to try.

So I worked through the bureaucratic process within the RCMP and ended up getting the Nadon. There were a few strings attached — the Nadon had reached the end of its operational life, so we agreed to do a significant amount of work on her and return the vessel to RCMP operations when we were finished. The marine industry really pitched in on that front — Allied Shipbuilders helped with the reconstruction; Alcan rebuilt the hull; MAN Diesel rebuilt the engines. Robert Allan played a big part in putting all the pieces together. Arneston Drive Systems was also a big supporter — in addition to a cash donation, they supplied the drives for the vessel.

The next step was securing a support vessel. I had a contact within the

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INDUSTRY INSIGHT

The St. Roch II voyage in 2000 — Burton captained the Nadon with support from the CCG Simon Fraser.

Canadian Coast Guard — Gary Sidock — who just happened to be in charge of the ice breakers at the time and he arranged to have the Simon Fraser released to the RCMP under a bare boat charter agreement.

As we approached 2000, I now had an operational boat capable of circumnavigating North America — outfitted for both the Arctic and the Tropics, which is a little unusual — and a support boat that was coming from Halifax through the Panama Canal.

And we set sail on July 1, 2000 from Canada Place.

We headed up the coast, stopping frequently in places like Gibsons, Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Campbell River, etc.; and through the Alaskan waters and the Bering Sea — we were only stopped once due to ice. We got through the Arctic remarkably fast and started down the East Coast, stopping in a number of communities along the way, and then travelled into the St. Lawrence Seaway to meet with the Governor General in Ontario; then back out and down the eastern seaboard in time for the boat show in Ft. Lauderdale. From there, we crossed over to Cuba where we were detained by authorities who didn’t like our sonar array. Luckily, the Canadian ambassador got us out of hock. From there, we went across to Grand Cayman Island, then through the Panama Canal and back up the West Coast.

In total, we travelled about 24,000 nautical miles in 169 days with 50 ports of calls in seven different countries. It took me many years to be able to turn left again.

BCSN: Did you do any exploring while in the Arctic?

Yes, we had some significant archeological findings and we spent some time doing sonar searches for the Erebus and Terror.

We found the burial site of Sir John Franklin’s men — there are still human remains on the beach and you can see the gravesites because of the patches of moss — in the Arctic, life clings to organic material. The graves were probably dug by someone searching for Franklin’s men — it was in very close proximity to Terror Bay. BCSN: I have to ask — first, how did you know the graves were those of Franklin’s men? Also, didn’t anyone think about looking for the Terror in Terror Bay? KB: Ironic isn’t it? It was a coincidence that the Terror was found there but still ironic.

14 BC Shipping News November 2016

Photo courtesy Ken Burton

You could see buttons and wool coming through the moss and that was enough to convince us of the authenticity of the site.

We contacted archeologists in Nunavut so they could follow up.

BCSN: Fast forward 16 years and you’re in the Arctic again with the Crystal Serenity. What was your role onboard?

KB: I presented a series of lectures on issues like the Forgotten War (where Japan invaded two of the Aluetian Islands I June 1942) as well as the discovery of the Franklin ships. The Serenity followed the same route as the St. Roch so I had a large presentation on that as well as early European exploration. I also provided an introduction to the Canadian Arctic — what to do and not to do when you go ashore.

BCSN: I understand you also sailed with One Ocean Expedition.

KB: That’s right. I departed onboard the Serenity from Seward, Alaska on August 16, and got off at Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, on August 28, when I hustled over to Cambridge Bay and got on the One Ocean Expedition vessel which took me from Cambridge all the way down to Iqaluit.

For the One Ocean Expedition voyage, myself and Duncan MacLeod, our Curator, travelled with the ship to present a series of lectures entitled ‘Across the Top of the World: the Quest for the Northwest Passage.’ We gave presentations about the Arctic’s environment and people; the many voyages of discovery; the search for John Franklin’s lost expedition, both historical and modern, and the ultimate discovery of HMS Erebus by Parks Canada.

BCSN: Could you describe the Serenity trip?

KB: I have to say that it was very well organized. Crystal approached the villages more than two years before the cruise and asked each if they wanted to have the ship visit. If the villagers said no, they respected that and didn’t plan stops there.

To give you an example, Holman Island has a population of about 415 people and to ensure it wasn’t overwhelming, Crystal planned a number of excursions so that there wasn’t more than about 150 passengers in any one area. The support vessel, the Ernest Shackleton, provided zodiacs, helicopters and rigid hull inflatables for tours. The entire trip was spectacular…seamless operations.

I met people from every walk of life — lawyers, teachers, business people, engineers, entrepreneurs, etc. — people that had a

INDUSTRY INSIGHT deep interest in the Arctic. Some of them were concerned about some of the media reports on extinction tourism or danger but they are coming back with a new perspective on the Arctic.

Everything I heard and saw, reinforced my belief that Crystal had acted within the highest degree of corporate integrity. Other cruise lines have expressed interest in taking ships through. I hope they do it with the same respect for the environment as Crystal demonstrated.

There’s only ever been about 225 ships that have gone through the Northwest Passage. The largest ship prior to the Serenity was an ice-reinforced expedition cruise ship that took 200 people.

Now here’s a cruise ship with over 1,000 passengers and 700 crew. The challenges in terms of spill response or search and rescue would have been significant but Crystal was operating in a highly regulated environment and had done everything possible to guarantee safe, efficient and effective navigation. I had every confidence in the Captain and officers that they could do it safely or quite frankly, I wouldn’t have done it.

BCSN: Could you describe any changes to the Arctic that you saw between your trip with the St. Roch II and the Serenity?

KB: I was in the Arctic in both 1998 as well as 2000. I made the comment at that time, that my children, or certainly my grandchildren, would see an ice-free Arctic because it was melting that fast. When I went up this year, my comment is the same.

Yes, the ice is melting, and melting fast.

Burton was awarded the Member of Order of Merit (Order of Canada) for Police Service in 2014.

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November 2016 BC Shipping News 15

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Consequences are subtle right now — ice flows are critical because underneath them grows ... food for Arctic Cod. Seals feed on the cod and the polar bears feed on the seals.

Consequences are subtle right now — ice flows are critical because underneath them grows algae and seaweed which is food for Arctic Cod. Seals feed on the cod and the polar bears feed on the seals.

16 BC Shipping News November 2016

That’s a simplistic analysis but with no ice, there’s no food for the cod, hence no food for the seals, etc. The consequence of that is we’re at risk of losing polar bears.

I saw killer whales showing up now (although not entirely unheard of before) feeding on the narwhales and beluga whales which have adapted to swimming around ice flows and ice bergs. With no ice, it’s a buffet for the killer whales. The system is fundamentally changing.

BCSN: Let’s focus now on the Vancouver Maritime Museum. First, how did you come to be the interim Executive Director?

KB: After completing the required work on the tactical weapons range, I was asked what I’d like to do next. Within the RCMP, we have the ability to request external secondment opportunities. It’s quite common for senior officers to step away from the organization to learn about other businesses. If you stay in-house all the time you don’t get a full understanding of what’s going on in the outside world. At the same time, the museum was looking for an interim Executive Director.

So I was released from duty for one year to fill that role.

The task set out for me was to assist the museum in regaining administrative and operational stability. The first year went very well. At the end, the board asked me to stay and I agreed and submitted my retirement papers to the RCMP. BCSN: Could you describe some of the initiatives you undertook during that first year?

KB: The first year involved a fundamental restructure of the museum administration and curatorial side. This meant hiring the right people with the right academic credentials as well as key skills and ability to do the job.

We put in appropriate business rules and appropriate human resource management and focused on operating in a more business-like atmosphere — for example, funds were being spent which, from a business perspective, weren’t a wise use of resources. We identified inefficiencies and re-invigorated key partnerships. We also systematically went through the books to identify gaps between donations and agreements — for example, we had been funded for a proper period piece for a 6,000-pound cannon but it had never been delivered; also, some items were on loan and hadn’t been returned, so we went through all the paperwork and, if we didn’t have a

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

proper donation agreement, the item was returned.

BCSN: How much of the museum’s collection is in storage versus on display?

KB: Probably about 90 per cent is in storage, both at the museum and another building off site. Museums tend to have hoarding characteristics. You never know for sure if something is going to have value. For example, we have 485 ship models, of which 200 are significant, but approximately 285 that don’t really belong in our archives.

We had to readjust our intake and our retention policy. The minute a museum takes something in, they need to make sure they are able to store it, insure it and secure it, curate it and display it. If you can’t do that, you shouldn’t take it in.

The insurance consequences alone are huge.

BCSN: What are some of the other initiatives you’ve implemented since becoming the permanent Executive Director?

KB: A lot of it has revolved around meeting community expectations and trying to develop partnerships that add excitement and relevance. We’ve developed programs that are relevant, topical and important to our history and heritage.

By virtue of having the St. Roch we needed to tell the story of the Arctic. For example, Jim Delgado’s book — Across the Top of the World — was written with the intention of having an exhibit and it’d never been done. So we got permission from Douglas & McIntyre and Jim and, just as we’re putting up the display, the Erebus was found. We took the display and marketed it to cruise ships and currently, the display is on three ships now.

That’s a revenue stream for the museum.

Depending on what package they buy, it comes with the artifacts and people. It’s also a development opportunity for staff.

We look at everything now in terms of its return on investment. Gone are the one-use museum exhibits. When we’re finished with it, we either sell it or give it to a community group — for example, the Across the Top of the World display will remain here in Vancouver perhaps at a maritime training facility. Everything has more than one use.

The partnerships we’ve established have been amazing and have created awardwinning experiences — for example,

Burton at the helm of a simulated fo’c’sle of an 18th century tall ship which allows visitors to tour Vancouver Harbour.

Centre for Digital Media, Haley Sharpe Design and Robert Allan Ltd. created the award-winning “St. Roch Wheelhouse Experience.” We also have “Anthony of the Arctic” — a polar bear who explores an underwater wreck; and then there is “Orion” — an Inuit story about the North Star and celestial navigation.

BCSN: What’s the next step of evolution for the museum? Related to that question, could you include a description of your relationship with the City of Vancouver?

KB: The City owns the building and the collection and we operate within a trust arrangement for them. There is a significant complexity within the City when working through the bureaucratic process — for example, we report to the Culture Department but the green area belongs to the Parks Board; the building is controlled by Facilities and the harbour is controlled by Engineering. So depending on our needs, it can get complicated.

When looking at the evolution of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, a key component is to look at the entire Vanier Park area. Between ourselves, the HR MacMillan Planetarium, the Museum of Vancouver, and the Music Academy, we’ve never been able to reach critical mass despite being in close proximity to each other. So the next stage of evolution has to consider that. We had an expert consultant look at our museum and he provided a business model that, in this market, calls for a footprint of 50,000 square feet (we’re currently at 30,000

sf). Given the population of Vancouver, we should be bringing in about 400,000 visitors per year (we’re currently at 100,000).

There are a few options that are being presented to the museum’s board of directors. One, we keep the status quo — the down side is that it doesn’t serve the community or the institution very well. We require an expansion that includes a significant First Nations component which is a huge gap in our collection. We tell the Inuit story by virtue of the St. Roch but we have an unexploited West Coast opportunity. We also need to do more around shipbuilding — that’s another gap but we’re constrained by our physical size.

Another option is to expand the current location and we have done studies on that so we know what it would take if we go that route.

The third option is to relocate. If we relocate, either to an existing vacant facility or new build, location is very important. One concept involves building a new museum on that land, connects it to the Museum of Vancouver and the HR MacMillan building and create a community cultural campus with extra features, like a restaurant, for example.

Tourists will be attracted because everything is in the same place. It’s a short distance from Granville Island, which sees over nine million visitors and, with the Molson Brewery coming down, provides an opportunity to re-route traffic away from the residential areas within Kits.

November 2016 BC Shipping News 17

INDUSTRY INSIGHT Vanier Park is the most underutilized park on the West Coast.

We’ve developed a preliminary business model and feel that we have some feasible options for the community and the City of Vancouver to consider .

BCSN: What do you think the likely outcome will be?

KB: That’s up to the board, the community and the City of Vancouver. I think it would be sad to remain with the status quo because we’re reaching our stride already. I believe in “cathedral planning.” When they built cathedrals in the middle ages, they were built to last for hundreds of years. Given our size and other challenges, the ability for our current facility to sustain a maritime story for another 60 to 100 years won’t happen.

If the board, the community, our members and the City want to think long term, the answer is to relocate. And if you want to establish critical mass for a community cultural centre (wherever that may be) that becomes a draw, then a link to other institutions would provide an economies of scale that makes sense.

It doesn’t mean we give up creative autonomy, rather, it means having one administrative area, one storage area, collective food services and city services. The City and other levels of government must be prepared to invest in our cultural infrastructure or we find ourselves in a city without a museum. This idea isn’t new by the way. It has been articulated in one way or another for the last 50 years.

At the end of the day, I’m excited about the possibilities. And at the very least, you gotta love a challenge. BCSN

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About Ken Burton

C

aptain Ken Burton currently shares his passion for history and serves as the Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum (VMM). The VMM is one of only a small handful of Canadian Institutions to be a designated “downstream” direct recipient of Erebus material and artefacts as they may be recovered by Parks Canada archaeologists.

