Vancouver

Jan 24, 12:42 Canadian Pacific signs 10-year deal with Canpotex Canadian Pacific Railway said...

seagull Jan 24, 12:42
Canadian Pacific signs 10-year deal with Canpotex
Canadian Pacific Railway said it signed a 10-year agreement with Canpotex Ltd to transport a large majority of shipments to the potash marketing consortium's main terminal in Vancouver, British Columbia, Reuters reports. CP said terms and conditions of the deal with Canpotex, which is jointly owned by fertilizer producers Potash Corp , Mosaic Co and Agrium Inc, are confidential.

The agreement improves its unit revenue, CP said in a statement.

CP, Canada's second biggest railway, is fighting a planned proxy battle with activist investor William Ackman, who wants the former chief executive of rival Canadian National Railway to take the reins at CP and more quickly improve its operating ratio.

CP, which will be Canpotex's principal Canadian railway, will also transport all Canpotex's potash shipments to Portland, Oregon, along with Union Pacific Corp.

The agreement between CP and Canpotex starts on July 1.

en.portnews.ru

Jan 15, 10:51 Seaspan, Canada government celebrate completion of NSPS Umbrella Agreement Seas...

seagull Jan 15, 10:51
Seaspan, Canada government celebrate completion of NSPS Umbrella Agreement
Seaspan Marine Corporation and the Federal Government today formally recognized and celebrated the completion of an Umbrella Agreement that sets out the terms under which Seaspan’s shipyards in North Vancouver and Esquimalt, BC, will build NonCombat vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy, the Corporation press release said.

“This is a significant agreement and important milestone in the 25 to 30 year relationship we will have with the Federal Government,” said Jonathan Whitworth, Seaspan CEO.

Today’s celebration follows the October announcement, in Ottawa, that Seaspan was the successful bidder for the $8 billion Non-Combat program.

“With this Agreement we can now begin work on vessel design and look towards starting to cut steel for the first vessel in 2013,” said Jonathan. “From the start of the NSPS project over a year ago, the Government of Canada promised a fair, transparent and open process that would see winning bids chosen on merit and not on political factors. We are delighted the Government of Canada held true to this commitment and look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

“We are pleased and excited to celebrate today’s event,” said Jonathan. “On behalf of the Washington family, our unions, workers, and partners, I thank Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Minister Ambrose, the Assistant Deputy Minister – PWGSC (Acquisitions Branch), our local MPs, and the NSPS Secretariat for the integrity of their process and for the confidence they have placed in our hands. We will deliver the world’s best ships to the Canadian Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy and to the people of Canada.”

Construction on the first ship is expected to start next year, while construction of new buildings and infrastructure at both Vancouver Shipyards and Victoria Shipyards is expected to start in 2012.


Seaspan Marine Corporation is an association of Canadian companies primarily involved in coastal and deepsea transportation, bunkering, ship repair and shipbuilding services in Western North America. In addition to the marine transportation services offered directly through Seaspan Marine Corporation, commercial ferry, shipyard and bunkering services are provided via affiliate companies: Marine Petrobulk Ltd., Seaspan Ferries Corporation, Vancouver Drydock Company, Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. and Victoria Shipyards Co. Ltd.

en.portnews.ru

Aug 3, 18:06 US West Coast H1 container traffic up 5 percent U.S. West Coast ports registere...

seagull Aug 3, 18:06
US West Coast H1 container traffic up 5 percent
U.S. West Coast ports registered a modest increase of 5 percent in total loaded containers during the first six months of 2011 compared to the same period last year, Journal of Commerce reports. Export growth exceeded growth in imports, with exports up 9 percent and imports increasing 3 percent, according to statistics released Monday by the Pacific Maritime Association.

Exports also outperformed imports at Canada’s Pacific Coast ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Total 20-foot equivalent unit volume in Vancouver declined 6 percent compared to the first six months of 2010, while total loaded TEUs at Prince Rupert increased 12.5 percent.

On a regional basis on the U.S. West Coast, the Southern and Northern California gateways experienced stronger growth than the Washington ports. Total container volume in Los Angeles-Long Beach increased 6 percent in the first half of 2011. Oakland’s volume was also up 6 percent.

Total container volume in Seattle-Tacoma increased 1 percent. Portland’s container volume was up 17 percent, although the cargo base is modest compared to the other gateways.

At all of the ports, export growth clearly exceeded import growth. Exports were up 8 percent in Los Angeles-Long Beach and 9 percent in Oakland. Exports increased 10 percent in Seattle-Tacoma and 25 percent in Portland.

Imports increased 6 percent in Los Angeles-Long Beach as some carriers entered larger ships into their Pacific Southwest rotations and several niche carriers began inbound service to Southern California this past year. Imports were up 2 percent in Oakland.

Containerized exports were strong at Port Metro Vancouver, increasing 13 percent compared to the first six months of 2010. Imports, meanwhile, declined 1 percent. Loaded exports at Prince Rupert increased 79.4 percent, while loaded import TEUs declined 4.5 percent.