Captain Burton has served as guide, historian, logistics support, and advisor on a multiple of North West Passage transits and remote Pacific Coast adventure expeditions (as Captain) executed or attempted by a wide variety of entities. Most recently (August 2015 and 2016) Captain Burton served as an on-scene historian/guide advisor and lecturer on a successful transit East to West through the North West Passage (Greenland to Cambridge Bay) on the research vessel Akademik Sergey Vavilov and the Crystal Serenity.

He is currently working on multiple Arctic transits planned well into 2017/2018 and beyond.

Captain Burton was a career member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and worked throughout Canada and abroad as a Federal Enforcement Peace Officer and Patrol Vessel Commander. He holds an internationally recognized 500 GT Maritime Command Endorsement. In 2015, he retired with distinction from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a Commissioner Officer (Inspector).

Throughout his career Captain Burton was awarded multiple honours, awards commendations and recognition including but not limited to Long Service Medal, Recognition from the citizens of Boston, Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal, Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, Crime Stoppers International Award of Excellence and in 2014, he was inducted into the Order of Canada system when he was appointed as a member of The Order of Merit for Police Officers.

In the year 2000, Captain Burton was placed in charge and served as Captain of the St. Roch II Voyage of Re-Discovery. This was a Government of Canada millennium project, which saw Captain Burton and crew retrace the voyages of the original RCMP St Roch’s Arctic transit and subsequent circumnavigation of North America. The transit was completed successfully in a 20m high-speed aluminum catamaran.

During this 169-day 24,000 nautical mile circumnavigation of North America (in the RCMP Patrol Vessel Nadon), they made over 50 ports of call into seven different countries and set a number of world records.

Over the years, Captain Burton has been active in all things marine, he was an avid SCUBA diver and master SCUBA Instructor, historian, photographer, prolific writer and has travelled and taught extensively throughout North America and abroad.

In 2015 Captain Burton was appointed to the Board of Governors of the Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue Society.

INDUSTRY INSIGHT About the Vancouver Maritime Museum

T

he Vancouver Maritime Museum Society has worked to preserve and tell the maritime history of the Pacific Northwest and Arctic. The museum opened in 1959 as a provincial Centennial project. In 1972, the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association assumed management of the museum on behalf of the City of Vancouver. In 1974, a separate Vancouver Maritime Museum Society was formed. In 1987, the VMPA split into three institutions, with the society board assuming management on behalf of the City. Our staff and Board of Trustees work to improve the museum, create a bright future, and strengthen the connection of our maritime history to the world today.

The mission of the Vancouver Maritime Museum Society is to celebrate the significance of the ocean and waterways of the Pacific and Arctic, through the preservation and growth of our extraordinary collection, and as a centre for dialogue, research and experience.

Its vision centres around six main themes: • To be the centre for conversation, education, research and knowledge about the ocean and waterways of the Pacific and Arctic.

• To engage and support diverse communities and cultures to bring the stories of the Pacific and the Arctic to our members, residents of our region and to our visitors.

• To be a maritime museum that conforms to the highest international standards and that anchors our activities, staff, volunteers and partners in a rich and growing collection of maritime artefacts.

• To build partnerships with interested organizations to provide ever changing and engaging experiential education and activities for our members, residents of the region and our visitors, both in our space and through outreach programs.

• To promote the science and the technology of our maritime industries.

• To promote the opportunities that we enjoy as Canada’s gateway to Pacific trade and culture.

For more information, visit www.vancouvermaritimemuseum.com

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www.ral.ca November 2016 BC Shipping News 19

HISTORY LESSON From captain to cult leader:

The curious tale of Brother XII

By Lea Edgar Librarian & Archivist, Vancouver Maritime Museum

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

It was through his writings that he declared he would build an “ark of refuge” for select people wishing to enhance their spiritual enlightenment.

N

anaimo in the 1920s was a time of mystery and intrigue.

This was a time when a nefarious fellow was lurking along the nearby islands. His name was Edward Arthur Wilson, otherwise known as Brother XII. He started as a simple farmer, then Master on various vessels during the First World War and beyond, but he is ultimately known as the character he developed into, a charlatan and a swindler. At first he was beloved by many, thousands in fact, but

Brother XII, circa 1920. British Columbia Archives. Reference code C-05791.

20 BC Shipping News November 2016

soon his greed, cruelty and power-hungry nature proved he was not a man to be trusted. Although not much is known about the man himself, the story of how a sea captain became a notorious cult leader lingers to this day.

Edward Arthur Wilson was born in Birmingham, England on July 25, 1878.

He was said to have apprenticed as a young man on a Royal Navy windjammer training ship, developing a love of the sea early in his life. In his 20s, Wilson tried various money making schemes to support his wife and two children, all of which failed. He lived in both England and New Zealand before finally coming to Victoria to try his luck there. He acted as a clerk for the Dominion Express Company and later as a pilot on the coastal steamers running between Seattle and San Francisco.

In about 1912, he and his wife separated and eventually he became estranged from his family. By January 1913, Wilson became a member of the Theosophical Society. Around this time, he is said to have joined a ship headed to the Orient, where he would have lots of time to read and research his burgeoning religion. For 12 years he wandered around the globe, sailing from one destination to the next, formulating his new beliefs.

In the mid-1920s, he started writing theosophical books which he would later use as the basis of his new religion. It was through his writings that he declared he

would build an “ark of refuge” for select people wishing to enhance their spiritual enlightenment. For the location, he chose the West Coast of British Columbia.

Brother XII, as he was now known, travelled across Canada and down the West Coast of the United States as far as California, preaching his new take on theosophy. He used these sessions to recruit for his Aquarian Foundation, the members of which would populate his “ark.”

Brother XII, through his writings and talks, managed to amass a lot of money in the form of contributions to his cause. He then purchased land at Cedar, just south of Nanaimo. Brother XII demanded that all monies be converted into gold, or one or two dollar bills. The gold was then put into jars and stored away in a secret location. Followers were encouraged to build homes for themselves, and eventually land was also purchased for the colony on De Courcy and Valdes Islands.

At this time of plenty, Brother XII purchased a number of vessels. The two most well-known are the tug Khuenaten and the yacht Lady Royal. The name Khuenaten is a variation of the name Akhenaten, who was an Egyptian pharaoh. As Brother XII thought himself to be a reincarnation of the Egyptian god Osiris, this was a fitting name for his first substantial vessel. The Khuenaten was largely used to move supplies and followers from the various settlements on the islands.

His second vessel was the yacht Lady Royal. She was acquired while Brother XII was on a trip with his current female companion, the infamous “Madame Zee.” Brother XII was known for selecting certain women to leave their husbands

VANCOUVER MARITIME MUSEUM to follow him. However, they generally served their purpose quickly and were tossed aside when no longer obliging. This was not the case with Madame Zee. She was known to be extraordinarily cruel towards the followers, subjecting them to all kinds of ill treatment and abusing her power whenever possible. The Lady Royal, a two-masted Brixham trawler, was supposedly given to Brother XII by a particularly eccentric woman while he was visiting Brigham, England. This woman had converted the vessel from a fishing schooner to a yacht. He sailed her back to Canada, unloaded mysterious cargo in the night and the next morning arrived to the customs office claiming ignorance of the procedure. Could this have been more gold?

By the 1930s, the colony was beginning to fall apart. Brother XII became increasingly brutal and paranoid. His followers began to turn against him and claimed that he misappropriated funds from the foundation. They eventually won in court, despite being terrified of dark powers he might use against them. Brother XII was not in court when the verdict

The Lady Royal off Nanaimo. VMM Photograph Collection. Item number 6341.

was announced. Rather, he was on De Courcy, systematically tearing apart the colony. He even blew up the Lady Royal with dynamite. He and Madame Zee then fled the country, most likely taking all the gold jars with them.

The Lady Royal lay submerged for more than a year before she was salvaged by Captain Leslie Nantes who converted her into a ketch-rigged private yacht. She saw various owners until she was eventually converted back into a fishing vessel. Her register closed in 2003. The Khuenaten

also found new owners. Her name was changed to Stelmar in 1959 when she was owned by Stelmar Towing Ltd. Her registry closed in 2013.

Brother XII was said to have died in Switzerland in 1934. Some even question whether he faked his own death.

Regardless, the tales of Brother XII live on. Artifacts from the colony, including the wooden mast head of the Lady Royal, can be found in the Nanaimo Museum.

Lea Edgar can be contacted at: archives@ vanmaritime.com

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COAST GUARD

Coast Guard Chief determined to live up to public expectations

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

Girouard sees the future as “exciting and busy” with the Federal Government investing more aggressively in the Coast Guard’s Western Region.

T

he Canadian Coast Guard is undergoing an evolution that is proving to be both tangible and exciting.

So says Western Region Assistant Commissioner Roger Girouard from his base in Victoria where he is orchestrating what he says are foundational changes in the role and relationships facing the Coast Guard every day.

RAdm Roger Girouard (ret’d), Assistant Commissioner, Western Region, Canadian Coast Guard

22 BC Shipping News November 2016

The greatest challenge these days from where he sits, says Girouard, is “the number of things to be done all at the same time. People have expectations of us and things are moving that we are excited about.”

With a fleet of about 33 Coast Guard vessels, spread throughout the B.C. coast plus six helicopters at his call, he says “people in this region want more Coast Guard conversations every day of the week. They want to talk about capacity, prioritization of vessels and a host of other things,” adds Girouard, who has been Assistant Commissioner for the past three and a half years.

“It is both exciting and terrifying all at the same time,” he says of his job.

He lists the Coast Guard’s most significant accomplishment of the past year as the way it has improved relationships with First Nations and constituencies up and down the coast. The results have been more than pleasing. For example, there’s an integrated pollution plan for Vancouver that has been built through the efforts of about 90 people in the agencies and First Nations.

“We have very much upped our game working with the province over environmental responsibility,” he adds. “The leap we have made in being connected simply wasn’t there a year ago. It has been foundational.”

Exciting future

Girouard sees the future as “exciting and busy” with the Federal Government investing more aggressively in the Coast Guard’s Western Region. And he adds that it was no accident that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought royalty to the recently re-opened Kitsilano Coast Guard Station in Vancouver.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and his wife Kate, accompanied by the Prime Minister and his wife Sophie, visited the expanded and revamped Kitsilano base on Sunday, September 25.

The royals made the Coast Guard base the final stop of their Vancouver visit and were greeted by the Canadian Coast Guard Commissioner Jody Thomas and locals including Girouard, who touted the enhanced station as the first of its kind in Canada as it works with First Nations groups, coastal communities and local response partners to provide improved marine safety off the B.C. coast. The royal couple toured the base chatting with first responders and then took the Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft Sijay to the base at Sea Island in Richmond.

The visit to Kitsilano was somewhat ironic as it had been closed by the previous Conservative Government in February 2013. Now, the Liberal Government says it re-opened the Kitsilano base early in August this year “to ensure that an additional layer of marine search and rescue and emergency environmental response are available in the Vancouver area.”

The aim is to be able to crew two of the vessels from Kitsilano simultaneously.

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November 2016 BC Shipping News 23

Photo: Dave Roels (www.daveroels.com)

CANADIAN COAST GUARD

The Canadian Coast Guard Hovercraft Siyay was recently used to transport the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge from Kitsilano Base to Sea Island in Richmond in a demonstration of CCG capabilities.

Pioneer base

The base is more than just extra vessels on the water. It includes an expanded role, including emergency environmental response as well as 24/7 search and rescue, plus in future, an incident command post to help ensure a more co-ordinated, timely response to environmental incidents on the water. The base also plans to incorporate an innovative training facility

for coastal residents, making it a pioneer and one that Girouard calls the first multi-function urban base for the Coast Guard.

Was it policy or politics that led to the re-opening of a bigger and better base?

Girouard admits it was “all of the above” and he has stationed four vessels there currently, although only one officially lists Kitsilano as its home port.

There’s no doubting that B.C. residents expect the most from the Coast Guard in fulfilling its four key roles as a special operating agency within the Fisheries & Oceans Canada — implementing programs designed to “contribute to the safety, security and accessibilities of Canada’s waterways” from coast to coast, and including the Arctic, where the Victoriabased icebreaker Sir Wilfrid Laurier sees duty supporting ice escort, aiding navigation and even helping to find the lost Franklin vessels earlier this summer.

Key roles

Girouard list the four key roles as search and rescue (protecting life and limb on the waters); environmental responsibility (including protection of the endangered Northern Abalone, as an errant Richmond company found when it was assessed hefty fines under the Fisheries Act in August); aids to navigation (to keep shipping channels safe); and traffic management, but he agrees that the first two take up most of the Coast Guard’s time.

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CANADIAN COAST GUARD In somewhat of a tragic irony, the loss of six lives following the capsize of the whale watching vessel Leviathan II off Tofino on October 25, 2015, was unfortunate as the Coast Guard had a training date for local responders preset for the following Monday in the coastal town.

As it was, the response by the Ahousaht First Nation, local boat operators, the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP and the Coast Guard helped to save 21 lives. Since the tragedy, the Coast Guard has gone back into Tofino for a number of training exercises with locals, the RCMP and surrounding communities. The group is currently re-initiating an emergency response co-ordinating committee for the area, which was due to have its inaugural meeting early in October. Also, there will be future table top and live exercises for BC Ambulance, First Nation responders and others, says Girouard.

Life lesson

The importance of local first responders is not lost on today’s Coast Guard, either. With the example of the March 2006 sinking of the BC Ferries overnighter Queen of the North to study as to where help comes in a crisis, the Coast Guard is now working more and more with First Nations up and down the coast in a “pragmatic, operational way.”

First Nations boaters from the settlement of Hartley Bay were prominent among a large number of small fishing and recreational vessels that were first on the scene to answer the distress call, arriving in a fleet of small watercraft in the dead of night to pick up 99 survivors. Two passengers were unaccounted for and presumed drowned.

The First Nation mariners are very often closer than the Coast Guard to such tragedies, and today, the national responder is helping train aboriginals at facilities such as Sea Island and Bamfield “so they can return as experts to their own communities,” says Girouard.

“It’s all about growing relationships and connections so they know who to call and who is at the end of the phone,” the Assistant Commissioner adds.

Girouard also acknowledges that the Coast Guard’s Western Region “has been under the public eye for the last few years” because of a number of incidents.

“Every single one of those incidents has been a learning experience for the Coast Guard and a springboard for change,” he explains. “We keep adapting and improving; we are a live operational organization and we keep looking to improve.”

Improvements

Sometimes the improvements come in the form of vessel replacement. Unlike BC Ferries, which seems to stretch its fleet life into the 50s at times, with mid-life refits, the average life span of the Coast Guard vessel is reported to be only 18 years.

With about 120 vessels from coast to coast and a national fleet budget of $244.7 million, which does not include maintenance, repair or the acquisition of new vessels, the Coast Guard is forever changing.

Currently, the Coast Guard is awaiting completion of a contract for a dozen new search and rescue lifeboats being built in shipyards in Quebec and Ontario. Three optional vessels could

also be part of the contract. The first vessels from each yard are expected next summer for duties that include searches on the water, marine distress response calls and assistance to disabled vessels.

The first of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels being built

by Seaspan under the National Shipbuilding Strategy is under construction to replace the Coast Guard’s W.E. Ricker, primarily based out of Nanaimo and due for delivery in October 2017.

The renewal of the helicopter fleet was completed earlier in 2016 when the Coast Guard accepted the final of 15 new light-lift helicopters from Bell in Mirabel, Quebec, coming in on budget and ahead of schedule. In all, six choppers are stationed in B.C., maintained by Transport Canada, which also does pilot training.

The helicopter fleet across Canada is used in spill response and surveillance, maintenance of navigation aids, assisting in oceanographic and hydrographic science and fisheries management programs, monitoring ice conditions to allow cargo deliveries for the seven million Canadians living in coastal communities, and transferring personnel and cargo between ship and shore.

And it won’t stop there. Girouard says future projects are coming down the pike and when they reach fruition, “the Coast Guard will truly be at the fully operational capability that folks expect for our region.”

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.

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倀⼀䘀㨀 ㄀ⴀ㠀㜀㜀ⴀ㔀㘀㘀ⴀ㈀㘀㈀㈀ 簀 䔀㨀 䤀一䘀伀䀀䈀一䄀䌀⸀䌀䄀 簀 圀圀圀⸀䈀一䄀䌀⸀䌀䄀 November 2016 BC Shipping News 25

NAVY Commander prepares for the ‘new’ Navy “We have an incredible change agenda underway,” RAdm McDonald said, describing an executive plan that was established about three and a half years ago...

P

eople first, mission always. It is in this context that Rear Admiral Art McDonald, new Commander of Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force (Pacific), considers the priorities of his current leadership role in the Royal Canadian Navy. In a recent interview with BCSN, the Rear Admiral discussed not only his priorities for Maritime Forces Pacific based in Esquimalt, B.C. but, in keeping with the RCN’s “one-navy approach,” the national training and personnel component which is part of his new portfolio.

Background

As a five-year-old Cape Breton boy, RAdm McDonald had already decided he wanted a life with the Canadian Armed Forces. He tailored his schooling to that decision and joined up right after high school. After a 31-year career, RAdm McDonald reaffirms he made the right decision. “I love the opportunities I’ve found within the RCN,” he said. “I love being able to represent Canadians and work with people who, in my opinion, are some of the best Canadians out there.”

RAdm McDonald has served on the West Coast before — indeed, his assignments have taken him equally to all parts of Canada — east, west and central. Most recently, he was based in Ottawa as the Director General, Naval Force Development, directly advising the Commander of the RCN on the design and execution to transition from the current fleet to the fleet of the future. “The Navy is going through the largest peacetime renewal in our history,” he said.

“As the RCN’s future force architect, my work involved designing a strategy and specifying the accompanying equipment and systems requirements to allow us to successfully conduct the missions and tasks assigned by Government — taking in account our current needs, our 26 BC Shipping News November 2016

future needs and the capabilities that are required to meet those needs, five, 25, 40 years out.”

Describing this work in Ottawa as a career highlight and privilege, he noted it’s second to another — one which garnered McDonald the Meritorious Service Medal: As the Maritime Component Commander of the Canadian Joint Task Force Haiti in 2010 following the devastating earthquake there, he was recognized for his leadership and co-ordination of the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities of HMCS Halifax and HMCS Athabaskan. “The medal was just gravy,” he points out. “What made it so rewarding was the opportunity to help people — it was personally fulfilling.

“When the earthquake in Haiti struck, you’ll recall that Canada responded quickly with help. We (the RCN) were some of the first responders to get down there and on the ground. And while the airports were jammed and relief supplies weren’t getting through via the single airport, sea-based humanitarian assistance was very effective. We arrived in a noncongested area and got to work right away targeting the most needy areas directly and immediately.”

In Haiti, as first responders, the RCN’s work included assistance in setting up Canada’s Disaster Assistance and Response Team (DART), clearing streets, working with orphanages, moving food and water to those in need, and providing manual labour in field hospitals. “The NGOs estimated we increased the medical service by about three-fold because we were able to support and enhance their operations by ensuring that medical personnel were doing only medical work,” he said.

People first

“We have an incredible change agenda underway in the RCN right now,” RAdm McDonald said, describing an executive

Rear Admiral Art McDonald

plan that was established about three and a half years ago by the Commander of the Navy to guide naval transformation.

“There are four pillars that describe the ‘what’: 1) operations excellence; 2) transition to future fleet; 3) evolution of the ‘business of our business’ with priorities that include looking at policy and backoffice work that might be more effective; and 4) energizing the institution and ensure everyone feels ownership in our achievements.”

As for the ‘why,’ that remains as always: Protect Canada and Canadians around the world; prevent conflict; and promote Canadian values domestically, continentally and internationally.

The ‘how’ is where the largest of the changes occur: Conceptually, naval transformation revolves around preserving traditional force generation responsibilities on each coast while adding assignment of new functional authority responsibilities to allow efficient oversight and delivery of the naval services program. Practically, this means that the East Coast of the RCN is now responsible for the conduct and coordination of at-sea operations, while the West Coast has assumed responsibility for the overhaul and operation of a nationwide naval training enterprise — an enterprise that is being morphed significantly to deliver the requisite future capabilities and personnel. And so, while still responsible for generating and sustaining

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ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY multi-purpose, combat-capable maritime forces for operations in the Pacific and around the world, RAdm McDonald is seized with the transformation of the Navy’s training system — a key element for a successful naval transformation.

“We’re moving away from the ‘bricks and mortar’ training of the past and implementing a “future-features-based” training approach that will include more digital learning, more simulation, more distance learning, and an overall approach intended to be more adaptive to an individual sailor’s learning needs, as

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28 BC Shipping News November 2016

well as mindful of the demands (especially in regards to time away from home) made of him and her,” he said. “We’re also conducting a complete review of all of the trades in relation to the new vessels and how we train all the way across.”

RAdm McDonald returned to the theme “people first and mission always” in expanding upon his two priorities as the new Maritime Forces Pacific Commander: One, putting people first by championing, celebrating and enabling sailors by ensuring that personnel management and training approaches, policies and practices are enablers and leadmarks to sailors as our most prized resource and Canada’s greatest ambassadors. He also highlighted that a key element in this is also making sure sailors know what is expected of them and that they act with honour and respect on and off-duty. Here the recent introduction of the RCN’s Code of Conduct and the CAF’s “Operation Honour” are key.

Of course, as an officer still charged with generating maritime forces, the second priority for McDonald’s Maritime Forces Pacific is ensuring excellence at sea. “With the return to service of the modernized Halifax-class frigates, the achievement of steady state in our submarine force, and with all of our new capabilities coming online soon, we’re now able to get into the practice of ‘generating forward,’ — modifying the pattern by which we produce and ready our forces and how they are employed after that by being better positioned (located) during the bulk of our at-sea activities to offer more and faster optionality to Government as world events require.”

ROYAL CANADIAN NAVY Traditionally, as ships have come out of work periods and been readied for an operation cycle, personnel go through local training first, and then continentally with U.S. allies before making their way across the ocean to perform their missions. “We’re going to exploit the unique values that navies bring, i.e., being able to do those kind of things a little bit further afield,” he said.

“The advantage [to Canada] in doing this is that, as we’re developing our ships and at-sea forces for higher intensity operations when called-upon, the ships already have a significant level of capability for low and medium level activities such as responding to natural disasters or providing support to our embassies’ activities” which we want to make more readily available and useful for Government when a timely response is important. This imperative will drive some significant multi-ship out-of-area (far-side of the Pacific) employments for Esquimaltbased ships in 2017 and 2018, he said.

RAdm McDonald described the new paradigm as “more strategically relevant while delivering the same high standard of operational response and tactical excellence with greater efficiency.”

Support for mission always

To perform to the best of their ability, RAdm McDonald stressed, ships must be mission-ready and there must be a solid infrastructure. Earlier this year (July 2016 issue), BCSN described the extensive transformation of CFB Esquimalt’s Fleet Maintenance Facility which has consolidated 38 existing maintenance shops into one of the largest enclosed buildings on the West Coast of North America. While the overall physical size of the footprint was reduced by 25 per cent, efficiencies have increased. Added to that, the A/B Jetty Revitalization Project now underway will see the 70-year-old jetties replaced with modern, structurally sound berthing facilities.

And there are additional infrastructure projects either just completed or scheduled for completion in time for the new vessels to arrive — for example, the Esquimalt Harbour Remediation Project; replacing the old jetty at the ammunition depot just outside of the harbour; and the harbour jetties that accommodate smaller ships like the ORCA training vessels, to name just a few.

RAdm McDonald described the new paradigm as “more strategically relevant while delivering the same high standard of operational response...”

With both training revitalization and infrastructure upgrades well on their way, RAdm looks forward to welcoming the new vessels which have spurred much of the work. When asked about the overall plans under the National Shipbuilding Strategy, RAdm McDonald noted that the strategy itself, as with any public or private major initiative, has evolved but remains in keeping with the original intent and continues to move forward.

Building ships for Canada’s forces at Seaspan, Irving Shipbuilding and, new to the mix, Davie Shipyards, is proceeding on schedule. A quick status update on the RCN’s fleet revitalization shows progress.

The Halifax-class Modernization and Frigate Equipment Life Extension project is now complete with the 12 Halifax-class frigates receiving state-of-the-art upgrades including a new Combat Management System, new radar capability, a new electronic warfare system and upgraded communications technologies and missiles.

While not part of the original strategy, an interim replenishment ship (Project Resolve) that is being built at Davie Shipyard in Quebec, will be delivered to the RCN in September 2017 before an anticipated operational period in the Pacific in early 2018. Of the replenishment ship, RAdm McDonald noted that it fills a gap in capabilities when the Protecteur-class vessels were decommissioned earlier than expected and before the scheduled arrival of the Joint Supply Ships (JSS) in 2020/2021.

While the interim vessel is being built to commercial standards with different capabilities from the JSS, RAdm McDonald didn’t see this as an issue. “For us, that works fine as a significant component of activity with replenishment ships can be done in the rear echelons, behind the immediate theatre, but it can really make a difference to front line operations.” The vessel will be owned and operated by Davie with 30 to 40 civilians onboard but with enough space to carry up to 115 military specialists. “So, often we’ll be using it for

replenishment but we can also use it for air operations or for field hospital operations.”

The first of six Harry DeWolf-class Arctic/Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) being built at Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax is scheduled for delivery in 2018.

The vessels will have the ability to operate in first-year ice up to one metre in thickness and sustain operations for up to four months. Two will be based in Esquimalt.

With respect to the Canadian Surface Combatants (CSCs), before leaving his position as Director General, Naval Force Development, RAdm McDonald led an effort to refine requirements in support of a Request for Proposal expected this fall.