Source: en.rian.ru

Jan 28 '11, 11:33 Vancouver Board of Directors appoints new chair Canada's Port Metro Vancouver (...

seagull Jan 28 '11, 11:33
Vancouver Board of Directors appoints new chair
Canada's Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) Board of Directors announced on Tuesday that it has elected Craig Neeser as its incoming Chair, effective March 1, 2011.
Neeser joined the Port Metro Vancouver Board in August 2009, and is serving his first term of three years, ending August 30, 2012.
He served most recently in the positions of Chair of the Major Capital Projects Committee and Member of the Governance/Conduct Committee.
Neeser will replace outgoing Chair Sarah Morgan-Silvester, whose term of office expires on February 28, 2011.
"On behalf of Port Metro Vancouver’s Board of Directors, I want to thank Ms. Morgan-Silvester for her leadership in overseeing the integration of the three Lower Mainland port authorities, and her wise counsel throughout her time as a board member and Chair of one of Port Metro Vancouver’s predecessor organisations and as Port Metro Vancouver’s first Chair," said Neeser.
Neeser is past president of Weyerhaeuser and senior vice-president, International Group. He has served on the board of directors of the Council of Forest Industries of British Columbia, University of Alberta, Global Forest Partners, Maynards Advisory Board, and the Vancouver Aquarium, and is past chair of the Coast Forest Lumber Association.
Neeser holds a Bachelor of Science degree in forestry management from the University of Alberta and has completed the advanced management programme at Harvard.
Port Metro Vancouver's Board of Directors is composed of 11 members: one federal appointee, one BC provincial appointee, one appointee for the Prairie Provinces Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, one municipal appointee and, seven port user appointees.
Port Metro Vancouver trades $75 billion in goods annually with more than 160 trading economies, generating across Canada an estimated 129,500 jobs, $6.1 billion in wages, and $10.5 billion in gross domestic product.

Source: portworld.com

Nov 29 '10, 13:02 New wave of strike begins in Vancouver port The spectre of another crippling ...

seagull Nov 29 '10, 13:02
New wave of strike begins in Vancouver port

The spectre of another crippling strike at Port Metro Vancouver is being raised by angry container truckers, reported Vancouver Province.
They claim that rates negotiated after a bitter, five-week strike in 2005 are being undercut.
"We' re in bargaining right now with 12 different companies," said Gavin McGarrigle national representative for CAW, the Canadian Auto Workers union.
"We're getting to the point where a strike option is definitely a possibility and we haven't ruled that out yet."
About 400 disgruntled truckers drove in a protest convoy that tied up traffic on Saturday.
McGarrigle said they want to sit down with port officials and with both the BC and federal governments. "We don't want to be perpetually at war with the port and continually fighting to maintain our rates," he added.
McGarrigle said minimum rates negotiated in the settlement of the 2005 strike called for truckers to be paid from US$100 to $135 per container, per move, in each direction.
"We've had many reports of people being paid $80, $70, $60 or $50 per move," he said.
McGarrigle said the CAW wrote to port president Robin Silvester and he offered to continue meeting.
But he said the union has had no response to its calls for meetings with Stockwell Day, federal minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, BC Labour Minister Iain Black and Shirley Bond, BC Transportation Minister.
No one could be reached from Port Metro Vancouver.

Source: cargonewsasia.com

Aug 18 '10, 9:51 Tamil-smuggling ship charged $20 million for passage in Canada Canadian Publi...

seagull Aug 18 '10, 9:51
Tamil-smuggling ship charged $20 million for passage in Canada

Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Monday that the Thai ship that brought about 500 Tamils into Canada Friday was part of a organized criminal enterprise in which each person was charged $40,000 to $50,000 for the passage.

The amount charged by the ship works out to be about $20 million.
It was also revealed Monday that a 37-year-old passenger died due to some disease on the voyage and was buried at sea.

"This was a very profitable undertaking, even if the boat is eventually seized. Other boats may be waiting to see what the Government of Canada's reaction is to it,'' the minister said as anger mounted across the country for letting in the ship.

On radio talks shows, blogs and newspaper web sites, Canadians have demanded that the asylum seekers be deported.

The 'MV Sun Sea,' which was escorted to a Canadian forces naval base on Vancouver Island Friday as it reached Canadian shores after a three-month voyage, is the second ship to reach Canada after the Ocean Lady brought 76 Tamil asylum seekers here in October.

The minister, who had earlier expressed concern about "elements of the LTTE and the Tamil Tigers on board this vessel," said Monday the ship was retrofitted for human cargo. The LTTE was banned by Canada in 2006.

"The sanitation on that ship was far in excess of what it usually be outfitted with. It was clearly designed to maximize the number of passengers on board and therefore maximize the amount of profit that the organization running this ship would achieve.''

The minister added, "This (smuggling enterprise) could afford a criminal organization with a lot of money. Whether or not the individuals on the ship are actually part of the criminal organization, certainly the amount of money paid goes to finance a criminal organization."

He said since everyone on board the ship has sought asylum, "it is always difficult to determine who the crew is.''

Processing of refugee claims by asylum seekers began Monday. Once they are released, most of these asylum seekers are likely to reach Toronto where about 300,000 Sri Lankan Tamils live.

The Canadian government says it is looking at the possibility of reframing shipping laws to stop human smuggling at the source of origin.