“It’s important to ensure the Navy receives the right ship for the kind of missions anticipated,” he said. “We determined that if we could accept a closer to off-theshelf design, it would provide tremendous time savings by reducing technical risk of the build, while preserving consideration for incorporation of changes where to meet our specific requirements.”

Cradle to grave

There’s no doubt that it’s an exciting time for the RCN given the new training system, new vessels and new infrastructure.

Still, for RAdm McDonald, the personnel pillar is of utmost importance. “The key to all of our successes as a Navy and nation has always been and always will be our people,” he said. “For us in the RCN that means we need champion, celebrate and enable them from cradle to grave. Cradle means attracting and recruiting — making sure we have relevant operations and are delivering excellence so that people want to be a part of it; throughout their naval career — looking after them and their families while ensuring we’re among the nation’s best employers; and when they leave service — making sure that they get nothing but first class respect and support.

If we can take that approach, all of the things we’ll tackle for the next few years will produce the success we’re known for.”

BCSN

November 2016 BC Shipping News 29

SEARCH AND RESCUE

Effective collaboration saves lives It is because of the good working relationships and mutual respect between these agencies that our SAR system enjoys excellent efficiency.

T

he Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria is an example of the effectiveness of collaboration and co-operation when saving lives. In the case of the JRCC, relationships between SAR agencies, Canadian (and U.S.) forces, local community first responders and the shipping industry become more than a sum of their parts to provide a level of security for mariners that, if absent, can result in fatalities. More than this though, Major Justin Olsen, Officer in Charge, JRCC Victoria describes how some simple precautions taken by those on the water can assist in averting disaster.

Background

Manned 24/7/365, JRCC is on a naval base, CFB Esquimalt, but is staffed by

a combination of Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) personnel. This highly trained and experienced cadre of Search and Rescue (SAR) experts act on behalf of the Victoria Search and Rescue Region (SRR) Commander, Rear-Admiral Art McDonald, to plan, co-ordinate, control and conduct SAR response to any incidents that occur on the ocean or that involve aircraft as these are areas of federal responsibility.

JRCC Victoria acts as the SAR response co-ordination agency by accepting distress calls, whether by phone, EPIRB signals, or the relay of radio calls. While it is possible to receive direct calls from those in distress, typically, most of the over 3,000 cases handled annually have their initial notification from the Marine

Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) in Sidney or Prince Rupert; the Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC) in Trenton, Ontario; by 9-1-1 call transfer; or by relay from neighbouring SRRs in Juneau (AK), Seattle (WA), or Trenton.

It is because of the good working relationships and mutual respect between these agencies that our SAR system enjoys excellent efficiency. Of course, any incident unfolding near a border with an adjacent SRR could see response from either side of the border, depending on the risk to human life.

SAR units from both Canada and the United States have assisted one another in cases where the most important consideration is how fast a SAR resource can get on scene and not what flag is painted on the side. In addition to this co-operation, groups such as the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue society and the Provincial Emergency Program Air volunteers are also available to respond to incidents when appropriate.

Photo by MCpl Kevin Paul, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

JRCC Victoria and its partners regularly train to ensure co-operation, collaboration and communication in the event of a marine emergency.

30 BC Shipping News November 2016

SEARCH AND RESCUE

JRCC Victoria is continually seeking ways to improve SAR response, and technology continues to make great strides forward in the area of emergency beacons and satellite networks. The upcoming establishment of the Medium-altitude Earth Orbiting SAR system (MEOSAR) promises to reduce the time from when a mariner initiates a distress signal either from an EPIRB or 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) to when JRCC Victoria will have a location accurate enough to send either aircraft or vessels to investigate. The system is not quite to full operational status, but CMCC has started providing the MEOSAR data to augment the data from the Low-altitude Earth Orbiting SAR satellites already in service.

Photo by MCpl Kevin Paul, Canadian Forces Combat Camera

Technology upgrades

Recent rescues

2015/2016 saw some tragic cases on the waters around B.C., but also stories of survival and the laudable determination of vessels of opportunity that so often are the first responders to an emergency. The successful recovery of the crew member from the F/V Caledonia lost off Nootka was remarkable for the selfless bravery of the Inshore Rescue Boat crew that sped over 25 nautical miles off shore with one suspect engine to assist with the search for survivors. It was this boat that found the survivor and transferred him to an assisting cruise ship to receive vital first aid.

The whale watching tragedy off Plover Reef was mitigated by the immediate response of the mariners from Ahousaht who simply reacted to the flare and swiftly pulled survivors from the waters, then assisted with the search for those missing with the CCG and RCAF. Perhaps the most remarkable case of survival was that of the professional guide off Esperanza Inlet. After falling overboard while trying to land a fish for his guest, he was forced to tread water for over three hours before being found by the Inshore Rescue Boat. This case illustrates the extremely close co-operation enjoyed between the CCG and the RCAF, as well as the skill of the Marine Co-ordinators at JRCC Victoria to rapidly establish a search area and effectively task the resources available to search it in a manner that maximizes the chance of success.

The guide was found within the area contained by the drift plot and was hoisted from the rubber boat by a Cormorant helicopter to be flown to Comox for immediate treatment of moderate hypothermia. Without the seamless co-operation between the marine and aviation sides of JRCC Victoria, this case could have gone very differently.

Prepare before you go

The most important factor in a successful SAR response is without a doubt the individual mariner. Lifejackets save lives.

Having worked on a commercial seiner myself, I know that some lifejackets can be uncomfortable, hot, or get in the way. With low-profile PFDs available on the market, most of these arguments no longer apply, and while the initial cost may not be insignificant, the chance of survival increases significantly for people in the water who have a floatation device compared to

Industry partners, like BC Ferries, are crucial to ensure effective SAR operations.

those without. Most people could not tread water for as long as the fishing guide mentioned earlier.

After the consideration of life jackets, a floater or survival suit is also something that professional mariners should think about as part of their personal kit. Growing up in Comox, I knew a survivor of one of the halibut boats lost to a storm in the 1980s in Hecate Strait. He was found because of the survival suit he put on before the vessel sank.

Finally, the importance of a functioning EPIRB for the vessel and PLBs for the crew cannot be over emphasized. These beacons eliminate the “Search” from search and rescue, allowing SAR crews to move straight into Rescue instead of looking for the person in distress. Registering the beacon with the Canadian Beacon Registry gives SAR Mission Co-ordinators additional information, such as emergency contacts so that in the unlikely event of not having a position associated with the signal, the emergency contact can be called to find out where the vessel was planning to work or transit, also reducing the search area.

Additionally, these beacons emit a signal that can be homed by vessels or aircraft, so once a SAR resource picks up the beacon, it won’t be long before they are on top of it.

November 2016 BC Shipping News 31

SEARCH AND RESCUE A key partner in marine safety

B.C.’s community-based search and rescue organization

By Rob Duffus, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Since his appointment earlier this year, Chief Executive Officer Pat Quealey has assessed potential areas for collaboration not only with partners in the search and rescue field but with the shipping and transportation industries as well as agencies involved in other areas of marine safety and environmental response. “Our team is keen to work with like-minded organizations, and we invite emergent partners and donors to work with us to contribute to the safety of British Columbia’s waters,” said Quealey.

RCM-SAR has close ties to the shipping industry and is reliant on corporate support to maintain its high-quality operations. With six stations in the vicinity of Metro Vancouver, it works closely with the Port of Vancouver to promote safety and respond to emergencies in Canada’s busiest port. RCM-SAR also has stations in Prince Rupert, Nanaimo and Victoria, ready to respond to incidents in those ports and support the safety of industry.

In addition, RCM-SAR’s smaller stations are the vanguard along B.C.’s shipping and ferry lanes, on watch to support emergencies in all conditions and weather.

It is because of the good working relationships and mutual respect between these agencies that our SAR system enjoys excellent efficiency.

R

32 BC Shipping News November 2016

prehensive training and excellent equipment. Crews are trained to Transport Canada standards and receive specialized on-water and simulator training in seamanship, navigation, communications and search and rescue techniques.

This summer, RCM-SAR opened its new training centre at its 25-acre property near Victoria, designed to serve its members and partners with comprehensive training in marine safety. The new Headquarters and Training Centre features a fast rescue craft simulator, a full-scale replica of a rescue vessel. With five digital projectors and wrap-around screen, students are immersed in a simulated environment that tests their navigation skills and ability to respond to escalating emergencies.

Simulator instruction is a key component to a training progression that precedes onwater validation sessions in various search and rescue scenarios.

RCM-SAR’s modern search and rescue vessels were designed exclusively to meet the needs of its crews and the demands of the B.C. coast. They also meet the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea specifications for rescue boats; designs include self-righting diesel-powered jet boats and outboard-powered rigid hull inflatables with shock absorbing crew platforms and state-of-the-art search and rescue equipment. These vessels, and all other capital assets, are acquired solely through fundraising, grants and corporate donations.

With a robust search and rescue service being sustained as its core operation, RCM-SAR continues to adapt and consider how to contribute to community-based marine safety in the future.

Photo courtesy RCM-SAR

oyal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue has its eye on the future, and is working with the search and rescue community, industry, and all levels of government to explore collaborative opportunities to support marine safety in British Columbia.

RCM-SAR is a key part of the marine safety community on the West Coast.

Volunteer-based with more than 1,000 members and 35 rescue stations, their crews respond to about a third of all marine emergencies in the province; this accounts for, on average, over 800 missions every year. These crews are highlytrained and are on call to respond to an extraordinary range of taskings — everything from stranded paddlers to sinking vessels to downed aircraft.

As its core function, RCM-SAR contributes to the Canadian Coast Guard maritime search and rescue mandate through direct support to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre. Partially funded by a provision of a service agreement with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, its community-based stations provide on-call service 24 hours a day year-round, both in highly populated areas such as Vancouver and Victoria and in remote communities on the Mainland north coast and the west coast of Vancouver Island. In many places, help would be hours away if not for the presence of an RCM-SAR station ready to launch at a moment’s notice.

The average response time for RCMSAR units to be underway after tasking is about 15 minutes, well under the standard of 30 minutes.

The keys to RCM-SAR’s success are community-level leadership, com-

Pat Quealey, CEO, RCM-SAR

SEARCH AND RESCUE A new area of potential collaboration is environmental response. “Like all coastal communities in British Columbia, our stations share a concern for the environmental health of our coast and want to be prepared to help if a threat occurs,” said CEO Pat Quealey. “Our members have told us they would like to investigate how we could contribute to environmental response operations, including potential supporting roles such as site monitoring or pre-emptive booming of sensitive areas — tasks that would not endanger our crews or risk damage to our vessels.” RCM-SAR is now exploring how it might operationalize this interest in collaboration with the Canadian Coast Guard and Western Canada Marine Response Corporation, the agency certified by Transport Canada to prepare for and mitigate spills on the West Coast.

The support of communities underpins all that RCM-SAR does. One of RCMSAR’s challenges is to build sustainable capacity in B.C.’s remote coastal communities. Small communities are faced with competing demands for time and resources for public safety services, and each has different needs. RCM-SAR is considering how better to support remote communities with marine SAR training or other services that would complement existing capacity and promote safety for local mariners. Key to this approach is securing the resources necessary to develop a sustainable model for this expansion.

RCM-SAR is part of a tradition of volunteer lifeboat services on the West Coast dating back more than 100 years. RCMSAR is also part of the international community of marine rescue organizations, a community that will be showcased in Vancouver in 2019 as RCM-SAR hosts the World Maritime Rescue Congress.

Held every four years by the International Maritime Rescue Federation, this is the first such gathering in Canada and it will attract marine industry and search and rescue representatives from around the world.

“This is the first Congress to be held on this continent and we are very excited that our RCM-SAR colleagues in British Columbia are hosting the 2019 event,” said Bruce Reid, CEO of the International Maritime Rescue Federation.

Above: RCM-SAR responds to a sinking yacht in Pender Harbour; below: RCM-SAR Sooke and Victoria rescue nine divers off Race Rocks. RCM-SAR coverage of B.C.’s coast is extensive.

“Our delegates are looking forward to learning about the search and rescue system in Canada and meeting not only SAR personnel but key players in the west coast shipping industry as well.”

RCM-SAR CEO Pat Quealey emphasizes the importance of collaborating with shipping industry leaders in B.C. “Our organization is built on the values of safety, volunteerism, professionalism,

community and trust,” said Quealey.

“Through the strength of communitybased highly-trained volunteers, we provide an excellent service to the marine community. The shipping industry has an important role to play in supporting our volunteers, and I invite industry leaders to work with us to build an even stronger network of capability as we all strive to keep our coastal waters safe.”

November 2016 BC Shipping News 33

FIREFIGHTING VESSELS

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services welcomes Fireboat 1

By Michael Gardiner, Technical Sales Manager — Canada, Jastram Technologies

V

ancouver Fire and Rescue Services took delivery of the first of two new VF&RS Fireboats in September during a ceremony at the North Docks on Granville Island.

The theme of the day was definitely collaboration. Specifically, the City of Vancouver Fire Department, along with City Council members of municipalities in the Lower Mainland, and the Emergency Response Community who will be immediate beneficiaries of the new boat.

The new fireboat was joined by two of the older firefighting vessels in the City fleet, both Units 1&2 of RCM SAR (North and West Vancouver), two vessels from the RCMP, one vessel from Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, and a vessel from Western Canada Marine Response Corporation.

Guests were treated to the Vancouver Fire Service Band before officials spoke about the importance of the vessel to emergency preparedness for the waters around Vancouver. Adriane Carr (Vancouver City Councillor) spoke of the need for a state-of-the-art firefighting capability on the waterfront as well as noting that the project was the result of collaboration between City and Fire officials, the boat builder and suppliers of equipment. She also stressed collaboration between municipalities that would benefit from the addition of the fire boats to the fleet of equipment used by emergency services.

Other speakers followed suit with similar commentary. Tom Latham, President of Hamilton Jet Americas, recognized the firefighters of Vancouver Fire Department — their dedication to

duty and collaboration with their colleagues in other emergency services, including the RCM SAR Search and Rescue volunteer organization who had donated their time to be with the assembled company.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, part of the New Zealand Consulate in Vancouver, along with Jastram Technologies, co-sponsored the event with well over 100 stakeholders and members of the public in attendance.

There will be a naming ceremony when a name is chosen for the vessel, and since this is the first of two such vessels for the City, the naming ceremony will take place once both vessels are available for christening.

Following speeches, the new vessel proceeded to the mid-channel of False Creek and put on an impressive display

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services new, 40-foot FireStorm – Fast Attack Fireboat : LOA – 13.4 M / BOA – 4.5 M Draft – 0.6 M / Speed – 35 knots Engines – (2 ) Cummins 8.3 Jets – (2 ) Hamilton Jet 364 Fire Pumps – (2) Darley ZSM 3000 Potable water – 20 US gallons Waste water – 20 US gallons Firefighting foam – 50 US gallons Fuel capacity – 300 US gallons Fully equipped NFPA 1925 gear on board 500 lb davit Furuno TZ touch Maretron electronics / Dual radar Automatic direction finder 2 – 2,000 gpm remote water guns 2 – 1,250 gpm manual water guns 2 – 6” land supply storz 1 – hydrant Head with sink 3 patient berths Fridge, microwave Life raft 660’ of 18” Oil boom on Reel Photo courtesy Michael Gardiner

34 BC Shipping News November 2016

FIREFIGHTING VESSELS with its Fire Monitors, while conducting manoeuvres.

The Hamilton HJ364 Waterjets that drive this vessel provide enough thrust to propel the boat at an impressive 37-knot maximum speed, with the ability to hold station while pumping water at a fire, and the vessel can swiftly manoeuvre in any direction with accuracy and perfect control.

The Vancouver Fire Department is obviously pleased with the new addition to their equipment fleet. Captain Jonathan Gormick indicated that the Department is providing an ongoing and intensive training program for operators of the new vessel. Feedback from crew was that they were impressed with the ease of handling and the responsiveness of the boat to the controls.

The continual advances in technology, combined with a properly engineered vessel, are critical factors to allow such responsiveness. Every vessel that uses Hamilton Jet drives must have the hull parameters matching with the engine,

The continual advances in technology, combined with a properly engineered vessel, are critical factors to allow such responsiveness. gear transmission, fire pumps and waterjets. Proper sizing of the jet drives has ensured that the boat will maintain stellar performance with cost-effective operation for years to come.

Jastram Technologies collaborated both with VFD, MetalCraft Marine, the boat builder, and the Hamilton Jet factory to ensure that all engineering was completed and that the Vancouver Fire Department had a predicted performance curve, which has proved to be accurate in practice. Sea trial figures matched the prediction exactly, and that’s how Jastram likes it. In fact, it’s the only way they will consider to move forward on a boat build.

Jay Milner of Metalcraft Marine and Assistant Chief Ken LePard headed up

the design and build team, allowing full collaboration between the builder and the owners. Jastram Technologies, among the many suppliers to the vessel, worked very closely with the team to ensure that the correct and suitable propulsion product was chosen.

It is with considerable pride that this author watched the new boat perform its manoeuvres. Watching “my jets” doing their thing was immensely satisfying, and hearing the applause from the assembled crowd was gratifying. We all did a good job. And it was time to celebrate.

Michael Gardiner is the Technical Sales Manager – Canada for Jastram Technologies and represents Hamilton Jets in Canada. He can be reached at mgardiner@jastram.com.

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RISK MANAGEMENT

The modern Northwest Passage

By Nigel Greenwood Greenwood Maritime Solutions Ltd.

This “Doubting Thomas” carping from the sidelines, however, ignores the huge, conscientious effort that went into making the Serenity voyage safe and successful.

O

ne would have to be the most sun-worshipping and mentally absent Canadian not to be aware of and share the nation’s obsession with our closest polar region. This region excites more than modest nationalist fervor, bringing a little heat to a cold climate.

The past decade has seen tempers raised over global warming and its obvious impacts in our own backyard, as well as by perceived encroachments, even on only notional territory (e.g., the famous Russian “staking” of a flag at the Polar seabed). Curiously, this tendency seems to be more inflamed by our nearest and closest friends than by others.

So clearly there was room for much more hot air to be blown into this arena

36 BC Shipping News November 2016

when Crystal Cruises of Los Angeles announced they would send a 68,870ton ship through the Northwest Passage in 2016. While many expedition yachts and small cruise ships have plied the Passage in recent years, the MV Crystal Serenity (CY), with about 1,000 passengers and 600 crew, would dwarf all previous voyagers to become the largest ship yet to navigate the NWP. The magnitude of the undertaking alone was enough for some to question the advisability or safety of such an enterprise. This “Doubting Thomas” carping from the sidelines, however, ignores the huge, conscientious effort that went into making the Serenity voyage safe and successful.

I was very privileged to have a ringside seat at this historic transit as assistant ice-navigator onboard the RSS Ernest Shackleton. While able to appreciate the risks, I was also in a position to observe the results of three long years of preparation and the care that was exercised in the execution of this voyage.

Successful strategy = logistics

As with most successful undertakings, this voyage resulted not just from brilliant intuition of a march-stealing strategy but from meticulous attention to the myriad details of executing a “cruise” in an austere environment. While Crystal Cruises prides itself in offering adventure-oriented excursions from a platform of unparalleled service and luxury, the conditions of going ashore in the Canadian Arctic required special support to manage large numbers of people for beach landings.

This special support was found in the form of the Royal Research Ship Ernest

Photo: Randall Tate

RISK MANAGEMENT Shackleton (ES). ES combined the best attributes of an ice-breaking escort with the capability to host boat and helicopter operations for the cruise ship. Regularly employed for logistics resupply of British Antarctic Survey (BAS) scientific bases in the southern hemisphere, ES is available for charter during the off-season. For this voyage, ES was chartered on behalf of Crystal Cruises by Victoria-based Tactical Marine Solutions, whose principal, Dermot Loughnane, has long experience both in the charter business and in Arctic operations.

At about 5,000 tons displacement and built to DNV 1A1 ICE-05 standards, ES is rated for continuous operation in ice between one and 1.5 metres thick. For this voyage, she was given by Transport Canada a conservative rating of Type A, which is the highest of “ice-strengthened” ships but below the rankings of true icebreakers. Nonetheless, this ship is capable, and her officers experienced, in breaking through ice as thick as two to three metres.

Another key attribute of ES for this voyage was her independent logistics support capability. With under-deck capacity in two holds for up to 12 20-foot containers, she was able to carry the voluminous supplies of damage control gear, emergency rations, and expedition materials for both planned activities and worst-case contingencies. Included in this was a deck-reel of some 500 feet of oil containment boom and related SOPEP supplies (oil skimmer, absorbent materials, waste barrels, etc.)

Deck space on ES provided the ability to lash onboard the 15 boats (10 Zodiac Mk-5, 4 Zodiac Mk-6 and one 40-ft “fast boat”) for boat excursions and shoretransfers, as well as 14 kayaks. Provided for each of the boats was the necessary safety equipment — from spare gas tanks to boarding ladders and rescue slings, as well as contingency “stranding” kits. The ship’s own 50-, five-, and two-ton cranes enabled the launching of these boats and also of ES’s own landing barge, which was instrumental for mid-voyage re-provisioning. ES’s flight deck was temporary home to two Eurocopter AS-350 (“A-Star”) helicopters, with refueling provided from ES’s reserves of aviation fuel. And importantly, ES accommodated up to 36 expedition specialists (boat drivers, Inuit

guides, naturalists, divers, photographers, ice-navigators, oceanographic scientists) in addition to her core crew of 22.

BAS, as much as Crystal, leveraged their own expertise to guarantee success in this novel employment. With many years of service in the Antarctic (built in 1995, ES has been on long-term charter to BAS since 1999), this was nonetheless the first voyage of this ship into the Canadian Arctic. Accordingly, BAS rejigged their own crewing schedules to make their senior master available for this job: Captain John Harper has been with BAS since 1980. In order to build the base of experience for future taskings in the north, Captain Harper was, on this occasion, joined by his opposite number, Captain Will Whatley, who is well respected within BAS both as Captain of ES but also a member of the design review team for BAS’s new-build, the RRS Sir David Attenborough. The furthering of Canadian Arctic experience was also helped along by BAS’s generosity in accommodating two nautical cadets from the Marine Institute at Memorial University NL (MUN) for their senioryear sea-tours.

Prudence in execution

The planned itinerary of ES and CY provided for the best chances of success in what is traditionally a narrow window of free passage. ES visited St John’s NL in early August to load supplies and to undergo port-state control inspections for the coast-wise route she would follow.

During this stop, she was fitted with the “Ice-Nav” system supplied by Enfotec of Montreal, a subsidiary of Fednav.

Ice-Nav is a geographic information system which enables the layering of ice concentration charts in vectorformat (produced by the Canadian Ice Service — CIS and others) over the chart presentation of the ship’s position and intended track. From this, the Ice-Nav system can calculate the “Ice Numeral” (IN) as required under Canada’s AIRSS (Arctic Ice Regime Shipping System). The weighting of the ship’s own ice-capability number by the proportional concentrations of different ice regimes to be encountered results in either a positive IN (i.e., “GO”) or a negative number (“NOGO”). This result is advisory and subject November 2016 BC Shipping News 37

RISK MANAGEMENT drone, a DJI Inspire quad-copter; this device was available to provide real-time ice-reconnaissance from flights of up to 22 minutes, within a couple kilometres of the ship.

The interpretation of this ice information was subject to the experience and expertise of the ship’s master in conjunction with the embarked ice-navigators, provided for ES by Martech Polar of Victoria. ES was fortunate to have in

Photo: Randall Tate

to the master’s own experience and discretion in handling his ship in ice.

The Ice-Nav system also permitted the layering of other “products” on the ship’s position. The ship’s high-resolution X-band radar could be displayed by Ice-Nav, either in a separate screen with advanced processing controls, or superimposed on the ship-position plot. Another source of ice information onboard ES was direct observation from the ship’s own

Expedition cargo on board the RSS Ernest Shackleton.

38 BC Shipping News November 2016

this regard the services of Captain Marc Rothwell, recently retired from the CCG as Master of the CCGS Louis St-Laurent, who has logged more than 22 trips to the Arctic. BAS also embarked in ES for this trip their own Geospatial Systems Architect, Mr Andreas Cziferszky, who brought with him considerable expertise in interpretation of remote-sensing images and ability to access BAS’s own contracted sources of imagery.

With this preparation, ES set forth from St John’s on August 9, stopping briefly in Pond Inlet and Cambridge Bay to runin the new boats, practice oil-recovery drills and pick up additional expedition staff. Following this, ES made her way to Ulukhaktok (Holman) on the west coast of Victoria Island, the first Canadian port of call for CY. En route to the western Arctic, ES continued the long tradition of progressing science in conjunction with northern voyages. Two biologists from MUN joined the ship to conduct a series of plankton samples along the route. Collected through a combination of Continuous Plankton Recording (CPR) device and also more traditional Bongo net “vertical trawls,” these samples will form the first-ever linear plankton profile of the NWP route.

The ice-navigators, in conjunction with the ship’s officers, provided the Canadian Hydrographic Service with the results of a confirmatory survey of depths in the approaches to King’s Bay. And ES’s own echo-sounder recorded a continuous trace of the depth under the ship to further contribute to the bathymetric database of Canadian waters.

An additional capability of the ES came into play several times along the passage.

Originally built by Norwegian owners for use in the North Sea oil and gas industry, ES is a “DP-2” capability ship. With a single shrouded screw aft, she has also three forward bow thrusters and two stern thrusters. Linked in a Kongsberg Dynamic Positioning System which weights and averages inputs from up to three DGPS position inputs, this system can maintain the ship’s heading and position within one to two-tenths of a metre, unaffected by up to two discrete system failures. ES used this system to advance slowly into tight areas and to hold position where there was not room to “swing” at an anchor.

RISK MANAGEMENT Graphic: Nigel Greenwood

Two-way transit of the Northwest Passage.

The Crystal Serenity and RSS Ernest Shackleton — Crystal’s Northwest Passage voyage is a first for a large passenger ship.

Source: Canadian Ice Service

Photo credit- EVC & Crystal Cruises

“Fortune smiles on the well-prepared…”

With ES in Ulukhaktok, and the helicopters having joined the expedition at this point, the stage was set for CY’s grand entrance. The voyage had gone smoothly and easily to this point: temperatures were warm (10-15C in Cambridge Bay), and wind, sea and swell were generally low. Even though ice was in evidence for some 18 days of the 35-day voyage, this diminished steadily as ES made her way west and back. The only worry, within a few days of the appointed rendez-vous at Ulukhaktok, was the ice off Point Barrow, which had closed the margin of open water to about 10 miles. On the day, however, CY managed to ease past this obstruction and enter a largely ice-free passage.

Once CY joined ES on August 26, the serious work of the “expedition staff” began. A typical day of support at this stop, but also subsequently at Cambridge Bay, Beechey Island, Croker Bay, Tay Inlet, and Pond Inlet, started with boat launches at 0600 hours; deployments of shore parties at about 0800; helicopter excursions starting about 0900, coincident with landing passengers for community visits and hikes; then return of all shore parties about 1730; and recovery of boats by 2000. In a typical day-stop, ES’s boats shifted upwards of 900 passengers from and back to CY, whether to shore excursions, kayaking, or boat and helo-rides. ES’s flight deck became, momentarily, the busiest “airport” in the high Arctic, with 153 aircraft movements over 10 days.

Throughout the eastward transit of the NWP, it was evident that Crystal Cruises was anxious to deliver on the promise of Arctic splendour and novelty. Polar bears were highest on the list. Accordingly, after Cambridge Bay, ES led CY to the ice edge in Victoria Strait to search for wildlife. The crew in ES had previously commented on the lack of wildlife relative to the

A low year for ice in the Northwest Passage.

profusion of seals and penguins they experience in the south. But here at least they found something the Antarctic cannot match: along the remnants of 2-3/10ths-thick first-year and some old ice, 10 bears, some mothers with cubs, were discovered feasting on recent kills. While keeping a respectful distance, CY passengers were treated to a cold day in the boats to get their prize photographs.

For this itinerary, the Canadian Arctic was best viewed from west to east. The barren prospect and relatively warm waters of south Victoria Island give way to the more likely ice-infested straits of Victoria and M’Clintock. Here, for history buffs, is the “dead-end” of the greatest Polar mystery, the blank spot in the map that the Royal Navy searched all-around until it was 10 years too late. The momentary thrill of passing just over North America’s “Cape Horn” (the northern-most continental shore, the south side of Bellot Strait) then gives way to more spectacular topography of Baffin and Devon Islands, the historical cross-roads of Arctic exploration at Beechey Island, and the glacier-edge at Croker Bay, concluding the transit on November 2016 BC Shipping News 39

RISK MANAGEMENT a high note. By this time, the Serenity passengers were quite thrilled with their investment.

The future…bright and warm?

So what of the future? Is this groundbreaking voyage of the Crystal Serenity going to set the standard and attract a rush of competitors?

Without a doubt, there is increasing traffic in the north. From ES’s bridge we saw three other cruise ships and at one point had to adjust plans so as not to cramp others at points of interest. We also crossed paths with at least six cargo ships and two coast guard vessels, and we saw or spoke to four yachts — which all begins to look pretty busy in the immensity of the area and relative unlikelihood of vessels being within sight of each other.

There will definitely be more of all of this. But there might not be many more who choose to enter the game in Crystal’s class. The enormous expense that this company has undertaken to plan and execute a successful passage,

40 BC Shipping News November 2016

with special precautions and voyage support, has set the bar at a level that few without Crystal’s premium clientele will choose to emulate.

Critics may point to ships such as CY as suggesting great potential for catastrophe. But others in fact may pose the more likely risk in terms of probability; between the huge ship which diligently assesses and mitigates all discernable risks, the smaller ship which takes liberties with routing, and the yacht which undertakes a world-saving environmental expedition without sailing directions or tide-tables, which one will the Coast Guard concern itself with most?

The summer of 2016 will probably rank as one of the lightest ice-coverage years on record. This made it all seem easy. But this is to ignore that all “luck” is built on good planning, and such was the case here.

There will be many more ships and boats in the Arctic, and they will not all be as well prepared as Crystal Serenity and Ernest Shackleton. Yet if they go with that

kind of preparation, respecting the austerity and mercurial changeability of the environment, they too can add their part in filling in the bathymetric record while populating the public consciousness with the beauty, the attractions and the fragility of the north.

Weirdly, the morning of ES’s return to Bay Bulls, NL, to off-load, brought news of the discovery of Franklin’s second ship, HMS Terror, off the shores of King William Island. For me this was a salient reminder that the “golden age” of Arctic exploration was also commenced during a reported warming trend. Yet all of the subsequent significant successes of charting the NWP resulted from the search for one mission that failed in the face of unexpectedly harsh reality. Sobering…

Nigel Greenwood is a retired RearAdmiral RCN whose consultancy, Greenwood Maritime Solutions Ltd, deals in risk assessment and operational studies.

He maintains practical seafaring experience as a current licensed Master Mariner.

NAVIGATION

Government of Canada announces $1.8 million for OSI Maritime Systems

W

estern Economic Diversification Canada (WD) and OSI Maritime Systems Ltd. have announced a funding partnership to upgrade and commercialize OSI’s Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System for Warships (ECPINS) and tactical software to comply with NATO’s newest standard, NATO WECDIS STANAG 4564 Ed. 3.

The move will generate an estimated $25 million in new sales over five years for the Burnaby company.

“Canadian companies, such as OSI, are working hard to bring their products to market,” said the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada, at a news conference at OSI’s offices in Burnaby. “The Government of Canada is proud to support a product that will improve safety and tactical awareness for naval submarines around the world. These projects also promote economic growth and create highquality jobs in Canada.”

The interest-free, repayable loan of $1.8 million, provided through the Western Innovation (WINN) Initiative, will be matched by OSI to improve navigation safety as well as situational awareness for naval warships and submarines around the world. Already the world leader in Integrated Bridge and Navigation Systems, the upgrade will ensure OSI’s position as the first company to offer STANAG 4564 Ed. 3 type approved WECDIS. With systems already installed in over 600 warships and submarines operated by 20 navies around the world, the investment will allow OSI to not only upgrade current systems operating at NATO WECDIS STANAG 4564, Ed. 2, but will provide an opportunity to extend their reach to other navies. ECPINS is currently operating fleet wide within the Royal Canadian Navy fleet. This newest system will be installed first on the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels currently under construction at Irving Shipbuilding

Jim Girard, CFO, OSI Maritime Systems; the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and Minister responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada; and Ken Kirkpatrick, President and CEO, OSI Maritime.

in Halifax. They will also be outfitting the Resolve Class Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment vessel underway at Davie Shipyard in Quebec.

Since 1979, OSI has been developing electronic chart systems for the maritime market. With their focus exclusively on the naval sector, OSI has been enjoying stellar growth over the last two years. “Our workforce has grown with over 60 new employees in the last 18 months,” said Ken Kirkpatrick, President and CEO of OSI Maritime Systems Ltd. during today’s press conference. “And in 2016 alone, we have invested over $3.5 million to develop software technology that is not offered by any other company in the world.

“OSI is proud of its Canadian heritage and global reputation as one of the most well-recognized warship navigation and tactical solutions provider,” he continued.

“The value WD brings to OSI supports the success of Canadian businesses both at home and abroad. This success also makes OSI an extremely attractive Value Proposition to international companies looking at opportunities in Canada.”

The investment by WD is the first of several successful projects to be announced through the $100-million

WINN Initiative which provides repayable contributions to small and mediumsized companies in Western Canada.

In additional news, OSI Maritime Systems has received Marine Equipment Directive Type Approval certification from DNV GL for ECPINS Submarine against new International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).

“OSI remains at the forefront of ECDIS manufacturers through our approval to the new standard,” said Kirkpatrick. “We are very proud of this achievement and it continues the OSI ECPINS legacy as the most capable WECDIS product on the market.”

Set by IHO, all vessels operating ECDIS will be required to be updated with new ECDIS software by September 2017. Accordingly, all OSI customers can now upgrade to ECPINS 6.2 in order to comply with these standards.

OSI Maritime Systems’ ECPINS is the most advanced Warship ECDIS in the world with military capabilities well beyond the commercial ECDIS standards. BCSN November 2016 BC Shipping News 41

INLAND PORTS

Inland Ports Conference sparks dialogue

By Colin Laughlan President, Laughlan Consulting International Inc. Member, Experts’ Forum – UN/CEFACT

“Inland ports are extremely important elements in ensuring that the sea ports are as strong, viable, efficient and effective as they can be...”

W

estern Canada’s first Inland Ports Conference was: (i) crucial to Western Canada’s trade-related transportation and logistics; (ii) vital to understanding the relationship between inland ports and seaports; (iii) valuable to regional and provincial economic development; (iv) full of unexpected comments. The only correct answer has to be (v) all of the preceding, but participants could be forgiven for additional commentary such as (vi) a long overdue and much-needed discussion; (vii) critical to Canada’s international trade performance; and even (viii) a nation-building event.

Almost to the day, the conference marked the 10th anniversary of the formalization of the Asia-Pacific Gateway and Corridor Initiative (APGCI) in 2006. Over the past decade, much of the national focus has been on the “Gateway” as opposed to the “Corridor” dimension of APGCI, so the dialogue sparked by the conference was most timely as the federal government contemplates the next wave of its $60-billion infrastructure investment commitment.

“We know about the economic impact of the sea ports,” Peter Wallis, President and CEO of the Calgary-based Van Horne Institute, the conference organizers, told BC Shipping News. “Canada does have a port and corridor strategy as part of its national transportation policy. Along

42 BC Shipping News November 2016

the corridors, there are some extremely important points — call them inland ports because that’s what they are,” Wallis said.

The corridor

The centres Wallis references have developed in the shadow of a spotlight on Canada’s two West Coast Gateway ports — the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert. The Conference has now shifted the focus to the nodes along the rail and truck routes connecting the inlands to the seaports. These corridor ports compose a network of logistics hubs located at Ashcroft, British Columbia; Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

How the current roles of the inland ports — and more importantly, their potential — can relieve stress and contribute other benefits to the seaports and their adjacent regions was insightfully elaborated through the multiple perspectives of comparable port regions in Europe and North America. The inaugural conference did not disappoint the 150 attendees mainly representing academe, business and government across Canada’s four western provinces, although the absence of representation from the Government of British Columbia was noticed. Even if inadvertent, the negative symbolism reflects poorly on the idea of distributing the economic benefits of Canada’s seaports to other regions.

“Inland ports themselves are interesting economic generators ... there is a list of ancillary business that results from the activities of the various distribution centres,” said Wallis. “Inland ports are extremely important elements in ensuring that the sea ports are as strong, viable, efficient and effective as they can be. A seaport that doesn’t have a direct connection to the major distribution centres that have been set up across western Canada to facilitate the trade flows is not going to be as robust as it can be.”

Kleo Landucci, Vice President of Ashcroft Terminal, Platinum Sponsor of the Conference, told BCSN there was an “infrastructure deficit” for supply chain solutions. These solutions “are not just at the marine ports, and they’re not just at the source where the producer affects the product, or prepares the product for market, but it’s throughout the whole supply chain, and every region is a little bit different,” Landucci said. “So, given the geographic expanse and challenges in Canada, what should we be doing to catch up?”

The answer to that question may have been most succinctly expressed by panelist Mark Szakonyi, Executive Editor of JOC.com, who framed the central issues as: “What’s moving through the supply chains, and what makes sense for the shipper?”

William McKinnon, General Manager for D.B Schenker’s Western Canada region, offered a freight forwarder’s perspective with a list of solutions beneficial to shippers: design a scalable solution to meet the expanding needs of producers and customers; integrate advanced technology; manage speed to market variables; minimize freight touch points;

INLAND PORTS Photo courtesy Global Transportation Hub

operate a solution with minimal asset investment; achieve door-to-door service versus individual segments; and assist producers and shippers in opening new markets. McKinnon also identified the need for increased collaboration between producers, shippers, forwarders and the port partners, while James Auld, Senior Manager, Corporate Development at CN, expanded the idea of collaboration even further in his keynote luncheon address, recommending supply chain stakeholders work collaboratively to develop inland markets.

West Coast seaports

That innovative idea produced the Conference’s most divergent of views from the Port of Prince Rupert (PPR) and the Port of Vancouver (PoV), whose two spokespersons both cited their governing legislation, the Canada Marine Act, although from radically different perspectives.

“I’m personally somewhat frustrated by the fact that our enabling legislation probably limits us…” said PPR President and CEO Don Krusel. “As far as Prince Rupert has evolved, I’m starting to think of the port as a logistics company. You think a port is all about building the right facilities so the goods flow through the marine environment safely. [But] it would be beneficial for some entity such as the port to have a more formalized role in enabling the cargo to move from origin to destination, and getting more involved — somehow make a logistics company, but we can’t do that currently under the legislation,” Krusel said.

“My definition of an inland port would be where cargo clusters. And maybe there are ways of making these clusters, or inland ports, more efficient. The clusters for PPR would be what makes us grow, so we are going to be focused on the inland clusters,” Krusel added.

Peter Xotta, Vice President, Operations and Planning, for the Port of Vancouver, said the federal legislation defined PoV’s primary mandate as a landlord port.

“Under the Canada Marine Act, our job is essentially to ensure a process for the movement of goods in a safe and environmentally sound way. We do that principally by drawing private capital into port facilities,” said Xotta.

Van Horne Institute is recognizing the growing importance of inland terminals for Canada’s supply chains. Above, the Global Transportation Hub just outside of Regina, Saskatchewan.

But Xotta also admitted that the port’s tremendous container growth and the critical shortage of industrial land in the Lower Mainland — the main drivers behind the sustainability of the inland ports — meant that a greater role for the inland ports was on PoV’s radar. “The issue about protecting industrial land in the Lower Mainland — it’s a key issue in preserving the work we’re doing — but it’s not addressing the value of the land underlying that. The nature of the work

that we do in transloading and distribution centres can support a certain cost of land, but beyond that we’re going to see more and more inland facilities being necessary to support the port activity,” Xotta said.

Xotta told BCSN: “We have for a long time been focused primarily on our marine terminal capacity, recognizing that things like urban congestion, roadway issues and increasing land value and scarcity are going to drive change. We see that

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

Peter Swanson David S. Jarrett Michael M. Soltynski

Thomas S. Hawkins Tom Beasley Megan Nicholls

David K. Jones Connie Risi Roger Tangry

Mark Gill associate counsel: Lorna Pawluk tel: 604.681. 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

November 2016 BC Shipping News 43

INLAND PORTS change as the processes that are going to continue in the Lower Mainland, so we need to continue to be focused on being as efficient as possible, but we will expect to see these inland terminals playing a greater role in goods movement in the foreseeable future.”

Xotta also gave a hint as to what that means in more concrete terms. Asked from the conference floor how cooperation between PoV and an inland port could be formalized, Xotta replied: “What is evident in each of these jurisdictions is the degree of work that needs to be done by the inland ports themselves — to put forward a co-ordinated value proposition. I question whether there’s a role for the Port in deciding that, or a role for the Port in engaging with each of the inland ports — particularly through other service providers, whether that’s the container terminals, or the companies, or the railway. It’s fairly dynamic; if there’s a structure to be brought to that — that is efficient for all those parties — we’d have to be prepared to participate in that.”

44 BC Shipping News November 2016

Conclusion

The Van Horne Institute is to be commended for launching this important conference, and the organizers say they plan to make it an annual event. Perhaps one additional component should be added to the future inland ports’ agenda.

As a network of logistics and transportation hubs, the ports can also gain a collective operational benefit connecting through a technology platform known as a Port Community System.

A timely report, The Infrastructure That Matters Most, produced in June 2016 by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in co-operation with the Canada West Foundation, notes that since 2009, Canada has dropped from 10th to 23rd in the World Economic Forum’s Competitiveness Index for the Quality of Overall Infrastructure.

Its author, John Law, formerly CEO of Regina’s Global Transportation Hub and a senior official with the Saskatchewan government, argues for making traderelated infrastructure investment an equal priority in the federal government’s

new infrastructure spending over the next 10 years. The report notes that trade-related infrastructure “delivers long-term benefits by facilitating the transportation of goods and services more quickly, reliably and at lower cost.”

To this end, it calls on the federal government to “renew its commitment to Canada’s trade corridors.”

Law told BCSN shortly before the Inland Ports Conference that the federal government’s “three infrastructure investment buckets” [Green, Social, Transit] have a lot to recommend them, “but without a trade and transportation bucket, I think we’ve left something really important out. When you look at supply chains, you have to look at them end to end — and the context for the role of the inland port is about the inter-connectedness of the supply chains.”

Colin Laughlan is a member of the Experts’ Forum at the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. He can be reached at colin@laughlanconsulting.com.

November 2016 BC Shipping News 45

LIQUID GAS EXPORTS

Natural gas liquid exports via Pacific Northwest ports

By Darryl Anderson

Managing Director, Wave Point Consulting

With the U.S. successfully developing their shale gas reserves, it is becoming a net energy exporter in some commodities. In turn, this is having a knock-on impact.

I

n 2014, the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies report, The US Shale Revolution and the changes in LPG Trade Dynamics, observed that “One of the significant developments associated with the U.S. shale revolution and that has attracted little attention from market analysts, is the sharp expansion in the U.S. liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports. Substantial increases in

domestic supply have not only meant that U.S. imports of LPG, which mainly come from Canada, have dwindled, but the U.S. has now become one of the world’s biggest exporters of LPG. According to the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), U.S. LPG exports are expected to persist well into the next decade as natural gas liquids (NGLs) output in the U.S. continues its

upward trend.” In September 2016, the EIA announced that propane is now the second-largest U.S. petroleum product export, surpassing motor gasoline.

Historically, Canada’s natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGLs) production was consumed within the country or shipped to the United States.

With the U.S. successfully developing their shale gas reserves, it is becoming a net energy exporter in some commodities. In turn, this is having a knock-on impact. Domestic U.S. production is displacing Canadian natural gas and NGLs. Consequently, new transportation infrastructure and services are needed. This article explores the supply of natural gas

Photo courtesy Altagas

46 BC Shipping News November 2016

LIQUID GAS EXPORTS

Currently, the only existing LPG export terminal on the west coast of North America is in Ferndale, Washington.

liquids and export terminal developments in the Pacific Northwest.

Natural gas liquid supply

Natural Resource Canada indicates that raw natural gas as it comes from the wellhead is mostly comprised of methane (the largest constituent of household natural gas), but also contains various heavier hydrocarbons. The heavier hydrocarbons consist of ethane, propane, butanes and pentanes, and are called natural gas liquids (NGLs).

B.C.’s natural gas supply is estimated at almost three trillion cubic feet. To put it in perspective, each year, industry extracts about four trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Based on that amount, B.C. has over 150 years’ worth of natural gas supply at present consumption rates.

Also, there are the natural gas resources in Alberta that need to find new export markets.

In the current price environment, upstream producers have focused their efforts on resource plays in NGL-rich areas. In a 2014 presentation to the Canadian Propane Association, Mr. Gerry Goobie, Principal, Gas Processing Management Inc., noted that “Producers will target rich gas prospects and all recoverable NGLs will be produced. The

NGL component has become a much larger portion of the revenue from a gas well in recent years.”

With an increasing availability of surplus NGL in Canada, producers have the option to either curtail extraction, seek North American buyers who need the gas liquids for petrochemical feedstock, or export to global LPG markets overseas.

In some respects, the export of NGLs has the potential to increase in conjunction with LNG projects. Many factors will come into play as we search for new markets. LNG is a global market that is dynamic in nature. The price of LNG in Asia has historically been based on existing long-term overseas supply contracts at prices more than what was being paid for natural gas in the North American market. Crude oil price has also had an effect on the current LNG pricing model, but the longer low oil prices remain relatively low, it is harder to justify a final investment decision now to develop an LNG export industry.

Mr. Peter Howard, President Emeritus of the Canadian Energy Research Institute, described two LNG export approaches at a 2015 Nautical Institute conference on maritime energy transportation. The Petronas development represents an example of a “hot gas” project

Photo courtesy Altagas

(where the natural gas liquids would be left in because the end customer would use the gas for heating purposes) and the Shell project was an example of “lean gas” where the liquids would be removed.

The above factors will impact the proposed LNG export projects being considered for Canada’s Pacific Coast.

However, the needs of customers in the LNG importing countries are not uniform, and a variety of approaches are being taken to try and maximize the value of the natural gas resources and improve project economics, including the development of stand-alone NGL marine export terminals.

Pacific Northwest and Canadian developments

The Canadian Energy Research Institute reports that if the netback received by a producer for extracting and marketing NGLs in the local market is higher than that of leaving the NGLs for their heating value as LNG, then NGLs will be monetized locally. Production of LPG, a by-product of natural gas often consisting of propane and butane, has plateaued in Canada in recent years. But increasing shale production south of the border has kept LPG prices relatively low compared to global prices. As a result, November 2016 BC Shipping News 47

LIQUID GAS EXPORTS Canadian natural gas liquids are displaced from the U.S. market. New logistics and transportation solutions are needed to reach export markets, especially for propane. To meet the supply chain requirements driven by the needs of producers to achieve the highest netback, some significant transportation infrastructure developments have occurred.

In 2014, Petrogas acquired the Ferndale Terminal in Ferndale, Washington, the only existing LPG export terminal on the west coast of North America. Ferndale has been in operation for 40 years and handles both propane and butane shipments destined for Asia. The acquisition has been a good fit for AltaGas Ltd. and Idemitsu Kosan Co. Ltd., who both have interests in Petrogas. Cargo handling facilities include three above-ground LPG storage

units, tank car, truck, and marine terminal. There are four large oil refineries at the top of Puget Sound and all rely on the Ferndale Terminal to handle butane surpluses. The terminal has been safely operated by AltaGas since 2014.

A new export LPG plant for Longview Washington was proposed. In February 2016, the Port of Longview Board of Commissioners directed the Port’s Interim CEO Norm Krehbiel to discontinue all discussions with Waterside Energy LLC related to its proposals of both Riverside Refining LLC (the oil refinery) and Washington Energy Storage & Transfer LLC, which is also known as WEST (the liquid petroleum gas facility). The Port’s press release indicated that for several months, the Port has worked with the project proponent to negotiate a non-binding

term sheet on the WEST project, outlining key project information and financial documentation needed to move negotiations forward in a timely fashion.

Industry watchers are hoping that the proposed AltaGas development to build, own and operate the Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal near Prince Rupert will get the green light. Propane from British Columbia and Alberta natural gas producers will be transported to the facility using the existing CN rail network. The Ridley Island Propane Export Terminal will be designed to ship up to 1.2 million tonnes of propane per year. It will use existing rail lines and RTI’s existing world-class marine jetty that has deep water access to the Pacific Ocean. The proposed export facility will offload approximately 50 to 60 rail cars per day and deliver, by ocean transport, about 20 to 30 cargos of propane per year to market.

The proposed project will include rail car unloading facilities, refrigeration equipment, power generation, connection to BC Hydro’s grid, propane storage tanks, new piping and the addition of new loading arms to RTI’s existing berth. The facility is estimated to cost between $400 million and $500 million. AltaGas is working towards a final investment decision in 2016, pending federal regulatory approvals, and is targeting commercial operations to begin exporting propane in 2018.

Conclusion

The natural gas revolution is proving to be a game changer not only in the evolution of global energy trade but also in the transportation infrastructure, modes and routes needed to support both LNG and the natural gas liquids in North America.

For those in the rail port and shipping community, it may also mean becoming more comfortable leading discussions about the safety of a wide range of energy projects requiring transportation services that, to very a large degree, were previously overlooked when Canada was primarily a continental energy trader.

Darryl Anderson is a strategy, trade development, logistics and transportation consultant. His blog Shipper Matters focuses exclusively on maritime transportation and policy issues. http://wavepointconsulting.ca/ shipping-matters 48 BC Shipping News November 2016

MARINE INSURANCE

Marine insurance: The forgotten industry

By Syd Heal

I

have been a reader of maritime history and shipping books and magazines since age 10 (that was 80 years ago!) and have been employed in several roles as a clerk, broker and underwriter for about 25 years, winning professional qualifications along the way. I have always been conscious of the fact that marine insurance receives only the scantest mention in any publication unless it is a magazine that addresses the insurance industry exclusively and is only read by the insurance experts. Estimates by the International Union of Marine Insurance of the amount of money in premiums from all sources — including many new risks, such as wind energy farms, fish farms, oil installations and underwater pipelines — were just under US$30 billion for 2015, which does not include P&I calls (contributions).

Marine insurance is, in reality, one of the most important pillars of the ship ownership and cargo shipment sectors, without which modern commerce would soon come to a very critical standstill. In contrast to the position in the first half of the 20th century, bank finance and financial market participation is now a permanent feature of virtually every successful 21st century corporate shipping balance sheet, and lenders can be expected to lay down mandatory and very specific requirements for insurance cover.

In an earlier era, the objective of owners was to get bank mortgages off the balance sheet as soon as possible, and far fewer vessels were encumbered by mortgages in bygone times than exist at this time.

Today, it would be impossible to finance a shipbuilding order or gain support under a shipbuilding subsidy plan without full

Marine insurance is ... one of the most important pillars of the ship ownership and cargo shipment sectors without which modern commerce would soon come to a very critical standstill. insurance, although subsidies today are far more rare than they were after the Second World War. The values of complex and increasingly large ships such as LNG carriers, are simply stupendous, even after making allowances for inflation.

Cargo interests

Again with cargo, letters of credit are universally employed as a standard instrument in trade contracts. In the sense that they are always negotiated through banks providing transactional finance, a cargo policy or certificate of insurance are standard requirements. Often, bank finance is involved as a result of advancing funds to the client, but even when advances are not required, it is still the most secure way of paying for foreign goods or receiving payment for an export shipment.

The issue of security in relation to the acceptance of risks must always be of concern to people who rely on the policy of marine insurance, and an efficient broker handling insurance on behalf of a client usually will take it upon themselves to check up on the status of a new name that might enter the market. Few things can be more troubling than an insurance company that fails to meet its commitments, particularly if it is registered in an offshore state with doubtful governing insurance regulations, a poor banking system, tardiness in meeting legitimate claims or inadequate consular coverage in

handling legal documents when needed.

Such companies are usually formed by promoters and soon become known as ‘fly by night’ outfits, here today and gone tomorrow, and they sometimes leave a train of wreckage behind them with unmet claims and confused accounting that might take years to clean up. I am not implying that such events are common or the people who run them are necessarily deliberately crooked, but somehow they seem to find themselves receiving a lot of premium as a result of discounted rates that flood into a weak structure and then the claims come afterwards and threaten to sink the insurer.

Reinsurance

Reinsurance is something that most people have never heard of, but it is a most important factor in the structure and strength of the international market and in its ability to absorb ultra-high value risks. The structure of the overall market rests on a first line of what I will call for convenience, retail companies. These are the companies that provide insurance contracts to businesses, professionals and the general public. Some is sold ‘over the counter’ but the vast majority of transactions are developed by agents or brokers and, because public advertising is resorted to by the companies as well as the agencies and brokers, names at the retail level become fairly well known.

November 2016 BC Shipping News 49

MARINE INSURANCE What is never seen by the public is the reinsurance market which stands behind the retailers. A given risk involving, for example, a tanker or bulk carrier probably means that the risk might be split up between perhaps 20 companies, with an additional percentage placed at Lloyds in the London market and everyone, including Lloyds’ syndicates, will initial for a line which will vary from participant to participant. (A ‘line’ is the market term for the percentage of the risk an underwriter agrees to insure, confirmed by his signature and company’s name opposite the percent figure, all prepared in the document on a single line).

The ship may be part of a fleet of, for example, 10 similar ships all placed on a single slip. An accepting underwriter, being the responsible official who agrees to the participation on behalf of his company or syndicate, may find himself over-lined because of having ‘second thoughts,’ or in addition to his 10 per cent, he may find that an overseas agency of his company may have accepted a line through a local market placement that has now exceeded his company’s approved level of acceptance.

The remedy for this might be for the underwriter to contact a favoured broker and have the broker place a facultative reinsurance of his company with a third-party reinsurer. This was merely one of many reasons for reinsurance that was frequently in use before the Internet and instant communications tightened up many management controls, and transmitting insurance documents became instantaneous. The uncommon word ‘facultative’ by the way, is borrowed from the natural sciences and means ‘optional’ or ‘discretional.’

The other and far more important reinsurance in its scope is ‘treaty reinsurance.’ Most of us relate the word 'treaty' to diplomatic issues involving the creation of military alliances that are usually defensive in nature or settle matters between the victors and the vanquished following a war. In truth, reinsurances have much in common with these types of treaties, the change from the political being wholly commercial. It is a defensive

mechanism whereby, within agreed limits, an insurer can pass a percentage of its defined insurance obligations to a reinsurer.

The ceding party automatically gives off a part of its gross risk to the reinsurer, and the latter has to accept without question and also pay the inevitable claims precisely following the original claim. Reinsurers do not concern themselves with the intricacies of specific claims, their main concern being the actual premium dollars paid under the treaty and what they pay out in the way of claims accordingly.

The important point to understand is the fact that behind every marine policy (and most other forms of insurance) there stands a large reinsurance industry which is made up of those who are capable of accepting facultative as well as treaty reinsurances. The major reinsurers are made up of a few giant corporations and a considerable number of smaller companies who might be called followers — i.e., those who follow the lead of the majors. With marine reinsurers on treaties, the biggest are located in Germany and Switzerland, with others spread among the Northern European and Scandinavian countries. Lloyds of London and the British companies are a big source of underwriting capacity in accepting the treaties of insurance companies from all over the world, but British reinsurance specialist companies do not stand out.

Protection & Indemnity (P&I)

There remains the P&I Clubs to briefly describe. P&I stands for Protection and Indemnity insurance, which started in its modern form in Britain when its own merchant marine was expanding at a ferocious rate with adoption of steam propulsion in the late 1830s, and British steamship lines were setting up agencies all around the world. New mercantile functions, such as the telephone and undersea cables that came a little later, were speeding up communications, and ship management was showing signs of emerging as a whole new industry.

Insurance on hulls, machinery and cargo was provided by the new marine insurance companies and Lloyds, but the several third-party liabilities and expenses arising out of the ownership or operation of ships, such as, but not limited to, liabilities for cargo damages or injury sustained by passengers were not covered. P&I Clubs started up and were subscribed to by ship owners initially to service the needs of ship owners in the home ports where the P&I Clubs started. Such ports included Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle and London, so that today, about a dozen large British P&I Clubs aggressively sell their coverage around the world. Most other countries have one or occasionally two, and these include Norway, Sweden, USA, Japan, France and Germany.

The method of collecting funds is to issue a call to its members who pay on the basis of gross tons of shipping owned at so much per ton, which is at variance with the H&M and cargo interests who pay their premiums based entirely on a percentage of value of ship or cargo. With the P&I Clubs, there is no issue of profit-making, but the marine insurance companies and Lloyds’ syndicates do retain a profit motive.

Syd Heal, a veteran of the marine industry and a prolific writer and publisher of marine books, can be contacted at richbook@telus.net.

50 BC Shipping News November 2016

LEGAL AFFAIRS

Succession planning for small business

By Catherine Hofmann

A Vancouver lawyer with Bernard LLP

A

lthough this space is usually reserved for articles with a maritime law focus, many of the business issues facing the maritime industry are identical to those facing businesses generally — whether large or small. One such issue is succession planning.

The greying of the largest segment of Canada’s population means that the Canadian economy is going to change.

Currently, baby boomers comprise 27 per cent of Canada’s population and as of 2015 the number of people over the age of 65 make up 16 per cent of the population. Although many people are retiring later, the workforce is shrinking and it is anticipated that real economic growth will likely suffer as a result.

Moreover, approximately 60 per cent of small and medium-sized business owners are 50 or older and are beginning to consider selling their companies or passing them on to the next generation. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has projected that as much as a trillion dollars in assets may be transferred over the coming decade.

This change in ownership provides both opportunities as well as potential pitfalls for the unprepared.

Succession planning is a general term that can encompass personal financial planning, business continuation planning, ownership transition, management transition, and estate planning; however, for the purposes of this article, I will focus primarily on the transfer of business ownership, whether that transfer is to a family member, internal management (or other employees), or to an independent

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business has projected that as much as a trillion dollars in assets may be transferred over the coming decade. third party. Some points to consider regardless of the ultimate transferee are valuation, taxes, how much current owners want or need to remain involved in the business going forward and the overall timetable for the transition.

Keeping it all in the family

Family businesses are as unique as the people that run them, often characterized by complex histories and cultures. A family business involves the intersection of three critical and often complicated components — namely, family, business ownership and management. Thus, while the technical components of the transfer of business ownership are always important, in the context of an intergenerational transfer, family dynamics, the various individuals and their current and future roles and responsibilities within the business and the family must also be considered. In order to facilitate a successful intergenerational business transition, management succession, as well as the management of family communication and expectations are critical issues to address prior to the actual transfer of ownership.

The financial and legal issues which necessarily form the backdrop of the business transfer within a family most commonly include the following:

• Who will own shares in the company and in what proportion to others?

Both active and non-active family members?

• What rights and restrictions will attach to the shares (e.g., voting rights, dividend rights, participation in future growth of the company, priority on wind-up)?

• What is the value of the company and how will the transfer be funded?

• What (continuing) role will current and future owners play in the management and running of the business?

How will they be compensated?

• What is the timetable for the current and future owner/managers?

• Is there a shareholders’ agreement in place or should there be one in the future to account for multiple owners/ stakeholders and their varying interests in the company?

A common way in which to effect a business transfer within a family is to use an “estate freeze.” An estate freeze is a share exchange transaction which allows the existing owner to fix the value of the company at current values and transfer all future growth to the new owners without any money actually changing hands. In so doing, the capital gain which will be triggered on the eventual disposition of the “frozen” shares (or the death of the November 2016 BC Shipping News 51

LEGAL AFFAIRS Of particular importance will be a shareholders’ agreement to address concerns involving multiple ownership interests in the company going forward. shareholder) will be limited to the unrealized gains which have accrued up to the time of the transfer and any capital gains tax on the future growth of the company’s shares will be deferred until a subsequent disposition by the next generation. While an estate freeze is not overly complicated, it should never be undertaken without appropriate legal and accounting advice to ensure that it does not run afoul of the Income Tax Act. A shareholders’ agreement is also an important component to this form of business transfer. The agreement should include provisions for the eventual disposal of the company’s shares, whether by purchase, redemption or transfer.

An inside job

Another way in which a current owner may wish to plan for the future of the company and to fund his or her retirement is to transfer the company to existing management or other company insiders. They are familiar with the business and this type of succession plan often provides a smooth transition for the company, its employees, its customers and the existing owner.

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A management buyout commonly will require some or all of the following: the pooling of resources by the purchasers acquiring the business, financial assistance from a bank (using company assets to secure financing) or some form of vendor take-back financing. In this regard, a clear valuation of the business becomes an important first step in determining which financing mechanism is to be adopted. Moreover, because the prospective purchasers, a bank and the selling owner may have differing opinions, information, and expectations surrounding the enterprise or the equity value of the company, an agreed upon outside and objective valuation may provide comfort to all concerned.

The financial support of the current owner for the transaction may take the form of bank guarantees, share pledges, preferred share issuances, vendor take back loans, or earn out agreements.

Each of these measures can assist the prospective purchasers in buying the business and often mean that the current owner will remain involved with the company for some period of time following the initial handover. Regardless of which form of financial assistance is provided, ensure that the risk of the future success of the business is balanced appropriately.

For example, an earn-out agreement usually provides that a portion of the purchase price will be contingent on the business achieving certain financial benchmarks. Typically, the (former) owner/operator will be contractually bound to remain with the company for the duration of the earn-out period to assist the company in meeting the targets required for payment. Because an earn-out clause usually provides for a significant upside potential in the purchase price, sellers will be motivated to work hard to achieve the projected result. While this structure can be beneficial to both buyer and seller, it is not recommended when coupled with additional forms of purchase financing which may ultimately hinder the ability of the company to make the earn out targets and consequently, the ability of the owner to recoup the hoped for purchase price of the business.

Many of the issues raised in the intergenerational transfer of a family business apply in the present context as well. Of particular importance will be a shareholders’ agreement to address concerns involving multiple ownership interests in the company going forward. Matters to be discussed in determining the nature and extent of any on-going relationship between the current owner and the company include compensation, the duration of the transition period, and the scope of any non-competition agreement.

The external exit

For more information, contact BC Shipping News T: 604-893-8800 / E: jane@bcshippingnews.com

www.bcshippingnews.com 52 BC Shipping News November 2016

The third and perhaps most lucrative form of business transfer involves selling the equity or assets of a business to an independent third party. Whether to sell the assets or shares of the business will likely be the most critical decision in negotiating with any party and much will depend on the particular circumstances of each case. The income tax consequences for each of these two options will usually be determinative of the issue.

In very general terms, from the seller’s perspective, share sales are usually more attractive. A share sale will trigger one level of tax payable by the seller on any capital gain resulting from

the disposition. Much of this gain can also be sheltered by the lifetime capital gains exemption ($800,000) provided that the shares constitute “qualified small business corporation shares.”

It will be important to consult with a tax advisor early in considering the availability of this exemption in succession planning since the Income Tax Act may require that the company go through certain “purifying” transactions and hold periods in order for the shares to qualify.

Conversely, an asset transaction will result in the imposition of two levels of taxation — namely at the corporate level (as seller) and then again at the shareholder level when the proceeds from the sale are eventually transferred to the owner. In addition, the asset sale may also trigger the payment of provincial sales tax.

The upside to the buyer in an asset transaction include, among other things, the following: • The buyer does not inherit any of the seller’s potential liabilities, including tax liabilities; • The buyer can write up (to increase the depreciation base) or write off (e.g., goodwill) the value of certain assets in order to minimize tax; and • The buyer can cherry pick the assets to be purchased.

Whether the transaction proceeds by way of asset sale or share sale will primarily be a matter of price negotiation. What is important is that the deal satisfies both parties needs in order for it to proceed. In addition, most transactions will include some unanticipated wrinkles which will need to be considered and included in the documents which paper the deal.

While it is possible to structure a succession plan on your own, professional (and objective) advice can assist in maximizing the value of your business, minimizing taxes payable as well as avoiding potential problems that can interfere with or even thwart the desired outcome. As the popular saying goes, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” and by having an appropriate succession plan in place, you will ensure that your business will have a strong foot hold into the future.

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